There has been a news story running around and is quite popular with some of the health and fitness blogs that I read on a regular basis. Mark Haub, a professor of Human Nutrition at Kansas State University, ate Twinkies, nutty bars or powdered donuts every 3 hours, instead of full healthy meals. He also had little debbie snacks, and Doritos, and a variety of other junk foods as well. What is he trying to prove? Weight loss is purely calories in vs. calories out, regardless of the nutritional value of the food. His “convenience store diet” gave him a weight lost of 27 pounds in 2 months.

I am going to reveal a secret in the health industry. This secret is so shocking, that people try to keep it hidden for you. Fitness professionals hide this so they can sell you things you THINK you need.  This is the code, the science if you will, behind the ultimate healthy lifestyle. People try to tweak this code in order to get the results, but there is only one true formula to get great health. I can’t believe I am revealing this, but I feel it needs to come out. Ok, here it goes, the big moment. The scientific formula behind living the healthiest life possible, are you ready?

You hear it ALL the time in the media. “BEAT THE BATTLE OF THE BULDGE!”. I don’t give a crap about the battle, I want you to win the war.

A general doesn’t care the result of the battles as long as he won the war. The battles mean nothing, but the end result means everything. What is your end result?

Your end result should be a life full of health and longevity. One bad weekend isn’t going to lose the war for you. You may lose that battle, but who cares about that one battle? Focus on your end goal and know you can enjoy Sunday BBQs with the family. You can enjoy Super Bowl. You can enjoy the holidays. But moderate it. Lose the battle, don’t get massacred. Stay focused on your long term goals to live longer and be healthier.

Now I am not saying you can lose EVERY battle and still win the war. If you lose every battle, you lost. As long as you win more battles that you lose, you will win the war. Moderation in everything and everything in moderation. Go enjoy yourself, but know overall, you need to eat cleaner, healthier and get your physical activity in.

Hear me out on this one -

How many people do you know are on a diet right now? How many people do you know have dieted in the past? How many of those diets stuck? How many people do you know are on their second, third, forth, fifth diet?

Most people diet before a wedding, reunion, resolution, or a variety of other reasons. This makes the work “diet” have a short term effect behind its meaning. People are under the assumption that if they diet for 3 months, they will lose weight. And if they stick to it they will. But then what? Most people YO YO back up to their starting weight.

Want to know the best way to manage your weight? Stop dieting and establish life long healthy lifestyle habits. A diet is nothing more that WHAT you eat. A bird’s diet is seeds. A horses diet is hay and grains. What is YOUR diet going to be? Create a healthy way of eating for the rest of your life. You will be able to manage your weight more effectively and never have to go on a diet ever again.

zucchini-frittata

Zucchini, Parmesan and Mint FrittataWhat You Will Need:

• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 small zucchini, julienned
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 mint leaves, torn
• fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

How To Make It:

Heat a toaster oven to 400 degree F. Break the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk well. Drizzle in a bit of water. Add the zucchini, cheese, mint, salt and pepper. Drizzle the oil into a 5 1/2 inch skillet. Pour in the egg mixture. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until eggs are just set. Let them stand 2-3 minutes before serving. Makes 1 serving.

I saw yet another fact today on how America has a fast growing obesity trend. I don’t understand how this number is getting so out of control. Ever since grade school, everyone has had the same information drilled into their head: DIET AND EXERCISE. So why isn’t this working for America?

People think they need more that diet and exercise. People think they need the magic pill (I have yet to see one!). People think they need special diets. People think they need personal trainers. You don’t need anything except diet and exercise. Both works. I am living proof, and I have seen this work several times with people that I talk to that are not clients.

You have to make your diet stick. You can’t “go on a diet” for a week and expect to see results. You may results short term, but you need to make life long changes if you truly want to be successful. A diet is nothing more that WHAT you eat. A horse diet is hay. A lions diet is a gazelle. So for you to “go on a diet” you are basically setting yourself up for failure. Instead of trying out a new diet, change your diet. Create your diet. Put fresh, healthy foods into your body.

Then I get the question: Well, what is a healthy food? Again, you have been taught the food pyramid since grade school. You know healthy foods. You know fruits and veggies. You know limit carbs and fats. You know a salad is better than a pizza. You know that the fewer the calories you eat the better. Weightloss is not rocket science.

Now for the exercise part. Exercise does not need to be in a gym. Yes, a gym is a great place to have access to equipment, professionals and a load of other perks, but not everyone can go. And most of the time, if you don’t “GO” to the gym, you don’t work out. So in that sense, a gym may not be the best place for you.

Going for a nightly walk is a great way to get exercise. Parking far from the mall. Taking the stairs. Doing pushups every morning. Stretching while you watch TV. Doing jumping jacks during commercials. Doing lunges while you vacumn. Doing bicep curls with your grandkids. There are literally hunderds of things that you can do to get a workout outside of a gym setting.

The key to getting good exercise to make a life long change is consistency. Too many people start off strong, then don’t work out for a week. You need to make exercise part of your everyday routine. Walk the same time everyday. Go to the gym the same time everyday. Make it part of your life and get it consistent.

Diet and exercise has been instilled in us since grade school. Why we still have growing obesity trends is beyond me. If you want life long results, stick to the basic: Diet and Exercise. It’s easy. It’s simple. It works.

Diet mixers, such as low calorie tonic water, diet margarita mix and low calorie soda, spare calories but speed the rate that alcohol enters the bloodstream. High sugar liquids empty from the stomach more slowly than water or low calorie drinks.

Diet mixers contain little or no sugar, so the alcohol in the drink leaves the stomach quickly and enters the bloodstream rapidly, which makes you drunk faster. Australians researchers, using ultrasound, measure the rate that drinks containing diet or normal mixers emptied from the stomach.

Drinks using diet mixers left the gut 15 minutes sooner and caused nearly 50% higher blood alcohol levels. Women should be particularly care using diet mixers. Consuming the same number of drinks, blood alcohol increased more in women then in men. Also, women are more likely to use diet mixers.