Fat Burners EXPOSED !

If you're thinking about taking fat burner supplements or if you're simply looking for information about fat burners, then what you are about to read on this web page may hit you by surprise. (Actually, it may hit you like a ton of bricks!)

DO NOT spend another cent on "fat burners" until you read this! This information is urgent to your financial as well as physical health and well being.

I guarantee that the TRUTH about fat burner pills and the advertisements that sell them is going to shock you, stun you and outrage you, especially if you have been spending large sums of money on these products.

Please do not take my word for it either. Read this short article. Click HERE now. Reflect on what you have read and then YOU make the call. I welcome hearing your feedback after you have digested this information.




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

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8 Reasons Why You Keep Falling Off The Diet Wagon

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

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

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

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

This means that lots and lots of people have “successfully” lost weight. But not many have kept it off. Therefore, we don’t have a weight loss problem, we have a weight-relapse problem; we have a “not sticking with it” problem. Wouldn’t you agree?

In fact, the fall and subsequent weight-regain usually doesn’t take years. Many people have abandoned their new year’s resolutions within weeks. By the time the Super Bowl party rolls around, their diet is history!

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

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

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

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



THE 8 REASONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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


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6 Nutrition Secrets For Great Abs

Many people say that "abdominals are made in the kitchen, not in the gym," and there's a lot of truth to that. You can do thousands of reps of ab work every week, but if your nutrition is not in order, you can forget about getting a great set
of 6-pack abs.

1. Eat about 15-20% below your calorie maintenance level. If you use a more aggressive calorie deficit of 25-30%, then do not keep calories too low for too long; increase calories to maintenance or maintenance +10-15% 1-2 days per week.

2. Spread your calories into 5-6 smaller meals instead of 2-3 big ones. Be very conscious of portion size. If you eat too much of anything (even "healthy" food), you can say goodbye to your abs. Period.

3. Eat a source of complete, high quality lean protein with each meal (egg whites, lean meat, fish, protein powder, etc.)

4. Choose natural, complex carbs such as vegetables, oatmeal, yams, potatoes, beans, brown rice and whole grains. Start with aprox. 50% of your calories from natural carbs and reduce carbs slightly (esp. late in the day) if you are not losing fat. Avoid refined, simple carbs that contain white flour or white sugar.

5. Keep total fats low and saturated fats low. Aim for 20% of your total calories from fat (and no more than 30%). A little bit of "good fat" like flax oil, fish fat, nuts & seeds, etc. is better than a no fat diet. Essential fatty acids actually assist the fat burning process.

6. Drink plenty of water - a gallon is a good ballpark to shoot for if you are physically active.

1000+ reps of daily ab work is an amazing feat of endurance, but that's not how you get visible, 6-pack abs! If you were to do 1,000 reps of ab exercises every day, you
would have outstanding development in your abdominal muscles and you would definitely have great muscular endurance. Unfortunately, if your abs are covered up with a layer of fat, you will never see them even if you do 10,000 reps a day!

Download HERE a FREE Report from Tom Venuto revealing about the Six Abs.
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How To Use Cardio For MAXIMUM Fat-Burning

Times have changed since the Aerobics revolution of the 1970's and 1980's. For years, aerobics was the darling of the fitness world. Then scientists began to acknowledge the benefits of weight training - for everyone, not just for bodybuilders.

Recently, the pendulum has swung the other direction and we've actually started hearing fitness "experts" suggesting that cardio should be kept to a minimum or even avoided completely. That's the way things tend to go in the fitness world - they
swing back and forth in trends, from one extreme to another. Lots of cardio or no cardio.

I suggest you avoid trend-hopping and pay close attention to what actually works, by people who know what they are talking about (such as bodybuilders, who are the leanest muscular athletes in the world). Doing nothing but cardio is a mistake.
But cutting our cardio completely is also a mistake. The truth lies in the middle. Maximum fat burning occurs when you combine cardio training and weight training together.

Those who are genetically gifted with above average metabolisms will find that a slight drop in food intake and just a few days a week of cardio will usually do the trick. However, most people who are struggling with fat loss (sometimes referred to as "endomorph" body type) are simply NOT burning enough calories to get the results they want. The answer for them is more activity to burn more calories.

For health and weight maintenance, I would suggest 3 short cardio workouts per week, about 20-30 minutes per session. But for maximum fat loss, I recommend 4-7 days per week of cardio or other physical activity for 30-45 minutes (based on results), at a moderate pace. You can mix up the type of cardio you do, or choose the type you enjoy the most - stationary cycling, stairclimbing, elliptical machines, aerobic classes and other continuous activities are all excellent fat burners (it doesn't have to be indoors or on a cardio machine).

If time efficiency is a concern for you, you could do 2-3 of those cardio workouts as high intensity interval training and you'll achieve very good results even with briefer workouts. Even as little as 20-25 minutes per session can get great results IF your intensity level is high enough. Remember, seeing your abs is about low body fat. Low body fat is about burning calories and creating a calorie deficit. The calorie deficit is created by increasing the number of calories you burn and or decreasing the amount of calories you take in from food. Increasing intensity is one way to burn more calories in less time.

Let me reiterate what I said in the introduction. The reason my abs look the way they do is not solely from my training program, but because I get my body fat down
into the single digits with a highly specialized fat-burning diet program.

Download HERE a FREE Report from Tom Venuto revealing about the Six Abs.
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How Body Fat Storage Patterns Affect You And Keep Your Abs From Showing

What's the point of all the physiology? Well, it turns out that in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us one possible explanation of why the lower abdominal region is often the first place the fat goes when you gain it, and the last place it comes off when you're losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women's hips and thighs is also higher in A2 receptors). This situation is dictated by genetics and by the hormonal and enzymatic pathways we discussed.

Think of ab fat like the deep end of the swimming pool. No matter how much you protest, there is no way you can drain the deep end before the shallow end. However, don't let this discourage you. Lower ab fat WILL come off, it will simply be the last place to come off. First place on - last place off.

This helps to explain why abdominal exercises have little impact on body fat loss. It's a huge mistake to think that hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises will remove lower abdominal fat, except to the degree that it burns calories and contributes to the calorie deficit. What removes the fat - all over your body - is a calorie deficit and that comes from decreasing food intake, increasing activity, or a combination of both.

What I suggested to this young man was cutting back the ab training, spending the time he was wasting on excess ab exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio and weight training for the rest of the body. I also suggested he do an accounting of his food intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease his calories slightly if necessary.

As it turned out, his diet was a mess, and as nutrition experts like to say, "You can't out-train a lousy diet."

It's a monumental error to think that 1,000 reps of ab work a day will make your abs finally "pop" when your diet is a disaster and that's leading to fat storage. It's not that ab exercises aren't important. But all the ab exercises in the world won't help as long as you still have body fat covering the muscles. You can't "spot reduce" with abdominal exercise and YOU CAN'T SEE YOUR ABS THROUGH A LAYER OF BODY
FAT!

Download HERE a FREE Report from Tom Venuto revealing about the Six Abs.
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Why Your Lower Ab Flab Is The Last Place To Go

Most people don't have their fat distributed evenly throughout their bodies. Each of us inherits a genetically determined and hormonally-influenced pattern of fat storage just as we inherit our eye or hair color. In other words, the fat seems to "stick" to certain areas more than others.

There's a scientific reason for this. Your fat cells are not just inert "storage tanks" for excess fuel. They are actually endocrine glands which send and receive signals from the rest of the body. You could say that your fat cells "talk to your
body" and your body "talks to your fat cells." This occurs through a hormone and receptor system.

For body fat loss to occur, you must first get the fat cell (adipocyte) to release the fat into the bloodstream. THEN, the free fatty acids must be delivered to the working muscles where they are burned for energy.

For fat to be released, the hormone adrenaline (epinephrine) must be secreted and send a signal to your fat cells. Your fat cells receive this hormonal signal via adrenaline receptors called adrenoreceptors.

Fat cells have Beta 1 (B1) and Alpha 2 (A2) receptors. B1 receptors are the good guys. They activate hormone sensitive lipase, the enzyme that breaks down the fat and allows it to be released into the bloodstream to be burned. A2 receptors
are the bad guys. They block the fat-releasing enzymes in the fat cell and encourage body fat formation.

Download HERE a FREE Report from Tom Venuto revealing about the Six Abs.

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How do I get great abs ?

After 18 years in the fitness business, "How do I get great abs" is still BY FAR the most frequently asked question I receive out of the 30,000+ emails that come into my office every month. No doubt, it's because abs are the one body part that most people are the most frustrated with. Although their questions are often phrased differently and each person's situation seems unique, my answer to "how do I get great abs" is almost always the same and you're about to hear it...

"1,000 Sit-Ups And Crunches A Day and Still No Abs!"

One question I received recently REALLY got my attention because a young guy told me he was doing 1,000 crunches and sit ups a day and said he still couldn't see his abdominals. He wrote:

"Tom: I have been working out for around a year now and I cannot get my lower abs into any type of shape. I'm starting to see my upper abs a little bit, which is great, but despite doing 900 various crunches, ab roller, and 100 sit-ups four days a week, along with my regular workout on the weights, I still have a tire around my waist. What else can I do?"

What did I tell him? Well, I gave him the same answer I've given thousands of people over the years, which is the only true "Secret" to great abs...

It takes training to increase strength, build endurance and DEVELOP the abdominals, but to SEE the definition in your abdominals - or any other muscle group for that matter - is almost entirely the result of low body fat levels.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but if you can't see your abs, it's not an issue of "muscle development" at all. You simply have too much body fat covering up the ab muscles. The lower abdominal area also happens to be the one place that most people - especially men - store the body fat first.

Download HERE a FREE Report from Tom Venuto revealing about the Six Abs.



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You reap what you sow..

I thought the "just minutes in the morning" idea was ridiculous (but brilliant from a marketing perspective), now someone just wrote a book called 2-minute abs. What's next? 30-second abs? Massive muscles in five minutes? The one rep muscle revolution? :-)

Your body is begging for exercise

It's an amazing machine that was designed to be used often and vigorously. In fact, your body is the only machine that wears out faster when you don't use it!

Training for basic health benefits and training for maximum fat loss and muscle growth may not be the same thing. To get maximum changes in body composition, you need a much higher frequency, duration and intensity.

You can get health benefits from very small amounts of exercise. Even walking to work or class, or raking the leaves in your yard can have health benefits. But you get even greater health benefits from larger amounts of exercise.

You can get a training effect (muscle growth and strength increase) in as few as two or three thirty-minute workouts per week, especially if you use highly time efficient training methods such as high intensity interval training for cardio and supersets, circuits and short rest intervals for strength training.

However, you cannot expect to become super lean and highly muscular without putting in the time and effort.

Here's what it all boils down to : You reap what you sow... The rewards you take out will always come in direct proportion to the work you put in. The best bodies - with the best body composition and fat-to-muscle ratios - are built with high levels of physical activity.

There's simply no quick fix. Burn the fat now !




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Fat Loss Lie #12: "It takes just minutes a day"

"2 MINUTE ABS"

"A FEW MINUTES IN THE MORNING!"

"THE ONE WORKOUT A WEEK FITNESS REVOLUTION!"

"CHANGE YOUR BODY IN 30 MINUTES A WEEK"

As if all the rapid weight loss claims weren't enough (big fat lie #10), the latest bombardment of advertising hype says that you're spending too much time in the gym and that if you follow their "secret" training program, you can get in tip top shape in just "minutes a day."

What do I think about that? well, you definitely don't have to "live in the gym" or train for hours every day to get great results. And you should always, of course, look for ways get the most benefit from every minute you spend in the gym. That's called "time efficiency," and that is a good thing.

But you should be very cautious of the claims about getting more results in less time. You really CAN get more results in less time with higher intensity workouts, but "higher intensity" translated, means "hard work." If it sounds too good to be true... well, you know the rest...

It's an error in thinking that you can bypass the law of cause and effect and it's a flaw in character to expect better results without putting in the necessary time and hard work(refer back to lesson #6 if necessary: "The quick and easy lie.").

There's a fine line between training enough to stimulate growth and overtraining. We are warned continually not to overtrain or we'll "hold back our strength and muscle gains." We are also cautioned not to do too much aerobics or we'll "lose the muscle" we already have.

It's true that many people are overtraining. But just as there's fine a line between optimal training and overtraining, there's also a fine line between optimal training and undertraining.

The minimalist "less is more" approach is highly appealing because it represents the ultimate "lazy man (or woman's)" approach. And most of all, it SELLS!

The promoters are basically saying, "Hey, you're spending too much time in the gym and it's holding back your gains. Buy my secret miracle training program from Bulgaria, and you only have to train once or twice a week for a few minutes and you'll double your results."

Briefer and less frequent workouts are only good to the extent to which they prevent you from overtraining and they optimize hormonal response to training. Minimalism as a marketing appeal is a completely different story. Make sure you recognize the difference between the two.



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Here's the fatal flaw with thinking that any drugs will be a long-term solution

We live in an orderly universe where everything happens for a reason (by "law"). For every effect, there is a cause. There are no accidents.

A lean body never happens by accident.
An overweight body never happens by accident.

A lean body and an overweight body are effects. Both of these effects have causes. If you're overweight, you can create lasting changes 100% of the time if you uncover the cause of the overweight condition and remove it.

The cause of body fat in nearly all cases is inactivity, poor nutrition and often negative self-image issues. Drugs and surgery can only treat an effect (the fat). Even if the fat (the effect) is temporarily removed, it will come back if the cause is still there.

You can't expect pills, drugs or surgical procedures that only treat symptoms/effects to create permanent changes.

Depending on your genetics, you may never look like a bodybuilder or fitness cover model, but you always have the power to improve your body and your health above and beyond where you are today.

You can always improve, no matter where you are now and no matter what your genetic disposition.

How? By accepting responsibility for your situation and then taking positive action every day for the rest of your life to improve it. You simply have to change your lifestyle!

Try to fight "the law" or shirk hard work by looking for short cuts if you want, but in the end, you'll always lose.

Try to ignore "the law" if you want, but ignorance of the law does not excuse you from its operation.

Lifelong health, fitness and a perfect body weight do not come out of a bottle or needle and never will - no matter what new concoction they cook up in the lab.

Those who think otherwise may gain temporary relief from health woes or enjoy some short-term benefits, but unless they alter their lifestyles, they'll have hard lessons to learn in the long run.

I envision a day when both the medical and fitness communities will join together to help stop this error in thinking, and begin to teach people how to improve their lifestyles with a natural approach and alter their mental attitudes instead of writing prescriptions and selling "magic" pills.

To permanently become lean, you must identify the causes of excess fat,.

These can include :

* Excessive caloric intake
* Poor nutrition choices
* Inactivity
* Unhealthy lifestyle habits
* Psychological and emotional factors

Then, you must treat THESE CAUSES. Only when the source ("the cause") of your problem is removed, will the unwanted effects disappear for good. Until then, anything else will only be a quick fix, band-aid, temporary solution





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Fat Loss Lie #11: "Drugs or surgery will take the fat off and keep it off"

For many people who are frustrated with little or no results, despite their best intentions, physique-enhancing drugs or hormones appear to be the only legitmate "miracle cure." After all, supplements are iffy, but drugs are, well, drugs!

Dramatic short-term results in body composition can be achieved from using all kinds of weight loss drugs, steroids, thermogenics, thyroid drugs, growth hormone and other chemicals. No doubt about that. One look around my own sport of bodybuilding is proof of that.

However, appearances can be deceiving. The road of drug use for cosmetic enhancement can be a wild ride in the beginning, but in the long run, it's a dead end street.

What The Pharmaceutical Companies Don't Want You To Know About

Regardless of whether we're talking about illegal steroids and performance enhancers, prescription obesity drugs, or even over the counter "fat burning" drugs like ephedrine, these are all really one in the same:

(1) multi million dollar moneymakers, and
(2) Short-term attempts at treating effects, not causes.

Lets take weight loss drugs, for example :

What would happen if the pharmaceutical companies finally came out with a "safe and effective" obesity drug and brought it to the marketplace on a massive scale?

Here's exactly what would happen :

THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES WOULD GET RICHER
AND THE OBESITY PROBLEM WOULD CONTINUE!

Think about it: Did Xenical cure obesity? How about Phentermine? Meridia? Adipex? Bontril? Didrex? Tenuate? What about Ephedrine? Tens of millions of people were taking it. Did that solve the obesity problem?

In a few cases where someone's health is at stake, and when time is of the essence, the benefits of drugs may outweigh and justify the risks.

However, most people are not facing life-threatening obesity, and even in these rare cases, you have to concede that drugs or surgeries are last-resort treatments - not first lines of defense. They are absolutely not a substitute for proper nutrition, exercise and lifestyle change.



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The Biggest Weight Loss Mistake ...

The Biggest Weight Loss Mistake That Is FATAL To Your Long Term Success

Lack of patience is one of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to losing body fat. If you want to lose FAT, not muscle, and if you want to keep the fat off for good, then you have to take off the pounds slowly. (of course, if you want to crash diet the weight off fast, lose muscle with the fat and gain all the fat back later, be my guest)

This is one of the toughest lessons that overweight men and women have to learn - and they can be very hard learners. They fight kicking and screaming, insisting that they CAN and they MUST lose it faster.

Then you have these TV shows that encourage the masses that rapid, crash weight loss is okay. To the producers of these shows, I say SHAME ON YOU! To the personal trainers, registered dieticians and medical doctors who are associated with these programs, I say DOUBLE SHAME ON YOU, because you of all people should know better. These shows are not "motivating" or "inspiring" - they are DAMAGING! They are a DISGRACE!

The rapid weight loss being promoted by the media for the sake of ratings and by the weight loss companies for the sake of profits makes it even harder for legitimate fitness and nutrition professionals because our clients say, “But look at so and so on TV - he lost 26 pounds in a week!”

Sure, but 26 pounds of WHAT - and do you have any idea what the long term consequences are?
Short term thinking… foolish.

Do it the right way. The healthy way. Take off pounds slowly, steadily and sensibly with an intelligent nutrition and exercise program like Burn The Fat, measure your body fat, not just your body weight, and make this a new lifestyle, not a race, and you will never have to take the pounds off again, because they will be gone forever the first time.




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Don't Be Fooled By Water Weight Losses

One thing you should also know is that it’s very common to lose 3 - 5 pounds in the first week on nearly any diet and exercise program and often even more on low carb diets. Just remember, its NOT all fat - WATER LOSS IS NOT FAT LOSS!

Image via Wikipedia

The only way to know if you've actually lost FAT is with body composition testing. For home body fat self-testing, I recommend the Accu-Measure skinfold caliper as first choice. Even better, get a multi site skinfold caliper test from an experienced tester at a health club, or even an underwater (hydrostatic) or air (bod pod) displacement test.

From literally hundreds of client case studies, I can confirm that it’s rare to lose more than 1.5 - 2.0 lbs of weight per week without losing some muscle along with it. If you exceed 2.0 to 3.0 pounds per week, the probability of losing muscle is extremely high. If you lose muscle, you are damaging your metabolism and this will lead to a plateau and ultimately to relapse.




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What Really Matters Is Not How Much WEIGHT you lose ...

What Really Matters Is Not How Much WEIGHT You Lose, But How Much FAT You Lose

Where did your weight loss come from? Did you lose body fat or lean body mass? "Weight" is not the same as "fat." Weight includes muscle, bone, internal organs as well as lots and lots of water.

Let’s look at an example with some numbers so you can really grasp this concept of weight versus fat and then you can see, illustrated with specific examples, what will happen when you lose weight too quickly.

As an example, let’s take a 260 pound man who has a lot of body fat to lose - let’s call it 32%. With 32% fat, a 260 pounder has 83.2 pounds of body fat and 176.8 pounds of lean mass. Using this example, let’s look at a few possible scenarios with losses ranging from two to four pounds per week.

Weight Loss Scenario 1:

Suppose our 260 pound subject loses four full pounds instead of the recommended two pounds per week. Is this bad? Well, let’s see:

If he loses a half a percent of body fat, here are his body composition results:

256 lbs
31.5% body fat
80.6 lbs fat
175.4 lbs lean body mass

Out of the four pounds lost, 2.8 pounds were fat and 1.2 were lean mass. Not a disaster, but not good either. Thirty percent of the weight lost was lean tissue.

Weight Loss Scenario 2:

If he loses a half a percent of body fat and only three pounds, here are his results:

257 lbs
31.5% body fat
80.9 lbs fat
176.1 lbs lean body mass

These results are better. Although he lost less body weight than scenario one, in this instance, 2.3 pounds of fat and only 0.7 lbs of lean mass were lost.

Weight Loss Scenario 3:

What if he only lost two pounds? Here are the results:

258 lbs
31.5% body fat
81.2 lbs fat
176.8 lbs lean body mass

These results are perfect. Even though our subject has only lost two pounds, which seems slow, 100% of the two pound weight loss came from fat and he kept ALL the muscle!

Weight Loss Scenario 4:

Now let’s suppose he loses three pounds but he loses more body fat: .8%

257 lbs
31.2% body fat
80.2 lbs fat
176.8 lbs lean body mass

These are the best results of all. When the weekly fat loss is .8% (better than average), 100% of the three pounds lost is fat. So as you can see, yes, it’s safe to lose more than two pounds per week… but only if the weight is fat. If you lose three or four pounds per week, and you know it’s all fat, not lean tissue, then more power to you! If you lose four pounds and two of those pounds are muscle, you just shot yourself in the foot!

If as little as 20%-30% of your weight loss comes from muscle, when compounded over a few months, you’re talking about a massive muscle tissue loss which can dramatically slow down your metabolism, weaken you and turn you into nothing more than a “skinny fat person” (that's a person with low body weight because they lost so much muscle, but still holding stubborn fat because they shut down their metabolism).




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Fat Loss Lie #10: "Fat loss can be quick and permanent"

The "Quick Fat Loss" Lie Exposed

"Lose 30 pounds In 30 Days!"

"Lose 9 Pounds Every 11 Days!"

Lose 10 Pounds This Weekend!

Image by ninahale via Flickr

You see ad claims like these all the time, and they sure are enticing, aren't they? They play on our emotions and our desires for instant gratification.

Patience is the one thing you never seem to have when you’ve got a body fat problem. You want the fat gone and you want it gone now! And why not? It seems so do-able. Everywhere you look, you hear promises of quick weight loss and you even see people losing weight quickly.

We have reality TV shows that actually encourage people to attempt “extreme” body makeovers or see who can lose weight the fastest, and the winners (or shall we say, the "losers", as if that's a flattering title to earn), are rewarded generously with fortune, fame and congratulations.

Let’s face it. Everyone wants to get the fat off as quickly as possible - and having that desire is not wrong – it’s simply human nature. However...

Serious Problems Can Occur If You Try To
Force It And Lose Weight Too Quickly

The faster you lose weight, the more muscle you will lose right along with the fat, and that can really mess up your metabolism.

An even bigger problem with fast weight loss is that it just won’t last. The faster you lose, the more likely you are to gain it back. It's the the "yo-yo diet effect" - weight does down, but always comes back up. Think about it: We don’t have a weight loss problem today, we have a “keeping weight off” problem

Weight loss will be the healthiest, safest and most likely to be permanent if you set your goal for about two pounds per week (and even if you lose only a single pound each week, that is healthy progress). This is the recommendation of almost every legitimate and respected dietician, nutritionist, exercise physiologist and personal trainer on the planet, as well as exercise organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Dietetic Association.

Are there any exceptions? Yes. It may be ok to lose more than two pounds per week if you have a lot of weight to lose, because the rate of weight loss tends to be relative to your total starting body weight. Generally the rule is that it’s safe to lose up to 1% of your total body weight per week, so if you weigh 300 lbs to start, then 3 lbs a week is a reasonable goal.

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Exercise vs Dieting

Here's what else I believe about exercise vs dieting :

* I believe that the human body is the only machine on the face of the earth tha

Image via Wikipedia

t wears out and breaks down from not using it enough

* I believe that much obesity and disease are a direct result of inactivity

* I believe that much of the deterioration that happens as you age is a direct result of a sedentary lifestyle and a loss of muscle

* I believe that cardiovascular exercise + weight training + a small calorie reduction is vastly superior for fat loss purposes than a calorie reduction alone, both in the short and long term

* I believe that calorie restriction alone is a short-sighted and incomplete approach to a complex problem, and it requires a complete change in lifestyle habits to achieve better health, better body composition and results that last

* I believe that everyone who is able-bodied should get some type of physical activity almost every single day

* I believe that anyone who is healthy and physically able should get involved in weight training 3 days per week (up to 4 - 5 times per week for athletes and bodybuilders)

* I believe that anyone healthy and physically able should do at least 3 days per week of vigorous cardiovascular exercise (jogging, brisk walking, treadmills, stairclimbers, ellipticals, aerobics classes, etc), and they may increase their exercise frequency, intensity and or duration if necessary, to accelerate fat loss

* I believe that more people should stop taking their bodies for granted and start appreciating that those wheelchair-bound individuals I mentioned earlier would give anything to be able to run or ride a bike

It's tempting to keep looking for some kind of "no-sweat" secret, whether in the form of a special diet technique, a magic fat burning pill or whatever, but in the end, it always, comes back to this :

You need a calorie deficit to lose weight... and it's better to burn more calories than to cut more calories.

Exercise - including weight training and cardio training - should be a part of every weight management program and a part of your lifestyle. This is one of the ultimate secrets to fat loss and long term weight control:

Remember, don't starve the fat, "BURN THE FAT."

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Top 10 reasons why exercising ("burn"), not dieting ("starve"), is the superior method of losing body fat

The most effective fat-burning programs in the world always contain two types of exercise - weight training and cardiovascular training.

Image via Wikipedia

The reasons to include both could go on for pages, but here are the top 10 :

1. Exercise increases your metabolism.

2. Exercise creates a caloric deficit without triggering starvation mode.

3. Exercise helps you sleep better and manage stress better.

4. Exercise (strength training) tells your body to keep the muscle. Dieting causes muscle loss.

5. Exercise increases bone density.

6. Exercise helps prevent diabetes, control blood sugar, and improve insulin sensitivity.

7. Exercise improves cardiovascular health.

8. Exercise improves mood, helps relieve depression and increases self esteem

9. Exercise increasese mobility and quality of life as you get older

10. Exercise helps you keep the weight off long term.

The Science Behind Burning More, Not Eating Less

The role of energy expenditure in weight loss (diet vs exercise) is still the subject of controversy. For years I've been a strong advocate of weight training and cardiovascular training to "burn the fat" instead of just cutting calories (and being a "couch potato"). Take a look at some of the research-proven benefits of the "burn more" approach and see for yourself:

“Strength training may have greater implications than initially proposed for decreasing body fat and sustaining fat free mass. Research suggests that adding exercise programs to dietary restriction can promote more favourable changes in body composition than diet or physical activity on its own.”
-Stiegler, Sports Medicine, 2006

“Treatments relying only on energy restriction commonly cause substantial loss of lean tissue…” - Walberg, Sports Med, 1989:

“Increasing daily activity and regular exercise plays an important role in weight maintenance due to an impact on daily energy expenditure and a direct enhancement of insulin sensitivity.”
- Astrup, Int J Vitam Nutr res, 76:4, 2006”

“Physical activity is a critical factor for successful body weight regulation. Physical activity facilitates weight maintenance through direct energy expenditure and improved physical fitness.”
- Saris, Int J Obes relat Metab Disord, 1998:

“Reduced energy expenditure appears to facilitate weight gain in individuals susceptible to obesity."
- Saltzman, Nutr rev, 1995:

The Lies And Deceptions That Fuel The $50 Billion Weight Loss Machine

With this kind of proof, why is there any debate at all? Well, the biggest reason is because the weight loss industry thrives on novelty. Without “what’s new,” there's no story. People want to hear about some cutting edge new revolutionary pill or unique new diet breakthrough.

The industry also bets on laziness. Exercise is a hard sell because it's perceived as hard work. Advertisers know there's a lazy side hard wired into human nature, so they do everything they can to make their weight loss solutions look quick, easy and painless.

I believe the fact that we need to exercise - for health, quality of life AND for improved body composition - is such a common sense and intuitive conclusion that I find it almost comedic that there's any debate about it at all.

Think about it: What will your body shape look like by dieting without doing any training??? Diet without exercise tends to create a “skinny fat person” - someone with a low body weight but little if any muscle, and the last 10-15 lbs of stubborn fat is left defiantly clinging to your hips, butt, thighs, abs or "love handles!"






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Fat Loss Lie #9: "Exercise is not necessary... all you need is a diet"

The Truth About The Diet Versus Exercise Debate

Yes, you CAN lose weight by cutting calories. But as you learned in the first part

Image by jcoterhals via Flickr

of this course ("the starvation diet lie"), there is danger in using very low calorie diets; you almost always re-gain weight that's lost with highly restrictive diets.

Some people use calorie restriction out of necessity. For example, I know some wheelchair-bound individuals who lost weight with calorie restriction alone. I also know some people who were very obese and had orthopedic problems (making exercise difficult at first), who chose to get started only with dietary restriction, then they added the exercise later. They also lost weight.

However, for able-bodied people, dieting is the absolute WORST way to lose weight.

Two Ways To Create A Calorie Deficit And Lose The Fat

As you learned in part 5 on calories, to lose fat, you need a calorie deficit. However, there's more than one way to create a calorie deficit. One is to decrease the amount of calories you consume (eat less). The other is to increase the amount of calories you burn (exercise more).

Of the two ways, burning the calories with increased activity is the superior method. Or, you can also combine the two - eat a little less, and exercise more.

Paradoxical as it seems, the most effective approach of all is to eat more and exercise a LOT more (as long as you still keep your calorie deficit). Nutritionist and exercise physiologist Dr. John Berardi calls this a "HIGH ENGERY FLUX," which simply means, higher energy input, higher energy output. The result is a high level of nutrition and a turbo-charged metabolism.





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Fat Loss Lie #8: "Zero carb or very low carb diets are best for permanent fat loss"

The Low Carb Diet Truth

No diet issue has ever created more confusion and controversy than the low carb vs. high carb debate. You are about to finally hear the low carb truth... simplified... But then, you will also hear about a few surprising "twists" to the low carb story!

Contrary to what certain "gurus" tell you, carbohydrates are NOT fattening. As you learned in part 5, what's fattening is eating more calories than your body can use at one time. If you eat too much of anything, it will get stored as fat. Period. That is the pure essence and scientific truth about fat loss:

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CARBS!!!

IT'S ABOUT THE CALORIES!

But don't throw out your low carb diet just yet!

Reduced carb dieting does seem to have some beneficial effects on weight loss and fat loss, but it may not be for the reasons that most people think! In fact, it may not have anything to do with carbs at all ... it may be about protein and appetite regulation!

Low carbers usually don’t want to admit this - they usually want to insist on “metabolic advantage” - but the fact is, one of the biggest reasons that low carb diets can help improve fat loss is because it's very difficult to overeat when you restrict an entire group of energy dense foods like carbohydrates.

And there we have the truth again - if you eat less because of a low carb diet, you lose weight because you ate less, not because you ate less carbs. Got it? Less carbs = less calories!

Test it for yourself :

See how easy it is to overeat if you are told "eat as much of anything as you want." Then see how hard it is to eat a surplus of calories if you’re told, "eat as much as you want - but only lean protein, salad veggies and green veggies with a little bit of essential fat." You will lose fat like crazy on a diet like that, but it's not necessarily because carbs are low, it’s primarily because the CALORIES are low!

The problem is, most people cannot stay on a diet so restricted in choices. That's why over the long term, low carb diets aren't really much more effective than any other diet.

Appetite control - a legit benefit of low carb diets?

Very low carb diets often tell you not to count calories and they say you can eat as much as you like if you just stick to protein and fat. However, they're making a huge assumption that by restricting carbs and allowing fat intake, your appetite will regulate itself and you will eat less as a result.

That's often exactly what happens with low carb, high fat diets - you tend to eat less automatically - so appetite control appears to be a legitimate benefit of low carb diets. However, there is nothing special about "low carb diets" that allows you to eat unlimited calories. If you eat in a caloric surplus, you are going to gain weight, no matter what the macronutrient composition of the diet.

High thermic effect : A second weight loss advantage of a low carb (higher protein) diet?

Here's another potential advantage: Low carb diets tends to be higher in protein. Since protein has a much higher thermic effect, it can lead to slightly greater fat loss than a diet of the same calorie amount that is high in fat and carbs.

In a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2005 (93(2): 281-289), researchers followed a group of 113 overweight subjects after 4 weeks of a very low calorie diet, through a 6 month period of weight maintenance. The subjects were divided into a control group and a protein group that was given an extra 30 grams of protein in place of an equal amount of carbs.

The researchers found that the group with the higher protein intake was less likely to regain the lost weight, and any weight gain in the protein group was lean tissue and not fat. The results were attributed to higher thermic effect and a decrease in appetite.

A third advantage to low carbs?

Another potental benefit of carb restriction is better glycemic (blood sugar) control. This may provide some body composition and health advantages for individuals who are carb intolerant or who suffer from "metabolic syndrome" (where the body doesn't process sugar very well and tends to overproduce insulin).

Of course, as with nearly everything in life, there are two sides to every coin...

Disadvantages of low carb diets

1) For most people, strict low carb diets are difficult to stick to.

If you remove most of your carbohydrates from your diet for a long period of time, you're setting yourself up for a relapse. You tend to crave what you cannot have, both physiologically and psychologically. The more you cut the carbs, the easier it is to rebound will be when you put carbs back in.

2) Very low carb diets are often unbalanced and missing many nutrients.

It's still up for debate whether low carb programs like the Atkins diet are unhealthy, but removal of entire good groups such as fruits and 100% whole natural grains is definitely not nutritionally balanced for fiber, phytochemical and micronutrient intake.

3) Very low carb diets may cause low energy levels.

Most people will feel physically tired and mentally irritable without carbs, so their training will usually suffer: Low carbs = low energy. Low energy = poor workouts. Poor workouts = poor results. This makes low carb diets a poor choice for highly active people. The reason I don't recommend "very low" carb diets to my clients is because I am a strong advocate of weight training and cardio training as part of a fitness lifestyle. When you are training hard, you must "feed the machine" and eat to support your activity.

4) The intial rapid weight loss on a very low carb diet can be deceiving.

Much of the initial weight loss on low carbs is water and even lean tissue. If you drop 5-7 lbs in your first week on a low carb diet it sounds impressive, but if one pound is fat, 2-3 pounds are water and 2-3 pounds are muscle, what did you accomplish? Your goal should be fat loss, not "weight" loss.

Taking a lesson from the leanest athletes on Earth

On an interesting side note, I've made an 18-year long study of how the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models get so incredibly lean. One thing I noticed was that almost every bodybuilder or fitness competitor uses some variation of the low carb diet to prepare for competitions. Why? because although there are disadvantages, they want those low carb advantages, even if it's a difficult diet to follow.

Most bodybuilders however, use an interesting variation on the traditional low carb diet. It's called "carb cycling," where you increase carbs at regular intervals rather than staying on low carbs all of the time. Carb cycling makes low carb diets safer, more effective and easier to follow.

The bottom line?

Yes, there is something to the low carb diet that helps accelerate fat loss. But in the end, it all comes back to calories and to whether or not you can stick with your program. Ability to comply with a program may be the biggest factor of all in long term success, not the level of carb intake. Low carb diets work primarily because they make you eat less. Eat too much and you gain weight, regardless of whether it's protein, carbs or fat.

My advice is not to jump into a low carb diet without reason, but to assess whether you are a good candidate for this type of approach. Then, if you decide to try the low carb approach, it's best used temporarily to break a plateau or reach a peak and it appears that a small reduction in carbs with a slight increase in protein is enough to get most of the benefits of low carb diets.

Cutting out carbs completely (or even dropping all the way to 20-30 grams a day as some programs advise in the beginning), is not necessary, it's hard to stick to and is probably not healthy in the long term. It's usually not wise to go to extremes in anything and that's as true for nutrition as anything else in life : moderation is the key..




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Fat Loss Lie #7: "Your genetics are keeping you fat"

How The News Media Distorts, Exagerrates And Lies To You

A recent New York Times story headline said, "Genes Take Charge, And Diets Fall By The Wayside." A similar headline in the New York Post said, "Battle Your Biology? Fat Chance!"

Image via Wikipedia

These and other articles like them claim that more and more evidence is proving that if you're overweight, "it's not your fault" and that genes - more than environment and behavior - explain obesity.

I say, "complete, unadulterated GARBAGE!"

Media stories like these often take legitimate statistics about genetic obesity completely out of context and blow them out of proportion to make for sensational news. They also make the common and devastating mistake of encouraging people to cast blame for their health anywhere but on themselves. Many of these types of stories are also based on ulterior motives.

Even worse, believing that "It's not your fault" is one of the biggest lies told in the weight loss industry and one of the most damaging beliefs you could ever have. In fact, the ONLY way you can ever become successful at achieving and maintaining your ideal weight is by accepting responsibility.

What The Research Really Says About Obesity And Your Genes

Make no mistake, there IS a genetic component to obesity. According to the latest research from the Human Genomics Project, you may inherit body fat tendencies just as you inherited your height, eye color or hair color. The tendency may range from slight predisposition to full blown genetic obesity.

In the 1990's, obesity researchers identified the OB (obesity) gene and mapped it to chromosome #7. Studies following a large number of twins and families have also helped to establish a link between obesity and heredity.

However, scientists say that severe mutations in the obesity gene are rare in humans (so mouse studies are largely irrelevant) and doubt has been raised concerning high genetic probability for obesity. ("Full blown" genetic obesity affects only about 5% of obese individuals!)

Therefore, claiming that genetics are more important than behavior and lifestyle is completely false.

Other Genetic Influences... Your Body Type And Metabolic Type

Other theories of genetic individuality discuss inherited body types, metabolic rate and body chemistry . In the 1930's, Harvard psychologist Dr. William H. Sheldon developed a classification system for different body types called "somatotyping":

Ectomorphs are the lean, lanky types. They are usually very thin and bony, with fast metabolisms and extremely low body fat. An ectomorph can seemingly eat like a horse without gaining an ounce.

Mesomorphs are the "genetically gifted." They are lean, muscular and naturally athletic. Mesomorphs lose fat and gain muscle with ease.

Endomorphs are the "fat retainers." Characterized by round features, excess body fat and large joints ("big bones"), endomorphs usually have difficulty in losing body fat and they tend to gain fat quickly if they eat poorly or don't exercise.

In addition to inherited body type ("somatotype"), individuals may also inherit certain metabolic types. Some people metabolize carbohydrates inefficiently and do not regulate blood sugar efficiently. They tend to produce too much insulin when they eat concentrated or fast-absorbing carbs, and or to be insulin resistant. This makes it more difficult to release stored body fat and puts them at risk for a variety of health problems. This condition is known as "Syndrome X" or "metabolic syndrome."

The $26 Billion Conspiracy Behind The Lies

Some doctors and researchers, such as those quoted in the newspaper stories, consider these obesity-stimulating conditions to be genetically transmitted "diseases" that require medical treatment. In a few isolated cases, obesity clearly is a genetic disorder. However, these cases are rare, so this idea of obesity as a "disease" should be viewed with a great deal of caution and suspicion, because weight loss is potentially the biggest market in the world for drug sales.

According to Justin Gillis, a staff writer for the Washington Post, more than 45 companies worldwide are trying to develop new obesity drugs, and the stakes couldn't be higher. Gillis writes, "In world where a blockbuster drug is worth $1 billion a year in sales, analysts give $5 billion as the low estimate for sales of an important obesity drug. If a company developed a truly safe, effective weight loss drug, and sold it for $3 a day to one quarter of the 100+ million American adults estimated to be overweight, sales would exceed $26 billion a year in this country alone."

If obesity is classified as a (genetically inherited) "disease", that means more prescriptions will be written

Listen, if anyone ever tells you that "It's not your fault... you were born fat, so don't feel guilty... and don't worry, we have a drug that can help," be cautious and question whose interests are being served; yours or the pharmaceutical giants.

The Truth About Heredity And Body Fat

Losing weight does seem easier for some people than for others. In fact, researchers say that there is a segment of the population that appears to be "genetically resistant to obesity." That doesn't seem fair, but that's the way life is. Let's be honest; not everyone has the genetics to become a top-ranking pro bodybuilder or to become an Olympic Gold medallist.

But you are NOT doomed to live a life of fatness if you don't have "athletic genes." Everyone can improve their body shape and fitness level beyond where it is today.

Body fat is the result of many influences. Genetics is only one of them and as little as 25% the causes are genetic/biological in nature. According To Dr. Claude Bouchard of the Human genomics Laboratory in Baton Rouge, LA, there are several certainties about the TRUE causes of obesity. He suggests the following contributing factors:

(1) physical environment
(2) social environment
(3) behavior
(4) biology

This means that 75% of your results are dictated by lifestyle and behavior factors and only 25% by biology. Accodring to Dr. Bouchard, "The obesity epidemic that we are facing today has developed only over the past 50 years and cannot be explained by changes in our genome."

And The Truth About Personal Responsibility That Will Set You FREE!

Like it or not, the condition of your body today is primarily a result of your own lifestyle, behavior and mindset (psychology). But that's great news, because it means most of the factors that affect your body fat levels are entirely under your control. These factors include how much you eat, what you eat, when you eat, who you eat with, how many sedentary activities you engage in, what type of exercise you do, how frequently you exercise, how long you exercise and how hard you exercise

Your first step if you want to achieve and maintain your perfect weight, is to accept 100% responsibility for your weight and your health. When the going gets tough, it’s easy to blame and make excuses. But blaming genetics is a convenient excuse for not taking continuous action. It's also giving away your power and conceding that you a victim rather than a creator of your life.

If you're a frustrated "endomorph" or if you feel like dieting is an uphill battle against your genes, PLEASE do NOT chalk it up to "bad genetics," and do NOT blame your weight on your chromosomes! YOU are responsible and YOU are in control! Dr. Thomas Wadden, a psychologist from Syracuse University, says, "There IS a genetic component to your weight, but NO ONE is destined to be obese."

Above all else, do NOT quit! The universe always bows to persistence. The empowering approach is to see your physical challenges as assets, because overcoming obstacles forces you to develop discipline, determination and character. These traits will carry over to other areas of your life and make you a stronger person.

As Arnold Schwarzennegger once said, "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you overcome hardships, that is strength."


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