News, Recipes & Workouts — healthy foods

Six Habits of a Happy, Healthy Mom

Healthy moms are not afraid to get help, and my mom agrees! As Sunday was Mother's Day, I wanted to share some tips from my favorite mom on how she remains a happy and healthy mom.

Protein Time

Nothing is more important than eating right, which means getting enough protein in their diet to nourish and protect their body, especially their bones. That’s why it’s a good idea for all moms to start their day off right with a delicious Complete Protein smoothie.

My mom's favorite smoothie recipe is the Chocolate Shake with water and ice, and get it real frothy. While chocolate may be her favorite, she likes variety and rotates between the shake flavors. Here's her simple recipe:

(2 scoops) LynFit Complete Protein Powder
(¾ cup) Water
Handful of ice
(3-4) Frozen strawberries (mom lives alone and doesn't shop much so keeping frozen strawberries in the house is a must)

Blend together and enjoy!

If mom gets really hungry, she'll have a LynFit Lean Bar with her shake to keep her energy level up.

Snack Time

Mom's favorite snack is a LynFit Chocolate Lean Bar. Sometimes she'll enjoy one with a cup of tea or hot chocolate made with LynFit Complete Protein. This guarantees she gets enough protein, plus she says it makes her hair and nails grow faster.

Movement Time

Think of movement as your exercise, so it's not a chore. While my mom hates it, she still makes sure to get in her 10,000 steps daily and at least does some type of yard work or vacuuming. And, she does keep her weights under her couch so she can lift them while watching television.

Joint Nourishment Time

My mom wakes up achy at times, so she takes LynFit Pure Omega 3 and LynFit Recovery Agent every day instead of reaching for those over-the-counter meds that jack-up her blood pressure. She says, "They make me feel too good!" In other words, I have to tell her to come in from working in the yard all day  :)

Her routine is to take (3-4) Recovery Agent (make sure to consult the label for your correct dosage) and (1) Pure Omega 3 every morning, and then again at noon when she feels it starting to wear off. She'll then take another Pure Omega 3 at bedtime to help her heal while she sleeps.

Sleep Time

My mom is a firm believer that if you sleep, you'll be merry. However, it's not always easy to sleep after menopause. The sooner you can figure out how to get your eight hours (mom says AT LEAST eight), the more delirious with joy you'll be (that's a "momism" for you).

My mom prefers natural remedies versus over-the-counter sleeping pills because she says she feels better in the morning when she wakes up, and natural remedies are always better for the body.

Lean Sleep is also a great way to improve health and wellness because it acts as an antioxidant. I always suggest combining Pure Omega 3 and Lean Sleep because it helps you sleep longer and relieves joint pain and inflammation.

Pee in Your Pants Belly Laughing Time

When your happy buzz threatens to slip away altogether, remind yourself that "this too shall pass." It works both ways: Either you get through the terrible stuff by knowing it's not forever, or you put it into perspective by reminding yourself that the good stuff—the sticky kisses and the cute little tutus—will also soon be gone. But, that IT WILL get better.

My mom is a firm believer in finding humor in everything and going out of her way to find a good belly laugh. You know the kind—the "pee in your pants" belly laugh! She'll even do something silly if that's what it takes. If nothing else, it makes us laugh at her ridiculousness. After all, for a mom, being able to share a laugh with your kids is priceless!

So, from my mom to all you moms: Get plenty of the right kind of protein, make sure your snacks are healthy, get up and move, give your body the proper nourishment, get plenty of sleep so your body can recover, and above all else, it's okay to pee your pants laugh from time to time  :)

Happy Mother's Day Week from all of us at LynFit Nutrition!

So-Called "Healthy Foods" That Can Make You Fat

Most of us know that certain foods and beverages like the Starbucks® Unicorn drink are loaded with fat and sugar. The drink is 401 calories, 16 grams of fat (10 grams saturated), 5 grams of protein, 62 grams of carbs (0 grams of fiber), and a whopping 59 grams of belly fattening sugar.

But it’s the foods we neglect to check that can be the reason our metabolism is slowing down to a screeching halt. Not to worry, the metabolism is more forgiving than you might think, and the first step is awareness of what works for weight loss and what doesn’t. In the world of weight loss, there are foods that promote weight loss and foods that block it. Here are the Sneaky diet saboteurs and the better choice. 

Of course, cutting the junk from your diet (throw it out) is the first step to weight loss, but sometimes the healthy foods you swap in are surprisingly high in fat and calories. When it comes to weight loss, especially if you're above the age 35 mark, it's not only the serving size that matters—even when it comes to fruits, nuts, yogurt, and salads but also how much sugar and fat the foods you eat contains. For more information on how many carbs, sugars, and fats you should take in when you’re trying to lose weight, refer to The Metabolism Solution.

Not only do these seemingly healthy foods block weight loss and prevent you from burning fat, but they also place you at risk for diseases like: 

• Type 2 diabetes
• High Blood pressure
• Elevated triglycerides  

FOOD SIN #1

FOOD SIN #2

FOOD SIN #3

FOOD SIN #4

Imagine what would happen if you committed all four sins in one day. My advice? Stick to the Lose 1 Pound Per Day Plan until you reach your goal weight. Be religious about following it and check the food list provided before eating any foods. If you don’t see it on the list, it's not good for weight loss. It's just that simple.

Following a plan like the Lose 1 Pound Per Day Plan works better than any other diet you'll ever try because there is no thinking, planning, or counting calories, which make losing weight faster and easier, leaving you more time to live your life. It's also the most nourishing and healthy for your body. And with health, anything is possible!

The Great Diet Debate

The only topic that’s debated more than the current presidential election is weight loss and workouts. It seems everyone has something to say on these topics. Despite there being a diet for every minute of the day and a new workout popping up by the second, Americans are gaining weight and becoming less fit. Have you ever wondered which diet provides the best weight loss, and do they all help you burn off fat?

Most of us get overwhelmed at the mere thought of which one to pick. From Paleo to Pilates, there is misleading information, all of which stops us from losing weight and getting into shape. All the while increasing our stress levels and sending us into a downward spiral, which is never productive when it comes to making the decision to improve our health. How are we supposed to sort through all of this misinformation so we can lose weight and get into shape?

Keep It Simple And Stick To Science

I've been where you are, so I know firsthand how depressing it feels to try every workout and diet you read about, only to end up gaining weight, leaving you feeling even more hopeless after starving yourself and practically living in the gym. I over-exercised, lived in the gym, drank vegan shakes non-stop, yet was 40 pounds overweight.  

My 360° turnaround occurred when I worked at the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) as an apprentice alongside Dr. Fred Hatfield. Dr. Hatfield was doing research to test bodybuilding programs that included diet, exercise, and supplements to see what did and didn't work.

The results were shocking. Most of what I was doing to try to lose weight was all wrong. I worked out way too hard ,and for too long (a CrossFit kind of workout) — yes, that’s possible, and I ate too much healthy food — yes, that's possible as well.

The Top Mistakes I Made

I drank the wrong kind of protein shakes (I used to drink vegan), and like any gym rat, I drank a lot of them. I didn't realize that it wasn’t the right kind of protein for losing weight and boosting my sluggish metabolism. Besides, they tasted disgusting.

Vegan shakes are not a complete protein, meaning they lack the essential amino acids to be called complete and therefore will not have the metabolic boosting benefits of a high-quality Complete Whey Protein.

I lived on cereal bars. Like most moms, I need portable good-for-you food that I can eat on-the-go. What I didn’t realize was how little protein these tiny little bars contained, or how many carbohydrates and sugars they were filled with. To make a long story short, my health habits were killing my weight loss.

Combined with working out too long and too hard, I was ravenously hungry which sent me straight to my health halo foods. They only served to jack-up my sugar and stop my weight loss. In the end, it was an all day struggle with food.

I had my aha moment of what I was doing and got where I was when I was 40 pounds overweight (that’s a lot on my little frame). I needed to start doing things differently if I wanted to transform my body. This was how the Metabolic Boosting Weight Loss System was created. I needed a simple system that helped me to lose weight and develop healthier habits.

Collaboration With Dr. Hatfield

Everything I thought I knew about weight loss was all wrong. As I mentioned earlier, I learned that while working alongside Dr. Hatfield. 

We tested all sorts of programs from the American Heart Association Diet and Exercise Plan to the program the WBF (a division of the WWF called World Body Building Federation) was about to launch that was then called thermogenics. We also tested all of them against each other. Did they cause weight loss the way they said they would?

One of the companies/programs we researched, and I learned a lot about, was called Cybergenics. They explained what to eat and why, and how much and how long to work out. They also provided education on the smart use of safe supplements that helped the bodybuilders muscle up. So I asked myself, "why don’t we have the same type of system to help make losing weight faster and easier?" 

With the aid of Dr. Hatfield, who helped bring these formulas to life with the purest ingredients from the highest quality sources, the LynFit Metabolic Boosting System was born.

Dr. Hatfield was meticulous about combining the right kind of diet, utilizing very specific foods such as lean proteins and fibrous carbohydrates (now called a thermogenic diet) with the smart use of safe supplements to help keep the body properly nourished. More specifically, to help teach the body to burn off stored fat for fuel and to help balance blood sugar levels so hunger cravings wouldn’t overtake the participants while they were trying to lose weight.

Combined with the thermogenic diet were very specific weight lifting circuits, three times weekly (now called metabolic boosting workouts). I was blown away by what I witnessed. In all of my years of working in the gym business, I had never before seen such dramatic results. These were not gym rats. These participants were not fit at all and had no gym or dieting experience. They transformed their bodies, and their lives, in less than a month!

It wasn’t the first time I had seen people achieve results using diet and exercise, but it was the first time I saw people transform their bodies so quickly without living in the gym or adhering to vegan or no-carb diets. And, they did it in less than a month.

While working with Dr. Hatfield, I had the opportunity to rub elbows with some pretty big names in the bodybuilding industry. I made sure I was around them as much as possible, so I could look, listen and learn from them. I can tell you this, the pros work very hard, but interestingly, they spend less time in the gym than amateurs I know who kill their bodies in the gym while paying the physical price of damaged joints and chronic injuries. In the end, they also damage their self-worth and relationships because of their addictive dedication.

I've learned that not all diets and workouts are created equal. It’s just not as simple as calories in and calories out, especially if you have belly fat or you've been overweight. You need to choose your diet based on your goal, not according to which plan allows you to keep eating what you want when you want.

Some workouts and diets work better for weight loss, and others are better for bulk. How do you know? Your results tell all. Success leaves evidence.

How All This Relates To You

Most of us are very emotional when it comes to losing weight and getting fit, and that’s where we fall.

We know that exercise is a must because it strengthens our body, and it’s the best way to reshape, tighten, and tone it. But, it’s your diet that plays the largest role in your weight loss. In fact, 90 percent of your weight loss success comes from what you eat. You can't simply exercise away a bad diet.

Now that we have exercise in proper perspective choose your method of exercise based on science vs. what you want to do for the fastest results.

The good news is that when you see your body transform in front of your eyes and feel the difference, you’ll be hooked immediately. This will make sticking to the plan much easier, and that’s the key to lasting results.

For flexibility — choose Pilates or yoga. or better yet, LynFit Recovery Stretch
For rapid relief from aches and pains — LynFit Recovery Stretch
For sports performance — CrossFit or LynFit Fat Blaster or Metabolic Boosting Workouts
For stubborn weight loss and transformation — When it comes to weight loss, lifting weights is must. But, it's important that you do it in a specific way to elicit metabolic changes vs. bulking up and gaining weight.

NOTE: Weight lifting and certain types of workouts have been proven to make you hungrier and cause stress levels to rise in the body, which makes losing weight impossible. If you're serious about losing weight before Christmas, you'll want to start doing three metabolic boosting workouts weekly. You'll need the right tools, so grab the LynFit Lose 1 Pound Per Day Kit.

Start Here

We all know that dieting stinks, so here is how to do it right. Just about every diet plan agrees with these three simple steps.

• Focus on the power of Complete Protein — Make it your priority
  Complete proteins contain all the essential amino acids your body needs. You also want to choose the complete proteins that have a high PER (protein efficiency ratio). When it comes to losing fat and boosting your metabolism, the kind of protein you choose matters most. Lean Protein will feed the lean muscle tissue and starve the fat, so it leaves. Lean proteins are the best way to build your metabolism and force your body to burn fat. For results you can count on, check out LynFit Complete Whey Protein Shakes and Lean Bars.
  
  
• Track the numbers that matter — Protein and Fibrous Carbs
  Aim for at least one gram per pound of lean body weight per day. Example: If you weigh 150 pounds, but you have 25 pounds of fat, your lean body weight would be 125 pounds. Your goal is to consume 125 grams of lean protein every day. However, you can’t eat it all at once if you’re trying to lose weight and melt fat. You should divide that 125 grams over the span of five meals so you're only consuming the amount of protein that your body can utilize vs. storing it as fat.
  
  Now that you know how much, here is the when. Space meals three hours apart. Begin at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. You can find a complete guide in the Advanced Metabolic Boosting Meal Plan. The best choices when it comes to weight loss and melting fat are:
  
  Whey protein — It helps reduce abdominal fat better than any other kind of protein source.
  White fish — The lighter and whiter the fish, the better for your metabolism. Fish is lower in calories and fat and contains iodine that fuels thyroid function, which fuels your weight loss. White fish is the lowest in fat.
  *NOTE: Salmon is not white fish
  Turkey Breast — Turkey breast is lower in calories. When it comes to the nitty gritty of weight loss, every gram counts.
  
  NOTE: For more information on how much protein you need, and why fish is better, refer to "The Metabolism Solution".
  
  
• Fill up on Fibrous Carbohydrates
  Fibrous carbs are the only food that can be considered unlimited. They burn more calories than they contain. When it comes to losing weight, it can be next to impossible to find foods that can help keep you on track. There are a few miracle foods however that are purported to be negative in calories. These foods essentially contain more water than they do calories and require more calories to utilize them than they hold. Thus, making these foods essentially calorie-free.
  
  Approximately 75 percent of a celery stick is water. The other 25 percent is fiber and other roughage. As a result, this tasty vegetable provides you with far fewer calories than it will take for your body to digest it. In addition to burning more calories than it contains, celery is an excellent source of fiber that can help to keep you feeling fuller for longer, helping you to reduce the urge to snack.
  
  The health benefits of celery don’t end at weight loss. Celery is full of nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Vitamin K. Further, celery has antioxidant properties that may be able to improve cardiovascular health, reducing your chances of developing hardened arteries (and related heart problems like heart attacks and cardiovascular disease). As a bonus, the fiber content promotes regular bowel movements as well as boosting digestive health more generally. There is even some evidence suggesting that a diet high in celery can improve the appearance of your skin.
  
  You can enjoy celery sticks on their own, or try lightly seasoning them with Mrs. Dash® salt-free instead of salt. You can also dip celery in hot sauce to make a spicy snack, or chop it up for a salad.

If you're truly serious about your weight loss, here is my personal Three-Step Plan to losing weight and developing healthier habits:

1. Be brutally honest with yourself and clearly identify your bad or not-so-healthy habits. Then, eliminate those as quickly as you can. Write them down now.
   Here's my example — I needed to stop working out compulsively and learn to feel my feelings instead of turn to food. There I said it; it's not so bad. In fact, it feels good to say it. I also needed to choose the right kinds of food that cause weight loss vs. weight gain.
   
   
2. Find replacements for your not-so-healthy habits and define your new healthier habits. Write them down now. Then, imagine how much better you'll feel. List all the benefits and rewards of adopting these habits to help inspire change.
   Here's my example — I needed a new doable workout that worked for weight loss that didn’t overwork me and jack up my appetite. I needed to grab and apple or a real protein bar that was lower in carbs and sugar instead of handfuls of trail mix or cereal bars that worked against me. I will feel better and learn to like myself more, and I won’t need to overwork in the gym because I’m eating better. 
   
   
3. Create your Weight Loss Action Plan, starting with just one habit (no more than three) that you really want to implement. Write them down now.
   Here's my example — I will work out on an empty stomach for 30 minutes every day before work. I will drink my shake without adding extra calories (no fruit or almond milk), and take my supplements after I work out. I will drink my coffee black from now on. This was simple and doable, and the rest is history!

If you're serious about transforming your body and your life, focus on these three steps and begin to put them into practice. And remember, nothing will change until you do!

We would love to hear your story. What will you be working on to transform your body and your life?

Healthy Snacks To Help Relieve Chronic Pain

Chronic pain affects 1.5 billion people worldwide. More people are affected by chronic pain than heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. The good news is that what you eat can help relieve chronic pain symptoms and inflammation. 

Food can either make or break you when it comes to pain and inflammation. If you're one of those people like myself who is genetically predisposed to pain at the slightest touch, you need to know the foods that encourage pain and inflammation to flare and those that fight pain and inflammation.

Let's take a look at just a few of the foods that encourage inflammation and should be consumed in moderation—every four days, maybe. You don't have to eliminate them completely from your diet, but I would detox from them for 21 days and then re-introduce them back into your diet to diagnose cause and effect. 

• Gluten and pretty much any grain
• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Peppers
• Red meat
• Dairy

Now, let's talk about some good news and introduce you to  foods that help relieve chronic pain and inflammation. 

• Salmon — full of Omega 3. If you're not a fish eater, get a good clean Omega 3 supplement such as LynFit Pure Omega 3.
• Walnuts
• Turmeric
• Cinnamon
• Whey protein mixed with Green tea, strawberries, honey, or peanut butter (for complete recipes refer to The Metabolism Solution)
• Dark chocolate

The bottom line is that by making a few changes in your diet, you can help offset pain and inflammation.