Girls Only?

October 7, 2013 / ktbuchs87

On NPR this morning (yes, I listen to NPR. Thanks hubby!) there was a news piece about how eating disorders affect men. Most people are aware that boys and men are affected by eating disorders, but they probably don’t know the extent or much about it. When people hear eating disorder, they automatically make the connection to girls or women. I certainly do. As a girl myself, we are constantly talked to about all types of disordered eating as well as body and self image issues. Sometimes it is almost like people expect girls to have some type of body problem. However, we don’t realize that the same issues that affect girls also affect boys.

Part of the problem is that the way eating disorders affect boys is different than the way it affects girls. Boys want to look lean and ripped whereas girls tend to want to look skinny and thin. Many boys can pass their problem off as just wanting to get bigger and stronger and people won’t question that as much as a girl who may look like she is wasting away. Also, because there is a stereotype that eating disorders only affect girls, some boys might not want to admit that they have a problem. They will hide it longer because they don’t want to deal with the stigma of having a “girl” problem. They’re already struggling, and they don’t want to add being teased on top of that. When they do seek help, most recovery programs are not geared towards boys. The NPR story followed a thirteen year old boy that was diagnosed with bulimia. When it was time to get treatment, he said that it was really awkward being the only boy there. He felt that his eating disorder didn’t affect him the same way that it affected the girls he went to treatment with.

Eating disorders are on the rise among boys. It’s estimated that 10 million men will be affected by an eating disorder sometime in their life and about 43% are dissatisfied with their bodies. Just as woman are constantly bombarded with what their bodies should look like, men get the same treatment from the media. Male models are ripped, and Photoshop can enhance abs just like it can whittle a waist. Boys are taught that to be “real” men they need to be big and strong, and that can affect their relationship with their body and food. We need to start paying more attention to the way society tries to dictate the way men should look, just like we are hyper aware of how it affects women. Boys need to know as well that their body is just great the way it is. Girls hear this all the time from entire campaigns that are run based on this idea. The more that people are made aware of how these things affect boys, more research and better treatment can be made available. It’s important for every single person to feel amazing in their own skin, no matter their gender.

I hope that you all had an awesome weekend, I know we did here in the Midwest! Fall weather FINALLY arrived on Sunday and now it’s nice and crisp outside! My favorite season has begun! Have a fabulous week!

Trust and Foodie Penpal Reveal Day

September 30, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Today you get a double post! Aren’t you just the luckiest! Since it is the end of the month, that means that it is Foodie Penpal reveal day. Foodie Penpal was started by Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean and is a fun way to try new and delicious things with others across the country. If you would like to participate or just want some more info, you can head over to Lindsay’s blog and check out all the official guidelines. This month my pen pal was Lauren and she did a fabulous job with my box! Included was:

1. Spicy Moroccan Sauce- GREAT in soups and stews, which I am now making more of with the cooler weather

2. Rosemary and Black Pepper almonds- My husband really enjoys these as a tasty snack

3. Four Fruit Spread- I haven’t had a chance to try this yet but I am sure it will be fantastic

4. Almond Butter- I love any and all nut butters, so this of course was a favorite

5. Gluten-free Cinnamon Raisin Bread- This was made and devoured immediately!

6. Various spices- I love my herbs and spices and these new ones have been fun to try out!

Thanks again Lauren, this was a great box!

On one of my daily blog readings, I came across a piece of advice that struck me. I don’t remember which blog it was or even the main point of that particular post (I read a LOT of blogs). The author stated, “Trust your body, it knows exactly what it needs and it will let you know too”. When I first read it, I really didn’t pay much attention. I have heard this advice many times before. In fact, I often tell you to listen to your own body and to pay attention to the signals it sends you. But as the day went on, I really started thinking about that advice and the word that really got me was trust. Trust your body. I realized that I don’t know if I fully trust my own body, at least not yet.

Let me explain. It is one thing to listen to your body, your stomach growls, you know you’re hungry, you put food into your body. That is fairly simple. But do you trust your body to choose the right food? Do you trust your body to eat the right amount of food? Do you ultimately trust that your own body is telling you that it needs? I have had a very tug-of-war like relationship with my own body and food over the years. Many times I would just eat anything at anytime because I was bored or just wanted the taste of food. This whole cycle of overindulging and eating food that wasn’t good for me created a very strained relationship between me and my body. When I decided to finally start eating better and improve my health, I honestly did not trust myself or my body to make smart decisions food wise. I literally had to throw out all the processed junk food in my pantry and refrigerator because I knew that I would not be able to trust myself around those things.

It has gotten easier over time to say no to the food that does nothing to keep me healthy. I avoid certain aisles in the grocery store, I don’t make certain foods, and if I go out to eat, I don’t even look at certain parts of the menu. Sure, that sounds like I trust my body, but in reality, I’m still a little nervous that I will go back to my unhealthy days if I fully trusted in my body to tell me what it needed. What if I misinterpret the signals? What if I think my body is telling me it needs something that I don’t want to eat? This may sound confusing and silly, but because of my past, I have a hard time with these things. But I’m also starting to realize that my body is smarter than I give it credit for. Because I have been feeding it the best possible food and treating it as healthfully as possible, my body knows that it doesn’t need nor want any of the food that I used to crave in the past. I’ve also learned so much these past few years when it comes to nutrition and health, which also contributes to continuing to eat well and live healthfully.

I’m learning more and more to really trust in my body to tell me what it needs. Some days are better/easier than others, but it is all a part of the process. Being healthy isn’t a sprint to the finish, it is a longer and slower journey, one that you have to make mistakes and learn from them. Will I ever be perfect? No! Obviously that is impossible and not expected of anyone. But I will get better and continue to be as healthy as possible. If you’re going through the same trust issue I am, just remember: be patient with yourself, give yourself time, and don’t be too hard on yourself. You will get there, I promise!

Have a fantastic Monday and a great rest of the week!

My cousin got married this weekend. The family cleans up pretty well!

Buchanan cousins and the new Mrs. Wills!

Not Really a Lifestyle Choice: Meal Delivery/Replacement

September 23, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

I’ve been going over popular health/lifestyle choices these past few weeks, and I thought I would end up this little series with something a bit different. I know there are a million different diets that I didn’t get to, but if I were to go through every single one it would take forever and you would get really bored. Hopefully with this series you have been exposed to a lifestyle that you found interesting as well as learned how to objectively look at a diet and see if it is the right one for you.

Today I am taking a look at meal delivery/replacement services. As you can see from the title, I don’t really view this as a lifestyle choice and I will get into that a little bit later. There are numerous meal delivery services out there, including Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Freshology, and many other brands. Just a quick Google search pulled up a ton I had never even heard of. The basic premise of these programs is that they take care of all food prep for you. They send you all the meals you will eat for the day/week and all you have to do is either heat them up or some other minimal form of prep work. Many of these services also allow you to customize your program for food allergies or intolerances, such as gluten free or dairy free. These programs do all work of figuring out portion sizes and calorie counts so you don’t have to.

I’ll start with the good, which quite frankly isn’t much. I’m not a huge fan of counting calories, but that is a personal preference and I know that for some keeping tabs on how many calories you eat is the best way to stay healthy. These programs make it very easy to keep a close eye on your daily calorie intake since everything is figured out for you. They also help with portion control, which is a big problem lately. We have gotten used to gigantic portion sizes, that we have no idea how much we should actually be eating. With meal delivery programs, they have already portioned out the right amount of food. All you have to do is make sure you only eat the allotted food for each meal.

That is pretty much all I have for the good stuff. In case you couldn’t tell, I am not a huge fan of meal delivery services. My biggest concern is that the food you are receiving is not actual food, but processed food-type things. You all know how I feel about processed “food”. Many of these meals are laden with chemicals and preservatives, both things that are not beneficial to your health whether you lose weight on these systems or not. I know with some of these programs you can supplement with real food, but for the bulk of them you are eating whatever they send you. One other problem with these programs is that you aren’t really learning how to eat better or healthier. You are fully relying on whatever they “cook” or make you, and not gathering the skills to sustain a healthier eating lifestyle. Most of the time you are just giving your microwave a workout. Meal delivery systems aren’t really a sustainable lifestyle choice. Which leads me to my last dislike, these programs are NOT cheap. You are relying on one service or company to provide your food as opposed to being able to shop locally and at various different stores where you can find the best price for your food. Eating well does not have to be an expensive endeavor. I feed my husband and I on usually no more than $50/week and I know others who eat delicious, healthy meals on even less than that. I could be totally wrong, but I don’t think people join Jenny Craig thinking that they will eat their food forever, and when they do decide that they have reached their goal weight, what have they really learned? They haven’t learned how to cook better meals for themselves! They might have learned what a portion looks like, but they probably don’t know how to measure it out on their own. That’s the important part of choosing a certain lifestyle, being able to learn how to make the healthiest choices on your own and be able to sustain the lifestyle for the rest of your life.

I mentioned meal replacements in the beginning, and I just wanted to briefly touch on them. I dislike these even more than meal delivery services. Slimfast, Special K, and any other type of company that makes you swap out a full meal with what pretty much counts as a candy bar or milkshake is not the way to go to be healthier. Sure, you will lose weight. That’s what happens when you don’t eat a real meal. These “programs” are usually used for quick weight loss results (like getting ready for a wedding or wearing a bikini) and aren’t meant to be sustained indefinitely. You’re better off steering clear of these products, as you’re doing your body and your health a huge favor. Trust me.

I know that there are a ton of other lifestyles/diets that I did not cover. But I hope that these have given you some insights into different ways of eating and living and will help steer you in the right direction for your health. When you decide that you want to be healthier, make sure you do a lot of research, ask questions, talk to health professionals, and experiment until you find the best way for you and your life. That is the most important thing! I hope that you all had a fantastic weekend. Adam and I celebrated the beginning of fall by going apple picking and enjoying the fabulous weather! Have a great Monday!

Apple picking fun!

Lifestyle Choices: Weight Watchers

September 18, 2013 / ktbuchs87

Hello! I’m posting on Wednesday and Friday again this week. I spent the weekend with my sister in Champaign and rather than work on my blog, I decided to have fun and relax with her. So sorry for the delay, but sometimes you just need to take a break!

Last week, I looked a little bit into the Paleo lifestyle. Today I want to talk about the Weight Watchers program. Weight Watchers has been around for about 50 years. It started with a small group of women in Queens, New York who would get together to discuss the best way to lose weight. From there it grew into one of the most popular and biggest weight loss programs in the country. The concept behind Weight Watchers places an emphasis on community and group support while losing weight. There are weekly meetings where you weigh-in and get measured to track your weight loss. You also meet with other people who are losing weight as well as health professionals who offer support on your weight loss journey. Weight Watchers uses a point system to help clients track their eating. Food is given a point value and the client is allotted a certain amount of points per day based on their weight loss goals. You can eat what you want, you just make sure that you count the points and don’t go over your daily allowance. Weight Watchers also promotes daily exercise as a way to help with weight loss and offers help and support in that realm as well. The Weight Watchers program is also fairly customizable and can offer benefits to a wide range of people and all their different needs. They also offer an online program so no matter where you are you can access all the information and tools that they have.

There are a lot of things that I really like about the Weight Watchers program. One of the biggest things that I like is the amount of support that they offer to their clients as well as the sense of community that they build. Losing weight is a really big decision and it takes a lot of motivation. It can be really tough for some people to try to lose weight all on their own. Being able to meet with other people who are going through the same things you are can really keep you on track. You can share tips, recipes, motivation, triumphs as well as failures. Having a support system behind you when you take a big step like getting healthier can make or break some people’s success. I also like that clients have access to a wide range of health professionals. Because losing weight and finding what works best for you can be such a confusing and sometimes frustrating process, it’s great to be able to have a lot of people to help guide you along the way. The other thing I like about Weight Watchers is that you can eat real food and they don’t place an emphasis on what you can’t eat but what you can eat. It is a lot harder to stick with a program when all you are told is you can’t eat this or you can’t do this. People don’t like to feel deprived, so I like the idea that you can eat what you would like.

On the flip side to that, I think it can be a little bit of a slippery slope when you are allowed to eat anything. While Weight Watchers does tout eating healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats, technically you could also eat chocolate cake and cookies as long as you don’t go over your points. Obviously this will not help you lose weight, and that isn’t what Weight Watchers is about. It can be tough for someone who is just starting out to be able to have all that freedom when it comes to food. I am not promoting a deprivation diet or starving yourself just to lose weight, I just know that for me I can’t just have one cookie or a slice of cake. Other people have great willpower right from the get go and have no problem saying no to those things. It all depends on the person. One other thing that I don’t like about Weight Watchers are their food products. They don’t have required food that you have to buy from them or eat, but they do have a wide range of food products that they make and fit into their point system. I am simply against this because of my belief that we need to step away from processed food and focus on real food. I understand that it is hard to figure out what to eat when starting a new lifestyle, but you shouldn’t live on packaged food whether you are losing weight or not. The chemicals and preservatives in processed food can cause more damage to your health than having a little excess weight on your body. Luckily with Weight Watchers you can easily focus your eating on real foods, and they offer a ton of meal plans and guidance when it comes to eating better.

Overall, I really do like Weight Watchers, especially for those that are just starting out and need help and guidance. They offer a ton of information and support that will help people be as successful as possible. I personally don’t think it’s realistic to be on Weight Watchers for life, but they make sure that they give you the building blocks to being healthier. Ideally, you can start to make healthier choices and live a healthy lifestyle beyond the Weight Watchers program and continue to find what works best for your body and your health!

I hope that you are all having a fabulous week and are enjoying the fall weather that is starting to make an appearance, I know I am! I’ll see you guys on Friday with a new recipe to try out!

Love her to pieces!

Lifestyle Choices: Paleo

September 9, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Happy Monday Readers! We’re continuing our look into the more popular diet/lifestyles that are out there. Today I am taking an in depth look into the Paleo lifestyle. Let’s get started!

Followers of the Paleo lifestyle believe that the optimal diet is one that is based on fruits, vegetables, and meats that could be found in the Paleolithic Era, before modern agriculture came into play. They avoid grains, dairy, legumes/beans, sugar and processed foods that are results of modern agriculture. They try to eat as close to nature as possible, meaning organic fruits and vegetables, grass fed meats, unprocessed oils, tree nuts/seeds, eggs, fish and shellfish. Anything that modern man has meddled with or made in a factory is off limits. Here is a really great list of foods that are allowed in the lifestyle as well as those that should be avoided. While it sounds like there are a lot of food that they do not eat, there are a ton of foods that can be eaten within the parameters of the Paleo lifestyle. Simply put, if cavemen didn’t eat then neither should you. Paleo followers believe that many of today’s modern diseases and ailments, such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases, are a result of modern food.

Just like with every lifestyle I look at, I offer my own opinions on the pros and cons of each diet. These are only MY opinions, I am not a doctor/dietician/nutritionist/health professional. If you would like more in depth information, please contact your health professional.

The big thing that I really like about the Paleo lifestyle is the belief that real food is the best for our bodies. I have made it fairly clear that I do not think that processed food has any nutritional benefit and is a cause of a lot of our health problems. When people hear about the Paleo lifestyle, many people instantly think of piles of meat and weightlifting, but this is just a stereotype. Yes, the Paleo lifestyle does endorse meat, but not processed meat and not pounds and pounds of it at every meal. They advocate for organic, free-range, and grass fed meats, which can be a very nutritional part of a diet. But they also promote eating a ton of fruits and vegetables. The other myth that you have to be a weightlifter or be a part of Crossfit if you go Paleo is just that, a myth. There is a large variety of people that follow the Paleo lifestyle. From runners, to those who practice yoga, old, young, mothers, grandparents, being Paleo is not limited to one type of person. I like this aspect as well, but I feel that those who do follow Paleo need to help propel the idea that it is not all about eating meat and doing crazy exercises.

One of the things that I don’t like about Paleo is one of the things that I don’t like about a lot of lifestyles out there, the thought that their way of living/eating is the ONLY way to be healthy. I mentioned this last week when I talked about the vegan lifestyle, but it is very off putting for someone who is still searching for the best way to be healthy to come across a hardcore Paleo follower. While these people think they are promoting their lifestyle, many of them are causing people to find other means of being healthy. Again, just like with the hard core vegans, not everyone in Paleo is like this. In fact it is a very small group, but they have unfortunately been a big force and are what many people assume all Paleo followers are like. My other concern about the Paleo lifestyle is that it can be very restrictive and if someone is just starting out they might feel so overwhelmed with all the food they are cutting out, they will just quit. This can happen with many types of diets, so it is important to ease into any new lifestyle and realize it is ok if you are not 100% perfect 100% of the time.

Overall, I think that if done properly, the Paleo diet can be a healthy lifestyle for many people. Just because I do not eat meat doesn’t mean that I think all meat is bad. I understand that every body has different nutritional needs. My body thrives without animals in my diet, but that doesn’t mean that others are exactly like me. I am a BIG advocate of finding what works for you and your health and if that just so happens to be Paleo then great! If your focus is on eating real, whole foods, whether that includes meat or not, I guarantee you will feel better and your health will improve!

In other news, this past Saturday I participated in a 5k race held by our local animal shelter, TAILS Humane Society. This was my third time running a 5k race and my fourth race overall. I went into it pretty much like every other non-professional runner out there, expecting to have a good time and not planning on winning. Apparently my body had other plans and I ran 3.1 miles in 23:23 and finished first for all females and fourth overall. I was pretty proud of myself as this is the first time that I have ever really won anything for an athletic type event, I even got a medal! I thought it would be fun to share my excitement with you guys and encourage you to go out and have some fun with any events you might be thinking about joining! Have a great week and come back next Monday for a look at the Weight Watchers diet.