If you look at how most grocery stores are set up, 90% of what’s healthy and good for you is located on the outer perimeter: fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy.

That is why, when you shop, you should stick on the perimeter and shop the outer aisles by filling your trolley with all these healthy foods. Try to stay away from the inner aisles as much as possible. The inner aisles are generally where all the processed foods, snacks, and sweets are and once you are there, most people cannot resist! So, make sure your trip into the inner aisles is a quick one! Get in and out with just what you went in there for…

There are 2 additional guidelines I like to follow when grocery shopping to keep me on track:

1. Try not to shop when you are hungry as when you are hungry, you will be much more likely to make unhealthy choices
2. Always shop with a shopping list. And stick to it!! This will help ensure you stick with the healthy eating plan and shop within your budget

Healthy eating starts in the grocery store. The reason I say this is because if unhealthy food is in your cupboards or fridge, you are going to eat it at some time. So, if it doesn’t end up in your shopping trolley or basket then it won’t ever end up in your cupboards or fridge. So, follow the simple guidelines of:

• Don’t shop when you’re hungry
• Always have a shopping list and stick to it, and
• Shop the outer aisles

Let me know any other shopping tips you use to stay on track with your eating plan by leaving me a comment below…

• Great quality protein
• Fibrous carbohydrates
• And healthy fats

And is perfect to help you get the results that you deserve. So, here is what you need in terms of ingredients:

• Chicken breasts (1 or 2)
• Salad (spinach, tomatoes, red onion, green pepper)
• Cottage cheese (low fat)
• Avocado
• Rice paper

Preparation:

You can either steam or grill the chicken. While you are waiting for the chicken, you can chop up some red onion, green peppers, spinach and tomatoes.

Now prepare your sauce by scooping out some avocado into a bowl and mash it up. Add the low fat cottage cheese and mix it all together.

Instead of using a regular wrap, this is where the rice paper comes in…Fill a frying pan with about 1cm of water and allow the rice paper to soak in it for about 2 minutes. This enables the rice paper to become nice and pliable so you can use it to wrap your chicken and salad in. Take the rice paper out the pan and place it on a plate.

Once ready, cut the chicken into smaller pieces and put them on the rice paper. Add the salad, avocado and cottage cheese. Now, roll up and fold the rice paper around your salad and chicken to keep it all together.
All in all a great healthy chicken and salad wrap to help you on your health and fitness journey that is great for a snack or have 2 or 3 of them for a full meal.

So, Fitness Boot Camp & Boot Camp To Go have combined forces to bring you the “Holiday Survival Guide” to help you maintain your weight or lose weight and body fat during the holiday season…

Here is what I have for you:

• Express exercise workouts – 4 minute workouts for when you just do not have time to exercise
• Nutrition Checklist – to help you stay on track with your eating and also be able to enjoy some treats too!
• Exercise Checklist – to help you ensure that you get some exercise in during the busy holiday season
• Workout Music – to help automate your exercise workout so you do not even have to think. You just press play, listen and workout

Just right click on the link below to download the resources:

The Official Holiday Survival Guide

(You will need to “unzip” the folder once downloaded. If you do not have software to do this, you can download “7-zip” which is FREE open source zip software by following the link alongside: http://www.7-zip.org/ )

Before we get into this week’s exercise workouts and eating tips, a quick recap of what we did last week for those of you who need it. I chatted about how processed carbohydrates & sugar have a way of creeping into our diets – white bread, pasta, pies, chips, biscuits, sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks. These are all “convenience foods” and our homework was to reduce these in our eating and to drink more water.

Now, let’s get into this week’s focus:

Make sure you perform your weekly measurements to track your progress as you get into the last week of the programme. Get on that scale, use a tape measure or try on some clothes to establish how you are progressing. Please be sure to post a comment on the blog to let me know how you are doing!

In terms of our nutrition focus for this week, repeat week 3 by focussing once again on eating good quality protein at each food meal. Protein helps make you feel full and increases your metabolism.

In terms of knowing what good quality sources of protein to eat, just remember this little quote:

“If it had a face or a mother, ran, flew or swam at some stage in its life, then it is a good quality source of protein”.

So, eggs didn’t ever have a face (they didn’t quite make it), but they did have a mother! So, eggs are a great source of protein. So, are lean beef, chicken and fish as they all ran, flew or swam at some stage in their life.

So, remember that: “If it had a face or a mother, ran, flew or swam at some stage in its life, then it is a good quality source of protein”.

In our exercise focus, we are once again going to focus on the metabolic resistance and interval training workouts to build lean muscle, burn more body fat and maximise your metabolism.

So, your exercise homework for this week is to perform 4 – 5 exercise workouts and eat good quality protein at each meal.

Thank you for all those people who are interacting with me via email and the blog. If this is the first time you are hearing about this programme, then don’t worry as you can still join us to get a firmer, flatter tummy by going to:

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

Next week we have a special feature on the “Holiday fitness and fat loss survival guide”…

Be sure to check back here and discover how you can start the new year fitter and leaner…If you listen next week on CCFM radio (15h40 – 15h55 on 107.5 FM (you can also listen live online here) then you will even get to hear a little from Liam, my 7 year old son, on how he plans to help keep his parents fit during the holidays…

Leave me your comments below…

Before we get into this week’s exercise workouts and eating tips, a quick recap of what we did last week for those of you who need it:

• I chatted about how you need to focus on eating protein at each and every food meal as this will help you:

• • Increase your metabolism
  • Build lean muscle
  • Burn more body fat
  • more on this in the bootcamptogo member area

Now, let’s get into this week’s focus.

Because we are halfway through the programme, you need to take some more measurements. So, get on the scale, use that tape measure or try on some clothes to see if they fit better. You need to know how you are progressing.

NUTRITION:

In terms of our nutrition focus for this week, we are going to go back to week 1 and repeat what we did there. So, that means you need to keep a nutrition diary because this will help you eat healthier and make better choices. And it allows you to check up on how your eating right now has changed compared to when you started this programme.

I also want you to focus on eating more fruit and vegetables – especially vegetables and aim for 4 – 5 portions of vegetables each and every day.

EXERCISE

In our exercise focus, we are once again going to focus on metabolic resistance and interval training workouts to maximise your metabolism. These types of training have been proven to be up to 9 times more effective at helping you lose weight, burn body fat and improve your fitness.

IN SUMMARY:

So, this week you need to focus on once again eating more fruit and vegetables. And track your progress with your nutrition diary.

I have also added a whole set of brand new exercise workouts for the next 3 weeks of the programme to ensure that your results don’t plateau and you keep revving up your metabolism and sculpting a firmer, flatter tummy.

HOMEWORK:

So, your homework for this week is to perform 4 – 5 exercise workouts and eat more vegetables. Don’t forget to let me know how you are doing on the programme, by leaving some comments in the member area at bootcamptogo

Thank you for all those people who are interacting with me via email and in the member area.

However, if this is the first time you are hearing about this programme, then don’t worry as you can still join us absolutely FREE to get a firmer, flatter tummy by going here

Leave me your thoughts or comments below…

Before we get into this week’s exercise workouts and eating tips, a quick recap of what we did last week for those of you who need it. I chatted about how most people eat way too many processed carbohydrates & sugar – white bread, pasta, pies, chips, biscuits, sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks.

And our homework was to reduce these in our eating and to drink more water.

Week 3 Focus

Now, let’s get into our nutrition focus for this week. You need to eat protein at each food meal. “Okay” you say, that sounds easy enough. “But, what is a protein?”

Proteins are what the experts call “Macronutrients”. There are three other food sources categorised as macronutrients. They are: Carbohydrates, Fats and Water. We need to include a balanced amount of these macronutrients in our diets in order to survive.

Excluding any one group of these, will lead to problems. But, protein has the added benefit of making us feel fuller and increasing our metabolism.

Now, if my earlier explanation of what a protein is didn’t help you much, then this one definitely will. Just remember this little quote and you will always know what I consider to be a good source of protein:

“If it had a face or a mother, ran, flew or swam at some stage in its life, then it is a good quality source of protein”. So, eggs didn’t ever have a face (they didn’t quite make it), but they did have a mother! So, eggs are a great source of protein. So, are lean beef, chicken and fish as they all ran, flew or swam at some stage in their life.

So, remember that: “If it had a face or a mother, ran, flew or swam at some stage in its life, then it is a good quality source of protein”. And, this week you need to focus on eating protein at each and every food meal.

I have also added an extra metabolic resistance training workout for those of you who would like to perform 3 of these this week and then your 2 interval training workouts, taking your total to 5 workouts. If however, 4 workouts is enough for you and you are getting the results you want, then continue with the same 2 metabolic resistance training workouts and 2 interval training workouts you did last week.

Homework:

Here is the summary of your homework:

• Perform 4 – 5 exercise workouts
• Eat good quality protein at each meal

That’s all for this week, so get exercising and eating better and I look forward to us continuing our exciting journey next week where I will be bringing you more of the best exercises and nutrition tips to ensure you have a firmer, flatter tummy in a few weeks…

If you would like to sign up for the “6 weeks to a firmer, flatter tummy programme” (it’s FREE) then click on the link below:

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

If you are part of our journey, THANK YOU so much!! And, if you would like to join us then please visit the webpage below and register now

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

Today we are taking  our nutrition to the next level by focusing on 2 things that have the ability to help you burn more fat and get leaner. We are also adding an Interval training workout routine that will ensure you are burning fat even when you are resting.

Come and see what I am talking about as I would hate you to miss out on this great programme. Join us…it’s absolutely FREE and all your resources are available to download in your private member area.

• exercise workouts
• nutrition tips and strategies
• workout music to automate your exercise routines

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

• Exercise workouts to firm your tummy (in fact they are going to tone, firm and strengthen your whole body…not just those abs)
• Workout Music to help automate your workouts (so you know exactly what to do and when to do it)
• Nutrition tips & strategies (to help you burn body fat)
• And the best thing is that it is all FREE

Just visit the link below:

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

Leave your comments below…

Now, before we start on our exercise or nutrition plan, you need to know exactly what is required to getting a firmer, flatter tummy. And, there are 2 parts to getting these results:

1). You need to exercise your abs so that they look really good (more toned, firmer and better defined). And there are certain exercises that work a lot better than others…so forget all about sit-ups and crunches (none of those are in this programme)

2). You need to lose some body fat around your tummy area so that you will be able to better see those firmer, more defined abs that you are sculpting. And for this you will need the right exercise and the right nutrition (more on this next week)…

How will this programme work?

I will upload weekly exercise workouts and eating tips for you to follow. But, before we start our exercise and eating plan, I need you to do 2 things for me:

1). Firstly, you must stop and reflect on exactly what it is you want to achieve over the next 6 weeks. You need to set some goals. People who pause to set some goals before embarking on their exercise or diet always get better results. And we want to ensure that you do too. Below is a “goal tracker” worksheet for you to download:

Goal Tracker Worksheet (just right click and choose “save as”)

2). Secondly, you need to take some measurements to establish where you are right now, so that it is easy for you to track your progress. There are a number of things you can track such as weight, centimetres, body fat, clothes size, energy levels and a few more. For this we have a measurement tracker for you. Download it below:

Measurement Tracker Worksheet

Some Homework:

Each week I will have some homework for you to do. This week’s homework is all about getting ready and involves you performing your goal setting and measurements. Do NOT skip this important step.
If you are so excited to get going after setting your goals and you want to start right now, then leave me a comment on the blog so that I can send you the “early bird” exercise programme.

Remember to leave me your comments below. This way I can keep you updated via email on the “How to Get a Firmer, Flatter Tummy in 6 Weeks” programme so that you do not miss out on anything…

I last wrote a blog on this exact topic back in July 2009. And, nothing has changed since that blog post.

So, you still cannot “out-exercise” nutrition. Or put another way, you can very easily “out-eat” exercise!!

Two of my colleagues, Craig Ballentyne (of Turbulence Training fame) and Brad Pilon (Eat Stop Eat) put together an awesome contest on video that proved this point very well.

Craig jumped on the treadmill at 17.5km/hour (or 11miles/hour) which is faster than most people will ever go!!

Brad picked up his pizza and favourite “fizzy drink” and the race was on!!

Brad was off to a fast start and it was clearly apparent he was not going to waste any time getting stuck into his pizza. Craig got a great start and was speeding away on the treadmill.

After just 3 minutes, Brad had consumed between 800-1000 calories (pizza and fizzy drink). Craig had used up about 43 calories in the same time!!

I think the winner is pretty obvious.

When it comes to fitness and fat loss, you have to address your nutrition and eat right!! But, don’t stop there…make sure you have an exercise programme and eating plan that support each other and get you the results you deserve.

Just remember, that you cannot out-exercise poor nutrition. Here is a short version of the video:

If you want to see a few more videos in this series, then pop on over to youtube and type in “diet versus exercise, turbulence training”.