Best Sauces and Condiments

Hey guys.. Every week Im going to be posting a "best" series of some household items that are the best in their category... The purpose of this is so that you can stack your cupboards with the best stuff!

Bests! 3/30

Best Ketchup Heniz Organic

Best Steak Sauce Peter Luger



Best Mustard Gulden's Spicy



Best Bottled Marinade Walkerswood Jerk

Subway's New Bread with Omega-3's!

Hey everyone, today I went to Subway and I noticed that they had a brand new bread that they were featuring..

I have been trying to look up as much as I can about it online but I can't find much on it.. Basically to me, and my so far uneducated take on things, it is pretty much wheat bread, with Omega-3 seeds on it..

But I ordered it today, and here are my ratings:

Taste: 4/5 - Its not quite as good as their wheat bread or their honey oat, but its still good!

Texture: 3/5 - It is a bread that has a lot of seeds on it.. I know that it has to be this way to get the Omega-3's into it, but it KIND OF looks like bird seed, KIND of... But its good!

Overall: 5/5 - Even though its not the best tasting bread out there, you should get it EVERY time that you go into subway. It has more nutritional value than any other bread that they have available. So if your looking for awesome nutrition in your Subway sandwich, then get this Omega-3 bread!

When more articles get posted about it with the nutritional facts and everything, I will be updating you all but for right now, its so new that I really don't have much information on it!

So keep up with my blog and I will talk to you all later!

5 Fun Fitness Facts Friday 3/26/10

5 Fun Fitness Facts Friday 3/26

1. Your abdominal-fat cells decrease by 18% in size after 3 weeks of consecutive exercise

2. Muscle Tissue burns 10X more calories than fat tissue, even when your sitting still.

3. Your core works 20% harder when you perform a cable standing chest press rather than during a basic bench press.

4. The average guy can only do 1 pullup

5. You burn 59% more calories when you train large muscles as opposed to smaller ones.

Im going to be doing this every friday, so stay tuned throughout the week for other awesome fitness tips! I will be talking to you all tomorrow :-)

God Bless and have a safe and fun weekend!

-Clay

Why is water so important?

A lot of people don't see the importance of water when they are trying to lose weight or trying to get into shape.. But water is VITAL in your success to a better body! Just SOME of the reasons are below :-)

-The body will not function properly without enough water and can't metabolize stored fat efficiently.
-Retained water shows up as excess weight.
-To get rid of excess water you must drink more water.
-Drinking water is essential to weight loss.

Below, from musclehack, are 5 reasons why water is ESSENTIAL for muscle growth!

(1) Peak Strength. Sufficient hydration means optimum strength. Strength can decrease by up to 15% with a drop in hydration levels of only 3%!

(2) Energy levels. Dehydration leaves you feeling tired and lethargic. Just imagine how you’ll perform in the gym in this state!

(3) Digestion. Your body needs water to aid the digestive process. You want those muscle-building nutrients shuttled to their destination quickly and efficiently don’t you? This is especially relevant post-workout, which is why I recommend a liquid meal after your weight-training sessions.

(4) Less Likely to get Injured. Water is the main ingredient in the makeup of the synovial fluid, which is the lubricating fluid between your joints. When your body is taking a pounding as it does with the MuscleHack 8-12 | 6-9 program, you need to keep your joints well-lubricated to avoid injury.

(5) Improved Effectiveness of Creatine Monohydrate. Supplementing with creatine means you need to stay hydrated. Creatine draws water into the muscle tissue, super-saturating or volumizing the muscle. This means you should compensate for this fact by consuming a little more water than average Joe to see maximum gains.

So get on it and drink some water! Its refreshing, good, and has awesome health benefits!

Tasty Recipe: Fajita Chicken and Rice

Fajitas have a healthy base (chicken and vegetables), but they are often cooked in unhealthy oils. This recipe skips the tortillas and uses grilled chicken and vegetables as a topping for a bed of spiced brown rice.

1 cup of brown rice
1/2 cup of salsa
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/8 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 pound of roasted chicken breast cut into strips
1 small onion, sliced
1 red or green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced.
Salt and ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of lime juice

-Cook the rice according to the package directions.
-In a large bowl, combine the rice, salsa, paprika, and cumin and stir until mixed.
-Reheat in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes or on the stove over medium heat for 5 minutes.
-Coat a large skillet or wok with olive oil cooking spray and add the chicken, onion, and bell pepper.
-Cook over high heat for 5 minutes or until the onion starts to brown, then add the salt and black pepper.
-Divide the rice between 2 plates, top with the chicken and vegetables, and drizzle with the lime juice.

This makes 2 servings

Nutrition Content:

750 calories, 79g of protein, 80g of carbohydrates, 5g of fiber, 5g of sugar, 11g of fat (3g saturated, 4g monounsaturated, 3g polyunsaturated, .2g omega-3, 2.6g omega-6)

WHAT to eat, and WHEN to eat it

If you truly want to see some major fat loss, especially around the belly area, then you need to know WHEN the best time is to eat certain foods...

Protein can be eaten at any time of the day.. It really doesn't matter how late at night it is, because protein can be used at all times of the day because it is so important to our body's functions.

Fruits and Vegetables can be eaten at ALMOST any time of the day. Since these do have some carbs, the later you have them in your day, the worse they are for you.. And some fruits are also high in sugar and that will really be bad for you if you eat it right before bed.

Starchy Carbs like bread and pasta should NEVER be eaten at night. I would say about 3 or 4 hours before you go to bed, HIDE the bread so you can't even see it! Even if you eat whole wheat bread, it will still store as fat because all of the energy that the body gains from the carbs will be just stored as fat because your not getting any exercise while your sleeping.. The OPTIMAL time for eating carbs such as bread or cereal is FIRST thing in the morning. This will get you a nice, energized start to your day.

Protein Shakes are great at any time of the day. Before a workout, after a workout, and before bed are all great times to have one. The reason you need to drink them after a workout is because it will help you recover from your workout and it will replenish all of your amino acids and feed your hungry muscles the protein that it needs! And before bed is an awesome time because it will supply you with protein throughout the night when your body is going without food for 6-8 hrs.. The best kind of protein to take before bed is casein protein, which they sell in health food stores, but is also found in milk.

How can I get ABS?

A TON of people ask me the best ab workouts for them to help their abs to show...

But so many people dont even realize that unless you burn the FAT that is layered on top of your abs, you will never be able to see them! PERIOD!

Now don't get me wrong, its good to focus on your abs and do core workouts, but when you've got a ton of fat in your midsection, there is NO use! You would be better off doing some cardio or some aerobics workout to BURN that fat other than doing 9 million crunches..

So, if you want to lose belly fat, what should you do?

Firstly, you will need to exercise. And a feeble 30 or 40 minutes of cardio in your so-called "fat-burning zone" two or three times a week isn't going to be enough. As you've learned, a full-body training program that includes both cardiovascular and resistance exercise will deliver better, faster results.

Forget about doing hundreds of crunches, sit-ups, or any of the various "drawing in the belly button" exercises. They're virtually useless for most people when it comes to losing belly fat.

As Mike Geary, author of The Truth about Six Pack Abs, points out: "Let's get this straight right now. Abdominal exercises do NOT burn fat away from your abs! This can only be accomplished through a much more effective full-body training routine that maximizes both your metabolic response and your hormonal response to your workouts."

Remember, belly fat is stored energy. To get rid of it, you need to burn more energy (calories) than you eat. And these exercises don't burn enough calories to make much of a difference to the appearance of your waist and stomach.

Want a quick tip?

Yogurt and dairy products that are high in calcium help to burn fat! There have been numerous studies done that have shown that the subjects who took in more calcium lost more fat in the end!

More tips and info in my email series that can be found on the right corner of this page :) You also get a free fitness ebook when you sign up as well!

Spring is here and summer is near.....

Summer is nearing and every time I go to the gym I always hear the guys talking about "Man I've got to get in shape for the summer!"

Are you like this? Are you worried about it?

Most people who are in shape LOVE this time of year.. But what category are you in?

Personal Protein Shake Recipe!

After a little while of just playing around and experimenting with different things, I have created a protein shake that tastes awesome!

Now Im not going to go into fancy detail with how many "tablespoons" and what not, but I will tell you the ingredients!


Frozen Strawberries

Acai Berry juice (preferably Sambazon, strawberry-banana flavor)

Milk (little bit, maybe half a cup)

1 or 2 scoops of chocolate whey protein powder

Ice

and thats it! Do a good proportion of each, and it tastes so delicious!

***Warning***

The Acai Juice is a little high in sugar, so use that in moderation as well! The health benefits are the unbelievable amounts of anti-oxidants that are found in them! :)

Potatoes and "white" colored foods... are they bad?

I'd like to start a little discussion today about carbohydrates... and in particular, "white foods" as well as potatoes. One reason I wanted to mention this is because so many health and fitness professionals trash talk potatoes about being a bad carbohydrate choice because of the high glycemic index. Some even say such ridiculous things as "avoid any and all white carbohydrates".

Ok, now while I certainly agree that white bread and refined white sugar are two of the worst things we can be feeding our bodies, I definately don't agree with avoiding any and all "white carbohydrates". Now I know all of the buzz lately has been about colorful foods and the protective antioxidants that they contain. They tell you to focus on colors and stay away from white.

"White Foods" aren't necessarily always the enemy

It's true that colorful foods are great, but it is a big mistake to specifically avoid white foods! There are plenty of white foods that have specific nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. Let's look at a few examples...

Onions and Garlic

What about onions and garlic? They are both white and they are chock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and trace minerals that aren't easy to find elsewhere in a normal diet... such nutrients as allicin, quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other unique anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Cauliflower

Another example of something white that is great for you is cauliflower. Cauliflower is loaded with vitamin C, fiber, minerals, and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. And a little-known fact is that some of the compounds in cruciferous vegetables help to combat other estrogenic compounds in our food supply and environment and can help prevent excess belly fat. So eat up on that cauliflower!

Mushrooms

Not many people realize this, but surprisingly, even white mushrooms have high levels of unique nutrients and antioxidants. White mushrooms are high in a couple types of antioxidants called polyphenols and ergothioneine.

Potatoes

Now that also leads us to another example - white potatoes (which by the way, can also be found in red, yellow, purple varieties, etc). Many health professionals claim that potatoes are a bad carbohydrate because they are thought to have a high glycemic index. First of all, if you've read my Truth about Six Pack Abs book, then you understand that glycemic index is not necessarily the most important factor in choosing your carbohydrates.

While a generalization can be made that most low glycemic index carbohydrate choices will help you lose body fat easier than high glycemic index choices, it is not all that it's cracked up to be. There are many other factors that determine how your body will react-to and process the carbohydrates you ingest, such as glycemic load and also how you combine the high GI food with other foods.

For example, using glycemic load as an example... it is known that watermelon has a high glycemic index. However, the glycemic load of a normal serving of watermelon is just way too low for your body to start packing on body fat just because you ate a high glycemic index fruit. You would have to eat such an enormous quantity of watermelon just to get enough grams of carbohydrates to have any negative glycemic effect, that it is just non-sensical.

Not to mention that watermelon is also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and lycopene. There's just no reason to avoid it simply because it has a high GI. My point is... candy bars, cupcakes, and donuts make you fat... NOT watermelons, carrots or potatoes... French fries excluded of course.

Also, as i mentioned, food combinations are important in how your body processes the carbohydrates and the associated blood sugar and insulin response you receive. For example, if you mix a high glycemic index carbohydrate with an extra source of fiber, healthy fats, or even certain proteins, many times the blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down considerably by the way you combined the food. Again, I talk in detail about this entire topic in my Truth about Six Pack Abs book

Alright, so back to my point that white potatoes are actually a healthy carbohydrate as long as you eat them in the right form... with the entire skin, and please don't ruin them by deep frying them into french fries either! French fries are one of the most evil things ever invented for your health, but only because we ruin them by soaking them in a scorching bath of trans fats in the deep fryer from the hydrogenated oils that are typically used.

Keep in mind that potatoes contain so many vitamins and minerals that the list is way too long to even try. Also, as long as you eat the skins, you get a decent shot of fiber too.

Will 7-9 potatoes per day make you fatter?

On the topic of potatoes not being so bad after all, I don't remember where I saw this referenced, but I recently saw a particular study that had participants eat something like 7-9 whole potatoes per day for several weeks.

At the conclusion of the study, the potato eaters had actually consistently lost weight! I'd venture a guess that the reason the people lost weight is that they were probably so full from eating all of those damn potatoes, that they actually consumed less calories than normal! An average sized potato only has about 100-120 calories, and I can surely imagine you'd be full constantly from eating 7-9 potatoes each day.

Delicious Protein Shake that you can make!

The BERRY Blast

This recipe was inspired by the book "Metabolism Advantage"

1-1.5 cups iced green tea

1 scoop vanilla-flavored milk protein blend

1 serving Greens+

3 tablespoons of low-fat, lactose-free plain yogurt

3 tablespoons whole oats

.5 cups of frozen mixed berries (including blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and raspberries)

Then blend that beast for a quick minute and your own your way!

The Dangers of Abdominal fat

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don't realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly determined that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that "beer belly" appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases. Excess belly fat has been associated in studies with higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation within the body that can lead to heart disease.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your system on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There's just no way around it. Besides, a side effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat?

Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for "miracle" fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can't spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn't work that way.

The only solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I've actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise & diet combined group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this every day at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

So please! Take control of any excess fat in your midsection before it becomes detrimental to your health.....

Truth or marketing deception with labels?

I was at the grocery store yesterday and had to shake my head at all of the deceptive labels with everything claiming all sorts of things that are supposedly "healthy", but aren't really.

One of the things that really disturbed me was that I saw several examples of healthy foods in their natural state, but I saw counterfeit versions of these foods claiming that they were healthier than the original...

Yet in reality, all of these counterfeit versions were actually MUCH worse for you than the original... and they still have the balls to claim that their overly processed "junkified" versions are better.

This is food marketing deception at it's worst!

Example #1: Product claiming "Better than peanut butter"

This product is ludicrous! I can't believe anyone would ever believe that this junk is better for them than natural peanut butter.

First of all, if you buy a good simple peanut butter (organic is best), it is usually nothing but 2 ingredients... peanuts and salt. And they don't add much salt so it's not high in sodium.

However, this counterfeit peanut butter which claimed it was "better than peanut butter" (trying to seem healthier than peanut butter based on it's label claims) had a list of junk in it you wouldn't believe. First of all, they strip all of the healthy fats out of the peanuts so that it is a "low fat" product. Ok, now you've just taken away one of the healthiest parts of the product...the appetite satisfying healthy fats that you need to control cravings and manage more stable blood sugar levels.

To make things worse, the healthy fats were replaced with 2 different types of sugary syrups as well as additional dehydrated cane juice (aka SUGAR), in addition to added refined starches.

This product has taken something as simple and natural as peanut butter, and turned it into what should really be called some sort of processed candy. Yet, they claim that it's healthier than peanut butter. And somehow they get away with deceiving people like this. Don't be their fool!

Example #2: Product claiming to be "better than eggs".

I won't get as detailed on this one because I recently talked about this entire topic in another newsletter.

But basically, this product was just egg whites with a bunch of added chemical colorings, flavorings, and other nonsense, including fake added vitamins.

Again, this product has essentially ruined a good thing by removing the healthiest part... the YOLKS! And yes, the yolks ARE the healthiest part of the egg. Anybody that tells you different doesn't understand much about true nutrition. The important thing to look for in quality whole eggs are cage-free and organic.

Example #3: A product claiming to be "better than butter".

This was essentially crappy margarine loaded with highly processed and deadly trans fats, yet it had the nerve to claim it was "better than butter".

Heck NO!

Even low quality butter is healthier than ANY margarine. One problem with butter is pesticides and hormones from improperly raised cows.

For this reason, you always want to choose organic butter, and if you can find "grass-fed" butter, then I would even say it can be healthy for you. In fact, adding a little butter to your steamed vegetables helps your body to absorb more of the vitamins and minerals in the veggies.

Also, due to the content of stable saturated fats in butter, this makes butter one of the best oils to cook with. Oils high in polyunsaturated oils are the worst to cook with due to their highly unstable nature. For more info about this topic, here's a newsletter I did about healthy vs unhealthy cooking oils

And no, the saturated fat in butter is NOT bad for you. I hope we've already beaten a dead horse with that topic. If not, you can go back to this page to see why...

Evidence that saturated fat is NOT evil

If you found the topics in today's newsletter interesting, do your friends, family, and co-workers a favor and copy the link to this page and send it to them.

Thanks for reading!

Hey just started this fitness blog!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself! My name is Clayton and I love working out and hanging out at the gym and I wanted to create a blog to give you guys some free tips on how to get to where you want to be physically!

Also, if you sign up for my newsletter at the top right of my blog page, you will get an awesome email series called "5 days to a better body" and you will get TWO FREE fitness ebooks within the span of those 5 days! So please give that a look so that you can receive your two free fitness ebooks :-)

So look forward to more posts from me :)

God bless!