New Direction

Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving!

I am going to be switching things up in the future. I had been focusing on low carb meals and information in order to help readers with weight loss and a caloric defecit. This has been targeted at those with severe weight issues as a way to drop pounds and increase insulin sensitivity. It should not be a surprise that low carb diets reduce weight. A lot of the reasons for this is simply a reduction in calories and better eating choices by removing high glycemic carbs and processed foods.

I will still post info time and again concerning low carb recipes and new information but this is not a low carb diet site. The intent of this site is to increase weight loss, increase lean body mass and improve health, all at the same time. Many sites target parts of the three, either presenting health info, lean body gains, or fat loss. Some even incorporate two of the three but very few blend all three. This is because you can couple any two of the three rather easily but encompassing all three requires more time and research to obtain the correct information. The sad fact is that optimal health actually plays a huge role in reducing fat and building muscle and many people get stuck in their fat loss/muscle goals because they don't receive the help and information they need. Lucky for them we will be addressing these issues to assist everyone hitting this wall so they can reach their goals.  

From this point forward we will be on a journey to bring all of those three topics under one roof. Articles may become less frequent simply because the time to obtain all this information and process it into usable and understandable articles will require more time but the end result will provide everything needed to obtain weight loss, muscle gain and health with the least amount of nonsense. Lets get started!

Gluten Free / Grain Free PIZZA! It tastes GREAT!

Everyone wants pizza no matter how hard core they are with their eating. Unfortunately most gluten free pizzas suck! Its a sad fact for those of us trying to avoid gluten and for those avoiding grain its been impossible to find good pizza or bread.

Luckily many great cooks are out there working to resolve this problem. One great recipe courtesy of Life as a Plate, I would like to share. This is a quick recipe and tastes great.

What you need:

• 3 c. almond flour
• 1 c. sour cream/plain organic yogurt
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• pinch salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• fresh parsley (optional)

What you do:

• Mix dry ingredients
• Beat egg into sour cream and slowly add to the dry mixture.
• Beat until well blended.
• Mixture will be batter-like and not dough-like, so you must SPREAD this with a spatula onto parchment paper, about 1/4-in thick.

•Bake at 350 for around 30 minutes or until brown all the way over, like this.

This recipe will make 3 pizza's this size. The dough can be hard to spread and you may have to do it with your hands. You HAVE TO USE PARCHMENT PAPER when making this pizza. It is delicious! Top it with whatever you like and throw it back in for approximately 5 minutes until the cheese melts. ENJOY!

Push Up Variation, Get More From Your Work Out

We have been neglecting exercises here but no more! Lets get back to basics. Being strong, durable and all around fit requires more than bulging muscles. A foundation of strength and correct form has to be created before building upon it. If you know someone who has shown up the first day at the gym and attempted to squat or bench press double their body weight you know a moron.

Most people have incorrect body mechanics to begin with. These problems are caused by habit, whether sitting all day at a desk job or simply being lazy. The body will always attempt to relax and be at rest, this is natural but in the process the body skirts its correct mechanical function and this creates problems. We will discuss this more in the future, in the mean time lets make certain we are at least building strenght correctly.

The Pushup Ladder. Nothing new here but this exercise will build muscle and strength in the entire upper body.

• Get in push up position, hands under shoulders approximately shoulder width apart or a bit wider.
• Lower your self to the floor to the point where you would touch a balled fist with your chest. This is your starting position.
• Push yourself up quickly and drop back to the floor. You have just done one rep. While holding yourself the one fist length off the ground count to one. This is your rest period and it will be as many seconds as the number of pushups you are currently at.
• Push up again, drop, back up and drop. You have just done 2 reps and now count to two seconds for your rest.
• Continue this progression for as many pushups and rest periods as you can.

This is a bit different than normal pushups because you are starting in a lowered position. By doing this and resting on the down phase you are also strengthing your core by providing a plank position. Excellent exercise for total upper body strenght. Just make certain you are squeezing your glutes (your butt) as you are doing this exercise. This will engage the lower abs and make certain you are working the core. If your hips are falling and touching the floor or simply not in line with your body then you are not in correct form and you should stop the exercise. Do this every other day to build proper upper body strength.

Grain Free, Gluten Free Bread That Actually Tastes Great!

Everyone that eliminates grains is looking for that piece of bread that won't spike blood sugar but will allow them the texture and taste they crave. Look no further. Courtesy of Lifes a Plate, they have created a bread recipe that is not only tasty but healthy! They also take this even further by providing a few changes to make it dairy free as well. Enjoy.

Dairy free substitutions are added in red next to the original ingredients.

The BEST Grain-Free Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
(In The History of Man)
What you need:

•3/4 c. coconut flour, sifted
•1/4 c. flax meal
•2 tbsp arrowroot
•1/2 tsp. baking soda
•1 tsp gluten-free baking powder (we use Rumford or Clabber Girl, but if you want to be totally “grain-free” use this easy recipe for your own baking powder)
•1/2 tsp salt (3/4 if using unsalted ghee)
•1 tsp. onion powder
•1/8 c. sesame seeds (plus 1 tbsp)
•7 eggs, beaten
•1/2 c. melted butter (1/2 c. melted coconut oil or if you’re just casein-free you can use ghee)
•2 tbsp sour cream (or Greek yogurt) (2 tbsp plain coconut yogurt plus 2 tsp melted coconut oil)
What you do:

1.Combine dry ingredients (except the 1 tbsp extra sesame seeds).
2.Combine beaten eggs, and sour cream and beat into dry mixture. Add melted butter.
3.Pour into 9×5 loaf pan, sprinkle with the extra sesame seeds
4.Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes.
5.Make a sandwich.
6.Put remaining in refrigerator as due to its high-egg content it will stay fresher longer.

COOKIES!

You were all waiting for it. Low sugar, low carb cookies. You knew the paleo world was hard at work attempting to find a solution and someone has. These are not only delicious but as close to healthy cookies as you will get. Still doesn't mean you can eat an entire tray but you can eat a handful without doing serious insulin damage. Give them a shot.

Courtesy of Dr Davis

Try to use the darkest chocolate chips you can find to reduce sugar exposure. Using Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips, each cookie will contain around 5 grams carbohydrate per cookie, which can add up after a couple or three cookies. By using the darkest chocolate chips you can find (or by making your own dark chocolate chunks by melting 85% or greater cocoa dark chocolate, melting and breaking into chunks), you can reduce carbohydrate exposure to around 2-3 grams per cookie. For ultra low-carb chocolate chunks, use 100% cocoa, some butter, coconut oil, or cocoa butter, and a non-aqueous sweetener like Truvia, melted in a double-boiler setup.

I’ll bet that these cookies will even pass the taste test of an 8-year old!

Ingredients:
4 cups ground almonds
2 cups semisweet or dark chocolate chips
2 teaspoons baking soda
Sweetener equivalent to 2 cups sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 whole eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sour cream or coconut milk
4 ounces butter, melted, or 4 oz coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Mix ground almonds, chocolate chips, baking soda, sweetener and sea salt in bowl.

In separate bowl, whisk eggs, then add vanilla, sour cream, and butter and mix thoroughly.

Pour liquid mix into dry mix, mixing by hand until thoroughly mixed.

Place heaping tablespoon-sized piles of dough onto cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or greased with oil. Press each pile with large spoon to approximately ½-inch thickness.

Place in oven and bake 30 minutes or until edges just slightly browned.

Makes approximately 30 cookies.

An Exercise To Be Functional In Winter

All my family and friends in CT must be loving the recent storm that blew through in October! Many are without power and I am sure the towns were not ready for plowing. Worst yet is there will be people out shoveling that are not prepared to do this time of work. Every year thousands of people suffer debilitating back injuries due to shoveling. Shoveling is an intense exercise unless you are doing a very small area. It is a total body work out and many have dropped dead from having to do this work without being in the shape to handle it. Here is a great exercise from our friends at Mountain Athlete that will prepare you for winters most brutal snow storms. Its called the virtual shovel and done correctly it will help build a very strong core. You don't need the weights to make this exercise work. Simply grab a shovel and load it up with a few books or tools, tape it down if you have to and have at it. Just make certain you aren't rounding your back and this will prepare you for the winter wonderland every one enjoys so much.



Don't forget that an ergonomic shovel is the best way to go when out shoveling. These shovels assist with proper body mechanics. 



Here is another great option from Snow Wolf which may work well for lighter snow.



Or if you are a lazy SOB you could always just go this route and avoid exercise all together although I still recommend the virtual shovel exercise.