We are all trying to find the perfect balance between our families, our fitness, and our work.

This biggest excuse people have when they are not happy in one of these areas of life is “I don’t have the time!”

But time management is a myth, you can’t really “manage” time, you can only control what you do with your time, which is the same 24 hours a day that EVERYBODY has on this planet, despite how time-crunched you might feel.

So take the time to watch this short video on how this busy dad shares how he makes work-life balance WORK…and how you can too.

So I asked him to share them with you before it appears in the magazine;-)

The 10 Best Weight Loss Tips
by Craig Ballantyne

You’re about to discover the most important weight loss and body transformation tips I’ve ever put together.

Over the holidays I spent 16 hours reviewing every article I’d ever written
and I’ve extracted these tips as the best ones to help you lose fat and get lean in 2011.

10 Weight Loss Tips for Success

1. Sit down and plan out your complete body transformation.

Plan everything from end goals, to getting started with nutrition changes, to overcoming all of the obstacles in your way. Sit and daydream about this for 15-30 minutes.

2. Clean out your pantry.

Listen, one of the best fat loss tips is simply, “If you don’t have it in the house, you won’t eat it!”

So get rid of as much junk food as you can – and avoid bringing more into the house. Simply cutting back on junk can help you lose fat fast.

3. Get social support in-person and online (research proven to help)

Surround yourself with people who are smarter and fitter than you. Talk to them EVERY day – both in person and online.

Scientific research proves that you will lose more fat if you have social support, both in “real life” and on the internet. So hook up with friends who are going to help you reach your goal.

I recommend getting started with Turbulence Training here and using the Turbulence Training forum to connect with people just like you who also want to lose fat.

4. Use a food journal.

Write down what you eat. This is another research proven tip to help you lose fat faster. Write down everything you eat. It will help you eat better.

5. Use a professionally designed workout program.

With a program from a pro – like Turbulence Training – you’ll save time when you do fat burning exercises. One of the biggest mistakes people make is not having a plan and that wastes time and you won’t get the results you deserve.

6. Change Your Mind.

No matter what you struggle with, you must change your mindset to be a successful transformation. You must go from a person who “can’t resist cookies” to the type of person that “doesn’t eat cookies unless they are part of a planned reward meal”. That is how you win transformation contests!

7. Stop doing slow boring cardio and switch to interval training.

Research shows that it takes up to 50 hours of cardio just to lose one pound of bodyweight. Who has that kind of time? No one!

Additional research studies show that interval training burns belly fat while slow cardio doesn’t. So skip the insanely boring cardio and start getting results with interval training (as you’ll find in the Turbulence Training workouts).

Research shows that resistance training and interval training can help you gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Plus, you can burn belly fat AND boost your post-exercise metabolism. You MUST use this type of workout for guaranteed results.

8. You must be in the correct state of change.

The truth is that even the best transformation contest winners don’t lose 30 pounds of fat on their first try. They start, they stop. They begin, they give up. It happens. And it’s okay.

But when they get in the right state of change, that is when they finally breakthrough and transform! And that’s where you have to be.

9. Plan, shop, and prepare your food.

Take an hour or two on the weekend to go to the grocery store and buy all the whole, natural foods you need for the week ahead. Go home and prepare as many lunches and snacks as possible so you have the right food to eat while at work. This is a proven strategy to help you lose fat and avoid temptation!

10. Join a Transformation Contest

The deadline, social support, proven training program, and goal setting that go along with a Transformation Contest are all proven to help you lose weight.

If you want to lose fat and gain lean, sculpted muscle at the same time, there is nothing better to get you motivated and committed than a 12-week Body Transformation Contest.

But this week is the LAST CALL for you to enter the 10th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. The last day to begin is Saturday, January 15th.

Not only can you dramatically change your body, but you can also win $1000 just for losing belly fat. At least, you can when you join the Turbulence Training Transformation Contest.

All you have to do is take your before photo, and start using Turbulence Training today.

But how do you enter?

After 12 weeks, simply email us your before and after photos along with a 300-word essay about your transformation and tell us your results and the programs you used. That’s all you have to do to enter.

It’s that simple.

Now let’s get started,

=> Start with the TT for Fat Loss program here.

PS. This is the final week for you to enter the 10th TT Transformation Contest,where you can win $1000 prize just for losing belly fat.

=> See $1000 Transformation Winners here

I am here looking at the left over turkey and veggies left over in our fridge from Canadian Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, (which was even better finished off with a small slice of my wife’s Pumpkin Cheesecake;-)

It got me thinking of how many guys will feel guilty after eating a big dinner of their favorite foods…not a fun way to live!

I am writing this to you from Quebec City airport while I wait for my connecting flight to Montreal… then on to Saint John, New Brunswick.

==> http://www.dadfitness.com/TT-Travel-Report.pdf

Hope this helps you in your travels…

I hope you had a good Father’s Day weekend!

Mine started off at 6:30am when our 2 year old daughter Matea jumped in the bed with her Barbie and starts combing the dolls hair.

…Now this particular Barbie has some hair missing, thanks to my my sister’s new cat!

So Matea then climbs on top of me in the bed and begins to comb my “hair” or what’s left of it anyway;-)

Click here to view the embedded video.

No it’s not a Kit-Kat bar…

But the message behind their advertising slogan is one great way.

Gimme a Break!

1. Breakway from the Barbells

For us Gung-ho guys sometimes the hardest part of working out is NOT working out at all.  As hard as it may be when you feel you’re making progress with your workouts and the WEIGHTS are going up while your WAIST is going down, it’s always a good idea to have rest weeks designed into your training the same way you have sets and reps.

So that’s why after 12 weeks of hard and intense workouts, it’s time I take a break from the gym…and maybe you should too! Usually I try and take an entire week off from the gym every 8-10 weeks to give my body as well as my mind a rest so I can recharge my body’s batteries and be ready to start a new workout routine for another couple months.

2. Deload the Dumbbells.

Wether you are focusing on fat loss or getting stronger, when doing a longer training routine of 12-16 weeks it’s probably best to have a deload week every 4 weeks in your workouts. This is usually where you reduce the normal working weights and reps in your workout by 50%.  If you don’t have the mental muscle to stay away from the gym entirely, deload weeks are a great way to prevent burnout, get strong over time and avoid injury in the process while still remaining active.

3. Alternate don’t Adapt

Your body is made to adapt, otherwise you wouldn’t be here to read this… Research shows your body adapts to your workouts after 4-6 weeks. It adapts to your rep ranges first, then it catches on to your movement patterns. This is why it’s important to do different exercises from many different angles to stay one step ahead of that dreaded training plateau where your gains come to a screeching halt.

An example for chest would be to do barbell bench press for 4 sets of 6 reps on Monday, 2 sets of 12 of incline dumbbell presses on Wednesday and 3 sets of 8 of decline pushups on Friday…

I also like to cut myself some slack with my nutrition during my recovery week and not follow such a set eating schedule of eating 5-6 meals a day, every 3-4 hours.

Although I follow this structure 90% of the time as I believe in the benefits it gives me of higher energy and better health it’s good to go Primal every once and awhile and just eat when you’re hungry and even try intermittent fasting for 24 hours once a week.

I think the future of of food and healthy nutrition is in the past and that we should eat like our primal ancestors did most of the time sticking to wild meat, plants, nut and berries.

Eating this way and avoiding all the manufactured grains prevents our body’s fat storing hormone insulin from going on a constant roller coaster ride with our blood sugar. This way our body is burning fat for fuel, giving protein to our hungry muscles and we don’t have to worry if we go longer than 3 hours without stuffing our face.

So if you want to prevent workout burnout and be healthy and happy for the long term, sometimes it’s best to take 2 steps forward and one step back…

What can you do in 3 minutes?

You can make your bed…

You can update your Facebook status…

You can cook 3 batches of Minute Rice…

OK maybe there is a lot of things you can do in 3 minutes.

But one of the biggest obstacles we have as busy dads is finding the time to stick with our workout routine.

But in reality we all have the same amount of time in a day, so it’s really about how we MANAGE our time.

No matter what your situation, there are other dads out there juggling a lot more than you when it comes to family and fitness.

So for those days when you are about to write your scheduled workout off because of no time, I got you covered.

The 3 Minute Workout.

This bodyweight workout can be done anywhere at anytime without any equipment.

No, this shouldn’t replace your regular workout, despite what the TV infomercials want you to believe, you won’t get abs in 7 minutes!

But for a quick metabolic boost that will give you some energy and burn up some calories, put this workout in your training toolbox as an Emergency Workout.

So you now have NO EXCUSES. But you do have 3 minutes…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you have an Emergency Workout? Let me know by posting a comment below.

So in honor of Sponge Bob’s tasty Krabby Patties (if you have kids you know what I am talking about…)

It’s a super simple recipe that is high in protein which is good for building lean muscle but without all the gut busting fats that are found in the deep fried batter and tartar sauce covered cakes you might see at your typical seafood restaurant.

Crispy Crab Cakes

1 can of crab meat

2 tbsp minced jalapenos

2 green onions

1/2 of minced red bell pepper

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 tsp dijon mustard

juice of 1 lemon

garlic seasoning

salt and pepper

3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425 F

Mix everything in a bowl except 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

Using your hands form the crab cakes into patties.

Spread the remaining bread crumbs on a plate and coat each pattie in the crumbs.

Shape each breaded crab cake into patties the size of hockey pucks….
GO CANADA!

Place them on a non-stick baking sheet. I like to cover the baking sheet with parchment paper for no stick and easy clean-up.

Bake for 15 minutes or until brown and crispy.

Top with a spoonful of plain yogurt or seafood sauce. Enjoy!

For more meals plans for men go to www.DadFitness.com to get the Dad Fitness Cookbook for FREE!

Do you have a favorite quick and healthy recipe? Let me know by posting a comment below.

…On Saturday night we headed over to my parents for some HNIC. HNIC is a Canadian tradition and stands for Hockey Night In Canada which airs on CBC for any of you south of the border.

I know you probably don’t want to see another Turkey for awhile after the holidays but that doesn’t mean you have to turn away every recipe with the word Turkey!

So here is a simple healthy recipe for Turkey Sausage Stir-Fry that can be whipped up and on the dinner table in 20 minutes and it’s so simple even a Turkey can do it, no offense…

It only requires 2 ingredients so I don’t even know if you can call this a recipe.

It’s just a damn tasty and healthy meal that you can feed your family without having to worry about all the heart pounding fat and nitrites found it regular sausage.

Here is what I used:

1 pkg of Lilydale Tailgate Italian Turkey Sausage (hot)

1 bag of Artic Garden’s frozen mixed veggies (Thai)

For the sausages: Pre-heat skillet over medium heat, then add sausages and 250ML (1 cup) of water. Cover and heat for 10 minutes, turning sausages once. Remove cover, and cook until golden brown (Approximately 10 minutes).

Slice up sausages and set aside.

For the veggies: Pour vegetables in a microwaveable dish with 1/4 cup of water. Add vegetables. Cook in microwave on high power for recommended time.

Throw cooked sausage slices and cooked veggies back in skillet and stir and fry for a couple minutes.

That’s it.  Serve and relish in the applause coming from the family dinner table!

Got a “Super Snack” idea you would like to share? Be sure to post a comment below!

]]> http://dadfitnessblog.com/tasty-snacks-that-burn-fat-1463/feed 3 http://dadfitnessblog.com/the-worlds-strongest-dad-2-665 http://dadfitnessblog.com/the-worlds-strongest-dad-2-665#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:45:27 +0000 Sean Barker http://dadfitnessblog.com/?p=665

You won’t believe what I am going to do tomorrow…