The monotony of monotony

Dang, I'm boring.

Alright, maybe I'm not that boring.

Humans are boring.

Humans are creatures of habit.

And this habit creates monotony.

It has been interesting to relate habits and personal development to eating and bodybuilding. I have had many friends not as knowledgeable about the fitness/health industry ask for dieting advice. I have read nine books to date out of my goal for 30 by December 31. I can safely say that at least 6/8 of them mention habits. This could be anything from the creation of habits, to bad habits to understanding habits and our development. After reading the book "Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength", and "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business", I feel more confident in giving advice on how to develop workout, eating and healthy lifestyle habits.

Some might not realize that our brains and thoughts are within our control. As one of my favorite leadership gurus and sales leaders once said:

Photo found on: this website

"You are what you are and you are where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You change what you are and you change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.” - Zig Ziglar



I think this goes along with our bodies. Our mind controls our bodies. If we control what goes into our minds, we control our health.

This is great! Form a habit, stick to that habit and it all becomes easy, right?

Healthy Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread Recipe

I have a severe weakness for desserts. When you get chocolate or peanut butter as options, it becomes dangerous. Put them together, and, well, then I cave. The first time I saw this recipe for Cookies and Cups Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread, my heart skipped a beat. Her imagery is gorgeous and the bread looked divine.

I did not go back to that recipe for quite some time. Now that I am living a healthier lifestyle, I have been challenging myself to make "dirty, unhealthy" recipes "clean" options. Over Christmas break, my mom and I were in the kitchen and I had the urge to bake. Dad has always enjoyed mom's banana breads and he likes peanut butter and chocolate. The light bulb lit up! Here was the opportunity to help my mom and dad start using easy, clean recipes, while foods they would enjoy.

I scrounged through mom's cupboards to see what ingredients I could work with. Rather than add peanut butter cup minis like the recipe called for, I found some holiday M&M Crisps to incorporate.

Yum, happy holidays to my family! I ended up eating most of it though.

The best thing about this recipe is it will be naturally sweet thanks to the bananas and Greek yogurt. You can add some Stevia packets or honey for added sugar taste. Also, all the ingredients are easy to find or you will probably have them on hand already!

Muscle Mint Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats

Since I am on my "off season" from competition, I have been playing with new recipes and counting my macros. Breakfast has always been my favorite. I workout in the mornings and enjoy coming home and making something fresh or having something flavorful waiting for me when I arrive.

Pinterest has been overflowing with the sensational "overnight oat" recipes and I had yet to try one. Until now. I think I am in love. I created my own spin on this overnight oat recipe. Thanks to my awesome app, MyMacros+, I was able to put together my recipe and calculate my macronutrients from it.

So here it is, the Muscle Mint Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats.

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 300
Proteins: 31.2g
Carbohydrates: 34.2g
Fats: 4.5g
Fibers: 6g

Did you have Protein Pancakes for National Pancake Day?

Sometimes, I get adventurous with my cooking. This week proved that. And since today is National Pancake Day, here are the delectable Protein Pancakes I made.

My recipe was inspired by this one from Shredz. I think mine look healthier. :) Below is my adjusted recipe. What do you think?

Human Health and Plant Health Require Multiple MOA

We are constantly scrutinized. What should we wear, what should we eat, what we should do for our careers, how we should act and what we should think. That's a lot of pressure. One area I have seen even more pressure is to eat healthy and be fit or in shape.

Why are we fat

Some statistics and facts about ag.

The continuous impression we received from news anchors, celebrities, athletes, doctors, friends and family is that American's are overweight. As stated in this November article by Business Insider, a study from The Lancet by the Global Burden of Disease found the United States as the fattest country in the world for 2014, with 33 percent of the population being defined as "obese".

This is not a good thing for our country, but it is does demonstrate other positive aspects we have in our country, being modernized, technologically savvy and full of resources. With all of these resources from food to electronics, it has become easy to overeat, spend more time staring at computer, tablet, and phone screens and become less "physical" in our daily routines. More people sit in an office or in a vehicle for their jobs because our society has become smarter and made it "easier" for us to work.