Mind over matter? Out smart your bad habits!

I always wonder why, when I go on a "diet" that I always seem to hit a road block. Those days that nothing sounds good but cheeseburgers and cake, or all you want is ice cream and peanut butter, etc. and you give in, why? because they seem to be the STRONGEST cravings EVER!  Then, the guilt hits, and you feel like crap. And then, you must make the choice to restart your "diet" the next day, or just give up.  Diets are not the horrid things we all dread, it is THAT day that we dread. It is knowing that our will power can only take us so far and that there WILL come a day that we will hit that wall and we will more then likely fail. We are human, after all, so we really should not expect anything more, right?  Well, basically.  But there is hope. The first step is to stop "binge" and "fad"dieting, but even if you are changing to a healthy stable diet, there is still the brick wall that you will eventually hit. Don't worry, there is good news. I can help you OUT SMART your BAD habits. :)

When you get cravings it is your bodys way of telling you that you need something. Badly, sometimes. It has been widely known by this due to pregnancy cravings and the fact that most times the pregnant woman gets whatever she wants whenever the craving hits. I say most because I was NOT one of those pregnant people. Oh, I had the cravings, but when I would wake my hubby up and ask him to get me whatever I was craving he would laugh at me and tell me I could wait until morning. Which, I always did and I survived just fine, and sometimes they went away by then too.  It has been my experiences through 3 pregnancies and more "diets" then I care to admit to, that when I went through nutrition classes and culinary school, things began to click with me, and I have figured out how to outsmart my bad habits. :)

When your body become deficient in something that it needs, it tells what I have dubbed as the Control center of your brain. This is in the subconscious part of your brain that controls bodily functions and the like. It gets the message that you need something and then it pulls up the food you eat the most that will give you what you need, and then sends that message to you and you crave it like no other, and basically nothing else will satisfy you. And the will power to just NOT eat those foods is hard to come by. What I want to share, is how to get around it. Remember that I mentioned that your control center will access the food you eat the most that will satisfy your bodies needs. As you are changing your diet and moving to a healthier way of eating and life, you are still trying to teach your brain as well. So when you crave a cheeseburger, you may need the protein, or the salt, or the carbohydrates, and if you can satisfy your bodies need, then the craving will, more then likely, go away.  As you eat more healthy food with a regularity then you will start craving the healthier foods since they will be the foods you eat the  most.  You understand?  The hardest part, which is very hard, is getting through the 2 -4 weeks it will take to reprogram your control center with the foods that you want to be eating.

Here are the most common cravings, and a few ideas as to what your body might need, and somethings you can eat instead that should satisfy your bodies needs and hopefully it will stop the cravings. :)

Probably the Number one craving that I get told about is that they crave cheeseburgers. And since it is so cheap and easy to just drive thru and get a couple, it is hard to pass up. 
You will normally crave this for the:
 protein
fat,
or salt.

Try instead:

Salted nuts, or even just some nut butter (especially if it is a good natural nut butter without the added oils and fats)

Grilled chicken on a salad, you can even add some nuts to your salad

Tuna. I like to put mine on a piece of toast. (if you are cutting out breads, then you can put it on lettuce as a wrap, or I have even put some on cucumber slices to give it a crunch as well. A little salt and pepper, maybe even some celery and carrots diced up in it gives it a great flavor. :)

Cookies:
These are MY biggest weaknesses.  All. The. Time.  Whenever I have a cookie, and I finish it, I die a little inside and wonder where my next cookie is. ;)
These you will crave mainly for the carbs and the sugars. (which will eventually all just turn into sugar in your body) You can also crave them for the fat, but mainly it will be the sugar.

Try instead:

Vanilla yogurt with berries

Cheese cubes and honey

Apples with yogurt or nut butter

Watermelon or Cantelope

Strawberries with honey

Remember to get you some raw unfiltered local honey. This will make it good for you and less just sugary filler. ;)

Ice cream of any kind will be craved when your body needs sugar or calcium. 
Sometimes you will also crave ice cream when your body needs fluids to regulate it temperature. If you are over heated for instance, or you are dehydrated.

Try Instead:

Ice water

Chilled grapes (some even like them straight from the freezer)

Watermelon

Cheese and honey

Yogurt and fruit

 

Not very often do I personally crave chicken nuggets or french fries, but when I asked around, this was a common answer given to me. Most of them when asked said that they would crave these normally after they wanted a cheeseburger or something and they were trying to find another option, and wanted chicken nuggets instead, or ended up eating french fires or even potato chips.
The best answer I could find for this is that you are craving fat. Your body does need fats and when people diet they tend to try and not eat fat and eat fat free options of everything, but some fats are needed.  If this happens, I would suggest  trying:

Avocados
Nuts
Coconut

You can eat these however you want. I love avocado on eggs, sandwiches, etc.  You can eat some peanut butter, almond butter, or even sunbutter. Dip apples in it is great, or celery. Find a way to incorporate some healthy fats into your diet and it might cure the fired foods cravings. :)




There comes a time when everyone needs to revamp their diets, too much repetition is not good for anything, just remember when you are changing anything the first few weeks are the hardest. They say that it takes 2 weeks to make a habit and 4 weeks to break one, so if you are trying to break the habit of too much coffee, or bread, or cookies, etc, it will take time before your body and mind adjusts to your new limitations. Do not get discouraged when you cave and have a cookie, or coffee, or bread, etc. Allow yourself some give, it doesn't have to be so serious. I allow myself one cup of coffee a day. Sometimes its with breakfast, and sometimes I have coffee at night with my little dessert. Limit your quantities and you will not have to feel guilty for allowing yourself a treat now and then. If you eat healthy all day and get all your vegetables and needed nutrients, you had no bread or fatty meats, then allow yourself to enjoy a hamburger for dinner. Cut out the things you will not miss first, then just limit those things that you feel like you could not live without. Mine are cheese, milk, coffee, cookies, and chocolate. I literally would miss meat less then milk and cookies. :)   But once you get a habit of eating healthier then your craving will be just emotional cravings more then body deficiency cravings. (The difference between "I want/would like" and "I need") 

Good luck, and remember to 

LOVE WHAT YOU EAT!

Breakfast Bread Pudding. Attempt #1

I went to the Hilton Anatole and had one of the best breakfasts EVER!   I ordered the Eggs Benedict, and it came on an eggy, herb bread pudding, and I was in love!!!  I needed to try this!  

This is my first attempt. I believe that next time I will do a couple things different. I will specify throughout what I will be doing different next time and you can choose to try it either way. :)

First was the bread. I chose both a sourdough loaf and a rustic italian boule. Since the sourdough would be the most popular, I used it on the top and bottom and put the rustic boule in the middle. 

I cut it and layered it first, so that I know that it will all fit and I was ready to build it. 

Then I got the eggs together, with a large loaf pan and 3 layers I used 5 eggs, I think next time I might use more, it was on the dry side. I put Italian seasoning in the eggs and some pepper.

I poured the herb egg mix over the bottom layer, and then poured the excess back into the bowl. I think next time I will let all pieces of bread sit in the egg mixture for a few minutes, and then build the layers with the presoaked pieces. :)

To add some veggies to the meal, I layered spinach in between each layer of bread. 

When it was all built I put it in a 350 oven and cooked until the top bread started to brown a bit and the egg was cooked all the way through. To have the egg cooked all the way through the top piece got a little more brown and crispy then I wanted, but I think next time when I soak the bread more individually, it will cure that problem.  It tasted amazing and was really filling. 

I ate it with two fried eggs and some honey ham. As much as I LOVE hollandaise sauce, I am trying to lose weight, so I did not even make it. (I would not be able to just eat a little hollandaise sauce.)

I have a couple pieces of this batch left that I will poach eggs for and eat that way, I just wanted fried eggs this morning. 

My client got a slice of this with poached eggs and asparagus for one of his breakfasts, so we will see how he likes it. :)

Happy Monday, and good eating! :)

 

 

4 Dangers of the Wrong "Bulking" Diet

I have done a bunch of research on Bodybuilding/weightlifting diets and I have found so many websites talking about "bulking" diets and glycemic indexes, etc. But I found that many of them kept throwing up the same red flags to me, and as I looked, it kept happening. Even though most of them mentioned the carbs and proteins and suggest "good leafy green veggies" they really do not explain things as well as I think they should and I was honestly worried that there may be many people that do not know enough to realize the dangers of packing on the protein in egg, chicken, and beef forms with their protein shakes and eating rice and broccoli, it will make it hard to stick to and when they are asking you to try and clear 200+ grams of protein a day, I really felt the need to go over some of the risks of heavy protein, or "bulking" diets. 


    4 dangers of the wrong “bulking” diet
        
1. Heart health Risk
            Too much cholesterol and not enough fiber can lead to heart disease risks and higher blood pressure which can risk damage to heart and even inhibit effective lifts.
        

2. Colon Health Risk
            Too much bulk and not enough calcium, vitamin D, and good fiber and veggies, can lead to a toxic intestinal tract and lead to colon issues, which could include but not be limited to cramps, bloating, diarrhea, and even increased risks of colon cancer.
        

3. Bone Health Risk
            Not enough calcium and vitamin D can lead to week internal bone density and when building large muscles can add to the strain on the bones.
       


4. Joint Health Risk
            Making sure that you have enough natural, and maybe even supplementing, good glucosamine can ensure good cushioning for the joints. When lifting very heavy weights or doing heavy repetitions, the joints need to be well cushioned to not get injured.
 


How to make sure your diet has what it needs:

1. Cholesterol is higher in red meats and dark meats such as duck. Cholesterol is absorbed into the blood stream by saturated fats that are found in all animal products and some non animal products. In a “bulking” diet it is very hard to avoid saturated fats or cholesterol so you need to up the intake of solulable fiber. 
This is found in all fruits and veggies, as well as oatmeal. The inside (or meat) of an apple or pear, oatmeal, mushrooms, spinach, all green leafy veggies, broccoli, carrots, brussel sprouts, and all beans. Also the fibers in citrus fruit are very good sources of fiber as well. :)
Making sure that you eat mainly these as your vegetables for the day will help keep your LDL (bad cholesterol in your blood) at a lower level and keep your heart healthy and your blood pressure at a healthy rate. 
Experts are saying that normal people are only getting around 11g of fiber a day, and they recommend 20-30g of fiber a day for normal people to stay healthy. After reviewing the style of diets needed for bodybuilding and weight training I would lean more towards 40-60g of fiber a day. Since the recommendation is based on a 2000 calorie daily intake and most body builders are ranging in 2500-3500 calories a day from high protein sources. 

2. Colon health is base mostly on toxicity. Eating Insolulable fibers are like brushes that help clean out your intestines regularly and keep it from “gunking” up and becoming toxic. Insolulable fiber can be found in the outside pealings of apples and pears, the outside husk of oatmeal, the outside of beans, broccoli and asparagus stem fibers, etc. These help clear out your intestines at a regular interval so that your ph and toxicity levels stay at a healthy rate. I also would include that calcium and vitamin D aid in the health of your intestines to help keep them strong, enough water helps keep them saturated, and good probiotics can help keep them healthy as well. Including yogurt in your diet can help with all of these aspects in one simple step. 

 









3. Bone health is mainly due to Calcium and vitamin D, and those are easiest to get from Milk. It has a great source of calcium and is fortified with Vitamin D. Whole milk (or raw milk if you can get it) is very good for you, this includes both Goat and Cow milk.

The fat content of milk is lessened by heating the milk and skimming the fat off as it floats to the top. Sadly, once you get past 2% milk they then have to add chemically produced milk fat protein powders to the milk to turn it white again because naturally it is a clear bluish color. So stick to the whole milk or 2% and just drink a little less of it if you are worried about the fat content. 

In “bulking” diets they normally tell you to avoid all dairy product, and then take a calcium and vitamin D supplement. I will allow everyone to make up their own mind about the pros and cons of dairy, but I think it does more good then bad.  This can also include yogurt and cottage cheese.



Health Guide magazine did an article about the 11 best foods for bone health and half of them were dairy. The other half included high Vitamin D foods such as collard greens, spinach, sardines, tuna, salmon, and eggs. :)

 

4. For Joint Health you need Glucosamine.  This is one of the only things that I allow, and even encourage, people to supplement for. Glucosamine is found in the shells of shellfish and the internal organs of all mammals. So unless you have a hankering to eat liver or offal then you should take a supplement. For my own personal reasons I would like to research where the supplement comes from. There are a few companies that say they get their powder or pills from a natural source. I am looking to find a good company that uses the shells of shrimp and crab that might be discarded from the market of frozen seafood. This is a back burner search for me, so let me know if you learn or know of anything to help in this search. :)

I hope that my studies have helped you recognize some of the red flags of "bulking" and help you know how to avoid the potential problems from it as well. Body building is considered a "body modification" and not considered a "normal healthy body" when you get to the point of lifting over 125% of your body weight regularly according to nutritionists as so learning to be a nutritionist for these type of individuals has been a learning experience for me, but every time I learn more and grow more in my practice and study I am loving it more as well. If you have any questions, or have anything to add, please feel free to let me know. I am not claiming to be an expert, just someone that is continually studying this and always welcome more information. :)

Happy "Bulking"!! And get Huge!!  ;)

Image courtesy of: Pamela Perry Acclaim Images.com 0515-1103-2101-0932

Coconut vs. Olive....the Dieters Debate

I find myself in nutritional and health conversations during almost every random part of my day. 
Just the other day while picking my kids up from school I got into a conversation with a fellow mom at the school about diets. She had been told by a few friends that were doing the paleo diet that she needed to switch to coconut oil instead of olive oil. She had gone to the store and found that the coconut oil was much more expensive then her olive oil, so she went home to do some research, and after fishing through a bunch of random websites that came up when she googled each she was still confused, so she stopped me at the school to ask me. I, sadly, had not done a compare/contrast sort of research on the oils. I told her what I knew about each oil and the benefits of each, but that I would come home and research them and let her know if there was enough of a difference to warrant her needing to buy the more expensive oil. 
So, away I went, and after getting the basic nutritional information from my nutrition book, I too went to the web to see what I could find. There was so much for each that it was tough to weed through the fad diet websites and just try to find a good solid website for the science of them both, but my patience was rewarded, and I am going to give you all the important information I have found. :)



Olive Oil

Types of Olive Oil:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO):  This is the one that everyone talks about the most. This oil is extracted from olives using the lowest pressure and no heat at all. It keeps the most of the flavor and nutrition this way and is best served room temperature or cold. Used in salad dressings, or tossing cooked pasta in, etc.

Heating this oil and cooking with it completely ruins the virginity of the oil and therefore it's basically a waste to spend the money to buy extra virgin to then cook with it. 
(it is actually one of my pet peeves when chefs on tv and whatnot tell you to add extra virgin olive oil to a hot skillet and cook with it....such a waste of perfect olive oil)

Virgin Olive oil: this is pressed at a higher pressure but still cold. 

Light Olive oil: this oil is pressed using the same pressure as Virgin but heated to a moderate temperature. It is considered Light by color only. 

Pure Olive Oil: is any oil extracted like the Light Olive oil but is a mixture of light and dark olives. It will have a different flavor. To me, this is the best oil to cook with because it has a bolder flavor and is more cost effective to use for everyday cooking. 

After these oils have been extracted, they then heat the press more and up the pressure and squeeze out everything else, this is considered Crude olive oil and that is what is used in beauty products and non food items. There are also some chemicals that they use to extract certain portions of the olive oils in between pressing it and then using it in products. Do not think that just because it is listed as pure olive oil that it is edible. If it is not packaged and sold for food use, then do not eat it. 

Nutritional Data:

Serving size: 1 tbsp
Calories:                      119g
Fat:                             13.5g
Saturated fat:                 1.9g
Monounsaturated fat:     9.8g
Polyunsaturated fat:       1.4g

Omega 3 fatty acids:  103mg
Omega 6 fatty acids: 1318mg
Vitamin E         1.9mg  10%DV 
Vitamin K      8.1mcg  10%DV

Trace amounts of:
Calcium
Iron
Potassium
Sodium

Olive Oil nutritional data
Olive Oil Times is a good website to check out that has a bunch of information.


 











COCONUT OIL:

Sadly, my nutritional book did not have as much information on coconut oil as it did on olive oil, so I had to do some more searching. 

Coconut Oil information can be found here at the website. I have read a few of the articles and there is quite a bit of information. 

Nutritional Data:

Calories:                      116 g
Fat:                              13.5g
Saturated fat:                11.7g
Monounsaturated fat:        .8g
polyunsaturated fat:           .2g

Omega 6 fatty acid:    243 mg
Omega 3 fatty acid:       none

No trace amounts of vitamins or minerals in enough of a degree to list.
Coconut oil nutritional data   

I think it is one of those things that it depends on what you are wanting from your diets. Neither oil is bad for you and they both have their healthy benefits, coconut is hydrating and has anti-inflammatory properties and has been said to help with things like Alzheimer and arthritis, and Olive oil has been known to help with heart disease and lower cholesterol.  
If you are trying to cut down on saturated fats then I would suggest olive oil over coconut oil, since coconut oil has more saturated fat per serving then whole butter. ;)  I cook with them based on flavor profile alone, but suggest to my clients that they stick to olive oil, coconut oil, and whole butter as their fats only.  I think any change from margarine or other fatty oils to these three to any degree is a step in the right direction.  

Now, back to my friends question: Is it worth spending the extra money to cook in only coconut oil??. 
I would say no. 
Not unless you are wanting to treat a specific disease or discomfort that some people have been treating with coconut oil, but if you are just wanting to lose body fat and get healthier, I would say that either oil is great for you. 

Just please, please, please, do not go buy any virgin oil and then cook with it. ;)  

Happy Cooking!!  

One Month Of Intensity! :D

This week marked the end of 6 weeks of being a personal chef. 
It has been SO much fun! I have had fun cooking all the meals and hearing how much he has liked them.

Each week I have been ordering Bountiful Baskets and using whatever I get in them to base the next week menu off of. It has been fun and exciting. I have been perfecting some of my techniques not just in cooking but the timing and the business of it. I got myself my first food saver machine and went a little nuts repackaging most of my freezer just to play with it. :) 

I am hoping to be able to expand my business to include one or two other clients that I will cook for as well as getting into some online nutrition and cooking consultations as a partner with Paramount Strength and Conditioning.   So many exciting things are moving me forward towards what I am passionate about.  I swore that I was not going to have my own business. I didn't want the hassle. Apparently life had other plans and here I am on the cusp of doing exactly that. :D

This last weekend I got to go and see my very first power lifting competition and see my client and personal training Coaches go all out with some intense lifts and they all took home 1st place. :)
My client and His wife have an amazing program at their gym and they have produced some great results in their lifters and their members. I have had a blast getting to know them all and getting stronger along side them. Doing her Beauty By Barbell class has made me more confident in my own skin, which has been a long time coming.  I have lost track of how many fad diets and workout classes and programs I have gone through just trying to chase this image of perfection I had in my head of myself. I have found something so much better with these people. I have found a community built around becoming stronger each day then the day before, taking each challenge with a deep breath, and carrying an intensity for everything you do. I still notice the things about me that I wish I could change, but now I see a strength in me that I never thought was there, but they saw in me the first time I lifted with them. I am still so new to this world of lifting and working out this way that I bombard them with questions about everything from proper form to what muscles each thing works, etc. and they seem to like answering each of them. They have a passion for strength, not just in physical fitness, but in community and sportsmanship and it definitely has leaves an impression. :)  
If you haven't checked this place out yet, you can find their facebook page here, the link above gets you to their webpage, and you can follow the link for the women only beauty by barbell facebook page.

So, that is my update. 

Great things have been happening due to some of the great people that I have been working with. :)

Fried Avocados.

We went out to eat at Taco Diner here in Dallas after the Power lifting competition to celebrate and I ordered the vegetarian Fried Avocado Tacos and they were so good that everything else seemed somehow less worthy of my stomach space. I ended up ordering another 2 tacos. But that was enough to inspire me to try this at home. I did. And it was easy and awesome, so I am sharing it with you. :)  (yes, I know, I am so giving it hurts sometimes. haahaa)








I used panko bread crumbs and seasoned it with some paprika, black pepper, and some garlic powder.













Press the avocado pieces into the panko crumbs, it takes some work to get it good and covered. 










I used coconut oil to fry them in, and used the spoon to slide them into the oil.  It does not take long to get a nice dark brown color.

 Turn it over and make sure that both sides are evenly toasted.

 


Nice brown fried avocado slices.  I munched on 3 or 4 of them while I was cooking them.  The middle slices turned out better then the edge pieces, so those are the ones I left for my clients fish tacos. :)




 



Each blackened Tilapia fish tacos got one nice big fried avocado slice on it.  

Christian By his Trophies holding the Fried Avocado Fish Tacos. Can't wait to see hoe he likes them! :)

Happy Eating!!

A (Pine)Apple a day keeps the doctor away! ;)

Pineapples are not only a fantastic fruit with high levels of vitamin C, but they are also great forms of Bromelain and natural enzymes. :) 


With all this greatness, maybe we should break it down a little. 










First, Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps boost your immune system, and protects the body from free radical damage. It also promotes repair and building of body tissues and wound healing. 
Vitamin C can aid nutritional supplementation such as glutamine or creatine to get into the muscles and aids in muscle retention, build, repair, and recovery. Many Body builders mix their creatine and glutamin in some fresh pineapple juice just for this reason. :)  Although nothing beats fresh whole pineapple when it comes to the levels of vitamin C, finding some fresh pineapple juice can work as well. Look at the ingredients to make sure that you are getting at least 80% juice in it and no added sugars or corn syrups. If that is the case, then that is a good pineapple juice. :)








Next, Bromelain:
Bromelain is very effective in treating bruises, sprains and strains by reducing swelling, tenderness and pain due to the natural anit-inflammatory and analgesic properties. It also aids in digestion and relieve indigestion.  The natural enzymes in fresh pineapple breaks down the amino acids in protein which can aid those that do not produce enough enzymes of their own to break down their food. It has also been said that it can aid in the break down of lactic acid to aid in the recovery of muscles in your body. The anti-inflammatory properties also help in the recovery of muscles and healing from wounds internal and external, as well as relieving swelling around joints. 

 Unfortunately almost all commercially canned pineapples are heated to such a degree that the bromelain is destroyed. Canning fresh pineapple at home in a hot water bath or pressure canner is better since the temperatures can be maintained at a lower temperature to keep more or the bromelain in take, but it is always better to eat fresh pineapple to make sure you get the most of the bromelain and vitamin C as you can. :)
 













How to pick out a good pineapple:

When it comes to picking out a pineapple, then color is less important then the SMELL!  There are many varieties of pineapple that can range from a green color to a light yellow and then the dark yellow. If it smells right, then it is good to eat!  It should give off a sweet tropical smell, if it smells like nothing or smells like dirt then it may not be ripe yet, and if it smells dusty then more then likely the inside is molding. Keep your pineapples on your counter at room temperature to maintain a natural invenvironment. Remember, they are naturally found in tropical regions that may never get as cold as your refrigeration. :)

  

So, remember:

A pineapple a day will keep the doctor away and make the muscles stay!