High Protein Cheesecake

This is a basic cheesecake recipe and is then easily adaptable to suit your individual flavours, toppings and alike you may want to add. This will give you a basic non biscuit base and a fluffy dense moist cheesecake mixture!

What you'll need! 

300g chobani 0% fat greek yoghurt (or similar)
200g low fat cream cheese
100g egg whites (not from a carton)
50g oats
20g buckwheat flour (any type will do)
1/2 tspn vanilla essence
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/4 tspn cream of tartar
150ml boiling water

Method

Step 1- Blend oats to a fine powder and combine with flour and baking powder. Add the boiling water and continue to blend in mixer until a thick consistency is achieved. At this stage you can add sweetener, cinnamon or whatever flavours you would like your base to take on.

Step 2- Spread evenly on the base of a lined spring form tin and bake for approx 20min at 180 degrees. (Wrapping the tin in aluminium foil at this stage will ensure it is water tight for baking in a water bath later) While baking separate the egg whites and allow to reach room temperature before beating.

Step 3- Mix greek yogurt, cream cheese and vanilla essence together in a large bowl. At this stage you can add things just as lime zest, lemon juice for a citrus flavor cheesecake,  or a shot of espresso for a mocha style cheesecake, options are endless.

Step 4- Begin to beat your egg whites to form stiff peaks, once they begin to form a froth add the cream of tartar and beat until consistency is achieved. Fold egg whites into the cream cheese mixture and pour on top on the cooked base.

Step 5- Have a large dish in the bottom of the oven filed with water and place the wrapped cake tin inside (water bath) and bake for 50min at 170 degrees. After 50min turn oven off and allow it to slowly cool for an additional 2 hours inside the oven, transfer to fridge overnight for best result!

Hope this sounds easy enough and you have as much success with the recipe as I regularly do! If you have any questions hit me up on instagram as I'm always happy to help! @love_lifting

Macros for whole cake.
780cals - 71P/67C/14F

ENJOY! 

Jelly Oat Cake - High Volume Oats

Alright! This shit is going to knock your socks off if you love eating large amounts of food, and not to mention for great macros and amazing taste and texture.

Here is what you'll need.

1 Large ceramic/baking dish
80g Rolled oats (Can be more if you're not on shit macros)
1 teaspoon Psyllium husk - not critical but does help with the texture
250ml almond milk/coconut milk
300ml water
60-100ml egg whites
200g Fat free Greek yogurt
1 Packet sugar free jelly - whatever flavor you want
15g Cocoa powder
Liquid stevia
Vanilla essence + flavor drops or anything you want to add to give it a kick

Let's do this!

Step 1: Add oats and psyllium husk to the dish and add the milk and water and stir well, add in the stevia and vanilla essence and give it another stir and let sit for a few minutes.

Step 2: Chuck it in the microwave for up to 10minutes on  a moderate power (if you can adjust it, then say around 70-80%, if not then just keep an eye on it) that's why the large dish is important, in a normal bowl this will boil over leaving a bloody mess.

Step 3: Take it out and give it a mix and add the egg whites and stir in thoroughly, add some more water (up to 100ml) if required and chuck back in microwave for another 10min, keeping an eye on it.

Step 4: Take out of microwave and set to the side until it has cooled down quite a bit and firmed up, once happy with that chuck in 100g of Greek yogurt and mix it all around and flatten it out again, put in fridge to totally cool.

Step 5: Mix the packet of jelly as per normal and then add the cocoa and remaining 100g of Greek yogurt, here I use a stick blender and use that to blitz the shit out of it and also to add some air to the mixture. Once happy it is all combined take oats out of fridge and pour the jelly on top and back in the fridge it goes to set completely overnight!

Step 6: Fight the urge to eat it before it sets!!!!

Step 7: Whack whatever toppings and sauces on top and enjoy. The consistency should be thick and as you can see I could even cut the bloody thing with a nice and call it a cake, since I'm all about that #Cakeaday lifestyle!!

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do guys! Once you nail it, play around with it and reduce the oats and add some tapioca pearls (sago) and create new exciting ways to make it! I have tried it that way and it adds a whole different texture and sweetness to the dish!

Macros for the whole damn tray are - 645cals 15F/73C/48P

Hearty shepherds pie!

Shepherds pie, cottage pie...whatever the hell you want to call it they taste bloody great! and with this version and macros like these why the hell not enjoy it!!

Here's what you'll need!!

2 Kangaroo patties (260g) or whatever mince or meat source you want
200g onion
200g celery
200g carrot - keep it simple and easy, if you want different stuff then go for it!
1 reducked salt stock
1 and half tablespoons gravy mix
600g pumpkin
50g cream cheese/ricotta cheese
1 table spoon wisticher sauce
mixed herbs, salt, pepper, spices....

Largeeee baking tray!!  This thing is seriously huge and filling!!

1. Firstly dice all the vegatables, I use one of them easy slap chop style things to make it quick and easy. Then place them and brown in a hot pan for 5 minutes and add a table spoon mixed herbs and wisticher sauce.

2. Start to brown the mince in another pan, add the stock to the cooking veg and bring to boil and cook for a further 5 mintues and reduce to a simmer.

3. Transfer the browned mince to the pan with veg and add the gravy powder and mix all together and let simmer for 15min, stirring occasionally.

4. Chop pumpkin into chunky cubes and boil in salted water until tender. drain in strainer and return to pot and add the 50g ricotta cheese ad pepper, seasoning. blend with masher or stick blender until smooth.

5. Transfer meat mixture to a large ceramic baking dish and flatten, add pumpkin mash on top, spread and season.

6. Put into pre heated oven at 200 degrees and finish for 15min! Serve hot and ENJOYYYY!!!

Macros 680 calories - 9F/85C/65P

Macros, flexible dieting and living life!

Hellooooooo everyone.

On a daily basis through some form of social media I am asked what are my macros, do I track, do I eat clean and how to survive on poverty macros as well as a bunch of random crap!

So I'm going to take some time to answer a bunch of these questions and give my opinion on it all and how to incorporate it into your day to day life if you feel it is necessary .

Firstly what my macros are don't mean anything, because it is a totally personal thing depending on age, weight, gender, activity level and personal goals! So with that said I am not hugely strict at the moment with tracking as I am not currently prepping for a show/comp or meet.

For those who are just learning about tracking macros and understanding it all the best way to figure it out is honestly to use an online calculator to figure it out! (IIFYM.com is great) If you are old school and want to figure it out yourself then these are the number you need to crunch.

First thing you need is to know your BMR (base metabolic rate)

The old school way of calculating it is using the Harris Benedict Equation. Looks a bit full on but if you have a calculator then you'll be right!

• BMR Calculation for Women: 655 + (4.35 × weight in pounds) + (4.7 × height in inches) – (4.7 × age in years)
• BMR Calculation for Men: 66 + (6.23 × weight in pounds) + (12.7 × height in inches) – (6.76 × age in years)

After this activity level is then incorporated into the mix and use the multiplier below to figure it out!

  

Amount of Exercise	Daily Calories Needed
Little to no exercise	BMR x 1.2
Light exercise (1 to 3 days per week)	BMR x1.375
Moderate exercise (3 to 5 days per week)	BMR x 1.55
Heavy exercise (6 to 7 days per week)	BMR x 1.725
Very heavy exercise (intense workouts twice per day)	BMR x 1.9

Now that you have figured out your BMR/Maintenance calories next is whats your goal.If your goal is weight loss a rule of thumb is 3500cal reduction per week is the equivalent to weight loss of 1 pound per week, again this will depend on the individual and I ain't going to start preaching any special method or secrets because then I will just sound like a typical Bro!

There is no magical macros to start on, you need to pick the number you believe is right for you and from there CONSISTENCY is going to give you the results, I can not use this word enough, CONSISTENCY is going to be the driving factor whether you succeed or not. Also the macro break down percentage to start on (Protein/Carbs/Fats) will be something again a good online calculator or app will breakdown for you! (Myfitnesspal is the go to app for most people)

So now comes the first day. Get up, go to the toilet and weight yourself. This is what you should be doing every morning for the first 2 weeks, again being consistent with the time of day you weight yourself will give you a consistent reading day to day. The reason to do it for 2 weeks is so your body can adjust to it and along with training you can then monitor if you have overshot or undershot your macros and if you have lost weight/gained weight or maintained weight you will then from here adjust your macros according to your goals. From personal experience as I reverse dieted and was aiming to put on lean mass I would add 20C every time I maintained weight for about 4 days straight, and then 5F after each week of maintaining weight. So as you can imagine after 4 - 6 weeks of this I was able to add an additional 500cal to my daily diet with very minimal weight gain!

That sums up finding your macros and how to monitor and adjust them once your maintenance macros are achieved.

Actually tracking them is not hard, will take a week or so getting the hang of weighing your food and inputting it on your app. Again be consistent with what you enter, don't go crazy if things are a few grams over. Just make sure when scanning stuff the same stuff on label is reflected on the app correctly. If you are a basic eater during the week like myself, then it's easy because you can fill out your diary and make your meals in bulk and then when it comes to weekend just track as you eat and get creative and enjoy yourself :)

Tracking macros is one thing, but also monitor your micro nutrients. Pretty easy really, just make sure you eat enough veg and hit a healthy range of fiber each day too, this can also be aided by using things like psyllium husk or other forms of supplementation. As great as IIFYM and flexible dieting is, it's not your ticket to being a fat slob just for the sake of it. Like most things use an 80/20 rule! 80% good wholesome nutrient dense foods, 20% YOLO enjoy yourself foods.

Lastly I'll quickly touch on poverty macros/comp prep macros! This can be killer but at certain times for shorter periods of time it may be necessary to reach goals. After dieting and maintaining under 5% body fat for about 7 months to compete in multiple physique shows, I learnt very quickly that it had fatigued me physically but also mentally and with my physiology. So now I feel very strongly if you don't need to put yourself through it for no reason other then you 'want to cut' then just don't do it. But when it comes to comp, if you are relatively lean going into prep then you should really only need around 8 -12 weeks max on a cut, other wise there is metabolic and hormonal damage as potential side effects (and I know this personally unfortunately) Some people have no trouble eating normal bro foods for prep, and if this is the case for you, then great. If your like me and love food and lots of it then learn how to make protein fluff and become friends with sugarfree jelly and things like that which will fill you up for very little calories.

Anyway, that's enough out of me. Please feel free to contact me for any further questions as I'm more then happy to help and have trained many people who have loved using flexible dieting with great results. All the best and I'll be back!! :)  justin.d.donnelly@gmail.com

Justin.

Time to step up!!

So this last week has been quite busy with training, meal prep, rest and getting ready to go back to work, and I head off for 2 months to commence a work related course. It's still over a week away before I go but I have found myself already starting to pack and see how I can arrange my suitcase so I can fit most of my supplements, food and gym/training related items rather then things I should be worrying about taking :)

Not to mention now I am part of Team FlexR6 and am going to be stepping on stage to compete in my first novice comp in only 5 weeks time. So there are so many added stresses right now and starting next week a huge change to my training and nutrition program once my great trainer sends me the final product on Friday!

This has been a huge ambition for me and to see it all start taking place is a huge realization that you can do anything you put your mind to, at this stage I am only going to be competing in fitness and physique categories as there is not enough time to prep for the actual body building division, and with the added pressure of me on my military psychology course it would be to much to take on all at once.

I never thought I would see the day I would be on stage wanting to show my body off. I'll take a few steps back and talk about when I was younger, all my teenage years I was a big kid, the heaviest I tipped the scales at was 120+kg, but now to be able to comfortably sit at 84kg for me was an amazing achievement.

It all comes down to you and the dedication you put in to achieve the goals you have, I couldn't be happier that I took this lifestyle on all those years ago, nothing now feels like a chore, it's all just second nature. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see yourself succeed and better yourself not only physically but mentally! There is nothing tougher then pushing through some of those unbearable gym sessions, or sprinting up hills to get that burn and feel your heart trying to burst out your chest. But every time you finish something you set out to achieve or do something you NEVER thought you could do, you leave a little it prouder and stronger and from there you can only keep going up!

I'll keep you all posted with how my comp preparation is going and chuck in some photos along the way, remember to push yourself a little further each time and never give up, because one day you may find yourself doing something you never thought you would do in a million years!!

It's all about the pump!!! :) 

Lifting till the grave!

Today my day started at 5:30 am, I got up and had my usual 1 cup of oats, 1 cup of egg whites and a whole egg. Scrambled it all up and shoved it down my throat, washing it down with a strong black coffee.

I prepacked my car the night before with all the signage, the 'lift it' singlets and shirts, a big bowl of snacks and a lot of water, in anticipation of a very hot day. Only 2 days before the markets were on I was informed I had been booked in and a spot allocated for me, which is good news but with stock levels low and being given short notice to get everything ready all I could do was give it a go!

I was set up and ready to go, people were everywhere even though a lot of stall holders were still away due to the holiday period, and the demographic at these certain markets were older people hitting up the local fruit vendors and trying to barter a bargain at bric'a'brac stalls. My stall had no shade and to my luck once it hit 8 am the sun was over the only spot in the car park where the shade sails didn't cover and it beaming down right on me! Lets just say lucky I was wearing a black shirt otherwise I would be frightening people walking past by the copious amounts of sweat coming out of me. All in all I had a good time, a few friends came by and I sold a bit of stock, but the highlight of my morning there occurred around 9:30 am.

While I was texting on my phone trying to convince someone to bring me a coffee an elderly gentleman walked up to the tables, using his walking stick as a pointer he placed it on a shirt directly on the logo and said "what does 'Lift it' mean" I initially thought to myself that this wasn't going to go well as he won't know what i'm going on about....so I went on to tell him that 'Lift it' refers to lifting weights, and the gym culture that is present these days is quite large and it's a lifestyle etc etc... and halfway through he appeared somewhat distracted and was looking back and forth and partially listening. So I paused and just sort of smiled at him with a stupid grin on my face. "I'll tell you about lifting" he said. Once he engaged eye contact with me after about 10 seconds of silence, he went on to tell me about a trip up to the Gulf where his 4wd got stuck in the mud and he couldn't use a jack as it would just sink into the mud, so he told his wife he was going to lift the back end out and to drive on and keeping giving it some till she was out, all this happened while she was yelling at him telling him he is to old for that now......but he said in the end he got it out, was covered in mud and it shut his wife up. I'm not sure how long ago this took place but I thought good on him! I told him that's pretty impressive but he immediately cut me off, paused, looked around again then resumed speaking telling me he was lifting all his life and was a national weight lifter, power lifter and how important it was for him and he emphasized how he lifted with correct technique for all those years and never blew out his back and why he is still able to walk around and be physically active these days considering how old he was. I was just nodding and smiling the whole time knowing I wouldn't get a word in and just to let him keep going, he wrapped it up by saying "I can't lift anymore, but when I could, boy could I lift." Again he looked around paced a few steps to the left, turned back around, gave me a smile and he was gone.

All this went down while he was wearing jeans, a long sleeve black shirt and a thick black vest while being in direct sunlight in 35 degree Celsius weather and merrily swinging and pointing his walking stick throughout the conversation.

At the time I didn't think to much of it, but after a while of just sitting there thinking, I realized this guy spent a large part of his life doing something he enjoyed, and now even though unable to do it he was still imparting his joy and knowledge and still wanting to express how it impacted his life, to think that there would have nearly been a 50 year age difference we were still able to relate to something on the same level which is pretty amazing to me.

 So just remember if you're doing something you enjoy keep doing it, don't let others tell you otherwise and you never know what impact it might have on someone down the track. :)

Pecs that POP!!

So tomorrow is Monday.......or as I call it 'International Chest Day' so for that exact reason, I train chest on Sundays or in fact any other day that isn't Monday!!

In doing this I get to watch a large number of people go nuts and blast chest on every piece of equipment in the gym every Monday, and I use this time to observe. There are a few common mistakes most people make, and I am in no way saying this in a way to make it sound like people don't know what they are doing, but more so to indicate some easily avoidable issues which will lead to a more productive chest workout and avoiding injury.

Firstly one that gets everyone is excessive shoulder rotation. As easy as a chest press may seem to preform if done incorrectly it will take emphasis away from putting the correct muscle under tension and stress, and end up smashing your shoulder girdle as you push up rolling your shoulders over to re-rack the weight. So when getting on the bench, bench press, incline, decline machine one of the first things you should be doing when getting into position is retracting you shoulder blades and nearly trying to pinch them together as you settle your back onto the bench, and keeping them in this position throughout the entire movement of the press.

Next, upper chest.....yes, in case you didn't know your pectorals are broken into 2 sections! And when you see someone with great overall chest development (or catch me flexing in the mirror) you can see the separation in between the 2 with a nice deep crevice dividing the muscle. So with this said do not exclude exercises such as incline bench press, incline dumbbell press and incline flyes from your workout, they all have their place.

The best upper chest in the business!

The next common problem is partial reps.....I don't know what people think when doing partial reps, you don't do the full range of motion then you are obviously not going to engage the muscle you are trying to train. So to keep it simple lower the weight to your chest then all the way up and once at lockout give you elbows a little squeeze together to really flex and pump the chest full.

Also another handy tip is to incorporate pyramid sets and drop sets during your chest workout, we are not all power lifters so there is no need to load up the bar to try and get one rep out that has the potential to crush your throat when your spotter can't even help you when the bar is loaded to the brim! So, drop the weight after your final set, and throw in a double or a triple drop set to challenge yourself, and at the end when you are struggling to lift the 10kg dumbbells above your head just remember you will be getting more blood and nutrients delivered to that muscle group then the guy rubbing his shoulder after is attempt at 'the world record' bench press! :)

Lastly I just want to reiterate the fact to not neglect a thorough warm up and stretching routine. You are only going to cheat yourself if you walk into the gym and start on the 40kg dumbbells, all you are doing is open the door wide open for a nice pec tear or shoulder injury. It will help your training, keep your muscles warm throughout and reduce the risk of injury. I could write 100 different stretches and make you waste your time reading it all but instead do a quick search on line as they all tell you the same thing and find something that works for you!

And remember, it's all about the pump!! :)

Do you even Breakfast!?.............Meal of Champions!

To get start started I just have to say how much I love breakfast! Every night I finish my last meal of the day just before going to bed, and before my head even hits the pillow I'm looking forward to the next morning already so I can have Breakfast! :)

regardless if you follow a weight training regieme or are cardio/circuit orientatied with goals of weight loss then breakfast in both cases is a meal you should NEVER skip. People will say they are to busy or have some excuse..........I just don't buy it, Oats take 90 seconds to cook in the microwave, and eggs/egg whites take about 3 minutes to scramble. So if you have an excuse, I don't want to hear it.

Breakfast should always be more dense in calories then most of your meals throughout the day, it will give you sustained energy during the day, and you wont be going to work hungry which then just leads to binge eating or snacking of junk food throughout the day!

I'll go over my breakfast this morning:

So here it is, 1 cup of Oats, 1 Large egg, 1 Cup Egg whites and 1 Kangaroo Pattie (110g)

Let's go over the macro nutrients for this meal.
1 Large egg - 100 calories - 7g fat, 7g Protein
1 Cup egg whites - 125 calories - 28g Protein
1 Kangaroo Pattie - 90 calories - 20g Protein
1 Cup Oats - 300+ calories - 65g Carbs

Total Calories - 615~ Calories - 53g Protein, 65g Carbs, 10g Fat

Oats are a great source of slow release energy, they are absorbed by the body slowly not giving you spikes in your insulin leading to energy slumps and crashing out early in the day.
Egg whites are a 'light' protein and rapidly absorbed by the body, hence why I have a heavier source of protein to sustain my body for longer. Overall the ingredients in this breakfast are ideal for any person with any goals in mind, you just have to change the portioning.

And there it is, less then 10minutes to prepare and cook! Add some blueberries to the oats and you can also add cacao powder for flavour. I also use Smokey Tabasco sauce on my omelet for a bit of bite :) then wash it all down with a large glass of water and a black coffee (sweetened with Stevia) and my Multi-Vitamin, 3000mg of Fish oil and a Super Kelp tablet (packed with natural Iodine for thyroid function and health)

Well I hope you enjoyed this and gave you insight into what a healthy and tasty breakfast is! Feel free to hit me up for any advice when it comes to nutrition or training!! Off to gym shortly for a killer back workout. Stay tuned!!

To Cheat or not to Cheat - Cheat meals!

This is always a topic of discussion amongst many in the fitness industry, everyone has their personal beliefs about the pro's and con's on having a cheat day/meal and have read all the articles out there on the internet so instantly they are pro's about the topic without understand any of the physiological responses the body goes through!

All I’m going to do is discuss some of the theoretical benefits and chuck in my 2 cents worth as well.

Increases thyroid hormone production - So when someone is calorie deficient they produce less hormones that regulate the thyroid (T3 and T4) so a strategic cheat meal or overfeed is beneficial to increase these hormones and regulate the thyroid to keep it functional and productive.

Increased energy output (24hr) - The surplus calories from a cheat causes the body to up regulate basal metabolic rate (BMR).And there are studies out there to show an increase of 9% above baseline, all in all giving you more energy the next day foe heavier lifting and giving you an upbeat mood for the day :)

Psychological benefit - This is plain and simple, You follow your diet for the week knowing that after all that hard training and clean eating you get a reward......for some people that is enough to keep them going week to week, but then it comes down to the individual to know how far to take their cheat meal/day, this is something you cant calculate and you learn from experience about your own personal limits. It's totally worth it!

So with that being said it sounds like having a cheat meal or re-feed day will work for anyone wanting to gain some lean mass and for a fat loss diet........well it's not always the case! Many trainers condone the idea of cheat meals while others support it knowing it works from personal experience. And I’m one to promote the idea from it not hampering my results over time!

But we also have to understand the human body, and I’ll break it down quickly! 

You have to remember we are talking about the human body, our bodies will adapt to anything we throw at it over time, so when you first start restricting calories and have your results you will then notice that you will hit a plateau, whether it be diet, weight training or cardio, it happens to everyone. So this for me is a good sign that we need to break the cycle and another reason why a cheat meal is beneficial :)

This being said to certain degree, a high calorie meal will help off set your metabolism but the benefit from the cheat meal comes from the higher calorie intake on that day, not the usual junk food that most people consume. Having no moderation or control on cheat days carries far more risk than benefits to your physical and mental health, it can lead to a fatal outcome from extreme acute gastric dilation after an eating binge.

A good little tip is buy enough for a couple of cheat meals and no more! If you have a 2 packs of Tim-tams in the fridge and 2L of ice cream in the freezer then we all know what is going to happen right......Epic FAIL. So keep that in mind and just get what you need for that cheat meal :)

So to sum up, YES by all means have a cheat meal.......but don't binge on unhealthy junk food, and there is no need for a whole cheat day.