Tips from Tony Horton's Fitness Camp

Hello, I just wanted to share some tips that had been passed on to me from Tony's Fitness Camp. I know that for me chosing to lead a more healthy lifestyle has been a process full of small changes. I am continually learning about nutrition, and am realizing it really is a process! I think back to changes I made when I first started with Beachbody 2 1/2 years ago, and how little by little I make changes to help me be even more healthy. I say all that to help you not be overwhelmed by this post!
It is a process, so maybe chose one thing you can eliminate from your diet, and one thing to add to your diet. Then as you get comfortable with that, you can do another thing. I want all of us to be as healthy as we can be! Most of us are relatively young, so if we make these lifestyle changes now, the odds will be that when we reach our 40's, 50's, 60's, etc we won't have the health issues that so many of those in that age group start to have. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

Notes by Julie
"Key Points that I documented from Missy Costello’s Nutrition Notes from lectures at the Vegas Tony Horton Fitness Camp.Missy is Tony Horton’s cook and personal assistant- she is one of the sweetest people I have ever met (and we are only 3 days apart in age, we both turn 40 in September- fellow Virgos)

Four Principles to Live by:
1. Drink plenty of water throughout the day; carry a water bottle with you everywhere. Putting lemon in your water will also help break the acidity (seems counterintuitive but it does) You can also put a couple drops of Stevia in your water to sweeten it.a. When you wake up in the morning drink 16 oz of water- this will help to break the acidity in your body from the overnight fast. I have also been told that this will increase your metabolism as well.

2. Shoot for 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Too much sleep actually prevents the body from burning fat.

3. Exercise 5-6 days per week

4. Eat Unprocessed Whole Foods
a. Leafy Greens
b. Fruits
c. Lean Proteins
d. Whole Grainse. Healthy Fats
f. Legumes

DIETS DO NOT WORK- HEALTHY EATING LIFESTYLE WORKS

12 Foods to Buy Organic if You Buy Organic
(#9 in front of the number on the sticker = organic)
1. Peaches (over 100 pesticides sprayed on peaches)
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers (especially Red, Yellow and Orange)
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Berries
7. Greens -Leaves
8. Grape (especially imported grapes)
9. Pears
10. Spinach
11. Potatoes
12. Lettuce

Utilize your Farmers Market- Go to localharvest.org

Items you can Buy Non-Organic
1. Onions
2. Avocados
3. Pineapples
4. Mango
5. Frozen Sweet Peas
6. Asparagus
7. Kiwi
8. Bananas
9. Cabbage
10. Broccoli
11. Eggplant

Coconut Oil One of the best things you can add to your diet. Coconut Oil/butter is a medium chained fatty acid that will actually increase your metabolism and produce energy in your body. Missy just swears by the use of Coconut Oil- she recommends a book entitled The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife (I ordered it yesterday, I can’t wait to get it)Coconut oil melts at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Only buy the Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. Missy recommends the brand by the name of Nutiva. You can cook with Coconut oil just like olive oil, use it in stir-fry dishes, use the coconut butter on bread or put it in a smoothie.

80/20 Rule
80% of the times eat perfectly clean 20% of the time have cheat meals otherwise you will feel deprived and may binge. Over time your idea of a cheat will change as you eat more and more healthy, the sweet stuff will start to taste horrible. Missy talked about her cheat as being fresh fruit with Kefir (yogurt like substance) poured over the top with some agave nectar.

Get the Sugar out of your Diet!!!Sugar turns into fat- plain and simple.
Do not eat anything that has High Fructose Corn Syrup in the label. Sometimes on the label as Evaporated Cane Sugar.
Keep fruit in your diet as something sweet and a great source of fiber
Take all artificial sweeteners out of your diet (nutra sweet, splenda, equal etc)Increase your blood sugar level and create more cravings
Many medical studies have shown deleterious effect such as a carcinogen

Use AGAVE NECTAR as a sweetener- very low on the glycemic index scale and can be put on anything. (I have been using agave nectar for a while now and I absolutely love it. I use it on my waffles, eggs, and coffee, unsweetened yogurt…. So many things)

Xylitol is another great sweetener to use in baking or to sweeten tea, put it over kefir or in your smoothies etc. It is used as an equal measurement to sugar.

Brown Rice Syrup is also very low on the glycemic index and good for baking. Tony swears by this stuff for his pancakes.

Rapadum is the least processed can sugar. It is a little higher on the glycemic index

Stevia- this is an herb it is 300X sweeter than sugar. Missy carries a bottle with her and puts it in her water. If you want to know how many teaspoons of sugar are in what you are eating, divide grams of carbohydrates by 4.

Foods that decrease your blood sugar- causing an insulin surge
1. Caffeine
2. Alcohol
3. Chocolate
4. Energy Drinks
5. Ice cream
6. Refined White Flour

Some recommended Foods by Missy:
1. Greens Plus Protein Bar
2. Quinoa (Use in place of brown rice)
3. Ezekiel Bread and Tortillas (all sprouted grains, no sugar, no flour- found in freezer section of store)
4. Green Tea (replace coffee) Guayaki- Yerba Mate
Green tea (so good)
a. Suppressed appetite
b. Gives you even energy throughout the day
c. Loaded with anti-oxidants
5. Millet
6. Amaranth
7. Nuts and Seeds (make your own trail mix)
a. Almonds
b. Pistachios
c. Gogi berries
d. Raw cashews
e. Raw sunflower seeds
f. Unsweetened dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, mulberries)
g. Walnuts
h. Raw cacao pieces
8. Almond Milk (Diamond Unsweetened natural and vanilla flavor- great in smoothies
9. Coconut Water- Use in a smoothie or mix in your recovery drink or drink as your recovery drink- this is natures Gatorade- a good brand is ONE
10. Rice Milk- used in smoothies or for anything you would use milk or soymilk for. Make sure it is unsweetened or low in sugar.
11. Aloe Vera Juices- use in smoothies 2 oz. Helps with digestion and aids sleep
12. Kefir- this is a great probiotic, use it just like you would use yogurt, mix with fruit or add to a smoothie.
13. Legumes
14. Sea Salt- flushes out whatever your body does not need, it will not cause bloating like table salt
15. Healthy fats
a. Olive Oil
b. Avocados
c. Nuts
16. Lean Proteins
17. Salad dressing – Olive oil/Lemon/ Apple cider or Rice wine vinegar
18. Cinnamon- Will help level out blood sugar

Two Things to absolutely take out of your diet
1. Take all white flour out
2. Soda-Leaches Calcium from bones, horrible for you

Other things to Eliminate from your diet
1. White sugar –processed sugar – all baked goods
2. Dairy (causes bloating and too much mucus in the body-making body acidic)
3. Processed Meats
4. Hydrogenated Fats

Miscellaneous items
1. Soak your beans overnight, and then change the water will virtually eliminate gas problems
2. Soy products – not really recommended by Missy. It is very highly acidic and hard to digest. Replace with almond milk or rice milk, you can eat organic edamame for a good source of soy protein.
3. When you are feeling like you are getting sick
a. Echinaechia
b. Golden Seal
c. Tons of water

A recommended book by Missy is the Metabolic Typing Diet- not because it is a DIET book but Missy pointed out that all of us are made different and different things work for different people and this book will help you to determine what may work best for you. (I also ordered this book yesterday)"

If you made it this far and read the whole thing, KUDOS! =0) Have a great day everyone! Remember start small! It is a long list, but at least try to chose one thing you can change to live a healthier lifestyle! If you have any questions feel free to ask me!

Keith