Technology can help control how much we eat- Measure Bites

I like this new Bite Meter technology because it is very easy to over eat and throw a great training program off track.  I also believe that eating behavior is learned and, therefore, needs to be unlearned. Tools like the portion control bite meter described in the article that I am linking from USA Today can really help to teach new behaviors.

Keep traciking!

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/diet-nutrition/story/2011/08/Bite-Counter-is-like-a-pedometer-for-your-mouth/50080680/1

Strennuous Exercise May Protect Aging Brain

Yet another reason why it is good to start a vigorous training program..  Good news!

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/story/2011/06/Strenuous-exercise-may-protect-aging-
brain/48201816/1

Write down Positive Goals

Time and again, I am reminded that when we write down goals we have a much better chance of achieving them. This universal rule works well for diet and exercise.  The linked article takes the concept of writing down goals one step further and suggests that Positive goals, I will do, versus negative goals, I will not do, can produce better motivaton and better results. I agree!



http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/01/ditch-your-new-years-resolution/

ABS ABS ABS

That is the number one thing I hear from clients when they come to me.  "I want to get rid of the fat in my middle section."  To address this question I first have to address a couple different myths about FAT.  First myth is that you need to burn fat first to gain the muscle* Fat and muscle are two separate components to the human body.  If you lose all your fat you will look like a stick.  Just by losing fat by doing cardio for 60 minutes a day will gain you ZERO muscle.  You don't need to lose the fat first to start putting on muscle.  It's actually quite the opposite.  You need to gain muscle to help speed up your metabolism to lose the fat.  Losing just fat alone will actually slow down your metabolism and you will end up gaining back the fat, which is what you worked so hard to lose in the first place.  So please if you are trying to lose weight don't just do cardio to burn the fat first that couldn't be more wrong.  Second myth is that you can transform your fat into muscle.  This isn’t transformers.  That would be really nice if you could do that, but it is not true.  Gaining muscle comes from increasing your muscle cells not by transforming fat.

Back to ABS ABS ABS.  Your body doesn't simply take fat away from the area where there is the most fat.  It takes away fat throughout your entire body.  So in order to get those dream ABS and lose the middle section it is going to take A LOT of hard work.  This hard work consist of years of dieting with healthy high nutrient dense foods, and lots of exercise both lifting and cardio.  It is going to take time to get your total body fat percentage down in order to start seeing abs.  Ideally a male will see ABS around 8-12 percent body fat or lower, and a female from 12-18 percent or lower.  So next time you want to know how you get ABS and a "trainer" makes you do a thousand silly abdominal exercises PLEASE stop!  This is a waste of time.  Unless your body fat percentage is low you are not going to see anything.  You might even have the strongest abs on the planet, but if you eat like crap it doesn't matter how many sit-ups you do a day.  TO RECAP: the best way to get ABS is to eat healthy, lift weights, do high-intensity cardio (sprints) and low-intensity cardio (walking) and if you want to throw some ab exercises after your workout it won’t hurt.  All of the above will lower your total body fat percentage.  Make sure to measure you body fat percentage and see if it is decreasing every month by half to 1 percent.  This is a slow process so be patients and the only real way to see results is by HARD WORK.  

Photo taken by: http://www.definitivephysique.co.uk/2012/03/04/the-abs-solution-ii/

My Favorite Leg Workout

Your legs encompass the largest muscle groups in your entire body.  In order to have lower body fat you have to train your legs.  After a good leg workout you should feel incredibly sore and if you get into a lunge or squat position your legs should start to shake.  I have many favorite leg workouts but I am going to post one that I have done more recently.  I always lift with supersets.  A superset is when you do one exercise or lift and follow it with another exercise or lift and repeat. A will be one set and numbers will represent the different lifts for each set.  Example, A1 and A2 would be a super set of two different exercises.  Also, the tempo is extremely important.  Tempo is the pace you lift at.  There is the eccentric portion, on the way down for squats and bench, the concentric portion the way up for squats and bench, and isometric portion at the halfway point.  This not only requires good form but also increases your strength and muscle.  Example, 3010 is 3 seconds on the eccentric portion of the lift, which is with gravity, and 1 second at the concentric portion of your lift, which is going against gravity.  Another example 2012 would be 2 seconds eccentric, one second concentric, and 2 seconds isometric.  I hope you enjoy my workout!  Make sure to use weight you can lift with PROPER form and if it is too easy move your weight up.  Hard work should never be easy. 

Warm up- 5 minute cardio of your choice (tredmill walking, skipping, jogging, etc.)  5 minute dynamic stretches (not static!) 

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
A1: Back Squat	5	6-8	3010	75 sec
A2: Leg Curl	5	6	5011	75 sec
B1: Db Sumo Squat	4	12-15	3011	75 sec
B2: Romanian Dead lift	4	6-8	4011	75 sec
C1: DB lunges	3	12/each	3010	60 sec
C2: Seated Calf raises	3	10-15	2012	60 sec

"The Paleo Way" (Menu from School Project)

Reference: "Everyday Paleo" by Sarah Fragoso Victory Belt Publishing Las Vegas

Sugar-Free Almond Cookies

If you haven't been up to date on your latest nutrition news then let me inform you.  Sugar and gluten have been the two culprits for fat-gain.  There is evidence for each one on how it contributes to gaining fat but in moderation they are not nearly as bad as they are made out to be.  However, there is sugar and gluten in almost all processed foods that Americans consume every single day.  It is almost a guarantee if you eat highly processed food you are eating too much sugar.  Don't panic instead try some sugar-free almond cookies that I love to make as a healthy treat.  I know it sounds disgusting to some of you but don't judge until you give them a try!  They can be made with chocolate chips or walnuts as well.  Below is the recipe.  Just subsisting this recipe instead of grabbing your regular sugar-filled gluten cookies will help you a long way.  Let me know if you liked them or not. 

For 12 servings 

1/2 cup butter/ softened                                                                      1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1 cup all natural Stevia                                                                         1 teaspoon hot water

1 egg                                                                                                    1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract                                       1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1 1/2 cups almond flour                                          2/3 cups walnuts (optional) 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter and Stevia until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in almond flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.