Starting Wheat Free

So I decided to give it a try even though I have some reservations about the writing in this book.  For example of an instance that created doubt in my mind include the fact that he is stating that upto 1970s women did not engage in physical exercise the way they do now but were thinner.  Well based on my limited knowledge, the availability of mechanical devises for regular housework as well as eating out were not as easily available.  There were gardens to maintain, houses to clean, families - large to mid-size ones to feed three times a day plus other activities such as church, school or gathering of friends requiring contribution would have resulted in much larger expansion of energy from all the muscles in the body vs.  than sitting in an office burning engergy in your brain and may be hands.  The fact that the good doctor just omits mention of this makes me think that there were other omision that happened when those facts did not suit his theory.

The reason I thought I would give it a go comes from reading experiences of people that had followed the diet.  This tells me there are some people that can benefit from this irrespective of how the author went about putting his theory to print.

I do have to figure out what to make for my meals from tomorrow. 

Wheat Free?

I started reading the Wheat Belly book.  So far it goes like this - Wheat that we eat now has been radically changed in the interest of low cost high yield production by the industry in the early to mid 80s.  Around the same time, the dietary recommendations by FDA and other similar bodies came out with higher whole grain diet recommendation.  As a result a whole processed food industry explosion of products happened.  Around the same time the obesity levels started escalating in unprecedented numbers.  While sedentary person with bad eating habits becoming obese was the conventional thought there are many very active to athletic individuals also becoming fat to obese.  The culprit seem to be the 'new' wheat or the chemical reactions triggered by the newly created product.  Then the book goes on the examine the negative impact on each of the different areas - the usual suspect insuline resistance and adult onset diabetes, the viseral fat and the increased inflamatory reactions in the body as a result creating artharitis, plaque in artaries etc., the fact that then new wheat can move across the blood-brain barrier influencing  lethargy, foggy-brain to higher negative reactions in those with schizophrenia etc/ 

I would like to test out how my body will react to no wheat intake option but the question is what do you replace it with?

After the changes

I have been away but now I am back.  Looking back at the posts I see my vision board session happened in early March.  Since then a lot has changed in my life.  When I went to that session, I was not sure exactly what I was looking for.  I had heard and read about vision boarding but I had not taken part in it.  So I took a generic approach.

Here's what I did - the previous week I had been to my dentist's.  I asked my dentist if I can take some of the older magazines that she has at the office and she said to help myself.  Being respectful of the offer, I look for mangazines older than 6 months and picked a variety - Good housekeeping, Chaterlain, National Geographic, Time, Economist etc.

During the session, I went through the magazines and picked imagaes that I found most striking.  There was no theme as I didn't have a specific focus.  I just went with what I found most appealing due either to colours, contuors or subject matter.  I cut them out and then took out the large sheets provided and started pasting the cut outs further culling them in the process.

The final result showed some themes emerging.  That was March.  Since then I have a new home that has a lot of positive energy around it.  Through out the day this home is drenched in sunshine.  You enter the house and the heart skips a beat for the energy of the place.  We are still in the process of organizing the furniture etc.  Once everthing is in place it is going to be absolutely great.

The move has also made me de-clutter so that a lot of unnecessary things are being taken out leaving only those that require my attention.  This also creates a lot of positivity.

At work I am more focused in the destination than the pleasures in the journey although this is important.  Earlier there was no destination in mind but just a journey to enjoy. 

I am also much more focused in eating healthy and also interested in cooking.  All things that will lead to more positive things.

Peach Blueberry Cobbler from Globe and Mail

Looks soo good I have to try making this.

Filling

3 pounds ripe peaches (about 9)
2 cups (280 g) blueberries
¼ cup (54 g) white sugar
¼ cup (54 g) packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8teaspoon salt
2 ½ tablespoons flour

Topping

1 ½ cups (225 g) flour
½ cup (85 g) cornmeal
1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter chilled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 ½ (210 g) cups blueberries

Method

Preheat oven to 375.
Wash and dry the peaches to remove a bit of the fuzz and any dirt. Cut each peach into 8 equal slices and place them in a 9x13 dish along with the two cups of blueberries. Then sprinkle the sugars, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and flour on top. Carefully stir with a large spoon until the ingredients coat the fruit evenly. Set aside.
To make the topping, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Use your hands or a fork to squeeze and scrape the chilled butter pieces into the dry ingredients until you get a crumbly mixture. Whisk the vanilla into the buttermilk and pour it onto the flour mixture. Use a fork to gently mix it until it just comes together (try not to over-mix it to avoid tough biscuits!) Fold in the blueberries.
The dough will be sticky and slightly wet so use a spoon to make three rows of three biscuits each (nine total) on top of the fruit. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown on top and the fruit mixture is deep purple and bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 to 25 minutes to allow the filling to set slightly. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and store in the fridge to enjoy cold or warm over the next three days. Serves nine to 12

A vision board

Had a wonderful day with some talented women creating vision boards - visuals of our individual futures.  Although we are coming from such varied backgrounds and professions wanting to realize varied dreams a common theme of strength, creativity and a true desire to give back and share ourselves emerged.  The respect and acknowldgement of this to each other made me think that without realizing I am also weaving these women in to my vision board.

So to Kathy, Suzanne, Vanessa, Kim, Erin and others - I see you in my future together celebrating realizing our dreams.

Back to the basics

A friend told me this story about how he had a sty in his eyelid that had hardened in to a tiny pebble.  He wasn't sure what he considered a growth and had gone to see a doctor who said that it needs to be removed surgically and a biopsy done.  It was going to cost him an equivalent of $80.  Being from Sri Lanka and this was about two month's salary for him.  He had mentioned this to his mother who told him to go out to the garden and pull up a stem of the weed 'Thuththiri" and apply the liquid in the stem on the growth for a couple of days.  He had done so and one morning that same week, when he was washing his face, the this had just dropped off. 

To me this highlights the easy non invasive herbal remedies that are available for small issues instead of which we seem to seek the most technology concentrated alternative.  Part of the issue is that dazzled by the success of Penicillin we slowly gave up our interest in the more holistic but sometimes tedious remedies in favour of the ease of using a tablet to take care of a symptom.  Now some of this knowledge is dying with the transitional generation that is in their 70s and 80s as the next generation was the one that grew up with drugs for all maladies.

What we give up for convenience is:

•  addressing the core issue which may or may not be taken care of by taking care of the symptom,
• increase chance of having more problems from side affects of the drugs,
• higher cost to consumer = higher profits for the drug companies.

Take for example something simple like a hangover, while suffering through it does not feel simple, you know what causes it - dehydration due to sweating, alcohol blocking the hormone that gets body to hold fluids thereby increasing urination and also the because alcohol dilates blood vessels of the brain.

Key is hydration which most of the old fashioned remedies are about - hot water with honey and lemon, chicken soup, fruit juice, apple cider vinegar. 

What not to do is to have Tylenol.  At the best of times, Tylenol or any other acetaminophen is toxic for the liver.  This is multiplied when there is alcohol in the system.  Easy remedy of the symptom that invites much more serious issues down the line. 

Smart TV

Ok got a Samsung Smart TV UND7000.  I have a habit, after I buy an electronic equipment, I go online and look for user reviews and look for all the piddly little negative comments to worry about.  So I have and it got me thinking what a fantastically small world it has become.  Now I get the opinion of a guy in UK, New Zealand and Korea about their experience with the same model as mine and get the calibration details from east coast in US and South America to avoid the problems with picture quality (too dark in the dark scenes) they had talk about.  The really cool thing about this TV is that it is stepping on to the other side - as in internet side.  It has a smart hub to access Netflicks and other movie streaming sites as well as it's own app store including most important for me the BBC app.  I was paying an addtional $5 for the news channels to get BBC on TV but now I don't need it anymore.  It looks like Samsung has the intent to keep the app store rolling out and current and if so, it would down the line make a lot of the TV subscription redundent. 

Anyone knows about TVs

The big time sapper over the last few days has been shopping for a TV.  It is time to replace the 1990s CRT tube with one of those slick thin LCD or plasma TVs.  I know that plasma is supposed to be better but there is a premium attached.  There is vote for a 55 inch TV and Samsung UE55d7000 but there is a question of it is backlit.  We are also looking at Sony somethingsomething 929.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The intentions so far are working out as scheduled.  Yesterday, Saturday we were out shopping but I took my camera with me and converted it into TV shopping plus photography day.  Cranked up ISO all the way to 6400 for some shots and on camera review showed little noise.  I will find out tonight what the 100% looks like.  I am going for yoga today.  Thursday was an interesting experience but more importantly controlling the judgemental aspect means that I am perfectly happy with my performance and am really looking forward to today.

I have been strangely sleepy this weekend and I don't know if it is due to the weather which is basically pure grey skies with mild variations of grey.  I can imagaine that for someone who is so inclined can get easily depressed. 

Heard yesterday that Whitney Houston is dead at 48 years.  What a waste?  Even with so much talent, beauty and success, she couldn't find anything to appreciate and love about herself so went looking for it in all the wrong places - that is externally from other people or by means of mind altering substances. 

Good intentions

I don't know why I named this post good intentions but since this is stream of conciousness, I don't need to go too much in to the analysis. 

I am trying to lose weight.  I have been following my own diet which is a combination of low carb/low cal/exercise/indulge and recover.  So far it is working and this morning I am down another 1.3lbs from yesterday.  That is a good intention that is working.  One thing I am also acknowledging is that I am greatful for this body and who I am right now without any future enhancements.  I am happy as I am.  My weightloss is for continued good health and further enhanced looks, not to achieve the body image that I will one day love.

The second good intention to write more to write this blog is also there.  Out of four days I have written three and that brings me to the one day that I missed.  The name of the post came about because the way the mind works, it will mainly focus on what is not achieved rather than what is achieved. So that the one day I missed writing it within the first week was upmost in my mind. 

I am reading the Power of Now and there is a comment there that one has to learn to watch one's ego (also what we call mind - the incessent inner voice that judges or tries to live in the past or future rather than focusing on the present), like watching a small child and wag one's finger at it when caught being judgmental.  This analysis is really a wag of my finger with a grin to day Gottcha!

Here again

So I am here again on day 2.  The glorious sunny weather we had the last couple of days had given way to high clouds.  It is going to be raining pretty soon.  It was full moon yesterday and I wanted to take a photo of the rising moon but the clouds started coming in and when I got home I used that as an excuse for not going out because I was feeling lazy (recognizing reality no judgement - but...this reality also means that I can work on firming up my will power a tad). 
Wednesday is writing day.  I was talking to my parents this morning and my mother's friend from high school had called her.  I have never met her but she sounds really interesting.  She is re-reading her old Western Civilization and Philosophy books it seems and some of her comments my mother repeated brought to mind a plotline for writing.
Back to will power - what this means is that I need to write it down put it aside and keep my focus on the current project.
Well time to get ready for work.  I am already boarderline late....

Today - A new beginning

It is a new beginning and this is stream of consciousness writing.  Why am I putting it out on a blog?  I don't know but I feel that I can keep the writing coming this way.  Right Now it is dark outside at 6am.  The sound of passing cars is clear as there are only few cars at this time of the morning and few ambient noises to merge and muffle the individual sounds.  The sound is soothing.  I can close my eyes and pretend that I am at the beach listening to the sound of the surf.  The lights that are on based on the angle I look out at some times take on shapes like light writing, distorted by multiple glass I am looking through.  The fire glows in the fire place and the double light beside gives out a soft halo that shows off the stack of books below.  I have the extremely bad (here my mind is being judgemental - strike) habit of buying books as a collector of titles rather than a reader.  I used to be an avid reader (mind going to the past rather than staying in the present but for context), but lately I have been more of a collector than a reader.  Primary reason for this is a time wasting activity have picked up (again judgemental - strike), surfing the net.  On the face of it it is all for value added reasons - Face Book to keep up with friends' checking email - which has become time consuming as I seem to have subscribed to numerous valueble resources that send numerous info. laden emails that I barely read but still need to go through; looking up articles related to my profession for professional development, reading business articles for work, reading articles on latest health news, tech news, learning photography and writing related articles as well as keeping up with new music.  But now the activity takes approximately 3-4 hours of my after work time leaving little time for other things like working out.  Perhaps I need to allocate each day for one activity (mind in future rather than present but will continue in this thought process for value to be derived).  I like to keep the middle day Wednesday for writing and Sunday for photography and writing.  Monday should be the miscellaneous (tech, health, music day) and Tuesday Pro-D.  This leaves Thursday and Friday for dedication to any of the activities that requires priority that week.  This will help me contain the online activity to just 2 hours.
It is 6:30am and I am off to do my Nike routine.  If anyone is reading and doing know what that is, check out the free Nike Training app.  It's my day 2 using it for a half hour cross training in the morning and it is awesome.