Josh Perez Fitness

I wanted all my readers, subscribers, and friends to know that this is the Final Month of the 25% Off Coupon Save 25% at eDiets! With eDiets, you don’t have to choose just one plan. There are more than 16 different nutrition plans to choose from and are all specifically tailored to your diet personality profile.

eDiets is one of the elite weight loss diet plans on the market today featuring a system of top rated meals, recipes, fitness plans and support systems. Promote the diet and nutrition site Redbook hailed as the “Best bang for your buck*”

Here are the Coupon Details:

• Coupon: Good for 25% off any online diet plan
• Code: Save 25% at eDiets!
• Expiration Date: July 31, 2010
• Savings good for the life of the membership
• Please note coupon is good for 25% off online diet plans only

The results are in, and the critics agree that eDiets.com is the best! In addition to earning Forbes magazine’s Best of the Web award for the diet & nutrition category in both 2004 and 2005, eDiets.com also won PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice award in 2004 and 2005. More recently, eDiets.com’s meal delivery service, Deliciously Yours, was acknowledged by the premier award-winning food website, Epicurious.com, as the best meal delivery service. Judged on flavor, nutrition, portion size, convenience, variety, and customer service & support tools.

eDiets.com features the eDiets.com Weight Loss Plan, the Atkins Nutritional Approach, the Glycemic Impact Diet, the New Mediterranean Diet, and many more. We also offer 11 different Healthy Living programs for those with special needs, including the Living with Diabetes Plan, and the Heart Smart Plan.
Since 1997, eDiets.com has offered over 2 million members professional diet and fitness advice, information, services and products to help improve the overall health and longevity of its members. We’re just as committed to our valued partners as we are to our many members, and are constantly seeking ways to maximize your success. Read my complete review of The eDiets program.

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Egg whites contain only trace amounts of fat and 4 grams of protein per egg white, where as a whole egg contains 5 grams of fat and 6 grams of protein. While both contain adequate amounts of essential branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s), the fat content in which whole eggs, if consumed in high amounts may impede fat loss – Due to its higher calories from the yolk.

Eating 1 to 2 whole eggs per day, even on a fat loss diet, is highly recommended not only because they contain high amounts of the vitamin B’s like thiamine, folate, riboflavin, B6 and B12, but also because they are high in leucine – which is a key factor in stimulating muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth).

The fat content in yolks can help curb hunger and people who eat whole eggs tend to make greater gains in muscle and strength than those who just consume egg whites – Again mainly due it’s calorie intake and grams of protein!

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Spring is a great time to clean up your nutrition plan. As the weather warms and heavy soups, stews, and casseroles lose their appeal, start taking advantage of seasonal spring food, especially the fruits and vegetables that are so tasty in the earlier part of the year. It’s easy to follow a healthy nutrition plan when you incorporate spring foods.

Seasonal food is a great food choice for several reasons – First, seasonal fruits and vegetables are at optimal flavor and quality. Second, they’re in abundance, so they cost less at the grocery store, produce store, or a farmer’s market. Lastly, the fruits and vegetables are more nutritious because they don’t sit around.

Spring clean weather is also a great time to grill outdoors and it’s one of the healthiest ways to prepare food. Grill leaner cuts of lamb with asparagus for a tasty springtime dinner. For a springtime breakfast idea, skip the heavy oatmeal and opt for a bowl of muesli soaked in low-fat milk and topped with fresh fruit.

No matter what time of year, you can always incorporate lots of healthy fresh fruits and vegetables into your nutrition plan. Fruits and vegetables that are nutritious and that readily available year-round include potatoes, carrots, celery, bananas, and peppers, but you may want to shift your focus to seasonal foods when possible for the freshest taste.

Here is a quick list of what’s in spring clean nutrition season:

• Apricots: Although many people enjoy dried apricots, they are also delicious served fresh, especially when chopped in a salad.
• Asparagus: When visiting a grocery store in the spring, you’ll likely see displays of asparagus. Here’s an idea: fire up your grill and spray some asparagus spears with a little oil and sprinkle with sea salt, then grill them over a hot fire for about 5 minutes. Grilled asparagus should be brown in spots, but not charred! Enjoy!
• Artichokes:They are one of the highest antioxidant vegetables around! To prepare an artichoke, tear off the outside leaves. Cut off the stems tips of the leaves and steam them in the microwave; serve drizzled with low-fat Italian dressing. Microwaving time depends on the amount. A large artichoke can take about 7 minutes, a small one only about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Broccoli: Broccoli is always a good choice because it’s loaded with antioxidants and is high in fiber. You can serve broccoli steamed or sautéed, or try it raw in salads or for a crunchy snack.
• Chives: Chives are one of the many seasonal herbs that are especially good in the spring.
• Fennel: Fennel is available in early spring and also in summer and fall. It has a slight licorice flavor and adds a unique taste and crunch to salads.
• Greens: Spring greens include Swiss chard, mustard greens, and collard greens. Try not to hide their natural flavors under a heavy dressing. Instead, mix a splash of lemon juice with a high-quality olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
• Mango: “One of my favorite spring desserts is fresh strawberries topped with a mango puree,” Blatner says. “It’s a neat way to incorporate spring food in your diet — fruit on fruit.”
• Oranges: Oranges are a winter fruit, but they carry over into spring.
• Spinach: Try spinach in place of lettuce in sandwiches, on burgers or in salads, or sauté spinach to serve as a side dish or in pasta.
• Strawberries: Strawberries are available through early summer, but may be sweetest in spring.

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The goal of a pre-activity or pre-exercise food/ meal is to have most of the food converted to energy, the stomach almost empty and blood sugar stable before training or competition. Food selection should be what is most pleasing (within reason) and ingested two to three hours before the event. Carbohydrate content (low to moderate glycemic value) can be between one to three g/kg of body weight with low to moderate amounts of protein and fat, because the latter two macronutrients slows digestion, which could/ may affect your training.

Notes:

• Low Glycemic Index foods (less than 55)
• Intermediate Glycemic Index Foods between (55 and 70)
• High Glycemic Index foods GI (more than 70)

An example of low to moderate glycemic value foods for training are:

I suggest one hour before performing intense exercise, take in a nutritional supplement containing proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Liquid meal replacements should be incorporated at the one hour pre-workout interval because of quicker gastric (stomach) emptying time, but definetely no more than 1 gm/kg of body weight of carbohydrate and moderate protein and fat.

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What GoodLife Bottles are:

They provide two sizes of our bottles to fit your personal needs. The manageable size and functionality of their bottles makes GoodLife the ideal choice for work, travel & play. GoodLife Bottles goal was to design a contemporary bottle that was durable, stylish & safe for you, as well as our precious environment. All of GoodLife bottles are manufactured responsibly with craftsmanship and care. Your beverage will remain fresh, crisp & maintain its temperature inside the unique dual wall 18/304 stainless steel body. Enjoy hot or cold drinks without having to worry about the bottle surface sweating or being to hot to hold. Unlike aluminum bottles, GoodLife water bottles 18/304 stainless steel products have no need for internal liners or potentially toxic coatings. Just enjoy fresh beverages with no threat of bad tastes or leeching toxins. GoodLife bottles are 18/304 stainless steel is high quality food-grade material that is recognized for it’s durability, strength & is the preferred grade used across the food, beverage & medical industries.

The reason behind GoodLife:

• 100% BPA-free, non-leaching & toxin-free
• Unique Dual walls with vacuum-seal cap keeps liquid hot or cold for up to 24 hours!
• High-quality food grade 18/304 stainless steel
• Eco-friendly alternative to plastic bottles
• Stylish custom design & craftsmanship
• Durable, lightweight, reusable and 100% recyclable

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Thanks Mark for the article and thanks to Dr. Mao and his team for the research!

Soda, pop, cola, soft drink — whatever you call it, it is one of the worst beverages that you could be drinking for your health. As the debate for whether to put a tax on the sale of soft drinks continues, you should know how they affect your body so that you can make an informed choice on your own.

Soft drinks are hard on your health
Soft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars — or worse, sugar substitutes — and often food additives such as artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives. A lot of research has found that consumption of soft drinks in high quantity, especially by children, is responsible for many health problems that include tooth decay, nutritional depletion, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Why the sugar in soft drinks isn’t so sweet
Most soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption for a 2,000-calorie diet is a daily allotment of 10 teaspoons of added sugars. Many soft drinks contain more than this amount!

Just why is too much sugar so unhealthy? Well, to start, let’s talk about what happens to you as sugar enters your body. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease.

Something else to consider is that most of the excess sugar ends up being stored as fat in your body, which results in weight gain and elevates risk for heart disease and cancer. One study found that when subjects were given refined sugar, their white blood cell count decreased significantly for several hours afterwards. Another study discovered that rats fed a high-sugar diet had a substantially elevated rate of breast cancer when compared to rats on a regular diet.

The health effects of diet soda
You may come to the conclusion that diet or sugar-free soda is a better choice. However, one study discovered that drinking one or more soft drinks a day — and it didn’t matter whether it was diet or regular — led to a 30% greater chance of weight gain around the belly. Diet soda is filled with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin. These artificial sweeteners pose a threat to your health. Saccharin, for instance, has been found to be carcinogenic, and studies have found that it produced bladder cancer in rats.

Aspartame, commonly known as nutrasweet, is a chemical that stimulates the brain to think the food is sweet. It breaks down into acpartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol at a temperature of 86 degrees. (Remember, your stomach is somewhere around 98 degrees.) An article put out by the University of Texas found that aspartame has been linked to obesity. The process of stimulating the brain causes more cravings for sweets and leads to carbohydrate loading.

Carbonation depletes calcium
Beverages with bubbles contain phosphoric acid, which can severely deplete the blood calcium levels; calcium is a key component of the bone matrix. With less concentration of calcium over a long time, it can lower deposition rates so that bone mass and density suffer. This means that drinking sodas and carbonated water increases your risk of osteoporosis.

Add in the caffeine usually present in soft drinks, and you are in for even more trouble. Caffeine can deplete the body’s calcium, in addition to stimulating your central nervous system and contributing to stress, a racing mind, and insomnia.

Skip the soda and go for:

Fresh water
Water is a vital beverage for good health. Each and every cell needs water to perform its essential functions. Since studies show that tap water is filled with contaminants, antibiotics, and a number of other unhealthy substances, consider investing in a quality carbon-based filter for your tap water. To find out more about a high-performance filtration system, click here.

On the go? Try using a stainless steel thermos or glass bottle, filled with filtered water. Enhance the flavor of your water with a refreshing infusion of basil, mint leaves, and a drop of honey.

Fruit Juice
If you are a juice drinker, try watering down your juice to cut back on the sugar content. Buy a jar of organic 100% juice, especially cranberry, acai, pomegranate, and then dilute three parts filtered water to one part juice. You will get a subtle sweet taste and the benefit of antioxidants. After a couple of weeks, you will no longer miss the sweetness of sugary concentrated juices.

Tea

Tea gently lifts your energy and has numerous health benefits. Black, green, white, and oolong teas all contain antioxidant polyphenols. In fact, tea ranks as high or higher than many fruits and vegetables on the ORAC scale, the score that measures antioxidant potential of plant-based foods. Herbal tea does not have the same antioxidant properties, though it is still a great beverage choice with other health benefits, such as inducing calming and relaxing effects.

If tea doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, try adding cinnamon or a little honey, which has important health benefits that refined sugar lacks. For a selection of healthy teas that promote total body wellness, click here.

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Here are my top 5 diet mistakes to avoid:

Consistency is Better

The first mistake dieters make is having unrealistic weight loss expectations. Any type of weight loss program should help you safely lose between half a pound and two pounds of fat per week. Studies show that individuals who rapidly lose weight are more likely to gain it back. Think of Oprah Winfrey or any other dieter that consistently gains and loses the weight – It’s a process, not a overnight solution.

Everyone is Different

While some people lose a lot of weight in the first few weeks, others might not lose any weight for a few weeks. Although this can be frustrating when you’re doing everything right, it’s not a reason to give up. Sometimes it just takes a little while longer to see the results of your hard work reflected with the bodyfat percentage. Remember, eating right and exercising regularly have positive impacts on your health in many other ways, such as more energy, less stress, better sleep, and reduced risk of many diseases, and potentially not taking anymore blood pressure medications. You’ll receive those benefits—regardless of the number on the scale and bodyfat percentage.

Weight Loss is Rarely Constant

Many people lose a lot in the first few weeks, and then their weight loss slows down considerably. It’s totally normal to have weeks when you lose more than expected, and weeks when your weight remains the same despite your consistent efforts. Our bodies are very complicated and don’t always cooperate with the estimates of how much we should expect to lose. Measuring your weight loss on a monthly basis can be a more accurate gauge of how well you are doing and than actually checking it every week. I always suggest taking measurements every 3 to 4 weeks.

Weight Loss is Not Immediate

Cutting calories today (through diet and exercise) will not necessarily show up on the scale at the end of the day or even by tomorrow. Your weight can fluctuate from day-to-day for reasons that have nothing to do with your diet and exercise program. Much of this fluctuation is due to sodium, water and food intake. While your scale may show changes throughout the day, fluctuations that could be due to sodium, food and water alone are not permanent weight losses or gains.

Weighing yourself immediately after having colonics performed, bodywrap finished, wearing a “sweat” suit, getting into a sauna, or finishing an intense workout might (or might not) show a loss on the scale. But that is temporary water loss that will come back after you rehydrate yourself by drinking. Remember—you’re trying to lose fat, not simply “weight” or water weight.

Eating Less Isn’t Always Better

A lot of people assume that the less you eat, the faster you will lose. One of the biggest mistakes dieters make is not eating enough. Your calorie range is based on your current weight, goal weight, how aggressive your goal is (whether you want to lose weight quickly or slowly) and how much exercise you are doing. Your recommended calorie range might seem like a lot of food—especially if you are accustomed to fad, restrictive diets. Sometimes you need to eat more to burn more. If your eating just rabbit food like salad, carrots, and nibbles here and their expect to hold onto your weight than lose it. Remember your body doesn’t know when it’s next meal is coming, so it will go into starvation mode to hold onto any precious calories it can get its hands on.

Finding that perfect eating program is hard to do. This is why I compiled my Fitness Diets – Reviews to find that perfect nutrition plan for you and coupled with your workout program to burn maximum calories. Especially with New Years around the corner why not get a jumpstart on it! Below are the 7 of the best, reliable, and affordable diet plans ranked according to the number of people who sign up, customer service reviews, online features, and maximum weight loss in the shortest amount of time. Follow our links to visit the sites we recommend and read a more in-depth review of each diet site. Are you ready to have your body back?

Refer to my Fitness Products – Deals and Fitness Products – Store for your savings on all major fitness brands.