Nutrition, Vitamins, Chocolate

I bought Caltrate (calcium and vitamin D) as my physician ordered. I still need to buy an additional vitamin-D supplement too, but I lost the paper on which I wrote how much vitamin-D.

I am still testing on the border of iron level is low-normal and anemic. I'm eating crap that I shouldn't. Actually I am eating a lot of chocolate cake. I can buy a nice piece of chocolate cake at Dominick's or Portillo's. Yum, yum. I have to eat healthier for my own sake. My OWN sake. My OWN health because it's good for me. It's a way to tell myself that I LOVE myself. The problem is that I do not like to cook. Not only I don't like to cook, but when I do, it comes out gross.

Today I looked at the NAMI newsletter that appeared in my inbox a few days ago. It's an entire article about eating well. Here's the article I cut and pasted:

Let’s dish about diet Junky foods and depression go hand-in-hand, so eating better just might lead to feeling better by Lynn Santa Lucia [excerpt from Let’s dish about diet]

Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, said, ―Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.‖ That's not to say we can eat our way to mental health, but the opposite may be true: Recent findings suggest a connection between poor diet and depression. A five-year study of more than 3,000 middle-aged office workers in the United Kingdom and another looking at 1,046 Australian women came to similar conclusions: A diet rich in lean meat or fish, whole grains, fruits and vegetables was associated with a lower risk of depression or anxiety, while a junk-food diet—loaded with processed foods, sugary treats and saturated fats—correlated to higher rates of reported depression. Researchers are quick to caution that depression may lead to poor food choices rather than the other way around. Nor is diet alone a reliable way to treat depression. ―It’s difficult to make food recommendations in the case of depression and affective disorders because there are so many different underlying patterns that can be involved with these diagnoses,‖ says Simon N. Young, PhD, a psychiatry professor at Montreal’s McGill University whose research focuses on how diet affects brain function. ―Control of mood is not mediated just by one substance.‖ While there is no prescription for ―magic foods,‖ it can’t hurt to make healthier food choices day in and day out. ―I notice that if I eat too much unhealthy food in a given day, I don't feel good emotionally,‖ says Randi H., 58, of Daly City, California, who was diagnosed with depression in 1994. ―It takes very little change in diet or exercise, in a positive or in a negative way, to have an impact on my mood. ―Knowing that is a good thing,‖ she adds. ―It means it will take very little effort to make me feel good, and that I'm in control of that and it’s a choice I make every day.‖

Vitamins

My doctor took a blood test for Vitamin D levels, and the results show that I am highly deficient in Vitamin D. I'll be stopping by my local Walgreen's and getting some specific supplements per his instructions. I know I am eating a crappy diet. It's so easy to fall into the convenience of eating crap. Today I will make an effort to eat a fruit or vegetable. Change starts with baby steps.


I keep telling myself that I'll cook nutritious and wholesome meals once I have the kitchen of my dreams, but I know that is a stupid excuse.

Someday

I determined a look for this blog. Maybe I'll change the look seasonally. I don't know.

Good news: the air is warm today proving that someday spring will be here! 

You probably think I'm a weather girl because that's what I've been talking about here.

Library computer is kicking me off right now, but I'm not taking it personally.

Surprise Gifts & Bright Spots

Hi. I still have big problems in life, but it's the little bright spots that keep me going. For instance, I ordered something from etsy.com from a woman in a foreign country. When my package arrived, I found some surprises inside. Not only did she include the item I ordered, but she included another item for free, a necklace, and a book. Those items were gifts from her to me. She doesn't even know me, but felt like giving me some gifts. I was thrilled and quickly e-mailed her a big thank you.

Look for surprise gifts and appreciate them no matter how small they are.

What small (or big) surprise gifts have you received lately?

Lita

Happiness is a Warm Puppy by Charles Schulz

If you don't have this Peanuts bookor a warm puppy of your own to cuddle, scroll down. I've added the Daily Puppy gadget for your viewing pleasure.

Cuddle, cuddle. Huggy, huggy puppy.

The Sun is Out

Sure, it's very, very cold, but the sun came out. It always comes out eventually. The amount of energy I feel today is probably doubled compared to yesterday. The REAL sun is out, not the fake sun of my special lamp. Note to self: research whether or not I'm sitting in front of my sun lamp long enough.


Today my doctor ordered a blood test to see if I am deficient in Vitamin D. He said most people are who live in this part of world. I live in Illinois, and the windows are GRAY. I have to remember to take care of my physical health. Physical health plays a large part in my mental health.

Remembering the Blue Sky

It's another dreary sky here in the Midwest. I must, must remember that on the other side of the clouds is a blue sky, and the sun is shining. The sun is always there, but hard to see because of the heavy gray, gray clouds.