"Why I decided to stop worshipping the bean and love the barley"
Murse Pete asked me why I've switched to Whole Earth No Caf rather than typical decaffeinated coffee, what advantages it has and how it tastes. Thanks, Pete, for giving me something to blog about!
The process of removing caffeine is chemical-laden. Chemicals--who needs 'em! I mean, don't we get enough just walking around breathing?! And guess what, the 'Swiss Water No Chemical' process some people rapsodize about uses a lot of water. And coffee is already a thirsty venture.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
One of the many reasons I became a vegan is to reduce my impact on the alarming depletion of our natural resources. To sustain a modern Western lifestyle, the entire planet is going dry. If you don't believe me, read When the Rivers Run Dry: Water--The Defining Crisis of the 21st Century by Fred Pearce. You probably don't know this, but coffee growth and production requires more water than any other food crop. Basically, it takes 140 liters of water to produce enough coffee beans to make one cup of brewed coffee. If you aren't familiar with this concept of virtual water, here's a quick introduction. I became a vegetarian, amongst many other reasons, when I realized (through the enlightening comparisons used by John Robbins in his wonderful books) that I would save the planet more water, literally, by not eating a quarter-pound beef burger than I would save by not showering for an entire six months. Think that one over! But a fat lot of good it would do me to stop eating beef then suck down cup after cup of coffee.
SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN REASONS
There's been a lot of talk lately about fair trade coffee. Okay, fair trade might sometimes work, but there may be a bigger issue here. Did it ever occur to you that if coffee farmers, their underpaid workers and sometimes even slaves, weren't using up their land and precious resources to provide your fat, coddled, flabby, overindulged Western butt with coffee, sugar and chocolate, they could use that land and those resources to actually feed themselves? Fair trade or otherwise, I'm still putting my self-indulgence above their basic human rights if my cup of coffee or my cheap Hershey bar or that spoonful of sugar means other human beings are forced to grow these useless crops and then go hungry. (If you don't think they are forced to by economic and political pressures, you are being shockingly naive).
About the alternate. Whole Earth No Caf is the first product I've tried as a coffee substitute. It tastes bitter and makes a passable substitute for coffee, particularly if sweetened with a touch of agave nectar. It doesn't have the coffee aroma, though. The grains used to make the beverage are grown in Italy, which is a lot closer to me than Ethiopia, so that helps with the whole carbon footprint thing. It's organic--no chemicals. I have no data on its virtual water value, but hope since it's a company with a conscience it would be relatively low, at least lower than coffee I hope! There are other grain beverages I intend to try after this container is used up.
The reason the No Caf product is openly touted as vegetarian/ vegan is that in order to be vegan friendly, there has to be no animal products at all in any aspect of processing. Ever wondered why refined sugar isn't marked as a vegan product? It's because charred animal bones are used in the refining process. Just because something originally grows out of the ground doesn't mean some animals haven't died to get it to your plate. You must be vigilant, and believe me, there are vegans and vegetarians out there who are very informed and who will not buy a product if they suspect it isn't REALLY animal-cruelty or animal-anything free!
I'm knackered now, the sweat from my workout is dried and I can only hope this doesn't disappear when I try to post it.
For the last two days I've weighed in the low 134 range.
Ashley, other spreads are definitely out, just because I want to avoid highly processed foods and vegetable/seed oils in general where I can. The nut butters are whole, organic, with no added ingredients.
I would love to try macadamia nut butter! Must search that one out!
Still weighing in the 133 range this morning--133.4. That's five days in a row now. Looks like those two pounds may be staying off.
Glad I ditched the butter! Why didn't I do it sooner?! I bought hazelnut butter, cashew butter and almond butter, and we've been having those on our toast with low sugar strawberry jam or organic honey for breakfast. It's the only change I've made to my daily routine. No wait, I've also decided to stop having coffee every morning. Instead of coffee, we've switched to Whole Earth No Caf on weekday mornings and real coffee as weekend breakfast treat. I wonder if the decrease in caffeine has helped? Who knows!
It's Saturday and I've just finished Jari Love's 'Get Ripped.' It is by far the easiest of the Get Ripped series. That's not to say it's easy, but it's the easiest of that series. (There's a song that plays during an endless series of chest presses and pec flyes that has some person in the background sort of rapping, 'control your body...control your body...' like a robot. Club style. It's in my head now.)
There's this one segment of delt lifts where she kind of chants, 'Three times a week, three times a week,' and I answered, 'I'm doin' it, babe!' because this month is the Get Ripped rotation that I've created that has me doing these workouts three times a week. (See below for rotation). Jari is a really good instructor; she's not perky but she's friendly and down-to-earth in her approach. Give her a go!
So tomorrow is Firm Calorie Killer, then rest on Monday, then on Tuesday it's 'Get Ripped 1000'--man that is a KILLER work out! Break me down and build me up, buttercup!
We're going into Birmingham today for a shop and a wander round. It's finally warmed up after being unseasonably cold and terribly rainy at the beginning of the week. (It was 42 F earlier in the week. Today it's mid 70s).
I'm sure I've mentioned that our one concession to dairy has been butter--real butter--every morning on our toast. A few months ago when I suggested to the DH that we might ought to give up butter, he really balked. I mean, this guy never balks, but this time he was like, no way, I have to have butter for bread. So I didn't say anything more. But about 10 days ago, he announced that he never wanted to eat butter again, so I threw away the last of it. He says that it finally clicked with him that butter comes from cows and our comsumption of butter does continute to contribute to their misery and suffering, (see Diet for a New America) in addition to being bad for our bodies (see The China Study). We have been having nut butter and sugar-free jam on our toast in the morning instead. Guess what! I weighed 133 for three days in a row! Seven days without butter and I drop two pounds. That is awesome. We'll see if I continue to maintain at 133. Must get to the health food store and stock up on almond butter, hazelnut butter and more cashew butter! (DH doesn't like peanut butter). This is a small change that I can keep for life, no problem.
I've been thinking about changing the name of my blog to reflect my personal philosophy of NO TEMPORARY CHANGES. My bottom line advice to everyone is always 'Never make a change you don't intend to keep for life. Anything you do for a finite amount of time is going to yield temporary results.' Can you think of a catchy way to word that?
I don't really like 'No deadlines' anymore, because I've been at goal for quite some time, having lost it super-duper slow. At one point I was losing about a half a pound a MONTH. So I gave up the notion of deadlines. Now I'm seeing the light about 'diets'. And by 'diet' I mean temporary programs that people go on, somehow thinking that there'll be an end to it and then they'll be able to go back to their old habits and be slim and trim forever. It really does NOT work that way. Every little change you make has to be one that you intend to keep, if you expect to keep the weight off.
Anyway, I'm sitting here all sweaty from doing Ultimate Calorie Blaster. Better get up and go fix hubby some dinner--he just walked in from work!
Found this on Gwynn's blog. Everyone post their own answers on their blog; let's see how many pick it up! If you do it, leave a comment so we can link to your blog and read your answers!
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes, my dad. I was born the day after his birthday and I am his first child.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? About two weeks ago
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's okay, kind of spikey.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I don't eat meat, but my favourite sandwich filling is smoked tofu topped with grated carrots, red cabbage and alfalfa sprouts, sliced tomato and lettuce.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? One
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? If I were a social person who likes to go out I'd probably find me boring and a stick in the mud, but if I were another quiet type who enjoys staying in and watching movies, then yes.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not as much as I used to, and not as much as I'm tempted to!
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Absolutely not. I have a tendency to frown upon activities that nature never intended.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Anyone who reads my blog will know it's home made muesli! But I also really like Jordan's Superfoods Breakfast flakes and Optimum Power.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes. I've been through some thangs.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? I don't eat any dairy products--the cows that produce them live unnaturally short lives (on average four years as opposed to their natural life span of 20-25) of misery and pain, artificially inseminated with their offspring abducted at birth while they spend up to ten months of the year in chained confinement.I do sometimes eat chocolate frozen soy dessert in summer.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I don't know. It depends on the person.
15. RED OR PINK? Red
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I am touchy and emotional.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I try not to hang on to the past.
18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? black pinstripe pants and purple Isotoner big bow velour slippers
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Dinner is in the oven, so it was licking the spoon from making bean enchiladas.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My tinnitus and the whirring of the computer.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Burnt umber
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Coffee, cinnamon, fresh cut limes, lavender, the pages in new textbooks
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Hubby
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? No one sent it to me, I nicked it from Gwynn's blog. She's cool.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? World Cup Football, but only when I've had a glass of chilled pink wine or three
27. HAIR COLOR? Brown
28. EYE COLOR? Brown
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? I used to.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Asian--I love Thai and Chinese in particular
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Thrillers are good.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Last King of Scotland
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Fuschia
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer in England (rarely gets hot)
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? I don't eat dessert, really. I like a bit of chocolate cake.
37. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The End of Faith by Sam Harris
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Rainbow (70s British childrens TV show)
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? The Apprentice and a countdown of20 of Madonna's music videos.
42. FAVORITE SOUND? Hm. The sizzle when chopped onions hit hot oil.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Depends on what you mean by home.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? If I do, it has remained as of yet untapped.
My workout rotation for June has two objectives in mind: increase upper body strength and sculpt muscle. It is a tough rotation that has me doing a Jari Love Get Ripped workout three times a week, with cardio or yoga in between.
(Jari Love, The Firm, Cathe, Rodney Yee)
1 Ultimate Calorie Blaster 2 Get Ripped 3 Calorie Killer 4 REST 5 Get Ripped 1000 6 Firm Bootcamp Maximum Calorie Burn 7 Get Ripped Slim & Lean 8 Yoga Burn 9 REST 10 Get Ripped to the Core 11 Low Max Time Saver cardio mix 12 Get Ripped Slim & Lean 13 REST 14 Get Ripped 15 Maximum Cardio Burn (different workout from June 6) 16 Yoga Burn 17 Get Ripped 1000 18 REST 19 Get Ripped to the Core 20 Low Impact Circuit--cardio circuits only 21 Get Ripped 22 REST and citizenship ceremony! 23 Sculpt and Tone Pilates 24 Low Impact Circuit--full workout 25 Express Cardio 26 Get Ripped 27 REST 28 Get Ripped to the Core 29 Basic Step 30 Get Ripped 1000
This is a very ambitious rotation, and may see me subbing shorter cardio workouts for the long ones scheduled, but I will give it my best shot.
Does anyone else use these workouts? Or do you have your own favourite home exercise DVDs? I'd love to hear about them!
My traditional monthly fitness assessment for May:
BMI 21 Body fat percentage according to calipers 20.2% Weight 135.1 Resting Heart Rate not yet measured (will do tonight) Chest measurement 32.5 Waist measurement 26.5 Hip measurement 36.25 Upper arm 11.25 Upper thigh 20.5 On-toes straight-leg military style pushups 20 Modified pushups in one minute not yet tested (will do tonight) Workouts done 16 Miles walked on holiday 27 (thus accounting for missing workouts--I normally do 23 workouts in a month)
My weight is the lowest so far this year, although it's only been fluctuating within 135. It peaked in April at 135.8. (I do have to add, because I am SO chuffed about it, this morning I weighed 133.4! But averaged with the weigh-ins of the entire month, it came to 135.1).
I would really love my monthly average to be 133.
I have increased my on-toes pushups from 18 last month to 20 this month. (To recap in Jan I could do 10, in Feb I could do 12, in March I managed 15 and in April I did 18.) My goal at the beginning of the year was to be able to increase my pushups by 2-5 each month. So far so good. I would love to be able to do 35 by the end of the year.
June's workout rotation is called 'Get Ripped' and features Jari Love workouts three times a week. I will post it tonight after work.
Hope everyone is doing well. Why not post a monthly retrospective? It's a really motivating and rewarding habit!
