Micro Over Macro

The fridge is part of our pantry

1.8
So, when it comes to having a power pantry (and realize that any time we talk of our pantry, it includes our refrigerator... they go together), are there some foods that are fundamentally better than others? The short answer? Yes! Last week's post was about eating real food, and that's the place to start: a whole foods, plant-based diet is the best foundation.


But what's the big deal about the whole foods and veggies? Food is food, right? Actually, no, not all foods are created equally, and there is growing research that shows how the food we eat provides extensive information to our bodies. Nutrients actually engage our genetic code

DNA Double Helix (Wikimedia Commons)

and turn certain proteins on and off, with the ability to lead to healthy outcomes or unhealthy outcomes. That sounds like a big deal, and actually it is. The food we eat, and especially the nutritional quality of the food we eat, matters.

This gets into the nutritional concept of macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. Micro-nutrients are the beneficial proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and enzymes found in plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, berries and some plant-based oils. Macro-nutrients are the animal proteins, carbohydrates and fats found in basically everything else: meats, grains, dairy, starches, sugars, fats. Like I mentioned last week, our bodies crave micro-nutrients (the fruits and veggies); our bodies tolerate macro-nutrients, and will always be trying to overcome the stress those foods create in our bodies.

What does it look like when good nutrients interact positively with our genes and metabolism? I think our bodies heave a big sigh of relief when we eat whole foods and a plant based diet. Conversely, our metabolism stresses out under the burden of animal proteins, dairy, heavy starches, sugars and fats.

A key to having a power pantry is overwhelming our food choices with micro-nutrients and limiting our macro-nutrients. Think of if in terms of ratios. To gain a healthful power pantry, a good goal is an 80/20 split of micro-nutrients to macro-nutrients. So 80% of our calories come from micro-nutrients--healthful, whole, plant-based foods; 20% come from macro-nutrients (meat proteins, starches, grains, animal fats). To maintain good health, maybe you can stretch it to 70/30. A noble wellness goal: 90/10.

By the Way

Real food: thumbs up

Food-like product: thumbs down

It can take a while to wrap our minds around what foods are actually good for us, and which are really man-made food-like products. How do we discern which is which? The whole food is the one that looks as close as possible to how it came from the earth. That's real food. If it is processed, refined, filtered, packaged, then it becomes more of a food-like product. So: romaine lettuce is a whole food; toaster pastries are a food-like product... you get the picture.

In future posts we'll look more closely at things like refined 'white foods', and other man-made food-like products, and chemical additives (sweeteners and flavor-enhancers and such), all of which are helping western culture eat itself to death.

There's benefit in the power of the pantry. Remember our health is in our hands!

Meet Joe Cross

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Need a great movie to watch Friday night, or over the weekend? (It's a documentary, actually...) Try out Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, a somewhat whimsical story of Joe Cross's journey from being fat and quite sick, to a healthy weight with no sickness or prescriptions. Joe promotes what he calls a 'reboot' (his term for an extended juice fast) which he used to cleanse and detox his body, and you can try, too.* I like Joe, because he doesn't take himself or his film too seriously.

Joe, before (upper right) and after

Joe is an Australian investor and businessman who chronicled his simple approach to getting off of steroids and overcoming his food addictions, and he's sharing the story with the world. Here are some of his resources:
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead website
Reboot With Joe website

You can watch the full-length documentary on Netflix (with your subscription), for free on Hulu (with commercials) or from the Reboot website, here. 

By the Way

Phil Staples, transformed

Dr. Joel Fuhrman

In the movie, you'll also meet Phil Staples from Iowa, and see his incredible transformation from 429 pounds, to a much more normal 204 pounds. Another notable appearance is from Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a nutritional expert from NJ, author of 'Eat to Live' and numerous other valuable books on nutritional excellence.

Happy watching!





*Consult your qualified physician before starting any new diet or health regimen.

Eat Real Food

1.6
If you've been wondering when I'd get to some food-related thoughts on a power pantry, your wait is over. While we need to have a reason 'why' we want a wellness lifestyle, and having a wellness vision keeps us on track toward a healthier existence, at some point we need to ask 'how'. And how starts with this wise counsel: eat real food!

What do we mean by 'real food'? The truth is, we industrialized our food supply 100+ years ago, along with the revolution that changed how we work and produce goods. Before then our food was basically 'local' and 'organic', and much better for our health. Now we have engineered food-like products that are edible, technically, but aren't really food, and our bodies don't recognize them as nutritional.



Real food is simply 'whole food'. Think of the apple (with the skin) instead of apple juice; the filet of salmon instead of the fish stick. Brown rice instead of white rice; fresh salad greens with onions, instead of fried onion rings. Whole foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, are what our bodies crave. Our metabolism is waiting on us to give it healthy food, every meal, every day. When we make great choices, our bodies pay us back with good health; when we make poor choices... well, we are what we eat.


Consider a quote from the cofounder and co-CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey:
"Eating a whole-foods and plant-based diet and avoiding processed and refined foods can completely transform our lives. I've seen hundreds of people I work with lose more than 100 pounds, reverse type 2 diabetes, or recapture their health by making permanent dietary changes..."

A whole foods, plant-based diet leads us away from industrialized, engineered foods, back to foods that our bodies recognize as nutritional. In western medicine, we have a pharmaceutical and surgical response to disease. The reality is that prevention is the best intervention, and great disease prevention starts with eating real food. It's a wellness lifestyle, not a diet. The incredible ability of our bodies to naturally heal is revealed and accelerated when we choose a whole foods, plant-based diet.

I'm not talking about becoming a vegan or vegetarian. I'm still an omnivore, and eat a variety of available, healthy foods, with real foods making up most of my calorie intake. We'll talk more about that in upcoming posts...

The fundamental key to a power pantry? Wholeness... a completeness in our nutritional choices that lends itself, eventually, to completeness in our lives overall. And eating real food is a tremendous start.

By the Way

I had a friend who used to describe good nutritional choices like this: "If it doesn't sprout or rot, don't eat it." That's a whole food, plant-based perspective... (Note that unprocessed, un-engineered foods--that is, real foods-- usually sprout or rot.) With that in mind, we decided to reproduce an 'experiment' we heard about.

We got a kids' meal from a popular fast food place, and want to see it if ever rots... previous internet experiments indicate it won't. We're putting ours up against a salad from the same restaurant (and some apple slices from the kids' meal - you'd think the apples might be okay and just dry out... and the salad will eventually rot... we'll see.) Here is our baseline photo, and we'll be updating the progress in future posts:

Our burger experiment on Day 1 (3/20/14)

Meant to Shine

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If you're thinking about a wellness lifestyle, and maybe a wellness vision for yourself, consider what Marianne Williamson said in her book, "A Return to Love":

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Go be powerful, shine, and take some folks along with you.

Powerful Reasons

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Simon Sinek is a good thinker. His 2009 TED Talk on the power of 'why' is evidence of that. Sinek makes us think about inspiring great leadership, and I would extend that to great self-leadership. We get there by asking 'why', by having powerful reasons to do something. Sinek calls it the golden circle, at the center of all clear thinking, and before we deal with how or what, we benefit most by dealing with why.


When it comes to our well being, we ebb and flow with the seasons and the allure of a beautiful piece of cheese cake with cherry topping. But knowing the reason why we want to be healthy sheds a different light on our wellness. Could there be powerful reasons that will compel us to make great choices in our nutrition and exercise, and lead to consistent healthy choices? I know it's possible, and I know it's true for me.

In the early 80's I had three life-changing incidents that give me powerful reasons to live every day to the fullest:

• 1981 - on a swimming outing with some buddies, I dove into the 4 foot deep end of the pool and hit my head on the bottom. What could have killed me, or left me paralyzed, instead broke my back. With several months in a back brace I was pretty much okay.
• 1983 - after months of blinding headaches and doctor visits I was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a large plum; I was a couple of weeks from going into a permanent coma... Successfully removed in May of '83, I was out of the hospital in 5 days, recuperating at home.
• 1984 - my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer; he made it about 5 months and passed away at 48 years old. He had been a relatively healthy guy, concerned about what he ate and living pretty much in moderation.

When I get down on myself or a hand I've been dealt, I recall that I'm here today for a reason; I have a purpose to fulfill. Having the same genes as my dad, I'm susceptible to cancer and possibly an untimely death. But that doesn't seal my fate; I'm in control of my health choices and know I can influence them to the better. These are powerful reasons that convict me to live a lifestyle of wellness, and to share that message with others.

Maybe you have powerful reasons 'why'. Take some time to sort them out, and live in the tension those reasons create.

• You might want to be around to walk someone down the aisle, years or decades in the future
• Maybe you've decided, wherever you find yourself, you "just can't live like this anymore"
• Or you may have promised yourself or others that this time it will be different, you're turning over a new leaf and going to do whatever it takes to maintain your health so you can be around for them, or grandkids, or just for your self

Start with your powerful reasons why you want to live a lifestyle of wellness, and you'll always be headed in the right direction. We'll get to how and what soon enough. Let's make the journey together.

By the Way

You can watch Simon Sinek's 2009 TED Talk here. It's been seen almost 16 million times. I agree with him when he says "What you do simply serves as the proof of what you believe..."

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Remember to Be Awesome

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A wellness lifestyle is more than just great food choices from a powerful pantry. It touches everything we do: how interact with others in community, how we see ourselves, even our spirituality... Sometimes we just need a pep talk, and that gives us a reset.

Soulpancake has good content on YouTube - over 500 videos. Below is one of the best: the Pep Talk by Kid President. Anything that's been viewed over 30 million times is worth three and a half minutes of our day...

Remember to be awesome!

A Wellness Lifestyle

From 1997
The only picture I found at that weight

1.2
I topped out around 220 pounds in the late 90's... I was disregarding my physical health and just 'enjoying' life (so I thought). Truth is, I was really unhealthy, although I convinced myself I was fat and happy. Through my 20's and into my 30's, multiple health issues came up, and some existing ones (like my 'bad left knee') got worse. 

What made the difference for me? The biggest thing is that I had a vision for a healthy version of me that didn't match the 220 pound me (or the other iterations in between). Maybe that sounds strange, but that's the reality. If we have and keep a mental picture of ourselves that we recognize as "more like the real me" than where we are right now, there is value in that. As I held that vision in my mind, over the years I did things that led me closer and closer to that healthier end. Step by step, month by month, year by year.





I remember "The Six Million Dollar Man" from the 70's... Lee Majors played Steve Austin, the astronaut who was put back together with bionic parts after a devastating crash. There was something cool about how he ran in the title sequence, and I've always remembered that. As a kid, I used to think, "wow, I'd like to be able to run like that (and actually look good doing it.)" That mental image has always been part of my "healthy vision" of myself, and a wellness lifestyle has led me closer to it.


What does it take to develop a wellness lifestyle? I figure there are three attitudes we can have toward our health, which determine if we have a wellness lifestyle or not:

• Ignoring: we disregard our health, either intentionally, or because we just don't think it's an issue
• Pursuing: we have a wellness vision, or at least a conviction about where our health can be, and are growing toward it
• Maintaining: we're at a level of wellness we appreciate, and we notch back a bit and stay at that level

It really starts with a personal vision of where we want our health and wellness to be. What do we tell ourselves about ourselves? Do we believe we can overcome health issues, or improve toward a worthy goal? If so, all we need to do is take a step in that direction. If not, why do we think it can't happen? What do you tell yourself about yourself? We all start where we are - there's nothing inherently wrong with where I am and where you are, but maybe there is a vision for something next... 

By the Way

Dec. 2013
Both of us pain-free and grateful

How am I doing with my wellness vision? Well, my target weight is 158 (for a BMI of 21) making me about 60 pounds lighter than I was 15 years ago. (That's the equivalent of 4, 15 pound bowling balls...hmm, I carried "extra bowling balls" for years...) And my bad left knee is 'cured' after 25 years of pain - no surgery, never had any injections... just food-related adjustments that have brought consistent relief.

Part of fulfilling my wellness vision has been a running habit that I started in 2012. I did my first 10k last year, and I have aspirations of doing my first half marathon this year. We'll see what happens there. So do I run like (or in any way look like) Steve Austin? Not so much...

The Power of the Pantry

1.1
My wife and I have had some amazing adventures over the 20+ years we've been together, and 2012 brought some of those adventures unexpectedly - it's the year we discovered the power of the pantry.

We had anticipated doing our first Disney trip as a family in May of 2012, budgeted and saved up the money, and got all the maps and planning DVD.

Our kids were thrilled, and it was months of growing excitement. Then Jen was faced with some health challenges in early 2012: anemia and pneumonia that landed her in the hospital; it was months before she would get her energy back. On top of that, in April, Jen was struck by terrible, unexplained aches and joint pain - it came on all of a sudden, just weeks before we were to leave for our big trip.

Maybe against our better judgement, we decided to go through with the Disney trip, and unfortunately, Jen suffered much of the time with the burden of often excruciating pain. The best we could do was control it with Advil and give ourselves extra time to get places. We decided it is a trip we will certainly do over when health issues aren't hanging over us.

After we got back from Disney and went through a few doctor visits, Jen was diagnosed with reactive arthritis - something had been a catalyst to her coming down with this arthritic condition. The solution? A 4+ syllable prescription (we called it the 'prescription bomb') with sobering side effects (like possible blindness). We immediately decided the prescription wasn't for us, at least "not yet" - there had to be another way.

I went to work researching arthritis online and at natural health stores, reading everything I could get my hands on. A possible course seemed to be an 'elimination diet' where we would try taking things out of Jen's diet and see if it made a difference. Fast forward to about August or September... we had identified the two big culprits for Jen: dairy and gluten. The improvement was literally within hours (and to this day, she can backslide right into the pain by eating dairy and gluten). So... that's how we learned the power of the pantry, and we committed to cleaning it up.

What we didn't know, but are now very convicted of, is that our health is in our hands.

By the Way

I'm firm believer in, "all's well that ends well", and although we had significant challenges to grow through in 2012, it ended well. We realize the power of the pantry and since we know our health is in our hands, we want to share that truth with others. I've had some significant health challenges of my own over the years, and I'll likely share some of those in the journey of this blog. The reality is that I'm not a victim of my circumstances, and neither are you, so maybe we'll journey together.

For all of it's challenges 2012 brought growth and blessing as well - and ended on a good note. Here is the Christmas picture we shared with family and friends.