Day Three – Engine 2 Diet

Resisting temptation is difficult for me; I have no will power. I stared at a friend’s French fries last night for 30 minutes trying to will them into my mouth.  I was even offered some and didn’t bite. Go me.

The first two days of eating a healthy plant-based diet were not as hard as I was thinking they’d be, mostly because we’re already vegetarian so dairy was mostly all that we needed to cut out. There was one regrettable instance involving vegan macaroni and “cheese” that didn’t turn out so well. We live and we learn.

The tricky part about this nutritional adventure isn’t so much the vegan aspect, it’s the health aspect. One major objective is to severely restrict the number of processed and refined foods one eats. Why? Because they’re bad for you! It’s whole foods or bust. So, not eating food like white bread, white rice and white flour is very hard, especially ’cause all three taste really good.

We’re moving forward in baby steps though. We’ve bought brown rice and whole grain breads. We’ve bought plenty of fruits and vegetables. One thing we haven’t done as well as we should have is prepare. The Engine 2 Diet stresses preparation as a strategy to avoid failure. This is some of the best advice in the book.

It’s been a busy week but with our newly purchased rice cooker and vegetable steamer, investing a few hours every weekend to making base foods (like brown rice) will help weekday meal preparation much easier.

Day Three, here we come.

Engine 2 Diet

The wife and I put a dent in the savings account with our trip to Whole Foods today. Wowza. We stocked up on the must-haves for the Engine 2 Diet, which we’re starting Monday morning. More on the Engine 2 Diet can be found here: Engine 2 Diet, and here: Engine 2 Academy.

The Engine 2 Diet isn’t so much a “diet” in the traditional sense but more a new way of looking at nutrition (and fitness). The program’s claim is this: Lose weight, lower cholesterol, significantly reduce the risk of disease, and become physically fit—in just 4 weeks. Tall order, no? Yes, but if you read the book you’ll see how it can be done.

One of the great aspects of the book and the aforementioned websites is the practical nature of the instructions and the tools they both provide. My wife and I both just want to be healthier, and hopefully this will take us at least part way to that end. My primary goal is to get my cholesterol down – it’s quite high – and hopefully I’ll be able to lose a few pounds while I’m at it. I’ll try to post updates are frequently as I can. Wish us luck!

“Super” Centers

I spent some time in a “super” center today. You know what I’m talking about – a warehouse the size of a city block that offers everything you could ever want except automobiles and health care. From an efficiency standpoint, I understand the attraction. These behemoths offer one-stop shopping. Need underwear? Check. Need Bananas? Check. Hell, I could see the bananas from the underwear section. Yikes.

So what’ s the problem? I suppose it’s that these stores are very imposing and poorly integrated into communities. They’re surrounded by massive, non-porous parking lots. Yes, I know, how else are people going to get everything they’re buying home if not in their automobiles . . .

What if these things were built underground instead of on land? While the battle of massive chain stores versus independent retailers wouldn’t be resolved, at least society would benefit from a planning perspective. Could you imagine acres of housing and community space existing above a one-stop shop? Man alive that would be great. Just hit “S” on the elevator and the door would open into the store; carry your supplies upstairs in reusable bags and you’re set. When you’ve finished changing underwear or eating bananas then you could go outside into a community park and walk the dog or catch up with neighbors.

I dream of places that do not yet exist. Nothing practical stands between my imagination and reality but the unwillingness of people to change and adapt. Let’s take these closed car dealerships and factories and turn them into vibrant, environmentally-friendly miniature cities. Let’s start tomorrow.

Intergalactic Energy Battle

While there are not a plethora of lessons to be learned from Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, there is one in particular of which to take note. Amid the some of the best CGI ever seen and the slow-motion-hotness of the ever ungrateful Megan Fox (and regular-motion-perhaps-even-greater-hotness of coed Isabel Lucas) looms a battle for Energon, the source of life for the Transformers. Seems like even robots will kill each other for juice. Moral takeaways be damned, the movie rocked!

The charcoal-colored array of bad robots are a who’s who of oil and coal barons, destroying everything in their paths to accomplish their mission. Success seems inevitable for them until the good guys are helped by the T. Boone Pickens of Transformers. I’m not sure if the writers intended for the plot to mimic our own human struggles but nonetheless, the parallel is there. While an intergalactic energy battle hasn’t presented itself on earth (yet), we must not forget that even fiction is born from truth. We are tearing apart this planet searching for and protecting non-renewable energy sources. Instead, we should be investing even more resources in harnessing sustainable ones.

Progress is being made, and while I’m an admittedly impatient man, it is slow. The United States is filled with so many ignorant minions of the murderous Decepticons that the mind boggles. In the film, the evil Transformers destroy suns to harness energy. Funnily enough, our sun is giving us its energy for free and we refuse to take it. Stupid us.

Old Laptop – RIP

RIP: Recycled in Peace. I battled the sweltering heat over lunch today and dropped my brother’s old laptop off at a temporary electronics recycling center downtown. The heat index at time of disposition was exactly 100 degrees according to The Weather Channel. The “center” is very temporary, as you can see in the photo below, and is only being operated today. But, there are other drop-off days scheduled around town.WITS Recycling - 2009.06.24

Today’s effort is being operated by a local group called WITS, which stands for Web Innovation and Technology Services. Sounds like a Silicon Valley start-up, no? Well, it’s actually far more than that. WITS’ mission is:

We recycle/refurbish electronic/computers and surplus equipment from local/national businesses and residents by fixing or replacing what may be broken and putting it back into the community for educational use. 

This keeps the used equipment out of the landfills, and provides those in need with the technology to accomplish their educational/career goals.

We also offer training in many areas for students of all ages and capabilities for internships and resume experiences and the chance to teach their skills to other students with hands-on experiences.

Anything that WITS cannot reuse is recycled appropriately at our recycling facility. WITS has a 0% landfill policy which has been able to be followed since we began recycling.

Funny thing is that the brochure I was handed at the drop-off location has a few other “mission” statement-type passages on it. Three of them caught my eye:

  1. “Building communities by bridging the digital divide.”
  2. “Providing innovative no/low-cost high-level technology training and free computers to low-income and underserved populations, while recycling safely to save landfills.”
  3. “By reusing redundant and obsolete technology, we are able to create training and re-use opportunities for underserved and low-income population and non-profits. By appropriately recycling and demanufacturing at our facility, we can create value for business, residents and the environment.”

Yes, the mission is a bit cumbersome, but the group’s tag line sums up their efforts quite nicely: “Building Communities through Reuse, Recycling and Education”. Can’t beat that.

We often forget that technology often has an impact on more than just our physical environment. Computers reduce paper usage but also use tremendous amounts of power. Socially, technology can help the disenfranchised catch up to rest of society but it can also increase the gap in ability, knowledge and opportunity at a breathtaking pace; consider how much technology is integrated into everything you do and how your ability to understand and use the technology evolved over years of access and practice. How can someone without that same exposure be expected to compete?

WITS is not going to solve this problem by itself, but the efforts being made by the organization are hopeful. Remember, you can either take your old computer and throw it in the trash, leaving plastic and a whole host of toxic chemicals to interact with Mother Nature. Or, you can recycle your old electronics at a place like WITS, knowing that your garbage will not only reduce your impact on the environment but also expose underserved populations to technology, give them work, and help create a more equal society. It’s your choice.

A Life Including Service

Today is one of those days that reinforces why I volunteer and selfishly, the satisfaction I get from doing so. I waver almost daily on how much involvement I want to have in my community. There are days I just want to hole up and not deal with the struggle of trying to make things better. This is America after all. I eat what I kill and if the system is unfair, too bad. Fortunately I don’t rest on that attitude for long. My “whatever” thinking is generally fleeting.  This is America after all. I can make a difference - little ol’ me.

This line of thinking reminds me of an episode of Friends in which Joey and Phoebe are debating whether or not there is such a thing as a selfless good deed. My thought is that there are, but they are fewer and further between than most people would like to believe. I’m fairly certain I’ve never committed a selfless good deed because helping others and volunteering makes me feel good, even when I receive nothing tangible in return, as was the case today. I’m not sure I’d do what I do if I didn’t get something out of it.

This morning was the bimonthly board meeting of an organization with which I’m involved called St. Louis Artworks. I’ve been a board member about a year and a half, and while I haven’t contributed as much as I’d have liked to, I’ve been able to influence the direction of the organization in a positive way . . . at least that’s what I’ve been led to believe. Today’s board meeting was different from most because it was the most connected to the actual inner workings – the employment of youth in artistic disciplines – of the group since I joined the board. After the board meeting the members were given an informal tour of three of the disciplines being taught this summer – ceramics, printmaking and sculpture. Each discipline is staffed with some good kids.

While there are exceptions, most of the students who participate live in the City of St. Louis, are African American and come from low to moderate income households.  A few months ago I had the opportunity to interview these students for admission into the program. Today I got to see those who were selected hard at work. The most amazing part of what I saw this morning is that some of these students are finally in an environment that allows them to thrive, or at least be enlightened to subjects they would never know about were it not for this program. Their minds are opened and hope is permitted to build inside of them.

One such young gentlemen came up to me today and introduced himself the second I walked into the room. He took me on a tour of the room and showed me what his group was working on. He was courteous and professional. This student was one of the more outgoing of the bunch, but for most this is their first job. The interview day I mentioned earlier is often their first exposure to the working world and the intimidation and reservation these kids feel is palpable in the room. I don’t know this particular student’s background but he told me he wanted to go to school to become an architectural engineer. I told him my degree is in engineering and he asked if it was hard. I told him yes but while he seemed slightly dejected he was simultaneously upbeat. He said he was at going to try nonetheless. I told him the best things in life aren’t easy. That little bit of undefinable, immeasurable ambition is fuel to my fire and will keep me going for a little bit longer.

If you long to feel worthy I encourage you to spend some time with those different from you and offer whatever it is you have to offer. Everyone will be better off for it.

Eating Meat Is Not Natural

Writer Kathy Freston, a frequent contributor to AlterNet on the topic of the human diet, has posted a new article on this great alternative media site about the evolutionary arguments against carnivorous diets. If you don’t believe in evolution you should stop reading here. For the rest of you, please check out the article. A few summary points from the piece are:

  1. We only recently (historically speaking) began eating meat, and that the inclusion of meat in our diet came well after we became who we are today
  2. Early humans had diets very much like other great apes, which is to say a largely plant-based diet, drawing on foods we can pick with our hands
  3. Research suggests that meat-eating probably began by scavenging — eating the leftovers that carnivores had left behind. However, our bodies have never adapted to it. To this day, meat-eaters have a higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other problems
  4. In fact, our hands are perfect for grabbing and picking fruits and vegetables. Similarly, like the intestines of other herbivores, ours are very long (carnivores have short intestines so they can quickly get rid of all that rotting flesh they eat)
  5. Most of us are “behavioral omnivores” — that is, we eat meat, so that defines us as omnivorous. But our evolution and physiology are herbivorous, and ample science proves that when we choose to eat meat, that causes problems, from decreased energy and a need for more sleep up to increased risk for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer

The link in the last bullet point will send you to another article by Freston on Huffington Post that speaks to the “protein myth” the meat industry propagates to manipulate people into believe meat is necessary in their diets.

I hope by being continually exposed to the truth on diets and how the human body actually works, people will reduce their consumption of meat. I’m not so naive to think that the world will become vegetarians overnight but a gradual reduction combined with continued education of our youth will make the world a healthier and more sustainable place.

I’ll be having a vegetarian dinner tonight. You should try the same.

The Most Interesting Man In The World

Well maybe not, but he must be close, and should definitely be in the next round of those strangely awesome Dos Equis commercials. The man I’m referring to is Gus Gustafson (sp?). I’d hate to call him just a home builder because I’d be leaving out a plethora of other things he does, and seemingly does well, but that’s what we were there to talk about.

My wife and I had the opportunity to meet this gentleman on Sunday and got a tour of his new home, which is currently under construction. The home is built out of structurally insulated panels (SIPs), which we plan to use on our future abode.  Our encounter was limited to only a few hours but we learned about everything from carpenter bees to waste water treatment methods, and all topics covered included tangible evidence to back up any claims that were made.

The home itself is near completion and comes in around 3,300 square feet on two levels (with no basement). The entire freakin’ thing is cooled by one window air conditioner and can run entirely on six car batteries. How? Because of the amazingly efficient building envelope created when constructing a house (or any building) out of structurally insulated panels. Using air exchangers to replace stale air with fresh, the building otherwise loses virtually no conditioned air to the outside regardless of exterior conditions. Because of this simple benefit, electricity bills for the entire house, which include every appliance a standard home has, run in the $20 to $30 range monthly. The level of comfort provided in every inch of the house by just one window-unit air conditioner was mind blowing.

I could write for pages on the other extremely interesting topics we covered but the main lesson to take away from our visit is that the old way of building is not the best way of building. Hopefully contractors of all types will educate themselves on new building techniques and start to incorporate them into their businesses. Only through this process will society speed up its evolution towards the more sustainable.

Oh yeah, using SIPS is faster, cheaper and makes the building stronger. What’s not to like?

The Cost of Meat

I suppose a person has to hear about something a very large number of times before he is willing to change his habits, especially if these habits (religion, diet, biases, etc . . .) were ingrained in him from birth. Hopefully Jane Brody’s piece, Paying a price for loving red meat, has added fuel to the fire.

Meat, if you eat it at all, should be a small part (read: not the entree) of one (read: not two or three) meal a day. If you don’t believe me, ask the FDA. But, American, and much of the rest of the world that has access to it, eats meat like they should be eating fruits and vegetables. What’s the problem with this? Hmmmmm.

First, the health effects. According to Brody’s piece, a recent decade-long study by the National Institutes of Health and the American Association of Retired Persons concluded that over a decade, “the deaths of 1 million men and perhaps half a million women could be prevented just by eating less red and processed meats”. Why? Because excess ingestion of red meat is directly linked to premature death, usually from either cancer or heart disease. This science behind these conclusions is concrete, as concrete as the research that shows smoking causes cancer. Believe both or neither, but you can’t choose just one.

Second, the environmental effects. Also noted in the article is the fact that, “In the United States, livestock production accounts for 55 percent of the erosion process, 37 percent of pesticides applied, 50 percent of antibiotics consumed, and a third of total discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus to surface water.” We’re tearing up the earth so we can make food that kills us faster. Sweet.

The ethical argument is the one that most falls on deaf ears, but while we can agree to disagree that killing animals for for is wrong, animals should still be treated humanely while they’re alive. This point is not debatable. Caged animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and the abuse of animals by physical means or through the use of drugs is completely unacceptable, and makes us less compassionate as people.

Finally, the social and political aspects of farming animals for food are nearly immeasurable. Deforestation, erosion, contamination and the like, while terrible from an environmental perspective, all rape the land and makes farming for plants virtually impossible. Small farms are being bought up by conglomerates all over the globe, making sustainability for farmers in developing nations difficult. Dictators take land meant for the people and sell it to global corporations so they can cheaply grow feed for cows and pigs and chickens while people starve as the harvest drives by their towns.

We’re all ignorant to some degree, myself included. But, what’s we’re doing to ourselves and to others for the sake of food is disgusting. The more people who realize this, the better off all of us will be.