When nutrition gets neglected
Although fitness-wise I’ve been doing very well on the health front, my nutrition has been veering wildly off course since Folk Fest. In fact, the night before my race on Saturday, I had a beer and then ate dinner at a diner: cheeseburger with lots of French fries and a cookie. My stomach was aching all weekend. On top of that, I had some delicious chocolate cake on Saturday (thank you Robin!) as well as another burger and Annie’s mac and cheese (leftover from the camping weekend… it tasted too processed for my liking), a couple peanut butter cookies and plenty of cinnamon toast crunch cereal.
After all of those French fries my body was crying for some water. I felt like I was sodium in human form. Thus I have spent the last couple days eating buckets of salad to nurse my body back to health via deliciously nutritious foods.
I’ve also been hard at work putting together a chickpea burger recipe. I will post it when I’m satisfied with it. By which I mean to say, I really enjoy the patties, but everyone else only finds them to be mediocre so when someone else agrees with me on the taste then I will be satisfied that it’s a good enough recipe to share. But I will tell you this right now: it features homemade ketchup and a mixture of flaxseed meal and wheat germ in place of breadcrumbs. Superfood in a burger right there.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about happiness and what really makes us happy. I like the idea put forth in this wee article about how good nutrition plays a major role in personal happiness. It states that mangoes, high in vitamin A and C, help to stabilize mood and treat depression. Perhaps the mounds of mangoes that I ate in Cambodia were part of the reason why my mood changed so drastically while I was there? This might also explain why I eat so many grains: they help deal with feeling cold and I am always cold (or maybe grains are just really, really tasty. That could also be a possibility).
Regardless, what we eat changes our bodies and often our minds as well.
It seems, then, that because of my recent poor nutrition, this is a very opportune time to be visiting my grandparents for the weekend! They live a province away and it’s been a year since I last saw them. My grandma is one of the best cooks that I know (aren’t grandmas always?), so I’m really looking forward to her homemade goodies. It will also be great to cook and bake with her. I can’t think of a better way to nourish my mind and body than spend four days in the company of my grandparents, cooking and eating good food, discussing our favourite authors, and swapping political viewpoints.
It’s also especially opportune because so many of you will be at the BlogHer conference, so this will cheer me up that I can’t go. I’m sorry that I won’t get to meet all of you- that’s what happens when a conference is so popular that it gets filled up before I register. Sighs. I hope those of you who are going to BlogHer have a fantastic time!
How will you be nourishing your body this week/weekend?
I’ll be away from the computer from Thursday through Sunday- but be sure to check back here because there are some excellent pre-planned posts scheduled for while I’m away! Taking a break from the computer screen definitely counts as a healthy activity 🙂
Hope you have a fabulous time! Eat well!
have a great time!
I have to say I thought id be bummed last year when I didnt go to blogher—but I really wasnt at all.
it wasnt my time.
(does that make any sense? perhaps not…I guess I thought Id broooood all weekend :))
anyway, Im disappointed you wont be at our panel for sure.
if youre so moved to join in look here:
http://watrd.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/the-pledge/
read
ponder
if you are in sign the pledge and let em know I sent you.
share with friends.
it’s time for us to make some changes in ourselves and in the greater world/for the future.
(and yes—feel free to delete this comment :))
So much of eating is a learned behavior. Learning to eat healthy fare will go a long way toward a happier life.
Hopefully, you won’t hear those cheeseburgers and fries calling to you like the Sirens to Ulysses 🙂
Mmmmmm…those peanut butter cookies sound gooooood!! 🙂
Right now, I’m on a smoothie kick…sweet and nutritious as long as you are careful about what you put into it! 🙂
Though in general we’re doing a good job staying on track with nutritious eating, of course we have jags where we go off course. Inevitably our bodies respond when we have these jags. I just feel better when I stay on track. Hoping I can teach my kids that junk food makes you feel junky in the long run!
Some interesting points..Eating healthy definitely makes me feel better to the point where I think that I prefer eating healthy foods to junk food. The benefits of eating a nutritious diet both in terms of physical and mental changes are awesome.
Hanlie- oh I will 😀
MizFit- I love the notion of We Are The Real Deal. And will sign the pledge as soon as the page is working properly!
Dr. J- ugh, no worries there… I’ve had enough heart attacks on a plate to last me a looooong time.
RickyRae- smoothies can be super nutritious! And the cookies are really excellent. 101 Cookbooks always has reliable recipes.
Cathy- I feel better when I stay on track too. (So WHY do we veer off?!)
Tony- sure is! It’s amazing what we can do for our bodies.
No sugar! That’s it. As much as my taste buds love it my body really doesn’t. Have a great weekend.
I’m guilty of munching on some cinnamon and hazelnut cereals the past few days! 😀 I think that these occasional less nutritious munching are normal, though. Sometimes we just have to satisfy the taste buds.
Eat well at your grandma’s! I’m sure you’ll have loads of food to satisfy the taste buds, stomach, and heart.
This is really important, because for those who are trying to lose weight, it is possible to lose weight without eating nutritionally balanced meals, but their health will probably suffer.
I know for me, when I eat junk I feel like junk. Not if I just have one chocolate candy, but if I overindulge in junk, which even after losing all my weight, still happens occasionally! Noboby is perfect – right?
I’m totally bummed to be missing blogher. Wasn’t sure I’d want to go, didn’t jump on it and… 3 seconds later they were sold out.
Ah well, maybe next year!
Oh yes, that ‘morning after’ feeling! Still, it sounds like loads of fun!
Enjoy your visit with your grandparents! I’ll miss you at BlogHer!
Spring Girl- I agree, my body’s the same with the added sugars.
Mia- yep! And it’s true. Sometimes it’s necessary.
Diane- me too 🙂
Crabby- we’ll go together next year!
Cammy- it HAS been loads of fun 😀
sounds like this weekend is exactly what you need! grandmas are the best-est cooks, never fails 😉
I’ve definitely noticed the effect of food on mood. Especially since I’ve started watching what I eat, if I indulge in “comfort” eating, I really pay for it the next day. Also, Mangoes are the best food ever.
Have fun at your grandparent’s house!
You have a great time, Sagan! And enjoy having your food choices made for you for a few days!
Sagan, you inspire me! Great post.