Financial + Physical Wellness - Local Orowheat Outlets

When I discovered this place in my hometown of Escondido, California, I will admit, I drove right by. For YEARS.

Then I happened to move into an expensive condo right across the street from it. When money ran tight, I decided to poke my head in. It quickly became a regular haunt to stock up on the healthy, high quality breads that would have cost double, if not triple at the large chain grocery stores.

When I moved to Washington, I was on the look out for a similar location. I just happened to drive by one one day. I bought 3 months worth of bread for under $7. I just ran out, so I went back to stock up again.

Today's haul filled up this shopping bag:

Sure, it's a 20 minute drive (it's located in Bremerton, in case your curious).
But here's the itemized list -

 2 loaves of Double Fiber bread (Retail price: $4.70 each)
1 loaf Dark Rye (Retail price: $4.80 each)1 loaf Sunmaid Cinnamon Raisin (Retail price: $4 est.)
1 Pack Whole Wheat Buns (Retail Price: $4)1 Pack Thomas Hearty Grains Whole Wheat Bagels (Retail Price: $3)1 Pack Thomas Raisin Bagel (Retail price: $3)


TOTAL IF BOUGHT AT A MAJOR GROCERY STORE = $ 28.20!!!!!

 


MY TOTAL COST AT THE OUTLET STORE?

$8.64!  Yes, there was an additional $.96 savings as part of a promotion they are currently running, but they ALSO have a punch card, so you get punches towards freebies with each purchase, and 1 day each week is Double Punch Card day.

So I saved around $20 - and our freezer is full of healthful tasty treats! "Stock Up" style shopping also has some major pluses as well. I'm less likely to waste spend money at coffee shops if I have bagels and coffee at home. I also have all the nutritional information at my finger tips so I can make a better, more informed decision regarding what I put in my mouth.

Now, a small disclaimer here - I don't usually make sandwiches with my bread. I find that I need a good crunch, so I prefer to toast something yummy up instead, so my bread can go directly from the freezer to the toaster, keeping it fresher longer. However, I've also had no problems with bread spoiling from being left out.

Bread products can be such a great way to get fiber into our diets. One of the chief reasons "low-carb" diets work is because people often are lured into buying low quality bread because "it's cheaper". But if you shop like this, and look at the long term health benefits, is it really "cheaper"?

You CAN have your bread, and eat it too.

Physical + Emotional Wellness - Hugs are healthy!

Have you ever had one of those days where you've just needed a hug? I know I have! While I've never been a touchy-feely type (in fact, I worked hard to allow casual touch without feeling weird about it), I'll admit, there are times when I've needed one... or a few.

Even an independent soul like me can admit that we (as people) really do need one another. Whether it's a lover, a friend, a parent, or a family member, giving and receiving physical affection can have some startling, scientifically proven affects!

A team for the University of North Caroline studied the effects of hugs on 76 people in 2005. BBC News reports - "The study showed hugs increased levels of oxytocin, a "bonding" hormone, and reduced blood pressure - which cuts the risk of heart disease." (Source)


The study goes on to note that, both genders had a rise in oxytocin, and lower levels of cortisol.
 
What is cortisol, and why is it important?
Coristol is a hormone secreted during stressful situations. When released chronically or in excess it can have pathological effects including (source):

• Suppressed immunity
• Hypertension
• High blood sugar (hyperglycemia)
• Insulin resistance
• Carbohydrate cravings
• Metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes
• Fat deposits on the face, neck, and belly
• Reduced libido
• Bone loss

Women, even more than men, showed a decrease in cortisol and decrease in blood pressure.

So - whether your single or not, hug someone today!

Emotional Wellness - "Comfort Foods" gone Bad (the effects of processed food on mood)

I love french fries. I used to be well addicted to them.

On my drive home from work after a stressful day?
$2 and a drive through McDonald's got me a few minutes of peace - a small french fry and small diet soda.  After all, I "deserved" it and "the calories aren't THAT bad if I get the smallest size", right?

What I didn't realize was that I wasn't comforting myself. I was actually making any stress or depressed funk I was in WORSE, though I swear I didn't feel that way in the moment.

Processed foods contain lots of sodium (bad for the heart), sometimes lots of fat (bad for the heart again), and lots of sugar. Yes, even french fries have refined sugars (especially McD's).

So what do we know about refined sugars? Let's glimpse at the science behind it -

"Processed sugars and carbohydrates, which turn into sugar, cause a rise in the insulin level of the blood. This also raises the endorphins level, a natural mood upper in the brain. These sugars causes the body to have a chemical high, mentally, which results in a lift in mood. Continuous large doses of sugar and/or carbohydrates, overtime, usually cause the brain's endorphins sites to slow production or close sites to regulate the amount of endorphins in the brain. When the body cuts back on endorphin production it reduces the amount of endorphins available in the body at any given time. The lack of enough endorphin in the brain causes slight to deep depression. " - Annette Nay, PhD (Source)


Basically - it many of our processed "comfort foods" give us a "fix" - a short term high that will cause a long term crash as we continue the behavior. Eventually, we'll need more and more of the processed sugar/food to get the SAME 'high' as that first french fry.

But have you ever tried to go off crap food (french fries) cold turkey?! If you're anything like me, you find yourself a bit cranky and moody for a while! Why? Well, as Dr. Nay explains -

"...when processed sugar is stopped there are two chemical related reasons for the resulting depression. There is the glut of insulin depressing the system and the lack of endorphins in the brain. "


So you're CHEMICALLY depressed! Now isn't that a nasty thing? You went out for some french fries to make you feel better after a long hard day, and low and behold, you walk out needing ANOTHER DRUG (anti-depressants) to fix the "fix" from the sugar!

I don't crave french fries anymore. I broke my addiction by realizing that a small order of French Fries is just the first step down a dangerous path for me.

Now - that's just because I can't stop at 1 french fry. Moderation is key in all things in life. But since this is an Emotional Wellness blog - here are a few thoughts.

I'm still a stress eater. When I'm stressed out, I want to just eat and eat and eat. I don't keep stuff that will throw completely sabotage my weight around the house, so if I do reach for food when I'm stressed, it's an apple (same sugar addiction at work, only this is a healthy way to get a mood boost - "The difference between fructose, that is the natural sugar in fruit, and processed sugars is that fructose still has its chemical bonds intact. This causes the body to take a longer period of time to break down the different chemical bonds. As the body dissolves each type of sugar it is releases a moderate amount of sugar over time. This gives a continuous energy boost to the body and a slightly elevates mood (Whitney, Cataldo, & Rolfes, 1991)." )

I thought the information was interesting just to throw out there. If you're looking to control your anxiety or depression, it might be worth looking at just what you're literally feeding the inner dog. If it's processed foods and sugars, you might just be compounding the problem.

No one is cheerful all the time. That would be as unnatural as the processed foods we scarf down from drive-thru windows. It IS completely naturally to sit with our feelings and feel them whatever they are - sad, happy, stressed, etc. Stuffing emotions (with food or just by clamming up) only makes them harder to cope with.

So here's to "unstuffing" ourselves.

Comment activity for readers:

What do you "stuff" your stress or negative emotions with?

Emotional Wellness - FAQ "Feeding the Dog"

"If you wish the dog to follow you, feed him."

I love the visualization in this quote. Everyone knows it's true too for nearly all scenarios in life. It's true in a nature - water a seed and it will grow. Dedicate yourself to something, and you will succeed even if it takes some time.

This wasn't an easy lesson for me to really learn.
In my early 20's, I was the queen of feeding the "you're not good enough" dog and it shadowed me for years. It affected my relationships - I found myself constantly waiting for loved ones to roll over and realize what I already knew (that I wasn't "enough") and to bail on me. Being overweight and having PCOS really killed my self esteem. Add that to the abandonment issues that were already exaggerated (a very common side effect of being adopted), and I was a bundle of "I'm not good enough for anyone."

It took getting the rug pulled out from under me to realize that I'm just fine. Sure, I'm not perfect, but there is nothing more fatally deficient about me than anyone else. It took a lot of support from family, friends, and the help of an amazing Therapist to realize this simple lesson. See - but giving up on me and deciding that I wasn't "good enough", I was continuing in self-destructive behaviors like choosing not to nourish my body with healthful things which just added to the obesity problem and my self loathing. I was choosing relationships (or behaviors in relationships) that weren't what I wanted, feeding the "everyone will leave me because I'm not what they want" dog.

It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was feeding the dog that was destroying me.

Over 10 years past all that now, I look at my current life, and ya know what? I guess I stopped feeding that self-loathing dog, because he doesn't come around much anymore. But you know what I did start doing? I started feeding a pair of pups named "I Can" and "I Am". A director believed in me. Which started a chain reaction. Soon enough I realized that "I Can" and "I Am" were with me all along, I just had to start feeding them so that they would grow!

Soon enough, they did!

I found a strength there. Yes, it took friends I am forever grateful for to show me the way, but that's what friends are for! No one is an island into themselves.

Now, as I sit here writing this, I'm amazed at how far I've come. When I look in the mirror now, I don't see "You're Not Good Enough" anymore. I see "I Am". I am enough for me.

My favorite way to feed the dog is self-talk! Seriously - I've lived along long enough to know that occasionally ya just need a friendly voice telling Self-Loathing and Fear to "Get Lost!". So it's not unusual to see me working out and glancing in the mirror to offer a little pep talk to myself! I've "broken up" with different parts of my body several times (try it! It works!).

That doesn't mean I don't have my moments when I break down and cry about it. Sorrow is part of a healthy life as well. Grief is okay too. During those same deployments, I have a rule: I allow myself 24 hours of being a wreck. I know once I have a kids, this will be a luxury I won't get, but for now, I believe it's reasonable. I get 24 hours after he leaves to be miserable. After that - life goes on.

So what "dog" are you feeding - or not feeding?

Comment Topics:

"Break Up" with whatever dog you're feeding that needs to stop shadowing you.
"Feed" the dog that you want to follow you today.

Considering Going Vegan?

It seems like I keep running into Vegans over the past few years. I myself was a vegetarian from the age of 13-15, and ended up with an iron deficiency it took years to correct. So I haven't really gone back to it, but something has stuck with me from those days.

If I don't pay attention to my meat intake, I'll go veggie again. I find that when I'm focusing on high nutrient, low calorie foods, I end up eating a lot of salads, steamed veggies, beans, etc, and I naturally veer away from meat.

So it's been really great to see all these people turning Vegan as a healthy lifestyle choice. Now, there is a "right way" and a "wrong way" to do ANY lifestyle. Meat in excess will kill you (heart disease). Just veggies can lower your immune system and still make you fat (beer and wine, for example, are perfectly vegetarian friendly, and will still make you sick and/or fat in excess).

If you're thinking about making the change, check out my blogger pal Kyle's 21 day recap of going Vegan by clicking here. Enjoy!

Physical Wellness - What's in that milky white Stuff?

We all know that what we put in our bodies is essential to fueling our day to day existence.

When I turned 20, I started getting ear infections. I'd never (to my recollection) had trouble with them before. Suddenly, it seemed to be my body's reaction to any form of stress all of a sudden. I also noticed, as I got older, I developed allergies to pollen. Changes in the weather also left me blowing my nose until I looked like a human relative of Rudolph.

Then someone mentioned "The Singer's Diet", which wasn't much of a change from how I naturally am inclined to eat, except for one thing - No (or limited) dairy. You see, dairy (cow milk particularly) creates and encourages the production of mucus in our bodies. Honestly, when I cut out the cow juice (or cut it back to the occasional cheese, yogurt, or ice cream, rather than a "daily" food) I felt world's better almost immediately... and I lost weight. Most people, it turns out, have some form of mild milk allergy, and usually don't recognize it because symptoms rage from what I was experiencing, to constipation and gas.

Intrigued, I did a bunch of research, and here's what I found:

We are the only animal who wean our own children, only to give them the boiled milk of another animal. Even cows wean their calves off of it. But we decided it's healthy for us to force cows to produce it so that we can drink it? This logic was pointed out to me in high school by a chemistry teacher.

Dr. Spock (no, not the one from Star Trek, the famed 1980's pediatrician the revolutionized the way pediatrics is practiced in the USA) stated: "Cow's milk is not recommended for a child when he is sick-or when he is well, for that matter. Dairy products may cause more mucus complications and cause more discomfort with upper respiratory infections."

I know what you're thinking, "But it's a great source of Calcium and Vitamins, right?" Sure, but also, consider it's intended use. Just like breast milk is to humans, cow milk is intended to help a calf grow to the point where it can eat SOLID FOOD so that it can eat and create the calcium it needs to grow past the suckling point. How do adult cows get their calcium? Through eating leafy greens, just like we should be doing, once we have teeth and can chew and swallow. Also, milk doesn't have the magnesium balance we need to ABSORB the calcium cows milk provides anyway.

(Rumor also has it that the USDA has the highest allowance of mucus and blood in milk when compared to other industrialized countries, but I was unable to confirm this with my research skills. Wouldn't surprise me one bit though.)

So other than "It tastes good," I couldn't find a reason to keep be drinking milk. Sure, I'll have the occasional ice cream, cheese, or yogurt, but it's rarely a "daily" occurance anymore. I lean towards Almond Milk (unsweetened vanilla) whenever possible. Soy milk is a close 2nd, but certain medical conditions I have keep me smart about how much artificial hormones I'm putting in my body (soy milk has estrogen).

  Sure, I don't drink a big glass of milky white stuff anymore, but it's perfect in cereal, protein shakes, coffee, and other milk made products. I even bake with it.

The more I learn about what I'm putting it, the better I feel about my fuel choices - and the healthier I feel over all.

 Just a little "food" for thought!

Journey on!