When’s the party?

So, I graduated today.  OK, this may be my photo from my master’s degree graduation, but I thought the day worthy of some note.

What does this mean?  Not sure, actually.  I have just began making plans for a long term sub position as a school librarian,  but I also have many plans for getting myself out there as a certified holistic health counselor. 

What  I have noticed over the past few months as my life has been consumed by a seemingly unending comedy of things gone wrong is that I revert to my quiet self.  The self that likes being a librarian because then I don’t have to talk as much.  The person that was drawn to library science, cataloguing, and the general life-long love I have had of libraries. 

There is a difference now.  I talk about going to the school and finding new clients there.  I need to get myself out into the world to find them.  That scares me, but I know they are out there just beyond my reach. 

So Happy Graduation, me, and I hope that this transition will bring more nuanced fulfillment and a continuing evolvement of that thing that is being Brooke.

Labels, Part Two

I recently found out the label for the diet I was follow from the fall of 2009 to last fall.  It is called the Paleo Diet and is based upon the principles of eating whole foods like man ate before the development of cities.  You should eat mostly fruits, vegetables and animal protein with a moderate fat intake.  I followed this diet for a long time until I realized that it wasn’t working for me.  I was developing a junk food (in the form of tortilla chips) habit that I craved alongside sugar.  Last fall I added in root vegetables (as it was the season) which curbed the sugar, but caused me to gain weight.  It didn’t make me happy anymore.

This January I have come upon a way of eating that makes me so happy.  I am eating 2/3 raw meals and 1/3 vegan/vegetarian meals.  A truly surprising develop considering my resistance to it when I listened to the lessons for school. I hesitate to label myself that way though, because this is how I feel now.  It developed through the cleanse I am doing and has just suited me.  Will I ever eat animal meat again?  My guess is I will.  Will I go totally raw this summer?  I have no idea.  But right now, this is making me happy. I feel vibrant, energetic and clear.  I am at a weight I truly like and feels sustainable. 

What am I eating that makes me feel so good?  I am eating beans, leafy greens, root (and other) vegetables, and fruits in abundance and whole grains and fats (in the form of nuts, seeds and avocado) in moderation.  Sounds eminently reasonable, right?  You are thinking this doesn’t sound too bad, aren’t you?

Why am I thinking about this right now?  Because I think this is all individual.  This is working for me, but I wouldn’t tell you that this is the healthiest diet and everyone should do it.  Having just read The China Study and Good Calories, Bad Calories simultaneously I can tell you that studies can be interpreted many different ways and that the scientists really don’t have a universal answer either.  My mom hasn’t eaten chocolate, coconut or eggs often for the past twenty years because the prevailing wisdom said not to if she wants to control her cholesterol.  Both those books said something different on the subject.  Somewhat similar, but from a different foundational basis.

So.  Chew on that for a while and then ask yourself, “Is the food I’m eating sustaining me?”  If not, you don’t need to find a diet by name (although I imagine that makes it easier) just try to discover the foods that make you feel good and the ones that slow you down.  Try to remove the ones that drain you and more of the ones that fill you with energy.  Or you can call me .

Book Review–Catching Fire

One of my nagging concerns about the Nutrition program I am currently enrolled in is that I won’t have enough nutrition information to help people when I graduate.  Being the librarian/ex-librarian/avid reader that I am, I am spending much of my reading time on emotional eating, diet, and science of nutrition books.  I want to read as many books as I can so I can help as many people as I can.  I don’t think I am so unique as to believe that my life experience leaves me isolated.  Why else would Facebook be so popular?  I believe many people like me want to eat a little better, sleep a little better and live a little better.  This is why I believe this school is great and why I can have a career helping people live their best life. 

I recently finished Catching Fire:How Cooking Made Us Human.  This book started out slow.  I thought I would recommend it to raw-foodies, but 75 pages in I thought they would be offended.  I kept reading and found it more and more interesting.  By the end I really thought the author had a lot to say and wanted to engage in a dialogue with people who thoughtfully ate food.  People who thought that the food they ate had meaning every day.

I find myself thinking about this book a lot recently in my life.  Like why we eat cooked meat and what that means about portion size. (Cooking meat gives us more energy from the food so we need a LOT less.)  We also lost our jaw strength and teeth sharpness in the evolution from habilines to homo erectus and so don’t have the ability to chew raw meat.  Or the time really… I have loved learning more of the science behind our food and how the evolution of humans have brought us here.  The ramifications of this evolution we are seeing now in a society that is over-weight and under nourished.

Read this book if you want to know more.

Colors

We spend so much time bitching about horrible Oregon summers that we forget about what Oregon does best.  FALL.  I love the colors of fall.  It is my favorite season.  I love the crisp air, the beautiful leaves and the grounding you feel from the blue skies, wet earth, and increased dark.  I find it ironic then that I woke up yesterday morning feeling a lack of color in my life.  I ended up feeling blue.  A little sad. 

Perhaps it is cyclical.  The leaves are falling, the dead of winter approaching and people are leaving right now.  Friends and family are taking on new adventures and exciting life changes.  I am left here.  So.  I feel blue.  A little empty.  Perhaps that is part of the season.  A grounding and awaking of what happens in life.  People go and in the spring the rains return, life comes forth from the earth and I will start on new adventures.  Maybe by then I will have clients and will be able to help them live a life of adventure and live it with vitality and wellness.  Perhaps the grounding I need this winter is to spend it healing me.  Then when the springs come I will be able to give to others.

Right now I am loving the cats playing on my lap.  Talk about primary food!

Today I am looking forward to a run in this beautiful weather.  And while I am out in this day I can enjoy the falling leaves, the wondrous colors and the possibilities life may yet have in store.

First

I completed my first health history Tuesday night.  I was concerned and excited about doing it, but was so glad I did it.  I learned quite a bit about myself as well as a whole ton about someone else.

What did I learn (or was reminded of)?
- I am shy about asking highly personal data (even though most of this is highly personal)
- Most people love to talk about themselves
- Listening well is hard, but rewarding
- Apparently I have a soothing phone voice (could have used that in other potential careers?)
- This job is going to rock
- My own life experience, while quite unique, can lead me to the same place as others
- It is fun learning/meeting new people
- I'll stop here - this list is starting to get inane

New Beginnings

For the past year I have been experimenting. I have spent my time concentrating on health and nutrition. I have sought out new ways of eating; ways of eating that satisfied my body and mind. Today I registered at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, a program I learned about a year ago from a friend from high school. At the end of the twelve month program I will be a certified health and wellness coach and will be on my way towards a new career. A career that aligns well with my current interests and a lifetime of finding ways for my eating habits to support my interest in healthy movement.

I played soccer for 25 years, have been a yogi for 10 and a triathlete for three. I have worked out regularly for the past 15 years and have always worked hard to do things that were good for my body. But, I was always embarrased that my body on the outside didn't match how it felt to me on the inside. I started doing cleanses 10 years ago to help clean out my vital organs and eventually began Weight Watchers. I spent 8 years trying different diets (I gained the WW weight back after achieving Lifetime status - I think I still have the key somewhere :).

After losing weight last year I spent so much time reading about nutrition and different ways of eating. I began to feel that I had something to contribute in the field and started this blog and eventually the recipe wiki. When I heard about the IIN I loved that they say that there is no one diet that is right for everyone. That really stuck with me and over this past year I have spent time looking at various diets and the benefits they might have. And that my past experience isn't a waste, it was the path I needed to be on to find out what worked for me. This research will now serve me well as I begin a new chapter in my life.

I don't know exactly what I'll do once I finish the program. Perhaps I will look at sports nutrition, nutrition for yogis, nutrition for children. Who knows? But how exciting!