What should you drink to stay healthy?


Drink water. (The latter takes care of dehydration and vice versa.) Drink lots of water. It keeps you hydrated.


Drink a lot of soda. This could be the fourth most popular beverage.


Because it has so many electrolytes, drinking lots of coffee can keep you well hydrated. However, coffee isn’t a replacement for water.

Water-based sports drinks

Although some of them have added electrolytes like sodium and potassium, their primary goal is keeping you hydrated.

Salted water

Just add salt to some of your favorite drinks and you’re good to go. You don’t have to drink it in a glass!

Fluid drinks

Sweet, fruity, or herbal drinks can be a great addition to hydration. There are many drinks that you can add either like “rehydration shakes” or fresh-squeezed fruit juice. They have ingredients that are designed to hydrate you and are good for your health. They contain at least 4 or 5 electrolytes, sometimes even more. The drinks will help you perform better during workouts. You just need to add your own flavor.


Why fitness is so important for you

Fitness is is more important than walking or driving a car. Why? Increasing weight can cause issues such as lower back pain and arthritis. In addition, we are more likely to burn calories when we wear heavier clothes and shoes, which makes it important to choose a fitting pair of shoes that will stay on your feet, even in hot weather. Avoid wearing anything with a tight fit or flat heels. It is best to choose shoes with side break, cusps, heeled, and heels, or non-skid soles. Some choices include the Jack Purcell, OrthoCast, and Footly, which are easy to wear.

To avoid having to change out your shoes every day, we recommend buying a shoe box. There are different styles available that you can fill with your favorite pair of shoes. Instead of walking, it is best to ride a stationary bike or elliptical. If you are exercising at home, try running or biking at a neighborhood park. If you are trying to lose weight, remember that if you do not get at least moderate activity, you can get bored and crank your weight up.

Exercise with Your Parents

Parents also know how hard it is to lose weight with their kids, so you don’t want to give them the wrong idea about exercise. The best way to get exercise with your family is to start by making sure you are motivated. With lots of time and plenty of variety in your fitness routine, you will be exercising with your friends. Making the most of your time together will make your parents want to give you the workout routine they would give their own kids. While you can get tips for losing weight by doing something different each day, there is one simple task that can make your life a little easier.

Don’t exercise in front of the television

If you are trying to lose weight with your children, being in front of a TV or computer monitor can have a very negative impact on your daily life. This can result in children burning their calories at a faster rate, which results in fewer calories being eaten and thus leads to weight gain. You do not need to physically move away from television during daytime, but once you leave the room, make sure you do not look at the TV screen. When you are in front of a computer monitor, your concentration is constantly broken. Every time you go to the computer screen, you are not even aware that you are being stimulated. This is why your body is not able to control how much it burns.

A recent study conducted by the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine showed that 65% of TV viewers leave their computers to look at a magazine. This is a very dangerous habit to get into. If you are trying to lose weight with your children, make sure they don’t leave their computers on at night. But don’t let it be because you are used to this. I know many of you are good parents. I’ve seen many parents go to bed early. It is fine to go to bed and fall asleep, but make sure your child does not do the same. The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter what TV you watch or where you go to sleep, you need to make sure your child stays within a certain physical distance of you.

Doing fitness

This doesn’t mean that we want you to sit on the couch all day, but it is important that your child is not doing this to you. Sometimes we are so exhausted by the day that our children are completely pushed off of our feet. So if we don’t make sure our child is within a certain distance, then we are just creating an unhealthy atmosphere in the house.

No Sleepovers With Your Kids

It’s simple to plan trips for your child, but it’s important that you keep the trip a surprise. No matter how nice a trip it may seem, make sure your child knows that we are not inviting anyone to the trip or even being present at the event. If we let our children know that they are going to a retreat with a friend, then the two of them will be eager to stay there a couple of days and give us a chance to catch up. This may not seem very important, but the truth is, if you do not tell your child that you are taking them away, then the child will be over-analyzing every conversation and every little thing they say. So if you don’t let your child know that they are away for a weekend trip, then you are telling them that they need to become a slave to you.


Why junk food is bad for you?

Most of us never stop to think about how the food we eat might be harming our bodies. But in the absence of any other information, the simple temptation to grab a pack of potato chips might become an unnecessary habit. Our brains just know better than us. Here’s what they can tell us:

Eating a lot of processed junk food might make you live longer

Snack-style foods that tend to be particularly high in added sugar (including chips) may leave us with a “healthy lifespan” that is up to 12 years longer than our peers who don’t eat as much junk food, according to a review of more than 200 studies. That might seem like a small gain, but in the context of studies that looked at overall diet quality, people with a high intake of added sugar had significantly lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and other major diseases.

An increased risk of cancer

Not only do processed foods contain a higher percentage of sugar and fat than foods from traditional food sources, but there’s evidence that they also tend to be slightly less nutritious, with high levels of saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and sodium.

A higher risk of heart disease

Researchers estimate that one serving of fried potatoes every day can increase a person’s risk of dying from heart disease by 2 percent. Such a large increase would put us at the high risk for heart disease category.

junk food

How do you get healthy fast?

It sounds obvious, but trying to get healthy can be overwhelming, and the research suggests that the best way is to focus on the most nutritious food groups. Here’s a guide to the top five kinds of foods.

Whole grains

Whole grains are the foundation for a healthy diet. Rich in fiber, folate, and antioxidants, whole grains are also the ideal source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which provide a protective effect against heart disease and other diseases.

Keep in mind that whole grains are only one of many food groups that improve our health, so consider spending a little time exploring the other five, as well:

Grains, such as brown rice, quinoa, barley, and oats, are rich in nutrients and promote a healthy digestive system. Be sure to check the label to determine what, if any, preservatives or additives you may be consuming.


Many oils, like corn oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, and olive oil, are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Use olive oil in place of canola oil, which contains a high concentration of omega-6 fatty acids.

Many oils, like corn oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, and olive oil, are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Use olive oil in place of canola oil, which contains a high concentration of omega-6 fatty acids. Vegetables: For nutrients, including vitamin C, folate, iron, vitamin A, and potassium, you can find fresh and frozen vegetables that are high in these nutrients in the produce section of the grocery store. However, vegetables are also high in calories, so plan on eating a lot of fruits and vegetables if you’re following a plant-based diet.

For nutrients, including vitamin C, folate, iron, vitamin A, and potassium, you can find fresh and frozen vegetables that are high in these nutrients in the produce section of the grocery store. However, vegetables are also high in calories, so plan on eating a lot of fruits and vegetables if you’re following a plant-based diet. Protein: A good source of protein is dairy, so keep milk, yogurt, and cheese in your refrigerator, where they’re safe to consume. While butter and other fatty foods are considered healthy options, they can contribute to weight gain.

A good source of protein is dairy, so keep milk, yogurt, and cheese in your refrigerator, where they’re safe to consume. While butter and other fatty foods are considered healthy options, they can contribute to weight gain. Alcohol: If you drink alcohol, make sure you limit your consumption to one to two glasses of wine with dinner. You don’t need to avoid all alcohol entirely, but you need to choose foods that are lower in calories and alcohol. You can even find vegan wines that are lower in calories and alcohol.


Get enough sleep

If you’re sleeping less than 6 hours a night or not getting enough sleep, it can affect your ability to exercise, eat correctly, and reduce the number of calories you burn.


What are vegan foods you can and cannot eat?

  • Anything that contains eggs, milk, honey, mustard, mayonnaise, and sesame seed dressing. These items are not acceptable on a vegan diet.
  • Anything that contains large amounts of soy, cottonseed, peanuts, peanuts, sunflower, flaxseed, lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, or quinoa, or does not contain the vegan ingredient beans, peas, or soybeans. If you’re allergic to these, these foods should be removed from your diet. (Vegan versions of these foods are often available on the shelf.)
  • Anything that contains milk from non-dairy sources and includes cream. If you’re allergic to dairy, you can use other non-dairy cream substitutes.
  • Anything containing peanut butter.
  • Anything containing nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and cashew nuts) that are ground.
  • Anything containing honey and contains more than 1% or 2% honey by weight.
  • Anything containing breads, pasta, grains, or baked goods that are made from wheat flour.
  • Anything containing wheat.
  • Anything containing rice that is not brown rice, cooked rice, or uncooked rice.
  • Anything containing starchy vegetables such as peas, corn, potatoes, carrots, and zucchini. If you’re allergic to potatoes, you should avoid these as well.
  • Anything containing egg yolks.

While it’s nice to be able to cross-reference the list of ingredients and still choose an assortment of foods that don’t pose a health threat, most of us can’t handle it. Especially those of us who experience reaction to one of these ingredients—which, in my experience, comes quickly—there’s a risk of creating a full-blown allergy to the entire family if we rely on one source of food. Many of the same factors that make us hesitant to avoid the smallest things may make us take allergy warnings a little more seriously.

Have you ever attempted to avoid all nuts on a dairy or soy-free diet? Have you tried a similar diet with a cross-contamination issue? Let us know what you think!


How to loose belly fat

Belly fat is an important component of cardiometabolic health because it affects cardiac function, appetite, and potentially body fat distribution. However, it is not a disease in itself, nor is it directly linked to risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In addition, I don’t believe that anyone can lose belly fat like that it is a weight loss exercise. And don’t get me wrong, there is evidence that slimming down and slimming down alone can lead to increased appetite, hunger, and eventually weight gain.

At first, I thought of what exercises could help me lose belly fat without the risks that I would actually have to confront. Turns out that I have the perfect sport in weightlifting.

I was introduced to weightlifting and got seriously into it when I started competing in gymnastics and other sports. And because weightlifting is an aerobic exercise that is closely related to running, it is a very effective, and relatively low impact, cardio activity that you can do anywhere.

That’s why people weightlifters typically weigh about 200-250 pounds. And it’s also why you’ll often see weightlifters doing many hours of cardio daily, with 5-8 hours a week being devoted to weightlifting.

You can easily put 150 minutes per week of weightlifting into your daily routine. And you can set a goal to drop two pounds a week. Since that goal is hard to reach, you may want to take the easier way out. Instead of trying to drop two pounds a week, you can simply increase your cardio routine in order to see what happens.

Some of the benefits of weightlifting and cardio in general:

  • Increased mood
  • Eating healthier, without going hungry
  • Increased energy level and decreases fatigue
  • Improved cardiovascular endurance
  • Decreased stress
  • Improved core strength
  • Less back pain
  • Increased energy
  • Decreased risk of heart disease
  • Increased immune system activity
  • Improved brain function
  • Improved energy levels
  • Increased confidence
  • Encourages physical fitness

Both fitness and weightlifting can promote strong cardiovascular and skeletal muscles. But weightlifting also promotes the fat burning and cardiovascular-related muscle building goals. And weightlifting can have cardiovascular benefits when combined with exercises that include moderate intensity.

Weightlifting also works especially well for women because it improves muscle mass and body fat. Weightlifting also improves muscular endurance and stamina. I think this will also be of benefit to older people, as it often improves strength levels of bones.

strenght exercise

A general weightlifting routine

Bike. Push yourself up the hill with resistance bands, and use your own feet to push you back down. You should aim for 1.5-2 miles per week of weight lifting.

Bodyweight. This weight is not an increase in weight per se, rather a decreased amount. Slowly build up your bodyweight and start seeing some strength gains.

Strength exercises. These weights can help you build strength. But remember that strength is just one element of your overall fitness and building strength to a high level does not come easy. Strength exercises to do include, but are not limited to:

  • Barbell curls
  • Reverse curls
  • Pull-ups
  • Squats
  • Deadlifts
  • Any combination of all these exercises

Your flexibility will improve with weightlifting. To be precise, your flexibility improves with the use of the bench press. I’ve outlined different ways to strengthen the joints by performing strength exercises with the bench press. Here are three good exercises to strengthen your spine and the trunk:

  • Quadriceps straight leg raises
  • Hamstring raises
  • Knee raises

If your back is not stiff or swollen, you can start with bench press by performing a few sets of 5 or 10 reps. When you start to feel soreness, go heavier. If your back feels tight, go lighter. If you feel pain in the neck, arms or wrists, you can go heavier or go lighter. Go in steps, never going heavy to the point that you get injured. It’s all about making progress.

Strength and flexibility are mutually exclusive. No training should try to replace one without the other. To combine them you’ll have to pull either muscle fibers from one or both. As I’ve written in many posts, you don’t get stronger or flexible when you lift weights. Strength and flexibility are two different things. Pulling from one and focusing only on the other causes you to develop strength. This can only be for short periods of time, like 1 or 2 weeks at best.

When you train with weights, the goal is to lift as heavy as possible without getting injured. However, if you want to enhance both flexibility and strength, you have to try for high repetitions and low repetitions. This means performing exercises that are very demanding on both your muscles and your nervous system. For example, the deadlift should require a higher number of repetitions than the bench press. If you’re able to do 6 reps with a loaded barbell and 5 reps with a clean, you should do 6 reps with the deadlift and 5 reps with the bench press.

From a flexibility standpoint, if you try to focus on only one type of movement, you’re not going to get the most out of your training. Instead, try to incorporate both flexibility and strength in order to improve both sides of your physique.


Make sure you are lifting heavy consistently so that you can lift heavy without getting injured. Once you’ve mastered the basic movements of the deadlift and the squat, then you can start performing high repetitions on the deadlift and squat. Add weight to your basic deadlift and squat for 3 sets of 4 to 8 reps and again 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps. Add weight to your basic deadlift and squat for 2 sets of 3 to 5 reps and again 2 sets of 3 to 5 reps.

From there, start working up to heavy deadlifts and heavy squats and try to progress each week by increasing weight and repetitions. Don’t forget to also be mindful of proper form and working the body properly. Work in additional speed work on your lifts.


Losing Weight: Answers to Your Top 10 Question

Can losing weight make you shorter?

The answer depends on your height. The shorter the difference in height, the less you’ll weigh. People who are 5’9″ and under weigh in at almost 150 pounds, compared to someone who’s 5’11” and above, who averages 175 pounds.

Can losing weight make you look younger?


How long does it take?

You can have most of the loss in about two weeks. With the only possible exception of losing weight, no benefits come from cutting.

What losing weight does to your body?

Losing weight for as little as 4 weeks will have a big impact on your quality of life. You may not realize it, but many of us are under the false impression that you need to lose significant amounts of weight to look better. Not so. If your goal is to keep your body a healthy size, you don’t need to lose any of that body fat. You have a very effective way of losing a whole lot of body fat without losing any of your lean mass. The most important part of losing weight is doing so gradually, ideally over time. While your body will undoubtedly experience a number of challenges when you lose weight, you will find yourself feeling much better, both physically and mentally.

Will losing weight help with back pain?

Weight loss and exercise increase your ability to maintain a healthy body composition. You will have fewer chronic health problems that commonly accompany obesity. These problems may include increased blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, diabetes, sleep apnea and osteoarthritis.

What exercises are the best?

Once you begin working out, you will get tired of a certain exercise, or maybe the specific use of the exercise leaves you wanting to do something else. It is often best to stop and re-evaluate your goals for that specific workout and see if there is another workout that can help achieve them. So a great way to re-evaluate a specific exercise is to create a list of your top 10 exercises. Read through this list and see if there are any exercises that really stand out. This step may also be helpful when you are trying to decide what workout you should do each day, as you’ll see what types of exercises you might want to improve. A more specific exercise list may also help you to target specific areas of the body. Again, check out this list to see what exercises you may need to include in your workout program.

Can losing weight make you tired?

Study examined the effects of reduced nighttime waking on alertness, memory, and performance for 14 working hours in a marathon. Participants completed the same 6.25-mile course twice with breakfast and dinner and both times had 12 hours of recovery time. Results: Participants had significantly higher levels of alertness, sleepiness, and level of subjective sleepiness throughout the course. Detailed sleep profiles were not different during the race in either the breakfast or the dinner condition.

Source: European Journal of Applied Physiology Volume 76, Issue 8, October 2009, Pages 375-378

How losing weight affects blood pressure?

Blood pressure can’t change from one meal to the next. When weight is lost, many people lose a small amount of blood pressure. This is because when people lose weight, blood flow to muscles decreases. As a result, heart muscles pump less blood to the arms and legs, and fewer salt and sugar are pumped into the blood. Losing weight can help your blood pressure if it gradually reduces, stays less high for more than a month and does not cause bleeding (edema).

Can losing weight help with sleep apnea?

If you’ve ever wondered about the effects of weight loss on your breathing, if it can affect your sleep apnea, or if it’s even possible to make your body fat matter, consider learning how to reduce or even eliminate sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a persistent irregular airflow in the breathing passages in one or both of your legs. Sleep apnea occurs when your body does not get enough oxygenated air to breathe properly. There are many ways to cause the tissue in your airways to expand when you breathe, and over time this can cause your breathing to become very shallow, and you to lose consciousness. Sleep apnea can be caused by a combination of diseases, disorders, and injuries, including: Inadequate sleep and sleep deprivation, unhealthy diet and lifestyle, smoking anxiety, depression, poor diet, smoking, and alcohol or drug abuse.

How much lose weight after pregnancy?

You need to wait at least two months after giving birth before you lose any weight. Don’t rush into making any changes right away. During pregnancy, your body develops a valuable resistance to certain foods that are part of a healthy diet. You need to put off all the grains, sugars, salt and dairy.


What are biggest diet myths?

I often see diet myths online, most of the time they revolve around confusing carbohydrates and fats. These myths can be really harmful because they put blame on a simple part of the diet and then make the error of thinking this means carbs or fat have nothing to do with it. While it is true that fat and carbs don’t have to be in the same place, it is important to understand when the terms should be used in terms of fat and carbs for optimal nutrition.

The terms carb and fat can describe two distinct molecules in the food. Carbs are usually used to refer to substances derived from plant sources like starch, grains and other carbohydrate based foods. When we talk about calories and food labels the word ‘carbs’ refers to the carbohydrate itself which includes the sugar molecule. In an article discussing the heart benefits of eating fat only, Mark Sisson explains this very well.

What is the carb cycle?

For many years now scientists and health experts have been researching the relationship between carbohydrates and fat. The recent work coming out of the Salk Institute and USDA has been revelatory for a number of reasons. For example, by understanding what happens when carbohydrate enters the body, they can start figuring out where excess fat builds up and how to remove excess fat from the body.

That being said, there have been many nutritionists who’ve never taken this research seriously and believed that reducing fat was all about carbohydrates. The truth of the matter is that both carbohydrates and fat were essential to the heart and body, but that each acted differently in each context. For example, sugar was useful as a fuel, yet was easily oxidized with all its baggage. Fat, on the other hand, was essential for tissue health, yet lacked any energy source. Furthermore, fats didn’t need to be stored in the body, they could be manufactured into energy as well as used for fuel. By understanding how much of each kind of fat we need to get the job done, they could begin to limit fat intake while maximizing fat burning.

Many foods contain some carbohydrate, such as fruits, but at this point in the game it’s just not enough to fuel the body as well as fat. So the next step is to find ways to get more of the same type of carbohydrate. Not only can you get more of the same type of carbohydrate but there’s a whole different variety of what we can do with those foods.


Grains are a very popular food choice to make food to fuel the body. And while fat and sugar are easily oxidized, starch was, until a new food became commercially available in the 1960’s.

Starch was made from seeds that were buried underground for thousands of years, meaning the seeds were kept nice and dry in order to be digested and absorbed into the body. When these seeds were eaten or baked with other foods it turned into sugars. These sugars can then be used as fuel or stored. In other words starch is an easy to digest form of food that is very resilient to oxidation by the body and therefore I know, provide the body with more energy to keep it going.

However a carbohydrate that has another property (i.e. to store the energy) is also an easy way to store it for later use. Both foods that have this property, that can be stored and that energy is not readily available all make for a high potential source of fat to fuel the body. These sources of food all have the potential to provide more of the same type of energy that we were able to get from the food we were eatening.

What do I mean by high potential energy source? I mean any food that can be used as energy long after the food itself has been digested or can be eaten without any harm. In other words foods that do not contain anything that is toxic to the body when eaten can be stored for use after the food has been digested and it may also provide additional energy when digested later on. This is a higher potential energy source because it is not readily available, but it is still usable to the body. Most high potential energy source food require some kind of processing or cooking to get them into their high potential form. Therefore they are not a very high quality of food source for the body to burn energy from.

In this article we are going to take a look at the high potential energy sources which can be found in foods, why they are so important and what makes them so desirable for their ability to supply more energy after the food has been digested.

Ingredients of high potential energy sources

There are several factors that are major factors which make the high potential energy sources edible to the body and they include;

  • Whether the food is one of the following: cooked, raw or unprocessed, and whether the food is partly or fully cooked
  • Whether the food is nutrient dense (mostly contains fat and protein and not carbohydrates and sugar)
  • Whether the food has got a lot of high-quality nutrients in it (for example: it has enough vitamins, minerals, water and energy)

This high-quality ingredients make the food more viable for the body, for the same energy levels, to burn the body’s fuel after digestion. Moreover, it makes the food rich in all the nutrients needed for the body to survive and thrive. It makes these high potential energy sources a potential source of energy for any organism, and gives them a great advantage over low-quality energy sources. This means that these high potential energy sources are a highly prized ingredient for the future fitness enthusiast.

This ingredient is also highly desirable for others because of its high energy content (for example, a post workout snack). The body utilizes all the energy stored in these energy sources in addition to the exercise energy sources and other foods consumed during the workout. The body’s goal is to make as much energy available to the muscles as possible at any given time, as quickly as possible. Therefore, it is important to consume high-quality foods in the very beginning of the workout.

When you consume high-quality foods, you save time in the following ways:

  • You feel energized as soon as you eat a meal.
  • You burn less body fat and make more muscle.

In addition to the above, the digestion of high quality foods improves the body’s response to exercise. During physical activity, the muscles use oxygen, create new protein, and release energy. Therefore, the energy supply to muscles and organs from food provides a more rapid means of energy release in the early stages of physical activity. High-quality foods contain enzymes that help break down larger foods, increasing the amount of food available to muscles for energy release.

Fruits and vegetables are known as energy foods. While much of our diet is not healthy for us, consuming a healthy number of fruits and vegetables daily can make a positive difference in the quality of our diet and help us to lose weight and reduce fat. While I don’t include fruit in every meal, when I do include them, it is in the following groups:

  1. Desserts. Fruit is a great way to avoid the sugar rush of a sweet dessert. It can be eaten throughout the day and at lunch. For example, I may have strawberries or blueberries for a snack or “sour” dessert, depending on what I’m having for lunch. This food choice is great for keeping glucose levels steady throughout the day.
  2. Snacks. Snacks are ideal for those who don’t have a lot of time or energy in their day. They’re also a great place to bring vitamins or other nutrients to the body. For example, if I’m going for a run, a simple snack could be potato chips. I could then incorporate the potatoes into a smoothie as a healthy snack. My favorite ways to pack snacks into my diet are the following:

Baked or baked goods in the morning, such as yogurt, granola bars or oatmeal, make the perfect snack in the afternoon.

Or if I’m going for a run, a protein bar or chicken breast sandwich (made of two chicken breasts, salad and maybe cheese) in the afternoon.

Some fruit can be included in this snack. For example, apples, pears, bananas, peaches, dried apricots, cranberries and strawberries can all be eaten in moderation.

Sometimes I’ll add honey to the fruit in these snacks. I do this because honey is good natural sources of sweeteners. So, I’m not just getting the sugar rush, I’m getting the nutrients, too.

I’ll also add coffee to the homemade granola bars. This is also great for balancing blood sugar levels. I drink water during this time so I have some electrolytes available.

If I do end up going for a run and need to refuel, a good source of carbohydrates would be a salad. I like a ton of fresh vegetables that are packed with vitamins and minerals.

Soup is another great alternative. I like to make my own homemade soups and stews. I’ll make my own chicken or vegetable broth and then blend it into a stock to add to my recipes. This is also another great way to maintain electrolytes in my diet.

After going for a run or cycling some, I’ll have protein, carbohydrates, electrolytes, fats, carbs and potassium to fuel my body.

There are also a lot of good fats to add to this diet. Coconut oil, ghee and olive oil are all great sources of good fat.

Some good sources of good fats to consider include: grass-fed butter, bison or wild salmon, olives, almonds, avocados, tropical oils and non-dairy creamers.

Healthy Ice Cream

I love how organic ice cream tastes. It’s light and still good for you! If I had to choose one healthiest ice cream for me to have, I’d go for Whole Foods Vegan Handmade Zero-Calorie Vanilla Nutella because it’s just SO GOOD for me.

You’ll have to look for it in the frozen dessert aisle. If you want to do a little DIY ice cream, here’s a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge and how I prepare it.

Super Snacks

The one thing I miss about the high school cafeteria is the fresh fruit. (Do you know the first time I saw fresh berries?) You know those colorful tangerine bars that are on the store shelves? They’re super high in fiber, as well as vitamins C, E and B12.

Many of these healthy snacks are nuts and seeds. In fact, whole-grain and fat-free nuts and seeds are loaded with healthy fats that are needed to support proper liver function.

Whole-grain, non-hydrogenated soy and olives are great, too.

All of this is super easy to accomplish and super healthy. Here are some great options.

The Adobo Taco Seasoning is packed with Vitamin C, B6 and potassium, as well as fiber and monounsaturated fats. You can find it in the Asian aisle.

A bowl of unseasoned, unpopped fennel seeds is a great, healthy snack. It packs two servings of vitamin C and fiber along with a little fiber that is needed to support proper liver function. Find them in the cold season or plant-based alternatives section.

Check out the Go Veggie DIY Jerky. It’s packed with potassium, magnesium and potassium, which are needed for proper liver function. Go to Bedrock and find it on the organic section.

Use Cucumber Wafers for those who don’t eat chocolate, as well as the versatile Mediterranean Dip dip.

Roasted Chickpeas are packed with vitamins A, B1, C, E, iron, zinc and other healthy fats. Here are some of my favorites.

Steamed Veggie “Waffles” are perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

These Kale “Nachos” are loaded with nutrients.

Cabbage Rolls are packed with Vitamin K2 and Vitamin C, which are both needed to support proper liver function. Just check the organic aisle.

Turn into a dish out of Coco Pops to use in your next Mexican or Hispanic meal. Just be sure to get Raw Sugar Free Cocoa powder. The honey flavoring has a tendency to make people overreact and tell them they must eat it every day. It doesn’t have an unpleasant taste.

Don’t be afraid to adjust to new flavors and things like this Healthy Split Pea Soup!

Get Cooking!

No matter how you love your ham and I do love my ham, I encourage you to take some time and make your own. Enjoy your ham sandwiches for lunch with your green smoothies. This is what it’s all about!

Make some of my favorite Easy Swiss Chard Soup with chopped chard, artichokes and cubed carrots!

I’ve tried lots of different ham products and have found the Bone Broth is the one I like the best. If you want to use different types of bones, you can use those instead. This Greek Yogurt Herb Ham Dinner made with Swiss Chard will work great.

I LOVE making Chinese Ham and I had tons of leftover vegetables from our recent Chinese Culinary Cookbook and thought this BBQ pulled pork could use a little added flavor.

This Roasted Broccoli Salad in a Bundt Pan will not only last you a while, but you will also save time!

It’s simple, I promise you, and it gets a lot of satisfaction from trying it! The Easy Raisin Cheese Cake is just as easy as it looks and makes for a flavorful, filling dessert.

This Grain Free Vegetable Noodle Soup is flavorful and not as oily as your typical homemade noodle soup!

No matter how busy you are or what you’re cooking, there’s always time for a salad! A fun way to pick veggies!

What’s your favorite way to make Vegetables? Tell me in the comments below!


What to eat to build muscles fast?

Why do you need strength? Don’t tell me you don’t need to get stronger. Strength builds endurance, movement ability, and most importantly, helps prevent injury. No one ever complains about injured joints, because they’re healed! Pain, however, can be the signal to stop and recuperate, especially if you over train and continually race.

How to build strength fast? The easiest way to do this is push things up, and ride them down! Basically, it’s just twisting and pushing, but in a more controlled manner, so as not to over train.

It may be easier to stay home and do squats and deadlifts while you train for strength. This workout is used on Sundays to do heavy sets of squats. This program would keep you stimulated and better prepared for workouts on weekdays and/or weekends. Again, this program will be tailored to your training schedule.

What to eat to build muscles

Regardless of your current level of experience with the gym, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by all the options you have, be it high intensity cardio, elliptical machines, resistance bands, or magic trays of food.

However, as they say, there’s more to building muscle than just focusing on one or a few aspects.

A lot of people get discouraged when they’re faced with a choice between three different types of programs or between buying a device that claims to get results that aren’t the real deal.

Think of it like eating a balanced diet. You don’t just have to take your first bite of food. You have to take your whole meal.

Likewise, for most people, building muscle takes more than a one-size-fits-all approach. It takes a combination of different, more holistic approaches to maximize results.

Fortunately, as we’ve already said, there’s no better way to build muscle than eating the right foods.

Which foods are the best for building muscle?

Remember, a diet of junk food is no longer effective when it becomes your daily diet. Here are some facts that you should know about junk food and muscle building.

“There’s been no more obvious manifestation of obesity and its negative effects on human health than the case of weight gain, which is the manifestation of protein-deficient diets.” ~ Edward Giovannucci, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and nutrition, NYU School of Medicine

Research has shown that the amount of carbohydrates in a person’s diet, more specifically the quality and amount of dietary fiber and protein, directly determines the amount of muscle cells in your body.

Carbohydrates and dietary fiber have long been considered as main ingredients in your food, which can be beneficial for muscle building.

However, what’s not so well known is that many foods contain less than the recommended amount of fiber. Many of these foods are sugar-loaded, over-processed, and lacking in nutrients that your body needs for muscle growth.

Conversely, many foods have high levels of dietary protein. Specifically, sources of dietary protein include seafood, poultry, fish, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, and legumes.

Most of the protein consumed today comes from dairy, beef, and red meat.

It is no secret that large amounts of protein are needed to build muscle. However, not all forms of protein are created equally.

Dietary proteins that come from animal sources are considered better for muscle growth. It’s believed that higher levels of animal proteins in a person’s diet can play a major role in their muscle growth.

You are definitely not limited to these three types of protein to build muscle. You can change it up by increasing or decreasing the amount of protein, depending on the situation. This is exactly what our team of nutritionists are able to help you with.

Protein is composed of amino acids. Protein molecules are shaped like a long chain. These amino acids are essential in your body.

It’s often referred to as one of the most important macronutrients.

Amino acids make up all of your body’s tissue. Thus, how we digest our protein comes down to how well we can utilize them.

Proteins require the enzyme trypsin to be broken down into a usable form. If this can’t occur, the protein will continue to build up and your body will be left with a protein deficiency.

What is the difference between protein and carbohydrates?

When you eat protein, it provides you with the amino acids needed to build new muscle tissue. This makes your muscle growth more effective and efficient.

However, you can also consume amino acids before, during, and after your workout to get the optimal, maximum gains. This is called combining your protein intake with carbohydrate consumption.

Protein formations

Carbohydrates and protein are often seen as one in the same. In fact, they should be.

However, there are 2 main protein sources, depending on what kind of workout you’re doing:

Eggs – Egg yolks are perfect for gaining muscle and having a high amount of protein.

  • Egg yolks are perfect for gaining muscle and having a high amount of protein.
  • Meat – The amount of protein found in meat is lower than that found in eggs.

There are also various forms of protein to consider depending on what type of workout you’re doing. This section covers all of these forms.

Eggs, and Protein Quality

Eggs are the most common type of protein because they are used in many restaurants, while a chicken breast is generally considered the best in terms of protein content.

However, when it comes to protein content, you have to pay attention to the nutritional information on the package. Some brands have higher amounts of protein than others, depending on what they are used for.

Egg whites are pretty much the best for the majority of people, while those that are looking for an higher amount of protein should consider poultry and pork.

Interestingly, while the majority of people think that eggs are the best source of protein, many foods contain much more protein than eggs. One of the main reasons for this is that humans can break down protein into many different forms of amino acids.

Many of these are called essential amino acids, which means that our bodies cannot produce them on their own. Although some of these need a little bit of help to be processed and used, it takes about 4 calories to make a single calorie of protein, so the amount of calories you use to cook a protein is equal to the amount of calories it contains.

For example, it takes 1 calorie to make 1 gram of protein, which means a 100-calorie meal of chicken, steak, rice, and beans would use 1,000 calories to create this number of protein calories.

Some examples of common sources of protein include:

  • Quinoa
  • Pancake
  • Grits
  • Beans
  • Oatmeal

Beans and peas are used most often, with chicken and fish the second most commonly used foods.

In terms of how important you should be getting a certain amount of protein from foods, it depends on what kind of weight loss program you’re following.

If you’re trying to lose fat or gain muscle in a fast-paced lifestyle, you should aim for an amount of protein that you can digest about twice as fast. For example, if you are taking a standardized meal replacement that is high in protein, you may need to get about 25 percent of your total daily calorie intake from protein.

With any type of exercise, though, you can get more of a bang for your buck by getting 25 percent of your total daily calorie intake from protein. For example, if you’re an individual who is trying to lose 5 to 7 pounds a week, you can go as high as 35 percent of your daily calorie intake from protein.

For athletes, it is generally recommended that you get at least 30 percent of your daily calorie intake from protein.


One of the goals of this article is to give you a comprehensive understanding of the role of protein in helping you lose weight and improve your health.

By understanding the role that protein plays in your body, you will be in a better position to make decisions about what type of protein you should be eating, and what you can do to ensure you get enough of the right type.


  1. Flegal KM, Skov AR, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB. Dietary intake of isocaloric amounts of protein and carbohydrate in relation to body weight and body composition in men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80(4):847-858.
  2. Olszak M, Rushing S, Turner L. Egg protein and male infertility: what does the evidence say? Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;86(4):1153-1158.
  3. Siri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Malhotra V, Kris-Etherton PM. Plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein and risk of coronary heart disease in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;81(4):989-998.
  4. Roe LS, Wylie-Rosett JF, Simonsick EM, Bostick RM, Ng PY, Ottaway J, Giardia C, Cogswell ME. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies assessing the association between dietary saturated fat and serum cholesterol and all-cause mortality. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84(1):94-103.
  5. Ascherio A, Rimm EB. Nutritional epidemiology. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2002.

How to Lose Weight by Using a Mobile App

I’m a person that has put on a lot of pounds throughout the years. I wasn’t trying to become a bigger size, it just happened because I consistently eat without having a lot of time to work out. I heard about this great mobile app that supposedly will help me to lose weight. It’s called Body24 and I’m going to give it a try. The things that people have been saying about this app has been promising. I’m going to check it out to see if can help me to lose weight.

How to Get the App Body24

The technical name of Body24 is called the Free Meal Planner for Weight Loss + Shipping. The technical name is the one that will come up once you put in the phrase Body24 in the search bar. You will have to go to Google Play on Android to get the app (follow this link). An Apple version might not be available. Once you find the application, download it to your device and install it on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

After you install your application onto your device, you will need to search for it on your home screen or one of your other home pages. It will be listed under the name Body24. Click the app to open it up. Once the app is open you will see two buttons for each gender. One button will be for females and the other for males.

female and male fitness

Select your gender and when you do it will take you to the next screen where it will ask you questions about your weight loss goal. Answer these questions so you can move on to the details page. This page will ask about your personal body measurements. The app does this so it can provide you with a target weight loss goal.

fitness for men and women

The app will then ask you about your activity level and how much you sleep. This information is taken because the app will automatically figure out your meal times throughout the day. Finally, the app will create a meal plan based on your personal information and statistics. It will also provide you with information about the best ways for you to e active and how much water you should drink every day.

What meal plans are in given for Body24 users?

Body24 users are given a wide variety of meal choices. Remember the app caters these choices to each individual user. I was given breakfast meals such as raspberry yogurt smoothies, carrot and red lentil soup and cream cheese with apples. Each meal recommendation was also given a preparation time. This is very important because sometimes I just don’t have a lot of time or energy to spend on cooking.

The Body24 recommendations are just that, recommendations. They know that people might not be able to have all the ingredients that they suggest. Still, if you don’t mind shopping for recommended items; the meal plans are very useful for helping you to keep the calories off your body.

cooking app

Other Available Features Found in Body24

The menu section of this application includes tips which will help you to find the best way to control your weight. They also have a shopping list feature where all of the recommended items on your meal plan are listed. Then there is a profile button where you can find your personal information. A home button is also available.

Does Body24 really work as advertised?

I recommend this app to anyone wanting to lose weight. It is a great software piece that will allow you to lose weight and develop an exercise plan that is perfect for your lifestyle. That is another advantage of this app, it doesn’t try to turn you into an athlete or fitness nut just to get into shape. Truthfully, I hate exercising and getting into shape. It’s too much work. However, Body24 takes a lot of the pain and hassle out of this process and provide a valuable weight loss plan that is practical and effective for people with little or no athletic ability, just like me. I like this app and it does help me with losing weight and staying in shape.


Green banana smoothie

Smoothie full of iron, calcium, vitamin C and potassium

  1. Blend avocado, pineapple, spinach and banana in the blender.
  2. Add chia seeds and water.
  3. Blend it once more to make it smoothie.
  4. Serve chilled.