Diet | Lincoln Nebraska Boot Camp Workouts, Weight Loss for Ladies Only, ELS Boot Camp, Ed Scow

Archive for diet

Change Your Perspective And Change Your Figure

Posted by: The Fit Dad | Comments (2)

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Just a quickie for you today.

Having just said that, I realize that it’s very difficult for me to write a “quick” article. I say they’ll be quick, but they end up being…not too quick. Hopefully I stick with the “quick” mindset.

I guess I better get on with it, huh?

I want to ask you a question.

Are you ready for it?

I know that was a question, but it wasn’t the question I wanted to ask.

What did you eat this weekend?

I don’t just mean for dinner – I mean EVERYTHING. What did you eat?

Not only that, but what did you drink?

Okay, that’s 2 questions, but they’re essentially the same.

If you need to sit and think for a bit, that’s fine. I want you to think about everything you ate or drank over the weekend.

What feelings does that food bring up?

Did the food make you feel good? Did it make you feel good AFTER eating it or did it make you feel bloated, “heavy” and with thoughts of “Why did I eat that?”

If the answer is more the latter, than the former…why?

If what you ate and drank over the weekend made you feel like crap and will eventually lead you to either gaining weight or maintaining your current weight, why did you do it?

If it made you feel like crap, did you tell yourself you wouldn’t do it again?

Did you feel bad after eating/drinking what you did?

If you did, that’s the wrong feeling you should be having.

Food is meant to not only provide you with fuel, but it should be something you enjoy and if you feel bad about what you ate, how much you ate and how often you ate, then you’re thinking about things incorrectly.

Yes, I said “thinking” and not “doing.”

What do I mean? Read More→

Categories : Boot Camp, Nutrition

Comments (2)

A Superfood And A Super Easy Dinner Recipe!

Posted by: The Fit Dad | Comments (2)

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Last year I discovered a Superfood called Kefir. It is an ancient, fermented probiotic milk drink. Kefir has a unique, tangy taste (some say it tastes horrible by itself) and is mildly self carbonated and is said to stimulate the immune system, enhance lactose digestion and inhibit bacteria including those that cause ulcers.

We like to use plain Kefir in place of yogurt in our morning smoothies. There are also flavored varieties that would be easy to quickly pour and enjoy! I have bought the strawberry before and added it in with Maren’s milk. She thought that I had bought the real (sugary) strawberry milk! I have found Kefir at every local health food store and grocer.

Now for a Super easy meal.

I love it when I get creative with a meal and it ACTUALLY tastes good! A SUPER quick and easy dinner that we like is Basil Pesto Chicken served over spinach.

I have never measured this out – I just pour and throw in ingredients till I have enough for the Pesto, but here are measurements from a recipe I base mine on (3/4 c pesto total):
¼ c olive oil
½ c chopped walnuts or pine nuts
2 c firmly packed fresh basil leaves ( I use dried from the spice isle, probably 2 TBS)
½ c grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
black pepper to taste

If using fresh pesto: place all ingredients in food processor and blend until nearly smooth. I use dried and just mix it all together in sautee pan.

Bake the amount of chicken you need as you normally would and shred it. Or, pick up a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. I have found they are easiest to shred when still warm. Always throw out the skin if using a rotisserie chicken.

Throw chicken in with pesto and heat through.

Serve over baby spinach. Heating the spinach a bit with some olive oil makes it really tasty. Heat it just a minute or two, not enough to where is breaks down.

Baked sweet potatoes go nicely with this meal. We usually split a medium size one, add some real butter with a sprinkle of cinnamon. When you add cinnamon to foods, it sweetens them without adding the sugar! Besides it is said to help control blood sugars. Super Sweet!!

Oh my, I think Ed’s Superhero style is rubbing off on me! Better get that under control

Till next week!

The Fit Mom

Categories : Fit Mom's Corner, Nutrition

Comments (2)

3 Healthy, Fat Fighting Recipes…And 197 More!

Posted by: The Fit Dad | Comments (2)

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

“Ed, I need a meal plan. I don’t know what the heck I’m supposed to eat…help me out!”

“Can you please give me a meal plan and some recipes to help me lose fat?”

“Yo Ed! My eating is out of whack…can you help me out by giving me a meal plan?”

That’s just a small sample of the emails I receive on a weekly basis asking for meal plans and recipes and that’s not including the questions I receive from my training clients and boot campers.

Because of all those questions I thought I should hook you up with a few awesome recipes that are healthy, easy to make and will help you lose fat.

Crunchy Oatmeal: Roughly 290 calories.

1-Cup Oatmeal
2 tsp honey
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 TBS slivered almonds

Instructions:

Cook the oatmeal and then mix everything else in for a warm, sweet and delicious breakfast.

Egg Burrito: Roughly 400 calories

¾ Cup Egg Whites
1 ½ oz. low fat cheese
1 Cup broccoli (chopped)
1 Whole Wheat, Low Carb Tortilla
½ Cup Pineapple
Sliced Bell Pepper
Chopped onion – not much, just a bit for taste and if you don’t like onion, don’t include it.

Instructions:

Scramble the eggs with the vegetables, then add the mixture and cheese to the tortilla. Add salsa for extra flavor.

BBQ Chicken Flat Bread Pizza: Roughly 450 calories

3 oz. Grilled Chicken Breast, Diced
3 tbsp. Barbecue Sauce
¼ Cup Lowfat Shredded Cheese
½ Sliced Bell Pepper
½ Cup Mushrooms, Sliced
1 slice flat bread (lavash)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400. Place flatbread on baking sheet. Spread barbecue sauce on flatbread, top with chicken (should already be grilled), pepper, mushrooms, and cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and melted.

Truth be told, I’m not much of a chef.

Actually, I hate cooking.

I’m lucky that I have a beautiful and drop-dead sexy wife who enjoys cooking (score some brownie points for me!).

I’m also lucky that I’ve got some awesome friends at Prograde Nutrition who have done even more of the heavy lifting for me in creating a bunch of “done-for-you” recipes.

To be more precise, they’ve come up with 197 healthy, fat fighting recipes.

I don’t promote other products very often, but when I find something that fits my ideals, I promote it with all my heart and anything Prograde does gets my stamp of approval.

The best part about the “197 Healthy and Delicious Fat Burning Recipes” eBook is that it only costs $4.95!

I can’t tell you how much I’ve (more precisely my wife) has spent on cookbooks. We have cupboards FULL of cookbooks and none of them come close to being entirely full of healthy recipes and I know for certain none of them were this inexpensive.

If you value healthy eating and need ideas on what to cook, you need to grab this eBook.

To get your hands on this awesome recipe book, head to www.FitDadNutrition.com/ProgradeRecipeBook.html

Have an awesome day!

And remember…

…Be A Superhero Today!

Talk to you soon,

P.S. – The 197 Healthy And Delicious Fat Burning Recipes” is a killer product and it’s ridiculously priced at only $4.95. You NEED to get this thing. When was the last time you found that many healthy recipes in one place for such a crazy price?

Head to www.FitDadNutrition.com/ProgradeRecipeBook.html to grab your copy today!

And in case you’re wondering I do make money if you buy it…like $1.20 or something like that. Big money baby!

Categories : Nutrition

Comments (2)

April “L Magazine” Column

Posted by: The Fit Dad | Comments (1)

Friday, March 26th, 2010

One of my all-time favorite movies is “The Ten Commandments.” Seeing Charlton Heston play Moses is a very moving experience.

My homeboy Moses

I’m lying.

I’ve never seen the movie and come to think of it, I haven’t seen a Heston film. The most I know about it is that it’s looooong.

The reason I mention the movie is because I’ve come up with a list of my own Ten Commandments.

I hiked my butt up my very own Mt. Sinai (the second floor of my house), and came down with these Fitness Commandments to share with you.

1. Thou shalt add good stuff, while subtracting bad stuff.

This one is easy. We eat poorly and don’t exercise enough. Add more good stuff and subtract the bad stuff.

It really is that simple.

2. Thou shalt keep it in and tight.

I’m referring to your stomach. Your stomach muscles are weak and it shows in the way you sit, stand and move. Always be mindful of your stomach muscles.

I’m not asking you to suck your gut in like someone is taking a picture of you in your bathing suit, rather think of it as keeping your posture in check. Sit or stand up straight and pull or “brace” your stomach.

Keeping it "In and Tight" will help you strengthen and flatten your stomach

You also need to do Planks more often – any of the variations…just do them.

3. Thou shalt not partake in magic pills or potions.

Moses threw a hissy fit when he came down the mountain and saw people worshipping a golden calf.

I throw a hissy fit whenever someone tells me they’re taking a diet pill, or other “wonder supplement” that comes from the farthest reaches of the earth.

Supplements have their value – I take them every day – but any pill whose marketing tells you it’s the easiest way to lose weight is lying. To learn more about the supplements I take, click here.

At best, it’s an expensive diuretic and leaves you with less money.

Deep down you know the truth, so listen to your gut and don’t do it.

4. Thou shalt sleep.

Sleep is probably the most underrated aspect of health (and weight loss). You NEED to sleep more. Your body does some pretty amazing things while you’re sleeping, and the less you get, the more you screw it up.

Besides, the Late Late Show isn’t that great and you’ve already seen all the Seinfeld reruns.

5. Thou shalt move…often.

As a society, we sit way too much. We sit in our car. We sit at a desk. We sit on the couch. We sit at a table. Sit, sit, sit.

Get off your butt and move around once an hour, preferably every 30 minutes. Stretch, go for a quick walk, do some push-ups and squats…just do something.

Just like Moses had 2 tablets, I have to cover the remaining Commandments in next month’s issue, so stay tuned lest I go in a Moses-style rage and break the second tablet.

Categories : Boot Camp, Local Flair

Comments (1)

January 2010 L Magazine Article

Posted by: The Fit Dad | Comments (0)

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Here’s the article I ran in the January 2010 issue of L Magazine…

What’s the old saying? Rules are made to be broken? I like that wise old adage. In fact, I can remember breaking many a rule many years ago (and I’m sure you can too!).

Weight loss has some “rules” as well. I don’t like some of these rules and I’m sure you don’t either so let’s break a few. Scratch that, let’s smash these rules into teeny tiny bits so they’re never allowed to return and mess with your head.

By the way this list is for ladies only. Sorry fellas.

The first rule to be smashed is that you need to weigh yourself…ever.

I hate scales. All they do is make you depressed. Some days it doesn’t budge, others it moves down a couple pounds and still others it jumps a couple pounds.

But the reason I included this rule is because it really misses the mark in determining whether or not you’re succeeding with your program.

What do you really want? For instance, if I told you your waist would shrink by 4 inches but the scale wouldn’t budge would you care?

Absolutely not! All you care about is what you look like, and more specifically what you look like naked while standing in front of a full-length mirror.

The second rule that should be smashed to smithereens is cardio is the best way to lose weight and get in shape.

It’s not.

The way most ladies do cardio takes too long and is incredibly boring plus your body gets used to it quickly and stops making progress.

If burning calories is the way you mark a good workout, you should know that you can burn just as many calories with a good resistance training workout as you can with cardio. If it’s an awesome resistance training workout, you’ll burn a ton of calories during the workout AND for hours after you’ve completed the workout.

The catch is that you have to have the right program and you have to work the workout. You can’t go through the motions and expect to see results.

Please don’t misunderstand. Cardio can work and if you’d like to run for over an hour a day, be my guest. But I’d rather give you a way to burn just as much, if not more fat in a fraction of the time and save your joints in the process.

The final rule to smash is resting. I’m not a big fan of resting if your goal is weight loss.

This rule has always seemed a bit silly to me. Do an exercise, then rest. Do it again, then rest, etc.

Boring!

Let’s say I give you 3 exercises – Push-ups, Lunges and Burpees. Do them one after the other for 5-7 minutes. Then pick another group of 3 “big” exercises and repeat.

You’ve worked your entire body, you’re sweating and breathing heavy (just like cardio) and you’ll feel awesome.

It’s not as boring and you’ll be done much quicker.

See, it’s okay to break some rules of weight loss. As a matter of fact, I highly encourage it!

If you have any questions or comments, let me know!

Talk to you soon,

Categories : Boot Camp, Local Flair

Comments (0)