Need To Get Fit?

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS. Author of the Turbulence Training programs.

Ready to crush some simple nutrition myths?

I get extreme, simple nutrition questions all the time. In fact, just yesterday I was asked about whether it was bad to eat carbohydrates and protein at the same time. I can’t stand that type of obsessive-compulsive thinking. There’s no reason to be worried about that kind of tiny detail.

So here are two nutrition myths I crushed while down in California hanging out with friends and celebrating my buddy Bedros Keuilian’s birthday down over the weekend. (By the way, by ignoring these myths, I ate amazing meals and still didn’t gain any fat!)

Simple Nutrition Myth #1) You can’t eat late at night

I blew that one out of the water on the first night I arrived. My flight from Toronto to Orange County was at 6pm Thursday. I ate before I went to the airport, and then aside from a few almonds on the plane, I didn’t eat until I arrived at 8pm California time.

So that’s 5 hours past my normal dinner time.

But “nutrition experts” are going to tell me I can’t eat now?

They are going to send me to bed without any supper?

Who do they think they are, some kind of evil villain from a Mother Goose nursery rhyme?

Some type of wicked step-mother nutrition witch, or something?

Well, I’ll have my dinner whenever I want, thank you very much. And if that means eating at 9pm, then that’s when I’ll eat.

The bottom line: It’s not WHEN you eat, it’s HOW MUCH you eat.

By the way, just to horrify these so-called nutrition experts even more, I even ordered a pizza when I ate at 9pm last Thursday. Then again, I ate dinner with Mr. Cheat Diet, Joel Marion…

Simple Nutrition Myth #2) You must use protein shakes if you want to lose fat/gain muscle

Survey says, “Wrong!”

There has never been a scientific study showing that you’ll build muscle or burn fat better if you eat more than 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight.

That translates to LESS than one gram of protein per pound of body weight.

So yes, it’s fine to round up to one gram per pound, BUT that ONLY works if you are relatively lean.

If you are more than 20% fat, you do NOT need anywhere near one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Let’s say you’re a 175 pound guy or a 145 pound woman with 20% fat.

At most, you’ll need one gram per pound of LEAN body mass (that’s your total weight minus your fat weight).

So our man would need 140 grams of protein and our female would need 115 grams of protein per day.

That is SO EASY to get through REAL FOOD that you don’t need to suck down the “swill” that nutrition stores sell you (aka – protein powder).

Just check out how much protein you get from REAL food:

* One cup of any dairy product = 8-10 grams of protein
* One ounce of meat = 7-10 grams of protein
* One ounce of fish = 6 grams of protein
* One egg = 7 grams of protein
* One cup of kidney beans or black beans = 15 grams of protein
* One tbs peanut butter = 4 grams of protein
* One slice of bread = 5 grams of protein (!)

So you see, you don’t need bad-tasting powders when you can eat real, delicious foods for all your protein needs.

Instead, keep your nutrition SIMPLE. Focus on whole, natural foods and limit high-calorie, high-sugar foods to just a couple of treats per week. Combine that with your favorite Turbulence Training workouts and you’ll lose fat fast.

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

Fat Loss Program Motivation

Today, we’re going to focus on something that I know a lot of men and women are struggling with – MOTIVATION for your Fat Loss Program.

So here are my top 11 inspirational tips to help motivate you to stick to your fat loss plan and transform your body & life forever.

1. Never Give Up

If you fall off the wagon, cut your losses. Don’t let it weigh on your mind and hold you back because it’s only minor damage that can be dealt with. The important thing is to get back on track with your fat loss program, immediately. Never, ever, EVER give up. I believe in you.

2. Don’t Procrastinate

Do it now. Whether you’re thinking of cleaning out the pantry or finally starting a fat loss program, STOP procrastinating and DO IT now!

3. Identify Exactly What It Is You Want…

…then don’t let anything stand in your way of getting it. By setting specific goals along with deadlines you are providing yourself with a measuring stick.

4. Do Your Best With Everything You Have Control Over

Most people fail to control themselves, and end up only with regrets. We trade minutes of pleasure (i.e. fast food) for days, weeks, months, and years of regret.

Remember that the pleasure of eating lasts for only minutes, but you inhabit your body 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for life.

Rather than trying to “out-cardio” your bad diet, you must PLAN ahead to overcome obstacles. Otherwise, you’ll never succeed with your fat loss program.

4. Replace Bad Habits

Everyday you will be tempted to fall back on old bad habits. To make a lasting change in your health and appearance you must do everything you can to resist that. Try adding a new healthy habit each day to replace an old unhealthy habit.

5. Be Consistent With Baby Steps

The best approach is to build your life one positive step at a time and the way to do this is by taking baby steps to improvement each and every single day. Be a little better than yesterday.

6. Test

There are no failures, only good and bad tests.

You should always be trying something new, monitoring your body’s response, and deciding whether or not that food or exercise belongs in your “tool box”. Do everything you can to learn more about your body. The more you know, the faster your success will be.

7. Social Support & Role Modeling

You can’t soar with eagles if you’re hanging around turkeys.

By hanging around others who want to lose weight, you can leverage their knowledge, commitment, support, and success to push yourself harder with your fat loss program than you otherwise would be able to.

8. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

People will do almost anything to stay in their comfort zones.

If you want to accomplish anything, get out of your comfort zone and strive to increase order and discipline in your life.

Discipline means doing the opposite of what you feel like doing.  Setting goals and deadlines are the easy roads to discipline.

9. Plan

Planning is the ultimate key to fat loss program success.

With a weekly plan of meals and fat loss workouts in place, you will be much less likely to hit a road bump that takes you down the wrong path. Try setting aside one day a week to map out your weekly itinerary and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your body transforms itself.

10. Realize YOU Are In Charge of Your Success

Og Mandino once said, “I shall shape my future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me. Or I can be lost in the maze. My choice. My responsibility. Win or lose; only I hold the key to my destiny.”

Translation – Everyone can succeed and reach their goals. It’s a just a matter of how badly you want it.

I know you want results with your fat loss program… And I know you can do it… And I’m really looking forward to your success.

Want a Fitness Workout Program but don’t know which one to go with?

If you have spent any time at all looking for a Fitness Workout Program, you will have noticed there are 100’s of them! All promising the best results, in the quickest time, etc etc. But there is no “one size fits all” program, you have to work out what YOUR primary objectives are, available time, and physical capabilities. Then, you can pick the program most suited to YOU.

People generally workout for 3 reasons;

The first is that you may be overweight and the only way to lose those extra pounds will be to reduce your calorie intake and at the same time workout in the gym.

The second is that you are underweight and the only way to add extra pounds is to have more calories in your diet and workout to gain muscle density.

The third is just for fun and to keep you in shape.

The best exercise plan should have cardiovascular and weight training exercises. This helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase ones metabolism and gain or lose weight.

Just like taking any medicine, one should first consult the doctor before undergoing any form of exercise.

That said, once you know what type of Fitness Workout program is right for you, which is the best of that type of program?

You’ll be pleased to know we have reviewed what we consider to be the top 3 fitness workout, muscle building, and fat loss programs available. We actually persuaded a few staff members to try these out for up to month, to give us an idea of how well they worked compared to the vendor’s claims… Wanna see the results? Find YOUR Fitness Workout Program here!

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The simplest and most accessible way to better health and fitness is as easy as riding a bike… Literally!

Yes, healthy diets are good… but not on their own,  and yes, the fitness workouts are good… But how many of you keep to these regimes for long? How many exercise programs have you started, then given up on?

So many of us are struggling with weight issues or health conditions in some capacity, and something really needs to be done. So when it comes down to getting in shape and feeling better people turn to sports and exercises that they feel comfortable with.

This is where cycling comes in as people look to this familiar sport as an easy form of exercise. Most people can benefit from getting healthier and this can contribute to living a longer life that is much more enjoyable. As people start to realize that, they want to find something that will help them to quickly get in shape and still enjoy the activity while they are doing it.

Who needs the car?

Cycling for better health and fitness is a very familiar concept. If you think about it, many of us spent a good many years of our childhood on bikes so the concept is rather familiar and comfortable. This is one of those exercises that doesn’t always feel like exercise, though you do need to make a commitment to see the effects.

They say that the two best ways to get yourself in better shape and looking the better picture of health is with proper diet and regular exercise. One without the other doesn’t work and so along with the healthy eating comes the need to exercise. This is the point at which many people turn to cycling as their chosen form of getting fit and feeling better overall.

Cycling can help you to burn major calories, but in a gentle way that doesn’t wreak havoc on your body. People of all ages and walks of life can enjoy cycling and that’s what makes it so very appealing. You can find some excellent trails outdoors to practice your cycling skills and if the weather turns bad, you can find some excellent options indoors as well. Cycling is very approachable and so for those that wish to gain better health, they turn to this as a starting point.

You can go cycling on your own or with others so it makes it one of those activities that works for just about any situation. If you’re looking for an exciting form of exercise or have a vested interest in getting healthier for any number of reasons, then cycling may be just the activity that you have been looking for. Even if you haven’t been on a bike for year, cycling can offer a gentle way into the world of exercise and get you feeling better almost immediately.

Cycling is not only a fun sport to take up but is also heart healthy and stress relieving. There are so many benefits that come with cycling. You can include your whole family or go solo. You can ride through the countryside and enjoy the sounds, or instead of jumping into the car to go to the shops, get on your bike!.

You may not know this, but fat gets a bad rap… And true, fat is bad… Up to a point. Fat is also good, and necessary for the human body. Everyone needs fat in his or her daily diet.

There are certain fats that are good for the body such as mono-unsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. The former is a healthy fat that provides protection against such things as heart disease and a variety of cancers.

Mono-unsaturated fat is found in such things as olive oil, avocados, nuts, olives, nut butters and canola oil. Olive oil is also instrumental in lowering cholesterol. Polyunsaturated fat is necessary for the growth of body cells and it also provides the fatty acids that are needed for the health of the skin.

Another much talked about healthy fat is omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in shellfish and other types of fish, and  very important for the healthy functioning of the heart. They reduce inflammation in the arteries; help to lower blood pressure by a small amount; play a role in keeping the walls of the arteries as relaxed as possible; and help to make the composition of the blood less sticky, thereby reducing the chance that a blood clot could take place.

Other potential benefits of consuming an adequate supply of omega-3 fats…

May decrease the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer

Can be useful in the treatment of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis

Preliminary research studies point to the role this healthy fat plays in treating depression. To increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids include more fish in your diet, as well as ground flaxseed and walnuts.

One healthy way to add more fat into your diet without packing on pounds is to add a selection of nuts to your salads and to sprinkle ground flaxseed on your yogurt. It is also wise to sauté vegetables in olive oil as opposed to vegetable oil.

You can use this information to choose lower fat foods by comparing products and food brands.  Once you have a rough idea of what a healthy intake of fat is, you’ll know what you can and what you can’t have. Get YOUR Diet Solution!

From day to day, the amount of fat you eat will vary.  Some meals and some days will be higher in fat than others.  Even high fat meals can be kept in line with healthy eating as long as you balance those days accordingly.  The average fat intake over the course of weeks and months is important, not the fat intake of every meal and food you consume. Basically, just apply some good ol’ common sense to your diet, and stay healthy!