Lifestyle Choices: Paleo

September 9, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Happy Monday Readers! We’re continuing our look into the more popular diet/lifestyles that are out there. Today I am taking an in depth look into the Paleo lifestyle. Let’s get started!

Followers of the Paleo lifestyle believe that the optimal diet is one that is based on fruits, vegetables, and meats that could be found in the Paleolithic Era, before modern agriculture came into play. They avoid grains, dairy, legumes/beans, sugar and processed foods that are results of modern agriculture. They try to eat as close to nature as possible, meaning organic fruits and vegetables, grass fed meats, unprocessed oils, tree nuts/seeds, eggs, fish and shellfish. Anything that modern man has meddled with or made in a factory is off limits. Here is a really great list of foods that are allowed in the lifestyle as well as those that should be avoided. While it sounds like there are a lot of food that they do not eat, there are a ton of foods that can be eaten within the parameters of the Paleo lifestyle. Simply put, if cavemen didn’t eat then neither should you. Paleo followers believe that many of today’s modern diseases and ailments, such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases, are a result of modern food.

Just like with every lifestyle I look at, I offer my own opinions on the pros and cons of each diet. These are only MY opinions, I am not a doctor/dietician/nutritionist/health professional. If you would like more in depth information, please contact your health professional.

The big thing that I really like about the Paleo lifestyle is the belief that real food is the best for our bodies. I have made it fairly clear that I do not think that processed food has any nutritional benefit and is a cause of a lot of our health problems. When people hear about the Paleo lifestyle, many people instantly think of piles of meat and weightlifting, but this is just a stereotype. Yes, the Paleo lifestyle does endorse meat, but not processed meat and not pounds and pounds of it at every meal. They advocate for organic, free-range, and grass fed meats, which can be a very nutritional part of a diet. But they also promote eating a ton of fruits and vegetables. The other myth that you have to be a weightlifter or be a part of Crossfit if you go Paleo is just that, a myth. There is a large variety of people that follow the Paleo lifestyle. From runners, to those who practice yoga, old, young, mothers, grandparents, being Paleo is not limited to one type of person. I like this aspect as well, but I feel that those who do follow Paleo need to help propel the idea that it is not all about eating meat and doing crazy exercises.

One of the things that I don’t like about Paleo is one of the things that I don’t like about a lot of lifestyles out there, the thought that their way of living/eating is the ONLY way to be healthy. I mentioned this last week when I talked about the vegan lifestyle, but it is very off putting for someone who is still searching for the best way to be healthy to come across a hardcore Paleo follower. While these people think they are promoting their lifestyle, many of them are causing people to find other means of being healthy. Again, just like with the hard core vegans, not everyone in Paleo is like this. In fact it is a very small group, but they have unfortunately been a big force and are what many people assume all Paleo followers are like. My other concern about the Paleo lifestyle is that it can be very restrictive and if someone is just starting out they might feel so overwhelmed with all the food they are cutting out, they will just quit. This can happen with many types of diets, so it is important to ease into any new lifestyle and realize it is ok if you are not 100% perfect 100% of the time.

Overall, I think that if done properly, the Paleo diet can be a healthy lifestyle for many people. Just because I do not eat meat doesn’t mean that I think all meat is bad. I understand that every body has different nutritional needs. My body thrives without animals in my diet, but that doesn’t mean that others are exactly like me. I am a BIG advocate of finding what works for you and your health and if that just so happens to be Paleo then great! If your focus is on eating real, whole foods, whether that includes meat or not, I guarantee you will feel better and your health will improve!

In other news, this past Saturday I participated in a 5k race held by our local animal shelter, TAILS Humane Society. This was my third time running a 5k race and my fourth race overall. I went into it pretty much like every other non-professional runner out there, expecting to have a good time and not planning on winning. Apparently my body had other plans and I ran 3.1 miles in 23:23 and finished first for all females and fourth overall. I was pretty proud of myself as this is the first time that I have ever really won anything for an athletic type event, I even got a medal! I thought it would be fun to share my excitement with you guys and encourage you to go out and have some fun with any events you might be thinking about joining! Have a great week and come back next Monday for a look at the Weight Watchers diet.

Me and Adam right after I finished

My medal! I swear I’m not choking myself with it!

Awesome swag bag that included a grill/panini/waffle maker!!

Lifestyle Choices: Veganism

September 4, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Hi everyone! I hope that you all had a fabulous holiday weekend and were able to relax and enjoy the last few days of summer. I spent the weekend in Indiana with friends and family and had an amazing time! My mother-in-law even surprised me by inviting my friend from Missouri that I haven’t seen in months! It was awesome because I miss her a lot since she moved. I tell you all that because that is partially why I am doing my normal Monday post on Wednesday. Because of Labor Day, I am pushing Monday’s post to today and I will post my normal recipe on Friday. So you’ll still get all the normal stuff, just a day later! Alright, let’s get to business!

My sister, Ashley (!), and me!

Today I am going to go over the vegan lifestyle. Last week I talked about vegetarianism and briefly mentioned vegans, but this lifestyle needs a little more in-depth description. Just like vegetarians, vegans consume no meat, including fish, poultry, or pork. In addition, they also do not consume any animal by-products. This means they do not eat dairy or eggs, they don’t eat honey or gelatin, and they do not use any products that contain animal products or have been tested on animals. In the simplest sense, if anything has been made with some form of an animal, vegans will not eat or use it. Now, there are some people who only stick to a vegan diet rather than a vegan lifestyle. This means they won’t eat any animal products, but they may use products that do have animal in them. There are also some people that follow a raw vegan diet, meaning that they will not eat animals/animal products and will not consume food that has been cooked over 118 degrees F.

Just like last week, I am going to share my opinions on what is good/bad about the vegan lifestyle. Remember, these are only MY opinions. I am not a doctor/nutritionist/dietician, if you want more advice please talk with your doctor or another health professional. Let’s start with the good. I love the focus that veganism places on fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. I believe that everyone, whether vegan or not, needs to add these nutritional powerhouses to their diet. I also like that veganism helps shine a light on the way our diets and lives can affect the environment. The Standard American Diet does place a lot of strain on the environment. It takes a lot of resources, both natural and unnatural, to produce food for us to eat. It boggles my mind that 90% of the crops grown in this country are fed to livestock, and we only consume 10%. It also take a lot of land, water, and fuel to raise livestock for the population to consume. Vegans have done a good job of bringing this issue to light, and have even started a movement called Meatless Monday’s. The idea is that if we just had one day a week where we didn’t eat meat we could lessen the impact we have on the environment. It has become a rather large movement and has brought mindfulness to a lot of the American population.

More info on this at this website: http://goo.gl/75GL17

On the flipside, the vegan lifestyle can be very intense, both in eating and ideals. In my years of learning and reading about different lifestyles, I have come across some very intense individuals. These people are the ones that think that their way is the ONLY way to live, and that everyone else is horrible for choosing to live some other way. Let me make this very clear, this is a very small population of vegans. In most cases vegans just want to promote healthier and more compassionate living. Sadly, the ones who are not like this can be very caustic and off-putting. They turn others away because no one likes to feel like they are being judged or feel guilty for making their own decisions. The vegan lifestyle can also be intense in other ways as well. After seeing everything that vegans don’t eat or use, it can seem like there is nothing left to use. This can turn people away or cause those just starting out to rely heavily on processed vegan products, which can be just as unhealthy as regular processed products. In truth, there are tons of healthy, delicious, and varied vegan meals and food. It just takes some research and trial and error in the beginning. If you do decide to go vegan, I suggest that you ease into the lifestyle rather than just jumping in fully. It’s much easier to slowly cut out all animal products over a long period of time than going cold turkey and living on salad for a year before realizing there are better things out there.

It is also very important that vegans monitor their vitamin and mineral intake to ensure they are getting the proper nutrients. The big vitamin that they need to make sure they get is B12. You can not get B12 from any plant-source, so if you go vegan you will need to supplement that into your diet. The good thing now is that veganism is becoming more and more mainstream. It might not be as popular as vegetarianism, but they are making good strides towards that. It is easier to find food at grocery stores and eating establishments that are fully vegan. Just be careful to not fall into the junk food vegan trap. You can still be unhealthy and vegan, there are plenty of mainstream products out there that are considered vegan. As long as you are aware of what you are putting into your mouth and body, you can make healthy and delicious vegan choices.

Overall I think that the vegan lifestyle can be a very good choice for a healthier life. That being said, it isn’t for everyone and that is ok! Some people will just never be able to go through life without eating meat or perhaps the thought of never cooking food makes their stomach turn. This is all ok, being healthy is about trying to find what works best for your body and life. Maybe you become a big supporter of the Meatless Monday movement and just cut animal products from your life for one day or maybe this lifestyle sounds right up your alley. If so, do your research, talk with your doctor and come up with a plan to start incorporating veganism into your life! I hope you all have a fabulous day and make sure you check back next Monday for my thoughts on the Paleo lifestyle.

Lifestyle Choices: Vegetarianism

August 26, 2013 / ktbuchs87

I have a lot of opinions when it comes to health. Go figure. I try not to force my views down anyone’s throat or stand on the mountaintop shouting, “It’s my way or the highway!” I share what I believe, why I believe it, and then allow you to make your own opinion based on what I have shared. You know my mantra is what works for me might not work for you, which is why I don’t force my ideas on my readers. One of my stronger opinions is not labeling the way I eat. I feel that putting my eating habits into a category doesn’t work. I eat foods that make me feel the best, that promote my health, and that work for my body. I don’t follow any certain rules or guidelines other than no processed food and more real food. This method works for me, but I understand that when you are just starting to change your eating habits, it can help to have rules and guidelines. In order to help those of you just starting your journey to better health, these next few weeks I am going to be taking a look at some of the more popular eating styles. I’ll highlight the basics of each diet, then tell you what I personally like/dislike about each one. Remember, I am not a dietitian/nutritionist/doctor/health professional. I am just presenting you the facts and then offering my own views and opinions. If you have any questions/doubts, you should talk with your doctor. At the same time, I will be more than willing to answer any questions and offer my advice, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll point you in the direction of someone more qualified than myself. Let’s get started!

I figured I would start with vegetarianism because this is the lifestyle that is closest to my own, so I know a little more about it. The simple principle of vegetarianism is that you eat no meat. This includes beef, poultry, pork, fish or shellfish. However, things are a little more complicated than that, as there are different types of vegetarians. You have pescetarians that eat no meat except for fish. Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat no animal flesh but will eat eggs and dairy. Lacto vegetarians will eat no animal flesh or eggs but will eat dairy. Ovo vegetarians will eat no animal flesh or dairy but will eat eggs. Flexitarians will mostly eat no animal flesh but will occasionally eat meat. Vegans will eat no animal flesh or animal product (more on this last one in a later post).

Vegetarians focus their eating habits on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and, depending on what type of vegetarian you are, high quality dairy/eggs/meat/fish. Many vegetarians also consume different forms of soy such as tofu, tempeh, textured soy protein, soy milk, or miso, along with many other soy products. There are a wide variety of vegetarian options available both in stores and at restaurants. There are about 7.3 million vegetarians in the US, so it is a fairly popular lifestyle, which makes it relatively simple to find food options.

There are a lot of things that I personally like about vegetarianism, but it does also have some drawbacks. I’ll start with the good. I really like that this eating lifestyle promotes fruits and vegetables. In my humble opinion, Americans following the Standard American Diet do not consume enough of the nutrients that fruits and vegetables offer. I have said it before and I will say it again, we really need to eat more real and whole foods. Nothing is more real or whole as a stalk of broccoli or an apple. Foods that are as close to as nature intended them really offer the most nutritional bang for your buck. While it might not be true for some people (those that really like/crave/want meat), following a vegetarian lifestyle is fairly simple in terms of finding things you can eat. Any grocery store will be full of options and so will many restaurants. In that aspect, vegetarians will generally not have a difficult time following their lifestyle.

Now for the bad. While it is very easy to follow a healthy and nutritious vegetarian lifestyle, it is just as easy to become a “junk food” vegetarian. There are a lot of processed products out there that fit into the vegetarian lifestyle that will do nothing for your health. Things like mac n’ cheese, cookies, chips, candy, frozen entrees, soda, and McDonald’s can all fit into the vegetarian way of eating but still be detrimental to your health. I have run across many people who are vegetarians and think by simply cutting out meat and still consuming their regular junk food they will be healthier than the average Joe. I used to think this way myself in my early years of college. Sadly this is not true. Vegetarians still need to be conscious consumers by reading labels and choosing foods that are minimally processed. One other drawback to this lifestyle is that while it is completely possible to get all the nutrients you need, you need to make sure you are actually getting those nutrients. When people cut out meat, they sometimes don’t consume foods that will provide those same essentials. Most often that is iron, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamins B and B12. With the exception of B12, you can get all those nutrients from other sources of food other than meat. As much as I hate to even bring this point up, protein also needs to be monitored. Let me make it very clear: it is entirely possible to get adequate amounts of protein following a vegetarian diet. Here are a just a few of the plentiful sources of protein that vegetarians can eat. Vegetarians just need to be aware of this and make sure that they are getting those vitamins and minerals from other food sources or dietary supplement.

Overall a vegetarian lifestyle can be a very healthy and easy one to follow. If you feel that this is a way of eating that you would like to try start slow and build from there. Have a few meatless dinners a week and see how you feel. If your body adjusts well and you feel that this is a change that you can sustain for the long term, then keep it up! Here are a few more helpful tips to making the transition. The main thing to keep in mind is how do you feel with less/no meat, and do you believe you can sustain this lifestyle for the long term? If you feel your body doesn’t do well on a vegetarian diet, then this isn’t the choice for you and that is fine! You just have to find the right combination that works for you. If you are only switching to a vegetarian diet just to lose weight, you might want to reconsider. Being healthy is a long term goal. While that does include losing weight, it also means making sure your health as a whole is better. Switching from diet to diet just to lose a few quick pounds is not the way to achieve this.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about becoming a vegetarian, don’t hesitate to ask! I am more than happy to offer my advice and opinions and help you in any way possible. Make sure to come back next week for an in depth look at the vegan lifestyle and have a great Monday!

When We Go to Extremes

August 19, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

There are a lot of extreme things out there. Extreme sports, extreme food, extreme vacations, pretty much anything can be made extreme these days. Extreme can be a good thing, as some people really like to push themselves when it comes to sports and thrive in an “extreme” atmosphere. But extreme can also quickly get out of hand and become dangerous, especially when it comes to the way you eat.

Extreme dieting is not a new issue. People have gone to great lengths just to lose weight and shed pounds. We have heard of the grapefruit diet or the cabbage soup diet. Back in the day, those were some pretty extreme diets. Subsisting only on one kind of soup or one type of fruit is definitely not a healthy or sustainable way to lose weight or eat. That seems like common sense for most of us. Yet there are still extreme forms of weight loss out there today. This week I came across this article from Health magazine. It highlights seven crazy and ridiculous methods that people actually use to try and lose weight. From feeding tubes, to tapeworms, to having a patch surgically attached to your tongue that makes it too painful to eat any solid food, the list is pretty extreme.

When I first read this article, I thought, “Come on now people! This is just silly!” As I kept reading, I started to feel really sad. It made me sad to think of the extremes that some people will go to just to lose weight. It made me sad that some people felt that this was their only hope at being thinner. It made me sad that I used to think the exact same way. It also made me mad that in some of these situations (feeding tubes and tongue patches in particular) doctors, people who are suppose to be helping, not hurting, were endorsing these forms of weight loss. To be honest, it also made me feel a little helpless. How can I, one person with very little pull, help stop this? How can I make even a tiny dent and convince people that this is not the way to go?

Once I stopped feeling helpless, I realized I can keep sharing my story and my experiences with others and help guide them in the right direction. When it comes to diet and lifestyle, extreme will NOT help you. Sure, on some extreme diets you will lose weight quickly. That’s what happens when you cut out food and starve yourself. That weight loss though isn’t healthy weight loss and it is not sustainable. Taking extreme measures to lose weight will just hurt you in the long run. With some of the methods listed in that article, they can cause serious medical damage. At the very least, you are taxing your body and messing with your metabolism which will make it really difficult to maintain a healthy weight in the future.

I understand the helplessness that can accompany trying to lose weight. At times it can feel like nothing works. You either can’t lose weight at all or you lose the weight just to have it all come back. You feel that you are on a never ending diet and you are tired enough that giving up and going back to your old lifestyle seems more and more appealing. Not caring anymore is a lot easier than caring sometimes. I have been there and I know it’s tough to push past that mentality. Truth is the only way to truly be healthy is to change for the long term. You have to make yourself view it as a lifestyle change, not just a temporary fix. You can’t have the mindset that you are going to do this until you lose x amount of pounds and then go back to the way things were. It doesn’t work that way.

Yes, changing for the long haul is hard and daunting. You mean I have to do this forever? Yes. Yes, you do. Stop looking at all the things you are “giving up” or “losing”, don’t put food into categories of can have or can’t have. View it as you are CHOOSING to live a better life, you WANT to have great health, you are GAINING good nutrition and habits. If you are at a point in your life where you are ready and willing to change, don’t overwhelm yourself. Don’t make a massive change to your life, because changing everything at once can cause overload and make you want to quit before you even begin.

Start small and start simple. Remember, extreme doesn’t help when it comes to a lifestyle change. Cut out candy bars as a snack and have fruit instead. Go for a 10 minute walk on your lunch break. Read a book instead of watching TV at night. Easy things that you can sustain, and once you have made those into a habit, move on to the next change. Will this take a long time? Yes, but this is what helps you change for life permanently. As you slowly start changing your life, you will start to see the benefits of living healthier. Those stairs that used to wind you at work are now a breeze to climb. Chronic headaches that used to plague you are now few and far between. You sleep better at night, you have more energy than before, and you are actually enjoying real food more and more instead of processed junk.

If something doesn’t work for you or doesn’t seem to benefit your personal health, then stop and try something different. That is OK! Remember we are all different and our bodies need different things. Maybe your friend is feeling amazing by running every day and subsisting on a more Paleo- type diet, but those things leave you feeling drained, sluggish, and you are SO not motivated to run for even 5 minutes. That is totally fine! Find out what works for you. Health is very personalized, which makes it so great. You can customize your life to give yourself maximum health benefits.

The main takeaway for this post is to keep things simple. I don’t want you to feel that the only way you can lose weight is to take up smoking or swallow a tapeworm. You and your health are worth so much more than the damage those methods will cause. The only extreme you need in your life is extreme happiness. Keeping your best interests in mind will help lead you to the best health you can obtain, I promise!

Unique

May 20, 2013 / ktbuchs87

I am going to bet good money that you have been told at some point in your life that you are a unique and special individual, that there is no one else just like you. It’s a message that we hear a lot, we’re all individuals and we should embrace our own quirks and personalities. I think it’s a good message and I’m not writing today to bash sentiment, but rather extend it to other parts of our life, mainly eating (go figure).

It’s no secret that my big mantra for healthy eating/living is what works for me might not work for you. I have talked about it before, but more and more I think it is a message that we need to hear again. It seems that every day a new study comes out touting that a new diet is THE way to eat. More recently the Mediterranean diet has been in the news and folks are jumping on that eating bandwagon. I’ve fallen victim to diet hype many times, so I know how tempting it can be to start a new diet craze. We get drawn in by the people who have had amazing results (lost weight, have more energy, can do 1,00 push-ups in a minute etc.), the scientific studies proving that this diet is effective, and the doctors/nutritionist/celebrities representing the diet. Marketing people know how to parade their product/idea to get consumers to buy, that’s their job.

I’m not here to bash these diets either, although there are some fairly terrible ones out there that no one should touch with a ten-foot pole (cabbage soup diet anyone?). In fact I believe that these diets can be successful, but not for every single person. There is no possible way that one diet can meet the needs of the billions of people on this planet, and you know what? That is totally ok! For some reason, people tend to think that if everyone else is eating a certain way, they need to do that too. Take gluten-free diets. The number of people who have Celiac’s Disease (meaning they literally can NOT have any form of gluten) is about 1.8 million, with 1.4 million people out there undiagnosed. The number of people who are following a gluten-free diet? 1.6 million. Gluten-free has become a fad diet that people think will make them healthier, but there are a good number of people out there who have no need to follow a gluten free diet. It can actually cause them more harm than good, mainly because their body doesn’t NEED to avoid gluten.

What we really need to start pushing in terms of healthy eating and living is that it is a unique journey. Just like you yourself are a special individual, your body is a special individual as well. For me, I do well and thrive on a diet of whole fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and no processed food, preservatives, chemicals, gluten or dairy. Through trial and error I have found a way of eating that give my body the nutrients it needs to perform well. I would never say that every single person needs to eat the way that I do though. Case in point: My parents came over for dinner last weekend and I made sloppy joes with lentils instead of meat. Now my father is a meat eater, always has been. I think that if possible he would just munch on cow all day every day. That is fine and that is what works for him. He was receptive to my vegan sloppy joes and even said they tasted great, but they did not agree with him later on. He has a digestive system that thrives on eating meat and feels his best eating that way.

What do you do though to find your happy diet? Try. Yes, this seems like really stupid advice, but it’s the best way to find what will work. My best suggestion would be to do some research on a few different diets that interest you. Say you feel drawn to eating less meat, look into vegan and/or vegetarian diets. Once you have educated yourself on the basic principles of whatever eating lifestyle, start implementing those into your diet. When you have been eating a certain way for awhile, assess your health. How do you feel? Do you notice improvements in your life like more energy, better skin, healthier bowel movements (of course I am going to mention poop!)? Or do you feel the same or worse than before? If you feel better continue eating that way, and if not start the process over again or make some adjustments. I want to stress though how important it is to stick with a certain diet for a good amount of time before switching. You won’t be able to really assess your health after only a week of eating a new way. It could take up to a few months to really start seeing the benefits. Give your body some time to adjust and then evaluate your situation. Yes, this can be a long process and may seem tedious, but your health is worth it in the end.

Now bear in mind, I am not giving you license to justify junk eating by saying this is the diet that allows you to thrive. I still believe that eating whole and real foods like fresh vegetables and grass-fed humanely raised meat are much better for everyone than processed or packaged food. My main point is that we need to stop worrying about what our friends and neighbors are eating and start focusing more on what makes us feel great. For some that might be a mostly Paleo diet, others might do well on a vegetarian or vegan diet, still others might thrive eating gluten-free. It’s all about finding your perfect balance and not being nervous to step outside of the diet of the moment. I understand it can be difficult for some of us to go against the grain, I still get a little anxious about listing all of the things I don’t eat. I worry that I will be a hassle to others or they might think I’m just trying to get attention or that I am not eating the right way. But the longer I have eaten this way and been more open about it, I’ve realized I value the amazing way I feel rather than what others think about my eating habits. Don’t be afraid to stand up for what makes you feel the healthiest, because in the end that is what matters the most!

In other news, my little sister graduated from Valparaiso yesterday! I am so proud of all she has accomplished and can’t wait to see what she will do next! Congratulations to all graduates out there!