5-Factor Fitness Recommends Wheat-Free

So, I'm trying out a new exercise regime. I've been doing the same cardio/strength gig for over 6 years. I change up the cardio and strength regimes every quarter, but I'm simply maintaining. I'm not looking to lose weight, but I really want to kick up my muscle definition a notch (think Halle Berry, not Madonna).

At the recommendation of my dad, I decided to give 5-Factor Fitness a try.

5 workouts a week, 25-minutes each.

And I am SO SORE.

Even better, the author recommends eating flourless bread. The nutrition section does a great job of detailing why wheat/traditional flour is bad for you and causes weight gain.

I love it when the mainstream catches up with the rest of us. You gotta check this book out. It's awesome. I'm embarking on week 2 - wish me luck!

--Heather

www.HeatherStrang.com

Go Macro!

A macrobiotic diet sounds a little, well...scientific. I never bothered doing much research on this diet until I received a press release about Go Macro's new line of gluten-free bars. The founder's mother had breast cancer and used a macrobiotic diet to cure herself. Amazing! I SO believe that the food we eat is in direct relation to our health. Unhealthy? Check out the food you're eating (that and the thoughts you're thinking). That will provide all the answers you need!

While a macrobiotic diet does include whole wheat, the folks at Go Macro decided to add gluten-free to the mix. The bars are a bit carb heavy (35 grams of carbs in one bar) in fact, I wouldn't eat them as anything more than a meal replacement (with a soy yogurt for breakfast) as opposed to a "snack".

So far, I've tried peanut protein - a little misleading - there are only 13 grams of protein, but it's very tasty. My favorite is cashew butter - 240 calories, 36 carbs, 4 grams protein. Pretty comparable to Cliff bars, the taste though is somehow - better. It's lighter and more pure in taste. Is that even possible? Seems so. I'm tearing off pieces of the bars to eat as snacks in between meals. One whole bar is simply too much to eat at once, unless it's for a meal.

Have you tried Go Macro products? If so, do tell!
--H

My Day of Eating Wheat, Dairy & Sugar

Sometimes great ideas don't turn out as you imagine.

That was truly the case for a recent food piece I did for LivePDX.com in honor of International No Diet Day. I had this FABULOUS idea that in honor of No Diet Day, I would abandon my wheat/dairy/sugar-free lifestyle and enjoy one day of eating whatever I wanted.

The editor LOVED the idea and decided to add a video component and 2 additional restaurants. My idea was now to be a documented event, with 6 restaurants in one day.

I don't need to give you the play-by-play (although you will be able to watch it all on April 26) for you to know what happened. While I only ate a little bit at each restaurant (OK - a whole dessert at Papa Haydn's and ate way to much at Bernie's Bistro), by location 6 - I was sick. And it didn't just end there. I've been recovering all weekend. I literally had a food hang-over. I didn't eat until dinner time yesterday and even that was very bland foods. I had headaches, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, skin irritation, extreme crankiness - all of it from eating unrefined foods for one full day.

This "fun" writing assignment reminded me why I love to eat wheat/dairy/sugar-free. I feel SO MUCH better and I don't have any of the stomach/mood/skin problems that I do when I eat refined foods.

So, I'm in a place of complete GRATITUDE now that my day of pigging out is over. Never again. I love my body and don't believe dieting is healthy. But, I LOVE eating wheat/dairy/sugar-free. In that way, every day is "no diet day" for me!
xoH

WOW Brownies!

At a recent visit to Hair Unlimited in West Linn (where my sis Amanda cuts hair - she rocks!), I discovered WOW Chocolate Brownies at Market of Choice.

WOW, these are delicious. Brownies. Yum!
No refined sugars and no wheat.


Even better - they're a NW company, located in Seattle. So, check them out.
It's a great weekend treat.

--Heather

Best Gluten-Free Pizza in Town

Great discovery - Oliver's in Lake Oswego offers gluten-free pizza crust (but only in a 12" size). It was FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. I told the boyfriend to get his own pizza, because I would be devouring the entire thing myself. The crust is perfection.

Try the "Soprano" - it has mozzarella (although you can add soy cheese!), Italian sausage, pepperoni, tomatoes and yummy sauce.

There are a variety of other options, as well as "create your own pizza".

Formerly Pasto-Rico's, the restaurant just went under a major name change and they do not have a new website.

Visit them: 14559 Westlake Dr.
Lake Oswego, OR
United States
(503) 620-7723