The fast food soul-suck

Every time I am on a road trip I want fast food. It's totally a Pavlovian response because for the most part I am otherwise not interested (with the one exception of my time in Amsterdam at 19 when my friends and I discovered that a visit to a coffeeshop followed by a visit to McDonalds made for a truly fantastic afternoon).

I think the reason for my desire is that when I was a kid the only time my parents would take me to get fast food was when we were on long drives. Whatever the reason, I want it, and I am generally able to convince Pete to stop so we can get it. And then immediately afterwards I feel totally gross. I don't remember that happening when I was a kid, but maybe that is because of the move from Happy Meals to quarter pounders with cheese. and fries.

On Sunday, on our way back from visiting my sister, we took a break from the traffic for fast food. And I really think it is going to be my last time. It was just such a soul-sucking experience.
Don't get me wrong, the food was delicious. Always is. But it sank to the bottom of my stomach and I felt disgusting afterwards.

And on this particular trip our food took a really long time so I just sat and watched the fast food factory at work, watched the people come and go, and watched myself get more and more bummed out. I think that going in there makes people a little dead inside. Sure the food is high in calories, but every once in a while it's probably not too bad. What is really unhealthy is the whole experience. Rushing through eating, eating food that slapped together in an assembly line, sitting in a plastic booth in cookie cutter building -- that is what really makes fast food bad for you.

So from now on I am going to make an effort to stop some place with character, even if it takes a little longer (and even if the food still isn't that healthy!), or make my own food and bring it, even if it takes more advance planning. Because it's not really the calories that are bad for you fast food places, it's the atmosphere.

Running Map

This website is great for planning new runs or seeing how far you went when you get back. I'm in a new city now and still getting my bearings.
I miss running in Central Park. Who ever thought I would miss running at all? weird. I still can't run very far though. I get about 1.5 miles in and remember all the reasons I hate running. However... I have found that listening to trashy books on tape is way more helpful than music.

Run/walk?

Back to thoughts on running. Now that I am back in the saddle again. The NYT is suggesting the run-walk method. But I can't help feeling like I didn't quite get the job done if I stop to walk.
What's the best way to go?

Get up from your computer

Seriously.

My work has been super stressful lately. My inclination when it gets like that is just to power through. Work as hard as I can until I come out on the other side. But I am pretty sure that's not the healthiest way to go about it.

At lunch, the one time I am guaranteed to take a break, I usually don't even leave the building - I work in a building with a couple of restaurants in it, and sometimes I bring my lunch. No need to go out into the big bad world.

For no particular reason today I decided to go out for lunch. I don't mean take a lunch hour (although if you work somewhere where that works for you I fully support it), I just mean I left the building for the 7.5 minutes it took to walk a couple of blocks, buy a sandwich, and walk back.

It was awesome.

I might sound like I'm exaggerating but I could feel myself get happier the moment I got outside. Something about natural light, and fresh air, and a breeze. It's good for you.

So even though you might not think you have time, it's worth it for your wellbeing.
So I am adding that to my list of habits. I am going to get outside. For at least a couple of minutes. On days when it's nice enough out. Then you can go back to the hectic work world, back to being stressed, back to powering through and not taking breaks.

That one trip outside may not solve everything but it's a start. Baby steps.

Healthy gums

After my little TV rant on Friday I went on a long walk (by myself, in the snow), cooked chili, read the economist, and still managed to watch probably 5 hours of TV. Oh well. I guess you have to start somewhere.

Anyway, now I am back to little things in the month of January.

Last night I timed myself. It took me 56 seconds to floss. I got every tooth. Even the way back wisdom ones that my dentist insists should stay in.

My dentist also told me that if you floss for 21 days in a row it will become a habit. That's all it takes. 21 days.

Since I am pretty sure healthy gums are a solid first step towards a healthier me, I am starting a month consistent flossing (I have always been more of a sporadic flosser in the past, except for one extremely consistent streak in 2005).

In case you're planning on trying this with me, one tip. Don't just throw some floss in your bag and assume you'll remember to do it at some point each day. Decide to either do it when you brush your teeth in the morning or when you brush them at night. Making it into a consistent part of your daily routine is the only way to turn it into a habit.

In case you're looking for more reasons to floss, read this.

And if you already floss every day, well good for you! Pat yourself on the back. You'll have to think of some other healthy thing to do today on your own.

Long weekends and my TV addiction

Most years I spend Jan 1st wondering why I raged so hard on Dec. 31st. But I guess that's the tradition. I guess it's also why they went ahead and made Jan 1st a holiday. They, the holiday makers, whoever they are, figure a good number of people are going to be too tired and hungover to do anything productive anyway. Whatever the reason, most years I contently spend the first day of the new year as a complete waste of space - sprawled on the couch watching college football games I could care less about, and of course, my favorite, cooking shows.

But this year is special because New Year's Eve was on a wednesday, so I get friday off as well. A free 4 day weekend. Magical.

As I mentioned, I spent the first day completely uselessly. And, while I can support the idea of spending the whole weekend doing absolutely nothing, just relaxing (relaxing is good for you!!), I have just recently learned that doing stuff actually makes me happier (and more relaxed) than doing nothing. Go figure.

So turn off the TV and get out of the house. Even if its effing snowing and freezing outside. Which it is at the moment. And if you have no chores to do because somehow your apartment is clean (mine is not), and your errands are done (also not), then do something fun. And if you can't think of anything, here are some suggestions.

Go get ingredients and make chili or soup from scratch. Or both! Then freeze it to take for lunch next week.

Go for a good long walk somewhere you haven't walked before.

Write a letter to someone who lives far away. Ooh! Better yet, make them a care package!

I know that at first peeling yourself off the comfy couch may seem unappealing but I promise you'll end up happier at the end of the day. There's nothing good on anyway.

Bring on the New Year!

On this last day of 2008 I took at look back at where I was as the year began. As far as I can tell I was declaring a love of ginger tea, experimenting with neti pots, and coming out against resolutions.
Not much has changed.

I still think ginger tea is the best possible cold remedy out there, and I have even managed to get Pete hooked. I still have my neti pot and while I am not a complete convert, I do use it from time to time. In fact, I used it just the other day. Pete, on the other hand, still refuses to try it. I guess what he wants to put up his nose is his own prerogative. huh. I definitely did not know how to spell prerogative.

But the one thing I am taking a different stance on is resolutions. Why not make them? Sure, it may be less than optimal to only think about self improvement once year, but once is better than nothing right? And who says I won't try to self improve at other times in 2009? I bet I will.

In light of the stressful times that we are in right now, and the possibility that things might get worse before they get better, my resolution is a simple one. I will remember, and say to myself out loud from time to time, "There are so many things to be happy about!" Because there are. Even when life is looking really crappy, or confusing, or sad, there is something to be happy about. For me its family and friends who I love a lot.

But your resolutions don't have to be so serious. They should just be toward the end of making you happier. And so I will leave you with the best resolution I have heard so far this year. My friend Nicole resolved to learn the Beyonce Single Ladies dance. seriously. amazing.

I couldn't find an embeddable version of the real video so I'll leave you with this instead. Arguably better anyway....

Breaks vs. Break-ups

As might be expected, a break from writing correlates strongly with a break from wellness in my life. Or at least a break from running. But I've got an excuse. In fact, I've got excuses. I won't get into them right now because they all boil down to one thing. I was busy. really really ridiculously busy.
Everyone gets busy. Everyone has times in their lives where the people they care about, or the job they do, or some combination of important things takes precedence over the quest for good health. I have three things to say about this.

1. Don't beat yourself up about it! This is medium wellness. Not uber wellness. Normal people need to take breaks from time to time.

2. In wellness, there is a difference between a break and a break-up. For example, often I will think I am just not going to run during a particularly busy week - just taking a break. But that leads to me not running for 3 months. That's a break up. With running its easy to tell the difference. If, by the time I get back to it I can't run a mile without my lungs feeling like they're going to explode, its been too long.

3. Finally, it's important to find wellness tips that fit into your already busy life without much adjustment. That way, when you totally fall off the running wagon, or find yourself partying 5 nights a week rather than sleep, or whatever, you wont give up on those little tips that have become a part of every day life - like brushing your teeth. or wearing pants. you know, things you just do.

So now that I am back, I am going to focus January 09 on those little things. Those things you can just do whether or not you are sticking to your bigger wellness projects.

Running Update and Early Rising

Summer's over and there is a lot to catch up on. First of all, my running. I kept going into July and I made it around the reservoir! I was so proud of myself that I gave myself a few days off. I know, you're expecting that I quit after that. But I didn't! At least not right away. I went back to doing my mile loop pretty regularly then I developed a severe issue. I will call it "weather justification." Rain = no run today. That one's pretty valid, I think. However heat and/or humidity also = no run today. So that pretty much ruled out running in late july and early august.

I took a solid 3 week break. I also took up trapezing (this is something I will get to later) which I counted as exercise (unfortunately I only do it once every two weeks or so).

Things have been completely hectic with work, and applying to school and planning a wedding so recently I determined that the only acceptable time to run is in the morning. It's totally logical. I, however, tend to want nothing to do with logic at 6am. Logic goes out the window. My brain and body are 100% in love with sleep. So I haven't been particularly consistent.

But the first day back was the hardest. Who knew all that progress would disappear after just 3 weeks?! But it did. Remember when I posted about my lungs feeling like they were going to explode in my very first run? I was back to that again. Totally infuriating.

So what I am working on now, is getting out of bed earlier. Not necessarily to go running, but that's great when that happens. The way I see it, if I can first just train my body to get used to waking up a little earlier, then I can phase the running in. But if I am waking up with the express purpose of running then the sleep version of me has too much motivation not to get up. We'll see how this goes...

Running

I have never been big on exercise. I get that its good for me, but going to the gym, working out for the sake of working out, I've never been able to do it. And the thing I hate most? running. Oh man, I am so not into it. And I've tried! I've tried treadmills, parks, running with people, alone, with music, podcasts, you name it. None of it makes me hate it less. And the runners high? A myth created by sneakers manufacturers. Despite all of this, about a month ago I decided to give it a try.

Here's what has happened so far:

Day 1: Buy new running shoes on a whim while accompanying Pete to get himself a new pair (Pete is one of those people who like running. He needs new shoes because he wore his out. This is not a problem I have ever experienced). Decide, upon trying on my pretty new shoes to run around the reservoir in Central Park. Only 1.6 miles. No problem. Stop running at about .9 miles. My legs feel okay, but holy cow my lungs are another story! Walk the rest of the way. Lessons learned: Baba O'Reilly (O'Riley? no idea) is not a good running song.

Day 2: Remember how I said my legs didn't feel so bad. On day 2 they feel bad. Apparently stretching the inner thighs is something important. No run today.

Day 3: New playlist, more effective stretching, reservoir here I come. Get to about the same place and experience a rather painful cramp. Pete lets me know that eating before running is another thing to avoid. I am learning so much!

Day 5: New plan. Not making it around the reservoir is not good for my self confidence. I pick a new, shorter, path. Its pretty much exactly a mile. I set out to run it, and I make it! no stops or anything!

Day 10: My new path makes me happy. I can make it a tad longer each time by starting closer to the apartment instead of in the park. I have also discovered that the songs I like to run to are the same as the songs I like for one minute dance parties. With a little bit more AC/DC mixed in.

Day 14: New lesson: 6:30pm is not the best time to run. I think that's when the marathon training groups run. Or something. Whoever they are they are mobbing the water fountains.

Day 21: Going out in the summer makes it really easy to come with excuses not to go running.

Day 23: The park is really pretty. I stretch in grass when I finish and this makes my legs itchy. maybe I should embrace nature a little less.

Day 26: "Since U Been Gone" inspires me to attempt to lengthen my run and finish it running up a hill. Hills are hard.

Day 30: Ready to try the reservoir again. Got my rocking music (although sadly not my iphone headphones which appear to be lost somewhere in the US Mail. boo.) and my positive attitude and I'm ready to go. Get about 1.25mi (I tracked my distance using runningmap.com. great site.) and I stop. Damn. Stupid reservoir straightaway. It messes with my head! I cant believe how little I had left. I walk for a little and then once I'm in the shade again I finish the loop running.


And now we're all caught up. One of these days I am going to do it. So far what I've learned is that I still don't much like running but I do love being in the park and I also like a good challenge. I'll keep you posted. Also, I would love some good running song recommendations. I am getting tired of all of my music!