Burn Fat and Lose Weight

Does Cold Weather Make You Store Body Fat?

2011-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

Do you get fatter in the cold weather? It’s a good question right now, considering that this year’s farmer’s almanac is predicting a frigid winter. It’s FREEZING here in New Jersey and we just got dumped with 3 feet of snow!

Some of my friends up in the great white yonder think that temps in the 20’s are balmy. Yeah right. With the wind chill, even my bones had goose bumps today. I can’t even fathom the sub zero stuff those guys live in. Adding insult, my friends in LA and South Florida have been more than happy to share their local January weather reports with me. 80 degrees and sunny. Thanks guys –you suck.

Back to the question. I just got an email from a burn the fat reader who asked, “Tom, is there any evidence that during cold winter weather it gets harder to lose body fat? For me, it seems easier to drop fat during the hot weather.”

Yes, there is.

First there’s the psychological explanation: in warm climates, people are wearing less clothes and enjoying the outdoors and people want to look good when they’re exposing more flesh! In the cold, you’re covered up, so there’s less self-consciousness and no public accountability. Therefore, most people tend to stay on a diet more diligently and train harder when summer rolls around.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) has been studied at length by psychologists. Often more than just the “winter blues” but an actual type of depression, SAD occurs during the short days and long nights of winter and fall, when there’s less sunlight and colder temperatures. Symptoms include depression, cravings for specific foods, loss of energy, hopelessness and oversleeping. Obviously, these types of symptoms can contribute to weight gain.

Because of their tendency for fall and winter weight gain, many people have suspected that cold temperatures influence weight gain on a metabolic level, not just eating more. Exposure to cold temperatures can cause a shivering thermogenesis which means there’s an increase in metabolism to produce more heat (heat production = calories burned).

However, if you just got the bright idea of turning off the heat in your house, or going for a swim in the cold surf every day to “burn more fat”, I wouldn’t recommend it. Deliberate exposure to the cold, either cold air or cold water doesn’t pan out into real world fat loss results, even though there are actually “fat loss gurus” who recommend it.

Here’s why:

If your body uses some energy for shivering or heat production, it can compensate later for that energy loss by increasing your appetite. Not only that, research at the hyperbaric environmental adaptation program at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda Maryland reported that, “The combination of exercise and cold exposure does NOT act to enhance metabolism of fats… Cold-induced vasoconstriction of peripheral adipose tissue may account, in part, for the decrease in lipid mobilization.”

It’s just not practical to freeze your butt off in an attempt to speed up your metabolism a tiny little bit, so your fat loss scheme wouldn’t last long if you tried.

A great example of how cold temperatures affect energy balance is in the case of swimming. For years, people thought swimming actually made you fat. There were all kinds of theories, like, “it makes you retain a layer of fat for insulation, like seals.” Actually, the most recent research shows that swimming is a perfectly good fat burning exercise, except for one thing: Swimming, especially in cold water, increases appetite dramatically.

The seasons affect your activity levels too. Pedometer research published in the journal Medicine and Science and Sports And Exercise uncovered a huge difference in the number of steps taken between the summer and winter:

7616 steps per day in summer
6293 steps per day in fall
5304 steps per day in winter
5850 steps in spring

Most people blame winter weight gain on the food, but it’s not just the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s celebration feasts, it’s less winter activity that also contributes to the holiday pounds.

You have to keep up with your training and nutrition program in the winter, or else. (Need a program? Here’s a tip: visit www.BurnTheFat.com)

Although studies have found that seasonal weight gain is usually very small, it’s the type of slow weight creep that goes unnoticed. Over a period of 10, 15 or 20 years, it’s enough to accumulate into becoming overweight or obese.

Thus many men and women wake up one morning at age 40 or 45, look in the mirror and ask themselves, “How did I get so heavy?” Answer: just a pound or two a year, after each winter season, left unchecked.

To stay lean all year round, you have to remain alert about increases in your appetite and decreases in your activity. This is a YEAR-ROUND LIFESTYLE! Stay active, stay diligent about nutrition, stay accountable, and if you start to experience weight gain, nip it in the bud - fast!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.BurnTheFat.com or www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

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8 Reasons Why You Keep Falling Off The Diet Wagon

2011-01-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

Clearly, we have an obesity problem in America and many other countries across our planet. Yet, I propose that we do not have a weight loss problem today. In case you’re confused at this apparent contradiction, consider these statistics:

According to a study from Oxford University published in the International Journal of Obesity, within 3 to 5 years, about 80 percent of all ‘weight losers’ have regained the lost weight, and often gained back a little extra.

According to research by the National Weight Control Registry, that relapse rate may be as high as 95 percent.

For comparison, relapse rates for drug, alcohol and tobacco dependency have been reported in the range of 50-90%.

This means that lots and lots of people have “successfully” lost weight. But not many have kept it off. Therefore, we don’t have a weight loss problem, we have a weight-relapse problem; we have a “not sticking with it” problem. Wouldn’t you agree?
In fact, the fall and subsequent weight-regain usually doesn’t take years. Many people have abandoned their new year’s resolutions within weeks. By the time the Super Bowl party rolls around, their diet is history!

If this is true, then shouldn’t we put more of our attention onto figuring out why you haven’t been sticking with your program, and what you should do about it?

I put together this new list (below) of the top 8 reasons why you fall off the wagon.

Rather than worrying about the minutiae of your diet plan, like whether you should be on low carb or high carb, Mediterranean or Okinawan, vegetarian or meat eater, I propose that if you simply focus on these 8 issues, you’ll start getting more lasting results.

How? By being able to stick with whichever plan you decided was best for you! After all, even if you have the best nutrition program in the world - on paper - it doesn’t do you much good if you can’t stick with it in practice!

THE 8 REASONS

1. No focus: you didn’t set goals, you didn’t put your goals in writing, and/or you didn’t stay focused on your goals daily (by reading them, affirming them, looking at a vision board, etc.)

2. No priorities: you may have set a goal, but you didn’t put it on or near the top of your priorities list. For example, your goal is six pack abs, but drinking beer and eating fast food on the weekend is higher on your priorities list than having a flat stomach.

3. No support system: you tried to go at it alone; no buddy system, training partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and emotional support when the going got tough.

4. No Accountability: you didn’t keep score for your own accountability – with a progress chart, weight record, measurements, food journal, training journal, and you didn’t set up external accountability (ie, report to someone else or show your results to someone else)

5. No patience: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations. You expected 10 pounds a week or 5 pounds a week or 3 pounds a week, so the first week you lost “only” 1 or 2 pounds or hit a plateau, you gave up.

6. No planning: you winged it. You walked into the gym without having a workout in hand, on paper, you didn’t plan your workouts into your weekly schedule; you didn’t have a menu on paper, you didn’t make time (so instead you made excuses, like “I’m too busy”)

7. No balance: your diet or training program was too extreme. You went the all or nothing, “I want it now” route instead of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race route.

8. No personalization: your nutrition or training program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn’t suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, disposition or body type.

So there you have it – 8 reasons why most people fall off the wagon! Have you been making these mistakes? If so, the solutions are clear and simple: focus, prioritize, get support, be accountable, be patient, plan, balance and personalize.

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

The #1 Fat Loss Tip Of 2011

2011-01-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

If you stopped me on the street to ask me what my number one fat loss tip for this year is, there are a hundred different directions I could lead you. Of course, there is one strategy that stands out among the others, and in almost all cases, this would be the first thing I suggest. This is the one absolute requirement for weight loss, and it’s something you’ve probably heard of before. However, there’s one critical distinction about this familiar advice that you might not have considered - and this one thing makes all the difference in the world…

Let me quote Melvin Williams, PhD, professor emeritus of exercise science at Old Dominion University and author of the textbook Nutrition for Health, Fitness and Sport (McGraw Hill):

“Human energy systems are governed by the same laws of physics that rule all energy transformations. No substantial evidence is available to disprove the caloric theory. It is still the physical basis for bodyweight control.”

There are a variety of diet programs and weight loss “gurus” who claim that calories don’t count. They insist that if you eat certain foods or avoid certain foods, that’s all you have to do to lose weight. Dozens, maybe hundreds of such diets exist, with certain “magic foods” put up on a pedestal or certain “evil fat-storing foods" banished into the forbidden foods zone.

Other weight loss “experts” invoke the insulin/carbohydrate hypothesis which claims that carbs drive insulin which drives body fat. That’s akin to saying “Carbs are the reason for the obesity crisis today, not excess calories.”

They are all mistaken.

Of course, there IS more to nutrition than calories. Food quality and nutrition content matters for good health. In addition, your food choices can affect your energy intake. We could even point the finger at an excess of refined starches and grains, sugar and soft drinks (carbs!) as major contributing factors to the surplus calories that lead to obesity.

However, that brings us back to excess calories as the pivotal point in the chain of causation, not carbs. A caloric deficit is a required condition for weight loss - even if you opt for the low carb approach - and that’s where your focus should go – on the deficit.

Now, here’s that critical distinction…

You’ve heard it said, “exercise more and eat less” a million times. However, saying “focus on the deficit” is NOT the same thing. If you don’t understand the difference, you could end up spinning your wheels for years.

You could exercise more, but if you compensate by eating more, you cancel your deficit.

You could eat less, but if you compensate by moving less, again you cancel your deficit.

This type of compensation can happen unconsciously, which leads to confusion about why you’re not losing weight or why you’re gaining. That often leads you to make excuses or blame the wrong thing… anything but the calories.

Therefore, “focus on the deficit” more accurately states the most important key to weight loss than “exercise more and eat less.” Make sure you understand this distinction and then follow this advice.

Last but not least, keep in mind that there are a lot of ways to establish a deficit and many of those ways are really dumb. Eating nothing but grapefruits, cabbage, twinkies… but in a deficit?… Dumb!

A calorie deficit is required for fat loss, but once your deficit is established, the composition of your hypo-caloric diet DOES matter. That’s why any good fat loss program starts with calories but doesn’t stop there - you also need to look at protein, essential fats, macronutrients, micronutrients, food quality and how the diet you choose fits into your lifestyle.

Don’t let the simplicity of this idea fool you. This is the #1 key to your successful weight loss this year, and every year: Focus on the deficit!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle and
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.BurnTheFat.com or www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

The Real Truth behind Organic Foods

2010-11-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

Many people are unaware of what organic food really is. It seems that everywhere we go now, someone is promoting something that is “organic”. Are these foods worth your time and money?

It almost seems like some people are afraid of organic food. Could this be possible? Are people afraid that eating one morsel of organic food is going to somehow instantly initiate them into the organic food cult where you’re only allowed to wear sandals made from tree bark and deodorant is prohibited?

I swear I have had people say to me “Well, you can’t be that organic because you wear make-up and you don’t smell.”

What? That’s not what organic means at all! All it means is that the food or the product has been grown the way mother nature intended: without the use of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. In other words, naturally!

Are some people afraid of the price? Organic does not automatically mean “break the bank”. Many times when I compare the price of the organic food versus the conventional food, they are only a few cents different. In the case of the bag of organic carrots I bought today for my lunch, they were the exact same price as the conventional ones. Imagine that!

If anything about the word “organic” makes you want to jump and run the other way, be sure to read my article “Is there such a thing as Cheap Organic Food?”

It will help you understand exactly why organic food is all the rave these days and what you can do to make organic living easy, simple and not so scary!

Get started on your own fat loss and health goals right away with these Simple and Easy Healthy Meal Plans.

Stay up to date on the most current nutrition and health information here: The Best Diet Info.

Learn how to setup your own organic food garden at home at FoodForWealth.com ...absolutely everything you need to know to grow healthy, fresh organic food ANYWHERE in the world all year round.

Instead of New Year's Resolutions, Set S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals

2009-11-19T16:02:00.000-08:00

Why do new year’s resolutions usually fail? Why do you start with guns blazing on January 1st, but by February, you’re losing motivation, cheating on your diet, skipping workouts, and slipping back into old patterns? John LaValle, a master trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) suggests that we should take a closer look at the meaning behind the word “Resolution.” Being derived from the word “re-solve," it really means “to solve again.” And isn’t that exactly what happens? You solve the same problem again and again, year after year?

You know what I’m talking about… That 20 pounds you lost last year, and promptly gained it right back… you are now resolving to take it off again aren’t you? The very nature of the word resolution implies gaining it back again.

Suggestion: don’t make resolutions. Set SMARTER goals.

Resolutions aren’t real goals. They’re more like wishes, and wishes are wishy-washy. A wish becomes a goal the moment you put it in writing. When you write your goals in a certain way, following scientific principles of success psychology, you’ll skyrocket your chances of getting what you want this year… and keeping it.

One of the most tried and true methods for goal achievement is the SMART goals formula. If you searched the net for SMART goals, you would probably find a dozen different variations on the SMART goal acronym. Here’s my version of SMART goals, along with a little extra to make them even SMART-ER.

1. Specific. Set goals with clarity. Your mind does not respond well to vague generalities. If you say your goal is to lose weight and then you lose one pound, then you’ve reached your goal. Is that what you really wanted? Get clear. Be precise. Be specific.

2. Measurable. Set goals that can be quantified in measurable units such as pounds, body fat percentage, lean body mass, inches and clothing sizes. Performance goals can include strength (lbs or kilos lifted) and repetitions completed. Don’t forget to include health goals as well, such as blood pressure and blood lipids.

3. Accountable. Set goals you can be held accountable to. First be accountable to yourself by using a weekly progress chart, a daily nutrition diary and a training journal. Then double your motivation with external accountability and submit your results and journals to someone else who will hold you to your commitments.

4. Realistic. Set goals that are attainable and maintainable. If you lose two pounds of fat per week, you are doing awesome. 30 pounds in 30 days sounds great in the advertisements, but it is not typical, and rapid weight loss is likely to consist of muscle and water, not fat, and is nearly impossible to maintain.

5. Time Bound. Set goals with deadlines. Time limits are highly motivating. With no time limit, there is no urgency for completion. Set goals for daily workouts and nutrition, weekly weight and body composition and 12 week changes in weight, body fat or measurements. Set long term goals as well for one year, five years and even beyond. For all time periods, be certain that your deadline is realistic.

Now we add some motivational ooompf for this year by making your goals even SMART-ER!

6. Emotional. Goals give you a direction, but strong emotions are the propulsion system that drives you in that direction. Build up a burning desire by focusing on the emotional reasons why you want to achieve your goal. Connect your goals to your values. What’s most important to you about reaching your goal? If you reach 9% body fat, or whatever is your target, what will that do for you? What will your life look like then? How will it make you FEEL?

7. Reviewed often. Resolutions fail because they are casually set once at the beginning of the year and easily forgotten. Stay laser-focused by writing and reading your goals every day. Repetition is one of the keys to re-programming your mental computer for success. Use the goal card technique. Write your single most important body or fitness goal on a small card, then carry it with you every where you go, reading it several times a day.

S.M.A.R.T.E.R. GOALS is a simple, memorable formula for goal setting and goal getting. It may not be new, but then again, there are no new fundamentals. Methods and tactics may change, but scientific principles of success never change. And don’t forget to make your goals even smarter this year. A goal that’s not strongly desired and kept in front of you every day will be forgotten. Stay focused, eat right, train hard and expect success!

“A goal that is casually set and lightly taken will be freely abandoned at the first obstacle.” - Zig Ziglar, Motivational Speaker

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

Tom Venuto is the author of the #1 best seller, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom is a lifetime natural bodybuilder and fat loss expert who achieved an astonishing 3.7% body fat level without drugs or supplements. Discover how to increase your metabolism and burn stubborn body fat, find out which foods burn fat and which foods turn to fat, plus get a free fat loss report and mini course by visiting Tom's site at: www.BurnTheFat.com

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

Brain Science And New Year's Resolutions

2009-11-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, "I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps it's because escape is easier than change."

Success psychologists say that 95% - 97% of the people in the world do NOT have written goals and fail, while 3-5% have written goals and succeed.

If these statistics are correct, then Mr Rohn's observation really IS quite fascinating isn't it?

Unfortunately for most people, the odds for success are actually even lower, because out of the few people who do set goals, most don't take goal setting seriously, they don't do it scientifically and they only do it once a year.

Goal setting is so important, that I always teach goal setting and mind dynamics first, and only THEN, do I teach nutrition and training second.

It doesnt matter how much you know about nutrition or exercise. Until specialized fitness knowledge is linked with goals and directions, the knowledge is useless and you won't accomplish very much or keep the changes long term.

In fact, I devoted the entire first chapter of my book, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (www.burnthefat.com) to the subject of goals and constructive "mind programming" for successful, permanent behavior change.

I've also studied neuro linguistic programming (NLP) for many years and more recently spent many months researching the latest information about neuroscience to see just how much of the traditional self help and goal setting wisdom is actually backed by brain research.

As you start thinking about your goals for 2007 right Now, I'd like to help you start the year off right by sharing two very valuable, science based tips on acheiving your goals:

SCIENTIFIC GOAL SETTING TIP #1: Repetition is an effective way to "plant" a goal in the non-conscious mind

Why don't most resolutions stick? Psychology and neuroscience today are giving us the answers.

Thanks to new technologies in brain imaging, such as PET scans, SPECT scans and functional MRI's, we can now actually see your thoughts as electrochemical impulses and we can see the formation of new neural connections in real time right before our eyes.

We can also see where, geographically, in your brain, a particular type of thought is occuring.

most importantly, we can see how long it takes to form strong neural patterns and what types of stimuli cause the patterns to form more quickly

Here's what we've discovered:

Setting a goal once is a conscious activity. Willpower is also a conscious activity. But research has shown that at least 5/6 of your brain power is in the non conscious mind and that the information and instructions that reach the non conscious mind are responsible for your automatic behavior.

Some pyschologists believe that 95% of our behaviors are unconscious and automatic... more commonly known as habits.

Long term behavior changes don't take place when you set goals one time as with most new years resolutions. There's an old saying in "self help" circles that it takes at least 21-30 days to form a habit. This has now been proven to be fairly accurate on a neurological basis.

New neural patterns begin to form only after they've been repeated enough times. They continue to strengthen with further repetition. If you make resolutions on January 1st and you don't continue to repeat and reinforce your desire for those "goals," no new neural connection is formed, no new habits are formed, no new behaviors are formed....

Your resolutions wither away and die and any results obtained through willpower (trying to force the new behaviors through conscious effort), are quickly lost when you slip back to your old ways.

What you repeat over and over again is programmed into the subconscious mind and begins to take root. On a practical level, this means RE-writing your goals everyday and thinking about them in positive terms and in mental pictures, every day, repeatedly until the habit is formed and turned over to "auto-piliot."

In 1956, when Earl Nightingale wrote "The Strangest Secret is that we become what we think about most of the time," we didnt know what we know now about the brain.

Nevetheless, Earl was right.

You don't change your body by trying to change your body. You change your body by creating new habitual patterns of thinking and visualizing.

Trying to force new behaviors with willpower while continuing with your old ways of thinking will always fail because your automatic behavior is mostly under non-conscious control.

Its not the resolution you set once... its the goals (mental thoughts and images) you focus on all day long that create the long term (and automatic) behavioral change... when you change your behaviors, you change your body and your life...

SCIENTIFIC GOAL SETTING TIP #2: Emotion is a goal-turbocharger

Is there any way around this tedious process of "mental programming" through repetition? Not really. The fields of NLP and hypnosis have given us some tools for creating more rapid changes, but ultimately you have to begin to "run your own brain" and change your habitual way of thinking. No one else can do it for you and there's no way around it.

there is however, a scientifically proven way to to speed up the process and that is with the use of strong emotion.

Since modern imaging technology can see activity in the brain and scientists have located the seat of emotions in the brain, we know that the strength and number of neural connections associated with a thought or behavior are increased when you're in a highly emotional state.

The neuron connections are also stronger, longer lasting and it takes longer to lose a neural connection when it was formed with great emotion.

With this knowledge, we see another reason why new years resolutions fail: They are set casually with no emotion and no strong emotional "reason why" that gives you the leverage to you need to make a change permanent.

On January 1st, you may think you're setting "real" goals, but if you're like most people, you're not only doing it a mere once a year and then losing focus, you're also likely to be making flimsy, wishy-washy, emotion-less "resolutions."

Zig Ziglar once said that, "A goal casually set and lightly taken will be freely abandoned at the first obstacle."

You might want to back up and read that quote again, maybe even write it down or print it out, because this one hits the bull's-eye!

This truly explains why New Year's resolutions almost never work, and why so few people can keep off the pounds after they get rid of them.

Goal setting should not be casual or lightly taken. Goal setting is an important and serious matter. This is not a game - this is your life, and you only have one life to live.

Goal setting is also not a one time event - it is an ongoing process of literally "re-wiring your brain." With the discovery of brain plasticity, we now know that this is science fact, not self-help fiction.

Make the time to set REAL goals, today! Take it seriously, do it scientifically, re-write your goals every day, think about them constantly, and then take massive action

Do it and this will be the most successful year of your life!

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

How to Stay on Your Diet and Stay in Shape Over the Holidays Without Turning into a Miserable Scrooge! (A Holiday Survival Guide)

2009-11-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

My mom makes the most amazing Christmas cake in the world; it’s been a tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. First, she mixes up a light, fluffy, vanilla cake mix, pours it into the pans and then pops it in the oven. After it’s been baked, she stacks the cake in two layers with whipped cream spread generously between each layer. She then pours on red and green Jell-O, which gets soaked up inside the cake. Next, whipped cream is smothered all the way around for frosting. And finally, she garnishes it with red and green sprinkles. A few red and green-striped candy canes are stuck in the top as the finishing touch, and off it goes to the refrigerator so it can be served chilled later.

Now let me tell you, as a bodybuilder, I have a lot of discipline. But when that moist, delicious, red and green, Jell-O-filled, whipped-cream covered cake is sitting on the table in front of me on December 25th, it takes every ounce of my willpower to keep from calling it a “VERY high carb day” and devouring numerous very large slices.

Despite the temptation, I don’t “pig out” nor do I deprive myself. Instead, I’m content with eating my single piece, savoring every mouthwatering bite, all the while repeating my mantra, “Nothing tastes as good as being lean feels.”

The next day, on December 26th, I’m on the bike or Stairmaster at the crack of dawn, followed by six perfect meals of lean protein and complex carbohydrate - just like every other day of the year.

A week later, on December 31st, I usually go out for a nice dinner (very naughty food, I must admit), and then we toast champagne to the New Year at midnight. I’m in bed at a reasonable hour shortly thereafter.

Unless it’s a scheduled day of rest on New Years day, I’m not groggy and hung over like many of my friends are. I’m in the gym squatting, bench pressing, curling, or “stairmastering” just like I usually am.

And here’s the point: You can and should enjoy the holidays. You can enjoy being with family and going out with friends. You can go to holiday parties and have fun. You can enjoy a few “naughty” meals. You can have a piece of cake and a glass or two of champagne. There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy yourself AND stay healthy, lean and fit through the holidays. All it takes is some planning, some goal-setting and little dose of old-fashioned discipline.

I’d like to share with you 10 ways that you can follow your diet and stay in great shape over the holidays without turning into a “miserable Scrooge.” If you follow this advice, then you’ll be one of the proud few with a New Year’s resolution to be the best you’ve ever been in the new year to come - instead of one of the guilt-ridden many who must resolve to reclaim what they lost over the year that’s just passed them by.

1. Expect to stay on your program over the holidays

“Fail to plan and you plan to fail” is a time worn and cliché statement, but it’s still some of the best success advice you will ever hear.

Not only do most people fail to plan, they consciously plan to fail over the holidays. Most people expect to “blow” their diet and skip workouts over the holidays. They expect to eat more, to exercise less and to gain weight. As a result, they don’t even make the effort.

Instead of taking control, they resign themselves to maintenance at best, or back-sliding at worst. This negative expectancy leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. By the first week of January, they’re in the worst shape they’ve been in for a year and they frantically make New Year’s resolutions to shed the excess fat they’ve gained.

You can avoid this trap by planning to succeed during the holidays. Set up a positive expectation. Resolve now that you will not tolerate slipping backwards. Keep your standards up and don’t settle! Not only can you plan to “stay in shape” over the holidays, you can plan to improve! All you have to do is make the decision and expect success.

2. Plan all your workouts in advance

You know your schedule is going to get hectic over the holidays. You’ll be cooking, shopping, wrapping gifts, sending cards, going to parties, traveling, visiting family, and so on. To stay on your training and nutrition regimen is definitely going to take some sound time management skills.

Plan your schedule in advance. Anticipate what’s coming up. Write it down. Put it on your calendar. By doing so, you won’t be caught unprepared.

Use a schedule book or monthly calendar and “make appointments” for ALL your workouts for the entire holiday season. Then, post a copy where you will be forced to look at it every day. This is a powerful exercise that will keep you focused and force you to think about and prepare for each upcoming workout.

If you try to “wing it” and squeeze in your workouts and meals whenever you have time left over, you’ll find that there never is any time left over! Somehow your daily activities always seem to “expand” to fill the hours in every day. So schedule your workouts and meal times in your calendar just like you would any other appointment or event. Once you’ve done that, stick to your schedule religiously.

3. Set some compelling training and fitness goals over the holiday period

Don’t wait until January 1st to set your goals just because you think it will be harder to achieve them over the holidays. On the contrary, studies on personal achievement have shown that you’ll usually reach 80% of the goals you put onto paper. The problem is that few people set any goals at all, and fewer still set them during the holidays.

Why wait? Why not do it now? Set some big goals that you can start working on during the holidays:

Set a goal to lose the 25 lbs you’ve always wanted to lose NOW Set the goal to gain 10 lbs of solid muscle NOW Been contemplating a competition in bodybuilding, fitness or the new ladies figure division? Pick an early spring show and GO FOR IT - START TRAINING NOW!

Goal setting should not be a once a year affair, it should be a continuous process. You should always have your goals in writing and your list should be regularly updated and rewritten. If you only set goals once a year, you’re not going to accomplish much in your life.

4. Give yourself permission to have “free meals” - and schedule them in

A planned “free meal” or “re-feeding day” helps you to stay on your program better in the long run. If you’re too strict all the time, you’re setting yourself up for cravings and binge eating.

A few free meals per week will have very little effect on your physique. Also, if you’ve been on a strict, low carb and/or low calorie regimen for a long time, a full day of maintenance level calories might actually be good for you! It will boost your metabolic rate and give your body the signal that you’re not starving and that it’s ok to keep burning a lot of calories.

Over the holidays, schedule your dinners and parties so they become your “free meals.” Then, for the rest of your meals, be steadfast! Just the fact that you know you have free meals coming up will relieve the pressure of staying on a strict diet for a long time.

Also, when you do have your free meal – ENJOY IT! If you’re going to eat it and feel guilty, then don’t have it at all. If you’ve stayed with the program all week long, then when your free meal rolls around, you deserve it!

5. If you fall off the wagon, get right back on it

So you had about a dozen too many of those Christmas cookies did you? Don’t worry; because you have free meals built into your plan, you shouldn’t let guilt immobilize you. Even if you fall completely off the wagon, don’t beat yourself up. All you have to do is get right back on your program without missing another beat.

Too many people mess up once and then think their entire diet is ruined. They feel as if everything they’ve done prior to that day was wasted and there’s no sense going on. Or even worse, they rationalize to themselves, “Well, I already cheated, so it doesn’t matter now, I might as well keep pigging out.”

That’s nonsense. If you threw in the towel every time you didn’t score 100% on your diet, most people would never get through more than a few days on any structured program. Just because you slip up once doesn’t mean you should quit! You’re only human. Don’t let one small slip keep you derailed. Firmly plant your wheels back on the tracks and start rolling again.

6. Maintain your consistent eating schedule

If there’s one thing that all people who successfully get lean and stay lean have in common, it’s consistency. Without it, you never get any momentum going. It’s like taking two steps forward, only to take three steps back.

Many people allow the busy holidays to throw them off their regular eating schedule. They completely veer off their usual meal frequency, or they start eating foods they would normally never eat (because “it’s there”).

Once you have a habit or pattern going, it’s fairly easy to keep it going. But once you lose momentum, it’s very difficult to get it going again because you must overcome inertia all over again. (An object at rest tends to stay at rest!)

On the major holidays, when there’s a big dinner scheduled, many people think that skipping their morning and afternoon meals to “save room” for the big one later is a good idea. It’s not. This is actually a good way to invite a binge that could set your back for days.

Don’t lose your consistency or your momentum. Continue with your pattern of eating small, frequent meals all year round. All you have to do is count your holiday dinners as one of your regular meals and keep them small.

7. Control your portion sizes

You can have your cake and eat it too – you just can’t eat the whole thing! One of the most important rules to remember this holiday season is the law of energy balance, which states: To lose body fat, you must consume fewer calories than you burn up each day.

There are two corollaries to the law of energy balance:

1. A caloric surplus gets stored as fat – even healthy food.
2. Small amounts of anything – even junk food – will NOT get stored as fat if you stay in a calorie deficit.

There’s no reason to deprive yourself of things you enjoy. Just make sure you don’t overindulge. As long as you enjoy your favorite foods in moderation, and you keep working out, it won’t end up around your waistline.

8. Don’t buy into the low standards and expectations of others

Keep your standards high, but don’t expect other people’s standards to be as high as yours. Remember that most people have already planned in advance to fail at fitness over the holidays. You’ve decided to stay strong (haven’t you?) Don’t let their negative influence drag you down.

When you’ve reached your pre-ordained drink limit, say “When” and switch to water or a non alcoholic, non caloric beverage. When they offer you seconds on dessert, politely say, “No thank you, it was absolutely delicious, but I’m full, I can’t eat another bite.” And when the wee hours of the morning start to roll around, and your friends are egging you on to keep partying, politely tell them you need your sleep. Tomorrow is a work out day. If they’re really your friends, they’ll understand.

9. Make the best choices possible in every situation.

You know those tables you see at holiday parties that are covered with yards of chips, dips, pretzels, cookies, salami, candies, punch, liquor, and a seemingly endless assortment of other goodies? Well, did you also notice that there is usually a tray full of carrot sticks, cauliflower, celery and other healthy snacks too?

No matter where you are, you always have choices. Sometimes you have to choose between bad and worse. Other times you can choose between good and better. But always make the best choice possible based on whatever your options are. If nothing else, you can choose to eat a small portion of something “bad” rather than a huge portion, thereby obeying the law of calorie balance.

Chances are good that there’s probably something healthy on the menu at every holiday gathering. As you know, lean proteins and fibrous carbs are a great for getting lean, so fill up on the turkey breast, try to get a vegetable in there, and go easy on the desserts.

10. If you drink, enjoy alcohol in moderation

If you enjoy having a few drinks on special occasions, then go ahead and have a drink or two. But if you’re serious about your fitness goals, then drink infrequently and in moderation. Alcohol puts fat oxidation on hold while providing a large amount of calories. When there’s alcohol in your bloodstream, you’re not in fat burning mode.

I’ve never met anyone who was truly serious about fat loss or bodybuilding who was a heavy drinker. Alcohol and muscles just don’t mix. The impact goes beyond added body fat; your energy levels and workouts can be affected for days after a night of heavy drinking. A glass of wine may have health benefits, but there’s never any reason or excuse for binge drinking or getting drunk.

So go ahead and toast to the New Year, but know when to say when.

In conclusion, there’s no reason to let your exercise and nutrition program spoil your holidays, but there’s also no reason to let your holidays spoil your exercise and nutrition program! Put these 10 holiday tips into practice and you can start losing fat today, not next year.

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

Your Fitness Future Foretold: 20 Predictions for the New Year

2009-11-19T13:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! In this article, I'm going to predict your future and forecast exactly what kind of results you're going to get in the next 12 months. Sylvia Browne, step aside... I'm pretty good at this.

Several years ago, a public relations firm in New York City asked me to write an article for one of their publications about fitness trends and predictions for the coming year.

It turned out that my "crystal ball" was pretty darn accurate. I nailed most of the predictions I made about aerobics classes, yoga, core training, "holistic" approaches, online personal training technology, the baby boomer market, increasing obesity and many other subjects.

I do confess, it wasn't that difficult, because instead of just guessing, I actually did some research on industry statistics and I also had some "inside insights" because I'd been a health club manager for so many years and was privy to fitness business trends.

This year, instead of making predictions for the whole fitness industry, what if I could take out my crystal ball again and predict with 99% precision exactly what kind of results you will achieve with your body by the end of the year?

Well, no problem, I can do that too!

I would claim that I have some kind of "gift" for this, but to be honest, you and I don't need to be psychic to make predictions like these.

There are two things you can always count on: (1) Nature's laws of cause and effect, and (2) human nature.

On that basis, here are my 20 fitness predictions for the new year:

I PREDICT that if you can reach into your pocket on any day this year and pull out a card or piece of paper with all your body and fitness goals written on it in vivid detail, the odds are 95 to 1 in favor of you achieving every one of those goals before the year is out.

I PREDICT that if you focus your thoughts on your goals and how you are going to achieve them, all day long, you will reach your goals so fast this year, it will make your head spin.

I PREDICT that if you focus your thoughts on health woes and body fat problems and if you think about what you don't want, all day long, your problems will get worse than ever this year.

I PREDICT that if you made a new year's resolution, but you didn't turn it into a specific, written goal with a deadline and a strong reason why you must achieve it, you will freely abandon it the moment the going gets tough.

I PREDICT that if you can tell me all the reasons why achieving your health and fitness goals are important to you, you will be motivated from within to stick with it when the going gets tough.

I PREDICT that at times, the going is going to get tough.

I PREDICT that if you can tell me today what is your life purpose and what is your lifelong vision for your body and your health, you will still be as motivated and driven at the end of the year as you were at the beginning.

I PREDICT that if you don't have long term goals and a "big picture" vision for your life that you will lose your New Year's enthusiasm and motivation in a matter of months or even weeks.

I PREDICT that the way you see yourself in your mind's eye today will be an exact reflection of what you see in the mirror at the end of the year.

I PREDICT that if you have a setback that seems to get in the way of you reaching your health and fitness goals and you tell yourself "this just is temporary; this too shall pass," then it will pass and it won't set you back.

I PREDICT that if you believe the way your body looks today is out of your control and you feel helpless or powerless to change, you won't even make much of an effort this year.

I PREDICT that if you accept complete responsibility for the way your body looks today and you believe that you have the power to change, that you will take action and keep taking action, even through the tough times.

I PREDICT that if you're unhappy with your physical condition and you say, "it's not my fault" or you blame it on genetics, hormones or age, then your body will look pretty much the same at the end of this year as it did on New Year's day.

I PREDICT that the more you have patience, a long term perspective and the ability to postpone immediate gratification, the more likely you are to be a success one year from now.

I PREDICT that the more you seek "miracle pills" or "quick fixes," the more likely you are to be a failure one year from now.

I PREDICT that you will be tempted by many quick fixes this year.

I PREDICT that if you hang out with losers and negative people this year, you will become just like them.

I PREDICT that if you hang out with winners and positive people this year, you will become just like them.

I PREDICT that you will run into more negative people and losers this year than positive people and winners.

I PREDICT that if you recruit just one friend or support partner that stands behind you and the lifestyle changes you want to make this year, you will double your chances for success. If you surround yourself with numerous support partners, you will become virtually unstoppable.

So how does your future look for the year ahead?

Based on my "predictions," if it doesn't look as bright as you'd like it to be, then don't worry, because a prediction is not predestination.

You can't do anything to change the past, but by changing your thoughts, attitudes and actions in the present moment, the future is yours to create.

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

How an Entire Year Can Go By With No Results

2009-11-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

If you've been doing the same nutrition, same calories, same cardio, same weight training and the same intensity for the entire past year with no changes, then you shouldn’t be surprised if you’ve continued to get the SAME results (very little). If you do more of the same, you usually get more of the same.

Caloric intake, for example is not something you calculate once and then never pay attention to again. Calories have to be calculated and customized for each individual in the beginning and then adjusted continuously in “real time” during the course of a fat loss program, based on actual results.

Just because you start at 1800, for example, doesn’t mean your caloric intake should stay there. Calories may need to be increased or decreased depending on whether your goals, your body weight and your activity levels change and based on your weekly progress (or lack of).

Which brings me to another point. I am a huge fan of using progress charts. There is a saying in business management and sports coaching: “What gets measured gets done.”When you start “keeping score” and tracking performance right down to the numbers, it’s almost miraculous how this awareness of how you’re doing translates into improved results.

When you track your body composition results every week, if a week or two goes by with no results, then you don’t continue with more of what got you no results, you change some variable in your program immediately!

An old Turkish proverb that says, “No matter how far you’ve traveled down the wrong road, always turn back!”

Of course, you don’t have to throw out your entire program, you can simply “tweak” ONE or maybe two variables within the same program.

Also, when you measure, track and analyze muscle versus fat (body composition), instead of just scale weight, you might even discover you’ve gained some lean body mass and this offsets the drop on the scale (which means it’s possible you made more progress than you thought).

Now, back to the calories. To break a plateau, you can take a reduction in calories, or an increase in activity, either of which will create a deficit if you are currently in energy balance, or increase your existing caloric deficit.At the end of the day, fat loss boils down to calories in versus calories out, so if you plateau, you may need a simple calorie reduction, provided you don’t restrict too low for too long (which tends to trigger your body’s “starvation response.”)

As for your cardio program, 3 days a week of cardio works for many people, but usually, I would consider three weekly cardio sessions a maintenance workout or at best a starting point for beginners, NOT a “maximum fat loss” program.Example: this week, you could increase your cardio from 3 sessions to 4 sessions (or 4-5).

If you combine the decrease in food intake with an increase in calories burned through activity, that will almost certainly get you burning fat again. If it does, then stay with that cardio plan. If not, the next week go up to 5 days a week. Repeat this simple “feedback loop” process as many times and for as long as necessary.

Also remember that more (often) is not always better. You can also increase the intensity and get more calories burned in same amount of time. This feedback loop process can be used to make decisions about your training intensity, duration and type, as well as frequency.

Whichever strategy you choose to break the plateau, remember Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity:“Insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

Although this seems like common sense to some people, what happens is really quite common because it does appear that you’re doing everything you’re “supposed to be doing” with perfectly good intentions.

You may have all the key elements there: You’re exercising (weights and cardio). You’re watching your nutrition, and you’ve been disciplined and consistent in following it. The trouble with many popular programs - even good ones - is that they are too dogmatic. Their entire program may revolve around “X” number of calories, “X” days per week of cardio and “X” days a week of weights…. And you’re not allowed to “tamper” with that “holy grail” formula.

I can understand the rationale for a simple diet and exercise prescription for a beginner in order to not confuse them with too many choices, but what if it doesn't work after a month, three months, six months, A WHOLE YEAR? What if there are no options, what then?

In NLP, there’s a principle, (borrowed from cybernetics), called The Law of Requisite Variety, which says, “The person with the most flexibility is the person with the most power and the greatest chance for success.”

You need to know what to do when you’re not getting results… you need options and choices for breaking plateaus, and that’s important because plateaus happen to everyone - including me.

Some people think that hitting a fat loss plateau means there’s something wrong with them. But plateaus are natural and normal. In fact, you could look at it this way: Hitting a plateau means your body is healthy and your body is functioning normally, because normal function of the body is to adapt effectively to stress, to protect you and to maintain homeostasis. Exercise is a stress. Dieting is a stress. It’s natural for your body to adapt to them. When you adapt, you must place a new “positive stress” on the body if you want continued improvement.

If you want to learn more details about how to change your program to break plateaus and make continuous progress as fast as safely possible, then I recommend you take a look at Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM).

BFFM has flexibility, feedback and performance tracking built right into it. Chapter 4 in BFFM teaches the “BFFM feedback loop method”, and shows you how to chart progress and adjust your diet and workouts on a weekly basis, to keep you making progress or get you back on track if your progress stalls out.

There is no reason to allow even a few weeks, let alone an entire year to go by without results. But you can’t expect to get different results if you continue doing more of what’s not working.

Keep after it! Be persistent… but also be flexible!Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

5 Excuses That Won't Fly in 2011

2009-11-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

It’s almost 2011. Your old excuses for not getting in shape won’t work. As Dr. Evil (Austin Powers) said, ZIP IT! I don’t want to hear them anymore! Read em’, then haul your excuseless butt to the gym!

1. I have no time.

According to a story in a recent issue of Men’s Health magazine, Barack Obama works out for 45 minutes a day, 6 days a week. Obama doesn’t just play basketball either. Our new president stays fit to lead with cardio and weight lifting. He also says he wishes he could train 90 minutes a day. Have you ever seen what the daily schedule of a U.S. president looks like? If the busiest man in the world can train every day for 45 minutes a day, then what’s your excuse? ZIP IT! You ain’t got one!

2. It’s too expensive.

Getting in shape certainly is expensive… if you keep wasting hundreds of dollars, month after month on worthless “miracle” weight loss pills, internal cleansing gimmicks and “magic” potions that all claim to make you slim. Deceptive advertising and slick marketing for bogus diet aids is more rampant than ever. 2010 was the year of thewu-long tea scam, the acai berry scam, and, of course, the ubiquitous “cleansing” and “detox” gimmicks . Unless you put on your critical thinking cap and learn to investigate before you invest, then you’ll get scammed by 2011’s flavor of the year as well. Your quest for those elusive “6-pack” abs will not only continue to be expensive, you’ll go broke. Walking, jogging, calisthenics and body weight exercises are FREE. If you want to know what’s really expensive, tally up the cost of legitimate expenses like natural food, gym memberships, fitness education, dumbbells and so on, and compare that to your doctor’s bill when you’re sick.

3. No one will support me.

Experts on social influence say your income will be approximately equal to the average of your 5 closest friends. Not only do I think that’s pretty darn accurate, I also believe that your health is your greatest wealth, and your physical condition will be about equal to the average of your 5 closest friends. It’s a real challenge to stay positive, focused and active when you’re surrounded by critical people and negative influences. However, in 2010, lack of support is no longer a valid excuse. Online social networking is exploding (check out Twitter and Facebook ) and more IN PERSON friendships and associations are being made from an internet connection than ever before. Training buddies can be found online. Connect with them. Mentors and coaches are easily found online. Hire them. Support forums have been around for years. Use them. No support from your current friends? Stop whining, start reaching out and go make new ones. In 2010, support partners and new friends are just a click away.

4. I can’t lose weight because of my genetics.

The marvels of modern medical and biological research are astonishing. Our top scientists have mapped the human genome! In the past few years, numerous genes linked to obesity have been discovered. However, the obesity epidemic we’re facing today has only developed over the past 50 years and genetic mutations that lead to serious obesity are extremely rare. Genetic predisposition only means that you have a tendency. It’s when the genetics meet lifestyle and environment that the genes express themselves. If you have a family history of heart disease, is it smart to smoke, eat junk, be a stressed-out, type-A maniac and a couch potato? Well of course not, and it’s the same with obesity. If you have a tendency predisposing you towards obesity, you’d better be the person doing the MOST exercise, not the least. You’d better be the person paying the MOST attention to your nutrition. You’d better be the person with the healthiest lifestyle. But unfortunately, it’s usually the opposite. Most people throw up their arms in frustration saying, “what’s the use, I was dealt a bad hand.” Sorry. That won’t fly in 2010. The latest research says genetics are a factor, but a tendency is not a destiny!

5. I don’t know how.

The lamest excuse of them all in 2011 is “I don’t know how.” NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO DO ANYTHING UNTIL AFTER THEY HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IT! Ponder that for a while. You don’t need to know how at first. To get started, you only need to know WHAT… what is the goal? Setting well-formed goals is the master skill of success. Not wishy-washy resolutions that have no resolve behind them, but real goals. In writing. With emotional ooompf! As you continue to affirm, visualize and focus on your goal with clarity, belief, and expectation, your new goal or intention will be received by your subconscious. Once a goal is accepted into your subconscious mind, your brain, being a goal-seeking mechanism, will turn on your attention filters to seek out all the information you will ever need to reach your goal. It will also turn on an infallible navigation system to guide you to your goal like a torpedo to its target. As your brain guides your attention, your direction and your behavior, you will discover that today, in 2010, there is more good information, coaching and instruction available than ever before. And when you’ve activated that “success radar” in your brain by setting goals effectively, it’s not as hard to find honest, accurate and helpful HOW-TO advice as you might think. In fact, you found this webpage, so you’re doing pretty good right now, aren’t you?

No more excuses. In 2011, remember my Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle Creed: You can either make excuses or get results, but you can’t do both!

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

Damage Control For Holiday Eating "Accidents" (Part 2)

2009-11-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

It's lunchtime, and you're trying to decide what to make today. Normally, you would have your regular chicken salad with mixed nuts, but today is different. You're going to a party in the evening, and even though you're not quite sure what to expect, you know there will be a ton of food in an atmosphere of very little restraint. You decide that it's probably best to eat a lighter lunch than usual, to prepare for the evening calorie-surge.

This is commonly known as “banking calories” which is analagous to saving calories like money because you’re going to consume more later.

I usually do not recommend this. Here’s why:

If you skip meals earlier in the day to “prepare” (bank calories) for a big feast at night, you are thinking only in terms of calories, but skipping meals is also depriving yourself of protein (amino acids), carbohydrates, essential fats, vitamins, minerals and other valuable nutrients that come from healthy food, as well as the small frequent meals which help control your appetite, stabilize your blood sugar and provide a steady flow of amino acids to your muscles. Skipping breakfast is especially detrimental.

Not only that, but eating less early in the day in anticipation of overeating later in the day is much more likely to increase your appetite, causing you to binge or eat even MORE than you thought you would at night when the big meal does arrive.

In fact, eating healthy, high fiber and lean protein food, as usual, earlier in the day is likely to make you LESS hungry for the holiday party meal and you’ll be more likey to eat only a harmlessly small amount of “party” foods.

I dont like the concept of “banking calories” if it means skipping meals or if it’s used as justification for binge eating.

Even if it worked the way you wanted it to, the starving and bingeing pattern may cause more damage than an occasional oversize meal, even if only on a psychological level. Some dieticians might even argue that this kind of behavior borders on disordered eating.

A better approach is to stay on your regular menu of healthy foods and small meals through the entire day - business as usual - and then go ahead and enjoy yourself at your party by treating yourself to a SMALL amount of “BAD” food.

This is supported by the 2nd Corollary of the law of calorie balance:

“Small amounts of ANYTHING - even junk food- will probably not be stored as fat as long as you are in a calorie deficit where you are eating fewer calories than you burn.”

It should be a big relief for you to know that when you’re at a party, a banquet, dining out or eating at a relative’s house for a special occasion, you can eat whatever you want with little or no ill effect on body composition, as long as you respect the law of calorie balance ans as long as it is done infrequently.

However, you CANNOT starve and binge and expect not to reap negative consequences.

If you sincerely want to burn fat and be healthy, then you have to have the discipline to stick with your nutrition plan consistently and control your portion sizes.

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

Go Back....Part 1

Damage Control For Holiday Eating "Accidents" (Part 1)

2009-11-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

We've all been at the holiday get-togethers, and have quickly devoured something devilishly delicious with little thought. Some feel little shame for eating a cake or drinking half the bowl of punch, but others find themselves feeling guilty afterwards and can't help but think, "oops, I shouldn't have eaten that." I have to admit I do get a little chuckle out of the “accidental” part! Do you ever really “accidentally” eat anything? I think we are all responsible for everything we eat and how much we eat and until you consciously realize and accept this, and take the time to do some proactive meal planning, you will probably continue to have lots of “overeating accidents!”

After you overindulge, I definitely do NOT recommend skipping your next meal or skipping meals the next day to make up for it. I usually don’t even recommend cutting back either, although there may be exceptions where you could manipulate your meal size or macronutrient composition.

I generally recommend returning immediately to your “regularly scheduled meal programming,” because this continues to encourage the maintenance of positive habits such as eating 5-6 small meals every day.

I do suppose whether you cut back could depend on whether you’ve been on low calories a long time, how lean you were already, and on whether you were in a caloric deficit already. If you were in a calorie deficit for the day, then the extra calories might only bring you up to maintenance, not “over” your daily limit, which might not be as damaging as if you were in a calorie surplus.

If you were already very lean or had been dieting strictly for a long time (as in a bodybuilder coming off a competition), a large meal or entire high calorie day might not have any negative effect either. Your metabolism has a way of slowing down if you keep your calories too low 100% of the time.

With occasional (planned) higher calorie days, you’d be using the BURN THE FAT “zig-zag” or “cycling” principle, so eating more in this context can be a positive thing. (Note: You can learn more about this technique in the BURN THE FAT program at www.burnthefat.com). However, there’s a big difference between a planned “cheat meal” or a planned high carb, clean food “re-feed” day and a binge on junk food. Regardless of total 24 hour calorie intake for the day, you could still store body fat after heavy eating if it’s done at certain times and in a certain metabolic state.

Although I do prescribe calorie levels based on daily (24 hr) needs, I believe you should also pay attention to 3 hour “windows” when you’re thinking about adjusting your caloric intake. Calories and macronutrients (protein/aminos, carbs/sugar and fat) are partitioned into glycogen, muscle or fat tissue or burned immediately depending very much on present moment energy and recovery needs and on what’s going to happen over the next 3 hours or so as the food enters your system.

So, if you’re going to be plopping down on the couch to watch football games for the rest of the day and night after that big holiday meal, beware - you might just want to cut back on that next meal a little, especially starches and sugars.

Bottom line: It’s okay to eat small amounts of your favorite junk foods once in a while as planned “free meals,” and it’s a good idea to eat more in general from time to time to keep your metabolism humming along. However, your best bet if you’re really serious about fat loss is to avoid huge meals and avoid bingeing in the first place. ALWAYS practice portion control - even on holidays.

If you ever do slip, don’t beat yourself up, just get right back on the wagon with your next meal and remember, the past is behind you and today is a new day.

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

Tom Venuto's Holiday Fitness Challenge to You

2009-11-19T12:13:00.000-08:00

Every year as Thanksgiving gets closer, you’ve probably seen the depressing reports: “Most people gain between 5 and 10 pounds of body fat in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.” I’m not sure if this worries you or not, but a lot of people are terrified about getting fatter in the next two months. They anticipate the workouts falling by the wayside and the holiday food calling out to them irresistibly, defeating even the strongest willpower. There’s good news and bad news about this.

Good news: According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the average amount gained is much more modest - just over a pound.

Bad news: A study by the National Institutes of Health found that this seasonal weight gain - even just a pound - is the kind of weight gain that most people don’t lose when the holidays are over; it simply adds to the “weight creep” that “sneaks up” on you as you get older.

People often wonder how it’s possible to wake up one morning at age 40 or 45 and “suddenly” they’re 30 pounds fatter - or more - than they were in college. Mystery solved.

Of course, some people really do pack it on over the holidays, but whether its a pound or ten pounds, did you ever ask yourself why does holiday weight gain happen at all?

In previous years, I’ve asked my readers and here are some common answers I was given:

Holiday Excuse Survey Says…

“I’m too busy over the holidays to work out as often as usual.”

“I’m more stressed over the holidays, and the food is there, so I eat more.”

“I have at least three parties to attend and then there’s Christmas and New Year’s, so it’s impossible to stay on a diet”

“No one can tell me not to enjoy myself over the holidays so I’m just going to eat whatever I want.”

These answers all have a few things in common:

“Either/Or” Thinking and “Reverse Goal Setting” Exposed

First, they assume that you can EITHER get in better shape OR enjoy yourself, but not both. Stated in reverse: You can either deprive yourself of holiday enjoyments or gain weight, but it has to be one or the other. The truth is, “either/or thinking” is neurotic thinking and a great killer of fitness programs.

Second, these are all excuses or rationalizations. “I’m too busy” for example, is always an excuse, because I have never known someone who was too busy to make time for his her highest life priorities. We all have the same amount of time - 24 hours a day – the real problem is, most people don’t make exercise and healthy eating a priority. And remember, words mean little. Actions reveal a person’s true priorities.

Third, none of these are the real reasons most people gain weight over the holidays to begin with. The real reason is because an intention was never set for the opposite: To get in better shape over the holidays.

Most people set a “goal” to get in worse shape over the holidays. It’s not consciously set, of course, as few people would intentionally set out to get fatter. They simply do it by default. In their minds, they accept that it must be just about impossible to stay in shape with everything going on over the holiday season, so why bother?

Rationing Lies For Holiday Failure

Once the decision has been made, then the rationalizing continues:

“Why should I deprive myself?”
“Family is more important”
“Worrying about diet and exercise during the holidays is neurotic”
“I don’t care if I gain a few pounds, I’m going to enjoy myself anyway”
“It’s only these two or three weeks that I let myself go wild”
“I’ll start the first week in January and lose the weight then.”

As a result of this “negative goal-setting,” they expect to work out less, eat more and gain a few pounds, and they don’t seem to even consider alternatives.

But what would happen if you…

SET A GOAL TO GET IN BETTER shape over the holidays?

What would happen if you decided that it was not an all or nothing proposition and that you could enjoy the holidays and all it has to offer and get in better shape at the same time?

And what if you decided that your health and your body were the highest priorities in your life, because you realized that can’t enjoy anything else in life, including family or holidays, if you don’t have your health?

Here’s what would happen: You’d get in better shape!

I’m not all that different from you just because I’m a bodybuilder and fitness professional. I have many of the same problems, concerns and struggles as you do. Although today I always get in better shape between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, that’s a result of a conscious choice, a close examination of my old belief systems and a lot of action. For me, it all started about eight years ago.

For most of my adult life, I wasn’t much of a traveler and I didn’t enjoy flying or staying in hotels. For one thing, I had so many business commitments in the East Coast health club business, that I seldom left town for long, as I had to “tend to the stores.” But I also had a belief that if I traveled, my workouts and nutrition would suffer. After all, “it would be hard to stick with my usual bodybuilding diet, and I wouldn’t have access to my usual gyms”, I told myself. For these reasons, I never did much travel..

Then I was forced to take some trips for business reasons. Predictably enough, my nutrition and workouts suffered while I was spending time in airplanes and in hotels. With my experience having confirmed my beliefs, I re-affirmed to myself, “See, travelling is nothing but a pain. You just can’t stay on a diet and training program when you’re out of town.”

After several more trips, I noticed that something very negative happened: I surrendered. I had resigned myself to “not bother” while I was on the road. I let my expectations create my reality.

But I didn’t let it go on for long. As soon as I became aware of what was happening, I decided that I wouldn’t tolerate it, so I challenged myself and my previous limiting beliefs. I asked myself, “Why the heck not? Why let myself backslide? Why even settle for maintaining? Why not challenge myself to improve while I’m traveling?” The answer was: There was no good reason, there were only excuses.

From that day forward, I set a challenge for myself…

To come back from every trip or vacation in better shape than when I left.

Of course there were exceptions, as when I went on a vacation for total R & R. But I never let travel get in my way again. I prepared food that I would eat on the planes so airline food was never an excuse… I usually chose hotels that had kitchens, so I could cook my own food. I went food shopping immediately after check-in. I wrote my training schedule and scouted gyms in advance… And I actually found myself training harder than usual.

No matter where I was training - it could even be some “dungeon” of a gym in the middle of nowhere - it didn’t matter because my mind was focused on improving and looking better when I came home than when I left. I had a goal to motivate me!

What do you think happened? It’s not hard to guess: I always came home in better shape than when I left.

Since then, my “travel challenge” has become somewhat of a ritual in my life. When I’m away from my “home-base” it becomes a “fitness road trip.” I search the Internet or yellow pages or ask locals to help me find the most hard-core gym nearby wherever I will be staying (Gold’s Gym works for me!) When I get there, I train every bit as hard as if I had a competition just weeks away. I look forward to it now. In fact, this is what led me to my “holiday fitness challenge” idea.

Like many people, I travel over the holidays, so I’m automatically in “travel challenge” mode at thanksgiving, Christmastime and New Year’s. But with the additional temptations and busyness that the holidays bring on top of the usual travel stresses, I saw fit to declare a new challenge: “The Holiday Challenge.” The difference was that for my “holiday challenge,” I pledged to not only to return home in better shape than when I left, but to enjoy the holidays to the fullest at the same time.

People who think I deprive myself to look the way I do would be shocked: I eat like a KING over the holidays including Pumpkin (or apple) Pie at Thanksgiving and OF COURSE my mom’s famous red and green Jell-O Christmas cake. Then on New Year’s I’m usually toasting champagne and having a blast with friends or family….

The difference is, I don’t eat like that very often.

Every other meal stays right on schedule and I work out hard and consistently over the holidays; I don’t let everything fall apart just because ‘tis the season.’

The idea that you can EITHER enjoy the holidays OR stay in shape - but not both - is wrong, it’s damaging and it’s limiting.

Life is not an either or proposition; it’s a matter of balance.

Success does not mean going to extremes. Success can be a simple matter of re-examining your beliefs, rearranging your priorities, setting goals, changing the questions you ask yourself and re-evaluating your expectations.

Your expectations will become your reality. What are you expecting? Are you expecting success? Are you expecting to be in better shape after holiday parties, celebrations, banquets, dinners, and desserts? If not, then why not? What’s preventing you from enjoying all of the above and still getting in better shape? Do you have a limiting belief which dictates that it’s one or the other? Could it be that you never set a goal, intention or expectation to do it? Could it be that you’re rationalizing or making excuses? If so, then I challenge you to change it this year.

As of this writing, there are less than two months until the end of the year. Why not see how much you can improve your physique over the holidays, without depriving yourself of any holiday enjoyments or festivities? Just step up your expectations. Step up your standards. Step up your nutrition. Step up your training. Step up your action. Step up and accept the “Burn The Fat holiday fitness challengeand see what happens!

That’s right… The First Annual Burn The Fat Holiday Fitness challenge contest is open from Wednesday November 18th to Wednesday November 25th.

Over the course of a “50-Day Burn” which spans all three major holidays - Thanksgiving (US), Christmas and New Year's - you'll have the motivation, the accountability and structured program to end the year strong, start the new year on the foot and possibly get in the best shape of your life.

Even better, you'll be able to eat delicious Holiday Food and enjoy yourself to the fullest at the same time because this is a lifestyle program which allows your favorite foods in moderation and balance.

And the best part of all: I'm sending the winners of the contest to Negril Jamaica to show off their new bodies on the beach in 2010!

Taking the Burn The Fat Challenge is simple. You can enter the contest two ways:

(1) Purchase the Burn The Fat e-book or

(2) Join the Burn The Fat Inner Circle fitness support community ("contest central")

You'll be automatically enrolled with either purchase.

Or, if you want ALL the contest details and the FULL list of prizes, visit the contest page.

Train hard and expect success!

-Tom Venuto,
Author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle
Founder/CEO, Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

Fitness Challenge Debunks Holiday Weight Gain Myth

2009-11-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

To disprove the myth that weight gain is inevitable during the holiday season, hundreds of Americans are signing up for a fitness challenge that tests their ability to become lean and fit between the end of November and the beginning of January.

For the Holiday Challenge, a fitness contest that begins on Thanksgiving Day (November 26), participants can sign up at the Burn The Fat website (www.BurnTheFat.com/InnerCircle) where they can also track their exercise and nutrition regimens for 50 days. Those who slim down the most could win a Caribbean vacation or other prizes.

The Holiday Challenge is the brainchild of fat loss expert Tom Venuto, author of the best-selling e-book Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, and The Body Fat Solution (Avery/Penguin) slated for its paperback release in January 2010.

“Too many people buy into the news stories that say Americans will gain 5 to 10 pounds of body fat in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Venuto says. In reality, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, the average amount gained over the holidays is much more modest, just over one pound.

“So the idea that everyone is going to pack on several pounds is clearly a myth,” Venuto says. “But people believe that myth and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

To turn the conventional wisdom on its head, Venuto is challenging the thousands who follow his Burn The Fat blog to not just maintain their weight but to actually lose body fat during the holiday season.

“No one consciously sets a ‘goal’ to get in worse shape over the holidays,” Venuto says, “They do it by default. Mentally, people accept the idea that it’s impossible to stay in shape because of all the parties, the family get-togethers and the tempting food, so they say ‘Why bother?’”

Once people resign themselves to thinking that gaining fat is unavoidable they are actually setting a “negative goal,” Venuto says. And, he contends, the only way to counteract that unconscious negative decision is to create a conscious goal to do the opposite: to get in better shape over the holidays.

As an incentive to those who take part in the Holiday Challenge (at www.BurnTheFat.com/InnerCircle ), Venuto will award two grand prizes of a five-day vacation in Negril, Jamaica to the overall winners in the men’s division and the women’s.

Because the Holiday Challenge is a body transformation contest – and not simply a weight-loss competition – participants will be judged on how much they improve their body composition (the amount of lean body mass and body fat percentage). Contestants will also be judged on the visual improvement in their bodies (as illustrated by their “before” and “after” pictures), and the inspirational essay they must submit during the contest. In addition to the overall winners, additional prizes, (including IPods and Kindles) will be awarded to winners in other categories such as “Most Ripped,” “Most Muscular” and “Most Inspirational.”

During the Holiday Challenge, contestants must enter their body fat measurements, workout details and food intake (even on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day) using a daily journal at the Burn The Fat website (www.BurnTheFat.com/InnerCircle).

But participants will need to do more than simply follow contest rules. They will also have to challenge the excuses and rationalizations that cause many people to fall off the fitness wagon during December.

“One of the most common excuses is ‘I’m too busy to work out over the holidays,’” Venuto says. “But no one is too busy for their highest priorities. Your health and your body have to become your highest priority – because without your health, you can’t enjoy anything else in life, including your family or the holidays.”

And those who want to be successful in the Holiday Challenge must also break out of the “either/or” thinking that keeps many people from reaching their fitness goals. “People believe they can either get in shape or they can enjoy themselves – but not both,” Venuto says. “But the truth is you really can enjoy the holidays and get in better shape at the same time.”

“Life is not an “either/or” proposition,” he adds. “It’s a matter of balance. And challenging yourself to achieve that balance is a great way to start the New Year!”

For complete details and contest requirements for the Holiday Challenge go to www.BurnTheFat.com/AcceptTheChallenge

No Pain No Gain: Fitness Myth or Ultimate Fitness Truth?

2009-10-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

No Pain No Gain: Fitness Myth or Ultimate Fitness Truth?

By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

No Pain, No Gain. Is this aphorism just a fitness myth and downright bad advice? A lot of people seem to think so. As a bodybuilder with 25 years of training experience and more than two dozen trophies on my shelf, I have another perspective to offer you. Success with your body and in every area of your life is all about stepping outside of your comfort zone and that means embracing pain.

To reach high levels of physical and personal success you must approach your training, and your entire life, as an endeavor in constant growth. The ultimate truth is, you are either moving forward or moving backward; growing or dying. There’s no such thing as comfortably maintaining.

To grow, you must step above past achievements; beyond your perceived boundaries and limits. That means stepping out of the known, into the unknown; out of the familiar and into the unfamiliar; out of the comfortable into the uncomfortable. You must get out of your comfort zone.

The Late Cavett Robert, who was founder of the National Speakers Association, said something I’ll never forget: “Most people are running around their whole lives with their umbilical cords in their hands and they’re looking for some place to plug it back in.”

Most people are scared of the unknown. They prefer to stay in that womb of comfort. When the going gets tough; when the effort gets painful, when the work gets hard, they always pull back into safety. But the extraordinary people do the opposite. They know they have to get out of the comfort zone, and into new territory or they’ll stagnate and die.

Walt Disney once said that he never wanted to repeat a past success. He was always creating something new. They called it “Imagineering.” Disney’s mission was to continuously dream up and create things they had never done before, and look at what Disney has become today.

Here’s a little quote that you should post on your bulletin board, your computer desktop or somewhere you will always see it:

“Do what you always did, get what you always got.”

You can't grow or change by doing what you’ve already done. You’ve got to train just to prevent yourself from going backwards. Maintenance doesn’t occur when you do nothing, maintenance is working to fight entropy, the tendency for things to naturally deteriorate.

Still, most people won’t leave their comfort zones. They won’t do it in business, they won’t do it in their personal lives. They won’t do it in their sport. They won’t do it for personal health and fitness. Why? The answer is simple… It hurts.

By definition, what’s it like outside the comfort zone? It’s UN-COMFORTABLE, right? Change is uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s physically painful, but it’s always mentally and emotionally painful, in the form of discipline, sacrifice, uncertainty and fear.

The maxim, “no pain no gain” gets knocked all the time as if it were bad advice. The fact of life is that you don’t grow unless you’ are constantly stepping outside the comfort zone, and outside the comfort zone is discomfort and pain.

I find that it’s mostly the non-achievers who make out “no pain, no gain” to be a bad thing. But the winners get it. The champions understand stepping outside the comfort zone in a healthy context, so they embrace it.

When you’re talking about the Olympics, or pro bodybuilding or the Super Bowl or a world championship, you’d better believe it’s physical pain, it’s discipline, it’s sacrifice, it’s blood, sweat, and tears - literally. But for most people who simply want to go from unfit to fit, from overweight to ideal weight, it’s not so much about physical “pain”; it’s more like stretching yourself.

How do you develop flexibility? What does your trainer tell you? You stretch to the point of discomfort, but not to the point of pain, right? You get into a position of slight discomfort and you hold it just long enough, then what happens? The discomfort goes away, because the muscle becomes more pliable, and the range of motion is increased.

Each time, you stretch a little further, just barely into the range you’ve never been in before, and eventually, you’re doing the splits. And why do you approach it like that? Because you don’t want to injure yourself. Stretch too far, too fast and your muscle tears.

The elite athletes and high achievers really have to push themselves; they’re going to push their boundaries and test their limits. But if you’re not an elite athlete or seasoned bodybuilder, and you take the advice, “no pain, no gain” too literally, you’re going to end up getting injured.

I always say to my training partner when I watch him cringing during a set and he finishes up with that pained look on his face, “Are you injured, or just hurt?” He knows what I’m talking about. If he says he’s hurt, I say, “OK, good. As long as you’re not injured. Let’s get on with it. Next set.”

It’s not about injury. That is bad pain. That is stupidity. But do stretch yourself. You can’t improve unless you stretch yourself. If that’s what some people want – if they just want to “stay fit” – OK fine. It actually doesn’t take that much to stay fit, once you’ve already achieved it.

But what if you want to improve? What if you want a new body? What if you want to change? If that's what you want, you’ve got to push yourself a little. You’ve got to break comfort zones. And if your body is not changing, then I don’t care how hard you think you’re working, whatever you’re doing right now is inside your comfort zone.

The statement “no pain, no gain” has been misinterpreted, criticized and labeled a fallacy by many. However, the people doing the criticizing are almost always comfort zoners who haven’t achieved much. Don’t listen to them. Instead, follow the small percentage of people who step out and achieve great things. If you don’t like the sound of it, then say, “No effort, no gain.” We’re still talking about the same thing.

Embrace the discomfort like the champions do. Soon it subsides, you enjoy the benefits of the change and the pain is forgotten. You’ve reached a new, higher plateau of achievement. Enjoy the view for a short while. But be on guard because it’s not long before that higher level becomes your new comfort zone and then its time to press on again.

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto,
Author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Author of NEW
The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

He is also the author and body transformation expert of the BRAND NEW Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.

From Skinny To Muscular: My Bodybuilding Journey

2009-08-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

From Skinny To Muscular: My Bodybuilding Journey

If there was ever one thing that I wanted to change about myself, it was my body...

At a mere 125 pounds I felt insecure, weak, and would do just about anything to pack some muscle onto my skinny frame. I would look at other guys and think, "why can't I just feel average?"

Forget being strong and muscular, I just wanted to feel like I wasn't a toothpick compared to everyone else!

I probably took things too far, and maybe I wasn't as thin as I imagined, but it didn't matter. In my eyes I was nothing. Afraid to show my arms, or take my shirt off, my confidence was down in the dumps.

...But then it happened.

One day when I was looking in the mirror, I realized just how unhappy I was with the way I looked. I realized that I could never be truly happy on the inside until I was happy with myself on the outside. Something inside of head just sort of "snapped".

It was as if my mind had taken a 180 degree turn.

It was on that very day that I decided it was time to change. This time I meant business. No more sitting around whining to myself and complaining about my small frame; it was time to put all the talk aside and get to work.

Talking builds no muscles.

No matter how difficult it was, how long it took, or how many obstacles came my way, I was going to change. I was going to get huge, and there was nothing that would stop me. It was there that my journey from point A to point B began.

After filling my head with every possible piece of bodybuilding literature I could get my hands on, I started putting the techniques to use. After several months of trial and error experimentation, I was finally able to narrow it down and figure out what worked and what didn't.

It was really hard at first, but I stuck with it. There were many times when working out would be the last thing I felt like doing, but it didn't matter; I dragged my ass to the gym and lifted. I remembered the promise that I had made to myself, and that was all I needed to keep going.

I started gaining weight. After the first few months I'd put on a solid, muscular 15 pounds. My hard work and persistence was already paying off.

So I pressed on.

I kept on training and I kept on eating. I refused to be defeated; to give up and go back to the way I was. Workout after workout, week after week, month after month, and I was still training.

Sure, I experienced bumps in the road. Inevitably there were obstacles, but I rose above them. When I felt like it was time to pack it in, I dug down deep and kept going. I wasn't going to quit no matter how tough it was.

I did the things that I hated doing the most in order to reach my goals.

Training when I wanted to sleep, eating when I wanted to rest, going to bed when I wanted to stay awake. I watched as months went by, and my size continued to improve. I was finally walking around with my head up high. I kept on training and I kept on improving.

There was no letting up.

Even to this day, I'm still training, and I'm still improving. I can truly say that bodybuilding has been the greatest choice I've ever made in my entire life. It has changed me from the inside out.

I am now confident with the way I look. I don't hide behind baggy clothes anymore, nor am I reluctant to take my shirt off. I feel strong, powerful and healthy.

My life has completely changed for the better. Words cannot describe the feeling of being in great shape. I now know that I am able to set a goal and reach it.

If you're thinking about getting into bodybuilding or if you're just starting out, one piece of advice I can give you is do not quit. No matter what happens, do NOT quit.

Bodybuilding will do so much for you, and you will be eternally grateful if you continue.

There is nothing like it.

It teaches self-discipline, builds character and pushes you to your utmost limits. There is just so much you will get in return, I can't even tell you.

If you're ready to take a stand and finally achieve the powerful, muscular body you desire, go ahead and visit www.MuscleGainTruth.com. I'll show you exactly how I did it, and how you can follow the same path.

By Sean Nalewanyj
Natural Bodybuilding Expert & Best-Selling Fitness Author
www.MuscleGainTruth.com

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked "social reject", Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned natural bodybuilding and fat loss expert, best-selling fitness author, and creator of the wildly popular online muscle building program, "The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System". Learn how to build muscle and gain weight in just 24 minutes a day by visiting: www.MuscleGainTruth.com.

Sean is also the owner and operator of the web's premier muscle building and fat loss support community, currently accepting new members at www.FitnessInnerCircle.com.

Two Magical Substances That Allow You To Burn Fat Faster & Create Lasting Health

2009-07-31T17:23:00.000-07:00

Two Magical Substances That Allow You To Burn Fat Faster & Create Lasting Health

In all of my experimentation and research on the subject of nutrition for fast fat burning, health and fitness over the last 10+ years, I’ve discovered 2 magical substances that can have a dramatic effect on whether or not you burn body fat and keep it off, or hang on to it like a security blanket.

These substances, in fact, have been around since the beginning of time and I’m surprised more people don’t value their importance like they should. What are these magical agents of fat burning wizardry? Water and Fiber. Let me explain why…

Everyone has heard that water is important for health, but even still, most people don’t drink enough water. Water is also vital to your fat burning efforts and maintaining a lean body. After all, our bodies are about 65-70% water. Water also keeps you from snacking on unhealthy sugary foods and sugar laden soft drinks, as many times when we feel we are hungry, we are actually just dehydrated.

We need water in our bodies more than we need food. The body can survive for much longer without food that without water. Water is like the oil in the engines of our cars. It is involved in almost every process the body goes through, from digestion to nutrient absorption. It also keeps your energy level up as it prevents dehydration.

Now, this is very important…dehydration will totally kill your chances of burning fat, because the body interprets this as a state of shock. It shifts its focus on getting water and stops doing other things, like burning body fat for energy. And here’s even more helpful info about the power of water. Try this little trick to burn even more calories…try and drink most if not all of your water in ice cold form.

First of all, it typically tastes better ice cold, and every time you drink an ounce of ice cold water, your body must burn about a calorie in the process of warming the water to your current body temperature. Now, you can use this to your advantage to burn even more calories each day. Keep your water intake to 100 ounces per day, and you’ll burn an extra 100 calories and burn more fat! How cool is that!

Also, add some lemon to your water…this will have positive effects in helping cleanse your liver. And this brings up another key to fat loss…the body needs to be working efficiently if you want to burn fat fast…if your organs, especially the kidneys and liver, are working together in high efficiency, you will find it easier to burn fat!

So keeping yourself hydrated will keep your kidneys operating at a good clip, and your liver will be allowed to do its job of metabolizing stored fat for energy.

The other magical substance is Fiber. Fiber slows digestion and makes you feel fuller. This is so important in burning fat and reducing cravings, especially for foods loaded with sugar, and how many calories you end up eating throughout the day, which leads to fat loss.

Great sources of fiber include various whole grain products, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and beans. These, by the way, are foods that are also rich in other nutrients your body craves naturally…surprise surprise! Processed foods, however, are poor sources of fiber. White flour products including regular pasta is in this category. Also, watch out for high fiber cereals as many of these are also high in sugar.

On top of the fat burning benefits, fiber has been linked to the prevention of various conditions including heart disease, diabetes and cancer. That's a one-two health punch to be reckoned with!

So I urge you to put water and fiber at the top of your list of things to put in your body. If you combine that focus with a diet of nutrient rich foods and a properly conducted resistance exercise program, you’ll be on your way to burning more fat faster, and maximizing your genetic potential for a lean, strong, and healthy body.

My Fat Burning Furnace students are already doing this, and are enjoying all the rewards this lifestyle brings. Now, it’s your turn to get the most you can out of life and burn fat faster than you might have thought possible.

Rob Poulos,
Fat Loss & Fitness Expert
www.FatBurningFurnace.com

Rob Poulos is a celebrated fitness author, fat loss expert, and the founder and CEO of Zero to Hero Fitness. Rob created the world's most efficient method for fast and permanent fat loss with his "Fat Burning Furnace" system to help those looking to put an end to restrictive fad diets, long boring cardio workouts, and the need for super-human willpower for good.

Click Here to receive a FREE copy of my popular eBook, "7 Secrets Of Permanent Fat Loss & Fitness", a FREE personal and private body fat analysis, plus a FREE subscription to my world famous "Fast Fit Tips" eNewsletter...

If you're thinking about using the Fat Burning Furnace system yourself, but still have a few questions, make sure you visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Also, it may help to read about the success stories of others like you to see how people in similar situations have changed their bodies and their lives with the techniques in FBF.

But you may become anxious to get started on your new body right now, so you can also click the button below to get started right away. Remember, you have a full 60 days to decide if it's right for you. If not, just email me and we'll issue you a full refund and I'll thank you for trying it out...it's that simple!

The Real Way to Stop Eating Fast Food

2009-07-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Real Way to Stop Eating Fast Food

“How could you eat that junk? It’s so bad for you!” (nag, nag). “Don’t you know those fries will give you a heart attack?” (nag, nag). “You have to stop eating all that fast food, it’s going to make you fat!” (nag nag). “You have to eat more healthy food like fruits and vegetables - they’re good for you!” (nag, nag). Your friends nag you, your family nags you, your doctor nags you, the health newsletters, websites and magazines - they all nag you, and of course, your personal trainer nags the heck out of you, to stop eating all those BAD FAST FOODS. But does all that nagging you and bad-mouthing the fast food industry really help anyone stop?

It doesn’t look that way. The fast food industry is thriving, even in the bad economy. The Chicago Tribune recently said that McDonald's is “recession proof.”

As one of only two companies to turn a major profit over the last year (the other being Wal Mart), McDonald’s is laughing its way to the bank. In fact, McDonald's plans to open 1,000 new stores this year.

I was driving down Route 95 a few weeks ago and pulled over to use the rest room at Mcdonalds on a Saturday morning (there’s a McDonalds conveniently located immediately off almost every exit up and down the full length of Interstate 95).

The parking lot was full, it was standing-room only inside and the lines snaked around into the seating area! You’d think Brad and Angelina were there signing autographs or something. Nope. Just a regular weekend at breakfast-time.

I was shopping in Wal Mart the same week and I almost passed out when I saw (smelled, actually) a McDonald's… INSIDE THE WAL- MART! Also, with lines.

Yep. It looks like your friends and family’s nagging you to stop eating fast food, and all the messages of the health and fitness industry to get people eating more “health food” are not working!

So what does work?

The results of a new survey from the behavior and psychology section of the journal, OBESITY (Feb 2009) provide some answers:

Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public health surveyed 530 adults about their attitudes towards fast foods.

They found that people already know fast food is unhealthy. (like, no kidding!)

The primary reasons they eat it anyway are because of the perceived convenience and a dislike for cooking! (I’d add another: they think fast food is always cheaper than healthy food).

So, said the authors of this research paper, nagging people to eat more healthy food and warning them that “fast food is going to make us fat and kill us” is not the best approach.

What’s the right approach?

Focus on teaching people how to make healthy eating fast, convenient and easy, because those are the reasons people are choosing fast food in the first place.

So what’s holding us back from implementing or taking this advice?

Well, I think that most people can’t get over the ideas that they “just cant cook” or that cooking is “too time consuming” or that healthy food “tastes like dirt” (as if McDonald's is gourmet food!)

That said, I’m not going to nag you, scold you or try to scare you out of eating fast food. I’m not going to lecture you about health food (not today, anyway). Nor am I going to bad-mouth the fast food restaurants.

I’m going to lead the new charge by showing you just how easy and convenient it is to eat healthy and nutritious food and make it delicious.

Here’s a few meal ideas (for starters) to prove my point.

3-MINUTE APPLE CINNAMON OATMEAL

* natural oatmeal (like Quaker old fashioned rolled oats)
* natural (unsweetened) applesauce
* cinnamon
* for protein, serve with scrambled eggs or egg whites on side or stir 1-2 scoops of vanilla protein powder into the oats

I eat this almost every morning. It’s faster, easier and cheaper than going to the donut place or getting sausage, cheese, bacon breakfast muffins at the fast food joint! (you don’t have to wait in line, either!)

10-MINUTE LAZY PERSON’S CHINESE STIR FRY

* Brown rice (I like basmati)
* frozen oriental vegetables
* chicken breast, grilled (try foreman grill)
* bragg’s “liquid aminos” (or light/lo-sodium soy sauce)

This takes 30 minutes, however, if you get a rice cooker and make a giant batch, you can have your rice on standby for instant eats and this will take less than 10 minutes.

It doesn’t get much easier than that. (I like those chinese veggies that come with the little mini-corn-on-the-cobs… reminds me of that Tom Hanks Movie, BIG)

2-MINUTE BLACK BEANS AND SPICY SALSA

* black beans (15 oz can)
* Medium or hot salsa
* 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic or chopped garlic to taste
* salt and pepper to taste

This one takes you all of 2 minutes to make. No cooking required! And it’s good! It’s vegetarian as listed above, but if you’re a high-protein muscle-head like me, just add chicken breast or lean ground turkey.

Best part: this is all inexpensive food! Oats, rice, beans… doesn’t get much cheaper than that - buy your healthy staples in bulk and the cost per serving is probably less than mickey D’s! (yes, even the “Value” meals)

Every one of these recipes is compatible with my Burn The Fat program

This means that my way of eating makes you more muscular and leaner… so you can look hot wearing very little clothes this summer… and be healthier… and save money too.

Train Hard, Eat Right, and Expect Success!

Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

Losing Body FAT Versus Body WEIGHT: Do You Understand The Difference?

2009-07-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

Losing Body FAT Versus Body WEIGHT: Do You Understand The Difference?

So much focus and attention is placed on the idea of “weight loss” and “losing weight” that most typical beginners seem to lose sight of the actual concrete goal of achieving a lean, defined and healthy body…

Here's a hint...

It's NOT a simple matter of "losing weight".

In fact, let’s go ahead and remove the term “weight loss” from our fitness vocabulary altogether.

Why?

It’s because “losing weight” is NOT what you should be concerned with!

If you’re reading this article right now, then chances are that you’re looking to achieve at least one of the following goals…

1) Improve your appearance to feel more confident, attractive and sexy.
2) Enhance your overall health to increase longevity and quality of living.
3) Boost your energy levels and mood to feel better about yourself on a daily basis.

Surely there are other reasons as well... but for the majority of you out there, these are probably your primary concerns.

Am I right?

If so, it is absolutely critical that you understand the following…

Losing body weight on its own will NOT allow you to achieve these goals. Instead, all of your focus must be placed on changing your body composition.

The reason for this is simple…

Your body is made up of various different “types” of weight, all of which contribute differently to your overall appearance and health.

There are very “heavy” individuals who are in excellent health with lean and impressive bodies... and there are very “light” individuals who are in poor health with soft, flabby and out-of-shape bodies.

Your overall body weight is made up of various different components, such as body fat, muscle tissue, water and glycogen. The haphazard approach of simply aiming to “lose weight” is incredibly misguided as it does not take these specific types of body weight into account.

In order to achieve your goal of a lean, energetic and healthy body, your goal is to get rid of the excessive amounts of “bad” body weight while maintaining as much “good” body weight as you can.

To put it simply, the underlying goal of your entire program is as follows…

Burn off body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass.

This is truly the only way to get into the shape you desire and to set yourself up for permanent, positive long-term results.

Stop obsessing about the number on the scale!

Instead, start worrying about gradually dropping your body fat percentage while holding on to your lean muscle mass.

There are three primary reasons why you should focus on this...

First of all... one very important factor that determines your body’s basal metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn at rest) is the amount of lean muscle tissue you have on your body. The more muscle you have, the faster your fat burning metabolism operates.

Secondly... maintaining a reasonable level of muscular development will allow you to achieve the shapely and athletic appearance that the majority of you are probably striving for.

A low body fat percentage may be the ultimate goal, but without a decent amount of muscle mass your body will simply take on a small and smooth form without those “cuts” and “lines” that are considered so desirable.

Finally... those who simply place themselves on “crash diets” and attempt to drop large amounts of body weight over short periods of time are inevitably doomed to fail. Such an approach places the body into a starved state and actually programs you to store more fat over the long run.

The body will react to severe calorie deficits by slowing down the metabolism in an attempt to conserve energy, wasting away lean muscle mass, and increasing the production of hormones that inhibit fat loss.

The end result is an unhealthy, out of shape body that, while being temporarily “lighter” than it was before, has now been programmed to store fat and will inevitably end up returning back to its original weight and more.

The way to avoid all of the negative effects listed above is simple...

Structure your “weight loss” approach in such a way that you aim to gradually reduce your body fat levels while keeping your lean muscle tissue levels in tact.

This is the ONLY realistic way to burn fat, keep it off over the long run, and achieve the kind of lean and athletic appearance that you strive for.

Forget about this obsession with trying to lower the number on the scale as fast as possible, as it is only one small piece of a much larger and more important puzzle.

To equip yourself with the rest of the pieces to that puzzle, go ahead and visit www.SixPackAbSolution.com. You can gain instant download access to my renowned body makeover program, "The Real Deal Six Pack Ab Sculpting System."

By Sean Nalewanyj
Fat Loss Expert & Best-Selling Fitness Author
www.SixPackAbSolution.com

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About The Author

Once an awkward, out-of-shape "social outcast", Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned fat loss and muscle building expert, best-selling fitness author, and creator of the wildly popular online belly fat loss program: "The Real Deal Six Pack Ab Sculpting System". Learn how to get six pack abs and burn fat quickly, safely and permanently by visiting: www.SixPackAbSolution.com.

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Best Weight Loss Tips From Your Mom

2009-07-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Best Weight Loss Tips From Your Mom

My mom always told me to sit down and eat my food slowly. So just like any other defiant teenager, I stood tall and inhaled my entire meal as fast as humanly possible. Although I hate to admit it after all these years, my mother was actually giving me very good sound fat loss advice – and good eating habits too.

Some of you might be surprised to hear that the rate at which you eat can affect your body fat. In fact, new research has recently proven that overweight people tend to eat more quickly and also eat more food per bite.

This research confirms findings from earlier studies, which found that eating slowly leads to decreases in total food intake. In other words, the more time you take to eat, the fewer calories you are likely to consume. And conversely, the more quickly you eat, the more calories you are likely to consume.

But that’s not all! Research has also shown that you can use this phenomenon to achieve even greater fat loss results. There are several foods that either force you to eat more slowly, or force you to eat fewer calories. Adding some of these foods to your daily routine is a very smart fat-burning nutritional technique.

Foods that force you to intake your calories at a slower pace include:

Foods that have a high fiber content will make you feel full more rapidly. Examples are vegetables such as green beans, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, etc.
Foods that have a high water content will also make you feel full more quickly. Some examples are fresh fruits such as berries, melons, apples, and pears. Others are cooked whole grains such as barley, brown rice and oatmeal. These grains absorb a lot of water during the cooking process, which causes them swell up. This increased volume helps you feel full more quickly, and thus you don’t need to eat as much of it before you feel satisfied.
Foods with a high chew requirement will make you eat more slowly. Even if you try to eat these foods fast, you simply can’t because it takes so long to chew them thoroughly. Examples of foods with a high chew requirement are fibrous vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli.
Foods with low binge potential such as high fiber vegetables, lean sources of protein and legumes are also good to eat, since generally, you will get tired of eating them before you can overeat!

Based on these studies’ findings (along with years of my own empirical evidence), I have come to the conclusion that you should avoid drinking ANY beverage that contains calories (with the exception of an occasional protein shake, while on an accelerated fat loss program). You heard me right – liquid calories should to be avoided! This includes drinks such as sodas, flavored coffees and fruit juices. Believe it or not, liquid calories are some of the biggest sources of excess and hidden calories.

"Eat your food slowly!” Ah, I can still hear my mom yelling at me from across the kitchen table, in a vain attempt to teach me proper table manners. Her words fell on deaf ears then. But now, I am convinced that she was right all along. So go slow at the table so you can go fast towards your fat loss goals!

Click Here To Lose 7 Pounds Of Unwanted Fat Every 10 Days

John Alvino
www.HowToGetRippedAbs.com

John Alvino is a world renowned fitness expert who is known for his ability to help people lose body fat incredibly fast. He is the creator of the "How To Get Ripped Abs” program, which provides you with the blueprint for getting a great set of six pack abs and a lean body without having to endure long boring workouts, crash diets or expensive supplements. Learn how to get rid of that stubborn fat TODAY by visiting www.HowToGetRippedAbs.com

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Irvingia Gabonensis Supplement Craze: In-Credible Weight Loss from an African Tree?

2009-07-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Irvingia Gabonensis Supplement Craze: In-Credible Weight Loss from an African Tree?

Irvingia gabonensis is the latest weight loss supplement to hit the marketplace, saturate the internet with advertisements, ignite forum discussions and flood my email inbox with questions. In the weight loss marketplace, this may gain the dubious distinction of becoming the next hoodia or acai berry (scam), but I'll just present the facts, make my case and then let you judge for yourself.

Irvingia gabonensis comes from a West African tree commonly known as the wild mango or bush mango. The trees bear edible fruits, and they're especially known for their nuts which go by many different names including ogbono, etima, odika or dika nuts. Like other nuts and seeds, Irvingia gabonensis is high in fat (50%), and oil can be extracted from them. Irvingia gabonensis is also comprised of 26.4% carbohydrate, 7.5% protein, 2.3% ash and 14% fiber. Dietary fibers are often recommended to aid with weight loss programs as well as for their health benefits.

The first Irvingia Gabonensis weight loss study: 2005

Due to its customary use in African cuisine and reputation as a health food, a research group based in Cameroon (Western Africa) set up a randomized double blind study in 2005 to see if Irvingia gabonensis could help with weight loss. 40 obese subjects, age 19 to 52, were divided into placebo and experimental groups. The experimental group received 1.05 grams of Irvingia seed extract 3 times a day (total 3.15 grams) for 30 days.

Subjects were examined weekly and tested for body weight, body fat and hip/waist circumferences. Blood pressure was measured and blood samples were also collected after an overnight fast and tested for total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, HDL-cholesterol and glucose. The subjects were interviewed about their physical activity and food intake during the trial and were instructed to follow a low fat diet of 1800 calories per day and keep a food record for seven days.

At the end of the 30 day trial, the Irvingia group had lost an average of 5.26 kilos (11.5 lbs) and the placebo group had lost only 1.32 kilos (2.9 lbs). The group receiving Irvingia also experienced a decrease in systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol increased.

This was the first study that suggested a weight loss benefit from Irvingia gabonensis. Why did the Irvingia group lose more weight? It's not clear, but in studies of free-living subjects, increased weight loss often means that the experimental group ate less, not necessarily from a direct action on metabolism, hormones or physiology.

In-credible weight loss research

In March of 2008, the same research group (Oben and Ngondi) published the results of their second study about Irvingia and weight loss. This time, Irvingia was combined with Cissus quadrangularis, a succulent vine native to West Africa and Southeast Asia. 72 subjects were divided into three groups, placebo, Cissus extract only (150 mg 2X/day) and Cissus-Irvingia combination (250 mg combined Cissus-Irvingia 2X/day).

All the same tests and measurements were taken as in the 2005 study. After 10 weeks, improvements were seen in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and fasting blood glucose. The placebo group lost 2.1 kg (4.6 lbs), the cissus group lost 8.82 kg (19.4 lbs) and the Cissus-Irvingia group lost 11.86 kg (26.1 lbs).

Attributing 26 pounds lost in 10 weeks solely to a fiber supplement is highly unlikely if not impossible, so the researchers (Oben and Ngondi) figured there was something else going on. They proposed that PPAR gamma, leptin, adiponectin or glycerol-3 phosphate dehydrogenase could all be potential mechanisms through which Irvingia gabonensis might affect body weight in overweight humans.

They set up another 10 week randomized double blind placebo-controlled study to investigate these possibilities. 120 subjects were divided into two groups; a placebo group and an Irvingia gabonensis group, which received 150 mg of Irvingia gabonensis extract twice a day.

Again, total and LDL cholesterol levels fell more in the Irvingia group than the placebo group (27% vs 4.8%). In the Irvingia gabonensis group, body fat decreased by 6.3% versus 1.9% in the placebo group. Weight decreased by 12.8 kg (28.1) pounds in the Irvingia gabonensis group vs 0.7 kg (1.5 lbs) in the placebo group. Favorable changes were also seen in Leptin (anti starvation hormone that signals brain & body about fat stores), adiponectin (protein secreted from fat cells; higher levels improve insulin sensitivity), C-reactive protein (marker of inflammation and cardiac risk) and fasting glucose.

To the lay person, this 28-pound weight loss (12.8 kilos) looks incredible. To someone familiar with research methods and weight loss research, these results look IN-credible, meaning NOT credible. To the informed and discriminating, results like these do not send you running to the health food store, they raise red flags, prompt more questions and demand more and better-controlled research.

What "controlled research" means

The subjects were advised not to alter their diet or activity, but that doesn't mean they didn't alter it anyways. These were free-living subjects, free to eat whatever they wanted and the only way the researchers knew how much the subjects ate or how active they were was from self-reported food and activity records. That's another way of saying the study was NOT controlled.

A true tightly-controlled weight loss study means that the subjects stay in a hospital or research center metabolic ward where all their food is prepared and delivered to them, which is the ONLY way to guarantee we actually know how much they ate. It also means that activity and exercise levels are monitored. Alas, none of these controls were used in this study and we have no way of knowing the true caloric intake or caloric expenditure of these subjects.

Explaining the anomaly

If these results are questionable, then how do we explain them? I mean, we're not saying the researchers are frauds, we're only suggesting that there were some anomalous findings which were parlayed into the latest supplement craze and a thriving business.

The main problem is that self-reporting of food intake is highly inaccurate and makes long term weight loss research very difficult to do. It’s even possible that some subjects may have experienced a sort of "12 week fitness contest" type of effect, whereupon enrolling in the study, they wanted to impress anyone who saw the results. Therefore, they increased their exercise or activity in spite of instructions otherwise. Perhaps some of the subjects got sick and lost lean body mass. Maybe some were bloated and water retentive and simply dropped a lot of water weight. The explanations are endless.

But the story doesn't end here. There's another twist! It turns out that one person has done ALL the research to date and the same person owns the product rights.

Am I being overly skeptical?

Sure, I'm skeptical of weight loss supplements. That's because I'm intimately familiar with their sordid history and I read the research. In case anyone thinks I'm just trying to pick part this particular research only because I'm a diet pill party pooper and supplement skeptic, then think about the magnitude of the claim for a moment and decide for yourself:

The Dubious claim: "28 pounds of fat loss in 10 weeks with NO CHANGE IN DIET OR EXERCISE."

Let's do some math, shall we? 28 pounds of fat loss in 10 weeks = 98,000 calories, or 9,800 calories per week, or 1400 calories per day. So, the researchers and makers of this supplement are claiming that this product will raise metabolic rate by 1400 calories per day.

Is it a more reasonable assumption that an over-the-counter plant extract from an African tree caused astronomical increase in metabolism that probably no prescription drug comes close to, or that the research is flawed?

Consumers in the weight loss marketplace have such short memories. Doesn't anyone remember that last African wonder pill, hoodia? What happened to that one? And why another? How many of these products are already buried in the supplement graveyard? Haven't we learned our lessons from the past?

Irvingia Gabonensis: The bottom line

With an objective look at the evidence, we can probably conclude that Irvingia is a good source of fiber. Fiber can provide numerous health benefits and play a role in body fat control, but there are cheaper ways to get fiber than expensive African supplements, (starting with your food!) A 30-day supply of Irvingia (60 softgels at 150 mg each) currently retails for $42 to $72.

Future research might show that Irvingia Gabonensis and or an Irvingia and Cissus combination may provide significant health benefits. Existing research already suggests health benefits including cholesterol improvements, glycemic control, antibacterial actions and antioxidant properties. It's possible that some of the proposed anti-obesity benefits may also be confirmed. But at this time, the evidence is too thin to recommend Irvingia Gabonensis for weight loss beyond what you could get from any fiber product.

Yours in health,

Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

References

Ngondi JL, Oben JE, The effect of Irvingia gabonensis seeds on body weight and blood lipids of obese subjects in Cameroon. Lipids Health Dis. 2005May 25;4:12. University of Yaounde I, Cameroon.

Ngondi JL, Etoundi BC, Nyangono CB, Mbofung CM, Oben JE.IGOB131, a novel seed extract of the West African plant Irvingia gabonensis, significantly reduces body weight and improves metabolic parameters in overweight humans in a randomized double-blind placebo controlled investigation. Lipids Health Dis. 2009 Mar 2;8:7. University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Damson I, Okafor C, Abu-Bakare A. A supplement of Dikanut (Irvingia gabonesis) improves treatment of type II diabetics. West Afr J Med. 1990 Apr-Jun;9(2):108-15. 1990. University of Benin.

Oben JE, Ngondi JL, Momo CN, Agbor GA, Sobgui CS. The use of a Cissus quadrangularis/Irvingia gabonensis combination in the management of weight loss: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Lipids Health Dis. 2008 Mar 31;7:12. University of Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Okafor J, Okolo HC: Potentials of some indigenous fruit trees of Nigeria. Paper presented at the 5th Annual Conference of the Forestry Association of Nigeria Jos 1974:60-71.

Calorie Restriction For Life Extension: What They Didn't Tell You On Oprah

2009-07-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

Calorie Restriction For Life Extension: What They Didn't Tell You On Oprah

On a recent episode of the Oprah show, one of the guests was a 51 year old man with the heart of a 20 year old. He's been following a calorie restriction plan and they said he might be one of the first people to reach 120 years old by following this plan. There have been stories both in the lay press and scientific press about calorie restriction for years and it has been a frequent talk show topic on other many other TV shows. However, before you cut your calories in half in hopes of adding another decade onto your life, you'd better get the other half of the story they didn't talk about on Oprah.

I’ve seen a lot of strange things in the health field, and although calorie restriction (CR) is the subject of serious and legitimate scientific study, I consider CR to be one of those strange things. Of course, that’s because I choose a different lifestyle - the muscle-friendly Burn The fat, Feed The Muscle lifestyle - but there’s more than one reason why I’m not a CR advocate:

Hunger while dieting is almost always a challenge. There’s some hunger even with conservative calorie deficits of 15-20% under maintenance. Prolonged hunger is one of the biggest reasons people fall off the weight loss diet wagon because it’s unpleasant and difficult to resist. This is why pharmaceutical and supplement companies spend millions of dollars on researching, developing and marketing appetite suppressants. Yet CR advocates put themselves through 30-50% calorie restriction on a daily basis as a way of life in the hopes of extending life span or health.

Practitioners of CR follow a low-calorie lifestyle, but technically, they are not in a chronic 30% calorie deficit. That would be impossible. What happens is their metabolisms get very slow (that’s part of the idea behind CR; if you slow down your metabolism, you allegedly slow down aging). So a 6 foot tall man who would normally require nearly 3,000 calories to maintain his weight, might eventually reach an energy balance at only 1800 or 1900 calories. This is not just due to a ‘starvation mode’ phenomenon, that’s only part of it. It’s primarily because he loses weight until he is very thin and his smaller body doesn’t need many calories any more.

Does caloric restriction really extend lifespan?

The biological mechanisms of lifespan extension through calorie restriction are not fully understood, but researchers say it may involve alterations in energy metabolism (as mentioned above), reduced oxidative damage, improvements in insulin sensitivity, reduction of glycation, modulation of protein metabolism, downregulation of pro-inflammatory genes and functional changes in both neuroendocrine and autonomic nervous systems.

Mouse studies on CR go back as far as 1935 and monkey studies began in the late 1980’s. So far the results are clear on one thing: caloric restriction does increase lifespan in rodents and other lower species (yeast, worms and flies). Studies suggest the life of the laboratory rat is 25% longer with CR (even longer with aggressive CR). Primate studies are still underway and humans have been experimenting with CR for some time. In primates and humans, biomarkers of aging show signs of slower aging with CR. This makes many proponents talk about this CR as if it were a sure-thing, already proven through double-blind randomized clinical human trials.

The truth is, there is NO direct experimental evidence that you will live longer from practicing CR. Due to the length of human lifespans, we will not have the necessary data for at least another generation and perhaps multiple generations. Even then, it will still be highly speculative whether CR will extend human life at all and if so how much. We can only estimate. I’ve seen guesses in the scientific literature ranging from 3 to 13 years, if CR is practiced for an entire adult lifetime.

Jay Phelan, a biologist at UCLA is skeptical. He says the potential life extension is on the lower end of that range and the increase is so small that it’s not worth the semi-starvation:

“There is no current evidence that lifelong caloric restriction leads to increased lifespan in primates. It’s certainly tantalizing that things like blood pressure or heart rate look as though they are a lot healthier and I believe they are. Whether or not this translates to a significantly increased lifespan, I don’t know. I predict that it doesn’t.”

I don’t quibble qualitatively with their results. Yes, it will increase lifespan, but it will not increase it by 50% or 60%, it won’t increase it by 20% or 10%, it might increase it by 2%. So if you tell me that I have to do something horrible for every day of my life for a 2% benefit - for an extra year of life - I say no thanks.”

Is prolonged caloric restriction unhealthy?

When caloric restriction is practiced with optimal nutrition (CRON), it is not inherently unhealthy. Actually, it appears the reverse is true. First, the weight loss that comes with the low calories produces improvements in the health markers, as you would expect. Second, the meticulous choice of food from CRON practitioners, where they pick high nutrient foods and avoid empty calories means that they are making healthy food choices. Third, advocates say that the CR itself improves health. I wonder, however, how much does CR improve health independent of the weight loss and the optimal nutrition?

By losing fat and maintaining an ideal body composition (the fat to muscle ratio) and eating high nutrient density foods, I propose that even at a more normal caloric intake, you will get very significant health and longevity benefits. I also propose that gaining muscle in a natural way (no steroids) will increase your quality of life today and as you get older.

Aside from the fact that we are not lab rats, the truth is, none of us knows when our day will come. We could get plucked off this physical plane at any moment and have no control over how it happens. My belief is that we should make our lifestyle decisions based on quality of life, not just quantity of life. That includes our quality of life today as well as our anticipated quality of life when we are older. Maybe we ought to be focusing more on “health span” than life span.

Downsides of calorie restriction for life extension

One fact about calorie restriction that they often don’t mention on these talk shows is that the benefits of CR decline if you start CR at a later age. This was discussed in a research paper from the Journal of Nutrition called, “Starving for life: what animal studies can and cannot tell us about the use of caloric restriction to prolong human lifespan.” The author of the paper, John Speakman from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, said that the later in life you begin to practice CR, the less of an increase in lifespan you will achieve. Even if the CR proponents are right, if you started in your late 40’s or mid 50’s for example, the benefit would be minimal. If you started in your 60’s the effect would be almost nonexistent. Essentially, you have to “starve for life” to get the benefits.

While some CR proponents claim that they aren’t hungry and they cite studies suggesting that hunger decreases during starvation, Speakman and other researchers say that hunger remains a big problem during CR - especially in today’s modern society where we are surrounded with convenience food and numerous eating cues - and that alone makes CR impractical:

“Neuroendocrine profiles support the idea that animals under CR are continuously hungry. The feasibility of restricting intake in humans for many decades is questionable.”

Let’s suppose for a moment that CR is totally legit and the claims are true. Many of the proposed benefits of CR come at the expense of what many of us are trying to do here: gain and maintain lean body mass. One spokesman for CR is 6 feet tall and 130 pounds. Another poster boy for CR is 6 foot tall and 115 lbs. Measurements of rodents under CR not only show large reductions in skeletal muscle but also bone mass.

I am not suggesting that these CR practitioners are anorexic, a concern that has been raised about CR when practiced aggressively. However, they are losing large amounts of fat-free tissue and that is plainly obvious for all to see when you look at their bony physiques. I am not imposing my body standards on others, but 115 to 130 lbs at 6 foot tall is underweight for a man by any standard. Furthermore, researchers say that at the body mass indices sustained by most voluntary CR practitioners, we would expect females to become amenorrheic. “One thing that is completely incompatible with a CR lifestyle is reproduction” says Speakman.

With that kind of atrophy, I have to wonder what their quality of life will be like in old age. While many people struggle with body fat for most of their adult lives, I’m sure almost everyone knows an elderly person who wrestles with the opposite problem: they are seriously underweight and they struggle to eat enough and maintain lean body mass.

My grandmother, before she passed away, was under 80 lbs. We could not get her to eat. She was weak and very frail. I have reported many times about the research showing how most overweight people under estimate calorie intake and eat more than they think or admit. In elder care homes, the research has often showed the opposite - the patients over estimate how much they eat. They swear they are eating enough, but they arent and they keep losing dangerous amounts of weight. With underweight, atrophied seniors, weakness means less functionality and lower quality of life and a fall can mean more than broken bones, it can be life-threatening.

Life extension with more muscle

While there is a commonality between CRON and the way I recommend eating (high nutrient density, low calorie density foods), in most regards, CR is the opposite of my approach. In my Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program, we go for a higher energy flux nutrition program, which means that because we are weight training and doing cardio and leading a very active lifestyle, we get to eat more. Because we are so active and well-trained, the eating more does not have a negative effect as it would on a sedentary person, who might get sick and fat from the additional calories. We active folks take those calories, burn them for energy, partition them into lean muscle tissue and we enjoy a faster metabolism and extremely high quality of life.

As a bodybuilder, CR is not compatible with my priorities, but hypothetically speaking, if I were to practice a lower calorie lifestyle, I wouldn’t follow an aggressive CR approach. I’d probably do as the Okinawans do. They have a very simple philosophy: hari hachi bu: eat until you are only 80% full. While this does not mean there is a carefully measured 20% calorie deficit, it’s consistent with what we practice in the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle lifestyle for a fat loss phase, and avoiding overeating is certainly a smart way to avoid obesity and health problems. Incidentally, the Okinawans eat about 40% less than Americans, and 11% less than they should, according to standard caloric intake guidelines, and they live 4 years longer than Americans.

If someone is being “sold” on CR by an enthusiastic CR spokesperson, or simply curious after watching the latest TV talk show (where they are looking for controversial stories), it’s important to know that there is more than one side to the story. If you carefully read the entire body of research on CR, you will see that the experts are split right down the middle in their opinions about whether CR will really work. CR for humans remains highly controversial and there are no guarantees that this will extend your life.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore, MD put it this way:

“Because it is unlikely that an experimental study will ever be designed to address this question in humans, we respond that “we think we will never know for sure.” We suggest that debate of this question is clearly an academic exercise.”

In closing, let me go back to one of the original questions I was asked: “Can the BFFM food plan also be thought as a longevity lifestyle, but with more muscle mass?” Absolutely beautifully said! That’s precisely what Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is.

I believe that by making healthy food choices but doing so at a higher level of calorie intake and expenditure, that we can fend off sarcopenia - the age related decline in muscle mass that debilitates many seniors - while enjoying a more muscular physique, greater strength, and a less restrictive lifestyle. Most gerontologists agree - by making simple lifestyle changes that include strength training and good nutrition, you can easily turn back the biological clock 10 years without going hungry.

For more information about Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, the “longevity lifestyle with more muscle”, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

References:

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Starving for life: what animal studies can and cannot tell us about the use of caloric restriction to prolong human lifespan.Speakman JR, Hambly C. J Nutr. 2007 Apr;137(4):1078-86. School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK.

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Life Extension by Calorie Restriction in Humans. Everitt AV, Le Couteur DG.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Aug 23, Centre for Education and Research on Ageing, University of Sydney, Concord, New South Wales, Australia.