10 Health misconceptions...

So talking to people about nutrition causes you to hear a lot of myths and common misconceptions.  I have written down a few that friends have told me in the last few months and I want to set it straight for those confused souls out there.  Sometimes Cleo just doesn't quite clear it up:


1) Drinking a litre of cold water will NOT make you burn 100 calories. No way. Sorry to burst your bubble. If you need further explanation, please ask.


2) There is no "healthy" sugar! Sugar in fruit and sugar and lollies are treated in EXACTLY the same way in your body!  Fructose is taken up slightly differently in the cell and enters glycolosis at a different point to glucose and maltose, but essentially they are digested and recognised in the same way.  So yes, that means your daily sugar intake does include natural sugars too!  Did you know there is almost as much sugar in orange juice as in coke?


3) Probiotics don't work unless they are in a biomolecular casing that can withstand stomach acid.  They need to pass through the stomach in order to reach your intestinal flora.  Some yoghurts contain good bacteria but not witheld in a special casing so therefore your HCL in your stomach breaks it down before it reaches the intestine and therefore wastes your time thinking its making a difference!


4) Skipping meals will NOT help you lose weight!  By now people should know this!  You MUST EAT REGULARLY for weight management AND health.  You can have weight management and depleted health if you dont eat but you need to consume food to have both.


5) Creatine supplements do very little for the body.  Yes they are meant to help storage of important minerals in muscle tissue but your body produces sufficient amounts of creatine naturally when you are active and therefore it is not necessary as it will only be excreted.


6) Vitamin C makes no difference when you're sick!  The immune system is not going to suddenly be boosted by it!  Your immune system just needs a constant supply of this vitamin to maintain itself!  Excess (once again) will only be excreted!


7) Green tea IS full of antioxidants and does have homeopathy effects if it is of an appropriate quality!  Tea bags are usually bleached or are not fresh enough to make much difference!


8) Boiling vegetables until they are soft DOES deplete vitamin content!  Same with using the microwave!  The microwave completely kills a lot of the good stuff in our food; not just vitamins but other things also!


9) Meat is NOT good every day of the week!  It's not good everyday for sportsmen even!  Another thing about meat is that it strains the digestive system and really is full of a lot of saturated fat!  Most of the animals now days are farmed on such a scale that they are not given the opportunity to grow lean and exercise to their full extent, making the meat quite fatty.


10)  Eggs will NOT USUALLY give you high cholestrol.  The cholestrol within them actually helps to control the body's normal cholestrol levels.  Its a different type.  Ask if you want further info.

This beautiful mess.

Look at this world we have created.  It's beautiful is it not?  It's everything we had hoped it would be.  However the way we feel is not how we had planned.  What we have been through together is not how we would ever have pictured it to be.  I can't help but feel we see these faults in each other.  The beauty keeps us whole.. it propels us along and along every single time a speed bump is faced but despite the beauty, the darkness still lingers in the back of our minds.  Why did this happen?  How did this happen?

I used to wake up every day with your face in my head, so glad that it was there, so thankful.

You crossed my mind each hour and I was happy, so thankful to have you.

But there comes a point in every good dream where you realise you've missed something.

Everything in your perfect world, that ideal head space is corrupted.

The little bubble you've lived in has burst and the contents within spill out.

It is then the problem begins.

You question yourself over and over.

You think about everything over and over.

How could you have missed something is those eyes that glared into yours?

How could the deception have fooled you?

What was it you did wrong?

Why were you deserving of this?

This battle is the hardest to conquer and I'm not sure if I've got it right.  I think of you in the best of ways, I long for you as I always have done.  Your face still crosses my mind often but there's something inside myself that's different now; a personal battle, a hidden internal conflict.

It's not your fault that my mind battles the way it does.

Yours does it too.

I too have done things that have hurt you, the way you've hurt me.

There is no consolation for what we have done to one another.

And in a way its beautiful where we have ended up anyway.

But I have this problem my love, this one I can't seem to fix in any way...

I can't seem to free myself from this internal conflict.

I can't seem to get the best out of this bad situation.

My lack of intuition makes me feel so uneasy in myself.

All I want to do is tear myself apart completely and put myself back together.

All I want is to be free from all anxiety and find peace within my soul.

To confess entirely, this internal conflict is changing me.

It's tearing apart my sense of self.

I feel lost and I can't fight it.

It distracts me from life, keeps me dwelling.

I used to be scared that the next would have a lot to prove to me,

A lot to undo, sift through, put up with.

Well I know now that there is no next, there won't be.

But you know its me that has a lot to prove, a lot to undo, a lot to sift through.

I have a lot I have to do for myself and you might have to let me do that.

Now this all seems very dramatic for such a small situation but there's something you should know, you already do but you need to really ponder it for me.

Forgiveness is not the problem, forgetting is the hard part.  

Chase that feeling

I'm scared.

Something could go completely wrong.

But I guess that's the beauty of it - not knowing.

You were the risk I never thought I'd take,

but I'm sure as hell glad that I did.

To a gorgeous person, inside and out.

On this day, at this moment, in this life...

You have made everything inside me feel perfect.

Read this:

I just bought this awesome book.  I've read bits and pieces from it and so far love it.  I will give you an update soon and give you some feedback :)

Think about your children...

Nothing upsets me more than seeing children fed rubbish.  I don't mean the occasional lolly pop or packet of chips but utter rubbish for most meals. To all the parents out there that don't take responsibility over what their child eats please think of this:

Think about how they think when they see you putting that cheeseburger into your mouth.
Think about how the food you are giving them is helping their bodies to live and grow.
Think about how you are completely shaping all their views and ideas of food by exposing them to certain foods and eating habits.
Think about what trans fats, sugar, additives and nasties are doing wirling through their blood stream.
Think about the way you discipline their behaviour; could it actually be that they are like this because of what you feed them?
Think about giving them that chocolate bar to shut them up whilst doing the shopping - it will be once, twice and then soon enough the child will learn that it will be always.
And by far the most valuable thing to think about is how their food and eating habits will impact the rest of their entire lives - how they live, grow, their choices and how they will feed their own kids.

Taking part 

•  Involve your child in choosing 

which fruit or vegetables they 

would like.

•  Take your child fruit and vegetable 

shopping and let them see, smell 

and feel the fruit and vegetables 

with you.

• Let your child help wash and 

prepare fruit and vegetables. Use 

this opportunity to explore new 

colours and shapes.

• Encourage their skill learning by 

letting them make a simple salad 

to serve themselves.

• Count out grapes or berries 

together in a bowl.

• Grow some vegetables or herbs 

in the garden or pot. Let your child 

water and nurture the plant.

2. Enjoyment

• Remember to enjoy meals 

together with your children 

whenever possible. If children see 

you eating and enjoying a wide 

variety of fruit and vegetables, 

they are more likely to join in.

• Sometimes children may prefer 

their vegetables raw to cooked.

• Children may refuse new foods if 

mealtimes are stressful, so try and 

focus on the positives about the 

meal and avoid arguments.

3. Presentation

• Keep a bowl of fresh fruit handy, 

and vegetables such as peas, 

cherry tomatoes, baby carrots and 

mushrooms in the fridge to grab 

for a quick snack.

•  Make vegetables and fruit look 

great on the plate. Serve different 

coloured fruit and vegetables, 

chop them on a special plate. 

•  For reluctant eaters, keep trying 

a new fruit and vegetable once a 

week. 

4.  Include fruit and vegetables 

wherever possible

• Include vegetables and fruit in a 

range of ways, and at most meals 

and snacks. 

• Rather than searching for new 

recipes, try to increase the variety 

or amount of vegetables added to 

your favourite family recipes such 

as pasta sauce, soup or stir-fries.

• Include vegetables and fruit in 

snacks too. Try corn on the cob, 

jacket potato, plain home-made 

popcorn, sliced vegetables with 

salsa or dips, muffins, pikelets or 

cakes made with added fruit or 

vegetables. Enjoy frozen fruit or 

vegetable segments, skewers of 

fruit, stewed fruit, fruit crumbles, 

and tinned fruits in natural juice. 

5. Keep trying

•  Children need a chance to learn, or 

sometimes re-learn, to enjoy fruit 

and vegetables. Your job is to make 

them available. Remember that 

children may need to see a fruit or 

vegetable ten or more times before 

they are ready to try it.

• Always include a small serving on 

children’s plates; encourage them to 

try, but let them decide whether or 

not to eat.

• Perhaps offer some crunchy raw 

vegetables before the main meal, 

when children are often most 

hungry.

• Resist the urge to prepare options 

to the meal you have prepared. 

Children may choose to leave 

certain foods, but will learn 

to accept the meal offered if 

alternatives are not offered.

Carry you.

The hardest burden to carry is one you carry for another. 

You carry it for so long that you get used to its weight and find comfort in its familiarity. 

But as you carry, you grow weaker and weaker 

until you reach a point where you wonder why you ever tried to carry it in the first place.

 I can't save you. 

Only you can do that...

Love is an equal experience...

"If I love you, I will carry for you all your pain,

I will assume for you all your debts (in every definition of the word), 

I will protect you from your own insecurity,

I will protect upon you all sorts of good qualities that you have never actually cultivated in yourself

and I will buy Christmas presents for your entire family. 

I will give you the sun and the rain, and if they are not available, 

I will give you a sun check and a rain check. 

I will give you all this and more, until I get so exhausted and depleted

 that the only way I can recover my energy is by becoming infatuated with someone else." 

- Elizabeth Gilbert

Beautiful Things...

Beautiful Things.

Some of the most beautiful things in life are free.  

Others may cost you a little.

It's worth it.

Day.

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Man

So how do we measure a man?

By content of his character?

A salary of six figures?

How far from the ground he stands?

A man of compassion?

Or a victim of fashion?

- Mike Kaye

My sunburnt country

I have come to realise that I can't leave this place yet.

There are too many things I haven't seen, too many unexplored places.

My soul longs to hike great mountains, bush walk through valleys and swim in water holes.

Fuck Australia, you are the best place in the world...

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

The earth holds many splendors,

Wherever I may die,

I know to what brown country

My homing thoughts will fly

Connections.

What is a good relationship?  Do I even really know?  I guess I've come to realise over time that its not about what you build on, its the initial connection.  You can have everything you want but lack the latter and nothing quite makes it right without it.

There is nothing more invigorating than a relationship of constant verbal expression, wonderful debates, thought discussions and learning.  My mind longs for that constant mental stimulus, I want to be taught and to teach.  I'm not saying that there are smart and dumb people out there and thats the line between what I connect with when it comes to a partner (although there are).  I'm saying that I am excited by those who wear their intelligence on their sleeve when they are around me.  I want to know what you think - about everything.  All the time.  Every seemingly insignificant thought.  Every dream.  Every argument and debate that you have in your mind with worldly things.  And when a connection like that has been found, absolutely nothing can compare.

Love yourself

....because know if you don't, you can change that.

You always have the choice to be someone you can love.

Psychology: the person-food relationship

So it's been a while since I have actually blogged about nutrition.  I know my earlier posts are riddled with crazy facts, quotes and opinions so heres a short one to reignite the subject...

Eating.  Its such a basic instinct right?  Such a physical and mental necessity?  Why don't we know how to eat then?  The truth is, eating can be a struggle but in a number of different ways.  Some struggle to eat healthily, others struggle to eat regularly and some even have problems with eating at all.  It saddens me - the psychology behind our relationship with food, a relationship that has mainly been consciously assessed in the past 200 years or so and have obviously peaked in present times.  We are so unbelievably conscious of our "food relationship" but sometimes it is unknown to us how we should react to edible things.

How are your eating habits?  Do you eat breakfast?  Do you binge?  Do you eat a whole cake in a single day or do you only eat salad with no dressing?  Habits stem from childhood and it is vital that parents take control over their kids eating habits from an early age.  There is nothing more disheartening to me than seeing a one year old child with only a small number of teeth being handed a cheeseburger or being given soft drink.  Do you have any idea what that does to someone at such a vulnerable age?  You are shaping their whole psychological relationship with food products, you are creating a 'norm', you are showing them what is acceptable, contributing to what their taste buds crave.  In a perfect world, every parent would know how to feed their child but like everything, childhood nutrition will never be entirely sound.  So this is the primary influence of one's food relationship - it shapes our food cravings, our eating  patterns for life until we consciously decide to make changes to them.  And so for a period we are stuck with this certain childhood food relationship which will change as we become more exposed to the world.

People.  How can one person define what is beautiful?  How can one person be any indication of what should and shouldn't be?  It's when one person groups with another person and another that the problems again begin.  It is easy to ignore an individual but hard to ignore a group, hard to ignore "social normalcy" in certain situations and this can have a considerable impact on the person-food relationship.  I remember in high school the girls used to talk about ways to lose weight.  I've heard it all - drink chilli sauce. Don't eat breakfast.  Eat only sugar cubes all day.  Eat only breakfast.  Be a vegetarian.  ABSURDITIES!  No wonder we are so afraid of what is on our plates; so afraid of what we are putting in our mouths incase it is bad for our organs or "makes us fat".  Remember that most people struggle with food or have at some point.  When someone tells you how to eat, know that they are also trying to understand their own relationship with food by telling you how yours should be.  Its like a constant obsession.  Let it go.  Please?

Also remember - before you judge someone think about why they eat the way they do and help them to eat the way they want!  Its all about positivity, regularity, confidence.  Create an environment in which your relationship and others' relationships with food can be endorsed in a good light.

Ways to improve your relationship with food:

PLEASE eat breakfast.  Honestly if I could change one thing about everyone's eating patterns it would be this!  Why does breakfast always get neglected?  There is a reason why the saying goes "breakfast is the most important meal of the day".

Know that food is a friend.  Don't be afraid of food.  Food enriches our body and minds.  It is the most wonderfully rewarding thing needed for our internal self so embrace foods of all kinds.  People dread food so much that they forget to be excited by what it has to offer.  Think about all the molecules breaking down in your small intestine.  Think about all the strength, energy and nutrients that are obtained from such substances.  Feed your body wonderful things so you can feel wonderful and love food!

A bad day won't tip the scales at the best of times.  I have a friend who is likely to read this.  You my dear are the prime example of my next point.  So you messaged me to wallow in self regret because you ate a large chips and an apple pie from maccas late at night.  This won't make you put on 500 kilos although you may feel that way after you regain control over your taste buds!  Don't stress about binges or think so hard about what you can't eat.  That will only make you want it more.  A fixation will start and you will be doomed.  So eat your few squares of chocolate, have a glass or 3 of wine at a wedding - the weight won't pile on overnight!  And after all, weight is just a number anyway.

Eating is a mentality.  Its all about the positives.  Think about why you are eating something - do you want it or not?  Are you hungry?  If you wan't chocolate and you eat a piece of fruit and then still want chocolate 2 hours later EAT THE CHOCOLATE.  Get the craving out so its easy to get over.  Don't go all out - once that sweet sensation hits your lips hold onto it.... FIXATE and then let it go.

Substitute.  Find better alternatives - everything counts!  When I wan't chocolate, I have a 99% fat free, 4g of sugar HOT CHOCOLATE to kick out the craving and not send me in a down hill spiral.  But make sure there are no nasties in the substitutes.  Do your homework.  Substitution makes life easier and its very rewarding.  Just take the time to compare products and read barcodes.  Make sure substitutions are available when you are having a bad day with food.  Roast some nuts and leave them in the cupboard for a snack.  Get rid of all the crap from the fridge.  Freeze healthy meals when you make too much.  Its the little things that help with the bigger picture over time.

Compete with you, not me.

Don't strive to be superior to others.

Strive to be superior to your former self.

Do.

Do.

Eat lightly.

Breath deeply.

Think clearly.

Love dearly.

Learn productively.

Love compassionately.

Live happily.

Yours is the first face that I saw...

Yours is the first face that I saw

I Think I was blind before I met you 

I don't know where I am

I don't know where I've been

But I know where I want to go

So I thought I'd let you know

That these things take forever

I especially am slow

But I realized that I need you

And I wondered if I could come home

This is the first day of my life,

I'm Glad I didn't die before I met you

But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you
And I'd probably be happy.

So if you wanna be with me

With these things there's no telling 

We'll just have to wait and see

But I'd rather be working for a paycheck
Than waiting to win the lottery.

Besides maybe this time it's different

I mean I really think you like me...

Treasure yourself.

EXTREME natural high.  It could be due to the fact that tomorrow I will be having amazing hippy times in some pirate pants with delicious psytrance but there is a massive combination of things causing this feeling.  I have this urge to completely detox my life and have beautiful, meaningful moments.

So this is what it's like - to constantly feel thankful to exist.  It really does confuse me.  Some days I go so unmotivated, letting the hours slip away and achieving very little but somehow that has stopped mattering so much.  Lately I can honestly say I have been on self discovering high.  I suppose when reading blogs such as this, I used to think that such people (as I am being) lived in a candy coated world, oblivious to hidden horrors but it has become apparent to me that there are infinite possibilities wherever you are.  You may not have what you want right now but make the most of the present so that you can shape it into an amazing future.

Now when I read stupidly happy blogs I get high off the energy from that person so far (or near) that expressed themselves in such a positive way.  I love it.  Its infectious.  Hopefully I can spread it.

Wish 23: Spend a day with Miranda

I never used to think much of idolising celebrities until I fell in love with the beautiful face of Miranda Kerr.  Admittedly, it was due to her glowing image that attracted me to reading her blog and doing some research on her and finding out she too studied nutrition and has life goals that are similar to mine.  

Meditation, nutrition and organic products are important to her and she seems to have such a beautiful soul. If there was one person I could spend a day with to learn and be inspired it would be Miranda.

Art, nature and beauty...

Little things in life never cease to amaze me.  I'm almost glad for the little things; glad that they don't go unseen and unappreciated because they are indeed so fulfilling.  Have you ever sat in a tranquil place, at one with nature - fascinated by its beauty?  Watching all the ecosystems, the interactions, the colours, the textures... all of it.  I have always longed to create things that are as beautiful as I see or as obscure and intricate as my mind can imagine but I lack the skills.  That's why I am so attracted to people that can create such beauty from within for the rest of the world to see,  a soul on canvas.

Emotional me.

Isn't it funny how we are so fixated on emotions; so aware of all we feel.  When did we have to start making a conscious effort to manipulate them? To drive our thought patterns and processes in a way that maintains a "good" feeling so we can hold on to it for as long as we are able.  Some of us are lucky enough to be gifted in that we can control our own emotions more than our external environment can.  I feel that in being one of these people I need to make a conscious effort to help those that can't and for some reason its the most satisfying feeling...

It doesnt mean I have forgotten but:

Respect me when I say, we dont need each other like we did before...

Human

Just walk away.

People are ruled by their pasts.  Everything relates back and although you learn from the past is it still as significant as your mind allows it to be?  Should it still control you like it does?  Only the weak let what has happened define who they will be.  I'm sick of asking people how they are or what they are doing and hearing that they are in the same place as before- sad, depressed, bored with life.  Yes everything that has happened is significant but you can break free and be whoever you want tomorrow; as long as you want it and try for it.  How is it that people forget that?  

Feel the closure and don't feel wounded that you are moving forward.  You have to.  Just walk away...

Dont let go of this moment because you can never get it back...

Despite life's heart aches and let downs; its fair to conclude that even though bad times have been spent, it's been worth every minute.

Today is beautiful

I was here...

We are forever searching for who we are and when we think we know, something changes.  We surprise, confuse or shock ourselves in a way thought we never would.  There will never be an appropriate summary of words to describe one's self as we are all strangers to ourselves.  In some ways, perhaps this is why we need others - not to tell us who we are or who we should be but so we can observe the way they respond to us; the way they see our character and we can then reflect whether they left any impression.

Once upon a time, someone made a difference in your world.  They may still be present but it is likely that they have gone.  This is where I make it exceptionally hard for myself as I am forever dwelling on the differences that people made and feeling as if they should remain in my life to make more.  On the other side of my mind's battle grounds I am aware that they are gone, but it doesn't mean that they are forgotten; just like the things that were said and done.  All is relative, but not everything can be held on to and not everything should be.

There is a reason why you loved someone, why you were friends with someone and why you

did the things you did with the people you have. But aside from that, there are reasons why 

people have come and gone from your life. I will always walk away from conflict but 

sometimes its necessary to keep people out that just dont fit anymore. Respect me when I say 

we don't need each other now like we did before.

Look outside, the world is waiting for who you are NOW.

Lost in the dark

Its funny how we fear the dark but somehow get lost 

in it.  In a second, without even realising, we find

 ourselves accepting it and finding comfort in darkness 

with light being forgotten.  I for one know how easy it 

is to be in love with the dark and become almost

 obsessed by it.  However what is darkness without 

light?  One is needed to recognise the other and one 

day, when the light hits your soul, you'll see 

everything differently; every detail as your world 

starts to shine again...