Mondays, I could do without.

This morning went just the way I knew that it would....sort of.

I woke up right when my alarm went off. Got ready and then scurried into work. Mondays usually go a little quicker for me as far as getting ready goes, I think that it is because I have all evening Sunday to get myself prepared and through out the week I get slacker and slacker as far as laying my clothes out and getting outta bed on time. This morning was no exception. I got dressed this morning but just as I was about to head out the door I though "It's actually not that cold out, I think that I want to wear a skirt." I dashed to my closet, grabbed mt skirt, threw it on and out I went." With a new outfit on and my arms full of my Monday eats (really I bring on Monday my food for the whole week with me) into the car I went. Warmed up and ready I ran into the building with full arms and a Monday mindset.

Some Monday you just know that you are in for it. Some Mondays come as a surprise and become busier than you imagined and some Mondays (and I stress that word...SOME) are very quite and run smoothly. Today, not the case. This Monday could be labeled as busy, hectic, crazy or just the work "Monday" could be used to describe this one. I got into work with a ton of e-mails. A full "things to do" list and voice mail box. Ahhhhh. I knew that the end of this month would go out with a bang!

After a hour of getting settled in and barely making a dent in my task list I decided that breakfast needed to be had. I went into the kitchen at the office to make my oats. As usual I was putting my ingredients together in my bowl and was mixing everything up when my boss walked in...I was minding my own business and just really wanting to get the oats made and get back to my desk when this came out of my boss's mouth. "Heather, did you know that you have a disorder that I was reading about in one of my health magazines over the weekend." I became frozen. I was standing there for one of the first times in my life not knowing what to say. I waited for a few minutes in silence and then she said. "Well, would you like to know what disorder you have?" This kind of shocked me but I already knew what disorder she was going to say. I didn't hear it come out of her mouth yet but I knew what she was going to say. I said "Orthorexia?" she said "Yes, you know about this disorder?" "I have never herd of this disorder until I read about it. I said "I do know about the disorder and in fact own the book." "I am aware that I have this disorder....thanks for letting me know." That is not really what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say was "Why in the world would you at 8:30 in the morning come in the kitchen for anyone to hear you say that I have a eating disorder??? Couldn't you ask me about this in your office or in private? Couldn't you ASK me if I had this issue instead of TELLING me I had this disorder??? This has caused me this morning to be very upset. I just recently found out about this disorder myself and it did shock me when I bought and read the book Health Food Junkies. It is me to a T. I usually end my posts with questions but I am starting one today with a question. What do you think about this disorder? Orthorexia? Here is the definition if you would like to know.

Symptoms of orthorexia nervosa may include obsession with healthy eating, emaciation, and death by starvation. Orthorexic subjects typically have specific feelings towards different types of food. Preserved products are described as "dangerous", industrially produced products as "artificial", and biological products as "healthy". Sufferers demonstrate a strong or uncontrollable desire to eat when feeling nervous, excited, happy or guilty.People suffering from this obsession may display the following signs: Spending more than three hours a day thinking about healthy food, Planning tomorrow's menu today, Feeling virtuous about what they eat, but not enjoying it much, Continually limiting the number of foods they eat, Experiencing a reduced quality of life or social isolation (because their diet makes it difficult for them to eat anywhere but at home) Feeling critical of others who do not eat as well they do, Skipping foods they once enjoyed in order to eat the "right" foods. Eating only foods regarded as healthy, Relying on only natural products to treat an illness, Feeling guilt or self-loathing when they stray from their diet, Feeling in "total" control when they eat the correct diet.

I will admit...this is me.

I prefer to eat things that are alive. That have less than 5 ingredients, that are organic, that have no preservatives and that are local. So Sue me!!! Is this bad? Yes, I will admit I don't like to go to pot lucks or gathering where food will be there because I don't know how it was prepared or with what it was prepared with. I have limited restaurants that I will eat at (actually only three). That doesn't stop me from being social though. It doesn't inhibit me from going anywhere or doing anything though. It is just a preference. I wonder why is it that it is so easy for people to want to make things into a disorder when maybe it is just healthy. Has America been so use to being over fed with horrible for you foods that now if someone is actually picky about what goes into their bodies that now they have disorders??? This upsets me. I will tell you a short answer for why.

I have spent so much time and effort to take care of my body and to truly treat it as a temple that I will be damned if someone will cheapen that by placing a word like Orthorexia on me. I exercise 6 days a week, I eat 6 small meals a day and I get 8 hours of sleep a night. I drink a gallon of water and stretch daily. I also eat chocolate, have a cocktail two or three nights a week and take a day off completely from my routine every once in a while. I try to have a good balance. I try to be "good" about 90% of the time and have the other 10%. I do all these things and try my best to be well rounded and this morning I was told I have a eating disorder. Sometimes you cant win for loosing! So here is my question:

How do we get the right balance between eating healthily and healthy eating obsession?

With this being said. Here is my malnourished breakfast.

1/2 cup of thick rolled oats

1/2 cup of almond milk

1 tbl Salba Oil

1/2 cup of pumpkin

1/2 banana

3 egg whites

chopped walnuts I also had a piece of dark chocolate. (Totally eating disorder food....)

after about two hours I was hungry again and I knew that because I was going to the gym in 45 minutes I needed some fuel! I went for it....Big time!

Trader Joes Greek yogurt, raw almonds, blueberries and strawberries with one stevia packet. Oh so good!

I went to the gym and lifted weights for a hour. When I was done I was ready for a nice lunch. Today I decided to go back to good Ol' tuna. I was glad that I made it back to my tuna induced lunches. I was getting sick of tuna there for a while but all that I had to do was just stop eating it for a few months and then add it back. I am a happy camper with this meal. Almost a whole can of tuna, Avocado (which you cant see) mustard and some carrot and Romain on a wheat Arnold sandwich thin. YUM! I also had a chopped green bell pepper dipped in mustard on the side. It was great!

After work I went home, went on a 45 minute walk to get the work day off of me and decided that it was time for some din din. I am having something different this week for dinner. Low Sodium Butternut Squash Soup!

Of course having the eating disorder that I have I had to ADD MORE FOOD! Ok, I am sorry for being so sarcastic....

I added steamed chicken, roasted veggies and mushrooms. You know I added some siracha! It was a spicy bowl of heaven!

Whew! What a day and I am just so glad that it is over. Tomorrow will be MUCH better!

Promise!

-Heather