#nutrifit305

Let’s face it, we live in a world where food temptations are everywhere…which lead to cravings, which lead to you eating things that you shouldn’t. Again. And again. And again. Until you’re so fed up with your body that you don’t even know where to begin to get yourself back on track.

Stores display the most tantalizing junk food items right where you could easily reach them. TV commercials for greasy, fattening foods portray them so scrumptiously that you literally salivate. Sugary snack items have full-page, glossy pictures in your favorite magazines. And as if all of these weren’t enough, the people in your daily life are another, constant source of food temptation.

To make matters worse, you’ve been conditioned since childhood to have a positive association with the act of indulging in your cravings. You use food as a reward. You use food as a source of emotional comfort. You use food as a way to relieve stress. And quickly these associations and uses of food become habit. A habit not easily broken.

New Technique to End Food Cravings

Food cravings don’t need to have the upper hand on you anymore. Here’s how you can fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain.

Remember that your mind is an amazing thing. Once your mind is made up about something it’s nearly impossible to change it.

Try This Powerful Mind Exercise: Imagine that you are peacefully floating down a river on a raft. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and you are having a fun, relaxing time.

You feel wonderful about the river because it’s making you feel happy.

Now change perspectives for a moment. You’re now in a plane flying over the river and the raft. Instantly our eye is drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. Then you look back to the person floating on the raft, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.

With this new perspective of the river, do you think that you’d agree to get on a raft and take your chances floating toward the falls? Laughable, right? You’ve seen the hidden danger of the river. You know it leads to pain and suffering.

Now your negative association (watery death) with the river has replaced your initial positive association (relaxing fun).

This is the key to overcoming food temptations and putting an end to food cravings: building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. I’ll break this process down for you in two steps:

Step One: Create a STRONG Negative Association with Unhealthy FoodYou may not have realized it, but up until this point you’ve placed unhealthy, fattening foods on a pedestal in your mind. As long as the wrong foods are on that pedestal you’ll continue to give into your cravings and will continue to gain fat.

Take the wrong food off that pedestal by listing off everything negative about them…

These foods make you unhealthy.

These foods cause weight gain.

These foods drain your energy.

These foods kill your confidence.

These foods lessen your quality of life.

These foods damage your love life.

Every time that you feel tempted to eat an unhealthy food, focus on your list of negatives. Kick the junk off the pedestal and put something healthy in its place.

Step Two: Create a STRONG Positive Association with wholesome foods

Now that your mental food pedestal has been cleared, put truly wholesome food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savory lean meats are the place to start.

List off the things that you love about healthy food…

These foods make you healthy.

These foods promote fat loss.

These foods boost your energy.

These foods build your confidence.

These foods improve your quality of life.

These foods enhance your love life.

I encourage you to immerse yourself into the world of healthy, wholesome foods. Browse the aisles of your local natural foods store. Stroll through a farmer’s market. Pack healthy snacks to bring to work. Clear your kitchen of junk.

Use the technique above consistently and you will soon find that healthy, wholesome foods are your favorite.

So many common foods secretly contain loads of sugar.

This is a problem since eating an excess of sugar derails your fitness progress and quickly leads to an increase in body fat, and recent studies are proving that sugar is even more dangerous than we once thought.

Your risk of heart attack doubles when 20 percent or more of your calories come from sugar, according to a new study published in JAMA International Medicine.

That’s serious! So, with obesity and heart disease on the line, let’s uncover the 7 common foods that you didn’t know contain sugar. Avoiding these items will help lower your overall sugar intake, increase your fitness results and improve your overall health.

1. Fruit Yogurt Yogurt is packaged and marketed as a diet food for women, which is outrageous. The pretty little packages may be low in fat, but just one serving contains a whopping 19 grams of sugar.

2. Pasta Sauce This one may come as a surprise, since pasta sauce is considered to be a savory food, but alas, it has loads of sugar hiding in it. For every half a cup of store bought pasta sauce you’re ingesting 12 grams of sugar.

3. Agave Nectar Many think of agave nectar as a free pass, since it has been so cleverly marketed as a health food, but sadly this sweetener is just as dangerous as white sugar. Agave nectar is 85% fructose.

4. Dried Fruit Yes, even our fruit isn’t safe anymore. Most companies are adding extra sugar in with their dried fruit, making it as sweet as candy. Just 1/3 of a cup contains 24 grams of sugar.

5. Granola Bars It may boast wholesome, whole grains on the package, but your favorite granola bar is hiding a sickly sweet secret. The average packaged granola bar contains 12 grams of sugar.

6. Energy Drinks When you need an afternoon pick-me-up, think twice before reaching for that energy drink. Mega energy drinks contain up to 83 grams of sugar.

7. BBQ Sauce There’s a reason that those BBQ chicken wings are finger licking good…all that sugar it’s hiding. A 2 Tablespoon serving will set you back 13 grams of sugar.

I encourage you to start eliminating the sugar-packed foods in your diet today. Your body and your heart will both be in better shape for it.

If you’ve been interested in fitness and health for more than a minute, then you know by now how important drinking plenty of water is for getting your body into top shape.

But do you drink enough water? And is it really going to impact your results?

Why Water Matters

Your body is made up of 60% water, which is incredible when you stop and really think about this fact. All day long you are constantly losing water by sweating and going to the bathroom – and this water must be replenished in order to keep your body is healthy, working order.

Many health authorities believe in the 8x8 theory: drink 8 (8oz) glasses of water throughout the day, or roughly half a gallon. However, a growing sector of fitness and health professionals are speaking out against this theory, stating that it is simply too little to keep you properly hydrated.

Those behind the movement to drink more than 8x8 per day are stating that the only way to truly stay hydrated is by sipping on water constantly throughout the day, and by making the effort to drink water when one doesn’t feel the signs of thirst.

Studies have come out that seem to prove that drinking more water throughout the day leads to better brain functioning, fewer headaches and physical performance.

Conversely, when you are operating in a state of mild dehydration you will experience diminished brain functioning, more frequent headaches and a decline in physical performance.

Does More Water = More Fat Loss?

Yes, it is quite likely that drinking more water will facilitate faster fat loss results. This is primarily due to two factors:

1. An increase in metabolism: Studies show that drinking water temporarily boosts metabolism for an hour or so. Drinking cold water will spike your metabolism even higher. This means more calories burned, and more pounds lost.

2. A reduction in appetite: Staying properly hydrated helps to reduce dehydration signs that are often mistaken for hunger. It is also a viable strategy to drink a full glass of water immediately before a meal in order to reduce the calorie intake of that meal, leading to lower overall calorie intake for the day.

Hydration and Health

Staying hydrated is going to help you lose fat quicker, but that’s not the only benefit that you will experience. The following are all health improvements that you have to look forward to when drinking water throughout your day:

Lower Risk of Cancer

Reduction in Constipation

Decreased Risk of Kidney Stones

Healthier Skin and Less Acne

Serve this flavorful Southwestern Chicken Dinner with a heaping side of dark leafy greens. This is the epitome of a meal focused on protein and fiber. It’s meals like this that will melt off body fat and improve your health and fitness. Enjoy!

What You Need Serves 6

2 lbs organic chicken breast Dash of sea salt and black pepper 1 Tablespoon coconut oil 1 small yellow onion, chopped 1 tomato, seeded and diced 2 Tablespoon chili in adobo sauce 1 Tablespoon chili powder 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon sea salt ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry. Butterfly cut the chicken, opening each breast up like a book. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a baking pan and set aside in the fridge as you prepare the sauce.

2. Place the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. Use a hand blender to puree the sauce until smooth.

3. Coat the chicken with half of the sauce and marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Cover the chicken with foil and bake chicken for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve warm with a spoonful of the reserved sauce. Enjoy!