Spinning #2, yoga, refried beans, vegetarian diet

February 10, 2009

This morning I woke up and felt amazing(read yesterdays post about sleep if you didn't get a chance). In part due to the spinning and yoga class which tired me beyond belief. Going to sleep at a reasonable hour and receiving a higher quality of sleep certainly helps me function. The second spinning class was much easier and the yoga afterward helped stretch my muscles, ligaments and tendons. Between classes I ate a Usana Oatmeal Raisin bar and changed clothes so that I wouldn’t be hungry and soaked during yoga. Seriously if you’ve never tried spinning, give it a try it might just change your life. One of my coworkers thanked me afterward for suggesting it.

I ate my oatmeal this morning and it kept be sustained for quite some time. Then a salad for lunch after a couple pieces of sourdough bread.

This afternoon I have begun experimenting with legumes. The other day my mom made some refried beans which were incredible, so I decided to try the recipe out. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Pinto beans are an incredible source of fiber and protein with brown rice, not to mention they are probably one of the cheapest products in a store.

I have had quite a few comments about my new vegan/vegetarian diet.

Here are a few reasons that I don’t want to eat meat or drink dairy products:
• The feed for the animals may include the following: soy, corn, other animals, which in itself are not bad, but being fed to animals that should be eating grass, seems pretty inhumane.
• Pesticides and other non-natural additives to food and the feed
• Being in a small pen probably means they don’t get much exercise. Similar to a cubicle (sorry but it had to be stated, if you get up and walk around during the day you’ll feel better) P.S. I’m not calling any of you livestock, just stating my thoughts and opinions.
• The animals may be very sick from eating the above and not exercising
• Milk from sick cows due to not eating grass? You can see why that wouldn’t be healthy
• Bacteria can easily be transmitted in slaughterhouses
• A lack of oversight and quality assurance in many industries(How can they possibly oversee all of the processes)
• Too many handling points between the small pens and the supermarket vendors
• Animal proteins being correlated with higher cases of cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes type I and II. In small doses, not many problems, but…
• The “western” diet is the root cause for most of the above diseases, and the very large consumption of animal proteins is the foundation of the “western” diet.

I understand that other foods have pesticides and additives, which is why I eat organic and locally grown food when available. This also cuts back on emissions due to shipping food thousands of miles.

I consider myself an herbivore with omnivore tendencies.

The refried beans came out really well. They take a few hours to cook, but well worth it. I served it with brown rice and thus ate a complete protein. If you’re interested in the recipe I can post it on one of the future postings.

I will be heading on my run in the next 5 or so minutes, and it should alleviate any stress that has been accumulated during my day of not really doing anything. Sorry to anybody that is stressed. My motto in life is along the lines of: “Why be stressed, it’s really not worth it”

Or you’ve heard of the saying “Don’t worry be happy.” I completely believe in this.

My bullet points took over this journal so I will leave stress to another days topic, soon though as it’s incredibly important to be aware of.

One thing that has become noticeable over the last few weeks is this, when I work out my mood increases like you wouldn’t believe.

Cherish today,

Ryan