MOTIVATION

One of my training buddies showed this to me and it's one of the best motivational videos I've seen in a long time. Watch with sound. My non training friends and family ask me all the time why I train, why I go to the gym late at night after I put my son to bed, why I deal with repeated injures and keep stepping back on the mat, why I get the shit kicked out of me on a regular basis and stand back and smile. This video explains it all. To get that extra inch, and every time I tie that purple belt around my waist or put that medal around my neck I know it was worth it.

Wheat Free Cookie Recipe

I've made several different cookie recipes in the past, this being the first without wheat in it. My family is slowly giving up a number of foods and adopting the Paleo Diet. This means wheat and dairy are out of the picture. If you're going to eat any refined foods, be it pasta, bread, or any other baked good I suggest using gluten free products. If you're reading this blog post you probably already know about gluten intolerance or celiac disease, if not I highly recommend you do some research.

This recipe will make about ll or 12 cookies.

1 1/4  cup - almond meal/flour

1/4 cup - coconut flour

1 tbsp - baking soda

1 tsp - salt

1 tbsp - extra virgin olive oil

1 - full egg

2 - egg whites

1 scoop - almond butter

handful - walnut halves

handful - raisins

handful - dark chocolate chips (if you want to go healthier take a half bar of Green & Blacks organic 85% cocoa dark chocolate and cut it up into small chunks)

I combined the dry ingredients in a bowl and then simply added the remaining ingredients and mixed thoroughly. Place in clumps on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for around 15 minutes.

This is so far one of my favorite cookie recipes. The recipe can also be modified rather easily by changing out different nuts or substituting chopped dates for the raisins. Use organic products whenever possible.

Educate and Motivate

I think the vast majority of people out there need a good swift kick in the ass. Why you say? Because 60% of our population is obese. 60%!!! That's fucking insane! It's also extremely pathetic! Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems. The following diagrams show our country's health decline from 1990 to 2009.

Our country's health is on slippery slope and I'm sorry but I don't think obesity is a sickness. I'm not talking about individuals that are overweight due to an injury or debilitating illness. I'm talking about people that constantly consume unhealthy crap and sit on their ass all day wondering why they're overweight. Or better yet they acknowledge the fact that they're extremely overweight and don't take the time to educate themselves on how to obtain a healthier more fulfilling lifestyle and I have to watch their fat ass drive around the local grocery store on a motorized cart purchasing liters and liters of soft drinks and processed food. What angers me even more is when they have their usually overweight child walking next to them. Look at what you are doing to your kid! Enough ranting.

You have to educate yourself. You have to constantly search for information from every source available. We live in an age of technology, use that technology to your advantage. Google "Healthy Recipes" for Christ sake. Go to the library or your local half priced book store and read some literature on the subject. Contact a nutritionist or personal trainer and come up with a battle plan to kick the shit out of your problem. Ask yourself these questions. Do I want type II diabetes? Does cardiovascular disease sound like a good time? Can this horrible diet contribute to my chances of contracting certain types of cancer? These are the things you have to look forward to if you don't clean up your act. I know everyone's situation and schedule is different but if you don't know how to start addressing the problem you'll never find a solution. Experiment if you have to, find what works for you, be proactive, adapt and overcome.

Look I'm not fat. I've never been overweight a day in my life. In fact my problem has mostly been the exact opposite. When I graduated high school I weighed 120lbs soaking wet and got pushed around alot. Those negative experiences of people taking advantage of me and exploiting my physical weakness motivated me to change my physical appearance which in turn altered my mental outlook on things. I started by educating myself on how to work out in an effective manner. My regiment of physical training has changed drastically in the past decade and I made a ton of mistakes in my early years but through trial and error I got bigger and stronger. I read every weight lifting, body building, and nutrition magazine I could get my hands on. I asked numerous body builders and personal trainers what they ate, what supplements they were taking, and how they were lifting. This constant search and desire to learn more about my body and what drives it to be powerful and healthy still motivates me today.

When all else fails have an icon or some other source of inspiration. Yes it's great to just want to be healthy but some of us need extra motivation. Some of us want to get the girl or climb the tallest peak in the world. Sitting on the couch drinking a beer and watching tv feels pretty damn good and because it feels so good you might actually think about opting out of going to the gym that day or playing a game of basketball with your friends. In this case you need that extra kick in the ass. One thing that has worked extremely well for me is visualizing athletes I look up to or watching videos of the top competitors in my sport. My 2 favorite sports are rock climbing and brazilian jiu jitsu. There have been numerous days that I get home from working ten hours behind a desk and I don't feel like doing anything let alone scaling a huge wall hanging by my finger tips and toes. Any time I question whether or not to work out or go to class I find a video on the internet or pop in a dvd that I know will motivate me. Seeing Chris Sharma, one of the best rock climbers in the world, charge up and dominate what looks like and unclimbable wall of rock gets me psyched to climb. I then turn that motivation into kinetic motion and get my ass to the rock gym.



Healthy Dinner

I got back from the gym and cooked this meal up with the help of my wife. Bison is a great lean meat that we tend to eat on a regular basis. The meal served both of us with some left over for lunch the next day.

-4 bison patties cooked with garlic, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and sea salt. The bison was garnished with sliced avocado, red pepper, and a small amount of organic Full Circle barbecue sauce.

-3/4 cup of quinoa
-steamed broccoli and cauliflower

I also ate 1 banana, 1 orange, and a cup of coffee for dessert.

Are egg yolks healthy?

The answer is yes. I highly recommend leaving in the yokes when preparing eggs. A lot of hype has been directed at eating egg whites and not consuming egg yolks, especially in the bodybuilding and elite fitness community. However, most of the egg's nutritional value comes from the yolk. As you can see from the following chart, the essential vitamins and nutrients that yokes provide are far greater than that of the egg whites.

Eggs are high in cholesterol but cholesterol does not cause heart disease like most people think. In my personal opinion and according to several studies heart disease is caused by deficient diets and an inactive lifestyle. A study by the University of Connecticut found that healthy adults who ate three eggs a day for one month did not experience an increase in their LDL to HDL(good cholesterol) ratio or to their total HDL ratio. Another study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that overweight men who eat eggs while on a carbohydrate restricted diet have a significant increase in their good HDL cholesterol levels compared to men who don't eat eggs.

So when you're cooking breakfast tomorrow don't waste your time seperating the yolks from the whites like you usually do, just eat the whole egg. The evidence is there, egg yolks are healthy and packed full of nutrients.

Sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16340654

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Egg_Yolk.html

http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/eggs-are-good-for-you.html

http://www.goeim.com/edelman/incredibleedibleegg_press_release/02-06-08/index3.html





Healthy Post Workout Meal

I decided to head to the gym around 6 tonight so this is also my late dinner. I usually have a smoothie after every workout but my wife was kind enough to whip up the soup at the last minute.

Green Smoothie

-handful of raw spinach

-frozen blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries

-drizzle of flax seed oil

-1 scoop of protein powder

-add water or almond milk for the desired consistency and blend

Leek, Spinach, and Asparagus Soup 

-combine leek, spinach, and asparagus in a pot
-saute greens with garlic and some extra virgin olive oil
-when greens are cooked add chicken stock and heat until the mixture is nice and hot

I also ate 3 medium carrots with a couple tablespoons of peanut butter

Milk Alternative

So after tearing up the idea of drinking milk I'm here to give everyone a good alternative. Almond Milk is the best  substitute for milk that I've found. I tried soy milk and the taste didn't agree with me. My wife recommended Almond Milk so I tried it and was hooked instantly. It tastes great, contains no dairy or casein, and is better for you than other milk alternatives. It's also incredibly easy to make right in your own kitchen. Basically the only organic ingredients you need are almonds and a pinch of salt. This link will take you to an instructables (great website for everything diy) post that will run you through the steps of making your own almond milk. Almond milk is also available at almost any grocery store in the health food section.

What about calcium you say? 1 cup of almond milk contains about 30% of our recommended daily calcium intake. You shouldn't be looking to dairy as your source of calcium anyway when there are so many sources that contain just as much if not more calcium. 2 packets of oatmeal has more calcium in it than a cup of whole milk, and without the accompanied unhealthy fat (there are many healthy fats out there). A cup of almonds contains more calcium than a cup of milk, contains unsaturated fats that lower cholesterol and is full of omega 3 fatty acids that are great for your heart. Some other foods that are high in calcium include brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, salmon, oysters, kidney beans, and broccoli to name a few.

So if you're searching for a milk alternative or just looking to supplement your diet with additional calcium there are numerous options. Take the time to do your own research and find the option that best suits you.

Sources

1. http://www.healthyeatingclub.org/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5c.html
2. http://www.worldwidehealthcenter.net/articles-49.html
3. http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/nutrition/calcium.html
4. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Milk-an-Almond-fresh-homemade-almond-milk/
5. https://owa.hntb.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=c20a957a544341229dffe89c4c90c0a1&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.3fatchicks.com%2fis-almond-milk-good-for-you%2f