Beloved Food

Food: The End All, Be All? Or Is It?

Awwwwww, food…. there are some many feelings about it: we need it to survive, and we need it to be healthy. So, why is Food such a headache for us to lose weight and be healthy?

Here’s my take on it:

We are hunters and gathers. We, as a species, are not made to sit around at a desk and drive in a tin can everywhere. Especially here in the great USA, we have gotten away from our roots. Think about it, humans have been here for about 4 mins in the grand hour of the Earth’s existence. We were a mobile breed, moving around with the food we hunted. Even when we learned agriculture, we still did everything by hand or animal. Living on a farm has taught me that we are very far from where we used to be in both beneficial and non-beneficial ways.

We are living in a much better time for life, we live longer and better than our ancestors.  We have learned how to harness energy and be better for it. We live in a time where we are the top of the food chain. Sadly, some children think meat, fruit, and vegetables comes from the grocery store and are freaked out that meat comes from dead animals and we pull/pick dirty fruit from trees and vegetable out of the ground.

We can process food from almost nothing. We can reuse water. We can harness energy.

Now, why is our food killing us?

We cannot live off of fake, processed food. Our bodies are wonderful devices, they adapt to change really quickly because that is what they are made to do. The human body adapts quickly so we can live and not get eaten by those pesky saber tooth tigers. We need to get back to basics in order to get healthy again.

My Past:

I was involved in Martial Arts, wrestling, and sports my whole life. I worked out a lot and ate a lot to compensate. Once I stopped the sports and moved into the real world, I didn’t workout nearly as much but I kept eating the same. Fast forward 7 years. 

I loved pizza, pasta, beer, jelly fish, and ethnic food. I loved to eat A LOT of food. Now, here is the problem, I found out I am allergic to gluten. Hmmmm, wheat makes things good….. and it is in everything. Wheat flour is the most used ‘filler’ in the world. Look at the ingredients, it will usually be listing in the top three ingredients. Why is that bad? The ingredients on a package are listed by amount in the product. So it is one of the top three ingredients in most processed foods.

I was really sad about that. I know the moment I put something in my mouth that it has gluten, and if I don’t, I know shortly there after by the battle that is raging in my intestinal tract. I will not get into the gory details, but it is bad and it is quick.

So, what did I do? Realizing that I was topping out at a whooping 280 lbs, I realized I needed to change. I was working a job where I was sitting at a desk for 12 hours a day. I had gained a lot of weight quickly, and not in muscle. I had a gym at work, only had an hour for lunch. So I crammed down food and went into the gym. I worked out for 20 minutes and was not accomplishing much. I had to make a lifestyle choice for my life.

I cut out processed food  (read Gluten), started a garden, ate salads, more veggies and more fruit. (I was not getting either in my diet)

I changed jobs, where I was more active and engaged in a workout program to gain back what I had lost in fitness. I am currently down thirty pounds and stronger than I ever was in my peak condition. My top five foods have changed, I love Avocados, rice, salads, pure chocolate, and water. I eat smaller meals (read portion sizes) and drink my body weight in ounces of water a day. I eat and train with goals in mind: get to 240 lbs (15 more to go) and be able to lift 300 in shoulder press, 450 in bench, 550 in squats and 650 in dead lifts. These are my goals and I have a eating and lifting plan to get to those goals.

If you need any help in making a plan that works for you, let me know but in the comments:

Name 5 foods you can’t live without.

#poweroftheearthfitness

The last 2 years ……. how’s it been for you?

The last two years of my life have been amazing, scary, educational, and mind-blowing.

 

Two years ago I was living in West Knoxville. We had a little ranch style house, a fenced in yard, dogs, cats, and a guinea pig. We had jobs in the area and were trucking along with life. Life was pretty busy, I was working a few jobs, as was my wife to make ends meet. The typical middle-class life. We were talking about moving up to Sevierville within a few years to live on the farm to take care of my wife’s grandmother and grandfather. Then a tragedy happened…

 

We took a family trip up to the farm to help grandpa Tom move some fencing and figure out where we were going to develop for our home. He was loving it, he smiled and laughed with us. When we were pulling up, he was moving a hay bale by himself. I offered to help and we got it up where it needed to be. He said he had been struggling with it for over an hour. I told him that it was impressive for an 89 year old to be doing all this for the horses. He laughed and said he was a hard worker for all his life. While he and I were walking along, he was coughing and spitting up. I asked if he was ok when I noticed he was a little grey looking. He said he was fine but we finished up and went up to the house.

 

He stumbled in and Grandma checked his blood pressure and it was through the roof. We called an ambulance and they took him to the hospital. We were frantic while we were getting to the hospital. When Grandma, my stepdaughter and I got to the hospital, Tom was still in good spirits. He was laughing and cutting jokes with the nurses. Even when he was rolling back to the operating room for exploratory surgery, he was smiling and laughing.

 

A few hours later, a doctor came up to us, Tom had died on the table. His heart just gave out.

 

MOVING ON AS A FAMILY

 

Our life quickly got turned upside down, we were spending more time up at the farm and decided to expedite our move. Grandma is nearly blind. The farm had not been kept up for years. We went from half an acre to 68 acres. It was a daunting responsibility we took on. Fences were down, grass was over grown, horses to take care of, and general hording.

 

We learned to live together as a family, albeit hard for the first little bit. We were uprooted as a family and there has not been anyone outside of those already here on the farm for a long time. We got goats, chickens, more goats, more chickens, llamas, a new puppy, and a new kitten. We lost animals and gained fur babies. We gardened, got crops and lost crops.

 

We are living the life.

 

The lesson here: whatever life throws at you, you can manage. It might suck, but you can do it.

 

I am still working out like a champ, but instead of being ‘ripped,’ I want to be functionally strong with my workouts. I had to carry a dead llama out of a field. I have had to move hay bales by myself. I have had to cut down trees and build buildings. I want to be able to do these things without getting hurt or super sore.

 

I also want to get back into Martial Arts, possibly even MMA again. I have had to adjust my goals and my future plans. Two years of severe change can make your 5 and 10 year plans have alterations. Roll with it. Be one with change and one with your true self. Be mindful of your feelings and discuss it with your family and significant other. Move on and move forward. The ability to adapt and change is part of what makes us human.

This is what I want to offer you:

Think of how your last two years have changed you.

Have your goals changed?

Do  you think that you are different or similar as the you two years ago?

List in the comments or Private Message me!

 

#poweroftheearthfitness

10 years……….. not the band.

I would like to ask everyone this question

Where would you like to be in 10 years?

• Do you want to be in a different career?
• Do you want to make more money?
• Do you want to be healthier?
• Do you want to be something even more creative?

I would like to be on a beach. I want to make my career get me to a place the is beautiful and where I can help underprivileged people. I want to make a career out of helping people. I want to be my own boss. I want to be in a place that I will not have to worry about bills being paid.

How?

I am going to help you, your family, and your future. Whatever your goal is, I will help you start your path to a healthier life. I can help you with nutrition, workouts, meditation, etc. I can make a promise now, that you are going to feel better, look better, and mentally calmer.

I do not want you to think skinny, thinner, or ripped. We can get to those but you need to look at being healthier and fitter. Then all the other things fall in line.

Just think of what your doctor would say? I thought that my working out was going to just make me do great. Wrong. You know where I was failing, just like yourself probably, was with diet! That is where the magic starts.

That right there will make you get to that 10 years! If you’re not eating right, you will have some troubles making it to that 10 year later mark. So let’s start right now. Lets start that path to the next 10 years!

#poweroftheearthfitness

Time is on your side……

I am a bit of a freak to some people; I like to workout in the morning.Why?, you might ask, would I subject myself to that first thing in the morning.

I feel great in the morning when there are just a few people around. I usually like the people who workout in the morning. They are there when they really do not have to be or because that is the only time they can be in the gym because of their own situation. I find I am the most motivated in the A.M.

I also live on a farm with goats, llamas, chickens, dogs, horses, and cats. When the Sun comes up, it is feeding time. If you dream of sleeping in, someone is going to let you know it is time to eat! So I am up in the morning anyways, already a cup or two deep in the caffeine.

 

It all really started when I was a kid, I had to ride to school with my dad. School started at 845 A.M. in my hometown. Problem is, my dad went to work at 5 A.M. I had to pass the time and, per my dad, best way to pass time is to work. He owned an office supply store so he dealt with copy paper, furniture, miscellaneous office supply, computers, etc. Those all were delivered on semi-trucks. He did not have any loading dock except for a double door and there was only one forklift: me and a dollie.

 

Paper, Paper, Paper

 

So, while my dad was drinking coffee and setting up the next deliveries with the driver, I was unloading the trucks, by hand. First truck was furniture at 530 A.M. The second was office supply at 630 A.M. The last truck was the worst, 7 A.M. was the paper truck. I hated that one. I had to carry two boxes of paper at a time to the end of the truck so I can put them on the dollie. Farmer walking the boxes of, at least, a half full trailer. This all had to be done by the 730 A.M. so I could get to school and shower before school. I started this at 10 years old.

 

I thought when I joined the wrestling team, I would get out of it because we had morning weight training. Well, the truck drivers and my dad were more than willing to accommodate my schedule by starting at 430 A.M. so I could be at the gym at 7A.M. I did this until I was 18 years old when I was allowed to drive myself to school. Guess what? I still did some work in the mornings when I needed some extra cash.

 

That is why I love doing legs and back training. That is what I did: deadlifts, squats, farmer walks, and shrugs. Carrying heavy, awkward stuff. That is what makes you strong and injury proof. I have only had one major injury in my life and that was because I was full of **** and vinegar as a teenager. I did not listen to my body, I was invincible. Alas, I was not. I still have a nagging shoulder injury that required spare parts from a cadaver. It seems my shoulder, back, and legs like the mornings, there has not been the needs of the day pressed upon them and they are fresh.

 

Set In My Ways

 

I have tried to workout at different times; lunch, dinner, or even after work. Nope, not the same. I do not have the same effort, let alone drive to workout after work. Lunch seems to be ok but I only did that out of necessity at a job I once had with an onsite gym. I seem to be set in my ways. I can’t really sleep in still, even if I have the chance. I have to go in the morning with the early birds…. who are out there to get the worm. Remember, accept who you are and accept the challenges that life throws at you. Listen to your body rhythmics, try different times to workout, see what works best for you. We live in the real-world too, so we may have to adapt to a different time than what we really want.  Be open-minded and flexible. But always be truthful with yourself:

 

Be Healthy and Be Zen!

What time do you workout? Why?

#poweroftheearthfitness

Songs!

 Your 5 Favorite Songs to Listen to While Working Out?

 

Everyone who works out, runs, fights, etc. has a playlist that they must have with them. I have two different playlists: running and weight training. I find that different playlists work great for me. I have to be in two different mind-sets: long distance and power.

 

I have five songs I must listen to that help me during both of the different workouts. During my running phases, I have to listen to:

• Around the World by Daft Punk
• The New Workout Plan by 50 Cent
• Push it by Garbage
• Roadrunner by Modern Lovers
• Rolling in the Deep by Adele

 

All those have good rhythms that can keep me running. I always have to skip when I am in long distance running to these five songs. No Judging! It is to make sure I keep a good pace.

• When I am powerlifting, I have to hear these five:
• 2nd Sucks by A Day to Remember
• Click, Click Boom by Saliva
• Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
• Machinehead by Bush
• Remember the Name by Fort Minor

 

These songs make me get fired up to push out those last few reps when I am trying to set a new max on my workouts.

Everyone needs to have something that keeps them pumped and going through hard workouts. Music is scientifically proven to raise your chemical states to help push through a workout or a run.  What are your five favorite songs to listen to when you are working out? List in the comments!

#poweroftheearthfitness

New Office Address

Knoxvilledoula's Blog

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New Birth Resource Center in Knoxville

Knoxvilledoula's Blog

I am pleased to tell you about the new Knoxville Birth Resource Center. I have teamed up with Holly Stewart who owns East TN Placenta Medicine and Holly Stewart Photography. Together we have a vision to bring pregnancy and birth resources to the women of East Tennessee. We are blessed in this area to have so many resources and we want to make sure people know they are here by a collaborative effort with this center.

As a doula and childbirth educator of 14 years, I have grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of meeting spaces in Knoxville. Birth professionals are for the most part vying for the same few spots at public libraries or paying exorbitant fees at restaurant meeting spaces. Four years ago when I opened the local Knoxville Chapter  of ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) I became more frustrated. My co-leader and I would search for a…

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My Thoughts on Crossfit.

Here is a great article explaining the idea of Crossfit and why it is not the best avenue for most people.
http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/why-i-dont-do-crossfit/

Read to the end for workout ideas!

Now keep in mind, I am a certified personal trainer and an athlete of over 20 years straight. I am in pretty damn good shape for my age: Body Fat 13.25%, 6’0, and 260 (down from a massive 280 in 5 weeks since my last crossfit workout). 

I have been doing conditioning and weight training for the past ten years solid. I tried Crossfit. I think it is a great kickstarter for people that have taken time off from working out. The conditioning will get you back into great shape…..
Just like in this article; I believe that they do not individualize the workouts. Olympic lifting is a great thing, if done with little reps (at most 8 reps) and lots of rest time in-between.
When I started Crossfit, my workouts had stalled and it was a great thing to do for a change. But thats all it should be a short change. I did it for 5 months straight, and by the 4th month, I had started to notice that I was starting to decline in gains and started gaining weight.

Being the type of personality that I am (READ: STUBBORN), I figured that I was slacking and intensified my workouts to get gains, because that is what you do in Crossfit…. Go harder and longer. Terrible IDEA!

I ballooned up to 280 and my body was wearing down. I felt like I was just falling apart. But I kept going (I workout alone with no partner to tell me to stop). I then felt terrible and was cramping up like crazy…. I was devouring bananas and Gatorades. Still cramping.

Being a Yogi, I thought stretching would work it out. So I did a small, light workout and then did Yoga. TERRIBLE IDEA!!!!!!!

I had no idea that will even increase the Rhabdo risk. I couldn’t even walk for days. Everything cramped.

Read up on Rhabdo…. terrible little secret of Crossfit.

If you are reaching a point where you are not making gains…. switch your program! I usually rotate between three different programs…. I threw Crossfit in there as well, but that didn’t work out to well for me after I wasn’t making gains anymore.

I will still involve Crossfit in my workouts but it will be Crossfit Football workouts that include realistic workouts (for the most part.) I will manipulate the workouts to reasonable reps and sets due to the fact that I do know my limits.

What do I do?

I have four major lifts I concentrate on (my version of Wendlers 5/3/1 system): Standing press, bench, squats, and deadlifts.
I do one of those each weight training day plus 2 supplemental exercises, a few low rep sets of snatches or cleans, and an ab exercise. The main lifts will consist of 3 working sets of a percentage of my maxes, the supplemental will consist of 4 sets of 10 – 5 reps (they go along with more reps on the lighter weeks and less reps on the heavier weeks), 3 – 4 sets of cleans/snatches for no more than 5 reps, and 4 sets of 10-5 reps of an abs exercise with weight.
HERE’S THE IMPORTANT PART: I ONLY DO WEIGHT TRAINING 2, MAYBE 3, DAY A WEEK!!!!!!!!!!

REST REST REST!!!!!!!!!!!

If you workout hard, you will need to rest. That is what makes you better. I will do 2-3 days of speed walking/ running using a Zombie 5K app that I purchased from the app store. It gradually builds you up to 5K over 8 weeks if done by their time table.

My usual week looks like this:
Monday 5k training
Tuesday Weight Training
Wed Off
TH 5k Training or Weight training (depending on my soreness)
Fri Weight training or 5K training
Saturday Yard work
Sunday hiking with my wife

I have built up to this…. If you can only do 1 day of cardio and 2 days of Weight training…. start there. Build up slowly but REST REST REST!!!!

If you want any ideas, let me know and I will email you or set up a time to meet!

#poweroftheearthfitness

My Big First Couple of Weeks

Here’s what I am doing:

1. Eating! But eating right, trying my best not to snack with something unhealthy. I am eating breakfast at 730, a mid morning meal at 1030, working out around 230, having a protein shake around 430, eating dinner when I come home, and a small snack before bed.I am still working on eating gluten-free as much as possible

2. I changed my workout routine: I am doing Olympic style strength training to build muscle to burn fat. I won a bet at work and power cleaned 275 lbs for 2 times! (that beat my all time record in the middle of sports by a shattering 35 lbs!), a small stability ab workout that consists of: Plank, Side Plank, Bicycle twists, and standing one-legged crunches. The most important part is I am doing cardio work… The only kicker about it is that I am doing the elliptical because everything else seems to be too hard on the knees. Whoever said that the elliptical was easy, try the “Couch-to-5K” on it. I want to see you not sweat!

3. Doing Yoga with my wife! That is a great bonding experience and we are doing it two times a week. We are trying to do more, but we are building up the endurance and the discipline to do it.

4. Upper Cervical Health Center 1508 Coleman Road #107  Knoxville, TN 37909-380 865 249 7276. I have been going once a week and feeling amazing afterward. They are a chiropractic office who is very holistic and gently adjust the spot underneath your skull and it does amazing things! Everyone should go try it out. Since I have not changed any medication and have been eating differently,  I believe this has helped with my depression, weight loss, and overall well being. Call them to change your life!

Now here’s “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”:

Good: At my doctors, I have dropped 12 lbs. fully clothed, 20 lbs on our home scale (I like our scale better). My blood pressure is down to normal range consistently to 127/85. I am looking much better!

Bad: I had a genetic test done last time I was at the doctor: they found out I was pre diabetic, I do not process good cholesterol, and I have a bunch of genetic markers for cardiovascular disease. So, I have to stick with the cardio and up my fish oil and CoQ10. This will help with all of this and give me a clearer mind. (because those who know me, know I can be a bit forgetful)

Ugly: I also found I have a genetic marker for MTHFR. Which this means I do not process folic acid very well.This gene has contributed to my wife and my failure to fully conceive a child. This one hurts the worst because we both want to have a child together and we have done many things to up our chances. We were tested years ago and this genetic marker was missed. Knowing this earlier would have helped. At least we know now and (Thank the Higher Power) there are things I can do to supplement this naturally. So we keep us in your thoughts and we may have a little one soon!!!!

A great part to all of this is my wife is getting into a great kickboxing routine. She is building muscle and getting trimmer by the day. She is doing some great mixed martial arts workouts mixed with a little yoga. She is the strongest woman I have ever met. (Remember that she broke her back a few years ago!) Kim found her old instructor Keli Roberts that she really loves to work out to. My wife is getting smokin’ hot!

Wish me luck going forward!

and as always,

Be Zen, Be Powerful, Be Confident and All Things Will Come!

Derek

 

My Journey

This is my journey…… toward better health and life.

For those who know me, I have always been somewhat of a power house. I have always been a strong,  powerful, and muscular individual. I have been in Martial Arts in some form or fashion since I was around 8 years old. I played the usual sports for a young man in Ohio; football, wrestling, hockey, and golf.

I played football and wrestled throughout high school and college and then was associated with a Martial Arts school for at least 6 years after that. When I reached college I ended up being a heavy weight wrestler. The weight limit was 285, when I entered college, I weighed 220 and I needed to gain weight.  Gain Weight I Did!

By the time I was out of college I was pushing the scales at around 270 to 280 pounds. wearing 38 X 32 pants and having a collar size around 18 3/4. Since then I have gone all the way down to about 235 but keep gaining back about 15-20 lbs.

That stops now.

My wife and I have pledged together to lose weight and to become a healthier team.

My issue is that I am now a corporate worker and I am chained to a desk for 7 hours a day on the phone. I am also finding out if I am gluten intolerant, have genetic markers that make me more susceptible to diseases, and what kind of workouts work for my type.
I am really excited to find all this out. I am going to do a weekly blog on this and have been doing a gluten free diet, and am still doing Martial Arts style workouts, with my cardiovascular testing workout being the 300 workout. I am going to shoot for getting it within 12 minutes as my end goal. I have lost 10 lbs in a week from doing the GF diet and changing my workout.

I will keep you updated!