Know-It-All Syndrome

I have found the BLC group that I am in to be an amazing resource with my brand new open mind that I just unlocked after years of a horrible case of "Know-It-All Syndrome".  

Know-It-All Syndrome is a horrible condition where a person self inflicts their pride as a barrier to any incoming new knowledge.  With the technology advancements these days and how readily available new or alternate ideas can be via hundreds of cable channels, internet and mobile coupled with social networking, cases of "Know-It-All Syndrome" are at their all time high and very hard to reverse.  Most often the subject has no idea they are even inflicted with the condition but they are depleting all of their resources trying to keep their mind closed on all of their previous thoughts and ideas.  It is very sad to watch those who suffer with it day in and day out and I consider myself very fortunate to be cured for good.

I am so doing this!

Ugly Fruit

I have made a commitment to try new fruits and vegetables. Those memories form childhood over horrible, slimy, canned vegetables is rooted (haha funny pun) deep on our brains and it takes a bit to get past those aversions.

One benefit has been I am so happy to have such a robust internet at my disposal during this weigh loss journey. There are tips for success, stories of failure, inspiring before and after photos, video workouts by professionals and amatuers alike, recipes from all over the world and more!

When it comes to the vegetables I generally search on recipes that contain ingredients that I like along with a new vegetable choice. That way I can prepare it with flavors that I like and appreciate and that makes trying new things so much easier.

I had the opportunity to try Romanesco when we went home to visit. My brother is a produce dealer and he obtained this special treat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesco_broccoli

Romanesco. Prepared: Steamed. Texture: Cauliflower. Taste: Imagine 3 cauliflower florets and 1 broccoli floret in your mouth at the same time. I would definitely have it again. =)

I was recently was at the grocery store and saw the Ugly fruit. Although expensive, I wanted to at least try one - the name alone made me chuckle. If you are unaware, It is the size of a huge grapefruit and looks like it is rotting inside by its shape.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugli_fruit

The "directions" sticker instructed me to cut it in half and treat it like a grapefruit. Ok, I remember my mother eating grapefruit when I was growing up.. that means taking a paring knife around the outside edge between the flesh (juicy part)" and the rind and then cut between each section. Use a pointed spoon to scoop the flesh out.

From Wikipedia: The taste is often described as more sour than an orange and less bitter than a tangerine, however, and is more commonly guessed to be a lemon-tangerine hybrid.

I would further the above description as less citrus tasting than an orange, and more bland than a tangerine. The most MILD lemon taste ever if it could even be compared to the taste of lemon. I wouldn't consider eating it like an orange - although the inside is very very juicy, the outside of each wedge is tough and fibrous, and I am not a "pulp" texture or flavor fan. =)

Try one if you haven't - exploring new foods is fun. =)

Stretching: Shin Splints

This post has REALLY helped me. So I wanted to put the contents here so I can access it, and it is available to anyone who is reading these now or later. =)  It was compiled by one of my BLC group members.

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I'm an athletic trainer and work with athletes all the time that have shin splints. I have several suggestions.

1. It is extremely important to stretch your calf muscles. You have 2 major muscles in your calf. If you don't stretch both of them prior to exercise you WILL get shin splints.

a. The first stretch is for the gastrocnemius muscle. Standing on a stair with your heels
hanging off the stair. Keep your legs straight and relax your feet. Let your heels drop off the step. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat.

b. The second stretch is for the soleus muscle. Repeat the steps as above, but this time rather than keeping your legs straight, unlock your knees. Again hold for 30 seconds and repeat.

NOTE: Not all your muscle fibers go in a straight line so I always recommend adding angles...repeat the above two stretches, but, rotate your toes towards each other and repeat rotating toes away from each other. These are a little awkward, but the work.

2. ALWAYS ice your shins for 20 minutes following activites/workout.

3. You can try icing your shins before exercise for 20 minutes, too.

4. Are you wearing old shoes? Shoes wear out on the inside faster than they do on the outside. If you don't have relatively new shoes, you may want to invest in a new pair.

5. Do you have appropriate arch support? Many of us lack the support we really need in our arches and it manifests itself by giving us shin pain.

I would start here and see if you notice a change. Don't expect quick results. It takes a LONG LONG time for this to completely go away. However, the more often you are able to stretch the quicker you may feel some results. Also, you may want to massage the front muscle...if I remember that one is the anterior tibialis. (You may want to google them to better understand.)

Good luck!