Hey folks, sorry for the delay. My website has been having some technical difficulties (I know some of you weren’t able to even read the last post, I am working on it), my wife has been sick with the flu (she is better now) and life has just been crazy.
Anyway, before I get started I wanted to make a quick announcement. As many of you know I did the Warp Speed Fat Loss protocol back in January. I figured if I was recommending it to people, I might as well give it a shot myself! It worked great, I lost about 11lbs and was my fitness level was through the roof! A hardcore CP client did the program with me, and he lost about 12lbs, and saw his abs for the first time since we was 12!
Fortunately for us, Mike Roussell & Alwyn Cosgrove have spent the last year refining and improving this incredible system, and have released a new and improved version, Warp Speed Fat Loss 2.0. I got a sneak peek at it and I must say, it looks awesome! Next month that same CP client is going back at it again with this program before he heads off to Caribbean beach after the holidays. I am actually contemplating going through this hell again with him, I thought I never would, but the new program looks that good. Do yourself a favor, pick up a copy, or buy it for a loved one (buying presents early is a life-saver) and now you won’t have any excuse not to complete your New Year’s resolution. Get it HERE.
Vegetarianism Part 2
I wrote a monster blog post last week on my thoughts on vegetarians, please check out part 1 of that series HERE.
In Part 1 I outlined many (though not all) of the reasons that people choose to become vegetarians. How terrifying our food production has become, and the utterly inhumane treatment of the animals we consume. People then choose to no longer support this corrupt industry, and stick to only plant-based food choices. This may not seem like such a bad choice, but unfortunately many people do not educate themselves on how to meet all of their nutritional requirements after eliminating meat from their diet, as it does contain a few nutrients that are nearly impossible find to large enough quantities in the plant kingdom. So, does being a vegetarian ensure better health?
Not Real Food
It all depends on how much they educate themselves. In my opinion people can be vegetarians and be incredibly healthy, but it does take education and effort. How does a vegetarian get enough vitamin B-12, or enough iron in their diet? Many vegetarians would have no idea how to answer this question, and therein lies a problem. (to be fair most meat eaters have no idea where to get those nutrients either, but lucky for them, their meat contains both in abundant quantities)
Through my practice I have met many vegetarians, who range from some of the most nutritionally educated people I have ever had the pleasure of talking to, to young girls who read that becoming vegetarian will make them thin. Becoming a vegetarian requires more effort than most people realize. Subsisting on pasta and veggie burgers may in fact be vegetarian eating, but it is certainly far from the ideal model of health. There are just as many pitfalls, if not maybe more, in eating vegetarian, if only because the food selection is now more limited, so the margin of error is smaller.
To be a healthy vegetarian I urge you to ensure that nearly all of your food comes from more nutrient dense options. Choose grains that are provide tons of nutrition; things like quinoa, buckwheat and sprouted grains, especially since all of these provide complete proteins and plenty of micronutrition along with significantly less anti-nutrients. Eat plenty of seeds and nuts to get in healthy fats, fiber, and more protein. If you are trying to gain an appreciable amount of mass or are trying to maintain lean mass while losing weight and you want to up your protein intake you do have some good options. If you do still consume eggs and dairy obviously whey or egg protein is fine, if not you can go to something like hemp or sprouted rice protein. Your best bets in that regard are a new hemp protein that I am quite impressed with called Hemp Pro 70 by Manitoba Harvest, which is also very reasonably priced, or Sun Warrior Rice Protein, which is a little on the pricey side.
For those of you who do still eat dairy and eggs, obviously these can be great sources of protein, especially things like Greek yogurt and omega-3 eggs. Making good food choices is still the name of the game. To actually get that vitamin B-12 I was talking about earlier vegetarians either have to supplement or consume fermented foods like sauerkraut. For iron, the best sources are chick peas, spinach and beans. Obviously very doable, but how many people actually eat sauerkraut on a regular basis? Like I said, it takes education and effort.
In the end you can do anything as a vegetarian that you could do as an omnivore. It is no more or less healthy, and it has just as many pitfalls. The food industry markets to this demographic heavily, and created a plethora of crappy food that are sold as vegetarian approved fare. The same basic rule still applies, whether omnivore or vegetarian: Eat Real Food.
So just because you eat soy burgers and whole grains and avoid meat does not make you healthier than everyone else. Remember that just because you may choose to no longer eat meat does not make you inherently healthier. If more omnivores cared about where their meat came from, and chose to purchase their meat/dairy/eggs from grass-fed, pastured and humanely treated sources along with eating plenty of high quality plant food, I would make the argument that you can’t get much healthier than that, and it is certainly the equal of a high quality vegetarian diet.
In conclusion: care about where your food comes from, make conscientious choices about your food selections, consume foods that make you feel good physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually and strive to be as healthy as you can be. That is a recipe for success whether you choose to eat meat or not.
This past weekend my fiance and I moved apartments. (Hence the lack of blogging since the beginning of last week!) It was absolute hell. We did the move almost entirely on our own, and our bodies took a toll. Loading our rented moving truck, an absolute monster (it was supposed to be a 16 footer, instead they gave us a 26 footer!) was hard enough, but moving all our crap up three flights of stairs was even more fun. To top it all off, our couch had a slightly raised staple that cut us both up pretty good, making it look like we got into a vicious knife fight.
Me behind the wheel of this rig
We ate like absolute crap this weekend, since we were almost completely out of edible food and whatever was left was half packed away, half buried behind boxes. I ate food that I haven’t eaten in years and years. The worst part was we didn’t take many food breaks, so when we did it, we absolutely crushed food, crushed it! Even with the unholy amount of crappy calories I stuffed down my piehole, I managed to lose a few lb’s over the weekend! This goes to show the absolute amazing effectiveness of NEPA. NEPA (non-exercise physical activity) is a pretty broad term, and I’m not sure that moving heavy crap up and down stairs doesn’t fall under the category of exercise, but bear with me for the sake of argument.
When it comes to fat loss, every little bit counts. Leigh Peele, known for her ability to elicit fat loss from clients who have been stalled for years, is a huge fan of NEPA. In her book, The Fat Loss Troubleshoot, and in pretty much every interview she does Leigh hammers home the point of being more active, of just moving more. It sounds cliche to park your car further away, take the stairs instead of the elevator (right Cass?), but things like that really do add up. Fidgeting burns tons of calories. Just getting up every hour at work to take a 5-10 minute walk, or do pushups or bodyweight squats in the bathroom adds up as well. At the end of the day, you could be talking about several hundred extra calories burned without inhibiting recovery capacity from your actual exercise sessions (and possibly enhancing recovery with increased bloodflow), that really adds up over time.
Long story short, be more active! Take small walks before dinner. Take the stairs at work. Every hour get up from your chair and move around, do some bodyweight movements or stretch. Just move more! It really does help, you don’t have to move everything you own to lose a few pounds, but just moving your body a little more every day will help the process along nicely.
When Dr. John Berardi dropped me a line the other day,
telling me all about his new program, I thought for a second
the guy had lost his mind.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I respect Dr Berardi. He’s
recognized as one of the top nutrition coaches in the world.
And his programs get people results. Fast.
However, when I watched this video he sent over, and learned
that he’s giving away $20,000 of his own money, he definitely
got my attention.
Check out this blog post for yourself, right HERE.
Now, to qualify for this reward, you have to participate in
the Lean Eating program. But that’s a no brainer. You should
want to do that ANYWAY if you’re interested in body
transformation because there is nothing else like it.
You get 6 months of world class coaching, the type of coaching
you can’t find, well, anywhere. And, during these 6 months,
if you achieve the best body transformation, you’ll win 10K.
Worst case scenario, you come out with the best body of your
life. Best case scenario, you come out with the best body of
your life, and 10 GRAND.
So, I highly encourage you to check out this post below. In
it, Dr Berardi shares with you two critical components for
body transformation success.
And then he tells you exactly how one man and one woman are
going to swoop in and claim $10 G’s of his own money.
Now, this message is time sensitive. No, it’s not gonna self-
destruct or anything. However, spots are limited in this
program. And LOTS of people want in.
So, if you’re interested in finding out exactly how to eat to
get in the best shape of your life, click the link below. 10
grand may be waiting for you on the other side:
So I was thinking about what I wanted to blog today, and was really struggling to find a good topic. I wasn’t in the mood to write about a particular food, so I was putting it off by helping out some online clients and feeling kinda apathetic about a topic. Then my answer comes to me; my fiance puts the Biggest Loser on and I want to gouge my eyes out. I understand how this show can be inspiring and dramatic and can maybe actually motivate some people to lose weight. I get that. If it helps you get up and out and increase your activity, awesome. When you do though, please educate yourself. The exercise they put those poor people through is so idiotic and dangerous it boggles my mind. Standing on an overweight woman’s legs while she is doing a wall sit? Brilliant!
In all seriousness though, it really is INSANE that they make these people complete a marathon. People who are fit and train hard for that one purpose get injured doing that exact thing. What makes them think that unfit, overweight and still vastly undertrained individuals can do this without a significant risk of injury? One participant started having blood sugar complications and poor blood circulation like 5 miles in. It is doing these people a serious injustice, and misleading the uneducated people of America that this is a good way to get in shape. Running a marathon may not be easy, but I assure you, it is not anywhere near the safest nor most efficient method to get the body you want.
Now I am not trying to say that what this show did for these people is not amazing. The ones still on have each lost over 100lbs, an absolutely incredible achievement that I am not downplaying in the least. I am ranting about the training methods used, and shown to America as being the way people should train. It gives a terribly false impression and expectations of what a beginner’s training should look like. It is a battle that is really frustrating to have to wage, as it almost glorifies the training practices of the idiots in this industry.
Idiots
In the end, cheer for these people, vote for them, enjoy their journey and take inspiration from their effort and achievement, but please do not in anyway try to copy their methods. It will only leave you injured and further behind than before.
For those of you who have been long time readers of my blog, you will know that I am pretty good friends with Kevin Larrabee, the host of the FitCast, one of the highest rated fitness podcasts. Kevin was one of the first people to do Warp Speed Fat Loss, and he had tremendous results from that program, losing close to 10lbs. He is back at it again with the help of the great Leigh Peele and her Fat Loss Troubleshoot.
Kevin has had tremendous progress, which you can follow along with right here, with the code name Destination: Abs. Leigh is one of the best at what she does, has helped hundreds of people get the bodies they want, and has one of the best programs on the market. So what do you have to lose?
Another interesting article brought to my attention by former CP client Gregg Taliercio about the lack of support for running shoes in keeping people healthy, whether cheap runners or loaded to the gills with the newest technology. One of the most interesting quotes from the article was this:
Every year, anywhere from 65 to 80 per cent of all runners suffer an injury. No matter who you are, no matter how much you run, your odds of getting hurt are the same. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, fast or slow, pudgy or taut as a racehorse, your feet are still in the danger zone.
The painful truth, especially hot on the heels of the Boston Marathon (nice work Steph and Aimee) is that long distance running beats the shit out of you. Long distance runners are usually either injured, or recovering from an injury, and it is a repetitive vicious cycle. And it appears, the shoe choices do not help.
In a paper for the British Journal Of Sports Medicine last year, Dr Craig Richards, a researcher at the University of Newcastle in Australia, revealed there are no evidence-based studies that demonstrate running shoes make you less prone to injury. Not one.It was an astonishing revelation that had been hidden for over 35 years. Dr Richards was so stunned that a $20 billion industry seemed to be based on nothing but empty promises and wishful thinking that he issued the following challenge: ‘Is any running-shoe company prepared to claim that wearing their distance running shoes will decrease your risk of suffering musculoskeletal running injuries? Is any shoe manufacturer prepared to claim that wearing their running shoes will improve your distance running performance? If you are prepared to make these claims, where is your peer-reviewed data to back it up?’
Dr Richards waited and even tried contacting the major shoe companies for their data. In response, he got silence.
It’s not really that big of a surprise is it? Big companies are about big business, telling people to run barefoot or for thousands of miles in old thin shoes is not conducive to big business. Having strong feet can go a very long way to keeping you ankles, knees and hips healthy. One of the reasons we have people do their warmups in their socks, along with all deadlift variations and box squat variations, helping people grip the floor and learn to use the intrinsic muscles of the feet.
Of course, the article had it’s share of duds:
Humans need aerobic exercise in order to stay healthy,’ says Lieberman. ‘If there’s any magic bullet to make human beings healthy, it’s to run.
If that isn’t a line of complete and utter bullshit, then I don’t know what is.
Just wanted to let you all in on the results of my Warp Speed Fat Loss experiment as it is soon coming to a close.
My Weight Loss Coach
Super Bowl Sunday is supposed to be a No Carb day, but lets be real, that’s not going to happen. Saturday will be the final day, so I will have the final weigh in on Sunday morning. This morning I felt a little bloated and not as lean or light as the previous day or two, but I weighed in anyway. I came in at a respectable 202. Not too shabby. Down a shade over 10lbs. This program works, period. Here is an example of a training day of mine, modified BSP style. (I can’t leave any of it alone, just not in my nature) This is an excerpt from my FitCast Forums training log, which you can check out HERE.
Monday Jan 19 – Day 15
Took a while to get going today. Just felt sluggish, though once we really got moving, I actually felt pretty good.
Pre Work: Foam Roll & Mobility
A1. Front Squat to 12″ box (tap n’ go) 2×3, 2×6
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
305 x 3
325 x 3
275 x 6
275 x 6
Like I said before, it was a tough start. We opened at 305 just to get things going, and that felt easier than expected, so went back to 325 to keep strength up. Curt was impressed.
A2. Prone Plate Switches 4 x 8x5lbs/side
B Circuit – Perform as meny sets of 6 reps of each exercise as possible in 10 minutes
B1. Walking DB Lunges with 30′s = 8 full sets
B2. Renegade Row with Pushup with 25′s = 8 full sets
No vest this week, and arms were ok. This circuit was still hard, though not as hard as before. We did get in that extra set of Renegade rows.
C Circuit – perform as many sets of 6 reps of each exercise as possible in 10 minutes
C1. Glute Ham Raises = 8 full sets
C2. Neutral Grip Pullups = 9 full sets
Definitely one of the worst ones. Just hard ass work. Got in an extra set of pullups.
D. I didn’t write down what we did here, and for the life of me I can’t remember. It was something.
All in all, definitely starting to feel really fit. Almost starting to enjoy this training. Almost.
While on Warp Speed Fat Loss, you have 2-3 “high” carb days which I outlined here, 3-4 “normal” carb days that I outlined here, and on Sunday you get a “no” carb day. Now this is an off-day from training, so it’s not so bad, but you only get 5 meals rather than 6. No peri-training nutrition here.
“No” Carb Day Breakfast
Mike wanted this day to be ultra-intense, not even veggies! His example days usually ran about 25 grams of carbs, with roughly 5 grams of fiber. These are residual carbs from peanut butter, protein powder, tiny amounts of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. And the only reason I get this much is because of my size! For someone who is starting this program at 135, it is a whole different story. They are only getting roughly 12 grams of carbs!
Now I didn’t follow this plan to the T. Like I said in the beginning, it has been modified BSP style. I happen to be too big of a fan of veggies, and I am really starting to believe that eating a little more fruit than recommended, like my “high” carb day post-training carbs, has really helped keep the hunger at bay. Some of you may be skeptical, but there is plenty of evidence that keeping liver glycogen full, which fructose does, tells the body you are in a fed state. This not only helps keep away hunger, it helps to maintain lean mass. It’s a win-win. Tangent done. Anyway, so yeah, I added in a few things. Here is my BSP “no” carb day in all it’s glory:
Wake @ 8:00
Breakfast @ 8:30 – the usual, minus the apple
2 whole omega-3 eggs
1 cup egg whites
1.5 cups mixed veggies – broccoli, onions, orange and green peppers
1oz shredded reduced-fat mozzarella
1 tbsp salsa
24oz water
2 Stash Fusion Green/White Tea
1.2 grams EPA/DHA, 2,000 IU vitamin D, 1 multi
Snack @ 11:30
3 pieces reduced-fat string cheese
12 almonds
9 baby carrots
1 tbsp original hummus
1 Tazo Zen Green Tea
Greatest thing since sliced bread
Lunch @ 2:30
2/3 cup Friendship Digestive Health cottage cheese
1 scoop Vanilla Metabolic Drive
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
2 Raspberry Gardens Green Tea
Dinner @ 5:30 – Asian Turkey & Broccoli
8oz 97% lean ground turkey (or beef)
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1.5 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
garlic powder to taste
ginger powder to taste
2 Asian Plum White Tea
1.2 grams EPA/DHA
Cottage cheese's best friend
Pre-Bed Snack @ 9:00 – Pumpkin Pie Cottage Cheese
2/3 cup Friendship Digestive Health cottage cheese
1/2 cup Libby pumpkin
1 scoop Vanilla Metabolic Drive
1 tbsp milled flax
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
cinnamon to taste
nutmeg to taste
1 Red Tea
1.2 grams EPA/DHA
Total Carbs for the Day = ~72 grams
Total Fiber for the Day = ~31.5
“Net” Carbs = 40.5 grams
Now don’t get in a hissy about the “net” carbs. I still count the total carbs towards my calories for the day, since we do know that fiber has about 1.5-2 cals per gram. I err on the side of caution with that one. In terms of digestible carbs, 40.5 is the number. Not too far off from what Mike wrote, it is much more palatable, and I am down a little over 9lbs since I started, so I would say it is still working just fine.
For those of you who have been following my Warp Speed Fat Loss adventure, I have been logging my training over at the the FitCast forums. The training has been SO much harder than the diet. These sessions are absolutely brutal. I think I understand now why CrossFit has such diehards. Not that I am doing CrossFit, but I think it is close enough where I can start to see how people get sucked into this style of training. I started this little shindig at a not-as-lean-as-I-used-to-be 212.2 lbs (which wasn’t too bad because I had hit 214 at one point). After one week I am currently down to about 207.5lbs. So, needless to say, it is working. Just want to get close to that 200 mark.
I am also not sure if many of you know this, but I did an interview for the FitCast a while back. It was Kevin’s first midweek show, so you can also check that out HERE.
Also as some of you may notice. I finally got my headshot up, though I don’t think that’s the one I am going to use. A big thank you to Kevin for getting that up for me though.
Finally I will leave you all with a little nugget. Vanilla Metabolic Drive is like candy. It makes everything taste better. My pumpkin pie cottage cheese recipe would not be possible without it. My new favorite snack with cottage cheese and frozen raspberries, is good, but Vanilla MD (and chopped walnuts) makes it unbelievable. So if you want an easy way to add high quality protein as well as a delicious flavor enhancer, I highly suggest it. You can try others, but I promise you will come crawling back.
So I’ve given you an example of one of my “high carb” days on Warp Speed. It was actually quite enjoyable. The trick really is to find meals that you like that fit the necessary requirements. It is honestly that easy. Now I don’t get to have that banana post training every day, so here is a regular Warp Speed day.
Wake @ ~7:45
Breakfast @ 8:15
2 whole omega-3 eggs
1 cup egg whites
1.5 cups mixed veggies – broccoli, onions, orange and green peppers
1oz shredded reduced-fat mozzarella
2 tbsp salsa
1 small McIntosh apple
24oz water
2 Stash Fusion Green/White Tea
1.2 grams EPA/DHA, 2,000 IU vitamin D, 1 multi
Snack @ 11:00
3 pieces reduced-fat string cheese
12 almonds
9 baby carrots
2 tbsp original hummus
1 Stash Fusion Green/White Tea
Intervals & Steady State @ 1:30
20oz water
2 scoops Grape ICE
5 grams leucine
3.5 grams creatine
Post Training @ 2:30
16oz water
1 scoop Chocolate MD
3.5 grams creatine
5 grams leucine
Lunch @ 4:30 – Asian Turkey & Broccoli
8oz 97% lean ground turkey (or beef)
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1.5 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
garlic powder to taste
ginger powder to taste
2 Tazo Green Tea
1.2 grams EPA/DHA
Dinner @ 7:30
2/3 cup Friendship Digestive Health cottage cheese
1 scoop Chocolate MD
2 tsp natural peanut butter
2 tbsp milled flax
dash cinnamon
1 Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Gardens Green Tea
Pre-Bed @ 10:30
2/3 cup same cottage cheese
1/2 cup Libby pumpkin
1 scoop Vanilla MD
1 tbsp milled flax
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
cinnamon and nutmeg
1 red tea
1.2 grams EPA/DHA
As you can probably tell, it’s not all that different from a high carb day. I don’t vary the meals alot because I love what I eat, and it is easier for me to stay on track. This has honestly been MUCH easier than I expected. I highly recommend this programming to anyone interested in it. The training is VERY intense, so make sure you are cleared by a doctor and have already been training for a while. You could also just do the diet with a more normal training style and still get some good results. Either way, if you want to know more about it, check it out HERE.
With this being my 4th blog post this week, I think it just might be a record. Anyway, to the real story. This is a recipe that I picked up from Warp Speed that I really enjoy. I’ve modified it a little bit, adding the seasonings that I like and the mushrooms, so feel free to experiment and let me know how it comes out.
Asian Turkey and Broccoli
Ingredients
8oz 97% lean ground turkey (or beef)
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1.5 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
garlic powder to taste
ginger powder to taste
Directions
Brown turkey on med to medium high heat (you can go higher if using stainless steel or cast iron cooking pan, for non stick I would stay there) in the sesame oil and soy sauce. Once meat is approximately halfway cooked, add in broccoli and mushrooms and stir. Sprinkle on powders and stir some more until evenly distributed. Enjoy.
There you go. Another delicious and easy recipe. Even if you aren’t following Warp Speed, you can enjoy this meal as is, or add in 1/2 cup whole or wild rice to spice it up even more.
Posted on November 6th, 2009 by Brian St. Pierre
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