All the diet rules you need...

In trying out all kinds of diet and exercise plans over the last few years, I’ve come to the very shocking revelation: they’re all based on the same set of general principles.

We get bound up in leptin vs. insulin, cheat days vs. fast days, supplements vs. real food, calories vs. movement, and we lose sight of the real core of the process: eat well, move every day, and try to stay positive.

I’m no Mr. Universe by any stretch, but I’m not obese and have no heart condition (that I know of). I like food, yes, but there’s a limit to how much crap I can and will eat, and I think it’s important for everyone to know their limits in this regard. I haven’t been drunk in almost fifteen years, and it still shocks me how many people think that’s strange. It’s a decision I’ve made. I don’t preach abstinence from alcohol by any means...although by the same token not being drunk makes some parties a bit more annoying, when it’s clear the objective of everyone else is to be as excessive as possible.

Soapbox aside, I also know what damage alcohol does to you, so I elect to avoid it in those quantities. That should be a good enough reason, and at 37 years old I think I can just flat out say, “no, I choose not to drink,” and have that respected at face value.

Anyway, my point is that healthy living is not difficult and it doesn’t require a lot of sacrifice.

“But Steve,” I can hear you whining, “I’m [insert ethnicity here]! You can’t really expect me to live without [insert flower-based and/or gravy- and/or sugar-laden ethnic dish here]!”

Yeah, I do. Because chances are the only reason that food is so endemic to your ethnicity is that at some point your ancestors were impoverished and bulking up on white flour was the only way to stave off hunger. And now that we know that a cup of spaghetti has the same nutrient profile as a can of Coke, maybe it’s time to recognize it for what it is.

Am I saying stop eating spaghetti or perogies? No. I love them too. I’m saying stop serving pasta as a meal on its own, and observe a little common sense.

And yes, you can live without it. You’re human. I’ve gone a year without eating pasta, and so far the only adverse effect has been losing weight. So...your choice.

OK, here are the rules to live by, based on a culmination of pretty well everything there is to read online and off that’s become available in the last 20 years:

1. If it’s white, or was white, or could become white, don’t eat it. The exceptions are cauliflower and eggs. I personally also exclude milk from this list, but still substitute almond milk in my coffee.
2. If you must eat grains, do it in the morning when your cells need (and are primed to use) the fuel.
3. Eat meat and vegetables.
4. If a thing has more than three ingredients on the label that you can’t buy elsewhere in the store, don’t eat it. You won’t be able to break it apart. For example, if you see a sauce that’s made up of twelve ingredients, and one of those ingredients is guar gum, don’t eat it. If there’s no aisle in the store that shelves “guar gum,” why would you eat it?
5. Break a sweat every day. Preferably while lifting something. Preferably something other than yourself. Walking doesn’t count -- you should be doing that anyway.

That’s it. Five rules: Avoid sugar and starch; eat grains in the morning, tapering off by lunch; focus on vegetables and protein; don’t eat overly processed foods; get off your ass. Even if you just start with this, chances are you’ll find you have more energy and might even start to see some pounds dropping off. Don’t worry about calories. Don’t worry about which exercise is best for whatever. Pick up some dumbbells and put down the Ding Dongs. It will work.

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A Simple Body Fat Calculator

Here's a simple body fat calculator for estimating body fat for men (the one for women is a bit more complicated). The formula, which we got from Gastelu & Hatfield's Dynamic Nutrition for Maximum Performance, is as follows:

Take your morning waist measurement in inches (around the love handles, at the level of the navel).
Take your morning weight in pounds.
Calculate: (Total Body Weight x 1.082) + 94.420 = Weight Factor
Calculate: (Waist Measurement x 4.150) = Waist Factor
Weight Factor - Waist Factor = Lean Body Mass in Pounds
Total Body Weight - Lean Body Mass = Body Fat in Pounds
(Body Fat x 100) / Total Body Weight = Body Fat Percentage (BF%)
100 - BF% = Lean Body Mass Percentage

If you'd like to do a spreadsheet version we have one version set up especially for our Shape Up For Summer Contest, which you can download HERE. If you want to build your own, just set it up like this...[read more]

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Jennifer Aniston's Quinoa Salad Revealed

Recently, Jennifer Aniston released a secret recipe that she claims kept her slim and trim during the 10-year run of Friends. The key, she says, was eating this same salad every day for lunch...for the entire 10 years. After looking through the recipe carefully, it not only looks appealing but actually contains all of the nutrition one needs to stay in peak condition.

What was especially interesting about this revelation was that the U.S. Department of Health came out suggesting that more variety than this one recipe is necessary to stay healthy. This idea, however, assumes that variety is the ultimate necessity for proper nutrition.

It is not.

In fact, there are plenty of experts who consider too much variety an overcomplicating factor in diets. For many cultures around the world a routine daily diet is a standard practice. Only in the West do we consider a wide variety of foods to be a necessity for good nutrition. If the foods we eat are nutritious enough, adding more outside those needs isn't really an advantage. It may be more interesting, but it actually wastes time, causes stress for shoppers and food preparers, and doesn't add anything to the diet itself.

Once a body adapts to a nutritional plan, it can very quickly become highly efficient at processing that particular food routine. That efficiency is where the plan really starts to pay off; and in fact, as in Ms. Aniston's case, usually only applies to one key meal in a day anyway.

There are other holes in the recommendations of the Department of Health's recommendations. In addition to suggesting that "variety" is the key to good nutrition, they recommend...[read more]

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Tips for Binge Drinkers

Happy St. Patty's Day!

While everyone on Facebook is busy posting about how much they plan on drinking today, we at The Man Sphere would like to remind everyone to drink responsibly. It's not a day for the celebration of blood poisoning.

That said, here are a few points to keep in mind:

1. Stay hydrated. Begin your bar-hopping with at least 500 ml. of water, and keep drinking water throughout the night.
2. Don't bother driving anywhere at all. Just get there, and get cabs.
3. Vitamin B complex and a couple of Tylenol prior to drinking will help stave off the hangover effects.
4. Gatorade, for its rehydrating and electrolytes, is essential day-after equipment to get rid of the hangover. Get some in your fridge today and be ready (for some reason, Powerade doesn't seem to work as well).
5. I'm pretty sure I don't need to remind you what happens below the belt with too much alcohol. But its friendly name is "whiskey dick." So I reminded you.
6. Steve's old-school hangover cure: A bottle of orange Gatorade, an x-large 4&4 from Tim's, two Advil and two Tylenol. A fried egg sandwich with cheese helps too.
7. Alcohol actually acts as a suppressant to testosterone, and therefore also growth hormone production. Continued heavy drinking forces the pancreas into overdrive to deal with the influx of sugars. Higher insulin production and lower testosterone levels cause fat storage, which in turn increases estrogen production to handle the distribution of excess fat (especially to places like the chest, belly, and butt); this is why a beer gut is so hard...it's the fat packed around the organs. By extension therefore, the ability to drink more than your buddies at any given event doesn't make you more of a man. It actually makes you more of a woman, in a very real biological and chemical sense.

Have fun, but drink responsibly. Know your limit. And above all, weigh the importance of one night of binging against all the work you're doing in the gym and the kitchen. There's nothing wrong with a good time...just keep it good.

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The Basic Diet Shift

SHAPE UP FOR SUMMER CONTEST 2012

see contest rules

The Basic Diet Shift (two weeks)

Man, do I love food.

No joke. I can eat a bag of Decadent cookies on my own in one sitting. Ice cream is like heroin to me. Chips...well, let's just say they have a seat next to Southern Comfort and cigarettes in the lobby of the hardest things I've ever had to give up.

Listen, we all know what is and isn't good for us. And we can go on and on at length about the dangers of sugar, preservatives, saturated fats, alcohol, and just about everything else that's tasty. But that doesn't make for a good strategy. It's too easy to just say, "I'll eat better tomorrow...or start next week."

What most of us need to do -- and I'm no super hero...I need to do this too -- is recognize what needs to change, and then change those things, a little at a time.

For my strategy in the contest, I'm taking a gradual approach to diet change. I can do this, because I know what works. I've done it before. But I like ice cream. Nevertheless, here's the plan...[read more]

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SHAPE UP FOR SUMMER CONTEST 2012

Three Month "Muscle Up" Beach Challenge

Alright gentlemen, here's new contest.

Can you beef up in time for beach season?

Our Editor-in-Chief, Steve Baric, says "YES!" In fact, he's so confident he can pack on the beef and trim his body fat that he's making a bet: starting March 26, 2012, he's going to lose more body fat and gain more muscle mass than any of you.

What's more, he's even going to take you step-by-step through his process, and show you how he's doing it. Even if the heaviest thing you've ever lifted is a quart of Ben & Jerry's Schweddy Balls ice cream, you'll get the raw play-by-play of how this transformation is going to happen.

Here's the game: March 26 is the starting date. No ifs, ands, or buts. No waiting for a Monday. No waiting for the first of the next month. No waiting for a special invitation. No waiting until you end up in the hospital.

This will be followed by a solid THREE MONTHS of killer workouts, easy (and delicious) diet changes, and a lot of fun. June 30 will be the cut-off date for the contest, with the votes coming in on July 1-2. We'll announce the winners on July 4.

There is a catch though: you have to beat Steve's numbers. And he's going all-out, so you probably won't be able to come close. But on the off chance that you do, he's willing to put up some cool prizes from Prograde Nutrition. Here they are:

First place (most overall improvement = biggest shift in body fat percentage): 1 "Ultimate Workout Package" from Prograde Nutrition (includes 2 bottles of Prograde Workout, 1 bottle of VGF 25+ multivitamin, 1 bottle of EFA Icon, and 1 bottle of Prograde Longevity anti-oxidant supplement. Retail value: $139.95)

Second place: 1 "Total Wellness Package" from Prograde Nutrition (includes one bottle each of VGF 25+ multivitamin, EFA Icon, and Longevity anti-oxidant supplement. Retail value: $84.95)

Third Place: 1 "Fitness Package" from Prograde Nutrition (includes one bottle each of Prograde Protein and Prograde Workout. Retail value: $64.95)

Best over-30 score: One-month supply of Prograde K20 natural testosterone booster (Retail value: $74.95)

Here's how you enter:

TO ENTER:

1. Take a shirtless front and side photo. These are your "before" pics.
2. Before 11:59p.m. Pacific Standard Time on March 26 (that's the day of our next issue), send us an email containing your name, address, and age, along with your photos, to contests@themansphere.com, subject line, "My Contest Entry." This will be your registration.
3. Download our tracking spreadsheet HERE (or visit http://themansphere.com/a-simple-body-fat-calculator/ and find the link in the article). This sheet contains all the detailed contest rules and your final submission entry form.
4. Work like a dog until July 1, tracking your measurements every week. At the end of the contest, submit a set of "after" pictures, along with your saved spreadsheet, via email. This will be your official entry.

That's it! How you lose the poundage is up to you, but you have to keep track of your numbers every week, and we need those photographs.

You have to be 18 or over, and live in Canada or the U.S. to participate in the contest. Of course, you can join in the fun anywhere in the world just so you have the support of your fellow fat burners. We just can't ship prizes overseas just yet.

For a full set of contest rules, download the free body fat tracking spreadsheet. No email or purchase required.

Contestants are free to use any diet and/or fitness system they choose. We are not responsible for any injuries resulting from poor nutrition or exercise, or any activity related to participating in this contest. It's fun...let's keep it that way. PLEASE CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE BEGINNING THIS, OR ANY OTHER, EXERCISE AND NUTRITIONAL PROGRAM, and STAY IN CONTACT WITH THEM THROUGHOUT, being sure to report any discomfort or injury, loss of sleep, or change in body function. This contest is meant to encourage a healthier lifestyle, and a bottle of protein powder is not worth risking permanent injury or a heart attack. Be smart.

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How Pickles, Chocolate and My Kid Save Me From Myself

I love food. Unfortunately, like most people, I love all the wrong kinds of food.

Don't get me wrong. I really do love vegetables and fruit. Healthy food is great, and I actually do like the way most of it tastes. But realistically, my desert island pantry would be stocked with chocolate chip cookies, potato chips (likely in some variety of cheese flavour) and ice cream.

Yet, for all the evils these things present, I've discovered that there are some very simple replacements (yes, replacements) that can actually save me from myself.

The first thing, though, is to not buy them in the first place. If they're not in the house I'm not tempted to eat them. I'll pick some up if there's a special occasion coming up that needs munchies but that's it. If I use the "company's coming" excuse to stock up, the supplies won't last long enough to make it to the next visit.

Let's face it...I can plow through a bag of Chips Ahoy like they're a can of Pringles. And I do owe to Paul (yet again) for surreptitiously sneaking that bag of cookies out of my cart and back onto the shelf when I wasn't looking last weekend at the grocery store. That's a guy who's looking out for his bud.

Anyway, the solutions as I said are pretty simple. First off, there are the chips. Mostly the reason I eat chips is because I like them. But really, it's that crunchy, salty thing that really gets you. Now, a piece of cheddar cheese on a whole-grain cracker should do the job; and in most cases it does. But when you need to SNACK, nothing beats a jar of mini dill pickles.

Seriously. Get a jar of these things and munch down a few. They're very low calorie and have almost nothing to them except a bit of fibre. You do want to watch them for salt, so stay hydrated. Even so, they're tasty and munchy, so go to town. You want to look for a basic dill. Sweet pickles have too much sugar added. Something with garlic is nice, but maybe hold off until the day after your big date.

To replace the cookie craving, which is really just my sweet tooth going off on its own, I opt for apples first and foremost. So, this would sweet + crunchy, I guess. But where those don't quite do it, I'm happy to report that every major candy maker has now released bars of nothing but dark chocolate. Yup...you can get that 70-85% high-polyphenol (read "fat fighting") dark chocolate in a simple bar form. Bust off a square or two, and you not only defeat the soul-strangling need for cookie mayhem, but you actually boost your metabolism at the same time! Plus, it's a powerful anti-oxidant. Nice huh?

Finally, I owe my ability to curb ice cream binges to my daughter. She's here with me for half the week, and ice cream is her bedtime snack. Now, before you go off on a tangent about that, she doesn't get treats at any other time, and is a fiend for broccoli and fruit. She really does eat quite a healthy diet. So, since she's three, a scoop of vanilla ice cream as an evening snack is a good bit of bonding.

I do go for ice creams that are lower in sugar, and made with all-natural ingredients.

Because she's only three, the amount is quite small. And she insists that I share it with her. So my ice cream intake is only a portion of a serving shared with a three-year-old. In total it's maybe a few tablespoons. But that part of the sharing ritual we have has actually served to stop me from getting myself a traditional half-pint at a time as an evening snack. And when she's not here, I don't scoop anyway.

So, in summary, I've been able to replace cookies and chips with chocolate and pickles, and sharing my daughter's ice cream has virtually eliminated that habit from my diet as well. Solutions to our bad eating habits are often right in front of us...we just have to take advantage when they reveal themselves to us.

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Why Lean Beef?

There's some confusion about this whole lean vs. regular meat, so I thought I'd just take a second to clear something up.

First, the problem. The problem is, we're told over and over again that we need quality sources of protein. To this end, body building experts agree that meat is a necessary part of the diet. No matter what vegetarian sources have to say about veggie proteins, they just don't cut it for muscle building (they do make a good supplemental choice, however).

But then we're told to eat lean meats, like chicken and fish. Why? Isn't it true we're not supposed to be afraid of eating fat anymore?

Yes, that's basically true. We need fats in order to function properly and to keep the metabolism primed for burning fat. However, we should take steps to avoid trans fats and saturated fats, as these are not helpful to us in any way (in fact, they're quite dangerous over time). So why the emphasis on lean meat?

Basically it boils down like this: chicken and fish are excellent sources of protein, it's true. And both are essential sources of Omega 3-6-9 fatty acids (all three are necessary for good health, not just the Omega 3's). The last century of low-fat eating has caused a deficiency of these essential fatty acids in our diet, and they can only be replaced with proper nutrition. It turns out fish and chicken have these fats, so I don't often suggest people go with the super lean chicken breast all the time. Other cuts have fat value that is really important to your overall health.

However, beef provides something these other sources don't: iron. Iron is necessary for optimal health, especially if you're building muscle. Unfortunately, tasty beef is usually pretty fatty. That wouldn't normally be a problem, except that in fatty beef, the fat is a storage shed for all the hormones and antibiotics the steer is injected with. The hormones are especially problematic, because in order to create that lovely marbled texture that makes it so tender the animal is injected with estrogen.

Estrogen. Like, as in, the stuff that makes boobs. Estrogen in meat is a growing health concern across the board of course, but for men in particular it raises issues like man boobs, prostate cancer, and lowered testosterone levels. When you lower testosterone you lose muscle building power. And when that happens the whole house of cards comes down. THIS is the reason lean cuts of beef are recommended.

I try to hit two meals per week with beef.

Now, to be fair, if you go looking for organic, grass-fed beef, you can forgo the warning. Those steers are not injected with anything, and the grass feeding actually keeps them healthier. It also produces a more nutrient-dense cut of meat. However, the meat will also be a bit tougher.

Dealing with this last problem is simple:

For a roast, cook it at a low temperature for two or more hours, making sure to keep adding water. When it's done, the meat should practically fall apart for you anyway. You can also stew it in a slow-cooker, which will have the added benefit of producing a nice stock for you to use later.

For a steak, make sure to bring the meat up to room temperature. Cook it hot and fast. Rare beef (which most chefs will tell you is the goal for a nice tender steak) should have an internal temperature of 140 degrees.  Medium will be about 160, and well-done 170 (with lean meat, this would be the shoe leather stage). The reason for bringing it to room temperature first is because if you come right out of the fridge with it, the internal temperature will be much lower for a lot longer, forcing you over-cook the meat.

And for a quick tip: Shave about five to ten degrees off the above numbers. Remove the meat from the skillet or grill, and let it rest, covered on a plate, for about 10-15 minutes. The meat will continue to heat up, but it will tenderize as it rests, making a much more succulent slab of cow.

So, chicken and fish: whatever. Beef, lean cuts. Clear enough?

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Because you asked...

Apparently I have a few fitness buffs on my Facebook friends list, because I got half a dozen messages yesterday after posting a status update about Prograde's new "Fusion" sports drink mix. The biggest question was about my comment that Prograde uses "the highest quality ingredients, shunning the toxic fillers most store-shelf companies like to use."

What ingredients? And what's left out?

Well, for the sake of interest I took a peek at a couple of other labels online, just to see what was going on. Probably the most popular commercial brand out there is IsoFlex. I'll grant that as a nutrient profile, IsoFlex is pretty good. Each 30g serving delivers 27g of protein in 111 calories. What I can't figure out is their Carbohydrates. The label says 0.5g of carbs, but lists 0.5g sugar and 0.3g fibre (uh...that's 0.8g carbs, by my math). They also give other nutrients (Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron) as percentage of "daily intake." This is a deceptive number, because there are so many variants of "daily intake" there's literally no way of knowing what the value actually is.

If you don't know, it's because there's a Daily Value, Recommended Daily Intake, Recommended Daily Allowance, and Optimal Daily Intake as baselines for different levels of nutrition and fitness.

Anyway, here's what's in IsoFlex:
Whey Protein Isolate Complex [Whey Protein Isolate, WPI97 (Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate), Alpha-Lactalbumin-Rich Whey Peptides, Synermune(TM) Colostrum], NOS Complex [Hyrdolyzed Vegetable Protein, Folic Acid, NAC], Glutamine Complex [Glutamine Peptides], IS Complex [Alpha Lipoic Acid, d-Pinitol, 4-Hydroxyisoleucine], real orange pieces, natural and artificial flavour, lactoferrin, acesulfame-potassium, sucralose, guar gum.

So, on the surface there's a lot of science-y sounding stuff in there. Basically, it's protein complexes enhanced with flavour (including artificial flavours) and sweeteners (neither is good for you...acesulfame-potassium is a known carcinogen, and sucralose, made from sugar and chlorine, has shown clinical relationships to shrunken thymus glands in rats). There's evidence, apart from these findings, that artificial sweeteners actually increase the risk of diabetes by "tricking" the body into thinking it's getting something sweet. Insulin is released, but it has nothing to bind (i.e. sugar). I'd argue the sweeteners are the most noxious of the ingredients on this list.

The fibre content likely comes from the guar gum, a plant-derived thickening agent. The most common reaction to guar gum is diahrrea and gas, but only because it is a dietary fibre. It doesn't appear to have any toxic side effects. Don't know if I'd say the same for "Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein" or "NAC" (what is that anyway?).

On to Prograde Protein (vanilla, for this note).

Each serving is 32g, delivering 24g of protein in 120 calories. It contains 2g of carbs, listed as 1g sugars and 1g "other," which means fibre and starch. It also lists actual amounts of other nutrients (you can read the label on the website).

Here's the ingredients list:
Whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, natural flavours, Aminogen(R) (maltodextrin and protease enzymes derived from Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae), rebaudioside A stevia extract, soy lecithin and salt.

Kind of a shorter list, eh? The maltodextrin and protease are enzymes necessary in the breakdown of protein. The nutrient profile also lists lactase, which is an enzyme used for breaking down lactose, the sugar in milk. Since whey is a protein derived from milk processing, both are valuable in improving the digestion and absorption of the product.

For what it's worth, the salt on the list provides 65mg of sodium.

The sweetener is stevia, a plant-derived sweetener that so far has not shown any negative side effects. The one time an experiment on rats did show toxic effects, the rats were fed half their body weight in stevia leaves daily. No human would ever consume that much, and of course that much sugar would lead to shock as well. By contrast, replacing the average amount of sugar in a North American diet with stevia would require consuming only four leaves a day. I will admin that there hasn't been enought testing to say it's 100% safe, but even empirically there haven't been any reported side effects linked to this product. The fancy name, "rebaudioside A stevia extract" is just a name for the extract itself. The plant is also called "rebaudiana," and this extract is one of two glycosides (sweeteners) produced by the plant.

Replacing two teaspoons of sugar with one packet of stevia in my coffee each day has contributed dramatically to my own weight loss. It has no insulin response, and so far appears to leave no traces or chemical residue in the body. It's not metabolized as far as anyone can tell. But the benefits profile is starting to stack up.

Anyway, the only other questionable ingredient in here is lecithin. Because it's soy-based, some folks might get their dander up. But soy allergies are usually caused by the protein, not the fat (which is what lecithin is). Lecithin is an emulsifier, so it keeps the components of the powder from separating when mixed with water or milk (basically serving the same function as guar gum). It's also a liptropic factor, being high in choline. This actually assists with fat transport, although here it's not used in high enough quantities to be a supplement on its own.

So there you have it. Prograde Protein is composed of seven ingredients, mostly protein, vanilla and stevia, with a few enzymes tossed in for easier absorption. This is what I mean by high quality ingredients and nothing toxic. And, for what it's worth, anyone who's tried one of these shakes has agreed it's by far the best tasting protein supplement out there.

Any other questions?

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Living Fierce...on a budget

I posted not long ago about putting a wardrobe together without having to put your car up for sale or refinance your left kidney. It occurred to me this morning as I was shuffling the weekly flyers that it might be worth making a few tips about grocery spending as well.

Living fierce means exercising and eating well to maintain optimum energy and drive. The exercise part is easy enough, and even if you're not into an expensive plan you can do it with a really well-designed bodyweight plan like THIS ONE from Adam Steer & Ryan Murdock. The eating thing, on the other hand, is not so easy to do.

The trouble is, eating cheap and eating well don't always go hand in hand. Just a couple of weeks ago I was at the grocery store, having to do a budget shop to restock for the week. The revelation was startling. A package of twelve chicken thighs, boned with no skin (and no preparation whatsoever) was $16.99. A box of pre-cooked frozen fried chicken (8 pieces), fully breaded and seasoned, was $10.99.

Is it any wonder the lowest income segments of the population tend to be the ones most plagued by obesity, diabetes and heart disease? The affordable food options seem to be limited to starchy, pre-cooked, preservative-laden goop that has very little nutritional value other than high-calorie survival sustenance. Not a good outlook.

How do we combat this problem? On a cultural scale, I suppose, it would be feasible. The price of fresh, healthy foods would potentially come down if the sales were there to support it. So yes, getting people over their addiction to starch and sugar would probably be a good first step. But for those of us who know what we should be eating, keeping the cost of the "six-pack diet" down can be a challenge.

Getting smart with your grocery shopping, on the other hand, can save you a lot of headaches in the finance department. The first and most obvious point is never EVER be shy about clipping coupons. For the last couple of months, my favourite cereal has had a free ice cream coupon on every box. I know, ice cream isn't the healthiest choice, but I have a three-year-old, and that's a little treat for dessert.

Nobody should ever deny a child ice cream in the summer. You don't have to eat it by the bucket-full. But while on that self-same grocery expedition I mentioned above, I found a 4-litre container of No Name ice milk for $4.99. I couldn't get a 2 litre of Breyer's for that!

And that's my next point: go No Name whenever you can. This is especially true when you're trying to make up your quota of nuts and vegetables. In fact, to stock up on almonds, stay out of the produce section and hit the baking section. The assortment of affordable whole nuts is fantastic, and a single large bag of No Name brand almonds runs about $15. That's enough for nearly three months!

Hitting the frozen foods, I've found that No Name veggies and berries are a real lifesaver too. The vegetables run often several dollars less than major name brands, and the frozen berries were actually half the price. They're berries and vegetables...it's not like No Name skimps on the recipe used to package them. Plus, they're flash-frozen now. Modern freezing methods leave almost all of the nutrients intact, making these choices much more affordable than fresh vegetables and fruit. While it's nice to get fresh when you can afford it, going frozen, and generic, when you can't is a great way to ensure you're getting proper nutrition without worrying about the budget.

Fruits should be purchased in season whenever possible. Right now, with early summer in full swing, berries are going for ridiculously low prices. The California crops are coming in like mad, which means a pound of strawberries can go for less than $1.50! This will continue all summer as the crops from BC and Ontario start coming as well. A good deal is a good deal...but even better, if you can't go through that many in a week, just add your leftovers to your bag of frozen berries before they start to turn mushy. You may not have to buy a new bag until Christmas!

But don't always assume generic is the best deal. Every once in a while grocery stores have major brand sales (often sell-offs to reduce or replace stock), so keep an eye on the actual prices. If a brick of cheddar normally runs $7 or more for even the generic brand, and the name brand is on sale for $4.99, it's obviously a better deal. And fortunately most of these sales happen on weekends.

Using a little common sense can go a long way when it comes to shopping cheap--and living fierce--on a budget. Don't toss your flyers, don't ignore coupons, and whatever you do DON'T buy something you never buy just because it's on sale! Doing this last one can really tax your budget. Stick with what you know, and go for the goods that are going to deliver what you need. Buying cheap with starches isn't a good deal if there's no nutritional value, so focus in on things that are going to sustain you longer, rather than necessarily what will sock you up cheaper this week.

And finally, hit the bulk store. While mixtures there are a little uncertain (with no nutritional labels, you don't really know what's in them), bags of nuts, whole grains, seeds and spices can be had for next to nothing when compared with packaged offerings from the grocery store. They don't tend to go bad or stale either, so you can get a lot of distance out of bulk shopping. They even usually have whey protein powder...but not flavoured, and you don't really know what the source or profile is. You can use it as an additive, however, to boost the protein content of other things (like baking). If you've never been to a bulk store, go check one out. You'll be surprised at what's available, and well within your budget.

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Watch Your Portions

If you ever put any time into reading labels on food, you'll know that there's a lot of valuable information there when it comes to sorting out how that food fits with your nutritional plan. However, there are some very deceptive practices that I find a bit underhanded.

For example, most cereals list Carbohydrates, but under that heading they display only fibre and sugar. If the total fibre and sugar doesn't match the total grams of carbs, whatever is left over is starch. Your body treats starch the same as sugar. So add that number to the sugar grams to get a real perspective on how much sugar is in your cereal. It's often much higher than you thought.

There's a tradeoff, of course. But I use this guideline: if the total of sugar + starch is more than the total fibre, I don't buy it. There may be lower sugar, but if once you add the starch the number gets up there, it isn't worth the simple carbs just to get some fibre. Eat regular oatmeal instead.

Portioning is the biggest deception on food labels. Every food label is listed according to a serving size, but experience shows that almost nobody follows that serving size. For example, a popular "no fat" cooking spray is allowed to say it contains no fat at all. However, the serving size on which that is judged is "1/3 Second Spray."

Ever coated a pan with this stuff? Did it really take only a third of a second? No, probably more like 3 seconds. And in that 3-second serving, there's fat. Plenty of it...and not the healthy kind either.

Cereal is another great culprit for this. Most cereals will give you a serving size of anywhere from 1/2 a cup to 1 cup. A cup of cereal is not a lot. So, chances are you're getting a lot more sugar and starch than you thought you were.

Do this: pour yourself a bowl of your regular cereal (no milk yet). Next, pour some more cereal into a 1-cup measure. Then pour your bowl of cereal into a big measuring cup and see how much you normally eat. I'm betting it's a lot more. Multiply the nutritional profile on the label by that serving size, and see what you get.

Then go back to bacon and eggs.

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Review: 7 Minute Diet

Jon Benson, creator of the extremely popular (and truly effective) "7 Minute Muscle," has just started pushing a new info product called "The 7 Minute Diet." Figuring this product would have the same value, I decided to check it out.

After all, it came in a recommendation from Joel Marion.

I was disappointed. Very disappointed.

The sales video makes it sound like Jon has "discovered" these extraordinary metabolic "switches" that instantly and effectively burn calories--and by extension fat--simply by adding a few little tricks to your daily diet. When an author says "I've uncovered blah blah blah," the way Joel Marion does with his hormone-based eating plans, you expect you're going to read something remarkable and new.

In the video, Jon reveals one of these switches: Drinking a big glass of ice water right when you get up in the morning. OK, that's not a revelation. Mens Health reported years ago that a glass of cold water revs up your metabolism, and Eben Pagan advocates hydrating first thing in the morning as well.

But, I thought, maybe that's just an example he's using in the video because it's such common knowledge. Well, here's what you get:

First, when you buy the product ($47 US), you immediately get hit with two more upsell videos. That's annoying enough. When the price is pushing $50, hitting a double upsell before delivery is just obnoxious. I'm sure most online shoppers can't be bothered with making multiple purchases in this price range. I can't say for sure what the upsell pricing was, because I skipped both videos.

On finally gaining access, I was supremely disappointed. There are four downloadable files: 7 Minute Diet e-book, a "Cheat Sheet," a "Checklist," and a bonus called "13 Fat-Burning Killers." You also get a special bonus, "5 Foods that Kill Fat."

Sounds like a good package, right? Unfortunately it's not. Not by a long shot. What you really get is an e-book that contains no new information at all. In fact, the 21 "triggers" he describes in the book are all common knowledge. That knowledge is available freely all over the web, and I've seen every one of them mentioned in Mens Health over the past decade (in fact, HERE is a list of 15, all included in some form in Benson's book).

So, if he "discovered" these metabolic switches, he did so by pulling a few magazines off the rack at his local grocery store. No extraordinary research involved whatsoever.

To disguise this garbage as a valuable product, the book is expanded to 76 pages of mostly filler about some observations and case studies, and the science behind why these triggers work on your metabolism. Interesting, but truly not necessary.

The bonuses are even less valuable. The "Cheat Sheet" is exactly the same list condensed to 6 pages. I'm not sure what purpose is served in this. This one list could easily replace the entire content of the rest of the package and be given away for free, since the information you actually need is contained here. The "Checklist" that's included, presumably to track your progress at including these things in your routine, is once again just a list...this time with no information. I'm not sure why this is necessary either. You could take the "Cheat Sheet" and check off the items yourself.

The other included book, "13 Fat-Burning Killers," is another exercise in obvious. It's a list of things that are bad for you, like High-Fructose Corn Syrup and lack of sleep. Big duh! This content is so readily available online, I'm pretty sure the only reason it's packaged this way is because if he put it up on a blog Google would penallize him for content spamming with unoriginal or recycled content.

The surprise bonus, "5 Foods That Kill Fat (and 2 Foods to STOP Eating)" is once again so plain in its content that it really has no purpose being a bonus. This list is comprised of the bleedingly obvious: eat eggs, grass-fed beef, avocados, nuts and berries. Shocker! Oh, and avoid soy and most grains (at least in the quantities most people cram in their gullet). As a matter of fact, this info all goes back at least as far as The Abs Diet, and we know that David Zinkzenko built that program from research previously published in Mens Health. So what's the big "discovery?"

So that's what you get for fifty bucks. You get Vince Delmonte's blog. Seriously, I hate to use the term "ripoff," but there isn't a better way to describe this particular product. There is absolutely nothing about this product that makes it worth buying, and to charge $47 for it is just shameful. It's pure marketing with no value. I do recommend 7 Minute Muscle. But this "diet" is no diet at all. Don't waste your money...no matter which JV partner emails you with personal recommendation.

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How about a Prograde "fitness profile?"

So glad you asked :)

A few posts ago, I discussed the "perfect health profile" one might pursue using Prograde products. This included what I consider to be the three essential nutrient profiles for a baseline of good, sustained health:

• VGF 25+ (multivitamin and mineral);
• EFA Icon (krill oil based essential fatty acids), and
• Longevity (proprietary antioxidant blend).

This combination is available in a combo pack, and is really the least anybody should be thinking about if looking out for their overall health and wellbeing.

Today, I want to just quickly recommend three essential products for fitness. These products have highly specific functions, and I don't want to give the impression that absolutely everybody should use them. These are sports supplements, so unless you're actively working out--especially with strength and weight training--you should leave them alone.

The first essential component of any good sports supplementation program is protein. Protein derived from whey has been proven to be the most effective and most bioavailable form of protein for many reasons, not least of which is its involvement in the creation of Growth Hormone in the body. Rather than using GH supplementation, many professionals recommend using whey protein to fuel the body's own production of this muscle-building hormone (it's also a more natural process).

Prograde's protein is sweetened with stevia, a natural plant-derived sweetener that has no calories, no insulin response, and leaves no chemical residue or trace in the body. This is in stark contrast to artificial sweeteners like aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose, all of which have been shown to produce highly toxic effects on the body.

Whey protein is absorbed very quickly, and goes to work in muscle repair almost immediately. Other proteins, like the casein in milk, tend to work over a more protracted period. This is why some experts recommend taking a whey protein shake with milk before bed on heavy lifting days. The two work together overnight to help build your muscles while you sleep.

(*Note that other experts have found this process will interrupt your sleep as well, so bear that in mind if you find you can't sleep. It's because the ingestion of protein and sugar, as found in the milk, gives you more energy, making it harder to sleep restfully. Try it and see what works for you.)

The second essential product is a recovery drink. While protein is good, and we do want to avoid a high-sugar diet, the fact of the matter is that research has proven time and again what happens if you don't help your body replenish its supplies of available sugar.

You start burning muscle for energy. Yikes!

Prograde Workout contains both protein and simple sugars to help counteract the the potentially damaging effects of post-workout glycolysis. The glycogen cycle is a critical phase in muscle recovery, and feeding it properly is only a smart move. I've found that a serving of Workout before working out helps fuel my workouts, while a serving after really does make a big difference in how fast I get my energy back.

The third component for a fitness program is sort of optional. It's really most important for those looking to burn more fat. It's called Metabolism, and it's specially formulated to increase metabolic burn. Now, this stuff does contain caffeine, so if you have a heart condition or trouble sleeping you don't want to use it. But if you're otherwise OK (please check with your doctor beforehand, just to be sure), it really does help to accelerate fat loss. It's not unlike other products (Absolute Lean Team, Hydroxycut, etc.), but I will say that I've personally found it to be more effective. I also didn't get any twitchiness like I did with Hydroxycut. That stuff made me jittery!

So, the basic fitness/fat-loss trio I recommend is:

• Prograde Protein
• Prograde Workout
• Prograde Metabolism

Yes, there is a combo pack, but it doesn't include metabolism. If you go to the combo packs page, you can get Protein and Workout as a pack. Then just visit the Metabolism page to buy it separately. And remember, before you do any of it, check with your doctor. This is especially important if you're over 35, but it really does go for anybody.

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My Best Breakfast (shake)

Anyone familiar with Eben Pagan's "Wake Up Productive" knows that he recommends morning rituals as a great way to get yourself into the mode of functioning at your peak for the day. Two of his best pieces of advice when it comes to the morning ritual are to drink water and to have a power breakfast that works for you.

Well, I got into the habit of doing both. Actually, by pure coincidence, Eben mentions a breakfast shake made with berries and protein powder. This is something I started doing a long time ago, as it's a great day-after-your-workout breakfast that contains a lot of protein and plenty of energy to get you started first thing in the morning.

Before I get into that, I will give him props for the water recommendation. He suggests gulping down a half litre of water (that's one bottle) as soon as you get up. Now, a lot of people cringe at that idea, but think about it: you just spent eight hours without a drop of water. Do you really think you're not at least a little bit dehydrated?

Now think about this: If you've ever smoked (and I know whereof I speak on this one), the first puff of a cigarette is like going through hell. But we stick with it until we're good and addicted, right? Even though we know it's bad for us, right? Of course. So why is it that chugging back a little water first thing in the morning is so repulsive? Yes, you'll feel a bit oogy the first few times you do it, but is that really a reason to give up? You know it's good for you, right?

So why stick with the bad thing until you get used to it, but you let the good thing go? We humans are stupid sometimes. But I'll tell you from experience, once you get past the honeymoon phase that first big drink of water in the morning will make you feel like a million bucks!

OK...on to the best breakfast shake EVER!

I start by buying equal-sized bags of ground flax seed, oat bran and wheat germ. This is my "grain blend." Mix them all up together in a giant Ziplock bag and keep it in the fridge.

Now, the actual recipe. Use a quarter to half cup of frozen berries (real accurate measurements here, folks). Top with a tablespoon of that grain blend. Pour in about 200 ml each of milk and unsweetened almond milk (adds fibre and flavour without adding sugar!). Top with a serving of your favourite protein powder (for this, I prefer vanilla or orange...chocolate with berries just tastes weird to me. Some brands also carry strawberry). Blend the bejeezus out of it until it's smooth, and there you have it: one perfect breakfast for the active male.

You can play with this a bit too. I like the frozen berries because they thicken the shake quite a bit. I use a hand blender to do this in a cup, but of course you can use a blender. I just like this setup because it's a single serving, and you drink it right from the thing you mix it in.

You know, us guys and dishes. If I could eat my pork chops right out of the frying pan without burning my lap when I sit in front of the TV I would!

Enjoy!

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Is there a Prograde "perfect health profile?"

Is there a Prograde “perfect health profile?”

Possibly. We all know that supplements come and go, and sometimes it's a little perplexing to the average user. So I thought I'd take a look at some of the “essential” supplements Prograde offers, and see if it's possible to put together a profile that makes sense for most people.

First of all, I'm going to add in sports nutrition later. What I want to lay out is a simple supplement profile that should form the baseline for supplementation on a daily basis. From that point, you can build up other supplements as needed to complement your workouts and help you derive the greatest benefit from your nutritional program.

Of crucial significance here is this: only food is food. Having said that, a few simple tips should keep you on the right path.

1. Go organic whenever you can. Some supplements help with free radical recovery and mitigating toxin damage, but that's no reason to start with a poisonous system and fight it back. Starting with a healthy system saves you a lot of energy.
2. If you can't always go organic (let's face it...it's expensive!), was your food thoroughly.
3. Vegetables and fruits are your friends. Love them.
4. Cut out starches like breads, pastas, most cereals, and even the usual overdose of potatoes. These are just sugar in disguise, and most are completely unnecessary.
5. Reduce or eliminate sugar as much as possible. It's hardly necessary in most things, and it's the major cause of all this obesity; not to mention all the damage it does to the rest of your system, overtaxing your poor pancreas and making you tired from just being alive.

OK, so what does a basic supplement profile look like anyway?

To begin with, much of our environmental damage has to do with stripping nutrients from soil through over-farming without applying simple strategies like crop rotation. To counteract this, as well as to make up for general deficiencies in our regular diet, a multivitamin and mineral supplement is necessary.

Some experts argue this, and there is evidence on both sides of the discussion. However, I've found that simply adding this supplement to my routine has a marked effect on my energy levels and general sense of wellbeing. So, I say take it.

The amounts will vary depending on how you use your energy. However, following the directions on the bottle will generally give you what you need.

Next, since we've gone the way of toxic beef and nutrient deficient fish products, it's often very difficult for people to get the fatty acids they need to function at their peak. What's more, standard fish oil formulations can be rancid, procured from low-quality farmed stocks, or procured from endagered fish species like Atlantic cod. Cod liver oil used to be the gold standard, but cod stocks are dangerously low. Halibut liver oil is a reasonable alternative, but even there fishing practices are not conservation minded, and the practice of catching everything that swims and throwing away the dead carcasses of commercially unimportant fish is playing havoc with fisheries and ecosystems alike.

A virtually untapped resource—krill oil—is proving to be both ecologically more stable, vastly underfished, and surprisingly superior to all these other seafood sources. In fact, in recent studies it has proven to deliver far more of the essential fatty acids and other components we need than any other source we know of. And it's much cheaper to produce, keeps better, and is nowhere near the verge of extinction.

Plus, it's so far down the food chain that concentrations of environmental toxins are virtually untraceable. This is in stark contrast to predator fish (like cod and halibut), which have concentrated those toxins consumed over many levels of the food chain. Guess where those toxins end up.

In the liver. The same liver we get the oil from. Yuck!

The third essential supplement is an antioxidant. Antioxidants fight free radical damage in the body. Free radicals not only create signs of aging, but are known to be precursors to tumors and cancers that can obviously be more than a little harmful.

Many foods (including krill oil, incidentally) contain compounds that fight off these free radicals and restore systemic equilibrium. These include dark berries (blueberries are among the most powerful), fruits, and dark green vegetables. The most potent antioxidants in recent use include some pretty exotic discoveries, like acai berry, goji berry, noni fruit, pomegranate and coffee berry.

But that doesn't mean you have to go searching for these fruits. In fact, grapes (especially their seeds—thus the popularity of grapeseed extract) are high in antioxidants. So is green tea. So is red wine.

I don't like wine or green tea. There...I said it. But I do eat a lot of fruit. A simple solution for the average diet is to buy fresh berries when they're available, or frozen ones when fresh is out of season. Frozen berries are just as nutritious as fresh berries, and they last a lot longer. But of course, they do go mushy as soon as they thaw, so they're most useful as an ingredient. I like mine in smoothies or added to oatmeal.

To supplement food-based antioxidants, which in fact may be greatly reduced due to non-organic and GMO farming practices, a good antioxidant blend like that found in Prograde's Longevity forumla is a good addition. This particular product has ORAC values (oxygen radical absorption capacity) far in excess of standard sources.

For example, while the highest ratings go to astaxanthin and lycopene (ORAC 51 and 58 respectively), the incredient combination in Longevity scores a mind-blowing 3,646! That's the highest ORAC rating available in any source or supplement.

So, there you have it. If you want a baseline nutritional profile for some simple supplementation, three products will set you up for maximum health, energy, and wellbeing:

• VGF 25+ (multivitamin and mineral)
• EFA Icon (krill oil derived essential fatty acids)
• Longevity (proprietary antioxidant blend)

The beautiful thing about this combination is that it's available from Prograde as a combo pack! Simply visit THIS PAGE and scroll down to the “Total Wellness Package.” Select your package for men or women (VGF 25+ is available in either, for maximum effectiveness), and you save $40 off the price of the separate products.

In my next post, I'll set up a sports and workout supplement profile as well, so you can see where all those complicated supplements should fit into a good workout program. And once that's done, we'll have another look at actually scheduling these things around meals, workouts, and all those other pesky daily habits (like, you know, being a dad).

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