Hello Again...

A lot has happened since my last post:
- moved into my own apartment (EVER... alone)
- started 2 (not 1) volleyball leagues- that keeps me sane
- and oh yeh, I've decided to do a figure competition

::tire screeching::
Yup... a form of female body building. I researched/ stalked all websites pertaining to figure competitions and decided that my gym training needs an end goal. I need something to strive for, something to attain, something to feel good about. So after about 2 months of really going hard in the gym and tracking my food, I found a local posing coach and got a consultation.  I was pleasantly surprised when she said my body was decent enough to do a bikini competition in a few weeks... but I want to push myself so she recommended another 12-16 weeks for a figure competition.

Bodybuilding for women is broken down into categories:

1. bikini- though more body fat and less muscle definition, theses girls clearly work hard to stay in shape
2. figure- (what I will be competing in) a lot less body fat with a focus on deltoids, V-taper (lat spread), outer thigh sweep (vastus lateralis), and small waist
3. physique- less body fat, muscle striation, vascular, muscle separation
4. body builders- ... well- you get where this is going

So I am super excited and have been at this for a month now (11 weeks out).

I will try to post my progress!

#GOHARDORGOHOME

It's been awhile... My bad!

Writing this morning to check in. I have a post in the works that will be informative and awesome... as always! ;-)

One thing I took away from the raw lecture I attended so long ago was that regular fasting can be a good way to re-start/ refresh the body.  He suggested doing it once a week or even on a full moon or new moon (which is about every month).  I decided back then to fast on every new moon as a way to start off fresh... new, even. So today is the day! I have 3 liters of coconut water and unlimited sources of water that I will be chugging today.  My tummy has been acting up lately so I hope this will make everything feel normal again (fingers crossed).

I love coconut water by the way. LOVE!

Coconut water has long been a prevalent drink in the tropical countries, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, where it is widely available as a fresh fruit, or in can or bottle. It is fat-free, cholesterol-free, and low in calories – but high in nutrients and electrolytes.  Coconut water is high potassium content and contains antioxidants linked to a variety of health benefits.

Electrolyte is a "medical/scientific" term for salts, specifically ions.

In your body, the major electrolytes are as follows:

• sodium (Na⁺)                 chloride (Cl^-)
• potassium (K⁺)             calcium (Ca²⁺)
• magnesium (Mg²⁺)         bicarbonate (HCO₃^-)
• phosphate (PO₄^2-)          sulfate (SO₄^2-)

Sweat= Water, minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, etc), lactate, and urea

Potassium is good for:

1.     Balancing the PH of the body

2.     Water balance in the body

3.     Normal muscle growth

4.     Healthy nervous system and brain function

Sources: 1, 2, 3

As an aside, I suspect that bread/ grains are messing up my tummy.  I did a tiny bit of research on gluten free diets, but need to learn more. I really am not trying to add one more excluded food group to my diet... but for no more uncomfortable tummy troubles?  I just may have to sacrifice..

 Stay tuned!

Organic: What Does that REALLY Mean?

This post is long overdue…

The BIGGEST thing that has made my nutrition journey (which I will get into later) so difficult was shelling out extra money for quality foods. That means organic fruit and vegetables, Non-GMO soy products, and free trade goods whenever possible.

Now, I am SUUUUPER frugal, but I know that the investment I put in my food now will only make me stronger and healthier later. I cringe when buying organic kale for $2.49 a bunch instead of $0.99… Talk about painful.

The key to saving your pennies is to know WHAT you are looking for, the lingo and requirements, and to only buy what is most important.  I composed a quick list of terms to keep in mind:

 

Heart Disease Series: Know Your Numbers

Today I received an update from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Healthbeat newsletter about a heart disease related stats.

According to the Agency for Heathcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reviewed the latest available numbers of sufferers:

"One in every 4 adults, representing some 55 million Americans, was treated for high blood pressure in 2008"

What is staggering about this is this only represents the people who know they have high blood pressure.  

"Because high blood pressure has no symptoms, the real total would have to include people who have high blood pressure and don’t know it."

The first heart health tip would be to KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!

Like I said in the introductory post  when I described myself, my personal numbers weren't as AMAZING as I had hoped. Because you feel fine, doesn't mean you are fine...

You should know the following stats about your health and monitor them regularly:

• average/ normal blood pressure reading: this ideally would be taken first thing upon waking before eating or even moving

This chart reflects blood pressure categories defined by the American Heart Association.

Blood Pressure Category	Systolic mm Hg (upper #)		Diastolic mm Hg (lower #)
Normal	less than 120	and	less than 80
Prehypertension	120 – 139	or	80 – 89
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Stage 1	140 – 159	or	90 – 99
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Stage 2	160 or higher	or	100 or higher
Hypertensive Crisis (Emergency care needed)	Higher than 180	or	Higher than 110

* Your doctor should evaluate unusually low blood pressure readings.

• choesterol: you may recieve the total or the LDL and HDL numbers separately

Total cholesterol

> 200: desirable (however studies show more heart attacks happen between 150-200

200-239 mg/dL: borderline high risk

240 and over: high risk

HDL (good)

> 60mg/dL: some protection against heart disease

< 40 mg/dL (men) & < 50 mg/dL (women): increased risk of heart disease

LDL (bad)

< 100 mg/dL: desirable

> 160 mg/dL: high- very high

 Source

• blood sugar: this is more related to diabetes but both chronic conditions overlap complications

Blood glucose

Fasting blood glucose:	70-99 milligrams per deciliter (3.9-5.5 mmol/L)
2 hours after eating (postprandial):	70-145 mg/dL (3.9-8.1 mmol/L)
Random (casual):	70-125 mg/dL (3.9-6.9 mmol/L)

Raw Food Lecture Notes

These are some of the notes a gained from the Raw Food lecture I attended a few weeks ago...  I definitely learned a lot and have followed the eating recommendations since his speech.

He also talked about detoxing with the use of coconut water in order to restart the body. Below are some of his YouTube videos decribing the key points of fasting and eating raw. Enjoy!

• The Art of Fasting
• The Art of Fasting Part 2
• 5 Keys to Becoming and Staying Raw in 2012

What is Oil Pulling?

Have you ever heard of oil pulling or oil swishing before?

Me either... until the other day during one of my "raw food lifestyle" Google searches- yeah, I get pretty specific with my search engines.

This really intrigued me because I wanted to find an easy daily detox that will help my body even more than my new and improved diet.

Here is the quick in dirty facts about oil pulling:

- it has ancient Ayurvedic roots

- long list of cures: gum disease, allergies, asthma, intestinal diseases, ulcers, headaches... The list goes on and on

- can be done with any pure oil (organic), but sunflower and sesame have the most powerful effects

- oil can seep through the crevasses of the mouth to extract toxins and bacteria

- our tongue is thought to be very powerful connection between the rest of the body: think sub-lingual medications. There is so much blood supply that flows under the tongue it's a key place to reach the blood stream quickly

Here is how you do it:

- they recommend you do it first thing in the morning before you eat, brush your teeth, even drink water...

- use sunflower oil or sesame oil of high quality (organic, cold pressed)

- you swish 1 tablespoon of oil in your mouth for 15- 20 minutes doing a suck and pull motion through the teeth and around the gums

- DO NOT SWALLOW: spit out in a garbage can (because the solution is full of bacteria and toxins)

- rinse with salt water mixture

- brush teeth as normal

So I tried it with virgin coconut oil this morning while preparing my meals. It was fine other than the fact that all of the saliva and mucous fills your mouth quite quickly. I rinsed with salt water and brushed my teeth afterward. Since I don't eat in the morning anyway, I followed that sequence with 16oz of water and hopped on the train to the gym...

My teeth felt instantly cleaner. I will see how it helps my body if I continue to do it every morning for the rest of the month.

I hope to see changes in:

- joints and muscles being less achy: which is from working out and walking so much

- clearer skin: veganism has made my skin quite nice, but I want it even BETTER! #selfish

- digestion

- gum health: my gums are slowly receding so this would be great for that

- impacted molars: I read one case where a grown woman started seeing her molars rise after oil pulling

I will let you know how it goes!

Here is an AWESOME article that explains everything for more reference.

Old Class Project: Body Image Video

I wanted to post an old class project I completed for a graduate nutrition class. In it, I solicited my friends and colleagues from different ethnicities and comprised an educational and personal short documentary surrounding health and beauty among minorities. This was my 1st (and last so far...) video editing job. I loved the process of being artistic through this medium: video.  Enjoy!