"HEALTHY" DELI MEAT

Hey everyone, I was doing my grocery shopping today and was reminded of one of my biggest obstacles in fitness. I used to have a problem getting to my goal body fat, despite working out hard and eating well. At least I thought I was eating well. The Deli counter at the ol' Piggly Wiggly was hiding secrets(GASP!)...

BAD FOOD #2

So you’ve decided to make some positive changes to your

diet, and you realize that you really need to be eating more lean

protein to support your efforts in the gym. You’ve read all the

recommendations and now firmly understand that chicken, tuna fish

and turkey are the way to go. However, what “they” might not have

told you is that not all meats are created equal. In fact, sometimes what we think is

“meat” is actually nothing more than a round compressed

concoction of chemicals, fillers, sodium and additives that looks

not only like a volleyball (when is the last time you saw a perfectly

round chicken or turkey breast anyway?), but might even bounce

once or twice if it ever dropped on the floor. I swear I saw a guy at

HEB double dribble a Christmas Ham a few weeks ago!

The same goes with the tuna fish. The tuna by itself isn’t too bad for you at all, but

when you consider the mounds of mayo that tend to go along with

the fish and you turn a legitimate lean protein option into a lost

cause in the pursuit of leanness! Stick to plain water packed tuna,

fresh fish filets, grilled chicken breast and lean cuts of red meat to

turn your body into a toned, fat burning machine!

MEAL PLANNING

Breakfast - 7:00am

Breakfast Smoothie -

Made with 2 cups of

skim/soy/almond/or rice milk,

1 tbsp of flax

oil, 1/2 banana, fresh

strawberries and 2

scoops protein powder

Snack #1 - 9:30am

Almonds and Apricots

mix about 10 dried

apricots with 20-25

almonds in a bag)

Bottle of Water

Lunch - 12:00pm

Mixed Green Salad with

Grilled Salmon, lemon,

and black pepper

Bottle of Water

Vegetarian/Vegan:

Lunch - 12:00pm

Mixed Green Salad with

Meat Substitute(Soy, Tempeh, Seitan), lemon,

and black pepper

Bottle of Water

FINAL THOUGHTS

It is recommended that you keep your daily sodium intake under 2300 mg. How much is that? Just 1 teaspoon!

THIS BLOGS TIP

If you get indigestion don't take an antacid. You can neutralize the acids with some raw vegetables (like carrots) without the side effects

NEXT BLOG

Either another story or a supplement recommendation.

P.S.

You sent me some great stories about what inspired you to start getting into fitness last week. Some funny stories and some heartfelt ones as well. Sometimes a few seconds in your life can spin your world around.

Breaking Point

Story Time

As I've told some of you before, I'm not naturally an in shape person. I came a very long way from where I started. I didn't have very strict eating rules from my grandparents so I pretty much ate frozen pizza, fast food, Debbie cakes, candy bars, snickers...only. In fact the healthiest things I would eat were either peanut butter sandwiches loaded with scoops of peanut butter, or the terrible steak and baked potato dinners the coaches forced us to eat before a football game. And I drank Coke with everything.

HOW MANY TABLE SPOONS IS A SERVING AGAIN?

To make it worse, toward the end of my senior year I had given into peer pressure and started drinking. Now I had always had a bit of a pudge, but...MY GOD! Let me tell you something about a beer gut, you cannot, I repeat cannot suck it in. My whole life unto this point I had mastered sucking in my gut. I had done it so long I would do it even when no one was around. I actually started to think that's how I naturally looked. But not with a beer gut. That thing was so hard I felt like it would take at least five good punches to the stomach to knock the wind out of me. But I did the typical guy thing, and just acted like I was bulking up. I would even wear tight shirts believing I was big. So next time you see guys with big guts and tiny shirts, and wonder what they're thinking... now you know!

LOOKS LIKE EVERY FOOTBALL COACH I EVER HAD

Then one day, I ran into this girl when I went to get my hair cut. I liked this girl and as cliche as it sounds she was the Homecoming Queen and cheerleader also. Even though she had a boyfriend we had a really flirty relationship. But I'll never forget what she said to me when I saw her that day. "Steven, you're getting fat".

I'm not mad at her. She was just being honest. I was pretty much like that Spoc guy from Star Trek, it hit me on completely logical level. I'm fat, so...I need to not be fat.

I'm kind of an all or nothing guy, so if I don't obsess over it than I don't do it. I obsessed over this, I tried all kinds of diets, supplements, workouts. I trained with everyone from the former Mr. Tennessee, university football strength coaches, workouts from the athletic director of the New York Mets. I even experimented my own diets on myself. Yeah, I know I'm crazy. But after years of trial and error I finally got it down. Even though I'm always trying to improve.

Which is good for you guys, so you don't have to go down my long road. I wish I had someone like me when I started out (there had to have been a way to make that sound less conceited).

Anyway, what I want to ask is what was the point that got all of you into fitness. Where was your breaking point that inspired you?

MEAL PLANNING

Snack #2 - 3:00pm

Peanut Butter

Sliced Green Apple

Bottle of Water

Dinner - 6:00pm

Grilled Pork Chop

Applesauce

Grilled Portabellos

Baked Sweet Potato

Bottle of Water

Snack #3 - 9:00pm

Muscle Recovery Drink

Prograde Strength

Workout" Drink or EAS

Muscle Armor

recommended)

Vegetarian/Vegan:

Dinner - 6:00pm

Boca Burger

Applesauce

Grilled Portabellos

Baked Sweet Potato

Bottle of Water

FINAL THOUGHTS

Sometimes it's just that one little thing that finally motivates you. The funny thing is the girl that inspired me is now so fat I accidentally mistook her for an old high-school teacher.

THIS BLOGS TIP

Stuck at an Italian restaurant and not sure what to eat? Red sauces (marinara is best) should be the choice every time!

NEXT BLOG

Either another story or a No.2 on our FOODS TO AVOID list. You tell me. Let the people's voices be heard.

P.S.

If I get a chance I'll upload my senior year pictures. What my friends call "Fat Steve".

L-GLUTAMINE

SUPPLEMENTS #1

I know a lot of you don't care much for supplements. I'm exactly the same way. So if I'm recommending something it must be really good.

There's a lot of confusion about what it does, how to get the most out of it, and even what it is. I'll try to not get too nerdy on you here, even though you know that's hard for me to do. It's an amino acid. A non-essential amino acid, meaning your body naturally produces it. Via either chicken, beef, eggs, dairy. And it's used for almost everything in your body.

It also constructs DNA. DNA creates new cells. It also creates protein. Meaning it can help you with muscle recovery and soreness.

L-Glutamine also gives you more energy, helps your immunity system, assist your body with stress, and many other things.

If you're interested, only take the regular L-Glutamine. Take 5 grams after a workout and 5 grams at night with whatever meal your planning on eating.

Don't take 10 at a time because your body can't absorb it all.

And that's it. So for any of you that are wanting a boost in energy, less soreness, or any other the things I listed... there you are.

NEWS:

I've got something new that I've been working on for a little while now. I've already let a few of you in on the news. I'll let the rest of you know very soon. Most likely this week.

MEAL PLANNING

Breakfast - 7:00am

Whole Wheat Waffles

w/ applesauce and

peanut butter

Protein

Shake

(made with skim/soy/rice/ or almond

milk)

Snack #1 - 9:30am

Protein Bar

suggestions include

Progradestrength.com

C

ravers, EAS carb sense,

Pure Protein)

Bottle of Water

Lunch - 12:00pm

Tuna Fish Salad (made

with fat free mayo) on

Whole Wheat Bread

Lettuce, Tomato, Onion

Bottle of Water

Vegetarian/Vegan:

Lunch-12:00pm

Tempeh Salad (made

with fat free vegan mayo)

on

Whole Wheat Bread

Lettuce, Tomato, Onion

Bottle of Water

FINAL THOUGHTS

L-Gluatmine will help you with soreness and energy. DON'T BE SCARED that L-Gluatamine will turn you into a body builder. But if you ever do end up looking like this...maybe you can train me?

THIS BLOGS TIP

Save money and buy your staple foods at wholesale clubs like Costco or BJ's. You'll save hundreds of dollars a month!

NEXT BLOG

Another one of my old stories.