Food for Thought

I detest the word diet and everything associated with it. When you hear "diet," you think an array of thoughts along the following: "food that tastes like cardboard," "deliberate suppression of culinary predilections," "self-induced starving," etc. There's also a very problematic principle to the notion of dieting: it is in my mind a method of consumption that is at one end of a spectrum, which is in direct juxtaposition to gluttony at the other end. The concept of dieting eliminates the possibility of a middle ground: you're either losing weight or gaining weight, but never at a happy medium. Dieting champions the notion of losing weight quickly. The very adjective "extreme" is used often to describe the rate at which one can lose weight drastically. This fervor perpetuates a discomfort with personal self-image; while there is definitely credence to the act of dieting in order to lose weight for health reasons, it is paramount to keep your frame of reference over the more important overarching goal: adopting good consumption habits that you can incorporate into your every-day life.

I prefer the term "eating right" to "dieting." And eating right is just like exercise or anything else insofar as it takes time to adopt the habits that promote the act itself. Think about something at which you're really good, something you've mastered or at which you've worked particularly hard. You didn't attain the skill-set associated with your specific talent over a quick period of time; you honed your skills with practice, cultivating them slowly with diligence, discipline, and attention to detail. Exercise, and by extension, eating right, requires the same level of attention. Eating right and exercise are a married couple, as they are completely contingent upon each other. If exercising is the figurative engine, then eating right is the fuel that propels that engine. Nothing you do in terms of exercise is worth anything if you don't consume the proper nutrients to expound upon your physical efforts. Some people spend their lives mastering the study of nutrition, making careers out of becoming nutritionists. As such, what little dispensable advice I have to offer is rather rudimentary in comparison, but they do serve some purpose insofar as showcasing a few methods that have and have not worked at an individual level.

First, reflect on your own eating habits. When do you eat? How often do you eat? How much do you eat? What do you eat when you're hungry? Do you buy your own groceries? How much water on average do you drink daily? Some people find that keeping a food journal is helpful because you can read back on the day and visualize everything you've consumed. There is literally infinite information about what types of foods are best in what order and at what times. Furthermore, there is endless debate about the benefits and detriments of carbohydrates. Some people maintain that the Paleo Diet (aka "The Caveman Diet") is the better way since our neolithic ancestors never ate grains, only raw foods. I'm no expert, but I eat carbohydrates. You need them because they give you energy. You just have to be discerning about what types: donuts and refined sugars are obviously bad, but foods like vegetables, whole grains, quinoa, beans, and raw oats are great.

BREAKFAST! You must eat breakfast. So many people don't, either because they're not hungry or they complain about not having enough time, but I can't stress the importance of it enough. You must eat breakfast in order to "break" your "fast." Think about it this way: if the last time you ate was dinner (~6pm), then maybe you had a small snack before bed, after which point you slept for eight hours, skipped breakfast, then made it all the way to lunch time around 12pm the next day...that's basically 18 hours you've gone without food. Any food you therefore eat will almost all be stored as fat because your body essentially goes into starvation. You must eat breakfast; think of your daily food intake as a reverse pyramid: breakfast should be big, lunch should be a little bit smaller or the same size, and dinner should be smaller than lunch or around the same size. The important thing is that breakfast should most definitely not be the smallest meal you eat. Once you force yourself to eat a big breakfast, your body will adapt and you will always wake up hungry. Eating breakfast sparks your metabolism and causes you to burn more calories. It will give you energy, improve your mood, and reduce large swings in your blood sugar levels.

Breakfast: 8am
-Bowl of plain oatmeal cooked with skim milk (mix in fresh berries, unsalted nuts of your choice, scoop of unsalted peanut or almond butter, flax or chia seeds, a little bit of raw honey if desired)
-half cup of plain egg whites with salsa
-fish oil (pill or liquid form)

Snack: 10am
-Power shake: whey protein, skim milk, 1 scoop raw oats, flax seeds, banana, 0% plain yogurt, spinach,  coconut butter, water
-Small piece of fruit (e.g. apple, orange, etc.)

Lunch: 12pm 
-Mixed green salad with: quinoa, a lot of raw vegetables of your choice, chicken, beans, strawberries light vinaigrette on the side 
-Half turkey sandwich on whole wheat or spelt bread, lots of turkey, vegetables, no mayo or light mayo, mustard

Snack: 3pm
-Power shake: " "
-handful of mixed nuts (unsalted)
-Small piece of fruit

Exercise: 4-5pm

Dinner: 6pm 
-Large chicken breast, lean steak, salmon, or tuna steak
-Baked potato or yam plain
-Steamed broccoli

Snack: 8pm 
-Cup of plain yogurt with some berries and peanuts, scoop of unsalted peanut butter

Snack: 10pm 
-Whey protein in skim milk or water
-Piece of whole grain toast

This is just an example of what you might eat in a day. The most important part is the hourly breakdown and spread. You should try and eat every few hours and limit your portions at each meal. The three most important meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, should most certainly be satisfied. Then try and mix in three additional "meals" among the primary three. The meals don't have to be Thanksgiving feasts, as evidenced by the example above. Eating less more often will keep your blood sugar at sustained levels and reduce that "tired" feeling you get after eating a large meal.

DRINK WATER. You should try to drink your body weight in ounces every day (e.g. 180lbs. = 180oz.). Your urine should be clear or mostly clear so that you're always hydrated. If 80% of our bodies is water, then the intake has to be constant. At the very least, you should consume the minimal 8 glasses (8 glasses at 8oz each is 64oz daily). But if you do any sort of physical activity, even brisk walking, you're losing more water than you would normally just sitting sedentary, so you need to drink more.

INDULGE. There are foods that are good for your body and there are foods that are good for your soul. Pick two meals out of the week and eat whatever you want for those meals. Taste is purely nerve endings in your tongue sending messages to your brain, but the sensation is very powerful...rewarding yourself will encourage consistency during the rest of the time. Someone once told me I had an eating disorder because I would only eat anything I made and emphasized what I ate and when I ate it to an extreme degree. I think she was right to an extent. If you over obsess about calories and everything you eat, I think you'll probably cause yourself more mental stress and detriment than is necessary, thereby negating any potential physical benefits you might glean.

FATS. You need to eat fat because your body needs fat to burn. You just have to be discerning about the sorts of fats: Olive oil, salmon, peanut butter, coconut oil, peanuts, avocado, etc.

EATING OUT. You can choose a good option almost anywhere you go out to eat (granted, there are exceptions). If you want a burger, ask if you can get it on a wholewheat bun or skip the bun altogether; ask for no cheese or Swiss; condiments on the side; and go with salad or fruit instead of fries. When you order a salad, ask if you can get extra chicken and the dressing on the side. Or if you decide you want to indulge by eating out for one of your meals, order something particularly eccentric and tasty that you wouldn't normally make for yourself.

Remember, nothing I've said is an assertion. There are many clinically documented studies that hold far more credence. Read different publications and think about what works best for your lifestyle. I found that eating well improved my mood and gave me more energy. Try to use that as your focus for eating right; if aesthetic value is solely what motivates you, it will be harder to cultivate the resolve and discipline to remain consistent. I came across this quote somewhere: "If you don't take care of your body, where will you live?"

You don't need a gym to exercise

3 Round for Time: 

Sofa flips

Farmer Carry 

100lb. heavy-bag step-ups

Plyo Jumps 

Pull-ups 

(adjust the number of repetitions per exercise to your personal liking) 

 

Sometimes the gym can feel crowded or uncomfortable. Don't let your potential aversion to the gym preclude you from exercising, though. There are many unconventional ways to work up a sweat. Think outside the box and do anything that makes your body move.

Transforming negative energy into positive motivation

Negative energy exists all around us, emanating from various facets of our lives to varying degrees. It's so difficult not to become consumed by the obstacles that stand before us. When setbacks present themselves to you in a series of discouraging outcomes, it's hard not to assume a defeatist attitude or become pessimistic. Negativity diminishes your optimism, in turn begetting more negativity, and eventually your mindset alters altogether. But I believe that every challenge with which you're faced and every setback you're forced to endure prepares you for the road that still lays ahead. The most difficult aspect to any trial is trying to find the lesson in it, becoming a better self as a result of having to deal with new challenges.

When my brother passed away, my perspective on life and my relative understanding of struggle altered entirely. I thought I knew what challenges were, what struggle felt like. But when he died, it was like nothing I had felt or experienced before. The world dropped away beneath my feet and I was falling endlessly into an abyss. One day he was there and the next he was gone, in an instant. The deftness felt so harsh it was as if somebody came and stole him away in the night with no fair warning or fighting chance to ward off the forthcoming devastation. When you experience something like that, your body goes through trauma. You don't really believe what has happened and you go through a period of disillusionment. I can't really articulate the feeling, but try and picture one of those moments when you see something so astonishing that it elicits the phrase, "I can't believe it, did that really just happen?" After the trauma subsides, you go through denial as a way of protecting your emotional well-being. You refuse to acknowledge what has happened and part of you still latches on to the outlandish notion that the departed will reappear at some point. After the dust settles, so to speak, after denial eventually dissipates, a floodgate opens and waves of anger, sadness, bitterness, resentment, and guilt come crashing down on your head like the heaviest anvil you can possibly imagine. The subsequent feelings do not reside ephemerally; they burrow their talons into the very fibers of your mind and roost for what feels like will be infinity.

In the movie Life of Pi, Pi poignantly inquires at the conclusion of his story that if life becomes an exercise in letting go of the things and people you love, then is it so much to ask for 5-10 minutes to say goodbye? To have a chance to disclose the most endearing sentiments to the ones you love in order to ensure that they know how you really feel? We rarely get those chances in life; we always take for granted the availability of time with them to express those affections. When that chance is taken from you, though, you feel a restlessness like nothing you've ever felt before. On a much smaller scale, it's like when you have a hunger for something to eat but absolutely nothing you have sounds minutely appetizing. Regardless of what you decide upon, your appetite will never be satiated.

In order to counter the restlessness I felt inside, I exercised with a fervor that I heretofore had never. When you exercise or do something exciting, your body releases a natural hormone called endorphins. My limited understanding of the physiological effects of this hormone preclude me from detailing the actual process of this chemical reaction, but I know that in layman's terms the hormone makes you feel happier for an ephemeral time afterward. I found that when I exercised, I felt happier, I had some channel through which I could filter all of the feelings that were bottled up inside of me. If I didn't exercise, I felt like a soda bottle being shaken up with no chance for the pressure to release. I sought this endorphin high all the time; I tried to get more of it by exercising more; I tried to become fitter so I could exercise for longer and feel higher. I read about nutrition, hydration, different training methods, anything that could possibly lengthen my endurance to train for longer so I could always be in that state of endorphin euphoria. Eventually, I saw how exercise could help cultivate my mental outlook, how it could transform my feelings of negativity into peaceful meditations of positive channeling.

Jay-Z raps in one of his songs, "Time don't go back, it goes forward." Challenges will hinder your forward progress and the degree of those trials will do so to varying extents. However, if you whittle away the time in the present ruminating on the setbacks you have faced in the past, then you ultimately diminish the time you have in your life to cultivate a better self. Remember that you are always in complete control of your personal realm; your feelings of happiness, anger, sadness, and joy are always under your immediate command. Nothing can ever relinquish you of your personal agency and ability to respond. Meditate on all of the negativity in your life, the specific things that are hampering you, and store them in a figurative box. Store them so tightly that the box is bursting at the seams. When you exercise, imagine yourself smashing this box in the act of exercising, using the negativity as fuel to push yourself just a little bit further. Smash the box until there's nothing left, until it's a pile of ashes.

Renounce your preconceived notions of your own personal physical capacity and let go of your inhibitions. Close your eyes and meditate on all of the obstacles that stand before you. Focus on them and confront them head on. When you exercise, immerse yourself in the interaction with these negative aspects and try to ascertain positive elements from them. I struggle with not feeling resentful or bitter every single day. Losing my brother has underscored for me the brevity of life. Exercise and the meditation accompanied with it has elucidated the importance of valuing the time you do get with the ones you love and the opportunities you have to forge relationships with them. Your life is a perpetual test of your resolve. Your body can go anywhere; your mind will take it there.