Archive for diet
Do you pass blood gas?
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I know the title sounds like a bad True Blood episode but trust me, it isn’t. Since you’ve been reading my blog for a while I consider you to be a homie, pal, or whatever you “wanna” call it. Homies can be real with each other, right? So, from one homie to another I’m going to ask you, “ Do you fart?” I know right off some men are gonna say, “Yes!” but the women are going to shy away from that question and rightfully so. I wonder what would happen if women started dropping bombs like us guys do and laugh about it? Hmmm… I don’t want to find out so ladies keep the silent but deadly’s because I know you pass gas…it’s human. But have you ever wondered why gas happens and where it comes from?
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Is 6 really the magic Number?
Posted by: | CommentsI went to the chiropractor to have my back and neck adjusted yesterday. I normally do this about once a month or so as the body can get tight after exercising several weeks in a row. Before I get my adjustment, I usually get into an interesting conversation with my chiropractor. We talk about anything and everything which could include the latest movies to exercise tips. On this particular day, we just happened to get on the subject of diet and metabolism. He was under the impression that you had to eat 5-6 times a day to speed up your metabolism. I once shared this belief until recently.
Fitness and the 6
I remember when I first jumped into fitness. I knew nothing about diet and nutrition so I bought a bodybuilding magazine and quickly fell into marketing madness disguised as fitness. I thought I struck gold when I found an article which told me to eat 5-6 meals a day to speed up my metabolism. I didn’t give it much thought at the time because it made complete sense, didn’t it? Hmm…the more you eat, the more the body has to digest and burn the food thereby speeding up your metabolism. Oh, and if you throw in this fat burning 64oz jar of protein, you should be good to go! I fell for this hook, line and sinker for so long “till” it wasn’t funny. I believed everything I saw in those magazines which set in the check out aisle at my grocery store. How can you not believe them when you see a guy on the cover with his muscles rippling and you aspire to be the same way? I never thought to question anything, do you?
The question of breakfast
Do you really need to eat breakfast? I thought for a long time I needed to and for a long time I did, even though I wasn’t hungry. I would force myself to eat just simply because the magazine told me to do it. After I did some research, I found out eating breakfast is another fitness myth. It should be left up to individual’s preference. Most experts tell people to eat breakfast because people have the tendency to eat unhealthy food when they don’t eat in the morning. For example, how many times have you not eaten breakfast in the morning then around 11 am you become so hungry you’ll eat anything. Most of the time that “anything” might be a bagel or doughnut someone brought into the office to share with the rest of his/her coworkers! Let’s face it…we all make less than desirable choices when our hunger meter goes in the red. There is no danger in not eating breakfast, the danger is the choice we make when we suddenly get hungry.
Nuttin but the truth
I read somewhere where eating frequent meals doesn’t have any significant effect on metabolism. There you have it! I won’t get into the scientific mumbo jumbo of it all and bore you to death. Since I found this out, I have cut my meals to 3 meals a day and I don’t have a problem maintaining this. I always had a problem maintaining the 6 meal a day thing and to be honest I felt I was forcing myself to eat. Was I training myself to overeat? I think so and since then I feel better eating 3 times and just practicing some good ol’ fashion self control. Will this work for you? It might but then again you might be different from me. The real truth is to find what works for you and continue to do it. You might be comfortable with eating one meal a day or even two just don’t let a forced belief have you doing something for the sake of doing it. It’s all up to you. Until next time, see you on the lean side.
Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
This Business of Cancer
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Since it is breast cancer awareness month, I thought I would post a video. I have some mixed emotions about the disease and I can sympathize with anyone who has had it, beat it, or died from it. I lost my mother in November 2005 to breast cancer and it is forever “etched in my memory”. As you have read in my posts, I am a natural health care advocate and believe the body can cure itself. This belief “fuels” my other belief that cancer is a business and natural cures are deliberately being withheld from the public to keep the business intact. Call me what you want but dumb isn’t one of them! While you are enjoying the video, please take a look at another post which feels the same way I do:
The Stink of Pink
Take what people say at face value. Be open to learning more on your own. Enjoy the video
Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
Do you believe in miracles?
Posted by: | CommentsHow’s it going? I wanted to share something with you today I discovered a month ago. Actually, I didn’t discover it, my significant other brought it to my attention and I am so glad she did. Before I go on, I want to let you know I am affiliate for this product and I use it myself. If you decide to buy the product, I might get a commission. Hell, you can buy it somewhere else if you want to but its one of those “gotta have” products especially if you are trying to lose weight or wanting to maintain the weight loss you fought so hard to attain.
The weight loss formula
If you have followed the blog, you should know the weight loss formula! If you don’t here it is: calories in – more calories out = weight loss. I’ll translate this for you to make it a bit easier to understand. In order to lose weight, you’ll need to burn more calories than you consume! How do you do that you might ask? I can tell you its not an easy task since there is a chance to commit “carbocide” around every corner. Most of us commit “carbocide” and then jump on the next fad diet. We then realize staying on a diet is as hard as Wiley Coyote catching the Road Runner. 
It ain’t gonna happen… but what if there was a food which had no calories, no carbohydrates and left you feeling full?
Enter the Miracle Noodle
Back in college, I ate Ramen Noodles. I think I had those noodles every way you can have them. I ate them with hot sauce, hot dogs, and ground beef. I ate them with a spoon, I ate them with a goon. Oops… pardon me, I just had a Dr. Suess flashback but you get the picture. I had to be creative since my budget was limited at the time. Once I graduated, I swore off noodles as I ate them so much , I couldn’t stand to look at them anymore. It was a miracle in itself ( no pun intended) I would even try noodles again. I did try them again and I liked them. They just happened to be called Miracle Noodles!
Shirataki Noodles
Miracle Noodles are the commercial name for Shirataki Noodles. Shirataki Noodles come from the far east, hence the name. The noodles are made from the Konjac Plant’s root which contains a soluble fiber called Glucomannan. This fiber which is derived from the plant’s root, is considered a vegetable and has no fat, sugar, and absolutely no carbohydrates. That’s right no carbs and no calories. What does that mean?
Weight Loss made easy
Since Miracle Noodles have no carbs and no calories, this means you can eat them and lose weight. How? Think about it. If you can eat a food which has no calories , it won’t count in your daily caloric intake. There are countless stories of people losing weight as they have adopted eating shirataki noodles on a daily basis. There is no other food out there which can boast to have no calories or carbs. I believe water is the only thing which has no calories and its a liquid! As an added benefit, the noodles leave you feeling full for hours! If you don’t know, one of the biggest problems with any diet is sticking to it as it restricts you to foods which don’t fill you up and leave you hungry minutes later.
True story
I am now using miracles noodles as a way to enjoy pasta the guilt free way. I really don’t need to lose weight but its a great way for me to maintain a healthy weight. I can also satisfy my craving for pasta. There are many more benefits of this miracle plant. If you’re wanting to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, why don’t you make it easy on yourself?
To learn more about Miracle Noodles visit NOODLES
Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
No Money in the Cure
Posted by: | CommentsAin’t no money in the cure, the money is in the medicine.
- Chris Rock
Chris Rock, in my opinion, is one of the best comedians out there today. He can take real life situations and make them funny. He also gets you to “think” way after the laughter has stopped. So…why am I quoting a comedian today? What could this possibly have to do with fitness? I promise you there is a method to my madness, so buckle up and enjoy the ride! Before I begin, I wanted to give Rusty Moore from Fitness BlackBook credit for inspiring this post from a blog post he wrote called, “What the Heck is… Inflammation” . In the article, Rusty explains Brad Pilon’s most recent edition of Eat Stop Eat in which he talks about the role inflammation plays in the body. You can check out both Rusty and Brad’s work at Fitness Black Book and Eat Stop Eat, respectively. The following excerpt is taken directly from Rusty’s post called, “What the Heck is Inflammation? Why Should You Care”? Please read carefully.
What the Head of A Major Pharmaceutical Company Told Me
Ten years ago, I was an executive recruiter who placed Ph.D. level medicinal chemists into pharmaceutical companies. These are the scientists who discover the lead compounds that eventually get turned into drugs that help people. It was kind of an intimidating job, because often times these high-level scientists would list CEO’s and VP’s of major pharmaceutical companies as their references. It was my job to contact these CEO’s and to conduct reference checks. Let me tell you, it is not easy to get a hold of a high level executive in companies that do tens of billions of dollars per year. I would always think to myself “who am I to talk to this ultra-smart super successful person”. One executive level chemist in particular told me something I will never forget…
“Never, Ever Allow Yourself to Become Overweight for an Extended Period of Time”
This guy spent a lifetime studying chronic disease and he spent close to 30 minutes drilling this point into my head. He said the number one thing that will drastically decrease your chances of getting any disease is to never allow yourself to become overweight. He wasn’t just talking heart disease and things we normally associate with being overweight either (obviously this isn’t a guarantee, there are countless examples of fit people who develop cancer and other life threatening diseases). He went on to tell me that the mass media understates the cause and effect of obesity and disease…and that if the general population wasn’t overweight, that the drug companies would lose billions.
If “they” say its important
Well, there you have it! It’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth. The media may understate the causes behind all the diseases out there, but the biggest cause is being overweight. It’s a known fact obesity is the gateway for heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. I wonder what other diseases might be directly related to being obese and why would a chemist spend 30 minutes drilling into someone’s head not to let yourself become overweight? He knows the direct relation to obesity and disease. I like to call it “the cycle”.
The Cycle
The Cycle
I use to be a pharmaceutical rep, so I am speaking directly from experience. Pharmaceutical companies care little about the individual and more about profits. For instance, when I first entered the industry I knew of a drug which had been proven to cause liver damage and physicians were still prescribing it. Hard to believe right? It may not be if I told you by the time a drug is placed in the pharmacy it has gone through countless tests and those tests can reveal side effects and the deaths the drug is going to cause. Yes…every drug has side effects and most of them are linked to deaths every year but you will rarely hear about them. I wonder why? Pharmaceutical companies consider death as collateral damage and will do anything to protect their profits. If you’re overweight for an extended period of time, you’re not only opening yourself up to obesity related diseases such as hypertension and diabetes but now you’re at the mercy of the pharmaceutical companies. While the drug may cure one thing, chances are you’ll need another drug at some point. Why? The drug you took for your original ailment probably damaged something else in your body so now you need another drug to fix it. This is why I call it the cycle and as they say, “ the wheels on the bus go round and round.”
Joker on the Square
What are you doing now to lose weight? Are you counting points? Are you keeping frozen meals in your freezer at work? Have you fallen prey to eating a “cookie” to lose weight? The diet industry is a “joke” as they sell the illusion of losing weight. Diet companies just like the pharmaceutical industry will stand to lose millions if everyone became fit, so why would they want you to lose weight? The degree to which you will lose weight will amount to the degree of self control you can exercise from the countless opportunities you have to eat. There are plenty of them disguised as office meetings, sporting events, and birthday parties, etc. It’s up to you to seize control and stop being the “butt” of the diet/pharmaceutical companies’ joke.
Prophet of Profit
Don’t allow yourself to be overweight for an extended period of time. It not only leads to chronic disease but you fall prey to pharmaceutical companies and diet companies. They are the “evils” which appear in the form of angels to rescue you from your demise. It’s all profit at your expense. The real cure is to practice self control and look at exercise as a life giving oil to keep your engine humming for a lifetime. If you keep living with being overweight, you’re making someone else rich at your expense and why should they profit from your life’s worth?
PS… enjoy the clip from Chris Rock. The language may not be suitable for some but he makes a whole lotta sense!
