What is available at Chic-fil-A when you’re trying to lean up?  The Spicy Chicken Sandwich is my favorite but if you’re working on your waist its off the menu.  If weight loss is your goal anything with bread is off the menu.  Chick-fil-A buns contain between 25-30 grams of simple carbs which places the spicy chicken sandwich at 44 grams of carbs and 480 calories.  Looks like my spicy chicken just went bunless.

Don’t fear!  Chic-fil-A has worked hard to lower the bad carbs and and provide great carb choices.  You just need to know what to pick.  Stick to the 3 piece traditional Chicken Strips with only 17 grams of carbs and 360 calories or go with the 8 count traditional Chicken Nuggets with 10 grams of carbs and 270 calories.

However, Chic-fil-A wants your weight loss business and has out done it’s self with its Grilled Chicken Nuggets.  An 8 count contains just 4 grams of carbs and only 140 calories while the 12 count only has 6 grams of carbs and 200 total calories.  You will not find any other fast food restaurant that will come close to this.

In addition, you could get the Grilled Chicken Sandwich on lettuce (without the bun) and it contains a mere 16 grams of carbs and 200 calories or add the bacon on the grilled chicken deluxe for an extra 120 calories of goodness but no extra carbs.

The salads and wraps are a great choice as well.  They are loaded with great carbs and run between 200-500 calories of quality nutrition.  Remember it’s never about the calories it’s all about nutrition density.  How many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants does it contain?

Chic-fil-A has some of the healthiest sides of any restaurant less the waffle fries.  As good as they are they are a no go at 37 grams of simple carbs and 310 calories.  However, the chicken salad cup, fruit cup, greek yogurt parfait, side salad and super food side are all on the menu for weight loss.  All are loaded with complex carbs, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  I really did not know how health conscious Chic-fil-A had become.

As always stick to water, unsweet tea or coffee for the drinks.

Overall if you are looking for a place to eat while losing weight Chic-fil-A is the place.  It’s really incredible what they’ve done to their menu.

Helping You Make Great Choices,
Jeff

I love seeing folks at boot camp but I know life gets busy and makes it hard to be consistent at times.  With that said I want to provide you with a quick workout you can do at home with minimum equipment.  It’s called the complete workout because it targets the whole body and uses the complete number seven.  This workout is designed to keep you consistent with your workouts even when you can’t make it to the gym.  My goal is to help you maintain the habit of working out.

The Complete Workout requires a set or two of heavy dumbbells (heavy for you) and a heavy kettle bell or two for the squats and one arm row. Get a weight that’s going to challenge you on a shoulder press at 7 reps, so make it as heavy as you can tolerate.

Complete the 7 exercises below circuit style with 20-30 seconds rest as needed between exercises.  Do 7 reps each and complete the circuit 3-7 times dependent on how much time you have.  You may add the dumbbells or kettle bell to any of the exercise you feel comfortable with.  Remember challenging yourself every day is key.

Exercises:
Push-ups or Modified Push-up
One Arm Row
Shoulder Press
Squats
Lunge
Jump Squats (No Weight)
Shoulder Tap Planks (7 taps each shoulder)

Helping you maintain a habit of training every day,
Jeff

I’ve gotten lots of great feedback from the fast food tips so I will keep them coming.  Today I did some research on one of my favorite places.  I fell in love with Ms. Wendy while I was in college and she will always have a special place in my heart and stomach.  Not going to lie I was a little scared to do the research here but Wendy’s has some pretty good choices.  Once again let me say good quality protein, vegetables and fruits are your best choices but if your caught in a pinch and you need a go to, Wendy’s could be the place.

The sausage and egg burrito is your best choice for breakfast.  This tasty burrito contains 270 calories and only 12 grams of carbs.  This could be an excellent way to start your day if you don’t have access to your eggs and sauerkraut.

I was surprised the small vanilla frosty only has 280 calories but is loaded with sugar (47 grams) which makes it a no no if your trying to lose weight.  Half an Apple Pecan Chicken Salad or Half a BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad are both great options.  Both come in at 180 and 210 calories with only 17 grams of carbs  and most of those carbs are good carbs..

The 1/4 lb burger with the bun is a no go at 580 calories and 42 grams of carbs, however trade the bun for lettuce and you reduce the calorie count to 400 and lower the carb count to nearly zero.  Another option is the Jr. Bacon Cheese Burger with the bun its 400 calories and 25 grams or carbs and without the bun its 300 calories and nearly zero carbs.

I’m not a chicken nugget guy but the 6 piece nugget or spicy nugget packs 280 calories and only 15 grams of carbs.  In addition, the Grilled Chicken Go Wrap is 260 calories and 25 grams of carbs.

You can have all the black coffee and unsweetened tea you want but stay away from the other drinks because they are loaded with calories and sugar.

Wendy’s is a restaurant with several choices but doesn’t replace the home kitchen.  Make sure your taking a liquid or gummy vitamin if you are a frequent restaurant visitor.

Helping you make better food choices,
Jeff

Hey,

Why is it harder for women to lose body fat than men?  Well there’s two reasons.  Number one, men have a slightly higher metabolic rate genetically than women and there’s nothing you can do about that.

Number 2, men have more muscle mass than women and this is something you have complete control over.  Increasing your muscle mass is the single most important thing any woman can do to improve fat loss.

So, how do you increase muscle mass.  Hit the weights and hit them hard and heavy.  The more weight you lift the more muscle mass you grow.  Muscle drives fat metabolism. Lifting weights breaks down muscle tissue and is the reason you get sore.  The muscle then repairs itself much like a mason puts more mortar down while laying bricks.  This grows muscle mass resulting in a faster metabolism.

In addition, a growing body of research suggest doing short bout of high intensity aerobic training.  Short bouts are interpreted as 20-60 seconds of hard aerobic training followed by a recovery period.  These short intense bouts increase growth hormone.  Think about women Olympic sprinters.  These women are extremely lean, have considerable muscle mass and never run more than 10-90 seconds at a time.

Increase your muscle mass and become a sprinter to lose fat as a woman!

Helping You Stay Healthy and Fit
Jeff

Hey,
Another popular place to eat that at first sight looks pretty healthy is Tropical Smoothie.  I personally love smoothies and think they’re a great way to get a serving or two of fruits mixed with some vegetables.  The big issue with smoothies are the calories and carbs.  Tropical Smoothie makes their smoothies with all natural fruit but they add turbinado sugar or Splenda.  Turbinado sugar is an all-natural sugar that isn’t processed, but non the less it is sugar which means increased blood sugar levels and insulin levels which spells trouble if you’re losing weight.   You do have a Splenda option which reduces calories and carbs considerably, but I’m not an advocate of using Splenda and could and probably will write a blog post on it sometime.  If you’re currently struggling to lose fat I would not choose a smoothie from tropical smoothie.  There is one exception.  You can request a smoothie without turbinado sugar or Splenda.  However, my advice is buy a blender and make your own without any sugar added.

The wraps I love so much are off the menu unless your sharing with a friend.  All wraps contain 550-675 calories and 50-80 grams of carbs.  My favorite the Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wrap contains 625 calories and 73 grams of carbs.  I won’t be having one of those for a while.  Toasted Sandwiches and Flatbreads aren’t much better.  Calorie counts range from 370-730 while carbs range from 40-65.
The Feisty Feta Chicken Flat Bread has 370 calories with 44 grams of carbs.  Not the best but doable.

You can choose from any of the taco’s.  Cilantro Lime Fish is the best coming in at 186 calories and only 23 grams of carbs.  The Thai Chicken Salad is another option coming in at 339 calories and 38 grams of mostly good carbs.

Skip the breakfast foods.  They weigh in heavy at 500-775 calories and 40-85 grams of carbs.  However, they have two great snacks the fruit medley at 85 calories and 23 grams of carbs or kale and apple slaw at 70 calories and only 6 grams of carbs.

While Tropical Smoothie sounds like a healthy place to eat, if you’re trying to lose weight it’s not a great option.  Buy a blender and make your own smoothies, but try to keep the serving size to 10-12 ounces.  Next, we will be looking at Zaxby’s menu.  Another request from one of our boot campers.

Helping You Make Good Food Choices,
Jeff

In an effort to provide you guys with the best choices possible when eating on the go.  I went Mexican today that is Taco Bell.  I don’t recommend fast food, however I do understand it’s inevitable at times and rather than being a food snob I would rather give my fitness boot camp members good recommendations that help move the scale and tape in the right direction.

Taco Bell surprisingly has some good weight loss options for folks eating on the go.  For instance, the sausage A.M. griller is an excellent breakfast choice on the go.  It provides just 230 calories with only 16 grams of carbs.  Many of the items on the main menu surprised me with the low calorie count, but the carb count knocked them off my list.  Pushing sugar and insulin levels down is the key to burning fat so I moved to the gorditas.

The chicken and steak supreme gordita provide 280 calories with just 29 grams of carbs.  Other options would be the Fresco chicken or grilled soft taco.  These tacos have approximately 150 calories and only 18 grams of carbs.  You could have two chicken soft tacos and barely break the 300 calorie range and only 32 grams of carbs.

The drinks are not friendly.  All of them are loaded with sugar and range from 400-1100 calories dependent on size.  Drink water or you will be killing any good food choice made.

The key to weight loss is maintaining total caloric intake to 1200 -1800 calories per day dependent on your current weight and activity level.  This means the caloric need at each meal will range from 300-400 calories per sitting.  In addition, if too many of your meals come from restaurants make sure you’re taking a liquid or gummy multi-vitamin daily.

Helping you lose fat & stay fit,
Jeff

Weight loss and getting fit are great, but the whole reason for losing weight and getting fit is to improve your overall health.  I want to help all my clients and people who read my newsletters and blog improve their overall health.  I spoke to one of my neighbors a few months ago about the importance of probiotics and adding fermented sauerkraut to his diet.  He stopped me today to tell me what a difference it’s made for him and his wife and their auto-immune issues.  They take turmeric as well.

Everyone should eat sauerkraut or some other fermented vegetable every day.  Why?  Most Americans don’t have enough good gut bacteria and as a result sits us up for a health problem called leaky gut syndrome.   What you need to know is leaky gut syndrome can cause a host of autoimmune diseases to include arthritis, psoriasis, IBS, and others.  Improving your good gut bacteria is the first step to re-taking your health.

Fermented sauerkraut contains about 20 times more probiotics than pills and works far more efficient at restoring gut health.  Make sure the sauerkraut you eat is fermented and don’t cook it.  Cooking it will kill the bacteria that help you.

Below are just a few other reasons sauerkraut should be a part of your diet.

Sauerkraut
• Contains Vitamin A which is assist with healthy vision, teeth, skeletal tissue and skin
• Contains Vitamin C which contributes to immune health, is an antioxidant, and assist with wound healing
• Uncooked/Unpasteurized sauerkraut contain probiotics that’s extremely beneficial to the digestive tract replacing good bacteria
• Helps synthesize B vitamins for use
• Great source of fiber that protects the body from heart disease and cancer
• Good source of Vitamin K; needed for blood clotting, helps build strong bones, potentially lowers risk for heart disease and cancer
• Contains iron which increase O2 carrying capacity, increases energy, brain function and muscle function

Have you ever seen an overweight athlete or body builder?  Probably not!  Why can boxers or UFC fighters cut weight in a hurry?  The answer is high fitness level.

The higher the fitness level, the easier it is to burn fat.  Fat cells are living organisms with enzymes that store fat and release fat.  The higher the fitness level the more fat releasing enzymes the fat cells possess.  Fat releasing enzymes grow larger and larger and this means more fat is released and burned as energy both during exercise and while at rest.

Increasing fitness level requires increasing intensity of exercise, the harder you work the more your fitness level will increase, this means working hard for 20-60 seconds then recovering similar to the way we train at fitness boot camp.  This may require lifting heavier weight, doing more reps or moving faster.
Start doing short bouts of hard exercise and start burning more fat today!

* If you have health conditions like heart disease, hypertension or diabetes check with your doctor before increasing exercise intensity.  If you have not exercised in a while start slowly.

Over the past two or three months I’ve taken notice to a common theme around fitness boot camp.  The theme is life is very busy and as a result you don’t have time to plan meals and even cook dinner on a lot of nights.  It’s easier to go through a drive through and pick something up.  With that said, I want to help you make better choices when eating out.

There’s no secret that my 4:30 PM class has a fondness for Sonic.  So let’s visit fastfoodnutrition.org and find some things you can eat at Sonic and still lose weight.  I’ll be honest I went into this thinking that finding something at Sonic would not be that big a deal, but it was.  A regular Burger with a bun is between 600-700 calories dependent on what you put on it.  The enlarged buns they use carry a whopping 200 calories of nothing more than 46 grams of pure simple carbohydrates ready to drive up sugar and insulin levels and be stored as fat.  So what do you do?

You basically have about 4-5 not so great choices. You can go with the regular burger and have them put it on lettuce instead of a bun.  Now you’re down to 400-450 calories which is doable for most.  You could have the Jr. Cheese Burger for 380 calories or remove the bun and lower the carbs 32 grams and calorie count to 260.  The grilled chicken wrap could work but it’s still 430 calories and 42 grams of carbs.  The Jr. Breakfast Burrito could work at 280 calories and 23 grams of carbs.  On the drink side of the house you basically have water and milk with everything else loaded with sugar or artificial sweetener.

Let’s just say Sonic is not weight loss friendly with most meals ranging from 600-1400 calories and all are loaded with simple carbs which spell disaster for weight loss.

My diet used to be horrible until I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at age 39 and the doctor wanted to put me on blood pressure medication.  I decided to see if I could lower my blood pressure with food and I did.  The smoothie recipe below is just one of many things I started eating in the 6 months following my diagnosis.  This smoothie is loaded with natural foods that act as anti-inflammatories and dilate blood vessels naturally.  In addition, it tastes great.

Blood Pressure Smoothie
½ cup milk, ½ cup yogurt, ½ cup frozen strawberries, ½ cup frozen blueberries, 1 banana, ½ cup broccoli, 4 slices canned beets, ½ tsp cinnamon