Pursuits of Perfection with the WLC

Last night I struggled to sleep.  I am doing the Whole Life Challengeand one component of my challenge is to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.  At 10PM yesterday, I panicked. I needed to get to bed by 10:10PM so I could wake up at 5:10 in the morning to make it to my spinning class.  And then I remembered I needed to soak the overnight oats! I ran downstairs, prepared the almond milk, banana, dates and sunflower seed butter blend, placed the oats in a bowl and ran back upstairs.  10:08PM.  Good.  I proceeded to turn off the lights. And then sleep wouldn't come to me. It wouldn't envelope my body the way it does for my husband every night.  I begged it to come, closed my eyes, talked to it, but it just wouldn't listen to me.  It was now 10:30 PM and I was going to miss my target and lose 5 points.  Anxiety took over my body.  I am generally an anxious sleeper especially when I have to wake up early for an exercise class or for work, but now, the Whole Life Challenge was causing me stress.  And thus started the night of restless sleeping and 5:10 AM could not come any sooner.

In my quest to maximize my points and achieve "perfection" in my daily score count, I missed the entire point of trying to achieve 7 hours of sleep a night: to feel rested, calm and rejuvenated for the next day.  The point of the Whole Life Challenge is to make changes to your habits such that you feel better all-around.  Also in my haste to sleep, I had dispensed with my nightly routine of watching a little TV to decompress from the day and reading a book before I turn off the lights.  Tonight will be different.  As long as I feel rested, calm and rejuvenated in the morning, the number of hours I sleep should be secondary.  At least that's what I need to keep telling myself when I lose the next 5 points!  Zzzzzzzzzz......

WLC Warriors

Tomorrow, January 20, 2018, I will begin the Whole Life Challenge (WLC)- six weeks of trying to eat clean, sleep, hydrate, exercise, stretch and be mindful of various behaviors.  I completed a WLC at the end of last year with varying results.  This time, I hope to be more strict with myself, to hold myself to a higher standard and to truly challenge myself.  What I like about the WLC is that it truly encompasses your entire life- from morning to night, the different habits that you exhibit during the day.  Each category, of which there are seven. earns you 5 points. Some categories are all or nothing (for water/hydration, did you drink the minimum ounces of water that you were supposed to? if yes, you get all 5 points.  If no, then you get 0 points).  Other categories are on a scale, like nutrition for example.  You start out with 5 points for nutrition, and depending on the level you have chosen at the outset of the WLC (kickstart, lifestyle or performance), you deduct 1 point for each serving of non-compliant food consumed for your particular level.

This time around, I have selected the vegetarian lifestyle level that means no dairy except for yogurt, kefir and butter, no grains except for rice and corn tortillas, no sugar except for naturally occurring sweeteners, and limited quantities of legumes and nuts.  Oh and 1 glass of spirits or wine allowed per week!  I hope to strictly adhere to this food/beverage list this time around (last time I would have frequent "cheat" days or meals.  The last time I attempted the WLC, I found nutrition to be the hardest category to maintain especially on those days that I ate out at restaurants or attended an event.

Which brings me to my conundrum.  While I want to adhere to the food list and follow the WLC as much as possible, I don't want to be one of those people who makes a fuss when going out and have to restrain myself from the yummy non-compliant foods (bread basket anyone?) while the rest of the table happily indulges in these treats. And we all know that having that person at their table somehow reduces your own joy in eating the said non-compliant food. I have had friends who have shunned social activities both professional and personal during their times of intense dieting/food restriction so as to not be that annoying person. I don't see this as a sustainable way of living and being the social person I am, the six weeks of the WLC would be absolutely miserable if I couldn't see my friends or go out!  I had a trainer last year who suggested that you just don't make a big deal about it. You don't announce you are on any type of diet to the table or are restricting certain types of foods.  You order what you can eat without bringing much attention to what you are doing.  And by operating under the radar, you can hopefully still enjoy company while dining out or attending an event.  So this is the approach I am going to take and if you find dining with me annoying, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be "that" person!

If you are interested in joining our team, we are the WLC Warriors- click this link:  http://www.whole.lc/wlc1801/t/wlc-warriors-52344b8b-7b71-40c0-8661-9dcf54118a8a/join

And wish me luck!  It is going to take much willpower to complete the WLC!

Enjoying Eating "Dirty" Again

For the past year, there have been many posts about "Clean Eating". While the phrase began as a movement to reduce the amount of processed food consumed, unfortunately "clean eating" now signifies much more.  Clean eating has become a fad diet - gluten-free this to almond-milk that- chia pudding to coconut oil-infused veggies, the whole thing is starting to smell quite rotten to me.  This morning I read a NYTimes articlethat articulated exactly what I have been thinking for some time now.

I've been thinking a lot about food and my relationship with food because I am finishing an 8-week attempt at the Whole Life Challenge (WLC). What NOT to eat has been weighing heavily on my mind.  As part of the 7 "daily habits". the daily habit of nutrition is perhaps one of the hardest for me to control. On the WLC, you can choose which nutrition regimen to follow based on how strict you want to control your diet. For my first WLC, I chose the middle of the road nutrition plan called "Lifestyle" and have been trying to stay compliant with the foods on the list.  These past eight weeks have been consumed by monitoring wheat, soy, dairy, and sugar consumption among other foods. To say it has been difficult would be an understatement. And as a vegetarian, these specific non-compliant foods are especially hard to curtail in a country where the meat substitute is often tofu and the fallback dishes when dining out are mostly carbohydrates covered with cheese. And never mind the hidden sugar in almost everything.

What I have realized over these past few weeks and what this article helped me articulate is that I have been approaching this diet and my food consumption for the past eight weeks (and past few years for that matter) with absolute fear. As I sneaked a peanut butter cup from my kids' Halloween stash this past Sunday after they went to bed, instead of enjoying it, every bite was filled with guilt. As I accounted for my score on WLC every night, I realized that all my reflections were more or less about how I failed in the nutrition category- by consuming forbidden or non-compliant foods. The constant analysis of what I was eating, how many points each transgression costed me, and the effects on the scale, all meant that I have not lost any weight AND felt miserable about food all the time.  And that doesn't sound right or healthy to me.

Food is so much more than just its ingredients (and calories).  Reading this article today, I was reminded of the good qualities of food: that eating food can be pleasurable, satisfying and nourishing. It shouldn't be met with fear of eating this or not eating that.  Food is the center of most celebrations, events, holidays and special occasions for a reason- food unites people and brings people together.  Food has the ability to transport people back in time and let one experience a moment again. Food is powerful and should itself be celebrated, not feared.

In my family, food is super important. My mother is the most amazing cook I know and her cooking has marked most of the special occasions of my childhood.  Her Thanksgiving feasts were simply that, pure feasts of the imagination. And because I grew up in my mother's house with food central to our family, food continues to be the ruler by which I measure my life's moments.  I can still remember an amazing brunch of local cheeses, jams and bread in Germany I had with my college roommates while backpacking through Europe more than 16 years ago.  I can vividly see (and taste) the dinner that was created for my then-new fiance and me upon our engagement more than 11 years ago. I can experience the dinner that celebrated my brother's graduation from his PhD program that was met with much happiness and laughter.  I can still taste the warming, and very pungent, foods my mother gave me upon the birth of my daughter to increase my milk supply. While it was the food that features quite prominently in these memories, the main star was the food's ability to bring people whom I love together and for creating moments of deep connection.  I wouldn't trade any of these meals for the gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, sugar-free quinoa crap that I found myself eating last week alone in my office.

So what does this all mean?  As I end the WLC this week and approach the holidays, for me, I will take from "clean eating" what it was meant to be initially- to try to eat pure ingredients, food how it was meant to be eaten before Big Food manufacturers started spraying everything with chemicals or re-configuring ingredients for taste or longevity.  But that's where I will leave clean eating and any "fear" of my food.  I will rejoice in the qualities of food that are good, nourishing and bring people together, and enjoy the upcoming holidays, even if it means eating "dirty". And when I am in Paris in a few weeks, you can be sure to find me at the local patisserie, indulging, and finally enjoying, that chocolate croissant.

Who were you BC (Before Children)? (Plus some Montreal recs)

Happy Self

Last Thursday was my son's last of school. We packed up my son and daughter that evening and sent them with my parents to CT to begin their summer holidays. Kishore and I are without our children for a whole week! That's seven days that we have completely to ourselves and we are milking every minute of it. Along with most parents I know, we are usually in the throes of logistics from making lunches to worrying about dinner, from making sure the kids are properly clothed and sunscreened to ensuring that the children are trying a diversity of activities, let alone being responsible for the children's emotional and moral well-being. Simply put, it's exhausting. So we bid goodbye to our beloved children, put on our shoes, went for a walk through the neighborhood and grabbed a drink at the Charles Hotel. We continued our respite with an escape to Montreal for the weekend, rekindling our connection with each other as well as rediscovering parts of ourselves.

We arrived in Montreal on Friday afternoon and began our love affair with all things Montreal. This was our fourth time in Montreal but the last two had been with the kids. It's amazing how quickly we were able to maneuver through the city, how much we were able to see and do and how different of an experience it was for us. We stayed at a modern, boutique hotel on the edge of Old Montreal called Hotel Gault. From the high ceilings to the well-appointed rooms, we began our rendezvous in style.

Around the corner from our hotel was one of the best restaurants I have ever been to- olive+gourmando. What a treat! We literally ate there every day of our trip. From the presentation of the food to the use of local ingredients, it was pure heaven. We indulged our taste buds with fresh breads, tartines with homemade ricotta, seasonal fruits and vegetables, egg and cheese sandwiches with sriracha sauce!... I could go on and on and my descriptions are not doing justice to the quality and taste of the food (see the picture below). On Friday night, we were directed to Lov- a vegetarian restaurant. This place was chic and hip (the crowd was too!) and unlike any vegetarian restaurant I have ever been to. What was nice was that the fare was not just fake meats presented in conventional ways. From quinoa fritters (using jack fruit as a main ingredient!) to sriracha fries to sweet potato gnocchi we thoroughly enjoyed our vegetarian meal.

On Saturday morning, we deliciously slept in until 10AM! That never happens with our children. We rented bikes through Montreal's bike-share program called BIXI and biked around the islands, culminating in a visit to the Biosphère. Montreal has done an exquisite job of creating bike paths around the canals and the islands; there were many locals who were also riding on these paths. It made seeing the city fun and exciting. We had crepes for a late-lunch and then meandered through the streets of Old Montreal. After a short rest at the

Hotel Gault

Sunday was another great day of fun. After another brunch at olive+gourmando (yes, it really is that good), we went on bike ride up Lachine Canal. After eating a quick lunch, we left Montreal to make it to Gillette Stadium to see one of our favorite bands play, U2, and their Joshua Tree Tour. We remarked at how facile movement can be sans children including a 6 hour road trip. While we thoroughly indulged over the weekend, we did miss our children and spoke of them, and to them, often. We remarked on what we would like to show the kids upon our next visit to Montreal and took videos of the U2 concert in hopes of cultivating another generation of fans.

This much-needed respite enabled me to not only connect with Kishore but also to reclaim parts of myself that existed BC. I was reminded that I love traveling and discovering new places. I love meeting new people and experiencing new things. I love good food and conversation with wine as an accompaniment, of course. I love comfortable walking shoes. I love window shopping, crowds and people-watching. I love dressing effortlessly chic. In unearthing these parts of myself that have been buried by Pokémon, caution, stuffed animals and responsibility, I felt happy, light, and liberated. I felt alive.

I vowed after this trip to bridge more of my BC-self with my AC (After Children)-self. I vowed to let the kids see more of this side of me- the woman who loves discovering and exploring new things, who enjoys finding herself amid the different, who is light and carefree, who loves to explore on foot or bike, who wants to just be. My hope is that exposing my children to this side of me will also help influence them to be and seek who they are, encourage discovery and exploration and foster a love of traveling similar to Kishore and me.

Who were you BC? Have you been able to bridge your BC-self with your AC-self? How?

PS- Thanks to my parents for watching the kids! We are so fortunate to have you in our lives.

Sushi Momo.

Amazing vegetarian sushi

Weekend Traditions- The Feast

Last year during a snowstorm, I assembled the items that I had on hand and made a hodgepodge brunch. It turned out to be a combination of my favorite breakfast items. My kids savored their favorite cheeses and fruits and the adults indulged in avocado, eggs and tomato. Best of all, because we were cooped up in the house, we had a lovely meal complete with laughter and smiles. We ended up having a similar brunch the following weekend during which time my son coined the brunch we were eating as "The Feast".  And what an appropriate name that was!

The idea for this spread originated from my time backpacking through Europe after graduating from college. We had stopped at a friend's place in Germany and woke up to the most glorious spread I could remember at the time. Our German friend's mother placed fresh cheeses, jams, veggies (and meat but I don't remember that part as much!) on a board and served it with fresh bread procured from the local market that morning. I was in heaven. Years later, I suppose what I was trying to do during that snowstorm was to bring some of that warmth from that memory to my house in Cambridge.

During the week, Kishore and I scramble and rush to get my son to the bus stop and my daughter to preschool so we do not have the time or luxury to sit and enjoy breakfast as a family. The Feast has come to symbolize leisure, family, grazing and reflection. We talk about our weeks, share funny stories and take the time to appreciate good quality food.

Now that The Feast has become our weekend tradition, I can prepare and shop for The Feast in advance. I try to group the items by food groups and color. I usually have at least two fruits, two vegetables, 2 proteins (cheese and eggs), whatever spreads I have on hand (a fig spread and honey are default) and the anchor of the board, a sliced French baguette. I purchase fresh, local products when possible and try to include an item that is different so the kids can experiment with tastes and textures.

I love that The Feast developed organically.  We indulge in The Feast every few weeks and each time that we do, I am beyond grateful for my family and the food on my table. How do you celebrate the weekend?  What weekend traditions do you have?  Have a great weekend!