I Want to Swim!!!

Those are words you'll rarely hear me say.

In my two full triathlon summer seasons, here's how it works: I burn out toward September, and get sick of biking and swimming. Then I start running more and train for a half marathon. And then I do whatever on earth I feel like to stay in shape, treadmill, kickboxing, spinning classes, until March, when it's time to get back in the pool and dust off the road bike for another season.

But I have more ambitious goals now...... I'm training for a Half Ironman!!!!!



Yes, that's 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of biking, and a 13.1 mile run.

This past season, I had no coach. But to do a half ironman, I definitely need one. So, I'm going back to my coach from Rochester, Mary Eggers of Train-This. She is a triathlete superstar and will be my online coach.

I've found a local masters swim group. And I want to swim! After the City of Angels half marathon on Sunday, I'm ready to start training for my first half ironman!!

Vegan Thanksgiving 2007

Tofurky

Stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes

My plate!!!! Gone in no time. Clockwise from upper left: Corn muffin, tofurky with gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, squash, and a generous helping of mashed potatoes and gravy in the middle.

Staying on Track During the Holidays

Sometimes we fall off the wagon and a few pounds creep on. We ease up from our good habits, cut out a day or two of exercise, slip up on the diet with a few extra cocktails or chips and dip at a few social gatherings. Over the course of a few weeks, they may lead to a few extra pounds.

Now, we don't just gain weight for no reason. Our weight reflects a balance of what we take in, food and beverages, and what energy we expend by exercising or through our daily activities. A gain in weight means we're either moving less or eating more, or both.

The first thing to do is to take a step back and analyze what it is we're doing wrong. Next we have to decide how to correct that.

For watching what we eat, one of the most effective strategies I've found is a food diary. Write down everything you eat, the quantities of each food, and the number of calories. Share the list with your doctor. Or, use it to be accountable to yourself. That way, if you're tempted to have another four cookies, you know you'll have to write it down, and will be less likely to splurge.

And, even if everything you eat is vegan, that doesn't automatically mean it's healthy. I'm a big fan of Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent vegan chocolate almond fudge brownie ice cream, but even vegan treats need to be consumed in moderation.

Exercise time is one of the first things to disappear at this time of year too. But, make a commitment to stay in shape. Write in exercise "appointments" on your calendar, just like any other appointment that you would make. Or, if your exercise routine is getting stale, try something new.

I find the show The Biggest Loser to be really inspiring. If you've "fallen off the wagon", I find it helpful to see people who are even farther off from their goals reach them through hard work.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Back on the Bike

After my Long Beach Triathlon disaster, my bike has been sitting in my living room unused. I've been doing a lot of running to get ready for the City of Angels Half Marathon on December 2. My cycling has been limited to a weekly spinning class at Bally Fitness to keep my quads strong and avoid muscle imbalance issues that led me to major iliotibial band problems last year.


But, as I plan on finishing a half-ironman this coming year (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run), I need to be riding on the roads. The LA Tri Club had a (mostly) women's beginner ride, 32 miles up the Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu. More experienced riders called the route "mostly flat". For me, not so much.

The first sixteen miles were okay. On the last sixteen, my legs felt like jello toward the end. Which tells me, I need to ride more.

Next: getting back to swimming. I haven't swam since my last triathlon either.

Veggie Stew

Sautee vegetables in oil for five minutes. I used potatoes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, and celery. You could easily use any other vegetables. Peas, corn, or sweet potatoes work well here. Then add broth. Simmer for 25 minutes. Then add soy sauce and flour. Cook another 10 minutes. Season to taste and serve over rice or pasta.

Creamy Corn Chowder

I have never made a soup that I thought was fabulous... until now. This is from the Blossoming Lotus 7 Minute Chef, an online book put together by the chefs of the Blossoming Lotus restaurant, who are the ones who catered my brother and Mary Ruth's wedding in Hawaii.

The soup is not hard to make. I started by sauteeing an onion with garlic, salt, and pepper. Then I added some potato, and then water, corn, carrot, and a little soy milk. After simmering, I added roasted cashews, blended half of the soup, mixed it back together, and added some more corn. This made for a very delicious and filling soup.

It's done!

The interventional cardiology board exam is done!!!!! Did I pass? I think so, but I won't know for a few months.

And now it's back to living normally. It felt good to go back to work today, to get out of my apartment where I've been studying for hours on end.

I accumulated a to-do list while studying. It includes baking cookies, getting an oil change, framing my diplomas from the past few years, and buying an ipod. And, losing the two pounds I gained while studying -- sadly, even with running 23 miles, a spinning class, and two days of weight training in a week, while sitting on my rear end the rest of the time a couple pounds crept on.

So back to life. And the picture? Yes that's me. I've decided I need a picture of my face on the blog, instead of the back of my head running past a bunch of port-o-potties.

Interventional Cardiology Board Exam Tomorrow

I've been studying for months. Hopefully, it will all pay off.

Those of us who became board certified after 1990 have to re-certify every ten years. It's a nuisance to study and take exams, but I suppose there's some merit to it -- medicine changes so much in just a few years. In my specialty, interventional cardiology, in ten years alone there have been revolutionary changes to how we perform angioplasty, the medicines we use, and the stents that were just beginning to come into use ten years ago.

One of my mentors, who certified years ago, likes to gloat to me about how he never has to take an internal medicine or cardiology board exam ever again. I jokingly remind him that that's because he's old.

So here goes nothing tomorrow. If I pass, then no more exams until 2012, when I have to re-certify in internal medicine.

More Eat Your Veggies Meals

Peanuty noodles, greens medley, and baby carrots.


Tofu scramble, yucca fries, and strawberries.

Eat Your Veggies Delivery Service. They've even fed Alicia Silverstone. And these two weeks before my interventional cardiology boards, they're making my life much easier.

Take your meds, please

One last important word on how to be a good patient: If you can't afford the medications precribed for you, please tell your doctor before you are discharged from the hospital. Especially if one of those medications is Plavix. And ESPECIALLY if you just had a coronary stent placed.

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

I'm told that my office staff dress up for Halloween. It's festive, it's fun.

I'm not dressing up. Here's why -- I don't look like a cardiologist. As a young woman, I look nothing like your stereotypical, gray-haired cardiolgist. I'm mistaken as the nurse, the physical therapist, the nutritionist, the social worker -- you name it. And not just by patients, but by health care workers as well.

Some patients have even told me that because my last name ends in "-man" that they assume I'm -- a man!

In a world of stereotypes and preconceived notions, I need all the credibility I can get. Hence no costume.

Photo from paranormalworld.net

Curried chickenless wrap, Jicama slaw, and Banana

Here's day #1 from Eat Your Veggies vegan food delivery service.

What is jicama anyway? I don't know, but jicama slaw is tasty. With a side of cold lentils and watermelon for dessert, this was dinner. And it was delicious!

Now back to studying.....

Blog Slowdown

That's my niece. Aunt Heather buys her cool shirts.

The blog has been slow, and until after my interventional cardiology board exam on November 8, there won't be too many posts here.

For now, life is work, studying, and working out. I simply can't get by without my morning run or workout, so even if that means missing an hour or two of sleep, I'm better off for it.

In fact, to avoid grocery shopping and cooking, I'm trying out Christy Morgan's vegan meal delivery service, Eat Your Veggies. I'll post a few pictures and let you know how it is, but the meals she's dropped off look scrumptious.

How to be a Better Patient

Here are a few suggestions for how to get the best health care from your doctor that you possibly can:

1) Know your medical history and what medications you take.

Some patients have no knowledge of what medications they are taking, what their medical history is, or what medical procedures they've had.

Yes your information may be "in the chart", but sometimes that chart isn't readily available. You may have another doctor prescribing medications, and you may not be taking the medicines listed in the chart. For example, if your blood pressure is high it's important for me to know that the rheumatologist started you on prednisone two weeks ago, or that your primary care doctor stopped your lisinopril because of that pesky cough.

Also, it is very helpful to carry a current list of all of your medications and doses.

2) Describe your symptoms in simple terms.

We learn in medical school that 90% of medical diagnosis is taken from the history that we are given by the patient. The best descriptions are the simplest: "I have crushing chest pain that started two hours ago and radiated to my left arm." "I have angina" is not a description of your pain. As a doctor, I need to know your exact symptoms.

You do not need to describe to me the workup you've had since walking into the clinic or hospital. "My blood pressure is high and they did an EKG and drew blood from me" is not the information I want. I know this already. Tell me what symptoms brought you here.

3) Take your medicines as prescribed. This is especially true with hypertension (high blood pressure).

Blood pressure medications are not to be taken on an as-needed basis. You need them every day. Some patients tell me that they can "feel" when their blood pressure is high -- this is not true. That's why hypertension is called The Silent Killer.

If you have any doubts as to whether you should take a medication, ask me. I'd be glad to explain the benefits of the medications that I've prescribed you.

4) If you do not speak English well, please allow me to use a translator to converse with you. That way, we will understand each other better, I will know what your concerns are, and you will understand what your plan of care is.

Image from http://www.arealahec.dst.nc.us/medical.jpg

Vegetarian Wedding

My brother, Kevin, and his fiancee Mary Ruth tied the knot last weekend in Hawaii. The wedding ceremony, as you can see, took place on the beach.

Blossoming Lotus, a vegan restaurant, catered the event. The food was nothing short of amazing!!!

Noodles and edamame, spring rolls, and Migthy Aphrodite's Greek Salad (with "Feta" cheeze).

Senorita Bombia's Enchilada Casserole, with mole sauce and sour cream.

And, last but definitely not least, the cake. Ahhh... a vegan cake. I can't remember the last time I ate cake at a wedding. This was delicous and pretty!

I had hoped to submit this to VegNews magazine for their vegan wedding issue, but sadly it's too late this year. But here it is, an awesome vegetarian wedding.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

I used to cook a lot. In fact, my initial intent of having this blog was to show how easy it is to cook healthy vegan meals. But lately, I've done so little cooking. Almost none, in fact. Much of the reason is, ironically, time -- balancing a new job as a cardiology attending, working out, studying for my interventional boards, and occasionally spending time with family and friends. On top of that, it's so easy to call up Green Leaves for a seitan wrap and a miso soup to go.

Tonight, for the first time in a while, I cooked. I sauteed broccoli and onion in my wok with General Tso's sauce and paired it with some pre-cooked wild rice from Trader Joe's.

Once the boards are over, I'm going to cook more. I miss it.

Here is a nice positive article about vegetarianism, entitled "Protein a key concern for vegetarians"

It's very positive about vegetarianism. It talks about a restaurant in Atlanta called Cafe Sunflower -- I've been there and it's delicious.

But, I disagree that protein is a "key concern" for vegetarians. Anyone who consumes a balanced vegetarian diet will get plenty of protein. We only need 10% of our calories from protein. Most Americans are well in excess of that.

And why don't we talk about the "key concerns" of the standard American diet -- obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, stroke, osteoarthritis, hypertension, high cholesterol........ ???

Adventures in Raw

Leaf is a raw vegan restaurant with two locations in LA. My omnivorous friend Jodi absolutely raves about this place, so when I met up with her for dinner tonight, we headed to Leaf in Culver City.

We had the mock salmon nori rolls as an appetizer, which was really delicious! For a main course, we split a Bombay Burrito Wrap and a Rawzagna (that is, lasagna but made raw!). Both were pretty good. And, for dessert, we had apple pie. I was pretty skeptical about raw dessert -- last time I had a raw dessert item, a raw chocolate brownie, it did awful things to my gastrointestinal system. But, the apple pie was amazing, and there were none of the previously experienced after-effects.

I'll admit, I haven't had a lot of experience with raw cuisine. I've heard talks on the subject and how food is not heated above a certain temperature to preserve the enzymes in the food, and how the enzymes are beneficial to our bodies. I don't buy into this theory and there's really no science to back it up. But, what I can say, is that raw is healthy in that the food isn't processed, has no animal products or cholesterol, is full of fruits, vegetables, and fiber.

Is Bigger Better? Maybe not.

Here's a great piece on why height matters in sports.

Now it makes more sense to me why, at 5'10", I do well in the swim portion of the triathlon, but not as well on the bike or run.

One of Many Reasons I Love LA

This restaurant is on the way between the two hospitals I work at. I tried it out for the first time tonight for a Seitan wrap as dinner on the go. The wrap was delicious and the folks behind the counter were really nice people. They're going to be seeing a lot more of me.

I can't get over how easy it is to be vegan in LA!