Calorie Control the Simple Way

Seriously, calorie counting works wonders, but isn't there a simpler way? The way I see it there are two options, eat whatever TYPE of food you want and just count every last calorie because the food you love is so calorie dense, or eat REAL food and just control portions with a few easy habits and methods. By the way, chances are the food you love that is energy dense is NOT nutrient dense so you'll only be able to eat tiny amounts and you won't even come close to the nutrition your body needs to have the energy you want and that tight, fit feeling. Personally, I'll take the real food and keep the other food as treats. That's right, you don't have to give up your favorite dishes! Just keep them under control. Check it out: Calorie Control Guide for Men and Women

How to Peel an Egg the EASY Way!

This is kind of fun! So one night my friends and I were hanging out when we saw a video of Tim Ferris peeling an egg. Now I've already read "The 4-Hour Body", by Tim Ferris, so I know that this guy loves efficiency and productivity. So we watch it. In this video I test it and it works like a charm... with funny noises...

*I apologize for the monotone voice and the video being sideways. I'm searching for some good video editing software (suggestions?). As for the voice, it will improve in time. 

"The 4-Hour Body" - an entertaining read for those who enjoy experiments. There are some take-away lessons but I wouldn't say it's a good book to model your program on. But it is entertaining and makes you think.

Tim is also the author of "The 4-Hour Work Week." I haven't read this one yet, but I know it will be stimulatingly entertaining! 




If you like my blog, please subscribe to the RSS Feed on the right side of the page and spread the word! :)

Ninja Calories!

Some calories have no class. The burger calorie, the fried calorie, all those calories that are out in the open and will obviously gang up and make your clothes tighter!

But there's a sneaky calorie that finds it's way into your body without you even realizing it. It doesn't fill you up very much and the little satiety you get from it leaves very quickly. To find where these "ninja calories" are hiding, check out this article.

Weight Loss Supplements!

I must start by asking you to please read this article through to the end in order to see the message. I write this stuff because I care about YOU. I'll try to keep it brief. 



Have a headache? Take an aspirin. Low energy? Drink Red Bull. Too much fat? Pop a pill. These are all common occurrences in the daily life of a citizen in modern society. 

"Bigger, Faster, Stronger" is a documentary from 2008 directed by Chris Bell about the use of anabolic steroids as performance-enhancing drugs in America. In the documentary Chris got information from both sides and stories from steroid users as well as others who were affected by the use of steroids. In the end Chris brings up a good point about all drugs and how we can and do use drugs for almost everything. 

We've reached a place where we throw drugs at everything. I'm not against the medical community or the use of prescription drugs or even supplements. I thank God for the technology and gifted doctors who save lives everyday but when there is a pill to stop gray hair... Really? I'm young and only have one gray hair which was so eloquently pointed out when I had a kid who is just a wonderful ball of energy on my shoulders. She told me I had paint in my hair. Knowing I hadn't painted anything nor been around wet paint in months, I immediate thought, "gray hair." Sure enough, one. Gray. Hair... But when that little hair decides to get married and start a colony, so what? Sean Connery has gray hair and just like in the article, so does George Clooney! And if part of the colony of hair decides to die off and leave me with some shiny spots I'll buzz the rest off.

Sean Connery in "The Hunt for Red October" 1990

Supplements

Back to my point. In America we seem to have a pill, or drug, or supplement for everything. It's ridiculous! I'm actually a representative for a very highly regarded supplement company and I still think supplements and supplement companies are WAY out of hand! One area in particular is weight loss. Some before and after photos for such and such supplement that will help you "drop 1,000,000% bodyfat in 2 hours!(exaggeration)" are flat out lies! Not all are lies, some really do work but many are exaggerations at the least.

Part of the documentary "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" shows just how easy it is to fake before and after photos:

Again, some supplements really do work! There are actually herbs and roots that increase your metabolism. Bodybuilders use these supplements all the time but that is NOT where they start. They start by changing what they DO! They start eating better and change their workouts up so they lose more fat.

Instead of throwing a drug at a problem, shouldn't we try to figure out what we are DOING that is causing the problem in the first place? If we're tired, are we sleeping enough? Are we stretched too thin and maybe need to make some adjustments in our lives? If we have a headache, again, sleep? Are we hydrated? Are we eating too much msg or artificial substances? Now for the big one! We have too much fat. Are we eating too much? Believe it or not, are we sleeping enough? Are we eating the right foods? Being active? Even if we're depressed. What are we letting into our minds? What are we allowing to influence us? Now I know there are some cases when there really is a chemical imbalance but my personal belief is that it's what we DO that should be addressed and is the real issue.

Instead of putting a band-aid on the problem, shouldn't we solve the root cause? Wouldn't you rather get rid of the problem than just mask it?

Shouldn't we look at what we do and ask ourselves, "is this good for me and those around me" or "is this right"? 

If we don't get "hurt", we don't need band-aids that lead to more hurt and more band-aids. I hate seeing people who are broken. The only way to get better is through the tough stuff. Through truth in love not band-aids. 

If you really want results in life, change what you do and who you are for the better.




Bigger, Faster, Stronger. Dir. Christopher Bell. Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2008. DVD.

Do You Need a Diet?

This should be an interesting post.... Hopefully it will make you stop and think.

Do you need a diet? Interesting question. Many people view a diet in 2 words, die + t. Death. Horrible. Terrifying. Do you cringe when you think of going on a diet? Believe it or not, I'm right there with ya! 

Here's a few issues with diets:

     1.) Your view. People view diets with a beginning and an end. Now the beginning is obviously fine, but having an end date is not. It's okay to slow down or stop losing once you've reached your goal weight, look, whatever but then you must maintain it. If you stop altogether the weight creeps back on.

     2.) Many diets are too drastic! I've heard people say time and time again, "I'm not eating bread," or "I'm only having 10 or 20 grams of carbs a day," or "I'm only eating chicken and broccoli." Seriously? You're going to eat ONLY chicken and broccoli? First, no one will want to be around you're gassy self! Second, where's room for life? Parties and get-togethers? There's no wiggle room and there are too many habits to change at once.

     3.) Which one? Many diets can be confusing and even DANGEROUS to your health! Because of the confusion you may develop beliefs that are either slightly off or completely wrong and based on little or no evidence. This can lead you down the wrong path.

So what do we do? We progressively change our eating habits, ONE habit at a time! Would you go into a fight against multiple opponents at once? Wouldn't 1-on-1 be better odds or even tip the scales with support from family and friends, a personal trainer, and this blog? 

It's up to you to find the bad habit that is draining you the most. Find the one that could cut out a few hundred calories a day and start seeing results! Or find a habit that leads to many other bad habits. Are you stressed out after a long day of work? Is the ice cream is calling your name? Instead of sitting in front of the TV and downing a pint of Haagen Dazs, go for a walk with the family or some friends, have a family game night, DO something instead of eating something. It's up to you. It's important to REPLACE the bad habit with a good one. If you are stressed, find a way to deal with the stress that is constructive and will leave you feeling good not guilty.

View this as lifestyle change. If you want to be lean(er), develop the habits of a lean(er) person. It's up to you. There are more articles on the way about habits :) Just think about yours and how you can stop the bad and replace them with the good.

What's the Key to Losing Weight?

Imagine if you will, there is a round table of weight lose "experts" and "gurus." They each are representatives of "the latest science" and they claim they have found "the true key to weight loss." There's the low carb guy, the paleo guru, the low fat dietitian who is stuck in the 80's, the personal trainer who thinks you just need to run 10 miles a day, the surgeon who keeps saying "bariatric surgery is the answer," and so on. Who's right? Who should you trust with your LIFE!? Let's clear this up!

The KEY to shedding excess weight and fat is energy balance! It doesn't matter whether your only carbs are coming from broccoli or all you eat is "fat free protein cookies" and water. If you eat more energy than you use you WILL gain weight! You don't see many obese people in the plains of Africa because they are active and don't eat too much.

Calories are simply a measure of energy. The actual name is kilocalorie (kcal). Now body fat is simply stored energy. How do we lose fat? Simple. Make your body use its stored energy. How do we do that? Again simple. Eat less calories and move more so your energy requirement rises above how many calories you get from food. This does not necessarily mean less FOOD but less CALORIES. Hamburger Helper is very energy dense. It has a lot of calories in relation to the amount of food you get. Crisp, refreshing veggies have very little energy for the amount of food you get. You can eat a lot of veggies and stay in the correct energy balance... granted you don't drown the veggies in dressing.

Say Joe's basal metabolic rate (BMR) is 2,000 kcal. His body uses 2,000 kcal of energy to function. This includes digestion, cell regeneration/maintenance, etcetera. This does not include movement. If he sits around all day and eats 2,500 kcal worth of Hamburger Helper. That gives him a 500 kcal surplus times 7 days per week equals 3,500 kcal per week which is equivalent to a GAIN of 1 pound per week. That 1 pound is a mix of fat and other tissue. The majority is probably fat but weight gain and loss is almost never 1 tissue or the other. It's a mix. 

Now let's say Joe's BMR is 2,000 kcal and his activity adds up to 500 kcal per day. That's 3,500 kcal deficit per week which is about 1 pound of weight loss. Let's say Joe sits around all day but only eats 1,500k cal per day. This is the same 3,500 kcal deficit per week. While do NO EXERCISE Joe still loses 1 pound per week. 

Here's the best scenario. Joe does 250 kcal worth of activity and eats 250 kcal less energy. That's a 500 kcal deficit per day; 3,500 kcal deficit per week. That's a very manageable 1 pound loss per week! 


Atkins. South Beach. Every diet is a strategy to get energy balance under control. They may say it's all about insulin. Insulin does play a role but it's not the end all be all. Macronutrient ratio, grams of carbs per day, healthy fat, protein, none of it matters unless you have your energy balance in order. Period. Not to say none of that is important or that it won't effect your progress but unless you've found a way to cheat physics, the calorie is king when it comes to weight management!