Almond Butter and its Health Benefits

Beware!

If you try almond butter you might just fall in love!

Almond butter has the look and consistency of peanut butter but is a little darker (it looks like chocolate), and of course, it is made from almonds!

Almond butter is absolutely delicious and can be used in sandwiches with fruit, jelly, or just on its own. It can also be mixed into oatmeal, granola, flax meal, and even stir fry / stews.

In addition to the taste of almond butter, you may notice some interesting health benefits. eg. Like your nails became thicker, stronger and shinier. This is because almond butter is very high in vitamin E.

Here are the other benefits of natural almond butter and its vitamin E:

#1. Lowers cholesterol and prevents diabetes

#2. Contains heart healthy monounsaturated fats

#3. It makes a great "workout snack" for energy and protein.

#4. Contains good amounts of calcium, fiber, magnesium, folic acid and potassium

#5. Alleviates symptoms of BPH (enlarged prostate) in men.

#6. It makes you feel full for hours.

Plus it makes a great alternative to peanut butter when you need to pack a lunch (for your children) in a peanut-allergy conscientious environment. Many Toronto schools have banned peanut butter, so almond butter makes a great and healthy alternative.

However I want to point out that almond butter is not necessarily healthier than peanut butter. It simply has the health benefits of almonds, while peanut butter has all the health benefits of peanuts. They are both good for different reasons.

I recommend purchasing natural peanut and almond butters in order to avoid the hydrogenated oils many companies add to prevent the oil from separating. It just means you need to mix your butter with a knife and then stick it in the fridge, but once that is done it is no longer an issue.

Archery season back in full swing and more popular than ever

Archery is more popular than ever.

Or at least for the last 100 years. To be fair archery will never be as popular again as it was many centuries ago when archery was a prevalent part of tribal hunting and warfare. With the rise of agriculture, civilization, crossbows, firearms, pre-packaged foods, factory farms, etc the need to hunt for our food has been reduced significantly.

But with respect to the last 100 years archery has seen only 2 periods where it was a fad. The 1950s, when a variety of movies - including many different renditions of Robin Hood - had archery as a major part of the action sequences. Such movies were Westerns, sword and sandal action flicks, and a variety of Robin Hood ripoffs like "The Flame and the Arrow" starring a very young Burt Lancaster.

But the 1950s was a hiccup compared to the height of popularity archery has achieved now. And movies like "The Flame and the Arrow" now feel poorly made, as even during their time they were low-budget flicks designed to capitalize on the archery fad of the times. By today's standards such films would be B movies at best - and certainly wouldn't have star power like Burt Lancaster in a B movie role.

But how do I know that archery is more popular now than it was in the 1950s?

It is a combination of factors. Facetime on mass media, equipment sales records, the sheer number of people at the archery range - which is 15 times what it used to be 4 - 5 years ago.

The 1950s had school archery clubs in a rare few schools. By a few, I mean a rare few. While some schools did hop on the archery bandwagon during the 1940s, 1950s and even 1960s it was not a popular thing to do at the time.

Now? Thanks to a school archery program that began in Alabama over a decade ago that program has spread to hundreds and then thousands of schools across the USA. Canadian schools have begun to create their own similar programs, but it is more rare as Canada doesn't have the obesity rate the USA does and the program was started primarily for the reason of fighting obesity amongst Alabama schools.

The National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) was started in 2001 and has since had some small headway in Canada - mostly in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Prince Edward Island.

It isn't that archery isn't in its own fad stage here in Canada too, the problem is Canadian schools have not been signing on for a Canadian version of the NASP program at the same speed as American schools.

So if you are a parent and have kids who want to do archery, my advice is that you visit the NASP website (naspschools.org) and see if you can encourage your local school board to add archery as an after-school program for kids.

You might wonder why I am promoting this. Well, I am not getting paid by NASP if that is what you think. The truth is I am contacted daily by Toronto parents looking for archery lessons for their kids after school and on weekends - and my schedule is so full with my personal training sessions, boxing lessons, archery lessons, etc - to say nothing of having a social life - that I know right now that I am going to be turning people away for archery lessons because my schedule on some days is so full.

Thus it makes sense for me to promote alternative ways for parents to get archery lessons for their kids. For example, in addition to promoting NASP in Toronto schools, parents could also send their kids to one of the many day camps or summer camps in Ontario that offer archery. You can see a list of archery camps near Toronto by visiting ArcheryToronto.ca.

However a bit of advice regarding summer camps, a lot of them get booked full months in advance. So if you want to send your kids to a summer camp that has archery, you will need to do this NOW rather than later. Some summer camps book up full in February and cannot accept any more.

And if you cannot get a spot at a summer camp, if your kid's school doesn't offer archery, if people like myself are too busy, well then your next best option is to buy your own archery equipment, buy a book like "Precision Archery" by Steve Ruis and Claudia Stevenson, and then learn as best as you can using the book. If you opt for this then I recommend that the parent ALSO learn archery so that their kid is learning from you, instead of just fumbling the process and achieving horrible results.

Another option, often ignored, is to enroll your kids in Boy Scouts / Girl Guides. Boy Scouts is how I first tried archery in 1989. Find a group that has archery listed amongst their activities, ask the organizers how often archery is done in the group (not as much as you like, but still often enough) and then enroll little Samuel or Samantha in scouts / guides.

When archery became vogue during the 1950s it stayed pretty popular until the early 1970s. I fully expect the current rise in archery's popularity to last until 2030 at least. Or maybe we will see a resurgence in the sport the likes we have never seen before, effecting generations to come. That would be welcome too.

April 2014 Exercise Quotes

"If you’re not eating the right foods in the right amounts, all the exercise in the world won’t combat the caloric intake." - Jennifer Hudson.

"If you cannot take responsibility for your own well-being, you will never take control over it." - Jennifer Hudson.

"I started thinking about little kids putting a cylindrical peg through a circular hole, and how they do it over and over again for months when they figure it out, and how basketball was basically just a slightly more aerobic version of that same exercise." - John Green.

"Exercise is medicine. Literally. Just like a pill, it reliably changes brain function by altering the activity of key brain chemicals and hormones." - Stephen S. Ilardi PhD.

"Medication isn’t the only way to correct brain abnormalities in depression. Physical exercise also brings about profound changes in the brain - changes that rival those seen with the most potent antidepressant medications." - Stephen S. Ilardi PhD.

"Let each man exercise the art he knows." - Aristophanes (450 BC - 388 BC).

"Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind." - Plato (427 BC - 347 BC).

"Just as animal research tells us that gluttony and sloth are side effects of a drive to accumulate body fat, it also says that eating in moderation and being physically active (literally, having the energy to exercise) are not evidence of moral rectitude. Rather, they're the metabolic benefits of a body that's programmed to remain lean." - Gary Taubes.

"When we exercise self-control on a given occasion, we win for ourselves a little credibility we can rely on the next time around. Pretty soon we develop a reputation to ourselves that we want badly to uphold. With each test that we meet, our resolve gains momentum, fueled by the fear that we may succumb and establish a damaging precedent for our own weakness." - Daniel Akst.

"A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up." - Anonymous.

"Too many people confine their exercise to jumping to conclusions, running up bills, stretching the truth, bending over backward, lying down on the job, sidestepping responsibility and pushing their luck." - Anonymous.

8 Fun Exercises for Cottage Country

The start of Spring and eventually Summer means more time for the family to spend at the cottage. Your weekend getaway does not have to be all about beer, BBQs, and pretzels. As the weather gets warmer, the great outdoors becomes more tempting, and that easily translates into FITNESS opportunities for the whole family!

Eight Fun Cottage Activities

1. Frisbee on the Shoreline

Kick off your sandals and go ankle deep into the lake. Running with sand and water resistance will add to an already great cardiovascular workout. Frisbee is also a good activity for working on your hand-eye-coordination and agility!

2. Swimming

The ultimate cardio and strength exercise, swimming is a no impact and challenging workout that is great for people suffering from sports injuries / back problems. If you're a jogger / runner, go for under water sprints to work on your leg strength / speed.

3. Cycling

Rent a bicycle or bring your bicycle from home along to the cottage, and spend a day seeing parts of the cottaging community you may not have had the opportunity to discover by car or foot. Make a day of it by packing healthy snacks, and bringing a friend or family members with you.

4. Canoeing

Paddling a canoe is so Canadian, but it can also be hard work. Paddling can be easy if you want go slowly, but for fun you can also have canoe races and give yourself a challenge.

5. Shoreline Activities

Whether you're building sandcastles, throwing around a football or simply walking the shoreline, being active at the cottage makes the after sunset barbecue and campfire so much more satisfying.

Sitting in the sun all day is tiring, and you're bound to get bored, and overdo the junk food. So get up, be active, and make fitness a part of your cottage plan this summer.

6. Bowfishing

All you need is a fishing license and a bow to try this fun activity. You can get a bowfishing kit from a fishing/hunting store (eg. Bass Pro) or you can make your own bowfishing kit. I recommend you learn how to do archery FIRST before doing bowfishing.

7. Snorkeling

If the water is clear and easy to see through snorkeling is a fun activity to try out. For children who have fears of water snorkeling can also be a way to get around their fears and overcome them.

8. Hiking

Don't forget to take the dog with you. A simple hike into the woods to explore is a great way to exercise, see some beautiful sights and come back with a camera full of memories.

Happy Cottaging!

12 Tips for Weight Loss Maintenance

So you've lost weight? Congratulations! You've completed half of your goal, losing the weight. Now you need to keep it off.

Tip #1. Make lifestyle changes if you want your weight loss to be permanent. Going back to your old routine just isn't going to cut it any more.

Tip #2. Drink lots of water regularly. It keeps your body clean of toxins. Avoid caffeine, nicotine products and alcohol as much as you can. When with friends, stick to one drink if possible.

Tip #3. If you regain weight at some point don't go on a diet, instead change your eating/exercise habits so that you make permanent changes. Fad diets are temporary band-aid solutions. Never go on a diet with food/a plan you KNOW you cannot eat forever!

Tip #4. Take a cooking course. Learning to make more healthy foods at home and expand your knowledge of what you can make and eat will allow you to maintain your diet more easily by having a broader range of healthy food options in your repertoire.

Tip #5. Set a caloric intake maintenance range. Your goal now is to maintain your weight, not to continue losing weight or go back to your old ways. Set a range, practice it for a few months and check your results, and once you know that the range works stick with it. After several months it should already be a habit.

Tip #6. Avoid dining out. Unless it is a special occasion you should not be dining out. Restaurant food / ordering take-out is a very quick way to break your habits - worse if you get into the habit of eating out regularly.

Tip #7. Remember to snack between meals - healthy snacks like fruit, salads, nutty granola bars, etc. This was you won't be overly hungry and binge later. Binging = weight gain.

Tip #8. Keep exercising at least twice per week for 30 minutes. Just because you lost all the weight doesn't mean you should stop exercising. Pick your favourite exercises and keep doing them.

Tip #9. Get involved in more sports that you enjoy doing.

Tip #10. Try new sports or activities that you always wanted to try. eg. Archery, boxing, rock climbing, fencing, snorkeling, windsurfing...

Tip #11. Go outside on dates more often. Regardless of whether you are married or single, dating activities such as picnics, throwing a football around, long walks on the beach - now is your chance to enjoy your new physique.

Tip #12. Get a dog and take the dog for walks twice daily. The dog will keep you healthy and it will give you an excuse to go outside more often.

Again, congratulations on achieving your weight loss goal!

Also I want to note that you should avoid going further and LOSING TOO MUCH WEIGHT. That isn't healthy for you either. What you want to do is to maintain your ideal healthy weight. Not too much and not too little. Below is an example of what happens when someone becomes too obsessed with losing weight and loses too much.