Looking like an Athlete

Lets be honest, we compare our bodies to athletes and wonder why we look like crap. If you see someone and they look good and healthy and they are in shape? They didn't wake up that way. They work very hard to achieve that. You just might not see all that work and effort they do.

I have a theory that if you want to look like an athlete you must do the things that an athlete does.

If you do all the things an athlete does (work outs and diet) then your body will start transforming to look like an athlete's body.

So, how do you learn what athletes eat and how they work out? I have started following the Abrahamson sisters. The oldest sister, Ellie, is a professional tri-Athlon. The middle sister, Emma, is in college sports and does health food videos . The youngest, Sarah, was in college sports and spends time eating healthy and exercising.

I find it motivating to see the work and effort these ladies put in. For them, living healthy and exercise is just a natural way of life, it is just what they do. That has helped me to understand that becoming healthy isn't something to do for a few months, but is a life change. It is a life change that doesn't have to be torture - there are good tasting healthy foods, and exercise that can make you feel good. I can't imagine being excited about a frozen blueberry, for example, but they are happy and excited to eat healthy. If that kind of motivation helps you? Check out their youtube stations:

Emma: https://www.youtube.com/user/awesomebracelets/videos
Ellie: https://www.youtube.com/user/elliebellyy95/videos
Sarah: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNMJMwzWXZy6wI2DnuBHFHA/videos

My Office Snack

As previously mentioned, I am no longer sleepy thanks to my CPAP, and I have energy thanks to finally getting my thyroid medicine levels correct. I am past the holidays so it is time to get all this weight off. I am employing many of the techniques I have already described in this blog and am down five pounds so far.

Something I struggle with is snacking during the day at work. I'll often have crackers, chips, nuts, or candy at my desk and several times during the work day, I go for a snack.

I have been doing something different for several weeks and it is working well. I place a bowl of tangerines, celery, and peanut butter on my desk and snack on those instead of reaching for the crackers.

I was surprised how well this works! If I am working on a report or on a long boring telephone call, I just stack and get some fruits and vegetable's added to my diet. It is surprisingly filling and satisfying.

 

 

What do you do for snacks during the day? Do you snack during the workday?

 



Update on my Thyroidectomy

If you followed this blog you probably noticed I was really active and then disappeared. That was due to a number of disappointing cancer related news. My brother-in-law died of colon cancer shortly after getting diagnosed. A friend of the family died of lung cancer during his treatments. My nephew, who has suffered for 15 years with cancer, is reaching the end of his story. And here I am with the "Good Cancer". By "Good" I mean: I am still alive. There is nothing really good about thyroid cancer. The fact that I am still alive unlike so many around me has caused me to question my mortality. I have stopped participating in the online Thyroid support groups because there are so many stories of people's thyroid cancer returning even after complete thyroid removal. Many of the stories are depressing and they pull me back into questioning why I have survived cancer while others haven't.

Several months ago I met with my endocrine for my one year check-up and she congratulated me and said "You are cured!" And I was like... well... all right! And then I met with my surgeon for the one year check-up and he said "You will never be cured. You will always have to come see me so we can check to make sure the thyroid isn't growing back." And I was really bummed out.

The CPAP has helped me a lot. Finally, I am not sleepy during the day. But I have no energy. All that motivation I had earlier in the year to lose weight had been erased, plus having no energy - the weight loss didn't stick. I returned to bad habits in attempt to get through the day.

But then, around late October, I got a thyroid medicine level change from my doctor. And it worked! Thanks to the CPAP I am no longer tired, and now thanks to my current dosage I have energy.

I spent November and December balancing weight control with the holiday goodies and was able to maintain! That doesn't probably sound like much of an accomplishment, however, if you've been down the thyroidectomy path - you'll know that this is an incredible accomplishment! It appears I have been able to stabilize my metabolism into something predictable.

That's the update! I can't promise I'm going to post often to this blog simply because I am finding greater comfort trying NOT to think about cancer and just go live my life. But I did make a commitment that I wanted to help others who struggled with thyroid cancer and thyroidectomies, so, I'll provide periodic updates.

Kevin's Kitchen: Breakfast Caserole for Christmas

A thyroidectomy requires a life change. That includes changing eating habits. The purpose of Kevin's Kitchen is to help those with no (or little) cooking skills to create great meals.

Breakfast is my favorite meal and a Breakfast Casserole is my favorite thing to make. 

Start with a 9x13 pan. Breakup 9 pieces of toast. 

Cook up one pound of sausage (or bacon or ham or all three). A healthier alternative is turkey sausage. Just make sure sausage is cooked brown with no pink.

Mix the meat with 12oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese. A healthy alternative is low fat or skim cheddar cheese - the important part is to get it SHARP so there is flavor. Dump the meat and cheese dump on the toast in the pan. 

Next, beat a dozen eggs with three cups of milk and dump that over the toast. Bake at 350 until the center is solid (45-60+ minutes) and you will have a Christmas style breakfast! To make it easier you can mix it up the night before. 

Eggs, meat, cheese - that is a true Christmas present!

Kevin's Kitchen: Slow Cooking The Turkey

Your slow cooker is a quick road to dinner heaven!

A thyroidectomy requires a life change. That includes changing eating habits. The purpose of Kevin's Kitchen is to help those with no (or little) cooking skills to create great meals.

When we think of Thanksgiving, men think of turkey, that great big ball of meat. Doesn't cooking meat sound like a man topic? So why not cook the Thanksgiving Day Turkey in a slow cooker? What's that? You don't know how? Well... let me fix that right away!

First, for those who don't like to clean-up? I am using a Slow Cooker Liner. When the cooking is done and the pot is cool, just throw the plastic bag away - wamo blamo, all done.

I am starting with a six pound fresh bone-in turkey breast. I usually use six pounds boneless, but those can be hard to find for Thanksgiving (believe it or not). White meat tends to be the favorite meat, so, why not do a turkey that is all white meat?

I am doing six pounds because that is what fits in my large crockpot. When cooking meat you generally want half a pound per person eating. However, because this has a bone, people pig out at Thanksgiving, and leftovers are awesome, 1 to 1.25 pounds per person is a better number to go by.

Add a 32oz container of turkey (preferred) or chicken broth. Half a stick of butter. A large onion chopped. A cup of diced celery. And then pepper the heck out of it with lemon pepper seasoning.

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. The result will be an incredibly moist turkey that falls off the bone and melts in your mouth. And, you will be the King of the Meat!

Kevin's Kitchen: Grilling up Columbus Day

A thyroidectomy requires a life change. That includes changing eating habits. The purpose of Kevin's Kitchen is to help those with no (or little) cooking skills to create great meals.

Celebrating Columbus Day Weekend by grilling. There won't be too many more opportunities like this before the snow flies. 

A reminder about grilling: the use of aluminum foil!  I do this for several reasons: (1) it reduces flair-ups; (2) it is easy clean-up (3) it reduces (arguably) carcinogen caused by grilling meat. By capturing the fat drippings into the foil and preventing them from burning off, I am preventing to creation of the carcinogenic PAH. (4) It  helps prevent the meat from getting charred, which forms the carcinogen HCA. 

I further practice healthy grilling by using a gas grill that allows me to control the temperature for a lower temperature/longer cook, which is believed to reduce the creation of the carcinogen HCA. I also marinate the chicken, which further reduces HCA formation. And, as mentioned, the chicken has the fat trimmed which further helps to avoid the PAH.

Is grilling on aluminum foil safe? Absolutely. Studies have shown it to be safe.
Write to me and let me know what is on your Columbus Day menu!

Kevin's Kitchen: Grilling for Father's Day While Avoiding the Carcinogens

A thyroidectomy requires a life change. That includes changing eating habits. The purpose of Kevin's Kitchen is to help those with no (or little) cooking skills to create great meals.

Getting the Father's Day grilling headed in the right direction with a ton of protein! Trimmed chicken breasts with Amy and James BBQ sauce. Some lean burgers. Along the top are three kinds of peppers and onions sealed in aluminum foil with seasonings. Side burner is hosting corn on the cob and also beans.  Potatoes are cooking in the house.

You may notice I am cooking the meat on aluminum foil instead of directly on the grill. I do this for several reasons: (1) it reduces flair-ups; (2) it is easy clean-up (3) it reduces (arguably) carcinogen caused by grilling meat. By capturing the fat drippings into the foil and preventing them from burning off, I am preventing to creation of the carcinogenic PAH. (4) It  helps prevent the meat from getting charred, which forms the carcinogen HCA. 

I further practice healthy grilling by using a gas grill that allows me to control the temperature for a lower temperature/longer cook, which is believed to reduce the creation of the carcinogen HCA. I also marinate the chicken, which further reduces HCA formation. And, as mentioned, the chicken has the fat trimmed which further helps to avoid the PAH.

Is all of that effective? I don't know. But it makes me feel good that I can take a very simple step that reduces the carcinogens I am feeding to my family.

What are you cooking up for Father's Day?