Why Being Vegan Doesn't Mean you are Healthy.

Just like anything, being a vegan can be good or bad.  As many of you know vegan means no meat or animal products.  This doesn't mean healthy in fact we will talk today about unhealthy vegan diets and healthy vegan diets.  Before I start this I do want to inform you I am not vegan, but this blog is mainly for those of you that are thinking of going vegan and want to know what to eat, or to inform you that being vegan doesn't necessarily mean healthy.

The bad.

processed food
Lets think of fries, potato chips, and processed peanut butter for example.  All these are loaded with unhealthy oils and fats.  Yes they do taste good, and are vegan but that doesn't mean they are healthy. Processed peanut butter is made with hydrogenated oils instead of just peanuts and the natural peanut oil from them.  Hydrogenated oils lower good cholesterol and increase bad cholesterol in the body, so read your labels on peanut butter, and make sure it is made with either just peanuts or peanuts and sea salt.  I myself love some french fries, but I rarely eat them for one reason, I become bloated and tired, and I know the side affects of eating deep fried food is harmful not just for acne but can also lead to cancer, weight gain, heart problems, and even diabetes.  These are all vegan but aren't in any way good for you.  In the next 2 sections of this post we will talk about probably the 2 worst things to eat in my opinion, that even vegans can eat!

You can have pop and candy.  I don't care if you drink diet pop it is terrible for your body.  Not only do pop and candy lead to fat gain, but there is no nutritional value to them.  NONE!  I can speak for myself on this.  As many of you know when I was younger I used to never drink water.  I fucking hated water's guts because I was so used to pop.  In turn guess what happened to my teeth, multiple cavities every time I would go to the dentist!  I was overlooking how important my teeth are and if I could go take all the pop that I drank back I would because that taste wasn't worth fucked up teeth!  The reason diet sodas are bad, even though they have no calories is that they contain an artificial sweetener called aspartame.  Aspartame has been linked to seizures, brain tumors, diabetes, and increases the risk of metabolic syndrome, which even though the pop has no calories can lead to fat gain!

I wasn't the biggest fan of candy when I was younger but still had some candy, mostly Reeses. Candy like pop is mostly made up of sugar, and some candy is purely just sugar.  Like pop candy has no nutritional value to you body or health.

Lets move on to the good of vegan diets.

The good.

There are vegans who are strict to not eat any of the junk food I just listed above.   As I stated above I am not a vegan, I love meat and veggies, but I stay away from everything I listed above 99.9% of the time.  However the vegans who eat smart know those foods I listed ar bad for them and realize that they are vegan to be healthy.  Many people hear the word vegan and think that means that they are healthy if they are vegan even though vegans can have pizza, pop, candy etc.  

The purpose of this blog isn't to bash vegans, thats why here I am talking about the good side as well, and to help vegans who are eating this junk food move to a plant based diet.  I used to eat this junk food as well and changed it although I am not vegan I feel much better after cutting it out of my diet, and I know this is the same for anyone vegan or not.

Unlike the food I mentioned above, plants contain a high nutritional value.  Some of my favorites are beans mostly black beans which contain protein and healthy carbs, garlic which can help fight and prevent sickness, turmeric which is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.  I also love nuts (call me gay) they are a great source of fat, my favorites are almonds, macadamia, brazil, pecans, walnuts, and peanuts.  Some of these are even high in protein but all contain healthy fats, which the body and even brain need for optimal health.  My other favorite fats are avocado and coconut oil.  I could live off macadamia nuts and avocado if I had to!

There is many more to talk about but I would like to keep this short and simple to try and influence you guys to change up the foods you eat, even if you are not vegan.  If this blog post helped you in any way please share it to get the message across to more people, or if you think this would help a loved one or friend share it with them as well!

How not eating dairy for 7 days affected me.

Not eating dairy for 7 days was doable but not fun for me, because as you guys know I love greek yogurt.  Other than this I had no real problem sticking to it.

I didn't notice much difference.
Eating and not eating dairy didn't do much of a difference for my body.  I had dairy on my 8-9th day without it and the only thing I notice was more mucus, but cutting out dairy however did not cut out all mucus.  I still have yet to figure out why I am having so much mucus lately.  I thought it was because of dairy but I guess this proves wrong, I did notice some more mucus after having yogurt, but wasn't enough to notice that much. 

I may have some other food allergy or may just have an allergy to something in the air?  I have no clue because I never have this much flem in my throat but the last month or 2 it has been a ton.  I am however going to look at other ways to get rid of it.

The reason I chose dairy first was because of the book The Ultramind Solution and because I was hearing that dairy can cause more mucus.  I know this subject might be kind of gross or nasty, but I feel the need to be open with the things that are wrong with my body, because I am not perfect, and I know when I find the solution for it I will be able to share it with you guys and it may help you guys if you are experiencing the same type of thing.

Many people are allergic to dairy.
I forget the percentage but I believe it is about 75% of people are lactose intolerant, and yet most of us are drinking milk or eating some other dairy product.  Many times people will experience nausea or pain in the stomach if they are.  However if you have dairy everyday, then cut it out for a week like me you may notice differences in yourself or your body, especially if you eat it again after that week. By doing this you will be able to tell if you are allergic to dairy.  I was lucky and only had a small amount more of mucus in my throat, not pain in my stomach or nausea.

Closing thoughts.
Take the challenge for one week of no dairy.  It is hard to do but worth it if you think you are allergic to dairy and want to test it or just want to challenge yourself.  There are alternatives to milk and even ice cream if you are a big ice cream eater!  I eat the ice cream from time to time and is from Whole Foods called Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss, it is made from coconut milk and has no dairy!  Give this a try for a week guys, your body will thank you!

Day 7: I'm eating too much!

The last couple months have been a time of feasting with Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I kind of started to get into a mood where I am hungry a lot because I would eat so much around this time.  I am seeing some fat gain in my lower stomach and its really, at least to me an eye opener, or an obstacle to get across.

Before when I was younger I would eat lots of junk food and gain fat, now I am eating lots of healthy foods and gaining fat.  I still feel amazing eating these foods, better than I ever could eating junk food even if I was losing fat eating junk foods.  Life is about feeling good but also about looking good.  My biggest problem is that I see food I enjoy and I just eat it, sometimes even if I'm already full, but for some reason feel hungry before I eat the food.
You guys may be experiencing something like this where you cannot stop eating throughout the day.  And it makes you feel different at the end of the day even if you are eating healthy foods.  You subconsciously know that you could've went without that last snack when you lay in bed at night.  Maybe that is just how I feel I don't know?

I do know one thing though.  Lately I haven't been having enough veggies with my meals.  When I eat veggies with grass fed beef, something like green beans or spinach, I notice I feel full much longer and veggies have almost no calories and help fill you up with a meal.  Avocado is probably the best, it has a ton of calories  but is filled with fat which helps keep you feel and helps your brain.  I used to eat avocado almost everyday but lately keep forgetting to buy it.

I also haven't been keeping track of the food I eat like I used to so today I am going to form that habit again.  That is my promise to you guys!

Closing thoughts
If you guys are having trouble like I am, I highly recommend you do as I am doing and at least track what you eat, and buy more veggies when you go shopping to go with meals!  It was good sharing this with you have the healthiest day of your lives!

Brian

Day 6: Small Life Update.

Its day 6 and I am having real trouble coming up with something to write about.  I am thinking of just sharing where i am at right now with life and self development, so I don't know if this post will be that long, but the point of this challenge is for me to just write for 7 days straight and now I'm going to only need one day after today!

I would say my life in 2015 was more productive than 2016 but in 2016 I still made a lot out of life.  Today I am kind of picking up pieces of me that have fallen and bringing myself back up to where I was so I can reach even higher.  I would say that what I need to work on is reading more, meditation for 20 minutes a day, making more videos, and writing more on the blog more, and working on my drop shipping better, and eating less.  I eat clean healthy foods but just too much every day lately and have cut back a coulee days so far this week! What I am doing good on is the gym I recently bought the Greek God Program by Kinobody and it has kind of fueled me to get back into the gym, and the best part is my mindset for the gym is a hobby for me not a chore, so going is very easy for me even if its cold out.  My other hobby is car photography I am pretty good at it and my love for cars makes time fly when I am doing it!  I have also been noticing my breathing throughout the day more often and also practicing gratitude throughout my day more as well.  These things bring me into a good frame instead of being down or pissed off. So I have good things going and bad things that I need to work on that I am working on right now today.  Also I have been underlining and taking notes in books instead of just folding the corner of pages and not knowing why I folded that page when I go back and read books because nothing is underlined.  Now I can go back and read and see why I underlined what I did.

Closing Thoughts

Yes this blog post was short, but what I want you to get from it is to write down things you are doing great in life right now and things you can work better on to improve your life!

See you guys tomorrow,

Brian

Why I Like to Cook and Why You Should to. (Day 5)

     Cooking can be described as an art form.  Everyone has their own styles, and uses their own ingredients to make the food taste a certain way.  I must state I am not a great cook but many times I love to cook and what I do cook tastes great even if its easy.

My favorite recipe is my garlic grass fed ribeye from whole foods.  The steak you can buy from whole foods is almost as thick as a filet mignon! IF you guys saw one of my first videos on my YouTube channel I cook that steak and pair it with sliced avocado.  To prep I like to either rub the steak with extra virgin coconut or olive oil and sprinkle one side with salt and pepper and then before I cook it I cut up a couple cloves of garlic.  I throw the steak and garlic into the pan and cook it.  To cook it is easy, I love my steak medium rare, but even of you like yours well done the same principle applies.  Cook the steak for 2-3 minutes on each side until it is done to your liking, (while it is cooking slice up that avocado I was talking about) the garlic should be golden brown or even black and a little burnt.  It may sound weird but I like the way it tastes when it is a little burnt.

So why do I like to cook simple things like this?  Well for me cooking like I said is an art form, everyone has their own unique way to cook food.  For me since I am not the best cook I love to make things as simple and easy as possible but still make them taste amazing.  Maybe you are like me with cooking and you view yourself as bad at it or bad at pairing spices together.  That is why I love the use of salt pepper and garlic.  These 3 items can go good with any meal in my opinion, except for maybe pork, I don't know because I am not much of a pork fan.  However if you wish to add an ingredient to your food, lets say salmon for the example, I would add a couple slices of ginger, and some brown rice.

So the ingredients for this would be
Salmon
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Ginger
Brown rice
and if you want stir fry veggies (optional)

I can say for myself this meal takes about 10-15 minutes total to cook.  What I like to do is after you have the salmon and brown rice prepped is while cooking the salmon chop it up in the pan like ground beef with a wooden or plastic spoon, this makes it cook faster and in my opinion actually tastes better so give it a try!

Like I was saying cook to your style and view it not as a chore to cook but as an art.  It doesn't matter if you are cooking for yourself or 20 people make it fun for you and enjoy the process of what you are cooking!

Top 5 Keys in Five Minutes From How to be Alive by Colin Beavan. (Day 4)

So today I decided to something cool and different.  I went through a book and picked out 5 key points in 15 minutes.  I did this as a challenge to myself and as something I would be able to share with you guys today.

What I did was looked at the table of contents and circle 5 or more chapters that seem interesting, then go through each of the chapters and skim through and find a key point that stands out to you. Mark your pages and circle these points, and if you are a blogger like me share it with others!  If you are doing it for fun and to learn something new fast do it for that reason.  Most of what the authors talk about is fluff to fill the book, because nobody would want to buy a 2 page book even if everything they had to explain was able to fit on those 2 pages.

Key1. Security and Meaning.
In the book Colin states that these are the 2 keys we need to be happy in life.  He says "security is what you get from the world through your relationships." And also "Meaning is the buzz you get from being alive."
When you think about it, all the people around you have to make you feel secure with yourself and your life if they make you feel insecure they aren't your friends.  And meaning is much more.  We each have a meaning in life, finding it can be tough but when we do, doing that every single day isn't a chore but its fun.  Just like for me going to the gym isn't even a chore, I love seeing myself grow every single day from my workouts and its fucking fun! What is your meaning, your exercise for life?

Key 2 What we focus on we attract.
Racecar drivers tell you that if the track is crazy and you are about to go into a spin don't focus on the obstacles because you're going to crash.  the is very true in life, it seems like if I focus on the bad, then the bad will happen.  If I focus on growth or abundance then there will be growth or abundance in my life.  This goes for self doubt as well, if I tell myself I suck at meditation or I'm a slow reader, I'm going to read slow or have a shitty meditation that day.  Focus on the good and the good will come into your life!

Key 3 Do materialist things provide happiness?
Many of us and myself included have a list of things we want from cars, to the newest computer, to headphones, or whatever else there is to buy.  One problem is, however out list of things like relationships, the way we feel, and health aren't usually on that list.  But that is the very thing that causes us to be happy.  Sure material objects can help but most of the time we get a rush from buying these things then after a day, a month, a year these things don't make us happy.
What makes me happy is the process of my life and living into my goals each and everyday.  The fact that I can move closer to the life I want is amazing and creates endless possibility for me, and I know that one day I will have the result of what I put in today, and thats what causes happiness for me.

Key 4 Think about your next meal or snack.
The problem with a diet is its just that a diet.  Certain foods we aren't allowed to eat anymore, I like to create a lifestyle and think of the foods that are within my standards, if I want to look like a champ I have to eat like one.  In the book he talks about focussing on your next meal or snack not the whole day, week, or month of eating.  This will cause too much thinking for our brain if we are thinking about what we are going to eat tomorrow instead of focussing on our next meal.  If we focus on our next meal or snack we are able to be more conscious of what we are going to eat, or if its going to help or hurt us.
I love to think in the way of "will this food serve me or no?"  From their its easy, my tastebuds may feel good for a minute or two, but in 5 minutes I will regret it. On the other hand I can eat something that still tastes good and makes my body feel good and alive!

Key 5 Accept your truth.
It sounds stupid and cliche but, be yourself.  If you are you 100% the right people will follow, not only will you inspire people but you yourself will grow.  You can influence others with your story and your path to you and if they like it they will follow and you will be able to inspire and help others become their best self!  Own who you are if you are a car nerd like me then own it! Fall in love with the leather seats and wood grain on the cars appreciate them be the nerdiest at what you love doing as you can, and that will make you happy as well as others!

My top 5 favorite Cars. (Day3)

Cars.  They have been a hobby of mine for the past few years.  When I was younger I hated them, then for whatever reason I started to love them, from the design, engine, sound, interior styling, smooth leather, and rich wood, and carbon fiber.  These are in order from my 5th favorite to my first favorite.  Anyways, lets jump right into it!

5. McLaren P1

The McLaren is primarily based on a little speed and a little bit of style but mostly because it is rare and the doors are super cool, as on all McLarens!  The reason I say only a little bit of style is because with the price tag of $1,350,000 to start, it is unique, but in my opinion just looks like a beefed up 650s. The car can however do a quarter mile in just under 10 seconds, but the top speed is only 217 which is fast but one of the other cars in this post will tie speeds, look much cooler in my opinion, and be less than half the price.  

4. Rolls Royce Phantom

Why did I choose the Phantom instead of the Maybach 62s?  The 62s does beat the phantom on interior style and design, but on the outside it is just a Mercedes S Class in a limo sized wheel base, and doesn't stand out as much as a phantom.  It embodies the 50's style saloon, a classic looking car is always unique and shows how Rolls Royce can keep their luxury and still go with the classic style!  The things that stand out in the Phantom is comfort, leather, wood, and of course the star light headliner.  In the Phantom not only was my body comfortable but even my feet were comfortable from the HUGE lamb wool floor mat, it literally feels like your feet are on a cloud.  This was an experience I have never had with any other car!  The whole interior is covered in leather and wood, making the perfect luxury car.

3. Brabus 6x6

I guess I am breaking the rule of "cars" with this one, but it needs to be put in this post.  There are only 3 of these in the US and I had the pleasure of seeing one about a year and a half ago, sitting in a parking lot alone.  The car is a monster and just seeing one in person is phenomenal, the picture is good but doesn't do the car justice!  Bottom line, it is a street legal monster truck!

2. Lamborghini Aventador

When I said there was a car that had a top speed of 217 as well as the P1 this was it, for about half the price or even less to.  The Lamborghini has always been my favorite car since I got into cars.  Before the Aventador, it was the Murcielago, and I even didn't like the Aventador as much at first until about a year after it came out.  The Aventador is like a jet, from the styling and speed and the sound is amazing.  Recently one car beat this out of my #1 spot for my favorite car. (This happens to be Justin Verlander's Lambo)

1. Pagani Huayra

If I could use one word to describe this car it would be perfection.  The Huayra is literally a work of art on 4 wheels.  The car is literally an alien space craft on the inside and out.  There is no other car that even can come close to the styling.  And not to mention the AMG V12 engine in the car producing 720 horsepower with a top speed of 224 MPH.  I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

closing thoughts 

Tell me what you think.  If you think I should've put a different car in here please leave a comment or share your top 5 cars with me on here, I would love to hear your guys opinion!

No Dairy for One Week. (Day 2)

Over the last week I was reading a book called the Ultra Mind Solution by Mark Hyman.  In his book he talks on how change in diet can help people get through things like ADHD, which many people suffer from today.  He states that changes are its the things these people are eating and has many cases throughout the book where instead of prescribing people medication for it he has them change their diet.  Guess what happens next?  Their entire life takes a 180.

I don't know if I have ADHD and just control it well, because many times I can get distracted really easily especially if something I'm trying to focus on is boring to me.  But that is besides the point of why I am going dairy free for a week.  My reasons for it are simple, to see how I feel after a week compared to how I felt when I was having dairy everyday or almost everyday, and because most places don't have grass fed cheese or milk or yogurt, the only place I know of that has all 3 is Whole Foods.  I however love yogurt but I can only find yogurt that isn't from grass fed cows unless I want to pay an extreme amount.  Milk and cheese for me are easier, I can substitute the milk for almond or coconut milk, and cheese does taste good but I can go without it pretty easily, only cottage cheese is hard to resist.  I have been doing this for 3 days now and I still have mucus which is something I have been trying to get rid of because I notice that when I drink dairy my mucus levels sky rocket.  The reason could be is that I have too much b12, because I was taking that vitamin and my throat would swell minutes after and my mucus would come back, and even is as I write this, or it could be that 3 days isn't enough to get rid of months of mucus from dairy I don't know.

These are my reasons for giving it a try, these 3 days have been a struggle, I went to chipotle 2 of the 3 days and before I would always get cheese and sour cream, which I love in my steak bowl, but I noticed something, there wasn't much of a taste difference, sure with cheese and sour cream it does taste better but barely.  The real thing I am having trouble with is yogurt.  My parents got yogurt over the weekend and every time I open the fridge I see yogurt!  I don't know why but it is so hard to resist for me, I am able to do it but its hard.

Closing thoughts.

I am hoping to see that my mucus levels go down with this challenge and if they do I might even go longer without dairy, I might even go longer if I notice I am feeling better as well, because in my eyes if the cows are fed corn that energy is going into my body and I don't want that, it is hard to get away from corn fed and cows that are trapped in a small area their whole lives, but I am trying to get away from that.  Cows should be free range and eat grass instead of being force fed their whole lives.  The things that make this hard for me is chipotle and the price of grass fed items, but I am becoming more conscious of what I eat more and more eat day and I can see it.  If you guys thing you may have a dairy allergy or just want to go dairy free I suggest you try to cut it out for a week like I am doing!

7 Day Blogging Challenge Day 1.

Day 1

Today I have decided I am going to write to the blog for 7 days straight.  Writing is not my strong point as many of you know but I always try to work on it the best I can and share things that I think are cool or will help you.  I have also been having writers block lately and not really able to think of that many things to write so I am hoping this challenge will help me break out of that and come up with more ideas for you guys so I have more consistent content for you to read up on and learn from!

Its Day 1 of my challenge and I'm already having trouble thinking of what to write next.  This post may be all over the place with how I write I have no clue, and even in some of these days I may just write freely with whatever comes to mind.  Even if it isn't on self development or fitness, I may just write to write and try to clear out writers block.  I believe Tim Ferris talked about doing this to jump out of not being able to think of things to write about.
Since this is the first day of the challenge, I recommend you start a 7 day challenge of your own, it can be writing like me or anything you want.  I believe if you start one today you will have more fun because you'll be following my 7 day challenge and will also mean you guys can share with me what you are doing for your challenges this next week, which I would love to hear as well!
Getting started is always the hardest part, I am even scared to post this today because it'll hold me accountable, but I know I need to do this to better the blog and create better content for you guys.  My biggest problem right now is I am feeling I don't have anything "valuable enough" to say or share on the blog that would help you. Deep down I know this isn't true, and that what I have to share has added immense value to your lives before, but I am feeling I can't write that way anymore for some reason.
Maybe you are feeling this way in other areas of your life.  Maybe there was something you were good at before but now you feel you aren't as good.  Why is that?  What are your limiting beliefs?  In day one lets start the challenge together and find out what our limiting beliefs are in our subject of the challenge.  For me mine is I feel like I can't write as good valuable content as I used to because the ideas I am coming up with aren't "good enough".  Thats why I started this challenge because I know whatever I have to share on here is good enough and will add some value to you guys even if some days what I write is complete nonsense, I'm sure it could be a form of entertainment or enlighten you day.
Anyways guys take the 7 day challenge to break through you obstacle and share it with me in th comments below I would love to hear each and ever one of your challenges this next week and also if the is helping you go where you want to in life!

Breaking out of Depression.

Depression is something hard to come out of, all you want to do is sit or lay around all day.  What was fun for you before isn't fun now and seems impossible to do even if you want to do it.

Ok so over the last couple weeks a lot has been going on in my life.  For me it has taken such a toll on me that I have been literally wanting to do things like work on myself but have been having trouble getting myself to, even thinking of something to write on here was hard to do and still is right now as I write this.  I have been trying to do one thing a day even if it was just meditation or reading. A couple of the days I even made a couple videos which seemed almost impossible for me to do but I knew I could do it even if the videos weren't good.

I even have been having a hard time getting into the gym, which I LOVE until yesterday.  When I went I actually felt good.  Over the last 2 weeks I have had periods of feeling good. I got to spend time with my family for Christmas, and parents for new years which helped take my mind off things for a while because I was able to have family around me to comfort me.  But I noticed that even after Christmas was over I was still feeling down and depressed, and had a hard time doing anything more until reading or mediation.

Today turned out different.  I woke up and went through my eBay store and made sure all my products were up to date, did meditation, and now am writing this after work, and I still have hours ahead of me to even read and if I am able to do even more stretching or yoga to improve my body today!  In a way I feel like going to the gym yesterday was what helped me today to not be as down and depressed and to be able to get shit done.  Literally to get myself to go to the gym I had to spend some money and buy a product to motivate me even more to go to the gym.  It was a Christmas present to myself but I knew it would be good to try and would get me to at least go to the gym, which was my stepping stone!

Closing thoughts.
If you are depressed find out what your stepping stone is going to be.  I have been depressed for a couple weeks and it made my life feel like shit, but now that I am breaking out of it it feels amazing!  If you have been depressed for quite some time I can't imagine how hard it would be to come out of it, but what I learned is to do something that will force you to increase confidence and do something you love at the same time as a stepping stone.  If I wouldn't have bought the program I know I would keep procrastinating and wouldn't even be writing this blog post right now.  You don't even have to spend money like I did but if you do and have the money it is worth it because if you invest your money into something you are more likely to do it.