If you’re looking for a quick fix to lead you to better health and well-being, I’ve got you. Remove all processed items from your home and office. If they don’t exist, you can’t consume them. When we were teenagers, Lisa, my darling ex-wife, and I used to spend hours at her mother’s home during the summer. Being a typical teenage boy, in addition to the usual sleeping, watching television and posting up in the sun in the backyard, there was a lot of eating. Lisa’s childhood home was stocked to the ceiling with love…and sugar. The variety of her… Next time you’re at the store choosing a peanut butter, please grab a natural, organic jar. Your PB should have only one or two ingredients, either peanuts alone or peanuts and salt. Remember those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from your childhood? The ones with the creamy Skippy on Wonder Bread with the Smucker’s jelly that tasted more like fruit punch than fruit? Cool, that means you were the kid that I envied. I was the boy staring with stars in his eyes, pining to be you. My dad made his own peanut butter at home and it didn’t… Life gets crazy. When you’re out and about tackling daily activities, sometimes you need to make a pit stop and grab easy nutrition. Ideally, this should just be to tide you over until your next meal. You know that the big fast food chains are loaded down with artificial ingredients and no redeeming nutritional value, but you spy a smoothie chain up ahead. Jamba Juice, Robeks, Smoothie King and the like have done a splendid job marketing their products as “healthier” alternatives to gas station snacks and such. Fresh fruits and veggies can’t be unhealthy, right? Take a peek… All sugars are not created equal. The sugar in an apple pie from McDonald’s is not even a distant cousin of the sugar in a crisp, organic apple. I’ve preached time and time again on this blog – fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar does. You may have noticed, however, that I advocate apples, blueberries, and Japanese yams. All of these items contain sugars. I even use them to curb any sweet cravings I experience. Runts candies may be shaped like fruit and contain fructose and glucose like fruit, but that’s where the similarities end. Grab Comstock’s “More Fruit”… If you’ve been reading my blog for a bit, you know my mantra: fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar makes you fat. However, the health benefits of dark chocolate make it a worthwhile indulgence. Valentine’s Day is my least favorite holiday. Do we really need an appointment on the calendar to express love to another human being? C’mon, that should be our daily practice.  Now, there is a competitor for most ridiculous day of the year – February 15, “Half Price Chocolate Day.” I don’t need an excuse to indulge in the occasional delicacy of high quality chocolate. The… Are you up for the almond challenge? My man Joe from New York spends a portion of every day at Penn Station. Penn Station is the nation’s largest candy vending machine (oddly, folks also get on and off trains here). Joe loves Skittles, so every day is a temptation. You can’t really blame the guy for his sweet tooth. He’s overworked and has difficulty finding time to get consistent, quality nutrition. After finally shuttling his kids off to school in the morning, he whips up a meal replacement shake and throws the blender in the sink, stuffing his tie… A friend recently asked me if I have a sweet tooth. The answer is unequivocally yes! What I’ve found, however, is when we change our lifestyle to remove nearly all the added, refined sugar from our diets, real food begins to taste sweet. We can satisfy our desire for decadence in a manner consistent with our fitness goals. Low carb eating plans are a popular fad, but I am not a fan, particularly for athletes. We are not solely dependent on our bodies for high-level athletic achievement. A sharp, strong mind is instrumental to our ability to compete successfully…