8 Simple Rules...

...Well, not quite rules, but 8 Simple Reasons Why I FAST on a weekly basis.

I get at least 3 emails per week asking me about why I enjoy fasting for 24hrs once or twice per week.

I had heard about flexible intermittent fasting before, but hadn't tried it until about a year and a half ago when I met Brad Pilon, the author of the controversial Anti-DIET book EatStopEat.

Brad is a big science geek (and I mean that in the most affectionate way), and his approach towards food and nutrition is a breath of fresh air.

No stringent eat THIS, not THAT rules.

No carrying around a scale to measure how much protein/carbs/fat I'm eating.

No BS.

Here are 8 Reasons Why I enjoy FASTING and why I think ALL BUSY DADS should take advantage of fasting as well...

1. Growth Hormone - There are 3 factors that will positively affect the amount of HGH that you produce. 1) Sleep - get a good quality 7-9hrs per night; 2) INTENSE Exercise - notice how I said "intense"...lift weights and break records - cardio may actually have an opposite effect on your HGH levels; 3) FASTING - HGH levels start to increase the longer you are into your 24hr fast.

2. I hate counting calories. - I think it's stupid. Don't call yourself a busy dad if you count calories because you wouldn't be so busy if you took that time counting and spent it doing more productive things. If you focus on eating QUALITY foods the way mother nature intended - raw fruits & veggies, meat & fish and healthy fats - and just stopped eating before you get full, then you'd lose weight. I'd bet the house on it. Sorry, guys. That's the truth.

3. It lets me eat whatever I want. My consciousness of health has changed over the years, so when I say "eat whatever I want", that still means that I eat healthily. Rarely do I ever "want" fried crap like fries, onion rings or egg rolls. I'll eat the occasional burger (not from a fast food place, but from a good burger shop...actually called The Burger Shoppe). I eat pasta because I make it at home. Ditto for pizza.

4. I'm more productive. Imagine a life where you don't have to worry about food. You don't need to worry about what you're eating next. You don't have to prepare snacks/meals for your work day. If I know that I need to get some good, quality, uninterrupted work done, then I'll fast on that day. It's usually a Wednesday.

5. I break records in the weight room. Fasting seems to trigger something PRIMAL in me that just really increases the intensity of my weight workouts. When I lift on fasting days, I've broken records in my dead lift, push press and chin-ups.

6. I appreciate food more. When you fast, you really examine your relationship with food. Fasting has allowed me to demand more quality in the food I eat. It's made me appreciate food more and has deterred me from settling for "convenience crap". My family and I buy, prepare and consume only GOOD QUALITY food...and we appreciate how lucky we are to be able to eat and have access to such good food.

7. It allows me to stay between 9 - 11% body fat year round. I'm not a bodybuilder (surprise, surprise), so I don't go through "bulking" phases and "cutting" phases. I'm a busy dad who knows that my kids are watching my every move, so instead, I choose to eat healthy (but not restrictive) 365 days a year.

8. It's ridiculously simple. It's a lifestyle where I don't have to worry about what, when or how much I eat. I've got 4 kids...4 daughters at that! I run a business. I enjoy spending time with my wife. I have laundry to do. Volleyball & soccer practices to run. I have mouths to feed. ONE LESS THING to worry about is a welcome luxury.

Interested in trying out an EatStopEat Lifestyle?

Now's the time to try. Brad is having a special promo where you'll also get his latest controversial book "How Much Protein?".

=>Start living an EatStopEat Lifestyle Today!

Chris Lopez
The FitAndBusyDad

P.S. Adding FASTING to you life is the perfect compliment to living the FitAndBusyDad Lifestyle! Click HERE to get started with FitAndBusyDad Workouts today!

Yesterday's Afternoon Workout

I've been on a quest to build some muscle lately so I've been eating a little more than usual and have really been trying to hit the weights hard.

So my plan is to get to the gym (I'm lucky in that I work in one...kind of) and hit the weights 3 x week and then do one recovery workout at home with some fun kettlebell stuff (see my post from Monday).

Yesterday, here's what went down...

1) Weighted Chin-ups, 5 sets (I worked up to 5 reps w/a 60lb DB attached to my waist)

2a) DB Incline Press, 3 sets x 8
2b) DB Row, 3 sets x 12

3a) Full Contact Twist, 3 sets x 15
3b) Face Pull, 3 sets x 15

Why is it that a 60lb DB attached to your waist feels lighter than doing chins with a 45lb weighted vest?

A lot of experts say that I should constantly have food in my mouth if I want to really pack some muscle on.

But, I'm still following my buddy Brad Pilon's EatStopEat plan by fasting once per week because I feel it plays a huge role in regulating my hormones (mainly HGH) and because I just seem so much more productive when I'm fasting.

So TODAY is a fasting day because I have A LOT of work to do.

When I get home tonight, I'm making steak with some brown rice and black beans...a little Mexican flavor today! Can't wait!

Enjoy your day,
CL
The FitAndBusyDad

P.S. My muscle building workouts still follow the FitAndBusyDad principles. My workout yesterday, from start to finish, lasted only 32-minutes!

=>Get started with FitAndBusyDad workouts!

An Experiment Gone Bad?

About 3 weeks ago, my wife and I set out on a quest to try to stay under a grocery/food budget of $200 for our family of 6. It's the middle of the final week now, as November comes to a close, and it's been pretty friggin' hard.

As of today, we've spent $196 on our groceries/food. Not bad for 3 weeks. We've managed to use up almost all of the food in our freezer. We're more conscious of not letting things go bad in the fridge and making sure that we don't let anything go to waste.

But it's been a trying experience and to ask us to just spend $4 for the rest of the week on food for our growing family is, to put bluntly, NEGLECTFUL.

We've clipped coupons, shopped at local farmer's markets, used up all of the organic meat in our freezer and 90% of the canned beans in our pantry.

We've been invited, more often than usual, to my in-laws for dinner on Friday and/or Saturday nights. My father-in-law has bought dinner for the entire family AT LEAST 1 night per week after he picks-up the kids for us (bless his kind soul).

Rozanne and I have also followed a strict Eat-STOP-Eat Lifestyle, fasting every 5 days and we've both lost some weight. In fact, in keeping up with my workouts (using a Bod Pod measurement) I've manage to drop my body fat percentage to 10% while maintaining the same amount of lean mass that I started with.

But...

"CAN A HEALTHY-EATING FAMILY OF 6 LIVE ON JUST A $200 FOOD/GROCERY MONTHLY BUDGET?"

The answer, for THIS family at least, is a big fat

NO!

Like I mentioned in my first blog post this month, our family theme for November, is GRATITUDE (that's what the symbol above means).

So believe me, we're thankful...

Thankful that we can afford more than $200/month for healthy (and in most cases organic) food.

Thankful that we have a supportive extended family that have our backs.

Thankful that we know where our next meal is coming from and that it's never a choice for us to either feed the kids or pay for an electricity bill.

I wouldn't call this past experiment "fun".

A better word would be enlightening.

It's made us realize (again) how lucky we are with what we have - not just us as a family, but as a society with electricity, indoor plumbing, running water and heated (or air conditioned) homes.

Would I try this all again? Probably not. I think I would try to cut out other excessive things in our life (not that there's a lot of them). But good quality food, as I have said before, I won't compromise.

That said, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my friends south of the border. I hope that you experience immense gratitude the same way my family and I have over this past month.

Now please excuse me while I hit the grocery store :-)

CL
The FitAndBusyDad

A New York State of Mind

We're due for some quality family time .

The summer's been incredibly busy and the weather in Toronto this weekend was resemblant to that of late October...it was pretty damn cold for August up here.

So we're packing the kids up and driving to NYC. My cousin's getting married this weekend so we're there give him some moral support.

We're taking the kids to FAO Schwartz to play on the BIG piano. Going to swing by American Doll (although if they think that I'm dropping $100 a piece on a doll they've got another thing coming). We'll go to Niketown and do the whole 5th Avenue and Soho thing. Rozanne and I are going to MOMA to check out the prefab exhibit (it's a dream of ours to build a modern prefab home in the country) and I'm trying to convince her to try to get in on a pick-up soccer game at Central Park. Maybe over to Canal Street for some "Hucci" purses or some "Frada" shoes. I think AJ even wants to find out what the big deal is with a Coney Island Hot Dog too.

The hotel where we're staying at doesn't have a very good gym. After speaking to them on the phone I think they have a universal gym and a slant board to do some "abs". So I'm packing my Lifeline Jungle Gym and maybe my 24kg kettlebell. There's a park close by, so if I wake up early enough I'll be able to get my workouts in. I better be able to , they only last 20-minutes.

I don't want to waste time spending an hour and half to 2 hours going to a gym and doing a "traditional" workout. I want to spend time with the family. Plus, Rozanne won't be cool with me taking off for a huge block of time and leaving her with the kids in an unfamiliar city.

There'll be a lot to do what with the wedding and all the site seeing. So my plan is to use my FitAndBusyDad workouts and follow Brad Pilon's EatStopEat lifestyle 2 or 3 days while we're gone. I'll be filming an updated Vacation Program video and a TOP SECRET video that's still in the works (it'll be pretty cool if I can get away with it).

We're all set to have some fun just being a family without the "distractions" of our regular everyday Toronto life. I'm looking forward to it.

CL
The FitAndBusyDad

P.S. Does anyone know where the best (organic) espresso is in NYC?

P.P.S. Remember, you don't need a gym to get LEAN & STRONG. Click HERE to get your best FitAndBusyDad body while you're on the road.