OK, Friday is supposed to be dedicated to Ask J.  In other words, I post answers to questions you submit.  This week I’m going to do it a little differently.

I’m going to give you Tips and Tricks to Lose Weight and Keep it Off; which I’m sure is a question of so many of you.  The difference this week is these tips and tricks come from one of my Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp members!  I love this because it’s coming from someone other than me who has struggled with weight and has been successful losing it and keeping it off.

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Before I get into today’s post about “healthy fast food” I want to share something that both frustrates and saddens me.

As I mentioned in Sunday’s blog post, Chaska, MN River City Days, I had a great time at my town’s annual celebration.  However, it was so frustating and sad to see all the overweight and obese folks walking around eating corn dogs and nachos.  My feelings were taken to an even higher level when people would pass by my Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp booth eating that crap and make comments like, “I could never do that” or “My knees (or back, or whatever) would never last.”

“Why the hell do you think that is?!,” I wanted to shout out loud.

People, if you’re having knee, back or whatever else kind of issues because you’re overweight or obese, it’s time to do something about it.  If nothing changes, nothing changes.  You can’t “do it” because you don’t do it.  You have to start off slow and build your way up.  I’ve got all kinds of people in my Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp, many who are overweight or obese and have various joint issues.  We make adjustments so they can get a great workout, and guess what – they’ve all seen positive improvements.

OK.  I’m done ranting on that subject.  Now let’s get into the discussion on healthy fast food…

We all know that fast food will put you on the fast track to being overweight or obese, not too mention all the healthy complications that go along with being overweight or obese – like high blood pressure, heart disease and, oh yeah, death.  Because of this, we’re starting to see fast food resteraunts jump on the healhty fast food bandwagon.

Is it legit?

No doubt by now, you’ve seen the commercials about KFC’s new Kentucky GRILLED Chicken.  After all, they’re on ALL THE TIME!

Maybe you’ve even tried it.  It tastes pretty damn good, doesn’t it?

Congratulations! You are eating “grilled” chicken with a bunch of garbage on the side. Lord knows that mac and cheese and biscuits aren’t going help you look any better at the lake!

KFC says the grilled chicken has significantly fewer calories and fat, plus much less sodium, than its Original Recipe fried chicken that launched the brand more than a half-century ago.

What we so easily forget to pay attention to is all those super-high calorie side dishes that come with “the meal.”  They’ve got just as much, if not more, fat and calories than the fried chicken itself, PLUS all the refined starches and sugars.

To me it’s like covering crap with a newspaper- it still stinks!

For too long now the fast food industry has made a killing on misinforming consumers about what is and isn’t healthy.

KFC claimed that it recently did switch cooking oils to eliminate all trans fats from their products- a noble effort indeed.

But upon further review, this does not look to be the case…

Here are the ingredients directly from their website:

KFC ® Grilled Chicken

Fresh Chicken Marinated with: Salt, Sodium Phosphate, and Monosodium Glutamate Seasoned with: Maltodextrin, Salt, Bleached Wheat lour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Monosodium Glutamate, Spices, Palm Oil, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder, Soy Sauce (Soybean, Wheat, Salt), Chicken Fat, Chicken Broth, Autolyzed Yeast, Beef Powder, Rendered Beef Fat, Extractives of Turmeric, Dehydrated Carrot, Onion Powder, and mot more than 2% Each of Calcium Silicate and Silicon Dioxide Added as Anticaking Agents.

Contains Wheat and Soy

I don’t know about you, but this certainly doesn’t sound like a nutritional powerhouse.  First of all, “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil” is not good for you and is a form of trans fat.

Trans fats are synthetic fats that are essentially foreign agents in our bodies.  There is truly no room for them in a healthy diet.

Plus, there are a few other funky named ingredients on that list that don’t look you want them in your body.

Fast food and convenience store marketing campaigns make it very hard for us trainers to do our jobs.

Companies love to package their foods with sayings like:

“Our _____ (name of product) is good for you because it’s low in fat or fat-free”

OR

“Our _____ (name of product) is good for you because it’s got no sugar”

OR

“Our _____ (name of product) is the perfect snack because it’s only 100 calories.”

In general, here are some great user-friendly guidelines to cut through all of the BS these money-hungry SOB’s are sending our way:

Beware of “Fat-Free or Low Fat” Foods:

These food choices are often high in sugar or contain added sugar to make up for taste lost which wreak havoc on your energy levels and prevent fat loss.

Look Out for “Sugar-Free” Products:

These food choices are typically made with artificial ingredients and sweeteners and/or are sometimes higher in fat to make up for taste lost and/or often contains sugar-alcohols that tear up your digestive system.

Stay Away From “100 Calorie” Items:

These low calorie bags contain ZERO nutritional value with little to no protein and are low in fiber and natural, healthy fats. Plus, these weight-gainers by another name do not fill you up between meals.

Probably the most infamous “healthy” marketing campaign is 100-CALORIE SNACK PACKS.

I know personally I could easily eat 10 of these packs without getting stuffed- I guess that would be a 1,000-CALORIE SNACK PACK

Unfortunately, we live in a calorie-conscious society, and marketers truly know how to play on this.

But you don’t need to be a dope like the rest of them.

Educate yourself.

Educate your friends.

Educate your family.

Remember, the market determines the direction companies will go.  If we choose not to put this garbage in our bellies anymore, they will make less of it

P.S.- I just know you have got something to say about this hot button issue.  Please make a comment to this blog post about what pisses you off the most about this KFC Grilled Chicken, or any other fast food marketing campaign for that matter!

This week’s Fat Burning Boot Camp Workout Video of The Week comes right from my boot camp class, Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp in Chaska, MN.  I’ve got a great group of folks (35 as of today) of all different fitness levels who are super-dedicated to creating the healthy, fit, tight & toned body that looks great naked they deserve.

I took them through the following Tabatas style high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout using just their bodyweight:

1. Push-ups
2. Prisoner Squats
3. Alternating Toe Touch Crunches
4. Floor Hypers
5. Burpees
6. Speed Jacks
7. Stickups (this looks like a shoulder press with no weight, but you’re actually squeezing your shoulder back  the whole time and lifting your arms by rotating your shoulder blades up – awesome for posture and rehab, but go slow on the Range of Motion if you have bad shoulders).
8. Sprint in Place

Perform each exercise for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest and transition.  Perform 8 total all-out bouts for a total of 4 minutes.  Rest for 1 minute and begin the next circuit.

You can see them all in action in the video below.  I certainly have no favorites in my class, but I highlight a special one for this video

Now get after it!

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – If you’re looking to spice up your home workout program make sure you keep checking in for my Workout of the Week

P.P.S. – WISH ELLEN GOOD LUCK IN HER FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE WITH A COMMENT BELOW! 

In last week’s personal development post we discussed the importance of creating a weight loss mindset, how your paradigms control your life, and I introduced one of your intellectual factors – perception.

Before we go much deeper into developing this weight loss mindset and how we can literally create the weight loss & fitness results in our life that we desire, I want to touch on the other intellectual factors.  These intellectual factors are important in developing a weight loss mindset and controlling our weigth loss & fitness, as well as all results in life.

An educated person is not necessarily one who has an abundance of general or specialized knowledge.  An educated person is one who has so developed the faculties of their mind that they may acquire anything they want, or its equivalent, without violating the rights of others.    – Napoleon Hill

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I’ve got a quick post for you today, but if you follow these simple summer weight loss tips you’ll be sure to see progress in your quest for a healthy, fit, tight & toned, damn-sexy body that looks great naked!

Losing weight this summer can be easy.  In all seriosness, anyone that follows these summer weight loss tips will be losing inches in no time.

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Chaska’s River City Days is an annual summer community celebration of life on the Minnesota River.  The entire River City Days weekend is supported and sponsored by dozens of organizations in our
community who are dedicated to bringing you all the wonderful sights, sounds and tastes of our annual celebration.

I had the pleasure of doing the warm-up for the 5K race, as well as hosting a booth for Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp at the business expo.  That was a lot of fun.  I met tons of really nice Chaska residents and business owners.  Being the new guy in town, it was a great opportunity.

I was so busy that I didn’t get the chance to take many pictures, but I did manage to get one of this little guy:

We had a ton of people stop by the Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp booth – I hope see many of you in class taking advantage of your FREE 2-week Trial.

Oh yeah, I also got a chance to smoke a group of Chaska H.S. football players.  I took them through a quick 4-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) Tabatas style routine using resistance bands.  They felt the burn

I soooo wish I got that on video.  Oh well.  Next time…

Actually, they’re going to talk to their coach about having me do some conditioning work with them once a week.  That would be awesome fun!!  Of course, after I got done beating them up I made a donation to their program and got a really cool t-shirt from them

All in all it was a great day for me and for my program.  I definitly enjoyed the day, and look forward to participating again next year.

By the way, at my booth I had a video running to give people an idea of what we do at Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp.  It’s about 10-minutes long, but if you’re at all curious about getting started you should definitely check it out:

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska boot camp instructor and online personal trainer

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – If you were at River City Days, let us know what you thought by posting a comment below.  Thanks!

What are Tabatas?

This is a question that has come up lately, as I use Tabata Intervals in my Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp quite often.

In my opinion, and many other top boot camp instructors and personal trainers, Tabata Intervals are one of the most efficient and effective training protocols to burn fat, tone up and lose weight; not to mention, the  stamina and endurance benefits.

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I’m often asked How to Eat Healthy on a Tight Budget

Too many people think they can’t afford to eat healthy, especially during this “Economic Crisis.”

OK, don’t get me started on the “economic crisis.”  Personally, I think it’s up to each of us to make our own economy, but that’s an entirely different post.  Alright, I’ll go off on just a quick tangent

Look, we love in the greatest country in the world where opportunity is everywhere.  The problem is, so many people prefer to bitch and moan about circumstances rather than seizing the day and making their own way.

With every problem there is a solution.

With every challenge there is an opportunity.

These aren’t just sayings, they’re TRUE!

Get motivated!  Get fired up!!  Get in the right vibration!!!

Ever heard of the Law of Attraction?  Of course, you have!

Have you ever actually paid attention to it?  Hmmm.

I’m supposed to be giving you healthy eating tips so let me get going with that.  If you want more on success and personal development be sure to read my Tuesday posts.  In the meantime, check out two of my Trusted Resources on the right hand side of the page:

1. Daily Inspiration
2. Daily Success Tips

On with How to Eat Healthy on a Tight Budget:

Eating healthy is often determined to be too expensive for the average person.  Fast food and foods loaded with fat and sugar tend to be inexpensive and always at hand.

Of course, nobody stops and thinks about the long-term healtcare costs and lost work productivity of eating unhealthy, but I digress…

Here are a few tips for healthy and affordable eating to help you lose weight during this “Economic Crisis.”  Think of it as a Nutritional Bailout Plan

1. Choose seasonal fruits to save on grocery bill costs.  Out of season fruits can add a good chunk of change to any food bill.  Plus, it’s nice to have the variety and try new things.
2. Buy in bulk and freeze what isn’t needed.  This is easy to do with lean meats, which are always more expensive.  When buying 10 chicken breasts it lowers the cost per pound of chicken.  Freeze the rest of the chicken that isn’t going to be eaten in the next few days and then thaw what is needed for the next meal when necessary.  Same idea works for beef, pork, veal, etc.
3. Pay attention to sales.  Many times, eating healthy can be easily accomplished by just focusing on special offers and coupons.  Stock up when the prices are low!

Well, there you have it.  An easy to follow Nutritional Bailout Plan.

I know there are tons more ideas.  Please share them by posting a comment to this blog.  Everyone would really appreciate it.

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska boot camp instructor and online personal trainer

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

This week’s Rapid Fat Loss & Fitness Fat Burning Boot Camp Workout is another bodyweight workout program, and we’re focusing on cardio workouts at home.

So, yesterday was a sprint day for me, and it was raining again!  ?  That’s two weeks in a row.

No big deal.  With a little creativity and some drive you can use your bodyweight to create some of the best weight loss exercises imaginable.

Check out this bodyweight only cardio workout.  It’s an awesome way to change things up or get your cardio in when it’s raining out or you just don’t feel like going outside:

Station 1
Burpees

Station 2
Ice Skaters

Station 3
Mountain Climbers

Station 4
Side-to-Side Over-the-Line Jumps

Station 5
I hit some abs (not in the video)
I super-setted knee raises (sat on the edge of the picnic table) and toe touch crunches

Perform each exercise for 15 seconds followed by a 15 second rest – you really gotta get after it during the work phase!  Perform 8 total all-out bouts for a total of 4 minutes.  Rest for 1 minute and begin the next circuit.

Now get after it!

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – If you’re looking to spice up your home workout program make sure you keep checking in for my Workout of the Week

P.P.S. – Share your thoughts and experience with this workout with others by commenting on this post.  Thanks!

I’m going to start dedicating Tuesday’s blog post to one of my favorite subjects – Personal Development.

I truly believe that before you can get your body right, you have to get your mind right.  The mind governs all.  Unfortunately, we’re not taught in school how to use our mind for our benefit, or even what the mind actually is for that matter.  If you want to lose weight, burn fat, tone up, get more fit, become healthier and/or create a damn-sexy body that looks great naked this is a subject you must understand.  You must build a weight loss mindset.

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