Dr. Furhman in Italia!

Dr. Furhman, my favorite nutrition expert and author of my favorite books on eating -- Eat to Live and Eat for Health), just wrote on his blog that he took a trip to Italy with his wife of 27 years for their anniversary. It's a wonderful story of how they managed to eat healthy abroad. What was fun for me to read was that it even was a challenge for them. I'd think Dr. Furhman, with such knowledge and experience in healthy eating would breeze through any vacation. Then again, Italy is a land of cuisine with cheese.

Anyway, here's the link (in case you missed it in my hyperlink above). Enjoy!

Blog of Dr. Furhman in Italy

Labels

No, this isn't some profound discussion on how people tend to label others (although that might be a good thought to explore later on). I'm just excited because I've finally found a way to help you find things easier on my blog. I knew there must be a way, that Blogger wouldn't leave us stranded like that.

Look to the right of my blog page and you'll see a little area that says "Labels" and it lists how many posts have that label next to it. Just click on any label you're interested in and it will show you all the posts under that heading.

I wish it gave a mini-directory of them so you wouldn't have to sort through the ones with many, but at least this will help a bit. Those who are new to my blog can start where they are interested and read a variety of posts on the subject, whether it be video fitness, healthy eating, or looking for a few good raw or whole wheat recipes.

There's still the archive that's listed chronologically if you just want to see all the titles, but that can be cumbersome to click on each month individually now that I've been writing for awhile. It's still a resource though, so that's nice. I'll get some more recipes on here to share now that I know you can find them more easily. TTFN!

Overcoming temptation by thinking twice -- my first little trial on my 90@90% challenge

I went shopping today with my youngest 2 children (after taking them to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" -- very cute movie -- not many whole foods falling from the sky, however :)). Anyway, I told them they could each pick out a treat at the health food store. My daughter chose one of my favorite "health food" goodies -- Paul Newman's (or is it Newman's Own?) Double Chocolate Mint Chip cookies. Now I've been known to eat a whole bag just on the way home from the store before. Sometimes I have enough sense to stop part way and roll that bag down with the little sticker that comes with it (like I need it to keep them fresh because I eat them up so fast), but I always finish them up later that day. So it's all the same.

Well, I've taught my daughters that this is a super tasty treat too, so this was her choice. And she said, "I'll share with you, mom. We can eat them together." Not only have I taught her to eat them, but to add a nice memory to them -- togetherness with mom. So while I was processing all that, I was thinking, "Do I turn her down or just have a few as my 10%?" At first I went with, "Well, I won't be able to eat too many" (like that would hurt her feelings), but as I perused the aisles, I knew that wasn't a good choice. If I have 10% cooked, it should still be whole foods or something pretty close. So I told her that I shouldn't be eating any of them since I'm mainly eating raw foods. She was fine with that and I felt a big relief. I knew I couldn't trust myself to eat "just a few" and didn't want to see what that may snowball into. I didn't want cravings for them later either. I truly wasn't craving them then. I was just thinking it would be fun to eat them WITH her.

I ate a Cameo apple on the way home and it was absolutely delicious. That was my treat, it filled me up, and I enjoyed every single bite. I love it when I overcome temptation, even if it's slight. So many times I've done the opposite and have fallen from achieving my goals.

My husband has taught our children a little method of "thinking twice" whenever they want to do something wrong. He talked about how thoughts can just pop in your head and you have the choice of either acting on them, or thinking twice and creating a new thought to replace the old one. I guess that's what I did today -- I started with fearing I'd offend my daughter or miss out on a sharing moment if I didn't eat those cookies. But I replaced that thought with the realization that this wouldn't be good for my progress and that she would be just fine without me eating the cookies. My second thought won. Sometimes I baby my first thoughts because I want them to win so much. But deep down, I know there is room for a better thought. I'm glad I did that today. Onward and upward with my 90 days raw @ 90%!

90% Raw for 90 Days -- Anyone up for the challenge?

I just heard about a challenge to eat 90% raw for 90 days and I'm going to do it. I've attempted 100% for 30 days so many times I can't even count it, but I do well at 90%. I think I can smooth out the kinks of my high raw eating if I really focus on it this time.

One plan I have is to make sure my diet is high in vegetables. I plan to juice greens and have plenty of green smoothies. If I do this, I won't feel hungry or crave sweet foods all the time. I'll also feel satisfied (and energetic) since vegetables are so nutrient dense. I will have some days when I eat all rawto allow for special occasions (days when I eat more than 10% cooked like going out to lunch with friends), which will be my 10% over the span of a week. Other days, I'll have my 10% within that day and will have several days in a row like that.

I'm going to start this Monday. If anyone wants to join me, let me know. It would be fun to do it together and share our successes. I'll most likely post my daily progress on my other blog (reneeonrawfood -- let me know if you want access), but I will give updates occasionally on here too. If any of you need to start later, I'd still love to hear from you. I'd love to hear what we can accomplish in 90 days. If you're thinking "I can't eat that much raw food," try for 50% at first and gradually increase -- maybe 50% for the first 30 days, 70% for the next 40 and then 90% for the last 30. (Or if you think "50% is good for me" and don't want to budge from there, that still may be a great improvement to your eating). And don't fret if you're estimating the percentages. I'm not going to go crazy over that. If it seems close, I'll be happy with that in my eating.

If you're not the least bit interested in doing this yourself, but want to cheer me on from time to time, I'd love that too. (But my secret wish is that you will join me sometime :)).

My schedule will take me almost to the end of December, just before Christmas. Hopefully by then, I'll practically be on autopilot and will continue on through the holidays and into the new year. What a great way to start the new year!

Collage Video -- Most complete source for Fitness Videos

Long ago (well, let's think -- probably 13 years ago), I was at a friend's house and was thumbing through her Fitness magazine. I'd started doing Denise Austin videos at the time (a few from her Hit the Spot series that I'd found at K-Mart) and found that I was loving doing exercise videos at home. I saw a full page ad near the back for Collage Video, a catalog specifically for exercise videos. There was no internet at this time (that I knew about anyway), no websites for mail ordering. Catalogs were the way to go. This catalog claimed to have videos by fitness experts that never made it to the big chain stores like K-Mart. At the time, the only videos I'd seen at the store were Denise Austin, Kathy Smith, The FIRM (which looked intriguing, but they cost twice as much and my funds were minimal), and some by models like Cindy Crawford and Kathy Ireland.

I asked my friend if I could tear out that page and later called Collage to request a catalog. I've been "in the know" of fitness videos ever since! The catalog rated videos by level of intensity, choreography difficulty, and gave precise details on length and style. They also tell you which are their staff favorites. No more guessing about what the video was like before breaking open that plastic wrap. And Collage had a guarantee that if you didn't like a video, you could return it (I only had to do that once).

Immediately I latched onto the success stories featured in each catalog. I loved seeing the before and after pictures, hearing which videos they used (now they don't mention that specifically) and how working out to videos helped them. I decided right there that I'd be a Collage Success Story. Only weeks before, I'd come to grips with the fact that I'd had 4 babies and my body would just look "like a mom" with the lower belly fat and all that. But the stories in Collage gave me hope that I could break out of that mold. And I did!

I continued on with the videos I had and added a few more to the mix as months went on (Donna Richardson's Donna-Mite, and Karen Voight's Streamline Fitness, still 2 of my favorite videos ever -- truly, these videos are timeless). Eventually I lost that baby weight, took some pictures, sent them in and became a Collage Video Success Story (which not only gets your picture and story in the catalog, but also gives you $100 in free videos). After my next baby was born, I took before and after pictures again and was featured this time on the cover (which got me $200 in credit -- very fun). (If I can get our scanner working again, I'll post the before and afters from those catalogs).

I still get their catalogs (and actually have a Rubbermaid box with all the Collage catalogs I've ever received because they're a great reference for workout details and video fitness history -- plus their just fun to keep). And I frequent the Collage Video website often. Now they have video previews which are great because you can see the set, hear the music and see the style of workout for yourself before even buying. Click on this clip for one of my favorite dvds by Cathe Friedrich if you want to see a sample IMAX2 & Cardio & Weights. If you are ever shopping for fitness videos, Collage is a GREAT place to go.