02 Diet Support Group: Adventurers in a Nutritious Life

I have been so busy prepping for my 02 Diet Dinner Presentation which I held last night, that I have had very little time to blog! Thanks one and all who helped with and attended the presentation! It was great fun and GREAT FOOD! Almost everything was straight out of The 02 Diet book recipe section, the exceptions being the Grilled Asparagus with Toasted Coconut Orange Vinaigrette and the Dark Chocolate Covered Organic Strawberries (thank you, Dr. David Saber--awesome job on those!!!) I also poured Martin Ranch wines (JD Hurley Cabernet and MR Chardonnay), fantastic wines made by my good friends, Dan and Therese Martin.

There have been may people interested in the O2 Diet, but ... people need help making major lifestyle changes. In response to that need, I have decided to create an 02 Diet Support Group.  The initial group will be a 5 week meeting limited to 12 people. We will meet at my office on Thursdays from 6:30-7:45 pm from June 24 to July 22 (5 meetings to get people through at least 32 days on the 02 Diet). Included in the program will be at least one private consultation with me to review goals, biochemistry, special needs and concerns, etc.  Cost is $149 to include one 15 minute private consult, 5 group meetings, and online support to help deal with those sudden cravings. The group will be ongoing, and I will devise ways in which folks can continue to participate after the initial 5 week commitment. You can join the group before, during or after you start the 02 Diet!

If you are interested, you can call our clinic at 408-255-2592 or email me at DrStein@montavistafamilychiro.com.

Here's to us all living a healthier lifestyle!

Dinner Party with the O2 Diet

Our office has been busy busy putting together our very first dinner party featuring information on a fabulous antioxidant-eating lifestyle pioneered by the indomitable Keri Glassman as well as a buffet of food prepared from her book, The O2 Diet. We already have a waiting list for people who want to come. (See what free food will do??)

Our menu features:

• Beef Roll Up with Basil and Mozzarella
• Pomegranate Pecan Spinach Salad with Pomegranate Mint Dressing
• Black Eyed Peas with Lemon Artichoke Pesto
• Cheddar and Veggie Quiche
• Chicken Mole
• Grilled Asparagus
• Chocolate Covered Organic Strawberries

Refreshments include

• Martin Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon
• Martin Ranch Chardonnay
• Hibiscus Rooibos Tea
• Fresh Lemon Water

I can't wait to share my experiences with my patients and to eat all of the yummy food we make! We'll have pictures and stories to share soon!

Be happy, be healthy.

~Dr. Lisa

Another 4-Day Cleanse!

Well, after an indulgent weekend at the fabulous Tiburon Wine Festival on Sunday and a little party at home on Sunday, I have decided to do a 4 day cleanse!! I will return to Phase 3 after that. So I completed the first day of the cleanse today, and remarkably, I did not feel hungry as I did the first time I did the 4 day cleanse. I avoided the hunger pangs this go around by having the apple and cinnamon snack WITH the 8 pecans at 10 am and by having the large salad with protein at lunch, the artichokes at 4:30 pm and the steamed spinach, salmon and steamed asparagus at dinner with the berries afterward.

Typically the salad and meat and asparagus is eaten for dinner, but I needed more food at lunchtime to get through the afternoon, so I switched it around. Worked out very well for me.

Tomorrow I talk to Keri about the first O2 lecture I will be giving in my clinic on May 25. Plan to serve a bunch of the food and create a support group for anyone who wants to participate for 32 days! More on that later!!

Spine-Safe Boot Camp: Strength, Coordination, and Rehabilitation

We get asked frequently about the format of our Spine-Safe Boot Camp, so here it is:

• Gentle warm up
• 15 minutes upper or lower body
• 15 minutes core
• 15 minutes stretching

Then the next question is, "How do you get a good workout in 15 minutes?"

Easy. Closed-chain exercise.

Exercises can be categorized as open-chain or closed-chain. Open-chained exercises are things like bench presses or leg extensions, where your body is stationary and your hands/legs perform the movement. These exercises allow you to target specific muscle groups, but they also place an increased stress on specific joints.

Closed-chain exercises are the opposite, where your hands/feet are anchored and your body performs the movement, as in squats or pushups. There are many benefits to performing closed-chain exercises.

1. Many muscles strengthened at the same time
2. Force is distributed over many joints
3. Movements improve coordination between multiple muscle groups

Closed-chain exercise tends to be more intense, so beginners will shy away and spend all their time doing "safe" open-chain exercises on machines, which are less effective and take more time. There are ways to be safe with closed-chain exercises, which will increase your strength and coordination without using expensive gym equipment. Let us show you how!

Every Sunday, we have our Spine-Safe Boot Camp here at the office to instruct you on how you can perform these incredibly effective exercises safely.

• Cost: $20 for one or two people, so bring a workout buddy!
• Where: Here at Monta Vista Family Chiropractic
• When: Sundays at 1:00 PM
• What to bring: Water bottle, workout mat, towel, good spirits

Availability is limited to ensure personal attention, so call our office at 408-255-2592 to reserve your spot today!

Awesome Ancho rubbed Tilapia with AvoMango salsa, terrific Jicama Cabbage slaw and good and easy Chicken Mole: reviews of O2 Recipes

After watching my fabulous albeit cooking averse assistant, Alissa, get very enthusiastic about actually making the recipes in The O2 Diet (she loved the 4 day cleanse and decided to start eating some of the O2 foods), I decided to try a few more myself.

Today I made the Ancho rubbed Tilapia with Avocado Mango salsa. YUMMY! I also made the Cabbage Jicama slaw that accompanies the Ahi recipe. Both delicious and very easy. For dinner I made the Mole Chicken. Now I like my food SPICY HOT so I added some ancho chili powder. Instead of wasting my precious Scharfenberger bittersweet chocolate, I used a cocoa powder/chili powder blend. It was quite yummy and very easy to make. It is NOT the same as the Mole Chicken I have had all over Mexico, including Puebla where Mole is sold everywhere, each stand and restaurant better than the next. But it is quite good! I recommend it!

I'm going to plow through all of the recipes that appeal to me and serve my favorites at the first O2 Diet and Lifestyle lecture at my office on Tuesday May 25 at 7 pm.

Make sure to come for some yummy food and great information. Call the office in advance to let us know you are coming so I have enough chairs and food. You need not be a patient to attend!

408-255-2592

~ Dr. Lisa

Margaritas, Salsa, and Mangoes. YUM!!!

Spicy Blood Orange Margarita

• 1 oz silver tequila steeped in Thai chili peppers for 30 minutes
• 1 oz cointreau
• 1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 oz blood orange juice

shake this in ice, strain into glass

Tomatillo Salsa

• 5 tomatillos chopped
• 5 tomatillos halved
• 1 T lime juice
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 5 serrano chilis, finely chopped
• 1/4 red onion finely chopped
• 2 T cilantro, coarsely chopped

Puree the halved tomatillos with the lime juice

stir in the rest of the ingredients

Excellent with carnitas, grilled fish, with scrambled eggs, in tacos and burritos and stirred into plain yogurt with some chopped avocado!

Sticky Oats and Mango breakfast

This was inspired by some yummy Sticky Rice and Mango I had at the House of Siam in Morgan Hill. It is O2 safe!

Boil 1 c water with a dash of salt.

Stir in 1/3 cup oat bran cereal (or oatmeal) and cook until all water absorbed, about 3 minutes.

Spoon into bowl

Stir 1/2 tsp sweetened condensed milk into 1/3 c plain nonfat Greek yogurt (I prefer Oikos organic over Fage)

Top hot cereal with yogurt mixture

Chop 1/2 fresh mango and spoon on top of cereal and yogurt

Sprinkle with 1 T toasted coconut and 1-2 T chopped macadamia nuts or pecans

SUPER YUMMY!

Sitting Down to Meals and Premeasuring Snacks: THE Key?

Back down to 131 lbs from last week's gain to 132. I definitely like FEELING this light and lithe. I don't think I look particularly terrific with such a skinny little butt and saggy flat chest, but if it feels good, so be it.

I have been more conscious about pre-measuring my snacks and not just stuffing handful after handful of nuts into my face for the last few days. Missed a real sit down and eat lunch today opting for raw nuts and fruit instead. Somehow, that is never as satisfying as sitting down to a meal with animal protein and vegetables. Psychologically, that meal-type feeling is important. I don't feel so justified at just grazing away when I have my 3 meals and 3 snacks (midmorning, midafternoon and evening). I need that kind of structure and fulfillment to stay on track. I have recently spoken with several people for whom weight is a real concern and was very surprised to learn that they have the same thing in common: never eat breakfast or any real sit down meal, have very few vegetables and fruits, eat at their desks or while standing, etc, don't perceive that they eat many calories but just grab snacks when they are hungry. If they aren't eating many fruits or vegetables or "meals", then I can only imagine that what they are eating are quick trans fat laden carbs: America's favorite food source. Don't mean to sound holier than thou here, but I am rather surprised to learn how many people don't eat meals and don't cook for themselves! I think that this is a bad societal trend and may account for a large percentage of the overweight problem in the US.

So now for my confession: food log for 5/7/10:

1 piece organic 7 grain toast with 2 tsp almond butter and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp flaxseeds
1 cup oolong tea w 1/4 cup 1% milk
1 cup coffee w 1/4 cup 1% milk and 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 c strawberries
10 pecan halves

1 small red bell pepper
8 cherry tomatoes
3 oz salmon
2 c raw spinach

1 oz dark chocolate
2 c iced coffee
1/2 c 1% milk
1 tsp cinnamon

1 oz parmesan cheese
8 baby carrots
jicama
5 oz grilled chicken with tomatillo salsa and 1 tsp chipotle butter
1 small corn tortilla
grilled asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes
1/2 praline
2 1/2 glasses chardonnay

1 cup blueberries w 1 T whipped cream and 1/4 tsp cinnamon

ORAC 41,652

Working on identifying stressors and engaging in control behavior. I am pretty dang clear on why I am stressed but not so good about engaging in alternate behaviors to eating as a response to the stress. What I like to do is distract myself on websurfing or facebooking while nibbling. This usually happens at night when I get home from work and am tired. I am going to try something novel: go to sleep earlier. Like 9:30 pm! Cuz 9 pm is just NOT the time I want to clean a sock drawer, go for a walk or take a long bath. Too much effort after a long day that started at 5 am.

The other strategy is to read a book. I love to read. I don't need to snack while I read and it is a good escape to the underlying stress.

So I gained back some weight. Up to 132 from 129. I look fine, but it messed with my mind. I want to hang onto those low numbers, as if the numbers are important. Not sure why. I like the way I feel at this super light weight, and I like not having a puffy tummy for the first time ever, although my derriere is woefully flat. Anyway, it is very apparent that the reason that I gained some pounds was that I started nibbling unconsciously--did not pre-measure my snacks. I fully get that having my morning and afternoon snacks are required, not optional if I want to keep my evening meal in check, that alcohol lowers my inhibitions significantly enough to overeat or make poor choices and that if I don't premeasure my snacks, I keep nibbling and nibbling. Good lessons to learn.

I need to refocus on counting my ORAC points and logging my food.

Here goes today:

1 pc 7 grain toast
1 tbsp unsalted almond butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c nonfat milk

3/4 c nonfat milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 shots espresso

1 c coffee
2 T whipped cream
1/4 tsp cinnamon

10 pecan halves
1 red bell pepper

spinach salad w 1 T vinaigrette
10 cherry tomatoes
1/3 avocado
4 oz salmon

10 pecan halves
1/2 dark chocolate

4 oz salmon
1 c asparagus with 1 tsp oregano
1 c strawberries

Total ORAC pts 36,000