Your Next Holiday Calorie Control Tip

Yesterday we discussed how crucial it is for you to have a PLAN to control your calorie intake during the holidays. Today's tip is even more simple and expands on the premise.

Plan on staying away from the booze.

Look, a drink or two isn't going to be the end of the world. But when two turns to three...

I'm not getting on my soap box here. I'm just telling you something you already know:

Booze leads to bad decisions. And in this case, we're talking about bad eating decisions.

When alcohol enters the equation even the best laid plans crumble. The extra calories from the cocktails is one thing. But really it's the extra calories you chew that start to add up.

One piece of cake turns to two...

A handful of chips turns into a a bag...

The dip sitting in front of you mysteriously vanishes...into your belly...

You get the picture. ;-)

Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Just be conscious of what alcohol does to your decision making.

Yours in health,

George

PS - Rememeber, Prograde Nutrition's HUGE Holiday Savings ends TONIGHT. You definitely want to get over to ProGrade Store right NOW and place you order to save 15% on all their killer products. It's my duty as a proud Prograde Partner to remind you ;-)

I Know You Know This

I know you know this.

You know you know this.

Fail to plan, plan to fail.

You can't just HOPE you're going to behave yourself at holiday parties. You can't just do the same old things you've been doing. You can't just  miss breakfast. have a light lunch and then go to a party filled with temptation and not go a little insane on the cheese platter ;-)

You have to plan your meals.

You have to plan your workouts.

You have to set your goals in stone.

You don't want to be the person that comes out of the holidays 5 to 10 pounds heavier, do you?

If you don't plan your strategy from preventing it, well, you can PLAN on getting some new clothes that fit your new size.

This is far from doom and gloom. You can still enjoy your favorite foods at parties. You can still have a great time.

But what you can't do is just free-for-all it and stuff your face with everything put in front of you. You know that.

Tell you what: Plan on taking a nice 30 minute walk this weekend and do some solid thinking about what your plan will be. And when you get back home, put it on paper and commit to it.

And think about how great you'll feel about yourself when January comes after you've followed your plan. Oh, and be sure to reward yourself to by doing something special for yourself.

Yours in health,

George

PS - As a proud Prograde Nutrition partner I have to remind you Prograde is having a heck of a Holiday Blow Out on ALL of their awesome products. Everything you need, including the coupon code to save 15% on all Prograde Nutrition products is right here: ProGrade Store

Hurry because this deal expires this Friday, December 11th at 11:59pm EST.  

7 Questions With Jayson Hunter, Author and Registered DietiTian

Whether you're a practitioner of  the BusyBod Workout for Fat Loss or are just looking to start eating healthy and shed some pounds, the Carb Rotation Diet is a great choice. The fact that when you're done with the program you never have to diet again is a huge plus in my book and if it was like all the other fad diets out there, I wouldn't be endorsing it. So I suggest you give it a shot.

So I decided to pick up the phone and ask Jayson for an interview. Luckily for all of us, he was happy to oblige. Here's the seven questions I asked him:

1)The goal of the BusyBod Workout for Fat Loss is to provide ultra-busy people with all the training and nutritional guidance and resources they'll need to maximize their fat loss and lean muscle gains. How does the Carb Rotation Diet help ultra-busy people who have no time to cook or count calories?

Well, it is designed to keep your eating habits simple and uncomplicated. One of the ways is by simplifying how you determine your caloric intake and by not counting calories. I have devised a way to determine how much and what nutrients you should be eating so that you can maximize your nutrition. There are also many simple techniques in the Carb Rotation Program discussing meal planning, shopping and how to prepare your meals to maximize your time

2)If you had to give one piece of advice to ultra-busy people looking to maximize fat loss, what would it be?

If I had to give one piece of advice it would be to eat frequently. Don’t restrict calories when trying to lose weight. You will see sure defeat if you try to starve yourself when it comes to losing weight.

3)What can BusyBod practitioners expect from the Carb Rotation Diet?

Well, they can expect to lose up to 15 pounds in just 30 days. They can also expect to be taught how to make easy behavior modifications so that once they are done with the program they won’t ever have to diet again. This is where many diets suffer in that they don’t teach you how to eat once you have lost the weight.

4)With a new diet system coming out what seems like everyday, how is the Carb Rotation Diet different from all the other fad diets out there? Is this another "low carb" diet?

Like I said previously many diets will get the weight off of you, but then they don’t teach you how to live and eat once you have lost the weight. So what happens is you end up regaining the weight you lost and then go on the next diet thinking it is going to be better. There is a science to how you control the intake of your carbohydrates. When combined with other nutrients in a certain form of timing you can greatly accelerate your fat loss and speed up your metabolism at the same time. This is not a “low carb” diet. It is a systematic way to manipulating your carb intake to maximize fat loss.

5)Here's a question I get a lot, and I've heard different opinions, so I'd like to ask you. "I do my BusyBod workout first thing in the morning, do I need to eat something before I workout? (I normally just have a cup of coffee about 30 minutes before)"

Yes, you should at least have a small amount of fast digesting carbohydrates. The reason is because you have fasted from the night before and your glucose levels are low first thing in the morning. If you want to maximize your workout and burn the maximum amount of calories then you need to provide your body the fuel it needs to get started. If you only drank ½ a cup of orange juice 30 minutes before your workout you would be able to kick start your body and maximize your workout so that you burned the most amount of calories.

6)Can you tell my readers why eating carbs is beneficial to people whose main goal is to lose fat?

Carbs are beneficial for the simple fact that you need them to function efficiently. When you don’t eat enough carbs your body has to rely on other forms of energy and just doesn’t run optimally. The big thing in losing fat is controlling the carb intake and manipulating the intake in such a way that your body will shed fat faster than using other methods of weight loss.

7)Many of my readers travel a lot. What tips can you give the ultra-busy traveler when it comes to eating for fat loss?

One of the most important tips I could give is to not be afraid to ask for a change in your meal when at a restaurant. If your meal comes with fries as for a side salad or vegetables instead. If you meal has a sauce that you know is fattening then ask for a different sauce of no sauce at all. Most restaurants are very accommodating about this and are happy to fulfill your suggestions to make sure you are a happy customer.

It is all about making smart decisions in your food choices when traveling. Also, make sure you keep on hand some almonds as a healthy snack so that you don’t make a run through a fast food line because you don’t have anything to eat that is healthy.

Don't Be Scammed By Those HFCS Commercials

There was a big fuss a few months ago over the 2 commercials the corn refiners association has released regarding high fructose corn syrup. I saw the commercial online yesterday so I thought it was worth bringing up again.

To summarize, the commercials say that it is okay to consume high fructose corn syrup in moderation.

Well, what is moderation when high fructose corn syrup is in almost every food Americans eat today. 

Obviously their intent is to get people to eat more foods that contain high fructose corn syrup so that the corn refiners make more money. 

It was interesting that they showed fruit juice and a popsicle in the two commercials with one of the commercials was based on giving kids fruit juice. 

Need I say that most fruit juices on the shelves today contain less than 10% of real fruit juice?

So is it ok to keep feeding ourselves and our kids foods that contain high fructose corn syrup?

Is it harmful to our bodies?

Here are some facts you should know:

When high fructose corn syrup was introduced as a society we started veering away from whole and natural foods such as fruits and vegetables and starting eating more processed foods as well as more soft drinks.

If you substituted the high fructose corn syrup for sucrose in the same foods you would most likely end up with the same result. 

Many people overweight.

You see they both contain the same amount of calories.

Calories that we don't need.

If we just avoided these processed foods and soft drinks we would lose weight fast. 

If you drank a soft drink with high fructose corn syrup and a soft drink with sucrose you would end up with the same result.

A high calorie soft drink that our bodies do not need. 

The bottom line is this:

The definition of moderation to most health professionals is that something can be eaten every once in a while such as 1-3 times a week.

Moderation does not mean 5 times a day, which is what we tend to consume in high fructose corn syrup every day.

Go back to eating more whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, and natural grains along with lean meats and you will see that you lose weight fast and will keep it off forever.

The TRUTH About the Fat-Burning Zone

When I first set out on my fat loss journey from fat to fit, a lot of (misinformed) people told me that the only surefire way there is to losing fat is by exercising in the Fat Burning Zone. The theory is that in this zone of exercise intensity, the body uses stored fat for energy. At 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, 85% of your calories burned in this zone are fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates.

In a nutshell, the theory was that if I worked out at this pace, my body would burn only fat for energy. In other words, to get into this “fat-burning zone”, I needed to commit to hours of low to moderate intensity cardio every week so that I could shed my flab.

I’m sure you’ve heard this advice before. It's one of the biggest misconceptions in the fitness and weight-loss world, so I decided to spend some extra time writing about it. If long, slow, steady-state aerobics was the key to fat loss every person who crosses the finish line of a marathon and all of those people you see at the gym who are endlessly on the treadmill would have very low body fat. This just isn't the case.

Endurance exercise solely for fat loss does not make sense. Your goal as an endurance athlete is to become efficient and better at running, biking or swimming. A different plan of attack needs to be used to burn fat--a more effective and efficient plan.

The “Fat Burning Zone” has been greatly misinterpreted. The fat-burning zone is a concept that the body burns a greater amount of fat at lower-intensity aerobic exercise than it does at higher intensities. Actually, the body burns a greater percentage of fat at lower intensities than at higher intensities. At lower intensities, the body may burn 50 percent of the calories from fat, while at higher intensities it may only burn 35 percent. But at higher intensities you burn way more total calories—and more fat calories overall—than you do at lower intensities.

That is a key difference!!!

Remember, metabolism is largely a function of how much muscle you carry. Since aerobics does little to even maintain muscle, let alone build it, unlike resistance training, your metabolism is not increased while at rest.

You can forget all about long, boring cardio exercises with the BusyBod Workout for Fat Loss, we’ll have none of that!

Let's Not Forget The Health of Our Kids

Image via Wikipedia

This is actually a re-post from my previous blog from October 2008. With more school budget cuts looming, I thought it was a good time to re-post it.

I have two little girls and I'm always wondering if they're getting enough phys ed in school. Since they only have "gym" twice a week for 30 minutes, I can tell you that they certainly aren't. So like anything else, it's usually up to the parents to make sure that their children are being educated on the importance of exercise and good nutrition and are actually doing something about it.

It's ironic then, that the "guvanah" Arnold Schwarzenegger (once known for his passion for building the human body to perfection) announced earlier this year that he was cutting the state's education budget. As a former adjunct professor and as someone whose wife is very active in our school district, I can tell you that this often means that phys ed budgets are among the first to go. As if things could get any worse...

I was shocked to read in Men's Health the other day that:

• Only 4% of elementary schools provide daily gym classes
• Only 8% of middle schools do
• Nearly 1/3 of American children are at risk for obesity (this I knew already)

So, my kids aren't alone. Physical fitness needs to become more of a priority for our schools. Studies have shown that physically active children score higher on tests then those who are sedentary.

But unfortunately we can't depend on the schools to teach our kids the benefits of exercise and eating healthy. We need to not only educate them, but integrate both into their lives until they become the norm. The same way that parents need to be responsible for what their kids watch on television, it's up to us to make sure our children understand the importance of physical activity and good nutrition. How can we do that? Well, here are some of the things I do:

• Keep a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. That way when they're looking for a snack, they have fruit handy for them. The rule in my house is that they can have fruit at any time without asking, but if they want something like chocolate, they need to ask. In this way I can moderate how often they're eating sweets. I can hear some of you saying "Yeah, right. That won't work in my house", which leads into my next two points.
• I started early, really early. From the time they were wee tots I spoke to them about the importance of eating healthy, what bad things like potato chips did to their bodies and the different benefits of each fruit or vegetable they ate. I did this consistently and 8 years later I still do it at least 3 or 4 times a week. The result? My kids understand the benefits of what they are eating and often brag about (especially my little one) what they're eating! Imagine that! A 7 year old bragging about the apple she's eating!
• Practice what you preach. I do all of my workouts at home so my girls will often see me working out and will often try to mimic me. I explain the benefits of each movement to them as I'm doing them. They understand the importance of exercise because they see their dad do it almost daily and they see the results.
• Remember, they're just kids. Do I constantly try to teach my girls about nutrition and exercise? Yes! Do I encourage proper habits when it comes to eating? Yes! Do I let them eat snacks that aren't necessarily healthy? Yes...but in moderation. Trying to keep any child away from the junk their friends are eating will just cause them to be resentful and will eventually just end up sneaking unhealthy snacks behind your back. Although I secretly cringe just thinking about it, they're allowed one snack a day that's not on my "healthy snack" list (fruits, carrot sticks, almonds, etc...). We just make sure to keep the portion sizes small.

So those are the basics. What do YOU do to make sure your children are eating right and maintaining a good level of physical fitness? If your answer is "not much", it's time to rethink that.

Are You REALLY "Trying Everything?"

Image via Wikipedia

I love watching people and the choices they make.

Last week I was returning from a family vacation. Our return flight was in the middle of the day (around lunch time) and we wanted to grab lunch before we got on the plane. There were three places you could get food from, all right next to each other. One was a sports bar type of place (burgers, sandwiches and beer), one was a Pizza Hut to Go and one was a salad/health food type of place that had mostly different types of salads, smoothies and fruits.

As you would guess, the sports bar type of place was overflowing with people since it was Sunday and the football games were on. But between Pizza Hut and the health food place, guess which one had NO people on line and which one had 18 people on line?

Guess what most of those people on the Pizza Hut line looked like. Only 2 of the 18 weren't overweight.

How many of them do you think that if asked, would say that they would like to lose weight? My guess would be almost all of them.

So if all of these people want to live a healthier life and lose fat, what's stopping them from making the right or "healthiest" decisions?

I'm sure marketing has much to do with it. Whether consciously or sub-consciously, we're all brainwashed to some extent to make certain choices based on the messages of these companies that we're bombarded with daily.

Maybe it's the smell of the fast (fried) food.

Maybe it's the perception that healthy food is more expensive? For the record, in reality for one meal you're talking a $2 to $3 difference on average (isn't that worth eating better, feeling and looking better and making a contribution towards a longer life?).

I'm not sure what the answer is. But it's definitely something to consider when you're making your day to day decisions on what to eat (and what not to eat).

Be honest with yourself, ask yourself "am I REALLY trying everything to lose the weight I want to lose?"

Did You Fall for This "Weight Loss Miracle" Food?

You can't really miss it on the Internet these days. Seems like everywhere you look there's another company promoting the nutritious Acai Berry as a weight loss miracle.

And that's why I thought it was critical to write you today. I want to make sure you know my opinion on the subject.

First, you know better than to believe you're going to pop some pills - ANY pills - and have the pounds and inches melt off like magic. If you've been listening to me for any length of time you know true fat
loss comes from a variety of factors, including exercise and proper nutrition.

Second, any fitness expert worth their fees will tell you that any diet that promotes you eat any one food all day long and then eat a sensible dinner, well, don't bother. Yes, you will lose some weight short-term,
but as soon as you go back to your old eating habits - and you know you will - you know exactly what happens.

Third, the Acai Berry contains VERY powerful antioxidants and it is getting a lot of good press for that very reason. Yes, antioxidants as in the extraordinary nutrients that help fight the free radicals associated with aging, cancer risk and other degenerative diseases.

And while on the subject, I wanted to fill you in on something that has recently come to light in case you didn't read my post from yesterday. Did you know that coffee berries (the berry that covers the coffee bean) is one of the most powerful antioxidants on the planet? It's something researchers have discovered in recent
years.

What's really cool is my friends at Prograde Nutrition have just created an amazing Whole Foods based Anti-Aging formula called Prograde Longevity that includes both Acai Berry and Coffee Berry. Oh, and it
also utilizes Green Tea, Pomegranate, Wolf Berry and Biovin Grape (Red Wine extract.)

Just to give you an idea of how powerful this formula is, well, you'd have to eat an entire POUND of raspberries to get the same ORAC value. And in case you're not familiar with the term, ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.


You can check out Prograde Longevity for yourself here: http://getfitnesstoday.getprograde.com


Oh, and just so you know, you can't find Prograde products in stores anywhere. They're so exclusive they only let fitness experts work with their company to help them get the word out.

Yours in health,

George Louris

Halloween Fat Burning tips

Halloween is almost here. And there's a VERY good chance you will probably end up eating some candy or other form of junk food.

And while I want you to have a great time, I do NOT want you to kiss your fat loss goals goodbye. Here are four quick Halloween Fat Burning Tips to help keep you on track.

1) Make sure you get a good workout in that day. Preferably strength training. It'll have you blasting fat all day long.

2) Whatever you do, do NOT starve yourself all day long in anticipation of your big night out. That's one of the worst things you can do.

3) If you're having a chocolate craving - it is Hallowen after all - you want to have some good dark chocolate on hand. (Note: I recommend Prograde Cravers. )

4) Start Halloween off with 2 large cups of water when you wake up. You also want to drink 1-2 cups before each meal as it will help you from consuming WAY to many calories.

Happy Halloween

Why You Should Skip the Gym and Build Your Own Home Gym Instead

Is this a home gym or a science experiment?!

There are many reasons people look to build a home gym. Time, money, intimidation, music selection and distractions are usually the main ones. As a certified trainer, former owner of three personal training studios and former avid gym member, I have a unique perspective on typical "big gyms". It's a perspective that has allowed me to see all sides of the commercial gym versus home gym argument.

Why Build a Home Gym?

Save Time

One of the biggest benefits of building a home gym and performing home workouts is a tremendous time savings. First you have travel time to and from the gym. Then you have the time you waste waiting on line for equipment.

Lastly, you end up having conversations at the gym that waste your time.

The beauty with having a home gym is that you can get more done in much less time at home, and you can workout whenever you want and anytime that you want.

Save Money

Let's face it; going to a commercial gym is not cheap. There are many costs associated with joining a commercial gym.

First you have the gym membership itself. Often it is either a large annual fee up front ranging from $400/year to thousands of dollars a year or you pay an up front registration fee, followed by a $30 to $200 a month recurring fee. Either way, it's certainly not inexpensive.

In addition to the membership fee, you actually have to pay to get to the gym. The cost of gas to and from the gym should always be considered when calculating what membership to a big gym actually costs you.

You also have to consider the wear and tear on your car. Although not an immediate cost, all those miles back and forth from the gym certainly add up.

Lastly, and the one thing almost no one considers, is the cost of your time. Most people don't think of time as having a cost, but the truth is that time is the most valuable and precious asset we have.

Unlike money or any other resource, once a minute, hour or day is gone, it's gone for good and you simply can't make anymore.

So this must be treated as your most precious commodity.

You should always put a cost to your time, always. Think about what is the maximum you make in one hour at work. Additionally, think about what ELSE you could be doing during that 30 minutes to and from the gym. If you could be performing a task that is going to make you money during that time, that makes it even more valuable.

The Intimidation Factor

For many people big name commercial gyms are intimidating.

When I had the opportunity to open my own gym, I decided that instead of opening a "big gym", I would focus on one-on-one personal training with private suites because so many people found big gyms intimidating and I felt that they were the LEAST effective way of getting people results. They would join a gym to lose weight and they would never go because they found them menacing or ineffective.

In my experience, I have found that many women found comfort in their own private training suites because there was no one staring at them (which is what you typically get in a big commercial gym). However, this is a very expensive option at $60 to $150 per training session.

Even many men, myself included, dislike commercial gyms. Depending on the gym, you might find a large bodybuilding contingent that can alsobe very intimidating.

Additionally, you'll often find rude and inconsiderate members who might stay on one machine for long periods of time or even worse, don't wipe down equipment after they use it.

Distractions

Lastly, the gym is full of distractions.

Sometimes it's as simple as the music. Many people don't own an MP3 player or don't want to have an mp3 player attached to their bodies when they work out. This means they have to listen to whatever the gym is playing. It's not pleasant when you're trying to focus on your workout and you're not enjoying the music that's playing or the volume it's playing at.

Many gyms are also affectionately known as "meat markets". In other words, people join the gym for the sole purpose of finding a date. For some people, that's a plus. However, if you're serious about losing that belly flab, you can't be distracted by figuring out who you might want to date at the gym.

Now that we understand some of the reasons people decide to build a home gym versus joining a big, name brand facility, let's talk about exactly how to build a budget home gym, without breaking the bank.

How Do I Build a Home Gym?

When building a home gym, the truth is that to effectively lose fat and build muscle, you don't even need equipment. You literally can BE the gym! I realize many people find this very difficult to believe, but the reality is that almost anyone can get by with a very small ten-by-ten space somewhere in their home performing body-weight only exercises.

But yet when people hear the phrase "home gym" they automatically think of those large, bulky multi-exercise gyms that would take up half a room or more.Not only do those large multi-function home gyms take up a lot of space, but they are often very expensive.

There is absolutely no reason for one of those archaic machines. While most people believe that they need all the different pieces of equipment to get a good total body workout, it's absolutely untrue.

So what do you REALLY need to build an effective home gym so you can build muscle, lose belly flab and get that six pack you've always wanted? Here's the list:

1)Dumbbells: Dumbbells are a key piece of equipment for people who need to add weight to their workouts for extra resistance. In fact, a set of dumbbells is the centerpiece of your home gym, especially if you're on a budget. You can get great and varied workouts with just a pair of dumbbells and nothing else. If you're going to buy dumbbells, I highly recommend buying a pair of adjustable dumbbells which will save you space.

2)Stability/Exercise ball: These balls are very popular among fitness enthusiasts and for good reason. They are excellent for abdominal work because they support the spine and isolate the stomach muscles. For many exercises, the ball may even take the place of a bench.

Here's what I would consider optional or "nice to have" for variety's sake:

1)Pull up bar: A pull up bar is a great, low cost piece of equipment that could really help with the development of your upper body, abdominals and arms.

However, many people, especially beginners aren't strong enough to perform pull-ups or chin-ups.

2)The Lebert Equalizer: This is one of my all time favorite pieces of equipment because it fits into my three criteria for home gym equipment: It's versatile, it's inexpensive and it can be stored away easily and doesn't take up much space. The Equalizer works the arms, chest, back and core muscles.

Again, you don't need any equipment to build muscle and lose fat. However, using equipment will allow you to more easily change your workouts because you'll have more options and changing your workouts every four weeks is a must if you really want results.

Building your own home gym could not only save you time, effort and frustration, but it can actually provide you with a more conducive environment and more effective method to lose weight and build muscle.

And of course, always consult your physician before starting any exercise program!

Three Tips on How to Lose a Dress Size

Those of you who know me, know that I almost never promote other products. However, Jayson Hunter is someone I've met and talked to in person, was able to ask questions and get them answered. Jayson is the real deal and his information is excellent and most importantly, it works.

I recently asked Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter (aka, America's Trusted Weight Loss Expert) for some quick weight loss tips to help women lose a dress size fast.

He came back with three killer tips. In fact, Hunter challenges any woman that wants to lose a dress size fast to put these three quick weight loss tips to the test and prove him wrong.

Be sure to let me know what happens when you incorporate these tips into YOUR weight loss plan:

"Lose a Dress Size Fast" Tip #1
Eating non-starchy vegetables increases women's fiber intake which, in turn, makes them feel fuller quicker. Additionally, vegetables are energy consumers. It takes more energy to digest a vegetable than any other type of carbohydrate. Obviously, this helps them look great in a sexy, little mini-skirt.


"Lose a Dress Size Fast" Tip #2
One could argue that nothing will help women lose a dress size faster than eliminating simple carbohydrates from their weight loss plan. Large amounts of insulin promote fat storage and fast digesting or simple carbohydrates produce large amounts of insulin. Women want to limit or avoid these fast digesting carbohydrates for quick weight loss.

"Lose a Dress Size Fast" Tip #3
Looking great in a sexy, little mini skirt requires women to STOP skipping meals. This is because skipping meals tends to cause women to overeat at later times during the day. Additionally, women who want to lose a dress size fast that skip meals actually lower their metabolism. That means their body needs fewer calories and overeating leads to gaining fat faster.

If you're really serious about losing a dress size - or two - fast then you want to get Jayson's entire program. His formula for rotating carbs is a PROVEN way to melt fat fast. And even better, it's a true HEALTHY eating plan that you can live with. Check it out here: CARB ROTATION DIET

PS - My favorite part about The Carb Rotation Diet, is that it teaches you how to KEEP the pounds off your belly.

Avoid These Demons for Accelerated Fat Loss - Part Two

Yesterday I talked about the first "food demon", refined carbohydrates. Today's monstrosity is even worse. Say hello to one of the biggest poisons in today's foods, trans fat. Trans fats have a double whammy effect on your health. They increase your bad cholesterol (LDL), and they even lower the good kind (HDL)!

Trans Fat

Trans fats are artificially made fats that actually increase the amount of bad cholesterol in your body. Found in many oils and margarines, trans fats extend the shelf life of products but have been linked to clogged arteries, diabetes, increased risk of heart disease and other serious health conditions. 

Trans fats are actually a chemist’s creation and like most things artificially created, can cause havoc to your internal systems. A combination of vegetable oil with hydrogen creates a partially hydrogenated oil, or trans fatty acid. Once the hydrogen is added, the liquid oil turns into a solid at room temperature. 

The worse part is what happens when trans fats enter your body. Because these fats were once liquid, instead of dissolving inside of your body as they would in their natural state, they try to revert back to their solid state – inside of your arteries. Not exactly conducive to achieving optimal health let alone trying to lose fat.

Since trans fats are so inexpensive, versatile and seemingly have a long shelf life, the food industries love them. Because of this trans fats seems to get added to everything from baked goods, potato chips, fries and all sorts of supermarket shelf products.

What can we do about the seeming proliferation of trans fats everywhere? California recently became the first state to ban trans fats in food sold in restaurants. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, known for being health-conscious, signed the bill into law and by Jan. 1, 2010, California's restaurants are required to use margarines, oils, and shortening that contain less than half a gram of trans fat per serving; deep-fried bakery products must also adopt the standard by Jan. 1, 2011.

Although we are seeing some progress in the war against trans fats, we have a long way to go. What can you do to protect yourself?

Become a label detective: Read the labels on the foods you buy. Other names for trans fats are “shortening”, “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated”. If you absolutely MUST consume a food with trans fat, make sure it is at the end of the ingredient list. When ingredients are listed at the beginning of a label, it means that they are contained in a larger quantity then the rest. 

Be an informed diner: Refuse to eat at restaurants or fast food establishments that haven’t yet banned trans fats. When you’re not sure, ask if the waiter is using olive oil (and not one of the other aforementioned names given to trans fats). You also want to try and avoid the bread which is often filled with trans fats (not to mention the margarine, also trans fat guilty). Sticking to soups and salads is your safest bet.

Stick with high protein meals: I give this advice all the time as it is, but this is just another reason to do so. Turkey, chicken, eggs, bacon are all good choices.

Follow this advice and in the long run, it could make a significant difference in your overall health and well being.

Tomorrow, I'll introduce the third in the series, saturated fats.

At Home Workouts - The Workout Solution to a Busy Lifestyle

There's a common misconception out there that to really be fit that you must spend hours upon hours a week exercising. It's simply not true. In fact, many people buy into this concept so much, that they often over train and sabotage their own efforts. Not only is working out for several hours a week usually not a good idea, but for most of us, it's just not possible.

The solution? Full body workouts and at home workouts that can be performed quickly and efficiently.

Let's face it, we're all extremely busy. Time is our most precious resource. We're all struggling with multiple responsibilities. We barely have time to breathe. Who has time to spend an hour or more a day, four to five times a week exercising?

So what happens? Most of us skip working out all together because we have a preconceived notion that we must spend hours a week exercising for it to be "worthwhile". That's simply not true. In fact, it's just another excuse in a long line of excuses that people come up with to NOT exercise.

I can tell you that as a father of two with a demanding job and a host of other responsibilities, I have an acute awareness of how precious each minute of the day really is. There's hardly a free minute in my day. Up at 6AM and asleep around 11:30, my days are jam-packed.

When I was younger (and less educated), I used to spend hours a week at the gym. Five days a week, 60-70 minutes a day working out. I'd follow the routines I'd find in the bodybuilding magazines I used to read religiously.

That's no longer possible. Not only is not possible, but it's not the ideal way to build lean muscle and lose fat.

With age comes wisdom (or at least I like to tell myself that!). My approach to fat loss and building lean muscle and specifically full body fat loss workouts has completely changed. Back then I didn't believe in at home workouts and a full body workout was something only girls did.

Here are some basic concepts that I've learned in my years as a trainer and former personal training studio owner that should be helpful to any ultra-busy person that is looking to lose fat and build lean muscle, but has little time to commit to exercising:

Skip the gym.

Save your membership and gas money and workout from home. All you need is a 10x10 space and your own body. There are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of exercises you can do with either a simple pair of dumbbells or no weights at all. Most people completely underestimate the power of body-weight only resistance exercises.

Skip the social hour and shorten your workout.

If you already have a gym membership and don't want to "waste" it or have no room in your home, by all means, go to your gym. However, keep one thing in mind: shorter, more intense workouts are the way to go. Most people that go to the gym go for the social aspect. The gym is not a bar! Most gym workouts look like this: Do a set, walk around, do a set, talk to your buddy, do a set, repeat. Stop wasting valuable time and get to lifting! If your goal is to perform a fat loss workout, you can be done in about 15 minutes!

Stay focused and stay intense and make the most of your full body workout!

Anywhere, anytime.

Being on vacation or on a business trip or at the park with your family is no longer an excuse for missing a workout. Learn how to do body-weight only workouts and you never have an excuse to miss one. I keep a set of workout clothes and sneakers in my trunk, so I'm ready to go whenever I need to get a workout in. Remember, you can get a great, fat burning workout in under 15 minutes.

Dumbbells.

Too many people, especially men, love to use barbells with heavy weights on them. I haven't used a barbell in over two years (or a bench for that matter) and I don't plan to. Dumbbells allow you to string together a range of movements in one exercise to make the most efficient use of your time (such as the squat-curl-press). I recommend buying a pair of adjustable dumbbells for home. They take up little space and are sufficient for most people as they go from 5 to 55 pounds in one set of dumbbells.

Skip the long work outs.

Make the most efficient use of your time.

Focus on short, intense, full body workouts, 3 or 4 times a week and you'll be amazed at the results you'll get for such little time spent. Even for the busiest people, the formula above will not only help you with your fat loss goals and build lean muscle, but it will save you time. Time you can spend NOT working out!

A full body at home workout can be the key to your success!

Can You Really Lose Weight Eating Noodles?

I 'm always looking for new ways to help my readers reach their fat loss goals. I recently wrote about the benefits of intermittent fasting and received some good feedback. In fact, I've been doing a 24 hour fast for the last three months or so and the results, when combined with my training system, have been pretty good.

This week I want to talk to you about the Miracle Noodle. I stumbled upon the Miracle Noodle a couple of weeks ago while I was doing some research. I was intrigued enough to place an order and after trying it for myself I wanted to provide you with a quick review. I believe many of you may find this product helpful when it comes to reaching your goals.

This review is based on not just my taste buds, but the taste buds of my wife and children as well, so you'll have the experience of four tasters to draw from!

Miracle Noodles are available in various physical formats: Angel Hair, Fettucini, Orzo Pasta, Linguini and several others. My wife used the Miracle Noodle in two recipes. One was chinese food style chicken and broccoli where she used the noodles instead of rice. The second was with home made tomato sauce.

Our collective verdict? My wife loved them. I thought they were pretty good and my kids gave them one "thumbs up" (as opposed to two).

Now if you're expecting the Miracle Noodle to taste like good old fashioned pasta, you'll be dissapointed. They don't taste like any pasta, wheat or otherwise. The truth is, they have virtually no taste at all.

These "noodles" are made out of konjac root, the source for glucomannan, which is used as a natural fiber in some nutritional supplements. The konjac root is not a new food. It has been used throughout Asia as part of a healthy diet, so it's not new to the food supply.

Glucomannan creates a feeling of satiety or fullness through its water-binding effects. By creating a thick gel, glucomannan delays gastric emptying and slows the release of sugar into the bloodstream, which helps to lower levels of insulin and blood glucose. Additionally, glucomannan improves blood-lipid profiles and can lower systolic blood pressure. Because of these effects,glucomannan can greatly benefit individuals with metabolic syndrome or diabetes. But this isn't the only benefit of the Miracle Noodle.

Turning this root into well known pasta shapes such as angel hair and traditional noodles and using them as a replacement for good old fashioned traditional pasta is a new and unique idea. The noodles themselves look like pasta and even have a somewhat similar texture as pasta, but, and here's the great news, they contain zero calories and no carbs!

Some people may consider the lack of taste a problem. If you're expecting Miracle Noodles to taste like spaghetti, you'll be disappointed. The key thing to remember when preparing Miracle Noodles is to let the sauce carry the taste and recognize that the noodles themselves are basically there to soak up whatever flavor the sauce provides.

If you're looking to lose weight, the Miracle Noodle is a GREAT enabler. The great thing about eating glucomannan is that it causes you to feel full (physically) before you've eaten too many calories. If you use it to replace traditional pasta, the amount of calories that will be reduced could be dramatic (around 500 calories or more). So in effect you can have your pasta while you're working on losing weight at the same time.

It will also reduce the glycemic index of the meal considerably, and that's great news for anyone working on controlling their blood sugar levels (especially beneficial for diabetics).

I almost forgot...Miracle Noodles don't even need to be cooked!

I would highly recommend the Miracle Noodles, especially for those who just can't live without their pasta. It might not taste like traditional pasta, but if you use a good sauce, you just might not miss your spaghetti too much.

 

You can try them out here: Miracle Noodle!

This Habit Can Help You Be Successful

Image via Wikipedia

Achieving your fitness and fat loss goals should not be approached from just a workout/nutrition perspective, but also from the mind/body perspective. So much of what determines your success in any endeavor you choose to pursue has to do with your mindset and the perspective you take in achieving your goals. The battle is truly won or lost inside your own head.

We all live in two "worlds". The physical world and the world of your own mental attitude. I truly believe that your mental attitude attracts to you those aspects of the physical world which are in sync with your mental attitude. In other words, if you are constantly pessimistic, you're going to attract misery and "bad luck". If you truly believe losing that weight or getting that six pack is impossible, you will never, ever be successful. If you're enthusiastic and have a positive mental attitude, you will attract happiness and good fortune and it's a vital first step in accomplishing your goals.

This all also applies to reaching whatever your health and fitness goals are. Without an enthusiastic mental attitude, you'll never reach your goals. In fact, I think it is a vital and necessary aspect of your life that MUST be learned for you to be successful. You must learn how to develop the "habit of enthusiasm".

If you need help in this area, my advice is to read what the grandfather of the self help movement has to say on the subject. Napoleon Hill felt that you can develop the habit of enthusiasm by taking the following steps:

-Adopt a definite major purpose.

-Write out a clear statement of both your definite major purpose and the plan by which you hope to attain it. Include a statement of what you intend to give in return for its realization.

-Back your purpose with an enthusiastic motive and let that motive become a burning (obsessional) desire. Fan it, coax it, and let it become a dominating factor in your mind at all times.

-Go to work immediately to carry out your plan, starting right when you are.

-Follow your plan accurately and with persistence, fed by all the enthusiasm you can generate.

-If you are overtaken by temporary defeat, study your plans carefully and change them if necessary, but do not change your major purpose simply because you have met with a temporary setback.

-If the nature of your definite major purpose requires it, ally yourself with others whose aid you require, following the instructions given in the lesson on the master mind.

-Keep far away from joy-killers and pessimists and associate with those who are optimistic. Tell your plans to those who are in sympathy with you, such as members of your master mind alliance.

-Never let a day pass without devoting some time, though it be ever so little, to furthering your plans. Remember, you are developing the habit of enthusiasm, and habits call for repetition through physical action.

-Autosuggestion is a powerful factor in the development of the habit of enthusiasm, as well as in the development of any other habit. Therefore, keep yourself sold on the belief that you will obtain the object of your definite major purpose, no matter how far removed from you it may be. Your own mental attitude will determine the nature of the action your subconscious mind will take in connection with the fulfillment of your purpose.

-Keep your mind positive at all times. Enthusiasm will not mix with fear, envy, greed, jealousy, doubt, revenge, hatred, intolerance and procrastination. Enthusiasm thrives only on positive thought and action.

Develop this habit, and you'll be sure to reach your health and fitness goals, whatever they may be, plus you'll be a happier person to boot!

To get started with a workout system that is different and only takes 15 minutes a day or less, try the BusyBod Workout System. Because the time commitment in this system is so short, it's easier to develop the habit of consistently working out and once you're done, you'll be in a great mood for the rest of the day!

Shocking Video: The Government's Role in Obesity

I believe that everyone is responsible for their own levels of fitness and well being.

It's up to each and everyone of us to take responsibility to educate ourselves and act on things that will not only help us feel and look better, but will benefit the health of our children as well.

WE are responsible for who and what we are at any given moment. To successfully reach your fat loss/weight loss/fitness goals, the first step is to really believe that and take action to reach those goals. HOWEVER...
...after watching this video, there is little room to argue that the government's role in helping spread the obesity epidemic in our country is outrageous.

This is long, but well worth watching. I'd love to hear your thoughts when you're done.

Own an iPhone? Check Out These Health Related Apps

I held out for a long time, but a couple of weeks ago I actually broke down and bought an iPhone and as a "Windows guy" I hate to admit it, but I absolutely LOVE it!

Although I haven't had a chance yet to go through and recommend a list of health and fitness related apps, you can find a list of 50 iPhone apps that you might want to check out:

http://www.physicaltherapyassistantschools.org/50-iphone-apps-that-will-make-you-much-healthier/

Lose That Flabby Belly With This Vital Secret to Fat Loss

So let's get past all the tricks and gimmicks and get down to the hard science and fact behind what methods and strategies actually do help you to lose your mulish belly fat and keep it off for life. 

Other than diet, the most critical principle for fat loss is how you structure your workouts. The reality is, you do not lose belly fat by doing exercises that target the stomach area. Now don't misunderstand what I mean, a specific quantity of abdominals exercises are great and they do help to fortify your core and help you maintain a healthy back. But the fact is that direct abs exercises should be a tiny portion of your workout routines. 

The bulk of your time should be spent concentrating on full body workouts. Full body workouts that utilize multi-joint exercises that work the largest muscle groups of the body like the legs, chest, and back. Performing full body workouts are a proven method for ridding yourself of that sloppy belly fat for good. 

Concentrating on giant multi-joint exercises for the biggest portions of your body significantly increases your metabolic rate both in the workout, and for 24-48 hours after the workout. In addition, this also stimulates a rise in fat-burning hormones in your body. You simply do not get this kind of metabolic and hormonal reply by wasting the majority of your time with "abs-pumping" exercises.

Need to lose belly fat? Well, get moving with some squats, do some presses, some lunges, step-ups, some back and chest work. It is irrelevant per se if it is barbells, dumbbells, or perhaps bodyweight exercises. The key is that you focus on giant multi-joint exercises at a high intensity. That means no long breaks in between exercises. You should keep your rest periods to a minimum. There are different methods for this and many of them work, but I personally structure most of my workouts as follows:

• 8 exercises done at high intensity.
  
  
  
  
• Each exercise is performed for 20 seconds
  
  
  
• 
  
  Rest for 10 seconds between exercises
  
  
  
  
• Move onto the next exercise
  

When all 8 exercises are complete, rest for 2-5 minutes then repeat this cycle at least once.



Losing your belly fat for good needs some focus and power in your workouts. My suggestion? Do your full body workouts at home so you have no excuses for not going to the gym.

Burn The Fat, Tighten Your Butt, Build a Six Pack With This Fat Burning Workout

You don't need a gym and a full hour to get in a great fat burning workout that will tighten your abs and firm up your butt. Everything you need is at home. It's hard to believe that an at home workout can be effective? Keep reading then and give this workout a try for yourself.

Most of us are so busy, that there's little time to do anything for ourselves. Most of us are busy with work, family, taking care of others and all of life's other responsibilities. Then it shouldn't be too surprising that setting aside an hour or two a few days a week to workout is almost impossible.

I mean really, how many of us have the time to get ready to go out, drive to the gym, workout and drive home? Time is valuable and every minute counts!

After all, we don't live forever and I personally don't want to spend a good chunk of my free time at the gym every week.

Ideally, we need something that is very effective and can be done quickly. Besides, there are more important things in life than stressing about getting in an effective workout. This is one of the main reasons why I love to workout at home and use utilize bodyweight workouts.

Here is a great workout you can get done in only 12 minutes with absolutely no equipment. This can literally be done anywhere, any time. Now there are no excuses to not get in a great fat burning workout at home. Even better, this at home workout will really help firm up your abdominals and glutes (your butt).

First, perform the following warm-up:
1) Ten reps of pushups

2) Ten reps of prisoner squats

3) Ten reps of jumping jacks

4) Ten reps of arm swings

Then proceed to the workout:
-You will perform each exercise for 20 seconds.

-At the end of each exercise, rest for 10 seconds, but no longer.

-Go on to the next exercise until you complete all 8 exercises.

-Once you complete the circuit of 8 exercises, rest 2-5 minutes.

-Repeat one more time. If you're up to it, you could even try a third circuit!
Exercise 1: Pushups

Exercise 2: Prisoner Squats

Exercise 3: Mountain Climbers

Exercise 4: Reverse Lunges

Exercise 5: Advanced Burpee

Exercise 6: Y Squats

Exercise 7: Mountain Climbers

Exercise 8: Reverse Lunges
Expect to be sweating and breathing hard throughout the workout. I never said it was easy!

Do this workout every other day and you could realistically lose up to 10 lbs in two weeks if you combine it with some supportive healthy eating.

Look at it this way: would you rather work hard for 12 minutes and get great results, or would you rather waste two hours, waste your life in a gym and get minimal results? Now get to the workout, start burning fat and building rock hard glutes and abs!
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*Of course, always check with your physician before starting any exercise program!

A Nation of Fatties

News Flash!

America is the FATTEST it's ever been.

Something's wrong. There are more diet and exercise plans available to the public now then there ever have been before, EVER!

And yet...we're a bunch of fatties.

Recently, two advocacy groups reported that 23 US states reported that their citizens are fatter than they were a year ago.

Not one state reported a decrease in obesity! Not one!

In fact, the latest statistics show that 2/3's of Americans are overweight or obese.

30 states reported that the percentage of obese or overweight children is over 30%!

And because of this problem, health care costs have skyrocketed right in line with the increase in our waistlines! Remember, obesity plays a significant factor in diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

I don't know about you, but to me these numbers are not only disturbing, but sad.

Our country is out of control.


As I said before, there are more exercise and diet choices available then ever before and I think that's part of the problem.

Too much information (often conflicting) being thrown at us from so many sources, so often, that it's often easier to just ignore everything and go on with our lives.

It's time to get back to the basics.

Simplicity and consistency are key.

Simplicity and consistency are big factors in ensuring that your actions become life long habits and not just the "next thing" you're trying.

Forget the fancy ab gadgets and dangerous weight loss pills.

Stop looking for the quick fix, there isn't one.

Keep it simple with short, high-intensity full body workouts. You'll build muscle AND burn fat in the shortest time possible.

Do those full body workouts consistently. Consistency is key. Your workouts should come second nature to you, like breathing, they just MUST be done.

Drop the word "diet" out of your vocabulary and instead adopt a "lifestyle" of clean, healthy eating and regular exercise.

You read the statistics above. Help turn this epidemic around...today. For yourself, for your children.

It's not enough to talk about being healthy or to want to be healthy, you must take ACTION.

Remember, our children are much more influenced by our actions by then our words.

Start setting a good example, today.

Three Vegetables That Fight Belly Fat

Image via Wikipedia

I bet you didn't know that there is a specific class of vegetables that contain very specific phytonutrients that actually help to fight against abdominal fat.

Let me explain what they are and why...

You may already know about how certain chemicals in our food supply and our environment, such as pesticides, herbicides, and certain petrochemicals from household cleaners, cosmetics, etc can act as xenoestrogens.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that you are exposed to that have an estrogenic effect and excess exposure can cause hormone balance disruptions for both men and women. So these can wreak havoc in the body for both guys and gals.

These estrogenic chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis can stimulate your body to store belly fat, along with many other problems.

So here's where this specific class of vegetables comes in handy...

There is a program out there called the "Fat Burning Kitchen". In this program, the author talks about how cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, etc. contain specific and unique phytonutrients such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that help to fight against these estrogenic compounds...

And by fighting against these belly fat stimulating estrogenic chemicals, this can help you fight against abdominal fat!

So there you go... just another excuse to do what mom always told you and eat more broccoli!

I've really learned to like brussells sprouts in the last year too... Melt a little grass-fed cheese on them and some garlic and they're great!

In case you haven't picked up your copy yet, he gives away at least 12 other specific foods, teas, spices, etc that help to combat the xenoestrogens and can help you to burn abdominal fat faster in his new program...

You should take a look and make sure to grab your copy before the price doubles tomorrow:

The Fat Burning Program


Pass this onto your friends... I bet you'll shock them with this article about xenoestrogens and how broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts can help to fight the battle against abdominal fat.

Set Yourself Up for Fat Loss Success

Image by bensonkua via Flickr

With the weather getting cooler, many people are starting to think about exercising again.

If that's your goal, there are some things you're going to need to do in order to prepare to lose as much weight as possible.

Believe it or not you can lose 10 lbs in just 2 weeks.

These are very essential if you want to set yourself up for success rather than failure!

Not taking these steps could result in staying at your current weight (or higher!) rather than reaching your goal weight.

The first thing you need to do is rid yourself of temptation. That means getting rid of those foods that you just can't get enough of, and that you know are bad for you.

That means eliminating any chocolate, sodas, chips, and other fatty snacks. If you leave them around and say you'll just use them as a reward, you run the risk of giving in to temptation. You are only human -- it can happen!

The next thing you need to do is fill your home with things that are good for you.

That means when you get snack attacks you'll have something healthy to eat instead of something that'll set you back.

Stick to the weight loss plan you choose, and make sure you have the right foods available so you can succeed with your 10 pound weight loss journey.

Another important step is really getting a handle on the plan you choose.

I recommend four different products:

The first product is geared towards fitting in fast (like 10 minute fast!) fat loss workouts that you can do anywhere, even from home without equipment!

The second product focuses on building BIG muscles.

The third product is an eating plan that's so simple and convenient to follow that you won't believe how effective it can be...and it's based on Buritto's!

The fourth product is a one of a kind weight loss and nutrition book based on flexible intermittent fasting.

It's very important that you read the information provided on these websites in-depth so you can make sure you're choosing the right program. What works well for one person will not work well for another.

Think about your mindset, and which plan to lose 10 pounds in two weeks sounds the best to you.

The good news is that you cannot go wrong choosing any of these programs, because I've spent so much time going through many different products to find the best ones.

These really are the cream of the crop!

After you've chosen your program, you'll need to read through very carefully, and possibly even take notes.

This will help you to get a feel for exactly what you need to do. Each author has laid out a step-by-step plan as well as the thinking behind their plan.

Keep in mind that these programs have worked for thousands of people all over the world. Trust in the program, as well as your doctor, and get ready to lose some weight (and/or gain muscle)!

Don't delay! It's easy enough to say that "I'll do it tomorrow" -- but tomorrow often never happens.

These are the steps that will help you lose the weight you want to lose for that special event or for better overall health. This really is the first day of the rest of your life.

I've reviewed and tried many workout programs and diet plans and these are the four programs I recommend to all my clients. They work, they're practical and they're easy to follow.

After you've decided which programs to follow, you need to carefully review the program, prepare your household, prepare your mind, and prepare your body to begin losing weight right away!

BusyBod Workout System: Use this to lose fat and build lean muscle with very fast workouts

No Nonsense Muscle Building: Use this to build big muscles.

The Burrito Diet: The Burrito Diet

Eat-Stop-Eat: Eat-Stop-Eat