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I had Greek tacos at a friend’s house one day, and I’ll admit, I was skeptical. But one bite, and my mindset immediately switched to inspired. I couldn’t get enough of the fresh Mediterranean flavors alongside silky avocado. That’s why I created a deconstructed version, a Greek Gyro Salad Recipe.

Here’s how to make it.

Gyro Taco Salad with Tzatziki Guacamole Recipe

Ingredients

Gyro Meat

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1.5 lbs. ground beef or lamb
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• chopped romaine lettuce
• chopped tomatoes
• chopped cucumber

Tzatziki Guacamole

• 2 large avocados
• 1 medium or 1/2 large cucumber
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or more, if you like)
• salt to taste

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the oregano, coriander, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.

Add the meat to the pan and break it up with a spatula to encourage it to brown. When it’s about halfway through cooking, add half of the spice blend.

Continue cooking until the meat has browned. Add the remaining spice blend. Let the meat keep cooking so it sort of shallow fries itself in the residual fat in the pan. Once the meat is browned and pretty crispy, stir in the lemon juice, fresh parsley, and fresh dill.

To prepare the tzatziki, scoop the flesh out of the avocados and mash them until fairly smooth along with the lemon juice.

Use a box grater to grate the cucumber (I like using a combination of the small and medium-sized holes on the grater to give the dip more texture).

Place the shredded cucumber in a tea towel and twist it over the sink to remove any excess water from the cucumber. You don’t have to remove all of the water, as some of the cucumber juice will provide flavor to the dip.

Add the cucumber to the mashed avocados along with the chopped dill. Combine the ingredients together and season with salt to taste.

Serve your gyro meat on top of chopped lettuce with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. Place a dollop of the tzatziki guacamole on top.

Print

Greek Gyro Salad with Tzatziki Guacamole Recipe

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• 
  Author: Mark’s Daily Apple
• 
  Prep Time: 5
• 
  Cook Time: 15
• 
  Total Time: 20 minutes
• 
  Yield: 4 servings
• 
  Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Greek Gyro salad constructed like a taco salad topped with Tzatziki Guacamole

---

Ingredients

Gyro Meat:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.5 lbs. ground beef or lamb

1 cup diced red onion

6 cloves minced garlic

2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

chopped romaine lettuce

chopped tomatoes

chopped cucumber

Tzatziki Guacamole:

2 large avocados

1 medium or 1/2 large cucumber

1/4 cup fresh chopped dill

2 tablespoons lemon juice (or more, if you like)

salt to taste

---

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the oregano, coriander, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside. 

 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.

 

Add the meat to the pan and break it up with a spatula to encourage it to brown. When it’s about halfway through cooking, add half of the spice blend. Continue cooking until the meat has browned. Add the remaining spice blend. Let the meat keep cooking so it sort of shallow fries itself in the residual fat in the pan. Once the meat is browned and pretty crispy, stir in the lemon juice, fresh parsley and fresh dill.

 

To prepare the tzatziki, scoop the flesh out of the avocados and mash them until fairly smooth along with the lemon juice.

 

Use a box grater to grate the cucumber (I like using a combination of the small and medium sized holes on the grater to give the dip more texture).

 

Place the shredded cucumber in a tea towel and twist it over the sink to remove any excess water from the cucumber. You don’t have to remove all of the water, as some of the cucumber juice will provide flavor to the dip.

 

Add the cucumber to the mashed avocados along with the chopped dill. Combine the ingredients together and season with salt to taste.

 

Serve your gyro meat on top of chopped lettuce with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. Place a dollop of the tzatziki guacamole on top.

• Category: Lunch, Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Greek

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
• Calories: 592.5
• Sugar: 3.4 g
• Sodium: 420.1 mg
• Fat: 38.6 g
• Saturated Fat: 7.4 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 22.2 g
• Trans Fat: .98 g
• Carbohydrates: 15.2 g
• Fiber: 6.7 g
• Protein: 47 g
• Cholesterol: 149.7 mg
• Net Carbs: 8.34 g

Keywords: gyro salad, avocado tzatziki, how to make gyro

The post Greek Gyro Salad with Avocado Tzatziki Recipe appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Research of the Week

Mussels remove microplastics from the water and poop them out.

Small amounts of alcohol may help make people with heart trouble healthier.

Reminder: there is no “junk” DNA.

Mice can willfully give themselves dopamine pulses. Can you?

More omega-3 in the blood, longer life.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 510: Lisa Easton: Host Elle Russ chats with Lisa Easton.

Episode 511: Lifestyle Tips for Testosterone Optimization, Part 2: Brad Kearns tells you how to improve your hormonal health.

Health Coach Radio: PD Mangan sets the example and watches his clients follow.

Media, Schmedia

Train so you can save.

Cool story on Kanoa Igaroshi, Japan’s (and California’s) great surfing hope.

Interesting Blog Posts

Even apes love drumming. It’s in our blood.

Sleep gives power in more ways than one.

Social Notes

How I get collagen in hot, humid Miami.

Everything Else

Is the Gates Foundation’s assistance in Africa more about helping multinationals than small farmers?

Preventing type 1 diabetes in childhood.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Good news: Coffee is not linked to arrhythmias.

Interesting older study: “Imperfect” vaccines may allow and enhance the transmission of highly virulent pathogens.

Never thought I’d see the day: Media outlet favorably covers organ supplements.

Try Primalizing this article: How to stay cool exercising in the heat.

Important: Natural immunity still works.

Question I’m Asking

Do you have any skills that can save people? Have you ever saved someone?

Recipe Corner

• Homemade carbonated water.
• For when you’re absolutely pressed for time, crispy microwave bacon.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Jul 24 – Jul 30)

• What is Low-Carb Flu, or Keto Flu? And Ways to Beat It — What to do.
• 10 Reasons Why Eating Beef is Good for You and the Planet — Why we need it.

Comment of the Week

“That article about turning poop into digital currency brightened my morning, as now those of us with IBS stand (maybe sit ) to become millionaires.”

-Hilarious, Keith.

The post New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week — Edition 140 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

Dan John once said, ‘the most dangerous part of my day is when I step out of the shower.’ Think about it. How easy is it to slip and fall once you get out of the shower? Now if it’s that easy, imagine how your older adult clients feel about losing their balance.

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Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

The researchers at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, who are behind the recent review of the benefits of low carbohydrate diets found many issues with the benefits and risks and consider these approaches to be controversial and unresolved, particularly for very-low carbohydrate diets (VLCD).

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If you’re wondering if you’re a perfectionist, I’d say there’s a good chance you are. Or at least have perfectionist tendencies. I know I do. After all, who doesn’t want to be perfect? Who doesn’t want to be the one who gets the gold stars, the big wins, and the admiration?

Perfectionism is one of those traits people typically see as a positive, but underneath it is often self-defeating thoughts and emotions, low self-esteem, stress, and chronic anxiety, which actually make it harder to achieve your goals. And, if I’m being honest here, it makes it harder to function in general.

As a health coach, I see this all the time, and I know what it feels like. The procrastination, the all-or-nothing thinking, the unrealistic standards. My clients get so wrapped up in trying to “get it right,” that it defeats the whole purpose of working with someone to get their health on track in the first place.

What is Perfectionism Anyway?

Psychologists describe perfectionism as the tendency to demand an extremely high or even flawless level of performance (from yourself or others) — significantly more than what’s required from the situation. It’s the unhealthy belief that anything less than perfect is unacceptable. No pressure, right?

It’s a combo of excessively high personal standards and overly critical self-evaluations. And it sets you up for feeling shame, judgement, and blame, which then leads to more of those debilitating, self-defeating thoughts.

Being motivated is great. But there’s a big difference between healthy motivation and aiming for perfection. Healthy motivation looks like self-focus, self-compassion, and having a growth mindset, while perfection is more about people-pleasing, fear, and control.

Got These Perfectionist Traits?

The issue with perfectionism, and the reason it’s important to know if you have any of these characteristics, is that, despite their intentions, perfectionists actually end up achieving less and stressing out more than those with healthy motivation. Their goal is to be perfect, yet they’re self-sabotaging every step of the way.

Common traits of perfectionists:

• Procrastination
• Fear of Failure
• Results-Focused
• Highly Critical
• Overthinking
• Unrealistic Standards
• All-or-Nothing Thinking
• Low Self-Esteem
• Defensive
• Have a Hard Time Receiving Compliments
• Trouble Celebrating Successes
• Need Outside Validation

So, What Causes Perfectionism?

Researchers say it stems from the belief that your self-worth is based on your accomplishments. If you got rewarded for getting straight A’s on your report card, scoring the winning goal, having flawless dance recitals, or being a “good kid” and cleaning your plate — and felt compelled to continue achieving so that you’d keep receiving outside validation, congratulations, you’re probably a perfectionist.

Perfectionism can also be learned by growing up around perfectionist parents. Maybe you used to hear them openly criticize themselves, or second-guess their choices, or blame themselves for your missteps. If so, it’s easy to see how you could pick up those behaviours yourself.

Sound like you? If so, you’re not alone. Perfectionism has increased by 33% over the past 30 years and it’s taking a huge toll on mental health. In this study published by the American Psychological Association, researchers analyzed data from 41,641 American, Canadian, and British college students from 1989 to 2016. Participants answered questions in the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), a 35- question self-reported measure with four sub-scales of perfectionism:¹¹

• Concern over mistakes and doubts about actions
• Excessive concern with parents’ expectations and evaluation
• Excessively high personal standards
• Concern with precision, order, and organization

More recent generations reported significantly higher scores. Turns out, social media is at least partially responsible for that rise. College students (and pretty much everyone on the planet) are feeling the pressure to perfect themselves in comparison to others, which leads to body and financial dissatisfaction, having unattainable education and career goals, and a myriad of other issues all centered around lack.

It’s not just mental health that takes a hit either. In addition to clinical depression, anxiety, burnout, and eating disorders, perfectionists have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure and heart disease due to self-imposed stress and perceived failure.¹², ¹³ They also tend to have a harder time recovering from heart attacks and managing auto-immune conditions.¹⁴

How to Overcome a Perfectionist Mindset

When I work with clients, my goal is to help them get out of their own heads — and out of their own way — so they can easily and effortlessly reach their goals. These strategies do just that. Follow along and see if you can start to tame some of your perfectionist tendencies.

1. Check Your Motivations. When you think about something you want to achieve, ask yourself why you want to achieve it. Do you want to lose the weight/get the promotion/crush the workout because it makes you feel good to do it? Or because you like being perceived as someone who’s accomplished, successful, and smashing every goal they put out there? There’s no wrong answer here, but getting clear on the intentions behind your actions will help you know if you’re doing it for internal or external validation.
2. Label Your Fear. Harvard psychologist, Susan David plays an icebreaker party game with the execs she coaches where everyone writes their biggest fear about themselves on a sticky note, slaps it on their chest, and goes about the party introducing themselves. It could be anything from their personal or professional life, like, “I’m a fraud,” “I’m boring,” or “I’m unlovable.” As a result, the fear that once had so much power over them is tamed. They see their thought as just that — a thought. And because they’re dealing with it in a lighthearted way, it starts to lose its power over them.Try this: Write down 3-5 of the biggest fears you have about yourself or your abilities, then choose the one you feel is your biggest obstacle. You don’t have to wear it sticky-note-style, just notice how it’s hold on you changes once it’s out of your head and on to paper.
3. Don’t Compare. Social media is pretty much a highlight reel of people’s lives. That said, it’s hard to avoid the comparison mindset when you see others out loving life, while you’re struggling just to get out of bed in the morning. The easiest way to stop this behaviour is to delete social media apps from your phone. Still feel the need to scroll? Practice being more mindful when you do, being aware that these are curated moments and that everyone — even the people with a million followers — have plenty of imperfections too.
4. Set Realistic Goals. Don’t set the bar so high that most of the things you do feel like you’re failing. Just because you can run PR your marathon time, work 20-hour days, and eat paleo 100% of the time, doesn’t mean you should. Instead, learn how to set realistic goals for yourself.Try this: Think about an important goal you have. It could be in your career, your health, your family, doesn’t matter. Then, using the SMART goal technique, break it down into specific, attainable, measurable, relevant, and timely steps. Not only does this make it easier to reach your goal, it boosts your confidence.
5. Give Yourself Credit. You’re already keeping a journal, right? Great. Take a few minutes to celebrate all of the progress, the positive actions, and choices you’ve made each day — without diminishing them or dismissing them as luck or unproductive. Regularly giving yourself praise, and allowing yourself to receive it, helps build your self-validation muscle.
6. Loosen Your Grip. If the voice in your head constantly reminds you that you’re not doing it right, chances are, it’s telling you when others aren’t doing it right too. Even if you don’t act on them, these irrational thoughts can get in the way of relationships, and really, your own sanity. Notice when you get overly uptight about a friend or co-worker being five minutes late to a meeting or when your spouse has imperfect form on their squats. Then, start to challenge your perfectionist thoughts.Try this: Ask yourself if the situation is really as irritating as it feels, if it matters if they do their exercises slightly wrong, and if you need to control everything about it. If the answer is yes, get curious about why that is.

Are You a Perfectionist?

Demanding a flawless performance from yourself or others, getting bogged down in the details, and believing wholeheartedly that anything less than perfect is unacceptable is not only extremely draining, it can lead to serious mental, emotional, and physical ramifications, from anxiety, depression, and burnout to heart disease and high blood pressure.

If you feel like perfectionism is starting to mess with your health, break the cycle by following these six strategies or reach out to a qualified behaviour change specialist — you can find some great ones here.

1. Check your motivations
2. Label your fear
3. Don’t compare
4. Set realistic goals
5. Give yourself credit
6. Loosen your grip

Are you a perfectionist? Tell me about your experience with it below.

The post Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Health? appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

Here’s the thing about Tia-Claire Toomey, she hadn’t been doing CrossFit for a long time when she made it to her first games in 2015. Her background was in track and field but she represented her country at the Olympic Games in Rio in the 58 kg category in weightlifting. That’s 2016.

The same year as she competed in her second CrossFit Games. She was 2nd on the podium. She has been number one ever since.

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Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

It’s common knowledge that we lose muscle mass and strength as we age. This is known as sarcopenia.

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As a devoted fan of skincare, at-home spa treatments, and, most recently, face yoga, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to pamper myself. Thus, I couldn’t help but notice the recent uptick in beauty influencers raving about their Gua Sha stones, jade rollers, and similar facial massage tools. Besides the fact that the tool themselves are quite beautiful, the purported benefits had me intrigued.

Gua Sha facial massages supposedly work by enhancing lymphatic drainage in the face and neck, leading to smoother, clearer skin. The lymphatic system plays a central role in immunity, and it also works to clear waste products from your tissues. In the beauty and wellness industries, Gua Sha is frequently promoted as a way to “detoxify.” That term always gives me pause, especially when the detoxifying service in question costs more than my car payment. Futhermore, Gua Sha comes from traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, and I’m always wary of the American beauty industry co-opting and commodifying traditional practices from other cultures.

At the same time, I do want a well-functioning lymphatic system, and facial massage feels fantastic, so I was motivated to check out this practice for myself. Here’s what I learned.

What is Gua Sha?

Gua Sha is an ancient Chinese medicinal practice in which a practitioner uses a rounded tool to scrape the skin of a person suffering from a malady like heatstroke, common cold, or fever. I say “practitioner,” but throughout history, Gua Sha was primarily a folk remedy. Your grandmother or mother would likely be the one to grab a soup spoon, coin, or bit of horn and set about scraping your back when you fell ill.

The scraping is designed to form petechiae, little pinprick spots under the skin that look like a flat rash. In fact, Gua Sha is variously translated as “scraping petechiae,” “scraping bruises,” or “scraping sand.” In TCM, the color of the petechiae—which might appear as red, pink, purple, or brown—is indicative of the patient’s underlying health problems.

Traditional Gua Sha usually focuses on the limbs, buttocks, back, and neck, and it is specifically used as a medical intervention. The modern beauty trend focuses on the face and is predominantly cosmetic (though the line is blurry when medical-sounding terms like lymphatic drainage are used to promote facial treatments). Both practices employ flat, rounded tools usually made from stone, wood, bone, horn, or ceramic, but that’s about where the similarities end. While traditional Gua Sha usually isn’t painful, it’s also not gentle. The scraping should leave a mark, and you may be sore for a couple days after receiving a treatment. Facial Gua Sha is billed as rejuvenating, the light strokes should not raise petechiae on the face.

For lack of better terms, I’ll use “traditional Gua Sha” and “facial Gua Sha” to distinguish the two for the remainder of this post, although some people argue that the term Gua Sha shouldn’t be used to describe cosmetic facial massage.¹⁵

What Benefits Does Gua Sha Offer?

Gua Sha appears in written records during the Ming Dynasty around 1,500 years ago, but the practice is probably considerably older than that. As a traditional remedy, it has long been used to treat all manner of illness or chronic pain.

There’s not a lot of contemporary research on Gua Sha, but a handful of studies validate that Gua Sha can help patients suffering from back and neck pain.^{16 17 18 19} Individual studies have also found that Gua Sha can alleviate symptoms of diabetic peripheral neuropathy,²⁰ improve the breastfeeding experiences of new mothers,²¹ and provide relief for women experiencing perimenopausal complaints like hot flashes and insomnia.²²

As for cosmetic applications, facial Gua Sha enthusiasts promise a more youthful and sculpted appearance, glowing skin, and fewer wrinkles. Some bodyworkers claim that Gua Sha techniques can be used to reduce cellulite and bloating. However, the evidence is anecdotal at this point. You’ll have to satisfy yourself with the (admittedly impressive) before-and-after shots on social media. From what I can tell, any cosmetic benefits you derive will probably be short-lived unless you maintain a regular treatment regimen.

How Does Gua Sha Work?

According to TCM, traditional Gua Sha works by balancing qi, the energy or life force that flows through the body. Practitioners scrape Gua Sha tools along certain pathways or meridians to release blockages and move stagnant energy. Acupuncturists sometimes use Gua Sha alongside needling since both practices focus on energy channels within the body.

From a Western medical perspective, the mechanisms underlying Gua Sha’s beneficial properties are not well understood. Gua Sha might work by increasing circulation, exerting anti-inflammatory effects, protecting cells from oxidative stress, modulating the pain response, or all of the above.^{23 24 25} As with other types of tool-assisted bodywork such as the Graston technique, Gua Sha may also help improve mobility by reducing scar tissue and promoting collagen synthesis.²⁶ However, these proposed effects are largely hypothetical at this point, because the research on Gua Sha is fairly scant.

Can Gua Sha Promote “Lymphatic Drainage?”

“Lymphatic drainage” and “lymphatic massage” are buzzwords in the beauty and wellness spaces, but what do they mean? To put it simply, the lymphatic system circulates a fluid called lymph in much the same way your circulatory system moves blood throughout the body. Lymph sits in the space between cells and acts as a collection system for cellular waste products and debris. Lymphatic vessels drain the lymph and transport it to lymph nodes that act as filters before returning the lymph to the bloodstream to be deposited back among the cells.

I’m oversimplifying a complicated process here, but suffice it to say that your lymphatic system cleans your tissues, so to speak. The lymphatic system also delivers immune cells called lymphocytes throughout your body to fight off foreign invaders. So yeah, it’s pretty important.

The question is: does Gua Sha do anything to help the lymphatic system function optimally? Maybe. In certain acute conditions, lymph fluid can become trapped in the tissue and cause significant swelling, a condition called lymphedema. Left untreated, lymphedema can lead to severe issues like infection. Doctors will sometimes use massage techniques called manual lymphatic drainage to try to push fluid out of the tissues.^{27 28} Theoretically, traditional Gua Sha could exert similar effects if the techniques overlap, but I wasn’t able to find any studies showing that Gua Sha is effective for treating lymphedema.

A couple of studies have demonstrated that Gua Sha increases microcirculation under the skin’s surface, which could lead to enhanced fluid exchange between the blood vessels, interstitial fluid between cells, and lymph vessels.^{29 30} In plain speak, these studies do suggest that Gua Sha promotes the movement of lymph within the lymphatic system, which could be one mechanism by which Gua Sha exerts beneficial effects. More research is needed, though.

The (Dubious?) Claims of Lymphatic Massage for Skin Benefits

Beauty experts will tell you that facial Gua Sha works by improving lymphatic drainage and clearing “toxins” — toxins which are “known” to lead to dryness, blemishes, and all manner of skin maladies. These claims are everywhere on the Internet. The problem is, it’s not clear that poor lymphatic drainage is at the root of skin issues in the first place, nor that facial massage promotes beneficial lymphatic drainage in people with normally functioning lymphatic systems. Some clinicians do use manual lymphatic drainage to help patients with lymphedema of the head and neck, which can occur due to surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes in the neck, for example. Lymphedema is completely different from having toxins “trapped” in the skin and causing acne or outward signs of aging, though.

It’s not that facial Gua Sha is useless. Plenty of people swear by it and derive a lot of pleasure from including it in their beauty routines. I’m just not sure the benefits are due to lymphatic drainage or anything along those lines. It seems at least as likely that it works by moisturizing the skin (you put oils or serums on the skin to allow the Gua Sha stone to glide), increasing circulation, and promoting relaxation.

Performing Gua Sha at Home

First and foremost, is it safe? Generally yes, as long as you know what you’re doing. However, whenever you have a specific medical concern, it’s always best to consult a trained professional and let them do the work. Gua Sha is not recommended for folks with circulatory problems or wounds, rashes, or other skin issues.

Facial Gua Sha is also safe to perform at home, but again, make sure you know what you’re doing. Don’t pull too hard on delicate under-eye skin and try not to poke yourself in the eye with your tool. Otherwise, as long as you’re gentle, it can be a soothing and relaxing addition to your self-care regimen.

Gua Sha FAQs

What is Gua Sha?

Gua Sha is an ancient Chinese medicinal practice in which a practitioner uses a rounded tool to scrape the skin for healing purposes. It may help alleviate pain and inflammation. Today, Gua Sha stones are also marketed as beauty tools for performing facial massage.

Is Gua Sha safe?

Both traditional Gua Sha performed on the body and facial Gua Sha massage are generally regarded as safe. However, Gua Sha is not recommended for people with circulatory problems, skin issues like rashes or wounds, or recent surgeries unless your doctor says otherwise.

What tools and oils should I use with Gua Sha?

Gua Sha practitioners use rounded tools made from stone, wood, animal bone, horn, or ceramic, as well as household implements like soup spoons and coins. Gua Sha facial stones are often made of semi-precious stone like rose quartz. Almost any oil will work. Jojoba oil is a neutral, hypoallergenic option.

What is lymphatic massage?

The lymphatic system circulates a fluid called lymph, which carries immune cells and clears waste products from tissues. Lymph travels through vessels similar to blood vessels, but it can be trapped in tissue, causing swelling and infection. Lymphatic massage can help relieve swelling and promote lymphatic drainage.

Does Gua Sha work to promote lymphatic drainage?

Proponents claim that it does. However, very little research has been done on Gua Sha, so it’s not clear how Gua Sha works. While Gua Sha may act on the lymphatic system, there are other possible explanations for its beneficial effects. More studies are needed.

The post Gua Sha: Lymphatic Massage for the Face and Body? appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/

Meet Ranada, a member of Nerd Fitness Coaching who is currently celebrating losing over 65 pounds in 10 months!

I’m so proud of Ranada, especially considering all the challenges she’s faced over the last year:

• Being a full-time student, while also holding down a job – “So much reading.”
• Needing to work out from home – “The idea of a gym stressed me out.”
• The mindset that she had to figure it out alone – “Everyone makes it look so easy. I thought I had to do this without help.”

Oh, and there was also that whole pandemic that threw all our lives into turmoil.

It all came to a breaking point last year: Ranada went on a hike she thought she could easily do…but then ran into trouble.

The hike made her winded.

Ranada wound up stopping every few feet to catch her breath.

It was a frustrating and humbling experience.

Luckily, Ranada used the hike as a catalyst to make some changes in her life. One year later, she is able to do the same trail without needing to stop at all!

So let’s learn about what Ranada did to turn into a legit hiker, while still handling every other part of her hectic life!

5 Takeaways From Ranada’s Transformation

#1) Having a “Big Why” Can Make All the Difference

Hiking can be a humbling experience.

It’s one thing to walk comfortably around your neighborhood on flat ground. It’s quite another to hike up steep inclines in nature.

That’s how Ranada discovered she wasn’t in as good of shape as she thought.

She explains, “In my mind, I was capable of doing this hike. But once I got out there I had to stop every few feet. It was extremely frustrating to underperform to my expectations.”

That day, on that hike, Ranada discovered her “Big Why.” She told herself she would come back one day and crush that trail. She would become physically capable enough to hike, wherever she wanted.

Going forward, Ranada would know what she was working towards.

Takeaway: when we start our fitness journey, one of the first things we can do is develop a “Big Why.”

“Why am I doing this? Why am I trying to get in shape?”

Knowing the answer to this will help when life gets busy and things become tough.

And trust me, life will get busy and things will become tough.

It’s only a matter of degree.

All of us, the last year.

So let’s decide why we’re trying to improve.

It could be that we:

• Want to get in shape to start dating.
• Need a better report card from our doctor.
• Have an obstacle to overcome, like climbing up a mountain.

Whatever it is, WRITE IT DOWN. And then we can put it somewhere we’ll see often (like a sticky note on a desk) to remind ourselves why we’re making changes.

It might seem trivial, but it’ll go a long way towards helping us stay consistent.

#2) It’s Okay to Ask For Help

At first, Ranada wanted to make a plan on her own.

As she explains:

Takeaway: it can often seem like everyone around us knows what they’re doing.

They don’t need any help…why should I need it?

Here’s the truth: most successful people have outside help.

• It could be a business mentor who has the right connections.
• It could be a professor at a university who knows how to track down the right grants.
• It could be a coach who knows how to help folks get in shape.

Yes, some people can figure out amazing things on their own. But most of us could use a little extra guidance. THAT’S GREAT!

Personally, I have dedicated my life to studying health and fitness, and I help others get in shape for a living, and even I have an online coach for guidance and support!

Remember, there’s nothing wrong with seeking or accepting help.

#3) Getting Stronger Makes Everything Easier

When Ranada met her coach, they quickly made a plan for getting up that freaking mountain.

They just had to start off slow.

“I had no stamina at all. So at first, we just focused on general workouts and a little cardio to build up some initial conditioning.

Soon after that, my coach had me doing exercises for hiking like:

• Step-ups
• Wall sits – they’re harder than they look!
• Lunges
• Core exercises – to help with overall balance

These exercises were tough to start and made me very sore at first. But 10 months later, the work paid off.

Today, I have more physical freedom. I can ride my bike around town or go explore long hikes.

Consistently working out has opened up what I can do in life.”

Takeaway: gaining strength will make life easier.

We might be able to walk farther or bike longer.

Maybe we can carry groceries without a challenge.

Or maybe we can be like Ranada, who can now conquer beautiful hiking trails.

My advice: when in doubt, focus on getting strong. It makes all aspects of life better.

#4) When It Comes to Nutrition, Learn the “Why” and “How”

“I always knew I needed to ‘eat better.’ I just had no idea what that really meant.

Coach Taylor started by giving me resources that had diagrams of food portions, like the NF Healthy Plate:

We would then go over a recipe, and he’d cover the different parts and where they’d fit on the plate.

This helped me know what to look out for when I was choosing a recipe or eating out.

Through these short lessons, I have gained so much knowledge and feel empowered to make good choices for my meals.”

Takeaway: it’s valuable to spend some time learning about healthy eating.

Sure, we can just grab recipes online. But knowing what makes a nutritious meal can help a lot when we’re at a restaurant or a potluck. That way we’ll never have to freak out over “what should I eat?”

We already know!

#5) It’s Okay to Dial Things Back

Ranada has made a lot of progress over the last 10 months.

However, there have been times when she’s had to scale back her momentum here and there.

“Like everyone else, the last year has been tough.

I’ve had stressful family situations, plus I was trying to finish school during the pandemic.

I found myself overwhelmed quite a few times.

But Coach Taylor wouldn’t put any additional pressure on me when I was stressed.

Instead, he would help me keep it together by scaling back my tasks.

He’d modify the workouts to be shorter, or maybe just replace it with a quick indoor cardio routine, so I was at least doing something.

This helped me push forward when my life got crazy busy.”

“My cats helped too.”

Takeaway: I tell people to think about fitness as a “dial,” not a “light switch.”

This mindset allows us to adjust our efforts, depending on what else is going on in our life.

Let’s say things are going well and we want to kick it into gear.

An “8” could look like:

• All meals are pre-made.
• Working out 3x a week.
• Yoga every morning.

On the flip side, let’s say life is super hectic.

Maybe we go down to a “3” with:

• Lunches at Chipotle – burrito bowl for the win!
• One single workout a week.
• A short walk every other day.

The important thing: we don’t want to shut down progress completely. Treading water and moving slowly STILL counts as a win! As long as we don’t let ‘momentum’ go to zero.

A little every day goes a long way.

A LOT CAN CHANGE IN 10 MONTHS

The fact that Ranada was able to go from “I need to stop and catch my breath” to “this trail is nothing” is amazing.

That she did it in less than a year – while working a job and being a full-time student – makes it even more impressive!

Was it easy?

No way!

Ranada was juggling multiple responsibilities (on top of the pandemic!) and often found herself overwhelmed.

The important thing: she hung in there!

Ranada never quit completely – which means she continued to make progress – even if it was just a tiny bit.

This slow and steady progress is what our coaching program is all about.

That, and doing nerdy workout routines like Battling Bane, Reckoning with Ra’s al Ghul, and Preparing for Poison Ivy:

Yep, the team seriously does gather around to brainstorm nerdy titles for workouts.

When you join NF Coaching, we won’t change everything at once.

We’ll take it slow, building one healthy habit on top of another.

We go at a pace that never seems scary, so you won’t even notice how much progress you’ve made until you look backward.

With Nerd Fitness Coaching you’ll gain:

• Confidence on exactly what to do. No guesswork needed, you’ll simply log into our coaching app and follow the plan laid out for you.
• A program tailored to your needs. Is your gym opening back up? Want to train there AND home? We’ll design a routine that works best for you.
• A partner to help you make your goals. Many people can set goals and hit them by themselves. But some of us can’t – Ranada needed someone in her corner to keep her accountable. If you’ve been struggling by yourself, know that it’s okay to seek help from an expert who knows the way.

If you want to set yourself up on a path to start making tiny (and sustainable) changes, we’d love to be a part of your journey.

You can schedule a call to see if we’re right for each other right here:

Learn more about Nerd Fitness Coaching

If you decide not to try coaching, no problem. I’ll still be here offering free guides and corny jokes to help you level up your life.

But if you do decide to join, maybe it’ll be your success story I’m sharing next summer!

Something similar happened to our friend Ranada.

For the Rebellion,

-Steve

PS: TL/DR – Ranada is amazing and you can learn if our coaching program can help you too.

The post Ranada The Full-Time Student Lost 65 lbs. Here’s How: first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

How to give any main dish a “wow” factor? Add a touch of sweetness to a savory dish. These grilled pork and pineapple kebabs are tangy and smoky with just the right amount of sweetness from fresh pineapple. You can serve these with just about any side dish for a BBQ meal that keeps you coming back for more.

Here’s how to make them.

Ingredients

• 1.25 lbs. boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1-1.5” chunks
• 1.5 cups chunks of pineapple
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into large pieces
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped into large pieces
• 1 red onion, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup Primal Kitchen® Golden BBQ Sauce
• 3.5 tbsp. Primal Kitchen® Avocado Oil, divided
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

In a bowl, combine the Primal Kitchen Golden BBQ sauce with 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, paprika, pepper, garlic, onion, and salt. Toss the pork chunks in the marinade and place the bowl in the fridge for two hours.

Toss the chopped peppers and onions in the remaining avocado oil along with a pinch of salt and pepper.

After the pork has marinated, thread the pork, vegetables, and pineapple chunks on skewers in an alternating pattern. Rub any remaining marinade from the bowl on top of the skewers.

Note: If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for 30 minutes prior.

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Once very hot, place the skewers on the grill. Allow them to grill for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature of the pork is at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

Allow the skewers to rest for a few minutes. Top with chopped cilantro and serve alongside more of the Golden BBQ Sauce.

Tip: The amount of time the skewers take to cook will vary based on how large you cut the pork, the fat content of the pork cut you use, and how well done you’d like the pork. When in doubt, use a meat thermometer!

Print

Tangy Pork and Pineapple Kebabs

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• 
  Author: Mark’s Daily Apple
• 
  Prep Time: 5 min
• 
  Cook Time: 15 min
• 
  Total Time: 20 minutes
• 
  Yield: 6 kabobs
• 
  Diet: Gluten Free

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Tangy, sweet and savory BBQ pork pineapple kebabs on the grill.

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Ingredients

1.25 lbs. boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1–1.5” chunks

1.5 cups chunks of pineapple

1 red bell pepper, chopped into large pieces

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped into large pieces

1 red onion, cut into chunks

1/2 cup Primal Kitchen® Golden BBQ Sauce

3.5 tbsp. Primal Kitchen® Avocado Oil, divided

1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp salt

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Instructions

In a bowl, combine the Primal Kitchen Golden BBQ sauce with 2 tablespoons of the avocado oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, paprika, pepper, garlic, onion and salt. Toss the pork chunks in the marinade and place the bowl in the fridge for 2 hours.

Toss the chopped peppers and onions in the remaining avocado oil along with a pinch of salt and pepper.

After the pork has marinated, thread the pork, vegetables and pineapple chunks on skewers in an alternating pattern. Rub any remaining marinade from the bowl on top of the skewers. 

*Note: If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for 30 minutes prior.

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Once very hot, place the skewers on the grill. Allow them to grill for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature of the pork is at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

Allow the skewers to rest for a few minutes. Top with chopped cilantro and serve alongside more of the Golden BBQ Sauce.

Notes

The amount of time the skewers take to cook will vary based on how large you cut the pork, the fat content of the pork cut you use, and how well done you’d like the pork. When in doubt, use a meat thermometer!

• Category: Lunch, Dinner
• Method: Grilling
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 skewer
• Calories: 324.9
• Sugar: 11.2 g
• Sodium: 378.7 mg
• Fat: 20.4 g
• Saturated Fat: 5.1 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
• Trans Fat: .1 g
• Carbohydrates: 13.34 g
• Fiber: 1.8 g
• Protein: 21.3 g
• Cholesterol: 55.6 mg
• Net Carbs: 13.34 g

Keywords: bbq pineapple kebabs, bbq kebabs, grilled kebabs

The post Tangy Pork and Pineapple Kebabs appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.