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Want to get more fat-burning payoff from your spin cycling, HIIT training, or Crossfit workouts? Then I have one word for you: COFFEE! Yep, that’s right. That glorious drink that transforms you from a zombie into a human being in the morning can also ramp up the benefits you get from exercise. In fact, there’s a ton of research showing that caffeinated coffee is ergogenic—that is, it enhances your performance when you work out—and that it keeps you burning more calories long afterward. Here’s a sampling of the findings: Athletes burned 15% more calories after a cycling workout when they took a dose of caffeine before their workouts instead of a placebo. Stationary bike riders burned more calories and found working out easier and more fun  when they consumed caffeine before exercising, compared to when they took a placebo. Men cycled harder after consuming caffeine than they did when they didn’t consume it—yet in both conditions, the men felt like they exerted the same amount of effort. Weightlifters did more repetitions after getting a dose of caffeine, and the caffeine reduced their feelings of exertion and pain. So caffeine helps you burn more fat, energizes you so you work out harder, makes exercise more fun, and eases those workout-related aches and pains. How’s that for awesome? And here’s more news that will make you happy. Experts used to think that regularly drinking coffee diminished its exercise-related benefits over time. But new research shows that both coffee newbies and java junkies get the same boost from a pre-workout dose of caffeine. Want still more good news? The belief that coffee dehydrates you turns out to be a myth. In fact, it hydrates you as well as water. Why is caffeine an exercise booster? There are lots of reasons why caffeine adds power to your workouts. Among them: It binds to the same receptors as a chemical called adenosine. Because adenosine makes you drowsy and plays a role in pain perception, blocking its receptors can make you more alert and reduce sensations of pain. It enables your body to switch from burning sugar to burning fat, so your muscles can work longer before they get tired. It causes your body to release the “fight or flight” hormones that ready you for action. It’s thermogenic, meaning that it increases heat production, helping you burn more calories. In addition, caffeine is a mood booster, hiking your levels of “feel good” dopamine—and when you’re happy, it’s easier to attack your workouts with gusto. Tips for your pre-workout caffeine fix Whether you’re a serious athlete or you work out just to stay in shape, a pre-exercise shot of caffeine is definitely worth a try. Here are some tips for getting the most reward from your dose of coffee: If you want the maximum caffeine boost, drink a light-roast coffee. (It has a higher caffeine content.) If you’re more interested in other health benefits, choose a dark roast, which contains more antioxidants. Drink your coffee about an hour before exercising. This will allow time for the effects to kick in. Skip the cream and sugar. (Coconut milk is fine, and so is monk fruit sweetener.) Don’t overdo it. One to two cups of coffee will give you the boost you want. If you don’t already drink caffeinated drinks, start with a single six-ounce cup. Do your coffee-enhanced workouts early in the day. That way, the caffeine won’t keep you from falling asleep at night. Also, buy a good-quality coffee—not the cheap stuff, which may contain mold and other contaminants. After all, you go for the best when you’re buying a sports bra, a yoga mat, or a pair of running shoes… so go first-class when it comes to this important new piece of exercise “equipment”! Keep thinking Big and living BOLD!

Each week, I get lots of terrific questions from people doing my Bone Broth Diet—especially questions about the broth itself. Over time, I’ve noticed that four of these questions keep popping up over and over again. So in today’s post, I’m going to tackle all four of them. Here they are: Can I reuse the bones for a second batch of broth? I’ve never tried this myself, but there’s a comment in Nourishing Broth (by Sally Fallon Morell and Kaayla T. Daniel) from a farmer who does this all the time. According to her, “The second and even third batch of stock is just as flavorful as the first and often gels just as well too.” However, I don’t recommend you exceed more than 24-36 hours of total roasting time of the bones in batch one and/or two. I don’t have time to babysit a stockpot. Do you have tips for making broth faster? Sure! You can make bone broth in two hours or less in a pressure cooker. Or you can go the opposite route, and let it simmer away in a slow cooker overnight. Also, your broth will get done more quickly if you use chicken carcasses or bones that are already cooked. This can shave an hour or more off your time. And don’t worry about carefully peeling and chopping your veggies; just toss them in whole or roughly cut. Finally, give fish broth a try. It cooks very quickly, and it has a lovely, subtle flavor. Here’s how to make it. I like drinking bone broth straight, but are there other ways to use it? You bet! I use it all the time in soups, stews, and chili, and there’s plenty more you can do with it. For instance, one of the most delicious ways to add bone broth to your diet is in a cocktail (once you’re on your 80/20 maintenance plan). Check out my free Cocktail Recipes Booklet for ideas. Also, freeze some of your bone broth in ice cube trays. It’s easy to give veggies or other dishes a quick bone broth “boost” by tossing in a few cubes. And here’s a fun idea: bone broth popsicles! Check out this video about a Greenwich Village café that’s selling these tasty treats. I’m planning to experiment with them myself, and if I come up with a great recipe, I’ll share it with you. I make my bone broth in a slow cooker, but recently I’ve heard that there are concerns about these cookers leaching lead. Should I stop making broth this way? Instead of abandoning slow-cooker broth, look for slow cooker brands that are lead-free. Clay and stainless steel slow cooker inserts are something to look at for a lead-free option. On their website Proctor Silex states there is no lead or cadmium in their crocks. According to The Wellness Blog, “KitchenAid: States their slow cooker glazes are lead-free”.—Have still more questions about bone broth—or about the Bone Broth Diet? Let me know, and I’ll answer them in a future post! Keep thinking BIG and living BOLD!

I never, ever skip my daily dose of bone broth. Hey, I’m not a kid anymore, and my skin needs all the collagen building blocks it can get! Those wrinkles are just waiting to pounce if I neglect this part of my beauty ritual, and I’m not about to give them the chance. I’ve also worked hard to get a glowing gut and the easy weight loss that comes with it—and that’s why I want to make sure my GI tract gets plenty of gelatin from bone broth. Gelatin soothes and heals the gut, helping its vibrant ecosystem of microbes to thrive. And I can’t forget about my joints, either! I’m into strength training, I love yoga, and I’m always making last-minute dashes through airports towing a heavy suitcase—so I can’t afford to let bad knees or achy hands slow me down. That’s another reason I love bone broth, which is loaded with joint-healing glucosamine and chondroitin. So needless to say, I go through a lot of bone broth. And here’s the thing: When I include a super-food like bone broth in my diet every day, I don’t want to get bored by the same recipe. Instead, I like to get creative and change things up! Here are three of my favorite variations on the bone broth theme, from my book, Dr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Diet.   Asian Chicken Bone Broth Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 5–10 minutes | Yield: Makes 4 cups (1 quart) 4 cups (1 quart) chicken bone broth 3" length of lemongrass, cut into 1" pieces 1 small clove garlic, smashed One handful of shitake mushrooms, sliced 2 scallions, white and green parts, cut into 1⁄2" pieces Celtic or pink Himalayan salt Ground black pepper 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves Heat the broth in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the lemongrass, garlic, mushrooms, and scallions. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low so the broth barely simmers for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard the lemongrass and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Top with the cilantro.   Eastern European Beef Bone Broth Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 5–10 minutes | Yield: Makes 4 cups (1 quart) 4 cups (1 quart) beef bone broth 1 small clove garlic, smashed Large handful of shredded cabbage 1 rib celery, diced 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon dried dill 1 peppercorn Celtic or pink Himalayan salt Heat the broth in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, cabbage, celery, bay leaf, dill, and peppercorn. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low so the broth barely simmers for 5 to 10 minutes, just until the vegetables are tender. Remove and discard the bay leaf, garlic, and peppercorn. Season with salt and serve.   Italian Beef Bone Broth Prep Time: 5 minutes  | Cook Time: 5–10 minutes | Yield: Makes 4 cups (1 quart) 4 cups (1 quart) beef bone broth 1 small clove garlic, smashed 1⁄4 cup tomato sauce, sugar-free 1⁄4 teaspoon Italian seasoning Celtic or pink Himalayan salt Ground black pepper 6 fresh basil leaves, cut into fine chiffonade ribbons Heat the broth in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low so the broth barely simmers for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic. Season with salt and pepper and serve topped with the basil.   Try all three of these variations yourself, and then try coming up with your own recipes featuring your favorite flavors. Add any seasonings you want, and any non-starchy vegetables… nothing’s off-limits! No matter what flavors you add, you’ll always get the fat-melting, gut-healing, wrinkle-blasting power of bone broth—Mother Nature’s most powerful prescription for weight loss and anti-aging. Keep Thinking Big & Living Bold!

As a weight loss and anti-aging specialist, I urge my patients to do bone broth “mini-fasts” twice a week. It’s the single biggest key to losing weight quickly and safely, and it allows my patients to lose dozens or even hundreds of pounds easily. That’s why it’s a core feature of my Bone Broth Diet. And you know what? Mini-fasting two days a week won’t just strip extra pounds off you; it may even save your life. According to a story today in the Wall Street Journal, fasting can protect you in these ways: By reducing symptoms of autoimmune disease. Fasting appears to kill autoimmune T cells and regenerate healthy new cells. In a new study, researchers found that severe calorie restriction reduced symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice and completely eliminated them in 20% of the animals. It also led to regeneration of myelin, the protective nerve sheath that’s damaged in MS. By lowering your risk of developing metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease. Periodic fasting leads to loss of belly fat, improvements in blood sugar, reduced inflammation, lower blood pressure, and a lower resting heart rate. By improving the efficacy of cancer treatments. Animal studies show that periodic fasting can help reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and make this treatment more effective by weakening cancer cells. By reducing asthma attacks. Studies show that intermittent fasting appears to prevent asthma exacerbations. And that’s not all. There are also hints that intermittent fasting (a.k.a mini-fasting) may reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease. What’s more, it appears to lengthen your lifespan. And mini-fasting, far from being abnormal, is something our bodies are designed to do. In our ancestors’ time, when food was scarce and hunters often returned empty-handed, people frequently went for days without eating. Over time, our bodies learned to use this “down time” for resting, cleansing, and renewal. Of course, typical fasting is hard for many people (as the researchers note in the Wall Street Journal article). I’ve solved this problem by having my patients do two “mini-fasts” each week in which they replace meals with up to six cups of bone broth. This rich, satisfying broth gives them the benefits of fasting without the hunger and cravings that make regular fasting so difficult. So if you’ve avoided intermittent fasting because you think it’s too hard, try doing bone broth mini-fasts twice a week. The broth is simple to make, and the mini-fasts are painless. And you won’t just be trimming off extra pounds—you may be adding extra years to your life. Keep Thinking Big & Living Bold!

Britain’s Daily Mail is raving about the results of my diet today! Reporter Erica Tempesta lost 10 pounds on it (even with a few cheats!) and she says, “What was really amazing about the plan was the fact that it completely reset my cravings and taste buds.” Read all about her experience here… and then check out this Redbook article featuring my Bone Broth Diet, too! Reporter Erica Tempesta lost 10 pounds...

Jen Sinkler is the author of the blog Thrive with Jen Sinkler So you probably want to know about the "giveaway" piece of this. Here you go: I'm giving away 3 signed copies of these bad boys! I just have one question: Tell me what you want out of all of this Paleo stuff. Living Paleo can take you from where you are now, to where you want to be. Tell me, where do you want to be? The bottom line question: What do you want Living Paleo to do for you?   To Enter: Post to comments and tell us your goal - what do you want Living Paleo to help you achive in 2013. Deadline: 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Friday, January 18, 2013. I’ll randomly select three winners and make the announcements/notification on January 21. Restrictions: None! All my friends around the world are invited to enter! Ready? Set? Well for the love of 2013...Go! Live bold, think big – and find your power! Dr. Kellyann