high protein foods: Temmuz 2012

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Franklin has to be the most handsome cat you could ever meet. With sleek black fur, accented with white, he's decked out in his formal gear and ready to wine and dine you. To meet Franklin is to fall in love with him.

Franklin

In addition to his obviously gorgeous looks, Franklin has a personality that'll sweep you off your feet. He's friendly, loves people, and is not the least bit shy about being your best pal. Franklin will talk to you, keep you company, brighten your days - and then snuggle to keep you cuddled at night.

Franklin is healthy, litterbox trained, up-to-date with vaccines, neutered and microchipped. If you're in the Chicagoland area and curious about him, he wants to meet you! You'll find him at Almost Home Foundation.

Is Rhubarb a Fruit or Vegetable?

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Fresh rhubarb. Photo courtesy MorgueFile

While dicing some stalks of rhubarb, the hubby asked if the red chunks were vegetables or a fruit.

Well, heck. I had no idea.

I was preparing a rhubarb-strawberry crisp, so I immediately thought fruit. Who eats rhubarb without sweetening it?

After a little quick research, we found out rhubarb is technically a vegetable. The perennial was initially grown for medicinal purposes in the Far East, according to the University of Ohio Extension Office.

Rhubarb Nutrition Facts: One cup of diced, raw rhubarb

has just 26 calories
provides 45% of your daily vitamin K needs which helps blood clot and reduces your chances of bone fractures
is a source of omega-6 fatty acids which promote hair and skin growth and regulates your metabolism
can be eaten raw, but is very sour
the green leaves are poisonous and shouldn't be eaten

So, how do you like your rhubarb? I enjoy crisps, pies and sauces to top ice cream. And, since the farmer's market is plentiful with rhubarb this week, I'll be eating lots of it! Yum!

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

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Hello, Sugar Hangover

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Boy, did I fall off the apple cart last week. A small tub of marshmallow cream called to me, and landed in my shopping cart. I was held hostage by some chocolate chips. And, I ate ice cream. Full cream, white sugar, decadent vanilla ice cream. It was marvelous.

Ice cream is my weakness! Photo by Jppi, Morguefile

Then, came the headaches. And, the dizziness.

I haven't eaten that much refined white sugar in a long time. I'm now two and half days in on my "no sugar until the hubby's birthday" promise to myself, and I'm starting to feel better. The headache has dulled to a linger.

I know some visitors to this blog are working on eating healthier. Well, here's today's lesson: You can't eat perfect all the time. And, your body will punish you for it!

So, have you ever had a sugar hangover? Please tell me I'm not alone!

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

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To Go Greek (Yogurt) or Not?

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Passion fruit. Photo by Thor, Wikimedia Commons

I'm that gal at the grocery store that reads labels. I go beyond the superficial "all natural" claim on the front of the package and dive right into the ingredient list.

This morning I lingered in the dairy aisle. I love Greek yogurt. I've tried several brands, from the discounted store labels to organic varieties. Today I picked up a carton of Chobani Greek Yogurt with Passion Fruit.

A quick scan of the label made me smile: nonfat milk, cream, live and active cultures, passion fruit puree, evaporated cane juice, pectin, natural flavors and locust bean gum. Perfect. Although yogurt isn't a whole food, this cup of yogurt seems healthier than some other sugar-filled, artificially dyed options.

So, was it good? Heck, yes! After peeling away the foil lid I was greeted with sweet, creamy cheesecake batter-like textured yogurt. It wasn't dry or bland like some Greek yogurts. With a careful scoop of my spoon, I unveiled the creamy yellow passion fruit puree speckled with dark passion fruit seeds at the bottom of the cup. Surprisingly the seeds added a tasty nutty crunch to the yogurt.

This yogurt is delicious and filling. Although I just gobbled down 160 calories, I also ate 14 grams of protein (I'm always counting. Ah, the life of a vegetarian.), 3 grams of fat and 100 mg of sodium. Unfortunately this yogurt has 19 grams of sugar, which equals just under 5 teaspoons of sugar.

But, this yogurt is so good I could eat it as a dessert and be perfectly happy. Plus, the sugar comes from cane juice, not refined white sugar.

Do you like Greek yogurt? Temp me with your favorite flavors or uses for Greek yogurt!

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

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Kreativ Blogger Award 2012

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Since participating in the April 2012 A to Z Blogging Challenge I've "met" so many insightful, friendly and informative bloggers on the web. I was lucky enough to catch the eye of Francene Stanley of Stitching Words and Jolie Du Pre of Precious Monsters who recently awarded Whole Foods Living the Kreativ Blogger Award!

Thank you, ladies! I'm honored that you enjoy my little corner of the web!

Part of receiving this wonderful award is that I continue on with this kindness and nominate seven other blogs that I feel deserving of this award. After that, I answer 10 questions about myself and 10 random facts about me that you probably didn't know! So here goes!

7 Award-Winning Blogs to Visit:
1. Amy at Freelancin' for $1000 a Week.
Motivational. Inspirational. Realistic.

2. Jen at We're Living a Full Life.
Insightful. Honest. Fun.

3. Tracy at Pull Up a Toadstool.
Creative. Alternative. Inspiration.

4. Sylvia at Plant-Based Foodie.
Delicious. Simple. Whole.

5. Amy at Coffee Lovin' Mom
Travel. Relaxing. Witty.

6. Rabbit Trails
Honest. Funny. Random.

7. The Death Writer
Scary. Important. Insightful.

10 Questions About Me:
1. What is your favorite song? Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. It was our first dance/wedding song.
2. What is your favorite dessert? Brownies
3. What ticks you off? When I'm not productive
4. What do you do when you’re upset? Cry
5. Which is/was your favorite pet? All of them!
6. Which do you prefer, black or white? Black
7.What is your biggest fear? Dying by drowning or fire
8. What is your attitude mostly? Positive
9. What is perfection? Cruising forest trails with my hubby and dogs on a crisp fall day followed by homemade hot chocolate.
10. What is your guilty pleasure? Brownies topped with homemade vanilla ice cream and warm ganache. Yeah, you're drooling now!

10 Random Facts About Me:
1. My husband and I share the same three initials.
2. My first rock concert was Poison in 1989.
3. I played the Wicked Queen in my 3rd grade class play, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.
4. I design greeting cards.
5. I love reading Stephen King before bed.
6. I have a vial of faux blood from a GWAR concert.
7. I volunteer at a horse therapy organization.
8. I drink milk directly from the container.
9. I've never watched Glee, American Family, House or many of the other "popular" shows.
10. I've straddled the Tropic of Capricorn in Australia.

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

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8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar

Does Muscle Size Equal Muscle Strength?

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The common goal that is shared within anyone who is looking to improve their physical body shape through bodybuilding is that they are constantly looking to add lean muscle mass in exchange for a reduction in excess body fat.With that in mind, does it mean that those that are large in terms of the amount of muscle that they have on their frame are naturally gifted with the strength that would be associated with large muscles?The fact of the matter is that although the natural body has the ability to be able to create, regenerate and strengthen muscles, nothing comes as a pair within those factors, so in order to add lean muscle mass and increase strength, you have to perform exercises that specifically target each goal. Scientific studies that have been conducted in the past have shown that people of roughly the same size both share the ability to be able to add the same amount of strength to their muscle tissue but that doesn’t mean that they can succeed in doing so without targeting the goal of adding the strength into the tissue fibers.As you will have seen in the gym, different weight lifters are able to handle a variance of resistances, even though the heavier weight lifters could be smaller than some of their peers.This is due to the focus that they have being broader than that of the gym user that has focused primarily on simply gaining muscle size.There are a number of misconceptions when it comes to gaining muscle and adding strength to your frame, especially when you are first starting out on a bodybuilding programme.One of the main misconceptions that seems the haunt new and inexperienced bodybuilders is that they believe that if you focus on adding strength to your muscles, the gains will happen alongside the growth but that is incorrect and you are simply strengthening the muscles that you already have rather than building new, bigger muscle tissues.Obviously this means that if you are not focusing on exercises that are going to allow your body to add growth into the size of your muscles, you are going to hit a point where you will fail to see any return for the workouts that you are conducting, simply due to the fact that the muscles that you have can’t handle any more strengthening.This means that you need to be trying to work both of the goals with each and every workout that you are having, allowing your muscles to grow while strengthening them as you do so.Getting the right balance of the two will not only increase the look of your results but will also make them solid gains rather than simply adding one or the other.

Essentials of How to Build Muscle

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Building muscle is not an impossible task for anyone that is willing to dedicate their time and effort into their goal and do everything that they can to aid their body through the development stages.

There are a number of ways that you are able to build muscle but with each different method there is a different timescale attached to it so if you are looking the build muscles quickly with strong, solid gains then you need to follow these hints, tips and rules carefully.

Sort out your diet

The chances are that if you are looking to add muscle to your body then you are either trying to convert excess fat stores or you are looking to simply strengthen and improve the size of the muscles that you already have, either way you need to have the right diet.

Getting the right diet is not as simple as just cutting out the junk food and replacing it with the heavily pushed '5-a-day' program that looks to have you ensure that you are eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

For your body to be able to generate and strength muscle mass while burning off the fat stores that you are holding on your physique, you need to be looking to eat a protein heavy diet as this is the prime requirement for your body to be able to convert fat into muscle.

Train to the best of your ability

Working out at the gym should be about pushing your body to and through its physical limits if you are setting about the common goal of adding muscle to your frame.

If you are working the body to that level of exhaustion, that is the time that your natural metabolism will be able to operate in an optimum fashion, working much harder than if you were to stay within comfortable levels of work requirement.

If you find that you are breaking away from your rep sets or are talking too much to those around you, you might as well pack up and head home as you are wasting precious workout time, time that you could be fueling your natural fat burning abilities so that they can get to work while at their most efficient.

Give your body as much help as you can

Your body will be working as hard as it possible can in order to repay you for your hard work within the gym but you have to be willing to offer it everything that it needs if you want it to be able to handle the amount of work that you are expecting it to cover.

This means that you should be topping up your vitamin and mineral levels as frequently as required, something that could be done with the use of food but is more effectively done with the use of bodybuilding supplements.

Failure to supply your body with the things that it needs to be able to convert your fat into muscle and repair the growth following training sessions will not only hinder you performance in your next training session but will also reduce the effect of the one that you have just put yourself through.

Continue to push your limits

Falling into a complacent state of mind is one of the biggest problems that many gym users face as they are often afraid to continue to put their body through the pain barrier in order to progress further.

Failure to continue to make progress will mean that your body will quickly become comfortable with the level of workout that you are doing and so development and growth of your muscles will begin to slow before coming to a halt.

To ensure that you are getting the biggest gains, you need to be consistently adding more and more resistance to your workouts, forcing your body to have to deal with increasing demand on its capabilities.

Ensure your have the right form

Making sure that you have the right form for each and every exercise that you do within your workout is vital as failure to do the exercise the way that it is meant to be done will either result in reduced effect or none at all.

Most gyms have personal trainers that are walking about looking for their next client but they are likely to offer you advice for free as long as you ask them. Failing that, ask the gym staff as they should be fully briefed on how to use the machines for such a question.

Remember that doing 10 reps of an exercise with good form is worth 100 reps of doing the same exercise with poor form.

Do Diet Pills Work?

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Often we see Diet Pills marketed primarily towards women however, there has been a recent increase in males looking at trying out diet pills.

As with anything, diet pills are not a miracle drug! You won't take a few of these and start shedding the weight if your daily routine, diet and exercise isn't on key. All these pills will do is 'supplement' your weight loss and try to speed things up.

There are diet pills on the market that target different areas such as Alli diet pills and Hoodia which tries to suppress appetite and there are others which will speed up your metabolism or mess with your stomach enzymes.

I personally from a male point of view am not a huge fan of these diet pills, I would much prefer to jump on the fat burners band wagon but that's not to say that you guys have to do it!

Here is another great article which looks to answer the question; Do diet pills work? - http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/medication/diet-pill.htm

Get Bigger, Stronger Muscles Faster

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Getting the body that you want is not always easy to achieve and that means that you need to ensure that you not only have the determination but also the right supplements within your body to enable you to aid your body to develop in the way that you want.

There is more to building muscles than simply heading to the gym and using the weight machines that are on the gym floor, you need to know the most effective ways to use them to unlock the hidden benefits that even the slightest alteration would offer, whether that be the way in which you use the weight or how much weight you are putting onto the resistance against your body.

Like a car engine, your body will not be able to function correctly if you are not fueling it with the right fuel, in this case the vitamins and minerals that are vital when your body is looking to enhance, repair or break down any element within your build up.

Although many gym goers believe that simply eating healthy and keeping hydrated with water is all that you need, failing to increase your intake of protein, iron and other minerals will result in you hitting a plateau in your development, something that can’t be overcome with further resistance.

If you are looking to gain lean muscle mass and add definition, you need to ensure that you keep all of the vital requirements within your body to enable it to work its most effective level, so the best advice that you can be given it to buy supplements online so that they can be dispatched to you without the need to interrupt your gym time.

Keeping hydrated is also vitally important because the human body is 85 percent water, meaning that you need to ensure that the balance is restored from the losses that will be lost through sweating after a heavy workout.

Once you have fueled your body effectively, maintain a healthy diet and continue to add resistance to your workouts, without progression there will be no growth.

Fun New Fitness Blog with Personality!

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So, as you'll see we tend to only post mainly articles here, however I've recently just set up a new website with a friend of mine

We are currently competing against each other in a quest to lose weight and get super ripped up for the summer!

The posts are all written personally and not 'informational' so to speak like i tend to write here, so if you want to learn more about the real me and follow my path to weight loss with pictures and videos head on over to ExcuseMyAbs.com

7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi

Eating Healthy, Quickly: 10 Minute Quesadilla Lunch

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Layer on the veggies! Photo by Angela Tague

One of the number one excuses I hear people give for not eating healthy is time. Well, sure if you plan on making a four course meal from scratch you're going to be in the kitchen for hours. That's why I have a few go-to quick lunches I make often.

My absolute favorite is a pan-cooked veggie quesadilla. Now before you say you don't like spicy food or Mexican fare, this lunch treat is mild and flavorful--sans spices.

Pan-cooked Veggie Quesadilla in 10 Minutes

olive oil
soft tortillas (2 per meal)
flavorful cheese crumbles
fresh veggies (mushrooms, red onion, spinach, sliced tomatoes, roasted red pepper slices, etc.)

Simply preheat a large skillet. Spray it with a light mist of olive oil and keep the heat on a low-medium setting.
Place one soft tortilla in the pan. I use brown rice tortillas due to a sensitivity to gluten. These cook up crisp and delicious. I have not tried using a flour tortilla, but assume it works well too.
Now, layer on crumbles of a good quality cheese. I use a locally produced sharp white cheddar or a deli yellow cheddar. Choose a cheese with a bold flavor.
Finally, layer on the veggies. I used pre-sliced mushrooms (time saver!), thinly sliced red onion and pre-washed baby spinach leaves. I've been dying to also try roasted red pepper slices and fresh sliced tomato.
Top the veggies with a few more cheese crumbles. These help glue the quesadilla together. Place one more soft tortilla on top of the veggies and cheese and squish the concoction with a flat lid or bottom of a plate. Let the quesadilla cook for 3-4 minutes. Then, flip with a pancake turner and let the other side cook. Your lunch is ready when the tortilla slightly browns, the cheese melts, the onions soften and the mushrooms begin to change color. Are you drooling yet?

I cut my treat into wedges with a pizza cutter. If I'm feeling naughty the wedges get dipped into Daisy sour cream. (Read the ingredient list--it's only cream!) Finally, I add a handful of corn tortilla chips or baby carrots to the plate and I'm set.

So, what are you having for lunch?

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living
PS: Visit me on Facebook! I also blog about beauty, natural skin care, nutrition, crafts and cleaning tips. I post links on Facebook daily. :)

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One More Reason to Eat Vegetables

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Photo Courtesy Krumdieck, Morguefile.

Think of that salad or side of brussels sprouts as an extra nudge towards a smoke-free life.

As a writer, I do lots of reading. This morning I came across an article on Futurity claiming that eating vegetables makes the taste for tobacco less appealing. This is fantastic news for smokers implementing a healthier lifestyle.

“We knew from our previous work that people who were abstinent from cigarettes for less than six months consumed more fruits and vegetables than those who still smoked," explained Gary A. Giovino, chair of the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior at the University at Buffalo in the Futurity article. "What we didn’t know was whether recent quitters increased their fruit and vegetable consumption or if smokers who ate more fruits and vegetables were more likely to quit.”

Here are a few key points from the article:

Smokers who ate more fruits and vegetables...

smoked fewer cigarettes per day and scored lower on a common test of nicotine dependence
were three times more likely to be tobacco-free after 14 months than those who didn't eat an increase in produce
feel more full from the increase in fiber consumption. Some smokers confuse hunger for the need for a cigarette.

*Futurity reports on scientific discoveries by researchers at universities in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

PS: Follow me on Twitter @AngelaTague to see what I've been up to!

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Bean, Beans The Musical Fruit...Wait, Fruit?

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Dry kidney beans. Photo from Morguefile.

OK, sing along with me:

"Beans, beans the musical fruit!
The more you eat, the more you...."

We all know the rest of the rhyme. (And, I'm not interested in blogging about flatulence!)

However, I am curious about the claim that beans are members of the fruit family. Really? So, I put on my investigative reporter hat and found this little nugget of nutrition trivia.

Beans are members of the legume family. Other legumes include lentils, peanuts, peas and soybeans, according to The Bean Institute. The most popular bean consumed in the United States is the pinto bean.

My top five favorites ways to eat beans are:

Boiling and mashing black beans with the juice of a fresh lime and chopped garlic to use on tacos
Tossing several beans together and dressing it with a light Italian dressing for a summer salad
Adding pinto beans to a pot of vegetable soup for extra protein
Mashing garbanzo beans and using them in lieu of ground beef to make a veggie "meatloaf"
Combining kidney, pinto and white beans as the base for a vegetarian chili

So, how do you like to eat beans?

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

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What is protein

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Protein is one of the nutrientsbeside with vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate, fat and water. The source of allof these nutrients is good. Some foods have much higher amounts of particularnutrients than others and from time to time we refer to certain foods as“Protein Foods.” It is necessary to realize that all Foods contain more thanone nutrient and most foods have substantial amounts of a number of nutrients.For example, meat, which is a good resource of carbohydrate, riboflavin,protein, fat and calcium? Protein is an necessarynutrient. There is no life without Proteins. Protein is contained in every partof our body, blood, the skin, body organs, hair, muscles,eyes, even bone andFingernails . Next to water, protein is the most plentiful import in our body.

Proteins are biochemical compoundconsisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular orfibrous form, facilitating a biological task. It is one of the three major, ormacro, nutrients. Protein is found inevery muscle, cell, and tissue of our body also it is available in many of the foods that we take everyday.. Basically the protein inour body is the same as the protein in our food, except that it is structureddifferently. Unlike carbohydrates andfats (the additional two types of macronutrients), Proteins are comprised ofnitrogen-containing groups called amino acids.We know there are 22 kind ofamino acid and the body needs all of them to function properly. Essential amino acids are tryptophan,methionine,leonine, isoleucine, phenylalanine and histidine. Non-essentialamino acids include asparagine, aspartic acid,alanine and glutamic acid. Conditional amino acidsinclude glutamine, arginine,cysteine,proline, glycine, serine, andtyrosine.
Amino acids are found in animal sources such as meats, milk, fish and eggs, aswell as in plant source such as whole grains, pulses, legumes, soy, nuts andseeds. Vegetarians can get enough essential amino acids by eating a variety ofplant proteins.People who avoid animal products may practice Proteins combining to get theessential amino acids in their diet

Functions and Requirement of Protein

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Functions of Protein

Protein has a important physiological responsibility in Human Body. Protein is mostly used in the body to construct , maintain, keep up and fix body tissues. As it happened , protein intake is greater than that required by the body for this primary function , Excessive protein is converted to energy for mediate use or keep up in the body as heavy fat. Protein energy will be used only after other energy source are worn out or unavailable.

Protein Requirement

The amount of protein required varies for different age group, size and development stage. Even though an adult has achieve maximum growth, protein is necessary for maintain human body tissues. Periods of growth,
including childhood , infancy and pregnancy, increase the protein required to provide build materials. Physiological states such as injury, surgical procedure, or burns, increase the need for protein to provide repair materials. The following table gives the recommended nutritional allowances established by the Food and Nutrition Board, National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. 1980 Revised.

Table Requirement of Protein

5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe

BLOG ENVY

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Three things happened this week that birthed this blog post.

First, I was catching up on my blog reading when I checked in on Jan from Mourning Has Broken; her post title caught my eye. By the time I was done reading it, my emotions had run the gamut. She had shared a secret she'd been harboring for years, and was so brave in revealing her truth that I couldn't comment quickly enough! This is what I wrote:

"When I first started reading this post and saw the words “blog party,” I thought oh, this is going to be a funny post. As I started reading I realized it was serious — but I thought you were telling the story of the girl in the video. THEN I finally realized you were telling your own story. And then I watched the video. And now I want to give you a great big hug and say you are AWESOME and brave and amazing for sharing your secret! So proud of you!! And so sorry you have suffered with this disorder on top of suffering with BC and lymphedema. It ain’t fair. Truth be told I think we all have idiosyncratic behaviors that we use to keep our anxieties at bay. Some people drink too much. Some eat too much (as you have described). Some have compulsive routines that bring a measure of calm to a very topsy turvy world. Some are hooked into being drama queens. Some people exercise too much. Oh, the list goes on. The important thing to know is that we’re all just trying to cope. And you are definitely not alone. I suspect you have helped more than one person with your sharing today. Good on you!"

That's a cancer surviver for you: Strong, brave, and not afraid to tell the truth. (To read Jan's revealing post, click here.) I continued on with my blog reading.

Next, I popped in and out of a number of blogs (you know how that goes: One blog leads to another, and another...) before I landed on a sweet little one that (again) caught my eye: "Things I'm afraid to tell you." Intriguing title. Sounds like what Jan just did. I keep reading.

I quickly learn that blogging has gotten too pretty, too perfect, and too polished (not my words, but those of other writers). In fact, a movement is underway to bring more honesty to the blogosphere.

More honesty? Really? Again, I think of Jan's post. And I keep reading: A group of bloggers have challenged each other to be more authentic by writing about the stuff they don't normally discuss on their blogs. You know, the things they are afraid to tell you.

As I'm sure you guessed by now, these are not cancer bloggers.

So what's this 'movement' all about? Blog envy. It's (apparently) a real thing. Bloggers see beautiful things on other beautiful sites and have a misperception that the blogger has a beautiful life too — free from the many things that make us all human. Bloggers want to see that their fellow bloggers aren't perfect. Well come on over to Cancerland! I'll show you a community of bloggers that is not shy about sharing its dirty laundry. Heck, it's why we're here in the first place! Our blogs are our attempt to make sense out of cancer, purging our minds of the darkness that hides within its cracks and crannies.

Yes, I had a good laugh at the humor of it all. But don't get me wrong — I mean no disrespect to anyone out there who is blogging about something other than cancer. (Talk about blog envy — I wish I wrote about travel, not tissue expanders!) We need those kinds of blogs too: The ones focused on the pretty things, the ones we go to in order to forget (for a moment, anyway) our troubles. They're all important. It's just that I had no idea that "blog envy" existed. 'cause I have never felt it. So I decided to leave a comment. And here is what I wrote:

"This is my first time visiting your blog (I followed a link to 'Things I'm afraid to tell you' and landed here). I feel compelled to leave you a post. I started blogging after a breast cancer diagnosis, and honesty is the backbone of my little corner of the blogosphere. I am stitched into a supportive, witty community of cancer survivors who tell it like it is every single day. No holds barred over there. No one afraid to tell their truth. There is transparency aplenty. And talent. And humor! Lots of humor. Really. But I had no idea that it wasn't like that in other web niches. Never really thought about it before. Kinda having an AHA moment over here — seeing a benefit to cancer I never noticed before. Thank you!"

I felt a great deal of honesty and transparency in leaving my comment. Maybe one person will check out my blog and discover some of your blogs too. We never know the ripple effect that one toe in the water can create. (Ever hopeful am I.)
Lastly, I read a brilliant post by Suleika Jaouad, who writes a column in The New York Times about her experience as a young adult with cancer (in Suleika's case, it is acute myeloid leukemia). The title of her article also caught my eye: "Posting Your Cancer on Facebook."

Whoa. Talk about truth telling. I don't share in that way on Facebook. That's my cancer-free zone. I'm just not comfortable talking about all my 'stuff' to all my peeps when all of them probably don't really want to know all the gorey details. That's why I have this blog. If you are a regular reader, you're not afraid of my truth or my cancer. And that makes me feel safe. Facebook does not feel safe to me in that regard.

Suleika was deep into chemo when she decided to finally "come clean" on Facebook. She writes that it felt "inauthentic, even dishonest" that her FB profile did not reflect her current reality as a cancer patient. I have to give her props; I'm just not ready to do it.

And that's not blog envy. That's just the truth.

(To read Suleika's revealing post, click here.)

Amended to add: The Huffington Post has picked up on this "truth-telling" phenomenon (aka, TIATTY). OY. Too bad no one mentions cancer bloggers...

SIX-WORD MEMOIR: CANCER

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Ernest Hemingway was a big fan of brevity; his most famous short story is a perfect example:
"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Proves the point that you don't need a lot of words to make a point! Larry Smith, founder of SMITH Magazine, believes that too. Back in 2006, he created the tantalizing Six-Word Memoir® project with the following tagline: Everyone has a story. What's yours? Then he invited folks to tell their stories — in half a dozen words. No more, no less.

My challenge to you all today is: Can you condense your cancer experience into just six words? I say we give it a whirl! I'm inviting everyone to participate, because everyone has a breast cancer story. Even if you don't have breast cancer yourself, your life has somehow been touched by it. Let's put a six-word face on BC.

I'll start: Cancer called. Wish I hadn't answered.

CALLING ALL WOMEN!

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A Duke University research team is currently looking for women who live anywhere in the U.S. and have undergone surgical treatment for any type or stage of breast cancer to participate in an Army of Women quality-of-life study.

THIS ONLINE SURVEY CAN BE COMPLETED FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME.What could be easier than that?

THE REQUIREMENTS ARE SIMPLE

You must live in the United States
You have had a diagnosis of breast cancer at any stage — including DCIS, LCIS or Stage IV metastatic breast cancer
You have had surgery to treat your breast cancer
You are female
You are 18 years of age or older
You have access to a computer

HERE'S HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Go to the Army of Women study requirements page (click here) and then click "Sign Me Up!"
If you are eligible, you will be sent an email with instructions on how to complete the survey online. The survey is completely confidential, and it asks some compelling questions about your experience post-surgery; I encourage you to be brutally honest! The medical community needs to know how utterly jarring and life-altering breast cancer surgery and reconstruction really is. Only then can things begin to change.

IMPORTANT!Please tell any and all friends and family members who have had surgery for breast cancer about this study. It's one small way we can all make a difference! For more AOW studies, see my recent posts here and here.

MANAGING CHAOS, ONE YEAR LATER

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I was scrolling through some of my old blog posts and found one that was written exactly one year ago today. In it, I talk about how to manage the post-diagnosis but pre-surgery chaos that every patient has to deal with.

"I took cancer from an angry rolling boil down to a simmer by determining the who, what, when, where,why and how of my diagnosis. This not only gave me a path and a direction, but a sorely needed compass. Once you figure it out, managing your cancer chaos gets much easier."

For the whole post, just click here. I hope it helps any newbies out there.

SURVIVING AN MRI

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Whew! Been a busy June. I've squeezed doctor, hair and nail appointments, cross-country travel (my first flight since my diagnosis and yes I overcame a lotta fear that I might swell up which thankfully I did not and I also did not set off any TSA alarms with these freakishly old tissue expanders I still have, thank you very much), a high school graduation, lots of time with family, and meeting wonderful new (and old) friends into providing my mother with a lot more care than she has required as of late. Problems with her upper spine have her in pain and unable to lift anything heavier than a paper plate.

So this week, I took her for an open MRI (she is terribly claustrophobic.) Afterwards, the technician asked her if she had been in a car wreck. WTF? She has never had any blunt trauma of any kind; her doctor suspects degenerative disk disease. We find out on Tuesday — that's when my sister and I take my mom (along with a copy of her MRI and radiology report) to see her immensely handsome neurosurgeon, Dr. H. (What a pleasure it is to rest one's eye on a good-looking man while stuck in a medical office. I'm just sayin'.)
I'm also just sayin' that's why I haven't had time for The Blog. Back in April, when I was posting daily as part of the WEGO Health Activist Writer's Challenge, I had ideas aplenty (despite only a smidgeon more time). This month? Lots of thoughts are fighting for space in my cerebral cortex — but nothin' is jellin', Magellen.
Back to the MRI. Like my mother, I am terribly claustrophobic. But I have tricked myself into thinking I am somewhere else when I have an MRI and am able to breeze through it with less anxiety. You can, too! I'm re-posting some tips I wrote last August on how to make it through an MRI. Maybe it can help you, or someone you know.

HOW TO SURVIVE AN MRI

You can survive an MRI (or any other uncomfortable procedure) while feeling calm and cool and even collected. I've got it down to a few simple steps:1) Breath deeply while you're waiting (after changing into that cute little gown) and then waiting some more. Don't let your mind wander into the worry zone.2) Don't be overly ambitious when you walk into the MRI room. Keep your eyes and mind focused on walking towards the machine. Try not to think of anything else in that moment. Do not look around the room.3) Lay down as instructed and close your eyes immediately. This is key. Get comfortable. Listen to the tech's instructions, but whatever you do, do not open your eyes. If they will let you, wear a fabric eye mask without metal. Or tie a bandana around you as a blindfold (that way there's less pressure to keep your eyes shut).4) Think about your favorite place that is relaxing and joyful to you. For me, it's being at the top of a hill I regularly hike to. I imagine how it feels to stand, feet firmly on the ground, arms stretched out to touch the wind. I notice the sun and how warm it feels on my face. With the breeze comes the fragrance of eucalyptus. I listen for the sound of birds and hawks above. BTW, while you are imagining the many details of your favorite place, the MRI will commence. Whatever you do, no matter how many times they ask you to move or they move the machine to reposition you, keep your eyes tightly shut! Focus on your breathing; it should be slow and rhythmic as you relax into whatever pleasant experience your mind is conjuring up for you. (I used this same technique as a pre-surgery meditation here.) 5) Sing a song in your head. This helps to counteract the banging and clanking of the MRI machine. Imagine being in your favorite place and singing a great song to the wind. Sing it over and over again. Before you know it, the technician will be telling you it's over — the MRI, that is.

11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba

10 Temmuz 2012 Salı

9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi

8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar

Sort out your diet

Train to the best of your ability

Give your body as much help as you can

Continue to push your limits

Ensure your have the right form

7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi

5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe

HOW TO SURVIVE AN MRI

Remember: If you can't see that you are closed in,

you can tell your mind you're anywhere!