Banana Cinnamon Protein Pancakes

Makes: 8 Pancakes
Serving Size: 2 Pancakes (approx. 1/4 cup batter per pancake)
nutrition per serving
Calories: 194
Protein: 16 grams
Carbs: 22 grams
Fat: 4 grams
These banana pancakes are loaded with protein and whole grains and flavor. Whole wheat pastry flour gives a lighter texture than plain whole wheat flour. Share them with your kids for a nutritious breakfast.

Ingredients:

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour (can be found at whole foods or any health food store)
4 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder
½ cup (1 oz.) instant oats
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Splenda baking substitute
1/8 tsp. cinnamon (you may add more if you choose)
2 Extra Large Whole Eggs
8 oz. (1 cup) non fat milk
2 oz. of banana, mashed into a smooth puree
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Non-Fat Cooking Spray for Skillet/Pan
Preparation:

Combine all dry ingredients (first 7 ingredients) in a small bowl and stir well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining 4 ingredients (wet ingredients) lightly just until blended.
Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and fold until just incorporated (over mixing will cause pancakes to be flat and tough)
Heat skillet over medium/low and spray with Pam non-fat cooking spray.
When pan is hot, add ¼ cup batter at a time. Allow pancake to cook thoroughly on first side before turning (edges will firm and bubbles will appear across entire surface when it’s ready). Because there is protein powder added, they take longer to cook than regular pancakes. Flip when ready. Remove from pan.
What is the Balance?

These pancakes have a great balance of protein, carbohydrate and a very small amount of fat.

Nutritionist's Note:

You may want to add a few nuts to the batter or on top of the pancakes, or a small amount of Smart Balance margarine to increase the fat slightly.

Fattiest Foods in America!

By now, almost everybody knows that trans fats are the food additive that should rarely pass your lips. They add useless calories, build bad cholesterol (known as LDL), and lower your good cholesterol (known as HDL). The American Heart Association says you should only consume 2 grams or less of trans fats in our daily diets. (And we say less. Zero is a good number.)

So why on earth is trans fat still in food if it’s so terrible? Because even though trans fats may shorten your life, they actually add to the shelf life of baked goods, and keep the deep-fat fryers stoked batch after batch. Choosing between your personal health and their own financial health, some chain restaurants and food manufacturers go the wrong way.

Our mission: to raise the warning flag. Here’s a list of the worst trans fat transgressors. Put them on your do-not-eat list, and we’ll all feel a lot better.

TRANS FATTIEST BREAKFAST PASTRY
Cinnabon Classic Roll
5 g trans fat
813 calories
32 g fat

Eat these too often and you might have to be rolled out of the store. Not only do they serve a whopping 813 calories, but they’ll also set you back with a few days' worth of trans fats.

Eat This Instead:
Cinnabon Minibon Delight
300 calories
8 g fat (2 g trans fat)

This is the healthiest option on their menu, and it still has one day’s worth of trans fats. Offset your indulgence and help protect your ticker with these 10 foods that are great for your heart.


TRANS FATTIEST BISCUIT
Bob Evans Country Biscuit Breakfast
6 g trans fat
659 calories
45 grams fat

Beware of biscuits. Like deep-fried menu items, they should set off a trans fat alarm in your head. The lowliest lard keeps biscuits soft and tender. Of course, the fact that Bob’s trans fatty biscuit is drowned in gravy and cheese doesn’t help, either.

Eat this Instead:
Bowl of oatmeal and French Toast a la carte (1 slice)
303 calories
5 g fat (0 g trans fat)

The oatmeal will fill you up, so you won’t overindulge after the slice of toast. For 15 other tips for losing weight fast without sacrificing your favorite foods (or ever dieting again), learn these secret restaurant swaps!

TRANS FATTIEST FRENCH FRIES
Jack in the Box's large Natural Cut Fries
10 g trans fat
300 calories
33 g fat

Although most fast food restaurants have transitioned to trans-fat-free fryers, Jack in the Box hasn’t. Their large servings of natural cut fries and curly fries both pack more than 5 days' worth of dangerous fats. In fact, most of the items on their menu are riddled with more than a day’s serving of trans fats.

Eat this instead:
Jack in the Box Egg Roll (1)
130 calories
6 g fat (1 g trans fat)

The fruit cup and one egg roll are the only sides that do not have 2 or more grams of trans fats. If the fruit cup isn’t for you, limit yourself to one egg roll.

TRANS FATTIEST CHICKEN TENDERS
Dairy Queen Wild Buffalo Chicken Strip Basket (4 pieces)
11 g trans fat
870 calories
96 g fat

The Queen serves up another example of deep-fried danger. The nearly 100 grams of fat alone should deter you from ordering this basket of trouble. But the 4 strips also deliver more than 3 days' worth of trans fats. DQ stands for disqualified.

Eat this instead:
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
400 calories
16 g fat (0 g trans fat)

TRANS FATTIEST RESTAURANT ENTREE
Bob Evans Slow Roasted Chicken Pot Pie
13 g trans fat
908 calories
60 g fat

Trans fats happily make their home in crusts — like the one that surrounds this pot pie. Bob Evans is one of the worst trans fat offenders: many of their dishes contain two or three days' worth of trans fat. Down this pot pie and you’ll have consumed nearly a week’s trans fat quota.

Eat this instead:
Bob-B-Q Chicken
545 calories
14 g fat (0 g trans fat)


TRANS FATTIEST MILKSHAKE
Dairy Queen Large Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard
6 g trans fat
1,320 calories
52 grams fat

Treating yourself to ice cream now and then isn’t a problem. But if your frozen treat includes three days worth of trans fat, it’s time pick a new ice-cream parlor. (And make sure you avoid other drinkable disasters that might be on this indispensable 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America list!)

Eat this instead:
Small Artic Rush Slush
240 Calories
0 g fat (0 g trans fat)

Or try these 8 frozen desserts that won't wreck your waistline.

TRANS FATTIEST PANCAKES
Bob Evans Stacked & Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes
9 g trans fat
1,543 calories
77 g fat
Don’t be fooled by the bananas and pecans, which can be healthy on their own. But this dish delivers 3 days worth of trans fat, not to mention over half the recommended daily calorie intake.

Eat this instead:
Stuffed French Toast, No Topping
599 calories
20 g fat (0 g trans fats)

We don’t love the calorie count on this one, so you’re best off splitting this dish or taking half home. But it’s the only Bob Evans pancake or French toast meal that doesn’t slip you trans fats.

To discover other things restaurants might be surprising you with, make sure to check out these 16 secrets the restaurant industry doesn’t want you to know! It’ll help you save your waistline when you’re eating out.

And to avoid 22 other popular trans fat transgressors at your favorite fast-food and chain restaurants, check out this must-have list of big-name offenders. Don't leave home without it!

Know other tips, tricks, and tactics? Please share them with the rest of us here.

by: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/17837/the-fattiest-foods-in-america/

Globesity

From a book, that my friend read and passed along the info…very astonishing!

Obesity is a public health crisis. Do something about it! Change your lifestyle! Life is better when it is enjoyed, and you can raise and play with your children. When the cost of medical expenses drop because you are in a healthy state of mind! Don’t just do if for yourself, do it for others!
If Atlas were holding up the earth today, he’d better trust his loins to lift all the overweight people inhabiting the planet. For what surely must be the first of recorded history, demographers have determined that there are more overweight people living among us than those who are undernourished. One Billion adults are overweight, which 300 million are obese.

For thousands of years, our forebears lived out an existence that depended upon the sweat of their brow and whether or not nature provided bountiful crops at harvest time. Hunger was their constant companion, their frequent worry. I couldn’t imagine what went through the minds of desperate parents who held their starving children in their arms wondering what they were going to be able to feed them the next day.

The miracle of modernization has taken card of much of that problem. Too many people fall asleep each nigh with gnawing hunger and growling stomachs. One-Sixth of the global population has a different dilemma. They’re too big from gorging themselves with greasy, high-fat, low-nutrient, chemical-laced, mass produced foods. The global growth of industry and technology has led to an abundance of cheap, high calorie meals, unhealthy sugary snacks, and a steep decrease in physical activity, resulting in one of the most blatantly visible, yet most neglected, public health problem in the history of man kid.

Global obesity is becoming an epidemic. If things don’t change globesity could become as devastation just as malnutrition, especially to the economies of the poorest countries. In other words, the global Obesity epidemic could become more harmful to the world community than starvation.

What an astonishing turn of events. I can remember when My mother was reminding me to clean my plate because of the "Starving children in china," but she would have to amend her example if she were raising me today. Ten percent of city-dwelling Chinese children suffer from obesity….A number that’s increasing by a shocking eight percent a per year. In Japan, obesity in nine year olds has tripled. Twenty percent of the Australian Europe has tripled in the past two decades; half of all adults and 20 percent of all children are over weight!

The tentacles of globesity reach into every continent and grip every major city in the world. We’re seeing hundreds and hundreds of million consume western-like convenience foods, shift away from physically demanding jobs in agriculture, and devote their growing leisure time to watching TV and surfing the internet. They’re adopting this new lifestyle rather rapidly, unaware that they are putting themselves at risk for chronic diseases that could shave years off of their life’s. Fast food is everywhere in Belize, were eating "well "means eating like the American’s or the British…the greasy fried foods they see advertised on television.

Another telling example comes from the Japanese, who, after centuries of staying slim on a diet of fish, vegetables, seaweed, fermented soy, and rice, have developed a new millennium sweet tooth for the Krispy Cream doughnuts and cold stone creamery. When the Japanese McDonald’s introduced the Mega Mac, and four patty burger, they sold 1.7 million in four days.

The Japanese still have a long way to go before they catch up with us, though. Not only are we the fattest nation on earth, but we’re also ballooning to extremely obese proportions at an alarming rate. While most people have heard that two-thirds of American adults aged twenty years and older are overweight, the number of those who are extremely obese, has quadrupled since the 1980’s. Twenty years ago, one in two hundred adults were candidates to purchase two seats when traveling on southwest Airlines. Today that number is one in fifty.

If People keep gaining weight at the current pace in the U.S, 75 percent of U.S adults will be overweight and 41 percent obese by 2015, which is right around the corner.

Why People don’t lose their Fat!

1. Menu is too high in calories from calorie dense foods like snack foods, pizza, desserts, pasta, bread, and dairy products.

2. Activity and exercise levels are too low, or non-existent.

3. Slow Thyroid. About one in two Americans has an under active thyroid, mainly becuase of the foods they consume.

4. Fewer than 20 grams of protein are consumed for breakfast. Protein regulates insulin levels.

5. Too much fat is consumed. Butter, salad dressing, fried foods.

6. Too much sugar is consumed.

7. The heaviest meal is eaten at night rather than at breakfast.

8. Alcohol slows down the metabolism and is processed like sugar by the body.

9. Too few meals or calories are eaten per day.

10. To many in between snacks are consumed.

Most Important:

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

The Five Stages and Interesting some notes!

From Jordan Rubin's Desk:

I haven’t met a heavyset person who wouldn’t want to lose weight, but from my vantage point, many obese individuals harbor attitudes similar to the classic “five stages of grief,” as articulated by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her seminal book, On Death and Dying (Scribner, 1997).

The five stages are:
1. denial
2. anger
3. bargaining
4. depression
5. acceptance

I’m willing to wager that if you’re battling your weight, you could place yourself among one of those five descriptions. You could be denying that you’re really overweight, that all you have to do is set your mind one day to taking off those “extra” pounds on your waist and hips. You could be angry about your lackluster physical condition and appearance, harboring resentment that you’ve always been heavy or were born into a family that fed you crummy foods growing up. You could be at the bargaining stage where you’d do anything to lose weight—like undergo expensive gastric bypass surgery or take a pharmaceutical with dangerous and embarrassing side effects. You could be depressed and feel like you have no future . . . and no hope of reaching your perfect weight. Or you could be at the final and most dangerous stage—acceptance, a feeling that you’ll always be obese and there’s nothing you can do about it.

I’m seeing more evidence that being overweight is a societal norm among the cultural elite. Weight and body image issues are squeezing into college course catalogs as “fat studies” emerges into a growing interdisciplinary field in universities around the country. At Harvard, students can sign up for “Body Sculpting in America,” which examines the social and political consequences of being overweight. The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee offers a course called “The Social Construction of Obesity,” which is taught by Margaret Carlisle Duncan, a human movement sciences professor who challenges the alarmist message about the obesity epidemic in America.

Elsewhere, students on a dozen campuses are organizing groups that focus on promoting “fat acceptance.” One of those, Sheana Director, a San Diego State University graduate student, co-founded Size Matters to fight the prevailing attitude that being fat is a moral failing rather than the result of complicated factors. Ms. Director wants the freedom to say “I’m fat” with a sense of defiance and pride. I’m all for feeling good about yourself, but I’ve met far too many people who tell me they don’t feel much vitality when they’re so heavy that they can’t see their shoelaces. They are eating their way to an early grave in more ways than they realize.

For many with waistlines in the beer belly range, a sizable weight-loss industry has stepped into the vacuum, thanks to the insatiable appetite of more than 70 million Americans claiming to be on a diet at any one time. The U.S. weight-loss and diet control market tops $50 billion annually, according to Marketdata, a market research firm that has tracked diet products and programs since 1989. That works out to $136 million a day spent on the following:

• calorie-free soft drinks like Coke Zero allow dieters to continue sipping their favorite fizzy drinks without guilt. (I’ll have a lot to say about how unhealthy diet soft drinks are in Chapter 4, “Drink for Your Perfect Weight.”)

• books promising the “newest” approach to weight loss, plus a handful of perennial bestsellers: Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, The South Beach Diet, and Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Weight Solution: The Seven Keys to Weight Loss Freedom. Harvard Law School researcher Ethan Zuckerman, using sales rank data found on Amazon.com, estimates that nearly 11,000 books on dieting—with a value of $150,967.19—are purchased just on Amazon.com every day.

• medications like rimonabant (also known by its brand name Accomplia), which works on a newly discovered system in the brain that is involved in the motivation and control of the appetite. Other “fat-blocking” drugs for long-term obesity therapy—Xenical (orlistat) and Meridia (sibutramine)—inhibit the absorption of about 25 percent of fat that is consumed. A non-prescription version of Xenical called Alli hit the market in the summer of 2007, setting off a feeding frenzy in Southern California pharmacies, where it flew off the shelves in spite of a price tag of around $60 for a bottle of ninety capsules. You’re not going to like Alli’s notorious side effects, which include fecal urgency, loose stools, and gas with an oily discharge. Alli’s official website carries this ominous warning: “It’s probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work.”

• gastric bypass surgery, in which surgeons staple or bind the stomach with an adjustable band. This creates a small pouch able to hold only a few ounces of food. Celebrities such as singer Carnie Wilson, Today Show weatherman Al Roker, reality show star Sharon Osbourne, talk show host Star Jones Reynolds have sung the praises of this potentially dangerous surgery after shedding hundreds of pounds. “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson, who has advised less-than-svelte contestants that they might want to lose some weight, underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2003.

• commercial chains such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and NutriSystem, where dieters commit to “customized” diet plans. More than 7 million have signed up for these structured programs, which include “phone meetings” with a trained consultant as well as the consumption of diet meals purchased directly from the company.

• over-the-counter diet pills such as Xenadrine EFA, CortiSlim, One-A-Day WeightSmart, and TrimSpa, which are heavily advertised on television and radio and alluring ads in supermarket tabloids. They target the lose-weight-quick crowd with breathtaking copy describing how their “miracle ingredients” and “breakthrough formulas” are “clinically proven” and “guaranteed to work.” Anna Nicole Smith, before her untimely death, was a TrimSpa endorser who claimed that she was “hotter than ever” after “just twelve weeks” of taking the diet pill.

• diet food home delivery, where affluent dieters pay as much as $1,200 a month (per person!) for healthy meals to be delivered daily to their doorstep. A handful of companies such as ZoneChefs, Seed Live Cuisine, and Jenny Direct (part of Jenny Craig) are cashing in on this booming market.

• weight-loss summer camps for heavy teens, which are a predictable outgrowth of the childhood obesity problem in this country. These types of camps didn’t exist in my parents’ time because the demand wasn’t there. Today plump teens seek to turn their lives around at places like Camp La Jolla and Camp Shane.

Adults don’t have summer camps, although there are a number of discreet but expensive “fitness spas” (a description that sure sounds better than “fat farm”) that you can check yourself into if you have the time and the dinaro. In the world of weight loss, anything is possible if you have the money and the time.

Copyright ©2008 Jordan Rubin

Sweet Tea Sabotaging your Weight Goal!

From Jordan Rubin's Desk: I couldnt have said it better!

The same goes for slurping specialty coffees, sports drinks, fruit punch, and sodas. You can cut back on doughnuts and sweets in the break room, but if you’re sipping sweetened ice tea throughout the day, you’re moving further away from your perfect weight.

Let’s say you drink a 20-ounce serving of sweet tea, which is the summer beverage of choice in the Southeast where I live. Bingo, you’ve just consumed 240 calories—the same as cola. Some people drink sweet tea by the gallon, unaware that they’re ingesting nearly 1,500 calories a day that way!

Then there are the sugar-and-salt cocktails like Gatorade, which commands 80 to 90 percent of the sports drink market in America. As someone who attended Florida State University, I’ll be upfront about this: My feelings about Gatorade aren’t derived from the fact that this sports drink was invented at my rival school, the University of Florida, and was named after the Gator football team. I’d be saying the same thing if this stuff was called “Seminolade.”

My gripe with Gatorade is that it’s a combination of non-purified water, sucrose, glucose, fructose (which are nothing more than sugars), and artificial colors with some potassium and sodium (the “electrolytes”) thrown into the mix. In other words, Gatorade is artificially colored and flavored sugar water with a salty aftertaste. Contrary to their claims, I believe Gatorade and other power drinks do more harm than good. It would be better during workouts to consume natural mineral or spring water.

I’m also not a big fan of “fitness waters” like Propel, which, interestingly, was created by the makers of Gatorade. Propel is your basic H20 with four B vitamins and two antioxidants (vitamins C and E) added in various flavors: lemon, orange, and berry.

In case you’re wondering how a manufacturer can pour additives into water and still call it “water,” the International Bottled Water Association (yes, there is one) decided that if the additives don’t add up to more than 1 percent by weight of the final product, then it can still be sold as “water.” I’m still shaking my head how a product with four grams of sugar in each bottle gets to stand on the same shelf as bottled water, but that’s America for you. When it comes to something as basic as water, you should accept no imitations. I hate to see such a wonderfully healthy resource perverted, so to speak, to satisfy our taste buds.

Water is an overlooked resource by those seeking to lose weight. Many times dieters, I’ve found, confuse hunger and thirst. They think they’re hungry when actually they’re dehydrated. Drinking fluids will not only hydrate the body for all the good reasons I’ve just described, but it will put a damper on those hunger pains coming from the pit of the stomach.

A good rule of thumb is to drink a half-ounce of water daily for every pound you weigh. In other words, if you weigh 200 pounds, then try to drink 100 ounces of water throughout the day, which is around 12 glasses.

If you’re trying to reach your perfect weight and get hungry, drink an eight-ounce glass of water. You also find that drinking a glass a half hour before lunch or dinner will act like a governor on an engine, taking the edge off your hunger pangs and preventing you from raiding the fridge or pillaging the pantry.

Copyright ©2008 Jordan Rubin

Alternatives and food tips.

Hey there all!
I kinda wanna hit on diet tips for normal everyday people, because I always talk about competition diets. Before I started to diet for competing I lost a lot of inches by making little changes or replacing things with alternatives. Here are some of them and a look at my normal day of eating.

Ezekiel/spelt Bread: found in the frozen foods section. Instead of using whole wheat bread or multigrain bread I swtiched to ezekiel bread. I used it for sandwhiches, pb and j's etc...

Ezekiel Noodles/spelt: I used this for speghetti. (easy recipe: ground beef cooked up with garlic, onion, salt and pepper, ezekeil noodles, tomato sauce....greeeeat speghetti!)

Natural sandwich meat: I used natural, organic turkey meat for my sandwhiches.

Fat free cheese: I used fat free cheeses in my sandwhiches.

Chips: If I ate chips I ate baked lays or veggie chips.

Tofu: I used tofu in my second meal shake for a "fluffiness" to keep my stomach full for 3 hours.

Almonds: I put a hand full of almonds into my second meal shake for good fats and a nutty flavor.

Fiber: I added about 10 grams more fiber into my diet. (Enzymatics strawberry fiber)

Green Vibrance: I added a green super food called Green Vibrance to my diet. I mixed it with my fiber in mid-day and at my last meal.

Parasite Cleanse: I did a parasite cleanse and actually removed alot of toxins in my body and it helped me digest and absorb everything so much better! I even lost a couple of pounds!

Now what my daily eating habits were from Oct. 2007-Jan. 2008 where I lost 3 inches off my waist:

Meal 1: Protein shake with 1/2 cup of oatmeal or 1 egg 2 egg whites with 4 slices of turkey bacon and 1/2 cup of oatmeal.

Meal 2: Protein shake with 1 scoop of protein, 4 rice cakes, some tofu a hand full of almonds

Meal 3: Turkey sandwhich with 4 slices of turkey, fat free cheese, spicy brown mustard in between two toasted piece of ezekiel bread. A hand full of veggie chips are optional. (greens and fiber)

Meal 4: Same as meal 3. Unless I was training and then it was a protein shake with an apple after my work out.

Meal 5: Turkey chili with a piece of toast, or ground beef on top of a baked potato with fat free cheese, organic butter and a bit of salt. (greens and fiber)

This diet was done while I was in school full time, working 20 + hours a week, and training for muscle gains.

Chicken Marinade, Chocolate, and stuffsss....

Well, I have found a marinade that I love! And in 12 weeks havent gotten tired of it !

-KC Masterpiece Honey Teriyaki! Marinade over night and bar-b-que or bake.

What tides me over till cheat day when that chocolate urge hits:

-Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding

Easy brown rice:

-MINUTE Ready to Serve Brown Rice
(Easy Recipe: Combine the brown rice and Starkist Herb and Garlic tuna, heat and eat!)

My Goal for those that want to compete!

Hey everyone!

Well I do have a goal with my blogs, like this one here and the one on blogger (www.nu-ufitness.blogspot.com) but...before that a story...
When I first started getting into fitness and wanting to lose weight, tone up , see my abs etc... I had no clue where to start. I did a fitness model search and came across some profiles on here, on the web in general, and on myspace. I emailed most of them to get feed back and either never heard anything in response or go some advice but they would neeeever really tell me what they did for their work outs and what they ate, how they ate it etc... So with little to no knowledge I went into dieting and exercising...thinking and going off of what those people told me. To me exercise was running and doing crunches, and good/ healthy food was quesadillas and raisin bran! With that I never really saw results and I wanted it so bad that I went into a tail spin for the worse and ended up becoming bulimic.

The point of this story is to say that I want to be a person that has no fear or insecurity about telling people how I got the body I have, because in all honesty the people that I tell actually have to apply the information from my blog to see the results they want. I want others to see what goes into a competitor/models daily regime, workouts, and diet so they dont end up like me and then fiiiinally after 2 1/2 years figuring out that they were going about it the completely wrong way!

I hope that my blogs bring insight and knowledge to those that are just starting out, or others that want to compete. That is my goal... to help and inspire! Not lead on and flaunt what I have for nothing.

God Bless and take care of those bodies and stay natural! Be smart and there really isn't an "easy" button when it comes to competing!

Meagan

Weekly Food Diary for 8-3-08

Hey Bloggers!
My nutritionist decided to bump my calories up since we have an extra 2 weeks for the North American Championships!! SOOO for one week I will be less sleepy and be able to hit it up harder in the gym! He added fruit and some extra carbs. Proteins and fats stay the same as last week. As well as cardio.


Meal 1:

Protein powder 1 1/2 scp
Oatmeal 1/2 cup
Fruit 3 oz (I choose kiwi because they are really good!)
Flax Oil 1 tsp

Meal 2:

Chicken 5 oz
Sweet Potato 2 oz
Green Veggies
Flax Oil 1 tsp

Meal 3:

Post work out
Protein powder1 1/2 scp
Rice Cakes 2

Non Workout Day
Chicken 4 oz
Br. Rice 1/2 oz
Green Veggies
Flax Oil 1 tsp

Meal 4:

Chicken 5 oz
Sweet Potato 1 1/2 oz
Green Veggies
Fish Oil 1 tsp

Meal 5:

Lean Beef or Chicken 5 oz
Greens Veggies


1242 calories
163 grams of protein
89 grams of carbs
26 grams of fat

10 sessions of cardio at 50 minutes each.

Activia for 10 days...try Fiber and Enzymes, they work a lot faster!

So,
I was about to take a well needed nap when the Activia yogurt commercial came on and talked about how it can regulate your digestive tract in 10 days. Well, why not spend less time and money and not get as much sugar and preservatives and go for the natural fiber and enzymes that are needed by the body to help your digestive system and get you going in 12-24 hours!??

Why?? Because people don't know. They dont know that they dont get enough fiber in their diet with the processed, empty calorie foods and their metabolic digestive enzymes are depleting because of that food as well.

Here is a solution, find a fiber that works for you because everyone's body is different (I use Enzymatics Fiber in the strawberry flavor). In the beginning, get atleast 20-25 grams of that fiber and drink lots water at room temperature but this is a suggestion, if you want follow the directions on the container . Take digestive enzymes as they are directed; I have found that taking one with everymeal, especially if you eat late, helps tremendously!

Here is a little bit more about why enzymes are important and very overlooked!

Although systematic and digestive enzymes are absolutely vital to human health, you hardly ever heard of them in the dietary supplement industry until recently. I've found them to offer more benefits than almost any other supplements I've taken, and are an integral part of any effective colon or liver and cleansing program.
Just what makes them so important?

Essentially, every metabolic process in the body requires the catalytic action of enzymes. They're involved with digestion (obviously), breaking down and digesting the food we eat in order to release the nutrients they contain. But enzymes also play a key roll in the immune system, the circulatory system, the liver, kidneys, spleen and pancreas, and even our ability to see, breathe and think.

Every organ and gland in your body has a set of enzymes unique to itself. One researcher found over 98 enzymes carrying out metabolic functions in the arteries alone. Pretty much the same is true all all body tissues. (That's why I've found the use of glandular and organ tissue supplements for helpful.)

Where do we get our enzymes ?
Some of the enzymes we need are present in the foods we eat. (At least they're supposed to be.) Some are synthesized by the body itself.
However, when our food provides us with insufficient levels of enzymes, our bodies must produce its own. In the case of digestive enzymes, the need to — in effect — overproduce the enzymes needed to fully digest our food limits our ability to produce enough metabolic enzymes to carry out other body functions, including the clearing of our blood stream of foreign proteins, balancing fibrin in the blood and detoxification of the tissues.

Our enzyme-depleted diet:
Unfortunately, in our modern world, most of the foods we have available to us are enzyme-deficient, and are then processed and prepared in a manner that renders them all but dead and inert. What do we do to our foods to turn them into toxic waste?
· Chemical cultivation: When foods are grown in an artificial environment of chemicals, their enzyme content is all but destroyed. Add to this the fact that most of our seed is hybrid for production, not food content, and we start out in quite a hole.
· Heat: Enzymes start breaking down at 118 degrees F., and are totally destroyed at 129 degrees F. So many of our foods are super-heated during cooking, it's no wonder they're enzyme-deficient.
· Modern processing: The standard processing methods of pasteurization, sterilization, canning, freezing and microwaving all render enzymes inactive.
Early signs of enzyme deficiency:
Some of the early signs of enzyme deficiency include:
· obesity;
· digestive complaints; heartburn; gas; bloating; stomach aches;
· diarrhea; constipation;
· fatigue; chronic fatigue;
· headaches;
· yeast infections;
· nutritional deficiencies;
· pain; joint stiffness;
· colon, liver, pancreas and intestinal problems;
· skin eruptions, psoriasis, eczema.
To this list you could add cardiovascular problems and even cancer; and an enzyme deficiency might very well play a roll in such diseases as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, MS and other disorders that are becoming so prevalent today.

The need for enzyme supplementation:
Given the manner in which our food is grown and brought to market, is it really realistic to think that we can get the enzymes we need from our foods?
Not really.
Therefore, it really is important to supplement your diet with enzymes.

Guide to Fast Food

I hope that you find this guide useful and that it assists you in reaching your fitness and health goals. Although it is usually better to prepare your own meals to fit your lifestyle, there are times when we have to dine out. Hopefully, you will be better equipped to make informed decisions on what foods you should eat when you are in that position. Remember that most foods at restaurants are processed, full of empty calories from preparation, and most will make you fat! Below are some tips on eating out, tips to help you avoid dining out, and some nice choices for when you do eat out. Good luck!

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 or choose a vinegarette dressing (your best choice).
- 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.

Wendy’s (www.wendys.com)
Mandarin Chicken Salad
400 calories
27g protein
40g carbs
14g fat

Large Chili
300 Calories
25g protein
31g carbs
7g fat

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

Burger King (www.burgerking.com)
Fire Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad (w/fat free honey mustard dressing)
250 calories
20g protein
27g carbs
10g fat

Chicken Whopper (no mayo)
410 calories
38g protein
48g carbs
7g fat

Taco Bell (www.tacobell.com)
Chicken Ranchero Taco (Fresno Style)
170 calories
12g protein
20g carbs
4g fat
Pintos and Cheese
180 calories
10g protein
20g carbs
7g fat

Subway/Quizno’s/Schlotzki’s/Blimpie
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 (www.mcdonalds.com)
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (Newman’s Own Low Fat Vinegarette)
240 calories
29g protein
13g carbs
9g fat

Chicken McGrill
345 calories
27g protein
47g carbs
4.5g fat

Taco Cabana (www.tacocabana.com)
¼ Grilled Chicken White (No Skin)
167 calories
35g protein
0g carbs
1.7g fat

Chicken Fajita Meat (white)
- Avoid the sour cream and cheese!
190 calories
30.4g protein
3.2g carbs
6.2g fat

Tortilla (1ea)
129 calories
3.2g protein
21.7g carbs
3.3g fat

Borracho Beans
108 calories
4g protein
17g carbs
2.5g fat

Refried Beans
171 calories
7g protein
21g carbs
6g fat

Whataburger (www.whataburger.com)
Grilled Chicken Sandwich (Special Request - small bun, no bun oil, w/MLT)
334calories
28g protein
37g carbs
8g fat

Chick-Fil-A (www.chickfila.com)
Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich
410 Calories
28g Protein
38g Carbs
13g Fat

Char grilled Chicken Sandwich (no sauce, no bacon)
270 calories
28g protein
33g carbs
3.5g fat

Easy, quick, tasty meals!!

Healthy Pizza:
Wheat Hoggie Loaves, or if you can find them in spelt or ezekiel bread thats even better.
Marinara sauce or pizza sauce
Fat free or low fat mozzerella Cheese
Organic Turkey sandwhich meat

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Cut the Hoggie Buns in half length ways
Get a baking sheet and spray non stick spray on the bottom
Place the Hoggie Buns on the baking sheet
Spead the sauce on top of bread
Spread cheese on top of sauce
cut the turkey meat and put it on top of the cheese
Place in oveen for 15 minutes and you have a quick easy healthy meal!

Healthy Speghetti:
Ezekiel/Spelt Noodle (make sure you read the directions for cooking, they cook a lot faster than white noodles)
Organic tomato sauce
Lean ground beef or turkey

Place meat in pan, season it and cook it as ground, not into patties
While the meat is cooking, cook noodles.
When the meat and noodles are done put the meat into the noodles and open the can of tomato sauce and pour in all together, mix and enjoy!
(You can also add in veggies such as squash, zucchinni, onion, garlic etc.)

Healthy Sandwhiches:
Ezekiel/Spelt bread
Fat free cheese
Spicy mustard
Organic turkey meat or chicken
Turkey bacon (optional if you would like to make a BLT)
Veggies

Ezekiel bread and Spelt are better toasted, so toast bread, stack on ingredients and enjoy!
If you like chips, stick with your veggie chips from central market or baked lays!

Diet Tips for a leaner Nu-er you!!

Here are some noteworthy diet tips:
-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.

-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 your 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.

-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 1g per pound of bodyweight.

-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.

-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! WHICH:
- 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 your not spiking your insulin.
- It 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.
- You know that if you get hungry, 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 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 on that. 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.