Sami Martin

Category: Wellness

  • Say No to Keto!

    Written By Sam Martin

    Why I am Choosing to say NO to a Keto Diet.

    Say No To Keto!
    Say No To Keto!

    The Keto diet has quickly become the South Beach or Atkins diet of the past, only on steroids. All too often I am hearing friends and acquaintances tell me how I should switch to a Keto diet for weight loss. It’s simple, I am working towards living a healthier lifestyle, not one that can potentially put my body into more distress.

    The essence of the ketogenic diet is to exclude all carbohydrates forcing the body to get energy from a different macronutrient, fat! This means if you choose this way of eating, you are choosing to omit whole grains, legumes and fruits from your diet as these are all carbs. Once the body begins to extract energy from the fats being consumed, it will create ketones as a means of metabolizing the fat.

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    The Keto Food Pyramid.Obviously not vegan and especially not plant based. The image shows lean cuts of meat, however most people eat high cholesterol.

    The South Beach and Atkins diets taught us that simple carbs can be disastrous for weight loss. So it makes sense that it could be a great way to kick start a weight loss program, or sustain weight loss over a long period of time. I mean, who else struggling with losing the unwanted pounds does not want an easy out? Well, I do not! Not if it comes at the detriment to my health.

    There are plenty of people out there who will try to convince you the keto diet is the only way to lose and maintain proper weight. Meanwhile they are suffering what can only be described as the “keto flu”, a mixed bag of feeling unwell, nausea and fatigue. This is because there i=are whole groups of foods your body is being denied, foods that provide essential nutrients.

    Studies Show Low Carb Diets Are Killing You Slowly

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    It’s Ok to Eat CarbsContrary to what you are told there are healthy carbs. Eat them, not in abundance, but enjoy the low glycemic carbs!

    A recent study in published in The Lancet, demonstrated that those eating a prolonged low carb diet, relying on fatty based cuts of meats from various animals suffered a higher mortality rate. Of course many studies have already indicated that diets with more animal products are the leading causes of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, with the keto diet specifically, you are eating in a means that increases the levels of bad cholesterol and lowers the amount of good. This puts anyone on the diet at a great risk of developing heart disease.

    Vegetables, legumes fruits and whole grains have already been proven time and again to be the healthiest foods for the body. When you remove these foods from your plate, of course you would expect your life expectancy to decrease. My opinion is that these foods are deemed the healthiest for a reason. Why would I remove them from my diet? Especially when I sat across the table from a guy eating 2 sirloin patties, a side of bacon 3 sausage and 2 eggs. This guy was attempting to lecture me on how to eat. Simply because I was larger and he was leaner, he felt he was healthier. Carbs are not your enemy.

    Sure, you can say you have seen keto work for weight loss. That does not mean there are not other reasons to avoid this diet. Use the google and look up the literature on the documented side effects of a prolonged keto diet. Patients suffered from side effects such as kidney stones, cardiac arrhythmias, pancreatitis, high cholesterol and more. Is this what you are looking for when trying to live a healthier life. NO

    Let food be thy medicine. Th earth is replete with food that can help us heal. This includes managing diabetes, heart disease and cancer. It does not include killing ourselves slowly to look good in the mirror!

  • Vegan Apple Spice Muffins

    Vegan Apple Spice Muffins

    recipeswellness

    Written By Sam Martin

    The Perfect Fall Recipe for a Healthy Snack

    Fall Harvest - Apple Spice Muffins
    Fall Harvest – Apple Spice Muffins

    Let me start by saying this, when a loved one asks for a healthy fall recipe, you try your best to find and create the perfect recipe! One that will satiate the desire to eat it. Thank you Rainbow Plant life for having the perfect starter to what would be a delicious treat for a Labour Day recipe treat! It is always fun to have a new recipe.

    Making the Mix!

    The recipe turned out really well. Of course, I needed to make some changes. I always need to add my own spin. I changed some of her ingredients and instead of making donuts we made muffins with donut holes. (We do not own a donut tin and only had muffin silicones.) The food changes made were substituting part of the all purpose flour with oat and coconut flour. (I do this in my banana bread and it is fantastic) plus no cane sugar, instead substitute with equal amount of coconut sugar. This is a lower glycemic less intense sweetener. Of course, this is all relative to taste.

    Changing out the sugar and the flour increases the nutrients and health benefits without losing any of the flavours. In fact the substitutions do not increase the calories while providing additional nutrients our body use. When making these substitutions for yourself, be sure you are using the organic versions. For the oat flour, we make ours at home by grinding whole oats. We drop them in our Ninja Blender and a little blitz we have oat flour. Don’t worry I will list all the ingredients and their nutritional values down below.

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    Donuts and Nut MilkCreativity abounds with fun food decorating

    BATTER INGREDIENTS

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    • 1 cup coconut milk (you can substitute other plant based milks as well)
    • 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
    • 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 
    • 1/3 cup organic coconut sugar (or us maple syrup)
    • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 2 cups
      – 1 cup all-purpose flour
      – 1/2 cup oat flour
      – 1/2 cup coconut flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

    APPLE SPICE MIX

    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 

    Combine the spices in a bowl and mix them all up.

    CARDAMOM MAPLE ICING

    • 1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar 
    • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup 
    • 3-4 tablespoons plant based milk
    • 1-2 pinches of ground cardamom
    • 1 pinch of ground cloves

    Pour the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl. Add the maple syrup and milk, a tablespoon at a time, whisking until smooth and not too thin. Add more spices if desired

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    Directions

    1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
    2. Pour the milk into a measuring cup and add the apple cider vinegar. Give it a whisk to combine. Let sit until the mixture is slightly curdled.
    3. Combine in a large bowl the flour, salt, baking powder, and Apple Spice Mix.
    4. In another medium bowl, combine the milk-vinegar mixture, applesauce, sugar, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract. Stir them up until batter is smooth.
    5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined, be sure not to over mix.
    6. Spoon the mixture into your donut or muffin tins filling at about 3/4 full. We used foil to make the holes.
    7. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.
    8. Dip each donut into the Cardamom Maple Icing, and if desired, sprinkle on chopped nuts and toasted coconut. Allow the donuts to rest for 15 minutes for the icing to set.

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  • Lose Weight Be Fit – Part 2

    Lose Weight Be Fit – Part 2

    FitnessNutrition

    Written By Sam Martin

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    If I thought I had been unkind to myself and my body in the past, well the last 18 months of COVID are the worst. My body has been through its second highest ever weight and at 53 years old is struggling to keep up. On fact there are days I feel the unhealthy habits, the lazing around in a desk chair or bed are going to put me there permanently.

    How bad is it you ask? Well, at the highest I was 325lbs. As recently as 5 years ago I was 247lbs. Today I am about 300lbs. (currently do not have a scale until end of September) This is actually down from 315lbs in March when I lost 17lbs poking my nose under 300lbs and going back up to 310lbs in July. All of this has shot my blood pressure way up, my stomach does not react well to many foods and I barely move. Boo Whooo, right!

    NO! I need to kick myself in the ass and remind myself just how strong my body is and how well it recovers when I treat it with kindness. In May and June I lost almost 20lbs. It was not difficult, the opposite in fact. So why did I fall off the wagon again? Simple really! Wanting what I want in that moment, not thinking about the ramifications. Take out food and television is a slippery slope for me. It provides a sense of comfort, though I am not sure why. Therapy is supposed to help root out what it is that I am doing when I make these choices. Protection? Fear? Something…

    YES! It Is Time For A Change

    Change, it seems is never easy, specifically change to the diet while implementing a good exercise program. Changing from that of a junk food addict to healthy fresh ingredients that bring forth the things a body wants to thrive and live in health. In my condition, the weight, activity level right now, there is no chance of being the authentic me. Maybe that is the negative dialogue that also needs to change. However, there is also the realists voice. My body is strong, but it is time I stop abusing it so we can heal together.

    Back in late April I started 2 minutes of walking every hour and by May that ramped up to 3 minutes. After a few weeks the time increased to 5 minutes and every so often I would add knee strengthening interval work or some body weight exercises. Soon the step count was up to about 7.5k. That did not last. Now I am at about 1.2k daily if that some days.

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    CHANGE #1 – Start moving 3 minutes every hour 6x a day. (5 minutes by September 30th)

    Movement will be focused on improving the mobility in my knees. There are a few knee strengthening exercises that help keep basic mobility day to day. The goal is to be able to walk a couple of kilometres a day without feeling like an old grump through the night. This is in addition to regular daily activity.

    CHANGE #2 – Drink more smoothies and eat more vegetables. 60% of daily food intake Aug 23 – Sep 30th 2021

    YES! Adopting this will help me immensely. Well, Tara will help with that as well. At this point there is little trust that the best decisions are being made while I am alone. Nothing worse for inner dialogue than broken promises to yourself, repeatedly!

    So, hello change, nice to meet you. So looking forward to the wonderful things you will bring.

    Accountability

    I own the mistakes I have made in the past and feel ready to give a little control to others. My partner, Tara. Anyone reading this who wants to offer constructive suggestions and most importantly, to myself. The truth is to live a life true to myself, these changes need to be made. Accountable to myself first and foremost.

    Somedays it is difficult to look at myself in the mirror and not feel remorse for my weakness. Being more in the moment, more aware of myself and how I am feeling, understanding the triggers that send me to eat the junk.

    Welcome to Sam’s journey! Choose to follow me, to praise me, to chastise me, I am prepared for it all. I am prepared to come out of lockdown changed

    weightlossdietlose weightfitnessweightloss journey

  • Vegan Banana Bread

    Written By Sam Martin

    A Deliciously Sweet Treat When You Get Those Cravings

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    Every so often enjoying a great tasting loaf of banana bread as a sweet treat is absolutely delightful. Especially when itis this decadent but nutrient rich recipe. This is so tasty that it has officially become a fan (the two of us here in the house) favourite. Careful, we struggle not to eat it all in one sitting.

    You can make this banana bread in one large bowl, or split it into 2 of liquid and dry. Either works. We use thawed frozen bananas, from the smoothie stash, mashed up with palm sugar, vanilla and melted coconut oil. Sometimes I will add a touch of maple syrup for the sweetener as well.

    There are different things we do to make the recipe different. Nothing like a little variety in your banana bread. The first one we made was simple, some walnuts. Plan and simple. The next one we tried dried cherries in addition to the walnuts. The last time we made it, we added chocolate chips. This was our favourite version.

    We like it warm out of the oven.
    Find the Recipe Below

    Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

    Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
    This entire recipe is made in 2 bowls

    Bread Base – Dry Mix
    3 cups flour mix (1.5c all purpose / .5c coconut / .5c oats
    1.5 tablespoons baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 tablespoon ground flax seed
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    pinch of ground gloves

    Wet Mix
    4 frozen mashed bananas
    1/4 cup coconut sugar
    1/4 cup maple syrup
    1/4 cup melted coconut oil
    1 teaspoon vanilla

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    Vegan Banana Bread RecipeBoasting lots of nutrients, this homemade low glycemic banana bread is a great way to make something delicious at home.

    Make the Banana Bread

    It is time to put all your ingredients into the bowl. Mix them together with a spatula until you have a thick sticky pancake like consistency. You would be able to use the spatula to move the mixture from the bowl to the loaf baking pan.

    Before you place the mixture into the bread pan, be sure to create a non stick coating over the surface of the pan. Grease the pan with some coconut oil and flour the surface after that. Instant non stick surface.

    This is where you can add in walnuts, chocolate, whatever really suits your fancy! We are considering pineapple and coconut cashew. It really depends on what you like.

    Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes

    Want more recipes

    We are creating new recipes all the time. We will be posting the best ones once we have a final product we are proud of. Our recipes are always delicious and nutritious, taking caloric intake as well as macro and micro nutrients into account.

    Delicious moist vegan banana bread fresh from the oven!
    Delicious moist vegan banana bread fresh from the oven!

    We really love trying recipes from The Minimalist Baker and Fresh Baked Harvest as well.

  • Defeated By Poor Eating Habits

    Nutrition Mindfulness

    Written By Sam Martin

    Trying to live a healthier lifestyle can be very difficult

    Are you struggling just as I am to overcome your bad eating habits? Does the idea of watching what you eat really leave you feeling defeated? Boy do I hear you.

    Since putting it out there that I am attempting to live a healthier lifestyle I feel like I have done the complete opposite. Struggling to make the right choices these last weeks have demonstrated to me that I am highly addicted to the unhealthy choices I continue to make. I know the key to overcoming the health issues that I am facing is to adapt to and live a much healthier lifestyle.

    Since the first 2 weeks of deciding to record videos documenting the ways I have learned to eat healthier. Applying the knowledge of a short course over 5 years ago in nutrition, a vast read knowledge of how to choose macro eating over calorie reductions and starvation techniques, as well as the support many online resources I still end up resorting to the old unhealthy ways of eating. I find myself stuffing my face with things like pastries, cookies, chips and popcorn. The trips to A&W for the Beyond Meat burger and the cheating on no meat to eat charcuterie boards and parma on baguettes in Madeira, Portugal.

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    Charcuterie Board – Madeira, Portugal

    I am a stress eater. Food is my go to comfort for all things in life except heartache. I refuse to be in a perpetual state of heartbreak just to lose weight and be healthy. Anytime I get stressed or feel good about life, which apparently is quite often because look where I am, I end up right back up close to 300lbs. Th trouble is this time I am also in the worst shape of my life. With past and present health issues most certainly caused by my die and health, you might think after several roller coaster rides around this weight loss thing I would get it by now. Except I don’t. If I did I would not be here, not writing this, hoping to somehow let it sink in.

    Instead, yet again I feel the early sounds of defeat drumming in my head. I feel so close again to just accepting the defeat and accepting whatever outcomes accompany my change back to the past. The trouble is… I don’t want to. I want a healthy active stress free leaner life! So let’s turn it around. Every day can be a new beginning and a step forward. Even if you experience two steps backwards at times, there are moments to move forward.

    When we returned back from Madeira, Portugal I noted that I had actually lost weight while traveling. Despite eating from a couple of junk food meccas and indulging in the meat products I was actually down 7lbs from my weigh in before leaving. After seeing this I took stock of what and how I ate during that time to see what the cause could have been to effect the loss despite bad habits creeping in. First, I was not fasting. Food was consumed between 10 am and 8pm. No window there. It was however limited to 3 meals a day, no snacking in between, no additional food outside breakfast lunch and dinner. Additionally, the food portions are not as huge. In north American culture, it appears as though the more you are given, the more you will eat. Portions were nearly perfect every time we ate.

    Every morning I would start my day with the hotel free breakfast choices. this was eggs on toast with a small mango arugula salad. (I always left the mango to the side.

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    Hotel BreakfastEggs on toast with Arugula and Mango

    We were also walking more. Daily average steps increased substantially during the time we were there when we were out exploring. Walking around the Funchal streets and down to the marina daily provided enough exercise to burn off some of the calories. In fact average steps per day increased over the previous month according to my apple health step counter.

    How to translate travel eating into home eating?

    Not going to lie, since being back I have been eating non-stop. Certain to gain back the weight I lost while traveling, my goal this week is to find the things that helped and optimize them into new habits.

    The biggest difference noticed was that there was no snacking. No food in between meals meant calories were reduced. Even if it looked like I went over from the types of foods that were ate, at the end of the day, strictly eating 3 meals in an 10 hour period proved more effective than almost constant eating.
    Conclusion: Fasting does not work if you are constantly grazing. Limiting meals to 3 times a day can actually help. That will be my challenge this week. Trying not to graze.

  • Time to Lose Weight & Be Fit

    FitnessNutrition

    Written By Sam Martin

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    Over the years I have not been kind to myself. My story is not unique, there are so many people out there who have and still struggle with their own health and weight. Living a rollercoaster ride of weight loss and gain. I was a childhood athlete who grew up to be an adult obesity statistic.

    At my highest I was 325lbs. That was the first time being overweight scared me. Having developed high blood pressure and Acid Reflux, the Dr and Nutritionist were straight up, LOSE WEIGHT! This was 2010. During the last 10 years I have been down to 247 lbs and up to as high as 290 recently.

    In August of 2007 a move to LA weight management become uneasy. Despite gaining back 10 lbs I was confident I could continue the good health path. FAILED Again. An emotional eater, in 2008 my father passed away, I was living unhappily with a woman who was also overweight and I ate away the pain. We visited in Toronto in October 2010 to attend my best friends wedding. When looking at the picture it became strikingly clear that the problem had returned, BIG TIME. This is when I weighed in at over 325lbs. It was absolutely horrifying.

    Returning to LA, determined to find a trainer and lick my obesity problem. I met Billie in November 2011 and honestly she was the perfect fit. With Billie’s guidance I was again on my quest to lose weight and be fit. Soon I became a beast in the gym and worked my way down to 255 lbs This was end of summer 2012. During that period I never gained any weight back, despite the heartache of now losing my mother.

    December 2012 I returned again to Toronto for the holidays. I threw discipline out the window and… When my TN1 Visa was denied and the woman I was in love with seemed ok with me staying in Toronto for a bit, I settled in, back in the T Dot, back, seemingly happy, but not caring about myself again. I replaced workouts with binge eating, finally realized the great loss I had experienced plus, as much as I loved my friends here, I missed LA and this amazing woman I had fallen in love with. I blew all that happiness on Chips, dips and candy.

    Soon everything and everyone was to blame for my misery. When the relationship started to go south, when the cold was unbearable, everything was an excuse to be unhappy and soon I found myself slowly gaining it back. Pants that were loose when I returned were now skin tight. T-Shirts not long enough to cover my huge belly and an HR woman who was frankly rude in her delivery but correct in how unkempt I looked. I did not care. I was depressed and for 2 more years I would suffer silently each night or every weekend with this… my comfort foods. Pure sugars and toxins.

    The pattern dragged on bringing me back up to 287 by September 2014. Pretending I still loved my job, pretending I was happy in my life when the truth was I was completely unhealthy and a sedentary pile of processed junk food. (They say you are what you eat) It is no wonder I had gained all that weight back.

    All that unhappiness took me to therapy. Like finding a trainer I did my research met a few people and found the person I felt I could share and be vulnerable enough to help heal the broken Sam. In a couple of months I was confident enough in myself to leave behind the job I was extremely unhappy at and start my own business. By the spring of 2015, the only issue I had not conquered was my weight. Finally happy again it was time to begin the arduous task of motivating myself to take action.

    The Change Occured

    July 1st 2015 I set a 3 month goal to see how I could do on my own, the only motivation… MY LIFE! I had to commit myself to the work necessary to change old habits into new. Adopt a healthy active lifestyle and treat my body like the temple it is.  The first step to being completely happy with myself was in my own ability to love myself enough to take care of myself. As an overweight person I was not living the life authentic to to who I truly felt I was from the inside out.

    The first 3 months were fantastic, I was confident I had made the important lifestyle changes necessary to achieve my goals. The trick about health is it is so easy to be overweight. Without even realizing it we are eating food that our bodies were not designed to process. I know McDonalds tastes good, I know a sweet sugary dessert will delight me in ways my endorphins can’t handle, I also know each time I choose to put that stuff into my body I am slowly killing myself. And I want to live.

    Not only do I want to live, I want to pay it forward. I want to share with as many people as I can the importance of clean healthy living. I am going to open up my world to public judgement and put my results out there. I want people to see it does not take a Keto, South Beach, Atkins anything diet that restricts your calories or provides fake processed foods from a cardboard box to lose weight. I am going to share a real lifestyle change and choices, foods that heal, that work with our bodies. I will demonstrate that eating can be a delight without killing you.

    But I Fell Off the Wagon

    I own the mistakes I have made in the past and feel ready to make better choices again. I will say this many times. I know the struggle, it is not easy. I will make mistake, plateau, wonder what is working and what is not. I have a starting point, knowing what has worked in the past. I have an end point, goals, an ideal weight and determination.

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    Welcome to Sam’s journey! Choose to follow me, to praise me, to chastise me, I am prepared for it all. I am prepared to come out of lockdown changed

    weightlossdietlose weightfitnessweightloss journey