intensati | Say Yes to Salad

2 January, 20112 December, 2014

Happy New Year! 2010 in Review

Happy New Year to all.

I will be back to normal posting soon. In the meantime, here is an overview of wonderful things that have happened this past year…

Last year’s resolutions.

I wanted to learn a new language (didn’t do this), go to Hawaii (yes!), I cultivated patience, I ate more fried rice, ate less meat, I didn’t drink more Kombucha, I did drink less diet soda (overall), and I ended the year on a yoga streak (though I’m not sure I did much yoga throughout the whole year).

The Warrior Challenge (intenSati).

This was a month-long challenge to do 3+ classes a week of intenSati at one of New York’s poshest gyms. I had fun, and learned a lot.

Good conversations with good friends about behavioral change.

jan 30 2010 001

And also about drinking tea (yum) and eating kabocha.

Eating Fats.

The great fat experiment went well overall. I learned a lot about what my body needs. One thing to note is that it needs (a lot of) animal fats, so I will try to include more this year.

Trying acupuncture.

This was for stress and hormone stuff. Unfortunately at the time I wasn’t ready to commit to everything that I needed to do for acupuncture to work properly, so I quit after two sessions. I may give this another shot sometime though.

How Much Protein Do I Really Need?

This post was written as a response to anyone who doubts that vegetarians (or even vegans) can get enough protein on an animal-free diet. I don’t know the answer to this – I know that I need animal protein, but maybe not everyone does. My opinion on protein has changed (for the better) since I wrote the post. I’m now more into a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb lifestyle.

Random favorites.

Including macrobiotic meals and fast food. I try not to limit myself too much.

Trailmaking and Wedding Planning.

Bobby and I went to NJ for the weekend and helped my dad build a trail. Lots of fun – hoping to do more things like that this year.

IBS Management.

I came up with a plan for my IBS – my IBS Management Plan. I didn’t stick to it as much as I would have liked. This year one of my resolutions is to get it under control as much as possible! Recent changes in my eating (eating more fats, fewer grains, more protein) have helped a lot.

Job changes – from full-time to part-time… (And back to full-time again, later in the year.)

Which meant more time to blog, more time to take a class (linguistics), and more time for my favorites like papaya salad and fresh cherries.

Discovery: eating mindfully.

Which later on led to…

And then, oh yeah…

I GOT MARRIED!

We were married in a Quaker meeting house and the reception was in my parents’ (beautiful) side yard. Here is my other wedding recap. (Guest posts listed there – had lots of good ones!)

Then we…

Went to Hawaii!

We had two glorious weeks on the beaches of Maui. Oh how I want to go back.

Walking talk (about how it is awesome).

How to Get Glowing Skin (very popular post).

I turned 24.

Had to have a kabocha scone for dessert on my birthday.

Project Food Blog.

(Didn’t get very far.)

The Hunger Diaries happened.

It died down pretty fast 😉

My Macro Plate Recipe.

Finally revealed it.

College-visiting with my sister.

(She got into her first choice! Not Brown, which is where we went that weekend.)

Highlights of the Fear and/or Sanity Weekend.

We took a weekend trip down to DC – so fun. Love the short hair.

And again… happy new year!

15 February, 201014 June, 2011

Long Busy Day + Cake

Today was the longest day. The internet was down at work all day (and I was the one on the phone trying to get it back on again) and now I think my blackberry is dead! At least I have cake.

I bought this chocolate piece of heaven on Saturday during my Whole Foods trip with Marina; Bobby and I broke into it last night (it was one of my Valentine’s day presents to him). Then we had it again tonight – it is a chocolate cake with rich fudgey topping.

I wanted to share one of my presents from Bobby:

Sabon soap! This one is a coconut and olive oil base, and it’s vanilla and coconut scented. It’s great for the skin. I adore Sabon and it’s closeby.

After dessert (pictured above) I had dinner:

goodies: bacon and coconut oil and whipped cream cheese
healthies: Brussels sprouts, broccoli, peas, and corn
spicies: cinnamon, chili powder, garlic powder, and Kikkoman ponzu sauce from Foodbuzz (love this stuff!)

I also had some black beans. My acupuncturist told me to eat black beans so I obliged. I topped them with some maple syrup, salt, and more whipped cream cheese (Heather, I blame you for this addiction!). I think I will have to try without the syrup next time – too sugary.

Moving on… I wanted to do an exercise update. I am back to my gentle routine of walking, and I couldn’t be happier. I walk to work in the morning (2 miles) and I try to get in another half mile or so throughout the rest of the day (running an errand for example). I haven’t been doing as much yoga. I did do my DVF exercises (Diane von Furstenburg exercises) 3 times this past week though. They are relaxing stretching moves.

Just goes to show, you don’t have to exercise a lot to stay thin! Moderation is the KEY. (I can say this but moderation is still the thing I struggle with.)

Another cool thing I’m doing right now is soaking my feet in hot water with epsom salts and lavender (it’s a lavender oil that the sweet Clare sent me for Christmas). Both Coco and my acupuncturist recommended this, so I figured I’d give it a shot. It’s relaxing but the water cools quickly and I have to keep reheating it.

I am off to do some work that I did not get done today (no productivity since there was no internet). I’m glad I have blogging to de-stress 🙂

What’s your de-stressor?

9 February, 201014 June, 2011

intenSati Closing Thoughts

As you guys know, I participated in the intenSati Warrior Challenge this month. Sunday was the closing ceremony. It was a really inspiring last class, and I am so glad that I went. When I got there I hung out with Missy (we did the challenge together).

I am going to lay this out the same way Missy did.

Summary of the closing event:

It was scheduled for 2 hours (1 – 3pm on Sunday). The first 20 minutes or so we mingled around and then we sat down and people shared some of their experiences. I did not have any major life changes during the challenge, but I was still happy with it. Some people did though! I loved hearing about all the courageous acts that people attempted. IntenSati has a way of really helping to clean up your life.

Then we did the class. I think it lasted a little bit more than an hour. First Natalia taught her segment, then Lindsay jumped in, and then Patricia did the last part (slow lower body stuff). Patricia actually did the first 2 parts that Natalia and Lindsay taught and I think she realized how hard intenSati is! After the class was over she made a comment about how difficult the workout was. I was impressed.

Some of the closing affirmations were: “I love you I love you I love you I love you” (said to yourself in the mirror); “I bow to the beauty within you”. I do not remember the rest. I really liked the lower body section though – it was all about loving yourself.

Then came the slightly awkward part. We had to find a partner (I picked Missy, which is kind of a cop out). Then we had to do the lower body workout while facing the partner. This was fine. THEN we had to stare into each other’s eyes for a few minutes. It was hard! I never realized how difficult it can be to hold someone’s gaze. I started worrying about whether I looked goofy or Missy thought it was silly; it was actually a really eye-opening experience. I tend to doubt myself and be self-conscious, but I really shouldn’t do that. Afterwards we gave each other a hug and said how much we believed in each other. It was really nice.

Then we had another sharing session and they gave away prizes (I didn’t win anything). The girl who did the most classes did 29 classes in the 30 days. Crazy! She did multiple classes a day sometimes. After the sharing we heard from Laurie of the Handel Group, which was very cool. They seem like a great organization.

So here are my pros and cons (not comprehensive at all – just what’s on my mind right now)…

The Good:

It is AWESOME to yell positive affirmations 3x a week for an hour. It is a major energy booster.
Bobby came with me to a writing workshop and he got a lot out of it!
I got to meet a lot of amazing instructors and fellow Warriors.
I learned a lot about myself.
I started to set goals for myself, and actually started to make plans to get those goals accomplished.

The Bad:

I gained 5 pounds. I’m hoping they will come off soon!
I was hungry all the time and I ate more than I needed to.
My knees hurt (this happened to Missy too). I think all the jumping is a little bit too much for my joints – so I will tone it down when I do intenSati in the future.

Overall, I LOVED my intenSati experience. I can’t wait to take the occasional intenSati class (I’m hoping once a week!). There is another Warrior Challenge coming up, so if you are in the New York area and want a free month of Equinox, GO FOR IT! Check out the intenSati website.

I think I am going to get some sleep. I did another class tonight and I’m very tired! I’ve had a really awesome week so far though and I want to keep it up.

What made you happy today? What made me happy was realizing I can choose to be happy any time I want.

30 January, 201014 June, 2011

Let Your Voice Lead

Let Your Voice Lead was the title of the intenSati writing workshop I attended today (@ Equinox). Bobby actually joined me; I was really happy he came. The workshop was 2 hours and it consisted of an intenSati class (1 hour) and then a writing workshop about personalizing the intenSati affirmations (also 1 hour). It was led by Lindsay, who I’ve mentioned before.

The class was great, of course. The affirmations were:

I am powerful
I am inspired
I am confident
I have desire
I am ready to write
I am willing to write
I am able to write
I am writing RIGHT NOW
I am free to succeed
I let my voice lead
I intend to open my heart and grow; with courage and discipline I write what I know

Because we got there late I actually wasn’t that sweaty by the end but Bobby was sweating buckets. He thought it was pretty fun.

Then we did some writing exercises based on the affirmations. We did 7 minutes per exercise, and they were…

Write a story about desire. (I wrote about figuring out what I desire – happiness. Oddly enough, so did Bobby.)
Remember a time in your childhood when you felt confident. Be very detailed. (I had a lot of trouble remembering a confident time. I think I spent 5 minutes thinking and 2 minutes writing.)
Write about the affirmation, “I am free to succeed.” (I wrote again about happiness and doing things just for ME.)
“Let your voice lead.” Write a conversation that you have in your head with yourself (generally these are the conversations with the “devil on your shoulder”). (I wrote about body image. I may post this conversation sometime because Bobby thought the ending was funny.)
Write about how you can save your own life/make your life better. (This was pretty easy – we all have goals!)

My favorite fuel of the day was this huge bowl of oatmeal and maple syrup and almond milk. I always put salt in my oatmeal (think I’ve mentioned that before).

It was a whole cup of dry oatmeal and it could barely fit in the bowl. I am so glad that oatmeal is back in my life. I went for over a month without it for some reason.

This picture looks weird because I always let my oatmeal sit for about an hour before I eat it so that it gets nice and thick. This time I put in the milk before I let it sit so the milk got weird looking. If I don’t have time to let it sit, I will put it in the freezer.

Are you a writer? Does writing help you? Do you wish you wrote more? How did you get into it?

26 January, 201031 August, 2010

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I had the most lovely conversation last night with one of my favorite bloggie friends. We chatted and chatted and I walked outside (just up to 70th and back; I live on 60th). Heather and I always have lots to talk about 😉 Like how great kabocha is:

While I was walking I realized a few things:

For one, I really like walking. I think I might be burning myself out a little with all this intenSati.
Yes, Equinox and intenSati are awesome…
But no, I’m not the kind of person who needs (or wants) that kind of exercise every day, every week, or even every month. I like to walk. I like to yoga.
I do love the Equinox showers, but I think I can trade them up for some at-home TLC in the form of some new bath products.

So… I probably will not be joining Equinox at the end of this month’s Warrior Challenge. I will definitely miss EarthRise Yoga (which I went to this morning), but I’ll replace it with podcasts and yoga on my own. (This is my yoga page – full of free recommendations. I’ll be updating this soon! Stay tuned.)

Just because I’m in the city now, that doesn’t mean I can’t make time to cook the food I *really* like. For example, I came up with a lovely lunch today:

2/3 cup (uncooked measure; it gets bigger in the rice cooker) brown rice, lightly salted
topped with a few spoons of nutritional yeast (nooch)
topped with some organic butter
steamed Brussels sprouts and sweet corn

Here is a picture of rice for your viewing pleasure (this is my picture, but it’s not from today and it doesn’t have nooch or butter on it):

Tonight my brother is coming into the city (he goes to school nearby) and we are going to get dinner at some vegan/vegetarian/raw place (any combination of the 3).

What are YOUR recommendations?