Tag: Food & Nutrition

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Shakeology Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter Recipe

Posted on October 26, 2013by admin

I’ve been drinking Shakeology for around 6 months now and I’ve tried a few different recipes. However, today I found a pretty good combination and the peanut butter made it.

Chocolate Shakeology, Coconut, Banana Shake

Chocolate Shakeology, Coconut, Banana Shake

Chocolate Banana Coconut Peanut Butter Shakeology

  • 1 Scoop or 1 packet of Chocolate Shakeology – 160 calories
  • 1 Medium Dole organic Banana – 100 calories
  • 12oz of cold water
  • 1 cup of ice cubes
  • 1Tbsp – Earth Balance Coconut & Peanut Spread – 95 calories
  • Put into a blender until desired consistency
  • Total of 355 Calories

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Travel, Workouts & Food

Posted on October 25, 2013by admin

This week has been a whirl wind in regards to travel and eating on the road. I flew into Boston, MA on Monday night and few out Wednesday night. However, I was able to maintain my workout schedule this week but the travel did play a role in workouts that I felt were not optimal.

Monday, October 21 – Abs, Pure Cardio and Chest/Triceps – I felt really good after this workout Monday morning, total time spent working out was around 1.5 hours. However, I think I pushed myself a little to hard and that combined with travel put a toll on my body.

Tuesday, October 22 – Typically this is a running/cardio day. I wasn’t really feeling it but I was able to get a 2 mile treadmill run in at the hotel.

Wednesday, October 23 – Abs, Back & Biceps. I hit the hotel gym at 5:30am and was able to get my back/biceps workout in. However, much like Tuesday I was dragging and I felt like it wasn’t an optimal workout.

Thursday, October 24 – I took the day off.

During the course of the travel week I maintained my weight at 195.8lbs and stuck with eating Egg Whites, Oatmeal,  Grilled chicken, Salmon, vegetables, and Rise Bars. The hotel actually had a pretty decent restaurant that I ate Salmon at twice, I always ask for a custom meal without additional sauces etc. The biggest challenge I found was eating at the Washington DC National Airport, the terminal I was in had lack luster options so I settled on a Chicken sandwich from Fuddruckers for dinner.

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Breakfast – Hyatt Place Pittsburgh North Shore

Posted on October 16, 2013by admin

Short post today, I like to record the food I eat and be as accurate as possible. Today, I was pleasantly surprised at the attitude and willingness the staff at Hyatt Place North Shore in Pittsburgh had when I asked them what type of OatMeal they used on their breakfast buffet. The gentleman went and got the canister, for those interested this specific Hyatt Place uses McCann’s Irish Steel Cut 30 minute oatmeal.

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Food, The Presidents Cup & Working Out

Posted on October 5, 2013by admin

Ryan's Fitbit Flex

Ryan’s Fitbit Flex

I took both Thursday and Friday off from working out. I still managed to get my daily steps in using my Fitbit Flex at the Presidents Cup here in Dublin, Ohio. I walked about 6 miles total, between the shuttle parking, the drop off at the main gate and then going up and down the fairways watching the golf.

The professional golfers are pretty damn good to watch in person. I suggest if you get the chance, even if you don’t like golf you should try and attend a professional golf event at some-point in your life.

The food choices were your typical bar type food they had Burgers, HotDogs, PB&J Sandwiches, Soft Pretzels, Ice Cream and Beer inside the gates. At the main gate they had local restaurants catering in food. However, none of the options really fit into my current eating routine and I forgot to bring a protein bar which set the afternoon into a small down hill spiral.

Later in the evening after having a 8oz Sirloin, Baked Potato and some Broccoli I managed to get my Abs, Leg and Shoulder working out completed (typically I do this workout on Fridays) and it felt good to workout. I’m trying to decide if I want to go for a run on Sunday, it’s supposed to rain and my left knee is bothering me a little.

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The Friday Workout

Posted on October 5, 2013by admin

It’s Friday and I’m fresh off a plane from the weeks travel to New York and feeling like I need some more coffee. Today is generally my Shoulder/Leg Dumbbell and Abs routine, but I decided because of my cold to take another day off. I did however managed to walk about 6 miles, so the day wasn’t lost from an exercise perspective.

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Rise Bar Crunchy Carob Chip Protein Bar

Posted on October 3, 2013by admin

Crunchy Carob Chip Nutrition

Crunchy Carob Chip Protein Bar

I’m always looking for a protein bar that packs a nice balanced ratio of protein, carbs and calories for my morning or afternoon snack and I recently found Rise Bars at my local Earth Fare store. I’ve been purchasing them by the case from Amazon and going with the Almond Honey flavor, but recently I felt like switching things up and purchased a case of the Crunchy Carob Chip.

The first reason I like the Rise Protein bars is the fact the ingredient list is very minimal, for example the Carob flavor only has Almonds, Agave Carob Powder, Whey Protein Isolate and Crisp Rice. The Almond Honey flavor has only Almonds, Whey Protein Isolate and Honey.

The second reason I like these bars is they have a decent protein/carb/calorie ratio and they taste down right good and they are free of Gluten, Preservatives, GMOs, Soy and Peanuts. There are a good majority of snack bars on the market and most of them are full of ingredients and taste like candy bars, I feel good knowing these bars are high quality and have minimal easy to read ingreidients.

Crunchy Carob Chip Package

If you are looking for something new, check them out at www.risebar.com

 

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Pearl Street Grill & Brewery Buffalo, NY

Posted on October 3, 2013by admin

I stopped at the Pearl Street Grill & Brewery located in Buffalo, NY today for lunch while traveling. It was a really eclectic place with decent food, they had the coolest pulley based ceiling fan system, not to mention the brewery in the back which filled the restaurant with a really great aroma.

Today is a non-workout day, so I got the chicken breasts plain, with steamed green beans and mashed potatoes. I ate about a quarter of the potatoes. All-in-all I would say a successful lunch without consuming too many calories.

If you find yourself in Buffalo, NY check them out. http://pearlstreetgrill.com

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Weight loss Tips

Posted on January 10, 2013by admin

During the course of 2013 I documented my life style change and I lost over 110 pounds in just 12 months with hard work and motivation. I often get asked how did you do it?, What was the trick?. Let me be the first to say there is NO easy button, but if you take this journey and make a life style change the changes will come.

Stick with it, set goals and follow the tips below and you will succeed don’t let the journey become frustrating. Remember its a LONG term goal and life style change that will last the rest of your life. My weight loss tips are below.

Weight Loss Tips —First things first

  • Motivation
  • Fitbit, Samsung Gear, Apple Watch etc
  • Myfitnesspal either on a smart phone or via their website
  • I drink Shakeology on a daily basis
  • Workout program or walking/running program
  • I’ve done three of these programs and I’m currently going through Focus T25. I cannot express how much these programs have helped keep me on track.
  • Beginner Program I suggest Les Mills Pump
  • Intermediate either p90x or Focus 25
  • Advanced I suggest Insanity

I’m suggesting these tools as a gateway to begin.

But first you MUST make that mental shift, be willing and ready to say no and have strength to eat the correct things, again these are just tools to aid you.

I personally used the Fitbit to set goals for myself on a daily basis, for example 10,000 steps. This gave me the motivation to get up and walk around, I found myself parking at the end of parking lots and taking the stairs instead of elevators, these simple changes add up.

Eventually, you will find yourself wanting to beat your previous days metrics, it’s addicting. In 2013 I logged over 1,619 miles on my Fitbit and over 4 million steps, I want to double that for 2014.

Motivation and Goals

  • Think positive, you can do this, negative thoughts will only lead you to become frustrated and quit.
  • Set reasonable goals, if you set unrealistic goals it will result in ultimate failure because you will give up when the changes plateau. Instead, keep your goals short, perhaps to three months and set the goal to be 10 or 15 pounds.
  • Write down your goals, make a 5-10 point bullet list of what you want to achieve over the course of 2014. Post it on your fridge, cork board or put it on your phone. Look at it everyday!
  • Don’t become discouraged by the scale. I often fall victim to this and I ensure you if you keep eating clean and exercise the changes will happen.
  • I cannot stress enough that this portion of your journey is the most important one, diet and exercise is simply a tool to help you succeed.

Food and Diet

  • Once you’ve set your goals, the next change is your eating habits. Eat more fruits, vegetables and meat like salmon, chicken and steak. Remove the breads, cookies, candies, potatoes and rice. As you get closer to your goal(s) slowly add back in rice, sweet potatoes and potatoes. The idea here is to get your carbohydrates from good food sources like fruits and vegetables that are lower in calorie.
  • It’s ok to cheat, have that cookie or piece of candy just ensure it fits in your daily allowance of calories and keep it to a minimum, perhaps 1 or 2 times per week. This was a hard thing for me to learn, if you restrict too much it will ultimately lead to failure and old habits will return.
  • If you are craving sugar eat something sweet but that contains a more natural sweetener, for example I really enjoy rise bars.
  • Don’t drink your calories, cut out the soda (even diet soda) alcohol and other sugar drinks. Just because it says Gatorade or sugar-free on the bottle or can doesn’t mean it’s healthy. However, with that said I’m a huge fan of Shakeology as a replacement for breakfast, lunch or an afternoon snack and I often add protein powders that are low in sugar and carbs to help keep my daily protein intake up.

Exercise

  • Stick with a simple program, specifically if you are starting out. IT WILL be hard at first, modify the routine and do your best. The goal is to keep moving, it will get easier and don’t become discouraged.
  • As you go from a sedentary or low exercise life style to a more active one your body will change, you will have more energy and you’ll start to notice changes happening at a more rapid pace.
  • I can’t stress this enough from my own experience, keep your weight loss around 1-4 pounds per week and make sure you are eating enough protein. Why? As you lose you don’t want to lose muscle but simply want to drop the fat percentage. Eating enough protein will help replenish the muscle, I also suggest a weight routine to help build muscle. Even light weights over time will continue to stimulate and help keep the muscles thriving.
  • Don’t give up when it gets hard and trust me it will! There will be days you want to quit or skip the workout, don’t do it, stick to your plan and finish even if the workout is sub par you still did it.
  • If you burn 300 calories during a workout, you don’t have to eat them back. Weight loss occurs with a calorie deficit.