I’ve been sick for the past couple of days, and that’s made a couple of crazy things happen. I’ve actually applied two other reader tips!

Just do it
Some GFS readers encouraged me to just eat the damn vegetables. This might seem like lame advice to some, but it’s actually not bad. (Once during one of our phone-based training sessions, Lauren was tired of hearing me whine. Just solve the problem,” she said. I thought this was good enough advice to jot down on a sticky note that I keep at my desk.)

Last night, Kris offered me some acorn squash and roasted golden beets for dinner. She was just kidding around but I said, “Sure.” She did a double-take. “Are you my husband?” she asked. I smiled wanly.

I tried the squash but did not like the texture or the taste. It was mushy, and not in a good way. Plus I didn’t like the balsamic vinegar Kris had drizzled on it. Strike one.

But — gasp — I liked the beets. They had the consistency of potatoes, and they tasted like the earth. I could eat them again.

Eat what you like
Tonight I took another piece of reader advice to heart: eat the fruits and vegetables that you like.

“You know what I’m hungry for?” I asked Kris. She shook her head. “Watermelon,” I said. “I have an intense craving for watermelon.”

We don’t have watermelon in Oregon in late October. We do, however, have grapes — luscious purple Concord grapes.

I’ve always claimed that blackberries are my favorite fruit (followed closely by watermelon), but now I know that’s not true. During the last two weeks, I’ve discovered that I’m crazy for Concords. I love to suck the meat and juice from the skin, tasting the sweet-tart juice (like liquid summer!), extract the seeds with my tongue, and then slurp the grape down like an oyster.

So tonight, instead of watermelon, I ate an orange and a bunch of grapes.

Not the end of the world
I still feel sick. I have a mild fever (99.5 — my normal body temp is 98.2), and am exhausted. I can’t focus on anything but my book (The Godfather). But who knows? If I’m sick long enough, I may even begin eating broccoli!

The human body is made so that it needs certain fats to function. These fats can actually help you stay healthier and can increase nerve function as well as helping your cells keep their integrity. These fats are known as Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. When you hear someone talk about good fats these are the two fats to which they are referring. Let’s take a look at both of them to see what you can gain by making sure you get enough of them in your diet.

Monounsaturated fats will actually help lower your overall cholesterol and reduce bad cholesterol according to many doctors. In addition to these benefits they can also raise your good cholesterol levels. Some of the best sources of monounsaturated fats are actually quite tasty. They include foods such as almonds, avocados, and peanuts. You can also find many different oils that contain monounsaturated fats such as olive oil.

Polyunsaturated fats performed much of the same benefits that monounsaturated fats do. These fats are typically found in fish and the popular Omega-3 fatty acid is actually a member of this group. Certain vegetable oils such as corn, and sunflower oils have high levels of polyunsaturated fats and can be very good for you.

It is important to remember however that some fats are bad. Saturated fats are probably the most well known. These are the fats will impact your blood cholesterol levels badly. Unfortunately, saturated fats are the most common fats and the majority of us may not even know just how harmful they could be. You can find saturated fats in many meat products as well as dairy. However there are a few vegetable oils you may also want to avoid such as coconut oil and palm oil.

Last but not least, we have trans fats and these are actually created through a process called hydrogenation. You’ve probably seen the term hydrogenated oil on food labels before but you may not understand how this process works. In order to get hydrogenated oil you have to take regular oil and force hydrogen through it. This does provide benefits such as making the oil lasts longer without spoiling, but it unfortunately it is not very good for you. Trans fats are usually found in fried food, but may also appear in foods such as margarine,

Now that you know which fats are good and bad don’t forget to read your food labels to make sure that what you are eating is actually good for you.

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First and foremost, water is essential. If you are not drinking water after your workout is all too easy to get dehydrated and to feel rundown. Make it a point to have water directly after your workout particularly if you’ve been training very hard or it is a very hot day. You may not realize just how much water you lose what you are exercising. While sport drinks can also be helpful, you need to watch out for the sugar. There really is no replacement for good clean water – especially when it comes to drinking water to lose weight.

Now let’s focus on proteins, fats and carbs. If you are on a restricted diet it can be a little difficult to know what to eat after you’ve worked out. For many, this becomes a problem because it is all too easy to cheat especially if you are extremely hungry after exercise. It is a good idea to come up with a specific plan that you can stick to and that you can fall back on even if you’re starved. Generally, most will want to limit eating fats after their workouts. In very rare cases, you may want to add some good fats. I knew a semi-professional bodybuilder once who would drink a half a bottle of sunflower oil at times. He was so in tune with knowing what his body needed to build muscle that he just rocked it out.

Since you aren’t likely a professional bodybuilder, that leaves us with proteins and carbs. Let’s focus on proteins first. One of the easiest ways to get quick protein after your workout is simply by eating a protein bar or drinking a protein shake. Look for one that will be very easy to digest so that your body can have quicker results from protein which will help you recover faster. I prefer whey protein since this is something that the body can easily digest. However, if you are allergic to whey, you may want to consider something else. It is a good idea to experiment with a few different types of fast digesting protein to see which one will work best for you.

While there are many foods that have a high amount of protein, such as tuna, they may not be as beneficial right after a workout since it does take the body longer to break them down. The key is finding a protein that your body can absorb very quickly to get the most benefits from it.

Now that leaves us with carbs. If you are on a low carb diet and trying to do strength training or vigorous exercise it can be very difficult to manage your diet and figure out what you can and cannot eat. However there are some great carbs that are very beneficial after a workout. The key is finding good carbs and stay away from the bad ones. Generally, bad carbs are the starchy ones that are found in white bread and in many cases in pasta.

Personally one of the easiest ways for me to make sure I’m getting the right kind of carbs is to eat a healthy low carb bar. It takes the guesswork out of everything and makes it a lot easier. In fact you can even find nutritional bars with a perfect balance of protein and carbs that are ideal to eat after a workout. For those that don’t have a lot of free time this is probably the easiest solution.

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“The Top Five Reasons I HATE Doing Burpees!” By Muata Kamdibe (aka MrLowBodyFat)
“7 Reasons Why You Can and Will Lose Weight and Reach Optimal Health Fast with Bodyweight Exercises” By Kevin Gianni
My Interview with [...]

As nutritionists have been instructing us for years, a healthy day starts with breakfast. For two examples, see this healthy breakfast and that healthy breakfast. Giving children a nutritionally complete and filling breakfast is key in several ways. It will fuel them for their coming day, make them more alert and focus in school, and can keep them feeling full and content for much longer than an inadequate breakfast. Replace sugar-intensive cereals with ones that have minimal sugar. Work in some fruit, either by itself or sliced into their cereal. Restrict juices to natural ones with no sugar added. Above all, avoid fried pastries that are low in nutritional value and high in calories and fats.

Keep your children hydrated – with water. While drinking water can be used to lose weight, this may be more of a preventative measure for your child. As simple as this sounds, thirst can often be confused in the brain with hunger. This problem is made worse when children turn to sugary sodas and juice drinks instead of water, milk, and natural juices.

Encourage your children to take an active role in preparing food. One of the largest contributors to obesity is fast food and ready-to-eat foods, which almost always contain higher fat ingredients than you can choose to cook with in your home. Encouraging children from a young age to cook their own meals can have lasting health affects.

Allow plenty of time for meals. We do live in a fast-paced society, so this can be difficult. It is quite important, though, as eating too quickly is the easiest way to overeat. When we eat rapidly, our brain cannot react quickly enough to tell us that we are full, causing overeating. Have as many sit-down meals as possible.

Introduce your children to a wide variety of foods, including lots of fruits and vegetables. Consuming lots of fresh produce is a great way to promote healthy eating, and giving your kids variety increases the chances of them finding produce that they truly enjoy eating. A varied diet also has the benefit of a wide variety of nutrients, which is essential to healthy development.

Implementing just one or two of these guidelines can have a significant and lasting affect on the health of your child. While they may struggle with some of the changes initially, your attitude as a parent will largely determine their long-term success.

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Karen at Best of Mother Earth has posted about a 12-year-old McDonald’s hamburger that she keeps as a prop. Why does she keep it? Because it still looks brand new:

Karen writes:

This is a hamburger from McDonalds that I purchased in 1996. That was 12 years ago. Note that it looks exactly like it did the very day I bought it. The flecks on the bun are crumbs from the bun. The burger is starting to crumble a bit. It has the oddest smell.

[...]

People always ask me – what did you do to preserve it? Nothing — it preserved itself. Ladies, Gentleman, and children alike — this is a chemical food. There is absolutely no nutrition here. Not one ounce of food value.  Or at least value for why we are eating in the first place.

Kind of makes me glad I haven’t had McDonald’s in 2008.

[He] believes that appropriate changes to a person’s diet can enhance his cognitive abilities, protect his brain from damage and counteract the effects of aging. Dr Gómez-Pinilla has been studying the effects of food on the brain for years, and has now completed a review, just published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, that has analyzed more than 160 studies of food’s effect on the brain. Some foods, he concludes, are like pharmaceutical compounds; their effects are so profound that the mental health of entire countries may be linked to them.

I’ve observed in the past that certain foods or certain meals affect my mental ability. Some foods turn my mind to mush. Others promote alertness. For example, I love pancakes and maple syrup, but when I have this kind of breakfast, I generally suffer from a “brain cloud” the rest of the day. I save pancakes for a rare treat.

Here are three important brain-related nutrients and some foods that provide them:

• Folic acid can help those between 50- and 70-years-old fight “the cognitive decline that accompanies aging”. Insufficient folate is also associated with depression. The moral? Eat your spinach and drink your orange juice!
• Antioxidants, such as Vitamin E, also help fight the effects of aging. In fact, Vitamin E has been linked with better memory in old age. (You can find Vitamin E in vegetable oils, nuts, and leafy greens.) Berries are another good source of antioxidants.
• Omega-3 fatty acids also help the brain stay healthy. These can be found in walnuts and kiwi fruit, but especially in oily fish, like salmon. Omega-3s don’t just help your mind stay sharp — they also help to stave off mental illness. “There is a strong negative correlation between the extent to which a country consumes fish and its levels of clinical depression,” write the authors.

Finally, the article notes, it’s important not to overeat. Gluttony actually undoes some of the good done by antioxidants.

[The Economist: Food for thought]

I try to limit meals out, but especially since I’ve started working from home, it’s difficult. Now a cheap lunch at the local Chinese or Mexican place has become a way for me to actually see people.

When I’m focused, I’m able to make sensible food purchases. For example, there’s a little Mexican place a couple miles away that serves $2 tacos. For two bucks, you get two small corn tortillas topped with meat and veggies.

I’ve always assumed these tacos were relatively low calories, and so have purchased three orders at a time. (For a total of six tortillas and three mounds of meat.) But are they really low calorie?

Yesterday, I re-started the Body for Life program. As part of that, participants are encouraged to eat six small meals a day, consuming one portion of protein and one portion of carbohydrate at each meal. (A portion is between the size of your palm and the size of your closed fist, which seems rather vague.)

Yesterday, I also craved tacos. “Hm,” I thought. “Tortillas are carbohydrates. Meat is a protein. Maybe these are okay on the Body for Life mealplan.” I made a quick trip to the Mexican place to find out. I ordered my food to go, brought it home, and then dissected it.

Turns out each 12-centimeter (4-1/2 inches) tortilla weighs about 20 grams (3/4 of an ounce). Because there are two per taco, that’s 40 grams of carbohydrates. But how many calories are in those 40 grams? I checked our fridge. We had a bag of corn tortillas that contained about 2 calories per gram. This seemed about right.

Each taco also contains about 40 grams of filling, some of which is vegetables, but most of which is meat. An ounce (28g) of lean protein contains 55 calories, which is again about two calories per gram.

As a rough estimate, it seems fair to assume that my tacos each contain about two calories per gram. Since each taco was roughly 80 grams, they each provided about 160 calories.

What does this tell me?

First of all, I can figure out how many calories are in my favorite restaurant foods. That Grandma Jean’s pasta I mentioned last week? If I really want to know how many calories are in it, I could place a to-go order and bring it home. (It’s difficult to account for oils, of course, but I’m mainly after rough approximations.)

Secondly — and most importantly, in this case — I can have these tacos on the Body for Life plan, but I should only be ordering two tacos at a time, not three. A 480-calorie lunch is too high right now, especially if I’m eating six meals a day. Even a 360-calorie lunch might be a bit much, but can be more easily worked into the Body for Life regimen.

Does anyone else ever do geeky stuff like this? Some of the most fun I’ve ever had while dieting has come from being anal-retentive about measuring my portions on a kitchen scale. Strange, but true. I find that knowing the calorie contents of various foods, and knowing portion sizes, helps me to make better choices. (At least when I’m eating mindfully, that is.)

Three Tips for Staying Fit

• The first thing you can do is to come up with an easy fitness plan that will work with your schedule and with your personal tastes. It doesn’t have to be complicated, and in fact something as simple as walking every night can have a big impact on your health. There are many different little ways to get exercise throughout the day so that it won’t interfere with your schedule. Try out several different types of exercises to see which one will suit your particular needs the best.
• Next you can work on making small dietary changes that will support your efforts with extra exercise. Although fast food is certainly well ingrained in consumer consciousness, the fact remains that it is not the healthiest food you can eat. In many cases you may have to sacrifice a small amount of convenience in order to eat the foods that will help you stay fit. Try cutting out just one fast food meal a week and you can easily start seeing weight loss results.
• Another key to staying fit past middle age is to develop a network of like-minded friends. It is much easier to keep exercising when you have the support of friends to keep you going. There is a lot to be said for having an exercise buddy and in many cases you can actually form a little exercise group. Whether you get together to go to the gym or simply walk around the park, having a support network with you can keep you motivated to stay on your exercise plan.

One of the biggest problems for many people once they reach middle age is the fact that their hormones start to work against them. When you couple this with a lack of exercise and a poor diet this can easily spell trouble with weight gain. While there is not much you can do to beat the natural course of aging, there are ways that you can combat the effects that hormones and aging can have on your body.

As we get older our caloric needs change. The amount of calories you need every day for basic survival will drop off significantly each year. It is a good idea to calculate your basal metabolism needs to see just how many calories you need each day. This should be done once a year to keep on top of the natural reduction in the amount of calories that your body requires for basic functions. When you are aware of this it is a lot easier to either ramp up your exercise efforts or cut back a little on certain foods.

I canz haz cookies on my diet?

It didn’t take long for the cookie diet to become one of the most popular diets of the world. When you consider that the claims of being able to eat cookies and lose weight are the primary promotional techniques used for this diet, it is easy to see why so many people rushed to give it a try. Dr. Siegel is the creator of this diet and he claims that for the past 30 years he has been using cookies to help people lose weight.

If you are unfamiliar with how the cookie diet works basically you are allowed to snack on healthy cookies. Dr. Siegel originally formulated this diet when he was helping clients in his Miami practice with standard diets. He found that for many people, trying to get through the day without snacking is nearly impossible and it is all too easy to fall off your diet when the temptation to snack becomes too much to control.

To answer this problem he began baking healthy cookies made with natural ingredients and distributed them to those patients of his ever trying to control their hunger throughout the day. More than 200 doctors have gotten in line behind Dr. Siegel and he has made the rounds of all the most popular television programs promoting this diet.

It is important to note that the cookie diet is not actually a diet per se. This is more of a snack that has been packaged for ultimate promotion. Essentially, this is a nutrition bar with a beefed-up marketing plan. While there is nothing wrong with replacing harmful snacks with a healthy one, you certainly cannot base an entire diet on cookies.

Opponents of the cookie diet point out that giving people snacks is not the best way to help them lose weight over the long term. Lifestyle changes are usually accepted as the best way to lose weight over the long term and by allowing cookies for snacks, it is possible that bad behavior can be reinforced instead of learning to find better choices for foods.

While the ingredients and Dr. Siegel’s cookies are actually quite healthy the fact remains that it is still a cookie. For those that just need a small pick me up to get them through the day and are well aware of their caloric requirements and able to stick to their diets, the cookie diet is probably not all that harmful. However for those that find it difficult to control cravings, the cookie diet could be disastrous.

Eating one cookie is easy enough, eating ten is even easier. Considering that these cookies don’t come cheap and are currently priced at around $56 for a one-week supply, dieters may want to reconsider this option. There are much healthier snacks out there that can satisfy cravings without taking an enormous chunk out of your checkbook.

If the cookie diet nothing more than hype? You can ask a hundred people that question and probably come up with a hundred different answers. Personally, I think it’s ridiculous diet. The fact remains that these are indeed cookies and if you are looking to make a lifestyle change this diet may not be appropriate.

Photo Credit: danielle_blue

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Nutritional Bar Powers Activate! Form of a horse!

A Brief Guide on How To Choose a Nutrition Bar

As our schedules get busier (and people get Lazier like me) the popularity of nutrition bars has exploded. It is simply easier to reach for a prepackaged bar instead of having to worry about making breakfast or finding a snack. However, many of these nutrition bars are not exactly healthy choices. It is important to understand what goes into a nutrition bar and to carefully read the label before you automatically reach for it.

The first thing to look for on a nutrition bar label is the calorie, fat, and sugar content. Many of these nutrition bars, especially the breakfast ones, are actually loaded with sugar. That’s simply something that I don’t want out of my nutrition bar. For those that are trying to lose weight, consider the calorie count carefully. Fat content is also another problem in many nutrition bars. Although these are supposed to be good for you, several brands of nutrition bars are literally dripping with fat. In general, I like to look at the protein content and make sure that I’m getting a lot of that.

The sodium content of a nutrition bar is one area that many people neglect to learn more about. The average American tends to get far too much sodium and prepackaged foods are one of the biggest culprits. You would not think the nutrition bar that is mainly sweet would have a lot of sodium but the label may surprise you. If you are on a salt restricted diet it is even more important to check the labels on your nutrition bars.

Next up, let’s look at the ingredients commonly found in nutrition bars and see if there are any problem areas you need to avoid. While most of today’s nutrition bars will not have hydrogenated oils, it is still important to check to see if the fats used to make the bar are the good variety. Look for a nutrition bar that contains unsaturated fats for a good dietary choice. While most of these bars do use vegetable oil you’ll want to look to make sure that it is not hydrogenated oil.

Other common ingredients include wheat gluten which some people may want to avoid. Many of these bars also contain numerous chemicals that are not particularly healthy and may cause allergic reactions. Monosodium glutamate is a preservative that has been blamed for migraine headaches and even weight gain. If you see MSG on a label for a nutrition bar (as rare as it might be) you may want to find a healthier choice. I’ve heard that in some cases manufacturers may use the term yeast extract when in actuality it is MSG.

By making careful choices with your nutrition bars you can be assured that what you are eating is actually nutritious. Don’t automatically reach for one of these bars without first taking the time to carefully read the label. You may be surprised by just how much fat is in one of these bars and how many chemicals have been crammed into it.

There are many great nutrition bars out there and they do offer an easy alternative to preparing meals and snacks.

Photo Credit: kirihargie

150 Healthiest Foods on Earth?

Are these 150 foods really the healthiest on Earth?

Have you ever wished that someone would just sit you down and say here – these are the foods you need to be eating? You could look up these nine foods, but you might want more variety. Well, if you need more, the book 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, may be just what you were looking for. This is an interesting book that contains many things to think about, even if you don’t agree with many of the food choices or the reasoning behind them.

Books that tell you about foods are pretty run of the mill these days. However, most will focus on only a few “super foods” or provide a little advice. It couldn’t have been an easy task putting together 150 healthy foods. Dr. Bowden did a very good job of being thorough and completely explaining the benefits of the foods he selected. While there is the problem of “ask a hundred nutritionists which foods are best and get a hundred different answers,” at the very least, most of the choices appear to be pretty sound.

Everything is very well organized and foods are divided up into different chapters, based on their main group. For example, chapter one deals with vegetables, chapter seven tackles dairy and so on. The chapter on herbs, spices, and condiments was fascinating and well worth the cost of the book. I learned how these small additives can actually have a big impact on your overall health. Cinnamon and its benefits is discussed at length and I found this section to be very interesting.

Also of note is chapter fourteen which goes into sweeteners. The different brands are discussed at length and some of the information included herein may shock some readers.

I recommend this book to those that are interested in learning how to eat properly and which foods should be in their diets. The book also covers foods that should be avoided and supplies some pretty strong reasoning as to why. As expected, carbs were not treated well, at least not the type that are found in baked goods and pasta. The author seems to be against just about any type of flour and for those that cannot do away with this addiction, it may be hard to follow the advice contained herein.

While I might have said different things about the foods – there’s a reason he’s the doctor. Overall, I did enjoy the book. There could have been a little more scientific fact to back up some of the claims made by the author, but generally, the foods that he chose are accepted as being healthy and good for you. There were no real off the wall food suggestions that could be harmful, so overall, this is a good book for dieters or for those interested in learning more about the basic nutritional value of different foods.

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Gluten-Free Living is Easier with an Aisle Like This

The other day I read that up to 1% of the United States has celiac disease – an autoimmune disorder brought on by the intake of gluten. If you are one of these few people, living gluten-free may be your only option. It can be difficult at first. While there are many benefits that can be gleaned from living gluten free, trying to switch your diet is an incredible hardship for many.

One of the first things that can be done to make this transition easier is to become a dedicated label reader. While you would think that only baked goods contained gluten it can be found in many different items. This is particularly true of salad dressings, soy sauces, and other sauces. Celiac sufferers in particular need to do all they can to eliminate gluten from their diet. This means reading through the ingredient listings for practically everything you eat.

Wheat gluten is a popular additive in sauces because it helps everything congeal better. It can even be found in soups, vegetable blends and frozen foods. In order to start living your life gluten-free is necessary to cut all of these items out of your diet. When you first get started it can seem like there is literally nothing left on earth you can eat except fresh vegetables, fruit and meat. However it is possible to live completely gluten-free and still eat plenty of delicious foods.

The first step is to consider whether or not you would like to purchase gluten-free food that is already made or you may want to consider dusting off a cookbook and learning how to make your own gluten-free food. For those with children that need to live gluten free, cooking is a popular option since it will give you the ability to make a greater variety of foods.

There are many stores, both off-line and online that now offer a wide variety of different gluten-free foods. You can even find actual loaves of bread, hamburger buns, and even popular desserts that are all made with gluten-free flour. It can take a little getting used to but after awhile you will become accustomed to the taste of gluten-free foods. It is best to experiment with several different gluten-free brands until you find the one that is right for you.

If you are trying to bake your own gluten-free foods you will need to get an ingredient that will help everything congeal, much like gluten does. Xantham gum is a very popular option for many celiacs. Once again, experimentation is necessary until you find the recipes that are palatable for you. It can actually be somewhat fun to try many different recipes until you come up with the perfect gluten-free bread, desert, or treat. With practice, living gluten free gets much easier and more enjoyable.

You may also want to consider joining a support group for others that are trying to live the gluten-free life. You can pick up some great tips and these groups and learn more about which products are the best.

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The Baby Food Diet would make me make this face too

Should You Try The Baby Food Diet To Lose Weight?

One of the most recent fad diets to explode onto the scene is the baby food diet. Many celebrities adhere to this diet and it is quickly making the rounds of the Internet. If you haven’t heard about this new diet craze yet it is actually pretty simple to follow. Instead of eating real food that adults are used to, the diet recommends subsisting on baby food. Let’s take a look at the methodology behind this latest craze to see whether or not it is sound.

First off there are some benefits to eating baby food. Typically it will be free of the harmful chemicals that are present in the food that adults eat and many are organic and naturally made. People who follow the baby food diet point out the fact that these foods are actually quite healthy and many are very pure and full of nutrients. The overall small portion sizes make it easy for people to understand just how much they can eat and there are of course many different flavors.

This diet has also become popular with those that are trying to avoid foods that contain gluten. It is difficult to find foods that are gluten-free and many baby foods do not have this ingredient. This provides those suffering from celiac disease or those looking to avoid gluten an opportunity to have a wider range of food that they can eat.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons that the baby food diet has become so popular is due to the fact that baby food is very low in fat and is based usually with vegetables and small amounts of protein. It is a lot easier for many people to control what they are eating when all they have in front of them is a very small jar of baby food. For those who struggle with portion control this diet may actually have several benefits.

But there are a few things about the baby food diet that offer some room for concern. If you are subsisting entirely on a diet of baby food your intestines may rebel. Solid food is important for most adults and while there is no real harm in eating a little baby food, long-term use and subsisting entirely on baby food may not be ideal for the adult digestive system. In addition, many people find that baby food is simply rather disgusting (note the picture). The texture is of course very mushy and the taste is just not there for many people.

If you’ve been considering trying the baby food diet it is important to ask your doctor about whether or not this be a good diet for you. There are a few drawbacks and there is very little research as to whether or not this is a long-term solution for those looking to lose weight. While there may be some benefits of replacing harmful snacks with a jar of baby food an entire diet based on this food may not be reasonable for adults.

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Push-ups

I started Week 5 of my pushup program on Monday. I failed miserably. At the end of the 4th week, I did my exhaustion test and completed 43 push-ups. This is a big improvement from the 20 I did in my initial test or the 34 that I did at the end of week 2. However, to be 2/3s through the program and be less than half my way to 100… it hurts. Worse yet, I when I went to week 5, I found that by just more than 40, I was put into a column that made me start with 40… and then do another 32 after a minute of rest… and another 95 over the 3-4 minutes. Let’s not even get to day 2 and 3 when you have to three more levels added (and less time) – at least the repetitions go down. I’m at the point of being all push-upped out and the only thing that is the least been interesting to me is that I can more than twice as many as when I started.

Body Stats

When I measured myself today, I had the following stats:

• Weight: 170.5 pounds
• Body Fat: 19.8%

I think is pretty much in line with where I’ve been in the past. I’m pretty disappointed by this number as well, since I’ve been swimming and eating right for the most part.

Nutrition

I think I’ve been well in this area. It’s not perfect, and is far off from some my best weeks. However, after following the nearly 700 comments on my MonaVie article, I’ve realized that I should adds some pomegranite-blueberry-acai juice and other similar things. Since there are still a lot of liquid calories, I have 4 ounces in the morning and 4 ounces in the evening – mostly as a way to just boost my antioxidant levels. I also have a small piece of dark chocolate with it. I’ve been mixing in some good old fashioned fruit and a glass of red wine as well. The rest of my food I try to get from lean protein like chicken. I have slip-ups and they are usually in the form of one side dish a day.

Exercise

With the pushups really getting me down, I haven’t been doing them as much. I did get 60 laps of swimming in a couple of days this week. I usually do more, but one day the pool wasn’t heated. Another day it was just extremely cloudy and I wasn’t sure it was safe for swimming.

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