Tag health

You Need To Go To Olympia

drstaceynaito 2 Comments

Olympia is the granddaddy of bodybuilding events, compelling people from all over the world to descend upon Sin City for a weekend of glistening, supertanned muscles, scantily clad bodies, and enough free sports supplement samples to keep everyone amped up with bloated bellies as they walk through the Expo. The Olympia Expo is quite a sensory overload, a smorgasbord of sounds, sights, smells, and tastes! You also should watch out for flying objects since items such as t-shirts are thrown into crowds during hyped-up giveaways at the larger booths. You won’t find too many events in which such action-hero genetic freaks can easily and comfortably congregate. I feel very much at home in such company, and look forward to all the Olympia events every single year.

I love working a booth at the Expo even though it prevents me from seeing most of the competitions that take place in the main arena. I gladly suffer through the sore feet that result from standing and walking all day. Fans and followers will look for the booth I am working at in order to say hello and take a picture with me, and that always means a great deal to me, especially since I know that the crowded Expo hall can be very tricky to navigate when someone is looking for a specific booth or person. Every Olympia is also a great reunion in which I can see many of my fitness and bodybuilding friends from all over the world.

If you have any interest in fitness and bodybuilding but have never been to Olympia, make an effort to travel to Las Vegas one year in late September so that you can witness this incredible event.
olympia-expo

Holding Yourself Accountable

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It can be very difficult to stay on track with a structured meal plan or training regimen. Heck, I have even heard people talk about how difficult it is to remember to take daily supplements or to floss regularly. The parent inside of each of us often struggles to keep everything in line so that guilt doesn’t set in. When we fall off track, it can be very easy to rationalize the errant behavior, reasoning that perhaps we needed the extra carbs or needed to take a day off training after all.

Just-Do-It-NowFor those of us who are in the fitness world, especially those of us who compete, there is so much structure to our regimens that it is easier to keep ourselves in line. We are conditioned to keep our blinders on and stay the course with food and training. But those who are not immersed in the world of fitness and bodybuilding tend to struggle more with a regular regimen. If no specific fitness or health goal is defined, people tend to zigzag with their regimens, adding more unscheduled fun meals, more alcohol, and more missed trips to the gym.

If you are one of those people who tend to fall off track more easily, there are some guidelines which you can follow (listed below) which will help to keep you in line. More importantly, however, you need to remind yourself WHY holding yourself accountable is beneficial. When you hold yourself accountable, you stoke a fire that propels you towards your health goals. By staying on track, you develop a “can-do” attitude which extends into all areas of your life.

Do somethingHere are some tips on how to keep you on track with your eating habits and exercise plan.

1. Train with a trainer. When you work out with a trainer, you become accountable to that trainer. You need to show up and do the work!
2. Train with a friend. Similar to training with a trainer, when you and a friend agree to meet for a workout, you hold each other accountable. I always recommend setting a day and time and then prohibiting each other from cancelling, no-showing or rescheduling.
3. Prep and pack your food in advance. Prepare your day’s food the night before and store it in individual serving containers so that you can easily pack them into a bag the next morning.
4. Keep junk foods and snacks out of your kitchen. If you have tempting foods in your kitchen, you risk sabotaging your own efforts to stay on a healthy eating plan.

Remember that you can maintain focus on healthy patterns. Keep your eye on the prize!

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

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Original post can be found at:

http://www.rxmuscle.com/blogs/the-kitchen-eating-strategies/9393-slow-cooker-sweet-potatoes.html

Food prep continues to be a tedious process for me, despite the fact that it is a regular occurrence. I am sure many of you can relate to such woes and are searching for ways to cut prep time down so you can take care of more important things in life. Usually I roast sweet potatoes in the oven, but I was particularly unmotivated the other evening and decided to adopt a lazy approach while still using the delicious marinade I typically mix up. I use a heavy hand with the spices because I want that holiday flavor, so you might want to cut down the portion of spices if you want a more basic flavor.

I usually avoid using the slow cooker because food items tend to get mushy, but as long as the potatoes are cut into large sections, that should not occur. Another bonus is that your place will smell incredible when these are cooking!

sweet potato crock pot
Ingredients:

5 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, washed and cut into large cubes

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

Place sweet potato crock potsweet potato sections into a clean plastic bag. Mix remaining ingredients together, then pour into bag. Twist bag so that it is securely closed, then shake it so that the potatoes are evenly coated with the marinade mixture.

Open bag and pour contents into slow cooker. Add 1 cup water and set cooker on low.

Protein Pancake Recipe

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I love pancakes. When I was a child, they were served on a rare weekend day when my mom felt inclined to cook something other than the usual eggs and breakfast meat. Now that I am involved in fitness, I rarely entertain the idea of eating pancakes, but there is a healthy and high protein version which anyone can easily cook up. I used to make these in 2010 when I was in the midst of contest prep for the national stage, so they are definitely contest friendly. I love this particular recipe because they are moist and dense, just the way I like them. You can top your pancake with nut butter, jam, fresh fruit, honey, agave nectar or syrup.

protein-pancake-with-berries

DR. STACEY’S PROTEIN PANCAKES:

2 large egg whites
1/4 cup almond milk
1/3 cup dry oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scoop vanilla whey protein
1-1/2 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt (optional)

Blend all ingredients together. Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray, then pour mixture into skillet. Cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes, then flip over and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from pan and serve with 1/4 cup fresh fruit and 1 teaspoon peanut or almond butter.

Make Sure To Visit The Muscle & Performance Magazine At Olympia This Weekend!

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Muscle & Performance Magazine is enjoying a tremendous year with Muscle & Performance, Black Belt and The Box magazines, and will resurrect Oxygen, Reps and Musclemag magazines as a result of its acquisition of RKP recently. I am so honored to be working this booth again this year! M & P Mags

The BEST Pill Containers Ever

drstaceynaito 1 Comment

5-Craft-Mates-14-Compartment-Locking-Organizer-CaddiesIf you are looking for a great pill and supplement storage container which has large bins and is sturdy enough for travel, you should consider getting craft storage containers. The container which I love is by CraftMates and was purchased about four years ago from Michaels Arts and Crafts. This container can be found on Amazon:

Here is the company description of the product:

APOTHECARY PRODUCTS-CraftMates Lockables: Organizers. Build your own customized storage system! Whatever your craft of choice with Lockables Organizers you can keep everything neat and tidy and right at hand when you need it. Just choose your storage case and individual organizers based on your specific organizing needs. The patented lockbar system of the organizers allows you to open one bin at a time so there is no bin spillage or migration! Perfect for brads; beads; buttons; sequins; needles; pins; embellishments and more! This package contains one 14 compartment clear plastic organizer (1-1/4x9x4-1/4in) with purple lockbar. Imported.

I have used many different types of pill organizers and have been unimpressed by all of them. The rotating organizers seem to rotate too much when in a bag, spilling the contents, screwtop containers and towers unscrew in bags, and the rectangular organizers have lids which either pop open or break after prolonged use. The CraftMates container is a stark exception. In order to open a bin, you have to press a latch at the end. I find this mechanism superior to the locking pill organizers I have seen. Apparently beads and buttons are deemed more precious than supplements!

I have used this organizer every day for the last four years and have traveled with it, completely incident free. I swear by these containers and think everyone who takes a lot of supplements should be using these.