One Man and Paleo (Day 4)

• Nutrition
• No Comments

Day 4. Food is good. Today made a few change-ups in what I’m eating. I had a huge salad with lots of greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and two nice salmon fillets and ate on this throughout the day. Quite good when you throw in a handful of olives and a few walnuts. Also still had my concoction from Day 2 and 3 as one of my meals.

I think I may have over done the nuts a little. I found myself snacking on an almond/cashew/pistachio mix a little too much and consequently I felt ‘full’ most of the day.

The one psychological/physiological thing that happened was going all day craving a snickers bar. Not just any sweet. I was just jonesing for a frozen snickers bar. Thankfully I got through it all right without indulging.

All in all, I think everything is going pretty well. Haven’t weighed yet (I’ll do that for Day 7) but I can tell I’m done some. Except for Day 4 I’m actually getting to enjoy the slight hungry feeling all the time. It’s got a sense of urgency to it that keeps me motivated.

See you all tomorrow.

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS

Master Trainer

Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

One Man and Paleo (Day 2)

• Nutrition
• No Comments

Onto day 2. What I ate yesterday was pretty much the same I ate on day one. I added a few more nuts and I ate an extra 6 oz of chicken but all in all it was the same.

One thing I’m noticing is that this diet is calorically deficient. What I mean by that is it isn’t a convenient diet. When we did the vegan diet I could walk in just about anywhere, including fast food and/or convenience stores, and get something small to eat. With this diet you can’t do that. I was driving back from an appointment and was feeling a little hungrier than normal so I stopped to get gas. Went inside and there was almost nothing I could eat. I ended up with a small bag of nuts. But other than that, nada. With this diet you’ve got to plan. You need to have your food with you.

Stay hungry andsee youtomorrow.

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS

USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Master Trainer

Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

One Man and Paleo (Day 1)

• Nutrition
• No Comments

All right. Yesterday was the start of the paleo experience.

Here’s what I ate throughout the day:

2 boiled egss

1 apple

2 nectarine

6 oz chicken

6 oz london broil

2 oz cashews

2 tomatoes

1 red pepper

1 chili pepper

1 habenero

1/2 onion

1 avocado

All meat was hormone free and free ranged.

It all tasted great and I mixed it into various different concoctions of food to be spread over about 4 meals. I drank a ton of water and had 1 coke zero. This is my big weakness now, I’ve got a fairly strong addiction to coke zero. I decided at the beginning of the week with the changes I was already making I was not going to try and tackle this. I’ll save it for another week.

By the end of the day I was a bit hungry, that sort of hunger that sits in the back of your mind, but not overwhelmingly hungry. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that this is probably going to be a constant feeling with this nutrition plan, but hey, that’s cool. We should always be slightly hungry anyway. Part of our nations big problem is always eating to be completely full. That would rarely happen in the world of paleo man. And when it did, it was most likely from a fresh kill.

Stay tuned for tomorrow.

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS

USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Master Trainer

Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

Client Spotlight: George Livanos

• Uncategorized
• No Comments

George is a Financial Advisor who came to Empower Personal Training to establish habits in order to live a long and healthy life. He trains three times per week with his trainer, Michael Whitehurst, and two or three times by himself.

We asked George how he achieved his training goals and he replied “It took me awhile to see the light, but once I realized that it is not just about what you do with your trainer, rather what you do in total, especially when not in the studio, did I realize my goals. Diet is so important. I’m not saying you have to deprive yourself of your favorite foods and drinks, just limit them.”

As far as results, George has seen a 15% decrease in body weight, decreased body fat, improved flexibility, lowered blood pressure, improved cardiovascular endurance, and improved core strength. He says he definitely has more energy, feels young again, and when asked if he feels more confident he replied “sometimes too confident!”

Finally we asked George if he has any advice to others that are interested in attaining specific health and fitness goals and here is his response: “Sure do. Throw the idea of losing weight out the door with the crazy diets. Slowly build a solid foundation of proper diet and exercise. The rest will follow as you improve on your results.”

Great job George and keep up the good work!

Fresh Off the Grill

• News
• No Comments

From Memorial Day to Labor Day you can use your outdoor grill to create delicious and nutritious summer cuisines. Grilling is a great way to enhance the flavor of foods without loading up on calories: Natural fats and oils drip off meats cooked on the grill, which makes barbecuing a much healthier alternative to frying or even oven baking. But just because a meal is grilled doesnít automatically mean itís low in fat and calories. Consider the following tips this summer when preparing a healthy meal on the grill:

Choose lean cuts of meat, such as sirloin, fillet or flank, skinless chicken breasts or a any seafood or fish.
Cut all visible fat off meat and pork, and remove poultry skin before grilling. In addition, chose smaller portions of meat to control your fat and calorie intake.
Get creative with healthy sauces and marinades such as fat-free salad dressing, lemon juice or low-sodium soy sauce to add flavor and keep meats tender and moist. Grilling rubs and spices also add loads of delicious flavor with no extra calories.
Grilled veggies make great side dishes. Cut veggies and brush with a little olive oil or marinate in a low-calorie dressing. Put veggies on skewers or wrap them in aluminum foil and grill over low heat.
For tasty low-calorie dessert ideas try grilling a variety of fruits: Sprinkle brown sugar on pineapple slices. Grill the slices, turning a few times, until browned, about five minutes. Make cantaloupe kebabs. Brush with a mixture of honey, butter and chopped mint. Cook three to four minutes, turning the fruit to grill each side.

Enjoying summertime fare fresh from the grill will not only tantalize your taste buds but can also help you keep your meals light and healthy.