BY JASON JOHNSON While training for the Navy SEAL Fitness challenge  back in May, I researched a few of the top foods to fuel endurance athletes. If you're currently doing intense training, or just need a little extra to get you through your workouts, consider these power foods for endurance and high intensity training. I have kept all these in my food rotation: 1) Quinoa: (pronounced Keen-wah) It's an ancient high-energy grain from South America. The Incas used it to increase the stamina of their warriors and allow them to run longer distances at high altitudes. Quinoa is a complete protein, meaning it has all 9 essential amino acids, making it a perfect meal for vegetarians concerned with their protein intake. 2) Kale: Kale contains high levels of vitamins A, B6, C and K, iron, calcium and loaded with antioxidants. It also has strong anti-inflammatory properties. Low-grade inflammation resulting from exercise-induced muscle damage is a daily nuisance for many endurance athletes. 3) Oatmeal: This is a great source of complex carbs. It's easily digested, high in fiber, and is a low-glycemic index food which provides long-lasting energy. This is the ideal breakfast before an endurance event. I like adding cinnamon, walnuts or pecans, ...

In a nod to my favorite magazine (Men's Health) Jason Johnson gives us 5 easy tips for healthier living. BY JASON JOHNSON Living a healthier nutritional lifestyle is all about making gradual changes to your diet and making the right choices. Here are 5 quick and simple health tips you've heard before, but are worth reading again. 1. CHOOSE THIS: Turkey bacon or Canadian bacon NOT THAT: bacon 2. CHOOSE THIS: Fish, turkey or chicken NOT THAT: Red Meat 3. CHOOSE THIS: When preparing food, always opt for steamed, grilled, broiled or baked NOT THAT: fried 4. CHOOSE THIS: Whole grain pasta and brown rice NOT THAT: White or processed 5. CHOOSE THIS: Low-fat or non-fat salad dressings NOT THAT: Creamy salad dressings Until next time. Stay healthy and stay active, Jason M. Johnson, ACE-CPT JMJ Fitness www.jmjfitness.com

BY JASON JOHNSON Hi everyone. I would like you all to meet one of my JMJ Fitness Superstar clients, Kristin! You may know her from the blog Because I Said So, or as a contributor to Dallas South. She just completed an awesome personal fitness goal. I asked her 10 questions so you could get to know her and see why she is a superstar client! 1) JMJ: Kristin, you just completed a goal you set way back in February. Can you tell everyone what you just accomplished? K: I finished my first 10k in 1:27:40:55 in Boulder, Colorado. 2) JMJ: Have you always been a runner? Do you have a running background? K: I used to run every now and then but nothing like I have done recently. 3) JMJ: You also had a temporary injury set-back during your training. Can you tell us what happened and how it affected your training for the 10K? K: Training was going really well then I started experiencing knee problems which felt as if my leg was going to give out. I consulted with an Orthopedic and he diagnosed me with having Patellar Tracking Disorder. For roughly 4 weeks I was limited to upper body weights only and ...

BY JASON JOHNSON If you have the option, opt for free weights. The gold standard in strength & conditioning is to perform an exercise using free weights (dumbbells or a barbell). Why? You'll burn more calories by engaging your stabilizer muscles. Translation-it's more challenging. More challenge = more muscles being worked = more calories burned. When you sit down in a machine, you are working through a fixed range of motion, you're essentially allowing your nervous system to get lazy because it doesn't have to recruit any stabilizer muscles during the move to ensure you move efficiently. For example, performing a seated machine shoulder press. You are only engaging your shoulders (primary) and triceps (secondary). Instead-try performing a standing dumbbell shoulder press. You're now recruiting more muscles. You are working your shoulders, triceps, your core is now involved, and your various stabilizers (in your hips, shoulder complex and lower leg) are being called on to control and balance your body while pressing the dumbbells overhead. Take home message: more challenge = more muscles being worked = more calories burned = better results for you!

Chocolate really is good for you. But not the kind of chocolate you have grown to love: Snickers, Twix, Kit Kats, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, etc. Sure, they may taste great. But they aren't so tasty to your physique. All are typically high in refined white sugar, milk fats and hydrogenated oils. I'm talking about dark chocolate . It's been in the news quite a bit lately. Research has shown that dark chocolate does in fact have impressive overall health properties including antioxidant properties. According to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, dark chocolate contains about eight times the polyphenol antioxidants found in strawberries. What specifically makes dark chocolate so good for you? The pure cocoa that comes from the bean of the cacao plant. Raw cacao is considered one of the world's richest sources of antioxidant flavonoids, phytonutrients, and polyphenols. Studies confirm that the dark chocolate products with the highest levels of antioxidants should contain at least 65-70% pure cocoa powder. Most dark chocolate products will tell you the % of cacao on label. In general, the higher the % of cacao, the more health benefits and better nutritional value. When it comes to dark chocolate, bitter is ...

By Jason Johnson Adkin's Diet. The Mediterranean Diet. The Detox Diet. The Cabbage Soup Diet. Weight Watchers. Jenny Craig. There are many diets out there that promise weight loss. And the truth of the matter is-they all will result in some initial weight loss. Any diet will work and should work, because the theory behind all diets is lower overall calories. You're going to lose weight on a Cabbage Soup Diet because at the end of the day, you're taking in less calories than you normally do. And they all have you cutting out the junk food. I'm a big believer in eating 5-6 times a day for weight management. I do it every day, it works for me. And I've had clients get great results eating 5-6 times per day. Here's the 64,000 dollar question: So what's the best diet? The one you'll stick to. A lot people have a hard time eating 5-6 times a day. Whatever the reason, they just can't or won't eat 5-6 small meals per day. A lot people have a hard time keeping up with the "points" ...

How to avoid the dreaded PLATEAU in your exercise routine By Jason Johnson We all have experienced a point in our exercise program in which we stop seeing results. You have worked out consistently for 8 weeks straight and kept your diet clean. You lost weight during this time, your clothes fit better and you're getting compliments left and right. But now-your results have stopped. The weight scale is not going down. What happened? You hit the dreaded point of everyone's exercise program: THE PLATEAU. It happens to everyone. The human body has an amazing way of adapting to the everyday stress we place upon our it. It's called muscle memory. You have probably experienced this in your own routines when you perform a new exercise for the 1st time, it feels challenging, maybe a little awkward. The next day you are sore. But the next time you do the same exercise, it's a little easier. Still challenging, but it feels more natural. The next day, not quite as sore. And the next time you perform the same exercise for a 3rd time, you breeze right through it. Then what? No soreness at all. This is due to muscle memory. It's good news-bad news. Good news ...

BY JASON JOHNSON This $10 piece of exercise equipment will give you a better workout than a $2000 treadmill and won't take up any space. A jump rope! Jumping rope or skipping rope, as it's sometimes referred to, is an excellent form of total body conditioning. I'm always a fan of getting the biggest bang for your buck in your workouts. Your goal should always be to work the most muscles and engage as many muscle fibers within the 1 exercise: enter the jump rope. Buy Jump Rope, Look Like This Jumping rope is a true form of TOTAL BODY conditioning. It works everything from your shoulders, chest, back, arms, abs, legs and all the way down to your calves and Achilles tendons. Ladies listen up: some suggest jumping rope is the best exercise to tone up your glutes. By working so many muscles within the 1 move, your heart rate and metabolism skyrockets and you burn more calories both during and after the exercise session. Again, this is our goal. To get the most efficient workout. According to exercise ...

BY JASON JOHNSON A non-profit research organization called the Environmental Working Group studied which produce was the most likely to be contaminated by pesticides, and therefore best eaten organically grown, and which ones were the least likely to be contaminated, and therefore could safely be eaten conventionally grown.  Here is the list of the 10 most contaminated foods. You might want to consider going organic on the following: Peaches Apples Sweet Bell Peppers Celery Nectarines Strawberries Cherries Pears Imported Grapes Spinach Peaches and apples appear to be the 2 biggest culprits. Approximately 96% of peaches tested positive for pesticides, along with approximately 91% of the apples testing positive for pesticides. From the study, here is the list of the 10 least contaminated foods. These appear to be relatively safe purchasing conventionally grown (non-organic): Onions Avocados Sweet Corn Pineapples Mango Asparagus Broccoli Kiwi Bananas Cabbage Until next time...Stay healthy. Jason M. Johnson, ACE-CPT JMJ Fitness www.jmjfitness.com

Kristin, my co-host on the Shawn P. Williams Now Blog Talk show is sharing her weight loss journey with the Dallas South Family. She is working with Dallas South contributor and JMJ Fitness proprietor Jason Johnson on a 6-week program. Today, Kristin tells us about her first week following Jason's prescribed eating and exercise routine. BY KRISTIN Day One was terrible I swear I had several Loony Tunes moment. You know, the ones where the character visualizes the person talking to them turns into nice little plump drumsticks. However Day One was a success, even though there were many temptations. Jason provided me with a list of short term and long term goals that I should keep handy and in a visible place. As the week progressed the eating routine became easy to adjust to. The weekend presented an entirely different kind of challenge. Weekends are go-go time and it was much harder to stick to the eating schedule. Adjustments will have to be made for next weekend so that I find time to fit in all six meals. The workout routines were fine though I thought they were a bit on the light side. Jason assures me the intensity will increase ...