Healthy Frozen Coffee Drink

Here's what one of my friends told me happened in a very popular coffee shop.

A buddy of mine was in there, and we were commenting on how we see a lot of unhealthy people ordering a Venti Frappuccino with whip cream. Care to guess how many calories are in one of those?
590 calories and 22 grams of fat. This is for the Mint Mocha Chip flavor.

In fact, a recent study out of the University of North Carolina concluded that we consume 450 calories a day from beverages, nearly twice as many as 30 years
ago. That translates to an extra 23 pounds in a year which we either have to work off, or we carry around with us.

Here are 3 of the worst frozen coffee drinks you can get, even worse that the frappuccino. I found these while reading Mens Health.

In first place - an Oreo® ‘n Cookies Cappuccino Blast® from Dairy Queen packs 950 calories and 37 grams of fat.

Coming in second place is the large Caramel Blast at Au Bon Pain, with a whopping 760 calories and 21 grams of fat.

And not far behind is the large Frozen Mocha at Panera, which will set you back 670 calories and 26 grams of fat.

So if you get one of these, you are still technically eating (or drinking) vegetarian. But you’re not going to be a healthy vegetarian with those drinks.
But I’ve got a better alternative solution for you for a healthy frozen morning drink. This comes from Craig Ballantyne’s.

It’s a Berry Protein Smoothie

1 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries
1 cup spinach
1 tsp flax oil
1 cup almond milk
20 grams protein powder

You can get lots of recipes and more ways to enjoy a frozen drink as well healthy veggie meal plans at EASY VEGGIE MEAL PLANS

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THE TRUE ABOUT VEGGIE DIETS

When most folks think of vegetarian foods, they think of naturally healthy meals and men and women with vibrant energy. But did you know that there are dozens of so-called “health foods” that vegetarians eat that are downright unhealthy – and can even cause you to gain fat fast?
I’ve been a vegetarian for 5 years now, and I learned a lot of lessons about these “healthy” foods the hard way – so that you don’t have to make the same mistakes I made.



How does that make sense?
In fact, every single meal in the latest nutrition book is stuffed with bland chicken breasts and factory-farmed meat, as well as foods proven to be associated with CANCER such as nasty high-sodium deli meats and greasy foods like bacon, ham, and sausage.
From doctors like Atkins to meathead bodybuilders, meat has been marched through mainstream media as the cure for obesity. But it’s NOT!
In fact, the so-called “cure” is really part of the cause!
You need look no further than the average McDonald’s meal to discover the “Obesity Axis of Evil”.
It has it all. Deadly trans-fats in the French fries washed down with diabetes-inducing sugar, and all alongside factory-farmed (and often tainted!) meat that can cause everything from deadly E. coli outbreaks to diarrhea to cancer.




What I discovered is the "shocking true about vegetarian diets" and I came out with 10 Vegetarian Foods Not to Eat on a Weight Loss Diet!
I put in a Free ebook to share with the world and help all the veggie people who want to live healthier.







Click Here==>>Get a free sample 7-day Easy Veggie Meal Plan!

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10 Minutes Workout

It is very important for all of us to train conservatively and not overdo things. 

1) Don't do any exercise that you aren't sure how to do. Always get personal instruction from a certified trainer. 

2) Don't do anything that hurts or "doesn't feel right". There are plenty of alternative exercises for every movement. Just ask us on the Turbulence Training forum for substitutions through www.TurbulenceTraining.com. 

3) Whenever you start a NEW program, use lighter weights than normal, and only 1 set per exercise. You must expect extra soreness when starting a new program just because of the new exercises, so don't try to set world records in a new program right away. 

4) If you need extra recovery within the workout or between workouts, don't hesitate to take it. Safety first. 

5) Use a spotter if you are training with heavy weights. If you train alone at home, follow my recommendations in the manual and do NOT train to failure. 

6) Check your ego at the gym door and start with the easier alternative exercises if appropriate, even if you have exercised in the past. The new exercises, and new style of movements will cause muscle soreness even from workouts you think "look easy". 

7) Do NOT do interval training more than 4 times per week. Even pro athletes don't play hard everyday, so why should we? 

8) Never skip a warm-up. Use the general bodyweight warm-ups and the specific warm-up sets in each TT workout. 

9) If you want to start TT but think you have an injury, get medical attention and have a professional therapist rehabilitate your injury before starting an exercise program. 

10) Check with your doctor before starting any new exercise or diet program. All together now, "Safety first!" Bonus 

11) If you decide to use running as your form of interval training, make sure you have good running shoes, always do an extra thorough warm-up, and choose a safe running surface (grass or trails rather than pavement/concrete). 

If you use a treadmill, please operate it safely.
© CB Athletic Consulting, Inc.

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Is The Government Keeping You Fat?

At The White House Washington, DC and everywhere else it seems as if the government, nutritionists, medical doctors and "established" organizations are crazy-bent on making Americans FATTER by spewing utterly ridiculous and completely outdated advice about how to eat and lose weight.
Here are some of their most popular nutrition-related weight-loss myths:




Myth #1: A calorie is a calorie
First, let me ask you a commonsense weight loss question - if you had two identical twin sisters and you put them both on very different 1,500 calories diets. The first one ate all of her calories from McDonald's and the second one gets all of her calories from lean, healthy meats, fish, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, and a small amount of fresh dairy products. Do YOU think they'd look the same at the end of a year.

They keep repeating these types of studies and they keep getting the exact same results
Why do our so-called authorities in Washington, DC keep selling us the same raft of lies? That is
probably a book in and of it self, but here's the worst: The Official nutrition recommendations are political and financial decisions - who made campaign contributions (it is DC)? What industry group does this scientist work for? Who paid for the research? Was it the same company that will make money off of its favorable results?

Almost never are official nutrition recommendations the result of years of practical experience about what works and what doesn't, and a thorough and unbiased review of research. The people who make official recommendations do NOT usually work one-on-one with people helping them to get weight loss results. If your mortgage payment doesn't depend on your ability to produce results, then I do not care what you have to say.




Myth #2: High protein, moderate carbohydrate diets are unhealthy
There are at least 15 years of nutritionist reviewed clinical research saying that there is absolutely no harm posed to normal, healthy people from short or long-term exposure to a high-protein diet. In fact, higher protein/moderate carbohydrate diets (I didn't say none or low carbohydrate) have consistently been shown to outperform low-fat/high-carb/low-protein diets for weight (fat)-loss, in the treatment of diabetes, and for heart health.






Myth #3: Juice is healthy
Federal government in Washington, DC and nutritionists want you to believe that drinking a glass of juice is the same as eating a piece of fruit. Well, the fact of the matter is that a glass of juice is about as nutritious as a glass of Coca Cola.
A. To make a small 8 oz. glass of OJ, you must extract all of the sugar from FIVE oranges. Ounce for ounce, OJ has the same amount of sugar as Pepsi. Is it better because it's "natural"? NO! Cocaine is a plant extract, is it now a health food? All sugar comes from plants anyway. There is NOTHING more fattening than a bunch of sugar.
B. In the process of extracting the juice virtually all of the vitamins are lost due to exposure to the air and from the chemicals used to increase extraction yields from the fruits.
In conclusion: all sugar, no vitamins - not a health food. Instead of OJ, eat an actual orange. It has fiber, tastes good and it will make you feel full (unlike the juice, so it is really empty calories that your body won't register as having eaten them). Bureaucrats in Washington, DC don't necessarily have your best interests in mind when writing policy, sometimes they are trying to help sell more oranges because you can drink way more than you can eat.




Myth #4: Moderate drinking is healthy
Doctors love to say this one. They say it for two reasons, both of which are misleading at best:
Reason #1 is there was a large study of studies (meta analysis) that showed that people who drank moderately lived longer than those who did not drink at all. There's a HUGE problem with this study, former alcoholics and people who were so sick that they could not drink were lumped into the group of people who CHOSE not to drink. They took the average life expectancy of all those different types of people to get their "data."
If you're so sick that you can't drink alcohol, you probably don't have long to live. And being an alcoholic is VERY hard on your body and will probably shorten your lifespan.
Reason #2 is that alcohol thins your blood. Well, so does water and fish oil, and those have ONLY positive side effects. Whereas alcohol IS a toxin, and it does stimulate both fat storage and muscle loss - that is a bad combination for weight (fat)-loss.
Conclusion: Drinking in moderation is something that you do because you like it, not because it has any health benefits whatsoever. "But red wine is healthy" you say. The good stuff in red wine comes from the grapes that it was made out of - grapes. You can just eat the grapes and forget about the alcohol.

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Are You A Monday Heater?

CRAZY MONDAY!

I woke up really early again and I'm just getting warm up...
Several things to do and places to go beside getting my fuel every few hours but, 1st need to get my list of items to optimize my time working on my self, my biz & my family.

For some people is a absolutely crazy, for others is no big deal :)
Depends in how you program your mind is up 2 you!

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Instead of justifying the need for a day off or holiday, let us look at the quality of our working life.

Perhaps some Obama insights can help change the way we work.

The real question is, do you enjoy your work?

Do you work wishing you could do something else?

Is your work a necessary painful way… to earn a living or to fulfill ambition?

Think ways how you can take Monday and turn it around!

1. Eat a healthy or organic breakfast, lunch, dinner.
2. Do some outdoor exercise or join a fitness boot camp or get a personal trainer in your local area.
3. Get to work with a plan to make it special even is your work is monotonous.
4. Talk to people about it.
5. Turn off the news, tv and anything that revolves around negative outlook.
6. Start reading a new book in how to get the best out of you.
7. Get connected with like minded people.
8. Look in the mirror and say to your self I love you.
9. Write a email or call some one you know needs encouragement cheer them up!
10. Be prepare to listen & receive love from others.

ENJOY YOUR NEW MONDAY!

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Warm-Up/Cool-Down

During the years I have been a fitness instructor and personal trainer, I've noticed the tendency in many exercisers to skip two very important parts of a workout. Some students race into a fitness class 5 to 10 minutes late and begin with the "serious exercise," and/or they grab their gear right after the aerobic section and race out, their hearts still pounding. The solitary exerciser often minimizes the time spent on the warm-up and cool-down when not under the watchful eye of his or her personal trainer.

"Serious exercise" starts with a warm-up and ends with a cool-down. The first step in helping students and clients to include warm-ups and cool-downs in their workouts is educating them about the benefits:

1. Warming up raises the temperature of the body. For each degree of temperature elevation, the metabolic rate of the cells increases by about 13 percent.
2. The blood supply to the muscles increases, permitting a greater release of oxygen to feed them.
3. The speed and force of muscle contractions improve, along with a faster nerve impulse transmission.
4. Warming up helps prevent injuries. Muscle elasticity and the flexibility of the tendons and ligaments are increased. Synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints, is released during easy activity.
5. Heart function is improved and ready for the increased demand of intense exercise.

Warm-up activities are movement activities. Stretching is not a warm-up exercise because it does not raise the body temperature. In fact, an exerciser can tear cold muscles by stretching them.

To warm-up, use large movements at an easy pace to heat the entire body. Gradually increase the intensity. Some examples of warm-up are slow jogging or walking, easy biking, slow jump roping, and slow aerobic dance patterns. If you are warming up for a sport, do the movements for the sport but at a slow pace. This will produce a rehearsal effect and your muscles will remember the movement and respond faster during the sports play.

The warm-up should produce light perspiration. When this occurs, you can do some light pre-exercise stretching. However, deep stretching should be performed after the workout is over.

After heavy exercise it is time to taper off with a good cool-down, which is just as important as the warm-up.

1. Respiration, body temperature, and heart rate are gradually returned to normal, preventing an irregular heart beat that may be life threatening.
2. The cool-down assists the return of blood to your heart. Suddenly stopping aerobic activity causes blood to pool in the legs instead of circulating to the brain. This can cause dizziness or light-headedness.
3. Skeletal muscles are shielded from injured by gentle stretching.
4. Cool-downs relax you emotionally and physically.
5. Your flexibility is increased.

There are two parts to a complete cool-down. The first follows the cardiovascular exercise and allows the heart to return to 120 beats per minute or less. Activities for this resemble warm-up activities - large movements at a slow pace.

The second part of cooling down is the stretching. This increases flexibility and range of motion, and allows you to relax. Static stretching is recommended. Stretch the muscle until it feels tight, not painful, and hold it for about 30 seconds. Never bounce the stretch.

After stretching, many exercisers use progressive relaxation and deep breathing to enhance the feeling of well-being. This activity helps return the body to normal function.

Besides education, how can fitness instructors increase the number of students who include the warm-up and cool-down in their fitness routines?

1. Use a heart rate monitor or monitor the pulse manually every 60 seconds to demonstrate to the student how the heart rate gradually increases during the warm-up.
2. Make the warm-up fun and interesting.
3. Regularly assess your students' and clients' flexibility to demonstrate the improvements in stretching ability.

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Strength Training Minimizes Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a condition of several risk factors that place individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Research to date suggests that higher levels of activity and fitness protect against developing metabolic syndrome, but what has not yet been established is whether resistance exercise provides a benefit similar to that of cardiovascular exercise. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of muscular strength on the incidence of metabolic syndrome in men.
Participants were 3,233 men ranging in age from 20 to 80 who were initially free of metabolic disease. Two clinical examinations were performed between 1980 and 2003; these exams which included baseline muscular strength assessments.
A total of 480 men developed metabolic syndrome during the study period. Compared to the lowest strength category, the men in the highest strength category had a 39% lower risk of metabolic syndrome than overweight and obese men. This inverse relationship was independent of age and other risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, family history, alcohol intake, and premature coronary disease.
The results of this study indicate an inverse and independent relationship between muscular strength and the incidence of metabolic syndrome in healthy men. Fitness Professionals should consider resistance exercise as a primary means of prevention of metabolic syndrome.
Jurca, Radim, et al. Association of muscular strength with incidence of metabolic syndrome in men. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2005: 37(11), 1849-1855.

Walking shown to be most

Effective for Maintaining Weight Loss

Research continues to point to exercise as the key to maintaining weight loss. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of exercise on weight maintenance.
Subjects were 191 adult women, most of whom where obese, averaging 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight. Participants were advised to follow a low-fat eating program ranging from 1,200-1,500 calories a day. Different exercise intensities were assigned to the participants during the two-year period. Eighty percent of the subjects chose to walk briskly, but the amount of time subjects actually exercised varied from 150 minutes per week to more than 200 minutes per week.
All subjects lost weight, but the women who exercised the most, more than 309 minutes per week the first year and more than 270 minutes per week the second year, lost and kept off the most weight. They lost an average of 13% of their starting weight, which amounted to 25 to 30 pounds.
The results of this study indicate that approximately 50 minutes of brisk walking five days per week can initiate and maintain a 25 to 30 pound weight loss in overweight and obese populations. It is important to note that the walk needs to be done briskly, at a speed equal to or greater than 3 miles per hour. This amount of exercise can also be accumulated throughout the day rather than done in one continuous session.
Jakicic, John et al. University of Pittsburgh. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Obesity Society in Vancouver, B.C. Reported in USA Today, October 24, 2005 page 7D.

Obese Patients May Require

Plus-sized Hypodermic Needles

The obesity epidemic has another unexpected side effect: Heavier patients now require plus sized needles for injections.

Researchers in Ireland have discovered that fatter rear ends are causing drug injections to lose their efficacy. The issue is that standard sized needles discharge the drugs into the fatty tissue of the butt as opposed to into the muscle tissue, where, thanks to increased blood flow, the medicine is carried through the body more efficiently. The researchers found that 2/3 of the heavier patients did not receive the full dosage of the medicine since the depth of their fat exceeded the lengthy of the hypodermic needle. As reported by Reuters, 11-28-05.

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Fitness for Dancing

Engage your brain switch it up! Take a cue from square dancing caller and do-si-do and switch partners when it comes to your body fitness workout routines and improve your balance and coordination on the dance floor.
Varying your dance routines and introducing workout routines will make your dance performance more exciting and will keep you from reaching a plateau. Try these tips on how to spice up your dance:
• Vary your routine by pumping iron-workout plan and target different areas of your body on different days take a day off and get back to the dance floor.
• Sign up for something different like swing or salsa dancing lessons.
• Try alternating your dance and dumbbell workout with stretching. (such as yoga, core or Pilates)
• Mix in a little tai chi for grace and swimming for cardio and fat burning.
•And last, keep a sensitive diet, eating light will keep you healthy and ready to move…Who says dancing & workout routines have to be boring?

It is important to challenge your brain to learn new and novel tasks, especially processes that you've never done before. Examples include different dance style, tai chi, yoga or Inside out fitness programs.


Have questions?? Contact Us

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DIET TIPS

Try to follow these nutritional rules daily:

• 3-5 servings of vegetables.
• 2-4 servings of fruit.
• 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta.
• 2-3 servings of low-fat milk and milk products.
• 2-3 serving of lean meat, poultry, fish, dried beans, eggs and nuts.
• Prepare meals with little or no added fat (try to avoid saturated fat), salt and sugar.
• Drink plenty of liquids each day.
• Look at your portions.
• Cut the fat* Watch the calories.
• Making healthy choices when eating out.

ARE THIS THE BEST WAYS TO HAVE A GREAT NUTRITION?

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How to Look and Feel Great than in Years

"How To Get Maximum Weight Loss & Fitness Results In Minimum Time”

16 Tips for Looking and Feeling Better than You Have in Years

Top Certified Fitness Expert Reveals The Essential Strategies For Lasting Weight Loss And Lifelong Fitness
By Alfredo Zapata CPT B.A Nutrition
Do you want to improve the quality of your life?
Do you want to look and feel better than you have in years – maybe better than you ever have before?
Do you want to protect yourself from disease and injury? And do you want to live a longer, more vital life?

I’m confident that you answered YES! To each of those questions, just as have the hundreds of individuals I’ve counseled, coached, and trained in my career as a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Expert.

Right now I’m going to reveal to you the 16 essential strategies that have enabled my clients to achieve these important goals.

These simple strategies can be immediately implemented into your lifestyle with little sacrifice on your part (okay, if not eating artery clogging fast food burgers and fries is a big thing for you, then maybe you won’t look at that sacrifice as “easy,” but I guarantee you it will add quality years to your life).

So let’s get right into it.

But before we do, I want to let you know you can easily obtain even more health and fitness advice from a certified expert on a regular basis by requesting a free subscription to my newsletter. You can get your fitness tips by Contact Us.

Without further ado, turn the page to discover…

16 Essential Weight Loss, Health And Fitness Strategies

1. In the beginning, your fitness plan should not be overly aggressive. One of the biggest problems most people encounter when starting a fitness program is rapidly depleted motivation after only a few weeks due to an overly ambitious fitness plan. Two days per week of 20-minute low-intensity cardiovascular exercise (walking, jogging, biking, swimming); and two days per week of 30-minute light resistance training (using weights or resistance machines) is adequate in the beginning. As you become acclimated to the lifestyle “shift” you can add more days and get improved results. But beware: if you try to do too much too fast, you may end up quitting altogether. If you’ve tried and failed doing it alone, then I suggest you get a training partner or personal trainer who will help you sustain your motivation.

2. If your goal is fat-loss, then your cardiovascular exercise should be low intensity. Your heart rate during cardio exercise should not exceed 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. The simple formula for calculating your 100% maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. If the intensity of your exercise increases your heart rate beyond 70% (which can occur very easily if you are in poor shape), you start shifting from using body fat as your energy source to relying on glucose metabolism. Your personal trainer can supply you with a simple heart rate monitor you can wear during exercise so you always stay in your peak fat-burning range.

3. Don’t waste your time working small muscles with isolated movements. If you don’t enjoy doing resistance training or are pressed for time, concentrate on working the largest muscle groups with compound resistance movements. When I see overweight people doing wrist curls or lateral raises, I wonder why. It’s generally just a lack of understanding of how their bodies work. Most people want to lose fat and tone and firm their bodies. The way to do that is to use resistance (weights or machines) to train the large muscle groups. Men should be concentrating on legs, chest and back. Women should concentrate more on their legs and back. The best exercises for legs are lunges or squats (your personal trainer will show you the proper form and then monitor you during the exercise) and leg press. The best chest exercise is bench press, and the best back exercise is the seated row. All of these are compound movements, which means they incorporate multiple muscle groups.

4. Always, always, always stretch. Stretching improves flexibility, blood flow, muscle recovery, low back pain and a host of other things. Additionally, stretching can prevent injury, make you sleep better and improve your performance in all sports. Always stretch, but be certain not to stretch cold muscles. You should always warm up before stretching. However, it is very important that you know how to stretch. Never bounce! Your personal trainer will show you the proper execution and timing of your stretches.

5. Never, ever do a traditional sit-up. Unless you are super athlete with an incredibly well-developed midsection, sit-ups can lead to a strained lower back and possibly lumbar injuries. But it gets worse. Rather than hitting your abdominal section, sit-ups can shift exercise tension to your hip flexors – which defeats the purpose. There is so much misinformation about how to strengthen, tone and firm the midsection, it’s almost frightening. It is very difficult to learn proper abdominal exercise technique by reading about it or watching it demonstrated on a video. You need to do it with supervision and get feedback about your form from a knowledgeable source. And keep in mind that you use your abdominal muscles in almost every single movement you make. Strengthening your abdominal region is the single most effective way to prevent, or recover from, low back pain.

6. Set realistically attainable goals. You must have tangible, quantifiable, short-term and long-term goals for your fitness program so you can gauge your progress. It’s crucial to have a “baseline” before you begin, so you can measure success. Your health club or personal trainer can give you a complete fitness analysis (don’t be shy – you need this) that will aid you or your trainer in developing a personalized fitness program which addresses your particular needs. Having goals, particularly short-term goals, allows you to track your progress and keep you motivated when times are tough and you don’t feel like exercising. Keeping a journal of your cardio and resistance training workouts, as well as tracking what you eat is truly a fitness success “secret.” Just remember that your goals should be realistic and attainable. The best way for you to understand what is realistic and attainable for you is to talk to a fitness professional – not to buy into the “hype” of infomercials, diet and fitness products that blatantly mislead.

7. Set exercise appointments with yourself. Use your day-timer to set appointments for exercise – and then stick to them. You wouldn’t miss a business meeting or client appointment, would you? So don’t miss your exercise appointment with yourself. Nothing is more important than your health. Nothing. Everything else will crumble around you if your health goes south. So make your exercise appointments a priority. If you find it difficult to keep these appointments, then consider hiring a personal trainer who will hold you to your commitment. When you have money invested, and someone waiting for you to show up – you are much more likely to actually show up!

8. Remember the benefits of exercise. Remember that feeling of euphoria you experienced after a particularly good work-out? You experienced that feeling because the most powerful “feel good” drug in the world – endorphins – are coursing through your veins. If there is a panacea, it’s exercise. Nothing feels better than the post-work-out high you experience after exercising. Revel in that feeling. Let it wash over you and truly experience it. Etch that feeling in your brain. It will fuel your motivation on those inevitable days when you just don’t feel like exercising. Being physically fit affects every single aspect of your life: you sleep better, eat better, love better, overcome stress better, work better, communicate better, and live better!

9. Exercise correctly. So much time is wasted doing, at best, unproductive exercise, or at worst, dangerous exercise. Get educated on how to exercise correctly. And the absolute best way to do that is to hire a personal trainer to develop a program for you and then teach you what to do and how to do it right. Personal training does not have to be an ongoing process. You can hire a personal trainer for whatever length of time you need to learn the ropes. It could be five sessions, or it could be fifteen sessions. It’s completely up to you. But statistics prove that those who understand how to exercise correctly, get better, faster results. And that’s what you want, right? Results!

10. Enjoy yourself. The most difficult thing is actually getting into your running shoes or going to the gym. But once you begin your work-out, relax and enjoy the process. Don’t fight it. Make exercise your personal time. When you are exercising you can focus completely on yourself. Yes, exercising can and should be somewhat rigorous (depending on your level of fitness), but it is just that investment which makes it supremely rewarding. As with anything, if you are in the moment, you can fully appreciate the experience and truly enjoy the process.

11. Americans eat too many carbohydrates for our lifestyles. I’m not advocating the high protein, high saturated fat diet that you hear so much about (frankly, it’s dangerous). But I am advocating minimizing your intake of bread, pasta, rice, potato and of course, all sugary drinks. We are no longer an agrarian society participating in manual labor. Most of us are fairly sedentary throughout the day and therefore do not need the high levels of carbohydrates to sustain our energy. Additionally, carbohydrates are addictive. The more donuts you eat, the more you want. The bulk of your carbohydrates should come from vegetables and fruit. And those with high water content, such as cucumbers, grapefruit, tomatoes, cantaloupe, strawberries and even vegetable soups (watch out for high sodium), will fill you up nicely. By the way, numerous studies have conclusively proven that the quarter of the population eating the most vegetables get half the cancer of the quarter eating the least!

12. Deep-fried food has no nutritional value – none! Almost every food, whether it’s steak, chocolate or red wine, has some nutrients to contribute. But one thing is absolute: fried foods are garbage. Potato chips, French fries, onion rings, breaded chicken strips and all the rest of the deep-fried junk are pregnant with saturated fat and calories, and they contain almost zero nutritional value. If you’re trying to lose weight and/or reduce fat, simply eliminate fried foods completely from your diet. Yikes! That stuff is scary.

13. Never, ever skip breakfast. If you want to maximize your fitness results or fat-loss efforts, you’ve got to eat breakfast. Even if you don’t exercise at all – breakfast remains the most important meal of the day. Your breakfast should contain complete proteins and complex carbohydrates (if you’re trying to lose weight, you should eat the bulk of your complex carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch and only have vegetable carbohydrates at dinner). A great breakfast is oatmeal (not the pre-packaged, pre-sweetened kind) with a little honey and banana and a protein drink. Or try scrambled egg whites with Healthy Choice turkey sausage.

14. Eat fat to lose fat. Healthy fats are necessary to your body for a bunch of reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function, lowering total cholesterol, lubricating joints, and providing the basics for healthy hair, nails and skin. The singular distinction you must be aware of is the difference between healthy “good” fats, and dangerous “bad” fats. Good fats are monounsaturated fats like olive, peanut and canola oil, avocados, all natural peanut butter and nuts; and omega-3 fats like salmon and mackerel and soy-based foods. Bad fats are saturated fats, partially hydrogenated fats (killers!), and trans fats. Your personal trainer can provide you with a simple diet program that will complement your exercise to help you live longer, feel better and boost your immune system. The bottom line is that your body needs good fats – and will revolt if you attempt to abstain from them – and absolutely does not need bad fats.

15. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Yes, I know that you’ve heard this over and over again. But there’s a reason for that – it’s the gospel truth! The recommended amount is approximately eight glasses, or 64 ounces, of water every day. When you are exercising, you need to drink even more. Over 75% of your body is water (even bone is more than 20% water). When you don’t drink enough water, and substitute diuretics like coffee, tea and caffeinated sodas, you dehydrate your body, your blood doesn’t flow properly and your digestive system doesn’t operate smoothly (among other problems). Even a small deficit of water can radically affect how your body performs. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you’re urine is a dark yellow and/or has a strong odor, you’re not drinking enough water. Drink up!

16. Eat regularly throughout the day. Fasting or overly restrictive diets will enable you to lose weight – in the short run. Because the weight you lose is primarily water weight and lean muscle mass. But in the long-run, it has exactly the opposite effect you want. When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively thinks it’s being starved and shifts into a protective mode by storing fat. Energy expenditures are fueled by your lean muscles. Therefore your body fat remains essentially the same and you lose vital fluids and muscle instead. The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism becomes, and the less fat you burn. You should be eating three nutritionally balanced meals each day, and you should have at least one or two healthy snacks. This keeps your metabolic furnace stoked, so you burn more at a faster rate. I know, it’s counter-intuitive, but it’s the gospel truth!
There you have it, 16 essential strategies for an effective weight loss and fitness program that will have you looking and feeling better than you have in years – maybe ever!

I realize that starting (or re-starting) a productive and effective health and fitness program is not easy. That’s why I encourage you to get help.

If you’re sick, you go to the doctor. If you’ve got a tax problem, you see an accountant (or an attorney!). Have a toothache? You’re off to the dentist. Leaky pipes result in a call to the plumber. So why is it that so many people attempt to solve their health and fitness problems without consulting an expert? I don’t know exactly, but I encourage you to make the investment in yourself – in your quality of life – by hiring a qualified professional to educate you and help you get started…

…because the hardest part is just getting started and sustaining your motivation until fitness becomes habitual. Once you develop the habit, which can take as little as thirty days, your whole life will change for the better.

If I can be of any assistance to you, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us.  I’m happy to speak with you and give you my recommendations without any sales pressure (I hate it when people try to “sell” me, so I wouldn’t try that on you).

12 WEEK TRANSFORMATION

NOTE: This publication is not intended for use as a source of medical advice. You should obtain medical advice from your private healthcare practitioner. Before beginning any exercise or dietary program, consult with your physician to ensure that you are in proper health and that this or any exercise or dietary program will not put you at risk.

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