Wednesday 25 June 2014

Let’s talk about sweating and electrolytes…
What are electrolytes and do we need to sweat in order to lose weight? What does sweat do to us? Electrolytes, do they help us to lose weight or to gain weight? Where do we get them from? And more important: how can we make them taste better?
Electrolytes are the minerals for the electricity of the heart. That’s what starts our hearts so I’ll say they are pretty important.
They also affect our amount of water in the body and muscles functions.
We lose them when we sweat and we CAN NOT get them from water.
Common electrolytes include:
  • Calcium
  • Chloride
  • Magnesium
  • Phosphorous
  • Potassium
  • Sodium
Electrolytes do not affect our weight loss directly but they do affect our total health and that does affect our weight loss.
You know what people who suffer from anorexia die from? Their bodies are dried out from all electrolytes and their hearts stop working…just something to think about.
You can get them from store-bought energy drinks but I don’t like to put crap in my body. Those drinks are high calories and have too much sodium (don’t get me wrong: if you do extreme sport you should have it - but you don’t…) or you can get the 0 calories one and they’re going to make you bloated.
My suggestion? Eat it!
So now let’s talk about some recipes!
Chocolate Fudge pop:
Ingredients
  • 1 (13 oz) can original coconut milk, shaken
  • 5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp raw honey
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
Directions
Blend all the ingredients until smooth and pour the mixture into ice pop moulds. Insert the base and freeze for at least 2 hours, or until set.
Yummy Curry:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup brown lentils, sorted and washed
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 cup brown rice, rinsed
  • 4 thin slices fresh ginger
  • 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1-2 tbsp curry power, mild or hot
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Place all ingredients pot on stove. Bring to a full boil, then turn to low and simmer for 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed.
Turmeric Cauliflower Quinoa:
Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric (ground)
  • one head of cauliflower, cored and broken into small florets
  • sea salt
  • 1 medium shallot, sliced and separated into rings
  • 4 kumquats, seeded and chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a small skillet toast coriander seeds, and peppercorns over mid to high heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Put in a spice grinder when cool and grind to a powder, and put in a small bowl, stir in olive oil, garlic, turmeric.
On a large baking sheet, drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil and toss to coat, season with salt and roast for 25 minutes until tender.
Put in a serving bowl, add shallot rings, kumquats, and cilantro and toss well, pour over quinoa. Serve hot or warm.
Jicama fries:
Ingredients
  • 1 jicama
  • 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 pinch salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Slice and season jicama with onion powder, paprika and salt.

Drizzle with olive oil and place in oven for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!





 Research and writing by Dana Gat ©2014

 

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Let’s talk about supplements!
Now, if you’re not active person don’t read it; but if you do enjoy moving your ass and get the results you want, then keep reading.
As you know there are some bad supplements out there… aka…fat burner and testosterone; the type of supplements which can kill you or make you grow a penis… It happened to a poor girl from England;  she was doing bodybuilding and took it a little bit too far and now she has a penis…
The truth is that we do not know the long term damage those things do, besides the fast damage to the liver and the change in the hormones that affect hair growth and any baby you want to have.
I’m not going to talk about too much because I don’t want to give you ideas; some of you might try to be a smart ass and I don’t want to take responsibility for it.
As a general rule I believe that you shouldn’t take supplements if you can get them from food. However, if you’re a gym rat you can’t always get enough for your needs from food and this is when you need to start taking supplements. Supplements can’t beat laziness… meaning – they won’t do your work for you. This post is for people who are active.
Fish oil
Benefits: protects against air pollution, reduces joint pains, reduces signs of ageing,  improves fat burning, boosts brain power and memory, helps to gain lean body mass and improves bone health.
Food source: salmon is the best fish for that but any kind of fish is good.
Iron:
Now, I’m usually against taking iron supplement because you need such a small amount of it and it’s so easy to get it from food, that it’s stupid to pay for this supplement. However, like I said before, when you exercise a lot your body needs more. Gaining muscles is hard work and being a gym rat is all about pushing yourself.
Benefits:   helps with haemoglobin formation, oxygen carrying and muscle functions, prompts fat loss and, just like any good mineral, helps to absorb other minerals - like calcium.
Food source: meat, eggs, soy, green leafy veggies, broccoli and bean…
Vitamins b’s:
WARNING!!! Your pee might turn shinning yellow
Benefits: energy. (There are more benefits but you’re taking it for this reason)
Food source: meat
BCAA:

Also known as Branched-chain amino acid.

The BCAAs are among the nine essential amino acids for humans, accounting for 35% of the essential amino acids in muscle proteins and for 40% of the preformed amino acids required by mammals.

In the past it had been used as treatment for burn victims; now it is being used as  a tool to help us get shredded.

The science behind amino acid is very boring…I’ll shorten it out for you:
Dieting is catabolic, which means it can lead to muscle breakdown, for several reasons. The leaner a body gets, the more likely it is to lose muscle mass as the body tries harder and harder to hold onto its body fat stores. In doing so, the body will turn to the muscles in order to satisfy its energy needs. Bad news for anyone interested in a hard body.
On the molecular level, muscle loss occurs because the body increases protein breakdown (catabolism) in order to liberate muscle amino acids for fuel. If this isn't bad enough, muscle loss is compounded by the fact that levels of protein synthesis will also decrease due to reduced energy intake.

 Makes sense? Not really; but is good for your muscles. I don’t take it every day. Only when I do my strength training and during it.

I won’t overdo it because when it comes to amino acid the science is only in the beginning…we don’t know what we don’t know but we do know we need it…

now there so many supplement out there but I don’t use them so I can’t share the benefits with you. However, I promise that if I try something new you’ll be the first to know :)


Research and writing by Dana Gat ©2014

 




Thursday 5 June 2014

Let’s talk about poop.
It’s gross and very unpleasant and as much as we all pretend we don’t do it we all do! And it feels better if you do it than if you don’t. I hate it when I need to poop and can’t, it’s awful!
Back in the days one of the most glamorous jobs you can have was “groom of the stool” meaning, you got to wipe the king’s butt.
Why was it so desirable? Not just because you got to be “intimate” with the king, but you also got to be the first to know if the king was sick; that brings us to another point: your poop tells you everything you need to know about your health.
Gross but true.
You’re smart enough to know that if you’re not pooping enough (Once a day is the minimum, you want to aspire for 3!) it means you’re not eating enough; it happens a lot when you exercise a lot and do not adjust your food to eat a little more….it will make you feel less bloated.
And of course, you’re smart enough to know that high metabolism = poop.
I’m not going to explain to you a lot about poop; I’m going to give you recipes that are high in fibre and fat (that’s how you want it) to help you poop more times and more easily… There’s nothing wrong than when your anus hurts….
And now…the recipes!!!
This time I put emphasis on fibre because fibre is a carb. A lot of those recipes have cinnamon in them to help you control your blood sugar. As you know I believe in good fat so you see it too.
Blueberry hemp smoothie: 2 tbsp hemp seed, 1 cup fresh frozen blueberry, 1 cup your choice of milk, 1 tbsp honey, ½ tbsp. cinnamon. Blend! With the blueberries giving you fibre, and the hemp giving you good fat, you’re good to go!
Apple rice bake: 2 cups cooked brown rice, 1 cup you choice of milk, ½ cup chopped nuts ( I like almonds and hazelnuts), 2 tbsp cinnamon, 3 tbsp honey ½ tbsp. nutmeg, ½ tbsp. turmeric, 2 tbsp ginger root, 2 cups chopped apple and 3 egg.
Mix it and put in a pan and bake on 350F for 35 minutes.
Raw pad thai: 1 zucchini, 1 carrot, 1 green onion, ½ cup shredded purple cabbage, ½ cup cauliflower, ½ cup bean sprout. For the sauce: 2 tbsp tahini, 2 tbsp almond butter, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp honey. Mix it all in one bowl.
The next recipes I never tried myself because I hate avocado. However avocado is a great source of fat for you.
Key lime pie:
Crust: 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, 1 cup walnut, ½ cup pitted medjool dates.
Filling: 3 firm avocado, 3 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp lime zest, ½ cup honey.
Direction: process the coconut and the walnut until coarsely ground. Add the dates and keep processing until it resembles bread crumbs. Press into the bottom and side of a 9 inch pie plate using your fingers. Place the crust in the freezer for 15 min. process all filling ingredients until smooth. Pour the filling into piecrust. Put in fridge for 30 min.

Now go eat, train and poop! And remember, poop is the best thing that can happen to your body! If you’re not pooping you’re doing something wrong!



 Research and writing by Dana Gat ©2014