Recipe Wednesday - Protein Popsicles

During the hot and humid summer months, there's nothing I love more than Popsicles (except possibly a refreshing glass of Relax Reisling.) Unfortunately, frozen sugar water isn't usually the most nutritional snack choice.

In an effort to justify consuming mass amounts of frozen deliciousness, I decided to start making my own Popsicles. I was initially going to stick to the standard fruit/coconut water blend, until I came across a recipe for fudge pops using chocolate whey protein powder. Protein Pops?! Yes, please!

Not only are these super simple to make, they taste great, and they're a yummy way to get more protein in your diet and to combat those pesky chocolate cravings. Texture might be a bit of a roadblock for some, since protein powder makes them slightly gritty, but it didn't bother me, and if you can get past it, they really hit the spot.

Ingredients:
1 can of coconut milk, I used the full-fat, but it's up to you
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder (though any flavor will work)

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender, making sure to scrape down the coconut milk goop, until smooth. Divide evenly into Popsicle molds or disposable paper cups (if using cups, insert Popsicle sticks halfway through the freeze time). Freeze for 4 hours or overnight.

Back on Track After 2012 Zapped my Happiness and Busted My Waistline

I know I haven't posted anything in a while and I won't make excuses as for why. Ok, I will... I haven't had anything new to talk about! I fell off the health wagon for a bit, and I'm really just now getting back on, or I guess I've been back on for a few weeks.

To update you on my goings-on lately, I have now lived up here in the Artic North (Illinois) for almost a year. In that year, I have been blessed to be able to spend an abundance of time with my wonderful family, something I was never able to do down South. Unfortunately, all of that family time has not blessed my waistline. My family loves to cookout, eat out and go out for drinks... none of which are very conducive to a healthy diet. Needless to say, I've put on 10-15 pounds. Not a tragedy, but still not the direction I was looking to go.

Even with all of this family time, my happiness level has been steadily dropping. Since this blog is about health (not just bodily, but mental health as well) I feel the need to delve into this sadness and what I'm doing to fix it... just for a minute. I won't bum you out too much. Let me just start my explanation by saying that being a single mom sucks - big time. I love my kid to death, but a bouncy rambunctious four year old is just EXHAUSTING! After the running and constant talking and playing - not mine, hers - I go to bed every night just completely worn out. Have you ever watched someone run a marathon and felt like you needed a nap afterwards? It's like that. Vicarious exhaustion. And never having the opportunity to say, "Hey, watch the kid. I'm going out for an hour" catches up with you. I also don't really know anyone around here to go out with, other than my family, so I've been lonely.

Enough explaining. So what am I doing to actually FIX things? Like I always say, "If you don't like something about yourself, fix it." Well, first I addressed the sadness. It's hard to lose weight if you're sad or stressed, so I needed to fix that before I started on anything else.

Back in October, the 30th to be exact, my grandfather passed away after a short battle with pancreatic cancer, and my stepmom took it really hard. At her suggestion, I went to church with her the following Sunday. She hadn't been in a year, and I hadn't been... since my mom quit making me go in high school. Neither of us are very religious, but we went, and I took my daughter to Sunday School. After watching my mom cry during the service and hearing my daughter rave about her "school", I decided to start attending regularly, not so much for me, but for them. After a few weeks, I noticed that I was feeling better. The weekly fellowship gets me out of the house, and even if I don't get as much from the ministering as others, certain things do sink in. I've met nice people in my area, and I was even convinced to join the Mothers of Pre-schoolers group, where I've found other women my age with that same look of hidden exhaustion and sadness. It helps to know you aren't alone sometimes. I also joined the church's volunteer cleaning crew. I only clean for an hour a month, but most of the people on the crew are old, and they got so excited about "a young person" (I'm thirty) helping out, that I couldn't help but feel happy and appreciated.

Alright, so my happiness level is creeping up, and now come New Years, I was ready to address my weight again. I debated for a little bit on what kind of diet to do. I'd had good results with the Paleo diet, as you all know, but it makes me cranky, which is counterproductive to my new-found happiness. Also, I'm not on my thyroid meds, so I need every happiness boost I can get. I'd also had great results with the Alli diet in the past, but I didn't want to spend money on pills. I decided to try something in the middle. I acknowledged the fact that I eat too many carbs, so I decided to lower my carbs and raise my protein. I started adding proteins to each meal - putting peanut butter on whole wheat bread at breakfast, swapping my Yoplait yogurt for Chobani Bites (greek yogurt is really the one area where I really think the added expense is worth it.) At a tip from Bob Harper, I try not to eat carbs in the evening. I also eat dinner really early so that I can burn off more calories before bed. At first I thought that eating at 5:30 would mean that I'd be hungry again by 10:00, but I'm really not. If on the rare occasion, I find that I am, I suck it up and wait until morning. Once I got into a diet routine, I logged onto MyFitnessPal.com and added my daily meal plan to see where I was at and where I needed adjustments. MyFitnessPal gives you a suggested calorie intake (based on your weight and activity level) and calculates your calories, fat grams, carbs and proteins. I was right where the program suggested I be. The Alli diet holds you to less than 1500 calories and 45 grams of fat per day, and with my new diet plan, I'm coming out at 1150 calories and 40 grams of fat. I still get carbs, but I have enough protein to keep building muscle. On the new plan, I'm seeing better results than I did on Paleo or Alli, but I'm still happy and the diet is effortless and easy for me (which your diet should be). I even allow myself an "off-day" once a week so that I can still go out with my family. If you want to take a look at my exact diet, you can find me on MyFitnessPal by looking for artex1024.

With the diet under control, I'm working on getting back into the workout routine. It's winter, so I can't just go out and go for a walk, like I used to. I've had to find things that I can do indoors, which takes more motivation. That's why I still love Fitocracy. I can use the "leveling up" concept to keep myself going. During my hiatus, I stayed level 12 FOREVER, so I made a goal to reach level 15 by Spring. I'm 2/3 of the way through level 13, so I'm fairly certain that I can achieve my goal. (If you're on Fitocracy, you can also find me there as artex1024.) I'm staying active through a combination of body weight strength exercises, like push-ups and squats, workout dvds, and I even jump on the treadmill when I'm at my stepparents' house for dinner. I'm hoping to be considerably more toned and jiggle-free by Spring, and to have actually hit my body goals once and for all by Summer. 2013 is going to be the year of determination, so stay tuned!

6 Week Challenge

A few months ago, I signed up for a website called NerdFitness. It's definitely for nerds (like me) and it's set up like a video game, probably so that we don't feel too much out of our element. The concept is great and if you remember my Fitocracy post, studies have shown a correlation between those who excel at video games and those who excel at fitness.

Anyway, NerdFitness does these 6-week challenges, where you set up a challenge thread on the forums for yourself. You pick three diet/fitness goals and one life goal and at the end of the 6 weeks, those participants who were determined by the other members to be the "winner" (by the highest success toward your personal goals) wins a t-shirt.

I signed up for this go-around and it's my first challenge, so I'm pretty pumped about it. The three diet/fitness goals that I chose were:

1) maintain a 100% paleo diet (I post my paleo recipes here)
2) lose 10 lbs of body fat
3) learn to run 2 miles

and my lifestyle goal is to read 15 books for my book review blog, starting with "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence" (which I'm half-way through).

Once I got to reading some of the other challenge threads - some of those people go hard or go home - I decide to add another little test to mine. Since my overall goal is to improve my general fitness level, I decided to test out how many push-ups and crunches I could do without stopping and how long I could hold a plank. I logged them and I'm going to try it again every day to see how much I can improve in 6 weeks.

My initial numbers were:
kneeling push-ups: 31
crunches - 50
plank - 30.1 seconds

Today is day 3 of the challenge, and I'm making decent progress. I even decided to take a few pics to judge my physical appearance progress. Here they are - shield your eyes! :P

I'll keep you all posted on the progress as it goes along. Personal improvement is the name of the game right now!

If you're a member of Nerdfitness, you can follow my thread. My username is "epaleocookbooks". 

A Cool Way to Control Portion Size

While talking to people, I find that although a lot of them eat fairly healthy food, they tend to wreck it by eating massive portions. My roommate is the worst about it. He eats pretty well, but then he'll come home craving mac 'n cheese, and decide that since he ate well all week, he could afford the treat. But then he eats the entire pot in one sitting.

I too am a mac 'n cheese fan, and I recently came across this really cool way to make sure that you only eat a small portion. You can bake your mac 'n cheese (or other things, like meatloaf) in a muffin tin! Then you only get a muffin-sized portion. Plus, it looks kind of fancy. :)

It's easy to do. Just prepare any mac n' cheese recipe (Rocco Dispirito has a good low cal one), but cook your noodles two minutes less than the recipe instructions. Then, spoon your mixture into your muffin tin, sprinkle with panko bread crumbs and back at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Let it sit for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan with a spatula. Voila!

Cute, right?

Words of Wisdom

I saw this today on Pinterest and I thought it was worth a share. :)

I think I'm going to print it out and stick it on the fridge!

365 Project - A Great Motivational Tool

Let me start by saying, "Happy New Year!"

Do you make resolutions? If you do, have you made yours yet?

I made mine, and I didn't make just one. I made two. One is to finally FINALLY learn to run, and I swear I'm going to follow through on this one! The other is to work on my art more.

To make sure I follow through on these, I'm turning a popular project idea into a motivational tool. The project is called The 365 Project, and people do all kinds, but the basic concept is that you do something every day for 365 days. Some people cook a new recipe everyday, some take pictures of certain things, some create new art everyday (which is what I'm doing).

So, whatever your New Years resolution is, you can adapt it to a 365 model to ensure you keep with it. If your resolution is to eat healthier, try one new healthy meal every day for a year. If it's to exercise more, make yourself get out there and do something athletic every day. Then, create a blog to track your progress.

If you're cooking healthier meals, take pictures to post on your blog. If you want to be more active, blog about how what you did and how you feel. Having that record will keep you accountable, and may even motivate others to do the same.

For example, my second resolution was to work on my arts and crafts more. I'd like to improve my skill, and being creative helps keep my mind active. So, I started an art blog to post what I do everyday. If you want to check it out and get some ideas, the address is http://feelingartsy.wordpress.com

My other resolution is to learn to run, which if you follow this blog, you'll know that running is my arch nemesis. For the next 365 days, I'm going to force myself to go out once a day and just run as far as I can. I'm not going to set any goals other than to try it everyday, and hopefully, by this time next year, I'll be an Olympic track star. :)

Recipe Wednesday - BBQ Burger Biscuits

I don't know about you, but the times that I eat the least healthy are the times that I'm pressed for something, be it money, time, ingredients, etc. It's those pressed times that it's just more convenient to swing by a drive-thru somewhere and pick up fast food. It's also those times that I think every home cook should have an arsenal of recipes at their disposal that are quick, easy, cheap and healthier than fast food. This is one of those recipes.

My friend Alison came up with this recipe (or maybe she saw it somewhere) when she was in college, and now that time has passed and we all have our own little families, it's been resurrected. Not only is it easy, cheap and made of basic fridge staples, but it's a favorite with our husbands and kids.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey or chicken. I like 90/10 ground beef)
1/2 bottle bbq sauce (any kind, but the lower in sugar, the better)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can of biscuit dough (any kind)
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to whatever temp your biscuit directions require. In a skillet, brown ground beef. When beef is cooked through, drain off any excess grease. Season with a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Pour in 1/2 bottle of bbq sauce and stir together. Remove from heat.

Spray a muffin tin (12 ct, not mini muffin), with nonstick spray. Open the can of biscuits and press each biscuit down into the cups of the muffin tin, creating little "biscuit bowls". Spoon hamburger mixture into the biscuit bowls and top with shredded cheese.

Place the muffin tin on top of a baking sheet to catch any bbq sauce that may run off, and bake according to biscuit directions.

That's it. Serve one of your little bbq burger biscuits with a salad or steamed veggie, and you have a quick meal that's healthier and cheaper than a drive-thru burger, and your family will love it. This recipe's also great for bachelors and college kids. Our mom circle has had plenty of requests for the recipe from both!

P.S. - If you want to try another variation, swap out the bbq sauce for taco seasoning and a little water. You can also swap out the beef for any leftover meat that you need to use up - pulled pork, fajita meat, ham or turkey. It's a great recipe for those end-of-the-week days when you just haven't made it to the grocery store yet.

21 Days to Healthier You

Have you heard the old saying, "It takes 21 days to break a habit"? I'm pretty sure I've used it before on this blog, but if you haven't, it's true. Not only does it take 21 days to break a habit, but that's also how long it takes to make a habit. Therefore, in 3 weeks, you could feasibly break your bad habits and start make some good ones.

21 days... that's it. I know a lot of us have a tendency to say, "I'm giving up sweets!" or "I'm giving up caffeine!" Then, a week into it, the idea of forever starts to look really daunting and we just give up. Trust me when I tell you, telling yourself that you'll give something up for 21 days is a LOT easier than telling yourself you'll give it up forever. And the really great thing, is that by the time the 21 days is over, your cravings are gone, your body's gotten used to not having it and you don't want it anymore. It's a glorious thing. And you only have to struggle through 21 days. 

The 21 day plan is what I use any time I need to make a change. I usually get out a piece of posterboard, draw a calendar and tape it to the fridge, where I can cross off every day as it passes, but it can be cumbersome, and if you're like most people, you probably don't have room on your fridge for a poster. That's why I created a 21 day pocket guide. It's a 46-page pocket guide, that you can order in soft cover or hardcover, with daily inspirational quotes and lined pages to write down what you eat, how much exercise you get and whatever else you do to improve yourself. And each day is numbered, so you know where you are in your commitment. Of course, the icing on the cake is a little congratulations letter from me when you finish logging your 21 days. You can get it from blurb.com starting at $15.00 + shipping and handling. 

21 Days to Healthier You by Courtesy of stupiddonuts.blogspot.com | Make Your Own Book

New Years is fast approaching, and what better way to stick to your resolutions that a log of accountability? :)

My "I'm not going out there. It's cold!" Workout

I'm a giant baby when it comes to the cold, and the heat for that matter, and I combat both by just refusing to leave my house. Were I less industrious, that plan would really throw a wrench in my workout routine, but lucky for me, the same determination that keeps me hermitted in my house for the winter helped me develop a workout routine that I can do from my living room.

I've said before that I haven't had a gym membership for years, but that doesn't stop me from exercising. I rage internally when I hear people use the excuse that they can't lose weight and workout because they can't afford or don't have time for a gym. Gyms are great, provided you know what you're doing there, but they are by no means essential. Unless you live in the ghetto, anyone can get out and go for a walk or a run, and if you do live in the ghetto, then the workout I'm about to share can be done inside locked doors.

When the weather's nice, I usually walk a couple miles a day, but while walking burns calories and helps strengthen your heart, it really doesn't do much for muscle tone, and, if you remember my post "Strength Training - the Necessary Evil", you'll remember that muscle burns more calories than fat. So, I still have to find a way to strengthen my muscles. Back in the day, I would go out to the garage and use our power rack to bench press and do barbell squats and lat-pulldowns, but we sold it, so that's no longer an option. Plus, I'm betting most people don't have a power rack in their garage. So, I developed this routine for myself that uses your own body weight and requires nothing but your body and a floor.

Typically, you should focus on one body part per workout when strength training, like your arms, or your legs, or your back, to give each muscle group time to recover before you stress them again, but this routine doesn't put too much strain on them, so it's a full-body workout. I still recommend waiting a day between workouts if you're sore.

The system is easy. It consists of 7 exercises, and for each exercise (except the last one), you do 4 sets of 25 reps. So, basically, you're doing 100 reps of each exercise. The final exercise is holding a pose, so you only do 3 reps. I know it sounds like a lot, but you don't have to do it all together. You can spread it out however you like throughout the day, but the more you do at one time, the more you'll get your heart rate up, and the more beneficial the workout will be. If I do them all together, it takes about 20 minutes.

EXERCISE 1: Kneeling Push-ups (works your arms).  4 sets, 25 reps/set

If you're strong enough to do them correctly, you can do real push-ups, but I stick with kneeling, or girly-style of you prefer. I'm hoping that by the time I'm strong enough to do 200 kneeling push-ups, I'll be strong enough to do 1 real push-up.

To do a kneeling pushing, get on the ground on your hands and knees. With your arms straight, lengthen your body, so that your legs and back form a straight line, and your arms are straight out under your chest, perpendicular to the floor. Lift your toes off the ground and balance your lower body on your knees. Bend your elbows and lower your body until your arms form a 90 degree angle and your chest almost touches the ground. Pause, push yourself back up and re-straighten your arms. That's one rep. Continue to 25 reps to complete your first set.

EXERCISE 2: Crunches (works your core) 4 sets, 25 rep/set

Lie on the ground on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Put your hands behind your head. This is your starting position. To perform a crunch, using your abdominal muscles, lift your head and neck until your shoulder blades are off the ground. Pause, then lower back down to the starting position. This is one rep. Continue to 25 reps to complete a set.

EXERCISE 3: Oblique Crunches (works your core and helps tone up your love-handles) 4 sets, 25 reps/set

Lie on the ground in the crunch starting position.Perform a crunch, but as you raise up, bring your left knee and right elbow as close together as you can. Lower back to start and repeat with right knee and left elbow. That's one rep. Continue to 25 reps for a set.

EXERCISE 4: Reverse Crunches (works core, specifically lower abs) 4 sets, 25 reps/set

To perform a reverse crunch, lie on the ground on your back. Place hands behind your head. Rather than putting your feet on the floor, bend your legs at a 90 degree angle, so that your calves are parallel to the floor. This is your start position. To do the crunch, keep your shoulders on the ground and pull your legs into your chest as much as you can. Return to start. This is one rep. Continue to 25 reps for a set.

EXERCISE 5: Body Weight Squats (works thighs and gluts, a must-have exercise if you want a curvy booty) 4 sets, 25 reps/set

To perform a squat, stand straight up with your feet planted firmly below you, shoulder-width apart. Put your hands on your hips. Stick out your butt and arch your back. Keeping your chest straight and staring straight ahead, bend your knees and lower your body until your knees form a 90 degree angle. Be careful not to push your knees out past your toes. Push your hips forward to stand back up. (This puts less strain on your knees.) That's 1 rep. Continue to 25 reps for a set.

EXERCISE 6: Body Weight Close Squats (works your thighs and calves) 4 sets, 25 reps/set

To perform a closed body weight squat, stand straight with your heels together and your toes angled slightly away from each other, like the ballet stance. With your back straight, bend your knees and lower your body until the backs of your thighs almost touch your calves. Use your hips to push forward and stand back up. This is 1 rep. Continue to 25 reps for a set.

EXERCISE 7: Planks (works your core) 3 reps, try for 30 seconds/rep

Planks are rough, but they strengthen your core like nothing else. For this exercise, you're holding a position for a designated amount of time, so you're only going to do it 3 times. For each rep, try to hold it for 30 seconds. To perform a plank, lie on the ground on your stomach. Plant your toes into the ground, like you're bracing to do a real push-up, but rather than straightening your arms, you want to brace yourself on your elbows with your hands under your chin. Dig your toes in and lift your body off the ground, so that your back is perfectly flat and all of your weight is balanced between your toes and your elbows, tighten your abs and start counting. Since all of your weight is being held up by your core, your abs should be on fire and your whole body should start shaking as you go on. This is normal! Count to 30, then lower back to the ground. That's one rep. Rest and do this two more times.

So, there it is - my full-body "I'm not leaving the house" workout. I hope you use it and I hope you like it. If you do it a couple times a week, you should notice a difference in your tone pretty quickly. As you get stronger, add more sets or more weight. You can hold dumbbells or a barbell during squats or place a medicine ball on your stomach during crunches.

Taking the Stress Out of the Holidays

I typically hate the holiday season. From Thanksgiving through New Year's, I'm one tied up ball of stress, ready to snap at any moment. Christmas music makes me cringe, because it does nothing but remind me that the season is coming. Rather than enjoy the best parts of the holidays, the time with family, the smells (oh my goodness, do I LOVE holiday smells), the beautiful decorations, etc., I find myself instead  running to the nearest computer to check my bank account and figure out just how fast our hard-earned savings is going to disappear. Between Thanksgiving dinner, my sister's birthday and the mountains of Christmas presents for everyone we know, by the time New Year's rolls around, I'm begging for our tax return. 

Even things that should be enjoyable, like spending time with family are stressful. My husband works a lot during the holiday season, and my in-laws all have crazy schedules, so planning any kind of celebration is always last minute. I'm one of those people who can't function unless I have everything planned out weeks, if not months, in advance, and I typically don't know what we're doing for Thanksgiving until the week of. It drives me insane. Then, if I have to cook at my house, nothing ever seems to go right. The food doesn't come out the way I want it, I spend tons of time on a new dish and no one even tries it, or I go way overboard and end up eating leftovers for the next six months. 

My biggest problem is with holiday shopping. I'm a gift whisperer. I apply so much effort to selecting the perfect gift for everyone on my list that it drives my husband crazy, especially after they open it. If they don't look absolutely ecstatic, I feel like I failed and I'm depressed for days. And, although I know it's not fair, I kind of expect the same effort out of others, even though whenever someone asks what I want, I always say, "nothing." Like most men, my husband doesn't think about things like gifts, so every year, we go through the same argument. He asks what I want, and I tell him I want him to apply some effort and think of something, or else I'll just pick it out myself. I'm sure he'd prefer if I did. Picking out our daughter's gifts isn't any easier. I tell him what we're getting her, he says she won't like it and he'll pick something, which he never gets around to, so I just end up getting what I had originally picked. Gift giving is an awful painful process. 

As you can see, I get a little crazy at holiday time and that much stress is never good, not for your health and not for your soul. Last year, I eased my holiday stress by making homemade gifts for pretty much everyone on my list. I bought tins and baked and baked and baked, then loaded everyone up with enough baked goods to last them all year. Not only did it save lots of money, but it required much less effort on my part. It's a lot easier to bake than scour stores and the internet for the perfect gifts.

This year, I'm tackling a stress-free Thanksgiving. Since my husband works as a retail manager, he has to be at work at 10:30 Thanksgiving night, so I've already put my foot down and decided that I'm not doing a big family Thanksgiving. He's going to sleep until dinner time, then get up, eat and head to work. There really isn't time to go visit family or even visit with them at our house. Since neither he nor I are huge on the tradition of turkey, stuffing, etc., I saved a lot of money by not buying a turkey (he wanted ham anyway). I went to the store and found an individual packaged huge slice of ham that's just enough for the two of us, with no leftovers. Then I'm making green bean casserole, which is the only holiday food I care about, biscuits and for dessert, since we each like different kinds of pie, I picked up a couple individual serving pies from the freezer section, berry for him and pecan for me. Our daughter's three, so she'll just pick at what's available.We still get our "Thanksgiving Dinner", but it'll take me all of about 45 minutes to throw together. Plus, with all the money I saved, I get to have mulled wine AND champagne with cranberries - to unwind just in case any tension does manage to creep in. :) I'm sure the in-laws will be sad, but this will be one pleasant Thanksgiving for me!

Giving Up Sodas

If you've read any "how to lose weight" articles lately, then you know people everywhere are harping on the necessity of breaking with the soda habit. I read somewhere recently that drinking even one soda a day can raise your chances of obesity by up to 65%. I don't know if that're true or not, but what I DO know is that every soda you drink adds 200-300 calories to your daily caloric count. You'd have to run for 30 minutes straight to burn that off.

Diet sodas may not have the calories, but the sweeteners in them confuse your body and trigger it to think that you're hungry when you're not. Plus, just like white sugar, artificial sweeteners just aren't good for you. They weaken your teeth and bones, and it's best just to stay away from them.

I used to be a religious Diet Dr. Pepper drinker. I never really drank a lot of soda, but I had to have my one Diet Dr. Pepper everyday, and I'd probably had that ritual since high school. Then, about six months ago, I decided to kick the soda habit for good. In that endeavor, I realized something. I don't think it's the taste or the caffeine in the sodas that we crave. I think it's the carbonation. Sure, when a craving hit, I could imagine the phantom taste of that magical drink on my tongue, but even when that faded I still craved the soda.

I decided that I needed to replace my sodas with something else that didn't have any of the negative aspects that I was trying to get rid of. That led me to sparkling water. I've NEVER been able to stand the taste of mineral water, but I knew that if I could flavor the water, then it would essentially be a healthy version of soda. So, what do you add to disgusting sparkling water to make it taste good? Juice!

As a rule, I don't drink juice, because it's typically full of sugar and calories and it's healthier just to eat fruit, but a splash of juice wouldn't throw off my whole diet. Just find a juice that you like, but make sure it's 100% juice, not a juice blend or cocktail. I found that I really love the pomegranate-blueberry juice that Minute Maid makes. So I started replacing my daily soda with sparkling water + a splash of juice and I found that not only is it just as tasty and refreshing, but it has no added sugar or caffeine and a fraction of the calories. I even got my husband hooked on them.

We've both been soda-free for six months now. About a month ago, I actually took a sip of a soda and I didn't even like it anymore. It was too sweet for my taste. So, if you decide to kick sodas and need an alternative, take my advice and just try my replacement. It really does work. Now, if only I could get my daughter to drink it... but lucky for me, she's just as happy with plain water as sodas. For now, anyway.

Fitocracy is Where It's At

A few weeks ago, I read an article about how video gamers excel at fitness, because the same skills that are required to be a great gamer, are needed to stick to and reach fitness goals (the example they used was Vin Diesel who was an avid Dungeons and Dragons player). The article introduced two guys, who were gamers-turned-bodybuilders, and a website they had created - Fitocracy.com.

Fitocracy is a points-based "game" of sorts, where you get points for each exercise that you log. The harder the exercise and the more you challenge yourself, the more points you get for it. Your points are accumulated to help you "level up." There are also quests you can do for additional bonus points, like "Do 50 crunches at the end of your workout" and achievements you can unlock for really pushing yourself. For $4.99/month, you can become a Fitocracy Hero, which allows you early access to new content and the ability to earn titles, which you should be familiar with if you've ever played a game like World of Warcraft.

Fitocracy is really geared for people who thrive on competition, as it allows you to not only compete against yourself, by highlighting personal records, but allows you to compete against others in the Fitocracy community. There's even a Leaderboard for bragging rights. Statistically, people are more successful at fitness plans when they have someone to workout with (which is part of why I never stick to one), so when your friends join, you have the feeling of workout buddies, even if you aren't physically together when you exercise. You can still tabs on one another's activities and give encouragement when needed.

For those who lose focus easily, it helps to have the smaller goals of a quest or a new level to target. For those who are just starting out or lack confidence in their workouts, there is a social platform that allows you to make notes on your exercises and recieve feedback from your followers. It's a great way to tap the knowledge of people with more experience than you.

The site is still in beta mode right now, so joining is strictly by invitation only until they get all of the bugs worked out. I was invited by a friend a few days ago, and I'm already hooked. I'm an admitted workout procrastinator, but now I literally wake up every morning ready to knock out some squats or pushups and start accumulating my points for the day. Throughout the day, I find myself looking for quick things I can do to rack up more points. I never would have thought I'd be this motivated to exercise. The game turns working out from a chore to an accomplishment for the day. And even though I'm far from new at the fitness game, I find myself scanning the database of different exercises (which is pretty extensive and contains instructions for how to do each one) looking for new moves that I've never tried. I also love that the Fitocracy community is so diverse. The members range from elite athletes to couch potatoes.

This is the first time I've ever been this excited about fitness, and definitely the first time I've ever really wanted to shout a recommendation from the rooftops. The site is amazing and I'm so glad that it exists. If anyone's interested in checking it out, the URL is http://www.fitocracy.com/ . You can sign up to be notified when the site goes public. I also have a few invitations left, so if you'd like one, just send me an email and I'll shoot you one if they're still available. My email is kim.graydiaz@gmail.com .

I'm BAAAACK!

I know I've been on a long hiatus, and I apologize for that. I just lost focus for a bit, because things were not going as I had hoped. Despite my clean diet and plenty of exercise, I hadn't lost any weight since March and I didn't really feel like I could share any advice that wasn't working for me.

A couple months ago, I started to notice that my temper was getting bad. I'm normally pretty even-keeled, but my fuse seemed to be getting shorter by the day. I was easily irritated and feeling depressed. Then I noticed that my thought process seemed to be slowing down, along with my reflexes. I started looking into seeing a therapist, but when I started GAINING weight, which shouldn't have even been possible, I knew there was something physically wrong with me.

I did some research online, and I came across a forum where a guy listed a ton of symptoms, most of which matched mine, and asked if it could have something to do with his thyroid. I knew that my dad suffered from a thyroid disorder, so I called him to ask what his symptoms were. My dad actually has hyperthyroidism, which means that his thyroid is overactive, which makes his metabolism overactive and he loses weight very quickly. He said he was pretty sure I had hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, which apparently, my grandmother and my uncle both suffer/suffered from.

I made an appointment with a clinic to get my thyroid levels checked, and sure enough, I have hypothyroidism. My body was using twice as much T4 hormone, which the hormone that controls your metabolism, as it should have been and it wasn't creating any of the T3 hormone, which controls things like your mental faculties, mood, sex drive and cell turnover (so my hair and nails were thinning and my skin was looking rough). So, for the last few months I've been on medication and the doctor's been playing guess-and-check with my dosage, until finally, over the last 2 weeks, I've started to feel like my old self again. Now I feel like I'm back to the land of the living and I can continue experimenting and dishing out my awesome know-how! Lucky you. ;)

Family Meal

I know that, at not even 3 years old, my daughter is young and there's a lot that I shouldn't start stressing about until later on, but I already worry about what kind of school she should attend, what her behavior will be like as a teen, and whether sneaking vegetables into her food will cause life-long resentment. I also worry about the fact that we rarely ever have family mealtime. I hear all the time about the importance of family mealtime to a child's well-being. Studies show that teens who eat with the family 3-4x a week are less like to drink, do drugs, develope eating disorders or suffer from depression or suicidal thoughts. They're more likely than their non-familytime peers to maintain good grades, have strong friendships and delay sex. So, I suffer with the guilt of worrying whether letting my daughter eat in the living room is going to turn her into a teenaged boozy, druggy delinquent. It's not that I don't like family mealtimes, my family ate dinner together every night. It's just that with her age and my husband's unpredictable work schedule, it's hard to get everyone together at a decent time. I typically feed her earlier in the evening, then I cook myself something, and my husband eats whenever he feels like it.

Plenty of families have the same predicament. So how do you implement family mealtimes when everyone's schedule is so whack-ado? ... I don't know. That's why I'm asking you. I guess I could feed Alex a little later and eat with her at the table. It's not quite "family time", but it's 2/3 of it. Maybe I could bring the dog in too...

Another problem with family mealtime in our house, is that we all have different diets. I've tried everything to figure this one out. When I was doing my weightloss challenges with my group, the biggest obstacle that a lot of the women had in eating right, was that their husbands weren't onboard with the idea, so they were forced to cook to their husband's preference, rather than their own. I told them that my rule was, "If you don't want to eat what I cook, then you can provide for yourself." Apparently, that doesn't work for everyone. I guess a lot of husbands are scarier than mine. It also only worked in my house for a little while. I still had to make a separate meal for Alex, because even if she could cook for herself, I don't trust her with most cooking utensils, and her meals would consist of fruit snacks and juice boxes. And I quickly found out that Nate can rack up quite the fast food bill. From a monetary standpoint, it wasn't my best policy. Fortunately, he's now trying to eat a little healthier, and even though he's on a pretty strict diet, it's done in a way that I can find a compromise. I cook for him, and then tweak the food a little to suit my lifestyle. For example, last night, he was on a "no carb" day, so he made ribeye steaks. Ribeye is a really fatty cut of meat, so instead of eating a whole steak, I cut a few slices off of one of his (Yes, I just said one of his. He ate two.) and made a ribeye salad for myself. Then, I didn't have to cook two separate dinners.

Since we cooked one dinner together last night, my husband and I were actually able to eat at the same time. Normally, Nate always eats at the dining room table, only by himself. By the time I eat dinner, Alex is usually done with her's and wants me to eat in the living room, while she watches her evening movie. Last night, however, she seemed to be content with what she was doing, so I set the table for the both of us. No sooner had we sat down, then Alex came into the dining room to see what was going on. Instead of whining for me to go join her on the couch, she went back to the living room, came back her plate of peanut butter toast, set it on the table, climbed up into a chair and proceeded to eat dinner with us. I think it was our first family dinner that didn't take place in a restaurant. And it was nice. Maybe instead of worrying about bringing family mealtime to my family, my family will bring mealtime to me.

Recipe Wednesday - Lizzie Symon's Granola

Chef Michael Symon raves about his wife, Lizzie's, granola, and apparently he got a lot of requests for the recipe, so he posted it recently on The Chew's facebook page. I've always liked granola, especially on yogurt, but I've never really loved granola. Typically, granola's very fattening and heavy-handed in the calorie area, so I've avoided eating much of it. Lizzie's recipe does contain a bit of fat, in the form of nuts and olive oil, but it's all very heart-healthy fats, and since breakfast should be a hearty combination of all of the macronutrients (fat, protein and carbs) this recipe is a great way to start your day! Just don't overdo it. It's very filling, so a cup of granola with a little skim milk is surprisingly satisfying. Plus, the flavor is awesome. It's the perfect mix of sweet and salty. I'll give you fair warning though - it's extremely addicting!

Lizzie Symon's Homemade Granola

Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
2 cups unsweetened coconut
2 cups almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt

Toss together to coat and bake on sheetray at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden. Let cool completely in pan. Add 2 cups of dates and dried cherries & serve or store in airtight container and add dried fruit to order.

NEW - Just announced today, (05/22/12) you can pre-order Michael's new book, "Carnivore" for almost 1/2 off! 

Don't forget to check out my entertaining new ebook, "What Does That Even Mean?!: A Navigational Guide to Understanding the Health Hype" - available at the Kindle Market for just $3.99! 

Purchase it HERE 

The Joy of Shopping

Ok, time for a personal confession. I've always hated shopping for clothes. Take all of the angst we women all feel during that dreaded time of year when we have to go swimsuit shopping, and just imagine feeling it every time you go shopping for clothes in general. Like a lot of people, I held on to clothes for years longer than I should have, just because I didn't want to have to suffer through the depression of buying new ones. Since high school, every time I entered a store, I wondered if anything was going to fit. Then, I just started shopping at stores that offered bigger sizes (but were definitely lower quality) just to avoid the embarassing moment when I found out that they did not. And I wore clothes that were too small, just because I didn't want to go stores like Lane Bryant and have to admit my real size to myself. I never even tried clothes on until I got home, because I'd go to a dressing room, I'd imagine that some security officer was watching their camera and throwing up in their mouth a little. I didn't want to be responsible for the retinal scarring of any innocent store employees.

Up until today, I was still wearing oversized clothes and workout gear because I was afraid that if I went shopping, I'd discover that I still couldn't shop at the stores I wanted to. But, I'd been feeling kind of down on myself lately, feeling kind of frumpy and ugly, so I decided to brave it. I needed a pick-me-up and the mall usually does it. So, I did, and I have an announcement to make. I can officially shop in any store I want! Even my boobs, which I was convinced would never fit into normal shirts, have gotten small enough to wear a Large. It's a glorious day! I even bought my first pair of skinny jeans. They're cropped, but I have freaky short legs, so they sit just above high-water length, and I have to roll them up a little extra.

Today feels good. I'm glad I made my shopping trip. It was just the morale boost that I needed. I'm back to feeling like my usual pretty, confident self. Thanks for that, new clothes! :)

The Paleolithic Diet

I'll take a break from vitamin month, because I've had a special request for a blog entry. My husband has started a diet that he's wanted to do for ages, but never bitten the bullet, the Paleolithic Diet (AKA Paleo Diet, Hunter-gatherer Diet or Caveman Diet). He asked me to do a little write-up on it. The basic premise is that your diet should consist of the same foods that the cavemen ate, fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat and eggs. You don't eat anything that was introduced during the neolithic age, like grains, dairy, salt or legumes, or the industrial era, which added things like oils and processed sugars to our diets. The main arguement for the paleo diet is that our bodies have not evolved to process anything other than completely natural foods, and that all of the diseases we experience come from the changes in our diets. By eliminating these changes, we eliminate the negative effects. Of course, as some experts point out, cavemen lived to be... what, like 30? Hardcore paleo dieters think that cooking your food is a cop-out, and that the body isn't designed to eat food cooked. They believe that all foods should be consumed raw, which is typically called "raw dieting" and I call "disgusting." People opposed to the paleo-style of dieting say that it's impossible to know for sure what the paleolithic man actually ate, and the best means that we have to determine that is by watching chimpanzees in the wild. While the paleo diet encourages eating plenty of meat, chimps only eat meat (and vegetables) when they are readily available, as our cavemen ancestors would have. Their normal diet would have actually consisted of about 95% fruit.

Nate isn't doing the diet to eliminate disease, since I'm almost certain he doesn't have any, but to lose some unwanted "getting older and lazier" fat. Plus, I think he likes the idea of being a caveman. The diet he's following is kind of a mix between the paleo diet and a diet designed more for fat loss, the Green-Faces Diet. The green-faces diet allows you to eat as much as you want as long as you follow a few simple rules. If it's green, you can eat. If it has a face, or theoretically would have had a face, like eggs, (I say theoretically, because as much as some people seem to think otherwise, eggs from the store are unfertilized. A chicken could sit on one until his butt went numb, and that egg will never be a baby chicken.), you can eat it. If it's not green and didn't have a face, you can't have it. Since green vegetables are low in calories and high in fiber, you can consume as much as you want with relatively low calorie consumption, and although certain meats are high in fat and calories, the protein payoff is worth it for someone who is physically active, and you'll end up losing fat, while building muscle, which is his ultimate goal. Advocates of this style of dieting say that 70% of the calories we consume come from forbidden items dairy, cereals, processed oil and processed sugars. The green-faces diet is used not only for shedding pudge, but many use it as an "elimination diet." By removing all common food allergies, things like gluten, dairy or peanuts, from your diet, you assess how you feel and determine if you have any allergies. You may not even realize that you have a food allergy until you eliminate it and then notice that you feel better. When the diet's over, you can reintroduce foods, one-at-a-time to find out what you were allergic to.

My husband's diet consist of fruits, veggies, nuts, meat and eggs, and he eats as much as he wants, which, if you know Nate, the dude can pack it away. He can only drink water and he can't have anything alcoholic, dairy-based, high carb-y or starchy. If you ask me, he's giving it a pretty weak effort, since he had me make meatballs yesterday (with breadcrumbs) and I'm pretty sure the cavemen didn't have ketchup. I mean, if you're going to do a "diet", you should man-up and go balls to the wall, right? At least that's my opinion. ;)

One last thing, if it sounds like I'm taking a firm anti-caveman diet stance, I am. Most of it sounds fine, but I object to any diet that calls for the voluntary elimination of carbs. If you tell me you don't eat carbs, you might as well just be telling me that your favorite pasttime is kicking puppies. That's how much it breaks my heart. But, best of luck to Nate on his diet, and I'll let everyone know how it works out for him!

Recipe Wednesday - Chicken Paillard

The other day I was flipping through my cookbooks, looking for something new to make, and I came across a recipe for chicken paillard in Tyler Florence's "Family Meal". I like it because it's very simple to make, is absolutely delicious and if you throw some gravy or marinera and cheese on it, you've got chicken fried chicken or chicken parm.

Now you're probably thinking, "I thought these recipes were supposed to be healthy. Fried chicken's not healthy!" You're right, but when you're craving fried chicken, baked just doesn't do it, and fried chicken can be healthier. Frankly, as long you eat right normally, you can enjoy a little fried food without throwing everything off. The good thing about paillard, is that you pound the meat thin before you pan-fry it, so it cooks faster and spends less time in the oil. And the lemon juice on top adds a ton of flavor, without any fat. My husband prefers it with marinera, so I just heat up a little sauce for him and pour it on his before I serve it. He says, and I quote, "This is the best chicken parmesan I've ever had. I feel like I could eat this every day." He likes it because it doesn't come out greasy and he doesn't feel like he's just eaten a heavy fatty meal. If I serve it with salad, he feels like he ate so healthy that he makes himself a batch of cinnamon rolls for dessert. (He's not the healthiest guy.)

Chicken Paillard

4 3oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even 1/2" thickness

1 c whole wheat flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper
vegetable oil
3 lemons, cut into wedges

Note on pounding chicken - if you cut a slit in the underside of the thickest part of the breast, it will help it to flatten when you pound it. To pound out chicken, place each chicken breast between two large sheets of plastic wrap and hit with a meat mallet (or if you're like me and don't own a meat mallet, use a rolling pin... or wine bottle.)

Set up a breading station:

1 bowl with flour. Add enough salt and pepper so that you can see the pepper in the flour and taste the seasonings.

1 bowl with beaten eggs

1 bowl with panko bread crumbs. Again, add enough salt and pepper to see and taste it in the crumbs.

Take each pounded chicken breast and first coat in flour, shaking off the excess, then in egg, and lastly in bread crumbs. Place on a plate. Repeat with remaining breasts. Refrigerate the plate of breaded chicken for ten minutes, so the breading will adhere better when fried.

While chicken is chilling, fill a large skillet with 1 1/2" oil. Heat on med-high until oil pops with a drop of water hits it. Fry each chicken breast, one at a time, in the oil for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove fried chicken from the oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over chicken.

Vitamin Month - Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is only found naturally in a few foods, like the flesh of fatty fish, such as catfish, tuna, salmon and mackerel. Small amounts are also found in beef liver, cheese and egg yolks. Most of the Vitamin D we consume comes from products that have been Vitamin D "fortified", like milk, breakfast cereals, yogurt and margarine. Although Vitamin D fortification in milk is not required in the United States, as it is in Canada, most milk is voluntarily fortified with 100 IU per cup, a process which began in the 1930s to combat rickets, a major health risk for children at the time.

Vitamin D can also be gained through sun exposure. When the UV rays from the sun hit the skin, vitamin D is synthesized.

Vitamin D is necessary for proper bone growth. Without it, your bones would become brittle, thin and misshapen. Sufficient intake of vitamin D prevents rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults.

Recommended Daily Intake -
Age 1-70 = 600 IU/day
70+ = 800 IU/day

Vitamin Month - Vitamin C

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is probably the most preached about vitamin. People take Vitamin C for everything from preventing or beating colds to curing cancer, when in actuality, studies haven't been able to prove that it helps with any of those things. Over 30 clinical trials of more than 10,000 participants have shown that people who take Vitamin C for cold symptoms see little to no improvement. Of course, I still do it. Whenever I get a cold, I immediately down 2 quarts of Dole pineapple-orange-banana juice to try and blast it away. And I always swear that it works, although I'm probably just drunk on juice and forgot about my cold. :)

What they do know is that Vitamin C is necessary to build collagen in your bones, cartilage, muscles and blood vessels, and it aids in the absorption of iron.

Vitamin C deficiency causes the disease, scurvy, which I always thought was a disease that only pirates got. While it's rare nowadays, scurvy was very common hundreds of years ago. Any place that lacked access to fresh fruits and vegetables was susceptible, especially sailors, who would be out to sea for months or years at a time. The first recorded case of scurvy was by the Greek doctor, Hippocrates in 400 BC. Centuries later, people suspected the lack of fresh food to be the cause, however, the first study to determine this wasn't until 1747, by British Royal Navy surgeon, Jonathan Lind. While out at sea, he gave some sailors on the ship two lemons and an orange everyday, in addition to their normal diet and compared them to those who hadn't had the citrus. He noticed a dramatic decrease in scurvy symptoms by those sailors who had consumed the citrus fruits. By 1795, it was common practice for the British Navy to give it's sailors lime juice to prevent the disease.

*Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin

SOURCES: chili peppers, guava, parsley, kiwi, broccoli, brussels sprouts, papaya, strawberries, oranges, lemon, kale, cauliflower, canteloupe, garlic, grapefruit, tangerines, raspberries, spinach, lime, mango, blackberries

The US National Academy of Sciences recommends 60-95 mg/day of Vitamin C