Here’s a new and tasty way to prepare lean chicken and nutritious veggies. Meals that are high in protein and fiber, like this, are exactly what you need to be eating in order to see amazing results.
Servings: 8

Here’s what you need…

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 16 oz of skinless, chicken tenders
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 Tablespoons coconut flour
• 2 Tablespoons sweet paprika

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally until browned. Transfer to a roasting pan.
3. Add the vegetables to the skillet and maintain the heat on medium. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent. Sprinkle in the flour and paprika and stir well. Bring to a boil and cook until the tomatoes give off their juices, about 10 minutes. Pour the veggies over the chicken and cover.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 211 calories, 3 fat, 390mg sodium, 17g carbohydrate, 5.5g fiber, and 29g protein.

Rule of Thumb 1: Technique is everything. Using poor technique with any exercise is one of the fastest ways to wind up with bad pain. In addition to helping you avoid injury, proper technique also helps you make sure you’re working out the muscles you’re trying to work out.

Rule of Thumb 2: Burnout hurts. When your body says you can’t go any farther, it may be a good idea to listen. Some of the most common injuries at the gym are overuse injuries. So don’t be afraid to give your body a break. You can also reduce your likelihood of overuse injuries by keeping plenty of variety in your regiment.

Rule of Thumb 3: Get a partner or work with a trainer. It’s not easy to find someone to get in the weight room with you at 5 a.m. However, having someone alongside of you will help you avoid injury by spotting you when you get in a bad situation and helping you practice proper form throughout your routine.

In order to stay pain-free and limber, beware of the following 4 exercises:

#1: The Slump Machine – One of the most common and easiest ways to get hurt at the gym is by using improper posture when on a treadmill, stationary bicycle, Stairmaster, and pretty much any other machine.

In order to avoid injury, fight the urge to rest your forearms on the handlebars of the bicycle or let your head and shoulders slump below your hand grips on the Stairmaster. By doing this, your shoulders and back are constantly in harm’s way.

#2: The Fighting Bends – Whether stretching your body for prolonged periods of time or pulling weights down time and again, another way to injure your body is by doing exercises that don’t feel good when you’re doing them.

Many exercises that are likely to cause harm involve pulling weights down behind your head. Exercises like these and others force your body to fight its natural range of motion and are a fantastic way to allow your body to suffer harm when harm could easily be avoided.

#3: Twist, Shout, Scream – Here’s an exercise that potentially builds up a little flexibility but that offers a lot of potential for pain. Grab a broom handle or a barbell, toss it across your shoulders, and start twisting your body.

This aggressive twisting puts an enormous amount of stress on the lower back. There are plenty of safer ways to gain flexibility in your back, so avoid this technique at all costs.

#4: The Improperly Done Dead Lift – Used as the grand finale for many weight-lifting competitions, the dead lift is the last word when it comes to brute, unfettered strength. And when the inexperienced, unprofessional weight lifter tries to take on this impressive feat, the results can be disastrous.

My back hurts just looking at this photo.

On top of dropping incredible amounts of weight on your body, dead lifting also offers the opportunity to ruin your back by not lifting with your legs.

Now that you know what exercises to avoid to escape unnecessary and potentially life-altering pain, what are you waiting for? Get out there and be safe!

For faster results join one of my proven fitness programs. Call or email today to get started.

Your Friend and Trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

This salad is filled with tender roasted veggies and crunchy fresh lettuce. These foods are fresh and fiber-filled – exactly the kind of meal that defines clean eating. Add a side of lean protein and a tall glass of water for the perfect meal. Servings: 4

Here’s what you need…

• 1 cup asparagus, chopped
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 green zucchini
• 1 yellow zucchini
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• dash of salt and pepper
• 4 cups of romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 Tablespoon pine nuts, toasted

For the dressing:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon champagne mustard

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the asparagus, carrot, onion and zucchinis in a large bowl, mix well with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stirring after the first 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile place the remaining salad ingredients into a large bowl. In a small bowl combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk with a fork.
3. Once the veggies are roasted, mix into the salad bowl and toss with the dressing.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 148.3 calories, 8g fat, 182mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 5g protein.

Regular sugar consumption will always cause weight gain. In addition to ruining your figure, chronic sugar consumption puts you at risk of numerous health problems.

When you’re in the habit of taking in sugar everyday it’s hard to quit, but once you’ve broken the habit you won’t give sugar a second thought.

Whenever your sweet tooth flares up eat a piece of fresh organic fruit.

You’ve heard fitness people refer to ‘eating clean’ but what does that really mean?

The labels on hundreds of different food items proclaim to be ‘healthy’ but can you trust labels? There are so many misconceptions when it comes to what constitutes as clean eating.

What are you eating wrong?

Let’s dispel the myths and outline your simple, straightforward 3-step guide to eating clean and watch as the pounds melt off.

Step One: Steer Clear of Packaged Foods

Your enemy.

Your worst enemy in the fight against weight gain is packaged foods. Yes, even those packages that are described as ‘healthy’.

Think of packaged food in these 3 categories:

• Sweets: Cookies, brownies, muffins, cupcakes, donuts, candy and desserts. These packaged items are laced with sugar and bad fats, and lack any viable nutrient that your body actually needs. All the empty calories from these items will end up deposited on your waist and hips as stubborn fat.There’s never a good reason to eat these so-called foods.
• Processed Grains: Crackers, breads, cereal, chips, instant oatmeal, energy bars, and popcorn. This category is tricky because many of the packages are labeled as ‘heart healthy’ or ‘low fat’. The reality is that packaged, processed grains contain sugar and more carbohydrates than you need while striving to lose weight.If you have a weight loss goal then stay away from processed grains.
• Whole Grains: Brown rice, wild rice, whole oats, sprouted grain pasta, and sprouted grain bread. Here’s a category of packaged foods that you are able to include in your clean diet. You don’t, however, have a free pass to eat as much of these items as you’d like. Whole grains, while healthy and acceptable, are very calorie-dense. This means that a little bit goes a long way.

Eat whole grains in moderation in order to meet your weight loss goals.

Step Two: Fill Up on Fresh Foods

Your Ally

Fresh vegetables and fruits are a huge part of your clean diet.

The nutrients and fiber found in these natural food items are vitally important for your weight loss journey and your overall health.

Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables in all shapes, sizes and colors.

The only ones that you need to limit are vegetables that are high in starch, such as potatoes and corn, and fruits that are very high in sugar, like melons.

Step Three: Get Plenty of Protein

Your building blocks for a better body.

The cornerstone of your clean diet should be lean protein.

Great examples are chicken breast, albacore tuna, lean ground turkey, white fish fillet, whole beans, tempeh and egg whites.

Protein is what holds your clean eating plan together, for two reasons.

1. Protein satiates your hunger, keeping you full and keeping your blood sugar stable. This eliminates false hunger and prevents unnecessary snacking.
2. Protein helps to grow and maintain your muscle mass, which increases your resting metabolism. This means that your body will be naturally leaner.

For faster results, pair your clean eating with a challenging exercise routine.

Call or email today and I’ll get you started on an exercise program that will make your goals a reality.

Your Friend and Trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

These tacos are the perfect get-ready-for-beach-season meal. Flaky, protein-filled fish topped with mango salsa and wrapped in a crunchy guilt-free lettuce leaf. It’s flavorful, satisfying and will keep you on track with your fitness goals.
Servings: 8

Here’s what you need…

• 4 (3.5oz) Cod Fillets
• 1/2 cup tropical vinaigrette
• 1 lime
• 4 large pieces of butter lettuce
• 4 Tablespoons guacamole
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 4 Tablespoons mango salsa

1. Marinate the cod fillets in dressing for 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a pan with olive oil.
3. Place marinated cod in prepared pan, cut lime in half and squeeze juice over cod. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. While cod is baking, separate leaves from lettuce, being careful to keep them intact. Assemble individual tacos by putting a tablespoon of guacamole on a lettuce leaf, topped with 1/4 cup of cabbage.
5. Once fish is done, change oven to broil for a few minutes, watching closely until top is browned. Remove from oven.
6. Top each prepared taco with a piece of fish, a spoonful of salsa, and a slice of the remaining lime half.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 141.5 calories, 2.5 fat, 61mg sodium, 4.8g carbohydrate, 1.2g fiber, and 23g protein.

1. Learn what situations cause you to experience unwanted stress, and avoid these situations. Can’t avoid your boss or that awkward business luncheon? Then you’ll need to use some more brainpower. Think back to your last experience with the boss or the business lunch. How bad was it really? You survived it, and it wasn’t really all that bad. Keep that in mind, and you’ll be ready to take on whatever stressful situation comes your way.
2. Make necessary lifestyle modifications. Did you know you’re more likely to suffer stress when you’re tired? Or did you know that when you don’t feed your body well, your body isn’t ready to handle stress as it would with a healthy diet? By getting plenty of shut-eye and eating healthily, you won’t kiss stress goodbye altogether, but its effects will be diminished greatly.

Stress is an inevitable part of our modern existence. Whether you’re the president of a Fortune 500 company, a Kindergarten teacher or a construction worker, you have stress to deal with.

But you don’t have to let it get the best of you.

By battling stress in your day-to-day routine, you can stop pulling your hair out and get back to living a more relaxed life.

How can you turn your stress-filled life on its head?

With one of the best weapons against stress: exercise.

Working Out Works: When stress is getting you down, you need something to kick you out of your funk. You need something that makes you feel good.

Because every time you exercise, you increase your body’s production of endorphins.

They make you happy.  Really happy.

In case you didn’t get the memo, endorphins are responsible for those good moods you get in after a race or the euphoria you feel while chomping down on a piece of chocolate.

However, before you grab a piece of chocolate and skip the gym, remember the end result of each and choose which one will help you battle stress in the long run. (Hint: It’s not the chocolate.)

Best Bets: Now that you know exercise reduces stress, you may be wondering which exercises will be most likely to keep you from banging your head against the wall. Ready to learn what exercise you should be performing as you wage war against stress? Here it is: whatever you enjoy doing.

That’s right – any and all exercise you perform helps you fend off the effects of stress. So whether you enjoy jogging, lifting weights, playing basketball, practicing ballet, swimming, yoga, rowing, or boxing, simply getting involved in your exercise of choice is sure to help reduce your stress.

Through the Brick Wall: Working out every day and not getting the stress relief you so eagerly desire? Then it’s time to do things a little different. If all you do is lift weights five days a week, you should add in tennis or racquetball a couple days a week. And if you’re all cardio all the time, it may be time to get off the treadmill and grab a dumbbell or two.

Still not working? Keep a diary of your progression. Write down how long and hard you exercise, the various weights you lift, and the steps you make toward whatever health goal you set for yourself. Take pictures along the way as well. Then look back over your journal on occasion. Seeing the progression when you feel you’re not making progress may give you the confidence you need to put stress in its place and move on.

My mission is to get each and every one of my clients the body that they desire and along with that a low stress lifestyle.

Take the stress out of planning your own workouts by joining one of my high-energy, fat-blasting exercise programs.

Call or email today to get the body and stress level that you deserve.

Your Friend and Trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

Wellesley’s Top Stress Destroyer

Here’s a recipe that serves your sweet tooth like a dessert without derailing your results. Poaching pears is a simply, easy process. The pears end up sweet and tender, like canned pears, but without the added sugars. Serving with low fat cottage cheese adds protein and makes this snack filling and nutritious.
Servings: 6

Here’s what you need…

• 4 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
• 4 cups water
• 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• zest from an orange
• 6 pears
• 3 cups low fat cottage cheese

1. Place all ingredients, except pears in a large saucepan over low heat.
2. Wash, peel and core the pears. Use a small melon baller to scoop out the core from the bottom of the pear.
3. Place all the pears in the saucepan, making sure that all the pears are fully covered with liquid.
4. Bring the pot to a simmer for 30 minutes. When the pears are soft, but not mushy, remove from liquid.
5. Serve each pear over 1/2 cup of cottage cheese.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 177 calories, 1 fat, 452mg sodium, 28g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 15g protein.