“Quit? You know, once I was thinking about quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer all at the same time. But with thte love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and I won the Tour de France five times in a row. But I’m sure you have a good reason to quit.”
~Lance Armstrong
From the Movie “Dodgeball”
Don’t take my word for it, take it from Coaches Michael Boyle and Alwyn Cosgrove!
Who are Michael Boyle and Alwyn Cosgrove, you may ask?
Michael Boyle is one of the greatest minds in the strength and conditioning field. He works with clients from Mrs. Jones to professional athletes.
Alwyn Cosgrove is also a great mind in the strength and conditioning field. He owns one of the most successful training facilities in the country, writes for Men’s Health, T-Mag, and educates other fitness professionals on how to be better at our craft.
Here is part of a presentation Michael Boyle did discussing the inefficiency of aerobic training.
http://www.functionalstrengthcoach3.com/intervals.html
Among the reasons for not doing aerobic activity, coach Boyle states that “enlisting a youth athlete in cross country for the fall to “get in shape” is a death sentence in regards to their speed and performance.”
Aerobic activity makes you slow, inhibits your body’s ability to shed fat efficiently, and is damaging to your joints.
Interestingly, Alwyn Cosgrove just did a post on his blog referencing a study regarding aerobics for fat loss. You can see the study here:
http://alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com/2009/10/aerobics-for-fat-loss-fails-again.html
So, unless you’re training for a 10k, stop hitting the treadmill and start doing some intervals like this!
It’s exactly 7 weeks until New Year’s! I know, that may be a little cruel to put it into that timeframe.![[little_black_dress2.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SpqBmKQsGj8/Rv10j202mVI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/-I-U-W7TDyE/s1600/little_black_dress2.jpg)
However, I just wanted to do a quick “reality” check.
Between now and then, we have Thanksgiving, Christmas, Parties, family gatherings, everything the holiday season brings whether you celebrate traditional holidays or not!
Do you have an action plan? Do you have a support system? Do you have a routine?
What do you plan on looking like for your New Year’s event?
Remember the idea that a diet of mostly good with a little junk mixed in will get you where you want to be. However, if you’ve already got bad nutritional habits, the upcoming weeks will make a bad situation worse!
And, there’s a lot that can be done to your physique in 7 weeks with the right training program!
So, do you want to be smokin’ hot, feeling confident, excited to wear that “little black dress”, or is your plan to blame your layering and covering up on the winter weather?
It’s your decision!
“You don’t become enormously successful with out encountering and overcomming a number of extremely challenging problems.”
~Mark Victor Hansen
There are studies that showing that if you log your food intake, you are far more likely to be successful with your fat loss goals.
It’s amazing to see how easily things “slip through the cracks” when you’re not paying attention. However, when everything is being logged, it makes you think twice about what you’re consuming. It can also serve as a tool to correct habits or eating patterns you may otherwise be unaware of.
I’ll be honest, for me keeping a food log is difficult to do! However, it can provide such great info when I’m looking to make some changes that it’s worth it to set my excuses aside 
Meal #1
5:40am
1/2 Protein Shake (bananas, protein powder, peanut butter, coffee)
Meal #2
6:40-7:30 am
Post Workout Shake (Protein powder, water)
Meal #3
9:00 am
1/2 Protein Shake (same as above)
Meal #4
10:00 am
Berries n Yogurt (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, plain yogurt)
Meal #5
12:30 pm
Chicken Salad and Spinach Salad (baby spinach, chicken breast, canola mayo, balsamic vinegar, garlic salt)
Meal #6
3:00 pmBerries n Yogurt (same as above)
Meal #7
4:30 pm
Carrots n Trail Mix (2 large carrots, 2 handfuls raw nuts and dried fruit mix)
Meal #8
6:45 pmChicken, Bulgar Wheat, Salad (Baby spinach, home made EVOO balsamic vinaigrette, lightly breaded chicken with home made honey mustard dipping sauce, bulgar wheat)
Kefir is a staple in our household. While I typically explain it as a type of yogurt drink, in researching for this post, discovered there was much more to it than the simple explanation I had been giving! I got most of my information from a website called allaboutkefir.blogspot.com
While there were many other resources, including wikipedia.com and kefir.net, I found that with just a few edits here and there, all about kefir had a great overview of what Kefir is, and the many benefits from consuming it.
I hope after reading this, you decide to make Kefir a staple in your household as well!
Kefir, pronounced (kef e-er) is a refreshing cultured-milk beverage that is loaded with nutritional benefits. It’s made by culturing fresh milk with kefir grains. Kefir grains are not to be mistaken for cereal 
grains; they are a soft, gelatinous white biological mass of proteins, lipids (fats), and a soluble-polysaccharide kefiran complex. They are famous for there vast mixture of specific friendly (LAB) Lactic-acid Bacteria and yeasts.
This is the most potent source of probiotics (friendly bacteria) you can find. In most probiotic pills found in stores you will find about 15 different strains of friendly bacteria, for example (Lactobacillus bugaricus and Streptoccocus thermophilus) are just 2 of the more well known strains.
However, Mother Nature has out done the laboratories. A natural kefir grain contains 42 different strains of friendly bacteria. There is simply no comparison.
HOW DOES KEFIR COMPARE TO YOGURT?
While both Kefir and yogurt are cultured milk products, they contain different types of beneficial bacteria. Yogurt contains transient beneficial bacteria that keep your digestive system clean and provide food for the friendly bacteria that are already present. Kefir actually helps to colonize your intestinal tract — a feat that yogurt cannot match.
-Additionally, Kefir contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt: Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetobacter species, and Streptococcus species. It also contains beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces Kefir and Torula Kefir, which help balance the intestinal flora, including promotion of beneficial yeast in the body by penetrating the mucosal lining.
They form a virtual SWAT team that housecleans and helps strengthen the intestines.
Kefir’s active yeast and bacteria may provide more nutritive value than yogurt by helping digest the foods that you eat and by keeping the colon environment clean and healthy. The curd size of Kefir is smaller than yogurt, so it’s also easier to digest, making it an ideal food for babies, the elderly, and anyone with digestive health concerns.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
If you’re looking for a good probiotic supplement, go for the best; Kefir. Many manufacturers of probiotics claim that their pills contain 15 billion bacteria at the time of processing. And that it would take tubs of yogurt or gallons of kefir to receive the same amount of friendly bacteria.
First of all, let’s not forget that these companies acquire their products directly from these whole food fermented-milk products. As previously mentioned, they pull nutrients out of whole foods and turn around and sell them right back to you.
Numbers don’t lie
* One capsule of man-made probiotics normally contains about 15 billion bacteria.
* One small bowl of fresh yogurt (500 ml), contains about 1.5 trillion beneficial organisms. – 100 times more than a 15 billion capsule.
* And one small bowl of fresh kefir (500 ml), contains as many as
5 trillion beneficial organisms. Almost 400 times more than a capsule.
Kefir and other fermented milk products contain buffering agents that nourish and protect the lactobacillus from bile acids in the stomach. This way they can make it into the intestines where they produce Vit. B-12 and help to breakdown and package food for excretion. Milk products are such strong buffering agents that even poison control centers recommend drinking milk when confronted with a poison situation.
Bacteria in pill form are in a dormant cycle and the bacteria in kefir and yogurt are alive and well, making them much more fit to adapt to sudden changes in environment as they enter the body.
These fermented milk products are considered functional foods because they function as health promoting foods. Probiotic pill supplements only offer one thing, bacteria. Fermented Milk offers much more; minerals, vitamins, amino acids, L-carnitine, good fats, antimicrobial agents and more.
Scientist tested the kefir in the Caucasus Mountains for any type of harmful bacteria. But much to their surprise, they found nothing. Deep in the mountains where sanitary conditions are much worse than ours, the scientist refused to believe there was no harmful bacteria to be found. Creating a possible scenario that a piece of animal fecal matter would fall into the milk, they injected the E. Coli bacteria into the kefir. Within 24 hours the E. Coli was destroyed by Kefir’s benificial bacteria! Kefir has also demonstrated the ability to kill H. pylori infections when bacteria alone could not. In addition, the complex microflora of kefir has also shown a keen ability to stimulate our immune system, ward off infections from salmonella, and in some cases even fight cancer.
Fermented foods such as kefir, yogurt, and sauerkraut are once again superior to pills in a bottle.
WHY YOU SHOULD DRINK KEFIR
It’s an enzyme-rich food, filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem” to maintain optimal health and strengthen immunity.
Kefir’s tart and refreshing flavor is similar to a drinking-style yogurt, and it contains beneficial yeast as well as the friendly ‘probiotic’ bacteria found in yogurt. When used regularly, the naturally occurring bacteria and yeast in Kefir combine symbiotically to help balance your intestinal flora and boost your immunity.
Among its many beneficial powers, Kefir:
* Provides supplemental nourishment for pregnant and nursing women.
* Contributes to your healthy immune system help fortify patients suffering from AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome, herpes, and cancer.
* Promotes a relaxing effect on the nervous system and benefit many who seek a restful night’s sleep, and who suffer from depression, and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
* Helps support your normal intestinal tract function, promote bowel movements and your healthy digestive system — and is an absolute must after the use of antibiotics to restore balance to the digestive tract!
* Curbs unhealthy food cravings by making your body more nourished and balanced.
THE EFFECTS OF KEFIR:
-From experience of generations, here are some of the properties possessed by the real kefir.
* Regulates the body’s immune system and improves resistance to diseases.
* Regulates the blood pressure, blood sugar and cures diabetes.
* Heals the lungs, bronchitis, tuberculosis, asthma, allergies and migraine.
* Has a positive influence on the heart and blood, heals circulatory conditions.
* Heals various eczema, all skin disorders and leads to cure of acne.
* Heals the kidneys, the urinary tract and protects prostate.
* Has a positive influence on cholesterol, osteoporosis and rheumatism.
* Supports enzymes production and heals the pancreas.
* Improves the liver and gallbladder, regulates bile production, influences positively hepatitis.
* Regulates metabolism, digestion and heals diseases of the colon.
* Heals colitis, diarrhea, catarrh, reflux, leaky gut syndrome, candidasis and more.
* Rebalance the intestinal flora and stomach acid, heals duodenum and cures ulcers.
* Produces its own antibiotics, eliminates unfriendly bacteria, cures internal and external inflammations.
* Heals lactose intolerance and provides full digestibility of milk based products.
* Produces own anti-cancer compounds, prevents metastasis, and leads to cure.
* Slows the aging process, smoothes and improves skin, hair and muscle tonus.
* Reduces anxiety, depression, increases energy and feeling of wellbeing.
* Produces all necessary vitamins and beneficial bacteria needed for our healthy daily life.
Almost a century of scientific and medical research confirming the above is available from Dairy Research Institute in former USSR. With the worldwide cost of medical care getting inflated by chronic diseases, real kefir is gaining popularity. Not only for its health benefits, but also for its effects in lowering medical cost. With increasing resistance to antibiotics, intensive research of the real kefir is conducted in Europe and Japan. The results are supporting the experience of generations.
You can’t really miss it on the internet these days. Seems like everywhere you look there’s another company promoting the nutritious Acai Berry as a weight loss miracle. 
In fact, I had someone call me out of the blue from another state a few months back, asking how they could get a refund? They had looked ”Acai” up online, and because I had done a blog post, our site came up so she called us. The company she was trying to find had promised a weight loss miracle, and had charged her for $250, and literally disapeared!
And that’s why I thought it was critical to write you today. We want to make sure you know our opinion on the subject.
First, you know better than to believe you’re going to pop some pills – ANY pills – and have the pounds and inches melt off like magic.
If you’ve been listening to any fitness expert for any length of time you know true fat loss comes from a variety of factors, including exercise and proper nutrition.
Second, any fitness expert worth their fees will tell you that any diet that promotes you eat any one food all day long and then eat a sensible dinner, well, don’t bother. Yes, you will lose some weight short-term, but as soon as you go back to your old eating habits – and you know you will – you know exactly what happens.
Third, the Acai Berry contains VERY powerful antioxidants and it is getting a lot of good press for that very reason. Yes, antioxidants as in the extraordinary nutrients that help fight the free radicals associated with aging, cancer risk and other degenerative diseases.
And while on the subject, I wanted to fill you in on something that has recently come to light. Did you know that coffee berries (the berry that covers the coffee bean) is one of the most powerful antioxidants on the planet? It’s something researchers have discovered in recent years.
What’s really cool is my friends at Prograde Nutrition have created an amazing Whole Foods based Anti-Aging formula called Prograde Longevity that includes both Acai Berry and Coffee Berry.
Oh, and it also utilizes Green Tea, Pomegranate, Wolf Berry and Biovin Grape (Red Wine extract.)
Just to give you an idea of how powerful this formula is, well, you’d have to eat an entire POUND of raspberries to get the same ORAC value. And in case you’re not familiar with the term, ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.
The best part is you can now try Prograde Longevity for free! You simply pay a tiny shipping and handling fee. Just go to http://dominateyoursport.getprograde.com/longevity-free-trial.html to order your FREE bottle today.
But you really do need to hurry. I’m not sure how long they’re going to be able to make such an incredible FREE offer.
I have just started listening to yet another audio book called “The End of Overeating” and while it may not pertain to you, almost all of us know someone that suffers from the inability to control what and how much they eat.
The book, which is written by Dr. David Kessler, former Commissioner for the FDA, starts off with some fascinating interviews with people who simply can not control their eating habits. They are literally obsessed with food and spend all day thinking about it. One of the ladies Dr. Kessler interviewed said she was able to control her weight through a lot of exercise but that she still obsessed with food.
The book then talked about how this obesity epidemic is a rather new phenomenon. Up until the 1980’s the weight of the average American was pretty constant and predictable. They would add a few pounds through adulthood and lose a few pounds as they got into old age but most people kept a healthy weight and the overweight people were the exception, not the norm.
However, statistics showed that trend changed drastically in the 80’s. For example, in the 70’s the average weight of a female between 21-29 years old used to be 126 pounds (I am writing these numbers from memory so they may not be exact but they are pretty close). However, in the year 2000 that had jumped to 159 pounds. These jumps were seen across the board and one of the most disturbing trends was how much fatter the kids were getting.
While I am just starting the book and have a lot left to get through, I can tell you that there is a sinister underlying force at work here. Much like Big Tobacco learned how to combine nicotine with other chemicals in just the right amount to increase the addictiveness of cigarettes, “Big Food” has learned how to combine sugar, fat and salt in ways that make food much more addictive.
For example, there was a study on how a sugar and fat solution affected a strain of mice that had been bred to be obesity prone vs. regular mice. The regular mice would eat regular food until they were full and then stop while the obesity prone strain would tend to overeat and gain weight. However, when the sugar and fat solution was introduced to both groups, that difference completely disappeared.
Both groups would gorge themselves and the regular mice would be just as prone to gain weight as the obesity strain. This is pretty scary stuff – there are literally food combinations that will short circuit your body’s normal mechanisms of controlling how much food you ingest. The Big Food companies have literally researched how much salt they can add to certain foods in order to maximize how much we love it without being too salty so that we hate it.
I just find it ironic how quick we are to levy huge taxes on cigarettes and demonize Big Tobacco while we give companies like McDonalds and products like Big Macs a pass on their role in a much bigger problem. Literally 2/3 of all Americans are considered overweight, far more than the number that smoke, and the health risks associated with obesity are real and well documented.
I’m excited to get further into the book and learn more about the causes of this problem and what can be done to solve it. While I do not personally struggle with an obsession with food, I have friends and family members who eat too much. And while I still think that will power and exercise play a role, the truth is that there is a new enemy out there who wants your money and will do whatever they can to get it, even if it means having people literally eat themselves to death. The more we can do to help educate people about “Big Food” and how it is manipulating them, the better we will be as a society.
Bulgar is a quick-cooking form of whole wheat that has been cleaned, parboiled, dried, and ground into particles.
These nutritious, easy to prepare little grains are surprisingly tasty, have a light, nutty flavor, and can be used in soups or stews, on salads, or as a substitute to rice or cous cous.
Why are they a great substitute? Well, for starters, Bulgur wheat has a low glycemic index of 46. It is also high in potasium and contains more fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals than rice or cous cous.
One of the biggest changes you can make in your diet is to cut out all refined carbs. This can also be one of the toughest things to do!
Using bulgur wheat as a permanent substitute as a carb at mealtime will do you good all around!
Here’s a recipe I use to cook my bulgur wheat. I call it my own version of “Rice -A- Roni”
1 C Bulgur Wheat
2 C Chicken Broth or Water
1/2 t garlic salt
1 T olive oil
1/2 t lemon juice
Combine all ingredients in large pot, and bring to boil.
Reduce heat and cover.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve!
Quick, easy, delicious, and best of all…nutritious!
“Goals.
There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them.
There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them.
And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.”
~Jim Rohn
The power of the mind is amazing when it comes to accomplishing anything!
From business to personal relationships to fitness, if your head isn’t in the “right’ place, you’ll end up in the “wrong” place!
Keep focused, be inspired and believe, and you will be unstoppable!
Make it a great week, and an amazing month!
