As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that just because something looks good on paper, that doesn’t mean it always works out as planned.  For many years I’ve told clients that working out is a lifestyle.  I’d tell them to be patient because fat loss takes time. Again, that looks good on paper, but I now know that more often than not, this leads to minimal fat loss (maybe the individual drops 1-2 pounds of bodyweight in a month).  Discouraged by the lack of progress, the trainee ends up losing patience and resorting back to her old ways of sporadic workouts and some shotty eating!

I think Strength Coach Dan John summed it up best when he said, “Fat loss is an all-out war. Give it 28 days, only 28 days. Attack it with all you have. It is not a lifestyle choice… it’s a battle. Lose fat, and then get back into moderation.”  If you are serious about shedding fat, then “pretty good” is not good enough.  If you truly want fantastic results, it’s time to go to war!  Then, you can get back to a more normal lifestyle.

With that said, Marci (one of the most disciplined individuals that I know) and I are asking you to be absolutely perfect (if there is such a thing) for the next month.  Below, you’ll see a sample training program from me and a sample nutrition plan provided by Marci.  The synergy of the workout and diet is designed to kick fat loss right in the ass, ensuring that this war is one you not only win but dominate!

Ready to Kick Ass?

Training

Day 1

A1) Trap Bar Deadlifts
Sets:  4
Reps: 5 singles @ 90% or above 1 RM (rep max) – perform your warm-up sets, and as you start getting close to your 1 RM for the day, start performing singles.  It may look something like this:
-95 X 5-6
-115 X 3-4
-135 X 2-3
-160 X 1
-180 X 1
-200 X 1 (PR for the day)
-195 X 1
-190 X 1
-190 X 1

Any set within 90% of 200 pounds counts towards your 5 singles (180, 200, 195, 190, and 190 pounds).
Rest: Full Recovery

A2) Fillers
This could be anything from foam rolling to lacrosse ball to extra mobility work.  The point is to stay productive, rather than just sitting there doing nothing while you wait to recover for your next set.

B1) Push-ups
Sets: 4
Reps: 8 (pick the appropriate level of push-ups that has you barely getting 8.  This may mean elevating your torso to make it easier than push-ups on the ground.  It may mean doing push-ups with a band or chains around your back.)

B2) Goblet Bulgarian Split Squat with 1 second hold in the bottom position of each rep
Sets: 4
Reps: 8

Goblet Bulgarian Split Squat

C1) Split-Stance High-to-Low Cable Row
Sets: 4
Reps: 8 per arm

Split Stance High to Low Cable Row

C2) McLarty Rollouts OR Body Saw (if you have access to Valslides)
Sets: 3
Reps: 10

McLarty Rollouts and Body Saw

D1) Low Cable Curls
Sets: 2
Reps: 10

D2) Supine Band External Rotation
Sets: 2
Reps: 5 with a 3 second hold on each rep
“Finisher” – see below for options

Day 2

A1) Barbell Incline Bench Press (if you don’t have a spotter, use dumbbells)
Sets: 4
Reps: Extended 5’s (perform 5 reps, rest 10 seconds, perform 3 reps, rest 10 seconds, and finally perform 2 more reps.  This equals 1 set)
Rest: Full Recovery

A2) Fillers

B1) BB (Barbell) Back Squats
Sets: 3
Reps: 12

B2) Compound Row
Sets: 3
Reps: 12

Compound Row

B3) Swiss Ball Leg Curl (if you can do 1 leg, go for 10-12/leg.  If 2 legs is more appropriate for you level, go for 12-15 reps)

C1) Rope Pushdowns
Sets: 3
Reps: 12

C2) Half Kneeling Cable Lift
Sets: 3
Reps: 10/Side

Half-Kneeling Cable Lift

“Finisher” – See Below for options

Day 3

A1) Chin-ups

Sets: 4
Reps: “Classic Cluster” (perform 5 singles with 10 second rest between each single, this equals 1 set.  You can use bodyweight if that is the proper load.  If too hard, use a band or a partner to assist you.  If bodyweight is too easy add weight with the use of a belt, or have a partner put a place on your calves during the set)
Rest: Full Recovery

A2) Fillers

B1) 1-Leg RDL (hold 1 DB opposite of non-working leg)
Sets: 4
Reps: 10/leg

B2) 1-Arm DB Push Presses
Sets: 4
Reps: 10/arm

B3) Anderson Squats
Sets: 4
Reps: 10

Anderson Squats

B4) TRX Inverted Row (if you don’t have access to TRX straps, use a smith machine)
Sets: 4
Reps: 10/arm

TRX Inverted Row

C1) Lateral Raise in the scapular plane (instead of going straight out to the side, raise the DBs about 30 degrees forward)
Sets: 3
Reps: 10

C2) Decline Reverse Crunches (lower your hips slowly)
Sets: 3
Reps: 10-15

Finisher: See below for options

Program Notes:

• Each day starts off with a heavy, low rep exercise.  Remember, what builds muscle, maintains muscle.

• Make sure you are fully recovered between sets for the first movement of the day.  For the rest of the exercises, rest ALAN (As Little As Needed).  In other words, rest just long enough that performance on the next set doesn’t fall too much, but no longer.

• Use “cybernetic” training in this program (cybernetic basically means going by feel).  One week 1 of a program, I try to make sure that the volume is not too high.  You’ll be using some new exercises and set/rep schemes, therefore soreness is inevitable.  By doing too many sets on this intro week, you’ll be contributing to some unnecessary soreness.  On weeks 2 & 3, IF you are “feeling it,” feel free to add an extra set or 2 on some/all of the exercises.  Then, on week 4, reduce the volume so you are fresh for your new program.

• As far as the fasted cardio in concerned, I’m not sure how well this works.  All I know is that those who include it during fat loss phases seem to be leaner and get great results (at certain times of the year.  I don’t recommend doing this all year).

Cardio

Two-three times per week, you are to perform finishers after your weight training session.  On top of the finishers, I also want you to perform fasted morning cardio three days per week.  Start off with three, thirty minute fast paced walks on week one.  You have the option to add one session each week (so by week four you may be doing up to six fasted morning walks).

Everyone responds differently to training in a hypocaloric state.  If you start to feel a little sluggish, the finishers and fasted morning cardio might be all you need (especially if you are following Marci’s nutrition plan below to a T).  IF, however, you are the type of person that still has a lot of energy when calories are low, feel free to throw in one day of HIIT (Sprints work great.  Go for something like 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off, for as many sets as you can get in, while keeping your performance high).

If you add in a session of HIIT, make sure to perform it on the same day that you weight train, either 6-8 hours before or after your lifting session. Do not perform your HIIT session on your “off” day. This type of energy systems work is more CNS intensive and will impede recovery for your lifting session the next day.

If you feel you must add a day of steady-state cardio, then do so on an “off” day (steady-state will not impede recovery).  30-40 minutes at a “moderate” pace should suffice.  If you are following Marci’s nutrition plan, doing your finishers, and getting your fasted cardio in, you may not need to add a day of steady state cardio, but I’m realistic and realize that when you’re after fat loss, you will do everything possible to get it off fast!

Cardio Summary

• 2-3 finishers after your weight lifting portion

• Three 30 minute fasted morning walks (with the option of adding one 30 minute walk each week)

• Optional - one HIIT session 6-8 hours before or after your weight training session

• Optional – one 30-40 minute steady state session anywhere in the training week

Finisher Options

Finisher #1: The Inverted Ladder
(I have to give credit to Tony Gentilcore for this one, as he is the Coach I first learned this finisher from.)

To start, you pick two exercises that will be done in ascending/descending fashion.  Then you will use a “wild card” (as Tony calls it) exercise that will stay constant throughout the duration of the ladder.  Here is one example:

DB Push Presses: 1-10 (done in ascending order)
Broad Jumps: 10-1 (done in descending order)
Inverted Rows: 5 (constant) (use a TRX Strap if you have access to one.  Otherwise use a smith machine)
Now, just hit start on your stop watch and try to finish all reps/sets as quickly as possible.  It will look like this:
Push Presses X 1
Broad Jumps X 10
Inverted Rows X 5
Push Presses X 2
Broad Jumps X 9
Inverted Rows X 5
Etc, etc…

Finisher #2

Kettlebell swings X 15 seconds

Kettlebell swings

Hand-Walks on step X 15 seconds
Rest 30 seconds and perform as many sets as possible (stop once you feel your performance dropping).

Finisher #3:
Bench Jumps X 20 seconds

Bench Jumps

Jump Rope X 20 seconds
Rest 40 seconds and perform as many sets as possible (stop once you feel your performance dropping).

The options are unlimited.  Feel free to use different exercises if you want.  Just make sure to perform finishers on 2 or 3 of the days immediately after your lifting session.

Nutrition Plan

As you can see, the training program for this plan is quite manageable. The weight training sessions are short and intense, which will serve to maintain the muscle you already have while keeping your metabolism elevated despite eating in a caloric deficit. And the energy systems work will help you burn additional calories and aid in recovery from the lifting sessions.

Danny isn’t asking you to perform hours of steady state cardio everyday to burn away the fat. On this plan, your fat loss will come primarily from the diet, assuming you are following the meal plan exactly as written.

When Danny and I say that we expect perfection from you, we are referring to 100% dietary adherence for the length of the program. This means following the plan as written with no deviations or missed meals. Yes, you will be hungry, but that is part of the process. Learn to embrace it and reap the rewards.

Calories for this diet will be set at 10 x body weight, which is the lower end of dieting calories. It is important to note that every calorie you consume must be accounted for. You are to use a digital food scale to weigh your food. Measuring cups will not suffice, as they can be inaccurate. For example, if you were to measure out ½ cup of oatmeal  (what the package claims is 40 g) in a measuring cup and then weigh that amount, you would see that it weighs more than 40 g.

And we all know that there are times when a measured Tablespoon of peanut butter turns into more of a heaping Tablespoon. Yes, even green vegetables must be weighed.  Believe me when I say that I have seen people eat themselves right out of a caloric deficit from consuming too much lettuce. Over time these additional calories do add up, which will only slow your progress.

Note: This is a SAMPLE meal plan based on a 130 pound woman. Your caloric needs may be lower or higher, depending on your body weight. Just make sure you follow the following guidelines:

• Calories set at 10 x bodyweight

• Non- vegetable carbohydrates are to be consumed in the first meal of the day and post workout only.

• All food must be weighed on a digital food scale

• You are not required to eat the exact foods from the sample plan, but if you do make substitutions, use an online food calculator to make sure that you the calories match up equally.

• Non-caloric sweeteners and condiments are acceptable. Use Splenda, Crystal Light and other low-cal extras very sparingly. See note on this below

• Feel free to liberally season your food with sea salt.

Additional Notes:

*Consume a total of 2-3 g of combined DHA/EPA per day. The amount per capsule will vary by brand, which is why I can’t give a ‘number’ of capsules to consume per meal. Just make sure you split your dosage between 2 meals and get a total of 2-3 total grams.

*When it comes to using artificial sweeteners, I suggest avoiding Splenda when possible for a few reasons. It does have calories, so if you are one of those people who uses it throughout the day, you may lose track of how many additional calories you are taking in. Also, it can contribute to water retention in some people. I currently consume liquid Stevia, which is a natural sweetener. While it hasn’t been proven that Splenda has any harmful side effects, I think its wise to error on the side of caution. Stevia is also calorie free (the liquid kind).

Training Day

Meal 1:
40 g Oatmeal (dry measure)
6 Egg Whites
60 g Blueberries
Meal 4:
120 g Turkey Breast
8 g Olive Oil
170 g Green Vegetables
3 g Fish Oil

Meal 2: (PWO)
1 Scoop Protein Powder
200 calories worth of carbohydrate (low fat, low fiber)
Meal 5:
1 Scoop Protein Powder
*3 g Fish Oil (see note)

Meal 3:
100 g Chicken Breast
15 g Almonds
85 g Green Vegetables

Non-Training Day

Meal 1:
40 g Oatmeal (dry measure)
6 Egg Whites
60 g Blueberries

Meal 2:
1 Scoop Protein Powder
10 g Peanut Butter

Meal 3:
100 g Chicken Breast
15 g Almonds
85 g Green Vegetables

Meal 4:
120 g Turkey Breast
8 g Olive Oil
170 g Green Vegetables
3 g Fish Oil

Meal 5:
1 Scoop Protein Powder
15 g Peanut Butter
* Fish Oil

Now that you’re armed and ready, all that’s left to do is declare that war. Get to it!

The end results are worth the effort!

About Danny:

Danny McLarty is a fitness coach at Flex Personal Training in Danville, California.  He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Planned Periodization Specialist (PPS through Tudor Bompa).  You can get in touch with Danny by “friending” him on facebook, or find him at his website at DannyMcLaty.com.

About Marci:

Marci Nevin is a fitness coach at Flex Personal Training in Danville, California.  She is certified through NASM.  You can get in touch with Marci by “friending” her on facebook.

Vegetables are an essential part of your daily diet. The benefits of eating loads of fresh veggies are innumerous, including providing you with a rich source of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Below are 3 amazing veggies you won’t want to leave out of your summer salads.

Asparagus

Asparagus is rich in fiber, especially insoluble fiber. Just 1 cup of steamed asparagus will provide you with 2.8 grams of fiber, improving your digestion and reducing the amount of bad fat your body will absorb.

Asparagus also carries 32% of your daily value of vitamins, aiding you body in the production of collagen, which improves the health of your skin, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. Along with vitamins, these fibrous green veggies provide you with a significant amount of manganese, and foliate.

To top it all off, eating asparagus nourishes your body with a special carbohydrate known as inulin. This carb improves the production of healthy enzymes in your digestive tract.

Eggplant

Eggplant has been cultivated for more than 2,500 years, and with good reason. It’s loaded with fiber to aid in healthy digestion, along with potassium, which helps with overall metabolic function.

This veggie gets its purple color from anthocyanin nasunin, a highly potent fighter of free radicals that helps protect your cell membranes. It is also rich in thiamine, a water-soluble vitamin that breaks down fats and proteins, while aiding in the conversion of carbs to glucose for energy stores.

Red Bell Peppers

A delicious red fruit or veggie provides you with a great amount of vitamin C. However, red bell peppers top the charts with an amazing 300% of your daily value of this potent antioxidant. Also rich in vitamin A, these two powerful antioxidants found in red bell peppers team up to fight against free radicals.

Red bell peppers are also a good source of vitamin B and folic acid, providing you with ample energies stores and fatigue prevention. In addition, a small trace of lycopene found in these bright veggies can boost muscle growth.

Selection

Buy vegetables that are in season from local farms. Organically farmed produce is your best choice. However, organically farmed produced that is shipped from far away regions may still carry harmful pesticides due to regulations. If you can, grown your own vegetables in a small box or garden outside of your home.

About Kellie

Kellie Davis is a graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University with a B.A. in English. She is now a freelance writer, contributor to the Olicious Life, and NPC figure competitor. She currently resides in Arizona with her husband and two young children.

Many health publications boast the positive benefits of soy protein, but fail to mention how soy truly affects your body. Consumption of soy products actually increases your risk of developing thyroid disease as well as other hormone complications. Isoflavones in soy protein act as a strong anti-thyroid agent, capable of suppressing thyroid function.

Soy Isoflavones Revealed

The isoflavone Genistein found in soy is a potent phytoestrogen. These chemicals behave as endocrine disruptors, or plants that act as hormones, interfering with the endocrine system. United Kingdom studies show that large amounts of soy will disrupt the menstrual cycle, altering fertility and even changing the status of sex hormones.

Isoflavones not only suppress your thyroid, but also interfere with any thyroid medication you are taking. Soy protein inhibits the absorption of synthroid, so soy should be avoided altogether if you have thyroid disease.

Taking a Risk

Since the 1950’s, soy-based baby formula has been known to cause potential risks in infants, including development of autoimmune thyroid disease.

Studies show that these infants have 13,000 to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds found in their blood that babies fed milk-based formula or breast milk.  This equates to taking 5 birth control pills per day. Girls fed soy formula run the risk of prematurely developing, while boys are often underdeveloped.

Soy Toxicity

Soy is a known toxin for both humans and animals alike. Known as anti-nurtients, toxins found in soy prevent your body from absorbing vital nutrients from other food sources. They also have the ability to target specific organs and cells, causing detrimental health issues.

Phytic acid is one of the most dangerous chemicals found in soy protein. The typical process to prepare soy products does not neutralize phytic acid. High levels of phytic acid have been shown to decrease assimilation of magnesium, calcium, zinc, and iron. The processing of soy-based foods has also resulted in the making of carcinogenic toxins like lysinoalanine and nitrosamine.

Soy Means Big Business

Processed soy products in all forms are notoriously bad for your health. Healthy soy needs to go through a 2-year fermentation process, and this is completely disregarded by the soy industry. The soy industry has been encouraged for years to remove isoflavones from its products. Instead, it continues to publish reports on the health benefits of soy products.

Consuming Soy Safely

For children, especially infants, no amount of soy is safe to consume. Adults risk thyroid and other hormonal problems when consuming 30 grams or more of soy protein a day. That equates to 5 ounces of soy milk.

Read all labels when purchasing products at the store. You will find that soy is listed in many food processed food items. The USDA published a list of foods, with a total of 128 containing isoflavones. Many include vegetarian labels products like soy hot dogs, tofu, meatless burgers and soy formula.

About Kellie

Kellie Davis is a graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University with a B.A. in English. She is now a freelance writer, contributor to the Olicious Life, and NPC figure competitor. She currently resides in Arizona with her husband and two young children.

When you wake-up, your body is already in an intense detox mode, clearing itself of endotoxins and digestive waste from the past evening meal.

During the morning hours, when digestion is fully completed (while you are on an empty stomach), a primal survival mechanism, known as fight or flight reaction to stress, is triggered, maximizing your body’s capacity to generate energy, be alert, resist fatigue and resist stress.

Animals aren't the only ones with fight or flight reactions!

This highly geared survival mode is primarily dominated by part of the autonomic nervous system known as the SNS (sympathetic nervous system). At that state, the body is in its most energy-producing phase and that’s when most energy comes from fat burning. All that happens when you do not eat the typical morning meal.

If however you follow what “normal guys” do and eat your morning bagel and cereal and egg & bacon, you’ll most likely shut down the above energy producing system.

The SNS and its fight or flight mechanism will be substantially suppressed. Instead, your morning meal will trigger an antagonistic part of the automatic nervous system known as the PSNS (Para sympathetic nervous system), which makes you sleepy, slow and less resilient to fatigue and stress.

Instead of spending energy and burning fat, your body will be more geared towards storing energy and gaining fat. Under this state, detox would be inhibited. The overall metabolic stress would increase with toxins accumulating in the liver, giving the body another substantial reason to gain fat. (Fat tissues serve as a biological storage for toxins)

There's a reason many of us are naturally not hungry in the morning!

The overall suppressing effects of morning meals, can lead to energy crashes during the daily (working) hours, often with chronic cravings for pick-up foods, sweets, coffee and tobacco. Eating at the wrong time, would severely interrupt the body’s ability to be in tune with the circadian clock. The human body has never adapted to such interruptions. We are primarily pre-programmed to rotate between the two autonomic nervous system parts: the daily SNS and the nightly PSNS.

The SNS regulates alertness and action during the day, while PSNS regulates relaxation, digestion and sleep during the nightly hours. Any interruption in this primal daily cycle, may lead into sleepiness during the day followed by sleeping disorders at night.

Morning meals must be carefully designed not to suppress the SNS and its highly energetic state. Minimizing morning food intake to fruits, veggie soup or small amounts of fresh light protein foods, such as poached or boiled eggs, plain yogurt, or white cheese, will maintain the body in an undereating phase, while promoting the SNS with its energy producing properties.

*Note: Athletes who exercise in the morning should turn breakfast into a post-exercise recovery meal. Such meals should consist of small amounts of fresh protein plus carbs such as yogurt and banana, eggs plus a bowl of oatmeal, or cottage cheese with berries.

A better breakfast.

An insulin spike is necessary for effectively finalizing the anabolic actions of GH and IGF1 after exercise. Nonetheless, after the initial recovery meal, it’s highly recommended to maintain the body in an undereating phase by minimizing daily carb intake in the following meals.

Applying small protein meals (minimum carbs) every couple of hours will keep sustaining the SNS during the daily hours while providing amino acids for protein synthesis in the muscle tissues, promoting a long lasting anabolic effect after exercise.

In conclusion, breakfast is NOT the most important meal of the day. The most important meals are post-exercise recovery meals. Saying that, for a WARRIOR every meal is a recovery meal helping to recuperate from either nutritional stress (undereating) or physical stress (exercise). It’s when you eat that makes what you eat matter.

About Ori

The Best Pregnancy Diet

“What’s the best pregnancy diet?”

This is one of the most important questions every woman who is pregnant or trying to become pregnant should be asking. It is so important because they are solely responsible for feeding and nourishing their growing baby.

The best pregnancy diet is one that will supply all the nutrients needed to support optimal fetal development (such as brain, nervous and skeletal system) while also giving the mother’s body its needed nutrients. It’s also the one that will curb food cravings and prevent an unhealthy weight gain, which could put both the baby and mother at risk for many health complications.

Specifically, it will consist of the foods listed below:

• High quality protein (grass-fed meats, eggs from cage free grass-fed chickens)
• High quality dairy (raw grass-fed: cheese, cream, milk and butter)
• Soaked grains and nuts
• Stocks (bone broths)
• Organic or locally grown fruits and veggies
• High quality fat
• Lacto-fermented foods
• High potency fish oil
• Filtered water

Eating the foods above will provide all the necessary nutrients a mother and developing baby needs such as:

• B vitamins
• Calcium
• Iron
• Zinc
• Copper
• Magnesium
• Vitamin D
• Healthy omega 3 to omega 6 ratio
• Conjugated Linolenic Acid
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Folate
• Cholesterol

This means that you will gain a healthy weight and have less to lose after pregnancy.

Why?

Because by giving your body and baby what is needed, you won’t be tempted to overeat or be a victim to food cravings! And that’s just another reason why it is the best pregnancy diet.

Foods to AVOID During Pregnancy

Knowing which foods to avoid (or severely limit) during pregnancy is especially important. It’s a time in a woman’s life when she should be especially careful to protect her developing baby. Some foods on this list are obvious, like alcohol, but others may come as a surprise.

1. Junks Foods

It will be challenging to find the time to burn off these extra dead calories. Plus they are full of detrimental non-foods that are bad for you and your baby.

“Junk food” includes the usual suspects: fried foods, margarine, soft drinks, sweets, anything made with white flour (crackers, cookies, bread, cereals) and most boxed foods. They contain synthetic vitamin A which is toxic, and best avoided while pregnant.

Do the “ingredient list test” – how long is the list and how many words look like something out of a chemistry text book?

2. Caffeine

It is best to avoid or at least reduce your caffeine intake to no more than 200mg per day. It reduces iron absorption, interferes with normal fetal growth and is associated with lower birth weight and an increased risk of miscarriage.

3. Alcohol

I’m sure it’s not a big surprise to avoid alcohol while pregnant. It negatively affects the developing fetus. Enough said.

4. Trans Fats

Trans fats inhibit the conversion of fatty acids needed for fetal brain growth and decrease the fat content of breast milk. Also, it has been found to decrease sperm count.

Do not trust labels that claim products are trans fat free. If a food has half a gram or less per serving than it can be labeled “trans fat free”. No big deal? Well, the Institute of Medicine even stated there is no safe intake level for trans fats.

It’s not good for you and it’s not good for your developing baby. If the ingredient list has the words “partially hydrogenated” it’s got trans fat and it is a food to avoid during pregnancy.

5. Artificial and Refined Sweeteners

Artificial and refined sweeteners (like Splenda, Sweet-n-Low, Aspertame, Nutra-Sweet, etc.) are a source of empty calories and a great way to gain too much weight. They can also negatively affect your baby’s ability to regulate blood sugar.

Artifical and refined sweeteners can increase your cravings for sugar (causing too much weight gain). So, the more you eat, the more you want to eat and this increases the demands on your body’s insulin production (which is also the pathway to diabetes).

A study out of The University of Texas Science Center at San Antonio suggests that the more diet sodas a person drinks, the more likely they are to become over weight.

There’s all kinds of information out there about how nasty artificial sweeteners are for you. It is a neurological toxin and can cause headaches and even seizures. Just say NO!

Stick to drinking water (filtered if you can), mineral water or lacto-fermented beverages to satisfy your thirst.

6. Commercial Fried Foods

It’s no big surprise that fried foods aren’t good for you or your baby. You are just consuming extra calories with out any nutrient benefits. They are also full of trans fat. (see #4 in Part 1 of this article)

7. Food Additives

Food additives (such as MSG) are neurotoxins (bad for the nervous system). I find it rather scary that a study found brain lesions on developing embryos assiciated with MSG intake.

MSG may appear in the ingredient list as: hydrolyzed protein, calcium, sodium casinate, textured protein, citric acid, soy foods, malt flavorings, flavorings, and natural flavorings – so CHECK YOUR LABELS!

As a side note, seasonings all usually contain MSG.

8. Soy

Soy food is a highly processed and refined food. It is also full of things that will block you and your developing baby from absorbing nutrients such as zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium. Consuming it also increases the mothers need for vitamin D.

Soy also contains phytoestrogens (a.k.a plant estrogen) which can negatively impact the fetal development of the reproductive organs and brain.

In recap, the eight foods to avoid during pregnancy are:

1. Junk Foods

2. Caffeine

3. Alcohol

4. Trans Fat

5. Artificial and Refined Sweetners

6. Commercial Fried Foods

7. Food Additives

8. Soy

Making at least some of these changes to your food intake will do wonders for your baby! And, if you can do them all, even better. For information you won’t want to miss on eating and exercising for a healthy happy baby, check out our Fit and Healthy Pregnancy Guide.

Is Caffeine Really NOT Okay?

Back in 1980 the FDA published a warning advising pregnant women to restrict or eliminate their intake of caffeine because of its teratogenic effects (cause birth defects). This was echoed in 1994 with a review of over 200 medical journals by Dr. Astrid Nehlig that was published in The Journal of Neurotoxicology and Teratology.

Currently, the advice on caffeine intake during pregnancy nutrition is moderation – meaning less than 300mg. This is because new studies show no harm with intakes less than that. Due to the fact that scientific studies are showing new and different results, I tend to be conservative in my personal view on caffeine and pregnancy.

What does caffeine do?

Caffeine stimulates your central nervous system, leaches calcium, reduces iron absorption, has a diuretic effect and crosses the placenta into your baby. This means it has the following results in your body:

• Raises your heart rate
• Decreases the amount of calcium in your body
• Dehydrates you
• Increases your blood pressure
• AND the same things occur for your baby (except baby will steal from your bones to get needed calcium)

That’s not all – it also interferes with a normal fetal growth, is associated with lower birth weight and weakens adrenal glands, which affect your blood sugar regulation and stress coping abilities.

It is best to avoid or at least reduce your caffeine intake to no more than 300mg per day. Some experts say no more than 150mg per day. You may be able to handle the caffeine, but baby’s liver is immature and not able to get rid of it like you. Imagine if that 1 cup of morning coffee lasted you 40-130 hours as it does for your baby.

Common caffeine sources

• Coffee (100-200 mg per 8 ounce)
• Tea (black 60mg, green 40mg)
• Soda (40-75mg per can)
• Dark Chocolate (5-35mg per 1 ounce)
• Milk Chocolate (1-15mg per 1 ounce)
• Headache medicine (65-130mg)

If you are a caffeine user, I recommend reducing to less than 300mg per day (some studies show increase miscarriages with more than 300mg). Then gradually reducing to as close to zero as possible, which will not only benefit your baby, but also your ability to handle stress.

Pre-Natal Vitamins – What the Mayo Clinic Guide doesn’t tell you

The Mayo Clinic Pregnancy Guide has a lot right about what’s important to eat during pregnancy. They speak of how it’s critical to have good eating habits while trying to conceive because major organs form during the first few weeks of pregnancy-before you even know you are pregnant! Without the proper nutrients during this time your baby may be at risk for both short and long-term health issues.

They cover the usual suspects of pre-natal vitamins – calcium, folate, and iron which are indeed important, BUT none of them help with…

…fetal development of lung, visual system, skull, skeleton, kidney …baby brain development
…assistance with utilization of minerals like calcium, water soluble vitamins
…your protein digestion
…your optimal thyroid and immune system function
…your production of sex and stress hormones

What nutrient does all this?

It’s Vitamin A!

Okay, now you may be thinking you’ve heard vitamin A is that vitamin associated with birth defects.
This claim is inaccurate and based on a study that used questionnaires from 22,000 pregnant women to find out about their eating and supplement habits. Researchers found a high rate of neural crest defects with increased dosages of vitamin A.

But – they did not distinguish between natural and synthetic forms of vitamin A nor did they get lab results for vitamin A blood levels.

Processed foods are fortified with synthetic form of vitamin A.

Also, people can’t be trusted to be good record keepers, so questionnaires are an unreliable way to measure a person’s nutrient intake. Do you remember what you ate yesterday??

Too bad the media didn’t jump all over another study done in Rome, Italy that found no congenital malformations in 120 infants exposed to 50,000IU or more of vitamin A per day.

The real issue is not how much, but what form- synthetic or natural.

The best all natural sources: cod liver oil, liver, butterfat, egg yolks, seafood, organ meats, grass-fed dairy and meats. Notice that these are all fat sources too.

This is Mother Nature packaging the foods in the way your body needs them. Moms always know best!

For more nutritional guidance, along with training support for pregnant women, please visit FitandHealthyPregnancy.com

Eating in Your Sleep?

Imagine waking up to find a trail of cookie crumbs on the floor and empty food containers littering the kitchen counter and you had no idea how they got there. Either Hansel and Gretel broke into the house or someone is playing a practical joke on you.

Or, you have a bonafide sleep disorder that causes sufferers to eat voraciously while they sleep.

Up to 1 million adults could be sleep eaters, a possible contributing cause of obesity. In fact, a good percentage of patients who attend obesity clinics have been diagnosed with a sleep-eating condition.

The Bane of Bedtime Banquets

Researchers are beginning to discover factors that link appetite, sleep and body weight. And as bizarre as it may sound, conditions that cause sleep eating may the reason some people continue gain weight despite their best weight-loss efforts. Two seemingly related conditions may offer more clues to this weighty issue.

Sleep-Related Eating Disorder

Nighttime sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is classified as parasomnia, a category of sleep disorders that cause a person to do unusual things during sleep such as sleepwalk (somnambulism), scream (night terrors) and wriggle about (periodic limb movement disorder).

People with SRED appear to be sleeping, but get up and make a beeline to the kitchen. Sufferers are undiscerning foragers. Beside the usual snacks, uncooked foods, toxic substances and inedible materials can also make the menu. Never mind that the steel wool pad tastes like, well, steel wool. Down the hatch it goes. And some unusual food (and non-food) combinations could make your stomach turn. But that is not the only downside. Because sleep eaters awaken a few times a night, they never experience a full night of uninterrupted sleep which can leave them feeling like they never slept at all. This could be severely impact next-day functioning.

Not only can it sabotage a well-balanced diet, sleep eating can up the risk for cuts and burns if chopping or cooking takes place. It can also be life threatening, especially for people with food allergies and diabetes, who must tightly monitor and gauge food intake for proper insulin management.

The condition is a quite a mystery and the cause elusive. Many people with SRED started out as sleepwalkers or have been diagnosed with another sleep disorder, which points to a defect in sleep centers as the root cause.

Sleep is an extremely complicated biological process influenced by hormones and intertwined feedback systems. When the mechanism that controls wakefulness and sleep during a normal sleep cycles fails, a person can remain “asleep” but continue to walk, eat, or perform other activities (some people get in their cars and drive!). And paradoxically, SRED can also be brought on by certain sleep medications, which some people take to help them fall and stay asleep.

Night-Eating Syndrome

Another nocturnal nuisance is night-eating syndrome (NES). This problem is a little different from SRED and may technically not be a sleep disorder, but an eating disorder instead. Many people with NES however have trouble falling or staying asleep, a symptom of insomnia, which is why the lines are blurred to its classification. Alternatively, NES and SRED may be part of the same syndrome, but different parts of the spectrum. Regardless, this problem can be equally detrimental to one’s health.

NES sufferers may eat a normal dinner but between 8 pm and 6 am, it’s a feeding frenzy. They usually recall the eating episodes but the urges are uncontrollable, strong and occur at frequent intervals of wakefulness. High-calorie carbohydrates are the food of choice. People with NES can consume up to 50% of their daily calories at night. They wake in the morning full and satiated and often skip breakfast.

Like SRED, nighttime-eating syndrome is poorly understood. People with certain forms of depression and substance abusers are at higher risk.

Advice for All-Night Diners

If you find evidence of nighttime snaking in the bed, on the counter, or on the scale, you may want to think about getting evaluated for sleep-eating syndromes. Padlocking and alarming pantries, refrigerators and knife drawers can help, but they aren’t good long-term solutions. Since few doctors are knowledgeable about sleep-eating syndromes it may be best to find a sleep medicine specialist who can do proper sleep studies in order to diagnose a sleep condition.

Although there are no medications specifically designed for treating SRED or NES per se, many patients have found certain antidepressant and anticonvulsant drugs helpful. In many cases there will be a period of trial and error before the right medication or combination of medications are found.

Here are some action steps you can take in advance of meeting with your doctor. The answers can help make a diagnosis and guide treatment decisions.

• Ask your bedmate (if you have one) if they notice anything unusual occurring while you sleep
• Get a comprehensive medical exam to rule out any medical and mental health conditions
• Keep a sleep diary and write down how often you get up to eat (if alert and awake)
• Review all prescription, over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements to see if any could be affecting your sleep
• Stop taking prescription sleep medications to see if that helps
• Assess your sleep environment and sleep hygiene practices and make changes if necessary
• Keep high-calorie, empty carbohydrates out of the pantry and refrigerator
• Assess your level of hunger in the morning and note the time of your first meal
• Calculate how many calories you eat before and after dinner to see what percentage is eaten at night
• Find a doctor that will not dismiss your suspicions
• Identify any triggers such as stress and implement stress reduction techniques to quell urges

Here's to some restful sleep!

This article originally appeared at Dr.Oz.com.

I came across the following article when I was browsing MSN the other day. It’s full of great information that may open your eyes to facts of which you haven’t been aware.

The following article originally appeared on MSN Health.

It’s not just about calories in versus calories out.

If that were all it took to lose weight—eating a little less and exercising a little more—then weight loss would be as simple as grade-school math: Subtract Y from Z and end up with X.

But if you’ve ever followed a diet program and achieved less than your desired result, you probably came away feeling frustrated, depressed, and maybe a bit guilty. What did I do wrong?

Instead of X, it’s XXL.

Why?

Because there’s probably more at work here than just calories in/calories out. More and more research is indicating that America’s obesity crisis can’t be blamed entirely on too much fast food and too little exercise. (Or on these seven habits of highly obese people.) A third factor may be in play: a class of natural and synthetic chemicals known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), or as researchers have begun to call them, obesogens.

The new weight-gain threat

Obesogens are chemicals that disrupt the function of hormonal systems; many researchers believe they lead to weight gain and, in turn, numerous diseases that curse the American populace. They enter our bodies from a variety of sources—natural hormones found in soy products, hormones administered to animals, plastics in some food and drink packaging, ingredients added to processed foods, and pesticides sprayed on produce. They act in a variety of ways: by mimicking human hormones such as estrogen, by misprogramming stem cells to become fat cells and, researchers think, by altering the function of genes.

Endocrine disruptors are suspected of playing a role in fertility problems, genital malformation, reduced male birth rates, precocious puberty, miscarriage, behavior problems, brain abnormalities, impaired immune function, various cancers, and cardiovascular disease. “We have data linking environmental chemicals to practically every major human disease, from cardiovascular disease to attention-deficit disorder,” says Jerry Heindel, Ph.D., an expert on EDCs at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Now new research is finding that some EDCs, the obesogens, may be helping to make us fat. This field of research is dominated by animal and test-tube studies. And while researchers note that the known effects of many obesogens are more potent in the unborn and newly born, some suspect a similar impact on adults.

This combination of factors, along with our growing tendency to put on weight, is what we call the obesogen effect. Understanding it could be the key to freeing ourselves from weight gain and the other hazards of these chemicals.

Why traditional diets don’t work

Decades ago, before big, soft guts were the norm in the United States, we referred to overweight people as having “glandular problems.” Their weight was not their fault, doctors explained; their bodies just didn’t have the ability to fight off weight gain like most people’s bodies did.

We don’t use that polite phrase any longer. What changed? Now that about two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, did those folks with “glandular problems” disappear? No; it’s just that many others have caught the same disease. Thanks to the obesogen effect, we may all be at risk for some glandular problems.

The average American family.

Because it’s probably been a while since you took high-school anatomy, here’s a quick refresher: Your endocrine system is the contingent of glands producing the hormones that regulate your body. Growth and development, sexual function, reproductive processes, mood, sleep, hunger, stress, metabolism—they’re all controlled by hormones. And the pancreas, hypothalamus, adrenal glands, thyroid, pituitary gland, and testes are all part of that system. So whether you’re male or female, tall or short, hirsute or hairless, lean or heavy—that’s all determined in a big way by your endocrine system.

Your endocrine system is a finely tuned instrument that can easily be thrown out of kilter. “Obesogens are thought to act by hijacking the regulatory systems that control body weight,” says Frederick vom Saal, Ph.D., curators’ professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri. “And any chemical that interferes with body weight is an endocrine disruptor.”

That’s why obesogens seem to be good at making us fat—and why researchers are so bent on uncovering the truth about these chemicals. The NIEHS is funding studies that target them. The Endocrine Society, the largest organization for hormone research and clinical endocrinology, has also noted the connection. “The rise in the incidence in obesity matches the rise in the use and distribution of industrial chemicals that may be playing a role in generation of obesity,” it stated in a recent report, “suggesting that EDCs may be linked to this epidemic.”

That’s one reason weight-loss advice may not always work. In fact, even strictly following the smartest traditional advice won’t lower your obesogen exposure. See, an apple a day may have kept the doctor away 150 years ago. But if that apple now comes with chemicals believed to promote obesity, then that advice is way out of date. In fact, apples have been named one of the most pesticide-laden produce choices out there.

The obesogen effect may be part of the reason why traditional dieting practices—choosing chicken over beef, eating more fish, loading up on fruits and vegetables—may not work anymore.

But as we began researching our book, The New American Diet, we found some good news: There’s no reason why our favorite foods—steak, burgers, pasta, ice cream—can’t be part of a reasonable weight-loss program. We just need to move past the old thinking, and adopt some new laws of leanness.

Leanness Law 1: Know when to go organic

Every day the average American is exposed to an estimated 10 to 13 different pesticides and/or their metabolites (breakdown products) through food, beverages, and drinking water.

Some of those chemicals can mimic estrogen during development, which can lead to weight gain later in life. Others can spur unnecessary fat-cell formation at any age. At the University of California at Irvine, Bruce Blumberg, Ph.D., recently reported that prenatal exposure to obesogens among mice can predispose them to weight gain later in life. The effect is likely the same in humans. In one study, the adult daughters of women who had the highest levels of DDE (a breakdown product of the pesticide DDT) in their blood during childbearing years were found to be 20 pounds heavier, on average, than daughters of women who had the least.

And the evidence continues to accumulate.

• Researchers have noted a link between organochlorine pesticides and impaired thyroid function. According to the Endocrine Society’s 2009 report on EDCs, changes in thyroid function can result in metabolic effects. Indeed, the authors of a 2009 Thyroid Research article cited hypothyroidism, a symptom of which can be weight gain, as a possible effect of organochlorines on the thyroid.
• The authors of a study in the journal BioScience found that tributyltin, a fungicide, activates components in human cells known as retinoid X receptors, which are part of the metabolic pathway necessary for fat-cell formation. They also found that tributyltin causes the growth of fat cells in mice exposed to it. Although tributyltin is no longer used on crops, experts suspect that a similar compound still used on produce, fenbutatin, is at least as potent.
• The authors of a recent study in Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology note that organophosphates and carbamates, two common classes of pesticides, cause obesity in animals.

But there is some hopeful research; a study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that children who ate fruits and vegetables free of organophosphorous pesticides for just five days reduced their urine concentrations of those pesticides to undetectable levels.

According to the Environmental Working Group, you can reduce your pesticide exposure by nearly 80 percent simply by choosing organic versions of the 12 fruits and vegetables shown in its tests to contain the highest pesticide load. The group calls them the Dirty Dozen: In order of pesticide load, they are peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots, and pears.

There’s a Clean Fifteen, too, a group of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables with the least pesticide residue: onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, mangoes, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwis, cabbages, eggplants, papayas, watermelons, broccoli, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Leanness Law 2: Stop eating plastic

You’re thinking, “Well, I don’t generally eat plastic.”

Ah, but you do.

Chances are you’re among the 93 percent of Americans with detectable levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in their bodies, and you’re also among the 75-plus percent of Americans with detectable levels of phthalates in their urine. Both of these synthetic chemicals, found in plastics, mimic estrogen. And like some pesticides, these chemicals can predispose your body from an early age to gain fat.

How do they end up inside you? Mostly through what you eat and drink: Phthalates can be found in food packaging, plastic wraps, and pesticides, as well as children’s toys, PVC pipe, and medical supplies. Each year, about 18 billion pounds of phthalate esters are created worldwide, and they can easily leach into your body.

More than 6 billion pounds of BPA, found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, is produced every year; it leaches from food and drink packaging, baby bottles, cans, and bottle tops. Pop the top off a jar of tomato sauce and check out the resin on the inside of the cap—that’s where the BPA comes from. A recent study published on BPA’s effects on humans found that workers exposed to BPA at Chinese factories had more than four times the risk of erection difficulties. (Japan reduced the use of BPA in cans between 1998 and 2003; as a result, measures of BPA in some Japanese populations dropped more than 50 percent.)

According to the Environmental Working Group, canned chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli have BPA levels of the highest concern. And your sturdy reusable water bottle? After people drank out of a polycarbonate bottle (usually stamped with a 7 on the bottom) for just one week, their BPA levels jumped by nearly 70 percent, according to a seminal study from Harvard University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It may look innocent...

Here’s how you can limit your exposure.

• Follow vom Saal’s rule: “No plastic item ever goes into the oven or the microwave.” Heat can damage plastic and increase leaching.
• Avoid plastic-wrapped meat. “The plastic wrap used at the supermarket is mostly PVC, whereas the plastic wrap you buy to wrap things at home is increasingly made from polyethylene,” vom Saal says. PVC contains phthalates that, according to animal studies, may lower testosterone levels. In humans, lower testosterone leads to weight gain as well as a decrease in muscle mass and sex drive. Go to a butcher who uses paper instead.
• Cut down on canned goods like tuna, and buy frozen vegetables in bags instead of canned produce. Consider buying Eden Foods canned beans and jarred foods, which are in BPA-free packaging.
• Use a nonplastic mug whenever you can. And for good measure, avoid drinking coffee or other hot beverages out of Styrofoam, which can leach styrene, a compound linked to cancer.

Leanness Law 3: Don’t eat the Viking

When was the last time you took a dose of weight-promoting hormones?

OK, when was the last time you ate a burger?

The answer to both questions may well be the same. Every time you eat conventionally grown beef, there’s a chance you’re eating weight-gain hormones—a potential cocktail of natural and synthetic obesogens. In fact, a report in the International Journal of Obesity by researchers at 10 universities, including Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Cornell, notes that the use of hormones in meat could be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic.

A 1999 European study concluded that people who eat meat from cattle treated with growth hormones are taking in hormones and their metabolites: estrogens in the range of 1 to 84 nanograms per person per day, progesterone (64 to 467 ng), and testosterone (5 to 189 ng).

If it's not grass fed and organic, just say no!

A nanogram is a billionth of a gram: That’s tiny. But it may be enough to disrupt the way your hormone system operates, research indicates. Some experts believe that certain obesogens exert influence at below 1 part per billion. And small amounts from many sources add up over time.

Perhaps even more worrisome are the potent synthetic steroids we ingest from beef. Trenbolone acetate is an anabolic steroid estimated to be eight to 10 times as potent as testosterone, which is an endocrine-disrupting chemical by definition. “This cocktail of hormones given to beef has huge consequences,” vom Saal says. We know what happens to the body when it receives large doses of steroids over a short period of time, but there is no research on the effects of small doses over years.

To bring this all home, imagine you’ve been in a terrible plane crash in the Andes, like those poor souls depicted in the movie Alive. The only way to survive is to pick one of the dead folks to eat. You’re given the choice of an obese, grotesquely muscled, man-boob-toting Minnesota Vikings lineman with shrunken testicles who’s been injecting himself with hormones for a dozen years, or someone of normal size and body type and hormonal function. (One of the Kardashian sisters, maybe.) Which would you choose?

Well, every time you eat conventionally raised beef, you’re choosing the Viking.

There’s a better way. Organic beef has none of the weight-promoting steroid hormones of conventional beef, while grass-fed beef has been found to have more omega-3s and more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA is a fatty-acid mixture that’s been linked to protection against cardiovascular disease and diabetes; it can also help you lose weight, according to a meta-analysis in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Similarly, conventionally raised dairy cows are often given hormones to produce more milk, which may lead to some nutrient dilution. Grass grazing, however, may increase omega-3 content in milk. By choosing to eat and drink more omega-3s, more CLA, and more nutrients, you’re choosing to fill your body with more nutrition—feeding your brain, fueling weight loss, and keeping hunger at bay.

Leanness Law 4: Beware of the sneaky saboteurs

Ingesting pesticides, growth hormones, and plastic-based chemicals obviously isn’t a good idea. But other, sneakier obesogens are at work. We’re talking about high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and soy, which are added into your diet and the diet of the animals you eat, and which carry or are converted into natural obesogens.

But wait: Isn’t soy good for your heart? Not necessarily. A review in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation notes that soy protein can lower LDL cholesterol, but only a measly 3 percent. You’d have to eat the equivalent of 2 pounds of tofu a day to reap that benefit. As a result, the AHA withdrew support for definitive health claims for soy protein and coronary heart disease. Yet soy is in hiding in everything from cookies to french fries to salad dressing.

Still eating soy? You may want to reconsider.

The result of all that extra soy could be—get ready for it—more fat. This is particularly true for people who were given soy-based formula as infants. You see, soy contains two naturally occurring chemicals, genistein and daidzein, both of which are estrogenics, which can spur the formation of fat cells.

But wait! Guess who else is on a soy diet? Elsie, Wilbur, and Chicken Little—the animals we depend on for food. (Many fish, too, are chowing down on soy.) Chickens that once ate natural grasses and forage now feed on a high-energy diet of which soybean meal is a large component.

According to British researchers, this type of diet is partly to blame for the fact that some modern chickens contain two to three times as many calories from fat as from protein. (That’s right: The chicken’s proportion of muscle is dropping, just like ours! Sounds like the obesogen effect.)

So when you eat modern, supermarket chicken and beef you’re eating more fat, less protein, and more obesogens.

High-fructose corn syrup, too, has been fingered by some experts as a possible player in the obesity crisis. HFCS is found in countless items, from bread to ketchup to Life Savers to cough medicine. Recent research indicates that a diet high in HFCS may trick your brain into craving more food even when you don’t need it. And preliminary research indicates that HFCS may even play a role in disrupting the endocrine system, says Robert Lustig, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist at UCSF. In overweight people, it interferes with leptin, a hormone that regulates appetite.

Is all this a bit disturbing? You bet. Depressing? Not at all. Because you can reconsider the old weight-loss advice—the “diet wisdom” that told you to stop eating burgers, pasta, and ice cream—and go back to eating what you love. Of course, you should eat reasonably-sized portions. But the key is to eat natural, obesogen-free versions. Do this while keeping up your exercise program and over time you’ll see results. Your waistline, your tastebuds, and even your muscles and libido will thank you.

Adapted from The New American Diet (Rodale 2009), available at bookstores and at NewAmDiet.com.

We’ll discuss this diet in detail in another article, but in this one, I’d like to share three of my favorite recipes that are fully compliant with the diet. All of the following are beneficial for the body in many different ways. They’re brimming with vitamins, and will speed up your metabolism as they provide you with plenty of energy — all while tasting absolutely amazing. Enjoy!

Roast Pumpkin with Red Onions and Rosemary

Ingredients:

1/2 Butternut pumpkin, seeded and sliced
4 Red onions, peeled and sliced
4 Tbsp Fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
4 Tbsp Olive oil

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

Line your baking sheet with foil, place pumpkin, onion, and rosemary leaves on the baking tray, and coat with oil.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until pumpkin is easily pierced with a fork and the onions have browned. Serve and enjoy! Makes four servings.

White Fish with Macadamia Salsa

Ingredients:

2 White fish fillets
1/4 cup Macadamias, halved
1/2 cup Tomatoes, chopped
1 Avocado, peeled, seeded, diced
3 Tbsp Coriander, chopped
3 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp Olive oil

Directions:

Pre-heat your grill (a George Foreman works great!) to medium heat. Grill the fish for about 4 minutes, or until opaque.

For the salsa, combine macadamias, tomatoes, avocado, olive oil, coriander, and parsley in a bow.

To serve, place the fish over (or right next to) the salsa. Serves two.

Broccoli and Pine-Nut Soup

Ingredients:

1 Onion, diced
1 Tbsp Olive oil
3 cups Broccoli florets
3 cups Chicken stock
1/4 cup Pine nuts

Directions:

Fry onion in a pan coated with oil, until slightly browned. Add the broccoli and stock, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until broccoli has softened. Cool slightly.

Blend in a food processor or with an electric immersion blender until desired texture is achieved. Heat before serving, and sprinkle with pine nuts once plated. Makes two servings.

For detailed information on the Paleo lifestyle, please Click Here.

Some of the most experienced trainees, people who’ve been living the fitness lifestyle for many, many years, still overlook some of the most essential components of true healthy living. Below are two of these components, and in addition to being exceedingly great for your health, they are also essential for optimal fat loss.

CLA – The Secret Weapon for Weight Loss?

Certain fatty acids are essential to the body’s functions. Essential means it is a needed nutrient. The body can’t work properly without it. We must have a certain amount of essential nutrients each day or week to ensure good health and to keep our vital organs it good working order. Our bodies can store some nutrients for later use, but they need replenished on a bi-weekly basis at most.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a free fatty acid essential to good health. It is found naturally in some foods and can also be taken in supplement form. It has been shown in animal studies have exciting health benefits. CLA has been found to have anti-carcinogen properties and may also be beneficial to heart health. Its full potential has not yet been discovered, but is known to help metabolize fats and proteins.

Grass fed cows have much higher amounts of CLA than factory-raised cattle. That means CLA is many times more abundant in range fed beef than mass raised cows in feedlots, and in the milk of pastured cows. Unfortunately, almost all of the beef available in grocery stores comes from confined, feedlot cattle, and almost all the milk comes from confined cows who rarely, if ever, eat a blade of grass.

Can't get grass-fed beef? You may consider supplementing.

Other naturally-raised animals have CLA also. Free range turkeys have a surprising amount of CLA when compared to chickens or pigs. Wild game is also a great source of CLA. It was initially thought that sheep had the greatest levels, but Clare Engelke at the University of Western Australia may have discovered that Kangaroo meat could be the highest source of CLA with as much as 5 times the levels of rudiments.

CLA has amazing health benefits and offers hope for cancer patients. In studies on it’s anti-carcinogenic properties, CLA has been found to stop cancer in all three of its stages; initiation, promotion, and metastasis. Most cancer fighting drugs only work on one stage. It is no wonder cancer skyrocketed in the 60′s and 70s, when factory farms became increasingly popular.

The Journal of Nutrition published the results of a double blind randomized study in the year 2000 in which the results showed a six pound body fat reduction was achievable while taking 3.4 grams of CLA per day. Other research has also showed that those taking CLA tend to produce muscle instead of fat.

CLA is helpful in losing belly fat and enhancing the growth of muscle. It also has been found to increase metabolism.

It may be CLA she's missing!

Purdue University performed a study on the health benefits of CLA. Surprisingly it was found that CLA lowered triglycerides, reduced blood sugar, and increased levels of insulin. Research has been conducted on CLA in a number of different ways, resulting in astonishing findings. Other benefits identified in these studies of CLA include immune system enhancement, and the reduction in severity of allergic reactions to foods.

To ensure you receive the most out of your food, buy locally from a trusted farmer who raises his animals naturally, and learn for yourself the benefits of eating the true “natural” way. It will improve your overall health while helping you lose weight much more easily.

The Importance of Omega 3 Fatty Acids in Fat Loss

Fats are usually avoided when people are trying to lose weight, because low fat diets are preached by doctors and endorsed by magazines. All sorts of food companies are taking advantage of the hype and offering low fat alternatives. Truth be told, not all fats are bad for you and your body needs certain fats.

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential to the human body and can promote weight loss of taken properly.

Trans fats found in vegetable oils, shortenings, and margarines are not healthy and should be avoided completely. Trans fats stick to the sides of arteries and reduce the surface area in which blood can flow. This is detrimental to cardiovascular health and can cause death.

What you should be avoiding.

Omega 3 fatty acids though, are good for you. They are fats that the body needs for many functions, from cleaning the arteries and veins to regulating mood. Unfortunately the body cannot produce them – therefore it relies on us to supply omega 3′s in our diet.

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA ), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the three types of omega 3′s. ALA is consumed, then broken down into EPA and DHA. Unconverted ALA is useless to the body, but when changed into the other two types it is invaluable to bodily functions. Since environmental factors such as pollution, stress, illnesses, etc., inhibit the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA, the role of supplements have become increasingly important.

Omega 3 fatty acids help the body improve mood, increase cognitive thinking, enhance memory, and battle fatigue. They also are important in reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, and sudden cardiac death. Omega 3′s help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels and also assist in weight loss.

Make sure you receive your weekly recommended intake of omega 3 fatty acids to reduce your risk of devastating health conditions.

What you should be eating.

Omega 3 fatty acids can be found in many foods. The most well known sources are fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines. Be sure to buy fish that is guaranteed mercury free. The recommended amount of fish intake is two servings each week of fish.

Vegetarians can get their weekly allowance by eating spinach, nuts, seeds, and flaxseed oil. For those people who have a hard time consuming those foods, there are dietary supplements available at most drug stores.

Obesity is affected by omega 3 fatty acids also. Make sure you consume the proper amount of omega 3′s with the right foods to optimize weight loss and fat burning. There are certain foods omega 3′s will work with to increase the loss of excess fat. Learning how omega 3′s work on the body can decrease fat stores and give you more energy.

Serious about dropping pounds? Increase your omega 3 fatty acid intake!

About Jonni

Jonni Good is a well known published health expert and author. His new breakthrough diet is based on locally-grown, super-nutritious foods that stop food cravings and power-up your metabolism. Discover how these natural foods can help you lose weight and safeguard your family’s health with his Craving Control Diet.

Prepare for a Surprise

You’re in for an “no way!” moment as you read the next few paragraphs, so I hope you’re ready to be excited!

If I told you that there’s a lactose-free, easily digestible protein that contains high levels of all the essential amino acids you need, including important sulfur-containing amino acids which are essential to various hormonal pathways in the body (and are actually missing in most other protein sources)…

All in a completely tasteless, water-like liquid that you can drink just as you would water, straight out of the bottle, or use in various shakes as you please — you’d be pretty excited about it, wouldn’t you?

What if I also told you that this liquid contains absolutely NO carbohydrates or fats, NO hormones or antibiotics, and may be flavored to taste like anything from a thick chocolate shake simply with the addition of some sugar-free cocoa powder, or even orange juice with the addition of a bit of Crystal Light.

How’s that excitement level now?

Now, what if I told you that…

This Incredible Liquid Exists!

Surprised? Many people are!

Most of even the most intensely serious trainees and fitness addicts are completely unaware of the incredible product known as “liquid egg whites.”

This source of protein has been around for years, it’s nothing new — and thousands of physique athletes consider it a staple in their diets. Yet it still remains somewhat unknown by many, simply due to the fact that isn’t as readily advertised (or available) as other sources of protein (such as over-processed protein powders we’ve all come to know and love).

Let’s take a look at just a few of the many reasons why it’s worth incorporating into your diet:

• Eat egg-white omelets? Stop wasting money on buying whole eggs and throwing out the yolks!

I personally never have the time to separate the eggs anyway. Liquid egg whites cook up into light, perfect omelets — and all you have to do is measure and pour. No waste — of time or money!

• Like the convenience of shakes, but not putting over-processed powders into your body?

Or maybe it’s not the fact that they’re over-processed, but just that protein shakes make you sick or bloated due to a whole range of reasons. Well, liquid egg whites solve that problem with ease — just make a shake by flavoring this pasteurized, filling liquid in any way you like.

• Like protein shakes, but lactose intolerant?

Unlike 99% of protein shakes, not only are liquid egg whites completely free of artificial ingredients and all sweeteners, they’re also completely free of all sugars and carbs — including lactose! They’re also fat-free, completely safe to be consumed uncooked, and fully bio-available.

• Realize that *real food* is superior to shakes, but have no time to eat multiple meals each day?

Problem solved: A shake made with liquid egg whites is just as quick and easy to make as any other shake, yet it’s actually real food! They aren’t a protein powder that flies through your system with lightening speed, they’re actual solid food — but in liquid form. They’ll stay in your system much longer than a whey shake would, making them a perfect night-time snack.

• Tired of the same protein shake flavor, time after time, until you’re all out of that powder?

This miracle food is a true chameleon! Make a limitless number of shakes, flavor it in as many ways as you can think of, add juice to it for a carb meal, toss in some frozen berries for a thicker consistency, add some flax seeds and flavorings for a thick, delicious shake brimming with protein and healthy fats… or simply flavor it with some Crystal Light for a carb-free, fat-free, yummy shake — make a different flavor each time, and never get bored again!

You're only limited by your imagination.

Sample Recipe

There are hundreds of recipes on this site, and the majority of them make use of egg whites. Liquid egg whites may  be used in any of these recipes. Below is just an extra idea for a delicious shake you can make using this wonderful alternative to powders and eggs, at once!

“Chocolate-Covered Strawberries” Protein Shake

Ingredients:
1 cup liquid egg whites
30 frozen strawberries
2 packets stevia
1 Tbsp sugar-free baking cocoa powder

Directions:
Combine well in a blender, and enjoy!]

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 240
Protein: 26 g
Carbs: 30 g
Fat: 0 g

Get your supply of liquid egg whites from my personal favorite source, EggWhitesInt.com, and start experimenting with your own ideas!