Tag Archives: Health

Good reads

It’s been a loooong time since I posted some good reading.

5 Things I Learned as the Internet’s Most Hated Person | Cracked.com
"I watched every avenue of social media suddenly blow up with messages of abject hatred from thousands of strangers. For the first five days, I couldn't sleep. Every time I would start to doze off, I'd be shocked awake from half-asleep nightmares about everyone I love buying into the mob's bullshit and abandoning me. The ceaseless barrage of random people sending you disgusting shit is initially impossible to drown out — it was constant, loud, and it became my life."
They Are Not Trolls. They Are Men. | Make Me a Sammich
"By calling these people “trolls,” we are basically letting them off the hook. It’s a lot like the “boys will be boys” mentality that helps to keep rape culture thriving, but it’s also different, because boys are expected to be human. By calling these people “trolls,” we relegate them to non-human status, and we make it clear that we don’t expect them to live up to the same behavioral standards as human beings." Continue reading Good reads →

Time Is Not Discrete

I am not feeling New Year’s resolutions this year. When I think, “What do I want to achieve this year?” the list is the same as I am always striving toward:

  • Health (mental, physical, and spiritual),
  • Education (of myself and others), and
  • Creation

Those are the things I strive for everyday anyway. What metrics do I need to judge if I’ve really worked “hard enough” or “well enough”?

Am I healthier? Do I and those around me have more knowledge and compassion for the world? Have I created something and shared it?

I call those sufficient.

For the first time ever,

Post-#SexyShred Thoughts

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Or: What Garbage Will I Eat Now?

I spent 4 weeks eating “clean” in July and August as part of #SexyShred:

  • no preservatives
  • no pork
  • little beef
  • few oils
  • most cheeses eliminated
  • few processed foods
  • no white rice or white flour
  • organic fruits and veggies
  • no added sugars or sweeteners other than honey or molasses

Their version of clean eating is a variation on common styles that might prohibit any added sugars at all, but wouldn’t disallow pork.

I felt pretty amazing. I’ve been working through all sorts of food stuff the last few months, discovering what foods trigger more overeating, what foods negatively affect my mood. came at a good time in that process. (Thanks, Dre!)

Once I eliminated a whole bunch of crap (in line with the list above), a lot of the general “noise” in my mind and body about food quieted. I craved less often, and for less time per craving. Tummy discomfort eased. I didn’t think about food as often.

Some things were friggin’ hard. I took the treasurer position in that month, and that’s a lot of work. Church and other meetings keep me away from home until 20-21:00 three or four nights a week. I ended up eating pretty raw some nights as a result–fresh fruit, nuts, etc.

I’m lucky in that I already know how to cook. I got the impression that some folks in the challenge weren’t very experienced at that. I was able to improvise and adapt, given time. Which I was low on.

The management team was pretty clearly tired of running the challenge, and I wasn’t too surprised when they called a hiatus to , with the intent to return at the beginning of 2014.

But now it’s over.

I traveled the remainder of August, and while I made fairly healthy choices, I didn’t eat rigorously clean.

September was pretty bad. Lots of crappy foods, and while I ran some, I didn’t lift weights, didn’t aim for 10k steps a day, didn’t do yoga or any crosstraining. I gained some weight, lost some fitness, and managed stress poorly. Clearly a too-far swing the other way.

One longer-term solution is to go back to eating normal foods. Ho hum, noisy body, but oh hey, easily-accessible and very tasty foods.

The more obvious solution, perhaps, is to find a much cleaner middle ground. Starting October 1, I’m working from the base and opting in carefully to more normal foods. For instance, sushi is happening. I don’t give a damn about white rice in that context; sushi is on. Rice as a side or a filler (á la Chinese food), I’ll pass. I’ll work on easing my sweet tooth, because hoo, boy, honey is amazing.

It’s a little embarrassing how quickly I go through a jar of honey.

Weightlifting is flowing a little easier. I consider working out to be pretty essential self-care, right up there with journalling and meditative study. I lifted last night, and while it was a little rough (and lo, the aftermath), it felt good even to do my warm-up jump roping.

I don’t know if I’ll do the official in January. I had some internal friction about the way some of the leaders chose to interact with the community. The line between “tough love” and “fear mongering” can be a fuzzy one; my interpretation edged towards “fear mongering” often enough that I might sit out the next one.

#SexyShred was incredibly eye-opening, though. I hadn’t really heard of clean eating, and learned a hell of lot about my body and my various neuroses in that month. Now I just have to move forward with the lessons learned.

Tons of Videos!

Actually, like 3 videos. But they’re good ones! Plus a few miscellaneous links.

First, a video:

My question: Why can’t he pull out a chair? Turns out, home skillet has a bad back.

To offset that, a bit of cuteness: Maximumble – comic #594 – Ship. Mew.

Continue reading Tons of Videos! →

APW 2013: (Mental) Ableism

(This is fourth in a series of posts about Atlanta Poly Weekend 2013.)

Now for a downside of my APW 2013 experience: ableism.

I didn’t perceive very much physical ableism except for an awkward-as-hell “lame” reference in the closing ceremonies. I don’t think anyone even laughed. Then again, I know I’m also less sensitive to physical ableism than mental, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more.

For the mental ableism… it was everywhere. Therapists there used the word “crazy” and people talked about their “crazy, bipolar” exes. One person even said their ex was so crazy “they shouldn’t have been allowed to date.”

Continue reading APW 2013: (Mental) Ableism →