Fear Of The Unlabeled

I recently had a discussion with one of my friends, and an interesting topic arose concerning eating healthy and controlling calorie intake (I have such interesting conversations, don't I?)  He mentioned that he was afraid of eating foods that didn't have nutritional labels associated with them, for fear of consuming too large an amount of calories, or other bad stuff (like trans fat) without ever knowing it.  I too used to have this fear, big-time.  It's a common one.  Heck, if you don't know what's in your food, how are you supposed to know if it's healthy?  It's a legitimate quandary, and I decided right then and there that I would write my next article on that very subject, namely, how to get over the fear of unlabeled food.

Firstly, I'd like to say one thing:  YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF EVERY FOOD THAT DOESN'T HAVE A LABEL.  Why not?  Because some of the healthiest stuff in the entire WORLD doesn't have a nutritional label on it.  For instance, go and pick yourself an apple.  Does it come with a nutritional label pasted to its skin?  Nope.  Does this mean it's not healthy, and you shouldn't eat it?  NOT AT ALL!  In fact, you'd do well to eat that apple right at that very instant and start benefiting from the enormous amounts of nutrients it contains.  The same goes for fruits, nuts, and vegetables.  In their natural form, there's no way they could be bad for you.  Just absolutely no freaking way.  In fact, almost every single container of organic food you can buy at your local health food distributor will NOT have a nutritional label, and yet those foods will do so much more good for you than any sort of boxed crud you could get at any old grocery store.  So if you see a bowl of apples sitting there in the cafeteria, or a bucket of tomatoes at the salad bar, don't avoid them.  Dig in.  You won't get fat, you won't have a heart attack, and you WILL make your body healthier.

But that's a no brainer...right?  Yeah, I thought so.  So what about the more complicated stuff?  Let's look at the situation I'm regularly in when I go to my school's cafeteria.  They make a LOT of healthy food, and a LOT of crappy food as well.  And rarely is any of it labeled correctly (though they are trying, I'll give them that.)  But do I stress?  Not one bit, because I know what to look for.  That means I can look at a plate of sauteed vegetables, and tell if the cooks have used too much oil, or if there's a sugary glaze overtop of them to make them more appetizing.  And this is what you need to do.  With complex dishes, you need to use a combination of past knowledge (what have you eaten in the past similar to this, and how was it made?), and a discerning eye for ingredients (know what oil looks like, know what fried foods look like, and determine what ingredients make up the entire dish.)  If it's a relatively plain dish, as in no glaze or anything like that, you can assume that those veggies aren't any more caloric than the raw ones at the salad bar.  If it's a stir fry, I still wouldn't be worried, you can easily account for a few extra (healthy) calories and still have a good meal.  Heck, a little cooking oil will give you some healthy fat in your diet.  If those veggies are rolling around in sloppy meat and brown sauce, skip them, as you know they've been too doctored up to really be beneficial for you.  It's not a hard concept, go with stuff that looks more plain, or more sparingly dressed.

What about meat?  Well that can be a little more daunting, but still not a horrible situation.  Breaded or fried meats are generally a no-no, as they'll have many more calories (sometimes almost double the plain variation), and a lot of bad fats that you know won't do you or your figure any good.  Heavily sauced meats are generally in the same boat, and you should avoid things smothered in BBQ sauce or a sugary marinade.  If the meat is only spiced (seasoning baked in), it could be just fine, or it could have excess sodium.  That one's really a toss up, but a little salt every now and then will do no harm.  In my opinion though, the plainer the meat, the better.  Go for the grilled or poached chicken, or a medium portion of turkey/beef.  I'd stay away from pork and fattier cuts of beef, as they'll be the secret killers, ESPECIALLY if they're unlabeled.  Fish is an AWESOME choice as long as it's not fried.

Also, you have to know your portions.  6 oz of meat is a decently thick piece about the size of your palm.  6oz of any sort of plain meat ranges from 120-250 calories, based on whether it's chicken, pork, fish, steak, etc.  Knowing portions is just as important as knowing ingredients just by looks.  If the cuts are too big, slice it in half and throw out the rest (or give it to your friend who loves meat.)  Not hard, right?

Another reason NOT to be afraid of unlabeled food is as follows:  Just because a food has a label, doesn't mean it's healthy.  Just 'cause you know how many calories are in an Oreo doesn't mean eating them is a healthy choice.  Heck, have you seen a Lean Cuisine package?  I picked one up the other day, and my jaw nearly dropped open at how many chemical ingredients were in that thing.  Low calorie?  Sure.  Healthy?  NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!  You'd be better off eating a piece of meat that you had no freaking clue how many calories were in rather than one of those things.  Ridiculous.

So here's the bottom line.  If you want to eat as healthily as possible, you have to move away from labels.  The healthiest stuff on earth is unlabeled, and you have to deal with it.  I'm pretty sure most of what I eat doesn't have nutritional labels on it, and I'm seeing fantastic results in both strength an leanness as I continue to train.  Don't be a label addict.  It'll only limit your diet to the point where you're absolutely stifled when it comes to mealtime.  If you're a serious addict, you can always look up nutritional information online after (or before) the meal.  But seriously, don't stress.  It'll only cause tension, hormone imbalance, and in this case, hunger.  Remember one thing:  calories aren't all that matters.  Nutrients are where it's at.

Know your portions, know your ingredients, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

Think About It, Will You?

Your brain is a powerful, powerful thing.  It thinks, reacts, considers, remembers, judges, determines, solves, computes, as well as a host of other things.  It's the reason you're breathing, walking, lifting that heavy weight, and of course eating that healthy meal.  But did you know that as you age, your brain tends to shrink?  It actually decreases in volume and cognitive ability!  Yikes!  It's an inevitability, but the good news is that you can easily give yourself a fighting chance in your golden years if you just consider your health a little more thoroughly.  

Did you know that being obese is actually dangerous to your brain?  That's right!  Not only are you straining your heart, muscles, liver, kidneys, bones, and ligaments, but also that organ which keeps you thinking clearly.  Research has proven that obese people have smaller brains than people of "normal" weight.  YEAH!  THEY'RE ACTUALLY SMALLER!  Crazy, eh?  Believe me, a smaller volume of brain cells in critical areas is not something you want.  It will affect your ability to problem solve, remember, and in general think clearly.  This problem only gets worse as you get older, and in your golden years, size does matter.  You want as BIG a brain as possible, with the most possible ability to think and remember clearly.  The bigger the effective volume of your brain, the lesser chance of getting cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's.  Lose that spare tire, and gain some of that witty spark back!

And this preservation of your brain comes with another little fun twist.  It's been shown that people with greater muscle mass, in general, retain greater cognitive function as they age!  WOW!  Those gym trips aren't just giving you the guns after all!  It turns out that a healthy amount of muscle mass will preserve a greater flow of blood through your cerebral passages, leading to...you guessed it...more thinking power!  Less muscle= poor cerebral blood flow = brain damage/deterioration throughout your life. 

Lifting those weights also helps to build NEW blood passages throughout your brain, which will allow nutrients to penetrate deeper into critical brain tissue, actually encouraging "neurogenesis" or the creation of new brain cells!  Remember way back when, when you heard all those people tell you that brain cells can't regenerate, and what you have is what you've got, no matter what?  Well that's a bunch of hooey!  Your brain is constantly remodeling and adapting to your current life situation.  Once it stops, you're in trouble.  Support neurogenesis through exercise and healthy diet, and you'll keep better brain function as you age.  

So what's the final word?  Lose that spare tire, and hit the gym a few more times each week.  You'll not only get that beach body, but you'll be quite the sharp thinker for a long time to come.  

Good Luck!

References:  Braverman, Eric R., and Dale Kiefer. "Combating Age-Related Brain Deterioration."Life Extension Oct. 2011. Print.

The Short Term Key

Short term goals are some of my best friends, and through writing this article I hope they become some of yours as well.  These little goals are not only easy to think about, but are easily achievable!  That's right, they're goals that you have a very good chance of achieving quite quickly.  Ahhh, doesn't that sound nice?  Accomplishment.  Love that feeling.

And conveniently, they're probably the best stepping stone to that long term goal looming dramatically over your noggin, constantly in your thoughts, keeping you awake at night (muahahahaha....).

But seriously, consider the short term goal your sword, to slay that giant beast.  The bat, to knock down that wavering pinata.  The axe, to hack at that massively daunting oak.  You get the idea.

First, let's define what a short term goal means in OUR situations (at the gym, of course).  They can easily be applied to lifting weights, cardio, flexibility training, even diet!  And the best part is, they keep you on track, keep you coming back for more day in and day out.  And probably their most important job is to keep you feeling good, accomplished, and satisfied.  Let's find out how to start setting some short term goals, shall we?

What can you do now?  This statement is purposely quite general.  What are your current strengths, skills, flexibility, calorie/nutrient consumption, etc.  How do you stack up?  Maybe you bench 190lbs for 4 reps.  Maybe you can jump on a 36" box 5 times in 8 seconds.  Maybe you eat 2500 calories a day and want to lose 3 lbs.  You're only going to know where you stand if you make an effort to record these type of things!  Write them down!  Put them on a note in your ipod (I have one on my iphone entitled "Current PR's"!  Make a voice recording!  I don't care which, just make sure you record your abilities, because if you don't I can almost guarantee you won't make progress (or nearly as much as you could.)

How do you feel?  This one's a little bit harder to fathom, but not too hard to grasp if you really put some thought into it.  After you did those 4 reps of 190lbs on the bench press, how did you feel?  Were they extraordinarily easy?  If that's the case, why the heck did you stop?  Were they super duper hard?  Was it your MAX? How about that diet?  If you're eating 2400 calories, how full do you feel throughout the day?  Are you starving?  Bloated?  Tired?  MAKE NOTES OF THESE THINGS AS WELL.  These feelings are important in order to set short term goals effectively.

What's your long term goal?  Remember what I said in my New Year's resolution article?  Set a long term goal that's challenging.  Make yourself work, reach, exert near maximum effort as often as you can while avoiding injury.  How do you plan to impress your friends (and more importantly, yourself), if you don't have to power yourself to a higher, fantastic level?  Be ambitious.  Record a goal for yourself that you can be seriously proud of when you complete.  Write it down, and PUT IT WHERE YOU CAN CONSTANTLY SEE IT.  You need constant reminders to be successful.  It's human nature.


Now, set your first short term goal! You've got all the factors in place to be able to set your first short term goal.  Now keep in mind, there's still an art to this.  Don't make it an immediate short term goal.  At the earliest, make it for tomorrow.  For the beginner, I'd suggest either weekly, or bi-weekly goals.  Monthly is a little lengthy, and gets to be vague.  Let's look at the examples above, and set some goals for those people:

If you bench 190lbs for 4 reps now, how about 195lbs for 4 reps next week?  Easy enough to do, eat right and get proper recovery, and you'll be there in no time.

Do you run for 10 minutes now at 7.0 miles an hour?  Aim for an extra minute next week, at maybe 7.2 miles per hour.  Or better yet, add another thirty seconds every two or three days.  Maybe only 15 seconds!  How easy is that?

How about the diet one.  If you consume 2400 calories now, and feel hungry, replace 200 calories of a guilty  "snack" food (like Tostitos) with 100 calories of some sort of bean salad, or a handful of peanuts.  Simple!

And the great part about short term goals is that they ADD UP QUICKLY.  It's easy to look at a short term goal and scoff, thinking the whole time about "so what if I squat 5 lbs more than last week."  It's 5 little pounds!  But if you could do that all year (which would be extremely difficult, but isn't unachievable,) you'd be squatting over 250lbs more than you did at the beginning of the year!  WOW!

But what if you fail?  Don't sweat it!  If we all hit every one of our goals every single time, we'd all be Olympic champions!  Recover, recuperate, regroup, re-motivate, and try again in a day, or two, or a week.  Don't lollygag, but don't rush into it.  It's really like walking a tight rope.  Push yourself, but on a consistent and realistic basis.

Finally, let's cover the topic you're all probably considering.  What if you don't set any short term goals?  Well, everybody works their own way, but you have no idea how many people I see go into the gym and do the same exercises every day, doing the same number of push-ups, same number of squats with the same weight, and same amount of time on the treadmill.  They don't have goals, they just want to say they go to the gym, and convince themselves that's all that matters.  Blahhh...boring...and believe me they won't get far.

How about those who have the big goal in mind, but no little ones?  Well, I've heard a lot of people say they want to bench 350, but don't go about getting there with any sort of routine or consistency.  They're dumb about it.  And what happens?  They get sidetracked, tired, burned out, and inevitably...FAIL.  Sure, there are exceptions, but in my opinion those exceptions are few and far between.

So that's the scoop.  Short term goals are what bring the big, crazy goals into perspective.  They're stepping stones across the huge waving river (there I go with the analogies again...).  Set them, and start seeing that sweet, sweet progress.  

Keep setting goals.  Keep breaking records.  You'll be surprised at how far you'll get.  Good Luck!

Chew Gum, Stay on Track

Even as I type this, I'm already chewing a piece of gum.  I'll be honest, I love the stuff, and I'm not alone.  Thousands of people chew gum for different reasons, whether it be to freshen their breath, cure temporary boredom, work out the jaw, or even help them stay on their diet.  Gum is a great tool in many regards, and if you don't already chew it on a regular basis, I hope this article might help you to take advantage of some of the benefits gum can offer.

First of all, before I say anything else, I recommend SUGAR FREE GUM.  This is the stuff you want, not its sugar packed cousin.  Sugared gum will have quite a few more calories and will most likely spike your insulin unnecessarily, kicking your diet off track little by little.  Sugar free gum only has sugar alcohol, which is only partially digested, so the calories are next to naught.  There are between 3.5 and 5 calories in sugar free gum, depending on whether you get the longer flatter pieces, or the shorter, more compact, thicker pieces.  Just check out the nutrition label on the back of the package.

So what are some of gum's most awesome benefits?  Let's examine a few, shall we?

Curbs Appetite:  Yes that's right, gum might keep you from overeating.  Because the action neccessary to chew gum so closely resembles consuming food, you may be able to trick your body into thinking it's actually receiving food when you're actually not!  Neat!

But don't go overboard on this nifty little fact.  Gum won't keep you full, and generally the effect will wear off or even reverse after a certain amount of time, because your stomach keeps expecting food it's not getting.  Gum should never be used as a meal replacement, or even a snack replacement.  It should be used as temporary tool to curb any existing hunger after you've known you already ate enough, or wish to take the edge off before a meal.  Simple things like that.  It doesn't work miracles, but it can definitely help you stay on track.  For example, it's said that gum chewers consume up to 10% less than non-gum chewers.  Not a bad figure, especially for such a simple solution.

Decreases Anxiety:  I bet you've noticed this effect before, as I certainly have.  Gum can help calm your nerves, as it focuses the mind elsewhere and gets rid of a little pent up, tension related energy.  This effect, in the long run, can end up helping you eat less, because anxiety is a HUGE culprit of binge eating.  If you're a little nervous, a simple stick of gum might do wonders for you.

Oral Health:  OK, I'm not going to say that chewing gum is a replacement for brushing your teeth, so don't get too excited.  But studies have show that chewing sugar-free gum can both directly and indirectly decrease the effect of plaque on your teeth.  Direct effects may include the actual removal of harmful food matter off of your teeth, and indirect effects include the stimulation of salivary glands which will help to fight the effects of plaque after a meal.  So pick up a stick of gum after dinner and you might impress your dentist a little more come your next appointment! (Though they always seems to complain anyway, don't they?)

Cognitive Performance:  Amazingly, gum can help your mind perform more sharply and efficiently.  There have been all sorts of studies done on gum and its effects on the brain, and many have shown that chewing gum can help test/school performance as a whole.  In fact, this article describes one of the studies quite well:

It turns out there’s an excellent rationale for this long-standing cultural habit: Gum is an effective booster of mental performance, conferring all sorts of benefits without any side effects. The latest investigation of gum chewing comes from a team of psychologists at St. Lawrence University. The experiment went like this: 159 students were given a battery of demanding cognitive tasks, such as repeating random numbers backward and solving difficult logic puzzles. Half of the subjects chewed gum (sugar-free and sugar-added) while the other half were given nothing. Here’s where things get peculiar: Those randomly assigned to the gum-chewing condition significantly outperformed those in the control condition on five out of six tests. (The one exception was verbal fluency, in which subjects were asked to name as many words as possible from a given category, such as “animals.”) The sugar content of the gum had no effect on test performance.

That's pretty remarkable if I don't say so myself.  Although I bet you're asking why this effect occurs.  This article goes on to state that this temporary sharpening of the mind (yes it's temporary, in the same article it said effects were only noticeable for about 20 minutes) is due to "mastication-induced arousal."  Now don't read that phrase out loud, as it will probably cause you to burst out laughing, but it basically means that chewing something wakes you up and causes you to be more alert.  It's a pretty simple concept, yet definitely one worth noting.

Chewing gum can definitely be an advantageous activity, and the great news is that it's probably one you already enjoy.  So chew with confidence, as you know you're doing your body a bit of good!

Remember, sugar-free.  Good Luck!


A few References:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/the-cognitive-benefits-of-chewing-gum/

http://www.wrigleydentalcare.com/orbit_us/media-area/articles/the-oral-health-advantages-of-chewing-sugarfree-gum/index.htm

Eating Clean: Where to start?

Ok, so now you know a little bit about what comprises a clean diet.  And maybe you're thinking that a few of the foods I mentioned don't actually sound so bad.  In fact maybe, just maybe you might be able to incorporate a few of those foods into your daily diet, perhaps substituting some of the processed junk that you always feel guilty about eating.

What you've just stumbled upon is the start to a clean diet.  And it's exactly the first step I suggest you take, if you're looking to get into a more healthy mindset.  Take it slowly at first.  Replace a few foods, incorporate some vegetables here, a fruit there (maybe instead of those oreos), and a bowl of oatmeal instead of that breakfast burrito.  I'll say it again.  TAKE....IT...SLOW.  

Why is this so important?

First of all, if you've been running on microwave dinners and chips-ahoy for a while, it's unlikely that you'll find vegetables too appealing, nor will you be too keen on the idea of replacing your brownie dessert with a banana.  Your body has become somewhat addicted to high sugar, high fat, processed food.  It's not an uncommon thing, so don't feel bad.  Breaking an addiction TAKES TIME.  I used to be that guy, who ate half a pan of brownies for breakfast, a jar of cookies for lunch, and nearly a 1 pound burger for dinner.  Being a growing adolescent boy, miraculously I got away with it.  After realizing my absolutely horrendous diet, I began to make changes over the years, as I became more involved with weightlifting and fitness in general.  It took a lot of trial and error, and a ton of research.  Seriously, I spent hours on the computer learning every little nuance about nutrition.  I'm proud of my diet now, and guess what, I don't crave bad food anymore!  Am I perfect?  Absolutely not.  But I'm fine with skipping dessert, and I actually prefer the taste of most vegetables over any sort of cheese doodles or fig newtons.  

Weaning your body off processed food takes time, unfortunately.  You need to actively teach your body to enjoy the healthy stuff.  There are many tricks to doing this more effectively, and I'll go over those in coming posts.  Healthy food does not ever need to taste bad.  And if you prepare it right, I promise you it never will.  I'm not going to lie though, it won't be quite the same as that greasy burger.  But you learn to appreciate healthy food, and I promise that eventually you will crave the healthy stuff, not the chocolate cake.

Whatever you do, do NOT try to go cold turkey off of processed food.  This is the reason that an enormous amount of diet plans fail outright.  You are not able to kick the cravings for the processed stuff, and after a few weeks and barely any results, you throw that broccoli out the window and go back to your precious Tostitos.  I'll say it again, incorporate your new diet slowly.  This isn't a diet plan, it's a lifestyle change.  Learn to eat healthy now, and enjoy doing it for the rest of your life.

How clean you want your diet to ultimately be is up to you.  Many are content and see great results with a moderate level of clean eating, having a good few servings of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, good fats, good carbs, and other nutrients every day, complimented by a small dessert or a few potato chips.  These people usually try to incorporate a good amount of exercise into their lives as well, which I wholeheartedly suggest with every fiber of my being.  Some people go all out and try to make their diet as organic, natural, and lean as possible.  This is your choice.  See what works for you.  What are your goals?  Why are you deciding to do this?  What do you want to achieve?

And remember, you can always make adjustments.  This isn't a one shot deal.

It's not a hard thing to do.  My advice?  Start with breakfast.  That's easy right?  And I think you'll find a nice healthy morning snack should follow pretty effortlessly, then a chicken breast and some veggies for lunch don't sound too bad, and so on and so forth.  

Get out there and make the change.  Good luck!