Motivational & Self-Help for Everything!

I am about to push...er, recommend a book to the universe (or at least anyone who reads this blog :D ) but, before I do that, I've got to do a build-up first or this might be a pretty boring post.

Some of you might be aware that I decided to finally start watching "The Biggest Loser" show this coming new season (BTW, which premieres on Tuesday, September 20th!) but I like to get caught up with any show I decide to watch that's been on for a while.  So onto Hulu I went and all the way back to the very first episode of the show.  As I first started watching those episodes back-to-back, I really could NOT stand Jillian Michaels! Seriously.  I thought she was mean and thoughtless and too severe (especially in contrast to Bob Harper's style which has also changed a lot from the beginning of the show). But then something happened.  Slowly, I started realizing that she had a really great psychological understanding of why people get to that "Biggest Loser" stage in their lives.  She doesn't take very long to realize what their triggers are or what the "chinks in their armor" are and then she digs in - very much like a doberman but the hurt is going to make those people (hopefully) realize what their issues really are and make them bring out those issues into the light of day.  Breaking someone down so they can build themselves back up!  It's brilliant!  Well, I think she uses her abilities brilliantly :D  Yes, even when she's yelling & insulting them as they sweat buckets to endure the physical side of her technique.  But, I believe, she does it to bring out what needs to be brought out by removing barriers, making them so raggedly tired that there's no energy left in them to fight back and keep their emotional walls up.  Now, mind you, I'm not saying that I know how she thinks or anything but all of this has just been small observations as I progressed through the numerous episodes that I watched over the Summer.  I'm also not about to start worshiping her (even though I believe there is a goddess in every woman) or anything but I can acknowledge that she knows her stuff AND not just weight loss, dieting, and exercise!  

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.  I was tired of listening to music during my workouts so I decided to download a few motivational audiobooks.  I tried one and found that I had much better focus during my exercise routine than when I listened to music.  I went on to a second audiobook but didn't really care so much for it. I went back online to find something else for my next workout.  As I was scrolling through some "same ol', same ol'" types of motivational books, I had an idea and decided to search for something written by Jillian Michaels, thinking a fitness motivational audiobook would be really cool.  But, it wasn't her fitness books that caught my eye.  It was another book she released earlier this year called "Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life"  I downloaded it and I haven't regretted it one single bit!  If you get your hackles up at the mention of something written by Jillian Michaels, let me just say this to you: Open your mind and give her book a chance because it is profound!   It's very much her personality in the sense that it's "no holds barred" and she uses strong language on occasion to get an important point or two across but it's well organized with information and ideas that JUST MAKE SENSE!  The audiobook makes me feel like she's really standing there, next to me (or jogging alongside me) and talking to me like a very emotionally intelligent (& mentally intelligent) friend who's giving me her sage advice.  For example, why do some of us feel guilty if we acquire something we've wanted/desired for a long time?  Why do we feel guilty about having wants & desires for something more than what we have?  Do you want to know what her take is on this concept? Get the book! Oh wait, you know what?  Please get the book and read it - let your mind be open to see the possibilities because what if the way you've been thinking and doing things has given you the same undesired results repeatedly, does that mean the next time you try doing or thinking the same way it'll work out better? If you believe that, then please don't get the book :-)

So, with that said - love her or hate her, you know she helps people get results and achieve their goals, and not just with weight loss and exercise.  I read a lot and, honestly, there have been only two books up until now that have helped me be a better person emotionally and have helped me find my paths in life - this book will definitely be the third on that list (scroll to the end if you want to see my list). Get this book - read it or listen to it then go back and do it again & do the exercises the second round - that's what I'm doing (a little difficult to write answers down when you're trotting along on a treadmill or on the pavement)! 

Thank you, Jillian Michaels, for writing something so perceptively right! 

My emotional & life path changes have been transformed for the better by the following books:

1) Living with Joy, by Sanaya Roman (yes, it's a new age, spiritual book but it made me realize how much of my life's reactions are my own choice);

2) The Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives, by Michael Newton (this was the first time that I felt I had learned the truth of our existence, it FELT right);

3) Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life, written by Jillian Michaels (this is just an addition to everything else I've learned about myself, the universe, and life)

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Milestones! Oh, and Potassium!

     So this week I was able to hit a few milestones in taking charge of my own health.  I've been eating a vegan diet now for just under two months and I got my cholesterol tested last week to see what sort of effect my new eating habits have had on those numbers.  I was pleasantly surprised (and a little not surprised) to learn that my cholesterol numbers had dropped significantly enough to astound my doctor's nurse (who was the one calling me with the results).  My total cholesterol dropped 54mg!!  LDL went down 35mg but my HDL also went down 13mg so I need to work on bringing up those good fats in the next couple of months.  My triglycerides also dropped 30mg.  All-in-all, I think this marks quite a wonderful amount of progress but wait, there's more!!  I also realized that I've now lost approximately 16 pounds in the almost two months that I've changed my eating habits - and that, was like icing on the cake (vegan icing, of course)!!  All of this has made my week, maybe even month!  Of course, I'm sure that it wasn't just the diet but all of this was helped along by a good amount of exercising almost every day and THAT was more difficult than changing my eating habits.
     I've been finding that this whole vegan diet was just meant to be for me.  It feels easy and the food I'm discovering is a no-brainer when it comes to making it.  No more realizing at 4pm that I forgot to take a slab of meat out of the freezer and that it won't defrost in time for dinner only to give up and announce that we'd be going out to eat!  Now, around 4pm, I'm considering what I feel like eating, go to the store to pick up whatever veggies, grains, or additives needed to make it, and dinner is done within two hours!  I tried planning and buying a week's worth of meals but I got tired of the vegetables wilting or rotting before I was able to use them.  So now, I kind-of fly by the seat of my pants everyday.  I try to make sure I have leftovers so I can eat the next day for lunch but if not, I always keep tomatoes, mixed greens, broccoli, tofu (and/or tempeh), and vegan bacon in the fridge for a quick salad or a yummy VBLT (VeganBaconLettuceTomato) sandwich.  When I make a soup or stew, I freeze half of it to use another day that I don't feel up to creating something.  It's very liberating for me!  I do plan well-rounded nutritionally dense foods for every day's meals, remembering to keep it colorful to get a good balance of vitamins and minerals.  My copy of the book "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis, RD and Vesanto Melina MS, RD is my stalwart companion in keeping up with how much of what I need to eat to keep as healthy balanced as possible...if you're also embarking on a vegan adventure, I highly (again) recommend that book!
  

     So, besides needing to raise my HDL cholesterol and lowering the rest of all that a bit more, my other challenge has been potassium intake.  I just can't seem to get enough from what I've been eating.  Now, before anyone jumps on the banana wagon (LOL!), I know bananas have a lot of potassium but I also know that a baked potato has WAY MORE potassium than a banana. I've never been a big fan of bananas but I'll eat them if I have to and potatoes (love them) are way too high in calories to eat more than once in awhile (1 banana is 110 calories & 450mg of potassium; a baked potato is 290 calories for a whopping 1081mg of potassium)!  So I've been researching other sources of potassium that I can "pepper" my meals and snacks with and I've found out some interesting things:

(According to USDA.gov website):
1) Figs.  1 fresh medium fig - 116mg potassium / 37 calories
             1 dried fig - 87mg / 21 cals

2) Canned tomato paste (unsalted).  1 cup = 2657mg / 215cals
3) White beans. 1 cup = 1004mg / 249 cals
4) Raisins (packed). 1 cup = 1236mg / 493 cals
5) Spinach, cooked (without salt). 1 cup = 839mg / 41 cals

These are just a few of the ones I looked at but there seems to be more than I thought there was.  Plus, the list made me recheck my calorie tracking software and I found out that potassium numbers are not always given (even though I know the product has potassium).  Might be that I'm getting enough and I just don't realize it.  Nonetheless, living in a very humid area and working out hard...well, let's just say that I don't bother sitting down on our couch until after I've showered :D Minerals must be replaced constantly here.  It's too bad we can't have a machine in our homes that we can test our own blood every month to check vitamin/mineral serum levels ourselves.  Wouldn't that be grand??  I'd use it just to make sure my body has what it needs to function like it's supposed to.

If you want to check out the USDA's nutrient database sorted by potassium rich foods, here's the link.  (By-the-way, animal products only start showing up on this list at 850mg of potassium, just saying.)

Don't these look yummy?!? 

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