I made a major tactical error yesterday, one I'm still paying for today. I was getting ready to go to my second job and I realized that I'd need a snack around break time but didn't want to get chips from the vending machine. I had no time to prepare anything, so I went through a McDonalds drive-thru and got a fish sandwich, fries and a diet Coke. I took that to work with me and ate it at break time. So far so good. A couple of hours later I was already off work and at the grocery store, doing late-night shopping so I could stay home today, when the effects of my McMeal began to make themselves felt. Within a few minutes I was utterly miserable, suffering from a wide variety of symptoms ranging from gastric upset to a complete lack of energy. Have you ever felt so drained that lying on the couch was too much of an effort, but so was getting up to go to bed? That's how my McMeal made me feel: there's something McToxic about McDonald's food. I don't know what it is, I don't know if it's only certain items that are bad for me, and I don't know if I'm affected while others aren't or if they just don't connect feeling McCrappy after eating McFood.
This morning when I woke up (two hours later than my usual time and still feeling exhausted) I was much hungrier than usual, as if my body had been starved of something. Like maybe nutritious food. I'm on the mend now, I think because I've focused on healthy, basic, unprocessed foods today, and my energy is beginning to return to normal. I think my fast food McHangover is finally subsiding, but for me the residual effect is to write this post as a warning to others.
If you eat McFood regularly my question is: how can you stand it? Or are you just so used to feeling bad that it's your norm? I used to incorporate quite a bit of fast food into my diet but in the last couple of years my body has begun to say "No more." Now I rely on fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, cheese, hormone-free milk, soy protein and a little meat to make up my diet. It's amazing what getting real energy from real food feels like. You should try it sometime.
Here's a typical day's menu for me:
Breakfast: bran cereal w/milk, banana, orange juice, tea or coffee
Lunch (on workdays): a low-fat entree with lots of veggies, maybe with tofu as the protein, from one of the wonderful neighborhood restaurants near my office. The closest I ever come to fast food at lunch is Subway or Quiznos. When I'm not working I cook breakfast for Hubby in the early afternoon so for me it's breakfast for lunch, usually eggs, cereal and fruit.
Dinner: something home-cooked and wholesome, with whole grains and veggies. If Hubby is home the meal will usually contain meat; if I'm alone then beans and rice with salad or other veggies is a likely choice.
Snacks: Not many, although I do bake regularly and sometimes I indulge in a slice of cake or a brownie, but I know what's not in them: High Fructose Corn Syrup, transfats, preservatives.
Notice what's missing: soda, candy, burgers, fries, fake food of various descriptions. Seems almost un-American, doesn't it? After all, our culture runs on convenience and immediate gratification, which is why McFood has become so prevalent in our country. However, if you actually give it a try it's amazing how much you can improve your diet, and your energy level, without significantly increasing the cost and time invovled in food preparation.
Here's a quick and easy recipe for a satisfying cold salad:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kernel corn, drained
2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 tomato, diced
Italian salad dressing or vinaigrette dressing
Throw everything together in a bowl, mix well and let sit overnight in the fridge. Pack some of this in a container for a fast and nutritious lunch that will keep you fueled up without weighing you down, and just see if you don't feel better than when you succumb to the lure of McFood.
I guess my whole rant boils down to "you are what you eat." So don't eat McCrap.
Peace,
AuntieM
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
I'm doing my part
Did you watch President Obama’s address to Congress last night? I hope you did because it was epic, it was Kennedy-esque, and it was beautiful. Hubby and I watched it and several times we both had tears running down our cheeks. I know we’re in a jam right now with the economy tanking, but Obama’s speech was full of hope and optimism for the future, a future that we can get reach if we work together. I liked that the financial part of Obama’s speech was straightforward and focused on the problems, not who caused them. Early on in his speech Obama passed up a golden opportunity to slam the policies of the Bush administration as the reason we’re in this mess, but Obama is too much of a class act to stoop to those measures, while I would have done it for a cheap laugh. Guess that’s why I’m not President. He also very correctly stated that the root of our financial mess lies in decisions made nearly three decades ago (hello Reagan administration) and one of the things that started this mess was Reagan’s wholesale deregulation of giant swaths of the private sector. Without government oversight it was only a matter of time before the endless drive for profits led to the economic house of cards that is coming down around our ears today.
So where’s hope in all of this, you may wonder. Hope is in the steps we can take today to build a better tomorrow. Hope is in using our ingenuity and creativity to rebuild our country in a sustainable 21st century model that will run on alternative and environmentally-friendly fuels. Hope is in reminding the parents of this country, as Obama did so eloquently, that they are ultimately responsible for their kids’ education – turn off the television, unplug the video games, make sure the kids do their homework, go to those parent-teacher conferences, set a good example and make sure your kids understand that education is their key to a better future. In the same vein, Obama called on each and every one of us to embrace the idea that education is the future for us all and strive toward making the US the best-educated nation on the planet by committing to at least 1 year of higher education or continued education during his first term as President. “I’m doing my part!” should be the mantra of every student, whether it’s a child who goes to school instead of ditching or cutting class, or an adult who pulls those long nights to attend classes after a full day’s work. Yes, it’s tough to hang in there and complete a course of study, and it requires postponement of gratification. Sure, I’d love to be vegging in front of a “House” marathon instead of writing an essay exam for a class (which is what I was doing before I broke off to write this post) but there will be lots more “House” marathons after I finish my exam, while going to school is an opportunity I didn’t think I would have again so I’m making the most of it this time.
This leads me right into the tax credit Obama announced for paying tuition, a $2500 tax credit that made me sit straight up on the couch and go WooHoo! That’s an improvement over the existing educational tax credits, and one that I hope will also be good for grad school, not just undergraduate work. You know the difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit, right? Okay, here it is in a nutshell: a tax deduction reduces your taxable income, so it lowers the amount of taxes you have to pay. A tax credit is much more valuable because it is like extra money that goes toward paying your taxes, and each dollar of a tax credit has the same value as each dollar you paid in taxes from your paychecks over the course of the year. So if you paid $3,000 in taxes but your total tax bill is $4,000, without any tax credits you owe $1,000. But if you have a tax credit, say Obama’s $2,500 educational tax credit, then it’s like you’ve actually paid a total of $5,500 against a tax bill of $4,000 so you get a $1,500 refund. It’s just that simple and that sweet.
After watching Obama’s speech I felt proud that I’m already working to improve my education, proud that I already work in the nonprofit sector and am helping people improve their lives, humbled by the faith and trust that Obama places in each and every one of us to work with him to make our country a better place, eager to get started with the work that lies ahead, and hopeful that we can all create a better, brighter future. Optimism, what a wonderful feeling. Now let’s get to work.
Peace,
AuntieM
So where’s hope in all of this, you may wonder. Hope is in the steps we can take today to build a better tomorrow. Hope is in using our ingenuity and creativity to rebuild our country in a sustainable 21st century model that will run on alternative and environmentally-friendly fuels. Hope is in reminding the parents of this country, as Obama did so eloquently, that they are ultimately responsible for their kids’ education – turn off the television, unplug the video games, make sure the kids do their homework, go to those parent-teacher conferences, set a good example and make sure your kids understand that education is their key to a better future. In the same vein, Obama called on each and every one of us to embrace the idea that education is the future for us all and strive toward making the US the best-educated nation on the planet by committing to at least 1 year of higher education or continued education during his first term as President. “I’m doing my part!” should be the mantra of every student, whether it’s a child who goes to school instead of ditching or cutting class, or an adult who pulls those long nights to attend classes after a full day’s work. Yes, it’s tough to hang in there and complete a course of study, and it requires postponement of gratification. Sure, I’d love to be vegging in front of a “House” marathon instead of writing an essay exam for a class (which is what I was doing before I broke off to write this post) but there will be lots more “House” marathons after I finish my exam, while going to school is an opportunity I didn’t think I would have again so I’m making the most of it this time.
This leads me right into the tax credit Obama announced for paying tuition, a $2500 tax credit that made me sit straight up on the couch and go WooHoo! That’s an improvement over the existing educational tax credits, and one that I hope will also be good for grad school, not just undergraduate work. You know the difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit, right? Okay, here it is in a nutshell: a tax deduction reduces your taxable income, so it lowers the amount of taxes you have to pay. A tax credit is much more valuable because it is like extra money that goes toward paying your taxes, and each dollar of a tax credit has the same value as each dollar you paid in taxes from your paychecks over the course of the year. So if you paid $3,000 in taxes but your total tax bill is $4,000, without any tax credits you owe $1,000. But if you have a tax credit, say Obama’s $2,500 educational tax credit, then it’s like you’ve actually paid a total of $5,500 against a tax bill of $4,000 so you get a $1,500 refund. It’s just that simple and that sweet.
After watching Obama’s speech I felt proud that I’m already working to improve my education, proud that I already work in the nonprofit sector and am helping people improve their lives, humbled by the faith and trust that Obama places in each and every one of us to work with him to make our country a better place, eager to get started with the work that lies ahead, and hopeful that we can all create a better, brighter future. Optimism, what a wonderful feeling. Now let’s get to work.
Peace,
AuntieM
Saturday, February 21, 2009
I'm baaaaack...
Hi all,
No you're not seeing things, here's a new post from AuntieM! I didn't fall off the edge of the earth, and I didn't pay an involuntary visit to Gitmo, I've just been crazy scary busy for the last four months. It's not that I didn't think about this blog, I just didn't have the time or energy. The election wore me out but it was a fantastic kind of tired. I spent lots of my free time working on the Obama campaign, then after the election it was exams, then the dreaded few weeks of holiday hell. Included in that was taking my GRE and getting into grad school, finding a second job, taking care of a sick cat that we eventually had to have put down (a moment of silence in memory of BoyCat, please. Thank you.), and trying to maintain some semblance of a life with Hubby, GirlCat and friends.
All in all it's been a wild four months but I'm starting to get my feet under me again and things are beginning to stabilize. I'm still getting my act together in regards to juggling two jobs and a full-time course load, so I have dedicated this weekend to catching up on school work. One of the items I had to complete was a post for my Global Issues class, in which my professor posted some questions that were so interesting that I wanted to preserve my response for posterity. Here we go:
The questions: Do you think that defending national security means having to give up some personal freedoms? Would you mind if government officials read your emails or listened in on your telephone conversations to be sure you were not planning to engage in terrorism? Why or why not? Explain your position.
My answer: Benjamin Franklin said “Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.” I do not believe that the way to defend our essential liberties is to forfeit them in exchange for a false sense of security. Defending the security of this nation should include preserving the personal freedoms that characterize this country, not giving them up the moment the threat level goes to ‘orange’. Surrendering our freedoms means living in a police state instead of a democracy.
Government surveillance of individuals doesn’t increase our security; on the contrary, it makes us all suspects. Our legal system is based on the premise of ‘innocent until proven guilty’, but in the case of government surveillance, the reverse is true for each and every citizen. I would object strenuously to any form of government surveillance on a private citizen without probable cause and a court order. (And I’ve often wondered just who in Washington is reading my blog. First Amendment rights, baby, use them or lose them.) I can hear echoes of a phrase used in movies: “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” But we should fear plenty when our government starts snooping in our private lives and personal correspondence. We should fear being detained indefinitely without due process. We should fear being questioned and having to justify our actions on seemingly innocent matters. We should fear having to watch our speech and wonder who is listening. We should fear when our own country, which has long claimed the moral high ground on human rights and condemned countries that utilize torture, uses “intensive interrogation” or whatever euphemism they use to put a happy face on waterboarding and other means of torture. If we have to give up our personal liberties, then we might as well surrender because we’ve already lost ourselves and our country.
It feels sooooo good to rant and rabblerouse again! I'll be back again soon, but now I must return to the homework marathon. Two classes done so far today, two more to go by tomorrow night. Repeat after me: I can do anything for one semester.
Later,
AuntieM
No you're not seeing things, here's a new post from AuntieM! I didn't fall off the edge of the earth, and I didn't pay an involuntary visit to Gitmo, I've just been crazy scary busy for the last four months. It's not that I didn't think about this blog, I just didn't have the time or energy. The election wore me out but it was a fantastic kind of tired. I spent lots of my free time working on the Obama campaign, then after the election it was exams, then the dreaded few weeks of holiday hell. Included in that was taking my GRE and getting into grad school, finding a second job, taking care of a sick cat that we eventually had to have put down (a moment of silence in memory of BoyCat, please. Thank you.), and trying to maintain some semblance of a life with Hubby, GirlCat and friends.
All in all it's been a wild four months but I'm starting to get my feet under me again and things are beginning to stabilize. I'm still getting my act together in regards to juggling two jobs and a full-time course load, so I have dedicated this weekend to catching up on school work. One of the items I had to complete was a post for my Global Issues class, in which my professor posted some questions that were so interesting that I wanted to preserve my response for posterity. Here we go:
The questions: Do you think that defending national security means having to give up some personal freedoms? Would you mind if government officials read your emails or listened in on your telephone conversations to be sure you were not planning to engage in terrorism? Why or why not? Explain your position.
My answer: Benjamin Franklin said “Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.” I do not believe that the way to defend our essential liberties is to forfeit them in exchange for a false sense of security. Defending the security of this nation should include preserving the personal freedoms that characterize this country, not giving them up the moment the threat level goes to ‘orange’. Surrendering our freedoms means living in a police state instead of a democracy.
Government surveillance of individuals doesn’t increase our security; on the contrary, it makes us all suspects. Our legal system is based on the premise of ‘innocent until proven guilty’, but in the case of government surveillance, the reverse is true for each and every citizen. I would object strenuously to any form of government surveillance on a private citizen without probable cause and a court order. (And I’ve often wondered just who in Washington is reading my blog. First Amendment rights, baby, use them or lose them.) I can hear echoes of a phrase used in movies: “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” But we should fear plenty when our government starts snooping in our private lives and personal correspondence. We should fear being detained indefinitely without due process. We should fear being questioned and having to justify our actions on seemingly innocent matters. We should fear having to watch our speech and wonder who is listening. We should fear when our own country, which has long claimed the moral high ground on human rights and condemned countries that utilize torture, uses “intensive interrogation” or whatever euphemism they use to put a happy face on waterboarding and other means of torture. If we have to give up our personal liberties, then we might as well surrender because we’ve already lost ourselves and our country.
It feels sooooo good to rant and rabblerouse again! I'll be back again soon, but now I must return to the homework marathon. Two classes done so far today, two more to go by tomorrow night. Repeat after me: I can do anything for one semester.
Later,
AuntieM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)