I recently participated in the Plus Up Your Gym Bag Makeover in which I was sent a gift card so that I can upgrade my gym bag. This was going to be a relatively easy upgrade, since I don’t have a gym bag to begin with. I work out at home for the most part, so it makes it really easy for me to not have to take anything with me. I was originally going to make a video about this whole fun project, but the audio was damaged.

FiberPlus Taste Test
Part of the promotion was that I had to try out the new Kellogg’s FiberPlus bars. I received a coupon to go buy a box of bars, which I did at the local Super Walmart. I chose the chocolate chip version. I let my wife try the bars out first. She didn’t like them. I tried them after a workout and thought they tasted good. It was very light and had a good amount of carbs. One of the positives of the FiberPlus bars is that they have antioxidants.

According to the Kellogg’s FiberPlus site “Many Americans aren’t getting enough fiber, whole grains, vitamins and minerals daily. With 35% of your daily fiber, 7 grams of whole grains, plus antioxidants vitamin E and zinc, these bars are a nutritious—and delicious—high-fiber treat.” Look’s like another way to combat the lack of nutrition that is rampant in America.

Plus Up MY Gym Bag
I immediately set out to upgrade my fitness tools. I have pretty much everything I need minus a few things I’ve been wanting, so this was the perfect time. The first thing I purchased was a heart rate monitor. This will let me keep track of my calorie expenditure plus my heart rate. Next I purchased a yoga mat. The days of doing yoga on a hard, cold floor are over! I also purchased a fanny pack. lol. Now I actually have a gym bag to hold my stuff. I occasionally go to the gym to hop on the elliptical or go on long walks. Now I can carry stuff with me in my “gym bag”. I also purchased a new pair of shorts. My other pair was starting to fall apart. The last thing I purchased was a Live Strong band. I try to make living strong a habit of mine.

The Giveaway!
Okay now here’s the fun part. We are giving away a $75 American Express gift card to one lucky winner. The contest is running from today until Oct 18th. The winner will be announced on Oct. 19th. To Enter:

1. Entrants may post a comment to the blog stating why they need to “Plus Up” their gym bag.
2. Entrants may send a message on Twitter.com (“Tweet”); comment should describe why they need to Plus Up their gym bag and include the Sponsor’s twitter handle @fatmanunleashed and hashtag “#plusup”.
3. Entrants may visit the FatManUnleashed facebook page and leave a comment as to why they need to Plus Up their gym bag.

Read the official contest rules.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Plus Up Your Gym Bag Makeover and Giveaway

Well, Herbalife may be your beacon in the night…er morning.

The Herbalife healthy meal nutritional shake mix may be just what you’ve been looking for to give you that extra oomph in the morning. It is packed full of vitamins and minerals (if taking vitamins on an empty stomach bothers you, you may want to eat a banana or piece of toast with it to avoid an upset stomach) and doesn’t taste half bad either. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t taste like an iced, two-pump vanilla latte with extra whipped cream, but it goes down easy. I was expecting a chalky, protein shake taste, but it wasn’t like that. I still can’t quite put my finger on the taste. But it was enjoyable.

Mixing up the shake in the morning takes all of about five seconds. You add two heaping tablespoons of the powder to eight ounces of cold milk, and viola! Breakfast is served! The good thing about the shake is that, mixed with eight ounces of nonfat milk, it registers at 170 calories and one gram of fat. It also has nine grams of protein, which is more than you’ll get from drinking a latte alone for breakfast.

As a guide, the container offers some tips on using the shake. It gives tips for best results, weight loss, healthy nutrition and weight management. Herbalife does recommend adding additional protein to your diet, whether in the form of a protein powder or lean, high protein food sources.

Try it out for yourself and see what you think. Your latte breakfasts could be a thing of the past!

You can find it on Herbalife’s website here.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Shake Things Up in the Morning

I am a strong proponent of only drinking water. Juice is a no-no and soda is an absolute sin. Want to lose weight and be healthy? Then don’t consume any liquid besides water, Period, no if’s and or buts. Stop being a pansy and accept the fact that water is Nature’s most perfect beverage. After water whole fruits are an excellent source of liquid nourishment. But if you simply can not resist and must consume beverages other than water I have a few alternatives I can suggest. Maybe this can be a good way to ween off the naughty drinks such as soda, carbohydrate loaded, sugar filled, non-nourishing juices or heaven forbid you are addicted to those demonic energy drinks! Take a walk on the healthy side with me as your guide.

In my never dying quest to uncover the world’s most perfect beverage I have come upon a very interesting product. I am referring to Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng. Arizona has hit it out the ballpark with extremely refreshing tea drink. I love the fact that the product contains Green Tea which is a tremendous anti oxidant and immunity booster. Ginseng being an ingredient is a bonus but I not convinced that its presence isn’t merely in trace amounts. Nevertheless it is a nice touch. Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng delivers 25% of your daily intake of Vitamin C, which keeps you going during hard workouts or just a demanding day at the office. All these factors combined with the low sodium profile of this drink, 20 mg or 1% of your daily value, make Arizona’s newest concoction a winner.

On a warm day or after a workout it is unbelievably invigorating without the drag or let down of more sugary drinks. Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng actually contains about one gram of sugar per 8 ounce serving. Honey is used as a natural sweetener a truly great move. But alas all is not perfect, a closer look at the label reveals that Splenda, the sugar substitute, is utilized as well inn lieu of real sugar. I am not a proponent of Splenda and aim personally wary of the long term effects of man made sugar substitutes.

But if your looking for a zero calorie refresher Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng is your beverage.

Drink Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng three times a day, once at 11:00am followed by a post lunch serving at 2:00pm and finally an after dinner serving at 6:30pm.

Pros
Taste Great
Contains Green Tea
Zero Calories, Zero Fat
Low in Sodium
Delivers 25% of you Vitamin C

Cons
Utilizes Splenda

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng Review

So now that I have confronted the fact that I am a beverage fanatic and that my urge to constantly drink is a contributing factor to my over extended gut…what am I gonna do about it? Well drink more beverages of course..duh! I know that many others have the same addiction I have and that transitioning into healthier alternatives can be very difficult.

I have decided not to abandon my need to fill up and guzzle yummy drinks. Instead I will turn my unquenchable desire to liquify as a strength and find the perfect healthy beverage. I will research, review and share my better beverage choices. I attacked my research from the perspective that I am interested in longevity and I want to avoid diabetes at all cost. Diabetes has been prevalent in my family and I have witnessed extreme suffering due to the negative effects of that terrible disease.

I looked into what the incomparable and ageless Regis Philbin uses to stay so vibrant and discovered a product named NuVim. Regis was a good choice because he defines longevity and has been called “the hardest working man in show business.”

Regis even holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a Televison camera. And most important of all Regis is from The Bronx like me…Raaarrr! So I hit the local Walmart and picked up four 64 oz. bottles of NuVim. Pretty affordable at $2.50 per 64 oz. bottle. It comes in three delicious flavors Orange Tangerine, Fruit Symphony, and Strawberry Vanilla. My personal favorite is Orange Tangerine because it taste exactly like a melted orange cream popsicle or similar to a Morir Sonado for all my Latinos. NuVim is comprised of NutraFlora which is its secret formula apparently. A major component is Whey Protein Concentrate, an awesome ingredient for health and wellness.

Besides having a light creamy flavor that induces you to drink more and more, I went through two bottles in one evening, NuVim is really good for you. NuVim’s consistency is light and on the watery side yet still retains a creamy milk feel in your mouth, that didn’t sound family friendly. To top it off NuVim does not cause any bloating.

So NuVim is a definite winner and must try. If it is out of stock at your local Walmart it’s probably beacuse I bought them all.

So drink and stay thirsty my friends.

If you visit the NuVim website, they are giving away free samples! Snatch them up quick!!!!

When to Take
Consume 10 ounces of Nuvim first thing when you wake up in the morning.
Drink 10 ounces before and after the working out as well.

Pros
100% of your daily value of Vitamin A (2823IU), Vitamin C (59 mg), Vitamin E (301 IU), Vitamin B12 (5 mcg) and Zinc (15 mg).

Low in Sodium – 70 mg , 3% of your daily intake

Low in Sugar, only 6 grams

Low in Carbohydrates 9 grams or 3% of daily value

Low in Calories a light 45 calories

No Lactose

No Fat

No Caffeine

No Artificial Flavors or Colors

Non filling, no bloating

Affordable

Cons
Just one–Product is hard to find in some markets and is usually low in stock even when you do find it.

This review is independent and was not solicited by Nuvim, Inc. We just like the damn product!

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

NuVim Juice/Drink/Beverage Review

Disclaimer: This video is simply a comical sketch. No Fiji Water or Fiji Water Employees were harmed in the making of it or will be harmed after the making of it.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Fiji Bottled Water Rap