Chia – Day One

I have begun taking a dietary supplement called Chia seeds. Yes, it is the seeds that are used to grow Chia Pets, that ubiquitous White Elephant favorite. My brother began taking Chia to provide him with additional energy for running and he then shared them with my father who brought me some to try when he visited this weekend. Chia seeds aid in digestion and provide high levels of Omega. They also help with weight loss and help maintain a high energy level. They were a huge part of the diets of the Mayans and Aztecs. You can learn all about Chia seeds here: I have decided to try it daily for ten days and see if I notice any effects. Today is really the second day because I had some on Saturday but I’ll call it Day One anyway for the sake of blogging. Today I soaked 1 tablespoon of Chia seeds in 9 tablespoons of water and let it sit for ten minutes. This swelled up to make about a quarter cup of gel. I stirred this gel into my bowl of oatmeal. The taste was fine, a little nutty, but for the most part all I tasted was oatmeal. I wasn’t crazy about the consistency of it – the gel is kind of slimy and then the seeds are kind of – um – seedy. The seeds are very small, smaller than a grape seed, so you don’t really chew them. I’m going to experiment with how I take them and also when I take them to see what works for me. This morning I weighed 120.1 pounds. My goals are modest I think: I want to get down to 110 pounds and also to not feel crazy tired by 3 PM every afternoon. Often I am tired and crabby at the end of the workday and then I feel like my husband and kids get the worst of me, so maybe this will help. I’ll be writing future blogs to let everyone know how this little adventure works out!