Do You Have An Attitude? Pt. 2

The power of the mind is strong. The way you think about yourself manifests as your reality. We all know how easily negative thoughts can lead to lack of confidence, hopelessness, bad behavior and depression. In other words a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you tell yourself that you'll never find happiness, chances are you'll end up unhappy.

Do You Have An Attitude?

Do you have what it takes to reach your fitness goals? If you think it's all about diet and exercise, you're wrong. Exercise and a proper diet are crucial to all fitness programs. But to reach any long-term goal like one that is a major lifestyle change you need the right attitude. You can have all the external support in the world, but if your self-esteem is in the toilet, you'll never have long-term success.

Healthy Pasta Alternative

Veggie Pasta With Italian Chicken Sausage

Ingredients:

· 2 small zucchini

· 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

· Salt and pepper to taste

· 1 garlic clove, diced

· 1 cup diced tomatoes

· 1 teaspoon oregano

· 1/2 pound cooked Italian chicken sausage, sliced into small pieces

· 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

Instructions:

1. Using a vegetable peeler and turning the zucchini as you go, slice the zucchini into ribbons.

2. In a skillet, over medium heat, sauté zucchini in 1 tablespoon of oil until it's soft and the edges are clear.

3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in another pan, over medium heat, and add garlic.

5. Sauté for a minute, then add the tomatoes and oregano.

6. Simmer for a few minutes, then stir in the sausage.

7. Spoon sauce over the zucchini. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Makes 2 servings

Nutrition information per serving: 309 calories, 29 g total fat, 9 g carbohydrate, 28 g protein, 324 mg sodium.

All or Not

It's time to kill the all-or-nothing attitude. A great way to do that is to get real regarding setbacks. We are all bound to have lapses on the road to fitness, so it's critical that we learn how to handle small failures positively, and to minimize their long-term destructive effects. One setback is just that, one setback, not the end of the world.

Hard Work

We all enjoy happy workers, right? I love when I see people getting excited about doing the work that will help them reach their goals. I found that most people have no idea how strong they are or what their potential is. I know you're strong enough to work and I know you’re strong enough to work hard. Set out to work hard and you will get stronger, both physically and mentally

Testosterone Pt. 4

Eating right, exercising, and managing stress are all crucial to keeping testosterone and DHEA levels high. In other words keep up the hard work.

Testosterone Pt. 3

Unfortunately, as we age, our production of testosterone and DHEA goes down. Our libidos slip, our muscles lose mass, we gain abdominal fat, and our bones weaken. Pure motivation to exercise decreases, which is absolutely disastrous because exercise helps boost testosterone. To make matters worse, as people gain weight, their bodies start to convert more of their testosterone to estrogen. This estrogen can then start to overshadow the effects of testosterone in a vicious cycle: more estrogen, more fat; more fat, more estrogen. The testosterone gets crowded out of the equation.

Testosterone Pt. 2

here are many reasons we have to do everything we can to protect our levels of these hormones, such as testosterone, because as we get older, they start to head south.

Androgens like testosterone and DHEA are anabolic hormones, by definition, they build rather than destroy. And what they build, thank goodness, is mostly muscle. In both men and women, testosterone helps increase lean muscle mass and strength, boosts libido, and improves energy.

Peppered Swordfish with Cardamom-Carrot Sauce

Serves 4

1 teaspoon cardamom pods

3/4 cup carrot juice

1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon sugar

salt, to taste

1 pound boned, skinned swordfish or halibut

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. Crush cardamom pods; remove seeds.

3. In a l-to-1 l/2-quart pan, mix cardamom, carrot juice, rice vinegar, cornstarch,
and sugar until well blended. Stir over high heat until mixture boils; reduce heat
to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1/2 cup, 7 to 9 minutes.
Cover pan and remove from heat; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Taste, and add salt
and more vinegar if desired. Pour sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl.

4. Meanwhile rinse fish, pat dry, and cut into 4 equal portions. Rub fish with olive
oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Set a 10-to-12-inch nonstick frying pan (with
ovenproof handle) over high heat. When pan is hot, add fish and turn as needed
to brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes total. Sprinkle black pepper evenly over
fish.

5. Put pan in oven; bake until fish is opaque but still moist-looking in the center of
the thickest part (cut to test), 5 to 7 minutes.

6. Transfer fish to rimmed plates. Spoon sauce evenly around fish, and sprinkle
with chives.

NUTRITION PER SERVING

CALORIES 171 FAT 5.7 g (saturated 1.4 g) PROTEIN 23 g SODIUM 116 mg FIBER 1 g CARBOHYDRATE 5.5 g

Testosterone

For many women, the word "testosterone" conjures the image of a muscle-bound sports player or a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal. But it turns out that testosterone is not just for guys — it and another androgenic hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), are forces of good in women's metabolic war too. They can help us boost our energy, motivate us to hit the gym, and help us build calorie-burning muscle.

Put Yourself First Pt. 2

This drives the blood back and forth between your upper and lower body, allowing you to burn about twice as many calories! The extra calorie burn results from something called peripheral heart action, or PHA. PHA is a good program, and it's one of the reasons we can get such great results. As if burning more calories weren't enough, following this kind of routine also reduces the formation of lactic acid, which is the cause of muscle fatigue.

Putting Your Heart Into It

Did you know that doing a lower-body workout is one of the most effective ways to elevate your heart rate and burn calories? In fact, it's why your daily routines are designed to work your lower body during each and every training session. This breakdown allows you to combine exercises for your upper body and lower body in a swift sequence.

Put Yourself First

You can't lose weight for someone else, you have to have your own goals. After all, you're the one out there sweating your butt off, right? Finding the right motivation is all about getting real with yourself.

Good Snack To Go

Cumin-Roasted Almonds
2 cups whole blanched almonds2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons ground cumin1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Place almonds on a baking sheet; toss with oil, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, about 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
Variation: Use curry powder and cayenne pepper in place of cumin and black pepper.
To make ahead: The almonds will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Makes 32 servings.

How to Stay Motivated

I personal have a strong team, but I also know that no one who comes to our facility is a slouch. And you just don’t know how proud we are of each and everyone of you. We love to see all you progress. So if you have a testimonial or just want to share an accomplishment email me back we would love to read what you have to say. I believe we should share the ups and downs of losing weight and keeping fit. Motivation is the key to any program, and it's crucial to any successful goal.

Mind Over Matter Pt. 2

To push your body toward “YOUR” ripped perfection, your mind has got to be strong and focused. It is imperative that you hone and train your mind as intensely as you train your body. This means following a few guidelines and performing some mental exercises to replace self-defeating behaviors with positive ones, and to remove distractions and bring mental clarity and self-control. It's your mind that directs and drives everything you do, or don't do… so get it on your side!

Mind Over Matter

You can change your life by changing your mind. Any lingering sense of inferiority or inadequacy will interfere with the attainment of your goals and dreams, while self-confidence and a positive attitude will lead to success.

Visualize the Prize Pt. 3

You can now create an image of your body that fits your genetic type and potential. It must be an attainable vision, not one that will be out of reach. For example, I'm never gonna be able to slam-dunk. But I can be the best player that I can be, and at the end of the day that's what counts. Your imagination can be the source of your fear, but it can also provide the remedy. By harnessing the power of your imagination and practicing visualization, you can make your mind work for you, not against you.

Visualize the Prize Pt. 2

The reason visualization is effective is that in some ways, your brain can't tell the difference between a real event and an imagined one, by using your imagination, you can create positive "experiences" that improve your self-image and your skills, help you release worry, realize your goals, and so on. The possibilities are endless.   Deviled Eggs Serves 6 (serving size is 1 egg) 6 peeled hard-cooked eggs 3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard squirt of lemon juice salt, to taste paprika Cut eggs in half, lengthwise. Remove the yolks, and blend them by hand with mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and salt. Spoon the mixture back into thewhites. Dust with paprika.

Visualize the Prize

The technique of visualization is intended to bring about major life changes by means of your thoughts and imagination. It's simple: Picture in your mind the object of your desire as vividly as possible. Spend time concentrating on the image, truly believing in it as if it were already real. Be detailed and comprehensive in creating the image, and be sure to include your emotional well-being in this vision as well.

Chill Out

There is, in fact, a great time to do low-intensity exercise, like when you're just starting any fitness regimen. Think about how you act when you approach something new: You're just getting started. You're pumped. You're motivated. And you're inclined to jump right in and give it all you've got, only to end up burning out or injuring yourself. For the first two weeks of training.

Get Intense Pt. 2

Even though the percentage of fat calories burned is higher during a low-intensity workout, you're burning so many more total calories during a high-intensity workout that, percentages aside, you are still burning more fat calories, not to mention the 200 additional carb calories.

Get Intense

Ever notice the color-coded exercise "zones" listed on cardio machines? There's a "fat burning" zone, an "endurance training" zone, and so forth. The colors look nice, but how many times have you chosen the "fat burning" zone and watched as your fat stayed put? That's because fat-burning programs keep you at a lower intensity level, when to lose weight you really need to burn big calories. That only happens when you exercise at a higher-intensity level.

Let's look at the math. In a half hour of low-intensity exercise, you might burn 100 calories. Of those 100 calories, roughly 80 percent will be fat calories, meaning that you've burned 80 fat calories. In a half hour of high-intensity exercise, you might burn 300 calories. Of those 300 calories, roughly 33 percent will be fat calories, meaning that you've burned around 100 fat calories.