Nutrition Q'n'A

Q: How bad are French Fries?

Answer:I think the best description for French Fries is 'edible cancer sticks'. However, unlike the original cancer sticks (cigarettes), French Fries make you gain weight.

According to my friend Jon Herring at ETR.com, we should also stay away from potato chips, baked cereals, taco shells, crackers, cookies, etc. Each of these contains simple carbohydrates and deadly trans-fats.

Q: When you recommend eating more vegetables, what do you mean, can I have an example? Anything specifically?

Answer:Vegetables help fill you up and reduce your appetite. They also help control your blood sugar and insulin levels. These are essential factors in helping you lose body fat and having more weight loss.

At each meal, eat 1 cup of one of these vegetables. Try to eat a variety of vegetables every day.broccoli
cauliflower ,br>spinach
field greens
green beans
asparagus
peas
brussel sprouts
etc.

Q: What goes into the garden salad?

Answer:Field greens, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, peppers, onions, perhaps some strawberries, and a small amount of cheese or nuts. Make sure the added cheese and nuts fits into your recommended daily calorie plan. You can also throw in a chicken breast or salmon fillet to get your protein source this way.

Remember that we are going for a salad or serving of fibrous vegetables prior to or with each meal.

Q: How much extra virgin olive oil do you use?

Answer:1-2 teaspoons. Just drizzle on just enough to enhance the salad. Really, the whole key here is to retrain your taste buds to appreciate REAL food again (and say goodbye to the sugar, salt, and trans-fat of the Western Lifestyle).

Fresh produce is amazing when you can get quality produce (which really shouldn't be hard). I want everyone to aim to make small improvements in their vegetable intake on a daily or weekly basis, especially if you say "Eww" to the list above.

Q: What type of protein bar should I eat, thought they were bad?

Answer:Anything that is low-sugar and tastes good. If nothing meets these standards, then consider homemade protein bars (search for the recipes on google), or try to find nitrate-free meat sticks/meat products. Alternatively, any high protein snack will do.

I use organic beef jerkey as a portable protein snack.

Q: Is a post-workout drink containing simple carbohydrates and protein the best for a post workout shake? Or should I just have protein?

Answer:Dr. Chris Mohr recommends carbohydrate and protein after a workout. You can easily get this in chocolate milk, or from fruit and a protein shake.

I am on a trend to avoid high-glycemic liquid sugar sources with my clients, and so far, the results are turning out to be great.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Mens Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com