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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.
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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!
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Healthy Eating at Subway
Going out for lunch during the work day usually means eating fast food and grabbing something quick and easy to munch on but eating out is always tough if you want to eat something healthy. You can definitely get a fully prepared meal for under $5 at fast food places but buying just basic veggies at the grocery store could cost you well above that $5 so how do you eat healthy when having fast food?
This week, I’ll discuss how to eat healthy at various fast food chains that are around the country.
Today, the healthy eating topic covers eating at Subway. Subway has a halo of healthy eating because you see the fresh veggies being loaded onto your desired menu item but did you know that 6″ sub that was originally under 500 calories is now over 800 simply by the amount of dressing you have put on it! So what can you do?
Some quick and easy Subway options include the 6″ veggie sub because it is only loaded with veggies and bread and if you want to keep it under 500 calories just eliminate the cheese and add a little oil and vinegar and you have a quick and healthy meal. If you must eat meat, another option is the sweet onion chicken teriyaki because the chicken is covered in a fat-free sauce plus with some veggies and no cheese, you can have a meal under 500 calories.
Of course, the healthiest way to eat at Subway is by looking at the nutrition table that is posted right on the glass where you are about to pick veggies from. This should help minimize any chances of ruining a healthy eating pattern. Always look to see the amount of carbs, fat, and proteins meets what you want. If you must add a sauce, always go with oil and vinegar as that will not add too many calories. Watch out for the meal because chips and a soda can significantly up the calories of your meal not to mention you are taking in a bunch of processed ingredients that your body probably doesn’t need.
Eat healthily, stay well!
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Stress Release via Yoga
One activity that I highly recommend everyone try is Yoga. You don’t have to be limber or flexible at all to start nor do you need a yoga mat and yoga pants to get to a class. Why do I recommend yoga? The benefits are immense but most importantly it helps you gain self-awareness about your body.
If you already exercise, then yoga may still be for you as it is a great way to stretch after an intense workout. If you don’t already workout and want to start getting in shape but are intimidated by weights or going to a gym, a yoga studio might be just perfect for you. Most yoga classes at my local yoga studios only have 7 or 8 people at all levels (novice to expert). First time visitors are usually provided a yoga mat too, just remember to wear comfortable clothing that allows you to move around otherwise the benefits will be hard to come by if you can don’t the poses. Also, you’ll hear a lot of Sanskrit names for yoga poses but don’t let that bother you because a good yoga instructor will also tell you the English name for the pose. I definitely recommend starting yoga at a studio or gym before trying it on your own at home via an app or DVD because you want to make sure you are learning the movements and positions correctly but of course this depends on your budget and schedule.
What benefits should you expect with continued practice of yoga? Flexibility and posture will be two huge improvements especially for those of us with computer based desk jobs where we are constantly hunched over. Remember good posture affects every system in your body from muscular to digestive to circulatory. Why? If everything is aligned well and functioning like it should, then your body can actively fight diseases strongly. If you tend to stress a lot, cortisol often increases in your body resulting in weight gain so incorporating yoga will also allow you to relax and thereby reduce the effects of cortisol and help you possibly with weight loss. To gain muscle strength, you might want to try yoga because the poses require you to hold them for a time while being slow and controlled. An example, Madonna is a devout yogi and the results speak for themselves when you see her toned and muscular frame. Finally, if you consistently practice yoga, you will be able to sleep better as you releasing stress and tension.
No matter if you have back pains or joint problems, yoga can be adapted to you so that you can reap many of the aforementioned benefits!
do you need yoga mats to do yoga?
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Crossfit—What is it?
One of the most trending activities today to stay active is Crossfit. What is it? Simply put, it is way to exercise that allow you to move various types of weight at high intensity that are functional movements. In other words, let’s say you have to sit on a chair or your toilet, what are you doing? You are going to squat to sit—that’s a functional movement! Some movement that you do or need daily perhaps.
Let’s go back to what we were talking about earlier this week, how going into a gym can be intimidating. I’m not going to lie but going into a CrossFit gym is the same except the community embraces you. Likely when you work out at gym, you don’t know many people’s names but here you’ll form bonds and friendships as you train. Yes, CrossFit is expensive but imagine signing up for personal training and then kind of checking in monthly to determine your progress versus going to a CrossFit gym where classes typically are no more than 10 people and coaches are looking your form and technique while you train. Of course, this too depends on the gym you choose and the level of trainer that you get because not every gym has skilled trainers to help you, so do some research before signing up.
Other benefits of CrossFit include that if you don’t know how to do something a coach there will help you learn that movement and will guide you with what weight you should be doing so that you can avoid injury. The beauty of CrossFit is that everything can be scaled based on your ability and if you have injuries so make sure you mention anything that might hinder proper form and technique because you’re working out to get stronger not hurt!
Venture into a CrossFit gym, if you would like to get form and technique help and like to make friends while you work out as both will help you get results versus trying to go at it alone!
CrossFit class!
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Gym Life
So you’ve decided you want to get into better shape and you signed up to go to your local gym but once there, you just don’t know where to get started. You’ll have trainers coming to you to try to sell a package to sign up or perhaps you signed up for a class at the gym but neither makes you comfortable because either the trainer isn’t fit enough to inspire you or doesn’t know what you specifically need or perhaps the class you signed up for only has super fit people in there and you don’t want to stand out. So what should you do?
First, let go off all those negative thoughts. If you decided to exercise and get healthy, let that be the thought that drives you. Your trainer will usually give you a stock program from a template to get started so start with that and see how you like it but eventually find a trainer that customizes to your needs. You don’t want to pay a trainer for tips and exercise demos that you can watch on Youtube and get a beginner’s program from the Internet so definitely assess how long you want the trainer’s help before moving on. As far as classes go, remember you can always try it out and if you don’t like it, move on to another class at the gym. You might be surprised by what you like or don’t like. Just because Yoga may not excite you and Zumba does, doesn’t mean that if you gave Yoga a shot that it wouldn’t result in more flexibility, patience, and serenity for you. All options should be on the table when signing up for a class—of course, we sign up for classes based on schedules but you are more likely to go to one that you enjoy!
Let’s fast forward a little bit. Now that you have figured out what exercises you should be doing and what exercises you are comfortable with perhaps, you need a program that covers all body parts (total body workout) so that you don’t have to go every day. Total body workouts are great because you can work out x3 a week and rest between each day without having to think about which muscle group am I going to work today. An example of a total body workout is below. You can Youtube demos of each movement or ask your trainer if you have one. Remember to rest between each set adequately (90sec or more) and definitely warm up and stretch before you start any exercise program. Your body adapts to weight stresses when it is resting, hence the importance of resting between workouts (for example, workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and resting during the workout (rest 90 sec or more). I prefer dumbbells for weight training as it requires coordination and skill and forces you to go slower. When should you move on to a heavier weight? When doing 15 reps becomes easy. What weight should you start with? Start with a challenging for 8-12 reps but not so challenging that you can injure yourself. Remember, you are trying to get healthier not hurt!
2-3 Sets of 8-15
Dumbbell Bench Press
2-3 Sets of 8-15
Single Arm Dumbbell Row
2-3 Sets of 8-15
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
2-3 Sets of 8-15
Barbell Military Press
2-3 Sets of 8-15
Dumbbell Pullover
2-3 Sets of 8-15
Barbell Squats
2-3 Sets of 8-15
Hyperextensions
2-3 Sets of 8-15
Medicine Ball Curl-Ups
Have a fun workout and don’t forget to log what you did in a notebook or a note-taking app as this will help you track your progress!
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Your Dog Can Improve Your Health!
We all make resolutions on New Year’s Day and somehow most of those resolutions only last one month or fail by the third month. Many of us make a resolutions to stay fit or exercise more during the year but often we don’t know where to start so we go to the gym and run on a treadmill and hope the weight comes off. As we know now, there is more to it. You have to stay active and eat right as without both success is limited or slower.
You might be surprised but even your daily activity of walking with your dog can yield some important benefits. Most of us take our dog out for walk for them to either go potty outside or release some energy but did you know some of the same benefits that the dog is getting, you are too. What are they?
By walking outside daily, did you know you are reducing your risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and even diabetes? How? By walking with your dog, you both are burning of excess calories so that will help with you maintaining or losing weight depending on how often and how long you walk. Also, as you age, you want your joints to keep moving and not be stiff, so daily walking with your dog, can help you both with mobility. Finally, if you both are walking together, you both are helping your digestion (no matter when you ate) and that always can lead to good health benefits for both of you.
Let’s not forget the most important reason to walk with you dog—you are the center of his world so what better way to spend time with him? As mentioned yesterday, your body releases endorphins when you exercise and by exercising you are contributing to your personal and emotional health in a positive way as well as spending quality time with your dog and thus, helping his health.
Your New Year’s resolution doesn’t have to fail in just one month because just a simple 20 mins or 30 mins walk is enough to improve your health!
Chilling before his walk!
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Exercise—the key to staying healthy!
This week, I’ll be talking about various exercise options and give you some easy workouts that you can try even when short on time.
All the supplements and healthy products mentioned thus far are just one of the ways to improve your health. Another key area to include is exercise. Those that exercise tend to be happier as exercise results in endorphin release in your body. Endorphins are chemicals that your body releases that help you stay positive. This endorphin release can help you accomplish more throughout your day.
If you are not a fan of going to the gym, no worries! There are tons of work out options for you without leaving your house. The workout below is just one example.
Short on time, try this workout (no equipment needed):
6 Rounds:
10 Push-ups
10 Squats
10 Sit-ups(Do 10 push-ups, 10 squats, 10 sit-ups that equals one round and repeat until all 6 rounds are complete)
Don’t discount a workout that is only bodyweight specific as bodyweight movements can help you become more self-aware of yourself and when critical situations arise, most likely you will only have yourself as a tool versus a barbell.
Give the workout a shot and start being the best you can!
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Breaking: Sunday special
Many of us have been affected by cancer in some way or another… Either we know someone who has had it or individually we have had it ourselves. Clearly cancer doesn’t discriminate. I lost my friend Kelly to breast cancer last year. She was full of life and positivity and a huge animal lover. I miss her every day but since I can’t see her now, I can help by donating towards finding a way to beat cancer and therefore, helping others struggling with the disease from post diagnosis through fitness via barbells for boobs.
Do check out the link below and donate if you can!
https://www.barbellsforboobs.org/fundraisers/amitsinha
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Cooking at home on Keto
Let’s face it, when we get home after a long day’s work, you want to eat something quickly and still maintain your keto diet. What can you make that tastes good and is fast? Here’s a quick recipe for a meal and dessert:
Chicken bunless burger
Instead of using burger buns, sandwich your onions, cheese, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce in between your two chicken patties (that you have grilled). Season with your favorite seasonings that are low carb. Use low carb ketchup to top. Enjoy the bunless burger.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Cups
Melt coconut butter and peanut butter, add in some cacao powder and mix. Take this mix and add to a muffin pan that is lined with muffin liners. Freeze it and once firm, it is ready to enjoy.
Such simple recipes can help you stay on track for three reasons: 1) you made it so you know what ingredients you used and 2) easy recipes mean easy clean up so you will likely make it and 3) both recipes satisfy the desire to eat a burger and have a dessert.
Simple keto recipes can be found via Google searches. Staying keto doesn’t have to be hard, you just have to focus and be prepared to continue with it when life stresses you unexpectedly.
keto cacao powder satisfies your sweets craving!
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Eating on Keto-tough or easy?
If you have committed to following the keto diet, then the one thing you must be watching is how you eat. Going low-carb maybe trendy but it really is difficult to follow especially when you are busy with work or family life or social life so what can you do?
One of the first things that I did when I started the keto diet was to seek out meal delivery options that were available. I didn’t want a Blue Apron style meal kit where I had to follow a recipe and make it but rather one where I could just heat it up and eat. I was hoping those existed. A simple Google search later and I found two. My favorite one is Keto Fridge (https://www.ketofridge.com/) as their choices are amazing and the fat content is super high. They have even high fat pizza, raspberry scones, and everything bagels. I especially liked them when I first started the keto diet because it is so hard to give up foods that you like and this made it easier to transition to the lower carb, high fat items. I still continue to use them but as I went from 80g carbs to 30-40g carbs, I can only eat one of their products a day to meet my low carb numbers. I guess, I could eat two too but I chose to eat one so that I could have some healthy snacks like cheese slices, cheese chips, or cucumbers. The other company that I found that I like is Ketoned Bodies (https://ketonedbodies.com/). The nice thing about their menu items is that I am able to eat two a day without going over in my carbs amount. They tend to have lower fats and lower carbs in their meals compared to Keto Fridge but that’s ok because it gives me more options to find keto worthy snacks.
Snack options are plenty on the keto diet so don’t let that fool you. If you go Thrive Market (see earlier post), you will be able to search by keto products. My favorite are Asiago Cheese Crisps (https://thrivemarket.com/p/cello-whisps-asiago-pepper-jack-cheese-crisps) as 23 crisps only have 1g carb and 11g fat! Also, of course you can enjoy cheeses, bacon, and avocado for snacks too but I don’t really snack that much during the day due to the previous meals that I’m eating. I also take a chicken bone broth collagen protein shake with peanut butter in the morning followed by a bulletproof coffee and am pretty full until lunch time so this plan works for me well. The challenge however is what to do when you have to eat out?
Eating out shouldn’t have to be burdensome. My favorite cuisines include Mexican and Thai food so what can I eat while I’m on keto at both of these places? For Mexican food, you definitely want to avoid the chips and salsa no matter how tempting it is (and no matter how much I love them) and load up on fajitas minus the tortillas or have a taco salad without the rice and beans or even have ceviche. You can also load up on lettuce wrapped tacos or guacamole and cheese so the options are plenty. For Thai food, you can have coconut curries (no rice) and basil chicken stir fries but avoid the pad thai and pad see ew as noodles can throw you off your low carb diet. If you are still unsure about what to eat when out, you could always eat something at home and then head out (ensuring you save money and don’t break the diet) but while there socialize and enjoy some light keto appetizers for the meal.
What about what should I eat at home while on the keto diet, especially if I can’t afford the meal kits or I like to cook? Tomorrow, I’ll lay out some simple keto recipes to make at home.
pizza, ok to eat out or not?
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Is there more than one type of Keto diet?
So you survived your first two weeks of keto and either you love it or find it too restricting in terms of how to eat so what do you do next?
If you’ve been reading this week, thus far, I’ve talked about the keto diet as it is commonly seen in social media but if you work out, did you know you have other options? Targeted keto diet allows you to have a little more carbs around your workout while the cyclical keto diet allow you to have a cheat day, so to speak, where you can load up on carbs on that one day while the high protein keto diet is basically upping your protein amounts so if you were eating at 70% fat, 25% protein, 5% carbs then you would now eat 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs. All these are great options depending on your lifestyle and activity level. Healthy options for eating carbs including sweet potatoes, white rice, raisins, blueberries, lentils, etc.
What you are reading and seeing on the Internet is usually based on the standard keto diet but these options allow you to indulge just ever so slightly when needed. It is always recommended to start the standard keto diet and maintain that for at least two months so that your body is fully adapted to ketosis before transitioning to one of the other keto diets.
I find the most benefit for me is achieved through the cyclical keto diet as that allows me to celebrate occasions with family and friends when out and then still revert back to ketosis the next day which is important because remember you don’t want to overindulge and then all your hard work goes down the drain. How you choose which diet is for you basically comes down to what are you trying to achieve and do you have the mental focus to achieve it?
Tomorrow, I’ll talk about what to eat on the keto diet if you are busy or have to eat out for work or social events.
Which option of keto is best for me?
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