Avocado - One Fruit That's Hard to Beat!

"The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good."

- Genesis 1:12

Avocados are almost too good to be true. They taste great and they're good for you. Yes, they're high in fat, but it's the good kind of fat (unsaturated), which raises your HDL (good cholesterol) and lowers your LDL (bad cholesterol) - Just like olive oil or fish oil caps.

Avocados also help your body absorb more fat-soluble nutrients - such as cancer-fighting beta-carotene and lycopene and eyesight-saving lutein - from other foods you eat along with them.

Avocados are one of the healthiest fruits you'll ever eat - in moderation. A few slices or half an avocado each day is good, but a tub of guacomole is way too much!

So reach for the avocado and add it to your salads, sandwiches, eggs, toast (it's great as a butter) or on the side with some of your other meals and reap the benefits of this wonderful fruit provided by God.

30 Power Foods for More Fat Loss!

"You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, He will bless you with food and water, and He will protect you from illness."

- Exodus 23:25

This is an article originally written by Mike Roussell, Ph.D. I wanted to post it as today's blog since it gives good information about power foods that you should be eating on a regular basis. You'll see that many of the points he makes goes along with previous blogs I've written about power foods - Power Foods; Power Foods - Part 2; and Four Foods for More Fat Loss.

Good food is an extremely important part of any fat loss diet. The food you eat is actually going to drive (or inhibit) your fat loss. I have put together a list of 30 Power Foods that are the kings of "healthy foods." They will get your body primed not only for rapid weight loss but greatly improved health.

These 30 Power Foods (if not all, then most) should be the center pieces of your nutrition as they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, essential fatty acids, fiber, essential amino acids and all kinds of other good stuff that we don’t fully understand (but we know they are good for us because God provided them as food).

I wanted to use this list to supercharge your nutrition - hopefully you're eating a lot of these already. They are separated into five groups:

1. Starches (faster acting carbs)
2. Fruits & Vegetables (and non-starchy carbohydrates)
3. Proteins
4. Fats
5. Powerfood Outsiders (these don’t really fit into any of the previous categories but that doesn’t take away from their nutritional power)

Starches

• Amaranth
• Quinoa
• Oats
• Yams

Fruits & Vegetables

• Apples
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Onions
• Oranges
• Pomegranates
• Pumpkin
• Raspberries
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Beans

Fats

• Avocado
• Coconut Oil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Flaxseed/Flaxseed Oil
• Walnuts/Almonds/Seeds

Proteins

• Lean Poultry
• Salmon
• Lean Red Meat
• Omega-3 Eggs
• Cottage Cheese (with Live Cultures)
• Milk Protein Powder Blend

Power Foods Outsiders

• Green Tea
• Cinnamon
• Garlic
• Hot Peppers

Which ones are you eating? Which ones aren't you eating? Make note of the ones you aren't eating and make sure you pick them up next time you go shopping.

About the Author/More Info
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28-day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10, 15 or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 days. To start losing weight fast, visit Warp Speed Fat Loss.

Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University. Mike's writings can be found in magazines such as Men's Health, Men's Fitness and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.

Five Ways to Boost Your Fiber Intake!

"Then God said, 'Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.'"

- Genesis 1:29

In addition to sleep and time alone, here's something else most people don't get enough of: fiber.

The Average American gets 10-15 grams of fiber each day, about half of what is needed to meet the basic recommended 25 grams.

Here are five easy ways to get more fiber into your diet:

Fig-uratively Speaking
Add dried figs or other fruits (cherries, kiwi and the like) to salad.

Cereal Thriller
Start the day with a high-fiber cereal such as Fiber One or Kashi Vive or even old-fashioned oatmeal.

Hummus a Happy Tune
Dip carrots, snap peas and other veggies in hummus instead of ranch dressing.

Orange You Glad You Tried This?
Instead of drinking fruit juice, eat the fruit. More fiber, vitamins, minerals and more satisfaction with less sugar.

Wrap it Up
Instead of the usual tuna-on-white, wrap a sandwich in a whole-wheat tortilla. Make your own wrap using a variety of meats (turkey, chicken), cheeses and veggies.

Try these tips to help get more fiber in your diet each day!

Breakfast Ideas to Start Off the Day!

"She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls."

- Proverbs 31:15

As mentioned in yesterday's blog, eating a balanced meal in the morning can help keep you alert, improve your mood and not make you too hungry before lunch. Here are five breakfast ideas that will give you energy until lunchtime:

Oatmeal in an Instant!
Instant oatmeal is great on a cold morning and contains fiber and vitamins. Choose oatmeal that isn't already pre-sweetened (like Old-fashioned Quaker Oats). Sweeten it with raisins or fresh fruit. Adding a scoop of protein powder will make it a perfect breakfast meal!

Smoothie Madness!
Blend frozen fruit (berries are great), milk, cottage cheese and raw nuts (walnuts) for a quick, tasty breakfast smoothie with lots of nutrients.

Eggs - The World's Most Perfect Food!
Boil, scramble or make an omlette and serve on whole-wheat toast or mixed up with veggies and cheese. Eggs are packed with nutrition including protein, vitamins and healthy fat.

Go Nuts!
Spreading natural peanut, almond or walnut butter on whole-grain toast is a great way to get both protein and fiber.

Breakfast On-the-Go!
Don't have time to eat breakfast at home? Try whole-grain toast, nuts and fresh fruit taken in the car. Boiled eggs, apple slices, a banana or a smoothie are also easy and not too messy.

Lean for Life!

"I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong." - Romans 14:14

Here are a couple of the most important aspects of nutrition that help to get you lean for life. I picked this up from Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training - (CLICK HERE to learn more), and it definitely goes along with what I said in a previous post about nutrition.

1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet. Protein has a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. Protein is also a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle. And remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.

2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits and high-fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body fat. I don't eat many grains, as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits. Fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all beneficial for getting lean.

3. Don't be afraid to eat fat! I've said this before, and I'm saying it again. Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as well as cause more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily. Good sources of healthy fats are raw nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, fish oil caps, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats but they are actually beneficial.

4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:

*Artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods

*High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is in almost all sweetened products on the market.

Again, if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in our food supply.

I believe that once you get a handle on these four main points of your diet detailed above, the rest starts to take care of itself as you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place, and you eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get.