Need To Get Fit?

Eat right, keep moving.

You just have read all you need to know about how to prevent being overweight. That simple set of instructions should be easy to follow, but not for 35% of Americans who are unable to prevent being overweight.

Of course, once we are overweight, we usually want to trim down for a whole lot of reasons, some related to health, others having to do with looks.

In addition, it is never too late to lose weight. But the fact is, it is a whole lot easier to prevent putting on pounds than to try losing them later on. And if there is one thing we all know, it is that weight gain is likely to happen if we do not take forward-looking steps to stop it.

Health experts say that most people who are into losing weight usually stray. They tend to go back to their old eating habits even after they learn to enjoy low-fat eating. They tend to return to sedentary ways even though they enjoy exercising.

But despite the momentum toward weight gain, you can stop it from happening, experts say. And there are plenty of good reasons to avoid excess pounds, reasons that go beyond vanity or social acceptance. In fact, most health experts contend that the significance of excess weight is more than cosmetic. It’s common knowledge that it takes a huge toll on people’s physical health.

The Way to Losing Weight…Naturally

The nuts and bolts of eating right and maintaining a healthy weight is not all that complicated. In fact, it is a good bet that most people know pretty well what is best. Hence, losing weight the natural way should not be a problem at all.

Consequently, a reasonable approach for losing weight naturally is to stick to a diet that is high in complex carbohydrates, high in fiber, moderate in protein, and low in fat.

A complex carbohydrate is a baked potato. Fat is the sour cream and butter you should not put on it. Fiber is vegetables. Fat is the oil you should not fry them in. Protein is a lean cut of meat. Fat is the gravy you should not pour
over it.

Moreover, health experts say that dietary fat promotes weight gain because it is a very dense source of calories. Also, when you consume excess calories from dietary fat, you store those calories as body fat more efficiently than excess calories from other sources.

On the other hand, it can also help you lose weight naturally if you will not fall into the so-called “fat-free” trap. Manufacturers keep coming out with low-fat or fat-free versions of their best-selling foods, but Americans keep getting fatter anyway.

One of the greatest delusions  is that “no fat” means “non-fattening.” The truth is, you are often getting just as many calories from the no-fat version, even if the calories are not coming from fat. The term fat-free can be a trap if you start to believe that you can eat any amount of the foods that are advertised that way.

What’s more, it is best to respond to hunger with healthful snacks. Health experts say it would be better to try eating every three to four hours, which may mean a nutritious low-fat snack between lunch and dinner. When you feel the urge for food coming on, snacking on something healthy such as a slice of whole-grain toasted bread is a better alternative. Never skip a meal and eat snacks instead because that is the worst thing you can do if you are trying to control your eating habits and weight.

So the problem is, how do you maintain this natural healthy diet AND burn off the excess fat without feeling overwhelmed by all the effort of it?

For example, have you considered natural diet supplements? It may make your diet, and your life much easier, especially when you start seeing the results that can be achieved against just dieting alone…

Remember, if you want to lose weight naturally, you have to keep track of every food you eat and of every activity that you do. When you say natural weight loss means that you do not have to use some accessories or helpful aids to lose weight.

Losing weight naturally is a process and not a quick fix. Hence, it would take a lot of dogged determination, self-control, and discipline just to achieve your ideal weight, but are you sure that’s the way to go?

by Michael Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

In most of my Lean-Body Secrets Newsletters, I like to provide a healthy snack or meal recipe that not only is delicious and healthy, but also helps to get you closer to that hard-body appearance that everyone is looking for,
while also more importantly, improving your health for life. In this article, I’d like to give you healthy food ideas in a different way. This time, I figured I’d just give you some ideas of what I stock my fridge and cabinets with.

Remember, if you don’t have junk around the house, you’re less likely to eat junk. If all you have is healthy food around the house, you’re forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding
temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you’ll enjoy.

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Alright, so let’s start with the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I’m loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. During the growing season, I only get local produce, but obviously in winter, I have to resort to the produce at the grocery store. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like onions, zucchini,  spinach, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, etc. to use in my morning eggs.  I also like to dice up some lean chicken or turkey sausage into the eggs, along with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses (preferably raw grass-fed cheeses when I can find them).

By the way I’m talking about whole eggs, NOT egg whites.  Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part… and no, it’s NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol… eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol.  Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality.

Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it’s also full of healthy saturated fats. Yeah, you heard me…I said healthy saturated fats!

Healthy saturated fats like medium chain triglycerides, specifically an MCT called lauric acid. If the idea of healthy saturated fats is foreign to you, check out my healthy fats article

Back to the fridge, some other staples:

* Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds – delicious and great sources of healthy fats.

* Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt – I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.

* Whole flax seeds or chia seeds – I grind these in a mini coffee grinder and add to yogurt or salads. Always grind them fresh because the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals in pre-ground flax.

* Whole eggs – one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).

* Salsa – I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.

* Avocados – love them…plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.

* Butter – don’t believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and can be part of a healthy diet (just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense…and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack).

* Nut butters – Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with sesame seed butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter…delicious and unbeatable nutrition!

* Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots – for salads with dinner.

* Home-made salad dressing – using balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo’s Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined soybean oil (full of inflammation-causing free radicals).

* Whole grain wraps and whole grain bread (look for wraps and bread with at least 3-4 grams of fiber per 20 grams of total carbs).

* Rice bran and wheat germ – these may sound way too healthy for some, but they actually add a nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or smoothies, or can be added when baking muffins or breads to add nutrients and fiber.

Some of the staples in the freezer:

* Frozen berries – during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies

* Frozen fish – I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored.

* Frozen chicken breasts – very convenient for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.

* Grass-fed steaks, burgers, and ground beef – Grassfed meats have been shown to have as high as, or even higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than salmon (without the mercury). Also, grass-fed meats have much higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compared to typical grain-fed beef.

* Frozen buffalo, ostrich, venison, and other “exotic” lean meats – Yeah, I know…I’m weird, but I can tell you that these are some of the healthiest meats around, and if you’re serious about a lean healthy body, these types of meats are much better for you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef and pork that’s sold at most grocery stores.

* Frozen veggies – again, when the growing season is over and I can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.

Alright, now the staples in my cabinets:

* Various antioxidant rich teas – green, oolong, white, rooibos are some of the best.

* Whole wheat or whole grain spelt pasta – much higher fiber than normal pastas

* Oat bran and steel cut oats – higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats.

* Cans of coconut milk – to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.

* Brown rice and other higher fiber rice – NEVER white rice

* Tomato sauces – delicious, and as I’m sure you’ve heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup.

* Stevia – a natural non-caloric sweetener, which is an excellent alternative to the nasty chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.

* Raw honey – better than processed honey… higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (how you process carbs). I use a teaspoon or so every morning in my teas. Yes, it is pure sugar, but at least it has some nutritional benefits… and let’s be real, a teaspoon of healthier raw honey is only 5 grams of carbs… certainly nothing to worry about.

* Organic maple syrup – none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima crap…only real maple syrup can be considered real food. The only time I really use this (because of the high sugar load) is added to my post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients into your muscles.

* Organic unsweetened cocoa powder – I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks.

* Cans of black or kidney beans – I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican wraps for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth promoting antioxidants!

* Dark chocolate (as dark as possible) – This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It’s still calorie dense, so I keep it to just a couple squares; but that is enough to do the trick, so I don’t feel like I need to go out and get cake and ice cream to satisfy my dessert urges.

Lastly, another thing that’s hard to go wrong with is a good variety of fresh fruits and berries. The staples such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are good, but I like to also be a little more adventurous and include things like yellow (aka – mexican or champagne) mangoes, pomegranates, kumquats, papaya, star fruit, pineapples, and others. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries are some of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense fruits you can eat.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed this special look into my favorite lean body meals and how I stock my cabinets and fridge. Your tastes are probably quite different than mine, but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you can use next time you’re at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.

Free Bonus ebook – Training & Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body, by Mike Geary (a $17.99 value):  This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier.  Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness.

To find out more about Mike’s Health & Fitness programs… Click Here!

Turbulence Training is a program created by Craig Ballantyne, who is a ‘Men’s Health’ Magazine Expert and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. The plan is designed to enable you to lose fat and gain fat without cardio and it uses three short but intense workouts per week. The plans keep changing in order to keep your body from adapting to a fixed routine and these changes work to stimulate rapid muscle growth.

Research has shown that high-intensity interval training (often called HIIT) combined with lifting heavier weights for fewer reps, is a better and more efficient way to build muscle and lose fat than lengthy cardio exercises, longer repetitions and training with lighter weights. The Turbulence Training program shows you how you can do only 3 workouts a week of 45 minutes each and lose fat while gaining body muscle. The program includes a warm up exercise that you do for 5 minutes followed by strength training of 15-20 minutes and then interval trading of 15-20 minutes as well.

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While these workouts are shorter in duration and less frequent, the difficulty level is high. They are designed to make you do as much work as possible in a shorter duration of time, and you’ll feel that you have done some training by the time you complete a session.

A big advantage of the Turbulence Training program is that it does not bore you with repetition. A lot of people start fat loss programs with enthusiasm but stop doing it after a while because they just can do the same thing over and over again. In this program, you will be changing workout routines once a month. You are doing the same exercise only 12 times and this his does not allow your body to adapt itself to the changes which will halt your progress.

The program includes: “Turbulence Training System” in PDF & MP3 format, Dumbbell & Bodyweight Fusion workout manual, Nutrition guide by Chris Mohr, “20-Minute Workouts for the World’s Busiest Dads!”, Total Body Transformation Secrets, Turbulence Training for Mass (Muscle Building).

This workout system does not come with a diet plan and it may be too intense for some people. As you may have noticed this program is not for people who are looking to build some serious muscle its oriented more towards the combination of fat loss and muscle gain.

The system just asks for 45 minutes of your time 3 days a week. It has a routine that is not that does not require too much time. So, if you have a busy schedule and cant find time to loose those gained pounds then this workout is something that you can do.

Turbulence Training also helps women lose fat and maintain a sleek, sexy feminine physique with only 3 short workouts per week. Some women are even reporting that they are getting their “hot” body back and looking years younger, and even reporting clearer skin with the Turbulence Training fat loss workouts.

Click the image above for your FREE “4-week-workout-plan”… To learn more about the full program, click here!

Here is an article contributed by Mike Geary, the founder of www.truthaboutabs.com .  I thought this was an important topic to share with you because the reality is that most people simply don’t realize how dangerous their excess abdominal fat really is to their health.

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.
Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork… it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It’s really that simple.

The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.

Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem at… www.truthaboutabs.com

Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Maybe you’ve been told that cardio is the best way to lose fat…but if you’re not getting results with that long, slow, boring program then I have shocking news for you.

Recently, Men’s Health and Women’s Health fitness expert Craig Ballantyne emailed me the top 5 reasons why trainers should stop telling their clients to do cardio.

I was surprised by all of the research that is out there showing just how ineffective cardio is for fat loss.

I know I sure won’t be using it to burn belly fat in the future.

Now sure, cardio is good for endurance athletes and for your health, but when it comes to fat loss, here are the 5 reasons to kick cardio to the curb:

1) Cardio machines over-estimate the number of calories burned by up to 31%. (reported in Mens Health, Feb 2009)

2) One research study found that when men and women did 6 hours of cardio every week for one year, they only lost 6 pounds. (Reference: Obesity 15:1496-1512, 2007. Exercise Effect on Weight and Body Fat in Men and Women. Anne McTiernan*, et al.)

3) When some people start a cardio program, they end up eating more, and may even gain weight because of this. (Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).

4) Even scientists admit that cardio does not burn as much fat as you’d expect based on the number of calories burned in a workout. (Reference: Br J Sports Med. 2009 Sep 29)

5) And finally, head-to-head research has shown that interval training works better than slow cardio for fat loss – even when diet is not changed. (Reference: Int J Obes 2008 Apr;32(4):684-91).

Wow!

If you’re like me, you would never have known about that research if it wasn’t for experts like Craig Ballantyne exposing the truth about cardio.

Now you might be thinking, if cardio doesn’t work, then WHAT DOES?

Well, don’t panic. Insider experts like Craig have known for years that nutrition, interval training, and resistance training are the 3 most important secrets for helping you lose belly fat.

In fact, Craig’s workout programs have been used by millions of men and women through his articles in Prevention, Men’s Health, and Women’s Health magazine, plus through his Turbulence Training program.

Now I’ll be honest with you, and don’t tell Craig this, but while his workouts in the magazines are good, they aren’t nearly as fun and effective as the workouts in his Turbulence Training System.

In fact, I want you to try my absolute favorite Turbulence Training workout: Click here!

It’s fun, fast, effective…and doesn’t require any long, slow, boring cardio or fancy machines at your commercial gym.

So skip the cardio, because research and results prove that it just isn’t worth your time.

To your success,

Dan.