You may have heard about the 3 Day Shakeology Fast or Cleanse.  Since I always like to be a product of the product, and be able to speak knowledgeably about the products we use and endorse, I thought what better way, then do actually do the Shakeology Fast.  This is not something Extremely-Fit has put together, but a Shakeology Fast put together by Beachbody coaches in general.  Below you will find all the details about the Fast, and can easily use the information found here, to do your own Fast.  Please be sure to read the information carefully.   The Shakeology Fast is meant to jump start you in your fitness (prior to starting an exercise program), break a plateau (if currently in a workout program) or shred pounds fast & effectively in a healthy way.  If you are currently doing a workout program, try this fast on a recovery week, instead of on a week of regular workouts.  If you try the fast, please remember to come back here and post a comment about your success!!   As another side note.  Shakeology is not just meant to be used in the Fast, but also as a healthy meal replacement shake to be taken once daily after the Fast.  › Continue reading

Few topics boggle dieters and fitness enthusiasts the way sugar does. Is this simple carbohydrate the key to unlocking elite sports performance? Or is it the chains that drag our country deeper into the obesity epidemic? Annoyingly, the answer is both. But before you throw your hands up in frustration and grab yourself a Twinkie®, let’s take a minute to talk about sugar. It’s not as complex as it seems. In fact, with just a few guidelines, it’s incredibly easy to use these simple carbohydrates for good instead of evil. › Continue reading

Yikes! Have you ever pulled up to a drive thru, looked at the menu, and wondered what would absolutely kill your diet?  Wonder no more, Joe Wilkes has given us a heads up.  Thanks Joe for looking after our waistline.

1. Deluxe Breakfast (McDonald’s). The most important meal of the day. . . the day of the dead! McDonald’s, the restaurant that figured out how to fill bread with pancake syrup, starts the day off with a plate full of hotcakes, hash browns, eggs, and sausage—1,140 calories worth! Sure, it’s only about half the calories you need in a day, but you get almost ALL of the RDA of fat—59 grams! And 94 percent of your RDA of sodium. I’m lovin’ it!® Truly a breakfast only the Cryptkeeper would love. The Egg McMuffin, meanwhile, only has 300 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 34 percent of your day’s sodium allowance.

2. The Baconator (Wendy’s). Six strips of bacon, on top of two quarter-pound patties of ground beef with cheese and mayo. If a vampire sucks your blood after you eat this, he’d better be packing some Lipitor. This will set you back 830 calories, with 51 grams of fat, 22 of which are saturated, and almost a full supply of your sodium RDA. This is a sad, new menu item from Wendy’s, especially since this is one of the better fast food chains, healthwise. A cup of their chili is only 220 calories with 6 grams of fat. And their Mandarin Chicken Salad (without dressing) is 360 calories with 16 grams of fat.
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Exercise makes us feel great. It makes us less hungry. It helps us perform everyday tasks better. Besides our health and the way we look, feeling great, being less hungry, and performing better are exactly the reasons we put ourselves through exercise. However, en route to ultimate fitness, there are some hurdles we all need to clear. Mainly, they include being faced with the opposite of our intended goals. Enter the trilogy of grumpiness: getting sore, slow, and hungry. We tend to look at these as negatives, but how about a little New Year’s spin? You want these feelings because they’re clear signs your program is working.

Before we analyze why you need to embrace “going backward,” let’s answer the obvious question: why would we design this type of program? Certainly, there are exercise programs that don’t put you through torture. Could we have chosen such a path with P90X^®?

The answer is that programs lacking this trilogy don’t provide you an incentive to get in top shape. In the early stages of any exercise program, it’s possible to structure the schedule and diet around making small improvements. I call this the Curves^® template. You push your body above its normal output, though just barely, and you keep it there. If you are greatly deconditioned, it will yield improvements. This approach doesn’t hurt, and frankly, it helps people who’ve never exercised—mainly due to the mental boost they get from feeling they can exercise. It’s a nice alternative for some people. But let’s be realistic. None of them would sit through a P90X infomercial, much less be inspired by it. › Continue reading

The toughest part of the day for a lot of us is the time between meals. The temptation to graze—dipping into candy dishes, doughnut boxes, and chip bowls—can be great. We may not count these “found” calories, but our scales and measuring tapes absolutely will. The best strategy to prepare for attacks of the munchies is to have healthy snacks on hand.

Note: All nutritional information is for one serving.

Sunday: Tony Horton’s Sticky Bar

The father of P90X has created the granddaddy of all snacks as far as I’m concerned. The worst cook in the world can mash up these three ingredients for an easy-to-prepare healthy bite. The key to this recipe is the quality of those three ingredients. The banana’s pretty easy. While it’s better to look for organic bananas, most come in their own protective gear. The peanut butter should also be easy to choose. Just get the kind with one ingredient: peanuts. No sugar, no salt, no problems. Things can get crazy choosing the granola. While ostensibly a wholesome cereal, all manner of sins have been committed in the name of granola, like soaking the poor oats in high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils. Just read the label to make sure you know what you’re getting. A good granola should be low in fat, low in sugar, and high in fiber. If your local supermarket isn’t giving you what you need, you might consider making your own so you can control what goes in. › Continue reading

If you’re trying to get in shape, then dinner can be a really dicey time. It’s when a lot of us gather with family or friends, and it can entail a large home-cooked meal, a large pizza, or a bucket of chicken. No one’s going to appreciate being served a scoop of cottage cheese and a mixed-greens salad when they were expecting lasagna or kung pao chicken. Here are some healthy ideas that will keep you on track nutritionally but won’t get you in the doghouse with your dining companions.

Note: All nutritional information is for one serving.

Sunday: Turkey Chili

Chili is one of the dishes that actually is fun to make and healthy to eat. If you check out Beachbody’s or other fast-food guides, you’ll see that Wendy’s® chili is one of your healthiest fast-food options. Tomatoes for vitamins, beans for fiber, and some kind of meat or other protein source, the myriad chili recipes out there offer lots of options for a well-balanced meal. Here’s a good basic recipe, but half the fun of making chili is improvisation. That’s why chili cookoffs are so popular. Spice it up if you have an iron stomach, or substitute your favorite lean meat or textured vegetable protein. Experiment with different beans and legumes. The chili pot also can be a great repository for soon-to-spoil leftovers. Just try to avoid certain popular mix-ins like cheese and sour cream that add more fat than flavor. Also, when buying ground turkey, look for extra-lean or all-breast meat. Many “lean” varieties of ground turkey have as much fat as hamburger. › Continue reading

Sugary treats and drinks are so prevalent in American society that it’s a real challenge to kick the white stuff, not to mention the high fructose corn syrup stuff. However, that doesn’t mean that we should totally abandon our sweet tooth. After all, how could something that tastes so good be that bad for us? Our palates are conditioned to enjoy sweets because, in nature, sweetness can attract us to some of the healthiest foods, like fruits and berries. The trick is in learning to enjoy sweet foods that are closer to their natural states before all the vitamins and fiber are extracted, and we’re left with just the diabetes and tooth decay. Here are some ideas for desserts that could actually be the healthiest part of the meal.

Note: All nutritional information is for one serving.

Sunday: Giant Fruit Salad

Sunday is a great day to make giant bowls of stuff you can eat all week. I like to make big pots of soup or other big entrées for healthy leftovers throughout the week. Fruit salad is super-easy to make; it’s just a hassle to chop everything. I find it can be a nice Zen-like activity while I’m watching the Sunday news programs or sports. The best fruit salads use fruits that are in season and contain a variety of colors. It’s not just that the colors make for a lovely presentation, but the more colors you have, the bigger range of antioxidants you have. By tossing the fruit in lemon juice, you can prevent the fruit from turning brown, so it will still be appetizing later in the week. You can layer the fruit with yogurt for a delicious parfait, or add some granola or nuts for a little crunch, too. › Continue reading

I love junk food.  I should probably be a bit more politically correct and call it “comfort food.”  Some of my personal favorites: Cheetoes, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Milky Way Bars, or a bowl of cereal (preferably the kid stuff).  But, if I need something bad to eat, I’ll eat just about any kind of junk food.  Here’s some interesting, some historical, information on some of America’s favorite comfort foods.  A big thanks to Joe Wilkes at Beachbody for this article.

Test Your Comfort Food IQ!
By Joe Wilkes

In what country were potato chips invented? In the good old U.S.A. They were invented in 1853 by chef George Crum, who became annoyed by a customer who complained his fried potatoes were sliced too thickly. The chips quickly became a hit and were put on the menu of Crum’s restaurant, the Moon Lake Lodge in Saratoga Springs, NY, as “Saratoga chips.” Another great step in potato chip technology was when food entrepreneur Laura Scudder invented an airtight wax-paper bag in 1934, ensuring that the potato chips would stay fresh until the bag was opened. › Continue reading

I am a Southerner….and I like collard greens. But, I have to throw in a disclaimer. Usually, these lovely leaves start out healthy, but end up quite the opposite. After you throw in fried potatoes, pinto beans (cooked with bacon, of course), cornbread (cooked in a cast iron skillet, of course) and fried chicken or pork chops…..you’ve pretty much ruined any chance of healthy this vegetable had! But, there is hope! Substitute the above with a grilled chicken breast and a few small, baked red potatoes and you’ve got the healthy back! Check out the next article in the Michi’s Ladder series by Beachbody’s Denis Faye.

Climbing Michi’s Ladder: Collard Greens
By Denis Faye

Look out! Superfood alert! Although popular in the South with the likes of fried chicken and corn bread, this deep green, leafy veggie is all kinds of healthy. It’s closely related to kale and is a member of the Brassica family, which includes broccoli and cauliflower.

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Chard. What? When I hear the word, I think of “charred.” Like, the way I DON’T want my meat cooked. I had no idea what chard is until I read this next installment of Michi’s Ladder foods by Beachbody’s Denis Faye. Another interesting food I’ve never eaten or heard of.

Climbing Michi’s Ladder: Chard
By Denis Faye

No, it’s not over-grilled meat. It’s a leafy green vegetable that’s a member of the beet family. However, unlike its shirt-staining cousin, you actually eat the leaves of chard, not the root (although beet leaves are growing in popularity). It also goes by the names Swiss chard and silver beet.

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