Eat Less at Night

I love food. And have gotten into the habit of cooking good food in the evenings....since that is the only time I can cook. After reading this email below, I'm going back to light meals and salads at night before bed.

Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything. 20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

How to cool down in the heat

I was coaching at my friend Dan's PCSA Soccer Camp this week and the players were really hot from our coastal heat at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo (75 degrees). I know, Tulareans and and Las Vegas Lounge Lizards would call us wimps, but anything above 72 degrees here is a heat wave.

I was telling the lads and lasses, and none of this is scientific, but just stuff i've learned while being a footballer and playing in and exerting myself in hot weather:

1. Your brain is your thermostat. If your head is hot, your brain will tell you that your body is hot. So put really cold water on your face and hair and it will cool you down quite quickly....within minutes.

2. The part of your neck where you can feel your pulse, if you put ice there or soemthing cool, then that acts as a radiator for ourt blood system. It cools the blood down that goes to your head and cools you down quickly.

Also I explained to the players that the water they drink now cannot be used until three days from now. Crazy. I didn't know this until last week. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is damaging to the body.

On a lighter note, the U.S. women's voleyball partners kicks booty. In your face, Belgium.

Why are homeless and poor people fat?

I've always asked myself this when I am panhandled by homeless people? "If you're so hungry, why are you fat?"

The truth is this, the foods that are cheaper are usually filled with sugar as a filler and salt as a preservative. And this makes them fat.

$1 Big Macs on Monday can sound really good to most people, but the pay-off is higher hospital bills, days off of work for sickness, etc.

But it's also nutrition education. 4 Roma tomatoes may be $1 at Trader joes, same price as a Big Mac, but higher value.

Homeless people don't know this and I didn't know this until my day of reckoning.

On a positive note, Cramer.....not the cool cat from Seinfeld, but the entertaining investment maverick from CNBC says that McDonalds is a good "buy and hold" stock. I agree. Nutrition aside...as long as kids love it, and a person can fill up on a Monday night for 3 bucks, they will be in business and profiting handsomely.

On a side note....here's useless information: if you're a McDonalds franchiser/owner, and someone takes too many ketchup packets, they lose money. Their margins are very thin.

Healthiest American

I met with my insurance guy last week, Jamie Clark (former Tularean) with State Farm in Arroyo Grande.

We were talking about the medical exam I did last May when I first got a life insurance policy. This was during the peak of my new diet when I was really alkaline and following well, with less temptations. I knew I had done well on it because his assistant, Nicole, had looked at my results last year and told me that i was the healthiest client in their office and the best record she had ever seen.

So I got the lowest rate and receive the "Super Preferred" policy. Jamie told me today that only 5% of the people with life insurance qualify at this premium level for a preferred rate.

Cramps

At a soccer camp last night, one of the player's came off with a bad quad cramp.

I talked to the athletic trainer this morning and asked how the best way to handle that is:

He said that prevention is the best medicine. For these players, it is difficult to rehydrate when they are training twice per day, but when you have a competition coming up, depending on the weather, location and altitude, you must begin hydrating three days before.

The water that you drink now, your body cannot utilize it immediately.

He also stated using a little bit of salt in your food will help with the absoption of water.

Sugar restricts your body's consumption of water. Caffeine is a diaretic and flushes water out of your system.

When a player has a cramp during a match or training, you can help relieve the cramp by stretching it, or massaging it. But it will continue during that event with intense activity.

Athletic players should always be hydrating and carrying water with them.

Kentucky Fried Chicken Closed

The Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant (it's funny how fast food places call themselves "restaurants.") in Grover Beach is closed.

It's rare that I see a fast food chain close down. Maybe it was in a bad location, or maybe they weren't selling enough of the Colonel's recipe, I am not sure.

I've always liked the colonel's recipe, but I can't remember the last time I was at a KFC.

Frying Chicken

I must share a trick with you that I learned I learned on FoodTV.

When seasoning the chicken, put your seasonings in a double bagged paper grocery bag (all of the flour, pepper, salt, garlic powder, etc.), put the chicken in, roll or fold the top so that it is enclosed. Then pick it up and shake it all around.

The fried chicken comes out more flakey and with better crust.

I use this same style of breading now when breading cod and shrimp for fish tacos or fish and chips.

It's the secret unveiled.

Free Range Chicken

In an attemp to recreate and outdo my mother's chicken, I made fried chicken on one of my zag days (always one day too many). I used Free Range Chicken this time from New Frontiers in San Luis Obispo.

The chicken itself was absolutely delicious, juicy and tasty. Tasted like chicken.

Even though my Godparents worked at Foster Farms their entire American career before they retired, I would have to say that I may never go back to Foster Farms, Chicken coop style of chicken.

With free range, they are flopping their wings around, breathing fresh air, able to have enough space for exercise and a few chicken fights. To me, it seems like a happier chicken.

But was the fried chicken better than mom's? It was delicious, but Mom had a certain touch on the seasoning that made hers slightly better (and she may have cooked it in lard too, not sure. We always seemed to have a big tub of that in the fridge, bless her heart).

When will I see results?

Any calorie deficit you create will eventually lead to results. As a rule of thumb, 3,500 calories is equal to one pound. For example, if you eat 250 calories per day fewer than your maintenance rate requires and exercise enough to burn an additional 250 calories each day, you will lose approximately one pound per week.

Resource:
http://weightloss.about.com/cs/nutrition101/l/blcalories.htm

How many calories should I consume?

To determine your approximate caloric needs, you can easily compute your basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories your body needs to maintain its basic functions and your current weight. You can determine your BMR by multiplying your current weight by 10. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, then eating 1,800 calories a day would be your BMR.

However, this computation doesn't take into account exercise or your activity level. For example, since someone who exercises regularly can bring in more calories and still be at their maintenance weight, their BMR would be higher. Other issues like genetics, age and the amount of body fat/muscle you have can also affect your caloric needs.

Resource:
http://weightloss.about.com/cs/nutrition101/l/blcalories.htm

McDonald's and Calories

OK, McDonalds in the news on CNBC last week. Did you know that Big Mac has 540 calories?!!! Wow!

I remember just two years ago I would treat myself on Monday's to two Big Mac's ($1 each) and and Apple Pie. For dinner ofcourse. The funny part was that at the time i was having a difficult time falling asleep. But Big Mac dinners would get me to sleep right away.

But how many calories is this compared to your backyard barbecued hamburger?
1/3 pound hamburger patty - 280, wow
bun - 120
Kraft sliced cheese - 60
Hellman's Mayonnaise 1 tbsp. 100
Mustard 1 oz. - 26
Ketchup - 1tbsp. - 15 calories
Total = 601 - Whoa

I was going to make a case against McDonald's, but i guess that , in general, hamburgers have a lot of calories.

This great site has an easy way to show calories and compared various different brands of the same item: http://www.thedailyplate.com/

Best Avocados

The best Avocados that I have found in the San Luis Obispo area is Costco and Trader Joe's. For a long time I was buying avocados from Food 4 Less, 15 at a time and rotating them to ripen and eating. But I would say out of ten, you get three good ones, five average ones and two bad ones. Food 4 Less is really good about returning stuff, as I called one of their produce workers one time when I got a batch of 10 that was bad, but it's a pain to open them to see if they are bad, then to store it and bring it back to the store...what a hassle.

And a lot of the times they had a wierd rotten flavor....

I would get them at Food 4 Less mainly because they were cheaper... but when it comes to quality and value, Costco and Trader Joes wins hands down. They come I packs of 4 or 5, and seem to be good 10 out of 10 times. I've had a few times where I let them over ripen or didn't refrigerate them in time, but, my bad.

I wonder how well Avocado ranchers do? At a buck per Avo, they must be making cash hand over fist.

Day 26 - 174 pounds

So i didn't quite get to my outcome of 170 pounds, but my food and drink intake have increased immensely and confidence, esteem, and discipline is up.

Next step is to focus on the belly section and get down to 34.5 inches. But to do that, i will need some help.

Stay tuned, I have a lot more information to share.

Have a great weekend!

What's my outcome?

Monday night at 6pm I went to a meeting at a San Luis Obispo restaurant. I went there hungry and with no strategy.

First thing on the table was amber ale beer, so I had a few pints.

Then an hour later came fresh made potato chips, and garlic bread. Had plenty of that.

I'm not about beating myself up anymore, but this morning I thought, "I went there with no outcome." I was just consuming what came my way. Like a ship with no rudder, or driving to New York with no map.

So now I will live each day with an outcome, in other words a goal.

What am I trying to accomplish today. or chunk it down, "What am I accomplishing between":
6-11am
11-2pm
2-6pm
6-9pm
or
Dinner at Raul's
Lunch with Keenan's