Day 19 Update! And, the health benefits of sweet potato!

19 days until the Photo Shoot!

Exercise:
Kettlbell Bootcamp (50 minutes)

Eating
5:30am Zone Bar
8:00am Egg white and vegetable omelet
11:00am Zone Bar
2:00pm Easy Fajitas
6:00pm Easy Fajitas
8:30pm Fresh Squeezed OJ with gelatin and 12 almonds


Drinking
128oz h20
10 oz herbal tea
6oz OJ

If you have been reading my food journal for the last week or so, you can see that I have been on a sweet potato kick! Growing up, I have always loved sweet potatoes, especially when my uncle made his candied yams version which had lots of sugar, butter, and cinnamon! YUMMY! As I've gotten older, sweet potatoes are still one of my favorite side dishes during holiday time, but recently I realized it doesn't have to be Christmas or Thanksgiving for me to enjoy the awesomeness of this tuberous crop. As you noticed, I can eat them, days on end, mashed or oven "fried", and sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. They taste great AND they are good for you! But, don't take my word for it--here are some health benefits of sweet potatoes I found on a combination of trustworthy web sites. LOL

• Sweet potatoes are rich in Vitamin A (betacarotene) and Vitamin C. Both Vitamins A and C are powerful antioxidants that work in the body to remove free radicals, this free radicals are chemicals that damage cells.
• Sweet potatoes are good for stomach ulcers and inflamed conditions of the colon.
• They are beneficial for low blood pressure.
• May be helpful for hemorrhoids because of its high fiber content.
• Sweet potatoes are a good food for people involved in heavy muscular work, since this food is high in vitamins and minerals.
• Sweet potatoes may help prevent cancer in glands and organs with epithelial tissue due to its high Vitamin A content.
• Sweet potato are a good food for diabetics, because it helped stabilize blood sugar levels.
• Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm. Vitamin A : 7,700 I.U. Vitamin B : Thiamine .09 mg.;Riboflavin : .05 mg. Niacin : .6 mg. Vitamin C : 22 mg. Calcium : 30 mg. Iron : .7 mg. Phosphorus : 49 mg. Potassium : 300 mg. Fat : .7 gm. Carbohydrates : 27.9 gm. Protein : 1.8 gm. Calories : 123

Day 25 Update! And...Organic Raw Protein?

25 days until the photo shoot!

Exercise:
Sweatbox (step box) Circuit with Jump Rope Intervals (50 minutes)
Abs and Arms (25 minutes)
Zumba (25 minutes)

Eating:
5:30am Banana and 12 almonds
8:00am ¾ cup almond milk, 1 scoop of protein (18 g), and 5 frozen strawberries
11:00am Green salad with baked chicken, red peppers, green peppers, green onions, grape tomatoes, avocado, drizzle of EVOO and Red Wine Vinegar
2:30pm Grape tomatoes, 9 almonds, 1 oz chicken breast
6:00pm 3 oz baked chicken, 1/2 cup of Crystal's Sweet Potato Delight!, green salad (everything above minus avocado)

Drinking:
144 oz h20
¾ cup almond milk

How I feel:
I feel so-so. Maybe it’s the weather and the fact that it’s SNOWING again! Sigh, it is winter so I guess I shouldn’t complain.

In other news, I am trying another protein power: Organic Raw Protein made by Garden of Life. I decided to try this because the whey protein I usually use has dairy in it. I don't experience any side effects, but I wanted to see if changing to a non-dairy protein powder would make any difference. I have enough to last about a month, so I will let you know what I think of it, in comparison to the Whey Protein I usually use. This Organic Raw Protein is dairy and gluten free. I will try this for one month (really 27 more days) and if after that, I don't like it, I will switch back to the Whey (with dairy) that I usually use.

I am still experimenting with mix-in options. Today, I just mixed in frozen strawberries, as usual, but the strawberries alone didn’t quite hit it—still a chalky, cardboardy taste. Tomorrow I am going to add 3 frozen strawberries and half a banana and see what happens.

Here’s the description of the protein from Garden of Life:

"Offering high quality, plant-based protein plus live probiotics and enzymes, fat-soluble vitamins and nutrient Code Factors™ such as Beta-glucans, SOD, glutathione and CoQ10 for overall health and vitality,† RAW Protein provides the following benefits:

• Provides RAW organic sprouted protein and live probiotics and enzymes
• Excellent source of protein – 18 grams and 35% Daily Value
• Contains Vitamin Code RAW Food-Created Nutrients™ with their unique Code Factors™ intact, enabling natural recognition by your body
• Increases the protein content of meals – just add to food or beverages
• Suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets
• Good for those on low carbohydrate diets
• Alternative to soy and animal protein powders
• Good for those with gastrointestinal sensitivities to milk, whey, soy and other protein sources
• Easily digested – supports digestive health and function with live probiotics and protein-digesting enzymes†
  
• Mixes well – great in shakes, smoothies and other beverages
  

It’s not only what RAW Protein contains, it’s also about what it doesn’t contain – there are no fillers, no artificial flavors and no synthetic ingredients. It is gluten-free and dairy-free and contains no soy allergens."

Day 26 Update! And, Social Justice Activism REQUIRES spiritual, mental, and PHYSICAL efficiency!

26 days until the photo-shoot! :)

Exercise:
Kettle Bell Boot Camp (50 minutes)

Eating:
5:30am ¾ cup freshly squeezed OJ, ¼ cup h20, 2 tbsp gelatin
7:45am ¾ cup almond milk, ¼ cup h20, 1 scoop protein powder (24 grams protein), 5 frozen strawberries
11:45am Melon and 12 almonds
4:00pm 2 oz baked chicken, 10 almonds, and 12 grape tomatoes
7:00pm 3 oz baked chicken, 1/2 cup of Crystal's Sweet Potato Delight! [boil 6 sweet potatoes, peel, add cinnamon and nutmeg to your liking (I love NUTMEG), 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp of stevia, 2-3 splashes of almond milk for consistency, mash], green salad

Drinking:
142 oz h20
3/4 cup almond milk
3/4 cup fresh squeezed oj

How I feel:
It terms of eating, definitely too much time between meals 2 and 3 and 3 and 4. Four hours is usually the upper end of how long I want to go before eating again. 3-3.5 is a good range for me.

OooWeee, today’s workout was a DOUSY, y’all! It was a kettle bell, cardio, marathon! Oh so hard during, but felt so good after! Just a little description: Teams of two, 6 kettle bells per team (two 20lbs; two 15lbs; two 10lbs). Start at opposite ends of a long room, all kettle bells on one side with one partner. One partner starts with one kettle bell, both partners race to the middle of the room, kettle bell is exchanged. Both partners race back. Repeat until all kettle bells are on opposite side of the room. Do that for three rounds, as many times as you can in each round (one 5 minute round, one 4 minute round, one 2 minute round) WITH stair climbing (up and down 2 flights 3x) in between and what do you get: PURE MADNESS! Who gets up, willingly, at 5am, to do this? Uh, that’d be me. I’m officially crazy. It’s ok.

Today’s class, because of the celebration of the MLK Holiday was small. 9 of us in a class that’s usually nearly 30. My trainer jokingly said, “Dr. King would have wanted y’all to be working out!” Though she was joking, there is some truth to what she said. As a historian who studies civil rights movement history, I KNOW social justice activism is not for the weak—you have to be strong spiritually, mentally, and PHYSICALLY. In a biography of one of my favorite activists, Chana Kai Lee recounts the story of Fannie Lou Hamer, a leader in the Mississippi freedom struggle. Many know Hamer’s famous line: “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Hamer worked 40 years on a plantation before joining SNCC when they came to her town in the 1960s. For nearly 20 years, she worked tirelessly on behalf of poor people in Mississippi—at the expense of her health. Her life is an example of how this country NEGLECTS those who need them most—she couldn’t afford health care. There was no HMO for civil rights activists. Additionally, our health care system proved just how valuable African-American life was by sterilizing her against her will. Towards the end of her life, she decided to organize a farm, what she hoped to be a self-sustaining farm, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. Hamer passed away from breast cancer in 1977.

All that to say—social justice work takes a toll on you on many levels. This fact, coupled with the health care system we have in the United States, can make for a very lethal combination. So, on this MLK day, let’s not just recognize AND DO what we can do to make this society a better place for our children’s children, let’s try to make it a healthier place for us, too, WHILE we are living. The work is hard, no doubt, but who said sustaining a revolution would be easy?