Maple Syrup? The next superfood

Believe it or not maple syrup there has been a study done by the University of Rhode Island that shows that maple syrup has tons of great antioxidants.  54 to be exact.  These antioxidants help fight against cancer and diabetes.  This is interesting because this is twice the amount that was previously thought to be in maple syrup.    Maple syrup is now known to be nearly as beneficial as some foods such as berries, tea, flaxseed, and redwine. So the next time you reach for some agave nectar or splenda to put on your pancakes, STOP.  Put on some good nutritious maple syrup to your pancakes.  Not only will they...

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3 Ways to Bust Through Any Plateu

Many people come to me and ask me, "Mark!  I've been  working out for awhile, and I am just not seeing the gains that I used to when I first started lifting, how can I get those gains back?"  Well while you probably wont see those gains that you did because of the law of diminishing returns, which pretty much means our bodies can only handle so much.  You can only weigh so much, or you can only lose so much weight, their is a limit.  But, if you haven't reached your limit yet, there are some things that you can do. 1.  Change up your supplements/start taking supplements While many people are taking supplements,...

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How to Really Lose Weight

Ok, there are so many diet crazes, weight watchers, atkins, the keto diet, south beach, and the list goes on and on.  However, I am willing to sum all of them up into one sentence "Eat less; do more"If you want to lose weight, all you have to do is eat at a calorie deficit.  What this means is you need to find out how many calories you normally use per day, which is about  your body weight * 15 = Base Metabolic Rate (BMR) *Note this number is higher if you are more active and lower if you are sedentary   or your maintenance calories.  If you want to lose about a pound per week you would lower your calories about...

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Astral projection

Astral Projection is an out of body experience that occurs when you are asleep.  It is kind of like lucid dreaming which is controlling your actions and being aware of yourself when you are dreaming.  However, astral projection is taking lucid dreaming to the next level.  It is where you literally have an out of body experience.  You can literally see yourself coming out of your body, and you can do whatever you want.  You can fly to mars, be a pirate, mess with your friends.  It's like your dreaming, but it's more realistic. People who have said to experience astral projection say it is different than anything...

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The Ketogenic Weight Loss Diet

With so many diets going around it is difficult to keep the facts straight.  The keto diet or ketogenic weight loss diet is a high fat low carb diet that is gaining a lot of popularity.  In this article I don't intend to go to in depth, but I will give you the general pro's and cons of such a diet. In a nutshell the idea behind the keto diet is that if you eat mostly fat and little to no carbs, your body will use fat as its main source of energy instead of carbohydrates.  When this happens there is an excess amount of ketones in the blood, thus being called ketosis. The pro's of ketoMain source of energy comes from fat.  So...

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10 Things You Didn't Know About Your Brain

1.  The brain holds between 3-1,000 terabyte of information This is pretty impressive seeing that a movie is only a couple of gigabytes, or that the National Archives of Britain with 900 years of history only has about 70 terabytes of information. 2.  The brain is 80% Water The brain is soft and spongy, and water really helps it perform better.  So the next time you feel dehydrated drink some water, and you will help out your brain function. 3.  The brain itself can't feel pain But don't worry if you hit your head, you will still pain.  Even though the brain can't feel pain, it is surrounded by bone and tissue that can...

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The Truth About Sleep

I know, I know, you probably think this article is about how you should get 8 hours of sleep per night, and that if you don't you will be tired and lethargic throughout the day, and that sleep is super important.  Well while this may be true on an average day, I am here to tell you a little bit about how sleep actually works. Sleep consists of 5 stages (theta waves, sleep spindles, delta waves, delta sleep, Rapid Eye Movement or (REM sleep))  lasting about 90 minutes.  If you wake up at the end of a cycle you will feel refreshed and energized and ready to tackle the day.  On the other hand if you are woken up in the middle...

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protein pineapple upside down cake

Ingredients: 1 Can of cubed pineapple 1 cup of oats 3 scoops of protein 3 whole eggs 2 tbsp peanut butter 2 tbsp nutella (optional) A sprinkling of cinnamon 1. Coat bottom of microwave safe cake pan with pineapple and coats. Spread evenly. 2. Mix eggs, protein, peanut butter, nutella, and cinnamon into a bowl. Until batter-like consistency is achieved. 3. Cover pineapple and oats with mixture evenly. 4. Put pan into microwave for 2-4 minutes. 5. Plate and Enjoy!&nbs...

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Cottage Cheese Protein Parfait

Ingredients: 1 cup cottage cheese 1 tbsp sugar/splenda 1 scoop of protein Ice Blackberries or any fruit oats A sprinkling of cinnamon 1. Mix cottage cheese, ice, sugar, cinnamon, and protein all in a blender. Add water as needed for consistency. Blend 2. Put yogurt into a cup with oats and blackberries or fruit as desired. Enj...

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High Protein Low Carb Strawberry Peanut Butter Protein Cake in 60 seconds

Ingredients: 2tbsp peanut butter 1 egg 1 scoop of protein Finished Brownie A sprinkling of cinnamon 1. Mix egg, protein, cinnamon, and peanut butter in a mug. Mix until you have a batter-like consistency. Add water as needed. 2. Once desired consistency is reached put it in the microwave for approximately 60 seconds. Be careful that you don't put it in too long, or it will dry out. 3. Remove from microwave and enj...

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Why You Should Start Eating More Nuts

Yes, I know the title of this article can have lots of different meanings; however, I am here to talk about the nutritional value of the ever popular nuts: the walnut, peanut, almond, and hazelnuts.  While some people tend to not eat nuts because of their high calorie and fat levels, this is actually OK because nuts are nutritionally dense, and they have good mono and unsaturated fats.  Plus it is only necessary to eat nuts in small amounts to get their nutritional benefits. Walnuts Walnuts come in at the top of my list of important nuts, because of their many nutritional qualities.  Walnuts have an extremely high concentration...

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The Goji Berry a Nutritionally Dense Super Food

The Goji berry or wolfberry as it is sometimes called comes from the mountainous regions of Asia.  This little elliptical shaped red berries really pack a nutritional punch.  They have 18 amino acids, 21 minerals, and more beta-carotene than any other food on earth.  A polysaccharide that is found in the Goji berry is one of the same that is used to secrete human growth hormone, with makes the Goji berry truly a gift of youth.  In addition to all this they have exorbitant amounts of vitamin C, and have the most antioxidants of any other food on this planet. The benefits of this berry are immense, including but not limited...

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The Importance of Drinking Water

Thanks altriar from DeviantArt It has been another tough workout. Why does that sip of water feel so satisfying and why is water so important anyway? Claude Bernard, a 19th century physiologist, was the first to state that living organisms live in an external environment (air and water) but the cells that make up the organism live in an internal liquid environment (Rhoades and Tanner 2003). So what exactly does water do? This folding is dictated by the water that surrounds it (Fersht 1999). Improper folding means a non-functioning protein. Protein: Moving up to the cellular level, with fully functioning proteins, cells work hard to...

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9 Rules to Follow for that 6-Pack of your dreams

Male or female, our eyes are drawn to a person's abdominals ... or gut. 1. FOLLOW A HIGH-PROTEIN, LOWER-CARB DIET. Your diet is essential in building a lean physique. It is important to consume 4- to-6 small meals per day; this helps to speed up your metabolism at an incredibly rapid rate. Although there are many different theories on meal frequencies, eating smaller meals more often will help the average person avoid overeating and will curb hunger. 2. FOLLOW A CONSISTENT WEIGHT-TRAINING AND CARDIO REGIMEN. This will allow you to burn fat through the day. Weight training helps you to burn calories after the workout and throughout the...

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Deadlift Guide

This Deadlift guide will show you how to perform conventional Deadlifts with safe and proper technique if you're a beginner. You will also discover strategies for experienced Deadlifters to bust through any plateau, increase your Deadlift,boost your grip strength, eliminate lower back pain, and much more. Deadlifts by Franco Columbo, Arnold's lifelong trainingpartner. How to Deadlift.  proper technique is absolutely crucial for Deadlifting big weights and eliminating lower back pain. Here's how to Deadlift in 5 easy steps:1. with the bar above the center of your feet - your stance should be a bit...

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How to do the "Perfect Bench"

The Flat Barbell Bench Press is one of the most popular exercises in the gym, yet how many people know the most important techniques for maximizing strength and power during each rep?STEP ONE________________________________________HANDSPACINGThe perfect bench press rep starts without any weight on the bar. Why no weight? Lie down on the bench and unrack the bar as you normally would. Lower the bar to your chest and have a partner take note of the orientation of your forearms. The reason for this is simple: if your hands are placed wider, some of your pushing power will be expended pushing outwards rather than upwards. If your hands are placed...

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The Benefits of Creatine

Creatine is actually a nutrient that is formed naturally in the body. Creatine is present in the highest amounts in red meat. Once your body gets creatine from meat or other sources it converts it into phosphocreatine. Phosphocreatine is important because it is used to store energy in your muscle. Creatineis considered quite safe and is classed by the FDA as a food supplement. Some people have said that creatine is the most legitimate sports supplement available today, largely because there has been so much research done with creatine compared to other sports supplements. Creatine is used extensively, mostly by those athlete's who can bebefit...

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The Truth about Fat Burners

Thanks to Victorian-Sentiments from DeviantArt Fat burners can help enhance fat loss, but they're only going to do so if a proper diet is in place. Fat burners work in a variety of ways. Take a hard look at your diet and determine if it fits your fat loss goal. Some people believe that if they're using a fat burner, they should be able to melt pounds of fat off each week. Remember: A safe rate of fat loss is 1 to 3 pounds a week for average, healthy individuals. Eventually, your body will hit a plateau and fat loss will slow.If you're dropping weight too quickly, on a fat burner or not, you could be losing lean muscle mass. With the help...

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How to Do the "Perfect Squat"

Squatting in gyms today is one of the most elusive exercises to get right.  I see people doing all types of things.  There is the people who don't go low, they kind of bend their knees with 600lbs on their back, wobble a little bit, and call that a rep.  Or there are the people who are a little better and they go almost to parallel, but they just aren't quite there.  Then there are people who's form is just atrocious.  But, then there are a few people who get it right.  To do the "perfect squat" 1. Get your feet slightly wider than shoulder width Credit Goes to Men's Health Start with your feet about shoulder...

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Banana Protein Muffins

- Calories: 425 - Protein: 44g - Carbs: 43g - Fat: 9g Recipe: - 110g (1/2 cup) of FFGY - 1 Scoop (39g) Vanilla Whey - 1 Large Egg - 20g Oatmeal (grind it up a little bit, and let it sit in a little hot water for about 5 minutes before adding) - 8g Jello Banana Cream Inst. Pud. Mix - 1 tsp Banana Extract - 1/2-1 tsp Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar - Some Splenda/cinnamon to taste of course. (I also added nutmeg) Mix it up, throw it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees F. Most important thing to do is look for the goldening of the top of the muffins. When they look more golden brown, do the toothpick...

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Cinnacottage Cheese

Cinnacottage Cheese Half Cup Cottage Cheese(I use nonfat) Teaspoon Cinnamon Half Teaspoon Vanilla Extract Tablespoon Splenda(or two packets) 1 Scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Mix everything up, and boom your done. This stuff is DELICIOUS, its like desert. I couldn't stand cottage cheese before this recipe, now I look forward to it. Gives you about: 210 calories, 38g protein, 11g carbs credit to King_Madness  from bodybuilding....

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Blueberry Pancakes

2 eggs or 1 cup egg whites2 scoops of vanilla/unflavored whey2 packets of splenda4 tbsp of pancake mix or 1/4 cup of oatsMix it all up in a bowlif its too thick add a little skim milk or waterif its too watery add a little more pancake mix/oats or wheySpray a frying pan with some Pam and put it on medium heatpour the pancake mix in after about a minute top the uncooked side with blueberries and give it another minute to let them settle in. Than flip the pancake and let it finish cooking.Top it with smart balance butter and sugar free syrup.Calories: 520 calories- 35g carbs, 65g proteinwith egg whites: 500 calories- 35g carbs, 75g proteinsyrup...

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Whey Protein BarRecipe:

1 1/2 cups Whey protein3/4 cup Skim Milk1/2 cup Natty PB1/3 cup Oatmeal50 Crushed PeanutsMix thoroughly, then freeze for 2-3 hours in a rectangular pan lined with wax paper. Cut into 10 bars. Enjoy.Nutrition:Serving Size: 1 BarPer Serving-Calories: 150Protein: 14gCarbs: 11gFat: 7g Credit to Robbie_Vlad from bodybuilding....

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Turkey Meatloaf

Turkey Meatloaf Ingredients-1lb Ground turkey1 cup green pepper1 cup white onion2 carrots1/4 tsp Tuscan spicesDirections-Dice the green pepper and white onion; grate the 2 carrots. Ground the turkey meat. Mix well with 1/4 teaspoon Tuscan spices. Spray loaf pan with Pam, Pack turkey loaf mixture in pan, bake at 350 till crisp.Makes 4 servings: 295 calories, 32g protein, 7g carbs, 15g fat per serving (good source of Vitamin A). If that is too large a serving, you can cut each in half and get 8 servings: 148calories, 16g protein, 3.5g carbs, 7.5g fat per serving. Credit to robbie_vlad from bodybuilding....

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Quick Healthy Popcorn

This is one of the simplest recipes ever, but your mind will be blown.  Once you read this you will never spend money on microwave popcorn again. 1. Buy Plain Popcorn Seeds You can go to your local supermarket and just buy some plain popcorn seeds.  These are low in fat, low in calories, and they don't have any preservatives like your regular microwave popcorn.  Plus you can get massive 12lb tubs of popcorn that will make hundreds of servings at places like Costco or Sam's Club. 2. Put Seeds into Brown Lunch Bag Go and put your desired amount of seeds into just a regular bag.  Make sure that you don't fill up the bag too...

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