EXERCISE: GOOD FOR BODY, GOOD FOR MIND

"It may come as a surprise to you that I don't love to exercise. Sometimes I actually hate it. But I do it anyway, because the rewards far outweigh whatever discomfort I feel during a workout. Regular exercise leads to better health, more energy, a lower risk of heart disease and diabetes, and a longer life. But it isn't just the physical benefits of exercise that push me — it's what it does for my mental health.

The mental-health benefits start right after you exercise. Have you ever noticed how good you feel when you complete a workout? That you feel relaxed, or even euphoric? That mood lift, often called "runner's high," comes courtesy of natural morphine-like chemicals called endorphins. Exercise floods the brain with endorphins, which help to relieve pain, enhance your mood, and relieve stress.

But the feel-good effects don't stop after the endorphin rush subsides. Over time, exercise provides a major boost to your confidence. As you start working out and getting stronger, your sense of strength in other aspects of your life will naturally flourish as well. To put it another way, if you can survive my workouts, you can do anything — and when you feel that sense of empowerment, nothing will be able to stand between you and the life you want to live." - Jillian Michaels

RAW FOOD BALLS RECIPE

Raw food balls recipe
Remember, I don't really measure when cooking or baking so I suggest you use your own judgement and taste buds to get these the way you like them. Use a food processor and add:
Almond flour (optional)
Coconut oil
Raisins, sultanas, figs and/or dadles
Nuts (whichever you prefer)
Seeds (sesame, pumpkin)
Spirulina and/or wheatgrass powder
Water or any other liquid you prefer
Mix all the ingredients well and taste the batch. Make them into little balls and roll them in coconut flakes or cocoa powder mixed with stevia. Store in the fridge. Yummm! Enjoy!

RAW FOOD SEED CRISPBREAD

Crispbread or crackers, whatever you want to call them. Whatever the name, it is the best recipe you'll ever try. You won't know how the heck you've lived without it until now!!!

Here's my recipe (all ingredients are organic and GMO-free):

• 1 dl flaxseeds


• 1½ dl sesame seeds


• ½ dl pumpkin seeds


• ½ dl sunflower seeds


• 1-2 tsp vegetable broth (I use Renée Voltaire)


• ca 2½ dl water

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let it sit for an hour or three, depending on your time. Put the oven on 50¤ Celsius and put the rack at the lowest level. Put a baking sheet into a semi-deep pan, just to stop the mixture dripping outside the pan. Pour the wet mixture onto the baking sheet and spread it/flatten it evenly with a spoon, all over the baking sheet. Put the pan into the oven on the lowest rack and let it cook for 3-4 hours on the same low heat. Perfect time to clean the house, do laundry or other "fun" things around the hous. Once done (when it's no longer wet underneath) let it cool for a bit before you try it. It's soooo yummy!

I like to eat my crispbread, or crackers, with almond butter. Or with a slice of cheese when it's straight from the oven. Or why not with some cottage cheese and avokado. There are no limits! Bon apetit.

The wet mixture before the flaxseeds develop the gel around them.

The mixture spread out evely on the baking sheet before going into the oven.

Freshly out of the oven. Mmmm!

SETTING GOALS FOR SUCCESS

You can't achieve success if you're not moving toward something. Think about your ultimate long-term goal, and then break it down into less overwhelming mini-goals. Then find some incentives to help you stay the course. What kinds of goals am I talking about? The ambitious and attainable ones.

First: Think long and hard about what you want. Make sure your goals are actually things you want to achieve, not what society dictates or what your family or friends want for you. Ultimately your life is yours and you must live it for yourself. I know you might be thinking that's selfish, but so what? Sometimes being a little selfish is a good thing, especially if it enables you to take care of yourself.

Second: Remember, goals are not inflexible roadblocks meant to make you feel badly about yourself. If you don't accomplish a goal exactly on schedule, so what? You can't predict what life is going to throw your way — but you CAN choose the way you react to situations that come up. That is where your power lies. If you fall off the wagon, just get back on — no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Third: We all have to be realistic when we set our goals. I'm 5 feet 2 inches, and I have a stocky build. I am never going to be a petite little waif, no matter how hard I work. I also want to make a difference in the world, but something tells me I probably don't stand a good chance of running for president. Instead, I set goals that are realistic and productive. I am 5 feet 2 and stocky, but I am going to be the most fit 5-feet-2 muscle chick I can. I might not be president, but I can teach people how to be healthier and happier through fitness.

Make sense? The bottom line is that goals provide direction. They help bring a focus to our lives so that we can live our dreams — no matter how big or how small they may be.

Taken from EverydayHealth.

BREAKFAST GLORY

Breakfast - the most important meal of the day they say. And I say HECK YEAH! I love my breakfast. It really does set you up for the day. Not only physically but psychologically as well. If you have a healthy brekkie your mind will want to keep on the same healthy track you started the day off on.
Make sure to include all the macronutrients in your first meal of the day. Carbs from veg, protein from lean sources, and fats from healthy oils. Take a look at my brekkie (pic above) this morning. This plate of egg/eggwhite omelet pan fried in rapeseed oil, cottage cheese, mixed leave sallad and tomatoes, it will set me up for hours by firing up my metabolism with a steady blood sugar level, vitamins, minerals and is low in calorie. (Pref. organice produce.)
It doesn't have to be boring or bland. Find what tingles your taste buds and fits your morning schedule, but remember to always eat breakfast. Try my smoothie recipe if you're tight for time.
Now have a fantastic day and live life to its fullest! :))

KILLING THE FAT MAN

The reason why you haven't seen any updates here these last few days like I promised, is because I went and got hurt before I even started. Putting my coat on. DOH! How frickin bad is that. POW! and something felt like it snapped in my back and I pulled a muscle so bad I had to go to the doctor to make sure my shoulder blade was still there. I mean, I couldn't even scratch my head when I had an itch. Yeah, so that's what I've been up to. Nursing my injury back to help.

Just watched a couple of episodes of "Killing The Fat Man" with Gary Roberts and his journey through Crossfit. Loving those videos! He's so frank, honest, and just funny! Check out episode 8 and you'll understand what I'm talking about. But watching them made my itch to workout even worse. But I got strict orders of a week's rest. ARGH! It's getting better though, which is a good sign. Maybe this will teach me some patience. hahaha! NOT!

Off to bed now so I can get up and go for a long walk tomorrow morning instead. Nite y'all!

BELIEF IN MY OWN 12-WEEK PROGRAM

It's Sunday and I am mentally and physically back from a wonderful 2-week holiday. I've been traveling around Ireland with Mr J. where we saw the sights, ate the food and drank the drinks. Enjoying every minute of it! And unfortunately I have some extra pounds to prove it...

Being back is a mixture of feelings but it's mostly great. I'm so eager to get back to a normal training and eating schedule - although doing my morning workout by the gorgeous mountains in Co. Kerry, Ireland won't beat it! Have been looking into which 12-week training program I am going to embark on next and it hit me - why don't I do my own. I don't think by any means I am better or have more capacity than some of the fantastic trainers out there, but none of the programs out there fit my life schedule seamlessly or the goals I have, so I thought I might as well pick the stuff from the different trainers I like and make my own. My own way. Just the way I like it. :)

I'll try to post my program here on the blog as I go along and share it on my Facebook page Jumping Jax Fitness so head over there too and like my page so you can get the updates in your FB timeline.

Off to the drawing board I go to work on my own 12-week program. Big task I'm setting myself but hopefully I can do it. Self-belief to be tested!!!

PROGRESS MOTIVATION

I've been doing really well lately with my workouts and diet and I can finally see some results. Although I do have cravings, I am pretty adament not to cave in to them. Have you noticed the only difference between crave and cave is the R. ;)

One thing I have changed in my eating though is the amount of fats I eat. I have upped it almost 100% and I can notice a big difference. Not only in my energy level but also on the way my weight is dropping. I've also upped my calories from around 1200 to about 15-1600. Protein level is still high but my carb count (and I eat A LOT of veggies) is around 30-35 gr per day. I train at least once a day and on my rest days (Friday and Sunday) I only take walks with the dog. So far I have dropped 3,3 kg in 2,5 weeks. Granted the first week it was mostly water weight, but damn it feels good anyway. The pounds have snuck their way in there again and I got comfortable with eating a little bit here and a little bit there. Nope. Not anymore! And no, it's not EASY to get up at 5:15 in the morning to go for a run and then do some strength workouts at home, all before going to work. And no it's not easy to say NO to those yummy afternoon snacks my colleagues or boss gets for all of us to munch on. And no it's not easy weighing and calculating EVERYTHING that passes my lips. But yes, I'm loving the reward. And the photo I've posted with this blog entry is now attached to my fridge because it keeps me focused. A healthy life is what I want. A fitter body is what i want. Sometimes it's a challenge, but if it wouldn't be, then it wouldn't change me. When you pray for strength, you get tested in order to show you've got the strength. Nothing comes for free. You've got to work for it. And the reward is so much sweeter in the end!

WHEATGRASS: SUPER FOOD BENEFITS

Wheatgrass benefits: As its name suggests, Wheatgrass is a grass of little wheat plants. This is one of the most recommended health food supplements around, and is filled with enzymes, chlorophyll, minerals, and highly concentrated vitamins. Nutritionally, wheatgrass is a complete-package food. Wheatgrass juice and wheatgrass consuming in general, is a superb way to obtain dark green while eating. Wheatgrass is over twenty times thicker in nutrients than other vegetables choice. Since wheatgrass belongs to the grass stage, it’s still safer than white wheat consuming for people with wheat allergy. The juicing process allows to unlock extra nutrients from the wheatgrass, makes them much usable to the body cells and much more concentrated. One of the main wheatgrass benefits is chlorophyll, that has a chance to draw toxins in you body just like a magnet. Considered as the “blood of plants”, chlorophyll can heal and soothe inner tissues. The chlorophyll in wheatgrass has elevated levels of light energy and oxygen, which could supply the body tissues and the brain by having an optimal environment to function. The chlorophyll in wheatgrass also offers antibacterial property, which could stop the growth of parasites in your body.

Wheatgrass Builds Blood: Countless health experts have highlighted the chlorophyll molecule in wheatgrass as similare to  the hemoglobin molecule in the blood of humans. The single dissimilarity would be that the central aspect in hemoglobin is iron and in chlorophyll it is magnesium. For this inherent similarity, the body can certainly transform chlorophyll into hemoglobin enhancing the red blood cells count along with the blood’s ability to deliver oxygen along with other nutrients towards the body’s cells. Chlorophyll can stimulate the enzyme systems, promote higher metabolic process and release free oxygen, obliterate toxic carbon dioxide, normalize blood pressure level through dilating the blood pathways,and build red blood cells rapidly.

Wheatgrass Cleanses the Body: Wheatgrass juice and powder are very useful foods in terms of their cleansing capabilities. The powder and wheatgrass juice content are known to have around 100 separate elements, which for scientists name it a “complete food”. It is a good resource of carotene and vitamins B, C, E, that highly efficient in cleansing the body, eliminating free radicals and destroying it. It also has a high ability to cleanse the gastrointestinal tract, organs and the blood.

Wheatgrass Has High Amino Acid Content: Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, as you probably already know.  They are necessary to our cell regeneration and growth. The Amino acid that’s in the wheatgrass juice, is in a perfect form to be consumed by gym-goers, and some bodybuilders are integrating powdered or fresh wheatgrass juice into their diet as well. Wheatgrass juice contains a complete list of protein benefits such as valine, phenylalanine, tyrptophane, leucine, methionin, alanine, glycine, aspartic acid, lysine, absenisic, serine, and arginine.

Wheatgrass Fights and Protects against Illness: Consuming organic wheatgrass juices and powders is a very efficient way for boosting the immune system of the body, and recover from ailments and illnesses. Wheatgrass is also a good resource of 19 different amino acids and over 90 different minerals, contains vitamins C, E, H, and K and a large amount of vitamins B and beta carotene. It also contains many vigorous enzymes that play a main task in assisting hugely in weight loss, undertaking biological functions and breaking down fats.

 

Taken from MuscleSport Mag on Facebook.

JUMPING JAX SMOOTHIE RECIPE

I'm finally going to write down what my smoothie in the morning consists of. Don't be fooled by some of the ingredients, the smoothie tastes delish. You might have to experiment with how much of everything you want, but that's up to you. This is for your inspiration only. Use it as you please.

Water
Wheat bran
Pure lemon juice
Frozen berries
Whey protein powder
Raw cacao powder
Coconut oil or flakes
Ginger powder or raw root
Cinnamon
Turmeric
Spirulina
Wheatgrass
Mint

Mix it all in a blender and enjoy!

It's a lot of stuff, but my smoothie goes on autopilot now and I make sure I prep some of the dry ingredients all scooped into a cup the night before, that way I just dump it all into the blender in the morning. For the properties and benefits of these ingredients... well, let me just say it's all good for you! Unless you're wheat intolerant, but then u can add something else to substitute the fiber. And need I say most of it is organic. ;)

Let me know what you think.

MIRACLE NOODLES

For all you who want to cut back on the starchy carbs yet still enjoy your pasta or noodles, here's the perfect food solution.
Shirataki are very low carbohydrate, low calorie, gluten free, translucent Japanese noodles made from the konjac root. Largely composed of water and glucomannan, a water-soluble dietary fiber, they have little flavor of their own.
I recommend rinsing and draining them before preparation. Then I cook them in a bowl in the microwave for 1-2 minutes to extract more water from them as well as heat them up. Then eat them with whatever. I had these Fettuccine Shirataki with salmon and spinach in a bit of cream sauce. Yum! And yesterday I made a chicken thai soup with the skinny Shirataki noodles. Delish!
Yup, I would say they are Miracle Noodles for sure!

THURSDAY WOD

It's Sunday and I'm still a little sore from Thursday's workout. How is that possible, you wonder. Well, I'll tell you. This is the WOD that shook my legs to the core. If you know how to do a proper full-range, deep squat, then you know what I'm talking about.

1. 10 clapping push-ups (can be modified either up or down on a bench)


2. 20 air squats (full-range and deep enough so that your hips pass below knee level)


3. 50 metre sprint

Repeat 10 x of this circuit, as fast as you can without compromising form. Then come back and tell me how sore you were the next day. And next day again. ;)

BALANCED TRIO

For all of you guys who are following my blog know that I have been a bit quiet lately. I don't know why really. I have had things to write and share but still didn't feel like they were worth sharing. I have been feeling a bit low as well and got a few days where I was feeling a bit feverish and then I got a cold. What's good about being healthy in general is that although I do get sick, it's not like I'm dying and I think I bounce back pretty quickly anyway. But as an active person, days of rest (in this case 3) feels like forever and I am getting antsy about getting back to training. My philosophy nowadays, and have been for a while, is "train hard or don't bother". I know it's an all or nothing mentality but it's just the way I function. It's full throttle or no gas at all. Makes life exciting but it also means I burn out a bit quicker, I think.

I have this ideal picture of my training schedule (comes out to about 9 sessions per 7 day week between crossfit, kickboxing, pure strength and my own classes) and then my body says stop by signaling different ailments. Pisses me off but maybe I'm supposed to learn from it too. I heard someone say that you are truly healthy when you have these 3 aspects balanced: physical, psychological and emotional. There might be some truth in that statement as I can notice although my diet is spot on and my caloric intake is on par with my BMR, I train good, get pretty good sleep, I am STILL not losing any weight or fat. How is it possible?! But I also think I am not in a very good mental state at the moment with a lot of things going on in my life which keeps dragging me down emotionally, that in return affects my cortisol levels and fires stress into my body.

This waiting game for my life to get more stable isn't doing much good for my health and I haven't figured out a way to block it out. If I could, I defo would. But then I wouldn't have a balanced trio of physical, psychological and emotional health... Hmm, something to think about...

Now, I'm gonna prep brekkie for tomorrow, then read my new BODY magazine that I just got in the mailbox today and off to bed for an early night. Friiiidaaaayyy tomorrow!!! :)

GINGER ME UP

I've been saying this for years and that's why I use it in most of my cooking.

Of all the functional foods out there, ginger arguably has the most functions. It’s used to settle the stomach and reduce pain, and it has anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and antioxidant properties. But more important, studies show that ginger can boost metabolism. It appears to do that by two methods: (1) by causing muscle tissue to use more oxygen, which means you’re increasing the number of calories you’re burning; and (2) by increasing lactic acid production, which, in turn, increases fat-burning. Makes that sashimi dinner look even more appealing, doesn’t it?

Taken from Muscle&Fitness Hers.

TOP 10 ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOODS

Your body is under attack—only you probably don’t realize it. So what’s the problem? Inflammation. It’s a normal process that is designed to help your body recover, which causes the occasional ache or pain. In small doses, this is fine. But if you’re constantly putting your body under stress—whether from work, illness, or even exercise—your body flips into protection mode. The inflammation that’s meant to protect you instead causes your body to fight against itself. The system breaks down, and you become more vulnerable to injury or even disease.

But all hope is not lost. The process of healing your body can be improved with several small, simple changes. For example, many foods contain anti-inflammatory compounds that can alleviate pain and swelling, and help protect your body. Amanda Carlson-Phillips, the vice president of Nutrition and Research at Athletes’ Performance, lists which foods provides the most powerful boost to your body’s ability to regulate and reduce inflammation. Here are her top 10:

Cinnamon
Once considered more precious than gold, cinnamon is one of the world’s oldest and most coveted spices. Research has shown that cinnamon not only reduces inflammation but also fights bacteria, assists with blood sugar control, and enhances brain function. Sprinkle cinnamon over yogurt, cereal, or oatmeal, or add it to a smoothie or a glass of low-fat milk.

Ginger
This flavorful root is available all year and used in everything from soda to stir-fries. Ginger contains several anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols, which may relieve joint pain, prevent free radical damage, protect against colorectal cancer, and increase immunity. Ginger is also a natural anti-emetic, often used to alleviate motion sickness and morning sickness. Steep a couple of slices of ginger in hot water for ginger tea or blend it with soy sauce to top a stir-fried dish.

Onions
Onions are packed with sulfur-containing containing compounds, which are responsible for their pungent odor and associated with improved health. These widely-used and versatile vegetables are believed to inhibit inflammation and linked to everything from cholesterol reduction to cancer prevention. Try using onions as a base for soups, sauces, and stir-fries. Other foods with the same benefits include garlic, leeks, and chives.

Tart Cherries
One of the richest known sources of antioxidants, tart cherries are an anti-inflammatory powerhouse. New research suggests that tart cherries offer pain relief from gout and arthritis, reduce exercise-induced joint and muscle pain, lower cholesterol, and improve inflammatory markers. Drink a glass of tart cherry juice in the morning with breakfast or combine dried tart cherries with nuts for a snack.

Walnuts
Walnuts are one of the healthiest nuts you can eat. They’re loaded with anti-inflammatory, heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids and provide more antioxidants than Brazil nuts, pistachios, pecans, peanuts, almonds, macadamias, cashews, and hazelnuts. Walnuts are also a great source of protein and fiber. Top yogurt or salad with a handful of walnuts or eat raw walnuts as a snack.

Turmeric
A mustard-yellow spice from Asia, turmeric is a spice often used in yellow curry. It gets its coloring from a compound called curcumin. The University of Maryland Medical Center found that curcumin can help to improve chronic pain by suppressing inflammatory chemicals in the body. Make a homemade curry with turmeric or mix it into other recipes once or twice a week.

Pineapple
This tropical yellow fruit contains the enzyme bromelain, which is helpful in treating muscle injuries like sprains and strains. According to a study in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Disease, this enzyme may also help to improve digestion along with aches and pains associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Add pineapple to a smoothie or salad to help improve your body’s tweaks and twinges.

Flaxseed
Flaxseed is packed with omega-3 fatty acids which can help to reduce inflammation in the body. The Harvard School of Public Health reports that omega-3 found in flaxseed may help in blocking pro-inflammatory agents. Grind flaxseed to release the oils, and then add a spoonful of it to your salad, oatmeal, or yogurt. For more omega-3-rich foods with anti-inflammatory benefits, eat soybeans, extra-virgin olive oil, and fatty fish like salmon and tuna.

Carrots
Colorful orange carrots are rich in carotenoids, a group of phytochemicals known to help protect cells from free radicals and boost immunity. They also help regulate inflammation, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center. Add carrots to your salad or cook them as a side dish for any meal. Other carotenoid-rich foods include apricots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and pumpkin.

Dark, leafy greens
Dark, leafy greens like spinach and kale are packed with flavonoids, a phytonutrient that boost heart health and may help ward off cancer. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, flavonoid-rich foods may also reduce inflammation in the brain, possibly slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Eat a spinach salad a few days a week for a powerful punch of flavonoids. Other good sources are kale, soybeans, berries, tea, or even a glass of wine.

Taken from Livestrong.com.

THE ORDER

"1. Diet
2. Diet
3. Weight Training
4. Sleep
5. Cardio
6. Supplements
Diet is far and away the most important, so I've listed it twice. Weight training keeps your metabolism up, and that means more fat burning. Sleep is crucial for recovery, cardio helps burn fat, and supplements can be useful as well--once all these other elements are in place."

CALF AND SHIN STRESS FRACTURE

What started off as a pulled back has now resulted in a sore back, throbbing hip, pain behind/side of the knee and a stress fracture in my calf and shin. All left side! I'm very annoyed, to say the least. I know I should've listened more to my body. I know I should've taken it easy coming back into full training. But I have always believed that unless my body part isn't falling off, it'll be fine. Not so fast though.

I called the national medical helpline today to shed some light on what I should do, since I don't run to my GP very often. I was ordered rest for 24 hours to see if it improves the sore leg. If not, then I need to go to my doctor and get it diagnosed, possibly x-rayed. But hey, I'm resting so I'm sure it will be just fiiiiiine! :)

I haven't rested this much in ages. I even laid on the couch for 2 hours tonight, just lounging. Aaamazing! Have done my research and now I know how to keep working out without putting pressure or aggrevating my leg. Yay!

Now heal leg, heal!

FRIDAY CROSSFIT WOD

Holy schlofogomus it was hard to get out of bed this morning! But as I was arguing with myself, discussing reasons to pull out, I thought: I will never regret getting up and going for a run, but I will almost always (unless I'm sick) regret if I don't go for a run. Which is so TRUE!! Although very sore from the boxing session I made it to last night, I managed to give the run a good go. I even managed to do a CrossFit WOD consisting of 3 exercises:

1. Sprint 25 metres x 5


2. Jump pull-ups 5-5-5-5


3. Air squats 10-10-10-10

Still need to work on my pull-ups and it's definitely one of my goals to be able to do them strict or kipping without jumping. Strrrrong!

KIPPING PULL-UP

Wow, just saw this video where it teaches you to do a Kipping pull-up. Man, I wanna be able to do them! Don't know how long it will take me to reach that goal, but it's defo one of my goals from now on. Check it out here on YouTube.

FROM REST TO CROSSFIT WOD

Some people say it's good to rest your body. I say sure, but not too long.

This morning was euphoric for me, to get up early and take a run in the chilly air, not a person around. Just me and my dog and the sound of my shoes pounding the pavement. The feeling and happiness is undescribeable.

Somebody at work commented yesterday on me looking different. I never thought that my involountary rest period would be so noticeable, but I suppose the lack of energy in my eyes could have given it away. Exercising makes me feel alive. And rightly so! I have never understood people who exercise below or just up to the limit of what they think they can do, when they can improve and reep the benefits so much more by pushing themselves a little bit further.

This morning together with my run, I did a Crossfit Workout Of the Day, or a WOD. I found an old tire, weighing about 12 pounds, in the field where I usually do some exercises, and I decided to use it for my drills:

10 push-ups
10 squat w tire press
15 one-arm tire throws
10 full range burpees
20 bicycle crunches

All these exercises x 2 as fast as I could without rest in between.

I'm totally sold on Crossfit. I love the intensity, the near death experience of fatigue, every cell in your body doing their best to make it work, and the pride when you complete it. Love it!

Now some Zzz's before the alarm rings at 05:20. Nite!

SPRING RUN

After weeks of back injury, doggie paw injury, and 2 weeks working on the road, my pants are feeling a teeny tiny tight to say the least. So after being able to sleep in my own bed and not in a hotel or a train, I woke up well rested, saw the sun and got my running clothes on. I thought I would be in much worse state than what I actually was. Happily surprised! Haha. And Murphy was the happiest out of us two, jumping around thinking he had turned into a rabbit. :)

Best way to start a Friday and this coming weekend!

WHY YOU SHOULD EAT OR DRINK DARK CHOCOLATE CACAO

Yes, I know, I know. That title isn’t exactly comforting. I hate giving you guys bad news, seeing as how you make this website possible, and I hate making unpopular recommendations like “eat more butter” or “get some sun” or “drink a glass of red wine,” but I have to stick to the truth here, even if it hurts. And the truth is that you should probably be eating dark chocolate on a semi-regular basis because the stuff is pretty dang good for you. Before you log out, never to return again, give me a minute to explain myself:


You were kids once. Your parents probably forced you to finish your overcooked, mushy, bland veggies or wash your hands and finish your homework – or some other routine unpleasantry – “for your own good,” and that’s what I’m doing here. Dark chocolate is healthy. It may be awful, terrible, and disgusting, but it contains some really good things that have some remarkable effects on various markers of health. So, yeah, eat your chocolate. Finish your raw cacao powder. Choke down that homemade hot chocolate. Hold your noses if you have to, but get it down and done.

I’m kidding, of course. There’s no arm twisting required when it comes to chocolate. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that the Primal community can suck down some high quality dark chocolate. Don’t think I didn’t see how quickly that chocolate disappeared at last year’s PrimalCon. And why wouldn’t it? Dark chocolate’s great, the perfect storm of flavor, flavonoids, and fat. It tastes really good, comes loaded with polyphenols, and cocoa butter is a great source of saturated and monounsaturated fat. High-cacao dark chocolate, then, is quite literally a healthy candy bar. What’s not to love?

I’ve discussed my favorite dark chocolate in the past. I’ve even provided chocolate-choosing tips. But until today, I’ve never really explained why we should be including high-cacao dark chocolate in our diets. I’ve never explicitly outlined the myriad health benefits that cacao offers. Well, let’s get to it, shall we?

Dark chocolate contains healthy fats.

Cocoa butter, which is extracted from the cacao bean and incorporated into most reputable dark chocolate bars, is mostly monounsaturated and saturated fat, with very little polyunsaturated fat. And because most of that saturated fat is stearic acid, widely known for having neutral effects on LDL, even avowed lipophobes can happily and heartily gobble up cacao fat.

Dark chocolate contains lots of polyphenols, particularly flavanols.

When it comes to polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, cacao trounces the “superfruits” acai, pomegranate, cranberry, blueberry and whatever else your annoying friend who always falls for multilevel marketing schemes is hawking this week. The most studied polyphenol in cacao is epicatechin, a flavanol. Although last week’s post on the benefits of polyphenol consumption centered on pigment-derived antioxidants, cacao’s polyphenols are also quite potent and potentially healthful.

What happens when the rubber hits the road, though? Or, somewhat more literally, what happens when the square of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate melts on the tongue, is swallowed, digested, and incorporated into the body? What are the actual health benefits of consuming high-cacao content dark chocolate?

Dark chocolate and blood pressure.

Epidemiological studies pretty consistently show that dark chocolate consumption is related to lower blood pressure readings. In Jordan, among Kuna Indians living in Panama, among pregnant women, and among elderly Dutch, this holds true. That’s all well and good, but it’s just an association. We need controlled studies:

One found that fifteen days of eating dark chocolate, but not white chocolate, lowered blood pressure (and improved insulin sensitivity) in healthy subjects. The main difference between white and dark chocolate is the polyphenol content; both types contain cocoa fat. Cocoa consumption also improved arterial flow in smokers.

Some studies suggest that the flavonoids are key. In one, flavanol-rich dark chocolate consumption improved endothelial function while increasing plasma levels of flavanols (which indicates the flavanols had something to do with it). Another study used flavanol-rich cocoa to increase nitric oxide production in healthy humans, thus inducing vasodilation and improving endothelial function. In another, the highest dose of cacao flavanoids caused the biggest drop in blood pressure. Still another found that while dark chocolate did not reduce blood pressure, improve lipids, nor reduce oxidative stress, it did improve coronary circulation.

Or maybe it’s the soluble fiber. In “spontaneously hypertensive” rats, cacao-derived soluble fiber lowered blood pressure, perhaps by reducing weight gain.

It’s probably both, in my opinion, although the polyphenols undoubtedly contribute more to the cause than the five grams or so of soluble fiber you’ll get in the average serving of dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate and cardiovascular disease.

You’ve heard of the cholesterol-fed rabbit; how about the cocoa-fed rabbit? If the former is an effective vehicle to study the negative effects of poor lipid clearance, the latter is a testament to the inhibitory effects of cocoa polyphenols on lipid peroxidation. We also have similar findings in rodents. Feeding hypercholesterolemic and normocholesterolemic rats polyphenol-rich “cocoa fiber” (defatted, sugar-free chocolate, basically) reduced markers of lipid peroxidation in both groups (PDF). It also seems to work quite well in test tubes.

In humans, both with normal and elevated cholesterol levels, eating cocoa powder mixed with hot water lowered oxidized LDL and ApoB (LDL particle number, which, if you remember my post on lipid panels, you want to lower) counts while increasing HDL. All three doses of high-flavanol cocoa powder – 13, 19.5, and 26 g/day – proved beneficial. If you’re wondering, 26 grams of powder is about a quarter cup. It also works if you drink it with milk (and no, Hershey’s syrup doesn’t work the same).

Given the effects of chocolate on lipid peroxidation, we can probably surmise that it will also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. And indeed, epidemiological studies suggest that this is the case. In a sample of over 2200 patients (PDF), chocolate consumption was inversely associated with progression of atherosclerotic plaque (determined by calcium scoring). What’s incredible is that the association held for chocolate in general, and I don’t think it’s likely that everyone was consuming 100% raw cacao powder brimming with polyphenols. A study from this year from the same group got similar results: chocolate consumption was inversely associated with prevalent cardiovascular disease.

While most cacao research focuses on vascular function and heart disease risk, there are other, less intensively-studied benefits. Here are a few of them:

Dark chocolate and insulin resistance.

For fifteen days, hypertensive, glucose-intolerant patients received either 100 daily grams of high-polyphenol dark chocolate or 100 daily grams of zero-polyphenol white chocolate. Diets were isocaloric, and nothing differed between the groups besides the type of chocolate. Dark chocolate improved beta cell function, lowered blood pressure, increased insulin sensitivity, and improved endothelial function, while white chocolate did none of those things.

Dark chocolate and fatty liver.

Rats with fatty liver evince higher levels of oxidative stress and inflammation, but cocoa supplementation partially attenuated these pathological changes – even in choline-deficient rats. While cocoa wasn’t enough to fully resolve fatty liver, the researchers concluded that cocoa may be of therapeutic benefit in “less severe” forms of fatty liver.

Dark chocolate and UV damage.

Resistance to UV damage is commonly measured by MED – minimal erythema dose. A higher MED means greater resistance to UV rays, while a lower MED indicates lower resistance. High MED, good. Low MED, bad. One study found that feeding high levels of dark chocolate to healthy people over twelve weeks doubled their MED; feeding low levels of dark chocolate had no effect on the MED.

Similarly, another study found that a high-flavanol-from-cacao group had greater resistance to a given UV dosage than a low-flavanol-from-cacao group (who actually saw no benefit at all) over a six and twelve-week period.

Those interested in a fairly comprehensive compendium of chocolate research can check it out here. I tried to stick to in vivo research, but there’s more theoretical stuff out there too.

Seeing as how most of chocolate’s benefits stem from the polyphenol content, and most of the studies that saw large effects used “high-flavanol” dark chocolate, you should be gunning for chocolate with high polyphenol counts. Dutch processed, or alkalized, chocolate lightens the color, removes some of the bitter compounds, and gives it a milder taste. Awesome for Hershey’s Kisses, but awful for the flavanol content. Those “bitter compounds,” you see, are the flavanols. Without the bitterness (which I think of as complexity), you’re missing most of the beneficial polyphenols. It might taste good, but it won’t perform all of the aforementioned physiological tasks. To quantify the extent of the degradation, check out the results of this study on the flavanol contents of cacao powders subjected to various degrees of alkalization:

Natural – 34.6 mg/g
Lightly processed – 13.8 mg/g
Medium processed – 7.8 mg/g
Heavily processed – 3.9 mg/g
Once you’ve got a lead on some good chocolate with high cacao and lower sugar levels, eat a few squares a sitting. Exercise restraint, however, as it is still candy and it shouldn’t make up a large block of calories. Treat it like a condiment, or even a medicinal adjunct to an otherwise solid diet. If you’re sensitive to stimulants, avoid chocolate too close to bedtime.

If you get your hands on some high quality cacao powder (raw – which is actually fermented – or roasted, but never Dutch processed), try making coconut cacao milk. Mix half a (BPA-free) can or carton of coconut milk with a couple tablespoons of cacao powder. Heat on the stove until almost simmering. Add sweetener to taste and, if you’re adventurous, a bit of cayenne, cinnamon, and turmeric. Enjoy!

Anyway, that’s it for today. I think I’ve presented the case for high-cacao dark chocolate – not that you were exactly a tough crowd or anything! Thanks for reading and be sure to give your thoughts – including quality sources and recommended methods of ingestion – in the comment section!

Text taken from the app Mark's Daily Apple.

BODY SCAN RESULTS

Today I got to do a body scan to see if my physique is good enough and also to see where I can improve. Although I keep a good diet and I train well, I was a bit nervous to see the results. I got a lot of test results back, but the one I was the happiest about, considering I have been skinny, then FAT, and now I have a fairly normal body size, was that my abdominal fat was a 4 on a scale of 1-12 in the normal range (then the range continues 13-59 for overweight people). Yay! But that also proved the fact that a lot of my belly pudge is excess skin stretched out and not bounced back from my years of having been a big girl. Bummer. Oh well, I will have to learn to live with that. Other test results:

• I scored 45, out of a max of 50, in my diet and training test. Boo-Yah!


• My bone density is way above normal for my weight. Excellent!


• My metabolic age is below my biological age. Heck yeah!!!

So all in all, I was quite pleased with myself, but it can always get better... as soon as my back is feeling better, which I have decided is in exactly 2.5 weeks! Haha! I am taking it easier, and have been for a few weeks now, but would love to step it up and concentrate more on building muscle again. But for now, 8 hrs sleep, then tomorrow, teach 3 group training classes. Bring it! :)

A LETTER TO THE WEAK ME

When I was at the Arnold this weekend, I heard so much feedback about something I wrote a long time ago. I wrote it so long ago, I didn't even have it saved on my computer! But luckily a friend of mine sent it back to me so I could share it on this page.

I wrote this one day when I was exhausted from working my butt off, sick of dieting, and just plain exhausted. I remembered that when I'd woken up that morning, I felt strong and eager to eat healthy and work out that day, but as the day wore on, I got exhausted and lost my motivation. So here's the letter from the strong me to the weak me -- I hope it can help you!

*  *  *Dear Weak [enter your name],

I get it. You're dying for a piece of candy. Maybe it's not the candy (or the pastries, or whatever), maybe you're bored, you're hungry, you're tired of thinking about the candy all day and you're just saying screw it. One bite, one piece, one serving/helping, and then i'm done, I'll go to the gym, I'll go home for the night, I'm still on track.

You're bored.

This is absolutely the stupidest reason imaginable to throw yourself off track, feel disappointed in yourself and your lack of self-control, give yourself a belly you'll have to work off for four days, screw up the carb deficit that I work hard every single day to create, feel cranky, avoid plans with friends or your boyfriend, dread the weekend, add stress to your already stressful life, etc. Remember, you never get bored of accidentally discovering how slim you are, whether it's in the fitting room, when lining up progress pictures, in the locker room at the gym, when you catch a glimpse of yourself in a window as you walk down the street, when someone calls you "slim" or "toned" or "fit". THOSE THINGS never get boring. Focus on how fun and exciting that part of the process is and ignore the rest. For my sake.

You're hungry.

Go drink four glasses of water right now. Back? OK. Are you still hungry? If so, email someone you can confide in. Or eat a protein bar, or go microwave some broccoli. You know that will fill you up and do good things for your body and your goals. You don't want the broccoli? Then you're not hungry.

You're saying "Screw it."

If you want to quit this journey, decide to quit and then you can eat pizza and drink beer every night. You an go out with your friends and eat hors d'oeuvres all night long. you won't feel good, but at least you will be free.

So...is it the freedom that you really want? No. You're having a momentary lapse. Well, think about me. The one who preps all her food for the week on Sunday night, the one with abs, the one who's going to stand up on stage in front of 10,000 people and turn her back and stick out her butt. I'm the one who feels awesome in her clothes, the one who prances around the gym like she owns the place, the one who drags herself out of bed to do early morning cardio, the one who inspires her family, and friends. Think about what you're doing to ME, Strong [enter your own name], when you let a momentary "oh screw it" overtake and overcome all of the hard work I put in every single day, every time I go to a bar and wave off the waiter when he asks what I want to drink, every time I skillfully assemble a healthy, trap-free meal at a restaurant while everyone else orders fries and a third (or fourth...) beer or regular Coke.

And you know very well there's no such things as "Just One Bite."

Every single time you tell yourself you can handle having one taste of something, you're wrong. Is it because you're literally powerless in the face of sugar, is your insulin really swinging that hard that you can not resist? You know that you have a ton of self control. EVEN YOU (I obviously do). This isn't about saying no; by the time you've had the first bite of sugar, you've given UP on saying no. You're saying "yes," and you will continue to do so until it's time to go home or there is no more freakin' candy left in the bowl (did you REALLY want a Mounds yesterday? They're VILE!) So don't ever let yourself cross over into saying "yes" to junk. Say "NO" for HEAVEN SAKE!!

A message from me to you.

I love you (even though you are the weak version of me) because we are the same person. You have a ton to be proud of and you should love the process and love how far you have come. You can go even farther, and you will be around less and less as time passes, you won't have to read this letter as often. You are strong inside, this is only temporary, and it will pass. Now go get a cup of water and get back to kicking ass.

Love,

Strong [enter your name]

P.S. I'll be back tomorrow morning when you wake up.

Text from Rachel Mac's Facebook Notes.

LIVE BBELLS

Samantha Fisher from BL5 Aus lives by BBELLS. You want to live by BBELLS every day? Here's what it means:

Be thankful.
Believe.
Enjoy.
Laugh.
Love.
Succeed.

Well said Sammy! :)

FRIDAY CROSSFIT CHALLENGE

Good morning JumpingJaxers! Here's your Friday Crossfit Challenge. Try to do this circuit as fast as you can without losing form. If you have any questions about the exercises, ask me. Good luck!

50 push-ups
50 kettlebell/dumbbell swings
100 mountain climbers
25 full range butterfly sit-ups
25 full range burpees

Rest for 1 minute and repeat!

Music recommendation: SCOOTER!

Now, Just Do It!

CARBS AT NIGHT: FAT LOSS KILLER...

...or imaginary boogeyman?

There are quite a few things that everyone in the fitness industry KNOWS. You have to eat 8 meals per day, consume 400g+ protein per day, do fasted cardio, use heavy weights to bulk up, and light weights wit high reps to tone up… oh wait, those are all BROSCIENCE! Don’t get me wrong, bodybuilding and fitness have been on the cutting edge of many dietary and training interventions that mainstream science is only now catching up. Unfortunately, the vetting process for many of these protocols isn’t exactly stringent. Thus, many things become accepted as fact, when in reality they are BROSCIENCE. The debate about whether or not it’s ok to have carbs at night has been all but settled in the fitness industry. You simply can’t consume a shred of carbohydrates at night or you will store fat faster than vampire rises after the sun sets! That is, according to many fitness ‘experts’ out there, most of whose credentials are worth about as much as a thin sheet of slightly used one ply toilet paper. So Anthony Collova, owner of Broscience.com and IIFYM.com asked me to look into this fitness factoid to determine if eating carbs at night was actually detrimental to your body composition or if it was all broscience.

So where did this ‘no carbs at night’ thing come from?
In order to properly asses this fitness ‘fact’ we need to understand why limiting carbs at night is recommended in the first place. Most ‘experts’ who recommend limiting carbs at night do so because their assertion is since you will be going to sleep soon, your metabolism will slow down and those carbohydrates will have a greater chance at being stored as fat compared to if they were consumed earlier in the day where they would have a greater probability of being burned. Seems reasonable, but broscience always ‘sounds’ reasonable. They also often assert that insulin sensitivity is reduced at night, shifting your carb storing directionality towards fat and away from muscle.

Let’s tackle the issue of metabolic rate slowing down at night time first. The logic behind this theory seems reasonable enough: you lie down in a bed and don’t really move, just sleep, so obviously you are burning less calories than if you are awake doing stuff, even if you are just sitting in a chair or couch resting, you have to burn more calories than just sleeping right? At first glance this seems to jive with work from Katoyose et al. which showed that energy expenditure decreased during the first half of sleep approximately 35% (1). However, these researchers did show that during the latter half of sleep energy expenditure significantly increased associated with REM sleep. So, there are rises and falls in sleeping metabolic rate (SMR), but what is the overall effect? Interestingly, at the very least it does not appear that the average overall energy expenditure during sleep is any different than resting metabolic rate (RMR) during the day (2, 3). Additionally, it appears that exercise increases sleeping metabolic rate significantly leading to greater fat oxidation during sleep (4). This seems to be in line with data from Zhang et al. which demonstrated that obese individuals had sleeping metabolic rates lower than their resting metabolic rates, whereas lean individuals had sleeping metabolic rates significantly greater than their resting metabolic rate (3). So unless you are obese, not only does your metabolism NOT slow down during sleep, it actually increases! The idea that you should avoid carbs at night because your metabolism slows down and you won’t ‘burn them off’ definitely doesn’t pass the litmus test.

So the whole ‘don’t eat carbs at night’ thing is definitely broscience right?
So far, the fear of carbs at night certainly smells like broscience, but before we render a verdict, let’s examine things further. There is also the issue of insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance to address. This is where things get interesting. Compared to morning meals, levels of blood glucose and blood insulin definitely remain elevated longer with evening meals (5, 6). Ah ha! There it is, proof, that you shouldn’t consume carbs at night right? Not so fast. Though insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance appear to be worse at night compared to a morning meal, it is important to keep in mind that a morning meal is after an overnight fast and the fast may improve insulin sensitivity. Perhaps a more fair comparison is a mid day meal vs. a night time meal. In this case there is actually no difference in insulin sensitivity or glucose tolerance (5). Therefore, it appears that insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance are not necessarily impaired and night, but rather are merely enhanced by an overnight fast.

Does any of this science mumbo jumbo actually make a difference?
While it is great to talk about mechanisms and nitpick every intricate detail about metabolism, at the end of the day, we have to examine whether or not any of this stuff makes any difference. Fortunately for us, a recent study published in the Journal of Obesity examined this very question (7). These researchers from Israel put people on a calorically restricted diet for 6 months and split them into two groups, a control group and an experimental group. Each group consumed the same amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat but they distributed their carbohydrate intake very differently. One group (control) ate carbs throughout the day, whereas the experimental group consumed the majority of their carbohydrate intake (approximately 80% of the total) at the night. What they found after 6 months may shock you. Not only did the experimental group consuming the majority of their carbs at night lose significantly more weight and bodyfat than the control group, they also were better satiety and less hunger!

Whoa hold up… less hunger? I don’t buy it.
You heard me right, they were less hungry. Now I’m sure all of you that have been following typical fitness protocols where you eat 6 times per day and have most of your carbs earlier in the day are thinking “man if I went more than 2-3 hours without carbs I’d be starving!” Well my friends you are buying into a vicious cycle I’m afraid. Let me explain: when you eat small amount of carbs frequently you are basically titrating in glucose to your system. To dispose of this glucose your body releases insulin to drive blood glucose into cells. Over-secretion of insulin however may cause hunger to rise (typically about 2-3 hours post meal, the approximate time course of an insulin response), but no problem, you are eating every 2-3 hours anyway right? Just titrate in some more glucose. Unfortunately this makes you crave and consume glucose like clockwork and tricks many people into thinking that they NEED carbs every 2-3 hours or they would be hungry when in fact the opposite is true. If you ate carbs less frequently with further time between carb dosings, you would be less hungry because your own body would ramp up systems that deal with endogenous glucose production, and keep your blood glucose steady. When you consume carbs every 2-3 hours however this system of glucose production (gluconeogenesis) becomes chronically down regulated and you must rely on exogenous carb intake to maintain your blood glucose levels. Now if you transition from eating carbs every 2-3 hours to further apart for the first few days you may be hungry until your body has adjusted to using gluconeogenesis to maintain blood glucose rather than just eating carbs every 2-3 hours, but once you do adjust, you will find that you are far less hungry. Bringing things full circle, this is exactly what the researchers found! These subjects were hungrier in the first week of the diet compared to 90 and 180 days into the diet where they were much more satiated.

So what’s the explanation for the night time carb group losing more body fat and being more satiated than the control group (maybe we should call them the ‘bro’ group)? The researchers postulated that more favorable shifts in hormones may be the difference. The baseline insulin values in the experimental group eating the majority of carbs at night were significantly lower than those eating carbs during the day (7). So much for carbs at night decreasing insulin sensitivity huh? Additionally, the experimental group had much higher levels of adiponectin, a hormone associated with increased insulin sensitivity and fat burning. They also had a trend for slightly higher leptin levels. Furthermore, the night time carb munchers had lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and higher levels of HDL (good) Cholesterol. Overall the people eating the majority of their carbs at night lost more bodyfat and had better markers of health by the end of the study than those who ate more of their carbs during the day time.

So what’s the verdict?
I am not ready to say that we should all be eating the majority of our carbs at night. I would like to see this study repeated but with a bolus amount of carbs eaten at one meal in the morning to properly compare it to the single high carb meal at night, whereas the previous study compared a bolus night time carb meal vs. several feedings of carbs throughout the day. It may very well be that the beneficial effects of the diet in this study was more associated with limiting carb dosing (and insulin secretion) to a single bolus rather than spreading them throughout the day. However, I think what can be said with relative certainly is the notion that consuming carbohydrates at night will lead to more fat gain, or impair fat loss compared to consuming them at other times of the day. So write it down “Don’t eat carbs at night bro” has officially been BUSTED as BROSCIENCE!

Article taken from Broscience.

FAT VS. MUSCLE

For those of you who are still putting more emphasis on the number on the SCALE and not your overall progress: STOP.

I often get requests for exercises that tone, but from people who don’t want to gain muscle. It doesn’t work that way. Toning IS gaining muscle. But gaining muscle does not mean gaining size. Many women have an unnatural fear of the word gain so the marketing world uses words like toning, tightening, flattening, slimming, shave inches etc. ALL of these words mean gaining muscle & losing fat.

Muscle is more dense than fat: pound for pound it takes up less room. You can lose fat & inches without the scale moving. You can get the body you want without losing weight.
The purpose of this photo is to visually demonstrate why the scale doesn’t matter if you’re training hard & SEEING results. If you feel like your balloon gets busted each and every time you step on the scale, you NEED to change the way you think/feel about it or give it up all together. The scale can be a valuable tool to check in on your progress when you’ve got loads of weight to lose, but beyond that it doesn’t tell the whole story and should not be your ultimate goal.

In other words, at the end of the day, the numbers do NOT matter. Decide whether or not you want the body (yay) OR the number (boo). The two don’t always coincide.

Taken from Fit Villains.

RIPPED IN 30

Yesterday I started a new workout program. I love going to the gym and lifting heavy, and I loved doing the LiveFit trainer, but right now I need a program that will fit into my kickboxing schedule and traveling with work. So, I did a bit of research and you know me, I always love a bit of Jillian Michaels. I loved her 30-day shred program, which together with running, helped me lose my last 15 kg/33 pounds on my weight loss journey. No gym. Just running with Murphy and 30-day shred. And not long ago she came out with a newer, similar version called Ripped in 30, so I figured I'd give it a go.

She has divided each weekly program into 3 circuits and it's 3 divisions into each circuit: 3 min strength, 2 min cardio and 1 min abs. There's 4 weeks of different workout programs and they get harder and harder as the weeks go by. So, I started week 1 yesterday and man did I sweat! I like to consider myself as pretty fit by now and have good cardio ability, but because most of the moves are combo moves (i.e. one sequence incorporates more than one movement, for example squat and then dumbbell shoulder press, or lunge with dumbell biceps curl, etc.) my heart rate was really high at the same time as I was working resistance. And there is no rest for 30 min. Hence the sweating! And the sore buttocks!

Think I will really like Ripped in 30. I like week 1 program so far anyway. Good start! There is a meal plan with this program as well, if you're interested, but I already have a good diet so don't feel I need it.

LOW CARB FLOUR

Here's a hot tip for all you out there who want to keep the carbs down but still love to bake and cook and then enjoy it guilt free. Although oat flour is high in protein you might want to keep the carbs even lower right before bed. In this case you can either grind almonds yourself or go and buy some almond flour. Almond flour doesn't react the same way as other regular flours when cooking so you'll need to experiment, but the taste is lovely. Try to keep it organic though as almonds in general are heavily sprayed with pesticides.
My almond flour is bought at the Life stores in Sweden.

STEVIA SWEETENS PROTEIN

It's been a couple of weeks now since I got my huge container of Whey 100% protein from Self Omninutrition. It's a breakthrough on the Swedish market as it is sweetened with Stevia instead of other artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sackarin. What makes Stevia such a good sweetener? Well, for starters it's made out of a bunch of herbs and plants, which makes it a natural sweetener instead of artificial, and natural without any calories. Stevia's extract is about 300 times sweeter than sugar so you don't need to use that much in order to get the sugary taste. And it has no effect on your blood sugar. If you want to know more about Stevia, search online or go to Wikipedia.

When it comes to the whey protein powder itself, I must say I am surprisingly happy with the product. It's the finest protein isolate powder, low carb and low lactose, which makes it very gentle on your stomach when digested. I got the chocolate flavour and it tastes lovely. I've tried it with only water or milk and both mixes are deliciously yummy. It foams quiet a bit when shaken, but it doesn't bother me at all. On the contrary, it reminds me of milkshake. Haha! And I do prefer a more natural product anyway than one loaded with additives.

I think Self Omninutrition has managed to produce a high quality product that is not only naturally sweetened but also manufactured with milk from cows that haven't been pumped full of hormones, which in turn means I don't have to ingest any additional hormones. That makes me well happy! For those who know me, I am an advocate for organic products as far as I can take it, but especially when it comes to dairy as our poor factory cows are treated with hormones to grow faster and bigger for a quicker buck, which makes them sick and in addition have to be treated with antibiotics. I feel very strongly about this subject and I hope consumers around the world start questioning the non-organic dairy products, do their research on the facts and make their stand by only buying organic dairy. Enough said. :)

I recommend this whey protein isolate by Self Omninutrition. Try it and you won't be disappointed!

LIVEFIT UPDATE

Lately, I haven't been able to update how the LiveFit trainer by Jamie Eason is going for me. I can tell you that after week 5 I was looking and feeling much more toned in muscle definition than what I usually am and I was getting stronger too, however with traveling to London and soon beginning the travels with work, my LiveFit trainer experience will have to come to an end... this time anyway. I need to find something which is better suited for my lifestyle at the moment and that I can incorporate easier to my other workout schedule, kickboxing and instructing my gym classes. I'll let you know what I decide so I can bring you along on my trip. If you have suggestions I'd love to hear them. :)

THANK YOU!

"Today, be grateful. Be grateful for your favorite music, for movies that make you feel good, for your phone that connects you with people, for your computer, and for the electricity that lights up your life. Be grateful for air travel that flies you everywhere. Be grateful for the roads and traffic lights that keep the traffic in order. Be grateful to those who built our bridges. Be grateful for your pet, for your child, for your loved ones, for your eyes that enable you to read this. Be grateful for your imagination. Be grateful that you can think. Be grateful that you can speak. Be grateful that you can laugh and smile. Be grateful that you can breathe. Be grateful that you are alive! Be grateful that you are You!

Be grateful that there are two words that can change your life.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

From The Secret Daily Teachings by Rhonda Byrne

TOP 10 FEMALE TRAINING QUESTIONS

"The female body. Why is there so much confusion when it comes to building the ideal female body? Perhaps it is because many fitness professionals are just as confused as their clients. Should you use female specific programs, or just grab a program out of Men’s Health? And where does resistance training come into the picture? Is cardio better then lifting weights when trying to drop a pant size?

As an educated fitness professional, you are in the perfect position to clear up the confusion. It is no surprise that most women are not content with their bodies. They hear celebrities claim that lifting light weights is how they stay thin. Women see advertisements showing thin yogis saying that Pilates and yoga will give them the “long” and “lean” muscles that are so desirable. Then they read magazines stating that cardio is the only way to burn those extra pounds hanging around the mid-section. But what does research say about this dilemma? The solution goes by many names: resistance training, lifting weights, strength training. Whatever you choose to call it, one thing is for sure: it works.

Let’s look at the 10 most common strength training questions asked by female clients, so you'll be ready to answer them when they inevitably arise."

Read full article at PTonthenet.

LOVE THOSE LUNGES

Living my life in 250 km/hr today. Got up real early so I could have a refreashing -12 degree walk with Murphy. Then off to the gym where I completely murdered my legs. One of my favourite exercises at the moment are walking lunges! Looove them! Haha. Then the nanny was back, had a 3-year old to run around with all day, including join in at her dance class. Then rush off to get pummeled at a Kickboxing session where we practiced falling and swiping each other. Bruises developing as I write. And to finish off this lovely action-packed day, I instructed a fast, fun-filled IndoorWalking class. After today, my legs don't know whether to come or go. "The Tina Turner-walk" tomorrow for sure!
Now, lights out! Nite nite.

METABOLISM AND YOUR HORMONES

"I haven't gone soft on the importance of exercise or watching calories, but what I've discovered over the years is that a healthy metabolism (and essentially, healthy hormones!) is the key to changing your life — much more than just getting skinny. I'm talking about adding years of quality to your life.

We all know that fad diets are a thing of the past (or at least I hope we do!). The no-carb, no-fat crazes of the eighties and nineties are scientific laughingstocks and pop-culture dinosaurs. Now that you're living in the present, I want to let you in on the secret that will keep your body healthy and hot naturally: hormones.

So what do hormones have to do with anything? If I were to ask you what your metabolism is, would you say, "It's the way my body burns calories"? If so, you're wrong! That's what your metabolism does, not what it is.

The correct answer is, your metabolism is your biochemistry. And that biochemistry is run by means of the chemical messengers known as hormones. Hormones tell you that you're hungry, full, when to eat, and what to do with your food (whether to burn it or store it). And when you exercise, hormones tell your body how to move and consume energy stores. Hormones control almost every aspect of how we gain weight — and how we can lose it.

The scary part is that your hormones — and by definition, your metabolism — are being set up to fail. Without you even knowing it, your hormones have been hijacked by toxin-filled, nutritionally deficient, stress-dominated foods — endocrine disruptors — that cause obesity and disease. It's time to target and eliminate these endocrine disruptors and replace them with the hormone-positive foods that make you healthy, happy, and skinny, no matter how old you are."

Taken from LOSING IT! by Jillian Michaels.

LIVEFIT WEEK 4

It was so worth me taking a rest day yesterday because this morning I felt strong and revving to go, to start this fabulous week! First on my workout schedule this week was Back and Biceps. Remember last week when I was feeling so week? None of that today. I was ripping through the workout and it felt great. I really worked on isolating the muscles and feeling them work. Total focus!

Here's my workout for today:
Hammer strength lat pull
Pull-ups
Seated narrow-grip cable row
T-bar row
Back extensions
BB biceps curl
Incline DB curl
Alternating hammer curls

Jamie Eason with some nice looking back muscles. 

NEXT WEEK'S CRAZY SCHEDULE

Just had a look at my next week's schedule and it looks a bit hectic with all the workouts and everything else, but I'm sure I will feel thoroughly alive. Haha! This is what it looks like, and that's not including the long walks I take everyday with my dog:

1. Monday: AM-Back & Biceps. PM-Kickboxing.


2. Tuesday: AM-Chest & Triceps.


3. Wednesday: AM-Legs & Calves. PM-Kickboxing. IndoorWalking (instructing).


4. Thursday: AM-Shoulders & Abs. PM-Pad & Bag work with cardio.


5. Friday: REST!


6. Saturday: AM-Jump + Crunch + IndoorWalking (instructing).


7. Sunday:PM- Martial Arts self-defence class.

Hmm, think it will be a busy week. Better get to bed soon. Have a fabulous week everyone! :)

HEALTHY CHEESE CAKE

Here's one of the recipes from my baking bonanza the other day: Healthy oven-baked cheese cake. I got the inspiration from an old recipe I found on Linda Fodor's blog a few years back and here's my version of it. It's delish!

OVEN-BAKED COTTAGE CHEESE CAKE, 2 servings

• 2 organic eggs + 2 organic eggwhites


• 1 scoop whey protein powder (I used Olimp vanilla flavour)


• 300 gr  organic cottage cheese, 4% fat


• ½ tsp Stevia

Whisk eggs, eggwhites and Stevia really fluffy. Add the protein powder, mix it well. Finally, add the cottage cheese and stir it up. Divide the mixture and pour it into 2 oven safe pots or forms. Make sure the forms are tall enough for the mixture to rise without spilling over as it will rise quite a bit and then sink down to settle. No grease is needed if you use foil forms. It keeps the calories down as well.

Bake the cheese cake in the oven at 200 degree Celsius for about 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold with organic berries. YUM!

NUTRITIONAL VALUE, 1 serving: Calories 295. Protein 40gr. Carbohydrates 5gr. Fat 12,9gr.

BAKING BONANZA

I did some crazy baking today! Three different healthy projects: bread rolls without flour, protein bars with almond flour and oven-baked cottage cheese cake. Yum! The recipes will follow sometime this weekend.
Now I gotta get some rest for my 3 classes tomorrow morning: Jump (jump rope), Crunch (core stability) and IndoorWalking (elliptic spinning). Nite nite!

THE NANNY

Lordy lord what a day I had! Being a full-time parent is never to be underestimated ever again. Complete and utter focus 100% of the time, but at the same time be sure to make the child feel independent as well... Where to draw the boundaries? Beats me, all I say is that I pretty much had a little angel to baby-sit today, and still, I am mentally drained. I'm sure it gets better once you know what the child is capable of doing and not doing, but heck, I defo had a full-time job today. Any laundry done today? Nope! Dishes? Some of them. Household chores ticked off the list? Are you frickin kidding me?! I was minding the child! Workout done? Heck yeah! :)

I remember being a nanny in my young days... Oh, so vaguely now. Haha!

ODE TO AMINO ENERGY

I can't live without my amino acids! I usually take only a scoop of my Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy just before my morning workout, and what a difference it makes!! It's like turning the light switch on in my body and mind. I thought I could live without it, but yesterday's zombie workout proved me wrong. (I use Fruit Fusion pictured above. Yum!)

Today I bombarded chest and triceps. And I still follow Jamie Eason's Livefit 12-week training plan, which is going to be interesting to see the results of once I'm on day 84. Today was day 17. I usually follow the workouts to the letter, but because of my active training schedule on the side I will have to make slight changes. This morning's weights workout was followed by aThai Kickboxing session tonight.

Here's my workout for today, chest and triceps:

Wide push-ups
BWx10/BWx10/BWx10
Incline DB chest press
10kgx10/10x10/11x10
Flat bench DB chest flyes
7kgx10/7x10/7x10
Standing cable flyes
10kgx10/10x10/15x10
Triceps bench dips, feet up
BWx10/BWx10/BWx10
Lying BB triceps extensions
10kgx10/10x10/10x10
DB triceps kickbacks
4kgx10/4x10/5x10
OH triceps extensions w plate
10kgx10/15x9/15x9
Cable 1-arm triceps extension
5kgx10/10x10/10x10

LIVEFIT DAY 16 (WITHOUT EAA's)

Oooh, woke up so sore! The kickboxing really did its toll on me, but it actually feels great! Amazing to realise, although I work out pretty much every day, when I mix up my training a bit, it switches on completely different muscles. And I have bruises on my shins. Not very pretty, but hey, rather there than my eye. Haha!

As an experiment, I tried not taking my scoop of Optimum Nutrition EAA before working out this morning and I was like a Zombie walking around the gym. Couldn't get my groove on. I still did the workout, but I wasn't as strong or efficient as I am normally. So defo back on the aminos tomorrow morning! And on top of that, because I was a bit brain-foggy, I was doing 12 reps each set instead of 10. Doh! Didn't realise it until halfway into the workout.

Here's my week 3, day 16, of the LiveFit plan - back and biceps:

Hammer strength lat pull
30kgx12/35x12/40x12
Wide-grip lat pulldown
35kgx12/35x12/35x12
Seated narrow-grip cable row
35kgx12/35x12/35x12
Bent-over BB row
10kgx12/20x12/30x12
Back extension
BWx10/BWx10/BWx10
BB biceps curl
10kgx10/14x10/18x9
Incline DB curl
6kgx10/6x10/6x10
Alternating hammer curl
7kgx10/7x10/7x10

KICKBOXING GOALS

What a good kickboxing class I had tonight! Am so happy I joined this club as everyone were really friendly and nobody was up on their high horses although there were some really good fighters there. I hadn't mentioned to anyone there that I had previous Martial Arts history with some Jiujitsu and Kickboxing/Boxing experience behind me. Not many girls there, but this one girl gravitated to me and asked if we could team up. Sure, I thought, as she had told me before class she had been training kickboxing off and on for almost a year. Big mistake! She was so frail and scrawny, and had no technique, so every time I punched or kicked she acted like I had pummeled her with immense force, even when I was only tapping her. If you want something to happen, sometimes you have to make it happen. After all, it's my time and my money. So I arranged for us to be teamed up differently. I was then teamed up with a younger kid and a guy my age. And they were both pretty good. After the switch, I had an awesome time and the teacher gave me some good pointers and complimented me on my technique, asking a bit suspiciously if I had practiced some kind of Martial Arts before. I smiled and confessed.

All in all, I can train 4 times a week if I want. I don't know if I will be able to, but I'm going to try anyway. I'm loving it! And am sooo happy this is the club I chose. It's not very big and there's not that many members, but it suits me just fine.

Next time, I'm bringing ALL my gear so I can have my own stuff while training. Big bag full of smelly leather gear. Mmm, love it. Haha!

I have been thinking about a goal to achieve with my training, but haven't figure one out yet. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

HAMSTRING INJURY

Oh, it was going so well! Despite a rough night with a crazy mjauwing male cat, I was feeling so strong starting my leg workout this morning. In retrospect, I now know I should've warmed up a bit more after being out in the cold.

After doing one set of walking lunges I could feel my legs starting to spasm a bit. No worries I thought. Take it easy. Walk it off. But then a hard muscle twinge in one of my buttocks hit me and it hurt! So I thought, fine, I can go to the next exercise and see if it gets better. I just finished last rep in first set of one-legged deadlift and my hamstring just gave in on me. The pain hit me so surprisingly fast, I actually yelped. It's never attractive to yelp in the gym. Haha! I sat down and stretched for a bit, massaged it, but realised I had to call it a day. Bummer!

It's much better now after stretching and massaging it, but it doesn't help it's the same hamstring I pulled really bad during a dance performance when I was 17 and had to jump down into splits in really high heels. No yelping then. Big smiles all around. Show no pain. Thankfully, it happened at the very end of the performance, so I could limp off stage and cry my eyes out. Since then, my left hamstring has never been the same.

But it's the year of no excuses, right??!!! So, no excuses to attend kickboxing tonight. Yee-haw!

Here's what I managed to do today before ending my workout abruptly:

KICKBOXING CLUB SORTED

I have done it! After weeks of researching and checking out different clubs, I have finally picked one I want to join where I will be training kickboxing again. I got a really good deal and I'm very excited! First training is tonight, Monday night. Have no idea how this is going to sync with my 12-week LiveFit plan by Jamie Eason, since I'm really not supposed to do cardio the first 4 weeks. I start week 3 today. Oh well, I suppose it can't be that bad. Hopefully, it will only accelerate me getting ripped! Yeah baby!

Now, gotta get me some sleep so I can get up early and start my productive week by hitting the gym. Leg time!

SUN SUN SUN

Amazing how much sun can affect the mood! Mine anyway.
Rest day today, from the gym that is. Had a wonderful walk with Murphy in the cold but beautiful morning. And when the sun peeked out over the hill top, it was gorgeous and the whole world lit up. Oooh, so want the Spring to arrive now. Somebody mentioned a snowy forecast for this weekend. Nooo!! No more!! Bring on more sun sun sun!

DAY 11 LIVEFIT

Day 11 of Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer plan and I did shoulders and abs as you can see from my mobile screen shot. Didn't feel super strong, but I got through it. According to the plan, I am supposed to relax for 3 days now, but because I have 3 group training classes to teach on Saturday, it's just not possible rest. But I'm sure the cardio won't hurt my body either. After all, I'll be resting tomorrow and Sunday, beside all my walks with my doggie.

From what I can see, next week will be a mix-up in the LiveFit workout schedule. Very exciting! Will keep you updated on the progress.

LIFE MAGASINE ARTICLE

Here's the article about yours truly and my IndoorWalking class in the last edition of Life Health & Fitness' magasine. I have finally been able to save it onto the computer and post the whole article for you to read. Enjoy!

(And for you English-speaking peeps, go ahead and learn Swedish... ;) )

And to add a testimonial to this article, after regular IndoorWalking classes for about 6 months now, I must say my cardio physique is much better, legs much stronger, as well as back muscles, and my butt has taken a completely different dimension... It's so much more perky and shapely. It looks happy!!! :D Me likey...

STRONG SEXY LEGS

Felt so strong at the gym today! I could easily have done heavier and more, but then I usually injure myself coz I slap too much weight on too soon. Really missing doing deadlifts though. Hope the LiveFit plan I'm on introduces them into the workout schedule soon, otherwise I'll do it myself.

But it felt good to feel so much stronger today from yesterday. Felt much stronger mentally so it definitely goes hand in hand. Got some superb words of wisdom from my amazing man this morning before my workout and it seems like they just clicked right into place in my brain and completely empowered me. Fantastic how carefully chosen words can change the way you think and therefore also change the way you feel. Love it!

Here's my workout for today, legs and calves:

Bring on those strong, sexy legs and buttocks! And calves to endure my Jump rope classes!

SUKI EXFOLIATE FOAMING CLEANSER

SUKI Skincare is one of the many brands I really like. Their best product, that I have tried, is their Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser. This product works in two ways - as a regular cleanser (foams up in your hands when you rub them together) or as an exfoliant (applied directly on wet skin in gentle circular motion).

The cleanser's key ingredients are gentle alpha hydroxy acid (natural sugar), rice flour (non-gmo rice) & citric acid (organic lemongrass), and they help resurface skin, unclog pores, exfoliate dead skin cells, smoothe away dryness, lines and wrinkles. And my own testimonial is squeeky clean and smooth skin, wherever on the body it is. After using it for almost a year now, I highly recommend it!

SUKI is completely synthetic free, and most of their products are 100% pure, natural and organic. Have a look on their website if you want to find out more about their brand.