Did you find yourself sweeter and kinder after Whole30 reintro?

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

 

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

 

Eating Meat: A Primer for the Meat Challenged

 

We believe that eating dense animal protein sources makes you healthier, and that there are some serious drawbacks to conventional vegetarian protein sources.  But eating meat isn’t always an easy assignment – there are a number of reasons you may have trouble eating meat at every meal. Some have ethical concerns about the way our animals are raised, fed, treated and slaughtered; others have taste or texture issues with certain foods that make meat in any form hard to swallow; and many are former vegetarians who want to reintroduce meat into their diets, but don’t know where to start.

 

But it’s not easy to be meat-challenged in the Paleo world, where bacon is revered and meat-eating is practically its own sport. Sometimes, it’s hard for folks to ‘fess up to the fact that they have a hard time eating the stuff. Regardless of your particular difficulty with eating meat, there are some steps you can take to make the reintroduction (or continued consumption) of meat easier and more enjoyable. So for those of you who are meat challenged, or vegetarians looking to dabble on the meat-side, use these tips and tricks to make your protein requirements that much easier to stomach.

 

Vegetarian Roots

This topic is one with which we both have personal experience.  Dallas was raised vegetarian, and didn’t start eating meat until he was 20 years old.  Melissa was a semi-vegetarian for a long time, eating only fish and eggs from her late teens until her mid-twenties.  Dallas didn’t have a hard time introducing meat into his diet, but Melissa’s transition was slower.  She has texture issues with food, and the idea of eating flesh was hard to stomach (pun intended).  As her training changed – particularly when she started picking up heavy stuff – her tastes began to change. She began craving red meat, and had to figure out a way to increase the amount of protein in her diet in a way that didn’t make her dread every meal and snack.  We decided to compile our recommendations here as a free resource for those struggling with the same issues.

 

Ethical Concerns

For those of you who are willing to eat meat, but have ethical concerns around choosing animal protein sources, we understand.  It’s the whole reason we began our Conscientious Omnivore series, dedicated to helping you make animal protein choices that you can feel good about.

• Review our Conscientious Omnivore series. Currently, we’ve got Conscientious Omnivore write-ups on pork, seafood, and eggs (which also overlaps with making healthy chicken and turkey choices) – and we’re working on adding posts on other relevant issues.
• Utilize other resources to help you make choices you can feel good about. You can use Eat Wild, US Wellness Meats, and our Good Meat Guide to help you make meat, fish and egg choices that are good for your health, the animals, and the environment.
• Read ‘The Ethics of What We Eat’. This book, by ethicist Peter Singer, makes the case for how our food choices affect the lives of those around us – animals and humans alike. He makes rational, logical recommendations for making the most ethically defensible animal protein choices across a variety of categories. (The Ethics of What We Eat has proven invaluable in our own decision making process.)

Taste or Texture Issues

For those of you with taste or texture issues, or who have a hard time with the general idea of eating flesh, here are some ideas to help you make the meat you’re eating more palatable.

• Choose meats or cuts of meat that aren’t as “fleshy” or fatty in texture or format. Lighter, flakier fish are often a good, neutral texture choice.  Ground beef may be easier to stomach than a steak. Lean cuts of meat may also smell (and taste) better to the meat-shy. When preparing chicken breasts, pound them with a meat tenderizer so they’re thinner and more tender.

 

• Cut your meat into small pieces or chunks before cooking. Sometimes, staring down at a big hunk of meat is enough to turn your appetite off. Chicken and beef, especially, are easier to eat if they’re already in small pieces when they hit your plate.  Plus, this prevents you from hacking into a big hunk of fat, gristle or other icky meat-related stuff while eating.

 

 

• Avoid meat on the bone, like ribs or chicken wings. Pulling flesh off the bone only serves to reminds you of exactly what you’re eating.

 

 

• Don’t over-cook your meat. Chicken, fish or steak grilled, broiled or fried within an inch of it’s life will only taste rubbery and tough – and make it harder to get down. (It’s also not very healthy.) If you’re nervous about under-cooked meat, try using a meat thermometer and following recommended temperature guidelines. Remember, meat continues to cook after you pull it out of the pan, so don’t be paranoid about a slight pink hue in your chicken – by the time you get it to your plate, it will be perfect.

 

 

• Cook your meat for a long, long time. We’re not talking about over-cooking, only slow cooking. Consider kitchen appliances like crock pots or slow cookers.  These  allow you to cook your meat at a very low temperature for a very long time (without exposing it to air).  This will make your meat tender and juicy, without any of the risks posed by grilling or cooking to well-done on high heat.
• “Hide” your meat in other parts of your meal. Meat mixed up into a soup, stew, curry, salad or mixturemakes it easier to sneak it in without you noticing. (This technique works well with a crock pot or slow-cooker, too.) Cut it up into very small pieces, mix it into your meal and you may not even notice the taste or texture.

Vegetarians Returning to Meat

Some vegetarians, like Dallas, just dive right into eating meat with no mental or physical trouble. However, if you have some concerns about reintroducing meat back into your diet (or the idea still makes you a little squeamish), all of the above recommendations still apply. In addition, you might want to consider a few additional tips to make your re-entry into animal protein sources that much easier.

• Start with light, lean, easily digestible protein sources. Typically, eggs and fish or shellfish are easiest to start, maybe because they’re the least “meat-like.” Save heavier stuff like ribs or steak until you’ve become a bit more used to meat’s taste and texture.
• Start off with small portions. A 16 oz. ribeye may not settle well in your stomach, so don’t overdo it too early. Start with smaller portions, and work your way up to a normal serving of protein with each meal.
• Consider taking a digestive enzyme. That idea that vegetarians permanently lose the ability to digest meat is bunk, but that’s not to say the first few days of meat eating won’t create some digestive distress. The levels of enzymes that digest protein and fat decrease when you stop eating meat – but they quickly rise again once you ‘get back on the wagon’. However, when your gut is damaged or compromised (like it often is with a diet containing grains, legumes and dairy), a digestive enzyme can help until the gut’s own enzymes come back. Read this article, by our friend and naturopath Dr. Tim Gerstmar, all about digestive enzymes.
• Download our Omnivore and Vegetarian Shopping Lists, to help you make the healthiest choices during your transition.

Meat Challenged? You’re not alone.

Some people don’t like kale, others don’t like coconut (poor souls)… but just as many of us have a hard time getting our protein on. Don’t let the idea of eating meat distress you – and don’t let the fanatic bacon-pushers get you down. Figure out what works for you, and if that doesn’t include red meat, raw fish or bone marrow just yet, that’s okay. We bet that, using our tips and tricks, you may find yourself actually enjoying your protein more in the coming weeks – and feeling all the better for it.

[MeadowLily]

HALLOWEEN CANDY IS NOT SPECIAL

 

31 October, 2013

For those of you following the Whole30® program, certain upcoming holidays may prove a test of willpower. Halloween candy is everywhere, calling out to you from perky colored wrappers in perfectly portioned bite-sized pieces. So, if you’re stocking up for trick-or-treaters, or dealing with an influx of candy in your child’s own bag o’ booty, we are here to remind you of one simple fact.

You can have candy any time you want.

You’re a grown-up. You earn your own money. And if you wanted a Snickers, a Kit-Kat, or a bag of Peanut M&Ms, you can walk right into any grocery store, gas station or convenience mart and buy one.

Halloween candy is not special. It’s not unique. It’s not homemade, or a once-a-year treat, and we’re pretty sure it doesn’t invoke fond childhood memories of sitting around the dining room table while Mom pulls things out of the oven.

Which means, Whole30′ers… you will NOT be taken out by a bag of peanut M&Ms. Not this time around. No slips, no cheats, no excuses.

You’re in this to slay your Sugar Dragons once and for all, and you are tougher than any Halloween candy.

CREATE YOUR OWN HALLOWEEN TRADITION

For those of you who still want to celebrate the holiday without succumbing to the sugar-fest that is traditional Halloween, here are some alternative ideas from Whole9 readers:

• Have a cookout with your friends and children’s friends. The kids can dress up and you can control the meal. Also, the Following My Nose blog has some creative dishes like Creepy Creature of the Sea Soup and Sweet Potato Bugs. Most importantly, eat before going out trick or treating then you will not be tempted by the sugar demons.

• On Halloween night, the kids (we have 5) pick out 5-10 pieces of candy to keep, and put the rest of their candy in a big pile. We ring a special bell before the kids go to bed and that night the “Switch Witch” comes and exchanges it for a cool group gift. This year it’s a tetherball set!

• Though I do not have children, my Halloween will involve being stuffed at a Brazillian Rodizio before going to a Halloween party so that I am too full off of meats that I could not possibly have anything else.

• This year I simply explained that I feel all the candy is crap and they deserve better than that… I did say that if they agree to handover all their candy we will all go bowling tomorrow night and bring along any friends who want to do the same. We have the neighbor-kid onboard!! I count this as a win!

• Our gym is offering a Halloween Candy Buy Back for all of our community. We are giving an incentive of $2.00/lb of candy, a prize for the most candy returned, as well as a free gym class.

• Right now, with our one child only 11 months old, it’s easy enough – we’re just not going trick-or-treating. If we get any kiddos at our door, they’re getting raisins (yeah, we’re *that* house. I’m over it.).

• As a college student, the pull isn’t as bad because of no kids, but at my job my boss has been passing the candy like crazy! I keep having to explain why I don’t want any. I have been using the Whole30 elevator speech though! I finally feel like I have a grip on my sugar demons, and I finally feel good and happy in my decision to say no.

• I work at a school and you can imagine how crazy this day was! I told the parents I would take care of the treats in the room. We had raisins, carrot sticks, orange slices, and apples for snacks. The parents thought I was crazy! I had the last laugh as the kiddos LOVED the healthy snacks and ate ALL of it! I even had some parents come up and apologize for badmouthing my choices. It just goes to prove that kids do know how to eat healthy foods if they are given a chance.

• I would provide an equally tantalizing option the weekend before Halloween to allow them costume time and something to look forward to. They can invite friends and we would play various “games”: ie. bob for  pples, break a pinata filled with non-edible treats, make a craft, have a scavenger hunt, etc. For food, I would play into the fall/Halloween theme offering guts (spaghetti squash and tomato sauce), edible eye balls (hard boiled eggs, black olives), spiders (fudge babies), there are a variety of easily adaptable recipes on familyfun.go.com under Halloween treats.

• My husband and I took our kids trick or treating with their friends/family. When we got home, they dumped out all their candy and we gave them a choice-do you want to eat these or would you like to trade all your candy for money so that you can purchase or save up for something to buy at the toy store? They chose the money!! My kids are 5 and 7 and are committed to eating well.

• I have 4 year old twins and a 6 year old. They love trick-or-treating and get a lot of candy. The night of, they get one piece and then they trade it in to the Great Pumpkin who brings them 2 books each. My children were thrilled to get their books. I wanted to bring the candy to work and my husband insisted on throwing it in the garbage.

So, Whole9 readers… what are you going to do with all of your children’s candy? How will you balance the tradition of Halloween with the health concerns of all that sugar? Share your creative and healthy ideas in comments… And happy Halloween to all!

- See more at: http://whole30.com/2013/10/halloween-candy-special/#sthash.kF0mT33r.dpuf

[MeadowLily]

Slower not better: myth of gradual weight loss debunked by study

 

'If you lose weight quickly, you still gain it back at the same time as someone who loses it gradually.' 

Losing weight gradually - as opposed to rapidly - does not increase the chances of keeping the weight off after dieting, a study has found.

 

Researchers from the University of Melbourne teamed up with the Weight Control Clinic at Austin Health to explore the commonly held belief that those who lose weight quickly also regain weight at a fast rate.

 

Their trial involved 200 obese adults who were randomly assigned to either a 12-week, rapid weight-loss program based on a low calorie diet, or a 36-week gradual weight-loss program based on current dietary recommendations. 

 

The gradual program was based on Australian weight-loss guidelines, which recommend eating 600 calories less than what "you'd normally eat" in fats, protein and carbohydrates, while the rapid weight-loss diet included replacing three daily meals with low energy diet products before having vegetables in the evening to stimulate the bowel.  

 

"Because the rapid-weight loss diet did not include carbohydrates, the participants began to burn fat instead, releasing hunger suppressant hormones called ketones," said Joseph Proietto, a professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne, and head of Austin Health's Weight Control Clinic. 

 

Professor Proietto and co-author and dietician Katrina Purcell said the study revealed that obesity was "predominantly genetic".

"We don't believe that obesity is caused by lifestyle," Professor Proietto told Fairfax Media.

"For example, in my clinic at the Austin, 80 per cent of people referred to me have a family history of obesity."

 

However, in cases of someone being "mildly overweight", lifestyle played a bigger role than genetics, he said.

 

Ms Purcell said that while she was told to recommend gradual weight loss when she was studying to be a dietician, "when I looked at the literature, there was no current evidence to suggest that losing weight slowly is superior to losing weight quickly". 

"If you lose weight quickly, you still gain it back at the same time as someone who loses it gradually," she said.

 

"When you lose weight gradually you're not excluding carbs, so your body is still burning carbohydrates and not fat.

 

"It's highly likely that we had success in the rapid group because they were producing ketones... which suppressed  their hunger," Ms Purcell said.

"Ketones have also been shown to increase the fullness hormone, making you feel more full."

 

The participants were also given a pedometre during the trial, and were encouraged to exercise in conjunction with their diet. 

 

Irrespective of which program they were part of, 71 per cent of all participants regained the weight within a year of completing the trial, Ms Purcell said.

 

"We found that the hunger hormone followed weight loss for up to three years later," she said. 

 

"So for up to three years, your body will want to get back to its normal weight. The key is in maintaining the diet after you lose the weight."

[MeadowLily]

"So for up to three years, your body will want to get back to its normal weight. The key is in maintaining the diet after you lose the weight."

 

 

Can you really get over thoughts about food, journaling about your daily food intake, tracking your weight loss and steps?

 

If  71% of all obese study subjects regained their weight within a year...is there any hope?   If the body will fight you for three years to return to its highest weight, what can we do?

 

The key is in maintaining the diet after you lose the weight.

 

 

A Maintenance Plan

 

A Maintenance Plan will require vigilance.  

 

Think of your body as a watch tower.

  Every forest fire fighter knows dry fuel sources can easily ignite.    You must man your fire lookout and scan the countryside for signs of smoke with your binoculars.  You can't fall asleep during your watch and there's no one else to do it for you.   It can be a lonely job but you're saving yourself from a raging forest fire.

 

 

 

 

If you've completed a Whole 30 - 60 - 90 and return to your old dry fuel sources....within a matter of hours or a day,  a raging fire with crowning pine trees and dry pine needles can burn your watch tower down.

 

 

 

 

You can immediately return to a new watch tower or Whole 30 but the forest floor has been burned to a char or crisp.

  The grass is not greener in bingeland.   Another binge is never a cure for a food addiction.  There aren't enough binges in the world that will fix the head.

 

 

If you want to maintain your good healthy green forest...you need a maintenance plan.  Use the Slow Roll Reintro to ease into your Maintenance Plan.   We have to remain vigilant for up to three years and beyond if we want to stabilize.    

 

No one can put those dry fuel sources out but us.  We have to remain in the tower and be on the lookout for the cues...blatant or subconscious ones that want to burn down our tower.

 

We don't have to track every step, count every calorie or obsess over the scale...but only a Maintenance Plan will help us fight the raging food fires.

[MeadowLily]

 

 

 

HOW TO DO THE PERFECT* WHOLE30®

 

20 January, 2014

*The answer is, it doesn’t exist. Read on, please.

 

The Whole30 is in full swing, with thousands of you in the middle of your program, and just as many thinking about starting. We read each and every post on our social media feeds and the Whole30 Forum: “Day 12 and I’m passing by the office candy dish without a second glance,” “Day 16 and I made it through a business dinner with my glass of sparkling water,” “Day 1 and my meals are all planned out for the week!”

But we’re also seeing some folks beating themselves up for not completing the “perfect” Whole30. “I broke down and had a snack today.” “I hard-boiled some eggs for my trip, but the eggs weren’t pastured.” “I think I’m eating too much fruit.” Instead of celebrating the fact that you’ve successfully stuck to the program one hundred percent, you’re discounting your efforts by finding things you could be doing better—real or perceived.

 

We don’t like hearing this. We don’t like it when you minimize your hard work (and it is hard work) by creating ways to be disappointed in yourself during this life-changing process. And maybe that’s our fault… There is often a misconception that we expect your Whole30 to be perfect—The Best Whole30 Anyone Has Ever Done Ever. However, that’s simply not true.

 

Today, whether it’s your first Whole30 or your tenth, we’d like to share with you our thoughts on commitment to the Whole30, versus perfection on the Whole30.

 

Follow the Rules of the Program 100%

You may think this one is a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people go into the Whole30 already compromising the rules. “I’m doing the Whole30… plus red wine when I really need it.” “I’m doing the Whole30, but I have two special occasions in the middle where I’ll treat myself.” “I’m doing the Whole30, but I can’t give up my post-workout whey protein shake.”

 

These “small” concessions are a slippery slope—one from which your brain may have a hard time recovering. After all, if you allow yourself wine on those bad days, what’s to say a little dark chocolate wouldn’t help, too? And those “special occasions” mid-Whole30 can literally erase the benefits of the program in one fell swoop—weeks of effort, wasted on one probably-not-even-worth-it meal.

 

Having “black and white” goals (no slips, no cheats, no excuses) are actually easier for the brain to process, and takes your decision-making out of “effort” territory and into “automatic” (translation: habit-building) territory. Following the letter of the Whole30 law will actually make your program easier, not harder. And wouldn’t you all like it to be just a little bit easier?

 

In addition, you are selling your results short if you don’t give it one hundred percent. Trust us on this—and if you don’t trust us, trust Whole30 veteran Anne, who found out the hard way that half-assed efforts yield (duh) half-assed results. Why would you put yourself through a program as challenging as the Whole30, only to reap a tiny portion of the rewards?

 

Need a Whole30 rule refresher? Re-read the program basics and peruse our Can I Have… page.

Don’t Pursue the Perfect Whole30

Wait, what? Didn’t you just say to follow the program’s rules one hundred percent?

There are many reasons why you should commit fully to the program’s guidelines and rules—all of the rules. (We’re talking to you, scale addicts.) But that doesn’t mean you have to pressure yourself into the most perfect Whole30 ever. Here’s what we mean.

 

The rules are the rules. No grains. No dairy. No weighing yourself. No SWYPO. But we also offer helpful suggestions to make the program as easy as possible, and help you maximize your results. In our free Meal Planning Template, we recommend you eat three meals a day and minimize snacking. In our Good Meat Guide, we encourage you to look for animal protein sources raised in their natural environments, and fed their natural diets. In our Pantry Stocking Guide, we talk about finding pantry items with as few additives as possible.

But this doesn’t mean you fail your Whole30 if you have a snack, eat a conventional burger, or buy canned tomatoes with citric acid.

 

The Whole30 can be intimidating enough in the beginning. Just figuring out what to make for breakfast if you’re not digging into your bowl of Kashi is tough! In addition, changing your habits, your tastes, and your metabolism takes time. Throughout the course of your program, we fully expect you to misgauge your hunger, indulge in some comforting Whole30-approved food when you’re feeling down, and make  food quality concessions when you’re pressed for time, money, or options.

 

So if this is your first Whole30, be patient with yourself, and remember: You don’t have to be perfect, just follow the rules.

 

If you find yourself cracking out on (approved) nut butter or fruit one day, no harm, no foul. Just realize you’re probably trying to satisfy a craving, and make a plan to do something different the next time you’re stressed. If you accidentally ate something off-plan (despite your best efforts!), it’s okay. Lesson learned, either start over or just move on—it’s always up to you. If you can’t afford organic or grass-fed at this time, you’re still nourishing your body with whole, healthy foods, and that’s something you should be immensely proud of.

 

Follow the rules, but don’t self-impose perfection. Changing your life doesn’t happen in just 30 days, so think about this as “kaizen” (continual progress or improvement), not “flip the switch” to Perfect You by Day 30.

 

- See more at: http://whole30.com/2014/01/perfect-whole30/#sthash.JOSjHq6p.dpuf

[kirkor]

Ketones suppress appetite?!?!

[MeadowLily]

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR: A POST-WHOLE30 PERSPECTIVE

 

22 December, 2011

A special guest post from Anne Sharp, member of CrossFit South Arlington, a Whole9 Nutrition Partner.

In Anne’s Own Words…

“For those of you about to embark upon a January Whole30, I have one morsel of tried-and-true wisdom for you: half-a**ed participation will yield—at best—half-a**ed results.

Allow me to elaborate.

 

The Whole30, Take One

Sometime last winter, a handful of us decided to hop on the paleo bandwagon for a 30-day ride. Armed with my 90-pageWhole9 Nutrition Guide and a weekly meat delivery, I felt destined for greatness—a slew of PRs, a rockin’ bod, and a general radiance that would commence the moment I leapt out of bed ready to win the day. I wasn’t even starting from scratch—most of my meals were cooked at home and weekly trips to the farmers market were like a visit to the candy store.

That said, I had a few cards stacked against me—notably a pastry-oriented lifestyle and a desperate aversion to being “that girl.” You know, the one who’s a pain to take out to dinner because she doesn’t eat/drink like a normal human.

 

So, like any competition-driven individual, I did the logical thing: I gamed the system, stretching the limits of what is “paleo” to ensure I was rarely uncomfortable.  I took the path of least resistance, replacing sweets with Larabars or dried fruit and making the assumption that wine, merely a fermented form of grapes, was totally legit. I avoided awkward interactions with restaurant staff and relatives, obediently eating the questionable dressing offered on my salad rather than asking for olive oil and vinegar—I mean, DRESSING?? We’re talking a tablespoon of sugar here. And everyone already thinks I’m preggers because I asked for club soda.

 

A few weeks in, I can’t say I really felt much different from before. But rather than seek out flaws in my strategy—I was, after all, 99% compliant and just a little fruit-heavy—I assumed it suggested that I had already achieved near-optimal functionality with my diet.

 

Shortly after the end of this challenge, I began reintroducing non-paleo foods to prepare for hiking the Appalachian Trail.  All the nuts and jerky in the world wouldn’t make paleo feasible for a 2,000 mile thru-hike, so I figured I’d best get my system acclimated to Snickers bars and Little Debbie cakes. The transition was fairly seamless—no real change in how I felt.

The detectives among you will realize this is a major tip-off to the half-a**edness of my participation in the first Whole30 challenge.

 

The Whole30, Take Two

Fast forward, September 2011. We successfully completed the trail, but five months of couscous and candy bars had caught up with me (despite 15+ miles per day of hiking). I was an emotional hazmat and literally felt puffy—my clothes fit all wrong. I knew a dietary intervention was in order.

 

Luckily, meat and vegetables were precisely what I craved the most. Show me another cellophane-wrapped breakfast pastry and I’d probably have smushed it in your face. I also had a good monetary incentive this time: after six months sans income, I didn’t have a lot of cash to spend willy-nilly but I was feeling very materialistic—my cravings for steak were only matched by my cravings for new lotions, potions, and goodies to make me feel civilized.

 

Without a CFSA challenge to piggyback on, I embarked on my own: six weeks of strict Whole30 (NO HALF-A**ING). 

The difference across the two challenges was enormous.

 

Although I was starting from a post-trail nutritional low point, this was a whole new world compared to the first challenge. The puff disappeared quickly and my mood became irrepressibly positive. My energy was boundless—I really did wake up ready to rock and could sustain that energy for whatever the day threw at me.  A few berries or an apple could sate my initial craving for sweet things and ultimately, I found myself much more enthusiastic about roasted cauliflower. I ran faster and recovered easily from rigorous workouts. As an unexpected bonus, my nails grew so fast and so strong that I just HAD to get a fancy manicure to celebrate.

I also learned a few lessons about navigating one’s social life in the midst of the challenge.

1. Ordering club soda at a bar is only as awkward or lame as you make it. You’ll be so charming and radiant from your new diet that you’ll enchant regardless. If your friends judge you then they aren’t your friends. Find new ones.
2. As long as you’re not half-a**ing the challenge, you’ll have an easier time answering questions about why you’re doing it.  If you genuinely feel awesome (which you will if you stick to the rules 100%) it’s easier to explain why you’re not having your mom’s famous potatoes at dinner. She’s your mom, she wants you to be happy.
3. When making plans with friends to go out to eat, participate enthusiastically in restaurant selection. Going somewhere where any menu item would require major modification/omission to be paleo is pretty crappy. Ask around if you need suggestions.

I’m currently in the post-challenge “testing phase” and find that the further I stray from paleo, the funnier I feel—groggy, stomach-rumbly, less on the ball. Except, of course, with regard to moderate consumption of wine and chocolate. They bring nothing but happiness to me.”

 

The Lesson

As we say in our Whole30 program, we don’t demand 100% compliance because we’re playing the tough guy, or trying to be the most toughest nutrition program out there.  We demand 100% compliance because that’s what the program demands, based on the science of an elimination protocol. Why waste 30 days giving up foods you think you love, only to learn nothing from the experience?  As Anne demonstrated, you get out of the Whole30 what you put into it, but it’s not proportional.  She learned the hard way that a 99% effort gleans far less than a 99% improvement in results – and that extra 1% (or 10%, or wherever you’re coming from) makes 100% of the difference.

[MeadowLily]

9 things to do when you’re All Banged Up

 

by Dallas Hartwig, PT, MS

As a physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach, I’ve spent a good portion of my professional career talking to people about recovery, either in the clinic following an injury or in the gym following a high-intensity workout. Since I believe that brief, high-intensity exercise is the most productive in terms of maximizing fitness and minimizing risk of overuse injury and excessive oxidative stress on the body, I prescribe exercise programs that look a lot like CrossFit, with a heavy emphasis on strength movements and gymnastics.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of information out there about how to exercise, but far less information about the application of proper rest and recovery techniques.  I see more sub-acute and chronic injuries resulting from inadequate recovery from exercise (especially with high-intensity programs), than resulting from an acute or traumatic incident. The primary fault lies with inadequate or improper recovery from exercise, not the type or intensity of exercise. (To put it another way, it’s not that you’re hurting yourself doing pull-ups – more often than not, it’s because you’re not properly recovering from those pull-ups.)

 

I believe that a high intensity exercise program is both effective and sustainable life-long, when combined with good nutrition and recovery practices. So I find myself educating my PT patients about nutrition, sleep, active recovery techniques, and stress management practices as often as I do about the physiology of connective tissue healing, lumbar stabilization, or biomechanics.  It was this experience that, in part, led Melissa and me to develop a comprehensive and integrative practice (Whole9) to help our clients continue to aggressively chase health and performance without being hindered by nagging pain and injuries.

 

At some point in our lives, we’re likely to find ourselves over-trained, under-recovered, under-fed, under-slept, over-caffeinated, and (eventually) actually injured.  Ideally, the early stages are the time to pay attention to what your body is trying to tell you, and take immediate action to ensure those nagging aches and pains don’tbecome a seriously limiting chronic injury.  So here are the Whole9′s recommendations for what to do when you’re All Banged Up.

 

1. Take extra rest days. I’m not talking about swapping your rest day from Wednesday to Tuesday – I’m telling you to skip a bunch of workouts.  I’m a proponent of taking an entire week off once or twice a year from hard training – and can think of no better time to do so than when you’re banged up. And once you go back to intense training, you also need to give that injured body part another week or three of rest. Yes, really – rest it longer than you think you should. Trust me, you’d rather take three weeks off from all pulling exercises than be plagued with chronic injuries (and sucky performance) for the next six months. Finally, don’t even think about doing two workouts a day or a long met-con to “make up for” your extra rest days. The whole point is extra rest.

 

2. Get felt up (or feel yourself up). Seek out a good massage therapist. Cyclic compression of muscles after intense exercise reduce swelling and muscle damage.  Massage can improve muscle function, resulting in less swelling and fewer signs of inflammation after exercise.  Too busy to book an hour long massage? If you’re beat up, no you’re not… skip today’s workout and hit the massage table. Too broke to see your massage therapist every week?  Luckily, there are cheaper and still-effective alternatives.   Spend enough intimate time with your foam roller to make your significant other jealous. Buy a Stick and use it. Work with a tennis ball or lacrosse ball for some self-myofascial release. 

 

3.  Keep moving. Low intensity exercise can protect and enhance the immune system, even when you’re banged up or sick.  It also helps with injury prevention and recovery.  Moving your body increases blood flow and the number of cells that eat up “debris” in the injury.  It also increases oxygen levels to speed up healing, and increases circulation to remove the debris out of injured areas.  Finally, exercise prevents stiffness and decreases the formation of scar adhesions.  Stay active with movements different from those you normally perform during workouts, but remember to keep things light and easy.  Think dynamic warm-up drills, kripalu yoga, an easy swim or a brisk walk.  And people… stretch.

 

 

4. Use thermal modalities (heat and ice) appropriately. If you have an acute injury (less than 5 days old), ice is your best friend. I prefer crushed ice (in a plastic bag inside a pillowcase) instead of those commercial gel packs – they warm up too fast. Apply the ice to the injured area for 20-30 minutes, at least 3 times daily. Or you could apply ice directly to the injured area with ice massage (as pictured above) for 8-10 minutes. Most importantly,don’t put heat on an acute injury. The inflammatory process is biochemical, and heat literally speeds up that process. Heat vasodilates and promotes the accumulation of interstitial fluid (edema), and the last thing you want with a fresh injury is to add to the swelling. If you really love your Tiger Balm or Icy Hot, that’s okay – but these products have no real thermal effect. (You might get the sensation, but it doesn’t actually heat or cool your tissue.)

 

Chronic injuries (anything that persists for longer than 2-3 weeks) respond best to heat, which improves blood flow to the healing tissue. So once you’re into the 5-plus day range, you can use contrasting hot and cold, alternating every 2-5 minutes for a total of 20-30 minutes, especially post-workout.

 

5. Remove inflammatory dietary factors. This should be a no-brainer around here.  If you’ve been slipping back into old (poor) eating habits, now’s the time to clean up that mess. Get rid of grains, legumes, and dairy altogether.  Need I even mention cutting out booze?   And though it’s controversial, I’d also recommend eating less saturated animal fat (especially egg yolks and fat from feedlot-raised, grain-fed animals) as it can increase pro-inflammatory compounds in your body.

 

6.  Boost your vegetable intake. Alkaline foods, especially richly coloured vegetables, help to offset the negative effects of acidic metabolic waste. Vitamin C and polyphenols, like those in broccoli and dark leafy greens, are essential for the repair of connective tissue and to reduce inflammation.  Vitamins E (found in sprouts, avocado and dark, leafy greens) and A (found in green and yellow vegetables) are also important nutrients for connective tissue and cell repair.  In summary, eat more veggies, especially green leafies… but not more fruit. (I’m wary of fruit’s impact on insulin levels, which, when elevated, increase inflammatory markers in the body). Go easy on carbohydrate-dense root vegetables for the same reason.

 

7. Calm down (your inflammation). The ratio of omega fats in your diet help dictate the “inflammation status” of your body. If your diet consists of mostly omega-6 fats, your inflammation response will be unbalanced and damaging to your cells. To that end, per Robb Wolf’s recommendations, bump up your fish oil supplementation to 0.8-1.0 gram of DHA + EPA per 10 pounds of body weight.  The additional omega-3 fatty acids can help tip the balance in your body away from an inflammatory state. Also, avoid concentrated sources of omega-6 fatty acids, such as “industrial” vegetable oils like peanut, safflower, soybean, and corn oils. You could also consider a GLA (gamma-lineolic acid) supplement. (GLA, while in the Omega-6 family, is not converted to the pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid (AA), but rather to dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA).  DGLA competes with AA and prevents the negative inflammatory effects that AA would otherwise cause in the body.)

 

And it may sound weird, but… don’t forget to brush your teeth and, just as importantly, floss daily.  Periodontal disease can contribute to systemic inflammation in the body just like grains, legumes and dairy.

 

8. Get more and better sleep.  This article explains how sleep contributes to a whole host of health and fitness factors, including injury prevention and recovery. During this time period, avoid caffeine, which can disrupt the quality of your sleep even if it doesn’t actually keep you awake.

 

9. Ditch the Advil. While I don’t purport to be smarter than your doctor, here is one area where I disagree with his recommendation to scarf the Vitamin I (ibuprofen) and other NSAIDs (non-steriodal anti-inflammatories). Sure, NSAIDs suppress the inflammatory process and help with pain control. But research has shown that they actually slow down the overall healing process, and cause the “healed” tissue to be less strong.  So allow your body’s healing process run its natural course, and don’t band-aid it with Advil.

 

Following these tips will help keep you injury-free – and get you out of my PT office that much faster, should you find yourself all banged up.  Post questions, leave your feedback or (at least) take the first step and cop to your serious “Vitamin I” habit in comments.

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

Food should make you healthy: Robb Wolf in review

 

“You can’t weigh, measure or proportion your way out of sh*tty food.”  -Robb Wolf

 Artificial sweeteners really DO rooster-block fat loss, people.

“The USDA’s food pyramid doesn’t even meet its own specifications of health.” – Robb Wolf

 

The first thing we noticed, pretty early on, was the crafty way Robb started drawing the connections between the foods you eat, and their effects on inflammation and insulin.  There’s a reason those two words are the first thing we write on the whiteboard during our nutrition workshops – because every health, wellness and fitness concern comes down to those two things, in that order.  Inflammation.  Insulin.  Managing those two factors are the key to everything, and the foods you eat play an enormous role.  Throughout the day, Robb continued to introduce new material, and then carefully showed how his points tied back to those two key concepts.  We could see light bulbs flickering over the audience, glowing brighter and brighter as people started to “get” the bigger picture. Participants even began to draw their own connections, asking smart questions about auto-immune conditions and hormonal interactions.  While at times, Robb’s material was pretty science-y, the models he drew were clear, and made the seminar material much more cohesive.

 

“If part of your immune response is always allocated to repairing gut irritation, you are essentially sick all the time.”  -Robb Wolf

On that note, the omission of the Zone material left room for more important, real-life, applicable material pertaining to a whole host of auto-immune conditions, diseases and wellness issues.  Once again, the food you eat contributes to your health in ways you may not even suspect, and Robb spent plenty of time explaining exactly those mechanisms.  He also related plenty of actual experiences his clients have had, “reversing” conditions previously thought untreatable and improving overall health and wellness to an astounding degree.  Audience members also had the opportunity to ask questions of particular interest to them – everything from treating seasonal depression to improving the function of  a child with autism – and hear Robb’s take on how nutrition plays into those conditions.  Robb’s accommodation for this level of personal interaction provided such value to participants, and only served to reinforce the power of good nutrition.

 

“Too much cortisol leaves you tired but wired.” – Robb Wolf

Finally, one new topic of particular interest to us related to cortisol and stress management.  When researching our “Cortisol Management for CrossFitters” piece, we quickly realized that there weren’t a ton of  simple summaries available.  There were good books, science-y journal articles and research papers, sure, but nothing at the level of some of the insulin-related summaries floating around these days.  We’ve been hoping someone smarter than us would put it all together in a manner that was easy to understand and implement.  Robb must have read our minds, because he devoted a good chunk of time to cortisol mechanisms, the effects of cortisol imbalance and practical management protocols.   This subject is a piece of the health and wellness puzzle that has been overlooked by the CrossFit community for far too long (how many affiliates are still programming too many 45 minute chippers or burpee challenges?) and Robb has promised a more comprehensive survey of cortisol management via his seminars, upcoming book and podcast materials.  We like.

 

[MeadowLily]

 

 

 

[MeadowLily]

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Give your sugar tantrums a time-out

 

We like to take some comments on the site “Main Page”, if we feel there’s a good question, commentary or lesson to be learned.  And yesterday, we received a comment from Susan that hit home – and spoke to one of the most important reasons why we created and continue to promote the Whole30 program as a way to “change your life in 30 days”.  The comment is as follows:

 

Susan says:

24 May, 2010 at 10:35 pm

I can handle cutting out a lot of not so healthy foods, but I’ll admit that i have a serious sweet tooth (and I’m great at making gourmet sweets. Salted caramels? Chocolate truffles? gelato to die for? You name it.) I love ice cream, and summer is around the corner, meaning I could easily find an excuse to eat ice cream everyday.

 

I recently came across the following recipe (for “Paleo” ice cream) and thought it was genius. It’s surprisingly creamy and delicious, and I’m assuming you can actually eat it every day on the Whole30 plan. It only has one ingredient- frozen bananas, but you can also add almond or sun-nut butter or cinnamon to mix it up a bit.  Seriously, this kicks the sweet treat cravings in a pretty awesome way.

 

 

Susan wasn’t the first to wonder about “Paleo” substitutions.  We’ve received questions about Fudge Babies, Paleo Pancakes and other typically sub-optimal food choices which have been re-tooled with Whole3o-approved ingredients.  But bless your heart, Susan… you are missing the bus entirely with this “Paleo” ice cream.

 

For those of you new to the Whole30, please don’t skip over the foundations of the program and proceed straight to the “approved” food list.  One of the most important and life-changing goals of the Whole30 is to change your tastes, change your habits, and break your emotional and habitual connections with craving sugar and giving your body sugar. Trying to satisfy your old sweet tooth habit with shiny new “Paleo” treats isn’t going to do you any good whatsoever in the long term. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between Breyer’s Mint Chip and Paleo banana ice cream.  All your brain knows is that it threw a sugar tantrum, and you gave it sugar.  So what do you think is going to happen an hour from now, a day from now, a week from now, a year from now?  More cravings and uglier tantrums, as frustratingly impossible to ignore as a two year old at Disney, because you keep giving it what it wants.

And that is not what we want for you.

 

We want you to break that connection once and for all.  We want you to learn that you don’t need sugar as a pick-me-up, an emotional comfort, a reward for good behavior.  And to learn that, you need to break that pattern of crave sugar, get sugar.  So, Susan, while your frozen banana treats are Whole30 ingredient approved, the dessert itself is OUT.  Skip the Paleo sweet substitutes and focus on breaking that connection your brain has to sugar.  Craving sweets?  Eat a small amount of fat instead.  Fat is satiating – it tells your brain that it’s full and happy.  A few almonds or a quarter of an avocado goes a long way in satisfying hunger cravings without giving your brain the sugar it’s telling you it needs.  Tough it out, because changing this pattern and breaking this pattern will prove to be one of the healthiest, most rewarding, most freeing experience of your life.

 

 

 

 

From a science-y perspective, a bowl full of frozen bananas every day, while a better food choice, is just as counteractive to restoring insulin sensitivity and breaking those sugar connections as any other form of sugar out there.   In fact, while we’ll never tell you bananas are “bad”, they are one of the least desirable fruits from our perspective – a ton of starch (sugars), and little nutrition compared to, say, richly colored cherries or berries.  When including fruit in your Whole30 plan, we’d want you to maximize nutrient density, and choose fruits that allow you to have more of them in a single serving!  You can have an entire cup of blueberries for the same sugar content as a small banana.  And that cup of blueberries goes a long way towards both giving you lots of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, and making you feel satisfied with the amount of food on your plate.

 

Susan – please don’t let this scare you off.  We’re tough loving you because if you’re going to make the effort of giving up foods you enjoy, we want it to COUNT.  Think about what we’re asking you to do, and why, and how you can best accomplish the goals of both changing the way you eat and changing the way you think about the foods you eat.  Start today, post often, and let us know how things are going.  And thanks for your contributions, because we’re betting you’re not the only one who is struggling with sugar cravings and how to break those connections.

Got any words of inspiration for Susan?  Post.  Share.  Motivate.  Inspire.  And then go buy some cherries at your local grocery store or farmer’s market, because they’re in season right now, and they’re delicious.

 

 

 

 

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

 

 

[MeadowLily]

The Sad, Sad Truth About Frozen Yogurt

 

   

 

 

[MeadowLily]

 

 Foods that scream loudest in our food environment.

 

Ahh frozen yogurt. With live and active cultures, a "real" yogurt taste, a sprinkle of Fruity Pebbles and some fruit, it's practically a health food ... right? Not so fast.

The summertime favorite, which has evolved into a multi-million dollar business, might not be the innocent treat we like to think it is. Yogurt, by definition, only needs to include curdled milk and cultures, but the cold, hard truth is that many fro yo brands are loaded with hard-to-pronounce ingredients and sugar.

 

"The fact that there's yogurt in the name in no way exonerates what's in your cup," says David Katz, M.D., founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center. "It's not an alternative to yogurt, it's an alternative to ice cream."

 

Of the six national chains we surveyed for the video above, we came across additives like guar gum, maltodextrin, sodium citrate, cellulose gum, disodium phosphate and propylene glycol monoesters to name just a few don't-sound-like-food ingredients. Some contained carrageenan, a thickening agent derived from red seaweed that has been associated with adverse health effects, albeit hardly conclusive at this point. "The science isn't easy to sort out," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, of carrageenan. "If it's a worry, it's easily avoided since it's labeled on food packages."

 

Several of the frozen yogurt cups also contain both artificial and natural ingredients -- the former is chemically made, while the latter comes from some place in nature (though not necessarily something you'd typically think of as food; for example, some natural berry flavors might come from castoreum, an extract from beaver perineal glands).

 

"There's every reason to think that adding chemicals to foods that aren't really part of food per se has the potential to do some harm," Katz says. "We and food have interacted for all the time we've been on the planet." We've only interacted with chemicals, on the other hand, for a span of decades. While the empirical evidence is limited at this point, he recommends curtailing the consumption of artificial ingredients as a precaution.

 

"The fact that we don't know something is harmful doesn't prove that it's not," Katz adds. "I often think of [additives] as an indicator that this food has been moved a long way from its place in nature."

But perhaps the bigger problem is that where there's long ingredient lists full of additives and artificial flavors, usually sugar and sodium aren't far behind. Indeed, sugar can be represented by a whole host of sneaky aliases on an ingredient list: fructose, dextrose, corn syrup, juice concentrates, polydextrose and pure cane sugar are all, in a word, sugar.

 

Ingredients are listed in order of abundance, Katz explains, and while the decision to use certain sweeteners might come down to sourcing or cost reasons, it also could be a clever way for companies to keep sugar from topping the list. "One of the things they'll do is in the same product list sugar by three, four, five different names," he says. "Sugar is sugar and we eat too damn much of it."

 

So how to make sense of a confusing label? Here's Nestle's rule: "If it has more than five ingredients, or you don’t recognize the ingredient as a food, leave it." Some of the ingredient lists above top 10-plus items -- and that's for the seemingly simple "tart" flavors, not the oh-so-tempting birthday cake variety. And yup, that's before loading on the toppings.

Of course, no one -- even the experts -- is suggesting one forgo the fro yo altogether. Instead, consider it an occasional, portion-controlled dessert, more akin to an ice cream cone than a daily treat.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

 

 

[MeadowLily]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Does Calorie Counting Really Work

 

 

 

The One Big Mistake Weight Watchers Made for 14 Years! (Time Magazine)

 

 

 

Wow…

In 1997, Weight Watchers made up the “points system” which helped people to count calories.  This effectively created a weight loss company that profited from teaching people ineffective ways to lose weight so they would spend more money losing weight. It was bad for people, good for the revenue stream.  Nutrasweet (aspartame) uses the same business model.  It is marketed as a zero calorie sweetener with the implication that it will make you lose weight  (even though evidence shows that it makes you gain weight.)  Convincing people to keep doing something that doesn’t really work allows them to spend a lot more money than they would if they were sold them something that fixed the problem right away. 

 

Fast forward 14 years..Weight Watchers now says, “Calorie counting has become unhelpful”  (as if it was previously helpful, somehow).

There is no news yet about whether hundreds of thousands of still-obese middle-aged people (mostly women).... can lose 20lbs in a month, or you’re just not using the right techniques.  I know countless people who have done it and gained new found energy and mental clarity in the process.  It’s life-changing.  I figured this out in 1995 when I lost 50lbs in 3 months with a program much less efficient than the ones we have now. 

 

The new Weight Watchers program advocates says to eat natural, unprocessed foods to lose weight…exactly the same foods you’ll find on my plate.

 

The mistake that Weight Watchers is making is to allow an unlimited amount of fruit.  Fruit is full of fat-creating, liver-destroying, wrinkle-making fructose.  So, the new Weight Watchers diet is better, but it has a loophole to let carbohydrate addicts stay fat on the program, keeping margins higher than they would be if fruit was limited in the diet.

 

If this capitulation by Weight Watchers isn’t enough evidence to help you stop counting calories and start counting food quality and composition, I don’t know what is.  If you eat normal-calorie, or even (like me) a high-calorie healthy meals, you’ll find your need for sleep decreases, your endurance goes up, and you’ll feel more energy throughout the day.  That’s what life is supposed to be like!

 

Dave Asprey

 

 

 

 

[MeadowLily]

 

 

 

If you’re trying to lose weight, last week brought headlines that, at first blush, seemed thrilling: Weight Watchers is twice as effective as following a doctor’s guidance on national weight-loss treatment guidelines when it comes to shedding pounds, a European study found. Sounds great, right? Well, before you sign up for Weight Watchers, there are a few things you need to understand about the study—and about the realities of losing weight and keeping it off. 

 

 

 

 

If you’re trying to lose weight, last week brought headlines that, at first blush, seemed thrilling: Weight Watchers is twice as effective as following a doctor’s guidance on national weight-loss treatment guidelines when it comes to shedding pounds, a European study found. Sounds great, right? Well, before you sign up for Weight Watchers, there are a few things you need to understand about the study—and about the realities of losing weight and keeping it off. 

Roughly 800 overweight and obese individuals in Australia, Germany, and the UK were recruited for the study (which was funded by Weight Watchers, by the way). Half the participants were instructed to follow their doctor’s advice about shedding pounds, while the other participants were told by their doctors to start using Weight Watchers. 

After 12 months, the Weight Watchers group had lost more than double the weight of their counterparts—11 pounds compared to just 5 pounds, on average, among those who completed the study. However, only 58 percent of the participants finished the study, and the dropout rates were similar for both groups. Furthermore, while food diaries show the Weight Watchers group did consume fewer calories, carbs, and sugars, weight-loss gains had plauteaud for both groups after just six months. 

More from MensHealth 

Those dropout rates and pound-shedding patterns are a common characteristic of weight-loss studies, explains Walter Willett, M.D., chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health. “We need to find a new way of eating that can be sustained for a lifetime, not something that is done for a few months or a year and then stopped,” Willett says. 

And therein lies the rub. Two U.S. studies found that other commercial weight-loss programs like Jenny Craig or diet books like The South Beach Diet outperformed national weight-loss treatment recommendations and triggered weight reductions similar to the Weight Watchers study. But follow-up reports proved keeping the weight off for 5 years or 10 years presents a much more daunting challenge. 

“The data are quite clear,” says David Levitsky, Ph. D., a professor of nutrition at Cornell University. “When people complete their dietary treatment, they gain most of the weight back within one year.” The reason for that is complex, Levitsky says, and has to do with losing motivation once the weight stops dropping away, becoming bored or complacent about your new diet, and a host of other factors. 

 

Men's Health