Career Day at Loma Vista - Stevie Davenport

Today was career day at school. I volunteered in the class yesterday, and the teacher was asking all the kids what they wanted to be. They all pretty much said police officer, fireman, artist and teacher. I thought about what Stevie wanted to be, then I decided to be realistic and think of what we had at home to dress him up in!

When I told Steve, he thought about a lawyer or business man. We were missing a tie but otherwise had all the stuff for a suit. Instead, we went with a football player. since being Raiders fans of course we had stuff to dress Stevie up! We had the jersey, some white baseball pants handed down from his cousin Bennie and the black Nike eye black from his big sister Adrienne. I told him to pose for me before we left for school.

Forks over Knives

Wow. What a documentary. Truly motivating and eye opening. I am a long time carnivore and someone who ate vegetables once a week, it that, growing up. Getting me to eat my vegetables was such a miserable experience for my parents that my dad would often eat them off my plate when my mom walked out of the room just to get it over with.

Now, I am a Vegetarian, and slowly progressing to being a Vegan. I am a fitness nut and aspiring bodybuilding and will be doing it all on a Vegan diet. The transition for me has been slow, mostly inspired by all the things I read online on health websites, email subscriptions and things I find in my determination to live a long healthy life and raise my kids eating the right foods.

For now, I strongly suggest you watch this documentary. It is on Netflix and will blow your hair back and make you consider that large piece of dead animal on your plate, as well as the dinky serving of broccoli that makes you think you are eating healthy. Believe me, I am a former bacon cheeseburger connoisseur. It didn't happen overnight!

http://www.forksoverknives.com/ Here is a link to their website. It has lots of good stuff on there! I follow their Facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/forksoverknives and the Engine 2 diet mentioned in the documentary that has great Vegan recipes https://www.facebook.com/Engine2Diet

Post Workout Muscle Growth

Since I have been working on getting in shape, I have done a lot of research on slimming down. Something that came up in every search was muscle building. I always thought I had to burn this fat off on the treadmill or other torturous cardio machine, and that is also why I never stuck with it. I hate putting in time on a cardio machine.

Turns out weight lifting/muscle building will do the job even better. Many female fitness models don't do much cardio at all! At rest, muscle burns more calories than fat so you speed up your metabolism but building muscle tissue.

To build muscle tissue is quite a scientific process. Here is an article that will introduce you to the concept of food as fuel for muscles and I will be posting many more in the future. http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/nutrition/other/post-training-stress#.T0FXN2vxwY5.facebook

Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes

Do you think they are the same thing? I did. Some things have two different names, so I never realized they were different. Not that I have ever really loved them or indulged in them often. Now that I am concerned with sugar intake and juice most vegetables anyway, I though this was interesting.

Here is a quote about the two from a blog I enjoy reading...
 "Sugar is the devil when it comes to belly fat! I advise people to avoid eating more than 5-6 grams of sugar per meal. You want to significantly reduce love handles and belly fat, ditch sugar!

Here is a picture of nutrition facts for yams and sweet potatoes, both considered a quality complex carb. I prefer yams (orange inside) because they have by far less sugar, but still taste really good! Sweet potato's (Yellow inside) have 3 and a half teaspoons of sugar for 1 cup and more water retaining sodium."

So, the moral of the story is they are two different things and when you can, opt for the yams which are orange inside.

Jamie Eason LiveFit 12 Week Trainer

I am currently following a body building program designed by the gorgeous fitness model Jamie Eason. She has a free program called the LiveFit Trainer. It is a 3 month program and I have learned so much about how to properly fuel your body when trying to build lean muscle and lose fat. It has transformed the way I think about dieting and food. I have always heard that you should consider it a lifestyle change instead of a diet and I finally have that mindset. I know that I didn't gain my excess weight quickly and that if done correctly it will not come off quickly.

The program has the mindset of eating the right food more often and never feeling hungry. If you eat every three hours, then your body eventually knows that you are not going to starve it, and it is ok to let go of the fat reserves. Eating this often also speeds up your metabolism.

There is a lot of exercising, especially weight lifting, which I never knew how to do properly before and I am glad to say I love it! Also, muscle burns more calories at rest, turning your system into a fat burning machine. For more information you can find her program here http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-phase-1.html  She is adorable, the program is simple to follow with videos, printable menus and exercise guides. I am currently in Phase 2 and am starting to see some muscle definition with a 6 lb loss.

Here is a picture of her... 

Partially Hydrogenated Oils

In my quest to be healthier, I have been taking an ingredient and doing research on it. One of my Facebook friends mentioned Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies and made a joke that it had crack in it and showed the ingredient label and it had the word crack circled. Someone obviously was having fun with Photoshop but while reading the rest of the ingredients, I come across vegetable oil (palm, partially hydrogenated palm kernel, soybean and cottonseed with TBHQ for freshness).

I did a search on partially hydrogenated oil and this is one of the first links I found. There were several other sites I found in this search that had similar information but this was clear and to the point. http://www.treelight.com/health/nutrition/PartiallyHydrogenatedOils.html

The first line is Consuming partially hydrogenated oils is like inhaling cigarette smoke. They will kill you -- slowly, over time, but as surely as you breathe. And in the meantime, they will make you fat!

 So, instead of Girl Scout Cookies, check the natural food section and maybe you can find a healthier version that is just as tasty. If you would like to make your own thin mints, here is a site with the recipe! http://www.handletheheat.com/2011/01/eat-healthy-homemade-thin-mints.html

Labor Day at McGrail Vineyards

The weekend of September 4 and 5th, we were a vendor at McGrail Vineyards in Livermore, CA. The outskirts of Livermore are filled with rolling hills and one winery after another. It is beautiful. The event was the annual Harvest Wine Celebration going on throughout the area.

About 40 wineries were pouring for the weekend and shuttles transported wine enthusiasts from one to the next. We were amongst several other artists and had a great time. I didn't take any pictures, but here is one of the front lawn and front of the tasting room. We made some great sales, new contacts and enjoyed the Labor Day weekend. They specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is a link to their site if you are interested in purchasing their wine! http://www.mcgrailvineyards.com/purchase.html