Today is the BIG Day for Your Nutrition (End of Vegetarian Month!)

Did you know that October is "World Vegetarian Month"?

It's the perfect time to try out a day of vegetarian eating, and to help you with that, my friend Kardena Pauza has put together a complete set of Vegetarian Meal Plans for you.

Plus, to celebrate, she is having a Limited Time 50% Off Sale forher Easy Veggie Meal Plans.

Click here for the veggie sale:

=> Easy Veggie Meal Plans

Until Saturday night, you'll get 50% off the Easy Veggie Meal Plans to celebrate World Vegetarian Month.

I look forward to hearing about how you improve your health and energy, and dramatically transform your body with the Easy VeggieMeal Plans System today!

Happy Vegetarian Month!!

=> Easy Veggie Meal Plans

Tuesday's Workout and A Great Breakfast Recipe!

I finished up with TT's Lean and Jacked over the weekend. It was a great workout program and I really enjoyed my 4 weeks doing it. I've never done a workout before that has you lifting heavy for one part and doing high repetitions/low rest the other! I will say that Lean and Jacked is named correctly!!

Today I started the newest Turbulence Training workout, TT Fusion 2K9. Since Craig always varies his workout designs to keep your body guessing, I did something today I haven't done in almost 2 months!! HIIT on the treadmill! I have been purposely avoiding the treadmill because of my bad ankle and have been trying to do tabatas as my HIIT. Today I got back on the treadmill and it felt great to do something different!

Oatmeal Pancakes

This recipe is from Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle. It is a really healthy breakfast that you can prepare a night or two in advance and stick them in the fridge for breakfast the next morning.

Ingredients:

¾ cup Quaker quick oats or old-fashioned oatmeal
4 egg whites
1/2 apple, diced
1 scoop protein powder
1 Tsp. Cinnamon

Yield: 1 large pancake

Directions:

1.) Put all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Stir until the mixture has a semi-liquid pancake-batter-like consistency.

2.) Spray some non-stick spray on a frying pan and pour the mixture into the pan.

3.) Cook on medium heat. When one side is lightly browned and solid enough to flip, turn the pancake over with a spatula and cook the other side until lightly browned and firm.

Serving Size: 1 pancake
Calories: 423
Protein: 39.5 g
Carbs: 53.5 g.
Fat: 6 g.

NOTE: This makes a really filling breakfast! I was NOT able to finish 1 whole pancake. My recommendation is to use a less oatmeal so it is not so filling.

This is the Best Investment You Can Make in YOURSELF!!

If you are struggling to transform your body and you don't like going to the gym, then I have amazing news for you from fitness expert, Craig Ballantyne. Like many of you out there, I spent years and a lot of money on personal trainers (WAY TOO EXPENSIVE) and other get thin quick schemes (I WAS STUPID!!). The only program that has worked for me is Craig Ballantyne's Turnbulence Training system.


While nothing beats training with Craig Ballantyne in person, the next best thing is having every one of his Turbulence Training workouts demonstrated on video so that you can watch in the comfort of your own home (or hotel room, as you'll see in a minute).


And the great news is that today is your one and only chance to getone of 45 copies of the Turbulence Training Complete Package.


You'll get...


1) The Turbulence Training for Fat Loss DVD's and Manual - This is the program I started to lose all of my weight with, EXCEPT you get the DVD's to make sure you are doing the exercises with proper form. This is like having your own personal trainer right in your own home with 24/7 access!! You may think this package is a bit expensive but it pays for itself right here!


2) The 6-Month Bodyweight Workout and Manual plus the Bodyweight 500and Bodyweight 1000 DVD's - This is great so you don't even have to go to the gym!! This enables you to get your workout in anytime and anywhere!!



3) The Turbulence Training Hotel Room Workout DVD's - I just used this workout on my business trip to D.C. last week! It is fast, effective and will really help you to burn the fat!!


4) A bonus 1-Year Platinum TT Membership - The TT Members forum is awesome!! I've been a part of it since January and I love it!! Not only do you have Craig there to answer ALL of your questions, but you have other TT Members there for support, motivation and new ideas!! Did I mention that being a member also entitles you access to Craig's newest monthly workouts?? The Platinum TT Membership alone is a $240 value (Craig charges $20/month) so you're getting a huge value!!


5) An autographed copy of Craig's best-selling book, "Just Say NOto Cardio" - Great book and its signed by a great guy, nuff said!!


Whew! That's one big box that is going to show up on your doorstepwhen you get started with the Turbulence Training Complete Package.


Click this link to get your copy:


=> Turbulence Training Complete Package


Honestly this is one of the best investments you can make in yourself!! This package will start paying dividends immediately!! Consider it an early Christmas present for yourself. It contains everything you'll ever need to transform your body at home...and if you ever have any questions, you'll be able to ask Craig on the forum thanks to your 1-Year Platinum TT membership.


PS - Craig only created 50 copies...



...and 5 have already been given away. And since over 125,000 readers of fitness sites all over the Internet will hear about this one-time sale, those remaining 45 copies are going to go fast!
I'll be surprised if they aren't gone within 24 hours. So don't wait,visit this website to get your copy immediately:


=> Turbulence Training Complete Package


PPS - It's just like having Craig show you the exercises in the gym, but even better, because you'll have access to the Turbulence Training membership forum for the next 12 months to ask Craig all of your nutrition and exercise questions. So you will have 24/7 access to a trainer, try and find a trainer at your local gym that will do that at this price!


PPPS - Craig is also taking care of the shipping on all orders, so you'll get the Turbulence Training Complete Package for only $197 today...but hurry, this offer ends when those 45 copies are gone.

Mistakes with my intermittent fasting

I discoverd a mistake in my intermittent fasting that I hope you can learn from.


I usually fast twice a week and have been following Eat Stop Eat since February. I have seen great results since I started fasting, but I realized a mistake I was making that when corrected, should lead to more fat loss.


So what was I doing wrong? I was eating too much!

I know what you're thinking, if I was fasting, how was I eating too much?? I wasn't eating at all during my 24 hour fast. It's after the fast ended that I was eating too much! I wasn't eating junk, but my meal size was too big and effecting my fat loss.


Eat Stop Eat is based off of weekly calorie counting. So if my daily maintence level (calories at which you will not gain or lose weight) is 2,500 calories, then your weekly maintence calorie level is 17,500 (2,500 x 7).


I usually eat at maintence five days a week and consume 12,500 calories. The other two days of the week I will fast from dinner the night before to dinner the day of. Up until today I would eat a healthy dinner, but it would be quite large, probably 800-1,000 calories.


If I eat a dinner of 1,000 calories two times a week then my weekly calories is now at 14,500 calories. That puts me at a deficet of 3,000 calories which is almost a pound (lb = 3,500 calories). This is also a deficet without any exercise factored in.


BUT if I lower my meals to 400-500 calories after a fast then I can increase my caloric deficet to 4,000 calories, which will help expedite my fat loss!! This may not seem like a big change, but it adds up over time.


Lowering my total calories consumed after I fast will help me get to my ripped six pack abs even faster!


Eat Stop Eat has really helped me lose a lot of fat throughout my weight loss journey and should help even more now that I've correct my post-fast meals. To find out how Eat Stop Eat works (including how your growth hormones increase when you use it) please follow the link below:


=>Eat Stop Eat

Quick Tip & Thurs Workout and Meals - 10/8

Quick Tip: When you get up in the morning make sure that you have at least 2 glasses of water. Why? Would you go to work and not drink anything for the 8 hours you were there? Probably not, but that is what you are doing when you're sleeping so make sure you re-hydrate when you wake up.

If you're like me, you need your morning coffee. Make sure you drink your 2 cups of water first because coffee is a diuretic and will dehydrate you even more!

Thursday's Workout

I have to admit that every time I look at one of Craig's Turbulence Training workouts and think 'this will be a piece of cake,' I'm dead wrong!!

Today I made that mistake yet again!! I did Workout B from TT's Lean and Jacked. This is more of a leg workout and does Craig really try and kill your legs!

Instead of the usual superset, Craig starts you off with one exercise where you're told to use enough weight to get 8 reps. The only difference is that you only get 30 seconds rest between sets!! I always try to use a weight that challenges me so this was rough! But rough in a good way!!

I then continued the workout and did another superset. By this time my legs were burning and I would have been happy going home, but I wasn't done. Craig then throws his 'Kettlebell 500' at you! This was 500 repititions of kettlebell and body weight exercises. All of the exercises were made up of compound movements so your abs were getting hit hard throughout the 500 reps. Oh and I did it with as little rest as possible (that's where the 'Lean' part of the workout comes in!)

I really think that Lean and Jacked is my favorite Turbulence Training workout!

Thurday's Meals

I fasted until 2pm when I had a 3 egg omlette with bell peppers, mushrooms and bison.

At 5pm I had a salad with hard boiled egg and turkey on top with balsomic vinegar dressing.

For dinner I plan to have a small piece of steak with mushrooms, onions and spinach.

Guest Post from Jon Benson: 5 Surprising Things That Make You Leaner

Today I have a guest post from one of the great trainers out there, Jon Benson. I've used a bunch of Jon's programs including his 7 Minute Muscle.

Since the goal of this blog is to help get me below ten percent body fat so I can finally see my 6 pack abs, I've asked Jon to talk about what you should and should not be eating. After all, what you eat is attributable to at least 80% of your success in getting ripped, lean and finally finding that six pack!!

[ Editor's Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

5 Surprising Things That Make You Leaner

Want to be leaner?

Good deal... here's 5 tips that will help you along...

TIP 1 - Ditch The Starch

Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered "health foods."
While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach bodyfat like crazy if you overdo them.
As you may know, my "Every Other Day Diet" System (EODD) actually encourages you to eat starches and even sweets several days a week to get rid of excess weight:

Every Other Day Diet <-- click.

( Some of you may see a survey here on how best to help with your bodyweight goals. )

Well... how does EODD work?

Simple: Timing is everything.

And we take a "weekly" approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. As Mike has stated before, your body adapts rather quickly. So if your body cannot figure out what you're up to, fatburning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches... at least a specific times on specific days.

But if you're not going to do EODD, then you'll have to wing it. And the best way to wing it is to simply cut starches out entirely for 4-8 weeks. Then slowly add them back a few days per week.
This is no where near as effective (or as fun) as the EODD method, but it will get you pointed in the right direction.

TIP 2 - Can The Sodas

This one is really hard for me. I've been hooked on diet-soda on and off for years. When I go to get into top shape (like I am now) I have to get rid of the diet-sodas... yes, DIET-sodas. Need I say "real" sodas too? They are loaded with sugar.

Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased bodyfat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas. What the... ??

Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that's the truth. Which is why Mike always preaches the importance of eating all natural foods whenever possible!!

Here's a personal story: When I cut out the diet-sodas my bodyfat drops like a rock in a pond of clear water.

And that's what you need to be drinking: A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.
I mix it with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It's wonderful!

TIP 3 - Stay Hungry

Arnold's first movie was "Stay Hungry" (well, after "Pumping Iron" that is). You cannot rest on your butt and stay hungry. You cannot think you've "arrived" and stay hungry.

It takes a special person to be hungry... and an even greater one to stay that way.

I want you to stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally... stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not "starving"... just a bit hungry.

For your workouts, I have a great solution. If you pick up EODD you'll get a limited shot at "7 Minute Body"... my combination of "7 Minute Muscle" and "The 7 Minute In-Home Workout" in one book... and for more than half off... but that's a very limited deal. Gotta have EODD... you'll need them both...Why? Because as Mike stated above, 80% of your success is tied to your diet, but you still need to be successful with the other 20% so that is why I am offer you this deal.

Every Other Day Diet <-- click. ( Some of you may see a survey here on how best to help with your bodyweight goals. )

You see, progression -- "forced" progression -- is the best way to stay hungry. 7 Minute Body forces you to progress without thinking about it. Progression is built into the System.
As far as staying hungry at night? Check with your doctor and if he/she okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the hunger pangs. Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps me full for an hour at least.

TIP 4 - Cardio Clarity

Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do "light" cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That's okay... and personally I don't find it that boring if I'm watching a TV show. Mike gets his "light" cardio in by taking long walks with his wife, son and dog! It does not interfere with my main fatloss exercise (weight training... YES!) and it burns off about 400 calories an hour.

What does work is early morning fasting cardio... but you only need 9-15 minutes. I explain the GXP Protocol (Modified) in the 7 Minute Body book, available only if you pick up EODD, and you can get it at more than half off:

Every Other Day Diet <-- click. ( Some of you may see a survey here on how best to help with your bodyweight goals. )

TIP 5 - Get Raw At Night

Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fatburning along. I started with red peppers because they're sweet. Now I eat virtually every veggie raw at night without thinking about it. Give this a shot. The fatloss is well worth it.

----> Note From Mike:

Jon is still giving away "Radical Fatloss Blueprint" along with EODD for a few more days. I used the Radical Fatloss Blueprint along with Turbulence Training during TC5 and saw my body fat really drop to all time lows! He is giving a lucky few the chance to pick up the Supplement-Kit that comes with Radical Fatloss for almost 100 bucks off... the video and details are here:

Every Other Day Diet <-- click.

Tuesday's Workouts and Meals

This is the last week of doing Turbulence Training's Lean and Jacked workout. Remember that if you did join Turbulence Training's Transformation Contest 6 that you have to use a Turbulence Training workout throughout the contest. I haven't decided what I want to start next week yet.

Workout

Today I completed workout A from Lean and Jacked which is a chest and back workout with some ab work thrown in.

I moved up all of my weights by at least 5 lbs on DB exercises and 10 lbs when using a barbell. Man was I wiped at the end of my workout. After the first super-set I was pretty spent. The triple presses really took it out of me, but that's why I love that exercise.

If you're following Craig's time recommendations then you will be winded and sweaty by the end of this workout! I measured my heart rate after one of my sets and I was at 80% of my max heart rate.

Meals

Today I did my first day this week of Eat Stop Eat (I usually fast 2 days a week). So far today all I've consumed is A LOT of water and 2 cups of black coffee. The more I read about intermittent fasting, the more it makes sense, I'm glad I'm doing it.

Tonight for dinner I plan to have a big salad with green bell peppers, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, some chicken and balsamic vinegar.

7 Traveling Tips for Fat Loss

Last week I had to travel to Washington DC for a few days to help my company fight the IRS. Yes, I know this may be a lost battle.


Traveling is very tricky when you are trying to lose fat, get ripped and finally see your six pack abs. Here are some tips that I applied to my trip to DC to help me maintain my healthy eating habits and workouts.


1. Planning - This is the most important tip! If you can plan, than you should be able to stick close to your fat loss plans. Since you should be allowing yourself a 'cheat' meal each week, I'd recommend that you plan your cheat meal for your trip (more on this below).


2. Use your Intermittent Fast - I try to fast for 24 hours twice a week using Eat Stop Eat. Since I knew I would be traveling for most of the day Wednesday, I planned (See #1 above!) a fast to use Eat Stop Eat. This worked out great because did an intermittent fast from Tuesday after dinner to Wednesday's dinner. I stuck to drinking black coffee and water up until dinner and I felt great, especially since I knew I was burning fat!


3. Make Sure You Cheat - I knew that I would most likely come upon an eating situation where there would be pressure to eat something 'unhealthy.' If you allow yourself one cheat meal a week then this a great way to plan (Once again see how important #1 is?) your cheat meal, just don't go overboard!!


My second night in DC I went out to dinner with my boss and a consultant. I enjoyed half a steak sandwich, some fries and a beer. Notice that I didn't eat the whole steak sandwich. Although it was my cheat meal I still used portion control.


4. Workouts - While I was in DC I was working 10-12 hours days so there wasn't a lot of time for workouts. So what did I do? I planned (#1 again!) to get up a bit earlier and get a workout done.


If your hotel has a gym that is available for you to use than you should be able to get your Turbulence Training workout in.


Unfortunately, the gym at my hotel did not open until 8am!! So what did I do? I did workouts in my room. Since I planned ahead, I printed out Turbulence Training's Body Weight Workouts and did them every morning. They were quick but very effective! I woke up 30 minutes early and was able to use some furniture in my room to get in an effective workout.


5. Fruit & Vegetables- Eat as much fruits and vegetables as you possibly can!! I actually paid $20 for a breakfast buffet my last morning in DC and just ate fruit and a bell pepper. Everything else looked really greasy but I was able to fill myself up with a banana, lots of strawberries and half a bell pepper. During my lunches and dinners I asked for steamed vegetables instead of fries or a potato and I made sure I ate them first so I'd get filled up.


6. Water, Coffee and Tea - Just because your traveling doesn't mean you should be drinking calories! I stuck to water, coffee and green tea while I was away. If you're thinking that diet soda doesn't have calories, your right. BUT it does have sodium so you can retain water weight when you drink diet sodas.


7. Pack for the Plane - I knew I would most likely get hungry at the airport when I was waiting for my plane home, so I planned ahead! Remember that $20 breakfast buffet I had for breakfast? Well I put some walnuts and almonds in a napkin and had them as a snack with my bottle of water at the airport. They made a great snack.


If you plan ahead when you travel you will do a great job in your fat loss efforts! Remember to eat plenty of fruits and veggies and drink plenty of water!!

Sunday's Meals and Workout

I was traveling most of the week so I wasn't able to to my main Turbulence Training workouts. However I was able to get workouts completed and ate healthy (post on this to come later tonight).

Workout

Today I was able to get back to my Turbulence Training Lean and Jacked workout. I did workout C and was glad to get back into the gym.

My favorite part of the workout were the dead lifts which will definitely get you jacked. I also did 555 repetitions of kettle bell and body weight exercises, if that doesn't help get me lean than I don't know what will!

Meals

I fasted from 10pm last night till 2pm today.

Once the fast was done I had a great omelet with 4 egg whites and 2 whole eggs. I also added some bison, bell peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes to it!

In a few minutes I plan on having some chicken with spinach.

For dinner I will have tilapia with zucchini, tomatoes, green pepper and onions.

Before I go to bed I will have a protein shake.

Hope you had a great weekend!