2 Things You Need In Your Kitchen

Before I get into the meat of the post I want to thank you for tuning in to me in 2008.  I am honored by your attention and time.

I’m looking forward to seeing you in the New Year.  In week #1 look for the start of a 4 part series on creating a brand new body in the time that you actually have.  I’m doing it with the good folks at Primer Magazine over the next 13 weeks:

•    Part I A (week 1):  creating the mind-set to finally succeed this New Years – 99% of Americans fail to keep their resolutions past even 2 weeks, so don’t miss this part.
•    Part I B (week 1):  the simple nutrition plan that will massively skyrocket your energy AND help you drop 10lbs of body-fat in 4 weeks without having to count calories
•    Part II (week 2):  the 4 week Metabolic Blast workout plan – the other half of the equation that will have you down up to 10lbs of body-fat in just 28 days and less than 3.5hrs/week of exercise.  (I’ve had people do a lot better than 10lbs in 28 days.)
•    Part III (week 5):  phase II of the Metabolic Blast and trouble-shooting based on readers questions.  If you want your body to make progress, then you must systematically (NOT haphazardly) progress your workouts over time.  Generally every 4 weeks works very well.
•    Part IV (week 9):  phase III of the Metabolic Blast.  Its time to finish off your New Year’s transformation and “unveil.”  If you’ve stuck with it so far you will be looking at a new person in the mirror.

#1.  Sugar-Free Syrup

.25 cup regular maple and/or pancake syrup has at least 200 kcal in it, ALL of which are from sugar.  A quarter cup is only 4 tbsp and is extremely easy to eat without realizing it.  Most people end up eating between .25 and .5 a cup with breakfast.

4tbsp of maple syrup is the equivalent of a 20oz bottle of regular coke.  That is a HUGE blood sugar spike and crash (energy destroyer), and a HUGE spike of insulin (super fat storage, unless you just finished lifting weights).

Sugar-free syrup has just 20kcal per .25 cup, all of which come from slow-digesting sugar alcohols.

So, if you are making my super yummy, high protein pancakes use sugar-free syrup.  By the way “super yummy, high protein pancake” is NOT an oxymoron, and they’re made out of actual food, not a hodge-podge of highly processed Franken-food.  Oh, and they are very easy to make too.

#2.  Low-Carb Ketchup

Ketchup is pretty much just red high fructose corn syrup (HFSC).  This came as a big blow to me as I am a ketchup lover.  75% of the calories in regular ketchup come from HFSC, the most fattening substance known to man.  A few tablespoons here and a few tablespoons there you have a can of coke on your eggs, bun-less burger or whatever you like ketchup on.

Luckily there is such a thing as low carb ketchup where they take out the HFSC or sugar and replace it with Splenda, and the remaining calories come from actual tomatoes.  It has 75% fewer calories AND no added sugar and still tastes good.

While neither one of these changes alone will give you a completely different physique, both will help you to make more progress towards a leaner and more energetic you.

Josef Brandenburg is also the author of The Body You Want, and a Washington, DC based nominee for 2009 Personal Trainer of the Year from Personal Fitness Professional Magazine. Click here to find out more.