It’s that time of the year again.  New Year’s Resolutions are the biggest time of the year for supplement companies and gyms to take advantage of everyone’s motivational levels being so high.

Many of you will rush out to the store and grab all kinds of vitamins, bottles and magic potions.  Unfortunately, many of them will be a complete waste of money.

Remember acai berry?  Remember how it was supposed to make everyone lean and skinny?  Where is it now?

In this post I am going to do my best to give you a very short list of supplements that I currently take and believe are worth looking into for yourself.

1. FISH OIL

This is #1 for a reason.  If there is only 1 supplement that the general public should take, it would be fish oil.

Why:  Fish oil has dozens of awesome things going for it, including: Slows Biological Aging (Journal of American Medical Association), helps with weight loss, lubricates joints and reduces inflammation, and decreases risk of cardiac arrest to name just a few.

What to Look for:  Make sure your bottle says ‘molecularly distilled’ and free of metals.  If not, it could contain dangerous mercury and toxins and actually harm you.

Make sure the potency is at least 50%.  Ex. Look at the back of the bottle and add the DHA with the EPA, and then divide this number by the total fat.

2. MULTIVITAMIN

Quite a few people already take a multivitamin; unfortunately many of them are pretty terrible.

Why:  Multivitamins are a great insurance policy for getting your essential vitamins in throughout the day if your diet is not spot on.

What to Look for:  

#1: If your multi is a ‘one a day’ you are wasting your money.  It’s impossible to get everything you need in just 1 pill a day.  Your body is in contstant need of vitamins and minerals and is best absorbed when taken throughout the day.  These one a day brands are so popular because…they are cheap.  That’s it.  Would you buy a piece of crap car that breaks down all of the time?  Of course not, so why do the same to your body?

#2: Check out the calcium.  Many brands have calcium listed as elemental calcium, which is nothing more than ground up oyster shells.  You can probably guess, but oyster shells are definitely not absorbed by the human body.  When looking for calcium, make sure it ends with -ate, such as calcium citrate.

#3: Look at the Vitamin E.  There are 8 types of Vitamin E.  When looking at your bottle, make sure that it does NOT say dl-alpha tocapheral.  The little “l” in dl shows that it is synthetic.  Not only is it not absorbable, but it can also be harmful to you!

3. VITAMIN D

You will see this out in the news a lot this year!

Why:   90% of US citizens are Vitamin D deficient from lack of sunlight.  D is necessary for optimal functioning of many tissues in the body. Deficiency of D is linked to a number of things; including osteoporosis, several types of cancer, high blood pressure, depression and several other diseases.

What to Look for:  Don’t get tricked into spending a lot.  Keep recommendations at 2,000 IU’s per day. Do not go above 10,000 IU’s.

So, there you have 3 of the daily supplements you should consider adding to your daily regimen.

I am always being asked what brands I recommend, so I put together a page of these 3 and a couple of other daily supplements I use.  These are a high quality brand and meet all of the requirements above.

Check it out here… http://njfitnessbootcamp.com/supplements/

Thank you to everyone who purchased our deal from Living Social.  Below are some quick instructions on how to redeem your voucher and how to get started.

Please DO NOT just show up!  You must first make an appointment for your consultation so we can activate your voucher and make sure things run smoothly.  Unfortunately, due to safety, you will not be allowed to participate if you just show up without first scheduling your consultation.

To schedule your appointment, please email us at info@CarboneTrainingSystems.com.  You will receive an email from us shortly with a few quick questions for you to answer that will help us serve you better.  You will also receive a call from us shortly scheduling your appointment.

Remember, class times are based on availability, so the quicker you get back to us and schedule your appointment the quicker you can get started.

We look forward to helping everyone!

We’ve created a special Frequently Asked Questions page for those of you who may be wondering…   Can I handle this workout?  What is the schedule like?  And many other questions that we usually hear.

If you have a question, please DO NOT call our business line.  It will be much quicker to respond to everyone’s questions by email.  If your question is not answered on our FAQ page and is something very unique, please email us at info@CarboneTrainingSystems.com with your number and the best time to reach you and we will return your call in the order we receive your question.

http://www.carbonetrainingsystems.com/livingsocial <————–  FAQ PAGE

Thanks so much and we look forward to having you take advantage of the great deal!

Greg Carbone

Recently, a group of 8 Carbone Fitness BootCamp members applied to be a part of my first ever 8 Week Ultimate Transformation coaching program.

The results were nothing less than amazing!

Overall, the group lost over 117 pounds, 48% body fat, 27 inches off their waists and 17 inches off of their hips!

Oh…they also lost 134 Pounds of pure fat!

That is nearly 27 pieces of 5 pound fat chunks shown here!

Congratulations to everyone who participated and thanks for all of your hard work!

If you are interested in totally transforming your body, then check out our fitness bootcamps in Monmouth County!

Katie’s Kitchen

Hi All! We hope the holidays have treated you well! Look, I know it has been a while since we had a new recipe so I figured we’d start out nice and slow with some delicious yet still healthy cookies! This is the perfect treat for you and your loved ones to enjoy this Valentine’s Day.

Healthy Brown Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp fleur de sel, or regular salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 tsp dark chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tbsp chunky peanut butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 1/2 tbsp canola oil
• Fleur de sel, or regular salt, for garnish
• Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw) for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray baking sheet with Pam or cooking spray.  Thoroughly mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, mix together all wet ingredients, making sure PB is fully incorporated.  Now add wet ingredients to dry and stir.  Mix in chocolate chips.  Shape small cookies, about 1.5 inches in diameter, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle tops with sugar and salt, and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Makes about 14 medium sized cookies.

Enjoy!

Katei and Greg

Stay tuned to this page for snow cancellations for Thursday January 27.

**THERE WILL BE NO MORNINGS BOOTCAMP CLASSES AT EITHER THE OCEAN OR FREEHOLD LOCATION THURSDAY JANUARY 27 DUE TO SNOW AND WEATHER CONDITIONS**

EVENINGS CLASSES AT OCEAN ARE CURRENTLY ON AS NORMAL. STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES!

So, it’s that time of year again where many of you will be starting a New Year’s Resolution.  Last year, we had an awesome Biggest Loser style contest that helped over a dozen people lose over 100 pounds.  That was not enough!  This year will be bigger and better. 

The 6 week contest will be based on a point system including a number of things including inches lost, weight lost, body fat lost and before/after pictures.  You don’t have to lose 25 pounds to win.  You may only need to lose that extra layer of winter fluff you’ve put in the past few weeks.  Either way, we are here to help you.

Each participant will be entered to win a cash prize, gifts and training.  We will train you, help you with nutrition and give you other bonuses along the way.  You may choose to do whatever you’d like away from C.T.S., but we are here every step if you need us.  The entry fee will be $30/person or $50/couple (friends count). 

We will start the contest January 10 and run it for 6 weeks.  Email us at info@carbonetrainingsystems.com or Call 732-865-0213 to register today!

Katie’s Kitchen

This week’s recipe is a family favorite.  My mom has been making this healthy take on Chicken Caesar Salad for years and it is always one of our top requested meals when going to visit!  It is easy to prepare but so flavorful and so much fresher tasting (and better for you) than those heavy, gloppy bottled Caesar dressings.  It is also great the next day for lunch if you have any leftovers.

Chicken Caesar Salad     

Ingredients

Chicken

• 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into strips
• 3 tbsps Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tbsp Onion Powder
• 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tbsp grated Parmigiana Cheese
• Juice of half a lemon

Salad

• 3 bunches Romaine Hearts, torn or chopped into small pieces
• 1 Cucumber, chopped
• 1 Red Pepper, cut into strips

Dressing

• 3 tbsps Olive Oil
• 1 ½ tbsps Lemon Juice
• 1 ½ tbsps Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 tsps Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tsps Dijon Mustard or Ground Mustard
• ¼ tsp Ground White Pepper
• 1 clove Garlic, crushed (if desired)
• ½ cup Grated Parmigiana Cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix Olive Oil, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Italian Seasoning, Parmigiana Cheese and Lemon Juice together in a ziplock bag.  Add chicken to bag and toss until evenly coated.  Spread out chicken pieces in an oven safe dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until thoroughly cooked and slightly browned.  Prepare salad ingredients in large bowl.  Combine ingredients for dressing and whisk together.  When chicken is done let cool for about 10 minutes and then toss together with salad and dressing.

Enjoy!    Katie Carbone

Katie’s Kitchen

I love using the slow cooker this time of year.  It is great to come home to a delicious smelling house and a hearty meal all ready for you.  A lot of slow cooker recipes tend to be on the heavier side, so this recipe is a nice, lighter alternative.  You can even prep your veggies the night before and toss in the chicken and broth in the morning, making this even easier for you during this busy time of year.  The tomatoes and beans make for nice change  from standard chicken soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 4 celery ribs, finely diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 lbs chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons butter (can substitute olive oil if desired)
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth (or as much as you need to cover chicken)
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (can use fresh diced tomatoes if you have them)
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (or more to taste)

Directions:

1. Put vegetables, garlic, salt and pepper in crock pot. Top with the chicken, butter or oil, and broth. Don’t stir.
2. Cover and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours. Stir in tomatoes and beans; continue to cook 1/2 hour more.
3. Shred chicken with two forks.  Stir in parsley and hot sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Katie’s Kitchen

This is a great recipe for chicken salad.  By substituting yogurt for mayo, this is a much healthier and even more flavorful option for school and work lunches.  I make this vegetarian as well, by using Chicken style tofu strips in place of the meat. 

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt, Greek or regular
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives or scallions
• 1 Granny Smith apple, diced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 cups red seedless grapes, cut in half
• Olive-oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with some of the salt and pepper and sauté over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and cook until chicken is cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine yogurt, mustard, chives, and remaining salt and pepper. Toss diced apples with lemon juice. Add celery, and grapes. Cut reserved chicken into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to salad with yogurt dressing; stir to combine. Serve on whole grain bread with lettuce or on its own.

Enjoy!