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Weekly Chanllenge Update
I did the last weekly challenge! I'm a little bit behind in all my posts because last week was so busy but I'm going to try to catch up.
It happened that there was an asian farmer's market just a short walk from where I live! i rolled out of bed and headed straight down there (which explains my hair). There were a lot of deals even compared to Walmart pricing, and I found some un-hulled tahini! I promptly made some humus.
Understanding Your Cravings: Part ONE
As any good soldier would tell you, the best way to defeat the opposition is to know it. In my case the opposition was chips, candy, and butter: unhealthy cravings of refined carbohydrates and trans fat. I found that learning about what causes bad cravings and food addiction helped me greatly in maintaining my new, healthy diet, especially when I first made the change. Understanding your unhealthy cravings will make them easier to ignore until your body can develop feelings of satisfaction from eating more worthwhile food.
Serotonin; A chemical released in your brain that stimulates particular nerves that produce feelings of calm, anxiety relief, and even pain relief. Symptoms of a serotonin deficiency include: depression, shyness, difficulty dealing with stress, mood swings, yawning, and a deficit can lead to weight gain…
The consumption of carbohydrates, including refined carbohydrates such as sugar, pasta, and white flour products, is an easy way for your brain to get a serotonin boost. People who constantly crave these foods have a deficiency of the chemical and are basically self-medicating to relieve stress.
You may have problems regulating the proper levels of serotonin naturally because of medication, some medical problems such as IBS, lack of sunlight, lack of exercise, or because body has been relying on your eating habits to get that boost instead of training itself to maintain a high enough store of serotonin to prevent depletion when confronted with daily stresses. Also, by stimulating a ‘high’ with sugars your body’s serotonin stores are forced to deplete faster so after a short while you will experience a crash.
In order to get raise your serotonin stores, and prevent depletion to the point of a chronic deficit, you need to stop relying on a boost from refined carbohydrates. Purging these foods from your diet, and getting enough exercise will help your body maintain proper levels, and you will stop experiencing the unhealthy cravings.
Protein Powder in Your Diet
Why Add Protein Powder to Your Diet?
You know how important protein is in your diet, but if you are a vegetarian, vegan, or maybe just a starving student, you may not be getting enough protein to build lean muscle. I tend to not have time for cooking meat, or I just don't feel like it, so I rely on isolate protein powder especially for after workouts.
Is all Protein the Same?
There are four types of protein: Whey, Soy, Egg, and Rice. And no, they are not all the same. The reason why I choose whey protein is because whey has the highest amount of those beneficial protein components in it and, because our human bodies have evolved for hundreds of thousands of years digesting meat, it is the easiest for your body to break down. Next in line is soy and then egg, and then finally rice. The reasoning you could have for using egg or rice protein powder could be allergies, but if you against whey simply because you are a vegetarian, I would go with soy protein powder.
Isolate is also a good choice for you protein powder. It is a purer form of the protein, lower calories, and can be found as whey or soy. It is what I use in all my recipes.
What is the Danger of Protein Powder?
The biggest danger of protein powder is adding too much protein to your diet. You can get too much, and if this happens your body will not have any use for it and convert it into fat. Other results, may be loss of calcium leading to osteoporosis, kidney disease, and I personally know a trainer who suffered from gout.
How I feel when I’m making my protein shake. :)
Why is Protein so Important?
Protein in Fitness:
When you workout, repeating the same action for a set, your muscles are actually stretching and slightly tearing. This is required to grow muscles. See, when you feel your muscle tire and burn they fibres are pulling apart and damaging. This sends signals to your body to send over aid to create new muscle cells. Protein is that aid.
Your dietary protein is quickly broken down into amino acids and then reorganized and converted into your own muscle protein. If you get the appropriate amount of protein in your diet your muscles can repair the damage faster. This is why athletes find it so beneficial to consume protein 5-20 min. after a training session. Their muscles receive the building blocks for construction immediately, before they can be used up in other body projects, and while the signals for repair are still strong.
Protein in Your Body:
Protein is truly so very necessary in your body. Not only is it used to build and maintain lean muscle mass, but it also boosts your immune system. It increase the population of cells that provide antibodies to fight off infections of bacteria and viruses, increases the iron in your blood (which supply oxygen to your cells so they can function), and studies have shown that it has an effect on fighting cancers. Since protein makes up so much of your body, it is used to repair other things than your muscles, including hair and skin. For an all over healthy feel and a glowing look, you should make sure you are getting enough protein!!
What Will Happen If You Don't Get Enough Protein?
Without enough protein in your diet...
1. You won't be able to build lean muscle
2. Your muscles will atrophy and eventually that mass will be replaced by fat. (your body will not be able to repair damage and will take protein from your muscle to help repair other parts)
3. Your body won't be able to repair and maintain other parts of your body properly: your hair will become brittle, your skin will become dull and damaged, you will experience liver and kidney problems, and your brain will not be able to function properly.
Below is the government recommended protein intake. Keep in mind that you may need more protein depending on your muscle mass, your immune system is low, or if you are pregnant or breast feeding.
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Swedish Orange Cream-sickle Smoothie
This is a sweet treat to end a workout with! Tastes like a cream-sickle with the comfort of that wonderful cardamom which is oh so popular in Scandinavia. Put your yogurt in the freezer ahead of time for the best results ;)
Dietary Bonus: protein, gluten-free, vegetarian, colour-diet-friendly, vegan option, lactose-free option
How do Antioxidants Actually Work?
Everyone has heard of this relatively new discouvery of antioxidants and when all know that they are good news for our body, but what exactly are they and what do they do?
When our cells become damaged and destroyed they disappear only to leave behind one Oxygen molecule. These unwanted molecules are know as "free-radicals" and cause your body harm by bouncing around the other working cells. As these lonely Oxygen molecules try to find a new home by binding to a new cell, they make healthy cells unable to go about their cellular duties appropriately. This is what causes aliments such as stress, unrest, mal-absorbtion of nutrients, even cancer, and causes wrinkles and aging. The more oxidative damage you have in your body, the worse it functions. Your DNA has a harder and harder time replicating itself properly and so your cell regrown and structures slowly diminish more and more until your an old grandma with a faulty liver and fragile bones...
Obviously oxidate damage cause by these free-radicals is unavoidable, but what antioxidants do is bind to that free Oxygen molecule, preventing or lessening damage. They even send signals to your body to release your own stores of antioxidants. In essence a diet rich in antioxidants will make you feel younger, healthier, and stop pre-mature aging.
Many antioxidants are being found in plants, even the cacao plant (origin of cocoa). Just another reason to up your vegetable and fruit intake.
99% Cacao Chocolate? You May As Well Eat Cocoa Powder by the Spoonful
i learned today that my limit for chocolate is 90% cacao. Though it does come in shiny gold wrapping, 99% literally tastes like spoonfuls of cocoa powder straight from the tin. I don't know why I expected anything different. 85-90% cacao is high enough content to get a sufficient dose of antioxidants while still having enough sugar to still taste like a treat.
Note: If you are jumping on the high-cacao-content-chocolate-bandwagon I suggest you start with 70% and work your way up or try bars that also contain fruits, like cranberry, or nuts
Simple Broccoli Soup
This is a great simple soup for after a hard day. It tastes very fatty but really isn't. Yumyum! Plus, there are enough calories left over for the day to indulge in a healthy dessert :D
Dietary Bonus: Gluten-free, lactose-free, paleo-diet-friendly, colour-diet-friendly, vegan, vegetarian
Tip: How to Motivate Yourself to Begin Exercising Daily
Honestly, one of the hardest things you have to do to get on your way to being more physically fit is actually starting a regular exercise routine.
Some people sign up for the gym right off the bat and realize they can't motivate themselves to actually get to it more then once a week. Most of us have busy schedules and have a ton of legit excuses for why we didn't go to the gym today.
My advice is start by clearing or assigning a particular space in your home for exercise. It doesn't need to be decked out with fitness equipment, in fact it could just be floor in your living room where your coffee table used to be. It doesn't matter as long as you have metaphorically pierced the soil with your flag claiming it as your own land in the name of fitness.
Here you can do exercises using your own body weight. Make a list of a bunch of exercises which you find approachable and right down ahead of time the number of reps you will do of each. Aim high and if your body gives out before you get there then you will be able to do that number in the near future, just remember to keep pushing yourself. Sit-ups, squats, lunges, push-ups, the bicycle, jumping jacks, and a assortment of leg raises are familiar exercises that will put you on the right path. Later you can add different exercises to your routine and up the anti as well.
Exercise 3-5 times a week. Once the exercises are becoming too easy or when learn to enjoy the burn of exercising to the point of exhaustion you know you're ready for the gym. Meditate on this decision though. If you know you will find yourself slipping back into the familiar excuses to not go to the gym, I would suggest investing in your own weights and cardio machines.
Note: You may find that as a woman you naturally have stronger abs than legs and these muscles will develop more easily than your legs, and vice versa for men.
Weekly Challenge
CHALLENGE: This week go to a local produce market! Even if just for a look. It will get your imagination going and you will have a head full of recipes. It will remind you just how many fresh veggies and fruit there are to choose from. You might just find something you didn't know existed :P. Plus, eating local produce is a great way to support your community.
Is Homemade Better?
I have already encountered people in my life who are big on making homemade everything. This is great because you are getting meals that are preservative free, lower sodium in some cases, and free of unnatural chemicals that boost taste. But even if you are making everything from scratch, this does not necessarily mean you are getting the appropriate nutrition. You are likely still eating an unnecessarily large amount of bad carbohydrates, such as bread, and not to mention you are probably indulging heavily in sugar and trans fat (eg. butter or oils other than coconut).
Just because a meal contains a portion of fruit and vegetables does not mean you are not doing your body an injustice. You must take a look at ALL ingredients before making a decision whether or not your meal is healthy. To be labelled "a healthy meal" should not be a matter of relativity (eg. A meal of old fashion Shepard's Pie is healthier then a Macdonald's Happy Meal. Does this mean that it is heathy?). A "healthy meal" should be in everyone's vocabulary as a meal that is low sodium, low to zero trans fat, low sugar, and high nutritional value so that all your calories are optimized.
Pumpkin Ginger Protein Smoothie
This smoothie is a great way to end a workout and a day. Its a sweetie :)
Dietary Bonus: Gluten-free, lactose-free, paleo-diet-friendly, colour-diet-friendly, vegetarian option, vegan option, raw
