Spinach & Sun-dried Tomato Frittata:

The frittata is similar to an omelet, but is more filling and dense, like a quiche. This Italian dish in packed with protein to keep you and your guests satisfied throughout the afternoon, and touts heart-healthy benefits by substituting some of eggs with egg whites, cutting the cholesterol in half.  Your mom will be sure to thank you for including the high nutrient-dense spinach, as it contains potassium to help regular blood pressure, antioxidants to helps protect against cancer, and phytonutrients to keep skin glowing.

• 4 C raw spinach
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 C  chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 C egg substitute or 8 egg whites
• 4 whole eggs
• 1/4 C low-fat mozzarella cheese
• salt & pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 400F. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and egg whites then add sun-dried tomatoes and salt/pepper. Set aside.  In a medium, non-stick pan, sautéed spinach and onions over medium heat until tender in olive oil and minced garlic.  Evenly pour egg/tomato liquid over the spinach and onions and cook on medium heat until set, approximately 3-5 minutes.   Sprinkle frittata with cheese evenly then remove from stove and place entire pan in the oven for 12-15 minutes on 400F.  Let cool, then cut into quarters and serve like pie. Makes 4 servings.

Ezekiel Raisin & Blueberry French toast:

Homemade French toast was a Sunday breakfast favorite for me growing up.  Now as a more health-conscious adult, I have found a way to make my French toast in a way that I can feel good about eating any morning of the week.  Share this dish with your mother and you can tout the many benefits she is getting from the Ezekiel bread, including protein, fiber, and organic sprouted whole grains.  The blueberries are rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants and when served hot a-top this delicious French-toast, your guests will forget who Aunt Jemima or Mrs. Buttersworth even are.

• 8 slices Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted 100% whole-grain cinnamon raisin bread
• 1/2 C vanilla almond milk
• 4 egg whites or 1/2 C egg substitute
• cinnamon
• 1 C frozen blueberries
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, almond milk, and cinnamon. Cut Ezekiel bread in halves, place in egg mixture, and let the bread absorb the liquid, approximately three minutes. Note that since Ezekiel bread is more dense, it will take longer to absorb the egg then normal bread.  In a non-stick pan, place dipped bread on pan and flip until both sides are evenly golden brown.  In a microwave safe bowl, microwave frozen blueberries on high for one minute, or until hot.  Add syrup, and with a fork, crush hot berries to extract juices.  Top French toast with blueberry/syrup mixture in lieu of syrup.  Makes 4 servings.

Greek Yogurt Berry Parfaits w/ Honey-toasted Almonds:

Greek yogurt started popping up on grocery store shelves in the past five years.  Introduce this thick, creamy and delicious yogurt to your mother this mother’s day and she’ll get the gift of a new high-protein, calcium-rich food good for any time of the day.  The almonds are rich in healthy fats, protein, and antioxidants, which can help regulate blood sugar and lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

• 12oz vanilla or plain Greek yogurt
• 2 C assorted berries
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp slivered almonds
• cinnamon

On an ungreased baking pan, evenly spread out almond slivers, and then drizzle with 1 Tbsp honey.  Bake on 350F for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Let cool.  In a tall clear glass or ice cream dish, layer 2 oz yogurt then 1/4 C berries until filled. Top with toasted almonds and additional honey & cinnamon.  Makes 2 servings.

To my amazing mother back in Pennsylvania~ Happy Mother’s Day!….and make one of your other loving children cook you a nice, heart-healthy breakfast until I visit this summer

“Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread.” Food For Life. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://foodforlife.com/product-catalog/ezekiel-49/breads/120C6-organic-sprouted-whole-grain-flourless-bread>.

“Natural & Organic Health: Food Benefits, Directory, Nutritional Value.” Health Benefits of Spinach. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vegetable/health-benefits-of-spinach.html>.

“Almonds.” WholeFoods. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice>.

Hello tweakfit.com followers. For those of you who read my previous article, you know that I have begun a thirty day personal challenge to go gluten and dairy free. I am well into week two, but wanted to recap for you all how my journey went throughout my first seven days of changing my diet.

Slip-ups:

I jumped into this challenge head-first I knew it would be difficult at times, but darn….at times it was really difficult! The first day of my new diet actually fell on my boyfriend’s birthday. We usually celebrate special occasions with a meal out, and for birthdays with a cake. Hmm…this could be hard! My boyfriend’s favorite foods are pizza and Mexican…but with most pizza crusts, cheese, flour tortillas and sour cream out of the mix, I was a bit hesitant to hit up some of his favorite restaurants. Then it hit me! Sushi! Rice is gluten-free and there should be a lot of options for me on the menu. I was delighted to get to Doraku, a trendy Japanese restaurant in Waikiki, and find that we could order edamame, salads, seaweed salad, and two rolls with no gluten or dairy. I felt so proud of my decision, until half way through our sushi I realized one of them contained cream cheese….strike one!! However, overall I thought the meal was a success. Knowing that I wasn’t prepared to become a full-on vegan baker on my first day of going gluten & dairy-free, I stopped by Dairy Queen earlier in the day and picked up a special treat for my man in lieu of a birthday cake. Of course I wanted a soft serve cone with sprinkles, but on day one, it was pretty easy to pass up.
My other slip-up came on Day 4. Relaxing and watching a movie after a healthy gluten & dairy-free dinner, we decided to end our meal with some dark chocolate. I didn’t even think about the milk in the dark chocolate…opps. Two slip-ups in four days isn’t bad in my book…but hoping I can get through week two without any more.

What was hard?

I never really gave too much thought about how much I actually really do consume gluten on a regular basis. I typically eat a lot of vegetables, and try to steer clear of white bread/products for the most part. I knew work would be hard, since I am currently at a restaurant/bar that has killer thin-crust pizza on the menu. It wasn’t hard for me to pass up cereal for breakfast or cheese on my scrambled eggs….but after not eating for hours at work and seeing everyone literally make “MMmMmmmM” noises about the hot roast pork sandwich with melted cheese on fresh baked French bread made me feel sadder then my piece of plain pork on a plate looked. At the end of the day it did feel good to have a reason to pass up on a piece of pizza here, or a handful of pita chips there…and made me realize I probably was eating way more than I thought I was by being around all that food.

What was easy??

Like i previously said, making healthy choices most of the time has never been tremendously difficult for me.  Being able to eat gluten-free starches like sweet potatoes, rice, and oats made eating dinner more “normal” for me and not feel too deprived.  I suggest stocking up on those items if you decide to go gluten-free.  Leaving out bread also made me eat even more vegetables then I usually do, which left me ultimately feeling full and with less cravings.

Getting Creative in the Kitchen…

After a day or two of plain carrots and celery, I decided to whip up some homemade hummus with whatever ingredients I had in my fridge/pantry.  The result was a black bean and kalamata olive hummus made with natural peanut butter in lieu of tahini.  I think it turned out awesome, so try it yourself if you want a gluten & dairy-free way to make your veggies more interesting:

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

• 2 gloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 5 kalamata olives
• 1 tbsp olive oil

- Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.2 tbsp= 1 serving

Before this challenge, I used to make protein shakes for breakfast or post-workout snack.  Since I haven’t gone out and bought a non-dairy powder yet, I decided to throw a bunch of fruits and veggies in a blender and see what I could come up with for a meal replacement.  The result was a semi-thick green shake, which actually tasted pretty good & gave me a ton of energy.  Try it out for yourself!

• 3 C raw spinach
• 1 C raw kale
• 1 small apple, with skin
• 1 frozen banana
• 4 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 1 1/2 C water
• 5 ice cubes
• Steve/Truvia 1-2 packets

Hope you enjoy the recipes and feel free to share some of your own!

To begin, let me explain to those of you who don’t know what gluten is.  Gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, is highly prevalent in the modern American diet. While you may identify gluten with your bread, pasta, cereal, and pastries, gluten is also commonly found in processed foods as thickeners and fillers.  When gluten is digested in a person with celiac, the immune system responds by damaging or destroying the intestinal villi.  The damaged villi, which normally allow nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream, are now unable to do so.  For people with celiac disease, digesting gluten can cause painful immediate side effects such as gas, bloating, chronic diarrhea, and detrimental long term side effects, such as but limited to infertility, depression, anemia and arthritis.  According to The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), over two million Americans or 1 in 133 people have been diagnosed with celiac disease, with many still undiagnosed  The only treatment for celiac disease is omitting gluten from the diet for a lifetime.

While celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder, many people have wheat or gluten intolerances.  According to The University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research, the medical director indicates that anywhere between 5-10% of the population may suffer from gluten sensitivity in some form.  Gluten sensitivities can still negatively affect the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream, causing side effects similar to those who suffer from celiac. This is what brought me to my decision to try a gluten-free diet for just one month to see how I feel from following this diet.   Again, this is a personal experiment but hopeful outcomes for me include weight loss, increased energy, and clearer skin.

According to the NIDDK, thirty to fifty million, yes million, people are lactose intolerant in the United States. This translates into one in six people being lactose intolerant….and that is A LOT!  Lactose, the sugar found naturally in cow’s milk, requires the enzyme lactase to be broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream.  The problem is that after age two, many people stop producing lactase, thus being unable to absorb lactose. The unabsorbed lactose is what causes the unpleasant side effects of lactose intolerance, such as diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, and nausea.  Although I have not been diagnosed with lactose intolerance, I am beginning to wonder that if so many people are unable to digest cow’s milk after age two, if it is something that is vital to my diet.  Again, this is just a personal experiment, and I am not giving medical advice to anyone who feels like they want to continue consuming dairy products.  I am just curious how I will feel after four weeks dairy free.

So now that you know why I am choosing to go gluten and dairy free, I’ll let you in on my plan to get week one done painlessly and nutritiously.  First thing I know I am going to have to do is stock up on the foods that I plan on eating for week one.  While I usually include wheat bread, low-fat cottage cheese, wheat pasta, and part-skim mozzarella in my grocery cart, this week I am altering my list. For week one I am keeping it simple and my variety low to create a new routine. I also recommend that anyone trying this diet approach to take a multivitamin, as well as calcium and Vitamin D.

Here are a few ideas of the foods I will be including this week:

• almonds/peanuts
• natural peanut butter
• lots of veggies: celery, carrots, leafy greens, corn, string beans, frozen stir fry veggies
• fruit: frozen berries, bananas, apples, pineapple
• proteins: eggs, shrimp, tofu, salmon, chicken, steak, turkey bacon
• organic soy milk (since my grocery store doesn’t carry almond milk, my fav!)
• sweet potatoes/sweet potato fries (Alexia sweet potato fries are gluten-free!)
• brown rice (yup! it’s gluten free)
• black beans

In additions to what I already have in m cabinets/refrigerator, I plan to follow this plan loosely:

Meals/Snack Ideas

Breakfast Options:

• egg/egg white omelet with turkey bacon
• Fruit smoothie with soy milk/berries

Lunch Options:

• Green salad with chicken or fish
• leftovers from dinner

Dinner:

• Brown rice, chicken/steak/tofu/shrimp  and veggies stir fry
• salmon, sweet potato/fries, veggies

Snacks:

• veggies & hummus
• fruit & natural peanut butter

Anticipated struggles for week one:

1. My boyfriend’s birthday is on my anticipated day one.  Hmmm.,..where to take him for dinner and how to deal with a birthday dessert??
2. I currently work at a restaurant/bar where the only gluten-free, dairy-free option is the salad, sans blue cheese crumbles….guess I’ll be packing snacks!
3. My boyfriend’s mother is flying into Hawaii for two weeks and staying with us.  That is going to mean more meals eaten out as part of entertaining.  Maybe not good timing for this on my part, but I wanted to jump in head first and get started!

Wish me luck everyone and I will be checking in shortly to let you know how week one went.  Please leave me some feedback or feel free to ask for advice if you are planning to try a similar venture~

“Celiac Information.” Gluten Intolerance Statistics. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. <http://www.celiac-association.ca/celiac-disease-symptoms/gluten-intolerance-statistics/>.

“National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC).” Celiac Disease. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. <http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/>.

“National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC).” Lactose Intolerance. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. <http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/>.

While reading the information below, keep in mind the daily nutrition recommendations from The American Heart Association for a 2,000 calorie/day diet are around 66g total fat, <15.5g saturated fat, and <1500mg sodium daily.

Jack in the Box:

Jack in the Box has a new deal.  Only $3.99 for their BLT combo consisting of a 20oz soda, BLT Cheeseburger, and small fries.  THANK HEAVENS it is a small order of fries, because when you down this meal, you are already eating 1500 calories!

Totals: 1500 calories, 78 g total fat, 28.5g saturated fat, 2,450mg sodium*

I was happy to see that on their website, Jack in the Box had recommendations for lower fat and lower sodium meals.  However, the list included options like a 25g fat Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich, which should hardly be considered low-fat and at 890mg of sodium the Chicken Sandwich is already over half your day’s recommended salt intake.

Kentucky Fried Chicken:

This $5 Big Crunch Box contains three extra crispy chicken strips with dipping sauce, a side of potato wedges, a biscuit and a medium drink.  This box of tan food might taste good, but with over an entire days worth of sodium I doubt it will make you feel good.  To put things into perspective, one teaspoon of salt has 2,300mg sodium, so forget the cinnamon challenge, eating the Big Crunch Box is like opening wide for a nice heaping teaspoon of table salt. Finger licking good!

Totals: 1160 calories, 49g total fat, 13g saturated fat, 2,250mg sodium*

Taco Bell:

If you’ve decided to “think outside the bun” maybe you’ve dived into a Five Buck Box from Taco Bell.  For your money you get a medium drink, a Crunchy Taco Supreme, Burrito Supreme Taco, and to top it off another Crunchy Beef Taco.  If you’re going to eat this for one meal, better load up on fruits and veggies for the rest of the day, because you’ve already eaten you entire days worth of saturated fat!

Totals: 1050 calories, 37g total fat, 15g saturated fat, 1800mg sodium*

Pizza Hut:

After a carbohydrate filled meal of pizza and bread sticks, what could be better? Pizza Hut decided the answer to that question was more simple carbs!  The $10 meal deal from Pizza Hut features a medium pepperoni pizza, five bread sticks with marinara sauce, and ten cinnamon sticks with icing dip.  They’ve taken the $5 meal to a new high, calorie high that is.  If you shared this box deal with a friend, you’d each be consuming over 2,000 calories.  Even if this box deal was split four ways, each person would be eating over 40g of fat.

Totals (calculated @ 2 servings/box): 2,185 calories, 85g total fat, 32g saturated fat, 5,035 mg sodium

Totals (calculated @ 4 servings/box) 1,092 calories, 62.5g total fat, 16g saturated fat, 2,518mg sodium

I know the recession has hurt people financially and changed society’s perception and expectations for value.  However, I continue to encourage consumers to question what the real value of the food they are eating is and think about how what may seem cost effective now may actually cost them later.

*Nutrition facts from 20oz regular soda used for totals

“Nutrition.” Jack in the Box -. Web. 07 Apr. 2012. <http://www.jackinthebox.com/nutrition/>.

“Nutrition – KFC.com.” Welcome to KFC.com. Web. 07 Apr. 2012. <http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/>.

“NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION.” Pizza Hut. Web. 07 Apr. 2012. <http://www.pizzahut.com   /nutritioninformation.html>.

“Taco Bell® | Taco Bell Nutrition Guide.” Taco Bell®. Web. 07 Apr. 2012. <http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition>.

Reading food labels may seem complicated, so for newcomers to the concept, here is an easy guide to the basics:

Start Here:

Serving size: Begin by looking at the serving size under the nutrition facts. Make sure that if you are choosing to eat this food, that the serving size matches up to a realistic portion of what you are going to consume.  For example, a 1oz serving of hard pretzels may fit the bill for your caloric intake of a snack at around 100 calories, but if you gobble up four handfuls, you most likely ate at least three servings.  Remember that if you are eating double the serving size, you must double all the nutrition facts.  In turn, if you are eating only half a serving size, you can cut the nutrition facts panel in half.

Calories: A calorie is a unit of energy.  Everyone requires calories on a daily basis for the bodies basic function, and you require even more for daily activities and exercise.  Caloric balance is a term used when the calories you are consuming is equal to calories you output each day.  Caloric balance is an ideal goal for those trying to maintain their current weight.  Simply put, if you are trying to lose weight, cutting back on calories can help you achieve a calorie deficit, aka eating less calories then you are consuming.  If you are trying to gain weight, you can achieve caloric excess by eating more calories than you are using daily.  Everyone requires a different amount of calories each day according to their goals, so keep your daily goals in mind when reading food labels.

Limit These:

Total Fat:  According to The American Heart Association, total fat should be limited to between 56-78g/day.  These recommendations are for 25-35% of total calories from fat based on a 2.000 calorie diet.  Depending on what your calorie needs are, your fat intake may be higher or lower.  As a Registered Dietitian, I usually recommend a total fat daily percentage to not exceed 30% of total calories.  To find your needs, multiply your daily calorie needs by .30 and then divide this number by 9.  For example, a person on a 1500 calorie/day diet should not consume more than 50g of fat/day (1500 x .30 = 450/9 = 50)

Saturated Fat: Saturated fat, aka bad fats, can be found primarily in animal and animal byproducts, as well as processed foods and sweets.  Since these fats contribute to heart disease, limit them! This number is a subdivision of your total fats, not in addition to. Like the above equation, aim for saturated fats to be <7%  of your daily caloric intake.  To find your needs, multiply your daily calorie needs by .07 and then divide this number by 9.  The same person eating 1500 calories/day should consume no more than 12g/saturated fat/day. (1500 x .07 = 105/9 = 11.6).

To learn more about dietary fat, read my article Dietary Fat: Eat, drink, and be fit and happy.

Sodium: Recommendations for daily sodium intake were recently lowered to just 1,500 mg/day.  Keep in mind that processed foods tend to contain high amounts of sodium to add flavor and help preserve shelf-life.  If you are eating a food that is high in sodium, try to eat fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables, for the rest of the day.  Also remember that even foods that contain no calories, like diet soda, may still contain sodium.

Sugar: Although there are no set recommendations for daily intake of sugar by the FDA, try to keep daily intake on the lower end to help prevent weight gain, heart disease, and Type 2 Diabetes.  When reading nutrition facts, keep in mind that for every 4 grams of added sugar on the label, it is equivalent to one tsp on added sugar in that food.

To learn more about sugar in the diet, read my article Brush Up on Your Basics: Sugar in the Diet

Get Enough of These:

Protein: Although the average American diet is not lacking protein, I feel it important to make sure there is healthy protein in the foods I am eating when reading food labels.  The reason for this is that foods that contain protein help you stay full longer, since they take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates and sugar, as well as provide the body with essential amino acids for muscle recovery and maintenance.  If total calories and saturated fat are being monitored and within the recommended limits,and other food groups are not being neglected, I recommend protein be eaten without further boundaries.

Dietary Fiber: The average adult should eat somewhere between 25-35grams of dietary fiber/day.  When looking at food labels, soluble and insoluble fiber may be distinguished.  Both are good for health, helping to lower cholesterol, slow the absorption of food, and aid in digestion, but just focus on getting your total numbers within a healthy range to meet basic fiber needs.

Vitamins/Minerals:  Both naturally occurring and added vitamins and minerals are listed in percentage form on the nutrition label of foods. Remember that the percentage is based on a 2.000 calorie diet, which is not suited for everyone.  The FDA requires that Vitamins A, C, calcium and iron be listed on every food label, so keep these vitamins and minerals in mind when reading.  For example, if you consistently notice that foods you are eating do not contain any calcium, a supplement may be a good option for you.

So now that you know how to decipher a food label, keep this information in mind to become a more educated consumer.  Take advantage of your knowledge to choose foods that fit into the right diet for you!

Graham, Dan J., and Melssa N. Laska. “Nutrition Label Use Partially Mediates the Relationship   between Attitude toward Healthy Eating and Overall Dietary Quality among College             Students.”       Www.andjrnl.org. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 14 Nov. 2011.             Web. 27 Mar. 2012.             <http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S0002-8223%2811%2901540-        9/abstract?elsca1=etoc&elsca2=email&elsca3=2212       2672_201203_112_3&elsca4=nutrition_dietetics>.

“What Choices Are You Making?” Ibx.com. Independence Blue Cross. Web. Apr. 2011.

Some other blogs claim that they never show a full feed of their content since people would stop visiting their site (which is filled with ads).

We say, “To hell with that.” Sure, we have more advertisements on our site than in our feed, but what matters to us more than revenue is “helping people”.

We noticed the click through rate from our teaser feed to our website is about 25%-33%. After looking at this, we suspect that the a “click” is too much of an information barrier. If a click action is preventing us from helping our readers, we are going to remove that barrier.

Please enjoy and best of luck to your health!

The Problem

There are tons and tons of information out there on the internet about how to lose weight and get in better shape, but how much of that information can really help YOU? Here are some reasons why many fitness articles out there on the internet probably won’t help you all that much:

1. Many fitness articles are motivational pieces and lack practical instructions on how to get fit.
2. The remaining articles, which are non-motivational pieces, will most likely present false information in order to try to sell you something.
3. The remaining articles, which are non-motivational pieces and non-sales-pitch, will most likely only present shallow tips that overgeneralize its target audience, making their tips ineffective for the reader.
4. The remaining articles will have great in-depth content and show people exactly how to get fit, but will only be able to target certain types of people. These articles get read by a general audience and the tips only work for a group of the readers while wasting other readers’ time.

The Solution: myTWEAKS^TM

Since we are a multi-personality blog, we have different blog posts that help different types of people.

Why should we show “bulking up” articles to somebody who’s trying to lose weight? Why should we show a plyometrics article to someone who is 55 years old? Why should we show a booty workout article to a dude?

The simple answer is, we shouldn’t!

I recognize that there needs to be a solution for this confusion in the fitness world (well, at least for this blog). myTWEAKS will let you personalize who you are, and show articles that are only relavant to YOU.

Less Noise => More Focus => Better Results

Try it!

Go ahead and try it right now (it takes less than 1 minute to do – no registration required), tell us a little bit about you and we’ll only show you articles that are relavant to you!

BONUS: Once you’re done personalizing, you can even subscribe to the feed and have personalized fitness tips delivered to your RSS reader.

When happens when you purchase

• You are helping others get fit by spreading the word about this website.
• You are helping us fund our site from the few dollars we make from every purchase (allowing us to continue to bring you great content).
• You are helping yourself stick to your fitness goal as these products will help remind you of your resolve to get fit.

Please let us know if you have any feedback on these products in the comments section below.

What next?

PageRank is really just what Google thinks about us. What we care about more is what YOU think about us. Because of that, we will continue to work hard at bringing you great fitness articles to help optimize your workout routine or improve your diet.

To help us serve you better, feel free to leave any comments or suggestions in the comments section below!

My name is Thaya Kareeson.  Thus far, I have been overweight for the majority of my life.  I have tried many workout routines, crash diets, and supplements with little or temporary success. My weight kept yo-yo-ing for the majority of the time, and my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were often above the norm.

In August 2008 at 240 lbs. with 39% body fat, I finally decided to put an end to my unhealthy cycle. I started doing a lot of research and started pursuing new workout concepts, healthy/sustainable diets, and safe nutritional supplements. Exactly one year later (August 2009), I weighed in at 195 lbs. with 21% body fat and I felt like I have reached my goal of becoming healthy.  Since then, I have made a new goal.  Now my next goal is to reach 175 lbs. at 14% body fat by August 2010 and sustain that weight.

After successfully attaining my fitness goal, I decided to launch TweakFit.com in September 2009 with the hope of helping many others become healthier.