New Diet Review - Paleo Diet

I'm always looking for new diets out there to test out and see how they work.

As I've stated in the past, I think most diets DO work, it's just a matter of sticking with it that causes people to fall off of them.

Whether it's because they don't enjoy the food, or just simply they get bored.

In the end, I think people need to find a form of dieting that works for them. Meaning, they enjoy the foods, the feeling that they get, and they consistently see results (but let's not go overboard...the beer and pizza diet just isn't going to work).

So I tried out a diet that is based on eating similar to our Paleolithic ancestors.

Essentially, Paleolithic people were those that lived before the agricultural revolution. They were the hunter-gatherers of our history.

The theory behind the diet is that the agricultural revolution only came about roughly 10,000 years ago, and for the vast majority of the human population, agriculture didn't really become a staple in how we obtained our food until as recently as a thousand years ago (and it might even be more recent than that).

But, for the prior 2.5 million years of human evolution (and through all the various human forms), we hunted and gathered our food, and this is what the human body is still designed to handle and process today.

10,000 years might sound like a long time but, in a different perspective, the human genome has only changed .04 percent in 40,000 years.

The diet argues that we've made such a "quick" change from eating foods that we obtained from hunting and gathering to foods that are domesticated and processed, that our body has not and will not for some time, adjust health-wise to them.

When looking at some of the last hunter-gatherer cultures left in the world (and there are roughly only between 10,000-20,000 such people remaining that live like this globally) they tend to be leaner, stronger and healthier (meaning, things like cancer, diabetes, etc. are near non-existent).

Overall, the eating is very simple: You eat meat, chicken, fish, game meat, vegetables (except potatoes and yams), fruits, nuts (except cashews and peanuts) and some oils (canola oil, walnut oil, olive oil). That's it. No bread, no pasta, no beans, no legumes, no processed food or meat (ham, salami or bacon), no butter, no dairy (except an egg once in a while would be okay).

Black coffee was fine, and tea was fine.

Maybe most importantly, NO SALT.

A lot of times you hear the statement "Just don't add salt to what you are eating and you'll be fine." The problem is that most of the foods out there now in the grocery stores are so packed with sodium, not adding additional salt isn't going to matter. The goal on this diet is to NOT buy foods that are already packed with salt (which basically means, stay away from foods sold in a box).

I tried eating like this for 4 weeks and I ended up losing 5 pounds and about an inch and a half around my waist. Not bad. About what I would expect for any other diet.

I did enjoy eating this way though. No counting calories was a major plus. And because it's summertime, it was great to make a massive bowl of mixed fruit with strawberries, blueberries, oranges, apples, bananas, grapes, etc every couple of days and just stuff myself.

For the meats, it wasn't as bad as I thought not being able to add a little salt to it. There's a ton of other spices that I could add to it (like garlic and onion powder but NOT garlic salt or onion salt) to really give it some flavor.

Overall I'd give the diet 2 thumbs up and it's definitely something I'm going to stick with for awhile as I really liked the way I felt eating this way. Taking out the wheat, bread, rice, etc. completely out of my eating really has helped with getting down to eating away at those last few pounds of fat I've got in various places while at the same time, continuing to get a great source of fiber, vitamins and minerals from all the vegetables and fruits I was eating.

If you're interested in reading more about this diet and what foods you can and cannot eat as well as a whole section with recipes that you can make, click on the link below for the Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain and check it out.



That's it for the week. I know I've been blogging less lately and I apologize for that. I've been working on some new projects that I'm going to be launching in the coming weeks that I'm really focused and excited about and in the end, I think you are really going to enjoy them.

Have a nice 4th of July weekend!

www.leanbodyfitness.com
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Bird Dog

A great exercise that I've been incorporating lately in my routines as well as the routines of my clients is the Bird Dog.

When first looking at it, you think, "well that looks easy." Okay fine, you try holding either of these positions for 30 seconds on each side and let me know if you think the same thing afterwards.

Here's how to do them:

Your starting position is either on your hands and knees like this (the easier position):



Or on your hand and tips of your toes like this (the more difficult position):



1. Then brace your abs.
2. Raise your right hand and left leg simultaneously while keeping your abs braced.
3. Point your right arm straight out from your shoulder and your left leg straight out from your hip.
4. Hold for 30 seconds then slowly lower and then repeat on the other side.

If you were on your knees it would look like this:



If you were on your toes, it would look like this:



Have fun with it.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

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The Bad Thing About Green Tea

Over the last six months since I've been doing a lot of experimentation on myself with various weight loss diets and workout routines, and green tea has become a staple of my daily liquid intake.

Not that it wasn't before. I would drink 1 or 2 cups a day back about 6 months ago.

But over the last 6 months, I've been drinking anywhere from 3-6 cups a day.

And it's really really good for you. I don't think you could ever overdose on the stuff.

But, there is one drawback: your teeth.

Just to be clear, it won't harm your teeth.

I was at the hygienist the other day getting my teeth cleaned and she mentioned that they were stained more than they normally were. I had mentioned that I was drinking a lot of green tea lately and she said "yup, that's what it is."

Luckily, it's not showing up on the front of the teeth. Just on the other side of them so you wouldn't even notice it was happening.

She was saying there is absolutely no harm to having that stain there and if you get your teeth cleaned every 6 months, they can just essentially peel it off.

It's a much better position to be in to have a stain on your teeth that they can get off then drinking regular soda that is going to cause cavities, wear down your gums, and oh by the way, increase your waistline.

So stick with your green tea intake, but be sure to keep up with your dental cleanings.

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Another Fitness Rant

Sorry, last week turned out busier than expected so I didn't get in my normal blogging.

I read this article that talks about using plyometrics to burn fat.

We all know that walking and running can help sculpt legs, but the key to melting fat and building lean muscle is with plyometrics training, says übertrainer and new SELF contributor Jillian Michaels. Her favorite firmer? Jump squats.

Yes, it's true that plyometric movements (movements that involve high intensity jumping just as tuck jumps, jump squats, lateral jumps, etc) can burn a lot of calories because of the amount of muscle it needs to use from the entire body and the type of muscle that it needs to use to get that explosiveness. But to say that it is the KEY to burn fat and building muscle is a bit laughable as there are plenty of other options to reach those two goals.

ANS, it is COMPLETELY irresponsible of an article and a trainer to suggest that ANYONE can do these. That is just not correct. If someone who has never worked out before all of a sudden tries these out, it's almost a guaranteed knee blowout.

It's the same problem that I have with the P90X program that I mentioned here in the comments of the posting.

This is a major problem that I've had with celebrity trainers (and Jillian Michaels to be more specifically) when they make these off the cuff comments without taking one ounce of time to think about potential damage that their advice to people who are not ready for various exercise can cause.

I've stood by the concept of progression since the start of training people. Depending on what level of fitness you are at, you are going to start working out differently from someone else. If you're a beginner, you do basic exercises to slowly build up muscle and bone mineral density. If you're more advanced, then you can do more advanced movements such as plyometrics.

I just find it very disturbing that mainstream media trainers are just treating everyone the same, thinking everyone can do the same workout regardless of fitness level and have no problems giving this information out without a disclaimer. It's the one part of this business that drives me nuts.

End Rant.

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Launch of the Ultimate Bootcamp

For those that are local in the Metro Detroit area, I'm starting up a new bootcamp class that will take place from time to time at Elizabeth Park in Trenton.

More and more parks have these fitness trails set up where there's a bunch of really cool fitness stations where you can do a ton of exercises. Unfortunately, I rarely, if ever see anyone using them.

To read more, go to www.LBultimatebootcamp.com

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Recipe Friday - Turkey Meatloaf

It's Friday and I found this great looking Turkey Meatloaf recipehere.

Here's how to make it:

1. 3/4 cup ketchup
2. 2 pounds ground turkey
3. 1 cup chopped onion
4. 2 slices sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
5. 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
6. 1/2 chopped dill pickle
7. 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
8. 1 large egg, lightly beaten
9. 2 cloves garlic, minced
10. 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
11. 1 teaspoon salt
12. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup ketchup with the remaining ingredients until well combined. Divide mixture among 6 cups of a 12-cup (4 ounce) muffin tin, spacing them evenly and gently compressing and mounding the tops. Brush tops with remaining 1/4 cup ketchup.
2. Transfer tin to oven; bake until inside temperature registers 170 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, about 45 minutes.
3. Remove from oven; let rest 5 minutes before removing from tin. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information per serving:
419 calories
16 grams of carbs
1 gram of dietary fiber
22 grams of fat
37 grams of protein
5 grams of sugar

Nice and healthy. If you make it before I do, let me know how it is.

Have a good weekend.

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Overweight Police Offiers

A few weeks ago, I was walking Scarlett the doberman and normally I'm not scanning the scenery looking for overweight people. But I was caught off guard when I saw a uniformed police officer that was noticeably overweight (it didn't help that I saw him coming out of Jimmy Johns).

Then I started paying attention a little more and was noticing other police officers that were overweight in other places.

In fact I was in a store the other day and saw a police officer with a belly sticking out and I'll admit, the thought crossed my mind "if I were to take something from this store right in front of him and run, there's absolutely no way he could catch me, unless he shot me in the back."

This article talks about how in Ohio, they actually have it as part of the contract with the state police officer's union to require the officers to stay in shape.

From the article:

No too-heavy Ohio troopers or sergeants have been fired in recent years, but at least 11 have received verbal or written reprimands since January for weighing too much, Department of Public Safety records show. One trooper was 48 pounds over his allowable weight, while another was 40 pounds beyond the maximum.

Union negotiators who began contract talks with the state last month want the rule done away with.

“It’s basically being fired, with the stipulation that once you make weight, then you can come back,” Ohio State Troopers Association President Larry Phillips said of his state’s provision for dealing with consistently out-of-shape troopers. “They are just simply out the door. No health care, nothing.”

I guess at first glance that seems a bit harsh to just outright show to the door to someone if you don't make weight.

But, it's not like the officers don't have an opportunity to lose some of that weight:

Most of Ohio’s troopers meet the patrol’s height-weight standards, Phillips said. But those who fail their monthly weigh-ins for 24 months straight can be removed from duty, with no pay or pension contributions or other benefits, he said.

So you come in and get weighed and are told that you're overweight. You've got 2 YEARS to get to the weight that is considered acceptable. So even if you were at the extreme and were 70 pounds overweight, all you'd have to do is lose 3 pounds a month for 2 years and you'd make it with no problem. Losing less than a half a pound a week doesn't seem that big of a chore, especially if you know doing so will save your job.

Now I'm not bashing cops. They've got a tough job. But, their job is to protect the community from those that would do harm. We've all seen the show COPS and without fail, at least one time in each show they've gotta run down some half naked idiot for doing some stupid. If the police officers aren't in shape, and who they are looking for is a dangerous suspect, how exactly are they going to catch that suspect on a foot chase?

And don't think the people that are out there don't see that as an opportunity. If I can just hypothetically think about grabbing something in a store and running while an overweight police officer is right next to me and don't have one ounce of desire to do it, there are plenty of people out there that would take that opportunity.

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