Snack attack!!

Switching to a healthier lifestyle does not mean you have to starve yourself and stop eating you’re favorite foods there are many foods that are high volume and low calories. These types of foods allow you to have a large amount at the same time as keeping you under your calories for the day. There is also a big list of healthy delicious foods that can be snacks and are filling as well.

Foods that help with fat loss:

1. Watermelon: 275 calories for 2lbs or a full 9 lbs watermelon=1355 calories

2. Pineapple: 453 calories for one that weighs 2lbs

3. Honeydew Melon: 162 calories for 1lbs

4. Strawberries: 302 calories for 2lbs

5. Grapes: 306 calories for 1lbs

6. Broccoli: 153 calories for 1lbs

7. Spinach: 104 calories for 1lbs (1lbs is a lot)

8. Cucumber: 136 for 2lbs with the peel

9. Nopales (cactus leaves): 70 calories for 1lbs

10. Egg whites: 17 calories for 1 large egg

11. Grey squash: 73 calories for 1lbs

12. Zucchini: 76 calories for 1lbs

13. Celery: 64 calories for 1lbs

14. Carrots: 186 calories for 1lbs

15. Bell peppers: 91 calories for 1lbs

16. Mushrooms: 101 calories for 1lbs

17. Dragon fruit: about 60 calories for a medium sized fruit

18. Water: zero calories

19. Sparkling water

20. Green tea always zero calories

21. Flaxseed

22. Oats

Great healthy desserts and snacks:

1. Halo top ice cream 280 calories for the pint (strawberry is the best)

2. Crunchy snap peas

3. Pea crisps

4. Banana chips

5. Dark chocolate

6. Larry and Lenny’s protein cookies

7. Jerky

8. Granola bars

9. Nuts

Best cheat day meals

1.pizza

2.pho

3.tacos

4.tortas

5. Donuts

6. Pizza

7. Burgers and fries

8. Ice cream

9. Fried chicken

The whole point of a lifestyle change is to live happier but how can you be happy if you are eliminating delicious foods out of your life, the key is to enjoy the foods you love but in moderation and do not over indulge. These foods combined with regular exercise will make you feel better in more ways than one.

One of the easiest exercises to do is running or walking it does not matter if you start off with a slow long walk or a short run start at your own pace as long as you start

Caveman food (Paleo recipes)

Paleo protein pancakes

Finding paleo recipes is not the difficult once you get the basic idea of what foods are ok to be eaten all you have to do is get creative and make them your own. I found a recipe for pancakes a very long time ago this recipe only asked for two ingredients and trust me it was very difficult to make because it kept getting stuck to the pan it was a mess if I remember correctly it ended up getting burnt. After doing some shopping around I found some pan spray. (like I said you need to make it your own and do it how ever works for you) I had to add an ingredient so that it did not stick to the pan.

2 eggs or 4 egg whites

1 banana

Pan spray (make sure it is the zero cal olive oil flavor one I found it at winco it works great) or 1tbsp Coconut oil can also be used it also adds calories to the meal.

1. Mash the banana until it has the consistency of pudding, then add in the eggs and mix until it has more of liquid consistency

2. Then on a hot pan spray some of the non stick spray

Should make between 4-6 pancakes depending on the size you make them.

Enjoy with almond milk

Zucchini

  • 4lbs of Zucchini
  • 1/2 a cube of Knorr bouillon
  • 1 Roma tomato
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 1/2 orange bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup of cilantro (my favorite herb ever)
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Chop up the vegetables to the desired size make sure the zucchini is not too small

2. Sauté all of the veggies together until the are all soft and delicious looking lol

3. Enjoy

This should make about 3 servings. Calories: 164 per serving

this is great with grilled or baked chicken as a side

Paleo Approved

I’m going to start off with an update on how I am doing with the paleo diet and well I’m going to be honest it did not go well. I stuck with the diet for the first week of the month and even though it was a short run I must admit that I felt an increase in energy. But just because I did not stick to it for march it doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on it. The great thing of self improvement, is a lot like using the jump rope if you hit you foot and it stops just start up again until you find your rhythm. Due to my work schedule I have not had the time to sit and do my research to better understand what the paleo diet consists of but now that it is going back to normal I can get back at it

I have found a more comprehensive list of what foods are allowed with the paleo diet and I have found that the list is actually not as short as I thought it would be. There are the basic meats vegetables and fats.

But what types of food are all in these categories? This is a common question that has both a simple answer as well as a difficult one because there is a huge variety of foods and all we have to do is weed out the types that are accepted.

Here is a short list of approved foods:

Meats: try to make sure they are lean instead of fatty

My go to’s are beef, turkey and chicken

Other options are: rabbit, organ meats like liver, elk, deer, venison, quail, pheasant

Fish:

Wild salmon, mackerel, tuna, bass, tilapia, halibut, cod

Shellfish:

Oysters, crab, crayfish, lobster, prawns, mussels, scallops

Vegetables:

Artichokes, zucchini, squash, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, kale, celery, onion, pumpkin,

Broccoli, tomato, eggplants, cauliflower, radish, carrots, cabbage

Fats:

Fruits:

Apples , Passion fruits, lemon, blackberries, strawberries, papaya, pears, pineapple, kiwi, apricot, banana, grapes, plums, watermelon, melon, mango, guava

Nuts and seeds:

Almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans cashews, walnuts, pumpkin seeds

Sweeteners:

Raw Honey, palm sugar, Agave syrup

Now a short list of non-approved foods:

Starchy vegetables:

white potatoes, tapioca yams

Cereal Grains:

Barley, rice corn, wheat, wild rice buckwheat and any processed foods made with cereal grains.

Legumes:

Beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, snow peas,

Fats:

all seed oils trans fats bad saturated fats

Dairy:

no dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, ice cream

And absolutely no processed foods such as candy or anything containing too much sodium such as hotdogs, salami or deli meats

Working out With Fresh Tattoos

This week I have been able to have a bit more time to work on posting so here is this week’s first of two posts (yay double the content!!)

Last week I went to get a tattoo and I thought it would be great if I posted some tips on going to the gym with a fresh tattoo. This was not my first tattoo I was have a few and the only one that I had a different experience was with the first one but that was because of cultural reasons and I was new to the whole being tattooed thing. To start off, I grew up in a house hold that was very religious and highly against tattooing or piercings, naturally I tried to hide it which was not the best of ideas because it did not help the healing process and it took longer to heal.

That was a mistake I was not willing to do any of the rest of my tattoos otherwise if I were to get any, and I did. The way that I schedule my workouts around the healing of my tattoos is by not working out for the first full day to make sure that the healing process starts properly. I also make sure that my workouts do not involve any thing that pushes pulls or rubs on it so any having abdominal workouts are not an option at least for the first week. As for jiu-jitsu, I take a whole week to a week and a half break that way the chances of getting infections are reduced skipping the week also reduces the risks of tearing it (yes I said tearing) because the skin is still tender during the healing process. For the week that I am healing I wear sleeveless shirts at first and long sleeves up until it is fully healed well depending on the placing of the tattoo mine starts on my shoulder and goes down half way down my bicep but also wraps around to my triceps.

Tips for working out after a tattoo:

1. Don’t workout for 24hr (take a rest day)

2. Don’t let anything rub on it and so make sure to choose your workouts accordingly

3. Do not let it get dry I use Aquaphor or Vaseline

4. If you do jiu-jitsu or any full contact type of activity wait at least a week before going back.

5. Wear loose clothes fitting clothing to avoid unnecessary rubbing on the tattoo.

Back At It

For this post I am going to talk about getting back into your groove after a few days of being lazy and lacking motivation to do anything let alone get to the gym. Lately I have been feeling blah, without motivation to get to the gym for a lift session or a run let’s call it blah week and I feel like to me it is normal because my funk usually lasts about two or three days. I used to think that I was losing my motivation and that I was going to let myself gain all of the weight That I worked so hard to lose. but this past week I felt excited at the fact that I wanted to stay home and rest instead of go to the gym. Now don’t get me wrong I love working out but when I get the blah spells usually come back hard with more motivation than before. Not only do I go hard at working out but I also get back into researching and trying to find more recipes and exercises. I must admit that there was a time when The blah days would turn into weeks or months but I have learned that this week is my body telling me to slow down and that it needs a break and if I listen then it will be very beneficial because I am able to go back to working hard. You might be wondering if it’s hard to get back to working hard and the answer is yes for the first day I have to force myself to get back into it but once I start picking up speed I am very productive. The important thing for me is that I get back on track with my current workout or a new one.

Tips to get back on track:

1. Start back up simple.

2. Just get to the gym.

3. Just because you take a break it doesn’t mean you have to give up.

4. Exercise is part of a lifestyle.

Where I am>where I was

I’m still trying to work on my scheduling issue and it seems like it is clearing up so I apologize for the inconsistency when it comes to posting.

I have recently reached a huge milestone in my fitness journey which is reach an all time low weight of 222lbs and it feels amazing. Even though I knew that this whole working out and eating healthy was going to be a lifestyle for myself, never thought that I would reach this level of fitness, I currently am 2 lbs from my final weight goal and it feel amazing because I haven’t been in the 220Lbs since I was 15 years old. I also measured the percentage of fat that I am currently at and it was a total of 14%, another thing is that this last year has felt like I didn’t even have to try, exercise and smart eating has become a part of my normal life.

I have decided to repost the beginning of my fitness journey that way I can see how far I have come.

Weight Loss Journey: The Beginning

When it comes to changing from an unhealthy lifestyle to a healthy one, no one is an expert. In fact, it we all start not knowing what we are doing. Some would even say we enter this journey with a “Blank Stare.” For example when I started my fitness journey I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea how to even start the machines let alone how to use them. The one thing that I did know was that I had to get started and that running was one way to get started. The treadmill became my best friend for the first part, 4.5 mph is where my challenge began. I would go to the gym every morning sunshine or not, you would find me there. I would either walk or run for half an hour on the treadmill. The process was hard to start off with but I knew I had to do it. I knew that this was going to become one of the most important decisions of my life. Being at the gym and seeing people there can mess with your head and your ego. At the start of this crazy journey I would look around and see other people that were running at a much faster speed than I was able to. Yes, this would hurt my ego like crazy, which made me increase my speed to try to match theirs. I was a beginner and there was no way I could keep up with them, this would make me feel so embarrassed. Now thinking about it this was such an ignorant thought to have. I never took into consideration the hard work that they had put into getting to where they were at. As time moved on this crazy thought started to disappear as I started to focus on myself and my progress. What I started to realize was that there is no better motivator than progress and the fact that I was starting to feel better about my image. It wasn’t long after this that I started to push my limits and not paying attention to what everyone around me was doing. As time moved forward, the more I worked at it the better I got and the faster I was able to go. I went from 7 mph for 30 seconds being my max speed. (and when I say max I mean struggling) Today I am able to run at 13 mph for a straight minute and of course this did not come over night. This took hard work and consistency in order for me to be able to reach this level. I am not saying that I was 100% consistent, I did give up a few times and when I was ready I went back 10 times stronger. This did not go on for too long when I realized that this needed to become something that I enjoyed instead of a chore. At this point everything became easier. How? You might ask, well I started to incorporate weight lifting which was something I realized I enjoyed more than running. The down side to changing my workouts was that I started from zero, meaning I did not know what to do or how much weight I was able to lift. I did not let this fear stop me from giving it a try. I started to research weightlifting and how to use the machines at the gym. My best advice for you is to do some research of your own and do not be afraid to ask for help.

DEDICATION ALWAYS BEATS TALENT. You do not have to be talented to reach your goals just be dedicated to them.

Paleo shopping list

Hello, Sorry I have been so inconsistent with the times and days I have been posting but I have been busy with work hopefully I can very soon get back on track with my posts

This week I stared a new diet which is the paleo or primal diet this diet consists of consuming food that was presumably consumed by the human race during the Paleolithic era through the means of hunting and gathering it is a simple diet with restrictions of course the restrictions are;

1. No dairy

2. No processed food

3. No grains or breads

4. No legumes

Essentially to my understanding these types were introduced in the Neolithic era when people started using farming and growing crops as the main method to get their food.

so far I have made a grocery list of what my food choices are and this is what I came up with:

i. nuts (cashew, peanuts, almonds walnuts.)

ii. Fruits (Apples, Berries, bananas, melon)

iii. Meat (Beef in any form the only thing I am really strict at looking at is how lean it is and the lowest percentage I go is 85 lean and 15 fat, chicken whole or breasts, fish such as salmon or trout and turkey)

iv. Vegetables ( carrots, tomatoes, onions, greens, and peppers.

v. Fruits (apples, bananas, pears, oranges, avocados)

vi. Tubers (potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams)

vii. Salt and spices (sea salt, garlic, turmeric and rosemary)

Now I do understand that we now have different types of fruits and vegetables available to us now compare to what they had back then but the idea is to try to eat as meals that are high in nutrients, fat and protein. I personally think that the fact that we have more foods is amazing because it allows us to be introduced to different types of fruits and vegetables, because I mean have you tried a star fruit those thing are delicious A.F. And I highly recommend everyone to try them and not just take my word for it.

We should always try to do different kinds of things because they elevate us eventually-Gladys Knight

Paleo diet. So Easy A Caveman Can Do It: I hope 😳

To start things off I am proud to say that I have lost 7lbs this month so far which makes it a total of 128 lbs pounds lost woohoo!!!
From 350lbs
To: 222Lbs

Every now and then I get bored of the recipes that I cook for myself which makes me either change up the diet or look for new recipe ideas to try. Lately I have been getting a bit bored with the food that I have been eating and I feel like it is time for a change I have been looking for new methods of dieting and there is one diet that I have heard of before but have never really looked into, which is the paleo diet. I have decided that for the month of march I will be giving the diet a try to see what effects it has on my body and how it makes me feel. As of right now I am not on a specific diet I just count my calories and stick to similar recipes so that it does not get too confusing but with the paleo diet I feel like there will be more structure because of the foods that it allows me to have. So far what I have found out, is that the paleo diet or Primal diet basically is a diet based on what our ancient ancestors presumably consumed during the Paleolithic era, hence (paleo). This diet consists of consuming lean meats such as poultry, and red meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds basically anything that was consumed during the hunting and gathering era, making sure to keep the consumption of grains, legumes, dairy products and any processed foods to a minimal.

(what?!?, you mean I can’t have any donuts? how will I survive?)

My plan going into trying this new diet (well new for me) is that I will make sure to do my research and allow myself one cheat meal per week in order to avoid any diet burnout which trust me, exists I mean nobody wants to diet 100 percent of the time. I will also be trying to keep a journal on how this makes me feel that way I can compare where I started to where I currently am. As far as my workouts I will be doing the same on that I have been doing because I feel like it is very effective and I am seeing great results.

Tips on how to start off a new diet or anything:

1. Always start with a positive attitude that Is the key for success.
2. If you mess up and eat something or some things that you should not it is ok just make sure to get back on track because that is how we learn
3. Research is important, at least know the basics of what you are getting yourself into
a. You are setting yourself up for failure if you go in blindly.
4. Consistency is key, but also you are on your own schedule not on anyone else’s
a. If it takes you two months to lose 10 lbs that is ok progress is progress.
b. Don’t give up future you will be thankful for your dedication to becoming better.

What’s With The Blockage? (Mental Block)

By Alejandro Rodriguez

I know that I haven’t posted in the while but I have had a hectic work schedule for the last week, but now I can get back on track.

For this post I am going to keep the love theme going, to be specific self-love through improvement.

I am currently reading a book titled, “You Can Heal Your Life.” by Louise Hay and in this book she addresses the fact that we set mental blocks for ourselves whether we know it or not. She created a series of activities that help identify these blocks so that we can work on getting over them. As I was reading this book, I came to the realization that I myself still have thoughts that create mental blocks and when I addressed them I started to see an improvement in my attitude towards the way I tackle an issue.

For the longest time I had been stuck in a weight plateau even though I had done all of my research and put it to use, made the necessary adjustments and was working out hard, I was just not losing any more weight. It wasn’t until I picked up this book that I started to have a better understanding over the phrase mind over matter. I realized that I had stopped losing weight because I was mentally blocking myself, by believing that the weight goal that I had set for myself was not something that I deserved or something that I could see myself doing. I realized that I had it in my mind that there was no way that I could get to weigh 220 lbs because I have always been the heaviest member of my family, I would think that there was no way that I could get to that weight because, my thought was, how could I be smaller or even close to the size that my brothers were. Once I addressed and changed this way of thinking I started to see the difference I saw that I was back to my normal weight loss rate of 2lbs per week, and I didn’t change the way that I was eating or working out I just kept the consistency. I am down to 224 lbs which to me is incredible because that is what I weighed my freshman year of high school except there is a big difference because I am able to fit into smaller clothes and I am able to physically do things that back then I thought was impossible, well at least for me that is. Sometimes we do not realize how much we hold ourselves back unless we start working on ourselves. Throughout my self actualization journey I have learned that the best way to be able to help others is by first helping yourself, you cannot save someone from drowning in their problems if you do not know how to swim clear from your own.

I recommend “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay, to everyone whether you are struggling with something in your life or not, but especially if you are it will greatly help.

you can find this book on amazon

For the love of me

Hello and welcome to the second month of 2019, for February my post will be about love, yes, that also includes self love. To start off the month I have asked the one person that knows about love and self care more than I do ,my wife Victoria Rodriguez

For this blog post Alex my husband has asked me to write a little something.

Lets start by introducing myself. My name is Victoria and I love writing for fun. Never in a 100 years did the thought of posting it somewhere on the internet pop up, but here we are.

Self love,

What is self love to you? Treating yourself to a mani/pedi, getting a new hair cut or even getting pretty for yourself? You’re right, all three of those things are methods of self love. But have you thought about expressing self love by talking nice to yourself? Giving yourself a nice compliment? That’s a little harder isn’t it? Why? Because we are our own hardest critics. We always find something that isn’t good enough or pretty enough about ourselves. From personal experience I can say that self love is hard. I was always finding something I didn’t like about myself. My weight was too much, my eye lashes weren’t long enough my lips weren’t full enough. It took me years to actually start liking myself and some days I still struggle with it. I will find myself looking in the mirror making lists of things I dislike about myself but I catch myself and stop. I will look me in the eyes and tell myself how thankful I am for having eyes that can see the beauty in the world and eyelashes that protect those eyes. Lips that help me express my love for the world and the love I have for my favorite people. It’s so easy to Be so negative towards oneself it’s almost a natural instinct but it is not a good thing. By doing this I would only make myself feel worse about myself and my self-esteem was lower than before. Self love can come harder to some than others but it can be achieved. Another thing that has helped me with showing myself self love has been working out at least 5 times a week. The gym has become therapeutic in a way and I love what’s its doing to my body!

I never knew the importance of taking time for myself, it was hard but so good. Self love is one of the best things you can do for yourself! You don’t have to go All out or spend a ton of money just start off by doing something small for yourself.

Ways to show yourself self love

1. Look yourself in the eyes and tell yourself you are beautiful

2. Tell yourself you are worthy and smart

3. Go get a mani/pedi

4. Get your hair done

5. Take a couple hours to yourself and do a face mask

6. Watch some Netflix and drink your favorite drink

7. Read a self improvement book (there are some really good ones)

How fast III

Believe it or not everyone in the world fasts and have fasted since we were born, whether it has been consciously or not. This type of fasting is the period in which we sleep making between dinner and breakfast, that is why the first meal of the day indicates the breaking of a fasting period (Break-Fast). I am not going to lie when I found out that breakfast was the meal that broke my fasting period I was amazed because before that moment I had not put too much thought into it. When I did more research I fell in love with the idea that I was doing something that my ancestors did, well in the time of hunting and gathering before farming was the main source of food. Although today fasting is not a necessity in today’s society, it is a great tool for weight loss and living healthier. I know what you might be thinking;

“If I fast all day won’t I just be compelled to pig out as soon as I am able to eat?”

Trust me I had that same thought, and yes I didn’t want to over eat as soon as my eating window opened. But what I noticed was that if I combined meal prepping with fasting it would allow me to have an executable plan by having food readily available to eat that way minimizing any temptations.

There are many methods of fasting and trust me it can get overwhelming trying to find one that works for you. How exactly can you find one that best works for you? My advice is to choose one, try it and if it doesn’t work make adjustments or choose another one. I’m only going to tell you about the ones that I have personally tried and how it made me feel.

Fasting methods:

  1. My favorite and the one I practice, the 8/16 method.- this method is one where you fast or restrict calorie intake for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours. In those eight hours it is important that you consume wholesome foods that provide protein, fiber, healthy fats and unprocessed carbohydrates. This is my favorite because I feel like I am able to have freedom during the holidays and it also is very effective in weight loss and fat loss. I have adopted this method to my permanent lifestyle it makes me feel great.
  1. Two meals a day- this method is one where you only have two meals a day still consuming foods that offer protein, healthy fats, fiber. This method is one that I have practiced I felt like it didn’t allow me to have much control because even though this method is similar to the 16/8 method it has you eating only two meals a day without having to worry about waiting for windows to open.
  2. Eat-stop-eat method- I’m not going to lie this method was hard because it involves having a meal between 24 hour. For example you would eat dinner then fast until dinner time of the next day. This method is only intended to be done once or twice a week and then follow a regular diet the other days.
  3. 5:2 method involves following a regular diet for 5 days and consuming 25% of your calories on two non consecutive days which would be 500 to 600 calories per day. For example fasting days could be Monday and Thursday. I felt like I was over eating on the days that I was not fasting and it was unclear on where the window for eating would open or close I really did not see any progress with this method, I’m not saying it is not an effective method I’m just saying that it was not a method for me.

I encourage everyone to try more than one method that way you can see which one is the most effective for you.

How Fast II

Benefits of Intermittent fasting

I have been fasting since the end of September 2018 at first it was confusing because I was under the impression that skipping a meal was bad, and that breakfast was the most important meal of the day but it got much easier when started to learn more about it. After reading a few articles and books on the the subject I quickly learned about the physical and mental benefits of intermittent fasting. The first two days of fasting were the hardest because I felt like I was going to overeat as soon as my window opened and I am not going to lie I did overeat a few times but once I got into a routine it became much easier. Once I was able to get past the hunger pangs I was able to notice a few differences and one of them was that any bloating that I would feel after eating was reduced. There are many benefits to fasting and once you are able to get past the hunger pangs you are able to certainly feel them.

Although it seems like Intermittent fasting like a fairly new idea, it was a method that was common in ancient life when when hunting and gathering where the only means to survive. Back then they obviously did not have a choice, because of the scarcity of the food they had to make it last.

Benefits of intermittent fasting:

1. Helps take off and keep off the weight

a. Eat fewer meals which means less calories consumed.

b. Hormonal changes, your body will adapt to fasting which in turn enhances your body’s ability to burn calories

c. It takes 10-12 hours for the energy from meal to be used up by the body and then it has to resort to the stored energy (fat).

2. Fasting will help regulate your digestive system allowing it to better repair and revitalize

a. Fasting helps the body eliminate toxins and waste from the body

3. Helps with the increase of energy, I know it seems hard to believe trust me I was as much of a skeptic until I started to feel this benefit for myself

4. It allows your muscles to recover faster.

a. This is something that I was more amazed at because I was feeling sore for less time allowing me to progress faster in my fitness I was able to increase the weight that I lifted more frequently

b. Also one of my favorite effects of this was that my joint pain decreased substantially. My knees would hurt after a good workout and after Jiu-jitsu but now the pain is low to none. This is because my body had more time to work on repairing itself rather than to try and use the energy of the food from the day before.

5. Fasting can also help build character:

a. It has helped me become more disciplined by creating a schedule in which I can be more productive during my day.

b. It has helped me become strong enough to fight off temptations outside of my cheat meal, that might compromise any fitness progress that I have made that day or week.

Overall the benefits of fasting are huge and the only way for anyone to be able to feel them is by trying it out. Yes it will be horrible at the beginning, trust me I struggled with it at first but like I said once it becomes a habit it will be much easier. You don’t have to start off with the 8hr eating window and 16hr fasting, maybe it is best if you try at first maybe 12/12. Remember the 21/90 rule? 21 days to create a habit and 90 to create a lifestyle, well this applies to fasting as well it is only hard at the beginning and eventually it will become a no-brainer.

Fasting tips:

1. Start off slow if you are not willing to test your will power

2. Eat food that is healthy

3. Skip first or last meal not the middle one that way you get the best out of this method

4. Push through the hunger pangs you will become a better person trust me.