I don’t know about you but I’m about ready for this week to be over, I’m pooped and I still have 1 more day to get through… 1000 apologies but this is going to be short but sweet! Today was the annual GoodLife Corporate Wellness pot luck lunch! It was delicious and there was SO MUCH FOOD. I should have taken photos but the idea didn’t really come to me. There was turkey, meatballs, potatoes, salad, samosa’s, Mexican taco soup, veggie trays, fruit trays, different casserole type stuff that I’m not sure had an official name, and the desserts…. Sooo…. Much…. Desserts! Someone brought homemade chocolate candy cane ice cream, someone brought a chocolate trifle, there was also this red velvet cheesecake ball with vanilla cookies as “crackers” too. I totally behaved myself and only had a few pieces from the fruit tray for dessert. I actually had a lot more self-control than I thought I would!We also did a fun gift exchange! I picked a gift and it was a $20 LCBO gift card! Unfortunately people were allowed to steal your gifts if they wanted it, so someone stole my card! Boo. Then I picked a new gift and it was a box of gourmet cookies! My mouth was watering and I wanted one so bad. Unfortunately the whole “paleo” thing and the whole “being diabetic thing” didn’t really go well with the cookies, but I didn’t want to make a fuss. One of my bosses afterwards however knew that I wouldn’t be able to eat the cookies so she traded with me and took the cookies which I’m SURE she will enjoy and gave me the bottle of red wine that she had picked. How nice!!! I was definitely grateful but sad because I wish I could have ate the whole box of cookies.That being said, thank goodness I didn’t have dessert because I didn’t get to work out today or yesterday. Yesterday I worked from home because I had to go visit a company that has a corporate partnership with us (GoodLife). Cambridge Mercantile is a company that does day trading, so I went in to do a quick speech on the GoodLife program that they have. Have you ever seen the movie “Wallstreet” with Michael Douglas? I believe it’s at the very beginning of the movie where it shows all of the day traders behind hundreds of computers, phones ringing, people yelling for other people to pick up the phone… this is VERY accurate. Cambridge Mercantile I don’t think is as BIG as the place on the movie, but it’s the same idea – ton’s of computers, tons of ringing phones, people moving very quickly and I even heard a few times “Phone! Number 7 for John!!!!!!!!!” (I made up the name John, I can’t remember the actual name). On a random side note, I think Dr. Phil’s wife is kind of annoying and seems uncomfortable in front of the camera. It bothers me when he puts her on tv, I want to change the channel.Anywho – tomorrow is WOD day at the gym. I haven’t been to CrossFit in a long time but I’m pretty consistent with doing WODs on my own! I’m not sure which one I’ll be picking, Jenny will want to do one with me and I want to sweat like a pig to make up for these past two days. Which WODs are your favourite? I prefer the body weight ones as I can’t guarantee that we have the right equipment at our gym location. After the WOD I want to get seriously comfortable with the rowing machine and spend like half an hour on it instead of 10 minutes like I did last time.
Today for my Foodie Schoolie (I just came up with that… I might continue using it when I’m about to teach you something cool about food.) I’m going to talk about red wine because of the bottle I got today. Red wine seems to be growing in popularity mostly because people keep talking about the potential health benefits that red wine can provide. It looks like the health benefits of red wine are thanks to the presence of resveratrol, melatonin and flavonoids. Flavonoids are known to help protect the body from cancer due to the antioxidants that they provide. They help neutralize free radicals in the body which if aren’t neutralized can lead to over stimulation of cell production which in turn could lead to cancer (which is an overproduction of cells in the body). Melatonin helps to delay the oxidative damage and inflammatory processes typical of older age. Resveratrol is produced naturally by the skin of grapes during the fermentation process of wine making. A study in June 2008 found that resveratrol is effective at protecting the heart when consumed in large doses as well as when it’s consumed in low doses starting at middle age which leads to a healthier heart and a better quality of life!Although red wine has been credited to helping keep the heart healthy, obviously some effects of red wine aren’t as positive. Wine is an alcohol beverage (obviously) and any pregnant females should not consume it. Alcohol may also increase the risk of developing breast cancer in women (2 drinks per day can increase chances by 10%). Red wine may also trigger migraines in people who have had them before due to the accumulation of histamines and tannins from contact with the skin of the grape during the fermentation process over a long period of time. It can also elevate triglycerides (which are associated with diabetes) and increase weight gain if consumed often. (source)I always say that some things are better in moderation and I think wine is one of them! It would fall under the “mostly” part of your (mostly) healthy life JAnyways folks – I’m off to wrap gifts and get some studying in! I hope you’re having a great week and that you have the strength to make it through the last day of the week! Stay healthy,
xoxo
