Slimming World Scrambled Eggs Smoked Salmon

Lightly whisk 2 eggs with some fresh chopped dill and seasoning. 

Spray a non-stick pan with low-calorie cooking spray and add some halved cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced mushrooms, cook for 2-3 minutes to soften.

Add the herby egg mixture and continue to cook slowly until the eggs are scrambled to your liking.

Meanwhile, toast 2 slices of wholemeal bread (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice). Spread some quark onto the toast, then spoon over the tomato and mushroom scrambled eggs.

Arrange slices of smoked salmon on top. Season to taste and serve.

THE BEGINNER BODYBUILDER’S 4-WEEK MEAL PLAN. Week 1

If you’re just starting out with a strength-training routine and want to maximize gains while leaning out, follow this one-month clean eating plan.

If you're new to strength training and building lean muscle mass, one of the most important tools you’ll need to add muscle without fat is following a proper eating regime.  Strength training is one of the single best things you can do for energy and longevity.  But, if you’re not fueling your body correctly, your progress will be slow at best.  It’s important that you eat approximately every 3 to 4 hours to keep your metabolism evenly fueled throughout the day.  This will help with muscle synthesis and fat burning.  Aim for five to six meals daily to stay energetic and avoid that “hitting the wall” feeling by mid afternoon.  

Your macronutrient intake (protein, carbs and fats) should look something like this:

• 1 – 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.  Shoot for 25-30 grams of protein (6-8 oz) at eat meal.  Quality proteins like grass-fed beef, wild caught salmon, organic turkey and chicken, eggs, whey and casein protein powders, shrimp, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are all great options.

• Keep your carbohydrate intake around 150 to 250 grams daily. Complex carbs like sweet potatoes/yams, brown rice, sprouted grain breads, oats, beans, quinoa, and whole grain pastas are all excellent choices.  They fuel your body, digest slowly and will be utilized for energy. 

• Simple carbs like fruit, white rice, white potatoes are good for post workout to aid in recovery and fast absorption for muscle growth.

• Fats should fall somewhere between 65 to 85 grams a day. Avocados, natural nut butters, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and egg yolks are all healthy fats that should be part of your meal plan.  Good fats give you energy and are utilized for fuel not storage.

• All vegetables aid in digestion and give quality fiber to keep your intestinal tract functioning smoothly.  

• Consume at least half your bodyweight in water. Avoid sugary drinks and diet sodas.

Bottom line: If you want to build a muscular physique, you need to eat the proper diet. You can have a cheat meal once a week, but it shouldn’t be a cheat day or weekend.  This will only derail your progress and leave you feeling sluggish. 

Try this 4-week meal plan with a sampling of meals you can mix and match all week long to get started with your clean eating, muscle-building diet.

Each day you will eat: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner.

WEEK 1

BREAKFASTS

Cereal with milk and berries:

·      1 cup of Whole Grain Cereal

·      1% milk or almond milk

·      1/2 cup berries

Scrambled egg wrap:

·      one whole egg

·      3/4 egg whites

·      1/4 cup lowfat cheese

·      spinach, tomato wrapped in a low carb tortilla

·      1/4 cup salsa if desired

Veggie omelet

·      Saute bell peppers, tomatoes, onions until soft. Set aside

·      Make omelet with one whole egg and 5 egg whites, then add cooked veggies

·      Pair with ¼ cup lowfat cheese

·      2 pieces of whole grain sprouted bread

SNACKS

Bread and almond butter

·      3 slices of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread

·      1 tbsp almond butter

·      1 tbsp natural strawberry jam

Cereal, milk and fruit

·      1 cup whole grain cereal 

·      With a cup of 1% milk

·      1 cup strawberries 

Chocolate protein pudding

·      1 ½ scoops of whey/casein blend

·      Add water and stir until cake batter consistency

·      Microwave for a minute, stir and eat

·      Add in ¼ cup crushed almonds or walnuts

Oatmeal nut butter snack

·      1 cup of oatmeal 

·      1 scoop of whey protein any flavor

·      1 Tbsp of natural almond butter

·      Mix all together with water and cook according to package directions

Cottage cheese and muffin

·      1 sprouted grain English muffin (any flavor), toasted

·      Pair with ¾ cup of cottage cheese no salt added

·      ¾ cup of pineapple

Yogurt parfait

·      8 oz of nonfat Greek yogurt

·      ¼ cup of chopped walnuts or almonds

·      ¼ cup of dried cranberries

·      ½ medium apple 

LUNCHES

Salmon and greens

·      4-5 oz of grilled salmon over a large salad with a variety of vegetables

·      Pair with 2-3 organic brown rice cakes

Tuna wrap

·      1 can of tuna

·      1 Tbsp of fat free mayo

·      1 tbsp of dijon mustard

·      1 cup of chopped celery/onion

·      1 organic tortilla wrap

·      1 cup of romaine lettuce

Grilled chicken salad

·      5-6 oz chicken breast

·      Salad with 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

·      2 Tbsp avocado

·      2 slices of Ezekiel toast

DINNERS

Pork and applesauce

·      5-6 oz lean pork

·      1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

·      10-12 asparagus spears

·      5 oz of sweet potato or yams

Salmon and String Beans

·      5-6 oz grilled salmon

·      2 cups green string beans

·      5-6 oz of red potatoes

Steak and spinach

·      6 oz of grass-fed flank steak

·      2-3 cups baby spinach sautéed with 

·      1 tbsp of olive oil, sea salt, garlic & pepper to taste

·      5 oz of sweet potato

Weeks 2, 3 and 4 to be continued!

Source

The 3-Hour Diet Review

Overview

Jorge Cruise, a man who claims to have been 40 pounds overweight, developed a diet plan designed to eliminate “belly fat.” According to the National Institutes of Health, fat in the abdominal area can increase your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. For many people, the belly is a problem area, and this diet plan specifically targets it.

The 3-Hour Diet is a trademarked food plan that involves eating small portions of food every three hours throughout the day. This is a highly controlled plan with a regimented eating schedule. By eating at specific times throughout the day, Cruise says dieters keep their metabolism running on high, reducing body fat.

How it works

According to EveryDiet.org, the promise of the 3-Hour Diet is that by eating every three hours, dieters can lose belly fat and maintain a healthier weight. Dieters are told to:

·       eat breakfast at 7 a.m.

·       have a 100-calorie snack at 10 a.m.

·       eat lunch at 1 p.m.

·       have a second 100-calorie snack at 4 p.m.

·       eat dinner at 7 p.m.

·       soon after dinner, enjoy a 50-calorie treat

To follow the diet correctly, dieters must make sure they stop eating at least three hours before going to sleep.

Cruise developed this diet based on the belief that if you go for more than three hours without putting food in your body, it goes into “starvation mode.” In other words, your body stores fat and burns muscle, slowing down your metabolism as if preparing for a period of hunger. Eating consistently will, according to Cruise, keep your metabolism moving quickly, helping you burn fat all day.

The promise

The 3-Hour Diet promises that you’ll get rid of stubborn belly fat without giving up your favorite foods or having to commit to a full-fledged exercise program. In fact, exercise is optional with this program. The 3-3-Hour Diet promises that within two weeks of joining the program, your levels of the stress hormone cortisol (which Cruise believes causes belly fat) will be reduced, and so will your waistline.

According to the program’s website, you can drop 10 pounds during the first two weeks and then lose additional weight every week after that. The diet is advertised as one that addresses both the physical and psychological aspects of weight loss. It also claims to be easy enough to follow that you will be able to stick with it until you reach your goals.

Pros

The 3-Hour Diet is all-inclusive. There are no prohibited types of food. In fact, some of the most maligned foods are allowed in small portions. Dieters can eat occasional fast food chicken, chocolate candy bars, bacon, and red meat. This is alluring for those who aren’t ready to give up their favorite foods.

·       You don’t have to give up your favorite foods.

Cruise believes that there are no bad foods, just bad portions. Following this methodology, the 3-Hour Diet is fairly sensible. It takes into account the undeniable fact that calories are what determine weight gain, and sets strict calorie limits for each meal and snack. The 3-Hour Diet’s meal plan also encourages eating a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fruits, and vegetables.

Cons

Many experts don’t agree that regular, small portions necessarily translate into weight loss.

One danger is that the frequent eating involved in the 3-Hour Diet can offer an opportunity for abuse, especially if you have problems overeating to begin with. If portion sizes aren’t controlled, frequent eating can actually cause you to gain weight. Similarly, if you struggle with addiction to certain foods, such as sugar, this diet is not designed to help you overcome that addiction.

·       The 3-Hour diet ignores the necessity of exercise.

Cruise also includes highly processed foods in his meal plans, such as McDonald’s Egg McMuffins and Oreos. While he believes that there are no bad foods, research suggests that highly processed foods can lead to long-term weight gain.

Another issue is that the 3-Hour Diet doesn’t address the necessity of exercise. Exercise is essential to overall health, as well as healthy weight loss.

Summary

Cruise’s focus on controlling the psychological aspects of weight gain and weight loss is insightful. Stress eating can lead to increased abdominal fat. Healthy stress management is crucial for successful weight loss. The 3-Hour Diet does a good job tackling some of the eating habits that lead to excess body fat.

However, every weight loss program should include some type of physical activity. People become overweight when they eat more calories than they use, and one of the causes of the obesity epidemic in the United States is an inactive lifestyle. Dieters who combine the 3-Hour Diet with a healthy exercise program may very well see positive, long-term results.

Source 

Picture Sources: 1, 2 and 3.

7 Meal Prep Chicken Meals ($3.50 Each)

This is a basic, and DELICIOUS, meal prep. Meal prepping saves you time, money, and definitely helps you stay on top of your fitness and health goals. 

**PLEASE NOTE** This is for 7 days if you are using this meal to replace ONE meal a day. If you want to eat this all day every day, go ahead, but for many people, this will just be a one meal replacement, whether it's to take to work with you for lunch or so that your dinner is ready when you get home!

---------------

HOW TO STORE THESE
If you are going to eat more than one a day, all can stay in the fridge. 
If you are ONLY eating one a day with your other meals, you have 2 options.
1. Cut the recipe in half, or
2. Put 4 meals in the freezer and 3 meals in the fridge. 
3. Take one out the night before and keep in the fridge to thaw. 
4. Store the yogurt sauce in the fridge and add on after you've reheated. 

HOW TO REHEAT 
1. Reheat in a saute pan until food is hot.
2. Eat it cold :)

If you will eat cold, you can add the yogurt topping into each container. If you are going to freeze meals or reheat them out of the fridge, set the yogurt topping aside in the fridge and add on once it's been reheated! 

------------

2 cups brown rice
Coconut Oil
980g chicken (approx 6-7 breasts)
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 cloves garlic
salt/pepper
2-3 heads of broccoli
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
assorted spices of your choice

--------------

MACROS per container:
Calories: 487
Fat: 9
Carbohydrates: 40
Protein: 45

What Heart Patients Need to Know About Herbal Supplements

A new research review published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says there are 10 supplements that are particularly risky for people to take if they also take drugs for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other heart problems.

These herbal supplements have the potential to reduce the effectiveness of heart drugs and/or cause dangerous side effects.

“Natural does not mean safe," says the lead study author, Graziano Onder, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome. Onder and his colleagues summarized the evidence on the effectiveness and side effects of Asian ginseng, astragalus, flaxseed oil, garlic, ginkgo, grapeseed, green tea, hawthorn, milk thistle, and soy.

In particular, green tea, garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, and hawthorn have the potential to reduce the efficacy of certain heart medications or increase their side effects. Onder says that people taking aspirin or blood thinners such as warfarin should be especially wary, because supplements paired with those medications can increase the risk of internal bleeding. And ginkgo has been associated with potentially severe side effects including, in rare cases, brain hemorrhaging.

The researchers also concluded that there's no clear evidence that supports the use of any of these 10 supplements to promote heart health. Flaxseed oil, garlic, grapeseed, green tea, hawthorn, milk thistle, and soy all have "limited evidence of benefits," the researchers said, meaning they might help but more research is needed. The other herbs were found to be completely ineffective or there was conflicting evidence about their potential benefit.

Taking these supplements with medications is concern especially when patients don't tell their doctors. According to a nationally representative survey of nearly 2,000 Americans by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, more than half of people who take supplements don’t talk to their primary care doctor about it. 

The Risks of Herbal Medicines

Doctors may not ask you specifically about herbal supplements you may be taking, but you should speak up anyway. "Always report and discuss with your doctor the use of herbal medications,” Onder says. Better yet, talk with your doctor before you start taking one.

Duffy MacKay, N.D., the senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Center for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for the supplements industry, characterizes the authors' conclusions about the lack of proven benefits as "not a fair portrayal of the evidence." But he agrees with a key message of the paper. "Patients should always discuss the benefits and side effects of herbal medications with their physicians," he says. "That's very reasonable and rational."

Consumers should be wary of all supplements, however, even those that seem promising and relatively safe, cautions Pieter Cohen, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and an internist at the Cambridge Health Alliance.

As Consumer Reports has previously reported, loose regulation means that the quality and purity of the supplements you buy can vary widely, and it's almost impossible to be sure you're getting what you think you are. "Consumers overwhelmingly assume supplements are safe or they wouldn't be on the shelf," says Chuck Bell, programs director for Consumers Union, the policy and mobilization arm of Consumer Reports. "They generally haven't thought of pitfalls such as drug interactions."

In addition, supplements may be contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals, bacteria, fungi, or even active pharmaceuticals, Cohen noted in a 2010 paper published in Cardiovascular Therapeutics.

If you're interested in trying out something like garlic, for example, Cohen suggests incorporating the actual food into your diet rather than rolling the dice with a supplement.

Source

3 Fat Loss Breakfast Recipes

0:38 The 3 MUST HAVES of a Lean Breakfast
0:59 Is Dairy OK?
1:21 Biochemical Individuality & Dairy 
1:38 Greek Yogurt Parfait Recipe
1:55 Regular Granola vs. Brenda's Lean Granola
2:00 A Word about Oatmeal and Prolamines
2:18 Raw Buckwheat Groats (buckwheats are NOT related to wheat..not even the same ballpark. Two totally different things)
3:48 Protein Shake with some lean twists
4:46 Chia Seeds, and why you should use them
6:15 Breakfast Burrito (and rethinking eggs)
7:00 A brief word on nutritional yeast (which actually has protein & fiber also)
7:40 Spices for a superior egg burrito

Best Exercises to Flatten Your Lower Belly

Exercise #1 - Leg Circles
Lie on the floor, keeping that lower back flat into the ground (no arched C curve to protect that lower back), head flat, fingers pointed forward and slowly raise your legs up and open them into wide circles. Mix it up – take the circles out and then reverse other direction. Note: the higher you go, the easier it’s going to be and the lower you go, the more challenging this move is.

Exercise #2 - V HOLD
You will want to lie flat on your back or rest up on your forearms and lift your legs. In this video, I don’t demonstrate a true “V” HOLD, but you can lift your shoulders off the ground and raise your arms over your head creating a “V” position and HOLD.

Exercise #3 - Leg Hold Ups
Again, lying flat on the ground or resting up on your forearms (you do want to build strength in that core, but it’s important to have proper form) and slowly lift your legs up and bring them back down.

Exercise #4 - Flutter Kicks
Last exercise! You got this! Lie on the floor and lift up on your forearms. Slowly criss cross your legs up and down, but hovering low over the ground as much as possible. Pretend like an elephant is resting their arm on your lower belly. If you do that, there is no way that back will arch!