Posts Tagged ‘weight loss’

« Older Entries

The Squat

Friday, May 27th, 2011

My clients and boot campers probably think that I’m obsessed with squats. We do them in some form at every workout.

I have a love/hate relationship with squats and because of the hate I must torture my clients with them.

The Hate

Anatomy, flexibility and years of faulty technique doomed my squat and started the hate part of our relationship, but CrossFit training and later, Kettlebell training changed that.

Both disciplines focus on some “primitive” movement patterns, the squat being one. During my early training with CrossFit and Kettlebells felt like I was constantly, frustratingly, working the squat.

During my training at both gyms I was assigned all sorts of variations and tricks to help me fix my form – face the wall squats, doorway squats, pole squats, box squats, squats with my heels elevated, fall on your ass and cry in frustration squats. OK, that last one isn’t really a squat correction, but basically what happened for months as I tried to correct my squat form. Because of my poor hip and ankle flexibility and lack of balance I fell on my ass – A LOT.

My Kettlebell trainer, Phil assigned squats as my daily homework. I of course was the perfect student, doing my homework as assigned. Right. Every session Phil would ask me if I had practiced my squats and I would sheepishly mumble “Um, yeah. A few times.” Seriously who would want to practice a movement that caused you to fall flat on your ass each and every time you attempted it?

But somewhere frustration and laziness gave way to logic and determination and I started practicing my squats literally every day with the occasional flexibility exercise (I hate stretching more than I hate squatting) worked in.

The work paid off. At my RKC certification this past September I volunteered to be the example of a poor squat, but upon observation my squats were pronounced  “quite good.” What a difference from my CrossFit Level 1 certification 18 months prior when I was literally called out to the middle of our group’s circle for having particularly bad squats.

I still hate squats though. My first few bodyweight squats (whether air squats or prisoner squats) are never pretty. My legs and hips are always a little unsteady and tight and I never sit back quite far enough on the first few. As for weighted squats (i.e. goblet, front, overhead or back squats), well they’re just – hard.

The Love

In spite of The Hate squats are good. They are an effective full body movement that work multiple muscle groups (quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, calves and spine). A combination of hip flexion (forward hip bending) and extension (backward bend at the hip, knee flexion (bending) and extension (straightening the knee) and trunk extension (straightening the spine), squats are a functional movement, mimicking things that we do in everyday life – sitting down and standing up from a chair, picking your 19 pound baby up from his play mat, getting in and out of your car.

Squats are your ticket to independence as your age. Want to avoid those embarrassing “help grandma or grandpop off the toilet moments”? Start squatting now to develop strong leg and hip muscles.

Squats make me feel tough and that’s why l love them. Every time I pick my 19 pound baby up from his play mat without fear or pain I feel strong.

Unfortunately, squats get a bad rap. They have a reputation for being bad for your knees and back and done improperly they can be, but with proper form or appropriate modifications (like wall, doorway or ball squats) they are a safe and essential movement. Of course you should always follow the direction of your healthcare provider if you’ve been told not to squat, but you may want to challenge the idea of never ever doing a squat (remember the toilet).

The Technique

-Your feet should be at shoulder width or slightly wider, turned out 30 – 45 degrees. Keeping your feet parallel locks up the hips and ankles for most people and will cause deviations in form like excessive trunk flexion (rounding of the lumbar spine thoracic spine/shoulders) and excess forward movement of the knees and shoulders. In addition it will decrease range of motion and adversely affect balance. Some people have the mobility to squat with their feet in parallel but most people lack the flexibility (especially at the ankle) to do a feet parallel squat. However if you have the mobility and the rest of your form is perfect, go for it!

-Stand of tall with your chest open (rounding the shoulders “closes” the chest) and your eyes looking straight ahead (not at the ground our ceiling)

-Start the movement at your hips and not your knees. Push your hips back as if sitting in a chair. Bend your knees as you continue to move your hips back and down towards the floor. Think of dropping your hips straight down as you get lower. Continue to lower until your hip creases are parallel to the floor (tops of the thighs will be below parallel). Beginners or those needing modification should stop when the top of your thighs are parallel to the floor. Some forward movement at the knees may occur but this should be minimal. Make sure your tibia (shinbones) don’t shift forward. Forward shifting at the knee is OK as long as your tibia and torso are parallel with each other for a side view. Your heels should be “glued” to the floor.

-Make sure that your back is flat throughout the movement and that you continue to look out onto the horizon and keep your chest and shoulders open.

-Press through your feet and heels to start the upward phase of the movement. Do not initiate the up phase by lifting your buttocks up first, instead imagine standing up through your shoulders. Move the hips and torso together to return to standing.

Squatting beyond parallel – why:

For years the common directive has been “Never squat below parallel”, however never breaking parallel doesn’t give you’re the most bang for your buck.  Earlier I noted that the squat works your quadracips, hamstrings and glutes, however a squat that doesn’t break parallel is a quad dominant (quads do most of the work) movement that doesn’t provide as much benefit to the hamstrings and glutes.

If you have poor flexibility at the ankle, Achilles, hip or knee, squatting to or below parallel will be difficult if not impossible. Adding stretches specific to those areas to your routine will help increase the depth of your squats.  Long femurs (thighbones) also impact the depth of your squat (this along with poor ankle and hip flexibility had the greatest impact on my squatting ability).

Now drop and gimme 20 (squats that is).

Tags: , ,
Posted in Bodyweight exercises, Workouts | No Comments »



Franzi Petermann’s Clean Up story

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Franzi at the start of the Clean Up

Franzi at the start of the Clean Up

Franzi - week 4 of the Clean Up

Franzi – week 4 of the Clean Up

Franzi Petermann is a dedicated weekday boot camper and dragon boater who took 2nd Place for Body Transformation in the 2011 End of Winter Clean Up. During the four week challenge she lost 4 pounds and a total of 7-1/4 inches! Franzi committed to the Clean Up and it shows. Just look at those abs!

Here’s Franzi’s success story:

I really enjoyed the Clean Up experience even though it was tough sticking to the plan at times. While it was no issue for me to cut out sweets and candy bars, I did miss pasta and the occasional glass of wine quite a bit. It was very motivating going to the store that weekend before. Buying lots of healthy food – some new that I had never tried before – was exciting and I couldn’t wait to get started. Planning ahead for the day (snacks and lunch) was probably my biggest challenge. I managed to do okay on that for the first week and then just winged it most of the time by grabbing something protein plus a piece of fruit from the fridge. The food diary was definitely not a favorite of mine and I stopped writing everything down after about half way through. It was helpful, though, to go back and look over the first week and see where I did well and what wasn’t so good. Also, having to write everything down made me think twice about if I really wanted to eat that food at that particular time…

Breakfast was challenging as I grew up on rolls with butter, jam, cold cuts and cheese. And I do love my Kashi cereal. However, I discovered that I like steel cut oats (and so does my husband now) and I am crazy about Ezekiel bread. I will definitely keep those in my diet. But I will also allow myself a nice whole wheat roll every now and then as a special treat on the weekend – we call it German breakfast day.

After about two weeks, I noticed that my clothes fit much better, more comfortable; especially my skinny jeans. There was an overall “skinny” feeling after about two weeks. I just felt so much better in my own body. While I didn’t lose a lot weight – about 4 pounds – I was extremely excited to find out that I had lost about an inch all around. That is awesome!

My husband joined me – partially – in my effort and we tried out lots of new recipes, some of which have become new favorites. We cooked much more instead of eating out and took more responsibility for what we ate. A nice side benefit was the much lower credit bill. :-)

Congratulations to Franzi on her success. Look for more Clean Up success stories next week.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in End of Winter Clean Up 2011, Nutrition, Success stories | No Comments »



Success!

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

It’s so gratifying when I see my clients get results.

It’s validation – living proof that this stuff (exercise, clean eating) works as long as you’re willing to commit to it and persevere through the “pain”.

It’s also a big middle finger to all the haters – those people who think that real people can’t  change their bodies. That unless you can afford a private chef and a personal trainer everyday, it can’t be done.

Well, the two women below are living proof that it can be done. Neither one of them has a private chef or a personal trainer. They just put in the hard work, whether it’s getting up before the crack of dawn for boot camp or dragging themselves to a kettlebell class after a long workday or saying no to the nacho chili cheese chips. They get “it” and because they do, they get results.

So – props, big ups, much respect and praise to two of the frankly, many, women who get it – Pam Handfield and Alicia Kopp.

Pam has lost 77 pounds so far!

Pam has lost 77 pounds so far!

Pam started doing Pilates with Performance Fitness in 2009, but her real “ah ha” moment and the start of her body transformation was last spring when she joined the Your Best Body Challenge (YBBC). The YBBC introduced Pam to boot camp workouts and she became a Saturday boot camp regular. She had her first kettlebell experience this fall at boot camp and she was hooked. She’s been doing our Thursday night kettlebell class ever since.

Pam is a kettlebell dynamo. She’s got beautiful form with the bell, and a “don’t quit” attitude. She may not be the first one done a workout but she doesn’t let that stop her or get her down. She always finishes strong.

Since last spring’s YBBC Pam has lost 77 pounds, 10 of them over the last 3 weeks during the End of Winter Clean Up nutrition program. Pam rocks!

Alicia shows off her guns.

Alicia shows off her guns.

Alicia is one of my favorite people in the world! Not only does she dedicate herself to her fitness goals (OK, sometimes she does sleep through 6 a.m. boot camp, and I heard that she had pancakes at Cracker Barrel on Sunday) but she’s a vibrant, kind and generous woman. I’m blessed to know her.

Back in July, Alicia was featured in the blog as one of the winners for our YBBC. She decreased her body fat by 13% during the challenge and was given the award for Best Body Transformation.

What I admire about Alicia is that even though she achieved her goals she didn’t become stagnant. She continues challenging herself – a triathlon in June, a half marathon in November and the End of Winter Clean Up in February/March (her least favorite challenge, I can tell you). She added one more challenge this winter by including kettlebells and yoga in her routine. She looks amazing (look at those guns!)! She too, rocks!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in End of Winter Clean Up 2011, Success stories, Uncategorized | No Comments »



Clean eating works!

Saturday, March 12th, 2011

We’re almost at the end of week 2 of the End of Winter Clean Up. Check out the success our members have had so far:

  • Marisa G. is feeling great on the Clean Up program. She lost 4 pounds during the first 4 days! Granted much of this is water weight but it goes to show the amount of bloating that occurs when we eat a Western diet filled with refined grains and sugar. Better yet she’s not hungry and she’s overcoming her sugar demons!
  • Marti K., who has experienced the Clean Up before, is singing the praises of clean eating and is glad to be back on track. She’s down 5 pounds.
  • Alicia K. is starting to see her 6 pack.
  • Lynn J., another Clean Upper glad to be back on track, is losing her belly bloat and has new found energy after an initial energy slump during the first few days of the program.
  • Maggie Br. – is down 4.7 pounds!
  • Karen V. is down 7 pounds! Woo Hoo!

Speaking of clean eating – check out this New York Times article on the virtues of coconut oil.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in End of Winter Clean Up 2011 | No Comments »



In defense of clean eating

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

We’re nearing the end of Week 1 of the Performance Fitness End of Winter Clean Up – our 28 day nutrition challenge to eat super clean. We’ve cut out sugar (real and fake), alcohol, processed foods and refined carbohydrates from our diets, all in the hopes of establish some new habits, being healthier, achieving our goals and perhaps, reshaping our bodies.

I’ve heard some wonderful success stories during week 1; stories about weight loss, increased energy and starting to overcome food addiction.

I’ve also heard tons of objections – some from participants who are having a hard time making the change, many from those who are in the contemplation stage and most from those who aren’t doing the challenge:

  • Clean eating is not something I can deal w/….it does not even sound fun.
  • Life is too short to be miserable.
  • I could never give up my Coke, Diet Coke, Chocolate (fill in the blank here).
  • No alcohol for 28 days? Are you kidding me?!
  • We were just talking about how we’re not doing your stupid Clean Up (not an objection but a comment that definitely irked me and put me on the defensive).

People in my business are fond of saying that nutrition is like religion. An emotional and often polarizing subject that’s best left out of cocktail party conversation.  Efforts to change someone’s opinion or food choices are met with resistance and judgment.

Food and fitness are like my second religion, and as I do in my “main” religion I try to be a quiet witness for what I believe to be a “right” and healthy lifestyle.

So, here’s my response to one of those objection emails I received. My defense of clean eating.

The “clean eating …does not sound fun” was so emphatic – made me laugh.

Well, fair enough if you’re out. I applaud you for knowing what you want to do and owning that. ..

I have to disagree with you, though about clean eating being “not fun or exciting”, and I certainly don’t feel miserable.

I’m a TOTAL foodie. I LOVE food and all the aspects of it (I’m a “food is a 5 senses experience” type of gal). I don’t eat clean 100%. Ideally I would eat clean 85-95% of the time. Lately, with a new baby and business to manage (not trying to make excuses, just stating the facts), it’s more like 75%. I need to work on that [edit: which I’m now doing through the Clean Up].

I’m never bored. I eat an array of vegetables and fruits and other foods, but like everyone else I do have my go to foods. Actually, any of us, whether we eat a strict plan or whatever we want, tend to eat the same 10-20 foods day in day out, week in week out. When I have been stricter I actually have more excitement because I’m not consuming easy, convenience foods. That means that I cook more and try new recipes more often because I don’t want to get bored. There are a ton of clean yummy recipes out there.

I guess I just think of clean or “strict” eating as a choice, sort of like when I was a vegetarian (funny, both choices illicit the same kind of incredulity). I didn’t eat meat for 13 years but I never felt bored (well, only if I got lazy, as we all do, and ate the same foods over and over) or miserable. Being a vegetarian opened up a whole new food world for me. Eating the way I have for the past year has opened up another new food world for me.

You may or may not know that I eat Paleo now. It’s even stricter than what we’re doing for the Clean Up. The skeptics ask me “Why would you eat that way? Do you like it?”

I eat “that way” because I like the way I feel and I like the way my body feels when I do it right, and yes, I like it.  Do I do it 100% of the time? No. Have I done it 100% for months on end? Yes. Could I do it all the time? Yes, if I chose to. But I still like certain foods on occasion, so I make conscious choices not to do it 100%. Sometimes because I want my Friday night cocktail and dessert or Challah French toast at Sunday brunch, or sometimes because I’m being lazy or because I’m stressed and I just say “F%$k it”. I’ve never claimed to be perfect, but I do know that if I ate “that way” 100%, 95% or even 90% of the time I’d be closer to my “perfect”.

Like most people I’m constantly striving to get there. A continual work in progress.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Nutrition | No Comments »



You want fries with that? Negociating the Fast Food Waters.

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

Strict Paleo rocks! Why? Because of the focus it gives me, and because of last week’s Mexican fast food triumph.

I had a two day workshop in King of Prussia last weekend. Late to bed and late to rise, I didn’t have time to pack anything for lunch. Saturday was going to be an 8 hour session, so skipping lunch wasn’t an option (as if it ever is). I knew there was a Baja Fresh across from the workshop site, so I hoped for the best.

A little background is in order here. I’m a sucker for Mexican food. The real thing, the pseudo stuff (Qdoba, Chipotle, Baja Fresh but definitely NOT Taco Bell) and the fancy nouveau Mexican cuisine.  Stick salsa, cheese, guacamole and sour cream on anything and you’re alright with me. Luckily salsa is Paleo/Whole3o approved as long as it’s sugar-free and made from real food. Even guacamole is approved, and since I make my own simple guac with avocados, fresh lime juice and sea salt, I’ve been able to indulge freely. But cheese, black beans and sour cream, not to mention tortilla chips, are not on the Paleo list.

So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I entered Baja Fresh on Saturday. I scoured the menu board for approved fare. It seemed like everything was on the “no” list. Time to get creative.

Luckily BF does actually have lots of fresh, “real food” items. So, my creativity involved omission and substitution.

“I’ll have the Skinny Chicken Bowl with no corn, rice or beans.”

“That’s what I like”, said the workshop attendee standing next to me, “a woman who knows what she wants.” (Little did she know I had spent the last 5 minutes staring at the board in absolute indecision).

“That’s all you want?”, said the cashier as she looked at me as if I was crazy. “Yes”, I said. “You don’t want any corn?” “Nope. Oh! But could I have avocado?!”, I said like a child asking for her favorite toy.  “Could you put extra avocado on it?!”

Then she went to get the chips. “Oh, no chips please” (the hardest words I have ever uttered at a BF). Second crazy look from the cashier.

Lunch that day (and the next) was a Baja Fresh Skinny Chicken Bowl with Pico de Gallo, onions, chile peppers, extra avocado, double extra salsa from the “fixins bar” and half an orange from home. It was a delish, and a triumph for me.

I have 3 full days left on my Whole30, and although I’m going to break it for a few days for Thanksgiving, I’m thinking that this is the life.

Tags: , ,
Posted in 30 Day Challenge, Nutrition, Paleo Challenge | No Comments »



Better = Healthy?

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Years ago I did one of those popular weight loss programs. You know the one where you calculate points, get weighed in and go to meetings ? The topic of the health food store would invariably come up. Usually the conversation went something like “I figured the triple chocolate fudge brownie double chocolate chip cookies were healthy because they sold them in the health food store.” Ten years later, the conversation usually goes something like “Well I figured the triple chocolate fudge brownie double chocolate chip cookies were healthy because the ingredients are all natural.”

So, how do you define a healthy food? To me healthy food is nutrient dense (high in vitamins and minerals and relatively low in calories), minimally processed and free from artificial ingredients. I could expand this definition to include – low in sodium and sugar, moderate in unsaturated fat, moderate to high in protein and high in fiber.

Now let’s look at my definition of healthy and compare it with the term all natural.

Does “all natural” equal healthy? In a word – no. Natural in terms of food labeling is a board term that is not regulated by the federal government. Foods that are free from artificial ingredients or free from synthetic processes are generally considered “natural” and can be labeled as such. Leaves a little too much room to the food labeling imagination for me.

What I take issue with is the fact that many people think word “natural” is synonymous with “healthy”. Using this criteria (natural=healthy) table sugar, which satisfies the definition of natural, would be considered healthy.

Now, before you navigate away from this page, because you think I’m about to get all preachy about table sugar – wait. I’m not saying that table sugar is “dangerous” or that you’ll lose all your hair and die if you eat a candy bar. Table sugar, candy bars and alcohol can all be a part of a healthy diet if minimally consumed (noticed I stayed away from the popular “in moderation” which has become a very flexible concept). Indulge more than three times a week and you’re not likely to reach you fitness and/or weight loss goals. Indulge to excess and you’ll be a candidate for a 12 Step program (Sugarholics Anonymous, anyone?).

So then this brings us to the dilemma of healthier vs healthy. Is the all natural cookie made with honey, whole wheat flour, canola oil and dried fruit “better” for you than the cookie made with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) or Crisco? Sort of – the first cookie would at least have some fiber and lack the saturated fat or trans fat of the second, but the first cookie would still be high in sugar and fat. Does the fact that the first cookie is better make it healthier or better yet, “healthy”?

Let’s use this analogy. You go to the doctor with severe shoulder pain. She asks you to rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being searing debilitating pain. The pain is intense and you can’t move your shoulder, so you rate your pain a 10. Your doctor prescribes some medication and advises you to come back in a week.

A week later you can raise your arm to shoulder level but not over your head, and you rate your pain a level 6. Is your shoulder “better”? Of course. Is it a healthy/functional shoulder? No, not unless you consider nagging pain and the inability to use your shoulder to reach for an object on a  high shelf or bring your hands to your head in order to wash your hair healthy and functional.

My point is healthier or better doesn’t equal healthy.

Why am I dwelling on this? Because too often people will look at an all natural food, without regard to nutrient density and caloric density (i.e. – high calorie food), and consider it healthy because it’s “healthier” or “better” or less processed than a junk food. Said healthier food then becomes their daily snack, breakfast, etc. This starts the cycle of “I eat healthy” or “I know how/what to eat and I exercise but I just can’t seem to lose weight”. Maybe it’s your All Natural triple chocolate fudge brownie carob chip cookies. Natural or “healthier” foods can be laden with calories, sugar and fat just like any processed food. Indulge and enjoy but don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re doing something healthy.

Nutrient density and calories count. The next time you want a treat grab an All Natural cookie or two. The next time you want something sweet on a weeknight grab some berries. Now that’s (nature’s) candy!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Nutrition, Uncategorized | No Comments »



Baked Kale

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

African Americans like greens. OK, that’s a total generalization but to be fair greens are an important part of soul food cooking – collards, turnip greens, mustard greens and even kale.

Growing up my mother extolled the virtues of greens, but I wasn’t buying what she was selling. I didn’t develop my appreciation for the somewhat bitter (by the way, when cooked properly greens lose their bitter flavor) hearty green until my 20′s and then I was hooked.

I recently “discovered” kale. Kale is a member of the Brassica family – a group of vegetables known to fight disease, including cancer. In addition to its disease fighting properties, kale is high in vitamins A and K, calcium and fiber.

Try out my tasty Baked Kale recipe. It’s not soul food but it sure is yummy.

What you’ll need -

  • 1 bunch kale
  • 1 T Olive oil
  • 1 T Parmesan cheese

-Preheat oven to 350 and lightly oil a cookie sheet with olive oil. Thoroughly wash kale and remove leaves from stems. Rip the kale into bite-sized pieces. Place kale on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove kale from oven, flip to other side and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Continue to cook for 10 minutes, making sure that you don’t burn the kale. It should be slightly crispy. Serve as a side dish.

Go here for more information on the health benefits of kale.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthy Recipes, Nutrition | No Comments »



Fruit or not a fruit?

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

This past Sunday I volunteered at a  bake sale.

All the usual suspects were there – cake, cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, and brownies, provided by yours truly. No, there was nothing “healthy” about these brownies. I take my brownies seriously – butter, whole eggs and the riches chocolate. One brownie could earn you 100 squat thrust.

In spite of the sugar and fat laden baked goods, we tried to do the right (read healthy) thing at our bake sale by selling a selection of fruit and bottled water. Something for the health conscious – I was quite pleased.

Another non-traditional bake sale item made it’s way onto the table – Welch’s Fruit Snacks.  I took issue.

***Begin Rant***

The fact that these sugar laden globs made it to the table wasn’t the issue. It was the fact that people kept referring to them as fruit. FRUIT! Really?! In fact one of our members insisted that they be placed next to the actual fruit, her argument being that Welch’s Fruit Snacks qualify as FRUIT.

Let’s set the record straight – Welch’s Fruit Snacks are not REAL fruit. It’s sort of like calling KoolAid fruit juice.

REAL fruit doesn’t come in a bag – OK, except dried fruit, apple slices from Wawa and oranges bought in bulk – but you get my point.

And, when was the last time that you had a gelatinous strawberry and enjoyed it? Welch’s Strawberry Fruit Snacks (they also come in Mixed Fruit, White Grape Peach, White Grape Raspberry, Fruit Juice, Concord Grape, and Berries ‘n Cherries) are just gelatinous globs of fruit flavored sugar.

To be fair, Welch’s Fruit Snacks contain “real fruit” in the form of concentrated fruit juice and fruit puree.

The first six ingredients are: juice from concentrates, corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, fruit puree and gelatin. Basically your body reads (metabolizes) the ingredients like this: sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar and gelatin.

Concentrated fruit juice is usually made from the least “healthy” of juices (grape, apple, pear). In the case of the Welch’s strawberry snacks the juice concentrate is made from peach, pear and pineapple. Very little fruit and very much sugar remains after the juice is concentrated. In addition, ALL  juice, including 100% fruit juice is devoid of the beneficial fiber that is found in whole fruits. Welch’s Fruit Snacks contain ZERO fiber.

Fruit puree (made from apples and strawberries), number five on the ingredient list, is so low on the list that I again question how much fruit is actually in these snacks.

The manufacturers have also added vitamins C, E and A (I guess so you can say you’re getting your vitamins) and Red 40 (umm umm good).

To boot, the “fruit” snacks contain 24 grams of sugar per serving but each bag is 1.5 servings (are your really going to leave half a serving in the bag?), so in reality you’re getting  36 grams of sugar per bag. Yes, part of this sugar is from fructose (fruit sugar) but remember, how much “real fruit” is truly in these snacks?

So, I guess my point is – call a fruit a fruit and call glorified candy gloried candy. Indulging once in a while in sugary snacks is OK but don’t fool yourself by thinking that you’re eating real fruit when you’re eating “fruit snacks”.

***Rant over***

Tags: ,
Posted in Nutrition, Sound off, Uncategorized | No Comments »



Living in a Paleo World but am I a Paleo girl?

Monday, February 8th, 2010

I started the Paleo Diet Challenge, the team challenge that I doing with the folks at CFDV, on January 4th.

I broke the news about The Challenge to The Husband on Christmas Eve while we were in Giant doing our food shopping for Christmas dinner.

“So, I guess I should tell you now… I’m doing this thing with CFDV called The Paleo Challenge. I can’t eat grain, legumes, dairy, sugar or alcohol for 7 weeks. I’ll probably be a total bitch.”

Looking at me as if I head 7 heads he said (actually, he yelled), “Why do you do these things? You’re crazy!”

It’s week 6 of The Challenge. I haven’t been bitchy (no more than usual), I haven’t lost my mind and The Husband has been extremely supportive.

Giving up grain, legumes, dairy, sugar and alcohol hasn’t been as difficult as I thought; although sometimes when I’m at the store I do find myself gazing longingly at the fancy cheese. The biggest challenge of The Challenge has been all the meal planning and food prep. I’ve long had a Sunday routine of boiling some eggs and cooking a huge pot of oatmeal for the week’s breakfasts and snacks, but Paleo takes this prep to a whole ‘nother level.

Lost is the convenience of whipping up a protein shake in the car or when I get home after a long morning of appointments. No more oversleeping and leaving the house without snacks and with the certainty that I can run into Wawa or Whole Foods and get a protein bar or bag of peanuts.

Paleo = Planning and Preparation. Preparation that begins with marathon grocery store trips. Produce Junction after Saturday’s workout. Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Giant or Acme on Sunday.

Then there’s the food prep (and did I mention the planning). The Paleo diet calls for a significant consumption of protein (meat, chicken and seafood), unlimited vegetables and some fruit and nuts.

My Sunday afternoons have been reserved for vegetable prep – washing, peeling, chopping and in some instances cooking. All so I don’t have to think or have to opportunity to stray each night when I get home and it’s time to make dinner, and so I have vegetables for breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Then there’s the eggs. Since I don’t eat meat – no poultry or red meat – I’m left with eggs and fish for protein. Pre-Paleo my main sources of protein were fish, tofu and other soy products, wheat gluten and dairy. Did I mention that I hate eggs? Did I mention mercury poisoning from over consumption of fish?

Thank God for Mark’s Daily Apple and his awesome recipe for omelet muffins.

And the fish – I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much fish in my life! Because of mercury concerns (the jury’s still out on whether it’s hype or fact), I’ve had to take care to select low mercury fishes – Tilapia, flounder, salmon, shrimp and sardines (fillets sans heads, tails and bones). Hopefully, I haven’t turned into a thermometer; my post-Paleo mercury blood test will tell.

So what are the results so far of the 7 week challenge? Well, according to my friend, H., my skin is clearer. Not sure what that means since I’ve always had clear skin.

In terms of body composition, I’m down 2 inches around my “true” waist (in spite of what Old Navy thinks, that’s above the belly button, not around the butt crack), 1.5 inches around my belly button and at last week’s “weigh-in” I was still down 11 pounds. I couldn’t bear to weigh myself this morning; I had my only major cheat last night with Indian food. Yum!

All in all I feel great and my jeans are fitting, if not loose. Thank you, Paleo Man!

What about when the challenge ends in two weeks?

First, I have a date with some Thin Mints and a bottle of Grey Goose. Just kidding (OK, not really).

Through The Paleo Challenge I discovered that I was definitely consuming too much sugar – a little Agave in my coffee, a little honey in my Fage, the added sugar in some of the low fat products I ate. My intake was nothing like the average American but too much for the healthy lifestyle that I advocate.

Although I’ve been a vegetarian for over 10 years my vegetable intake was no where near the levels of the Paleo Challenge. I have veggies with breakfasts (collard greens), my morning snack (leftovers from the night before or peppers and onions), lunch (usually salad greens and other assorted veggies) and dinner (Brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach and kale to name a few). Definitely a habit worth keeping.

I’ve also discovered that I don’t “need” my Friday night (or Saturday night or Sunday morning) cheat meal, but it did provide me with something to break of the routine. That Friday night cheat meal will definitely be reintroduced but will be much less gluttonous.

Dairy products (Fage, milk in my coffee or tea) will be the other non-Paleo habit that I’ll reintroduce. I think I’ll take the same attitude with cheese that I have with chocolate – nothing run of the mill; only select and savor the highest quality.

In terms of soy and wheat gluten, I’ll have the occasional veggie burger, soy sauce when I go out for sushi and Chinese and wheat gluten a few times a year at vegetarian restaurants.

Outside of those few, perhaps infrequent deviations, I think that I’ll remain a modified-Paleo girl; much to The Husband’s chagrin.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Healthy Recipes, Nutrition, Paleo Challenge | No Comments »



« Older Entries