full bodyweight strength workout (no repeats)
Posted on November 29, 2022 Leave a Comment
In this 20-minute, no repeat, full bodyweight strength workout for beginners/intermediates, all you need is a soft surface such as a yoga mat, a chair and water (follow-along video below).
Below are the exercises performed in the workout video below, in order:
- The Butt: Frog pumps for 1-minute.
- Legs/Core/Butt: Plie to alternating reverse lunge, pause at the bottom of the lunge, for 1-minute
- Chest/Triceps: Three floor push-ups, plus 7 push-ups on a chair
- Legs/Butt: Long-leg bridge on a chair (you can also press your feet against a wall) for 1- minute
- Back: Seated rows with two pumps for 1-minute
- Shoulders: One full lateral raise plus four top partial lateral raises for 1-minute
- Upper back/Shoulders: Lay on your stomach, with bent knees, cross ankles, forehead on the mat, with goal-post arms, raise and lower arms for 1- minute.
- Abs/Inner thighs: Lay on your back, cradle your head in your hands, legs straight and off the mat, toes pointed to work your abs. If this bothers your low-back, put your hands under your butt. You can also elevate your legs, which is easier. Bring your legs out, then together (this works the inner thighs), cross your ankles, bring your knees towards your chest, and lift your legs up while lifting your butt off the mat (this is a reverse crunch). If your neck hurts, you can lower your head to the mat. Perform 8-15 reps, depending on how it feels.
- Calves/Hips/Ankles: Calf raises with prances and hip rocks for 1- minute
- Mobility: Stretches
How not to gain weight over the holidays
Posted on November 21, 2022 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published November 21, 2022
The holidays are notorious for weight gain because of the massive amount of food that is available and eaten. The high fat foods people consume this time of the year is increased, which contributes to weight gain.
Eating before attending a party or gathering may work on some occasions, but usually isn’t practical on Thanksgiving.
Avoiding high calorie sugary desserts is always a good idea, but some people don’t eat sweets and are still overweight.

The seven tips below will not only prevent weight gain but may even help you lose weight and improve your blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
Avoid alcohol. Alcohol is highly caloric. Alcohol has more calories per gram than pure fat. Since alcohol is a poison, the body will stop metabolizing fat into order to metabolize the alcohol because its first priority is not to help you lose unnecessary bodyfat, but to remove toxins.

Drinking calories is a sure-fire way to weight gain. The only calories recommended for drinking is whole fruit smoothies as a meal replacement.
If you still want to have a beverage, choose a non-alcoholic beer or wine as these have a very low alcohol concentrations, and are much lower in calories.
Outlaw all oils. Oils are 100% fat, processed and contain very little nutrition. Not only do excess calories cause weight gain, but fat intake is the primary cause of weight gain. Oils cause endothelial cell damage and lead to clogged arteries and blood vessels, heart disease and high blood pressure. In addition, oil consumption increases insulin resistance, inflammation and suppresses the immune system, so all oils should be avoided.

Choose low-fat proteins because fat is what makes protein-rich foods higher in calories. Proteins lower in fat and higher in carbohydrates contain fewer calories and are more filling.
There is more than enough protein from beans, lentils, peas, and nutritional yeast, all of which are low in fat and excellent sources of protein.

To expedite weight loss, foods promoted as having lots of protein should be minimized or omitted:
- Dairy, poultry, meat, fish and eggs are high in protein, but it’s best to avoid drinking animal milks and eating animals, which contain excessive amounts of saturated fat. Even “low-fat” versions of animal products contain a lot more calories and fat than most people realize due to the way nutritional labels trick consumers by calculating fat as weight instead of as a percentage of calories.

- Tofu is high in protein, but keep tofu intake on the small size. Even though tofu is not a high fat food, it is a moderate fat food. You can eat tofu daily, just beware of the portion size, as it’s around four grams of fat for only a three ounce portion. Dr. Cyrus Khambatta, a diabetes expert, recommends consuming no more than 30 grams of fat per day to manage blood sugars.
- Vegans are usually encouraged to eat nuts and seeds as additional sources of protein, but it’s best to limit or eliminate nuts and seeds if you are overweight. Nuts and seeds are extremely high in fat and detrimental to weight loss. Even though nuts and seeds are in the healthy fats category, they are unnecessary per Dr. McDougall and can lead to weight gain.

Limit or eliminate bread, pasta and flours. Bread, pasta and flour are processed, high in calories and can be the cause of weight gain even if someone is following a low-fat, plant-based diet.

For instance, tortillas are usually made of flour or corn and are fried. Flour tortillas are high in calories, so swap out the flour tortillas for corn tortillas, or use lettuce cups instead of tortillas.
Try intermittent fasting. There are numerous intermittent fasting options, but the intermittent fasting type I find least difficult is to stop eating after dinner and have my next bite of food at breakfast the following day after I’m beginning to feel hungry. This stops my night snacking; those sneaky calories add up fast.
Food journal. The act of writing down what you eat has been proven to aid in weight loss. I created a journal with my food point system to aid in fast weight loss, while maintaining muscle, which you can order from:
Log foods into an app. I’ve heard people complain that their must be something wrong with them, that they don’t eat that many calories and they gain weight no matter what they eat. To find out if that theory is true, that you don’t eat a lot of calories, log everything you eat into an app which will calculate the calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein for you.
You will need to weigh, measure, and put everything you eat with exact portions. The free online app I find easy to use and is fairly accurate is Cronometer.

While these small tasks are a nuisance, it will give you a truer picture of how many calories you are consuming.
Keep in mind that the 2000 calories per day theme is outdated. If most people ate 2000 calories per day, they would be slimmer than they are now, but they would still be overweight. Most active teenagers could consume 2000 calories per day and be a healthy bodyweight, while women between 25-40 usually need 1600 calories daily. For women over 40, 1200-1400 calories per day would likely be sufficient.

For men, 1800 calories per day is usually a good number. After 60, men may need to drop their calories to 1600 or 1700. These variables depend on age, height, activity, and amount of muscle mass. For instance, two bodybuilders, one who is 36 years old and 6 foot 4, maintains his lean body mass with only 1800 calories daily, while a 30-year-old leaner bodybuilder at 6’0 tall, eats 3000 calories a day.
Start consuming 1800 calories per day, and if you gain or lose weight, that can determine if you should add more calories or lower the number of calories you eat on average, every day. If the diet works, you should see at least a one pound drop on the scale every week.
The ideal percentage of macronutrients should range from 75-80% from whole food carbohydrates, 10-15% from whole-food plant fats, and 10-15% from whole-food plant proteins. All the healthy carbohydrates, fats and proteins can be found in beans, nuts, seeds, grains, lentils, peas, fruit and vegetables.

While maintaining or losing weight during the holidays, when the focus is on food, is more challenging than other times of the year, it is doable.
Weight loss starts with the mind accepting dietary changes, followed by planning, putting those changes into motion, and being consistent.
I was asked to be a guest on another YouTube channel, “Mariquita Solis, Vegan Empowerment Coaching,” to discuss how not to gain weight over the holidays. The above suggestions are listed in the video below along with several others.
The internet connection froze a few times in the video, so prepare to laugh when you see me performing a squat and staying in that awkward position.
Play the YouTube video below to watch it.
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channel (Nina’s Nutrition & Exercise Videos), my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/ and my Twitter account https://twitter.com/medairyfree
Low-fat, plant-based vegan Thanksgiving meal recipes
Posted on November 18, 2022 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published November 19, 2022
I was a guest speaker on WeDidit.health where I share in a PowerPoint presentation how to transform traditional high calorie Thanksgiving dishes into low-fat, oil-free, sugar-free, plant-based vegan sides, meals and desserts.
As a treat, I start by demonstrating how to make low-fat vegan freezer chocolate peanut butter cups, without oil, sugar or processed ingredients.
You can watch that video here. Let me know if you have any questions.
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channel (Nina’s Nutrition & Exercise Videos), my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/ and my Twitter account https://twitter.com/medairyfree
How to sauté without oil (how to stir-fry without oil)
Posted on November 15, 2022 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published November 15, 2022
In the one-minute video below, I demonstrate how to stir-fry vegetables without oil (yes, you can sauté, cook, bake and broil food without oil). Oils are highly concentrated, processed foods that cause inflammation, weight gain and can trigger Type-2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
Cooking time takes a little bit longer without adding oil, but my food is no longer oily, there’s no grease to clean up, and my food tastes fresher and brighter (I can also eat a lot more).
There are a couple of techniques you can use to sauté vegetables, one is the dry cooking method, which just takes a little more attention because you’re going to have to stir the vegetables more frequently and watch them to make sure they don’t burn.
I prefer to use a liquid so I don’t burn my veggies; the liquid options that are best are: vegetable stock, water or wine. All above methods taste the same, but if you cook with wine, your house will smell absolutely delicious, so if you have guests over you may want to use the wine to sauté, which will make their mouths’ water. If you’re concerned about consuming alcohol, not to worry because you’ll be cooking out the alcohol.
Heat a stainless steel pan to medium-high heat until the pan is warm to the touch (don’t touch the pan though!). Add vegetables, distributing them evenly. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of liquid of choice (water, wine or vegetable stock) to the vegetables in the pan. If the water completely evaporates and the vegetables are not cooked enough, add one or more tablespoons of liquid at a time to cook it thoroughly.
Click the red play button below to watch this short demonstration.
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channel (Nina’s Nutrition & Exercise Videos), my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/ and my Twitter account https://twitter.com/medairyfree
Are autoimmune conditions reversible? Most are
Posted on November 10, 2022 Leave a Comment
Most autoimmune conditions are reversible. For the few diseases or autoimmune conditions that cannot be cured, like Type-1 diabetes; those individuals can still see improvements in overall health and a reduction in symptoms with simple dietary changes.
By omitting certain inflammatory, acidic, high-protein and disease-promoting foods, and increasing anti-inflammatory, alkalizing foods, the body is able to miraculously heal itself.
Certain foods cause the majority of people to become extremely sick. These foods, over time, lower the immune system, and cause the body to attack its tissues, organs and joints.
People have been reversing cancer, Lupus, Type-2 diabetes, MS, RA, heart disease, high blood pressure, Fibromyalgia, erythromelalgia and many other diseases and autoimmune conditions by removing the toxic foods most people eat daily. Nurses, doctors, and most people mistakenly believe certain foods are good for us, encourage their consumption, when, in fact, they harm us the moment we swallow them.
I was featured on Chef AJ and WeDidit.health where I discussed growing up with a severe allergy to dairy protein, why I ended up with numerous autoimmune conditions, what I did to improve my health, and how I was able to reverse erythromelalgia, lose excess bodyfat, increase insulin sensitivity and reduce insulin as a Type-1 diabetic.
The steps I took are based on science and proven studies, I didn’t come up with them on my own. What I did can help you too.
If this interests you, you’ll enjoy the YouTube video below and you can easily incorporate these strategies to improve your health and those you care about. I also included healthy pumpkin and chocolate popsicles recipes in the video: https://youtu.be/6XQ-IYQddZA
Butt Exercises for Back Pain Relief (glute exercises-must try)
Posted on November 8, 2022 Leave a Comment
Back pain is often caused from sitting, but it can be due to an injury, twisting awkwardly, or lifting weights that are too heavy. Exercises that strengthen the glutes (the hips and butt muscles) have been shown to relieve back pain.
Below are the exercises in order:
- Standing hip lift and drop. Stand, lift one leg at 90 degrees, lift hip up and down for 10 reps. Repeat on other side.
- Side leg lifts. Lay on your side, both legs are bent. Put head in your hand, place other hand in front of you, with palm on the floor. Tap top knee to the matt and lift upwards and back 45 degrees. 10 reps.
- 45-degree side leg lifts. Repeat #2 on other side & then complete #3.
- Bird-dog. On all fours, lift one leg up and tap down for 10 reps. Repeat on other side.
- Rope pull-through. Stand with feet wider than hip width, with bent knees. Envision a rope is behind you and you are pulling the rope straight forward. Hinge from the hips and squeeze your butt when you stand up with knees slightly bent the whole time. Keep your back flat as in a deadlift.
- Inner thigh leg lifts. Lay on your side. Top leg is bent with that foot back on the matt. The bottom leg is bent, bring that knee to your abs and kick straight, toe pointed internally. 10 reps. (If you have fibromyalgia, you may want to skip this one because the pressure on the lower hip is quite intense in this exercise)
- Glute stretch on the floor
- Standing reaches to decompress the spine
Press the play button on this 12-minute video to perform these glute exercises and stretches with me.
Does the ledidi berry make sour and bitter foods taste sweet (miracle berry put to the test)
Posted on November 1, 2022 Leave a Comment
The miracle berry is supposed to make sour and bitter foods taste sweet so I decided to put it to the test by making a bitter and sour green smoothie.
One half of a ledidi berry is supposed to make anything sour taste sweet, so I made a green smoothie with half a lemon, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, water, arugula, parsley and dandelion greens.
I put one of the freeze dried berries into my mouth and chewed it well. The green smoothie was still extremely bitter, but it was slightly less bitter after eating the berry. I ate five berries which is nine times the amount that is supposedly needed, but the green smoothie was still bitter, so it did not pass my test.
Watch the four minute funny video below to see my expressions and hear the funny comments I made after drinking a few sips of the green drink.