I mentioned the other day in our blog about being in Orlando last week … remember, the trip where I was  almost beat at my own game by Smoothie King?

Well I was down there with a good friend — a superstar in the training world — Brett Klika.  He’s been quickly climbing the ranks in the industry, now regularly speaking around the world, working with top athletes, executives, stay at home moms and dads, and kids alike.

When we were in Orlando, we grabbed a workout one day, had dinner one night, caught up and of course talked shop. 

And he told me this very cool new program he created to stop the fat loss circus with real world solutions, not some hokey pokey quick fix gimmicks. 

One thing we talked about was just how many gimmicks are actually out there.  We’ve both seen our share of hyped up programs, infomercials, and talked with "experts" who feel as if they have the holy grail (or at least can sell you on it). 

As we talked I told him about what I thought was THE most important part of any fat loss puzzle.  In fact I wrote about it a few weeks ago — and it told people to stop thinking!  Then we went back and forth and came up with a few more ways to lose fat permanently and stop the fat loss circus.

Simple.  Yet very effective.

1. Move more.  That doesn’t just mean the right exercise, although that’s crucial — but less sitting and more movement each day is key.
2. Practice the "Push Away Diet" – the one where you push yourself away from the table when you’re satisfied, not stuffed.
3. Avoid liquid calories.
4. Get the majority of your carbs from veggies, some fruits and beans.
5. Do the RIGHT types of exercise.  That doesn’t mean spending hours moving slowly on a human rat wheel (otherwise known as the treadmill where you are moving but go nowhere at all). 

Again.  Not gimmicky, but effective. Brett covers all these and MUCH more in his newest program, which we highly recommend. 

There’s very effective few programs with as much quality content, videos and…awesomeness (is that a word?) like this.  12 week program guaranteed to help you … with videos, journals, and a ton of other useful info.

>> UndergroundWorkoutManual << == highly suggest getting this for incredible results!

I almost lost at my own game.

This is serious, but my mistake can REALLY help you!

I was traveling in Orlando FL for some talks.

I always plan and pack well – mixed nuts, some portable fruit, packets of salmon, etc.  But this trip is a bit different — I knew the setup, where I was speaking, and I’d have some great food at my fingertips whenever I wanted.

So I didn’t plan like I usually do — just some basics.

And it came back to bite me. 

I’m on the way home yesterday and was pretty hungry.  Fortunately it’s a decent size airport with some solid options.  Could always have more mixed nuts, some fresh fruit, or maybe even a smoothie if done right.

You see, when we travel we almost always carry along some packets of BiPro protein — our protein of choice here at the Team Mohr HQ. 

This way you can bring that to most smoothie places, ask them to use that, mix it with water or milk, some fresh or frozen fruit, and you’ve got a great quick meal.

Now, some people working there cooperate — others do not, but we always ask anyhow if we’re in a pinch.

But I didn’t bring the protein this time.

That’s OK, I thought — I’m going to venture into the dangerous waters of the 125 g sugar bombs that are sold at Smoothie King and the others — and figure out a decent option.

So there I am, staring at the menu; studying it like I was in med school preparing for the MCATs.  In fact I was looking so long, trying to decipher the marketing gibberish, that they asked me 3 times if they could help me.

I think they were ultimately sorry they asked.

"I’m checking out the Muscle Punch Smoothie — it says strawberries and bananas.  Is that real fruit or fruit juice or puree?"

"Real fruit for both."

"And do you guys use frozen yogurt as the base, regular yogurt, water or milk?

"Water"   I think we’re getting somewhere.

"So there are no juices, syrups, or anything else outside of what’s listed?"

"Outside of ice, no.  It is a soy protein in there, but we can substitute whey protein for the soy if you prefer that."

"Alright, I’m going to do that one — the small size — and I will substitute the whey for the soy."

I admittedly felt proud for navigating this menu — loaded with marketing hype — as best I could.

I watch him put the water in there.  Excellent.

Then the scoops of bananas and strawberries.  Perfect.

Scoop of protein powder.  Ice.

Then he added a few squirts of something in a container. 

"What is that," I asked?

"Wheat germ oil."  OK.  While I would have preferred actual wheat germ, since I love the flavor, the oil will work.

And then he grabbed two more bottles and added several squirts from each. 

"What are those two things you just added?"  He said "vanilla essence and honey" and mid sentence he added a scoop of something else.

Not even asking what the other scoop of powder was, I said "HONEY?  It doesn’t list honey on the menu. I have a honey allergy, so I’m sorry I can’t have that."

And I left, embarrassed that I was almost beat at my own game – but proud – I fortunately came out on top.

You might be thinking — MOHR, it’s HONEY — it won’t kill you. Lighten up a bit.

And you’d be right — it won’t.  But, first of all, it wasn’t a little teaspoon of honey.  It was a lot more.  And seeing as they didn’t list honey on the label, I also wondered what that powder was.

I got home, logged on to their website, and realized quickly what it was.

TURBINADO (ummm, in other words, MORE SUGAR).

In fact, here it is, cut and copied from their website.  "Strawberries, Bananas, Soy Protein, Non-Fat Milk, Vanilla, Wheat Germ, Nutritional Yeast, Turbinado, Honey"

Interestingly, in the store they listed just strawberries, bananas, protein and wheat germ.

And do you know what the smallest size cup of liquid candy would have given me — 84 grams of carbs, 75 of which ARE SUGAR!!! 

I didn’t want to pay for the shake I wasn’t going to drink, which is why I threw out the food allergy fib … it’s an easy way to always get you off the hook and since this guy already made it, it technically was otherwise mine.

Lessons from this trip:

1. Plan ahead regardless of how well you think you’ll be eating.
2. You’re in complete control of what is offered to you.
3. You can always use the "food allergy" lie if you don’t want to otherwise say no. 

In case you’re wondering, I did get a little bag of mixed nuts from another vendor and called it a day. 

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As we talk and work with more and more people, the more we realize how pushed for time everyone is … of course we know this, being busy parents ourselves who are also running a company.

The difference, though, is we’re comfortable in the kitchen and enjoy cooking.  We love finding new recipes, experimenting with various foods, and now it’s even more fun teaching Ella about all of this. 

We understand we’re a rare breed — few people either A) enjoy cooking and/or B) know where to even start if they were to venture in there.

Today we wanted to share some "must have" foods in your kitchen/pantry at all times.  While we love our favorite smoothie — a little variety in the diet is a good thing. 

So it got us thinking … it’s always good to have a few "real" foods on hand that will work in a pinch.

7 foods to always have stocked in your kitchen.

1. Greek Yogurt:  Why do we like it?  It’s double the protein and half the sugar of "regular" yogurt.  Always good when you’re in a pinch – now you always have a super easy snack on hand if you get the individual containers of Greek yogurt.
2. Nuts:  In our opinion, these are some of the greatest foods.  Ever!  They’re a great source of healthy fats, they’re a decent source of protein, and loaded with antioxidants.  Oh yeah and they don’t need to be refrigerated.  An absolute win win!   Perfect for travel.  Perfect for your desk at work.  And you can simply throw a handful on a salad, in a stir fry, or just eat ‘em as a snack. 
3. Packaged salmon (or tuna):  We prefer the packets over the can because they’re even that much more convenient — no can opener, nothing to drain.  These may not be "your thing" — but hear me out.  They’re not perishable.  They will last in your cabinet for a long time and if you are open to either salmon and/or tuna, they’re a great source of protein and healthy omega-3′s.  Whenever we travel we always have these — let’s face it, eating out all day every day is not the best.
4. Frozen berries:  We like these because they’re non perishable and loaded with nutrition.  These are winners for sure.  Always have them on hand to throw in smoothies, yogurts, or have with oats. 
5. Nut butters (almond, peanut, etc):  These are perfect for a quick meal — spread them on some whole grain bread, or just have with a banana or celery, as a quick snack.  Here’s a favorite meal of ours — 1 cup blueberries, 1 TBS almond butter, a sprinkle of unsweetened coconut.  Enjoy like a bowl of cereal!
6. Black beans.  Natures perfect carbohydrate — super high in fiber and antioxidants, yet also provides a nice amount of protein to boot.  Try mixing a can of the salmon or tuna with 1/2 cup black beans, toss with balsamic vinaigrette, and you’ve got an easy meal that’s ready in minutes. 
7. Jarred tomato sauce.  We’re advocates of throwing together you’re own sauce — it’s quick, easy, and has waaaaay less sodium and sugar.  But this is always great to keep on hand for the times you’re in a really tight pinch … quick, easy, and can help you put together a meal in no time flat.  A quick one for us — pick up a rotisserie chicken, top it with a little jarred sauce, melt some mozzarella on it, and you’ve got the easiest chicken parm you’ve ever eaten!

There you have it — 7 foods to always keep on hand.  Out of that entire list, just 1 needs to be refrigerated!

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Wow, last the blog suggesting "stop thinking" to truly transform your body really peaked the interest of a lot…over 120 "likes" on FB and a handful of comments.  Glad it struck a nerve.

It’s time to bring up another hot topic in the world of nutrition.

How many meals to eat for the BEST results.

There’s a general consensus that eating smaller, more frequent meals is best for fat loss and general health.

You’ll be more full.

You’ll better control your blood sugar.

You’ll better control your hormones.

And, at the end of the day, this means you’ll lose more fat and keep your muscle.

But it is TRULY that simple?  If you eat the same number of calories spread out through multiple meals vs. eating just a few meals/day that magic bullet for fat loss?OK

This question was part of my PhD dissertation … and now more current research has looked at this same thing.

A friend from the University of Missouri — Dr. Heather Leidy — published her research in the journal, Obesity, asking this very question.  And Heather is no stuffy lab scientist who barely knows how to spell the word exercise.  She IS a smart scientist, but feels right at home in the gym training as well.

So let’s quickly look at her publication. 

3 meals.  6 meals.  What’s best?

In this small study of just 27 overweight or obese men, subjects were assigned to "high" protein diets (25% of their calories) or regular protein diets (14% of their total calories).  Then, they were also divided into 3 meals/day (~5 hours apart) or 6 meals per day (2-3 hours apart).

The higher protein group DID report being more full throughout the day, in the evening, and later at night.  This isn’t surprising as there’s no doubt protein is more filing than either carbohydrate or protein. 

But, interestingly, the group randomly assigned to eat just 3 meals per day reported feeling more full than the group eating 6 meals/day. 

Hmmm, this is interesting.  For years and years, lay audiences, magazines, etc have suggested smaller, more frequent meals is the BEST approach.  Now Dr. Leidy’s research suggests otherwise.  Maybe the smaller, more frequent feedings is more than it’s cracked up to be.

What do you think — leave a comment on the blog?  Here are our thoughts…

Mohr Results Bottom Line:  There is actually very little data on this topic as a whole.  Eating smaller, more frequent meals isn’t always feasible for people who are at the office or have less "freedom" throughout the day to make smart food choices.  We do encourage the use of great snacks — like raw nuts and fruit, for example — but the overall diet quality seems to be the biggest issue more so than the frequency of eating as a whole.

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Wow, lots of interest and "FB likes" to our post the other day regarding our blog last week suggesting people "stop thinking" to change body composition.

Here’s another piece to this puzzle.  But it may upset some people.

Ready?  We don’t care what type of nutrition plan you follow …

Paleo Diet, Low fat, Low Carb, Raw foods, etc.

We care that you stick to it.

There’s an acronym we use when sharing this with people:

Follow

One

Course

Until

Successful 

We’re not saying there are not better approaches and worse ones for long term success, so we’re always going to steer people in the right direction — but not traditionally through "diet" changes, and instead more so through behavioral changes that help reach their goals.  For example, replacing a daily serving of chips with a handful of pistachios and a piece of fruit isn’t really a "diet" per se, it’s a simple behavior that will ultimately help with success down the road.

But at the end of the day, ANY program you follow will work … it’s just that most get upset that results aren’t coming as quickly as they hoped, or maybe they get bored with the food choices they are limited to on the particular plan they are trying to follow and as a result, throw their hands up and do nothing. 

We do know if you’re diet is too complex, it will not have staying power.

Which is why we always suggest going back to basics.  This is the purpose of the "7 Word Diet" from Michael Pollan we’ve talked about before.

Eat foods. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Pretty basic, yet easy to remember.

And again, more important than following any "diet" is following the simple behavior tips and strategies that will help with permanent success.  These aren’t rocket science tips and strategies — there is nothing sexy about eating more veggies and fruits, for example — but we don’t need rocket science, we need permanent simple strategies that will help people with long term success.

1. Eat a veggie or fruit with every single meal and snack
2. Replace all liquid calories with non calorie alternatives.
3. Include protein with each meal
4. Replace junk fiber free carbs with high fiber alternatives
5. Eat less of whatever you’re eating

You see.  Not rocket science.  Far from "sexy."  But follow those 5 strategies on a regular basis and you will be successful.

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