Blueberry and pumpkin baked oats

Hello ladies and gentlemen....

I have a biiiiiiiiig treat to share with you! This was one of my best concoctions in quite some time. lol.... The soft tart berries bursting in your mouth is simply exquisite! 

Ingredients:

40g Jungle oats
200 egg whites
50g Blueberries
150g pumpkin puree
Touch of salt, cinnamon and baking powder

Mix together and bake in nonstick oven pan.  180deg for 15-20 minutes

It has a soft and moist texture.  

Optional:  Drizzle with Walden Farms Blueberry syrup when completely done. 

Macros
260 calories
30g carb
3g fat
25g protein

Confetti cake - High protein

You can make this beauty with a few simple ingredients. 

180g egg white

30g oat bran

10g coconut flour

Touch of baking soda

Pinch of salt

Teaspoon of vanilla

I sprinkled a little bit of confetti over the top just for show. lol... looks cute right? 

Mix everything and pour into a silicon baking pan. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees. 

There is no sweetener in here, I prefer it like that, but if you have a sweet tooth, add 3-4 sachets of sweetener. 

250 calories

23g carbs

4g fat

25g Protein

Bon ap! 

Tips to help build muscle.

.. Pursue Progressive Overload.

The law of progressive overload simply says that you must increase the amount of reps or the weight lifted every single workout (or as close to this as humanly possible) in order to ignite muscle growth.

The body adapts to stimuli, so how do we use this to our advantage? Well the key is to place ever increasing demand on the body, thereby forcing it to continually adapt. Training with weights is undoubtedly the best way to achieve this. You can know precisely how much weight you can handle and can also make incremental increases over time to spark muscle growth.

If you workout with the exact same weight every session and perform the same number of repetitions, how can you expect your body to grow? So, if you want bigger biceps, you must increase the weight you are lifting every session or the amount of repetitions. Remember:

Progressive Overload = Muscle Growth.

2. Perform 8-12 reps.

8-12 reps on any given exercise will stimulate most muscle growth. Lower rep ranges of say 3-6 work well for building strength but not necessarily muscle hypertrophy (growth). Higher reps e.g. 15 – 20 can indeed stimulate muscle growth but it is far from optimal. You should be lifting a weight so heavy that you can’t get more than 12 reps but light enough to allow you to get at least 8 reps.

3. Perform 6-9 sets.

Yes just 6-9 sets per body part. If you are working out with good form this is all you need to stimulate muscle growth. You want to keep your workouts under 45 minutes to avoid the release of hormones that actually break your muscle tissue down (catabolic hormones). Luckily, you can easily accomplish this by performing a maximum of 9 sets per body part.

4. Eat Eat Eat. 

Working a muscle tears the tissue, it then repairs and grows. Muscles need fed in order to allow them to grow. Basically you need to eat big to get big. A good bodybuilding diet will allow you to grow without adding fat at the same time.

5. Increase the Amount of Protein in your Diet.

Muscle = protein. In order for muscle tissue to repair itself after your weight-training sessions it needs an abundance of protein. Some beginners don’t take enough protein and some more experienced guys take ridiculously extreme amounts of protein. So how much protein is enough to supply those hungry muscles? Use the following formula for the most accurate daily protein requirements.

Lean Mass Weight (Kg) x 2.75 = Daily Protein Requirement

Your lean weight is your total body weight minus the amount of fat you are carrying. You will need to know your body fat percentage for this. If you are unsure about this, you can get a good estimate by using the ‘Body Fat Calculator’ in the sidebar at MuscleHack.com site. Another good rule of thumb is to take 1 gram of protein for every pound of total body weight. So a 160 lb man would take around 160 grams of protein per day. My favorite sources of protein include

* Chicken
* Steak
* Pork
* Eggs
* Cheese
* Whey Protein Powder Shakes
* Seafood – tuna, prawns, salmon…
* Nuts
* Seeds

Here’s a good post showing great vegetarian sources of protein.

6. Eat Fat.

A Low-Fat diet is not desirable in bodybuilding. Eating fat increases the amount of anabolic (muscle building) hormones in your body. These are:

1. Testosterone
2. Growth Hormone
3. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)

Some people resort to taking anabolic steroids in order to accelerate muscle growth but you can get great results by implementing the ultimate bodybuilding diet.

7. Make Sure you Drink Enough Water.

Getting enough water is crucial for peak strength and energy levels. You should shoot for around 12 x 8 ounce glasses of water per day. Remember you can include your protein shakes towards your daily water intake.

8. Avoid Too Much Cardio.

Cardiovascular work will rob you of muscle gains. Yes if your goal is to lose fat you should do cardio but make sure it is:

(a) Performed immediately after your weight training

(b) ‘High Intensity Interval Training’ form of cardio for a maximum of 20 minutes.

The reason that too much cardio isn’t desirable when your goal is to build muscle is that too much cardio releases catabolic hormones in the body, breaking down your muscle tissue; obviously this is counter-productive.

9. Sleep.

Sleep is so important for building muscle. We know that muscle tissue repairs itself and grows during rest periods but sleep is more important than waking rest periods.

Here’s why:

1. The release of growth hormone reaches its peak during deep sleep
2. Your metabolic rate slows which is perfect for muscle tissue repair and growth
3. Increased blood flow to the muscles

10. Relax.

Being stressed out results in a catabolic (muscle breakdown) environment in the body. One such hormone is cortisol. Remember that a calm, relaxed person builds more muscle than the hot-head  (assuming all other factors are equal).

Keep it positive and stay motivated!

Refeed days - method to the madness

Despite some people thinking its not true, there is acually great reward in doing a proper refeed when you have been dieting for a while.  

Have you heard of the hormone called 'Leptin'?  When you diet for a long period, your leptin levels drop very low, stalling your weighloss.  ( I'm putting this in the most simple manner) 

Leptin is actually made in fatty tissues, therefor, the lower your bodyfat, the less leptin you have.  Can you see why lean people do need refeeds then?  Leptin's main function in the body is to play a significant role in regulating both hunger, food intake and energy expenditure. As leptin levels fall, the greater your cravings become for all those wonderful foods that you used to eat when you weren't dieting.

Along with hunger pangs, low leptin also creates a slowing metabolism. Whenever you are on a low diet for an extended period of time, your body will begin to slow its metabolic functions in an effort to addapt to the amount of fuel that it is being given. Know what this means for you? Little or no fat loss. Not a good situation. aka starvation mode. 

Now your goal is to raise your Leptin level again and speel up that slow metabolism. Leptin is highly responsive to glucose metabolism so when doing a refeed, you will benefit much more if the majority of your  calories are coming from good sources of carbs that will turn into glucose. When done this way, leptin levels will show a significant rise over if you had eaten a surplus of calories coming from more protein, fat or fructose.

"

REFEEDING

How much should you refeed yourself? This will depend on how long you have been dieting, how intense your diet is, and your current level of bodyfat. Those who are at a lower level of bodyfat will need to refeed more often than those who aren't. Similarly, the more extreme the diet being followed, the more intense the refeed.

Basically this has to do with how low leptin levels are. The lower the levels, the more calories above maintenance you will be needed to bring them back up.

Usually, a refeed should consist of 20-50% more calories than required for maintenance for 12 hours to two days. The higher you decide to bring your calories, the shorter period of time you will want to refeed for. If your leptin levels have almost dropped of the earth, you will want to refeed for a full week, but keep your calories slightly more moderate.

The downside to a refeed is that sometimes you will have to accept a small amount of fat gain. But, looking on the bright side, when you go back to your diet, your metabolism will be humming again and you should jump start the fat loss process. In a few individuals, they will actually become leaner during the process; however this is not the norm.

You can include some of your more desired foods in the refeed, after all, this is partly to relieve you psychologically from the restraints you feel during the dieting process, however make sure the rest is coming from good sources."

Making the change ....

Hello Friends, 

We have a heavy topic today. lol.... 

When you decide to take control over your life, regarding training and your meals, make sure you do it for the right reasons.  As much as we want to look and feel good, you have to take care of the inside as well. 
After all, a healthy body houses a healthy mind. 

Make sure you have GOALS.  Make sure they are realistic.  It is easier working toward something if you have a goal. 

Learn what your emotional triggers a

re! The key to breaking bad habits like overeating, is to identify the things that are making you feel low or stressed. Learn how to pinpoint your emotional triggers and establish healthy habits for life.

Change your attitude! Your self-image plays a huge role in your success on this program. I want you to start thinking, "Why not me?" You deserve to be healthy and happy just like everyone else. It's time to change your attitude and your inner dialogue.

Learn more about yourself! Are you proactive or reactive? Where do you fall on the self-love scale? We all need to focus on ourselves sometimes.

“Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis.” 
― Zig Ziglar

High fiber pancake with delicious toppings

Hey y'all .... I started a new job today. Man am I busted tonight ! Zooooombie! 

You've been asking for this recipe .... 

Pancake ingredients ; 

30 g fibre plus

30g oatbran 

150g eggwhite 

Mix well and pan grill till cooked . Top with macadamia nut butter and chocchips ! Delish ! :) 

Blackbean chocolate brownies

Man oh man .... Do I have a treat for you ! :) 

I made these today and want to post the recipe before I forget the ingredients! 

1.5 cups cooked Blackbeans 

2 tablespoons oatbran

1 egg 

1.5 cups applesauce

1 Scoop whey in chocolate

1/4 cup cocoa 

Tablespoon caramel essence 

Black choc chips 

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor .  Add in the choc chips . Bake for 20 - 25 min at 200 degrees 

Let it cool down and enjoy ! 

Bon ap! 

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

Charles M. Schulz