Category Archives: Q & A

Secret Tips to dieting and losing belly fat!

For the last month, I've been getting bombarded with one question,

" What diet can I use to lose fat quickly around my stomach!" 

You'd think that with all the diet books, information and magazines out today that most people would just create a diet that helps them lose belly fat. Yet, I still get this question. So, rather than create a secret diet to lose fat, fast.  I'll give you some tips that are more important when dieting and losing weight.

TIP # 1:  calories in have to be less than calories out (cardio and muscle resistance)

TIP # 2: stick to a few meals and rotate them until you reach your desired weight.

TIP # 3: count your calories and know how many your eating if your serious about losing weight.  Yes, tedious but if you really are tired of those love handles than it takes effort to get rid of them.  Check out the device below for real calorie tracking! BodyMedia FIT weight management system has been clinically proven to help you lose up to 3X more weight.

TIP # 4: don't be scared of jumping on the scale.  Yes, muscle weighs more than fat but initially you'll just be losing water and fat weight.  The scale doesn't lie.  So, know really where you're at in reference to your weight.  Body fat is also a great way to track every other week.

TIP #5:Low carb is definitely the way to lose lots of water weight and to make your body to start burning fat and protein for energy. 

TIP #6: Eat clean.   Don't eat protein bars for protein.  Eat real food.  Lean protein sources i.e. eggs, egg whites…

TIP # 7: Don't get scammed by weight loss pills.  If you want a diet supplement than these: organic, whole leaf green tea/ CLA/Chromium picolinate/pro-biotic multiple vitamin.      

Try this for great vitamins >>>Life Extension Overstock Blowout Sale – Save 60% to 75%

TIP # 8:  Get moving.  If you're motivated to lose weight fast then sweat every day.  Throw some running shoes on and get running.  Push ups, core and ab training, pull ups and squats.  Spend 90 % of your time doing cardio and 10% with the resistance training.  Remember, this is to shed fat fast.  Once you lose weight fast.  Then you can work on more muscle defining etc…Don't let anyone tell you different.  I had to lose 10-20 lbs a wrestling season for over 10 years like it was my job.

Here's a quick sample of a diet menu that I gave to a client that lost a total of 43lbs in 7 months, below:

Meal 1:  1 cup nonfat cottage cheese or 2 egg whites scrambled with 1 whole egg or hemp protein protein drink (2 scoops hemp protein, 1/2 cup frozen organic berries, 1 small banana and 1 cup non sweetened coconut or hemp milk.

Meal 2: 1 cup organic wild blueberries and strawberries mixed with 1 ounce of organic shredded raw nuts.

Meal 3: 2 cups organic greens (try kale and earthy greens), 1/2 cup cold organic veggies( try root veggies), 2 ounces lean protein (shredded chicken), 1/2 cup of beans, 1 ounce seeds, 1/4 cup of nonfat cottage cheese.   Dressing: drizzled on top  Recipe>> 1/2 cup extra light virgin olive oil or coconut oil, dash sea salt, 2 tbsp mustard, fresh basil, juice of 1 whole organic lemon, dash pepper, tsp cayenne pepper.    Experiment with salads!  Best meals for even breakfast?

Meal 4:  eat only if hungry.   Organic baby carrots mixed with organic cherry tomatoes.  1 cup

Meal 5: 1-2 cups of organic veggies stir fried with 2-3 ounces of lean protein. Need a light night snack and can't escape it?  Organic Greek yogurt. Please Note:  dieting is only short term and is not a lifestyle.  It let's you get to your goal weight and build momentum  to eating a healthier, whole foods type of food plan.  Lose weight around your belly, get lean and be happy with yourself.

Need a diet then click here>>>Yes, please give me a diet. 

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Win a Six Pack Fitness T-Shirt. Answer ” how to lose last 5lbs to get a flat belly”.

How many of you think you’re eating healthy now? Does the meal plan below look like yours? This was a real Fitbytes Insider who 3 weeks ago emailed me for help with her diet and fitness plan to get a flat belly.  She has lost a total of 36 pounds/3 inches on her belly in 7 months with the workout and  diet below :

Meal 1: Greek yogurt, apple with peanut butter

Meal 2: Balance/ Cliff or Special k protein bar

Meal 3: salad with protein/ pita or carrots with hummus

Meal 4: greek yogurt or protein drink or protein bar as above

Meal 5: salad/protein/veggies/glass wine

Looks kind of healthy right? Let me ask you something…tell me what’s wrong with this meal plan and workout if this person has already lost most of her goal weight but needs to lose that last 5-10lbs.  What should she change with both her fitness plan and diet?  She has no medical conditions,34 with 1 child, no food allergies and has on average 60 minutes a day to workout 5-6 days per week.

Oh yea, workout background: typical workout 30-60 minutes of cardio (jog 2-3x, elliptical 1-2x) 4-5 times a week.  resistance training 2-3 times a week.  yoga and/or spinning once per week.

Email me the answer  bsstudio@comcast.net and who ever gets it right will get 3 free Six Pack T-shirts!  I’ll give 2 runners up 1 Six Pack T-shirt.

I’ll give the answer and winner by next Friday, 5/6/11

We have a Winner plus a bunch of other who gave some great answers!

1st place:  Dianne, New Jersey

2nd place: Jamie, California

3rd place: Megan, Florida

All of the place winners had most answers in common.  Dianne just went into major detail.  The main point I was looking for was taking out any of the foods that were not clean and replacing them with foods that are clean .  She should also focus on getting more veggies into her diet (fiber and vitamins).

Examples of changes  to clean foods (answers):

Exchange (meal 1) peanut butter with raw almond, cashew or sunflower butter or replace nuts or peanut butter all together with a hard boiled egg.

Exchange (meal 2 ) protein bars with low-fat cottage cheese, 1/2 cup brown rice and beans, green apple, berries, grapefruit, greek yogurt (no sugar).  Get rid of all the bars above all together.  Go for a raw, natural bar if necessary.  NOT a LARA BAR (all sugar, date paste!).

Meal 3: ok

Meal 4: Again, no bars.  Protein drink should be whey or hemp protein.  Keep calories low.

Meal 5: ok.  Limit wine or skip all together until reach goal.

Exercise Program:

Cardio Everyday:  change up cardio program from long distance to short, intense cardio.  30-90 minutes.

Resistance Training: Add boxing, kickboxing and other classes that make you engage your whole body.  Stick to one major exercise per body part and don’t worry about using heavy weights.  Example: legs>>>squats with 20lb medicine ball for 50 reps.  Biceps>>>dumbell bicep curls with 10-20 lbs for 6-15 reps   Back>>wide grip pull down with 30-70 lbs followed with high reps on gravitron pull up machine    Chest: dumbell flat press with 10-25lbs followed with push ups for as many reps as possible.

I could go on with answers, diets and programs but overall the above is enough for this Fitbytes Insider to lose her unwanted pounds and to lose weight quickly.
Get a degree in the medical field...

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Jay Robb Egg White Protein Review

Most of you who have read my blog or get free nutrition help from signing up for my newsletter know that I’m a big believer in eating egg whites as a main source of protein.

A large egg white contains approximately 4.7 grams or protein and is made up of 40 proteins, trace minerals and vitamins.   The yolk actually is healthy from a whole foods view.  The yolk contains fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E and K), approx. 2.7 grams protein , lecithin and carotenoids.  So, if you can make eggs ( 2-3 egg whites and 1 egg) a staple in your daily diet then you’re doing your body good.  Best to make eggs this way, because eating 5-10 eggs a day is beneficial to getting lean muscle, especially for women.  Can you imagine eating 10 egg yolks?

The other day, a client asked me about ” Egg white protein powder” and whether I thought it was any good.  I personally think an egg white protein powder can be an OK source of protein.  However, not as good as the real thing.  Processing a food for protein almost always leads to loss of minerals, vitamins and micro-nutrients that chemically we can’t even find.  Yet, protein powders can provide your muscles with an amino acid ratio quickly which is needed to recuperate and build muscle.

The question really is, ” Whether there is an egg white protein powder on the market that taste good?”.  I have yet to find one.  So, my client gave me a sample of the Jay Robb Egg White Protein Powder.  I have tried his whey protein powder  which is decent tasting.   I personally like to find whole foods that I can implement into my lifestyle.  AKA: taste good and good for you.

My review of the Jay Robb Egg White Protein Powder taste little chalky but overall better than TwinLabs Egg Protein powder.  I found the strawberry flavor the best.  On a 1-10 I give this protein powder a 5 for taste and a 8 for nutrition.

Smoothie recommendation with Protien Powder:

1 Cup low-fat dairy or non dairy beverage, 1 tbsp raw  and natural nut butter, 1-2 scoops protein powder, 1 large banana, 2 tbsp all natural chocolate syrup (trader joes) and blend!


If you have found an Egg white protein powder that taste good.  Let me know.

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Q & A: Doug healthy food choices do you choose when you go out to eat?

Last week a Fitbytes Insider (to become one just put your name and email on the home page or below this post) asked me what I eat when I go out for dinner.  So,I decided to show you what I had eaten at a Sports bar which is not the easiest place to eat healthy.

I’ve listed their salad menu options of which I would choose from and listed some changes I would ask the waitress to make.  I like to go directly to the salad menu and change things up because I can go low-carb, protein and lots of flavor without the preservatives and heavy salt.

Which salad would you choose??

House Salad

Seasonal greens, julienne carrots, red onions, vine ripe tomatoes, cucumbers and croutons – 5.95

Doug tip:  get rid of croutons and use an oil and lemon dressing.

Caesar Salad 

A traditional favorite with our homemade dressing – 7.95

Top your Caesar Salad or House Salad with your choice of

Chicken, Steak Tips, Teriyaki or Turkey Tips

Blackened Swordfish Tips

Dougs Tip: I would keep the parmesean cheese on the salad.  I’d go for the chicken or blackened swordfish.  Turkey tips sound healthy but really they are saturated in preservatives.

California Cobb Salad

Grilled chicken breast, bacon, cheddar cheese, avocado, tomatoes, scallions and ripe olives

Dougs Tip: I would scratch the bacon and again go for the oil and vinegar or lemon.  You could put ranch on it but keep it to a minimum.

 Chopped Salad

Shredded romaine, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, red beans, cucumbers, olives, red onions, feta cheese and Italian vinaigrette – 11.95

Doug’s Tip:  not a bad salad but I’d limit the feta cheese. 

Grilled Salmon Salad

Fillet of salmon lightly seasoned and grilled, then served over seasonal greens with tomatoes,boiled egg, steamed potatoes, green beans, pickled red onions, kalamata olives and lemon walnut vinaigrette – 15.95

Doug’s Tip:  My overall favorite on the menu and of course this is the one I picked.  I added blackened swordfish.  I just used olive oil and lemon and it tasted great.

Arugula Beef Salad

Baby arugula tossed with gorgonzola cheese, toasted pine nuts, balsamic dressing and served with fire roasted top sirloin crusted with peppercorns – 17.95

Doug’s Tip:  If you wanted steak and you were craving salad I’d say you could eat this salad.  Just eliminate or cut back on the cheese.

Salad Dressings

Creamy Bleu Cheese, Parmesan Peppercorn, Zesty Italian, House Vinaigrette, Balsamic, Raspberry,Honey Mustard, Lemon Walnut Vinaigrette, Caesar, Ranch or Olive Oil & vinegar.

Doug’s Tip:  Try to stay away from the creamy dressings.  Not because of the fat as much as the artificial flavors, preservatives and saturated fat. Paul Newman’s makes a decent commercial line of dressings.   Yet, it won’t kill you to add a tablespoon of any of the above to your salad if you’re just concerned about losing weight.

Free Range Organic Chicken

Oven roasted half chicken rubbed with provençal herbs over a bed of mashed potatoes with grilled asparagus and garlic chicken jus – 16.95

Doug’s Tip: I thought I’d throw this one on the post to show you a decent option.  Cut the mashed potatoes and garlic jus.

 
Train for a new career in the growing field of HEALTH CARE!
 

 

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