Yes, it’s almost time to clean that grill up and start using it! Summer is approaching fast. Although I must admit, there were a few times during the fall and spring that I actually cooked on the grill – I just love it! There are some really great points to using a grill as opposed to a stove or oven.

Grilled food tends to be healthier than cooking in oils on the stove. It’s also a great way to keep the heat out of your home in the dead of summer. It also keeps the mess out of the kitchen and there tends to be less to clean up. I don’t know about you but there’s something about using paper plates when cooking on the grill – they just seem to go together.

Cooking on the grill is a great way to get the whole family involved – from preparing the meals to cleaning up.

There are many, many different ways to grill meals. Just get your imagination and taste buds involved and in no time, you’ll have a delicious meal, all done on the grill. And I’m not just talking grilling meats – you can grill all kinds of vegetables and potatoes. Keep in mind that side dishes such as baked beans, potato salad and fruits are fantastic side dishes and certainly not hard to prepare.

Cooking on the grill always seems to be more relaxing and fun than cooking in the kitchen, doesn’t it? And the smell of grilling foods…yum…has my mouth watering just thinking about it If yours isn’t, don’t you think it’s time to clean up, dust off, and fire up your grill?!

So, what do you think about cooking and low carb dieting? Should we be limiting carbohydrates in our diets? Despite what you may think, low carb cooking and dieting has shown great success in helping people quickly drop those unwanted pounds and has become a lifestyle change for many.

Low carb cooking sound simple and is quite appealing to not only women wanting to drop a few pounds, but men also welcome the idea of dropping the carbs and eating all the steak they want. Low carb diets have also become a way of life for many families, parents and children eating healthy together.

If you are interested in dropping those unwanted pounds and keeping them off, I believe this type of dieting can without a doubt get results. The problem is however, that you really need to stick with this diet in order for the results to remain consistent even after you’ve met your weight loss goal. Basically, it’s not so much a “diet” as a complete overhaul in the way you and your family eat.

The best thing about low carb cooking and dieting is that it is hugely popular and you will have no trouble finding advice, tips, and resources to support this lifestyle change. Many stores these days carry specific foods that are low carb in nature and are designed to meet the chocolate or salt cravings so no need to feel deprived. Stores are seeing the value of catering to this market of consumers and are offering a larger variety of low carb friendly foods.

Finding low carb recipes is not difficult at all and can be found at local bookstores, libraries, and of course the internet. In addition to cookbooks and recipies, you also will need to get through what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to low carb cooking. Go straight to the source, contact your doctor or a nutritionist, and make sure you are following the diet to the tee.

Another great thing about low carb cooking is that it gives you the chance to use your grill often! Who doesn’t love to grill? And it’s getting to be that time of year again to fire up the grill. Although I’ve been known to grill in the middle of winter anyway! Or you can always use an indoor grill like the George Foreman grills.

When it comes to low carb dieting just keep your goals in mind. If you aren’t making progress, double check what you are doing and then adjust accordingly.

How can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? That’s right up there with How do I get six pack abs? as one of the most frequently asked fitness questions of all time.

The problem is, when you ask it, you get all kinds of conflicting answers – even from experts who are supposed to know these things.

So what’s the deal? Is it really possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time? Finally, there’s now a definitive answer, which is backed by science and real world case studies:

And yes, you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time! And none other that Tom Venuto (I’m a big fan!) has just published a new book on this exact subject that explains this answer in detail. It’s called “The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program: How to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ve definitely heard me speak about Tom Venuto before. I respect his work, (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle) and wanted to share his latest home run here with you.

Here’s what’s up… The Holy Grail is a 74 page ebook that is destined to set the record straight in a way that you could say it’s the Last Word on gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time.

We all know there’s NO magical workout program or supplement that assures you of gaining muscle while stripping off fat. It takes lots hard work. And it’s not an easy goal to achieve. Honestly I think it takes strategy and a great mindset.

If you are serious about getting leaner and more musclar, I hope you take a look at The Holy Grail Transformation System. It even includes Tom’s new workout system – “TNB” Training – as seen in Men’s Fitness Magazine … this is the perfect way to train while following the Holy Grail nutrition plan.

And here’s some great news I also wanted to share… From now until Midnight (PST), March 5th, 2010, you can get a copy of the Holy Grail Body Transformation program system completely free – visit here to find out how.

I’m totally excited about this new program. In fact I’m going to start reading through it after I post this! Yep, I grabbed my copy today… To your fat loss success!

Really…there’s absolutely no reason to sacrifice anything when you are dieting and wanting to get in shape. So many people view dieting as some sort of punishment for not having the perfect body. They believe that enjoying food is somehow bad for them, which couldn’t be further from the truth. If you want to be completely honest with yourself, when it comes to dieting, it isn’t about giving up food or flavor; it’s about discovering new foods and new flavors. Just make it an adventure.

There are tons of spices out there that can make even the blandest of foods a little exciting. Experimenting is what it’s all about. Fish and chicken are popular diet foods because they are lean meats. And usually they both have a certain stigma about them for being bland. After all when dieting, you should pass on the heavy cream sauces, etc… However, adding a little seasoning is a great way to put a little spice in your meal that will make it taste great without the calories of dressings, marinades or even butter.

There are so many seasonings that will work well and it’s fun experimenting. Many great seasonings for chicken will make the chicken taste delicious in salads for healthier lunches or salad wraps. Simple things that spice up the same old meal can have a huge impact on your enjoyment of food.

You can even enjoy the occasional treat when dieting as long as you do so sparingly. The key when dieting is to learn about proper portions and moderate indulgence. You can find all kinds of low sugar or low carb desserts on the market that you can enjoy on occasion. You can also find sugar free or low calorie candy, although you should keep in mind that calories, particularly when it comes to candy that you eat without really thinking about it, add up quickly.

The point is that you do not have to sacrifice flavor in order to diet. Seasonings are a great way to add a lot of flavor with a tiny bit of effort on your part. Desserts are also great and you can find many dips and sauces that can be made with fat free or low fat mayonnaise or sour cream in order to cut a few more calories during your dieting process.

Low fat dips and sauces can make a great snack, when paired with vegetables (replacing chips!). Cucumbers, green, red, and yellow peppers, broccoli, and carrot sticks all have a nice little crunch to them and when combined with a good low fat dip can help cure the cravings for those greasy chips that often surface when dieting.

Also, if you watch your calories carefully during meals you should know that there are many little snack treats that are prepackaged in 100 calorie packs for your enjoyment. (I love these!) This means that you can indulge on occasion in those treats that you love most without sacrificing all your dieting efforts in the process. I think these snack packs have become one of the best ideas since the invention of diet colas.

We all want the benefits of losing weight and will readily admit that if it were a simple process we’d all be thin. Dieting is simple… It’s simply changing your eating habits and adjusting your lifestyle…for the better! There’s really no need to sacrifice anything, including flavor!

Check this out… here’s how to invigorate and rejuvenate your body, mind and spirit…with these super foods and eating smaller, more frequent snacks and meals. By eating smaller and more frequent meals this will help keep energy levels on an even keel and regulate your blood sugar levels to avoid spikes and dips. When you choose the right combination of foods, your body gets the much-needed boost it needs to sustain itself properly, even through those slumps later in the day. So definitely get rid of those high sugar junk foods and grab the following foods and get that boost you need.

Any fresh fruit, especially with skins or seeds like peaches, apples, pears, oranges, and strawberries, is a great source of vitamins and fiber. Fruit provides you with plenty of dietary fiber, niacin (vitamin B3), potassium, beta carotene and vitamin A, plus high amounts of vitamin C. Niacin is important for providing energy for cell tissue growth. Along with regulating fluid balance, potassium helps maintain the electrical stability of the cells of your heart and nervous system and is important for cell and muscle growth. Vitamin B12 plays a role in red blood cell formation, nerve function, and metabolizing protein and fat.

Dried apricots (which I love and snack on daily!) and almonds together provide a high amount of vitamin A, iron protein and dietary fiber. Both foods are low in cholesterol and sodium, and apricots are a great source of potassium, which is important in regulating your body’s fluid balance. The vitamin A in apricots contributes to healthy vision, bone growth, reproduction, and helps fight infection.

Raisins are a healthy, low-fat, low-cholesterol, and low-sodium snack with significant amounts of potassium, phosphorus, copper, and iron, and when mixed with low-fat yogurt, you also get riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin B12, as well as a high amount of calcium, which is needed not only for strong bones and teeth but also plays a key role in the normal functioning of the heart and other muscles.

Baby carrots (can you believe these are my dog’s favorite treats?!) and sesame sticks are a tasty treat that will provide significant amounts of beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, vitamin B6, iron, potassium, copper, and fiber. Beta carotene helps protect against diseases like heart disease and some cancers.

Peanut butter (my dog’s second favorite treat – in Kong) on some whole grain crackers is an excellent source of protein, iron, niacin, and fiber. Peanut butter on celery is a classic snack, has great staying power, and the celery is stuffed with numerous vitamins, minerals, and is high in fiber.  Low-fat string cheese is a good quick source of protein and calcium. They come in easy-to-carry individual servings and you can add a piece of fresh fruit for extra fiber.

Try these out…replace those chips and donuts with these healthy power foods and then let me know how much better and rejuvenated you feel!

Okay, so I just had to share this with you today! Fitness madman Jon Benson is at it again… this time telling us you can get “skinnny eating fast-food…” And he intends to prove it. Hmmm… let’s see! Obviously, you have to modify the way you eat fast-food (I’m guessing) but his tips are really clever. Check out these 3 => Here’s what Jon has to say =>

Believe it or not you can get lean by eating fast food.

I know, it sounds crazy… but in a few weeks I’m going to prove it to the world with the release of my newest mini e-book “Fast Food Fitness: How I Dropped 40lbs Eating Fast Food Every Day.” (You can bet I’ll be reading this one! )

Do you think I’m joking?  I’m not.

Of course there’s a WAY to eat fast food and drop the pounds. You can’t just eat like everyone else does. That’s common sense.

And believe me, there are more healthy ways to drop the pounds than eating fast food… for sure.

But the way I figure it: Would you rather be healthIER and lean or UNhealthy and overfat?

Silly question… so consider “Fast Food Fitness” a path to the lesser of two evils… and one that actually got me to 10% bodyfat (that’s pretty lean!) a few years ago.

Here’s how it started:

I simply hate to cook!  I have since solved that problem… I hired a part-time chef (it’s cheaper than it sounds)… but until two years ago I was eating out every single meal… I mean EVERY MEAL.

Most of the time… not all of the time, but most of the time… these meals were fast food joints like burger joints and even fried chicken places.

But I had to keep my physique, so … what to do?

Well… you’ll have to wait. At least a few weeks.

If you want the book for half-price, you have to own a copy of “Every Other Day Dietplan”… everyone who owns a copy before “Fast Food Fitness” hits the Internet will get half-off.

So visit here if you don’t have EODD yet …

Here’s 3 of my top 25 fast-food diet-tips… just these 3 will take you 1/3 of the way there…

First, use my Half-n-Half Principle. Order whatever you are going to order and then have the person behind the counter cut the order exactly in HALF.

Half to go… half to eat there.

Eat half now…. then the other half 3-4 hours later. Believe it or not you will store less bodyfat and even increase your metabolism eating like this.

Simple trick… give it a shot.

Second, ditch all the starch. That means buns, bread and anything made of flour. BUT here’s the “still tastes good” trick I use. I keep ONE of the pieces of bread from, say, my hamburger. Then I “pick” at it while I enjoy the meat and either a small diet soda or tea. Eat no more than 5 “picks” at the bread… about half a slice. You still get the exact taste of a burger with none of the stuff that makes most people over-fat.

Third, for you chicken lovers, split your order between fried and baked chicken. KFC has excellent baked chicken… try it. Then strip most of the skin off the fried chicken. Not all… most.

You still get the taste, but with far fewer bad food-stuffs and calories…. make sense? (Yes!)

Enjoy the tips… but remember, the healthiest (and tastiest) way to eat is still my Every Other Day Dietplan, which works in your favorite foods each week.

The decision as to where you will exercise is an important step in reaching your fitness goals. There are many different factors and pros and cons to each one. However once you decide where you are going to exercise, you’ll then be able to come up with your work out plan.

As I’m sure you know, exercising at home has many advantages, especially in the money department! Gym memberships can be quite expensive at times and also may include things that you don’t need or won’t use depending on your work out plan, i.e. daycare or use of the swimming pool. You also don’t need to be too concerned with the latest exercise gadgets and trends that surface at the gym because you will have your own exercise routine at home.

It’s certainly obvious that by exercising at home you can save money on gas and wear and tear on your vehicle because you won’t need to go anywhere to exercise! As well as saving money, exercising at home can be helpful to those who don’t like to work out in public. You won’t have to worry about what to wear, about what you look like, etc… because you are the only person at home with you. You also don’t need to worry about the time…how much time you get to spend on a certain piece of equipment or who is waiting behind you – I’m sure we’ve all been there.

There are of course some expenses you will still have to incur even if you decide to work out at home. Let’s say you plan to add some kind of power walking or even running into your exercise routine, you would definitely have to have good high quality shoes or sneakers. You would also be spending money on any type of equipment you plan on incorporating into your routine.

On the other hand now, many people are motivated by working out with others or being around people you know and the gym would definitely be the better idea in this case. And of course, you’ll also have a much larger selection of equipment at the gym than what you would have at home.

By exercising at the gym, you’ll also have access to much bigger equipment that you won’t have at home. For example, if you plan on swimming as a form of exercise, you’d definitely want to work out at the gym. Swimming by the way is great exercise for your muscles and cardio!

Gyms also have many different types of classes that you can take and have personalized training programs that you work on with a fitness trainer motivating you all the way.

Deciding whether to exercise at home or at the gym is a completely personal decision and is one that you should make based on your own goals and personal preferences. What it comes down to is the amount of money you want to spend and/or which environment you want to be in and which one will help you best to achieve your life fitness goals. And of course, if your first choice isn’t working out for some reason, you can always make the switch. Most important – have fun!

What’s Your Dieting Mindset?

When it comes to dieting, I’m a big believer in the fact that you have to be in the right frame of mind, have the right mindset. Too many people set themselves up for failure before they even begin. They just dread going on their diets and before they start, they are usually planning their mishaps along the way. Yes, I know, but it’s really true – far too many would be dieters are planning their first failure before even actually starting their diet!

I have no idea why we tend to do this to ourselves but it is something I’ve seen many times. The most popular notion is that one must binge on and eat up all the foods most loved and enjoyed before beginning the diet because after starting, these foods must be completely eliminated in order to shed those unwanted pounds. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Moderation is simply a concept that many of us just can’t embrace.

You really must change your way of thinking about food and your personal enjoyment of food in order for any diet to be successful. Food isn’t the enemy. And I think that’s a notion that not enough people really understand. Even the ‘tasty’ foods aren’t the enemy. The enemy is your personal inability to properly portion the foods you eat. The problem is that the majority of us eat the wrong foods far more often than we eat the right foods.

Our bodies need the nutrients we are lacking because we are not eating the required servings of vegetables and fruit each day. Our bodies know that something is missing and we feel hungry or deprived. If we were actually consuming the proper balance of fruits and veggies each day we would find that we were far less likely to feel hungry and far less likely to crave those foods that aren’t as healthy.

Portion control can be another problem. We live in a society of “up selling”. Super sized fries and empty calories by the gallon of your favorite cola are offered with almost every fast food meal that can be bought. Learn to say no to these things and avoid the super sized orders.

Embrace dieting as building a healthier you rather than depriving yourself of something. Don’t think of your weight loss plan as something negative but rather a positive force in your life to make changes for the better.

Watching your weight and counting your calories does not mean that you can never go over your allotment. The goal really is to find balance. If you learn to portion your food correctly, indulge in moderation, and incorporate enjoyable calorie burning activities into your daily routine you may be amazed at the results.

Healthy Fat Intake for a Leaner You!

This post is aimed at helping you reduce your fat intake and becoming a leaner you! The average person still eats too much fat, and as we all know fat is a factor that’s linked to a variety of health problems.

I’m sure a ton of New Year resolutions have been made to lose weight, to become more lean, and to become more fit. This can be accomplished by reducing your fat intake. Most people can bring their fat intakes down to a healthy range by making a few adjustments in the way they shop for, cook, and prepare foods.

It’s so much easier today to control the amount of fat you consume.  The fat content of foods are available through the nutrition labels and through brochures distributed at restaurants, yes even fast food restaurants.

Use this information on nutrition to choose lower fat foods by comparing products and food brands.  Once you have a rough idea of what a healthy intake of fat is, you’ll know what you can and what you can’t have. It will become routine and a part of your daily living.

Of course, day to day, the amount of fat you eat will vary. Some meals and some days will be higher in fat than others, depending on schedules, etc…  Even high fat meals can be kept in line with healthy eating as long as you balance out those days with lower fat meals/days.

The best thing to remember is that the average fat intake over the course of weeks and months is far more important that the fat intake of every meal and food you consume. It’s a long term habit.

Of course, younger adults and highly active adults who have higher calorie needs can probably eat a little more fat.  Older adults and those that aren’t very active should definitely aim for a lower fat intake. You can control your fat intake and avoid the many problems associated with it and start on your way to a healthier, leaner you!

One of the best programs on burning fat, which I have personally used and follow is Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle by Tom Venuto. If you are even remotely interested in losing fat permanently and learning about healthy fat intake, then you should at least check it out.

Here’s to a healthier fat intake for a leaner you!

Reducing Holiday Stress – Three Basic Steps

So, this may be a little late for this Christmas season but we can apply these tips to any event we have coming up in the future and of course for all holiday seasons to come…

It goes without saying, most of us love the holidays and want to them to be a wonderful and enjoyable time. As a result, I think we tend to spend a great deal of time and effort engaging in various activities trying to make the holidays extra special.  Our desire to have the best holidays ever often delivers a result a little more different that we expect. Instead of enjoying the holiday season, we tend to spend it worrying about how to make our holidays perfect.

One of the main causes of holiday stress is that feeling that the things you must do are going to be greater than your available time.  Shopping, cooking, packing, wrapping and decorating suddenly take over what used to be your free time.  Special holiday events and parties may begin to take over your schedule, too. Haven’t you ever feared being the crazed shopper banging on closed shop doors on Christmas Eve or are certain you will be forced to take the family out for a Chinese dinner because there is simply no way to get everything done? That’s what I’m talking about…

There are tons of great resources providing quality hints and tips to reduce holiday stress, and if you feel yourself experiencing a great deal of pressure during the holiday months, you should definitely find some of these resources and consider the myriad of great ideas to make your days easier.  In addition to the many great suggestions these sources provide, there are a few basic steps you can take to make your to-do list seem more manageable and to reduce your stress level.

Adjust Your Expectations

Some may benefit from simply readjusting their expectations of the holidays.  The media and advertising industries can lead us to believe that any holiday celebration that doesn’t end up resembling a Currier & Ives print is a failure.  This, of course, is not the case.  It’s fine to strive for a wonderful holiday season, but it’s not necessary to create THE perfect holiday.  Instead of concerning yourself with every Christmas detail, you can reduce your stress level by focusing on the parts of the holidays that are most meaningful and important to you and placing less emphasis on other aspects of the season.

Start Early

We often laugh at the fact that Christmas decorations tend to go up in stores right after Halloween decorations disappear. Although we don’t necessarily need to take the not-so-subtle message of holiday commercialization to heart, we can learn a little something from the early decoration trend.  By starting our holiday preparations early, we can reduce the amount of pressure and stress of getting things decorated at the last minute. This year I started after
Thanksgiving and put a little up everyday. The house looks wonderful and there’s no rush or pressure.

Follow Santa’s Lead

Santa Claus, as the song tells us, makes a list and checks it twice.  If he left delivery of millions of toys up to his memory, he would probably be the North Pole’s most stressed resident. You can learn an important lesson from Santa Claus and can create your own organized list of holiday tasks and chores.

Although you may not want to over do it, it is a good idea to make a detailed list of everything you’ll need to do in preparation for the holidays.  If you can produce this list early, you’ll be able to schedule out everything in a reasonable manner, making sure you are not caught up in the hustle and bustle that makes the holidays so frustrating for some people. Tip: Save this list in a safe place for the following year, just make adjustments as necessary.

The holidays can be a wonderful time for fun and enjoyment.  Unfortunately, they can also become a high-pressure race for those who are not adequately prepared.  By carefully assessing your holiday needs and expectations, starting early and keeping an organized to-do list, you can make your holidays fun!

Happy Holidays!!