Did you know that Einstein was plant-strong?

                       

(source, www.engine2diet.com)

Willpower is a finite resource.

     We spent last week in Austin.  Our daughter-in-law was on a business trip and our son was working, so we were privileged to take our grandkids to school and their after-school activities.  We had a fun week. On Monday we were able to run/hike 5 miles on a great trail at Slaughter Creek, but then Austin had a thunderstorm with 4 inches of rain and the trails were closed the rest of the week. Darn.  We Coloradans must carry our weather with us when we travel.
     I found it interesting to learn that, at the elementary school our grandkids attend, they start the day saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag.  Then they turn to the Texas flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance to Texas.  I have never heard of that in any other state where we have lived.  Have you?
     I ate healthy all week, but after 3 days or so I started eating way too much....nuts, seeds, everything.  Willpower definitely is a finite resource, at least for me.  But we were on vacation so maybe just choosing healthy foods is enough? I know, I know, I am rationalizing here.
     I need to learn the Confucian teaching of Hara Hachi Bu, which means to eat until you are 80% full; to eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed.  Okinawans in Japan follow this principle, and 29% of them live to be 100, which is more than 4 times the average in Western countries.  Their average BMIs are 18-22 compared to BMIs of 26-27 for adults over 60 in the United States.


  
I loved this.  (reblogged from lovethepain.tumblr.com)

'Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon.' Hogwarts School Motto, J.K. Rowling

Meditation is not to escape from society,
but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on.
Once there is seeing, there must be acting.
With mindfulness, we know what to do and what not to do to help.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
                                             (source, lovethepain.tumblr.com)



Here is a video of a dog doing squats.  Your reasons for not working out are now invalid.
                                                    (source, lovethepain.tumblr.com)
     
     Our Granddaughter has begun a lending library in her bedroom.  She has organized all of her books into sections such as 'Adventures', 'Page-Turners', and 'Favorites'. She has printed up library cards and developed a reading incentive program,  and is open for business.  I have been reading all sorts of new-to-me books thanks to my new Sydney's Library Card.  I am in the middle of a series of books about a mermaid girl, and have started the Warrior series, which is about clans of cats, (it reminds me of  the classic book "Watership Down," which was about rabbits).  I also read a great book of my Grandson's about Dragons.  You've got to love Dragons!
      Grownups need more books on dragons in their lives.  Losing your belief in dragons is akin to losing touch with your childhood, with your ability to feel wonder and to dream.

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead;  his eyes are closed.     Albert Einstein

Wisdom begins in wonder.     Socrates

Here be Dragons.     Early European mapmakers' warning

A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant's rings make way for other toys.
                                    Puff the Magic Dragon

     May dragons take flight in your dreams tonight.


    
         
    

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Americans are eating less meat.

     I was glad to read Mark Bittman's article in the New York Times about meat consumption in America.  Americans have decreased their meat consumption by 12.2% from 2007 to 2012.  Beef consumption has been declining for 20 years.  Chicken consumption has had an even more dramatic decline over the past 5 years.  Pork consumption is also on the decline.  This is expected to continue.
     The big question is why this is happening.  The meat industry is blaming everyone, especially the government. 
     Mark Bittman questions that.  Our government:
          1.  subsidizes corn and soy for livestock feed
          2.  gives a nearly free pass on the meat industry's environmental degradation and animal abuse
          3.  is unwilling to meaningfully limit the use of antibiotics in animal feed
          4.  fails to curb the stifling hold meat-packers hold over small ranchers
          5.  refuses, despite scientific evidence, to advise Americans to eat less meat for better health.
     Nowhere does the report suggest that Americans are eating less meat by choice, that Americans are wising up and are trying to improve their health and that of the environment, and that they care about the horrible conditions in which animals are being raised and slaughtered. You have to question an industry that not only has zero transparency, but has pressured the government to make it illegal to photograph and show the public what is happening behind those closed and locked doors.
     I have more faith in the American people than that.  Americans are waking up, wising up, and taking charge of their health and that of their children and their planet.

http://hpjmh.com/2012/01/13/americans-are-eating-less-meat-new-york-times/

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.     (Abraham Lincoln)

People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health,
and are treated by the health industry which pays no attention to food.
                                                   (Wendell Berry)

Use it or lose it

     Earlier this week I posted those graphic MRI photos of leg muscles in triathletes and sedentary men.  Older athletes did preserve their leg muscles.
     Another study done at the University of Western Ontario studied the arm muscles of various runners.  As you would expect, the older runners' arm muscles had declined with age.
     Exercise only preserves the muscles that you actually use!
     (source  http://sweatscience.com/)

If you rest, you rust.   Helen Hayes


Have a nice weekend, everyone.
I'm sorry about the scanty blogs lately.  I have been having computer problems, and am not at all tech-smart.
Technology is fantastic....when it works.

The Marathon--Every Man's Everest

     Last week the New England Journal of Medicine published a study on cardiac arrests and heart attacks for marathoners and half-marathoners.  The results were heartening, heart attack risks are low.
     Cardiac arrest and heart attack rates were lower in long-distance events than for college sports and triathlons, and comparable to those of healthy joggers and recreational exercisers.
     The risk of heart attack in a marathon is 1.01 per 100,000 people.  The death risk is .63 per 100,000.  The risk is higher for men than women, is higher for marathons than half marathons, and is highest in the last fourth of the race.  They are finding heart attacks are due to "demand ischemia" and some medical experts are now recommending long-distance racers take it easy the last part of the race rather than doing that final all-out sprint to the finish.
     The biggest cause of death found on autopsy was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a pre-existing genetic condition.
     Hundreds of other studies have shown that people who regularly do aerobic exercise have lower heart attack and death risks than those who do not exercise.  Most experts recommend at least 150 minutes/week of moderate aerobic exercise for all of us.
     My takeaway...keep on exercising, and see your Doctor to discover if you have any pre-existing medical conditions.
     (source:  Runnersworld.com, Peak Performance, Heart attack risk "low" in distance races.)

More reasons to exercise.

     New research has discovered that exercise produces a hormone which turns people's white fat to brown fat, and may decrease the risks of obesity, diabetes, and other diseases.  Brown fat is the desirable fat as it is metabolically active.  White fat is just an inert storehouse, the kind that hangs around your belly. 
       
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/exercise-hormone-helps-keep-us-healthy/?ref=health

http://sportsgeezer.com/2012/exercise-turns-bad-fat-into-good-fat/



     Here is graphic proof that chronic exercise preserves lean muscle mass.  This is from a study reported by The Physician and Sports Medicine.

But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep. Robert Frost

     Our plans for the weekend took a sudden veer to the boring side.  Our foster dog became very sick on Friday and was coughing non-stop.  We took her back to the kennel for medical care and discovered that 6 other dogs, as well, had gotten ill at the same time.  They have some type of kennel cough from which their vaccinations did not protect them.  All the sick dogs are being fostered out to keep the illness from spreading throughout the kennel. 
     Rin has been on antibiotics since to hopefully prevent pneumonia, and is doing much better now.  She is eating and playing again, and her cough is much improved.
     We had hoped to make a weekend trip, but obviously couldn't take a sick dog anywhere, especially a contagious sick dog. We didn't even attend our run-group because we didn't want to leave her alone, and couldn't take her. 
     So we had a quiet boring weekend of watching rented DVDs, reading, and catching up on sleep.  I guess we all need those types of unexpected weekends sometimes to rest up.

     Did you know that Americans are a sleepy group?  Our sleep deficit runs about 25-30 hours on average at any given time.  Not only is this a health hazard, but it impairs performance just like being intoxicated.  An Australian study showed that 24 hours without sleep is equivalent to a blood-alcohol content of 0.1% (0.08% is legally drunk in most U.S. states).
     Inadequate sleep consequences include:
          1.  Impaired immune function.
          2.  Impaired cognitive function.
          3.  Increased snacking and appetite.
          4.  Weight gain, impaired insulin function, increased risk of diabetes.
          5.  Increased inflammation, cholesterol, and hypertension.
          6.  Decreased appearance.
          7.  Increased emotional reactivity.
          8.  Increased risk of death.
                           (source, Dr. Joel Fuhrman's blog at http://www.diseaseproof.com/)

Sweet dreams.
     A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. 
                                                          Irish proverb.
                               

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Let a joy keep you.
Reach out your hands
And take it when it runs by.
                       Carl Sandburg

A life well lived.

     Our sister-in-law's Mother died yesterday.  She was 91.  I had met her several times over the years and she always struck me as as being a wonderful lady, well-grounded in what has value in this life.  She had an air of quiet dignity.  She had had more than a few trials over the years, and had come through them with this equanimity....this aura of being able to handle whatever life threw her way.  I think that she was probably quite religious...maybe that contributed to her peaceful demeanor.
     Please pause a moment and send out your good thoughts to the universe for Elsie for a life well-lived, and for her close-knit family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. 

                      The meaning of life is that it ends.
                                                      Franz Kafka

     I hope I am leading a well-lived life.  I hope to live into my 90s or 100s, at least, and have few regrets.  I hope to be eqipped to handle whatever life throws my way and to handle it with aplomb and dignity....to enjoy this cosmic dance.  I will try to not become a crabby old lady with 50 rescued cats and dogs.  Well, maybe we'll have just three or four.

Obstacle Illusions

     "It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.  "So it is."  "And freezing."  "Is it?"  "Yes," said Eeyore.  "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."   A.A. Milne. 
     On gloomy, dark days such as today, I become an Eeyore.  The glass becomes half empty.  I have to work at being a Tigger (bouncy) or even a Pooh (on an even keel, not too bright, and struggling with honey).  Sunshine, or its lack, immediately has an effect on my mood. 
     Rin and I were daring adventurers, the only walkers out in the snow and cold early this morning.  We only accomplished a mile.  I bundled and disguised my inner-Eeyore in two coats, mittens, boots, hat and hood.  Rin was her usual Tigger, snow-bouncing self.  Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!

     We continue with our wheat-free experiment.  It has been two weeks now.  I don't feel too much different, although I haven't had that starving feeling that I get sometimes.  We really never did eat much wheat, as bread and pasta are processed, and we try to stick to whole foods. We will continue on for a week or two more before doing a wheat trial by re-introducing wheat.

     I mentioned getting a soy-milk maker as a Christmas gift.  I really enjoy the soy milk.  It is simple to make:  soak the beans for 8-12 hours, then it takes only 20 minutes in the machine.  Later today I am trying almond milk.  This is so much less-expensive than buying those "milks", and has the benefit of having no additives.

     We are only supposed to get a few inches of snow, so later today I will do some scooping.  It is relaxing once you get into the zen of it.  No thinking required.  It is that kind of a day.

     Wishing you a day filled with sunshine.
    
Each challenge is mine to overcome.  Life is full of obstacle illusions.
                                              Grant Frazier
    

Food, fitness, and dogs.

                                    Isn't it a glorious day! 

     The pastor of the church to which we belong (but seem to never attend lately) opens most of his sermons this way, no matter how awful the weather.  It always makes me smile. 
     Well, today the weather truly is glorious, although tomorrow will be cold and snowy again.  I took advantage of it to take Rin for a longer walk....4 miles instead of her usual 2.  We were rewarded by seeing a golden eagle perched in a tree above the trail.  Glorious.  I wish I had had my camera to share it with you.
     I was able to ditch my jacket and roll up my sleeves to absorb some sunshine and make a little vitamin D, which is always a good thing.

     Someone I know once called the plant based, whole food diet that we follow, restrictive.  I have to disagree.  Eating this way opens up a whole universe of multi-colored vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, beans, grains and spices once you start to eat mindfully.  The standard American diet is the one that is restrictive.....pasta, pizza, burgers, fries, sugary cereal, and sugary dessert, and repeat over and over and over again.
     Try some new foods.  Grow your menu repertoire.  It won't hurt... really it won't.

     I have my fitness plan in place.  I must start running more as the half marathon on May 20 is looming over my head.  Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I plan to hit the treadmill for at least 30 minutes.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are stretching days. Saturday is our running group day where we run/walk.  And as long as we are fostering Rin-Dog, we will also be doing some daily walks.  Sunday....recovery.  Sounds doable.  We shall see.

"One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."    Oliver Wendell Holmes.

I'm searching for myself. Have you seen me?

     It is week 2 of the new year.  Are you doing well with your resolutions/intentions?  Have you even made them yet?  According to Kristin Armstrong, you should "write your goals down and increase the odds of realization;  share them with others and they become alive."  Who are you going to be in the new year?  Put those goals out there to the universe and anything is possible.

The New Year lies before you like a spotless tract of snow
Be careful how you tread on it, for every mark will show.

The best defense is a good offence.

     I recently read the book "Super Immunity, The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free" by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.  I highly recommend it, especially if you haven't read his book "Eat to Live". 
     There is clear scientific evidence linking diet and health.  He explains how to transform your immune system from weak to super to help ward off viruses, bacteria, and possibly even cancer; to build the strongest defenses possible.
     The chapter on "Super Foods for Super Immunity" gives the scientific basis for why we need to eat leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, mushrooms, onions and garlic, berries, pomegranates, and seeds. 
     His views on flu vaccinations and medical treatments for colds and flu were also enlightening, and he provides research results to back them up.
     I was aware that having poor nutritional and immune status would make a host more susceptible to catching viral and bacterial infections.  I was not aware that nutritional inadequacies in the host also allow the modification of pathogens into more virulent or dangerous forms within the body.  Host nutrition affects the genetic sequence of a pathogen allowing it to mutate and cause more serious damage.  The healthier your immune system, should you even catch an infection, the shorter and milder that infection will be.
     He discusses other factors as well.  Exercise plays a role.  Life truly is survival of the fittest.
     Nobody gets any guarantees, but we must do our best to change the odds and stack the deck in our favor.

Rinny's Back!

     I forgot to mention that the dog we are fostering is back.  She had spent the Christmas and New Years holidays with another foster family, who also love her. 
     I picked her up at the Freedom Service Dogs kennels earlier this week.  She was so excited to see me!  You have to love someone who is bursting with joy to see you again.
     Dogs can be a pain.  They have to be walked far, even in the dark and in  blizzards and terrible cold.  They need to be entertained.  Their Vet bills can be extensive.  They make travels guilt-filled for their owners, and expensive.
     But they need to be cuddled and loved, and know that we need it, too.
     Today we took our first long walk since her return.  It was a slow one.  She had to stop to sniff out who all had been on "her" path in her absence, and leave her own markers.  She had to roll in the snow, several times, and eat snow and stop frequently just to sniff the breeze.
     Walking with a dog gives new meaning to "stopping to smell the flowers", even when there aren't any in season.  The sky is blue, the clouds are so white in contrast, the snow is beautiful with the sunshine on the hills....I may have been vaguely aware of these without Rin, but with her I really saw them.
     Having a pet is like having another family member.  You love them and worry about them and sometimes even complain about their imperfections, but you would never change them.  It will be so hard to give her up when she is finally adopted.  I had a last minute call to bring her in for an adoption visit along with a handful of other dogs up for adoption.  We didn't go.  A) It was short notice and I was busy.  B)  I couldn't let her go just yet.

Running for your life.

     Running slows the effects of aging.  An ongoing 20 year study done at Stanford University School of Medicine shows that older runners have fewer disabilities, a longer span of active life, and are half as likely as aging non-runners to die of early deaths.
  http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2008/august/running.html

     Running can increase your brain size and stimulate the growth of fresh grey cells. This has a big impact on mental ability.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jan/18/running-brain-memory-cell-growth

     I have been jogging or run/walking for 11 months now.  I am surprised that it is not getting easier for me, but based on the studies listed above, I am going to keep on.  The secret of success with anything is consistency.
     Nutritional needs change as we age.  Aging is caused partially by free-radical damage, therefore with aging we need more antioxidants in our diet to combat that damage.  According to Jeff Galloway, a diet high in anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables will slow the aging process and increase performance.  So far, so good.  We believe in a diet of nutritional excellence and eat a colorful and varied plant-based high anti-oxidant diet.
     Galloway also states that older athletes are more susceptible to muscle damage caused by eccentric muscle contractions, and are not able to repair this damage as quickly between workouts. That explains my soreness.  Nutritional excellence and recovery days play a big part here.  We try our best to comply with both.  We will keep on keeping on.  It sounds like we are on the right track.  Hopefully we will get to the 20+ years of running like the studied Stanford runners. 

        I used to run with doubt.  Now she can't keep up.

K.I.S.S.

     As you know, we basically follow the Eat to Live diet...plant based and unprocessed.  I am borrowing this suggestion from the Fat Free Vegan blog....
K.I.S.S.S. I wish I had come up with it as it describes what we eat so well.
KISSS=Keep It Simple, Soup and Salad.  It really is simple.  We make sure to eat one huge salad meal a day starting with a base of leafy greens and adding nuts, beans, sweet potato, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, fruit, or whatever leftovers are on hand, using a good balsamic vinegar for dressing.  Very simple.  For dinner we often have plant based soup or stew, making a very large recipe so we have lots of left-overs for later in the week...simple.
     Maybe K.I.S.S. should be the acronym for Keep It Simple & Smart, rather than the more common Keep It Simple, Stupid.

     I also read another blog about ditching recipes to simplify your cooking.  I did that years ago.  Cooking should be and can be intuitive and creative.  You shop for healthy food in season and on sale and create meals based on that. Just base it on the rules for good nutrition...have protein, carbs and fat at each meal....have a minimum of 9 vegetables and fruits per day, half of them raw.  Try to eat mushrooms, greens, and onions daily. Avoid junk. It is so simple. 

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.    Confucius.

Happy 85th Birthday to my Dad!





Dad, Mom, and 6 of 12 grandkids

Family football



Go Huskers!

Happy New Year, 2012!

"We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."     Edith Lovejoy Pierce.

     Don't you just love that analogy?  I love blank new books....so much opportunity....a tabula rasa.
     I have been reading blogs about New Year's Resolutions....for and against.  One person suggested starting a "Possibilities" list, adding everything you might someday want to get or do.  Another person suggested making a Fun bucket list for the year.  If your resolutions or intentions involve fun, you are more likely to accomplish them. I like both ideas so have started my own "Fun Possibilities" bucket list. I'm sure I will come up with more items later on, but this is what I came up with off the top of my head.
     1.  Run/walk the 1/2 marathon I am already registered for on 5/20/12.
     2.  Run/walk the Bolder Boulder 10K on Memorial Day, and make it an
          annual tradition.
     3.  Start taking an annual vacation...maybe Hawaii, someday maybe Alaska,
          someday maybe a drive up the West coast of the United States, someday
          maybe hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
    4.  Hike up Mount Bierstadt, a short and supposedly relatively easy 14er.
    5.  Plan some fitness rewards....after a big accomplishment get that Saucony
         jacket I've been wanting to have for next fall, or a runner's GPS watch;
         but make sure I really EARN them first.
    6.  Get a smart phone and move into this century electronically.

     We had a quiet New Year's Eve.  It was nice to be home.  We called family and watched a really good DVD that I highly recommend.  It is called "The Music Never Stopped" and is based on a true story by Dr. Oliver Sachs about a man with devastating amnesia.  It is about missed opportunities and rebuilding relationships and the music of the 60s.  We lived through that era but never really followed the music of The Grateful Dead.  After watching the movie, I will have to investigate their music a little more.  This is a moving story that will stay with you.
     Isn't it amazing how music affects us...our memories, our emotions.  Music has been described as poetry, prayer, medicine, the universal language of mankind, and life.

     We plan on going hiking with a neighbor family today up in the foothills.  It will be a perfect way to start the new year. 
     (P.S., the hike with the neighbors fell through, dangerously icy up there thanks to yesterday's extreme winds.  We will have to take a local walk on our own, still not a bad way to start the new year.)

"You are the music while the music lasts."    T.S. Eliot

"A peaceful place, so it looks from space, A close look reveals the human race."    Grateful Dead