A nutritional powerhouse

If there was be one food that could protect you from disease, enhance your detoxification process as well as improve your metabolism. Then wouldn’t you like to know what it is?

You might have guessed blueberries. Nope.

Clean eating – The ins, the outs; the do’s and the don’ts and the do’s

It is obvious from the get-go that clean eating is not a scientific term. What means clean eating for one person means something else for somebody else. In today’s environment, we have many individuals who are focused on eating clean foods. Yet, what it means to eat clean foods has to be determined on an individual basis.

Still, there are general rules that apply when it comes to eating clean foods. Here are some myths and facts when it comes to clean eating:

How to know when enough calories are enough?

In a weight loss program calories are important. But a calorie is not a calorie. For example, let’s compare calories from white bread vs. oatmeal, both of which are starchy carbohydrates and contain 4 calories per gram respectively.

However, when you eat white bread, which is stripped of its nutrients such as fiber, minerals and vitamins, you are not taking in essential ingredients that help your body run its metabolic system efficiently.  Conversely, quality calories, from foods like oatmeal, that are not processed, and are not taxing to your system, help you to maintain your metabolism and to then lose excess weight. 

What prompted me to share an e-mail with you today was a question I recently received in my mailbox from Vikki, who has lost 20 pounds since starting the program January 2010.

Announcing A Contest for Insane Motivational Weight Loss

Sometimes, we all need a kick in the butt to get things done. In my 15-plus years working with individuals on body shaping and weight loss, I have heard amazing things that individuals do when gaining weight.  But also have I seen amazing results when strategies were implemented and followed.

The past week was one of those weeks where clients had to be forced into taking measurements. Alright, yes, I know, I am terrible because I require taking measurements every 4 weeks.

The two measurements that I take: 1)

Breakfast (post-holidays) for weight loss

Once again, Thanksgiving was a feast. Each year, over a hundred thousand Americans overeat during the holiday time. The next day, food is the last thing that many think about. But then there are the leftovers. How about a little pie for breakfast? It is too good to go to waste. And the feast continues.

Weight loss is on many on our minds during this time. But the call to the dinner table wins out over the call to the gym. There we have a dilemma: Too stuffed to workout. Leftovers linger for days. And relaxation and catching up with friends and family is priority number one.

What to do? Start small. Make an effort

Get in shape now

Holidays are a time to relax, enjoy your leisure time and…gain weight.

That doesn’t have to be. I refuse to let you gain weight. Why? Because I care and you are on my mailing list.

Losing weight and staying in shape does not take an entire day. It doesn’t take 3 to 4 hours or even 1 hour. It can take as little as 30 to 40 minutes a day when

Foods that are fattening

The 80’s really did us in with the low- carb and low-fat diet fads. Are you still still among the individuals who believe that certain foods make you fat? Even great foods such as olive oil and avocado? Both of those have monounsaturated fats that have shown to lower LDL and prevent cardio- vascular diseases.

There is a widespread fear, even today, that certain foods will automatically turn into fat. One of these food groups is

Seasonal foods for weight loss

The best weight loss programs educate you about various factor that affect what you see on the scale. Seasonal foods should be one of them.

That’s why you will receive from time to time ideas about what you can do with seasonal foods to keep your diet interesting. But the emphasis here is on “what is in season.” Fall is here and the hard-shell squash season has just  begun.

Today, I highlight butternut squash. Butternut squashes are high in the carotenoids lutein and zanxanthin, which are an important ingredient for preventing degenerative macular disease. And, they are high in vitamin A ad E as well.  One cup of butternut squash has only 82 calories.

But what to do with this knobby gourd?

Below, find three ideas to use the squash and make it taste full without a hours of preparation time:

Butternut Squash Chicken Ginger Curry Stew

1 small butternut squash
1/2 chicken breast
1 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp of ground ginger (fresh if possible)
1 pinch of sea salt
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Wash the squash. Cut in half and clean out the seeds. Chop into large equal size pieces. Do the same thing with the chicken. Pour 2 tsp of oil into a glass dish. Add the squash and chicken. Sprinkle with the curry, ginger and sea salt and mix well. Place dish in the oven for 40 min at 400 degrees F.. Don’t forget to stir from time to time. Enjoy.
 

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash
1 quart  chicken or vegetable stock
1 medium size onion
1 tsp sea salt
Nutmeg

Chop the onion into small quarters and sauté till golden in olive oil. Clean, peel and remove seeds from the squash before cutting into smaller chunks. Add the squash to the onions and cover with stock. Cook for about 20 minutes till the squash is soft. Puree  in batches with a blender. Pour back into pot and gently re-heat. Add nutmeg to your liking and if you like, 1 cup heavy cream. Serve with some toasted pumpkin seeds on top.

Spinach Squash Salad

1 small butternut squash
1 cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped walnuts
4 cups washed spinach
2 tsp olive oil
1 pinch of sea salt

Clean the squash and cut into medium sized pieces and place in a baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the squash till soft, about  40 minutes. Add the dried cranberries, stirring in during  the last five minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. In a  large bowl, mix the spinach with the cranberry butternut squash. Sprinkle in walnuts and season with olive oil and sea salt, tossing well.. This is a  great way to eat leftover butternut squash as well.

If you have any other ideas about what to do with butternut squash, leave a comment below for others to try out.

Stay focused.

Stefan

To sign up for FREE easy and simple weight loss solutions and updates go to www.stefanaschan.com

Motivating Emotional Pain

“How could I have it let get to this point?

“This can not happen to me!”

Both of these statements are ones that I have recently heard. And both of those statements were emotionally driven.

One statement was driven by weight gain through changes in lifestyle that happened years ago. And a slight weight grain because of a living situation change drove the other statement.

Both came to the realization that their current actions must change. More energy, instant gravitations toward happiness or subduing the emotions that you just can’t deal with are the three scenarios/issues that need to be addressed. And many times, these scenarios will be (subconsciously) dealt with food. Weeks, months, even years go by with this behavior and the pounds keep creeping up.

The realization what these actions have done to their body once they’re in the 40’s, 50’s or perhaps 60’s is emotionally upsetting.

If you are reading this, you might be having an “aha” moment, meaning that you have been in this situation before or that you find yourself currently in this situation. Accept that weight gain will happen. Accept that this has happened in the past, but now is the time that you will change.

Change your believe system to “ I MUST.”

We all have different belief systems. We believe in things that we have been trained to do. If you believe that you can’t function with less then 8 hours sleep, than this will be true. If you don’t challenge your belief system, you won’t find yourself moving forward. Unless you try to reduce your sleeping time, for example, you will not know if this is true.

Change will not happen unless you have experienced enough pain with a current action that you have done over time. “I might” or “I can” change my strategies does not give you the urgency that is necessary to achieve the goals that you like to see happen.

“ I must” is the solution to change. So you need to to change your point of view:

I must eat foods that support my goals ….
I must start to be active …
I must not react to my emotions …
I must stop abusing myself…

This change in perspective is just one part. After the “…,” add on the result(s) that will occur if you DON’T make this change and how it will effect you.

These statements will be painful statements: What will happen if you don’t implement the changes that you need to do?

However, if you don’t articulate such emotionally painful statements, you will not change your current behavior and see the changes (and the results) that you are looking to accomplish.

Stefan

P.S.: Work out at home in 30 minutes. Make a plan. Implement a system. The Strength 123 Workout is an easy and simple solution. Check it out{link}

Stefan Aschan is a leading expert on lifestyle, health and fitness who has helped more than 30,000 people get fit through advice on nutrition, fitness and lifestyle changes. For your free “How to live 100 years in perfect health” report and the must read “updates and solution” newsletter on how to have 10 times more success, stay on top of your goals, and accomplish the change of body and appearance,” visit http://www.theaustrianadvantage.com/e-book1001.htm

Ongoing success strategies

“BTW-am down to 145lbs!”

This was on the bottom of an e-mail I received. Don’t you love it? On the bottom and starting with a secret BTW. Come on, what is