Tips of the Day

Generally, I don't talk about things like appetite suppression because if you're body is telling you that you are hungry, you should feed it.  It's saying, "HEY I'M OUT OF GAS! TIME FOR A REFILL".  You wouldn't do that to your car so you shouldn't do it to your body.  I received an email today from fitday.com which talks about natural appetite suppressors.  I will pass this on to you because while they may suppress your appetite, these are things that should be done for overall health.  Follow these tips everyday for general health and well being.

1. "Avoid Refined Carbohydrates and Simple Sugars"
This should be a no brainer.  Stay away from the pastas, cookies, cakes, etc.  The crash and ultimate fat you would add to your body is not worth it.  Now by all means, have some when you feel like it once and a while, but it should not be a staple of your diet.  This also means you should have complex carbs in your diet.  Eat fruits and veggies.  Mom didn't lie when she said they would make you strong.

2. "Drink plenty of water"
Water is what we're mostly made of, after all.  I try to drink a gallon of water a day.  Yes that is a lot of water and it does not result in as many trips to the bathroom as you think.  I am also a large person who eats large amount of protein.  The water is necessary to flush out my system.  Eight 8-ounce glasses of water is a good place to start for most people. 

3. "Eat the right amount of fat, fiber and protein"
My darling wife thinks the more fiber she gets in her diet the better.  That's great if you like spending your life on the toilet.  Fiber does make you feel full and that can be a good thing but excess anything will get expelled from the body.  As I've said before about fat, just because it has fat doesn't mean run as far away as you can.  There are some good fats and your body needs them.  Healthy fats can reduce excess body fat which is what we want gone from our body's anyway.  Finally, getting plenty of protein is important.  It is the building block of muscle.  Getting a salad will do nothing for your health because the lettuce is nutritionally empty.  Add some chicken, fish or beef on there and now we're talking.

4. "Supplement nutrients if you need to"
Take your vitamins!  A good multivitamin will help you get all the necessary vitamins and minerals that you may not get in your diet that can keep you in the best possible shape.  If you don't like swallowing horse pills, you can get the gummy bear vitamins.  They have them in all kinds so if you hate pills, get yourself some gummy vitamins and you can actually enjoy taking them.

5. Exercise
Won't exercising make you hungry?  Possibly.  Although, exercising will tech the body to use stored fat as fuel instead of whats in your stomach.

6. Eat more meals
5-6 smaller meals throughout the day is better than 3 big meals.  This will keep the body burning and speed up your metabolism ultimately burning more fat.

7. "Address the emotional hunger issue"
Don't eat because you are bored.  Don't eat because you are upset.  If you set up your diet ahead of time, you will know what is acceptable to eat and what isn't.  This can help avoid eating just because you feel like eating.

Motivation

Motivation is the hardest thing to get and then maintain.  Sure, you have all the motivation in the world when you're watching Rocky.  What about when you're sitting at your desk?  What about when you're sitting at home in front of the TV?  That's when you have to have the will power.  That's when it benefits you to surround yourself with people that share your goals. 

Maintaining that drive is something I have been struggling with lately, which is why I decided to write a small post about it.  I have my routine.  I've planned out everything.  I know what days to do which workouts.  I've planned out meals and at what time.  That's step 1.  Step 2 is following through and making adjustments when necessary.  Holiday parties, birthday's, get togethers, etc. should not deter you from your goal.  Bring that bottle of water with you when you leave the house.  Look ahead and plan out your meals if something through a wrench in your normal plans.  Keep that picture of Stallone or Arnold in your car.  Know where the finish line is and go full speed ahead!!

Be Active

You should do some sort of activity most days of the week.  I do believe in one day of rest every week.  For example, when I am on my game, I go to the gym and lift weights Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Yoga on Tuesdays, and Plyometric training on Thursdays.  This leaves me with a flex day during the week if things get to hectic.  I will move a workout to saturday.  I play football on sundays so at some point during the week, there will be one workout free week. 

The body needs rest.  That includes stress.  Stress is a great way to get yourself unhealthy.  While you need a physical break, you should also give yourself sometime to have a mental break.  Allow yourself some time to relax and fade into a book or a movie.  Always leave yourself some time for you to enjoy life.

For those looking for a daily workout to follow, check out Chris's local Crossfit webpage (http://aimeesfitnessblog.blogspot.com/), Crossfit KoP.  There they post the workout of the day.  Give it a try.  If it is too complex for your skill level, scale it back and just try to get the movements down.  Remember, a workout is supposed to push you.  If it's easy, it's not much of a workout now is it?

Pet Peeve #1

Here is one of my biggest pet peeves.  If something has to tell you it's healthy, it probably isn't.  FAT FREE!  HIGH IN FIBER!!  GREAT SOURCE OF 13 VITAMINS AND MINERALS!!

I'm sorry, Froot Loops are not good for you in any way possible.  Do you see eggs with a big "PACKED WITH PROTEIN" sticker on them??  Are there signs on vegetables?  No, because no one needs to tell you that they're good stuff.  My favorite is the 100 calorie packs.  Just because they're 100 calorie packs does not mean you can eat 4 packs and be great for lunch.  It sounds like common sense when you put it this way but people fall for this all the time.  Please, do not fall for these.  These are good to help extremely obese and over-eaters reduce their calories.  Weening off of an unhealthy diet is great if you need to use these to control yourself.  They should just be eliminated completely in the end. 

Be weary of the "healthy" claims and be smart.....unless you're cheating, then go crazy and eat all 11 vitamins in that pop tart.

Almond Butter

I am not foreign to almonds or even almond butter, but making my way through Trader Joe's this past weekend, I noticed something.  I was torn between two jars, Raw creamy unsalted almond butter and creamy unsalted almond butter.  This confused me as everything in trader joes is organic.  Both should include just almonds.  I grabbed the one that I had eaten before and it was the regular kind.  Upon researching, the difference was whether or not the almonds were roasted.  Interesting......

Recovery

After a long long day, I would normally take a day off.  Something my body loves is normal good food and lots of water.  Water is something that a lot people ignore.  Don't drink coffee, don't drink snapple iced tea, don't drink something from starbucks.  Water is great for flushing out the system.  Yesterday, during my donut binge, I realized that I drank very little water.  Today, now that the dieting is coming back on track, my body is looking for water again.  I try to drink roughly a gallon of water every day.

Rest is another hugely overlooked item for health.  I am skipping my rotation in the gym today because my body is still exhausted and recovering from the beating I gave it yesterday.  I will go to bed early tonight and try to catch up on the sleep that I've been depriving my body.  Lack of sleep can equal sickness very quickly.  You should be getting AT THE VERY VERY VERY MINIMUM, 7 hours of sleep per night.  My body seems to be fully charged after 9.  Nine hours of sleep is a lot in this day and age but I try to get it whenever I can.  You also do not want to lay in bed all day, but that is a given.

Today, I may jog down the log hallways and sprint to and from my car today.  I also find myself stretching whenever possible.  Getting the blood flowing (not through added stress) is great for ones health.

Today's diet so far:
3 eggs, 1/2cup of egg whites
Jenn's delicious turkey chili (ground turkey, diced tomatoes, beans [she wants fiber all the time....i dunno...], onions, spices)
Cup of brown rice.

I should be back to normal tomorrow depending on the amount of rest I can get tonight.  Until then, get your butt moving!  Park farther away, jog to your car, use the stairs! 

February 8th

Today is my birthday!  YAY ME!!  There is no such thing as a diet today.  My diet so far has consisted of donuts and a bbq chicken wrap.  It will end with burgers, fries, and cake.  This occurs one day throughout the year.  It probably isn't good to go crazy and into a diabetic coma like I do today, but its only one day. 

Peanut Butter?!

Peanut butter.  The staple of every body builder.  However, as my good pal Chris would tell me, the peanut is not actually a nut.  It is a legume.  What is the difference exactly?   Well, in a nutshell (LOL, ok i'll stop), a nut will usually only have one or at most two seeds.  Legumes have many.  Also, a true nut will not open on its own while a legume is open naturally.  Of course, it's never as cut and dry as that.

From a nutrtition standpoint, the legume is a gut irritant.  It can cause small perforations in the intestine which is not fun for anyone. What it comes down to is that you should aim towards something like Almonds for your diet instead of peanuts.  I currently incorporate both into my diet for the mere fact that getting almond butter is just too expensive.  This is also a big reason that body builders go for peanut butter.  Regardless of which you choose, the product has to be natural.  You do not want all of the added chemicals and sugars that come with processed foods.  Yes, that means Skippy does not count.  For me, I shop at Trader Joe's.  You really can't go wrong with many of their products.  I grab a bag of Raw Almonds for my healthy fats (Yes you need fat in your diet but thats for another discussion) and natural creamy peanut butter. 


Dan's Portions:
2 tbls. Trader Joe's Natural Peanut Butter once per day for meal 2
1 serving (approx 20) Raw Almonds with lunch (Meal 3) and with meal 4

Thanks for reading my first post.  I'm sure this topic and many other areas will be elaborated on in the future.  Leave any ideas or comments!  Thanks.

Welcome to your NEW favorite blog

While I may not be the original Iron Geek, I will say I am THE Iron Geek.  On this blog, I will share my wealth of knowledge regarding the two things I know best, Technology and Health.  With that said, this will probably be mostly about health.  Nutrition, working out, etc., are all things that are full of myths.  I hope through my blog I will clear them up.  On this site, I will provide workouts, diets recipes and general fitness tips.  Sit back, enjoy the ride, and tell your friends!