http://www.thealternativedaily.com/
What if it was possible to stop a hot flash in its tracks, or ease frustration and pain of PMS? The trend of seed cycling is on the rise, but what exactly is it, and is it effective? It involves eating seeds, including flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower at different times in the month to […]
Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/
The front squat is a fantastic alternative to the traditional barbell squat.
In this guide to front squats – part of our Strength 101 series – we’re going to be covering everything you need to know about how to perform the front squat.
Teaching people how to do squats is one of my favorite things about our 1-on-1 online coaching program!
We build workout routines that help people get strong as hell, check their form via video, and even help them get their nutrition dialed in too.
If you’re ready to jump into this guide on front squats, simply click on the sections below to get to the good stuff:
Oh, and if you like this guide, we have an entire Strength 101 Guide that you can download free when you join the Rebellion (our free community).
I’ll send you the ebook when you sign up in the box below!
“Dearest Steve, HOW does a barbell front squat differ from the back squat?”
Great question, gumshoe (can I call you “gumshoe?” Cool).
This section is going to rely heavily on the bible of barbell training, Starting Strength, which I HIGHLY recommend you pick up if you’re serious about your training.
The differences between a barbell back squat and front squat is all due to the location of the bar with regards to the rest of your body.
Because you keep the weight over the middle of your feet in both movements, your body needs to adjust fairly dramatically to do a front squat when compared to a back squat (below photo from Starting Strength):
In a back squat, at the bottom of the squat your back is in a 45 degree angle[1].
However, in a front squat, due to the fact that the weight is in front of you (duh), resting on your shoulders, your torso and back need to be almost completely vertical throughout the movement to keep the weight stable!
In addition, because your back is much more upright, this requires your hips to stay under the bar, your knees to extend out further, and also your ankles to be more activated (photo below from Starting Strength)!
Other differences between a front squat and back squat:
Quads are the dominant muscle that have to do most of the heavy lifting in a front squat. Which means doing both front squats and back squats in your workouts is a great way to build very well developed legs and posterior.
BOOYAH.
The front squat is an exercise that requires quite a bit of mobility, experience, and strength to be able to pull it off correctly.
In addition, it’s important to learn how to bail safely out of a front squat before attempting it with a heavy weight, so it’s a lot more advanced than a traditional back squat.
And if you can’t do a regular bodyweight squat correctly, there’s no way in hell we’re gonna have you start lifting heavy weight with improper form either!
So let’s start with…
LEVEL 1: BODYWEIGHT SQUATS
Here is a video from us nerds at Team Nerd Fitness (with instructions from Jim, lead trainer at our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program) that will teach you good form on a bodyweight squat, including all the mistakes NOT to make:
Once you can do multiple sets of 15+ deep bodyweight squats with proper form, it’s time to level up.
Pulling an exercise from our Gym Workout Level 4 Program, you can do…
LEVEL 2: DUMBBELL GOBLET SQUATS
This is a good exercise to get used to doing squats where the weight is in front of you (like in a front squat) rather than behind you (a back squat).
Once you can do a Goblet Squat with 20 pounds, it’s time to level up to…
LEVEL 3: DUMBBELL FRONT SQUATS
This exercise helps you start to develop improved wrist mobility, develops familiarity around having weight across the tops of your shoulders, and can be scaled with different sized dumbbells.
The best advice I can give you on Dumbbell Front Squats: get those elbows up! This is one of the most important mobility challenges people have when it comes to doing front squats correctly: shoulder and wrist mobility to get the bar locked in the right place!
We have LOTS of 1-on-1 coaching clients who are new to doing front squats, and it often comes down to ankle flexibility and hip mobility in order to do a front squat right.
Once you can do Dumbbell Front Squats with 20 pounds in each hand, it’s time to level up to the major leagues:
Front Squats!
Let’s start setting up for the movement.
#1) Find your squat rack!
It’ll look something like this, with an unattached barbell:
A. Squat Stand:
B. Power Cage/Squat Rack
C. Half Rack (Least favorite*):
*I don’t like Half-racks without adjustable safety bars – if you want to squat deep the barbell might hit the immovable bars! Not cool.
Aim for the A or B options if you have the choice.
HUGE NOTE: a squat rack is NOT the same thing as a Smith Machine, where the barbell is attached to the machine, and slides up and down two bars:
You do NOT want to do front squats in a Smith Machine. Because the bar can’t move horizontally (only vertically), it can put your spine and body in precarious positions and is NOT recommended.
You need a completely unattached barbell in order to do a barbell squat properly and safely.
Friends don’t let friends squat in a Smith Machine.
#2) Next, set the height of the bar to be about the same height as your collarbone.
Not sure how to set the height of the barbell for your front squats? Here’s a video from our Coaching Staff for setting the squat rack, safety bars, and how to properly load weights:
Not sure if you should set the squat rack pins higher or lower? It happens. If your options are either too high or too low, it’s always best to set the pins slightly lower than you need them.
You don’t want to have to get up on your toes to rack/unrack the bar, especially as the weight gets heavier.
Okay, now that we have the bar on the rack and our safety bars in place, we are ready to get started!
THE FRONT SQUAT SETUP[2]
1) Step up to the bar, lift your arms, and place the bar on the meaty top/front of your shoulders resting close to your neck (not AGAINST your neck!)
2) Continue lifting your arms and wrap your hands around until you can use your fingers to keep the bar steady!
Depending on your shoulder and write mobility, you might need to adjust your wrist location on the bar.
This is a traditional front squat grip:
See the image below for WIDE grip (if you have mobility issues or longer than average forearms): 
Most people can not front squat with all of your fingers wrapped around the bar, and instead will let the bar roll against their fingertips (a 2-3 finger grip is okay here).
Your fingers are NOT doing any lifting in a front squat: They are merely there to keep the bar on the tops of your shoulders, and to keep the bar from rolling forward if your elbows start to accidentally drop down.
However, if you keep your chest puffed out (like King Kong about to pound his chest), and your elbows UP UP UP, you shouldn’t have any problem here.
If you can’t get your fingers around the bar, there are a few variations you can start training with (specifically, the cross grip squat, which we cover below).
However, we do NOT recommend doing front squats with heavy weight until you can do them with proper form with your grip properly wrapped around the bar and elbows up.
Okay, you’re now ready to do the actual front squat movement.
THE FRONT SQUAT MOVEMENT:
1) Keep your spine tight, your body vertical, chest out and elbows UP UP UP.
2) Lift the bar off the rack, and take one cautious step backward.
3) Your stance should be with your feet hip-width apart, with your toes pointed SLIGHTLY outward (if you have poor hip mobility or very long legs, you might need to squat with a slightly wider stance, that’s okay).
4) Inhale deep into your belly, flex your stomach, and slowly lower your body until your thighs touch the back of your legs. If you don’t squat deep enough, it’s only a partial squat!
5) Staying vertical, keeping your hips underneath the weight, and keeping those elbows UP HIGH, drive down through your feet and lift the weight back to its starting position.
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A post shared by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) on Feb 26, 2014 at 7:22pm PST
Keeping your elbows as high as possible the entire time is extremely important in the front squat – as soon as you let them drop, the weight will likely pull you forward out of correct positioning, and you will either drop the weight or potentially get injured.
If you can’t do a Front Squat with your arms in the position consider a “cross grip front squat” to START:
Why should you not do front squats with cross grip forever? Because it’s tougher to control the bar at heavier weight without having your hands in a traditional front squat position.
If you’re going to start to lift heavy, you’re gonna need to learn how to fail and bail from a front squat safely.
And it’s very difficult to fail safely while doing a cross grip front squat.
So, sure! Feel free to start with a genie front squat to work on your squat movement, but don’t forget to work on that shoulder and wrist mobility too so you can do front squats properly.
If you are going to squat, you have to know how to “fail” at squatting safely!
This is where practice can REALLY come in handy. Set the safety pins at the right height, and then practice your bail at a safe weight (or with a PVC pipe) so that the movement becomes second nature if things go poorly!
Make sure you watch the video above to learn how to bail safely with a front squat and back squat.
I’ve been front squatting for about a decade, but I’m just one nerd. So I asked the coaches of our Online Coaching Program (with decades of experience between them) what big mistakes they see people make with front squats, both online and in person:
MISTAKE #1) Not staying vertical enough.
If you’ve never done front squats before, it’s a FUNKY maneuver.
You need to keep the weight over the middle of your feet – if you drew a line down from the bar to the floor, it should bisect your feet – which means you need to be significantly more vertical compared to a back squat.
See it in the right image below:
The tendency is to bend forward on a front squat, and this is a recipe for disaster!
SOLUTION: Film a video of yourself doing front squats from the side, and note where the bar is in relation to your feet. Keep your chest puffed out (King Kong!) and elbows up!
MISTAKE #2) Not developing proper shoulder and wrist flexibility.
If we had one more more common problem than the others, it’s that people don’t have the proper shoulder and wrist and arm mobility to be able to grab the bar properly with their fingers.
Although you CAN do a cross-grip front squat, it’s not recommended for heavy weights due to the fact that it’s more difficult to bail from this movement safely.
SOLUTION: Grab the bar wider, or with fewer fingers. Just keep those elbows up!
With each future workout, grab the bar with a slightly closer and closer to your shoulders, or with more fingers.
Develop that mobility!
MISTAKE #3) Not squatting deep enough: ankle and hip mobility.
Most people have poor hip and ankle mobility – it’s from spending all day sitting in desk chairs or cars. This is the most common fault I see in gyms around the world: people doing a barbell squat and only dropping down a few inches and thinking it’s a full squat.
We call this a “power curtsy:”
If you don’t squat deep enough – until the tops of your thighs are parallel or lower, then you’re only doing half a repetition and cheating yourself!
See the difference in depth between a half-rep and a VERY deep front squat below.
You can go deep enough until the tops of your thighs are below parallel, and if you have the mobility and depth, until your hamstrings hit your calves:
SOLUTION: Take a slightly wider stance, and turn your feet out slightly more. This will help you squat deeper to start.
You can also do some ankle mobility drills to improve your ankle flexion!
Lastly, spend more time sitting in a squat!
I try to do up to 30 minutes per day sitting in the bottom of a squat (while watching TV, or while reading a book):
MISTAKE #4) Not learning to bail properly.
If you’re gonna get strong, you’re going to want to lift heavier and heavier things. Sometimes when you lift heavy things, you’re going to fail on that lift.
It’s part of lifting, so you might as well learn to bail correctly NOW! There’s nothing more scary than realizing you’re not gonna hit a lift and being trapped under a bar with no way of getting away from the weight safely!
Practice how to fail and bail so that you can have more confidence to try and succeed.
MISTAKE #5) Pressing the weight against your throat.
When you do a front squat, you have the bar resting across the tops of your shoulders, held in place by your fingers with your elbows up.
However, the bar is also resting precariously close to your throat and your windpipe!
If you happen to get your elbows TOO high, or if you use your fingers to press the bar against your throat too much, you are in danger of restricting your air passage.
Serious injury can occur if you manage to black out in a front squat due to the bar resting against your throat.
If you happen to notice ANYTHING unusual with your vision, breathing, or awareness during a front squat lower the weights onto the safety bars or re-rack the weight and drop to one knee IMMEDIATELY.
Get low to the ground in case you get light headed!
Front squats are an AMAZING exercise, and you should now have everything you need to be able to confidently do front squats with correct form and proper technique.
I’m sure you have a few more questions:
#1) “How do I fit front squats into my workout? Where do they go?”
If you are building your own workout, feel free to alternate each squat workout with either a back squat or a front squat.
I train 4 days per week, and do higher rep back squats on Wednesdays, and then heavier, low rep front squats on Saturdays.
Depending on your situation, you might decide to ONLY do front squats moving forward, or ONLY back squats.
Check with your coach or your personal trainer or whoever is building your program, or experiment yourself!
#2) “How much weight should I lift when doing front squats?”
As we cover in our “how much weight should I lift?” guide, always start with just the bar during your warm-up sets.
And then slowwwwly, over many weeks, can you start to ramp up the weight.
Your goal should be to confidently build strength each week while also improving your form each and every time too.
#3) “Can you build a workout for me that has front squats, Steve?”
We do have a pretty killer 6-Level Gym Workout Program that you can do front squats in.
If you’re looking for a custom-tailored workout program or a supportive community to hang out with and cheer you on, I got a few options for ya:
1) Not sure if you squatted deep enough or if your form sucks? Not sure HOW to train in a gym quite yet? You’re not alone. This is what we do for a living!
If you want an expert to check your front squat form, we have a 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program.
Our coaching app lets you record and send a video of your movement directly to your coach, who will provide specific feedback and build a custom program just for you.
2) Good at following instructions and want a blueprint to follow? Check out our self-paced online course, the Nerd Fitness Academy.
The Academy has 20+ workouts for both bodyweight or weight training, a benchmark test to determine your starting workout, HD demonstrations of every movement, boss battles, meal plans, a questing system, and supportive community.
3) Join our free community, the NF Rebellion! You can download our free Strength 101 Guide, which you can get when you sign up in the box below:
So I have just a few questions for you:
If you have more questions about how to fit front squats into your workout, please leave them in the comments below.
Big or small, what questions do you have on the Front Squat?
-Steve
PS: Here are our other free articles in the Strength 101 Series:
###
PHOTO SOURCES:[3]
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
What the fitness industry often forgets is that a lot of people just don’t want to workout. This is hard to swallow for a bunch of former athletes and type A’s who got into physical training because they love exercising. We want people to feel as excited as we are about crushing a hard workout, learning the kettlebell, or beating your best Fran time.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
Hemp and cauliflower “oats” is a hearty and filling breakfast that has the traditional texture—without the grains. You can modify the recipe dozens of different ways by varying fruits, nuts, seeds, natural sweeteners, milks, and other toppings. While this recipe used full-fat coconut milk and water, you can use dairy milk or another non-dairy alternative you prefer. We also added collagen for an extra protein boost. Find your favorite taste combination, and enjoy this Primalized classic.
Servings: 2
Time in the Kitchen: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Instructions:
In a pot, combine the cauliflower, coconut milk, water, and ground flaxseed and heat over medium heat. Stir occasionally.
Once it starts to bubble (about 3-4 minutes), add the almond butter and give the mixture a stir. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover the pot. Heat for an additional 5 minutes, removing the lid occasionally to stir.
Take half of the pumpkin seeds and pulse them quickly in a grinder, blender or food processor so they are chopped small but not yet in the form of a powder. Pour the pulsed pumpkin seeds in the pot and stir. Cover the pot again for an additional 2-3 minutes.
When you uncover the pot again, add the vanilla extract and hemp hearts. Around this time it should start resembling thin “oats.” If you are adding the Collagen Fuel, any sweeteners, or additions like cinnamon, add them now. Gently stir the oats uncovered over medium-low heat so it is just bubbling until the mixture reaches the consistency of your liking (keep in mind that it will continue to thicken a small amount after it is removed from heat).
(If the mixture seems too thick, you can add a small amount of additional water or coconut milk. If the mixture is still too soupy and thin, you can either try adding ground flaxseed a teaspoon at a time or continue to cook the mixture uncovered until it reaches your desired thickness.)
Pour the “oats” into a glass or bowl and top with raspberries, a sprinkle of hemp hearts, the remaining pumpkin seeds, and any other favorite add-ons you may have!
Nutritional Information (2 servings, per serving):
The post EVO Hemp Cauliflower Oats appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
http://www.thealternativedaily.com/
If you think bad breath a result of something you ate for lunch smells nasty, it’s nothing compared to breath that smells like feces. As gross as it sounds, it happens more frequently than you might think and could be a warning sign of a serious underlying condition. One of these conditions can even cause […]
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
Weight lifting without weights… works?
Exercise fights off Alzheimer’s.
Capping medical resident training hours at 80 per week didn’t hurt patients.
When you train to failure, the load and volume don’t matter.
Now they’re considering a saturated fat tax.
Swapping out dairy fat for plant fat results in a reduction in key nutrients.
Episode 356: Dr. Jason Bussanich: He was a doctor who destroyed his adrenal function and gut health with too much exercise, and got it back by going carnivore.
Episode 357: Jay O’Hare: Host Brad Kearns chats with ultrarunner Jay O’Hare about the anti-inflammatory healing effects of CBD.
Episode 358: Paul Saladino, MD: I sit down with Paul Saladino to talk carnivore.
Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.
New cancer therapies that use your own cells are very promising but extremely expensive.
How to get affordable grass-fed beef.
How Jonathan Geiman reinvented his relationship with food.
Bodybuilder Susan Hoff’s Primal Health Coach success story.
A mom runs a 3:11 marathon while pushing 185 pounds of stroller-bound child.
Would you drink this?
Changes in global meat consumption over the last 50 years.
Whenever you’re in Athens, try this meat place.
Of course “cow cuddling” is real and costs $300 a session.
Podcast I’m remembering: When I went on Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solution to talk Keto Reset.
Video I found interesting: Geoffrey Miller’s take on what the paleo movement gets right and wrong about sexual fitness.
Conspiracy theory I’m enjoying: That the Pentagon weaponized ticks in the 70s and released them into the public.
Does this even taste good?: New Starbucks Tie-Dye frappuccino has 3 days’ worth of sugar.
I guess I knew this, but the video evidence really hammers the point home: Lions are strong.
How would you react to a tax on sources of saturated fat? Remember that this would increase prices of dairy, meat, eggs, and coconut oil.
One year ago (Jul 14 – Jul 20)
“Collagen! I’m 56 and can still jump off of the roof of my house with no ill effects.”
– Unless you’ve got two stories this means nothing, Al Saunders.
The post Weekly Link Love — Edition 38 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/
So you want to start eating healthy…
Amazing!
We’ve helped hundreds of thousands of people like you transform into the best versions of themselves, and we focus on proper nutrition to do so.
Plus, we use fun LEGO photos and gifs to keep you entertained.
In this Ultimate Guide, we’ll cover everything you need to start eating healthy today. These are the exact strategies we teach our 1-on-1 Online Coaching clients, and I’m excited to share them with you:
This guide will tell you everything you need to know about healthy eating, but if you’re looking for virtual hands-on guidance on how to start eating healthy, I got you covered!
Our online coaching program might be the PERFECT fit for you!
It’s really easy to tell people the following advice:
“To lose weight, just eat more REAL food.”
“Just eat less fast food and junk food.”
“Try to eat more organic vegetables watered by unicorn tears, farm-to-table meals served by centaurs, and kale omletes made with eggs from chickens that you raised since birth.”
Okay so maybe people don’t say the last one.
But it’s not far from what healthy people say to people who can’t seem to get healthy.
In my opinion, these positions are completely out of touch with reality and it makes me plum dog mad.
For starters, fast food is crazy delicious and dirt cheap, and often the only way that many busy parents can feed themselves and their kids[1].
Next, applying morality and guilt to food consumption (“I’m being ‘so bad’ by eating this cookie”) creates an emotional rollercoaster – my least favorite kind of roller coaster.
I mean come on, we don’t need to be told that freshly grown fruits and veggies are better for us than junk food.
We don’t need to be told that organic grilled chicken and kale salad is healthier than a Double Whopper with Cheese.
We all know this!
So rather than “trying harder” to eat healthier we’re going to use things like “science” and “human psychology” and “excessive quotation marks.”
Cool?
Here’s what you need to know: If you’re just trying to be healthier and maybe lose some weight, there’s no need to start funneling kale smoothies, mainlining chicken and broccoli, and abandoning your loyalty to the Burger King.
You can lose weight and be healthy while still eating these foods occasionally.
Heck, people have lost weight by eating Twinkies[2] and drinking soda and eating at McDonald’s 3 times per day[3].
I share this info not to promote those foods, but rather make a big point:
If you are terrified of giving up all “junk food”…
You do not need to give up fast food if it brings you joy.
You do not need to feel shame for eating ice cream.
You don’t need to use terms like “cheat meal” or “guilty pleasure” when talking about a chocolate chip cookie.
Food isn’t good or evil, my dear friend!
It’s just food!
Let’s bring it all together:
If we have certain health goals, we can give ourselves the best chance of success by getting strategic about what foods we say “YES” to, and what foods we say “SOMETIMES” to.
These YES foods give us more energy and have fewer calories on average than “junk food,” which means we’re likely to eat fewer total calories without realizing it.
And thus, we end up with the Triforce of Awesome:
So what are these magical foods we’re talking about?
I thought you’d never ask.
Removing all the morality and science of food, let’s talk about a realistic definition of “healthy food”:
“Foods I can eat frequently that give me enough fuel to get through the day AND don’t make me miserable.”
Most doctors, websites, and books have generally the same list of “healthy foods”:
(A more complete list of healthy foods is below).
Why is it that these are the foods that happen to end up on every list on every website when it comes to “healthy eating?”
Simple.
They are full of vitamins and nutrients while also being lower in calories than the processed foods that have been designed to be overeaten[4].
They also fill us up, making us feel satiated, and keep us under our calorie total for the day[5].
Now you’re starting to get it:
If we can prioritize these foods on our plate even occasionally, we’ll feel full more often while eating fewer calories…
Which leads to sustainable weight loss and maintenance!
Let me drive this point about calories vs energy into your brain (not literally).
Here are 4 foods in the exact same quantity, 200 calories (courtesy of wiseGEEK):
And here’s a huge plate of broccoli, also 200 calories:
In this context, the realization that we might overeat certain foods compared to others starts to become more clear:
Which brings me to the next point:
We humans are terrible at estimating how many calories we eat[7]. Like, really really bad at it. I bet the proportions of the above foods surprised you.
We consistently eat much more than we realize, by 40%+.
To make matters worse, we also OVERestimate how many calories we burn through exercise.
One study showed that Fitness trackers like AppleWatch or Fitbit overestimate exergy burned through exercise by 20% or more[8].
So when we “can’t lose weight,” it’s not because we have a broken metabolism.
It’s not because we have bad genetics[9].
Or that we’re not eating for our blood type.
It’s because we consistently eat too much food without realizing it.
Because we always have a ready supply of new energy from recently eaten food, more than we need, our body NEVER has to dip into our stored fat to burn for fuel.
And when we think we’ve out-exercised our bad diet, we really haven’t.
So it’s time to stop “trying harder” and instead “try differently”:
In order for us to get healthy, we need to find ways to include more foods that fill us up AND taste good.
Luckily, I have that list riiiiight here!
There are three big macronutrients that we’re going to focus on as we build our plate like the image above:
#1) PROTEIN: Priority Numero Uno.
Protein is amazing.
Your body uses protein to rebuild your muscles and keep you strong, especially if you are exercising or strength training regularly.
Protein is both good for you AND satiating without being a calorie bomb.
Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
Not a meat-eater? Read our massive plant-based guide!
A serving of protein is about the size and thickness of your palm.
When building a plate, aim for the following amount of protein:
If you’re curious, here’s how much protein is in a serving of food:
As we cover in our “how much protein should I eat per day?” you can target anywhere from 80% to 100% of your bodyweight in pounds per gram of protein, with an upper limit of 250g[11]:
#2: VEGETABLES: The difference-maker when it comes to healthy eating and weight management.
They are nutrient-dense: full of all the good nutrients that your body can use to function at optimal performance.
Next, they are energy-dense but calorie-light, which means you can eat lots of them, you’ll feel full, but you’re unlikely to over-consume calories.
A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist.
Remember this is what just 200 calories of broccoli looks like (holy crap). This is at least 5 full servings:
Here’s a quick, non-complete list of veggies that can fill your plate:
Target 2 servings of vegetables on your plate – it should take up ½ the plate!
“But Steve, I don’t like vegetables…yet!”
That’s cool, I didn’t eat vegetables until I was 22. Now, they’re a main staple of every meal I eat.
If this is you, read our guide on “how to make vegetables taste good.”
To recap portion sizes of protein and vegetables:
#3) HEALTHY CARBOHYDRATES: Fuel and fiber!
These are the foods that can be an important part of a diet, provided you eat them in the right quantities for your goals.
These foods are also great to consume right after a strenuous strength training workout to help your muscles and liver refill their glycogen stores (their energy tanks[13], essentially).
Examples of healthy carbohydrates:
This is a list of REAL food, minimally processed, that also have plenty of fiber[14].
If you’re wondering how fruit factors into this equation, that’s the next section.
Back to healthy carbs: when consumed in proper proportion, these are great foods that can help you feel full and give you energy and all that jazz.
Just make sure you know what an actual portion of these foods are!
EVERYBODY accidentally overeats carbohydrate-heavy foods, even healthy ones, and then wonders why they aren’t losing weight.
To help you get better at eyeballing serving sizes:
1 serving of a starchy carbohydrate is 1 cupped hand (uncooked), or your two hands forming a cup (cooked).
Here are some images to help you learn proper portion sizes (thanks to SafeFood):
#4) HEALTHY FATS: No longer the enemy!
Fat had a bad rep in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but now things are swinging wayyyyy back in the other direction.
In some circles, fat is now considered the healthiest thing on the planet, will do your taxes for you, and is considered a superfood.
Let’s get to the truth:
Fat is neither a superfood nor evil.
It’s just a macronutrient that you can eat that can help you reach your goals in the right quantity, or keep you from your goals if it’s overconsumed.
When your doctor tells you to eat more healthy fats, she’s referring to polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats[15].
Healthy fat can be found in foods like:
Now, science has recently come around on saturated fat too[16] – once completely vilified, but now cautiously considered okay for moderate consumption.
Saturated fats can come from things like:
Fat can be good for you provided you’re eating the right quantity for your goals.
However, like carbs, fats can be overconsumed accidentally too.
To help you gage: a serving size of fat is roughly the size of your thumb!
THIS is a single serving of almonds (162 calories):
THIS is a serving of olive oil (119 calories):
As you can see, if you’re not careful – you can accidentally eat an extra 500 calories of “healthy fats” by absentmindedly eating too many “heart-healthy” fats.
Many folks in our Coaching Program had us analyze why they weren’t losing weight, even though they “only ate grilled chicken and veggies.”
When we dug into it, they had been preparing all of their food in an extra 500-600 calories worth of olive oil they weren’t accounting for.
To recap fats and starchy carbs: feel free to include a starchy portion to your plate in the form of rice, potatoes, pasta, legumes, and healthy fats can help spice up a meal too.
I realize that was a CRAZY amount of info, so let’s put it all on the same Healthy Plate:
I know that not all of your meals are going to be perfectly segmented like a bento box. For example:
This plate and serving size stuff above is just to help you get started thinking about healthy food differently and in proper portion sizes:
Remember, all calories count.
I can already understand your next series of questions:
As we lay out in our “Is Fruit Healthy?” Guide, fruit is absolutely healthy and can help you reach your goals – in the right quantities.
Fruits are full of nutrients, packed with fiber, and can make for a great snack or part of a protein-focused breakfast!
Personally, I blend up frozen mixed berries in my post-workout smoothie.
Just remember that fruit, like every other food, obeys the laws of thermodynamics.
So, simply be aware of the calories (and carb and fiber content if you’re following a lower carb diet):
Fruit is a better, healthier alternative to nutrient-empty food from a vending machine.
Where fruit can get you in trouble is if you start to move in the direction of “fruit-like”:
#1) Fruit juices (cranberry juice, orange juice, grape juice): these are high calorie, sugar-filled beverages.
For example, here are the calories in one 8 oz [17] serving of:
#2) Dried fruit: notoriously easy to overeat because they are so small. Since the water has been taken out, all that’s left is the sugar and fiber.
Here’s 1 serving of raisins, which is 108 calories and 21 g of sugar:
If you are saying “oh man, I eat 5x that many raisins when I eat them…” then multiply those calorie and sugar numbers by 5!
3) Fruit Smoothies: Just because it’s a fruit smoothie doesn’t mean it won’t make you fat! Have you seen the calorie count and sugar content of smoothies and ‘green drinks’? Yikes.
To recap: fruit is healthy, provided you stick to fresh or frozen and not fruit-like food, dried fruit, or canned fruit packed in syrup.
If you enjoy a small glass of orange juice occasionally, or you pack a serving of raisins in your lunch and it makes life worth living, by all means!
Just don’t chug OJ by the gallon, drink a 64 oz “real fruit smoothie,” and eat raisins by the handful and then wonder why you’re not losing weight.
We get questions about these two types of food frequently.
Let me start by saying I’m assuming you’re not doing Paleo (which says “NO dairy and NO cheese”), or plant-based (which says NO to all animal products).
I’ll also assume you’re not doing Keto, which almost requires you to load up on dairy and cheese to eat enough fat every day!
Let’s pretend you’re just curious if cheese and/or dairy can be consumed on a “healthy diet:”:
YES, you can still eat cheese and be healthy.
YES, you can still eat dairy and be healthy.
And there was much rejoicing:
Like the healthy carbs and fats listed above, it all comes down to your calories consumed in a day, and if these foods fit into your daily calorie goals:
This is true for higher-fat cheeses or full-fat dairy too – the food just needs to fit into your goals!
Luckily, all dairy comes labeled, and most cheese will come with a nutrition label on it too.
Just make sure your portions are in line. For reference, here are four different servings of cheddar cheese (about 113 calories a serving):
And here’s a serving of greek yogurt (100 calories in 170 grams):
And although nobody in the history of the world has ever eaten an actual serving…here is a serving of ice cream:
(A scoop of ice cream the size of a tennis ball is about 127 calories, cleverly shown above.)
So, dairy and cheese are both perfectly acceptable health food options! Just make sure they fit into your goals.
If you are NOT losing weight, and you consume a lot of dairy and/or cheese, consider measuring your intake and see if it’s in line with your expectations!
“Low fat diets? Low carb diets? No carb diets? I don’t know which one is the BEST diet!”
“Help me, Steve Kamb, you’re my only hope.”
Okay, you’re probably not saying that, but it’s an excuse to pay homage to Star Wars so I can use the great photo above.
You probably do have questions though about what’s healthier, a low fat diet or a low carb diet.
Low carb diets are all the rage right now, but are they healthy and will they help you lose weight?
Maybe.
It depends on how your body regulates glucose (blood sugar)[18]:
Some who don’t regulate glucose well do better on a lower carb diet.
Others who do regulate glucose well might do better on a lower fat diet.
Studies show that people who follow EITHER a low fat OR a low carb diet will still lose weight, as long as they are in caloric restriction and can adhere to the diet for at least a year[19].
So, it comes down to: “which diet are you more likely to stick with for a year or longer?”
I personally lost 22 pounds over 6 months on a lower fat diet (and eating plenty of carbs), but everybody is different.
This means you’ll need to experiment and see which is better for your lifestyle, and your day to day well-being.
But I bet you have questions about the big popular diets too.
I’ve written a huge guide that covers all popular weight loss diets together, but we’ve also written individual ultimate guides that cover:
Let’s look at each of these diets and explain why they will help you lose weight, at least temporarily:
Truth #1: Every diet works in the short term.
Truth #2: Nearly every diet fails in the long term.
Let’s address these two truths individually:
Why does every diet work in the short term?
All the diets above have a clever way of restricting calories without you needing to count calories, which leads to weight loss:
Of course there are plenty of benefits from following certain diets for certain groups of people. For example, Larry went Keto and it helped him reduce inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis.
However, 99% of the reason why these diets result in short term weight loss is because they get us to eat fewer calories!
The problems arise when we get to Truth 2:
“Nearly every diet fails in the long term.”
Put another way:
Temporary changes create temporary results.
If somebody “goes Keto” for 60 days, they’ll most likely lose weight, and might even feel better! This is cool.
BUT!
(There’s always a but…)
If they spend those 60 days in misery, dreaming of carbs, counting down the meals until they can “go back to eating like normal,” they will put all of the weight back.
In order for restrictive diets to create permanent results for somebody, they need to be adopted PERMANENTLY!
For most of us mere mortals, we can’t stick with a restrictive diet for 30 days, let alone a year or a decade.
For these reasons, I strongly advise you to change how you think about dieting.
You need to determine how likely you are to stick with a restrictive diet permanently:
Like playing a video game, you need to determine what level of difficulty you are willing to attempt.
Playing on “Ultra Hard Difficulty” (like Keto) gives you less room for error, but it can also produce impressive results quickly – if you don’t rage quit.
And 99% of people rage quit restrictive diets like Keto.
So what’s the best diet for you?
I’ll give you the same answer that I give people when they ask me, “What’s the best workout plan?”:
The best diet is the one that helps you reach your goals, that you ENJOY, and that you’ll actually stick with permanently!
Personally, I don’t follow any sort of restrictive diet.
I’m a big fan of small changes that eventually produce big results, like my boy Optimus Prime:
This is why I’ve SLOWWWWLY adjusted my diet over the past decade, so that no change was too drastic and I could stick with it permanently.
It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle change. Permanently.
And that’s what I would recommend for you:
Small, non-scary, permanent changes over a long time period!
You need to start thinking in terms of “days and years,” not “weeks and months:”
Okay! Now that you’ve determined your healthy eating strategy, it’s time to take action.
There are three big steps you’ll want to master if this is your path:
Step #1: Grocery Shopping! You can read our full guide on “How to grocery shop”, and we even have a video that keeps things fun too:
Here’s how to grocery shop like a pro:
Step #2: Learn to cook!
In the next section we share recipes for basic healthy meals that you can cook at home.
Here’s why cooking at home is amazing:
Now, if you’re somebody who only ever uses your kitchen to heat up microwave meals, that’s no problem.
Here are the guides you should check out:
Step #3 (BONUS): Meal Prep and Batch Cooking! This step isn’t necessary, but if your goal is to make healthy eating a habit for you and your family, batch cooking can be the difference maker!
By “batch cooking,” I simply mean setting aside time to prepare larger quantities of food at the start of the week, so that throughout the week you already have meals to eat!
Personally, batch cooking changed my life.
And every single success story we’ve featured on Nerd Fitness (like this one) involved some sort of batch cooking (planning your meals for the week ahead).
Follow these rules, and you will crush it in the Healthy Eating Department[21]!
“Okay Steve, you have me convinced I should be eating more healthy foods. But I am a nerd and I need specific instructions to follow!”
I got you.
As a kid raised on LEGO and K’nex, I am the exact same way!
Here are options to get the ball rolling on healthy breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners. Use these as inspiration or starting points for your meal planning!
3 BREAKFASTS (Unless you do Intermittent fasting!)
Breakfast 1: Prosciutto-Wrapped Mini Frittata Muffins (4 muffins)
Breakfast 2: Kale Breakfast Salad (1/4 of recipe)
Breakfast 3: Breakfast Meal Prep Bowls (1 bowl)
3 LUNCHES
Lunch 1: Spicy Tuna Cakes (4 cakes)
Lunch 2: Chicken Zucchini Enchilada (1 enchilada )
Lunch 3: Lettuce Wrap Sandwich (1 sandwich)
3 SNACKS (Unless you’re on “Team No Snack”)
Snack 1: Green Protein Snack Pack (2)
Snack 2: Avacado Egg Salad (1/4 recipe)
Snack 3: Baked Chicken Wings (1/5 of batch)
3 DINNERS
Dinner 1: Big-o Bacon Burgers (2 burgers)
Dinner 2: Vegan Portobello Pizzas (1 pizza)
Dinner 3: Ground Beef Veggie Skillet (1/4 of dish)
These are meals that are high in quality foods, and low in total calories, which means they give you the best chance at weight management without being miserable!
Just remember, quantity counts:
Not sure how to make these meals work or how to adjust them for your goals?
This is exactly what we do with our Online Coaching Program!
As we start to wrap this Guide up, I have one BIG final question for you:
“Why the hell are you reading this?”
Sorry to be so blunt, but your answer matters!
If you are trying to eat better because somebody told you to, or because you think you should, you’re setting yourself up to fail.
You might be excited and motivated to eat healthy today, and that’s great!
But next week, Oscar in Accounting will put cake in front of you at work, and ask you to “live a little” and eat some cake “just this once.”
And then you’ll discover apps are half-priced at Chatchki’s during happy hour, and you figure “well I already had cake, might as well split some shrimp poppers and extreme fajitas with Meredith.”
This is how it always happens: Motivation abandons us when we need it most.
And then one “ehh” choice becomes three bad choices which becomes “crap, I failed at my diet! I’m a loser. Okay I’ll just try harder next month…”
If you are committed to this goal of eating healthier, you need a DAMN good reason to start eating healthier in the first place!
Here are some examples you can build off of:
There are many tough days ahead, many happy hours, and sabotaging coworkers.
Having a great reason WHY can be the light in the darkness that helps you navigate the maze of temptation.
In our Nerd Fitness Coaching program, we call this “The Big Why,” and having a reason can be the difference between success and failure:
It’s our Big Why that’s stops us from living emotionally and chasing instant gratification from a donut or six slices of pizza when we’re sad or stressed.
It’s our Big Why that allows us to say “Yes, I can have a slice of pizza, because I planned for it in my ‘calorie budget’ today. I’m not gonna feel bad about it either, because my breakfast tomorrow is gonna be great.”
It’s our Big Why that allows us to get back on track after a vacation or after just one day of poor eating, instead of letting things slide for a week or a month.
Have your Big Why, and remind yourself of it constantly!
Write it down, put it on a post-it note on your bathroom mirror, staple it to your forehead.
But have a REASON you’re committing to change.
It will be crucial when life starts to get busy next week and you want to give up. So let’s talk about next week (and beyond!)
This guide has provided you with all of the tools you need to start making healthier choices, but if you are looking to go a bit further…
#1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently.
You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you. Just click on the image below for more details:
#2) The Nerd Fitness Academy – This self-paced online course has helped 50,000 people get results permanently.
There’s a 10-level nutrition system, boss battles, 20+ workouts, and the most supportive community in the galaxy!
#3) Join The Rebellion! We have a free email newsletter that we send out twice per week, full of tips and tricks to help you get healthy, get strong, and have fun doing so.
I’ll also send you tons of free guides that you can use to start leveling up your life too:
Healthy eating will change your life.
But it needs to fit INTO your life too.
Small changes, not dramatic shifts!
You don’t have to give up the foods you love, you just need to PLAN for them.
Learn how to make a plate like we lay out in this guide.
Prioritize protein, and always put a fruit or vegetable on your plate before filling the rest of it up!
This will get you 90% of the way towards a great healthy eating strategy.
And when in doubt, whenever you’re not sure if you should eat a particular food, ask yourself “What would Batman do?”
Seriously, this has been studied with children, and it helped them make healthier food choices by giving the decision making over to somebody they looked up to [22].
Oh, and when you eat a bad meal – who cares?! “Never two in a row,” right? Make the next meal healthy.
YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT:
Start eating healthy today with literally one change:
I don’t care what the change is, just as long as you make one!
Okay enough about me, let’s talk about you:
What’s the ONE change you’re going to make today?
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
PS: Make sure you read the rest of the articles in our “How to Lose Weight 101” Series!
###
All photo sources can be found right here[23].
http://www.thealternativedaily.com/
That pack of $1 crayons from the dollar store is so appealing when your color-mad five-year-old makes it her sole purpose in life to use as many crayons as humanly possible. Of course, this chaotic scribbling could be the beginning of a bright artistic future (who knows?) and who are you to limit her crayon […]
http://chriskresser.com/
Left untreated, Lyme disease can cause chronic health problems. Check out this article for more on what causes Lyme, its symptoms, and how to get tested.
The post Your Comprehensive Guide to Lyme Disease appeared first on Chris Kresser.
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“I want to lose weight.”
That’s probably the most common reason people hire me as a fitness coach.
Many of them—arguably most of them—have tried every short-term diet in the book: The Whole30, a 6-week challenge, a 30-day juice cleanse or two-week detox, and on and on.
As a result of these 30 day promise diets, many of these same people have completely unrealistic goals about their weight loss timeframe.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
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