The Savory Life - go on a run with me in NYC ... and accidental date tips

"Taste and see that the Lord is good..." (Psalms 34:8)

Sunday morning in my house....er dorm (excuse the domestic undertones - my grandma got me an apron and I am elated)... anyways.. Sunday mornings in our apartment typically involve a warm oven that gently releases the hint of banana bread or stuffed french toast..or today warm chocolate chip muffins. Taste or gustatory senses don't start with chewing and the action of our alpha-amylase. It starts with olfactory or sense of smell. A sense of anticipation - - a sense of something really good.

While it is easy to feel this way about shoving a hot chocolate bready muffin in our mouth - - it is harder to feel this way about a run or gym visit. Especially when we are tired, sick of the monotony, and don't feel any payoff besides stinky armpits and the need to do more laundry. 

How do we moderate consumption and maximize workout enthusiasm? Find what you love. I am going to take you on a run with me... check out the video and pictures  below:

 

This is from one of my running routs here in NYC in Washington Heights and here are some pictures - I was surprised- it was largely uneventful- however I did learn how Yard-less New Yorkers achieve the impossible....a yard sale...strange. 

Interruption - We now have several blog hits from Lithuania ... Hello to you from Lithuania! I am very excited because I am actually part Lithuanian! I don't know what part of me is Lithuanian and I know absolutely nothing about Lithuanians so I am forced to overcompensate with my Italian heritage. PLEASE if you are from Lithuania PLEASE E-MAIL ME BrittanyKunza@gmail.com  - - I would love to learn more about the culture and you! I am not very good with the Italian style of communication - so with all of the hand movements I have hit a few people - I need to learn about Lithuania! Maybe we are related - - is that naive?

So two steps and a payoff:

1. Savor your food
2. Savor your workout
3. Result - savor your life

sa·vor [sey-ver] -

distinctive quality or property

power to excite or interest.

 (Thank you to www.dictionary.com - I don't think this is standard AMA  or APA citation ) /ˈseɪvər/ Show Spelled There is a difference between food environment and eating environment (1). Food environment we talked a bit about in the portion distortion blog. It is basically the packaging/portions/variety/availability of food. Eating environment is the: social aspect, effort to obtain the meal, ambiance, and distractions(1). 

I am not going to lie. I am a student and often (my mom can vouch) very often a can of peas (with ketchup...I know it is weird - - I avoided tomatoes for so long because I though I was allergic to them. Now I eat ketchup by the spoonful ...ugg to high fructose corn syrup - without you there would be NOTHING wrong with my beloved bottle of Heinz57)  alone and even, dare I say, in front of the computer watching the Britney Spears episode of glee, is what I consider dinner.

BUT, when I have more than five minutes (preparing a meal does not have to take hours) I find preparing food to conjure up images of a svelte French woman walking home in a fitted pencil skirt and flouncy blouse - fresh baguette in one hand a complimentary bottle of wine in the other and an enthusiasm to concoct something deliciously seductive. I find food to be very sexy. ( I am sorry for using that word grandma - I know you are checking up on my blog but I couldn't think of a synonym that better describes it - - darned to the English language!) I think this is why I love the movie Chocolate.



Yes this movie has Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche and an overabundance of chocolate but Binoche still maintains fabulous clavicles that scream BMI < 24.9 (healthy). Now, THAT is something different from an obese yet malnourished American population (we will talk about this in a later blog). Something else stands out as well - the chocolate plays the role of a social catalyst in a very orthodox town unwilling to accept outsiders. And again, yes, Binoche frolics around with a gypsy (Depp) but she also helps the town to learn to ENJOY life through enjoying her rich savory chocolate creations.

I went through a period in life where at each meal I ate until I was disgustingly full. I couldn't seem to help it. It made me feel horrible about myself. I have a picture of myself in a stretchy poke-a-dot tank to remind me so.

To achieve goal #1 (Savor your food) - we need to realize something; a meal is to nourish our bodies and provide essential nutrients and amino acids to maintain a healthy body, and be a time to relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor (er veggies of our labor?). I think the pit that many fall into, is seeing a meal as something to make us full and that's about it. NO NO NO! Juliette Binoche would be so upset. Don't worry I am a big novice at this too.

Reading a book called "I've Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris- I came across a great quote that I would like to challenge all of us with :

"Produce before you consume; serve before you seek [food]."

I have no idea what this has to do with dating but I think it is applicable to eating.

According to a University of Illinois journal review, the eating environment can alter consumption. Quickly summed up:

• Dim lights tend to lift inhibitions, guys don't misuse this info and fake a power outage on your next date, and result in increased comfort and increased food and dessert intake.
• Soft music correlates with slower rate of eating, longer mealtime and more food and drinks. (So then does rap = violent eating?) Fast music does show shorter meal times BUT may cause over consumption because people eat faster and fail to monitor intake. 
• Social environment has to do with comfort and norms.
• Comfort - if you want to loose weight by eating less - eat with people you feel most uncomfortable around. Now that is a novel idea.
• Norms - how much the co-diners consume will mediate how much others in the group eat. I am a big eater, but if nobody goes in for seconds or thirds, I just end up going home and having a bowl of Captain Crunch.

2. Savor your workout

You don't have to workout. You can eat Twinkies and lie on the floor all day if you want. Chances are you will end up on an embarrassing reality show, but, it is your choice.

If that statement made you defensive and appalled that I thought that YOU would ever lay on the floor pshaw...then you want to exercise (I am sure this is fallacy flawed thinking but you get my point - just go with it).

So find something you like to do. Or if you are like me, find something (besides rollerblading) that you hate doing/are horrible at and force yourself to learn and succeed. That is how I learned to salsa dance. My fear of not knowing what a cross-body lead is, wearing the completely wrong shoes, and being yelled at by a non-English speaking apparently expert salsa elder - - all occurred. But, I loved it - because it was something new and I broke a sweat without knowing it, made some new friends, and partially overcame my Anglo-Saxon CND-4-NR gene (can not dance for no rhythm gene; I can not even spell the word rhythm let alone obtain it easily).

Exercise is dynamic. Climb a rock, experience physics as you glide on ice (which is solid but undergoes melting due to the increased pressure of the blade and the formula PV=nRT where T=temp and P=pressure - - I am sorry...I digress. It is also a great ice-breaker for a date - - pun-completely intended and based on personal experience. Just don't happen to make fun of the fellow skater that just happens to be your dates best friend without any prior knowledge.), go for a jog in a new place (checkout Map My Run ) , go kayaking, follow Matthew McConaughey and do weird poses in the dirt:

Just make it your own (and get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes on most/all days of the week).

3. Savor Life 

"Life is meant to be enjoyed not endured," As Pastor Stephen from C3 Manhattan says(Christian church I have been going to). Life is more than a full belly, life is about more than just you. 

"Produce before you consume; serve before you seek [food]."

Just chew on the idea that life may be much richer and void of many difficulties when we focus on others and not on ourselves. 

Love someone today - it might be the best weight-loss / life-gain diet out there. 

...and e-mail me if you are from Lithuania

P.S. Favorite quote of the week:

"I think mother nature is going through menopause." - Michelle Trihn on the drastic heat/thunder storm 

Reference
1.   Wansink, B. (2004). Environmental factors that increase the food intake and consumption volume of unknowing consumers. Annual Review of Nutrition. 24:455-479