Posts by flyboy86

I love a Dagwood style sandwich.  For those that don't know, it is a sandwich that has everything and the kitchen sink!  It is a lot of fun to go through the produce isle and pick out ingredients and get some good whole grain bread.  I go home, pile it high and then smash it down! Some of the best things I have included on a sandwich are: raw Zucchini, sunflower seeds, green onions (sliced on a bias), roasted peppers, tons of sprouts, sliced mushrooms, and t5he list goes on.  Really anything that you would put in a salad can go on a sandwich. 

One of my favorite though is a Caprese sandwich.  Get soime good crusty bread, Fresh Mozerella, basil leaves, ripe tomatoes, drizzel with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt.  Man that is GOOD! 

Another really good one is a Potato Tortilla sandwich.  Slice some left over Potato tortilla (this is a potato and egg mixture which is baked, kind of like a quiche, but with out the crust) and put between slices of some good crusty chewy bread that has been rubbed with raw garlic (take a clove of garlic trim the end and then rub on the bread), rubbed with a roma tomato, drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and sprinkled with coarse kosher or seas salt.  Simply delish! 

Stretching excercises are good.  Try doing some Yoga.  Not the twist yourself into a pretzle kind of yoga, but some more passive poses.  Some good poses are Childs Pose, Cat pose, Cow Pose, Corpse Pose, and others.  Also when you do start running again besure to keep up the stretching and or Yoga.  I can not believe how much better I feel since I started doing Yoga.

I have thrown my back out a couple of different times.  Each time I was picking up something small (an empty bucket once and a paper on the floor) but when I looked back it was after carrying or lifting something heavy.  Your pain could be caused by so much running, if your body was not use to it.  The constant pounding can be hard on your body. I am not a doctor or saying you should not run in the future, but when you do start again make sure you have good quality shoes and buy new ones every 3-5 months.  This is advice from a friend of mine who runs marathons. It seems excessive to change shoes so often, but I would rather pay $100.00 every 4 months and stay out of the doctors office, then to not and be laid up.

I love Kale!!  It needs to be cooked a little longer than other greens, but it adds a nice flavor and "meaty" texture to dishes.  When I cook it I usually add it just after the onions are sauted, when I would add other harder vegetables like turnips or carrots.

As far as recipes, use it in addition too or as a substitute for other leafy greens or cabbage.  

Have you tried Papaya tablets?  You can get them at healthfood stores or GNC.  They are chewable and taste really good.  The enzymes help break down the food faster and also knock out gas.  If after trying this you still have a lot of problems then I agree that you should probably be tested.

 By the way Papaya is GREAT for the hick-ups.  If they start just eat a few tablets and then the hick-ups are gone.

Try mixing up your work out routine more.  I am no expert, but doing the same thing everyday will make you more prone to injury and boredom. 

Throw in an arobics DVD a couple of times a week or some other arobic activity to get the cardio up.  There are some fun ones out on the market.  I have been using some different videos from a "beach" company that I really like.  They are upbeat and fun, except the karate parts which over stress my joints, so I just do high step marching or something similar.

I also do some simple Yoga.  No standing on my head or twisting into a pretzel, just a Sun Salutation.  I do it at least 4 times if I go slow (4-5 breathes per posture) or more if I do it quicker (1-2 breathes per posture). Doing it faster really gets my blood pumping.  It is also very relaxing.

Hope some of this helps.

Keep up the good fight!!