Category Archives: Diet
Purists
So I’ve found it interesting to both watch the evolution of Paleo, but also people’s resistance to any sort of change.
We now have Paleo breads and people who consider themselves Paleo but occasionally have dairy, potatoes or rice.
But then we have other people who RAIL against anything not TRADITIONALLY Paleo.
Can I just point out right now that NOTHING is actually traditionally Paleo!!!
Anyway, I find this “purist” mentality – or this resistance to change INCREDIBLY ANNOYING!
NOTHING STAYS THE SAME!
This is slightly extreme…but “adapt or die.”
If you get stuck in your ways and aren’t willing to change with the times, you will probably, at some point, fail.
Change is essential. Nothing ever stays the same.
So why would you ever believe that the diet you have currently couldn’t in some way become better?
I mean why not test out how a little rice or potatoes affects you? Why not eat a little bit of cheese if you love it?
If you never change, if you never experiment, you won’t ever know if there isn’t something better out there.
While sticking perfectly to a diet can help you see if it will work for you, being a purist in the long run probably will prevent you from finding something that works even better and is even more enjoyable.
So start thinking for yourself. Experiment!
Don’t just get stuck being a purist for a diet that you didn’t create FOR YOURSELF!
One last Twinkie?
Everyone seems to be talking about the shutdown of Hostess.
Some people worry they will never get another Twinkie while others talk about how this may help the obesity epidemic.
Honestly, I have no desire for a Twinkie AND I don’t believe the shutdown of Hostess will have any effect on our nation’s obesity rate.
It’s the same thing as McDonald’s and other fast food places offering “healthy” foods – If people really want unhealthy food, they will still find a way to get it.
I firmly believe that eating healthy is a CHOICE we can make, no matter our backgrounds or economic status.
If we CHOOSE to eat well, we will buy healthy foods no matter how much money we have or what we ate when we were little.
People claim that if there are more healthy options available then people won’t choose the crap.
I completely disagree. There are healthy options out there. They are pretty easily available – even markets like Walmart now have local, organic produce.
PEOPLE STILL DECIDE TO EAT CRAP!
It is PEOPLE that aren’t making the healthy decision.
I mean shoot even people I know who haven’t eaten Twinkies in years are getting one because it may be the last!
We are in control. We decide whether or not we are going to eat well.
What do you think?
Stress Eating – Healthy Munching!
So one of the most common excuses I hear about why people can’t lose weight is…
“Well, I eat when I’m stressed. I just can’t help it.”
It makes me want to laugh/cry.
Well I would love to eat when I’m stressed too, BUT I DON’T!
Ok but I do understand the lack of self-control and a desire for SOMETHING to comfort you after a long stressful day. And hopefully you can teach yourself to use other things as an outlet…A good workout, reading a book, sitting and chatting with a loved one.
But as you transition to better habits, or on those days when you really can’t resist eating to relieve your stress, that doesn’t mean you have to turn to BAD FOOD.
I have found what I consider to be one of the BEST SNACKS EVER – KALE CHIPS!
Let’s face it, when we stress eat we consume unneeded calories that are really really bad for us.
BUT I have a snack that will keep you from destroying your diet even when you need to munch a bit when you are stressed.
Kale Chips
Ingredients:
Kale
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Salt
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry kale (make sure it is dry!). Tear into pieces and put it on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and spices. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Friends, Family and Food
So this weekend was my final big cheat until Thanksgiving and boy did I do it up right.
I celebrated with a Halloween party last night and a big brunch with Ryan’s sisters this morning.
We are a society where food, family and friends seem to almost be inseparable.
We sit down to dinner as a family for some “family time.” We meet up with friends for a meal to “catch up.” We celebrate with parties centered around food.
At the heart of most of our socializing is FOOD.
Does that make sticking to your diet, especially around the holidays, easy?
HECK NO!
But that doesn’t mean that you can just give up!
Sure use a few get-togethers and specific holiday gatherings as cheat days, but choose them wisely. Choose ones that are meaningful and satisfying.
Don’t just eat bad food to eat bad food. Don’t just be lazy and take the easy way out.
DON’T JUST GIVE IN TO EVERY TEMPTATION!
I know it is difficult to turn down bad food. I know there are tons of articles with special tips about plate size and drinking water to supposedly help you avoid overeating.
But let’s face it…Once you eat a few bad things at a party and have a drink or two, your inhibitions will be lowered and you probably won’t end up eating only a “bit or two” of the bad food.
So instead pick and choose events to eat badly at.
PLAN AHEAD.
Even if that planning is just knowing that you are going to have a few big cheats over the next few months, but are going to eat super clean in between them.
Think about which events you will really feel deprived if you don’t indulge at and plan to cheat at those. Come up with a plan of action at the others to help you stick to your diet if you don’t want to cheat at them. (This will prevent you from losing all willpower after a drink or two at the party.)
If it is at a restaurant, check out the menu ahead of time. If it is at a friend’s house, there is no harm in asking what the menu will be like.
I always find that when I’m aware of the food choices beforehand, I can create an action plan to keep me on track while enjoying the party and not feeling like the odd man out.
Family, friends and food – You don’t have to miss out OR give up on your diet!
No Filler Crab Cakes
Just because most recipes use breadcrumbs or saltines or some gluten filler doesn’t mean you have to!
Below are some delicious crab cakes we made with some jumbo lump crab we got at Trader Joes.
Ingredients:
16 oz crab
1 slice nitrate free bacon cut into thick chunks
2 eggs
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop the bacon into thick chunks and cook until browned. Then remove and place in a bowl to use later.
While bacon is cooking mix together crab, eggs, mustard and spices. Don’t mix so well you completely destroy the crab chunks!
Once the crab mixture is combined, form into patties. We made 12 individual cakes.
Then place the patties in the pan that you just cooked bacon in. While patties are cooking on the first side, push a few bacon chunks into the top of each patty. When you turn the patties over, the bacon will cook into them and infuse the whole crab cake with a bacon flavor!
Top the patties with a sauce of your choice (they don’t even really need sauce though!). We did use a little chipotle blue cheese “aioli”. Sour cream can be combined with some blue cheese chunks, dill and chipotle powder to make an easy, tasty sauce!
Serve with a nice light salad! We used arugula, tomatoes, green onions, garlic, and lightly tossed it in our homemade blue cheese dressing!
These crab cakes are high in protein and pretty low calorie! The whole can of crab is just 350 calories! That with just two eggs and one slice of bacon (on top of the fact that you aren’t eating the whole can yourself!) makes the meal great if you are watching your calorie intake!
Sorry, but I’m not Paleo
I’m sort of sick of being called Paleo with a negative connotation attached. I’m sick of having my diet dismissed because of a term someone else attached to it.
So while I’ve discussed the great components of both the Primal and Paleo diet, but I’m really not either.
I mean let’s face it, no one really eats Paleolithic food so no one is really Paleo.
It is just a name. A way to describe a “philosophy.”
The name has either become a source of pride or something to mock. People either blindly follow the name or won’t give the diet a second look because of it.
BUT, even though I wouldn’t define myself as perfectly Paleo or Primal, I respect the message of both of the diets – EAT WHOLE NATURAL FOODS!
All diets THAT ARE ACTUALLY HEALTHY, no matter what you call them, should follow that basic rule – Eat whole, natural foods. Get plenty of healthy fats, proteins and vegetables and avoid process crap and gluten.
I personally believe that if you avoid gluten and vegetable oil, you will avoid the two leading causes of inflammation, which can cause serious health problems.
I also believe thought that it doesn’t mean you can just eat a ton of gluten-free products.
You also need to avoid as much processed food as possible because frankly, it is CRAP.
But whether or not corn or dairy or peanuts or beans are bad is all up to you. Certain diets say they are bad, but honestly, I think it comes down to how you feel when you eat them and the studies you choose to believe. Because, let’s face it, you can find studies to basically support anything.
At some point you have to make an educated decision about what studies to believe. And then you experiment to find what works for you.
I’ve found that corn tortillas are something I really enjoy. And they can be all natural with no crap. I find that they help me get the perfect amount of carbs to perform well and feel great.
The Primal diet doesn’t promote eating corn, but it works for me.
I also like to include full-fat cheeses and minimal cream in moderation. I don’t have a problem with dairy SO I EAT IT.
Of course, if you have a problem with dairy or follow strict Paleo, you probably won’t.
Then the amount of fat and types of fat you choose to consume are also up to you.
I’m not afraid of some saturated fat. NATURAL products contain it.
HOWEVER, I’m going to choose grass-fed or naturally raised animal products because they have a natural, appropriate ratio of omega 3s to omega 6s. Just because I’m not afraid of some saturated fat doesn’t mean I’m going to eat grain-fed, conventionally raised animals.
They do not contain the same healthy ratio of fats!
But again, it is up to you and HOW YOU FEEL! Maybe you are still a bit more fat-o-phobic even though you eat whole natural foods.
Anyway, stop worrying about the name of your diet.
Whatever you call it, if you eat whole natural foods, you are on the right track! Then it just comes down to exactly what foods you choose to include.
Also, this leads me to a quick fasting update….I used to do intermittent fasting almost every day. Now I’ve varied it up more and I’ve found I’ve gotten even better results. I train fasted still, but only in the mornings. At night, I generally train after eating a small meal.
I’ve found that I get the best results training in this way. I also find that I’m listening to my body more by not forcing myself to fast till a certain time every day.
Again though….it is up to you to find what works! You can find a bazillion suggestions, articles that tell you to never fast and articles that promote fasting for 24 hours at a time. But it comes down to what works for you – to self-experimentation (which I’ve written about so many times!).
Lobster, Bacon tacos with a Kiwi-Jalapeno Relish
Ingredients:
2 Lobster tails
Diced bacon (about 2 slices)
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp Cumin
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Cayenne
Salt and Pepper to taste
Grass-fed Cheddar cheese
Kiwi-Jalapeno relish
Homemade Corn tortillas (recipe to follow after tacos)
Cook bacon bits in a saute pan.
While bacon is cooking, de-shell lobster and dice. Season with cumin, paprika, cayenne and salt.
When bacon is brown, remove bacon bits and add butter and lobster tail to pan. Cook until lobster is fully cooked and add bacon back in.
Add bacon-lobster mix to corn tortillas. Top with a few thin slices of grass-fed cheddar and two tsp of kiwi-jalapeno relish.
Serve warm with a side of your choosing. (We made a nice romaine salad with tomatoes, blue cheese and an olive oil, balsamic and dijon mustard dressing.
Note: I linked out to the company that made the relish we got at the farmers market (All-natural ingredients! YAY!). I will be making my own though next time and will then post a recipe!
Corn tortillas:
2 Cups Masa Harina (make sure you get non-genetically modified corn)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups hot water
Put the masa harina into a bowl and add in salt.
Heat the water then slowly add it into the masa harina and salt. Mix as you go. I don’t usually use more than 1 1/2 cups. Add water until the dough is spongy, but not sticky.
Roll dough into a log and wrap in a damp paper towel. Let the dough sit for 1 hour.
Then roll out 2 inch balls after the dough has sat for 1 hour. Flatten the dough using a rolling-pin or a tortilla press. (I use a tortilla press and put cling wrap on both sides of the press so the dough won’t stick.
I then cook the tortillas in a hot cast iron about 1 minute on each side or until the tortilla is cooked to your liking.
Serve warm!
Fall Eating
So since moving to Cali, fresh, wild caught fish has become more a part of our diet. So has local, seasonal produce. We been buying all of our fish and produce at the farmers market. For one, it is all local and usually organic. Two, it is actually cheaper.
Better, HEALTHIER food that is CHEAPER! Win, win, right!?!
We also added in more carbs. We’ve made corn tortillas with non-genetically modified corn. We’ve also used some rice (of course my preference is toward white rice). We usually cycle in days of higher and lower carb. I’ve been doing higher carb on days when I workout to replenish my glycogen stores and lower carbs on days when I don’t since my stores don’t get depleted.
I still focus on keeping my carb intake below 150 grams per day. (Although there is the occasional day I go above when I really feel depleted. I also know over the course of the week, my carb intake will even out to way below the 150 gram limit.)
Anyway, here are some delicious meals we’ve made recently that haven’t taken very long at all! (Especially fish…it cooks up in no time!)
Wild salmon with a balsamic sauce and an arugula, kale salad with a bit of blue cheese and a balsamic and olive oil dressing
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Grass-fed lamb in a chipotle chili sauce with white rice and a mixed greens salad and balsamic dressing.
Ribs with a spicy tomato/mustard bbq sauce and a fresh salad of local, organic tomatoes, avocados, arugula and green onion in an olive oil and pepper dressing
Recipes to come! Hopefully this inspires some great weekend meals! What are you cooking!?!
P.S. Saw this guest post on Mark’s site the other day and thought it was very interesting. It is definitely something to think about when planning out a diet program. There are certain times of the year when losing weight can be more difficult…be those times when we know we will be traveling and partying or be those times when our body tells us that it wants more food!
Also this is a great article to get you thinking about carbs from Man Biceper Polly!
Wedding Workouts
So as I mentioned earlier this week when I launched Bridal Biceps, Ryan and I have started planning for our wedding.
We are doing a small wedding in Hawaii followed by a large reception in Southern California. Details….well they are in the works and I don’t want to bore you by listing out all of my plans (but heck if you are interested or want to commiserate about your wedding, feel free to email me!).
I actually signed up for a few wedding websites, including The Knot.
The Knot is actually pretty awesome. They have a ton of information and ways to plan. They’ve even helped me find some local vendors so that I can get a dress and plan out the reception.
After finding a ton of information about planning out your wedding, I then searched the site for fitness information.
There was barely any to be found. They have whole pages dedicated to the color of your wedding and such but no easy to locate information about getting in shape for your wedding.
I was super surprised.
And then…I received the following email from them.
I like pink, but this email made me want to barf.
“Size down your gown in 90 days.” – AKA Starve yourself and overtrain for 90 days in an attempt to look good on your wedding day.
Ok. At least this program does tell brides they need 90 days. That is better than a lot of the “look good” tips I found…like don’t eat salty foods right before so you don’t look bloated.
But still!
Why does it have to look so wimpy!?!
Why does all of the stuff that bridal sites advertise have to be so fad diet?
Why can’t they start the brides planning their diet and fitness programs as soon as they have them start planning out everything else!?!
Here is my recommendation to brides-to-be:
- First ask yourself some few basic questions about what you want (just like you are doing with your wedding) What areas of your body do you want to tone? Do you want to lose any body fat? How do you want your body to look on your big day?
- Then if you aren’t currently on any regular exercise or diet program, start doing some research. How much time do you have each week to dedicate to a program? What foods do you love and could never give up? What types of diets have worked for you in the past?
- Then as you are plotting out when you will be doing food tasting and traveling and working and taking on dress fittings, think about what diet and fitness goals you will want to have hit at each stage. (For me I want to be at my final goal right before the final fitting. I then just want to be maintaining for the last month or so. Plus the longer I just maintain my final goal, the better I will look on my big day AND the easier it will be to stay toned and fit when I’m binging on my honeymoon! :-))
- Now seek out help. You have a basic timeline. You have thought about what diet and exercise programs could work for you. You know your goals. A trainer is always great (and of course I’m biased) but they will know ways to help put together the three previous steps into a program that works for you. Or maybe you seek out guidance from friends and family members you trust. BUT whatever you do, you take your outline/timeline and start working toward your goals ASAP.
Why do you start ASAP? Because like I’ve repeated numerous times, everything is an experiment. Unless you’ve actually looked exactly the way you wanted to before, you probably don’t know exactly what it takes to get there and you may need to tweak your program as you go along.
That is why you don’t want to wait till the final 90 days before your wedding to start getting into shape…because if you do wait till the last minute, YOU ARE PUTTING ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET!
And what if that 90 day program doesn’t work!?!
Then you are screwed.
Great way to stress yourself out! HA!
Anyway, start planning NOW! Know if there are any vacations or holidays in the meantime that may derail your diet. Know your fitting dates so that you look the way you want to for your final dress fitting so that your dress fits perfectly on your big day.
Plan out your exercise program so that you have some “me time” during what can be a slightly more stressful planning process!
And if you need help, I’m always here! (And in this case, also working on my own bridal biceps!)
Here is the beginning outline of my program:
Right now, I’m beginning a “healthy, unstressful phase” of my bridal bicep program. I’m doing slightly more carbs and training hard. I’m taking one cheat a week and basically just focused on maintaining.
It isn’t that I’m not always trying to look better, but I’m not stressing about it now. I’m just staying healthy and instilling healthy habits so that over the holidays I don’t lose ground.
In the weeks around the holidays, I will become a bit more strict to compensate for enjoying the holidays (since I’m not one for the stupid “holiday weight loss tips.”). Following the holidays I will go into an intense cutting phase. Followed by a month of maintainance. If I’m not yet at my goal, I’ll go for another shorter cutting phase before my final maintainence phase.
And guess what!?!
Throughout all of this, I will be lifting heavy! During cutting phases, I will do more cardio than during my maintenence phases, but that doesn’t mean I’ll become a cardio queen! No long chronic cardio for me! Remember cardio isn’t the key to weight loss….lean muscle mass is! 🙂
AND I won’t do a bazillion bicep curls or tricep extensions to have toned arms – I’ll do push ups and pull ups and lift heavy weights during compound movements. (Check out one of my worst nightmare workout programs….I guess at least they have brides working out for 6 months…Although this just looks so boring and not at all efficient!)
Anyway, join me for some “bad-ass” bridal biceps!
For a wedding workout consultation, feel free to email me at manbiceps@gmail.com!
Oh she’s healthy – She’s a vegan
WARNING: I will be insulting vegetarian and vegans in this post. If you can’t handle it, don’t read it.
I hear this statement all of the time, “She eats so healthy. She’s a vegan.” They say it as if I’m also going to believe that being vegan is the epitome of health – that everyone believes that being vegan is healthy.
It annoys the crap out of me.
I even sometimes have a hard time not saying, “ICK!”
Well frankly I don’t agree. Maybe it works for you, but based on the research I’ve chosen to follow, vegan DOES NOT equal healthy.
Why is it that it seems like only vegetarians or vegans make that comment (or the people who seem to worship that diet)?
Is it the fact that this diet seems to symbolize extreme self-control because the person doing the diet is able to cut out an entire food group?
I mean seriously, what is this attraction to a diet that can cause serious health problems and cuts out an essential food group!?!
People rail…I mean RAIL against low-carb diets because they claim that you are being too restrictive with a whole food group.
BUT mainstream media promotes being a vegetarian or vegan and they are even more restrictive eliminating almost all sources of complete protein from their diet!
While there are way more consequences to cutting out all animal protein sources like iron deficiency, lowered immune functioning and more than there are too eliminating many carbs, that isn’t even what annoys me the most about the statement that assumes a vegetarian or vegan diet is therefore healthy.
What gets me the most is the fact that MOST vegetarians and vegans eat so much processed crap – more so than most of the people who I know that switch to a more Primal style diet.
I mean just look at all the freaking processed crap created and marketed to the vegetarian market.
Soy nuggets. Pre-frozen veggie patties (that aren’t made out of whole natural ingredients).
FAKE MEAT!
Like that is good for you!?!
Also, chips are vegetarian. Chocolate is vegetarian. There are even baked goods made for vegetarians.
In other words….YOU CAN EAT CRAP AND STILL BE A VEGETARIAN OR A VEGAN!
So just because you are “Vegetarian” or “Vegan” doesn’t mean you are healthy.
Yea sure…If you eat all locally grown fruits and veggies and such, sure that is pretty healthy.
But honestly…I probably know only one vegetarian who actually spent the time to cook all fresh produce meals.
And I don’t see how anyone can claim that their “soy nugget” is better for them than my local, grass-fed, NATURALLY RAISED beef!
Oh and please don’t comment on this post and say something about “environmental impact.” We aren’t discussing environmental impact here. We are talking about health. Trust me…don’t even get me started on environmental impact.
(And yes…I do realize that vegetarianism and veganism are two different diets…but heck…they both stink…Sorry)
Man Bicep 