In the Kitchen with Wild Will

Almond Coated Chicken Nuggets

Raise your hand if you love Chicken Nuggets!! I love them; honestly I can’t really get enough of them. That great crunch! Makes for an awesome meal or snack, all be it not a very healthy snack or meal.  Chicken Nuggets are typically breaded and then fried filling them with Trans fats and high carbs. That is until now. This week’s recipe is going to take a high fat low, nutrient fried piece of chicken and transform it into a high protein, high nutrient with very little carbohydrate treat that you will just have to share with everyone.

Ingredients

1 pound of chicken (Free range)

1 TBSP Turmeric

1 TBSP Sea Salt

1/2 Cup Almonds

1 TBSP Cayenne Pepper

2 Eggs

½ cup Grape Seed Oil

Directions

In blender or food processor combine almonds, turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper. Once blended place powder on a plate

Fill a frying pan with ½ cup Grape Seed Oil and turn it on high

Chop up the chicken into nuggets

Crack the eggs into a pan and whisk with fork

Take each nugget and dip it in the egg getting it nice and wet

Take the nugget and coat it in the powder. Make sure you coat the whole nugget (more…)

When you awake in the morning, rub your eyes, and put you feet to the floor to start your day, is your initial thought ‘Time to Eat!’ or ‘I’ll find something to eat on the way out the door to work’?  You know the answer your mind and body should be looking for…  Your body slows down its metabolism as a mechanism of defense to conserve energy when it hasn’t consumed food for so many hours; as in a state of famine.  When you wake up and you haven’t eaten anything since your last meal the night before, your body will be in a

Skipping breakfast lowers your metabolism by 5%

catabolic state (in other words breaking down)- thus your body is consuming muscle tissue to get you fueled up as needed to get you up and moving.  While you’re sleeping your body goes through a biochemical process called gluconeogenesis that allows your body to utilize amino acids from your muscle tissue and transport them to your liver where they’re converted to glucose, the only thing your brain can use for energy.  In the process of not eating for all those hours, your body is depleted of these glucose (glycogen) stores and needs to obtain it from elsewhere to keep your brain mainstreamed and operating.  The optimal option is to steal it from your muscles, take the amino acids and convert them to energy.

A recommendation to minimize cannibalization is to consume a healthy serving of protein alongside a whole grain carb with fiber preferably first thing in the morning (or when you awaken).  Skipping breakfast lowers your metabolism by 5% according to Dr. Wayne Callaway, an obesity specialist at George Washington University.  Individuals who skip breakfast are much more likely to binge in the late morning due to starvation and begin to get the “shakes” because of low blood sugar levels.  By the time they eat, their metabolism is even lower than it was when they first woke up.   Portion control goes out the window and they gorge on too many calories which usually leads to high-fat, low nutritious decisions and more weight gain.

Moral is… take time to invest in your first meal of the day as it will launch your mind, body, and metabolism into a fuel burning machine all day long (as long as it’s continually fueled properly).

In good health,

Steve @ Fitastic

In the Kitchen-THE MACROS!

I have been getting a lot of questions regarding the macros (Protein, Fat, and Carb) along with calories for the Chocolate Protein Cake.  Here is the breakdown for.  I have for the macros for either 8 slices or 10 slices. Going forward I will include the macros for all “In the Kitchen” recipes when I post. Thank you all for the awesome response to this new segment within Fitastic. I look forward to bringing you next week’s recipe. Protein Cookies GET EXCITED!  Have a great week everybody!

8 Slices

Calories 206 per slice

Carb 19 grams per slice

Protein 46 grams per slice

Fat 8 grams per slice

10 Slices

Calories 165 per slice

Carb 15 grams per slice

Protein 37 grams per slice

Fat 7 grams per slice

Hope that helps you all out!

~Wild Will (W³)

In the Kitchen with Wild Will

We are starting off BIG BIG BIG!!! For the first ever In the Kitchen with Wild Will we are making

Chocolate Protein Cake with Peanut Butter Whey Frosting.

Ingredients

For the cake

1 Cup Coconut Flour

1 Cup Chocolate Whey Protein

½ Cup Unsweetened Coco

1-1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

¼ Cup Truvia

¾ Cup Plain 0% Fat Greek Yogurt

1 Cup Water

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 Cup Chocolate Almond Milk

Combine all dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Whisk all dry ingredients together.

Combine all liquid ingredients in large mixing bowl. Whisk all liquid ingredients together.

Place all the whisked together dry ingredients into the bowl with the liquid ingredients.I used a kitchen aid to mix all ingredients together. You can also you mixing beaters as well.

Once all the ingredients are perfectly blended together place the mixture into a greased 9×9 cake pan.

Smooth it all out to make sure that the mixture is even so it bakes properly.

Place in cake pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

You will know the cake is done when you can place a knife into the cake and (more…)

Again, the entire point of exercising is to make progress toward YOUR goal.  But most all goals require building some additional lean muscle tissue, whether you realize it or not- the benefits are endless…  Staying on track and picking yourself back up if you fall off is the consistent focus one needs to obtain manageable and sustainable results.  DON’T GET IN YOUR OWN WAY of the results you deserve!

If you missed #1, #2, and #3 of PART ONE, no worries you can catch the goodness here: GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY- Part 1

4. YOU’RE NOT SLEEPING ENOUGH

Sleep is the time when muscle building growth hormone surges in the body.  If you have trouble catching enough Zzzz consider avoiding caffeine and alcohol for as long as 6 hours prior to sleep to improve rest quality.  Shoot for at least 8 hours of sleep each night.  If you’re still tired despite sleeping well, you may have allergies or sleep apnea; consult your physician.

5. YOU WRITE YOUR OWN WORKOUTS

Exercise and working out isn’t rocket science, however it is based on science.  Thinking you know more about training than you do is a conceit that will doom you to years of stagnation, not to mention sure injuries.  Personal Trainers (credible and experienced ones that is) are an amazing resource to assuring proper program structure and exercise technique if the timing is right and you can find the right trainer for you.  But the reality is you don’t need a Personal Trainer to gain serious results- feelfitastic.com is stacked with a 1,000+ exercises and several successfully proven fitness programs from top (more…)

No! Just throw it away! Do it! I’ll know if you didn’t.

Summer Bodies: The Reality

I am sitting on my balcony on this semi-warm day here in Chicago. It reminds that summer is right around the corner, which, of course, is awesome.  I mean, who doesn’t love summer, right? However…it also reminds me that with summer, the gyms, trainers, supplement companies and many other devious foes come out of the woodwork to prey on the naïve and out of shape. In a couple of weeks you will see slogans like “get your summer body here” or “it’s time to get bikini ready” everywhere you go. All the supplement stores like GNC and Vitamin Shoppe will start putting up banners with fitness models holding the latest in thermo genic “technology”. Telling you how they lost 10lbs in 10 days and you can too. Well my friends guess what: IT’S ALL A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT!!!

Building your summer body actually started a few months ago. So if you are just now trying to get in summer shape you’re already behind. But have no fear, if you follow the guidelines I am about to give you, you will be in better shape then you are today and at the very least you will feel comfortable in your swimsuit. Keep in mind for next year: your summer body needs to start building itself before Valentine’s Day not St. Patrick’s Day.

So first things first, let’s start in the kitchen. Go into your pantry, your fridge and your freezer and throw out anything that is not nutrient dense.  Cereal, pop tarts, frozen breakfast foods (ahem, leggo those eggo waffles), boxed pantry foods like Hamburger Helper, anything that was not grown or raised, THROW IT OUT.  You may however keep any frozen veggies and fruits that are flash frozen, throw them out if they were frozen in a mixture of chemicals.  All done? Good.  Now there should be a lot more room to stock up on the following:

• Raw or Frozen leafy greens and fibrous vegetables ( asparagus, spinach, broccoli, green beans)
• Raw or Frozen fruits high in antioxidants (any of the berries, bananas, oranges, apples)
• Complex carbs (Long grain brown rice, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, quinoa, steel cut oatmeal, Ezekiel bread)
•  Hormone free, free range proteins (lean ground beef, chicken, turkey, cod, tilapia, salmon, eggs, egg whites)
• Dairy and Non Dairy fillers (almond milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese).

Notice how most of these items are real; they are not from a box or heavily processed. Your grains may come in boxes, but be sure to look at the ingredients to make sure no bad friends have tagged along for the ride.

With these options you should be able to make a wide variety of meals to keep you satisfied. Be sure to keep checking the Fitastic Nutrition for more recipes with all these different types of healthy, nutrient dense foods.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about exercise. (more…)

March Athlete of the Month

Congratulations to our March Athlete of the Month, Heather Hayes.  As you will soon read Heather is not just another pretty girl in a bikini on stage. She is a strong woman, fierce competitor and an inspiration to us all.

Heather was like most girls her age in her high school and college days.  She was not overly into fitness.  She did just enough to maintain an “ok” shape.   She wasn’t focused on hitting the gym every day or turning down a slice of pizza and a beer when offered.  And, like most girls at that age, she was not very self-confidant; nor did she really feel comfortable in her own skin. She was just your typical, average everyday college girl. But that was never enough for her.

After college Heather admitted to really falling off the wagon when it came to proper nutrition and fitness.  In fact, it wasn’t until January last year that she finally decided to make a change.  Heather went to see a good friend of hers compete in a bikini competition.  She watched her friend on stage and thought, I can do that.  Heather imagined herself on stage in prime physical condition. She had a goal in mind and the drive and determination to attain it, now she just needed to find the accountability.

Heather found that accountability when she joined Team Motiv8nu Elite. Led by the talented friend of Feel Fitastic, Staci Boyer, Heather began her 20 week prep for her debut show.  During those 20 weeks Heather enjoyed the feeling of strength and the changes she saw in her body that resulted from the workouts.  But, like most of us, she struggled with the meal plans.  She did not starve herself by any means, but the transitions were tough.  She found it difficult to switch from fried chicken to grilled chicken, potato chips to spinach, etc.  To Heather, sticking to a solid meal plan was the biggest challenge.  It was a daily battle, both mentally and physically.  There were times when she felt the need to sit down and cry it out, and I can definitely sympathize with that.  Both Heather and Staci knew, however, that giving up was never an option.  Finally, 20 weeks later, it was show time.  Heather took the stage for the first time in Ottawa.  To her surprise, she walked off the stage 1^st in her class and took home the overall. Through hard work, determination, sacrifice and discipline, Heather Hayes was named the best bikini competitor that day.  Next up: The Arnold Classic in February 2014.

And thus, another prep period began.  This time it was not for just any show, this was the Arnold, one of the biggest shows in the United States. If you are an amateur (non-pro) competitor, this is the biggest stage you will step on before you become a pro. This stage can make or break your career. Heather and her Coach Staci knew it and they prepared well for it.

The Arnold happened exactly one week ago. We at Fitastic (me, Wild Will, especially) are so proud to announce that Heather Hayes placed in the top 10 in the first round and then placed 7^th in the final round.  Remember, this is only her (more…)

The Right Choice isn’t always the Easy One

Let’s keep the honest talk from last week going shall we. This week is going to be brief and to the point. After much consideration, honest talk and measurements; Coach Steve and I agreed that it would be best if I pulled out of the May 17^th Kevin Noble show. We are now going to focus our efforts on November.  I am in still in “prep” mode for the 17^th, I’d like to be at show at the Fitastic Booth at or around 8-9% Body Fat. (Rockin a new men’s Fitastic thank top)

A lot of thought went into this decision. After the breakdown of last week I recovered and got my head on straight. I took a long good look in the mirror and asked will I be ready in 11 weeks? Will I be able to step on stage at 100% representing myself, Coach Steve and Fitastic? All of our reputations and business decisions are the online here, am I ready? When I couldn’t give a resounding and confidant YES to these three questions, I knew it was time to call Coach.

In looking back at fall when I did Part 1 and dropped 50lbs in 9 weeks. I realized my life now is 180 degrees opposite from then.  In the fall nothing had changed, all was normal at Life Time, all was normal at home. Life was pretty much the status quo nothing to throw me off my game or pull my focus. However this winter when I started prep I had just left my career with Life Time. I became a business owner, I got a (more…)