What the F is THAT?

Posted on May 1, 2013 by sdorsay (itrainthereforeieat)

Although I feel like I’ve completely lost my blogging mojo, I figured the only way to get it back is to get on here and start typing away, right? I haven’t written a “typical” blog post since the Boston Marathon Bombings, and although Boston will never quite be the same, I figure it’s about time to pick myself up by the proverbial boot straps and carry on. Blog world, I’m back.

I was in the grocery store recently, and looked down at a shelf in front of me when something caught my eye. “Calorie Free Marshmallow Dip” it said. Wait, what? I thought I misread it. So I picked it up (almost embarrassed to be seen looking at such a monstrosity), and re-read the label. Yep, I was right the first time. Calorie Free Marshmallow Dip.

First of all, who the hell eats marshmallow dip?

It was from a company called Walden Farms, which sounds innocent enough, no? It’s a farm! Farms produce delicious healthy real foods! Except for when the “farm” is really just a chemical plant churning out jars of calorie free crap. I went home and looked up this company online, which is where I found out the awful truth.

Walden Farms makes a whole slew of calorie free “foods”, including calorie free Peanut Butter, and calorie free “mayo”. WHAT THE F IS THAT?!?

Let’s explore this idea a little bit. Peanut butter is made from peanuts, which contain… ahem.. calories and fat. How on earth could a “peanut spread” be calorie free? Heck even PB2 (which I also hate) has calories for Christ sake, Which leads me to believe one thing: this is a lab creation, and is not even really food at all. Looking the nutritional information for this particular product confirmed my suspicions:

The first ingredient is water. WATER. YOU’RE BUYING WATER. Next comes some thickeners, and after that, “fresh roasted peanut flavor”. Read that again. Peanut flavor. Isn’t this a peanut spread? WHERE ARE THE PEANUTS??? The ingredient list is finished out with some sucralose (splenda) which many people’s guts are sensitive to.

Yum. Lab-created peanut flavor thrown into some water, thickeners, and artificial sweetener. Call me crazy, but I don’t call that food, in any sense of the word.

Their other products are just as bad, so don’t think it’s just the Peanut Spread. The Mayo, for example, is made of water, some thickeners, and “egg flavor”. Barf.

The kicker comes from the description of their products though. As quoted directly from their website:

CLASSIC PEANUT SPREAD that’s smooth and creamy with Natural Fresh Roasted Peanut flavor…When making a PB&J switch from other brands of Peanut Butter loaded with sugar and almost 200 calories in just two level tablespoons to new Walden Farms Whipped Peanut Spreads and save over 600 calories when made with Walden Farms Calorie Free Fruit Spreads, “The Walden Way.”

Ok, so other peanut butters are loaded with sugar? False, if you’re buying good quality peanut butter. And most importantly, other peanut butters are made with REAL PEANUTS, not chemically formed flavors! The sad thing is though, that some people see these products and think that because it says “calorie free” that means it’s healthy. Or that the company’s claims that you can “save 10,000 calories per month” by substituting your regular foods with their chemical-concoctions, never mind the fact that if you actually do that, you’ll end up malnourished. (And who knows if all of these chemicals cause cancer. I’m not saying they do, I’m just saying…).

The company’s tagline makes me sick too. “Eat Healthy, The Walden Way”. Please excuse me while I go dry heave in the corner. Healthy? HEALTHY? How dare they prey on uneducated consumers to believe that these products are truly healthy.

I didn’t mean for this to turn into an angry rant, but since it looks like it’s heading that way, I might as well stick with the theme. How’s this for an idea? How about we eat real foods, grown from the earth, not from a chemical company. How about we eat foods that contain nutrients that our bodies desperately need in order to remain healthy, fight off disease, and heal injuries? How about we stop supporting companies that process crap like this and get back to foods that contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals? (Novel idea, I know). I honestly feel that companies like this should not be legally allowed to call this stuff “food”. It’s water and chemicals, and that’s it. Shame on Walden Farms for promoting this as health food, and shame on consumers who are educated yet still buy this stuff just because it’s calorie free.

Have you ever tried any Walden Farms products? Would you buy “food” with this type of nutritional label just to save a few calories? Do you think there’s any chance that PB spread actually tastes like peanuts?

Nutrition Experiment Phase 2: Carb Back Loading

Posted on April 3, 2013 by sdorsay (itrainthereforeieat)

Here we go again! It’s nutrition experiment time. I’ve talked about this mini experiment I’m doing in several posts, but if you’re new and just need a general overview, check it out here.

If you’ll recall, I already did a month of Intermittent Fasting (IF), which I actually loved. The past few weeks since then have been a very loose interpretation of IF, in which I haven’t been too strict on my hours of fasting/eating, but I have been consistently continuing my fast through the mornings until after I work out. And you know what? Surprise, surprise, I haven’t been feeling nearly as good as I did when I was strict about the 16/8 fasting/eating times.

I think it was actually working for me. Who knew.

But now it’s time for the next phase of my experiment, and that is 4 weeks of Carb Back Loading (CBL). I purposely stacked IF and CBL one after the other because they are very similar, especially when following the LeanGains style of IF, which I was doing. I want to take today to just give you all a quick overview of the weeks to come and what I expect out of it. Hopefully I enjoy this as much as IF, and can find some way to combine the two when this is all said and done!

Click on the picture to link back to the CBL Site.

What Is Carb Back Loading?

CBL is a style of eating developed by John Kiefer, based on his extensive research about the way our bodies utilize carbohydrates, and how we can optimize this through nutrient timing. I’m not going to give you all the details, because if you want to learn all about this style of eating, you really should check out Kiefer’s downloadable PDF. I invested in it, and I’m glad I did, because I want to be able to do this the right way, and not just half-ass it. The basic premise of CBL is that carbs should be almost exclusively eaten at night, directly following a night time training (heavy lifting) session. And when I say carbs, I don’t mean whole grains. The rules actually tell you to eat the junkiest carbs possible — those with high glycemic index scores. One of Kiefer’s favorite suggestions? Cherry turnovers. I know, I know, I didn’t believe it or understand at first either, but after reading the e-book, it is actually starting to make sense.

The science behind this is related to insulin sensitivity and your body’s natural clock when it comes to fat burning. It is designed for people who lift heavy and train at night, but there are ways to modify this for those who train first thing in the morning (such as myself).

Essentially, I will be training fasted (as I have been doing for the last month and a half), and will eat a meal with fat, protein, and a small amount of carbs directly post lift. I will then eat only trace carbs throughout the day until dinner time, which is where it get’s a little more fun. On nights when I will be lifting the following morning, I will be actively CBL-ing, eating things like white rice, bread every once in a while, and carb-y desserts, even ice cream! (Well, let’s be real, it’s not like I avoid ice cream now). On days when I’m not lifting the next morning however, carbs have to remain trace at dinner as well. This also means that on days when I’m not training for 2 days in a row, both of those days will be very low carb all day.

What Am I Looking Forward To About CBL?

Well duh — the food obviously. But more importantly I’m looking forward to some structure in my diet. As I said before about IF, I don’t forsee this as being something that I would be 100% strict with until the end of time, but for a month? Sure, I’ll give it a go. I think my CBL nights are going to be glorious, and I’m probably going to end up eating a good amount of FroYo and animal crackers. (I don’t know why I love animal crackers so much, but I do, and I never eat them). Take Monday night for example. We had some leftover mini whoopie pies that I had made for easter… you better bet that I had one (or 2) of those, and loved every second of it! Carb me up!

Yummmmmmm!

What are the challenges going to be?

There will certainly be challenges to this. The times when I am supposed to be extremely low carb are going to be difficult. I don’t eat a high-carb diet, but being asked to slash it even lower than I am used to (I usually eat around a 40-30-30 carb-protein-fat spread) will be tough. I’m going to have to be super vigilant about planning ahead, especially when I need quick meals for work, because most of my usual grab-and-go meal options have a good amount of carbs in them. One other thing that may turn out to be a huge challenge will be figuring out my limits. I am not going to be able to eat as much on a CBL day as a 250 lb guy who deadlifts 500 pounds, that’s for sure. I will need to find a balance between getting in enough useful carbs to take advantage of this program, and stuffing my face just because I like cake. (I mean, I really like cake.)

My long term goal is still to lose about 3-4% bodyfat, so I will be bummed if I start gaining body fat while on this plan. Of course it won’t be the end of the world, but it sure as heck could be the end of my experimenting with CBL. Again, finding that balance will be key, as will really trying to stick with optimum nutrient timing.

Whew. This could get exhausting!

As with IF, I’ll keep you updated periodically throughout the month. I’ll also keep a log of what I’m eating, how I’m feeling, etc. and will give you all an overview of my experience once my four weeks is up. I’ll also let you in on any body composition changes that may or may not happen over this time.

Wish me luck!

Have you heard of Carb Back Loading? Does it sound like something you’d want to try?

Random Monday Thoughts

Posted on March 18, 2013 by sdorsay (itrainthereforeieat)

I don’t really have anything today that would make up a full post, but I just wanted to put a couple of thoughts out there. Besides, I wouldn’t want to make you read anything too detailed or heavy when you’re trying so hard to recover from your St. Patricks Day shenanigans yesterday (Yes, you there with the raging hangover that all of your co-workers are pretending they don’t notice, I’m talking to you).

Random Monday Thought #1: I want to say a HUGE thank you for the response I got on my last post. I always love my readers, but I especially love it when we get such a good conversation going, especially about such an important topic. Everyone had excellent, thoughtful comments, and I’m glad that many of you seem to agree with my concerns about the HLB world. When I published that post, I tweeted it directly at Healthy Living Blogs themselves because I wanted to make sure they got to read it, in the hopes that it would draw some sort of response. You would think that the people who essentially own the HLB brand would be happy to address my concerns, and maybe even offer some answers to the questions I proposed. (Or at the very least, a cookie-cutter “we’re sorry you feel that way” type of reply). But no response yet, which to me just seems irresponsible. Maybe they want the HLB title to be associated with disordered eating and other unhealthy practices? I’m not sure, but I’m annoyed.

Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.

Random Monday Thought #2: I’m still ridiculously sore from my lift on Friday. So sore I’ve been walking like a cowboy all weekend, I call it my cowboy strut. After mangling my finger and being under no-sweating orders from my doctor for 2 weeks, I more than ready to go when I hit the weight room last week. Never mind that the finger splint I’m still in means that my grip is severely decreased, so I’m pretty much limited to back-loaded barbell stuff for now (Go ahead, try overhand-gripping a loaded barbell or heavy dumbbells without your index fingers. Not so easy, is it?) So Friday I finally got my butt back in the weight room, and to my delight, only lost 10 lb off my back squat after nearly 3 weeks off. Now though? I feel as though I’ve ripped every muscle from my pelvis. Me thinks I jumped in with a little too much too soon. Ah well, live and learn, right?

Random Monday Thought #3: In the past, I’ve talked about girls nights I have with a group of friends about once every month. We pick a theme, pick someone to host, and then all make something (food or drink) according to the theme. Honestly, although we all have the best intentions, we often end up with a mix of bread, cheese, sugar, and wine, because that’s just the way it goes. (And there’s totally nothing wrong with that). We had one of these dinners this past weekend, and my lovely friend decided to make the theme Rules on Rules on Rules. Essentially, there was no sugar, butter, or flour allowed. And you know what? I really think it turned out to be our best dinner yet. We had vegetable spring rolls, spaghetti squash/black bean tacos, goat cheese stuffed dates, and risotto, and it was all absolutely delicious. Proof that get togethers don’t always have to be about junk food and alcohol, and that healthy eating can still be fun, creative, and delicious!

That is all for now! Enjoy your monday, and please, no napping at your desk. It’s not attractive. Especially if you’re still covered in green glitter and fake tattoos from your attempt at being Irish yesterday.

Would you expect the heads of HLB to respond to my last post? Have you ever gone back to the gym too hard too soon after an injury? Do you have any fun traditions with friends that involve food?

A Nutrition Experiment

Posted on January 21, 2013 by sdorsay (itrainthereforeieat)

First of all, I want to wish everyone a very happy Martin Luther King Day. I hope at the very least, that everyone takes a moment to appreciate the amazing things that MLK did in the name of racial equality in the US, and also to appreciate the very long road we still have in front of us on that front.

Second of all, don’t forget about my giveaway! It will close tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 9 pm, and you really don’t want to miss out on a chance to try some delicious GoodOnYa Bars for free! Check out this post for the details on how to enter.

Now… Remember back in my New Years post a couple weeks ago when I hinted at a nutrition experiment that would be coming up? Well here we gooo…

There are countless nutritional guidelines out there; most of which are touted by “experts” who claim that their program is the best. While I am a strong proponent of following a resistance training program combined with eating mostly whole, un-processed and minimally-processed foods, I understand that many of these programs are a little bit more structured than that. Is there a certain time that you should be eating certain foods? Are there food groups that you should eliminate? Are there certain times during the day when you shouldn’t be eating at all? And how does all of this correspond with strength training and other exercise programs?

There are so many questions, many of which have answers that are backed up by research, but many that have answers based on anecdotal evidence at best.

This is why I’ll be conducting my own nutrition “experiment”. I put experiment in quotations, because this will not be a strict scientific process. This will be a personal period of experimentation, in order to find out if there is a program/plan out there that works well for me and my body. Will the results of my experiment be applicable to you and your goals? Maybe, with a little tweaking, but probably not 100%. You see, everyone is different when it comes to nutrition, weight loss, food intolerances, hormonal balances, etc. So to say that one specific program will work for everyone is unrealistic. But what I will do is share my results and ideas, so that you can choose to try these things for yourself (or not).

What will my experiment involve?

I will be following 3 of the more prominent nutritional styles that I have seen in the fitness world lately. These are Intermittent Fasting (IF), Carb-Back Loading, and Paleo. I will be following each of these nutritional protocols for at least 4 weeks, but will extend one or all of them if I find that I enjoy the progress I am making. I am giving each of them 4 weeks in order to get myself over the misery that often accompanies the start of a new diet or nutritional plan, in order to really experience how they make me feel. I do realize that 4 weeks is not generally long enough to see immense changes in body composition, and that is the reason why each program is getting at least 4 weeks. Long enough to see if it’s working, and also long enough to see if I absolutely hate it. I’m not a believer in torturing yourself all in the name of “health”, so if one of these programs is making me miserable after 4 weeks, sorry, it’s out.

What are my goals?

I have a few goals, and I’m sure I’ll come up with more as I begin each program, but here’s what I’ve got for now:

1. Lose about 4% of body fat. I’ve been sitting at about 24% for a while now, and I just want to lean down a little bit. I would love to be able to sit at about 20%, but I just haven’t been able to be disciplined enough to get there yet. This may happen during this experiment, but it may not, depending on how well I tolerate each program. If it doesn’t happen, I’ll simply go back to what works best, and go from there when it’s all said and done. And for those of you who are thinking “but 20 % isn’t even that low!”, it is pretty lean for a female, and I’m not trying to get down to competitor level leanness here. Just feel better in my own skin.

2. Contol my hunger, instead of hunger controlling me. I’m one of those people who has a horrible reaction to hunger. I get cranky, stressed, and just plain out bitchy. I know that most of my reaction to hunger is mental, and I need to be able to learn that hunger is not always a bad thing. Transient hunger can be helpful, and learning how to deal with it instead of always reaching for the closest snack will help me to reach my goals. No, I’m not talking about starving myself, but realizing that feeling hunger for a few hours is not going to be the end of the world is something that I need.

3. Experience these nutritional programs so that I can offer advice or thoughts about them, and actually know what I’m talking about. I’ve said before on here that I don’t follow a Paleo style of eating, but honestly, I’ve never tried it. Maybe I’ll love it, who knows until I try though, right?

Source: 9gag.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

What do I expect?

I expect a lot of things; most of which I’ll go over when I first begin each specific program. Each one will bring it’s own challenges, and hopefully it’s own rewards. I don’t expect to love all of them, but I do expect to find some new insight into the worlds of each of these programs. I expect to lose some body fat, but I’m not sure how much until I actually get started. I expect to have some days where I’m a total raging bitch (I apologize ahead of time), especially when I first start IF. (More on that soon).

How is this all going to go down?

I have a little bit of a process planned out.

First, I’m going to take 2 weeks to really focus on me, my eating habits, training habits, sleeping habits, moods, and so on. I’m going to be a documenting freak, carrying around a journal and taking notes on what I’m eating, when I’m training, how I’m feeling at different parts of the day, energy levels, weight, BF %, and sleep habits. This will be my baseline.

From there, I’m going to start with Intermittent Fasting, and we’ll talk more about this when I get there. After at least 4 weeks with IF, I’m going to transition into Carb-Backoading for at least 4 weeks as well. I plan on finishing out the experiment with at least 4 weeks of strict Paleo eating, and then, well, the future is up in the air.

I’ll keep you all updated as I start each one, and then probably once or twice throughout each 4 week period. Don’t worry, this wont turn into a blog thats all about IF, or CBL, or Paleo, but I will let you know how I’m progressing. I’ll report back with weight and BF% after each trial, as well as challenges, rewards, and thoughts on each one as a whole.

Maybe I’ll love one of these and go back to it. Maybe I’ll hate all of them and go back to the way I do things now. Maybe I’ll want to try one or two of them again, with some small tweaks in order to fit my life better. Who knows! That’s the beauty of an experiment: Who the F knows what is going to happen.

So here we go! Do any of you follow any of these nutritional styles? Have you heard of them all before? Is anyone interested in trying any of these with me?

Don’t forget about the giveaway!

The GoodOnYa Bar and A Giveaway!

Posted on January 18, 2013 by sdorsay (itrainthereforeieat)

I want to first start off by saying WOW. I am completely overwhelmed by the response my last post has gotten, and I am so happy that I have been able to reach so many in the athletic training world though this little blog. Welcome to all of my new followers, and a I want to give a huge THANK YOU to the crazy number of people who have shared my last post on Facebook and Twitter over the past few days. You all are the best, and I hope everyone continues to enjoy visiting this site! There have been some incredibly thoughtful responses since Monday, and I truly appreciate each and every comment/tweet/email that comes in.

But since not everyone who reads this blog is an AT, moving on to today’s post:

This, my friends, is a product review.

I wrote a review of another product a while back, but after I posted it I realized that I wasn’t really that kind of blogger. I realized that I would rather write about my ideas and experiences than review foods and products, unless the item I’m reviewing is truly something I believe in, whether it be a company, product, or type of food.

And we have a winner. The GoodOnYa Bar.

GoodOnYa1

This is a product and a company that I can believe in. This is a small company from Encinitas, California, with ideas and philosophies much like my own. When I first heard of these bars, I decided to peruse their website to learn more about them, and what I found compelled me to reach out to them to give these bars a try. To quote the website:

“We are part of the movement and want to take food back from the multi-national corporations that feed us. It’s time to understand what we are eating, find local sources and tap back into decisions that benefit the earth. Because we are of the earth, every single thing we do here matters, it is a closed loop. When you drink a sports drink with a coloring that is petroleum based, you are supporting the companies that think it’s ok to put gas in your body! Those companies don’t care about anything except profits. And the health of the earth as well as the health of your body doesn’t cross their mind.”

This is a company that was started by an Olympic athlete, in a quest to create healthy food with the best ingredients, little processing, and nutrients that can help not only our bodies, but our environment as well. To read about a company that doesn’t just care about the bottom line, but that also cares about health of us and future generations; now that is something I can support 100%.

GoodOnYa4

To quote again:

“We bought a variety of bars over the years, the same ones I ate when I was an athlete, but we found ourselves bored and at times shocked at the nutritional content. We didn’t even know what soy protein isolate was and that was in almost every bar we tried. We don’t like ingredients that aren’t directly from nature. We just don’t think you should be eating things you can’t make yourself. So we decided to make our own, and here we are.”

To find out a little bit more about this company and what they are about, check out this short video here:

Again, a company and product that falls right in line with my own nutritional philosophy. I had to try them, and try them I did! And this, my friends, is what I found:

I was sent a sample box of their three flavors of GoodOnYa Bars: Breakfast, Peanut Butter Honey, and Peanut Butter Chocolate.

As soon as I got them, I couldn’t wait to dig in.

The first one I tried was the Organic Gluten Free Breakfast bar. Nutty, hearty, and slightly sweet, it was absolutely perfect for breakfast on the go. Instead of tasting like something that had been processed and was sitting on a shelf in a warehouse for months, it honestly tasted like something I could have just whipped up in the kitchen moments before. Besides the awesome flavor, it was satisfying too, taking care of my hunger for the next 2-3 hours (which for me, Ms. Eats-All-Day-Long, is saying something).

The next bar I tried was the Organic Gluten Free Peanut Butter Honey. I grabbed this one after a morning stadium run, eating half of it as part of my post-workout breakfast, and the other half of it later to keep my energy levels up during a marathon study session. The flavor was less peanut-butter than I originally expected, but it was still a delicious and satisfying snack. Again, I felt great about the ingredients that were going into my body, especially as a direct-post-workout snack, and was happy that it tasted like real food, not like artificial flavorings and preservatives. This one was less sweet than the breakfast bar, making it an equally good choice for a breakfast on the go.

Of course, I saved the Organic Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter for last, as history tells me that that would be my favorite flavor. Like the Peanut Butter Honey, it did have less of a peanut butter flavor than I was expecting, but the chocolate chips sprinkled in added a nice bit of sweetness to the bar. Although not an overwhelming peanut butter flavor, it was extremely tasty and seemed like a perfect post-workout snack. Overall, this one was an excellent, filling snack, and like the others was not too sweet.

If I had to rank them, I would definitely say the Breakfast bar was my favorite, followed by the Chocolate Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter Honey. They are all delicious though, and would suit many different tastes, especially those of you who don’t like bars that are packed with a ton of sugar and other sweeteners. And I can’t say it enough that this is a company I can stand behind 100%. The GoodOnYa Bar is real food made from real ingredients, not some chemicals created in a lab. It’s made by people who care about you and the environment, using ingredients that will nourish your body the way you deserve.

And to make things even better, for those of you with intolerances, allergies, or aversions to certain foods, these are not only gluten free bars, but they are grain free, non-GMO, non-soy, and non-dairy as well. BOOM.

If you’re someone like me who is always on the go, bars can be a great snack choice. However, as noted in the quotes above, so many other bars are packed with ingredients that you can’t even pronounce, additives, and tons of sugar/sweeteners. These bars have none of that, and they’re delicious. What more can you ask for?

To learn more about this awesome company, you can check out the GoodOnYa Bar website here, and you can also follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook.

And as a very special offer, I’m doing my very first giveaway for this product! The winner will receive a sample box with one of each flavor (Breakfast, Peanut Butter Honey, and Peanut Butter Chocolate). To enter, please leave a comment below and tell me which one you’re most excited about trying and why.

To gain additional entries, you may also do one or all of the following:

1. Follow me and The GoodOnYa Bar on Twitter

2. Like The GoodOnYa Bar on Facebook

Please add an additional comment here for each of these actions to be counted.

*Important Note: The giveaway will close at 9:00 PM EST on Tuesday January 22. One winner will be chosen at random and announced on Wednesday January 23; they will then have 48 hours to contact me or another winner will be selected. Good luck!

**EDIT: This giveaway is now closed.

ALSO: Even if you don’t win the giveaway, you can still get a little deal anyway (because I love you all that much). GoodOnYa Bar has been generous enough to offer free shipping to all of my readers. All you have to do is enter the coupon code TrainHard at checkout, and you’ll be all set! If you’re someone who loves real food made with real ingredients, without all that processed nonsense, give these a try. You won’t regret it!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All ideas and opinions herein are my own. Besides the 3 complimentary bars that I tried, I was not compensated in any way for the ideas and opinions stated here.

I Train Therefore I Eat.

Nutrition, Strength Training, and joie de vivre

Tag Archives: healthy eating

What the F is THAT?

Nutrition Experiment Phase 2: Carb Back Loading

Random Monday Thoughts

A Nutrition Experiment

The GoodOnYa Bar and A Giveaway!

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