Healthy Lunch vs. Unhealthy Lunch

To give you a clear example of a healthy lunch versus an unhealthy lunch, I have taken two photos for your viewing pleasure.

Photo ONE is of my lunch today: Tuna Salad with homemade dressing.
Photo TWO is of my dear friend and colleague Francis' lunch: Cauliflower Cream Sauce & Cheese Pasta - "Mac N' Cheese"

Ingredients:

-Fresh Romaine Lettuce

- Roma Tomatoes

- Crisp Cucumbers

- Goat Cheese

- Crushed Walnuts (for texture, and added calcium & nutrients)

- One can drained chunk light tuna

Dressing (Homemade):

-2x tablespoons of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

-1x tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar

-1x tablespoon of Dijon mustard

-1/2 teaspoon of organic cane sugar

Ingredients:

Not fully known. This was a takeout order from Fabarnak on Church St.

But I can tell you the main elements of this lunch.

1) White Pasta - Emply carbs and starch.

2) Lots of processed Cheese - Fat.

3) Cream Based Sauce - More Fat and calories.

Moral of the story. Make your own lunch at home this way you know exactly what you're putting in your body. Eat lots of fresh vegetables, and lean meat. Plus making your own lunch saves those pennies!



Hump Day Work Out - Compound Sets

I will be showing you some great exercises you can do in the comfort of your own home. I'll be filming by myself, so it might be a bit tricky, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Tonight's workout will consist compound sets of chest and back exercises, so if you're doing these at home you'll need to buy a set of dumbbells. You can pick them up a Crappy Tire, or any fitness equipment store (I think Wal Mart even carries them).

- Compound Set is any exercise where you incorporate more than one muscle group. for tonight we will be mixing back and chest. One full chest exercise, ie Regular Push ups, followed by one full set of Back Row. Then we repeat. Chest & Back, Chest & Back, until we are finished. It gives the muscles a bit of a break, and is a good change from doing one muscle group all at once.

We will begin with some compound sets of push ups.

1. Regular Push up
2. Wide Push up
3. Close Handed Push up
4. Diamond Hand Push up (Option #2 - More difficult)
5. Dumbbell Press

Then followed by:

1. Back row
2. Dumbbell Lift
3. Lower Back lifts

For our chest we will be completing 2x sets of each exercise. 8-12 reps per set. As the sets move along, it will be harder and harder to reach the rep goal, so we have to fight and push!

For the back exercises, we will be completing 3x sets of each, 10-12 reps each set.


We will also be doing some abdominal exercises! Yay! the best part! :)

So stay tuned, I'll have the video up tonight so you can follow along.

How to Burn One Pound of Fat Per Week - Without Lifting a Finger

You may be wondering how it's possible to burn fat without exercise...It is possible actually. It's more difficult sans exercise, but it is possible.

One pound of fat contains 3500 calories, which is about the size of a stick of salted butter you get at the grocery store. Now to effectively loose one pound of fat per week you need to cut out 3500 calories from your diet each week. To break this down even further, you need to cut out 500 calories per DAY from your regular diet. That would equal out to 3500 calories per week - or one pound of fat.
Cutting out 500 calories is not easy, I'm not gonna lie. It takes a strict diet, and dedication. But if you can do it, you could loose one pound of fat per week, for as many weeks as you stay on the diet. Of course if you add regular exercise, your weight loss process is increased and you can lose up to two pounds of fat per week.

Some tips for cutting out 500 calories a day in your diet.

1. Cut out sugar and milk form your coffee. If you drink lattes, stop drinking them and switch to black coffee. But if you must have milk, just use skim. I DO NOT recommend switching to calorie free sweetener such as Splenda, because there is an ingredient in Splenda, and other sweeteners called Sorbital that can actually make you gain weight over a longer period of time.
2. Eat oatmeal for breakfast, not empty carbs like bagels or toast. Oatmeal also has lots of fiber, and heart healthy nutrients, plus it fills you up. Try eggs, hard boiled, or scrambled. Have a piece of fruit too.
3. Have a medium to large size lunch. Big salad with lots of veggies, and lean meat like turkey, tuna or chicken. Use low calorie dressings, but no cream based dressings. Or bring leftovers from home, like grilled chicken and mixed veggies. Great way to save a few pennies instead of buying every day.
4. Have an afternoon snack. Yogurt, mixed nuts, hummus and veggies, or a granola bar. This will keep your insulin level steady, and you wont feel so hungry at dinner time. It will also ensure you don't gorge yourself on a huge dinner.
5. Eat a small dinner. By the time we eat dinner, usually 7pm or 8pm, it's very late in the day and most of our metabolisms have slowed right down. So any high calorie foods we eat will be stored and not burned off. Try cooking chicken, pork, fish, lean red meat, with lots of veggies, or a small amount of brown rice. Don't eat too many carbs past 7pm.
6. Cut back on your alcohol consumption. I don't think I need to tell you why. Alcohol has it's own (very high) caloric value. One or two glasses of red wine with dinner is fine.

All these tips should be somewhat easy to incorporate in your daily life. If you have any questions, or suggestions. Please feel free to leave a comment! :)

Hot New Workout Track! Pure Love.

Martina from Dragonette is super sexy, and this new dance track totally makes me wanna get up and move. Kaskade is also one of my all time favourite music producers/DJ's.

I love listening to it while I'm running or cycling. Try it, you'll fall in love too! Trust And Believe!

SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder

Don't get SAD this winter season!

OK so I know it might be a bit early for this type of blog post, considering so many of us are on Christmas mode, but we all know just as soon as Xmas & New Years is over we become grumpy, angry, moody, and even the happiest most anally retentive Christmas Spirit can turn into Scrooge.  Bahhhh Humbug!

If an effort to derail our winter blues before the even near the Union station of our minds, I've listed a few easy tips and wellness habits you can incorporate to stay happy, fit, and active all winter long.

#1) Keep exercising! - Even when is blistering cold out, snow squalls seem never ending, and it's dark at 4pm, remember to keep motivated to exercise. Cardiovascular exercise along with weight training will make sure your endorphins are flowing, and your mood elevated. When the weather turns ugly we have a natural reaction to want to stay in doors, curl up in a ball on our couch, and eat eat eat...Try to avoid this hibernation habit at all costs. You may think you're doing the correct thing to feel better, but in reality you're making it harder for yourself. You may not sleep as well, and you may find it harder to get up and go about your daily routine.

I recommend 45 minutes of cardiovascular activity at least 4 times a week. This will keep you energized, your blood sugar levels normal, and most of all keep your mood elevated and happy! Hop on a treadmill, or bundle up and go for a walk outside. Make snow angels, a snow fort, or have a snowball fight!! Go tobogganing, or skiing!

If you would rather stay indoors and exercise, but don't have a gym or cardiovascular equipment. RUN stairs!!! Yes that's right, run up and down the stairs in your home. Up and down, up and down for 45 minutes, or until you are exhausted! Running stairs is also a great way to build and shape your Gluet's (butt).

#2) Vitamin D! - The lack of Vitamin D is also a factor that affects SAD. Most of us know that we get our normal daily dose of vit D from the sun during the warmer Spring & Summer months when we can actually go outside in nothing more than shorts and a tee. But this is not the case in the winter month's. Unless you are a Polar Bear.

I recommend taking a vitamin D supplement during the cold, dark winter monhts if you are not already taking a mulit vitamin. If you are taking a multi-V, then both are not necessary, just one or the other. Muli-V's usually have enough vit-D. You can get it in a pill form, or in a liquid drop form that can be added to any food. A small dose can be taken every other day.

#3 Indoor Tanning! - Now I'm not normally a huge fan of indoor tanning salons, they are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
bad for your skin, and have been proven to cause skin cancer. I used to tan a lot in my younger years, and now I'm paying the price. I'm 28 and have tons of lines around my eyes, and bad crows feet.
But if you feel like you could use a boost of warm fake sun rays, then once or twice a week for 10-12 minutes in a low watt bed should be ok. Please use a tanning cream with an SPF. Yes they have them. It's like SPF 1 or 2, but it ensure you don't burn. Also, cover your eyes, and face! Use the towels provided. Trust me when I say you don't want to look 38 when you're 28. And don't forget to moisturise daily to keep that bit of golden brown colour you'll get.

I love Firming Body Lotion Advanced Q10 Complex. Keeps my skin baby bum smooth.

#4 Stay Social! - We are social entities by nature, so please don't cut yourself off from the rest of civilization when the cold hits. Make sure you are still going out to visit friends and family regularly. Vent about your daily lives, go shopping, have (or go to) dinner/holidays parties, etc. (But don't drink too much. Alcohol is a depressant) It's really important to have good friends and family to help you through the hard times, especially if you're feeling SAD.

Cleaning Burns Calories!

Today is cleaning day. A weekly ritual for most of us that rent or own our primary residence. Unless you still live at home with Mommy & Daddy, then you're most likely one of the "lucky" few that doesn't have to pic up after themselves.

I did some digging because I wanted to know exactly how many calories I could burn doing 2 hours of regular house work. All the caloric number values below are based on one hour per household chore...Here is what I have found:

• Mopping - 238
• Sweeping floors - 224
• Washing dishes - 156 
• Vacuuming - 238
• Ironing - 156
• Light Cleaning (dusting, organizing clutter, wiping counter tops) - 170
• Heavy Cleaning (washing the car,  washing windows, cleaning the garage) - 204
• Moving furniture - 408
• Making the Bed - 136
• Laundry - 136

Whoever said you need to get on a treadmill to burn calories is sadly mistaken. Just grab a mop, broom, and get cleaning!

Things You Should Consume Daily!

 There are actually many important things that you should consume daily for optimal health. So I will continue to list them, but in my opinion these three are the most important.

1) Water! - Please please please make sure you are drinking your 8-10 glasses of water a day! Your body is made up of over 80% water, so you really need to stay hydrated for proper bodily functions. Plus, drinking plenty of water is great for weight loss, clear skin, and sharper brain functions.

2) Multi Vitamin! - We (in our day-to-day), never get enough of the complete vitamins & nutrients our bodies need to be the best. With all the fast food, processed food, and skipped meals, it's no wonder we don't all look like fat overweight zombies. Make the trip to you local health food store (or supplement store) and pick up a bottle of daily multi vitamins. Ensure your supplement is Male/Female specific because both sexes have different nutrient requirements.  For example; women need more folic acid and iron then men do.

This is also not a time to cheap out on price. The cheaper usually means the lower quality the M.V., which means your body absorbs less. Find a vegetable based capsule if you can. NO tablets like Centrum, etc. You just poop those nasty little things right out. (You'd be pooping money down the toilet LOL)

Don't be concerned if your pee changes colour to a bright yellow, this is normal when taking M.V's...It also means you're not drinking enough water!!

Product recommendation: Natural Factors. You can get this brand at most health food/supplement stores.

3) Fiber! - Fibre is not just for your parents anymore! Everyone needs fibre. You, Me, Mom, & Grandma...You have never really had a good poop until you have taken a fiber supplement daily!! I recommend Metamucil orange flavored fiber supplement. It tastes just like Tang. Just one teaspoon in a glass of water in the morning is all you need. Unless you're really feeling backed up, you can also take a second at night time. Then just sit back and enjoy being truly regular! It's a great feeling!

Fiber is a binding agent which cleans out your intestines as it moves through, so it can also help you to lose weight and feel less bloated and crampy. Oh and fiber helps lower your cholesterol and improve heart function and health....Just in case that is a concern of yours.