If your over 30, are you experiencing?

• Decreased sex drive
• Low muscle density
• Low energy throughout the day
• Trouble getting a good nights sleep

When a man reaches 30, your testosterone levels start to falter, and will continue to decline as you age. Doctor’s refer to this problem as “Low-T”.

Although this drop can be normal,Low T can dramatically affect a man’s health. In many ways, testosterone is the stuff that makes men, men.

The rush of new testosterone in puberty builds muscle and bone, deepens the voice, and revs up the sex drive. Throughout a man’s life, testosterone maintains these male characteristics.
When Testosterone begins to drop, you may start to noticed some, or all of these symptoms:

• Low sex drive
• Erectile dysfunction
• Mood problems
• Fatigue, and sleep disturbances.

Of all men with below-normal testosterone levels, about one-half to two-thirds report symptoms.

The Man Stack from Total Nutrition is specifically designed to help reverse many of the symptoms associated with Low T naturally, without the side effects commonly found in prescription medication use*.

The ingredients within The Man Stack products work to support your body’s natural testosterone production, and helps elevate your sex drive, muscle density, mood, energy levels and to sleep better*.

“Low T” is defined as having less than 300 nanograms per deciliter of blood.

If you’re having some of these symptoms, don’t wait, come speak to one of Total Nutrition’s Certified Sports Nutritionists today!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Make it easy on yourself! Order your meals ready to eat.

Pilates, stability ball, and balance training again failed to appear on the list of top 20 trends in the health and fitness industry, supporting the theory that these were fads and not trends.

The Top 10 For 2013

10.  Group Personal Training – the answer for sluggish economy is join a small group and share the cost for semi-personal training rather than going it alone.

9.  Core Training – Core training stresses strength and conditioning of the stabilizing muscles of the abdomen, thorax, and back.

It typically includes exercises of the hips, lower back, and abdomen, all of which provide support for the spine and thorax. Exercising the core muscles improves overall stability of the trunk and transfers that to the extremities, enabling the individual to meet the demands of activities of daily living and for the performance of various sports that require strength, speed, and agility.

Core training often uses stability balls, BOSU balls, wobble boards, foam rollers, and other pieces of equipment.

8.  Functional Fitness – Functional fitness may be defined as using strength training to improve balance, coordination, force, power, and endurance to improve one’s ability to perform activities of daily living.

Functional fitness programs reflect actual activities one might do as a function of daily living.

7.  Personal Training – As more professional personal trainers are educated and become certified (see trend no. 1), they become more accessible to more people in all sectors of the health and fitness industry.

6.  Fitness Programs for Older Adults – The concern for the health of aging adults has been consistently at the top of the survey. The baby boom generation is now aging into retirement, and are accustomed to living active lifestyles.

They also heed the examples of their parents and research that staying fit dramatically improves the quality of life long into their future.

5.  Exercise and Weight Loss – For many years, weight loss programs have been trying to infuse a regular exercise program into the caloric restriction diets of many popular commercial programs. This has been a growing trend since the survey began in 2007.

The combination of exercise and diet is essential for weight loss maintenance and can improve compliance to caloric restriction diets and in particular weight loss programs.

4.  Children and Obesity – Pediatricians and fitness experts are all but begging the schools to reinstate daily gym class and put recess back into the school day for pre-k through 6th graders.

The last 20 years has seen a dramatic decrease in schools allowing physical activity in lieu of more time in the classroom. Not only is this dangerous for the kid’s health, it has shown to adversely effect children’s ability to learn, concentrate & test scores have decreased during this same period.

Many schools have completely wiped out gym class and recess, while others allow gym once a week and maybe 15 minutes of recess. This is NOT enough. This also effects all of us, even if we don’t have kids through higher health care costs.

Make it a point in 2013 to contact your state legislators to use legislation to reinstate both gym and recess a minimum of 45 minutes a day in our schools. (Side note: if you tell the schools 30 minutes, the kids will get 15 minutes, so parents need to monitor for compliance.)

3.  Body Weight Training – Appearing for the first time in the trend survey is body weight training.

Body weight training did not appear as an option in previous surveys because it has only now become popular (as a defined trend) in gyms around the world; this is not to say that body weight training has not been used previously.

On the contrary, people have been using their own body weights for centuries as a form of resistance training. Packaging it as an exercise program has now made it popular in all kinds of gyms.

Body weight training often uses minimal equipment, which makes it an inexpensive way to exercise effectively. Most people think of body weight training as being limited to push-ups and pull-ups, but it can be much more than that. Body weight training may be a trend to watch as more people get “back to the basics.”

2.  Strength Training – Strength training remains at the no. 2 position for the second year in a row but has been a strong trend since the first year of this survey.

This trend calls for both men and women to incorporate strength training into their exercise routines or to use it as the primary form of exercise.

Historically, many clients of both community-based programs and commercial clubs trained exclusively using weights, and there are still those who lift weights for body building.

However, today, there are many other individuals (both men and women, young and old, and children) whose main focus is on using weight training to improve or maintain strength

1.  Educated, Certified, and Experienced Fitness Professionals – It has become clear that in this still sluggish economy, as the market for fitness professionals becomes even more crowded and more competitive, those professionals with a national third-party accreditation have a way to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Need we say more?

One tip:  The great northern bean is very delicate in flavor & can be easily over powered. Mix your dip & allow it to sit for an hour before you add any additional seasoning – especially the garlic. You can also use black beans as a substitute for the great northern.

Since this dip has no fat, you can splurge a little by eating with tortilla chips & still be okay on your fat intake for the day. Read the chip bag’s nutrition facts for fat content. Regular tortilla chips are usually 1 gram of fat per chip – but do have protein also…

Ingredients:

2 -15 oz. cans Great Northern Beans. Try Westbrae Organic – no “consequences” with this brand!

1 – 10 oz. can of diced tomatoes with chilies like Ro*tel

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning – or to taste

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1/4 fresh minced garlic  (be very careful – this dip can end up tasting like a bowl of garlic really quick)

Salt & black pepper to taste

Optional:

Squeeze a bit of fresh lemon or lime juice

Dash of celery seeds

Chopped bacon

Minced shrimp

Cilantro, parsley or fresh rosemary for garnish

Directions:

Drain your cans of beans & tomatoes with chilies  Put all your ingredients in your blender or food processor & pulse until you get the consistency you want. Let the dip stand for an hour before tasting to perfect your seasonings.

This salad is so easy, yet so full of flavor & nutrition! For a single or double serving, just cut the recipe in half. You can also eat leftovers the following day. (4 to 6 servings)

Ingredients:

2 Regular or English cucumbers (also known as seedless or hothouse)
1/3 cup to 1 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves chopped or torn
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced or green onion
juice of 1 or 2 lemons
Lemon zest to taste
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil depending on your taste
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Slice cucumbers as thin. A mandolin or vegetable slicer will make quick work of it. Toss together the cucumbers and a large pinch of salt in a mesh strainer set over a bowl. Combine the feta, oregano, garlic and shallots in a separate bowl. Add the juice of 1 lemon, (optional zest) and whisk in the olive oil.

Drain off and discard any water that has released from the cucumbers. Toss together the cucumbers and the dressing. If you need more dressing just drizzle in more olive oil & lemon to your taste.

Serve

The nutrition facts depend on your portions of olive oil & how much feta you use. Here’s the ballpark:

Each serving (4 to 6 servings in recipe): calories 100 to 370, total fat 9g to 15g, sodium 80mg to 105mg, total carbohydrate 2g to 4g, protein 2 to 5g.

You’ll need:

Oil or nonstick cooking spray for greasing the pan

Half-batch

12 chicken wings (about 3 1/2 pounds), disjointed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup hot sauce – whatever kind you like. Frank’s is milder. Tabassco is legendary. Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce is my favorite.
1/4 cup honey

Full-batch

24 chicken wings (6 or 7 pounds)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup honey

Celery and carrot sticks & other favorite veggies & your favorite blue cheese or ranch salad dressing for dipping!

Here’s what to do:

Spray, or grease a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or oil.

Toss the wings with the salt and pepper to coat evenly in a bowl or plastic bag. Transfer wings to a baking sheet. Bake until the skin is golden and crispy or the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, around 25 minutes.

Preheat the broiler.  (Watch the wings closely during this step. Some oven broilers are hotter than others.)

Combine the hot sauce & honey in a small bowl and then brush the wings with 1/4 cup to a 1/2 cup of the hot sauce mixture. Broil for 3 minutes. Brush the wings with another 1/4 cup of the hot sauce mixture and flip the wings. Broil again until browned and crispy, 3 to 4 minutes longer.

Remove from oven and immediately brush with the remaining sauce.

Serve with veggies & your dressings.

Share & enjoy!

It’s also super portable, since you can put the seasoning in a baggie with your avocado for guac on the run.

Ingredients

1 Avacado

Tony Cashere’s Original (or any flavor) Creole Seasoning to taste.

Optional:

Lime juice to taste

Cilantro

Directions

Cut open your avocado, de-seed, place on a plate or in a bowl – cut or mash with a fork & sprinkle the Tony Cashere’s to taste.

If you have lime juice & cilantro on hand, add it!

Instead of using chips, try low fat tortillas, Roma tomatos scooped out to form a “boat” or any color of bell pepper cut for scooping. Boosts nutrients, fiber & tastes great!

As with red chili, white chili is high in fiber (helps increase metabolism & colon health), protein (protects muscle mass & mandatory for brain function) and minerals such as: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and iron.

Make it a dip!   For a party or just a daily snack leave out the chicken, then use a hand blender, or food processor to blend the chili until it’s chunky or smooth (like hummus). Serve with various bell pepper boats, celery, scooped out roma tomato boats or low fat tortillas or low fat tortilla chips.

INGREDIENTS:

4 teaspoons olive oil
2 pounds shredded chicken breasts or ground chicken (or try ground turkey too!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 cans (15 to 19-ounce) white northern beans (or cannellini), rinsed and drained
One 16-ounce jar mild salsa verde (green salsa)
One 14 to 14 1/2-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Optional Extras:

1 tablespoon chopped scallions (2 calories), 2 tablespoons reduced-fat Cheddar (40 calories), low fat tortilla (50 calories, 5 restaurant-style tortilla chips, such as Tostino’s (100 calories), 1 tablespoon reduced-fat sour cream (22 calories).

DIRECTIONS

In a 6-quart pot, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil on medium-high until very hot. Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt & pepper to taste.

Divide the chicken into 2 batches. Add the 1st batch of chicken to pot and stir until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken with tongs or slotted spoon to a bowl or plate.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the pot & cook the remaining chicken as above.

After all the chicken is cooked, pour the rest of the olive oil with the garlic and onions to the pot and cook on medium heat until browned (stir occasionally).

Stir in the cumin, oregano, cinnamon and cayenne pepper, and cook 1 minute. Add the beans, salsa verde, broth and chicken, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook the chili for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Garnish with fresh cilantro, or parsley if you like! Yields 8 servings.

Each serving: calories 370, total fat 18g, sodium 815mg, total carbohydrate 25g, dietary fiber 5g, protein 25g.