Five Reasons to Love Greek Yogurt

On April 1, 2019 By The Golden Graham GirlIn High-protein, Random, UncategorizedLeave a comment

“Oh, Greek yogurt, how I love thee! Let me count the ways!” Yes, seriously, an ode (or blog post) devoted to the delights of Greek (or another other strained, high-protein variety, like Icelandic) yogurt. It might seem crazy to write an entire article on Greek yogurt, but I’m really that much of a fan. I’m “Greeking out” over here! (Ba-doom-ching!)

Hopefully by now you’ve heard from me and others how important protein intake is to build and maintain shapely lean muscles and to keep you feeling full and your metabolism humming along (and if my puns aren’t worthy of applause, this SHOULD be).

When you just can’t handle another chicken breast, unsweetened plain Greek yogurt (or Icelandic) makes for a great creamy, cool high protein option. Full-fat Greek yogurt can really add to the fullness factor, or you can opt for fat-free, depending on your overall needs.

If you’re not sure about how to include it more often, and especially if you’re not sure about the flavour on its own, here are five simple swaps you can make this week:

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The Dark Side of IIFYM ( and diets in general)

On December 30, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, Resources, Workouts1 Comment

Remember when I raved about the dietary approach called If It Fits Your Macros, or flexible dieting? I experienced some significant personal growth with respect to the way I approached and related to food. I still believe that others can experience these breakthroughs via IIFYM as well. Not to mention, I and countless others have achieved significant changes in our physiques. But, at what cost? And were those changes sustainable? As I alluded in my How-To: Take a Break post, following IIFYM for a long-term, continuous basis is not feasible or sustainable. Like all diet plans and program, “flexible dieting” or If It Fits Your Macros has both benefits and pitfalls for its followers. I’ll be exploring the less desirable aspects of this program (and other “restriction diets”) in this post.

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How-To: Track Your Progress

On July 11, 2015July 12, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, Resources, Workouts2 Comments

As I mentioned in my How-To: Track Your Macros post, you’re going to get a wealth of information about your macronutrient intake. But generally people are only going to put in that level of effort if they have a goal to achieve, in terms of physical performance and/or body composition. And the very best goals are S.M.A.R.T goals: specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely/time-oriented. So, if you confer with your trusted health professional and decide that a realistic goal for you is to lose 10 lbs in 6 months, then you’ve covered off all of those attributes. But you won’t know whether you’ve achieved that goal unless you MEASURE – in this case, you have to step on that damn scale! You won’t know whether the actions you are taking (the input), such as eating a certain macronutrient ratio/target each day, are working as intended unless you look at the output. And progress is multi-faceted – so the more measurements you take, the more you can see progress and successes in areas you might have otherwise missed by focusing on one measurement exclusively (i.e. only ever looking at the unchanging number on the scale without realizing that you’ve lost several inches by decreasing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass and/or gotten noticeably stronger at back squats).

So, that’s my case for tracking progress. If you’re a believer, follow along!

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How-To: Track Your Macros (IIFYM a.k.a. Flexible Dieting)

On July 11, 2015July 12, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, Resources, Workouts8 Comments

Alright. You’ve heard about it. You’ve seen the acronym a few too many times, and far too many photos in your Instagram feed of “bikini athletes” mowing their way through deep-dish pepperoni pizzas as part of their show prep. If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) is a food/nutrition/diet movement that looks at food at the macronutrient level: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. P-C-F, in IIFYM short-hand.

There is no more “clean” food vs. “junk” food or “good” food vs. “bad” food. No more cheat days or treat days; no “earning” carbs or calories. Food is food. From an apple to an anchovy, a chicken breast to a Cheez-It, all food is comprised of the same three basic macronutrients (yes, there are also micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals to consider, but we’ll worry about that later). The idea is that your body needs a certain personalized ratio of these three macronutrients for optimal performance and body composition. Figure this out and then make small changes over time and you can reap lasting changes in your strength, physique and body composition.

This post is NOT about figuring out YOUR personalized macronutrient ratios. There are other websites for that and frankly, that can actually be the easy part. The harder part (as always) is putting information into action and taking the steps to actually eat the desired/required macronutrients in the run of a day (or week). The only way to know whether you’re actually doing this is to TRACK WHAT YOU ARE EATING. Everything you’re eating and ALL of what you are eating. THAT is what this post is about.

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