“Yes, that’s probably the best thing you can do at this point, and I wouldn’t feel good unless we know for sure what’s going on. Besides it’s probably nothing…” Said my doctor as he stood up from his stool and walked towards the door.

“I want you to go see a specialist at the hospital down in Kent, here’s all the details.” He handed me a pad of paper and sent me on my way.

Let’s back up a second. How did I get here? And why am I only 20 years old and being told to go get a CAT Scan?

It all started when I was working out at my University’s gym, I had begun to really pile on the weight to my squat routine. And I was very happy because I was powering through some intense sessions and having a great time doing it too. That is until… My head started hurting… And not just hurting, but, in the middle of a really heavy squat all of a sudden a sharp pain would spike across the top of my head and sear into my temples. Next, a compressing and severe pressure would take it’s place and then the world would begin to darken and get hazy really fast.

The pain and haziness wouldn’t stop for a good 10-15 minutes afterwards, and then I would just have a dull headache for sometimes hours afterwards.

I thought that it would eventually stop doing this, and that I could get back into my normal workout routine. But every time I would squat, there would come that skull crushing headache.

One of my workout partners saw how much pain I was in and suggested I go to a doctor.

That’s where the CAT Scan came in… and I thought that was the scary part…
The results of the CAT Scan is what you, and I, and everyone reading this should be scared about.

What caused the headaches?

Well according to my specialist after looking at the scan, he determined that the heavy weight combined with the way I was placing the squat bar across my back was causing extreme muscle cramping which in turn was causing extreme headaches. “WHEW!” I thought to myself, because I knew that could be easily fixed by altering my workout form.

But the bad news was when he showed me the pictures…

“You see this?” My doctor said as he pointed to the CAT Scan of my skull and moved his finger down to the base of my skull.

“That white area right there is an abnormal amount of plaque building up in your arteries, and we can even see it up here in the CAT Scan. That’s not a good sign. And in fact you have the arteries of someone 30 years older than you who does not watch what they eat.”

He went on to say that if I wasn’t careful, that this would most likely kill me, and do it pretty quickly at that.

Hearing those words scared the living daylights out of me. And honestly I didn’t really know what to do. All my specialist said was to get my cholesterol levels figured out by getting a blood test and then work from there.

I never did get my cholesterol checked, maybe because I was scared to see the results.
But no one gave me any real reason why this happened, and no doctor gave me any real actionable advice on how to fix it, they only wanted me to get more tests.

I thought, what the heck, I’ll take matters into my own hands and try and figure out why I have this crazy plaque build-up and see how I can fix it.

At the time I was attending a 4 year University program and had access to the library and the infinite resource of the internet, so I started scouring everything I could get my hands on. Prior to this I had very little experience with nutrition, and this was my big wake up call.

In the process of tracking down what might have caused the plaque build up I learned a lot about general nutrition as well, and this initial research process was the first step to how I got hooked on nutrition and fitness. (But that’s another story)

In the end it all became very obvious that the majority of the foods I was eating since I began college not only contained trans fats… but that they were basically drenched in trans fats. I was living in a fraternity house, and we had hired out a cook to make food for us. My University was in a small town, and not a lot of people were available for the job, so we took what we could get. And what we got was a cook who completely forgot that there was a stove, oven, and range, she only paid close attention to the deep fat fryers.

And that’s what we mainly got. Deep fat fried food.

Fries, chicken fingers, jo-jo’s, cheese sticks, and when people felt goofy, they’d even throw in apples, or snickers bars. Basically, you name it, and it was deep fat fried. And I checked the ingredients of the deep fat fryer grease, which came in big cardboard boxes with plastic lining with a nozzle that would pop out. Anyhow, the ingredients list was simply trans fats, and nothing more. Eww!

When our cook didn’t deep fat fry our food, then she usually chose something with a high concentration of margarine which is also code for trans fats. Our margarine would come in those huge yellow tubs and she would just slather it onto bread like it was going out of style. She would throw it on the grill and coat grilled cheese sandwiches with it. We went through the margarine fast.

And our menu didn’t change much, it was just recycled trans fat fried or trans fat slathered food.

Now… I’m not a picky eater, so I didn’t really complain, and in fact I kind of enjoyed some of those meals. But I didn’t realize they were slowly killing me.
You see, trans fats are actually designed by humans, and are not naturally occurring. They were created to use in food so that you can increase the shelf life of packaged foods. The reason why trans fats increase the shelf life is because they don’t really decompose like normal fats do. And that’s a problem.

Because trans fats don’t behave like normal fats, your body can’t really metabolize them very well, and they end up padding your arteries. And that is not fun, for you, or anyone. In fact it’s downright dangerous and scary.

As soon as I figured this out… well… I instantly stopped eating the same foods. And I was cooking lots of my own meals and skipping out on the normal fraternity food game.

In a way you could say that working out may have saved my life because if I hadn’t had those crazy headaches… then I may have never found out about my arteries being so clogged.

And I’m happy to report that I actually did finally get my cholesterol levels checked about a year ago, and they are in a wonderful range. All thanks to proper knowledge about nutrition, proper exercise, and having a little fun too.

Don’t misunderstand me, I still eat “bad” or “junk” food, I think there is a time and place for everything. I think in moderation most things are just great, and truthfully I think I might go a little insane without a few treats here and there. But at least I understand the balance now, and I’m able to use it to my advantage and have fun.

In fact I’m going out to my parents place for dinner tonight, and I’m eating some pizza!

Trans fat FREE pizza!

So how would you like to transport yourself back in time to when working out was actually fun.

Would you believe me if I told you that you can probably remember a time where working out wasn’t huffing, puffing, and secretly wishing you could just stop, go home, and just relax. Instead, back in this time you actually worked out while laughing, smiling, and were genuinely happy.

Would you be happy if we could bring that back for you?

Well, there’s a lot of ways to accomplish that goal, but one way that seems to make a lot of people very happy is hula hooping.

Yes you did read that right, you can in fact lose weight by hula hooping.

You might be asking yourself, “but how can I lose weight from hula hooping?” We’ll get to that in a minute, but first I want to clear up a few quick things first…

We’re not just talking about your “average” hula hoop. Hula hooping has reached a whole new level with the invention of the “weighted” hula hoop.

But why in the world would you want to have a weighted hula hoop? I mean that could hurt someone right? I bet you can just imagine hearing a “whoops!” followed by a 15 pound hula hoop wizzing across the room. That’s not a game of catch you want to play!

But all kidding aside…

The advantage to the added weight is that it’s actually easier to keep momentum with the hoop, which makes it easier to keep the hoop centered on your body. It also makes the experience more of a physical workout because you’re essentially turning hula hooping into a resistance exercise, similar to lifting weights. In addition, the constant movement you must maintain to keep the hula hoop spinning makes this an aerobic activity as well, which burns calories, and can lead to weight loss.

To boil it down, with the new weighted hula hoops you are combining both weight training and aerobic training at the same time. And hopefully you’re having fun while you’re doing it too.

Although you can hula hoop in the privacy of your own home, by doing your own thing, or buying a DVD for a routine, but hula hoop classes are also beginning to spring up around the nation. So you can also take classes for added motivation and a community atmosphere.

But what areas of my body does hula hooping work out?

The answer to that question is “where do you want it to work out?”

Hula hooping can be applied to almost every area of your body. For example, you can do the traditional hula hoop “move” by spinning the hoop around your waist. This will help tighten and tone your midsection or your “core” (your abs and lower back areas.) Spinning around your midsection also works to tighten and tone your glutes.

You can also spin the hula hoop around your, arms (this works your shoulders) or you can spin around your forearms (this works your biceps and triceps.) There are many more advanced “moves” you can do to work out your legs. Changing the position and angle of your limbs works different areas of your muscles as well.

Instructors in local classes can be a wealth of knowledge on how to get the most out of your hula hooping, and I know that there are some great DVD’s you can buy from your favorite store. We can’t personally recommend any of them because we haven’t reviewed them. We don’t feel comfortable giving recommendations on products we have little experience with, I hope you don’t mind.

Hula hooping does not have to be the only exercise you use in your “bag of tricks” but it can be a great way to spice up and add variety to your fitness plan.

The more fun you can have, the more progress you’ll see in the long run.

But to answer the question “Can I lose weight from hula hooping?” I would say, yes you can lose weight from hula hooping. Why? Because it’s both a resistance, and aerobic activity, and it has the potential to burn calories as well as helping to preserve lean muscle mass.

Ultimately, remember, regardless of the workout plan you choose to follow, you’ll always have to combine it with a great diet program as well. 80% of all your results will come from your diet, and 20% will be a result of your workout plan.

Remember, if you’re curious, you can get customized and free diet programs created for you in just a few seconds with our program OK-Cal.

To download your free copy of OK-Cal today, just Click here.

Enjoy OK-Cal, hula hooping, and remember to have fun!

If you aren’t willing to read the book and, or put any real effort into getting in shape, then this book will probably sit on your computer and never do you any good. It’s full of great advice that if read, and use, can help you get in shape extremely fast, and very safely.

Tom does not hold much back in this book, and Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle is a very comprehensive read. It covers everything from mindset, to diet, to exercise, and even supplements. The quality of this information much better than I’ve seen in your average bookstore.

I’ve personally had Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle for just about 2 years now, and I’ve made sure not to delete it from my computer. I really believe that the information is great, and can be an incredible resource for many years to come.

The only real section of this book that I could ever see going out of date is the suppliments section, but even that would probably take many years before the industry would change enough to out date the information in the book.

So, is Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle Good?

Yes, Burn The Fat really cuts through the fat and delivers solid, real, actionable, and results driven advice. This book does not give you a bunch of fluff to pump you up, get you motivated, and then let you down. Burn The Fat is the real deal, and it definitely gets YummyFitness’ recommendation.

Click here to download Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle and Get Started Today.

Here’s a quick video review done by me.

Click here to download Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle and Get Started Today.

I’m not going to string you along here, I’ll just tell you. Here it is… eat enough protein.

Now that sounds too easy right? But it’s really one of the most effective ways to answer the question “how to lose weight and stay toned.”

Lean muscle is created by protein, and it is your lean muscle that keeps the undersides your arms firm, and prevents them from waving back and forth without your permission. Many people, when trying to lose weight, cut out a lot of their protein sources and when dieting choose salads and vegetables as their main source of nutrition. As a result many good protein sources are left out.

The best protein source I have found when trying to lighten up have been egg whites because they are almost 100% protein, and are absorbed very well by your body. Honestly, they get really old after a while, but I have found some creative tasty recipes to make them more appetizing. One of them is a great protein packed and tasty egg white quiche, it’s really easy to make and is great for weight loss. (I’ll probably show you how to make it in a future video recipe, so be on the lookout.)

I also am a big fan of yoghurt, not the super sugary high calorie yoghurts, but the more natural corn syrup free variety. The brand I love the most only has 110 calories and about 7 grams of protein. If you are careful you will notice even the organic varieties often contain corn syrup, not that there is anything wrong with this, but I have noticed it tends to make foods have more calories. Calories are unfortunately something that has to be managed if you want to lose weight, and the more food I can eat the happier I am, so I pay attention to the “empty” calories my food contains.

The amount of protein you need to have in your diet varies on your weight. You should try to consume as many grams of protein a day as you weigh in pounds. For example, if you weigh 134 pounds you should try to get 134 grams of protein a day, that’s about 536 calories. The great thing about protein is that most high protein foods are very filling.

Whey protein shakes are another great way and easy way to get your protein in. Better quality mixes have at least 20 grams of protein and less than 100 calories. Low fat cottage cheese with some mandarin oranges or blueberries is also a great option, because cottage cheese is very high in protein and when it’s mixed with fruit it usually tastes great as well.

It is important to find creative ways to get protein into your diet. Even combining flavorless protein powder into recipes like banana bread, or possibly even brownies could potentially be a healthy protein packed treat.

In addition to getting your protein and calories right, adding a moderate weight resistance routine can really help turbo charge your results. The reason why is because adding resistance to your muscles by either lifting weights, doing yoga, Pilates, or anything similar will trigger your body to use all that protein you’re eating even better. Adding a resistance training program will really start toning, and tightening up all those flabby areas much faster.

Losing weight is challenging and frustrating at times, but it is important to keep it healthy. Starving yourself will not work if your goal is long term. Proper nutrition and a well balanced lifestyle are important factors. Enough protein in your diet, and a simple walk, hike or bike ride can do wonders if done consistently, burning extra unwanted calories and keeping at it will start showing results before you know it.

The key is staying consistent and actually paying attention to how many calories and how much protein is in your foods (as well as carbohydrates, and fat.) Our free diet creation tool called OK-Cal figures out all those details for you, and helps you stay on track. So you don’t need to know everything about how to lose weight and stay toned, our free diet creation tool does that for you. Click here to download OK-Cal now.

Ingredients: (Makes 8 servings)

• 1 Tbsp Milk
• 1 Egg
• 1 1/4 cup Applesauce (Unsweetened)
• 1/2 Cup Mashed Banana
• 3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Scoops Protein Powder (Flavorless or vanilla) (The protein is optional)
• 1/2 Cup Xylitol (For more information about xylitol visit this site)
• 1 Tablespoon Honey Crystals (or your choice of sugar)
• 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preparation:

Mix together all dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix together all wet ingredients. Pour all wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, then mix together well.

Pour the mix into a baking dish.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake anywhere from 35 minutes to 50 minutes depending on how deep the dish you use is. You can tell this is done by sticking a toothpick into the bread. If the toothpick comes out dry, then the bread should be done.

Take out, let cool and enjoy!

This bread should be kept in the refrigerator, and is best eaten fresh. It’s a very moist banana bread recipe for how little fat it has, and it’s best when it’s warm.

Nutritional Information: (per serving)

Calories: 98
Protein: 8 grams
Carbohydrates: 15 grams
Fat: Less than 1gram

Watch the video below to see how to make this banana bread.

They really just want you to buy their food, they don’t care if it’s going to make you gain weight or lose weight they just want your money.

Now whether this is a good thing or bad thing that’s completely up to you to decide, but I thought that you might want to know what to look out for and what to avoid if you’re trying to lose weight. So I’ve compiled a list of the 10 top foods that are labeled healthy but really you want to avoid or at least only eat in limited quantities.

The foods listed below could be the difference between you losing weight or gaining weight at a rapid pace.

Okay so on to the list.

Offender #1: Peanut butter

Many people think that peanut butter is a “wonder food” and that it’s very healthy, especially if you get the organic or natural peanut butter. I won’t argue with the health benefits of peanut butter, it is a good fat and it does have some protein, but people don’t realize that peanut butter has huge amount of calories and the calories are completely disproportionate to the amount of protein that peanut butter actually has.

For example, only one cup of smooth peanut butter has 1,571 calories in it, that’s about half a pound of pure body fat! And for those 1,571 calories you’ll only be getting 65 g of protein. Compare that with the same amount of protein from a chicken breast, which would be around 300 calories.

So you might want to rethink how much peanut butter you’re eating in a day and if you’re mysteriously gaining weight you might want to cut it out completely.

Offender #2: Salads

How many times have you heard that salads are great for you when trying to lose weight? Well, when done right this can be true, however if you’re getting a salad at a restaurant, or at the store, you might want to check and see the nutritional information on that salad because most likely it has a ton of fat in it from the dressing, cheese and other random tidbits they put in there.

I’ve seen salads that are in excess of 1,000 calories per serving, and that can do some serious damage to your weight loss program.

Offender #3: Extra virgin olive oil

This offender has gotten a lot of publicity lately, many people think that extra virgin olive oil is the “holy grail” of good fats, and that you should use it in cooking almost in any opportunity that you get. Would it surprise you to know that 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil has an average of 1,910 calories? And one tablespoon has about 120 calories.

That means for about two tablespoons of olive oil you can do just about as much damage as eating a serving of some brands of ice cream.

Also extra virgin olive oil oxidizes much quicker under high heat when cooking than normal olive oil. Most cooks would tell you to use olive oil rather than extra virgin olive oil when cooking under high heat. But even olive oil won’t save you from the calories, because olive oil is just about the same as extra virgin olive oil in regard to calories.

Offender #4: Juice

Most people think that juice is really good for them, especially juices like orange juice, grapefruit juice, and apple juice.

From a weight loss perspective drinking 12 ounces of raw orange juice can actually be worse than drinking a soda. Why? because for 12 ounces of raw orange juice you’re looking at around 155 calories and an average soda is around 120 to 130 calories.

Also orange juice, grapefruit juice, apple juice, basically any juice is pure sugar and it’s going to react just about the same way as any sugar will react in your body. So drinking a Coke or a glass of orange juice is going to do about the same damage to your weight loss results.

Also take a look at a lot of the juice that you see on the shelf. Most of them are actually blends of other juices, and most have apple juice as the primary ingredient, even if it’s labeled as something like “cranberry juice.” Also note that lot of juices include a ton of refined sugar as well.

Be very careful with juices, my personal recommendation is, if you’re going to drink juice, try adding just a few ounces of juice in your cup and then fill up the rest with water or sparkling water to make it more interesting. That will keep the calories way down, and still retain a lot of the flavor.

Offender #5: Whole wheat

It seems like there’s a big push in the marketing world right now to sell products by labeling them as whole wheat. On the grocery shelfs we see whole wheat flour, whole wheat bread, whole wheat cereal, etc.

I agree that whole wheat is better for you than refined wheat from a nutritional standpoint, when it comes to vitamins and minerals, and it can digest a bit slower in your system which makes your body have less of an insulin spike, and that can be good for keeping your blood sugar levels even.

But when it comes to weight loss, whole wheat and refined wheat, are pretty much the same. Often whole wheat actually has more calories than the refined wheat. So ultimately, at the end of the day, pay attention to the calories on the back of the box or the package. Because even if it’s whole wheat it’s not going to specifically help you with your weight loss if you are going over your calorie limit for the day.

One thing to especially look out for are whole wheat bagels. Whole wheat bagels (or bagels and general) can pack from 600-800 calories per bagel so be very careful and wary of those.

Offender #6.) Low glycemic foods

Just because something says low glycemic does not necessarily mean that it’s going to help you lose weight. Low glycemic has become kind of a “buzzword” in the weight loss industry right now.

What does low glycemic really mean? Basically it means that it takes longer to digest in your system and it releases energy slower into your body. This makes it so your blood sugar levels stay more level and that your insulin levels and don’t spike like they can if you eat refined sugars like candy, juice, soda, white bread, etc.

Many people speculate that by keeping your insulin levels stable then you’ll be able to burn off fat easier. They believe that while your insulin levels are “spiked” that your body holds on to fat, and can’t burn it off of you.

Regardless of if this is true or not, even if you only eat low glycemic foods all day long, if you go over your calorie limit you will still gain weight. Many bodybuilders purposefully gain weight while using low glycemic foods, so it is a well-known fact that low glycemic foods do not cause you to lose weight. Still, some people feel that it might help you gain a slight edge while trying to lose weight, provided you stay within your calorie limits.

So the bottom line is make sure that you still are checking the calories on anything this is low glycemic. Just because it’s low glycemic doesn’t mean automatic weight loss.

Offender #7.) “All natural” sodas

I see these around all the time. People buying them and drinking them, they’ll often think that they’re doing something good for themselves and they say, “Oh, it’s all natural; it’s got to be good.”

Most of the time these people are trying to lose weight but they don’t realize even though their soda is “all natural” it’s usually the soda company’s way of hiding the fact that there’s still a ton of sugar in the drink. They just used “natural sugar” not “refined sugar.”

Usually the “natural sugar” they use is use “cane sugar” but if you really think about it… most sugar is cane sugar, even refined sugar.

Think about it, where do you get sugar from? “Sugar cane” right?
So think twice about the marketing trick of “all natural cane sugar.”

Plus most “natural sodas” have the same amount of calories as “average” sodas so if you really want to drink something, from a calorie perspective they’re both about the same.

Offender #8.) Organic packaged foods

Personally, I try and get as much food as I can organically. I’d like to avoid all the pesticides and unnecessary chemicals I can in the foods I eat, plus sustainable farming is a good thing. But those are the only reasons why I eat organically.

Organic does not mean “lose weight” or “gain weight.” Organic is simply better farming practices, on average, and better quality of food. You can gain or lose as much weight with organic food as you can with any other food.

At the end of the day it comes down to calories, and you’d be surprised a lot of times organic foods have higher calories then this same foods that are not organic.

For example, just because it’s an organic pizza doesn’t mean that it’s better for losing weight then a “not organic” pizza.

Just make sure you do your research and actually look on the back of the package and compare and contrast, don’t just jump in blindly to a food because is organic and think that it’s OK for your weight loss program.

Offender #9.) Nuts in general

Short and sweet, nuts have a ton of calories.

You’ve probably heard that almonds can help you lose weight, or that they’re a great source of fat for weight loss programs. This can be true in moderation, but you have to be very careful of the amount of almonds, or any nuts you eat. One handful of almonds can run you around 150 calories.

Nuts can be dangerous because there’s so “snackable” and before you know it you can finish off an entire can of nuts to yourself. If you’re a snacker, you might want to keep your jar, or tin of nuts, far away from the couch when you’re watching TV at night.

Offender #10.) Avocados

Just because they’re in the fruit and vegetable isle at the grocery store, doesn’t mean that they’re in the same calorie category. In fact, avocados are mainly fat, and they have a calorie count to match.

They aren’t nearly as bad as some of the others we’ve discussed, and that’s why avocados weigh in at #10, but an average avocado will run you around 225 calories.

So although they are “good” fats, the calories can add up. Especially if you’re adding this to a salad that already contains olive oil, cheese, etc.

Alright well that’s it for the top 10 “healthy” foods that can create fat on your body instead of burn it off.

At the end of the day, you can eat any of these foods and be just fine, but you’ll just have to watch your calories and make sure you’re not going over your daily requirements. Because ultimately, eating excessive calories is really what causes you to gain weight.

And I find that many people confuse “healthy” with low calorie. And some information floating around there on the TV, newspapers, radios, etc. lead you to believe that if you just eat “good food” that you’ll magically lose weight. But that’s just not always true, you do have to watch your calories. And if you do watch them, then you’ll also begin to watch the scale go down, and your pant size too.

Here’s to your success, and remember to have fun!

Ingredients: (Makes 5 servings)

• 4-8 cups lettuce (your choice of how much you wand and what kind)
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 1/2 cup Grape Tomatoes (Make sure to set aside a few to put on top of your salad when you are done.)
• 1 1/2 cup Corn
• 6 Jumbo Black Olives
• 1 1/2 cup Kidney Beans
• 3/4 cup Low fat Sour Cream
• 1/4 cup Light Sharp Cheddar (Sharp has the most flavor for any light cheese)
• 12 oz Cubed Chicken Breast
• 4 Boiled Eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 3/4 tsp Ground Oregano Leaves
• 3/4 tsp Garlic Powder

Preparation:

Chop up the red pepper into small cubes, and slice your tomatoes in half. Cook the chicken breast and chop it up into small cubes, also boil the eggs and then slice them into layers. Next put the lettuce on the bottom of a medium sized bowl (preferably clear so you can see the layers) and then push the sliced eggs up against the glass for visual appeal. Then add the chicken cubes, tomatoes, red peppers, then the corn, and kidney beans.

This will give you your first layers.

Next make the dressing in a separate bowl. First put in the sour cream black pepper, oregano, milk, and garlic powder, and mix together with a wire wisk.

Pour this mixture on top of the salad and smooth out with a spatula. Next sprinkle your cheese on top and put the remaining tomatoes and black olives on top.

Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Information: (per serving)

Calories: 351
Protein: 30
Carbohydrates: 29
Fat: 12

That’s a great 7 layer salad recipe that won’t bust your calorie budget.

That’s right folks; our version of the 7 layer salad recipe is actually good for you!

Not only does this one taste and look great, but it is perfect for anyone trying to lose weight, or gain lean muscle.

Why is this recipe so great from a nutritional standpoint?

Well, it’s got a 40% protein, 40% carbohydrate, and 20% fat ratio, which is a great balance of these important macronutrients.

And it is a very low calorie recipe that is still packed full of calorie burning, and muscle building protein, and good carbohydrates. In fact for a very filling serving, you’ll be looking at only 351 calories. It also packs a punch with 30 grams of protein, 29 grams of carbohydrates and 12 grams of fat.

I challenge you to find a better looking, tasting, or a better 7 layer salad recipe from a nutritional standpoint. I bet you can’t

And the best part is, no one will know this is actually good for them.

I hope you enjoy! (Video Below)

And remember if you’re trying to lose weight, or want to lose weight, you can enter this recipe into OK-Cal, our free software that helps you accelerate your weight loss results.

Click Here! to download OK-Cal today.

Have Fun!

Honestly I think a lot of people find cardio to be not only boring but actually physically discomforting. Not only do you feel like you’re wasting your time by just running on a treadmill, or on a stairstepper. But often you’re running right next to all those cars on the side of the street, trying to avoid traffic and sucking in fumes.

Basically, cardio is not usually that much fun for most people.

So instead of doing cardio in the traditional way, I like to maximize my time spent doing a cardio program. What do I mean by that? Well if you boil it down, I really mean I’d just like to have fun while I’m doing my cardio, and I think that you would probably too.

But how do you do that?

One of the best ways that recently found to do that is to take our “Super Diet Dog,” Clover, on a hike. But not just any type of hike, I really like taking Clover to parks where she can be off leash and also hikes that start out downhill and then go back uphill in a loop.

The reason why the downhill beginning and the loop is so important is because when you start out on the hike and you’re going downhill, but once you get you can’t give up , or stop because you if you do your stranded in the woods! It basically forces you to go on a stairstepper by climbing back up the hill.

If you do this right, and if you’re in the right place, and you have great company, you won’t even notice the fact that you’re working out and that your heart rate’s up, and that you’re sweating, and that you’re burning calories.

In fact, if you’re doing this right you’ll simply be having fun, enjoying nature, having a great conversation while you’re walking, and having something to talk about when you get back. For example, if your friend asks you what you did today you can say, “I went on a hike!” And that’s much more fun than saying, “I went to the gym” or, “I went on a run.” At least for me.

I really like taking Clover on hikes with me because she’s always so happy to be there that I forget about the fact that we are even “working out.”

What I’ve learned recently is that if you can find a situation where you can have a good time with other people in a beautiful environment and actually get yourself into a place where you actually can’t quit because you have to get back to your car or you have to keep going. If you can’t just push the “stop button” then not only will you have an enjoyable experience but you’ll have also gotten a great workout you have something to talk about. You’ll actually have fun and you getting in shape.

I hope you can also find something that’s as fun for you.

Here’s a quick video of Lindsey, myself and Clover (the super diet dog) out enjoying ourselves on a great hike in some incredible weather.

I hope it gives you little bit of inspiration.

Have fun!

P.S. The song in this video is actually made by myself and one of my good friends Geoff Young, enjoy!

Ingredients: (1 serving)

•4oz Salmon (Preferably wild caught)
•1/2 Tbsp olive oil
•1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
•1/2 Freshly squeezed orange juice (from the actual orange, not the stuff in the carton, jug, or can)
•1/4 cup mandarin oranges (canned)
•1/4 cup whole wheat flour
•1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
•1/2 egg white
•1 Tbsp pistachios (without shells)
•Salad greens (your choice of lettuce)

Preparation:
Cut the salmon into strips. Put the flour, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper into a zip lock bag, throw in the salmon strips and shake it all up. Then take out the salmon strips and put on a tray, lightly coat in olive oil (with a brush to keep the olive oil controlled) and then put it under the broiler for about 5-8 minutes or until brown and the salmon is cooked through.

While the salmon is cooking, squeeze a whole orange and roll it around on a table until you can hear the juices squishing around inside the orange peel. Then cut a small hole into the orange and squeeze the juice into a bowl, and add the lemon juice. Next put salad greens into another bowl and place the pistachio nuts and mandarin oranges on top, and then add the orange juice and lemon juice combination on top of the salad as a dressing.

Take out the salmon strips, and enjoy!

Nutrition Info: ( Note: This one is weird in the fact that we can’t tell you the exact nutritional information because not all the parmesan and flour sticks to the salmon. Also you probably won’t use all the oil either. But to be conservative we’ve estimated the nutritional facts on the high end. Realistically, you can probably estimate less carbohydrates, less fat, and therefore less overall calories. In my estimation, it could be actually 100 less calories. And that’s good especially because even if it’s less calories, the protein won’t be less because that mostly comes from the salmon.)
Calories: 420
Protein: 31
Carbs: 26
Fat: 22

I really believe that when on vacation you should have as much fun as possible, and while you’re out, you also want to keep fitness in the back of your mind. It’s important to integrate fitness into your vacation so you don’t set yourself too far back on your goals.

When on vacation it’s easy to just go crazy, eat way too much food, have a little too much of the “silly juice” and go off into “vacation crazy world.”

If you know me, you know I like to have fun while I’m on vacation, and I don’t really hold much back. In fact I often need a vacation from my vacation when I get back because we did and saw so much while we were out. But I like that.

I also like to eat a ton of great food, I like to go out to eat, and I do like to drink the “silly juice.”

So how do you integrate going buck wild crazy, truly enjoying yourself, and not setting yourself back light years on your fitness goals?

What I like to do is to experience as much as I can, so that means trying to go on great hikes, renting bikes and exploring cities/towns/islands, walking around and exploring town, etc. Basically, be adventurous, be active, and really enjoy and experience where you are!

You don’t want to spend your vacation locked up in a hotel room, or driving around in a car. Why not go smell the smells, breathe the air, go see what’s around the next corner. Keep moving.

Now, you don’t have to keep moving all day long, but at least a good part of your day could be spent moving, and having a great time while you do it.

The best part about this is that it doesn’t really feel like exercise at all because you’re just exploring, your not exercising. You’re not hiking, your enjoying nature, and the great scenery. You’re not biking just to burn calories, your enjoying the breeze, the wind in your hair, and the countryside.

Enjoy your vacation and you’re sure to burn tons of calories.

And when you burn a ton of calories, guess what… you can eat a ton of calories, and you’ll be just fine.

You might not lose weight if that’s what you’re trying to do, but you probably won’t gain weight if you’re really experiencing your vacation. And as an extra bonus you might just rev up your metabolism by eating lots of great food, so when you get back you’ll be losing weight at an accelerated pace.

If you’re trying to gain muscle, just remember that challenging hikes and bike rides can be great for those leg muscles. And remember to get lots of protein rich foods at the great restaurants you go to. Also remember that a “strategic deconditioning” period for 2 weeks is actually recommended by many muscle building programs. (Strategic Deconditioning basically means taking a rest from lifting weights so your muscles can recover, and actually are more primed for growth later. This term was created by Bryan Haycock’s Hypertrophy Specific Training, which is a great program by the way.)

Anyhow, remember to have fun! That’s the key.

I just found a video slide show I made of Lindsey and myself on our last sailing trip in September of last year. This was before we even knew we’d be making a blog, and to be honest I haven’t seen the slide show in many many months.

But I hope you enjoy watching us being silly, and maybe you’ll get some ideas of your own.

Have fun and enjoy!