Lifestyle Eating

Bogus Diets
We've all heard the saying, or at least some version of it, "It's a lifestyle, not a diet." If any quotation were as dead on right, it's this. You can't expect to cut your calories almost in half, go carb free, go fat free, etc. for the rest of your life and call it a lifestyle. Eventually you will fall of the wagon, and you will gain your lost weight back faster than you took it off. This is why I hate all those celebrities talking about juicing for weight loss, eating only vegetables, cutting out all carbs, and doing ridiculous things that only temporarily solve the problem. It's called a balanced diet for a reason.

Carbs vs. Fat vs. Protein
I also don't buy into some of the 20/40/20 or whatever it is they say your ratio of fat/carbs/protein should be. I can only do what works for me. You can only do what works for you, but typically the more protein, the less sugar and the more green veggies you have in your diet, the more results you will see. For me, the more protein I eat, the better I feel and my energy levels thank me. It also stabilizes my blood sugar and keeps my metabolism on full calorie-burning blast. I usually consume anywhere from 150- 200 grams of protein a day. Also, my body responds better to vegetables as my carbs. I usually eat about four to six large portions of vegetables daily. My favorites are: any color of bell pepper, cucumbers, steamed broccoli and tomatoes. Eating protein with the vegetables and vice versa aids in digestion, scavenges free radicals, and helps absorption of nutrients. Eating vegetables, along with drinking plenty of water, also helps your body refrain from retaining water.

As for carbs, I mostly stick to quinoa and quick oats. I don't have time to bake sweet potatoes often, but if I did have the time, I would eat more. I don't eat bread, pasta, or white rice. If I do, it's on a cheat day. (We'll talk about this later.) I usually stick to two to three servings of these good carbs daily, depending on my exercise load. If it's a leg day, I will make sure to eat them at least twice before and once after the workout. On other days, I just pay attention to how I feel. Sometimes, I don't feel like eating them at all and just stick to veggies as carbs. I'm done eating carbs, with the exception of my veggies, after about 3-4pm.

Fat is an important part of our diet as well. Without it, our skin would be wrinkly, our joints would be creaky and we would be a hormonal mess. Good fats are olive oil, coconut oil, omega-3 fish oil, grape seed oil and flax seed oil, just to name a few. Fat provides a sense of satiety or fullness that fat free counterparts can't do for you. If you eat a piece of real cheese vs. fat free cheese, you will actually eat less of the real cheese because it will take less to satisfy you.

I can eat crappy and still work it off at the gym right?
Buzzer sound. If you eat crappy, you feel crappy. If you eat well, you feel well. It's not rocket science. Do you feel better exercising after eating pizza or do you feel better exercising after eating a piece of lean grilled chicken, some brown rice and a side of steamed broccoli? Which is more fuel for your body? Of course, the healthy meal is. You have to look at your workout and your body like you would a fancy car. Would you put the cheapest gas in a Ferrari? You would want your car to last longer, so wouldn't you put the premium stuff in it? This is exactly how you should treat your body. After all, a car can be replaced after a few years. Your body can't. With that being said, YOU CAN NEVER OUT WORK OUT A BAD DIET!!!!

Cheat Day
This is the good stuff, or at least that is what you might think. You mean I get to eat whatever I want??? Yesssss!!!! Try eating clean for at least two weeks before you attempt this. When you do "cheat," eat whatever your heart or stomach desires. This can only be one meal though, so choose wisely. Having a cheat meal once a week keeps your sanity, so you are able to eat clean the rest of the week. It's something to look forward to, but keep in mind you've eaten clean the whole week, so you may feel more sluggish than usual afterwards. You may even have digestion issues, so it's not as wonderful as you might think. However, we need it. It will actually kick your metabolism up a notch, because your body will want to burn it off as soon as possible. The next day, you might actually increase your weight in your workout or run an extra mile. This is great motivation for the rest of the week!!

Conclusion
This is not easy to do. It helps to keep a journal of your daily intake of food. I would be more than happy to review that journal if you have any questions. Sometimes it just takes a little tweaking and you're off and running on your goals. Just remember IT'S NOT A DIET!! Dieting sets you up to FAIL. To attain your fitness goals, you must be consistent and keep your eye on the prize. Once the goal is achieved, you won't ever want to revert back to your old ways. I hope this helps.

(Share and follow this blog and you will be entered into a drawing for a full size bottle of Cardio Cuts to help enhance your workout. The winner will be announced a week from today.)

HAPPY FITNESS!!!

And the winner is...

In regards to Free Product from Eddie's GNCs...

Thank you all for your wonderful comments and for "friending" Eddie's GNCs. Your support is what keeps me going. You all motivate ME!! So, here goes. I put your names on a post-it and placed them in my favorite cup.

And the name I pulled out was none other than...

Congratulations Corban. The rest of you lovelies can take advantage of this special offer throughout the month of January.

Again, thank you all for your input. You may also like my facebook page, Buff Blonde Mama. I hope to inform and entertain you more this year. Thanks for following. Be well in 2012.

A Very Merry Christmas Surprise

Merry Christmas to me from Resvitale. I love their products which involve hair, skin and nail formulas, fat loss supplements, and resveratrol just to name a few. For Christmas, they sent me my favorite Resvitale product- Keratin Enhance:

Patented soluble bioactive keratin easily absorbed in the body

Helps reduce hair loss and promotes the strength, volume and shine of hair

Promotes healthy and strong nails

Valued at $40.

And I'm giving it away!!! Leave me a comment on this post and follow my blogs, and I will put your name into a drawing for a chance to win this fabulous gift!! If you add Eddies GNCs to your friends on Facebook, you will be entered again!! Good luck! I will announce the winner New Year's Day.

Thanks for all your support this last year.

Note to my younger self

In my twenties, I struggled a lot with body image. Actually, that doesn't even begin to describe my hatred for my outward appearance. It started in middle school. This was when we were given options for lunch, like the pizza line, hamburger line, or salad line. I mostly avoided all at all costs. I was more interested in what to wear, how to wear it and who would notice in the bleachers after lunch. I hardly ever ate breakfast and I rarely ate lunch. It wasn't because I thought I was fat though. It was because the cool kids saved their lunch money for after school to walk down to Arby's for curly fries and cheddar.

I've always had an athletic build and started puberty a lot later than most, so I was always a tad on the underdeveloped side if you catch my drift. It wasn't until late in my freshmen year of high school, that I started having the dreaded monthly cycle. That year, I broke the 100 mark on the scale. This put a red flag in my mind. I began to skip more meals, thinking that I needed to dip back below 100 pounds. Mind you, I wasn't even wearing junior size clothing. I was still in the kids' sizes!!

In high school, I was a bit of a mix. I was pretty shy, sort of a smart ass, and was completely afraid of boys. However, I had my first serious boyfriend my senior year in high school. I had taken up running that year and it was noticed by many. Everyone thought I looked great. I was a lifeguard at the local pool, tan, blond and feeling good. Little did they know, I wasn't eating. The minute the boyfriend and I broke up, I hit a very dangerous phase of my life.

My freshmen year of college, I started binging and purging and taking laxatives. This went on throughout my college years in fact. I just wanted people to like me, so I thought being perfect-looking would help the situation. I joined a sorority my junior year and was even elected President the next year. I made decent grades, held down a job and still made time to exercise. On nights we went out, I starved myself the whole day because I thought my outfit would look better on me that night if I did. I would drink until I threw up.... a lot. I didn't go out much though, because sometimes, I was too fat to go out with my friends (in my mind.)

Now, I think about all those things daily. It's not because I want to revert to that but it's to question my motives. Why did I put myself through that? What possibly led me to believe that being scary thin was acceptable? I'll tell you why. Every magazine cover, every reality TV show, every billboard in our society is laden with "perfection." Whether it's Adriana Lima's lips....

Jamie Eason's boobs.....

JLo's butt....

or Heidi Klum's legs...

We are forced to look at these airbrushed goddesses on a daily basis and we are made to think this is what we're supposed to look like.

Tell you what. I actually don't want to look like any of them. I am finally satisfied with my appearance. I like my thin heart-shaped lips. I prefer my smaller, "perky" bum. And even though I was teased as a kid about my big calves, I dare those boys to walk next to me in shorts now!! I also embrace my post-breastfeeding banana boobs that barely fill out a B cup.

I am actually more fit now, I eat more and I'm happier than I've ever been in my whole life. 

What matters most to me though, is that I am healthy inside and out. I don't ever want my daughter to hear me say I'm fat, ugly, or too flat-chested. I want her to know that she was molded and perfected by God. It is true. Our bodies are a temple. We only get one, so take care of it while you have it. Does this mean I will stop using anti-wrinkle cream on my face? Oh heck no! I am trying to preserve what the good Lord gave me. :)

Love and Grace, a Dedication to ^Zane Wyatt Reese^.

Lately I've been thinking about life and death... a lot. What is it? Why do we have to experience losing someone very close to us? Why do parents lose their children? Isn't is supposed to be the other way around? I find myself crying my eyes out thinking of these parents' strife in losing their precious children.

Today is Zane's birthday. Zane is my cousin Hailee's son. He was just one month and a half older than my daughter, Korbin. Zane was born on Thankgiving in 2008, the day before my baby shower. Zane left us to be with our Lord just sixteen short months after he was born. His young mother, Hailee was left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart, after her son died in her arms.

Zane and Korbin only got to play a couple times, and I only got to see him during those times. He was the sweetest little boy and he and Korbin played well together. They practiced making new noises and sounds together, each one making one sweet sound after another. Zane got sick when he was ten months old, with a rare form of cancer. He spent many nights in Children's Mercy Hospital here in KC and eventually they were sent to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, where they were unable to help him anymore.

I can't imagine what Hailee must have gone through during this time of waiting. I can tell you what I felt. I felt anger and confusion. Why did this little boy have to endure this and why would a mother have to experience watching her only son die? After Zane's passing, I was very depressed for a long time. Once again, I know I wasn't half as depressed as his mother.

All she has left, are memories and photographs of her sweet little boy.

While I try to understand why we are put here on this Earth to go through this, I pray. I pray for peace in Hailee's heart. I pray for peace in the whole family's hearts. Zane has been gone for almost two years, but the pain of his passing will never fade. All we can do is have comfort in knowing that Zane isn't sick anymore. He is one of God's great angels, watching over us all, especially his mother, Hailee and his new baby brother, Cooper Zane who will be due a month before the anniversay of Zane's passing.

If you wish to learn more about Zane and his story, please visit his Caringbridge Website.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/zanereese

Please also remember there are other parents and children going through this. Please donate whenver possible to your local children's hospital and/or St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. As a society, we should take care of one another, not because we have to, but because it's human nature to care for one another.

^"7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

-1 John 4:7-8

Buff Blonde's Daily Essentials

Everyday, I am asked what supplements I take daily. Well, here is the list and why I prefer to take certain ones over others.

GNC Ultra Mega Gold w/Iron

 

I prefer the GNC Ultra Mega Gold Vitamin because it's timed release, but also because it has twice the B vitamins than the women's vitamin GNC makes. Granted, the women's vitamins have a lot more calcium, so I have to supplement, but I like how the UM Gold helps me with energy and stress all day long. It also has essential digestive enzymes and more in it for eye health.

I have highly recommended the Minus 10 now for over fives years. This product is one of the best I've tried. It's timed release alpha lipoic acid. Regular ALA has a mere twenty-six minute half life. This means it's only in your system for twenty-six minutes. Unfortunately, that is not long enough for the ALA to do its job. Its job is to neutralize cell-damaging free radicals within the mitochondria of the cell. This helps the body to stabilize blood sugar and gives you stimulant free energy. It is also great for the skin and detoxifies your body. When your cells are free of free radicals, your skin glows, you feel better, and you aren't peaking and crashing all day long.

Evening Primrose Oil

I take this for hormonal balance and skin health. It can also help balance blood sugar. I take 1,000 mg per day or 2-500mg soft gels. You have to remember to take twice the dose of omega 3 fatty acids though when you take this product. EPO is Omega 6. Without Omega 3, Omega 6 will cause too much inflammation in the body. Be sure to supplement with GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil as I do. I take 1,800mg every night before bed.

There is only one more product I take daily.

Vitamin D-3 5000

I take this for mood balance, allergies, immune support, bone density, etc. etc. etc. Every time I open a health magazine or read a health forum, there is a new reason to take vitamin D. I call it "sunshine in a bottle." I am one moly girl, so I try to hide my skin from the sun like a vampire. When I started this high dose of vitamin D, I began to feel better almost instantly. I rarely get sick, but I started getting allergies after the birth of my daughter. This has helped me from suffering. I recently had my vitamin D levels checked in my blood and the doctor said they were perfect. Yay me for being proactive. I advise you take 2,000-5,000 IU of D-3 daily, but since it is a fat soluble vitamin, you should definitely ask your doctor if you are like most Americans and deficient.

These are just the essentials I take daily. I will post soon about my sports supplements for working out and for weight loss. Until then, stop in my GNC Saturday August 27, from 10am-7pm for our huge sale!!!

8716 W. 135th St.

Overland Park, KS

913-681-0349

Training pet peeves

Ladies and gentlemen, please., I beg you please, don't drop your kid off at the gym and let him loose in the weight room without a proper spotter. The definition of a proper spotter is not his equally inexperienced buddy. Tonight, I had a 13-yr_oldish kid jump in with me on a rowing exercise. Normally, I use anywhere from 65-90 lbs on this particular machine and I do them correctly, focusing on my negatives. This kid put the peg in the 50 lb slot, leaned back, and let 'er rip. Being a parent myself, as well as a believer in technique, I had to step in to help. I instructed him to move his butt forward, sit straight up, and not let the thing just fly back to starting position.
He was very thankful and I saw a couple other gym patrons smile and nod at me. I thought for sure his mother or father would see this 30-yr-old woman talking to their kid, but no parental unit was in sight.
I am all for kids' fitness and strength training, but parents, please invest on some proper training for your young aspiring iron pumpers. It is highly important to do this for obvious reasons including avoiding injury and if they want real results.
The other thing I see a lot of is the girls and some guys standing in front of the mirror, wasting their time doing a ridiculous amount of weighted side bends. Ladies, this "exercise " does nothing for our figures. While you think you are working on whittling your obliques, you are actually building them out increasing volume on your sides.
To achieve an hourglass, practice doing more twisting abdominal exercises. One thing that also helps me with my core is lifting as heavy as I can for 15 reps, three to four sets on my various exercises for all the rest of my muscle groups. Yes, you should work your abs separately, but when you lift heavy on the other stuff, you achieve better results for your core.  So next time you want to work those sides try to twist more and lift often.
I guess you could say I'm picky or anal about this sort of thing, but learn from others' mistakes including mine. I am extremely passionate about this stuff. I like to see people get results without hurting themselves and in a timely fashion. Fitness is a wonderful thing, and it keeps us young for longer. Everyone should invest in proper training techniques. It doesn't make sense not to.