Photo by Hannah Nicole

So, during the holidays I think we can all agree that it’s nigh impossible to stay fit and health without coming across to your friends, family and co-workers as a pompous, judgmental….something that rhymes with ‘zastard’. Yet, at the same time, we’re compelled to say, “You know what? I’ve worked hard all year. I’m in great health. How about I throw caution to the wind for a few days?”

For some, that question is easily answered with solid habits, smaller portion sizes and continued fitness. For others, that question gets answer by shattered habits that are tough to maintain at best, and it send some into downward spirals not easily overcome.

So, how can we keep our sanity? There are many things that can be done. A variety of nutritional and fitness ideas are at your fingertips to help keep your health at it’s best all the while being festive and jolly with your friends and loved ones AND getting to relax a bit.

Nutrition

1. When you go the family grazing line, take a moment to find the smaller plate size if it is offered. Some families use buffet plates and dessert plates. Grab the smaller dessert plate and use that as your portion guide. You’ll feel better knowing that in an hour you won’t feel like you’re about to die if you don’t take a nap.
2. Drink your water, people! 10 minutes before you start dinner, take a moment to drink 16oz of refreshing H2O. It’ll help hydrate you (obviously) and it’ll give you body a stronger sense of hunger. Too often our bodies confuse hunger and thirst. This way, you’re more likely to eat for your true hunger. In addition to right before dinner, make sure you’re staying hydrated beyond the daily cups of coffee and tea.
3. Enjoy your mother’s famous dish. Whatever it is. Have a little dessert. Enjoy that little pastry. If you fully deprive yourself, you’ll be far more likely to binge like a slingshot than if you simply took a little bit of whatever you may be craving.
4. Don’t let guilt guide your actions. The holidays are about family, about celebration, about honoring the holiday’s Reason. Knowing that, celebrate! You know right from wrong and you want to do your best. Stick to your guns. If you fall of the horse, so what? Dust yourself off and climb back up there! You’re stronger than you think, both physically AND mentally.

Fitness (these are borrowed, in part, by Kit Caldicott)

1. Take the stairs. Skip the moving walkways in the airport, the escalators and the elevators. When you’re travelling, take the stairs – if you don’t have a ton of packages in your hand or a big suitcase! Not only does it get your heart pumping, but it’s a nice little wake up call that gets you re-energized.
2. Take 10 minutes and bang out a few jumping jacks right when you get out of bed or if you’ve been sitting at your desk for hours. As a bonus, follow it up with 5 soothing vinyasas to focus on breath and stretching your body. (collapse and forward fold, let your body hang, rise up to a flat back, collapse again, step back into plank, rise up to upward dog, back to downward dog, step feet to hands and repeat.) Think this is silly? Just try it – you won’t when you get that boost of energy and that rush of endorphines.
3. Do a quick UML routine. UML stands for Upper-Middle-Lower. I will try to do at least five rounds of this routine. For example, 15 push-ups (upper), 25 crunches (middle), and 30 deep squats (lower). Come up with a bunch of different upper, middle and lower exercises and repeat for four more rounds. Do as many rounds and reps as you have time for. (This is my personal favorite. I take a resistance band with me on vacations and do something like this every morning.)
4. Take the dog on a brisk walk or jog. If you’ve got a dog, go walk it! Here’s the thing—because it’s so cold, pick up the pace a little and afterward you’ll be so glad you got out into the fresh air.
5. Tony Horton’s 10-minute trainer. If you don’t have it, I highly recommend it. These routines are amazing go-to workouts on the crazy days. They are terrific heart pumping, strengthening and stretching routines in just 10 minutes. (go to www.beachbodycoach.com/graveidea to order)

TheBalanced Power Mix

Looks pretty tasty, right? Well, truth be told….it is. It’s delicious. The perfect blend of sweet and savory, while being nutrient-dense and full of energy. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you TheBalanced Power Mix.

I used to call this ‘Trail Mix’, but I never went on a trail with it, so I decided to rename it. It’s now Power Mix, as that is its intended purpose. It provides concentrated fuel and energy to your body. It’s perfect for on the go, for travel in the car, for an afternoon snack, or even quick pre/post workout nourishment. It’s satiating, meaning it fills you up and it keeps you feeling full while it works its magic on your insides.

The Ingredients:

• Roasted raw almonds (2 cups)
• Roasted raw walnuts, halved (2 cups)
• Roasted raw pecans, halved (1 cup)
• Roasted salted cashews, halved (2 cups)
• Roasted raw pumpkin seeds (1/2 cup)
• Roasted raw sunflower seeds (1/2 cup)
• Dried cranberries (1 cup)
• Raisins (1 cup)
• Dark chocolate bits (2 cups)

The Tools:

• Cookie sheet
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Spatula
• Plates on which to cool the nuts
• Bowl to mix everything together

The Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 325. You’ll be baking (what I called ‘roasting’) these nuts for 10 minutes @ 325, or alternatively you could do approx. 20 minutes @ 225.
2. Spray a cookie sheet with a thin layer of olive oil, or low fat cooking spray.
3. Spread out 2 of your types of nuts on the cookie sheet evenly so that each nut is in contact with the cookie sheet. You can do this in any order you like. I did my almonds and walnuts, then cashews and pecans, then pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.
4. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for the time mentioned above. You should be able to smell the nuts as you near the oven. Be careful not to burn the nuts, as they retain that burn flavor after they’ve cooled.
5. Once the batch of nuts is done, place each type of nut on its own individual plate for cooling.
6. Repeat Steps 2-5 for the next two types of nuts. You may not need to repeat Step 2 if there is still plenty of oil on the cookie sheet.
7. Repeat Steps 2-5 for the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. You may not need to repeat Step 2 if there is still plenty of oil on the cookie sheet.
8. Make sure all the nuts and seeds have cooled completely before mixing everything together. If you do not, the heat from the nuts and seeds will melt the dark chocolate and give you quite the gooey mess.
9. In a large bowl, combine all the nuts, the seeds, the dried cranberries, the raisins and the dark chocolate bits. Get your hands in there and start mixing everything up! It’s like being a kid again.

Once you’re done, throw it all in a bag or bowl and viola! What you have left is a great, savory, salty mix that is healthy and choc full of good energy and nutrients.
The Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Closing Thoughts:

This stuff is addictive, so be careful! The use of salted cashews is the coup de grace in this recipe. It created the balance between sweet and savory. As such, be careful and don’t just sit there with a bag of this and eat until you’re stuffed! While it is incredibly nutrient dense, it also incredibly calorie dense! It’s intended purpose – energy for USE – should not be taken lightly.

So, I’ve been seeing these commercials on TV lately that have really started to bother me. Not in that, “Oh, this guy’s voice is so irritating.” kind of way. But it’s more of a, “I hate to see how many people get duped into this.” sort of thing.

I’m sure other cities and states have similar businesses offering the same type of services to the same type of people, but the one I’m talking about is a local business here in Kansas City.

It’s called Weight Loss Surgical Center. Their slogan is, “Less of you, more of life. Weight Loss Surgical Center.”

Now, at first glance, this idea sounds potentially inspiring. Some morbidly obese guy is sitting in his living room, sees the commercial and thinks, “That’s it. I’ve had it. I’m changing my life!” That’s a good idea, right? Well, maybe.

If their commercials weren’t targeting almost everybody else BUT that guy, I’d change my answer to “Sure!”. Take this commercial for example: The entire ad has images of a man and his family. Years pass, and the guy keeps getting bigger. His voiceover speaks of his concern for his health and that suddenly he’d had enough. He was going to take care of himself and change his habits…….by going under the knife and getting a LAP-BAND put around his stomach.

Here’s another: A woman’s images are shown on the screen as her voiceover tells a similar story. A lamentation of her health situation. A fear of what lies ahead. A decision point comes in her life when she realizes she’s 70lbs overweight, and the only thing left to do…is get a LAP-BAND procedure.

Really? REALLY? That’s the ONLY thing left to do? I think there are at least a few options left before one chooses to go under the knife.

Besides the obvious options like starting an exercise regimen on a daily basis and changing your diet to a Clean Daily Diet, I can’t help but wonder if there are any viable arguments FOR getting a LAP-BAND procedure outside of extreme cases. It seems that the most natural way to lose weight would be the best way, would it not?

It also seems, then, that a majority of those that opt for the LAP-BAND (like the woman who was only 70lbs overweight*), do so with the same attitude of convenience that got them where they are in the first place.

“How can I do this without having to put any effort into it?” ”
“What’s the easiest way out of this?”
“What is the fastest route?”

There is no discussion of, “If I’m going to do this, it will be for the rest of my life. How do I go about changing my eating habits permanently?”

And it is this mentality that makes my heart sink for our nation. We are in the midst of an epidemic and the producers of our food and the vendors of our food seem to be doing nothing to help us get/be/stay healthy. Instead, their pursuit of money has convinced them that the consumer’s health isn’t important anymore.

But I digress. I must end this rant, before it becomes a different rant – one against the food industry.

I know there is no solid conclusion here. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Right now, in the midst of my rant, I feel like shouting. I feel like letting people know that there should be no easy way out. The journey is just as important as the destination when it comes to losing weight and getting fit. The journey is knowledge and that knowledge is power. It is taking control and not just knowing things, but living them.

Having said that, I leave you with this jewel from american cinema. I feel it sums up my rant nicely.

http://is.gd/cCK5f

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*Why did I star that remark? I’m glad you asked. I know that some reading this might see my aside comment up there and think, “70lbs is A LOT of weight to lose! Maybe LAP-BAND was the best option.” Let me tell you, LAP-BAND seems to be most effective as a last resort idea for morbidly obese people. And even then, a LAP-BAND should only be a starting point to help them understand how to curb an appetite. At some point, they should be able to hold their own dietarily. As well, I myself have lost 115lbs, and I did not need any surgical procedure. Go do some homework. MANY people online have successfully lost hundreds of pounds without the use of surgery.

A few days ago, I overheard someone lamenting his weight and how he wished he could wake up the next day and simply be in shape. My initial reaction to this was just plain irritation.

I thought, “Good grief. If you want to lose weight, then do it.”

But no sooner did I think that, then I was reminded of my own journey. I remembered how I would stay up late at night and see infomercials for fitness programs and wonder if they really worked, while I drank a beer and had some late night Sonic eats. I remember my fiance expressing her hopes that I might take control of my situation and become healthier, if anything, for the longevity of our relationship.

Suddenly, my irritation turned to empathy, and in my empathy I realized the crux of my friend’s problem: He wanted to lose weight, but he didn’t want it bad enough. Are you familiar with the story of Sisyphus in Greek Mythology – a man doomed to push the same boulder up a hill for all eternity, only to have it fall back down just before it reaches the top. My friend has been pushing the same boulder of guilt, shame and extra weight up that hill, only to have some insecurity or some moment of stress knock that boulder back down to the bottom and he starts all over.

Like me, he had no motivator driving him to push that boulder over the hill, into freedom, knowledge, self-worth, and good health.

Of those four benefits, knowledge is the foundation. If you want to lose weight, you have to know what you’re eating, know what’s burning in that furnace of yours, and you have to know how hot that furnace is burning. Furthermore, you need the tools and the understanding to make that furnace burn hotter and longer. And finally, you need to do all you can to keep the furnace in good condition. Keep it clean and running smoothly. Let’s take a look at those ideas, shall we?

What is your fuel source? (What are you eating?)
The simple math says this, “Calories In < Calories Out = Weight Loss” If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you’ll lose weight. It is said that 1lb of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. Do the math any way you like. Daily, if you start eating 500 calories less, then theoretically you would lose 1lb in a week (7days X 500 calories = 3,500 calories/wk).

But that’s theory. In practice we have that pesky problem where someone who is overweight isn’t overeating by only 500 calories. Often times we see that overweight (and especially obese) people are over eating by thousands of calories and not realizing it. So, while cutting out 500 calories/day is good, more effort is needed to make the weight start coming off: You need to actually find out how many calories you are consuming on a daily basis.

*gasp*

I know. It sounds awful. Calorie counting. But think about this? How else are you going to know what you’re putting in to your body? Having that knowledge is power! It’s a great step in taking back control of your body. (Ed. Note: Many people, once they achieve their goal begin to stop counting calories. That’s due to a mastery of their diet and an understanding of what their body needs. Counting Calories doesn’t have to be a life-long deal, unless you want it to be. I keep doing it because I love knowing exactly what I’m putting in my body.)

The tool I use to track calories is free and it’s online. You can input everything you eat, track your daily values and even track your weight loss goals. It’s called Spark People.

What are you burning?
How hot is that furnace burning? Is it dim embers, or are we almost at 88mph?

Alright, so you’ve found a way to start eating less each day and you’ve found a way to start tracking what you eat. What’s next?

We need to figure out how many calories you’re burning in a day. The rate at which your body burns calories is called the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The BMR is the number of calories your body burns in a day without any physical fitness. There are many tools online that help you do the math to figure this out.

BMR Calculator (plug in your info to calculate your BMR)
BMR Formula (do the math yourself to calculate your BMR)

“But what about my Body Mass Index?”, one might ask? While having that number can be telling, it is also very deceptive. My current BMI is just under 25. On some scales that suggests I’m overweight, yet I’m in the best shape of my life. My “overweight-ness” is explained by the muscle I’ve developed, and thus it’s a healthy weight regardless of what my BMI is.

How to make the furnace burn hotter? (How do I increase my metabolism?)
Well, there are quite a few thing that will increase your BMR, your metabolism, and thus increase the number of calories you burn in a day. Everyone’s first answer to this question is always the same: Exercise. And while they’re right, I am a firm believer that increasing your metabolism, with the end goal of weight loss should primarily be accomplished with sound nutrition and clean eating. I believe the chief benefit of exercise is an increased physical wellness, health and even longevity.

The best way to lose weight is to eat clean. What do I mean by that?

• Start eating more foods that have only one ingredient. Think fruits, veggies and nuts. Rich in nutrients, all three are great to eat.
• Start snacking on protein. Odds are, if you are overweight, you like to snack. And when you do, the smart money says you’re snacking on carbs, sugar and fat. Foods like almonds, fat-free cheese, low-sodium deli meats, natural/organic peanut butter, lean beef, poultry, and seafood, and whey protein powder are all great sources of protein that will help fire up your metabolism, and they also contain good fats that help keep you feeling full. Snack on those instead. Here is a great snack list on my own site, Nate’s Fantastic Distraction.

How do I make the furnace burn longer? (How do I keep my metabolism up?)
To keep the furnace burning hot, you need to keep eating clean. You need to develop a rhythm and a structure to your eating.
A little while ago I threw away the conventional logic of eating 3 meals a day. Instead, I eat 6 meals. Starting at 6:30am and ending no later than 9:30pm, I eat a meal every three hours. Some are bigger than others, and some days they are all pretty equal, but the structure of it means I’m never far away from a good meal, so the temptation to snack or binge is eradicated.

Smaller more frequent meals in a day encourages your furnace to keep burning. There is a thermic effect (energy/calories are used to accomplish this) to digestion, and if you’re body is doing it all day, that’s burning calories!

And, if you’re a snacker, it might be good to get in the habit of eating 5 meals/day and having that last one before 7pm. Give it a good 3 hours until you go to bed. Going to bed with snack food on your belly isn’t the best idea. But, if you get those hunger growls, do a scoop of whey and some water. Not too filling, but a quick shot of protein while your body rests & recovers overnight.

How do I keep my furnace clean and running smoothly? (How do I clean up my diet?)
This is the tough one. It’s the coup-de-grace to poor health, and it’s multi-faceted. If you can master these following tips, you’ll be in some of the best health of your life, and you’ll be well on your way to your target weight.

1. Cut out processed sugar. Plain and simple. Get your sugar from natural sources, like fruit. Check out Mark Sisson’s The Definitive Guide to Sugar. It’s quite informative.

2. Drink more water. I drink anywhere from 4 to 5 liters of water per day. What’s the rule of thumb? Drink 5oz-9oz for every hour that you are awake. The health benefits are astounding.

• First off, you’ll get a real sense of the difference between hunger and thirst. Most American mistake being thirsty for being hungry.
• Second, you’ll be keeping you body adequately hydrated.
• Third, when you pee, you’ll be flushing out toxins from the body. Since I started drinking more water (and eating healthier), my immune system has never been stronger and I’ve not actually been sick since before August of 2008.
• Finally, if your goal is weight loss, drinking enough water in the day gives your body an avenue to get rid of the fat in your body. Think about it, thermodynamics suggests that the fat doesn’t just disappear, but it has to go from your body to somewhere else. Science has proven that the two most effective ways your body releases that fat are by your breath and your urine. (For those of you who are actively losing weight right now, has anybody commented on your funky breath? Happened to me on a daily basis.)

3. Drink coffee plain. Plenty of people love a good mocha from Starbucks, or Scooter’s, or Dunkin Donuts. But those specialty drinks are loaded with empty calories, fat and carbs. BUT, coffee in and of itself is incredibly good for you. Just check out the study that Harvard conducted over 18 years.

Typically, I drink no more than 3 cups of coffee a day. The rule of thumb is, “the more coffee the better, until you start getting the shakes”. I drink it black. I’m a purist at heart, but when I want to smoothen out the brew, I’ll add a tbsp of half & half. The fat in this dairy is good for you, but its benefit is best reaped in small quantities.

4. Drink more tea. Specifically, unsweetened tea and green tea. No sugar here, kids. Green tea is chock full of antioxidants, and it’s a great alternative to coffee if you’re not a fan.

5. Drink less alcohol. Outside of what benefits might be had from a glass of red wine, alcohol is empty calories, empty carbs, and enough drinks’ll cause your insulin to spike and you’ll become so hungry that you end up plowing through a plate of potato skins and chicken fingers in no time.

6. Eat less carbs. Unless your fitness regimen is extreme or aggressive, chances are your carb intake needs to dip down to around 50-100g/day. Again, Mark Sisson has some great thinking on this. Unused carbs are unused energy, and in the case of your body, unused energy gets converted and stored as fat, which is the opposite of what we’re going for here, right? However, if you do eat carbs…

7. Eat clean carbs.

• Your #1 source of carbohydrates should be vegetables. I can’t find the study right now, but the one I read stated that a high majority of Americans are grossly deficient in the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that are most abundantly found in dark green vegetables (spinach, asparagus, broccoli, etc.).
• Your #2 source of carbohydrates should be fruit. Berries are the most bang for your buck. Chock full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, they are the perfect staple of a Clean Daily Diet.
• Your #3 source of carbohydrates could be whole grains. Be careful here. Whole grain is not Multi-grain. Look at the ingredient list of whatever grain you’re about to buy. If it uses the words ‘enriched’, ‘bleached’ or ‘white’ in its flour description, set it down and fine one that says ‘whole wheat’ or even better, ‘whole grain’.

8. Eat more protein. Your body requires more energy to digest protein (read: your body burns more calories just digesting protein. Plus, your body uses it to rebuild and repair muscle. Though protein can be calories dense, it also comes with (hopefully) good fat, making you feel full. It’s tough to eat too much protein, but if you’re tracking your food intake, you should aim for eating 1g protein for every pound you weight. You weight 160? Try eating 160g of protein in a day. If you’re like me, eating 6x/day, that’s 27g of protein per meal. Easy enough.

Our final question is a very important one….

Can my furnace be running too hot? (How quickly should I be losing weight?)
The answer here is “yes”. You can be losing weight too quickly. Like my friend at the beginning of this post, many people desire weight loss to be quick. However, nutritionists suggest that doing it smart and safe means losing 1-2lbs/wk. My weigh loss was more aggressive, only I didn’t know that losing 4lbs/wk was unhealthy. Anything more than that, and it’s considered extreme. Even my 4lbs/wk left me with a fair amount of just extra skin in place. I was losing weight so quickly, my skin couldn’t keep up.

So there it is, folks. If you want it bad enough, here are some tools to get you well on your way to meeting your goals, understanding what it means to have  Clean Daily Diet, and most importantly, you’re taking control of your body back. You’re empowered. You’re in the know. And soon…you’ll have mastered your diet.

A few days back, I posted a photo to Twitter of that morning’s breakfast. I got some great feedback off just that one image. Many people messaged me asking what was in the glass that wasn’t coffee. So, like any good boy raised in the digital age, I’ve decided to post the recipe for the smoothie that was in that glass.

This is what I like to call…
Strawberry Banana Breakfast of Champions
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INGREDIENTS
1 banana
4 to 8 strawberries quartered (the amount depends on the size of the berries)
1 cup greek or non-fat or low-fat plain yogurt
1 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp milled flaxseed
1 scoop whey protein
5-10 ice cubes
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HOW TO MAKE
Chop ice cubes in blender first. For 1-2 seconds.
Add flaxseed, whey and almond butter.
Then add banana and strawberries.
Finally, add yogurt.

Put lid on blender. Use “Liquify” setting on blender for 5 seconds. Remove lid and scrape off any remaining whey, almond butter and flax seed from the sides of the blender. Re-lid and blend for a few more seconds or until smooth.

Pour into a glass and enjoy! It goes great with some freshly ground & brewed coffee.

Makes 2 servings.

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Nutritional Information (per serving):
322 calories
13g fat
22mg cholesterol
113mg sodium
32g carbohydrates
6g fiber
24g protein
39% vitamin c

For those that don’t know, Nathan hit the achievement of a life-time the other day: He reached his goal of losing 100lbs!! I don’t remember the time table for it…

On August 20, 2008 I changed my life. I weighed 285lbs and began a strict and healthy diet of just what my body needed. In November 2008, once I had tamed the beast that was my eating habits, I started incorporating exercise of all kinds into my daily life. Now, as of June 8, 2009, I have lost 102 lbs.

So, there you go – amazing! Today he found an article that pretty much recapped exactly what he’s done over the last year – a concise 7 ways to succeed in reaching weight loss goals. When I read it I couldn’t help but notice how much it could apply to spiritual “weight loss” as well with only a few tweaks.

Here it is in an easy to read table: