The Happiness Project

I'm reading this book that has grabbed me to the point that I keep thinking about it, but don't want to rush through reading it because I don't want it to end. That's how I know I really really like a book; I kind of draw out reading it over a period of time, so it's not over too soon. It's Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. I see a lot of my own traits in her descriptions and musings about her behavior, including the admiration for the concept and structure of her project (each month she focuses on one area and makes specific changes in order to bolster happiness). It's eye opening about what you can accomplish when you put your mind to one thing at once, but more importantly, how good it is to take the time to be honest about what's really important to you and what makes you happy. I think I've posted on that before- that's how important the concept is and how much it resonates with me apparently!

Anyway, it always seems to me that following your passions, identifying goals and dreams, and cultivating more of what truly makes you happy are lofty ideas. Just simply being able to STATE what truly makes you happy is kind of a challenge in itself sometimes. As in honestly what makes YOU happy yourself, not what you think should make you happy or what makes your friends or your family or your significant other or your dog happy.

I'm going to keep a running list of things (activity type things specifically) that I really love to do. If I have that, next I can work on incorporating more of them into daily life! Try it and let me know what you come up with :)

Summer in Southern California is fabulous, and full of ways to be active and healthy! No matter where you're located there is just something special about summer, so take advantage of the lightness of spirit and abundance of fresh produce around and savor every moment!

My personal favorite fruit is nectarine, and I am delighted to have them around this time of year. Try adding them into a salsa for a sweet kick that's great with fish- or just to dip chips for an extra hit of nutrients- plus that salty AND sweet tooth satisfaction :)

I've been over on the Facebook Brooke-Approved Wellness page, which is where I've been posting favorite wellness quotes, new discoveries and articles. I'll spread the love over here more often too- it's fun having so many places to share the goodness!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brooke-Approved-Wellness/147809091916607

Adoring your bones

The second new product find I’m going to tell you about is delightful in and of itself, but it is also a supplement. Now, I am typically not in favor of taking a bunch of supplements. In fact, I would ALWAYS advocate the whole food version of the source of any given nutrient, but I do understand that it’s not always possible to be that well rounded dietarily. (And yes, I do consider “dietarily” to be a word.)

From my experience with bodybugg (let me know if you want to know more about the bodybugg tool/toy), I know that getting the recommended amount of calcium is kind of a tough one. Unless you’re downing dairy like cows are going out of style, you may be coming up short. Because there’s only a limited number of years to stockpile bone mineral density before the balance tips and it starts declining, I do think it’s important to have a steady supply: note steady, but not outrageous. It IS possible to have too much of a good thing, and overdosing on any one vitamin or mineral will just cause absorption and metabolism to go all out of whack and throw other minerals out of balance along with it.

That said, if you're concerned about future osteoporosis, a moderate supplement here and there may not be a bad call. Enter new find: Adora chocolates. 500mg calcium, plus Vit D and Magnesium to aid absorption and processing. I’ve had Viactiv chews before, and Adora is in a whole other league. The dark chocolate (purple package) is exquisite (and I’m a major dark chocolate fan) and the milk chocolate (orange package) is quite good too, and I’m not a milk chocolate fan. The only tough part is sticking to one at a time!

What I love about this product is that you could totally get young people on board, at the critical age for maximum bone deposition (adolescence-early 20’s). Even after that, it’s still a fun way to get enough calcium in. Not to mention the antioxidants naturally occurring in the chocolate. Definitely worth a try: decadent yet functional.

something Really Seedy

I have two Brooke-Approved product discoveries that I am really excited about at the moment. They are both finds from my recent visit to the Natural Foods Expo West, which I have had the privilege of attending for the past two years in Anaheim, CA.

The first product I just CANNOT get enough of right now is The Whole Earth’s “Really Seedy” tortilla chips. They are speckled and full of deliciousness such as brown rice; and flax, sesame and chia seeds. A dose of fiber (2g), and 2g protein per serving, not to mention the fabulous omega 3’s and delicious crunch. And the perfect amount of saltiness, in my humble opinion.

I have gone through four large bags so far, partially with help of my gorgeous girlfriends from the Northwest on their recent visit down south (they were smitten with the seed studded snack as well!) For full disclosure’s sake, the chips took me the first two bites or so to get used to the unique texture and crunch, but after that I was HOOKED. If you can get behind that wholesome crunch, you’ll be super pleasantly surprised.

back to fabulousness

After a hiatus last term of transferring schools, moving to a new apartment, adopting a dog, and generally shaking life up down and sideways, I am back with more fabulous wellness info. My new graduate program is full of amazing things to hear about; I am completely blown away by it and super grateful to get to be here.

There is something to be said for taking an inventory of what makes you happy, and looking closely at your life to see where what you are doing and what you believe do not match up. Time is either a limited commodity or, all we have: as in, all we have is time and we decide what to do with it. For example, I was in a grad program with a focus that didn’t match closely with my long-term goals. I could have kept my head down and powered through (per Arrested Development) and kept with the research-based MS degree. Or, I could look up, look around critically, and evaluate my options (which I did and which led me to this MPH/RD program).

But the point is, it is so easy to stick with the status quo. There is an innate human instinct to do so, I think, to play it safe. But sometimes, even when you don’t think you have the courage it would take, you have to leap and trust that the net will appear.

“When you come to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, believe that one of two things will happen. Either there will be something solid for you to stand on or you will be taught how to fly. ”

Patrick Overton - Author, Poet, Teacher

"What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets"

If you haven't heard of this book title, I highly recommend checking it out! I just encountered it and got completely sucked in. The photography is gorgeous, the concept is awesome and the around-the-world experience is so thought provoking.

80 people who live utterly and completely different lives around the globe are featured, with a depiction of what they ate that day. The calorie counts range from 800 to over 12,000, but what is truly fascinating is the variation in human life and diet substance.

This lovely and truly remarkable book is a teleportation-travel all around the planet, but my take-home message is that it is a great reminder that life looks different on everyone. There are so many ways to live and thrive, and food can be all-consuming, or something to consume. Reading between the calorie lines to what makes these people tick, and what they spend their days DOING and BEING is the real story.

It encourages the thought, what do you use your food-fueled energy to do and be during your days? As this book shows, there are SO MANY ways to live our lives. Use that life-giving food energy to do and be EXACTLY what you dream of.

Here is a fitting quote, a favorite of my beautiful friend Marya's:

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?"

-Mary Oliver

Thoughts on body wisdom, and breakfast.

Those are two of my FAVORITE topics! How fitting to put them together on this lovely Friday. I hope you are enjoying being you today.

Today I’m looking at one way to enjoy “being you” even more. And it’s easy; it’s something you can choose for yourself! It has to do with listening to yourself, or what I think of as tapping into your body’s wisdom.

There are always going to be contradictory consensuses- consensi? ;) on what is healthy, and which foods are best to eat and best to avoid. For example, coffee, soy products, nuts and eggs are things that have dual sided arguments or that have gone in and out of favor over the decades. My great-aunt Danny said it best, and emphatically, years ago: “Eggs are in, eggs are out! I don’t listen to any of that hogwash. Moderation!!”

The more I learn, I tend to agree with her. For the most part, I believe that the important thing to learn is to listen to your body. Do you feel better overall when you eat certain things on a regular basis? Does dairy make you feel mucusy and indigestive or satiated and energized? Does your morning go better when you include something with whole grain, or something with eggs, or something with caffeine? These things aren’t the same for everyone- but luckily you can just ask your body what those answers are for YOU.

Sometimes I think, when choosing foods, a good way to look at it is as a producer of long term happiness. Not just while you are eating it- especially not just that. But real, long term happiness with your health, your energy levels, the way your body feels to live in and move in, and importantly, your ability to do and be and wear and enjoy all the things you desire to do, be, wear, and enjoy!

Maybe for a few days or even just the next few meals, take a moment before choosing what you put in your body to do a brief check to see if what you are choosing leads to long-term happiness. To see if your choice moves you towards health, strength, confidence, energy, and ability.

I am admittedly a large Biggest Loser fan, and I was hearing a commercial that trainer Bob Harper did for an oatmeal product. What I really loved about it was the tag line. “Does your breakfast make you amazing?” Oatmeal or not, my encouragement for today is for you to ask yourself if YOUR breakfast makes you amazing. Does it enable you to continue on with your day energized, not depleted or crashing later? Of course this logic continues for any eating, not just breakfast. Because you deserve to enjoy being your amazing self all day long!