By: Kevin Larrabee, CSCS

I am a peanut butter addict.

During the Destination Abs Project I had one particular craving. A craving, dare I say need for peanut butter. The problem is that on such a low calorie diet I couldn’t dip my finger into the jar and satisfy my craving. Then, Leigh Peele along with a bunch of followers on Twitter mentioned PB2 as an alternative to peanut butter. I had used PB2 in the past, but not in about two years.

PB2 is basically what remains after a process that presses the peanuts to remove the fat. The end result still retains the great taste of peanut butter with 85% less fat and only 53 calories per two tablespoons. Here is some more info:

Two tablespoons of traditional peanut butter contains about 180 calories, while two
tablespoons (approximately 12 grams) of PB2 powder, and contains just 53 calories.
PB2 also contains approximately 40% protein by weight.

The first implementation of PB2 was in my Casein Pro shakes. I used two scoops of the Casein Pro protein powder with two tablespoons of the PB2 in a shaker, not a blender. The shake mixed perfectly, no chunks and tasted like I threw in two huge scoops of peanut butter. I am sure I am going to find a way to use this stuff in a lot of my meals.

The people at Bell Plantation also have a database of recipes that incorporate PB2 HERE.

PB2 now has a new sibling as well, a Chocolate PB2.

The chocolate PB2 has the same makeup of PB2 with added cocoa and sugar to give it the perfect balance.

Here are some ideas from Bell Plantation:

Delicious on graham crackers, fruit, “salty” crackers, as a
cupcake icing, ice cream topping, or in smoothies.

I haven’t tried the Chocolate PB2 as a dessert spread yet, but I have mixed 4 tablespoons in ice cold water to make a chocolate/peanut butter pudding!!! Tastes amazing for 100 calories.

Check out the Bell Plantation website and order some PB2, I promise you will not regret it!

By: Kevin Larrabee, CSCS

Whew…There goes four weeks of intense fat-loss. This was easily the most drastic transformation my body has made since I dropped the initial 35 pounds when I was in high school. Was it as big of a number in terms of pounds? No. But the transformation in the mirror was pretty major. Wow, I can’t believe I made it four weeks. I think the biggest supporting factor was posting on TheFitCast.com each week and receiving comments from you and having that responsibility to not disappoint each week.

Don’t forget that Leigh and I are recording a special podcast this week to discuss the diet and training and answer any questions that you have about the process. Please send questions with the contact page.

Leigh Peele has put together the nutrition portion of this program and I have constructed the training program. If you haven’t read her book The Fat Loss Troubleshoot, you have no idea what you are missing. Leigh has a no bull shit approach when it comes to this stuff. If you are one of those dieters who has smothered the furnace that is your metabolism, Leigh’s book will do the trick to get that fire stoked.

Now time for the pictures:

First up is Front Flexed with Day 1, Day 21, and Day 28

Now for Side. Again, Day 1, Day 21, and Day 28

Finally Back, Day 1 then Day 28

Phase two began today with Chest/Tris. Yeah, I know, it goes against everything I believe in but I need to address some lagging body parts. Strength can sit on the back burner for a bit.

By: Kevin Larrabee, CSCS

This is another news story that I just had to blog about. It is not funny, it isn’t cool new research about a life saving product or a new way to exercise that causes our body to lose fat faster. It is about a family in the United Kingdom that is mad about the compensation they are getting from the government while being out of work. Why are they out of work? It’s not because they slipped on ice and hurt their backs or because they all have a life threatening disease that keeps them immobile.

They are on disability because they are, “Too Fat to work.” Really? Really? (One more) REALLY?

The Chawners family haven’t worked in 11 years. They, “claim their weight is a hereditary condition and the money they receive is insufficient to live on.” The father of the family even went as far as to say, “What we get barely covers the bills and puts food on the table. It’s not our fault we can’t work. We deserve more. “

When they go into detail about their diet’s this is what they eat because “healthy food” is too expensive, “We have cereal for breakfast, bacon butties for lunch and microwave pies with mashed potato or chips for dinner.”

The last quote from the telegraph.co.uk article that really made me scream bull shit was from one of the daughters that is currently attending college, “I’m a student and don’t have time to exercise” she said “We all want to lose weight to stop the abuse we get in the street, but we don’t know how.”

WHAT.

THE.

F**K.

Really? I have clients that work 50-60 hours a week and still find time to exercise 4-6 hours per week. I went to college and exercised 6-10 hours per week and started this website, the podcast, was a resident assistant, went to multiple seminars around the country and read every book and watched every DVD about fitness that I could. That is not an excuse. If you “can’t find the time to exercise” then I am sorry, but you are just simply lazy.

By: Kevin Larrabee, CSCS

Uh-oh. Looks like Tracy Anderson’s new gym is in some trouble. As we mentioned before, Anderson and actress/clients Gwyneth Paltrow decided to go into the gym business and bring Anderson’s two hours/6-day a week workouts to the public. Well, it looks like things aren’t going so well for the new venture. The Huffington Post reported that the gym is have trouble obtaining members. It seems like the main reason is the price.  The “spy” that contacted the Huffington Post said,

“Membership is like $4,500 to join and then hundreds of dollars a month. Who can afford that right now?”

I could not agree more with this spy (and spies are cool anyways). Here are some more details on the membership’s cost:

“In addition to the monthly dues at the new studio, members must pay an initiation fee of $787.50 for six months or $1,500 for a year.”

Really? Thousands of dollars a year to use some f**king rubber bands and to see three story posters of Tracy’s plastic looking body? No thanks.

I beg all of the women that read this blog and listen to The FitCast. Educate your female friends about the BS that Anderson is spewing, because I can promise you that they have seen her or Paltrow talking about how you need to exercise two hours a day six days a week.

If you haven’t seen how Anderson trains her client’s check out this blog post from a few weeks ago. And to be safe, make sure there is no one around you within shouting distance.

By: Kevin Larrabee, CSCS

Why I Shop at Trader Joe’s

Last week I was reminded by podcast listener and online client Tim that I never wrote that Trader Joe’s Top 5 article that was promised months ago. Well, here it is. I talk about Trader Joe’s on the FitCast, a lot. I do about 80% of my grocery shopping there every week. I recommend all of my clients do the majority of their shopping there as well? Why? Because they have the highest quality organic products around at very competitive prices.

Every time I go to Trader Joe’s there are a few select products that I always seem to be picking up. These range from frozen vegetables, to meat products, to green tea, to eggs and egg whites, to peanut butter, and sometimes the occasional peanut butter filled pretzels. Now without further ado, here is my top 5.

1. 96% Lean Hamburger Patties : I am a huge fan of these 96% lean burgers because they are quick and easy to prepare and they taste great! Trader Joe’s does all of the work for you by packing the meat, separating them, and weighing them to make counting calories even easier. I will eat two of these a day, everyday. Who says you can only eat chick breasts on a low calorie diet? They are also pretty cheap, $4.50 for a 4-pack.

2. 50% Salted Almonds: The 50% salted almonds are the perfect balance for those who need some quick fuel on the run. I haven’t found better tasting almonds since discovering these while in California. I always keep a bag of these in my gym bag for when I need to keep hunger at bay in between clients.They are priced at $4.69

3. Low-Fat Cheese: Who doesn’t like string cheese? Again, this is another great item that is easy to grab on the go for some quick protein.Also the shredded 3 cheese blend works perfectly in your morning omelets.

4. Egg Whites: Again, another purchase to make life easier. These past few weeks I have been eating mostly egg whites for breakfast. having the egg whites all ready separated in a carton makes dieting a little less stressful.

5. Bottled Green Tea: I drink at least one of these a day. Having chilled green tea helps me keep energy up between and while training clients. On my non-training days (no Spike days) I usually have two bottles. One client has recommended mixing the tea with seltzer water as well and squirting in a lemon.

Fresh or Frozen, Local, Seasonal and Organic are best choices.

By: Brian St. Pierre, CSCS, CISSN

This article was one of the most difficult of the series. Only Top 5 vegetables was probably a harder list. There are a ton of really healthy fruits that I just had to cut. Needless to say, there are probably lots of fruits that depending on the day I might switch in with something on this list. On this particular day, this is what I decided.

1. Wild Mixed Berries – (blue, rasp, straw, black, cran, goji, coffee, noni, acai, etc.) Berries as a whole are nutritional powerhouses, and if I separated them they would probably constitute this whole list. They can help joint health, heart health, cancer prevention, macular degeneration along with a host of other benefits from their plethora of antioxidants and phytonutrients. Enjoy them fresh or frozen in all their varieties, preferably organic.

2a. Kiwifruit – Kiwis are an often overlooked fruit, as they almost taste too good to be so healthy! They have twice the vitamin C of oranges, and are one of the most nutrient dense fruits on the planet. They are very high in fiber and potassium for a healthy heart. Kiwis have been shown to not only prevent oxidative DNA damage, but they have been shown to help stimulate repair of the cellular damage that has occurred. The peel is rich in healthy enzymes, just for good measure.

2b. Cherries – Cherries are loaded with antioxidant compounds that are anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and anti-cancer. They contain the wonderful quercetin, an anti-cancer compound. They also contain ellagic acid, like raspberries, a powerful anti-tumor compound that causes cell death (apoptosis)  of cancer cells, with no change to healthy cells. It is also anti-viral and anti-bacterial. One more compound of note  is perillyl alcohol. New research is being done to understand the mechanisms, but it has been shown to inhibit the tumor growth of pancreatic, stomach, colon, skin and liver cancer.

3. Pomegranates – Enjoy either the fresh seeds and pulp, or even indulge in a few ounces of juice everyday as this will help lower blood pressure, improve cardiovascular health, and possibly help slow aging. Pomegranates are also shown to help prevent LDL cholesterol oxidation, help prevent blood clotting, slow the growth of prostate cancer, and improve erectile dysfunction. They also contain potent anti-microbial properties.

4. Grapefruit – Grapefruit contains a good amount of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant shown to help prevent prostate cancer. They also contain limonoids, phytonutrients that inhibit tumor formation. They have also been shown to decrease cholesterol, incidence of kidney stones, and also help the liver remove carcinogens. Grapefruits are also somewhat effective for weight loss, especially if you have metabolic syndrome, as they improve insulin resistance.

5. Red Delicious Apple – This apple has the most antioxidants of any apple, mainly due to its deep red color. Apples, like cherries, contain quercetin, which is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory that may help prevent Alzheimer’s and heart disease. It is also high in pectin, a great soluble shown to help lower LDL cholesterol. Apples are also high in boron, which may help prevent osteoporosis and arthritis.

Wrapping up, your best bet is to just get several servings of fruit per day, whether they are on this list or not. Fruit is nature’s candy, so enjoy.