Straight and Simple: My Philosiphy on Living a Healthy Lifestyle

I find it almost comical how each year nutritionists and doctors come out with new studies that are contradictory to previous ones. There always seems to be the latest diet that everyone is promoting and talking about.   Many of them seem to have common similarities, but there also seem to be raging wars between various groups of dieters with different trains of thought. The paleo community thinks the vegan people to be malnourished tree huggers, while they think the paleos to be unnecessary animal torturers. The ladies over at Cosmopolitan Magazine can't fathom a diet that doesn't call for eating small portions of food every two hours, while the warrior dieters and intermittent fasters think eating only in the evening is the way it was meant to be. Even the guys in the white coats with the fancy diplomas behind their office desks can't seem to agree on which way of eating is most beneficial and optimal for human health and performance. The big trends of the 90's such as low fat diets, artificial sweeteners, and egg whites are now pointed to and laughed at these days. I think it may be a good idea to express my own personal beliefs on dieting and living a healthy lifestyle.

First off, I believe anyone who makes a conscious effort to eat better and move more on a daily basis is making a big step in the right direction. Too many people today are just eating what is most convenient for them, and have no thought about supplying their body with the necessary nutrients to function.

The best advice I can give someone is to start looking at the ingredients of foods or to just eat natural foods! So many people that go on diets buy all these foods with big, colorful labels that exclaim the food is LOW FAT!, LOW SUGAR!, or LOW CHOLESTEROL!. Most people don't even realize that the smaller font on the side of the package has ingredients chock-full of genetically modified corn and soy based products, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives that they aren't even able to pronounce correctly. I realize that in today's world it is nearly impossible to completely avoid these products while being a normal, sane person.  Personally, I tend to try to aim at a 90%-10% approach. This means that 90% of the time I eat as optimally as possible, and the other 10% of the time I am able to allow myself to indulge in the little sweets I see that look too interesting to pass up. I don't like to be that one guy that brings the Tupperware containers out of his bag when the rest of the group goes to eat pizza. I prefer to do all that weird kind of eating at home. One rule of thumb I have is that I never keep any sweets or breads at home. I am aware that once I start eating something sweet I will continue until the entire box is gone, so I prefer to not have any temptation!

When I go to the grocery store, I buy the majority of my food from the meat and vegetable sections. I try eating a higher quality and lower quantity of meat. I always will prefer to eat smaller portions of grass-fed beef opposed to large amounts of grain-fed meat. This same concept applies to the eggs and butter I eat. Real pastured eggs are always a better choice than the normal supermarket eggs. The eggs from chickens who are allowed to roam around and eat bugs and worms (as they were meant to) have higher levels of vitamins and omega 3s. 

Except in this case, my homie Nick Kingo and I destroyed Korea BBQ in Seoul, Korea



I do occasionally pick up fruit, but I try to keep it limited. Asia has a lot of interesting tropical fruits that many people don't get a chance to try in the United States, so it is imperative I eat those fruits every now and then. Due to all the pesticides being used, buying organic when possible is your best bet.

For the most part, I tend avoid dairy but I sometimes when I get those cravings I make desserts using a full-fat heavy whipping cream (my personal dessert reciepes will be up soon!). I also try to eat food with probiotics, so if I'm not eating kimchi I am buying natural yogurt. If possible, the ideal yogurt to buy would be from grass-fed cows for its omega 6 to 3 ratio. I also keep foods with healthy fats a staple of my diet such as nuts, egg yolks and avocados.

 I try to get all the carbs I need from fruit and vegetables so I don't feel like I need extra carbs from grains or wheat. However, there are times when I do feel sluggish and will have whole, unprocessed complex carbs like rolled oats, black rice, or sweet potatoes. I would advise to stay clear of white rice, white breads, instant oats or other refined carbs that cause higher insulin spikes when eaten.  I also try to avoid gluten when possible, which comes from foods made from wheat, barley, and rye.



Another Korean favorite, spicy dak galbi. NO CARBS HERE!.



For the most part, I don’t stress on calories or count carbs. However, there are times for me when I need to cut weight quickly and shred down for a job. In this case I try to cut out as many carbs as possible from my diet. I avoid fruits, dairy and starchy vegetables for a few days. The reason for this is because carbs are converted to glucose and fructose (sugars) for energy once they are eaten. If they are not used for energy, they are then converted to glycogen and stored in muscle and liver tissue. For every gram of glycogen stored, two grams of water is stored with it. This is definitely seen after a few days in Asia gorging on their delicious pastries and rice bowls. By cutting carbs, your body will be able to use its glycogen stores for energy and your body will be able to drop the stored water with it. It has a diuretic effect on the body. A person is able to store up to 5 grams of glycogen per kilogram. So a man weighing 200 lbs (or about 90 kgs) could store around 450 grams of glycogen, and with that store an additional 900 grams of water. So by quickly depleting your body's additional glycogen stores, the man could drop more than 1300 grams of weight (almost three pounds). This is particularly helpful for people like me who get puffy in their face. I notice a significant difference after a few days with little carbs. Two or three pounds of water can make a big difference when you are bloated and puffy.  Also, your body is unable to burn fat for energy when it has this extra storage of glycogen. In order to burn fat, you must first deplete the body of these additional glycogen stores which can happen within 16- 20 hours of not eating. This is one reason why I practice intermittent fasting alongside of a low carbs diet when I need to drop water weight for a job.

This is basically what I believe to be the best way for me to eat. As long as I am eating natural, unprocessed foods I don’t overstress on the timing or portions of my meals. Overall, I don't categorize myself in any one particular diet. I do think diets such as Atkins and Paleo have some great concepts, though, I don’t agree with all their concepts fully. By taking the first step of eating naturally, you are reducing inflammation and nutrient deficiencies cause by the processed food industry's over use of genetically modified corn and soy products. This step is the most important for your health and well being, but that is a whole other conversation of its own. We can get into all that nitty gritty stuff later.  For now, this is I what I believe is the best way to eat for a healthy lifestyle.

Omega 3 Supplements: What Smells Fishy?





Image from physicianspreference.com



Omega 3 supplements have come to the very top of the list of nutritional supplements to take.  . Its quick rise to fame has sent everyone running to the stores to pick up a bottle for themselves, though; most people don't know much about it besides what it says on the front of the bottle. It may promote heart and brain function, but many people are left with many questions. People may be wondering what the best sourcse of omega 3 are, or how much of it should they be taking.

FIRST THING IS FIRST- UNDERSTANDING WHY

Omega 3 supplements are something of a new supplement craze.  It hasn’t been until recent years that doctors have come out to say that everyone should probably be taking more of them. The reason for this is due to the fact that more and more foods today are being made from products that are higher in omega 6, such as corn and vegetable oils.  Don’t get me wrong, both omega 6 and omega 3 are both essential fatty acids that have equal amounts of health benefits when taken in moderate amounts.  Due to the overconsumption of omega 6, negative side effects have been seen in our bodies such as inflammation. It has been shown that the human body runs most efficiently when it has a balanced omega 6 to 3 ratio. The omega 3s have been proven to reduce the negative effects of omega 6, such an inflammation. Chronic inflammation has been shown to cause practically every modern illness including: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, cancer, psychiatric disorders, and autoimmune diseases.

WHAT ARE OMEGA 3s?

Omega 3s are essential fatty acids.  These fatty acids found in omega 3s include ALA, EPA, and DHA and the fatty acids found in omega 6 are LA and AA.  The omega 3s that are found in foods such as soy come in the short chain fatty acid form of ALA .  Once ALA is consumed, the body converts it into the longer chain forms of either DHA or EPA.  Unfortunately, this process is not very efficient and it is said that your body is only able to convert 5% to EPA and less than 1% to DHA.  The DHA and EPA are the forms we are most interested in.  EPA is has been shown to have a beneficial effect on your cardiovascular function and DHA is beneficial in brain and nerve function and development. .When we get omega 3s from animal sources like fish, they have already taken the ALA from the algae and converted it into DHA and EPA. This means the omega 3s we get from animals can used much more efficiently by our bodies. These supplemental animal sources of omega 3 include fish oil, cod liver oil, and krill oil. Some good dietary sources are from fish such as: salmon, mackerel, and tuna, as well as from grass-fed animal products like meat, milk, butter and eggs.

BEING BULLETPROOF

Image from healthylivinghowto.com

One diet that comes to mind my when it comes to omega 3 is the diet of the Bulletproof Exec, Dave Asprey.   Dave heavily emphasizes eating foods that have good omega 6 to 3 ratios and anti-inflammatory.  He is notorious for producing a fatty coffee that he has named the Bulletproof Coffee that includes grass fed butter and MCT or coconut oil.   Mr. Asprey definitely has some interesting ideas that have made a lot of buzz recently, and  I would recommend looking over his website or listening to his podcasts.   I first heard of Dave from the podcast called London Real. That particular podcast can be viewed HERE.

LOOKING TO BUY



So which one is it:  Krill, cod liver , or the fish oil?   The cod liver oil stands out for the fact is has a high amount of vitamin D.  Vitamin D is probably the most important vitamin people aren’t getting enough of.   On the negative side, cod liver oil has also been shown to have a higher amount of contaminants and PCB (polycholorinated biphenylss) compared to fish and krill oil. However, a few fish oil companies were sued a while back due to also having  high amounts of PCBs in their products.  Studies have linked PCB to be a cause of cancer. One of the facts that stand out about krill oils is that the omega 3s are in the form of phospholipids, which are easier for the body to absorb.  Krill also has antioxidants and choline, an essential b vitamin.



Image from http://infographiclist.com





 Personally, what I would recommend doing is asking your doctor for a pharmaceutical grade fish oil. These fish oils come from trusted sources and have minimal contaminants and PCBs.  One guy I also trust and listen to, Ben Greenfield, recommends a fish oil from the company Super Essentials. It is usually recommended taking between 1-3 grams of omega 3 fatty acid daily. I, personally, don't feel like I have to take as much on days where I am eating foods that have a good omega 6 to 3 ratio.  On the on hand, I do take a bit more if I eat things like corn, soybeans, or foods that are cooked in vegetable oils.  The main take away I want to make clear is that the only reason we have to take extra omega 3s is because we are consuming higher amounts of omega 6 in our diets. If you are someone who stays clear of vegetable oils, and processed foods then you probably don't need to take as much omega 3s then someone who is constantly eating out of bags and boxes.  The main goal here is to have balanced levels between the two omega fatty acids so the body doesn't have inflammation and can run more efficiently.

Omega 3s are really something that can improve your overall health and everyone should be taking.  If I would to be able to only choose one supplement, I would choose omega 3 hands down.  I hope this article has helped everyone have a better understanding of what omega 3s are and why we need more of them. Feel free to leave any questions or comments.

Cold Thermogenics: Freezing Yours Balls OFF! (not literally)



A friend of mine recommended a book to me a while back that really made a good impact on me.   Many topics I will mention here on my blog have reached me due to this friend of mine and the knowledge has shared with me.  He also writes a blog, and is a much more satirical, witty writer than I. Check out his blog here. 

image from: thetrendguys.com

The name of this particular book he recommended is called “The Flinch” written by Julien Smith (it can be downloaded for free as an ebook if you want to check it out). The concept of this book is that of a topic I mentioned in my first post about striving to put yourself in uncomfortable situations on a daily basis. In this book he discusses different exercises to try on a daily basis. One that stood out to me (and that everyone can try) is the cold shower exercise. I have always been any advocate of hot showers my entire life and would refuse anything different. This concept resonated with me and got me to thinking. Was this really necessary to take a cold shower?? Why did something so simple take so much thinking about before I could even try it? The whole point of this exercise to do like Nike says: “Just Do It!”.

As hesitant as I was, I finally mustered up the courage to just try it. No one has ever died from a cold shower… I think. The thing that this practice taught me is that the hardest part of so many things in life is just going for it and jumping right in head first. I learned that with time many things that are uncomfortable at first become much easier to stand.

I ended up doing some research on cold showers and found it also had some amazing health benefits along with the psychological aspect of the practice. These things include:l 

•  Enhance immunity against infections and cancer
• Give your glands (thyroid, adrenals, ovaries/testes) a boost, improving hormonal activity  Jump-start your mood and motivation
• Crank up your metabolism to fight type 2 diabetes, obesity, gout, rheumatic diseases, depression, and more
• Normalize your blood pressure
• Decrease chronic pain

• Train and improve your blood circulation
• Detoxify your body
• Fight fatigue
• Strengthen exhausted, irritable nerves
• Rejuvenate, heal, and tone the skin
• Deepen your breathing
• Help with insomnia
•  Improve kidney function
• Reduce swelling and edema
• Improve lymphatic circulation, thereby increasing immune function
• Reduce stress by regulating your autonomic nervous system
• Regulate temperature, fighting chronically cold hands and cold feet and excessive sweating
• Keep your hair healthy
• Improve hemorrhoids and varicose veins

  

  image from:therunningbug.co.uk

• Reduce aches and pains 

information from: http://www.cold-showers.com/

One of the best reasons I found for a taking showers was not included here. The reason is called brown fat adipose tissue. This tissue is normally found in infants or animals that hiberbate. The function of this tissue is to degerate body heat. This brown tissue burns calories from fat cells to keep the body warm. Unfortunately, as people grow older they loose most of this brown fat. It has been shown people have regenerate this brown fat, however, by increasing their exposure to cold. You can read more about this great way to loose fat while doing nothing HERE!

What I believe the best way to go about these shower are by going from water as hot as you can stand it to turning the water to as cold as the shower can get. This helps increase your body’s blood circulation and lymphatic function by stimulating vasodilation (from the hot water) and vasoconstriction (from the cold water). This acts like a pump for your lymphatic system, which is responsible for removing your bodies toxins from the blood stream.  I do this after every workout I do to get more blood flow to my muscles to recover faster. I have been doing this at least once every day for about two months now, and I feel great after every shower. Do some research on your own and give it a try if it interests you!

Intermittent Fasting: Just a Fancy Term for Starving Yourself?

All my life I have been health conscious. When I was five years old I was devouring bowls of spinach, encouraged by my mom telling me it would make me strong like Popeye.  I used to run around telling people I was going to be in the Olympics when I grew up. That didn’t quite pan out for me, but the intentions were there. As I grew older I would have push up competitions with my other two brothers and my father, determined to win. And I always did. High school came and I enrolled in weight training courses as much as I was allowed. I kept up with health and nutrition articles from sources like Men’s Health and Details magazine. These days I have been opened up to a variety of other resources from people who are up to date in the latest studies in health and fitness.  I will continue to share more of these sources as they become relevant in my future posts

For right now, I want to share I dieting approach that was brought to my attention a few months ago. Upon discovering this I have been fascinated with the idea and have been practicing it on a daily basis since then. The name of the game is Intermittient Fasting and the team is lead by a captain by the name of Martin Berkhan. I will try to keep this post basic and simple but for anyone who reads this and has any interest in learning more, I urge you to check out his website at www.leangains.com. Another big guy on this topic is Dr. John Berardi at www.precisionnutrition.com. He has a FREE ebook you can download on intermittent fasting that tells more about it and his personal experiences with it. This book is extremely insightful for anyone who is going to attempt this approach and only takes an hour or two to read cover to cover. This diet has become extremely popular in the past year or two, especially among bodybuilders and celebrities. Even Hugh Jackman used it for his Wolverine role! http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/hugh-jackman-reveals-takes-lot-chicken-become-wolverine-223632622.html .

Basically, the concept of this diet in to go for periods of fasting (only consuming non calories liquids i.e. coffee, tea, water, diet soda) followed by shorter periods of eating.  Most of you are sitting back in your chairs thinking to yourself “of course you will lose weight, you’re starving yourself!”. Keep reading..

People have fasted for thousands of years. Some people do this intentionally for religious reasons, and some unintentionally at times when they are unable find food. Everyone naturally fasts while they sleep. If you eat dinner at 7 pm and then wake up and eat breakfast at 8, you fasted for 13 hours without even thinking of it. Your body needs this break from digesting foods for a variety of reason. Your body cleanses itself from the toxins and pollutants consumed though the environment and processed foods. It allows your body to balance out your hormone levels, lowers blood lipid levels (cholesterol), and lower your blood glucose levels.

All these things are extremely important for anyone looking to lose weight. Lowering your blood glucose a key factor, because it then increases you insulin sensitivity. And when losing weight, insulin will be your best friend. In short, insulin is a protein that is secreted by your pancreas in response to glycogen (from carbohydrates and sugars). The insulin removes the glycogen from your blood and stores them in the glycogen stores in your muscles and liver. Your body uses the glycogen in these stores for energy for your organs and muscle movements. These stores are limited though, and if you over consume glycogen your body will then use fat cells for storage. Once your glycogen stores get too depleted your body has to move to other sources of energy and oxidized fat to use. Since your brain can’t run on these fatty acids your liver produces ketones for it to use, and your body is now in a state of Ketosis( I will fully cover the ketogenic diet and ketosis very soon in another posts).

After a few weeks of fasting

Personally, I have really enjoyed this diet. I have never had much of an appetite in the mornings anyhow, and ate just because I heard that it will “jumpstart” your metabolism (bullshit). After eating breakfast I would feel hungry only an hour or two afterwards. This is common for many people and the reason for this is thought to be due to ghrelin stimulation (an amino acid that stimulates hunger, and is found in the tissues of organs such as the stomach and intestines). I have found that if I skip breakfast I don’t get hungry until much later in the day. The normal routine for intermittent fasting (IF) is the 16:8 approach (16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of feeding) though many people also do 20:4 as well as 24 and 36 hour fasts once or twice a week. Personally have done each type of fasting and found that a daily 16:8 approach works well for me. Most days I don’t even realize and I go to the 20:4 approach without even thinking about it. I have done up to a 48 hour fast which I wouldn’t recommend doing too often.  However, it is extremely liberating doing these longer fasts as you get a much better knowledge of how your body works and what REAL hunger feels like compared to psychological hunger. I have definitely seen changes in my body over the past few months that I haven’t seen from my approach prior that consisted of doing lots of cardio and eating many small meals including complex carbs. The thing about this approach is that even if you consume the same amount of calories you normally would each day, there are still health benefits from the period without food where your body can remove the toxins that cause inflammation in your body and increases insulin sensitivity so when you do ingest carbs they are used as energy and not stored as fat. I’ll tell you what, I have never been able to see veins in my abs, and now that I can I ain’t goin’ back!



Before IF when I was doing a lot of cardio and eating 6 times a day



LETS GET THIS SHIT STARTED

It's been three years of traveling. City to city, country to country. Usually for periods of three months. Sometimes more, Sometimes less. Before then I was just another southern boy in Kennesaw, Georgia looking for a chance to get away, start over, try something new, and grow. I used the opportunity that presented itself… my genetics. I fell into the world of modeling. It was a ticket to ride, and ride I did. Miami, New York, Los Angeles. All good, fun times but I wanted more. I decided to follow the path of a few models I had come across who travel to Asia for a few months at a time. To me it seemed like a crazy adventure. And that it has been.

I have always been a firm believer that to grow as a person, you must put yourself in as many uncomfortable situations as necessary. Making an effort of being around people who you normally wouldn't befriend if you were back home in your comfort zone with your friends and family you have known all of your life. Opening your mind up and taking everything you can learn from them. Their likes/dislikes. Their thoughts and opinions. There ways of doing certain things. Just watch, learn, and take everything in.

I have tried my best each day to do that. I thought I had been doing a good job of it until a recent roommate of mine made more of an impact on me than anyone else has in quite some time. I realized I wasn't making the most of my time traveling to these places that most people will never get a chance or opportunity to visit. I travel to each city for a period of three months. Three months isn't anything like a week long vacation where you sit poolside at your fancy hotel or visit a museum here and there. Three months is enough time to where you can fully immerse yourself in the foreign culture you never could have imagined experiencing.

This blog is to hold me accountable. Accountable to really make the most of the valuable time I have here. I realize the amount of time I have to travel is limited. From here on, I am going to experience each city to the fullest. Go to see for myself the best things the city has to offer. Eat the best food. Learn the history and culture as much as possible. Alongside to that, I am going to keep an account of personal endeavors I am into to better myself. These things include (but are not limited to) fitness & nutrition (which I have been obsessing over lately. More on that later.), learning new languages and daily routines I do to better myself. Also, I know many people may be interested about the modeling aspect of my life, so I will also share my experiences with the fashion industry from my perspective. I will share what it’s like working with modeling agencies, going to castings, working at photo shoots and fashion shows, and also the things most people don't see like the model apartments, night life and things of that nature.

In a few days I travel to Hong Kong. This is where it will start. Lets begin.