The Biggest Loser

Being a healthy eating food blogger, I'd be remiss to not share my thoughts on the most recent "Biggest Loser." Tuesday night in the finale episode NBC revealed Rachel Frederickson as the winner with a total weight loss of 155 pounds. Almost 60% of her starting weight. This was the biggest % weight loss in the history of the show. The show should be ecstatic. It's working! Not quite. Poor Rachel had gone so far that she is currently underweight and is looking gaunt and scary.

Weight is a tricky thing. When you lose weight it's not always taken from the exact places you were hoping it would disappear from. When you gain weight your skin stretches and then when the weight is gone you are left with saggy bits. More frustrating, your face may look hollow and older while you may still have a bit of a muffin top or saddlebag. Not fair!

I mentioned underweight above. Before writing this post I made sure that I did my homework. According to Rush University Hospital (very reputable in Chicago) they say that a woman of 5'4" (Rachel's height) should weight between 108-132. And when I calculated her BMI @ 105 lbs she scored an 18. An underweight BMI is considered 18.5 and lower. America is right to be worried over the celebration of a woman who is technically malnourished.

All this said, we know it's going to be near impossible for her to maintain. She's been in an unrealistic situation with round the clock trainers, chefs providing her healthy foods, and not having to work or take care of any dependents. My hope for Rachel is that she doesn't swing back too far. The media has always chronicled show contestants, celebrities and regular folks who are constantly on the swing. The trick will be to never swing more than 5-15 lbs. Can she do it? I don't know.

In analyzing my own size, I did the math. At 111 I am within normal weight range (104-127) with a BMI of 19.7 also within the normal range (18.5-24.9). From an outsiders perspective I'm small. From my perspective I'm a bit too soft around the middle for my liking. I have a trip to Miami in a month and I'd like to lose 5 lbs. That would make we 106 and put me at the bottom of the normal range. Does that make me as crazy as the biggest loser? Hard to say since I'll be losing 5 lbs not 155 lbs. It's just a fact that I look better in a swim suit at 106 than 111. And if you are wondering the weight loss is always achieved with a balance of healthy eating and workouts. Starving myself and not enjoying food in not in my playbook.

Rachel is just human. Although the country has it right that she is underweight, she's just a gal trying to be healthy the best way she can. I hope for her that she gains a few pounds and that she has a strong support system to help her stay within the normal range. If anyone in the media every reads this, please be kind to her.

#GlutenFreeVegan

It's crazy the amount of inspiration you can get from simply typing in #glutenfreevegan in the Discovery tab of Instagram. Over the past 6 months I've started following a slew of Vegan & Gluten Free bloggers and I'm just in amazement. I know our country has a dire health problem with obesity & diabetes but I'll tell you the health movement is astounding. We've all seen the Celebrity Chefs, Celebrities and Doctors over the years pushing their food movements, but what gets me excited the most is the regular Jane's.

Every day on my Instagram feed, I am greeted with Vegetarian bloggers, Vegan bloggers, Gluten free bloggers, Home cooks, Work out fiends, Smoothie connoisseurs, Raw dieters and my favorite... restaurant critics. With a few taps on your phone you are presented with a world of ideas. A holiday or general craving has not gone by without the ability to search online to get all of the answers on how to make gluten free AND vegan. Lately I've had my eye on making gluten free vegan/vegetarian crumb cake. Like New York style crumb cake. Post to follow when I actually achieve this great feat.

What led me to write today was that one of the bloggers I follow Yvonne, of "My Eclectic Kitchen," posted about a holistic online grocer that she is a fan of. This grocer is like PeaPod meets Amazon. It's call VitaCost. In her pic she showed a few of the ingredients that I'm familiar working with and thought I'd give the site a look. I was astounded by finding every gluten free & vegan product I've ever seen in the past 5 years available at this site at a discount. Everyone knows that an alternative diet is expensive and therefore there is an absolutely demand for this type of service. The site has hundreds of thousands of products ranging from food to vitamins to dog supplies. I perused the site like a kid in a candy store. I kept my shopping cart to about $60 to get the free shipping (above $49) but didn't go too crazy in case the box comes to my apartment all mangled. I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival. The site says the shipment will take 1-4 days. I can't wait.

Spent~ Closing out Week 2

Today marks the 13th day of my Spent program. This morning marks the first time in a long time that my alarm woke me up. On a normal day I would start waking up at around 5am and stare at the clock on and off until it sounded. I'd say I average about 7 hours of sleep on a work day. This morning, my alarm woke me up after a solid 8 1/12 hours. How much sleep is too much? I'm certainly not a college kid anymore and can't sleep the day away. Should I program myself to sleep only 8? After a very relaxing Holiday season I've really been thinking that I need to get back into routine. Wake up early and get my butt to the gym! I can work out at my gym during lunch hours, but I know once work picks up that lunch hour can slip away from you.

Some other notes on my Spent program:

-I still think of wine every day. A slight cold has kept my willpower strong to keep my cravings at bay. I know the second I have a glass of Red Wine it will result as a sinus cold.

-I find that I'm eating more to combat the lack of wine. I'm feeling a bit soft around the middle but I think that's OK. It is winter after all. Have to keep my strength against the bitter cold.

-Being January, I've found that hot liquids are essential. I've been careful with too much caffeine but have had my share of Decaf Coffee, Earl Grey tea & Hot Chocolate. No more than 2 cups a day.

-Vegan at home and Vegetarian when I'm out is continuing to prove a fairly easy program to maintain. I worry that I eat too many carbs but I feel that my bean/egg/veggie/fruit intake should be providing me with the balance of nutrients that I need.

Pure Sleep

The SPENT Diet works. It worked 4 years ago and it has worked again. I've been sleeping like an absolute baby and I am more alert during the day. I've been sleeping 8+ hours straight. Solid!

This time around has been significantly easier than last as I already live an abridged version of the SPENT lifestyle. Let's call it SPENT light. I already eat gluten free, I don't eat meat, I avoid dairy, I try to incorporate greens into my diet ever day and I work out regularly. My consistent pit falls have always been my daily cup of coffee and my penchant for wine. As you'll see in my log below, I've been strong with my sobriety, however cheated a bit with my coffee & tea*. To be fair, I've been living in "Chiberia" with heavy snow and wind chills of -40 & 50. I was home bound. Or as I called it House Arrest. I did my best.

I should note, that being home bound has also affected my workouts. As of yesterday I'm back to my regular work out schedule (which significantly helps my sleep).

1/1:
Breakfast: "Dad's" Granola/Puffins Cereal/Almond Milk
Lunch: Blue Corn Nachos w/ Egg/Spinach/Black Beans/Salsa
Snack: Pomegranate Seeds
Dinner: Roasted Sweet Potatoes/Onion/Spinach
(PT Exercise/Stretches)
1/2:

Breakfast: Granola/Puffins Cereal/Almond Milk

Lunch: Roasted Sweet Potatoes/Onion/Red Pepper/Spinach/Egg

Snack: Banana

Dinner: Dal Soup/Basmati Rice

Dessert: Almond Dream Ice Cream

(PT Exercise/Stretches)

1/3:

Breakfast: MacroBar

Lunch: Asian Noodle Soup

Snack: Banana

Dinner: Granola/Puffins Cereal/Almond Milk

Dessert: Almond Dream Ice Cream

(Spin Workout & PT)

1/4:

Breakfast: Oatmeal/Blueberry/Agave

Lunch: Dal Soup/Basmati Rice/Spinach

Snack: Pistachios

Dinner: Crackers/Goat Cheese

Dessert: Macaroons

(PT Exercise/Stretches)

1/5:

Breakfast: Almond Milk Yogurt/Granola & Coffee*

Lunch: Roasted Sweet Potato Fries/Sauteed Kale

Snack: Puffins Cereal/Almond Milk & Tea*

Dinner: Crackers/Hummus

Dessert: Macaroons

(PT Exercise/Stretches)

1/6:

Breakfast: Oatmeal/Blueberry/Agave & Coffee*

Lunch: Veggie Chili/Polenta

Snack: Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

Dinner: Toast/Jelly/Vegan Butter

Dessert: Chocolate

(PT Exercise/Stretches)

1/7:

Breakfast: Oatmeal/Blueberry/Agave & De-Caf Coffee

Lunch: Waffles/Almond Butter/Jelly

Dinner: Veggie Chili/Polenta/Kale

Dessert: Macaroons

(Short Run/Walk & Arm/Abs Class)

Starting the New Year SPENT

In what seams like a lifetime ago, I read a book called SPENT. It was the book that changed my life. The book lead my to the discovery of my gluten allergy with an elimination diet and more importantly to a lifetime journey of nutrition and health.

It has been 4 years and 4+ months since my Spent journey and in true 201"4" fashion, I think it's time I give this reset/detox a whirl. As a reminder, the main thought on SPENT is that we as Americans are sluggish during the day and can't sleep at night.

Since Thanksgiving, I have dabbled in Vegetarianism, which is code for I allowed myself to eat dairy. And I ate meat for Christmas dinner. Although I didn't overeat over the holiday's, the trifecta of Thanksgiving/Birthday/Christmas is always wearing on the body. Throw in a slew of Christmas parties & a bum knee hindering my workouts and I just felt pickled.

Some of the main tenors of spent are:

No Alcohol

No Caffeine

No Cow's Milk Dairy

No Grains that include Gluten

Workout/Stretch/Do Yoga

Leave the electronics outside the bedroom!

I'm going to stick to my flexitarian, but I will allow myself to eat:

Any Fruit
Any Veggie
Gluten Free Grains
Honey/Maple Syrup/Agave
Goat Cheese
Eggs
Almond Milk products (ice cream, yogurt, milk)
Dark Chocolate
Vegan Thai/Indian Food

6 weeks. Here goes...

Flexitarian: A New Regime

At the tail end of my 3 month trial of Veganism, I finally came up with my sustainable food plan. Often during the trial I had friends and family think I was nuts. How could I possibly do this? How will I get my protein? Aren't you hungry? What the hell do you eat? All fair questions.

I have to say I was fairly devout. I really believed and still do in the benefits of being a Vegan. All that said I found one critical problem. I find all food interesting. I love watching the Food Network and I love eating at new restaurants. I was starting to feel like one of my critical passions was floating away. I could look but not touch. As an adult for sometime now (yes I know that sounds silly) I'm used to getting what I want when I want it. I'm the master of my domain. The day after Thanksgiving I had had it. I had just finished working out and I wanted eggs. Nothing could have stopped me from eating them.  And so my 100% Vegan journey ended.

Back to the plan. Identifying the problem led me to my 3 part solution:

1. Grocery shop Vegan foods for the home

2. Eat Vegetarian when eating at a restaurant

3. Eat Meat/Fish on special occasions (holidays, 3/4 star restaurants)

This allows me to intake about an 80-90% healthy diet and allows for 10-20% to feed my mind and soul.

I'm a few weeks in, so far so good.

Change is Necessary

Yesterday morning on the bus ride to work, I picked up the Red Eye to read per my usual routine and happened upon my horoscope that would hold the answers to what I was looking for as I head into 2014.

I love Astrology and Magic. We only have one life to live and I think that it's fun to believe. Maybe that's why I'm still a devoted Roman Catholic. I know it's a lot of smoke and mirrors and it has unanswered questions. That's OK. Any way, onto the Horoscope...it was dead on. And it's not the first time, here was yesterday's:

Sagittarius
You've gone through a lot of changes recently, thank to Mercury. Maybe you've decided to become vegan. Perhaps you're taking yoga. Or maybe you've simply chosen to let go of relationships with losers and energy vampires. Keep it up.

In my adult life I've thrived on change. I like new things, it gets you excited. It keeps you alive. In recent posts I've shared with you my Vegan journey. In the 3 month experiment I really immersed myself in food bloggers on Instagram, documentaries and a series of books. I learned a ton. I learned that if I truly want to live a long and healthy life I needed to make some changes and continually evolve. With that said, no one is perfect and I had my breakdowns. The important thing was figuring out the meaning of this journey. Making something real out of it. I think I've found it.

I'm changing my Account at work. I won't take you through the details of this change as this is not a business blog, but I may be getting the opportunity to work on a food account come the new year. I've worked in food before and I've always wanted to get back into it. I've devoted a lot of my free time to food. Cooking. Learning. Blogging. Watching. Experiencing. Eating. Working. You name it. I often feel like making a name for myself in the food industry is my destiny.

With the help of my Vegan experience, I feel that I have a starting point for where I want to take my next career move. I'm going to create change. I'm going to change human behavior.