Archive for diet
Faulty Food and the Vitamin Scam
Posted by: | CommentsDo you remember your parents “shipping you” over to your grandparents house as a kid? It was usually because they were tired of you and needed a break or they had some adult activity which didn’t include you. I can recall going to my grandmother’s house just like it was yesterday. I loved spending time with her because I could get away with the stuff my mother would never let me do. I can remember saying to myself,”yeah boi” when my mom told me I was going to grandma’s house. She would cook what I wanted and allowed me to have anything I asked for, what more could a kid want? In addition to all the amenities I enjoyed at Granny’s, she also gave me vitamins! She got me hooked on those Flintstone Chewable vitamins! Do You know the ones which were in the shape of Fred and Barney? I honestly thought those things were candy and I would beg for more than one! Granny was the first person to give me something that was good for me and tasted good. It was nothing like the liver she made me eat.
Your vitamin and you
Do you take a vitamin? It would be safe to say I don’t see many adults “popping” vitamins anymore. Why? As we get older vitamins get lost in the shuffle, and we don’t think we need them anymore. There is a misconception of a “growing” body only needing vitamins and not a mature one. This is a bad mistake. Many people walk around nutritionally deficient every day as a result of their eating habits. Their are some who eat very well but through the “business” of food it becomes deficient of necessary vitamins. If you want to know what I mean, take a look at my post on FOOD INC. So what is all the fuss about if you are lacking the vitamins you need? It’s a thing called disease! When your body is not getting the nutrients it needs, you open yourself up to all kinds of illness.
Vitamin Scam
I talked about those “good ol” Flintstone vitamins, remember? I loved those things because they tasted like candy. At the time, I had no idea if the vitamin was working for me or not, because I was a kid. I can now tell you the vitamin wasn’t working for me. I can also say many of the vitamins I took as an adult weren’t working for me, until I discovered one thing. Your body cannot use a synthetic vitamin which is made in a lab. Most of the vitamins out there are synthetic and only end up in your urine and feces never to be used by your body. Your body must extract its nutrients from whole food! Isn’t the body a wonderful thing? At this point, you might want to consider getting rid of those vitamins you bought from your local retail store. You know the ones I am talking about!!!!
Correcto Ta Mundo
So what kind of vitamin should you use? A whole food supplement. The key word here is “food”. Your body can assimilate the nutrients in real food but not synthetic ones. A whole food supplement extracts the vitamins from real food and puts it into pill form, so the body can readily use it. If you are using anything else, its a waste of money. On a different note, there are some great companies who make what I call “solo” vitamins such as vitamin a, b, c, etc. You just have to look for them and chances are they won’t be found at your local “Wally Mart”. Got an opinion, feedback? Leave me a comment by clicking above.
Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
Rich in Wealth or Rich in Health?
Posted by: | CommentsIf you had a choice between a million dollars and being healthy which would you chose?
Last week, I received a call from a friend and got some bad news. He called me to tell me another friend of ours was getting a piece of his foot amputated from complications due to diabetes. At first, I was in shock, but I am slowly realizing I am approaching the age where health complications can arise. Its easy to get fooled by the invincibility of youth but turning the big “four o” can firmly plant your feet back on the ground. I personally think 40 is the “make it or break it” age and you can either add years to your life or drastically reduce it.
A Family Affair
Family can play a large part in your health. For instance, my friend who recently got part of his foot amputated parents had diabetes. His father died from gangrene which is the one of the complications of the disease. If you knew both your parents suffered from a life threatening condition, what’s your excuse for not taking better care of yourself? Family medical history is one of the greatest predictors of health issues which could arise as someone gets older. I have seen many people ignore their family medical history only to have it kick them in their pants.
Change what you do
If you know your family medical history, you can immediately change some of the things you do. For instance, my family has a history of hypertension, so I stay away from foods high in salt content and I reduce my stress by exercising.Yup… exercising does reduce stress. I also know my mother had a heart problem and I have a heart murmur, so I make sure I do my “cardio”. It helps to keep my heart in shape. Did you know the heart is a muscle?
For the Health of it
Is exercising just for the “look” of it? You’re probably wondering what I mean by that, right? There are some real health benefits to exercise and not just to have a firm “booty” or a six pack. For example, I had the pleasure of hearing some good news from a client of mine the other day. She recently had a doctor’s visit and found out her cholesterol count was lowered and she avoided having to take medication for her heart. I was thrilled about it and so was she!!!
Problems Problems
Health problems can be avoided. If you know your family history, take advantage of it. You can use it to change your eating habits and start exercising. No one has to suffer from disease unless you’re just a “glutton” for punishment. If you know your risks firsthand, you can significantly reduce your odds for potential problems. Have you avoided any health problems yourself as a result of family history? Are you changing your exercise and eating habits because of this? Any comments?
The Worst Food You can Eat
Posted by: | CommentsI thought I might have a little fun today. I scanned the internet for the worst foods I could find and came up with three. Have you heard of any of these?
Luther Burger– Named after the famous R&B singer Luther Vandross. Here’s what’s on it: beef, cheese, bacon, krispy kreme doughnuts for buns. I first heard about this one on a show called the Boondocks. I couldn’t believe it was real
Hamdog – Hotdog wrapped in a beef patty and deep fried with chili and a fried egg on top. This is a heart attack waiting to happen!
Frito Pie – consisting of Fritos ( yeah the chips), beef, beans, onion, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. My stomach gets queasy just thinking about this one.
If you are trying to lose weight please avoid these dishes at all costs!!!! ( smile)
Luther Burger
Hamdog
FritoPie
Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
Conditioned to Eat
Posted by: | CommentsI have been doing a lot of thinking lately about eating! You might be thinking it has something to do with being hungry and stuffing my face but it really doesn’t, let me clear the air. If we are conditioned with eating habits from any early age, is it really our fault we overeat? I’ll dig a little deeper into this in my post, but keep this question in your mind’s eye.
My sister and friend taught me eating (but I didn’t get it)
When I was younger, we had a terrible time getting my sister to eat. My mother and I tried everything to get her to eat and she would sit right there in front of the plate and stare at us like “ya’ll expect me to eat all this food?” This went on for a long time when she was about 3 or 4 years old. When we finally gave up on getting her to eat, she started eating. A strange thing happened once she started, my mom would force her to finish the whole plate. I wonder if my little sister somehow instinctively knew to stop eating. Was my mother pushing her beyond her eating threshold to force her to finish that plate? I have heard many parents in restaurants shout at their kids something like this,“finish your food”! I look over at the kid’s food and there is a mammoth sized portion an elephant would have a problem eating! I have observed kids and it seems kids have it right because they know when to eat and when to stop eating. Most adults don’t, but maybe a few do.
I have a friend who I have known for years and to this day, I have never seen this guy finish a plate of food. I use to think this was odd, but I am beginning to think Chris is a pure unadulterated genius! In a world, where adults “scarf” down food at alarming rates my buddy always “chicken pecks” through his food and never finishes it and guess what? He has never had a problem with his weight and the guy is damn fit at 40. I know he never gave any thought to it but he has pretty much cracked the code to maintaining a healthy weight. Could it be all so simple?
Does it have to be a struggle?
Are you struggling with your weight right now? Is it because you were forced to clean your plate and then “conditioned” to eat large portions? Here’s another question for you. Do you eat to satisfy your hunger or do you eat to get full? The majority of us eat to get full and it shows in our waistlines. I’ll tell you why I think this is true. I read a book called “Food Rules” and it stated the best part of your food is the first bite! I tested this theory myself and sure enough it held true. I didn’t really taste my food after the first bite so it made it that much easier to stop the “stuffing” after eating a very small amount . So why can’t everyone do what I did? In actuality, everyone can do what I did, but it begins in the mind. In most cases, it is your mind controlling the body. If we all listened to our bodies, it wouldn’t be such a struggle.
Undoing what’s done
How do you undo what’s done? When I speak to people, I suggest some ways to control eating but the suggestions always fall on deaf ears. People are creatures of habit, but aren’t your present habits the reason for your demise? I know breaking bad habits are easier said then done, but most people never commit out of fear of missing out on something. You’re not missing out on anything and you’ll take your health back in the process! If you really want to change your eating habits just do what kids do: stop eating when you feel the hunger subside then go out and play! It is just that simple!
Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
Exercise Training : Hungry or Thirsty?
Posted by: | CommentsI eat when I’m bored. I know I do it, so I have to make sure I keep myself entertained all the time. It was the main reason I gained an extra 30 lbs years ago, but it wasn’t the only reason. The other reason was just being plain ol’ lazy! Exercise became a chore for me and I thought I would always be in shape. Who knew you had to work at this especially as you got older? I surely didn’t think you had to and as a result, I stuffed my face even though I wasn’t hungry.
Are you really hungry?
How do you know you are really hungry? I would be willing to bet most of you reading this would say a symptom of hunger is a growling stomach. I use to think the same thing until I started intermittent fasting two days a week. Because of the fasting, I no longer associate a growling stomach with hunger as I am going 24 hours without food. I have gotten accustomed to fasting and no longer experience any hunger pains. Fasting has been the best way I have found to control my boredom and pointless eating. I can go on and on about fasting and the degree of control it has given me over my eating, but it also provided me with an epiphany. What distinguishes hunger from thirst?
Throat and Mouth
I discovered something during my first couple of times I fasted. Would you like to know what it was? I realized the stomach rumblings I had were cries from my body for water! I would drink water and the “growls” would go away. Once I discovered this, it was so easy for make to make it through a 24 hour fast! I wonder how many other people get confused over hunger and thirst? Is this why some people over eat? True hunger is felt in the throat and mouth and not the stomach. Most of us think we are hungry when it really is thirst. When your body asks for water, don’t ignore it. It just might be trying to save you a pound or two. See you on the lean side. Do you have any experiences with hunger vs. thirst? I would like to hear it. Leave me a comment….thanks!
Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
