"Cheat" Meals

There are so many diets that advocate a cheat meal, so I figured I would cover it today and give you my two cents. First of all, I hate the idea of a diet. What you eat should be a way of life. Healthy eating isn't something you are doing for 30 days to slim down. This goes way beyond simply looking good in a bikini....this is your life! Healthy eating means a healthier body. You only get one body in this lifetime so you'd better be good to it. Ok, off that soapbox. I think a lot of people get caught up in an entire cheat DAY instead of one indulgent meal. Every now and then if you want something that isn't exactly the healthiest thing you've ever laid eyes on, by all means I believe you should have it, otherwise you are either going to drive yourself or others around you batshit crazy. Enjoy it while it lasts, then get back on that health wagon. Don't throw away all your hard work and dedication to a healthy lifestyle because you had a cheeseburger and fries for lunch. You also needn't drive yourself nuts afterward with guilt...one meal isn't going to ruin your progress or make you a wholly unhealthy person. One cheeseburger isn't going to clog your arteries. In fact, one higher calorie meal every now and then is actually GOOD for you! Not only will it mentally help keep you on a healthier track of eating, but (without getting too science-y), calorie cycling actually helps rev your metabolism. If you constantly eat a set number of low calories, your body will adapt and need less calories to function, which is not a good thing. To keep your metabolism running effectively, you need to calorie cycle a bit. For most people, it's annoying and unnecessary to count every calorie in and out, but if you are eating relatively healthy all week and have an indulgent meal once every now and then, just know that it's actually good for you. Remember--one meal, not one day. So raise your glass of beer to that friday night pizza!

Run, Forrest, Run!

Ok y'all, as you know I HATE running. Every time there is running in one of our workouts at CrossFit I whine like a little girl. Maybe I'm slow, maybe I'm a weeny...I don't know. I'm just not good at it and I hate doing things I'm not good at. I also used to get incredibly sore and tight, especially in my lower legs. Before I began crossfit, the last time I tried to run any significant distance (um, more than two miles, less than 3...haha) I hurt my hip like a 90 year old woman. I began crossfitting in a pair of Nikes and as usual, after every workout that included running, my Achilles tendon felt tight, my calves felt like hell, and my joints were sore. I chalked it up to being an inexperienced runner and that my body just needed to get used to the movement. A few months later I bought a pair of Inov8s because, well, that's what all the other crossfitters were wearing. I really loved their minimalist feel, but running felt awkward. The shoes almost forced me to run more on the ball of my foot, taking a shorter stride. I used to use my long legs to my advantage and try to take as long of a stride as possible, but in these shoes it hurt my heels to do that. I suppose this is what my coach was talking about when he told me to stop "heel striking". Anyway, after any of our runs, sprints, or intervals, my legs stopped hurting. At the time I figured it was just because my body was finally getting used to running. In the early winter, my best friend Julia, a marathon runner, sent me the book Born To Run. She has been trying to get me to run since high school and I have avidly refused for years. (Good luck in the Boston Marathon next week, J!!!!) I read the book in about three days...it was one of the most fascinating reads ever. I suggest this book to anyone who loves, hates, or feels indifferent toward running--it's really just an awesome book. After reading Born to Run, I realize now why my legs have stopped hurting so much. The Inov8 shoe forces me to run CORRECTLY...the way my body was designed to run. This is not really a triumph story. I still hate running, but at least there is no pain or injury that comes along with it anymore. No more excuses to not run. So since I hate it so much, I signed up for the Tough Mudder this June in Indiana....10 miles!!! Yikes. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Here' are some visuals to see how minimalist or barefoot running can help you:

Food Synergy

Sometimes 1+1=3 in terms of nutritional value in food. We all know that the absorption rate for calcium is much higher when coupled with Vitamin D, right? Well there are a whole bunch of other minerals and vitamins that work really well together!

Iron and Vitamin C. Pairing foods high in iron and vitamin C (ex. pineapple and beef stir fry) will help improve the iron absorption rate.

Tomatoes and Broccoli. For whatever reason this combination was more effective at slowing prostate tumor growth than either ingredient alone.

Cooked tomatoes with the peel on, along with olive oil. Ninety-eight percent of the flavonols (powerful phytochemicals) in tomatoes is found in the tomato skin, along with great amounts of two carotenoids. Absorption of these key nutrients is much greater when the tomatoes are cooked and when you eat some smart fat (like olive oil) along with the cooked tomatoes.

A cup of green tea and an apple. A recent study found that the phytochemicals quercetin (found mainly in apples, onions and berries) and catechin (found mainly in apples, green tea, purple grapes, and grape juice) worked together to help stop platelet clumping. Platelets are a component in blood that play an important role in forming clots. Platelets' clumping together is one of several steps in blood clotting that can lead to a heart attack.

Avocado in your Salad. Eating a little "good fat" along with your vegetables helps your body absorb their protective phytochemicals, like lycopene from tomatoes and lutein from dark-green vegetables. A recent study measured how well phytochemicals were absorbed after people ate a lettuce, carrot, and spinach salad with or without 2 1/2 tablespoons of avocado. The avocado-eating group absorbed 8.3 times more alpha-carotene and 13.6 times more beta-carotene (both of which help protect against cancer and heart disease), and 4.3 times more lutein (which helps with eye health) than those who did not eat avocados.

Apples with their skin. In lab studies, Cornell University researchers found that apple extract given together with apple skin worked better to prevent the oxidation of free-radicals (unstable molecules that damage cells and are believed to contribute to many diseases) than apple extract without the skin. They also found that catechins (a type of phytochemical found in apples), when combined with two other phytochemicals, had an effect that was five times greater than expected.