Thursday, January 21, 2010

Fiction: Larger Than Life

I decided to define 'epic', since I just renamed my poor lonely blog yesterday. I'm changing the focus a bit from strictly about food to food and writing. I've actually made notes for things to write about and have a bit of a schedule to keep, so the blog space won't be quite so lonely in the future.

I digress already - About food and writing: They go hand-in-hand for me, as I'll explain further in a moment. But first, here are the three entries the web offers as definitions for 'epic.'
  • very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); "an epic voyage"; "of heroic proportions"; "heroic sculpture"
  • epic poem: a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
  • constituting or having to do with or suggestive of a literary epic; "epic tradition"
For me to write a blog is "an epic voyage." Why? Because it takes me away from my WIP, my work - also writing and or designing events or pr for clients, and, yes, preparing or eating food. But it's time for me to do this, and I hope those of you taking the time to read this will find it encouraging and helpful, and maybe a little bit entertaining.

I like that 'heroes' are a part of the definition, too. Because you, my readers and fellow-writers, are my heroes. You motivate me to write more, write my best, and develop the best heroes and heroines I can for you. So, this introduction to Epic Lifestyle includes my thanks to you.

I'm hungry. I'm hungry on a regular basis. Sometimes I put off eating to write/work, sometimes I put off writing/work to eat. One of my resolutions for 2010 is to bring this into balance, and I'm going to bring you along, because, my writer/reader/hero/friend, I know you do it, too. Neglect is one of our best things, right? Well, not anymore.

There are a hundred reasons to eat and eat well. There are a thousand things to do instead. I will not engage in the litany because you all already know what keeps you from eating on time and eating well, and what causes you to eat badly and at the wrong time. I have one word for today, and next time, hopefully in a few days - at least once a week - I'll have another. Today's word is: (drum roll, please)

Metabolism
We work sitting on our bottoms, but we don't work on our bottoms, at least I don't, though my bottom needs work. So we need to be conscious of getting our metabolism going when we aren't getting enough (dirty word coming) exercise. There's only one way to do this: eat on time and eat the right foods.

Let's try this together tomorrow: Get up in the morning and have an apple, or a peach, a plum, an orange. An apple really is best. It's crunchy, sweet, and so satisfying. It's not highly acidic, so you probably won't get a stomach ache in the twenty minutes before you eat again.

That's right. You're going to eat all the time! Next, take about two ounces of low-fat deli sliced turkey (a real bargain at the supermarket) and eat that cold, straight from the fridge. Now your coffee or tea is ready. If you add milk make it no-fat or 1%. Do the next piece of your ritual. You've checked email? Is it time to wash your face? Get your kids out of bed? Make love to your husband? Whatever.

Now another half hour has gone by, so make toast from a really high fiber whole grain bread or English muffin, put some Neufchatel cheese on it, just one ounce per piece with some fruit only jelly, or have a bowl of high fiber, low-fat cereal. You can eat this in front of the computer, right? Read blogs, plan your day, tweet, and get started on the writing task of the day. You won't need to eat again for three or four hours.

Snacks. morning or afternoon snacks can be high fiber cereal bars (some of these are amazing), or better yet, carrot sticks (those pre-cut baby carrots are great) with a tablespoon of hummus or almond butter. Plain yogurt with berries - berry good for you (sorry, couldn't resist) is excellent. Sweeten with a little honey. The low-fat jelly on the bottom kind is questionable. More calories than you think. That's why the containers get smaller and smaller.

Lunch: More vegetables. Salad is great, but be careful with dressings. They can pack a lot of calories into a teaspoon or two. Especially watch those that are no-fat. They love to add sugar to make up for taste. No,nonono. Don't be fooled. Vinaigrettes are your best bet. Vegie soup and half a sandwich - hold the cheese, or use 50% less fat cheese and just an ounce or two. Good. One little snack and you'll be good until dinner.

Okay -- I hear you. You're stopping to eat all the time, right? Yes, and no. You're planning your work around a Metabolism boost that is going to keep your thighs from spreading over the sides of your chair. This is a good thing. Also, because we are planning what to have on hand and when to eat it, we won't be wasting time standing in front of the refrigerator wondering what to fix, and grabbing the first bad thing because we're starving.

Dinner: Have dinner. I've got a ton of great ideas for dinners, and desserts, and snacks, but I promised today was about Metabolism, so I'm not going to elaborate. Eat filling foods, like veggies sans cream sauce, tomato sauces are good, whole grains and small portions of meat. That's all I'm saying.

Dessert or evening snacking: If you need to, try to limit yourself to really healthy snacks, like unbuttered popcorn or those ice cream bars with miniature dairy animals on the package. Can I say Skinny Cow here? Just did.

Water: Fluids are synonymous with Metabolism. No kidding. Drink an 8 ounce glass of water for every meal or snack throughout the day. Drink other things, too. Tea, coffee, juice (be careful here - sugar), but don't neglect water. One cup isn't much. Just make yourself do it.

I'm not one to bet, but I'll wager that if you follow this meal plan for one week you'll feel better and lose a pound or two. Wise choices, like whole grains, low-fat and frequent meals will keep you feeling good - no blood sugar highs or lows - and help you get more writing done. Let me know how this works for you.

Next time we'll talk about Slow Food and how we can schedule it to help with our writing. Until then . . .

Deni