Entries from August 2007 ↓

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer; Author - Truth About Six Pack Abs

As you’ve probably heard before, your post-workout meal may very well be your most important meal of the day. The reason is that when you’re finished with an intense workout, you’re entering a catabolic state where your muscle glycogen is depleted and increased cortisol levels are beginning to excessively break down muscle tissue. These conditions are not good and the only way to reverse this catabolic state (and promote an anabolic state) is to consume a quickly digestible post-workout meal as soon as you can after training.

The goal is to choose a meal with easily digestible quick carbs to replenish muscle glycogen as well as quickly digestible protein to provide the amino acids needed to jump start muscular repair. The surge of carbohydrates and amino acids from this quickly digested meal promotes an insulin spike from the pancreas, which shuttles nutrients into the muscle cells.

The post-workout meal should generally contain between 300-500 calories to get the best response. For example, a 120-lb female may only need a 300-calorie meal, whereas a 200-lb male may need a 500-calorie post-workout meal. Your post-workout meal should also contain anywhere from a 2:1 ratio of carbs:protein to a 4:1 ratio of carbs:protein. While most of your other daily meals should contain a source of healthy fats, keep the fat content of your post-workout meal to a bare minimum, since fat slows the absorption of the meal, which is the opposite of what you want after a workout.

When choosing what to make for your post-workout meal, the first thing to realize is that you DON’T need any of these expensive post-workout supplement formulations that all of the fancy ads you see everywhere will tell you that you absolutely NEED! As with any nutritional strategies, natural is always better. Plus you’ll get a higher nutrient density by focusing on natural ingredients as I explain here vs. the maltodextrin and refined sugar that are normally included in the fancy post workout supplement shakes.

A good source of quickly digestible natural carbs such as frozen bananas, pineapples, honey, or organic maple syrup are perfect to elicit an insulin response that will promote muscle glycogen replenishment and a general anabolic (muscle building) effect. The best source of quickly digestible protein is a quality non-denatured whey protein isolate and/or some fat-free or low-fat yogurt. Here are a couple ideas for delicious post-workout smoothies that will kick start your recovery process:

Chocolate Banana – blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup skim milk, one and a half frozen bananas, 2 tbsp organic maple syrup, and 30 grams chocolate whey protein powder – 38 g prot, 72 g carb, 0.5 g fat, 440 calories.

Pineapple Vanilla - blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup vanilla yogurt, one cup frozen pineapples, 2 tbsp honey (preferably raw), and 30 grams vanilla whey protein powder – 35 g prot, 71 g carb, 0.5 g fat, 425 calories.

When looking to lose body fat, keep in mind that post-workout meals should have the opposite characteristics of all of your other meals throughout each day. While post-workout meals should have quick high glycemic index carbs and quickly digested proteins, all of your other meals throughout the day should be comprised of low glycemic index, slowly digested carbs and slow release proteins. These are powerful strategies towards developing a lean muscular body with a low body fat percentage. Another great thing about post-workout meals is that you can satisfy even the worst sweet tooth, since this is the one time of the day where you can get away with eating extra sugars without adding to your gut. Instead, it all goes straight to the muscles! Enjoy!

A more detailed and comprehensive nutritional analysis with more of these various powerful dietary strategies are found in my The Truth About Six Pack Abs ebook.

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(This is a guest post by David Grisaffi, The Ab Guru & author of Firm And Flatten Your Abs)

Ask David Grisaffi - The Ab Guru
C-Section And Lower Abdominal “Pooch”

QUESTION:

Dear David,

I am 1.57m, 53kgs, Asian, 45 years old, 2 kids both Ceasarian (and I am wondering if this has anything to do with my abdominal problem). My diet is fairly healthy, but I am not that strict because I love food, both healthy and sinful. I don’t binge and have a pretty good control over my cravings. I stir fry and eat a lot of veggies, rice, meat, fish, an enormous amount of fruit, not a lot of bread but when I do it’s whole grain. Not a lot of junk food either because I hate greasy food - maybe twice a year if at all.

My food consumption is well within my daily quota of 2,200 calories per day, if not less. I hate breakfast, so I drink one serving of whey protein, a cappuccino and one banana.

For my workouts, I run, use an elliptical trainer because of my knees. Sometimes I run sprints to get some aggression out of my system. My cardio ranges from 40 to 60 minutes, burning an average of 500 cals if I can believe the digital output, and I do an average of 3 hours cardio per week.

Then I do various strength training, mostly upper and mid body since I do a lot of running. I alternate so that I spend about 1.5 hours in the gym depending on the rest intervals. In conclusion, I think I have a sufficient deficit of 1500 calories per week at least.

The big question is: Why on earth can’t I seem to lose that bit of roll on my tummy or get my stomach looking flat? I am highly motivated. I like what I am doing and often come home feeling better than when I left.

Should I resign myself to the fact that two ceasarian childbirths make it impossible to get a nice flat (not even thinking of ripped) abdomen again?

Sincerely,

Babe K.

ANSWER:

I read through your e-mail, and noticed quite a few potential issues that might be contributing to your frustration with your abdominal area. If you address these issues properly, you may be pleasantly surprised with the change in your body fat level and especially the muscle development in your waistline.

I thought that these were such important issues, that I am going to answer question in detail for the benefit of all our readers.

Obviously, two C-sections does not help and can make things more challenging. One question I have is how much time was there between childbirths? If it was less than two years, the physical structures which contributed to childbirth may not have been repaired completely before they were asked to do it again.

After pregnancy, the body needs to normalize and it takes 9 months or more to get back into physiological balance. This balance is not just hormonally-related but also related to body weight, proper posture and normal muscle tension. If all of these things are not in balance, you will tend to have inflammation that inhibits the inner (muscular) unit and you will have a higher incidence of abdominal wall and inner unit dysfunction.

When you have a C-section, the abdominal wall is cut and the muscles are sewn back together. This creates scarring through all levels of your abdominal wall. This scarring contributes to the muscle’s inability to glide over the top of each other during muscle contraction. The net result is weakness and that contributes to the lack of stabilization.

This also could happen to the muscles of the pelvic floor after childbirth. When your inner unit and abdominal wall become dysfunctional, then your outer unit muscles which are used for movement (such as your gluteus maximus), become overused and will try to stabilize your pelvis and lower back. Also, when the pelvic floor is inhibited, the Transverse abdominis muscle (TVA) is lengthened and lordosis (lower back curve) begins to increase. This creates a short Psoas muscle and this can and does inhibit the gluteus muscles.

If this sounds complicated, let me simplify everything I just mentioned by saying that an exercise program needs to balance muscles that may have become unbalanced. One way to do that is to include a lot of body movement on unstable surfaces such as a swiss ball. Another way is with special exercises for the inner unit.

Although this may seem like complicated or boring details to you, if you really want that flat and lean lower abdominal area and you can bear with me through some anatomy and physiology, I promise it will be worth the effort.

To get a stomach area that is flat, strong, stable and hard as a rock, you really need to understand what these “inner unit” muscles are all about.

The inner unit is a group of deep muscles that provide the necessary joint stabilization for the spine. If the inner unit doesn’t activate your spine properly, your spine, pelvis and joint structures are placed under a lot of stress and this can lead to orthopedic injuries (and other dysfunctions like your lower abs “pooching“ out, regardless of body fat levels).

The inner unit consists of the transverse abdominis, multifidus, the pelvic floor and the diaphragm. Research has shown that the inner unit muscles operate on a different neurological loop than other core muscles.

The Transverse abdominis (TVA) is the deepest, innermost layer of all abdominal muscles. Think of the TVA muscle as your body’s natural weight-lifting belt. When the TVA contracts, it causes hoop tension around your mid section like a girdle or corset. If the TVA muscle does not tighten up and work properly, acting as a girdle around your waist to stabilize your spine and pelvis, you are at much higher risk of injury (or dysfunction as in a protruding abdominal wall).

For example: you bend over to pick up the laundry basket and your TVA does not activate properly. The stress to the spine that follows eventually leads to overload of the segmental (one-joint) stabilizers and POW! Your lower back goes out and you’re in pain.

This happens because the segments of your spine tighten down but the gross stabilizer (the TVA) does not, leaving the spinal segments to work on their own. They cannot provide enough muscular strength at the segmental level to withstand such a movement. Now can you imagine lifting weights, a full suitcase off a conveyor belt or reaching overhead to pull down a heavy box of books?

When the TVA does not work properly, the joints will begin early degeneration leading to many other types of orthopedic problems as well.

To activate the TVA, draw your belly button up and in towards your spine. This activation should be done before any bending over or reaching overhead, especially with heavy loads. A little trick is to get a string and tie it around your waist at the bellybutton level. Draw your abdomen up and in toward your spine as far you can, then let it out about three-quarters of the way and tie the string at that point. It should be tight but really
not noticeable. If your TVA relaxes and extends your abdominal wall, the string will tighten up and you will immediately get feedback.

The next inner unit muscle you have to consider is the multifidus. This muscle lies deep in the spine spanning three joint segments. The multifidus provides joint stabilization at each segmental level. Each vertebra needs stiffness and stability to work effectively to reduce degeneration of joint structures.

The third set of inner unit muscles are the pelvic floor muscles. It’s important for the pelvic floor and the inner unit to work properly. In many cases, due to operations such as hernias, hysterectomies and C-section childbirth, the inner unit muscles have been cut, reducing communication to these muscles. By doing some very simple, but very important exercises, you can re-establish communication between the nervous system and the muscles, tighten and tone the muscles, and prevent or reduce incontinence, leakage
and pelvic dysfunction.

You mentioned that you were doing “mid body exercises,” however, if you’re not specifically working each of these three inner unit muscles, plus the diaphragm, your lower abdominal area will not achieve the strength or muscular look that you’re after.

You might be surprised to see that the primary exercises used to improve inner unit muscle activation are NOT the usual abdominal exercises you see in the magazines like crunches and sit ups. My Firm And Flatten Your Abs ebook is based on strengthening and developing not just the outer unit “six pack” muscles, but also these important inner unit muscles.

Let me share a few of these inner unit exercises with you:

- Four point transverse abdominis tuck
- Horse stance series
- Heel slides
- Pelvic Tilt

www.shedthefat.com/inner-unit

In your situation, where you’re eating well, you’re training and you’re highly motivated, another condition could be a contributing factor in your abdominal area not looking like you want it to: It’s called visceroptosis.

Visceroptosis is a condition in which the internal organs have been compressed and displaced by poor posture and the enlarging womb from pregnancy, and this has a direct effect on inner unit dysfunction.

The displacement of internal organs can stretch the attachments which hold the stomach, liver, and kidneys in their proper place in the upper abdomen. As a result, they are left suspended in a lower position. This produces a tendency for the inhibition of the inner unit. It also influences other structures such as blocking or squeezing of tubular structures, ducts, blood vessels, and nerves. This can lead to all kinds of problems such as
indigestion, kidney problems and constipation.

The long and short of all this is that your insides have to be in shape for your outside to be in shape and that requires exercises that most people are not doing.

You could also look into other aspects of your workout schedule, especially your cardio training. At up to 60 minutes per session, you might be doing more cardio than you need. When cardio is overdone, muscle imbalances or injuries such as knee problems can occur. I would suggest alternating days of resistance and cardio exercise. It looks like you are doing some alternating, but you shouldn’t consider running as a replacement for lower body strength exercise.

Keep in mind, your body can adapt very quickly to an exercise program as you get in better and better condition. When I was training Greg Haugen, the 4 X world champion boxer, I would have to adjust his exercise regimen every 21 days. If I didn’t, he would adapt and stop making progress.

It’s especially easy for your body to adapt to aerobics. When you do too much aerobic exercise, your body becomes more energetically efficient. As you run on the treadmill, it says you burned X amount of calories, but you’re really expending less energy at a given workload because you’re in better condition than you used to be.

So the question is, what is the alternative? One solution is to begin alternating some of your conventional steady state cardio with higher intensity interval training. Interval training is very challenging but very effective, not to mention time efficient and it’s a good way to break a plateau if your body has adapted to conventional long duration, steady state cardio.

For example: run hard for one minute, reduce speed for two minutes, run hard for one minute, reduce speed two minutes, and so on. A great interval program I learned from Ori Hofmekler, author of the Warrior Diet is as follows:

Start jogging on the treadmill at the 7th level for one minute, increase it to the 8th level for one minute, increase again to the 9th level for one minute, place it to the 10th level for one minute, reduce it back to the 9th level for one minute, reduce it again today to the 8th level for one minute again, reduce it to the 7th level for another minute. Go up the pyramid and down the pyramid for 10 to 12 minutes. This burns a lot of body fat and stimulates metabolism.

After your interval program, then go on to do your regular resistance training for the entire body or do a simple circuit weight training program, depending on your goals and amount of time you have. Resistance training builds muscle and more muscle means you burn more calories and more body fat. Resistance training also elevates your metabolism for many hours after a training session.

Your diet may also be contributing to your abdominal frustration. Your diet seems very clean, but if you have food intolerance to certain foods it will tend to bloat your lower intestines and contribute to the “pooch belly” syndrome. When gluten is one very common intolerance and tends to interfere with good digestion thus causing inflammation and bloating.

When someone has food sensitivities, it’s important not to eat foods from the same source until your immune system has had time to deal with the problem food. This keeps it from being overburdened and leads to a nicer looking body. Try rotating your foods. Do not eat the same foods within a given 72 hour period.

The simplest test for food intolerance is to eat your normal diet and ask yourself two hours after a meal, how do you feel. If you feel sluggish, mentally-clouded and lethargic, then the last foods you consumed may not match your body type. Each individual has a specific body type and metabolic type. As we have always heard, one woman’s fruit is another woman’s poison.

Also on the subject of diet, you mentioned you figure you have a 1500 calorie per week deficit. Over seven days that’s only a 214 calorie per day or just under 10% deficit. If you have a 2200 calorie per day maintenance level that would put you at 1986 calories per day. Although its not a good idea to cut calories too low, fat loss does boil down to calories in versus calories out and you might need to reduce your calories further. I’d recommend you journal your food intake to be sure or your caloric intake and then test the results of another 200-250 calorie per day decrease.

Last but not least: What is your stress level like? When your body is constantly stressed, losing body fat is extremely difficult. By reducing your stress level with such things as yoga, tai chi, and qi gong, you will dramatically improve your mental and physical wellness. Make sure that you’re getting a good amount of sleep, drink plenty of water, and eat as organic as possible.

Wow. I think this was the longest Q & A column I have ever written, but your question raised so many important issues and I know that so many people with similar situations will be reading this that I wanted to be thorough and cover as many bases as possible.

You now have a lot of ideas and suggestions to work with and some new exercises to incorporate into your abdominal/core routine. Still, having a flat, strong, functional and lean abdominal area is such a huge subject that it can’t be tackled in one column. If you want more information including many more exercises that work both the outer “six pack” muscles as well as the important, deep “inner unit” core muscles, then take a look at my e-book, Firm And Flatten Your Abs.

David Grisaffi, C. H. E. K. II, CFT, PN
Corrective Exercise Kinesiologist II
Golf Biomechanic
Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach II

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If you’re interested in discovering some areas where you may be going wrong in your abs training and your attempts at losing stomach fat, I have an interview for you below that you’ll want to read.

In it, Men’s Health Magazine writer Craig Ballantyne, grills Abs-Expert Mike Geary, author of the internationally popular book, The Truth about Six Pack Abs, on the topic of abs training and the biggest myths and mistakes he sees in this field.

Also, be sure to check out Mike’s site: The Truth about Six Pack Abs.

Here’s a copy of the first half of the interview below. In this part of the interview today, we’ll just deal with training aspects.

In a couple days, I’ll send out the rest of the interview, which Craig and Mike covered the nutrition aspects we need to consider to lose stomach fat and get those hidden abs to show. Enjoy!

CB: Okay Mike, so where does the average man or woman go wrong when it comes to training abs?

MG: Most people are probably going to be surprised with this answer. In their quest for ’six pack abs’, the biggest mistake I see people making is wasting WAY too much of their time training their abs directly… pumping away with all kinds of different abs-specific exercises.

I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. The person is trying so hard to get those abs to show, that they’re spending almost all of their time in the gym with hundreds of reps of various crunches, leg raises, twisting exercises, etc. Meanwhile, all of that wasted time directly training the abs could have been better spent on a properly designed full body workout program that would elicit a much better metabolic response and increase the fat-burning hormone levels in their body as well.

After all, losing the stomach fat that is covering the abs is the MOST important aspect for most people to finally be able to make their abs visible. Unfortunately, pumping away with hundreds of crunches and leg raises does NOT cause much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal response.

This is the main focus of my Truth about Six Pack Abs book… full body training programs and proper nutrition to strip off that stubborn belly fat and reveal the six pack that’s hiding underneath!

Of course it wouldn’t be an abs book if I didn’t focus on ab development too, but I make sure firstly that the most important concepts for lasting body fat reduction are understood.

CB: Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make? And more importantly, do you see any gender differences in the response to various types of ab training?

MG: To be honest, I don’t really see any need for men or women to train differently. Bottom line… the best exercises are the best exercises regardless of gender.

However, in regards to mistakes I see between genders… Yes, I tend to see women more often are deathly afraid to use weight training with anything but really light weights. That is a shame, because THE most effective way to gain control over your body fat for life, is to maximize your lean muscle that your body carries, as well as working that muscle hard through intense resistance exercise regularly.

It’s important for women to realize that regular strength training using heavier resistance will NOT “bulk them up” (as long as caloric intake is controlled), but rather is one of the key secrets for losing body fat and staying lean year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females that I’ve trained over the years are the ones that aren’t afraid to work hard with the weights.

I also notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way too much time with slow cardio exercise. This is simply not necessary, and the way I combine high intensity resistance training into full body routines provides enough of a “cardio” workout in itself usually. We’ll get back to this in a minute though.

CB: What about ol’ school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they good, bad, or does it “depend”?

MG: Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don’t think they’re good or bad per se, but rather “in between”. I didn’t include them in my program. I simply don’t feel they are necessary, and I think there are much more effective abs exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost never do sit-ups except occasionally for a little variety every now and then.

CB: Give us a weekly sample ab training program. How many days per week? What are a couple of the best exercises you’d pick? How many sets? Reps? Rest?

MG: Well, first I’d like to point out that the full body movements that make up the majority of my programs indirectly work the abs and the entire “core” area to a fairly decent extent. However, I do include abs-specific exercises into the routines generally about twice per week. The “abs-specific” portion of the workouts generally only take about 5 minutes at most with very little rest between exercises.

Once people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial ab strength, I try to get them away from the exercises that are too easy, where someone can do 50 or 100 reps, as is frequently common with standard crunches. Instead, I like to focus on higher resistance exercises that actually stimulate the muscle fibers to a much greater degree.

One example of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg raises with a proper “pelvic curl up”. It’s funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much time with hundreds of reps of crunches can usually only do a few solid reps when they first attempt some of these higher resistance exercises.

We also make sure not to neglect some rotational movements, as well as some work for the deeper muscles like the transversus abdominis.

CB: What do you use for burning fat, intervals or slow cardio? Or both? Any gender differences here? Or differences between fitness levels (beginner vs. advanced)?

MG: In most cases, my answer is definitely intervals… or as I like to call it “variable intensity training”. In general, I think slow steady pace cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is lasting fat loss.

I think people need to get away from this thinking about “fat burning zones” and calories burned during the actual workout, and look at the bigger picture of what you’re doing in your workout to stimulate the greatest metabolic response in your body… and the best metabolic and hormonal response is achieved through variable intensity training and strength training, not slow steady-pace cardio.

Now I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can’t handle higher intensity exercise routines just yet, this still doesn’t mean that they can’t simply use lower intensity routines, but still use it in a “variable intensity” fashion, by alternating between higher and lower exertion levels throughout the workout.

That wraps up our training portion of the interview. For more info about whether the Truth about Six Pack Abs Program is right for you, be sure to check out the site here.

I’ll be back in a few days with the portion of the interview where we discuss the common nutrition mistakes most people make while trying to reduce body fat.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

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By Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
www.BurnTheFat.com

Throughout my 18 years in the fitness industry as a trainer, nutrition consultant and motivational coach, I have noticed that some people who start a nutrition and exercise program give up very easily after hitting the first obstacle they encounter. If they feel the slightest bit of discouragement or frustration, they will abandon even their biggest goals and dreams.

On the other hand, I noticed that some people simply NEVER give up. They have ferocious persistence and they never let go of their goals. These people are like the bulldog that refuses to release its teeth-hold on a bone. The harder you try to pull the bone out of his mouth, the harder the dog chomps down with a vice-like grip.

What’s the difference between these two types of people? Psychologists say there is an answer.

An extremely important guideline for achieving fitness success is the concept that, “There is no failure; only feedback. You don’t “fail”, you only get results.”

This is a foundational principle from the field of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), and the first time I ever heard it was from peak performance expert Anthony Robbins back in the late 1980’s. It’s a principle that stuck with me ever since, because it’s a very, very powerful shift in mindset.

A lot of people will second-guess themselves and they’ll bail out and quit, just because what they try at first doesn’t work. They consider it a permanent failure, but all they need is a little attitude change, a mindset change, or what we call a “reframe.”

Instead of saying, “This is failure” they can say to themselves, “I produced a result” and “This is only temporary.” This change in perspective is going to change the way that they feel and how they mentally process and explain the experience. It turns into a learning opportunity and valuable feedback for a course correction instead of a failure, and that drives continued action and forward movement.

It’s all about your results and your interpretation of those results

Dr Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, did some incredible research on this subject and wrote about it in his book, Learned Optimism. Dr. Seligman noticed that the difference between people who give up and people who persist and never quit is what he referred to as “explanatory style.” He said that explanatory style is the way we explain or interpret bad events or failures.

People who habitually give up have an explanatory style of permanence. For example, they hit a plateau in their progress and explain it by saying, “diets never work” or “I have bad genetics so I’ll always be fat.” These explanations imply permanence.

Other people hit the same plateaus and encounter the same challenges, but explain them differently. They say things such as, “I ate too many cheat meals this week,” or “I haven’t found the right diet for my body type yet.” These explanations of the results imply being temporary.

People who see negative results as permanent failure are the ones who give up easily and often generalize their “failure” into other areas of their lives and even into their own sense of self. It’s one thing to say, “I ate poorly this past week because I was traveling,” (a belief about temporary behavior and environment), and to say, “I am a fat person because of my genetics” (a belief about identity with a sense of permanence). Remember, body fat is a temporary condition, not a person!

People who see challenges and obstacles as temporary and as valuable learning experiences are the ones who never quit. If you learn from your experiences, not repeating what didn’t work in the past, and if you choose to never quit, your success is inevitable.

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. For information on Tom’s Fat Loss program, visit: www.burnthefat.com

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By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com

“Battle Your Biology? Fat Chance,” proclaimed a headline recently in the health section of the New York Post newspaper. Quoting new research and citing psychologists, dietitians and physicians, the article says that more and more evidence proves that your weight is genetically determined, and if you’re fat, “it’s not your fault.” “We’ve known for a while that genes - more than environment and behavior - explain obesity” argues Dr. James Rosen, an eating disorder specialist and professor at the University of Vermont.

While genetics are definitely a factor, believing you are destined to be overweight for life because you’ve inherited “fat genes” is the most disempowering and self-defeating attitude you could ever adopt. The only way you’ll lose weight permanently is to accept total responsibility for yourself and acknowledge the fact that you have the power to change, regardless what mother nature has given you to work with.

There’s no denying that heredity plays a major role in how difficult it will be for you to lose fat. You inherited a body type, a predetermined number of fat cells, a metabolic rate and body chemistry just as you inherited your eye color and hair color. In the 1930’s, Harvard psychologist Dr. William H. Sheldon developed a classification system for these different body types called “somatotyping.” While there are no absolutes, Sheldon identified three basic somatotypes: ectomorphs, mesomorphs and endomorphs.

Ectomorphs are the lean, lanky types. They are usually very thin and bony, with fast metabolisms and extremely low body fat. An ectomorph can eat like a horse without gaining an ounce. Mesomorphs are the “genetically gifted.” They are lean, muscular and naturally athletic. Mesomorphs lose fat and gain muscle with ease. Endomorphs are the “fat retainers.” Characterized by round features, excess body fat and large joints (”big bones”), endomorphs usually have great difficulty in losing body fat. They have slow metabolisms, they are often carbohydrate sensitive, they gain fat quickly if they eat poorly or don’t exercise, and they lose fat slowly - even on a healthy diet.

The tendency of endomorphs to store fat easily can be partly attributed to metabolic problems. For example, endomorphs often metabolize carbohydrates inefficiently. Normal people can eat lots of carbohydrates - up to 60% of their total calories - and they still stay lean. Endomorphs produce too much insulin when they eat carbohydrates and this leads to increased fat storage and difficulty in losing existing fat. This condition is known as “insulin resistance” or “Syndrome X.”

Scientists claim that the tendency to gain weight easily may also be due to chemical imbalances in the brain that cause people to overeat. Researchers at Johns Hopkins recently announced the discovery a compound called C75 that blocks an appetite-regulating hormone in the hypothalamus. In mice injected with the substance, 30 percent more weight was lost because the drug caused the mice to eat less. More research is planned to develop a similar appetite-suppressing drug for humans. Unlike Xenical, which blocks fat absorption in the intestine, this new drug would affect the brain’s chemistry so that people feel full sooner.

Many physicians and health professionals consider these metabolic disorders and chemical imbalances as genetically transmitted “diseases” that require medical treatment. “Obesity is a disease and should be treated like one” says Jackie Newgent, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association . This idea should be viewed with a great deal of suspicion however, because weight loss is potentially the biggest market in the world for drug sales.

According to Justin Gillis, a staff writer for the Washington Post, more than 45 companies worldwide are trying to develop new obesity drugs, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Gillis writes, “In world where a blockbuster drug is worth $1 billion a year in sales, analysts give $5 billion as the low estimate for sales of an important obesity drug. If a company developed a truly safe, effective weight loss drug, and sold it for $3 a day to one quarter of the 97 million American adults estimated to be overweight, sales would exceed $26 billion a year in this country alone.”

Basically, what the medical community is trying to tell you is that if you are overweight, it’s not your fault; you were born fat, so don’t feel guilty - and don’t worry, we have a drug that can “cure” you. Sounds like there’s an ulterior motive at work here, wouldn’t you agree? Before you run to get a prescription for the next “miracle” drug, you’d better wonder whose interests are being served; yours or the pharmaceutical giants.

Besides, drugs can never be the solution if they treat the symptoms and not the cause. Drugs should be considered a last resort for the morbidly obese who have already tried everything else without success and who will face serious health consequences if they don’t lose weight. The editors of obesity.com said it best: “Weight loss drugs do not take the place of diet, exercise, patience, and perseverance.”

“Dieting can be an uphill battle against your genes.” says Post writer Joyce Cohen. Unfortunately, if you’re an endomorph, Cohen is right. Losing weight is definitely easier for some people than for others and that doesn’t seem fair. But that’s the way life is. Life isn’t fair. Let’s be honest; not everyone is going to become an Olympic Gold medallist, a Mr. America or a fitness model. But don’t despair - you are not doomed to live a life of fatness if you don’t have “athletic genes.”

Obesity is the result of many influences. Genetics is only one of them. Like it or not, the primary cause of obesity is your own behavior. Most of the factors that affect body composition are entirely under your control. These factors include how much you eat, what you eat, when you eat, what type of exercise you do, how frequently you exercise, how long you exercise and how hard you exercise.

If you have the genetic predisposition towards obesity, you can lose fat like everyone else, you’re just going to have to work harder and longer at it than other people. “There is a genetic component to weight,” Says Dr. Thomas Wadden, a psychologist from Syracuse University, “but no one is destined to be obese. If weight has been a major problem in your family, you may not be able to become as thin as you’d like, but you can lose weight.”

If you find losing weight to be a slow and difficult process, the empowering thing to do is to look at it as asset, because overcoming this obstacle will force you to develop discipline, determination and persistence. These traits will carry over to other areas of your life and make you a stronger person all around. Arnold Schwarzennegger said, “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you overcome hardships, that is strength.”

The first thing you must do if you want to lose weight or succeed in any area of your life, is to accept complete responsibility for your situation. In a short but powerful little book called “As Man Thinketh,” the author James Allen wrote, “circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him.” What he meant was that we are not products of our environment or our heredity (our “circumstances”), instead, we products of our own thinking and belief systems.

We create our own circumstances through positive thinking and positive action and we create negative circumstances through negative thinking and lack of action or wrong actions. In other words, we are responsible for where we are, what we have and how our bodies look.

Some people get very angry with me when I tell them this: They say, “Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me that when bad things happen to me, it’s my own fault? That I brought unemployment, financial hardships, failed relationships, weight gain or even health problems onto myself? Because if that’s what you’re saying, that’s totally unfair!”

Well, my friend, with very few exceptions, (some things really are out of your control) that is exactly what I am saying.

If you refuse to accept the fact that you are 100% responsible for your weight, you will never be successful. When people find themselves in undesirable situations or they aren’t getting the results they want, it’s all too easy to make excuses: It’s my genetics, I have big bones, I have a slow metabolism, I don’t have enough time to exercise, etc. etc., etc. Making excuses is relinquishing control. It is conceding that you a victim of circumstances instead of the creator of your circumstances. Stop blaming and start taking responsibility for your life. Take action! Start working out. Eat better. Do something - do anything - but don’t just sit there on the couch and curse your chromosomes.

So, are you a frustrated “endomorph?” Do you feel like dieting is an uphill battle against your genes? If your answer is “yes,” please don’t just quit and chalk in up to “bad genetics,” and don’t believe that drugs are the answer either - they’re not. Your genetics will largely dictate your athletic ability and how easily you will lose weight. That doesn’t mean you can’t get lean; it only means that you’re going to have to adjust your diet and training to fit your body type and you may have to work harder and be more persistent than the “genetically lucky” ones.

Maybe obesity really should be classified as a genetically inherited “disease.” But frankly, if you have a “disease” that forces you to learn more about exercise and nutrition, to eat nutritious foods, to adopt a healthier lifestyle, to develop a strong work ethic and to become a more persistent person, that sounds like a blessing in disguise to me.

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and been featured in IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. For information on Tom’s Fat Loss program, visit: www.burnthefat.com

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by Michael Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer, Author- Truth about Six Pack Abs

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

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

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

Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it’s also full of healthy saturated fats. Yeah, you heard me…I said healthy saturated fats! Healthy saturated fats like medium chain triglycerides, specifically an MCT called lauric acid. If the idea of healthy saturated fats is foreign to you, check out my healthy fats article

Back to the fridge, some other staples:

* Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt - I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.
* Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds - delicious and great sources of healthy fats.
* Whole flax seeds - I grind these in a mini coffee grinder and add to yogurt or salads. Always grind them fresh because the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals in pre-ground flax.
* Eggs - one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol).
* Nut butters - Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with sesame seed butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter…delicious and unbeatable nutrition!
* Salsa - I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.
* Butter - don’t believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and can be part of a healthy diet (just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense…and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack).
* Avocados - love them…plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.
* Whole grain wraps and whole grain bread (look for wraps and bread with at least 3-4 grams of fiber per 20 grams of total carbs).
* Rice bran and wheat germ - these may sound way too healthy for some, but they actually add a nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or smoothies, or can be added when baking muffins or breads to add nutrients and fiber.
* Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots - for salads with dinner.
* Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo’s Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined soybean oil (full of inflammation-causing free radicals).

Some of the staples in the freezer:

* Frozen fish - I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored.
* Frozen berries - during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies
* Frozen veggies - again, when the growing season is over and I can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.
* Frozen chicken breasts - very convenient to nuke up for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.
* Frozen buffalo, ostrich, venison, and other “exotic” lean meats - Yeah, I know…I’m weird, but I can tell you that these are some of the healthiest meats around, and if you’re serious about a lean healthy body, these types of meats are much better for you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef and pork that’s sold at most grocery stores.

Alright, now the staples in my cabinets:

* Oat bran and steel cut oats - higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats.
* Cans of coconut milk - to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.
* Various antioxidant rich teas - green, oolong, white, rooibos are some of the best.
* Stevia - a natural non-caloric sweetener, which is an excellent alternative to the nasty chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.
* Organic maple syrup - none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima crap…only real maple syrup can be considered real food. The only time I really use this (because of the high sugar load) is added to my post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients into your muscles.
* Raw honey - better than processed honey…higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (how you process carbs). I use a teaspoon or so every morning in my teas. Yes, it is pure sugar, but at least it has some nutritional benefits… and let’s be real, a teaspoon of honey is only 5 grams of carbs… certainly nothing to worry about.
* Whole wheat or whole grain spelt pasta - much higher fiber than normal pastas
* Brown rice and other higher fiber rice - NEVER white rice
* Cans of black or kidney beans - I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican wraps for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth promoting antioxidants!
* Tomato sauces - delicious, and as I’m sure you’ve heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup.
* Dark chocolate (as dark as possible) - This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It’s still calorie dense, so I keep it to just a couple squares; but that is enough to do the trick, so I don’t feel like I need to go out and get cake and ice cream to satisfy my dessert urges.
* Organic unsweetened cocoa powder - I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks.

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

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

Be sure to pick up a copy of my book The Truth about Six Pack Abs, which introduces you to the entire comprehensive training and nutritional program that will turn your body into a lean, ripped specimen that others will envy!

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by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer; Author - Truth About Six Pack Abs

I’m going to talk about something today that most of you have probably never heard…that there is a distinction between good trans fats and bad trans fats. There is some evidence that the good trans fats can help you with fat loss, muscle building, and even cancer prevention, while the bad trans fats have been shown to cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and the general blubbering of your body.

I’m sure most of you have heard all of the ruckus in the news over the last few years about just how bad man-made trans fats are for your health. If you’ve been a reader of my newsletter and my Truth about Six Pack Abs e-book program, then you definitely know my opinion that these substances are some of the most evil food additives of all and are found in the vast majority of all processed foods and fast foods on the market today. In my opinion, man-made trans fats are right up there with smoking in terms of their degree of danger to your health. After all, they are one of THE MAIN factors for the explosion of heart disease since approximately the 1950’s.

As you may have heard recently, the FDA has mandated that food manufacturers include the grams of trans fat on all nutrition labels starting back at the beginning of this year. This means that as inventory is replaced in the grocery stores, you should start to see grams of trans listed on all packages from now on, providing you with an easier way to avoid them.

With all of the talk about trans fats in the news these days, I wanted to clarify some things, particularly regarding bad trans fats vs. good trans fats. If you’ve never heard of good trans fats before, let me explain in a bit.
The Bad Trans Fats

First, the bad trans fats I’m referring to are the man-made kind. These are represented by any artificially hydrogenated oils. The main culprits are margarine, shortening, and partially hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods, junk foods, and deep fried foods.

These hydrogenated oils are highly processed using harsh chemical solvents like hexane (a component of gasoline), high heat, pressure, have a metal catalyst added, and are then deodorized and bleached. A small % of the solvent is allowed to remain in the finished oil. This has now become more of an industrial oil rather than a food oil, but somehow the FDA still allows the food manufacturers to put this crap in our food at huge quantities, even with the well documented health dangers.

These hydrogenated oils cause inflammation inside of your body, which signals the deposition of cholesterol as a healing agent on artery walls. Hence, hydrogenated oil = inflammation = clogged arteries. You can see why heart disease has exploded since this crap has been loaded into our food supply over the last 5 to 6 decades.

As time goes on, and science continues to unveil how deadly these oils really are, I feel that eventually they will be illegal and banned from use. The labeling laws were just the first step. In fact, certain countries around the world have already banned the use of hydrogenated oils in food manufacturing or at least set dates to phase them out for good.

However, keep in mind that as companies are starting to phase out the use of hydrogenated oils in processed foods, they are replacing them, in most instances, with highly refined polyunsaturated oils. These are still heavily processed oils using high heat, solvents, deodorizers, and bleaching agents. Even refined oils are known to produce inflammation in your body…a far cry from natural sources of healthy fats.

Once again, for the best results, your best bet is avoiding highly processed foods altogether and choose whole, natural, minimally processed foods. Your body will thank you!

The Good Trans Fats

Ok, after having trash talked the man-made trans fats, let me clearly state that there is such a thing as healthy natural trans fats. Natural trans fats are created in the stomachs of ruminant animals like cattle, sheep, goats, etc. and make their way into the fat stores of the animals.

Therefore, the milk fat and the fat within the meat of these animals can provide natural healthy trans fats. Natural trans fats in your diet have been thought to have some potential benefit to aid in both muscle building and fat loss efforts. However, keep in mind that the quantity of healthy trans fats in the meat and dairy of ruminant animals is greatly reduced by mass-production methods of farming and their grain and soy heavy diets. Meat and dairy from grass-fed, free-range animals always have much higher quantities of these beneficial fats.

One such natural trans fat that you may have heard of is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has been marketed by many weight loss companies. Keep in mind that these man-made CLA pills you see in the stores may not be the best way to get CLA in your diet. They are artificially made from plant oils, instead of the natural process that happens in ruminant animals. Once again, man-made just doesn’t compare to the benefits of natural sources.

Now that all of your labels should be listing grams of trans fat, keep in mind that if a quantity of trans fat is listed on a meat or dairy product, it is most likely the natural good trans fats that we’ve discussed here. Otherwise, if the quantity of trans fat is listed on any processed foods, it is most likely the dangerous unhealthy crap from artificially hydrogenated oils, so stay away!

Here’s some more great reading material about eating a truly natural and healthy diet for you and your family:

Nourishing Traditions - by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig

Eat Fat, Lose Fat - by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig

I hope you’ve enjoyed this interesting look at good trans vs. bad trans and use the info to arm yourself with more healthful food choices for a better body.

If you have yet to check out my internationally-popular ebook, The Truth about Six Pack Abs, clickety-click on over and see how this program will blast fat off of your entire body, leaving you with abs that your friends will envy!

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by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer, Author - Truth About Six Pack Abs

Everyone will inadvertently hit a frustrating plateau in their training at one time or another. You’re cruising along for a while, gaining strength, losing fat, looking better, and then all of the sudden it hits. Suddenly, you find yourself even weaker than before on your lifts, or you find that you’ve gained back a couple of pounds. It happens to everyone.

Most of the time, these plateaus occur because people rarely change their training variables over time. Many people stick to the same types of exercises for the same basic sets and reps and rest periods with the same boring cardio routine. Well, I hope to open your mind and bring some creativity to your workouts with this article!

There are many ways that you can strategically modify your training variables to assure that you maximize your fat loss and/or muscle building response to exercise. Most people only think about changing their sets and reps performed, if they even think about changing their routine at all.

However, other variables that can dramatically affect your results are changing the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, and training frequency per week.

Sounds like a lot of different training aspects to consider in order to get the best results from your workouts, doesn’t it? Well, that’s where a knowledgeable personal trainer can make sense of all of this for you to make sure that your training doesn’t get stale. Below are a few examples to get your mind working to come up with more creative and result producing workouts.

Most people stick to workouts where they do something along the lines of 3 sets of 10-12 reps per exercise, with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. Booooorrrrring!!!! Here are a few examples of different methods to spice up your routine.

* Try 10 sets of 3 with a medium weight, resting only 20 seconds between sets.
* Try using a heavier weight and complete 6 sets of 6 reps, doing a 3 minute treadmill sprint between each weight lifting set.
* Try using a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, with 30 seconds rest between sets.
* Try using a lighter than normal weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each exercise
* Try a workout based on only one full body exercise, such as barbell clean & presses or dumbbell squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for an intense 20 minutes.
* Try a circuit of 12 different exercises covering the entire body without any rest between exercises.
* Try that same 12 exercise circuit on your subsequent workout, but do the entire circuit in the reverse order.
* Try your usual exercises at a faster repetition speed on one workout and then at a super-slow speed on your next workout.
* Try completing five 30 minute workouts one week, followed by three 1-hr workouts the next week.
* Try doing drop sets of all of your exercises, where you drop the weight between each set and keep doing repetitions without any rest until complete muscular fatigue (usually about 5-6 sets in a row).

Want more ideas? There are many more ways to continue to change your training variables. This was just a taste of your possibilities. In order to see how to incorporate various strategies into effective routines, give the programs in my book The Truth About Six Pack Abs a try.

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

In this article, I have an intriguing discussion about cardio workouts, which will hopefully get you thinking differently, and trying new things.

You may know I’ve been called the anti-cardio guy before, but this week I’m back posing the question to you…Do you really need cardio training to get lean and in great shape? By the way, you’ll see in a minute that I’m not really “anti-cardio”, just “anti traditional cardio”.

Most fitness buffs, weekend warriors, or anyone trying to get in shape or lose body fat, consider it a fact that they need “cardio” exercise to accomplish these goals. They would never even question it. However, I’m not only questioning it, I’m going to refute it! In fact, you may be surprised to know that some of the leanest and meanest people I know (men and women), NEVER do any type of normal or traditional cardio. And I’ve spent over 15 years working out in various gyms, and hanging out with athletes of all sorts, so I’ve seen it all.

I will say that there can be a place for low-moderate level cardio for really overweight or deconditioned people, but even in those cases, there can be more effective methods.

But what exactly is “cardio”? Most people would consider cardio to be pumping away mindlessly on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, or coasting on an elliptical machine, while watching the TV screen at their state of the art gym. This is what I call “traditional cardio”. Hmmm, no wonder the majority of people get bored with their workouts and give up after a couple months without seeing results.

But if you look closer, “cardio” exercise can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. I’m not going to get into anything technical like increasing your VO2 max or anything like that. To keep it simple, if it gets your heart pumpin, and gets you huffin and puffin, it’s cardio. I don’t care if you’re holding dumbbells or a barbell and everyone calls it a weight training exercise…it’s still conditioning your heart.

Let’s take a look at a couple examples. Take a barbell (or dumbbell, or kettlebell) clean & press for example, which involves lifting a barbell from the floor up to shoulders, then push pressing overhead. And listen up ladies, because even though this is usually seen as a manly exercise, it doesn’t matter if you’re not lifting 250 lbs; if 45 lbs is challenging to you, then you will still benefit just as much.

At first glance, most people think of the barbell C&P only as a weight training exercise or strength exercise. However, I challenge you to do a hard set of around 10-15 reps on the C&P. If you used a challenging enough weight, what you’ll find is that your heart rate is probably up to about 80-90% of your recommended max, and you are huffing and puffing like you just ran a 100-meter sprint (which by the way, sprinting kicks the crap out of jogging any day if you want the easiest way to lose the flab).

Try the same thing for a set of 20 reps of one-arm snatches or swings with each arm with a kettlebell or dumbbell, and tell me your legs aren’t burning, heart racing, and you’re gasping for breath. How about trying 5 minutes straight of bodyweight squats, lunges, and pushups with very little rest. Again, notice your heart pounding, sweat pouring off of you, and chest heaving for breaths!

Try and tell me you’re not conditioning your heart with this style of training! Conventional thinking says that these are weight training or strength training exercises. However, they are fullfilling your cardio workout needs as well.

Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity…something that can’t be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV. Seriously, if you can read or watch TV while doing any exercise, you’re not concentrating enough on what you’re doing, plus you’re probably not working out hard enough to see any real results.

I challenge you to give the “traditional cardio” a rest for a month or two, and start training the way I explain in my internationally-selling Truth About Six Pack Abs Program, and see how you start getting leaner, more defined, and your six pack starting to show through what used to be stubborn stomach fat deposits.

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Christopher R. Mohr, PhD, RD
www.mealplans101.com

Don’t get too excited, guys and women, I’m talking about cheating on your diet, not your significant other. After all, I’m a dietitian, not a private eye. The truth is that even if you’re committed to a healthy lifestyle (you know, you eat well, exercise regularly, rarely overindulge), temptation is still everywhere. If you’re not careful, one loving look from a juicy burger (with bacon, mayo and cheddar) across the room could be the end of you. An innocent night out for hot wings and beer may result in your being a “bad boy” (especially if somebody catches you in the act).

As a dietitian, I’m here to tell you it’s okay to cheat on rare occasion (ladies, you didn’t hear it here). But if you’re gonna’ give in to fat and carbohydrate overload, why not choose foods that can actually serve you? I call these the “best” of the “worst”—the top 10 foods you can eat and still like yourself in the morning.

Before launching into the list, let’s point out the obvious; some foods are better than others. Nutrient dense foods should comprise a majority of your diet. But I’m not saying you should live a life of deprivation either. Sometimes splurging on something “bad” is good. After you indulge, however, hop right back on the bandwagon.

The Top 10 Best of the Worst

Next time you’re glued to Monday Night Football, consider splurging on some of these foods—bad, but not so bad for you, they can’t be good too:

Food
Baked chips and guacamole

Why
Avocado (the green in guacamole) is a loaded with antioxidants, such as vitamin E and glutathione, which are both good for the heart and immune system and lutein, which is important for the eyes. Avocado is also a great source of heart healthy fats, to keep those lipids under wrap.

Food
Mixed nuts

Why
Squirrels aren’t stupid; nuts are excellent sources of B-vitamins, which are important in maintaining energy levels. They’re also great sources of vitamin E and low in saturated fat, making your heart happy.

Food
Pizza

Why
Opt for meat-free; pepperoni and sausage offer little in the nutrient department. Instead add a veggie topping or order it plain. The tomato sauce in pizza offers a hefty dose of lycopene, an important nutrient for prostate health. The added vegetables will add beta-carotene and vitamin C, among others, to fight free radicals, which promote aging.

Food
Hamburger

Why
You’re out with the guys and they insist on stopping at the local BBQ joint. While this might sound appealing, give the plain hamburger a try. Have it without mayonnaise or butter. Taste the burger for a change. It won’t kill you. Literally! This will keep the fat lower, and provide just as many muscle building nutrients like protein and iron.

Food
Sweet potato fries

Why
If you insist on fries, give the sweet potato fries a chance. Rather than solely adding fat to your diet, like normal fries, the orange shoe strings will at least provide a good dose of beta-carotene.

Food
Dark beer

Why
Forget about “tastes great” and “less filling.” Preliminary studies show dark beer may offer more “free radical fighting” flavonoids than light beer, which may help fight blood clots. But if you need to be rolled out of the bar or peeled off the “porcelain king” you’ve negated any benefit. Drink in moderation, dude.

Food
Dark chocolate covered strawberries

Why
Dark chocolate is high in a compound called phenols, that may help prevent “bad cholesterol” from forming plaque in your arteries. (Hey, it’s never too early or too late to protect your heart). Add the benefit of strawberries, a great source of vitamins C and A, and dessert never sounded so good. Let’s not leave out that most women find these foods romantic, so your heart may not be the only thing that benefits.

Food
Snickers Almond Bar

Why
Quiz: It’s the middle of the day; you’re starving at your desk and can’t concentrate. What do you do? Reach for a Snickers Almond Bar; the almonds provide some heart healthy fats and are high in B-vitamins. This version is lower in total fat and saturated fat than the “regular” Snickers too. And even if you think you’re king, don’t go for King Size. That’s a surefire way to find yourself the court jester.

Food
Berry pie

Why
Unfortunately carrot cake doesn’t count as a vegetable, so instead order berry pie for dessert. Berries have some of the highest antioxidant levels of any fruit or vegetable and have even been shown to contain compounds that help prevent Alzheimers; the darker the berry, the higher dose of nutrients, so blueberry or blackberry pie would be great options. Skip the a la mode and leave some crust behind; they’re loaded with saturated fat.

Food
Shortening

Why
You’re alone on a Friday night; your wife does all the cooking and she’s out of town. Shortening is great if you want something quick and easy; spoon it right out of the container and you’ll go immediately to saturated and trans-fat heaven, where your arteries are so clogged, Draino wouldn’t do the trick. Alright, I got carried away. Please don’t eat shortening by the spoonful as it lacks anything that could be construed as healthy.

The Worst of the Best

If these formerly questionable foods can be good for you, can “good foods” be not so healthy? You bet. Three, in particular, will pack weight on faster than prey fattens a bear preparing to hibernate. Avoid, if you can:

Salad, which by itself is great. But loaded with bacon bits, cheese, butter soaked croutons and creamy dressing? Deadly. Instead, load it up with fresh veggies and lowfat dressing and go crazy.

Rice cakes. Once a dieters dream, rice cakes have gone the way of the eight-track, since they offer zero nutrients and will blow your blood sugar through the roof. Besides they taste like cardboard and who wants to eat that?

Low-carb hot wings (yes, I have seen these advertised). Guess what? Wings never had carbs, they’re a saturated fat nightmare. They’re also loaded with calories, so skip ‘em. Chew on your wife instead.

Well, there you have it. The best of the worst, and the worst of the best. Follow these guidelines and nobody can ever call you a cheater again.

About the Author:

Dr. Chris Mohr RD, PhD is a health nutrition consultant to a number of media outlets and corporations including Discovery Health Channel, Clif Bar, Waterfront Media, and Fit Fuel. He has authored and co-authored several textbooks and textbook chapters, including consulting with LL Cool J on “LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout” (Rodale Press, 2006). He is also co-creator of Meal Plans 101 nutrition software. For more information on how you can utilize Chris’s expertise go to www.mealplans101.com

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