Frog Eggs {Chi Seeds}

Chia seeds are pretty popular in drinks in India. I always avoided them because I'd think of them as frog or fish eggs growing up. I imagine the texture to be slimy and thick as it goes down my throat. Eek! I don't even know how they taste. A few people I am subscribed to on YouTube have recently begun drinking chia drinks. I googled chia seeds a few minutes ago to find out that these are the same "fish eggs" my mom has been trying to get us to drink for years.


The photo on the left are the dry seeds. On the right is what they become after soaking in water. They seem to grow or develop a gelatinous membrane around them.

I think it's funny when healthy things become "trendy" when in many cultures, people have been doing the same things for centuries. Although I haven't taken advantage of chia seeds in the past, I did some research and don't mind giving it a try. However, I won't be running out to whole foods to buy the expensive drinks or seeds. They can be easily found at your local Indian/Pakistani store for cheaper.  The Mamma Chia drinks on the left are pretty popular, I guess. Because that's what first came up when I googles "chia seeds". They're pretty pricey per bottle, too.



My mom has been trying to get us to try them for more than two decades. Now that I see people on YouTube getting into it, so will I. Lame, right? I can see my mom rolling her eyes already haha. I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon, but I only became interested after finding out that this is what I've seen growing up. And I didn't realize it had so many health benefits. So I will give it a shot. :)

I'm going to list some health benefits of Chia seeds I found on a website. Click here to read the details.

1. Lose weight without starving
2. Balance blood sugar levels
3. Prevent diverticulosis/diverticulitis, especially in the elderly
4. great source of Omega-3
5. great source of anti-oxidants
6. use as substitutes on baking and cooking
7. control food cravings

And HERE are other ways to incorporate Chia seeds into your life. You can even use it as an egg substitute for baking! Apparently this works like Tofu - it's pretty tasteless and takes on the flavor and even enhances the flavor of whatever you put it in. 

Now, I'm not sure when or how I'll be using Chia seeds. But I thought it was interesting that things my Indian Culture has been using for centuries is only now becoming a trend. Same as Turmeric and other Indian spices and foods. 

If any of you have tried Chia Seeds, leave a comment below and let me know how you like it. Maybe that'll get some courage in me to try it. :)

Product reviews

I bought two body shop products the Saturday after Thanksgiving. They has a 3 for $30 sale, so I took that as an opportunity to try out their skin care products. I didn't want to spend a lot initially, since I've never tried it out before. So I saved $10 a product which is half off. Not bad at all.  Actually, select body butters are now on sale for $8, if you're interested.

I bought the Macadamia nut deep Repair Masque at Ulta. I've heard great things about it and since my hair is pretty dry, I thought I'd give it a go. I've been using these for a while now and can safely say that I love them! Let's get started on the reviews.

Warning - like my Hunger Games book review earlier, I cannot talk about something for so long haha. I'll just give you my own opinion on the product. For details, please see the links provided. :)

Shea Body Butter 
It's very thick and moisturizing. The consistency resembles cold butter. The first time I tried it I felt like I wasn't able to pick up enough of the body butter and get enough on my skin, but a little goes a long way. I chose the Shea butter, because this one was for extremely dry skin. It smells good. It doesn't feel greasy after putting it on. I usually apply this at night because I don't like how it feels under my clothes when I wear any sort of moisturizer during the day. My skin is soft the next day. I don't do it every night because I forget, but my skin stays moisturized for days after. It's great for dry areas like the elbows.


Hemp Hand Protector
This is by far my favorite! I love this product so much. Some people don't like the smell. I personally don't mind it at all. This is also for very dry to extremely dry skin. My hands don't feel greasy after applying this. Which is very important to me, because one of the reasons I avoid moisturizing is because my hands become slippery. This I can apply during the day and do whatever it is that I am doing.

Macadamia Natural Oil - Deep Repair Masque
This is nice and I did see an improvement in my dry hair. Actually, the top of my head is fine, but the ends tend to dry out and look damaged without serum. What I do is the day after I wash my hair I damp the ends in the sink and put this on. I wait a while, at least 7 minutes then shower, rinsing the product out without using any other hair products. The reason why I do this is because it says to apply it to clean, wet hair. Do you know how long I'd be in the shower for? A long time. Ain't nobody got time for that! And I must have the water running, so it would be a waste of so much water. That is my only "con". If anyone has any suggestions, please send them my way. Over all, it smells so good and my hair feels and looks better. It says to not use more than twice a week, which I have not. I feel like I don't need to. I don't think my hair feels greasy at all after. You might feel that if you put too much in, though. For which you might want to use a TINY amount of shampoo to get the excess out. Bon't don't do a full lather because it strips your hair of the oil. My beef with this product is that it says Macadamia Oil, but the first couple ingredients isn't it! Next time I am going to buy plain pure Macadamia Oil and see how it works out. If your scalp isn't dry, I don't suggest putting it all over. Just apply it where needed. My hair really does look shiny without extra serum, though so I'm happy with the results.

I'm in search of a face mask for dry skin that is NOT cucumber melon. I might have to try making my own. Again, if anyone knows of one for dry skin, let me know!

Jiggly Puff

Muslims don't celebrate Christmas, but it's hard to avoid holiday parties and dinners. And the fact that many out there get a break from work to gather with friends and family usually means heavy, comfort food. It's hard walking by a bakery or the bakery section of the grocery store and not be tempted to buy the many cakes and goodies.

So what it comes down to it - wether you have a special holiday or occasion to celebrate or not, the end of the year is always a danger zone for feasting on unhealthy things and slacking on exercise. I need a motivational boost every now and then.

So I'm posting here, and letting you know it's not easy! But I'm still trying. If I can't run, I walk. I'll try to go for herbal tea instead of coffee with creamer and sugar or tea with evaporated milk and sugar. Something healthy is always better than nothing.

If you start your day with unhealthy food, don't let that discourage you and allow yourself a full fat day. One unhealthy thing won't kill you, but one day can turn into one week and so on. So if anyone out there reads this and is struggling, I just want to let you know you're not alone. I'm trying, too :)

I've been sick for the past few days. I am down with something viral and it's not just the 24 hour bug. I don't mind, only because I don't have deadlines or anything crazy coming up. I'm just glad I wasn't feeling well enough to hold all the babies I've been around the past few days.

Stay safe, get your flu shot if you haven't already and are okay with he idea of vaccines - it's not too late in the season. :) I hope everyone out there is doing well! 

Muffin Top

You know how I got pumped up a few weeks ago and decided to work towards a healthier lifestyle?

Complete. Fail.

Well, not completely. I was good for a few weeks. But I have completely stopped everything and have been doing the exact opposite of what I was supposed to do. Stress makes me do crazy things. And makes me gain weight and eat more red velvet cake complete with cream cheese frosting, resulting in more weight gain. It's a vicious cycle and I'm the only one suffering. I now have a certified muffin top. In case you're not familiar with the term, a muffin top is when one's abdominal fat hangs over one's jeans. Either because there is too much fat or the jeans are too tight. People who aren't fat can also have a muffin top if their jeans are too small for them.

The only reason why I did stop was because I became stressed and felt that I had to dedicate all my time towards academia. Within a few days I felt to unhealthy and sad. I felt like a muddy, gray colored blob. That's a pretty weird yet accurate description of my feelings regards to my health. When I run it makes me feel good. I feel too heathy and happy to eat heavy, high calorie foods. I'm ready to start feeling like that again. It's time to dust myself off and try again. Third times a charm. It'll be the Same routine, since I was able to stick to it for so long without falling apart. Wish me luck!!

Fitspiration

Hi, Everyone! I'm in need of a little motivation. I gained weight over the last few months and seem to be going uphill on the scale.  I didn't check because I didn't want to find out, but my jeans definitely felt tighter. I started running almost everyday and started to feel good about myself. Eating healthier came automatically and I wasn't craving as much sugar as usual. Then I finally got the courage to weight myself and found that I was 3 pounds over my pre marriage weight. I wanted to lose about 8-9 pounds and still do.

For some reason I just stopped. Within a few days I noticed a dramatic change in my mood and how I felt about myself. I went from a pretty healthy diet to one filled with junk food. I feel depressed and lumpy. So I am going back on treadmill and hopefully will stick with this. I mean, I should since it made me feel so good. This time a huge reason is because of the positive impact healthy living had on every aspect of my life. 

I was running every morning for about 30-35 minutes and walking a few minutes to cool down. I am on a time constraint now so instead of adding time to my running schedule I'll add speed. 

Breakfast was usually a homemade fruit smoothie or cereal and chai. I drink the chai for the caffeine but I'm switching to coffee for two reasons. One being chai doesn't work for me anymore and I need something stronger. And I tend to add more calories to my chai than my coffee in terms of evaporated milk vs sugar.

Lunch I try to put off until about 3 pm, but I realized irregardless of how late my lunch is, I will end up eating a little dinner. So there's not point in eating so late for lunch and eating again before I give those calories a chance to properly digest. I eat a huge portion of veggies that I microwave and season myself. And add a serving of carbs. 1/2 cup of brown rice, seasoned. Or a slice of bread. Sometimes soup. I like to eat a LOT. For me, it's quantity over quality. A small heavy meal will not do it for me. I'd rather have a large meal the same calories so I stay full for a really long time. 

Dinner is usually a little Indian food, which is pretty oily. I try to not eat much around dinner time, but I usually have to eat something. 

I snack on baby carrots and try to drink a lot of water. I don't like drinking a lot and get a lot of kidney pain as a result, so I really need to and try to drink as much as I can when I remember. If I'm craving something sweet I grab some dark chocolate because that's the only thing that curbs the craving. But if there is cake in the house...I cannot resist. I still have to learn how to stay away from it. I should probably just not take the first bite. 

I am going to add a few minutes of abs, squats and arm exercises to tone up a little. Oh! This is important! Support groups, exercising buddies, etc help you keep on track, if you can't do it alone. A bunch of girls have a thread where we try to help each other stay on track and it helps for the most part. I feel bad eating something knowing other people out there are trying to be healthy and are relying on me for support. :) I also need to keep in mind that results aren't going to come in a day or two. Like the picture below says, it took time to gain the weight and will take time to lose it. At least my mental health will benefit quickly. 

Anyways, what are some ways you keep healthy? Please share your tips, we'd love to hear them :)

The Little Stuff

Here are some of my week's amazing things in my life. I don't know what I should call this segment. I'm not a creative cat so if anyone can think of anything aside from thankful thursday, let me know!

1. Evaporated milk. It makes my chai so yummy. It's not great for me, and I am trying to cut down on a lot of fatty things, but I don't deprive myself of three things: evaporated milk in my chai, dark chocolate and carbohydrates. Good tasting chai makes me feel all warm and happy. dark chocolate tastes good, but also a little goes a long way and curbs further cravings for sweets. And carbohydrates because, if I did deprive myself of them, I'd go crazy when given the chance to eat them.

2. My health. I know this is a general topic, but I was thinking about it today. Living in India for a few years, I've had my fair share of infectious diseases; but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. However, I don't get sick often and I am grateful for that. I'd rather have one unusual illness every few years than many small ones throughout the year. I was thinking how awesome it was that I don't get sick often and I finally caught a viral infection a few days later. I guess I jinxed myself, but it really is a blessing. I do have seasonal allergies, but it can all be prevented.

3. Today's special people {and everyday!} are my friends. The ones who I can talk to about anything without feeling judged. The ones who will give me honest advice. The ones where I can meet after months or even years and feel like nothing's changed. Those people are hard to find, so if you ever find one of these gems, don't take advantage of them.

To eat or not to eat?

My father-in-law went to the hospital a few days ago. He had just returned from a weeklong stay, 4-5 days prior. He was treated for anemia, possible pneumonia, and coronary heart disease. He came home yesterday after treatment for hyperklemia (high potassium), chronic kidney failure, anemia, gastritis, and other conditions.

He has diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, a pacemaker (he had several heart attacks). He takes nearly a dozen medications.

He's 80.

Usually when he gets home from his twice-a-year hospital stays, the family begin their lectures: don't eat unhealthy foods, drink more water, walk more. Sit up. Don't always sleep.

His diet is "kept under control" for 2-3 weeks after he returns from the hospital.
Then the complaining begins. He'll say he can't stand the food. No one cares about his feelings. He says, he is dying. He gives my mother-in-law a full-blast guilt trip. While my sister-in-law and I encourage her to ignore his bad food requests, he gives her the "You don't care about me, don't you?" speech.

In our culture it is understood if an old person wants to eat the way they want, their wishes are to be respected for they may not have long to live. In theory it is a beautiful treatment of our elders, while in reality it is a speedy way to get to death.

While the family repeatedly tell him to keep his health in check, it all goes away after a few weeks. They have their own health issues to worry about.

My mother-in-law gives us her own guilt trip. "You will understand someday..." she says, speaking of restrictions we may face in food eventually.

My brother-in-law is probably the only one who actively tries to keep his health in check in this home. It's hard in a house where food is loved and prepared with care. The tastier the food is, the happier spirits are. While some enjoy the food spicy, others cannot tolerate it. While some eat this, others rather eat that. It can be tough living with many people.

I have my own spicy-limit food tolerance. But I ignore it most of the time until my body shuts down. Having to prepare separate meals makes me anxious. Nervous.

Maybe my mother-in-law sees it the same for my father-in-law. Maybe it makes her uncomfortable to serve him "less tasty" food than the rest of the family." It almost seems as if he is being restricted from food altogether.

When we are allowed to eat something "better than him" we are reminded to keep it hush-hush.

Meanwhile the family will make their routine visits. Health tips will keep pouring in. People will go on with their lives. And so will he until his body cannot take it anymore. Once again. (God knows best).

May God give us the wisdom strength and perserverance to carry on.

Okay so I've been on a soup rage. Every weekend I make 3-4 quarts of hearty soup for the entire week. Its been absolutely amazing, very very filling, and perfect for the winter! Here's the recipe I use. The bulk of the work is in chopping everything.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash cut in 1/2 inch cubes  (or a Zucchini, or 2-3 yellow squash, or a mix of both!)
1 chicken breast (1/2 inch cubes)
1 red onion chopped
1-2 garlic cloves diced
Spices: palmfuls of oregano, lemon pepper, paprika, and chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I add thyme, chives, and cajun)
1-2 carrot stick peeled and chopped
1-2 celery sticks chopped
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup barely or bulgar washed
1 cup mixed beans washed (white beans, black eyed peas, kidney beans, chick peas, lima beans, pinto beans, etc) --> I just use prepackaged mixed beans bags
2 chicken or beef bouillon cubes
3-3.5 quarts water

Directions:

1- Boil water in a 4 quart pot with the bouillon cubes. Add all washed beans and barely and let it boil on med-high.
2- In a wok warm 3 tbsp oil and add onions. Once the onions are soft and pink, add garlic and chicken. Cook the chicken until opaque white and add all the spices. Next add all the chopped vegetables and tomato sauce. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until everything is a bit softened.
3- Transfer all the vegetables into the pot with water and keep on high. Add any extra salt or spices needed. (If you feel it tastes too tomato-ey then just add a bit of sugar or cinnamon)
4- Let it cook mostly covered for about an hour. If you have a pressure cooker you can cook in there for about 20 minutes.
5- Enjoy with toast or croutons!

You can play around with the recipe and add other vegetables like broccoli, potato, etc. Hope you enjoy it!

Floating hyoid bone: miracles of the body

About three weeks ago I went to see an ear nose and throat doctor, an ENT, to check out the lump in my throat caused from a "choking sensation" and following a 6-hour emergency room stay.

After having two resident doctors and an ENT look at my throat, he said my hyoid bone, located above the thyroid bone, may have slipped out of place. It is the only free-floating bone in our bodies which is snuggled between two muscles. It helps us pull things down (swallow) or pull things up through the throat (vomit?).

The doctors put a slim long tube down my throat, while I said, "e-e-e-e", puffed up my cheeks or swallowed by instruction during a Laryngoscopy, an examination of my throat. My father, who took me to the doctor, watched behind me peeking on at some points and squirming as he saw the long tube make it's way through.

"Looks good," noted the main doctor, who made a few references and points while he explained the different parts of my throat. No allergies or there would be redness at the top of your throat, he said. He also found a node, or a bump, on one side of my throat, but noted it was not cancerous following the tests. Alhamdulillah, thank God.

My visit ended with a prescription for Motrin 800 mg, to be taken as needed. The other option was getting a steroid injection on the left side of my throat where the "lump" hurt. Two Motrin have put me back on track.

So here's to trying to live "back to normal" again.

Garlic Chive Chicken

I found this amazing recipe from www.allrecipes.com. It has this cool function where you can type in ingredients and it chugs out recipes you can use!

Anyhow the recipe I found was Garlic Chive Chicken.

Basically I love the sauce thats used for the dish because its infused with garlic, lemon, and chives! mmhmm. You could use the sauce over things like perogies or crab cakes. Check it out!

Ingredients

• 1 head garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) package egg noodles
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Wrap the garlic head in foil, and bake 30 minutes, until cloves are soft. Remove from heat, and cool enough to handle.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3.Slice off the top of the garlic head, and squeeze the softened cloves into a medium bowl. Mix in the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

4. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat the chicken breast halves with flour, and cook in the skillet about 10 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Set chicken aside, retaining skillet juices. Stir in the garlic mixture, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and return chicken to the skillet. Continue cooking the chicken about 5 minutes on each side, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove chicken, and arrange on plates over the egg noodles.

5. Mix the butter into the garlic sauce mixture in the skillet until melted, and stir in the chives. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and egg noodles to serve.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/garlic-chive-chicken/detail.aspx

Tuna Lettuce Wrap

I used to be really chunky back in the day. I think I'm still on the bigger size but at least the Hubster likes my curves.

Anyhow, back in the day I joined WeightWatchers and they were awesome in giving cool ideas for low fat meals and what not. Anyhow, today I was making the Hubster a bacon & egg sandwich and I decided to opt out for something much healthier and WAY easier: a tuna lettuce wrap.

It was really really easy to make. I just took some lettuce put a can of tuna mixed some Mrs. Dash and Cajun seasoning and wrapped it up into a roll. It was delicious! :) You could add mayo, cheese, relish, etc in it too... pretty much a regular wrap just with lettuce.

I like the crunchiness :)

Okay I'm done.

Over the (mole) Hill.

I haven’t been blogging lately because I have nothing to blog about. I do have quite a few posts in mind, but lately I’ve been lazy.

Too lazy to type. Too lazy to think. Good thing my body breathes for me or else I might have been too lazy to do that. Isn’t it sad that I’m too lazy to type? I mean, could I get any lazier? I guess I could get those things that type for you. I forgot what they’re called. But you speak into a microphone and the computer does all the typing. My dad got that yearrrrrs ago. But he got frustrated with it since it didn’t work too well. Maybe it was the accent? hah.  But his isn’t so bad.

So I am over the hill (25) and I feel kind of old, physically. My joints are giving way. I can’t work out anymore. Doing the work out video is killing my knees and my ankle joints so I’m sticking to running every other day. I’ve always had ish with my knees. Growing pains, they said. Haha. Is there such thing??

You know what I did? I did something dumb. I made a promise to God if I passed my exam I would fast for a month. Then I passed. And I was happy. And then I was like, “o crap”. So while the days are shorter I’m trying to do as many as I can. A month is a lot. I should be used to fasting since Muslims fast in Ramadan anyways, but it’s a whole different experience. I feel like God has mercy on us or something because the time FLIES by and I don’t realize I’m fasting.

I went through a vanity crisis, which could have been associated with my quarter-life crisis. Months before my birthday I realized I was turning a QUARTER OF A CENTURY old. I got sad. Then I noticed I had dark circles under my eyes. I didn’t want to use chemical junk on my skin nor did I want to conceal the circles, since I don’t wear makeup on a daily basis. I wanted them gone. I was getting sufficient sleep so I had no idea why they were there. So I stuck tea bags on my eyes. And cucumbers. and I put some vitamin cream on the area to strengthen the capillaries and skin. And then they were gone. I heard water is good to prevent these circle. But if it runs in your family, you might have a harder time with them.

Alhamdulillah I have very low maintenance skin. I don’t even use soap. So when I get a stubborn pimple or anything that doesn’t go away in 4 hours I go crazy. But my reaction was escalated due to the fact that I realized I was getting older. If people asked me how old I was I would say 24, but think 25 in my head. And then I became a quarter of a century old. And then. nothing.

It’s not so bad. I’m glad I’m old. No drama.  <3

This is a random random post. But that’s how my mind goes. And I type how I think and I can’t help it. Peace. <3

Cumin Grilled Chicken

Okay so now that I've been cooking about twice a week, its important that I find fun and interesting recipes or else the Hubster and I will get really bored of our food... 

So I found this excellent recipe on www.foodnetwork.com of Cumin Grilled Chicken Breasts. I did my own twist by lightly frying/sauteing it instead of grilling (I don't have a grill...) and by adding some lemon. 

Ingredients

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves pounded to 1/2-inch thickness (Mine were really thick so I just sliced them in half)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (I put a bit more b/c I really love cumin =D )
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Heat a few tbsp of oil in a large frypan on medium-high heat. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil. Mix cumin, salt and pepper and rub spice mixture evenly onto chicken breasts. Cook chicken in frypan until it is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from heat, let rest for 5 minutes. 

I added some squeezes of lemon on top before serving and it was purely delectable. We ate it with homemade fried cajun rice. The recipe for that is pretty simple. Boil 2-3 cups of water. In a wok heat some oil and saute a half chopped onion and some mixed vegetables until cooked (a few minutes). Add some salt, cajun seasoning (tons of it) and half a tsp of paprika. Put on medium and mix in the boiled rice. Mix around, add some more cajun and salt to taste and you're all set to go :)  

Diet Journal Review

A few months ago, I blogged about starting a Diet Journal and promised with a follow up.

When I initially started it and wrote down everything I ate before I ate it, I noticed a dramatic reduction in the amount of food I consumed. Maybe it was because I was more conscious of what I was eating and didn't want to feel like a fatty. Or maybe it was because before I ate something I started to ask myself if I was eating out of hunger or boredom. Whatever it was it helped me realize that a huge chunk of my calorie intake came from snacking and I lost two pounds in the first ten days without even going hungry.

I set a calorie goal for the day and tried to not cross it. It's much harder than it looks; especially if you're a snacker like me. I became really conscious of the food choices I was making. Instead of reaching for a cookie, I'd grab an apple, which didn't bother me because I love fruit and vegetables so much.

The problem with India is that there is a shortage of healthy food options. There are an abundance of little kiosks and vendors selling chips and Cadbury chocolate bars; mango juice and Fanta. There is a shortage of fresh, undamaged fruit. The fruit and vegetables I was able to find was half rotten and the prices were sky high for the poor quality. So it was difficult to eat more quality food, even though I'd remain within my calorie limit. This made me feel like garbage and fat and greasy.

So anyways, I stuck with it regardless and stopped as soon as I came back to America, because I left my diet journal in India. I thought it would help me form a habit of controlling myself, but it didn't. Maybe I'm just too gluttonous. I am going to go back on it from tomorrow because I really felt a difference when I was on it. It works if you honestly write down what you ate and how many calories the food contains. I don't know if it'll help everyone, but for a snacker I think it'll help reduce involuntary.

Oh, and I picked up Skinny Bitch {read Simply Me's review HERE}, and they make you feel like a cow. I also feel like I should go organic. But not vegan. Another story for another day.

Small frequent meals are good, but when you stick food in your mouth as soon as you spot it without thinking it isn't. So yes, I recommend this is people like me who can't control their cravings and then cry about being fat.


Edit: I'm going to randomly put my New Years Resolution in here: Stop drinking Tea that isn't green/herbal. Today is day one.

Feet.

I don't have a computer.
It died about 3 weeks ago and now I need a new one.
So I have been MIA and my google reader's piled up with probably thousands and thousands of blog posts I have to read.

Anyways, I'm posted in surgery right now.

I almost blacked out on my first day.

Why? Because in the wards most cases there are post-operative. So we have to do antiseptic dressings of the wounds. One the first day we did rounds and the doctors checked out all the wounds and etc and make sure the patient was okay. The very last patient was a diabetic patient. He had gangrene of more than half his foot and some toes were missing.

I could handle everything else, but whenever I see a diabetic foot I get light headed. So naturally I almost blacked out.

It's so embarrassing:
Nurse: HURRY UP AND GET A BED READY!!
Ward boy: There's a patient coming in???
Nurse: NO, IT'S FOR THE DOCTOR.

And with all the patients watching. ha. hahahaha. No.

And hour later in the outpatient clinic the doctor told me to clean another diabetic foot. I told him there was a 97% chance I was going faint so he best be there.

If you don't control your blood sugar levels you can get gangrene and your toes might fall off. Yesterday there was a man with an ulcer so deep I could see his bones. People in India present very late to the hospital, thinking things will get better. The sad thing is, they present so late that a lot of cases don't get better.

Anyways, the point is if you are diabetic, and if you are fond of your feet and of walking and going to the bathroom by yourself and other such luxuries, then control your blood sugar levels. Oh and the sooner you see a doctor, the better.

But yayy for me, I can do dressings without wanting to faint or throw up.

"Indeed there are signs for those who reflect"

Shoulder forward, back, up, down. Good.

Physical therapy is a part of many people's lives - especially in older age. My 64-year-old mother-in-law tore a muscle in her upper right arm while trying to save my baby from falling.

Today was our first trip to see a physical therapist.

The therapist said my mother-in-law's muscle tear was, "the last straw on a camel's back. In other words, it was bound to happen.

A couple reasons she mentioned it could have happened: poor posture when sitting in a chair, straining the arm that's already hurt, and older age.

She now has three daily, hourly and twice an hour "procedures."

Exercise techniques

A combined 4-muscle unit called rotator muscles help your shoulder and arms move. The shoulder bone needs the muscle cushion to help it rotate comfortably in order to give good motor movement.

By excercising there can be an increase of blood flow to the sore area. This will allow the torn muscle to heal and her shoulder bones to go back into the normal position.

On top of sitting up straight without hunching or sitting cross-legged in a chair, my mother-in-law has to pinch back her shoulders, while holding her elbows back, 10 times every hour.

She then has to push her shoulders up, down, forward, and back 10 times, two times every hour.
Lastly she has to swing her body twice a day, by letting her right sore arm fall free style while she props her body on a counter top, leaning on her left hand.

Everyone needs motivation

As a woman of dignity who does practically everything on her own, including taking care of her elderly husband, my mother-in-law shudders at the thought of therapy and exercise. She now has to avoid her daily tasks.

Although my family has been telling her not to pick up the babies, pull large objects, fold miscellaneous things, or vacuum, you can catch her in one of her moments doing all of the above.

Today my sister-in-law and I did the exercises with her to encourage her to progressively move her arm rather than strain it.

I then explained the benefits of moving her arm around: a blood rush to the sore spot that will help heal the muscle.

Exercise and prayer

After returning to my room to pray the last prayer of the day, isha, I realized I was exercising during prayer.

For example, one of the postures requires you to bow down with your head on the floor, with both arms flat on the floor and your bottom has to be in the air while you recite a short prayer, "subhana rabbi wal awwal" or "Oh Lord of the Heavens, I worship you" according to one translation.

This same posture is recommended during pregnancies for round ligament pain recommended by the American Pregnancy Association, which promotes pregnancy wellness.

The association says, "If you are having consistent round ligament pain your health care provider may recommend daily stretching exercises. The most common exercise is done by placing your hands and knees on the floor, lowering your head to the floor, and keeping your bottom in the air,"on its website, www.americanpregnancy.org.

Other exercises in prayer include bending over by placing your hands on your knees, without bending your arms, which is similar to the free fall gravity exercise my mother-in-law has to do.

Since prayers are five times a day, prayers get your heart pumping through the movements.

Not only are you spiritually required to pray, but also you're required to get up and move to complete your worship!

The beautiful thing is Islam makes things that are good for you, obligatory. Islamic prayer combines both physical and mental exercise for a complete "work out."

Things that are bad for you, like drinking, are prohibited.

"Indeed there are signs for those who reflect (30:21)"

Journalist

- - - - - >

On a side note, here's a blog called "For Those who Reflect"
http://forthosewhoreflect.blogspot.com/
Symphonic Discord does not necessarily agree with the views of the above mentioned site.

Dear {Diet} Diary...

I can already feel CC groaning and rolling her eyes at me and my post. She thinks I have an eating disorder.

Do any of you out there keep a diet journal? Or heard of one? Apparently keeping track of everything you eat helps you lose weight much faster? I'm not sure but my sister told me. I started one to help me maintain my weight and improve my eating habits. I eat small meals but tend to snack a lot in between so I end up eating a lot of calories per day; most of them consisting of empty calories coming from junk food. So I end up gaining weight easily.

I've been doing it for about 10 days. And I definitely noticed a difference in my eating habits. Knowing that I'll HAVE to write it down in the journal made me think twice before eating. It make me assess whether I am really hungry or eating out of sheer boredom- something I tend to do. Plus, I also set a daily calorie requirement and I know when I'm getting near the limit. Mine kind of looks like this. I couldn't get the picture on here.

I also keep a daily record of my weight. So far so good. It's not hard and doesn't take much effort. I carry a little notebook with me wherever I go and add on to it after eating. I can hear CC calling me a loser now. Oh, but I HAVE to take it with me, because then it's all "out of sight out of mind" and I end up eating so much and not remembering how much of what I ate. Then I can't do an accurate estimate of calories consumed. I think they have online journals where it adds the calories for you. But I prefer doing it on my own, because I don't have internet on my phone I can take a little book with me everywhere.

Have any of you tried this? Would you want to try it? Personally, I think it's great for what I'm trying to do and also dieters. I'll keep this up and let you know how it goes in a few weeks - months.

Aging, less stress and betterment

Yesterday WWJ reported a study, saying older people have less stress. The findings relayed older people realize the "end of time" is coming and the things they once worried over during their younger years, just don't matter so much anymore.

Similarly, in a Developmental Psychology class I took last semester, there are findings that older people get less involved in sticky situations.

They also sleep less, however they need the same food intake to function.

By norm, memory dulls a little. For those who have dementia, and Alzheimer's disease, which cannot be confirmed until a person passes away and an autopsy reveals certain areas of the brain that change during the course of the illness, memory dulls a lot. Parts of life wash away.

So what does this all mean?

God has given elderly people a chance to come to consensus with their whole lives.

A lot of people hit "midlife crisis" in their 40s.

Midlife crisis hasn't been confirmed to exist through psychology. Still many claim to go through it.

Muhammad (sws) had a midlife crisis

The Prophet Muhammad sws, the last Prophet in Islam went through a phase when he was 40 years old.

He was living the life with a wealthy wife and four healthy children. He needed something more. Something spiritual.

During the course of the year he'd often retreat to Mount Hira in Mecca to reflect for days at a time.

He never believed in the idols Arabia worshipped at the time. He was not a pagan. He believed in a central God.

He went to Mount Hira, this time for a month, to really figure himself out. It was his longest retreat yet.

While in the cave, he was visited by Angel Gibrael, the angel that spoke to all Prophets. Angel Gabrael ordered Muhammad to read, three times. Muhammad was illiterate. The Angel squeezed him to prove it was not just a dream.

"Read in the name of your Lord who Created You out of a blood clot (96)," Angel Gibrael said to Muhammad.

Miraculously Muhammad repeated him.

At the time Arabia was 90 percent of an oral culture. Most people didn't know how to read but those who knew poetry were adored. The Quran was beautiful like poetry but divine like only which the Holy books could be.

Gibreal professed Muhammad as a Prophet. He didn't believe it. His life changed, as the last Prophet of Islam.

So what does this all mean?

We do go through some kind of "reflective period" when we are in our 20s, and 40s. Hence, we make smarter choices afterward (or not).

The 40-year mark

In Islam, year 40 marks a couple of things:
a. We are no longer dependent on our parents, our parents are dependent on us.
b. We have fulfilled our youth lives, which we will be questioned about before much of other things on the Day of Judgment.
c. We are closer to the end, as science and psychology suggests, and need to change our lives before the chance is gone.

Tears good-bye

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz from the Dr. Oz Show, older people have fewer tears, which keeps their eyes moisturized. Less sadness?

When your older, dry away those tears and repent. God has given us ample opportunities to better ourselves.

The need for the same amount of food (energy), less sleep, same food, less stress, less involvement in sticky situations...it all adds up to something.

It adds up to a wonderful opportunity to spend time in prayer, care less about worldly materialistic things and devote time in repentance, in the name of the last days.

He has prepares us mentally, emotionally and whole-heatedly for death - if we're not afraid of it that is - and gives us to chance to say sorry to Him and to others before what Dylan Thomas would call, "going gentle into that good night."

God watches over us in mysterious ways.

Journalist

Eating, praying, working helps fitness

Hello bloggers! I'm a guest writer for this blog. I believe in seeking and spreading the truth. I'm Muslim, live between a small town and a large city, and I love to write...

With the pressure to stay slim, there are a few things you can do everyday to stay on track.

Being unintentionally slim:

1. Pray five times a day.
If you pray in the morning it forces you to get up! Waking up gives me energy and drives me to get more done during the day.

2. Do housework.
Be honest, not many of us get to the gym as often as we want. Or ever.
Cleanliness is a part of faith, according to Islamic traditions. One who is clean is purified in body and soul. Less clutter also motivates more energy and freedom.

3. Fast a month for spiritual inclination.
Fasting helps you stay fit. Your body takes a break for all the extra intake.

4. Don’t eat dinner too late.
I have a hard time falling asleep after I eat anyways. Health experts say it’s best to give your stomach a two-hour rest before hitting the sack.

5. Only eat what you need, not what you want.
The Prophet said in an oral narration: "No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath." [Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasaa'I, Ibn Majah – Hadith sahih]
Eating less helps us digest our food, and prevents over-eating which leads to laziness.
A professor at Wayne State University recently said, “We live in a country where people are trying not to eat, when the rest of the world is trying to find their next meal.”

6. Nurse your baby (if you have one handy).
Old-fashioned people used to nurse their babies. According to the New York Times, a new trend in breastfeeding children has come back into the modern era. People have realized the multiple advantages of nursing, including better mother-child relationship, fewer illnesses for the baby, and mothers shedding extra calories. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/health/research/22breast.html

7. Drink a lot of water, even when you don’t want to.
Doctors say people should drink eight glasses of water daily. Water eliminates headaches, makes your skin look younger, prevents illnesses, helps indigestion, and reduces the risk of cancer, according to www.mangosteen-natural-remedies.com.

8. Don’t drink pop.
Did you know highways are cleaned with Coke to remove blood because of the strong acids used? See what the company has to say:
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/myths_rumors/packaging_cleaner.html

9. Avoid too much meat. Balance with vegetables.
Some meats and vegetables cooked together can help you get more nutrients.

10. Take constructive criticism.
Don’t starve yourself. Eat properly. If people say you’re getting skinnier, eat more. If people say you’re getting fat, eat less.

Journalist