Here is a protein packed snack from my most recent newsletter that the whole family will love. It’s important to enjoy snacks that are low in carbohydrates and sugar, and high in protein in order to shed body fat and develop healthy muscles. This recipe delivers on all fronts, without sacrificing flavor.
Servings: 1

Here’s what you need…

• 6 oz Greek Yogurt, plain, fat free
• 1 scoop high quality chocolate protein powder
• Sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa powder

1. In a small bowl use a whisk to combine the yogurt and protein powder. Mix until all lumps have disappeared.
2. Garnish with a sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 220 calories, 0g fat, 445mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, and 42g protein.

Hope you enjoy this healthy treat!

For more recipes like this, like us on facebook and sign up for our newsletter! You can also follow us on twitter.

So if you didn’t reach your goals…then figure out what needs to change.  Think about it right now.

Here are a few things I’ve found that are critical for me to be successful long-term with health and fitness:

• Clear Goals
• Results Based Expertise
• Short Efficient Workouts
• Social Support/Accountability
• Group Training
• Variety

So go ahead and set your goals for 2012 now.  Where do you want to be by this time next year?

Don’t make them too easy.  They need to be challenging yet simple and realistic.

Now break them down into quarterly and even monthly goals.  This will help keep you on track along the way.

Goal setting is no good if you don’t have any application.  So what is your first action step? Decide today.

If you could use a little boost or need some help, we launch our next phase of early morning BOOTCAMP on January 2nd and our Saturday BOOTCAMP on January 7th.

It could be a critical step toward reaching your 2012 goals.

Don’t let this just be another year where you keep doing the same stuff and expect different results!

Oh and we’re offering a New Year’s Bootcamp Special for new clients…$75 for your first month! Space is limited so contact us today to reserve your spot!

Welcome friends, to the scariest night of the year.

Ghost and ghouls fill the streets with their bags to capture your souls.  Okay, so maybe not your souls, but definitely your candy. Halloween is a time of year celebrated by hundreds of thousands of people each year.  Each year, it gets bigger and bigger.

Unfortunately for us, when Halloween gets bigger and bigger, so do our waistlines. Halloween is a time of the year where candy is handed out by the handfuls, if not by the bucketfuls. But you do not have to let candy and extra calories ruin your holiday evening.

That’s right!  I mean I know you’re going to have some anyway so here are some tips where you can still enjoy some Halloween and candy and not worry about your waistlines.

Come on in and I will scare you up a seat, and explain what I mean. Most of us who have kids, take them out WALKING house-to-house to hear the magic words ”Trick OR Treat”!  This usually draws gasps from the unsuspecting person opening the door, and fussing over the cuteness or the terrifying costumes. Then they proceed to dump a few pieces of sugary goodness into your child’s bag.

Now like most parents, you are saying to yourself, there is no way my kids are going to eat all that sugar!  My kids for sure would be bouncing off the walls, probably for days on end. All that sugar is not good for a kid or an adult, especially someone who is watching their weight and waistlines.

1) It is a functional movement. The squat movement is a daily part of life.  Every time you sit in a chair or stand back up, you are doing a variation of a squat.  When you get in or out of bed, down on or up off the floor, on or off the toilet, guess what you have to do…squat.  If you’re not able to squat, your mobility in life is very limited.

2) It burns a lot of calories. Caloric burn is the name of the game when it comes to weight loss and getting lean so why not do the exercises that are going to burn the most calories.  The squat is one of those.  You get a lot of ROI with this one (Return on Investment).  We call that “getting a lot of bang for your buck” .

3) It boosts your metabolism. Not only do you burn a lot of calories while doing them, squats have the ability to help you build a lot of muscle.  And the speed of your metabolism is a direct product of the amount of muscle you have.  This means you will burn more calories while you AREN’T working out.  Sounds like a pretty good deal huh?

Most people don’t like doing squats, though, because they aren’t a comfortable exercise to do.  I mean I even have a Love/Hate relationship with them. Love them for all the benefits but I’m not going to lie, they are tough and can cause some serious nausea and soreness when done with some intensity…Check back soon for more on the squat in Part 2.

But, since time is usually an issue for most people, here are 5 of our favorite quick breakfast meals that you can make in a snap:

1) High-Fiber Protein Pancake: Most people think of butter and syrup when they picture a pancake, but this is different. Instead, mix up the following ingredients and cook them the night before so you have this healthy pancake in the morning. Just warm quickly on the stove or toaster oven and top with your favorite nut butter:

Ingredients:
•    1/2 Cup Egg Whites
•    1 scoop Vanilla Prograde Protein powder
•    1/3 Cup dry Old-fashioned Oatmeal
•    1 tsp Ground Flax Seeds
•    1/8 tsp. Baking Powder
•    Sprinkle of Cinnamon
•    Olive Oil cooking spray

Directions:  Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray and place on medium heat to preheat pan.  Meanwhile, combine the egg whites and protein powder in a mixing bowl, stirring with a fork or whisk until well-blended.  Add oatmeal, flax, baking powder and cinnamon and mix vigorously for about a minute.  Check pan’s temperature by dropping a tiny amount of water on it.  If the water bubbles/sizzles immediately, the pan is ready.  Using a large spoon or small ladle, spoon a small amount of the batter into the pan, gently spreading it to a pancake shape if it’s too thick to do this on its own.  Cook on one side until bubbles begin to appear and burst on the top of the batter.  Using a spatula, carefully flip over and cook for roughly the same amount of time. Repeat until batter is gone. Serves 1.

2) Scrambled Eggs with Avocado and Salsa: Scrambled eggs really aren’t that hard or time-consuming to make. People think you have to mix the eggs ahead of time, but you can just quickly stir them a few times while cooking and they’ll become scrambled – Amazing! We like mixing two Omega-3 Eggs with ½ cup Egg Whites and adding Spinach. Then, top with slices of avocado and fresh salsa. It’s a quick breakfast fit for a king (or queen).

3) Whey Protein Smoothie: When you’re in a rush you can make this smoothie the night before, or quickly in the morning. The key thing is to use a single-serve blender unit, like a Magic Bullet, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning a huge, messy blender when you’re done. We like to combine the following: 1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, 1 scoop Prograde Vanilla Protein, 1 Tbsp Ground Flax, 1/3 Cup frozen unsweetened Mixed Berries, ½ Cup raw Spinach (the spinach adds a neat green color to the smoothie, but it still tastes awesome! Try it!), and 1 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter.

4) High-Protein Cereal: Face it, people love cereal because it’s easy to eat and can be healthy. But, most brands are covered with sugar and full of junk. Also, with just milk, it doesn’t really pack much metabolism-boosting protein. So, instead, try this with your normal breakfast bowl: Mix one scoop of Vanilla Prograde Protein with water or milk and pour that over a bowl of your favorite low-sugar breakfast cereal; some of our favorite are Uncle Sam, Bran Flakes (add your own raisins to make it Raisin Bran), Cheerios, Puffed Rice, and Shredded Wheat.

5) Nutty, Berry, Greek Yogurt: Most people think of yogurt as just a snack item, but it can be a great breakfast food too. However, like cereal, some yogurt is really like dessert, instead of a health food. So, skip all that sugar found in most yogurts and try this: Mix 6 ounces of 2% plain organic Greek yogurt with 2 Tbsp of slivered almonds, 1 tsp ground flax seeds and 1/3 cup frozen, thawed, unsweetened berries.

The great thing is this can work in reverse as well. If you start making small changes today, you can get big results over time. Here’s an example: If your weight is steady right now (not losing or gaining) and you were to eat 250 less calories per day and burn an extra 250 through some exercise, you would have a 500 calorie per day calorie deficit. Doesn’t sound like much but at the end of the week, that could add up to be 3500 calories which equals approximately 1 pound of fat and in theory is 4 or so per month and about 50 lbs over the next year. Now this theory doesn’t work out perfectly (other factors are involved) but you get the point. If you get serious about your exercise and nutrition you could see some of this happen and even double those numbers. Add some muscle in there and you’ll burn even more.

So what small changes are you going to make this week that will add up over the next weeks, months, year?  Depending on what those changes are and how consistent you are with them is what kind of results you’ll get.  It’s your choice…

If you are not getting our newsletter, you’ve been missing out.  Each newsletter is packed with fitness tips, healthy recipes, strategies and ideas that you can use to live a better life as well as hear about the latest Body By Buck news. And best of all, it’s FREE.  Some articles that have been included are: the 5 Biggest Fitness Mistakes and the Top 5 Ways to Eat Too Much as well as some great recipes that you’ve probably never heard of or tried.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and sign up and get it delivered automatically to your email twice a month for FREE.  We promise not to waste your time…only good content.  So go ahead…Sign Up Now! http://bodybybuck.com/newsletter/

Get more info about bootcamp here: http://bodybybuck.com/bootcamp.

Most people have no clue about the potential dangers swimming around in their bottle of fish oil capsules. That’s about to change when you read this:

What Your Doctor NEVER Told You About Fish Oil – Special Report

This vital health information is so important they’ve made the “What Your Doctor NEVER Told You About Fish Oil” report completely FREE – for the time being.

It is available for download from their secure servers at this link:

http://bodybybuck.getprograde.com/What-Your-Doctor-NEVER-Told-You-About-Fish-Oil.html

Lunch is definitely one of those meals where people often have the best intentions, but things often go awry. If you don’t prep and pack your lunch in the morning for the day, and instead, rely on your ability to make good decisions when you are starving and faced with multiple opportunities to stray from your usual intake, you are in trouble.

While some people do have an iron will, resist the temptation and make good choices, that is not most of us!  This is where packing your own delicious and healthy lunch can come in and prevent that from ever being an issue in the first place.

Since time is always an issue, here are 5 quick lunch recipes that you can makein 10 minutes or less before you head off to work and take with you.

One quick note is that many of these recipes call for pre-cooked chicken breasts, as this can be a HUGE timesaver. In a large Pyrex dish, cook chicken breasts that have been cut in half (so they are half as thick) or chopped at about 350°F for approximately 20 minutes, or until done.  To retain moisture, cover dish with tin foil.  Season these breasts to taste with sea salt, garlic powder, Montreal chicken seasoning, or anything you like prior to cooking.

1.    Chicken, Pesto & Guacamole Wrap: This is a quick and delicious wrap that is loaded with healthy monounsaturated fats, vegetables, protein, and quality carbs.  You can make this in less than 5 minutes!

Ingredients:
•    1 cooked chicken breast, chopped and seasoned to taste
•    1 sprouted-grain or whole-grain wrap
•    1-2 large handfuls baby spinach
•    1/4 cup chopped cucumbers
•    2 tbsp basil evoo pesto
•    2 tbsp guacamole
•    1 plum or other small piece of fruit

Directions: Evenly spread pesto onto wrap. Lay spinach on top in an even layer.  Then lay down chicken breast on top of spinach.  Spread guacamole on top of chicken breast and toss in diced cucumbers.

Enjoy with carrots and hummus or other produce of choice.  Makes 1 serving for men, and 2 for women.

2.    Spinach, Chicken & Feta Salad: This is a quick and delicious salad that is loaded with protein, vegetables, monounsaturated fats, and blood sugar-controlling vinegar.

Ingredients
•    1 chicken breast, chopped and seasoned to taste
•    2 cups baby spinach
•    ½ cup red onion, chopped
•    1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
•    1 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
•    2 tbsp feta cheese
•    4 large kalamata olives (optional)
•    ¼ cup black beans (optional)

Directions: Mix all ingredients together to make this delicious salad!

For some people, salads don’t seem to hold them over as long as other meals, so adding ¼ cup of black beans can add a small amount of starchy carbs and fiber to keep you fuller, longer. Makes 1 serving.

3.    Tuna Salad Sandwich: Tuna salad is usually made from regular mayonnaise (which is made with low-quality vegetable oils) and higher-mercury tuna.  Making it yourself allows you to use a mayonnaise made from healthier oils and wild-caught tuna that is lower in mercury.  This meal can also be made into a wrap if preferred.

See the other 2 lunch ideas/recipes here…

Also check out the BIG SALE here.