It’s that time of year again
August 13th, 2007The closing of summer is quite possibly my favorite to part of the year. It represents the wrapping up of another summer filled with life lessons and adventures, some learned and some not. It tells me that stability and normality—in the form of structured school obligations and extracurricular activities—is drawing near. It signifies another opportunity for a new start, the soon beginning of the academic year. It represents the end of carelessness and the start of the real world.
Quite frankly? The closer another academic year comes, the more excited I get.
I almost crave new workload and new scenery (hello rain!).. I like summer, but it leaves me feeling a bit lost. Summer in Vancouver is, to say the least, one of the most temporary things we experience. Temporary hardly satisfies me. Vacation travelling and summer plans are just so… fleeting. Here one day, finished the next. Great, but not lasting.
Maybe it’s my inner uptight workaholic making an appearance, but people who seem so carefree and stupid annoy me. At least during the academic year they’re bitching and moaning about school and/or work (my inner sadist chuckles over this), but during the summer they appear to have absolutely nothing better to do than to act like inconsiderate, immature assholes and do downright pointless stuff, then giggle and grin when recounting the tale(s) to me. Trust me: If there is one person on earth who seriously doesn’t care how fast and reckless you can drive and won’t be impressed when you tell when you tell me anyway, it’s me - so STFU.
Closely approaching September signifies a time of change for me. A time to change my room, my sleeping habits (along with the rest of my bad habits), my wardrobe, my attitude… and my diet.
To some extent, I believe that you are what you eat. I’ve experimented with different diets (not the weight loss kinds) within the vegetarian realm and you’d be surprised at how different I would feel with each one. Personally I always feel so much better on a mostly raw, vegan, mostly unprocessed, minimal wheat and sugar diet. Dairy (cheese especially) feels like a dead weight in me—it makes me feel sluggish and slow. Sugar is like a drug to me (and if it is was a drug, would make me a relapsing drug addict) - I love it, but I feel like shit after I have too much of it. It sort of follows a “get high, then crash and burn” pattern. I’ve never enjoyed caffeine.
So I’ve decided to change a couple things. For the next two weeks I’m trying a vegetarian low GI (glycemic index) diet. After reading a book on GI diets, I’ve come to realize that my current diet (80% bread, potato, rice, soy, and pasta, 10% fat, 5% sugar, 5% other) explains a lot about my weight gain (especially around the waist and arms), energy levels and appetite (always hungry within 1-2 hours of eating even the biggest meal). I’m hoping this new way of eating will regulate these factors.
Next, I’m upping my water intake. My goal is to drink 6-8 glasses a day and I’m keeping a 1/2 litre bottle of water (with a hint of lemon, of course) on my desk and by my side at all times to help this along. Water aids in the body’s natural detoxing process, as well as keeping you hydrated in the summer and a whole bunch of other good things that escape my mind at the moment.
I’m also getting to sleep earlier. No more 12, 1 or 2am nights mornings. I’m aiming for lights off by 11pm, but knowing me and my long struggling fight in the war against sleepy days and high energy evenings, this could be my hardest change. It’s also one of the changes that will have the biggest impact - when I don’t get enough sleep, I can’t do anything.
An increase in exercise is next on the menu. Because eating a low-GI diet calls of the use of a lot of foods I don’t normally stock, I will be walking to the grocery store each morning to buy my day’s supply of food, and only that day’s supply. Because my food market is two to four blocks away and i’ll only be shopping for that day, I can actually do this.
I also plan on doing hot yoga (bikram yoga) with Marissa sometime soon. Hot yoga involves doing crazy yoga positions in a room heated to about 105 Fahrenheit with about 40% humidity. I’m thinking this is like doing yoga in Florida on the beach at 3pm in middle of July. However insane it sounds, it’s suppose to be incredibly good for you. You sweat buckets and therefore get rid of toxins, increase in flexibility, relax, etc. There are far more benefits, and you read about those here.
I will also (probably) be running more, what with my dance schedule slowing down and all. Less dance = no huge blisters and open wounds around the back of my feet and heels, which invariably means I can wear something other than flip flops again!
Along with the change of diet, I also have a new haircut, a new planner (my old one, considered as important and vital to my wellbeing as my mind, expired), some new clothes and new shoes (I am bargain shopper extraordinare!) and some new academic year resolutions in the making. You could consider this my academic new year preparations.
It’s almost September and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
If you’re a healthy person living in a moderate climate that isn’t too hot (your account of Vancouver suggests it’s not too hot) then 8 glasses a day is simply not necessary. While it seems to be everywhere the idea that drinking 8 glasses a day is good for you, there’s simply no scientific basis for it. Too much water can lead to hyponatremia and from what I learn from House MD, too much water can put you at a lower-than-normal potassium level.
Otherwise, good luck with those changes!
Reply: Interesting article!
However, taking into account the physical activities I do, I really need 6 to 8 glasses of water. I dance about nine hours a week with running between days I don’t dance. Plus, I take two supplements (a greens supplement and an antioxidant one) which require you to drink extra water with them.
You bring up a good point about hyponatremia though. It can be a serious problem (or so I’ve heard), especially if you’re sweating lots whilst drinking that much water (which I do - running and dance and now hot yoga pretty much guarantee major sweating) .. So to balance the effects, I put an electrolyte mix into my water. It has magnesium, manganese, potassium, calcium, chromium, etc. in it to replenish the minerals I’ve lost via detoxing. :)
August 13th, 2007 at 5:41 pmMan, if I were in a room that hot and humid, I would not be motivated to excersize. I would probably sit on my butt and complain.
Load up on the fruit and vegetables. No matter what I eat for lunch and dinner, I always have a side salad with it. And I try to eat fruit when I’m craving something sweet.
Also, if you want to be really healthy and feel great, increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Are you a staunch vegetarian? Because fatty fish like salmon is really good for you and is loaded with omega-3s. I eat fish nearly three times a week. I think my dad gets rather sick of it. Whenever my mom asks me what she should make for dinner I usually respond “Saaalmoooon” like a crazed maniac. What can I say? I live in the Pacific Northwest. We have GOOD salmon!
Reply: I’ve been upping my salad intake lately. My favorite kinds of salads are the ones with tons of stuff in them (except fruit and nuts - can’t stand those in salads).. So I’ve been putting beans, corn, tofu, sauerkraut, beets, artichokes, etc. and making my own healthy alternative to salad dressing for the topping. Salads FTW!
I am a staunch vegetarian, but even if I wasn’t, I am so turned off by meat or anything that looks like it (I have trouble even eating meat that tastes and looks too much like the real thing!) that I probably couldn’t eat it anyway. :P But I have (vegetarian) Omega supplements in my fridge, so maybe I should look into actually consuming them. Thanks for the reminder. :)
August 14th, 2007 at 10:01 amHot yoga? I live in Florida and that does not sound like fun. 3pm + July + beach = heat stroke. XD But we have 90% humidity most of the time, so 40% may be easier to deal with. Sounds more like doing yoga in a sauna.
Sounds like you know what you’re doing with the diet, water intake, exercise and such. Really our diets should be mostly vegan and whole grain with one fist-sized serving of meat a day. But, like you, I looove candy and chocolate, so I find it hard to make myself have a healthy diet. Good luck! =D
Reply: 90% humidity sounds like hell. I was recently in Kentucky and I think they had something like 60% humidity there and it was so gross. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. :(
I definitely agree with you about diets ideally being mostly vegan and whole grain - with a side of candy and chocolate everyone once in awhile, of course. ;)
August 14th, 2007 at 10:38 amI am envious of your sunny outlook and enjoyment of the end of summer and a looming new school year - I wish I had the same clutch on my life right now; it’s actually (cheesy as it sounds), rather motivational and gives me a kick up the arse.
You speak of dairy products (cheese) making you feel sluggish and whatnot, and your plans of hot yoga and low GI diet, not to mention the 11pm lights-out thing, whilst I’m sitting here guiltily online at twenty past midnight on a school night thinking I have music comps next week, exams the week after that… wtf am i doing?!
Anyway, I hope your plans all work out for you, and let us know how the diet/exercise thing works out :).
August 15th, 2007 at 5:20 amYou’re quite organized about your diet/exercising/overall wellbeing - I’m impressed! I just sort of go day by day thinking, “Hm… which food, this or that?” I go on walks during the week, and I tend to hike on the weekends… that’s about it.
Unlike you, I’m dreading school just slightly. Work + School = BAD. Like Amanda said, I’m envious of your sunny outlook!
August 15th, 2007 at 7:44 pmIt has taken me so much effort to get out of the habit of seeing August as the end of my summer. So many years of mixed dread and excitement for the beginning of September … it’s difficult to wrap my brain around the fact that this year, my September will be the exact same situation as my August, and my July, etc, etc. Well, except for the weather, but I do hope we get a least a little more sunshine.
Oh well, I still have things to look forward to this autumn. I’m ridding my body of all its metal components! Haha. My braces and my plate and screws come out in October/November.
‘Course, then I’ll probably add some piercings, so being metal-free won’t last long. ;)
Do you like matcha?
Reply: I wish I did (since it’s so good for you and all) but I really can’t stand anything green tea!
August 16th, 2007 at 12:02 pm