Drinking Shakes...Can That Keep The Weight off?

I'm writing this piece because I care about people.  I have read more people joining groups and drinking shakes to lose weight than I can believe.  I'm just shaking my head and I'm concerned.

Everybody is looking for an easier way to lose weight without having to workout and eat healthy foods.  When you are on a weight loss journey, AND YOU WANT THE WEIGHT TO STAY OFF, you have got to make this a lifestyle change.  I can tell you right now, you can't live on shakes for the rest of your life.  So that means the shake drinking is temporary and once you stop, and you don't understand how to actually eat right, caloric intake, carbohydrate content, fat content and protein content per day, YOU WILL GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK.  I'm gonna repeat that through this piece.

 I can't participate in this nor can I promote it. I promote a healthy lifestyle with healthy eating of a balance eating plan and balance of exercise.  So, sure those shakes are gonna make you lose some weight, and it's going to seem like unicorns and rainbows for a while, but reality is, that is considered part of the "fad diets."

Have you even read the contents in what you are actually drinking?  Are you just doing it because someone said they lost a lot of weight by drinking them? You can't rely on this.  Are those leading you to drink these certified nutritionists? More than likely not.  YOU CAN DO MORE DAMAGE INTERNALLY than you even realize.  I wish people would just do the work and stop looking for an easy fix. So depending on someone else who doesn't have experience and knowledge about nutrition and just taking their word for it that it's safe is just not a good idea.

So what are you going to do once you stop using these products? Have you learned portion control? Have you learned what foods are best to eat at certain parts of the day, etc? Are you prepared for a lot of weight gain? Although these shakes can be convenient and if used as your 2 snacks per day in between your 3 MEALS then you are okay.

SHAKES = RAPID WEIGHT LOSS CAN RESULT IN:

1. Loss of lean muscle. People that are promoting shakes don't tell you this part...losing lean muscle means it WILL reduce your metabolism resulting in greater weight gain when you return to a eating again, or a normal diet
2. Because they are low in calories, you may feel hungry and tired, so you now have a poor adherence rate
3. These shakes contain large amounts of artificial sweeteners and preservatives. These chemicals can cause headaches, hyper activity, allergic reactions, nausea
4. They do not contain sufficient essential fats that you NEED daily
5. They do not contain the fiber you need and other healthful nutrients that you need to maintain health and wellness
6. These shakes are a PROCESSED food which means to consume these moderately not using them to replace your meals daily
7. Long term use can cause SERIOUS bowel issues
What I'm trying to convey is this, FAD DIETS ARE TEMPORARY.  If you are gong to drink these things don't just TRUST you really need to know ALL of the ingredients in which you are drinking.

I drink an all natural WHEY protein shake for my post workout that's it.  I do not drink PROTEIN shakes to replace my meals. But these shakes that are out there they look good, they taste good but you have to realize this is not something you can do for a long period of time and when you stop you WILL gain back weight. 


So do it the right way.  Exercise daily and eat a well balanced proportioned meal, otherwise apologize to your metabolism now because it's gonna go haywire.

Is Your PayCheck Keeping You From Eating Healthy?

United States has a crises on its hands. It's no secret, look all around the next time you are shopping in a mall, or somewhere where there are a lot of people.  Observe and notice at how many overweight unhealthy people, including kids you see.   We are the fattest nation.  And now our kids are following suit.  It breaks my heart.  Kids have no choice as to what they get fed at home.  They don't have the luxury to grocery shopping for healthier choices.  Worse if the parent(s) are overweight, the child or children usually are as well.  If a parent doesn't set the proper example of eating right then how in the world would the children know how to eat. 

Before I go on, that last sentence is so true.  When I have sat down with some potential clients, I try to get and idea of their history in eating.  Many tell me they have no idea how to eat healthy.  They have no clue what to eat.  It is so surprising to me.  So it shows you that if we as parents, do not teach our kids healthy habits there is a cycle that continues with them and then down to their children.

And now we have the fast foods that children love puttng this label on the boxes.

The southern states are on top with the highest numbers of obese children.  It is now predicted that our kids, my kids' generation will not outlive their parents due to obesity. NO, not all kids, I am speaking of some.  There will be a lot of children that won't have that opportunity to grow old and watch their grand children play in the yard while sippin on some ice tea on a warm summer's day.

Part of the solution is to start with mom and dad, help them to understand we have to get the kids moving.  Our kids are probably sick of hearing, "when I was your age I use to play outside until the street lights came on."  But it's true.  We didn't have video games. We had our friends and the outdoors. Mom and dad said go play outside and we were so excited to do so. You tell a kid now a days to go play outside and they don't even know what to do! They don't have the imagination that we had. Do you remember that? We would make up thinks to do and it was fun.

The following topic of discussion on Dr. Drew's page is something that I would like to share.  This topic is something that I have been talking about for the past 5 five years.  PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO, tell me what you think on how this advertisement was delivered:
I will post the link for you to take a look.
http://drdrew.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/18/child-obesity-ads-focusing-on-wrong-thing/?hpt=dr_t4

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you are poor or you are seriously struggling, it keeps you from being to able to make the right food choices when it comes to making out your grocery list. 

It is crazy to me that healthy food is so expensive and the things that are bad for us are cheaper, way cheaper.  Yet our nation complains about how we have medical issues on getting folks insured and that there are hospitals going out of business, healthcare is so expensive.  Ya think that if our nation promoted a HEALTHY NATION and turned it around, made the healthy food affordable in this economy and bad foods much more expensive than healthcare perhaps could be in less of a crises.

School lunches are a serious problem, but again if parents can't afford to buy healthy things for their kids to eat then the kids are stuck eating bad lunches at school.  Most schools have programs for those that do struggle so the kids can eat free. 

We as parents have got to step up and stop this cycle.  Instead of buying the video games get those kids outside, play with them, throw a ball, DO SOMETHING.  There are things that can be cut back on so a parent can purchase a bag of apples for the child to have each day as a snack.  There ARE ways, but how will we ever stop this.  Is it stoppable?  I doubt it. 

What I do fear is that it's going to take a rise in child deaths due to obesity issues and so on for our ASLEEP nation to wake up!  SO PARENTS WAKE UP, go outside and throw a ball with your kid.  MOVING is a start.

Why Eat Quinoa

Most people have never heard of quinoa let alone know how to pronounce it.
But this is an amazing little grain from South Africa with a power pack of protein.

The history is amazing as to how this power grain was discovered.  A group of NASA scientists set out to find a consummate grain that they could use to send with astronauts up in space. And this was used for long trips that could even last up to two years.

Quinoa, as I stated is packed with protein.  It's up there with poultry and dairy, which is pretty unusual for that much protein to come from a plant.  It contains more protein and fewer carbs, then wheat rye, rice and oats, and it's double to triple the fiber than most of your grains.

So for example a single cup of quinoa is  packed with as much protein as contained in  four eggs. Nutritionists call it a complete protein which means it has all of the essential amino acids which is something you don't normally see in plants.

If you are a vegetarian then this plant is FOR YOU!  If you are a migraine sufferer, this is also something you may want to consider in your weekly diet.  It's beneficial for cardiovascular health, great for your digestive track and detoxifying as well as it can also act as an anti-oxidant.  So there are many benefits to eating quinao!

Quinoa can be eaten cold as well.  I love to make a quinoa salad.

I cook an entire bag of quinoa
after it's done cooking I put it in the refigerator to get cold
I add red onions
Cut up red and yellow bell pepper
a tadd bit of olive oil
a tadd of lime juice
and chopped up mango

DELICIOUS!

Try My Balls

Do you have the balls to try mine?  Who doesn't like a good quick ball on the way out the door. 

I stumbled upon the recipe some time ago, and thought I would share these balls with you.  They are healthy, easy to make and they are great when friends come over.  Try these out, and trust me you'll want to share these balls with your friends and family.

So if you've got the balls to try this recipe, you will need  for my power balls:

POWER BALLS
Turn on that over and set it to 350 degrees

1 cup of oats. Now you are going to have ground these so they become like an oat flour
Mix that in with 2 cups of almond meal

Add 3 teaspoons of baking powder
Add 4 tablespoons of honey to your mix

Add 4 tablespoons of cocunut oil - to make it easier to mix in I would heat the oil up a bit in a pan first

Cook 1 cup of carrots then mash them up.  Food processor will do this quickly

Once carrots are mashed, add that into your ball mix and mix it all up so you are ready to put your power balls in the over.

In a separate bowl use crushed almonds or crushed pecans.  Now depending on how big you like your balls, this batch can make 28 balls.

Start to shape your ball in the palm of your hand, then roll your nicely shaped ball in the bowl of nuts so they coat the outside.  Do this with all your balls. And of course the nuts are the option, but it makes for a great coating on your balls.

Place all your balls on a cooking sheet and put in the over for 25 minutes.

Let your balls cool a bit before putting them in your mouth.  Let me know how your balls turned out and if you enjoyed this recipe!

To Your Health

Unilateral Weight Training

We all want our workouts to be effective and we definitely want results.  It is so important to change up your workouts from time to time.  A great way to mix up your weight training is to unilateral train those muscles.

Unilateral training is when you train one side of the body at a time.  It's actually very effective as there are substantial benefits of muscle gain. When unilateral training the upper body it requires some balance and therefore your core is engaged.  So it is actually quite beneficial to your core.

Next time you are doing push ups, try one armed.  I am so happy I can get four reps on one arm now.  I'm working on it.  Give it a try.  The great thing about a one arm push up is that it takes great core strength to assist and this where you can engage that core and work it really good.

On legs, one of the things I do is a one leg squat on the smith machine.  Talk about some serious let and glute work.  Your leg muslces in the one leg have to work harder in the squat momentum and you really feel this in your glutes as opposed to a regular bilateral squat (both legs).

The split squat also will engage your core and you will definitely feel the work.  If you are normally not able to do deep seated squats, then the split squat will definitely help you with that.  No doubt will you get stronger.

There are many different exercises for upper and lower body that you can do, but for a great mix up I suggest you give it a shot for a few weeks or just incorporate it in your routine.

To Your Health

Let's EAT

I wanted to post a few recipes that I found through some research that were so yummy and yet healthy. Bon Appetite!

GRILLED TUNA STEAK WITH PESTO SAUCE
Quick and easy to make, especially if you make the Pesto sauce in advance, or buy it ready-made from the store. This meal is a great choice for a busy week night, when you just don’t have time to cook.

4 tuna steaks, 5 to 6 oz each
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat grill or broiler.
2. Cook tuna until the middle is opaque.
3. Transfer fish to plate and top with pesto.

Pesto (makes 1/2 cup)–will need food processor
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, stemmed
1/4 cup walnuts
2 Tbsp black olives, minced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes with oil
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Blend together in food processor or purchase ready-made pesto at your local grocery store.

Health Benefits
High in protein and low in sodium and fat, tuna is a terrific choice for a low calorie meal. Choose extra virgin olive oil for the best health benefits–it’s loaded with antioxidants. The pesto sauce is low calorie, low fat and adds just the right zing–fit for a king!

　

WHITE BEAN DIP

Who says you have to ditch the dips when you’re watching your diet? With this low-fat, high fiber spread, you can double dip for a devilish delight. A great snack but keep it healthy with veggies and whole grain crackers. Remember: portion control is a major factor in weight loss, so don’t over-indulge.

One 19 oz. can of white beans, drained and rinsed.
3 jarred or canned anchovies, rinsed and patted dry.
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of pepper

Directions
Place all ingredients except pepper in food processor.
When mixed, add pinch of pepper.
Serve with a dish of raw veggies such as carrots, peppers, celery, tomatoes, or your choice of whole grain crackers.

Health Benefits: High in soluble fiber, protein, iron and potassium. A low-fat dip that should require no extra salt, since the anchovies are a naturally salty fish. Anchovies are high in heart-friendly polyunsaturated fatty acids that help to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. The lemon juice helps to break down the white beans while adding a pleasant taste to the dip. The extra-virgin olive oil brings out the creaminess of the white beans for a smooth texture.

Smothered Honey Red Onion With Chicken and Peas
　

It’s easy to make and the honey adds a nice sweet taste that traps the succulent juices in the chicken. This recipe makes plenty for 4 people.

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbs. honey
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme crushed
1 large red onion, sliced thin
2 Tbs. fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste ( optional)
4 chicken breast
1 package frozen peas

Directions:

Ina bowl stir together the vinegar, honey, and thyme.
Separate the onion slices, add to the vinegar mixture let stand.
In a large skillet cook chicken with small amount of olive oil.
Salt and pepper to taste remove from skillet.
Add onion mixture to remaining drippings in skillet, cook over medium heat 3-4 minutes until onions are crisp tender.
In separate pot, cook peas, until tender, season accordingly.
Stir onion mixture in skillet and add parsley.
Add chicken breast and allow chicken to marinate over heat 2-5 minutes.
To serve, transfer chicken breast to plate and top with onion mixture.
Serve with peas.

Health Benefits:
A great source of protein, chicken is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and makes a great choice for a healthy meal. The onions, parsley and peas provide vitamins and nutrients along with antioxidants that protect against free radicals. This is a satisfying meal that is low in calories.