What follows is a post from my other blog that dates back to August 2012.
In the advent of going back to school, I am terrified I will not be up to par. While trying to write a very short essay to qualify for a scholarship, I realized how long it has been since I last had to write anything at all. I've procrastinated for days before getting started, and came up with some of my long-lost writing strategies from my university days. I thought I'd share my two-cents with you in case anyone was feeling the same way and needed a bit of encouragement. So without further ado, here are my rules for writing anxiety-free:
- There is never an obligation to start from the very beginning.
- Writing by hand with a real pen and paper helps your mind keep up with your writing and gives you time to construct sentences that actually mean what you're trying to say. So leave that laptop at home guilt-free.
- Embrace changes and scratch out words even if it looks ugly. You can't always get it right he first time and corrections only want what's best for you!
- Drafts are a necessary step. Be patient with them.
- The thesaurus is your best friend; take it with you.
- Attack your blank page with a plan, no matter how simple.
- It's ok to not write if you're not feeling inspired. Wait until it hits you.
- Sometimes deadlines trigger inspiration. Visualize one if you need to.
- Swallow the pill and re-read yourself slowly, more than once.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Saturday, July 28, 2012
"Meltdown"
Sometimes I wish I could just not care about anything. Why did I have to be made to have all these feelings? It's not fair: against my will, I am forced to feel all this, and in return I am pegged as nonsensical. Where's the justice? Where is all the love I am told is "obviously there"? I don't want to cry when I express myself but the tears fall on their own. I don't think I'm an exception. Even those who appear to feel nothing must hide a certain amount of emotion. These people enjoy more power over those who find it impossible to suppress their feelings. I suppose this is why men control the world, and those women who were able to get ahead have done so by swallowing a whole lot of suffering.
How can one embrace one's womanliness without ending up disappointed?
Monday, August 9, 2010
Myth: “Juices can replace fruits and vegetables.”
It makes me cringe when I see commercials for juices that supposedly contain a few of your daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Sure, it’s better to have a V8 than a bowl of grease... And you’d survive if you only had juice instead of produce (by the way, liquid diets are no good, so please don’t attempt this). But keep in mind that anything you see advertised on TV, billboards, magazines and other media is there to MAKE MONEY. They’ll say anything to get you to buy their products. Think about this: is it profitable for most industries to make you healthy? The answer is no! Because if you are healthy, you won’t be spending money on their products. It costs more to treat a minority of people who become sick, than preventative measures to ensure everyone leads a healthy lifestyle. So they’re saying OJ in the morning is part of a healthy breakfast, and you should have a V8 with your burger instead of a Coke. My question is: why not have an orange and a glass of water instead of OJ? Why not have a couple servings of vegetables and a glass of water instead of V8?
Juice is not necessarily part of a healthy diet for two reasons. First, it contains either high levels of added sugar or salt, and second, it cannot compete with produce in nutritional content. Extra fat, sugar and salt in processed foods is what is making our nation sick:
- Refined sugars are bad for you because they are directly linked to diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, and causes fatigue, gas and worsens PMS. It also contributes to osteoporosis and weakens the immune system. If you must sweeten your beverage or recipe, it is better to choose honey, stevia, or even agave nectar (more on sweeteners in another post).
- Processed salt (such as table salt, iodized salt, and kosher salt) is not recommended because it is highly refined so it contains chemicals, and is hard for your body to assimilate. Too much salt puts stress on your kidneys, causes dehydration, makes you feel excessively thirsty and therefore prone to drink and eat more junk. It also contributes to high blood pressure and interferes with calcium and nutrient absorption. If you must salt something, it is better to use sea salt that is free of chemicals (check the ingredient list on the label).
The other reason juice is not necessarily healthy is that it just doesn’t contain the same nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. First of all, most packaged juices are made of water. Second, they don’t contain the same amount of fibre as produce since many juices are void of pulp. Here’s an experiment: Pick a green orange and ride it across the continent. Treat it with gas to accelerate ripening. Peel it. Juice it. Strain it. Freeze, dehydrate or dilute it with water. Add sugar and colouring. Let it sit for a few weeks. Then measure its nutritional content. Chances are it won’t be as complete as the fruit was in the first place. Fact is: juice is not real food. It is a chemically altered, diluted, zombie of a food. If you insist on drinking it, make it yourself in small batches so it stays fresh and contains more of the nutrients you need and no harmful chemicals.
The moral of this story is: fill your diet with “real foods” and avoid packaged foods as much as possible. Real foods and plain water is what your body needs, not chemicals, sugar, fat, salt and colourings.
Coming up:
Myth: “Fructose is a healthy alternative to sugar”
Juice is not necessarily part of a healthy diet for two reasons. First, it contains either high levels of added sugar or salt, and second, it cannot compete with produce in nutritional content. Extra fat, sugar and salt in processed foods is what is making our nation sick:
- Refined sugars are bad for you because they are directly linked to diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, and causes fatigue, gas and worsens PMS. It also contributes to osteoporosis and weakens the immune system. If you must sweeten your beverage or recipe, it is better to choose honey, stevia, or even agave nectar (more on sweeteners in another post).
- Processed salt (such as table salt, iodized salt, and kosher salt) is not recommended because it is highly refined so it contains chemicals, and is hard for your body to assimilate. Too much salt puts stress on your kidneys, causes dehydration, makes you feel excessively thirsty and therefore prone to drink and eat more junk. It also contributes to high blood pressure and interferes with calcium and nutrient absorption. If you must salt something, it is better to use sea salt that is free of chemicals (check the ingredient list on the label).
The other reason juice is not necessarily healthy is that it just doesn’t contain the same nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. First of all, most packaged juices are made of water. Second, they don’t contain the same amount of fibre as produce since many juices are void of pulp. Here’s an experiment: Pick a green orange and ride it across the continent. Treat it with gas to accelerate ripening. Peel it. Juice it. Strain it. Freeze, dehydrate or dilute it with water. Add sugar and colouring. Let it sit for a few weeks. Then measure its nutritional content. Chances are it won’t be as complete as the fruit was in the first place. Fact is: juice is not real food. It is a chemically altered, diluted, zombie of a food. If you insist on drinking it, make it yourself in small batches so it stays fresh and contains more of the nutrients you need and no harmful chemicals.
The moral of this story is: fill your diet with “real foods” and avoid packaged foods as much as possible. Real foods and plain water is what your body needs, not chemicals, sugar, fat, salt and colourings.
Coming up:
Myth: “Fructose is a healthy alternative to sugar”
Myth: “It’s better to eat six small meals every day than three large ones.”
Ok, this is a simple one. It is true that having SMALL healthy meals throughout the day is better than three large ones because it prevents your blood sugar from dropping (which can make you feel tired, moody, irritable, forgetful, etc). And it is true that eating three big meals a day is not necessarily good because you get hungry in between and end up craving junk, or you over-eat and end up not burning all those calories which your body then transforms into fat.
But, let’s be honest, most people who have six meals a day, have six BIG meals a day. When I say a small meal, I mean a small bean salad, or a piece of whole wheat pita with some hummus, or a few almonds and an apple; not fried chicken and french fries. It is of no use for you to have six big meals a day. You might as well have only three meals plus a couple snacks and you won’t take in two days-worth of calories in one. If you have six big meals a day you WILL put on fat, no matter how hard you work out. A small meal is like a snack (beware: not a snack as in a couple Oreo cookies, I mean like a miniature healthy meal). It’s also important to realize that if you do not exercise regularly, the effects of over-eating will be accelerated. If you are pretty much sedentary, you must reduce your calorie and fat intake as much as possible, without having too little either. But if you are active and you’re going to do the six-meal-a-day thing, make sure portions are controlled and that you are getting enough vitamins and minerals by choosing the right foods. That means having a varied diet that includes plenty of produce (more on produce in another post), whole grains and good fats (more on good fats in another post).
Note: I hear some bachelors out there are eating spaghetti at every meal. Although they might be getting the appropriate amount of calories that their body needs in a day, it doesn’t mean they are healthy. Look at it this way: if all you ever ate was chocolate, you’d survive, but you wouldn’t feel awesome. What’s the difference between getting your calories from a bean salad or from a bowl of grease? The salad probably contains way more of the good stuff your body needs to be happy. You can’t get all your vitamins and nutrients from one single dish, so vary your diet!
Coming up:
Myth: “Juices are an acceptable replacement for fruits and vegetables.”
But, let’s be honest, most people who have six meals a day, have six BIG meals a day. When I say a small meal, I mean a small bean salad, or a piece of whole wheat pita with some hummus, or a few almonds and an apple; not fried chicken and french fries. It is of no use for you to have six big meals a day. You might as well have only three meals plus a couple snacks and you won’t take in two days-worth of calories in one. If you have six big meals a day you WILL put on fat, no matter how hard you work out. A small meal is like a snack (beware: not a snack as in a couple Oreo cookies, I mean like a miniature healthy meal). It’s also important to realize that if you do not exercise regularly, the effects of over-eating will be accelerated. If you are pretty much sedentary, you must reduce your calorie and fat intake as much as possible, without having too little either. But if you are active and you’re going to do the six-meal-a-day thing, make sure portions are controlled and that you are getting enough vitamins and minerals by choosing the right foods. That means having a varied diet that includes plenty of produce (more on produce in another post), whole grains and good fats (more on good fats in another post).
Note: I hear some bachelors out there are eating spaghetti at every meal. Although they might be getting the appropriate amount of calories that their body needs in a day, it doesn’t mean they are healthy. Look at it this way: if all you ever ate was chocolate, you’d survive, but you wouldn’t feel awesome. What’s the difference between getting your calories from a bean salad or from a bowl of grease? The salad probably contains way more of the good stuff your body needs to be happy. You can’t get all your vitamins and nutrients from one single dish, so vary your diet!
Coming up:
Myth: “Juices are an acceptable replacement for fruits and vegetables.”
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Myth: “Carbohydrates are bad for you”
Now that just offends me. We need carbohydrates to survive! It is the fuel we need to function properly and even burn fat. I hear a lot of “a high-protein diet is the key to fat-loss”, but in fact, I read in the paper a few months back that some woman died because her diet was too rich in protein and poor in carbs (it was one of those big-name diet craze, I’m trying to find the article). The fact is that an excess of protein is bad for you because proteins produce a toxin in your body which promotes dehydration since your kidneys work extra hard to flush it all out. I see a lot of people at the gym drinking shakes that contain 45 grams of protein, and I always roll my eyes. These people think that it will build muscle and make them lose fat, but what they are really losing is water. Sure, protein is important to build muscle, but what you really need immediately after a workout is water and “simple carbs” (which have a high-glycemic index). That means that they are absorbed very rapidly into your bloodstream. You need that because your muscles become depleted of their glycogen (energy cells) after high-intensity exercise. By choosing a carb with a high-glycemic index (such as a banana) you replenish the muscle’s energy quickly before it starts to eat away at itself. After that, you need protein so that your muscles can repair the tears you caused in them while exercising. As a rule, you should eat about 0.36 grams of protein per pound in your body every day. So if you’re 125 lbs, then you only need 45g of protein in a day (which you probably get from the rest of the food you eat).
Now all this is for after a workout session. But on a regular basis you want to avoid high-glycemic carbs because they are burned quickly and don’t provide a lasting source of energy. So the rest of the time you want to choose complex carbs, which have a low glycemic-index. These include WHOLE GRAINS (more on this in another post), certain veggies and beans. Because they are absorbed more slowly by your system, they last longer and help prevent you from over-eating and craving junk. Plus, they’re usually healthier and contain more of the nutrients you need to be healthy as opposed to packaged foods, white flour-based products and meats.
Now all this is for after a workout session. But on a regular basis you want to avoid high-glycemic carbs because they are burned quickly and don’t provide a lasting source of energy. So the rest of the time you want to choose complex carbs, which have a low glycemic-index. These include WHOLE GRAINS (more on this in another post), certain veggies and beans. Because they are absorbed more slowly by your system, they last longer and help prevent you from over-eating and craving junk. Plus, they’re usually healthier and contain more of the nutrients you need to be healthy as opposed to packaged foods, white flour-based products and meats.
My thoughts on leading a healthy lifestyle
I’ve been thinking a lot about nutrition these days. Friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances; many of you have expressed the desire to make a change in your lives for the better. There’s so much information out there that it’s impossible not to feel confused. A lot of articles contradict each other, and everyone’s got their own philosophies about nutrition. A lot of literature on the subject is complicated, dense or scattered. I thought it might be a good start to share my views as to proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle, because it has been a very important aspect of my life for the last two years. I’ve learned a lot of good tips from my coaches and gym buddies, and also by reading and watching videos. What I propose is to tackle some classic myths about nutrition, and also give my thoughts on some bad habits that a lot of us have. Take what you wish from it. Agree or disagree. Make suggestions. Correct me or ask questions. Share your opinions and experiences.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in any of the matters discussed, and am merely expressing my views which are a product of personal research and experience.
I’d like to start with two interesting lists.
The first is of MYTHS regarding nutrition you may have heard of or believed to be true. Later I’ll try to explain why they are mostly false. Some of them contradict each other. Can you tell me how many of these you’ve heard of?
Here we go:
- Calories are bad.
- It’s better to eat six small meals every day than three large ones.
- Multigrain foods are always a healthy choice.
- You body craves what it needs.
- Organic foods are always healthy.
- Organic foods are overrated.
- Non-organic and imported produce is always healthy.
- Fructose is a healthy alternative to sugar.
- Juices are an acceptable replacement for fruits and vegetables.
- “Natural” foods have no flavour.
- “Diet” or “Light” foods are better for you.
- Carbohydrates are bad for you.
- Salads are always a healthy choice.
- Potatoes, white rice, white flour-based breads and pastas are good for you.
- All oils are bad for you.
- One must starve to lose weight/eating makes you fat.
- Meat is a healthy source of protein.
- Protein and energy bars are always a healthy choice and can replace a meal.
- Having a healthy lifestyle is complicated and requires a lot of effort.
The second list shows some habits many of us have that may not have a positive effect on our health:
- Frequent inactivity (i.e. not doing any exercise).
- Skipping breakfast.
- Ingesting juices, energy drinks, fancy coffee beverages, and other caloric drinks.
- Consuming diet drinks and foods that contain sugar substitutes.
- Drinking alcohol excessively.
- Overeating as a result of consuming alcohol.
- Giving in to cravings.
- Believing that exercise is necessarily tedious and unpleasant.
If you’ve ever heard of believed any of these things, leave a comment. I am going to explain my views on as many elements of these lists as I can, in a random order. So stay posted for more.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in any of the matters discussed, and am merely expressing my views which are a product of personal research and experience.
I’d like to start with two interesting lists.
The first is of MYTHS regarding nutrition you may have heard of or believed to be true. Later I’ll try to explain why they are mostly false. Some of them contradict each other. Can you tell me how many of these you’ve heard of?
Here we go:
- Calories are bad.
- It’s better to eat six small meals every day than three large ones.
- Multigrain foods are always a healthy choice.
- You body craves what it needs.
- Organic foods are always healthy.
- Organic foods are overrated.
- Non-organic and imported produce is always healthy.
- Fructose is a healthy alternative to sugar.
- Juices are an acceptable replacement for fruits and vegetables.
- “Natural” foods have no flavour.
- “Diet” or “Light” foods are better for you.
- Carbohydrates are bad for you.
- Salads are always a healthy choice.
- Potatoes, white rice, white flour-based breads and pastas are good for you.
- All oils are bad for you.
- One must starve to lose weight/eating makes you fat.
- Meat is a healthy source of protein.
- Protein and energy bars are always a healthy choice and can replace a meal.
- Having a healthy lifestyle is complicated and requires a lot of effort.
The second list shows some habits many of us have that may not have a positive effect on our health:
- Frequent inactivity (i.e. not doing any exercise).
- Skipping breakfast.
- Ingesting juices, energy drinks, fancy coffee beverages, and other caloric drinks.
- Consuming diet drinks and foods that contain sugar substitutes.
- Drinking alcohol excessively.
- Overeating as a result of consuming alcohol.
- Giving in to cravings.
- Believing that exercise is necessarily tedious and unpleasant.
If you’ve ever heard of believed any of these things, leave a comment. I am going to explain my views on as many elements of these lists as I can, in a random order. So stay posted for more.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Colours
Whoever was it that decided that pink was for girls and blue for boys?
How can one possibly put a gender on a colour? Or a colour on a gender, for that matter?
That makes no sense to me.
Colours are gender-less, and neither do they naturally occur only in specific genders. After all, there ARE male flamingos and female blue jays out there. Furthermore, whoever decided that colours such as yellow or green were gender-neutral? What makes a colour more feminine? What makes a colour more masculine? Who decided and why? When babies are born, they aren't naturally attracted to a certain colour according to their gender; It is grown-ups that decide for them, which colours they should wear, use, and have around them. Ain't it kind of wrong? Doesn't this set things up for worse problems?
What's the deal with that?
How can one possibly put a gender on a colour? Or a colour on a gender, for that matter?
That makes no sense to me.
Colours are gender-less, and neither do they naturally occur only in specific genders. After all, there ARE male flamingos and female blue jays out there. Furthermore, whoever decided that colours such as yellow or green were gender-neutral? What makes a colour more feminine? What makes a colour more masculine? Who decided and why? When babies are born, they aren't naturally attracted to a certain colour according to their gender; It is grown-ups that decide for them, which colours they should wear, use, and have around them. Ain't it kind of wrong? Doesn't this set things up for worse problems?
What's the deal with that?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
