nourish yourself: white bean & kale soup

http://nourishedkitchen.com/kale-and-white-bean-soup/#

learning to love yourself means learning to nourish yourself. making soup from scratch is a time honored tradition for "sharing the love". make time in your busy day to do something that's good for you, take a walk, breathe deep, really connect with someone, and make soup.

keep learning. embrace new experiences.

• Visit libraries and other community facilities – learn something new about cooking raw food, sprouting, walking, breathing or how to meditate.
• Try something you have always wanted to do but never actually done.
• Rediscover an old interest.
• Fix a bike, then ride it around the block a few times.
• learn an instrument, join a jam session, record song then post it online.
• Find and practice a new recipe for a food you know is good for you.
• Enhance your creativity - check out when art groups meet in your area.
• Join a book club or start one.
• Start learning another language then book a flight and speak it.
• Commit to learning to identify a new plant every day for a month.
• Learn to identify the various birds and bird calls in your garden.
• Join a zumba class or tai chi class – learn and be active at the same time!

5 ways to well-being

today i prepared a fresh mung bean and carrot salad for a friend for lunch, we then took a five mile walk and talked along the way about our goals for the future. we took turns being accountable to each other. we coached each other.
together we are resolved that the world can be a better place. and we know that we are the change that can make that happen. making change is difficult. i can be a struggle. it requires constant focus and readjustment. it is an uphill battle, but a worthy one. then one day you reach the top of the hill and you can begin to enjoy the process, it gets easier, more natural. one of the things i like about the journey i am on now is that i am learning so much. and what i am learning is important, not only to my survival and well-being, but can also be helpful to others and their survival and well-being. i found this video on well-being at new zealand mental health site. find out more here: http://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/page/1180-5-ways-to-wellbeing.
 

happiness

i have spent a great deal of time focusing on food and nutrition on this blog so far, and that is a good start. but as the intention of 50 POUNDS TO PASSION is to release the stuff of weight that holds us back to embrace the stuff which is the now. by eating right and staying in motion i will lose unwanted pounds, and that is good and natural. and as this process unfolds i need to also focus on my mind + spirit. keeping in balance is the way i choose to be.

ten pounds lighter!

well, i finally took off ten pounds of weight. just dropped off all of a sudden. and you know what? i feel ten pounds lighter! it's great. 'felt like i was wearing these things (see photo) all day long. to celebrate, i took a hike with my friends droodles and puma. unlike previous hikes, on this one i didn't lag behind or have to stop all the time. i just hiked along like a regular guy. felt great to be outside, breathing deep and sharing time with people who i care about. "hey, i lost ten pounds" i'd say to myself as i leaped over a rock or a little stream. and then i'd give myself a little affirmation by throwing my fist into the air and saying, "yes!".

swimming for fun and (weight-loss) profit

Now that I have a regular walking routine established, I am looking for ways to expand my exercise palette. Altho I have enjoyed swimming in the past, I have never found that extended work-out have resulted in weight loss. Upon my brother's recommendation to reposition it in my work-out schedule, I hopped in the pool today at the gym and was pleased to discover that all the walking and other exercise I have been doing has prepared me well for a swimming work-out. But, the question remains, can swimming help you lose weight?
I did some research and this is what I found:
There are some questions about how efficiently swimming burns calories. According to Tom Robergs, "Research done on swimming showed that weight loss seemed more difficult. The theory is that the water submersion initiates a complex [nerve pathway] to lower metabolic rate." And with a lower metabolic rate, the body uses fewer calories to maintain normal function. While Robergs says these explanations need further research, his associate Sarah Stratton says swimming can be a boon for weight loss -- if you follow the same principles as with any other exercise, and challenge yourself. For weight loss, Stratton recommends interval training, in which you push yourself hard for short spurts, and then drop back to a less-intense level of exercise. "If you don't do interval training, it's just as if you're doing a slow walk," Stratton says. Sue Nelson, aquatic program specialist for USA Swimming in Colorado Springs, Colo., has many success stories of obese clients who lost weight after they began working out in the water. One man was 500 pounds, had rheumatoid arthritis, and had to quit work because he couldn't get around.
"He went from a wheelchair to a walker to crutches to a cane to nothing by working out in the water," says Nelson. "He became one of my employees and lost over 250 pounds."

when did you stop dancing?

as i continue my zealous quest for health and balance in my life, i have discovered that some days i can grow weary. changing habits is, it turns out, takes a lot of energy. establishing new routines takes focus and commitment. that's why i was please when i came across this inspirational quote by gabrielle roth. it reminded me to enjoy the process and to make some of the new habits in my new world really fun ones. after all, all work and no play make jack a very dull boy.