yerba mate

I forgot to eat the other day..... again....

Food no longer occupies my every waking thought.

And neither does Blogging, or weight-loss.

So I must be getting better!

I was filling Trucky up with gas, and saw the obvious parallell.

Food is fuel! And nothing more. 

Except for what we make it.

Maybe we are making peace with food 

as a representation of making peace with our past 

or peace with our Selves.

Even Breatharians define themselves

by what they eat.... or don't eat. (link)

Thanks for the Comments and support on my 

(very true) efforts to cut back on caffeine.

I really did try, and I am still trying!

I'm holding my own at about 100mg a day.

Two cups of tea. No Monsters, no coffee, no guarana.

Certainly a substance as wonderful a Coffee 

was not meant to be abused. But enjoyed!

Anything can be taken to extremes, I guess.

Which is one thing we all know.

But it's all good, because we are learning alot!

Every day is maybe a good day if we learned something.

No - that's a really good day!

Enter: Yerba Mate

Something new to exploit discover!

This is a cup, by the way.☝☝☝☝

These are mugs and mega mugs.☟☟☟☟

Just saying!

Lots of people have switched out coffee for Yerba Mate.

(Pronounced Yer-ba Mah-tay)

Plus you get to drink from this really cool gourd.

And a metal straw, called a "bombilla."

There is an entire culture around it.

Put the loose tea in the gourd, pour in hot water,

and drink it through the straw.

Now honestly. How cool is that?

 

Celebrity guest shots for Yerba Mate

It has a smokey flavor. Kinda like a campfire, maybe.

Central Market only had the bags.

[Tsk tsk - go figure!]

I already ordered a gourd and bombilla!

The caffeine content of Yerba Mate is a topic of debate.

Some say it has a different kind of caffeine than coffee. (link)

Or is "mateine"  another name for caffeine? (link)

And all kinds of wonderful claims. 

Still, a cup comes in at around 50+ mg of "caffeine."

Just about the same as green tea - or a little more.

Still less caffeine than coffee.

Meh - I live in a great big ol' city.

So getting it is no problem.

It seems to be increasing in popularity.

So the trends make it easier to find.

This is the 2nd time I quit coffee.

First, during induction of Atkins.

Because the book said it helped.

About 4 weeks. And it did!

Caffeine is an Alkaloid.

Atkins is all about the Ketones.

Mutually exclusive, and diametrically opposed.

That's just my thinking.

And now, quitting the Energy Drinks

and only having decaff coffee.

Cutting back now, so I can still enjoy it later!

No more staying up all night blogging, I guess!

At least not for now. Maybe later. Maybe!

Regular green tea kinda makes me gag.

But it's a good base for protein drinks,

or a good mix with Rooibos tea.

And about the Visceral Fat? 

That's what started the whole thing.

I'll take a set of measurements later,

and see if my efforts made any difference at all.

We are almost at the one month mark!

☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Yerba Mate Videos are abundant on YouTube

if anyone is interested. Click any pic to watch a different video!

Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay, Uruguay,

Ecuador, and Chile - everyone is loving 

them some Yerba Mate!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

If you were here, 
I would make you a cup of Yerba Mate!
Hope you have a great week!

back to basics

Hands Up? Question?

Nope - it's Wheelchair Work Out 101...

Little old ladies in Nursing homes can do this....

They do it every day! Some use resistance bands.

They look forward to it - 

it's a right and a privilege to move like this

Now that so many of us are "old," 

the AARP groups are into it, too

A different era of fitness and fatness and beauty.

It's sweeping  Octogenarians off their feet!

Go, Twinkle Toes!

And thank you for being a friend!

Sitter-cise: move it or lose it!

Proves you can be healthy at many levels of fitness

Some people work out like their lives depend on it!

.........................................................

So if other people can stretch, I can stretch.

Wow - I don't even have to get up!

And now may I present my personal humble agenda:

Top Reasons For Not Working Out 

⧠ too busy

⧠ headache

⧠ didn't want to

⧠ I'll start next week

⧠ too hungry

⧠ afraid I might die if I tried

⧠ didn't want to get all sweaty

⧠ I'll start tomorrow

⧠ ________________

fill in the blank with the

Flavor Of The Day

Oh, and just a note before starting a

work out routine!

Always consult your health care professional

before you do anything. Anything at all.

But especially before working out.

And best of luck to you all.

I just want you to know -

We're all counting on you.

Having a good day? I hope so 

with all my beating heart.

all images from google: old people working out and wheelchair workouts

'cept for me snapping da glove. Cell phone adds the stars!

giving up on the hard way

Started drinking energy drinks last October

After a bout with Swine Flu.

Caught it from a patient.
(The flu, not the Monster!)

It was during my blogging break.

So no archives of the misery.

But I lost a ton of weight, 

so it would have made for a good story!

Well, I liked the Monsters alot.

I could thrive on it, actually. Yay!

I mixed Red Bull or Monster 

with protein powder, and it was Devine.

This is the real deal.

For a caffeine junkie.

Plus, I am a coffee drinker from way back.

From when I was 20 or so.... that's 30 years!

And then, there's Guarana, from Brazil (link)

1/2 a guarana in the morning and 1/2 at 4 pm.

Some days.  A Chemical "tea time."

What is tea time about, if not caffeine!? (link) 

How else did Earl Gray conquer the New World?

Night after night I lay awake in bed,

pondering the origins of the Universe....

Gave up drinking - too many calories.

Not worth it!

Gave up sugar and starch and lots of carbs.

Gave up being a slob.

Opted for the Fit Scene.

Gave up all the stupid shit stuff that got me to this place in life.

The stinking - thinking, and folly of my mid-life crisis.

Gave up being a snob!

Now-a-days, I would never argue with a dude, in a lodge,
in the Grand Canyon, who says I am too heavy to ride a mule.

Especially if I was. And I was.


I don't want to argue with anybody!
'Can't we all just get along?'
 To paraphrase Rodney King.

Gave up my religion - got it back, a wee little bit.

Even did my hair. And got some "girlie" yoga pants.

As in Spandex. And tops to match. As in "Yikes!"

Gave up my identity as a heavy person.

Gave up my long-cherished pseudo death wish.

Couldn't stand the pain. Turns out, I'm not Gothic enough.

In the past 20 months of blogging,

I have given up every single idea that I once cherished.

And really, to give up caffeine makes me feel a little deprived.

And by that, I mean "freaking cranky!"

A pie chart showing my use and tolerance of caffeine

Maybe to go from 600+ mg of caffeine 

a day - to nothing is just wrong. (Too much, I know.)

And I can't do it! Not all at once.

The All-Or-Nothing Craziness Strikes Again.

Maybe just to quit the Monsters is a good start.

And I have cut back to two cups of half decaff a day.

And a cup of sugar-free hot chocolate with a drop

of mint extract and a spoonful of  coconut oil.

Or sugar-free hot chocolate with a drop of cherry!

And take lots of B vitamins and ginseng that Monster has.

Maybe some Taurine.

There's an imaginary line into quitting something

that I can't cross. Or don't want to. Like weight-loss,

I think the real contest is between the ears.

And just an aside:

I didn't want to quit caffeine because I am sick.

I am not sick. It was an experiment to see if

caffeine and cortisol can influence visceral fat.

Those last few pesky pounds.

That, and the $$ I save will fund The Beatles

Anthology.... my weight-loss treat to myself!

Now available on iTunes.

So in that regard, I have been without Monsters for 

almost 3 weeks. Been on the decaff for 3 weeks.

Been off the guarana for a week.

And I drink green tea (yuk) and rooibos tea

and my little caffeine allotment.

About 75 -100 mg a day, tops.

It just seems so lonely and miserable 

when you are on the outside, 

looking in. Like Little Oliver Twist.

I'll be glad when this phase passes.

"Forget the gruel. Got any Java?"

Hope your day is warm and delightful

like a gourd full of Yerba Mate tea!

*Thanks, google-meister for the pic of the flat world with ships sailing off of it! 
And the beatles picture is a picture of a picture that I have.
All the other pics I took (or did) myself, as usual.*