I know sometimes it’s hard to read a few of my posts that bring out some inner thoughts. I decided from the beginning to be honest in this blog –the good, bad, and ugly. Because that’s life. Sometimes you are up and sometimes you are down. A commitment to live a fit and healthy life takes work – and sometimes it really sucks but the payoff is so worth it. So, there will be more times when negative thoughts have to be talked through so that I can find my way out of them.

I read this article last night: Surprising reasons you’re tired all the time and one of the things I found very surprising is that they don’t mention food allergy. I know that gluten caused fatigue for me and I am sure it’s the same for many other people out there.  As we begin to find out more and more information on the effects of gluten on our bodies -lots of changes will start to happen.

According to Stanford University, they are looking to reclassify A call for a new way to classify gluten-related disorders because lots of people are seeing differences with ailments they have suffered through their entire life when they eliminate gluten.

Make sure to take time to read New Guide to Who Really Shouldn’t Eat Gluten from the Wall Street Journal.

With the proposals to create a new classification system for the gluten-related disorders plaguing a growing number of people around the world for unknown reasons.

The proposal defines a spectrum of illnesses based on the kind of immune defenses people mount to gluten, from wheat allergies to autoimmune responses, such as celiac disease, in which the body mistakenly attacks its own tissue.

The experts also propose a third category for “gluten sensitivity,” in which patients report the same symptoms as celiac disease but test negative for telltale antibodies. Some doctors have dismissed such complaints as imaginary, or fueled by the boom in gluten-free foods.

The bottom line is you don’t need a doctor to tell you whether or not you have issues.  if you think you have issues with gluten, eliminate it for 7-14 days and see how you feel and then try reintroducing it. 

I gave up soda almost 2 years ago. I was what I refer to as a Diet Coke-aholic so it was a VERY big deal and my family still likes to talk about how much soda I drank. Gotta love your siblings to help remind you of where you came from right?   I remember deciding to go to 1 soda a week as a ‘treat’ to finally deciding what the heck –let’s just ditch it.  When I thought about it all — there was hardly a day since I was a teen that I didn’t have one and all those chemicals were in my body daily. It was a scary thought as I was beginning to look at ways to live healthier. I have never looked back.  Occasionally I have one mixed with a drink when I go out to a bar etc– but it’s not often.

3 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Soda

By now, it’s probably fair to say that most Americans know soda isn’t a health-promoting drink. Over the years, the carbonated beverage has been blamed for the obesity epidemic and rising healthcare costs. Some public health experts have even called for asoda tax to help deter people from drinking so much of it. While love handles and diabetes are obvious problems associated with soda, drinking the sweet carbonated beverages harbors hidden threats, too.

ORIGINAL THINKING IS HARD

Kids have an insatiable appetite for knowledge and an unapologetic curiosity for all things new and misunderstood. When they don’t know the answer they actively seek the truth. They have a natural humility without posturing, pretense, or ego wrapped up in their questions; they fill up their knowledge bank by being open. Whenever I’m in the car with my 6 year-old daughter, she bombards me with, “Why this Daddy, why that Daddy?” and if she doesn’t understand how or why something works, from the simple to the complex, she has no hesitation asking. It’s amazing how the power of asking “Why?” and the conversation that follows always leads to a deeper discussion around the subject.

Approach every situation and every business challenge with a learning mindset. Put “why” to work by challenging convention and existing solutions with questions that help you gain knowledge and understanding. Use the power of “why” in all aspects of your work (and in relationships for that matter) for clarity on the objectives, reason for a project, and observational learning around consumer behavior. If you don’t know or you don’t understand why your team or the company is going down a certain path, don’t sit there as an uninformed passenger, ask “why?”! Here are some things you might consider questioning this week:

1. Why not?
2. Why did you ask me to do this?
3. Why are we doing it like this?
4. Why are we talking about this?
5. Why don’t we think of a better way?
6. Why don’t we step back and ask for input?
7. Why didn’t I get the promotion?
8. Why do people love this?
9. Why should I care?
10. Why is no one listening to us?

Never thought about being a Vegan –have you?

The Vegan Experiment

Here is what I know…If you don’t eat meat I can’t help you. In fact, not only should you eat meat…you should eat a ton of meat! I don’t think you’ll get any worthwhile results by eating a vegan or a vegetarian diet.

Here is what I know…wait…I don’t know a damn thing! Have I ever cut meat out of my diet? Have I ever relied on vegetables alone to fuel my body? Have I ever really experienced any of these things I am preaching to my clients about not eating meat? How could I be so certain that not eating meat is so bad for you?

As a friend on Facebook said – I think people have SERIOUSLY lost their minds.

Young, obese and getting weight loss surgery

Though Shani Gofman had been teased for being fat since the fourth grade, she had learned to deal with it.

She was a B student and in the drama club at school. She had good friends and a boyfriend she had met through Facebook. She even showed off her curves in spandex leggings and snug shirts.

When her pediatrician, Dr. Senya Vayner, first mentioned weight-loss surgery, Ms. Gofman was 17, still living with her parents in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, her bedroom decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars because she was afraid of the dark.

There was no question, at 5-foot-1 and more than 250 pounds, she was overweight.

But she resisted, saying she could diet.

“I’ll lose weight,” Ms. Gofman assured her doctor.

Dr. Vayner said, prophetically, “It’s not your fault, but you’re not going to be able to do it.

Along with the obesity epidemic in America has come an explosion in weight-loss surgery, with about 220,000 operations a year — a sevenfold leap in a decade, according to industry figures — costing more than $6 billion a year. And the newest frontier is young patients like Ms. Gofman, who allowed The New York Times to follow her for a year as she had the operation and then embarked on a quest to lose weight, navigating challenges to her morale, her self-image and her relationships with family members and friends.

This is a really good thing to remember:   “You can’t exercise away a bad diet.”-Mark Sisson

And it really is true — you see it all the time. People who literally work their butts off in the gym and for as hard as they work, still have to lose those extra pounds. Can you imagine how frustrating that would be? I don’t have to imagine because that was me before I realized it was my diet that was sabotaging my efforts. Once I tweaked that — ok let’s be honest, it was more than tweaking — let’s call it an overhaul, the results that I had been searching for began to appear.

It really is true — all the exercise in the world won’t rid you of the effects of a bad diet. Period, end of story!  Try changing things a little at a time — if that seems daunting and depressing. For me, years ago, I gave up Diet Coke — and first I went down to 1 a week, then eliminated it, then did something else — and it just started clicking with me and I stopped craving some of that crap. It really does work like that — hard to believe it at this point, but its true.

I have been talking to some of the Whole Life Challengers who are participating in the nutrition/life challenge we are hosting at CrossFit. The ones that have seen huge gains and really remarkable transformations have said they feel better, don’t miss a lot of the stuff, and seriously — can see and appreciate the huge difference it has made. They truly look amazing too! I am so inspired by them — and they look Younger! No Lie!  So, what are you waiting for?? Take a first step — no matter what it is. They all count!

Today’s workout was a bit daunting because some of it was outside –and it’s like 20 degrees this AM but that didn’t deter me. No excuses. Get up and do it!

Warmup
25 Double Unders
2 wall walks
10 Good Mornings
10 Pass Thrus
–
mobility work

Skill
deadlifts

WOD
Tabatas!
Pull Ups
50m Sprints
135# Deadlifts
totals: 43, 9, 31

I like deadlifts but after the other 2 exercises, that 135# bar seemed a lot heavier than it did when I set it up. I guess that’s the point!

Do me a favor, do something active this weekend — no matter what it is. Just Do It!

My brother Jon sent this to me — and really drives home how important nutrition, rest and sweet potatoes can be in your training –

Paleo, recovery, the sweet potato and my neck

In the end, nutrition is the athlete. If what you’re doing isn’t working for you, keep plugging away. The combination of an overall proper diet AND post workout recovery is what makes the athlete a high performer. If you’re bonking before/after/during your workout, you need to fix your nutrition!!

Too funny –The 8 People Who Will Ruin Your Attempt to Lose Weight

It’s damn hard to lose weight and just generally get in shape. Americans are getting fatter every year, and 80 percent of people who lose weight gain it all back. Why does it seem so impossible?

Part of the reason is willpower and genetics, blah, blah, blah, but a big part of it is other people. Here are some of those often well-meaning monsters you must overcome in your battle to get healthy.

Read more: The 8 People Who Will Ruin Your Attempt to Lose Weight 

An older post from Nourished Kitchen about going grain-free but still very very relevant – and I agree with it based on my own experience being grain free —

Against the Grain: 10 Reasons to Give Up Grains

I’ve been toying, off and on, with the idea of eliminating grains for a while.   I love them though – they’re delicious in all their slightly sweet, grainy goodness.   Still, there’s little reason to incorporate them into the diet on a regular basis with the exception of one: personal preference.   I know, I know.   I can hear you now: “But they’re good for you!”   “But they reduce heart disease!” “But they have fiber!” Here’s a little food for thought: there’s no vitamin or mineral you can get from grain that you can’t get in better quantities elsewhere.  

Why You Should Go Grain-free

1. If you can get it from grain, you can get it elsewhere.

The big heroes of most grains’ nutrient profile are dietary fiber and B vitamins.   Take heed, every grain is different and different grains offer different nutrient profiles.   Yet, one thing remains constant: if you can find the nutrient in grain, you can find the nutrient in better quantities in other foods. For example, 100 grams of whole wheat flour contains 44 mcg of folate; however, a 100-gram portion of lamb liver will give you 400 mcg of folate and a 100-gram portion of yardlong beans will give you a whopping 658 mcg per 100-gram portion.   Similarly with the B Vitamins niacin and thiamin, while a 100-gram whole wheat flour contains 30% of the RDA for niacin and 32% of the RDA for thiamin, you can find these nutrients in higher quantities in other foods – namely flaxseeds and sesame seeds.   Whole grains are often touted as health foods for their fiber content, but you can find dietary fiber in better quantities in other, more nutrient-dense foods.   For example: 100 grams of cooked brown rice offers up 1.8 grams of dietary fiber; by contrast, a 100-gram serving of cooked collard greens offers 2.8 grams; 100 grams of raw fireweed contains a whopping 11 grams of dietary fiber and even green peas contain about 5 grams of fiber per serving.

2. Grains aren’t good for your gut.

Intestinal health is critical to your overall health.   If you’re gut isn’t healthy, you can’t absorb nutrients from the foods you eat.   If you can’t absorb nutrients from the foods you eat, your body is malnourished and is more prone to disease.   Grains are associated with a condition called leaky gut syndrome.   Tiny particles of grains, when ingested, can slip through the intestinal walls causing an immune response.   With your immune system excessively taxed by constantly attacking these out-of-place particles of grain, it cannot effectively fight against true threats like pathogens.

3. You’re probably gluten-intolerant.

If you’re white, there’s a good chance that you’re gluten-intolerant to some degree.   Current research estimates that about 1% of the population suffers from celiac disease, an auto-immune condition related to the ingestion of gluten-containing grains like wheat and barley; however, some researchers on celiac disease and gluten intolerance estimate that 30% to 40% of people of European descent are gluten-intolerant to some degree.   That’s a lot of people who are regularly consuming a food that makes them sick. (And, yes, I’m one of them.)

4. Grains cause inflammation.

Due to a high starch content, grains are inflammatory foods.   The more refined the grain, the more inflammatory it is.   For example, unbleached white flour is more inflammatory than whole grain flour; however, whole grains are still moderately inflammatory foods and certainly more inflammatory than other foods like fresh vegetables and wholesome fats.   Chronic inflammation is linked to a myriad of degenerative, modern diseases including arthritis, allergies, asthma, cardiovascular disease, bone loss, emotional imbalance and even cancer.   Unbleached white flour earns an inflammation factor of -421 or strongly inflammatory onNutritionData.com while whole wheat flour earns an inflammation factor of -247 or moderately inflammatory.   Similarly, whole cooked millet earns an inflammation factor of -150 and cooked brown rice earns an inflammation factor of -143 – also moderately inflammatory.

5. Grains are fairly new on the scene.

While still a traditional food, grains are, nonetheless, the new kids on the block.   Prior to the advent of agriculture, humans relied on hunting and gathering for their foods.   They foraged for wild greens, berries, fruits and other plants.   They hunted wild animals.   They fished for wild fish.   They didn’t plant a garden, or grow any amber waves of grain or, for that matter, drink dairy from domesticated animals since there simply wasn’t any domesticated animals.   Humans survived like this from the development of the appearance of the first homo sapiens sapiens about 47,000 years ago to the advent of agriculture some 10 – 12,000 years ago.So, for the better part of human existence grains did not comprise any notable portion of the human diet. In essence, what has become the bulk of our modern diet was missing from the diet of our prehistoric ancestors.

6. Grains aren’t good for your joints.

Due to their inflammatory nature, grains – even   whole grains – are linked to joint pain and arthritis.     Grain’s amino acid composition mirrors that of the soft tissue in your joints.   Because both synovial tissue and grains are chemically similar, your body has difficulty differentiating between the two.   So, when your immune cells get all hot and bothered by inflammation caused by grain and begin to attack it as a foreign invader, they also begin to attack the soft tissue in your joint – leading to pain, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and, of course, more inflammation.

7. Poorly Prepared Grains prevent mineral absorption.

When improperly prepared as they most often are, grains can inhibit vitamin and mineral absorption.   Grains contain substances like phytic acid which binds up minerals and prevents proper absorption.   Essentially,though your diet might be rich in iron, calcium and other vital nutrients if you eat improperly prepared grain, you’re not fully absorbing nutrients from the foods you eat.   However, please note that souring, sprouting and soaking grains neutralizes phytates and renders the nutrients in grain more absorbable.

8. Grains are bad for your teeth.

Due to those high levels of phytates in grain, grain is linked to dental decay.   With high levels of mineral-blocking phytic acid coupled with low mineral absorption rates and plenty of starches for bacteria to feed on,grain contributes to dental decay.   Anthropological records of our pre-agricultural ancestors indicates very little to no tooth decay; however, that changed after the dawn of agriculture.   Indeed, some anthropologists use the presence of tooth decay is an indicator of an agricultural society.

9. Grains aren’t good for your skin either.

Grains have a very high carbohydrate content, and while the carbohydrates in grain are complex they are still broken down into sugars nonetheless. These sugars instruct your body to produce more insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IFG-1).   Elevated insulin levels lead to a cascading hormonal response and these hormones activate the sebum-producing glands in your skin – encouraging them to produce more oil.   IFG-1 is also linked with the increased production of keratinocytes which also contribute to acne.

10. Eating grain makes you crave grain.

You know how the smell of bread creates a longing in you   – a yearning for a slice, slathered with butter and maybe jam.   Or consider a plate of cookies set in front of you – so delicious – and you can’t just have one?   Foods rich in carbohydrates give you quick energy, but that energy wears off just as quickly as it came. Since grains break down into sugar, they create a rise in insulin levels when those levels fall you crave more grains and, thus, the vicious cycle continues.

Starting today — I am participating in the The CFI Whole Life Challenge – an 8-week intensive health and fitness challenge created to calibrate your entire being towards a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners, no-excuses, gettin’-everything-out-of-it lifetime of physical and mental excellence. Strict focus and awareness of what you are putting in your body — I had to even get rid of my gum! This is definitely not going to be easy but I am interested in seeing how I feel and react to this. Overall I am a healthy eater but have seen myself slip and become less and less strict about what I eat — this will be 8 weeks to regain my focus and awareness of how my body reacts to food.

It’s definitely going to be challenging and to be honest, I didn’t really want to do it but Coach Conan insisted — I had to even give up my morning coffee, with creamer and Splenda. I am not a fan of black coffee!

We kicked it off today with 21 other CFI athletes – went over the rules, strategies and ideas to get it going. We took pictures, measurements and did a benchmark workout.