This Time, Baby, I’ll Be Idiot-Proof

Hey guys!

The Cranky One, that’s me (yes, I like to talk in 3rd person), has been quite the idiot.
(evidence)
You see, even though the past two years have marked my being the most athletic & fit that I’ve ever been in my adult life, they’ve also marked an unhealthy shift. Somewhere along the line, my goal for optimum health became muddled with the goal for optimum thinness; something I have had a hard time copping up to.

Last summer has become some idealized and romanticized golden age in my mind where I look back at the level of fitness and thinness I achieved and yearn for a pastoral return. The truth is simply: last summer, I spent an unreasonable amount of time working-out and obsessing over working-out. There was no magic involved, just hard work – and the resulting tendinitis in my left knee. The problem was that devoting that level of time and obsession to getting fit was contingent on me having the time and energy – something that only summers free of a master’s program could offer.

When the school year started again last fall, the pounds started creeping up slowly. I noticed, but then decided I’d rather destroy my scale than feel my happiness was contingent on the number it listed.

Destroying the scale was fun. But it was not some cathartic moment that healed all past insecurities and rendered me anew. I think that’s what I had been expecting. But the moment certainly didn’t deliver. So, fast-forward to this summer. The pressure to again get to that phantom zenith of “fitness” awakened from its repressed slumber. But I couldn’t bring myself to begin acting on the obsession to get (more) fit even though I actively felt the obsession. It was like some mind-body gap that I just couldn’t reconcile. So, I pushed. I recently started running a mileage that was intended for weight-loss, not for health and enjoyment. I caved against my best judgment and bought a scale (*gasp*!). I started obsessing again. And where did it leave me? Well, all signs are pointing to tendinitis. Again. This time? In my right knee. I know, I know. Even children’s fables can’t come up with morals as good as this. When you push too hard, and for the wrong reasons, your body will fight back.

I’ve got an appointment with a sport’s medicine doc tomorrow (the same one I saw last year), and we’ll see what he says. Since the pain started creeping in, I’ve been feeling like a child in a time-out — bitter and ready to go outside and run.

Have you ever felt you were pushing yourself to achieve an unrealistic level of fitness or some phantom ideal of thinness that was unhealthy?

Some news & info. too good not to share:

• Doctor’s prescribing fruits & veggies? Hallelujah! Doctors at three health centers in Massachusetts have been doling out $1/day vouchers for produce at the local farmer’s markets to their patients in the effort to encourage healthier eating habits and to combat obesity.  It’s a pilot program and it obviously can’t be a panacea, but even as a symbolic act — I think it’s wonderful [here]
• If it’s got added vitamins, it’s a good food choice, right? Not really. Did you read my post on those bastards defending VitaminWater’s bogus claims? [here] In a recent post, blogger Fooducate writes about a commentary published in the Journal of the American Medical Association discussing the trajectory from “nutritionism” and food science to our abundance of processed foods with added “nutrition” (you have to subscribe to the journal to read the commentary, so Fooducate does a great job re-capping for those of us who can’t access the piece). Fooducate writes, “The problem today is that food is stripped of its foodness to become an amalgamation of cheapest possible ingredients PLUS artificially added nutrients. These foodlike substances may rate well by nutrition metrics, but they are not proving effective in reducing the obesity epidemic.” [here]
• The Hidden Costs of Cheap Food. Check out this piece titled, “Why Quick, Cheap Food, is Actually More Expensive”  by Mark Hyman, MD, in The Huffington Post [here]
• Want some cholesterol meds with your fries? Some researchers are suggesting that cholesterol-regulating statins be provided with the condiments at fast-food chains. Yes, I’m serious. Soon big brother will be dishing out the soma and we’ll be set for life! [here]
• Good news for Senate’s Food Safety Bill! As Marion Nestle writes in The Atlantic — the bill’s got bipartisan support! Read the provisions as delineated by Nestle and heed her call to action: “The current version of the Senate bill (PDF) is available for scrutiny. If passed, it still needs to go to the House for reconciliation of the two versions. So it is still interim and worth reading carefully. Read it and decide for yourself what it says and is likely to mean.”
• Want free pizza tomorrow? If you live in Los Angeles — Tomorrow at Hancock Park, from 4-7 PM, join Z Pizza for free pizza samples, contests and chances to win prizes, including a year of free pizza. I recommend trying the Berkeley vegan pizza made with Gardein sausage and Daiya cheese. I wasn’t a big fan of the way the “cheese” tasted on the pizza, but I am in love with the idea of getting vegan pizza from big pizza chains! Also, gotta love Z Pizza for using organic ingredients and for offering several pizza options that are 100 or less calories and 2-5g fat per slice (see all the “Rustica” pizza options here) [more info on event here]
• Easy pot-pie recipe? Yes, please! Check out one of my fave vegan bloggers, Happy Herbivore, on The Huffington Post — she gives her recipe for vegetable pot pie on the video and it looks simple and scrumptious! [here]

<3,

The Cranky One

Tags: food politics, food safety, marion nestle, vegan pizza, z pizza