As I prepare for my upcoming photo shoots, I am constantly searching for new ways to help me in my fight against hunger. Dropping body fat and cutting weight is not easy, especially when you wait till the last minute like I tend to do. Crash course diets will only leave you rebounding and gaining weight back immediately after you go back to normal life. I have compiled a list of 10 of my favorite items that I have stumbled upon in my quest to stay shredded.
10. Raw Fiber (Garden of Life) – 1 scoop added to your oatmeal in the morning and another scoop at night will CLEAN YOU OUT! Be careful when first starting this supplement. You have been warned! I would recommend starting with ¼ scoop at first so you don’t have to abruptly excuse yourself from morning appointments. LOL
9. Cucumbers – These have a natural appetite suppressor in them plus the cool vegetables are a great tasting snack with a little salt and pepper.
8. Amino-X – This is my favorite amino acid supplement, which adds some great flavor to the large amounts of water you should be drinking to keep full and stay hydrated during your cardio sessions. Aminos keep you in an anabolic state to preserve muscle mass and when taken before meals promote protein synthesis.
7. Sugar-Free Jell-O – This was my secret weapon during my prep for the 2013 Southern States competition. The gelatin was filling and tasted great! The version I found at Publix only had a few calories in each cup so I was eating 3-4 at a time.
6. Celery – I’m not sure if this stuff really has negative calories like it’s rumored to have due to the chewing, but it does take some work to chomp the stalks down and the fiber is good for you. I try to keep plenty in my fridge for when I just can’t seem to curb my appetite. I’ll allow myself to eat as much as I can. Just don’t add peanut butter! In fact, don’t even buy that stuff. It’s way too dangerous to have around!
5. Whole Foods Fish at the hot bar – Last year I spent so much money and time buying and preparing tilapia and cod it started to get ridiculous. I was so happy to discover that Whole Foods usually has at least one white fish dish that I could count on to be healthy at their hot bar. The best part is at $8.99 / lb I was getting a great tasting prepared dish at the same price I was paying for raw fish. This was a no brainer since I hate cooking fish and my dishes never seem to taste as good.
4. MCT Oil – My prep coach Dexter Jackson introduced me to this. When you are cutting carbs, and adding in extra fat to take the place of the missing calories, this is the best stuff you can get. It will actually trick your body into burning more fat as fuel and that’s a very good thing!
3. Frozen cherries – First, cherries are very low on the glycemic index so they won’t spike your insulin like other fruits. Second, they have pits, which require you to slow down your eating so you don’t choke. Lastly, when they are frozen, you are forced to slow down your eating even more. WIN, WIN, WIN!
2. Walden Farms condiments – This company makes ZERO-CALORIE chocolate syrup! Enough said! LOL. They also make some pretty good zero-calorie salad dressings. My favorite is the chipotle ranch. I add that to shredded chicken with my low carb wraps and make some pretty tasty tacos!
1. Syntha 6 / Egg White / Oatmeal – This is my breakfast almost every single day since it is so quick and easy to make and tastes so damn good. I mix BSN Syntha 6 protein powder in with my oats and some water and microwave for one minute. Then I stir in some egg whites and even powdered greens and that fiber I mentioned before and microwave for two more minutes, stirring halfway through. The Vanilla Cake Batter tastes amazing and the whole thing is very filling. It may look disgusting (especially with the greens added) but try it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how good and healthy it is!
BONUS – Nature’s Way AQUA SLENDER hunger control drink mix – I haven’t had enough time with this to really test it, but I picked some up at the grocery store today and it seems promising. At $10 it might be worth a shot.
TECH BONUS – POLAR LOOP
There you go! My 10 tips for staying shredded year round!
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