A very good friend and longtime fitness titans sponsor has opened up shop at vikingmuscle.com

A little intro:

Viking Muscle is a site dedicated to sharing health and fitness tips. This site will focus on tips to maintain a healthy weight, With over 10 years of life experiance to draw on, Viking Muscle prides itself on bringing you the most efficient natural ways to achieve maximum levels of fitness..  This site will be updated once or twice a week to give you as much help as possible to achieve your goals.

Healthy Chicken Wings
Ingredients:

Frozen chicken wings, as many as you like
2 cups Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/2 onion, sliced
1 tbsp. minced garlic
Pam
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Spray Pam on baking sheet. Put slices of onion down and spread minced garlic over onions. Place frozen chicken wings atop the sliced onions. Place wings in the oven for 1 hour or until juices of chicken run clear. After 1/2 hour flip wings.

While wings are cooking pour wing sauce into a pot on the stove and heat thru. After warming up the sauce transfer it to a large ziplock bag or a large container.

After the wings are done cooking add them to the sauce-filled bag and shut tightly. Shake vigorously. This procedure may need to be repeated due to how many wings you have and the size of the container. Remove wings and put them on a plate to serve with Celery.

Healthy French Onion Dip

Ingredients:
Fat Free Sour Cream
Carmelized Onions
Thyme
Garlic Salt
Directions:
Mix Everything together thoroughly with just a dash of garlic salt.  Serve with celery, carrots, and wheat thins for dipping.

 Healthy Spicy Veggie Chili

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped chipotles in adobo 1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
3 cups cooked red kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, drained
Method

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, peppers and garlic and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until vegetables are softened but not browned. Add chipotles, oregano, cumin, chili powder and salt. Stir to blend. Add tomatoes and 4 cups water. Gently simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Add beans and simmer an additional 30 minutes. Garnish individual bowls with green onions or sour cream, if desired.

How many times have you heard “Drink more water?”  It has been said time and again that in order to lose weight we need to drink more water. In fact, this is a central theme that most weight loss plans have as a major suggestion. Water is an essential part of any diet but there are other liquids we really shouldn’t ignore.  This is a somewhat against-the-grain idea because the first thing you will hear in planning weight loss is “eliminate liquid calories.”  While this is true, there are a few liquids which can be very helpful.

So we know that water is an essential part of the body although we do not think about what we need from it. Water has a lot of function, such as lubricating the entire body, stopping us from being constipated, keeping our kidneys functioning well and helping us get minerals and other nutrients to our cells. Since water is important to the entire body it is a good idea to have plenty of it available to help the body function properly and prepare the internal environment to accept good food and nutrition. Water helps when you are working on the fastest way to lose weight.  Although the general rule has always been to drink 8 glasses of water a day to lose weight, we actually need more than this amount and that it is liquids of all types not just water. We recommend you drink at least 14 glasses of water a day for men and 12 for women.   So on top of that amount of water, you can also drink some of the following:

So what other liquids should I be drinking?

1) Green tea
Green tea has been shown to promote well being, aid in weight loss, and boost the immune system.  One cup of green tea is not a difficult thing to get in.

2) (Skim) Milk
Despite the growing organic movement and the anti-milk new age hippy attitude that seems to be pervasive at the moment, milk is still a great liquid.  The protein in milk helps in muscle development and weight loss.  Ever seen that milk commerical where the milk glass gets skinnier to look like a figure?  Its not so far off from the truth.

3) Coffee
Thats right, in moderation coffee can be great for you.  Several studies have shown coffee might actually help fight cancer.  Just remember coffee has caffeine which is a stimulant (helping with fat loss) however it is also a dieretic so make sure and drink an extra glass or two of water.

1) No liquid calories (with the exception of a post-workout drink).

Get rid of all the juices, the sodas, and the sports drinks. Liquid sugar is the last thing you need when you are trying to lose fat.

You must also limit your alcohol intake - especially if you are adding mix to drinks…that is a double calorie bomb! A single margarita can be over 600 calories.

2) No fast food.

Do not eat at fast food restaurants. Even if you choose what you think is healthy, remember this:

Fast food restaurants are all about profit.

And in order to profit while giving you cheap, quick, and easy to prepare foods, the quality of the food ingredients will be poor - especially the protein.

Now you might have read that you can still make healthy choices at fast food restaurants. But you know what, that’s just politically-correct opinion. If it’s fast food, it’s poor food.

Walking into a burger joint and grabbing a chicken breast on a white bread bun with a piece of old lettuce and a half-green, half-pink tomato is “barely” healthy eating.

The politically-incorrect truth is that it’s going to take time and effort to eat properly. You will have to plan, shop, and prepare healthy meals. You will have to spend time cleaning, cutting, and cooking your food. That’s the truth.

But believe me, it will taste so much better than fast food, and healthy eating will make you more alert. Eating fast food will make you feel terrible, and will make you want to have an afternoon nap at your desk.

Make one small improvement to your nutrition everyday for the rest of your life.

3) Eat more fruits and vegetables.

If you are eating 2 servings per day, then go up to 4 servings per day by the end of the week. And even if you think you are doing great by having 5 servings per day, you still need to double that (take 2-3 weeks to work your way up to 10 servings per day).

Stick with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables - organic if possible.

4) Eat 1oz of almonds or walnuts per day (1/2 oz in the AM, and the other half in the afternoon).

Most nuts are roasted in oils (possible source of trans fats), so stick to natural or dry-roasted nuts.

Don’t panic…this small amount of nuts won’t make you fat, but will fill you up and help you lose weight.

5) Be consistent with your workouts.

And make sure the workouts are efficient and effective. To make it easy for you to follow, stick with the Turbulence Training fat burning workout system.

It doesn’t matter if you train in the morning before or after breakfast, or at night before or after dinner, or at 1pm on days when the moon is in line with Saturn…don’t worry about the details, just train consistently.

Green tea is great for its numerous health benefits: it’s been linked to burning fat, raising metabolism, lowering cholesterol, as well as improving the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol, preventing cancer, and preventing neurogenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Researchers have also claimed that drinking 5 cups of green tea a day helps the body burn an extra 70-80 calories per day. Green tea has about a quarter of the caffeine content of coffee, so dangers of the so called “caffeine overdose” that I have heard in criticism of green tea diets are just plain not there.

Green tea has so many health benefits because green tea contains the anti-oxidant EGCG. EGCG not only inhibits the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. Green tea even contains more antioxidants than many fruits and vegetables. Additionally, green tea can help prevent heart disease because it contains polyphenols, which lower cholesterol levels. This is one of the reasons why the rate of heart disease in Japanese men is quite low despite 75% being smokers.

I like the traditional breakfast: omelets, pancakes, and French toast.  If your not into fruits or oatmeal, but love breakfast, you can have 3 absolutely delicious, healthy breakfasts that are high in protein, and have good, slow-digesting carbs by just making a few adjustments to the recipe:

1.) FRENCH TOAST — Instead of quick-digesting white bread, opt for 2 slices of whole wheat toast.  Batter in 1 egg mixed with cinnamon.  Serve with sugar-free or low-sugar syrup.

2.) OMELET — You could use 2 eggs, but if you’re striving for a low-fat diet, you can use egg whites.  Add vegetables (I would go with peppers and onions) and low-fat ham, or potatoes, with 2% milk cheese (cheddar, provolone, mozzarella, or whatever you prefer).

3.) PANCAKES — With protein powder pancakes, you can make pancakes with oatmeal, cottage cheese, and eggs.  It’s loaded with protein and still delicious: just add cinnamon and vanilla extract.  Serve with sugar-free or low-sugar syrup.

There was an interesting article in Men’s Fitness a while back on 5 ways that you can shed 5 pounds in 30 days.  It ranges from switching beers, having more sex, and hitting the batting cages.  See how a few simple adjustments can show up on the scale.

1.) Ditch regular beer and switch to Guinness.  Guiness suprisingly has few calories than most beers (including light beers) with only 89 calories per 12-ounce beer, brilliant!  Calories saved by drinking Guinness all month: 816.

5.) Ride your bike.  If you ride your bike 5 hours this month at 20 miles per hour you’ll burn 4,571 calories.

Fish should be a staple of your diet, and today we are going to focus on salmon.  Salmon is commonly known as one of the best foods to eat for your health, but not many people know why.  Here is a list of reasons why you should include more salmon in your diet:

1.) Salmon is loaded with protein and muscle-building amino acids.

2.) Salmon is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which help your body make anti-inflammatory coumpounds that soothe body aches and pains, as well as support fat-loss.  Omega-3’s also help skin recover from skin damage from UV rays.

3.) Salmon is high in Vitamin D, which supports strong bones and can help ward off colan caner.

4.) Salmon is high in Selenium, which can help lower your risk of prostate cancer.

I love pizza.  When I say that I love pizza I mean I love it a lot.  I was one of the kids who in 5th grade when they would ask “what is your favorite food”  “Pizza!”  The problem with pizza is that its kind of devilish in its unhealthyness…

After all, it does contain the four major food groups (finally, the food pyramid comes in handy!). You know — the cheese comes from the dairy group; the crust comes from the bread and grains group; the pepperoni comes from the meat group; and the tomato comes from the fruits and vegetables group. Sounds healthy to me. Pizza’s calorically humble beginning was as a garnished flat bread sold by street vendors in 18th century Naples. Then, in 1889, Naples’ most famous pizza chef, Raffaele Esposito, created a pie for Queen Margherita topped with tomato, basil and cheese to resemble the Italian flag. But it wasn’t until 1905 that the pizza craze really began — when the first American pizza parlor opened its doors in New York City. Today, we eat close to 3 billion pizza pies per year — which is certainly not helping our country’s weight problem

But pizza is not the problem; it’s the way we consume it. “With all the different toppings available, and the ‘don’t stop ’till you’re stuffed’ approach to eating it, pizza can really hinder a weight loss program,” says New York City nutritionist Carey Clifford, MS, RD. “In fact, the average person eats 2 or more slices, or roughly 9 ounces of pizza, in one sitting. That’s about 540 calories and 8 grams of fat — and that’s before the toppings,” which can be an additional 50 to 150 calories and 5 to 15 grams of fat.

Wondering how to keep your pizza healthy without adding to your waistline?

Forget the cheese

When you’re ordering your pizza, one of the easiest ways to save on calories and fat is simply to go cheese-less (or maybe half the cheese — you can hardly taste the difference). Also, you can order a pizza with some healthy toppings like grilled chicken or vegetables, and sprinkle your cheese-less pizza with some Parmesan for extra flavor.

Cut the crust

If you can’t imagine a pizza without cheese, at least steer yourself away from extra cheese, deep dish, and stuffed crust pizzas — all of which pack on calories and fat. For example, 2 slices of Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust Pizza Supreme contain 820 calories and a whopping 40 grams of fat — that’s approximately two thirds of the daily fat allowance!

Veggie-tales

Ask for plenty of veggies on top — like broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, or even artichoke hearts. All these selections are low in calories and high in fiber and nutrients — which means you feel fuller with less calories. Watch out for the extra cheese that many pizzerias pile on when you order vegetable toppings, and make sure the vegetables aren’t drenched in oil or butter.

Watch Your Sides

It’s not only the pizza that you have to look out for. Most pizzerias serve garlic bread, bread sticks, Buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks and more — all of which are high in calories and fat. For example, Domino’s serves ‘Cinna Sticks with Icing,’ which have 122 calories and 6 grams of fat per stick, plus an additional 30 calories per serving of the icing. With 8 sticks per order, you might as well help yourself to an entire pizza!

Get rid of the oil

This might be seen as a bit unsanitary or poor manners, but you can use a napkin to blot off extra oil from your slice of pizza (I actually had a girlfriend in college that did this). Each tablespoon of oil contains 14 grams of fat and 120 calories, so any savings on oil will translate into big savings in your total calories and fat for the day.

Why do we eat? We all know why we should be eating: to supply our bodies with plenty of energy to get through the day; to get nutrients like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals which help us to stay healthy and free of disease; and to get useful carbohydrates, proteins, and fats—all of which contribute to running our bodies properly and maintaining good health.

But sometimes we can all be guilty of eating for other reasons. We love food! And that’s great! Eating should be pleasurable, not just nutritious. Food is everywhere: books are devoted to cooking and recipes, we find ourselves daydreaming and even talking about the newest restaurant or our favorite foods.

Many times we eat to celebrate—holidays, job promotions, graduations, weddings…we’ll find just about any achievement (”I raked the yard!”, “We sold our house!”, “My favorite team won!”) to be celebration-worthy, and we’ll eat to commemorate it.

Other times, we let our emotions take over. When we’re stressed out, sad, angry, or lonely, we oftentimes turn to food to comfort us. Even starting (and staying on) a new diet can be stressful, especially when emotions creep in.

In our food-obsessed culture with out-of-control portions always lurking within our grasps, how can we not overeat? It’s hard to break habits and go against the lessons we have always been taught, like cleaning our plates, not being wasteful, or getting the best deal—which usually means ordering up and getting a lot more food for the money.

There are many ways to stop overeating. While some may seem silly…silly just may work for you. From the following list, find a few that work best for you, and try several. For example, if you find yourself eating out a lot, experiment with the dining out options more. After finding the strategies that work, stick with them. Over time, you’ll break the habits of overeating and form new habits. Pretty soon, you won’t even need the strategies at all, and you’ll be on your way to a permanent lifestyle change!

Skills for Any Setting
Whether you’re cooking your own meal, eating at work, or snacking at a football game, here are the strategies you can take anywhere:

* Know your portion sizes. Make your own “portion pack” to take with you or keep the following common items in mind when preparing and eating meals.
o A golf ball is the size of a serving of nuts (including peanut butter) or cheese.
o A deck of playing cards is equivalent to 3 ounces of any meat.
o Use a die to estimate a proper serving of oils and fats.
o For fruit and veggie servings, use a tennis ball.
o One serving of cooked grains or potatoes is about the size of a computer mouse.
* Divide your plate. When cooking at home, looking at pictures on menus, or shopping ala carte at the work cafeteria, your plate should look like this:
o Half (or more) of the plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables.
o Protein-rich foods (meat or legumes) and starches (grains, potatoes, bread) should take up one quarter of the plate each.
o Fill your “divided plate” only once. If you’re still hungry, have another half-plate of vegetables. It’s that simple.
o Portion-controlled plates are available to buy as well…although they’re much more expensive than drawing an imaginary line. Try the Diet Plate.
* Quench your hunger with water. Instead of high-calorie, low-nutrient drinks like soda, alcohol, or other sugary drinks, choose water. It’s free wherever you go, and most people don’t meet their 8-10 cups-a-day requirement. Drink water before, during, and after a meal to slow yourself down while eating and curb hunger.
* Fill up on Fiber. The healthiest and most filling foods are high in fiber—think fruits and veggies, and whole, unprocessed grains. Adding fiber to your diet will aid in weight loss, and keep you feeling fuller longer, so you may eat less.
* Supportive groups are crucial. Surround yourself with positive people who motivate you to reach your goals, not those who want to sabotage your efforts. When you feel tempted, emotional, or if you have already gotten off-track, turn to your support group. Call a friend, email a family member, or get online to the SparkPeople support boards. Sometimes all you need is a short word of advice from a friendly voice.

Tips at Home
Cooking at home may be the easiest way to control your portions during a meal, but it also presents us with fully-stocked cupboards and refrigerators that can be tempting:

* Bring home healthy fast food. Try precut, frozen, canned or microwave-in-the-bag vegetables. Automatic portion control.
* Stop the Taste-Testing Habit. If you’re the cook in the family, you may be eating a lot of calories when you taste your foods as you cook. To stop this natural habit, try chewing gum while you prepare you meals. Each time you are tempted to sneak a bite, you’ll have to take the gum out of your mouth. This will make you more conscious of what you’re doing.
* Make fruit your dessert. It’s a great way to get more produce into your diet, and it satisfies the sweet craving many people have after a meal. Experiment with new and exotic fruits. And, when it comes to fruit, eating a little extra isn’t a bad thing.
* Keep your hands busy. Many people want to eat when bored or just out of habit while watching TV. Keep your hands occupied with something else, and you won’t want to eat. Try knitting, painting your nails, shuffling cards, petting your cat—anything that keeps your hands moving will do the trick. Or, keep your whole body busy by doing crunches, squats, lunges or other body exercises while you watch.
* Feeling hungry? Try this first. Try drinking a glass or two of water. Many people mistake what is actually dehydration for hunger.
* When you feel the urge to snack or keep eating, take an exercise break. Walk around the block for 5 or 10 minutes, run up and down the stairs, or distract yourself with anything for about 10 minutes. You’ll probably find that you weren’t really hungry, but bored instead.
* Buy snack-size portions. Don’t buy more of your unhealthy snacks just to save a buck or two. If you have trouble controlling yourself—if you eat the whole bag of chips before you realize what you’ve done—then buy snack size items. You can find chips, pretzels, cookies, snack cakes, soda, juice, ice cream, and even cereal in single serving sizes.
* Make a rule that works for you and your family. No eating in front of the TV, in the car, or at your desk. This will help you avoid mindless eating when you’re not hungry.

Tricks for Dining Out
It’s difficult to control your portions—not to mention ingredients and cooking method—when you are at a restaurant. Despite this, there are several things you can control:

* Inquire about portion sizes. If it sounds huge, and it probably is, ask the server to split your entrée in half. Tell them to box up half ahead of time (and maybe even keep it in the kitchen until you’re ready to leave). Or, split the dish with a friend.
* Order ala carte. Many, if not all restaurants are notorious for their enormous portions. When you feel like you can’t win on size, or if even half of an entrée is still way too big, order side items. Most restaurants do offer staples like baked potatoes, steamed fresh veggies, and rice dishes. Or, even if it’s dinnertime, ask for the lunch portion. You may have to pay the dinner price, but you’ll save yourself from eating way too much, and you’ll be much happier about that.
* Decide ahead of time what you’ll order. That way, you won’t be tempted by the less-healthy fare when you look at the menu. If you’re familiar with the menu, don’t even look at it—simply order what you already had in mind.
* Don’t be afraid to make substitutions in ingredients and cooking methods. Many people don’t like to be picky at restaurants, but think of it this way. They’re there to meet your needs and serve you. If they don’t have something you want, ask! Vegetarians and vegans know this scenario all-too-well, because they have to modify almost every dish on the menu to be able to eat it. Waiters and waitresses will want to comply and help out (because it means tips for them), and chefs can easily make modifications. Some things to try:
+ Different cooking methods. If your dish is fried or high in oil, ask for steamed or stir-fry options.
+ Take something out. Ask for less or complete removal of cheese, sour cream, gravy, special sauces, mayonnaise, etc.
+ Add something new. Ask for extra veggies in your salad, or to add vegetables to a dish (like pizza or pasta) that doesn’t normally contain them.
* Substitute. Get the plain baked potato instead of the mammoth french fries; Ask for grilled chicken on your salad instead of breaded.
* Tell your server you don’t want the free bread, chips, etc. when you first arrive. Or, if you do eat it, let them know that you don’t need another round.
* Ask for dressings, sauces, and condiments on the side. Use just enough to taste. Many “sides” of salad dressings are still 2-5 times as big as the recommended 2-tablespoon servings.
* Don’t pick at the food left on your plate. Put your utensils on your plate so the handles get dirty. You won’t want to pick them up again, and you won’t mindlessly eat more while chatting over dinner. Or, try laying your napkin over top of the remaining food. Out of sight, out of mind.