Breakfast of Champions! or Just Desserts?

A little while ago, one of my class goers, Cathy posted an article on my wall about breakfast in America being more like dessert. Click on the "article link above. A shocking read for sure! Boy did this resonate with me big time!!! Breakfast was always my favorite meal!!! So much so in fact, I could (and some times did) eat it for lunch and dinner too! **In my best Oprah voice** "I LOVE Cereal! I LOVE Cereal!"  
(SHUT UP!!!! THEY HAVE MARSHMALLOWS IN FROOT LOOPS NOW?!?! ) 

Seriously!! I LOVE CEREAL!! Capt'n Crunch Berries, Honey bunches of Oats, and Cinnamon Life were on my top favorite list! I also love pancakes! And waffles! And Cheese Dreams!! What are cheese dreams?!!? Cream cheese stuffed french toast, smothered in butter and syrup! Some of my other breakfast go-to's were cream of wheat or oatmeal with white and brown sugar.... Oh, and then they came out with flavored instant.... Be still my heart.

Breakfast was my golden ticket to eat all the sugar I wanted from a kid, well into my thirties and not feel even a little naughty about it. Remember in the 90's when Kellogg's  had the cereal diet (a bowl for breakfast, a bowl for lunch, and a sensible dinner?) Oh, I was on ship fast than you could say Ahoy! I have had a love for sugar since the first time it touched my lips. I think this picture says it all! I look drunk and in love! And I totally was!

Just this year, Kellogg's was in a lawsuit because of false claims in their advertisement. sited from cereal settlement dot com, "A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit involving Kellogg, the company that makes Frosted Mini-Wheats. The Lawsuit claimed that Kellogg falsely advertised that its Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal improved kids’ attentiveness, memory and other cognitive functions to a degree not supported by competent clinical evidence. Kellogg stands by its advertising and denies it did anything wrong." 

Advertisement on any breakfast add (cereal, waffle, or breakfast restaurant) try to make us believe that what they are selling is a "healthy part of a nutritious breakfast". 

Um, looks like dessert to me. How about you?  

What about the cereal you feed your kids ? Nutritious start to the day, or dessert?

Okay, so maybe these look obvious. But really, the less obvious are just as bad. flaky cereals that don't have the kid cereal look are just as offensive as the ones that do. What about the more adult "healthy " breakfasts? Let's say, a bagel with cream cheese, and a yogurt with granola.  
Thomas plain bagel = 6g
Cream cheese = 3g
Yo plait Original Strawberry = 26
Quaker Granola = 12 (but you probably won't sprinkle an entire serving in your yogurt, so lets say 6g at half a serving. 
That gives you a grand total of 41 grams of sugar (not including your coffee or juice). Send little Johnny to school with this amount of sugar in his blood stream and it's no wonder your teacher wants to get him checked for ADHD. 

Breakfast has historically (at least from the seventies and up)  been derived from mass amounts of sugar. I'll take a bear claw please! So to answer Cathy's post asking me what I think, yes, Yes, YES, breakfast should change or at least be called dessert. 

On a personal note, I have long since changed my relationship with breakfast. I rarely touch any of the above, and can't remember the last time a box of cereal has graced my cupboards. I stick to eggs, salads, avocado, and occasionally a whole foods smoothie or steel cut oats. That said, one of these days, I am going to try the Capt'n Crunch french toast at our local DOA on 6th AV. I've been saying this for 2-3 years now, but it is going to happen.....someday..... As a dessert, of course! 

Apparently I have some shit on my mind....

Monday sucked!!! That's all. It just sucked! (Tuesday was great, but Monday can bite it!)

 It also reminded me why I am doing this. I have been fighting my thyroid, estrogen, and a host of other hormones this year that has made it difficult to keep with my goals and healthy life style. Let me rephrase that... and keep it real. I HAVE MADE IT DIFFICULT on my hormones to provide me with what I need to support my healthy life style. I know better. A year of lacksey-daisy fitness habits mixed with regular drinking and crap food have been my own doing. Any imbalances I had prior may have made things more difficult, but certainly not impossible and I caved way to easy. 

Chronic fatigue, chronic disease, chronic depression, cancer, alcoholism, liver disease, sugar addiction, and hormonal imbalances  all run rampid on both sides of my blood line.  The things I have watched my family go through have not only been astronomically devastating, but have been the fuel that feeds my fire to stop the insanity! This is also the reason for my insatiable hunger for learning, researching, blogging, and learning more. So much of what I have seen has been a result of lifestyle and not genetics. It feels like genetics when so many close family members on both sides have suffered so much through many of the same things. The first thing we want to do is blame our genetics and render ourselves doomed. Truth is, culturally,  generations before me were taught that fortified, processed foods were part of a healthy diet. Smoking was a healthy form of relaxation. Drinking was also a way to unwind and let go. Exercise was only something you did to look good in a bikini. And then began the diet and weight-loss industry (a whole other blog.. and it wouldn't take you long to find several of them in my blog site).  



I grew up like most. My diet was full of Top Romain, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Hamburger Helper, fast food, Chicken pot pies, cheesy lasagna (my fave!) and large meat and potato dinners. Ice cream was a staple in the freezer, and lunch boxes were always stocked with wonder bread sandwiches, Doritos,  Twinkies and Oreos. Both of my parents heavily smoked and both drank. If I'm being completely real with you, my son grew up in that same environment until his late teens when I began to change as a result of watching my family in thier later years. He also began to come into his own beliefs about food and nutrition as a teen and is now a vegetarian.  

So why am I sharing this? It all seems so personal, but really this is a national crisis. I'm not special. I'm not alone in the way I grew up. This was life for most, and in many ways still is today.  We may not glorify smoking, but Vaping has become the "healthier" version that I have literately watched parents influence thier adult kids to try. You can find a vape shop in almost every shopping center selling more flavors than Baskin Robins. Pot shops are now on almost every corner and considered a healthy way to unwind and socialize (and  I'm not speaking of medical marijuana),  liquor is now sold in Walmart and every grocery store in my state.  The (processed) food industry  in hugely booming. (Be prepared for the longest ranting, run-on sentence ever.....) And the weight loss industry is quite possibly the most lucrative in our nation, with pyramid multi-level marketing

sales using social media and in-home parties to fuel our nations toxic relationship with food and further destroy our children's'  self worth and body images with the constant pressures of having to look like an "after" picture they see on a meal replacement post claiming to be healthier than real, whole foods.... ( Yes! My blood boils when I think about the weight loss industry).

Back to me personally. I said in a resent blog that I wasn't going to beat myself up for this past year, yet I find myself increasing frustrated  for knowing better and letting myself go down the rabbit hole anyway. But, yes. I am human and know better or not, I did. It's all part of my journey and it's these times when I'm knocked off my high-horse and humbled, that I remember what I felt like before I ever began this journey of a healthier lifestyle. 

Sometimes it can be overwhelming with information overload and the wide spectrum of "diets" that claim to be the real "paleolithic" way to eat, or the ones that remove entire food groups for everyone (allergies or not). With so much misinformation, and a completely dysfunctional relationship with food in our  nation, my personal challenge has been to resist the hang-ups with body image and looking a certain way, and instead concentrate on what will make me healthy vibrant, strong and give me the best quality of life, well into my senior years. My one word mantra is sustainable. If it's not sustainable for a life time, I don't do it. 

Anyway, let's chat. What motivates you? What are your hurtles? Do you struggle with body image vs. good health? Are they separate? What does sustainable health mean to you ? What changes would you like to see for the next generation? .... Your kids? 

 The advantage we have today is we are trying to get back on the right track.We have mass amounts of information available at our finger tips to research and decide what is right for us.  Slowly our government's food pyramid and food labeling  laws are changing. We see more demand for organic and non-GMO. Local produce, farmer's markets, and urban farming are on the rise. These are all positives and gives hope to our future generations to take it and run!

Day 6 and 7: The Careless Weekend

Here is how my weekends over the last year typically go:
No workout
No food log
Not a care in the world..... Bring it!

One or two meals out, one of which is always the Matador (our favorite hang-out ~ Tex Mex Tequila bar), where we order happy hour food and a couple of drinks. I consume way more calories than I burn, have a few drinks, and throw caution to the wind. 

Summer is especially difficult because almost every weekend there are festivals and events to go to, which offer great junk food, wine and beer. Once you get into the habit of allowing that into your weekends, it becomes the thing you do. 

This weekend, I still did not do (purposeful workouts) or food logs, nor did I weigh my veggies or take pics of every meal, but I stayed very mindful and on point with where I want to be, while enjoying the freedom of not logging and weighing.  

Saturday (day 6) we went to the Blues Fest in old Town.  Before we went we had a late breakfast (brunch) of 
2 eggs, and a fresh sweet potato hash that my hubbs made with onion, peppers, and jalapeno. SO GOOD!

We headed down to the Blues fest after brunch, and had an amazing day. Usually we will stop in a Treos and have lunch and a glass of wine or we'll hang out in the beer garden for a couple beers. Not this time. We brought our chairs, some waters, unsweetened coconut water, almonds and apples. My splurge was some toasted coconut shreds that somehow landed in my bag. 

When it was time to go home, we didn't stop at the Matador for a bite, we stopped at the grocery store for some filet mignon and veggies. We came home and had grilled filet mignon, sweet potato, and a large salad. It was a beautiful day and our dog loved being out in a crowd chillin' in sun.  (this is Honey enjoying some play time and ear rub from daddy)

Sunday (day 7) we had the same breakfast as Saturday and then headed to Seattle to spend the day with our kid (He is turning 23 on Tuesday, same age as I was when I had him... My hubbs had to point out that made me 23 X 2 .... :/ whatever ) We had Honey and Ryan (our son) had Harry. We walked all day (and my knee did okay! Hoping to run some hills by Wednesday!).  We had lunch at Stone Way Cafe. I had a veggie sandwich with a side salad and a locally made glass of kombucha and water.That's about what I'd normally order, except maybe I'd order a beer instead of Kombucha (btw, it's amazing how much I'm not missing the beer. Did I just order beer in the past , because that's just what I did? Like mindless eating when watching tv, you develop these little habits that become automatic).

We spent time at Gasworks Park trying to get Honey and Harry to play in the water, watching drum circles, and mid-evil sword fighting. It was a beautiful day! 

My one not so healthy meal was dinner. We were sun drunk and sleepy, so instead of coming home to cook, we grabbed some street tacos from a local taco truck and called it a night. Later that evening we enjoyed some fruit with plain yogurt, crushed pecans, and a little honey.

So that was my weekend. Over-all I feel really good about all of my choices ( with a little wiggle room, which is important too) and it felt good to treat myself the way I use to, instead of the reckless weekends I've allowed this past year. My goal is to continue this path (especially on the weekends where I tend to fold). That is not to say I plan to be prefect, or never indulge, but it should be an indulgent and not my norm, ya know?  That's one of the reasons I am sharing in my blog with all of you. Even if nobody reads this (and most probably don't), it helps keep me honest and accountable.  Also, my hope is that others do read this and see some habitual behaviors in themselves they want to change. It's funny how a handful of times doing something can create a habit and we don't even realize. It just becomes our new norm and what we do. 

A candid look at my Why - Hormones and Stuff

As a fitness professional, it's important  to note, I have not always been healthy. Far from it. I  am a product of the baby boomer's era. Born in the 70's, it was a time when women took more to the work force and helped with a second income. Food companies accommodated this trend with quick and easy meals that could be easily assembled after an 8 hour work day for the woman who wanted to have it all. Over the years, this became the most lucrative industry in our country.  Boxed macaroni and cheese, Spaghetti O's , hamburger helper.... 

 Our food pyramid taught us  that we should be eating mostly bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. Six-eleven servings to be exact. Commercials showed us that a healthy breakfast was a bowl of cereal, white toast with butter and fruit preserves, and a glass of fruit juice.

This is how I ate well into my late 30's. I know many baby boomers who still eat this way and believe that this is a healthy diet. Many people of this era (and myself until about 10 years ago) still believe that as long as they limit the obvious sugars (ie: cake, cookies, ice cream, candy, pastries,  puddings, and other dessert foods) they are limiting thier sugar and staying healthy and away from junk food. So, I enjoyed my Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (12g sugar) , toast w/ jam (13.5 g sugar) and a glass of orange juice (22g sugar). That's a whopping 47.5g of sugar to start my day. Snacks, lunches, and dinners weren't much better, plus I loved an occasional candy bar or ice cream treat! Who doesn't? 

With the above eating habits in my 30's, I felt like shit.  Tired, depressed, no energy or drive to do anything fun, I would get a bad headache and feel emotional and moody around 3 or 4:00  almost every afternoon. I looked older than I was. I was over weight. I grunted when I got up off the couch or rolled out of bed like an old lady expending all her energy on that small task. 





In my late 30's I began to educate myself and do better. By 40, I was in the best shape and felt AMAZING!!

I have maintained this status over the years and have been really proud of myself. This last year, my habits have changed. I went out to eat on an average of 3-5 times a week (Fri/Sat dinner, and maybe a Sunday breakfast or lunch), I increased my alcohol intake from social drinking to enjoying wine with dinner after a stressful day at work in addition to weekend social events. I haven't lifted consistently for over a year. I still consume lots of fruits and veggies and have maintained my healthy eating habits on my regular meals when I don't go out, but WOW!! THE DIFFERENCE I FEEL is scary and a path I don't want to return to. With my hormones out of wack this year, I am constantly fighting myself for energy and motivation to do what I know is right. 

I still "look" healthy today. I little cushion between my skin and muscles, but over-all, I'm still here in my healthy body. But what I feel lurking in my future if I don't take the reins now and make those healthy choices,  scares the shit out of me! My bloodline shows me where I can be in my older years with genetics and lifestyle if I don't choose wisely, continue to learn and give my body what it needs to be sustainably  healthy. That is one  reason you will never see me taking weight loss product (Advocare, Shakeology, magic wraps, pills, or potions) As I deal with hormonal imbalances and inflammation, I know exactly where I could be if I don't "choose" my path wisely now. Real, mostly unprocessed, whole foods (not meal replacements). Adequate water, sleep and exercise. Supplementation given from my holistic doctor that fits my personal needs (learned through blood tests), not one size fits all, fitness industry supplements you can buy from a health club or MLM distributor.  I am a huge advocate of researching and learning through books, podcasts, and long talks with my doctor. As a result I have a ton of knowledge which makes it extra hard to continue to feed myself excuses as to why I feel the way I do.

So, that is my why. My path may not be the path for you, but my hope to inspire you to find your path, learn, and grow. In doing this publicly and being honest and candid with you, this will hold me publicly accountable to myself as well .

This is me this year.  While I still have a good base line for a healthy lifestyle, I remember what it was like not knowing anything. It's NEVER too late to learn, feel better and improve our health and quality of life. Equally true, there is never a stopping point. To stop learning and growing, is to stop living. No matter the excuse, there is ALWAYS a choice..... until there isn't...

2 Pounds of veggies is HARD!!

DAY 1 = 1pound 9.5 ounces of veggies! And that was a challenge. Here is my breakdown.

Breakfast =  6.6oz. veggies
2 c coffee w/ organic half and half, organic cinnamon, and organic coconut sugar
egg scramble (1 cage free/grain fed whole egg + 1/2 c cage free egg whites) with 1 c organic spinach,
1 c organic kale, chopped organic green onion, and 5 halved organic cherry tomatoes, 1/2 c avocado (not a veggie) , and 1/4 Tuscan cantaloupe
Calories = 401 












Snack = 0oz. veggies
1/4 c dry roasted sea salt edamame 
Calories = 130 

Lunch = 6.0 oz. veggies
Chicken salad (Kirkland canned chicken, Just Mayo, diced apple, brown mustard, chopped raw organic pecans, chopped organic green onion, organic turmeric, sea salt, pepper) in a 1/2 of a Ezekiel sprouted pita with cucumber, organic radish, organic shredded carrot, organic live sprouts, and sliced tomato + raw, organic tri-colored carrots, organic broccoli, cucumber, with hummus. 
Calories = 434



Pre-workout meal = 1.5 oz veggies
Smoothie: 2 c organic kale, 1 T  fresh ground almond butter, 2 T organic cacao, 3/4 c unsweetened almond milk, 1 banana, 1/2 t raw, local honey. Not as tasty as I had hoped.
Calories = 347

Dinner = 11.4 oz. veggies
4 oz. wild sockeye salmon, 1 c brussels sprouts and cubed organic sweet potato (yes, I counted the sweet potato - it may be considered a starch, but it's a starchy root veggie full of nutrients), and a salad with organic mixed greens, organic radish, cucumber, and organic purple onion with 1 T Tessemae's Balsamic dressing. 
Calories = 543

My Fitness for today was a 1 hour HITT bootcamp. Took it light as I am healing my knee. 
Burned Calories =  -285 

And of course, no wine with dinner. 

Side note: I'm listing all the organic, grass fed, cage free (blah blah blah) stuff not to be annoying, but to show that I am buying organic whenever possible because chemicals, and pesticides greatly effect hormonal balance.  

Day 1: Back on track

I'm 46, hormonal, and achy. I feel like shit. My hormones are lagging. I have lots of inflammation. My osteoarthritis in my knees are flared up. My muscle mass is down and fat % up. I'm not fat (though my clothes are tight). I feel okay aesthetically in my skin, but I have looked better for sure!! 

I saw my doctor last week. Thank God I have her! She is a holistic doctor, not the type to throw 10 new medications my way, give me a cortisone shot for my knee, and put me on the pill for my hormones.  Nope! She asked me about my diet. We talked about alcohol, sugar, processed foods, and supplementation. 

I admit, my habits have changed over the past year and I am paying for it now. It happens. It's part of being human, so I don't hate myself, or beat myself up over it.  But change is necessary if I am to have the life I want and feel amazing and full of energy. 

So, what am I going to do about it? I have all the knowledge I need to get back on track (perks of my profession) and I am taking anyone who wants to follow, along for the ride. 

#1. No alcohol for 30 days. After 30 days, I will continue to practice better habits. A nightly glass or two of wine with dinner sounds harmless, right?...... Contrary to all those social media memes and magazine "studies", while wine does have heart healthy  antioxidants (which you can also find in other foods) it can wreck your hormones and adrenals.  My hubbs is joining me on this one, which I love! I am truly lucky to have such a supportive love, friend and life partner! 

#2. I BOUGHT A SCALE!! I will add 2 pounds of veggies to my daily diet. I will also up my fruit/berry intake. 

#3.  Whole foods (organic when possible)! Fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, wild fish, chicken and occasional grass fed bison. *Limit processed foods. This includes when eating out as well.

 #4. Fitness every day. Whether it's 20 minutes of yoga, or and all out HIIT, weight lifting, or steady state cardio, I will do something each day.  I will tell you this one will be the hardest for me right now. Usually for me, the opposite would be true, but did you know that my above behaviors have taken away those hormones that feed your drive and motivation  to move???   Yup!! True story. 

FOOD IS WHAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL
 STRONG, VIBRANT, AND HEALTHY, 
OR TIRED, SICK, AND ACHY. 

Gonna try to blog daily to check in and share how it's going, (struggles and triumphs).  If anyone wants to jump in with me, I'd love the comradery! Please note, I am doing this for the health and well being of my mind, body, hormones, and knees. This is not a weight loss goal. That said, I would expect to lean out in the process. 

 So, there it is and here I go.

Just a Personal Vlog and where I Am Now vs. Where I Want to Be

Just a personal check in on where I am and what are my goals....

Outdoor Bootcamp -Shred Fit class! - BAD ASS Resisted bear runs

Wow!! They don't play!!! Check out my class doing intense resisted bear crawls!! Great bootcamp idea!! These are intense! Totally get the heart rate up and really burn the quads!! Check out the energy!! 
THEY ROCK!!

ShredFit Fitness Vlog: Do Take Supplements??

I get this question all the time. Nope, but here is what I do to make sure I get everything I need.

ShredFit Fitness Vlog: Do You Plan Your Workouts?

Do you plan your workouts before you go to the gym? I totally do to avoid wasted time once I get there. Here is how I do it.

ShredFit Fitness Vlog: PMS - Do you ever just not give a shit??

Getting real! Most of the time I love being/getting/staying healthy!! But sometimes PMS makes me just not give a shit.... You?

Shit just got real.... Can we do away with perfect bodies please?! They ...

I'm really proud of this vlog. Here is why. I am 43 years old, in great shape, lift weights, size 6, muscular, and lean enough to show my hard work. People assume that my 6 pack looks the same.... Nope! It could. But at 43 getting that lean with my build is not my top priority. 

News flash people: 
Even your trainers, coaches, and fitness instructors have imperfect bodies, with stretch marks, fat percentage, and wrinkles.... Who knew!?
ALWAYS KEEPIN' IT REAL!

A Fitness Professional and a Sales Person Walk into a Health Club...

The other day,  as I walked out of my health club I saw an "It Works" wraps and supplements table stationed inside the front door....

Why do I get a surge of emotion and anger every time I see the diet industry superimpose themselves on the health industry?

Because they have some how been sold as one in the same!

But here is the difference...

The (true) health industry sells:
education
whole, fresh foods
local farmers
active life styles
clean eating
exercise
balance
yoga
organic
GMO awarness
farmers markets
food co-ops


The diet industry sells:
low fat
low calorie
low carb
light
fat free
zero calorie
fat burners
carb blockers
appetite suppressant
supplements (ofcourse to suppliment what we should be eating, but are not because after all, we're trying to lose weight!! Hello??)
cellulite creams
magic potions
wonder drugs
miracle  cures
shapers
slimmers
toners
calorie burners
detoxers
shakes
sprinkles
powders
patches
wraps................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
the list is endless!

Nature has provided us with all we need. We create more out of greed!

Greed.

That's what it is. We have given our personal greed power over helping people to be healthy. :(

We see it all the time, right? Celebrities and celeb  trainers putting their name on a diet pill box...Lest not forget Dr. Phil with his "apple shape" or  "pear shape" diet pills.... Can we just take a moment to step away from those trying to make/take money, and reach for some common sense?? .....

Move
Eat whole, good,  REAL foods
Sleep
Relax
Breath
Drink water






 

 

My views on calorie counting

I've been reading a lot of fitness blogs lately on calorie counting. Most seem to be against it. Here is my take.
 
Counting calories has been a very important part of my journey. I counted and kept a food journal for years as I learned about food and their place in my diet. When I first started counting, I counted calories on my ice cream, Big Mac Combos, fish sticks, mac-n-cheese, soups, sandwiches and cereals....oh, and the occasional banana that would some how sneak into my diet.

After growing consistently frustrated with being unable to get my numbers where the "experts" said they should be, I began my love affair with diet foods. Low fat, light, low calorie, diet, and lean, became all the buzz words and rules I followed. My kitchen was the poster child of a dieter. Single serving (100 calorie) bags of cookies and chips, low fat cereals, and light canned chili and soups graced my cupboards. Fat free yogurts, diet sodas, Lean Cuisines, and low fat ice creams filled my refrigerator and freezer. I was counting calories like a queen! And I lost weight. I had mastered my numbers!.....

And then I plateaued. So frustrated with never being able to quite hit my weight loss goals, I changed the goal to being healthy. I figured if I was truly healthy, My body would naturally find it's healthy weight.  I began scrutinizing everything I ate. I read books (The Eat Clean Diet) I read labels, I read blogs and discovered "real food".

I continued calorie counting through it all. I wanted to learn. I still strongly believed in the numbers. Discovering real food, I achieved my goal. I was healthy and my weight was too. I continued to count. I would step away from counting for a while, and if I got off track I would resume counting until I was stable again. This was a process I had to go through to get where I am now.

One day, I just stopped counting. Life got busy and I began focusing more on clean eating (which in itself is time consuming). There was not time for both. That is when I realized I was in tune with my body. I began watching my patterns. I took note that if I got off track for too long, I'd gain weight and fall into old habits. I took note when that happened, it took about 3 weeks to take that weight off and get back to my comfort zone of healthy living. ( Comfort zone meaning no longer struggling to not pick up the cookie)

I can't remember the last time I counted.
 It feels great to be in this space.

Would I recommend calorie counting to others? YES! I would tell them to use it as a learning tool. Don't stop progressing until you no longer need to count. And even then, keep learning. It was a great tool for me to get this far.

What I learned:  

Calories = energy and energy is GOOD!!  
A calorie is not just a calorie
There is food and there is junk Food is good. Junk is junk.
Junk is enjoyable but not appropriate fuel. Use it as such in moderation
If it says diet, low fat, fat free, low calorie, or light, it is likely junk in disguise
FAT IS GOOD!! EAT FAT!! (see: The girl who loves fat) 

So yes! Count. But don't stop there. LEARN. =] Because the person who tells you it's one easy step is a moron...It's a life time of baby steps.

Holiday Gift Idea #1 (for fitness and healthy living)

 

1. The Eat Clean Diet book by: Tosca Reno

(((( My Hero!!)))

This is number one for a reason!! It all begins and ends here folks....This is the number one reason I am now healthy and have a healthy relationship now with myself and food. Doesn't matter what you do in the gym if you are not feeding your body right... And let's understand, that doesn't mean low fat, low carb, diet food. REAL FOOD and LOTS of it!!  This book taught me how to eat for health....weight loss was a bi-product of that. 

THE GIRL WHO LOVES FAT!!

I’m a girl who LOVES fat! Let me tell you why….

First who doesn’t love breaking the rules?!?! If you tell me I can’t have it, chances are I will find a way! It’s been my mission since adolescence!! And fat is the diet industry's #1 no no!!  

Here are some of my faves!

  Eggs: I eat them religiously every morning!! Even the yolk! I have an egg scramble with 1 whole and 3 whites. My scramble gives me 17.1 grams of protein, 8 essential amino acids, 5 grams healthy fats!! So why do I eat just one whole with 3 whites, you ask…..

Avocado: My favorite fat!! I eat ¼ avocado in my egg scramble every morning!! Avocados have 18 essential amino acids, necessary for the body to form a complete protein. Unlike the protein in steak (love steak!), which is difficult for most people to digest, avocado protein is readily absorbed by the body because avocados also contain fiber. At 7.25 grams of good fats (per ¼ avocado) they help boost HDL (good cholesterol), protect against heart disease, and provide and excellent source of energy as well as keep you fuller, longer!

Many people now take supplements (and ya’ll know how I feel about supplements) in order to consume more omega-3 fatty acids to lower their risk of heart disease. Avocados are rich in omega-3, delivering 160 milligrams per cup of alpha-linolenic acid.

 Ah Nuts!! Raw pecans go in every bowl of my daily oatmeal I consume! Raw almonds, walnuts, or almond butter, get paired with my fruit, and sunflower or pumpkin seeds top my salads! I’m nuts about nuts!! I am always amazed at how 10-12 little raw almonds can keep me satisfied till my next meal!! Nuts in general have many health benefits and properties making it a known super food!! They provide good fats that have the ability to lower your LDL cholesterol levels and lower your risk of cardiovascular diseases or stroke. Moreover, many nuts provide a great source of vitamin E, each ounce providing about 7.4 mg or the equivalent 50 percent of the daily value.

 Fish: Salmon is my favorite!! I try to eat it at least once to twice a week! Great for your hair and skin, as well as a brilliant source of easy to digest proteins, omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamins E and D. Salmon is also known to improve moods, cognitive function, and memory. 

 Oils: Olive, avocado, coconut, or nut and seed oils all contain a wide variety of health benefits! According to Tosca Reno (my hero), not only do clean oils protect against high cholesterol and heart disease, but they also help reduce inflammation and infection, plus they slow aging process! Who doesn’t like that?!

This is just to list a few; there are many more foods I use to avoid due to fat content.

Fats were the missing pieces to my weight loss puzzle. I truly believe that adding good fats into my daily diet is what not only helped with weight loss, but also helped me keep it off all of these years! Back in the 90’s when I tried to maintain 20 grams of fat, I was always hungry, causing me to binge and develop a love hate relationship with food and myself.  With healthy fats, I’m not hungry, I don’t obsess with numbers, I don’t resent my body because of what I can’t have…. I eat fat.
For more details on my struggle and journey with fat, check out my first post on fat:  "But They Told Me Fat Was Bad!" 

BUT ‘THEY’ TOLD ME FAT WAS BAD!!

Each decade has its own diet fad that leaves it’s footprint on our beliefs and relationships with food.  Low fat, low carbs, low calories, all fruit, no fruit, no sugar, Atkins, South Beach, and now the sacred Paleo.....

I remember back in the mid 90’s watching Oprah and being introduced to Bob Green! Watching Oprah’s transformation was inspiring and I was ready to jump on board!! She had a Spring Challenge show that inspired me to begin my journey. I knew very little about weight loss. I knew I needed to exercise, and watch my calories, but what were the rules to being successful? I was on board and ready to be educated…..or so I though.

As with any eager dieter, I was ready to hear, what I was ready to hear! Hard facts…. The formula…. Give me the cheat sheet please! And they did…at least that’s what I heard .

The magic formula was in the numbers! 1200 calories and 20 grams of fat! WaLa!! There it was! I could do this. Just count!

Fat!!

Fat was the dirty little secret that kept us all fat in the 90’s!

Eat fat = Get fat!

Eat non-fat or fat free = get skinny

Cool! Simple, concise rules to follow!

 Even though the 90’s have long passed, “Fat is bad!” still echoes in our rule books. Even in the 90’s I questioned this authoritative rule (even though I followed it religiously).  Really? Fat is bad? I can see the fat in ice cream, cookies, or mac-n-cheese, but even nuts, avocado, salmon, and healthy oils?? Yup!! Eat very sparingly, they told me….. Logic told me that was quacky advice since these foods were put here by nature to sustain us. But, what did I know? They  were the experts! 

Oh the trust we put in others while ignoring our own common sense and wisdom!..... 

My August Chalenge to you. Prioritize for health and happiness

"I want to be in shape, but I just don't have the time to workout." Eating healthy is too time consuming; who has time to cook?" "It's too expensive to have a gym membership." Fresh, whole foods cost too much. Plus, they go bad!"  I would love to eat healthy, but my family won't eat that kind of food."

I hear it all, and have said a few myself!

We set our lives up to be what they are. We make decisions every day that dictate our priorities and cause us to say these things when talking about our own health, happiness, and well being. 

We have made the decisions that having that nice car (payment) is more important than a gym membership, or buying those (cigarettes, beer, cookies, soda) is more important than using that money for whole foods, or over scheduling  little Billy with 4 different sports  in one season is more important than Mom's sanity and maybe a yoga class, or (in my case) taking on 5 classes a week in addition to my full time job, is more important than family time and time for myself. We all fall victim to our own choices and then hide behind them using excuses as our cover. 

But, how often do we step back and re-evaluate our priorities? 

How often do we lose our site of our priorities as we get sucked into the vortex of being too busy to remember what they were?  

Every so often, We need a mental day. A day to step back from our life and look at the big picture. Am I spending enough time with my family? Am I happy with where my health is? How is my stress level these days? What am I neglecting?  What can I give up or delegate to free up time or money for what is more important? 

My August challenge for you is to pick a day this month to take for yourself.   Use this day with no kids, no spouse, no work (you have the whole month to set this up, so plan for sitters, a day off from work, or what ever conflicts may come your way.) Take this day to re-evaluate your priorities. What do you want from life that you are not getting? What is standing in your way? What can you do without, get rid of, or delegate to free up the time or money needed for this?  

I do this on the regular! At least 2-3 times a year, I find I've lost sight of my priorities and I take a day to strategize. I usually find it's time to reduce my teaching schedule, or stop going out to dinner so many times in a week to free up money for a vacation with my hubbs, or spend less time on Facebook to free up more time to be in the kitchen prepping healthy foods. 

Sure! Giving up some responsibilities or making changes may disappoint others, but really? Is it all worth it if you're not healthy? If you're not happy? If you're not feeling fulfilled? What's the point? And honestly, the healthier and happier you are, the happier the people around you are. You know what they say... "If Mama ain't happy............."  

Make the time to get your life the way you want it to be. Life is too short to feel unhealthy, unhappy, or over stressed. Take the time to reconnect with what's really important to you.

It Works!! No really! This one is different, I promise!...

Back in my day it was Slim Fast and Metabolife. These things are still out there out on the shelves. I live just down the street from a Metabolife distributor. Along with many "diets", these were the two weight loss products I clung to.  

Slim Fast offered a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, and a sensible dinner. I was starving my body, and when I could take it no more, I'd binge, gaining any loss back, plus more!

Metabolife was my next desperate attempt to lose weight. With the promise of "all natural vitamins and herbs" to raise my metabolism and help me lose weight. I didn't lose anything but my self respect, money, and my belief that I would ever be able to  be healthy or "normal". On top of that, they made me moody, jittery, and at times confused and turned around. They completely wigged me out!

What was my turning point? I'd have to say a big one was when Dr. Phil began selling diet pills. He had  a pill for "pear shaped" ladies, and a pill for "apple shapes". Wait!!! What???! Those 2 boxes with Dr. Phil's name on it jumped off the shelf and hit me over the head with an IDIOT stick!! Were we really that stupid!??  Um, Yes!! Talk about an epiphany!! That was the day I stopped watching Dr. Phil and stopped giving my money to the diet industry.

I changed my focus from weight loss to getting healthy . No products! No pills! No shakes! No meal replacement bars! No diet foods! No short cuts! No decisions made out of desperation! Instead, it had to be conducive to good health. Real nutrition, from real foods. Water. Adequate sleep. Activity. Exercise, Flexibility. Strength. Yoga. Taking care of myself for the first time ever. And, are you ready for this??....It's a new, unheard of concept that the diet industry doesn't make you commit to.....TIME! Yes! You read that right. Time. Time to change habits and behaviors. Time to learn what healthy really is. Time to incorporate these new healthy concepts into sustainable, everyday life. Time to fail and learn so you can succeed. Time to see real results, from real efforts. Time.

But, now we have our beloved and trusted, 'tell it like it is', Jillian Michaels (today's Dr. Phil of weight loss) out there selling a whole line of pills, cleansers, and diet products. We buy them, because we love and trust Jillian! And why not? She came into our homes every week for years, inspiring and showing us that we too can lose hundreds of pounds in just a matter of months.

We also have the brilliant money making scam of , 'It Works' diet pills, All natural shakes, and magic wraps, you can use and sell at parties like Tupperware in your own home. LOSE INCHES FAST! And, I hear it works.....while you are using it. But who can afford to give away their money and health for a life time? I mean, really, when you stop using them, the inches come back. Some would (and do) argue that 'this' product is different. This one feeds you healthy shakes and preaches healthy living. Well, of course it does! Any good distributor is going to create a strong belief system for their product. It's called great marketing!! After all, what weight loss product is going to tell you they just want your money.

 It's no secret I have a BIG beef with the diet and weight loss industry. They prey on the desperation and emotions of over weight and unhealthy consumers. The biggest goal here is to keep us sick, over weight, unhealthy, and unhappy with ourselves so they can continue to rape our pocket books with the next, bright promise of tomorrow. And there will be a "next" to fall back on when the one you are currently using fails you. And it will have even bigger promises of health and weight loss. 

At some point, we have to ask ourselves, who is driving this bus? Am I in control of my health, or am I leaving that job to the experts scam artists? 

Food for thought......

How Many Calories Will I Burn?

I don't advocate being obsessed with calories. But I do highly recommend learning about them! The more you educate yourself, the more successful you will be.

As people begin learning about calories, one of the most asked questions we (fitness professionals) get is, "How many calories will I burn doing _______?" Unfortunately many fitness pros will tell you that their class or workout will burn the most. I hear many say, "If you take my class, you will/can burn 1000 calories or more!!" Truth is, they have no idea how much 'you' will burn. This widely varies from person to person.

I can max out at my most intense effort at 400 calories in an hour, while the person next to me can burn 1000 or more.! That's a wide range!
What determines how many calories one can burn? Everything!

Weight
Age
Gender
Body Composition
Diet
Hydration
Menstrual Cycle
Sleep
Energy level
Effort
Intensity

Type of exercise
Fitness level
Cardiovascular health
Over all health

This list seems endless.
So how do online charts, or fitness professionals know how many calories you will burn? Without more info, a heart rate and some math,they don't.

Back in the day, I used those online charts to track my calories. When I purchased my heart rate monitor, I was very disappointed to learn I was only burning half of what those charts were telling me! Seriously!? Is this thing broke!?! Even after asking fellow fitness professionals, no one understood why I was burning so little. Not to toot my own horn, but I go pretty hard in the gym...(toot toot).

After picking my ego up off the floor, I had to come to terms with reality. I adjusted my eating habits to account for this rather disappointing discrepancy, and WhaLa!! Goals were getting met!!

I'm in LOVE with my Polar FT-7 . I've had it for a couple years now and can track calories, and challenge myself with my max heart rates on intervals. With no cross talk, I know it's always reading my progress and not the person next to me. Polar isn't the only good brand. I have friends who love their Garmin versions as well, and some have the ability to track millage if you run or cycle (great for distant runners prepping for a race!). What ever you choose, this a great learning tool to find out what you are really doing in the gym, so you can make better choices in the kitchen.