Something in the Water?

I got back from my Romania "roots" trip a little more than a week ago, and I have at least ten ideas circling in my brain currently as to what I will blog about in the near future. The reason for my delay in actually blogging has generally stemmed from my laziness to go through thousands of pictures from my trip to find suitable ones for posting, as well as an overall intensive schedule I am attempting to set for this summer vacation. But really, at the core, basically I have been slacking on this whole blogging thing. My bad!

So this will just be a short post until I actually get some good pictures on my computer and decide to share some interesting thoughts and things about Romania. Right now, however, what's on my mind is something that my family has been pondering about ever since we got back from Romania: why did we not feel sick after eating so much food (we ate so much it's unbelievable), and why didn't any of us gain weight.

Farm Fresh vs. Industrial Food - A Battle of Immense Confusion

Unless you have been residing under a rock for, say, the last fifty years or so, then the ongoing and worsening obesity rate is probably a crisis that is not very new to you. How unhealthy we have become  in our diets and "live-to-eat" lifestyle,  especially as a Western society (that's not to say we are the only culprits), is a harsh reality constantly brought to the attention of the guilty masses. Television, newspapers, studies, policies...All these outlets bombard us with mixed images on a day to day basis, junk food companies taking one side, while "whole food" foodies attempt to level the playing field with their arguments and ideas. In short, we know the problem we face, we know why the problem exists, we just don't know how to even begin to solve it. 

I thought I had a pretty solid understanding of the issue. We eat too much, and too much of the "bad stuff." I never really thought about it much more than that, and the fact that there are such different ideas and sides to the entire argument was surprising to me. I thought everyone who had an opinion was more or less under the farm fresh banner, and it was strange for me to find out there were other sides to the issue. The article that caught my attention? It was basically a counter to everything the farm fresh and wholesome, real food argument had to stand upon, and the opposite of everything that I thought to be the general consensus. And what is the title of said article? How Junk Food Can End Obesity. Seriously, you can read the article if you doubt me (please do). ---> Atlantic Article


Be warned however, as both parties are riddled with faults and stubborn ideas, and this article provides a perfect example of just how divided, irrational, and indecisive the food world is on handling this obesity crisis. Again, read the article, and try not to get too annoyed.

Creativity Cripples - Ergonomics and Whatnot...

I will be forced to keep this post short unfortunately, as my hands and wrists have been aflame lately due to the massive amount of writing I have been doing and the poor posture I do it with (it's not my fault I write on the sofa, it is too comfy for it's own good).

Essentially, I have been writing a lot over the past few months with my poor posture and ergonomics, and I began to notice pains developing in my hands and arms. I decided to stop using a computer for ten days in order to let my hands heal from the repetitive strain. For some reason (which I think is unfair), after ten days the pain has continued, and after seeing a doctor his recommendation was to take lots of advil, put icy-hot cream on, and wait it out...for up to two weeks perhaps. Needless to say I am irritated by this, and the fact that I cannot write for a little while is more frustrating than I would have guessed.

Anyway! For those of you who type a lot, be it for a job or hobby, I strongly recommend looking up some hand stretches and exercises that can help prevent that beginnings of inflammation and pain. Furthermore, buy as many wrist-resting, hand-comforting, random ergonomic products as possible, for both the peace of mind and for the alleviation of the strain on the hands. A good website I discovered for some explanation on why our hands can hurt from typing, as well as some stretches we can use to help our hands, is http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1527 There are hundreds of others, but this website is a decent start.

 I will definitely be doing these stretches and resting, and hopefully I can blog more often come the following months...I was given a gluten free chocolate cookie recipe and I believe it is time to make it and share it. However, expect a lull in content. Despite my efforts I do not think I will be able to blog for a time.

-Tom

Detoxification for All!

I suppose the artsy material that I said was coming to this blog will have to wait a little longer, because yesterday I watched such an interesting documentary and a new health wave is sweeping over this household and I believe I should share it (it is my duty!) What might this new healthy living style be? I have already discussed eating gluten free, taking cold showers to increase circulation, stretching for vitality, and post workout ideas to increase muscle gain...What am I chasing after now?

As the title has perhaps given away, the new idea I stumbled across is detoxification of the body, or "detox" for short. Essentially, as the documentary Hungry for Change refreshed for me yesterday, man, as a species, has created so much artificial garbage that every single thing on this planet has been impacted in some shape or form. I can't recall the number, but it was something to the tune of 75,000 chemicals having been created since 1940...or a gigantic number if you prefer to think of it that way.

We know this, or at least intuitively we do. After all, considering the list of ingredients and nutrition information we see every day on the back of food packaging, alarm bells go off inside our head. Twenty letter words we can hardly pronounce, stretching down half the container due to the sheer number of ingredients. It is obvious that something is wrong. The problem however, is that years and years of seeing these labels and never truly understanding them has made this alarm bell system in our head so quiet we don't even hear it anymore. We have been desensitized to what we are being fed by corporations, and we like what we eat. Hence, we generally eat too much, and we eat the wrong things. As the documentary put it, we are overfed but undernourished.

This is Sparta?

Well, I made a small post about Greek yogurt as a great post-workout snack a while ago, also mentioning the new year and all the wonderful opportunities to either make life altering, revolutionary changes to one’s life, or to just make a few little tweaks here and there. Now, already a month into sticking with resolutions, I thought for my next blog post it would be neat if I could share a few of the changes I am trying (and struggling with) to make a reality. But before I start, I just must state that I also highly recommend these changes to anyone reading this post, as within only weeks I have begun to notice the positive changes in my day to day life. On to the change!

Post Workout Recovery Snack

With 2013 coming in but a few short hours, many people are already thinking about what the new year will mean for them. It is a time for contemplating what changes we will make in ourselves, in our lives, and in our habits. It is a time of thought and reflection, including a period of self criticism and esteem bashing fun that makes us so guilty we won't touch another donut ever again. Overall, it is one of my favourite times of the year...despite the fact it is the last part of the year.

For many people, the new year also serves as a time of commitment to something new or challenging, or something in between. I have my own goals and aspirations, such as finishing my book, but there is something different for each individual out there. Some of you, (whom I write this post for), may be thinking about starting to exercise more and go to the gym, and maybe even to eat healthily on the side. If that is the case, then I say that is an excellent goal, but sometimes the going gets tough and working out or even knowing how to start or what to do can be daunting. For those of you who ever feel stuck or lost, this section of my blog is dedicated to helping you succeed! And, on a side note, for those of you who do know how to work out and how to be healthy, perhaps this post will help you not work out better, but work out smarter.

And now, for the recipe. You have just spent fifteen hours in the gym, (or at least it feels that way some days), and your arms and legs feel like lead after lifting heavy pieces of metal over your head repeatedly for reasons you cannot fathom. You leave the gym, shower, and then many people just sit down and watch T.V. and relax a bit. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, except for the diminishing returns you just got on your workout.

Now, I am no nutritionist, I am sixteen. But I do know this basic logic: Lift heavy stuff = muscle tearing, muscle tearing = room for muscle gaining. However, in order to do this you need protein, and this is where this post workout snack really excels.

For this recipe you will need:

OMG WITH PROBIOTICS?
IT MUST BE AMAZING FOR YOU!!!

• 1/2 a cup of unsweetened Greek yogurt (with as much protein as possible. The brand I use has 18 grams per half cup!)
• A small handful of walnuts (for that omega fat goodness)
• A bit of honey
• One banana (for that potassium goodness)
• About a table spoon of peanut butter (or more if you really like peanut butter!)
• Flax seeds (optional, but for that fibre and omega fat goodness. Ideally the flax seeds are ground for easier absorption of nutrients)

Side note* You can switch out honey and peanut butter for jam, but peanut butter helps add protein so I recommend it over jam. Jam also has more sugar.

So, now that you have all the ingredients, just chop up the banana into bite sized pieces, and add everything into the yogurt and stir. That is all you need to do. Finished. Done. The End. Absolutely no need for high powered blender-made smoothies or supplements when you can easily get over twenty grams of protein just from yogurt and peanut butter. And, it doesn't even cost much. Hope you try this post workout snack and enjoy it, and if it works for you make sure to share the recipe with those you know! Best luck to all in the new year!

I didn't mean for the peanut butter to resemble a turd
it just happened! When you mix it everything looks fine!