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Food & Drinks Guest Bloggers Healthier Lifestyle

Summertime

Posted by Fahad AlYehya | Core Fitness – Kuwait

It’s almost summer time and all the gyms around Kuwait are packed! People have locations to travel too, beaches to swim in and jet skis to ride, but you got to look good doing it. What’s the sure-fire, shortcut approach and rapidly fast solution to all this? A truckload of performance enhancers, dietary supplements and A LOT of chest and bicep exercises! That was the norm back in my university days, but people now demand abs too; but no legs, definitely no legs. They are evil and such a pain in the butt when exercised.

The summertime crowd is a lot more demanding and highly impatient in comparison to other seasonal clients. They expect so much in such little time. Moreover, they tend to quit early if extreme results are not presentable within 72 hours, literally. This is how a typical meeting with an average “I need to look like 50 Cent within a month” client:

Client: “All I’m looking for is definition. I need to tone my arms a bit, expand my chest and work on my abs. As you can see, I’ve got the jello jiggles all around dis area yo.”

Me: “How long do I have in order for to make these changes?”

Client: “Brah! I’ve got a month and I’ll be hittin’ da beaches of Ibiza. If things don’t work out with da visa (that rhymed, dude must be a rapper), I’d might extend it for another month and go to Sharm.”

Me: “What you’re asking for is a shortcut, which is highly unlikely since you’ve got no muscle for me to tone and a spare tire around your waist.”

Client: “NO YO! I’ve heard Core Fitness does wonders. I need to lose all of this and gain poundage’s all ova my upperbody. Wam, bam, do me SON!”

Me: “Uhh, no, we don’t offer doing anyone, we just provide you a diet plan, a workout plan and absolutely no happy endings.”

Client: “And yo, no legs. I’ve got more jiggle than Santa Claus lying around this lower area as you can see, so no leg workouts whatsoever. I don’t want to be looking like an Egyptian belly-dancer yo.”

Me: “I hope you realize you’re whiter than I am. Anyways, cutting out legs isn’t a good idea; it’s literally half your body. If you want those changes, you have to give us a minimum of 2 months. It’s a lifestyle.”

Client: “Dude, I’ll pop pills! I’ll drink dem powders! What’s dat white stuff called? Crac….I mean creatine? Yeah, I’ll give that a try!”

Me: “No. What’s your current diet like?”

Client: “I’m not a breakfis’ person, so screw dat. At around 11 am at work, I pass by a Starbucks and order a triple-shot-venti-half-caf-half-decaf-French-roast-2 caramel pumps-extra-whip-non-fat-mocha-with-extra-foam……Oh, and a low fat muffi’. At home, I eat pretty much what I want and for dinner, strictly fast food.”

Me: “I swear to God, if you don’t stop talking like that I’m going to punch you on the face.”

Client: “Ok man, jeez…so I’ll give you two months. Does that work for you?”

Me: “Two months, our workout routine and a strict diet plan should do.”

Client: Ho-nee FUT! DUDE, DATS INCWEDIBUL! You ma boi!!!”

Me: “Get the f%$k out.”

Health and fitness is a lifestyle. If you want to look good and feel good from this day onwards, you need to understand that it requires a lot of effort at first, and once you get used to it, it’ll be like breathing air and drinking water.

Reality

For every goal you set, commitment must be taken into consideration; the greater you want the end result to be, the harder you have to push yourself to achieve it. For example, in order for me to maintain the current weight and body fat percentage I am on, I’d have to consume a specific amount of calories, weight-lifting poundage’s, and rest and recovery. Since summertime is approaching, my meal plan has to be a lot cleaner, sometimes tasteless and slightly low in calories, with the addition of cardiovascular activity. If I expect a leaner set of abs, I need to put in the effort in order to achieve this.

A lot of you have slowly introduced this lifestyle and are witnessing good results. If you’ve currently stopped producing any significant results (i.e. fat-loss or muscle-gain), your eating and training habits have to be a lot stricter, which may include cleaning out or adding in calories; this is only assuming you’d want more results.




Categories
Food & Drinks

Huge ass mangoes

I was at Sultan Center here in Beirut when I spotted these huge ass mangoes. They are the largest mangoes I’ve ever seen and I held my Blackberry next to them just so you can get an idea of the size. They’re from Cote d’ivoire by the way.




Categories
Food & Drinks Information Kuwait

Panini’s at Salad Creations

I passed by Salad Creations today and it turns out they started serving panini’s. I had the turkey, cheddar and bacon with ranch sauce which was amazing. I’m definitely going to start passing by more often now, I prefer hot toasted sandwiches over cold wraps. Check out their panini menu [Here]




Categories
Food & Drinks

The Pretzel Burger

A week ago I posted about a burger that looked really delicious and was located in the US. Well a reader who lives in LA decided to pass by and give the burger a try. Turns out the burger is called the Pretzel Burger and costs $12.5 (comes with fries). According to the reader the burger was delicious and the caramelized onions were great but that the burger looked better than it tasted.

Thanks twit1977!




Categories
Food & Drinks Information Kuwait

Mexican Cuisine in Kuwait!

This is a complete shocker. Turns out there is a Mexican catering place in Kuwait thats run by two Mexican women! All this time we’ve been complaining about the lack of good Mexican food in Kuwait and it turns out we had a place that specialized in home cooked traditional Mexican food. They’re called Sahuaro and they have a pretty decent website with their menu, prices and pictures of their dishes. I haven’t tried them but hopefully after Marzouq reads this post he will have them cater for us this coming Thursday (pretty please Marzouq). Here is a link to their website [Link]

Thanks K!




Categories
Food & Drinks Guest Bloggers Healthier Lifestyle Information

The Letters P, C and F: The Finale

Posted by Fahad AlYehya | Core Fitness – Kuwait

Eating out isn’t necessarily a problem, but can be a fuss to those around me. I start by scanning the restaurant’s menu for a lean source of protein, followed by a good source of carbs and a great source of fat. Usually, I pick a great option, a good option and a decent option; the waiter that’s about to approach me is bound to shut me down with words like fried, breaded and sauteed, so might as well make due with other sources since I’m already at my 3 hour mark and my muscles are aching for some food.

Me: “I’ll have the Cajun Chicken Platter with no Monterey jack cheese, crisps, refried black beans and mashed potatoes.”

Waiter: “You mean you want the Cajun Chicken Platter with absolutely nothing on it?”

Me: “Yes, but I’m not done yet. Do you serve sweet potato?”

Waiter: “No sir, we only serve mashed potatoes.”

Me: “Do you mash it in with butter?”

Waiter: “I’m not sure sir.”

Me: “Would you ask someone that knows please.”

Accompanying Friend: “Dude, are you serious? No he’s not doing that.”

Me: “Ok, may I have a baked potato please.”

Waiter: “I’m sorry sir, we serve only mashed potatoes.”

Me: “Are they mashed before or after they arrived in the kitchen?”

Waiter: “After sir.”

Me: “Ok, so take one unmashed medium sized potato and bake or boil it.”

Waiter: “I’m sorry sir, we cannot do that.”

Annoying Fat Friend: “FHAID! Cut that crap out! I want to order!”

Me: “Ok Ok. I’ll have the Cajun Chicken Platter with nothing on it, and only broccoli on the side. Is the broccoli sauteed or steamed?”

Friend: “F*ck you.”

I am literally a waiter’s worst nightmare and I don’t care. I even question a restaurant’s supposedly healthier options, and after a thorough investigation (i.e. annoying the hell out of the restaurant’s staff) it doesn’t seem healthy at all. I persuade any health conscious individual to do the same.

The Awesome Subject at Hand

I was contacted by a 248am subscriber in order to help him out with a diet plan. His routine was simple and average, and could easily relate to anyone who decides to pursue the healthy lifestyle, so I used him as an example in order to explain the ins and outs of nutrition calculation and timing. Hopefully, I’ll be able to simplify things as much as possible.




Categories
Food & Drinks Kuwait

Cotton Candy Maker

Spotted at Fantasy World for KD12.950. Perfect for those late night munchies.




Categories
Food & Drinks Kuwait Shopping

Missed out on White Castle burgers

Blushberry posted around a week ago that Sultan Center had brought a small stock of frozen White Castle Cheeseburgers and that they quickly went out of stock. For some reason I had a feeling if I passed by Sultan Center today I would find them (I was just really hungry). Sadly I didn’t find any White Castle burgers, just the ones above. Sucks.

I noticed they started getting Chicago Gourmet Steaks. The brand sounds familiar but I don’t remember from where. Two t-bone steaks for a combined weight of 800grams is for around KD10.




Categories
Food & Drinks

Yum

This burger looks absolutely delicious. Sadly, its located on the other side of the world… Los Angeles! [Link]




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Food & Drinks Funny

French Cuisine

Thanks Saud!




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Food & Drinks Guest Bloggers Healthier Lifestyle Information

Part 2: The Letters P, C and F – The Fatty Truth

Posted by Fahad AlYehya | Core Fitness – Kuwait

It takes me 8 hours to write an article, 8 more hours to review it and 60 minutes to press publish; and I still make spelling and grammar mistakes. I shower 3-4 times a day, wash my face with the most expensive fascial cleansers out there and I still get mild acne. I see people train hard, diet hard and recover, but they still lack that muscular maturity. Females go through episodes of anorexia to look like that Cosmo model, yet they lose a lot of hair, the sparkle in their eyes diminish, their nails start to break off, their skin barely shines and their bones are as fragile as a piece of tissue.

The above are all side effects of a lifestyle low in fat. Has anyone seen those Lebanese, Jordanian, Syrian and Palestinian documentaries about how their senior citizens live above the age of 90? How do they do it? They have more energy and vigor than Kuwait’s older generation; but how do they do it?

“Ebnakul zaitoon,” or “bin7ib zait el zaytoon kteer.” (English Translation: we eat olives or we love olive oil a lot). Those are literally the two answers available to explain how they managed to live that long.

Or approach a Japanese dude and ask him how they live so long and why heart disease isn’t such an epidemic: “We uuuh, rive very hearthy rong rife because uuuh we eat sushi and aaah hearthy fatty fish high in omega sree! And when Godzirra come again, uuuh we can fight!” (English Translation: I’m not really sure what he said, but it had something to do with karate and sushi).

Fat is a lot more important than any other macronutrient. I’m not saying that fat should be consumed alone; in conjunction with other macronutrients, fat can do wonders. Unfortunately, I learned it the hard way.

When I started weight-lifting, I did what the pros did: ate a diet high in carbs and proteins and low in fat. I wanted to be as big and as ripped as they were. And come on, it’s common sense! Why would I listen to some nerd who majored in medicine and not a freak with veiny arms? Long story short, I paid the price and should’ve listened to the pencil neck. I had terrible acne, my short-term memory was a joke, my hair barely grew to considerable volume, my immune system was a disaster, every joint in my body hurt like hell, I was tired all the time, my muscles looked like soft ballons that only looked decent when training and I suffered constantly from overtraining. Why? Because I went low-fat, thinking that low-fat would get me big and ripped.




Categories
Food & Drinks Kuwait

Faloodha ice cream delivered to your door!

I got an email awhile ago that went something like hi, I have a bakery and I would like you to try our food. I get soo many of those emails daily that I could have a blog dedicated to just food in Kuwait (hmmm that gives me an idea runs to buy foodinkuwait.com… damn you nibaq you already bought it!). So anyway, I was about to hit the delete button save under important button when something caught my eye. They had freshly made, thirst quenching Faloodha AND they delivered it!

Currently the only places I know that serves Faloodha ice cream is Baba Taher and the little shop under it on the ground floor called Marafie (I think). Now we have another option and they deliver so if you’re interested call them on 55521207 or 55521208 to order.

The persian bakery is called Toosi Delights and you can check out their Facebook group [Here]

Update: Here is some more details regarding the price and delivery

Faloodha is 250 fils per cup and 1.5 Kd per kilo. They have the following toppings: fresh pomegranate, pistachio or pieces of fresh lemon. As for the iced water its made of rosewater or the option of saffron milk (400 fils per cup).For the sauce you have the choice of strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate or almond sauce.

If location is close to Jabriya or Mansouuriya there is a 4 kd minimum order and 250 fils delivery charge. If location is very far then 7 kd minimum order with 500 fils delivery charge.




Categories
Food & Drinks Guest Bloggers Healthier Lifestyle

Part I: The Letters P, F and C.

I sat with a client a few days back in regards to his nutritional plan. He contacted me prior to the consultation for some advice for lean muscle building. Upon meeting him face to face, I immediately remembered seeing him around a few gyms. This guy stood 180cm, weighed 100kg of good muscle and was incredibly strong. He was genetically gifted of course, with his broad shoulders, tiny waist and large calf muscles (3 characteristics of great genetics). I thought to myself, why would he need my consultation? He definitely looked a lot better than me.

I assumed he would understand my nutrition/training lingo since he looked the part. When I said “protein”, he thought I meant protein powder. When I said “fat”, he got scared and looked at me in disgust. When I said “carbs”, he had no idea what that meant; so I said it in Arabic and still “no hablo nutrición.” He looked up, started thinking and said “Oh, you meant rice?”

null

The moral of this story is that everyone needs to know their 3 macronutrients before implementation of any nutritional plan. Knowing what to eat and when to eat it is every dietitians secret; and I’m about to ruin it for every nutritional consultant out there and today I’ll be talking about:

Proteins
Weightlifters adore this macronutrient and old school dietitians hate on it like it was the devil. In layman’s terms, proteins are part of every cell, tissue, and organ in our bodies. The proteins that exist in our bodies are constantly being broken down through vigorous weight training, athletic and cardiovascular activities, walking around or merely dealing through stressful situations. In order to replace broken down proteins, a good amount of ingestion is needed so that the body can convert it into amino acids and distribute it around our bodies for repair.

Why do I promote proteins more than any other nutrient? Enzymes that are found in proteins are the catalysts of metabolism. It takes our bodies a lot of energy to break down protein, which in turn boosts our metabolism. When the metabolism is at its best, it’s more efficient in the digestion of other nutrients, including fats and carbohydrates.In order for our bodies to benefits from the above, we need to ingest “complete proteins”.

A complete protein contains all the amino acids, and only then can our bodies ingest it properly. Complete proteins (listed from best source to not-necessarily-worst):
1) Whey Protein (found in dairy products or protein powders)
2) Whole Eggs (egg whites are not complete, but complete when combined with yolks)
3) Lean Animal Proteins

The above doesn’t mean you need to ingest a huge amount of protein powder. I’m only trying to show what types of proteins that easily digest.




Categories
Food & Drinks Personal

Have a Great Shani Day!

Have you gotten your loved one a Shani today?




Categories
Food & Drinks Information Kuwait

A Choowy Goowy Valentines

Nat designed the Choowy Goowy valentines box and card this year so make sure you order one. The box which contains a dozen heart shaped cookies and a dozen heart shaped brownies along with the card is for KD12.5 while a jar containing 18 pieces of mixed heart shaped cookies and brownies along with the card is for KD6. To order it call 22626559 or 22620011. If you have a BlackBerry you can add Choowy Goowy with the PIN 2119FB77 or scanning the QR Code below.

Update: I just realized some of you might not know who Choowy Goowy are since I haven’t posted about them in ages. Here is a link to my previous Choowy Goowy posts [Link]