I was sitting with my buddy working on the new weight loss program and this is a picture of a van that drove by

Best Van Ever!

How ironic!

Well this is about as blatant and in your face as food marketing can get, this might actually be the best van I’ve ever seen.

The moral to this short post is to remind you that you’re likely exposed to hundreds of marketing message that tell you to ‘Eat More’.

You’ll never, ever see a van drive by that says ‘eat less’.

It’s unfortunate but the simplest answer for weight loss is also the one that nobody (besides me!) will ever tell you.

John

Tasty Stuff!

I’m sitting at a local “Panera Bread” location waiting to meet up with a colleague and the picture on the left is what is staring at me! A counter of croissants, breads, bagels, danishes, pastries, tarts, muffins, cakes, squares, pies and other tasty things that I don’t even know how to describe (and that’s just the bakery side, there is also a deli/sandwich shop side).

I knew I’d be having this meeting here and I was fully prepared for the temptations of Panera Bread today, and I’ve adjusted my eating schedule accordingly. Basically I’ll consume most (if not all) of my calories here today before/during/after this meeting. And it won’t be hard, a soup/sandwich combo here with a coffee and one of the pastries will easily put me between 1000-1500 calories for the day. I’ll be very content and still on track for losing weight.

This is an example of situational control for weight loss.

I know full well that I cannot be sitting in a Panera Bread and not eat at least 1000 calories. So I make sure that my day (as far as eating goes) is set up for me to eat most or all of my calories here (if I know I’ll be visiting)

This way I can crush all the awesome food Panera has to offer without feeling guilty and staying on track for staying lean or even losing weight.

Just a little bit of planning can go a long way.

John

The devil is in the dose.

If you browse around the cyber-inter-web-o-sphere and look around for ‘healthy nutrition’ information you’ll likely find a big list of  “items to avoid”.

Here are some of the common ones I can think of off the top of my head:

Saturated Fat

Trans Fat

Sugar

Artificial Sweeteners

Genetically Modified Anything (which is ridiculous considering about 80% of the modern food supply has some level of modification…these people are living in a fantasy world)

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Non Local Foods (the 100 mile diet people think it’s possible to eat just from their local area…with no conception of how impossible this is from an economic standpoint)

Red Meat

Butter

Refined White Flour (or anything that is made with white flour)

I’m guessing you recognize most of the items on this list and have heard or read somewhere why each one is “bad for you”.

So whats left to eat?

Some veggies, maybe a bit of fruit…perhaps an egg white…

But even too many of one type of veggie could cause a problem if nothing more than some serious gastro intestinal discomfort.

The point is that none of these things are bad at a manageable dose.

The issue with most foods is never the food itself, it’s always the dose.

A teaspoon of sugar in your coffee just makes it a really tasty coffee.

Consuming pounds of sugar on a weekly basis in the form of sweet snacks, dressings, baked goods etc…now you’re asking for diabetes.

Just remember that the devil is always in the dose never in the food itself.

John

I’ll be going out for dinner tonight and I’m not entirely sure what will be on the menu or what I’ll be eating, but I think I definitely want to include a soup or a salad (or both)

Soup and salad can be great low calorie (but tasty) options when you’re trying to pay attention to your total calorie intake.

So I’m just throwing this one out.

What are you favorite soup and/or salad choices when you go out for dinner?

John

These pancakes were effin’ great! I ate them as soon as we were done filming! I think I might have let her have one bite!

Ok so here is the nutritional breakdown for both pancakes together:

280 calories
27g carbs
39g protein
2g fat

Recipe

3 egg whites
1/3 cup oatbran
1 tbsp low fat sour cream
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
28g vanilla protein powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp (each) nutmeg and clove

These were damn good and the nutritional profile is so much different than your standard pancake.

Thanks again to Becky for another kick ass recipe.

John

Can You Really Lose Weight Eating This Every Day?

The ketogenic diet was first tested as a treatment for epilepsy in the 1920′s. It was relatively successful and was used as a form of treatment. The diet basically consists of a very low daily carbohydrate content (15 or so grams per day) with the bulk of the remaining calories consumed coming from fat and a small amount of protein.

This diet was never meant to be used for weight loss rather it was meant as a clinical treatment for a disease state. But somehow just about any nutrition intervention (no matter what it’s for) ends up getting turned into a diet/weight loss program.

Anyway here is the quick review of what ketosis is.

Ketosis is a state when your body does not have sufficient carbohydrate intake to fuel your normal daily functioning so it starts to rely more on ketone bodies (which are made from fat) as a primary fuel source.

This happens during starvation, however you can recreate this state by eating a zero carbohydrate diet.

After a few weeks of eating in this pattern most healthy individuals seem to be able to adapt to this style of eating although it’s not necessarily fun to do for more than a couple of days (which isn’t really long enough to really get into ketosis).

In other words, you’re likely not going to want to do this for very long if you don’t have to.

The bottom line is that ketogenic diets are a rather extreme way to modify your diet. It’s not dangerous per se, but it’s also not necessary and probably unsustainable for most people. There is simply too many fun and tasty carbohydrate foods to eat (that can be incorporated into an effective weight loss program) to justify going on a restrictive ketogenic diet.

John

P.S. A simpler way to lose weight without restricting food choices is Eat Stop Eat, if you haven’t already read it I suggest you check it out.

In this video Becky shows you how to make a low calorie chicken pizza.

The pizza only has approx 180 calories and the chicken itself is the base of the pizza. There is no dough or flour or any of that.

This pizza is made entirely of chicken, tomato sauce, cheese and veggies for toppings.

Check it out.

John

Guess How Many Calories Are In This Pizza

This is a personal sized ‘Chicken Pizza’ that my friend Becky Osterhout (Venus Index model and fitness competitor) made for me.

Tomorrow I’ll have a video up showing you exactly how she made it, but for today I just want you to guess at how many calories you think are in this pizza?

The pizza is about 5 inches in diameter (just in case you can’t tell from the pic)

I’ll be revealing the actual calorie count in tomorrows video.

John

If this is your idea of cooking...you've got no hope

If weight loss is your goal, then the food you choose to eat is probably going to have to change to some degree. Although I believe you can lose weight eating whatever you like, there will be an easy and harder path to weight loss.

The base of it will always be a caloric deficit. After that it’s a matter of feeling satisfied with the food you eat while still maintaining this deficit.

Some people like simplicity and don’t want to even bother experimenting with new foods. These type of people stick with a simple rotation of the same 10-12 foods each week. They get used to the portion sizes and calorie counts of each food/meal and once they have a system that works they don’t deviate from it.

This is how most traditional bodybuilding diets are structured. It’s usually a matter of simplicity rather than variety or choice.

If this sounds like a sentence to hard labor then there is another way, BUT it requires you to be somewhat creative in the kitchen and know your way around the grocery store.

There is an endless amount of great meals that you could cook that will allow for weight loss and maintaining a caloric deficit AND taste awesome and leave you feeling satisfied…IF you know how to make them!

I personally have experimented with a few things but I am by no means a wizard in the kitchen…

Luckily a friend of mine who is also one of the models in the upcoming Venus Index workout system just happens to be such a wizard in the kitchen and she is always making me kick ass cookies and muffins, and all kinds of other items that are much lower calorie than the commercial counterpart but taste just as good.

I’ve manage to talk her into teaching me a few things and she’s also agreed to teach you a few things. In the coming weeks I’ll be posting some videos and recipies she has agreed to share.

John

Who should be eating more and who should be eating less?

I went out for a steak dinner this weekend and like I normally do, I split an entree with my date. We ordered a 10 oz striploin steak with vegetables and a baked potato on the side and started with a soup and some of that awesome house bread that any good steak house always serves.

This one entree split between two people is more than enough food. So we always just order one entree and share it.

The interesting part is when the food actually gets served to us.

The waitress told the kitchen to split the entree in half on two plates…think about that for a second.

They served a 180lbs man the same amount of food as a 120lbs woman. Doesn’t really make sense does it?

This is one of the fundamental problems women face when eating with men…they typically get served the exact same amount of food as the man and may feel some pressure to eat more than they want (or perhaps are tempted to overeat)

This is just another example of the assumption that all people can/should eat the same amount of food as each other (which of course is false)

No matter where you are or who serves you, it’s up to you to decide how much food you will or won’t eat. If you’re the type who will eat all that is served to you, then the easiest thing to do is ask to have less food served. That way you can eat till your plate is clean and still be satisfied that you kept your calories under control.

John