WIAW #29 Why Some Good Habits Can Be Bad

Too much of a good thing can definitely be bad.  Although it sounds like crazy talk, too much creamy and delicious peanut butter is grounds for an upset stomach and possibly worse. Same goes for exercise; an excessive amount can be and is detrimental to your body.

Some how, some way, we can find a special balance for healthy living, but how? Well, for me, it's a work in progress.  Having just been told to lay off the gluten and dairy has added an extra hurdle in my race to find a balance.  Not a big hurdle, mind you, since my diet consists mostly of fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts, fish, and lean meats. But it's an obstacle nonetheless.

Greek yogurt is the hardest thing to omit.  I could polish off a 32oz. container of Plain, Non-fat CHO in one sitting! Share? Unheard of! I've cut out organic skim milk and only use unsweetened almond milk and sometimes soy.  As for the Greek yogurt, my consumption is greatly reduced, but I still have some every so often.

This used to be a work week's worth supply....
*insert sad face*

My biggest issue now is the constant stomach/digestive issues I've been having. I thought it's all related to my gluten and/or dairy intolerance, but I still get pretty bad.  Sorry, Kelley, and anyone else around me!

Anxiety can be a major culprit of upset stomach issues and I think this is part of my problem too. I let work and life issues worry me way too much.  Why is that?  We have this life to live and I need to learn to just enjoy each moment without worrying about the past or future.  If you have any tips that don't include drugs or alcohol, please share.

Along with changing parts of my diet, I am trying to find a balance with exercise.  I feel I must workout everyday and the routine I'm following doesn't seem enough.  I find myself adding extra stuff before or after and constantly searching for more ways to get my heart going.  This, of course, compounds the stress and anxiety; one more thing for me to work on.

So, my habits that I thought were good in the past, have contributed to my gluten intolerance, me feeling burnt out physically and mentally, and having crazy digestive issues! How "good" is that?

What I ultimately want is to be able to have TIME to do everything.  I want to enjoy peaceful time with my wife, Kelley, just watching a movie and visiting with our families.  All while not being so concerned about what food to have or take along or how I will be able to fit in a workout.

Progress is being made, I think, and it seems to be a day to day thing I will deal with.  To the others out there, how do you tackle these issues in your life? Don't get me wrong, I'm not just some unhappy guy drudging through life, I do enjoy life and spending time with Kelley and others, but I need to MORE.

Good and bad habits aside, I think it's time for a little something we all know and enjoy....What I Ate Wednesday! Thank you, Jenn, for creating and hosting these awesome WIAW events! I've still been lacking in the picture taking department, so I'll post some new and some recycled photos.

Breakfast

Egg white omelette with bell peppers and goat cheese; Navitas Naturals Cocao powder infused coffee

Lunch

Green cabbage and spinach stir-fry with egg whites; green tea with stevia; Chocolate overnight oat crisps

Dinner

Cucumber and red pepper salad with sliced smoked turkey deli meat; Coconut protein granola; my own version of STUFT Mama's Coconut Cookie Dough Crumble. I made mine creamier and added more protein powder, peanut flour, pumpkin puree, unsweetened almond milk, and cottage cheese. So basically, it's not a crumble and the only thing similar is some coconut flour. But it inspired me!

So, things aren't so bad when you have good, healthy food and the comfort of a loving wife and family.  Luckily, I have all of those, so everything will be fine here.

How do you cope in times of stress and anxiety?

Any tips on relieving gastrointestinal distress?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for Navitas Naturals Cacao and Lucuma Powder; it ends this Friday, 9/21!!

Happy WIAW, Have a Great Week!

"I Don't Know How to Eat Healthy" and 4 Other Excuses for not Eating Healthy

How many of you healthy foodies have been faced with someone telling you this? It's been awhile, but I often forget that I too was ignorant as to what "healthy" eating meant.  I try to remind myself this when people talk to me about their thoughts/attempts at being healthier.

But then again, there's enough info out there now that it's hard to not pick up on a few healthy habits. There's definitely a lot of BS out there claiming this diet makes you lose weight fast, or eating carbs precisely past 5:45PM will make you blow up like a blimp.

This site lists the top 5 excuses for not eating healthy, and I have heard all of them.

1. Don't Need to Lose Weight/Already Skinny
2. Don't Know How
3. Too Expensive
4. Don't Like to Count Calories
5. Healthy Food has no Taste

My advice? Avoid any verbal or written "advice" that's centered around a certain diet; this typically means that someone will gain financially as a result of the diet becoming popular. The less food you buy in a box (unless it's your CSA basket!), the better off you are.  Allergies and tastes aside, real, whole food will almost always win in the health department.

If food is processed, it's not so bad if it took place in your kitchen, but a short ingredient list of real food is the next best thing.  I know most of you reading know most of this information, but besides jut ranting, I'm also curious to see how many others deal with this.

Always bringing my lunch and having carrots, peppers, celery, turnips, dried okra, ect. as snacks has labeled me the healthy eater at work. I still can't understand why me eating healthy is so "strange" and I don't go out to eat "real" food more often. What's wrong with people?! Is it that crazy to prepare your own food and know exactly what goes into what you put in your body?

All five of these excuses make me turn red in anger.  Why? How does it affect me if I don't make the excuses? Because I want the world to know what's better for them. If everyone made better choices, the Earth as a whole would be cleaner and healthier.  Think of the extra cost the obese put on the economy.  I won't list them all, but the heavier you are, the worse your fuel economy is.  Just sayin.

I sound pretty harsh, huh?  Well, it makes me happy to see people actually trying to get healthier....as long as the are consistent. One week of healthy eat will do nothing if you go back to crap eating. And counting calories? There's no need when choosing unpackaged whole food; the miracle of fiber will help keep you from eating more than needed!

Healthy, homemade, and delicious!

It feels like I'm all over the place on this post, sorry, it's late and going to work is looming over my head. Basically, I know how easily some people can change the way they look and feel just by changing their diet. I'm not an RD or certified....anything, but I know from experience.  I made these same excuses, but then I just searched for and soaked up as much healthy lifestyle info I could. The info is there, people just have to search for it.

If someone came to me for help, I'd gladly offer what I can and enjoy seeing them fall in love with their healthy changes.  I've been wanting to post on this topic for a while, and now it's just out. I'm sure there's more to come, but my blog is a great place to vent to others who "get it."

6 minutes to steam veggies and scramble eggs vs. 10 minutes in the drive-thru and growing gut.  Hmm, tough decision...

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading!  Do you experience people talking to you and making healthy excuses? How do you proceed to answer or what do you offer to them?

I expect a pretty low-key week of posts since I didn't get a chance to take a lot of pictures and work will be busy.  Would you still enjoy reading my posts without pictures?  Let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to discuss, I'm always happy to please my foodie friends

Happy Monday, hope you had a great weekend!

#WIAW 20 The Most Effective Fat Loss Pill is....

..... just a pipe dream.  Sorry for being so rash, but the whole idea around fat loss pills ticks me off.  It makes me mad how businesses exploit the majority of America's (probably World too) constant search to lose weight without working for it. Hard work (being active) and eating healthy food is better than any pill!

My anger is partly because I was pretty chubby before, but I learned by reading (gasp) information on healthy food and exercise.  Combining these two things, I could feel the changes and loved them.  So now I live a healthful life and don't plan on changing.

No time for healthy is no excuse when you can make this protein cinnamon bread in the microwave!

Meanwhile, there are so many uninformed people not even trying to learn proper diet and exercise or keeping consistent.  Nope, instead they only perk up with cash/credit in hand when a new pill or something else claiming itself as "easy" or "fast" comes along for fat loss.

Countless times I have tried to offer my input to some of the, for lack of better word, ignorant. And, countless times my advice has been waived off as meaningless or just too hard because they could never give up "enter crappy food here" or consistently "enter form of exercise here."

Now I just try to say nothing when these topics come up unless I am specifically asked for advice.  Even then, it seems like if the advice is too hard or not what they want to hear, it gets ignored.  Hence the popularity of fat loss pills (aka caffeine pills with added BS).

Source: thehealthychange.tumblr.com via FitFluential on Pinterest

I understand some people are busy, buy the health of you and your family should be top priority. Am I alone here?  Do you disagree on my assessment?  Please explain. I get so ticked because I want to help people learn how to better take care of themselves, but they don't want to hear it.

I'm no expert, but I feel I have experienced enough on my own journey to have something to offer. I'll probably keep trying since it's forever programmed in my head to care. Who knows, maybe I'll help someone get and stay on track one day!

Skip the boxed crackers and make goat cheese protein crackers instead!

Speaking of staying on track, since this month's WIAW theme is fun fitness, I'd like to announce a new strength program I'm going to follow.  I plan on starting Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program. There is one main compound lift like overhead press, squat, bench press, and dead lift each workout and then supplemental work of choice.

Source: Uploaded by user via FitFluential on Pinterest

I followed StrongLifts 5x5 for a year and made some good gains.  Then I went back to running and lost strength. I could definitely get back on StrongLifts, but want to try something new. I will make the supplemental work either one of the Supreme 90 DVD's I have, or just more lifts in the garage. I'm excited to start and hope I can keep my food intake high to actually gain strength.  This is the area I've had trouble with.

And of course these protein brownies are healthy in disguise. No box needed here!

Not eating enough and still running are my biggest issues I need to work on.  Hmmm, guess that's better than the flip side...i.e. most of America sitting in line at a drive thru!  Squats are lifts I love to hate, and hope to make great improvements on those and bench press.

Sharing the workout I did each day is not my strong suit, but I'd like to try posting what I did along with my blog posts.  What do you think?  Do you like reading what workout someone else did on any given day?

How about I share what I consider the most effective health pills.....my eats and exercise!!!

Happy WIAW! Now go sweat it out and then enjoy some healthy and delicious recovery food!

As always, a gianormous thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting this fun event! Wish her a quick recovery from her broken toe when you visit her site!!

These are all my "Pills"....

[B] Homemade PB Protein Bar; iced black tea mixed with Good Earth Spicy Original Tea; [S] Drew's Salsa and goat cheese crackers with green tea; [L] Millet, Lentil and Black Bean mix with Brussels Sprouts underneath [Workout]  Barbell Overhead Press, Supreme 90 video and mowing with a reel mower [D] Huge salad with Brussels and Beets topped with my own mix of veggie lentil puree as dressing; [D2] Chocolate Doughnut mess with veggie black bean peanut butter dip, CHO plain Greek yogurt, and pistachios; Cup of  pumpkin protein overnight oats with peanut flour protein paste, frozen blueberries, and more CHO

Q: Do you ever try to offer your healthy advice only to be/feel rejected or ignored?

WIAW #18 From Running to Lifting, Food Matters

Running created the foundation for my passion of cooking and eating all things healthy. After completing my first marathon with no regard to proper fueling, training, and recovery, I bought a book by Runner’s World called Performance Nutrition for Runners: How to Fuel Your Body for Stronger Workouts, Faster Recovery, and Your Best Race Times Ever. This book opened the door to the world of food and the way it affects our mind and body.

Each successive year I ran the same marathon with both better recovery and faster times. I eventually qualified for the Boston Marathon (twice) and ran it in 2009. The fact that I could see and feel my body change once I began preparing my own wholesome meals has turned me into the obsessive foodie I am today. Ask my Mom, Kelley, and others close to me; they’ll readily validate this judgment. 

Kelley and Me in Boston for the marathon

Even healthier cereals like Rice Chex or Heritage Bites have worked their way out of our pantry. I miss it every now and then, but Ezekiel 4:9 cereal or Arrowhead Mills Puffed Millet, Kamut, or Corn suit me just fine. And there’s always the numerous ways to make delicious overnight oats with pumpkin, whey protein, peanut butter/flour, and mashed banana to name a few.

After “running” a strict training program with little time off year after year, I became burned out on the monotony of running. Plus, I could tell my strength had diminished since I would hardly eat enough to support my 50 to 70 miles per week. To gain strength, you need resistance training and to eat more than you burn to assist muscle growth. This is referred to as "bulking" in the world of strength training.

Kelley and me after the San Antonio RnR Marathon. This was my PR at 2:53:17

I’m not good at “bulking” since it requires over 3k calories to support growth, but I’m trying my best. I know I could use it, or at least try, but since I was a fat kid up until high school, I have a fear of instantly ballooning up again. I'm getting better at eating more, but I will never try drinking a gallon of whole milk a day like the GOMAD diet used by many newbie lifters use to gain strength (as well as fat) fast. Craziness!


My current routine consists of either a 4 day upper/lower split or 3 day full body compound barbell movements. I focus on the squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, and bent row. I make sure to do sprints, short runs, biking, and walking each week. I have a fear of losing the endurance I built up from running, so I feel I must do some form of cardio. I also keep active by mowing the lawn with a reel mower twice a week, doing jumping jacks first thing in the morning, always taking the stairs, and even heavy punching bag work.

I enjoy my increase in strength, and know I still have a ways to go. Keeping active is the main thing, and doing something you enjoy keeps you coming back for more. Please make sure you value to importance of food quality for recovery and fuel and choose something you like doing; you’re body will thank you!

Was this post long enough for you?  How about we have a look at my eats. I’m going to just post the pics in chronological order to keep it shorter. Let me know if you like this or what you want to know more about. As always, I’d like to send a big thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting this ever-growing foodie event!


Happy WIAW and 4th of July!!






Breakfast

Homemade PB Protein Bread with homemade cherry chia protein jam....more than one slice was had.

No-cook peanut butter protein bars with puffed millet and corn.

Lunch

Tuna stuffed cremini mushrooms with mustard and cayenne make an awesome snack or salad topper!

Remake of my non-McGriddle I posted about the other day. Love the little honey with pepper!

Dinner

Cold Quinoa salad with beets and greens.

Homemade 3-pepper salsa. I didn't eat this whole thing, but it was the dressing on my big salad with steamed veggies and chicken. Forgot to take a picture...sorry.

Healthy Dessert that Doubles as 2nd Dinner

Overnight "Proats" with frozen blueberries, PB Crave CoCo Bananas, and CHO Greek yogurt

Green Protein Smoothie with spinach, pumpkin, and pineapple. Looks....green...but tastes great!!

Microwave Overnight Oat PB Muffin. The recipe (it's easy) is coming up soon!

How to Make Your Own Healthy Egg “McGriddle”

Have you ever had a McGriddle breakfast sandwich from McDonald’s? The soft maple-flavored pancake “buns” sandwiching crispy bacon or sausage, egg and cheese creates a sweet and savory fast food breakfast. Mmm, I really enjoyed these sandwiches back in my “ignorant to how food is made” days. Now...not so much.


Glad to be free of food ignorance now, I see through the "M" branded griddle cakes stuffed with fluffy egg and crispy bacon.  I only see low-quality, non-nutritional ingredients like enriched flour, artificial flavors designed in a science lab, and cheese that is anything but. Starting from the top, lets break down the ingredients in one of these sandwiches from McD’s. This info is straight from their site here.

Who brands their buns anyway?

One Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle (source) packs a whopping 420 calorie handheld heart attack served neatly in colored paper wrap. You get a substantial (not in a good way) 18g of fat, 240mg of cholesterol, 1110mg of sodium, 2g fiber, and 15g of sugar. Still sound good? Lets keep going….

The top-level ingredients for a Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles® are:

Griddle Cakes, Folded Egg, Pasteurized Process American Cheese, Bacon, Liquid Margarine


Seems somewhat safe, but dig deeper and we find the Griddle Cakes have a little more than you or I would use to make pancakes:

Water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, dextrose, palm oil, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), brown sugar, salt, soybean oil, rice flour, whey powder, modified tapioca starch, buttermilk powder, caramel color, natural (dairy and botanical source) and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, corn oil (processing aid).


Surely there’s nothing in the Folded Egg besides "egg"….right?....wrong:

Pasteurized whole eggs, food starch-modified, soybean oil, natural flavors (botanical source), sodium acid pyrophosphate, carrageenan, flavor enhancer [salt, maltodextrin, natural flavor (plant source), spices, herb, turmeric (color)], monosodium phosphate, citric acid, soy lecithin (release agent).

And the topping on (and in) the “cake” is Liquid Margarine:

Liquid soybean oil and hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, soy lecithin, mono-and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color).

This is an example of why I cook at home. You can find many places that provide fresh, healthy ingredients, but the fact that I just don’t have control of what I'm eating bothers me. Plus, I don’t want to pay a premium because someone else prepared my meal when I can do the same from the comfort of home; and I’ll tip myself, thank you.

My version is actually what you would expect an egg sandwich with pancake buns to be; two pancakes with a cooked egg in the middle. Wow, shocker!! I cooked a batch of pumpkin pancakes using less liquid in my crepe recipe on this post, but you can use your favorite pancake recipe if you choose.

The fluffy white one was my weapon egg of choice for the pics.

For the egg, I had this bright idea to microwave it in a small, circular glass dish to make the perfect round egg patty. As you can see, I did this 4 times and the egg just expanded into a miniature Leaning Tower of Pisa. Fail. I made do with the best rounded one of the bunch and just saved the other eggs to put on salad. Since my pancakes were too big, I trimmed around them a little; not necessary, but I wanted to make it look good!

Topped with a drizzle of honey, sprinkle of cayenne, and dash of pepper, this was a delectably sweet and spicy sandwich I devoured right after the last picture. I was so excited when the idea to make this sandwich came to mind, and I’m glad I did. I no longer crave a McGriddle after seeing the extensive list of crap for ingredients, but my non-McGriddles are a delightful (and healthy) way to start or end the day.

I think it's smiling at me...

Egg sandwiches are just awesome, and I recall having many homemade scrambled egg and ketchup sandwiches on white bread as a kid. Not all that healthy, but better than McD’s. I'll just have these instead from now on.


Q: Have you ever made your own fast food version into something healthier?


Q2: Do you like egg sandwiches with ketchup?

Do You Have a Different Diet Than Your Friends and Family?

At a restaurant called The Gin Mill with most of my family. Good beer, bad clams.

When I am told we are going out with the family for whatever reason, my first response is usually not a happy one. Kelley hates my first response. I don’t blame her. It’s selfish to worry so much about where we’re going and what I’ll be able to eat when being with friends and family is the important part.

Playing "Mexican Train" at Grandma's; I think this game makes for the best times!

Nonetheless, I have strict guidelines for the food I’ll eat, and refuse to eat something that I don’t know exactly how it was prepared. This usually leaves me with the option of an overpriced salad (no dressing, cheese, or croutons please) that lacks substance and a stomach that’s as full as a bear cave in the summer. If it’s a clean place, I’ll add lean protein like smoked salmon, grilled shrimp or chicken, etc. that helps fill the void.

I have been getting better about my poor response almost every time there's another “outing”, but I still need improvement. Either way, I refuse to change my diet for these occasions and have become pretty good at Intermittent Fasting as a result. It’s really not so bad once you get past some rough patches.

Last pic before we left back to TX
From Left: Uncle Rob, Aunt Jeanne, Kelley, Mom, Grandma

When I don’t feel like IF’ing, a pb & banana sandwich will do the trick, but results in a lot of stares and comments from everyone else. If you’re reading this and you go through the same thing, please, comment to let me know I’m not alone here.

I was in PA with my mom and Kelley to see my family last week and we stayed with my dear grandma. She’s in her 80’s and moves and looks better than most people do in their 50’s or 60’s! Despite her peppiness, she does have diabetes and suffers from restless leg syndrome. Right when we got there, I found items with unacceptable ingredients for her conditions and nicely (but sternly) got on to her.

Grandma frequently falls victim to the claims made on product labels, so I went to the store with her to help her make better choices. To avoid overwhelming her with information overload, I just gave simple advice to look for certain “bad” ingredients along with some other tidbits I mention in this past post. When we got back to her home, I cleared out many expired and unhealthy foods from her fridge and tossed them in the trash to make room for the healthier food. She made a healthy change before and noted how much better she felt, but she just needs to keep consistent. Wish I could be there everyday to walk with her and help prepare healthy food!

Acting dumb with Mom and Grandma in Baltimore, MD

While I was there, I made overnight oats with pumpkin puree, stevia, sliced almonds, and yogurt using my guidelines here. I made sure she watched me put everything together the night before so (hopefully) she will make them herself!

As far as how to handle the prying questions of what I will eat, I just keep it as simple as possible; mostly foods that aren’t packaged or have hydrogenated oils or sugar. I would love to sit down and explain my reasoning in its entirety, but it’s no good unless someone is determined to change for the better.

So, besides scolding grandma about the foods that are affecting her health, I tried to keep to myself on my food views. Ha, I just realized I’ve been yapping on and on about this. I feel extremely passionate about this topic and would love to get all of my family members on board because I love them and want nothing but the best.

Q: What do you think when it comes to lecturing relatives on healthy habits? Yay or nay?
I think you know my feelings now!

*Rant Alert* If It's Not Normal to be Healthy......

.....then I guess the obese are super cool! Are you envious?

Do you consider yourself a healthy eater?  Do others around you think you're weird for snacking on carrots instead of cakes, or drinking unsweetened tea/coffee instead of a 40oz (ok, I'm exaggerating) Monster Energy Drink?  Why is this?!?  Why does it seem like most people consider fast food chains and other venues the normal places to go for food, and cooking at home is something they do only when the have to?

The way a lot of people think of food seems flawed to me; the less processed a food is, the more "normal" it should be, and the crap at fast food joints is really the weird stuff.  And of course, a lot of the ones calling me weird for choosing a healthy lifestyle are the same people huffing from walking up a few flights of stairs or just never seem to be in good health. Hmmm, no wonder most of the world is becoming obese and being diagnosed  with sicknesses like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mobility problems, etc.

This topic gets under my skin and to my bones! I hate listening to the people who feel they have to try and justify their unhealthy choices to me (I never asked) by saying they just can't give up this or that because it's too hard.  Yeah, it is as hard for you to just get in and out of your car too?

I know, I sound pretty harsh right now, but it's because I actually care.  I jump at the chance to explain to anyone actually interested and willing to listen on ways to make a healthy switch.  The problem is, not many people want to listen about how preparing their own food and skipping the grocery aisles is good for them.  Nope, instead they want to hear about the pill making bogus, untested claims about losing fat fast, or the latest diet craze.

Years ago, up to being an early college student, I was there too, but then I learned and kept seeking more info on how I can be healthier.  Up to this point, I've concluded it's not as hard as it seems.......just buy as little packaged products as possible and learn to prepare healthy dinners and desserts.

"Heart" Healthy Smoothie With Homemade Protein Heart Bread for Kelley.....better than  any package!

Who else feels this way? I am passionate about food the same way Alton Brown is about using sock puppets.  Don't get my analogy?  Watch a few "Good Eats" episodes.....you'll catch on. Still don't get it? Well, I'm just passionate about healthy food....period.

So why am I posting this rant on my blog?  One, because it's my blog and I can, two, I'm hopeful it will open at least one person's eyes to living a healthier life, and three, it feels good to let it out. I tend to express my thoughts on these topics periodically after they build up inside; here are a few rants thoughts from the past.....

On New Year's resolutions

Sugar Consumption and Obesity

140+ Ways Sugar Affects Our Health

More resolutions with healthy tips

Why Diets Don't Work and a List of Better Options

Please read through some of these as they provide a good amount of information on how to start living healthily and still enjoy living!

Speaking of enjoying life, Zevia has sent me samples of their newest flavors to try and review.  Be on the lookout for my review along with a few recipes and giveaway for a coupon to get your own Zevia 6-pack.

Q:  Are you "normal" or the weird outcast who makes healthier choices?