Month: June 2020

Booty & Biscotti 19: Even healthy can be unhealthy

On By Diana ALeave a comment

Even “healthy” can be unhealthy…
I’m not in the fitness industry and not trying to pretend to be so I’m not preaching. So what’s the reason for this post? Well if you’re like me you’re pretty much tired of hearing the influx of diet trends out there, promises, fixes etc and this quarantine has brought out every gimmick known to man. Here’s another elastic band workout to do while your bread loaf is fermenting…

I pay @teamludachris (thank god for them) to help me out with my fitness and nutrition but I can tell you that I can teach a thing or two based on my own experiences and issues. I have followed many “diets” and made lifestyle choices and my body has morphed in ways I like but many times in the opposite direction or things have gone wonky.  I have a million food intolerances and am very sensitive to stress and even water intake so here are some points I can share:
1. Diets do work… but temporarily. You will lose weight likely from each and every one of them but sustaining that is the real challenge. There’s a reason why there are so many diets out there. They all work but only for some time for many reasons of course. Some diets are too hard and make no sense to follow long term, some are healthy and some are are actually not very healthy (e.g. calorie deficits for too long or deprivation of “healthy” foods etc…) Be mindful of this and the repercussions it may have on your body.
2. Our bodies adapt. We build tolerance and resistance and our bodies get smarter. I have ran for the past 100 days rain, snow, sun, rainbows and all. Haven’t dropped a pound. I don’t even sweat. Why? Lots of things (e.g. stress) but one of them is that I’m used to it. In order for me to pull a sweat at this point I need to find another means of cardio, run in intervals, be chased by a bear for an hour, etc…I perspire more trying to blowdry my frizzy hair. This same time last year, if I ran this much I would have melted down to nothing.
I have also intensely trained my glutes (almost daily last year) They are the largest muscle and can handle a lot of load and frequency. The elastic bands have helped me isolate muscle fibers. They have not helped me build or maintain muscle.  Bottom line for the past 4 months, elastic bands did not save my life…Point here is that at different points in time our bodies will and can do different things; however, if you get your body used to burning x calories a day on x amount of food, you might need to restrict more or do more to get the same results or better and that’s NOT a good thing but the early onset of potential metabolic disaster (e.g. I should be the portrait for that)
3. The diet trend you swear by may literally kill me. Ninety percent of the food in the dishes I posted are items I am intolerant too. The majority of fruits and vegetables considered  healthy give me a many different reactions. My abdomen will swell, my hands will swell to the extent that they burst and bleed and I will get patches of burning itchy hives for days. That doesn’t include the other fun stuff that happens in the digestive system.
These reactions are not unique to veggies either.  Want to feed me fats? Don’t even go there! Same thing even worse. Avocados nearly killed me last year and 15 grams of peanut butter a day created absolute havoc in my intestines, so I will not embark on a keto diet ever which brings me to the next point.  Stop feeding into trends and follow what makes sense for you.  Many people eat things because they “heard” of the health benefits but don’t actually understand them.  Monk fruit sugar huh? I’m not against it but my heartbeat mysteriously went up all 3 times I baked with it and I got a headache…something weird there. It may be healthy but not healthy for you. For example, legumes and beans are healthy but they make me very ill and for months I had no idea what was wrong with me. I used to eat those instead of meat. Thanks, I’ll take the meat now!
4. Eat what makes sense and what makes your body feel healthy and GOOD. Up until last year the Canadian food guide had dairy and although we’ve known for decades it can be harmful, the point is next food guide they’ll be telling you your celery stick is the enemy.  (I can’t have dairy OR celery by the way) You’ll find studies that indicate wine is good for you but there are going to be equal amounts that say the opposite. That being said, no offense but do you even know how to read a study? The term “research shows” is quite overused and not everything you read is valid or reliable. Educate yourself based on facts but also on what works for you. Check your own foods and act accordingly. Do you understand what you are eating and why you are eating it?

5. Balance and moderation. No one’s telling you to celebrate with dessert everyday but you don’t have to behave like the “No I don’t accept sugar in my life ” biblical person at a party either. Most people don’t know this about me but I actually GAVE UP sugar for about 8 months a few years ago. Guess what? I didn’t look better back then! I think I’m more fit now.  So unless you’re abusing foods like that, do yourself a favour and have a treat in moderation. Make sure to call @biscottidiana if you do 😉

6. Rewards and Punishment. Stop rewarding yourself with food and punishing yourself with exercise.  Trust me I’m a bit embarrassed admitting it since I’m smarter than that but I’ve done the “ate a cheat meal and need to run like a gerbil for an hour” There are actual solid scientific reasons that this backfires which I won’t sit here and go into but please read up on them (metabolic damage, excessive caloric restriction, fight or flight principle with storing calories) but the number one reason being that it leads to poor relationship with food and exercise and potential eating disorders.

The next time you’re sitting around contemplating whether sweet potatoes are bad for you or not go check out my competition picture. Those potatoes made and saved my ass!

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Booty & Biscotti 18: I am who I am

On By Diana ALeave a comment

My awesome sister warned me some time ago before a big new day that I may not be welcomed with open arms. I’m usually the blunt one but wow did she put me in my place that day. Her words seemed harsh and stung yet in no time I understood her message and quickly felt lonely roaming trying to make sense of things.

You see people have a natural tendency to categorize. It gives comfort to provide a label and neatly “file” people. I know this not only from experience but from what I have witnessed in education as early as preschool years. “Different” envokes the unknown. It envokes fear, feelings of unpredictability, resentment, and worse depending on how vast from the norm the differences are. Everyone fits neatly in a compartment of labels, norms, rules, categories and more until that square peg comes along. I’m the square peg. I have friends and great relationships and supporters but in some ways I am that peg or the black sheep that strays. The “outlier” and the more anyone sets too many limits or tries to fit me into a mold the more I retaliate (go talk to my dad…it started pretty young).

I have always been someone with many interests and the more I’ve tried to shut out those parts of me the more chaos and detriment I created. I need variety in some areas of my life to make sense of things. So what may appear as a chaotic life to some is therapeutic and much required in mine. My normal is “busy” but stimulating to me.  In fact, when it comes to certain parts of me, I do not believe I need to be “monogamous” like you would with a partner. “Diana” is a woman, a mother, a lover, a sibling, a daughter, an educator, a leader, a scholar, an entrepreneur and an aspiring author, and an aspiring athlete. All of these things coexist within me and are part of my identity and more.  Some of them are intense or come with heavy burdens and some take up more space and time but I am to decide what and how much I give to each of these areas. The best loyalty is that to myself and my values. Only then can I reciprocate this with others.

This makes me no less dedicated or committed to my crafts but rather keeps me motivated to reach for my goals and aspire to be my greatest self. I am no means shaming anyone that doesn’t follow this lifestyle. There are plenty out there that have been content with their profession or hobby from the time they were all young. That’s great and wonderful but it doesn’t make you OR I less deserving or valuable. We need to see past that in people and understand that there are many facets to a person and their individuality.  No one has to choose.  So can I be and educator and an entrepreneur/baker? Why the hell not? In fact, the majority of people can’t do this in their “youth” because they need the time to grow. Life experiences and some resources are required because most of us don’t have anyone handing us a wad of cash and saying, “Go on little one and open up shop”. Can I be a baker and an athlete?   Yup, I stood there on stage once and can do it again and will (Coach Ludachris stop yelling) I decide my limits.  The only thing that can block that is a lack of health and perhaps forced times of this pandemic. I am a fantastic gluten-free baker and my company has value because the person standing behind it is valuable, dedicated and has a potential that’s only scratched the surface. That bothers some people out there who gawk and wonder where this “baker” came from all of a sudden. I woke up. That’s what happened now do your thing and mind your own business while I tend to mine. I’m a great teacher too and a natural leader so when someone tells me I have to choose, I don’t have to do no such thing and if I do the choice is mine to make. In fact, this combination made me share with my students many times that they could and should pursue many hobbies and passions and that they could and can change their minds about career choices.  This perception is what often allowed me to see past the student in the past in crisis to the strengths inside them. Because if you only focus on one area of a person you miss out on many parts of them.  There are many things I wanted to tell my students and many things I did not get to share with them. Like the time I told them it took courage to stand before people and wait for them to come to try a cookie and want to buy that cookie while so many other products don’t give the time of day to even bother doing that. But perhaps a great lesson to share would be to not allow anyone to set a preconceived set of limitations on them and to not tolerate it being set on others. Be open to different opportunities as they are often catalysts to growth.

I told a friend recently that I work hard, am good at what I do and that I don’t ride on any one’s coattails. I achieve on my own merits and I am dedicated to the things I pursue and the people I surround myself with. I am working to being my best and most authentic self and to know my own worth and if we all were to do the same instead of trying to set boundaries on people, there would be a little less chaos everywhere.

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