This is a quick list of groceries, kitchen utensils, gym equipment, and other resources I use and love.
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Cooking Utensils
I HIGHLY recommend a vegetable steamer of some sort. The inventor of the rice and vegetable combo steamer deserves an award. It’s a game-changer!
This is the one I have, you can pick one up on Amazon for $20. This is good for 1-2 people and Amazon sells larger ones as well.
This particular one makes 6 cups of cooked rice, which means 3 cups of uncooked rice.
I fill the top with frozen vegetables.
Some places sell these type of stock pots for $200-$300.
I use a basic one from Amazon (costs around $30).
A bamboo steamer is so easy to use.
Plus they look cool. Mine is a 2-tiered version like this one on Amazon.
As a bonus, when you are not following a diet…
Use the bamboo steamer to heat up frozen pork buns or dumplings (found in most Asian markets).
Now I’m craving Dim Sum!
I like to cook 5 days of chicken ahead of time.
Then I will put this into 5 separate containers. I like glass containers that are BPA-Free.
What is nice about these is that they are microwave and freezer safe and last forever. Here’s a link to a set of 5 on Amazon.
Foods, Beverages, Cooking Ingredients
For cooking, I like avocado oil the best.
I use this brand that I buy on Amazon.
I find hot drinks are more satisfying than cold ones.
I like to drink a cup of hot green tea 4-5 times per day while on this diet.
It keeps the energy flowing and greatly reduces hunger.
My favorite is Pomegranate Green Tea. Coffee works too but is easy to overdo caffeine if you drink too much of it.
Apps and Courses
If I cook and want to estimate the total calories of the food I like to pull out My Fitness Pal and then enter ingredients as I add them.
I’ve used intermittent fasting in various ways for 10+ years. This is where you either drastically cut your eating window each day, or take an approach of eating one meal per day, typically at night. It works well for a month or two, but I find the body adapts after a while. The most extensive info on the subject is Eat Stop Eat.
Seconds Pro – Interval Timer This one is free with a paid option ($4.99). I’ll probably pick this up at some point so I can play my own music while I do HIIT.
Supplements
Mark, the co-author of our High Carb Fat Loss course, likes to keep supplements to a minimum. He takes Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3, and BCAA’s. I would recommend those three along with Vitamin K2. All of these are inexpensive and easy to find on Amazon.
Vitamin B12 This is the one nutrient that is hard to get if you eat a pure vegan diet. From what I understand, you don’t need a lot of it. I take 1 to 2 of these 1000mcg tablets per day.
Vitamin K2 I’ve been taking vitamin K2 for a few years now. My teeth were getting sensitive so I did a little research. Apparently vitamin K2 helps your bones and teeth absorb calcium. This is the brand I take. One 180 capsule bottle lasts 6 months.
Vitamin D3 Most of us should take vitamin D3, especially if you live in the north or rarely get outside. Sunshine is a better source (someone needs to give the memo to Seattle).
BCAA’s These are totally optional. I like to simply think of BCAA’s as protein without calories. The common use is to take before hard workout sessions to ensure you don’t break down muscle. Especially effective if you train while in a fasted state.
Vegan Protein Powder My favorite is Vega Sport protein. This stuff is fantastic. It contains probiotics and turmeric in addition to protein.
I actually recommend just going with the cheap stuff with good reviews on Amazon. I like this brand: Bulk Supplements Creatine Monohydrate.
Fitness Equipment
Adjustable Bench. The best benches go from flat and have several levels of incline working all the way up to 90 degrees.
It is fine if the back of the bench doesn’t go all the way to vertical. My favorite adjustable bench only goes up to 80 degrees and still works very well. The price range for these starts at $200. Rogue fitness is one of the premium brands.
Tip: You can probably get a much better deal if you search Craigslist and find one that somebody is getting rid of.
Adjustable Dumbbell Set. There is a new class of adjustable dumbbells that have an ingenious design.
These ones pictured below aren’t cheap but look extremely durable and these can quickly switch from 5 pounds up to 75 pounds in 2.5-pound increments. They are made by Ironmaster.
I really do like the concept of using resistance bands. The main thing is how portable and inexpensive they are.
I did a bit of research and found that the “loop” style bands are more versatile than the ones with handles. I wound up going with Undersun Bands.
There is another popular brand called Rubberbandtiz that has stock (at this time), but they are slightly delayed to ship out.
Kettlebells. Here are the brands I would keep an eye out for (I’ll also link to the kettlebell page for each brand).
These are all top-tier brands. You can’t go wrong with any of these.
For my interval training workouts, I use a Gymboss Interval Timer.
The reason I like a separate timer? I can use my phone for music.
I especially like energetic tunes for this type of training.
My favorite tunes to work out to? Acid House tunes from the late ’80s and early ’90s.
