Entries Tagged 'Nutrition' ↓

It has been raining non-stop for the last 48 hours… the cool and wet weather makes me wanna stay under the covers to read and zzzz…. *yawns*

I just had soft boiled eggs for breakfast: 4 whites and 1 yolk.

For many years, I was led to believe that egg yolks would raise blood cholesterol levels and whole egg consumption should be limited to 3 per week. My impression was:

egg yolk = unhealthy!

I rarely ate whole eggs then as I didn’t wanna get high cholesterol.

One day, I read in the newspaper that dietary cholesterol in yolks does not necessary increase blood cholesterol levels. In addition, scientific research has not shown an association between egg consumption and heart disease. Good news!

But what about the effect of whole eggs on fat loss? My dear friend, Tom Venuto, shares his views in the following article “Whole Eggs: Dietary Evil or the New Superfood”.

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Whole Eggs: Dietary Evil or the New Superfood
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

QUESTION: Tom, I’m really confused about eggs. I’m not even sure if you’re going to be able to answer this or not, but to me and I’m sure others, it’s a very confusing and important topic. I only use egg whites because I did believe that the yolks are bad because of cholesterol and saturated fat. But with the studies coming out saying we are missing all of the best nutrients by throwing the yolks out it is very confusing. Could you please help clarify this issue? I have attached an article I got from another e-book author for your reference about what I’ve been reading, which spurred my frustration to contact you.

ANSWER: It’s overly simplistic to say that the saturated or animal fats cause heart disease. It’s even more simplistic and incorrect to say that foods high in dietary cholesterol such as egg yolks, will always lead to an increase in cholesterol in the blood.

Many other factors are involved, including the type of saturated fat, individual genetics, current health status, exercise and the big picture of what else is consumed in the rest of the diet.Research Says Eggs Are Not Evil

Recent research has been showing that the cholesterol in eggs is handled by most people’s bodies in a way that doesn’t cause heart disease and that dietary cholesterol does not necessarily translate to increased blood cholesterol or an unfavorable ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol.

After a recent study published in The Journal Of Nutrition, Dr. Robert Nicolosi at the University of Massachusetts said, “Our data shows that eating an egg a day is not a factor for raising cholesterol.”

A study reported at the 2006 experimental biology meeting in San Francisco made similar findings. The researchers discovered that when people ate three or more eggs per day, the amount of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in their bloodstream did in fact increase as previously reported.

However they also found that the subjects actually made bigger LDL particles which were less likely to enter artery walls and build up as artery-clogging plaque.

As a result of these and similar findings, head researcher Christine Green said that a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that eggs should not be considered a “dietary evil.”Whole Eggs Have “Super-Food” Qualities

Whole eggs have a lot going for them nutritionally speaking. The egg yolks contain a highly bioavailable source of lutein and zeaxanthin which are carotenoids that protect against cataracts and macular degeneration.

Eggs are a great source of high biological value, complete protein and the protein is split almost evenly between the yolk and the white. One large egg contains 6.3 grams of protein with 3.5 grams in the white and 2.8 grams in the yolk.

Although whole eggs appear to have been exonerated, it still may not be wise to suggest that anyone can eat eggs in unlimited quantities, for both health and body composition reasons.

Dr. Udo Erasumus in his book, Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, said that in 70% of the affluent populations of the world, increased cholesterol consumption decreases cholesterol production in the body through a regulating feedback system that protects them. The other 30% of the population may not have adequate feedback, and are wise to limit their dietary cholesterol consumption.Unlimited egg consumption is also not wise from a caloric perspective. In a fat burning program, you need to consider calories as well as nutritional value and health impact.

Whole Eggs And Fat Loss

Whole eggs are not low calorie foods - they’re fairly calorie dense, while egg whites are extremely low in calories, which is why egg whites are one of the top choices for lean protein on fat loss and bodybuilding diets.

Now that this news about the health value of whole eggs is starting to become more widely circulated, bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts have been criticized for their long held practice of throwing away the egg yolks.

However, In all my years of training and consulting, even back in the late 1980’s, and 1990’s I’ve never thrown away all my yolks.

My menu plans typically contain one or two whole eggs with 8-12 egg whites. I know that’s a lot, but that’s a man-sized bodybuilder meal. For non-bodybuilders or people with lower calorie needs, it might be one whole egg and 3-6 whites.

Why do I do this? Because this provides the high protein without so many calories.Take a look at this egg white - egg yolk comparison:

3 whole large eggs: 225 calories, 18.9 g protein, 15 g fat
8 egg whites & 1 whole egg: 211 calories, 34.3 g protein, 5 g fatDo you see what was accomplished here? I didn’t remove egg yolks because I’m afraid of cholesterol. I removed most of the egg yolks because I was on a calorie budget and I was on a higher protein diet and I wanted more protein with fewer calories. Make sense?

Another reason that bodybuilders use liquid egg whites so often is for convenience. They can pour them from the carton right into the fry pan and they don’t have to do all that shell cracking and egg white separating.

Let me leave you with a funny story.
Whole Eggs - “Better Than Steroids?”

When I started bodybuilding as a teenager, I latched onto the teachings of a bodybuilding guru trainer from North Hollywood named Vince Gironda.

Gironda trained all the top movie stars back in his day including Erik Estrada, Clint Eastwood, Tommy Chong, Carl “Apollo Creed” Weathers and too many others to mention.

He was also the Trainer of bodybuilding champions such as Larry Scott, the First Mr. Olympia, and believe it or not, he was Arnold’s first trainer when Joe Weider sent the budding young star to America from Austria.Gironda had been saying from day one (back in the 1950’s and 1960’s) that the whole egg was “nature’s perfect food” and he compared them to “natural steroids.”

On some of his low carb “muscle definition” diets, he said you could eat as many whole eggs as you wanted and even scramble them in butter. He said that he had some of his champion bodybuilders on up to three dozen eggs a day!I didn’t really understand what a ketogenic diet was at the time, but being an obedient, guru-following teenage bodybuilder, desperate for muscle, I did what he said. I ate up to 3 dozen whole eggs a day for months on end.

Well, there was no miraculous steroid-like effect, and I didn’t drop dead of a heart attack either.One thing I did notice is that I DID NOT LOSE FAT like Gironda said I would.

The reason should be obvious: three dozen whole eggs is 2700 calories (more if you use extra large or jumbo eggs). I was at nearly maintenance calories from the eggs alone, and eggs weren’t the only thing I was eating.Gironda, like many other low carb gurus, did not place any restrictions on calories, only on foods. Gironda was a genius, years ahead of his time, but this was the flaw in his program. Even on low carb diets, you STILL need a caloric deficit to lose body fat.

Thus, my approach changed and I started removing yolks to keep me more easily within my caloric deficit without losing the quality protein… but I never cut all the yolks because of their nutritional value.

To this day, I still keep one or two yolks in my omelettes and scrambles… sometimes more, as long as it fits in my calorie budget.

Get crackin!

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

P.S. One last thing. Keep in mind that the quality of the egg is only as good as the quality of the bird it came from. This is why many health experts recommend free range eggs and/or omega-3 eggs.

P.P.S. For more information about fat burning nutrition, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

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By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Burn The Fat

At least 7 scientific studies have provided strong evidence that energy containing beverages (i.e., “liquid calories”) do not properly activate the satiety mechanisms in the body and brain and do not satisfy the appetite as well as food in solid form.

Epidemiological research also supports a positive association between calorie-containing beverage consumption and increased body weight or body mass index. New research now suggests that soda may not be the only culprit…

The primary source of liquid calories in the United States Diet is carbohydrate, namely soda. Now running a close second are specialty and dessert coffees. Did you know that a 16 ounce Frappucino can contain 500 calories or even more! That’s one-third of a typical female’s daily calorie intake while on a fat loss program.

A recent study at Purdue University published in the International Journal of Obesity set out to learn even more about this bodyfat - liquid calories relationship.

Researchers compared solid and beverage forms of foods composed primarily of carbohydrate, fat or protein in order to document the independent effect of food form in foods with different dominant macronutrient sources.

Based on previous research, some experts have recommended targeting specific beverages as being “worse” than others. High fructose corn syrup and soda has been singled out the most and you’ve probably seen that yourself in the news.

There’s no question that soda has been on top of the “hit list” for some time now, by virtue of the amounts and frequency of consumption alone.

However, this recent study says that from a pure energy balance perspective, we should be cautious about ALL liquid calories, not just soda and not just carbohydrates!

Fruit juice for example, appears to be an obvious improvement over soda, so many people have swapped out their soda for fruit juice. However, when fruit juice is compared to an equal amount of calories from whole fruit, the whole fruit satisfies appetite better (largely due to the bulk and fiber content), and so you tend to eat fewer calories for the day.

[On an interesting side note, soup does not seem to apply; soup has higher satiety value than calorie containing beverages, possibly for mere cognitive reasons.]

If you were to meticulously track your calories from beverages and you made sure that your calories remained the same for the day, whether liquid or solid, there would probably be little or no difference in your body composition.

But that’s not what usually happens in free-living humans. Most people do not accurately track or report their caloric intake. Our mistake is that we tend to drink calories IN ADDITION TO our usual food intake, not instead of it.

Men are especially guilty of this when they drink alcohol - Men tend to drink AND eat, while women tend to drink INSTEAD OF eating.

This new research found that with all three macronutrients - protein, carbs or fat - daily calorie intake was significantly greater when the beverage form was consumed as compared to the solid.

Yes, it’s true! Even protein drinks did not satisfy the appetite the way that protein foods did!

While you would think that protein drinks are purely a good thing, because protein foods have been proven to reduce appetite and increase satiety, if you turn a solid protein food into a protein drink, it loses it’s appetite suppressive properties in the same way that happens when you turn fruit into fruit juice.

[NOTE: After weight training workouts, liquid nutrition may have benefits that outweigh any downside, especially on muscle-gaining programs]

Why do liquid calories fail to elicit the same response as whole foods? reasons include:

• high calorie density
• lower satiety value
• more calories ingested in short period of time
• lower demand for oral processing
• shorter gastrointestinal transit times
• energy in beverages has greater bioaccessibility and bioavailability
• mechanisms may include cognitive, orosensory, digestive, metabolic, endocrine and neural influences (human appetite is a complex thing!!!)
• last but not least, nowhere in our history have our ancestors had access to large amounts of liquid calories. Alcohol may have been around as far back as several thousand years BC, but even that is a blip on the evolutionary calendar of humanity.

As a result, our genetic code has never developed the physiological mechanisms to properly register the caloric content in liquids the way it does when you eat, chew and swallow whole foods.

Bottom line: This study suggests that we shouldn’t just target one type of liquid calories such as soda. If you’re trying to beat body fat, it’s wise to limit all types of liquid calories and eat whole foods as much as possible.

Start by ditching the soda. Then ditch the high calorie dessert coffees. Then cut back on the alcohol. From there, be cautious even about milk, juice and protein drinks.

Drink water or tea instead, or limited amounts of black coffee - without all the high calorie extras.

If you do consume any beverages that contain calories, such as protein shakes, be sure to account for those calories meticulously and be sure you don’t drink them in addition to your usual food intake, but in place of an equal amount of food calories.

Remember, those protein shakes you might be drinking are called “meal replacements” not “free calories!”

For many years I have suggested focusing primarily on whole foods rather than liquids, even protein shakes. Unlike so many other fat reduction programs, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle does not require any kind of liquid meal replacement or protein drinks and our company does not exist to sell supplements; we are here to educate you and millions of others about the realities of body fat loss.

We now have even more scientific data that confirms what Burn The Fat has been teaching all along.

I hope you found this helpful. You can learn more about “Burn The Fat” at Burn The Fat website

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
Burn The Fat

Reference: Effects of food form on appetite and energy intake in lean and obese young adults. International Journal of Obesity. 2007 Nov (11):1688-95. Mourao DM, Bressan J, Campbell WW, Mattes RD. Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2059, USA.

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: burn the fat website

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I’ve received numerous emails from my subscribers asking me the following question:

“If I want to lose body fat or get six pack abs, should I give up eating ice-cream
or chocolate (or any other junk food) for good?”

Not at all. You can still eat ice-cream or chocolate and yet lose fat. How? Read on
and see what the fat loss expert, Tom Venuto (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle)  has to say about it.

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EXCERPT #2 FROM THE “SUPER LEAN” SEMINAR

How to lose fat by eating pizza
Super Lean Seminar
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

QUESTION: “We’ve got a question here which is going to be useful for everybody,
because probably everybody listening has their favorite foods that they don’t want
to give up. For example, I love chocolate. A caller wanted to know, “Is it possible
to get a flat stomach and six-pack abs and single-digit body fat while still
enjoying your favorite foods like chocolate or pizza?” What’s your take on that,
Tom?”

ANSWER: “Of course it’s possible. You just have to eat small enough portions of
chocolate or pizza so you’re still in a calorie deficit. In fact, you could eat 100%
pizza and 100% chocolate diet and still lose weight. Heck, if a guy can eat 100%
Subway and lose weight, why not 100% pizza?

All you need is a calorie deficit. Of course, I DON’T recommend you eat a100% junk
food diet because that’s going to have a negative impact on your health. I’m just
trying to make the point that fat loss revolves around having that calorie deficit.

We have some diet book authors, some of them who even have bestsellers on the top of
the charts right now, who are spreading the same myth that diet gurus have been
spreading for decades; they’re saying calories don’t count. That’s total B.S.

Calories in versus calories out is stating the first law of thermodynamics, but
apparently we have a group of people who claim to have figured out a way to avoid
the laws of physics.

There’s actually an explanation of why they say that though. What these guys are
usually trying to do is to give you a list of eating rules which makes it almost
impossible to overeat. You could say that they’re “tricking you” into eating less. I
wouldn’t say that’s necessarily a bad thing. If the foods you choose spontaneously
make you feel fuller on less calories, I might even argue that’s a good thing.

But they’re misrepresenting how it works because there’s a huge difference between
saying “don’t count calories” and “calories don’t count” but they’re lumping them
together as if they were the same thing.

Do you see the difference between those two statements? If anybody listening doesn’t
see the difference, then make sure that you get the difference, because it’s huge.

Suppose I tell you that the only thing you can eat is lean proteins (like egg
whites, chicken, fish and green salads and other vegetables), lean plus green and
I’ll also let you take in some essential fats and oils, to make sure you get all the
essential nutrients.

Then suppose I say, “Don’t count calories; you can eat as much as you want.” I bet
you’re going to have a really hard time eating in a calorie surplus, because I’ve
removed food groups that are dense in calories, like starches and grains and sugars.

But does that mean that calories don’t count? No. It means that instead of counting
calories you were given a bunch of eating rules that usually curb caloric intake
automatically

“Calories don’t count” is one of the worst myths out there because if people don’t
understand the calories in versus calories out equation, they’re not going to be
able to get past the plateaus that we just talked about and they’re going to start
thinking there’s a cause and effect relationship between specific foods and gaining
fat.

They’re going to figure, “Eating pizza equals getting fat.” It doesn’t. They’re
going to think that eating chocolate equals getting fat. It doesn’t. It’s not a
cause and effect relationship where “junk food” automatically turns into fat. Eating
too many calories equals gaining fat.

Now if you take a pizza and you load that thing up with triple cheese and sausage
and pepperoni and olives and just stack the calories in there, then you have a very
calorie-dense food. Even though no food in itself makes you fat, calorie-dense
foods, if you eat them frequently, are more likely to give you a calorie surplus.

Or some foods stimulate your appetite or don’t keep you full for long, so you end up
eating more of other stuff later, and again, you’re likely to eat in a calorie
surplus.

The bottom line? As far as your favorite foods go, my philosophy is that depriving
yourself completely of your favorite foods is a great way to make yourself miserable
and to be almost certain that you fall off your diet very quickly. My philosophy is
allow yourself your favorite foods as long as you acknowledge that calories count
and you obey the law of calorie balance.

This is one reason that I don’t prefer the full day off the diet or the free for all
cheat day, because some people might interpret that loosely and they may almost feel
obligated to see how much food they can eat and how much they can shove down their
throats. They say, “Hey, it’s cheat day, so I have to cheat real good. I don’t want
to miss out on this!”

They end up in a huge surplus and if they go so far over on the cheat day, when it
all averages out over the week, they’re even and they haven’t lost any body fat.

Your best approach is to know your calorie target, or at least the ballpark, and
inside that calorie target, give yourself a compliance rule.

One that works really well for me and for my clients is 90% compliance. I give you a
list of clean foods like the ones that I mentioned before that include high nutrient
density foods with all the essentials and I say, “Eat these 90% of the time. The
other 10% of the time, eat whatever you want.”

If you look at it from this perspective, then you can see that there’s no such thing
as forbidden foods. For most people, in the long run, any diet that gives you
flexibility is going to work better than a diet that demands 100% “clean eating.”
This is not only my personal belief, it’s also well supported in the clinical
nutrition and behavioral psychology journals.

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I hope you have benefited from this excerpt. I may post one more tomorrow if I have
time.

To get more details about Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle and getting this entire
“Super Lean” Seminar for free (with the purchase of Tom Venuto’s burn the fat
program), just visit the burn the fat website at the link below. But hurry, this is
only a three day special promotion. it will expire on Wednesday, February 13th at
midnight.

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

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Today I’m posting an excerpt from one of two recent teleseminars featuring fat loss expert, Tom Venuto. Tom had them transcribed and turned into ebooks and MP3 audios that he’s actually giving away for free as part of a 3-day special promotion ending February 14th. Go to Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle for more information on that.

I wanted to share this excerpt from the seminar with you in particular (I got permission from Tom to reprint this). I think you’ll find it fascinating because it explains the real reasons why people hit fat loss plateaus. It happens especially when you get down to that “last 10 lbs” or when you drop a lot of weight, and you hit the “good” body fat category, but you’re an “overachiever” and you still want to get even leaner… all the way to “ripped”, or at least lean enough to see your abs.

Breaking through plateaus is a challenge, but there IS something you can do about them… read on and see what Tom says about it.

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EXCERPT FROM THE “SUPER LEAN” SEMINAR

QUESTION: “Our first question says, “Tom, I know you often say that to get to the point to be able to see your abs, you need to get to single-digit body fat. What if I hit a plateau at about 12% body fat? What do I need to do to break the plateau and get my fat% down to single digits? Should I do more cardio, more weight-training, manipulate my diet somehow?”

ANSWER: “You could do any of the above. You could manipulate your calories, change type of cardio, add cardio duration or frequency. You could increase cardio intensity. You could change your weight-training. You shouldn’t limit yourself.

One of the problems I see with quite a few programs is that they’re too dogmatic. If you hit a plateau, the person with the most flexibility in their approach is the person who’s going to be most likely to get through that plateau.

The first thing though is to understand what a plateau really is. This is important, because if you were losing weight, but now you’re not, there’s only one thing that that could mean; you were in a calorie deficit but you’re no longer in a calorie deficit.

You may be wondering why that happens.

There are four primary reasons you hit a plateau:

The first reason you hit a plateau is because your metabolism decreases. While this does not completely stop fat loss, it does slow down fat loss. If you’ve been cutting calories, especially if you cut them severely, your body adapts by decreasing the metabolic rate. That’s sometimes known as the “starvation response” or “Adaptive thermogenesis.”

The second reason is that you need fewer calories after you lose weight. Calorie needs are directly tied into your body weight. One problem is that after people lose a lot of weight, they tend to keep eating the same way they were eating when they were heavier.

So they’re feeding a smaller person the way they were when they were a bigger person, but when you’re a smaller person, you don’t need as many calories, even at rest (your basal metabolic rate is lower).

A third reason is that when you move that smaller body, you’re not burning as many calories. If you strap on a weighted vest or heavy backpack and go out and hike up a hill, you can tell, obviously, that if you’re lugging around extra weight, you’re burning more calories. So now can you see why, after you lose weight, you burn fewer calories?

The fourth reason is that most people either cheat on their diets or they forget to record part of their food intake. This one requires a little bit of honesty with yourself. Even if you don’t do it intentionally and you don’t “cheat” per se, unconsciously, we’re all terrible at estimating how much food we eat.

Some studies have even showed underreporting calorie intake as much as 50%. In other words, you say, “I’m only eating 1,200 calories a day, but i’m stuck at a plateau!” but you’re really eating 1,800 calories a day which doesn’t give you much of a deficit.

All of these reasons for plateaus get amplified in the later stages of a diet, because biologically speaking, your body is doing everything it possibly can to get you to go off your diet and to get weight to stabilize.

After a long period of dieting and after a large weight loss, your body cranks up the appetite, stimulates cravings and tries to trick you into eating more.

The leaner you get, the longer you’ve been dieting and the more aggressively you cut calories, the more your body tends to defend its weight, and hold on to remaining body fat.

So it’s really common to hit that plateau when you’re dieted down and leaner. Usually it’s nowhere near as difficult for the overweight person to start losing weight as it is for the lean person to get even more lean. The last 10 lbs is usually a lot harder than the first 10.

If you think about it, it’s pretty unnatural from a biological perspective to walk around with really low single-digit body fat. It’s not beneficial from a survival-of-the-species point of view to have low body fat. So this metabolic adaptation becomes more pronounced the leaner you get.

You’re also at a higher risk of losing muscle, because extra muscle is not econmical when there’s a calorie shortage. Having extra muscle is like having an engine that’s bigger than you need - It’s like a gas guzzler.

The ultimate answer to why you plateau, why that last 10 pounds is so hard to lose and why it’s hard to break into those single digits is that you were in a calorie deficit but for all of the reasons mentioned above, you’re no longer in deficit.

The way to break the plateau then is to:

(1) re-stimulate metabolism and re-set fat-burning and starvation hormones, and

(2) re-establish the deficit.

(3) KEEP AFTER IT!

The question was, “How do I do that? More cardio, more weight training, manipulate my diet?”

You could do all of the above. Eating less or exercising more can both increase a deficit. But one thing you might want to do first, is give yourself a little break. Take your calories up to maintenance level, maybe for a week.

The idea there is not to try to accelerate fat loss, because what you’re actually doing is removing your calorie deficit for a short period of time. What you’re trying to do is facilitate the fat loss when you jump back into it.

It gives your body a physiological break from the stress of dieting; it resets some of those starvation hormones and stimulates your metabolism so when you go back to the calorie deficit, your body responds again.

You also get mental break from the diet as well, which makes it easier to stick with the program when you go back to it.

You could also use a calorie cycling approach, to help prevent yourself from hitting another plateau, and we already covered calorie and carb cycling in the last call.

I also recommend, because so many people underestimate how much they eat, don’t take any chances. Count your calories, or at least become really aware of the portion sizes and maybe even consider keeping a journal.

You’ve probably been told many times by a lot of different “experts” that you don’t have to count calories. But when you’re in a plateau, I’d recommend that you stop guessing and really get serious about what you’re taking in.

Then what you need to do is reestablish that calorie deficit using every tool at your disposal.

Use nutrition by pulling back your portion sizes. Or use cardio. And by increased cardio, I mean increasing energy expenditure. You could increase your frequency. You could increase your duration.

But increasing energy expenditure is not necessarily doing longer workouts, just burning more calories. You could also take the same amount of time that you’re spending right now and increase your intensity.

The whole idea is just burn more calories and stimulate metabolism, which gives you your deficit back again or you can pull back your food intake and give yourself a deficit again from the food side.

There’s more than one way to do it and I don’t think that you should lock yourself in. Use all of the variables and remember that there are TWO sides to the energy balance equation, not one.”

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I hope you enjoyed this excerpt, and mostly, I hope you put the information to good use!

This was just one short excerpt from almost two hours of audio in Tom’s new “Super Lean” seminar. Tom is giving away the entire seminar for free with the purchase of his ebook Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, but only until February 13th.”

You can get more information on Tom’s Burn The Fat program AND his new “Super Lean” seminar at:

Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle

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As you contemplate your plans to lose weight and get in shape for the New Year, before you add another diet to your resume and spend your valuable time, energy and money on the latest diet, Holly Rigsby, author of Fit Yummy Mummy advises you to think twice about your decision.

The only thing growing faster than the $65 billion diet industry is the American waistline. If your resolution for the new year is to GO on a Diet, the only place I guarantee you will go….is up in weight.

It’s a Fact: Diets will only make you fatter.

When it comes to the latest in Diet fads, we are quite gullible and easily tempted by a Diet’s empty promised. Reason being….the diet industry KNOWS we are in search of the “quick fix” and will only play with our emotions - our desperation for the quickest way to relieve looking and feeling fat.

Diets are nothing more than Temporary Solutions with many lingering, negative side effects.

Here are the Top 10 Reasons Why you should NOT “go” on a Diet

1. Diets do NOT work.
Diets have a 99% Failure Rate. Have you noticed a pattern yet? Lose weight….quickly regain it? Over time, studies show if you diet you are more likely to be overweight than people who eat normally and make small gradual changes to their lifestyle. No, the Law of Averages does not apply to this faulty system.

2. Dieting can be Dangerous.
Any time you severely restrict the amount or types of foods you eat you put your health and life at risk. Dieting has been related to injuries and sudden deaths from electrolyte imbalance, malnutrition, and heart arrhythmia’s. Weight cycling, or yo-yo-ing weight, is associated with higher death rates - especially if some type of pills are being used. At no point should you ever place weight loss above your health.

3. Dieting Destroys your Metabolism.
Diets will cause your weight to quickly cycle up and down. Sure, you may lose weight quickly because you are simply not eating enough. In the initial stages, the first seven to nine pounds lost are water, presenting a real danger of dehydration and mineral deficiencies. Even more terrifying is the break down of lean muscle due to inefficient nutrients and calories. If you are losing more than 3-4 pounds a week, you can be sure this is what is happening - very little fat is lost in this state.

Now, any muscle loss will cause your metabolism slow down to a crawl. The cumulative effect takes place for you cannot survive very long on very low calories (1200 or less) and you will eventually eat more - on top of a slower metabolism. All those excess calories will be stored as fat - causing rapid weight gain.

4. Dieting is Exhausting.
Diets are just reduced calorie Fads disguised by a clever gimmick. “Lose weight while you sleep” “Eat all you want and still lose weight” Not eating enough or cutting out certain food groups means your body may not be getting the energy it needs, or may lack certain nutrients. You will feel exhausted, light headed and experience some not-so-fun mood swings.

5. Dieting is Disruptive.
Dieting negatively affects your normal eating patterns. Diets can lead to binge eating, overeating and chaotic eating. When you diet, it is common to override your internal signals telling you to eat. You end up trying to use willpower or resist hunger signals and may even go as far as taking appetite suppressants. This results in being unable to know when you really are hungry or ….when you’re full.

6. Dieting can lead to eating disorders.
Experts state that the high rates of eating disorders in the U.S. are due in part to people dieting, losing weight, rebounding, and becoming chronic dieters.

7. Dieting Causes Food Obsessions.
If you spend a large amount of time and energy depriving yourself of food or certain types of food - you will spend more time thinking about food and become obsessed with attempts to control your weight by what you choose to eat or not eat. How long do you want to live like this?

8. Dieting Diminishes Women.
There is way too much attention focused on our appearance and an arbitrary number on the scale. In the midst of this focus - we end up avoiding what really matters to us - our dreams and ambitions. Even worse, it erodes our confidence and self-respect.

9. Dieting Intensifies Negativity.
If you diet, you are more judgmental and critical of yourself and others. Once again, wasted time and energy.

10. Diets Put Your Life on Hold.
Does this sound familiar….”I’ll be happy when I weigh ______” Guess what, the issues in your life are not related to your weight. Take responsibility and take back control of your life. Decide to be happy now and do what it takes to live a lifestyle that reflects your priorities.

So this New Year resolve to NOT go on a Diet - Set Yourself Free from this miserable, guaranteed to fail weight loss cycle. Do NOT let the diet industry make money by taking advantage of you. It is time to stand up for yourself and take control.

Rest assured that your complete, permanent fat loss solution is found in the Fit Yummy Mummy Lifestyle System - no more guessing what or when you need to eat - no more long hours or boring cardio or complicated workouts - just simple, to the point nutrition and short burst exercise plans that take you step by step to help you effectively burn the baby fat and get your body back. Reclaim your Body and Sign Up Today!

“I wish that I would have found Holly Rigsby’s Fit Yummy Mummy Program years ago as it would have saved me over 10k a year on my Personal Trainer! Holly has a clear understanding of how to get strong yet lean and gives you step by step advise. I highly recommend the Fit Yummy Mummy Program to everyone as I have implemented her workouts into my routine and have seen great results.” ~ Posh Mama Founder of Posh Mama Online Magazine and Social Network.

“I could not ever imagine trying another “diet” to lose weight. I now have a permanent solution, instead of a temporary one. Overall Fit Yummy Mummy will create a new “you”. Thank you Holly for your time and dedicated support to creating a new “me”. ~ Bridget McKinley

Holly Rigsby, CPT, MAT America’s #1 Fat Loss Expert for Busy Moms and the author of FitYummyMummy She has helped hundreds of Moms lose the stubborn baby fat and get their pre-baby body back.

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If there were ever a magic potion for fat loss – it would be water. Our bodies are comprised of about 70% water. We lose about a liter (34 ounces) of water per day under normal circumstances and when the temperature in our body rises, as during exercise, we lose higher amounts of water through sweat. It only makes sense that we need to continually replenish this supply for water is necessary for nearly every function in our body. Water regulates our temperature, supports and protects our organs, helps with digestion, transports nutrients to our muscles and helps move along waste by products.

Water is, in essence, the key to fat metabolism. Here’s why: one of you liver’s primary functions is to metabolize stored fat to be burned for energy. If you are dehydrated, the kidneys cannot function properly and the liver begins to take over – as a result of working overtime, the liver metabolizes LESS fat so MORE fat remains in your body.

Sometimes we mistake mild states of dehydration for hunger. If we don’t get enough fluids, our bodies give us indications that are similar to hunger pains. When this occurs, we start eating because we misunderstood what are bodies were telling us. Unnecessary calorie consumption can lead to excessive fat!

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Drinking lots of water throughout the day helps to keep you feeling full. If your stomach feels full – you are less likely to overeat!

A constant supply of water is vital before, during and after a workout. Dehydration leads to a lack of energy, muscle fatigue and cramping. Even small amounts of water loss can hinder exercise performance.

Remember that alcohol and caffeine are diuretics, making you lose even more water, so be sure to compensate for the additional loss.

How to do it:

You can replace the water lost during a typical day by drinking a minimum of 6-8 8 oz. glasses of water a day. Begin by drinking your first big glass of water right when you wake up. Drink a full glass of water with each meal. Keep water with you at all times.

To prevent dehydration, make sure you’re drinking adequate amounts of water before, during and after a workout. As a rule of thumb, drink 8-12 ounces of water at least an hour before beginning to exercise, 8 oz during exercise and 8 oz when finished. If you are hungry about an hour after eating, try drinking a glass or two of water- you maybe misreading thirst for hunger. If you are still hungry after 15-20 minutes then proceed with a supportive snack to tide you over until your next meal.

Here’s a ‘success strategy’ to get you started:

Make drinking water more fun by adding a slice of lemon or lime. Drink water out of a frosted mug or colorful glass. Grab-n-go flavor packets add variety to water between meals. Keep a bottle of water in the car at all times. At work, pack an allotted number of bottled water and set a goal to finish the pack by the end of the day.

For those who tend to prefer carbonated beverages to plain water try sparkling water. Not only is it crisp and refreshing, it satisfies the need for carbonation. Just make sure you choose a sparkling water that does not contain sugar or fruit juice to avoid additional calories.

So if your goal is fat loss, combine a total body strength training program, supportive nutrition and some interval training with your magic fat loss potion and you’re destined for success!

About the Author

Holly Rigsby is a nationally recognized women’s fitness coach, certified personal trainer (CPT) and the author of the internationally popular e-book – Fit Yummy Mummy - Burn Your Baby Fat & Get Your Body Back.

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Breakfast is easily the most overlooked solution when it comes to effective fat burning tips. Studies consistently show that people, who regularly eat breakfast, eat fewer calories throughout the day, have better nutritional habits, and weigh less than those who choose to skip breakfast.

When it comes to your fat loss, your goal is to make your body burn more calories. Your metabolism is like a burning fire, how can you make the fire burn stronger without putting something on it to burn? Our bodies are burning fat and calories 24 hours a day, however, calories are burned at the slowest rate while we are sleeping. Without something to jump-start it in the morning, your metabolism may remain in slow motion throughout the day and any extra calories – no matter how healthy - will be stored as fat.

The act of eating and digesting supportive foods frequently, increases your metabolism so you can burn more fat and calories all day long.

How to do it:

Eat a supportive meal within an hour of waking. Feel like your always running late? No time to eat? The secret – get up 10-20 minutes earlier and keep it simple. Not only can you increase time spent with your family at the kitchen table, but making time to start your day off with a high protein, high fiber breakfast will boost your metabolism, your energy and your mood. Because breakfast provides you with the energy you need to get through your day, the more energy you have, the more active you’ll be and the more active you are, the more calories you burn.

If you are not hungry first thing in the morning, try starting your day with a big glass of water or freshly brewed green tea. Proceed with your morning routine and plan to allow yourself about 10-15 minutes before you walk out the door to eat your breakfast.

If you like to exercise first thing in the morning, eat 30 to 45 minutes before your workout.

Try one of the following options:

1. Eat a light snack – yogurt or a piece of fruit. Eat your regular breakfast 30-45 minutes after your workout.

2. Eat half of your regular breakfast before the workout and the other half about 30-45 minutes after your workout.

3. Drink a meal replacement shake – quick and easy to make and for your body too digest.

Watch out for “Protein/Breakfast Bars”. Many of these items seem appealing for they are quick and easy; however the majority of these bars are loaded with sugar and fat. Check the nutrition facts.

Here are some breakfast fat loss favorites:

Cereal is a MUST. It’s convenient, easy to prepare, easy to eat and full of nutrients – No…”Whole Grain Lucky Charm” does not fall into this category. Be sure to choose your cereals based on the information on the food label.

The top choices should have:

• 5 grams of Fiber or more
• 8 grams of Sugar or LESS
• Sugar not listed among the first 3 ingredients.

For all other breakfast options, be sure to include a protein, complex carbohydrate, and fresh or frozen fruit. These are some of my favorites:

• Oatmeal with natural peanut butter, cinnamon and a side of fresh berries.
• Kashi Go Lean Crunch with skim milk and a banana.
• Scrambled egg whites topped with salsa and shredded cheese wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.
• Meal Replacement Shake with a piece of fruit.

So if you’re interested in fat loss, make sure you don’t forget – breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

About the Author

Holly Rigsby is a nationally recognized women’s fitness coach, certified personal trainer (CPT) and the author of the internationally popular e-book – Fit Yummy Mummy - Burn Your Baby Fat & Get Your Body Back.

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At this time of year, we can use every last tip to help avoid holiday weight gain.

So here are 5 more fat loss tips for beginner & advanced readers.

1) No liquid calories (with the exception of a post-workout drink).

Get rid of all the juices, the sodas, and the sports drinks. Liquid sugar is the last thing you need when you are trying to lose fat.

You must also limit your alcohol intake - especially if you are adding mix to drinks…that is a double calorie bomb! A single “Jackand Coke” is over 200 calories (100 calories from booze and 100 calories from mix).

2) No fast food.

Do not eat at fast food restaurants. Even if you choose what you think is healthy, remember this:

Fast food restaurants are all about profit.

And in order to profit while giving you cheap, quick, and easy to prepare foods, the quality of the food ingredients will be poor - especially the protein.

Now you might have read that you can still make healthy choices at fast food restaurants. But you know what, that’s just politically-correct opinion. If it’s fast food, it’s poor food.

Walking into a burger joint and grabbing a chicken breast on a white bread bun with a piece of old lettuce and a half-green, half-pink tomato is “barely” healthy eating.

The politically-incorrect truth is that it’s going to take time and effort to eat properly. You will have to plan, shop, and prepare healthy meals. You will have to spend time cleaning, cutting, and cooking your food. That’s the truth.

But believe me, it will taste so much better than fast food, and healthy eating will make you more alert. Eating fast food will make you feel terrible, and will make you want to have an afternoon nap at your desk.

Make one small improvement to your nutrition everyday for the rest of your life.

3) Eat more fruits and vegetables.

If you are eating 2 servings per day, then go up to 4 servings per day by the end of the week. And even if you think you are doing great by having 5 servings per day, you still need to double that (take 2-3 weeks to work your way up to 10 servings per day).

Stick with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables - organic if possible.

4) Eat 1oz of almonds or walnuts per day (1/2 oz in the AM, and the other half in the afternoon).

Most nuts are roasted in oils (possible source of trans fats), so stick to natural or dry-roasted nuts.

Don’t panic…this small amount of nuts won’t make you fat, but will fill you up and help you lose weight.

5) Be consistent with your workouts.

And make sure the workouts are efficient and effective. To make it easy for you to follow, stick with the Turbulence Training fat burning workout system.

It doesn’t matter if you train in the morning before or after breakfast, or at night before or after dinner, or at 1pm on days when the moon is in line with Saturn…don’t worry about the details, just train consistently.

Click here to get Turbulence Training.

6) BONUS TIP: Go for a walk after lunch or dinner (or anytime you eat a big meal). Research shows this will help you control your cholesterol and triglycerides, plus any movement is better than sitting around watching the TV and snacking.

Improve your lifestyle everyday,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

PS - Change your workouts to beat a fat loss plateau.

“The constant shakeup is amazing. I look forward to my workouts. I feel so much better than I did 6 weeks ago. I had almost given up on fitness as I was becoming very frustrated with my plateaus. I started out at 233 lbs and am already heading for 225 in only a few short weeks. Thank you for developing this truly amazing program and for sharing with the rest of us. It’s very refreshing to enjoy working out again!”
Dave Heffernan

“Turbulence Training is AWESOME! I started working out in 2004 first time in gym at 39 yrs. Then I discovered T.T. in 2006 and started receiving unbelievable info on xercises/nutrition. Immediately I started incorporating T.T. in my busy schedule which is improving my strength, definition, flexibility and nutrition. Craig is quick to reply to questions and supportive. My confidence and strength has definitely improved. If I only knew of Turbulence Training in 2004. The gym crowd is really checking me out now.”
Kimmie Clark

“I lost 14 pounds this month and the weight is just falling off me. My wife says I now look like when we first met and I still have more to go. I can fit into my old jeans again which is a big deal or me. I just cut back on starches and bread and do your routine 2-3 times a week. I never thought in a million years that just 10-20 minutes of weight training followed by some cardio would get me such steady results. I even cheat a bit on the weekends.”
Billy Williams

Turn your health around with Turbulence Training.
About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training website.

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

Anytime the topic of discussion in my blogs, articles or newsletters has turned to my own personal grocery shopping list, there has always been a spike in interest. It seems that many people are not only curious about what foods a natural bodybuilder eats to maintain single digit body fat, but they also want to be taken by the hand and told exactly what foods to eat themselves while on fat-burning or muscle building programs. That’s why I decided to put together four separate “top 10” lists of healthy foods that burn fat and build muscle.

Exact quantities and menus are not listed, just the individual foods, and of course my food intake does vary. I aim to get as many different varieties of fruits and vegetables as possible over the course of every week and there are a lot of substitutions made, so you are not seeing the full list of everything I eat, only what foods I eat most of the time.

I also want to point out that while I don’t believe that extreme low carbs are necessary or most effective when you look at the long term, research has shown that there are some definite advantages to a low to moderate carb and higher protein diet for fat loss purposes. These include reduced appetite, higher thermic effect of food and “automatic” calorie control.

Personally, I reduce my carb intake moderately and temporarily prior to bodybuilding competitions. Specifically, it’s the foods that are on the starchy carbs and grains list that go down during the brief pre-competition period when I’m working on that really “ripped” look. I keep the green and fibrous veggie intake very high however, along with large amounts of lean protein, small amounts of fruit, and adequate amounts of essential fats.

This list reflects my personal preferences, so this is not a prescription to all readers to eat as I do. It’s very important for compliance to choose foods you enjoy and to have the option for a wide variety of choices. In the past several years, nutrition and obesity research - in studying ALL types of diets - has continued to conclude that almost any hypocaloric diet that is not completely “moronic” can work, at least in the short term.

It’s not so much about the high carb - low carb argument or any other debate as much as it is about calorie control and compliance. The trouble is, restricted diets and staying in a calorie deficit is difficult, so most people can’t stick with any program and they fall off the wagon, whichever wagon that may be.

I believe that a lot of our attention needs to shift away from pointless debates (for example, low carb vs. high carb is getting really old… so like… get over it everyone, its a calorie deficit that makes you lose weight, not the amount of carbs).

Instead, our focus should shift towards these questions:

* How can we build an eating program that we can enjoy while still getting us leaner and healthier?

* How can we build an eating program that helps us control calories?

* How can we build an eating program that improves compliance?

Here’s one good answer: Eat a wide variety of high nutrient density, low calorie density foods that you enjoy which still fit within healthy, fat-burning, muscle-building guidelines!

Here are the lists of foods I choose to achieve these three outcomes. This eating plan is not difficult to stick with at all, by the way. I enjoy eating like this and it feels almost weird not to eat like this after doing it for so long.

Remember, habits work in both directions, and as motivational speaker Jim Rohn has said, “Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with and good habits are hard to form but easy to live with.”

These are listed in the order I frequently consume them. So for example, if oatmeal is on the top of the list, it means that is the food I am most likely to eat every single day.

My 10 top natural starchy carb and whole grains

1. Oatmeal (old fashioned)
2. Yams
3. Brown rice (a favorite is basmati, a long grain aromatic rice)
4. Sweet potatoes (almost same as yams)
5. Multi grain hot cereal (mix or barley, oats, rye. titricale and a few others)
6. White potatoes
7. 100% whole wheat bread
8. 100% whole wheat pasta
9. Beans (great for healthy chili recipes)
10. Cream of rice hot cereal

My Top 10 top vegetables

1. Broccoli
2. Asparagus
3. Spinach
4. Salad greens
5. Tomatoes
6. Peppers (green, red or yellow)
7. Onions
8. Mushrooms
9. Cucumbers
10. Zucchini

My top 10 lean proteins

1. Egg whites (whole eggs in limited quantities)
2. Whey or Casein protein (protein powder supplements)
3. Chicken Breast
4. Salmon (wild Alaskan)
5. Turkey Breast
6. Top round steak (grass fed beef)
7. Flank Steak (grass fed beef)
8. Lean Ground Turkey
9. Bison/Buffalo
10. Trout

My top 10 fruits

1. Grapefruit
2. Apples
3. Blueberries
4. Canteloupe
5. Oranges
6. Bananas
7. Peaches
8. Grapes
9. Strawberries
10. Pineapple

Note: I DO include healthy fats as well, such as walnuts, almonds, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil (supplement - not to cook with), avocado and a few others.

Also, I do eat dairy products and have nothing against them, nor am I lactose intolerant. I simply don’t eat as much dairy as the rest of the stuff on my lists. When I eat dairy, its usually skim milk, low or non fat cottage cheese, low or non fat yogurt and low or non fat cheese (great for omelettes).

Last but not least, I usually follow a compliance rate of about 95%, which means I take two or three meals per week of whatever I want (stuff that is NOT on these lists - like pizza, sushi, big fatty restaurant steaks, etc)

I hope you found this helpful and interesting. Keep in mind, this is MY food list, and although you probably couldn’t go wrong to emulate it, you need to choose natural foods you enjoy in order to develop habits you can stick with long term. In the fruits and vegetables categories alone, there are hundreds of other choices out there, so enjoy them all!

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting his website.

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

Packing on slabs of muscle is easy for those who have all the time in the world to train, eat, and rest. Unfortunately, 1% of us fall into that category. The question then arises as to what to do for those of us who are “running” on the corporate treadmill that keeps increasing in speed.

Admit it, you’ve fallen prey to corporate work hours, your significant other may complain you are not spending enough time with the kids, you are consistently traveling for work, your nutrition has gone to pot, and frankly, you are beaten by life. Does this scenario sound familiar? Well now it’s time to do something before your washboard turns into a bowl full of jelly.

Sometimes weights aren’t always available when you travel, which would at least allow you to maintain or improve your physique; fortunately, there’s a workout for you too. Weights aren’t crucial to improving your physique; let’s take a look at some exercises that can not only maintain your hard earned muscle, but even improve your physique. If nothing else, it’s a great way to add some variety (even if you are still using a gym).

Workout A

Walking lunges across hotel room floor (at least 10 repetitions for each leg)

Superset with

25 pushups with hands shoulder with apart

Repeat set 3 times

Duck walks (squat into the lowest comfortable position and walk forward from one side of the hotel room to the other. Continue walking repeatedly for 30 seconds. Stand to shake out the legs and repeat 3 times)

Superset with

25 pushups with hands in a triangle position

Leap Frog (you don’t need to ask your co-worker to play with you; this can be done across the room on your own. Squat as low as possible, leap (without hitting your head on the ceiling). Do so across room.

Superset with

Bodyweight triceps extensions (place your hands on the dresser or other stable furniture with your feet about 4 feet away from the furniture [the lower the furniture and further away the feet, the more difficult the exercise]). Lower your head by only bending your elbows (thinking of upside down skull crushers). Return to starting position.

Workout B

Military pushups (this if for the more advanced. Get into a handstand with feet against the wall or with friend holding your feet. Lower your body towards the ground and pushup to starting position). Complete 10 repetitions.

Superset with

Rear delt lifts (lying on back with arms out to side (making a cross with body and arms). Bend arms at elbow so fingertips are pointing towards the ceiling. Raise your upper body keeping only elbows and butt touching the floor—for the more advanced, raise the entire body off the floor). 10 repetitions

One leg deadlifts (raise one foot off the ground and behind the body. Squat down as low as possible until back leg is just above the floor. You may have to hold onto something for balance to start). Repeat 10 repetitions on each leg

Superset with

The Plank (keep only feet and forearms on the ground; raise body off the ground keeping your body in a straight line). Hold for 25 seconds

Nutrition on the Go

So now you’ve accomplished your exercise goal for the day, but what are you going to eat? With my schedule I’ll be traveling from the last weekend in September basically straight through the first weekend of November, with some short stays at home. Hotel food gets redundant. It’s hard to encounter a restaurant that can cater to a healthy guy’s lifestyle. You have to get creative.

If you travel regularly, I have a few suggestions.

First, pack some MRP’s and a shaker bottle. Second, pack some high quality nutrition bars. Third, if it’s a long flight, pack some fruit; the tiny bag of pretzels the airlines give you won’t do much to stave off hunger and catabolism for long flights. I recently flew across the country so I had several whole grain bars in my bag, two apples, a baggie of mixed nuts, and a ziplock bacg for “garbage.” I ate as soon as possible before the plane took off and ate soon after we landed. You can also have a shaker bottle full of water, then dump in a MRP, to give you a nice dose of protein; don’t mind the stares you may get on the plane, they are merely from jealous folks who are “enjoying” their liquid sugar from the beverage carts.

The plane ride is now over, but what do you do the rest of the trip to not ruin your entire physique? First, locate a grocery store nearby your hotel. Second, make a trip to the grocery store and buy some non-perishable foods (unless the hotel offers a refrigerator-then buy perishable items like I’ve been doing). If your room has a microwave, throw in a couple of packets of oatmeal and some water for a quick, no hassle meal that’s great for you.

No matter how busy your schedule, there is always time to eat well and train. While the conditions may not be idea, or in your normal routine or pattern, throwing up your hands and giving up will do nothing more than cause you to quickly get out of shape, decrease your work performance, and make you feel sorry for yourself. You may not feel like you have time to exercise—you must MAKE time to exercise!

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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