Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Laughter with Friends

Today's Wine & Wellness Wednesday was going to be an entirely different topic.

Then dinner happened. And laughter happened. And even though I'm coughing through the laughter (dratted weird weather and a winter-spring cold), happiness happened.

We had a simply marvelous evening having dinner (pizza!) with friends, and playing a game, and laughing, and laughing, and laughing some more.

Laughter really is the best medicine, in so many ways.

So go find friends (or family!) you haven't spent time with for a while, and take an easy meal, and a game, and laugh. It's good for you!

Cheers! Here's to your health. ;)

 

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Habits

A few days ago, for various reasons, I missed meditating. I didn’t meditate in the morning as is my usual routine, and I didn’t mediate in the evening as I often do if I miss the morning.

Oh, my how I missed it.

It started me thinking about healthy habits, how easy they can be to build, and how critical they can become to our daily routine. Yes, I also realize that once you’re out of routine it can be difficult to get those habits back! That’s why, even though I’m out of routine thanks to slipping on ice and whacking both knees on the concrete, I’m trying to maintain modified versions of my morning routine so it’s easier to get all of it back once my knees heal.

Let’s say, for example, that you would like to start running. Maybe the long-term goal is to run a half marathon, then a marathon.

How reasonable is it to think you can get up the first day and run 5 or 10 miles on your way to that half marathon? Give yourself a break! Unless you’re already a runner, this isn’t a reasonable start. If you don’t get that first five-mile run done on day one, maybe you’ll be discouraged and not keep going. So maybe day one is running around your block, or for a quarter mile, or… Do you see where I’m going here? Run it until it’s easy, and then add to it. Build it up. Sooner than later, you’ll not only be adding time, you’ll be enjoying it. (For the record, even thinking about this today makes my already sore knees hurt, but I like the idea!)

Let’s say that you’ve read all sorts of articles online about meditation and its benefits and you want to start. You sit down, in a quiet room, in a comfortable chair or on a cushion on the floor, close your eyes, and…THOUGHTS THOUGHTS THOUGHTS. All of the thoughts of the day start whacking into your brain, interrupting your quiet, making you THINK. Yeah…I have news for you…meditating isn’t about turning off your brain. It’s about focused quiet and changing your energy. It also isn’t going to go well if you try for an hour immediately. How about a minute? And after a minute becomes easy, then two, then three, and so on. Do you see where I’m going here? :)

A healthy habit doesn’t have to be jumping in to massive changes all at once. In order to become a habit, something has to be practiced and practiced and practiced until it becomes routine. Necessary. Enjoyable, hopefully! Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Go for a Walk! (12/23/15)

This is actually a throwback post because the weather has been so unseasonably warm and lovely that going for walks has been a real treat!! Cheers! Here's to your health. :)

12/23/2015

I have my wine, it’s Wednesday, and it’s time for another #winewellnesswednesday! :) So far I’ve talked about wine & water; the alliteration will (temporarily) stop after today’s topic, which is walking!

Yesterday, I decided to take advantage of moderately nicer weather and no precipitation (although a very grey day, at least at lunch) and take our dogs for a quick walk around the block. Twenty minutes and two laps of the block later, the dogs acted as though they were worn out, and I felt invigorated and ready to tackle the rest of the day. I’m glad I didn’t wait to go walking until Wednesday, considering how wet, cold, wild, and generally icky today’s weather is! Maybe I should be having mulled wine instead!

Walking! It’s good exercise, and if you’re not accustomed to exercising on a regular basis, it’s a great introduction to getting moving. I am accustomed to exercising regularly, and I still really enjoy going for walks. :) Most of the time when we go places, we’ve started a new habit of parking a little farther away from the destination so we’ll get a little extra walking in when we run errands. Yes, I said most of the time. If it’s pouring down rain or if there’s a sub-zero windchill? Nope! I’m parking as close as I can get! Walking is also great for improving your mood and getting your energy revamped to dive into whatever comes next.

Call walking the gateway drug to more activity if you like; call it whatever you want if you get up & get going! Take headphones and listen to music or a podcast or a book. Take a friend and have a conversation. Take your dogs. Take a walk through a park, or around your neighborhood, or around the mall. Take a hike! (Walk on a treadmill if the weather is truly awful.) And take care of yourself by adding some movement to your day, or changing your routine to incorporate a little more walking.

 

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Listen to Your Body!

Do you listen to your body? What is it telling you?

I had a craving recently for an old fashioned glazed donut. 

I thought to myself, “Having one just this once can't hurt.” 

Then I thought about how I felt recently when I inadvertently had wheat in a meal. My gut was a mess. I ached all over. My mood tanked in a BIG way.

Not. Worth. It. 

(It’s even less worth it to go for the glazed donut, when Sweet Treat without Wheat makes AMAZING gluten-free donuts.)

It’s hard. It is so very, very hard to figure out what your body might be telling you. Everyone is different, so everyone’s reactions to foods are different.

Have you had an excess of…wheat, or dairy, or…? How do you feel? What is your mood? What is your body trying to tell you?

Here’s a challenge for you. Pay attention to what you eat, and how you feel, for three or four or five days. (One day isn’t much time, so doing it just once won’t give you great data.) Did you cut back on something? How did your body react? Did you eat a lot of something? How did your body react? Maybe that triple stack of pancakes three days a week is delicious, but it’s making your joints ache. Listen to your body; it knows what you really need.

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: What Feeds Your Soul?

What feeds your soul?

 

Do you do enough of whatever it is?

I had the opportunity this week to spend some time playing in the dirt. I was filling flower pots; having my hands in the potting soil, along with watching the pots fill up and take up space on the tables in the greenhouse, made me think spring and possibilities and growing and joy. Tiring? Yup! Sore from standing a lot? Yup! Deeply, extremely soul-happy? YUP!

When something is missing from your life, that gap has an impact that can make itself felt both overtly and covertly. You may feel restless and not know why, or you may even get sick and wonder what happened when everything has been generally ok. A few years back, I realized I hadn’t cross stitched for several weeks and I was feeling really, really stitchy. (Ok, fine, that might not have been the word I actually used.) Whether I’m working on a gift for someone else or a project for myself, cross stitching fills a creative and productive need. I set a goal to cross stitch every day at that point, and in the time since 05/20/14 I’ve missed stitching on only 16 days. That’s a pretty good streak, and it makes my soul happy.

It can be your calling, your hobby, your passion; whatever it is that feeds your soul, find a way to do some every day.

Self care and soul care. :) Cheers! It’s good for your health.

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Tea!

Since last week’s #winewellnesswednesday was about coffee, it seems only fair that I give equal time to another of my favorite beverages and talk about the health benefits of tea. If you go looking around about tea as a health food, it’s mostly about green tea. Luckily, I like green tea. :) I highly recommend it! (To be honest, I also like black tea and herbal tea, too, and studies show health benefits from black tea as well as green.)

Improved blood flow. Lower cholesterol. Stable blood sugar. (Granted, these benefits will be easier to realize if you don’t lace your tea with sugar! Try local honey instead.) Relaxation. Hydration. Fighting diabetes. Preventing neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Look at all of the wonderful potential benefits of a cup of tea!

Seriously! Look just how virtuous you could be if you drank one cup of tea, be it black or green, every day. “Hey, honey, I just fought heart disease with my cup of jasmine dragon pearl tea. Don’t you want to be just like me???” (Who, me; sassy? Nah.)

One of the other things that I really enjoy about tea is the process and the ritual. In Des Moines, we have a lovely tea shop called Gong Fu. They have a wonderful wall of tea of many types and flavors, and if you can make the time for it, you can participate in a tea ceremony. It’s a very relaxing thing to do, along with having a delicious cup of tea. This morning, after I’d already had my coffee, I decided I wanted a cup of tea. I brewed some budding jasmine tea, and watching it unfurl in the hot water was both fascinating and relaxing.

Do you drink tea? (If you don’t, maybe it’s a good time to start!)

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Is Coffee Good for You?

Is coffee good for you?

I had this thought again today while I was out & about running errands in the snow. (I am SUPER happy to see snow again, by the way, in spite of it being messy and cold. We need the precipitation to have a nice green spring & summer!) All I could think about was I wanted to try an experiment, and make my own homemade version of a café au lait. It worked (decaf, orange chocolate coffee and hot milk), it was delicious, and it was an excellent thing to warm up with after time spent running around in the cold and snow.

Other than as a comforting hot beverage, I wondered if coffee is good for me. So of course I did some research… :)

Coffee might – note I said MIGHT – help prevent type 2 diabetes, counter some of the risk factors for heart attacks or strokes, and decrease the chances of developing Parkinson’s. Caffeine, it must be noted, does increase blood pressure, which is not always helpful, so decaf coffee might be best if you’re trying to drink the 7 or 8 cups per day that one of the studies showed decreased chances of diabetes. (Seven or eight?!)

And, of course, all of those delicious additions to your coffee will probably largely negate the health benefits. So maybe it’s time to skip the triple-shot, non-fat, no-whip, caramel macchiato, and stick to a lovely cup of black coffee. At least on a daily basis, that is! A caramel & coconut breve occasionally is a delightful treat!

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Mindful Eating

Mindfulness has become, recently (ish), a big topic in both the world of self care and business. I say “ish” because for some people, it’s been a practice to be mindful for more than just a few years.

There are multiple definitions for mindfulness. For my purposes today, I’ll think of it as the process of paying attention to the present moment, without thinking about what is past, and without worrying about what is next.

At several recent mindfulness gatherings, we discussed the topic of mindful eating. In Thich Nhat Han’s HOW TO EAT, the author brings together multiple tips on paying attention to what we eat, slowing down, savoring the food, and eating without distraction.

When I think of mindful eating, I think about paying attention to the moment, and knowing what I’m eating, and being present with my meal instead of rushing through. And, naturally, in the fast-paced world we live in, that last bit is easier said than done. I started trying to focus on the taste and texture of what I am eating or drinking. (Honestly, it’s quite hard to do that with a sip of coffee!) It is possible, also, to go all the way into considering what went into that bite of food. Where and how was it grown? How did it get to you? Although, in reality, I’m not sure I’d go as far as the PORTLANDIA sketch when the diners wanted to know the name of the chicken they were served for dinner.

I’ve recently started thinking, also, about how I feel when I eat something and how my body reacts. Mostly I think of this in relationship to mass-market junk food, and how the less of it I eat, the worse I feel when I do eat some. So mindful eating can also be paying attention to the impact what we eat has on us. (For example, knowing that after five years, McDonald’s fries have lost their appeal and I don’t like how I felt after I ate them.) I started paying attention to how I felt after eating anything with gluten, and the memory of how that felt helps me stay on a gluten-free path. (Well…that and a really good gluten-free pasta substitute made from black beans. And gluten-free brownies. And drinking lots of water.)

Mindful eating can also relate to mindful cooking. This evening while I made dinner, I thought about who I was cooking for (my husband and myself), where the food came from (and how much I didn’t know about some of my ingredients). At least two of my ingredients are from places I’ve visited, and one (the garlic) is grown by people I know. That was a good feeling to have as I worked on the meal. I thought about how it would taste when we sit down to dinner, and how much I enjoy sharing meals with my husband.

The next time you have a cup of coffee, or scrambled eggs, or a spinach salad, take some time to pay attention to the taste, and texture, and how everything feels. How does mindful eating impact your life?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Occasional Indulgences

I bought a Coke a few days ago, and then didn’t get around to drinking it until yesterday. It was…just ok. And then it was gone, and I was ok with that too.

Every once in a while, an occasional indulgence in junk food can be fun. It’s just not something I’m planning to add back to my diet on a regular basis.

I have a confession to make. I haven’t eaten what is usually considered American fast food for years, with one exception, until today. Even before I figured out that I needed to give up wheat and I went gluten-free, I’d lost my taste for McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Subway, Taco John’s, and so on. The exception is Arby’s, and that’s only because it’s easy to dismantle the sandwiches and not eat the bread. I’m pretty sure that means I need to be better at planning road trip meals, since it’s on road trips that I’m susceptible to just running through the Arby’s drive-up. Years ago my husband and I agreed we’d been eating too much fast food and so we slowly (and then not-so-slowly) cut it out by cutting back to no more than one such meal a week before eliminating it completely.

I had no problem with giving up most of those options, because all I had to do was remind myself how awful I felt after eating them. Recently, though, any time I pass a McDonald’s all I can think about are those fries. I have tried and tried to distract myself from that craving by indulging in different junk food options. I even tried crunching carrots, and while the carrots satisfied the crunch craving, they didn’t do anything for the salt craving or the memory of how the fries taste. Since I’ve managed, mostly, to usually talk myself out of junk food except for recently, in response to the fries craving, I finally decided I’d just get them, eat them, and remind myself how lousy I feel afterwards. (Cravings are a completely different topic!)

Drumroll please…to me, at least, they weren’t as good as I remembered. So now I’m over the craving, and all I have to do is hold on to that memory. 

What is one of your occasional indulgences? What have you tried lately that wasn’t as good as you remembered? What are you completely ok with leaving out of your diet these days?

Cheers! Here’s to your health! :)

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Resting

In January of 2016, I wrote a #winewellnesswednesday post about going unplugged.

This seems to be becoming a trend for me this time of year, as today’s topic is about taking a day of rest.

I really enjoyed reading the article linked in the comments, and it reminded me how important it is not only to be unplugged occasionally, but to deliberately set aside time for resting.

Favorite tidbits from the article, in no particular order:

  • “And long talks prove to be far more effective in building community than short ones on the ride to the mall.”
  • “Just like resting physical muscles allows them opportunity to rejuvenate which leads to greater physical success, providing our minds with rest provides it opportunity to refocus and rejuvenate.”
  • “Concentrated rest allows us to take a step back, to evaluate our lives, to identify our values, and determine if our life is being lived for them.”

Resting doesn’t need to mean sitting on your sofa doing nothing. It means planning for a day of avoiding the hectic nature of the rest of our day-to-day lives. Reading. Maybe going for a walk in the park. Playing a board game with your family. Not reading email. Watching a movie together. Everyone is unique, so everyone can find something that suits him or her. For example, my husband and I chose to focus on being together and staying home, with a mix of being busy and relaxed, during the New Year’s weekend; this let us both regenerate after a hectic five weeks and avoid any NYE craziness. ;)

How do you define rest? What (other than sleep!) do you do in order to rest and recharge?

Cheers! Here’s to your health! :)

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Gratitude

There has been a lot of upheaval, scheduling-wise, and sadness, and loss of routine, and generally lots of loss in 2016. Recently, not only the deaths of Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, and one of my favorite authors, Richard Adams, but also the death of a much-loved cousin made me very, very sad.

As I was meditating this morning, I worked on changing my mindset from loss to gratitude. It’s incredibly hard, but I’m working on it.

I am grateful for my wonderful, supportive, loving husband. For my funny, lovable, sweet dogs. For my health, which is generally pretty good. For my family, near and far, who are always good for a hug or a laugh (or both). For my friends, ditto. I am grateful for the creativity that keeps me picking up cross-stitch or crochet projects, or playing with new recipes when I cook, or digging in the garden.

I am grateful for books and music, and for the friends who create both, as well as for the people I have never met who create both. I am grateful for movies, and television, and recordings that mean even though I never met Alan Rickman, I can sit down and watch one of his many stellar performances and be grateful that I lived in a time when technology makes it possible for me to watch him perform. Ditto Prince, and Carrie Fisher, and Glenn Frey, and so many of the other wonderful artists we’ve lost. I am grateful for books, and for the writing of people like Richard Adams, and for being able to pick up a book any time and read the beautiful work of people who are gone.

I am even grateful, in some ways, for challenges, and for having to find new ways of thinking or acting, and many, many opportunities to learn.

May 2017 bring us all joy, health, laughter, and opportunities for gratitude.

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Routines Are Awesome!

Routines are good things. Back in March, I did a #winewellnesswednesday topic about routines. Recently, with lots more travel in my life than is normal, and with massive disruption in my routine, I had reason to think again about why routines are good and how they can be helpful. I didn’t get my entire morning routine back today, however, I was closer to whatever normal is than the day before, and I’m sure that contributed to a rather better day. AND…I’m looking forward to getting more of the routine back tomorrow. It’s also really comforting to know that it’s becoming easier and easier to get the routine back, which is helpful for maintaining healthy habits! (Particularly as more holidays approach…my exercise routine in particular will be really important to keep!)

What healthy routines do you enjoy? What healthy routines do you want to start? There’s no time like the present! (It’s a gift, you know!) Cheers! Here’s to your health! :)

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Can Better Nutrition Help You Quit Smoking?

I want to preface this week’s #winewellnesswednesday with this statement: I have never been a smoker. (Other than once when I smoked a tiny part of one cigarette purely for the shocked expressions on some friends’ faces!) Now that I’ve clarified that, I want to talk about nutrition and quitting smoking. Specifically, I want to talk about how nutrition can help someone be successful when quitting smoking. Recently, several of my dearest friends & family have taken up the challenge of quitting smoking, and I applaud them greatly for that effort! (HUZZAH, friends & family!) I went looking for information, because I was curious. Whaddya know! I found stuff! :)

Apparently, dairy products make cigarettes taste icky. (Anyone want to chime in on this?) So grab a glass of milk or a high-protein yogurt (such as Chobani) when you have a craving for a cigarette and it can help deter the smoking urge. (A high-protein snack will also help curb other cravings!) Vegetable sticks (celery or carrots, anyone?) will both give you something to do other than smoke and act as a healthy snack.

One of the articles I found referenced the paleo diet specifically as a support for smokers while trying to quit. Adding more fruits & veggies to your diet and avoiding foods that cause inflammation (such as anything with gluten) can help your body recover from smoking damage. (Granted, that article is from a site dedicated to the benefits of the paleo diet.)

Have you quit smoking successfully? What helped you quit? What do you wish you’d tried, nutritionally speaking?

Cheers! Here’s to your health! :)

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: 3 Ways to Have a Healthy Holiday!

So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, of course (at least in the USA), and it’s become a day to overeat, hang out with family and friends, watch football, or do whatever-it-is that you do. :) I’ve been thinking, as I faced the specter of a vacation, “How am I going to stay on target with my healthy goals while enjoying the holidays?” And I came up with three things.

1.  Have a plan. We are spending time with family, and that frequently means both travel and indulgence. I brought my own snacks. I made a menu and worked on it with family so we’ll stick to it. I made arrangements to exercise. I planned on a little indulgence. (See 3 below.) :)

2.  Drink water! Everyone knows this is one of my favorite topics anyway, and at the holidays it becomes even more important. Whether your holiday beverage of choice is wine, whiskey, eggnog, or a Coke, alternating with water is a good way to cut down on calories and a good way to stay hydrated. (How does it help you cut down on calories? By not eating or drinking as much; water fills you up!)

3.  Be a little indulgent. As Michael Pollan says in FOOD RULES, “Break the rules once in a while.” (#64). Oscar Wilde is credited with “All things in moderation, including moderation.” It’s a holiday. Have some fun. Have a piece of pumpkin or pecan pie (not a huge piece). Find creative recipes to substitute healthy ingredients for your holiday favorites! (And maybe have a spinach salad with dinner.)

Cheers! Happy Thanksgiving, and here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Feed the Right Wolf

I’ve been thinking a lot about this phrase lately, ever since re-watching the movie TOMORROWLAND.

There’s been a lot of stuff going on in the world lately. I keep coming back to this phrase.

Feed the right wolf.

I went looking for information online to see if something would trigger a specific thought process.

After reading the Psychology Today article (link included below), what comes back to me again is “choose your attitude.”

We make choices every day. We decide which wolf to feed every day. We move between action, reaction, and response every day.

Today, I fed the healthy wolf, the calmer, clear-thinking wolf. I spent time on activities emphasizing some of my core values (creativity and knowledge). I made healthy choices for meals and sleep. I allowed myself to be both productive and lazy, all in the same day. The choices we make every day impact not only ourselves, but everyone around us.

Today, I fed the right wolf. I hope to do it again tomorrow.

What can you do tonight (or tomorrow…or the next day…) to feed the right wolf?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!  

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Personal Progress

This is a little different for a #winewellnesswednesday topic. I’m going to simply talk about personal progress; specifically, mine. It’s also odd to talk about when I feel like I’ve hit a plateau that I need a kick in the pants to get over, however, it may be a very good time for talking about that, as it may help me make a plan to jump off the plateau and make progress again. :)

I recently ordered two shirts from the web site for one of my favorite clothing stores, and I ended up having to trade one of the shirts for a different size.

A smaller size.

That felt really, really good. I still enjoy wearing comfy, baggy, cozy clothes, however, I’m no longer hiding behind those comfy, baggy clothes. I’ve gotten into shirts that I previously had to wear over tank tops, and I’ve worn those shirts buttoned up without layering them. I’ve worn pants that barely fit (not that long ago) and I almost need a belt. Jeans that I bought not long ago are slightly too big.

My personal health and wellness path isn’t strictly about weight loss. It’s about feeling better about what I eat and the activities I pursue and how I feel while I’m doing stuff. I still want to lose (and would benefit from losing) more weight. My feet and knees hurt a fair amount when I spend too much time on my feet, so that’s something that needs some work. I have more clothes that I’d like to feel better wearing.

But that progress I mentioned? It’s happening. It’s about listening to my body and recognizing how I feel when I do something or don’t do something. (Giving up gluten and almost all fast food has had massive positive effects, for example!) It’s about acknowledging that there are going to be weeks when I don’t make progress (and maybe I go backwards a bit). It’s about cravings…whether those are for spinach salads (YUM) or dark chocolate ice cream (also YUM). It’s about knowing that I feel much, MUCH better when I start the day by meditating, followed by exercise. It’s about making those positive, sustainable changes, week by week, that keep me on the path to better health.

Positive, sustainable change. Everyone is capable of it. Everyone can benefit from it.

What positive, sustainable change can you make this week?

(Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s been a rough week around here. I’m looking forward to a dish of dark chocolate ice cream. Yes, for dinner.)

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Portion Control

Two weeks ago, the Wine & Wellness Wednesday topic was Michael Pollan’s FOOD RULES (specifically, rule #12). Today, the rules that are on my mind are 52 and 53, and both relate to portion control.

Rule 52: Buy smaller plates and glasses.

Rule 53: Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds.

This can be incredibly hard to do, particularly when you think you’re really hungry or you’ve made a favorite recipe using gluten-free ingredients and it almost tastes exactly the way your grandmother made it. (What’s that? Did that happen recently? Yep, that was me this week. Gluten-free chicken divan and it was divine!) I haven’t managed to start using smaller plates yet, but most of the time going back for seconds is going by the wayside. I also set my utensils down between bites to try and take more time as I eat, and (usually) I try to take time before going back for seconds to be sure I’m really still hungry and it isn’t just an emotional “oh my golly that tasted awesome I need more” response. It’s also getting easier to cook less to begin with, which means the leftovers get packaged up for different meals instead of eaten as seconds, or there aren’t leftovers because I started with the right amount of food.

What do you do for portion control?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Water! (Again!)

In December of last year, one of my very first Wine & Wellness Wednesday posts was on the topic of water. (Text included below.) The topic of water came up again in conversation recently so I thought I’d go back and revisit that post. When I reread it, my thought was “Yup! This is still right on.” I still prefer (mostly) room-temperature water, no ice, sometimes with lemon. I still finish my showers with a dash of cold water. And I still highly recommend becoming a water drinker if you aren’t one already. (That one is relative to “there’s no reason to start drinking wine if you don’t drink wine.” It’s from the very first Wine & Wellness Wednesday post!)

***

Water! Let’s talk about water. This is becoming one of my very favorite things. :) I’m one of those people who (mostly) likes the taste of water, and it’s one of my favorite beverages. (Although there is definitely some tap water that needs help. Lots of filtering. And lots of lemons.)

I’ve started asking for water with no ice and a few slices of lemon in it when I’m at a restaurant. Think about it: if you drink ice cold water with your meal, you’re chilling down the digestive fire and interfering with your body’s ability to process your meal (according to Ayurvedic medicine). Also, the lemon in your water will help you digest your food better.

There is, again, a fair amount of conflicting information on how much water a person should drink. Eight ounces per 10 pounds of body weight, or eight glasses that are 8 ounces each, or 10 ounce for each 15 pounds of body weight or or…Argh! What to do?

You’ll figure out what’s right for you. Definitely drink when you’re thirsty, and, in hot weather, drink before you’re thirsty. If you feel like having a snack, but maybe it’s not really hunger, you can figure it out by having a glass of water first. Or if you’re bored and feel like eating (or angry, or upset), try having a drink of water first.

One other thing about consuming water that I think is important to mention. In my last Wine & Wellness Wednesday post, I pointed out that if you’re not a wine drinker, you don’t need to start. Well, if you’re not a water drinker, you totally need to start! Water makes up a considerable part of the human body and it’s critical to your health to drink it!

Also! I’ve grown to love having a cold water end to my shower. The cold water chases blood away from the skin, back into the body where it circulates better and supports digestion better, and it helps me cool off after a hot shower. (Although occasionally I’ve gotten the shower too cold and the…we’ll say squeaks…have agitated our dogs!)

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

***

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Shopping! (Food Rules #12)

My latest reading fascination is FOOD RULES by Michael Pollan. Initially, I thought the title meant “food RULES,” as in “food is AWESOME.” (And, of course, it is!) What it actually refers to is a list of 64 guidelines that Pollan put together after writing IN DEFENSE OF FOOD. (I haven’t read that one yet. It’s on my list!)

I haven’t read them all yet, even though it’s a super short book, but I came across one that jumped up and down at me and yelled “Me! Me! Talk about me!”

Soooooooooo…which of Pollan’s rules was so emphatically asking for attention?

#12: Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.

Grocery stores carry all sorts of both foods and food-like substances. If you think about most versions of the American grocery store, the perimeter of the store is where you find more of the whole foods and/or the less-processed foods. The middle is where you find things like Cheetos and breakfast cereals that turn the milk weird colors. The perimeter is where you find fresh vegetables, fruits, the meat counter, and the dairy cases. (Granted, not everything in the dairy case is an actual food, but you get the idea. And not everything in the middle of the store is unhealthy.)

Why is the perimeter of the store better? Processed foods (while often delicious) are loaded with all sorts of stuff that isn’t good for you, such as high amounts of sugar, preservatives, fats, and other junk. It’s much better for you to take those whole foods and process them yourself – by cooking at home! Plan your grocery shopping ahead of time by having a menu and a list, and focus on the periphery of the store.

Cheers! Here’s to your health!