The Most Important Tool for Long-Term Weight Loss

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I'm back!

Stay tuned to new posts about living the Spike Life! I'm sorry for being gone for so long.  My new book Spike Life is available as an "unedited/unpublished" version with Amazon Kindle.

I was tired of searching for a publisher and I've had many requests for my new book so I decided to releases it as-is for now and hoping we can recapture the Spike Hype fro ma few years ago and find a print publisher before 2015.

You can find Spike Life here at Amazon.

See ya later Spikers!

The Healthiest Snack Food

Don't be scared by the color. These little green snacks are not only one of the healthiest snacks around but they are also very tasty. All-Natural Roasted Soybeans are high in protein and fiber the two most important nutrients for weight loss. They taste very similar to peanuts and have just enough salt to satisfy cravings.

I'm an habitual eater and I love snacking. I can demolish a bag of chips in seconds so finding a healthy snack like this is a Godsend.

Give them a try!

Nutritional Breakdown:
(One Serving is 1/4 Cup)


130 Calories
    4 Grams of Fat
    9 Grams of Carbs - only 2 Net Carbs!
    7 Grams of Fiber
  13 Grams of Protein

40% of the calories are from protein and 78% of the carbs are fiber!!!

Metabolism Boosting! - Spike Chalupas

I've created a much healthier version of one of my all-time favorite fast foods, a Chalupa! Chalupa's are fried tacos that are delicious but extremely high in "bad calories". Using two of my Spike Life grocery staples, Joesph's Pitas and coconut oil, I've been able to satisfy my need to run for the border while making it a very healthy and metabolism boosting meal. The "Spike Chalupa" shell is great with low-fat taco meat, grilled chicken, and as a fried deli sandwich.

The Spike Life Chalupa

Ingredients:

• 2 Joesph's Flax Pitas
• 1 Tbsp expelled pressed coconut oil
• 4 oz of pre-grilled southwestern style chicken strips
• 1 Reduced fat cheese stick

Directions:

• Cook chicken as per the directions on box
• Rip the cheese stick into two halves
• Place each cheese stick on top of the two pitas
• Warm pitas and cheese sticks in microwave for 25 seconds
• Add coconut oil to frying pan on medium heat
• Put chicken in each pita and fold in half
• (you can add your own extras like; lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, salsa, etc. Remember to count the calories)
• When coconut oil is hot (about 2-3 minutes) add the pitas on the pan and fry
• Make sure to move the pitas in the oil to coat the each side
• Fry each side about 2 minutes.
• It's best to fry slow to get them golden brown, check each side as they fry
• When done allow them to cool for a few minutes as they can be very hot
• Enjoy

Nutrition Info:

(Per Chalupa - Recipe makes 2)

• 220 calories
•  11 grams of fat (about 6-7 grams of MCT's)
•  18 grams of carbohydrates
•    8 grams of fiber
•  22 grams of protein

Metabolism Boosting!

• Medium-Chain-Triglycerides - about 2/3 of the fat grams are in the form of MCT's. These fats cannot be stored as body-fat and can actually increase metabolism.
• High protein meal boosts metabolism through it's thermic effect (TEF)
• High fiber also boosts metabolism and makes us feel fuller longer.

The Ingredients that make this possible

*expeller pressing coconut oil removes the majority of the flavor and smell making it a very versatile cooking oil.

Spike Life is set for Fall 2012 release!

Dining Out and Losing Weight

Dining Out the Healthy Way

I very rarely eat at restaurants on non-Spike Day's but when I do I am able to find healthier and lower calorie options.

Remember the most important factor for weight loss is calories, this means you can have higher carb or fat meal and lose weight as long as you are within your calorie range for the day. This is why planning is so important. You can factor in a larger calorie dinner but eating fewer calories for your other meals. 

When dining out I typically go to a restaurants website and look at their menu and nutrition information before I arrive. That way I am able to plan ahead a healthy choice instead of making an impulsive and potentially less healthy choice. When I find myself at a restaurant without prior planning I look to see if they have a healthier options menu and choose from there. If I can not find any good options I order off the menu. This may be uncomfortable for some people but know that many people do this and it’s not an unusual request.  Most of the time the best choices are to order grilled chicken without any butter or sauce and steamed vegetables. Many grill style restaurants have these as options already.

 Best Menu Choices

• Grilled Chicken
• Grilled Fish
• Top Sirloin Steak – (“choice”& “select” instead of “prime” cuts)
• Bison Burger
• Turkey Burger
• Salad (Dressing – low-fat Italian, raspberry vinaigrette, low-fat ranch)

Best “Side” Choices

• Steamed Vegetables
• Fresh Fruit
• Baked Potato

Best Fast Food Choices

• Grilled Chicken Sandwich (without sauce or mayo)
• Fruit
• Yogurt
• Salad (Dressing – low-fat Italian, raspberry vinaigrette, low-fat ranch)
• Sub Sandwich (lean deli meat) 

My Favorite Healthy Meal for Dining Out

T.G.I Friday's Jack Daniel's Grilled Chicken
with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Veggies.

Healthy and Delicious! 

500 Calories

10 Grams of Fat

50 Carbohydrates

52 Grams of Protein

My Favorite Fast Food Meal

Wendy's Ultimate Chicken Grill & Hardee's Turkey Burger 

Wendy's Ultimate Chicken Grill with Sauce

390 Calories

10 Grams of Fat

43 Grams of Carbohydrates

 3 Grams of Fiber

34 Grams of Protein

Hardee's Turkey Burger

460 Calories

17 Grams of Fat

47 Grams of Carbohydrates

 4 Grams of Fiber

31 Grams of Protein

Spike Life set for National Release October 2012

*Not the actual Spike Life Cover 

The writing is done for my new book Spike Life and it's currently in the editing process and then off to layout & book design. It's been an exciting and fun past several months landing my first full publishing contract and then writing a new book that holds the same philosophies of the original Spike Diet but builds goes into more of the emotional and mental aspects of trying to lose weight.

Spike Diet is a great book but it's short, only 144 pages and after it was released I felt like it was missing a lot of important information and topics.  I dreamed about the opportunity to have another shot at it. So when Brio-Publishing approached me about another book I was ecstatic. I spent the next 6 months and countless hours, researching and writing so this time I would not be disappointed and wishing I could go back and add more.

Spike Life will be about 300 pages, full color, and hardcover.  The quality of the book itself is something I'm extremely excited about. This book does explain metabolism and Starvation Mode much like Spike Diet but after that it goes in depth on how we can be mentally strong and stay in total control over our food choices. There's meal plans for several different eating styles and a great section on busting conventional dieting myths. Also a great section on exercise and supplements. This is a book I'm very proud of and I'm sure it will help many people lose weight just like Spike Diet has.

Spike Life will be nationally released on October 15th and a 10 city book tour will follow.

Spike 4 Life!!!

"Nutella Like" Metabolism Boosting and Low GI Chocolate Spread

If you love Nutella like I do, then this chocolate spread is a diet lifesaver.
Very simple and very delicious.  You've read from my previous posts of the weight loss benefits of coconut oil. Well another benefit is, it makes great chocolate!!!












Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP of Expelled Pressed Coconut Oil
• 2 TBSP of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1TBSP of Agave Nectar (You can make it lower calorie by substituting Stevia or Splenda for Agave)
• Optional -One drop of hazelnut extract. (Use mint extract for a new taste!)

Directions:

1. In a small glass bowl warm coconut oil in microwave for about 25 seconds. 
2. Add cocoa powder and mix in completely. 
3. Then add agave and stir.
4. Let it cool in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes
5. When ready it should be smooth and creamy and ready to eat

Nutrition Info:

(Per TBSP makes about 2 servings)

160 Calories

14 Grams of Fat (about 9 grams of Metabolism Boosting MCT's)

 9 Grams of Low GI Carbohydrates

 1 Gram of Fiber

 1 Gram of Protein

Uses:

• On top of low-carb white flour tortillas
• On lower calorie bread
• Dipping strawberries
• On top of Ice Cream it hardens like a "Magic Shell" 
• For a healthier desert use it on top of Coconut Milk Ice Cream!!!

Spike Life is coming Fall 2012!