Posts Tagged ‘Diet’

How to Fight Your Cravings for Midnight Munchies

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013

Midnight MunchiesWhether you’re bulking, cutting, or straight-up losing weight, you have no doubt developed a targeted diet meant to enhance your exercise regimen in order to help you meet your goals.

Restrictive or specific diets can leave you feeling unsatisfied or craving your favorite foods, and if you’re not smart about how you get your daily caloric intake you can find your tummy grumbling before you go to bed, or even waking you up in the middle of the night, just begging for a midnight snack that is definitely not diet-approved.

However, there are plenty of ways that you can keep yourself satisfied and full on nearly any diet plan so that you can stave off cravings for midnight munchies.

Here are just a few tactics you may want to try.

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5 Great Foods for Burning Fat and Building Muscle

Thursday, March 7th, 2013

Health FoodIf you are weight training to build muscle, your biggest goal is to keep your body mass index in check. Body builders around the world will tell you that having the perfect, sculpted body is also about staying lean and keeping your body fat at a minimum.

To be pure muscle and no fat you have to find creative ways to exercise, but you also have to eat the right food. In order to sculpt your muscles, you need food with enough protein to keep you energized, but also food that helps burn fat – you also want to suppress those unwanted cravings.

Here are 5 great foods for burning fat and building muscle.

  1. Oatmeal.

    Oatmeal is the secret weapon for a lot of body builders that want to sculpt the perfect body. Eating oatmeal 1 to 2 hours before an exercise or weight lifting session will give you an adequate amount of sustained energy, which will allow you to work out longer. Oatmeal is also great at regulating your blood sugar levels, which can stave off cravings. It is also a great source of fiber, which can prevent your body from storing excess fat.

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5 MORE Ways to Burn MORE Belly Fat During Exercise

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

No Belly Fat ChickOne of the first places the average adult body stores spare fat is around the belly, and this can be a real nightmare for anyone trying to trim down their midsection.

You might think that you’re doing everything right when it comes to your diet and exercise regimen, and yet, for some reason you just can seem to shed the unsightly padding around your abdominals.

If this is the case, you could find that doing everything right is actually all wrong. Your lifestyle might be sabotaging everything.

Here are just a few tips and tricks that could help you to finally melt away the belly fat that’s been plaguing you for years. Sure, they say diet is responsible for 75% of your progress, but if you are doing everything else wrong, your lifestyle could derail 90% of your progress.

Here are 5 more tips to help you lose belly fat:

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Weight Loss vs Fat Loss

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

Weight Loss vs Fat Loss

To optimize fat loss rather than weight loss, use the Project Shred diet plan for only 3 weeks, then scale back to a less restrictive meal plan. Be sure to use a workout routine like Fat Loss for Men or Fat Loss for Women, in order to maintain muscle mass during your weight loss phase.

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Coconut Chai Energy Elixir

Monday, February 18th, 2013

Energy Chick
You want to have enough energy to do dumbbell handstand push ups? Try this frosty shake on for size.

Ingredients

  • 6-8 raw blanched almonds
  • 3-4 tbsp. raw sunflower seeds or flax seeds
  • 1-2 cup filtered water
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1-2 square inches fresh coconut
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 3-5 pitted dates or 1/2 banana

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How to Transform Your Body After Age 50

Friday, February 15th, 2013

Exercise is Recommended at Any Age

Fitness Woman
For some reason, people seem to harbor the misconception that turning fifty means you’re old. In truth, it wasn’t really so long ago that the average life expectancy was about fifty-five, but thanks to modern medicine and advancing technology, many people now live to be far older than that. A growing awareness about the role diet and exercise play in human longevity hasn’t hurt, either.

What’s truly astonishing is how many people still believe that there is ever a time in life when it’s too late to start paying attention to your relative state of health and making changes that can benefit you for the rest of your life.

While you might not be surprised to see those in the 50+ category changing their diets to lower blood pressure or cholesterol, it’s likely that you’ll register wonder that your contemporaries are starting a workout routine.

The honest truth is that exercise at any age has the power to transform you if you go about it in the proper way. So here are a few tips to help you get the physique you seek, even if you’re starting to get letters from AARP.

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BBQ and Picnic Foods to Avoid at All Costs

Sunday, February 3rd, 2013

CookoutWhen it comes to supporting your fitness routine with a suitable diet, it can be rather difficult to stick to the program, especially when you’re confronted by the delicious foods commonly found at social gatherings like BBQs and picnics. Not only are these traditional recipes fragrant and delicious, but it can be very difficult to deny yourself when everyone else is digging in with obvious relish.

In truth, most people have a much harder time sticking to a diet than an exercise regimen, likely because of the vast abundance of food options available to modern man, as well as a culture that urges us towards excess and instant gratification (often at the expense of long-term goals).

So the next time you go to a picnic or BBQ, you should prepare yourself to avoid certain foods that are sure to tank any type of diet (even when you’re bulking you’re likely to have some guidelines for appropriate foods).

Here are some foods you’ll want to steer clear of and how you can compensate for continued success.

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Getting Into Peak Shape for a Big Event

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

Big Event Fitness

A Short Term Solution

If you’re committed to your health and fitness, then you’ve probably got a regular routine worked out already. But you may have found that over time, your targeted regimen begins to deliver fewer returns in the way of results.

This is not such a terrible thing when you’re merely maintaining your level of fitness. But when you have to look your best for an event like a wedding, a body-builder competition, or even a stroll down the red carpet, you may be keen to up your game where your workouts are concerned.

The process starts with assessing your current state, determining your goals, and then figuring out the steps needed to get you where you want to be within a set time limit. So whether you have several months to prepare or just a couple of weeks, here are some tips that will help to get you in peak physical condition before the big event.

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The Link Between Exercise and Fertility

Thursday, January 17th, 2013
Pregnancy Fitness

Here’s one for the ladies.

There are a number of factors that can affect your ability to create a new life. While most of us have a fair notion of how babies are made, it’s not always as simple as getting busy. There could be all kinds of things standing in your way.

My grandmother once told me that a tipped uterus was causing her problems for months until a doctor suggested that she stand on her head after sex. According to her, it worked like a charm and that’s how my mother was conceived.

The point is that you might be facing something of an uphill battle when it comes to starting a family. And if you’re young and in relatively good health, with no major medical issues barring you from getting pregnant, you might start to wonder why it’s taking so long.

In case you didn’t know, your exercise routine could be to blame, and while this post is written for women, it applies to men too.

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Using Exercise to Help Prevent Diabetes

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes Exercise

As you may or may not know, diabetes is a metabolic disorder by which the body either fails to produce adequate amounts of insulin needed to properly break down glucose in the blood, or cells in the body are simply unable to react properly to the insulin that is created, leading to the same results.

Those who suffer from this disease may have side effects like frequent urination and thirst, but it can also lead to more serious complications like:

  • glaucoma
  • infections
  • ulcers
  • neuropathy (nerve damage)
  • heart disease
  • an inability of the body to heal wounds
  • and in extreme cases, amputation of extremities

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Strategies to Avoid the College Freshman 15

Thursday, December 20th, 2012

The Dreaded Freshman 15 is Real!

Fit Freshman

You might think that the notorious freshman fifteen is nothing more than a fairy tale, but consider for a moment the contributing factors. For one thing, most college students are away from home (and the watchful gaze of mom and dad) for the first time in their lives. And without parents around to make sure you’re getting three square meals a day, you might fall into bad habits like scarfing pizza and burgers at the cafeteria for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, skipping fruits and veggies, and snacking from vending machines the rest of the time.

Pile on top of that plenty of stress, a distinct lack of sleep, a lot of high-calorie alcoholic beverages, and likely, little to no exercise. The true surprise is that the standard fifteen pounds are not double that. So if you’d like to avoid the unwanted extra pounds that plague the average student, here are just a few strategies to maintain your weight, keep your energy levels high, and ultimately look and feel as good exiting your freshman year as you did going in.

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How to Lose Weight Without Losing Essential Nutrients

Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

Lose Fat, Stay HealthyIn today’s society, many people put premium on being thin. Many factors, especially the media, contribute to the notion that what is beautiful is a well-sculpted body that doesn’t show the slightest hint of fat. This has led many people to interpret fitness as looking like those sexy models as an epitome of ideal body. Some has been into different weight loss plans, such as the Medifast, and other crash dieting just to get rid of their extra pounds.

The results of crash diets are dire. Those people trying to lose weight by sacrificing their nutrition are actually punishing themselves. They are constantly living in a condition of hunger which eventually leads them to feel exhausted all the time. Worse, it can lead to collapse and many other health risks. Crash dieting can literally make someone crash.

Those who intend to shed those extra fats in their body must realize that there are weight loss plans which do not lose the essential nutrients of the body. Healthy choices in food and proper exercises are the major keys in losing weight the healthy way.

For beginners, it must be understood that a variety in the foods a person eat is actually essential. One should not be easily taken by the low carb/high protein diet mindset which some fitness people propagate. Maximizing protein intake, in and of itself, is not a balanced diet. Sure low carbs and high protein can help retain and build muscle while simultaneously losing fat, but a diet consisting of, for example, 5 meals of chicken and broccoli each day, is not a healthy diet and can actually make you sick.

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How to Avoid Spending a Fortune on Supplements

Sunday, December 9th, 2012

Incline ChickWhether you’re bulking up, trimming down, or just trying to adopt a lifestyle that will ensure optimum health and fitness, you may have found that you’re having trouble getting the results you crave or that your new routine leaves you tired, achy, and wondering why you started in the first place. In many cases, this is due to the fact that you have drastically changed your diet, your level of physical activity, or both without stopping to consider how these changes might affect the way your body functions.

Getting All Your Desired Nutrients

It could be that you are now missing out on vital nutrients needed to help you reach your goals, achieve peak performance levels, and feel your best. At this point you might consider supplements as a way to get the protein, vitamins, or other nutrients required to balance out your new regimen. However, supplements can be expensive, and you might not be able to fit everything you need into your limited budget. So if you want to avoid spending a fortune, here are a few options to help you meet all of your needs.

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3 Weight Loss Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Weight Loss TipsWhether you’re trying to lose those 20 pounds or just looking to fit into your old jeans, steering clear of weight loss mistake is of upmost importance for long term success. Let’s face it, we all make the odd mistake—and when it comes to burning the flab, it’s all too easy.

Without further ado, here are the 3 most common weight loss mistakes and how to avoid them.

Mistake 1: the Fat Burning Zone

Though when exercising at lower intensity level, the body relies heavily on fat as the main source of energy than when doing high intensity exercise, the total calorie burn at the end of the training will be lower, thus leading to more weight loss plateaus and setbacks.

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Post Exercise Nutrition for Runners

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

Hot Chicks RunningThough proper nutrition is vital for high energy levels and performance, the right nutrition is also vital for proper recovery.

What you ingest right after a workout determines, for the most part, how you’re going to feel the next day and your enjoyment and performance levels during your upcoming workout.

Proper post workout nutrition helps you replenish energy tanks and rebuild muscle tissue damage. On the other hand, skipping on recovery nutrition will leave you more susceptible to infections, low energy levels, high frequency of aches and pains and a loss of motivation for the training itself.

Therefore, here are some of the best nutrition guidelines that can help you recover faster and become a better athlete as a result.

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For Extreme Fat Loss Check out Intermittent Fasting

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

I have always been a big supporter of eating breakfast and eating frequent, small meals all day long. Both for fat loss and for muscle gain. That is, until a year ago when I started investigating Intermittent Fasting and Martin Berkhan’s Leangains protocol, Jon Pearlstone’s EET, and the ‘Eat. Stop. Eat.’ plan.

Since I started believing in the Intermittent Fasting hype, I have learned so much more about the benefits of IF, and I use the strategy pretty much every day. It is unusual for me to eat before noon or 1pm, and my most productive time of day is pre-meal.

Aside from IF and sporadic gym training, I’m not actively trying to lose weight, yet I’ve lost about 15 pounds in the last year while keeping my strength level. I haven’t decided whether or not IF is best for muscle gain, but you can’t beat it for fat loss.

Here are some links you can check out for more info about Intermittent Fasting:

4 Reasons Why You Should Start Skipping Breakfast
Eating the ‘Most Important Meal of the Day’ Will Make You Fat
Leangains
EET Fit

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The US Obesity Epidemic in Recent Years

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

Obesity in the US
Obesity in the US

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Meals to Maximize Performance

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Meals That Maximize Your Performance

Performance Meals

Willpower is not enough. Food is what fuels your training and performance. Athletes make eating meals a conscious process, and they put knowledge of nutrition and planning into it.

I have found that performance outcomes can differ by seconds, which means the right muscle didn’t get the right fuel. Every bite that you eat counts. In working with athletes and their nutrition needs, I’ve found a few simple rules that help you keep food as fuel at the forefront of your mind and help ensure that you get the proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals and fluids.

Here we go:

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Halloween Recipes: Caviar Crescent Moons

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

A high protein gourmet Halloween recipe.

Crescent Moon Recipe

If you’re hosting a Halloween party this year, chances are, you’re serving your guests a few Halloween inspired treats. Typically, the quality of the appetizers gets sacrificed in the name of this fun filled holiday. Why not try something different this year, and opt for a healthier, more refined gourmet foods hors d’oeuvres table.

With domestic prices on gourmet goods at an all time low, you can achieve this without breaking the bank and with these tips, you won’t have to worry about having to skip on any the fun ghoul and goblin spooky flair. Instead of the endless amount of sugar cookies caked with sugar and frosting, why not invite your guests to partake in delicious puff pastries or blinis topped with crème fraîche and orange Salmon roe and black caviar to look like pumpkins. This way, your guests will feel guilt free because they are eating a high protein snack, rather than a fatty cookie.

Keeping with your Halloween gourmet theme, substitute your bagged chips for tasty Crescent Moon inspired toast topped with sour cream or a low fat aioli spread and then topped with black caviar. The caviar will give your moons just the right amount of that Halloween feel.

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Swole 101: The Elusive Quest for a Six Pack

Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Female and Male Abs

Nowadays, it seems everyone is after a toned midsection. Some people won’t even stop until they achieve shredded washboard abs. A six pack has come to be an important quest for many persons, however, many are misled as to the method to obtain it.

One common misconception is that cardiovascular exercise is the most important aspect of dialing in a six pack. Another misconception is that doing 1000 crunches a day is most important. Wrong on both accounts! Diet possibly plays the greatest role in obtaining a six pack. Let’s see why.

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