You may be asking yourself why I am reviewing a soda. After all soda isn’t even remotely healthy. Truth is, even though I am not much of a soda drinker anymore there was something about this new “throwback” soda that really had me intrigued. The fact that is used normal sugar in place of the [...]
Anthony’s EA Sports Active 30 Day Challenge
UPDATED – 2/02/10
21 days down, I now weigh 221lbs, for a total 13lbs lost so far. My original goal was 2-3 lbs a week, so far I am surpassing my goal at just about 4.3 lbs week. I think I am leveling off at the moment and will finish these next 9 days strong. I [...]
I bought a bag of almonds from the grocery store this afternoon. They were raw and quite good but about half way through the bag I thought it would fun to try and experiment with them. So when I got home I grabbed a handful of ingredients and ended up making some cinnamon almonds.
Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 packets of sweet and low
1 teaspoon of sea salt
Mixed it all in a bowl, cooked for 10 minutes at 350 degrees and called it good. They came out with a nice blend of sweet and salty. If I make them again, I may cut the the salt down to 1/2 teaspoon though.
I am not sure if these would qualify for primal or paleo but you could probably modify it easy enough to make it comply.
Since the first of the year, I have been Primal. There are many aspects to being Primal but one of the major ones is that I do not eat anything that contains grain: wheat, rice, corn, etc. Now I want to modify my diet to not eat beef that has been grain fed. The reasons for this are many and include but are not limited to:
Grass fed beef has been proven to be lower in fat and calories
Grass fed beef is higher in Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Beef that starts on grass and then switches to grain can lose up to 50% of its total Omega-3 concentration.
Grass fed beef contains almost 4 times as much Vitamin E as grain fed beef.
Grass fed beef also has more Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) which helps humans with fat loss and has also been associated with lower cancer risk.
Of further concern to me is the fact that switching a cow from grass to grain is very disruptive to the cows digestive system. If not done correctly and slowly, the cow could end up dying. One way to get around this is to pump the animal full of antibiotics. Antibiotics that end up in the muscles of the animal and then eventually eaten by me. I don’t care to eat anything that is has been injected with drugs for the sole purpose of keeping it alive.
Knowing these facts, how could anyone still want to sit down and eat beef that is grain fed?
I decided that after doing the Primal lifestyle for the last 30 days, I probably should try some Intermittent Fasting (or IF for short). IF is when you go a number of hours (usually 24) without eating. Past studies have shown that periodic fasting can have dramatic weight loss results as well as an increase in overall health. I am attempting to break through a small plateau that has developed in my quest for lower body fat loss.
I am going to be doing a 24 hour fast but that is not the only option. For more info on the types of fasting, check out MarksDailyApple.com.
I thought it would be fun to keep a time-line of the thoughts and emotions that go into a 24 hour fast
6:00pm – Fast started after supper.
6:45pm – Headed to Wal-Mart to get school lunch supplies for the kids and beef jerky for the wife. Sat staring at the mixed nuts trying to figure out what I wanted as a snack. Remembered that I was fasting for 24 hours and to buy something would be a waste of money. Walked out of Wal-Mart feeling let down.
10:00pm – Its now been 4 hours since I ate and so far so good. No hunger and I am ready for bed.
6:30am - I am feeling hungry this morning as I usually do. It doesn’t help that I am making breakfast for the family knowing that I cant eat any. I will enjoy a small cup of coffee when I get to work but that is the extent of it.
9:45am – I am starting to really feel hungry. Now is the time that I usually would eat a small meal. Not today.
11:30am – Worked out at the gym. Energy level and focus was very high. Came back not feeling as hungry as I was before.
1:30pm – Starting to feel hungry. Only 6 more hours to go!
4:30pm – Hunger is gone and feeling pretty good again.
6:30pm – I did it! I made it 24 hours without food. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. My hunger subsided after my workout and I was able to keep it away. I didn’t feel very dizzy or light headed like I thought I would from not having any food.
I eased my body back into eating by having some slices of fruit and a few baby carrots. Then about an hour later, I had a small taco salad.
I really enjoyed this fast and may continue to do it on a weekly basis.
The time has come to say good-bye to an old friend. A friend that has been with me for 4.5 years and over 40 lbs of weight loss. This friend is my local 24 hour fitness and its time to say good bye. Prior to last Sunday I held two gym memberships: a 24 hour fitness membership and a GAC (Gardner Athletic Center) membership. The GAC was for those times I was at home and wanted to hit the gym with my wife. The 24 hour fitness membership was used during my lunch breaks (my office is 4 miles away). Both gyms had equal amenities: cardio, weights, etc. But they also both lacked the most important thing that I now wanted in a gym: family involvement. So often the kids would ask us if they could workout with us. Of course we always had to tell them no as kids are not allowed to work out in either place. 24 Hour has a kids club that consists of a few play gyms but nothing too entertaining. I have never been one to discourage my kids from wanting to live healthy lifestyles so I knew that we needed a change of venues. That was when my wife and I started to discuss the YMCA. After a little research I discovered that not only was there a YMCA a few miles from our home but also one that was only 2 miles from my office. Score! We headed out to our hometown YMCA last Sunday and took a tour. We loved the place. It had two pools, a walking track, cardio, free weights, 3 kids clubs (for all ages), summer activities, and free fitness classes. The best part was that our kids could work out right beside us (if they are 8 years old and taken a special class)! This was fantastic! We could get our kids involved in taking care of themselves at an early age…and we could go swimming! I took a tour of the YMCA by my office and it had similar amenities (plus a basketball court). After seeing both YMCA’s and discovering that our monthly membership would be less than what we are currently paying for the other two, it was a no brainer to make the switch.
So even though I will miss the 24 hour fitness and the journey that we had together, a new chapter is now upon me. A chapter that involves our family and our overall health. Family first…always.
Dave, a fellow blogger and fitness advocate posted this video on his Facebook page. I watched it and loved how it was able to explain so simply the process of high carb intake on our bodies and how those carbs really affect our metabolism. I wanted to make sure I could share it with others. Makes perfect sense to me. What about you?
