In this December 29, 2008 podcast, I interview personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, and health specialist Paul Eastwood about dairy products and the effect of milk on the human body. There is quite a bit of confusion about whether dairy is good for fat loss, human performance, and overall health, and Paul and I have a conversation about some important things to consider before you tip back that glass of milk or grab another serving of string cheese. Included in our discussion:

Is milk a “low glycemic index” food, and if so, is that a good thing?

How has the dairy industry changed over the past century, for better or worse?

Is raw milk even safe? How can you get it?

Are soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk good alternatives to cow milk?

What about milk from animals other than cows?

What about osteoporosis? Is that a concern for non-milk drinkers?

For further resources, Paul recommended the following books:

“The Deadly Dairy Deception” by Dr. Robert Bibb

“Don’t Drink Your Milk” by Dr. Frank Oski

“How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy” by Paul Chek

If you have more questions about this topic, you can reach Paul Eastwood at paullifefit@hotmail.com.

Also mentioned in this podcast:

-December 31 at midnight is the deadline for your special opportunity that allows me to be your personal nutritionist and fitness coach for 2009. This new program begins on January 1st, and when you sign-up, your package includes a FREE Gymstick, a  FREE bottle of Thermo-Factor metabolism-boosting supplement, a FREE bottle of Enerprime Superfood Multivitamin, a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism”, unlimited phone and e-mail access…and 1 full year of monthly  personal meetings with me. The entire program is $149/month. You MUST sign-up BY midnight on December 31. Click here to go to a page where you can sign-up for the first month of your package and be directed to a comprehensive goals questionnaire. Simply e-mail ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com with any questions.

-New audio nutrition added to the fat loss story at http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/help! I recorded our conversation on fat loss nutrition, and you can listen to it below:

-Are you a triathlete in the Northwest? I’ve written specific training plans for TriNW events like Blue Lake, Pacific Crest, and Black Diamond! Click here for details.

-Other Special Discount Codes:

“HOLIDAY” is the  $10 discount code for the Gymstick portable exercise tool. Order today from http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/gymstick.

Ironman Canada Training Plan, for January 1-August 30, 2009 - just $179 with $20 discount code “BGF”! Order today from http://www.pacificfit.net/ironmancanada.html .

Ironman Coeur D’ Alene Training Plan, for January 1-June 21, 2009 - just $179 with $20 discount code “BGF”! Order today from http://www.pacificfit.net/qualityoverquantity.html .

January 4th offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is your chance to participate in a FREE and LIVE 90 minute video interview and Q&A session with  me, where I will give away my most highly effective fat-loss strategies for 2009. On Sunday, January 4, at 5:00pm Pacific Standard Time, all you need to do simply point your browser to: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ben-greenfield-fitness, where you’ll be able to watch and interact with me as I tells you exactly what to do to reach your specific goals. Write it on your calendar now…you won’t want to miss this one!

-Also, for you local Spokane/Coeur D’ Alene people, check out below:

-Finally, I came across an interesting website that I wanted to share with you. There are some good weight loss tips and health tips.

Be sure to leave our podcast a rating in iTunes! Just click here to go to our iTunes page and leave feedback.

 

 Podcast Episode #28: What's the Deal With Dairy? [43:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As a personal trainer, nutritionist, and exercise physiologist, I work with many people, both face-to-face in Spokane, Washington, and also online, anywhere in the world. I help  with everything from..

…getting ready for a triathlon…

…to losing fat…

…to eating healthy and enjoying it…

…to winning a beauty pageant…

…to toning thighs and abs…

…to figuring out what the hell is going on with their body, their metabolism, and their health…

And sometimes people have unsuccessfully tried many, many other methods. You must watch this video to see an extreme example of someone who has tried EVERYTHING:

Here are some pictures that she sent:

So can I help her?

In December of 2008, this 32 year old stay-at-home mom signed up for training (through my online training website Pacific Elite Fitness). Within 48 hours after she had signed up, I had collected a series of online questionnaires about her health and exercise history, conducted a video conference between me in Spokane, Washington and her in San Diego, California, and sent her the first set of exercise and dietary recommendations.

Here’s the first video she sent back:

I wrote back immediately, giving her an alternative exercise to the bridge. It turns out, she was attempting an advanced version of the bridge!

Wait a second? Do I put everyone I train in the limelight like this? Actually, as a 2009 Personal Training Special, I am helping a small number of individuals for a very low rate, provided that they give me full photo and video access to their success. For more information, on that, just e-mail me.

I’ll be keeping you updated each week with more photos and videos.

Want to find out what happens? Is there any chance she can shed 95 pounds of fat, especially with everything she has already tried? Would you like to stay tuned to this story?

YES! Please send me the Ben Greenfield Fitness newsletter, where I can receive automatic alerts about this story, as well as weekly fat loss techniques and wellness stories from Ben Greenfield! I also understand that by signing up, I receive a FREE copy of the “E-Health Handbook of Diet & Fitness Secrets”, a $19.95 value!.

In this week’s Podcast Episode #23, I host a roundtable with personal trainers Mark Cavallaro and Jolene Wilkinson. During this episode, we talk about very practical and easy ways to maintain fat loss and fitness during the holidays and Thanksgiving. If you’re trying to lose fat or get fitter during the holiday season, you won’t want to miss this episode, which includes:

-The top five fattiest foods and perfect substitutions

-Smart strategies straight from top trainers at Pacific Elite Fitness

-How to make food less likely to get stored as fat

-Tricks for staying motivated to exercise

-Ways to make “Holes in Your Calendar” for fitness

Also included in this podcast is an answer to the following listener question:

I listened to podcast #21 where you gave your 1-2-3 secret to fast fat burning and basically, you advocated 20-30 min @ 60% MHR an on empty stomach.  My question is that I work out 5x a week at an hour each morning - 2-3 times full body weight training and 2-3 times high intensity cardio at 85-95% HR or interval training. To increase my fat burning potential, how do I use this slower, steady cardio technique?  Should I continue with my current workout program and then tack on an extra 30 min of steady cardio?

Thanks always,
Tina

Here are the shownote links from topics mentioned in this podcast:

Order The Original Gymstick (use the 10% discount code at minute 10:58 of this week’s podcast!)

Bodybuilding for Skinny Guys - Click Here To Go From Zero to Huge in 20 Weeks!

Triathlete Interview Form - Fill This Out to Find Out More About Multi-Sport Coaching

Fitness Interview Form - Fill This Out to Find Out More About Fat Loss & Fitness Training

And finally…

Jolene Wilkinson’s Health(ier) Cranberry Chutney Recipe
1 cup water
1/2 cup stevia (sugar substitute)
1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
1 cup apples - peeled, cored and diced
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

In a medium saucepan combine the water and sugar substitute. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Add the cranberries, apples, cider vinegar, raisins and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes stirring often.
Pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce. Cool to room temperature and serve or cover and refrigerate. Bring chutney to room temperature before serving.

Yield: 20 serving

 

 Podcast #23: Holiday Special! Thanksgiving's Five Fattiest Foods and Top Holiday Fitness Tips [1:04:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Imagine if you showed up to a personal trainer, but instead of just a simple and basic exercise or diet routine, you had access to:

-Exercise metabolic testing to determine your exact caloric needs, fat burning and maximum fitness response heart rates, and unique biochemical and nutrient utilization profile.

-Body composition, dynamic range-of-motion and fitness testing to identify structural imbalances, assess your personal fitness levels, and customize a program to your body.

-Detailed workout calendar and nutritional plans, with daily instructions for every aspect of your program - fitness, diet and lifestyle!

-Unlimited phone and e-mail access to a physiologist, nutritionist and metabolic expert.

-Full access to any necessary medical testing procedures, including comprehensive blood metabolic profiles, thyroid screening, hormone analysis, and biomechanical evaluation.

-Ability to split the entire cost of the program among a group of friends, or among a group that we find for you to join! This is a new feature that allows for a very high degree of affordability.

Don’t pinch yourself. It’s all available right here in Spokane, Washington, in a program directed by Ben Greenfield and overseen at Champions Sports Medicine in the beautiful Gonzaga district of Spokane, Washington. Click here for more information about Ben Greenfield, MS, CSCS, CPT, C-ISSN.

Are you ready to begin? It’s time to re-invent your body and turn your life around, with zero guesswork. We have access to every necessary test to discover exactly what is going on in your body, including food allergies, hormone issues, metabolic syndromes, or nutritional needs. Simply complete the information below, and we’ll contact you immediately.

You shouldn’t have to train 15-20 hours a week to be competitive at Ironman.

Ben Greenfield has designed a 6 month training plan designed for the busy, working Ironman triathlete. This plan can be implemented at any point during the training year, and brings the beginner, intermediate, or advanced individual to the Ironman finish line in 6 months! Click here for details.

Also, visit the TrainingPeaks blog for Ben’s latest article on recovery…

SPECIAL MID-WEEK ANNOUNCEMENT #1: Click here for a complete list of Ben Greenfield’s Six Extreme Workout Challenges. Video record yourself completing any of these challenges in the allotted period of time, and receive a FREE copy of Shape21: The Complete 21 Day Lean Body Manual.

SPECIAL MID-WEEK ANNOUNCEMENT #2: Podcast Discount on Fat Loss Capsule - at the end of Podcast #18 is a special discount code that automatically gives you a ten dollar discount on ThermoFactor! Click here to order with your discount code.

ThermoFactor is a synergistic formula that successfully addresses major issues associated with weight gain. The ingredients provide powerful thermogenic support and help control the appetite and blood sugar balance:

Citrus aurantium Extract (Advantra Z)
Advantra Z is extracted from the dried immature fruit of the bitter orange. More effective than ephedrine upon thermogenesis, it increases metabolic rate without the side effects. It helps suppress appetite and increase the release of fatty acids from storage. Athletes benefit from the ability to exercise longer without exhaustion or lean tissue loss.

Green Tea Extract (Camellia sinensis): Green tea works synergistically with Advantra Z to increase thermogenesis. It is recognized as an overall health tonic containing powerful antioxidants.

L-Tyrosine: The amino acid L-tyrosine increases the appetite suppressing abilities of Advantra Z. It is a precursor to a number of neurotransmitters and hormones. L-tyrosine is a minor stimulant for the release of growth hormone (GH) and thus important for metabolism (including thermogenesis).

Chromium: Insulin plays a major role in fat storage. Chromium is a trace mineral that potentiates the effects of insulin, causing less insulin to be needed. Blood sugar levels are thus stabilized, and less fat is stored. Perhaps 90% of all Americans are deficient in chromium. It helps decrease LDL, cholesterol and triglycerides, while raising the levels of desirable HDL.

Vanadyl Sulfate: Vanadyl sulfate mimics many of the activities of insulin. It is biologically active even in the absence of insulin. It possesses anti-catabolic properties: reducing the breakdown of muscle protein for energy. It also prevents the storage of excess carbohydrates as fat.

Manganese: Manganese is another mineral that plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism. It is a cofactor with many of the enzymes that affect sugar metabolism.

Podcast Discount on Fat Loss Capsule - at the end of Podcast #18 is a special discount code that automatically gives you a ten dollar discount on ThermoFactor! Click here to order with your discount code.

 

 Podcast #18: Mid-Week Update, Extreme Workout Challenges & ThermoFactor [7:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Summer air travel can be the bane of your healthy living quest. While at home, the consistency of your exercise and nutrition habits offers a reliable means of maintaining wellness. But once you hit the runway, everything changes. For a better idea of what I mean, perhaps you should read an article from the Pacific Elite Fitness archives, titled “How To Get Fat When You Fly“.

The purpose of the next few blog posts (appropriately named in a series called “The Healthy Traveler”), is to allow you to follow me, Ben Greenfield, on a six day excursion to and through Poland, where I will be attending my brother’s wedding.

In this first post, we’ll inspect 8 Essential Items in the carry-on bag of The Healthy Traveller. The following items are not necessarily the most ideal, the most useful, or the most practical but they *are* exactly what lies in the carry-on bag beneath my feet as I write this article…

1) Two yams. Quick! You’re rushing out the door and realize you have no food plans for the flight. While microwaving may not be the healthiest option for cooking food, a fast nuke can make for a healthy meal later in the day. 2008 Olympic 100 and 200 meter gold medalist Usain Bolt swears by yams, and I happen to always have a couple around. If I don’t have the chance to bake at 400 for an hour, I microwave for 12-15 minutes and throw into a ziplock bag. For sweet (breakfast), you can down these with a pack of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon from the airport Starbucks. For savory (lunch or dinner), lightly sprinkle with salt, and a small amount of ketchup. A great meal for the airport, packed with dense vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

2) Four Bumblebars. High in good fats from their generous nut and seed content, Bumblebars are my healthy bar of choice, and the Chocolate flavor pairs fantastically with a cup of black coffee. Other good brands include Larabar, Hammerbar and Biobar. When choosing energy bars, look for:

-Primary carb source (at least 3g of fiber or more) from whole grains like brown rice, oats, bran, barley, rye, buckwheat or whole wheat flour.

-Primarily sweetened by natural sugars (preferably 15g or less): dried or fresh fruit, fruit juice, purees (fructose), milk (lactose) or honey.

-Contains lean protein sources such as whey, soy, casein or eggs.

-Monounsaturated fat sources like nuts and seeds, nut butters or flaxseed.

-Limited in ingredients like wheat flakes, rice, white flour, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, malitol, malt syrup, artificial sweeteners, preservatives and colors, saturated/trans fats, palm kernel oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil or extra calories from chocolate, caramel, frosting, or icing.

3) An orange. Fruits will give you fiber, more vitamins, and immune-boosting Vitamin C (important in that passenger-crammed airplane space). Try to travel with “peel-fruits” like oranges or grapefruits. Bananas tend to get a bit mushy when thrown around in your luggage.

4) Ziplock bag of Brazil nuts and almonds. Nuts are a good source of both healthy fats, as well as low-glycemic index carbohydrates, offering blood sugar stabilization during that long flight. I’m a very big fan of Brazil nuts, which are high in selenium, a potent anti-oxidant that fights many of the free radicals generated during physical activity and daily metabolism. However, they *are* expensive, so I mix with almonds, another healthy nut. Avoid peanuts, which are higher in toxins and pesticides.

5) Elastic band. Elastic bands are highly portable, very light, and give you access to a variety of exercises that simulate a typical gym workout. In Chicago O’ Hare, I performed this 20 minute circuit three times through, under the stairwell in the B concourse: 20 Push-ups, 20 Reverse Pull-Ups, 20 Elastic Band Overhead Presses, 20 Walking Lunges, 20 Elastic Band Torso Twists, 20 Elastic Band Rows.

6) Actionwipes. I’ve blogged about ‘em before. After I finished my elastic band workout, I had 5 minutes to catch the flight to Dusseldorf, Germany. I had both the Actionwipe spray and the Actionwipe wipes in my carry-on. I made a quick trip to the bathroom on my way to the gate and wiped myself down with the clean, fresh scent of Eucalyptus and Tea Tree oil, natural anti-fungals and anti-septics. Use discount code BGF for a 10% discount.

7) Tube of UHydration. This a new product that is a blend of electrolytes and vitamins. You add it to water, and get the equivalent of something like Vitamin water, except without the nasty chemically artificial sweetener taste and no calories. This stuff is sweetened with Stevia Leaf Extract, and contains Vitamin A, C, B-6, B-12, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Zinc, Sodium, Potassium, and Choline. Tangerine-Ginger is my flavor of choice today.

Wax Ear-Plugs and EyeMask. Deep, rapid-eye-movement sleep is essential to immune-system health and muscle repair and recovery. Inadequate sleep affects insulin sensitivity, appetite control hormones (increased leptin, decreased ghrelin), weight loss hormones (decreased testosterone, increased cortisol) and appetite neurotransmitters (decreased GABA, serotonin, dopamine). Since noise and light are major disruptions to deep REM sleep, you’ll be healthier if you can block these out.

That’s it! Remember, being healthy is about making those tiny extra efforts that ultimately leave you with soaring energy levels and mental clarity, low annual health care costs and peak physical performance.

I’ll teach you more with each post from The Healthy Traveller during this week’s adventures in Poland…

Want to win a free book?

You’re in luck! In exactly 2 weeks, on August 24, at noon, Ben Greenfield will be selecting the top 3 blog comments of the entire 2 weeks and sending the authors a copy of Shape21: The Complete 21 Day Lean Body Manual. Your comments can be questions for Ben, analysis of recipes or articles, or even how you felt after performing the workouts in the Video section on BenGreenfieldFitness.

So what is Shape21? This book includes exact day-by-day instructions with meal plans, recipes, grocery shopping lists, cardio routines, resistance training workouts, and exercise photos. Each day for 3 weeks, you find out how to shed maximum fat and achieve ideal muscular tone. No guesswork involved. Click here for more info on the Shape21 program by Ben Greenfield.

And remember to post a comment on the blog. It’s the only way to win a free copy!

P.S. Ben Greenfield is now posting mini-tips on nutrition and fitness at http://www.twitter.com/bengreenfield. Don’t know much about Twitter? That’s OK. Just go to the page to learn more. It’s the easiest way for you to follow expert advice for free!

On today’s blog, I’ve posted the latest video in this series, which uses the JC All-Purpose Exercise Band from Perform Better. At the bottom of this post, I’ve included a video file that gives step-by-step instructions on how to find this band at the website (or just click here for the video file) The band used in the video is “Orange” medium resistance.

Perform each exercise in the video at a high rep range of 30-50 reps (I perform 50 in the video), and do the circuit two to three times through with minimal rest.

Exercises:

1) Swim forward chest press

2) Swim back reverse pull

3) Overhead extension

4) Kneeling swim back reverse pull

5) Oblique chop high-to-low

Enjoy your workout!

P.S. Not sure if anyone has been to my multi-sport strength training channel at http://www.youtube.com/thestrongtriathlete, but on that site I post workout videos for triathletes, and anyone else who wants to get in fantastic shape with highly effective 20-40 minute workouts. Check it out.

 

 How to Order an Exercise Band: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here at BenGreenfieldFitness, we’re all about quick and convenient recipes that fulfill those small appetite cravings. Sure, we could give you expansive recipes that keep you in the kitchen for an hour or two, but that’s just not convenient in the summer! So this week’s featured dessert/snack recipe is fast, simple, low in calories, and incredibly tasty on a summer evening.

Turn on your broiler. While it heats, cut a banana or two in half lengthwise. Arrange in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle very lightly with brown sugar. Optionally, you can dot just a bit of butter or a small drizzle of olive oil on each slice. Place the dish with the bananas just a few inches under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes (brown sugar will bubble, bananas will begin to glaze). Serve with a tablespoon of cold yogurt, and most importantly, a pineapple, mango, or papaya slice. Each half-banana slice, with yogurt and extra fruit, will be around 100 calories.