Healthy Life Guide

     When you start an exercise program, no matter what the reason, you are often given plenty of advice from friends, family, trainers, group fitness instructors and doctors. Out of these hundreds of suggestion all given with the intent to help out, one that commonly shows up is “make sure you are drinking enough water”. This is a great piece of advice and though it is usually in reference to needing more water when you exercise, there are many more reasons to drink water than for just pure hydration sake.      There are so many residual benefits to being properly hydrated that many people tend to just pick one benefit and stick to that as their reason to drink water, however, we would be doing proper hydration an immense disservice by not talking about all of the benefits it has on the body - especially the effect water has on aiding weight loss.      Many of the benefits that I am going to talk about below are ...

Eggs are a great way to start your day. They are such a nutritious and affordable source of good quality proteins and fats. Eggs are nutrient-dense and they're fantastic for rushed breakfasts in the morning if you're looking for a quick, inexpensive protein source. Another breakfast favorite:  Wholesome breakfast burritos: Perfect on-the-go breakfast What's also important for optimum health and taste is the origin of eggs. When possible, always choose pastured eggs instead of regular or even organic. Eggs from free-range pastured hens have up to 3 time more omega 3s, calcium and other essential nutrients which are absent in conventionally raised chicken. As we said eggs are quite an affordable food so put this ingredient into your “must buy organic” list and enjoy this nutrient-dense product in all its lovely variations. What’s more, due to their high content of nutrients, pastured eggs are much more satiating, so maybe you will feel full...

Not only is this hearty salad full of nutritious ingredients, it’s also packed with flavor. To begin with, barley, an antioxidant-rich grain with plenty of fiber, creates a satisfying and slightly nutty base for the salad. Hulled barley, which is used here, is higher in fiber than pearled, but either is a healthy choice. Bear in mind, cooking the hulled barley will take a bit longer than pearled, so make sure to factor this into your cooking time. Since barley is a source of wheat, it is not gluten-free, however the recipe can easily be made so by swapping the barley for another whole grain, such as quinoa, millet or teff.  Once the vegetables and barley are cooked, they are married together in a bright and vibrant green dressing of fresh, fragrant herbs. Any mix of your favorite herbs will work well, but equal parts mint, parsley, basil, and dill is a beautiful combination.       If you’re pressed for time, this recipe can be made in parts in ad...

Avocados have a wealth of nutritional benefits. They are high in mono and polyunsaturated fats, a great source of fiber, and high in potassium and Vitamins Foliate, E, and C. Learn more about it’s health benefits and find out how many calories are in an avocado . Guacamole is an extremely versatile, extremely tasty way to reap the health rewards of this delicious green fruit. This easy recipe is very good for you and completely free of any additives or preservatives. Here are just a few of the health perks; • The tomatoes are notorious for lycopene (a superstar in cancer prevention), they are a low calorie fiber source, and are high in Vitamins C, K, A, manganese and many more. • The raw garlic used in this recipe adds flavor without adding sodium, plus it works as a potent antioxidant and anti-fungal, and also acts as an effective and natural antibacterial within the body. • Fresh cilantro is another natural antibacterial, and it is very high in antioxidants. ...

The real pizza lover knows that the best quality pizza is always made at home. The key elements, that you should make sure you buy of high quality, are tomato sauce and mozzarella. You can make your own tomato sauce by just blending peeled tomatoes but there are some great brands that are offering clean tomato sauce made with nothing but red fruit and some salt. Opt for this instead of ketchup or other processed items. You will be surprised by the taste you bring in! Next, you need real, good quality mozzarella. It is a traditional Italian type of flavorful fresh cheese that melts beautifully when baked. Of course you can experiment with different types and find your own preferences.  More recipe videos:  Healthy packed lunch idea - Quick & easy to-go lunch And finally – olive oil. Freshly baked homemade pizza is just crying for a little drizzle for extra flavor, healthy fats and nutrition boost. Always choose cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil in order to get a...

Who says that dessert has to be unhealthy? I argue that some of the most delicious, guilty tasting foods out there are also some of the healthiest. This homemade banana ice cream recipe is one of those examples where something that tastes like a dessert is actually really very good for you. This easy ice cream recipe is free of any unnecessary sugars or unhealthy additives. Thanks to the banana it also serves up a good dose of fiber, manganese, potassium, and vitamin B-6, which is great for cell growth, muscle reconstruction and tissue repair. Here’s what you need to make this treat A Blender Bananas (roughly one for each bowl of “ice cream”) One or more of the following healthy toppings (pick a favorite or two): • Any kind of diced nuts; walnuts or almonds are best – Nuts add protein, fiber and a variety of vitamins, depending on which type you choose. • A couple of small pieces of dark chocolate – Dark chocolate has antioxidants which have bee...

This All Natural Protein Bar recipe makes for a nutritionally dense snack that packs a punch when it comes to fighting off cravings or a growling belly. These are high in protein, thanks to the quinoa, the almond or peanut butter, flax, and sunflower seeds – the best part is that each are all natural protein sources. There’s no need for any crazy powders or supplements when you snack on one of these before or after a workout. Ingredients 1 Cup Quinoa, uncooked 2 Cups Oatmeal 3/4 Cup Honey 3/4 Cup Almond or Peanut Butter ¼ Cup Flax Seeds ¼ Cup Sunflower Seeds 2 tsp Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Salt 2 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract ½ Cup Dark Chocolate Chips (All measurements for these items are for full, not-yet ground ingredients) How to Spread the oatmeal out on a cookie sheet in a thin layer. Toast in the oven at 350º for 15 minutes. While you’re waiting for the oats turn a toasty brown, ground your raw quinoa and flax seeds. Grinding the flax seeds wil...

We’ve all heard time and time again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Starting your day with a wholesome meal can help energize you, aid your performance throughout the day and kick-start your metabolism, which can help with weight management. However, between early starts and busy schedules, carving out time to sit down and have a meal in the morning can be difficult, let alone finding new ways to break out of your same old breakfast routine.  preparing breakfast the night before (or even on the weekend for the week ahead) is a total game-changer.  This recipe for Cinnamon Baked Pears can be eaten fresh or made in advance, and will be an instant favorite for adults and kids alike. The fruit is baked with cinnamon and a hint of honey, creating a tender treat that tastes of an autumnal pie – without the guilt!  If you have the time, you can eat the pears warm, but they are just as delicious cold or at room temperature. They make a nice ...

Delicious, healthy, and ridiculously easy to make; you only need a few pieces of fruit and a few minutes to make this whole-foods snack.  This is a high carbohydrate snack that’s loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants; this would be a great pre-workout snack. Aside from being nutritious, it tastes awesome. You will need: A blender  1 mango, washed, peeled & cored 2 apples, washed & cored but not peeled (a good portion of the vitamin C is right under the skin) cinnamon, optional, to taste; I added ¼ tsp  How to Wash & prepare the fruit, toss into the blender along with the cinnamon & the rest is history. Between washing and peeling the fruit & blending, this will literally require less than 5 minutes of your time to whip up (unite, fellow lazy people!).  The recipe above made about 1 ½  cups of mango applesauce. This time it fed two people; I shared it with Daniel but truth be told, next time I will at least do...

We have almost completely cut cold cereals out of our diet, aside from cheat/treat meals (to be totally honest I'm still such a sucker for cereals that have colored marshmallows in them...don't judge). There are just not very many options that are completely clean in their ingredients, and they tend to cost an arm and a leg if they are. Flavorful, filling, healthy, and made from all clean ingredients, we think you'll like this homemade cereal of toasted apple cinnamon and oats. Reasons why this is a smart choice for a light meal or snack: - High in fiber - No cholesterol - Good source of clean carbohydrates - No trans fat or weird ingredients - Filling, tastes great Ingredients 1 Apple 1 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 Cup Oats 1 tsp Vanilla 1 tsp Sugar in the raw* Optional pinch of salt, to taste For later: 1 Cup Almond milk, unsweetened *You can cut out the sugar in the raw for a few less calories and grams of sugar. How to make your own homemade cereal Slice and chop up the apple i...

Incorporating whole grains into your diet (as opposed to processed grains) is an essential part of healthy eating. There have been a growing number of studies in recent years that show just how beneficial whole grains may be to us, including their role in preventing cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and aiding in weight management and longevity.    This means when looking for whole grain items in the supermarket, make sure you look for the words “100% whole grain” on the packaging – this goes for breads, flours, crackers or cereals.  Some types of whole grains include:     •    Barley     •    Brown rice     •    Buckwheat Bulgur     •    Freekah     •    Millet     •    Oatmeal     •    Quinoa   ...

It's really, really hard to find cereals and granolas that don't have nasty ingredients in them, and even harder to find healthy options that taste good. Plus, the few and far between options that are both healthy and tasty tend to be ridiculously expensive. This recipe is made of simple ingredients & it's inexpensive, quick and easy to throw together. healthy oatmeal cookies (go ahead, steal a bite from the raw stuff; it will give you an idea of whether or not you want to alter the spices to your liking & I wont tell, just don't reuse the same spoon!).  There are a lot of different ways that you can eat this; as cereal, sprinkled on the top of a fruit smoothie, as a yogurt topper or mixed in with fresh fruit. Like with any granola recipe, this packs a punch in terms of calories - don't think that's a bad thing; calories are good and what your body uses for fuel - just keep it's density in mind as you're pouring yourself a bowl.  Wh...

Oats are the perfect breakfast for the cooler days of the year. Prepared either as a warm porridge or as a to-go snack, oats are a wonderful, nutritious and affordable breakfast that you can customize depending on seasons so that it doesn’t become boring. Another easy breakfast favorite:  Avocado and Egg Open-Faced Sandwich with Roasted Tomatoes Oats are also very potent in their nutritional value. They are packed with insoluble fiber which is a nutrient we tend to be very deficient in in our modern diets. Because of that they burn more slowly during the day and give us a balanced level of energy. A well prepared porridge is a source of good protein, complex carbs and a lot of minerals like manganese, copper, phosphorus, molybdenum and vitamin B1.  What’s important about preparing oats is the process of soaking, which makes them much easier to digest and absorb these minerals. That’s why making soaking a habit is a crucial step when introducing oat porrid...

From açai to chia, smoothie bowls are all the rage these days, and after trying them, it’s no surprise why. Not only do these beautiful dishes of color, texture and flavor provide a fresh and healthy start to the day, they are also a breeze to whip up. What’s more? There are endless combinations to be made so that you can adapt your recipe based on the ingredients you have on hand or prefer, and whatever fruit is in season. Related:  What should you eat before your workout? Best pre-work out snacks Keeping blueberries and peeled bananas on hand in the freezer means that this recipe can always be prepared up on a moment’s notice. Whether you buy fruit frozen or freeze your own fresh supply, your favorites, from strawberries and cherries to peaches and mango, can be swapped into this recipe. If you want to make your smoothie bowl dairy free, any nut-based or lactose-free milk will work fine in place of cow’s milk. The combination of seeds, nuts and ...

Slow cooked beans are very inexpensive, and very easy to make. All you need is a couple of pounds of dry beans and a slow cooker . You can typically find cheap slow cookers relatively easily, for anywhere from $15-60. We love this recipe so much that we basically have a constant rotation of beans either in the refrigerator waiting to be eaten, or we have a couple pounds of them in the slow cooker. You will need • 1-2 lbs of dry beans • Water • Salt (Anywhere from .75-2 Tbsp per 2 lbs of beans, though you will need to experiment a bit to find out what you like best. Less salt is ideal) • Pepper • Other seasonings (cumin, garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, savory, cayenne pepper, etc) • A Slow cooker Slow Cooked Bake Beans Recipe This recipe can be applied to just about any kind of this type of legume out there; black, northern, kidney, pinto, etc. The exact amount of each ingredient that you use is largely going to depend on the size of your slow cooker a...

Incorporating seafood into your diet is a great health-conscious choice you can make, yet when it comes to fish, people tend to shy away from making it at home, saving it for a special night out at a restaurant. Maybe this is fair for lobster and octopus, but in reality, whole or filleted fish is an absolute breeze to prepare, and unlike a lot of protein, takes very little time to prepare. In fact, when cooking with fish, you can get home from work and have a mouthwatering, wholesome dinner on the table in well under 30 minutes.  broccoli and mushroom pasta If you’re new to cooking fish at home, salmon is a great place to start, not only because it will please those who aren’t keen on very “fishy” flavors, but also because salmon is chock full of healthy nutrients - there’s a reason it’s known as “brain food!” To begin with, oily fish like salmon, fresh tuna, mackerel and sardines are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, specifically ...

If you've got a craving for something sweet, this fruit filled parfait is a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth and it's also very filling. I eat this a lot at home and sometimes I will eat it for breakfast, other times I treat it like a dessert after dinner. If you pile on the fruit and top with peanut butter or any kind of nuts, it ends up being a pretty stout, substantial snack or meal. The best part about this healthy parfait recipe is that it only takes a couple of minutes to whip together, and it's also easily modified for dietary preferences. There are also lots of different ways to make it taste completely different; you can add whatever fruit you like, and you can top this with all kinds of good tasting stuff. Be sure to check out some of the ideas listed below. Ingredients: Plain yogurt  Berries (blueberries and raspberries are shown but you can top with any kind you like) Nuts or nut butter (peanut butter is shown but literally any will do) Raw honey How to:...

When exercising, it is very important to listen to the signals that your body sends about what is happening. These signals will tell you if you are pushing yourself hard enough or if you are holding back.  Unfortunately, interpreting these signals can be difficult, especially if you are new to exercise. The second level of signals your body can give you spans a large range, which most of you have experienced. Though the majority of exercisers will have had experience with the full gamut of this level, some newcomers to exercise may have experienced only part of it. This level includes minor fatigue during a workout - all the way up to that colossal muscle burn while pushing through a particularly hard workout. The middle of this range is where most newcomers tend to hover during exercise because they don't yet know how hard they can push themselves, while veterans typically get to the top of that range when they are challenging themselves. Getting stuck in the mid...

When spring produce starts cropping up at the market, it seems to come all at once – giant loads of greens, bunches of fresh mint, endless rows of asparagus and boxes full of fresh green peas. One of the best ways to make use of this bountiful spring produce is through a simple pasta.  4 Week Meal Plan ; if you need some guidance on making the switch to clean eating, this plan provides 3 meals & 3 snacks a day, using all easy, whole food recipes. With your pasta, make sure to showcase the beautiful colors and bright taste of fresh vegetables by doing as little to them as possible (which also helps retain more nutrients). Here, asparagus, kale and peas (fresh or frozen will work fine), are simply blanched so they become tender, but do not overcook, which will cause them to lose their flavor.   As we know, an array of green veggies and herbs brings not just a heap of flavor to a dish, but nutrients as well. Between asparagus and kale, this dish is loaded with ...

A common mistake of people new to exercising - and really even among experienced exercisers - is to workout too hard, too often. This might not seem like a big problem initially, but overtraining can affect your health and is something that needs to be taken seriously. Aside from that, the negative impact of not allowing for proper rest periods in your routine can make it far more likely that you don't adhere to your workout habit, due to feeling poorly, excess fatigue or soreness, or even injury, if you aren't allowing your body to heal in between workouts. So how many rest days do you really need a week? The number of rest days that you take each week really depends on how intensely you train, especially relative to your fitness level. In a nutshell, this is a good rule; if a muscle group is still sore from a previous workout, do not train it intensely again until it has healed and is no longer sore. For example, if my thighs are sore from a lower body strength workout I ...

You are not your scale weight. Your bodyweight is no reflection of who you are, your strength, your intelligence, your kindness, your beauty, or your worth. Focus on eating for good health, and exercising for strength and energy; do NOT let a number on a scale define who you are or how much joy you have in your life. I see too many people and fitness "professionals" using the number on the scale as a direct measure of health and/or fitness. It's true that weighing oneself can be a successful way for some people to track progress in terms of reaching a healthy bodyweight, and there's nothing wrong with that, though I do think it can be a slippery slope. If you're doing things right - if you are eating clean and healthily the majority of the time and if you're committed to regularly pushing yourself through a variety of workouts using different training styles (for cardiovascular health, strength, and flexibility), there is no need to obsess over your scale ...

If you want to know how many calories you should eat in a day, learning roughly how many calories your body expends on a daily basis is an important part of learning how to properly fuel your body, and how to lose, gain, or maintain weight. An important part of learning about the number of calories to consume has to do with figuring out your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is the number of calories your body uses to do absolutely nothing, aside from run itself - it's the number of calories you would burn each day if you didn't move a muscle. It's the energy required for your body to complete all of it's complex and very important basic functions that keep you alive and breathing. There are many different BMR calculators online that will do this work for you, but here's the general equation in both standard & metric forms: Standard/Imperial BMR Formula Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years ) Me...

From one of our inner thigh workout videos : "The question that always gets asked; Can you tell me how to get an inner thigh gap? Are these inner thigh gap exercises? An inner thigh gap is often seen on very lean individuals, but it also has something to do with the width of your hips compared to the length of your femoral head. In the case of the latter, there’s not a whole lot that you can do to change how far apart your thighs are from one another (it has to do with bone structure). Not everyone who has that space between their thighs is unhealthily thin and many people’s bodies have it naturally and they don’t think twice about it. With that said, there is a strong association with disordered thinking (eating disorders, body dysmorphia, etc) and striving for a thigh gap. The short and sweet of my opinion on this matter is that there is absolutely no health benefit from having a thigh gap, so it is not a fitness goal that you benefit from setting your sight...

Many people believe that supplements are an important part of health and fitness. After all, there seems to be a new study every week pointing to another vitamin or mineral that improves health in some way. Compound that with the constant bombardment from commercials for weight loss pills and powders that we encounter in a typical health and fitness magazine, on TV and especially on the internet and it is no wonder that we have all been brainwashed to think one needs supplements to be healthy. All of your vitamin and mineral content you should be able to get from your diet. In the few instances you are running low on one nutrient or another and you are unable to alter your diet to get it then a supplement may be necessary. But keep in mind that the only people that can properly diagnose and legally prescribe supplements is your doctor or a nutritionist/dietitian. Whatever you do never take the advice of a personal trainer, friend, or family member on what supplements to take as man...

We covered multiple topics and common questions in this video - everything from the order of your training types during a workout, to the currently popular topic of fasted cardio. Below is a quick breakdown of additional information of each. While you're here, let us know; do you like our longer vlogs? Do you prefer when we cover multiple or single questions? Speak up, we listen! Should you do strength training or cardio first during a workout? The long and short answer; do whichever training style you are most focused on improving first. If you're looking to boost how far and fast you can run or push yourself with cardio, do your cardio before your strength training. If you are trying to improve your strength, muscle tone, and/or gain size, you will want to do your strength session first. There are currently no/few significant and sound studies that suggest that doing one before the other is better or worse for fat loss, however, the one that you give your full-blown, fres...

There are a lot of different companies out there that like to claim that their products or workouts are miraculously going to change your body. One that's popular at the moment is the idea that you can get a super lean, super fit physique with less than 15 minutes a day. Whether promoting photoshopped images, plastic surgeries, and representation of only one type of body shape when in reality healthy comes in many different shapes and sizes is ethical - that is a whole different discussion (seriously, don't get us started unless you're okay with some highly fueled ranting). But what you guys want to know is whether or not there is any merit to these claims; can you really get the low body fat percentage and/or lean muscle mass presented in those images, with just short workouts? Our opinion is not completely black and white, but we believe that the answer is no, you can't become wildly fit with workouts that take less than 15 minutes, several times a week. While tho...