Warm-up
wall-sits without the wall
isometric lunge
isometric leg lifts(front, side, back)
prisoner squats(fast)
calf raises single leg
single leg deadlifts(bodyweight)
reverse lunges
squat sumo-waddle
butterfly kicks on backs
leg lifts for core
glute-ham raises 3 sets with partner(if you are sore back there, it's this one's fault!)
20 sec sprints up hill, jog back down 5-6 times
stretch
Next week it's the Ladies turn to run the bootcamp, everything is fair game, we're hoping for some great muscle confusion taking place. Don't miss it!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Top ten Favorite Diet food list from Nick Nilson
My Top 10 Favorite Diet Foods... As I mentioned in the subject line of this email, I've got alist of my top 10 favorite diet foods for you here...fairwarning, I have a feeling most if not ALL of these foods areprobably not foods you've ever seen on a diet food list :) You see, they're NOT your typical diet foods like rice cakes andchicken breasts…
10. Triple Cheeseburgers This is a STAPLE diet food that should be on everyone's list.Why? Because you will burn a TON of calories constantly catchingthat middle burger patty that keeps shooting out the back of thebun from all the grease every time you bite into it. And if you're worried about getting too many calories from thesandwich itself, just remove the lettuce and tomato - all thathealthy crap does is slow down the fatty meat clawing its waythrough your digestive tract.
9. Pizza Pizza is the PERFECT diet food, according to the Government FoodPyramid. How so, you ask? Just look at it! First, you've got "grains" making up the bottomof the pizza (just like the bottom of the pyramid)…a delicious,thick nutritionless white flour gob. Next up, you've got thedairy group - cheese, of course (lots of great calcium to befound there, which can enhance fat-burning by up to 1/25 of apercent)! You've also got your vegetables (unless you get yourpizza with no vegetables, in which case you'll have to countpepperoni as a vegetable, which I am FINE with, by the way).Finally, you've got the meat group…right on top. Good eating and a perfect match to the food pyramid, instructure if not intent!
8. Cold Beer Do you have any idea how many calories your body burns simplywarming up cold beer to body temperature in your stomach? No?Good...because ignorance is VERY important for making this tipwork. You see every time you eat or drink a food that is colder thanbody temperature, your body must expend heat warming that foodup. A single bottle of cold beer will cause the body to burnalmost 8,000 calories (give or take) warming it up to bodytemperature. And believe me, there have been studies that back this up. Infact, the more beer that was "studied," the higher that numberwent up! This technique works well with soda, too. But not that "diet"garbage - you want to go with the REAL stuff. It has to containat least 48 grams of high fructose corn syrup per 30 gram servingto maximize fat burning (that GIANT insulin spike followed by thetremendous crash in blood sugar burns a TON of calories).
7. Rice Krispie Squares Everybody knows Rice Krispies are made up almost entirely ofair. So eating Rice Krispie squares is just like eating air. Thatthick layer of fudge on the top is just required to keep thesquares from floating away. It's a totally guilt-free snack. Infact, eat the whole pan and you'll actually get LIGHTER becauseyou're eating so much air.
6. French Fries It's a FACT that French people have lower blood pressure andcholesterol than Americans. Obviously, this is because they eatmore FRENCH Fries. So the trick is to eat more French Fries. I'mtelling you…ya just can't make this stuff up.
5. Pizza Again It's just that good of a diet food. I mean, how many foods doyou know that you can dramatically change their calorie contentjust by how you slice them? Think about it…let's say in a normal large pizza, you cut itinto 8 pieces. That's a LOT of calories and you PROBABLY won'tlose weight when you eat the whole thing. But cut that same largepizza into FOUR slices? You've just cut your calories in HALF. Sowhen you eat the whole thing, you're only eating HALF the numberof slices. Do the math and you'll see. Also, pizza is a round food and everybody knows that round foodshave fewer calories than square foods - no corners…duh.
4. Anything That Has Fallen On The Floor It automatically loses ALL calorie content. This rule onlyapplies, however, if it happens by ACCIDENT. And the dog getsfirst dibs.
3. Twinkies Since Twinkies cannot technically be considered food (in anuclear war, they will outlast even cockroaches), you're welcometo eat as many of these as you want. They are also VERY valuablefor appetite control. Don't believe me? Eat a dozen of thesecolon-stoppers and see how your appetite is.
2. Chinese Food I'm not talking "American" Chinese food with the almond chickenand ginger beef…I'm talking CHINESE Chinese food. And if you'vebeen to China and have seen the things hanging in theunrefrigerated shop windows, you know EXACTLY what I'm talkingabout and why eating those things will help you lose weightFAST…
1. "Sports" Water In other words, water with that great "sporty" taste of cornsyrup, artificial flavor and fresh-squeezed potassium benzoate!In fact, I have to say "kudos" to the corporations who found away to create a market out of complete bullsh*t!... And then lashout for people having to do (GOD FORBID) MORE exercise, to burnoff those 60 extra calories found in the other guys bottle ofstupid sports water. Like just being alive for an extra 45minutes won't burn THAT off. Cripes. Sorry...bit of a tangent there. CONCLUSION:If, at this point, you're still wondering if this is a SERIOUSarticle, the answer is "yes." I really, truly, totally believetriple cheeseburgers can be part of a balanced diet… But only if you've got one in each hand
10. Triple Cheeseburgers This is a STAPLE diet food that should be on everyone's list.Why? Because you will burn a TON of calories constantly catchingthat middle burger patty that keeps shooting out the back of thebun from all the grease every time you bite into it. And if you're worried about getting too many calories from thesandwich itself, just remove the lettuce and tomato - all thathealthy crap does is slow down the fatty meat clawing its waythrough your digestive tract.
9. Pizza Pizza is the PERFECT diet food, according to the Government FoodPyramid. How so, you ask? Just look at it! First, you've got "grains" making up the bottomof the pizza (just like the bottom of the pyramid)…a delicious,thick nutritionless white flour gob. Next up, you've got thedairy group - cheese, of course (lots of great calcium to befound there, which can enhance fat-burning by up to 1/25 of apercent)! You've also got your vegetables (unless you get yourpizza with no vegetables, in which case you'll have to countpepperoni as a vegetable, which I am FINE with, by the way).Finally, you've got the meat group…right on top. Good eating and a perfect match to the food pyramid, instructure if not intent!
8. Cold Beer Do you have any idea how many calories your body burns simplywarming up cold beer to body temperature in your stomach? No?Good...because ignorance is VERY important for making this tipwork. You see every time you eat or drink a food that is colder thanbody temperature, your body must expend heat warming that foodup. A single bottle of cold beer will cause the body to burnalmost 8,000 calories (give or take) warming it up to bodytemperature. And believe me, there have been studies that back this up. Infact, the more beer that was "studied," the higher that numberwent up! This technique works well with soda, too. But not that "diet"garbage - you want to go with the REAL stuff. It has to containat least 48 grams of high fructose corn syrup per 30 gram servingto maximize fat burning (that GIANT insulin spike followed by thetremendous crash in blood sugar burns a TON of calories).
7. Rice Krispie Squares Everybody knows Rice Krispies are made up almost entirely ofair. So eating Rice Krispie squares is just like eating air. Thatthick layer of fudge on the top is just required to keep thesquares from floating away. It's a totally guilt-free snack. Infact, eat the whole pan and you'll actually get LIGHTER becauseyou're eating so much air.
6. French Fries It's a FACT that French people have lower blood pressure andcholesterol than Americans. Obviously, this is because they eatmore FRENCH Fries. So the trick is to eat more French Fries. I'mtelling you…ya just can't make this stuff up.
5. Pizza Again It's just that good of a diet food. I mean, how many foods doyou know that you can dramatically change their calorie contentjust by how you slice them? Think about it…let's say in a normal large pizza, you cut itinto 8 pieces. That's a LOT of calories and you PROBABLY won'tlose weight when you eat the whole thing. But cut that same largepizza into FOUR slices? You've just cut your calories in HALF. Sowhen you eat the whole thing, you're only eating HALF the numberof slices. Do the math and you'll see. Also, pizza is a round food and everybody knows that round foodshave fewer calories than square foods - no corners…duh.
4. Anything That Has Fallen On The Floor It automatically loses ALL calorie content. This rule onlyapplies, however, if it happens by ACCIDENT. And the dog getsfirst dibs.
3. Twinkies Since Twinkies cannot technically be considered food (in anuclear war, they will outlast even cockroaches), you're welcometo eat as many of these as you want. They are also VERY valuablefor appetite control. Don't believe me? Eat a dozen of thesecolon-stoppers and see how your appetite is.
2. Chinese Food I'm not talking "American" Chinese food with the almond chickenand ginger beef…I'm talking CHINESE Chinese food. And if you'vebeen to China and have seen the things hanging in theunrefrigerated shop windows, you know EXACTLY what I'm talkingabout and why eating those things will help you lose weightFAST…
1. "Sports" Water In other words, water with that great "sporty" taste of cornsyrup, artificial flavor and fresh-squeezed potassium benzoate!In fact, I have to say "kudos" to the corporations who found away to create a market out of complete bullsh*t!... And then lashout for people having to do (GOD FORBID) MORE exercise, to burnoff those 60 extra calories found in the other guys bottle ofstupid sports water. Like just being alive for an extra 45minutes won't burn THAT off. Cripes. Sorry...bit of a tangent there. CONCLUSION:If, at this point, you're still wondering if this is a SERIOUSarticle, the answer is "yes." I really, truly, totally believetriple cheeseburgers can be part of a balanced diet… But only if you've got one in each hand
Friday, January 15, 2010
Friday 15th Jan
Today was Max Effort day in pushups, back squats, assisted pullups, and front plank.
Everyone set new PR's in each and every exercise, some were shattered, and they thought they weren't getting stronger! It'a amazing what you can do when all your friends are watching!
This is important because sometimes when the weight may not be coming off like we would like we lose some motivation and may feel like it is not worth it. Seeing great improvement in strength or stamina is very motivating, especially since our main focus for the last three weeks has been strength, not fat loss.
Great job everyone!!
Everyone set new PR's in each and every exercise, some were shattered, and they thought they weren't getting stronger! It'a amazing what you can do when all your friends are watching!
This is important because sometimes when the weight may not be coming off like we would like we lose some motivation and may feel like it is not worth it. Seeing great improvement in strength or stamina is very motivating, especially since our main focus for the last three weeks has been strength, not fat loss.
Great job everyone!!
Portion control tips from fitday.com
One of the key elements to losing weight and keeping it off is practicing portion control. You can eat the best food for your body, but if you are intaking too many calories daily, you will not be able to lose weight. Here are some easy tips for keeping your portions in check to effectively lose weight.
Portion Control Tip #1: Don't Leave Food in Sight
Eating meals family style (where the dishes of food are in your sight) can make it much easier to reach for seconds. If they are not in the same room, you are much less likely to want more. Leave the pots and dishes in the kitchen, and fix yourself one serving. Let it settle for at least 20 minutes so that you acquire the feeling of being full.
Portion Control Tip #2: Use Meat as a Side Dish
Don't make meat the main course of your meal. Load up on healthy grains and vegetables instead, and have meat or a meat-based side dish. This way you will feel full faster and pack your diet with more vitamins and fiber, which is better for you in the long run.
Portion Control Tip #3: Split a Serving
When eating out, try splitting a meal with a friend or taking half of your meal home. Most restaurants provide more than one serving in a typical meal. By splitting it up, you can save money and save on the extra calories.
Portion Control Tip #4: Learn Serving Sizes
By learning to visually identify some simple serving sizes, you can better control your portions. When eating a typical serving size of meat, it should be about 3 ounces or the size of a deck of cards. A standard serving of grains or raw vegetables is about the size of a tennis ball or your fist.
Portion Control Tip #5: Eat Small Meals
Keep your blood sugar even throughout the day by eating small meals. You can keep your energy up and eat less overall because you do not get ravenous and overeat. People who eat 5 to 6 small meals a day are much more likely to maintain portion control because they never become too hungry.
Portion Control Tip #6: Portion out Food
When you are having a snack, be sure to divvy up your portions before you begin eating. It is quite difficult to eat just one portion of any snack food when eating straight out of the bag. By separating out one portion, it is much easier to stick to it, and not eat too much without even thinking about it.
Portion Control Tip #7: Break Down Leftovers
Instead of storing leftovers in a big container, separate them out into single servings. Then you can easily reach in the fridge and pull out one single serving to reheat. This will help you limit how much you are eating with very little effort.
By practicing these tips on a regular basis, you can help to regulate your portion control and maintain a healthy diet long term.
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Portion Control Tip #1: Don't Leave Food in Sight
Eating meals family style (where the dishes of food are in your sight) can make it much easier to reach for seconds. If they are not in the same room, you are much less likely to want more. Leave the pots and dishes in the kitchen, and fix yourself one serving. Let it settle for at least 20 minutes so that you acquire the feeling of being full.
Portion Control Tip #2: Use Meat as a Side Dish
Don't make meat the main course of your meal. Load up on healthy grains and vegetables instead, and have meat or a meat-based side dish. This way you will feel full faster and pack your diet with more vitamins and fiber, which is better for you in the long run.
Portion Control Tip #3: Split a Serving
When eating out, try splitting a meal with a friend or taking half of your meal home. Most restaurants provide more than one serving in a typical meal. By splitting it up, you can save money and save on the extra calories.
Portion Control Tip #4: Learn Serving Sizes
By learning to visually identify some simple serving sizes, you can better control your portions. When eating a typical serving size of meat, it should be about 3 ounces or the size of a deck of cards. A standard serving of grains or raw vegetables is about the size of a tennis ball or your fist.
Portion Control Tip #5: Eat Small Meals
Keep your blood sugar even throughout the day by eating small meals. You can keep your energy up and eat less overall because you do not get ravenous and overeat. People who eat 5 to 6 small meals a day are much more likely to maintain portion control because they never become too hungry.
Portion Control Tip #6: Portion out Food
When you are having a snack, be sure to divvy up your portions before you begin eating. It is quite difficult to eat just one portion of any snack food when eating straight out of the bag. By separating out one portion, it is much easier to stick to it, and not eat too much without even thinking about it.
Portion Control Tip #7: Break Down Leftovers
Instead of storing leftovers in a big container, separate them out into single servings. Then you can easily reach in the fridge and pull out one single serving to reheat. This will help you limit how much you are eating with very little effort.
By practicing these tips on a regular basis, you can help to regulate your portion control and maintain a healthy diet long term.
HOME FITDAY PC ADVERTISE ABOUT FITDAY
Ads by Google
Personal Training DenverCustom Fitness & Nutrition ProgramsExercise in Private Gym setting
Designwellness.com
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thurday's workout
We went for a high heart rate today, 1 minute work 30 sec rest
1st cicuit
Lunges with arm extension
burpees
moutain climbers
2nd circuit
jumping jacks
high knee running
rope waves
Each circuit was three rounds.
1st cicuit
Lunges with arm extension
burpees
moutain climbers
2nd circuit
jumping jacks
high knee running
rope waves
Each circuit was three rounds.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Wednesday 13th Jan
Full body workout:
Pushups
inverted rows
standing tire pushes with partner
sledgehammer
sprints.
Don't Quit
Author unknown
When things go wrong,
as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest,
if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have w on had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not
quit.___________________________________________
Pushups
inverted rows
standing tire pushes with partner
sledgehammer
sprints.
Don't Quit
Author unknown
When things go wrong,
as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest,
if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have w on had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not
quit.___________________________________________
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Still want to drink that yummy soda?
STUDY: Nearly half of soda fountains contaminated with fecal matter
January 11th, 2010 @ 3:49pm
By Dr. Kim Mulvihill
SAN FRANCISCO -- Many of us have filled up our cups at the local gas station. But those self-serve soda fountains may be serving up a lot of bacteria.
Researchers from Hollins University in Virginia tested more than 100 beverages from self-serve and staff-serve dispensers. What they found coming out of these machines is pretty unappetizing.
"We obtained soda fountain beverages from a wide variety of fast food establishments and found that a significant number of the drinks had levels of bacteria, including coliforms, which would not be allowed in municipal drinking water," said Dr. Renee Godard, professor of biology and director of environmental studies at Hollins, and a co-author of the study. "To our knowledge, no one has looked at bacterial contamination from soda fountain machines before, and our results may have public health implications. They signal the need for regulations that enforce the manufacturer's recommended cleaning regimens for these beverage dispensers."
They found 48 percent of the beverages contained fecal matter.
More than 11 percent were contaminated with E. coli and 17 percent were tainted with a bacteria known to cause meningitis.
Most of the bacteria showed resistance to one or more of the 11 antibiotics tested.
In these drinks, they also found smaller amounts of other kinds of germs including staphylococcus, klebsiella and candida
January 11th, 2010 @ 3:49pm
By Dr. Kim Mulvihill
SAN FRANCISCO -- Many of us have filled up our cups at the local gas station. But those self-serve soda fountains may be serving up a lot of bacteria.
Researchers from Hollins University in Virginia tested more than 100 beverages from self-serve and staff-serve dispensers. What they found coming out of these machines is pretty unappetizing.
"We obtained soda fountain beverages from a wide variety of fast food establishments and found that a significant number of the drinks had levels of bacteria, including coliforms, which would not be allowed in municipal drinking water," said Dr. Renee Godard, professor of biology and director of environmental studies at Hollins, and a co-author of the study. "To our knowledge, no one has looked at bacterial contamination from soda fountain machines before, and our results may have public health implications. They signal the need for regulations that enforce the manufacturer's recommended cleaning regimens for these beverage dispensers."
They found 48 percent of the beverages contained fecal matter.
More than 11 percent were contaminated with E. coli and 17 percent were tainted with a bacteria known to cause meningitis.
Most of the bacteria showed resistance to one or more of the 11 antibiotics tested.
In these drinks, they also found smaller amounts of other kinds of germs including staphylococcus, klebsiella and candida
Tuesday Jan 12th FITDAY.COM
Legs-core day
Squats
jumprope
deadlifts
roman chair knee lifts
wall-sits
plank combo(front to side)
As many as we could get through in 40 minutes
Homework: Write down everything you put in your mouth, what it is and how much, Tuesday-Sunday. We will reveiw them together on Monday. This includes water!
For Example: This morning I ate three large eggs cooked in a teaspoon of butter, a Grapefruit, 2 kiwi's, a full glass of water, three thin slices of Pastrami about the size of my hand, half an apple(dried).
If you have time, sign up for a free account on fitday.com Fill out a profile and it will allow you to enter all your food and exercise for the day. You can then see your macronutrient breakdown as well as a micronutrient breakdown. you can also enter measurements and track them over time. It's a little slow to get started but once you get it, it goes pretty fast. The hardest part is estimating how much of a food you ate, and entering things like homemade wheat noodle chicken soup. It might be wise to actually measure your food for a while till you get a good eye for it.
I would also include how you feel throughout the day, hungry, weak, great, fat, skinny, sick, etc. Especially as you go to bed.
Good luck, I'm sure this will help, don't waste our perfectly good workouts!
Squats
jumprope
deadlifts
roman chair knee lifts
wall-sits
plank combo(front to side)
As many as we could get through in 40 minutes
Homework: Write down everything you put in your mouth, what it is and how much, Tuesday-Sunday. We will reveiw them together on Monday. This includes water!
For Example: This morning I ate three large eggs cooked in a teaspoon of butter, a Grapefruit, 2 kiwi's, a full glass of water, three thin slices of Pastrami about the size of my hand, half an apple(dried).
If you have time, sign up for a free account on fitday.com Fill out a profile and it will allow you to enter all your food and exercise for the day. You can then see your macronutrient breakdown as well as a micronutrient breakdown. you can also enter measurements and track them over time. It's a little slow to get started but once you get it, it goes pretty fast. The hardest part is estimating how much of a food you ate, and entering things like homemade wheat noodle chicken soup. It might be wise to actually measure your food for a while till you get a good eye for it.
I would also include how you feel throughout the day, hungry, weak, great, fat, skinny, sick, etc. Especially as you go to bed.
Good luck, I'm sure this will help, don't waste our perfectly good workouts!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Good article on fat loss
BODY FAT: HARD FACTS ABOUT SOFT TISSUE
by M. Doug McGuff, MD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fat is an amazing tissue. It has ensured survival of our species through two ice ages and never ending drought and famine. A mere pound of fat stores an astounding 3,500 Calories for delayed use at any time in the future. As dormant tissue, there is almost no metabolic cost for keeping it on the body. As a member of the human species we all owe our existence to fat. Even more amazing than fat's capabilities are the number of misconceptions surrounding this specialized body tissue.
Probably the biggest misconception regarding fat is the idea that it is unhealthy. Actually, fat is probably the main reason we are even here in the first place. Throughout human history, the ready availability of food was the exception rather than the rule. Our ability to eat when food was available and to store excess caloric energy for future use allowed us to survive when food was not available. Fat storage is the sign of good health, it signals that metabolic resources are abundant and the organism is healthy. An extreme overabundance of bodyfat places stresses on the body and can be unhealthy. However, the degree of leanness (or lack of bodyfat) that is currently in vogue is probably just as unhealthy for up to 80% of the population. Unhealthy levels of bodyfat have been increasing every decade. It seems that an adaptation that has allowed us to survive through history is now killing us in modern times.
Ask almost anyone why modern man is becoming more obese and you will get a similar answer from just about everyone. Most people believe that the labor-saving technologies of modern life have made us more sedentary, and we are much less physically active than our predecessors. Since physical activity burns calories, and we are less physically active than we once were, we are unable to burn off the calories like we used to. This argument seems logical, but the argument is incorrect for 2 basic reasons. First, physical activity burns much less calories than we have been lead to believe (we will discuss this in detail later in this chapter). Suffice to say that to survive we must be able to use our energy efficiently lest we starve to death in the process of hunting and gathering food. Secondly, our ancestors were not as physically active as we think they were. The work of anthropologists who observe primitive peoples in various regions of the globe show that a primitive hunter/gatherer lifestyle is much less physically active than that of modern man. In Australia, aborigines alternate between the modern world and traditional aboriginal life. While in their more primitive mode, these aborigines are noted to be much less active. So, despite popular opinions to the contrary, it does not appear that increased activity is the solution to modern obesity.
The real problem with modern obesity is food abundance. If I were to give you a jumbo industrial role of toilet paper and allowed you to hold it while I unraveled it, we wound end up with a very long strand of toilet paper. If I tore of the last square of toilet paper and gave you the entire rest of the strand, we could use your long strand of toilet paper to represent the length of human history where starvation was a real day to day threat. The single square in my hand would represent the length of human history where starvation was not much of a threat. Not since the end of the Great Depression and World War II has starvation not been a real possibility. We have about 150,000 generations where efficient fat storage was essential for survival, and 3-4 generations where efficient fat storage can lead to obesity. The problem is not that we are inactive, the problem is that calories are so readily available to be consumed. An hour of jogging will burn only about 150 calories above your basal metabolic rate, but it only takes about 30 seconds to eat 150 calories of cookies. We judge the value of our meals on the size of the portions we are given. When we go out to eat, we want to leave full. Studies show that there are about 1,000 Calories between being satisfied and feeling full. Even more frightening is that there are between 2,000 and 3,000 calories between feeling full and feeling stuffed. If you go out to an all-you-can-eat food bar and leave feeling stuffed, you may have consumed as many as 4,000 unneeded calories. When this happens we typically go out for a jog the next day to "burn off those calories". But to burn off that many calories would require you to jog continously for 27 hours. The problem is not that we don't burn enough calories, it's that we put too many calories down our neck.
Leptin: the genetics of fat storage
As anyone with a bodyfat problem knows, there seems to be a strong setpoint for how much body fat a particular individual has. This setpoint is controlled by a gene called the ob gene that produces a protein called Leptin. Leptin is a strong suppressor of appetitie and food intake. As your bodyfat rises, more leptin is produced and your appetite declines so that your bodyfat stabilizes. If your body fat falls, your leptin production declines and your appetite is disinhibited. It seems that we inherit a bodyfat setpoint that is most effecient for our environment and the environment of our ancestors.
Why exercise doesn't burn many calories
Go to the health club and climb on a stair stepper or treadmill. Program the machine by plugging in your weight, select your speed or program and begin your workout. As you plod along on the apparatus you are driven along by the ever-increasing number on the screen that indicates the number of calories that you have burned. Eventually you go long enough to burn 300 calories and you are left with a feeling of accomplishment. Now, as you wipe the sweat from your brow and catch your breath, let me ask you a question. Why did the machine ask you to program in your weight? If you answered to calculate how many calories you burn you are right. What you most likely failed to consider is the main reason it needs your weight is to calculate your basal metabolic rate. The average male will maintain his weight on about 3200 calories a day. That is about 140 calories an hour at rest. So the 300 calories burned are not calories burned above your basal metabolic rate, they are calories burned including your basal metabolic rate. So for your time on the treadmill, you burned about 160 calories above your baseline. If you eat just 3 cookies, you have completely undone about an hour's worth of work. Think about it...if we were so metabolically inefficient as to burn 300 calories at the rate the exercise equipment says you do, would we ever have survived as a species. The calories burned hunting and gathering would have caused us to die of starvation before we could ever have found anything to eat. At that rate of calorie burn, we would barely have enough metabolic economy to survive a trip to the grocery store. Most people have accepted blindly the information displayed on exercise equipment and as such have turned exercise into a form of guilt absolution. Have dessert (600 calories of pie) and feel guilty? Just go to the health club and work on the stepper until 600 calories tick by on the screen. Other than the fact that this simply seems pathetic, it also just doesn't work.
Let us assume that you have the determination and time to do such a workout 7 days a week. If we take the 300 calories burned and subtract out your basal metabolic rate of 140 calories, we are left with 160 calories burned. There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. If your appetite is not spurned by the exercise (as it commonly is) and you keep a stable calorie intake, it would take you 21.875 days to burn off a pound of fat with the extra activity. This is assuming that no other variables are present. Unfortunately there is a big variable that almost no-one accounts for...muscle loss. In order to exercise long enough to reach the 300 calorie mark on the stepper or treadmill, you have to perform low intensity steady state activity. Steady state activity does not place much demand on the muscles, that is why it can be carried out for so long. Rather than demanding use of a large percentage of your muscle fibers, you are actually using a small percentage of your weakest, slow-twitch fibers over and over. When you perform this type of exercise your body can adapt by actually losing muscle. Since you use such a small percentage of your muscle mass to do the work, additional muscle is perceived as dead weight, useless and burdensome. If a person persisted in 7 day a week steady state training they could easily lose about 5 pounds of muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is the most metabolically expensive tissue we have; it takes between 50 and 100 calories a day just to keep a pound of muscle alive.
Let's assume the lower number of 50 calories a day. If you lose 5 pounds of muscle over time as you perform your calorie burning exercise that will result in a loss of 250 calories per day that would be used to keep that muscle alive. The 160 calories you burned would probably now be more like 100 burned because with practice, your running or climbing economy improves and requires less effort (most of the perceived conditioning in steady state activity is actually the exercise getting easier not because of improved cardiovascular condition, but because of improved economy of motion. This is why if you take a runner and have him perform another steady state activity such as cycling he will be gasping for air. Indeed, runners who train on treadmills in the Winter notice a large decrease in perceived condition when they hit the road in the Spring). So now if we do the math we will find that you burned about 100 calories above your baseline per day, but we must subtract out 250 calories due to muscle loss. For all your effort you are now 150 calories in the wrong direction. Furthermore, the stress hormones that result from such overtraining also stimulate fat storage. Anyone who has attempted such a program of weight loss can confirm...you will end up feeling washed out, moody, and (worst of all) fatter. The truth is this: you cannot use physical activity to negate excess caloric intake.
Muscle: the real key to burning calories
Remember when you were a teenager and could eat everything in sight and not get fat? Somewhere in your 30's things changed. Now it seems like just looking at food can make you fat. What happened?
The main difference for most people is that they have less muscle in adulthood than they had in their late teens and early twenties. As we age there is a natural tendency to lose muscle and we also are less vigorous in our physical activity, which results in further muscle loss. This loss of muscle tissue results in a decreasing metabolic rate. Lose 5 pounds of muscle and your calories burned per 24 hours decreases by about 250 calories. While this may not sound like much, it adds up. If you continue to eat like you did when you were younger, you will gain a pound of fat in about 14 days. Over a 20 week period you will gain 10 pounds.
The key to getting rid of accumulated body fat is to get back your youthful metabolism by getting back your muscle. You have probably heard people say that "muscle has memory". Well, this is one popular saying that is actually true. With a proper exercise stimulus that dormant muscle can be reclaimed. When you get back the muscle that requires 250 calories a day to keep alive, what used to be an insidious weight-gain problem will become an insidious weight-loss technique. As you become stronger you will have a natural tendency to partake of more vigorous activities. This situation will allow you to lose weight with less attention paid to calorie counting and food selection. The more reasonable your diet can be, the greater your chance to stick with it. As you ride this spiral of success, you may be able to eat more like you did as a teenager. Putting just 5 pounds of calorie burning muscle on your body can really turn things around for you.
Proper exercise and discriminant weight loss
SuperSlow inventor Ken Hutchins was the first person to ever explain the idea of discriminant weight loss to me. He told me to picture the human body as a corporation that is run by a board of directors. He told me to assume that a body operating on a calorie deficit is like a corporation running at a budget deficit. Each of the body tissues could represent a different department within that corporation. He then presented two scenarios. In the first scenario there is a budget deficit and no department has any unusual demands. In this scenario layoffs can occur in all departments. So your body lays off some fat, some muscle, some bone and connective tissue, as well as nervous tissue . Your corporation (or body) becomes a smaller version of its former self. In the second scenario, there is a large demand placed on the muscle department. In this scenario, no layoffs can occur in the muscle department. Indeed, more muscle has to be hired on. This results in a larger layoff in the fat department. We cannot produce cutbacks in the bone or connective tissue department because we need their support because muscle is not helpful unless it is attached to strong bone by strong connective tissue. This means more fat has to be let go. We cannot lay off any nervous tissue, because our new muscle is useless unless it is innervated by new nervous tissue. This means more fat has to be let go. Under this scenario, all weight loss is shunted toward fat loss. In this scenario, your corporation (body) takes on a dramatic shape change. You have added a modest amount of shape-improving muscle and jettisoned a large amount of shape-ruining fat.
Don't put that in your mouth
It should now be evident to you that the easiest way to create the calorie deficit you need to lose bodyfat is to simply avoid putting the extra calories in your mouth in the first place. Even a very modest calorie reduction of 150 calories will result in significant fat loss over time. In the long run, the self-discipline required is much easier to produce than the effort of running on a treadmill for an hour every day (which is a losing proposition anyway). A calorie intake deficit of 500 calories a day is still fairly easy to achieve, and if you have added some muscle to your body the shape change you can produce in 6-12 weeks can be amazing. Initially, you may have to be very compulsive about counting calories, but within a few weeks you will probably learn to manage simply by controlling the portion size of the foods you eat.
Superhydration
Ellington Darden, PhD (Author and former Research Director for Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries) came up with this concept. The food calories that you count are actually Kilocalories or Calories. A Calorie is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water by one degree celsius. The calories that you count are actually just units of heat-energy.
Dr. Darden developed a program of drinking large volumes of ice-cold water throughout the day. The ice water that goes into your system has to be warmed to body temperature. Thus a liter of water at 1 degree celsius that ultimate leaves your body at 37 degrees celsius and thus requires 36 calories of heat energy. If you manage to consume 5 liters of water per day this results in roughly 180 extra calories burned.
According to Dr. Darden, superhydration helps fat loss in another way. If you are well hydrated most of your body's waste products can be eliminated through the kidneys. When you are underhydrated much of this burden is assumed by the liver. One of the liver's main functions is the processing of stored bodyfat for use as energy. If your liver is occupied processing waste products it is less efficient at mobilizing bodyfat. Superhydration not only burns calories, it allows your liver to be more efficient at mobilizing fat off of your body.
Plenty of Sleep
Dr. Darden also discovered that plenty of sleep was essential to fat loss. In his research he noted that subjects who were sleep deprived did not lose fat as easily as those who were well rested. It seems that calorie restriction is fairly stressful to the body and any further stressors can result in a protective slowing of the metabolism. My own theory is that a calorie restriction sends a biological signal of starvation and decreased sleep sends a signal that the organism is having to stay up to search for food, or it has to be vigilant because its environment is unsafe. These are probably powerful biological signals that cause a protective slowing of the metabolism.
Simple Dietary Guidelines and Recommended Diets
There are literally thousands of diet books out there. Many of these books make extraordinary claims or involve complex regimines that cannot be carried out long term. By far the best diet books written are those by Ellington Darden, PhD. His books are no-nonsense and have precise regimines that are easy to follow. Most importantly, his diets easily adapt into lifelong eating habits that will keep you lean. Some of Dr. Darden's best books include Soft Steps to a Hard Body, Living Longer Stronger, and A Flat Stomach A.S.A.P. Protein Power by Dr's. Michael and Mary Dan Eades is well written and makes a compelling argument for control of carbohydrate intake. Many of my clients have found that producing a calorie deficit on this program is easier for them than many other diets. The bottom line is that you will need to devise a system of reducing calorie intake that seems to work for you.
My own dietary guidelines for people are actually quite simple. It involves looking at your hand. You have five fingers that represent five meals to eat in a day (3 meals and 2 snacks). The serving size of any food you choose should be either the size of your palm or able to fit in the palm of your hand. Meals can have 4 servings from any categorie of food. Snacks have 2 servings. Your five fingers also represent the 5 liters of water you should drink over the course of the day. If you follow these guidelines you will limit your portion sizes so that you should be able to produce weight loss without excessive attention to detail. If you want a more detailed way of portioning your intake, I also suggest the "Food Mover" sold by Richard Simmons on his informercial (although I do not recommend his aerobics-based exercise program that comes with it).
The Bottom Line
The bottom line for fat loss is as follows: 1) Build some calorie burning muscle through proper exercise. 2) Create a modest calorie deficit through dietary restraint. 3) Superhydration. 4) Get some extra sleep. 5) Avoid overactivity or steady-state activities that are popularly thought to "burn calories". If you have the discipline, these simple steps will prove successful beyond your expectations.
by M. Doug McGuff, MD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fat is an amazing tissue. It has ensured survival of our species through two ice ages and never ending drought and famine. A mere pound of fat stores an astounding 3,500 Calories for delayed use at any time in the future. As dormant tissue, there is almost no metabolic cost for keeping it on the body. As a member of the human species we all owe our existence to fat. Even more amazing than fat's capabilities are the number of misconceptions surrounding this specialized body tissue.
Probably the biggest misconception regarding fat is the idea that it is unhealthy. Actually, fat is probably the main reason we are even here in the first place. Throughout human history, the ready availability of food was the exception rather than the rule. Our ability to eat when food was available and to store excess caloric energy for future use allowed us to survive when food was not available. Fat storage is the sign of good health, it signals that metabolic resources are abundant and the organism is healthy. An extreme overabundance of bodyfat places stresses on the body and can be unhealthy. However, the degree of leanness (or lack of bodyfat) that is currently in vogue is probably just as unhealthy for up to 80% of the population. Unhealthy levels of bodyfat have been increasing every decade. It seems that an adaptation that has allowed us to survive through history is now killing us in modern times.
Ask almost anyone why modern man is becoming more obese and you will get a similar answer from just about everyone. Most people believe that the labor-saving technologies of modern life have made us more sedentary, and we are much less physically active than our predecessors. Since physical activity burns calories, and we are less physically active than we once were, we are unable to burn off the calories like we used to. This argument seems logical, but the argument is incorrect for 2 basic reasons. First, physical activity burns much less calories than we have been lead to believe (we will discuss this in detail later in this chapter). Suffice to say that to survive we must be able to use our energy efficiently lest we starve to death in the process of hunting and gathering food. Secondly, our ancestors were not as physically active as we think they were. The work of anthropologists who observe primitive peoples in various regions of the globe show that a primitive hunter/gatherer lifestyle is much less physically active than that of modern man. In Australia, aborigines alternate between the modern world and traditional aboriginal life. While in their more primitive mode, these aborigines are noted to be much less active. So, despite popular opinions to the contrary, it does not appear that increased activity is the solution to modern obesity.
The real problem with modern obesity is food abundance. If I were to give you a jumbo industrial role of toilet paper and allowed you to hold it while I unraveled it, we wound end up with a very long strand of toilet paper. If I tore of the last square of toilet paper and gave you the entire rest of the strand, we could use your long strand of toilet paper to represent the length of human history where starvation was a real day to day threat. The single square in my hand would represent the length of human history where starvation was not much of a threat. Not since the end of the Great Depression and World War II has starvation not been a real possibility. We have about 150,000 generations where efficient fat storage was essential for survival, and 3-4 generations where efficient fat storage can lead to obesity. The problem is not that we are inactive, the problem is that calories are so readily available to be consumed. An hour of jogging will burn only about 150 calories above your basal metabolic rate, but it only takes about 30 seconds to eat 150 calories of cookies. We judge the value of our meals on the size of the portions we are given. When we go out to eat, we want to leave full. Studies show that there are about 1,000 Calories between being satisfied and feeling full. Even more frightening is that there are between 2,000 and 3,000 calories between feeling full and feeling stuffed. If you go out to an all-you-can-eat food bar and leave feeling stuffed, you may have consumed as many as 4,000 unneeded calories. When this happens we typically go out for a jog the next day to "burn off those calories". But to burn off that many calories would require you to jog continously for 27 hours. The problem is not that we don't burn enough calories, it's that we put too many calories down our neck.
Leptin: the genetics of fat storage
As anyone with a bodyfat problem knows, there seems to be a strong setpoint for how much body fat a particular individual has. This setpoint is controlled by a gene called the ob gene that produces a protein called Leptin. Leptin is a strong suppressor of appetitie and food intake. As your bodyfat rises, more leptin is produced and your appetite declines so that your bodyfat stabilizes. If your body fat falls, your leptin production declines and your appetite is disinhibited. It seems that we inherit a bodyfat setpoint that is most effecient for our environment and the environment of our ancestors.
Why exercise doesn't burn many calories
Go to the health club and climb on a stair stepper or treadmill. Program the machine by plugging in your weight, select your speed or program and begin your workout. As you plod along on the apparatus you are driven along by the ever-increasing number on the screen that indicates the number of calories that you have burned. Eventually you go long enough to burn 300 calories and you are left with a feeling of accomplishment. Now, as you wipe the sweat from your brow and catch your breath, let me ask you a question. Why did the machine ask you to program in your weight? If you answered to calculate how many calories you burn you are right. What you most likely failed to consider is the main reason it needs your weight is to calculate your basal metabolic rate. The average male will maintain his weight on about 3200 calories a day. That is about 140 calories an hour at rest. So the 300 calories burned are not calories burned above your basal metabolic rate, they are calories burned including your basal metabolic rate. So for your time on the treadmill, you burned about 160 calories above your baseline. If you eat just 3 cookies, you have completely undone about an hour's worth of work. Think about it...if we were so metabolically inefficient as to burn 300 calories at the rate the exercise equipment says you do, would we ever have survived as a species. The calories burned hunting and gathering would have caused us to die of starvation before we could ever have found anything to eat. At that rate of calorie burn, we would barely have enough metabolic economy to survive a trip to the grocery store. Most people have accepted blindly the information displayed on exercise equipment and as such have turned exercise into a form of guilt absolution. Have dessert (600 calories of pie) and feel guilty? Just go to the health club and work on the stepper until 600 calories tick by on the screen. Other than the fact that this simply seems pathetic, it also just doesn't work.
Let us assume that you have the determination and time to do such a workout 7 days a week. If we take the 300 calories burned and subtract out your basal metabolic rate of 140 calories, we are left with 160 calories burned. There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. If your appetite is not spurned by the exercise (as it commonly is) and you keep a stable calorie intake, it would take you 21.875 days to burn off a pound of fat with the extra activity. This is assuming that no other variables are present. Unfortunately there is a big variable that almost no-one accounts for...muscle loss. In order to exercise long enough to reach the 300 calorie mark on the stepper or treadmill, you have to perform low intensity steady state activity. Steady state activity does not place much demand on the muscles, that is why it can be carried out for so long. Rather than demanding use of a large percentage of your muscle fibers, you are actually using a small percentage of your weakest, slow-twitch fibers over and over. When you perform this type of exercise your body can adapt by actually losing muscle. Since you use such a small percentage of your muscle mass to do the work, additional muscle is perceived as dead weight, useless and burdensome. If a person persisted in 7 day a week steady state training they could easily lose about 5 pounds of muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is the most metabolically expensive tissue we have; it takes between 50 and 100 calories a day just to keep a pound of muscle alive.
Let's assume the lower number of 50 calories a day. If you lose 5 pounds of muscle over time as you perform your calorie burning exercise that will result in a loss of 250 calories per day that would be used to keep that muscle alive. The 160 calories you burned would probably now be more like 100 burned because with practice, your running or climbing economy improves and requires less effort (most of the perceived conditioning in steady state activity is actually the exercise getting easier not because of improved cardiovascular condition, but because of improved economy of motion. This is why if you take a runner and have him perform another steady state activity such as cycling he will be gasping for air. Indeed, runners who train on treadmills in the Winter notice a large decrease in perceived condition when they hit the road in the Spring). So now if we do the math we will find that you burned about 100 calories above your baseline per day, but we must subtract out 250 calories due to muscle loss. For all your effort you are now 150 calories in the wrong direction. Furthermore, the stress hormones that result from such overtraining also stimulate fat storage. Anyone who has attempted such a program of weight loss can confirm...you will end up feeling washed out, moody, and (worst of all) fatter. The truth is this: you cannot use physical activity to negate excess caloric intake.
Muscle: the real key to burning calories
Remember when you were a teenager and could eat everything in sight and not get fat? Somewhere in your 30's things changed. Now it seems like just looking at food can make you fat. What happened?
The main difference for most people is that they have less muscle in adulthood than they had in their late teens and early twenties. As we age there is a natural tendency to lose muscle and we also are less vigorous in our physical activity, which results in further muscle loss. This loss of muscle tissue results in a decreasing metabolic rate. Lose 5 pounds of muscle and your calories burned per 24 hours decreases by about 250 calories. While this may not sound like much, it adds up. If you continue to eat like you did when you were younger, you will gain a pound of fat in about 14 days. Over a 20 week period you will gain 10 pounds.
The key to getting rid of accumulated body fat is to get back your youthful metabolism by getting back your muscle. You have probably heard people say that "muscle has memory". Well, this is one popular saying that is actually true. With a proper exercise stimulus that dormant muscle can be reclaimed. When you get back the muscle that requires 250 calories a day to keep alive, what used to be an insidious weight-gain problem will become an insidious weight-loss technique. As you become stronger you will have a natural tendency to partake of more vigorous activities. This situation will allow you to lose weight with less attention paid to calorie counting and food selection. The more reasonable your diet can be, the greater your chance to stick with it. As you ride this spiral of success, you may be able to eat more like you did as a teenager. Putting just 5 pounds of calorie burning muscle on your body can really turn things around for you.
Proper exercise and discriminant weight loss
SuperSlow inventor Ken Hutchins was the first person to ever explain the idea of discriminant weight loss to me. He told me to picture the human body as a corporation that is run by a board of directors. He told me to assume that a body operating on a calorie deficit is like a corporation running at a budget deficit. Each of the body tissues could represent a different department within that corporation. He then presented two scenarios. In the first scenario there is a budget deficit and no department has any unusual demands. In this scenario layoffs can occur in all departments. So your body lays off some fat, some muscle, some bone and connective tissue, as well as nervous tissue . Your corporation (or body) becomes a smaller version of its former self. In the second scenario, there is a large demand placed on the muscle department. In this scenario, no layoffs can occur in the muscle department. Indeed, more muscle has to be hired on. This results in a larger layoff in the fat department. We cannot produce cutbacks in the bone or connective tissue department because we need their support because muscle is not helpful unless it is attached to strong bone by strong connective tissue. This means more fat has to be let go. We cannot lay off any nervous tissue, because our new muscle is useless unless it is innervated by new nervous tissue. This means more fat has to be let go. Under this scenario, all weight loss is shunted toward fat loss. In this scenario, your corporation (body) takes on a dramatic shape change. You have added a modest amount of shape-improving muscle and jettisoned a large amount of shape-ruining fat.
Don't put that in your mouth
It should now be evident to you that the easiest way to create the calorie deficit you need to lose bodyfat is to simply avoid putting the extra calories in your mouth in the first place. Even a very modest calorie reduction of 150 calories will result in significant fat loss over time. In the long run, the self-discipline required is much easier to produce than the effort of running on a treadmill for an hour every day (which is a losing proposition anyway). A calorie intake deficit of 500 calories a day is still fairly easy to achieve, and if you have added some muscle to your body the shape change you can produce in 6-12 weeks can be amazing. Initially, you may have to be very compulsive about counting calories, but within a few weeks you will probably learn to manage simply by controlling the portion size of the foods you eat.
Superhydration
Ellington Darden, PhD (Author and former Research Director for Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries) came up with this concept. The food calories that you count are actually Kilocalories or Calories. A Calorie is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water by one degree celsius. The calories that you count are actually just units of heat-energy.
Dr. Darden developed a program of drinking large volumes of ice-cold water throughout the day. The ice water that goes into your system has to be warmed to body temperature. Thus a liter of water at 1 degree celsius that ultimate leaves your body at 37 degrees celsius and thus requires 36 calories of heat energy. If you manage to consume 5 liters of water per day this results in roughly 180 extra calories burned.
According to Dr. Darden, superhydration helps fat loss in another way. If you are well hydrated most of your body's waste products can be eliminated through the kidneys. When you are underhydrated much of this burden is assumed by the liver. One of the liver's main functions is the processing of stored bodyfat for use as energy. If your liver is occupied processing waste products it is less efficient at mobilizing bodyfat. Superhydration not only burns calories, it allows your liver to be more efficient at mobilizing fat off of your body.
Plenty of Sleep
Dr. Darden also discovered that plenty of sleep was essential to fat loss. In his research he noted that subjects who were sleep deprived did not lose fat as easily as those who were well rested. It seems that calorie restriction is fairly stressful to the body and any further stressors can result in a protective slowing of the metabolism. My own theory is that a calorie restriction sends a biological signal of starvation and decreased sleep sends a signal that the organism is having to stay up to search for food, or it has to be vigilant because its environment is unsafe. These are probably powerful biological signals that cause a protective slowing of the metabolism.
Simple Dietary Guidelines and Recommended Diets
There are literally thousands of diet books out there. Many of these books make extraordinary claims or involve complex regimines that cannot be carried out long term. By far the best diet books written are those by Ellington Darden, PhD. His books are no-nonsense and have precise regimines that are easy to follow. Most importantly, his diets easily adapt into lifelong eating habits that will keep you lean. Some of Dr. Darden's best books include Soft Steps to a Hard Body, Living Longer Stronger, and A Flat Stomach A.S.A.P. Protein Power by Dr's. Michael and Mary Dan Eades is well written and makes a compelling argument for control of carbohydrate intake. Many of my clients have found that producing a calorie deficit on this program is easier for them than many other diets. The bottom line is that you will need to devise a system of reducing calorie intake that seems to work for you.
My own dietary guidelines for people are actually quite simple. It involves looking at your hand. You have five fingers that represent five meals to eat in a day (3 meals and 2 snacks). The serving size of any food you choose should be either the size of your palm or able to fit in the palm of your hand. Meals can have 4 servings from any categorie of food. Snacks have 2 servings. Your five fingers also represent the 5 liters of water you should drink over the course of the day. If you follow these guidelines you will limit your portion sizes so that you should be able to produce weight loss without excessive attention to detail. If you want a more detailed way of portioning your intake, I also suggest the "Food Mover" sold by Richard Simmons on his informercial (although I do not recommend his aerobics-based exercise program that comes with it).
The Bottom Line
The bottom line for fat loss is as follows: 1) Build some calorie burning muscle through proper exercise. 2) Create a modest calorie deficit through dietary restraint. 3) Superhydration. 4) Get some extra sleep. 5) Avoid overactivity or steady-state activities that are popularly thought to "burn calories". If you have the discipline, these simple steps will prove successful beyond your expectations.
Thursday Jan 7th
Upper body
warm up
3 rounds of:
Inverted rows supersetted with pushups
machine rowing supersetted with bench dips
rope work supersetted with pullups
4 minuted of burpees(30sec on 30sec off)
Stretching.
warm up
3 rounds of:
Inverted rows supersetted with pushups
machine rowing supersetted with bench dips
rope work supersetted with pullups
4 minuted of burpees(30sec on 30sec off)
Stretching.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Food Addiction: Is Junk Food the New Heroin?
Food Addiction: Is Junk Food the New Heroin?
Tom Venuto
Q: Tom, what are your thoughts on food addiction? I know there's a lot of research coming out on this subject plus many authors are writing about it nowadays. From what I've read, foods can elicit neurochemical responses in the brain similar to addictive substances such as drugs and alcohol. Is this real or just another copout? How do you know if you're addicted to food or simply lack self-control? If someone really is addicted to food, what are your best ideas for breaking the addiction?
A: This subject is getting tons of press lately. I think it's partly because of popular new books like David Kessler's The End of Overeating, on top of a whole slew of earlier books about sugar addiction. There has also been a lot of hyped-up media reporting on the latest research, with headlines suggesting that "Junk food is as addictive as heroin" or "Hormones turn hungry people into junkies."
I don't believe that food is addictive in exactly the same way that drugs are addictive, but there are definitely some parallels. Drug addiction and food intake involve some of the same neural systems, so lessons could be learned about certain types of obesity by studying drug addiction research.
The foods most often associated with addiction are sugary, fatty and salty foods. Coincidentally, that combination is what makes food highly palatable and energy dense. It tastes good (so we like it!), which makes it easy to eat a lot of it, which can contribute to obesity.
Some experts have been claiming for years that sugar can be addictive. It's only fairly recently that researchers have studied the brain neurochemistry in a lab controlled situation and come to some somewhat strong conclusions. In 2008, researchers from Princeton University published their findings from a series of rat studies in the Neuroscience Biobehavior Review. They concluded:
"Food is not ordinarily like a substance of abuse, but intermittent bingeing and deprivation changes that. Based on the observed behavioral and neurochemical similarities between the effects of intermittent sugar access and drugs of abuse, we suggest that sugar, as common as it is, nonetheless meets the criteria for a substance of abuse and may be "addictive" for some individuals when consumed in a 'binge-like' manner. This conclusion is reinforced by the changes in limbic system neurochemistry that are similar for the drugs and for sugar. The effects we observe are smaller in magnitude than those produced by a drug of abuse such as cocaine or morphine... Nonetheless, the extensive series of experiments revealing similarities between sugar-induced and drug-induced behavior and neurochemistry lends credence to the concept of 'sugar addiction.'"
Most people don't need a new study to tell them that they crave specific foods at times. Cravings and occasional lapses of overeating are a real and persistent challenge to dieters and it's clear that food can be used or even abused for reasons outside of physical hunger and nutrition, for pleasure or to "medicate emotions." Most people would also agree that eating a lot of sugary food can sharpen your sweet tooth so sugar consumption begets more sugar consumption. But is the desire for sugar or comfort foods the same as being addicted to alcohol or even heroin or is that comparison taking it too far?
Even if the way some people consume sugar or junk food meets some of the diagnostic criteria for addiction, it's my belief that it's not beneficial to perpetuate the idea that food is addictive in the same way and magnitude as drugs. I think we should leave it at admitting that we sometimes struggle with overeating - for a wide variety of reasons, only one of which is neurochemical. An important first step in solving any problem is admitting that you have one. But there's a big difference between saying, "I sometimes overeat" and "I am a food addict"
The research is showing that there's definitely something going on chemically and neurologically with dopamine, opiods and the reward and pleasure systems of the brain when sugary or sugary and fatty foods are eaten. Even genetics play a role, leaving some people more susceptible, as some obesity genes appear to act on reward circuitry.
However, there's also research that says you can control food cravings and curb calorie consumption with behavioral and psychological restraint strategies. Obesity is the result of a combination of biology, behavior and environment, not just genetics or a stew of brain chemicals gone awry.
THE SOLUTIONS
It's important to learn and develop a set of strategies for what to do when you feel cravings. Part of the solution is having some rules about how flexible you'll be in your approach. Somewhat paradoxically, allowing yourself to give in to your cravings is generally more effective than total abstinence, with few exceptions (such as binge eating disorder, etc). That means for the average person, permitting a certain number of free meals each week or setting a compliance rule, and learning how to enjoy your favorite foods - infrequently and in moderation.
It also pays to avoid overly restrictive diets in favor of the slow, steady, moderate approach to weight loss. Crash diets have downsides for anyone but they are an especially bad idea for people susceptible to cravings or addictive-like eating behavior. Periods of deprivation are often followed by the "boomerang" of overeating or bingeing. Eating on a regular schedule, preferably with 5-6 small meals per day, or with healthy pre-planned snacks between meals, is an ideal meal plan for helping to control cravings and decrease hunger.
Stress management strategies are critical. Stress is a major cause of relapse in former drug users and stress can be a prime cause of diet failure and weight regain. The brain centers that regulate appetite are all stress sensitive and one long standing theory of hunger says that eating comfort foods can become a conditioned response to stress.
Setting up a social support system and controlling your environment by removing as many triggers and eating cues as possible can help as well. Visual cues alone can trigger a food craving so when someone says, "I can't help myself, I eat everything in sight," part of the solution is contained right within that complaint - get the junk out of your sight.
Granted, that's almost impossible to do completely in our modern society. Being surrounded by temptations and triggers is a major contributor to the obesity problem today. But you do have a remarkable amount of control over your own home and personal environment, so don't make it any worse than it is by keeping junk around. I'm writing this on November 1st. I wonder how many people have leftover candy from Halloween who haven't thrown it away yet.
I also recommend borrowing techniques from fields such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming and cognitive psychology so you know what to say to yourself when you get cravings (Check out my own book, The Body Fat Solution, Dr. Judith Beck's The Beck Diet Solution and Anthony Robbin's books as some good starting points. It's possible to literally talk yourself out of inappropriate eating - and by the way, this is one of the many differences between humans and rats, so we should be careful not to read too much into the rodent research that keeps getting quoted in all these sensational media stories.
It's true that there are biological origins of food cravings, so you shouldn't feel weak or guilty about wanting certain foods - it means you're human. What really matters is how you respond to those urges and knowing that ultimately, you are in control
Tom Venuto
Q: Tom, what are your thoughts on food addiction? I know there's a lot of research coming out on this subject plus many authors are writing about it nowadays. From what I've read, foods can elicit neurochemical responses in the brain similar to addictive substances such as drugs and alcohol. Is this real or just another copout? How do you know if you're addicted to food or simply lack self-control? If someone really is addicted to food, what are your best ideas for breaking the addiction?
A: This subject is getting tons of press lately. I think it's partly because of popular new books like David Kessler's The End of Overeating, on top of a whole slew of earlier books about sugar addiction. There has also been a lot of hyped-up media reporting on the latest research, with headlines suggesting that "Junk food is as addictive as heroin" or "Hormones turn hungry people into junkies."
I don't believe that food is addictive in exactly the same way that drugs are addictive, but there are definitely some parallels. Drug addiction and food intake involve some of the same neural systems, so lessons could be learned about certain types of obesity by studying drug addiction research.
The foods most often associated with addiction are sugary, fatty and salty foods. Coincidentally, that combination is what makes food highly palatable and energy dense. It tastes good (so we like it!), which makes it easy to eat a lot of it, which can contribute to obesity.
Some experts have been claiming for years that sugar can be addictive. It's only fairly recently that researchers have studied the brain neurochemistry in a lab controlled situation and come to some somewhat strong conclusions. In 2008, researchers from Princeton University published their findings from a series of rat studies in the Neuroscience Biobehavior Review. They concluded:
"Food is not ordinarily like a substance of abuse, but intermittent bingeing and deprivation changes that. Based on the observed behavioral and neurochemical similarities between the effects of intermittent sugar access and drugs of abuse, we suggest that sugar, as common as it is, nonetheless meets the criteria for a substance of abuse and may be "addictive" for some individuals when consumed in a 'binge-like' manner. This conclusion is reinforced by the changes in limbic system neurochemistry that are similar for the drugs and for sugar. The effects we observe are smaller in magnitude than those produced by a drug of abuse such as cocaine or morphine... Nonetheless, the extensive series of experiments revealing similarities between sugar-induced and drug-induced behavior and neurochemistry lends credence to the concept of 'sugar addiction.'"
Most people don't need a new study to tell them that they crave specific foods at times. Cravings and occasional lapses of overeating are a real and persistent challenge to dieters and it's clear that food can be used or even abused for reasons outside of physical hunger and nutrition, for pleasure or to "medicate emotions." Most people would also agree that eating a lot of sugary food can sharpen your sweet tooth so sugar consumption begets more sugar consumption. But is the desire for sugar or comfort foods the same as being addicted to alcohol or even heroin or is that comparison taking it too far?
Even if the way some people consume sugar or junk food meets some of the diagnostic criteria for addiction, it's my belief that it's not beneficial to perpetuate the idea that food is addictive in the same way and magnitude as drugs. I think we should leave it at admitting that we sometimes struggle with overeating - for a wide variety of reasons, only one of which is neurochemical. An important first step in solving any problem is admitting that you have one. But there's a big difference between saying, "I sometimes overeat" and "I am a food addict"
The research is showing that there's definitely something going on chemically and neurologically with dopamine, opiods and the reward and pleasure systems of the brain when sugary or sugary and fatty foods are eaten. Even genetics play a role, leaving some people more susceptible, as some obesity genes appear to act on reward circuitry.
However, there's also research that says you can control food cravings and curb calorie consumption with behavioral and psychological restraint strategies. Obesity is the result of a combination of biology, behavior and environment, not just genetics or a stew of brain chemicals gone awry.
THE SOLUTIONS
It's important to learn and develop a set of strategies for what to do when you feel cravings. Part of the solution is having some rules about how flexible you'll be in your approach. Somewhat paradoxically, allowing yourself to give in to your cravings is generally more effective than total abstinence, with few exceptions (such as binge eating disorder, etc). That means for the average person, permitting a certain number of free meals each week or setting a compliance rule, and learning how to enjoy your favorite foods - infrequently and in moderation.
It also pays to avoid overly restrictive diets in favor of the slow, steady, moderate approach to weight loss. Crash diets have downsides for anyone but they are an especially bad idea for people susceptible to cravings or addictive-like eating behavior. Periods of deprivation are often followed by the "boomerang" of overeating or bingeing. Eating on a regular schedule, preferably with 5-6 small meals per day, or with healthy pre-planned snacks between meals, is an ideal meal plan for helping to control cravings and decrease hunger.
Stress management strategies are critical. Stress is a major cause of relapse in former drug users and stress can be a prime cause of diet failure and weight regain. The brain centers that regulate appetite are all stress sensitive and one long standing theory of hunger says that eating comfort foods can become a conditioned response to stress.
Setting up a social support system and controlling your environment by removing as many triggers and eating cues as possible can help as well. Visual cues alone can trigger a food craving so when someone says, "I can't help myself, I eat everything in sight," part of the solution is contained right within that complaint - get the junk out of your sight.
Granted, that's almost impossible to do completely in our modern society. Being surrounded by temptations and triggers is a major contributor to the obesity problem today. But you do have a remarkable amount of control over your own home and personal environment, so don't make it any worse than it is by keeping junk around. I'm writing this on November 1st. I wonder how many people have leftover candy from Halloween who haven't thrown it away yet.
I also recommend borrowing techniques from fields such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming and cognitive psychology so you know what to say to yourself when you get cravings (Check out my own book, The Body Fat Solution, Dr. Judith Beck's The Beck Diet Solution and Anthony Robbin's books as some good starting points. It's possible to literally talk yourself out of inappropriate eating - and by the way, this is one of the many differences between humans and rats, so we should be careful not to read too much into the rodent research that keeps getting quoted in all these sensational media stories.
It's true that there are biological origins of food cravings, so you shouldn't feel weak or guilty about wanting certain foods - it means you're human. What really matters is how you respond to those urges and knowing that ultimately, you are in control
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Good Basic Carbohydrate Info.
Carbohydrates
By Brandon Braner
For www.EliteFTS.com
Carbohydrates is a word that strikes fear in many dieters in America. We’ve all heard of Atkins: “When you eat too many carbohydrates (carbs), your body burns some of those carbs for energy and stores the excess carbs as fat.”—Atkins website This is a true fact. If you eat too many carbs, your body will store them as fat. Why? For energy when it needs it later. So what do you do? Well, of course you completely cut carbs out of your diet. I mean really, who needs energy? The simple fact is the body needs carbs to sustain energy. But which carbs do you need? First off, what is a carb? A carbohydrate is simply a sugar—“any of a group of organic compounds that includes sugars, starches, celluloses, and gums and serves as a major energy source in the diet of animals. These compounds are produced by photosynthetic plants and contain only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually in the ratio 1:2:1” (from Anwsers.com). So if carbs are made by plants, why are they so bad for you? Simply put, carbs are great for you. You will need them every day.
There are two different kinds—simple and complex. Simple carbs are carbs that are already broken down into the lowest possible form, thus they’re absorbed into the bloodstream quickly for that quick burst of energy. These are generally known as the bad carbs because what happens with simple carbs is once your body recognizes this surge of sugar, it releases insulin to regulate the blood sugar levels. Once the insulin hits the blood, it will take the sugars to your liver and muscles and then guess where? Fat storage for later use. Also, your insulin will bring down your blood sugar, resulting in possible low blood sugar.
Next up are the complex carbs. These carbs are in a chain. This means when your body tries to absorb them, you will need to break them down first. This causes a slow release of the carbs so you get a slower, steadier stream of energy. How do I know if I’m eating a complex carb or a simple carb? This is where the glycemic index (GI) comes into play.
Originally designed for diabetics, in sports nutrition, it can help you to know which carbs you need. The GI measures how quickly a carb is made into glucose and enters the body. It was developed by feeding different carbohydrates to people in 50-gram portions of available carbs. They then monitored their blood sugar levels over the next few hours and put the responses on a curve. The more glucose that reached the blood in the first three hours, the higher the GI number for that carb. We can now classify a carb as a high glycemic carb or a low glycemic carb.
Low GI foods give you a longer, more sustainable amount of energy because they’re absorbed more slowly. Because they absorb slowly, they also reduce hunger, helping with your appetite control. Lower GI foods can help store glucose in muscle and keep it from being stored as fat. If you’re dieting, these low GI foods are the way to go. Eating low GI foods before a workout will make sure you have plenty of energy so that you don’t drop in the middle of it.
High GI foods shouldn’t be consumed before training because the insulin will cause your blood sugar to lower, and you’ll crash in the middle of your workout. I don’t know about you, but I push myself to the edge in every workout. If my edge is only 50 percent of my normal, what a waste of my time.
High GI Foods can also cause fat release during your workout, thus you won’t burn as much fat during your workout. However, high GI foods after training have their benefits. Eating foods with a high GI within 15 minutes to two hours after training can start replacing diminished levels of glucose in the blood. Taking these high GI carbs after a workout will raise your insulin levels and help carry the necessary carbs and protein to your muscles faster. Have yourself a nice juice after a workout to help with the absorption of protein and creatine.
Wow, that was a lot to take in. Just remember—try to eat your simple carbs/high GI level foods right after a workout to help speed up recovery time. Visit your local supplement shop and pick up some glutamine to help. If you take a protein after you train, make sure it’s low in fat. High fat foods cause GI levels to lower because they need to liquefy before they can be digested. Every other meal should contain complex/low GI carbs. In addition, always combine your carbs with protein. Glycemic index of common foods
Breads
Mixed grain bread, 28
Oat Bran bread, 48
Pita bread, white, 57
Wheat bread, whole meal, 69
White bread, 71
Bagel, white, 71
Cereal grains
Barley, pearled, 25 Rice, instant, boiled 1 minute, 46
Rice, brown, 55 Rice, white, 55
Couscous, 65 Rice, instant, boiled 6 minutes, 90
Breakfast cereals
Rice Bran, 19
All Bran, 42
Oatmeal, 49
Special K, 54
Muesli, 56
Life, 66
Grapenuts, 67
Cream of Wheat, 70
Cheerios, 74
Total, 76
Cornflakes, 83
Team, 82
Crispix, 87
Dairy foods
Yogurt, low fat, artificially sweet, 14 Milk, skim, 32
Legumes Lentils, red, 25 Kidney beans, 29 Butter beans, 31 Pinto beans, 39 Baked beans, canned, 48 Kidney Beans, canned , 52
Pasta Spaghetti, protein enriched, 27
Fettuccini, 27 Vermicelli, 35
Spaghetti, white, 41
Macaroni, 45 Linguine, 46
Tortellini, cheese, 50
Fruit and fruit products
Pear, fresh, 37
Apple, 38
Orange, 44
Grapes, 46
Banana, 54
Raisins , 64
Watermelon, 72
Dates, 103
Soups Tomato Soup, 38
Split pea soup, 60 Black bean soup, 64
Snack food
Peanuts, 15
Popcorn, 55
Pretzels, 81
Vegetables Carrots, cooked, 39
Yam, 51 Sweet potato, 54
Sweet corn, 55 Potato, white, boiled, 56
Potato, new, 57
Beets, 64
Potato, mashed, 70 Potato, baked, 85
Sugars
Fructose, 22
Honey, 58
Sucrose, 64
Glucose, 100
Maltodextrin, 105
Maltose, 105 Good training and good food = big weight!
By Brandon Braner
For www.EliteFTS.com
Carbohydrates is a word that strikes fear in many dieters in America. We’ve all heard of Atkins: “When you eat too many carbohydrates (carbs), your body burns some of those carbs for energy and stores the excess carbs as fat.”—Atkins website This is a true fact. If you eat too many carbs, your body will store them as fat. Why? For energy when it needs it later. So what do you do? Well, of course you completely cut carbs out of your diet. I mean really, who needs energy? The simple fact is the body needs carbs to sustain energy. But which carbs do you need? First off, what is a carb? A carbohydrate is simply a sugar—“any of a group of organic compounds that includes sugars, starches, celluloses, and gums and serves as a major energy source in the diet of animals. These compounds are produced by photosynthetic plants and contain only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually in the ratio 1:2:1” (from Anwsers.com). So if carbs are made by plants, why are they so bad for you? Simply put, carbs are great for you. You will need them every day.
There are two different kinds—simple and complex. Simple carbs are carbs that are already broken down into the lowest possible form, thus they’re absorbed into the bloodstream quickly for that quick burst of energy. These are generally known as the bad carbs because what happens with simple carbs is once your body recognizes this surge of sugar, it releases insulin to regulate the blood sugar levels. Once the insulin hits the blood, it will take the sugars to your liver and muscles and then guess where? Fat storage for later use. Also, your insulin will bring down your blood sugar, resulting in possible low blood sugar.
Next up are the complex carbs. These carbs are in a chain. This means when your body tries to absorb them, you will need to break them down first. This causes a slow release of the carbs so you get a slower, steadier stream of energy. How do I know if I’m eating a complex carb or a simple carb? This is where the glycemic index (GI) comes into play.
Originally designed for diabetics, in sports nutrition, it can help you to know which carbs you need. The GI measures how quickly a carb is made into glucose and enters the body. It was developed by feeding different carbohydrates to people in 50-gram portions of available carbs. They then monitored their blood sugar levels over the next few hours and put the responses on a curve. The more glucose that reached the blood in the first three hours, the higher the GI number for that carb. We can now classify a carb as a high glycemic carb or a low glycemic carb.
Low GI foods give you a longer, more sustainable amount of energy because they’re absorbed more slowly. Because they absorb slowly, they also reduce hunger, helping with your appetite control. Lower GI foods can help store glucose in muscle and keep it from being stored as fat. If you’re dieting, these low GI foods are the way to go. Eating low GI foods before a workout will make sure you have plenty of energy so that you don’t drop in the middle of it.
High GI foods shouldn’t be consumed before training because the insulin will cause your blood sugar to lower, and you’ll crash in the middle of your workout. I don’t know about you, but I push myself to the edge in every workout. If my edge is only 50 percent of my normal, what a waste of my time.
High GI Foods can also cause fat release during your workout, thus you won’t burn as much fat during your workout. However, high GI foods after training have their benefits. Eating foods with a high GI within 15 minutes to two hours after training can start replacing diminished levels of glucose in the blood. Taking these high GI carbs after a workout will raise your insulin levels and help carry the necessary carbs and protein to your muscles faster. Have yourself a nice juice after a workout to help with the absorption of protein and creatine.
Wow, that was a lot to take in. Just remember—try to eat your simple carbs/high GI level foods right after a workout to help speed up recovery time. Visit your local supplement shop and pick up some glutamine to help. If you take a protein after you train, make sure it’s low in fat. High fat foods cause GI levels to lower because they need to liquefy before they can be digested. Every other meal should contain complex/low GI carbs. In addition, always combine your carbs with protein. Glycemic index of common foods
Breads
Mixed grain bread, 28
Oat Bran bread, 48
Pita bread, white, 57
Wheat bread, whole meal, 69
White bread, 71
Bagel, white, 71
Cereal grains
Barley, pearled, 25 Rice, instant, boiled 1 minute, 46
Rice, brown, 55 Rice, white, 55
Couscous, 65 Rice, instant, boiled 6 minutes, 90
Breakfast cereals
Rice Bran, 19
All Bran, 42
Oatmeal, 49
Special K, 54
Muesli, 56
Life, 66
Grapenuts, 67
Cream of Wheat, 70
Cheerios, 74
Total, 76
Cornflakes, 83
Team, 82
Crispix, 87
Dairy foods
Yogurt, low fat, artificially sweet, 14 Milk, skim, 32
Legumes Lentils, red, 25 Kidney beans, 29 Butter beans, 31 Pinto beans, 39 Baked beans, canned, 48 Kidney Beans, canned , 52
Pasta Spaghetti, protein enriched, 27
Fettuccini, 27 Vermicelli, 35
Spaghetti, white, 41
Macaroni, 45 Linguine, 46
Tortellini, cheese, 50
Fruit and fruit products
Pear, fresh, 37
Apple, 38
Orange, 44
Grapes, 46
Banana, 54
Raisins , 64
Watermelon, 72
Dates, 103
Soups Tomato Soup, 38
Split pea soup, 60 Black bean soup, 64
Snack food
Peanuts, 15
Popcorn, 55
Pretzels, 81
Vegetables Carrots, cooked, 39
Yam, 51 Sweet potato, 54
Sweet corn, 55 Potato, white, boiled, 56
Potato, new, 57
Beets, 64
Potato, mashed, 70 Potato, baked, 85
Sugars
Fructose, 22
Honey, 58
Sucrose, 64
Glucose, 100
Maltodextrin, 105
Maltose, 105 Good training and good food = big weight!
Another good Goal-setting article from Mike Robertson
Robertson Training Systems Newsletter 6.01
The Most Important Newsletter You'll Get All Year?
"The goal is to keep the goal, the goal."
Dan John, A Philospohy of Strength Training DVD
Prophetic words from Dan John, but then again, would you expect anything less?
I'm not kidding around when I say this could be the most important newsletter you get all year.
Right now, today, you can determine if 2010 is your best training year ever, or yet another year spent frustrated and spinning your wheels.
Hopefully you're reading this over a cup of coffee with only a mild hangover from another New Year's Eve bash. It's crazy to think about, but the older we get, the faster the years seem to speed by.
Before moving on to e-mail and everything else, take a second to reflect on this one, simple question for me:
If you could only achieve ONE physical goal this year, what would it be?
Would it be to lose 20 pounds?
Would it be to put on 10 pounds of muscle?
Would it be to set new PR's in your squat, bench and deadlift?
Would it be to finally assess those nagging issues and correct them once and for all?
Take a second to reflect on what's most important to you - and then write down your goal. Ideally, it's a SMART goal:
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Realistic
T- Timely
From there, as Dan John would say, "The goal is to keep the goal, the goal."
Unfortunately, that's easier said than done.
As with everything, it's easy to get training ADD. All of a sudden your fat loss goal turns to muscle gain, or your strength training shifts gears to getting uber-lean.
If you only do one thing for me this year, do this - write down your ONE fitness related goal for 2010 and set out right now on the path to achieve it. Once it's written down (or typed up on a computer), I want you to post it in one or two places you'll see it everyday.
It could be in your car.
It could be on your desk at work.
It could be on the fridge at home (this is fantastic if it's a weight/fat loss goal).
Or, my personal favorite, on the mirror where you get ready for your day.
You can decide right now, today, what kind of year you are going to have.
Is it going to be your best year ever? Or simply more of the same?
Good luck and here's looking forward to an amazing 2010!
All the best
MR
The Most Important Newsletter You'll Get All Year?
"The goal is to keep the goal, the goal."
Dan John, A Philospohy of Strength Training DVD
Prophetic words from Dan John, but then again, would you expect anything less?
I'm not kidding around when I say this could be the most important newsletter you get all year.
Right now, today, you can determine if 2010 is your best training year ever, or yet another year spent frustrated and spinning your wheels.
Hopefully you're reading this over a cup of coffee with only a mild hangover from another New Year's Eve bash. It's crazy to think about, but the older we get, the faster the years seem to speed by.
Before moving on to e-mail and everything else, take a second to reflect on this one, simple question for me:
If you could only achieve ONE physical goal this year, what would it be?
Would it be to lose 20 pounds?
Would it be to put on 10 pounds of muscle?
Would it be to set new PR's in your squat, bench and deadlift?
Would it be to finally assess those nagging issues and correct them once and for all?
Take a second to reflect on what's most important to you - and then write down your goal. Ideally, it's a SMART goal:
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Realistic
T- Timely
From there, as Dan John would say, "The goal is to keep the goal, the goal."
Unfortunately, that's easier said than done.
As with everything, it's easy to get training ADD. All of a sudden your fat loss goal turns to muscle gain, or your strength training shifts gears to getting uber-lean.
If you only do one thing for me this year, do this - write down your ONE fitness related goal for 2010 and set out right now on the path to achieve it. Once it's written down (or typed up on a computer), I want you to post it in one or two places you'll see it everyday.
It could be in your car.
It could be on your desk at work.
It could be on the fridge at home (this is fantastic if it's a weight/fat loss goal).
Or, my personal favorite, on the mirror where you get ready for your day.
You can decide right now, today, what kind of year you are going to have.
Is it going to be your best year ever? Or simply more of the same?
Good luck and here's looking forward to an amazing 2010!
All the best
MR
fitness & diet goals
This is a E-mail from Tom Venuto, a trainer who sells stuff online, but knows how to be successful.
When you pause and reflect on the past decade as you look ahead to a new one, it makes you appreciate how short life is, how valuable time is and how quickly the time can pass you by... with nothing to show for it, if you don't plan otherwise. That's why the passing of another decade can feel like a wake up call as much as a fresh start: Looking at the technological wonders that surround us in 2010, I can't help thinking it feels like science fiction. In fact, one of the reasons some people have succeeded at bodytransformation while others have failed is modern technology. I'm still in awe of the web. The satellite navigation system in my car amazes me every time I drive. I can store a library of books in a device that fits in my pocket. It blows my mind that we can speak to each other face to face through the internet live on video.That's straight from Star Trek! And those are just the everyday little things. The cover story of the January 2010 National Geographic magazine is titled, "Merging man and machine" - it's about bionic limbs. Richard Branson's company, Virgin Galactic just unveiled spaceship two and is preparing to launch civilians into sub orbital space flights. It's the greatest time to be alive in all of human history.Unfortunately, today's modern conveniences have brought a dark side upon us. Rising obesity has paralleled the march of technology. The chair-bound, desk-job, computer, car, elevator, television based society of today is helping to make millions of people fat and lazy. Our current way of life is less than a century old, yet our biology hasn't changed in tens of thousands of years. Our bodies were designed to move and work, not sit and click. We've become spoiled. Complacent. Dependent. And we are paying a price for it. We are fatter than ever before in all of human history. More than two thirds of Americans are now overweight. One third are obese. People are dying simply because they're too fat. Ironically, None of our new technological marvels can solve our body fat problem. There's no easy way. No pill. No machine. No drug. More knowledge isn't going to help. We already have most of the answers. We know more about the human body than ever before. But it's all academic. The problem lies in the doing. You have to do the work - in the gym and in the kitchen. That takes will, discipline and mental toughness. Simultaneously fighting the pull of human nature and the convenience of new technology is no easy task. But there is a way... Solution: Future Orientation The most successful people in the world today are those who have a long term perspective. They plan 5-10 years in advance and beyond. They know how to enjoy and live in the present moment, but they take action and make decisions based on their future vision. The passing of another decade makes you take stock of yourself and your achievements, or lack thereof. "What did I accomplish in the last 10 years? Am I a better person today than I was in 2000?" If you don't like the answers, then it's time to finally get serious about your future because the next 10 years are going to fly by even faster than the last 10 as the pace of life and society gets even faster. Today, at the dawn of a new decade, is the perfect time to do this. I challenge you to think beyond new year's resolutions. Think beyond the 12 week fitness goal. As you write your goals this year, don't stop with3 month or even 1 year goals. Project yourself into the future, 3, 5 and 10 years. For each point, dream, fantasize, visualize: if your body, your health your physical performance were perfect in every way, what would that look like? Describe it in vivid detail. With our ingrained penchant for quick fixes, we often over estimate what we can achieve in the short term and set unrealistic deadlines on our short term goals. But the flipside is that we often underestimatewhat we can achieve in the long term, so we set our long term goals too low. My challenge for you this year is to start thinking about your body and your life with the same type of creativity that has lead to our greatest technological advances: Not the same thoughts as yesterday. Not just positive thoughts. just bigger thoughts. NEW THOUGHTS! Creative thoughts! Inventive thoughts! From new thoughts will spring new goals, new actions and new achievements. Fitness goals should not take over your life, they should enhance every other part of it. So be sure to take this opportunity to achieve balance. Set long term goals for every area of your life - health, fitness, finances, career, relationships, experiences, travel, possessions/toys and spiritual growth. Most people didn't set any goals 10 years ago. They're among the masses who are in the same place today as they were a decade ago. Some people only set short term goals, so they accomplished a few little things, but then stopped, as if a goal were a final destination rather than a stepping stone along a path. Other people set goals but didn't follow through on them. They forgot that goal setting and goal achieving are two different things. Don't fall into these traps.
When you pause and reflect on the past decade as you look ahead to a new one, it makes you appreciate how short life is, how valuable time is and how quickly the time can pass you by... with nothing to show for it, if you don't plan otherwise. That's why the passing of another decade can feel like a wake up call as much as a fresh start: Looking at the technological wonders that surround us in 2010, I can't help thinking it feels like science fiction. In fact, one of the reasons some people have succeeded at bodytransformation while others have failed is modern technology. I'm still in awe of the web. The satellite navigation system in my car amazes me every time I drive. I can store a library of books in a device that fits in my pocket. It blows my mind that we can speak to each other face to face through the internet live on video.That's straight from Star Trek! And those are just the everyday little things. The cover story of the January 2010 National Geographic magazine is titled, "Merging man and machine" - it's about bionic limbs. Richard Branson's company, Virgin Galactic just unveiled spaceship two and is preparing to launch civilians into sub orbital space flights. It's the greatest time to be alive in all of human history.Unfortunately, today's modern conveniences have brought a dark side upon us. Rising obesity has paralleled the march of technology. The chair-bound, desk-job, computer, car, elevator, television based society of today is helping to make millions of people fat and lazy. Our current way of life is less than a century old, yet our biology hasn't changed in tens of thousands of years. Our bodies were designed to move and work, not sit and click. We've become spoiled. Complacent. Dependent. And we are paying a price for it. We are fatter than ever before in all of human history. More than two thirds of Americans are now overweight. One third are obese. People are dying simply because they're too fat. Ironically, None of our new technological marvels can solve our body fat problem. There's no easy way. No pill. No machine. No drug. More knowledge isn't going to help. We already have most of the answers. We know more about the human body than ever before. But it's all academic. The problem lies in the doing. You have to do the work - in the gym and in the kitchen. That takes will, discipline and mental toughness. Simultaneously fighting the pull of human nature and the convenience of new technology is no easy task. But there is a way... Solution: Future Orientation The most successful people in the world today are those who have a long term perspective. They plan 5-10 years in advance and beyond. They know how to enjoy and live in the present moment, but they take action and make decisions based on their future vision. The passing of another decade makes you take stock of yourself and your achievements, or lack thereof. "What did I accomplish in the last 10 years? Am I a better person today than I was in 2000?" If you don't like the answers, then it's time to finally get serious about your future because the next 10 years are going to fly by even faster than the last 10 as the pace of life and society gets even faster. Today, at the dawn of a new decade, is the perfect time to do this. I challenge you to think beyond new year's resolutions. Think beyond the 12 week fitness goal. As you write your goals this year, don't stop with3 month or even 1 year goals. Project yourself into the future, 3, 5 and 10 years. For each point, dream, fantasize, visualize: if your body, your health your physical performance were perfect in every way, what would that look like? Describe it in vivid detail. With our ingrained penchant for quick fixes, we often over estimate what we can achieve in the short term and set unrealistic deadlines on our short term goals. But the flipside is that we often underestimatewhat we can achieve in the long term, so we set our long term goals too low. My challenge for you this year is to start thinking about your body and your life with the same type of creativity that has lead to our greatest technological advances: Not the same thoughts as yesterday. Not just positive thoughts. just bigger thoughts. NEW THOUGHTS! Creative thoughts! Inventive thoughts! From new thoughts will spring new goals, new actions and new achievements. Fitness goals should not take over your life, they should enhance every other part of it. So be sure to take this opportunity to achieve balance. Set long term goals for every area of your life - health, fitness, finances, career, relationships, experiences, travel, possessions/toys and spiritual growth. Most people didn't set any goals 10 years ago. They're among the masses who are in the same place today as they were a decade ago. Some people only set short term goals, so they accomplished a few little things, but then stopped, as if a goal were a final destination rather than a stepping stone along a path. Other people set goals but didn't follow through on them. They forgot that goal setting and goal achieving are two different things. Don't fall into these traps.
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