The China Study
The Pleasure Trap
Born to Run
Incognito
Good calories Bad calories
The Barefoot Running Book
Devil in the Milk
Don’t Miss your Life
The Great Cholesterol Con
Influence
These are some of the books I have read in the past 6 months or so. They include nutritional and motivational titles with a little controversy to spice your reading.
I studied recently for the Cornell University Certificate in plant-based nutrition. This course suggests lots of reading, including real science-based research. This allows me to answer people, when they ask me where do I get my protein? My typical answer was to refer them to rhinos or gorillas but this offends some people, who just assume they need lots of meat and dairy, just to stay alive. Quite the contrary, it seems, too much meat and dairy will help you to an early illness.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Nutition, nutrition, nutrition
You've heard about the key to a successful retail business: location, location, location!
We constantly hear about the importance of physical fitness in our Krav Maga training with ABD instructors: conditioning, conditioning, conditioning!
It is relatively easy to stay alive eating junk food, when you are young, as long as you stay active. As we get older, though, we often slow down. People accumulate extra weight and now the bad habits catch up with us. I noticed this in my early thirties. I was cycling and playing football, in the summer but I didn't do a whole lot in the winter. I was pushing 200 pounds, even as a vegetarian. When Alex and I started training in Krav Maga, we each lost about 10 pounds in the first few weeks, as we got into regular workouts, two or three times a week.
When we moved to a raw food diet, in April 2009, that is when the real weight loss began. I now weigh 147 pounds, with a BMI of 19 and a body fat figure of about 9%. We are still training, more and more vigorously, but it seems to us that we need to focus on nutrition, nutrition, nutrition! Nutrition plays a much bigger part in our health, wellness and physical fitness, than any of us expect.
We constantly hear about the importance of physical fitness in our Krav Maga training with ABD instructors: conditioning, conditioning, conditioning!
It is relatively easy to stay alive eating junk food, when you are young, as long as you stay active. As we get older, though, we often slow down. People accumulate extra weight and now the bad habits catch up with us. I noticed this in my early thirties. I was cycling and playing football, in the summer but I didn't do a whole lot in the winter. I was pushing 200 pounds, even as a vegetarian. When Alex and I started training in Krav Maga, we each lost about 10 pounds in the first few weeks, as we got into regular workouts, two or three times a week.
When we moved to a raw food diet, in April 2009, that is when the real weight loss began. I now weigh 147 pounds, with a BMI of 19 and a body fat figure of about 9%. We are still training, more and more vigorously, but it seems to us that we need to focus on nutrition, nutrition, nutrition! Nutrition plays a much bigger part in our health, wellness and physical fitness, than any of us expect.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Why black belt?
We train in Krav Maga, a self-defense martial art. At the school where we train, we practise Muay Thai punch and kick combinations and self defenses, along with lots of cardio conditioning. There is a system of 10 belts, which represent the journey from a white belt beginner to an advanced student, who earns a black belt. It takes a few years to make the journey, which is never really completed: you can never stop training, as there is always more to learn. We begin, from where we are, when we make the decision to train.
Similarly, we begin a journey to improve our nutrition from an unknown position: how healthy are you? How good is your diet? How well do you think you eat? How is your weight? All the answers are difficult and subjective.
Similarly, we begin a journey to improve our nutrition from an unknown position: how healthy are you? How good is your diet? How well do you think you eat? How is your weight? All the answers are difficult and subjective.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Welcome
Welcome to Black Belt Eating, where we hope to share some of our healthy nutrition strategies with you. Lee has been a vegetarian for 20 years; Alex has been mostly vegetarian for about 12 years. We have both eaten raw vegan for more than two years. We train in Krav Maga, a self-defense martial art, and have earned our black belts earlier this year.
It has been in the past couple of years, where we have seen the most improvement in our health and weight. We have seen weird things happen; and not happen. We have both lost weight; gained muscle. We do not have allergies or catch colds. We do not experience jet lag. After training, muscle soreness is rare and short-lived; and sleep is really good. While our trainers are eager to take credit for the weight loss and muscle gain, most of the weight loss has come with the changes to diet.
So much of physical training relies on nutrition; much more than we'd ever expect. So much of our training depends on our mental preparedness. The older we get, the more important these considerations become. So check your excuses, delays and whining at the door and train with us!
This is the thinking behind the Black Belt Eating metaphor: it is a journey, not a destination. If we can help people start with small, safe dietary changes, and progress to healthy, optimum nutrition, we think people are more likely to make the changes permanent.
It has been in the past couple of years, where we have seen the most improvement in our health and weight. We have seen weird things happen; and not happen. We have both lost weight; gained muscle. We do not have allergies or catch colds. We do not experience jet lag. After training, muscle soreness is rare and short-lived; and sleep is really good. While our trainers are eager to take credit for the weight loss and muscle gain, most of the weight loss has come with the changes to diet.
So much of physical training relies on nutrition; much more than we'd ever expect. So much of our training depends on our mental preparedness. The older we get, the more important these considerations become. So check your excuses, delays and whining at the door and train with us!
This is the thinking behind the Black Belt Eating metaphor: it is a journey, not a destination. If we can help people start with small, safe dietary changes, and progress to healthy, optimum nutrition, we think people are more likely to make the changes permanent.
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