I love chocolate - Homemade protein Bars!

I love chocolate, I get chocolate cravings every now and then and my cravings aren't usually for dark chocolate, which is healthier, so I sometimes cave into my cravings and get my favourite which is chocolate truffles. Well, I figured out how to satisfy my chocolate cravings in a healthier way...homemade chocolate protein bars! Yep, I have a recipe for chocolate protein bars that I love. The recipe is simple and includes the following: old fashioned rolled oats, cranberry trail mix (I used the one from Trader Joe's that has the almonds, walnuts, pistachios) water, chocolate protein powder (I used ON Whey milk chocolate).

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:
Cranberry trail mix (unsalted)
1.5 cups old fashion rolled oats (toast oats if desired)
3 scoops chocolate protein powder
1/2 cup water

Equipment:
Food processor/chopper
Saran wrap
Square Pan
Bowl












Directions:
Line the bottom of a pan with Saran wrap
Chop the cranberry trail mix in a food processor/chopper (one similar to the one below is ideal). Do not over chop.
Combine the chopped trail mix, oats, and protein powder to the bowl and mix thoroughly with a spoon.
Slowly add the water and mix until the mixture is moist but do not add too much water. If mixture becomes too soggy, feel free to add more oats or trail mix.
Firmly press the mixture into the pan with a spatula. Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours. Cut into bars and voila!

I had to take a few days off from training last week because I wasn't well, but I am back this week and since it's a new month, I started a new training program. Basically it's an old program I had from one of my old trainers and I modified it a bit. I want to increase my pullups so I added some pullups and will be doing negative pullups. This program will be 3 days of strength training and 3 days of cardio intervals. This workout includes 2 days of high reps and 1 day of low reps.

Ab Circle Pro: Does it Work?

As the infomercial states all you need to do is 3 minutes a day on this machine and you will have abs like Jennifer Nicole Lee the fitness model who is promoting this product on QVC.
I found the promotion of this product to be extremely misleading, 3 minutes a day on this piece of equipment is not going to give you abs like Jennifer Nicole Lee. Jennifer had those abs way before this piece of equipment was invented (unless she had it hiding in her basement). Spot reduction is a common exercise myth! The reviews I’ve read about this product are mixed. The most common complaint is that using this machine resulted in sore knees (after all you have to be on your knees to use this machine) and that it breaks easily. Most people stated that they “felt it working” (their muscle I guess) and were sore the next day. This is not unusual since you are now using muscles you may not have used in the past. The Ab Circle Pro does come with a nutritional guide and most people who followed this guide and used the Ab Circle Pro for about 20 minutes a day (not 3 minutes) did start losing weight. Well of course if you start exercising for 20 minutes a day and start a calorie restrictive meal plan you are going to lose weight, duh! But you can probably get the same weight loss results by going for a 20 minute walk (and eating healthily).
I do believe that using the Ab Circle Pro and following the nutritional guide is better than doing nothing (sitting on the couch) but I wouldn’t recommend it anyone. Basically after a while, your body will get used to any exercise program and you stop seeing any improvements or gains. Any new exercise plan works for about 6 weeks then your body just gets used to it. I am not quite sure how the Ab Circle Pro gives you a full body workout? The infomercial demonstrates that you can do pushups on this machine but you can also do pushups on the floor (everyone has a floor)! I think I will be able to purchase a lot more effective workout equipment for $200 + shipping & handling! Sorry, as I mentioned before, there is no quick fixes, magic pills etc, etc.

The Worst Drive-Through Meal in America

THE WORST DRIVE-THROUGH MEAL IN AMERICA
Carl’s Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger with Medium Natural Cut Fries and 32 oz Coke
2,618 calories
144 g fat (51.5 g saturated fat)
2,892 mg sodium

Wow! 2618 calories is much closer a man's daily caloric intake instead of 1 meal.

Should the Surgeon General be Slender?

The headline on the Washington Post magazine read “Should the surgeon general be Slender? President Obama recently appointed Regina Benjamin as the surgeon general and she is fat. Yes, I said the “F” word and don’t want to sugar coat it with one of those other words people often use to describe fat people, such as thick, plump, big boned , voluptuous etc.
What surprises me is that this is even an issue. The question should be “is she qualified”? Shouldn’t we be looking at her resume instead of her waistline? Not hiring a qualified person for a job because they are too fat (thin, black, white, short etc) is considered discrimination! This is not the first time a surgeon general has been over weight and I understand that a slender surgeon general would make a better role model, but would you prefer a less qualified surgeon general who was thin?

According to the surgeon general being fat cost America $117 billion a year in health care costs. Maybe the new surgeon general should lose some weight and help motivate American's to do the same!

Jump Rope Workout

Since I had issues with shin splints last week I am still taking it easy (I think), so instead of doing sprints or running I decided to create a jump rope workout that I can do at home. Jumping rope kicks butt, this workout is tough, my arms are like Jello right now and lifting up a cup of tea is a chore right now. My workout consisted of 2 minutes - jumping rope, 1 minute - bodyweight squats, 1 minute - diagonal wood chops, 2 minutes - jumping rope, 1 minute - squat thruster, 1 minute - standing trunk twists, 1 minute -mountain climbers, 1 minute - pushups and so on. I basically did this workout for 30 minutes. My arms got tired before my legs when I was jumping rope!

Golf Lesson

It's official, I have taken up golf and had my first lesson on Saturday. I think I did okay for my first lesson. I am looking forward to my first game. Craig plays a lot of golf and I told him that I would learn to play, and now it's finally happening. I am really excited. I didn't realize how much flexibility and core strength is needed for golf. I am going to have to incorporate more stability and flexibility exercises in my workouts. I've been surfing the net for golf gear to see what's out there and my only question is why are there so many pink womens golf bags? I am not a pink person and I refuse to purchase a pink golf bag! Pink is for babies!