We wish more people would do this very same thing for their family and children’s meals. Fast Food and processed supermarket items make more money per year than most Governments… because we’ve forgotten the importance of  fresh, homemade and eating healthier meals. Jamie Oliver’s title seems to be correct… maybe we do need a food revolution right now. We’re not saying to take spatula’s and run into the road starting a small militia groups while making cupcakes out of tree bark.

What we do suggest is taking some time to watch this show (maybe do a few planks and push-ups during the commercials) to think outside of  your nutritional label box and make those you care abouts life better.

Of men at a fertility clinic who reported their intake of soy products, those who ate the most (about equal to one tofu burger every two days) had 41 million fewer swimmers per milliliter of semen than those who ate zip.

Soy has high levels of plant estrogen, which animal studies show may affect sperm production and overall fertility, says the Harvard School of Public Health.

So if you are trying to have a Baby in your immediate future… Switch to natural Protein sources & Powders.

Stock Your Pantry
Cereal (without cartoons on the box; try for at least 4 grams of fiber per serving)
Old Fashioned Quaker Oats oatmeal
Wheat crackers
Brown rice
Whole-wheat pasta
Tomato sauce (check the ingredients—you want a sauce made with only tomatoes, olive oil, and spices—no corn syrup or sugar added)
Canned diced or whole peeled tomatoes
Canned tuna and/or salmon packed in water
Low-sodium canned soups
Canned beans (chick peas, pinto, black, kidney, etc.)
Basic seasonings: salt, pepper, brown sugar, Old Bay, taco seasoning, hot sauce like Tabasco, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, low-sodium soy sauce
Healthy oils like extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, and nonfat cooking spray (keep oils out of the sun, in a cupboard, so they do not get rancid)
Low-calorie hot chocolate packets
An assortment of teas
Granola bars, LaraBars, or Luna Bars
Dried fruit
Fruit leathers
Bananas (for a bowl on the counter)
Avocados (when available)

Stock Your Refrigerator
Fruits and veggies galore (including staples of apples, oranges, lemons, lettuces, tomato, cucumber)
Nonfat/low-fat milk
Nonfat/low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese
Calcium-fortified orange juice
Eggs
Nuts—almonds, walnuts, or cashews, roasted and unsalted (remember, nuts are fats and will go bad if they are not stored in the refrigerator)
Natural nut butters—almond or peanut
Hummus
Low-fat cheese: reduced-fat cheddar, part-skim mozzarella, or reduced-fat string cheese sticks
A block of good Parmesan cheese (so much better than pre-grated)
Firm tofu
Extra-lean turkey bacon (approximately 20 calories per strip, 1 gram of fat or less, and 3+ grams of protein)
Whole-wheat English muffins
Butter alternative (non-hydrogenated and without trans fats)
Mustard
Salsa (try to buy fresh salsa whenever possible)
Dark chocolate Hershey’s Kisses or a bar of really good 70 percent cocoa chocolate

Stock Your Freezer
Whole wheat sliced bread (with at least 2 grams of fiber per slice and less than 100 calories)
Frozen veggies (broccoli, spinach, peas)
Frozen fruit (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)
Ground turkey
Skinless chicken breasts
Frozen cooked shrimp
Frozen meals (for more specifics check the search bar; top right on Blog)
Pre-portioned low-calorie ice cream treats
Coffee beans

Whatever your goal may be… losing weight, toning and building muscle… The simple fact every single Veteran Training Coach or Instructor in the Norwell Area will tell you is that you need to eat to burn body fat.

The first nutritional demand of your body is energy. Without adequate energy, your body will convert muscle protein into energy to feed your brain, nervous system and red blood cells.

These particular tissues do not possess the metabolic machinery to burn fat. They only burn carbohydrates. When your intake of carbohydrate falls below these tissues demand, the body begins to convert tissue protein into carbohydrate to meet their need. The net result is a loss of muscle tissue.

Yes, the scale may say you have lost “weight”, but you have lost the very tissue that burns fat. Muscle tissue burns 70% of the fat in your body; so losing muscle sacrifices your ability to burn body fat. Building frustration and never accomplishing the simplest of goals.

In fact, the “weight” you lose on a diet can represent up to 10 to 20% of those pounds in muscle loss. This poor dieter will not only regain this weight, but then some. All because they have compromised their ability to burn body fat.

Listen to your Veteran Training Personal Trainer, Athletic Trainer or Coach no matter how strange it may sound…. if you want to lose weight quickly eat healthy and stay on track with your meal plan.

Broccoli: A Gourmet Power Food

Trading Nutrition tips and facts are a regular past time between our Personal Training and Athletic Training Team. It is really quite amazing how much information can be told about something as common and bought locally as Broccoli. Broccoli is found across America but is about as Mediterranean as a vegetable can be. First grown in Italy, it was spread by the Romans throughout Europe; immigrants later brought it to America. Raw or cooked, it’s a major player in a healthy Diet. You can eat it in virtually unlimited amounts for the rest of your life.

You probably don’t need much convincing when it comes to broccoli’s benefits. Its reputation as one of the world’s healthiest foods is well established. But did you know that broccoli is one of the best sources of calcium and vitamin C? Consider this: There’s as much vitamin C in a serving of broccoli (1⁄2 cup in The Sonoma Diet) as in an orange. But an orange will set you back 60 or 70 calories — while that’s not a lot, it’s considerably more than the 20 or so in a serving of broccoli. Same goes for calcium. A half-cup serving of broccoli delivers about 40 milligrams and, unlike milk, has no saturated fat. The benefits, however, don’t end there. Broccoli is a deluxe detoxifier, clearing away potentially carcinogenic toxins and even inhibiting tumor growth. Broccoli is a true gourmet vegetable as well as a cancer fighter and heart protector.

Offering more than fiber.

The big anticancer gun in broccoli’s phytonutrient arsenal is a detoxifier called sulforaphane. As the name suggests, this substance is responsible for the sulfur-like smell of broccoli as it cooks. That’s turned off many a kid and even a former president to this gift of nature. When cooked properly, however, broccoli has a wonderful taste, not to mention a lovely color. Steam or boil it for just a few minutes. Cooking any longer will rob broccoli of both its flavor and its nutrients!