0 I Hate Being Obese

Hi,

I was looking for something else when I opened up an old workbook today and started to read through the first few pages. The workbook was a free download called "Fat Brain Lies" from Carlene Jones of http://www.rawfoodbootcamp.com/ that I had printed out and put in a three-ring binder.

I had remembered that I had only done part of the workbook because it took me so long to finally get "before" pictures of me -- the instructions were strict to not go ahead in the workbook until you had your pictures. It is obviously a serious book and if you aint ready, you aint ready. But if you are ready, I think it could help a person get on the right track.

As I was reading, this statement from near the front of the book set me to thinking:

"Oh you may be saying, I dont deceive myself about this, I hate being obese. Well then, my question is, if you hate it so much and you know how horrible it is for you, why have you not done something about it? Hold that thought, I am sure you have many reasons, and we will talk about most of them in this workbook."

I pictured myself being the leader of a group talking about losing weight and how I might borrow the same thought but give it a different approach. I wanted to record what had occurred to me as a reminder and encouragement to myself so here is what I came up with:

You may be saying, "I dont deceive myself about hating being obese. I do hate it. My question for you is this: "If you hate it so much and you know how horrible it is for you, why have you not done something about it?" Stop. Dont answer that question. The reason I dont want you to answer that question is that what you will come up with will be the same old story youve been telling yourself forever. Your current answer to that question is simply a distraction.

Continue thinking about the question. It is called "holding the question." Again, Dont come up with all your excuses and reasons and hurt feelings. Just think about the question: If you hate being obese so much and you know it is a horrible situation for you, why have you not done something about it?

Now, lets change the question into a statement:

I hate being obese and Im doing something about it, right now. 

Now write down all the things you are currently doing to combat obesity in your own life. If there are things that you are currently doing, write them down as a way to remember that you are already working towards your goal and you are moving right along. This is what I am doing and why:

1. Journaling every day -- I make a record of my BP, my BG, and my weight every morning. I write down what I have eaten during the day at the end of the day. I often write down what Ive eaten at the time I ate it. I write down my feelings or experiences on some days as needed. I record my exercise activities (time and duration). I write down what my current weight loss goal is every morning as a reminder of where I am currently headed. Why: this keeps me focused and on track more than anything else I have ever tried. Without it, I wander around getting into trouble.

2. Exercise three times a week -- Even though last week I did not exercise due to illness, I am resuming my three-times a week aquatic routine. Why: because it helps me to strengthen my muscles and also reduces pain.

3. Fasting once a week -- Why: it helps me to have an actual calorie reduction for the week and also gives my body a rest and time to recuperate from always eating. It has also moved my weight loss into active gear. It helps me to continue to lose weight.

4. Eat sensibly the rest of the week: -- Why: I have to eat sensibly or I either start putting weight on (even though I am fasting) or, I injure my health in some way. Too many carbs not only causes weight gain, it fouls up my kidneys and my blood glucose levels.

5. Visit my doctor -- Why: I visit my doctor because having to report to someone else who is going to actually put me on a scale and check my weight, take some blood and measure my blood sugar and kidneys plus what ever else needs to be checked is a very real incentive to me. My doctor is my accountability person. If I know I will be seeing my doctor in a few weeks it forces me to actively do what I should do in order to have good results there. I dont like to not have good results in front of my doctor.

Those five things are the things that I am currently doing. Your list may be entirely different. In fact if you are only just beginning to do something about your obesity, today, you might list things such as:

1. investigate programs until I find the one that works for me or that I am willing to try.

2. Ask self: What do I already know how to do that will help me lose weight in a sensible manner?

3. What can I do today to begin going in the right direction?

4. Do number 3 until you are finished with number 1.

Even these may not be right for you. You must address the statement (I hate being obese and Im doing something about it, now.) with what is real for you.

In the end what you must come up with is:

1. A way for you to reduce the number of calories you eat per week. 

I have the following statement in a small banner highlighted in yellow on my journaling page: TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOU HAVE TO EAT LESS. This is the simplest, most basic truth about losing weight that there is.

You must come up with a system of calorie reduction that you can live with. It can be done by eating smaller portions. It can be done by eliminating your "hot button" foods (foods that make you gorge, like junk food or candy and sweets). It probably should include eating more vegetables and protein and eliminating as much food as possible that is made of wheat and sugar or other starchy carbs. It might also include fasting one day a week. It might be easiest for you to join a weight loss company (like Jennie Craig or Weight Watchers) or group (like starting one in your living room). You decide what you are willing and able to do. Then do it.

 2. A way to get your body moving and make it a ritual or habit in your own life.

In the beginning you must start out small or slow and not overdo it. If you are not fit, then walking for one or two minutes inside the house may be all you are able to do. But if you do it every day, and embrace the goal of "improvement at your own pace," you will soon be able to go for five minutes at a time. Then you can think about moving on to longer durations -- up to about 30 minutes, or more as you are able. Begin where you are today but get going.

Exercise will not actually help you lose weight to the degree that eating less will. But you cannot leave out some form of exercise that you are able to do. Everyone always talks about walking as the simplest form of exercise because all you have to do is put on your walking shoes, open up the front door, go outside, and walk.

I agree with that statement but I hate walking in the Georgia heat so I exercise in the pool and if I have to miss the pool, and am able, I get on my Aerofit (or treadmill) at home and go.

3. A support system that actually helps you to maintain your sanity and reach your goal.

Eating less and moving more are the only ways a human can lose weight, but if you dont also set up some kind of self supporting sanity and motivational activities, too, then you will be much less likely to accomplish the first two. Notice that all three of these things are ACTIVITIES. Eating. Moving. Relating.

My best self supporting activities are my journaling and visiting my doctor. My journaling lets me record my own statistics and also share my own feelings and thoughts as the days go by. My blogging helps keep me sane and also attempt to encourage and support others who may be in a similar boat. They both keep me on track and sane. They help me make corrections where corrections are needed by letting me see when and where corrections are needed.

Seeing my doctor makes me accountable to another human being -- one with authority to make accurate judgements and statements about my health, and prescribe changes that need to be incorporated as needed. My doctor is my coach.

The support system my cousin Julianna has been successful with was to join Weight Watchers. She goes every week for her accountability weigh in. She learns tips, tricks, and strategies for eating fewer calories and losing weight. The most important thing is that she actually incorporates what she learns there into her daily life. She participates with her program on a daily basis -- she does what they tell her to do. She is now about 10 pounds from goal weight and I say, "here, here, way to go, Julianna!"

You need to support yourself and your sanity. If you are obese you will not become thin over night. Embrace the journey and simply do today what you can do, according to your own, ideas, beliefs and strategies. You are in charge of your life and body and reactions. Just like you have your own system to accomplish other chores in a timely manner, you also need to set up your own system for accomplishing the goal of conquering obesity.

Do what you are able to do, right now, and then repeat it day by day. Today is the only day you can participate in any activity. Today is the Only Day There Is. If youre not doing anything about it today, then youve succombed to your own distracting stories and emotional reasons. You can move beyond it by "holding the question" ("If you hate obesity so much and you know how horrible it is for you, why have you not done something about it?") and changing it to the statement: "I hate being obese and Im doing something about it, now."

Your body is capable of improving. You can make your body stronger and more fit by letting go of all those old ideas and start living in your own new statement, today.

I hate being obese and Im doing something about it, now. 

Go for it!

Be encouraged!!

Love you much,

Be back soon,

Marcia







 


 

0 Veggie Might Top 5 Reasons I Love New York A Recipe

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

Today, my Fair Readers, is the 15th anniversary of the day my pal JBF dropped me, my two milk crates of books, and my dreams in front 201 W. 91st, New York, NY. Our journey originated in Orlando, took side trips to our respective familial homes in North Carolina and Virgina, and ended with JBF settling in Princeton, NJ and me in the Big City. Fifteen years, three apartments, and 17 roommates later, I’m still here and loving New York.

Top 5 Reasons I Love New York

1. Each neighborhood is like its own little city. Residents get to know their neighbors, the best places to buy groceries, which laudromat gives the most time per quarter, and the coffee shop with the most lenient WiFi/purchase policy. New Yorkers are as proud of and loyal to their neighborhoods as Europeans or South Americans are to their countries during the World Cup. HELL’S KITCHEN RULZ!!!1!!1!

2. Public transportation! Not only does the MTA get you from point A to point B (most of the time), it’s a world-class entertainment venue. Nowhere else can you learn cutting-edge modern dance moves, stay abreast of the hottest indie music, and have your picture made for $2.15 a pop.

3. Governors Island, the car-free, bike-loving island oasis in New York Harbor. Governors Island is dotted with art installations, criss-crossed by bike paths, and inviting for a picnic or just chilling.

4. The food, of course. In one afternoon, you can grab brunch at one of a million amazing restaurants, pick up your fresh produce at the farmers’ market, snag a homemade popsicle from a street vendor, and hit the Mexican/Korean/Indian/West African/Chinese grocery for the spices and miscellany needed to make a delicious home-cooked supper.

5. Dinner parties/potlucks/game nights in cramped apartments with brilliant friends and home-cooked food. No one who lives in New York on a work-a-day budget can afford to eat out all the time, so the best way to socialize and economize is to cook for each other. Juggling plates while 4-to-a-couch with a few folks on the floor is part of the charm. Karaoke is a bonus.

Happy anniversary, New York. I made you this mushroom quinotto.

~~~

If this post tips your canoe, swim on over to
Pumpkin Orzo with Sage
Butternut Squash Risotto
Swiss Chard with Mushrooms

~~~

Quinoa-Millet Mushroom Risotto (Quinotto)

adapted from Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero
serves 4

Note: The recipe calls for white wine, but I used a substitution of apple juice and apple cider vinegar. I used a blend of quinoa and millet because I was low on the big Q; go all the way with one or the other and my blessing. I also tossed in a few beet greens, which go nicely with this dish, but I would advise against going overboard with the greens. The mushrooms should be the star.

1/2 lb crimini mushrooms
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in a mesh strainer
1/3 cup millet
1/2 cup apple juice + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or 1/2 white wine)
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
3 cups hot vegetable broth or stock
1 cup beet greens, shredded (or any leafy green)
1 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
fresh cilantro or parsley to garnish

Instructions
1. Brush or wipe dirt from mushrooms and slice into matchsticks. In a large saucepan, sautee mushrooms in half the olive oil over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Put mushrooms in a bowl and set aside.

2. In the same saucepan, heat the remaining oil and sautee shallots and garlic for 5-7 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add quinoa and millet to onion/garlic mixture. Cook for 2 minutes or until grains become golden.

3. Add apple juice + vinegar to deglaze the pan, and stir. Add dried spices and jalapeño and cook for another minute. Stir in mushrooms.

4. Here comes the real stirring: pour in about 1/4 of broth to grain/vegetables. Bring broth to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and, stirring frequently, allow grain to absorb the broth. Then add another fourth of the broth, stirring until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process until all the broth is absorbed and the grains are light and fluffy, about 30-35 minutes.

5. Salt and pepper to taste along the way. Cover and allow quinoa/millet to rest for 10 minutes. Drizzle with lime juice, toss in beet greens, and fluff with a fork. Serve with fresh cilantro. Your guests will be impressed that you made such a brilliant, flavorful, earthy dish in such a tiny kitchen.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price per Serving
282 calories, 7.7g fat, 5.15g fiber, 7.6g protein, $1.31

Calculations
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms:: 64 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $2.00
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil: 180 calories, 21g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.12
3 shallots: 90 calories, 0g fat, 9g fiber, 6g protein, $0.60
2/3 cup quinoa: 417 calories, 6.7g fat, 8g fiber, 16g protein, $0.97
1/3 cup millet: 251.7 calories, 2.7g fat, 5.6g fiber, 7.3g protein, $0.28
1/2 cup apple juice + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar: 57 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.41
1/2 tsp dried thyme: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
1/2 tsp dried oregano: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
1 jalapeño pepper: 4 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.16
3 cups hot vegetable broth: 60 calories, 0.3g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.57
1 cup beet greens: 8 calories, 0g fat, 1g fiber, 1g protein, $0.16
1 tbsp lime juice: 4.75 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.05
salt and pepper to taste: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
fresh cilantro or parsley to garnish: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
TOTALS: 1128.5 calories, 30.7g fat, 20.6g fiber, 30.3g protein, $5.24
PER SERVING (totals/4): 282 calories, 7.7g fat, 5.15g fiber, 7.6g protein, $1.31

0 What Some Would Call Diabesity I Call Diapression

Its a blue Sunday today; a Sunday marked with gray Fall skies, transitioning into Winter blues. The trees are mostly, leafless, and its long past the time when you could get away with taking an afternoon stroll outside with just a light sweater.  Looking out into the landscape, its hard to image all this pervasively barren world will come right back to life next Spring.

Such can be the seasons of Diabetes.

There are moments when one feels invincible, unstoppable... committed more than anything in the world, and running full steam ahead.  And then there are the not so honest moments; the moments when one speaks to others, gently keeping behind the curtains the deep feelings of struggle bubbling within.

Depression, and other mental health concerns, are probably the most ignored symptoms of Diabetes.  Though, quite honestly, it is hard to call Depression a symptom when studies have shown that if you are predisposed to Diabetes, it really doesnt matter which one came first: if you had Depression first, it may very well lead to Diabetes; and if you had Diabetes first, it may very well lead to Depression (http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20101122/new-links-seen-between-depression-and-diabetes).

Adding to the clinical predisposition for Depression is the heavy guilt burden being heaped upon patients by outsiders, and by what I would call an "Uneducated Doctor Epidemic", compounded with the "Lazy Researcher Virus," and exacerbated by the "Ratings Addicted Media Tsunami."

Seriously.

What comes of all of this is a perfect storm of judgement and derision toward people with Diabetes (indiscriminate of the type.) Not that the type should even matter; NO ONE gave themselves diabetes.  No one wants this disease.  But its easier to mock overweight people; its easier to blame them for disease, and economic burdens. Why else would they come up with such a thoughtless, hurtful, and insensitive term as "Diabesity?" Because its much easier than having to self examine the health itself of our country...  Who wants to look at pollution, pesticides, HFCS, BPAs, FDA guidelines, Big Pharma medicine side effects, and COI within health guideline organizations, when there are fat people we can accuse of giving themselves a disease.  (Never mind that 33.3% of Americans are obese, but only 8.8% of Americans are diabetic, and that includes all types.) This leaves most diabetics, frazzled (to say the least), most of the time.

Now, Depression in itself, is a poorly understood, and stigma filled illness. Ive had Depression since I was, at least, 12 years old and I cant tell you the number of times people have advised me to just look on the sunny side of life, to accept Jesus, or to just shut up and deal with it. Many people really cant tell the difference between the occasional bout of sadness, and clinical Depression... and just like with Diabetes, few medical professionals are equipped with the tender understanding required to help a patient overcome and manage Depression, or monitor a diabetic patient for symptoms of Depression. Whats worse, many people think Depression is a made up, modern era disease, in which people just lack will power... the same lack of will power that led them to be overweight (or eat poor food), and give themselves Diabetes. (Even if these statements are far, far from the truth.)

Even without clinical Depression, Diabetes, in itself, can be depressing for many reasons...

• Its just a frightening disease, with many complications and dangers -- some immediate, and some compounded over time. 
• We have to work HARD to be healthy, without any apparent reward. Most people I know struggle, as it is, when the rewards are very evident (like weight loss, or muscle building, or training for some sporting event)... When people have to work hard at something, every day, so they can avoid unknown, random complications they CANT SEE happening to their bodies, or wont know about for many years to come... its like trying to hit a piñata in a pitch black room, with a 6 inch ruler. There arent many immediately gratifying rewards in this game... And if you do ever get that piñata, you still have to mind that candy. 
• Some folks work incredibly hard, and they STILL develop complications. Sometimes our genetics are the damning factor in whether or not we develop a bad complication, and this is apparent in folks who arent even diabetic, and develop many of the complications some diabetics might get, like neuropathy. 
• Folks who develop complications, often go their medical professionals only to be treated with judgement, and contempt -- told they werent compliant, and did this to themselves. Type 2 Diabetic patients often get little support from the medical community, are given little to no education, and little to NO tools (such as test strips to monitor their numbers), and then expected to have tight control. 
• Family and friends are often NOT understanding, and judge from the outside, looking in: they may think life changes should be easy enough (because theyre not rocket science, right? -- except, they CAN be lol) and shouldnt burden the patient... yet I cant tell you the number of diabetics (particularly women with diabetes) who end up making two sets of meals, three times a day, because the rest of their family doesnt want to change their eating habits, as well. Diabetics NEED a supportive environment, and supportive families, and CHANGE AS A WHOLE, in order to thrive. 
• It just gets old.  Get up, test your blood sugar, take pills... wait... wait... wait... test, take pills, count carbs, eat, test... exercise, test... test, take pills, count carbs, eat, test, exercise, test... test, take pills, count carbs, eat, test, exercise, test... test... take pills, count carbs, eat, test... Can you keep track of it? Can you do this every day, for the rest of your life? For once Id like to SLEEP IN, or eat without thinking so much! Can you schedule bathroom breaks in between, for the side effects? Can you schedule exercise breaks, in between work, when youre not at home? Can you plan snacks to stuff in your pockets so you wont go low at work? Remember to pack your lunches, every day, for work, and always get up early enough to eat breakfast, and always pack your own meals and drinks when you go to get-togethers because no one bothers to think of diabetics or those with health needs? Can you remember to schedule all the doctor appointments for your routine care? The eye doctor, the foot doctor, the A1C, the yearly physical, the CDE? Can you remember to have enough strips and snacks when you go outdoors? CHANGE YOUR LANCET. Can you still spare an extra 20 minutes to talk to the idiot who just said you shouldnt eat that candy in your pocket for your lows, or it will give you Diabetes? Are you tired, and annoyed yet? Because let me tell you, its not fun to be the fat gal at work, with candy in her pocket, because her Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome gives her hypoglycemia, and she unloads trucks for a living, but she has Diabetes... So everyone else needs to have a say in that. And oh, yes, all throughout your day... remember to drink enough water. :) Lots of water. heh Or youll go high from dehydration.  FUN.

I dont really think we realize just what were doing to persons with Diabetes.  We worry so much about about an obesity epidemic, but instead were creating a Depression epidemic in more ways than one. We are creating an epidemic of people who want to die, in silence, from shame, rather than talk about their Diabetes, or openly care for it.  An epidemic of bullied children, and young Diabetic girls with eating disorders. If we have enough courage to not judge someone who just got infected with the HIV virus, whether it was their fault or not, why would we not have enough courage to not judge someone who just got diagnosed with Diabetes? Diabetes kills more people than Aids and Breast Cancer COMBINED.

Diabetic patients need well rounded, overall care, and mental health services to help cope with this chronic, life long condition. Diabetics need support; not judgement.

If you are depressed today, friend... Understand that Winter doesnt last forever.  Just like your trees, plants, shrubs, and lawn, may require some tender, Winter loving care... So do you.  Be KIND to yourself. It is OKAY to feel the way you do.  I feel it, too.  

It seems like the end of the world out there, in your heart and mind, but it is not.  I GET IT.  You want the roller coaster to stop...  If you are struggling today, with Depression, hiding behind society fabricated shame is not the answer; please, open up. Talk to your doctor, or find a new doctor.  Find a Diabetes support group in your area, or online... Leave unsupportive environments, and judgmental people (even if they themselves have Diabetes.) Do NOT go down into that Wintery scene...   You can do this, and Im no different than you... Spring is just around the corner. Let yourself bloom. 

0 If I Had identified Then Food and monetary recommendation for the College Bound Also a Story

As summer attracts to an in depth, gazillions of monumentally stoked 18-year-olds square measure getting ready to go away the warmly cozy, cozy heat of their hometowns for four years in cinderblock lecture halls. however faculty isn’t all reading, studying, and periodically authorship 25-page papers on Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica (1978). It’s conjointly occasion to work stuff out – like a way to seriously manage your adult life for the primary time.

Fortunately for this journal, that adjustment amount has a lot of to try to to with frugalness, food, and health. highschool grads everyplace can before long be budgeting and preparation for themselves, and also the initial months won’t be straightforward. I know, as a result of once upon a time (the year forty five BC) i used to be there.

Looking back, i feel I did okay. Still, there square measure quite few CHG-type things I would like I had glorious before I left home. Like…

How to feed myself capably and frugally. My folks were glorious suppliers and good cooks WHO fed U.S.A. rounded meals from birth through late adolescence. however somehow, when seventeen years, I neer picked informed straightforward ideas like, “eat a vegetable, doofus,” or “an all-mozzarella stick diet can bankrupt, then KILL YOU.” If I had paid attention or done any analysis, the road to healthiness may need been a neater and cheaper one.

How to cook. In my tiny faculty city, it had been ritual for college kids to eventually move out of the dorms and into run-down off-campus housing (owned by a landowner WHO worked nights because the anti-Christ). Of the eight youngsters WHO shared one room my junior year, only 1 knew what she was doing. the remainder people bought expensive food from the native superstore and/or created do with no matter she (note: me) might collect from her night job at the friedcake search. on lection, associate degree elementary grasp of basic preparation skills might have saved each time, money, and much of friedcake symptom.

How to avoid shopping for negligible junk. each semester, I subsisted entirely on some hundred greenbacks earned over summer or winter breaks. it had been only enough for textbooks and food. Yet, I still bought fourteen loads of useless crap for no alternative reason than I might. Once, it had been try of vintage jeans. over again, a Phish album (which, ew). And another time? I blew $7 on a ampoule of coloured mud from a neighborhood tchotchke search. To repeat, I spent SEVEN greenbacks ON YELLOW DIRT. I would like I had scan a finance book at that time, or perhaps had any clue regarding maintaining a budget. At the terribly least, I wouldn’t have bought any beaker soil.

How to scan nutrition labels. Oh man. what percentage muffins did i feel contained solely 220 calories, once it had been truly a lot of like 660? Duh.

How to care regarding my body within the right means. this is often a tough subject, as a result of on the total, universities square measure sadly rife with intake disorders. an excessive amount of self-scrutiny will land one in Bulimiatown, and deficient can build the Freshman fifteen look like a fond memory. So, I’ll say this: I would like I had spent less time worrying regarding my weight (which no one cared regarding 0.5 the maximum amount as I did), and longer investment in my health (which … it wouldn’t have hurt to hit the athletic facility once or twice). Negative body pictures square measure endemic to young women – in America particularly, and applying my energies the right means (to intake right and exercise vs. stressing out regarding my butt) would have helped American state greatly down the road.

I might conjointly add “how to fancy cheap beer” to the present list, however I truly learned that half quite quickly. And it still wasn’t 0.5 as valuable because the single best lesson I gleaned from my folks throughout college: specifically, there arent any second possibilities with universe cash.

Let American state justify.

Back within the spring of (DATE REDACTED), i used to be accepted to the same semi-affordable public establishment in upstate the big apple, wherever the seven-month winters were matched in intensity solely by my ought to GET THE CRAP faraway from HOME. I idolized my Long indweller folks (and still do), however the prospect of living four hundred miles faraway from them excited this womb-to-tomb girl to without stopping. So, I sent the “yes” letter, got my friend assignment, and spent the remainder of the summer earning textbook funds at the native Wendy’s fryolator.

For the foremost half, Ma and Pa were improbably confirmative. Besides creating the obligatory visits to Bed, Bath, and on the far side for girly-blue shower caddies, they conjointly offered to pay my tuition till my sister entered college, 2 years thus. Being sensible folks and savvy people, theyd one condition: I had to keep up a three.0 average.

“No downside,” i believed. “Bs square measure straightforward.” I’d breezed through highschool (for the foremost half - damn you, Physics), and wasn’t intimidated by the prospect of a better, tougher education. later, after I entered college within the fall, I devoted most of my time to … um … not assignment.

It went fine for the primary few weeks, till I received a string of fairly awful grades on papers and tests. Those metallic element (and in one or 2 cases, Ds) were each enormously mortifying and a heavy warning sign for my stupid (drunk) ass. So, I prune on the surplus, buckled down, and soon, most of my category marks had morphed into semi-respectable BS and B-minuses.

Except Basic prowess.

Though the category was tutored by the sweetest man alive, I didn’t perceive a damn factor. Nor did I build any effort to, whatsoever. I incomprehensible a vacant minimum of 1 category per week, neer scan the fabric, and doubtless took a combined total of 3 pages of notes. on lection, I’m stunned the {professor|prof|academician|academic|faculty American statember} didn’t hurl me out a window, content perspective 1st.

By the tip of the semester, I somehow force a C-minus out of the air (note: my butt). it had been higher than I due, however still brought my overall measure all the way down to a grand ol’ a pair of.99. (Seriously! A a pair of.99! I didn’t even recognize that was possible!) once my folks saw, I expected them to gush, “2.99! however that’s theore near a three.0! We’ll pay your tuition FOREVER.” To my then-consternation and their unending credit, that didn’t happen.

“Kid,” they aforementioned, “we asked for a three.0. Here’s the bill.”

My juvenility (and let’s be honest - new love of low {cost|low-cost} beer) cost American state upwards of $4,000, that I finally finished paying off last year, when over a decade of interest had accumulated. (P.S. I neer got below a three.3 again.)

But you recognize what? I’m glad it happened. I’m glad Ma and Pa stuck to their guns, as a result of it tutored American state the 3 of the foremost valuable things I’ve ever learned:

1) There arent any second possibilities with universe cash.
2) There arent any second possibilities with universe expectations.
3) My folks don’t fiddle, ever.

Thanks to that inglorious a pair of.99, I pay bills on time. I don’t miss deadlines. I attempt to exceed what individuals raise of American state. Sure, most of it’s out of sheer terror of the implications, however i favor to assume I learned a microscopic smattering of responsibility on the means. (Note: It’s largely the phobia.)

Readers, however regarding you? whether or not you visited faculty, your own flat, or a wedding, what food/health/economic things did you want you knew before exploit home? cause dem stories (and I promise next week, there’ll be a writing with real analysis and actual learny-type things).

0 Navigating the Reboot Getting Back on Track After Falling Off of It The Track I Mean

(Note to readers: This post is a tad self-indulgent. [On a blog! Go figure.] But hopefully, itll help some folks who have been sidetracked on their financial and foodie journeys.)

Between September and early January, I was adopted by a cat, got married, went on my honeymoon, traveled to another wedding, got a new job, traveled for Thanksgiving, moved to a new apartment, blew through Christmas, traveled for New Year, broke my toe, and was buried in snow up to my cerebellum. Except for the prolonged limping, it was fantastic. I loved every minute with family, co-workers, and various strangers at the airport.

However.

You know all those good intentions you have stored in the back of your mind? And those behaviors you honed and practiced until they became habits? And those years and years of good financial, nutritional, and organizational practices, which you blog about almost every day, to the point where your husband asks with some regularity when you’re coming to bed?

Um.

Not to say I’ve spent the last few months buying Lexuses and cleaning out Chipotle. But I’m ludicrously out of shape, and my financial discipline has fallen way off. Part of this is (see above reasons). Another part is that I’m cooking for three different websites, all of which require an array of totally unrelated groceries. As far as the third part, I have no excuse. Spreadsheets made me sneezy? Yeah, thats the ticket.

Yet, my undies are not in bundles. It’s been a wonderful few months, which I wouldn’t trade for all 30 Rock reruns in the world. And, though its not often mentioned in the frugality blogosphere, its thoroughly possible to temporarily neglect budgeting and still feel okay about yourself.

But now, its time to shape up, ship out (?), and get back on the horse. (You know the horse. It’s big and made out of money and noodles.) So heres my plan. Maybe its applicable to your situation, too, and we can track our progress together. That would be neat.

1) Set some measureable goals, both long and short term. Theres no better way to spark action and drive than having a quantifiable objective. For the short term, Id like to get in shape, at least to the point where Im not winded by subway stairs. For the long term, HOTUS and I would like to buy an abode before the apocalypse. So its time to start saving.

2) Forecast necessities. First, the Commodore 64 from which I write this blog will soon be incompatible with … anything remotely technological (though it will make an incredible paperweight). Second, Im running out of contact lenses. Actually having none would not only impair my ability to see, but impair my ability to get fuzzies caught between my contact and my eye. And last, but not least, my iPod, which I love like a child, has a big ol line running through the screen. Is this a necessity? Thats like asking, "Can I live without daily infusions of Weezers Pinkerton?" Which – duh. No.

3) Create spreadsheets/tangible records. (*Sigh*) As it turns out, procuring a new job and a new husband kind of blows your former budgeting process to tiny pieces. Getting a handle on our spending, plus our combined financial powers, will go a long way towards accomplishing #1. Hello, Excel. Be nice to me.

4) Work out. For real, now. While dreams of being the first woman to play Major League Baseball have long been quashed by the sad acceptance of my A) total physical incompetence, and B) gender, it doesnt mean I should forgo exercise entirely. A 33-year-old shouldnt be stiff arising from bed in the morning. So, walking (and perhaps the dreaded jogging) will soon be in order.

And those are it for now. Readers, have you ever fallen off the horse? How did you get back on? Tips are sweet.

~~~

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0 Saturday Throwback If I Had Known Then Food and Financial Advice for the College Bound Also a Story

Every Saturday, we post a piece from the CHG archives. This one is from August 2008.

As summer draws to a close, gazillions of monumentally stoked 18-year-olds are preparing to leave the warmly comfy, comfy warmth of their hometowns for four years in cinderblock lecture halls. Yet college isn’t all reading, studying, and sporadically penning 25-page papers on FCC v. Pacifica (1978). It’s also occasion to figure stuff out – like how to seriously manage your adult life for the first time.

Fortunately for this blog, that adjustment period has much to do with frugality, food, and health. High school grads everywhere will soon be budgeting and cooking for themselves, and the initial months won’t be easy. I know, because once upon a time (the year 45 BC) I was there.

Looking back, I think I did okay. Still, there are quite a few CHG-type things I wish I had known before I left home. Like…

How to feed myself competently and frugally. My parents were excellent providers and decent cooks who fed us rounded meals from birth through late adolescence. Yet somehow, after 17 years, I never picked up on simple concepts like, “eat a vegetable, doofus,” or “an all-mozzarella stick diet will bankrupt, then KILL YOU.” If I had paid attention or done any research, the road to good health might have been an easier and cheaper one.

How to cook. In my small college town, it was ritual for students to eventually move out of the dorms and into run-down off-campus housing (owned by a landlord who worked nights as the anti-Christ). Of the eight kids who shared a single kitchen my junior year, only one knew what she was doing. The rest of us bought overpriced convenience food from the local superstore and/or made do with whatever she (note: me) could glean from her night job at the donut shop. In retrospect, an elementary grasp of basic cooking skills could have saved both time, money, and lots of donut indigestion.

How to avoid buying worthless junk. Every semester, I subsisted entirely on a few hundred dollars earned over summer or winter breaks. It was barely enough for textbooks and food. Yet, I still bought 14 tons of useless crap for no other reason than I COULD. Once, it was pair of vintage jeans. Another time, a Phish album (which, ew). And another time? I blew $7 on a vial of colored dust from a local tchotchke shop. To repeat, I spent SEVEN DOLLARS ON YELLOW DIRT. I wish I had read a finance book at that point, or even had any clue about maintaining a budget. At the very least, I wouldn’t have bought any beaker soil.

How to read nutrition labels. Oh man. How many muffins did I think contained only 220 calories, when it was actually more like 660? Duh.

How to care about my body in the right way. This is a tricky subject, because on the whole, universities are sadly rife with eating disorders. Too much self-scrutiny can land one in Bulimiatown, and too little will make the Freshman 15 seem like a fond memory. So, I’ll say this: I wish I had spent less time worrying about my weight (which nobody cared about half as much as I did), and more time investing in my health (which … it wouldn’t have hurt to hit the gym once or twice). Negative body images are endemic to teen girls – in America especially, and applying my energies the correct way (to eating right and exercise vs. stressing out about my butt) would have helped me greatly down the road.

I might also add “how to enjoy inexpensive beer” to this list, but I actually learned that part kind of quickly. And it still wasn’t half as valuable as the single best lesson I gleaned from my parents during college: namely, there are no second chances with real world money.

Let me explain.

Back in the spring of (DATE REDACTED), I was accepted to the aforementioned semi-affordable public institution in upstate New York, where the seven-month winters were matched in intensity only by my need to GET THE CRAP AWAY FROM HOME. I adored my Long Islander parents (and still do), but the prospect of living 400 miles away from them excited this lifelong Girl Scout to no end. So, I sent the “yes” letter, got my roommate assignment, and spent the rest of the summer earning textbook funds at the local Wendy’s fryolator.

For the most part, Ma and Pa were incredibly supportive. Besides making the obligatory trips to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for girly-blue shower caddies, they also offered to pay my tuition until my little sister entered school, two years hence. Being good parents and savvy businesspeople, they had one condition: I had to maintain a 3.0 average.

“No problem,” I thought. “Bs are easy.” I’d breezed through high school (for the most part - damn you, Physics), and wasn’t intimidated by the prospect of a higher, harder education. Subsequently, when I entered school in the fall, I devoted most of my time to … um … not schoolwork.

It went fine for the first few weeks, until I received a string of fairly awful grades on papers and tests. Those Cs (and in one or two cases, Ds) were both tremendously humbling and a serious wake-up call for my stupid (drunk) ass. So, I cut back on the excess, buckled down, and soon, most of my class marks had morphed into semi-respectable Bs and B-minuses.

Except Basic Musicianship.

Though the class was taught by the sweetest man alive, I didn’t understand a damn thing. Nor did I make any effort to, whatsoever. I missed a bare minimum of one class per week, never read the material, and probably took a combined total of three pages of notes. In retrospect, I’m surprised the professor didn’t hurl me out a window, smug attitude first.

By the end of the semester, I somehow pulled a C-minus out of the air (note: my butt). It was better than I deserved, but still brought my overall GPA down to a grand ol’ 2.99. (Seriously! A 2.99! I didn’t even know that was possible!) When my parents saw, I expected them to gush, “2.99! But that’s SO CLOSE to a 3.0! We’ll pay your tuition FOREVER.” To my then-consternation and their never-ending credit, that didn’t happen.

“Kid,” they said, “we asked for a 3.0. Here’s the bill.”

My callowness (and let’s be honest - newfound love of cheap beer) cost me upwards of $4,000, which I finally finished paying off last year, after more than a decade of interest had accrued. (P.S. I never got below a 3.3 again.)

But you know what? I’m glad it happened. I’m glad Ma and Pa stuck to their guns, because it taught me the three of the most valuable things I’ve ever learned:

1) There are no second chances with real world money.
2) There are no second chances with real world expectations.
3) My parents don’t mess around, ever.

Thanks to that inglorious 2.99, I pay bills on time. I don’t miss deadlines. I try to exceed what people ask of me. Sure, most of it’s out of sheer terror of the consequences, but I like to think I learned a microscopic smattering of responsibility along the way. (Note: It’s mostly the terror.)

Readers, how about you? Whether you went to college, your own apartment, or a marriage, what food/health/economic things did you wish you knew before leaving home? Bring on dem stories (and I promise next week, there’ll be an article with real research and actual learny-type things).

~~~

If you like this article, you might also dig:

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(Photos courtesy of generalsarmory and lizblog.)