You have probably heard a lot about the importance of positive thinking in weight loss. If you keep harboring negative thoughts, you will never be able to lose weight. On the other hand, if you become a positive thinker, weight loss will become easy for you. Let me give you an example.
Believe it or not, you are unable to lose weight because you believe that you are fat; chances are that, you even hate yourself for the same reason. Now, if you believe yourself to be thin instead. can you imagine the positive impact it can have on your weight loss goals? Your mindset and attitude can make or break your weight loss goals. In this article I will tell you how to develop a positive mindset.
Remember though that just as you cannot lose weight overnight, you also cannot transform your negative thoughts into positive ones within a very short time. So be patient with yourself and try to incorporate these changes slowly into your life!
1. The reason behind your weight loss: What is the big reason behind your weight loss efforts? Why is it that you want to lose weight? Is it simply because you are unable to bear with the taunts you receive from your office colleagues, or is it because you keep getting turned down for dates, or is it simply because you want a figure like your favorite celebrity whose photo you recently saw in a magazine? Whatever it is, write them all down on a piece of paper. Note down all the reasons behind your weight loss endeavors, no matter how small or big they are!
For best results, buy some Post--It-Notes® stickers and write down everything on such a sticker, and make copies of it on other stickers. Then stick those stickers at every corner of your house so that you are reminded of your weight loss goals everyday. Don't forget to stick them on your kitchen and refrigerator as well: those are the places where you are most likely to be tempted to eat the 'forbidden foods' or 'cheat' on your diet program!
2. Motivation and realistic goals: Now it is time to set some realistic goals for yourself. To do that, you need to know your ideal body weight, and then subtract that from your current body weight. The resulting figure you now get is the amount of body weight you got to lose to acquire the kind of figure you want.
Now, realistically, you cannot lose more than 2 pounds per week. Do the math and find out how many pounds you can lose a year from now. Again, be realistic in your goals, as unrealistic goals serve no purpose. If you weigh 100 pounds or more, don't expect to gain a svelte figure like Jessica Alba within a month!
Once you have set your goals, you now need some motivation that will help you achieve your weight loss goals. What you will use to motivate yourself will depend on the reason behind your weight loss. If you want to be like your favorite celebrity, hang the pictures of that celebrity all around your house. Side by side, also hang your picture with your current body weight! That would be more than enough to keep you motivated!
Friday
Why Low Calorie Diets Don't Work
Are you planning to follow a low calorie diet plan in order to lose weight fast! Before you do that, read this article to find out why low calorie diet plans don't work!
I cannot tell you how many people have emailed me saying that they followed certain popular low calorie diet plans for a few weeks only to find out that they haven't lost much weight. As such they felt that weight loss is impossible and therefore, they quit the diet program altogether!
The number one reason why low-calorie diet plans don't work is: when you eat low-calorie foods, your body basically remains malnourished. You feel sick and tired at all times. Forget about exercises, you don't have enough energy to complete even your regular activities. All these things happen because your metabolic rate is low!
If you want to lose weight successfully, you need to keep these two things in mind:
1. Calories are not your enemies: Calories are not what you should avoid; calories are required to supply your body with the necessary nutrition and energy. When your body gets enough food, it'll increase your metabolic rate, which will automatically result in weight loss!
The bad calories are those that are available in junk foods. So while you won't accumulate fat by eating 10 apples per day (even though a single apple contains almost 100 calories), you will surely get fat by eating 10 burgers!
That is the basic difference! You need to avoid empty calories (that is, junk foods) and embrace negative calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Now negative calorie doesn't mean that there is no calorie in these foods; it only means that in order to digest themselves, these foods will force your body to burn more calories than what they provide! This results in calorie deficit which will ultimately result in weight loss!
2. Muscle building is a must: Do you know that in order to maintain themselves, muscles burn a lot of your calories? This in effect means that the more lean muscles you have, the faster you will be able to lose weight! Eating protein-rich foods is a good way of building lean muscles; working out regularly in the gym is another. There is another yet advantage of eating protein-rich foods: you won't feel hungry too often; as such, the possibility of overeating is almost non-existent.
When you eat low-calorie foods, you are not able to build muscles; instead you LOSE muscles. When your body doesn't have enough lean muscles, it is not able to burn fat since your metabolic rate remains at an abnormally low level. So that is one more reason why low calorie diets don't work!
Most of these low calorie diets will only help you lose water and muscles; while you maybe misled into believing that you have actually lost several dozens of pounds, you have not lost the single most important thing that is keeping you from becoming slim: and that is FAT! Unless you lose fat, there is no way you can become fit!
I cannot tell you how many people have emailed me saying that they followed certain popular low calorie diet plans for a few weeks only to find out that they haven't lost much weight. As such they felt that weight loss is impossible and therefore, they quit the diet program altogether!
The number one reason why low-calorie diet plans don't work is: when you eat low-calorie foods, your body basically remains malnourished. You feel sick and tired at all times. Forget about exercises, you don't have enough energy to complete even your regular activities. All these things happen because your metabolic rate is low!
If you want to lose weight successfully, you need to keep these two things in mind:
1. Calories are not your enemies: Calories are not what you should avoid; calories are required to supply your body with the necessary nutrition and energy. When your body gets enough food, it'll increase your metabolic rate, which will automatically result in weight loss!
The bad calories are those that are available in junk foods. So while you won't accumulate fat by eating 10 apples per day (even though a single apple contains almost 100 calories), you will surely get fat by eating 10 burgers!
That is the basic difference! You need to avoid empty calories (that is, junk foods) and embrace negative calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Now negative calorie doesn't mean that there is no calorie in these foods; it only means that in order to digest themselves, these foods will force your body to burn more calories than what they provide! This results in calorie deficit which will ultimately result in weight loss!
2. Muscle building is a must: Do you know that in order to maintain themselves, muscles burn a lot of your calories? This in effect means that the more lean muscles you have, the faster you will be able to lose weight! Eating protein-rich foods is a good way of building lean muscles; working out regularly in the gym is another. There is another yet advantage of eating protein-rich foods: you won't feel hungry too often; as such, the possibility of overeating is almost non-existent.
When you eat low-calorie foods, you are not able to build muscles; instead you LOSE muscles. When your body doesn't have enough lean muscles, it is not able to burn fat since your metabolic rate remains at an abnormally low level. So that is one more reason why low calorie diets don't work!
Most of these low calorie diets will only help you lose water and muscles; while you maybe misled into believing that you have actually lost several dozens of pounds, you have not lost the single most important thing that is keeping you from becoming slim: and that is FAT! Unless you lose fat, there is no way you can become fit!
Thursday
How To Motivate Yourself To Get Rid of Belly Fat
Everyone knows that weight loss is all about modifying your lifestyle habits to a considerable extent. What many don't realize that this cannot be done overnight! If you try to make significant changes in your lifestyle within a very short time, chances are that you will only be frustrated and disappointed with your weight loss efforts. Also, there is more to weight loss than just diet and exercise. In this article I will take you beyond the world of strict diets and rigorous exercise routines!
1. Avoid self-sabotaging thoughts: Self-sabotaging thoughts will do you more harm than fake diet pills. Just imagine, if you always think that you cannot do the things you need to do in order to lose weight, how can you ever achieve your weight loss goals? If you think that you cannot do sit-ups and push-ups, you are probably jumping to conclusions and being too self-analytical even before you have tried these workouts!
If you think that doing thirty push-ups is overwhelming for you, start small. Start with 10 push-ups, and thank yourself once you have done it successfully! Then try to add one or two extra push-ups every day to your routine until you reach your target of thirty. You see, when you start small, it becomes much easier to reach your goals!
Instead of thinking too much, just take action and DO it! The amount of time you spend on thinking and criticizing yourself, you may as well as spend it on some exercise. While the former will do you no good, the latter will help you burn fat and lose weight!
2. Get support: Proper support is essential in order to keep you determined and motivated. Without support, you won't be able to lose weight successfully. That is why it is essential that you enlist the support of your friends and family who understand you and support your goals. It is also essential that you choose a weight loss program which offers support to its members in the form of a support group or forum. In a forum, you will get support and tips from your peers and experts alike!
Surround yourself with supportive people and stay away from the negative people who can only find faults with you!
If you follow these tips there is no reason why you won't be able to lose weight! Remember that you can achieve whatever you believe in your mind. If you believe you can lose weight, you WILL! It does sound cliché but is very much true!
1. Avoid self-sabotaging thoughts: Self-sabotaging thoughts will do you more harm than fake diet pills. Just imagine, if you always think that you cannot do the things you need to do in order to lose weight, how can you ever achieve your weight loss goals? If you think that you cannot do sit-ups and push-ups, you are probably jumping to conclusions and being too self-analytical even before you have tried these workouts!
If you think that doing thirty push-ups is overwhelming for you, start small. Start with 10 push-ups, and thank yourself once you have done it successfully! Then try to add one or two extra push-ups every day to your routine until you reach your target of thirty. You see, when you start small, it becomes much easier to reach your goals!
Instead of thinking too much, just take action and DO it! The amount of time you spend on thinking and criticizing yourself, you may as well as spend it on some exercise. While the former will do you no good, the latter will help you burn fat and lose weight!
2. Get support: Proper support is essential in order to keep you determined and motivated. Without support, you won't be able to lose weight successfully. That is why it is essential that you enlist the support of your friends and family who understand you and support your goals. It is also essential that you choose a weight loss program which offers support to its members in the form of a support group or forum. In a forum, you will get support and tips from your peers and experts alike!
Surround yourself with supportive people and stay away from the negative people who can only find faults with you!
If you follow these tips there is no reason why you won't be able to lose weight! Remember that you can achieve whatever you believe in your mind. If you believe you can lose weight, you WILL! It does sound cliché but is very much true!
Wednesday
The Easiest Way To Conquer Weight Loss Plateau
You were probably losing weight successfully for the first few weeks after you joined a new diet program, only to be stuck to a certain point later. When people start a diet program they rapidly lose a few pounds, because most diet programs are created to offer you 'instant weight loss'. Sadly enough, this 'instant weight loss' is more often than not 'temporary' weight loss.
You will lose weight very quickly for the first few weeks but after that, you will suddenly discover that the scale is not going down anymore! You are not losing any more weight than what you have lost already! You have hit a situation commonly known as weight loss plateau! In such situations, the only remedy is a complete overhaul of your lifestyle habits.
You have probably done the same sets of exercises as well as ate the same types of foods over and over again during those first few weeks when you were losing weight. As a result your body got accustomed to your diet and exercise routine. When that happened, your weight loss methods failed to bring any sustainable results!
If you want to go beyond this point, you need to change your diet and exercise regiment.
Here are two methods you need to follow to get out of the weight loss plateau.
1. Calorie-counting is not the way to go: When you count your calories, you basically limit the intake of calories to an abnormally low level. When you eat low calorie foods, there is no incentive for your body to increase your metabolic rate since it has to burn only a few calories. The result is that your metabolic rate always remains at a very low level. When your metabolic rate is low, you aren't able to burn fat!
In order to burn fat and lose weight successfully, you need to forget about calorie counting and eat enough so that your body is forced to keep your metabolic rate at a high level. Your body needs fuel to burn fat, and it can get that fuel only from foods!
2. Exercise more: If you have been avoiding exercises altogether, or have been doing only light exercises, then you cannot lose weight. Weight loss is only possible if you perform high intensity workouts daily. Instead of being afraid of exercises, try to love them. Exercises are yet another powerful way of increasing your metabolic rate.
Follow these two methods and you will soon be able to acquire the slim body you desire!
You will lose weight very quickly for the first few weeks but after that, you will suddenly discover that the scale is not going down anymore! You are not losing any more weight than what you have lost already! You have hit a situation commonly known as weight loss plateau! In such situations, the only remedy is a complete overhaul of your lifestyle habits.
You have probably done the same sets of exercises as well as ate the same types of foods over and over again during those first few weeks when you were losing weight. As a result your body got accustomed to your diet and exercise routine. When that happened, your weight loss methods failed to bring any sustainable results!
If you want to go beyond this point, you need to change your diet and exercise regiment.
Here are two methods you need to follow to get out of the weight loss plateau.
1. Calorie-counting is not the way to go: When you count your calories, you basically limit the intake of calories to an abnormally low level. When you eat low calorie foods, there is no incentive for your body to increase your metabolic rate since it has to burn only a few calories. The result is that your metabolic rate always remains at a very low level. When your metabolic rate is low, you aren't able to burn fat!
In order to burn fat and lose weight successfully, you need to forget about calorie counting and eat enough so that your body is forced to keep your metabolic rate at a high level. Your body needs fuel to burn fat, and it can get that fuel only from foods!
2. Exercise more: If you have been avoiding exercises altogether, or have been doing only light exercises, then you cannot lose weight. Weight loss is only possible if you perform high intensity workouts daily. Instead of being afraid of exercises, try to love them. Exercises are yet another powerful way of increasing your metabolic rate.
Follow these two methods and you will soon be able to acquire the slim body you desire!
Tuesday
The Top Lean Body Foods to Build Muscle and Lose Body Fat
by Michael Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
In most of my Lean-Body Secrets Newsletters, I like to provide a healthy snack or meal recipe that not only is delicious and healthy, but also helps to get you closer to that hard-body appearance that everyone is looking for, while also more importantly, improving your health for life. In this article, I'd like to give you healthy, lean body food ideas in a different way. This time, I figured I'd just give you some ideas of what I stock my fridge and cabinets with.
Remember, if you don't have junk around the house, you're less likely to eat junk. If all you have is healthy food around the house, you're forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you'll enjoy.
Alright, so let's start with the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I'm loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. During the growing season, I only get local produce, but obviously in winter, I have to resort to the produce at the grocery store. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like onions, zucchini, spinach, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, etc. to use in my morning eggs. I also like to dice up some lean chicken or turkey sausage into the eggs, along with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses (preferably raw grass-fed cheeses when I can find them).
By the way I'm talking about whole eggs, NOT egg whites. Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part... and no, it's NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol... eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol. Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality.
Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it's also full of healthy saturated fats. Yeah, you heard me...I said healthy saturated fats! Healthy saturated fats like medium chain triglycerides, specifically an MCT called lauric acid.
Back to the fridge, some other staples:
Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds - delicious and great sources of healthy fats.
Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt - I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.
Whole flax seeds or chia seeds - I grind these in a mini coffee grinder and add to yogurt or salads.
Always grind them fresh because the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals in pre-ground flax.
Whole eggs - one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).
Salsa - I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.
Avocados - love them...plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.
Butter - don't believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and can be part of a healthy diet (just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense...and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack).
Nut butters - Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with sesame seed butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter...delicious and unbeatable nutrition!
Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots - for salads with dinner.
Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined soybean oil (full of inflammation-causing free radicals).
Whole grain wraps and whole grain bread (look for wraps and bread with at least 3-4 grams of fiber per 20 grams of total carbs).
Rice bran and wheat germ - these may sound way too healthy for some, but they actually add a nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or smoothies, or can be added when baking muffins or breads to add nutrients and fiber.
Some of the staples in the freezer:
Frozen berries - during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies
Frozen fish - I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored.
Frozen chicken breasts - very convenient for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.
Grass-fed steaks, burgers, and ground beef - Grassfed meats have been shown to have as high as, or even higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than salmon (without the mercury). Also, grass-fed meats have much higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compared to typical grain-fed beef.
Frozen buffalo, ostrich, venison, and other "exotic" lean meats - Yeah, I know...I'm weird, but I can tell you that these are some of the healthiest meats around, and if you're serious about a lean healthy body, these types of meats are much better for you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef and pork that's sold at most grocery stores.
Frozen veggies - again, when the growing season is over and I can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.
Alright, now the staples in my cabinets:
Various antioxidant rich teas - green, oolong, white, rooibos are some of the best.
Whole wheat or whole grain spelt pasta - much higher fiber than normal pastas
Oat bran and steel cut oats - higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats.
Cans of coconut milk - to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.
Brown rice and other higher fiber rice - NEVER white rice
Tomato sauces - delicious, and as I'm sure you've heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup.
Stevia - a natural non-caloric sweetener, which is an excellent alternative to the nasty chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.
Raw honey - better than processed honey... higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (how you process carbs). I use a teaspoon or so every morning in my teas. Yes, it is pure sugar, but at least it has some nutritional benefits... and let's be real, a teaspoon of healthier raw honey is only 5 grams of carbs... certainly nothing to worry about.
Organic maple syrup - none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima crap...only real maple syrup can be considered real food. The only time I really use this (because of the high sugar load) is added to my post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients into your muscles.
Organic unsweetened cocoa powder - I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks.
Cans of black or kidney beans - I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican wraps for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth promoting antioxidants!
Dark chocolate (as dark as possible) - This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It's still calorie dense, so I keep it to just a couple squares; but that is enough to do the trick, so I don't feel like I need to go out and get cake and ice cream to satisfy my dessert urges.
Lastly, another thing that's hard to go wrong with is a good variety of fresh fruits and berries. The staples such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are good, but I like to also be a little more adventurous and include things like yellow (aka - mexican or champagne) mangoes, pomegranates, kumquats, papaya, star fruit, pineapples, and others. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries are some of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense fruits you can eat.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this special look into my favorite lean body foods and how I stock my cabinets and fridge. Your tastes are probably quite different than mine, but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you can use next time you're at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.
Be sure to pick up a copy of my book The Truth about Six Pack Abs, which introduces you to the entire comprehensive training and nutritional program that will turn your body into a lean, sexy specimen that others will envy!
In most of my Lean-Body Secrets Newsletters, I like to provide a healthy snack or meal recipe that not only is delicious and healthy, but also helps to get you closer to that hard-body appearance that everyone is looking for, while also more importantly, improving your health for life. In this article, I'd like to give you healthy, lean body food ideas in a different way. This time, I figured I'd just give you some ideas of what I stock my fridge and cabinets with.
Remember, if you don't have junk around the house, you're less likely to eat junk. If all you have is healthy food around the house, you're forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you'll enjoy.
Alright, so let's start with the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I'm loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. During the growing season, I only get local produce, but obviously in winter, I have to resort to the produce at the grocery store. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like onions, zucchini, spinach, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, etc. to use in my morning eggs. I also like to dice up some lean chicken or turkey sausage into the eggs, along with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses (preferably raw grass-fed cheeses when I can find them).
By the way I'm talking about whole eggs, NOT egg whites. Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part... and no, it's NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol... eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol. Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality.
Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it's also full of healthy saturated fats. Yeah, you heard me...I said healthy saturated fats! Healthy saturated fats like medium chain triglycerides, specifically an MCT called lauric acid.
Back to the fridge, some other staples:
Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds - delicious and great sources of healthy fats.
Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt - I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.
Whole flax seeds or chia seeds - I grind these in a mini coffee grinder and add to yogurt or salads.
Always grind them fresh because the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals in pre-ground flax.
Whole eggs - one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).
Salsa - I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.
Avocados - love them...plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.
Butter - don't believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and can be part of a healthy diet (just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense...and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack).
Nut butters - Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with sesame seed butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter...delicious and unbeatable nutrition!
Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots - for salads with dinner.
Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined soybean oil (full of inflammation-causing free radicals).
Whole grain wraps and whole grain bread (look for wraps and bread with at least 3-4 grams of fiber per 20 grams of total carbs).
Rice bran and wheat germ - these may sound way too healthy for some, but they actually add a nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or smoothies, or can be added when baking muffins or breads to add nutrients and fiber.
Some of the staples in the freezer:
Frozen berries - during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies
Frozen fish - I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored.
Frozen chicken breasts - very convenient for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.
Grass-fed steaks, burgers, and ground beef - Grassfed meats have been shown to have as high as, or even higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than salmon (without the mercury). Also, grass-fed meats have much higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compared to typical grain-fed beef.
Frozen buffalo, ostrich, venison, and other "exotic" lean meats - Yeah, I know...I'm weird, but I can tell you that these are some of the healthiest meats around, and if you're serious about a lean healthy body, these types of meats are much better for you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef and pork that's sold at most grocery stores.
Frozen veggies - again, when the growing season is over and I can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.
Alright, now the staples in my cabinets:
Various antioxidant rich teas - green, oolong, white, rooibos are some of the best.
Whole wheat or whole grain spelt pasta - much higher fiber than normal pastas
Oat bran and steel cut oats - higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats.
Cans of coconut milk - to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.
Brown rice and other higher fiber rice - NEVER white rice
Tomato sauces - delicious, and as I'm sure you've heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup.
Stevia - a natural non-caloric sweetener, which is an excellent alternative to the nasty chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.
Raw honey - better than processed honey... higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (how you process carbs). I use a teaspoon or so every morning in my teas. Yes, it is pure sugar, but at least it has some nutritional benefits... and let's be real, a teaspoon of healthier raw honey is only 5 grams of carbs... certainly nothing to worry about.
Organic maple syrup - none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima crap...only real maple syrup can be considered real food. The only time I really use this (because of the high sugar load) is added to my post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients into your muscles.
Organic unsweetened cocoa powder - I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks.
Cans of black or kidney beans - I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican wraps for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth promoting antioxidants!
Dark chocolate (as dark as possible) - This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It's still calorie dense, so I keep it to just a couple squares; but that is enough to do the trick, so I don't feel like I need to go out and get cake and ice cream to satisfy my dessert urges.
Lastly, another thing that's hard to go wrong with is a good variety of fresh fruits and berries. The staples such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are good, but I like to also be a little more adventurous and include things like yellow (aka - mexican or champagne) mangoes, pomegranates, kumquats, papaya, star fruit, pineapples, and others. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries are some of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense fruits you can eat.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this special look into my favorite lean body foods and how I stock my cabinets and fridge. Your tastes are probably quite different than mine, but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you can use next time you're at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.
Be sure to pick up a copy of my book The Truth about Six Pack Abs, which introduces you to the entire comprehensive training and nutritional program that will turn your body into a lean, sexy specimen that others will envy!
Monday
Letting Water Make You Lose Weight without the Hassle
People underestimate the fact that water can make you lose weight. They continuously ignore this in their weight loss journals, and go ahead with their crash diets and odd exercise routines. Unknown to many people, dehydration is caused by poorly planned diet and exercise programs. This is extremely dangerous for the body.
Liquid dieting
Simply put, you can get dehydrated when you’re not drinking enough water throughout the day. If you live in a tropical country, you will need 8 or more glasses of plain, unflavored water to survive. Fruit juices and coffee won’t do. You need only plain, unflavored water to hydrate your body.
When you drink sweet fruit juices, you’ll notice how they only leave you thirstier in the end. This is because sugars absorb the moisture in your body. Two glasses of citrus fruit juice is important to keep your Vitamin C supply up, but they shouldn’t be treated as substitutes to plain old water.
Coffee before workout
Caffeinated drinks like coffee are also one of the major culprits behind dehydration. Because coffee is a diuretic, it causes your system to flush out water faster than necessary. People who drink coffee before workouts run the risk of being dehydrated and getting hear attacks. The increased unnatural heart rate caused by caffeine in the blood stream is lethal when combined to the dehydrating effects of the same drink. Most people suffer from severe heatstroke because of the coffee and exercise tandem.
Stripping the calorie count
With both coffee and sweet fruit juices out of the way, you’ll have enough room for plain old water. Some people hate drinking water because it’s unflavored and boring. However, if you truly want to watch your weight, you’ll think about the benefits of water. No mater how much water you drink, you won’t be adding to the calorie count in your body. This means that you can get refreshed without worrying about unwanted inches on your waist. By lessening your sugar and caffeine intake, you’ll inadvertently let water make you lose weight.
Controlling the pangs
Studies also show that dehydrated people tend to get hungrier faster. This is because your body will keep on looking for enough water or moisture which can only be found on water and/or food products.
Most of the time these hunger pangs aren’t triggered by hunger, per se. You’ll wonder, sometimes, why you’re hungry already when you’ve just taken a full meal two hours ago. People usually only need small meals a day spaced 3 to 4 hours apart. You should try drinking a glass of water if you’re feeling “fake hunger pangs”. If you feel full immediately after drinking, then those hunger pangs were probably not hunger pangs at all, but thirst signals. You avoid overeating by keeping your body well hydrated. You also lose the possibility of storing more unwanted fat this way.
By watching your liquid intake closely, you let water make you lose weight.
Can I lose weight simply by keeping this water therapy?
Drinking 8 full glasses of water everyday can keep a few calories off, but this doesn’t mean that you should forget eating healthy and exercising regularly altogether. The key to sufficient weight loss is a well rounded lifestyle, and this includes proper nourishment, exercise, and rest.
Liquid dieting
Simply put, you can get dehydrated when you’re not drinking enough water throughout the day. If you live in a tropical country, you will need 8 or more glasses of plain, unflavored water to survive. Fruit juices and coffee won’t do. You need only plain, unflavored water to hydrate your body.
When you drink sweet fruit juices, you’ll notice how they only leave you thirstier in the end. This is because sugars absorb the moisture in your body. Two glasses of citrus fruit juice is important to keep your Vitamin C supply up, but they shouldn’t be treated as substitutes to plain old water.
Coffee before workout
Caffeinated drinks like coffee are also one of the major culprits behind dehydration. Because coffee is a diuretic, it causes your system to flush out water faster than necessary. People who drink coffee before workouts run the risk of being dehydrated and getting hear attacks. The increased unnatural heart rate caused by caffeine in the blood stream is lethal when combined to the dehydrating effects of the same drink. Most people suffer from severe heatstroke because of the coffee and exercise tandem.
Stripping the calorie count
With both coffee and sweet fruit juices out of the way, you’ll have enough room for plain old water. Some people hate drinking water because it’s unflavored and boring. However, if you truly want to watch your weight, you’ll think about the benefits of water. No mater how much water you drink, you won’t be adding to the calorie count in your body. This means that you can get refreshed without worrying about unwanted inches on your waist. By lessening your sugar and caffeine intake, you’ll inadvertently let water make you lose weight.
Controlling the pangs
Studies also show that dehydrated people tend to get hungrier faster. This is because your body will keep on looking for enough water or moisture which can only be found on water and/or food products.
Most of the time these hunger pangs aren’t triggered by hunger, per se. You’ll wonder, sometimes, why you’re hungry already when you’ve just taken a full meal two hours ago. People usually only need small meals a day spaced 3 to 4 hours apart. You should try drinking a glass of water if you’re feeling “fake hunger pangs”. If you feel full immediately after drinking, then those hunger pangs were probably not hunger pangs at all, but thirst signals. You avoid overeating by keeping your body well hydrated. You also lose the possibility of storing more unwanted fat this way.
By watching your liquid intake closely, you let water make you lose weight.
Can I lose weight simply by keeping this water therapy?
Drinking 8 full glasses of water everyday can keep a few calories off, but this doesn’t mean that you should forget eating healthy and exercising regularly altogether. The key to sufficient weight loss is a well rounded lifestyle, and this includes proper nourishment, exercise, and rest.
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