-
AI 101: AI Explained
Do you struggle with AI? Have parents, friends, and others who struggle with terminology and understanding what AI is good for?
The guide defines basics terms that are often mentioned in numerous online videos and definitely can be confusing to a new user.
Check out my guide, free to use, no data collected.
-
Which supplement should I take? #Supplement Explorer
Are you always on your phone looking at which supplements you should take? Do you look at reviews? How do you decide what to buy?
As someone who has been in the nutraceutical industry for over 10 years, I’ve worked with many suppliers and companies to understand why an ingredient is chosen, what research is behind it, and how to sell it to a consumer, so if you are looking for some answers to questions you may have, drop a comment, or even better check out the Supplement Explorer on the site. It is free to use, 3 questions, and a simple output. No info is stored.I made the Supplement Explorer purely for my use and then thought, well, if it is useful for me, maybe it is useful for others. The tool is not affiliated with any company or brand, but was just a way for me to showcase what I find useful. If you use it, do give me feedback as to what you’d like to see it on too.
Stay well and remember, before taking any supplements, check with your doctor if it is a good fit for you or not!
-
Got too much sugar in your diet?
When someone first starts exercising or looking to improve their health, the first things most people find out via Google is that you need to do some sort of smart dieting which includes cutting out processed foods, limiting salt, and of course cutting out sugar but that’s easier said than done right?
Sugar is in everything that we tend to buy. Can you have your daily coffee without sugar? For some it is hard to do while others can gradually remove it but the success of sugar reduction in your daily diet is totally dependent on what your goal is. From keto to crossfit to bodybuilding to track to yoga, all fitness means that vary in their daily nutrition requirement but all with a commonality—best results are achieved with a healthy diet.
There are plenty of great documentaries on sugar on Netflix so I encourage you to check them out and figure out if what they are saying makes sense for you and your lifestyle but if you are trying to limit sugar, there are options to help you do that. I’m sure you have heard of an insulin spike or sugar rush after consuming sugar so going cold turkey for many will be tough. If you have a sugar craving (perhaps that mid-afternoon slump), try grabbing a piece of 80% or more dark chocolate as not only are you getting to eat chocolate but it is bitter enough that you won’t indulge in the whole bar. You could also grab some nuts like almonds or guacamole as both are fats that will keep you full longer and you’ll reap the many nutritional benefits of them too. Other options include eating more veggies throughout the day so you’ll stay full longer or turn to berries as they have natural sugars that will quench your sugar craving.
If you want to reduce chances of weight gain, lower testosterone, fatigue, mood swings, and headaches, you’ll want to consider eating healthier and exercising with tackling sugar intake being just one of the many ways to lead your best life yet!
-
Tips to cut back on sodium
The modern food diet is comprised of a lot of sodium/salt and too much of a good thing is bad usually—think higher blood pressure. Iodized salt was introduced so that we didn’t suffer from goiter but eventually sodium found its way into much of what we eat from fast food to packaged products to even restaurant food so what can you do about it?
A quick and easy way to knock off some salt is to replace salt with herbs, spices, and zests. Would this work? Let’s look at your choices as I’m sure one of these you will find favor with. Garlic is a staple in most kitchens for cooking but did you know that it has some incredible nutrients too like manganese, vitamin B6, and vitamin C plus the flavor profile should help mask the need for so much salt. Another option to try is to try lemon juice as not only does it too impart flavor but is composed of nutrients like vitamin C, folate, and potassium. Cumin is another option as it imparts a smoky flavor while giving you nutrients like iron, calcium, and fiber. Finally, if you like spicy foods and need that kick in your food, try cayenne pepper as it too has nutrients like calcium, iron, and magnesium.
Most of everything that I have mentioned is likely something you already have in the kitchen so reducing salt should not be too difficult and when eating out ask for a substitution or increase of those ingredients and a reduction in salt as many restaurants will make the accommodation.
-
Does diversity at the manufacturer affect your purchase decision?
Recently, I was at an event where we were discussing what influence a person’s workplace has on their purchase decision and I really had to think long and hard about that. Why?
When I buy a product or supplement be it at Whole Foods or Amazon or GNC, I’m looking first at 1) do they carry the product that I want 2) what’s the price and 3) is the product from a reputable company that I trust. I don’t ever think about who works there and what input they have had in terms of getting that product to the store. Should I be thinking about that?
For majority of supplement, health, and fitness consumers what is important to them is that they are living a healthy, quality life via whatever means they have chosen. Yes, it is important if the company is giving back to the community or if buying one bottle of a product results in donation of a portion of the sale to a charity or some other charitable cause is supported but for the most part that is not the driver of the purchase. If someone is interested in knowing more about a product and all that it stands for, then perhaps they open their iPhone and decided to learn more about it but that likely isn’t happening at the time of purchase so back to the question, is it important who makes the product at the company?
I definitely think it is important to know who makes the product, in terms of knowing it is a reputable company with safety and legality in mind but I don’t think most consumers are looking for the story initially when looking at taking a supplement; the story for the consumer is always going to be what can it do for me and how can it help me attain what I seek?
-
Tips for when you buy a supplement
No matter where you buy your favorite supplement, be it Whole Foods or Amazon or Walmart, one thing we all do is look for something that will help us achieve a certain goal. No matter what that goal maybe whether it is health improvement, energy improvement, beauty improvement, weight improvement, etc., but remember that supplements by themselves won’t fix the issue without a proper diet and exercise routine too.
Some other tips that I like are and use myself based on what I do, eat, read, etc. are:
1) Supplements are exactly that, supplements! They are to be taken if you have short falls in nutrients due to your diet and lifestyle.
2) Don’t always jump in on the latest fad supplement! There are no shortcuts to the goal you desire while eating bad food and not exercising
3) Examine the claims, does it make sense what the product is saying or is there a catch to it
4) Does limited supply on a label or advertisement mean that you should go rush out and buy it? Probably not because if it is such a good product, why can’t it stick around longer?
5) Legal products are out there so buy it from a trusted retailer and trusted company because if they are good companies with good, safe, legal products there will be tons of info on their website about it or you can reach out to them for more info if needed.
A good guideline that I use is that if I’m about to consume something, I better know as much as I can before I take it because I don’t want to ruin my health in the hopes of making it better!
-
Chicken fried Seitan–what is it?
If you are ever in Austin, definitely go to the restaurant The Beer Plant (http://thebeerplant.com/). The name might lead you to suggest it is a pub with beer and alcohol but don’t let that fool you. It is actually a Vegan restaurant that is a pub where everything is noted with an acronym of gluten free, soy free, nut free, etc.
Walking in, I didn’t know what to expect and what I was going to eat but I’m always wiling to try new foods so gave it a shot. Good thing is that everything was healthy. I started my food adventure with this creamy cashew based sauce mac and cheese and from that moment on I knew that I was going to enjoy the food. The mac and cheese tasted very much like regular mac and cheese so no complaints!
Next up on the menu was something called chicken fried seitan with mashed potatoes and broccoli. I had never heard of seitan so had to look it up. Seitan is basically wheat meat (or wheat protein or wheat gluten) so if you are allergic to gluten you don’t want to eat this. Also, 1 ounce of it has like 21g protein and only 4g carbs and less than 1 g fat! Wow, so it could be keto too! Due to it being a wheat meat, it is a great meat substitute and is showing up more and more frequently in restaurants. You can also find it in the refrigerated section of your favorite health food stores with my guess being that it is probably near Tofurky.
After eating the chicken fried seitan meal, I will say that I was extremely full thanks to all the protein that I ate and definitely didn’t crave any meat while eating it. So trying something new, worked out in my favor!
chicken fried seitan meal w cashew creamy mac and cheese!
-
Don’t miss out!
Lots of great content on the Twitter page. Follow along @iatmnow.
-
Calorie Calculation
There are a lot calorie calculators on Google and various websites like Bodybuilding.com but what do you do if you don’t have that much time to pull up a site while your shopping? Is there a quick way to determine how many calories are in something? Of course!
To start, here’s what you need to know: protein and carbs both have 4 calories per gram and fat has 9 calories per gram. (only two numbers you need to remember)
So, if something has 20g protein, 30g carbs, and 10g fat, you’d be getting:
20 g * 4 = 80 calories from protein
30 g * 4 = 120 calories from carbs
10 g * 9 = 90 calories from fat
for a total of 80 + 120 + 90 = 290 calories from this item!
Note, this is just a quick calculation, it definitely doesn’t take into account your lifestyle, activity level, height, weight, BMR (basal metabolic rate), etc. but it gives you enough info to quickly figure out how many calories you are consuming!
-
Convenience Store shopping
We all go to the grocery store or use online deliveries to purchase food and beverage items but have you ever considered going to a convenience store to buy something that is healthy? There are so many options at gas stations and convenience stores like 7-Eleven that we forget that even healthy options exist there.
A lot of companies use convenience stores to launch a new product or test a new product. They do this for several reasons including costs. Shelf space is expensive in a traditional store and then positioning (whether it is at the line of sight, bottom, or top shelf) too can make a difference. Plus, if it is a new product or new packaging, it’s best to get some point of sale data from a smaller chain of convenience stores than try to figure that out from a larger store. Also, depending on the region you live in you might find more healthier options in the same 7-Eleven than the one 3 blocks away as companies choose locations based on who they want to target.
So how do you know if your favorite product is there? Well, you have to go inside and actually look for it. Most of us go to those convenience stores for a quick stop in and out with whatever we need and we bypass the new items without realizing it. If you have a few mins to spare while there, I highly recommend you look at some other products because you may find a new protein drink, bar, chips, candy, vitamins, and more.
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be limited to just Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Everyone wants a piece of your business so businesses often try to entice you wherever you go, perhaps the convenience store is another option to find the next big thing?
do you shop at convenience stores?
-
Ugly fruits and veggies
Landfills are filling up everyday with food that we are throwing out either due to it expiring or we cooked too much and can’t eat the rest or the portion size is too big or we don’t like eating leftovers but did you know another reason they are filling up is because a lot of ugly fruits and veggies are thrown out.
Ugly fruits and veggies tend to be items that don’t look the same as the regular crop for example a crooked cucumber or a fat banana or too small berries could all classify as ugly but if they just look different does that mean they don’t have their nutrients? Of course not! However, every shopper and retailer knows that having ugly fruit in their aisle would get a pass over and thereby taking up retail space and leading to higher operating costs. Plus, farmers too know that their sales are coming from high quality, good products versus these ugly fruits so where do they end up—the landfill?
Today, with a growing awareness of ugly veggies and fruits and their disposal, there are a few companies out there that are trying to help curb this food waste. Two companies out there, Imperfect Produce (https://www.imperfectproduce.com/) and Hungry Harvest (https://www.hungryharvest.net/) provide customized boxes to you of ugly fruits and veggies and therefore are helping the environment. There is even an iPhone app called goMkt (https://www.gomkt.com/) that will help you track down surplus food and be able to purchase that item—just another way to prevent food waste.
Everyone has a right to eat healthy and nutritious food so why are we discarding perfectly good food that can be consumed but isn’t, just because it is ugly?
Is this an ugly lemon?
-
Online reviews, do they matter?
If you are anything like me, before you buy a new product—supplement, fitness equipment, or even clothes—you tend to look at the reviews for that product—be it on Amazon, Google, or your favorite shopping app/website? Why do we do that and what does the review actually tell us?
I look at reviews mostly to determine if the shipping takes time or does it deliver fast, as well as to see if something fits true to size. Other reasons that I might look at the review is to see the quality of the items and how long will it hold up or maybe I’m looking at it to see the pics of how it arrives or how someone else views it since it isn’t what the seller wants you to see. So are there reasons you shouldn’t use a review?
I wouldn’t use a review to determine if a supplement or food item will work for yourself individually because everyone’s body chemistry is different as what works for one person may not work for the other. Same with fits true to size—unless, you know that brand from previous purchases, you should know that sizing varies and can vary within the same brand too. Another reason not to use the review is if the review states “in exchange for this review, I received a free product” as this leads me to skeptically view the recommended product.
Finally, reviews are exactly that—a recommendation or not for an item at certain point in time. Sometimes products improve and other times, they get worse so check back often on a product of interest. Manufacturers often find ways to make their products more appealing as time goes on so though you may not like the taste of something when it was launched, there could be formulation improvements 6 months later. Furthermore, reviews often boost (or negate) the rating of the product as more people do them so if you like a product don’t be deterred from purchasing it.
Remember, a review is a person’s opinion (positive or negative bias could be present) and no guarantee that the product is not right for you.
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
