Pat's Health Fix

The Slow Carb Diet – Week 2

Last week, I wrote a post explaining my new experiment with Tim Ferriss’ Slow Carb Diet from his new book The 4 Hour Body.  You can read my post about it here.

This week, I am feeling incredible! I cannot believe how fast one week of great eating has improved my energy level, rid my body of “bloaty-ness” (yes that’s a technical term), and generally improved my mood.

After just one week, I have already noticed a 3 pound weight drop.  Granted, I know that most of this is due to less water retention from the lower carb intake, but already seeing results like this easily puts a smile on my face and motivates me to “bring it” this week again.

Slow Carb Diet

It’s true what they say — maintenance is definitely the hardest part!  Three years ago, when I was in the midst of my body re-design journey, it was fairly easy for me to make the right choices.  Choosing lean protein over greasy burgers, fresh veggies instead of fries, and water rather than beer seemed like a breeze.

Looking back now, I realize that the ease in making the right decisions came from my commitment to my mission.  I was willing to change my behavior to reach my goals because I was so strongly connected to succeeding.

Stop Worrying About Failure

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

–Michael Jordan

I absolutely love this quote by Michael Jordan, it’s easily one of my favorite quotes and I’m not even much of a basketball fan.  The reason that I relate to it so deeply is that I see the parallels in every aspect of life.

What’s Really in a Chicken Nugget?

I read a great article about the real ingredients of a ‘chicken’ nugget the other day on www.formerfatguy.com.  It’s amazing how many of these foods we consistently eat even though the ingredients list contains about 20 chemicals that most people can’t even pronounce!  Check out what’s really in a chicken nugget according to the article [full link can be found below]:

What’s Really in a Chicken Nugget?

McDonalds chicken nuggets are a favorite with children in many families. Parents buy the ‘chicken nuggets’ believing they are indeed made from just chicken. McDonalds even provides flyers titled “A Full Serving of Nutrition Facts: Choose the Best Meal for You.” However as you can see from the ingredient list below, there is a lot more than just chicken.

Nutrition Label Tricks

Recently I was reading fitday.com (a fantastic resource for learning about nutrition), and stumbled upon an article for decoding some of the tricks used by markers on food packages.

Here’s a great quote from the article that sums up their message:

“The best advice is to read labels carefully.  Do not assume products that state “made with whole grain,” “wheat” or “unbleached wheat flour” are whole grain.  Look for 100% whole grain on the package or whole wheat flour listed as the first ingredient.  If there are two grain ingredients and only the second ingredient listed is whole grain, the product can contain as little as 1% or as much as 49% whole grain.  Many products have a mix of grains; however, “multigrain” does not necessarily mean all the grains are whole grains.  For example, “multigrain” bread could contain 70% refined flour and only 30% whole grains.”