Finding My Joy

Sorry I missed YouTube Tuesday and today is not going to be Wordless Wednesday (well if you really want something I can post it).

So yeah, look at that title. That's a lot right? Does it confuse you? Intrigue you? Does it make you want to learn more or does it just make you want to stop reading this blog right here and right now? Hopefully it's the former. I've decided to go healthy. And no, not healthy like I'm going to start a new diet. Not healthy like I'm trying to fit into a certain size or be a certain weight because that's socially preferable. I'm doing this because I respect my body.

After completing my first half marathon I was (and still am) in awe of what my body can do. And when you learn more about the human body, it really is amazing how it works. All of the intricate details, and performing exactly the right functions at exactly the right times. If you're listening to your body closely enough it will tell you what it needs when it needs it. Our bodies work for us all the time for every day of our lives. If there was someone in your life like that who worked for you all the time every day you wouldn't treat them badly would you? No!! You would treat them with love and respect, listening to their wants and desires and trying to give that to them. And that is exactly how we should be treating our bodies!!

I have a slightly obsessive personality when I find a topic that interests me. I scour the internet trying to find out every little possible detail I can (pros and cons, I try to be ultra-knowledgable). So for the last two weeks I have been learning about all of those diets up there: vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, and raw. Over the next couple days I will post more about what each of them means, but this is just an introduction post so you'll have to stay tuned. :) Here are some cookbooks I enjoy reading that explain the health benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet and the health risks of eating the things that vegetarians/vegans abstain from:

             They are all great! And I love all the color in Color Me Vegan, but I would say the one with the best and simplest recipes (to follow and procure the ingredients for) is The Happy Herbivore. But I feel like The Kind Diet does a really good job at explaining why you're doing your body the biggest favor when you switch to a plant-based diet.

There are also a couple documentaries I'm excited to watch. The first is called Forks over Knives and the second is called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Here are the trailers for them:

So inspirational! I am so excited to share with you what I've learned about these diets and how good they can be for you! Also, I can't wait to update you on how it's changing me and affecting me! As always I'd love to hear from any of you that read this blog.

I will continue posting on this site for about one more week but after that I will only be posting on my wordpress site: http://personalrevolutionfindingmyjoy.wordpress.com

You can email [email protected] or find me on twitter @findingmyjoy22.

So you know how we have Wordless Wednesdays? Well I've decided to start YouTube Tuesdays. So if you check back here every Tuesday there will be a new YouTube video waiting for you. Most of the videos will just be something I saw throughout the week that I find interesting and some will be movie trailers that I'm excited about (like the Winnie the Pooh one earlier) but occasionally I will put out my own video (very rarely). But I thought a good way to kick off the first YouTube Tuesday would be with one of my own and something that I have been promising for quite a while.

Do you remember a long time ago when I said I had something exciting that I was working on for this site? Well here it is! I put together a video of pictures and videos that I took during my semester abroad on Semester at Sea. We traveled on a ship from Canada to Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hawaii, and ended in San Diego. The video is too long to be in one segment on YouTube so I had to cut it up into 4 segments. It's about 26 minutes in total. This first part is the stuff I put together from my time in Canada, Spain, Morocco, and Ghana. Hope you enjoy!!

P.S. Turn down your volume a little bit. The beginning comes on kind of strong.

If you're interested in the music that was played during this video: (in order from beginning to end)

Come Sail Away--Styx

Canada--The Thermals

Hanuman--Rodrigo y Gabriela

Ya Rayah--Rachid Taha

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories. Hilarious. Can get a little annoying and over the top, but overall, nice ironic message.

I don't know if you are familiar with the "stumbleupon" application. It steals hours of my life from me. Well, my inability to control my stumbling steals hours of my life from me. I see that little "stumble!" button and have to know what site it's going to take me to next.

One of the sites it frequently takes me to is 8tracks.com. I usually end up on someone's mix for studying or chilling or the perfect rainy day music (never is) and for a long time I didn't pay any attention to the website. I would just stumble again. But then one day I just stopped and looked at it for a second and realized that I really don't know what it is.

                                   I know that people can create mixes and name them and submit them. I know that they promote it as "handcrafted internet radio" and you need an account to submit a mix (but not to listen to any). As I started looking into it I found out that it's much bigger than I thought. There is an iPhone app and everything. 

        And then another thing that amuses and fascinates me about this site is how weird some of the names are that people give their mixes. Looking on their website the three that pop out to me are "Let Your Face Explode Into Happiness", "Struttin' Music", "Is that you on the bus", and then there's one in the corner that really amuses me but I don't quite feel comfortable repeating those words on this site or really anywhere for that matter.

Happy Fourth of July everybody!! I hope you have enjoyed the long weekend with family and friends like I was able to do. Also, I hope you got to have some great barbecue like I did. There's nothing like spending a Saturday afternoon with friends and family by the pool and eating barbecue. It's just the best! And it feels like  the epitome of summertime.

Down below are videos from the fireworks show here in Nashville from last year. Hopefully I'll make it out tonight to see them but since I'm posting this in the morning I'm not able to share the ones from this year (maybe later? *fingers crossed*).

Here are some tips for getting the most out of this video:

1. Make sure you watch this full screen. You can even watch it in a dark room with your computer sitting on something above you if you really want to try to make it that authentic.

2. If you really want to get into it play patriotic music in the background like "God Bless America" or "Proud to Be an American" or the second half of "The Star Spangled Banner" (the really powerful part) or Martina McBride's "Independence Day". Just some suggestions.

Today we had church in the park (well the church I grew up in). And then there was a picnic afterwards because, well, I grew up Baptist.

 I don't really like to be outside, but doesn't it look like it was nice.

This doesn't have anything to do with any of my previous posts. This blog isn't really specialized, so if you're looking for a fitness blog or a cooking blog or a healthy lifestyle blog, that's not what this is. This is just a way for me to write about stuff that I find interesting (or like in the title, gives me joy). 

I am a political science major. I'm not the type of person to go to a political rally. I'm also not the type of person to check the box Republican or Democrat. I believe in researching the facts about situations and candidates and making the best informed decision for the time and forseeable future. Sometimes that's the Democrat, sometimes that's the Republican, and more often than not it's nobody that's running and you just either have to pick the lesser of two evils or not vote at all. And while I have no problem with people that choose not to vote for that reason, personally I would feel like I was doing a disservice to the many lives that were lost or changed in order for me to have the right to vote (however you could also argue that they fought to give you the same right to choose not to vote; like I said, I'm a poli sci major, we're tricky creatures. We tend to talk in circles because we try to be fair and think everything through from every angle). 

The video posted below is an interview with a man named Daniel Hannan. He is an MEP from Britain (Member of the European Parliament) and recently (meaning in the last three years) has become famous for his views on American politics. I did not do a lot of research into him before writing this post but I feel like there will be more to come, so stay tuned, or you can always look him up for yourself if you're curious enough. Mainly he speaks out against Americans letting their government become more socialized (like Europe) and losing the democratic ideals that the country was founded on; he warns against letting that happen and wrote a book on that subject and how to deal with it. The book is called The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America . Also he gives a speech about his new book here: Cato Online Blog. 

Daniel Hannan writes a blog for the newspaper The Telegraph if you'd like to follow it: 

 http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/author/danielhannan/

Here is an interview he did with The Heritage Foundation (an organization that focuses on conservative policy research and analysis). He talks about a lot of interesting things (especially about our President) that I feel like the American media just gloss over or ignore completely. 

              What is the Glycemic Index and why is it important to know about it?

                                           Not all carbohydrates are bad! Carbs differ from each other in composiiton and how they create different responses within our bodies. The Glycemic Index explains this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing foods that can be found in the lower range of the Glycemic Index, which only produce small fluctuations in your blood sugar and insulin levels, can help reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes--also, it can help sustain long-term weight loss!

                                          Here's a little bit about sugar...

                                                                                     (no, not that type of sugar)

Blood glucose levels: The blood glucose (sugar) level (a.k.a. plasma glucose level) is the amount of sugar in the blood. It is normally lowest in the morning and higher after meals. But, usually blood sugar levels stay within a narrow range throughout the whole day. The body's homeostatic mechanism is in charge of regulating your blood sugar levels. It does this by creating insulin in the pancreas and releasing it into the bloodstream when it realizes regulation is needed. You may be familiar with this term because it plays a very important part in the lives of people with diabetes. People with diabetes are unable to control their blood sugar levels without treatment. 

                    Why is it important to be aware of your blood sugar levels?

Well, if you have high blood sugar levels for too long, it can damage your small blood vessels. This damage can increase your risk of developing late-stage diabetes complications, which can include eye disease, kidney disease, nerve disease, and cardiovascular diseases. 

You can test your blood sugar levels with an at-home kit, but if you don't suffer from diabetes you really don't need to test them, just keep track of your diet. 

     What are the benefits to knowing about the Glycemic Index and arranging your diet around it?

                                        Well, having your diet consist mainly of foods that are high in the GI (Glycemix Index) can be harmful to your health. Low GI carbs slowly trickle glucose into your bloodstream keeping your energy levels balanced and making you feel full for longer in between meals. 

Also:

Low GI diets help people lose and manage weight

Low GI diets increase the body's sensitivity to insulin

Low GI carbs improve diabetes management

Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease

Low GI carbs improve blood cholesterol levels

Low GI carbs can help you manage the symptoms of PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: an imbalance in a female's sex hormones that may cause other serious diseases.)

Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer

Low GI carbs prolong physical endurance

High GI carbs help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise (so if you're going to eat them, try and get your work out in first)

                                      How can you switch to a Low GI diet

                                        Mainly all you need to do is look at your diet and make a couple switches. Switch high GI carbs for low GI carbs. Here are some examples:

Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley, and bran.

Use breads with wholegrains, stone-ground flour, or sour dough.

Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat. (sweet potatoes are ok though)

Enjoy all other types of fruits and vegetables.

Use Basmati or Doongara rice.

Enjoy pasta, noodles, and quinoa (keeping in mind the earlier comment about bread).

Eat plenty of salads and vegetables and try to use vinaigrette dressings when possible.

              Good websites to help with foods and how they scale on the GI:

http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm

http://www.formerfatguy.com/glycemic-index-of-foods.asp