Kale - A natural weight loss food

Hey everyone, Roxie comin' at ya with some Kale talk!  If you've never tried Kale, then I'm here to convince you that it's time!  Have you ever asked yourself "Should I eat Kale" or "Is Kale healthy"?  YES!  Kale is a healthy food and a great weight loss food as well!  
Here are some little known facts about Kale (source: Livestrong), then I'm gonna hit you with with the best dang recipe you'll ever try!!

Calories - One cup of cooked, chopped kale contains only 36 calories.
Benefits for weight loss - Kale is high in fiber, especially for a leafy green.  A cooked, 1-cup serving provides 10% of the recommended allowance.  Fiber helps fill you up and can keep digestion smooth, preventing bloating and water retention that can affect the numbers on the scale.

Now for that AMAZEBALLS recipe that I promised you......KAZAGNA!!!  Yes, the combining of Kale with Lasagna my friends!  Where did I first learn about Kazagna?Here at THIS blog!

Photos courtesy of ME!

Vicki's Kale Lasagna (Kazagna!)

2 lbs grass fed beef (may use other lean meats)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large red pepper, chopped

16 oz 2% cottage cheese

2 cage free eggs

1 jar Bertolli Organic Traditional Tomato & Basil Sauce

1 bunch of kale

8 oz low fat sour cream

8 oz fresh mushrooms

2 cups shredded cheese for topping (optional)

Brown meat, drain any juices

Add chopped veggies to the pan

Mix in all ingredients

Pull kale leaves off of stem and put in bottom of a 13x9 pan, pour all ingredients on top and add shredded cheese if you like

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes

Why Whole Grains?

Hey everyone! It's me Erica writing to you today.  And why whole grains are so much better for you is something that I've wondered about myself.  So I did some research and put everything I learned all in one place for you to find.  :)

So we all know that eating whole grains is better for us than eating refined.  But why?  What is it about whole grains that makes them SO much better for us?  Let's look at the differences...

source: http://en.wikipedia.org

The whole grain is comprised of 3 parts.  The bran which is the fibrous outer layer, the endosperm which is the starchy part we usually eat, and the germ which is rich in vitamins and minerals.  Refined grains only use the endosperm.  When the germ and the bran are removed you get a lighter and fluffier flour.  But you lose a lot of the nutritional value.

Both forms are a great source of energy.  There are plenty of carbohydrates in both.  But when you have the whole grain there is added protein, fiber and a ton of micronutrients like iron, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, and many B vitamins like thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, and folic acid.

So eating whole grains is not just about putting back in the fiber.  All those other nutrients that are found in the germ are good for you and can help prevent a lot of medical issues as well.  Whole grains can help lower the risk of heart disease because the soluble fiber helps to lower the level of LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream.  The nonsoluble fiber helps keep your whole digestive track cleaner, lowers constipation, and it may help reduce the risk of colorectal cancers.    Eating whole grains has been shown to lower insulin levels and also lowers the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. 

And if those aren't enough reasons to switch to whole grains, they can also help you lose weight!  Whole grains are higher in fiber which also makes them lower in calories for the same serving size.  More fiber will help you feel fuller for longer and it takes longer for your digestive track to digest.  And getting all those vitamins and micronutrients I mentioned earlier can help regulate your metabolism.  Why wouldn't you start using whole grains???

Here's a list of healthy grains to get you started:

Amaranth
Buckwheat
Corn
Millet
Oats
Quinoa
Brown Rice
Sorghum
Teff
Wild Rice
Bulger
Spelt
Duram Wheat
Red or White Wheat
Barley
Rye
Triticale

And one last piece of information before you go...When shopping for products made with whole grains, make sure you check the label.  If the product is truly whole grain, then the whole grains used in it should be the first ingredients listed.  If something else is listed first, then the product is not really a "whole grain product," it just has whole grains in it...and there is a difference!

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org 
www.mayoclinic.com 
www.wholegrainscouncil.org  (great source for more info!)
www.hsph.harvard.edu
www.livestrong.com

The Skinny on Calories

Hey Kids! Rachel here and today, I want to talk to you about the real deal with calories.  We all know that weight loss or weight gain comes down to how many calories we eat and how many calories we burn.  You must burn more than you eat to lose weight, right?  But how many calories do you need to burn to lose weight? How many calories can you eat?

First thing is first: we need to come up with your basal metabolic rate.  What does this mean? Basically, your BMR is how many calories your body would burn if you were to do nothing but lie in bed all day.  Your body needs calories for your heart to pump and your blood to circulate, for your lungs to fill and empty, your GI tract to digest, your lymph to flow, your brain to work... twenty-four hours a day.  It is important that we never eat below our BMR also, or certain hormones can kick into play that can actually stall fat loss.

So, how do you calculate your BMR? Outside of a clinical laboratory, the easiest and most accurate way to do it yourself is to use something called the Harris Benedict formula.  

The Harris Benedict Formula:
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Or, you can plug your digits into this calculator on this website here: bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Now that we know what our BMR is, we need to take activity level into account.  Whether we're sitting on the couch all day and taking sporadic bathroom breaks or on our feet all day long, we must take our activities into account.  

Depending on your activity level (be honest), calculate your BMR by:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

There.  Now we have the number of calories that you would need to eat to maintain your weight.  But, we what if we want to lose weight?

Well, first let's remember that 1 lb, whether fat or muscle, is equal to 3,500 calories.  That means, to lose 1 lb a week, we would need to subtract 3,500 calories from your total calories that you consume for the week.  The easiest way to do this is to divide 7 (7 days of the week) into 3,500 and we get 500.  So we take your calorie total and subtract 500 to lose 1 lb a week.

Now why can't we lose more than that?  You can but we want the rest of the weight loss to be burned not starved.  That means, you need to bring it in your workouts to burn the second lb.

Here's the thing: your body does not want to let go of more than 1-2 lb of fat a week at the most.  The reason for this is your hormones.  We have hormones that tell us we're tired, that tell us we're happy, that tell our bodies to store food as fat, that tell our bodies that we're safe and that we're stressed.  When we have too much of a calorie deficit, those stress hormones fire (ever hear of cortisol?) and our brain decides that we're starving and our lives are in danger - we must hold on to our fat for survival.  Fat will keep you alive, but you don't need muscle if you're starving so your body would rather break down protein from your muscles back into amino acids to keep you alive than burn fat.  It is only when we are providing our bodies with enough fuel that our bodies decide that they can burn fat safely.  

To make sure you are eating within your ideal calorie range, it is important to log the calories you eat. It is too easy to lose track of what you eat if you aren't logging each meal.  Using a program like Livestrong.com/Myplate which also has a cell phone app for ease of use, can make doing this a lot easier.  This is a habit that is important to form and once you get into that habit of logging your calories, you won't even think about it anymore.  It takes about 3 weeks to make something into a habit and if you stick with a healthy diet and workout routine for 3 weeks consistently, you'll be well on your way to changing your body!

90 Days to Sexy Challenge Rules

All 90 day workout programs must be Beachbody programs. If you want a challenge to work yourself up to running a half marathon, there are plenty out there but this is not one of those. I am qualified to coach Beachbody programs. I am not qualified to coach a Jillian Michaels workout or TapOut XT. Just want to start with that so we’re all on the same page.

You must have a 90 day plan – AHEAD OF TIME! Preparation is an important ingredient to reaching your goals. You may be in the middle of Phase 2 of P90X when August 27th arrives. That doesn’t mean you cannot participate, it means that when you hit the last day of Phase 3 recovery week, know what you’re going to be starting the following Monday. Have Insanity or Turbo Fire or another round of P90X ready to go.

You must have a Facebook account.  We check in through Facebook, it makes it easy and accessible to everyone. You can check in on your phone if you can’t get to a computer!
You must check in and post your accountability to the group everyday.  If you miss 2 days, you’re out of the challenge and the group.

You must make a plan to follow the nutrition guide of your program as closely as possible. That’s why these programs have nutrition plans – eating is half of what gives you the results. If you cannot afford the whole menu, pick a couple of days or just one day out of the week.   Don’t like a meal? Swap it out with a different one. Don’t like the dinners? Double the lunches. Don’t have time to cook? Prep all of your meals ahead of time on Sunday afternoon.  But please be prepared to follow the plan that comes with the program as closely as you can.

I don’t want anyone skipping recovery week. Recovery is where our bodies start to show us how we’re getting better. You skip it, you skip the chance to actually ‘see’ what’s happening to you.
“Before” pics are mandatory!!!

Every week, we will be exploring different weight loss/fitness tools to help reach our goals through weekly challenges.  One of these will be a HIIT workout. Please prepare for this ahead of time. One great HIIT option is Turbo Fire’s Greatest HIIT’s workout DVD which can be bought separately from Turbo Fire here: http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/KeeponBurnin?referringRepId=128848
You must have an account with MyFitnessPal.com or Livestrong.com/myplate or have another plan for logging what you eat. Even when following a nutrition plan, it can be easy to lose track of what you put in your mouth unless you log it.

To participate in this challenge, I must be your assigned Team Beachbody coach. You may do this by signing up under my website:beachbodycoach.com/turborachel and clicking ‘join’ for a free membership. If you currently have a Team Beachbody account, you may also do this by emailing coachrelations@teambeachbody.com and asking them to set your coach to TurboRachel, coach ID 128848.

Please note – you may have been invited to this challenge by one of the coaches on my team! Please let me know in an email (turborachelfitness@gmail.com) the name of the coach who invited you.  If you’ve been invited by a Team Athena coach, disregard rule 9. If you ARE a Team Athena coach, check in with me please!

To RSVP to this challenge if you’d like to join, please email me at TurboRachelFitness@gmail.com with the subject “90 Days to Sexy”.

Turbo Fire May Challenge Group! WADDUP!

I  love Turbo Fire.  You know why?  I'll tell ya.  The music rocks, Chalene is awesome and you burn so many more calories with the fire drills that if you happen to goof on the meal plan, it don't stick. Word up.  So, starting May 7th, I'm going to help you get through it too.

Welcome to my Turbo Fire Fat Blasting Challenge!  Wear black and let's have a funeral for your fat!

Here are the rules:

1. You must have an account on TeamBeachbody.com and I must be your coach.  If you haven't made an account, you may do so by going to www.beachbodycoach.com/turborachel and clicking "join."  A basic free membership will do.  If you are a member and have a different coach, please email coachrelations@teambeachbody.com and ask them to set your coach as TurboRachel, coach ID 128848.  Thank you!
2. Challenge packs aren't required, but having Shakeology in your court does help.  If you need/want a challenge pack, check 'em out here:  http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCPTR205?referringRepId=128848  Challenge packs get you a 30 day supply of Shakeology, the Turbo Fire program and 30 days VIP access to the message boards where you can get free workouts, a meal planner and you get in on live chats with the trainers which is pretty sweet.
3. Turbo Fire by itself can be purchased here:  http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/TurboFire?referringRepId=128848  
4. You may notice that Amazon has Turbo Fire for slightly less $$.  You know why it's cheaper?  It's the old version of the program and if you do it, you won't get Fire Starter and you'll be doing a totally different schedule.  Also, in the event your discs get scratched up, Team Beachbody won't replace them for free.  You'll have to buy new ones.  And them discs DO get scratched up after a while!  Also, when you buy from Beachbody (different than Team Beachbody unfortunately), Amazon or Ebay, you miss out on getting bonus workouts and I won't be able to send you a free Turbo Fire waterbottle when this challenge is up.  Boooooo.
5. ACCOUNTABILITY IS MANDATORY!  This challenge is centered in my Facebook group which is secret so your friends can't see your posts or even that you're in there.  Post about what you ate, what you wish you could have ate, how your workout went, any struggles or questions you have with diet or exercise.  Just make sure you check in EVERY SINGLE DAY! This is how we stay on track and the support we can give each other is one of the best motivational tools you can get.
6. Chalene Johnson devised a nutrition plan and calorie calculator for this program for a reason.  You MUST EAT ENOUGH to get the results you want out of this.  Every turbo move is designed to not just burn calories but to sculpt muscles.  If you don't feed muscles, they aren't going to burn fat for you.  You want those fire drills revving your metabolism up so that means eat!  Even better - eat what she tells you to eat in the nutrition guide.  Those recipes are actually really good!  I kid you not!  :)
7. Do not feel pressured to jump!  You can follow Alee and get an equally good workout, you just have to push yourself and keep your intensity level up!  You get out of this what you put into this.
8. If you are struggling with a move and need it broken down, speak up!  I am a certified Turbo instructor and am more than happy to provide a video break down of different moves.  
9. Give each workout 3 chances before you get totally flustered.  The choreography can seem fast, I know.  Believe me, I know.  But you WILL pick this up before you know it.  If I can do this at 300 lb, anyone can do it.  Fo'real. 
10. Take a before pic!  When you're done with the 90 or 120 days (if you decide to do the advanced classses) submit that pic with your after photo to the Beachbody Challenge and you get a free tank top!  Just be aware - they run 1 size bigger.  Unless you have big boobs - then they are true to size.  Your before pic is a great motivational tool.  Especially if you put it in places where you're forced to look at it.  Don't want to workout?  Look at yourself in your underwear.  It works!!!

This is the water bottle I'm talking about:

Shakeology Cleanse

To order or for more information, click here:

Shakeology is a daily nutritional shake helps your body gently eliminate toxins more efficiently while allowing for better absorption of the essential nutrients you need.  The combination of nutrients, digestive enzymes and prebiotics helps your body eliminate toxins that build up from eating processed foods.  Shakeology is also packed full of vitamins and minerals that help your body curb cravings, perform well during exercise, and shed fat.  

With the 3 day Shakeology Cleanse, you can detox your body faster and speed up visible results.  Maintain a clean diet based on whole foods after the cleanse is over, and you'll be able to maintain those results.

Directions for the cleanse:

• Breakfast: 1 scoop Shakeology and 8-10 oz. of water
• Snack: 1 piece of fruit (low glycemic fruits: pears, apples, grapefruit, or strawberries)
• Lunch: 1 scoop Shakeology and 8-10 oz. of water
• Snack: 1 scoop Shakeology and 8-10 oz. of water
• Dinner: “Big” mixed green salad with 4-6 oz. grilled white fish or poultry (no salt added!)

Resources

Resources

Here is a collection of videos to help you on your fitness journey.  They are intended to supplement your workout program or help breakdown a move that you may have trouble with.   Please comment and request video for any move, doesn't matter which program.  And please forgive my low quality Flip video and any videos with Andy bumbling in the background.  :)

How to Burpee:





Great Video to Strengthen Your Core - Especially if you're having lower back pain!!!!






How to strengthen your quads if your knees are bothering you:

4 Minute Interval Workout to Blast Some Calories If You Want Dessert After Dinner!!!

(Do this before you go to dinner so your body will use up the calories you feed it before you 
go to sleep)