at cryostudio of austin the heroes of fitness · the heroes of fitness brass and sass with bikram...

NATURALLY FIT September 2012 14

FIT FOR LIFEOctober 2012

WEIRDKEEP AUSTIN

THE HEROES OF FITNESS

BRASS AND SASS

WITH BIKRAM YOGA

Pole Dancing Your Way to Fit

SWEAT IT OUT

FREEZE YOURSELF

FITAT CRYOSTUDIO

OF AUSTIN

Do You Have a Story to Tell?

We Want to Hear It!

Click here to tell us, in 500 words or less, what you want

to see in the next issue of

MAGAZINE

FOUNDER David Lee Nall

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jordan Snyder

NUTRITIONISTEmily Talley

MANAGING EDITORDara Nall, D.C.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS CJ WoodruffRandy Jewart

Dr. Joe KlemczewskiKori Propst

Ivan BlazquezAna Gonzalez

Suzanne Barlas

EDITORIAL INTERNSBridgette Wilson

Kelsey Nichols

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

John Conroy

ADVERTISINGMelissa Evers

Chris SchepplerElizabeth Douglas

LETTERS TO THE [email protected]

MAGAZINE

18

69

2458 28

FIT NUTRITION

THE DOCTOR IS IN

From the Editor’s Kitchen

9

Pumpkin muffins and pumpkin spice lattes get a paleo makeover

18

The Weight of a Calorie

Halloween treats get a healthy makeover

Recipe Rescue: Tricks for Treats

FIT 36024 Construction Worker

WorkoutExercise isn’t the only key to being fit.

26 The Macho Meal Plan

28 The Battle Over GMO Labeling in America

62 Banishing Your BarriersTen tips on how to kick your procrastination problems to the curb

69

58 Crossing the Finish Line

The Ultimate Peaks Series: Part III

12

22 Creepy Food Facts

FIT FOUNDATION

After breaking her femur during the Boston Marathon, Talaya Fraizer celebrates her first run, announcing her newest outreach program

9

30 Kettlebell Exercises

36

72

LOCAL FLAVOR72 No Substitution for

24 Diner24 Diner serves something up for every dietary need

76 Food is FreeThe Food is Free project brings neighbor-hoods together by educating the public about growing their own food

PLUS

On our C over


FIT FOR LIFEOctober 2012

WEIRDKEEP AUSTIN


BRASS AND SASS

WITH BIKRAM YOGA

Pole Dancing Your Way to Fit

SWEAT IT OUT

FREEZE YOURSELF

FITAT CRYOSTUDIO

OF AUSTIN

pg. 36

pg. 41

pg. 40

pg. 46

Healthy Foods That Aren’t the Least Bit Healthy

81

76


FIT EVENTS

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2012OCTOBER 20

5K Foam Fest

Combine the good, clean fun of a foam party with a down and dirty mud run, and there you have The 5K Foam Fest. Get dirty and crawl through the events mud pits, then clean off with their Slip ‘n Slides,

body washer, and water challenges. The course, which is filled with in-flatable obstacles, cargo net climbs, and giant walls, is a fun challenge for beginners and old pros alike.

Multiple start times from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The Thong Jog

Feel the cool morning breeze as you run through Austin in your

skivvies. The East Austin jog starts at 9a.m. and all you need is a

thong! The event has the option of a one mile jog or a 5K run. The best

costume will win prizes after the run. The event cost is $45

Donkey Dash and Dog Dash 5K

This flat 5K is beginner-friendly and dog-friendly to boot. The Donkey Dash and Dog Dash both start at 8 a.m. at Doc’s Backyard. The finish line welcomes participants with

bagels, fruit and prizes. All proceeds will go to Sunset Valley Elementary

school.

OCTOBER 27

Dead4Life 5K Zombie Mud Run

In this race, only the fittest will survive. Test your post-Zombie

Apocalypse survival skills in this mud infested 5K. Dodge zombies as you race through the muddy post-apocalyptic waste land, filled with

challenging obstacles. Whether you survive the race, or join the brain-hungry zombies, all participants will be treated to a cold beer and,

of course, a zombie beauty pageant after the race. The Dead4Life 5K

Zombie Mud Run will be attempt-ing to set the Guinness World Record for the Largest Zombie Gathering on Earth, all runners

and zombies will have their names included on the World Record

Dead4Life log.

Dash for Dad

Urology Austin is putting on this 5K run and one mile fun walk in sup-port of ZERO, The Project to End

Prostate Cancer. The race starting at 9 a.m. at the Camp Mabry military base is part of The Great Prostate

Cancer Challenge.

OCTOBER 28

Run for the Water

Over the past 5 years, this charity run has successfully provided clean water to over 14,000 citizens of the country of Burundi in Africa. The run includes the options of a 10-

mile run for $39, 5K for $17 and a Kids K.

IRONMAN 70.3 Austin

Test your limits with the ultimate race: The IRONMAN triathlon.

This strenuous event includes a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and

13.1 mile run. General entry for the event starts at $275. This race is the qualifier for the 2013 IRONMAN

World Championship 70.3.

NOVEMBER 4

2012 Komen Austin Race for the Cure

This annual race donates its proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and

will be held in downtown Austin. The event offers a 5K race and

also a one mile family walk. You can run by yourself or you can

register a team to run.

NOVEMBER 10

The Juggernaut

Juggernaut: A massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or

object that crushes whatever is in its path.

Tap in to your inner Juggernaut on this 5K obstacle course and mud

run benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Each

obstacle you overcome in the event will help support the friends and

family that have faced theJuggernaut that is breast cancer.


S FROM THE EDITOR

Groupon: A God-send for the

gym-phobic shopaholic

Shortly after publicly announcing that I would be starting my journey toward becoming fit for life, I re-alized that – at some point – I’d have to actually start working out. If you read my first Letter from the Edi-tor, you know that, to put it lightly, I’m not the big-gest fan of exercise. More specifically, I find exercise so painfully boring that I would rather spend an hour a day watching paint dry than run on a treadmill.

For some, this aversion to exertion would be a bit of an issue. However, thankfully, we live in Austin. And in America’s weirdest city, it’s pretty difficult to stay bored. Austin is a city filled to the brim with art-ists, musicians, and some of the biggest fitness fanat-ics that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. So it should come as no surprise, that in every corner of this city, there are exercise options that are a bit more entertaining than the average gym workout routine.

However, just because the options for an entertain-ing workout are endless, doesn’t mean that I’m going to find the motivation to actually sign up for a class. I’d like to believe that I have the willpower to choose exercise over catching up on episodes of Breaking Bad, but let’s get real. Enter: Groupon, the best and worst decision that this overly-impulsive shopaholic has ever made.

On Groupon, not only can you find deals on services that you never knew you needed, but they have an entire section dedicated to various exercise programs around town. During those few blissful years when I was still in college, and thus still on my mother’s payroll, I became slightly addicted to a form of yoga called Bikram. An average Bikram Yoga class lasts 90 minutes, and is held in a room that is kept at a balmy 105 degrees with 40 percent humidity.

An added benefit of this form of yoga is the brag-ging rights that come with submitting yourself to that kind of torture. However, take one Bikram class,

and after an hour and a half of convincing yourself that you’re going to die, you’ll walk out of the class feeling the best that you’ve ever felt.

Those of you who have practiced Bikram know that it isn’t exactly cheap. So once I graduated and suddenly found myself needing to spend money on things like food and rent, as opposed to fancy yoga classes and pretty dresses, I reluctantly gave up Bikram. That is, until Groupon hooked me up with five classes for only $30.

Each week, my inbox is filled with new and interest-ing ways to stay fit around Austin. From the traditional bootcamp classes to the slightly wilder Pole Fitness classes at Brass Ovaries. So this month, I decided to dedicate this issue to keeping Austin weird. Visit our “Keep Austin Weird” section to learn more about Bikram Yoga, Pole Fitness at Brass Ovaries, and a bevy other ways to keep you fit and entertained.

Jordan SnyderEditor-in-Chief


From The Editor’s Kitchen

After months and months of insufferable heat, Austin’s weather is finally starting to relent. For me, fall means a few things. Big scarves, comfy sweaters, hot tea with a good book, and desperately trying to cram pumpkin in to ev-erything I eat. However, since I’ve started the Naturally Fit System, I’ve had to say goodbye to my dear friends: grains, dairy and sugar. But just because a girl’s got a few dietary restrictions doesn’t mean she can’t have a little fun. So Star-buck’s addicts, rejoice, and check out my recipes for Paleo Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Pumpkin-Almond Muffins.

1 2 3

4 5 6

Paleo Pumpkin Spice Latte


1 Cup Coconut Milk1 1/2 Tbsp. Pureed Pumpkin2 Tbsp. Organic Vanilla Extract2 Tbsp. Raw Organic Honey1/4 tsp. Ground CinnamonPinch of Nutmeg1/2 Cup Strong CoffeePinch of Cocoa Powder

Ingredients1. First prepare your coffee. You can do this with an automatic drip, but you want to cof-fee to be as strong as possible, so a French Press or Chemex is preferable. 2. Brew coffee3. In a saucepan over medium heat, com-bine coconut milk, honey and pumpkin. Cook until mixture begins to bubble, whisk-ing occasionally. 4. Add half a cup of coffee to your favorite mug. 5. Whisk coconut milk mixture vigorously before pouring over coffee. Sit back, sip, and enjoy!

Paleo Pumpkin-Almond Muffins

1 2

3 4


Ingredients1 1/2Cups Almond Flour3/4 Cup Canned Pumpkin3 Large Eggs1 tsp. Baking Powder1 tsp. Baking Soda½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon1½ tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice1/8 tsp. Sea Salt1/4 cup Raw Honey2 Generous tsp. Almond Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, honey, and almond butter.2. Add in the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Whisk well. 3. Line your muffin tin with paper liners.4. Using an ice cream scoop, evenly distribute the batter and bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack.


IFIT NUTRITION

The Weight of a Calorie- That snack pack may only be 100 calories, but that

doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

By Emily Talley, Staff Nutritionist

In the midst of inspiring stories of athletes overcoming obstacles, their hard work ethic and undisputed pride in the nations each one repre-sented, there was McDonald’s, one of the spon-sors of The 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Let’s not even get in to the irony of The Olympics, an event that celebrates the achievements of the greatest athletes in the world, being sponsored by McDonald’s, a company that is thought of as the catalyst for the worldwide obesity epidemic. Mc-Donald’s is well-aware of their reputation, which is why, in an effort to give their company a health-ier image, they rolled out their “Under 400 Calo-rie” menu to coincide with the Olympic Games.

In the weeks leading up to The Olympics, it seemed like everywhere I turned, I’d see an ad-vertisement for this new, “healthy” menu. In all honesty, it was a brilliant move. Why continue to ignore public outcry about your calorie-laden meals, when you could embrace the issue, and inform your customers that they could still be healthy while double-fisting cheeseburgers. After all, two cheeseburgers from McDonald’s will only run you 600 calories.

The advertisements made me think about the American obsession with calories. The idea is all you need to do is mind your caloric intake and burn off the extra calories with a little activity. This nutritional philosophy makes an “Under 400 calorie” fried fish sandwich or 100 calorie cupcake sound like a healthy (or healthier) choice. So, how much does a calorie actually count? What does a calorie mean?

Simply put, a calorie equals the amount of po-tential energy generated by a particular food. To determine this, the heat combustion of the food is measured and then multiplied by correction factors for incomplete digestion and oxidation by the body. There are a couple of issues with apply-ing this explanation of calories to how food affects


FIT NUTRITION

our bodies. For one, we do not live in a controlled environment like a science lab, and our bodies are not a calibrated lab tool. It is also important to understand that different foods have different uses.

Proteins are used for cellular, muscle and tissue re-pair, maintenance and growth. Fats regulate hormone balance, protect nerves, send messages to the brain, and help facilitate protein’s role. Carbohydrates have a minimal role in the body’s structure, but they are nec-essary to fuel red blood cells and feed our brain.

Food is much more than just calories. It is made up of the macronutrients I highlighted above, as well as essential vitamins and minerals that also serve a vital role in the overall function and well-being of our bod-ies. So, as you can see, there is much more to our food and how it is utilized than simply calories.

Do calories matter? Of course they do, but the qual-ity of the food matters much more. You may lose some weight from the traditional calories in vs. calories out approach, but this does not mean you are in the clear with regard to your overall health. You may still face problems including trouble sleeping, waking up in the morning, fatigue, skin irritations, stomach aches, gas-trointestinal irritations, depression, high blood pres-sure, cholesterol, and the list goes on.

Here is a prime example of when the calorie ap-proach to food goes awry. The famous McDonald’s fried fish sandwich from their “Under 400 Calorie” menu totals 380 Calories, 39g carbs, 16g protein, 18g fat and 610mg sodium. The fact that this item is “Un-der 400 Calories” may be its only redeeming quality. The ingredients that make up the sandwich contain harmful preservatives and environmental endocrine disrupters such as Tert-Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and various forms of soy. These additives, along with the other highly processed ingredients, can cause health complications such as IBS, inflammation, leaky gut, acne and thyroid dysfunction, just to name a few.

TBHQ, a form of butane, is used as a preservative in the fish. According to the Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, the FDA allows 0.02 percent of oil used in food to be TBHQ. Keep in mind however, that ingesting as little as one gram can cause serious illness involving vomiting, dizziness, trouble breathing. Five grams can be lethal.

Soy is found in multiple forms in the overall sand-wich as soy lecithin, soy bean oil and hydrogenated soybean oil. Soy is an environmental endocrine dis-

rupter (EED), meaning it interferes with hormone communication throughout the body. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, as little as four table-spoons of soy per day can result in hypothyroidism with symptoms of lethargy, constipation, weight gain and fatigue.

So, while this sandwich may not max out a daily calorie goal, it certainly will not contribute to your health. In fact, it will hinder it.

However, McDonald’s isn’t the only one shilling junk food masked as a healthy lunch option. Harmful in-gredients are hidden in all highly processed, manufac-tured “diet” foods including freezer meals, low-calorie snack packs and “fat free” desserts. Recently, I had the chance to speak with Melissa Hartwig, author of the New York Times bestseller It Starts With Food, about the difference between healthy foods and diet foods.

“Eating well and being healthy isn’t about calo-ries—it’s about the nutrient-density of your foods,” said Hartwig. “Eating low-calorie, low-fat, processed foods poor in vitamins, minerals, and other essential micro-nutrients doesn’t provide your body with the building blocks it needs to maintain a healthy body composi-tion or prevent disease; If it did, wouldn’t we all look like supermodels and feel like superheroes?”

“Do you know how they make these low-calorie foods,” said Hartwig. “They suck out the water, the fiber, the fat, and most of the nutrition, concentrat-ing the calories and making them even easier for the body to absorb. The end result lacks critical satiety factors, leading to a phenomenon we call ‘Food With No Brakes”—easily absorbed calories, little nutrition, and no “off switch” to tell us to stop eating. These low-calorie, highly processed foods are the very reason we struggle with overconsumption and an ever-expanding waistline!”

So, don’t be fooled by clever advertising and fall into the trap of healthy diet foods. Become an informed consumer and don’t trust anything with a label. Eat real foods that come from farmers and ranchers and not from manufacturing plants. You’ll save yourself a lifetime of avoidable health complications.


Nuts for Coconuts: Everything Else

FIT NUTRITION

By Emily Talley

Coconut MilkCoconut milk should be purchased in the full-fat canned variety. The milk carton type of coconut milk has removed a large portion of the fat (which is the part we want) and added sweeteners. Coconut milk can be used as a base for cream sauces such as curries. I happen to love it in my coffee!

Coconut FlakesCoconut flakes can be eaten on their own as a satiable snack or they can be used to coat fish or poultry for a nice crunchy texture. Here, the unsweetened type is best. You can usually find them in the bulk foods section of Whole Foods.

Coconut ButterCoconut butter is the coconut oil plus coconut flakes blended together to create a smooth, nut butter like substance. You can snack on it by the spoonful or cook with it. It’s about $9-$12 a jar, but you can easily make your own.

Click here for the recipe!


FIT NUTRITION

Coconut FlourCoconut flour is the fiber that is left over after the coconut oil has been extracted. It is gluten free and contains more fiber than grain based flours. It can be used for thickening sauces, battering meats and fish and for baking treats.

Coconut AminosCoconut aminos are a soy-free alternative to soy-sauce. It is made from the sap of the coconut trees and contains 17 amino acids, B and C vitamins and prebiotics.

Coconut sugar is also derived from the sap of the coconut tree. While it may be low on the glycemic index, it is still important to remember that there is no “healthy” sugar alternative. No matter the source, when it comes down to it, sugars are sugars. There is no loophole here: agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, molasses and coconut sugar are all in the same family as regular ol’ table sugar.

WARNING:NOT ALL COCONUT PRODUCTS ARE

CREATED EQUAL

As a consumer, you should also understand a controversial part of the coconut world. A coconut tree used for the sole purpose of collecting sap for sugar, vin-egar, nectar and aminos can NO LONGER produce mature fruits that provide the coconut oil, milk and flakes. Sugar is available in an ample, natural and sustain-able supply from honey and maple syrup. There is no need to extract the sap from the coconut tree just for yet ANOTHER form of sugar. It would be a travesty if we could no longer reap the miraculous benefits of coconut oil because the coconuts are all gone.

Coconut Sugar

Take Control See Result Live Naturally

Your CUSTOM NATURALLY FIT SYSTEM shows you how to kill Body Fat and Lose Weight while eating food the tastes great!

Your own Customized Nutrition Program with handbook.

Your own Customized Nutrition Program with handbook.

“Easy to use” point system to track foodPersonalized Nutrition CoachingInclude transformation photos.

Weekly updates and program tweaksUp to the minute special event/contest timingComplete list of the best fat burning foods

The Naturally Fit Systemincludes

STOP DIETING & START EATING RIGHT!

Goal Setting Guide:

BEFORE AFTER

Before

After

Corporate Programs

Seminar

Lunch n’ Learn

Take the Naturally Fit System to the next level with your very own one on one online coaching to help you reach your goals.Your own Customized Program with handbook.Customized Exercise RoutinesCustomized Nutritional ProgramCustomized Nutritional Program

Let us come to you! Nutrition talks designed to empower employees with the knowledge to make healthy dietary choices. Decrease sick days and save on insurance rates with Empowered employees!

Topics include:How the body utilizes energyWhat to eat for weight lossHow to eat for sustained energyWhat to eat to burn fat and why it works

Provide your employees with an educational “Lunch n’ Learn”A condensed version of the Empowerment Seminar30 minute talk followed by Q&ALunch Provided

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+1 512 [email protected]

www.naturallyfit.com/services

Get added support reaching your goals in an educational, personal and supportive group setting.Group meetings to empower you with the knowledge and resources to sustain your new healthy dietary changes.

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2hr educational talk followed by Q&A. Food Provided

Goal Setting GuideUnlimited support via emailWeekly updates and program tweaksUp to the minute special event/contest timing

3 month program with bi-weekly meetings

Meetings include: Educational talks, weigh-ins, recipe exchanges, goal setting, increased accountability and more!

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Tricks for TreatsRecipe Rescue:

By Bridgette Wilson

hen you think of Halloween treats at a party, most people think of sugary candy, caramel corn and candy apples. When they think of healthier options, Chex Mix, a fun trail mix, apple slices with fruit dip or even a veggie tray may come to mind. These are all great options for any party. However, kids still want their treats too. By using

some “tricks” and making a few swaps, kids can still have their treats…and you can too. Add in a little touch of Halloween decorating fun, and you have the magical potion for a tasty, kid-friendly Halloween.

WChocolate Goblins

12 SERVINGS

3/4 cup low fat 1% buttermilk 1/4 cup canola oil 2 whole eggs and 1 egg white 1/2 cup canned organic pumpkin 1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. almond extract1.5 oz. dark baking chocolate, melted1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa1 cup cake flour 1/4 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. baking soda1/2 tsp. salt

Cake Ingredients

1 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 Tbsp cornstarch2 Tbsp. 100% pure maple syrup 2 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips

Icing Ingredients

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 12 mini Bundt pans with cooking spray.2. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.3. In another mixing bowl, add first 8 ingredients and beat well. 4. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingre-dients and blend until smooth. 5. Bake 15-18 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before adding the icing.

Cake Directions

Icing Directions1. Add butter and syrup to small sauce pan over medium-low heat, until slightly boiling. 2. Remove pot from heat and add chocolate chips and continue to stir until melted. Allow to cool for 10 min.3. Add cornstarch and whisk until icing is smooth and thick. If icing is too thick, add a little water or low fat milk to thin it out. 4. Add one teaspoon dollop of the frosting to the middle of each cake.


Scary Banana Berry Cupcakes1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. low-fat buttermilk 1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup 1/4 cup canola oil2 whole eggs plus 1 egg white1 small, ripe banana, mashed 1/2 cup pureed strawberries 1 tsp vanilla1 cup cake flour 1/4 cup whole wheat flour1/2 cup all-purpose flour1 1/2 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. baking soda1/2 tsp. salt

Cupcake Ingredients:1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line one cupcake tray

with cupcake wrappers. For the remaining 6 cupcakes, use another pan or wait for the

first batch to complete.2. Combine: flours, baking powder,

baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.3. In large bowl, use a hand mixer to blend together buttermilk, oil, banana, berries and eggs. Then, add in syrup and vanilla. 4. Pour the dry ingredients into the

wet ingredients. Continue to blend on low to medium speed until com-

bined. The batter maybe a little watery. 5. Drop 3-4 tablespoons of batter into each

of the prepared muffin cups. 6. Bake until the tops are golden brown and a

wooden skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15-18 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool on a wire rack until completely cool before adding glaze, confetti and decorations.

Cupcake Directions:

Icing Ingredients:6 oz. Greek Vanilla Yogurt2 Tbsp. powdered sugar2 Tbsp. Cornstarch1 tsp. vanilla extractorange food coloring

1. Combine yogurt, vanilla and powdered sugar in medium bowl. Blend until smooth. 2. Place in fridge 30-60 minutes to thicken. 3. Add in icing color and mix when ready to decorate.4. Spread about one teaspoon of icing on each cake. Sprinkle lightly with sprinkles, if desired.

Icing DIrections:

Make ahead and refrigerate overnight.

For the best results:

18 SERVINGS


Smiling Pumpkin Patch Cookies 18 SERVINGS

Cookie Ingredients1/2 cup canned organic pumpkin2Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened1/2 cup organic sugar1/4 pure maple syrup1 whole egg and 1 egg white, beaten1 tsp. vanilla extract1/4 cup whole wheat flour3/4 cup all-purpose flour1/2 tsp. baking soda1/8 tsp. salt1/4 tsp. cinnamon1/2 cup Old Fashioned Rolled OatsMini M&M’s for the eyes and nose (Raisins or Reese’s pieces can be used)1/4 cup Mini semi-chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp. cornstarch1/4 cup pure maple syrup Orange food coloring

Icing Ingredients

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large cookie sheet with parchment or foil, lightly

greased. 2. In large bowl, use mixer to cream together, butter, pumpkin and organic sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla; beat well. 3. In another bowl, combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon, oats and salt. 4. With a wooden spoon, stir the dry

ingredients into your pumpkin mixture4. On prepared cookie sheets, drop two

tablespoons of dough onto pans. Flatten dough and shape into an oval.

5. Bake 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Cookie Directions

1. Add butter and syrup to small sauce pan over medium-low heat, cook until simmering. 2. Remove pot from heat. Allow to cool 10 min. Add in cornstarch and whisk, making sure all lumps have been removed and icing is thickening and smooth. Once the mixture has thickened, add in coloring and blend.

Icing Directions

For a thicker icing, refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Kori, I am so happy. You are

brilliant. I am feeling much

better these days. Actually

more positive. I can't believe

it. I thought it was a thing of

the past. Keep doing what

you are doing because it

works.

Kori, I am gaining so muchknowledge... awesome is not the

word to describe this process.This is exactly - and more - what Iwas needing. "Knowledge for Life".I think this is a fantastic program.....

I can't believe I see the results insuch a short time. You are a saint!

I look so forward to our sessions,

Kori. You have no idea what impact

your words have. I respect and

admire you more than I can express

in an email. Thank you. I'm so

blessed to know you; you have

enriched my life in so many ways.

You have pushed me to limits I

didn't know I had!

“

”

“

”

“

”

Kori, I am so happy. You are

brilliant. I am feeling much

better these days. Actually

more positive. I can't believe

it. I thought it was a thing of

the past. Keep doing what

you are doing because it

works.

Kori, I am gaining so muchknowledge... awesome is not the

word to describe this process.This is exactly - and more - what Iwas needing. "Knowledge for Life".I think this is a fantastic program.....

I can't believe I see the results insuch a short time. You are a saint!

I look so forward to our sessions,

Kori. You have no idea what impact

your words have. I respect and

admire you more than I can express

in an email. Thank you. I'm so

blessed to know you; you have

enriched my life in so many ways.

You have pushed me to limits I

didn't know I had!

“

”

“

”

“

”


gFood Facts

Ghosts and witches are not the scariest thing during October this year; some frightening things have been hiding in our food. According to The Food and Drug Administration Defect Levels Handbook, there are a certain amount of “natural” added ingredients that, while unsavory for most, have been deemed safe for public consumption. Rodent hair, beetle eggs, insect fragments and mold are just a few of the secret ingredients lurking in nearly every product on grocery store shelves today. There is nothing better than some insect fragments to add a little crunch to a chocolate bar, or a little mold to add a new texture to your favorite bag of peanuts. We probably should have opened with this, but it’s in your best interest not to read this piece over your lunch break. Here are a few every day food items and the added ingredients that give them that special flavor profile. Bon appetit!

CreepyBy Kelsey Nichols

Chocolate Be wary of your Halloween candy this year, because it’s not just a treat. The FDA will not take action on in-sects in chocolate until insect filth reaches a certain level, and the bar is pretty low. For insect filth, if an average of 60 or more insect fragments is found per 100 grams of chocolate, out of six 100-gram subsamples action will be taken. It should be noted that the average chocolate bar is around 50 grams. Looks like Halloween chocolate isn’t the only thing you’ll be eating a lot of this year.

Who doesn’t love a good ol’ fashioned PB&J? Well, we’re about to ruin it for you. The FDA doesn’t take action until 30 or more insect fragments are found per 100 grams of peanut butter. Horrifying enough, but let’s take it up a notch and break down what that means for your classic lunchbox staple. If the average jar of peanut butter is 18 oz, about 500 grams, each jar of peanut butter can have up to 150 insect parts in it and up to 5 rodent hairs. At 15 servings per jar, just a spoonful can contain up to ten insect fragments. Re-ally makes you think twice about buying the crunchy brand.

Peanut Butter

Dates

Often referred to as “Nature’s Candy”, dates have long been the health-nut’s answer to a sugar craving. However, while a handful of dates are certainly healthier than a chocolate bar, they’re not much cleaner. Date material is not deemed bad until 10 or more whole (or equivalent to whole) insects are found in one subsample. Hilariously, the FDA deems pits and pit fragments in dates more dangerous, as they can injure teeth. No word yet on whether or not they’ll take the mental anguish of ingesting up to 9 bugs per sitting in to account when determining what is and isn’t “dangerous”.

Tomato Puree PastaWhat is pasta without tomato sauce? The delicate flavor of the fly eggs, with just a pinch of maggots, is sure to marry beautifully with those insect fragments. The FDA doesn’t take action unless, in 100 grams of tomato paste, there are 20 or more fly eggs or more than one maggot. However, if the product has both eggs and maggots, the FDA will step in if there are 10 or more fly eggs and 1 maggot. This means in the typical 15 oz can, nearly 450 grams, there can be more than 80 fly eggs. Eating spaghetti just doesn’t seem like it’s even worth it.

Your favorite childhood food just became a dreaded memory. The secret Italian ingredient in your favorite spaghetti or homemade macaroni dish might just have been insect fragments. Macaroni

is allowed to have up to 225 insect fragments per 225 grams. That figure

is already unappetizing enough, but we’re going to make it worse anyway.

The average box of pasta is 16 ounces, roughly 450 grams, which means that each

box can contain up to 450 insect fragments before the FDA steps in. Suddenly, this comfort food no longer seems worth the calories.



WWhen most people envision a workout, they think of performing cardio on a step mill, lifting weights, or taking classes like Pilates or yoga, but not all forms of exercise take place in the gym. Construction workers get in their exercise just by completing the everyday tasks on the job. However, what most people seem to neglect, both the average Joe and the dedicated trainee, is that everyone needs both regular exercise and a bal-anced diet to become truly fit, even construction work-ers who have a physically demanding career.

Construction workers are not slackers when it comes to pushing their body to its limits. They train their bodies in a similar way that that the Pro athletes train. For example, a sprinter has strength and speed in his legs, but may not have equal upper body strength. A professional tennis player may have one arm and

shoulder that are stronger than the other from practic-ing their swing for endless hours.

By working on a construction site, laborers become very proficient in the areas where their job challenges them the most. For example, many of the men acquire dominant side strength by favoring one side when hammering for long periods of time or from carrying shingles and materials.

Other workers have specialty skills and strength. For example, a mason lifts 45 lb. blocks for eight hours straight and has the upper body development of a pro-fessional bodybuilder. Many roofers have exceptional calves from going up and down ladders all day long, and there are also the guys that can balance and carry heavy objects like a refrigerator or washing machine up and down a flight of steps without any help. Not to mention how impressive it is to watch these men per-

The Construction Worker Workout

Fit 360°

By Suzanne Barlas

- Exercise isn’t the whole part of the equation when it comes to health.

-Suzanne puts her health first, making sure to prepare all of her healthy lunches ahead of time


form their job 60 ft. in the air, while walking on a beam of an unfinished house like a squirrel on the limb of a tree. They work out like this all day long, from sunrise to sunset, and what makes the job even more challeng-ing is that they have to be able to perform under any condition, whether it is extremely hot, cold, or windy.

Construction workers workout out all day long, there’s no question. The only obstacle for any of these men to living a healthy lifestyle is their diet. Many of them have skipped the notion of packing a lunch and have resorted to depending on fast food and snacks for their complete source of nutrition. Some of the men are overweight and some are not. Many of them have developed diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, despite the fact that their job is physically de-

manding. Through my experience, I have learned that it is impossible to be truly fit unless regular exercise is combined with a healthy diet.

When it comes to eating right, it’s not just about knowing the facts. Everyone knows the do’s and don’t’s of what to eat, and that greasy, fried chicken isn’t a healthy balanced diet. The trick is to persuade people to change their habits by mak-ing healthy food choices acceptable. For example, many of the construction workers hunt and fish. The mason has a Christmas party every year and has a feast of deer, bear, or moose meat with sides of rockfish or crabs. He is proud of the game that he has caught and uses his party to show case his success. Many construction workers would cook healthy meals if it was from the food that they caught and cooked them-selves. It would be the “macho” thing to do and, before you know it, everyone on the job would be eating rockfish cakes, crabs, and deer meat.

When you work outdoors, it’s easy to blame your fast food diet on the fact that even if you packed a salad, you’d have nowhere to put it. However, as with most excuses, this one is full of holes. Even on a construction site, food can be kept cold or hot even without a refrigerator or micro-wave. Meat or fish can be prepared, put into storage containers, and frozen, and then left out to thaw out by lunchtime.

Food can be refrigerated by putting it in a cooler with frozen bottles of water or kept hot by using a thermos.

What’s most important is teaching balance between the physical and dietary aspects of being fit. Sure, a lot of construction workers will still drink their favorite beer and still eat fast food from time to time. They won’t stick to a strict diet like a professional body-builder either, but with knowledge, motivation, and a little peer pressure, small changes in their eating habits could greatly improve their health and quality of life.

Fit 360°

The Macho Meal PlanFit 360°

By Suzanne Barlas

Venison Chili

Ingredients

6 SERVINGS

1/2 lb. venison, cut into small chunks8 oz. cooked kidney beans4 oz. cooked black beans

1 medium onion, chopped1 15 oz. can of organic tomato sauce

2 large tomatoes, chopped2 garlic cloves

a dash of sea salta dash of ground cumin

1 tsp. safflower oil

1) Soak and cook beans according to the directions on package.2) Add safflower oil to a saucepan over medium heat and then add the venison, slightly browning it, cooking it about halfway.3) Add all the other ingredients and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, longer if you want your chili very thick.

Directions

Calories 178 Protein 15g

Carbs 21g Fat 4g

Quail Stew10 SERVINGS

Ingredients6 quail carcasses

2 sets of giblets from quail1 1/2 cups cooked quail meat

4 oz. spelt noodles1 Tbsp. parsley

2 ribs of celery, choppeddash of salt and pepper

1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning1 Tbsp. vinegar

2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce2 cups of tomatoes, chopped

1 large onion, chopped 2 carrots, chopped

12 cups of water

1) Put the carcasses and the giblets in a soup pot. Cover with water and add vinegar. Cover and bring to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.2) Pour broth through a sieve and discard carcasses, but chop up giblets and put them back into the broth.3) Add celery, onions, carrots, parsley, salt and pepper, poultry seasoning, tomato sauce, and tomatoes. Cook at a slow boil for 45 minutes.4) Add the quail meat and continue to cook for another 30 minutes.5) Add spelt noodles and cook for 30 additional minutes.

Directions

Calories 189 Protein 22g

Carbs 14g Fat 6g



Fit 360° Randy Jewart is an artist and urban farmer living in Austin. He is the founder of Resolution Gardens, 5-Mile Farms, and Austin Green Art, and is a columnist for Naturally Fit magazine’s Local Flavor section. We asked him to give us a run-down of what GMOs are, and why the upcoming vote on California’s Proposition 37 is so important.

The Battle over GMO labeling in America

By Randy Jewart, 5-Mile Farms

What are GMOs?GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms, are plants

that were created by isolating, modifying, multiplying and recombining genes from different organisms, resulting in a plant that would not be found in nature. The main reason that so many companies use GMOs is because of the growing demand for food as our population increases. GMOs are pest and disease resistant, can tolerate drought and extreme cold and are herbicide resistant, meaning that each harvest will yield more crops.

Where are they found?Everywhere. Today, 93 percent of all soy, 86 percent of

corn, and 93 percent of canola seeds are genetically modi-fied. Even if you exclusively shop at Whole Foods, you’re more than likely to consume GMOs on a regular basis. That’s why California has introduced “The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act”, or Proposition 37, which would require the labeling of all GMOs.

What’s so bad about them?According to the American Academy of Environmen-

tal Medicine, several studies have indicated that there are serious health risks associated with consuming GMOs, such as infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging as well as changes in major organs and the gastroin-testinal system. Over 30 countries have placed restrictions on GMOs and in Europe all products containing over .9 percent GMOs must be labeled. Recently, a French study linked the lifetime consumption of Monsanto’s GMO corn in rates to massive tumors and direct organ failure. This led Russia to officially ban the import and use of Mon-santo’s GMO corn within the nation’s borders, inspiring France to call for a ban on genetically modified corn in Europe.

-If approved by voters on November 6th, Proposition 37 would make California the first state in the US to require that all Genetically Modified Organisms are labeled as such. Here’s what you need to know.


Fit 360°

What is Monsanto?Monsanto is an American multinational agricultural

biotechnology corporation and the leading producer of genetically engineered seed. They were one of the first producers of pesticides, most notably – Agent Orange. Sound familiar? Agent Orange was a form of herbicidal warfare, used by the US military from 1961 to 1971 during the Vietnam war to destroy Vietnam’s dense forests, effectively depriving guerrillas of cover. As a re-sult, Vietnam estimates that 400,000 people were killed or maimed and 500,000 children were born with birth defects. Monsanto may be the closest we ever get to a comic book-level evil corporation. For instance, Mon-santo has been linked to the estimated 125,000 small farmer suicides in India over the past decade. Monsan-to’s seeds promise the highest yield that any small-time farmer could dream of, however, they come at a price. Monsanto’s seeds are not only nearly 1,000 times more expensive than traditional varieties, they are also de-signed to not produce seeds, forcing farmers to buy a new batch after every harvest. This wouldn’t be a huge issue if the seeds yielded as much as they promised, but as many India farmers found out, Monsanto’s cotton seeds are not impervious to all pests, and many crops were devastated by bollworm infestation. This caused the farmers to spiral into debt, consequently taking their own lives.

The company is worth an estimated $44 billion dol-lars, and currently owns 90 percent of all transgenic crops in the world. So it should come as no surprise that they are the largest contributor to the effort to strike down Proposition 37, a bill that would require the labeling of all GMOs in California, which will be voted on November 6th.

What can I do?

What other companies are against Proposition 37?

-If approved by voters on November 6th, Proposition 37 would make California the first state in the US to require that all Genetically Modified Organisms are labeled as such. Here’s what you need to know.

PepsiCo – AKA: Pepsi, Quaker Oats, Tropicana, Frito-Lay, Tostitos, Gatorade and Naked JuiceNestle – AKA: Nestle, Gerber, Perrier, Poland Spring, Pellegrino, Nescafe, Nestea, Dreyer’s, Alpo, Purina, PowerBar, and Jenny CraigHershey Company – AKA: Hershey’s Chocolate, Kit-Kat, Almond Joy, Twizzlers, Reese’s, and DagobaDean Foods – AKA: Horizon Organic, Silk, Land O’Lakes, Garelick Farms, Meadow Farms, and Dean’sMars – AKA: Mars, M&Ms, Snickers, Milky Way, Uncle Ben’s, Doublemint, Skittles, Starburst, Seeds of Change, Alterra Coffee, and PedigreeCoca-Cola North America – AKA: Coke, Diet Coke, Minute Maid, Odwalla, Honest Tea, Dasani, and Vitamin WaterKellogg’s – AKA Kellogg’s Cereal, Kashi, Bare Naked, Gardenburger, and Morningstar FarmsGeneral Mills – AKA: Cheerios, Wheaties, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Lara Bar, Yoplait, and Nature ValleyPinnacle Foods Group – AKA Aunt Jemima, Duncan Hines, Hungry Man, Van de Kamps, and Vlasic PicklesCampbell’s Soup – AKA Campbell’s, Swanson, V8, and PregoSara Lee – AKA: Sara Lee, Hillshire Farms, and Jimmy DeanJ.M. Smucker Company – AKA: Smucker’s prod-ucts, Santa Cruz Organic and R.W. Knudsen

and many more.

Get political! Sign a petition, make a donation, or just make your voice heard by clicking the link and telling the FDA that you want all GMOs labeled.

Click here to tell the FDA that you want

GMOs labeled!


IIn the fitness industry, it’s important to keep changing things up. It takes motivation to work out consistently and repetitive routines can destroy any ones passion to get in the gym. How about bringing an old way of training back to life?

Kettlebells may be old, but they are stirring up the gyms with new and creative ways to exercise. Kettlebells are a cast-iron ball with a handle which range in weight from 5lbs to 200lbs. What’s incredible about these fitness tools is that they can be dated back as far as the 1700’s.

This method of training is considered unique for a few reasons. One, there is an offset center of gravity so your body has to work harder to maintain balance, which allows you to hit many different muscle groups and engage your entire core. Two, you build a lot of strength hoisting a cast iron ball into to the air. Last but certainly not least, there are tons of different movements to incorporate in any workout routine.

Sound interesting? Kettlebell exercises vary from begin-ner moves to a more expert level, the heavier the kettle the more intense a workout can get. This type of training is suitable for anyone that is time-pressed or can’t make it to the gym. Not to mention, people who are wanting to build up their strength and endurance like rehabilitation patients, athletes, police officers, and firefighters.

Kettlebells have multiple muscular and cardiovascular benefits, target a wide group, and have various movements and routines to work with. Check out some of these basic Kettlebell exercises and try it for yourself.

Fit 360°

A Good Old Fashioned Workout

- A favorite training tool for the Soviet Army in the 1700’s, Kettlebells are experiencing delayed popularity in the states.

By CJ Woodruff and Rachel Bowers, PFTA Schools

Watch Your Stance:

An improper stance during swings can leave you susceptible to injury. Be sure to keep an athletic

stance, legs shoulder-width apart, throughout each of the exercises.

Maintain a Neutral Spine:

To avoid injury to your spinal cord, make sure that it remains as straight as possible, from your hips to

your head, through all movements.

Start Small:

Kettlebell isn’t like regular weightlifting. It’s best to start with a lighter weight and work your way up as

you master the moves.

Don’t Lose Your Grip:

Unlike traditional weights, you want the handle of the Kettlebell to rest on the base of your fingers, not

your palm.

ABORT (if needed):

If at ANY TIME you feel yourself losing grip on your Kettlebell, release it, step away, and let it fall to the

ground. Toned arms aren’t worth the black eye.

Get it Right Follow these simple guidelines

to avoid injury while performing Kettlebell exercises


Fit 360°

Kettlebell Squats1 2

1. With your feet shoulder-width apart, hold the Kettlebell with both hands, at chest-level, with your palms facing each other.

2. Squat down, pushing your hips back and bending your knees 90 degrees until your thighs are parallel to the ground.

1

2

3

One Arm Swing1. Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding your Kettlebell in your right hand with your left hand on your hip.

2. Squat, gently swinging the Kettlebell in between your legs.

3. While swinging the Kettlebell forward, thrust your hips upward and raise the Kettlebell to shoulder level.

Return to start and repeat this motion 8-16 times before switching arms.

Return to your starting position, squeez-ing your glutes on the way up. Repeat

this motion for 8 reps

1 2

3 4

Kettlebell Snatch1. Begin with your legs shoulder-witch apart, and your toes pointed outward. Gently wwing your Kettlebell in

between your legs.

2. Thrust your hips upward, swinging your Kettlebell to shoulder level.

3. At the top of the movement, using the force from your swing, release the Kettlebell from your right hand and

quickly snatch it with your left.

4. Swing the Kettlebell in between your legs again, bending your knees, not your spine, and repeat the

snatch, this time letting go of the Kettlebell with your left hand, and snatching it with your right.

Continue for 6-8 reps

Clean and Press

21

3 4

1. Start with your legs shoulder-width apart, and swing the

Kettlebell in between your legs.

2. Using the momentum of the swing, raise the Kettlebell to

shoulder level.3. Once the Kettlebell is at

shoulder level, still using the momentum from your swing, bring your elbow toward your

chest and flip the Kettlebell so that your palms are facing

inward.

4. Push up toward the ceiling, bring the kettle

back to position 3 and in the same motion, swing the Kettlebell between your legs to gear up for

your second rep.

Continue for 6-8 reps before switching arms


There’s never a dull moment in America’s weirdest city, so why should your workout border on

boring? Here are a few places around Austin sure to keep you fit

and entertained.


Brass and Sass

By Kelsey Nichols


N

By Kelsey Nichols

Not many people would suspect that behind a non-descript car wash on South Congress, in a little office building, some of the more adventurous ladies of Aus-tin are working up a sweat, shedding their inhibitions and working the pole. Brass Ovaries opened its doors in 2007, and has since been helping locals get over their insecurities while getting in shape with their pole fitness and aerial hoop classes.

While the idea of spinning around a pole while Whitesnake plays in the background may seem a bit crass to some, celebrities such as Terri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, and Emma Watson have had no qualms about confessing their love for the exercise, which strengthens core muscles, tones arms, and slims thighs. And when Hermione starts pole dancing to stay in shape, it’s safe to say that pole fitness is no longer ta-boo.

When I was driving to my first class, I was posi-tive I was lost. Finally, I spotted the small white sign constructed out of, what looked like, a thick poster board. The studio sign was only about one foot from the ground at its highest point. I eagerly arrived thirty minutes early, and sat in one of the chairs in their tiny waiting room, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do for the sake of journalism.

While I waited, I was so nervous that I was con-vinced I was going to fall off the pole and break my head open. That feeling disappeared when I walked into the room with all of the poles and enthusiastic ladies. The pole room, which can fit a maximum of 10 students at a time, was a very small room, illuminated by mood-setting Christmas lights, lined with mirrors, and dotted with a few brass poles.

There were only six people in my class and they were all very welcoming from the get-go. Shari Garceau, was a first-timer, just like me.

“It’s so fun because there’s no judgment in there,” Garceau said after completing her very first class. “Ev-erybody was very supportive.”

According to Garceau, she enjoyed the class so much, that she planned on coming back the next week for round two.

“I’m almost 50 years old and if I can come out and try, and be overweight and weak as a noodle, and still try it, then I think anyone can do it,” Garceau said.

In the beginners level class everything is pretty basic, to help the students gain confidence with pole dancing. At the beginning of the class, Brass Ovaries instructor


and pole competitor Lindsey Dement plugged in her iPod and took us through a few stretches stretch while. The soundtrack to my class wasn’t the “Gentlemen’s Club” greatest hits playlist I had expected, rife with hits from Glam Bands like Warrant’s “Cherry Pie”. Instead, Dement blasted her favorite heavy metal hits, setting the tone for one bad ass class.

While the stretches loosened up my muscles in preparation for the contortions I would soon be put-ting my body through, it was Dement’s idle chatter between stretches that loosened me up enough to let go of my insecurities about a group of strangers watch-ing my haphazard attempts at pole dancing. Dement’s enthusiasm for pole fitness was contagious and soon everyone mimicked it.

“Definitely give [the class] a couple of tries,” said Luki Martino, who also competes with Dement and is a regular at Brass Ovaries’ advanced class. “I know on my first class, I walked in and was like ‘I’m going to do the best spins, I’m going to be sexy’ and then I was not.”

After Dement showed the class the first pole move, she explained to the class that in no way were we expected to master the moves in one class. Even with that said, by the end of the class I really felt like I ac-complished more than I ever anticipated. After trying each trick a couple of times, I felt like I was doing them pretty well. I will admit that I had no grace and I prob-ably looked uncoordinated, but in an interesting way, the experience was empowering.

I learned that not only are most pole dance first-

timers nervous, but many tend to generally lack self-confidence. Both Dement and Martino talked of their struggles with self-esteem before pole dance came into their lives.

“I feel like I’ve come out of my own skin from this and I highly support that everyone try it at least once,” Dement said.

Martino said that in the advanced classes, students’ shorts and tops both get noticeably shorter. “It’s not because they are trying to be like flare-y,” Martino said. “It’s that we need the skin to stick to the apparatus, but there’s no more shame in exposing your body.”

Body confidence isn’t the only benefit that most pole fitness regulars see. In just one class, students can burn up to 300 calories. Students who practice pole fitness a few times a week also saw a marked improvement in their core strength, as well as increased strength in their arms and shoulders.

“When we do tricks and when we go upside down we’re mainly targeting the lower abs,” Dement said. “It’s nice to be able to get rid of that trouble pooch.”

Dement said that she lost about 30 lbs of fat in the first five or six months of doing pole.

“People who stick with it and do it three to four times per week can lose a significant about of weight,” Dement said.

The small and unassuming building that is Brass Ovaries pole fitness studio is an unorthodox way to get into amazing shape. The class I took had my arms and hamstrings sore for about a week.

“You do things you never thought your body could


do and so when you do that, you’re like ‘Holy crap, this is great!’” Dement said.

Pole dancing has helped many locals find them-selves, and tap in to their sexier side. During my time on the pole, I learned to let go of my inhibitions, and also learned that, apparently, I can do the splits. How neat is that? That little revelation made me feel that much sexier, and I finally understood why these women keep coming back for more. Pole dancing isn’t just about losing weight or planning a private show for your significant other. At its core, pole dancing is a method – albeit, an unorthodox one – of self-explora-tion and – shockingly enough, empowerment. So cast your insecurities aside, you might be surprised by what you learn about yourself once you climb up on the pole.

Lindsey dangles upsidedown as she explains a move to a student move-by-move


The Cryo Studio of Austin offers a new alternative to an ice bath or cold compress therapy called full body cryotherapy. Full body cryotherapy takes about two to three minutes for the complete procedure. Inside of the machine is very dry and cold, with temperatures between -238 to -274 degrees. Full-body cryotherapy helps to expedite the recovery period after a workout and also helps to decrease inflammation by promoting your body’s natural healing process. An added bonus – one two-minute session can burn up to 800 calories.

We visited with Derek and Anya Ferry, co-owners of The Cryo Studio, so they could tell us a little bit about the procedure, and brought along cryotherapy enthusiast and world-renowned fitness model Monica Brant to show you what an average session is like. Check out the video above for more information on cryotherapy.


Want to look hot? Try out Bikram Yoga. Each 90-minute class is held is a room with the temperature set at 105 degrees with 50 percent humidity. The heat promotes blood flow and makes it easier to go through the 26 postures that the class consists of. Bikram Yoga can improve lungcapacity, injuries, joint pain, and regulate high blood pressure.

We stopped by Pure Bikram Yoga to speak with Kathy Durham and find out a little bit more about this form of yoga.


We may live in Hill Country, but The Austin Rock Gym will teach you how to climb a mountain. Rock climbing is not an exercise for the faint of heart, but for all of you adrenaline-junkies, rock climbing targets your arms, chest, back and even your legs, giving you a full-body workout while you enjoy the great outdoors.

We stopped by The Austin Rock Gym’s indoor rock wall to learn a little bit more about what it takes to get started. Watch the video above to learn more about the basics that you need to know before climbing, the different methods and the terminology. Happy climbing!


Roll Your Way to Fitness

Burn calories while getting out your aggression with a little skate around the rink. The Texas Rollergirls have been tearing up the roller derby rink since 2003. Roller Derby originated in Austin, and in the past nine years it has spread to several parts of the world. The Texas Rollergirls are a non-profit public charity amateur sports league.

Check out the video above to learn more about roller derby, and what you’ll need to get started.


Texas Parkour

Ever wish you could scale buildings like Spiderman? Texas Parkour can teach you how to get a workout while emulating your favorite action stars. There are two different aspects of parkour: training and application. Parkour helps people build stability and core strength, all while having a good time.

Watch as Matthew Willis, the founder of Texas Parkour, teaches our host, Chris Scheppler, some parkour exercises for people just starting out.


WOODWARD CROSSFIT

The Crossfit trend has been catching on around Austin. Watch as we interview the owner of Woodward Crossfit and put our founder, David Lee Nall, and a few other members of our team through the workout of their lives.



The trainers at Conquer Fitness lead double lives. To some, they are nothing more than your average, every day muscle heads, spending their days getting the residents of Round Rock into superhero-shape. To others, they are The Heroes of Fitness. Donning elaborate superhero costumes, and

passing on fake muscle padding in favor of the real thing, these heroes visit elementary schools, midnight movie

showings and even car shows to spread the word about how anyone can get Superhero-Fit with the right diet and

exercise.

By Jordan Snyder


Name: SupermanAlter Ego: Robin Johnson Jr. Day Job: Trainer at Conquer Fitness


“He-Man was my favorite character, and as I got a little bit older and started to draw more, it became Superman.”

“His alter-ego was a scrawny littler guy that really wasn’t confronta-tional, but then when he turned in to He-Man, everybody respected him. It was kind of like, I really wanted to get what he had as He-Man, but felt more like Prince Adam.”

“I started to work out, I would say 1995. I wanted to play football, I started in high school and my mom wouldn’t let me play football unless I gained weight, so I started to lift.”

“Making costumes was a hobby of mine anyway, so I’d do conventions and things like that. I started work-ing at a local gym, and they said do whatever you have to do to get attention. So I put on my costume, and from there my buddies were like that’s a good idea, so we started to go out to a couple of places. When a movie premiers, over at Round Rock Cinema, we’d talk to the owner and they’d ask us to come out.”

“I’ve dabbled with sewing since about 2003... Each time I sew a suit, it gets a little bit better, I’m kind of learning as I’m going.”

“People make fun of me, but when Halloween comes around, they’re my friends again.”

“I don’t like entering costume contests too much, I don’t like my work being judged like that, but I’ve done well when I have entered them. It’s your hobby, I compete already and I’m judged on stage, I don’t want every aspect of the things I like to do to be judged.”

“I love Superman, the one I had on today, I’m proud of that one because it looks the most like the costume that Christopher Reeves wore, and I love Christopher Reeves. But I’m proud of the Ironman one because of the reaction I get from the kids. It’s something they don’t regularly see. You can see a fabric costume all of the time, but the way my Ironman looks, kids aren’t going to see that very often. I think that might be the one I’m most proud of.”

“A kid came up to me and told me that he was my biggest fan when I was dressed as Ironman. And he was very serious, I think he actually thought I was Ironman.”

“There’s the four of us, but for movie premiers, we can usually get 5 to 10 people dressed up.”

“The funny thing is, every guy is pretty much superhero-built and the women look like the drawings. So for kids to see that we’re not wearing muscle suits is pretty good, because then they ask ‘Well, how can I get muscles like that?’ and we can talk to them about health and Fitness. We can get quite a few people from our gym to do it.”

“I love Superman and Ironman, hands down. I will typically dress up as any character. I have probably 15 Superman costumes that are all different, and because of that, I’ll typically try something new, a dif-ferent suit here and there, if it’s something that’s eye catching, I’ll try to make it. I have no limits on what I’ll dress up as.”

NEXT up: The Green Lantern


Name: Green LanternAlter Ego: Shane Brown Day Job: Trainer at Conquer Fitness


“Growing up, I was big into He-Man, Conan, and Ninja Turtles, so I wanted to have muscles like that. I was that nerdy, scraw-ny kid. I had the glasses, the braces, and I just got tired of being that kid.”

“When I got in to Fitness, all of that changed. I be-came more confIdent, my social life got better, I became more secure in my abilities. Most impor-tantly, I’ve been able to try and inspire people, even if you’re a scrawny kid or you’re overweight, you can have the physique that you want, it’s not anything special that I do, just having a healthy, active lifestyle.”

“We try to look like the superheroes, so that helps motivate us to work out and stay Fit.”

“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, to dress up and put on the costume, feel like you’re Superman or feel like you’re Batman. Luckily I met Robin, so now I’m able to do that.”

“I’ve had a couple of friends that give me crap for it, but for the most part, I’ve always gotten positive feedback. People love it.”

“I met Robin last year at David Nall’s show, and we just hit it off. We started talking, he was in to comic books and superheroes…so it was cool to meet someone who enjoys doing what I do, you know, lifting weights and bodybuilding, that’s in to comic books.”

“My favorite would probably be Michelan-gelo or Donatello from the Ninja Turtles. It’s a tie because I’m kind of like Michelangelo, the jokester, the big kid; but I’ve also got that nerdy side, like Donatello, I’ve always been into science and physics.”

While Shane loves dressing up as some of the more traditional superheroes, his dream is to convince the guys to dress up as his childhood heroes: The Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles

NEXT up: Thor


Name: thorAlter Ego: Kevin graves Day Job: Owner of Conquer Fitness


“I’m the shyest of all of the guys, so I was the last to jump on board…I just couldn’t stand the thought of being in tights in front of a bunch of people. That was really hard to con-quer, and the reason I started doing it was really for my kids. I’m a guy, I’ve always liked superheroes and the idea of super strength, every-body wishes they were like that. With my kids, when Robin was around in his outfits, they’d just light up. So I decided maybe I could do this for them.”

“All three of them are superhero fa-natics. And I didn’t really have to do that, they were fortunate enough to grow up during the superhero smash that we’re going through. I was the same way when I was a kid, and be-cause of their fanaticism about it, they helped get me back in to it. My daughter has Spiderman stickers all over her wall, and my boys do too, they dress up as superheroes every Halloween.”

“At their school, they had a superhero field day, and my daughter begged for me to do that. So we showed up at her school as superheroes for the day. It was crazy, I felt like The Beatles.”

“The kids always ask if the muscles are real…we saw it as an opportunity to not only make an appearance and make the kids happy, but it was also something that we thought could be-come a learning tool. We’re always focused on giving something fitness-related to somebody. People are a lot more conscious these days and more open to hearing about how to stay healthy.”

“I’m a big food guy, so I think I’m the most boring when they ask questions, because I always talk about food. I tell kids it’s ok to eat your candy and cake every once in a while, but I al-ways tell them that their bodies are little machines and in order to be the most awesome that it can be is to put the right fuel into it. And I talk to them about how eating right can make you not only healthier, but it can make you more superhero-like. You can be a faster runner if you have the right fuel, and you can be stronger and lift heavier things.”

“I really got in to lifting weights when I was about 20 and about that time I realized that it was something I wanted to do, I wanted to spend all of my time at the gym anyway. The big thing that pushed me to do it recently was the numbers game. It was more about how much you sell than it was about your client’s results. So, we were the top money-makers for the gym we were in, and we were all sort of sick with the way it had turned. So I decided to leave and open my own place and I’m glad that the guys followed me there.”

“That’s kind of how Robin got me in to the tights. He was like, ‘Dude, if you ever want to do a show, how do you expect to do that if you can’t even get into the tights?’ So, he’s manipulative, and that’s what he did to get me in to the tights. That’s how I use it, it gets me one step closer to getting me in my underwear every time.”

“When I was a kid I was a big superhero fan. I always thought Spiderman was re-ally cool because he was kind of unique. He didn’t fly, he wasn’t super tough or big, he was kind of your ordinary guy…A lot of the other superheroes tend to have the same traits and he just seemed different. He was probably the first su-perhero I got in to. Then came Captain America, I always thought it was cool in the comic books he would beat up Hitler and he was a symbol for America. And of course, Superman, I think every kid loved Superman.”

“I’m still a big nerd. I watch all of the Star Wars movies and I dress up as a superhero, so you could probably call me a nerd.”

NEXT up: BATMAN

Kevin is currently training to compete in next years Texas Shredder, his FIRST bodybuilding contest ever.


Name: BatmanAlter Ego: Jon Henson Day Job: Trainer at Conquer Fitness


“I always read comics when I was younger, my mom actually still has every single comic that I’ve ever read. I grew up on the Ninja Turtles, He-Man, and X-Men, those were my thing growing up. And then I watched Super-man and Batman, like everybody, but those other three, Satur-day morning, that’s what I was watching.”

“I think the thing with comics is that as a little kid, you always want to have super powers. I will say, Robin and Shane are diehards when it comes to comics, they can tell you anything. I’m not quite at that level with them. Growing up it was all about athlet-ics; it was all sports all year round, that’s where a lot of my passion was. But they’re at a whole other level, they’re crazy with it. It’s different, you don’t see that a whole lot.”

“When we worked at 24-hour Fitness, we’d do a Superhero Saturday here and there, just something fun and different to break everything up. Robin kind of just kept going with his costume making.”

“We’ve done elementary schools, kids parties, I know a couple of them have been out to car shows, comic book stores, different gyms, we’ve done a bootcamp before, kind of a little bit here and there, whatever pops up.”

“As far as the movie theaters go, we do that just for the fun of it, the move theaters really appreciate it.”

“The Avengers movie premier was probably the most fun. We had it all, Robin was Ironman, I painted myself green for The Hulk, Kevin was Captain America, we had a Black Widow, we pretty much had them all, really. They had four screens showing it, so we got to go to every theater. One of them actually opened up a theater for us, which was pretty cool.”

“Superhero-wise, The Hulk was really cool to me…he’s just a beast. He could just crush anybody.”

“The Hulk is pretty fun to do, we literally paint my whole body and go out, it’s not as hot also.”

“Last time I did it, I still have some in my car, actually, be-cause I had on these short little shorts and the back of my legs painted green. I probably still had green in my nails for two weeks after. I mean, I had to take three show-ers between the end of the movie that night and before I went to work the next day. Trying to get my back clean, by far the hard-est, it takes forever.”

It’s just kind of fun, seeing people’s expressions whenever you walk in like that, it’s just...it’s a blast.

While dressing up as his favorite character may spike his water bill and leave him picking off bits of green paint for weeks after, Jon says that it’s all worth it.


In our August issue, we covered avid runner and Naturally Fit model Talaya Frazier’s journey to cross the finish line of The Boston Marathon after breaking her femur on mile 13. While still in recovery, she told us that her ultimate goal was to run for the first time on her birthday and invite everyone who had helped her on her journey to cross the finish line.

On September 12, Frazier’s friends and family gath-ered at Third Base Restaurant downtown to celebrate her recovery and run alongside her as she completed a 2.62 mile course, an homage to The Boston Marathon’s 26.2 mile trek.

“My femur felt perfect, I just wanted to keep go-ing… It’s amazing to think that I have not run in five months,” said Frazier. “When I ran, it felt like I had never stopped.”

Among the crowd of supportive friends and fam-ily were a few familiar faces. Most notably, Desiree

Ficker, Frazier’s Boston Marathon running partner. For 13 grueling miles, Ficker was at her side, acting as Frazier’s caretaker and ensuring that she crossed the finish line safely. Today, she would take her place next to Frazier yet again.

“It was just surreal in a lot of ways,” said Ficker. “To look over and to see this woman here, it brought back flashbacks of Boston. We obviously haven’t run togeth-er since, I’ve been doing a few spin classes with her, but I was having a few moments when I was thinking about that day in Boston. Just to see her so happy and with her kids and family, and everyone supporting us here, and to see her face glowing and happy, it was the perfect opposite of what we had in Boston.”

After Frazier broke her femur, doctors told her that she would have to have a rod implanted in her leg, which would keep her from long-distance running. Running has always been an outlet for Frazier, she first

Crossing the Finish Line Once Again- Talaya Frazier completes her first run since breaking her femur during The Boston Marathon.

By Jordan Snyder


took up the sport when her youngest daughter, Chey-enna, was suffering from an undiagnosed illness for years and found that it helped her deal with the emo-tional turmoil that she was experiencing. Not ready to let go of something so close to her heart, Frazier asked if there were any other options.

Doctors told her it was a long shot, but if she put herself on complete bed rest, the break might heal on its own. However, she would need to go in for weekly checkups, and if the break had moved even a millime-ter, she would need to be prepped for surgery. Always an active person, Frazier’s family said that it was dif-ficult to see her not able to leave the couch.

“It’s amazing and all of her friends and all of my family that have supported her, it made a big differ-ence,” said Talaya Ann, Frazier’s eldest daughter. “You could see how she would sometimes get depressed and we would just tell her that God is with her and that she can push through. It’s a big inspiration for a lot of kids that have gone through the same stuff.”

“More than anything, it’s fun for me to see her run

Frazier poses with her family after completing her first run in 5 months


again because that’s how she controls her emotions and life in general,” said Frazier’s husband Kenny. “When she gets up in the morning and runs, she’s a completely different person. So I’m glad to see her running, because I know it will take off just a couple notches of nerves. That is absolutely how she releases all of her energy, so I’m glad it’s back. My concern is that she does too much too quick and tries to get back in the same scenario that she was in. So I’m going to be the voice that says ‘Hey, let’s keep it normal for a while before you go abnormal and run a marathon.’”

Kenny may be out of luck there. It seems that just after running for the first time in five months, Frazier is already planning her return to the Boston Marathon.

“My biggest goal is to run Boston 2013, Desiree and I want to have as our comeback year,” said Frazier. “So I want to complete it this year, not on a broken femur, that’s my goal.”

All of that time on the couch gave Frazier ample opportunity to come up with new ways to reach out to children who are suffering. After her youngest daugh-ter recovered from her undiagnosed illness, Frazier started the Cheyenna Foundation to provide support for families with sick children. From there, Frazier decided that she would dedicate every race that she ran to a sick child. She would wear their favorite colors while running, and present them with her medal after

the race was won. And from the idea spawned Frazier’s newest venture, Champions for Children. Champions for Children matches local fitness champions with a child in need of inspiration.

Recently, Ficker was introduced to Riley Blanken-ship, a friend of Talaya Ann’s that has been suffering from a gastrointestinal disorder. Ficker began taking Blankenship out to weekly lunches just to talk, but found that the relationship gave her more than she could have hoped for. Ficker, a world-class triathlete and runner, had always run to win, but found that it wasn’t as fulfilling anymore without a purpose. After meeting Blankenship, Ficker said that it completely changed the way her races felt, now that she had some-one to run for.

“When I finally got to meet Desiree, it was just amazing,” said Blankenship. “I couldn’t believe how inspirational she was, how beautiful she was and how amazing of a friend, supporter, and person she was. I love her to death, she’s awesome.”

“It felt really good to get out. I was just so isolated to my home, not feeling well. Just having her, to talk to somebody who actually understands…I told her that she was a bigger inspiration to me than I was to her.


Procrastination: 10 Tips for Banishing your Barriers

THE DOCTOR IS IN+ Kori Propst holds a BS in Exercise Physiology, is a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Behavioral Medicine & Health Psychology. She is a WNBF Professional Bodybuilder, ISSN Sports Nutritionist, personal trainer, and the Wellness Director for Perfect Peaking and The Diet Doc. Her Mental Edge Program is designed to aid individuals looking to lose weight through personalized strategies for optimal performance in their lives and competition.

@koripropst [email protected] www.perfectpeaking.com

“How many others are fickle when it comes to com-petition?”

This, a question presented to me recently during a discussion regarding how each of us approach compe-tition differently, got me thinking about procrastina-tion and how pervasive it is not only in the competitive bodybuilding world, but among individuals in the

work place, at home, at school, and really virtually any environment. We are a society grasping and search-ing for immediate gratification. We want and we want NOW. As bodybuilders, we are looking to make mas-sive gains in our off-seasons. When we diet, we desire to lose body fat with speed and efficiency. Embracing the process has become a burden.


Competitors come to me struggling with making decisions about what show to do and when to start dieting. They will ruminate on this for months, and when they finally decide, it’s almost too late to imple-ment a sound, somewhat slower, dieting strategy for the most effective fat loss and muscle retention.

While I can decide on a show schedule fairly easily; printing off the applications and sending in entry fees just solidifies it and even serves to lower my anxiety; at work, I most certainly engage in procrastination-type behavior. My to-do list is long. Each day, I will cross off items as I complete them, but there will inevitably be two or three tasks that end up at the top of the list day after day after day! What is it that keeps me from these items? Am I consciously avoiding these tasks?

Barriers are present, but what might surprise you is that they are far from tied to my personality. I’m the type of person with drive and a strong desire to do everything not only well, but perfectly. I’m relent-less in the gym. I have to have the dishes done and not lying in the sink. And I’ve never, ever used the snooze button! Am I a perfectionist? A type-A personality? In many ways, I do exhibit characteristics closely related to these descriptions, so how do you explain my wa-vering?

You may be surprised to know that procrastination is closely linked to our perceptions about how difficult a task might be, how long it will take us, and more importantly, how high it is on our priority list based on the incentives we have subconsciously identified are attached to it. Procrastination has not been linked to a particular gene or an area of the brain, and it cannot be blamed on a personality type.

Procrastinators may believe that their behavior can be easily explained as a decision to push things off un-til a later time. I’ve heard people tell me that they just do things better when they feel a pressure to complete them—like the student who crams the night before an important exam. Time could have been made prior to the eve of this test, but for some reason or another it wasn’t until the night before that they sat down with some intensity and vigor to learn an entire half a se-mester’s worth of material.

To be accurate, this person’s behavior was governed by an emotion brought upon by a negative thought. I know what you’re thinking, ‘Here we go again. One way or another, Kori will find a way to bring up the emotional side of things.’ It’s true, I do! There’s a reason my articles always lead back to this. There’s an emo-

tional cause to everything we do, with an attached belief and that belief may be limiting.

Like I mentioned before, your perceptions of the activity play a role in whether it will be carried out. If we perceive it as negative, we may distance ourselves from it. Distancing can occur to a greater degree if we perceive a task as perhaps dominating a significant amount of our time and for little reward.

On the other hand, and in the bodybuilding world, we may perceive our training and nutrition as time consuming, but our perceptions may be positive and linked to a very measurable, achievable goal. If we can imagine concretely what we will gain by engaging in these behaviors, see ourselves being successful in them, observe them as immediate and available, and view them as inherently rewarding, we’ll do them.

Often, what I’ll see with my clients is a fear of change, a fear of failing, or self-sabotage. With weight loss, exercise, and competing, there is an embarrass-ment factor playing a role in the choices we make.

When we make decisions, we are engaging in an internal volley between the pros and cons of the action. If we perceive the price as too high, we will likely dis-tance ourselves further from the task. My clients who struggle to complete even a few more weeks on their diet after having seen some success, often identify a fear of becoming someone else, looking unlike them-selves, and then being treated differently by others. Legitimate? Sure.

Weight loss carries with it many changes in one’s lifestyle and environments. What about the competitor who trains and diets like a maniac up until right before the show and then binges? Stress, anxiety, and fear about the possible outcome, ‘I could win this thing!’ they’re thinking, and that’s fantastic. It’s what every competitor wants! But for the weight loss client above, what could it mean? More expectations? What if this person gets on stage, everyone thinking she’s going to dominate the competition, and then she doesn’t pose well? She could be thinking this very thing, which could lead to stress and subsequently negative behav-ior.

Studies have been conducted that have illustrated the weight that incentives and perceived benefits carry in completion of a goal. If these benefits overpower the fear and perceived challenges of navigating new experiences and changes in life, success will occur.

THE DOCTOR IS IN+


TODAYQUIT

Surround Yourself With a Positive Support System

and people who support your goals and can reinforce your successes.

Use Positive Affirmations to increase determination, consistency, and drive to

accomplish the tasks you want to complete. Put them in places you frequent—the car, the kitchen, the bath-

room, and your dresser mirror.

Practice Visual Imagery. Imagine yourself accomplishing your goal. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, relax your body, and go step by

step through the process.

Develop a Plan. Because we typically want immediate results we need to plan out a course of action that is concrete and manageable. If we perceive it as cloudy and vague,

we are not likely to try. Have a plan for your nutrition for contest prep. For the first two weeks have your macronutrients mapped out for each day of the week,

then break down what your cardio and training schedule will look. We work more effectively when our tasks are broken down into manageable and achiev-

able pieces.

Act as if this is a technique you can use to change negative behavior and to avoid procrastinating. Act like you

do not procrastinate. Adopt a new you. Try on a new skin!

PROCRASTINATING


TODAYIdentify the Environments and

People Who Drain You

of motivation and speak negatively of your goals. Avoid the naysayers, those who cast doubt, and those

who express negative attitudes toward your goals.

Identify Your Negative and Limiting Beliefs

and change them. Our limiting beliefs are often shrouded in assumptions and black and white thinking. Distorted thinking can lead to unhealthy beliefs about ourselves, others, and life in general. These thoughts can impact our self-esteem and mental well-being. If your beliefs are defeatist in nature,

substitute them with positive language. Go from ‘I’m going to screw up my routine’ to ‘I’m going to rock the stage.’

Identify What Gets in the Way of Making Good Decisions

and engaging in more positive behaviors. If you binge eat, list your triggers, then remove them if possible.

They may be emotional, environmental, relational, or physiological.

Identify Concrete Incentives to Reward Yourself With when you have completed a certain step or progress to

a certain level. Keep a log to record your steps and to keep yourself accountable.

Identify the Advantages of Performing the Task.

Ask yourself what you will gain by embarking on this 4 month journey toward your next competition? We

thrive in environments where the benefits are in front of us.


ULTIMATEPeak Series

By Dr. Joe Klemczewski

The

The key word in keeping yourself in top physical form is manage, not magic. Stop searching for a playbook to follow and start under-standing that there are key processes occurring in your body that have to be recog-nized and guided. I isolate and pair the variables in the following way:

1) Carbohydrates and water2) Protein and fat3) Training and cardio4) Sodium and other minerals

These interdependent pro-cesses are best considered alone for their individual im-pact on your appearance but also together since altering one will affect the others.

THE DOCTOR IS IN+

Photo by Jordan Chabinsky

Part IIII: Sodium and Other Minerals

- Dr. Klemczewski continues his Ultimate Peak Series, teaching you how to get competition-ready, without risking your health.


ULTIMATEBy Dr. Joe Klemczewski

Photo by Jordan Chabinsky

Joe Klemczewski, PhD is a former World Cup Champion and drug-free pro bodybuilder who helps bodybuilders, figure competitors, and weekend warriors achieve their best condition through his unique online “Perfect Peaking” program.

The DietDoc.com

THE DOCTOR IS IN+

Part IIII: Sodium and Other Minerals

- Dr. Klemczewski continues his Ultimate Peak Series, teaching you how to get competition-ready, without risking your health.

With all the macronutrients resolved, another epic controversy lies in the sodium/potassium debate. I can only assume that decades ago, armed with borrowed and misapplied information from the medical commu-nity, someone purported the idea that cutting sodium and loading potassium would syphon subcutaneous water and keep you dry and tight looking all day. Even today, cardiologists recommend those with high blood pressure limit sodium and eat potassium-rich foods. However, even for such patients, the result is minimal at best. Remember, carbs and water are sledgehammers – actually, more like 90-ton D11 Caterpillar bulldozers. Trying to use sodium and potassium to channel body water where you want is like grandma with a hand trowel in comparison.

Accounting for, planning, and controlling minerals in your body is important during this process, it’s both fine-tuning ¬and insurance. I like to see minerals sta-ble and high enough through the week; no loading or depleting. Your brain is monitoring millions of chemi-cal reactions per second to maintain homeostasis. If it couldn’t keep the body in a life-sustaining balance, regarding every possible need, the party would be over.

Studies have shown that blood sodium remains un-changed whether you gorge on salty foods or eliminate every trace of it from your diet. The body will retain balance – and it will do whatever it takes. Unfortunate-ly for someone trying to swing from one extreme to another, the body will swing right back, creating waves of instability and compensation.

Sodium is actually necessary to keep water in muscle tissue. Eliminate it and your muscle tissue will push water out, no doubt about it, but that leaves you flat, small, and soft. It also doesn’t guarantee it’s leaving your body entirely. Your body will start retaining water,

but now it’s not in your muscle where it can make you look fuller and tighter.

Ever wake up on contest day and all your vascularity is gone, you have a thickness/wateriness in your skin, and you can’t get a pump? Drop water, drop sodium, and that’s what you should expect.

The average adult needs around 2,000 to 2,400 mil-ligrams of sodium per day. When you drink a lot of water, workout, and sweat, you can use even more. It’s not necessarily harmful to consume less, but some people, who are chronically low, do feel a significant energy boost when they come up to normal levels. Using more than you need could create problems. As unconventional as it sounds, I’ve even seen people lose body fat faster if they brought excessively high dietary sodium levels in check. Consistency is the key during peak week.

The recommended level of daily potassium is ac-tually double that of sodium, but with a diet rich in vegetables and some fruit, even many starches like potatoes, it isn’t hard to reach. If your food sources are consistent during peak week, I’d only make sure you are stable and your potassium levels are adequate.

What you don’t want to do is take straight potassium tablets throughout the day. This practice only contrib-utes to you retaining water in your body and creating instability in the sodium-potassium pump of cells, used to create a healthy hydration level.

Think rebound. If you can change, even slightly, the cellular balance of water, your body will quickly boo-merang in the other direction to reverse the effect. It’s never pretty, nor is it healthy.

A couple of years ago a young figure competitor in her 20’s recounted her contest experience with a coach who prescribed the typical peaking approach. She carb


depleted and sodium loaded the first half of the week. The, three days out, she started she started carbo-loading and cutting her water. Half of her normal water intake on Thursday, only sips on Friday and – per her trainer’s instructions – she took 99 milligram tablets of potas-sium every hour.

Friday afternoon, her husband was on the phone with an emergency room physi-cian as she lie curled up on the kitchen floor in pre-cardiac arrest. As I said, no sodium means muscle can’t hold water—your heart is a muscle—and over-dosing on potassium can wring out the last drops of cellular water. Incidentally, it’s the same method used in lethal injections for capital punishment to stop someone’s heart. Nice.

So, how do we use minerals to our contest-winning benefit? First, use adequate, appropriate, consistent, and stable amounts. This includes even things like calcium and magnesium—very impor-tant in fluid dynamics.

Next, understand the circumstances. If carbs are slowly coming down during the week, as I would suggest, to slowly flush subcutaneous water from

your body, minerals will head out with it. You may need to increase sodium at the end of the week or at least be ready to use it on contest day when needed.

On contest day, if a client needs fast increases in fullness and hardness or

if they’re simply carb sensitive, I will often use small amounts of sodium or a

high-sodium food in place of a big surge of carbohydrates. A bit of well-placed so-

dium, when all other variables are known, accounted for, and planned, can draw fluid into the vascular system, including from under your skin. You can see immediate vascularity and a tightening of your ap-pearance. Subtlety and practice is important—recall that your body can rebound in the other direction if you’re too aggressive.

Plan carbs and water first, plug in protein and fat, objectify your sodium/potassium plan, and you’re almost there.

The best plan will yield you nothing if you can’t monitor, assess, and adjust on the fly. Manage, baby; manage—predictability and consistency aren’t always found by employing the right method—it’s all about making the right decision at the right time. Just ask any coach in any sport.


OOutside of 24 Diner, the parking lot quickly fills up as the clock strikes noon. Benches fill with relative strangers, uncomfortably sharing their personal space while grasping a flashing brick of plastic, hoping that it will go off soon and it will be their turn to sample some of 24 Diner’s downhome staples. The wait staff whiz-zes by, balancing plates of delicious food, their scents wafting through the restaurant, making it difficult not to order everything on the menu. Is this typical of any downtown-adjacent restaurant around lunch time or is there something about 24 Diner that sets it apart from the others?

From breakfast frittatas to the best burgers in town, 24-hours a day, 24 Diner offers options for any dietary need. You might not think that a menu featuring a waf-fle sandwich (2 eggs, sausage, bacon, cheddar cheese, and brown sugar butter with a Belgian waffle as bread

for

- Finicky eaters rejoice! At 24 Diner, Chef Andrew Curren cooks something up for every diet.

By Bridgette Wilson

NoSubstitution

24NER

DI


and a side of skillet fries. Drooling yet?), would be the top pick for the average health-conscious Austinite, but Owner and Chef Andrew Curren made sure to include something for every diet on his menu.

One of the hardest parts of eating out on when you have special dietary restrictions may be enduring the white hot rage of your waiter as you take an eternity to order your dinner, sending them back to the kitchen a few times to make sure that your meal will be free of any problem ingredients. At 24 Diner, substitutions or modifications are not only accepted, but encouraged. Rather than shunning dietary special requests, Chef Curren chooses to embrace the modifications and give the diners what they want.

“I do not sneak things into my food to make them taste better”, he says, “As a chef, I think it is our re-sponsibility to teach our customers what, why and how their food is prepared.”

Something you won’t find at most of your local greasy spoons (even in Austin) is a menu rich in local-ly-sourced foods. Chef Curren is not only dedicated to using locally-sourced produce, but also the highest quality meat that he can find, making sure that all of his meat meets the Never Ever 3 standards put forth by the FDA. That means no antibiotics, no hormones and no animal by-products in their feed.

“All these things allow the food to taste better,” says

24NER

Chef Curren. “When my customers taste my food, they will see the difference and want to continue coming back again and again. It might take a while for the cus-tomers to understand why I do the way I do it, but for me, that is what 24 was: a great opportunity to say this is who I am, these are the things I believe in.”

Curren went on to say that he makes sure that his staff understand the importance of fresh foods and high quality meats, so they can increase his customer’s knowledge and maybe explain why they charge $15 for a burger a little bit more easily. Their beef is Premium Gold Angus brisket, freshly ground every day, topped with Never Ever 3-approved nitrate-free bacon and comes on a freshly baked bun. From the garnish to the side dishes, everything is thoughtfully put together. Even the side dish menu is changed up on a daily basis, depending on the locally-sourced, seasonal, vegetable varieties that are available. Chef Curren doesn’t miss a thing when it comes to providing the absolute freshest meals for his customers.

Some may be surprised to find out that a chef who seems to put so much of his heart into his menus, didn’t grow up dreaming that one day he would don a classic white chef ’s coat. No, the chef that is so dedicat-ed to providing his customers with the highest quality meats available originally dreamed of donning a white coat of a different sort – he was going to be a veterinar-


ian. While studying animal science at Texas A&M,

Chef Curren got a job at a local bar to support him-self. Not a big fan of bartending, Curren was relieved when his boss suggested that he start making some new food for the bar. From day one, he was hooked, but his love of cooking wasn’t going to deter him from finally becoming a veterinarian. After graduat-ing with a degree in animal science, Curren was on his way to med school when fate stepped in the way.

He was enrolled in a 2-3 month long cooking pro-gram in Italy that was extended to a 5-6 month long program. Chef Curren decided to stay, and starting his journey toward becoming the chef he is today.

“I fell in love with the food, wine and family,” said Curren. “I was like ‘Wow, people actually do this for a living.’”

Curren asked the chef that he was working for at the time for advice. He told him that being a chef is difficult: terrible hours, terrible pay, and massive amounts of stress – If you don’t love to cook, you’ll hate being a chef. So he told Curren to put himself to the test: pack his bags, move to a major city, and start cooking.

After three years, Curren found that he had grown to love cooking even more than when he had started. So he saved up his money and moved yet again. This time, setting sights on New York City’s Cullinary Institute of America, where he would graduate first in his class.

Chef Curren recently opened Easy Tiger, a beer garden and bakery on East 6th, where his wife, Pas-try Chef Mary Catherine Curren, bakes their fresh breads and pastries daily. Carrying on with the same vision as 24 Diner, Chef Curren is adding to his legacy with his newest restaurant, Arros, where Chef Mary Catherine will act as Executive Pastry Chef.

“It is like a French brasserie concept,” said Chef Curren. “Country French, without the heavy butter and cheese found in traditional French, more of a wood burning grill. Grilled fish, steak, and veggies, and serving our fresh breads from Easy Tiger. Will there be a Croque Monsieur with cheese in between bread with a fried egg on top of it? Of course. As it is with 24 Diner, we give people options; healthier op-tions, as well as options that allow you to splurge.”

The idea of French food created without a reliance on heavy creams and butter may seem a bit non-tra-ditional, but that’s exactly what Chef Curren is going for. According to him, he wants Arro to present


French food in a non-pretentious manner. That means no white table cloths.

The restaurant, which will open in March of 2013, will offer a three-course meal anytime and brunch on the weekends. In addition to that, Chef Mary Cathe-rine’s pastry menu will be the highlight, featuring tasty cakes and pastries that will be prepared daily. If you’re just looking for a small splurge, Chef Curren recom-mends stopping by for slice of cake and French press coffee, which will only cost you about $8.

Now the proud owner of three restuarants, Chef Curren doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Next, he plans to take on rustic Italian cuisine. He also men-tions that he’s been toying with the idea of opening a health-driven restaurant, where you can come in, pick from a list of lean protein, choose a veggie from the local farmer’s market that day and choose to cook in olive oil or butter.

No matter which route he takes next, he says that there is only one thing that keeps him going: family. He gives 100 percent of the credit for his motivation to his wife, Chef Mary Catherine, and his desire to be able have a family once he’s made a name for himself in Austin.

While most chefs would find their egos bruised after a customer requests a long list of substitutions to their creation, Chef Curren continues to encourage his customers to take charge, and make sure they know exactly what is going in to their meal. Whether you’re vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free or full-fledged Paleo, Chef Curren will serve something to fit your dietary restrictions.


IIs it really possible that food could be free? According to the Food is Free project, food can – and should, be free. Food is Free installs front yard gardens, free of charge, and any passerby’s are welcome to pick any produce that catches their fancy – for free. That’s exactly the point that Food is Free founders, Jonathan Horstmann and John VanDeusen Edwards, are trying to make.

“It raises the question, ‘Why isn’t food free?’” said Edwards. “And not only monetarily free, but free from the chains of the broken agricul-tural system. The average dinner plate has food from five countries, it travels 1,200 miles just to get to our plate, and we’re reliant on these massive companies with mono-crop farming. So the idea is really, how can we bring it back to a local scale, engage local communities, and support local economies. And at the same time, have all of these other amazing side effects, creating safer communities, where people know each other, and you can share other resources.”

“The idea was to create decentralized, auton-omous groups that were putting in garden beds and educating people on how to put in garden beds,” said Horstmann. “More specifically, the garden beds that we do are the wicking beds.”

LOCAL FLAVOR

Can Food Really Be Free?

- The Food is Free project brings communities to-gether while spreading the word about sustainability.

By Ana Gonzalez


Wicking beds are mini aquifers underneath a raised garden bed. The bed starts out with a bottom layer of pea-gravel, a middle layer of burlap, and then a top layer of soil. Water is poured through a PVC pipe that empties directly into the pea gravel layer and the mois-ture wicks through the burlap into the soil. According to Colin Austin, an environmental researcher and the original creator of wicking bed technology, wicking beds imitate a naturally occurring process of vegeta-tion, enabling plant growth in regions of low rainfall and high evaporation.

According to Horstmann, the Food is Free proj-ect prefers using wicking beds because many people believe that they can’t grow anything. Wicking beds conserve water, are drought-tolerant, require little maintenance, and are essentially black-thumb-proof.

“Last summer, when we were dealing with the most intense drought that Texas has ever seen, all of our gardens were dying, and it was hard to justify water-ing them so much when they weren’t producing,” said Edwards. “It was really a matter of desperate times call for desperate measures, and then those desperate measures turned in to, ‘Wow this is not just a way to grow food in extreme climates, but a way to make it re-ally easy to put public gardens in places and keep them maintained.’”

The project is supported through the Austin com-munity with donations of tools, time, energy, and a little bit of money. The main goal for Food is Free is to build stronger communities by facilitating shared food

LOCAL FLAVOR

and resources. “It really started with a front yard garden, that’s the

cool thing. It was a really simple idea; starting those interactions with neighbors by putting yourself in a vulnerable situation where we might not normally be,” said Edwards. “Why can’t that be a more regular thing? We’re not asking everyone to be a farmer or to be a gardener, it’s just more of an opportunity to con-nect with people and ask questions; it’s not about just doing the work and back-breaking labor.”

Horstmann and Edwards recalled teaching a group of parents how to build wicking bed gardens, and later finding out that they had turned around and built 30 at their kid’s school. As a result, their children have incorporated working in the garden as a part of their science class.

“It shows real actions that you can take today to cre-ate a better world,” said Edwards. “And not just a better tomorrow, but a better today. We can sit around all day and have a political discussion about our differences and our ideologies, but if we meet in the garden and just start growing things, all of the sudden, we’re on the same page and we realize we’re a lot more similar than we are different.”

Horstmann first learned about gardening about a year ago, during a volunteer mission to Haiti with The Reforestation Project. It was there that he learned how to successfully grow his own food through organic production methods. Gardening wasn’t the only ben-efit from his experience, however. According to Horst-


mann, growing his own food opened his eyes to a larger issue.

“It wasn’t something that I really enjoyed, it was more like, something needs to change about the way we live our lives, and the way we view the world,” said Horstmann. “And food is that change I think.”

Food is Free officially kicked off earlier this year on January 21st. Participants were split off into self-orga-nized groups, categorized by neighborhood area. So far, the project has installed over 100 gardens in front yards, schools, public parks, businesses, and churches. , Accord-ing to Edwards, they document their progress, trials, and successes in an effort to spread the word about the project. As a result, 17 states and 3 countries from 3 different con-tinents have contacted them to get information on how to start their own Food is Free initiative, and the outreach continues to grow.

“Honestly, every week our mind is blown by the new folks that reach out to us,” said Edwards. “We’re excited, yet humbled at the same time, and we’re really just taking it one step at a time.”

While they may be taking it one step at a time, Edwards and Horstmann have an ultimate goal in mind: spreading the word, and making sustainability more accessible.

“The bigger picture is really creating this open-sourced tool kit, where anyone in the world can access this knowl-edge and find whatever materials they can for free in their community, rally together their neighbors, and make it happen,” said Edwards. “It doesn’t have to look this way, this is just one possibility of how you can do it, but we were able to line our block.”

The Food is Free project is dedicated to sustainability, creating their garden beds out of repurposed materials such as wooden shipping palates, construction materials, and old campaign signs. Always promoting connection to their neighborhood, their compost is largely comprised of used coffee grinds, donated by the coffee shop around the corner, Thunderbird Coffee, as well as yard clippings and other various composting materials that their neighbors donate.

“They’re built out of salvaged materials, so to some people, maybe they won’t be beautiful right away,” Ed-wards explains. “The cool thing is, when any garden bed is overflowing with fresh, healthy produce that anyone is allowed to harvest from, that’s really beautiful.”

Regular garden parties are organized for locals to learn how to install a garden bed and newcomers can sign up to have one installed in their front yard the following week.


During a recent installation, they built a garden from discarded old wood, after a neighbor finished installing a new deck.

Sarah Salazar, a volunteer and social media expert, said that the Food is Free project sparked her interest from the founders’ enthusiasm at their very first wicking bed work-shop in January. The fervor for the project was so magnetic, that the decision to volunteer was a no brainer for her. There is no mistaking the remarkable zeal that resides in their pas-sion to spread the word with Food is Free.

“We want to make it to where if you meet someone, and they’re not growing food, you wouldn’t go home with them,” said Horstmann. “We want to make it that cool.”

Salazar has reaped numerous benefits from getting involved with the Food is Free project. Most surprisingly, without any conscious effort, she lost 40 pounds through gardening and exploring the world of fresh foods.

“Not only is it the physical exercise, but what you’re putting into your body,” said Salazar, adding that she feels better, looks better, and that she wants to share that expe-rience with others. “I pulled a turnip out of the ground, washed it off, and took a bite of it, and it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had or experienced in my life. Why wouldn’t we eat like this all the time?”

Recently, the Food is Free project submitted their appli-cation for non-profit status, so they will be able to accept tax-deductible donations and hire a paid staff. Fundraising isn’t the main focus for the founders, however, what mat-ters most is educating the public.

“We throw really great parties, and really great fundrais-ers, and we’re able to raise money that way, but our focus

“We want to make it to where if you meet someone, and they’re not growing food,

you wouldn’t go home with them.”

can’t be just on raising money,” said Edwards. “I feel like that’s where a lot of non-profits end up, so focused on stay-ing alive that things just end up failing. As long as we stay focused on what our vision is, I really feel like the universe will take care of us and keep a roof over our heads.”

When asked about the future, the founders’ “take things as they come” attitude shines through. Horstmann laughed and said he plans to install a garden bed once the interview is over, and said he might even go camping the next day. Between chuckles, Edwards shared his plans to go home and practice a few songs on the ukulele, and check his email to see what the next week will bring for them.

“We literally just can’t not do it,” said Edwards. “It feels like a bigger thing that’s bigger than us, it’s bigger than any one individual. It’s like we met each other and things just started happening. This is a really simple idea, but it’s resonating with so many people, that now more than ever, we cannot not do this.”

Edwards shows us his Aquaponic garden bed, which grows fish and plants in one integrated system. The waste from the fish provides the plants with an organic food source, and the plants provide a natural filter for the water the fish live in.


FT

Healthy Foods that aren’t the Least Bit Healthy

- It’s no surprise that the Clif Bar gives you a lot of energy. After all, as it turns out, it’s nothing more than a brick of sugar with some grains thrown in for good measure.

By Jordan Snyder and Emily Talley

After a while, this practice in procrastination became a bit of a game for me. After work, I’d find myself look-ing through my pantry and reading the ingredients of a few of the foods I thought were healthy. If I couldn’t find anything that stood out to me, I’d bring it in, put a few minutes on the clock, and watch as Emily would pinpoint the worst ingredients, and effortlessly read off a laundry list of reasons that the ingredient was terrible for me.

Which brings us to the birth of this column. Every month, I’m going to give Emily a product that is widely accepted as healthy, and let her blow your mind. For the premier piece, I decided to offer up something near and

23214g

25g21g

5g

CALORIESFATSUGARS

PROTEINCARBS

CALORIESFATSUGARS

PROTEINCARBS

2407g

41g21g

10g

dear to my heart to the nutrition gods: the Clif Bar. There is a small cartoon of a rock climber on the

front of every bar, so right out of the gate, you know this must be healthy. As an expert on the world of advertising (read: a fan of Man Men), I know that a lot of time and energy goes in to making products appeal to a certain demographic. So, instead of calling it a day and throwing the bar in to my cart, I checked out the nutritional information on the back.

The calories and carbohydrates are a little bit on the high side, but that could just mean that the bar will give me enough energy to precariously dangle off of the edge of a cliff; which, according to the packaging, is the intended use of this particular energy bar. Then comes sugar, a whopping 21 grams of it, to be exact. How the heck did they manage that? My eyes darted to the ingredients to find the culprit.

The more I learn about nutrition, the more I realize that I know absolutely nothing about the subject. I’ve always considered myself a relatively well-informed consumer. Don’t drink your calories, eat whole grain foods, and avoid sugar like you owe it money; those rules have been drilled in to my head ever since I first started poring over every health magazine I could find in an attempt to reduce my dress size. I mentioned in my last Letter from the Editor that I enjoyed hanging around our resident nutritionist’s office and picking her brain about nutrition. I’d ask her if what I had brought for lunch that day was healthy, and try not to flinch as she’d com-pletely rip my meal apart – nutritionally, of course.


F

I’m not sure if this is a widespread blind spot, but any time I see “organic” printed on a food product, I im-mediately deem it healthy without a second thought. In the Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch flavor, which was my favorite before I met Emily, the word “organic” appears a total of 13 times. Needless to say, the repetition was enough to make me completely miss the fact that sugar is

listed multiple times on the ingredient list. Cane syrup is listed about three times, but what is troubling, is that cane syrup isn’t the only source of sugar. The other sources just happen to go by pseudonyms.

Sugar isn’t the only problem, it gets much, much worse from here. But I’ll let Emily be the bearer of bad news. Take it away, Em:

First off, anything with more than 3 ingredients is questionable on the health scale. And clearly, this is a paragraph. What pops up at me in the ingredient list is the multiple times SUGAR is listed as an ingredient. Six times, to be exact: organic rice syrup, barley malt extract, organic dried cane syrup, organic cane syrup, more dried cane syrup in the chocolate chips and date paste, a natural sugar, but a sugar no less. Collectively, this Cliff Bar has 21g of sugar. To put that in perspective for you, that’s the same amount of sugar found in a package of Reeses’ Pea-nut Butter Cups.

The fact that the sugar found in the Clif Bar is organic really doesn’t matter. Sugar = sugar, in whatever form it comes in. The minute amount of trace minerals that may be found in organic cane syrup are negated by the adverse health effects of the SUGAR.

In addition to the high amount of sugar, all Clif Bars contain highly processed soy ingredients. Processed soy protein has been found to contain carcinogens and the phytoestrogens found in soy products disrupt hormone function. This can lead to health complications such as hypothyroidism.

To add insult to injury, soy in the US has become a commodity similar to corn. Like corn, a majority (91%) of soy beans are genetically modified organisms (GMO). Not only does this diminish the nutritional content of the soy, but the mass growing of the GMO soy beans wreaks havoc on our eco system.

“But they have whole grains and fiber!” Whole grains aren’t all the health food you may think they are. Grains contain mean little proteins called lectins. In high-con-centrations (such as the amount found in grains) they will cause an inflammatory response. This is due to the fact that they do not break down completely during digestion and punch microscopic holes in the intestinal lining. This causes your body’s immune system to respond defen-sively, to foreign invaders seeping through the holes, this is known as an auto-immune response and over time, this can cause many different auto-immune disorders.

Cliff Bars are not healthy, nor would I even consider them to be healthier than a candy bar or a Reeses’ Peanut Butter Cup.

Ingredients: Organic Brown Rice Syrup, ClifPro® (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Barley Malt Extract], Organic Soy Flour, Organic Roasted Soybeans), Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Toasted Oats (Organic Oats, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Ascorbic Acid, Natural Vitamin E [Antioxidant]), Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Peanut Butter (Organic Peanuts, Salt), Chocolate Chips (Dried Cane Syrup, Unsweetened Chocolate,

Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract), Peanut Flour, Peanuts, ClifCrunch® (Organic Oat Fiber, Apple Fiber, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Psyllium, Organic Milled Flaxseed), Organic

Date Paste, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt.

The Dirty Details:

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