Motivation Monday: Something is better than nothing

Small successes should be celebrated.

It’s been two weeks since I started my program. I wasn’t strict about hitting my macros the first week which really delayed my progress. The second week I made sure to hit them more and I went up a little more than half a pound. I look the same basically so I won’t post progress pictures.

On one side, small progress is disappointing. You put in a lot of time and work, but don’t see the results you want to.

On the other side, you made progress! Yay for moving in the right direction, putting in good work and making some strides.

In the end, something is better than nothing. There is no failure in progress, no matter how small. A small success should be more motivation to move forward, because if you continue doing what you are, you will see the result you’d like. Being patient is annoying, but patience will get you to your goals.

This week don’t let’s focus on practicing patience. Be happy where you are now and be happy with the direction you’re going in. Embrace your journey and learn love every step!

Diet Myth: Don’t eat past 7pm

Once I stopped by my aunt Olga’s house (can you tell my family is Russian?) in the late afternoon to drop some things off. We started chatting and it was nearing 5:30. “Are you staying for dinner Dasha? I have to eat before 6pm, it’s this diet I’m on…I can’t eat anything past 6pm”…..

Have you heard of this “6/7/8/9pm diet”? Restricting you of when you have to stop eating for the day?

There is no scientific evidence that eating past a certain hour or at a certain hour will make you gain weight. Weight gain occurs when you eat in caloric surplus.

Ex. If my maintenance calories for the day was 2,000. It doesn’t matter if I ate 10 200 cal meals throughout the day, just in 2 meals, all at midnight, or all at 3:48pm.

There’s no point in changing when you eat, it’s about what you eat and how much of it.

I eat between 500-1000cals every day around midnight and don’t have any problems. Why? Because the time of day doesn’t matter.

Eating past a certain hour isn’t the problem, overeating is.

Dairy Alternatives for Bodybuilders

It’s no debate milk is a great way to build muscle. Have you heard that chocolate milk is being marketed as the new athlete’s recovery drink? Can post more on that later if you’re interested…

But what happens when you’re lactose or dairy intolerant or allergic?

How do dairy alternatives line up?

Milks and Macros	Calories	Fat	Saturated Fat	Carbs	Sugars	Protein
Milk, skim	83	0	0	13	13	8
Milk, 1%	102	2	1.5	13	13	8
Milk, 2%	122	5	3	12	12	8
Soymilk, light	60	1.5	0	5	3	6
Soymilk, original	110	4.5	0.5	9	6	8
Cashew, original	60	2.5	0	9	7	1
Cashew, unsweetened	25	2	0	0	1	1
Coconut milk beverage, original	70	4.5	4	8	7	0
Coconut milk beverage, unsweetened	45	4.5	4	2	0	0
Almond, unsweetened	30	2.5	0	1	0	1
Almond, original	60	2.5	0	8	7	1
Almond, 5x Protein,unsweetened	40	2	0	1	0	5
Hemp, original	80	5	0.5	7	6	2
Hemp, unsweetened	60	5	0.5	1	0	2
Rice, original	120	2.5	0	23	10	1
Rice, unsweetened	70	2.5	0	11	1	0

Soy

**Don’t avoid soy. For people who avoid soy milk because it has been shown to lower testosterone levels and increase estrogen levels consider how long these studies were conducted and how much soy milk the person had to consume in order to actually have an affect. (Ex. One article on bodybuilding.com was bashing on soy milk which led me to read the published study. The subjects were asked to drink 20oz a day for 14 days? I don’t know about you but I don’t think the average person drinks that much consistently…)

Pros:

• High Protein
• No/Low saturated fat

Cons:

• Less Leucine, so not as effective as Whey for body building, but very comparable
• Linked to increase estrogen levels and lower testosterone levels

Almond

Pros:

• No saturated fat
• Low Calorie

Cons:

• Probably contains carrageenan, an emulsifier with harmful effects on the body
• Low nutritional value* Studies show only about 1 almond is actually used to make a carton. The rest is water.
• Low Protein

Cashew

Pros:

• No saturated fat
• Low Calorie

Cons:

• Low nutritional value* Watered down
• Low Protein

Coconut

Pros:

• Contain MCFAs which are thought to increase metabolism. (Check out my Diet Myths: Coconut oils post for more MCFA information!)

Cons:

• Low Protein

Hemp

Pros:

• Highest Omega-3 than any other alternatives
• Nut, dairy, soy, and gluten free

Cons:

• Low Protein

Rice

Pros:

• Nut, dairy, soy, and gluten free
• No saturated fat

Cons:

• Low Protein
• High Carb

In conclusion, drink what you want to drink specific to your goals. Milk is still going to be the best dairy source for bodybuilders, but consider switching it up with the 5x protein almond milk or soy every once in a while. Remember kids, nothing is bad for you in moderation….except for drugs!

References:

Kraemer, W. J., Solomon-Hill, G., Volk, B. M., Kupchak, B. R., Looney, D. P., Dunn-Lewis, C., … & Volek, J. S. (2013). The effects of soy and whey protein supplementation on acute hormonal responses to resistance exercise in men. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 32(1), 66-74.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-best-cows-milk-alternatives.html

Home

http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/

Healthy Breakfast Pita Pizza: Under 250 cals!

My apologies for posting two breakfast recipes in a row but this was SO yummy and easy I had to share with you guys! I make pita pizzas a lot and you’ll probably be seeing more varieties.

Here’s the breakfast pita pizza I made as a snack today:

• 1 tbsp hummus
• 1/2 cup kale
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 tomato
• 1 MorningStar breakfast sausage
• 1 Joseph’s Low Carb Pita Bread

Cook the egg whites (in microwave or stovetop). Heat up the breakfast sausage. Steam the kale a bit to soften it. Toast the pita bread*. Spread hummus on toasted pita, top with kale, tomatoes, egg whites, and crumbled breakfast sausage!

* Can be done in a toaster oven, oven, or if you toast two sides in a regular toaster

Macros: (210cals) 6 F, 13 C, 26 P

Top 3 Reasons You’ve Plateaued

We’ve all hit a plateau in our fitness careers. It’s frustrating and discouraging. You feel like you’re doing all this work for nothing! Whether you’re not seeing muscle gain or not seeing weight loss, the core problems tend to be the same. Let’s take a look to see how we can fix it:

©Andrew Hubbard (Inceptionphoto.com)

Diet

Are your portion sizes proper? Are you drinking enough water? Are you following your meal plan?

OK let’s say you’re doing all of these. You started out great, lost/gained 10 lbs! Wow! Now you’re stuck, what the heck!

Your body will adapt to your diet plan if you stick to it for an extended amount of time. Our bodies love to stay in balance and if it knows you will be eating so much every day, it will adapt to do whatever it takes to stay at it’s current state.

If you have lost or gained weight, remember you need to adjust your intake according to your new weight.

Same Workout

Muscle memory is when you’ve performed an exercise or routine so many times that your body has developed a way to perform the exercise using less brain power. Change your routine to keep your body guessing, and you’ll continue seeing results.

Overtraining

Sleep and rest are essential to transforming your body. Many people overlook this and don’t give their body enough time to recover.

I can say from experience that most of my personal records (PRs) are broken after a period of rest. For example, I’ve been struggling to increase my shoulder press for 2-3 weeks now. I didn’t train my upper body/shoulders for 5 days and today I hit a new PR, finally able to increase my weights. Lesson? Rest is good! Don’t overtrain, or you could find yourself stuck like I was.

Signs of overtraining include:

• lack of motivation
• decreased immune system (you’re getting sick more often
• no energy
• loss of appetite
• insomnia
• mood swings
• loss of concentration

Still think you need help? Sign up for 4 wks of free online coaching by emailing dashakobi@yahoo.com! (Offer ending soon)

Motivation Monday

I usually gear my Motivation Mondays around topics that are appearing in my own life. This weeks theme is going to be dedicated to the haters. Those people who don’t support you, who don’t believe in you, who talk about you negatively, or who make fun of you. Sorry for dedicating this post to their negativity, but some negativity pushes us towards positivity right? It’s really hard not to be hurt by other people’s jokes or opinions of you. Focus on what makes YOU happy. If you are bettering yourself then it should not matter what other people think. We’ve all had a negative comment made towards us in the past that has resonated with us. Some of those things we have changed, some don’t need to be changed, and some we want to change. This week, write down two things you have “haters” for and how you’re going to prove them wrong. Unfortunately some of us are our own haters and we don’t realize it (ex. ever looked in the mirror and hyper focused on a flaw?).

This is the week we are going to change how we want to change. We are going to be the person we want to be.

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Here’s mine as an example (p.s. Have you listened to Brené Brown‘s Vulnerability TedTalk?):

1) Haters: “#fitfam #gainz #fitness…..#hardo #loser”

I have a lot of people my age telling me my blog and Instagram are weird. If I actually cared, I wouldn’t be writing this today. I focus on what makes ME happy. Helping and educating others while holding myself accountable makes me happy and motivates me to be a better person. That’s not weird to me. I have a passion, I am accomplishing my goals, and I am helping others. So what?

Proving wrong: I really hope to show my client’s progress and work on developing a brand/image. (Quick shoutout to everyone I’m working with who are killing their goals, losing weight and getting stronger- woohoo! Keep it up!)

2) Haters: “you’re too (insert any adj. here: fat, skinny, muscular, etc.)”

Good. At least I’m not a judgmental hater. I am not trying to conform under a stereotype. I am trying to be better than I was yesterday.

Proving wrong: Continuing my diet and exercise plans to reach the goals I have set for me!

Healthiest & Cheapest Popcorn

I was at the grocery store the other day and this family was looking at all of the popcorn brands and yelling out to each other “OH! This one has butter flavor AND less than 100 calories!” “OH OH! BUT this one is almost a dollar cheaper!!”

Being the person I am, I spoke up and told them about my DIY recipe. If you know any popcorn brand that is cheaper and healthier than plain corn kernels, let me know.

Here’s how to do it:
Place 1/4 cup popcorn kernels into a brown lunch bag. Fold over the top and place into your microwave for about 3 minutes. (Once there is more than 1-2 seconds between each pop). This makes about 8 cups of popcorn.

Macros for 2 cups popped popcorn (1/4 recipe):

53 cals [ 1g fat, 13g carbohydrates (2g fiber), 2g protein ]

Want to add some flavor?

• Olive oil spray, salt, pepper
• Cayenne/chili powder
• Truvia, cinnamon
• Store bought add-ons (Theres everything from caramel to cheddar to buffalo flavors)

Why Naked juice smoothies are a rip off

I remember once I was getting breakfast with a friend at Bruegger’s. I got a berry Naked smoothie and a bagel with cream cheese….it cost me almost $9. A drink and a bagel? Really?

Well not only are Naked juices literally an expensive drink choice, they also market themselves in ways to manipulate the consumer. I don’t like giving negative reviews, but for a health conscious consumer, it’s important to be informed. Here’s the inside scoop:

Firstly, in 2013 Pepsico settled a $9 million dollar lawsuit involving their Naked juice brand for making false advertisements of having an “all natural” product despite using GMOs and synthetic ingredients.

Ok so they don’t use all natural products- so what? 

Well, let’s talk about nutritional content. I’ll use the berry smoothie I bought years ago as an example (most smoothies offer similar nutritional content):

One bottle= 320 calories from 80g of carbs (58g fructose)

This means some Naked drinks have more sugar than Pepsi. Ok Pepsi has loads of harmful chemicals, but still that’s a lot of sugar! The sugar in these drinks comes in the form of fructose: Naked has it from fruit, Pepsi has it from high fructose corn syrup.

But Dasha, that’s 3.25 apples, a banana, 27 blueberries, and 3 blackberries!! So good for you!!

….I’m sorry when’s the last time you had 3 apples, a banana, and a cup of berries in one sitting?

Your body can easily process one serving of fruit, and the benefits are great. However, when you ingest 4 servings in one sitting, the body is likely to deposit the excess fructose as fat. Why?

Fructose is only metabolized directly in the liver. It is not the preferred energy source for your brain and muscles. It is more fat-producing, or lipogenic than glucose because of its metabolic pathway. Glucose is our body’s preferred energy source and is what the body breaks down most of our other carbohydrates into.

Moral of the story: Naked juice won’t make you look good Naked, so enjoy in moderation!

References:

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/wellbeing/healthy-eating/naked-juice-admits-its-not-so-natural.php

http://www.nakedjuice.com

Target Says No To Junk and Yes to Healthy Foods

Target’s new Chief Executive, Brian Cornell, made the decision to start emphasizing healthier products instead of packaged foods. He brought together representatives from big brands like General Mills, Kellogg, and Campbell Soups to let them know they may be seeing a decrease in sales in the near future.

Target will no longer be spending as much money or effort to promote packaged products, and will instead be focusing on featuring healthier products. 

Why the sudden change? Cornell noticed a new trend: customers prefer quality health products at reasonable prices. In a recent interview he said: “That doesn’t mean that mac and cheese is being eliminated, but clearly assortment is being shaped around what consumers are looking for” (1).

What does this mean for us, the consumer? It means we’ll be seeing healthier products in advertisements and sales. The shelving will probably be changed so the healthy options are at eye level and the junk food will be moved to less favorable areas. We may see less variety in these big brands, i.e. 3 flavor options instead of 5. Have you noticed any changes yet at your local branch?

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I’m not surprised Target is “going healthy”, and I’m actually quite surprised it took them this long to see the trend. I could have predicted this “healthy eating trend” 5 years ago, but I guess they now have the data to support their decisions.

Bravo Target! Will Walmart be next? 

Did you like hearing about current health/fitness topics in the news? Would love to hear your feedback!

References:

(1) Wall Street Journal

Motivation Monday

©Andrew Hubbard (Inceptionphoto.com)

Another picture from the shoot last week! This one scares me a little because I have such a bubbly and goofy personality compared to what this image portrays.

This photo shows my inner strength, rather than my outer strength. Why do I say this? Well, I don’t look like that in real life and I never have a grimace on my face (unless you try to take my food 😉 ). The lighting and my flexing makes me look a lot stronger than I am…physically, but in this way it portrays the strength I have on the inside. Does that make sense? A “fake” image of my inner strength?

The point is, our bodies aren’t a reflection of who we are on the inside. Who we are on the inside is what really matters, but we strive to show people how strong we can be by manipulating our looks on the outside. It’s sounds twisted, but it’s how animals have evolved to live. A lot of people judge by the outside, they can’t help it.

 So this week let’s focus on two things:

1) Not judging people by their appearance

2) Showing people our inner strength