This time I am doing a 7-week Paleo challenge sponsored by Level 4 Crossfit Seattle. On Saturday, we had a good intro to Paleo presentation, and took our ‘before’ pictures. (I will post mine as soon as I can get copies.) Started the challenge on Monday, September 12, 2011, and it goes for 7 weeks.

So far, I am really enjoying the resources and recipes that I have found, and I’m excited to see how it will unfold for me fat-burning-wise, so it inspired me to come back over here and share my journey.

Here’s what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: 6 slices bacon
Lunch: 4 oz beef loin and 1/2 cup each broccoli and cauliflower (thank you Microsoft cafeteria #4)
Snack: Almonds & walnuts with a little raw shredded coconut
Dinner: Mini-meatloaf (containing eggs, onion & spinach) – I made 4, so now I have easy grab & go lunch/dinner. Next time, I will use 2lbs of beef and make 8. They are that good. This is one of My 15 Faves. I will add the recipe shortly.
Cheat: oops, almost forgot this, but if I’m gonna keep track, I might as well be honest – 2 caramel squares. Nothing fancy. Just the old-fashioned kind. My neighborhood grocery has them on the counter at 10 cents a piece. That little ‘treat’ is going to be a tough one to break.

Result? First off, I was never hungry and didn’t feel deprived (although my office-mates french fries did look tempting) I weigh-in every morning, and I am down 2 lbs from yesterday. Wahoo! I don’t begin to imagine that is fat-loss, especially since I did a couple days of carb-loading as a sweet farewell to some of my favorites (pasta, pastry and the like). Even so, it is nice to see a little movement as inspiration to keep going.

I also made a wonderful veggie soup that is perfect for anytime snacking. Has celery, carrots, green beans, cabbage, kale, tomatoes, wonderful seasonings, and my extra special secret ingredient that gives it a unique and tasty kick. Stay tuned, and when I share that recipe, I may even tell what it is.

So, because of my shopping and cooking yesterday, food for today is set and ready to go. Next up is getting the workouts fit into my schedule.

I hope you will subscribe and/or visit back often. I plan to add more recipes and lots more Paleo resources as I find them. Also, I would love to hear your comments.

So, if I was listening to Lizard Brain (or LB for short, as my dear friend and kick-ass coach and blogger Sandi calls it) I wouldn’t be writing at all. Why? Well, ’cause I started this blog almost 11 months ago.  I got some wonderful response and feedback, and then I just Let. It. Die. Out. Ugh.  Makes me feel silly, stupid, embarrassed and wanting to hide out some more. LB says “just let it go, if you don’t say anything, no one will notice” “probably wasn’t really for you anyway – nice try though” (that’s kinder, gentler LB).

I’m not listening though. Why? Cause I do have something to say and do here. Lots of somethings. So, without further preamble, let it be known – 15FaveFoods is back, rekindled, revived. And yes, I have said that before and fizzled (see, here is where LB really wants to kick in). And, yes, I’m saying so again, with every intention to shine rather than fizzle.

New Fave Food

This great tip was shared with me by Susan of the X Gym Flight Club (that’s an informal group of stair climbing enthusiasts in Seattle).

A main focus of 15FaveFoods is “get ‘yer protein in” – so I am always looking for ways to get up and over 100 grams of protein per day. Here’s Susan’s tip, and I LOVE it!

Coffee Lover’s Protein Latte

• 8-12 oz coffee
• 1 scoop protein powder
• dash of cinnamon to taste
• Whiz it up with a hand mixer (stirring won’t work – lumpy, ugh)

Y u m m y! If you love coffee, and you want more protein, skip the calories and carbs of a regular latte and give this a try. You can even use chocolate protein powder for a mocha flavor. It’s going on my ‘have it everyday’ list.

Watch for these coming updates

• My fitness countdown to a birthday milestone
• Stairwell Chronicles – Tales of an unlikely stair-climbing enthusiast

Explore further

• Learn about stair-climbing and stair training.
• Check out the Flight Club Seattle blog.
• Learn why I care about protein.
• What’s all the talk about Lizard Brain?
• Watch a fun video illustrating Lizard Brain:

A quick look back

Lots has happened in that last year, and as a way to restart, here’s a review to remind myself of what I’ve learned so far:

• “Yes, I can lose” – I busted the myth that there must be something wrong with me because in 12 years of wanting to lose weight, I’d only gone in the wrong direction.
• I can lose weight eating new foods I love – and many times, foods I like way better than what I replaced.
• Prioritizing exercise consistently (even when I’m ‘really busy’) is not only possible and worth the effort, it makes me happy.
• I can eat well (meaning to lose or maintain) and not feel ‘deprived’ – even on vacation, at holidays and special occasions, ect.
• My old, destructive eating habits and thoughts are no match for my commitment and resolve, if I really mean it.
• Making a 100% commitment – “Ready and willing, no matter what, whatever it takes” -  makes creating permanent change possible in a way that “trying” never will.

So what’s going on now?

Well, to jump-start results of this next phase (and help me discover some more new 15FaveFoods), I am doing a 3-week cleanse offered by Delicious Planet. I will share more details upcoming, but the basics are that they offer prepared healthy, organic, yummy meals, delivered several times weekly. Great, healthy food and convenience? Now that’s an urge you want to say yes to.

With this program, I am getting complete meals for 3 weeks: low-fat, dairy-free, gluten and wheat-free. All designed to give my liver a much-needed break. So far it’s been fantastic. I have loved everything. Very fresh and flavorful, and I have found it to be more than enough food.

Each day includes a breakfast cereal, fruit & veggie snacks, a salad, soup, and dinner entree, plus extra fruit.  They are delivering the kind of meals that I always wish that I could find the time to make for myself. And now, they magically show up at my door 3 times per week. It makes eating healthy so easy. And I am loving that.

I’m loving it because

In the first week, I’ve lost 3 pounds. One of the best parts is knowing that I have healthy meals and snacks right at my finger-tips. It was funny to see how many times my mind wants to grab a piece of candy or chips, but then I think “stop, wait – you have these great cut up veggies and humus right here” Oh ya. It’s making it easy to make good choices. I would have to go out of my way to mess it up. That’s what I call setting yourself up for success.

And…I’m already planning which of these meals will be added to my permanent list of 15FaveFoods when the cleanse plan is done.

Part of finding 15FaveFoods – foods that keep me healthy and fit, and that I love – is lowering the barrier to success by finding things that are convenient. If I had to cook every single thing on my plan from scratch, it would be more likely that at some point my old pitfalls called “it’s too much work” or it’s nasty cousin “it’s not worth the effort” would raise their ugly heads and try to subvert my resolve.

Having an option like ordering healthy, organic meals, pre-made, reasonably priced and delivered right to my door from Delicious Planet (their motto is “They Joy of Not Cooking”) make those two excuses wither up and blow away as glaringly lame. I will report in more as I go. In the meantime – I highly recommend checking out what Randi and her team have to offer.

What about you?

What have you started that it’s now time to start to finish? As a friend said over on Facebook – It’s June, do you know where your goals are? What kinds of things can make eating healthy and staying fit convenient for you?

Let me back up a little. A while ago (mid-December maybe) I took on a ‘fitness name’ that I was very happy with and excited to use to help propel me to my next level of fitness. And that auspicious and proud name was – Tiger.  In the wild a tiger is strong, bold, beautiful, cunning, and more than a little dangerous – not to be messed with, but she knows how to relax. Then there is the whole Rocky and ‘eye of the tiger’ reference, and of course my heretofore favorite sports hero, Tiger Woods. When it comes to performance and achievement, who wouldn’t want to emulate him, right? Arrrrrrrggggghhhh… You are probably miles ahead of me here – nearly immediately after  choosing my new name, current events had me seriously considering dropping it. (And if I need to spell out the reasons for that, you may need to check with your Dr. to be sure your not in a coma.)

Now backing up a little more to explain about a ‘fitness name’ why I have one, and why you might want one too.

My trainer and fitness coach, PJ Glassey, shares and teaches all kinds of really great ideas about how to train your mind to be on your side and work with you rather than against you in the matter of creating new fitness habits. This is extremely useful, because if you are anything like me, when it comes to breaking old patterns and creating new habits – you know, your mind is not your friend.

Designed for survival, not performance

For the most part, your mind is designed to maintain the status quo at nearly all costs.  So, if you have ever found it extremely challenging to stop doing the things you know you shouldn’t do, and start doing the things you know you should, not only are you in good company with 99.9% of the other humans, the good news is,  it does not mean there is something wrong with you, or that you are weak-willed or lazy – it’s just our instinctual survival mind at work, avoiding threats and trying to keep us alive. Unfortunately, it’s just not all that discerning when it comes to distinguishing real, physical threats from psychological or imagined ones.

You could spend a lifetime keeping up with all the interesting science on this subject,  such as this, and this, but for now, suffice to say, that a big part of what makes it seem soooooooo hard to change habits is just your brain doing what it’s supposed to do. That’s why if you do want to make changes, its smart to find techniques to help along the process. And creating a fitness name is one of my new favorites. Here’s why:

We are who we say we are

As humans, we are very tied into (and often times constrained by) our identity – our view of ourselves and the way we are. For example when we say things like “Oh, that’s just not me,” we really believe it is true, like the law of  gravity or something. In that moment we are certain that there is a fixed ‘me’ that is certain ways, and is not certain other ways. But, if you are willing to play around with it a little, you will find out – all that is just another trick of the mind, and in fact who we are is infinitely more fungible that we give ourselves or others credit for.

For example, in my fitness quest I used to always say “Absolutely I want to be fit, trim and healthy, but I don’t want to be some kind of fanatic about it.” Then, much as I wanted to be fitter, I would go to lengths to NOT be a fanatic about it, even if it meant avoiding things that would actually improve my health. There I was -  stuck in my version of the ‘not fanatic about fitness’ me – and it kept me from seeing, learning and doing new things that would dramatically improve my fitness such as making & taking lunch instead of going to the sandwich shop, and being willing to get in a workout even if I didn’t have time for a shower and full hair and makeup routine afterward.

Play the name game

A great way to get out of the ‘that’s not me’ trap is to take on a fitness name. Your fitness name is a nickname that you create that embodies the kind of traits and characteristics of the new habits you are working to create. Then when <insert your name here> – the one with good intentions, but <insert your Achilles heel here> doesn’t feel like doing a workout, you summon your inner super-hero and have them do the workout. It’s kind of like ‘WWJD’ only for fitness, or a new habit.

So….a while back when I created my name Tiger, I was really excited because I had thought long and hard and even done some research before choosing the name. I was determined to have a name that reflected what I was committed to. One that would have embody my new state of mind and have to power to pull me forward in those weak moments. And Tiger was it. That’s almost exactly the same moment when the Tiger-sh*t began to hit the fan. In an instant, the name that I was so proud of and excited use to help propel me past my stopping points was turned into the celebrity scandal of the decade. I was more than a little discouraged, and seriously considering it dropping it. And for a few weeks it even affected my enthusiasm for all the fitness goals I had created for the year. That’s how powerful a name is. Then, oh happy day, along comes Chinese New Year.

A tiger roars

The Year of the Tiger has revived my name, and with it, my excitement and commitment. So, I’m keeping it, and not only that, this Tiger’s gonna claw her way to the top of Columbia Tower for The Big Climb. Stay tuned for more details. Grrrrr…..

Photo by jurvetson

Firstly, this is a post more about blogging than about food, fitness and fat-burning – maybe.

I have been noticing in the last few weeks that I have gotten a little off-track with what I want to do with this blog. I’m not talking about the whole vacation, holidays and then getting laid-off my job (oh, ya, in case you didn’t know – experienced, talented technical writer seeking contract or permanent employment – inquire within) distraction.

I am talking more about brooding over what is tone, voice and flavor of the site? What’s my ultimate vision? What do I want to DO here?

Now, since I am a writer by trade, if I have a blog, I want it to be good. No, not even good – I want it to be really good. Exceptionally good. Mind-blowingly good. Ya, I know, no pressure. And, since I am a lover of learning, a natural teacher, and hater of reinventing-the-wheel, whenever I begin an endeavor – especially one at which I want to be exceptionally good  – I look to the experts to learn from the hard knocks of those who have gone before. Here is where I got a little off track.

Experts say…

There are some blogging experts I truly admire. Bloggers whose success I would really like to emulate. People like Darren Rowse at ProBlogger, Brian Clark at copyblogger, Leo Babauta at  zenhabits, Johnathan Mead at Illuminated Mind, and Charlie Gilkey at Productive Flourishing, and 10 or 15 others that I left out (and yes, there are women bloggers I admire too. That’s another post). My point is, they have great, proven advice, including:

• If you want your blog to be really good, make every post count.
• Make every post your very best work.
• Make every post something you are proud to have out there. After all, the Internet is f o r e v e r! duhn, duhn duhnnnnnn….(Boy now that just really gets the creative juices flowing, don’t ya know.)

Ya, but…

Problem is: My whole point in starting the blog was to share my story, my journey, my triumphs, and struggles, and what I am learning about food, fitness, fat-burning and myself along the way to becoming lean and strong.

And, um…..the idea of ‘every post being your best work’ doesn’t jibe very well with the blog-as-journal/confessional format. In practice, as I have (listening to the experts) strived to make each post meaningful, relevant and informed, I have found that I feel less and less free to say anything. No surprise – that’s a heavy burden for 500-2,000 words a week to bear.

And so…

This leaves me with a dilemma. One over which I gained some freedom and insight by looking at the site of another very popular blogger, and best-selling author (dare I say “expert”? ), Gretchen Rubin. She’s the creator of the blog and now best-selling book, The Happiness Project. On her site, she has a section called “Happiness Theories I Reject.” I had an epiphany when I saw that. Seriously, with all the reading and learning I had done about how to create a really good blog, I had never considered the idea that I might actually, actively reject an idea or proposition coming from an expert I admire. I reject lots of ideas from ‘experts’ to be sure: experts I profoundly disagree with, experts I think are stupid, experts I think are just out for buck. But, wow, to reject ideas from experts I admire? That’s a new option.

Now that I see it, it is so obvious and freeing. It leaves me feeling free to soak up all the good, expert advice I can find, and then take what I like, what works and feels right for me, and then (instead of feeling like a petulant child ignoring her chores), I can consciously reject the premises that don’t fit with or won’t work for my vision. The burden of feeling obligated to do all the smart stuff  is off my back.

With that…

Here’s what I envision this blog looking like going forward. It will be a journal of my journey. It will contain frequent snippets of experience, including  perhaps (fair warning), unformed, rambling thoughts and insights as I go, and occasionally (hopefully more so than less), it will contain well-formed, thought-out, researched and reasoned  advice and insight, something that I will be proud to have out there in the interwebs forever, something that will inspire you, dear reader, along your own road to life-long fitness and health.

And as I finish I wonder, hmmmm maybe this post does have something to do with food, fitness, and fat-burning? Looking to some of the new habits I have learned that work for me, I see that it many ways it does.

I’ll ask you. Where have you in your health and fitness journey have ‘rejected the experts’ and created something unique that worked for you? Or, where do you now see that you could? How do you know when it’s time to stop listening to the experts?

Look for a random, possibly rambling, unformed post further documenting my journey soon.

Today I want to share a few of the lessons I’ve learned by looking at the process of NOT reaching the fat-burning goal that I had set in October for January 5th.

“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” ~ C.S. Lewis

The first and main thing I realized is this: I stopped taking my own (and my coaches) advice in three specific areas. Sweet irony, I had even prescribed each of these three points to myself and others in my mini-ebook ‘Leisa’s Losing Ways’ less than four months ago. (If you’d like a free copy, just leave me a comment with your email address.)

The advice: Commitment comes first

Really. There is absolutely NO point in starting something as mentally challenging as weight-loss if you have not made a 100% commitment that it is going to happen no matter what, and that no one or nothing is going to stand in your way. That is the kind of commitment that I gave when I started this journey. In fact, my motto was/is

“I am now willing to do anything and everything, no matter what, whatever it takes.”

That’s what fueled my success early on. But once I reached that first big milestone (losing 15 extra lbs that I’d been carrying for nearly 10 years), I found it hard or nearly impossible to recreate that level of commitment for the next phase.

Oh, I ‘tried’ and then I ‘tried’ some more. And then I tried again and again, each time feeling a little more guilty, ashamed and embarrassed about how my last ‘try’ hadn’t worked. Ultimately futile, since we all know, and as Yoda said so brilliantly,  ” Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.”

New lesson number one

Try not. At the first sign of trying, the prescription is NOT more or better trying. Trying is the ultimate waste of time and creative energy. Instead, Stop. Declare failure (not the permanent, giving up kind of failure, but the admitting that what you are doing is not working kind of failure), and then do not start again until you can look yourself in the eye and honestly say you are ready to “do.” When you are that straight about it, you don’t waste the energy of trying, and you are likely to get back to “do” a lot faster.

The advice: Keep your brain in the game

This one is also known as feed your mind first. Yes, what you eat determines how your body will function and whether you will be burning or storing fat. But, it is what you feed your mind that determines what you will feed your body. And in order to keep your mind in tip-top condition, it is imperative to daily clear out any gunk (negative thoughts, feelings and beliefs that have crept in), and feed it good diet of gratitude, goals and positive vision.

I forgot this. Instead, once I had a new level of success with finding and eating my new favorite foods (success which was fueled and supported by daily meditation, affirmations, goals and prayer), I thought “Oh wow – finally, I’ve got this whole eating thing figured out! Yipee!”  Then that thought/belief made it easy to start skipping my daily routine brain maintenance and feeding. Bad move.

New lesson number two

Keep doing what works. Period. No matter what the “you’ve got this handled, buddy” thoughts may tell you. This is one I get to learn over and over. It’s human nature, isn’t it? We put in new habits and practices to create something new, and then once those things start to work, we get cocky and start to think we’ve got it handled, so now we can ‘slack off’ a little. In other words, we stop doing what works. When you stop doing what works, what was working stops working. I am going to find as many ways of saying this as I can, so that I can remember it and live it quicker next time it comes up.

The advice: Timing is everything

It’s just plain silly to set yourself up for failure. Like planning to lose a bunch of weight between Thanksgiving and New Years, especially with a big vacation thrown in. I know this. And I know me. I’m not saying it can’t be done. I’m just saying that no matter how much I might want to be, I am not a “there is nothing more important than my weight-loss goal while I am on vacation and during the holidays” kind of person.  And yet this is just what I did. I said I was going to lose 15 lbs during November and December, with a once-in-a-lifetime vacation thrown in for good measure. I think the root of problem here is the same as in number two; I started to have some success and before you know it, I’m thinking “Ya baby, you can do anything. Easy.” Riiiiiiiight.

New lesson number three

Know thyself, and thy pitfalls, and do not fool thyself that thou are somehow now immune to the temptations that have always plagued thee. Translated: Even with success, especially with success, stay humble. Humility allows for seeing and self-correcting those potential pitfalls, like over-confidence, way quicker.

A lot of words, I know. But I think I needed to say all that to be able to remember this:

1. Try not. Do or don’t do. And if you can’t honesty do, don’t waste time/energy trying. Come back when you can do.
2. Keep doing what works. If you start thinking “I’ve got this handled” that’s a big red flag to keep doing what got you to stuff working.
3. Know thyself and stay humble. Overconfidence is a precursor to cutting corners, and cutting corners is a precursor to failure.

With these lessons firmly under my belt and foremost in my mind, now my next step is to get 100% clear, and 100% committed to the next phase of “do.” I’m working on it. I’ll keep you posted.

What about you? What lessons have you learned (old or new) that you plan to live in 2010?

If you enjoyed this post, please share (Facebook, Twitter, ect) and/or comment, won’t you?

Loyal readers may recall that I made a wonderful, inspiring and challenging goal a few months ago – to lose 15 lbs before my birthday (early January).

Now, if you have ever made a promise or goal that you did not keep, and especially if you gave it a deadline, and especially if you have told other people about it, and particularly if you have been stupid courageous enough to put it all out there on the Internet and invite others to follow your every move, then you have probably experienced first hand that the longer that promise or goal goes unfulfilled, the weight of the un-kept promise gets heavier and heavier as the fateful date approaches. It’s as though the ‘elephant in the room’ doubles in size each passing day, until it takes a good deal of your expendable energy to continue to ignore it.

Well, here is the naked, unadorned and ugly truth (guess I’ll start with the truth-telling, and then move on to the reflection): that did NOT happen, IS not happening, doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in HELL of happening. Not even close.

That little diatribe is my wordy way of shedding the weight of the elephant of the undone, even if I haven’t shed the 15 pounds of fat.

Whew! Ok, now that’s done. Deep cleansing breath. Boy do I feel better. Embarrassed? Certainly. Disappointed? Of course. Still, better.

Don’t get the wrong idea. In spite of the the angst, I have been maintaining my initial fat-loss very well. I have been eating healthy for the most part, and continuing to keep exercise as a part of my daily routine. As a bonus, I haven’t felt deprived, I get way more protein and leafy-greens that I ever did, rarely crave the starchy whites that used to be such a temptation, and my wine intake has decreased in quantity and improved in quality : ) . These are all worthy and laudable accomplishments. The only problem is – I have been maintaining while SAYING I wanted to be losing.

There’s a wise saying that goes something like: “Suffering only happens when what you say you want doesn’t match what you are doing.” I can attest to that. I’ve been living it. Instead of enjoying the success of maintaining, I’ve been suffering over the not-losing. Ugh. That ends today.

Having said all that, I can now get on with useful reflection.  Check back tomorrow for a post on the lessons I’ve learned, and my plan for implementing those lessons in the next part of the journey.

Happy New Year!

Overheard: “Just have your words match your action, or your action match your words. I don’t care which.”

I’ll leave you with a question: Where have you been creating angst by not matching your words and action?

Photo by Danilo Rizzuti

Yo.  Before I give the goods, please accept my apologies for being away so long. No excuses, just life, and best intentions without action get you….well, they don’t get you good blog posts, that’s for sure.

So I decided in order to get the momentum flowing again, I would share a new favorite recipe that has risen to the top of my 15 faves.  It is a “guest post” of sort – written by a favorite blogger of mine, and shared by permission in its entirety.

Here are my variations: I use flax seed oil instead of olive oil (after greens are heated, right before you eat), squeeze on some lime juice, sprinkle with a few flax seeds, and a dash of cayenne pepper for a little kick.

Also, I use a microwave steamer and steam for about 6 mins. This is so easy and good, there is no excuse not to get a good dose of greens everyday. Please let me know how you like it.

How to Make the Yummiest Greens Ever
by Christine Kane

I’ll bet you didn’t know something.

I’ll bet you didn’t know that a bowl of greens has MORE CALCIUM than a glass of milk!

See, the dairy people have millions of dollars. Your local organic farmer probably doesn’t! All that dairy money goes to marketing milk as the only source of calcium out there. Not true! Especially since all the processing and hormone additives make non-organic milk downright unhealthy!

The tailgate markets are slowly phasing out right now, but you can still get greens from your local farmers. Greens love the cold! So, today, I’m giving you my secrets for making the best bowl of greens you’ve ever had.

Once you get hooked on greens, you’ll crave them. You’ll cook them every night, rather than watching them wilt in the drawers of your refrigerator before guiltily carrying them out to the compost pile.

Let’s get started! (Hint: Print this article and take it with you to the store!)

6 things you’ll need:

1 - A cutting board

2 - A GREAT knife

(Recommendation: Wusthof Grand Prix 8-Inch Cook’s Knife. A good knife makes cutting veggies a pleasure.)

3 - A Steamer

(The double-decker kind or the fan-out style you set inside your pot.)

4 - Spring Water or Filtered Water

5 - Assorted greens (See below)

6 - Olive oil and Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. (Available in health food stores)

Next, read the section below BEFORE you head to the tailgate market.

Christine’s 3 Secrets for Making Yummy Greens

Secret #1 — Variety

Variety is the key to a yummy bowl of greens.

Variety is all about TEXTURE. The best combination of greens combines textures and tastes. Here’s the winning combination for beginners:

1 - Collards (Or Kale)

2 - Cabbage (Red or green. I get red when I’m festive. Green when I’m moody.)

3 - Chard

To make enough (plus extra) for two people as an entrée, use about six leaves of Collards and Chard. And about a third of a head of cabbage.

[A Note About Spinach: I like spinach. But I don't use it in this dish - mostly because a wheelbarrow of spinach cooks down to about a shot-glass. This deflates me a bit.]

Secret #2 — Chop

Are you one of those folks who washes your greens, tosses them in a heap on the counter, and starts knifing away like Norman Bates?

Yea? Okay, please pay attention here…

HOW you cut your greens is more important than anything else! Here are some guidelines:

• Each variety of green should be sliced separately.

• Each green should be sliced as thinly as possible.

• The more peaceful you are as you slice, the better this dish becomes. (Really!)

Now, let’s go in order.

First, slice the cabbage into thin strings.

Then, slice the thickest part of the collard stems away from the leaf and discard. Roll about five or six of the collard leaves into a Collard cigar. Then slice it in cross sections as thin as linguine. (This is easy to do with Collards.)

Chard doesn’t have to be sliced as thin because it’s soft. It’s also trickier to slice because of its rumply texture. (Cut the chard stems up and add them to the top of the layers in your steamer. They’re wonderful!)

NOTE: You can also slice down the middle of your thin strings and create kind of a confetti effect with your greens. This is delightful.

Secret #3 — Layer

Put the cabbage in the steamer first. Cabbage doesn’t get compacted. It maintains some ventilation for the steam to move up to the other greens. Also, cabbage is the thickest and can endure the most heat without getting wilted. Next, lay on the Collards. After that, the Chard. The softest leaves go on top.

The Process of Steaming Greens

If you’re using a fan-out steamer, then only fill the water to the base of that steamer. This kind of steamer takes less time than the double-decker kind.

Greens should be steamed only for about 5 -10 minutes once the water is boiling rapidly.

DO NOT OVERCOOK YOUR GREENS. They should be soft, but not wilted. A lively shade of green.

You’ll get good at determining the right steam time for you. I usually remove mine from the heat when the top layer (Chard) is just getting soft and is covered with beads of steam.

Remove the greens from your steamer with a pasta server (or grippy tongs) into a very big serving bowl with lots of extra room for stirring.

Seasoning Your Greens

Drizzle olive oil on the greens, and stir around with a rubber spatula until everything is lightly coated.

Then drizzle with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos to taste. (Bragg’s are lighter than soy sauce. Soy sauce can drown out all the flavor of the greens.)

That’s the basic instructions for a yummy bowl of greens!

Other Options for Tasty Greens:

- Crush a large clove of raw garlic and mix it in with the Olive Oil and Bragg’s. This adds a great flavor.

- In a separate pan, lightly stir-fry some chopped onions. Add in a cup of sliced Shitake Mushrooms and stir-fry for another two minutes. After you’ve put your steamed greens into the large bowl, add this Shitake mixture to the bowl of greens.

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 8,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

X Gym members sometimes wonder if I will ever shut up about the protein issue. I’m telling them constantly to eat it all day, every day, and especially in the morning and after a workout. I tell them to consume at least 100 grams per day, and for some, up to 250 grams.

I believe everyone should eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day, and to most, that seems like a lot. To some, it seems utterly ridiculous and simply unattainable, but it’s really not. It’s a learned habit that gets easier with time.

So why do I obsess over it to such a degree? Why do I eat 300-500 grams of it per day myself? My body can only absorb about 200 grams of that anyway, so aren’t I “wasting” the rest? These are questions I get asked all the time, so here are my answers.

Protein is a high metabolic food. It makes your metabolism crank up and burn off fat. Even if you had a digestive issue that prevented you from absorbing any protein, it would still affect your metabolism in a way that would make you leaner. Have you seen those thermogenic diet pill advertisements promising rapid weight loss? They don’t actually work, but protein does deliver on those promises. It’s a real thermogenic diet calorie, and it will make you leaner – guaranteed.

The protein I eat beyond the amount I can absorb is still contributing to my crazy-high metabolism. I only workout less than an hour per week, so my metabolism doesn’t get a huge boost from exercise. My job is sedentary (mostly sitting in front of a computer), so I’m not helping my metabolism there either. It’s the type of calories I eat that have the most significant effect.

At this moment, between typing paragraphs, I am cooking 5 lbs. of grass-fed ground beef with Swiss chard, collard greens, spinach and broccoli. That will last me 2 days max. I might even eat it all today if I’m hungry enough. That food will keep my metabolism humming along at such a level, I’ll have to go sleeveless most of the day in my 69 degree gym so I don’t get sweaty sitting on front of the computer!

Because I eat this way, my body fat is usually about 7%. When a stair climb race is coming up, I eat even more protein to get leaner still. I like to be around 4% body fat when I race, because that takes off about 5 pounds of fat that I won’t have to carry up the stairs. To get leaner, I eat more. My total daily calorie level increases, but my body fat goes down.

This wouldn’t make sense to most dietitians or doctors, but that’s because they are outdated and need to learn the new science of calories and metabolism. This science isn’t actually new however. It’s just being rediscovered since we lost touch.  10,000 years ago, all humans ate like I do, but since ovens and baked goods were invented with the many forms of starch and sugar, things have changed and we lost touch. Now we are the fattest we have ever been, and for the first time in the history of our planet, fat people outnumber hungry people.

“Johnny six pack” (the typical American), eats about 15% protein, 55% carbs and 30% fat by calories. Mine is 55% protein, 15% carbs and 30% fat. The total calories I eat each day are the same as Jonny six pack, but I’ve merely swapped his numbers on carbs and protein.

Johnny’s six pack is in his fridge. Mine is under my shirt. ‘Nuf said?

I don’t have the “mad skills” she does when it comes to writing, but I do have a very useful message to tell you, so bear with me and open your mind, because what I have to say is usually a first for most people when they hear it.

It’s really not about the number of calories you eat. It’s all about the TYPE of calorie, and the TIMING of that calorie.

When you wake up in the morning for instance, you are in a fat burning mode, which is great. You are also in a muscle burning mode however, and that is not so great. The reason you are burning tissue is because you have been fasting all night, so your body has run out of food and is starting to feed on itself.

You want to keep your muscle though, since it makes up a large part of your metabolism, but you probably also want to lose some fat, so wouldn’t it be nice to figure out how to shut down the muscle burning proccess, without shutting down the fat burning?

Well, I have good news for you. You can indeed selectively shut down your muscle burning, and leave your morning fat burning mode intact! You can even ACCELERATE the fat burning with certain types of calories.

Protein is the magic potion. This type of calorie has the same “energy” as carbohydrate at four calories per gram, but it has a drastically different effect on your metabolism. Protein in the morning will not only extend your fat burning window further, it will bump it up even higher as well.

Carbs will have the opposite effect and shut down the fat burning window. Most breakfast foods are carbs (i.e. bagels, pancakes, cereal, etc.). An omelet or a protein shake on the other hand, will keep your fat furnace stoked and humming right along.

I’m not a big breakfast fan myself (mainly because I’m just not hungry for the first 4 hours or so after I wake up) so I drink a protein shake.  I know I need something in me to raise my metabolism, so I chug my MRM protein powder with water (I know, that’s hard core, but I’ll address that later).

Another option I occasionally enjoy is high protein/low carb Greek yogurt with a handful of blueberries and some Stevia sweetener. It tastes just like full-sugar yogurt, but without the carbs or sugar. A handful of blueberries isn’t enough carbs to shut down my fat burning mode (the cutoff seems to be about 15 grams), and adds some great flavor (not to mention all the other wonderful things blueberries offer, but that’s another post).

People who are used to the vast array of carb choices for breakfast often ask me about variety, because they feel limited when committing to a protein-only breakfast. I ask them right back, “Why do you have to eat “breakfast food” for breakfast anyway? Your stomach doesn’t know the difference. Your brain might however, because you have been conditioned to crave high carb foods.

So what’s so weird about having a nice big plate of meat for breakfast? Nothing, except for your conditioning. If you think your tummy won’t be ready for that, well, you’re probably right, but only because you think that way. It’s just a thought, predetermining how you will feel, and so it happens. There certainly isn’t a physiological reason for it.

Do you think your great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather ate Cocoa Puffs for breakfast? How about waffles? A poppy seed muffin? Coffee and donuts? Of course not. He probably chowed down on a nice thick Woolly Mammoth steak topped with some greens and nuts. We were designed to eat this way, and our genetics haven’t changed since then, so it’s still good, sound principles we should be applying today as well.

I admit that I’m extreme. The way I eat and the habits I have developed took a couple years, but that’s really not a long time when compared to a lifetime. I’m much happier and satisfied now, and I even crave those foods with more intensity than the junk I used to eat.

So what if it takes you 3 or even 5 years to permanently change your habits? The point is that you did it, and that’s the way you are now, instead of the constant struggle and yo-yo weight loss for a lifetime!