Low Carb Restaurant Review: Sunny's Vietnamese Restaurant

Those who know me well know how much I adore Vietnamese food, it's something about the fresh ingredients and aromatic flavours that just keep me coming back for more.  Now when most people picture Vietnamese food it's all about the noodles, but I decided to try a low carb experiment for lunch one day.

I love going to Chinatown for lunch, the food is great and it's reasonably priced.  Sunny's is a hidden gem that's located above a bubble tea house, it's not normal that you find a restaurant on the upstairs level of a building.  They are known for the Pho Satay, but since I was trying to low carb the meal, I had to order bun instead because Pho without noodles is a pointless.

Here's how I low carb'd the meal:

I ordered the barbecue pork with spring roll bun, but I had them hold the noodles and add more vegetables instead.  The vegetables normally consist of bean sprouts, lettuce and carrots, with some Thai basil and green onions mixed in. 

The waitress gave me the strangest look, but obliged with my request.  The dish actually tasted great and I didn't miss the noodles at all.  So if an Asian person can withhold the noodles from their Bun, then so can you!

107 2 AVE SE, CALGARY, AB T2G 0B2
Phone: 403-265-2210

Healthy Recipes: Chicken Ham and Cucumber Quinoa

Quinoa is my seed of choice, see my superfood article to understand why

Ingredients:
Pepper
1 cup of cooked tandoori chicken
1/2 cup of sliced cucumbers
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth

Chop chicken into cubes
Slice cucumbers
Poor quinoa into pot with 2 cups of chicken broth
Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then turn to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes
Fluff quinoa with a fork
Mix quinoa with chicken and cucumbers
Allow to cool and serve

The great thing about this recipe is that you can eat it warm or chill it and serve it like a salad!  Win-Win!

Healthy Tips: Food Combining Diet

I was talking to a coworker who's attempting to lose a bunch of weight and I gave him some advice on limiting the simple carbs in his diet and watching his portion control.  He's been using my tips and has lost 13 pounds in two weeks.  He also mentioned that along with my advice he's using a strategy called food combining.

I was perplexed by this concept until he explained it to me, and it's quite simple.  It's along the same lines as minimizing portions and watching the simple carbs in your diet.

When he eats, he now watches how he combines his food.  He won't eat starches with his meats, instead he'll only eat vegetables with his meats.  If he eats starches, he won't combine them with anything and eat the simple starch alone. 

This got me thinking, now I'm no scientist, but in my twisted mind, it makes perfect sense.  When one chooses to combine the wrong foods, you are actually creating an environment where your body is more likely to store food as fat.

For example, if you were to combine starches with meat, since meat takes longer to digest in your stomach, the starches will then sit in your stomach longer as it's working on the meat.  The longer it sits there, the more likely your body will break it down and store it as fat.  Whereas, if you just consume the starches on it's own, your body breaks down these simple starches very quickly and attempts to use them as energy first before storing them.

I think it's a great way to evaluate your eating, or maybe it's just my inner mad scientist trying to get out?

Training Tips: Building Lean Muscle Mass Fast Part 3

Here's the last post on building lean muscle mass fast, this part of training is usually neglected, but it's actually very important if you are to achieve your desired results.  It's something we do lots of anyways, but usually not enough, it's Sleep.  Getting a good night's rest can increase your results dramatically and also keeps you looking young and feeling good.  When we sleep our bodies are healing and repairing our muscles, so the more rest we get, the better chance you'll have at building your ideal body.

We are supposed to be getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night to be well rested.  It can be difficult with our busy lives and responsibilities, so here's a few tips to ensure you get some good shut-eye every night.

Eating Late:  Try not to eat anything 3-4 hours before bedtime because when you do, you're going to force your body to work overtime digesting the food, and as a result you'll have a less restful sleep since you're stomach will be churning away all night.

Winding Down:  Try giving yourself an hour before bedtime to wind down from the hectic day.  Whether it's reading a book or listening to some calming music, by not stimulating your body before bedtime, you'll have a better chance at good rest.

Schedule:  We have a natural biological clock and our bodies are amazing at adapting to things, so try to keep your sleep schedule normal.  Sleeping and waking at the same time every day will help you feel much more rested.  And you'll noticed that even on the weekends, you tend to wake up at your scheduled alarm time, even if it's only for a split second.  It's your body's natural attempt to stick to it's own clock.

So that wraps it up for this building lean muscle mass series, if you follow these three principles you should see great results.  Train, Eat and Sleep, that's all you need to do.

Training Tips: Build Lean Muscle Mass Fast Part 2

Yesterday we talked about how to train to ensure the most success when trying to build lean muscle mass.  Today we'll talk about the eating aspect of it.  Obviously, eating and training go hand in hand and one can't have success without the other

If you want to build lean strong muscles, you'll need to put good fuel into your body to do this.  What you eat will either help you reach your goal or sabotage your results. 

Here are a few key concepts to keep in mind for trying to achieve your goals:

Protein:  Protein is the building block of muscles, so if you want to build them, you'll have to eat alot of it.  It comes in many different forms and can be found in many different foods, lean meats, beans, milk, tofu and quinoa are a few good sources of protein.  It's important to consume a good amount of protein after your workouts, so that you can give your body something to build with.

Carbohydrates:  You do need to consume your carbohydrates, but you want to consume the healthy variety, which can be found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  Try to consume your carbs before your workout, so you can use it as energy.

Balanced Diet:  A balanced diet is important because there are many other foods required to build a strong and supporting frame.  Vitamins, minerals and healthy fats are also a part of a balanced diet.  They can be found in fruits, vegetables and fish to name a few.  Try to keep your meals well-rounded by including alot of variety throughout the week.  Essentially, you should never be eating the same things twice in  one week.

Training Tips: Build Lean Muscle Mass Fast

Since starting this blog, I've focused alot of my attention on trimming or burning fat and weight loss. There are many people out there who are looking at building lean muscle as well, so these next few articles are for you.

If you're looking to build up and around your existing frame, or bulk up or lean out so to speak, there are few key principles that you need to abide by if you want success.

The first thing you should be focusing on is your training. It is important to train hard, but equally important to ensure muscle confusion takes place as well. The goal is to build lean, dense and strong muscles which will not only help you look and feel better, but as an added bonus it actually boosts your metabolism too. 

Muscle Confusion - in order to attain the best results, you need to keep your muscles guessing.  This means changing up your workout every few weeks, whether it's increasing weights, increasing repetitions or vice versa.

Compound Exercises - since we're not training to be body builders you want to perform exercises that engage as many muscles as possible.  Things like squats, pushups, chinups and burpees are great exercises that burn lots of calories and build lean muscle.

Regularity - if you want the best results you'll need to stop making excuses for not going to the gym.  Training on a regular schedule will ensure that you're always building and improving on your existing framework.

Tomorrow we'll talk about eating, an equally important part to your success

Healthy Tips: Controlling Food Cravings

We all have cravings for things, whether it's something physical, emotional and especially food.  Satisfying your cravings isn't a bad thing, afterall we have to live and enjoy life.  However, sometimes we go overboard with our cravings and end up adding inches where we wish we didn't.  Here are some tips on keeping those cravings under control.

Set some rules - a key to controlling your cravings is exercising discipline, set some ground rules for yourself when it comes to your treats.  Perhaps you can limit yourself to one treat a day or only allow yourself to have that treat when you've accomplished something in return.  You should try to avoid giving yourself free treats just because you feel like it, this way you can attempt to condition your brain to only reward yourself intermittently.

Portion control - the serving size is probably the most important part of managing your cravings.  You should be eating small amounts, just enough to satisfy that sweet tooth or that savoury tongue.  For example, don't pull out the entire bag of salt and vinegar chips, instead put a few pieces on a plate and leave the bag in the pantry.  This way you're not unconsciously digging your hands into the bag every few minutes.  And when you're out, you get no more.  Again, you'll need to be disciplined.

Eat Better - there are some foods out there that are natural appetite suppressants, so because you won't be hungry, you most likely won't be craving anything.  I tend to have some tea or coffee if I'm trying to shed a few pounds because they can shrink my appetite.  Here's a good article on more natural appetite suppressants.  http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/natural-appetite-suppressants-1487.html

Fitness Tips: Funny Commercial

If you didn't laugh at this, there's something wrong with you, or maybe it's just my twisted sense of humour

Workout Tips: Ab Roller Product Review For a Flat Stomach

Everybody wants a flat stomach, it's probably the most sought after body part that people want to improve on.  Now I've told people this before that you can't target train a specific area, you'll have to shed the fat before you can see the muscles.  However, after burning the fat off, one of the most effective training tools that I've used for my abdominals is the Ab Roller.

It's a simple contraction that consists of a wheel with two handles on both sides.  The reason why I like this gadget so much is because if engages your entire abdominal plane when you use it.  You essentially force yourself to use your core to hold your body weight. 

You should feel the results of this the next day and if you don't, then you're probably not doing it correctly.  Here's a video of the proper form when using one of these bad boys.



For those that are beginners with this contraption, you don't have to go all the way down, just go down until you feel tension on your abs and come back up, otherwise you could end up kissing the floor.

The beauty of this thing is that it's dirt cheap and you could probably build one yourself if you were handy enough. You can pick one up from Wal-mart for $20 and I assure you that it will be the best $20 that you've ever spent on a piece of fitness equipment. Plus, it's portable so you can bring it anywhere. Or if you don't feel like battling the crowds at Wal-mart, you can also try Amazon.

Training Tips: Olympic Powerlifting Weight Training

So I'm getting bored of the usual routines at the gym and I decided to try something else this week. I've always admired the strength the powerlifters at the olympic games so here's a workout inspired by them.

This workout focuses alot on increasing the strength of your hips and core areas. The core/hips are the source of power for most sports, so it's an important part to train, if you're looking at taking your game to the next level.

****For this workout I would recommend that you get a trainer to teach you how to do the exercises properly, as improper form can result in injury****

Clean and Press - Perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions (45 second rest)

Single Arm Clean and Press - Perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions on each side (45 second rest)

Chinups - perform 5 sets of 10 repetitions (45 second rest) - for these chinups try to swing and kick your feet to force your body up instead of using your arms. This will engage your hips and your core instead.

Note: anyone engaging in exercise for the first time should first consult a physician. Also, to ensure good form please consult with an experienced professional or personal trainer. As well, please use a spotter as an additional safety factor. Always warm up before workouts and stretch after workouts

Healthy Tips: A Different Type of Bucket List

This picture inspired me to write this post.

Life is short, we've all heard that cliche before, but it's true and nobody really knows when you're going to kick the bucket, it could be tomorrow, it could be a year from now.

People always ask what would you like to do before you die and we all come up with these extravagant bucket lists. But what if somebody asked you, what would you say to your loved ones if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?

Take a step back from all the distractions life has to offer and focus on those that are important in your life. You'll be surprised at how big a reaction that a simple act can create.

Healthy Tips: Zumba DVD Workout Review

I had the chance to get my hands on the Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System DVD workout set.  Since I was reluctant to attend a live Zumba class on my own because I have two left feet, I figured this would be my best alternative.  I could use the DVD's in the privacy of my own home and not worry about whether I was making the moves look as good as they do on the TV.  (I definitely don't).

You can also use this DVD to prepare yourself for a live Zumba class at your local gym, or Zumba in your hotel room while you travel.  Nevertheless, if you're looking to shed pounds in a fun way and you enjoy dancing, this set is definitely for you.  This isn't just for women, guys can do it to, and you may also learn a few dance steps to help you woo the opposite sex!

Here's the YouTube promo video if you want to learn more.


It comes as a 4-DVD, 6-workout fitness set designed to work your body from head to toe, and also includes a pair of maranga sticks as weights. My favourite DVD is the Sculpt and Tone, as I found it the most challenging. I'm also impressed that they include a "20 minute Express Workout" DVD, so if you feel like you don't have enough time in the day, I'm certain you can still spare 20 minutes.

You can buy the set at the Showcase/As Seen on TV stores for $99.99. Or you can order it online from Amazon for $64.95. I order stuff from Amazon all the time and have never had any issues, especially for a $35 savings.

So if you're looking for a change of pace from your regular workout, I'd definitely recommend this set.  It's just another new and fun way for people to stay fit.

Healthy Tips: What Not To Do Fitness Tip of the Week

If you try this at home, make sure the person doing the situps doesn't weigh more then you