X Gym U Master’s Course #3

Revolutionary Xfactor Xplanation: Using Fitness Chocolate as a Fuel

Did you know that fitness chocolate is also fuel source, besides tasting great? Coconut oil is composed of about 70% Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’s), which is a certain type of fat that can’t be stored. Rather, it must be burned off by the body as a fuel source.

Tropical cultures have known this for centuries, but it wasn’t tested until the 1940’s when farmers attempted to use cheap coconut oil for fattening their animals, but they found that it made them leaner and more active instead. Scientists later learned through controlled experiments that the high amount of MCT’s contained in coconut oil was the reason for this phenomenon.

So why not just eat coconut oil for the fat burning and metabolism benefits? Well, because by itself, it’s not very tasty (although eating straight spoonfuls of it is, of course,  fine). You certainly should use it in lots of different recipes like those found on hardbodcafe.com because when combined with other foods, it becomes delicious!

MCT’s as an energy source and a fat loss catalyst is the reason coconut oil is the fat of choice for fitness chocolate. It would be much easier to make fitness chocolate out of cocoa butter, like every other chocolate on the market because then it wouldn’t need to be refrigerated or transported in a cooler, but cocoa butter doesn’t have the same effects on fat loss and energy as coconut oil.

If you haven’t already made it yourself at home, be sure to ASAP, because it’s a great, satisfying snack or dessert too!  It takes only five minutes to make a whole batch, and all you need is a blender and a refrigerator so check out the recipe today!

Nutrition Revolution Step: Understanding the history of chocolate

Cacao – the base ingredient in chocolate – is considered a “superfood” because of its many health benefits, but by itself, it’s pretty bitter, so most people wouldn’t eat this nutrient-packed food without using it as an ingredient in delicious recipes like those found on hardbodcafe.com.

The first recipes using cacao as an ingredient were fermented beverages dating back to 1900 BC. While researchers do not agree which Mesoamerican culture first domesticated the cacao tree, the use of the fermented bean in a drink seems to have arisen in southern Mexico.

The ancient Mayans were the first to develop the use of cacao, but the Aztecs were the ones who popularized it but they had to import it from the Mayan cultures because the Aztecs live too far north to grow the trees themselves. It became so popular among the Aztecs (mainly due to its health and brain benefits, as well as being regarded as a powerful aphrodisiac), that cacao beans actually became a form of currency.

Christopher Columbus encountered the cacao bean in 1502, when he and his crew seized a native canoe that contained cacao beans, among other goods for trade. It was obvious that the natives greatly valued the beans because when they were brought on board the ship, some of them were spilled and the natives quickly stooped to pick them up, but didn’t recover the other goods with the same urgency.

Columbus took cacao beans back with him to Spain, but because of their bitter taste, cacao made no impact until Spanish Friars introduced chocolate to the Spanish court. The Spanish had a taste for sweets, so the Spanish Friars started mixing sugar into the formula. Now, thanks to that added sugar, chocolate became an addiction and quickly spread through the rest of Europe.

The increasing demand for chocolate created cheaper processing techniques to make it affordable to the masses, but as I’m sure you can understand, that processing also took out most of the nutritional benefits out the superfood. Modern day processed chocolate is virtually devoid of nutrients and full of sugar, so that is why it is such an “anti-health” food, especially when compared to fitness chocolate. Now that you understand the history and know that most chocolate is unhealthy, stop buying commercial chocolate and start making the many chocolate recipes on hardbodcafe.com!

Brain Training Revolution: Brain Hacking Positivity for Faster Fitness Results

Do you get tired of people telling you to “be positive?” That can certainly feel annoying, especially when you are in a funk. This video teaches you several easy brain tricks to turn your attitude around, including how to apply positivity to fitness, for faster, better and more permanent results.

Research Revolution:

Did you know that time-restricted eating (TRE, AKA “Intermittent Fasting”) shows some promise for improving your health and even increasing your lifespan? The basic premise of time-restricted eating is to eat food only within a time frame of 8 to 10 hours per day, starting that time period with the first non-water food or drink that you put in your mouth. It’s that simple. The problem is that most people eat for about 16 hours per day, and that – along with most other things “most people” do – has detrimental effects on our health. This is the main reason why “most people” are overweight, sick and tired.

The solution is simple: Do the opposite of what “most people” do!

  • Most people eat for 14-16 hours per day, so try NOT eating for 14-16 hours per day.
  • Most people eat processed foods, so try eating whole foods instead.
  • Most people eat convenience and rarely use their kitchen, so try spending more time in your kitchen with those whole foods mentioned above.
  • Most people get their liquids in the form of coffee, alcohol and soda, so try replacing those drinks with filtered water.
  • Most people eat low fat and high carb, so try eating high fat and low carb.
  • Etc., Etc…

The beauty of TRE is that it is simple enough that it can probably be a starting place for people not motivated to take on more challenging nutrition habits. In fact, some studies have shown very positive changes in mice and humans even if the number of calories remain the same between the diets and only timing is altered! See the video below for more on this:

Resource Revolution:

Check out X Gym’s Amazon store! Just click here to see things like X Gym favorites, X Gym recipe ingredients and more!

Revolution Reminder:

This “course” is intended for X Gym members in order to learn the unique Xercise methodology and health principles, but our main goal is to help as many people as possible, so if you know other people who could also be helped with this information, please feel free to forward any or all of these pages or email issues to those individuals.

The advice and guidance given at the X Gym, through emails, newsletters, blogs and other sources is not meant to replace any advice given by your medical practitioner. All ideas, guidance and concepts should be confirmed with your medical practitioner to be appropriate for you before implementing or adopting into your lifestyle.