The One Where I'm Frustrated

I don't know where to start with this semester.  Last semester I took an online class.  I can say that I don't care for that format.  Essentially I taught myself.  I read the book, I took notes based on information I thought I should know.  I took quizzes and tests.  I made an A.   I can't say I really learned anything.  I couldn't take a test today and tell you what I learned.

This semester I signed up for classes that my Math Study Group would be in and I could take another class in person.   It all worked out.

I don't care for the format of the math class, although I'm doing well, I'd rather have two lecture days instead of the modular math component.  I don't feel as prepared for hight math courses.  I have an A, so I guess I've learned something.

The other class this semester is Community Health.  Today is April 4th and the professor hasn't once lectured over what this class is about.   He called it a hybrid class.

This is the class description:

Emphasis is placed on relating course content to lifestyle to foster a better understanding of the major health issues of today. Current issues include, but are not limited to: emotional health, chemical use and abuse, human sexuality, major diseases, physical fitness, nutrition, aging, death and dying. This course does not satisfy the physical education activity course requirement. (3 Lec.) 

He has not one time discussed: 

Emotional Health
Chemical Use and Abuse
Human Sexuality
Major Diseases
Physical Fitness
Nutrition
Aging, Death or Dying 

I have a total of 9 pages of notes.  Mostly discussing the days we aren't meeting, how to use the quiz function of the Pearson Software, so we can take a quiz over content he hasn't covered. 

I've had online tests and quizzes.
I've had a "pop quiz" over obesity. (in person, on paper)
I've written a paper on cardio vascular disease.
I've given a presentation on Nutrition (Chapter 9). 

I haven't received grades.  He hasn't returned our papers.  He didn't provide us with a syllabus.   From one week to the next I'm not sure what this class is about.

We have 5 - 6 classes remaining.  Oh and a 100 question (in person, on paper) final!  Goody.

Two of the four students that were to give their presentation last week when I gave mine were absent.  So naturally I used their time.  Mainly because this was the only information this class would receive about the the content of the course.  It's not as if the professor has lectured or given us useful knowledge about this class.

After my (well over 5 minute) presentation he said he has one more question.  "Do you know how long five minutes is?"  I said yes, and I used it. 

I'm frustrated with this class, for several reasons.  

1) I wanted to continue to take classes with my study group, so I enrolled again at an out of county college; which means I'm paying over triple the tuition price to attend;  
2)  I haven't learned anything about this subject and it's a class I need for my degree, I'm not taking it for fun!
3)  It has been a waste of my time, I could have taken this class online, for less money and learned more and saved gas.
4) He's not doing the students any favors by his lack of preparation. 

5) He calls me an overachiever because I strive to keep my 4.0 GPA.

Seriously, Frustrated.

Currently looking up classes for summer and fall semesters.  Better check "rate my professor"

In my previous years in college, professors lectured over the actual content of the class, you took notes, you read the book, you participated in class, you learned.   I'm hoping this time around is similar and I've just had two fluke experiences. 

The One About Gluten And Salt and Sugar Oh My!

As it turns out the college has a library!!  When I pass by the library on the way to or from classes what I see is computer stations.  Rows and rows and rows of computers.  I've used study rooms in the library, still didn't see actual books.  

Last week I asked the attendant if they have books and if so where are they?  She directed me to a "back room" dimly lit.  Scary!! 

With a bit of trepidation I walked down the hall into the rows and rows of books.  Not seeing a card catalog or computer to look up a catalog, I roamed the aisles of books.  When it dawned on me, the card catalog is on my phone!!   

Without hesitation I look up "Nutrition" and nearly sprint to the row of books!! Ceiling to floor!! What?!?!  It must have looked like books were flying off the shelf!!!  Text books,  best sellers, books I've wanted to read, books with interesting titles.  I took a stack up to the desk and then asked how many I could check out and how long! 

Here are the titles: 

1. The Gluten Lie by Alan Levinovitz 

I read it in less than a week. Its a really good book about why we still cling to food myths and where they came from.  Very eye opening about science and how it has or hasn't shaped the Western Diet.  The Main Theme is to relax, stop letting headlines dictate your meals.  

A few quotes that stood out: 

For the true believer, the myth will always be more sacred than the evidence. 

Science Fiction is still Fiction.

Anxiety about what you eat can produce precisely the same symptoms linked to gluten sensitivity. 

People will worry that you have an eating disorder if you say 'I'm afraid I'm getting fat,' but they don't bat an eyelash if you say you're Paleo or gluten free. 

You can show the brain any reward - sugar, alcohol, sex, a movie - and it will light up.  That says noting about things being addictive. (regarding "sugar addiction"). 

'Every food is a potential demon...' Talking about food this way is harmful.  It creates neurotic eaters who see foods as pure or impure, natural or processed, good or evil.  

With every so-called superfood, it's always the same story; overhyped, under researched, superstitious nonsense, hidden under scientific rhetoric. 

2. Food Rules. An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

I didn't realize I picked this up, I actually intended to check out a different book.  This is a small book; less that 200 pages and is nicely illustrated.   I like this book.  It's simple and funny and talks about food in a sane way.   It's broken up into three sections.   What Should I Eat? (Eat Food)  What Kind Of Food Should I Eat? (Mostly Plants)  How Should I Eat?  (Not Too Much) 

A few quotes that I especially interest me as a dietetic student: 

People who get off the Western Diet see dramatic improvements in their health.  We have good research to suggest that the effects of the Western Diet can be rolled back and relatively quickly.  

Avoid food products that make health claims. 

Avoid foods pretending to be something they aren't.  I.E.  Margarine, non fat cream cheese, artificial sweeteners. 

Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans, rather than corporations. 

Drink Your Spinach Water. 

There is no such thing as a healthy soda. 

Don't eat cereals that change the color of the milk. 

Food is a costly antidepressant. 

 

I follow a few dietitian blogs: 

ImmaEatThat

Abby Langer

Both of these ladies philosophy is to enjoy food, eat well, and relax! Practice mindful eating.  Have a healthy relationship with food.  

3.  The Mindful Diet by Ruth Wolves, Ph.D., Beth Reardon, M.S., R.D., L.D.N. and Tania Hannan. 

Will be reading it this weekend!!  

4. The Industrial Diet.  The Degradation of Food and the Struggle for Healthy Easting.  By Anthony Winson 

5. Whole.  Rethinking the Science of Nutrition.  by T. Collin Campbell, PhD with Howard Jacobson, PhD 

I have two more weeks to read the books!  If I don't get through them, I can add 3 more weeks.  :) 

The One Where I Rub It In!

As promised my dry rub recipe for chicken.  In years past I've used a blend called Southwest Seasoning from Whole Foods.  However it hasn't been offered at my "local" store in several years, so I had to make my own!

I remembered a few of the ingredients and tweaked it until I had it just right, with my own twists of course!

1 Tablespoon Mortons Season All
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1.5 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1 Teaspoon Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper
1 Teaspoon Mrs. Dash Table Blend Garlic
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Dark Roast Coffee Grounds

The cumin and smoked paprika really set this rub off making the chicken have that grilled or liquid smoked flavor.   The surprise ingredients are of course cinnamon and coffee.   I was surprised myself when I read cinnamon on the Southwest Seasoning bottle however it gives it that but of a sweet finish.   The coffee adds to the richness.

I use it on chicken, ribs, pork chops and Chicken Lime Stew.  

Enjoy!

The One Where There Are New Beginnings

It's hard to say where this began really.  Was it when I started running or was it when I began reading labels? Was it when I realized that nutrition has a lot to do with how I feel? It's possible.

April 2009, I received news from my doctor that I needed to clean up my diet and get moving.  I did just that and have continued for nearly seven years.

I've researched how to become a registered dietitian off and on over the years.  I want to help people, inspire people, educate people on nutrition and how important it is to overall health.

After a series of life changing events in 2015 I took the leap.  I took a college entrance exam and enrolled!  EEEEEK!!

I'm on my way to the dream.  To completing a major goal.  To enter the health field as a dietitian.

Dietitian: An expert in prescribing therapeutic nutrition.

This blog will document my journey, challenges, nutrition, recipes and the hilarity of being a forty-something college student in the twenty-first century!

The One Where I Lost My Trash Can (or Mind)

I've thought a lot about this subject, I've thought  about what to title such an blogging adventure. 

Odd title I'll admit, but where is your trash can and where was it before? Is your kitchen trash can under the sink? near the stove? Have you ever moved your trash can to a new location? Mine for instance it at the end of the island. Occasionally I move it next to the sink depending on what I'm preparing. If I'm peeling a lot of veggies, I'll move it near the sink. Or when I've been handling chicken.

Sometimes I forget and leave the trash can by the sink, then head to the end of the island and remember, oh yeah! I moved it. I don't discard the trash on the floor where the can used to be. I dispose of it in the proper place. It would certainly get messy if I did that wouldn't it? Instead of making a new habit of discarding trash in the can near the sink, if I discarded the trash onto the floor where the can used to be located?

But we're people, right, capable of learning new habits. right? So what is all this talk of trash cans and their location?

Its simple really. You can remember that you've moved the location of the trash can and dispose of trash properly. Even when you (or I) forget, you head back into the correct direction, right?

Its the same with a healthy lifestyle. You've moved the location of your today and your future. So what if occasionally you forget. Just turn back toward the new location.

I've seen so many friends become discouraged lately. Forgetting their location. I've seen so many say they don't know how to get back. But I say to that if you can remember the new location of a trash can, you can remember how to stay on the journey!  And enjoy the journey.  If you got a speeding ticket you wouldn't go out and break all the other laws that day.   So what if you have pizza, you don't have to eat the whole pie! 

One piece of (or even the whole bag) __________ isn't the end of my journey.

I have to remember the scale is not a reflection of who I am, but a snapshot of a location on the journey.

I ask you today......where is your trash can?

The One Where George Lasso's The Moon

If you haven't seen It's A Wonderful Life, I encourage you to. I saw it repeatedly while at the hospital giving birth to my oldest son, back in the days of no cable! He was born over Christmas. When I say over Christmas; I mean a days worth of labor

PBS was the only station that was on 24 hours because they played that movie back to back from Christmas Eve to Midnight Christmas Day. I've seen the move. And even so, I really like it.

It's a great story. One where it reminds us of how many lives we touch. How we've changed them and they've changed us. How different the world would be if it weren't for the people we've bumped into or rubbed shoulders with throughout our life.

One of my favorite parts is where George and Mary are walking home after the dance, singing "Buffalo Gals." He's telling her about his goals to leave the dust behind him from this old town and travel the world; she's admiring an old abandoned house that she romanticizes over, throws a rock at what's left of the windows and makes a wish.

He says, in the tune of Buffalo Gals "What'd you wish for when you threw that rock?"

She doesn't say.

He says: What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary.

She says: I'll take it. Then what?

He says: Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll all dissolve, see... and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair... am I talking too much?

Am I talking too much? Hmmmmm.....

People talk too much don't they. Say too much. Say the wrong things. Hurtful things more times than good things. At least that's how it's been a lot of my life. I didn't grow up in the Bailey household. George and Mary weren't my parents. I think I would have liked that though. It seems as though they stuck together, worked things out, had a great community, had a good support system, had a guardian angel.

I didn't have those things, those people. A lot of my life I've experienced what I term "the wagging of tongues." Bad words, lack of encouragement. The message I received was, I'm too weak, I'm not good enough, I'm not......enough. This isn't for me, that isn't for me, I can't do this. Not only from my parents but from others. I began to be conditioned to think negatively about myself and about others. I began to be fearful about everything. Scared to try, Scared to fail. Scared to succeed, really.

After talking with a few of my friends over the past few days...weeks. It seems there's alot of tongue wagging going on. Maybe a lot of fear. Living in the fear bubble. Making what is said real; ingesting it and living as though the words are true about you and/or your circumstance.

It's like you've lasso'd the moon (words) and swallowed it....and it's all dissolve, see... and the moonbeams (words) would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair...

I did that. I swallowed the words and I made them real. And I lived out my life, my living and breathing and parenting and working and fellowshipping as though the words were real.

A sweet friend asked me recently, have you always been this confident. I said no, not by a long shot.

I don't know when I made the switch; when I stopped swallowing the words. I know it was a process of canceling the negative with the positive. In showing myself that I'm not those words, others thoughts or actions, I became more positive each day, more confident in myself. I had to "raise my deserve level".

You aren't others words, thoughts or actions either. You can make the choice today to stop swallowing the words. Even if you're plate is full, you don't have to eat it. Even if you take a bite, you can spit it out. Even if you ingest half the plate, guess what, you don't have to finish it!

Even if George Lasso's The Moon, you don't have to swallow it!

The One Where I Am The Driver

I met a friend at the bridge today, we had a great time, walking and talking. We talked more than we walked. It was a four mile walk, a four hour talk.

Having someone like minded gave me an opportunity to bounce alot of my thoughts off her and honestly I think we both have hours of blog material now! LOL And this is one of them....but I got to thinking about this particular part of our conversation and I hope it translates as well into blog as it did in person.

I hear the term or phrase: I fell off the wagon. I'm getting on the wagon. While I understand what the phrase means and that it applies to other aspects of life issues. 

To get there I want to sing a little song, some of you may know it and some of you may not. It's kind of a strange song to make the point but I hope it will make sense.

Time Warp - Rocky Horror Picture Show

It's just a jump to the left
And then a step to the right
Put your hands on your hips
And bend your knees in time
But its the pelvic thrust, that really drives you insane
Let's do the Time Warp Again!

I equate the Time Warp to being "on or off the wagon". And if it's a wagon, and you're ON the wagon, who's driving it? You? And if not you then who? Are the horses out of control? Hmmmmm....that's a foder for an whole other blog....back to this one.

If getting on the wagon is a jump to the left
And getting off the wagon is a step to your right
And while your off the wagon you put your hands on your hips (or calories) and bend your knees (only exercise when I feeeeeeeeeel like it)
I think the pelvic thrust that drives you insane is binge eating and guilt.

Are you really moving? Isn't it just a series of "a jump to the left and a step to the right"? How are you moving forward with all the side stepping?

And again I ask you WHO is driving the wagon?

At some point in this Journey, you have to decide to take the reigns, you have to do the work, you have to stop trying to fill the hole, the void, the abyss, the loneliness, the "someday syndrome", the I'll be happy when thoughts, with food, with bad food or good for you food, alcohol, whatever, you fill in your own blank (destructive behavior).

Until you stop being content (and who are we kidding, you're not content) with riding in the wagon, getting off and getting on and getting off and getting on...

Until you become the DRIVER (taking control of your life) and not the PASSENGER (blame anything else for "perceived failure") you will not be successful. I said it. You're right! This won't work.

Until you take the reigns, Until you make the choices: water and fuel, Until you use the Spark Tools, Until you get off the couch and put on the shoes. You're not moving forward. You're not the driver of the wagon.

Are you ready to grab the reigns?

Don't just think you are.
KNOW you are.
Don't just TRY.
DO.