Crossfit: Making better waitresses since 2005.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with eating one main meal each day.

So I don’t eat all day and then I have one massive feast beginning at 8pm each night.

By the time 8pm rolls around… I’m pretty freakin’ hungry.

So when the clock strikes 8pm…. here’s what happens.

Either:

A)  I immediately start stuffing my face with pop-tarts, cookies and a bunch of other unhealthy options.

Or

B) I calmly start cooking a healthy meal based around meat, protein and vegetables.  No matter how long it takes to prepare the meal, I am completely relaxed and content.

Option A sounds pretty typical, right?  But option B sounds like a proven formula for losing weight.

Luckily, I have a simple trick I use that makes more of my days look like option B.

I use alcohol.

Yup.  I’ve found that when the clock strikes 8pm, if I reward myself with a nice glass of red wine or a nice craft beer… it almost instantly “knocks down” the hunger pangs and allows me to calmly and casually prepare a healthy meal without feeling like I’m starving or suffering.

I don’t do this every night (I train at night, so obviously this strategy is only for my “off” days.)

Of course, most fitness experts and personal trainers will tell you to avoid alcohol if you want to lose weight.  And in theory, they are correct.  But in the real world, I’ve found that alcohol can be a useful tool for achieving your fitness goals.

The keys, of course, are moderation — both with your alcohol consumption and your food consumption.  This plan would not work nearly as well if I was eating all day long and then adding alcohol on top of my food intake.  It works because the alcohol allows me to restrict my caloric intake without suffering.

A large protein shake consumed right at 8pm would probably work just as well (maybe better).   But it’s nice to be able to enjoy something that most fitness gurus consider “off-limits” and still achieve my goals.  I get a lot of emails from people who feel that beer or wine is one of things holding them back from getting a great body.  Most of them feel they’ll never get achieve their goals until they completely cut-out alcohol.

So the purpose of this post is to show you a way that you can have your beer and your abs too.   Want more unconventional fitness tips?  Grab my book.

Does testosterone drop as you age? Conventional wisdom says “yes.” Others beg to differ.

It’s been quoted so many times that it’s now considered gospel.

Researchers have known for years that testosterone levels typically drop by about 1% in men every year after age 30.

For years, I accepted this statement as fact. Simply because I’d heard it repeated so many times, I never thought to question the conventional wisdom.

Then one day, I did something stupid:  I questioned the conventional wisdom. And what I uncovered surprised me. [Read more…]

Or maybe don’t?

Everybody knows fiber is good for you right? After all, fiber prevents colon cancer.  Fiber reduces blood sugar. Fiber lowers cholesterol and improves heart health.

There’s just one teensy-weeny problem:

None of that stuff is actually true. 

In this article, I’ll break down the long-standing myths about fiber and reveal why fiber may not be the superfood we’ve all been led to believe.

[Read more…]

Wrong.

Sorry Cartman.

But it appears there’s little truth to the idea that a person can be overweight due to “big bones.”  To investigate the big-boned theory, I made an appointment at the Eastern Michigan University Office of Nutrition Services.

Using a DEXA scan (Dual Energy Xray Absorptiometry) I would learn exactly how much of my total bodyweight was fat, lean mass and bone.

[Read more…]