Treat Your Tongue & Tighten Your Body (or Booty):
The Fit Food Lover’s Guide To Dining
Spotlight On Success
I would like to congratulate Niket R. for making a MASSIVE change in his body composition in just 6 short weeks. He made a whopping twenty-six pound body comp improvement in just 6 weeks. He dropped 17 pounds of fat and gained 9 pounds of muscle.
Body composition is concerned with what your body weight is composed of, not how much you weigh. It is pounds of muscle gained plus pounds of fat lost. Your weight is mostly a useless and meaningless number. Would you rather be a beach ball or a baseball? The beach ball is very light, but big and squishy—kinda like it was enrolled in Weight Watchers and Jazzercise at the same time. The baseball is heavier, but it is small, tight and firm—kinda like it hired me.
On most weight-loss programs 25-50% of what you lose will be muscle. So, if you lose 20 pounds on the scale, at least 5 pounds of that will be muscle (if not more like 10). In terms of body comp that means you only made 10 to15 pounds of progress. PLUS you now have a slower metabolism because you have less muscle, so you are more likely to regain what little fat you lost.
Some of you may be “pooh-poohing” Niket’s results because he worked with me every day of the week for 6 weeks. Your pooh is misguided. The fact of the matter is that Niket only spent about 3.5 hours each week doing intervals and lifting. The other 3.5 to 4 hours was spent on flexibility, stability, and “pre-habilitation” because he had many, many joint problems that almost prevented him from exercising.
If anything, he actually had a much steeper hill to climb than people who only work with me once a week because of his joint pain.
Quote #26
“For fat-loss purposes, I find aerobic training to be worthless.” – Charles Poliquin (a LEGENDARY strength and conditioning coach)
Recipe #26 – Black Cherry Sparkle
As Jell-O likes to say, “every diet needs a little wiggle room.” They’re right—everyone needs some low- or no-calorie treats in their life that can nurture their sweet tooth without packing on fat. One of my clients, Brett T., came up with this simple, tasty, and very unique recipe. Click here to treat your tongue without treating your fat cells. Oh, and yes, it’s KOSHER.
Treat Your Tongue & Tighten Your Body (or Booty):
The Fit Food Lover’s Guide To Dining
A lot of people think that I some sort of automaton who stays at home cooking chicken breasts and broccoli every 3 hours to make sure that I stay lean and healthy. NO! I like food. I like eating out. I like eating stuff that tastes great. HOWEVER, that does not mean that I compromise my body.
Without further ado here are seven places to get kick-ass food that won’t contribute to man-boobs, muffin-tops, or saddlebags:
#1. Grillfish (www.grillfishdc.com): Everything on the menu (other than the pasta) is fair game. Just ask for them to sub garlic broccoli or sautéed spinach for the mashed potatoes. My personal favorite is the Surf & Turf (steak & shrimp). It’s a little pricey, but everything else on the menu other than the lobster is very reasonable for the quality of seafood that you get.
1200 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
202.331.7310
Lunch served Monday through Friday
12 Noon to 4 PM
Dinner served: Sunday 5:00-10
Mon-Thur 4-10 | Friday 4-11
Saturday 5:00-11
#2. Mei Wah: Chinese restaurants are usually notoriously horrible for your physique and health—sugary sauces, buckets of white rice, deep-fried everything, MSG, etc. The good news is that many Chinese restaurants have created new dishes for the health-conscious diner that taste good and will not wreck your body. For example, Mei Wah has created an entire “Atkins Friendly” menu right here.
200 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036,
At the corner of New Hampshire and M Street between 21st Street and 22nd Street
202.833.2888
Mon-Thu: 11:30 am – 10:30 pm
Fri: 11:30 am – 11 pm
Sat: Noon – 11 pm, Sun: Noon – 10:30 pm
#3. The Heights (www.theheightsdc.com): My girlfriend recently moved to Columbia Heights in DC and as luck would have it The Heights is only a 5-minute walk from her front door. In my opinion the best thing on the menu is Mustard Crusted Tuna. YUM! Whatever you order, be sure to ask them to sub any of their veggie sides for the potatoes or pasta that normally come as your side.
3115 14th St. NW, Washington DC, 20010
202.797.7227
Dinner: Mon-Fri, 5 pm; Sat & Sun, 4 pm
Lunch: Mon-Fri, Noon – 5 pm
Brunch: Sat & Sun, 11 am – 4 pm
Happy Hour: Mon-Fri, 4 – 7 pm
#4. Outback Steakhouse (www.outback.com): I found myself in an Outback on a recent trip to Las Vegas, and my first thought was, “Oh no! This is the home of the bloomin’ onion, the most fattening appetizer known to man! How am I going to eat right here!?” But I was very pleasantly surprised—they have quite a few low-carb, physique- and taste-bud-friendly options to choose from. Try the seared ahi tuna appetizer.
Click above to find the location and info for one near you.
#5. Hanami (www.hanamijapanese.com): This is the best-kept sushi secret in the DC area. They have really reasonable prices and extremely high-quality, fresh fish. They also have a LOT of starch-free items to choose from. My favorites are the rice-free Terp Roll, and the Dragon Ball. The Dragon Ball is really neat: crab, veggies, sauce, and roe shaped into a sphere, wrapped in very thin slices of avocado. Also, the tuna and salmon sashimi are excellent.
8145-M Baltimore Ave. (in the Campus Village Shopping Center), College Park
301-982-9899
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday
11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
#6. Logan Tavern (www.logantavern.com): I like any place where you can sub veggies for the traditional fattening, starchy sides. This place is right across the street from Whole Foods on 14th & P, NW. The crab cakes are really, really good.
1423 P St. NW
Washington DC 20005
202.332.3710
Lunch Monday to Friday, Noon to 5 pm
Dinner Weekdays, from 5 pm;
Sat & Sun, from 4 pm
Brunch, Sat & Sun, 11 am to 4 pm
Weekday Happy Hour 3-6:30 pm
#7. The Cheesecake Factory (www.thecheesecakefactory.com): Maybe this place should be called The Obese American Factory—HUGE portions, lots of fat and sugar, lots of deep-fried stuff, and a single slice of their cheesecake can yield 1,600 kcal (that’s about 1/2 pound of body fat in one slice). While it is true that most of the stuff on their menu is off-limits, there are also many options that taste great and won’t make you fat.
My personal favorite is the Thai Lettuce Wraps. The Cheesecake Factory calls it an “appetizer,” but for one person this is really a meal in and of itself. You can get a satisfied, full belly for about $10 since it’s priced as a starter.
Click above to find a location and information about The Cheesecake Factory near you.
Of course, there are many more figure-friendly restaurants in the area, especially if you are willing to ask the kitchen to accommodate you. Unless you are a naturally thin ectomorph, you don’t need all the carbs and calories in traditional starchy side dishes. Ask for what you want, and enjoy your food!