5 Simple Ways to Cut 100 Calories From Your Meals

Posted on by Thimo Broekhuis

man eating health food

There are many changes you can make to shave off those extra pounds. From fad diets, to the latest fitness trend, to weight loss supplements like Instant Knockout fat burner.

But in today’s article I’ll be sharing five simple ways to cut 100 calories from the meals you’re eating. Although I truly believe in focusing on eating high-quality, real food, if your goal is fat loss it’s important that you also focus on being in a smart calorie deficit.

Now when I say smart, this doesn’t mean that you should be starving yourself or going on crash diets. I’m referring to making better food decisions that will give you the nutrition you need to be healthy while still putting you in a slight calorie deficit.

It all starts by making small – but smart – choices. So let’s get started with number one!

1. Add More Vegetables, Hold the Cheese, Hold the Starches

When prepared with spices and natural low-calorie condiments (like salsa and Dijon mustard), vegetables are not only delicious, they’re filled with fiber to keep you feeling full – without the added calories. So the next time you cook, keep that in mind.

When you’re making an omelette, rather than stuffing it with cheese or other high-calorie ingredients, try stuffing it with steamed or grilled vegetables instead.

And the next time you’re making a stir-fry, fill out your plate sauteed, spiced up vegetables – not rice or pasta. And if you’re not sure what spices to use, by a premix spice and add it to everything.

2. Wrap it With Greens, Not Wheat

The next time you’re making a turkey sandwich, ditch the whole wheat wrap and grab a nutrient-rich, low-calorie piece of crispy romaine lettuce. And rather than adding high calorie mayonnaise, give your wrap a quick squirt of sriracha mustard.

3. Clean Up Your Dips

The next time you’re watching a movie on the couch, try dipping your snack in a flavorful and low-calorie salsa, not a typical high-calorie creamy dip. This way you can still enjoy the treat of eating the cracker or the chip, but you’re saving a lot of calories by swapping out the high calorie dip.

Or, you can reverse it, which leads me to number four.

4. Swap Out Your Crackers For Crunchy Veggies

So if you really enjoy creamy dips like guacamole, swap out the crackers for a crunchy veggie, like celery, bell peppers, or carrots. This way you can still have the healthy guacamole, but you’re saving a lot of calories by eating vegetables instead of crackers.

5. Use a Food Scale For Portion Control

So most people have no idea about portion sizes. When I first started taking control of my health, weighing my food was a game-changer.

It takes the guessing away and gives you the incredible insight and education on how much food you’re actually feeding your body. Most times, especially when it comes to carbohydrates, you’re consuming a lot more than you think, so this is where food scale helps.

Now, I’m not saying that you have to measure your food for the rest of your life, but take at least the next seven days and commit to weighing out your food. After seven days you should have a decent grasp on food portion sizes.

And if you’re looking for a good food scale, I got mine for my friends at Vanity Planet. It’s a really modern design so you can leave it on your counter top and it actually looks cool. It also measures in pounds, ounces, grams, and milliliters.

Simply click the power button, press the unit button to select a measuring size, then put the food on the scale. Done.

Conclusion

It’s small but consistent changes like this that will help you reach your fat loss goals in an easy and healthier way. No drastic calorie starvation diets – consistent small wins, that’s the key for a life of living.

Macro-Minerals: Top 7 Minerals of Human Nutrition

Posted on by Thimo Broekhuis

macro nutrient foods

Minerals are central to human nutrition and are part of uncountable functions in our bodies. There are certain minerals that are found in greater abundance in the body, and these are called macro minerals.

Although we don’t yet have one standard definition of what makes a mineral a “macro mineral”, there are seven minerals that are generally accepted in this category. These are: calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur.

When we think of calcium, we tend to think of bones. It is true that calcium is an important structural component of our bones and teeth, but calcium is also involved in processes that go on in our cells: blood clotting, enzyme activation, and it is central to muscle contraction.

Good food sources of calcium are milk and dairy products, sardines, clams, oysters, greens (like turnip and mustard greens), broccoli, beans, and dried fruits.

Chloride is an electrolyte in the fluid outside our cells, along with sodium. Just as a reminder, potassium is the major electrolyte inside our cells. Chloride helps maintain pH balance. It’s involved in enzyme activation and it is a major component of gastric acid.

We get plenty of chloride from salt in our foods. Table salt is sodium chloride, and most of us get a lot of salt from added salt in our meals and in processed foods. There is also plenty of chloride in seafood, milk, meat, and eggs.

Magnesium is a component of our bones and it is involved with the transmission of nerve impulses. It’s a part of protein synthesis and of enzyme activation. Good sources of magnesium are cereal grains (including brown rice and corn), nuts, beans, and peas (including soy beans), parsnips, chocolate, molasses, carrots, and seafood.

Phosphorus is a structural component of bones and teeth and it’s part of cell membranes, nucleic acids, and nucleotides, and it’s involved in ATP, ADP, phosphate transfer, and pH regulation.

Sources of phosphorus are meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk and milk products, nuts, beans and peas, cereal grains, and chocolate.

Potassium is the major electrolyte of the fluid inside our cells. It helps maintain fluid balance and pH balance and it is involved in cell membrane transfer. Good sources of potassium are avocados, bananas, dried fruits like raisins, oranges, peaches, potatoes, dry beans, tomatoes, wheat, bran, dairy products, and eggs.

Sodium as mentioned is the other electrolyte in the fluid outside our cells along with chloride. It’s involved in fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction. You don’t need to go looking for sodium in your diet  – you probably get more than enough. It is, of course, in table salt (or sodium chloride) and it is abundant in meat, seafood, cheese, milk, bread, and vegetables. In fact, about the only foods that don’t contain a good amount of sodium are fruits.

Sulfur is involved in some detoxification mechanisms in the body, but its main role is as a structural component of certain amino acids, and as a part of thiamine, biotin, and lipoic acid. Since sulfur is a part of most animal proteins, high-protein foods are a good source of sulfur. These include meats, poultry, fish, eggs, milk and cheese, beans, peas, and nuts are also good sources.

Health Tips Made Easy

Posted on by Thimo Broekhuis

dr-oz

If you follow Dr. Oz’s teachings, you know how he is revolutionizing the way we look at health. He keeps us up with various health threats and how we can even fight cancer through nutrition and diet.

Now he is showing us the secrets to longevity. He’s done this study on his show before by going to places where people easily live over 95 years of age, and studying why. Their diets and daily routines were studied along with other factors.

Dr. Oz gives his findings in the reference below. I also included Men’s Health that includes more secrets and information on living to a healthy old age. To be fair, people with bad habits such as smoking, eating wrong foods and leading an inactive lifestyle have reached ripe old ages. Still, the odds are against them!

  • Avoid eating out or fast food. You’ll save money and cut down on unhealthy foods. If you must, though, increase vegetable and fruit portions and decrease the other foods. Sodium and trans fat are high and out of control in restaurant foods and most portions give more than the daily required 1200 calories.
  • Eat no more than 18 ounces of red meat a week. Avoid nitrate loaded deli meats. Eat red meat no more than once a week.
  • Drink a glass of water before a meal.
  • Potassium fights salt, so increase your fruits and vegetables that contain potassium. Decrease your salt intake as much as possible, and be aware of salt content in all packaged foods you buy.
  • Canned salmon contains more omega 3 than canned salmon, if you go that route.
  • Add nuts and seeds to your salad rather than croutons. Use olive oil and balsamic vinegar rather than processed salad dressing that will be more than just one serving-1 tbl. spoon.
  • Start a food journal and write everything you consume as far as both food and drink. Watch for portion size.I’m sure there are a lot more ways that I will discuss in the future. But these should hold you for now. Eventually, I’ll start giving recipes.

Easy Ways to Cut Calories

Posted on by Thimo Broekhuis

Cutting calories

If you are looking to lose weight, the information to accomplish your goals is limitless on the internet. I look for the easiest ways to do it. Although I believe that ‘fiber’ is the holy grail to accomplish your goals, there are other ways to do so.

Cutting calories is a biggie, so here’s some simple ways to cut 100 calories.

Adapting a healthy lifestyle takes time and discipline. If at first you don’t succeed, there is always tomorrow. I have seen great results in changing my diet and exercise, and more importantly sticking to it. I’ve fallen off the wagon, but have always returned to a healthy lifestyle. I hope to make 2017 my healthiest year yet!

Frugal Alternatives

Posted on by Thimo Broekhuis

healthy pizza

Have you given up pizza, or have you found a healthier way of making it? Are you paying for an expensive gym membership, or do you have the things you need to exercise?

A little secret that I have experienced by living healthier than I did, is that to be healthy is to truly experience the spice of life. You may have your routines, but there is always something that you can try differently. I cannot see going back to how it was, with me being overweight and out of shape.

I am guilty of having a gym membership and I use it frequently so I get my money’s worth, but there are times when I slack off. I don’t believe I will renew my membership when it comes time. There is a gym at my new apartment complex. I also have equipment or am planning to buy a few things like kettle weights and a stability ball.

Exercising involves movement, and that is free. If you want to body build you go one direction, if you want to live healthy, get a pedometer and walk 10000 steps a day. Clean your apartment or house. Walk briskly up a steep hill. You might be out of breath at first, but eventually it becomes a breeze. Wear ankle weights. Try these basics. Start slow and work up.

My healthy pizza starts with a Whole Wheat shell, I buy those ready made ones in the grocery stores. First topping is a basil type pesto. Next the tomato slices and broccoli-these are cancer fighters. After that I have different ingredients I add from time to time: black olives, onions, red peppers, jalapenos, squash, mushrooms, spinach, goat cheese, garlic, etc., you get the idea.

Another good one is to take a chicken breast. Cut the breast in strips. I like to add my spices such as curry-an Alzheimer’s fighter, black pepper, lemon, cayanne pepper, etc. Bake the strips at 350° for 20 minutes-you have to continue cooking it on the pizza, so allow enough cooking time to cook the chicken thoroughly.

On your pizza shell coat it with barbecue sauce and then add the chicken first then all the toppings you want.

Cook the pizza at 350° for about 20 minutes. You really don’t have to give up what you like, just find a healthier alternatives.

Instead of a baked potato, I have a baked sweet potato. Instead of potato chips, I make my own kale chips.

The two spices you should cut and avoid as much as possible are sugar and salt. The sweet and the sour, ironically! Unfortunately, these two exist in almost all of the foods we eat or drink. Finding alternatives to these two, can give you amazing weight loss results. Not to mention a healthier life.

Another tip is to take supplements for men. Look up good supplement review sites like this one where you’ll be able to learn a lot about these products (one of my favorite being the CrazyStack line).

This blog is evolving as I try to put my own health information into it. I am debating if I should give product names or see if you can find the alternatives. Example: if you buy canned squid in its own ink, and use a 90 second rice in a bag, and combine the two you have a black rice that can fight cancer.

Stay tuned in good health

A Guide To Men’s Health

Posted on by Thimo Broekhuis

images (1)It has always been considered that men are stronger individuals compared to women, strength-wise. It has been accepted by society and women simply nod at this to avoid clash and hitting a nerve attached to their ego. One thing that men should focus on though is their health. Since most men believe they are all strong and mighty, going to a doctor for routine check ups are not something most men want to do. There is no such thing about being too careful because there are a lot of contributing factors these days causing health to deteriorate.

We are not talking about simple health issues such as fever, cough or colds. There are specific ailments that hits men in particular. Most often than not, these affects the male genitalia or something that affects men’s hormones. Health issues that are common to women are cancer but this does not mean men do not have issues as well. The biggest concern with men are their fitness.images
Being overweight is one issue very common these days and men are also affected with it. With unhealthy body, heart issues and high cholesterol is not far away. Keeping your body healthy at all times will aid in the production of testosterone and growth hormones which will help you keep your body strong. Another issue being faced by men are erectile dysfunction.Men having this issue are affected mentally as well as emotionally.

472563-highThis is very important to a man and not being able to get it up will definitely cause negative effect on the person going through this situation. This is actually a health issue and there can be underlying health problems other than the erectile dysfunction. It can be related to depression, physical injury, caused by smoking, diabetes stress or something else but it will only be known if you approach an expert and have yourself checked.

Everything Related to Men’s Fashion

Posted on by Thimo Broekhuis

Best-Fall-2016-Men-Wears-Fashion-and-Style-14There was that time when shopping online is a bogus thing but now, everyone seem dependent on this method of buying things. It is not a surprise why because as soon as security was increased, it became easier for people to do what needs to be done. More and more online stores appeared and everything people needs are now available on the world wide web, especially fashion needs. What seems to be a huge question is if the options for men are as wide as what women has? If you look at the choices, you would definitely say that women have more than men but not all men are going online to shop.

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If you consider all the needs of a woman, you will probably say that naturally, they have more to find online compared to men. Men’s fashion only consist of pants, shirt, t-shirt, shorts, shoes, watches, hats and slippers and basically that’s it. Women on the other hand needs more! When men shops, whether at a traditional store or online, they already have the precise item in their mind. If they do not, they are there just to find it and then do the purchase.

 

Project-RawOnline purchase is not really a priority for most men unless they are searching for gadgets and some tools. Most men prefer buying their clothes and shoes in a physical store because they prefer fitting it first and seeing if it looks good on them. It is simply in a man’s behavior to make sure they do not regret their decisions especially when it involves money. Shopping online may cause you to buy smaller shoes or a tight-fitting shirt. Being rational is simply present in a man’s genes. If it is clothes they need, majority of men will definitely choose to pick it themselves rather than online.