Is it just me or does the notion of eating cloned meat make you never want to eat meat again, and I love meat...I may be the most carniverous person that I know. On the other hand, I buy my food from the meat section of the grocery store, and as long as my steak looks like a steak and tastes like a steak...what do I care where it came from...well I do.

Here's the thing. What good does cloned meat serve? It's got to be cheaper to get two cows to just get it on than to clone the cow. This feels like science for the sake of science. I don't know how I feel about my food being raised in a test tube.

In the past I wasn't all too concerned about this sort of thing, but considering how much meat, chicken, and fish; I think that I want my food raised "old-school". All of this genetic modification could wreak havoc on anyone who adopts the "Clean Eating" lifestyle where animal protein is a huge component.

Here’s a list of what some are calling the 29 Healthiest Foods on Earth. How many of these do you incoprorate in your diet on a daily basis? I’ve tried or regularly eat a number of these foods except for Quinoa, which has been getting a lot of press lately. Quinoa is gluten–free, high in fiber, has a good amino acid profile (It’s a decent source of protein), and it’s a complex carbohydrate, which are great for preventing insulin levels from spiking which leads to storage of fat. With the New Year coming around the corner, a good goal would be to start incorporating these into your dietary habits. I'm going to have to come up with my own list, since I think there are a few things missing...like boneless, skinless chicken breast.

When Nik and I talk about Sweat Training or the fact that we compete the first question that we always get is "How can I lose weight?" So, I thought I would address this question. What I tell everyone is motivation, planning, healthy eating, lifting, and cardio. It's not one of those things it's all of those things in combination and that's how you lose weight.

Motivation is something that you have to find for yourself, and for everyone it is different. For Nik and I our motivation comes from many areas: competing, long term health, our desire for knowledge about health and fitness, and much much more. Ultimately your desire to be Fit has to outweigh your desire to eat bad foods and be inactive. Motivation is what gets us started and keeps us going when we have challenging days or weeks.

Planning is what helps you change and make new habits. As einstein said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. You can't lose weight unless you make a plan for your diet, cardio, and lifting and stick to the plan consitently. Some people comment that it is too much of a commitment to make a plan for all of that. When you think about it you make a plan for everything in your life work, family, money, friends, etc. Anything that you want to have happen you make a plan for and you work towards it, and your fitness and health is no different.

There is no end to the road of health and fitness it is one of the most challenging things to work to maintain your healthy lifestyle, but it is also one of the most rewarding and satisfying things you can do.

There was an article in Oxygen Magazine's Clean Eating Winter 2007 issue comparing sugar, saturated fat, and trans fat to germs. I thought it was an interesting concept. The gist of the comparison is that we spend so much time sanatizing and cleaning everything around us to avoid germs, but we don't think twice to shovel pizza, cakes, candy, sodas, and burgers into our mouths.

Foods like these really are germs for our bodies that have negative effects on the way our bodies look and function. We know that we shouldn't indulge in all these tasty foods, but we do and then after we want to take a magic pill or do a week long fad diet to reverse the effects. If it were only that simple. The magic pill is to have the knowledge to make the right decision and then CHOOSE not to put these types of foods in our bodies.

I think this article makes a great comparison, and it gave some information so that you can become more knowledgable and make better choices. Listed below is the most important information from the article so that you can identify these types of foods, know thier effects, and hopefully change the way that you view them.

Food's with Sugar:
Sugar can be found in deli meats, canned vegtables, soup, candy, desserts.
Effects:
Causes hormone related illnesses like type 2 diabetes.

Bad Fats:
Saturated fats are solid at room temperature for example butter and cheese. Trans fats help to increase the shelf life of food so think processed food.
Effects:
These fats increase the risk of heart-related diseases.

Good Fats:
Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature for example flaxseed oil, corn oil, and oil based salad dressings.
Effects:
These fats are necessary for hormone production, healthy brain function, and a host of other bodily functions.

Apply this to a Fast Food Meal
Coke: liquid sugar
Fries and Burger: These foods contain larger and more condensed amounts of fats and sugars to last an hour under the heat lamp
Ketchup: sugar
Mc'Flurry: sugar

Refrence: Sugar Lockdown. ( 2007, winter). Oxygen Magazine Clean Eating, pg. 28-31.

Gone...Gone...Gone...NY Bans Trans Fats

New York's Board of Health has banned trans fats from restaurants. This comes three years after New York banned smoking in restaurants. What are trans fats and why are they so dangerous? Trans fats are an artificial fat created by adding an additional Hydrogen molecule to liquid oils and made solid. Big deal you say. Well, trans fats lower HDL levels, the good cholesterol that actually removes cholesterol from the blood stream, and raises LDL levels, the bad cholesterol. That's a double whammy. I think that the ban in New York is a positive thing, making New York the leader in municipal health promotions.