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?

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?

January Healthy Living Recap

When my 2015 challenge to live healthy on a budget was in the planning stages I didn’t want it to be a losing weight or a diet challenge. My belief is healthy living is about more than how much you weigh and includes mental, spiritual and physical health in addition to healthy eating.

Here is my January "Healthy Living on a Budget" challenge recap:

Physical health:
One of my main goals of this challenge was to strengthen my core to prevent injuries during exercise which I alluded to in this post. Prior to the challenge, I asked a fitness instructor to recommend an exercise I could perform January 1st to measure my current core strength. The plan is to perform this same exercise again on December 31^st to see how I’ve improved.  She recommended the walking push up.

Here is a demonstration:

 

 

On January 1^st I was able to do 7 walking push-ups.  Unfortunately January did not end up being about increasing my core strength or about getting healthy, it was about working – A LOT. In December my company set a sales record booking almost four times our normal monthly sales. Add in a conference our HR director insisted I attend that was a five hour drive away and preparing for our year-end audit and you can see why this accountant spent most of her evenings and weekends working and not exercising – or reading or blogging.
 

Today just for fun I again tried to see how many walking push-ups I could do – I managed eight.

I want to point out I am not a fan of push-up challenges where you increase the number of push-ups you do each day. I blame this challenge for the elbow tendinitis I experienced a couple of years ago and now refuse to partake in repetitive daily challenges.

Mental health:
In past years, January and to some extent February were not good mental health months for me. My increased work load along with the lousy Wisconsin weather tend to make me depressed.  This year was better.  My husband semi-retired in November. Having him home to run errands, take care of our dogs, clean and cook has helped immensely allowing me to focus my time almost entirely on my work.

Spiritual health:

I did manage a couple of winter walks with my husband and dogs on Saturday afternoons.  Spending time in nature always helps my spirit.  In addition, we attended the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18 featuring pianist Richard Goode. Richard Goode was incredible and this was my favorite symphony concert to date.
 

Healthy eating:
This one was more challenging. I’ve been reading The Complete Beck Diet for Life: The Five-Stage Program for Permanent Weight Loss by Judith Beck and tried to implement her success skills during January.  Most of them ended up being failures:

Weigh yourself daily – I’ve done this for years.  Seeing the number no longer motivates me.

Eat slowly while sitting down and enjoying every bite:

I love this one.  How many times do I eat the brownie from the lunch room while walking back to my office or stand over the kitchen counter binging on snacks when I get home from work. I tried this – I really did, but lasted two days maybe three before I was standing over the counter snacking again.
 

Keep a food journal:

This is such a great idea and also recommended as a dieting strategy that works in Charles Duhigg's book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. I kept a food journal for one week and one day.  I became bored with the process.  Even re-reading the entries was boring.  I did learn I tend to eat every two hours, planning my food works best and that I comfort myself with food when I am stressed or overworked.

Skills to deal with food pushers:

This was an epic fail while attending the conference.  One of my fellow conference attendees was a food pusher: this chicken wing has your name on it and here finish off these nachos. You are supposed to say, “No, thank you.” Eating and drinking too much at the conference most likely contributed to my:

Weight:
I gained one pound during January.
 

Goals for February – plan my food, set and stick to a healthy food budget, get back into regular workouts at my gym rotating between cardio and strength and hopefully find more time for me.  Next year I am adding how to live healthy when you are time strapped to the challenge.

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

Why I’ll Never Be a Food Blogger

A couple of months ago a woman I know signed up for a six-week boot camp program to lose weight before an upcoming family wedding. She prefers participating in intense exercise programs over crash dieting when trying to lose weight quickly. Unfortunately this time around she injured her knee during a running exercise two weeks in. Her orthopedic reluctantly agreed to give her a cortisone shot before the wedding, so she'd be able to walk without pain. Since she still wanted to lose weight, she asked when she could rejoin her boot camp class. To her surprise he said, "Never."  Considering her age - 52 and her physical condition he would never recommend she participate in let alone begin an exercise program with a boot camp.  Instead he suggested she change her diet and once her knee healed - walk for 30 minutes every day.  If she did these two things he guaranteed she'd lose weight.

What diet changes did he recommend?
The majority of her diet should consist of fruits, vegetables and proteins.  A serving of protein should be the size of her fist with the remainder of her plate being filled with fruits and vegetables.  

An idea for a food blog is born:
Almost immediately she began complaining about her new diet: fruits and vegetables were expensive, they spoiled too quickly, her husband and son wouldn't eat them, it was only week two and she was already tired of salads.

I came up with an idea for a food blog - The Savvy Diet - it would be based on meals consisting of vegetables, fruits and proteins.  I began researching seasonal foods and planning healthy menus with families and budgets in mind.  I took photos of my meals and jotted down post ideas. I began reading Dianne Jacob's book Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More (Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Blogs,).

Why I'll never be a food blogger:
While reading about good writing and a food writer's voice in Will Write for Food I became overwhelmed with feelings of imposter syndrome not only for food writing, but for all writing.  (Note my absence from this blog).  I set the book aside.

Then while perusing a recipe for peaches and cream cake given to me by the above woman I noticed she had written in the margin next to the ingredients, "I use raspberry flavored peaches (Del Monte)."  At that moment I knew I was not a foodie and would never be a food blogger.  I would never, not ever in this life time, have thought to add a raspberry flavored peaches to this recipe or to any recipe.  I returned my copy of Will Write for Food to the library without ever reading the chapter on food blogging.

What does this mean for my Career Reinvention Challenge?
According to James Altucher in his post The Ultimate Cheat Sheet For Reinventing Yourself to discover your "it" you should go to the bookstore and find 500 books about it. If you get bored three months later go back to the bookstore. As to my career reinvention I've ruled out food blogging/writing and I'm heading back to the library.

What qualities do you think make a successful food writer/blogger?

Please Note, I am an Amazon Affiliate

Calling Shenanigans on Three Magazine Diet Myths

Photo Credit: bravenewtraveler via Compfight cc

Americans are more insecure about their weight now than ever before. Women are conditioned from a young age to believe they are overweight just because they don’t look like the emaciated women they see on screens and in magazines. While many are not as fat as they think they are, obesity is on the rise among children and adults across the first world. Magazines only contribute to this problem while pretending to offer solutions.

Go to any grocery store aisle and take a look for yourself. The average magazine cover is designed to play on your insecurities and make you feel inferior. They are strategically located in an area where you are likely to be doing a bit of reflection about the food you are planning to eat over the next week. Catchy headlines simultaneously point out all your flaws and offer supposedly easy solutions to eliminate them. The first thing you see when you look away is a huge rack of candy bars. You have to be smart if you want to fight this level of manipulation. In my work as a nutrition consultant, I have seen firsthand how hundreds of people have been duped by magazine diet and fitness claims.  Every day, I have to talk men and women out of their preconceived notions of nutrition.

Here are three popular magazine myths that are touted as truths in the check-out line and some of the most common misconceptions my clients have:

1) Dieting is the best way to shed pounds.
Most weight-loss fads you read about in magazines involve dieting. These include guidelines on what to eat, when to eat, and foods to avoid in your daily meals. Some say you can lose weight by eating nothing but chicken soup. Some involve counting calories, having more and smaller meals throughout the day, eating only this, not eating that, etc. You can read all kinds of things in these articles, such as testimonies from people who have tried it and medical professionals who recommend it as a viable weight-loss option. Yet very few of them mention the other components to a healthy lifestyle.

News flash! You cannot lose weight and keep it off only by changing what you eat. Good health isn’t just a series of eating habits, it is a complete lifestyle. It is about more than just your body weight, too. So many people don’t even pay attention to good health until they start to lose it, and these are going to be the folks who have the hardest work to do. If you want to make big changes to your body, you will have to make equally big changes to your lifestyle. Everything from your self-image to your mental attitude and your activity level has a role to play in creating a sustainable system for maintaining good health. Those who start with a healthy diet and a good fitness regimen will find that the other components follow a bit more naturally. However you cannot expect to magically see the progress you are hoping for just by picking one easy thing to change.

It’s time to get out of the diet mindset and move towards overall nutrition—this shifts the focus from short term results to lifelong health.

2) Juice Fasts are an easy way to drop weight fast or jumpstart your nutrition.

Ask anyone, and they will probably agree that drinking nothing but juice for days on end is a great way to detox and lose weight. How many of them can tell you why they believe this? Many of my clients who have tried this saw only insignificant and temporary results in terms of weight loss. Since they have no way of knowing for sure how many toxins left their body, it just goes without saying that this must have worked.

In reality, even homemade juice contains little more than water and sugars. When you juice multiple fruits into one glass of liquid, you are taking in all the calories of each fruit with none of the good stuff. Raw fruits and veggies normally offer lots of vital nutrients and fiber. However, these tend to reside in the pulp and skin of the fruit. Guess what you are throwing into the trash when you empty the filter from your juicer? Everything your body actually needs in order to function.

Those who fast for too many days often experience symptoms of food poisoning. My clients think that this is a sign that the detox is working--the scientific community, on the other hand, agrees that this is your body’s way of telling you it is not getting what it needs and you should probably eat a sandwich. It is perfectly fine to have juice as part of your diet, and it is much better to make your juice at home than to purchase it pasteurized from the store. However, if you are looking to maintain the full nutritional value of raw fruits and veggies, try making them into smoothies instead of juice.

3) Carbs must be avoided like the plague.

Even though the Atkins Diet craze has long since passed, I bet you still find yourself irrationally avoiding carbohydrates on a regular basis. Some people have even started avoiding gluten because they think it is bad for everyone. The truth is gluten is harmless unless your body has a specific kind of intolerance, and carbs are absolutely essential to a healthy diet.

It is perfectly fine to avoid highly processed and refined carbohydrates such as pasta and bread, but not because they are carbohydrates. You should avoid them because they are high in fat and difficult for your body to process. A diet completely devoid of carbs is missing some very important components. Carbohydrates are your body’s top source of fuel. It is much easier for your body to access these fuels in natural carbohydrates such as veggies, fruit and whole grains, so it doesn’t hurt to avoid the super-processed stuff. Just don’t be fooled into thinking your body has no use for carbs and you should avoid them altogether.
 

The Bottom Line

The truth is there’s no easy way to lose weight and keep it off. The lifestyle habits that lead to weight gain and obesity are not likely to be changed without serious dedication and very hard work. However, people just don’t want to hear this. All it takes is for an “expert” of indeterminate origin to mention an easy way out, and they will completely ignore time tested truths in favor of the shortcut. Those who waste time and energy on these fake solutions are much more likely to fail than to succeed in their quest for a healthier lifestyle.

Carolyn Heintz works in San Diego as a personal nutrition consultant, as a mom to two daughters, and as an advocate for the health screenings that helped saved her father’s life. When she’s not working, she’s soaking up any nutritional, fitness, or wellness knowledge that she can get her hands on and sharing that information on her blog.

 

I’ve Been Washing My Face with Plastic

In today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article Cleanser beads could affect fish I discovered the exfoliating beads in exfoliating washes, soaps and toothpaste I use include small beads of plastic.

According to the article, in a recent study thousands of these small plastic pieces were discovered in water samples taken from Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Erie. It turns out a single tube of Clean and Clear scrub from Johnson and Johnson contains 330,000 beads. The problem is these plastic beads float and water treatment plants aren’t designed to deal with floating matter. Researchers are worried that fish might think the pellets are eggs and eat them. That's problematic because plastics tend to absorb pollutants, such as PCBs, pesticides and motor oil. So the beads could poison the small fish that larger fish prey on. The larger fish are eaten by humans, which poses a human health risk.

The good news is faced with the results, the major manufacturers, including L'Oreal, the Body Shop and Johnson and Johnson, have committed to phasing out the plastic microbeads by 2015. Proctor and Gamble said it would follow by 2017, according to a story by CBC News in Canada.

I recently was considering removing foods that contain additives from my diet. This challenge was going to focus only on food and food additives, but now that I know there is plastic in my soap I’m also going to pay more attention to what is in my beauty products.

Have you ever been surprised to learn a harmful or unusual additive was included in a product you use? Did this knowledge change your purchasing habits?

Would you like to see additional consumer education posts similar to this one or would you prefer posts about books and/or career related topics?

Continuing to Struggle with Work-Life Balance in 2012

While reflecting on 2012, I reviewed my post What Worked in 2011: Learning to Slow Down and Take Care of Myself and was surprised by my final paragraph:

I want to continue discovering who I am. Hey I turn 50 this year it is about time. I had another bad week at work then was strongly encouraged to go in on Saturday (its year-end). While sitting in my office feeling miserable, I decided it is time I get serious about figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

I had a similar experience this year. I am losing three vacation days I never got around to using, my boss expected me to work yesterday (Saturday), and told me I would work on Christmas Eve day (a company holiday) if he told me to do so. My co-worker who overheard this conversation thought my boss had been joking, but it left me feeling disgruntled and guilty for not working more. When I stumbled upon my post from last year I realized nothing has changed in a year and my work-life balance may actually be a little worse.

Here are a few of the work struggles I faced this year:

Making a "Big Mistake" at Work

SWG Coffee Social: Job Disillusionment

How not to Lose Your Cool While Your Manager Screams at You

I'm 50 Years Old and Still Can't Think on My Feet

I did have a couple of positive experiences:

How to Be More Confident at Work

Want to Motivate Your Employees? Appreciate them

And I attempted to make improvements:

Joining Classy Career Girl's Networking Challenge

"Be Strong!" Challenge

Why I am Cleaning My Desk

Be Strong Challenge: September Update

Unfortunately all of my challenges ended in failure:

Networking Challenge:
I gave up on the Networking Challenge after I was stood up for an interview and received a couple of rejections.  I am bringing this one back in 2013 with a new focus. 
 
Push-up challenge:
I have tendinitis in my elbow and had to stop doing push-ups.  I am now experiencing so much pain I can barely lift a coffee pot.  It is disappointing to accept the fact I will never have a strong upper body, but after hurting myself for the 4th time I think I have finally learnt my lesson.  For 2013 I will listen to my body and stick with exercise routines my body can handle - Zumba and Turbo Kick.

Cleaning my desk:
Fail.  I had a clean desk until I went on vacation in October. I came back to a mess and it has remained that way ever since.  I have started a new routine - going in early which has helped.  It is nice to be in before others are there to bother me and I am not nearly as tired as when I work late.

Stopping the snacking:
This is a fail.  Once I am tired and under stress I lose all self-control and have actually gained five pounds since I went on vacation in October.  All I can do is start eating better again in January.

In 2012 I did say no more often, but the things I said no to - spending time with friends, going to the gym and volunteering - are all things I enjoy and help contribute to my work-life balance.

What should I do?
Working too many hours has been my company's culture for over 50 years.  My predecessor who retired after 35 years used to work both Saturdays and Sundays.  She was widowed at a young age and needed to support her family of five. (She was also incredibly underpaid.)  My boss has always worked too many hours and never uses all of his vacation time, so he expects his employees to do the same. 

I was "networking" with a colleague who started her own business ten years ago.  She feels her biggest career mistake was staying at a company too long.  Once you earn a reputation with a company it is almost impossible to break out of it without leaving and starting over somewhere else.  She earned the reputation (single with no children) as the employee who was available to travel and spent the majority of her time on the road.  By starting her business she can now set her own schedule and choose the clients she wants to work for.  She wishes she would have had the courage to start her business two years earlier than she did.  She suggests I start over at a new company that has a culture more in tuned to work-life balance.

I am still not too keen on continuing to work in accounting, but for the time being it does pay the bills.  I do know I will be bringing back my "Be Strong!" Challenge in 2013 with a vengeance. Other than that I am pretty sure I will still be working too many hours at my current company next year at this time.

How do you maintain a work-life balance? Do you have any suggestions for me?

If you like this post you may also like:
Accountants are required to work 45+ hours per week
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Three Amazing Books I Read in 2012 Along with Lisa Bloom’s Favorites

Last year in my post Three Amazing Books I Read in 2011, I included this quote from Lisa Bloom's book Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World:

"If you can't name three amazing books you've read in the last year, you're not reading enough."

In looking back at the books I read in 2012, I did not have as easy a time choosing three amazing books as I did last year. Most of the books I read in 2012 were not that memorable, but here goes:

The book that was the most eye-opening:
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick.  I read this book shortly after Kim Jong-il's death.  It follows the lives of six North Korean defectors while giving us an insiders look into what life is really like in North Korea.  I referred to this book in my post Making a Big Mistake at Work. 

The book that touched me the most:
Special Exits by Joyce Farmer.  This is a graphic novel based on Farmer's experience taking care of her elderly father and stepmother.  This book stayed with me for weeks.

A good story:
Holes by Louis Sacher.  I don't read a lot of fiction, but every now and then I crave a really good story.  This book was perfect.

I found it interesting that two of my three amazing 2012 reads came from Lisa Bloom's book recommendations she listed in her book Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World. For fun I tweeted @LisaBloom asking what were her three amazing reads for 2012. To my surprise and delight she responded. 

Here are Lisa Bloom's 2012 favorite reads from her twitter feed @LisaBloom:

My favorite counter intuitive-but-geez-she's-so-right book I read in 2012: Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) by Lenore Skenazy.

My favorite fiction of 2012: The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene. Everyone I've recommended this to has come to me with tears of gratitude.

My favorite international classic I read in 2012: Independent People by Halldor Laxness.* It is a must read if you visit Iceland. Which you should.

My favorite guilty pleasure page turner of 2012: Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. It is worth losing sleep, missing appointments over. Which you will.

My favorite book title of 2012: I Suck at Girls, by Justin Halpern. The book itself is giggle inducing too.

My favorite vegan fiction of 2012 (let's make this a genre!): The Adventures of Vivian Sharpe, Vegan Superhero, by Marla Rose. Fun YA.

My favorite history book of 2012: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, by Stephen Greenblatt. Sumptuous escape

My favorite parenting/ social commentary book of 2012: The Mama's Boy Myth: Why Keeping Our Sons Close Makes Them Stronger by Kate Lombardi

My favorite autobiography I read in 2012: Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela . A must read for all world citizens.

Most surprisingly useful book I read in 2012: Mama Gena's Owner's and Operator's Guide to Men. She's got them figured out. Thx @MamaGena

My favorite cookbook of 2012 (by a mile): Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way, by @ChloeCoscarelli Every recipe ridiculously easy and delicious.

My favorite health book of 2012 (by a mile): The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever.

My favorite re-read of 2012: Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Even better the second time and I rarely re-read.

My favorite should-be-a-classic I read in 2012: Walls and Bars: Prisons and Prison Life In The "Land Of The Free". Searing prison manifesto of Eugene Debs, imprisoned for opposing WW1.

Best writing book I read in 2012: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by, Anne Lamott. If you have a book in you, grab this now. Bonus points for being hilarious.

In case you are curious Lisa also tweeted her three favorite 2012 movies: The Sessions, Argo, and Silver Linings Playbook.

A huge thank you to Lisa Bloom.  I can now look forward to reading several amazing books in 2013. In addition to Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, Lisa Bloom is the author of Swagger: 10 Urgent Rules for Raising Boys in an Era of Failing Schools, Mass Joblessness, and Thug Culture.

*For those of you participating in the Around the World in 80 Books Challenge you may want to pencil this one in for Iceland.

If you liked this post you may also like:
"Light Reading"
Making Women Count - Ending the Year on a Low Note
Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" and Jealousy
Special Exits - A must read for those caring for aging loved ones

Reading 'The House of Mondavi' by Julia Flynn Siler Enhances My California Wine-Country Vacation

I’ve written before about how I try to match my vacation reads to the setting I am visiting. So when a friend recommended I read Julia Flynn Siler’s book The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty for my upcoming trip to California’s wine country, I quickly put this book at the top of my vacation reading list.

Book Synopsis:
A scandal-plagued story of the immigrant family that built—and then lost—a global wine empire Set in California’s lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.’s twenty-first-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn Siler brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama. A meticulously reported narrative based on more than five hundred hours of interviews, The House of Mondavi is a modern classic.

Thoughts:
Though the Mondavi family business is wine, the focus of this book isn’t wine or wine making, it is the Mondavi family, their family business and the business of wine. Since I work as an accountant for a family-owned business, I found much in this book I could relate to. I especially enjoyed reading about what works and more importantly what doesn’t work in a family-run business. In addition to office politics, family politics are also at play. Here is what Alan Ferguson, Rainier Brewing Company’s chief executive, had to say after meeting with Robert about Rainer’s backing of the Robert Mondavi Winery:

Was sibling rivalry fueling Robert’s drive to build a bigger operation? Or did he simply need a deep-pocketed investor if the winery was to keep its creditors at bay? As the head of a family enterprise himself, Ferguson was no stranger to the emotional undercurrents that influence so many business decisions. (Pg. 88)

This is what Dr. Grundland, a psychiatrist hired to advise the Mondavi family and employees on how to improve their relationships with one another, observed:

What became evident through the sessions was that a destructive triangle had arisen among Robert and his two sons. Just as Rosa had intervened to protect Peter, Robert often stepped in to try to defend Timothy in dealing with his older brother, Michael. Yet at the same time, as long as Michael and Timothy continued to fight with each other, Robert could remain the key decision-maker. It was a pattern that other entrepreneurs also struggled with, consciously or unconsciously, as the time came for them to pass control to the next generation: Were they sabotaging their successors in an effort to hold on to the reins a little longer themselves. (Pg. 196)

I enjoyed all of the business aspects of this book; from Cesar Mondavi’s building of the business, to Rosa Mondavi’s estate planning, Robert Mondavi’s succession planning, the implications of the Robert Mondavi Winery becoming a publicly traded company and the economic impact decisions such as building a Chilean winery, a deal to promote fine wine at Disneyland and Robert Mondavi’s large charitable commitments had on the business.

Reading this book prompted several interesting discussions while on vacation:

With a Sonoma County business owner:
After reading about Robert and Margarit Mondavi’s five million dollar home in Napa Valley I mentioned to a Sonoma business owner that the homes and wineries I had seen in Sonoma County were much smaller than I had anticipated. Upon hearing the Mondavi name this person went into a rant about how Robert Mondavi and his family had ruined Napa, their family feuds were shameful, and their excess spending including their large homes and lavish parties were deplorable. In her opinion, Sonoma County was fortunate Napa’s excesses had stayed in Napa.

With a winery owner’s niece:
When I mentioned my conversation with the Sonoma business owner to a winery owner’s niece, the niece adamantly disagreed. She had met Robert Mondavi at one of his lavish parties when she was a young girl. She remembered him as a kind, funny, little man. She felt he had done more to promote “wine education” than any other winery owner and that the American wine industry would not be what it is today if it hadn’t been for Robert Mondavi. She thinks The Robert Mondavi Winery still provides the best wine education in Napa. See: Robert Mondavi Winery is the place to go for your Napa Valley Wine education. 

With a former Opus One employee:
At an Alexander Valley Wine tasting, our wine host mentioned he had started his career as a distributor for Opus One. Opus One, the Napa Cabernet blend Robert Mondavi made in partnership with the Rothschild family of Bordeaux, France, my ears perked up. I had to tell him I was reading The House of Mondavi. He then relayed a story about the time he had met Robert Mondavi. It was a hot summer day, he had purchased a sandwich at a gas station and not wanting to eat in his car had moved to a private picnic table on the Mondavi property.  While enjoying his sandwich, he saw Robert and his wife Margarit walking towards him. He was sure he was going to be fired when Robert bellowed out, “What do you think you are doing?” The employee stood up, offered his hand and said, “Mr. Mondavi it is so nice to meet you, you’ve paid my electric bill for the past 20 years.” Robert and Margarit then sat down and the three of them were engaged in conversation for the next two hours.

Conversations about the craft of wine-making:
Even conversations where I didn’t bring up the Mondavi name benefited from having read this book.   I understood the small wine-maker's frustration when he talked of creating premium wines for famous big-name wineries without receiving credit. And the wine-maker whose family winery was purchased by the Silicon Valley millionaire who was more interested in profits than making quality wine.

Bottom Line:
The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty may not be a book for everyone. The boardroom and family back-stabbing along with the corporate takeover may be a bit too boring for some reader’s taste.  This is a book for someone interested in the wine industry or in business, especially family-run businesses. For me, I enjoyed The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty because it was the perfect read to enhance my vacation experience.

If you enjoyed this book you may also like Sweet and Low: A Family Story another book I've read about a family-owned business, although this book is written by Rick Cohen, the disinherited grandson instead of an unbiased author, who at times he is clearly bitter.

If you liked this post you may also like:
The Accidental Billionaires
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Can Reading a Book Transform You or Your Business From Good to Great?

Be Strong Challenge: September Update

On my 50th birthday I challenged myself to become a stronger person in my 50th year. This challenge got off to a slow start due to a bout with insomnia, but I think I made up for it in September. Here is a roundup of my progress:
 

Be Strong:

I named my challenge Be Strong and set a few goals:

1 - To continue to work on knowing myself.
2 - To work on both my physical and mental strength.
3 - Each month I need to come up with one activity or challenge that leads to more effective communication, since becoming a better communicator is my ultimate goal.

I realize I have to start with baby steps. If I step too far out of my comfort zone too soon – with a public speaking class or by joining toastmasters - I know myself well enough to know I will abandon this project altogether.

 

Push-up challenge:

I joined a push-up challenge. Each day I am to do 1 more push up than I did the day before. I’ve split them into two sessions and am now up to 17 at one time, with a total of 25 in one day. This is more push-ups than I’ve ever done before in one day. A couple of years ago I stopped working out my upper body entirely when I injured my shoulder. After the shoulder pain subsided I experienced a clicking sound and pain in my elbows while working out with resistance bands, so I was leery of push-ups. My elbows do click occasionally while doing push-ups, but there is no pain and since I began this challenge my elbows no longer click when working out with resistance bands.

 

Clean my desk challenge:

I challenged myself to clean my desk at work. My desk is still not perfectly clean and organized, but I have made progress. I completed several outstanding projects and now spend time each day tackling new paperwork so it doesn’t pile up. I also organize my desk before leaving on Fridays which has done wonders for my Monday morning mood. Thanks to all who left comments and suggestions on my post, you’ve helped keep me motivated.

 

I attended a seminar on assertive communication:

The seminar’s presenter teaches this course at a local college, so she attempted to pack an entire semester’s worth of knowledge into one hour. She did an excellent job of describing the six different types of motivators (a positive or negative need for power, achievement or affiliation) and how to communicate with each type. I referred to one of these communication techniques in my post Do I listen to my manager or the boss. For further study on communication between the sexes, she suggests reading Deborah Tannen’s You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, That's Not What I Meant!: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships and Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work.
 

I read inspiring blog posts:

I read Always the Planner's post What Kind of Life do I Want? where she recommended viewing a TEDx video by Priya Parker and watched Marie Forleo’s video How to Reprogram your Subconscious Mind to Get What You Really Want on the same day. Both helped my realize the one thing I want is to be as physically active in my life for as long as possible; not being able to walk or wear shoes will severely impact that life. Lately, I’ve experiencing foot pain during most physical activity including walking and while wearing shoes. I decided it was time I considered foot surgery, so I made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon the very next day.

 

I visited an orthopedic surgeon to inquire about bunion surgery:

I learned the bunion on my right foot is between moderate and severe and the left one isn’t too bad. The surgeon doesn’t feel I need immediate surgery, but made it clear my foot will never get any better. Recovery from this surgery will require me to be on crutches for 5-6 weeks, which rules out having the surgery in winter. The last thing I need is to walk with crutches down a hill to my unattached garage on snow and ice. If possible I'd like to put off surgery until fall of next year.  In the mean time I’ve been wearing the flattest, widest shoes I own and modifying workout activities (especially lunges) that bother my feet.

 

I have added one small challenge for October:

I have challenged myself to stop eating the popcorn from my company’s popcorn machine. First, the popcorn is really for customers not employees. Second, it is covered in salt and is most likely made with the cheapest, unhealthiest oil they can buy. For the rest of this year I am challenging myself to not eat anymore of this popcorn.

That is it for September. October is going to be a short month, since my husband and I are traveling to California for a ten day vacation. This will be the longest vacation I’ve taken, since I began work in 1986. I am not sure how active I will be on this blog or if I will be able to maintain a clean desk during October – perhaps that will be the ultimate challenge.

What makes you feel strong?
If you have a Be Strong suggestion or are interested in writing a guest post about how you've achieved greater strength please leave a comment below or email me at savvyworkinggal@gmail.com.