When I began my strict low-carb diet, my view on carbs was hostile to say the least. But as it is with everything; when you delve into the complexity of a certain subject you find, that most things cannot be analysed in a vacuum. I'm now much more aware of my carbohydrate timing, rather than avoiding them fully. I'm still eating a very low-carb diet, though I cycle with carbs. Here's a few points that might help you optimize your carb intake, whilst still staying lean and reaping the benefits of a LCHF-orientation:

1. Save your carbs for post-workout. Your body will need the carbs to replenish the glycogen stores. I usually eat a mix of figs, blueberries, abricots, dates, goji berries and raisins. I've personally seen my recovery improve a lot from increasing my carb intake PWO. This isn't anything new though. Figures such as Robb Wolf, Poliquin, CoActive health, Ido Portal, etc. has been advocating this approach for years. 

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2. The first thing you put into your mouth in the morning (provided its food) will set up your neurotransmitters up for the whole day. This is a point made by Poliquin and it's a very important one. If you dive into a huge portion of carbs in the morning, most likely you'll crash throughout the day, craving even more carbs to regulate your blood sugar, thus ending in a vicious cycle of carb cravings and messing up your insulin sensitivity. Note: if you're very insulin sensitive and lean enough, carbs won't be a problem in the morning. 

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3. Save your carbs for dinner or at least post lunch. Complex carbs will increase your body's production of serotonin, thus reducing cortisol and improve your sleep. Serotonin is crucial for optimal sleep, so increasing the amount of carbs at dinner will boost your serotonin and most likely increase the quality of your sleep. 

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4. Carbs pre-workout, from my experience, is a bad idea. Raising insulin pre-workout will often contribute to intra-workout fatige - note: if you're having a very long training session, intra-workout carbs can be a good thing (dependant on the type of workout you're performing) 

In the button below or on the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34PltW9a-NY I perform a one arm handstand (OAHS). It's one of the most frustrating skills to train for. There's so many details and if these details aren't applied properly, then you're one the path for failure. It requires hours upon hours upon hours of practice........ Some days you might have solid holds and then on other days you're not even close. Me and my good friend Niels Jørgensen (https://nielstraining.dk) practiced OAHS religiously for 2-3 hours a day for many months. The payoff was huge, but it was an emotional journey for sure.

Supplementation is a huge topic and i've delved into various products on my blog. I personally experiment with a host of different supplements periodically, but there's 3 supplements that i'm taking religiously: Multivitamin, Fish oil and magnesium. (You might argue that Vitamin D should've been on this list as well and I agree that it is absolutely essentiel, but luckily, my multivitamin from ATP labs has 2000 IU of vitamin D pr. daily serving) If your multivitamin doesn't have a high amount of Vitamin D, then i'd put it on the list as well. 

Lately i've been experimenting quite a lot with the sauna. I've done it for about 10 days straight and the results so far have been interesting: improved recovery post training, feeling more lean, my skin has improved, feeling much more relaxed in my body and i've been sleeping better as well. I'm following Dr. Rondha Patrick's advice on how to use the sauna: 20 min. in the sauna, 10 min. break and then another 20 min. in the sauna. The temperature is between 82-88 degrees celcius (180-190 Fahrenheit) 

A few notes: 
1. It's much easier to stand the heat of the sauna when you're in a fasted state. 

2. I'm drinking water when i'm in the sauna, due to the fact, that i'm on a very low-carb diet and therefore I don't retain water as efficiently. 

3. It's easiest when you're with friends. 
4. It's much tougher being in the sauna post training, rather than going to the sauna "recovered". 

I'll continue using the sauna for about 4-7x a week and hopefully there'll be results to show for. 

I've heard many people complain about abdominal fat, fat on the arms, "love handles", etc. saying, that they're genetically incapable of loosing fat on these areas. Nothing could be further from the truth. The key is to realise that it's not about "calories in, calories out", this concept only works in a vacuum for severely overweight people. For the majority of people, this concept doesn't apply at all. If you want to drop your body fat percentage and get lean, then it's crucial to take care of your hormones. Take excess belly fat; you might be working out like crazy, doing hours upon hours of activity and restricting your calories, yet, the belly fat refuse to perish. This will lead many to conclude, that they're not genetically able to get rid of excess belly fat and probably say something like: "it runs within the family", well, it doesn't. Or maybe it does, but you can still reverse this process. The biggest enemy when it comes to excess belly fat is insulin resistance. If you're insulin resistant, then you'll never get rid of your belly fat. How can you increase your insulin sensitivity (the opposite of insulin resistance): 
1. Sleep more and sleep better. You shouldn't merely increase the quantity of your sleep, but also your quality. As Robb Wolf says in his book Wired to Eat: "One night of bad sleep can lead to Type 2 Diabetes insulin resistance". 

2. Take on an ancestral LCHF-diet. Once your insulin sensitivity has improved, and your body fat has been reduced significantly (sub 15% at least, 10% if you're from the Poliquin camp), then you can begin to incorporate carbs again. 

3. Consider high dosages of fish oil, magnesium, zink and taurine. Also, taking care of your gut with pre+pro-biotics will improve your insulin sensitivity as well.

- Other tips: more exercise, cutting out alcohol, be aware of the type of carb, etc.

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Every area of your body is more or less "linked" to a certain hormone. If you're suffering from excess tricep fat, then it could be GH-deficiency or testosterone deficiency. If you're suffering from overall excess fat, then it could be cortisol, etc. Managing your hormones is key if you want to get lean and optimise your physique. Unless you're severely overweight, then throw the "calories in, calories out"-dogma into the trash bin and start to investigate your hormonal profile. A good place to start is reading Dr Thierry Hertoghe's books on hormones or Robb Wolf's Wired to Eat. Other names are Charles R. Poliquin, Ben Greenfield and Ido Portal.

Melatonin is referred to as the "sleep hormone". It functions in helping you fall asleep at night, sleep well, heavy and deeply. It is also responsible for your sleep-wake cycle. If you're a known night owl, it might be due to the fact, that your body isn't producing sufficient amounts of melatonin. Melatonin can be heavily reduced by cortisol, the stress hormone, so if your cortisol levels are high in the evening, most likely your melatonin levels will be very low. Melatonin can be taken as a supplement, though there's a bit of controversy as to whether it'll interfere with your natural melatonin production in the long run (Thierry Hertoghe is a big believer in supplementing with melatonin and he's one of the most prominent researchers/doctors working with hormone therapy) 

- Things that'll increase melatonin in the evening: meditation, breathing exercises, significantly reducing blue light 3 hours before bed, stretching, needle mat, taking magnesium+taurine and there's many more things you can do. 

Most people think, that if they're doing ab training regularly they'll get their long wanted six pack. I made the same mistake and I realised, that this tendency or approach is wrong: you'll never get a six pack through isolated ab training. On the contrary, you'll need to focus on reducing your body fat %, not through cardiovascular training but by changing your dietary regime. If you're one of the very few people who can tolerate high amounts of carbs and still maintain a low BF-%, lucky you. If not, then your first step toward a six pack should be cutting your carbs significantly and increase the amount of healthy fatty acids (especially Omega 3 fatty acids). This will greatly improve your insulin sensitivity (which is crucial if you want to reduce your BF-%) - the leaner you'll get, the more carbs you can eat. 

If you're looking for a product that'll rapidly enhance your energy levels during workout, then I can definitely recommend the Amino Elektrolyte Komplex from YPSI (Your personal strength institute) - I was introduced to the product through Charles Poliquin, and it works like magic. I've used BCAA's for quite some time now and its been working very well for my recovery, however, using YPSI's product is far superior to any regular BCAA that i've used thus far. The link is in the button. 

Nothing makes more noise than silence. It's like a black hole, pulling every single thought out in the open. You cannot hide from your thoughts when its silent. It's both a beautiful, but harsh vacuum. 

John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

There's essential amino acids and there's essential fatty acids. However, there's no such thing as essential carbohydrates. Living without fats or protein in the long run will kill you, on the contrary, living without carbohydrates is a historical fact and it's been practiced by many cultures (Inuits, Eskimos, etc). As Charles Poliquin has said on multiple occasions "You don't need carbs, you need to deserve your carbs". The vast majority of the Western  population would benefit greatly from reducing the overall carbohydrate intake - especially refined sugar and refined grains. 

Fasting seems to be one of the biggest (and rapidly growing) topics within the health/nutrition community, but also within the medicinal community. I personally think there's a tremendous amount of benefits to fasting - especially 24-72+ hour fasts. I'm not the biggest fan of Intermittent Fasting though it has its place. There's a lot of different fasting methods, but water fasting seems to be the most efficient by far (and it's also much more compatible to our ancestors way of living)

"The foragers may have had their all-conquering Napoleons, who ruled empires half the size of Luxembourg; gifted Beethovens who lacked symphony orchestras but brought people to tears with the sound of their bamboo flutes; and charismatic prophets who revealed the words of a local oak tree rather than those of a universal creator god" 

Our ancestors, not just our human ancestors the past 2.5 million years, but our ancestors the past 500 million years have been reaping the benefits of Vitamin D. It's been essential since the dawn of life on earth and it still is to this date. Vitamin D has been a crucial factor for the most basic single-celled organisms to complex biological structures. If you choose to neglect it, you'll most likely pay the price.

"Mammoths had flourished for millions of years over most of the northern hemisphere, but as Homo Sapiens spread - first over Eurasia and then over North America - the mammoths retreated. By 10,000 years ago there was not a single mammoth to be found in the world, except on a few remote Arctic islands, most conspicuously Wrangel. The mammoths of Wrangel continued to prosper for a few more millennia, then suddenly disappeared about 4,000 years ago, just when the first humans reached the island" - perspective. 

"On a hike in Africa 2 million years ago, you might well have encountered a familiar cast of human characters: anxious mothers cuddling their babies and clutches of carefree children playing in the mud; temperamental youths chafing against the dictates of society and weary elders who just wanted to be left in peace; chest-thumping machos trying to impress the local beauty and wise old matriarchs who had already seen it all. These archaic humans loved, played formed close relationships and competed for status and power - but so did chimpanzees, baboons and elephants. There was nothing special about humans"

A snack if you're busy. Organic blue cheese, deer sausage and a handful of nuts. Sprinkled with olive oil. The cheese will supply you with good fats and protein, healthy gut bacteria and good fungus. The deer sausage will supply good fats and protein as well, so will the nuts and olive oil. It'll stabilise you like nothing else. You can add 10g of glutamine as well, and it'll feel like a meal (making it even better for the gut) 

Being from a culture that seems to have completely abandoned the "everyday" contact between two bodies, whether it's a hug, rhythmical/dancing expression, handshakes, a hand on the shoulder/back, physical games or physical playing, etc. it's inevitable that our levels of oxytocin is out of whack. Gone are the days when we danced and sang around the fire, played physical games in the dirt, fought each other for sport, laid side by side - shoulder against shoulder - looking at the stars; telling each other mythical stories, sharing food across the fire, etc. It might be a utopic view of a our shared past, but they're all pieces of a bigger puzzle.

Bad meals happen.... and when it does, it's nice to be prepared. I usually take the following before the 'bad' meal and it helps a lot: 1-2x caps of HCL, 4x caps of fish oil and 10-15x caps of chlorella. It'll help a lot with digesting the food and you won't feel as bloated and sick afterwards. 

I'm a big proponent of glutamine whether it's for gut health, improved recovery or boosting the immune system. I use it primarily post workout to replenish glycogen stores. I typically mix 15-20g of glutamine with regular whey protein or goat whey protein + 1,5-2g of magnesium depending on the type of workout. This combination has improved my recovery tremendously. I use the "Glutamed" from ATP labs (the link is in the button) 

This tool is fantastic for myofascial release and kinetic chain enhancement. If you're searching for a tool that'll provide you with extra mobility as well - this is your go-to. I'd recommend it for everyone. A tutorial on how to use it will be up soon. The link is in the button.

Here's a clip of rolls to handstand and the 90 degree push up (hollow back press). Progress is greater than ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9taNRATDQ3c 
My current supplement stack looks like this:
HCL - Probiotic - Vitamin D - Zink - Magnesium - Chlorella & Fish Oil

My post workout supplementation: Whey Protein + Glutamine + Extra magnesium

Grassfed beef with garlic and onions, homemade guacamole (Robb Wolf's recipe - paleo edition), saurkraut salad, macadamia nuts and some 80% sour fat. Sprinkled with brain octane oil and some african chili dressing. You can't go wrong with this breakfast - it'll set you up for ages.

Today's "physical" activity: 

1. 5 min in the ocean (5 degrees celsius/40 Fahrenheit)

2. 20 minutes in a 85 degree sauna followed by a 10 minute break and then another 20 minutes in the sauna.

3. Ending my day with my gymnastic workout (which is carefully planned by Philip and Martina Chubb from Mindful Mover)
Everything's done in company of my good friends. It does not get better than this.

Today's lunch: 4 free-range eggs mixed with 1 tomato and 1 red onion. A handful of pecan nuts, a bowl of feld-salad sprinkled with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon + an avocado. Topped with some fresh basil leafs. 
Supplements: HCL and fish oil. 

These are foods/supplements that i'm always carrying with me in my back pack. Macadamia nuts, Four Sigmatic Coffee, Brain Octane oil, fish oil from ATP labs, glutamine from ATP labs, Saurkraut and Apple Cider Vinegar - you can't go wrong with this, ever.

Breakfast: a bowl of spinach sprinkled with olive oil and brain octane oil. Red pepper, cucumber, onion, tomato, goat cheese and grassfed lamb. Makes up for a fantastic lunch.