Browsing archives for 'Nutrition & Diet'

Words by Which to Live

By Meagan | 17 February 2010 | 0 Comments

I realize that this is said a lot but this time really take a moment and reflect on this: Think positively!

You are better than you think, so sell yourself every day, in all aspects of your life, “I am better than I think!”  You really can do anything to which you set your mind.

It may take some time but be patient and say, “I am going to start now for a better, healthier, stronger, youthful, fitter life. I will create the most marvelous lean physique that has ever walked the face of the earth. I will be passionate about everything I do and I will appreciate every minute like it is my last. I will control my weight and not let it control me!”

And remember this: if it is to be… it is up to ME and no one else!

Really the only way you can hurt your health and physique is by eating junk food, not exercising or by doing drugs. All this does is poison your body and leave it fighting constantly against disease and malnutrition. The only person that can help you is yourself. Once you admit this to yourself, you will begin to heal and take control of your body and mind!

If you believe it you will achieve it. Now clear your mind, think fresh and jump back on that wagon to achieve a healthier you.

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Best of the Bad: Healthy Fast Food

By Meagan | 28 January 2010 | 0 Comments

There are some phenomenal resources online. I recently stumbled across Chrissy’s (aka AberGirl) Food Guides on BodyBuilding.com. She has pulled together GREAT research on what options are the best of the bad when selecting fast food items. In a perfect world, we would all be able to fix healthy meals all day – unfortunately, that’s not always the reality. We all have hectic lives, and sometimes preparation is not an option.

So next time your tummy is rumbling and you have to eat, what do you choose when faced with the Golden Arches, the Eat More Chikin’ Cows or the red-haired, Old Fashioned girl? Here are Chrissy’s comprehensive tips & suggestions to help you make a more informed decision!

Tips to Avoid Dining Out

  • When you cook, prepare enough food for meals later in the week and keep them frozen.  Carry them to work with you so that you always have meals available.
  • Keep your home stocked with easy to prepare foods.  This reduces the chance of you being caught off guard and going out for “something easy”
  • Use Meal Replacement bars and drinks, such as EAS Myoplex and LaBrada Lean Body

Tips To Remember When Dining Out

  • Avoid dressings like oil and mayonnaise.
  • Request that your food have no butter.
  • Avoid cheeses.
  • Avoid extra bread.  Most of it is very fast absorbing and has a high chance of being stored as fat.
  • Keep an eye on portion size.
  • Be careful when choosing sides such as French fries or other fried foods.
  • Avoid fried foods
  • When in doubt, choose grilled chicken breast
  • Drink water instead of soda.  Soda has a ton of empty calories, and has a negative effect on blood sugar and insulin.
  • Don’t think a salad is automatically lean.  Most salad dressings are VERY fattening, as is cheese (and bacon bits).  Choose the fat free versions of salad dressings.
  • Make sure your chicken breast is boneless and skinless

To make this list, the foods have to be moderate in carbohydrates and protein, and relatively low in fat.

KFC Selections

  1. Chicken Breast (no skin or breading)
    140 calories
    29g protein
    0g carbs
    3g fat
  2. Green Beans
    50 calories
    2g protein
    7g carbs
    1.5g fat
  3. Mashed Potatoes/Gravy
    130 calories
    2g protein
    18g carbs
    4.5g fat
    - much better without gravy!

Burger King Selections

  1. Fire Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad (w/fat free honey mustard dressing)
    250 calories
    20g protein
    27g carbs
    10g fat
  2. Chicken Whopper (no mayo)
    410 calories
    38g protein
    48g carbs
    7g fat

Taco Bell Selections

  1. Chicken Ranchero Taco (Fresno Style)
    170 calories
    12g protein
    20g carbs
    4g fat
  2. Pintos and Cheese
    180 calories
    10g protein
    20g carbs
    7g fat

Subway/Quizno’s/Schlotzki’s/Blimpie Selections
All 4 of these restaurants are very similar and often similar choices.  Here are a few tips for eating at these restaurants.

  • Avoid the cheese
  • Don’t eat the large sandwiches (12”, 14”, etc.) in one sitting.  Eat half and save the rest for later
  • Avoid oils and mayo
  • Avoid salad dressings
  • Eat lean meats like turkey, ham, and roast beef.  Avoid the steaks, bacon, salami, bologna, etc.
  • Don’t be fooled by “Atkins Friendly” foods.  These are usually very high in fat.
  • Try double turkey breast and double ham!
  • Again, avoid sodas and fruit drinks.  Water has zero calories!

McDonalds Selections

  1. Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (Newman’s Own Low Fat Vinegarette)
    240 calories
    29g protein
    13g carbs
    9g fat
  2. Chicken McGrill
    345 calories
    27g protein
    47g carbs
    4.5g fat
  3. Best Breakfast Choices
    Egg McMuffin: 300 calories, 12g fat, 30g carbs, 18g protein
    Sausage Burrito: 300 calories, 16g fat, 26g carbs, 12g protein
  4. Best Snack Choices
    Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait: 160 calories, 2g fat, 31g carbs, 4g protein
    *Note: Taking out the granola would save 30 calories, and 6g carbs

Taco Cabana Selections

  1. ¼ Grilled Chicken White (No Skin)
    167 calories
    35g protein
    0g carbs
    1.7g fat
  2. Chicken Fajita Meat (white) – Avoid the sour cream and cheese!
    190 calories
    30.4g protein
    3.2g carbs
    6.2g fat
  3. Tortilla (1ea)
    129 calories
    3.2g protein
    21.7g carbs
    3.3g fat
  4. Borracho Beans
    108 calories
    4g protein
    17g carbs
    2.5g fat
  5. Refried Beans
    171 calories
    7g protein
    21g carbs
    6g fat

Whataburger Selections

  1. Grilled Chicken Sandwich (Special Request – small bun, no bun oil, w/MLT)
    334 calories
    28g protein
    37g carbs
    8g fat

Chick-Fil-A Selections

  1. Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich on wheat
    410 Calories
    28g Protein
    38g Carbs
    13g Fat
  2. Char grilled Chicken Sandwich (no sauce, no bacon)
    270 calories
    28g protein
    33g carbs
    3.5g fat
  3. Southwest grilled chicken Salad
    Calories 360
    Fat 8 g
    Saturated Fat 3.5 g
    Sodium 1,170 mg
    Protein:15G
    Fiber 5G

Wendy’s Selections

  1. Caesar Chicken Salad:
    190 calories
    5g fat
    9g carbs
    27g protein
    *Note: Don’t add the croutons and don’t use the provided salad dressing
  2. Mandarin Chicken Salad:
    170 calories
    2g fat
    18g carbs
    23g protein
    *Note: Don’t add crispy noodles, you can add roasted almonds if you want (130 more calories), and don’t use the provided salad dressing.
    Salad Dressings: I suggest Fat Free Ranch, Reduced Fat Creamy Ranch, Low Fat Honey Mustard, or Italian Vinaigrette
  3. Ultimate Grill Chicken Sandwich:
    370 calories
    8g fat
    44g carbs
    33g protein
  4. Best Snack Choices
    Low Fat Strawberry Flavored Yogurt: 140 calories, 10g fat, 27g carbs, 6g protein
    *Note: adding the granola topping will add 110 calories, 4.5g fat, 15g carbs, 2g protein
  5. Large Chili
    300 Calories
    25g protein
    31g carbs
    7g fat

Pizza Hut Selections
*Note: Pizza is healthiest without fatty meats and with tons of healthy vegetable toppings.
*Warning: Watch out for Pizza Hut’s breadsticks (150 calories, 6g fat, 20g carbs, 4g protein), hot wings, and mozzarella sticks. These sides can pack on the calories very quickly.

  1. Fit’N Delicious Carb Tracker Pizza Pepperoni & Mushrooms: 4
    90 calories
    25g fat
    39g carbs
    26g protein
    *Note: This is for the entire pizza
  2. Fit’N Delicious Lower Fat Pizzas Tomatoes Mushrooms & Jalapeno peppers:
    140 calories
    4g fat
    21g carbs
    6g protein
    *Note: This is for one large slice out of a 14” pizza
  3. Best Snack Choices – If you have a sweet tooth and are looking for something in Pizza Hut, why not try some cinnamon sticks?
    Cinnamon Sticks (2): 97 calories, 2.9g fat, 15.4g carbs, 2.3g protein
    *Warning: Avoid the white icing dipping cup

Arby’s Selections

  1. Chicken Filet Sandwich (no mayo):
    309 calories
    6g fat
    36g carbs
    31g protein
  2. Super Roast Beef (w/o Red Ranch Dressing):
    322 calories
    5g fat
    35g carbs
    20g protein
    *Note: the reason why this is a better version of the roast beef if you take out the dressing is that it has tomato and lettuce
  3. Martha’s Vineyard Salad:
    276 calories
    8g fat
    24g carbs
    26g protein
  4. Santa Fe Salad w/ Grilled Chicken:
    283 calories
    9g fat
    20g carbs
    29g protein
    *Note: Ahh! The salad dressings at Arby’s are scary. Best Choice? Request the Light Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (112 calories, 6 g fat, 13g carbs, 1g protein)
  5. Ham and Cheese Croissant (w/cheese):
    274 calories
    12g fat
    22g carbs
    13g protein
    *Note: taking out the Swiss cheese will save you 41 calories

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Fitness Resolution Got You Down? Some Helpful Pointers

By Meagan | 21 January 2010 | 0 Comments

It’s three weeks into the New Year, and by now, many of your are no doubt having second thoughts on your ability to exceed the challenges ahead of you. If fitness, health or weight loss are on your agenda, here are some helpful tips to keep you moving forward.

  1. Eliminate junk food. Most fast food restaurants, along with most pastries and processed foods, contain high amounts of fat, sodium and sugar (usually simple sugars). The consumption of these foods will do little for your energy, except promote a high then a low in your blood sugar levels. In addition they offer high levels of fat, usually of the saturated type. And they quite often contain large amounts of water-retaining sodium. None of these qualities are beneficial to any type of athlete or individual.
  2. Drink eight to ten glasses of water each day, or more (I personally drink a LOT more – over 3 gallons per day). This will ensure you are replacing fluids lost during exercise. You need not wait until you are thirsty. By then, you are in a depleted state. Drink these glasses of water throughout a day’s time, not all at once.
  3. Determine your daily protein requirements. Proteins that include the essential amino acids (those that your body does not manufacture) are of utmost importance. Protein powder provides a great means to obtaining additional quality protein. And remember, proteins are best assimilated when accompanied by some carbohydrates. Where do you start? Try 1 gram per pound of body weight.
  4. Consume high fiber foods. Not only does high fiber in your diet help in the reduction of cholesterol, it also makes fats less likely to be absorbed into your body.
  5. Exercise to increase your lean body weight. The more lean weight you have, the more efficient your body moves and the higher your metabolism, even at rest. By increasing your lean body weight, your bones become more dense and your muscles, tendons and ligaments become stronger. The great side effect of all this is that it’s easier to avoid getting fat. Remember, bigger muscles burn more calories than little ones. You DO NOT want to lose lean body mass!

If you aren’t already, whether your goal is to lose fat or gain muscle, you should be eating smaller meals every 2-3 hours! Eating at regular increments:

  • Increases metabolism
  • Gives your body a constant supply of nutrients
  • Keeps your blood sugar stable and alleviates the post-meal “crashes” (ever feel lethargic after lunch?) since you’re not spiking your insulin
  • Keeps you relatively saturated and stops you from eating a huge amount at one time, which is an easy way to cause your body to store fat
  • Gives encouragement! When you get hungry, you know that you’re going to be eating again in a very short time! No more waiting 6-7 hours between meals!

You should always eat at least five meals a day. Two or three meals simply isn’t often enough. If your muscles don’t get the calories they need, how are they going to keep going? By CANNIBALIZING (eating) muscle tissue! That’s the same muscle tissue you spent hours training to get.

On the other hand, overeating even one meal a day keeps the fat-building enzymes in your body more numerous to turn the excess food into body fat. Always ask yourself, “What will I be doing over the next 3 hours?” and eat based around your activities. If you’re going to be busting your tail in the gym, you’d eat more than you would if you were going to sleep.

Remember, when you overeat at a meal, the excess calories get stored as fat. So, if you skip a meal, do not eat to make up for it, eat for what you are going to be doing.

Good luck and hang in there! If you “fall off the wagon,” you have 11 more months ahead of you to reach your fitness goals. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

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The Benefits of Olive Leaf Extract

By Meagan | 14 December 2009 | 0 Comments

Many people don’t know that when you take antibiotics you actually kill the good and bad bacteria in your body.  This poses a problem after you get off the antibiotics because your body has no way to correctly fight off the bad microbials in your body, such as candidas, which can quickly spread and cause a multitude of problems. Most people don’t realize that slowly but surely the “targeted microbes” are transforming to become immune to the drugs, in the end making the proscribed drugs useless.

Now don’t get scared, help is in sight!  There has been a natural and safe solution to this problem for centuries; it’s called Olive Leaf Extract.   This amazing extract not only fights against pathological microbes but it also is effective against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites in the body!  It also enhances the elasticity of arteries, which in turn improves blood flow, and prevents the development of some forms of heart diseases.

You might be wondering how Olive Leaf Extract is effective against viruses. Well first of all, we will look at some of what it can treat effectively: herpes, vaccinia, pseudo rabies, Newcastle’s, polio 1, 2, and 3, leukemia, and many influenza types. Also, we will browse over some of the types of bacteria and parasitic protozoan’s it fights against: malariae, lactobacillus plantarum W50, brevis 50, pediocococus cerevisiae 39, leuconostoc mesenteroides 42, staphylococcus aureus, bacillus subtilis, and so on and so forth.

So how does it work? Olive leaf extract interferes with several functions of the virus and bacteria cells, by inhibiting their shedding, assembly at the cell membrane, and budding. It also interferes with particular amino acid constructions that are essential for the survival of the cells. A really awesome thing olive leaf extract does is that it can actually penetrate infected cells and hamper further virus or bacterial reproduction. Olive leaf also encourages development of immune system cells to help fight off the virus or bacteria!

Not only does it fight against viruses and bacteria, olive leaf extract also fights against fungus, yeast, and parasitic infections. Many studies have confirmed that most of today’s common health problems are due to parasites, fungus, and yeasts. Many factors play a roll in how people come about getting these infections such as diet, use of antibiotics and other drugs, and lack of exercise. It has been shown too successfully fight against Candida albicans, Candida krusei, oral candidiasis, pin worms, tapeworms, ring worm, and many others. It also is effective against chronic toenail fungus infection which many Americans have.

On top of all of these amazing things olive leaf extract helps with, it also aids in the reduction of high blood pressure. Olive leaf extract has been clearly shown to help with the expanding and contracting of the arteries which in turn promotes healthy dilatatory action in the coronary arteries. It actually causes the constricted arteries to relax and become more flexible. Studies have shown that olive leaf extract can reduce blood pressure on an average of 68 percent in some animals, and in others as high as 36 percent. It has also been shown to have other cardiovascular benefits such as helping with barium chloride-induced arrhythmia and calcium- induced arrhythmia.

There are so many benefits that people can get from this extract and some of them I didn’t even list such as; it is a wonderful antioxidant, helps with hypoglycemia/diabetes, fights against free radicals, increases energy, can act as a microbial agent against herpes, AIDS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, arthritis, and other autoimmune disorders. The list goes on and on.

I suggest picking up a book about Olive Leaf Extract and just reading on its wonderful healing powers. There may be one “side effect” that comes along with taking this extract; it may cause a “die off effect.” That is when all of the microbes die and your body detoxes causing symptoms which include headaches and flu like symptoms.This will reside in a week or so depending on your body.

Reference:
N.D. Ritchason, Jack, Olive Leaf Extract. Woodland Publishing 1999.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not recommended as a means of diagnosing or treating and illness.  All matters concerning physical and mental health should be supervised by a health practitioner knowledgeable in treating that particular condition.  The author does not directly or indirectly dispense medical advice, nor do they prescribe any remedies or assume any responsibility for those who choose to treat themselves.

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Protein Bar Recipe

By Meagan | 10 December 2009 | 0 Comments

Here is a recipe from another trainer friend of mine – staying fit doesn’t mean you can’t bake healthy recipes!

- Natural Nut Butter of your choice
- Heavy/Double Cream
- Pro Complete 40 Protein (flavor of choice)
- Use chocolate whey and crunchy peanut butter for the snickers taste.
- Also you can add a teaspoon or two of granulated splenda to sweeten it a little.

Instructions:

1) Put 50 grams of nut butter and 25 grams of whey protein into a bowl
2) Mix a little until dry and clumpy
3) Add 40ml of heavy cream. Now it magically smooths out quickly when mixed
4) Take out of bowl and shape into a bar
5) Enjoy!

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