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So, what's important in life? What is your first priority? Is it your training, job, friends, diet, family, spirituality, car, money, weight...??? What is most of your time spent thinking about or doing? Where is your energy focused? And most importantly, where the heck am I going with this??
I know many of you are very focused on training, diet, weight, body composition, performance, etc. And seriously - that's great! I definitely commend you on your dedication and on really focusing on finding what works best for you and your body. But what concerns me is that for some it becomes all consuming and literally 'takes over' everything and everyone else. I have clients that break my meal plans into Zone Blocks, calculate the number of Weight Watchers points, and need to know exactly how many calories, carbohydrate, protein and fat grams they are eating. Others weigh and measure EVERYTHING including themselves on a daily basis. And then there's training - a whole separate animal, there's long workouts, heavy workouts, two-a-days, timing food and training periods - you name it. I completely understand and agree with the fact that you definitely need a plan both training and diet. Get everything running and working for you and then STOP STRESSING! I see so many people worrying about every minute detail and if one component is off it throws their whole world out of orbit or causes a complete breakdown, (think pizza, Twinkies and no training at all).
Here's a little story - many of you have probably heard it or some version of it, but it's got NorCal Margaritas in it so it's worth reading again...
A college Philosophy professor started class with several items in front of him. At the beginning of class, he wordlessly picked up a large, empty mayonnaise jar and filled it with golf balls. He asked the class if the jar was full. The class agreed that it was.
Then the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. The pebbles filled the open areas between the golf balls. Once again, he asked the class if the jar was full and they all agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled all the remaining spaces between the pebbles. Again, he asked if the jar was full and the class responded that, yes the jar was full, (slow learners...).
Finally, the professor brought two NorCal Margaritas out from under the table and poured them into the jar - truly filling it.
He addressed the class saying, 'Now, I want you to recognize that this jar represents our lives.' The golf balls are the important things - your family, your health, your friends and your favorite things. If everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.'
The same goes for life. If you spend all your time on the small stuff (weighing, measuring, or 'pointing' food, making training your 'job', and stressing about every detail), you will never have time for the things that truly matter. Spend time with your family and friends; enjoy life, read a book. Don't let sand and pebbles control you - it's your life, you only get one shot - ENJOY IT!
The NorCal Margaritas just show that no matter how full your life may seem - there's always time for a NorCal Margarita with a friend...
Think about your priorities - what matters to you? Diet and training are important, but are they more important than your family, your children, or your sanity. If you get 21 percent of your calories from carbs instead of your 'allotted' 20 percent will it ruin your life? If you miss a workout or even two will it mean you're no longer fit? On the other hand, if you spend two hours a day weighing, measuring, logging and counting your food and another two to four hours training, instead of spending time with your family or watching your kids grow up, that is six hours you will never get back.
In short, by all means have a plan - but remember sometimes plans change and that's okay. Give yourself a break and enjoy what you've got when you've got it!
Have you hugged your 'golf balls' today?
Comments...
Fructose, simply put - fruit sugar. We've all heard about it; good (few and far between), bad (most common), and otherwise (the controversy). The most common 'bad guy' is not just plain old fructose but its evil counterpart - high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This stuff has been linked to hypertension, obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, elevated blood lipids, atherosclerosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, kidney stones, gout, and metabolic syndrome.
Before we break into all the in's and out's of the "F" word (fructose), here's a look at some not so sweet sugar stats. We (Americans) consume on average 38 teaspoons of sugar every day - that adds up to 130 pounds of the stuff each year; 36% percent of it comes from energy drinks, soda, and sports drinks.
Now, back to fructose and HFCS. What is it and is one really worse than the other? First, some basics:
Fructose is a 'simple sugar' (monosaccharide), just like glucose and galactose. All three have roughly 15 calories per teaspoon. It's a combination of these 'simple sugars' that make up the other
-oses (sucrose or table sugar is a combination of fructose + glucose). Unlike glucose, which serves as the body's main fuel source and is readily used for energy, fructose is not so easily metabolized. Let's get 'sciencey' for a minute. Glucose, the body's preferred fuel source, uses insulin as a shuttle to get into cells where it is used for energy. Insulin controls the amount of glucose in the blood at any one time. Unfortunately, fructose requires a little more work. It isn't regulated by insulin nor is it shuttled into cells for use. Fructose is carried from the small intestine to the liver via a special carrier protein called GLUT-2. The liver metabolizes fructose into a variety of different things including glycogen, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and uric acid. It is this special processing that results in fructose's negative health effects.
Now onto the controversy - for every study or ad telling us that HFCS is bad there's another one sending the opposite message. What's the deal? Now that we see how fructose is metabolized, (this applies to ALL fructose - from fruit, from soda, and from HFCS and other sweeteners), is HFCS really any worse than plain old fructose, table sugar, honey, agave, etc.? Consider this - HFCS and table sugar have nearly the same amount of fructose. Table sugar (sucrose) is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. There are two types of HFCS; one of which is 55% fructose and 42% glucose (used in beverages) and one that's 42% fructose and 53% glucose (used in cereals, yogurt, etc.). Compare that with honey - 50% fructose and 50% glucose, agave - 56-92% fructose depending on the brand, and an apple - 70% fructose. Even the 'innocent' strawberry is about 52% fructose... Does that help clear up the 'limit fruit' recommendation...? Fruit's redeeming factors are that, comparatively speaking, it's low in calories, has some fiber, vitamins and minerals unlike the 'hard' sugars. Whether it's fructose, sucrose, dextrose, maltose, xylose, invert sugar, molasses, fruit , fruit juice concentrate, maltodextrin, turbinado sugar, malt syrup, brown rice syrup, agave nectar, maple syrup, HFCS and yes, even straight-up fruit, it's all going to the liver and the net result will be the same.
There really is no definitive answer as to which is the worst. As I like to say "Sugar is as sugar does." And what does 'sugar do' - not a whole heck of a lot of anything good.
So, what the fruc(tose)?!? Let's make it a 'sugar-free summer'!
Comments...
If you are a regular follower of my blog you may have noticed that lately instead of my weekly posts I've been doing bi-weekly posts. This is not because I'm slowly retiring from blogging, but because my 'day job' or as I like to call it "the gig that's currently paying my bills", has been sucking any free time from my schedule. Well, at the end of April I finally decided that I'd had enough and turned in my resignation. My last day will be next Friday. I am not going to lie and say that I'm not scared - but my health, life and sanity are worth more than my paycheck and giving up the 50-60 hour per week 'job' will give me more time to devote to my clients, athletes, blog, new endeavors and quite possibly a PhD. So, what's the plan you ask? Well, here are some of the things I've got going and plan to grow with:
Fuel As Rx - this is me and my blog. I consult with Boot Camp Pasadena and do seminars and consults for groups and individuals. I work with and/or develop meal plans for clients in many areas from athletes to those with health complications such as GI issues, cancer, nephritis, PCOS, diabetes, and many more.
Robb Wolf - I'm currently working with Robb on several projects and ideas. I am one of the consultants that he refers clients to and the Director of the RD network. Additionally, we are working with Olympic hopeful rower Ursula Grobler to enhance her performance and get her to the London games! We've got lots of exciting things planned - stay tuned!!
Whole9 - Dallas and Melissa over at the Whole9 have brought me on to the team as the in house nutrition expert. They are great to work with and I can't wait to do more!
Joe Friel's TrainingBible Coaching - I've been the TrainingBible's consulting dietitian for a year and a half now. I've helped many endurance athletes ranging from Iron Man Triathletes to pro-cyclists. I love working with these guys and Paleo has done AWESOME things for their body comps, training and performance!
Paleo Magazine - I am a contributing writer for the NEW magazine. Each issue I will answer questions sent in by the readers. Be sure to check out this all "Paleo" publication!
Livin' La Vida Low Carb - Jimmy Moore - I will be recording a podcast with Jimmy this Tuesday! I am very excited to be a guest on this great show! I will let you know when it will air!
I will be attending the Ancestral Health Symposium in Los Angeles in August - this is going to be a great conference! Additionally, I will be updating my blog/website, and working on new projects as they arise.
To make a long story short - I'm jumping in and am going to devote all my energy to making this work! Help me spread the word and if you or someone you know needs some nutrition or health guidance or just some fine tuning I'm here for you and I want to help! Helping others get healthy is my passion and I'm willing to risk the security of a paycheck to do it.
So here I go - CANNONBALL!!!!
Comments...
A walk through the grocery store aisles can be enough to push anyone over the edge. Thousands of products, catchy names, and too good to be true nutrition claims are everywhere. Have you ever taken the time to really think about what's in the packages and correlate it with the product names? Talk about "things that make you go hmmm..."!! Hopefully this post will leave you with something to think about and put a smile on your face at the same time! Here are some of the products that make me laugh (click on the product names to get more information):
Post Great Grains Cereal
First off - using Great and Grains in the same title is laughable at best. Second 13 grams of sugar in 3/4 cup makes this cereal anything but GREAT!!
Fruity Pebbles
Okay, it's a kid's cereal - but it implies that there might be fruit involved... In its defense it has less sugar (11 grams) per serving than "Great Grains". But sorry - there is not a lick of fruit to be found.
Fruit Snacks, Fruit Roll-ups, etc.
It's just more misleading 'fruit' labels here! There might be a little vitamin C (very little), but no fruit to speak of! Not exactly a 'healthy snack'.
Healthy Choice Products
This brand name implies that its products are good for you and they've got frozen meals, shelf-stable meals, soups, and frozen treats... Just remember, if it lives in a package on the shelf it is most likely anything but a "healthy choice".
Smart Ones (Weight Watchers) Products
Much like the "Healthy Choice" line Smart Ones offers Breakfast, Entree, Dessert and Snack options all available in the freezer section for your enjoyment... But really - how "smart" is it to eat French toast, mini cheeseburgers, and brownie sundaes every day???
Lean Cuisine
When it comes to ingredient labels - lean definitely does NOT apply here. The Grilled Chicken Caesar has over 50 ingredients! And one look at the list leaves one wondering what part of this meal is going to make you 'lean'...
Hamburger Helper
FYI - There is NO hamburger that needs this kind of "help"...
SoBe Life Water
It's a fairly safe bet that this water and life really have nothing to do with each other. Since when does 'water' require so many ingredients???
Smart Balance Products
Mmmm...buttery spread (uh, margarine...), soybean oil, canola oil, and artificial flavors - oh, my! There's nothing very smart or balanced about this stuff!
Kashi Go Lean
The website and labels tout - a good source of protein (9-13 grams per serving). That's great if you like soy and are all about suboptimal protein quality. The company's tagline is "7 Whole Grains on a Mission" -unfortunately lean is definitely not the mission's goal.
Quaker Life Cereal
Because calling a cereal Death is just unacceptable... And how can anyone argue 18 grams of whole grains per serving?
Nutri-Grain Bars
A healthy breakfast or snack option here? Any time the words Nutri- (implying nutrition) and Grain are paired together you've got to wonder... And the fruit in these little gems, um...high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavor does not = fruit.
Bac-O's
The name would imply that there's bacon in these things... Not so much! Defatted soy flour and partially hydrogenated soybean oil anyone?
Smart Start Cereal
A very smart beginning if your pancreas needs a workout and you enjoy kicking off the day with some high fructose corn syrup, BHT, and a bunch of other funky stuff.
Slim-Fast Products
"Just have a shake for breakfast, another for lunch, and then a sensible dinner." Yep, that's a surefire plan and definitely sustainable...
Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop
It's 94% Fat Free and only 100 calories per serving - how can it not be "smart"???
Fat Free ANYTHING!!!
There's fat free cheese, cookies, peanut butter, salad dressing, margarine, ice cream and tons of other products. Most have the same number of calories and more SUGAR than original versions of the same products. And you've really got to wonder about 'fat free fat' (margarine, salad dressings, peanut butter...).
Polaner All Fruit Spread
The first ingredient of the strawberry flavor is Juice Concentrate (Pear and Grape), then there's strawberries, some fruit pectin, natural flavor and citric acid. If it was truly "All Fruit" wouldn't the only ingredient need to be strawberries??
This list is by no means comprehensive - there's so many head scratching labels out there (Wheat Thins, Powerade, etc.)!! What are some that you've seen?
Tell us your favorites in the comments...
This weekend I watched as my 'baby' sister, (she's 9 years younger and about 6 inches taller than me...), graduated from college with her Bachelor's degree. From here she is heading off to grad school in order to continue her education with the goal of completing her Master's degree. You are probably wondering what all of this has to do with the health, nutrition, and training. Well, the whole 'graduation' theme got me thinking about how these lifestyle components are constantly evolving and changing. It takes time and effort to complete years of formal education and we truly never stop learning as we move along in our careers. Our health, nutrition and training needs are also in constant transition and evolution.
Let me explain... Take diet for example - specifically in the context of making the switch to Paleo. The first step requires gathering information, learning the basics and completing the 'labs' and 'homework'. It's like fulfilling the 'prerequisites' prior to actually applying the information in a real setting. Getting started is often the hardest part. There are so many questions and it's hard to say if the answers are 'a', 'b', 'c', or 'd - all of the above' - and the thought of writing an essay is nauseating. There are many times 'dropping the class', 'dropping out' or 'changing your major' seem like the best options. But, you are already invested so you crack open the text book, ask questions, continue learning and keep experimenting. As time goes on you start to 'get it' and concepts that at one time seemed impossible to grasp now are part of your everyday thought process. An example of this is the concept of "eat real food". At first you may not have known what was meant by 'real food'. But as you 'did your homework' you learned that 'real food' is unprocessed meat, vegetables, good fats and some fruit. It's not the food that lives in a package on a shelf. It's the stuff that "lives, rots, grows, and dies."
Once you start 'getting it' you find yourself wanting to learn more and find out the 'why' behind the 'what'. You have in a sense 'graduated' to the next level. This learning, growing, continuing education process should not stop here, just as in life - we never stop expanding our knowledge. Whether it's through education, experience or our mistakes it is a never ending process. Our level of competency and understanding grow and we get wiser every day. We learn what we really 'need to know' and what is less important and can be 'looked up' or implemented if the situation requires (for example - weighing and measuring, or the intricate details of the Krebs and Malonyl CoA Cycles, or even just "sweating the small stuff"). We learn what works best in our situation in the areas of diet, training and health. Our needs and the information we have is ever changing and evolving making the learning process vital to success and survival.
The path to optimal health, solid diet and smart training program can be looked at as a series of 'graduations' and 'degrees'. It is with continuing education that we secure a long, healthy life. It is when we become stagnant or even revert to what used to be that we run into trouble and have to 'repeat classes' never actually completing a 'degree' (think fad diets, quick-fix programs, etc.).
So you made it through a 30-day Paleo challenge or an "On-Ramp" training program - that's great! But... that's just high school. Don't stop - pick your major and head to 'college' - take it all the way and NEVER stop learning. Become as expert in the field of YOUR health, diet, training and life.
Are you ready for next semester??
Comments...
It's flat screen, digital, hi-def, 3-D and at any given time allows access to hundreds of channels each varying in its degree of uselessness... What am I talking about? None other than good old television. The United States per capita TV count in February 2011 averaged 740.53 TV's per 1000 people (according to NationMaster). The US took the bronze on this one with Bermuda and Monaco being the only countries with higher counts. You might be thinking we don't look so bad compared to Bermuda's 1009 per 1000 people - we're averaging less than one "idiot box" per person. Okay, but seriously does every man, woman and child NEED their own TV - in fact does anyone really NEED TV? Have you ever wondered if you could survive a day, week, month - or God forbid - a year without TV??
Well, now's your chance to find out what you're made of. The genius team over at the Whole9 is launching a Kill Your TV challenge running May 1st -May 31st. This means no television, no movies, no video games, nope - sorry, no watching on your computer either!! What can you do? How about read a book (yep, they still make them), take a walk, talk to your family, play a board game, learn a new hobby or restart an old one, the possibilities are endless.
So, take the challenge "Tune OUT" the television and "Tune IN" to life! Who knows maybe you'll like it!?!?
Are you in??
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