Part 2 to 30 Day challenges.

So I'm doing the physical 30 day challenge with regards to the 3 short exercises each day.  I'm also doing a black coffee challenge.  Today was my last day of coffee with cream, which felt nice.  I also decided to try to finish off my nights with green tea and/or peppermint tea.  I use the Bigelow brand, which is my favorite.  I like add a squeeze of a lemon, which I hope adds some relaxation effects to when I'm winding down my day.  I don't know too much about tea other than you put it in hot water and it tastes good.  The last thing I hope to achieve is to get my sleeping hours up to 8.  I know my friends love going out a lot during the week, but I need to make peace with my body first.

Part 1 of my next 30 day challenge:

I think this is kind of hard to figure out this calendar.  But there are no more breaks every 4th day, its now every 6th day.  I'm going to do this everyday for the next 30 days.  Hopefully something comes of it.  I don't know what Jack-knives are, might need to look that one up.  But I think if I did this with maybe 30 minutes to an hour of cardio every day would really help me lose weight.

Also, I'm thinking of switching to black coffee with no milk or sweetners in it.  I usually make a cup of Keurig Dark Magic in the morning with cinnamon.  P.S. Cinnamon in coffee is pretty god damn delicious.  Also, I might just put almond milk in coffee at home and just get it black when I get coffee other places.

I have a K-cup adapter and use the Marylou's Mocha Mint if I don't feel like cracking open a Dark Magic.  It's pretty good.  I don't always use it because sometimes the flavor is diluted, but when you compare the prices of a pound of keurig coffee to a pound of Marylou's at the store, it's $60 compared to $10.  So there's that reason to never buy Keurig coffee.

I did contemplate doing the No-Meat-Month.  I think it would be kind of hard, but I could just track the number of times I eat meat and what kind of meat it is.  I've been doing the same thing with Alcohol, Soda, Chinese Food, sit down Restaurants, Pizza, and Fast Food.  The good news about Fast Food is that I can't remember a time when I went to McDonald's for food instead of the coffee.  Yes, I go there for coffee, and it's delicious and mostly $1, which Dunkin Donuts can't beat.

FINISHED MY 30 DAY CHALLENGE!!! Onto the Next one!

I finally did it!  I completed 30 days of ridiculous squats!  So proud of myself!  It just goes to show that with enough ambition and little strength, you can accomplish any goal you put your mind to!  Now go do it!    Today's final goal of 250 squats was enduring.  Especially since I've been under a lot of stress since the Boston Marathon bombings happened.  My legs are sore from it, but so what.  There are people who had sore legs yesterday and ended up having them amputated because of something terrible.  Anyways, I'm going to the gym, because I am on a mission to do more 30 day challenges and get shredded for the summer.

Any suggestions for a second 30 day challenge are welcome.  I still need some ideas.

Know Your Enemy: Soy

So I'm starting this segment called "Know Your Enemy".  Yes, it's inspired by the song from Rage Against the Machine, but it's also derived from the practice of recognizing the evils around you that aren't exactly as advertised.  This week's enemy of Know Your Enemy: Soy.

Why soy you asked?  Well, good question.  Sure we are lead to believe that Soy is a very valuable source of nutrition and can be used in many different dishes.  It is a mainstay for lots of Asian cuisine dishes and is the Vegetarian/Vegan's number one go-to food for a source of Protein.  But there are also many drawbacks from Soy.  Things not included when you're about to scarf down that Thai Dish, or drink that glass of Soy Milk, or even finish off that McDonald's hamburger.  McDonald's Hamburger?

That's right.  There isn't much on the McDonald's menu that doesn't contain soy.  The buns, the oil, the dressings, the sauces, mostly all contain Soy.  If you are given half an hour to eat lunch during the workweek, then always, always, ALWAYS, try to bring your lunch.  I'm sure that your food will lose it's taste and get boring, but it will seem a tad bit healthier.  

Now, many vegetarians and vegans praise Soy as being the savior to the answer to their question of what can I eat if I don't like meat.  They say it's the best food because it tastes like whatever you put it with.  I'll repeat that - Soy is a cubed, tasteless, food.  It's highly processed -which is one of the main things you hear Vegans/Veggies say about most meats, but never their own food.  But the reason they love Soy is because Soy plants don't cry when it's been fermented, smashed, and cubed into trays.  The day that "90% of all Soy in U.S. is a GMO" makes it onto Oprah and most of the dinner-makers in the country put two-and-two together is the day that Soy-lovers go running back to the beef/chicken/fish section of the supermarket.

Another reason to avoid Soy is a phyiscal one: manboobs.  Soy contains several Estrogen-like substances that will affect your appearance and mood.  Estrogen, which is more useful for the female than the male-in my opinion at least, can create some health problems in a male if consumed at a daily rate.  Sexual infertility, swollen prostates, hair loss are just the tip of the spear for men with estrogen dominance.  Testosterone levels can lower due to these effects, thus causing lack of sex drive, lower sperm count, your red blood cell count, and the amount of fat around your waist and stomach.  Further research suggests that Alzheimer's disease may be linked to Soy intake.  A study among Japanese men aged 40-60 living in Hawaii who consumed tofu twice a day showed more signs of dementia than those who didn't consume tofu.

Ever listen to a doctor tell you that you should have a steady diet and make sure to get plenty of Calcium, Iron, and Zinc?  Well, Phytin, which is found in Soy, inhibits the absorption of those vitamins.  Soy is literally blocking all the things your body needs from getting to your bloodstream.  

Well, why do Asians eat so much soy?  They all look healthy and they consume lots of soy!  Asian farmers, who started soy farming in 1100 BC, didn't actually start eating soybeans until they fermented them (Miso, tempeh, etc).  However, food producing companies, want Americans to consume more Soy than Asians actually consume, which is not necessarily healthy for you.  

Let's sum up some of the things we know about Soy: it's Asian born, highly processed, mixed into most fast foods, bad for men, and can cause long term health effects in everyone.  I highly recommend staying away from McDonald's even if you have nothing else to get for lunch in a half hour.  I highly recommend switching from Soy Milk to Almond Milk if you don't drink regular cow Milk.  I also recommend reading labels and watching out for anything that has the word SOY in it.  Afterall, even Charlton Heston figured out that Soy was bad for you: