Kids do the craziest things.

Last night, the kids were playing in the backyard pond.

It was great seeing the kids outside playing.

The cute little pond is full of tadpoles so they were catching them and wanted to raise them as frogs.

Very cute!

All was cute until, “Dad, Cole wanted to see if the tadpoles can swim in the hot tub so he threw a few of them in it. Is that okay?”

“WhAt!”

== END OF CUTENESS ==

I had to go fish out the tadpoles out of the hot tub and try to save them.

Kids!

Looking at what I have for you today.

While make dinner, I love snacking on veggies and hummus. So I have an appetizing twist on the traditional hummus and guacamole.

It makes a tasty and healthy snack served with freshly cut vegetables, such as cucumber, broccoli and cauliflower florets, celery stalks, radishes and baby carrots.

Sprinkle with Cayenne pepper for an extra kick. 

Enjoy!

~Rick Kaselj

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Spicy Avocado Hummus

What You Will Need:

How to Prepare:

Nutrition facts per serving (80 g):

Rick Kaselj, MS

P.S. – I know you are wondering if the tadpoles survived their swim in the hot tub. Two made it back to the pond and two did not. Now go enjoy the “Spicy Avocado Hummus”.

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The family is getting more settled in the new house and city.

On Sunday, we headed out to the dog park and finished up with ice cream.

While we were enjoying our ice cream, my youngest son began to yell at me, “Dad, you stole my ice cream!”

I said, no I didn’t, I think someone else got it….

Okay, let me get to what I got for you today.

As I get settled into my new office, I got a chance to dig in the research and see what is new. Here is something that I found: (It is not a new article but it has a great exercise in it that will help people with poor neck posture or neck pain.)

Can Exercise Help High School Kids Improve Their Posture?

What The Researchers Looked At:

The effect of deep flexor muscle strengthening exercises on neck-shoulder posture. The researchers looked at 30 seventeen year old female high school students that sit for 10 hours behind a desk a day, who reported bad posture and chronic neck-shoulder pain.

The researchers split the 30 females into two groups. One group performed deep flexor muscle-strengthening exercises which focused on low-load training of the cranio-cervical muscles and the other group just did stretching.

If you don’t know what I mean about poor neck-shoulder posture, then Justin will help us out (Look at the photo on the left.):

Cool Stuff in the Introduction:

I like the introduction of research articles as they highlight a lot of great points based on research:

• There has been an increase in head forward posture because of the increase in computer use, sitting at a desk for a long period of time, using desks or chairs that do not match your body, a poor bed, not enough exercise, heavy school bags and to much learning
• The human head weighs about 3.5 to 4.5 kgs

Exercise Set Up

In the article, it is a little confusing on how often the exercises were done. It looks like each group got 30 minutes of training, then they performed the exercises 5 times a week for 8 weeks.

Experimental Group Performed Cranio-cervical Flexion Training:

The words sounds fancy but the exercise is simple. Now, I would do a video for you but my video camera is still working its way from my old house to the new house (We had a bit of mix up with the movers.).

1. Start in your back with a rolled up towel under your neck. The towel should be enough to fill the space between your neck and the floor. It should also lightly support your neck but it should not tilt the head forward.
2. Now take a few belly breaths and make sure to blow out any tension in your neck and upper body.
3. Take your hands and touch the sides of your neck and make sure the muscle in your neck, specifically sternocleidomastoid and scalene, are relaxed.
4. Now you are all set to perform the exercise. To perform the exercise, you tilt your head forward like you are doing a small nod with your head. The movement should come from your forehead and not your chin. Focus on the movement being done by the muscle deep to the front of your neck. Hold the end of the nod for 10 seconds.
5. Return to the start of exercise and rest for 3 to 5 seconds before moving into the next repetition. Perform 10 repetitions.
6. Most people will be at this level. If you have been doing the above exercise for some time and have built the relaxation, activation, endurance and strength in the neck flexors, you can progress to lifting your head slightly off the floor.

The Control Group Performed:

1. Seven common neck stretches done in sitting.

The Results from the Research:

What they found is the experiment group had an improvement in head tilt angle, neck flexion angle, forward shoulder angle cranio-cervical flexion test while the control group had no improvement.

Rick’s Comment on Things:

This ends up being an excellent exercise that someone can do to help with their head posture but also is a great exercise if you have neck pain. It is simple to do, requires no equipment and is effective. If you do any other exercises on the floor, this is one that you can add to your routine.

Where to get more information: Lee MH1, Park SJ, Kim JS. (2013). Effects of neck exercise on high-school students’ neck-shoulder posture. J Phys Ther Sci. 2013 May;25(5):571-4. doi: 10.1589/jpts.25.571. Epub 2013 Jun 29.

If you are looking for simple exercises and a program that you can do at home to help you with your neck pain, then check out Neck Pain Solved, here:

Rick Kaselj, MS

If you liked the article above, then these articles will also help you with your neck pain:

• A Neck Pain Lesson from Texas
• Why Exercise is Making Your Neck Pain Worse
• If Your Client Has Neck Pain Why they Should Never Use a Laptop

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I hope you have enjoyed the last few days on burpees.

If you missed it, here they are again:

• How to JAZZ Up the Boring Burpee!
• 5 Tips on Avoiding Pain when Doing Burpees

Today, what I have for you is:

==> Bodyweight Burpee Blitz Workout (video & photos)

Rick Kaselj, MS

P.S. – If you are looking for a variety of different workout options that involved burpees, then check out Shawna’s Challenge Burpee (Plus she gave me a 33% off coupon that you can use. When you check out enter: YayForBurpees .)

Now take it away Shawna…..

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Hey, Shawna Kaminski here from ChallengeWorkouts.com. I have a workout for you today called just “Burpee Bodyweight Blitz Workout”. You need a very little amount of space and a small amount of time and just your bodyweight for this workout.

Burpee Bodyweight Blitz Workout

CLICK HERE to watch the Youtube video.

This is a countdown set. You are going to start with 10 reps and you’ve got 4 exercises. Now depending how much time you have, starting with 10 reps of each exercise, then 8, 6, 4, 2 and then count back up the ladder: 4, 6, 8, 10 (or you could do 10, 9, 8….3, 2, 1).

I am going to go through the 4 exercises with you and I am going to give you some coaching tips along the way and I am going to hand it over to you to do this workout on your own.

You are going to burpees, prisoner squats, wall sit with a stick up, and you are going to finish up with cross body mountain climber.

BBB#1 – Burpee

If you are not up with the burpee, there is couple of alternatives. You can just be doing a full body extension. When you do the full body extension, you really powerfully come up onto the toes and throw the hands up just at the quarter squat and keep the pase up.

Full Body Extension Burpee

The second level of burpee if that is a little easy for you, you can do a burpee walk out and then stand up.

Walk Out and Stand Up Burpee

Or you can be doing the full Blown burpee. Hands out, feet in, and jump up.

Full Blown Burpee

Or you can be adding push up with a jump up.

Push Up with Jump Up Burpee

So that’s the first exercise, 10 burpees.

BBB#2 – Prisoner Squat

You may wonder why we do this prisoner position it is because it opens up the chest and works the upper back. Don’t let the elbows get lazy and pull the head down. You want to keep those elbows nice and high, lace those finger tips and actively squeeze those elbows behind you to engage the upper back.

Prisoner Position

When we are doing bodyweight exercises it is a little bit tougher to hit the upper back, so doing that prisoner position really helps. The head controls the spine on the squat. That’s another reason why you don’t let the elbows to come forward because you are going to pull the head forward and fold at the waist.

Keep the chin nice and high. Squeeze those elbows behind and sink that hips back and wiggle the toes. Weight is on the heels for the squat.

Prisoner Squat

BBB#3 – Wall Sit Stick Up

Trust me, the stick up doesn’t look like much but once you do it you will realize “wow, I really feel it in my upper back”.

Wall Sit Stick Up

We are sitting on our imaginary chair. We go to 90 degrees. We are going to actively squeeze our knees together so we are engaging through that inner thigh. You are going to open up the arms and you are going to push the wall behind you trying to get those hands right over the top of the shoulders.

You are going to try to keep the entire back on the wall at the same time. The elbows, hands, and wrists just come to 90 degrees. You are going to do 10 reps. Right now my quads are on fire and squishy after those prisoner squats. And then I am again engaging through that upper back opening through the chest.

BBB#4 – Cross Body Mountain Climber

What’s really important with cross body mountain climber or any mountain climber is you want to have the shoulders over elbows over hands. I don’t want a rounded back. I want to squeeze those shoulder blades.

Cross Body Mountain Climber

Now I am going to bring the opposite knee to opposite elbow. When I am doing 10 cross leg mountain climbers that’s 10 per leg. This planking position is the most effective for hitting that transverse and getting a strong and healthy core. That’s our last exercise.

After those cross leg mountain climbers, I am back up to do 8 burpees, 8 of everything, 6 of everything, 4 of everything, 2 of everything, and that’s all if you have time for. That’s a great full body workout. Up the intensity by working up to 10 or another way that tackles this one is 10 to 1.

Have a good time with that full body “Burpee Bodyweight Bliz” workout and I will see you next time.

If you want more great workouts involving the burpee, check out Challenge Burpee, here:

Shawna Kaminski

I hope your week has gone well.

The Kaselj Clan is starting to settle into our new house.

Here is an amazing sunset from our house:

Just because we are settled, that does not mean we are unpacked. I can’t find anything and most of our stuff is still in boxes. (You understand, don’t you?) For example, I hope to find the coffee mugs soon as I have been reusing a cardboard Starbucks cup the last few days.

I wanted to share something with you that happened during my workout, todya.

Today, I did get my workout in. It was an outdoor workout (prisoner squats, pike push ups, planks, sprints). The workout was great and I got it in before the mid-day heat but today I was reminded about another challenge when it comes to summer outdoor workouts, air quality.

Yesterday, a fire started across the lake from Kelowna in West Kelowna and it has been steadily growing. Numerous people have been evacuated, the air smells like a campfire and the city is very concerned.

With all of the smoke, they put out an air quality warning to anyone that has respiratory issues. The warming should also expand to anyone that is working or exercising outside.

Near the end of my workout I was sweating, which is great, but my lungs were on fire. Not from being pushed into anaerobic state but from the smoke. It felt like I inhaled all the smoke from a campfire.

It took me a few hours to recover with some big bout of couching, which helped.

Next time I will wait for the air quality to be a lot better before I take my summer workout outside.

Now getting to what I have for you today.

I have some great stuff on burpees.

Burpees are a great exercise and target the whole body but they can get a little boring. Here are a few ways you can jazz up your burpee.

In this article and video I wanted to go through the 3 Ways to Jazz Up the Boring Burpee.

How to Jazz Up The Boring Burpee….

CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video.

#1 – Mountain Climber Burpee

You are going into the burpee position and at the bottom you are going to do a mountain climber for four repetitions and then you come out of the burpee. That’s the first option of jazzing up the burpee.

Mountain Climber Burpee

#2 – Jack Burpee

You go down into the push up position and you go into the jack position with the legs and then coming back go to the start. Again, going back into that jack and then coming back in.

Jack Burpee

#3 – Dumbbell Burpee

You are going into a front raise squat and then into that push up position, back up, front squat, down, burpee position and back up.

Dumbbell Burpee

There you go. If you are tired of doing the same old burpee over and over again, try one of those three ways of jazzing it up. You have got the Mountain Climber Burpee, the Jack Burpee, and the Dumbbell Burpee.

Now it you had a tough time with any of these because of your knees, then check out Fix My Knee Pain, here:

Take care and if the air quality is bad, bring your workout inside,

Rick Kaselj, MS

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How would you describe your strength and power? Do you have the strength to perform daily tasks with ease or do you run out of breath and strength halfway through a task. Sometimes, lack of strength and power is as a result of dietary deficiencies.

There are different ways through which low energy could develop including issues related to diet, rest or sleep. Your body may simply not have enough fuel needed for tasks and activities that require various amounts of strength and power. To provide sufficient fuel to the body, you need to consume sufficient nutrients to enable you carry out activities and perform tasks. This is where the consumption of herbs is very important because herbs can provide great nutrients and immense benefits for the body.

The use of herbs has grown over the years. The global herb industry’s market value reached US$200 billion by 2008 [1]. Without good nutrition, we can put our bodies at risk for so many things including infection and disease. Poor diet or inadequate nutrition could result in cell deterioration and depletion of nutritional storage pockets in the body which can create havoc and distress if not replenished effectively.

If you do not like herbs or have not been including herbs in your diet, it could be time to change and begin to explore the wonderful world of herbs, plants and vegetables. Perhaps your diet seems fine the way it is. However, exploring the use of herbs to provide powerful health benefits could be a win-win situation. You win by increasing your knowledge. You also win by actually embarking on a journey to use these herbs and reap great benefits for your health.

Why are herbs so healthy and why should you care? Well, apart from the high nutritional value herbs provide, another reason why you should include herbs in your diet is the low calorie count associated with such provisions of nutrition. In essence, you get more nutritional value without the danger of packing on unnecessary pounds.

There are so many different kinds of herbs such as sage, peppermint, basil, dill, oregano, parsley, thyme and rosemary. These plants may seem insignificant and without the ability to taste good. However, herbs can be consumed in many different ways, possess a potent punch and can be sources of numerous properties that strengthen the body while fighting off infections and disease.

Certain herbs can have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-septic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties. Herbs may contain Vitamin A, Vitamin, K, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, iron and many other vitamins and minerals.

The following are 4 herbs that can skyrocket your strength and power:

1. Polyrhachis Ant Extract

There are certain substances that have the ability to fortify the immune system and the Polyrhachis ant extract is one of these substances. Although this extract comes from ants, it is regarded as a herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It is usually purchased in power form and can be turned into a potent tonic that is typically used to increase or boost energy levels.

This powerful extract from the Polyrhachis black ant is described as the herb of kings and it is naturally anti-inflammatory [2].

Ants are energetic and able to move from place to place easily. The Polyrhachis ant extract and ancient Chinese health tonic is known to provide an immediate effect in the form of increased energy levels. The ants that are used to retrieve the extract are sourced from regions that are largely undisturbed and free from contaminants, including areas that are geographically preserved and contain ants with high quality extracts.

These ants also contain high amounts of zinc, typically between 120mg to 180mg in every 1000g of the extract and this essential nutrient is essential for building muscles. The extract is a natural source of ATP and provides essential vitamins including Vitamins E, C, D and the B Vitamins. Polyrhachis ant extract also contains other minerals like selenium, manganese, calcium and phosphorus. This ant extract is considered to be one of the best quality tonic herbs available. (You can read this article for more details on Polyrhachis Ant Extract.)

2. Cistanche

This herb is like a shrub and is linked to healthy living and the promoting the health of blood. Found growing in dessert-like regions, the Cistanche herb is capable of providing strength and has also been associated with improved sexual function.

Cistanche is described as being a parasitic plant but this does not stop it from being used in traditional medicine and it has been used to reduce cholesterol levels when tested on mice [3].

The herb is able to promote essence and this is similar to vitality or a high quality life. Thus, people who experience depletion of blood or other fluid levels or those who have blood related illnesses may receive some relief through this herb.

Its benefits have been linked to the kidneys and also the large intestine. The movement of blood flow to various regions in the body is another benefit from the consumption of Cistanche and such movement can be related to increased sexual vigour.

3. Maral Root

This root extract gets its name from the type of deer that likes to feed on it.

The benefits of consuming maral root extract include gaining improved work capacity, developing lean muscle mass, improving memory, enhanced sexual potency, fighting mild depression, anabolic properties and encouraging recovery from illness [4].

Hence, if you have just gone through an illness, consuming maral root extract could help you renew your strength and step into your daily or normal routines. Its ability to help a person recover from low energy and exhaustion make this herb ideal for post-workout recovery periods or body building or training sessions. Apart from recovery from illnesses, the maral root could be used in scenarios where a boost of moods, energy and alertness is required.

4. Hydrilla

The Hydrilla herb is also known as Hydrilla Verticillata and this herb is linked to increasing energy levels and strength as well. It can create mood elevations and a healthy immune system. Sometimes, people consume energy boosters which last for short duration. However, consuming Hydrilla provides increased energy levels that are capable of lasting all day.

Rich in B Vitamins such as Vitamin B12, this herb is able to fight mood swings or help people regulate their moods. Vitamin B1 helps to generate energy and improve nerve function and Vitamin B2 is responsible for the release of energy.

The herb is also full of minerals and this aids the body by building up cells. Hydrilla is also rich in calcium which aids bone formation and strength in the body. This calcium is readily absorbed so that the mineral becomes available to immediately strengthen teeth, hair and bones. Calcium also works to improve the proper functioning of the nervous system, keeps cholesterol levels balanced and improve muscle and kidney function.

As an antioxidant, Hydrilla works to support immune function and also aid mental health. There have been associations between Hydrilla and the digestive system. The herb works to cleanse the digestive system of toxins and waste products that build up within the body instead of being flushed out. Thus, Hydrilla promotes the flushing of these waste products and toxic substances from the body. With the use of this herb, you may also notice improvements to your sleep habits too.

People who are engaged in activities that require more amounts of strength, power, stamina and endurance could also benefit in regular consumption of herbs. For example, people who perform workout and body building routines on a regular basis could benefit from herbal blends that are able to stimulate a person’s strength and power.

The SuperMan Herbs [5] product is an example of a herbal blend that focuses on increasing your strength and power. There are so many herbs that can be beneficial to your diet and overall health. Different herbs may each provide a different benefit. Hence, this is why a variety of herbs as part of your diet can be quite beneficial.

Usually, each herb has at least one beneficial property depending in what type of phyto-chemical it contains. Adding herbs to your meals and diet could be a gradual process such as sprinkling a few chopped fresh herbs on your usual meals or adding herbs to soups. Slowly, you could begin to increase your intake of herbs by creating a side dish out of herbs or making the appetizer of a meal one that is based entirely or mainly on herbs.

There are many opportunities to increase the nutritional content of a meal by including a handful of a variety of herbs. Add some zest to your usual bowl of soup or stir-fry dishes and watch your strength and power skyrocket as you begin or continue to build up the use of these herbs in your daily diet.

Rick Kaselj, MS

References

[1] Untapped Treasures in Herbal Products
[2] Chinese Medicinal Ants: Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Activities
[3] The Hypocholesterolemic Effects of Cistanche Tubulosa Extract
[4] Maral Root: Super Man Herbs
[5] Super Man Herbs: Unleash the Power of Nature

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Are you looking for a greens powder to buy?

Let me help! I do know quite a bit about greens and I am happy to share these findings. When you think of greens, your mind may immediately correlate this with health and you would be right.

Greens powders present an easier way to consume vegetables and fruits which may typically bulky in appearance and for some people, these foods may be somewhat challenging to consume in the required daily quantities. Unfortunately, it can be challenging for people to get even 5 servings of vegetables and fruits in their daily diets [1].

To get the daily recommended serving of fruits and vegetables, we may need to do things differently. “Yes, but how?”, you may ask. Greens powders can be one solution and a way to provide this nutrition.

However, if you are planning on purchasing greens powders, the following are 6 things to look for to ensure to get a quality greens powder product:

1. Look for Nutrition

Yes, my friend. This may seem like a no-brainer or something that should be the basic part of any greens powder but it is worth emphasizing as there are different products which may be advertised as being greens powders but which do not really provide you with the required daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Hence, when you are looking for greens powders to buy, aim for products that have optimal quantities of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, probiotics and other elements that are essential to good health.

Do not settle for the seemingly average version of greens powder with fillers or ingredients which add no value to the body. Trust me … not all greens powders are created equal! Especially for items that we consume, we need to be very careful of doing something that could harm the body. So, please pay close attention to the nutritional composition that the greens powder product has.

2. No GMO!

If you are curious about genetically modified organisms or GMO, the non-GMO project [2] has a lot of information regarding this topic. You do not want to eat food that has been genetically modified because it simply goes against nature. Plants that have undergone gene splicing can become unstable and quite frankly, it can be difficult to know what dangers lie ahead if you consume such foods.

So, it would be wise to completely avoid GMO foods. This includes greens powders that are produced from agricultural products which have gone through some type of modification. There are high risk groups of plants that typically get genetically modified including zucchinis, alfalfa, soy, beets, papaya, squash and flax. If you don’t believe me regarding staying away from these GMO products, explore the non-GMO project and you will be glad you did.

3. Gluten-Free

Do you have a gluten allergy? Sometimes, gluten in foods could present complications and people that have specific stomach sensitivities to gluten would be best served to find a gluten-free greens powder. You do need to be careful here too because it can be easy to claim that a product is gluten-free when in reality it is not [3]. (Also check out this blog post.)

So, I tell my friends to seek products that have been independently tested and verified by an unbiased third part gluten testing facility. Please do not just believe the labels. This is your health we are taking about and you should be ready to dig a little deeper to get the facts. There are gluten-free greens powders that are out there. Just make sure you find the right one and you will be glad you did!

4. No Wheat

Sometimes, greens powders depend on various fillers including the use of wheat as a base ingredient to help the product create a filling effect. While some people may be okay with wheat, having this item in your greens powder could be a bit misleading. Actually, it can be significantly misleading because it could take away the benefits you actually think you are getting.

Remember that greens powders are supposed to be great for you because this product provides you with nutrition from fruits and vegetables. Essentially, greens powders should be made up of the purest and highest quality of vegetables and fruits.

Thus, this is my main point. If you are not getting these fruits and vegetables in the form of green powder, then you may be wasting your time. I like to ensure that I receive value when consuming products that should be good for me. I don’t know about you, but for me, if I am seeking greens and the benefit from greens, then this is exactly what I want to get.

5. No Eggs and Dairy Products

Yes, I have seen it all. Dairy products include anything that comes from the milk of mammals. Some greens products may also contain eggs! Eggs and dairy products included in greens powder for a variety of reasons. You will be surprised to know the various hidden ingredients that could be found in a container of greens power!

There are people who do not tolerate or eat dairy products or eggs and these items can change the flavor of greens when included in the list of ingredients. So, yes, you do need to pay close attention to those food labels and carefully read the list of ingredients. You want greens? Please stick with products that provide these greens in high quantities.

6. Beware of Chemical Sweeteners

The great world of sugars! Indeed, there are different types of sugars ranging from the more organic versions that come from food items like cane sugar to sugars that have gone through immense chemical processing to such an extent that all the nutritional aspects of the sugar has been zapped or depleted.

Many of these chemical sugars and sweeteners do your body no good at all. Hence, please listen to me when I ask you to stay away from chemical sugars. There are sugars like fructose, saccharin and aspartame and these do not provide value for the body. Research studies potentially link aspartame to seizures and neurologic effects [4].

Greens powders that are loaded with these chemical sweeteners simply include these ingredients to entice buyers to keep consuming these powders.

Think about it for minute … the sweeter the greens powders are, the more likely a person could think that it merely contains delicious goodness and people may not pay much attention to the possibility of high quantities chemical sweeteners including artificial colours which could also have adverse effects on the body. Don’t get of enticed by chemical or artificial sweeteners that some greens powders contain!

If you are like me, you really want to get your money’s worth and also do more good than harm to your body. There are so many products out there in the marketplace that claim to do what you hope these products will do, but in reality some of these products should have a big BEWARE! sticker on the front label! The body needs fuel in the form of good nutrition. Sometimes, hidden ingredients and also unnecessary items that are mixed with low quantities of actual greens powders are marketed to unsuspecting consumers with the goal of making fast profits.

Do you know that the health craze and possible hype regarding green products may also help these diluted product marketers get away with selling and reaping benefits from their sub-standard products?

Yes, people do try to cheat. Hence, don’t be fooled! Knowledge is power and the more you know about what to look for when attempting to buy greens powders, the more prepared you will be able to recognize high quality greens powders products. The good news is that high quality greens powders do exist! Yes, there is hope…

There are greens powder products that have undergone minimal processing, contain high quality nutrients and do not wreak havoc on your body. The Athletic Greens product is an example of a product that provides daily servings of fruits and vegetables [5].

You can get up to 12 servings of vegetables and fruits with a single serving of the Athletic Greens Premium Superfood Cocktail. The bottom line when looking for greens powder is to try to stick with a product that is as close as possible to the natural state and constituents of the fruits and vegetables.

Don’t let your body get confused with all the stuff that some product manufacturers try to add in to make a quick profit or make their products more marketable. It’s your body, so don’t settle for greens powders that contain junk or items that will create problems for you later. Using all the information I have discussed above, you will be well on your way to discovering a great greens powder that can meet your needs.

To your health and fitness,

Rick Kaselj, MS

References

[1] With Fruits and Veggies, More Matters – Web MD
[2] The Non-GMO Project: What is GMO?
[3] The Debate Over Gluten-Free Food Labelling
[4] Possible Neurologic Effects of Aspartame, a Widely Used Food Additive
[5] Athletic Greens – Get Your Daily Fruits & Vegetables Easily

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Welcome back.

Sorry for being away the last few days. I have been packing up the family and moving to our new house in Kelowna.

We are not settled in yet, the house is full of boxes but we are working on things.

Today, I got a great article from James Gaida on the truth about carbs and fat loss.

Enjoy the article!

Rick Kaselj, MS

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The Truth About Carbohydrates for Fat Loss

The 2004 movie Mean Girls taught us everything we need to know about nutrition….okay, maybe not. But it did illustrate how confusing the fat loss puzzle can be, especially in regards to carbohydrates.

Karen: Do you want to eat at Taco Bell?

Regina: I can’t eat at Taco Bell, I’m on an all-carb diet! God Karen, you’re so stupid!

Carbohydrates are the most misunderstood nutrients when it comes to fat loss.

Far too many people, my past self included, have completely removed carbs from their diet in an effort to speed up fat loss. However, for most people, the best fat loss results actually come from consuming carbs, not completely cutting them out. A big reason for this is the specific fat burning hormones that only respond when carbs are strategically part of your diet.

This is a critical point, because hormones flat out decide whether or not you are a fat burning machine or just on the road to ending up a skinnier version of yourself with very little change in body fat.

The fact is, anyone can lose weight by simply eating very low calories. But just because you are losing weight doesn’t mean you are losing much body fat. Just “losing weight” hopefully is not your goal.

You want fat loss! And in order to target body fat, you absolutely must have your hormones under control.

4 Biggest Hormonal Players In the Fat Burning Game

Here are the 4 biggest hormonal players in the fat burning game and how the practice of avoiding carbs puts the brakes on your fat loss:

• 1. Leptin: This hormone is known as the “fat burning hormone”. When leptin is elevated your body is sending the signal to start burning away at body fat stores.

Leptin is released from fat cells. The more body fat you have the more leptin your body will release. As you begin to diet for fat loss, the reduction in calories and the loss of body fat naturally leads to less circulating leptin. When leptin levels are lowered, fat burning slows down.

Carbohydrate containing meals happen to be the best way to keep leptin elevated so that you keep burning fat. On the flip side, a low carb diet keeps leptin depressed shutting down your fat burning.

• 2. Cortisol: You’ve probably heard cortisol described as the stress hormone responsible for accumulation of belly fat. If you haven’t heard this, cortisol is the stress hormone responsible for the accumulation of belly fat.

Anytime your body is placed under stress, (physical, emotional, or mental) the response is to produce cortisol. When cortisol gets out of control, your abdominal fat begins to get packed on.

Carbohydrates are essential for keeping cortisol balanced. Carbs provide an easy energy source for the body, in the form of glucose. When glucose levels are optimized there is no stress response needed to produce energy.

However, when carb intake is kept very low, there are lower levels of readily available glucose to be utilized. In this case, cortisol is released in order to free stored energy and provide the glucose needed to keep you going. If cortisol continues to be released due to low energy levels, as is the case with chronically low carb diets, the end result is belly fat accumulation.

• 3. Thyroid Hormone: This hormone is produced by the thyroid gland and is largely responsible for your metabolic rate. In other words, healthy levels of thyroid hormone keep your metabolism buzzing, whereas depressed levels of thyroid hormone bring fat burning to a halt.

I’m sure you can guess what is coming next. Low carb diets lead to reduced levels of thyroid hormone putting the brakes on your fat burning efforts. By limiting carbs too heavily, you can actually end up shutting down your metabolism.

• 4. Insulin: When you eat carbohydrates they are broken down into glucose and your blood sugar becomes elevated. This in turn, signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin’s job is to deliver the sugar from the blood into muscle cells making insulin a very anabolic hormone. In a perfect, fat burning world, the story ends there.

However, we don’t always live in a perfect fat burning world. Eventually, your muscle cells get “topped up” and can no longer take in any more sugar. Once your muscle cells are no longer accepting sugar, insulin deposits the remaining energy into body fat. In this way, insulin can be responsible for making you fatter.

Hence, the low carb diet was born with the idea that if you completely eliminate carbs from the picture, blood sugar will remain low, insulin will be under control and you will be able to avoid fat accumulation. Now, this works to a degree and short bursts with very little carbs can work wonders for fat loss, but this is not the most effective way to keep your fat loss humming through the entire duration of your diet.

Enter “Insulin Sensitivity”. This term, insulin sensitivity, refers to your muscle cells willingness to accept insulin (carrying blood sugar) so that it can be properly distributed. When you are highly insulin sensitive, sugars get deposited in the right place (muscle cells) and avoid being stored away as body fat.

However, because it is carbohydrates that create the most profound effects on insulin, by going too long with very low carbs in your diet and not experiencing bursts of insulin your muscle cells essentially will start rejecting insulin, leading to insulin resistance. When insulin resistance occurs you go into fat storing mode.

The Solution to Balancing Out Your Fat Burning Hormones

All four of the above hormones need to be balanced for optimal fat burning efforts. Get any one of them out of whack and you can say goodbye to fat burning. And when you cut carbs too low for too long, you run the risk of hormonal imbalance.

The solution to this dieting dilemma is the introduction of carbohydrate re-feeds. The carbohydrate re-feeds are meals (or sometimes entire days) where you intentionally eat high amounts of carbohydrates in order to balance hormones and burn more fat than you would otherwise.

The re-feed happens to be the best way to keep your hormone levels in a fat burning zone. As discussed above, leptin levels sky rocket after a meal that is both high in calories and high in carbohydrates. Additionally the loading up of glucose from a re-feed, fuels your cells so that cortisol remains at bay, thyroid hormone stays elevated and you maximize insulin sensitivity.

On a side note, apart from balancing your hormones,carbohydrate re-feeds also end up being a great way to maintain your sanity while dieting for fat loss.

During a re-feed, I don’t typically restrict calories. For the most part, you want to keep it clean (avoid high sugar crap) but don’t stress about the amount of carbs. Frequency of the re-feed is far more important. The frequency of these carbohydrate re-feeds depends on how much fat you have to lose. The more you have to lose the less frequently you need to load up on carbs.

If you have lots of fat to lose try “carbing-up” every 2-3 weeks. If you’re already six pack lean, and looking to get leaner then you can carb up every 3-5 days. If you’re somewhere in between, then try a frequency schedule somewhere in between 5 days and 2 weeks. Where ever you are starting, pick a carb-up frequency and adjust it (if needed) based on your results.

Stop hiding from carbohydrates and instead use them strategically to Turbo-Charge your fat burning.

That’s so Fetch!
(If that means nothing to you please watch Mean Girls as soon as possible)

James Gaida

A little bit about James:

I am a fat loss expert and certified Precision Nutrition Coach. I have spent more than 13 years coaching clients in both nutrition and fitness. In that time I have also became certified as a Specialist in Performance Nutrition and a Certified Fitness Trainer. I also own many leather bound books and yeah, I’m kind of a big deal!

My baby, 4 Day Fat Loss (4DFL) is dedicated to teaching simple techniques to rapidly burn fat, increase energy and live a healthier life. If you want to find out how to burn fat quickly and transform your body check out the 4DFL Method.

P.P.S. – If you liked this article, than you will love the other articles that I have written for EFI:

• Taking Advantage of your Injury for Improved Body Composition
• How Fasting Can Help with Your Inflamed and Painful Joints
• 4 Biggest Hormonal Players In the Fat Burning Game

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Today, I have a great interview  for you with Tyler Bramlett.

Tyler and I talk about BIGGEST Mistake People Make with Core and Abs Training.

Enjoy the interview!

Rick Kaselj, MS

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 BIGGEST Mistake People Make with Core and Abs Training

CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video.

In the above interview Tyler goes through:

• Let people know more about you?
• What is the BIGGEST Mistake People Make with Core and Abs Training?
• Type of core and abs exercises people ignore.
• Where to you start people when it comes to core and abs training?
• How to get more out of the plank exercise.
• What is your favourite core or abs exercise?
• Most people think you can get everything you need for you core or abs with one exercise. What are your thoughts on that?
• What is an example of a core or abs exercise that people should do? (great exercise)
• Can you do core/abs training every day and where do you put it in your workout?
• Anything else you would like to leave people with?
• Where can people get more information about you?

If you want see more about the common core training mistakes people make check out 0-6 Pack Abs here:

Rick Kaselj, MS

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