“Breakfast is the most IMPORTANT meal of the day!”

If you want to burn fat…

“You must eat 6 small meals a day.”

For the past 7 days now I’ve been breaking those two cardinal rules for weight loss, and just being “healthy.”

I’ve been conducting an experiment with something called Intermittent Fasting (you can read about it here).

But in a nutshell I’ve ONLY been eating from 12pm to 8pm daily.

That’s it.

That means no breakfast.

And I haven’t been eating 6 small meals a day (I typically don’t do that anyways).

So how do I feel?

What are my results so far?

How do I feel after 7 days of intermittent fasting?

Surprisingly…

I feel awesome. :-)

The first day was the hardest since my body was having to re-adjust to this new eating pattern…

But after that…

– I don’t feel hungry in the mornings when I’d normally eat breakfast (I do though start getting hungry as it approaches 12pm, but that’s exactly how I felt back when I was eating first thing in the morning).

– I don’t feel tired in the mornings.

– I feel like I have MORE energy (no way to measure this objectively, but I feel good in the mornings).

– I have MORE TIME in the mornings to do stuff which is awesome (I have an extra 45 minutes in the mornings which is huge).

In a nutshell…

This has been wayyyyyyyyyy easier to do then I thought.

So the next question is…

Will intermittent fasting help me to burn fat?

At this point I have no idea.

BUT…I will know the answer to that in the next few weeks…

So STAY TUNED!

I believe in you.

The post How I Feel After 7 Days Of Intermittent Fasting first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

1. I like easy & quick (no complicated or time consuming recipes, eating plans, etc).
2. I like to focus on things I can stick with indefinitely (no gimmicks, or weird fad diets allowed)
3. Must fit in with real life (I don’t want to feel restricted, or look like a weirdo in public)
4. Must be healthy & safe (harming my short term or long term health in an effort to speed things up defeats the whole purpose of trying to be healthy).

“Intermittent fasting” seems to fit all four rules.

Intermittent fasting is something I first heard about last year, but something I quickly dismissed as just another weird fad thing that all the cool kids were doing.

But then fast forward to literally just yesterday and I’m doing some research for some new training I’m working on putting together. And I stumble upon “intermittent fasting” again but this time I decide to find out what it’s all about (with an open mind).

And this time…

I’m very, very intrigued, so much so…

That I’ve decided to be a human guinea pig and find out for myself if this intermittent fasting thing actually works and helps to burn away fat.

Before I get into that first, what is intermittent fasting?

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

My initial reaction to intermittent fasting (IF) is that people are starving themselves for days and days in an effort to burn fat. And starving yourself is stupid, not enjoyable, and not something that can be done long term.

Yes, most people use IF as a way to burn fat.

And yes, as the name implies, IF does involve fasting. But not in “starve yourself for days and days” kinda way. And from my research, it’s something you can stick with indefinitely (even if you’re just trying to maintain your weight, or even bulk up and add muscle).

Here’s how it works.

Basically, there’s multiple ways people intermittent fast, but one of the most common approaches is the 16:8 approach. This is where you fast for 16 hours, then eat during an 8 hour window. You then just do this daily or as needed to help burn fat.

During your fasting time you obviously don’t eat food, and you just drink water, and tea as you want it (plain green tea, or black tea with no sugar or extra stuff added).

During your 8 hour “eating window” you can simply eat how you’d normally eat. You eat when you’re hungry and ideally during that time you just stick with whatever calories/macros you need to to hit your current goals.

On top of that, you don’t have to eat 6 small meals throughout your eating window or anything like that. You can eat two really big meals if you want. Or you can spread it out. It doesn’t matter, but the ole’ 6 small meals a day rule is out the window and not required.

So following the 16:8 approach, your eating window could be from say 12pm to 8pm (you can shift your eating window to whenever you want; but I expect it’d definitely be easier to pick an 8 hour window and stick with it). Then obviously after 8pm or before 12pm you’re not eating. The benefit to doing it this way is that you’re sleeping for 6-8 hours of your fasting time which does count toward your fasting time.

Ok, so that’s the rundown of IF, now the obvious question is WHY do this?

What are the benefits to this?

What Are The Claimed Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting?

Burning away fat without “dieting.” This is obviously the biggest benefit. Without dieting and without making any other changes, IF can help you to burn away excess fat without losing muscle (assuming you’re getting enough protein during your eating window). I’ll explain how IF works in a moment.

It’s easy. There’s isn’t anything complicated about IF (especially with the 16:8 approach). You eat during your 8 hour window, then you don’t eat during your 16 hour fasting window. Easy peezy.

Requires less time and might save you money. With IF you’re actually getting more time. Because now there’s one less meal that you have to worry about. For me, I spend about 30 minutes to make and eat my breakfast. That’s 30 minutes that I’ll now have to spend with family, to work, or to do other stuff.

Might help prevent cancer. I’m definitely skeptical about this benefit, but IF advocates claim that it may be able to help prevent cancer (or at least lower your risk for cancer). This is one study they reference as proof.

I’m very skeptical of this cancer claim, but if intermittent fasting does in fact lower my risk for cancer…even just a tiny amount…that’s a win. If not, no big deal.

Might help you live longer. Again, I’m very skeptical of this benefit as well, but IF advocates also claim that it may help you live longer. Here’s two studies they reference to backup this claim: Study 1. Study 2.

Whether this claim is true or not, I just see it as icing on the cake if it is in fact true.

So how the heck does intermittent fasting help burn away fat?

How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?

Instead of me trying to explain how intermittent fasting can help us to burn fat, here’s a great summary from James Clear:

To understand how intermittent fasting leads to fat loss we first need to understand the difference between the fed state and the fasted state.

Your body is in the fed state when it is digesting and absorbing food. Typically, the fed state starts when you begin eating and lasts for three to five hours as your body digests and absorbs the food you just ate. When you are in the fed state, it’s very hard for your body to burn fat because your insulin levels are high.

After that timespan, your body goes into what is known as the post–absorptive state, which is just a fancy way of saying that your body isn’t processing a meal. The post–absorptive state lasts until 8 to 12 hours after your last meal, which is when you enter the fasted state. It is much easier for you body to burn fat in the fasted state because your insulin levels are low.

When you’re in the fasted state your body can burn fat that has been inaccessible during the fed state.

Because we don’t enter the fasted state until 12 hours after our last meal, it’s rare that our bodies are in this fat burning state. This is one of the reasons why many people who start intermittent fasting will lose fat without changing what they eat, how much they eat, or how often they exercise. Fasting puts your body in a fat burning state that you rarely make it to during a normal eating schedule.

What Are The Downsides (The Hard Part) To Intermittent Fasting?

The big overall downside is just making the changes to only eat during an 8 hour window. But that’s also the good news, because all you have to change is your eating pattern.

If you decide to have your eating window be from 12pm to 8pm, then this means:

• No breakfast (but you can still eat breakfast food at noon if you’d like).
• You’ll likely feel hungry during your fasting time when you first start IF (because you’re body is used to your old eating pattern…but your body will adjust)
• If you like to party a lot late into the night, or eat dinner really late, then this would obviously be a change for you.

For me personally, no breakfast is a HUGE change.

Because I’ve eaten breakfast almost everyday of my life (for the most part). PLUS, it goes against everything we’ve been told as far as “breakfast being the most important meal of the day” and so forth.

But it’s all good. I’ll just eat my breakfast at noon! :-)

My Personal 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Experiment

Here’s how this is going to go down.

For the next 21 days I’m going to test out intermittent fasting for myself to see if it actually does help me to burn away fat.

Also, I want to see if this is something I can stick with long term, or if it’s something I can use as a tool when needed to just lean up, and get rid of any excess fat.

So…

My eating window will be from 12pm to 8pm daily.

And TODAY, August 31st 2016 is my official first day. I stopped eating last night at 8pm, and this morning I’ve had nothing to eat besides water and 2 cups of green tea.

And yes, my stomach is growling right now :-) .

I’m not feeling extremely hungry, but just hungry. I can tell my body wants food. I’m obviously feeling that way though because my body is used to my old eating pattern, and it’s just going to take some time to adjust.

My starting body fat is: 11%

I also took all of my other body measurements (weight, waist size, chest size, etc) last night, and I took some pics so I can accurately track my progress and whether intermittent fasting works or not.

My eating pattern will pretty much stay the same as it is now. Right now I’m eating roughly 25% carbs, 40% fat, and 40% protein to help promote fat loss while maintaining my muscle. I usually eat three big meals a day with two small snacks, but during this experiment I’ll likely just eat two big meals, with maybe one snack if I feel hungry.

I’ll also of course just do my workouts like normal.

So that’s my intermittent fasting experiment.

Is this a waste time? Will this work?

I have no idea.

But we’ll find out so stay tuned!

Let me know if you have questions!

The post Intermittent Fasting 21 Day Experiment first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

I’m being very very sarcastic here.

The other day I was just doing some research on all the different diets out there and I stumbled upon something called “The Cotton Ball Diet.”

Here’s how it works…

You take a cotton ball, you soak it in fruit juice, and then you eat the cotton ball.

You eat up to 5 cotton balls in a sitting, and that’s all you eat (for all your meals).

Supposedly, the cotton balls expand in your stomach, which gives you the feeling of being full so you’re not hungry for anything else.

How freakin’ DUMB is that???

That can KILL YOU. Because the cotton balls can cause a blockage in your small intestines, which could kill you.

Crazy, crazy stuff.

Even crazier, real people are actually doing this so called “diet.”

Anyways…

We know, that diets like that are just plain dumb.

It kind of defeats the whole purpose when your diet could kill you right?

But when it comes down to it…

Diets don’t work.

I don’t know a single person who’s been on a diet that has stuck with it indefinitely.

So what does work?

Learning how to eat the right way.

Then slowly incorporating changes into how you eat (it’s not an overnight process, because we’re talking about changing habits that you’ve likely had for years).

So a way to “fast track” the changes is to leverage as many SAFE nutrition shortcuts as possible.

NOT dumb shortcuts like the “Cotton Ball Diet.”

I’m talking about shortcuts that can help us live longer, increase our health, AND help us burn away fat faster, in a safe, healthy manner.

Best nutrition shortcut I’ve found? Is this.

Anyways, hope you found this post entertaining, and helpful! :-)

The post New Fast Fat Burning Diet: The Cotton Ball Diet first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

OR…

They can help you to burn more fat, and build more muscle. They can help fill you up, and satisfy your cravings so you’re not binging on sweets or filling up on junk.

With summer fast approaching (June 20th), I figured it’d be a great time to share with you some of my all time favorite snacks that I like to have in between meals.

So without further ado, here they are (in no particular order)…

#1 – Turkey Jerky

I love me some Turkey Jerky. I’d say my favorite is Trader Joe’s Natural Turkey Jerky. It’s slightly sweet, it’s loaded with flavor, and it isn’t dry like most jerky (it has this moist texture that’s ohhh so good). It’s also loaded with protein so it will help you to build muscle.

The only downside is they do add sugar to it (5 grams per serving).  So if you’re like me and you can easily eat a whole bag in one sitting, just portion out 1 serving, then immediately lock the remaining jerky away so you don’t go back for more.

I don’t eat this jerky often (it’s a bit pricey and because of the sugar), but it’s still awesome  and wayyyyyyyy better for you then other snack food options.

#2 – Apple

Ohhh the humble apple. So simple, yet so delicious. If you don’t know my story, I used to never, ever, ever eat fruits and veggies (I avoided all healthy food like the plague).

But now…

I freakin’ love fruit. It’s nature’s candy.

Apples are so amazingly good for you (there’s a reason there’s the saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away). They are loaded with fiber (which will fill you up), and of course loaded with vitamins. Plus they have natural sugar that will give you steady energy versus a massive spike and then you just want to lay your head down and sleep.

At the same time, they taste sooooo good.

My favorite apple is the Fuji apple. It’s crisp, and sweet (I can’t stand mushy apples). And that’s one of the awesome thing about apples…

There’s so many types of apples, that no matter what you like, you’ll be able to find an apple that you like.

My recommendation is to go to a grocery store with a variety of apples. Then buy one apple of every variety they have. Then just taste a new one each day.

I can pretty much guarantee you will find one that you love.

#3 – Blueberries

I read somewhere that blueberries are the granddaddy of all superfoods. What they meant by that was that blueberries were originally named as one of the first superfoods. And a superfood is simply any food that is nutrient dense and that has lots of health benefits.

Blueberries taste incredible (they have a ton of flavor), they have lots of fiber (will fill you up), low on calories, and of course are super good for you.

Here’s a screenshot from our private challenge group where I shared more info on blueberries:

#4 – Mixed Berry + Protein Smoothie

This is a kick butt snack because you’re not only getting protein (which helps to build muscle, burn fat), while also getting berries which are loaded with antioxidants, nutrients and other good stuff that is said to help reverse aging, and help to prevent diseases (like cancer).

This is typically my afternoon snack. What I’ll do is I’ll take 1 cup of frozen berries, 1 scoop of whey protein, and I’ll put it in my blender cup. I’ll then add water, blend it all together, and BOOM, you now have a super healthy, very filling, but very tasty smoothie.

Here’s the mixed berries we buy (we get it from Sam’s Club):

Just as a warning though…Some companies will add sugar to their berry blends which is the stupidest thing ever. Berries are naturally sweet and taste amazing. So why ruin a good thing by adding sugar? Kind of defeats the whole purpose.

Anyways, just make sure to look on the bag at the ingredients. All you should see listed are different types of berries. If you see sugar, then avoid it and look for another brand.

#5 – Shakeology

Last but least, Shakeology is an amazing snack. It’s loaded with superfoods (yep there’s berries in it along with numerous other super foods), veggies, and other exotic, nutrient dense ingredients that you just can’t get with a normal diet. It’s also loaded with protein (to help build muscle/burn fat), fiber (to fill you up), and lots of other good stuff.

I usually will have Shakeology as my lunch (I use it as a meal replacement), but sometimes I will double up and have it as a snack. I get this natural burst of energy through it, and it fills me up for hours.

My all time favorite flavor is the Chocolate Shakeology. It tastes freakin’ amazing (like dessert…but it’s ohhh so good for you).

Boom.

There you go!

NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!
LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS:

==>What’s one healthy snack YOU enjoy that tastes awesome?

And let’s do this…

Leave a comment below and let me know one healthy snack you enjoy.

If we get at least 15 different people sharing their one favorite healthy snack, then I’ll randomly pick one person (who left a comment below), and I’ll mail you out my favorite nutrition book of all time for FREE.

This book re-taught my wife and I how to eat the RIGHT way (without starving ourselves, while eating very good, easy to make food), and it truly has changed our lives…

So let me know in the comments below, and I’ll announce the winner in an email later this week!

The post 5 Snacks That Won’t Make You Fat first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X Diet Plan

The P90X Diet Plan (aka P90X Nutrition Guide) is a key component to the the P90X workout program. On this page I want to address some questions that I get from a lot of people such as…Should you follow the P90X diet Plan? How do you follow it? What do I do if I don’t have the P90X Diet Plan? What did YOU eat Jonathan during your first round of P90X? I also want to get into some key things that you absolutely must follow to get the results you want with P90X.

Lastly, I’m going tell you how you can truly get EXTREME results with P90X. I’m talking about results that are worthy to be in a P90X infomercial. So without further ado, let’s get ROCKIN!

Should You Follow The P90X Diet Plan?

Yes, yes, and YES! Did I say yes to the question above? :-) If you’re SERIOUS about getting results then you MUST follow the P90X Diet Plan. I’m not going to harp on that point. You need to follow it. Period.

As you keep reading my P90X Diet Plan post, you’ll soon find out that I have a confession to make. Keep on reading and you’ll find out what it is.

How Do You Follow The P90X Diet Plan?

I’m not going to go too in depth on the specifics of how to follow the P90X Diet Plan, since it’s all laid out in the Nutrition Guide that comes with P90X. Read the P90X Diet Plan from cover to cover. Read it a second time if you have to. Then follow the instructions at the beginning of the book to determine your Phase, chose your approach, and determine your Nutrition Level.

Also, you don’t necessarily have to make all the recipes and only eat what’s in the P90X Diet Plan (frozen food and smoothies are my best friends). It is meant as a guide to give you some recipes and foods that you should focus on eating as you’re going through P90X. You’ll obviously though want to avoid the junk- sweets, fried food, soda, etc.

Key Things You MUST Follow In The P90X Diet Plan

The 2 key things you MUST follow if you want to see results is the following-

1) You need to determine your Phase AND stick with the nutritional proportions each day for that Phase. There are 3 phases- Fat Shredder (Phase 1), Energy Booster (Phase 2), or Endurance Maximizer (Phase 3). For people doing P90X for the first time, you should start with the Fat Shredder Phase so you can shed the body fat.

Here’s the nutritional portions you should be following in each phase-

• Fat Shredder Phase 1- 50% protein, 30% carbohydrate, 20% fat
• Energy Booster Phase 2- 40% protein, 40% carbohydrate, 20% fat
• Endurance Maximizer Phase 3- 20% protein, 60% carbohydrate, 20% fat

For me personally since I’ve already been through P90X multiple times, I’m currently following a modification of the Endurance Maximizer Phase. I’m currently sticking to 25% protein, 55% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. I have a very, very small amount of fat I want to get rid of though, so I may jump back to the Fat Shredder Phase for a few weeks, and then go back to the Endurance Maximizer Phase so I can start bulking up like crazy (and add 10 to 20 pounds of muscle).

*Again, I can’t say this enough, but READ the P90X Diet Plan in it’s entirety. There’s no possible way I can give out all the details in the book since it’s 100+ pages (mainly of recipes and such).

2) Determine your daily calories AND stick with that number of calories each day. This is super duper critical. If you’re eating too many calories and trying to lose weight, then you won’t lose weight. If you eat too little calories and you’re trying to bulk up, then you won’t bulk up. So figuring out the number of daily calories you should be taking in each day, and actually sticking with that is key to your success.

I made 2 separate blog posts that walk you through figuring out your number of calories AND the tracking aspect of things (which is just as important). You can check them out here-

• How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day
• How To Keep A Food Diary

Also, if your dog crapped all over your P90X Diet Plan, aliens came to your house in the middle of the night and stole it, or you just misplaced it, then check out this post for a few alternatives (towards the end of the post)- P90X Nutrition Guide.

I Didn’t Initially Follow The P90X Diet Plan

P90X Round 1 Results

I’ve gotta be honest. My first couple of rounds of P90X, I didn’t follow the P90X Diet Plan like I should have. I figured out the # of calories I should have been taking in and I tried to take in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of my body weight daily. I also cut out the junk- no soda (except Coke zero), no sweets, no fried food, etc.

Lastly, I read the Abs Diet by David Zinczenko, and my wife and I tried to focus on eating foods from that book (there’s some super simple recipes in there).

That’s all I did. I didn’t even track the # of calories I was taking in each day so who knows if I was even sticking with my daily number.

Did I still get good results? Yes, because I cut out the junk and I shifted my diet to a higher protein diet. HOWEVER, I could have gotten EXTREME results (I’m talkin P90X infomercial results) had I followed the P90X Diet Plan. To check out what I ate during that first round, you can go here – P90X workout calendar (I think it wasn’t until day 9 that I started to write out what I ate each day).

I could have been one ripped dude by this point, but it really wasn’t until recently that I got serious about following the P90X Diet Plan, sticking with one of the 3 Phases, and tracking everything. Now I’m down to about 7% body fat with a small tad bit to go before I move onto becoming the HULK! :-)

Do You Want “Good” Or EXTREME Results? – P90X Diet Plan

So, you have a couple options. You can kind of sort of follow the P90X Diet Plan like I did my first couple of rounds and get good results. Or you can follow the P90X Diet Plan like you should and get EXTREME results. I’m to the point now where I don’t want to settle for “good” results. I want EXTREME results! I want to get “super sonic” fit as Tony Horton says.

The choice is yours! Decide. Commit (aka… JUST DO IT) and SUCCEED!

I hope you enjoyed my “P90X Diet Plan” post. If you got ANY value out of this post, make sure to share it using the social media buttons. Also leave me any comments, questions, etc. below.

The post P90X Diet Plan first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

So…Are Carbs Bad For You?

Are Carbs Bad For You?

Absolutely not! Your body NEEDS carbs. Carbs give you the energy you need to do what life and your workouts demand. You can try to live without them, but your body will just burn everything else for energy instead. It really comes down to efficiency. It’s much more efficient for your body to burn carbs than to burn your body’s muscle and fat stores. Carbs keep you awake, alert, and energetic.

If you go without carbs for awhile, you’ll notice a few things. First, you’ll have very little mental and physical energy. Tasks that require concentration will be much harder to accomplish. So will tasks that require you to exert yourself physically (i.e. your workouts). The point of working out is to push yourself as much as possible so you grow into a stronger person. If you lack the energy to push yourself, you’ll never grow.

Not having carbs can also put you into starvation mode. Your body will actually slow down its metabolism because it senses a lack of energy-providing food. That’s why these super low or zero carb diets don’t work. Your body doesn’t burn your fat stores faster when you don’t get carbs. It burns everything else (your muscle and your fat) much much slower.

If you want to burn fat, you need to fuel the fire with carbs. So again, to answer the question “are carbs bad for you,” the answer is absolutely not!

The 2 Types Of Carbs – Are Carbs Bad For You

Carbohydrates can be broken down into two different types- simple carbs and complex carbs. Simple carbs give you a quick jolt of energy, and complex carbs provide a more long term burn. Both are totally necessary for your health, but we have gone a little too far in the direction of simple carbs recently. People are drinking too much soda and eating too much sugary convenience food. These foods give us a quick jolt, but they ultimately leave us with zero energy later on in the day.

Most of us should be switching over to complex carbs for the majority of our carbohydrate consumption. These include whole grain breads, potatoes, brown rice, steel rolled oats, and whole grain pastas. If you’re eating sugary cereal for breakfast, make the switch to oatmeal with fruit. At the dinner table, consider replacing your white rice with brown rice.

Complex carbs also have lots of fiber, and fiber does a few important things. First, fiber makes your digestive system slowly absorb the sugars in the foods you eat, giving you consistent blood sugar levels (a.k.a. the slow burn). Second, fiber cleans out your digestive system. It helps you get rid of bacteria and other buildup that can sometimes cause colon cancer. As you get older, this becomes more and more important.

What About Simple Carbs? Should You Avoid Them? – Are Carbs Bad For You

Now am I saying we should get rid of simple carbs altogether? No way Jose! Simple carbs (things like honey, the sugars in fruit, etc.) are important too. They’re very useful after a good workout when your muscles need to refill their glycogen stores. If you eat simple carbs after a workout, the sugars will go straight to your muscles and help you recover faster for your next workout. The P90X Recovery drink is a great post workout drink to have that has the perfect combination of simple carbs and protein to help reduce muscle soreness.

In case you’re wondering what glycogen is, it’s a special kind of sugar that gets stored in your muscles. Whenever you do really quick movements, your body burns glycogen to give your muscles that extra push. Athletes are always very concerned about keeping their glycogen stores up. With high levels of glycogen, they can do the movements that make them excel at their sports.

It’s All A Matter Of Timing.

The problem with most of us is that we don’t eat simple carbs at the right times. We eat them whenever we feel like it. When you eat simple carbs at the wrong times, you get lots of energy right away, and then you lose it in a few hours (or sooner). You can also end up fooling your body into thinking it’s starving once it runs out of sugars. At that point, your body will slow down its metabolism, and all that sugar will get stored as fat.

So you’ll want to eat complex carbohydrates most of the time. Eat a lot of them for breakfast as that’s the one time of the day when you really need to fill up the tank. Then slowly ratchet down your carbohydrate consumption as the day goes on. If you’ve had a big workout, eat some extra carbs (both simple and complex) to refill your energy level so you can push it the next day.

Carbohydrates aren’t bad for you. They’re totally necessary. As long as you know when it’s a good time to eat certain kinds of carbohydrates, you’ll keep the fat burning fires going so you can achieve your results.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post answering the question, “Are carbs bad for you” and that you maybe learned a thing or two. If you did enjoy it, then make to share it!

The post Are Carbs Bad For You? first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

If you have been exercising daily like you should and eating right, then what was the the point of doing all of that if you’re just going to throw it all away and stuff yourself with grandma’s mac and cheese and loads and loads of cookies? Think about the many workout sessions you’ve had and how HARD you’ve worked during them. Do you want all of that hard work to go to waste? Will eating smaller portions and making healthy choices ruin your holidays?

I don’t think so, but maybe that’s just me. For those of you who don’t want to pack on the extra weight over the holidays, and who don’t want all of your hard work and dedication to working out and eating right to go to waste, then read on. I’m going to give you 5 tips on how to survive the holiday season without having to go out and buy bigger jeans come January.

5 Tips To Avoid Busting Your Belt In January

1. KEEP Exercising.

Me Doing P90X Plyo (taken last year)

This may sound like a no brainer, but for a lot of people this is the first thing that goes during the holidays. They claim they don’t “have time” to exercise with all of the family activities. Yea right. That’s a bunch of BS and is just an excuse. If you’re serious about staying fit and healthy, then you should MAKE the time! Thanksgiving day is going to be CRAZY for us. My wife and I have to travel between 2 houses for 2 Thanksgiving dinners (one with my family and one with her family). On top of that my wife will be running a race first thing in the morning.

I could make excuses on why I don’t have the time to exercise on Thanksgiving, but I’m not. I’m going to get up crazy early before her race to get my workout done. I’m going to make the time.

If you don’t have access to your usual exercise equipment (dumbbells, your workout DVD’s, or whatever), then be creative! There’s plenty of exercises you can do without equipment.

Another thing you can do so that you keep exercising is to get your family involved! How about going for a speed walk with your family members after your big turkey dinner? Or how about challenging some of your family members to a basketball game in the driveway? Be CREATIVE and make it fun!

If you are seriously committed to exercising daily over the holidays, then you WILL find a way. Otherwise, you’ll just make excuses and you’ll have a big surprise when you step on the scale in January. Ok, I think I’ve harped on the exercising tip enough…

2. KEEP The Holiday Goodies Out Of Your Home.

Bringing home cookies and other holiday “treats” is never a good idea! :-) If it’s in your home, then more then you’ll likely give in to the temptation and eat it. If a container of chocolate cookies or ginger bread men/women were sitting on our counter I know I’d eat a few every time I walked by. I LOVE cookies so I know I have to maintain some self control when I’m around them, and keeping them in our home is always a bad idea.

Let other people take home the leftovers. If you keep your home free of the junk (and filled with healthy Christmas treats), then you’ll at least be forced to eat healthy at home.

3. BRING Healthy Options To Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinner And To Parties.

If you’re going to a party or to a Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner, then bring a few healthy options. Bring a fruit bowl, or some other healthy food that you made. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be disgusting. There’s LOTS of incredibly good, but healthy food recipes out there.

4. EAT Before You Go To Party.

I do this ALL the time. My favorite thing I like to have before I go to a party or some other place where I don’t control the food that is there, is Shakeology. I’ll plan ahead and instead of having Shakeology as my mid morning or mid afternoon meal (like I usually do), I’ll have it right before the party. Shakeology keeps me full for a good 3-4 hours so I don’t even want to indulge in the junk. Prior planning prevents piss poor performance! Plan ahead, and eat something healthy before going to a party that will keep you full.

5. KEEP A Food Journal.

People who typically keep a food journal will a lot of times just stop using it all together in November and December. Don’t do that! Continue using a food journal. This will allow you track what you’ve been eating, and if you splurged a bit or ate too much in a particular meal, then you can compensate for it in your other meals during the day (or you can exercise a little more that day). That is obviously not the ideal situation, and not a long term approach you should be taking with your eating habits, but it is an option for the holidays.

If you don’t know how to keep a food journal, then go here – How To Keep A Food Diary.

So there you have it! Those are 5 tips to help you survive this holiday season without having to go out and buy bigger jeans in January…

By the way, am I’m going indulge a bit and have some not so healthy food over the holidays? Of course! I workout out 6 days a week, and I eat healthy 90% to maybe even 95% of the time. Am I going to stuff my face to the point that I feel bloated and just want to stare mindlessly at the TV and fall asleep? Absolutely not.

I’m going to plan ahead, and I’ll adjust my other meals on the days that I splurge a bit. I’m also going to have smaller portions so having a cookie or some dessert won’t screw up the progress I’ve made.

So plan ahead, and do whatever you’ve got to do to continue exercising and to maintain healthy eating habits. JUST DO IT!

The post How To Avoid Busting Your Belt This Holiday Season first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

Not That Kind of Diary - How To Keep A Food Diary!

Want to almost guarantee that you’ll lose weight, get ripped, or even bulk up? Then stick with your workouts (everyone knows that one), but you ALSO need to figure out your numbers, and then keep a food diary! I know, I know, keeping a food diary isn’t exciting, it doesn’t sound fun, and it can be a pain when starting out.

I used to be one of those people who were against counting calories since it seemed like such an impossible task to do that average people like myself can never stick to. Why is it so hard to keep track of your numbers (the number of calories, protein, carbs, and fat that you take in each day)? Well, I think the answer to that is obvious. That would mean for every piece of food you put in your mouth, every liquid you drink, you’ll need to record the calories, protein, carbs and fat.

Now if you just exclusively ate from your home then this would still be difficult, but not too bad. It starts seeming like an impossible task though once you go outside of your home and eat out at restaurants, and at your family and friend’s homes. Try asking your grandma for all the nutrition labels and how much of each item she put in the food she served you. Try doing the same thing at the next party you go to. People will think you’re crazy right?

Well, I found a way to keep a food diary that average people like you and I can easily stick with, and that won’t make us look like crazy health freaks when we’re out and about. If you’re serious about hitting your goals, then read this post from start to finish so you’ll know exactly how to keep a food diary.

Why Keep A Food Diary?

I was a big skeptic to keeping a food diary so I want to appease the skeptics since I used to be one of them.

How To Keep A Food Diary - Why?

I already mentioned the main reason for keeping a food diary. You can virtually guarantee that you’ll hit whatever goal you’re after…whether your goal is to lose weight, get toned up, get ripped, or to bulk up and look like the Hulk.

Now I say that you can “virtually” guarantee that you’ll hit your goals for one reason. That reason is that EVERYONE has different body types, metabolism’s etc. As you’ll learn below you’ll have to use an online tool to figure out your initial numbers that you’ll stick with. Since we’re all different though, these tools aren’t 100% accurate. So you have to track your numbers daily for 30 days or so (while sticking with your daily numbers), take your body measurements at the end of 30 days, and then make adjustments if needed so that you hit your goals. By the way, don’t worry if you’re totally confused or lost…I’ll be explaining everything step by step below.

So I have to ask you…how SERIOUS are you about losing the weight, getting rid of the flab, getting toned up, or adding muscle mass? If you’re absolutely serious, and you are dead set on accomplishing your goals, then you have to do what needs so be done to hit those goals.

If you don’t do what needs to be done, then you’re just a dreamer or “hoper.” You hope that you’ll lose the weight one day. You dream of having a six pack and having a ripped, healthy body. But I hate to break it to you, simply dreaming or “hoping” for changes isn’t going to cause you to hit your goals. TAKING ACTION will.

So you need to make the decision on what you are going to do, commit to following through with it, and you need to go to work and just do it.

How To Keep A Food Diary Step By Step

Ok, I’m stepping down off of my soap box, and it’s time to get into the nitty gritty. I’m going to walk you through exactly “how to keep a food diary” so that you can hit your goals.

Step 1 – Figure Out Your #’s For Each Day Based On Your Goals.

I created an entire blog post on how to do that, so go here to the following link and then come back to this page- How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day

The only thing I don’t tell you how to do on that page is how to figure out what your nutritional proportions should be. In other words, how much protein, carbs, and fat should you be eating each day? For that, I’m going to tell you to reference the Nutrition guide to whatever Beachbody fitness program you’re doing.

For me personally, I’m doing P90X as of the writing of this blog post and I’m following the nutritional proportions somewhere in between the Energy Booster (Phase 2) and the Endurance Maximizer (Phase 3) phases. I’m taking in 55% carbs, 25% protein, and 20% fat each day. If you’re doing P90X, I highly recommend following the P90X Nutrition Guide, especially if you’re just starting out with P90X.

Step 2- Create A MyFitnessPal Account & Start Tracking!

Next, just click the following link to create a free myfitnesspal account- Create A Free myfitnesspal Account

This is totally free and will allow you to keep an online food journal. This is what I’ve been using and it allows you to track precisely the number of calories, protein, carbs, and fat that you’re taking in each day. This is my SECRET weapon that allows an average dude like me to keep track of this stuff without looking like a crazy person! :-)

What makes this tracking tool unique is that they have one of the largest food databases…they have a database of over 1 million food items with all of the nutritional information already in the database. So even if you go out to eat, it’s very likely that whatever food you order is in the database. If you make a recipe from a book, more then likely that food is in the database.

I also love that they have an iPhone app and I believe (not positive) that they have an app for Android phones too. So you can conspicuously track what you’re eating no matter where you are.

Video Walk Through – How To Keep A Food Diary

Now What Do I Do?

Now that you know a simple way on how to keep a food diary that anybody can stick with, you’ve gotta to actually DO IT and stick with it. I won’t lie, the first week of keeping a food journal is ALWAYS the hardest. Any custom made food you’ll have to pull out a calculator and figure out the numbers. But the cool thing is with myfitnesspal, you just have to figure out the numbers once, and then you can save it as a custom food so you can easily add it later.

You’ll find that you eat A LOT of the same foods. So after a few weeks of keeping a food journal and adding the foods you eat, you’ll be able to effortlessly add those foods to your daily food diary with just few clicks.

The road to getting fit and healthy is NOT easy, but the payoff…living a long, healthy, happy life…Feeling GOOD about yourself, gaining that self confidence, being PROUD to get into that bathing suit…makes it ALL worth it.

With time, keeping a food journal will become second nature. So if you’re serious about results, JUST DO IT!

The post How To Keep A Food Diary first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day

Your nutrition is JUST as important as your workouts! You can workout 10 hours a day and STILL not get the results you want if your nutrition isn’t in line with your goals. So, “How many calories should I eat a day” should be a question that you’re asking yourself (or asking now that you know how important it is).

In this post I’m going to answer the question of “how many calories should I eat a day” and I’m going to show you a free tool that within a matter of seconds will tell you exactly the number of calories you should be taking in every day based on your individual goals.

How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day?

The answer to the question of how many calories I should eat a day is different for everyone. It depends on your goals whether you are trying to lose some weight (lose a lot of weight or a little), maintain your weight (so you can just tone up and reveal that EIGHT pack :-)),  or to gain weight and build muscle. It also depends on what your activity level is, your age, height, and your current weight. Phew!!! That’s a lot of stuff!

Don’t worry…I’m going to make this super simple for you to figure out. In fact, I’m going to give you step by instructions that will give you your number in a matter of seconds. So without further ado, here’s the steps to figure out how many calories you should eat a day…

Step 1 – Create A Free TBB Account.

Click Here to Create A Free Team Beachbody Account. This is 100% free and it will literally take you a minute to do. You’ll need to do this if you want to get access to the caloric needs calculator that will give you your number.

Step 2 – Go To The Caloric Needs Calculator.

After you create your account you’ll automatically be logged in. All you’ll need to do is at the top of the page go to Eat Smart, Nutrition Tools. Then click on the Caloric Needs button.

Step 3 – Enter Your Info And You’re DONE!

Simply enter your information based on your situation, click submit and BAM! You’re done! Make sure to fill out all of the fields. Once you click the Submit button you’ll have the answer to the question of how many calories should I eat a day. It will look something like this (but obviously different based on your situation)-

How Many Calories A Day

Video Walk Through – How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day?

For you auditory people, here’s a step by step video walk through of how to  use the calculator so you can figure out the number of calories you should be taking in each day-

IMPORTANT Thing To Keep In Mind…This Is Critical!

One super critical thing to keep in mind is that no calculator or tool can account for each individual person’s body type, metabolism, etc. EVERYONE is different so it is impossible to give a 100% accurate number. So, what you need to do is to use this number as your starting point. In a nutshell, this is what you need to do-

• Before you start your fitness program and before you commit to sticking with your number of daily calories, take your measurements, and before pics (go here to learn how to do that).
• Then, for the next 30 days stick with your fitness program, and stick with whatever number the caloric needs calculator gave you.
• At the end of 30 days re-take all of your measurements and your pictures.

If your measurements aren’t going in the right direction, then you know that you need to adjust the number of daily calories you are taking in. So for example, say you are trying to lose weight and the caloric needs calculator told you that you should eat 2,200 calories per day. If after 30 days your measurements stay the same, then you should reduce the number of calories you are taking in. Try reducing down to 1,900 or 2,000, and then stick with that number for the next 30 days. Repeat the process until you get your desired results.

Without taking your measurements and committing to a # for 30 days, you’ll be clueless as to whether or not you are getting the results you want. So DO NOT skip this step!

So What’s Next?

You now know the number of calories you should be taking in each day so what the heck should you do next? Well, you need to do what I mentioned in the section above (so read that if you haven’t already done so). You need to commit to taking in whatever number of calories the caloric needs calculator gave you based on your goals. You need to track everything and stick with it for at least 30 days so you know if you need to make adjustments.

The best way to track your daily caloric intake is through a food journal. Stay tuned because in the next few days I’ll show you exactly what I use and how I track what I eat.

If you’re not willing to commit to eating X number of calories daily for the next 30 days and tracking everything, then you need to ask yourself this…”Am I really serious about accomplishing my goals of X (fill in X with whatever your goals are)?” If you’re TRULY serious about hitting your goals then you’ll do what needs to be done to hit those goals. It’s as simple as that. So make the decision, and JUST DO IT!

If YOU found ANY value out of this post, then make sure to SHARE the love by clicking ANY (or ALL) of the links below so we can share this info with as many people as possible-

Lastly, leave any comments or questions that you have below!

The post How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day? first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

Fish Oil Benefits

No two fats are alike. Some fats harm your health when they build up, and others are necessary for your body to function. Omega 3 fatty acids are important for a number of bodily processes. They help you regulate your cholesterol levels, improve your immune system, increase your memory and concentration, reduce stress, and more. You can easily get more Omega 3’s into your diet by taking a fish oil supplement. In this post I’m going to get into the basics of fish oil and also go into the “fish oil benefits” to taking a daily fish oil supplement.

Ready for an education on fish oil and fish oil benefits?

What’s the difference between Omega 3’s and other fats? – Fish Oil Benefits

Both Omega 3’s and other fats are used throughout the body in many different processes. Each has its place in every chemical reaction that happens. For some processes, you need Omega 3’s, and in others not so much.

The big difference between the two is that Omega 3’s cannot actually be produced by the body. You need to get them from your diet. To do that, you need to eat a lot of fish or flax seed. Those are the most well known sources.

Omega 3’s can be split into 3 separate sub-groups. You need all of them, so I’ll just go ahead and list them.

• DHA
• EPA
• ALA

Different foods contain different amounts of each, as you’ll see shortly.

So if I can just eat fish, why don’t I do that instead of using a supplement? – Fish Oil Benefits

You could do that, and you’d be fairly successful at it until you run into complications from mercury poisoning. Much of today’s fish is very high in mercury, which wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem if you were only eating fish once every few days. It becomes a problem, however, when you eat a lot of fish to get the right amount of Omega 3’s. You’ll end up doing more harm than help.

Flaxseed is a good and healthy source of Omega 3’s, but it isn’t the most efficient source. Fish oil contains both DHAs and EPAs while Flaxseed contains all ALAs. Your body can convert ALAs to DHA and EPAs, but the process is much less efficient, and some of those ALAs go to waste.

Fish oil supplements, on the other hand, contain all three of these in an even balance. There’s absolutely no risk of mercury poisoning either. Core Omega 3 is filtered with the highest quality standards possible. It’s everything you need in one simple supplement.

What are all of the health benefits of fish oil? – Fish Oil Benefits

Although it is still being studied, fish oil is known to contribute to many improvements in health. Here are just a few of the fish oil benefits–

1. Reduction in Alzheimers Disease.
2. Improvement in memory and concentration.
3. Reduction in depression.
4. Reduction of pain from arthritis.
5. Reduction of incidences of hearth disease.
6. Protection from breast cancer and prostate cancer.
7. 40% reduction in sudden deaths.

Other studies have linked fish oil to healthier pregnancies and better cognitive development. One study demonstrated that people who were breast fed by a mother who was taking fish oil supplements tended to have better cognitive function overall as adults. Babies rely on their mother’s Omega 3 stores until they can go out into the world and secure their own. If they get more from their mother, they develop into healthier adults.

It is important to note that in each of these studies, fish oil is only known to contribute to the improvement. It’s not the direct cause of the improvement itself. More research still needs to be done, but the fish oil benefits are promising enough to recommend taking fish oil as a supplement. When you look at this and the body chemistry behind it, the case is quite compelling.

Wait a second. I’m using fat as a supplement? Won’t that make me fat? – Fish Oil Benefits

Nope. That’s because these aren’t ordinary fats. They’re the kind you can’t get from a Big Mac, and they’re the kind your body absolutely needs in order to function optimally.

Omega 3’s won’t make you fatter because you’re consuming so few of them already. It’s better to think of it this way. You need to get a certain amount of fats every day no matter what diet you’re on. Some of those fats should come from Omega 3 sources while others can come from practically anywhere. You aren’t consuming more fat. You’re merely switching one for another.

Lets wrap things up – Fish Oil Benefits

Core Omega 3 - Fish Oil Benefits

When you use a high quality and safe Omega 3 supplement like Core Omega 3, you’re helping to protect yourself from a myriad of diseases while improving your brain and mood. 60-70% of your brain is made from the same fatty chains found in Omega 3s. It’s an incredibly important and often overlooked building block for a healthy lifestyle.

Fish oil supplementation is no longer an option for anyone concerned about their health. You should start doing it now.

I hope you enjoyed my Fish Oil Benefits blog post! If you did enjoy learning about the fish oil benefits, then make sure to share the love by sharing this post on your favorite social media sites.

The post Fish Oil Benefits first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.