What is Super Foods?

This post  is about Super Foods. What are Super Foods?  They are foods that are  packed with good nutrition. These foods are low on calories and high on the nutritional side. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.

I will tell you my 10 favorite Super foods. The list could go on way more than 10, but I want to give you an idea of what kind of foods are the best for you. All of these 10 foods help to keep your blood sugar more stable and this is very important for your weight loss program. In my E-Book the Ultimate Guide to Express Fat Loss, there is a full chapter on the Glycemic Index, and which foods keep your blood sugar more stable.

1- Sweet Potatoes
One of the best vegetables you can eat. They’re loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

2 –  Grape Tomatoes
They’re sweeter and firmer than other tomatoes, and their bite-size shape makes them perfect for snacking, dipping, or salads. They’re packed with vitamin C and vitamin A, and you also get some fiber, some phytochemicals, and great flavor.

3- Broccoli
It has lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid. Steam it briefly and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a sprinkle of lemon. I love broccoli.

4- Wild Salmon

The omega-3 fats in fatty fish like salmon can help reduce the risk of heart attacks. And wild-caught salmon has less PCB contaminants than farmed salmon.   5 – Crispbreads Whole-grain rye crackers, like Wasa, Ry Krisp, and Ryvita — usually called crispbreads — are loaded with fiber and often fat-free.

5. Berries
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries. These Colorful berries are packed with antioxidants. Add some berries in your smoothies.

6- Brown Rice
Brown rice is easy to prepare and more nutritious than enriched white rice. When the grain is refined, you lose the fiber, magnesium, vitamins E and B-6, copper, zinc, and phytochemicals that are in the whole grain.

7- Spinach and Kale

These standout leafy greens are jam-packed with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, potassium, magnesium, iron, lutein, and phytochemi.

8- Oatmeal
Oats are a good source of complex carbs and fiber. Great for breakfast. I also like to add some oats in my protein shake. It slows the absorption of the protein powder.  Oats help reduce cholesterol. Research shows that one bowl of oatmeal per day can reduce cholesterol by up to 23%.

9- Citrus Fruit

Great taste and rich in vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber. Perfect for a snack or dessert. Try different varieties: juicy Minneola oranges, snacksize Clementines, or tart pink grapefruit.

10- Beans

More than just a meat substitute, beans are so nutritious that the latest dietary guidelines recommend we triple our current intake from 1 to 3 cups per week. Beans are high in fiber and antioxidants. beans aren’t just good for the waistline, they may aid in disease prevention, too

Make sure you add these top 10 Super Foods to your nutritional program. By including these foods in a healthy diet on a regular basis, you can easily gain many health benefits, and they will help you lose a few pounds as well.

www.ExpressFatLoss.com

Post workout shake

As you know now, good nutrition is very important for you to be able to reach your goals. One of my Golden rules in my E-Book, The Ultimate Guide to Express Fat Loss,  is the post-workout shake.

Your muscles have a reserve of glycogen (sugar) and when you exercise, you use this reserve. In reality, it takes around 24 hours to restore your glycogen levels to the maximum. I’ll tell you a secret. After I finish my workout, I take my protein shake mix with 1 cup of orange juice. By getting some simple sugars right away after my workout, I start to replenish the sugar in my muscles more quickly, and at the same time, the simple sugars give me a little boost of energy.

You need to do this right after your workout. Don’t wait until you are back at home. It will be too late to get the most out of your post workout shake. I carry my protein powder (dry) in my bottle and when I’m done with my workout, I add the juice and drink it right away. You need to try Strawberry Protein Powder with Orange Juice, this is a real treat after a tough workout and it’s taste so good. You can add little more water if you like your post workout shake more liquid and not too sweet. This is up to you and how you like your shake.

After your post workout shake, wait around 60 to 90 minutes before you take a good meal with lean protein, vegetables and some complex carbs.

Start taking your post workout shake and you will see better results and faster recovery.

Keep Moving, Stay Fit!

To your health,

Martin Bolduc

Certified Personal Trainer

Lean Body Challenge 2008 Champion
Author of The Ultimate Guide to Express Fat Loss

Your Fitness Routine should continue after 12 weeks

Where are you with your program to get back into shape? When you decided to get back into shape, that was probably when you requested your F.ree E-Book or when you purchased the Express Fat Loss program.

A lot of people decide they want to make a body transformation for a special event like a New Year’s resolution, a wedding, a trip to the beach, a family reunion etc. But what happens after this is over?  Are you going to give up everything you achieved? Give up all your good work and go back to your old habits, feeling sluggish with no energy, increasing your body fat and then starting the same pattern over again for another event in a few months or next year?

Are you like that?  Can you recognize your behavior in that scenario?

Now that you have been in your routine for a few months, the trick is to keep going. So many people work hard to pass the 12 week point and after that, if something happens, they cancel their exercise time at the gym.  They think it’s probably not a big issue.  It’s only one time, but next week the same situation will come up again, and again the following week, and they end up missing more workouts.  I’m sorry to tell you that this usually signals the beginning of the end.

I have been in this business for so long that I know that at some point you will probably feel bored with your exercise program.  Maybe you will reach a plateau, and you may not see any obvious improvement in weight loss or muscle gain. You might start to lose your focus.

The other day, I read something by Mark Joyner. Mark Joyner is a 4 times best-selling author, and this phrase made a lot of sense to me. Make sure you apply this to your goals: he said, “Hit it until you hit it”. Whatever your goals are, apply this to your focus and you will ‘Hit It’ for sure.

If you have lost focus lately with your fat loss program, make sure you are still doing what you need to do to be successful. Here’s a few ways to get back on track:

Ÿ  Establish a routine – Make exercise part of your daily lifestyle. Exercise should come naturally like eating, sleeping or brushing your teeth.

Ÿ  Schedule – Make sure you set up some time in your agenda for time at the gym. Choose the best time for you and KEEP IT! This time slot is yours. It’s your time to think about your health.

Ÿ  Pay attention to your nutrition – Without monitoring your nutrition closely, it will be very difficult to achieve what you want. It’s a package deal: you need all of ‘wheels’ (Nutrition, Strength Training, Cardio/Flexibility and Rest)

Ÿ  Goals- Look back to the goal setting you did a few months ago and see if your goals were realistic.

Ÿ  Start keeping your nutrition and exercise journal again – Make sure you stay on track with both.

Ÿ  Push yourself little bit more at each workout session, perform maybe one extra rep or increase the weight of your lift.

Ÿ  Change your routine every 4 to 6 weeks to keep you interested and your muscles learning and getting fit.

Your fitness program should go beyond the first 12 weeks. First make a commitment for the first 12 weeks and then re-assess and make another commitment for another 3 months. Use a small time frame (12 weeks at a time) and aim to get fitter and stronger every time you set up fresh 12 weeks goals.  Remember what you learned about goal setting – keep it realistic, and measure your progress regularly to stay motivated!

Staying Fit with Numbers

Many times it happen that we spend so much time practicing  a weight loss program but cannot get significant results. This is mainly because we stick to our weight loss program during gym hours but somehow forget to follow them during hours outside gym.
Keep in mind that the nutrition & lifestyle we follow outside the gym environment greatly impacts the results of our weight loss program. Target setting is a very important factor and in order to achieve effective weight loss, we need to set some targets and stick to them during gym hours as well as outside gym hours.

The Number Game:

In order to stay fit with numbers, we need to understand the number game.

• Total hours per week = 7 days x 24 hours each = 168 hours/week

• Wake up hours per week = 168 total – (8hours per day X 7 days) = 112 hours Awake in General

• Gym Hours per week = 5 hours/week at the gym (if you train 5 days a week for 60 minutes)

• Outside Gym Hours = 112 hours awake  – 5 hours at the  gym = 107  hours left outside the gym.

The nutrition you take and the lifestyle you follow during these 107 outside gym hours are the deciding factor for your weight loss goals.

Nutrition

The nutrition you take outside gym hours is very much important for achieving quick weight loss. Experts suggest taking meals at regular intervals – after every 2 1/2 to 3  hours including three routine meals of the day. This helps in weight loss by keeping metabolism active and energy level high – keep your blood sugar more stable. Similarly if you eat balanced nutrition after workouts then it will help your body recover by making up the glycogen level lost during extensive workout sessions.

Lifestyle

Your weight loss results are really dependent on your lifestyle outside the  gym. Muscle development mainly takes place during rest so you should give your body enough rest time. Keeping a check on your lifestyle and monitoring it accordingly will help you achieve fat loss goal by changing the routine as per outcome.

To reach your goals faster with your weight loss program, visit www.ExpressFatLoss.com and start your weight loss program today.

Better Energy with Balanced Nutrition

For a good health, proper nutrition is very important. In today’s world one needs to be active all the time but due to poor nutrition many people cannot reach their full potential. The human body needs balanced nutrition and exercise to function properly. A shortcut is fitness diet that would not only lead to good health but also energy boost and great performance. Following is the summary detail of a fitness diet.

Complex Carbohydrates

The intake of sugary food in large quantity makes one feel heavy, increases weight and effects health. For fitness diet, one has to cut down the intake of such food completely. Complex Carbohydrates are not only good for health but provide boost of energy for the body. Fitness diet includes wholegrain breads, oats, muesli and brown rice, pastas, beans, barley etc that act as energy boosters, make us feel light and full at the same time. These are important for staying healthy and preventing cardiovascular and other diseases.

Protein

Protein is found in meat, fish, poultry, milk products, legumes, and peanut butter. It is needed for building or repairing muscles, and for maintaining healthy hair, nails and skin. Foods from animal sources are high in protein, as well as zinc, iron and vitamin B12.

Fat

Fat is a concentrated source of energy or calories. Reducing the amount of fat in your diet lowers the number of calories. However, it is important to have enough ‘healthy fats’ in your diet, such as fats from fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils like Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.

It is important to avoid saturated (Except Extra Virgin Coconut Oil)  and trans fats or to have these in small amounts only. Saturated fats are found in cheese, ice cream, high fat dairy products, high fat meats, chicken skin, lard, shortening  and palm kernel oils. Trans fats are found mainly in baked goods, including those made with shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, and hard margarines.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are a very important part of fitness diet. One can take fresh fruits and vegetables or vitamin supplements to keep the body functioning right. Vitamins and minerals also give us an energy boost. Particularly Vitamin B Complex is very important for having good energy level.

Calcium needs increase for people over 50 years of age. Calcium is one of the vital nutrients for having healthy bones and preventing osteoporosis. Other benefits may include keeping a healthy weight and blood pressure. Examples of foods with high calcium are low-fat dairy products, canned fish with bones, calcium-fortified soy beverages, and calcium-enriched fruit juices.

Vitamin D is needed to help you balance calcium levels in your body for healthy bones. You need more vitamin D as you get older. Vitamin D is found in milk, fortified soy beverages, egg yolk, and fish.

Vitamin B6 needs also increase as people age. Vitamin B6 is important for protein metabolism and brain function. Food sources of vitamin B6 include fish, beef livers, meat, poultry, whole grains, nuts, dried beans, peas and lentils.

Vitamin B12 absorption decreases with age. Older adults absorb less vitamin B12 from foods and need to take vitamin B12 fortified foods or a supplement. Lack of vitamin B12 over a long time can cause a type of anemia, resulting in tiredness. Other symptoms include forgetfulness, difficulty thinking and concentrating, and possibly numbness or tingling in fingers and/or toes. Good food sources of vitamin B12 are milk products, meat, fish, poultry and eggs.

Folate is one of the B vitamins important for a healthy heart and blood cells. A lack of folate may cause anemia. Foods with folate are dried peas, beans, lentils, orange juice, dark green leafy vegetables and other vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Sodium or salt use may increase as people age, possibly due to less sense of taste. Too much sodium in your diet can increase your blood pressure. Try using unsalted herbs, spices and seasonings in cooking instead of adding salt to foods. Limit the use of salty foods, including instant soup, sauce and gravy mixes, soy sauce, salad dressings, and salted meats such as ham, bacon and sausages.

Fibre is important for your bowels and health. The bowels may become less active as people age, and this may cause constipation. Certain types of fibre can help to lower cholesterol and to keep blood sugar levels normal. Fibre may also help to manage or keep a healthy weight. Foods with fibre include whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables.

Water
Water is life. It regulates the body metabolism and improves circulation of blood in the body. A sufficient intake of water should be there in ones fitness diet. Instead of taking tea or coffee one should take green tea that will provide the benefits of tea as well as add to the water intake.

Can I take a multivitamin/mineral supplement?

Taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement once daily may be helpful  to meet their needs for folate and vitamins B6, B12 and D. Although supplements provide vitamins and minerals, these do not provide the protein, carbohydrates, fibre, and other health benefits that you need. Foods also have phytochemicals, which are not found in supplements. Woman Click Here. Man Click Here.

Get your free E-Book on Nutrition, Weight Loss and Weight Loss Supplements at www.ExpressFatLoss.com

Diet don’t work!

A few days ago I started working with a new client. She wants to lose weight. After a brief chat with her, she told me she’s tried almost every popular diet. She found with all those diets, the only results she’d get is a slower metabolism and all the weight back, even with some extra pounds!

I’m going to tell you once again, just in case you’ve missed it in my blog when I talked about diets…

Diets DON’ T  work. Period!

Get it?

Don’t try to diet to lose weight. Chances are, you will gain all your weight back – and probably more – after your diet.

So what is the solution? It’s simple. Change your lifestyle. Notice I didn’t say change your diet. I said lifestyle. What do I mean by lifestyle? Changing your habits and your behaviors. This is the only way to lose weight and keep it off for a lifetime.

Start with a few simple tips:

- Eat breakfast every day – Your most important meal of the day!

- Eat every 3 hours – Keep your blood sugar more stable.

- Eat small portions – Eat more often but small portion

- Establish a good balance between carbohydrates, protein and fat. (40%-40%-20%)

- Consume healthy fats from good sources – Extra Virgin Coconut  or Olive oil, Flax seed oil, Avocado, Salmon

- Set aside a time for your favorite meal or snack

To get a complete guide for your weight loss and building lean muscle, I highly recommended the Ultimate Guide to Express Fat Loss. In there, you’ll find all the information you need for successful weight loss. Including 18 different meal plan with grocery list to give you all what you need to be another success story on weight loss.

Once you discover how to  change your lifestyle, you’ll see it’s easy to keep the weight off. Stop the yo-yo dieting. It’s not working. When you know what to do, you will see it’s much easier to lose weight and keep it off.

Keep Moving, Stay Fit!

Be careful with protein bars!

Since you’ve started to read my tips, you know the importance of eating 5 or 6 meals a day to maintain a healthy weight and keep your energy
levels high. This is very important if you work out on a regular basis. It can be hard to cook all these meals every day, and this is why I like
protein bars. Protein bars can be a great snack, but they can destroy your good intentions too!

The other day, I visited my friend at his supplement store. I started to look at all the bars you can buy. Now you have the choice from
meal replacement or diet bars, protein bars, and energy bars. For someone who had no idea what to buy, this could be very confusing.

Each bar contains different levels of protein, carbohydrates, fat and sugar. Picking the right one depends on your goal. Let me explain little
bit more:

If we look first at the energy bars, the name says it all. The purpose of the energy bar is to give you a boost of energy.  This is great
for endurance athletes like cyclists or marathoners. I’m sure you figured out that the main ingredient is carbohydrates to give
you the energy you need to keep you going during the event.

Meal replacements bars are mostly “diet” bars. This type of bar contains the least amount of calories and more carbohydrates than protein.
Again, the name tells you what it is for – a meal or snack replacement. In the mean time it’s a good choice for a pre or post-workout snack.

The last one is the protein bar. The protein bar is designed for people who are training and trying to lose weight. This type of bar
had a high level of protein to help you build muscles, and burn fat.

Nutrition bars can be a good and healthy choice once in a while, but it’s important to read the labels carefully. Many bars are
full of sugar, which can make them just as bad as a regular chocolate bar. Make sure to always choose one that contains
little refined sugar and – and this isvery important – is low in saturated fats.

My 2 best choices are from Isagenix- Isalean for meal replacement and  Labrada Nutrition – Lean cookie Bar - for Post workout snack.

Make sure you don’t abuse the nutrition bars. They can result in an increase in your body fat if you eat too much of these bars, especially if
you are a person who is not too active and trying to lose weight.

If you want to make sure you receive all tips in your email box you need to sign up at www.ExpressFatLoss.com

Healthy Snack Options for Rapid Fat Loss

As a fitness expert people always ask me, “What snacks can I eat that will help me lose ‘this’?” When they say “this” they are pointing to some part of their body that has a bit too much fat for their liking.
Now I think some people are waiting for me to say, “Oh, don’t worry, you can eat cookies, chips and candy all you want. Everyone has been lying to you. They actually make you thinner!”
Seriously, people really do want me to tell them what they WANT to hear.
But, fortunately, some people are serious when they ask that question. They really do want to know some healthy snack options for rapid fat loss.
So here’s what I tell them:

• Raw almonds, walnuts or pecans (Not the roasted variety. And don’t even think about the ones with sugar sprinkled on them!)
• Fruit or veggies cut up into sticks (Stay away from dipping them into things you know you shouldn’t)
• Hard boiled eggs
• Low-fat cottage cheese
• Hummus

Those are all great options. But if you really want to treat yourself you’ve gotta check out Prograde Cravers. You can find them here http://express.getprograde.com/cravers
They’re made with 100% organic dark chocolate. Plus, they’re only 180 calories and they’re out-of-this-world delicious.
Seriously, this isn’t your ordinary “tastes like chemicals or cardboard’ nutritional bar.
Definitely check them out.

PS – It’s best if you choose a variety of foods from the above list. But please realize, you CANNOT find Prograde Cravers in stores anywhere. They’re only available through fitness pros such as myself. http://express.getprograde.com/cravers
PPS – I am a Prograde Nutrition partner

By ExpressFatLoss.com

Top Vitamins for Women Revealed

Ok, so you know Vitamins and Minerals are important. Most every woman knows that.

However, not everyone understands WHY they are so important for their body. So I recently asked Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter to give us the easy rundown on the Top Woman’s Vitamins. Here’s what he had to say:

Vitamin A – This vitamin contributes to the health of you eyes, skin and nails.

Vitamin B – While B Vitamins are often referred to as “energy vitamins” they don’t actually give you a surge of energy. What they actually do is help facilitate metabolic reaction in the body to create energy. They’re also necessary for a  healthy metabolism.

Vitamin C - This woman’s vitamin is a great antioxidant and immune system booster. It also helps skin health.

Vitamin D – Helps women absorb calcium. And it may help prevent certain types of cancer.

Calcium – It’s actually a mineral not a vitamin. And as most women know already, it improves bone density.

Pretty simple, right? But you can also see why it’s so important to understand vitamins for women. When we understand the reasons to make healthier choices it helps us make them.

Now, I get asked all the time by women which vitamin supplements, if any, they need to be taking. Great question.

Well, if your nutrition is 100% perfect all the time then you probably don’t need to take any.

But that’s not the case for most women. Most women are busy as heck and don’t always find the time for proper nutrition. So if that’s the case with you I recommend taking a Whole Foods based Multi-Vitamin. And the only one I recommend is Prograde Nutrition’s VGF 25+ for Women.

It’s actually really cool because it’s literally made from 25 veggies, greens and fruits. You should definitely check out Prograde’s Women’s Vitamins.  At the very top of the page is the list of ingredients. You can see the 25 whole foods they use to make VGF 25+ for Women.

PS – Pretty cool, huh? The nutrition of 25 whole foods in a bottle!  Prograde Nutrition’s VGF 25 + for Women

Win the Battle Against Fat Cells

As a fitness expert, you know I’ll never promise you a pill is going to be the answer to that “jiggle in your wiggle.” If you want six pack abs you’re going to have to work for them.

BUT…

There is some very promising research out there in regards to a dietary supplement you’ve probably been hearing a lot about.

Yes, I’m talking about Essential Fatty Acids. You probably have heard them called something like Fish Oil pills.

How’s this for good news?!

*University of Georgia researchers have found something pretty amazing about  Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA. Get this: The actually help STOP the conversion of pre-fat cells into fat cells by causing them to die out before they can mature.

Once a pre-fat cell becomes a fat cell, well, there’s no turning back. You’ve got that fat cell for life. Imagine, actually decreasing the accumulation of fat by taking an Essential Fatty Acid supplement containing DHA!

Now let me do my best infomercial voice for you…

But wait, there’s more!

Seriously, that’s not the only benefit of Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA.

According to studies** done at the University of South Australia people that combined exercise with Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA saw greater fat loss than the test group that only exercised and did not take the supplement.

How can you not be excited by these research studies??

Now, personally, I don’t like Fish Oil pills because they cause you to burp like crazy. If you’ve ever taken them you know exactly what I mean. And they aren’t always the highest quality.

I prefer EFA Icon from Prograde Nutrition because they use Krill Oil. It’s been found to be a superior source of Essential Fatty Acids containing DHA. Plus, with EFA Icon there are NO fish burps. And I haven’t even mentioned all the amazing health benefits from this dietary supplement.

If you’re looking to accelerate your fat loss results than I really recommend you go with Prograde Nutrition’s EFA Icon. You can get it here: Prograde Nutrition

PS – Remember, EFA Icon is NOT a miracle solution. You will need sound nutrition and exercise. BUT the research is there. It’s definitely a supplement with powerful fat loss properties.  Prograde Nutrition

* Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136:2965-2969

** American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85:1267-1274