Health Is Not a Mid Life Crisis

Today, I ran to work. I love doing that. I call running and cycling to work "CUYOP" - commute under your own power - read more in my blog post on it, and check the hashtag activity on Twitter). It's a great way to start the day because of how it can recenter your mind, give you a chance to think through a few things before the clutter of email, meetings, fires, etc get in the way. CUYOPing home is also great to clear out that bombardment before you are home with family so you can be a whole person for them.

But that's not what this post is about. It's about health and the idea that it's a mid-life crisis (by the way, if you haven't heard it, listen to Faith No More's song Midlife Crisis from their album Angel Dust). I spent today's CUYOP run thinking about this idea, and felt compelled to write out my thoughts a bit.  For me, I was an obese child and teenager who lost weight starting when I was 17.  While I was never obese again, I regained too much of it and too many unhealthy habits as I crested my 20s and passed into my early 30s.  When my wife became chronically ill, I looked at myself hard, and was very unhappy with what I had become again and what my son had as health role models in the two of us.  July 1st, 2011 marked my change.

Someone looking from the outside could say that this was some sort of mid-life crisis.  I was almost 33, so it might not have been quite at the mid-life mark, but then again, with several factors in how I was living, what I was eating, and how I was handling stress, it may well have been the mid-point of my life.  Putting that detail aside, I'm just past 3 years into this new way of living, and have no desire of turning back to my old ways. I've not tired of being healthy, and have the same drive and profound reasons behind choosing health that I did before. I got healthy for my son, for my wife, and for me. I wasn't happy, and wanted to be. My son needed a better example, and will continue to need that his entire life.  My wife needs a husband who can be there for her until the end of time - just as I vowed to be when we got married. Those aren't fleeting drivers, nor are they temporal, tied to being roughly half the age I'll be when I die.

Now, there are two more reasons why health isn't a mid-life crisis. First - and this is the MBA in me putting numbers first - is the math.  While you could feasibly argue that I was at the mid-point of my life given how things were going, you can't argue that anymore. That's point is behind me. It's not behind me beacuse I'm now over that mid-point. It's behind me because it's actually in front of me. I have complete confidence that my natural life expectancy (that is, my life expectancy without some catastropic event prematurely ending things for me) is far longer than it would be had I not made the shift. So, if I'm not at the mid-point of my life, then I can't be in the midst of a mid-life crisis.  I fully believe that I'm still pushing that end point out as my body does the amazing work it was built to do to care for and heal itself, righting many of the wrongs of earlier choices I had made. As evidence, during a recent physical for a new life insurance policy, my resting heart rate is now in the 40s. There's evidence that living things have a natural number, if you will, of total heart beats they can have in a lifetime, and the number is surprisingly similar across species. When you account for speed of heart rate, you see that fruit flies have about as many beats as humans, bears, fish, etc. So, by lowering my heart rate (and not going too low, of course), I have extended the amount of ticking my clock has left to do.

The second reason is that mid-life crises are usually fleeting. You buy a car you shouldn't buy to get in touch with your youth (though the car eventually is sold, traded or rots in the driveway). You quit your job (though you find another). You leave a relationship (but find another eventually). You go on some wild vacation (yet still return home).  See? Fleeting. Temporary. You 'return to sanity' after getting the crisis out of your system.  I'm over 3 years in, and have learned so many things about the choices I've made and the new choices I'm making that I can't go back. "Can't" is a bad word. How about "I don't want to go back." Or, "I couldn't sanely go back knowing what I know now." I don't want to eat GMO foods. I don't want to be over-exposed to pesticides. I don't want to eat processed foods and feel miserable. I don't want to sit around and do nothing active and feel tired, depressed and unhappy with my body. I don't want my back to hurt from muscle degeneration. I don't want my son to look at me and see me in anything but a positive, inspiring light, nor do I want him to look at me in a good light and follow my example when that example will result in health issues for him.

You could argue the impetus for such a change is a mid-life crisis. It wasn't for me, but I could see how it could be for some. What I would say is, let's ignore whether the impetus is fleeting, and find a lasting path of health. If it is fleeting, find one that endures (like being there for your children or loved ones - or yourself!), and stay on the path.

Like I say, people don't change, lives do. Change once, for the better, and then maintain. That's how you enlighten.your.body.

Review: ViSalus - Fixing Quickly?

The buildup
Someone I follow on Twitter asked me to check out a product he was marketing called ViSalus.  I'd never heard of it.  Apparently, I've been living under a rock. It's a multi-billion dollar weight loss program, featuring shakes, etc.  It's also a very successful multi-level marketing company (MLM).  Two things about this really didn't jibe with me - the quick fix nature of meal replacement shake programs and the MLM aspect of it.  There's actually a third thing, but I didn't know up front (see 'My depressions' below).  But, I respect the source, and know that he has very high standards and ethics, so I thought it was worth trying.

What it is & how it works
I decided to try their shake product in Sweet Cream flavor.  I start my day with a protein shake
and an omelet, so I figured I could replace my shake or cut back on it and mix in this stuff.  I feel strongly about eating whole foods and having the stomach digest real stuff, so I didn't want to ditch the omelet. I bought one bag for just over $50 shipped. It claims to have about 30 servings, so it's not too expensive per serving vs. what you'd pay at GNC or somewhere for a competing product. You have to do an auto-purchase plan, but you can cancel or delay anytime. I did notice it's available for a touch less on Amazon and don't have to do the auto-order, but you don't get any support with that.  If the person you're buying from provides meaningful advice, that may be worth the $7 per bag difference to you, so you'll have to figure that out for yourself.  I tried to cancel my auto-order after getting the first bag, but they shipped a second bag instead of canceling.  It wasn't the end of the world, but that's why I don't tend to like these auto-sign up things.  They have a way of auto-sending you more than you wanted (and charging for it).

The shake is a mix of soy protein and whey, plus a number of other ingredients (vitamins, minerals, etc).  The soy is non-GMO, which is great, but it's not an organic product (which the whey shake I use, love and recommend is).  It has 12 grams of protein per serving (2 heaping scoops), which isn't enough for me since I try to get 30 grams within 30 minutes of waking. My whey shake has 24 grams, the casein shake I have with dinner has 20 grams, and my omelet is between 8 and 15 grams (depending on size and whether I throw other stuff in it that has protein, like edamame or lentils). Still, it's not too bad, and could definitely be mixed into other things to get me to 30. Being a protein shake isn't really what it's positioned as, so I can't hold that against it.

My impressions
As far as taste goes, it's delicious. It's seriously sweet (I think it's too sweet - see 'My depressions' to understand why). I've had some terrible fake vanilla flavored shakes (when I was a fat teen, I tried Slim-Fast...ew), and this ain't one of them. It's really good.

They also include quite a bit with the purchase despite me getting the cheapest option they sell. I got a booklet that has a lot of tips and tools that mirror my 10 Principles quite a bit (setting goals, going public, tracking, etc). They also include these little flavor packs that add both flavor and some other benefit - e.g. strawberry with phytonutrients, banana energy burst, etc. They actually sound tasty. I haven't added any of them, so I can't comment on the taste or whether the claimed benefit is legit, but I'd at least guess the taste is good given how great the Sweet Cream tasted.

In addition to what came, I got a series of really helpful tips and ideas from the person who asked me to try it. They may be exceptions in terms of their commitment to helping, so I can't speak for others selling ViSalus, but it was really helpful. They offered guidance on usage, creating goals, plans, etc, and gave me a number of recipes for how to make different shakes from the base product I bought. Like getting all the extra flavor packets, this was a surprising commitment given I bought the cheapest option I could get.

I should add that the product is lactose and gluten free. Some people see whey as an ingredient and assume that, since it comes from milk, the product must not be ok for lactose-intollerant people.  Whey is one of the two proteins in dairy, while lactose is the sugar.  Having an issue with one doesn't mean you will have an issue with the other per se. I'm lactose-intollerant, and it's fine for me. There's less than 1 gram of sugar per serving, and lactose is a sugar, so there really isn't anywhere lactose could hide anyway.

The company has a ton of hype associated with the products - testimonial videos, ginormous checks they give people for losing weight or selling a lot of their product, competitions for weight loss, etc. That's fine. It's not me, but it's fine. Sometimes, paying people to lose weight helps get them over the hump and then they are just interested in being fit. The approach just isn't really my style, so I sort of ignored it.

They are very into the auto-purchase approach, so if you just want to try it, be careful and ensure you've canceled any auto-shipping options you've been signed up for.  As I mentioned above, somehow I screwed that part up, and ended up getting a second bag when I only wanted to try it with one.

My depressions
Once I checked the product out, I saw one particular ingredient I didn't like - sucralose. You probably know it by its brand name, Splenda. It's not the worst thing in the world, and definitely the best artificial sweetener out there. However, like all artificial sweeteners, it does cause an insulin response in the body in the same way sugar does. This is the trick with a lot of 'low glycemic index' or 'low GI' items. They get the green light for diabetics and for weight loss, but insulin spiking is a key contributor to fat accumulation in the body. To fully understand this, you must read Gary Taube's incredibly powerful book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It.

Aside from the inclusion of sucralose from a body chemistry standpoint, sucralose also tends to be extremely sweet. I definitely have heightened my sensitivity to sweetness since cutting almost all sugar from my diet, and I find this product way too sweet. It's like a dessert to me. Don't get me wrong, it's super tasty as a result, but I'd prefer something maybe half as sweet. You can deal with this to an extent by diluting it more, or including competing flavors (I put cinnamon and cayenne in most drinks I mix up, which helps, but you could also mix it into coffee or mix cacao powder in to help tone down the awareness of sweetness. The bitterness of cacao and coffee would be a nice balance to tone down the sweetness, for sure).  Generally, I advise people to cut back on things that enhance sweetness to make you more sensitive to it, and thus less likely to go for it (or do so in lower quantity). If you satisfy your sweet tooth with less sweet for your tooth, so much the better. The high sweetness of this product on a regular basis will lower your body's sensitivity to sweetness, so you'll crave more before satisfaction is reached. Again, this goes back to the body chemistry of sweetness, whether from sugar or otherwise. Your body is easily fooled into thinking it's getting sugar, and acting like it did. That's not good. Stevia is currently the only non-sugar that doesn't do this (and it's not artificial - so much the better).

My bigger issue, though, is with the approach at play here - the quick fix diet. I don't advocate anything quick (except intervals or speed work). To me, you really need to work at and for something for it to change your life such that your new normal is health. I'm not into the idea of losing X pounds for some event (high school reunion, ex's wedding, etc) because as soon as the event is over, you have nothing driving you to be fit. The same goes for meal replacement shake approaches. At some point, if you're lucky, you will reach your goal and come off the program. What happens then?  You haven't learned about healthful eating sufficiently (if you disagree, then explain why you didn't lose weight without drinking a shake instead of eating food?) to maintain health. You haven't changed your life priorities and values to have the health you deserve for yourself or set the right example for your friends and family. The approach this product is driving isn't something I can really get behind.

I'm also generally very weary of multi-level marketing. Those three words are usually followed by one of the following three words - scam, scheme or ploy. This is MLM. That in and of itself doesn't make it bad. Given the person who brought it to my attention, I set this part aside. I'm not looking at it to make money, so it's really neither here nor there for me to care about it being MLM. I just need to evaluate the product itself, not how it's marketed.

To buy or not to buy?
Diet isn't 'a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch and a sensible dinner' (to quote the old Slim-Fast line). Unfortunately, this has become the American way. We can't wait for our results, and we don't want to work for them. Fitness and health are worth working for because it is that work itself that is the source of health.  They journey is the destination. ViSalus is diet in the shake sense, unfortunately. I can't get behind that part of it. Using it as a protein shake is more up my ally as part of my morning protein routine.  In that respect, ViSalus is ok but not great. It's definitely good at getting the results it aims to get for those who want to treat it as a quick fix weight loss tool. If that's what you're looking for, then I'd say you're looking in the right place with that product (but I'd want to discuss what's lacking in what you're looking for). If you're looking for a protein supplement, it works, but I'd recommend something less processed like Garden of Life's vegan Raw Protein line (my current protein of choice - I mix it with a scoop of raw cacao powder to enhance the flavor), or, if you want whey, go with Jay Robb's products.

For me, I gave it the two months I bought product for. Because I have put the work in and know what I need to do to be healthy, I think I can use this product effectively. But I also believe I could be as effective without it and would at least prefer something 'cleaner' (fewer or no chemicals and organic).

Either way, I did the work to enlighten my body. Will you do the work to enlighten.your.body?

I Got Some Time with NOW Sports Products

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of NOW Foods. 

We have used NOW Foods products in our home for a few months, and really like them for their quality and focus on what goes into their products (and, equally, what doesn't go into them).  As a FitFluential ambassador, I had the opportunity to try some of their NOW Sports line of products and write a review of what I think.  Full disclosure - these products were all provided to me by NOW Foods for the purpose of this review.  All thoughts contained are my own, though.

You can find all of these products on NOW's website (products are linked below), use the "find a retailer" link to find where to buy (they're sold nationwide by health food retailers), or get them from many online retailers like Amazon.com.

What did I get?
I got five products - two protein powders, and three dietary supplements:

1. Sprouted Brown Rice Protein
   
2. Vanilla Pea Protein
3. Liquid Carnitine
   
4. MCT Oil
   
5. Extreme Men’s Multi

The only one that was a new idea to me was the MCT oil, but I've used all the other products in the past, though never from NOW.  I've also never used a liquid form of L-Carnitine.

Product by product, let's see what my month with them has shown.

Sprouted Brown Rice Protein
This is a basic, staple product.  If you haven't seen how I feel about protein, then you need to (check out my YouTube video or read the various blog posts I've done on it). It's important, and you should be starting your day with it. A great way to do so is via a protein shake.  There are lots of options out there, including dairy and egg proteins, and vegetable proteins.  This is a vegetable protein, and it's in a very pure form.  How pure?  There's only one ingredient, and it's the thing that it is - sprouted brown rice protein.  That's it.  That means this is vegan, soy free and gluten free (though some people don't take well to rice protein even though it isn't technically gluten).

Here's what NOW Sports says about the product:

This GMO-free vegan protein powder is ideal for those with allergies or sensitivities to the natural compounds found in whey, egg, soy and other protein sources. Natural and pure with no added ingredients, each tablespoon offers four grams of protein and mixes easily with a smooth texture.

It's easy to use - just dump a table spoon into water, almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, goat milk, sheep milk, milk milk, etc.  You get the idea.  You can also mix it with coffee, though I'd suggest you only do cold beverages for a variety of reasons.  Hot or warm protein shakes are gross.  Unfortunately, NOW doesn't include a scooper, but I have like 50 laying around, so I just reduced/reused/recycled a solution.  I rarely find a protein powder that lacks a scooper, so this was kind of surprising, but not a deal breaker.

For me, the taste is horrible, but I expect and accept that.  I've never liked the taste of rice protein, and because this is just straight rice protein powder with no added flavorings, you get that full on rice protein taste.  It's strong and maybe the best way to describe it is bitter, but that's not quite it either.  So I tend to add some things to calm it down.  I add cinnamon, cayenne, turmeric, stevia, shredded coconut, vanilla extract (1 tsp) and a mix of 50/50 water/unsweetened coconut milk.  All of those additions are organic, by the way.  The cinnamon is for sugar regulation in addition to flavor, the turmeric is for inflammation (definitely not for flavor - I don't care for it, but it's hard to taste if you add about a half a tablespoon), and the cayenne is for a lot of things, including metabolism boosting.  I then add a few ice cubes and blend it into a smoothy.  It's still gross, but not too bad, and definitely drinkable.  Coffee would probably be a nice addition to help overpower the strong brown rice protein flavor.

Another way I've been using it is adding a half a tablespoon to slow-cooking oatmeal.  You can still taste it a bit, but it's not too bad.

One other issue I have with it is that, as a protein supplement, it doesn't have much protein.  Four grams per serving.  Protein supplements should do something for your protein intake, and 4 grams isn't doing much.  For someone who is looking to add a bit more protein without looking to amp their protein intake, this might be the kind of thing to look for.  It isn't what I would use as I generally want more protein in my shakes, and I'd probably eat some nuts or a bowl of lentils to get the same or more protein instead.  For comparison sake, a serving of cashews (1/4 cup) has five grams of protein.  Gram for gram, the powder wins (a serving is five grams, four of which are protein, vs five out of 28 grams in a serving of cashews), but I think eating a handful of cashews is easier and tastier.  You might have other dietary concerns that mean you are in need of something that's basically pure, vegan protein without the fat of nuts or fiber of lentils or beans.  Or you might just want a different protein if you're already heavy on beans and nuts.  This might be a good choice then, but the protein is so low, and the taste is so strong (and unenjoyable) that I'd personally look for something else (like Garden of Life RAW protein).

So why bother?  Well, you may be allergic to nuts.  Or you may be vegan/vegetarian, and want to diversify your protein sources.  I think that's what NOW Sports is going for here.  They suggest adding it to a relatively small amount of liquid (six ounces), and don't talk about using it as a sports supplement.  That is weird since it's part of their Sports line.  I think it would fit better in their NOW Foods line instead.  I think it's really about rounding out or diversifying your protein sources and getting a bit more into your life.  For that, I think this is fine, but I'd think about non-drink ways to add it, too - like my oatmeal idea.

I would mention that it isn't organic, which I wish it was.  It is, however, GMO-free, which is awesome.  I'm very much against GMOs and the engineering of our food supply, so a big thank you to NOW Foods for caring about that, too.  The question is just one of fertilizer and pesticides keeping it form being organic, but at least the crop wasn't created in a lab bent on profits over safety and health.  There are organic options, so if that matters to you (it does to me), this is a brand to skip.  If not, I'd definitely give a thumbs up to NOW Sports Sprouted Brown Rice Protein for those vegans looking to have a more diverse protein profile in their lives.  If that's not you, maybe the next product is more up your ally.

Vanilla Pea Protein
If my issue with the taste of brown rice protein turned you off of vegan proteins, don't swear them off yet!  There are other options, and this is one that blew me away.  Other common vegan proteins are  hemp and pea protein powder, and this one is pea-based.  I've generally found pea proteins to taste other than good, so I was concerned.  Here, NOW Sports has added flavor via natural ingredients to create a sweat and delicious protein powder.  It's sweet thanks to a mix of stevia and xylitol.  No sugar, no sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (Nutrasweet), sugar alcohol (stomach pain), etc.  These ingredients will also not cause a spike in insulin production, which is great (whereas the other sugar substitutes do).  Xylitol also has an added benefit of tricking bad gut flora into thinking its sugar.  When these bacteria eat the xylitol, they can't process it, and explode.  Seriously.  Xylitol is administered by some naturopaths as a treatment for overgrowth of bad gut flora for this reason.

OK, so enough about exploding gut flora.  This powder mixes very well in the same kinds of liquids as the rice protein (or other protein powders), but you don't need to worry about hiding the taste.  In fact, you'll probably want to relish the taste and ensure you don't mask it.  It is a bit strong, but it's good.  I love vanilla and I love toffee.  Put them together, and you get a really indulgent flavor that you swear is bad for you.  But it isn't.  No sugar.  25 grams of protein (that's the most of any vegan protein powder I've ever used, and gets you almost all the way to 30 in the first 30, as I recommend - 30 grams of protein in the first 30 minutes of waking up).

Here's what NOW Sports says about the protein:

Got allergies? No way you’re doing whey? NOW® Sports Pea Protein contains no soy or dairy, just 25 grams of easily digested, non-GMO vegetable protein. It’s pure and natural, hypoallergenic, has a smooth texture and mixes easily into your favorite beverages.

And it comes in Vanilla Toffee. We’re pretty sure all the best things come in Vanilla Toffee.

NOW Sports even remembered to put a scoop in there!  But the scoop is huge.  I mean humongous.  It's so big, I actually had trouble getting the powder into my blender bottle because of how wide the scoop is (it has a wedge shape that's wider in the front, which makes it harder to use but cool looking).  My preference would be to use a half-sized scoop and recommend people use two scoops per serving (as ViSalus does).  It just makes the logistics easier to deal with.  I know, I'm picky, but the little stuff matters.

My only other comment is that the taste is a little salty.  By 'a little' I mean 'very'.  A serving has quite a high sodium level - 540mg, which is 23% of the recommended daily allowance.  The unflavored version has only 330mg.  'Only' being used loosely here, but I will just say I really notice the saltiness and actually detracts from the drink.  If they could tone it down closer to 400mg, it would still be high, but not overpowering.  I'm not concerned with my sodium intake, so this doesn't matter to me beyond taste, but I would be uncomfortable recommending the product to someone who is hypertensive (I have a client with hypertension, and I couldn't suggest she use this), and I think they went a little overboard unnecessarily.

So, save for the sodium, I love this stuff.  Same deal as the brown rice powder in terms of being natural and not organic, but I like it.  If you're cool with the sodium level, go for it.  You won't be upset with the flavor.  I would suggest mixing in some coffee (if you drink it) as that might detract from the salty flavor a bit.

Liquid Carnitine
In high school, I used to take L-carnitine pills thirty minutes before eating (along with chromium picolinate), so I have had experience with the product.  It is an amino acid that helps your body make energy.


Here's what NOW Sports says about their L-Carnitine liquid:

L-Carnitine is carnitine in a highly absorbable liquid form. What’s carnitine? An amino acid that helps transfer fatty acid groups into the mitochondrial membrane to produce energy.* It naturally occurs in red meat and other animal-source foods, but for those who supplement NOW® L-Carnitine is the purest form (containing no sugar, salt, starch, wheat, gluten, corn, soy, milk, egg, shellfish or artificial colors/flavors), clinically tested, and vegetarian. It comes in Tropical Punch or Citrus Flavor.

I can't really say a ton about how the product works or whether it works, but I've had good experience with L-Carnitine in the past, and have no reason to think this isn't working the same way.  I will definitely comment about the flavor.  It's awesome.  I was hesitant to go with a liquid approach as I tend to prefer to pop a pill (it's easier if you travel or are on the go a lot), but I've really loved this stuff.  They also make a tropical punch flavor, which I bought myself after running out of the citrus flavor I got for this blog review.  It's good, but I think I actually prefer the citrus - it's a little fresher tasting and less heavy-sweet.  They're both super tasty, though. I start and end my day with it (since you are best off taking it on an empty stomach), and love it.

MCT Oil
Medium Chain Triglycerides, which is what MCT stands for, are fats found in coconut and palm kernel oil (perhaps other places, but I don't know).  They're fats that are more easily digested than other types of fat. As a result, they are known to increase your body's ability to burn fats rather than store them (think of priming a flue in your fireplace to get a fire to burn better).  The idea is to substitute MCT for other fats so you do a better job of burning the fat you are taking in, and thus end up promoting leaning out your body.


You can add it to foods, but need to be careful with heat.  MCT oil doesn't do well with medium to high heat since it has a low boiling point, so it's better to be a replacement for oil in salad dressing, or perhaps in place of butter or olive oil added to bread or potatoes (I eat neither, so I feel funny recommending this).  I've been cooking with non-stick, ceramic cookware and then putting some MCT on the end product after it's plated to bring some richness back into the dish, and it's really nice.  I have also put some into quinoa, and would do it with rice (if I eat it, it's only brown), and like how it makes the dish taste and eat - smooth and decadent.  The dose is a table spoon, and they suggest using it about three times per day.  You can take a straight tablespoon of it, or add it to a drink, too, but then you're not replacing other fats with it, so that sort of defeats the purpose.

Here's what NOW Sports says about their MCT Oil:

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’s) are fats that are naturally found in coconut and palm kernel oil. MCT’s are more easily and rapidly digested than other types of fats, as they require lower amounts of enzymes and bile acids for intestinal absorption. MCT’s are metabolized very quickly in the liver and are reported to encourage energy expenditure, and not fat storage. Numerous studies suggest that substituting MCT Oil for other fats in a healthy diet may therefore help to support healthy weight and body composition.

I like the product, but am not sure if it's doing anything.  Your mileage may vary, but I don't see any issues with it, and do like how it's made meals taste and feel richer - like I'm indulging - without necessarily being a bad thing.

Extreme Men's Multi
This is a multi-vitamin aimed at men.  It has a pretty good nutrition profile, including a little MCT oil.  The only things it doesn't have much of are calcium, magnesium and fat.  I wouldn't expect my multivitamin to have fat, but this one has a little bit (2.5g across three pills (the daily dose), which I'm sure is just due to the MCT oil).

There's not much to say here beyond it being a good looking (not aesthetically, but ingredient-wise) multi-vitamin.  It is a fairly big soft-gel-type pill, and you have to take it three times a day.  If I could, I would make it one pill you take once a day.  I have a feeling it's so large to accommodate the MCT oil, so I'd skip that ingredient and consider just using the MCT liquid.  The benefit of having the dosing split across the day is that you may do better absorbing the nutrients than if you got more of a dose all at once.  I don't know what bioavailability testing on these nutrients has been done, whether the doses are high enough in one pill that it's irrelevant, etc, but that could be a benefit.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?  Unless you're fast and can endure.  That's my question here.

So, a fine multi-vitamin.  A month's supply is about $35, which isn't terrible but isn't cheap, either.  The multivitamin I take (Rainbow Light Men's One) costs $20 for a 3 month supply and is a one-a-day option.  I haven't found any issues while on the NOW Sports multi, but I haven't noticed any clear benefits, so I plan to go back to the Rainbow Light product for just over an 80% savings.

About NOW Foods
NOW Foods, a family-owned company since 1968, is a leader in the nutritional supplements industry and dedicated to providing customers with a comprehensive approach to wellness by offering a variety of high-quality, natural and affordable products. Founded on the belief that natural is better, NOW Foods is proud to offer more than 1,400 natural products that are specifically formulated to help support optimal health through good nutrition. NOW Foods product offerings range from nutrient-rich foods and supplements to personal care and sports nutrition items.

Visit www.NOWFoods.com for more information on NOW Foods products and local retailers. 

Laterz Haters

For those who don't follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Strava, Garmin Connect, DailyMile, MapMyFitness, Nike+, YouTube, Instagram, TrainerRoad, etc...wait, what was I saying? I lost track after building that list.  Oh, right, for those who don't follow me, I've been doing a month-long bike training program on my Wahoo KICKR through an amazing app called TrainerRoad.  The program is called The Sufferfest Build, and it's based on the insane training rides put together by Singapore-based The Sufferfest. They take footage and experience (incline, competitiveness) from actual races, superimpose intervals and technique training, and basically kick your butt.  The Sufferfest Build program TrainerRoad put together has six days of riding a week (you take Monday off), with alternating between intense rides and recovery/endurance rides, plus two long rides on the weekend (one very intense, one moderate but long) - see a map of the plan below.  I'm on week two, and already see the difference in my ability.  To call it tough is an understatement.  To call it fun and energizing is also an understatement.

A map of the plan. It is intense stuff mixed with recovery time, and a ton of fun. Image courtesy of TrainerRoad

So, when I finish my rides, I post them up to my various social media channels, including the fitness networks I'm part of. I also often will mention others, like the equipment makers for the stuff I'm using if I love it or have a particular comment about it. I've been posting about my Sufferfest Build experience on Twitter with mention of @WahooFitness, @TrainerRoad, and @TheSufferfest. The problem with that last one is that I was forgetting to include the 'the'. So, turns out, there's some other Twitter user who was getting notified of my activity.  Not only that, but they weren't too impressed, and felt the need to share that with me - see what they wrote:

@newbodi Try another sport.

— Sufferfest (@sufferfest) April 9, 2014

The workout they were writing about was a recovery ride, so my performance was nothing to write home about (though obviously I felt it was something to write all my followers about - but, hey, that's just what I do, and I suggest you do it, too). I had done 35 minutes of intervals on the elliptical that morning, and then did my first run of more than one mile in months (and likely my last for a few more months as my foot is still not ok) literally right before hopping on the trainer for 60 minutes of low intensity form practice (for those who know what this means, the FTP was about 50% of my current level, and I used the TrainerRoad Pettit course, as per the Build's plan).  So the effort, achievement (kJ, TSS, mileage, etc) was not great, nor should it have been.  My ride today will be mega, by the way.

So, yeah, if that meant to be a race performance, I should possibly go pickup another sport, but it wasn't meant to be anything but some time on my bike and trainer.

But let's analyze this for a moment.  By 'this', I mean the idea that I should change sports if I am not performing at elite levels. If I was making my living competing on my bike, sure. But I'm not. I'm keeping fit and enjoying the process on my bike. Why would I get off?  When I run races, I do ok, but I'm not a rock star and don't really stand to be a top finisher in the races I sign up for. Would I mind? Not at all - I'd be elated. Do I care? Not really - I'm not bothered by it at all. So why do I do it?  Why do so many people do these things if they won't win?

You see, the issue is all one of semantics. 'Win' doesn't have to mean coming in first. 'Win' can mean so much more, but it's defined only by the person doing the activity in question. No one else.

Elon Musk, founder of PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, has this great quote in a 60 minutes piece done on him. He talked about how there was this high chance of failure with Tesla, and he didn't expect for it to succeed.  The interviewer why he'd try if he never thought they'd make it. Musk said the greatest things may not be the ones that succeed, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. He's speaking about achieving greatness and doing things for the overall betterment of the world (your world or the world more broadly). The point being, don't let the fear of failure stop you from going for it. And by extension, don't let someone else's definition of success deter you from trying.  Here's a quote of the conversation:

Elon Musk: Well, I didn't really think Tesla would be successful. I thought we would most likely fail. But I thought that we at least could address the false perception that people have that an electric car had to be ugly and slow and boring like a golf cart.

Scott Pelley: But you say you didn't expect the company to be successful? Then why try?

Elon Musk: If something's important enough you should try. Even if you -- the probable outcome is failure.

So, the message here is simple. Don't let someone else with their definition of the word 'win' influence you, your definition, or what you do. Chose what a win is to you - and that can be as simple as showing up for the race/finishing at all/getting on that bike 3 days this week/etc. Push yourself to win as you define winning, and as you do it, raise the bar for yourself to keep winning overall.  As I say in one of our podcast episodes, win your way to success, and enlighten.your.body.

Flawed Logic: "If I'm gonna die anyway, I might as well enjoy what I'm eating"

Tell me you haven't heard or thought this before:

If I'm going to die anyway, then I am going to eat whatever I want and enjoy the time I do have. Why would I give up XYZ and be miserable?

That, my friends, is called 'flawed logic'. It's one of the most common responses out there for eating healthy (along with "I don't have the time," "it's too expensive," and "I don't have the willpower."). Why is it flawed logic?  Simple, it ultimately presumes that the only enjoyment in life comes from food. So, if you give up your most loved foods, then your life will be miserable.

How would your significant other feel about that? Your siblings? Kids? Parents? Friends? Pets?

I don't blame those who say things like this. It's what our society programs us to think - food is not fuel to us, it's a source of enjoyment and pleasure. It tastes amazing and makes us feel good. We run (or maybe waddle) to it when we're sad or upset, just like the Golden Girls with their late night cheesecake sessions. So it's no wonder as a society we say things like this.

In reality is that food is ultimately just a fuel. Also, healthy eating can actually be tasty. And it can be done economically, both in terms of cost and time.

But the real reality is that our lives and the enjoyment we experience within them aren't just about food. We take joy from so many other things. Time with loved ones, great movies/shows/games/music/etc, vacations, our jobs (seriously, some people take real enjoyment from their work), time with our pets - and the list goes on.

Why do we think that giving up on some foods we like that literally are killing us somehow wipes out all enjoyment from our lives?

This question came to me after watching a great documentary called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead by an Aussie named Joe Cross. It follows him over 60 days as he goes on a fresh juice-only diet, and educates you about what our food choices are doing to us, and what healthy living can do instead. It's a fantastic movie (and book), so I highly encourage you to watch it.  It's free for Amazon Prime members, and available on DVD and streaming from most services out there (Amazon, Netflix, etc), and there's also a book version (on Kindle, too). He suffers from an autoimmune disease that has him on several medications (including strong doses of steroids), and yet he's still suffering (and overweight and feeling miserable). He transforms himself, is able to come off his meds, and is happier and healthier. He enjoys his life in a way he didn't before. And he helps another man along the way with the same ailment and even worse health (who then intern helps others, too).

What Joe learns and teaches is that we need to look for all the other sources of joy in our lives beyond food, raise the value those have in our minds, and then make healthier choices to enhance our ability to take in those sources of enjoyment. What we find along the way is that we had a false notion of what our real happiness comes from or, more accurately, just how happy we thought we were.

Whether you want to be as extreme as Joe (and you can't help but feel like you want to be), the message is so clear and valid. Live healthier, get to a place of true enjoyment, and enlighten.your.body.

Recipe: Bean Bourguignon

I was reading Runner's World recently, and found a very good looking recipe in it.  Generally, I find their recipe's too look great, but be way too high in sugar for my preference.  It's funny - usually they have naturally sweet ingredients (like fruit), but then add more sugar, honey or maple syrup on top of that, and I never know why they do that.  Of course, by, "it's funny," I mean, "it's sad and unnecessary."

So, with a bit of skepticism, I read a recipe for making a classic, rich, savory dish into one a bit healthier.  Bouf Bourguignon is an old French classic for a rich, flavorful, slow-cooked treat. If you've seen the movie Julie & Julia, you may recognize the dish's name.  Runner's World replaced the beef with white beans, so as to be more health-conscious while still providing lots of protein. Oddly enough, they add in prosciutto for flavor, thus dashing any hopes of this being a vegetarian or vegan dish.  My version kept with the meat, but I have a couple of ways to move further away from carnivority (if that's a word, which it isn't).

So, here's the Runner's World recipe, as it appears on their site, save for one edit.  They left out re-adding the mushrooms, so I've written that in below (see the blue text). This comes from http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/recipe-bean-bourguignon.

Ingredients

Photo courtesy of Runner's World

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 package (10 ounces) baby portabella mushrooms, quartered, or cut into sixths if large
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, minced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup flour
1 cup dry red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon, burgundy, or merlot
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 cans (15 ounces each) white beans, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms. Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of oil and onion to the pot. Cook onion, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add prosciutto, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Add the cooked mushrooms back in. Cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir. Whisk in wine and broth. Stir in the beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve. Serves 6.

Nutrition Information
Calories Per Serving: 377
Carbs: 44 g
Fiber: 9 g
Protein: 22 g
Fat: 11 g

It's a very simple dish, actually, with the toughest part being, well, just about nothing. OK, if you use fresh thyme like I did, picking it from the stems is time-consuming.  It's basically about throwing things in a pot, sometimes taking some out before adding them back in - but you could even skip that, and just add the onions after the mushrooms cook.  I wouldn't, but it's probably not that big of a deal.

So, what did I do to alter this?  Well, first, I don't drink, so the wine had to go.  This allowed me to make this recipe while sticking to my Clean14 pledge of no alcohol (along with other things). I was trying to think of what to use instead, and my wife had a brilliant idea - seriously brilliant - use pomegranate juice. It has a similar flavor profile and tartness.  It is very sugary, though, which is my only concern. A serving of POM Wonderful has over 30 grams of sugar. You could also use tart cherry juice. I just looked at a concentrate version on Amazon, and it has 14 grams per serving, so that would work nicely, too.

The second thing I changed was to ditch the white flour. That has the nice effect of making this a gluten-free dish, while also replacing wasteful carbs with more productive carbs and protein.  You can go several ways here, but I chose a mix of almond and coconut flour. The coconut flour is closer to white flour in consistency, while the protein and carb profile of almond flour is really nice. I also think it gives a richness to dishes while not adding rich stuff.  I was also a little concerned with the coconut flour giving coconut flavor to the dish.  I can say this didn't happen at all given how flavorful the other ingredients are, and how little you're using (it's only a 1/4 cup of flour, so even all coconut flour should't do much).  As always, I'd recommend Bob's Red Mill for your flour needs.  They're a great company with great products and great values.

Third thing I changed was to use natural, black forest bacon.  Nothing wrong with prosciutto if you're ok with meat (and pork), but the really good stuff without junk preservatives can be very costly.  I added 20 strips of well-cooked bacon (I bought pre-cooked, but you can cook it yourself - I just didn't have the time) for about 1/4 the price of 6 ounces of prosciutto.  This gave a lot of great flavor to the dish.

To avoid pork, you could easily use turkey bacon (I actually intended to, but the Whole Foods I went to was out of it when I went).  To go vegan, you can use vegan bacon. It doesn't have the same flavor, but it has a good flavor, and I think would definitely do the job. If you don't want to do that, you could add probably a tablespoon of liquid smoke to get the same effect.  Lastly, if you want to avoid adding something like that, you could use shiitake mushrooms, which have a nice, woody, smokey flavor to them.  I'd do another 10 ounces (so doubling the amount of mushrooms), and make sure they're nicely cut up to release as much flavor as possible.  To keep it vegan, you could easily use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth (as RW points out), but you could even possibly use miso soup (Whole Food's 365 brand has a miso broth that has a very light flavor, and could help make up for the lack of wine by adding a bit of fermentation to the dish).  I haven't tried doing it with miso, but a gentle miso broth could work nicely here.

My only other change was to add way more thyme than they recommend, and to do so with fresh thyme.  I love the taste of thyme, and it can help to make up for the lost flavors from rendering beef, wine or prosciutto.

The whole thing, including picking the thyme from the stems, took about 40 minutes, with 30 of that being cooking.

So how did it taste?  Honestly, unreal.  The house smelled amazingly, too.  I got three good-sized servings out of it, but I'm not sharing them with anyone because I'm stingy and like it took much.  This would go really well over brown rice or quinoa (tip - cook them in chicken, veggie or miso broth for an even better taste), or on its own.  I put it over a little bit of chicken-stock-cooked brown rice.  It would also pair really nicely with some rutabaga chips.

Recipe: Kale Chips

Kale is perhaps the most talked-about, poster-child-food for healthy eating. Every serious and joke post I read about healthy eating makes some reference to kale. The thing is, it really is exceptionally healthy.  Wikipedia has a great post on kale and its nutritional value:

Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and rich in calcium. Kale is a source of two carotenoids, lutein andzeaxanthin. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties. Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming, microwaving, or stir fryingdoes not result in significant loss. Along with other brassica vegetables, kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells. Kale has been found to contain a group of resins known as bile acid sequestrants, which have been shown to lower cholesterol and decrease absorption of dietary fat. Steaming significantly increases these bile acid binding properties.

OK, so that's a lot to take in, but it's a very healthy vegetable.

A basic way to eat it is to steam, sauté or boil it, but my favorite way is to make kale chips. You can buy lots of different kale chips in flavors like parmesan, but I find the store-bought ones to be over-done in terms of flavoring, which typically means they're loaded with things you don't need to put in your body (ahem, clean14). You can make your own kale chips super easily, and make sure you don't get any of what you don't need.

FYI - if you would prefer this in video form, I did an episode of my podcast on kale chips, so check it out on YouTube or subscribe to the iTunes podcast.

First, you need to know a bit about the various types of kale. You can make chips with any of them, but I suggest lacinato kale, which is also called dinosaur kale. It has a flat leaf, unlike most other types of kale, which lends itself really well to making chips.


ingredients

• 1 bunch of lacinato kale (aka dinosaur kale)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1-2 tbsp sea salt or himalayan (salt to your liking)
• Optional flavors - cayenne pepper, ginger, sesame, dill, cilantro, parmesan cheese, curry, etc - experiment with spices and flavors you like, but stay away from sauces - use the real spices behind the flavors

cooking for life

Step one is to make your oil and seasoning mixture so it has time to get well-flavored.  In a bowl, mix up your oil, crushed garlic and sea salt. If you want to experience with other flavors, go for it. My main guidance is to use the actual spices rather than a sauce. For example, if you want a hot, BBQ-style flavor, throw some garlic, cayenne and cumin into the oil - don't use BBQ sauce. The idea is to keep things light and flavorful, but also healthy.  Putting BBQ sauce on them would make them soggy, heavy and loaded with sugar. You won't have chips, but rather wet and soggy BBQ sugar kale. That doesn't sound very enticing to me, and certainly not keeping things healthy.

Step two is to separate the leaves and the central spine.  Kale has a spine in the middle which you can eat, but it isn't pleasant or easy, and it doesn't make for as good a chip experience, so you should separate it out. You can tear the leaves away, or use a paring knife to cut them free.

Wash and dry your leaves, really ensuring you rub each leaf to get any dirt that's stuck on them off of them.  Shake the leaves dry, and maybe even pat them dry.  The dryer they are, they better.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can use aluminum foil, but it's better to avoid the heavy metals, and also the parchment will help the chips end up lighter as they'll keep the chips from sitting in a pool of oil by allowing it to permeate away from the chips a little bit.

Once the leaves are dry, you can mix them with the flavored oil, either in a bowl or right on the baking sheet.  Really work the oil throughout the chips, coating both sides.  Then arrange the chips so that you don't have layers of plastered together chips.  It's ok for a chip to have another on top of it, but try to turn each layer so there's air between them.  This will allow them to crisp up.

Pre-heat your oven to 350˙ F.  While it heats up, the kale will get a bit marinated to enhance the flavor. Do feel free to let them sit with the flavor a bit longer, but not too long or the leaves will wilt a bit.

Cooking time is usually about 12-18 minutes, so start looking in on them at around 12 minutes to make sure they aren't burning.

That's it.  It's an easy recipe that doesn't take too long (the longest part is getting the leaves off the spines), and it makes a light, crispy, enjoyable snack or side dish that you can feel really good about eating.  As we try to change our lives to be healthier, it's great to find ways to do it that also are fun and enjoyable - proof that healthy eating doesn't have to be a chore or be joyless.

These healthy chips are one way to deliver on the clean14 challenge if you have vowed to cut out junk food from your diet.

Recipes like this really show how you can eat fun and tasty food while you enlighten.your.body.