7.3
One of my go-to YouTube channels is The Ginger Runner (Ethan Newberry, who happens to be a red head, and his wife Kim.) Ethan has a great outlook on life, and as a filmmaker, musician and runner, he likes to combine his passions to encourage regular people to pursue endurance goals that others may see as crazy.
A recent post from Ethan was about a 100 mile week that he ran late last year. To many, running 100 miles in a week is certainly crazy. In the endurance community, that's kind of a normal week... Ethan considers himself a regular, middle-of-the-pack runner, and had put off attempting the 100 mile week for a long time. But then 2019 was his year.
As it turned out, he did just fine, breaking up his runs between some shorter (7-8 mile) days and longer ones (15 miles). He successfully completed the 100 miles in 7 days, and can add that to his other regular-guy endurance exploits.
This year I've been embracing my own crazy, with a goal of running a 1,000 mile year in 2020. In 2019 I logged 700 miles, just with my regular, semi-intentional running schedule. I realized that with a bit of focus and intention, I could probably hit the 1,000 mile mark without too much trouble.
Realize though, that the only way to log big goals (especially ones requiring endurance athletics) is to maintain a great pantry, and to intimately know your own metabolism and recovery patterns. As I've invested years getting to know my health and nutrition needs, it has yielded a baseline of wellness that keeps me injury-free, and running strong.
So far, I have logged 80 miles in January, and I'm right on track. As winter wanes and Spartan training ramps up, I look forward to consistently building toward the 1k goal.
Maybe 2020 is a year for you to embrace a goal that's a bit crazy. Maybe it's the year to finally get nerdy about your food, and see if you can overcome those aches and pains simply by eating nutrient-dense, real food. Find your tribe, and dig into a goal that gets you out of bed, keeps you out of trouble, and brings life and vigor to you and the world around you.
By the Way
I think I'll add my own 100 mile week to my 2020 schedule. It's about 15 miles a day for 7 days. That can be broken up numerous ways (2 or even 3 runs a day of varying lengths), and you have to figure out your calories and active recovery in between. Then there's the demands of family and work, and life continuing in the background... Sounds like a great challenge!
6.28
I got a new Garmin for Christmas - more on that in another post - and it is an awesome partner for a wellness lifestyle. I'm able to measure and track about everything you can possibly imagine. One of the things I like to pay attention to is calories burned. As we wrap up the Holidays, and 2019, I have been thinking about our pantry and my calorie budget for the year.
My Garmin tells me I burn between 22,000 and 24,000 calories most weeks. Multiplied across a whole year, that's about 1,200,000 calories! That's a lot of food to fuel my daily life, running habit and some Spartan races... And assuming that my weight is fairly constant (and thankfully it is) I need to actually eat all those 23,000 calories a week.
Considering all the breakfasts lunches and dinners I'll consume to make up my meals for the coming year, it adds to my conviction to make my calories count. I imagine the eggs, rice cakes and fruit for breakfast, the steak and sweet potatoes, the quinoa and salmon, the salads with nuts and berries... Mmmmm.
The conviction I'm left with is to make my calories count. Some will be fun food, some will be race fuel, and most will be everyday meals shared with family or coworkers. Even though 1.2 million calories are a lot of calories to consume in a year, every one counts. All our calories offer the opportunity to support our wellness or detract from it.
So how will you budget your calories in 2020? Start by aligning your pantry with your wellness goals. Purge the junk and faux foods and invest in healthful food choices your body and mind will thrive on. It's an investment in your health that will always pay dividends.
By the Way
Remember that all calories are not created equally. There are healthy fats and carbs, just as there are (very) unhealthy ones. There are proteins that build our bodies up, whether plant-based or animal proteins, and there are proteins that our bodies might be happier without. Choose wisely.
6.23
We come up with so many excuses for living in unhealthy ways. No time. No direction. No one to journey with. As an 'old' guy, I could resonate with many of those. My reality, though, is one of conviction and perseverance - I choose to tune in to my wellness daily.
This weekend I've taken yet another step to keep up with what is new, useful and challenging in the wellness realm: I created an Instagram profile. It's not that I was resisting following Instagram, I just hadn't done it.
But Facebook... that is something I resist. To me, it is a resource that doesn't benefit me compared to the distraction it creates. Yes, I have a Facebook profile, but I only visit it once or twice a year.
Now that I'm on Instagram, I can tune in to what my kids are doing and posting (some of the stuff they follow is really cool) and I can more closely follow content that is meaningful to me. I have a bunch of profiles I'm already following, including the faith community, Spartan Race, Crossfit, as well as some of the best Wellness gurus of our time.
I appreciate the guidance of Dr. Josh Axe, and Mark Sisson, so those are two profiles I'm already following. The content from Spartan and Crossfit is inexhaustible - so I'll not get bored anytime soon with all that is available.
What good is all of this? It is motivation. It is grounding. It gives us a vicarious tribe. It keeps our head in the game - our game, our journey, our wellness choices. So consider tuning in. If you're not on at least some form of social media, maybe give one a try and see if it fits for you.
By the Way
My user name is "b.dedic8d" - I use "dedicated" as a foundation for why I live a wellness lifestyle. It is actually from a quote that captured my attention years ago, "Obsessed is a word that lazy people use to describe the dedicated."
6.22
What I have grown to appreciate about living a wellness lifestyle, is how it keeps me out of trouble. I have a fitness regime that now spans 7 days a week. None of it is too grueling, but it is certainly demanding, and I'm disciplined enough to be consistent.
Investing in wellness grows us in ways we often don't anticipate. In the Spartan Race world they call it obstacle immunity and resiliency. What I would also call it is resistance to vices and illicit habits. Who has time or need for booze and philandering when you're healthy, well-adjusted, and physically beat at the end of the day? And knowing that tomorrow morning brings the next recovery run or endurance workout (not to mention family, work, and community engagement), sleep becomes precious.
Signing up for regular races will also bring you an opportunity to thrive. I eat very cleanly the last 10 days to 2 weeks prior to a race. No inflammatory foods, coffee, chocolate dairy, etc. And what's great about that is how healthy I feel and the energy I have. And no aches or pains beyond simple muscle exertion. That's a great place to be...
What supports a wellness lifestyle like this? Some conviction...Some basic nutritional knowledge...A deep and growing understanding of our own body and how it responds to foods and movement... A tribe to journey with... (including support from spouse and kids, and those close to you...)
Then we simply journey on. We invest in a great wellness day today, and string those together into a healthy wellness week, which becomes a successful wellness month. Pretty soon we have lived a thriving wellness year.
So, if you haven't tuned into your pantry recently, give it a once-over and see what's in it. Make some healthy substitutions. Find your tribe, and get moving. Set a great goal, and better yet, a growing vision for your wellness lifestyle. Then go live and grow and thrive.
By the Way
Yesterday I ran my 9th Spartan race. This one was with a team from work, and it was a blast! This year Spartan reformatted their stadium races into the 'Stadion' format. Different than other Spartan Races, the Stadion mixes in gym exercise movements (box jumps and ball slams, the assault bike and weighted burpees) to keep it interesting. It was a beautiful day at Citizen Bank Park in Philly, and we finished together, and really enjoyed the race.
6.21
Soon enough it will be the holidays, and we'll be treated to the joys and foods that make holiday celebrations so memorable. With all the festivities come calories and loads of inflammatory foods that our bodies would do better without. But there are some simple disciplines we can put in place to help.
The reality is, our body weight comes down to basic calories-in-calories-out calculations. Our caloric needs change as we age, and it is different for men and women, but to maintain our current weight, our nutritional food intake needs to yield a zero-sum with our activity. If we favor food, we gain weight; if we favor activity, we lose weight.
Try out this great calorie calculator from Mayo Clinic - it shows the estimated calories you need to maintain the weight you are, based on current height, weight, age and activity level.
Click here for the calorie calculator
My Garmin tells me I burn about 2700 calories a day, mainly because I do 40 minutes of functional training on weekdays, and 1-2 hour workout-run sessions on Saturdays and Sundays. On a heavy workout day when I'm also cutting the lawn, that might be a 3500+ calorie day...
The point is, we only need to get our bodies moving to burn some calories. Walking is a great, low-impact activity to burn calories. So it swimming. So are burpees! Burpees are one of the best all-body exercises (arms, core, legs, plus coordination, and aerobic stamina.)
Spartan did a great article a few weeks ago about how many burpees are needed to overcome our less-than-healthy food choices. Check out the article here.
This is a great time of the year to incorporate simple activity disciplines with our healthy eating choices. The foundation we build now will serve us well a few months from now when holiday festivities are everywhere, and that foundation will serve us well for a lifetime.
By the Way
There are innumerable activity calculators that show calories burned with certain activities. Try out one today to see how much activity will get you some good burn. Here's one from www.healthyeater.com - click here for the calculator.
6.20
Where is 2019 going?! How can it be the unofficial end of summer, the restart of school for all the kiddos, with fall arriving in just a few weeks? Well, it can be, and it is. As we finish these last few months, and take stock of all that happened over the last 12 months, hopefully you can look back with good memories and gratitude.
For me, this has been a great year. I have continued to focus on simple wellness goals, to regularly evaluate our pantry and fridge for great food choices, and to stretch my physical capacity with challenging workouts and races. While I set out to achieve a Spartan trifecta of some challenging events beyond just Spartan races, I'm realizing that a better plan probably resulted from the Spartan races I've participated in. I completed my first Ultra, and I think there will be more of those in my future.
Our family enjoyed a great vacation a couple weeks ago, and took our wellness pursuits with us. We traveled to Canada, where I included a couple of runs to enjoy the local scenery, and my older daughter and I did a great workout along the Ottawa River. We shared some tasty poutine and beaver tails (Canadian fun-food) while at the same time sticking to our 90/10 eating goals and healthy choices.
To close out the year I may end up doing 3 more Spartan races. We gathered a team from work to do the Stadion Sprint in Philly (at Citizens Bank Park). It's been great to share a training schedule and encourage each other to grow and step up to a challenge. This is a first Spartan Race for most of the team. I also have two pending trips in October where I can tag on a Spartan Race local to my destination. Destination races are always a good time, because the venue is always an adventure, even if we know what to expect in the race.
I'd say my biggest wellness accomplishment of 2019 has been further study of collagen and the healing benefits we get from this simple 'bone broth' protein foundation in our diet. I know my body is healthier still from supplementing with collagen.
How about your journey? You set out with particular goals for 2019. Did you achieve what you hoped? Even if you needed to modify things because circumstances changed, did the initial vision pull you forward?
By the Way
As a family, we are also starting to launch our older kids into their lives and careers. As they establish their own routines and households, it's cool to see them making legitimate wellness choices in their food and fitness. Who knows what races we may do together in the coming years, and what we'll be able to learn from them.
6.19
This past week a business friend of mine lost his battle to cancer. I'm bummed out. He was a great guy, and at 58 years old, you couldn't see it coming. He was diagnosed about 9 months ago, and the cancer aggressively overtook his body. Who knows why, and why now.
What I do know is that Scott is secure for his eternity. As a Christ follower, he long ago committed to following Christ, and with that was assured of forgiveness and salvation. So today, Scott is enjoying the benefits of a simple decision; he's in heaven, and his eternity is secure.
For the rest of us, there can be feelings of being left behind. There's loneliness and questioning, and then even anger and anxiety. What if we have a latent disease that suddenly presents itself and overtakes life as we know it? Could we be an illness and nine months from our end?
Maybe...maybe not. We walk the journey a day at a time, and hopefully make great choices that help us maximize our current reality, and thrive in the midst of all we have. For me, I feel very blessed to be a Christ follower as well, and my eternity is secure in Him. So the rest of this life should simply be purpose and investing in now, right?
I'm so thankful for the wellness journey I'm on. I look forward to bringing others along, and together we will hopefully grow our capacity for movement, healthful eating, community and intentionally encouraging relationships. Who knows what tomorrow or 6 months from now, or 2 years from now will bring. But for now we can move forward confidently, and enjoy the wellness and great relationships that come with that intention.
So go get 'em. You know what you need to do. Put aside the junk food and refined grains (and maybe all grains.) Fill your pantry and fridge with whole, simple foods that your body will thrive with. See your family doctor for a check up, create a healthful routine of regular physical movement, and work additional vitamin D into your diet. It's simple. We just need to do it.
By the Way
A wellness lifestyle doesn't guarantee us longevity. Maybe it just makes a great day today; we can live in the moment and appreciate the blessing of it. And maybe we'll be blessed with another day, and another. And putting them all together, we may gain the blessing of years of health. Or maybe not. But it won't keep me from living out a healthy day today.
6.17
We have incredible volumes of information available to us, and can benefit far beyond what was possible just a few years ago. For years, I have gleaned professional and worthwhile guidance from YouTube, Google searches, and the Internet in general. This part of my wellness journey has afforded me numerous vicarious tribes that I feel really connected to, even though they are virtual.
I've mentioned these in Power Pantry before, but here is a list of some of these tribes, and the guidance I seek from them:
Pantry choices and fitness:
Dr. Josh Axe - Dr. Axe-Food is Medicine
Mark Sission - Mark's Daily Apple & Primal Blueprint
Spartan Race - US Spartan website
Darebee
Fitness and sustainable health:
Crossfit
You can also find great guidance at the YMCA, a local Rec center and various fitness clubs (like running clubs, biking clubs and hiking clubs.) The point is to tune in, and realize that the information each of these sources presents is always improving. So visit your vicarious tribes often - find their blogs, podcasts and articles, and glean the best of what's new.
Every journey is best lived out with others, and the hope is that our vicarious tribes turn into real-life tribes we can journey with. Take someone along today, and grow and learn together for accountability and improved results.
By the Way
I visited with one of my tribes yesterday, at the Spartan Super in Palmerton, PA. It was a great day to tackle the 8.1 mile course, up and down the ski slopes of the resort. We logged 29 obstacles, and I pretty much crushed it, only doing penalty burpees on 2 obstacles. Lots of grip strength and core obstacles to challenge racer's endurance and resilience throughout the course. It was an awesome day.
6.11
Living a wellness lifestyle works. My journey started about 2010, and now, less than 10 years in, it has truly become a lifestyle that is repeatable and sustainable.
Yesterday my family and I enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day visit with my mom, my wife and our daughters. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and just right for traveling, visiting and dinner out. We found a nice restaurant with great, freshly prepared dishes, all with a bit of a German flair.
Making healthful choices is important to me, and I consistently try to consume 90% of my nutrition from foods my body will appreciate. The other 10% can be whatever happens to be available, or an occasional 'cheat' meal, etc. Yesterday's dinner out had some of both - a great steak with sweet potato fries, and a berry cobbler with ice cream for dessert.
Others around the table had wonderful entrees of chicken or fish or salad, and all were healthful and nutritious. We're thankful for the few, if any, health issues we have in our family, and that for years our kids have seen us model healthy eating choices and are now able to repeat those kinds of healthful choices themselves.
And my overwhelming proof that a wellness lifestyle works, is the training and race journey I've been through lately with my Spartan Ultra. While fulfilling a fairly grueling training schedule, I was also focused on eating well and eating clean for about 5-6 months. By the time I got to mid-April, I was literally the healthiest I've ever been in my life. While I thought the fairly harsh training might strain muscles and ligaments, and sideline me from completing the race, that was far from reality. My body rewarded my clean eating with strength, stamina and endurance.
So here's to healthful choices and the benefits we reap. We have the opportunity to revolutionize our wellness journey through faithful healthy choices.
By the Way
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Your commitment and dedication may seem to go unnoticed, but please know that you are loved and appreciated!
6.8
Whatever things we place a high value on become the most influential things in our lives. Do we truly value our wellness? Do we realize the investment it takes to maintain a healthy pantry, and a level of physical wellness in our bodies?
I'm a fan of the Spartan Race and CrossFit, and appreciate the valuable teachings that come from their programs. One elite CrossFit athlete, a former Navy Seal, has a very insightful view on our health: "we rent our wellness, we don't own it... every day we have to 'pay the man'."
The point to regularly paying up, is to realize that we can invest in great wellness approaches and garner the health those lead to, or we can pay the medical community to keep us alive (although not truly living.) Either way, it is our work to pay up.
If we follow a wellness lifestyle the payment is several hours of physical activity a week. It is shopping in a discerning way to eat whole foods instead of processed foods. It is taking others along with us on our wellness journey, and collectively committing "to live until we die."
The payment is up to us. We can start simple and lose weight, or have a five-mile-a-week walking goal, or cut out all the sugary drinks and sodas. Once we see the value of genuine wellness goals, maybe we get the bug to go further and improve more. Do we run a 10k? Do we join a CrossFit box or schedule a Spartan Race? Do we commit to a Mediterranean diet?
Let's go all in to make our investment in wellness every day, paying the rent on genuine health and wellness. We'll have a better chance of living fully throughout our whole life.
By the Way
Last weekend was the peak of my training for my Spartan Ultra (coming up late April). I did a 28 mile workout run, peppering in burpees, rowing, monkeybars and rope climbs for a great 6 hour investment. And the payoff is, having paid the rent, I'm feeling ready for the Ultra and I'm literally healthier than I've ever been.
6.6
We live in a time of great information and data-sharing, and the opportunities to self-educate have never been better. As a proponent of healthful living and aligning our diet and physical activity to make our bodies thrive, this access to beneficial information is huge.
If you have tuned in to Power Pantry (or any other healthful living content) in the past few years, you may have seen how-to guidance on cleaning up our pantry, our choices and our eating in general. One of the best content-providers of that guidance is Dr. Josh Axe; his website is the most sought out in the world today, for food and health trends to naturally heal our bodies.
Dr. Axe is a strong proponent that 'food is medicine'. If we will simply get our food choices right, we will set a course to develop health, and reduce inflammation and ill-health, in our bodies and lives.
Check out this great article on improvements we can all make to our pantry and diet to improve our health. Our focus needs to be on natural, whole foods, eliminating processed foods and growing our discernment of what food choices help our bodies thrive.
See the Clean Eating Meal Plan article here.
So make some more strides this week. Find some less-than-healthy foods in your pantry and pitch 'em. Take a few more minutes in the grocery store this week to "shop the perimeter" of the store (where the fresh produce, fresh meats and fresh dairy items are found.) It all starts with making great food choices for our pantry.
Better quality choices lead to a better quality of life. Happy shopping
By the Way
You can sign up for all sorts of beneficial content from Dr. Axe's website, from a Shopping Guide and his e-book to boost healing, to regular content in emails. It's a great opportunity for food and health education.
6.4
By now a majority of resolution-making Americans have bailed on their 2019 intentions. Sometime around the 3rd week of January most New Year's Resolutions are abandoned. Strava, the athletic social media platform, reports that 31.5 million data points from Strava athletes show the date to be January 12th.
I've never been into New Year's Resolutions, but I live with great resolve. Here's why: I've watched loved ones suffer under the blight of cancer, and that has brought great conviction into my life. I now have a friend, who I know from church and business, who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer... he's in his 50's. His disease process is following the same path that my Dad's lung cancer took back in the early 80's. My father-in-law died of colon cancer several years ago as well. It's a rough journey...
My resolutions sometimes become this visceral commitment to living differently, in the face of a world full of food and lifestyle choices that our bodies don't handle well. I'm not saying that my dad, or my friend, made choices that lead to their cancer. Unfortunately, we are all susceptible to becoming a statistic in one form or another. Chance can happen to anyone.
But for me, and those lives I am honored to speak into, I will do all I can to lead fellow travelers to healthful choices. There are opportunities in all we do and choose, and if there is something in my journey which drags others into healthful choices, I will press on.
And next week, I'll likely approach my workout commitment with another, maybe different resolution. A stretch goal, a change in venue, or maybe honing a new physical skill. I'll rest when I know I've done everything I can reasonably do this week to invest in my wellness.
Look deeply at your wellness journey this week. Find conviction in your choices. Purge your pantry and get your body moving. Visit with your family doctor and seek wise counsel. Make a difference week by week, and let the benefits of healthful choices accrue. The world around you will be thankful for your resolve.
By the Way
I make regular resolutions to break wellness boundaries and bend norms. Last week I ran over 15 miles for my 'long run' on Sunday; today I ran 16 miles. In the back of my mind, I'm fighting for all those who haven't yet felt called into the battle, or those who never really got the chance to fight. My dad, my father-in-law, my friend from church... now I'm running for them.
6.3
"Hard Work Pays Off" is a quote recently made popular by Mat Fraser, CrossFit champion the last three years. He knows the gut-level commitment it takes to make something epic happen... and he truly is one of the greatest of all time. But our hard work doesn't need epic goals to be important. Maybe our hard work is simple, reproducible and right in front of us.
Next weekend is the Super Bowl, and every year I linger on the irony of hundreds of millions of people overeating and passively cheering as the teams battle on the field. A few hundred athletes, representing the two teams in the game, know that it was hard work that got them there. The annual Super Bowl is their payoff. The fans? Some get it; most don't.
What hard work might we be called to this week? This month? For starters, maybe it's the hard work of finally cleaning up our pantry, getting rid of all the faux foods that contribute to metabolic disease world-wide. It's simple, but not easy, to stock our pantry and fridge with real meat, fish, nuts, seeds, veggies and fruits, and ditch the artificial-everything (flavors, preservatives, sweeteners, etc.)
Or if we've made progress in our pantry, maybe our hard work is to get moving, regularly taking a walk, going for a run, a swim or a bike ride. Maybe it's time to get serious about a yoga habit, or martial arts program, or even something like a Planet Fitness membership or CrossFit.
It's hard work. If it was easy, everyone would do it (and I sure wish everyone would.) And then there's a payoff. We invest, we learn, we adjust, we advance. Then one day we wake up as the 'new' person we knew we could be - someone we would not have recognized just years earlier. That's the payoff. We cash in by living into this new life, and never going back to the old ways of poor eating and inactivity.
So make a difference this week. Set a small goal, and start doing some hard work toward it. Change your schedule, make a new habit, find a new wellness tribe to join. Then get to work and don't look back.
By the Way
I'm all for enjoying the Super Bowl! It think it is a great celebration of sport and competition and achievement. And there is nothing wrong with enjoying tables full of snacks, as long as they are whole foods, and our bodies will appreciate the nourishment. If you're having your own party, choose wisely and enjoy. If you're visiting someone else's party, be the one who takes along something healthful.
6.2
This past week I was honored to present a Power Pantry perspective to a group of business leaders in the Lancaster, PA, area. The task was simply to bring some valuable Power Pantry guidance that might help us all launch into a great 2019.
I prepared fundamentals on food, movement, wise counsel and goal setting. I figure those are life skills that I hope to use through my old age, so why not share them with this group of leaders. My Power Pantry foundation has always been that we need real food in our pantries, so my fist encouragement to the group was to "Get Real" in their food choices.
I also shared some direction from CrossFit and Spartan Race guidance. Interestingly, both of these wellness-related industries put a high value on our food choices.
CrossFit has a training and certification series that gives the groundwork of their 'functional fitness' approach, and the base of that work is Nutrition. CrossFit direction on nutrition looks like this:
Eat meat and vegetables
Nuts and seeds
Some fruit
Little starch
No sugar
That's it. Fundamental, and real. No more faux food. Check out this great article that describes the CrossFit Level 1 training, and how some of these fundamentals fit together:
Off the Carbs, Off the Couch
Nutrition is the base of the CrossFit pyramid, and I agree. Real food is the foundation that allows us to overcome our Western lifestyle diseases, and have something to build on for true health and wellness. Start today by reading further on a whole food diet (past Power Pantry posts are a great resource), and purge some faux foods out of your pantry. You'll set the right tone for 2019 and give yourself a great wellness launch.
By the Way
Notice that CrossFit isn't against carbohydrates. There are plenty of carbohydrates in vegetables and fruits. The problem, metabolically, is refined starches (refined grains like wheat, and all the pastas, breads and snacks made from them.) A great diet includes plenty of lean protein, vegetables and fruits (and the carbohydrates that come with them), and naturally-derived fats. Let's work on getting more of those in our pantry and fridge.
6.1
2019 is here! Woo Hoo! Maybe you have a lot you're looking forward to, or maybe 2019 seems like it will flow just like 2018. Either way, some focus will help us make the most of the coming months.
I recently came across a perspective that is wise counsel, and worth following: Discipline equals freedom. This insight, with a book by the same title, is from Jocko Willink, former Navy SEAL commander and trainer. Jocko is a leadership expert, and served our nation diligently for years through the SEALs. Leadership concepts that Jocko repeats are worth listening to...
Discipline is not fun; that's why it's called discipline. Think about the individual who has achieved financial freedom. They first needed to apply some form of financial discipline. You don't stumble into financial freedom, even if you inherit resource or come "from money". How ever you arrive at financial freedom, it is some form of discipline that gets you there.
Or consider the business person who wants to be their own boss. Being successful as a business owner is not easy, and it definitely takes discipline. A dedicated season of learning and applying business leadership concepts would certainly pay off with some form of professional freedom. It is discipline which gets you there.
How about our wellness journey? No doubt, wellness discipline equals wellness freedom. If you've read Power Pantry for any amount of time, you know that our lifestyle choices have the most significant impact on our health and wellness. Simple disciplines in our choices equal freedom in our health.
So where can we exercise some discipline in our wellness journey in 2019? Did we leave some things undone in 2018? Then start there. That daily or weekly schedule of taking a walk, or getting to the gym for a swim, or actually training for that first 5k. If our lack of discipline kept us stuck last year, that's okay; it's a new year and new chance to live into some disciplines that will get us the results we want.
If you haven't already, go ahead and start the list of 2019 disciplines that will lead you to the freedom you are seeking.
By the Way
Little disciplines add up. Jocko Willink knows this, as does Navy Admiral William H McRaven. Admiral McRaven has an oft-repeated quote supporting the high value of small, daily accomplishments:
"If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed."
5.11
Fermented foods are just plain good for you, and the most common and available is yogurt. Our gut has a 'microbiome' which benefits from healthy bacteria, and fermented foods offer great bacteria for our overall health.
Probiotic foods like yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi all offer healthy bacteria, which hold a host of benefits. Healthy bacteria can even 'crowd out' unhealthy bacteria in our gut, giving further reasons to having beneficial probiotics over unfermented foods.
Check out this great article from Dr. Josh Axe on why the most accessible fermented food, yogurt, should be included in our pantries.
10 Benefits of probiotic yogurt
An important thing to keep in mind is to source your dairy from the most raw, grass-fed, high quality dairy possible. Yogurt from goat's milk or sheep's milk is best, but hormone-free, grass-fed cow's milk yogurt is a close contender.
So add some beneficial dairy to your pantry, and improve your gut health, blood pressure, weight and mood.
By the Way
The most beneficial yogurt is one with active probiotic cultures, and little to no added sugars. Common production yogurts full of fructose, sugar and fruit purees are often giving you way too much sugar, and are likely sourced from hormone-treated dairy cows (to increase their milk production.) And Greek yogurt (as well as Greek-style yogurt) are dubious in their health benefits, at best. Check out this article from Dr. Axe on the issues with Greek yogurt...
5.10
All foods are not created equally. If I've learned anything on my wellness journey, it is that truth. I know after years of learning about healthful eating, and then living out my convictions, that some foods are great for my everyday diet, and others are not.
One vegetable that I have grown fond of is the sweet potato. Gone are the days of sweet potatoes being the holiday casserole with sugary syrup and marshmallows on top. Now sweet potatoes are found in all forms of main dishes, side dishes and snacks. and all of these make nutritious and tasty offerings for our pantry.
I don't eat white potatoes, which are from the nightshade family, but sweet potatoes are different. A simple root tuber, sweet potatoes offer numerous vitamins and minerals,fiber, antioxidants and a good calorie to fiber profile to assist in regulating blood sugar. Here are some nutritional highlights of common sweet potatoes:
High in vitamins A, C, B6 and niacin and thiamine
High in minerals like manganese, potassium and copper
High in protein and fiber, low in fat
Our bodies benefit from sweet potatoes in that they help regulate blood sugar and aid in weight loss. They aid in our immunity and are high in antioxidants, and promote good vision. So give sweet potatoes another look when you're stocking your pantry this week. Or maybe you can substitute a sweet potato side dish for regular potatoes next time you're eating out.
For other details on the value of sweet potatoes for your pantry, check out this article from Dr. Axe's website: Sweet Potato Facts & Benefits
By the Way
Sweet potatoes are not yams, and yams are not sweet potatoes. They are two different kinds of root tubers. Most of the confusion happens in our western-market grocery stores because the two descriptions are used interchangeably (when they shouldn't be). Check out this article from Epicurious about the difference: Sweet Potatoes compared to Yams
5.05
It's time. No more excuses and no more delays
There is an adventure you have been considering and putting off, I know there is. It's time to put it on your calendar and get to it. Research it, sign up, tell a couple dozen people your plans, or gather a team to pursue the adventure with you - do whatever it takes to step up your personal commitment to your goals.
I am in the middle of a great adventure for 2018. I turn 50 this year, and a couple years ago, when I first followed Spartan races and decided to do a Sprint, I had this crazy, huge goal of doing a Spartan 'Trifecta'. This is a combination of a Spartan Sprint, Super and Beast race all in the same calendar year. At the time I thought, what a great goal for when a turn 50... I should do that.
So here we are, and true to my convictions, I'm signed up. I'm thrilled to turn 50 this year, and have decided to enjoy all of 2018 to celebrate. At this point I have the 3 Spartan races on the calendar, and at least 2-3 half marathons. I'm totally psyched!
How about you? You have an adventure right in front of you which you haven't committed to yet. It seems big, maybe too big, and challenging - certainly too challenging to tackle yet... But the truth is, you have everything you need to fulfill this new adventure, thrive in it, and take your wellness further. Who knows, maybe it will turn your life in a whole new and improved direction.
Commit today. Sign up. Train or research or learn whatever you need to. Whether your doing a new purge of your pantry, or tackling new and unique exercise challenges, it's time to get to it. And tell a bunch of people - that creates accountability. If you don't spread the word, you leave a back door to bail out. But once you have shared your adventurous plans with a dozen or so people, you will have created enough social pressure to help you see it through.
Good luck, and feel free to reach out to share your latest adventure
By the Way
While pursuing big adventures, you also have smaller ones. I was out on a great run this morning on a rail trail near my home. The trail will eventually connect our town of Lititz, PA with the neighboring town of Ephrata. I learned this morning that a whole next leg of the trail is now cleared and graded in! While not finished, I enjoyed a mini adventure today of running on this new stretch of trail for the first time.
5.03
No matter our health status, we can always positively improve. One of my favorite health advocates has become Dr. Josh Axe - www.draxe.com. Have a look at his website, and his YouTube channel - great stuff all around.
In cruising his website today, I found a post on 8 Foods that Boost Productivity. That sounded like a pantry-improving opportunity, so I read on. Sure enough, I'm already enjoying some of his suggested superfoods, and others have been past nutrient-dense favorites of mine.
The list includes pantry champs like almonds, broccoli, green tea and eggs... all nutritional super-stars and beneficial for our wellness journey (and productivity.)
Check out Dr. Axe's article here:
8 Food that Boost Productivity & Why
By the Way
Always keep an open mind and healthy perspective on boosting your pantry. Remember the guidance of Michael Pollan:
Eat [real] food
Not too much
Mostly plants
5.01
The holidays have come and gone, and we have the wonder and opportunity of a new year ahead. Hopefully you finished 2017 grateful for how far you have come, and all you accomplished in your wellness lifestyle. I know I'm very thankful for the journey, and the blessing of another healthy year completed, and a year of adventures ahead.
If you're starting out hoping to lose some weight, or just get things back 'under control' since the holiday feasting, there is some hope with an old approach that's getting new attention. Maybe it's time to give fasting a try.
Fasting is not very popular in some modern circles, but it has been with the human race since the dawn of time. Long recognized as the right way to recenter our thinking, fasting is simple and very worthwhile. From a faith standpoint, fasting combined with prayer is the best way to seek God's direction and check our own motives.
More recent research shows that fasting has really healthy results for folks who are in relatively good health to begin with. Check out this list of 20 benefits of fasting from the Global Healing Center in Houston, TX - Benefits of Fasting
The best way to get started with some intermittent fasting is to ‘skip’ some meals. Maybe you have something small and simple for lunch and supper and forgo breakfast a few days a week. I know a very accomplished leader at a local College who only eats two meals a day, and has followed that guidance for over a decade. And he's healthy and full of energy and vitality.
The point of intermittent fasting is to give our bodies a chance to clean up, regenerate and take a break from the abundance of empty calories so prevalent in our culture. It is a commitment, like other aspects of a wellness lifestyle- do what is healthful for your body. We are over fed and under nourished as a society, and intermittent fasting is a step in the right direction.
So as we settle into the new year, think about intermittent fasting as a way to gain control of your weight and food choices, and get your wellness off to a great start in 2018.
By the Way
Check out this short video from PBS Digital Studios about the basic and benefits of fasting.
Should You Eat Everyday?
