Dieting The Right Way

   
     A lot of people struggle to lose weight because they are unsure what foods to eat and what foods not to eat. Well, i'm here to help and after reading this you'll have the right idea of how to shed those unwanted pounds for summertime. You must keep in mind how important moderation is. Even eating too many vegetables can be bad so that's why it's so important to keep the right portion sizes. First, I will list ten fat burning foods that you need to add to your diet in order to help you lose weight.

1. Berries- Berries are high in nutrients including antioxidants. When you buy them frozen their freshness is locked in and they can be kept for some time and used in a variety of ways. In summer thaw a few berries in your mouth. Just like ice cubes, only tastier. Add them to your oatmeal, cereal, low fat, no sugar added ice cream or yogurt.
2. Whole Grain Bread- The fiber content of wholegrain bread is high along with the nutritional benefits of the seeds within. Wholegrain toast makes for a satisfying and low GI breakfast and wholegrain bread is excellent for sandwiches or as the side carbohydrate for a meal like soup.
3. Green Tea- Make green tea your drink of choice to quench that thirst, satisfy your minimum daily fluid intake while at the same time burning those calories. Green tea contains the anti-oxidant EGCG which works to burn calories throughout the whole day.
4. Salmon- It is packed with good fats which are conducive to weight loss. It is super easy to prepare and a cost effective, satisfying meal with a plate of vegetables and brown rice for example. A steak of salmon can be covered in a bowl and cooked in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Try the condiment Chermoula if you can find it, 
5. Brown Rice- Once you go brown you’ll never want to go back to white. It has substance and is covered in fiber. The nutty taste and texture of brown rice goes beautifully with your meats (such as lean chicken) and vegetables and is very filling. Note: Be sure to drink plenty of water when you have something as fiber rich in your diet as brown rice. 
6. Avocado- You can boost your fat burning metabolism by eating foods that contain L-carnitine. Avocado is a rich source of L-carnitine. As an added bonus, it is also an aphrodisiac. L-carnitine is  an amino acid found in your body in the liver. It helps to facilitate fat metabolism and promotes fat loss.
7. Grapefruit- A study from the Scripps Clinic (San Diego, California) reported that subjects eating half of a grapefruit or drinking 8 oz of grapefruit juice three times a day while maintaining their normal diet lost an average of 4 pounds over 12 weeks - and some lost more than 10 pounds without even dieting! 
   Results were likely due to grapefruit's ability to reduce insulin levels and to a chemical in grapefruit known as naringin, which prevents fat from being stored in the body. 
8. Chili Pepper Flakes- Chili pepper flakes have the active ingredient capsaicin, a chemical that can enhance calorie fat burning at rest as well as reduce hunger and food intake. The boost in calorie burn is particularly enhanced when capsaincin is used with caffeine. 
9. Spinach- Fights free radicals and improves recovery for better muscle building ability and is also filled with important nutrients as well as every other green vegetables!
10. Nuts- Fat alpha-linolenic acid are in all nuts, but most only contain trace amounts. The real hero in nuts is the mono-unsaturated fats. Almonds are a rich source of Omega-3's and only once contains about 3 grams of alpha-linolenic acid.

          Always remember to stay clear of any drinks that contain calories. Drinking calories is one of the worst things to do on your diet. No alcohol, soda, high in fat milk. If you have cereal in the morning, make sure it's whole grain and low in sugar and read the serving size on the box and stick to it. As for milk, always use unsweetened almond milk or any skim milk will be fine. Water, water, water. Our body needs about 2 liters of water DAILY! Yes, it seems like a lot, but it helps tremendously in helping you feel fuller longer. Most of them time we feel "hungry" it's actually us feeling dehydrated because of the lack of water, so drink lots of water and stay clear of soda's and other drinks that contain sugar and unwanted calories. At night, drinking herbal tea with a bit of mint and cinnamon is very helpful in your sleep and can actually help you burn more calories while you sleep. 

Blog Reminder: In my next blog I will talk about the very important protein-rich foods you need in your diet and also some healthy, tasty deserts to satisfy your after-dinner cravings.  Don't forget to visit teavana.com for delicious fat burning teas!

Losing Weight- It Can Be Easy

   By now we all know that exercising and eating right are vital in order to lose weight, maintain your weight, and stay healthy, but what we sometimes overlook is the way we are exercising. Many people have the idea that doing 1000 crunches are going to magically make you skinny and toned. Well, that's simply not the case. Doing crunches strengthens your ab muscles, yes, but they do not remove the fat that is covering them up. So, in order to shed the fat and show off those ab muscles we must run, sprint, bike, swim, etc. If you are just starting out then I suggest you just start out walking. Walking is a great way to burn calories and over time it will burn fat. Try to aim for about 10,000 steps a day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator and park way in the back at the grocery store, it sounds silly, but it really can work! The fastest and most effective way to lose fat is running, especially sprinting. Sprinting can be pretty tough to sustain a solid pace, but as long as you are jogging in between your sprint bursts you are on the right track. This is called High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), it is by far the most effective, enduring way to lose weight, but it pays off in the end, BIG-TIME. Doing this for about an hour five days a week is extremely good. Keep in mind that if you can't handle a full hour that's okay, you will build up to it! Everyone moves at their own pace and as long as you stay consistent with your workout and slowly increase the amount of time you will be on your way to running that elusive 5K that you always dreamed about. 



     Another vital exercise you need to do is Strength Training. A 2006 study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism suggests that combining cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise with Strength training is more effective than cardiovascular training alone in getting rid of abdominal fat You can do resistance training with free weights, exercise machines or resistance bands. Strength training is one of my personal favorites because of the quick burning and sweating feeling you get. You may think that isn't a very good feeling, but once you get past the first few weeks and start seeing the awesome results of that burning and sweating you'll know what I mean. When first starting out you don't want to start lifting 250 pounds worth of weight. Not only will you not be able to lift it, but you could seriously injury yourself. 5-10 pounds of weight is the best starting point. Using weights is also great when you are walking, try using 2-3 pound hand weights when walking though. Doing squats with those weights in your hand is a very good form of strength training.  If you don't have that p90x machine, don't worry about it. There are plenty of other ways to ramp up the resistance training. Like, push-ups, jumping jacks, chin-lifts, leg-lifts, burpees, and just simple bench pressing, remembering not to overwhelm yourself with too much weight. Don't ever forget to drink lots and lots of water and stretch the muscles that you will be working out before and after the work-out, it's worth it.  Water is very vital to your diet and so is vitamins. Centrum vitamins are great supplements to take after your breakfast in the morning, you can get these at vitaminemporium.com. I'll go into more detail about the diet portion of your weight loss goal in my next blog. Dieting is about 85% of losing weight so stay alert for my next blog for crucial information that WILL help you. 

The All Star Game Must Change For The Sake Of Baseball

      As the All Star game starters, reserves, and pitchers were being announced Saturday night, I was a bit concerned that some of the real stars in this league this year would not make it. Turns out my concerns were correct. With players like Bryce Harper with only 29 RBI's and has missed 31 games this year actually made the starting roster. To have the nerve to have Marco Suctaro, (a player who is only has 19 RBI's and 2, yes a  pathetic 2 Home Runs) in the All star game is absolutely ridiculous. We all know about this Yasiel Puig "sensation", ESPN has the audacity to promote Puig as the final vote winner. If ESPN is that desperate for media attention and thinks MLB need Puig in the game then we have some serious issues. Yes, Puig has been off to a torrent start to his very short Major League career, however to suggest that he deserves to be an all star because he has knocked in 19 runs and hit 8 home runs and struck out 31 times is outrageous. Puig went 0-4 with four strikeouts Saturday and people started saying he is just an average ball player. These "fans" aren't truly fans in my book if the only reason they pay attention to the game is to see someone go 4-5 with 2 homers and 5 RBI's every single game. True fans of the game should know that players that work hard every single day and put in the effort and show themselves on the stat sheet and in the win collumn deserve to be recognized in the mid-summer classic. 

     Teams like the Oakland A's, the Atlanta Braves only have ONE all star. Yes, one all star for two first place teams. Struggling teams like the Blue Jays, Brewers, Mariners, and Giants all get multiple All Stars, of course. The lack of respect for first place teams and guys who play every game of every season is disgusting. The Braves have to beg too get their best hitter (Freddie Freeman) into the All Star game as a "Final vote" by the "fans", of course. Brian Mccann also has a very strong case to make, he has been tearing up Major League pitching since coming off the DL. In 48 games played B-Mac has 10 homers, 28 RBI's and a blistering .304 BA. Justin Upton hit 12 homers in the month of April, yes he slowed down a bit, but he is well worthy of the nod as at least a reserve, after all he has more homers than Brandon Phillips and way more RBI's than Bryce Harper. In this stat-driven league we are in it really surprises me that Everth Cabrera with 24 RBI's and 4 home runs and a .294 BA and has spent time on the DL actually triumphed players like Ian Desmon, Adrian Gonzalez, Andrelton Simmons, Gerado Parra. In the AL you have players like Salvador Perez beating out the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury. Ben Zobrist, who is hitting a whopping .262 on the season getting in over Josh Donaldson who is hitting .319 and arguably the A's best hitter. Jed Lowrie is having a great season on a first place ball club but still gets snubbed. I don't know what's worse, the popularity contest in the All Star game or the boring, noncompetitive Home Run Derby. In 2010 Chris young was in the Derby (have no idea why) he muscled out 1 home run. That actually made me laugh. In 2011 Brandon Inge hit a staggering ZERO home runs in the Derby and guess what? Robinson Cano did the same thing in 2012! Then Matt Kmep followed it up with a grand total of one homer. So, I propose that we get away with the "captains" and start letting the fans, yes I said fans vote for the Derby contestants. Let the fans vote for the exhibition portion of the All Star festivities and let the players vote for the game that counts so it will be a fair advantage all the way around. I wouldn't even mind having captains for the All star game, let a the former MVP's of the years prior decide who makes their team. That way the players will only have themselves to blame if they lose.


      Back to the Home Run Derby, in order to intensify and make even the non-casual fans interested MLB should seriously consider head-to-head match-ups. I don't know about you but I would definitely pay money to see Evan Gattis go up against Justin Upton in a battle to see who could get the most homers out of 20 swings. How about Miguel Cabrera going up against Prince Fielder. Or Josh Hamilton against Mike Trout? Now, that is a million dollar act. It would not only attract fans of Baseball, but fans of competition. Who wouldn't want to see a battle of the best of the best? A true challenge to see who is on top of the Home Run world. That way we don't have mediocrity in one of the most exciting plays in the game. I think by allowing these changes to take place MLB, media outlets, and fans of the game will all be a lot more pleased. Deserving talent equals happy fans and the best way to do that is to change. I fear that America's favorite pastime is turning into America's favorite worst time and that is awful because I truly love the game and would really hate to see it turn into an unpopular sport. Hopefully the sports community can band together and create a better Mid-summer classic where the deserving players get to represent their deserving teams. Let's try to at least get one more deserving Brave in the game. Vote Freddie Freeman!