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There are certain basic nutrients which are necessary for the body to achieve maximum growth and energy production. It is important to know which foods to eat and in what quantity in order to ensure that you get the necessary supply of each of these nutrients. Beyond this, you also have to be concerned with the relative balance of each of the nutrients - how much of one you need in relation to how much of the others.
No matter what kind of metabolism or body type you possess, the biochemistry of the body requires specific combinations if you want to maximize the processes of building muscle, burning fat and creating energy.
Beyond Basic Nutrition
I will later include in this section special reports on the supplementation of nutrients, herbs and teas.
As research is completed and as articles are submitted I will update this site. Future projects include information on Chinese herbal medicines and tonics, Tibetan Medicine and Ayurvedic Healers and Medicines.
Discover the foods Proven to:
Deter Aging
Massively Boost Your Immune System
Aid Weight Loss
Lower Your Cholesterol
Radically Improve Your Energy
Enhance Your Mental & Emotional Well-being
Boost Your Libido
Alkalise Your System
Protect against Toxins and Pollutants
Beautify Your Skin
Cleanse and Fortify Your Blood
Nourish and Revitalise your Systems
Fight and Protect against numerous diseases including Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer,Arthritis, Cataracts, Osteoporosis, Acne, Obesity, High cholesterol, Age-Related Blindness...
And Much More!
Click here to learn more
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com
QUESTION: Dear Tom: I have been following your Burn The Fat system with good results. I am losing body fat and maintaining my current lean mass. I've noticed that during my calorie deficit phase I sometimes suffer from light headedness and nausea out of the blue for no particular reason but not during my maintenance phase. I was looking into it and read an article that said that toxins from the food in the "typical American diet" of processed crappy foods get stored inside our fat cells along with excess dietary fat when we overeat, and when we create a calorie deficit and burn the excess fat in our bodies, we release those toxins back into the blood stream. Have you ever heard of this? Any truth? ?
ANSWER: Yes, your fat cells can accumulate numerous types of toxins. For example, almost everyone has traces of pesticides in their bodies. Many people freak out when they hear this, so they become more likely to fall for all kinds of bizarre and usually unproven "detoxification" rituals. It is a shame that our environment has become polluted, but the real questions are whether trace amounts of these substances pose any health risk and whether you actually have toxic levels in your body.
One group of substances that has come to attention recently in the context of fat loss, (in addition to health concerns), is organochlorines, including DDT, PCB’s and Dioxins. There is scientific evidence that these chemicals can be stored in fat cells and are released into your system when fat is lost.
The fish and wildlife service web page (fws.gov) has some detailed info on the chemistry and toxicology. One part was of particular interest:
"Organochlorines (OC's) are compounds that contain carbon, chlorine, and hydrogen. Their chlorine-carbon bonds are very strong which
The Law Of Attraction And Weight Loss: Can You Think Yourself Thin?
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
--------------------------------------------------
Metaphysics & Brain science merge and prove that positive thinking and goal setting literally create your body and your entire life experience
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On recently broadcast special edition of CNN's Larry King Live, Mr. King interviewed a panel of "mind experts" about how the thoughts you think literally turn into the events you experience, the material things you possess... AND even the health of your body.
For years, "positive thinking" and goal-setting were often criticized as "pollyanna" and "the law of attraction" was relegated into the category of "new age" fluff.
On the recent Larry King show, panel experts Bob Proctor, John Assaraf and others who were featured in the movie 'The Secret' explained that recent breakthroughs in neuroscience along with understanding mental laws, reveal why goal setting, the "law of attraction" and "positive thinking" all work, regardless of whether you look at them from a metaphysical or a scientific perspective.
Scientists have even identified specific parts of the brain, such as the reticular activating system (RAS), which works with the visual parts of our brain to call our conscious attention to things that are important to reaching our goals and to filter out those things that are unimportant.
The RAS is activated by "programming" goals into our sub-conscious minds. Our sub concscious mind is the "power center" and THIS is the mechanism that explains why goal setting and positive thinking are now being accepted as scientific methods for change.
We are discovering that our brain is cybernetic in nature, which means that it is literally like a computer, waiting for a program to be installed.
Here's the kicker - the subconcsious is completely neutral and impartial
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Ever since the independent film, Super Size Me was released, research on the relationship between increasing obesity and increasing portion sizes has skyrocketed and the results have been virtually unanimous.
There have been numerous well-designed studies published just in the last several years which confirmed exactly what we suspected (and much of what the movie suggested):
* Portion sizes have increased in restaurants and fast food venues on a major scale over the last several decades
* We self-serve ourselves larger portions in the home than we used to
* When more food is put in front of us, we almost always eat more
* most people underestimate how many calories they are eating
* All of these factors have contributed to the growing obesity problem and the related health problems that come along with it
The obvious solution would seem to be to decrease portion sizes across the board, and indeed awareness of and control over portion sizes in general is important.
However, research has demonstrated that perhaps an even better solution is to keep the portion sizes generous, but decrease the energy density (calories per unit of volume) in the foods you put on your plate.
Several studies revealed that eating more low calorie density foods, especially green vegetables, salad vegetables and other fibrous carbs, as well as very lean proteins, maintains a feeling of fullness while reducing energy intake.
In other words, large portions of highly nutritious, low calorie foods displaced the less nutritious, calorie-dense foods! Most people allow the bad foods to push out the good foods, but you can actually do the same in reverse!
In a study published in the Journal of The American Dietetic Association, researchers fed one group a compulsory first course salad which was kept low
QUESTION: Tom, what about alcohol? How does that fit into your burning fat program? I am not talking binge drinking, just one or two a day.
John
ANSWER: Hi John. A couple drinks on the weekend and or on special ocassions probably won't have any major impact on your fat loss results (although I would encourage you to consider the mindset that EVERYTHING you do either helps or hurts).
A drink or two on ocassion is a part of enjoying life for many people, and it's important to find lifestyle balance for the sake of your long term happiness and success.
However, I do not recommend drinking every day.
"A couple every day" adds a LOT of extra calories to your daily diet. If you're talking about two 150-calorie beers, thats 300 calories extra a day or 2100 extra calories a week.
Multiply that out for a year and you have 109,200 extra calories! WOW! That's potentially 31.2 pounds of fat in a year.
If you DO account for the calories in those drinks, then you have another conundrum - the alcohol calories displace good valuable food calories...
Drinking gives you empty alcohol calories with virtually no nutritional value (and some negative value in more way than one), while pushing out important vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, fiber and other good stuff.
Alcohol also inhibits fat burning. While your liver is busy metabolizing alcohol, it puts your fat metabolism on hold. That's why I do NOT recommend any drinking when you are on a fat loss program (at least if you are serious about it).
When you are on a regular, year-round lifestyle/maintenance program I recommend that if you drink, you do so in moderation, keep it to special occasions or weekends and remember to factor in those calories
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
Understanding the mind's role in motivation and behavior is one of the most critical elements in fitness success. If you struggle with changing habits and behaviors or if you can’t get motivated, then even the best training and nutrition program is not much help.
A fascinating fact about your subconscious mind is that it's completely deductive in nature. In other words, it’s fully capable of working backwards from the end to the means. You don't need to know how to reach a goal at the time you set the goal. If you "program" only the desired outcome successfully into your "mental computer," then your subconscious will take over and help you find the information and means and carry out the actions necessary to reach it.
Many people are familiar with affirmations and goal-setting as ways to give instructions to your subconscious mind. But perhaps the ultimate mental training” technique is visualization. In one respect, affirmation and visualization are the same, because when you speak or think an affirmation first, that triggers a mental image, being as the human brain "thinks" in pictures.
You can use visualization to plant goals into your subconscious mind. You simply close your eyes, use your imagination and mentally create pictures and run movies of your desired results. For example, in your mind's eye, you can see the "body of your dreams". If repeated consistently with emotion, mental images are accepted by your subconscious as commands and this helps with changing habits, behavior and performance.
Although there are some new and creative ways to use visualization, (which you are about to learn), this is not a new technique. Visualization has been used formally in the fields of sports psychology and personal development for decades and philosophers have discussed it for centuries:
“If you want to reach your
Cortisol, Stress And Body Fat: Straight Answers To The Top 20 Questions About The Stress Hormone
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
It seems that every time science uncovers some type of association between body fat and anything, opportunistic entrepreneurs are waiting in the shadows to create a product and a marketing campaign around it. They ride the wave into the multi millions, until the buzz dies down or until the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sues and slaps a padlock on their warehouse doors. Then, it’s on to the “next big thing in weight loss,” because they know there will always be a gullible crowd eagerly waiting for the next quick fix. The most recent example is when researchers discovered a correlation between cortisol and abdominal body fat. Cortisol was then blamed as the latest culprit in the obesity problem, and cortisol-suppressing pills were touted as the “miracle solution.”
Big Claims, Little Proof
After a web search on the subject of cortisol, here are some of the claims you may find:
Stress makes you fat
Cortisol is what makes you fat
Cortisol reducing supplements control stress
Cortisol reducing supplements reduce belly fat
Cortisol reducing supplements get rid of “stress fat”
Cortisol reducing supplements balance hormone levels that cause stress
Cortisol reducing supplements increase muscle growth
Cortisol supplements suppress appetite
Cortisol supplements speed up metabolism
The advertising claims include just enough scientific fact to make even the savviest consumers say, “That makes sense, I think I’ll try that.” They also hit home emotionally by focusing on common hot buttons such as stress (who isn’t at least a little stressed in this day and age?) Brilliant marketing. Convincing. Unfortunately, most of the claims being made are completely false, with only a tiny thread of truth woven in.
Cortisol is a very important hormone that you must understand if you want to get maximum results from
By Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
www.BurnTheFat.com
Throughout my 18 years in the fitness industry as a trainer, nutrition consultant and motivational coach, I have noticed that some people who start a nutrition and exercise program give up very easily after hitting the first obstacle they encounter. If they feel the slightest bit of discouragement or frustration, they will abandon even their biggest goals and dreams.
On the other hand, I noticed that some people simply NEVER give up. They have ferocious persistence and they never let go of their goals. These people are like the bulldog that refuses to release its teeth-hold on a bone. The harder you try to pull the bone out of his mouth, the harder the dog chomps down with a vice-like grip.
What's the difference between these two types of people? Psychologists say there is an answer.
An extremely important guideline for achieving fitness success is the concept that, "There is no failure; only feedback. You don't "fail", you only get results."
This is a foundational principle from the field of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), and the first time I ever heard it was from peak performance expert Anthony Robbins back in the late 1980's. It's a principle that stuck with me ever since, because it's a very, very powerful shift in mindset.
A lot of people will second-guess themselves and they'll bail out and quit, just because what they try at first doesn't work. They consider it a permanent failure, but all they need is a little attitude change, a mindset change, or what we call a "reframe."
Instead of saying, "This is failure" they can say to themselves, "I produced a result" and "This is only temporary." This change in perspective is going to change the way that they feel and how they mentally process and explain the experience. It
How To Lose 20 Pounds Really, Really Fast
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Back “in the day” when I was a full time personal trainer and I met with weight loss clients in person at my New Jersey Health Club, the first thing I would always ask during the initial consultation was:
"Tell me what you want... and I'll show you how to get it."
Typical reply from client:
"I want to lose 20 pounds fast."
My reply:
"Are you SURE that's what you want? ...If I can show you how to lose 20 pounds REALLY fast, will that make you happy?"
They nodded their head affirmatively as their eyes lit up in anticipation of the rapid weight loss secrets I was about to reveal...
Their face went white when - with a totally straight face – I pulled out a hacksaw and started walking towards them.... menacingly.
Not sure whether to laugh or run in sheer terror, they said,
"What the heck are you doing?"
"You said you wanted to lose 20 pounds fast. This is the easiest, surest, most effective way I know to take 20 pounds off you FAST! In fact, I figure that right leg of yours might even weigh 25 pounds!"
I kept walking closer and started to get into sawing position, wielding my fast, effective and guaranteed weight loss tool...
"Bear with me because this IS quick, but sometimes it takes a few minutes for me to cut through the bone."
By this time, my client (and I) are either completely cracking up, I have seriously scared the living you know what out of them, or they just think I'm a complete lunatic... (depends on whether I was able to keep a straight face or not)
Finally, the light bulb goes on, and my client would see where I was going with this:
"Okay, smart alec," I get it... I don't
Banking Calories - Eat Less Now To Pig Out Later?
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Suppose you’re on a diet and you have a banquet or a holiday party coming up. You’re expecting a big meal to be served for dinner, and there will be open bar with lots and lots of “party snacks.” You’re not sure if there will be any healthy food there, but you are sure that you’re going to be in a festive, partying mood! What should you do? Should you cut back on your food earlier in the day to make room for the big feast?
What I’ve just described is commonly known as "banking calories," which is analogous to saving calories like money because you're going to consume more later, and it’s a very common practice among dieters. If you’re really serious about your diet and fitness goals however, then the answer is no, you should NOT “bank calories! Here's why and here's what you should do instead:
First of all, if you're being really honest with yourself, you have to agree that there's almost always something healthy to eat at any gathering. You know those tables you see at holiday parties that are covered with yards of chips, dips, pretzels, cookies, salami, candies, cheese, punch, liquor, and a seemingly endless assortment of other goodies? Well, did you also notice that there's usually a tray full of carrot sticks, cauliflower, celery, fruit, turkey breast and other healthy snacks too?
No matter where you are, you always have options, so make the best choice you can based on whatever your options are. If nothing else, you can choose to eat a small portion of "party foods" rather than a huge portion, thereby obeying the law of calorie balance.
If you skip meals or eat less earlier in the day to bank
Building A Better Body One Brick At A Time
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
The quest to develop a stunningly fit, lean and attractive body is a long, slow journey. It's not something you achieve overnight by popping a few pills or strapping an electric gizmo to your belly.
Which reminds me, did you know that by the time the FTC finally blew the whistle on the electronic ab belt scam, the makers of those "ab zappers" had swindled over $100 million dollars from unsuspecting consumers? Fortunately, some of those companies had to pay it back, and then some! The FTC charged three companies - Fast Abs, Ab Tronic and Ab Energizer - with false advertising and deceptive warranty practices for these "ABSurd" products.
But I digress… back to what I was saying about the journey to a better body...
Last week I looked out my window, and where there was once nothing but a dirt-filled empty lot, there stood a sprawling six story brick condo complex. If someone looked at this massive completed structure for the first time, they might not be impressed. However, since I observed the entire construction process unfold from my living room window, I was impressed - amazed even - at what goes into erecting this kind of structure.
I remember watching the crew humming around diligently every day like busy bees, laying one brick after another. From one day to the next, it didn't seem like much changed. But slowly, over a period of a year and a half, I watched the building gradually morph into the finished product.
When you look at someone with an incredible body as a finished product, you often tend to dismiss the long, arduous journey and hard work it took to build that body. Unless you were side by side with that person in the
QUESTION: Dear Tom: I came across a piece of muscle-building advice written on a white board at a Bally's fitness club, posted outside the "advanced" personal training station. I took a picture and attached it to this email. As you can see, it said to ingest whey protein and 60-70 grams of *simple sugars* 30-45 minutes after your workout.
Is there any truth at all to this advice? I take particular exception to point #1... I can't believe eating 60-70 grams of simple sugar at any time can be good for you!
If this is indeed bad advice, I will write Bally's corporate and tell them to stop hurting the public with bad advice from their personal trainers.
What do you think? thanks,
Doug
ANSWER: It does seem counter intuitive, but believe it or not, that is standard, and science-based advice for post workout nutrition.
Post workout nutrition has been well researched and there is evidence that taking in simple carbs - usually glucose or dextrose with maltodextrin (plus whey protein) in the form of a post workout drink - is an ideal post workout recovery "meal."
The part about "waiting" 30-45 minutes is the part that is questionable, but that may have been a simple oversight... I think what they meant was to ingest it "within" 30-45 minutes.
Most of the research says that the sooner after the workout you take post workout nutrition, the better (which is why you see so many people these days chugging down workout drinks while still at the gym... in the locker room, etc.)
That said, here is where I will get controversial, because almost everything you read and everyone you talk to these days tries to convince you that if you're not drinking a post workout
Nutrition Or Training - Which Is More Important?
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Legendary bodybuilding trainer Vince, "The Iron Guru" Gironda was famous for saying, "Bodybuilding is 80% nutrition!" But is this really true or is it just another fitness and bodybuilding myth passed down like gospel without ever being questioned? Which is really more important, nutrition or training? This IS an interesting question and I believe there is a definite answer:
The first thing I would say is that you cannot separate nutrition and training. The two work together synergistically. Regardless of your goals - gaining muscle, losing fat, athletic conditioning, whatever -you will get less than-optimal or even non-existent results without paying attention paid to both.
In fact, I like to look at gaining muscle or losing fat in three parts - weight training, cardio training and nutrition - with each part like a leg of a three legged stool. pull ANY one of the legs off the stool, and guess what happens?
In reality, it's impossible to put a specific percentage on which is more important - how could we possibly know such a number to the digit?
Nutrition and training are both important, but at certain stages of your training progress, I do believe placing more attention on one component over the other can create larger improvements. Let me explain:
If you're a beginner and you don't posses nutritional knowledge, then mastering nutrition is far more important than training and should become your number one priority. I say this because improving a poor diet can create rapid, quantum leaps in fat loss and muscle building progress.
For example, if you've been skipping meals and only eating 2 times per day, jumping your meal frequency up to 5 or 6 smaller meals a day will transform your physique very rapidly.
If you're still eating lots of
QUESTION: Dear Tom: I’ve seen quite a few diet books lately that are based on the color of the foods you eat, including the rainbow diet, the color diet and the “color code” (sounds like the Da Vinci code, LOL!) Anyway, I’ve been reading your newsletters for a long time and I know how you feel about diet pills, books and gimmicks and I was wondering what you thought about these programs. Is it just another gimmick?
ANSWER: Based on the clever titles, it might be tempting to dismiss these programs as gimmicks, and in fact when your weekly menus are literally “color coded,” it might seem that the diet book authors are just scrambling for a new hook or premise on which to base an entire eating program.
I have not read any of those books you mentioned yet, so I can’t comment on any of them specifically. However, as “gimmicky” as eating from every color in the rainbow may sound at first, there is some very legitimate and scientific evidence that this is a great idea.
We are often given the advice to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (which have a variety of different colors). Good advice of course; even common sense would tell us that. However, “eat a lot of fruits and vegetables”is vague advice because it could mean eating only apples and broccoli (red and green), and nothing else, but eating “a lot” of them. To take that advice to the next level, a better recommendation would be to eat a WIDE VARIETY of fruits and vegetables (not just “a lot”).
Even “wide variety” is not really defined. What is a wide variety? Did you know that
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com
One of my favorite motivational speakers is a guy by the name of Brian Tracy, who is one of the world’s top experts on success psychology and personal achievement. In case you haven’t heard of Brian, he is sort of like a calmer, more “laid back” version of infomercial guru, Tony Robbins.
Not long ago, I had the chance to attend a seminar Brian held at the Jacob Javitz center here in New York City. One part of his talk really grabbed my attention, and I’d like to share it with you...
Brian said that that there are two diseases running rampant across America and much of the industrialized world today. If you had to hazard a guess, which two do you think they are? Cancer? Diabetes? Heart Disease? Osteoporosis? Obesity?
Guess what? They’re NONE of the above. In fact, they’re not even physical diseases – they are mental diseases.
The first mental disease, according to Tracy, is called something-for nothing disease. Something for nothing disease is contracted by people who believe they can take more out than what they put in. These are the people who want all the rewards without paying full price, or as Brian put it, “They want to go through the revolving door of life on someone else’s push.”
Quick fix disease is the second of the mental diseases. According to Brian, this disease is contracted by people who always want a quick way to reach their goals. They search for instant cures to solve problems that may have taken months or even years to develop. They seek short cuts to acquire key skills that actually take many months and years of hard work to master.
These diseases are not to be confused with the desire to constantly get better and search for more efficient ways
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com
"Body wraps" have been around for ages in the weight loss and spa industry. Claims include loss of body weight, loss of body fat, and loss of inches. Infomercials for rubber “waist belts" are also back on TV and similar claims are made for these types of wraps as well. What few people realize is that there is a huge difference between losing fat and losing inches. When your body fat decreases, your circumference measurements will usually also decrease, but “fat” loss and “inch” loss are not one in the same. If you don’t know how to tell the difference, you could be falling for one of the oldest, most notorious fitness and weight loss scams in the book.
The truth is, body wraps and waist belts do not shrink fat cells or burn body fat - no matter what type of wrap is used: bandages, plastic, foil, vinyl, or rubber and regardless of what you are wrapped in: herbs, minerals, enzymes, seaweed, clay, or mud - it doesn't matter. Fat can only be lost with a caloric deficit from a reduction in food intake, an increase in activity or ideally, a combination of both.
Whenever you see fat loss claims for wraps or any other product which doesn't involve a caloric deficit created though nutrition or exercise, the “scam alarm” should go off in your head, and you should always stay away, no matter how compelling the sales pitch.
Furthermore, the companies making fat loss claims would be in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if they were investigated and caught because claims for body fat reduction from wraps cannot be supported with scientific evidence.
The FTC as well as numerous state attorney general's offices have already taken action against body wrap companies in the
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
Anytime the topic of discussion in my blogs, articles or newsletters has turned to my own personal grocery shopping list, there has always been a spike in interest. It seems that many people are not only curious about what foods a natural bodybuilder eats to maintain single digit body fat, but they also want to be taken by the hand and told exactly what foods to eat themselves while on fat-burning or muscle building programs. That’s why I decided to put together four separate “top 10” lists of healthy foods that burn fat and build muscle.
Exact quantities and menus are not listed, just the individual foods, and of course my food intake does vary. I aim to get as many different varieties of fruits and vegetables as possible over the course of every week and there are a lot of substitutions made, so you are not seeing the full list of everything I eat, only what foods I eat most of the time.
I also want to point out that while I don’t believe that extreme low carbs are necessary or most effective when you look at the long term, research has shown that there are some definite advantages to a low to moderate carb and higher protein diet for fat loss purposes. These include reduced appetite, higher thermic effect of food and “automatic” calorie control.
Personally, I reduce my carb intake moderately and temporarily prior to bodybuilding competitions. Specifically, it’s the foods that are on the starchy carbs and grains list that go down during the brief pre-competition period when I’m working on that really “ripped” look. I keep the green and fibrous veggie intake very high however, along with large amounts of lean protein, small amounts of fruit, and adequate amounts of essential fats.
This list reflects
Don't Be A Big Loser - Why You Should Say No To Quick Weight Loss
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Patience. It’s the one thing you never seem to have when you’ve got a body fat problem. You want the fat gone and you want it gone now! And why not? It seems so do-able. Everywhere you look, you read and hear promises of quick weight loss and you even see people losing weight quickly. We have reality TV shows that actually encourage people to attempt “extreme” body makeovers or see who can lose weight the fastest, and the winners (or shall we say, the losers), are rewarded generously with fortune, fame and congratulations.
Let’s face it. Everyone wants to get the fat off as quickly as possible - and having that desire is not wrong – it’s simply human nature. However, you must become aware of some serious problems that can occur if you try to force it and lose weight too quickly. The faster you lose weight, the more muscle you will lose with the fat, and that can really mess up your metabolism. An even bigger problem with fast weight loss is that the loss just won’t last. The faster you lose, the more likely you are to gain it back. Think about it: We don’t have a weight loss problem today, we have a “keeping the weight off” problem.
Weight loss will be the healthiest, safest and most likely to be permanent if you set your goal for about two pounds per week (and even if you lose only a single pound each week, that is healthy progress). This is the recommendation of almost every legitimate and respected dietician, nutritionist, exercise physiologist and personal trainer, as well as exercise organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Are protein supplements really better than protein foods? Before attempting to answer this question, I should first preface it by mentioning that I do not sell supplements, nor am I associated with any supplement company, so you’re getting an honest and unbiased opinion. Don't get me wrong; I am not anti-supplement by any means. It would simply be more accurate to say that I am "pro-food." There are a lot of good supplements on the market, and I've used many of them, including a multi vitamin, creatine and essential fatty acid (EFA) supplements such as Flaxseed oil. Protein powders and meal replacements can also be indispensable if you don't have time to eat every three hours. However, protein supplements are not the master key to your success, real food is!
Did you ever notice how articles about protein in certain bodybuilding magazines are seldom objective? Instead, they all seem to be slanted towards hyping some "revolutionary" new product. Did you ever wonder why? In my opinion, most articles on protein supplements are nothing more than thinly disguised advertisements (some very thinly). Sometimes they give you a very persuasive-sounding argument, replete with dozens of references from scientific studies (mostly done on rodents, of course). They even give you an 800 number at the end of the article to order. (How convenient!)
When protein manufacturers throw around fancy words like cross flow microfiltration, oligopeptides, ion-exchange, protein efficiency ratio, biological value, nitrogen retention and glycomacropeptides, it sure sounds convincing, especially when scores of scientific references are cited. But don't forget that the supplement industry is big business and most magazines are the supplement industry. Lyle McDonald, author of "The Ketogenic Diet," hit the nail on the head when he wrote "Unfortunately, the obsession that bodybuilders have with protein has
Contents:
The Definition of Sleep and What it Does
About Sleep Research
What is REM (and is it important)?
Are Dreams Important?
What is Circadian Rhythm?
What is Insomnia?
Do You Need a Sleep Test?
How Light Affects Sleep
How serious is Persistent Insomnia
What are Snoring and Sleep Apnea?
Your Infant and Sleep (Beware of SIDS)
What is Narcolepsy and Is It Treatable?
How to Prevent Sleepwalking and Night Terrors
Sleep and the Immune System
What Is Lucid Dreaming
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Definition of Sleep and What it Does
Why is sleep important?
Sleep needs no definition, especially for most people who have longed for the sweet experience of deep slumber, Sleep may be defined as that stage in which a person is supposed to experience total relaxation of body and mind. During sleep, a person is less conscious and less active but his brain is at work.
Proper sleep is important if a person is to keep to his normal duties the next working day. A person who gets little sleep will be more irritable, less focused and more fatigued the next day. Getting less sleep for one night can be an irritant to most people; getting less sleep for weeks can be extremely detrimental to health.
People who lack sleep can wake up troubled the next morning. And, while a person who lacks sleep can still do his normal tasks, he could be doing it in a robotic way and he can start acting like a zombie.
While lack of sleep can cause minor disturbances and changes in a person’s behavior and working patterns, it can cause a major catastrophe when a sleep deprived person attempts to drive and subsequently causes an accident. Sleepy drivers have caused deadly accidents on the highways. This is no joke when you
Did You Inherit Fat Genes? The Truth About Biology And Body Fat
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
"Battle Your Biology? Fat Chance," proclaimed a headline recently in the health section of the New York Post newspaper. Quoting new research and citing psychologists, dietitians and physicians, the article says that more and more evidence proves that your weight is genetically determined, and if you're fat, "it's not your fault." "We've known for a while that genes - more than environment and behavior - explain obesity" argues Dr. James Rosen, an eating disorder specialist and professor at the University of Vermont.
While genetics are definitely a factor, believing you are destined to be overweight for life because you've inherited "fat genes" is the most disempowering and self-defeating attitude you could ever adopt. The only way you’ll lose weight permanently is to accept total responsibility for yourself and acknowledge the fact that you have the power to change, regardless what mother nature has given you to work with.
There's no denying that heredity plays a major role in how difficult it will be for you to lose fat. You inherited a body type, a predetermined number of fat cells, a metabolic rate and body chemistry just as you inherited your eye color and hair color. In the 1930's, Harvard psychologist Dr. William H. Sheldon developed a classification system for these different body types called "somatotyping." While there are no absolutes, Sheldon identified three basic somatotypes: ectomorphs, mesomorphs and endomorphs.
Ectomorphs are the lean, lanky types. They are usually very thin and bony, with fast metabolisms and extremely low body fat. An ectomorph can eat like a horse without gaining an ounce. Mesomorphs are the "genetically gifted." They are lean, muscular and naturally athletic. Mesomorphs lose fat and gain muscle with ease. Endomorphs are the "fat retainers." Characterized by
By Sandra Kim Leong
Toxin levels are increasing at alarming rates day-to-day. Just consider the rising number of health issues (such as, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, headaches, fatigue, persistent coughs, constipation, allergies, etc.) in today’s world. Toxins exist both externally (outside our body) and internally (inside our body). Through food, toxins exist when there are chemicals, pesticides, food addictives or drugs. Through the environment, air and water pollution are the chief areas of toxins. We get these external toxins when we eat, breathe or touch. Internally, our bodies produce toxins as a normal everyday function. For instance, perspiring and clearing our bowels are important eliminative functions. A body breaks down when it cannot handle the normal eliminative processes well due to an overload of toxins. This is also when the body also becomes susceptible to bacteria, yeasts and parasites entering it. The result is infections and diseases and the inability of the body to cope. To help achieve better health, it is important therefore to detoxify and cleanse. How much you wish to detoxify is really dependent on yourself and how “cleanse” you want your body to be. In fact, any simple changes to your diet that prevent and clear your toxin built-up is helpful. For instance, drinking eight glasses of filtered water is something easy that you can do on a daily basis. Other changes to your diet like eating more green leafy vegetables and high fibre foods can also be made. A more drastic measure of cleansing your body is to do complete fasting. Complete fasting helps to give your body organs a much needed rest. In fact, Hippocrates (the “Father of Modern Medicine”) believed that the body needs not only physical rest but chemical rest. Chemical rest refers to withholding food, thus giving the organs of the body
Health And Fitness Is Not A 12-Week Program
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Not long ago, one of the members of my health club poked her head in my office for some advice. Linda was a 46 year old mother of two, and she had been a member for over a year. She had been working out sporadically, with (not surprisingly), sporadic results. On that particular day, she seemed to have enthusiasm and a twinkle in her eye that I hadn’t seen before.
"I want to enter a before and after fitness contest called the “12 week body transformation challenge." I could win money and prizes and even get my picture in a magazine."
“I want to lose THIS”, she continued, as she grabbed the body fat on her stomach. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”
Linda was not “obese,” she just had the typical “moderate roll” of abdominal body fat and a little bit of thigh/hip fat that many forty-something females struggle with.
“I think it’s a great idea,” I reassured her. “Competitions are great for motivation. When you have a deadline and you dangle a “carrot” like that prize money in front of you, it can keep you focused and more motivated than ever.”
Linda was eager and rarin’ to go. “Will you help me? I have this enrollment kit and I need my body fat measured.”
“No problem,” I said as I pulled out my Skyndex fat caliper, which is used to measure body fat percentage with a “pinch an inch” test.
When I finished, I read the results to her from the caliper display: “Twenty-seven percent. Room for improvement, but not bad; it’s about average for your age group.”
She wasn’t overjoyed at being ‘average’. “Yeah, but it's not good either. Look at THIS,” she complained as again she grabbed a handful of stomach fat.
Tom Venuto's Top 10 Travel Fitness Tips
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
I recently read two articles about travel fitness. One said that while you're traveling, you should keep up with 50% of your normal training and the other said you should keep up with only one-third. Both were written by well known fitness professionals and both said that you should NOT expect to keep up your regular exercise program while you are traveling. That struck me as kind of "lame" and I said to myself, “Why the heck not? Why do people have such low standards and demand so little of themselves? Why do they let themselves off the hook and scale back?”
Sometimes, of course, traveling is purely for a vacation – including a vacation from training. Occasional time off from intense training is beneficial and necessary to let your body recover and rejuvenate completely from chronic training stress, just as time off from the office is needed to disengage your mind for a while. It’s also true that it really doesn’t take much to maintain fitness once it is developed, and an abbreviated, but still effective, workout routine could certainly be used, if you choose, when you’re on the road.
However, you still have healthy eating to think about and just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you can’t follow your regular exercise regimen. Why settle? If you want to continue to improve your physique while on the road, you can! Here are 10 ways that I did it on my last extended business trip that you may find helpful as well. It begins with a simple decision.
1. Decide to improve while you’re traveling and to come home in better shape than when you left
Nearly every time I travel (the exception being if it’s a complete rest and relaxation vacation), I set a
The Top 10 Bonehead Workout Mistakes
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
“Common workout mistakes” has always been a very popular topic in fitness publications. But no matter how many times this subject is re-hashed, you almost always hear about the same half a dozen or so mistakes, including poor form, overtraining, going too heavy, not stretching, not warming up, yadda, yadda yadda. Ironically, you seldom hear about the biggest mistakes of all. I call these humongous bloopers “bonehead mistakes” because once you start to analyze and think about them, they’re really just common sense and they all seem so obvious… except of course to the person doing it… who is often quite oblivious until someone else points it out to them... then the light goes on and it's like... "Doh!"
Before I begin the countdown, (in no particular order), there’s one more gripe I have about the treatment this subject has been given in the past: Most of the attention has been put on the mistakes, but very little on the solutions. It’s all too easy to point fingers and say, “Don’t do that” and “Shame on you, dummy” but only 1% of your time should be spent on problems. 99% should be spent on solutions. So in that spirit, after I bring each mistake to your attention, I’ll give you a solution-oriented training tip to help you avoid boneheadedness and join the elite group who “kick butt” in the gym at every workout…
Bonehead workout mistake #1: "Winging it"
“Winging it” means having no written goals or plans, no training journal and no way of “keeping score.” It’s when you just show up at the gym day after day and do whatever strikes your fancy, whatever machine happens to be available, or whatever you’ve become habitually accustomed to doing. Winging it is when you
Table of Contents
Introduction to Body Building
History of Body Building
Basics of Building Muscle
Body Building Facilities
Building A Home Gym
Body Building Routine
Diet and Body Building + Recipes
Dietary Supplements
What About Steroids?
Body Builder Beware
Charting Your BMI
Body Building Tips
Resources
INTRODUCTION TO BODY BUILDING
This book is an exploration. We will explore the fascinating history of body building, which can be traced as far back as the 11th Century, up to the 19th Century when it arrived on the North American scene.
We will explore how to build your body and muscles, body building and weight lifting equipment, the “right” and the “dark” side of dietary supplements as well as the importance of proper nutrition for the serious body builder.
No discussion of body and muscle building would be complete without covering consumer health fraud. Bogus claims and promises of unrealistic results have been around for decades. The explosion of marketing on the internet has, unfortunately, created an exponential increase in unsavory providers ready and willing to bilk unsuspecting consumers.
Muscle Mania will explore package labeling and what you should know about before you buy. The content we cover presents a broad outline rather than substantive personal recommendations. Nothing within should be construed as anything more than educational and should never replace medical advice from a professional physician.
We will take a look at the different types of exercise equipment that is available to bodybuilders and what considerations you need to keep in mind when shopping for your own equipment or using the services of a gym.
What could be more important than your diet and nutrition? It’s critical to your success when bodybuilding. We’ll give you several recipes that are not only prepared specifically for bodybuilders, but that provide you with a breakdown of calories, grams of protein, grams of carbohydrates, grams of fat
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS CHOLESTROL, LDL & HDL?
DIAGNOSING CHOLESTEROL
CAUSES
CHOLESTEROL MEDICATIONS
NATURAL TREATMENTS
HERBAL REMEDIES
LIVING HEALTHY
INTRODUCTION
Cholesterol has been around for thousands of years. It’s a natural function of the human body. The modern story of cholesterol and how it affects us today, actually began during a government study in 1951.
The Pentagon sent pathologists to Korea to examine the bodies of servicemen who lost their lives during the war. Autopsies were conducted on 2,000 soldiers.
The results were astounding to the medical community of that time. Normally, no one under 35 dies of coronary heart disease. Remember, this was 1951!
More than 75 percent of the soldier had yellow deposits of atherosclerotic plaque on their artery walls. The average age of these soldiers was 21 contradicting the assumption that such artery clogging deposits were only prevalent in older men.
The results of the Army pathologists rocked the medical community. Prior to these autopsies, doctors had no idea how early the process of heart disease began.
Not long after this discovery, a name was given to the major contributor to the buildup of plaque and to heart disease risk – cholesterol. More recent studies have shown that for every 1 percent drop in cholesterol levels, there is a 2 percent decrease in the risk of a heart attack.
Since those original studies, the risk of heart disease stemming from cholesterol has exploded. In 2002 it was estimated that 107 million American adults now have a blood cholesterol level high enough to require medical advice. Unfortunately, the numbers keep rising.
Despite this epidemic problem, there is good news. You can do something about the problem and that’s what this guide is all about. In plain English, we will take a laymen’s look at cholesterol, the causes, effects
INTRODUCTION
The truth is we begin the aging process just as soon as we pop out of the womb. Every day of our lives our bodies slough off and regenerate new cells. The speed at which that process takes place when we are children is vastly different as we get older.
For years explorers searched for the illusive “fountain of youth.” Unfortunately, it does not exist or you wouldn’t be reading this.
Every day you are bombarded daily with commercial messages that attempt to lure you into believing that the most recent miracle drug is just what you need to fight off the ravages of Mother Nature.
At times it seems as though there are more miracle methods than ever being flashed in front of your eyes each day. . .and there are. Ask any advertising executive and they will admit that there are more advertisements than ever touting everything designed to cash in on a huge market. What is that market? It’s the aging Baby Boomers.
We are living longer as a whole. Singularly, that can be a curse or a blessing depending on your perspective. In this book we will explore low and no cost methods you can use to help in the anti-aging process.
Some of our material may be new and some serve as reminders of things we may have forgotten. We may not have had much say in how we arrived on this earth, but we can certainly determine how and when we will depart. Just remember, YOU are in control.
LIFESTYLE
We have to discuss it. You’ve heard it before but it must be repeated. You ARE what you eat. There are over 13.5 million Americans alive today who have a history of heart
Table of Contents
Why Use Body Building Supplements
Body Building and Ephedra
Using Nitric Oxide for Body Building
All About Creatine
Body Building Energy Drinks
Protein Supplements
Meal Replacement Supplements
Maltodextrin Supplement to Degrade Enzymatic Process
Glutamine
Vanadyl for Nitrogen Retention
Leucine to Promote Anticatabolic Metabolism
Essential Fatty Acids
Glucosamine
Special Supplements for Women
The Dangers of Steroids
Why Use Body Building Supplements
Why Use Bodybuilding Supplements?
Bodybuilding supplements have risen in prominence in the past few decades. They offer the advantages of both convenience and affordability. Since bodybuilders need to get more nutrition than the average individual, it will be much easier for them to achieve their goals through supplements. Keep in mind that these are not magic bullets that you can take and expect to become big overnight. Everything needs to be included in a sound and systematic strategy.
A Brief Description of Bodybuilding Supplements
Bodybuilding supplements are used by many gym enthusiasts with the hope of gaining more lean muscle while losing extra fat. At present, there are so many choices to choose from compared to many years ago. During the 1970s, protein supplements were the only staple that helped bodybuilders reach their target protein intake per day without having to devour huge amounts of food. 20 years later, manufacturers and laboratories started creating more products that promise to create anabolic responses to boost the body’s recovery for tissue repair as well as improve metabolism to keep unwanted fat off.
Now, there are protein supplements of different kinds like creatine, branch chain amino acids, nitric oxide, fat burners and energy enhancers which will support the aspiring bodybuilder in a variety of ways.
Sometimes two or more of these products can be taken for better results since some products are known to compliment the effects of others. People however, should know that bodybuilding supplements only comprise a small portion of the entire picture. People think that the products have
Table of Contents
Vegetables
Grains
Beans and Legumes
Fruits
Nuts, Seeds and Nut Butters
Soy Foods
Dairy
Meat, Poultry and Eggs
Fish and Seafood
Herbs, Spices and Other Condiments
Oils and Fats
Beverages
Chocolate
Sweeteners
Water
Vegetables
Many take vegetables for granted without really taking into consideration what good it can do to our body. Aside from the fact that some of them look and taste unusual, we practically ignore most of them on sight.
In truth, many health experts believe that vegetables are a great day-to-day added sustenance to the human body. Different kinds of vegetables offer their own blend of nutrients that can provide us the energy we need for our daily routine, keep our body in top shape and a higher resistance from diseases as it boosts our immune system.
Health Benefits
The human body requires a balance of nutrients to keep it going at a normal pace – and vegetables can do just that. Here are some of the vegetables you can practically see around the common market and what it can do for you.
1. Cauliflower. This tasty vegetable is quite common in most Chinese cuisines, and is served because of its high nutritional value not to mention the added flavor it gives to the recipe. For starters, cauliflower contains minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium and sodium; as well as vitamins A, C and B6. It is known to fight cancer and regulate the hormones to a normal level and a health food for those who suffer from high sugar content or diabetes.
2. Squash. Whether the winter or summer variety, the squash is well known around the world for being rich in Vitamin A; which is very good for your eyesight – though the summer variety contains more of it than its winter counterpart. Turning this into a soup would be quite delectable.
3. Carrots. The carrot is well known for containing Beta
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