AtoZfitness Article Blog » Mike Geary

Excess Abdominal Fat is Not Only Ugly, but Extremely Dangerous to Your Health – This is More Than a Vanity Issue!

lewis — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:58:38 +0000

The difference between subcutaneous fat and the more deadly "visceral fat"

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
author of best-selling program: The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

Although this picture depicts an extremely overweight man, this article applies to dangerous types of fat inside the bodies of both men and women… and this discussion also applies even if you only have a slight amount of excess stomach fat.

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? It's true – as much as 70% of the population in some "westernized" countries such as the US and Australia are now considered either overweight or obese. The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body

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

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

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

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

Excess stomach fat has also been associated in studies with higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation within the body that can lead to heart disease and other health issues.

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

One of the major reasons that some people accumulate more visceral fat than others can be from a high carbohydrate diet that leads to insulin resistance over time (years of bombarding your system with too much sugars and starches for your body to properly handle the constant excess blood sugar) … and studies show that high fructose intake particularly from high-fructose corn syrup can be a major contributor to excess visceral fat.

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

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat, including visceral fat?

Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for "miracle" fat loss products?

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

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

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

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

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

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

From my research, two of the most important aspects to getting rid of visceral fat are:

1. The use of high intensity forms of exercise and full-body resistance training. Low intensity cardio exercise simply isn't as effective for removing visceral fat in particular. High intensity exercise such as interval training or full-body weight training are very effective at helping to improve your body's ability to manage glucose and increases insulin sensitivity, a crucial step in removing visceral fat. These types of high intensity exercise routines are also very effective at increasing your fat-burning hormones and creating a hormonal environment conducive to burning off abdominal fat, including visceral fat.

2. In addition, it's vitally important to get blood sugar under control to help restore insulin sensitivity through the right nutrition. This means greatly reducing sugars and refined starches in your diet (including fully eliminating any use of harmful high fructose corn syrup!), and focusing more of your diet on healthy fats (such as avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut fat, olive oil, free-range eggs, fatty fish and fish oils, etc), as well as increasing protein and fiber intake. The standard diet recommended by the government, which contains an unnaturally high grain intake is NOT conducive to controlling blood sugar and reducing visceral fat!

Reducing grain-based foods in your diet and getting more of your carbs from veggies and high fiber fruits such as berries can go a long way to helping to solve this problem.

Learn the Truth about Losing Your Stomach Fat Permanently

You may not realize this, but the entire basis of my Truth about Six Pack Abs program is NOT about abs exercises… instead, it's actually about detailed strategies for both nutrition and exercise that maximize your ability to lose abdominal fat. The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program in order to help you to burn stomach fat faster.

Keep in mind that the whole point of this program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective nutritional strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, and maximizing a fat-burning hormonal environment in your body so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

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

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

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS. A lot of people have emailed my support team with questions about whether they need any special equipment for these workouts, if they're too old or too young for this program, if the diet tips will apply to them, etc. I've made a page that should answer all of your questions…

FAQ - Questions about the Truth about Six Pack Abs abdominal fat loss program

Sincerely,
Lewis – Owner
www.atozfitness.com
www.articles.atozfitness.com - Fitness Article Blog
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www.atoztoptrainers.com – 8 Top trainers reveal all.

If you have any questions, you can contact us by clicking here.

Are You Addicted to Overly-Aggressive Food Tastes? This Could Be Making You Fatter

lewis — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:21:48 +0000

This article explores changing your taste buds over time to prefer eating healthy natural unprocessed foods

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

If you've been a newsletter subscriber of mine for some time, you've probably noticed that I like to talk about food… and healthy eating in particular. I've always said that healthy eating does NOT have to be boring and bland, and if you know a few preparation tricks, can actually be exciting and delicious.

Many people seem to falsely believe that they'll never be able to get lean if they don't eat what is thought to be typical bodybuilder fare — dry plain chicken breasts, plain broccoli, tuna fish, oatmeal, etc. If you've read my newsletters for some time, you know that I'm against this type of boring menu, and like to give healthy meal ideas that have a little more appeal.

However, here is one of the most important things you can do for yourself if you want to eat healthier for life and make it a HECK OF A LOT easier to get lean and stay that way permanently…

Learn to adjust your taste buds to enjoy the natural unadulterated taste of real food — unprocessed foods!

This is one of the main problems that I see so many people face with being able to control their eating… they have grown up with processed foods and additives that are excessively AGGRESSIVE TASTES.

So many foods have excessive added sugars, corn syrups, artificial sweeteners, etc
So many foods have excessive added trans fats, refined vegetable oils, and other processed fats
So many foods are laden with excessive (and potentially dangerous) flavor enhancers such as MSG and processed commercial salt

All of this massive onslaught of overly aggressive tastes have rendered most people's taste buds senseless when it comes to the natural taste of real unprocessed foods.

I was having brunch with a couple friends recently and I noticed one of them dumped this huge heaping spoonful of sugar into their coffee. I can't even imagine being able to gag down a coffee that was so heavily loaded with sugar.

Even diet drinks (which I'd never drink because of the harmful artificial sweeteners) are so excessively sweet these days, they're not even refreshing. I can't understand how people can drink something that tastes like pure syrup.

It's funny but one of my recommendations when people ask for my advice with their eating habits is to give up drinking a sweetened drink with their meals (this means no diet drinks either)… they look at me like I'm crazy and say "How can I possibly eat a meal without a soda or a diet soda?"

If you're addicted to drinking a sweet drink with every meal, it would be a wise decision to start to wean yourself off of them and drink water or unsweetened iced tea instead.

Here's a quick quiz to see if you're officially addicted to overly aggressive tastes:

1. If given the choice, would you choose:

a. sausage or hot dog
b. steak, burger, or chicken breast

2. Do you prefer:

a. sweetened hot tea, iced tea, or coffee (with added sugar or artificial sweeteners)
b. unsweetened tea or black coffee

3. If given a choice for dessert, do you prefer:

a. cake, pie, or ice cream
b. a piece of fruit

4. If you like chocolate, do you prefer:

a. milk chocolate
b. extra dark chocolate

I could think of more, but that'll do for now… If you answered a's more than you answered b's, then you may be addicted to overly aggressive food tastes, and that could be making you pack on more pounds indirectly.

One of the main problems is that needing to eat aggressive tasting foods means that all of that extra salt, MSG, added processed fats, sugars, and artificial sweeteners are playing havok with your hormones, and making you crave extra calories that your body doesn't need.

Don't worry though, it CAN be easy to wean yourself off of these aggressive tastes. I've successfully done it.

About 5 years ago, I'd have called you crazy if you said I'd ever be drinking unsweetened tea or black coffee… I always needed to add a sweetener back then… but now, I actually PREFER to drink them both unsweetened.

What I did was just slightly reduce the amount of sweetener I added over time, and eventually I got used to using none, and actually started to prefer the natural taste of coffee or tea instead of just tasting the sweetness.

Now you can start to see how this all ties back into enjoying the REAL taste of food instead of the ADDITIVES in food!

My healthy eating recommendations for your leaner healthier body:

Enjoy the taste of real meats, such as grass-fed steaks, fish, chicken breasts, pork tenderloin… instead of needing the aggressive tastes of the additives in sausages, hot dogs, deli meats, and other processed meats.
Start to enjoy the taste of the actual coffee or tea instead of the taste of the sugar or artificial sweetener.
Start drinking water or unsweetened tea with meals (instead of soda or sweetened drinks) at least every other day, and try to increase that to every day eventually.
Use herbs and spices in your cooking instead of heavy use of salt.
Try to wean yourself off of cakes, pies, candies, and other sweets… Eat mostly fruit or small amounts of super-dark chocolate instead.
Avoid eating any and all deep fried foods and processed starch-based side dishes – mac & cheese, scalloped potatoes, etc.

Even doing just some of these simple tips can help you to change your tastes over time and help to overcome your addiction to the overly aggressive tastes that food marketers have pushed on us our entire lives.

Till next time,
Lewis
Publisher
www.atozfitness.com

The #1 MOST Important Diet Lesson You Will Ever Learn

lewis — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:54:26 +0000

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-seller: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

* * *FREE PDF DOWNLOAD * * *

Authored by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Personal Trainer Mike Geary, this FREE eBook details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier. It also includes unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Download it today

Download it Here

This article might surpise some people… because most people don't view nutrition in this way that I'm about to explain. Instead most people get thoroughly confused about nutrition and calories, protein, carbs, fat, diet foods, low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-carb, healthy label claims, vegetarian, raw foods, etc, etc.

However, if you view nutrition in this way that I'll explain below, it solves every single confusion about nutrition that you could ever have. I will warn you though, this is very BIG PICTURERE thinking, and it helps explain a lot about the human body when you think about things this way.

Ok, the #1 MOST important aspect about nutrition involves the study of ARCHAEOLOGY (and anthropology)!

What the heck am I talking about? Well, let's dig in…

We know from archaeological records that our current human species (homo sapiens) originated approximately 200,000 years ago… however, our close cousins (ancestors prior to homo sapiens), such as homo erectus, date as far back as several million years.s.

If you study evidence about what our ancestors ate, it gives obvious clues about how the human digestive system evolved and what are the healthiest foods for us to eat in today's world.

Now this discussion could get pretty involved and encompass an entire book, so let me give some important statements to best summarize this:s:

1. Despite what you'll hear from extreme vegans, extreme raw foodists, and other believers in "extreme" types of diets that eliminate entire portions of the historical human diet, the human digestive system evolved to eat a mixture of plants and animal foods (yes, we evolved as omnivores), as well as a mixture of raw food AND cooked food.

I know, I know… You'll get heated debate about both of these topics…meat eating vs veganism, and raw foodism… however, it's historical FACT that our current species (and historical ancestors back over a million years ago) in almost every culture around the world, ate at least some % of plant-animal food combination and raw food / cooked food combination (even if it was at different times of the day, or even different times of the year).

Some cultures, such as the Inuit of the arctic and several tribes in Africa, thrived in stellar health on almost an entirely animal-based diet, and other cultures around the world thrived on almost an entirely plant-based diet… But all cultures generally had some mixture of plant and animal foods, even if the amount of animal food was small in some cultures, or the amount of plant food was small in other cultures.

Similarly, virtually every culture around the world has also historically consumed BOTH raw foods and cooked foods in differing amounts of each… but there's no real evidence of societies thriving on 100% raw food diets.

But what about the argument that raw foodists make claiming that all animals in nature eat 100% raw foods, but humans are the only species that eats cooked food…

Well, there's a simple explanation for that… humans were the ONLY species with a well developed enough brain to understand how to control fire and therefore cook our food… And since we've been cooking a portion of our foods for the entire existence of our species (200,000 years) as well as our ancestors back several million years, our digestive systems have adapted to eating a portion of our food cooked.

This also explains why acrylamides are more harmful to animals that eat cooked food compared to humans… since humans have adapted some level of tolerance to acrylamides from eating a partial cooked diet for 100's of thousands of years, but animals have never historically adapted to a cooked food diet, and therefore, are more sensitive to acrylamides.

If you've never heard of acrylamides, they are formed when the outside of foods are burned during cooking (such as the browning on breads or other baked goods, browning on deep fried foods, or the charring of vegetables cooked over a flame, etc) and these compounds are potentially carcinogenic to both humans and animals. Cooking foods with water, and also using high antioxidant herbs and spices in cooking helps reduce acrylamides and protect you against them.

The bottom line… we were designed through evolution to eat a mixture of both plants and animals as well as cooked and raw foods… But let's clarify an important point in #2 below…

2. Although I say that we were meant through evolution to eat an omnivorous diet of both plants and animals, one thing that we were NEVER meant to eat is factory-farm raised animals, or eggs or milk from factory-farm raised animals.

Factory farming is an entirely new phenomenon that's still only decades old, so essentially, these types of meat products were never meant to be part of the human diet.

Chemically (nutritionally), factory-farm animal products are VASTLY different from animal products that were raised the way they were meant to live and eat. Examples of these differences can be seen glaringly in the nutrition profiles of grass-fed meats vs grain-fed factory farm meat, free range eggs vs factory eggs, wild fish vs farmed fish, and so on.

We're talking about major differences in omega-3's vs omega-6's, differences in vitamins and minerals, differences in other healthy fats such as CLA, and lots more.

So although I don't fully agree with veganism at least from a nutritional standpoint (moral arguments aside), I also don't agree with our current state of affairs of the majority of our food supply of factory farm raised animal products (at least here in the US, where the condition of the factory farm animals and nutritional quality of the food is horrendous).

That's why I try to not support the factory farm industry as much as possible (which is most meats and dairy in your supermarket) and instead, I try to eat almost solely grass-fed meats from free ranging animals, wild game, wild fish, eggs from local farmers from free roaming hens, and dairy only from grass-fed cows that are allowed to graze almost entirely on forage.

3. Although I point out that many historical cultures around the world thrived on vastly different percentages of animal products vs plant products in their diet, here is another type of food that we were NEVER meant to eat:

PROCESSED FOOD

Yes, I know it hurts to hear it, but cakes, cookies, crackers, microwaved meals, chips, sodas, granola bars, sugary sports drinks or energy drinks, and 1000's of other products that line our supermarket shelves were never meant to be part of the human diet, so it's obvious why it causes so many health problems for us.

This gets back to what I always say about trying to include as many "1-ingredient" foods as you can in your diet if you want to eat like we were meant to eat.

"1-ingredient" foods means healthy meats, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, tubers, fruits, and veggies. It's really that simple.

4. Ok, this one starts to get a little controversial… but, remember that agriculture is also a relatively new phenomenon in the big picture of the human diet when you expand far back in history a couple of million years. And when I'm talking about agriculture, I'm mostly talking about the massive influx of grain-based foods into the human diet that occurred with the invention of agriculture.

The mass production of grains through agriculture is only a few thousand years old… Compare that to our ancestors historical existence as hunter-gatherers as far back as a couple of million years, and our current species (homo sapiens) 200,000-year history as hunter-gatherers.

If you think about it, as hunter-gatherers, we would have had very limited access to grains, and they would have encompassed a very small % of our historical calorie intake, since they weren't mass produced and processed. Instead, we thrived on mostly game meats (including the organ meats, where most of the micro-nutrients are found), wild fish and seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, tubers, fruits, and veggies.

From this perspective, grains probably never accounted for more than 1-3% of our historical calorie intake… and as you know from one of my recent articles, currently our modern processed diet that the average person eats consists of 67% of total calories from grains such as corn, soy, and wheat and their derivatives… now THAT'S a shocking revelation in why our entire food supply is backwards, and how that affects your waistline!

It also makes you think about how ridiculously wrong our "food pyramid" really is, which promotes the bulk of our food to be eaten from grains.

I could go on with more examples, but I think you're seeing the major points here… the most important aspect to eating a healthy diet that promotes a lean, healthy body is to acknowledge what our ancestors ate throughout the millions of years of evolution.

And that certainly wasn't processed "diet foods" with fancy label claims deceiving you into thinking they're healthy… instead, it was the 1-ingredient foods I listed above, eaten in a combination of raw food and cooked food.

A couple final thoughts on how to fit these suggestions into your healthy eating plan:

1. Try to become a "locavore" as much as possible… if you can get local farm-fresh produce, that is the most environmentally and socially responsible, as well as healthy way to get your produce. Research if you have farmers markets and farm stands that might be in your area, or deliver to your area.

2. Try to choose organic foods as much as possible… but local food will many times trump organic food that had to travel thousands of miles to make it to you.

3. When choosing meat and eggs, try to choose grass-fed meats as much as possible, free range chicken, turkey, and pork raised in a humane manner, and eggs from hens that truly roam free outside instead of being confined to "chicken factories". Many times, this means making the effort to seek out local farms or co-ops that deliver to urban areas.

Remember that eating healthy and responsibly doesn't mean eating bland boring food… there are tons of ways to eat in a healthy and socially/environmentally responsible manner, and we describe in depth how to do this in our Fat Burning Kitchen Program.

Till next time,
Lewis
Publisher
www.atozfitness.com

The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise

lewis — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:07:48 +0000

By Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
author of best-selling program – The Truth about Six Pack Abs

A Look at the "Front Squat" (a surprising exercise not only for legs, but also rock hard abs!)

As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with other greats like deadlifts and clean and presses) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss).

This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Squats and deadlifts use hundreds of muscles throughout your entire body to move the load and also to stabilize your body while doing the drill.

Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (increasing fat-burning & muscle building growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises.

Another weird fact: University research studies have even proven that inclusion of weighted squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining lean muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) are a couple of the ultimate exercises to accomplish this.

If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment and getting zero results!

Squats can be done with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, or even just body weight. Squats should only be done with free weights – NEVER with a Smith machine!

Side note: My program, The Truth About Six Pack Abs contains the full story on why machines are so inferior and even potentially DANGEROUS compared to free weights.

The type of squat that people are most familiar with is the barbell back squat where the bar is resting on the trapezius muscles of the upper back. Many professional strength coaches believe that front squats (where the bar rests on the shoulders in front of the head) and overhead squats (where the bar is locked out in a snatch grip overhead throughout the squat) are more functional to athletic performance than back squats with less risk of lower back injury.

I feel that a combination of all three (not necessarily during the same phase of your workouts) will yield the best results for overall muscular development, body fat loss, and athletic performance. Front squats are moderately more difficult than back squats, while overhead squats are considerably more difficult than either back squats or front squats. I'll cover overhead squats in a future newsletter issue.

If you are only accustomed to performing back squats, it will take you a few sessions to become comfortable with front squats, so start out light. After a couple sessions of practice, you will start to feel the groove and be able to increase the poundage.

To perform front squatss

The front squat recruits the abdominals to a MUCH higher degree for stability due to the more upright position compared with back squats. It is mostly a lower body exercise, but is great for functionally incorporating core strength and stability into the squatting movement. If you're doing front squats right, you'll feel a hard contraction in your abs during these.

It can also be slightly difficult to learn how to properly rest the bar on your shoulders. There are two ways to rest the bar on the front of the shoulders.

In the first method, you step under the bar and cross your forearms into an “X” position while resting the bar on the dimple that is created by the shoulder muscle near the bone, keeping your elbows up high so that your arms are parallel to the ground. You then hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists against the bar for support. This technique is a bit tricky and you want to make sure to have the weight resting on muscle and not bone!

Alternatively, you can hold the bar by placing your palms face up and the bar resting on your fingers against your shoulders. For both methods, your elbows must stay up high to prevent the weight from falling. Your upper arms should stay parallel to the ground throughout the squat. Find out which bar support method is more comfortable for you.

Then, initiate the squat from your hips by sitting back and down keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then press back up to the starting position. Keeping your weight more towards your heels is the key factor in squatting to protect your knees from injury and develop strong injury resistant knee joints.

Keep in mind – squats done correctly actually strengthen the knees; squats done incorrectly can damage the knees. Practice first with an un-weighted bar or a relatively light weight to learn the movement. Most people are surprised how hard this exercise works your abs once you learn the correct form.

You also need to use a good bit lighter weight on front squats compared to back squats. For example, personally, I use about 250 lbs for 8 reps on the back squat, but on the front squat, I need to be around 175 lbs for 8 reps, so a good bit lighter.

START/FINISHH

MIDPOINT

So there you have it… one the best exercises for both rock hard abs, and a rock hard body from head to toe! I could list a LOT more, but wanted to focus on front squats today as they are one of the most under-utilized.

The 3 Best Abdominal Exercises that Are NOT Your “Normal” Ab Exercises

lewis — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:33:35 +0000

The 3 Best Abdominal Exercises that Are NOT Your “Normal” Ab Exercises

A unique ab workout that doesn’t contain your typical boring stomach exercises – no crunches or situps here!

by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Instead of the typical ab routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc… I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs… thus building rock hard abs & core, but also creating a much better fat-burning workout than a typical ab workout.

I’m going to show you an example today of one of my favorite “ab workouts” that doesn’t include any direct “ab exercises” at all. This is actually a full body workout that works your abs pretty hard indirectly, and stimulates a good metabolism boost! It’s in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises).

Here goes:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows
1b. Front Squats with Barbell
1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

A good rep scheme to use with this could be 3-4 sets of 8 reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. Mountain climbers can be done for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of “reps”.

Exercise Pics & Descriptions:

Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 dumbbells. You then row one dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the opposite arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows creates incredible work for your entire midsection core area. Trust me… you’ll feel it in the abs!

Renegade Rows shown above

Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of resting on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while keeping your elbows out in front of the body.

This takes a little practice at first, so you will want to seek a professional trainer at your gym to help you with the form. Front squats require extreme stabilization strength from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body instead of the back. Even though this is mostly a leg exercise, you’ll feel this one in the abs big time!

Front squats shown above

Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup position and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to starting position. It sort of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor. If you want an advanced version, you can also shuffle your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This really makes it a full body exercise and MUCH more difficult than standard mountain climbers.

Mountain Climbers shown above

After finishing each exercise, rest about 30 seconds before starting the next exercise. Rest about 1-2 minutes after completing each “tri-set” before repeating.

This will give you one of the best ab workouts you’ve ever had without even doing any direct ab exercises…. and with a LOT more fat-burning metabolic effect compared to standard ab exercises… You’ll see what I mean after you try it!

7 “FATTY” Foods that Can Help You to Get a Flat Stomach (some of these will surprise you!)

lewis — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:09:07 +0000

These 7 shocking Fatty (but healthy) super-foods can actually help you to burn body fat faster!

by Mike Geary for atozfitness.com subscribers, Mike is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist and
Author of the best-seller — The Truth about Six Pack Abs

At this point, the anti-fat propaganda has died and almost everybody understands by now that eating fat doesn't necessarily make you fat. In fact, it's absolutely imperative to get enough healthy fats in your diet to keep your hormones balanced, blood sugar under control, and prevent cravings. Here are 7 examples of "fatty" foods that can actually HELP you to get lean…

1. Super Dark Chocolate (at least 72% cacao content or higher) – It might not be a secret anymore, but yes, dark chocolate (NOT milk chocolate) can be a very healthy food, even though it is technically calorie dense.

However, I would contend that dark chocolate can actually HELP you to burn off more body fat if you're the type of person that has a sweet tooth and likes to eat a lot of desserts. In this case, just 1 or 2 small squares of dark chocolate can many times satisfy your sweet tooth for only 30 or 40 calories as opposed to 500 calories for a piece of chocolate cake or a piece of pie.

Also some brands of dark chocolate that are in the mid 70's in % cacao content or higher, can have a fairly high ratio of fiber content (I've seen some brands have 5 grams of fiber out of 15 grams of total carbs per serving), and relatively low sugar content compared to the amount of healthy fats. In fact, that's one of the "tricks" I use to select a good quality chocolate… I look for more total fat than total carbs (or about the same number of grams of each).

The importance of that fact is that it means many dark chocolates will not greatly affect your blood sugar and will have a fairly blunted blood sugar response compared to other "sweets".

In addition, dark chocolate is also very rich in healthful antioxidants, including a powerful compound called theobromine which has been shown to help lower blood pressure and have other health benefits. The fat content in a good dark chocolate should come solely from the natural healthy fats occuring in cocoa butter and not from any other added fats. Any chocolates with added fats or other additives will generally not be as healthy.

The reason I say to choose dark chocolates with at least 72% cacao content is that the higher the % of cacao, the lower the % of sugar. However, this does mean that any chocolate over 80% cacao content will generally start to get a more bitter taste and have very little sweetness. If you like this type of taste, then the higher % cocao, the better. Otherwise, a good 75% dark chocolate is in my opinion an almost perfect combination of lightly sweet with a rich chocolate taste. Just remember to keep those daily quantities of chocolate small as it is calorie dense!

You can also reap the benefits of the antioxidants and fiber without all of the calories by using organic unsweetened cocoa powder in your smoothies or other recipes.

Read the rest of this article here !

See some odd fat-fighters…

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3 Vegetables That Fight Abdominal Fat

lewis — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:24:11 +0000

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3 Vegetables That Fight Abdominal Fat

A unique way that a few specific vegetables can actually stimulate the burning of abdominal fat…

article by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author — The Truth about Six Pack Abs

I bet you didn't know that there is a specific class of vegetables that contain very specific phytonutrients that actually help to fight against stubborn belly fat.

Let me explain what these unique vegetables are and why they help to burn stomach fat…

Chemicals that force your body to hold onto belly fat

Something you may have never heard about is that certain chemicals in our food supply and our environment, such as pesticides, herbicides, and certain petrochemicals from air and water pollution, household cleaners, cosmetics, etc can react with your body and make your body store excess abdominal fat.

These chemicals are known as xenoestrogens.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that you are exposed to (and are hard to avoid in the modern world) that have an estrogenic effect in your body. Excess exposure to these can cause hormone balance disruptions for both men and women. So these can wreak havoc in the body for both guys and gals.

These estrogenic chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis can stimulate your body to store belly fat, along with many other problems (including cancer risks in the long term).

So here's where this specific class of vegetables comes in handy…

One of those cool tricks that I teach my clients that hire me for nutritional counseling is the use of cruciferous vegetables to help fight against stomach fat.

Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, etc. contain very specific and unique phytonutrients such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that help to fight against these estrogenic compounds…

And by fighting against these belly fat stimulating estrogenic chemicals, this is just 1 more step in helping you to win the battle against abdominal fat!

So there you go… just another excuse to do what mom always told you and eat more broccoli!

I've really learned to like brussells sprouts in the last year too… Melt a little grass-fed cheese on them and some garlic and they're great!

FREE Fat Loss Tips Presentation:

More unique tips to lose stubborn stomach fat on the next page…

I'm going to show you at least 12 other specific foods, teas, spices, etc that help to combat the xenoestrogens and can help you to burn abdominal fat faster inside the resource on the next page…

Men Click Here for your presentation with important tips to start losing your belly fat and carving out ripped six pack abs.

Women Click Here for your presentation showing a unique method for losing your stubborn tummy fat and getting a tight sexy stomach.

have a great day,,
Lewis

Publisher
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Is CANOLA OIL really a health risk?

lewis — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:49:28 +0000

Have you been lied to about the health benefits of canola oil?

Are you at all confused about whether CANOLA OIL is good for you or bad for you.

It's LOADED with healthy Omega 3's and people have been using it for years in Salads , for cooking , smoothies and protein shakes.

There is a problem with most websites that DEFEND canola oil, saying that internet "urban legends" on the dangers of canola oil are unfounded.

This article by my buddy Mike Geary helps put things in perspective and I think it will help you decide for yourself the truth about canola oil .

Does Canned Food and Bottled Water Increase Your Abdominal Fat Through Hidden Chemicals?

lewis — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:28:17 +0000

Does Canned Food and Bottled Water Increase Your Abdominal Fat Through Hidden Chemicals?

…and 9 Tips to Minimize Your Exposure to these Harmful Chemicals

by Mike Geary – Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-selling program - The Truth About 6-Pack Abs

You may have started hearing in the news about some of the hidden chemicals that might be lurking in your canned foods and bottled water and other drinks. Some of them are known as xenoestrogens, which have the potential to cause serious health problems over time, as well as increase abdominal fat from the estrogenic effect.

Today, I want to share with you some important details about one of the MOST problematic chemicals that you're being exposed to specifically from canned foods and bottled drinks, etc…

It's called Bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA can be found as a component of some types of plastic bottles, and also in the lining inside of canned foods.

Since BPA is a known "xenoestrogen", it's been linked in animal studies (at surprisingly small doses) to all sorts of various health issues such as cancer, metabolic disorders, heart disease, diabetes, and fertility problems and birth defects or miscarriages… and of course, any xenoestrogens in large enough amounts can trigger your body to hold onto abdominal fat (aka – stubborn belly fat).

The major offenders to look for are polycarbonate bottles (some plastics with the #7 symbol on the bottom are polycarbonate, but not all) and also canned foods, since the lining of most canned foods contains BPA, which can leach into food. The longer that a can of food sits on a shelf and the higher the temperature, the more BPA can leach into your food. The same can be said for polycarbonate bottles that contain food or drinks.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), BPA was detected in the bodies of 95% of Americans in one CDC study (this is a worldwide issue though, not just limited to the US). This is nothing to shrug off either… look at this scary finding…

The Environmental Working Group reports, "analysis of our tests reveals that for one of every five cans tested, and for one-third of all vegetables and pastas (ravioli and noodles with tomato sauce), a single serving would expose a pregnant woman to BPA at levels that fall within a factor of 5 of doses linked to birth defects — permanent damage of developing male reproductive organs".

If that didn't get your attention, how about this…

The EWG also reports evidence of… "An investigation demonstrating that low doses of BPA spur both the formation and growth of fat cells, the two factors that drive obesity in humans (Masumo et al. 2002)."

This is not surprising, since as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, BPA is a known xenoestrogen, and any xenoestrogens can contribute to what's been referred to as "stubborn abdominal fat" as well as cancer and other health problems.

It's also important to note that any canned tomato products (canned ravioli, pastas, canned tomato pastes, tomato sauces, etc) are some of the biggest offenders with the highest BPA concentrations due to the acidic nature of tomatoes, which leaches more of the BPA.

So what steps can you take to minimize your exposure to BPA and it's negative effects on bodyfat and other health risks?

1. Try to always avoid canned foods as much as possible and choose frozen or fresh foods instead. Buy the ingredients yourself and prepare the meal the old fashioned way instead of resorting to canned foods. Also, a better alternative to canned foods is products in glass containers.

2. If you do resort to using canned foods instead of fresh foods, try to find labels that say that the cans are free of BPA.

3. If you need tomato products, always avoid canned varieties and search for tomato sauces, pastes, etc in glass bottles instead (unless the can specifically states that it is BPA-free). Or just make your own tomato dishes from scratch with fresh tomatoes.

4. If you use plastic wrap, plastic ziplock bags, plastic containers for food storage, etc, try to investigate on the label if the product is BPA-free or not. Some brands packaging will label if their products are BPA-free.

5. If you for some reason choose to use a microwave with your food (which by the way, microwaved food is thought to have negative health effects), then by all means, do not microwave the food in plastic containers as it can increase the leaching of chemicals including BPA.

6. If you drink bottled water, or water from reusable plastic bottles, make sure that it is not a polycarbonate bottle, or make sure that the label says BPA-free. Plastic that shows #7 on the bottom will sometimes contain BPA, but not always. If a bottle shows "PC" on the bottom, it is made from polycarbonate, so it will contain BPA. In addition, sometimes aluminum bottles will contain a lining that has BPA, so avoid these.

7. Avoid soda cans, as the EWG states analysis showed that 42% of soda cans contained BPA. Of course, if you care about your health and your body, I'm sure you never drink soda anyway – it's pure evil for your body… and yes, that includes unhealthy diet soda too, with it's dangerous artificial sweeteners.

8. Never use plastic cups for hot liquids such as hot tea or coffee, as this can accelerate leaching of BPA and other chemicals, depending on the type of plastic.

9. As much as you can try to avoid BPA and other xenoestrogens, you will most likely still be exposed to some levels of xenoestrogens from various chemicals in your foods (from pesticide/herbicide residues, packaging chemicals, etc), chemicals in your water supply, chemicals from cosmetics, lotions, etc.

However, you can help to protect yourself and counteract these harmful xenoestrogen chemicals in your body with certain powerful phytonutrients in foods like onions, garlic, chamomile and green teas, and cruciferious vegetables. In fact, read this article to see how 3 specific veggies can help you to fight abdominal fat by counteracting xenoestrogens.

If you stick to most of these guidelines, you can help to protect yourself and your family from the health dangers of bisphenol-A (BPA). And you can also help protect yourself against the issue of "stubborn abdominal fat" that can be caused by the xenoestrogen effect of BPA exposure too… which I'm sure you'd rather avoid!

Sincerely,
Lewis

Publisher
www.atozfitness.com

1 Obscure Trick to Make ANY Exercise Program or Workout MUCH More Effective

lewis — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:02:23 +0000

Study Shows 1 Obscure Trick to Make ANY Exercise Program or Workout MUCH More Effective

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-seller: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

I've read about this very interesting Harvard University study about exercise multiple times in the past, but I was just recently reminded about this study again while reading the fascinating book called 59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman.

Pay attention, because this actually shows a pretty powerful trick that you can use to literally make ANY workout or exercise program a LOT more effective and results producing.

According to the book 59 Seconds, here's how this study was carried out:

Researchers at Harvard University studied over 80 hotel room cleaning attendants from 7 different hotels. The hotel room attendants naturally received a lot of exercise from their daily jobs, which included cleaning an average of 15 rooms per day at about 25 minutes per room. This work involves a good deal of exercise in carrying things, scrubbing, lifting objects, vacuuming, and so on.

The researchers knew the hotel maids led an active lifestyle from their work, but also questioned whether most of the maids may not realize that their work was actually good for their health. The researchers set out to study the effects on the hotel attendants of making them very aware of how beneficial the exercise they got while working was for their health, and to see if this increased the results that they actually received from the exercise.

Basically, the question was… Would telling them that their work was great exercise improve their health, lower their blood pressure, and help them to lose weight compared to the hotel attendants that didn't realize their work was in fact "exercise"?

The hotel attendants were split into 2 groups:

1. This group was informed about the benefits of exercise and told how many calories they were burning while doing their hotel cleaning work each day. They were specifically told how many calories activities such as changing sheets, vacumming, and scrubbing bathrooms were burning each hour.

The researchers also wanted this information to stick in their heads daily, so they gave the attendants a handout showing the quantities of calories they were burning doing each activity of their jobs. They were also shown a poster daily that reinforced how many calories they were burning.

2. The control group of hotel cleaning attendants was simply informed of the benefits of exercise, but were NOT told how many calories they were burning doing their work, and also were NOT told that their work actually constituted a good form of exercise.

The researchers studied the existing lifestyles of all of the participants in both groups as well as giving them various health tests, including weigh-ins.

The study was conducted for 4 weeks. The researchers made sure that none of the participants had actually changed their exercise habits, smoking, or eating habits outside of work. This assured that there was no external lifestyle factor that could have accounted for the results of the study.

In addition, the hotel managers assured that the workloads of both groups stayed the same throughout the entire experiment.

Here are the VERY interesting results:

It turned out that the group of hotel cleaning attendants that was informed daily about the calorie-burning effects of their normal work routines ended up losing a significant amount of weight, lowered their body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio, and decreased their blood pressure.

The control group of hotel attendants that was not told about the calories they burned while doing their work showed NONE of these improvements.

Wow… very interesting huh!

Remember that each of these groups received the SAME amount of exercise and did not alter their lifestyle, eating habits, drinking habits, smoking, or anything else. The only thing that was different between the 2 groups was simply that the one group was constantly being reminded of how beneficial the exercise during their work was for their health and how many calories they were burning, and therefore their minds were busy believing in the benefits of it.

This actually doesn't surprise me… this is classic placebo effect at work here, and reinforces how powerful our brains are in relation to the results we get from exercise, food, supplements, etc.

How to use this info to burn more fat in your workouts, build more lean muscle, and improve your health more from exercise and nutrition

There's a good lesson in this study. If you strongly believe in your mind that the workouts that you are doing are drastically improving your body, your results will increase dramatically from those workouts.

The trick I've used over the years is to really "get mental" during your workouts and believe strongly that the exercise you are doing is transforming your body into a lean chiseled machine. (This is assuming that you're actually doing legit workouts such as Truth About Abs routines and not just wasting time reading a magazine while pedaling away on a boring exercise bike or treadmill).

So, if you want to burn more fat, not only do you need to workout intensely (for your individual capabilities), but you also need to mentally visualize the results you're getting, the bodyfat you are burning, and really strongly believe in how powerful the workout routine that you are doing really is for your body.

Along the same lines, if your goal is to build more muscle, then you really need to strongly believe in your mind at how powerfully your workouts are helping you to build muscle.

And this can be applied to your food intake too!

Don't underestimate how powerful your mind really is… If you are eating healthy foods such as those detailed in my Truth About Abs manual, make sure that you are also actively thinking in your mind about how those foods are dramatically helping your body, making you stronger, making you leaner, improving your energy and health, and so on.

Don't ignore this… this will drastically improve your results if you actively think about how truly healthy the foods you are eating every day are and how they are changing your body. This is assuming that you actually are eating truly healthy foods every day.

Another benefit of this "mental programming" is that it trains you to actually want to avoid junk foods, because you want to be able to think about how everything you eat is improving your body instead.

So there you go… an interesting study that shows how you can legitimately increase your results from your exercise and nutrition by just actively thinking about the benefits of both every day!

Truth About Abs Review – Truth about six pack abs

lewis — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:00:33 +0000

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Your Internet Fitness Resource Site
- AtoZfitness Article -
Truth About Abs Review

Truth About Abs Review
http://truthaboutabs.atozfitness.com
By Lewis – Owner AtoZfitness.com

If you're looking to strip off all that "extra baggage" you're carrying, then we both know that it takes hard work and dedication to transform your body into a lean, mean health machine.

That said, a great program that outlines a proven formula for losing weight and gaining physical fitness, can make your goals that much easier to accomplish.

Many people from all over the world have had amazing success after reading through this guide and implementing all of the hints, tips, techniques, secrets and advice contained in it. And, we sincerely hope that the reviews on this site will help YOU too succeed in burning up all of that extra pounds of fat and gaining that slim and healthy body you've always wanted.

The Truth About Six Pack Abs Ebook Review

The Truth About Abs is the best-selling online fat loss handbook aimed at both males as well as females, that shows you how to successfully get a flat, sexy tummy, burn off stubborn belly fat, build rock hard abdominals and lean muscle and lead a wholesome lifestyle.

And while the book is positioned as a guide to creating a sexy 6-pack, it also contains a goldmine of information on how to burn off unnecessary fat, consume a balanced diet and maintain a slim and healthy figure.

In a nutshell, Truth About Abs, authored by Mike Greary (a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT), is a simple, easy-to-follow roadmap to changing how you eat and exercise in order to achieve a fit, trim and toned body.

When we first took a look at Truth About Abs, we were immediately impressed by the quality of the content presented in this eBook. Further, the guide spans 117 pages and is broken down into 3 sections, namely:

1. The Introduction PLUS important information on how we burn up calories, effective abdominal training, body fat %, understanding our metabolic rate, etc.

2. Workouts PLUS Mike's personal training plan that you can easily follow from the comfort of your own home or a nearby gym

3. Diet and Nutrition

Another feature we liked about Truth About Abs is the Workout section. Here, the author has taken pains to include step-by-step shots of ALL of the exercises, to ensure you understand them and follow all of the postures described, correctly.

Furthermore, Mike Geary is a big proponent of consuming 5-6 small meals per day that are similar in size, and suggests eating around every 3 hours when we're awake.

Beyond this, he also explains in detail how to calculate your daily calorie requirement and how to use this as a guideline for how much you should consume. Additionally, there's a good amount of info explaining why fad and crash diets just don't work when it comes to losing weight. We found this section to be rather fascinating and insightful, and consider this to be one of the many plus points of the Truth About Abs fat loss handbook.

The easiest way to get started with Mike's program is to take notes as you read through the entire eBook. This is mainly due to the fact that Truth About Abs is a virtual powerhouse of information on weight loss, and it would be much easier for reference if you jot down notes as you go along.

Thereafter, go back to the beginning again and start implementing all of Mike's tips, techniques and strategies on a regular basis, to achieve maximum results in the shortest possible time.

In conclusion, if you wish to follow a powerful, all-round fat loss formula that's proven to work, then it would be a good idea to get your hands on a copy of Mike Geary's Truth About Abs – trust us, you won't be disappointed.

Click Here to Read More

===========================================
Sarah, CPT
Lewis, Publisher
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Best fitness articles by Mike Geary

lewis — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:37:54 +0000

Just got my hands on a bunch of articles from my buddy Mike Geary.
Hope you enjoy the following articles as they are now all part of my fitness article collection.

The Worst Ab Exercise – Avoid This if You Actually Want Sexy Six Pack Abs

lewis — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 20:06:42 +0000

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                Your Internet Fitness Resource Site
             – AtoZfitness Article -

The truth about ineffective abdominal exercises and "ab machines"
by Mike GeThe Worst Ab Exercise – Avoid This if You Actually Want Sexy Six Pack Absary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

I was at a poker party up in North Jersey over the weekend at a friend's house. My friend had moved into this beautiful new home about a year ago, but I had never made it up for a visit until this weekend.

Well, as they were giving us a tour of the house, we took a peek into one of their spare rooms which wasn't being used for anything. The only thing they had in this room was one of those infomercial "ab loungers" covered in dust… you know, the ab-chair looking thingy that they hawk on the infomercials as being the end-all solution to a flabby stomach… telling you that you can get a flat stomach and perfect abs just by sitting on this thing and rocking a little bit while you lazily watch tv.

Click-Here to read the rest of this article….

Sincerely,
Lewis
Manager
www.atozfitness.com

www.articles.atozfitness.com
The best fitness articles by the webs greatest writers.

www.atoztoptrainers.com – 8 Top trainers reveal all their secrets to you in a unique training encyclopaedia of workout and diet plans.

If you have any questions, you can contact me sending an
e-mail to me at atozsupport@atozfitness.com .

Delicious (and Healthy) Fat-Burning Chocolate Pudding Recipe

lewis — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:25:50 +0000

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Delicious (and Healthy) Fat-Burning Chocolate Pudding Recipe

Try This Absolutely Delicious (and Healthy) Fat-Burning Chocolate Pudding Recipe

…A pudding recipe that's high fiber, high protein, full of healthy fats, and low in sugar!!

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-seller: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

Well, I've totally outdone myself with today's chocolate pudding recipe… this is damn good!!

As you know, I always look for ways to make seemingly unhealthy foods into healthy fat-burning versions. Some popular recipes of mine in the past were when I made a truly healthy chocolate fudge, as well as my recipe for the worlds healthiest cheese steak.

But today, here's my recipe for an amazingly healthy fat-burning chocolate pudding that's high in fiber, healthy fats, protein, and low in sugar, with ZERO artificial sweeteners and NO added sugars!

I know… I'm a freakin mad scientist with this stuff. But I actually got the idea for this recipe from Mens Fitness magazine… however, I changed it all around because I didn't like some of their ingredients, plus their recipe was too high in sugar in my opinion…and I added more protein.

Here's the Geary version of Healthy Fat-Burning Chocolate Pudding:

(This recipe will make about 2-3 servings and is a great healthy dessert or late night snack)

•1/2 of a ripe avocado (soft to touch)
•approx 3 tablespoons of almond butter (preferably raw if possible)
•approx 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
•2 heaping tablespoons of organic cocoa powder
•1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
•1 or 2 packets of stevia (or to your desired sweetness level)
•1/2 to 3/4 of a scoop of chocolate protein powder (my new favorite is an amazing GRASS-FED whey protein I found here)
•just a small pinch of salt
Put the avocado and almond butter into a bowl and mash together with a fork until smooth. Then add all of the other ingredients into the bowl and mix together vigorously until all is mixed and smooth.

If everything went right, the consistency will be similar to pudding… except normal pudding makes you FAT with loads of sugar! My healthy pudding recipe will actually HELP you to burn fat, control cravings, and satisfy your body's need for micro-nutrients, protein, healthy fats, and fiber.

If the pudding ends up too thick, simply add a bit more almond milk or coconut milk for more moisture.

If you want to get a little wild and add some more nutrient-rich additions, feel free to add some chopped pecans, chia seeds, rice bran, or walnuts at the end.

Feel free to share this delicious healthy recipe with your friends and family…link to this page on your blogs, forums, facebook, etc.

Click here to see surprising foods that make you fat vs. foods that help you to burn stomach fat

Lewis Wolk

Manager

www.atozfitness.com

www.articles.atozfitness.com
The best fitness articles by the webs greatest writers.

www.atoztoptrainers.com – 8 Top trainers reveal all their secrets to you in a unique training encyclopaedia of workout and diet plans.

If you have any questions, you can contact me sending an
e-mail to me at atozsupport@atozfitness.com .

We are affiliates of Jon Benson Fitness and as such stand to gain a percentage of any sale made for JBF as a result of this article.

Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

lewis — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:50:24 +0000

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Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth About 6-Pack Abs

are a perfect food" height="133" src="http://www.truthaboutabs.com/images/wholeeggs.jpg" style="float: right;" width="170" />I was on a weekend trip with some friends recently and one of my friends was cooking breakfast for the whole group. I went over to see what he was cooking and saw he was getting ready to make a big batch of eggs.

Well, to my shock and horror, I noticed that he was cracking the eggs open and screening the egg whites into a bowl and throwing out the egg yolks. I asked him why the heck he was throwing out the egg yolks, and he replied something like this…

"because I thought the egg yolks were terrible for you…that's where all the nasty fat and cholesterol is".

And I replied, "you mean that's where all of the nutrition is!"

This is a perfect example of how confused most people are about nutrition. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG!

By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you're essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients… it's not even worth trying to list them all.

In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks.

Even the protein in egg whites isn't as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).

And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg…

"But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof"

No, this is FALSE!

First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it's internal production of cholesterol to balance things out.

On the other hand, if you don't eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has dozens of important vital functions in the body.

eggs" height="112" src="http://www.truthaboutabs.com/images/eggs.jpg" style="float: right;" width="170" />And here's where it gets even more interesting…

There have been plenty of studies lately that indicate that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.

And 3rd… high cholesterol is NOT a disease! Heart disease is a disease…but high cholesterol is NOT. Cholesterol is actually a VERY important substance in your body and has vitally important functions… it is DEAD WRONG to try to "lower your cholesterol" just because of pharmaceutical companies propaganda that everyone on the planet should be on statin drugs.

If you're interested in this topic, you can read the following article about why trying to attack cholesterol is a mistake, and what the REAL deadly risk factors actually are… Cholesterol Myths

In addition, the yolks contain the antioxidant lutein as well as other antioxidants which can help protect you from inflammation within your body (the REAL culprit in heart disease, not dietary cholesterol!), giving yet another reason why the yolks are actually GOOD for you, and not detrimental.

To help bring even more proof that whole eggs are better for you than egg whites, I recently read a University of Connecticut study that showed that a group of men in the study that ate 3 eggs per day for 12 weeks while on a reduced carb, higher fat diet increased their HDL good cholesterol by 20%, while their LDL bad cholesterol stayed the same during the study. However, the group that ate egg substitutes (egg whites) saw no change in either and did not see the improvement in good cholesterol (remember that higher HDL levels are associated with lower risk of heart disease) that the whole egg eaters did.

So I hope we've established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body… instead whole eggs are FAR superior to egg whites.

But what about the extra calories in the yolks?

This is actually a non-issue and here's why… even though egg yolks contain more calories than just eating the egg whites, the yolks have such a high micro-nutrient density in those calories, that it increases your overall nutrient density per calorie you consume. Essentially, what this does is help to regulate your appetite for the remainder of the day, so you end up eating less calories overall. In addition, the healthy fats in the egg yolks help to maintain a good level of fat-burning hormones in your body.

Overall, this means that the extra fats (healthy fats) and calories from the yolk are so nutrient-dense that they actually HELP you to burn off body fat!

Also, your normal supermarket eggs coming from mass factory farming just don't compare nutritionally with organic free range eggs from healthy chickens that are allowed to roam freely and eat a more natural diet. Your typical cheap grocery store eggs will have lower nutrient levels and a higher omega-6 level and lower omega-3 level. On the other hand, the cage-free organic eggs from healthier chickens allowed to eat more natural feed and roam freely will have much higher vitamin and mineral levels and a more balanced healthier omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio.

I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy.

Most people don't realize that there's a major difference because they've never bought real eggs from healthy chickens… The eggs from the grocery store had pale yellow yolks and thin weak shells. On the other hand, the healthier free range eggs from the local farm had strong thick shells and deep orange colored yolks indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids… and just a healthier egg in general.

This is due to the fact that a free-roaming hen allowed to roam on plenty of land will eat a variety of greens, insects, worms, etc transferring MUCH higher levels of nutrients to the eggs compared to an unhealthy hen that is trapped inside a dark factory farm hen house in horrible conditions and fed nothing but piles of corn and soy. It's a DRASTIC difference in the nutrition that you get from the egg.

So next time a health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior (because of their "fat-phobic" mentality towards dietary fats), you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you now understand the REAL deal about egg yolks.

And can we all please STOP with this sillyness about eating an omelete with 4-5 egg whites and only 1 egg yolk… If you want real taste and real health benefits, we'd all be better off eating ALL of our eggs with the yolks.

After all, do you REALLY think that our ancestors thousands of years ago threw out the yolks and only ate the egg whites? NOT A CHANCE! They intuitively knew that all of the nutrition was found in the yolks. But our modern society has been brainwashed with misinformation about fats and cholesterol.

Another interesting study about eggs…

I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts vs groups of people that ate cereal or bagel-based breakfasts. The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the cereal/bagel eaters gained weight.

It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate less calories during the remainder of the day because their appetite was more satisfied compared to the cereal/bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and food cravings.

Oh, one last thing I almost forgot… I personally eat 4 whole eggs almost every day with breakfast, and I maintain single-digit bodyfat most of the year.

Enjoy your eggs and get a leaner body!

Do you want to lose abdominal fat?

Click here to find out the best methods and foods to lose your stomach fat

Lewis Wolk

Manager

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2 Easy and Super Fast Recipes…Breakfast and Dinner

lewis — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:02:07 +0000

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2 Easy and Super Fast Recipes…Breakfast and Dinner

By Isabel De Los Rios ,
http://www.yourdietsolution.com

[Special offer for AtoZfitness subscribers. AtoZfitness has worked out a deal with Isabel so you can get a $1.00 trial offer on her great Diet Solution program .

You pay only $1. That’s ONE BUCK for a fat loss system that’s going to help you finally see permanent results.

http://budurl.com/dietsolutiontriala2z

So if your on the fence with all the diet manuals out there take a look at Isabel's Diet Solution for 30 days and decide for yourself. We love it and Sarah uses it almost daily ]

Ok now on to some recipe's from Isabel

As many of you have heard me say before, I love to be a mad scientist in the kitchen. When healthy eating is your way of life, you've got to keep your meals new and interesting which is why I love to experiment with new recipes all the time, making them (of course) Diet Solution approved.

Today from the "mad scientist" kitchen of Isabel, I have these two recipes for you:

The first recipe is something my husband still likes to make fun of me for. He says it's "too weird" and "looks gross"…but you know what? I love it! It's my own creation (at least I think so).

Isabel's Oatmeal Concoction

Ingredients

· ½ cup dry oatmeal (slow cook oats, not instant) made with water.

· 2 organic eggs

· Cinnamon and stevia to sweeten (optional)

In order to make this a fast and easy breakfast, I cook the oatmeal the night before (while I'm cooking dinner) or make 2-3 servings of it at once and store in the refrigerator for the next few days. I put my serving of oatmeal in a saucepan and heat up. Once the oatmeal is really hot, I crack the eggs right into the oatmeal (like egg drop soup) and stir them into the oatmeal without breaking the yolk. The whites and the yolk cook in the hot oatmeal. I then sweeten it with a bit of stevia and cinnamon. I love it! And it takes me less than 10 minutes to make in the morning. You've got to try this one. You will either thank me or you'll make fun of me like my husband.

This next recipe I found on the internet and modified it a bit. It originally included some creamy sauce that called for mayonnaise, but once I made it, it was so delicious, it didn't need any creamy sauce on top.

Easy Broiled Salmon Steaks

Ingredients

· Salmon steaks

· 2 TBSP melted butter per steak (depending on how many steaks you're doing)

· Minced chives, parsley, and dill (about 1 TBSP for 3-4 TBSP of butter)

· Celtic Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

· Fresh lemon juice

· Lemon wedges

Preheat your broiler (Low setting). Brush the tops of the salmon steaks with a bit of melted butter and put them under the preheated broiler for about 5 minutes per side (for 3/4" thick steaks). While they're broiling mix up the rest of the melted butter, chives, parsley, dill, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

You know the fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Take a fork and poke at the fish a bit. If it falls apart easily, it's done. Mine took about 10 minutes. About a minute before the salmon is cooked through, pour the rest of the flavored butter over it and then continue broiling.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Trying out new recipes and cooking healthy meals is always easier when your kitchen is already stocked with the "fat burning" essentials. I always have organic eggs, coconut oil, olive oil, oatmeal, chicken or fish, and raw nuts…along with several other items…handy in the fridge so I can put together quick and easy meals.

If you're wondering exactly what you should stock up in your own fat burning kitchen, Mike Geary can tell you just that in his book (appropriately named) Fat Burning Kitchen.

Today is a special day for Mike…it's his Birthday!

To celebrate he has decided to offer his Fat Burning Kitchen book for 50% off…originally $39.99 but only $19.99 if you grab it before Thursday, February 25th.

http://fatburningkitchen.atozfitness.com

You'll also see that Isabel has provided a complete series of Fat Burning Nutrition Videos that come along with Mike's book. It's Isabel, in her own kitchen, showing you exactly what foods are best to eat and which foods are deceivingly being advertised as healthy (and are really not!) Several of Isabel's readers have told her that these videos alone were well worth the price of the book.

Remember, the birthday sale is only until Thursday, February 25th, so check out Mike's book here today:

http://fatburningkitchen.atozfitness.com

Sincerely,
Lewis

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Eggs with 22x more omega-3′s?

lewis — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:33:52 +0000

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Eggs with 22x more omega-3's?

By Mike Geary
http://yourtruthaboutabs.com

A quick announcement before the omega-3 eggs article today:

Today, Feb 23, 2010 is Mike's 34th birthday, and to celebrate, he has decided to put his Fat Burning Kitchen program on sale for HALF price for 3-days!

This is only the 2nd sale he has ever had in his 5 years of publishing, the other sale being back in September last year when he first launched the Fat Burning Kitchen program.

If you don't already have a copy, grab it today to get the HALF price birthday sale price:

http://fatburningkitchen.atozfitness.com

**Eggs with 22x more omega-3's?

I'm always amazed how many people overlook the importance of what an animal was fed and how that relates to the nutritional benefits of that product.

Eggs are a perfect example.

As you probably know, our egg supply in the US comes mostly from factory farm chickens that not only live in horrendously unhealthy conditions for the chicken, but also fed an unnatural diet of grains that SEVERELY affects the nutritional qualities of the eggs for your health.

I've been digging around on this topic for a long time, and here are some interesting things I've found:

In general, the regular eggs you get at the supermarket (that are fed grains and are from factory farms) contain anywhere from 30mg to 80mg omega-3 fatty acids per egg (depending on egg size, variety of hens, exact ratio of feed, etc)

However, hens allowed to roam freely outdoors and/or fed a diverse feed of greens, mixed vegetables, bugs, grubs, worms, etc can contain anywhere from 300mg to 700mg of omega-3's per egg.

One such study came from a Dr. Simopoulos who analyzed the omega-3 vs omega-6 content of eggs from a farm in Greece where the chickens roamed freely and ate a variety of natural foods such as greens and bugs/worms. These eggs were compared against analysis of "supermarket eggs" fed a typical grain diet in the US.

The eggs from the free roaming chickens in Greece had an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 1.3 to 1 while the "supermarket eggs" had a horrendous omega-6/omega3 ratio of 19.4 to 1.

As for total omega-3 content per egg in Simopoulos' report, the eggs from the free-roaming hens in Greece had 300 mg of omega-3's per egg, while the "supermarket egg" had a lowly 30mg of omega-3's per egg.

I've also been reading the inside of egg cartons at grocery stores lately and comparing notes on their label claims of omega-3 fatty acids.

The egg producers recently have been catching on to the public's knowledge of the reduced omega-3 content in mass produced eggs… so certain brands have now been "fortifying" the hens diet with feed additions higher in omega-3's to help balance out the excess omega-6's found in eggs from grain-fed hens.

Usually, this fortification occurs by adding either flax seed or an algae meal (or fish meal) to the hens feed. The hens eat more omega-3's and that produces a higher omega-3 content in the eggs.

Some of these so-called "omega-3 eggs" have label claims anywhere from 100mg omega-3's to 250mg omega-3's… Definitely better than the 30mg omega-3's found in the typical "supermarket eggs".

I also stumbled onto a specific brand of eggs recently that touted that it's hens are fed a patented feed mixture of 20 different vegetables, grains, and minerals. Because of the diverse diet that these hens are fed, their measured omega-3 content is listed as 660mg omega-3's per egg, as well as a perfect 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3.

This is 22x the omega-3 content of the grain-fed "supermarket egg" that contained only 30mg omega-3's in Dr. Simopoulos' report.

That just shows how powerful of a difference in the nutrition composition that occurs simply by feeding the hens a proper diverse diet. And we haven't even touched on the nutritional content of vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, etc that will obviously be higher in a healthy hen fed a diverse diet as opposed to a factory farmed hen.

However, that's only a small step in the right direction. Even these egg companies with new label claims of increased omega-3 content still doesn't guarantee that the hens were raised in an outdoor environment, and allowed to roam freely instead of being confined in cages and kept indoors in filthy conditions their entire lives.

Keep in mind that "cage-free" doesn't always mean that the hens actually go outside… according to some reports, it only means that there is a small door somewhere that the hens COULD go outside if they found the small door and were smart enough to venture through it. This could vary vastly from company to company.

This is supposedly a loophole in the whole cage-free labeling system. I'm not sure if there's any way currently to know IF the chickens actually ventured outside even when they're labeled "cage-free".

So what are the best options?

1. By FAR the best option is if you can find a local farmer where you KNOW that the hens are actually outdoors most of the time and allowed to eat a natural diet with high variety. These will be the superstar eggs in terms of nutritional quality.

This could be at farmers markets or even farmers that deliver to urban areas (which I've found in every state I've lived, so it's not impossible).

2. Ok, I understand that not everyone will be able to find a local farmer or a farmer that delivers eggs from happy hens that roam freely eating what chickens were meant to eat…the world isn't perfect…

So, the next best option is to read the labels on egg cartons and see if it sounds like the hens were fed a highly variable diet (instead of just grains). Sometimes this can come from algae meal or flax seed, etc added to their diet. This is at least an improvement over standard supermarket eggs.

Despite what you may hear from some so-called "health experts" who say that all eggs are equal, these types of eggs WILL have nutritional benefits compared to your typical supermarket eggs.

Also, look for organic as well as antibiotic and hormone-free if possible. "Cage-free" may or may not always be an improvement depending on the company.

And lastly, if you read articles or hear people telling you that whole eggs are unhealthy because of saturated fat and cholesterol, please tell them (in a nice way) to GET A CLUE!

Eat clean and stay lean.

To celebrate Mike Geary's 34th birthday, He's having a 3-day HALF PRICE sale on The Fat Burning Kitchen

http://fatburningkitchen.atozfitness.com

The Simple Solution for Eating a Healthy Diet That Promotes Fat Loss (Permanently)

I'm going to show you that eating for permanent fat loss doesn't have to be complicated.

In fact, if you choose the right foods, and understand how these foods react with your body, this method is a way for you to automatically attain the right calorie level without the need to ever count calories again.

That's why I've teamed up with expert nutrition researcher, Catherine Ebeling, and we've co-authored this new program for you:

The Fat Burning Kitchen: Your 24-Hour Diet Transformation to Make Your Body a Fat-Burning Machine

by Mike Geary – Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
& Catherine Ebeling – RN, BSN

Inside this brand new program, you'll find:

the true secret to making calorie-counting obsolete… this is the same principle that will automatically eliminate your cravings and control your appetite permanently (it's the same reason that I personally haven't had a real "craving" in at least 6 years) — pg 1-2
the truth about polyunsaturated fats (omega-6's and omega-3's) that most food companies don't want you to know — pg.18
which protein bars or energy bars are actually candy bars in disguise and which bars are actually good for you — pg.50
the real deal on saturated fat and cholesterol, and why they are essential in your diet — pg.59
the "whole grain" deception and why whole grain crackers, breads, and cereals could be packing on more bodyfat — pg.9
why that skim milk may not be so good for you after all — pg.29
the one time when tilapia and salmon are NOT health foods — pg.36
a healthy fat-burning burger option? Yes – pg.60
why soymilk, tofu, and veggie burgers could be increasing your belly fat — pg.41
Are sports drinks stifling your fat-burning? — pg.46
The only truly healthy options for sweeteners… even non-caloric sweeteners — pg.83
A surprising healthy fat in some animal products that actually helps you burn fat and build muscle — pg.60
whole eggs or egg whites? easy answer — pg.65
do diet sodas and other diet drinks hurt your fat loss efforts? — pg.22
Is whole milk actually better for you than skim milk? there's more to the story — pg.67
A type of saturated fat that actually helps to stimulate your metablism — pg. 112
the one time when chocolate can even help to prevent your sweet tooth cravings — pg.88
does green tea or oolong tea really increase your metabolism and help fat loss? the truth — pg.90
which fruits and veggies are okay to choose non-organic — pg.94
and TONS more secrets to help you permanently transform your diet to force your body to burn fat more effectively.

Take a look at Mike Geary's Fat Burning Kitchen and see if this is something you could use (specially at 50% off ) .

http://fatburningkitchen.atozfitness.com

Sincerely,
Lewis

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The best fitness articles by the webs greatest writers.

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I have personally reviewed the products featured in my newsletters and mailings and I give them my highest recommendation. I am an affiliate of the products featured in this mailing and the income derived from these sales will aid in the expansion of "AtoZfitness.com" on the web. This gives me the resources to expand so I can continue to create articles, blogs and offer you a free and reliable resource of improvement information.

1 unique spice that beats abdominal fat:

lewis — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:00:42 +0000

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- AtoZfitness Article -

1 unique spice that beats abdominal fat:

I have a great article for you today from one of my trusted colleagues, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Mike Geary. It's about a specific spice that could help you to burn body fat and get leaner, in an indirect way…

Enjoy!

1 Unique Spice That Beats Abdominal Fat:

Ok, this spice that I'm going to mention is one of the most overlooked, but healthiest spices in the world…

You might even call it a "fat burning spice"… in a roundabout way.

And yes, it can actually help you win the battle against abdominal fat if you use it daily…I'll explain why.

Here are some other benefits of this miracle spice:

*controls blood sugar levels

*helps maintain insulin sensitivity

*a very powerful antioxidant

*may have antibacterial and antifungal properties *and dozens of other benefits

So what is this miracle spice?

Well… it's good old tasty Cinnamon!

Although cinnamon does not directly increase fat burning (such as by increasing metabolic rate, etc), it CAN actually help you to burn off abdominal fat and get leaner through an indirect link.

Here's how…

Although cinnamon has dozens of health benefits, the main benefit that will help you to get leaner is through it's strong effect on controlling blood sugar levels in your body.

In a study published in 2003 in the medical journal Diabetes Care, groups were split into people taking 1, 3, or 6 grams of cinnamon per day in capsule form (the equivalent of approx 1/4th to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon).

The results of the study showed that all 3 amounts of cinnamon reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 18-29% after 40 days.

Cinnamon can also increase insulin sensitivity, which essentially means that it is helping your body to control blood sugar while simultaneously allowing your body to produce less insulin.

As you know, chronically high insulin levels can make your body pack on the blubber.

How to harness this to lose more fat…

One possible way to benefit from cinnamon to lose more fat is to use cinnamon daily in your meals when you can, such as in yogurt or cottage cheese, in smoothies, oatmeal, or anything else you can think of where it would go well.

Also, you could use a cinnamon capsule before each of your meals.

This could help to control blood sugar and insulin response from your meals and thereby control your appetite and cravings throughout the day… hence, helping you to lose body fat more effectively over time.

So now you can see that not only is cinnamon a powerful antioxidant that can help you stay youthful longer, it can also help you to control blood sugar and get a leaner body!

Note: please make sure to consult your doctor before adding any new foods or spices to your nutrition plan if you are taking any medications or have food allergies.

Go to the link below to discover over a dozen more unique foods, spices, and weird styles of workouts that help to burn your abdominal fat faster:

http://www.yourtruthaboutabs.com/

Sincerely,
Lewis

www.articles.atozfitness.com
The best fitness articles by the webs greatest writers.

www.atoztoptrainers.com – 8 Top trainers reveal all their secrets to you in a unique training encyclopaedia of workout and diet plans.

If you have any questions, you can contact me sending an
e-mail to me at atozsupport@atozfitness.com .

The Mysterious Little Round Pseudo-Grain Superfood: Quinoa

lewis — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:14:35 +0000

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The Mysterious Little Round Pseudo-Grain Superfood: Quinoa

By Catherine Ebeling, RN, BSN & Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist
co-authors – The Fat Burning Kitchen

Although we have been telling you repeatedly that most grains such as wheat and corn are the worst things in the modern western diet, Quinoa is a great alternative that is not actually a grain. It's a superfood seed that's high in complete protein (unlike other grains which are usually incomplete protein), it's gluten-free, and also has loads of other important nutrients.

Quinoa is making an appearance in grocery stores and restaurants these days, often as a substitute for rice and wheat, or in pilafs, stuffing, or as a breakfast.

What exactly is quinoa?

Quinoa, is actually an ancient favorite of the Incas and the Native South Americans of Chili, Peru and Bolivia. The Incas prized it so much it was considered a sacred seed. But quinoa was all but wiped out when the Spanish conquerors attempted to destroy all traces of quinoa, and forbid the cultivation of this seed, instead forcing the South Americans to grow corn.

Quinoa was revived in the U.S. when a couple of Americans began to grow and cultivate it, and since then it has started to catch on as a healthy alternative to grain. While quinoa is often called a grain, it is actually a seed and a member of the same family as beets, chard, and spinach. These little nutty tasting seeds are actually full of nutrition and rich in amino acids.

Nutrition of quinoa – a superstar

Quinoa is a very good low glycemic carbohydrate source, and rich with manganese, magnesium, calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, vitamin E, and several B vitamins.

The protein in quinoa is superb; in fact it contains an almost perfect balance of all 8 essential amino acids needed by humans. It is also very high in the amino acids, lysine, cystine, and methionine — amino acids that are typically low in grains. It makes an excellent complement to legumes, which are typically low in methionine and cystine.

I personally recommend quinoa over anything made with wheat and corn, because quinoa doesn't contain the detrimental anti-nutrients that wheat and corn contain. Plus quinoa is nutritionally superior to most grains in terms of protein quality as well as overall nutrient content, in addition to being gluten-free.

Ideas, recipes, and methods for cooking and eating quinoa

Cooked quinoa is excellent in casseroles and soups, stews, stir-fries, pilafs, or cold in salads. The seeds can be cooked in about 15 minutes.

Quinoa can be substituted for rice (for higher protein and fiber content) in many dishes. Try dry roasting quinoa in a pan or in the oven before cooking to give it a toasted, nuttier flavor. I often cook quinoa in free-range chicken broth for added taste.

Try a cold salad with cooked quinoa, and your favorite veggies chopped up. I like to add parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, chopped tomatoes, some sweet onion, and chopped zucchini. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, some sea salt and pepper and viola! a tasty nutritious salad.

Quinoa can also be a great breakfast substitute for oatmeal. It can be cooked and mixed with fruit, nuts, stevia, cinnamon, etc to your tastes. Have a couple whole eggs on the side for additional protein and healthy fats and you now have a perfect nutritionally balanced fat-burning breakfast!

Quinoa seeds can be sprouted and eaten as raw, live food for snacks or in salads and sandwiches. To sprout the seeds, soak about 1/3 cup seeds in a jar for 2 to 4 hours, then drain and rinse the seeds twice a day for 2 to 4 days. When the sprouts are about 1 inch long, place them near a window which will give them a vibrant green color. Another fascinating way of using quinoa is to "pop" the seeds in a dry skillet and eat them as a dry cereal.

Baking with Quinoa – the healthier substitution

Quinoa flour is a much more nutritionally beneficial way to bake compared to typical wheat flour that's used in almost all baked goods.

I personally like to use a blend of quinoa flour, almond flour, and coconut flour to get a lower starch content and higher protein and fiber content in my baked goods (plus to make sure the recipe is gluten-free) — this combo of 3 flours is AMAZING in banana bread, zucchini bread, or carrot cake bread or muffins, but will work with anything if you use your creativity in baking.

Quinoa and quinoa flour are not quite yet mainstream grocery store items, but usually can be found in the health food section of your grocery store or at a health food store. If you want a healthier grain alternative that's higher in protein, high in fiber, and gluten-free (as well as delicious), give quinoa a shot!

Enjoy!

If you haven't read our Fat Burning Kitchen program yet, click here to start eliminating your junk food cravings and controlling your appetite permanently

Sincerely,
Lewis

www.articles.atozfitness.com
The best fitness articles by the webs greatest writers.

www.atoztoptrainers.com – 8 Top trainers reveal all their secrets to you in a unique training encyclopaedia of workout and diet plans.

If you have any questions, you can contact me sending an
e-mail to me at atozsupport@atozfitness.com .

A big sets/reps MISTAKE that most make…

lewis — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:56:05 +0000

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A big sets/reps MISTAKE that most make…

By Mike Geary ,
http://yourtruthaboutabs.com

This is one of the biggest weight training mistakes I've seen over and over again with so many people over the years… it may seem obvious to some advanced trainees, but for most beginner/intermediate people, I've noticed that they make this mistake in the gym MOST of the time…

And that has to do with sets and reps, and the intensity that they are performed.

Let me explain…

What I've noticed is one of the main reasons for lack of progress in the gym is that most people are not performing their reps and sets to challenge their body enough. I'm not referring to rest period between sets either (although that is definitely part of the equation).

For example, many people see a routine in my program or one of my colleagues programs (or even a magazine)… let's say the routine calls for 4 sets of 6 reps of a given exercise… and they just choose a random weight (or a weight that they "think" they are comfortable with) and do 4 sets of 6 reps.

But THAT'S where the major mistake comes in, because they didn't even train remotely close to muscular failure. In reality, they could have completed 4 sets of 12 reps or more with the weight they chose to do for 4 sets of 6 reps… and then they wonder why they're not seeing results!

The answer is simple… they're not seeing results because they didn't challenge the body enough and therefore, the body has no reason to need to improve.

The right way to do it is… If the routine calls for 4 sets of 6 reps, then you should barely be able to complete the sixth rep. Form should still stay good, but it should be a challenge to complete that 6th rep, and a 7th rep would be pretty much out of the question to complete in good form.

Now THAT'S how you train to challenge your body and force it to adapt to the stressor. And that means you get results and your body CHANGES for the better over time.

Now it's a little more complicated than that, because there are dozens of other factors that come into play that determine whether you will effectively make progressions in the gym, based on sets, reps, intensity level, rest and recovery, nutrition, etc.

And once you get into advanced training, you will literally be exhausted with your chest heaving for breaths if you hit the rep range on some exercises with the right weight and intensity from just 1 SET.

For example, if I'm using a heavy enough weight, even as little as 4 reps of heavy deadlifts can leave my entire body exhausted and I'll be gasping for air for 30-40 seconds after that set (and I'm in pretty damn good shape too)… and that was just from 4 REPS!

But that is a great example of how hard I challenged my body to do those 4 reps and stay in good form… because I chose a weight that was extremely hard for me to complete 4 reps.

Sounds crazy, because most people only think of "cardio" as something that can make you gasp for air and have your heart beating out of your chest… but training with weights at a high enough intensity and challenging weight using the right exercises is actually creating MORE of a reason for your body to respond and change.

Give me a marathoner and have them do a super high intensity set of clean & presses, or heavy 1-arm snatches (or even 20-rep barbell squats) and that marathoner will be on the floor gasping for air if they worked hard enough on the weight training sets.

If you think this is one of the mistakes you've been making in the gym, jack up that intensity and use heavier weights that actually CHALLENGE YOUR BODY, and you just may start to see some more dramatic results with your body!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHECK THIS OUT…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you want a great resource of 9 DVDs taking you through some of the best training routines possible, my buddy Vince Delmonte is celebrating his 30th birthday, and is having a tremendous deal this week to celebrate:

http://www.vincedelmontedvd.com

This DVD series might even be a great Christmas present to give someone you know that wants to get in top shape.

These are actual physical DVDs you can follow — and check out how comprehensive this series is:

DVD 1: Upside Down Training Program – 4-Week Kick Start Program

DVD 2: The Beginner-Intermediate & Advanced 29-Week Muscle-Shredding Program

DVD 3: The 16-Week 3-Day Metabolic Boost Program & Women’s Fat Loss Program

DVD 4: The 16-Week 4-Day Metabolic Extreme Program

DVD 5/6: The 16-Week 5-Day Metabolic Overdrive Program

DVD 7: The Razor-Sharp Abdominal Cardio, 4-Week Bodyweight Program, & 16-Week Home Gym Program

Disk 8: No-Nonsense Muscle Building & Six Pack Printable PDF’s and Word Documents of Workouts

Disk 9: FREE Bonus DVD — Disk 9 contains the following:

*4-Minute Fat Loss Circuit Day 1 and Day 2

*Female-Only 6-Week Fitness Model Plan

*Male-Only 6-Week Muscle Building Plan

*Lower Abs Workout

*5 Killer Shoulder Exercises For Sculpted Delts

*Truth About Fat Burning Supplements

*Truth About Cardio and Fat Loss

*Truth About Alcohol and Getting A Six-Pack

*Best Fat Burning Exercises Ever

*Hardcore Abdominal Circuit-Ultimate 10-Minute Warm Up

*How To Make A Delicious Protein Smoothie

*Best Core Exercises Ever

*Transformers Soundtrack – motivational track

*Victory Remix – motivational track

Remember that Vince's birthday sale celebration only lasts during this week, so grab a copy of this crazy DVD series this week!

http://www.vincedelmontedvd.com

Sincerely,
Lewis, Publisher
Sarah, CPT

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Stop With the Lame Excuses and Procrastination and Get Your Butt in the Gym!

lewis — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:22:19 +0000

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Stop With the Lame Excuses and Procrastination
and Get Your Butt in the Gym!

By Mike Geary , Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
http://yourtruthaboutabs.com
http://fatburningkitchen.atozfitness.com

How many times have you said:

"Oh, I'm too busy… I'll get started on my weight loss program tomorrow", or…

"I'll just wait until after the holidays to start working out and getting in better shape"

Working as a fitness professional, I hear people every single day say that they want to get in better shape… whether they want to lose weight, build some muscle, get stronger, lose the fat on their belly… whatever it may be.

Can you guess what happens when I say to them, "Well, if you really want it that bad, then why don't you start today… seriously, why not start working out and eating healthy today and lets make this happen now". Well, what usually happens is that they say that they'll just wait until next month because they're "too busy" right now.

Come on… Give me a break! It's nothing but LAME EXCUSE after lame excuse as to why you don't workout regularly or eat healthy. This becomes an endless cycle of excuses and procrastination for getting your butt in shape. Once next month comes, now you have another excuse… work has been too busy, or you're just too busy working on the house, and so on.

Consider this… Do you really think that all of the people walking around out there in great shape with their kick-ass bodies are any less busy than you? Hell no! Chances are, they are easily just as busy as you, yet THEY find the time to keep themselves healthy and in great shape.

Let's make a pact and STOP THE LAME EXCUSES FOR GOOD! Start on your goal today!

The bottom line is… If you really want it, you'll find the time. It's all about priorities and getting in the right mindset.

If you are one of these people that's always using excuses as to why you don't have time to eat right or workout, then I have bad news for you… You are NEVER going to get in good shape for the rest of your life! You are going to continue to yoyo back and forth and struggle with your fitness FOREVER!

Sorry to be so "in your face", but sometimes we all just need a wake up call. I'll even admit that although I've got my fitness pretty well handled, I've needed these wake up calls in other areas of my life where I was struggling, and I've appreciated those people that showed me the way.

I thought about writing about this whole topic of "lame excuses" for not getting into shape because I recently met an incredible fitness professional, Scott Tousignant, who is labeled "the excuse-buster". Luckily, in my business, I have the great fortune of networking with some of the best fitness professionals in the world.

I also found out that Scott calls himself "The Fit Bastard", and he's not afraid to be a little in your face and show you how to beat the procrastination and excuses that have been keeping you from getting the body you've always wanted.

I must say that I absolutely loved his approach and wish I had thought of it first myself! To help people that are struggling with procrastination and excuses, Scott has prepared a motivational MP3 audio (Get Your Butt To The Gym And Make The Most Of It) that you can download for free, as well as a 1-month workout program that you can grab for free also. Go check it out… It's great stuff! You can even do the workouts in your own home.

For the guys, go check out:

The Fit Bastard

For the ladies, you can check out:

The Fit Chic

Enjoy the downloads!

===============================================
Lewis, Publisher
Sarah, CPT

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Does Diet Soda Make You Fat, or is it Really Good for Weight Loss?

lewis — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:47:08 +0000

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Does Diet Soda Make You Fat, or is it
Really Good for Weight Loss?

By: Mike Geary
http://yourtruthaboutabs.com

We all know by now that soda (aka "pop" in some areas) is one of the most evil things you can put in your body… the nasty chemicals, the gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup, and a myriad of health problems caused by this carbonated cocktail worshipped by those that don't care about their health or body.

Since you're one of my subscribers, I know that you actually do care about your health and the appearance of your body.

Surprisingly, many people falsely believe that "diet" soda is in some way a good thing for losing body fat. In fact, I hear people all the time proudly state that they eat so healthy and only drink diet soda.

So let's set the record straight…

There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet soda. In fact, I've even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.

Here's some findings from an 8-year University of Texas study that I had read…

An excerpt from the study author:

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."

"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

Ok, as if we didn't already know how bad regular soda was for us, and now they're showing us studies that diet soda makes us even fatter than the already bad stuff!

There's a lot of complicating factors as to why this occurs…

One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.

Another reason is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.

I've said this all along, but the bottom line is that if you're serious about your health and body, soda of any kind (and artificial sweeteners in anything for that matter!) should be avoided at all times, except for very rare occasions when you can't avoid them.

So what is a good alternative to diet sodas?

The best alternatives are good old water with lemon or unsweetened iced teas… you have plenty of options with teas – green, white, black, oolong, red… be creative in making your iced teas and you'll enjoy it more. Plus you'll get a more diverse array of antioxidants.

I just add a little of the natural non-caloric sweetener stevia to my iced teas and I love them.
==============================================
Lewis, Publisher
Sarah, CPT

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3 Unusual Tips to Build Bigger Arms

lewis — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:31:19 +0000

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3 Unusual Tips to Build Bigger Arms

By Mike Geary
http://truthaboutabs.atozfitness.com

1. Do more heavy squats and deadlifts!

Yes, I know this sounds crazy since squats and deadlifts don’t directly work your arms (except for the grip and forearm strength needed to deadlift heavy weights)… but it’s true that regularly performing heavy squats and deadlifts can indirectly help to make your arms bigger and stronger.

The reason is that heavy squatting and/or deadlifting forces the body to release muscle building hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone depending on the resistance level, rep range, rest period, etc.

Generally, heavy weights, lower reps, and longer rest periods stimulate testosterone release, whereas moderate weights, higher rep ranges, and shorter rest periods help to stimulate Growth Hormone release. Therefore, combining both styles of training into your routines on either different days of the week or different cycles, can help to maximize both of these important muscle building hormones.

2. Try my arm-blasting, hormone-maximizing combo sets!

In theory, I think this style of combo I’m going to show you can work well to stimulate some new growth in your arms if you’ve been stuck at a plateau. In practice, I’ve actually SEEN it produce results!

My technique involves combining a heavy squat or deadlift (in a very heavy weight and low rep range) with a single-joint exercise for the biceps or triceps (in a higher-rep "pump" style fashion).

So here are 2 ways this could work in separate workouts for example:

Alternating sets (exercise 1a, rest 30-60 seconds, exercise 1b, rest 30-60 seconds, repeat for all sets)

1a. Barbell back squats — heavy challenging weight – 5 sets of 3-4 reps/set
1b. Barbell or dumbbell curls (or any bicep single-joint exercise) — 5 sets of 12-15 reps/set; going for "pump"

So you can see how this unusual style of supersetting (or rather, alternating sets), actually combines a testosterone stimulating full body exercise done at a heavy weight with a single joint (isolation) exercise that has the intention of creating more of a bodybuilding "pump".

The other reason this style of alternating sets works is that the single-joint exercise is almost like an "active rest" while your entire body and CNS recovers from the demands of doing heavy, heavy squats.

The same style can work with deadlifts combined with a triceps exercise… for example:

1a. Barbell deadlifts — heavy challenging weight – 5 sets of 3-4 reps/set
1b. Triceps single-joint exercise (lying dumbbell extensions, cable pressdowns, etc) – 5 sets of 12-15 reps/set; going for "pump"

Again, this seems like an unusual combo for alternating sets, but actually works out quite well, because after deadlifting very heavy weights, performing a high rep "pump" exercise for the triceps is a welcome relief for your body and your mind to help recover and get ready for the next set of heavy deads.

3. Food, food, food!

Remember that the title of this article meant that your goal was to add more muscle SIZE to your arms, and in order to add muscle to your body, you need to be in a slight caloric surplus.

Ok… so the first 2 tips might have been a little unusual, but this one should be obvious.

Although it IS possible for some people (especially beginners) to add muscle mass while reducing calories below their maintenance levels, it is extremely hard for any type of hardgainer to build any muscle at all if your calories aren’t high enough. Remember, we weren’t talking about a fat loss routine here… we were talking about gaining muscle and getting bigger arms… so that is going to require some extra calories above your maintenance.

Don’t go crazy and think this means eating tons of junk food… you should still stick to clean healthy foods.

I wouldn’t obsess over exact ratios of carbs, protein, or fats either… your body needs all 3 for different reasons… protein as the building blocks of muscle; carbs for muscle glycogen, energy during the workouts, and insulin response post-workout; and healthy fats to help maximize your muscle building hormones.

This is more than just about arms and pecs though… if you’re dedicated to building a ripped, strong, powerful body from head to toe, I HIGHLY recommend my good friend and colleague Vince delmonte’s program.

Check it out here : http://vincedelmontefitness.atozfitness.com

Hope you enjoyed the article and have fun with the training!

=============================================
Lewis, Publisher
Sarah, CPT

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Mike geary’s Fat Burning Kitchen Reviewed

lewis — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:29:15 +0000

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Mike geary's Fat Burning Kitchen Reviewed

By Sarah Hougen

I’ve been reading a really great book this week. With the hours I work, I’m only able to read so much per day, but I’m loving every page.

It’s always fun to see someone actually dare say out loud what many suspect and many know but mindfully suppress from common knowledge.

What I am talking about, is Mike Geary’s new Fat Burning Kitchen e-book.

Most of the things on his “do not have in the house” lists I already do not have in the house. The reasons have been either explained in other books (partially) or the information gathered from here and there on the Internet. However, nowhere have I come across a more interesting and informative way of getting the message across – I’m tempted to say it’s at times almost caustic, which makes for enjoyable as well as informative reading.

Everything goes – from the healthy pasteurized dairy products to the healthy soy, the necessary sports drinks and the fat-reducing light products and more. Hey, wait a minute, all that is crap! Blatant lies. And all cleared up very thoroughly and simply by Mike Geary.

The good news is that Mike goes on to tell us what to make sure we do have in the house.

Of course, I’ve already known that some fats we have all been told are bad for us, really are good for the body, for the hormones, for fat loss! Mike explains the details behind this, in terms that we can all understand and remember so that we can pass on the information to friends and family.

The same goes for his chapters on nuts, dairy, butter, chocolate, teas … you know what? At the end of this, I wish I could go back to when I was a little girl in my grandmother’s kitchen! She used all the healthy ingredients Mike Geary is telling us to use. And she only became sick when she changed for the foods that the media was telling her were better for us all. Coincidence? Hardly.

How many of us have reached for those “protein” bars at the different stores and thought we were getting something healthy? Most, I’m sure! Mike has a list of the best ones, as well as what to look for and avoid in others.

After having emptied out your kitchen following Mike’s recommendations at the beginning of the book, you’ll get a shopping list to transform it into a healthy kitchen towards the end of the book. This will be a helpful list to many as it tells you to buy what the media is trying to tell you to avoid. Having read Mike’s book, you now know better!

Finally, Mike Geary outlines a 23-day plan for accelerated fat loss. That’s just over 3 weeks. Seriously, we can all follow a plan for 3 weeks, no? Sure we can! Hey, Lewis and I have a 3-week deadline coming up, I do believe we’ll give this a shot!

There are a few recipes scattered throughout the e-book, all of which I will be incorporating into my usual menus.

This is a very condensed, highly informative book that I feel should be a staple in every fitness-minded person’s collection. You can get your copy right here =>
Fat Burning Kitchen:

Sarah

=============================================
Lewis, Publisher
Sarah, CPT

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Does your diet have to be All or Nothing?

lewis — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:23:57 +0000

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- AtoZfitness Special Announcement -

Does your diet have to be "All or Nothing"?

Hi %FIRSTNAME%,

I just got this in from another diet guru Isabel Des Los Rios who you know from http://yourdietsolution.com . Isabel is one of the top internet diet specialist and we publish her articles all the time.

Anyway wanted to share her great article with you this morning.

Enjoy,
Lewis

Hey Lewis,

I definitely have many more supplements I want to cover in the next couple of newsletters but I just had to take a break from that series to cover a very important topic and question that I have received from many readers lately…

"Isabel, I don’t think I can implement every single principle in the Diet Solution Program all at once. Will I still lose weight? Will the program still work for me?"

First and foremost, I do have some good news…some great news actually.

You absolutely do not need to give yourself a complete life overhaul just to see some significant and permanent weight loss results!

Print that sentence out and paste it on your fridge or on your desk…anywhere. Just don’t forget it.

Start slow..step by step..do what you can and the results will follow.

Would it be ideal to follow every principle I teach? Well, yes, that would be pretty great. But sometimes, some days and in certain places that’s just not possible.

I know I may have told you this story before, but when I first discovered the principles that really helped me and many other people lose the stubborn weight I had been battling for so long, it was near impossible for me to implement every principle all at once. I was just out of university at the time and was on a pretty strict budget. Buying organic food was a bit of a challenge for me then, not only because it was sometimes hard to find, but on some weeks a bit difficult to afford. So I always did the best I could, buying fresh foods even if they weren’t organic. It was a great first step.

I also had just gotten a new job and had to be out the door pretty early in the morning (5am to be exact) and it was, again, near impossible to wake up and cook breakfast before I left (I was not going to wake up at 3am just to eat breakfast. I’m sure you can understand that). So, some days I remembered to grab something healthy and on other days I just did the best I could with something I could buy out.

Did I completely give up on my whole fat loss plan if I didn’t have the most ideal breakfast? Of course I didn’t. Because seeing weight loss results does not have to be "all or nothing."

Here is a sample step by step plan you can choose to follow so that your weight loss efforts and your journey to optimum health does NOT have to be a complete life overhaul:

Step 1 – Replace your sugar and artificially sweetened drinks with water or with tea sweetened with Stevia. That’s it. Don’t think about doing anything else for a whole week or even 2 weeks. I’ve had people lose anywhere from 5-10 lbs just by giving up Diet Soda. I’m not saying this will happen to everyone but this would be a great first step in the right direction and may help your body begin the fat burning process.

Step 2 – Pack healthy snacks. Now that you’ve established a healthy drinking routine, begin to think about what healthy snacks you can take to work or to school (or anywhere) with you so you don’t have to resort to the vending machine or you don’t become so hungry you end up eating the entire refrigerator when you get home. I’m a big fan of raw trail mixes because a small bag fits in my purse and I don’t have to worry about it going bad. Grab a piece of fruit like an apple to go along with your raw nuts and you can conquer that afternoon hungry time. Get yourself into this routine for 2 weeks and now in one month you have implemented 2 great principles…decreased your sugar and artificial sweeteners intake and included healthy snacks during the day.

Step 3 – Cook 1-2 healthy dinners each week. Again, start slow. No one said you had to go into gourmet cooking school or had to slave over the stove in order to lose some weight. Start by finding 1-2 healthy recipes that you know you would enjoy (and your family would enjoy too). Pick one night that week or one weekend day and enjoy that meal. And make sure to make enough for leftovers. A healthy lunch can easily be made with leftovers from the night before.

You see, even if you only followed the steps above, how much better would you be eating in just 6 weeks? Well, I don’t know what your current starting point is but I would argue that in just a short time, you have made some incredible progress and will have definitely gotten the fat burning engines started in your body.

These suggestions and many, many more are exactly what I teach and go over in the 6 part Fat Burning Nutrition video series I told you about on Monday. I show you the exact meals I prepare in my own home (yes, that’s my kitchen you see in the videos) and exactly which foods in the supermarket are deceiving many people into thinking they are buying something healthy (yup, you’ll see me even get mad at some of these products).

The videos come along with Mike Geary’s new program "Fat Burning Kitchen". I know you’ll agree that $19.99 is a small price to pay for the information I give you in the 45 minute video series. And then you even get Mike’s new book on top of that!

Grab it here for $19.99 today before the price goes up to $39.99 on Friday.

http://fatburningkitchen.atozfitness.com

Watch the videos and then decide "What will be my first step to weight loss?" Create your own step by step plan and remember…this is not a life overhaul we’re talking about! It’s a permanent solution to your dieting struggles that does not have to be implemented all at once.

http://fatburningkitchen.atozfitness.com

Make sure to grab your copy before the price doubles tomorrow:

Sincerely,
Lewis

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