7 Skinny Rules from Biggest Loser's Trainer Bob Harper's Book: Skinny Rules

One of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday is cozied up in a Chapters with a big giant pile of books. I just love reading, learning and the endless number of amazing, interesting ideas there are out there.

I picked up Bob Harper's book, Skinny Rules, last weekend and not only could I not put it down, but I was just going bananas with my highlighter. While the tips are habits I'd already built a few years ago, the value I found in this book was that it is such a great guide for someone who is just looking for a clear, detailed place to start.

1. "End the day with preparation for a good start to the next: put a large, full glass of water on your bedstand every night and drink it when you wake up, every morning." 

How much of a babe is this guy,
I mean really??!
 Source: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images North America 

-- LOVE this! We sweat while we sleep and of course, that leads to slight dehydration. When you wake up in the morning, your body is just screaming for a big juicy glass of H20 and downing a full litre first thing in the AM will set your bod on "smooth sailing" mode for the rest of the day.

2. "Net carbs are, in short, digestible carbs - the carbs that cause weight gain. The figure is arrived at by subtracting grams of fibre from total grams of carbohydrate. A piece of whole-wheat bread might weigh in at 25 grams of carbs, but when you take out the 10 grams of fibre, you've got 15 net carbs. I'll take fewer carbs any way I can get them." 

3. "Just how much protein is enough? ... If you're 200 pounds, try to get at least 100 grams. I'm not saying it's 100 percent scientific, but more and more research shows that consumption of a high-protein diet with reduced high-carb foods results in better weight control metabolism. I'm saying it works. For me. For my clients, my contestants, and for you." 
While it will vary for each individual, I personally aim for around 125 grams per day with my clients, but I think as a starting point, 100 grams per day is a fantastic goal.

4. "Eat 30 to 50 grams of fibre a day. ...Eating fibre in the amounts I'm advocating is looking more and more promising as a way to prevent type 2 (diabetes). And I am talking fibre from food, not from supplements."
I used to work with a guy who was overweight, and would always go on about how "I start my diet Monday. Yup, just this one more Wendy's meal then I'm goin' hard. I did an hour of running on my treadmill last night." He would talk a lot about how he had so much trouble going to the washroom but would down a glass of Metamucil and "how much better he would feel."  Ya, Metamucil does not work the same way as eating a diet high in naturally-occuring fibre. Don't be like that guy. :-)

5. "We are, as humans, hardwired to seek sweetness. It is a powerful, deeply rooted inclination. We even have specialized taste buds for it on our tongue. Think about it: in evolutionary terms, sweetness, as in berries and wild fruits, signalled something that was safe and edible and high in energy - what cavement and -women needed to run all day. We don't need to run all day. That's why I want you to get away from all added sweeteners." 

6. "For many modern eaters, it's hard to imagine a time when fast foods... were a rare treat, but they were. ... But that is how it was - fast-food scarcity! - until three things happened: 

(1.) The government encouraged overplanting of crops like corn and soy (to sell to global markets). 
(2.) Food companies used low-priced corn to make less expensive sugars, allowing them to sell supersized portions cheaply.
(3.) A new-style American family emerged, with two parents working and no time to cook."
Think: High Fructose Corn Syrup, soy based protein bars, I challenge you to go check any box of cereal in your pantry and count how many of the ingredients are corn-based.

7. "Harper's Way is not easy. I told you that when we started. The old easy way got you here! If you want to change your life, and not just your lifestyle, you've got to do things differently. Or say fat. Period." 
Yes, yes, yes! Amen, Bobby!!!

All of these excerpts have been taken directly from Bob Harper's Skinny Rules and truly only give you a teeny tiny taste of all the awesomeness he's wrangled together in this read. His book, along with a million other tools, are available on his website http://www.mytrainerbob.com/. 

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a very easy to understand manual for how to make small changes in your daily life that will lead you to BIG results with your energy levels, your self esteem, your body size and shape, and your health! And really... what a fantastic Christmas present! How awesome is it to be able to give someone a gift that really means something this Holiday season - something that could be that tool they have been looking for, that really just flicks the switch inside of them - and allows them to find their greatness?

Dare ya to try it, I can definitely say it's one of the most empowering and awesome feelings I've ever found!

Tonight's inspiration is absolutely one of my favorite all time quotes ever to be found. You know that feeling you get when you see fireworks? It kinda makes me feel like that, but in my heart. Love this.

"It's never too late to be what you could have been." - George Eliot

Yours in strength and stretchiness,

- Brooke

xox

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Keeping it Clean + Lean: The Starbucks Strategy (Part 1)

Now, while I definitely do recommend that in search of finding that balanced, happy, healthy life, there are certain habits that will have to go out the window; but I also feel that there are some that are non-negotiables. And Starbucks is one of them - for me anyways! Ha ha :-)

Today, I share a few of my tips + tricks for keeping my Starbucks trips in check! Enjoy :-)

Rule #1 - A Single Indulgence is Still An Indulgence
We have all heard that moderation is key - but what does that really mean on a day-by-day basis? One of the rules I've found that really works in the long term is that it's fine to enjoy life and indulge a little - but I like to keep it so a "Single Indulgence" instead of a "Double"!

What this means is that if I am going to treat myself, I choose either a drink or a 'pastry' as an indulgence - never both. 

If I can't stop dreaming about Gingerbread Lattes  (Mmmmmm) I recognize that the sugary-sweet coffee is my treat - and save the goodies from the 'snack bar' for another time. (I am getting my sugar + calories from my coffee, and minimizing/eliminating extra calories from food).

If instead, I decide that to treat myself to piece of my fav Reduced-Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, I'll order just a normal brewed coffee with just a splash of soy milk + honey. (I am getting my sugar + calories from the banana cake, and minimizing the sugar/calories in my drink).

Rule #2 - Say No to Portion Distortion 
During my Business Degree, I got to spend a semester studying and living in Copenhagen and my gosh, I've got to say - what an eye-opener! It's funny, but I never truly realized how incredibly super-sized the whole world of North American food really is until I got to see how other people in the world live. Other beautiful, fit, trim, active, healthy people, that is... ha! (I'm not joking - everyone in Scandinavia looks like a walking supermodel and when you peek inside homes they really do look like a page from an Ikea magazine ha ha :))

So what's their secret?? Their portion sizes aren't distorted like ours! Denmark's "jumbo" sized coffee is the size of our Grande (medium)! Venti cups literally don't exist. I'm pretty sure if you showed a Dane the container that 7-11's "Big Gulp" comes in, they'd think they were on an episode of Punk'd.

My solution to our problem of "Portion Distortion" is simple - Starbucks' Venti, Second Cup's large and Tim Hortons' Large & Extra Large sizes, do not exist.  They are not even an option.

To really make this make sense - keep in mind that the average stomach is the size of a clenched fist -- doesn't it seem a like a bit of overkill to consume something that is about 2-3x that volume? I mean, really? If we actually take a moment to think about this, do we really need a LITRE of coffee?  Or do we just order that size because we have created a habit that we are so used to, we don't even think twice about it?

This brings me back to a point I have brought up many times before. When I talk about sustained weight loss - dropping the pounds and inches you want to drop - then actually keeping them off, it really is about re-inventing your set of "eating rules" and replacing unhealthy, destructive habits with happy, healthy ones.

By making the choice to remove the "Venti" size from your mind, you are creating a new way of thinking and I promise you, this truly is one of the secrets to a long, happy, healthy life!

Rule #3 - Your New Favorite Word: Mod
"Mod" is the hospitality industry's lingo for "to modify" - or to request a few changes to the menu item you're ordering. In general, the way I look at it is how can I cut calories, sugar and fat from my favorite drinks without having to doom myself to very sad life of never ever tasting another Gingerbread Latte? (ha! Can you tell I've got a weakness for GBL's? lol)

You've probably heard of the whole "half-sweet" idea before - and this one is GREAT! Ordering your latte "half-sweet" means that instead of putting 4 pumps of Gingerbread syrup into your Grande, they only put 2. Yes, it will taste a little different at first, especially if you are used to the 4 pumps, but back to my earlier point - to be successful with health and fitness in the long term we must be willing to change some of our habits and find a way to enjoy our new way of thinking. For example, try telling yourself the Half-Sweet Gingerbread Latte tastes better than the full-sweet version, and focusing on how sneaky you are for cutting all those extra calories and sugar from your diet - and trust me - before you know it, you won't even be able to taste the difference!

Another great little option that I love is the Americano Misto. I like to call this one my secret little weapon. This one's a great little replacement for a Cafe Latte - the only difference is it replaces 1/2 of the milk with water - saving you half the calories and carbs. (Awesome.)

And in closing, of course, my wise words for the day: 

“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)"  - Dr. Seuss 

Yours in strength and stretchiness,

- Brooke
xoxo