Cold Case

  #18

"Man cannot remake himself without suffering for he is both the marble and the sculptor" C.S. Lewis

    Fit Tip: Get Uncomfortable Sometimes

There are a lot of things about our convenient modern life that we have found to cause poor health: our lack of manual labor that allows for a sedentary lifestyle, our highly-processed hyper-palatable foods, our smart phones that support a lifestyle lacking real social interactions or moments of boredom. One often overlooked modern convenience is our temperature regulation. We can move from one perfectly conditioned room to a conditioned car to another temperature regulated building every day. Much like hard physical work, our bodies were made to adapt according to conditions far outside of 72 degrees. Your body should be able to regulate temperature well enough that you are not reaching for a blanket if it falls below 65 degrees. While saunas and cold plunges are becoming all the rage, there is proof that even something as simple as saving money on your heating bill can have health benefits. In the following study people with type 2 diabetes were told to endure six-hour-per-day exposure to mild cold (60 degrees F). After only ten days they improved their insulin sensitivity by 40 percent! (Improving your bodies insulin sensitivity is beneficial for everyone, not just diabetics). The more you can expose yourself to cooler temperatures, the more health benefits you can gain. Allow yourself to be uncomfortable more often. Take the cold shower. Skip the huge coat every now and then. Keep the thermostat low during the winter; you get better sleep at 64 degrees anyway! 

Healthy Excursions Outside the Thermal Comfort Zone

Current Trend I Am Exited About: Females are Lifting!

Strength training among women is one of the fastest-growing trends in the fitness space. Back in the 90s women were rarely seen in the weight room. They gravitated towards the cardio machines or only used the weights that were pink or purple. The old (and some current) marketing strategies that targeted women never helped either. Lose, lose, lose. Stay "trim" and "toned." More women are figuring out that strong is the new skinny. Weights will not make their appearance unfeminine. There is no such thing as "toned." You are either building muscle or losing it. You are either gaining fat or losing it. Gain some muscle and you achieve both the feeling and the look you are after. Rightly so, the focus has shifted from obsessing over appearance to focusing on strength and performance. Turns out, girls just wanna have guns. 

I am all about it. Some gyms have even adjusted by using more floor space for weights that was previously home to dozens of treadmills. I encourage everybody to lift weights. Cardio has its place too, but weightlifting must be in your fitness routine. And women, do not be afraid to lift the heavy weights. We see you out there throwing two kids on your hip whilst carrying groceries; so graduate from those little 10lb plasti-dipped weights and join the big boys. Those barbells are for you too. That bench press is yours for the taking. Most people are very welcoming at the gym and even excited to help if you are a newbie. 

My Protein Ranch Dressing Recipe

Honestly, I should not be giving this away for free. I have tried a lot of people's homemade ranch recipes and quite frankly they suck. After many tweaks I made one that passed the truest test: my three year old Hidden Valley-addict liked it. Before I turn into a food blogger forcing you to scroll 5 minutes to find the recipe, here it is:

Challenge: Eat a Salad

How fitting, am I right. Eat a salad, not because it is the poster child for weight loss meals; eat a salad because it can be super nutritious! Make it a real salad. Use leafy greens like spring mix and spinach, not iceberg lettuce. Add at least one protein source in there; try meat and boiled eggs. Add some nuts or seeds for a crunch and ditch the croutons. Why eat a salad if you are just gonna munch on dried bread anyway? While you are at it, replace the classic store-bought dressings that are calorie dense and lack nutrition of any kind. Drizzle some olive oil over top for some brain boosting benefits or try out the homemade ranch recipe. Still need more flavor? Throw in some peppers or other chopped veggies. 

That's your challenge. Make a manly salad. Eat it. 

Win the weekend!

Brad

Durable Dad Training