Ride of Your Life by Ran Zilca

I first discovered Ran Zilca author of Ride of Your Life: A Coast-to-Coast Guide to Finding Inner Peacewhile researching my Be Strong Project (a project I created to help me become stronger in my 50th year). He had written a great article on building inner strength for Psychology Today which I used as the foundation for my project. Later, I had the opportunity to interview Zilca about inner strength. You can read that interview here. Recently, I was offered a free copy of Ride of Your Lifefor review. Below are my thoughts.

What is Ride of Your Life about?
In Zilca’s own words:
The book is a guide to inner peace, composed over a 6,000 mile, coast-to-coast solo motorcycle ride I took in 2010. I started in New York and rode to California and then down the California coast line. On my way I interviewed different scientists and authors like Deepak Chopra, Phil Zimbardo, Sonja Lyubomirsky, and Byron Katie. The collective wisdom of these experts and of the many people I met on the road, along with the meditative experience of riding in solitude each day, yielded very interesting insights that form the guide.

What was his motivation for this project?

Also in Zilca's words:
I was just turning 40, and being very successful in business and in my personal life, but unsure as to who I really am. I think that many people experience this type of feeling in midlife, where they know what they do and where they live, but not exactly sure who they are. It made me feel restless, so I went out to rediscover my identity, quiet the restlessness, and regain my inner peace.

My Thoughts:
This book is a little bit travelogue, a little bit self-help/self-discovery and a little bit memoir. If you sum up the three parts it is a great little book packed with wisdom. Here are some of my favorite nuggets:

From Dr. Barbara Frederickson Zilca learns bad experiences affect us more than good, but good is more frequent than bad. 

Her first book, Positivity, describes various research studies on positive emotions. The findings are astounding in their simplicity and have to do with the number of positive emotions a person experiences during a day compared with the number of negative emotions, a ratio that is simply called  “the positivity ratio.” If that ratio equals three or higher, you eventually go into an “upward spiral” – a state of flourishing. If your daily dose of positive emotion is less than three times the negative, you risk going into a negative state. Simply put, to flourish, you need to experience three times the good for anything bad. (Pg. 45)

This makes so much sense to me. On days when I come home from work thinking what a lousy day, yet can’t name the reason for my bad day – just a lot of small negative events this study explains it.  My bad day is due to my positivity ratio being upside down. I am not experiencing enough positive emotions to counteract all of my negative encounters.

An effective strategy to become happier:

Cultivate openness so that a person can recognize, notice, and appreciate the good that is already taking place in his or her life, and this way, tip the positivity ratio in his or her favor. (Pg. 45)

Instead of using “be positive” as a motto she prefers “be open,” or be appreciative and kind.

From Deepak Chopra he learns flexibility is the very source of inner strength: “Infinite flexibility is the secret of immortality.”

Flexibility is an attitude more than anything else. It means that I don’t need to always be rigidly attached to anything: a situation, a relationship, a point of view, or an outcome. If you are flexible, the challenge is gone. (Pg. 165)
 

Lastly, I am adding traveling between Routes 61 and 152 to my bucket list. Zilca describes this landscape as surprisingly Mediterranean. I am also adding the Gila National Forest to the list which reminded Zilca of Switzerland. 

Bottom Line:
Ride of Your Life is a great little book packed with nuggets of wisdom. I recommend it for mid-lifers experiencing a crises or anyone at any stage of life who is looking for more. My only negative is the book seemed to end rather abruptly. I get it the ride was over and Zilca went home, but I would have preferred more exploration of what he learned and how he applied these new ideas once he returned home.

Have you read this book?  What were your thoughts?

What Is Your Go-To-Diet Meal? March Recap

Project Manhattan

The first quarter of my 2015 live healthy on a budget challenge is now complete. I know I keep saying this challenge is not about weight loss, but I have to admit I was hoping to lose a couple of pounds and certainly didn’t think I’d gain weight. Unfortunately as of today, I am two pounds heavier than I was on January 1st. My new employee works part-time at a chocolate store – chocolate is one of my major weaknesses and all of her lunch room samples have gotten the best of me.

In years past, when I’ve lost a substantial amount of weight I’ve used the break-up diet (you all know what this one is don’t you – your significant other dumps you and you can’t bring yourself to eat) and starvation – meaning I ate almost nothing - a can of vegetables for dinner then allowing myself one soda cracker if I woke up during the night with hunger pangs. I did manage to lose weight a few years ago utilizing portion control and healthy eating, but haven’t been able to do this yet this year.

Throughout the years my go-to-diet meal has been Flounder and Vegetables Sealed in Silver. This is easy to make and is perfect for a Friday night when you have a big event the next day. This is not a meal I could eat every night, actually probably not more than once every two weeks or so plus, neither sole or flounder are offered at my local grocery store right now, so I am on the look-out for new diet recipes.

I did make a few healthy meals which are worth mentioning this month. They are:

Turkey Meatloaf from The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet
by Maria Bella (As far as acid reflux books go, this one is helpful plus, it contains over 120 recipes)
I’ve made quite a few turkey meatloaf recipes over the years. This is one of the best. It includes a cup of frozen vegetables and mozzarella cheese. As for an acid reflux recipe it is also pretty good, most of them are so bland. My husband has been on an acid reflux diet for about two months now, though his doctor was never sure if acid reflux was the cause of his pain. Since the diet and medication don’t seem to be working, his doctor now believes the pain is from arthritis not acid-reflux.

Teriyaki Tuna Steaks from Leslie L. Cooper’s Low-Fat Living Cookbook: 250 Easy, Great-Tasting Recipes. Fresh tuna is not exactly a budget food, but this recipe was worth it.

Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas and Mustard recommended by Ray of British Mum USA. I’ve never had roasted chick peas before and was not disappointed.  I took this one to work for lunch, since hubby refuses to eat chick peas. All I can say is he doesn’t know what he’s missing.

This Zucchini soup recipe.

Here are my remaining healthy living challenge stats for March:

Strength and physical fitness:
I made it to the gym three times a week every week this month (which was my goal). My fitness class rotation includes a turbo kick class, Zumba and cardio combat. I also attended a step and an insane strength class one day when I was off of work.

I was able to do eleven walking pushups at the end of the month.  January 1st I was able to do seven, so I am making progress.

$500 a month grocery budget:
We spent $453 in February. We bought a lot of honey. I’ve been using it in healthy muffin recipes and my husband has been making a honey and apple vinegar concoction for his acid reflux as a replacement for coffee. I also spent money on frozen fruit, shrimp, low-fat ground beef and a pork roast.

Healthy living books:
I finished four books this month:

The No More Excuses Diet  by Maria Kang:
My opinion of this book became tainted when I became aware of her fat-shaming tactics which I wrote about here.

Drop Dead Healthy; One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs:
This one was too much of a publicity stunt for me to be taken seriously, but I did add some of the books he mentioned to my reading list.

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia De Rossi
A book about eating disorders and self-acceptance I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

Ride of Your Life: A Coast-to-Coast Guide to Finding Inner Peace by Ran Zilca
This book brought new insight into the stresses of my life.  Watch for my review next week.

April Goals:
For April, I plan to get serious about weight-loss.  I am considering a no-sugar diet reset. Trish of Love, Laughter & Insanity recently lost six pounds on a 21-day sugar reset. I will need a couple of weeks to research and prepare. In the meantime, I am looking for new healthy meal suggestions.

Also, for April I am considering adding a 4th workout to my weekly line up.

What is your favorite go-to diet meal?

Drop Dead Healthy

Motivation for reading:

I read A.J. Jacobs book Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfectionin search of ideas and inspiration for my 2015 Challenge to Live Healthy on a Budget.

What is Drop Dead Healthy about?

While on vacation in the Caribbean Jacobs is hospitalized for tropical pneumonia.  After his wife tells him she doesn’t want to be a widow at 45, he decides it’s time to get healthy. He conjures up a challenge for himself to become the healthiest man in the world.  This book chronicles his challenge. Each month he focuses on a different area of his body performing research, consulting experts and implementing what he learns.

My Thoughts:

Initially, I enjoyed Jacob’s escapades to get healthy, but the more I read the more his challenge seemed like a farce. Instead of teaching us to become healthier the book felt like a gimmick. Even Jacobs tired of the variety; after trying several different fitness classes he writes:

It is getting numbing instead of inspiring.  It almost always boils down to moving your arms and legs in a room of mirrors. (Pg. 250)

 

He then decides he needs an exercise goal and begins training for a triathlon. He doesn’t chronicle his training (which may have been interesting), but instead continues writing about different areas of his body.

I did enjoy his visit to Whole foods with Marion Nestle author of What to Eat;particularly his discussion with Nestle about super foods and antioxidants.  He writes, "We tend to believe the food with the antioxidants is the best.  It makes us overlook all the other non-super foods such as apples and oranges." Here is what Nestle says about blueberries:

The blueberry obsession can be traced, in part, to the clever marketing efforts of the Maine wild blueberry growers.  A decade ago, the Maine blueberry industry was in trouble.  In years past, blueberry promoters had tried several strategies: They attempted to market blueberries as candy.  Even odder, they ran a campaign suggesting blueberries as a condiment to put on hamburgers.  Nothing worked.  But when a Tufts study said that wild blueberries had a high antioxidant rating, they ran with it, and blueberries have become the prototypical health food. (Pg. 97)

In the end, Jacobs does complete a triathlon and according to his stats is healthier.  He includes a list of the best tips and advice he received in the appendix. This is helpful since much of the advice he writes about is confusing and contradictory.  

Bottom Line:

I was looking for a more serious take on this topic, but did find the book to be entertaining and not a complete waste of my time. If you enjoy experimental journalism and or humorous books you may like this one, if not skip the book and read the appendix.

Have you read Drop Dead Healthy?  If so what were your thoughts? What books would you recommend for a live healthy challenge?

February Healthy Living Recap – Excuses Edition

While January was all about work, February was all about transitions; one of my employees resigned, my husband is forced to change his diet – he has acid reflux, we are undergoing a major remodeling project which put our home in a state of flux and my beloved dog Buck was diagnosed with inoperable lymphoma. Once again, my live healthy on a budget challenge was not the major focus of my life. 

Here is my “February Healthy Living Challenge” recap:

Strength and physical fitness:
Strengthening my core is one of the main goals of my healthy living challenge – strong back and stomach muscles help prevent injuries. I am using the walking pushup as the exercise to measure my core strength progress. On January 1st I was able to do seven walking pushups. On February 28th, I managed ten, but just barely. During February, I attended eight fitness classes and went on three walks. My goal is to attend three fitness classes a week, but with my employee leaving and the cold February Wisconsin temperatures I worked long hours or just went home foregoing my classes. I did not meet this goal.

Weigh-in and healthy eating:
I lost 1.5 pounds in February. I had gained 1.5 pounds in January, so my weight is now the same as it was on January 1st. With the change to a low-fat, bland diet for my husband’s acid reflux I honestly thought I would lose more weight. With all the added stress this month, I did succumb to several lunch room treats; there were treats for Valentine’s Day, Fat Tuesday, birthday’s, I hate Monday’s, thank goodness it’s Friday and going away treats for my employee.

Grocery Budget:
During February I set a monthly grocery budget of $500 for my husband and me. In January we spent $605. February came in at $471. I still think we can do better than this. We did stock-up on lean meats that were on sale, but paid full-price for some fresh produce. Budget suggestions from readers include buy frozen fruits and vegetables, eat cabbage salad in winter, make your own muffins for snacks, buy in-season, use what you have, grow your own, buy store brands, eat less meat and more mushrooms. I also learned it is cheaper to buy expensive grains, rice and nuts from your grocer’s bulk bins rather than individual packages and that nuts keep longer if you store them in the freezer.

Mental-Well Being:
Considering all that happened in February, I did pretty well maintaining my mental well-being. I felt confident and strong whereas in year’s past I’d sink into a slump during February. A highlight of the month was attending the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s performance of The Good People. I am sure attending this performance will make my list of top-ten highlights of 2015.

Overall Thoughts on February:
Initially I was going to sum up February by talking about how it was a transition month, with all the changes that are occurring I didn’t have time to work on my health challenge, I was tired, frustrated, lacked energy and hopefully will do better next month. Then I started reading Maria Kang’s book The No More Excuses Diet: 3 Days to Bust Any Excuse, 3 Weeks to Easy New Eating Habits, 3 Months to Total Transformation she immediately points out these are excuses. 

Excuses validate choices. They let us off the hook and give us permission to fail. (Introduction Pg. IX)

Kang recommends creating a meaningful goal. She writes if you are unmotivated to work out or eat healthy perhaps you haven’t landed on the deep, desirable reasons this journey is important to you.

Last week, I had an appointment with a new primary physician. We went over my family history and all of my mom’s health issues. This reinforced my initial reason for creating a healthy living challenge – I hope to be more like my maternal grandmother who lived to be 95 and was healthy to the end than other less healthy members of my family.

The number one health recommendation from my doctor is for me to eat foods high in calcium. My mom has severe osteoporosis. She suggests I remain on the birth-control pill until I am in menopause and to eat foods high in calcium at every meal. Unfortunately, she claims cheese is not a high calcium food. She is not found of calcium supplements because too much calcium could cause Hypercalcemia and may lead to atherosclerosis. With all of the heart disease in my family history she suggests I fulfill my calcium requirement with food. She also suggests I take a vitamin D supplement and a baby aspirin every day. As to working out, she is happy with my three fitness classes a week and was even okay with me not meeting this goal in February.

Health Goals for March:
This month I’m keeping it simple - eat food high in calcium with every meal and attend 3 fitness classes each week. I’m looking forward to trying Maria Kang’s fruit smoothie: ½ cup strawberries, ½ cup blueberries, ½ banana, handful of spinach and 1 cup almond milk. (Both spinach and almond milk are good sources of calcium.)

This post was inspired by The No More Excuses Diet by Maria Kang who shares her no excuses philosophy that motivated her to become more fit. Join From Left to Write on March 12th as we discuss The No More Excuses Diet. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

How did you live healthy during February? What are your health goals for March?

How Much Should a Couple Spend on Groceries Each Month?

photo credit: Farmers' market haul, 2008-11-29 via photopin (license)



One of the first comments a friend made after beginning the diet her doctor recommended (eat predominantly lean proteins, fruits and vegetables to lose weight) was that she was spending too much money on groceries.  She complained of wasting food. Her husband and son were refusing to eat vegetables with every meal, she was growing tired of salads and many of the expensive fruits she was purchasing were spoiling before she had a chance to eat them.  

I couldn’t help but think of her as I began my live healthy on a budget challenge, was my healthier diet going to cost more? I hadn’t tracked my monthly grocery spending in the past, but estimate I spent an average of $600 a month on groceries for my husband and me.  Note: we rarely eat out and always pack a lunch for work. Could I spend less than that and still eat healthy?

To determine the average monthly food expenditures for a couple I consulted the Official USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels, U.S. Average for December 2014.  The monthly low-cost plan for a family of 2 aged 51 – 70 was $478.50.  I used this information to set a monthly grocery spending budget of $500 or under.

Unfortunately in January we spent $605.  I didn’t keep track of what we bought, but know the $605 included coffee which my husband insists belongs in the grocery budget. Also, in January he determined the back and chest soreness he was experiencing was due to acid reflux. After researching an acid reflux friendly diet he purchased pre-packaged cut-up vegetables at full price and other items that wouldn’t aggravate his already enflamed esophagus.  In addition, some of the items purchased earlier in the month (coffee, tomato-based products and citrus) he was now unable to eat.

Our February grocery spending has been more in line with our budget - to date we have spent $194. I now attempt to buy only fresh fruits and vegetables that are inexpensive or on sale. Asparagus was the only fresh food on sale this week that interested us. In addition, I purchased dried peas, apples, yellow squash and carrots – none of which were on sale.

Our menu for the week is as follows:

Today: Asparagus Frittata from Maria A. Bella’s book The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet

Monday: Split Pea and Wild Rice Soup from Leslie L. Cooper’s Low-Fat Living Cookbook: 250 Easy, Great-Tasting Recipes

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Apple-Sautéed Turkey Tenderloin also from Maria A. Bella’s book The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet and a vegetable stir-fry.

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Coconut Panko Shrimp from Patricia Raymond’s Acid Reflux Diet and Cookbook For Dummies with stir-fried vegetables.

For the rest of the month I am going to explore using mushrooms as a replacement for meat in a recipe or two and eating more ancient grains such as barley, quinoa and falafel. My niece who is a vegetarian and a poor college student tells me barley is a good source of protein and is easy to digest. Also, I hope including grains in my salads will help make them more interesting.

How much do you spend on groceries each month?  Do you have any tips to eat healthy and not break the budget?

Healthy Reads – February 2015

So far this year I’ve managed to finish three books:

Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local - and Helped Save an American Town by Beth Macy:
I’ve been reading this one since Nonfiction November. Considering, I spent so much time with the Bassets - this book chronicles three generations of the Basset family and their furniture empire in Basset, Virginia - I feel it deserves its own post. Also, I’m in the market for new furniture, so I’m thinking I’ll save my review until after my shopping experience.  

French Women Don't Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitude by Mireille Guiliano
This book was disappointing. I was looking for a dissection and analysis of French beauty and aging beliefs; instead I got one big ramble of Guiliano’s beauty, diet, anti-aging, and health routines.  Also, I find her writing voice to be irritating and preachy. I did enjoy the section where she provided a list of women who are aging with attitude. Just maybe, despite not particularly enjoying the book, Guiliano inspired me to explore aging with attitude in a future blog challenge.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
This was an interesting read.  It may not have helped me change my habits - yet, but the chapters titled, “How Target Knows What You Want Before You Do” and the “Saddleback Church and the Montgomery Bus Boycott” were fascinating. Also, I can’t stop thinking about how Harrah’s Entertainment (Now Caesars Entertainment) preyed on Angie Bachmann’s gambling addiction. It was despicable. If you are interested in learning more about habits, how companies use your habits and (private information) to manipulate your spending or if you wish to change a habit I recommend this book.

My reading plans for February are to:

Participate in

Foodie February hosted by the travel the world in books challenge.

The foodie books I plan to read are:

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook from Scratch--Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foodsby Jennifer Reese
This one comes recommended by Jennifer Ludwigsen. I’ve read 150 pages to date and as much as I disliked Mireille Guiliano’s writing voice I love Jennifer Reese’s. She is funny, relatable and makes me feel as if I’m sitting at her kitchen counter while she talks about cooking and recipes. Reese created an experiment for herself and her family after losing her job. She sets out to determine: When is homemade better? And cheaper? This book is about her findings. Though most of her recipes don’t qualify as healthy and I can’t use them for my live healthy on a budget challenge, I am learning about ingredients, cooking and what not to buy.

Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller
I have an interest in olive oil and have attended olive oil tastings both in California and here in Wisconsin. After hearing Tom Mueller's interview on NPR I attempted to read this book - twice. I love reading a book that discloses a good scandal or fraud, but in the past haven't managed to get past the first 100 pages. The book is disorganized and repetitive. I keep waiting for Mueller to provide the meat of his story, but instead he takes me in circles.

When I noticed The Kitchen Reader Book Club has selected this book as their February book club pick, I decided to give it one more chance. I really want to learn the truth about the olive oil industry. I am starting on page 100. Wish me luck.

In other reading news:
I’ve been reading Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs for the Healthy Lifestyle Reading Challenge:
Jacobs has created a challenge for himself – to become the healthiest man in the world. This book fits in perfectly with my live healthy on a budget challenge. I enjoy Jacobs and his escapades despite finding him to be a bit of an oddball. He reminds me of Clark Howard, neither are afraid to embarrass themselves in the pursuit of their goals.

Have your read any of these books? What were your thoughts? Do you have any books to recommend for my Healthy Lifestyle Challenge or Foodie February challenge? What are you reading in February?

Healthy Reads – January 2015

As part of my 2015 challenge to live healthy on a budget, I plan to read several books promoting a healthy lifestyle throughout the year. During January the books I am reading are:

The Complete Beck Diet for Life: The Five-Stage Program for Permanent Weight Loss by Judith S. Beck:
This book was recommended to me by fellow blogger Joy Weese Moll who has read over 70 healthy lifestyle books. This was one of her favorites and helped her the most in figuring out how and if diet’s work. I’ve read about half the book so far and am currently mastering some of the required tasks before moving on to the final sections. I will write about what I’ve learned and if the tasks worked for me in future posts.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Businessby Charles Duhigg
This was a popular book discussed around the blogosphere in 2014. I don’t recall who inspired me to read it this month, but I must say I am enjoying it so far.

French Women Don't Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitudeby Mireille Guiliano
I spotted this one on a display table at my local library. The title aligns well with my Make Women Count project. I read Guiliano’s book French Women Don't Get Fat previously and recall thinking nothing new here. Unfortunately my thoughts are been pretty much the same for this book, except it does discuss healthy habits more than I anticipated.  I hope to implement a few of her tips - most notably the breathing exercises - in the future.

Healthy Reading Challenges:
I discovered a Healthy Lifestyle Reading Challenge for 2015 hosted by Joy Weiss. The challenge is to read any book that supports your healthy lifestyle. Joy defines “health” as broadly as you need to improve your life — physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually during the 2015 calendar year. I am signing at the 10K: 10-14 books level.

I am also joining Joy's New Year's Resolution Reading Challenge. This one challenges us to read one to four books that will stimulate action on our goals during the month of January. I am signing up at the Committed: 3 books level.

In other reading news:
Travel the World in Books is hosting a read-a-long of Barbara Kingsolver’s book The Poisonwood Bible. This book which I read several years ago for a real life book club generated an interesting conversation. If you’ve been meaning to read this one, I highly recommend joining Tanya, Becca and I for this read-a-long.

Mark Zuckerburg starts a book club:
Thanks to Allison of The Book Wheel for informing me of Mark Zuckerburg’s new book club. According to the club's Facebook page: We will read a new book every two weeks and discuss it. The books will emphasize learning about new cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies. The first book is The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn’t What It Used to Beby Moisés Naím and sounds interesting. I placed a hold on it at the library, but doubt I will have it in time for the discussion. 

What are your reading plans for January? Are you planning on participating in reading challenges during 2015?