Sarah’s Blog

[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]

There’s a club you should join.

It’s called The Insider’s Club.

It is that club whose membership is based only on what secret goodies the members possess.

In our case, this is the Fatloss Insider’s Club. Only those in the know can join…. freee to them of course… : )

So, if you want to get rid of some lbs…

FATLOSS TRICK 1
Eat Pizza?

Today I went for some New York-style pizza here in Austin, Texas.

Do I feel ‘guilty’? No way… in fact tomorrow I will feel LEANER.

What the what?

I had to set up my body for this bit of metabolic trickery of course. You cannot just “eat pizza” and shed the pounds… I wish you could!

But my personal System for fatloss not only “allows” pizza (and all my other favorite foods)… it DEMANDS that I eat it.

Here’s another true story: I blew off my “feed meal” (that’s what it is called in my System) four days ago. I have been on a massive fatloss roll for weeks now and frankly I just did not feel like eating a lot.

That’s another benefit of my System… it really cuts your appetite and food-cravings down.

Anyway, the next day in the gym I fell on my face! I was weaker and not any leaner. I went home, ate literally about 6000 cals and presto: Leaner than ‘ever’ the next day and ready to train hard.

Learn how to use this System here:

The Every Other Day Diet     Click For More Tricks!

FATLOSS TRICK 2
The 10-Minute Cardio Trick

If you want to just get into good heart health, you only need GXP Cardio (covered in the System mentioned above) 2-3 days per week for 9-15 minutes. That’s it.

However if you want to use “smart cardio” (not long, boring cardio) then you need a bit more. Just a bit.

It’s my 10-minute trick.

Start with just every other day. Then move to 4 days… and then 5.

If you are pressed for time, this is ideal. Even if you are not, it works like magic.

10 minutes in the morning ‘before’ you eat. Just make sure your heart rate is only about 65% of your max… in other words, you are not breathing super-heavy at all, but you are working up a sweat. That’s it.

10 minutes ‘before’ lunch. Just cut your lunch hour short by 10 minutes… that’s all. You don’t sweat enough to need a shower… don’t worry. Walking stairs works great, or walking outside… be creative!

Then 10 ‘harder’ minutes about 2 hours before you go to sleep. Get your heart rate up to where you are breathing a little harder.

That’s it.

You can even start with just two sessions of 10 minutes (morning and night) if lunch is out.

FATLOSS TRICK 3
Increase Your Fat?

Yep. I want you to eat more dietary-fat…. but I want you to replace some of your carbohydrates (starch like rice, potatoes, etc.) with healthy fats like olive oil, coconut oil and almonds.

Fat dulls the appetite and all three of the fats above actually help your body get rid of its fat-stores if you decrease carbs.

I have the plan laid out for you. More here:

The Every Other Day Diet     Click For More Tricks!

FATLOSS TRICK 4
Think Resistance

Far better than cardio will ever be. That would be resistance training.

Either weight training or in-home resistance training using bands and bodyweight. Studies confirm what we fitness pros already know: Resistance training not only sculpts the body (cardio cannot) but it also burns 9-12x more bodyfat over the long-term than cardio.

But you need both. And both cardio and resistance training (in-home or in the gym) is worked into my book “7 Minute Body.”

You can get it when you pick up “Every Other Day Diet” for 75% off-retail… it is all detailed here…

The Every Other Day Diet     Click For More Tricks!

Welcome to the Club!

Yours In Fitness,

J O N B E N S O N

P.S. I’m still giving away “Radical Fatloss Blueprint” along with EODD for a few more days. And I’m giving a lucky few the chance to pick up the Supplement-Kit that comes with Radical Fatloss for almost 100 bucks off… the video and details are here:

The Every Other Day Diet     Click For More Tricks!

Sorry… EODD Readers Only…. so pick it up today.

[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]

Protein shakes are a dime a dozen. However a high-quality protein drink that is both homemade and nutritious is a rare find. Most protein drinks today have traveled the path of least resistance — cheap and potentially dangerous sweeteners, sugar alcohols (in order to bring down the supposed “carb count”), and protein sources that are often dubious…and accompanied with more outrageous claims than grams of the good stuff.

I use a simple, homemade, economic and super-healthy protein drink at least five times a week during my normal nutrition cycle and several times a day during peak training cycles where I need to be in top shape. My strategy for building this drink was simple:

1. Go hormone-free and organic with everything possible;
2. Go with plenty of healthy fats rather than cheap sugar substitutes to help control insulin and provide more satiety;
3. Think ‘raw’;
4. Make it delicious!

Below you will find this recipe, complete the the exact ingredients used. It takes less than five minutes to make and keeps me full for 2-3 hours. It is less than 1/3 the cost of an out-of-the-box MRP (Meal Replacement Product) and contains 1/10th the number of ingredients — and that’s a good thing. If you cannot pronounce it, it’s probably bad for you. And it tastes fantastic!

Mix the following into a high-quality blender:

1. One heaping scoop of Jay Robb’s Egg White Protein You will need to adjust this amount to your body weight. I use up to 1.5 grams times my body weight (max) and as low as 1 gram times my body weight when doing two shakes a day. For me this is between 20 and 35 grams of powder. Jay uses the best sources available, including hormone-free cattle and Stevia, a herbal sweetener, to make his excellent protein. There are no additional carbs to speak of and only the bare essentials ingredient-wise. Jay also makes a high-quality whey. I will often combine the whey and the egg white powders, using a bit over half a scoop each.

2. One raw egg (cage-free) Do not worry about cholesterol or getting food poisoning. These claims are mostly media hype. You need the high-quality protein and fats found in the egg. Most people try to go low-fat when making a protein shake. This is a mistake, as fats are crucial to the digestion of protein. As for contamination: Roll the egg on the counter. If it wobbles, you are safe to consume it. I’ve used this technique for ten years and I’ve yet to have one case of food poisoning consuming raw eggs. Oh, and it makes the protein drink taste better (believe it or not.)

3. Five grams of L-Glutamine Powdered L-Glutamine (I use Jarrow’s brand) is one of the healthiest things you can supplement your diet with. L-Glutamine has been shown to be one of the most powerful nutrients for both recovery and immunity enhancement. Bodybuilders will take up to 25 grams per day of L-Glutamine during hard training cycles; I do as well. It makes a tremendous difference in both performance and wellness. It is tasteless, too.

4. Five grams of Creatine Monohydrate If you want more strength and muscle fullness, good old creatine monohydrate (the non-fancy stuff; just monohydrate for me) works like you would not believe. Five grams per day is all you need. Like L-Glutamine, it is tasteless. I use Jarrow Brand.

5. Raw almonds I cannot say enough good stuff about almonds. Besides tasting great, they are loaded with essential fats and healthy fiber. Here is how I measure how much to use. This comes right out of my book “The Every Other Day Diet”.

Get it here:

The Every Other Day Diet     The “Cheat To Beat” Diet Plan

You can find 15 other shake recipes and over 40 pages of recipes in my book that fit the bill of being tasty and fantastic fat-burning meals. Here is the trick: Divide your body weight by 10. That’s it. If you weigh 200 pounds as I do, that means 20 almonds. Simple, right? I created an entire measuring system for Every Other Day Diet’s SNAPP! System of eating that is this simple for everything: Calories (none to count), carbohydrates, fats, protein intake… even water!

6. Frozen berries (raspberries mixed with blueberries) Yes, fresh is better than frozen… but frozen makes the shake more frothy. Plus I buy organic berries and freeze them in containers. There is practically nothing lost in the process. How much? Simple: Divide your body weight by 5! In my case this is 40 berries, or about a handful. Once you count them out once or twice you never have to again.

7. Pumpkin seeds This was a great find: A super-healthy and tasty addition to my protein recipe, plus a nice bump in the fiber content. Measuring something as fine a seeds is a bit more challenging using my numeric system, so we keep it simple: Use your palm. Just pour the seeds into your palm. Make sure they are not forming a pyramid or overflowing. That’s the ideal amount.

8. 1 to 1.5 cups of pure water I use only 1 cup of water as I like my shake thick.

9. 1 cup of ice Adjust to taste and texture preference.

10. Stevia (to taste) I love Stevia. It is an herbal sweetener that does not cause an insulin spike like sugar or even sugar alcohols can, and does not have the health hazards of artificial sweeteners. I use a few packets as I like my shake nice and sweet.

There you have it: A mostly raw, protein-rich, health-fat, carb-friendly protein drink that will fill you up for hours, tastes great, and contains more raw nutrition than most people get in a week.

P.S. There’s an eye-opening weight loss video you need to see.

Watch it here: Weight Loss Video     Watch

Sorry for the short notice.

… go here now:

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YOU MUST go here to get the discount… –

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[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]

Below are two videos. Watch them if you dare.

Then, by all means… take action.

Part 1

Part 2

Put an END to this! Grab the book below…

There’s an odor of food coming from the kitchen, yet I’m not in that room and no one else is either.  Cooking doesn’t mean slaving away at the stove for hours J in fact, all I did was pick up a boneless veal roast, put it in an oven-proof dish with a little cooking-spray in the bottom, some frozen “summer vegetables” and a glass of white wine. I put the dish in the oven, turned the knob to 400ºF and left it there. It’ll stay for a good hour to an hour and a half.

My muscles are a little sore today. Not all of them of course, I don’t train with full-body workouts these days, but rather one body part at a time 5 days a week.  Although I trained my back on Tuesday, today I could feel the tightness in the lats as I moved around doing things. Certain movements reminded me I’d trained shoulders on Wednesday. Admittedly, I skipped leg-day on Thursday! The sorest muscles are still my biceps from yesterday’s workout.  The chest muscles were worked on Monday, so they’ve recuperated by now J

Yesterday, I started with biceps and went on to triceps (alternate weeks I start with triceps and go on to biceps). Using the 7MM formula http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl , I started with 5 reps and ended up with just 2 reps on the last couple of mini-sets. I totally “died” – which of course is part of the plan and also the most fun. Breezing through the full  5 minutes  and still be able to do 5 reps for the last mini-set … I feel  cheated out of a good workout! That of course, signals the need to add more weight to the dumbbells next time.

This brings me to my point today – other than the initial one that a meal doesn’t need huge amounts of time to be tasty and elegant – I see too many women dilly-dallying around with puny little weights, or somewhat heavier ones but still obviously too light to offer any resistance for their workout. Asked why they don’t add more weight, I usually hear …

-          My trainer told me to use these (and forgot to mention progression?)

-          I don’t want to get bulky muscles

It’s true that some people (men included) will see a trainer for an initial few training sessions when they join a gym; get a program, and either not be told to increase the weight/resistance as they progress, or they forget that they were told to. It happened to me too, but luckily I browsed around the Net a bit and also had some great fellow trainees who set me straight.

As for the “I don’t want to get bulky” part … sorry, but just how do you propose to get bulky in the first place? And who told you you’d get bulky from a 20-pound dumbbell?

Answers: certain muscle magazines showing bulky women – those are “juiced” up with some sort of steroid cocktail, they did not get those man-looking muscle bulges naturally, trust me on that one. What else is altered in their bodies is irreversible and not something anyone in their right mind would want to do.

There is also a common misconception in most gyms that women shouldn’t do this exercise or that – I had a trainer tell me to use 5-pound Dbs for lateral raises (shoulders) because “women shouldn’t use the lateral raise machine”. There was no room for discussion, I was not allowed near that contraption, period. Why? The machine’s lowest setting was 10 lbs, lifted by both delts at the same time, ergo a 5-pound load for each, same as the 5 pound Dbs. So what was his reasoning? I’ll never know, but I not only did use the machine, I used it at 25 lbs! The reason I did was in fact mostly because he said I shouldn’t J I much prefer the freee-weight training anyway.

However, no woman has the natural predisposition to get bulky. We can lift and pant and grunt all we want, we lack the male hormone responsible in a large part for the muscle-growing. Sure we have some testosterone, but not nearly enough to get bulky. OK? LIFT SO YOU FEEL IT, have fun in the gym, rather than being bored out of your mind with the little “pink dumbbells”!

I’m wondering if that’s why so many women are sitting around chatting while they move their light weights around – they are bored silly! Try this next time: switch from the soup-can weight of 2-5 pounds to a meat-weight of … say 10-15 pounds, and do the same exercise again! Only this time, concentrate on the muscle you are working and ignore the next person over! Take notes on your performance, and make it a point to beat that the next time!

Sure, you’ll go from 30 reps with the “soup” weight to maybe 10 with the “meat” weight, but that’s fine. Challenge yourself! Compete with yourself. Never mind that the woman next to you manages more reps with the same weight, or more weight than you. You are not her, you are you. And guys, the same goes for you too!

Remember, it’s not about how much weight you can pull or push or throw around, not only. YOU need the right weight to challenge your muscles and mind and to grow; but you need one crucial element: correct form!

When I see inexperienced trainees watching in awe as a seeming expert pulls the whole stack on the lats pull-down … knowing the guy is doing it all wrong: he grabs the bar, throws himself onto the seat and keeps that movement going backwards, barely moving his arms with just a slight bend to the elbow … he’s not training his lats at all, he’s using momentum from the “body-throw” to move those weight-plates! Ridiculous show of stupidity Mr.”know-it-all”. Because of course, you can’t tell him he’s doing it wrong!

I’m more impressed seeing someone using the correct weight load for their strength, using perfect form, and executing a movement that has elegance and will give results. It may be only half the stack (to stay with the lats pull-down) but he’ll pull the bar/handle to his chest with a swift, exploding movement and return it to the start position slowly and deliberately, never allowing his butt to leave the seat (unlike the first guy who was flying all over the place). That my friends, is impressive training.

My plan now for the next 6 weeks – progressing on the 7MM http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl program from Level 1 to Level 2. I could have done so months ago, but I guess I just stayed in my comfort zone … enough of that, I want to have a little more challenge, so up I go to 14 minutes per morning, 2 days with the cardio, 2 with abs, and the last … supposedly calves, but without my donkey raise machine … I’ll see.

In combination with my workouts, I’ll stick to the Every Other Day Diet (EODD) http://tinyurl.com/myEODD because frankly, there’s nothing simpler, and it works! Why change a winning team, right? The only change will come from my choice of Plan, I will probably go from the Extreme Plan to one of the Lifestyle Plans or the Ultimate Plan – I have the rest of the weekend to decide which – and you’ll know what I decided next time I have 5 minutes to fill you in J

Incidentally, the veal roast was delicious. Hardly any work preparing it, the cooking took care of itself while I did other things, and all I had to do was set the table, dress the plates and serve with a glass of the same white wine it had cooked in. Simple, delicious, and healthy.

www.sarah@trainwithsarah.com

You know, I was sitting at work today, grumbling to myself over the lousy summer we’re having thus far, thinking of what a new neighbor said two weeks ago “2009, the best summer yet!” and …

For him, it made sense to say that because he’d just bought the house across the street this past winter and was “within his own walls” as they say in France; so for him, being out of the city, outside the main suburbia, in his own house, friends stopping by, grill-parties in the back yard till the wee hours of the morning … sure it’s the best summer yet.

To me though, it doesn’t seem like the best summer at all. For one thing, having started a new job, I have no vacation this summer at all (that’s the way it works here in Canada, not so in Europe so I was totally surprised when I found out). Secondly, the weather is totally unstable and unreliable, even if it looks nice in the morning, by the time a picnic is packed and strapped to the bike, it’s pouring rain. Once said picnic is unstrapped and placed on the kitchen table, the sun’s back out but the mood’s all gone.

We go in the pool, lie in the sun, an hour later it’s pouring down and there’s severe thunderstorms and the power’s out for over an hour, flicking back on and off and on again for the next three hours.

Great summer? Global warming? Best summer yet?

But that’s when it hit me. Of course it is the best summer yet! I am getting leaner and in better shape than I’ve been in 30 years and more. “Summer” is just a two-month period out of a 12-month year for crying out loud! Never mind “the best summer yet” how about “the best me yet!” ? After all, I have to live with myself and the image in the mirror, the results of photos in family gathering, the fit in my clothes for more than just the 2 months of summer!

The same goes for many of you as well. It’s not about looking great for that school reunion (although looking smoking hot in front of the “bitch-gang” from back then is a sweet revenge of the pudgy girl you were, as is turning the hottest guy’s head – well, he was back then, now he’s got a beer belly, right?). It’s not about showing your family how great you look at the next family “do” because all the older generation (your parents and older) will say you’re too skinny and need to get some meat on your bones – true, you want muscle, but they mean fat really.

What it is about, is you! It’s about me. It’s about feeling good in your own skin, in your clothes, in your own existence! Never mind everyone else! Yes, be “selfish” for once. Think of what you want, what you need, how you feel!

Don’t let “peer pressure” make you have a dessert you really didn’t want; or that cocktail when all you asked for was a glass of water with a lemon twist; or a “fancy coffee” overflowing with useless calories instead of the unsweetened coffee with just a touch of creamer you really wanted. Leave rice and potatoes if it’s not your treat/ re-feed day. Don’t let “them” bully you into eating like them!

It’s sad how “they” – the overweight and living a largely unhealthy lifestyle – allow themselves to criticize those who want to live a healthy life, trying to push their non-foods and sedentary non-activities on you. Sad, because if you dare open your mouth about their choices being unhealthy, you’re the one preaching and having a one-track mind!

The easiest way around this, is to claim some sort of health issue with starches, sugars and alcohol; from the benign to the more serious like food allergies or even worse. No one will push you to consume something that’ll make you sick and you could blame them for!

In a way it’s true too. You do have an allergic reaction to the junk foods and sugary sodas, desserts and alcohol with empty calories. That allergic reaction is called excess body fat! Bloat, discomfort, dehydration, digestive issues, heartburn … still want to have a “for once” item? I don’t.

If I feel the need for something special, I’d rather wait till I can control it myself. Such as fresh, sweet strawberries with some whipping cream (not too much); or raspberries, or a mix with blueberries. I can have my own “fancy” coffee by mixing a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and two drops of liquid Stevia in my coffee, even some cinnamon and/or ground cardamom. And I enjoy a glass of ice water with lemon, preferably freshly squeezed juice of one lemon, but a slice or wedge will do.

So yes, 2009 is going to be the best summer yet – from a personal body-image point of view.

The weather? Remember that old song, “raindrops keep falling on my head”? At one point he says he can’t do anything about the weather, that the rain just falls anyway? No point being moody over bad weather Just enjoy whatever weather there is, because it won’t go away just because you don’t like it.

Excess bodyfat can go away if you don’t like it though. Here you have a choice, something you can influence and fix.

I did. Since April 2004 when I joined a gym, subsequently buying the place and learning all I could about training and nutrition, I’ve gone from a traditional bodybuilder diet to a more user-friendly nutrition plan. On the bodybuilder diet, I burned a lot of fat and gained substantial muscle mass; almost too much for the look I wanted.

Switching to Jon Benson’s Every Other Day Diet http://tinyurl.com/myEODD I burned even more fat and kept my muscles tight and strong (what is popularly called a “toned” look!). Using his 7 Minute Muscle program http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl for just 7 minutes per day 5 days a week (plus 9 minutes of cardio) is all it takes. The combination of the two is fabulous, and you can actually get a great deal by going to this link: http://www.7minutemuscle.com/go/FitnessFor/oto  7MM + EODD + coaching + M-Power in any combination you want for a discount price! Wow. Wow, because M-Power is truly EmPowering! If you already have EODD and 7MM, look at http://tinyurl.com/M-Power-Series for all the motivational, mind-set help and instruction you’ll ever need or want.

Incidentally, both 7MM and EODD are available as hardcover books; as is Fit Over 40 http://tinyurl.com/Fit-O-40 I make sure to bring one or the other along when I go to any place I know there will be a wait – dentist, doctor, hair dresser, official office … you name it, I have one of the books in my tote-bag. One is on my nightstand permanently. The third is on the coffee-table. I can grab either one when there’s a little sun and lie there tanning and getting instruction and inspiration at the same time.

Yes, 2009 will be the best summer yet!

Sarah

www.trainwithsarah.com

[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]

A Candle In A Dark Week

Unless you hitched a ride on NASA’s Lunar Orbiter, you’ve heard the news.

In a single day, we lost two people that almost everyone in this country, if not this world, felt as if they knew personally.

In the same week, there was a candle flickering in the darkness.

A candle fueled by science. By research.

By hope.

We lost Farrah Fawcett to cancer. But this week a promising new cancer drug has a large number of folks highly optimistic.

And of course we lost Michael Jackson. We don’t know why yet. I wonder if we ever will.

But still, the candle burns.

The light here is a light of reckoning. A light that says, “You are but dust in the wind.” To dust, we return.

In a sense, at least.

You are also the stuff of stars.

I’m not talking about movie stars — I mean literal stars.

The inspiration for this article comes from one of my personal heroes, Carl Sagan. In his brilliant book, A Demon-Haunted World, Carl brings is wit, intelligence and sobriety to bear on the candle in the dark — science.

Science has helped liberate us from the dark ages, literally.

Science has cured more people in a single generation than all the wars in “history” have taken. Can you believe it?

During this dark week, science enabled us to launch the most sophisticated lunar probe in history to the moon.

And science will eventually find a cure for that monster we call cancer.

But science may never find a cure for what killed the King of Pop.

You see, I don’t think it is as simple as it seems. It may be. Who knows. But I think Jackson died of loneliness and self-abuse.

It just took time.

That, combined with stress (the number-one killer in the world) is enough to do anyone in.

The candle in the dark? Managing your health is really under your control… more than you think. That includes your mind.

Not totally, but in a few years, who knows.

That’s a candle that burns bright to me.

Brighter than the sun.

A bit of honesty:

My first thought upon hearing Jackson died was, “Wow. Too young. How?”

I’ve always recognized his contribution to music, but I’ve never been “attached” as a fan per-se.

When Kurt Cobain died, I cried. When Gene Roddenberry died, I cried. I cry every time I watch the end of “Contact” that just says, “For Carl.”

When Michael died, I shook my head in disbelief, skepticism, and reflection.

My candle was burning at both ends, I suppose.

How fragile we are. Yet, like Sagan loved to say, we are all “starstuff.” Literally.

Every atom in your body with the exception of hydrogen can be traced to a red star, billions of years old.

That makes me hang my head in utter awe. How beautiful, yet how chaotic our universe and our lives seem to be.

The reason I do what I do is not to try and extend “just years” to your life — it’s to help you make your life the best it can be.

To extend the healthy, happy, joyful aspects of your life.

To give you the candle in the dark called “self-management”.

Your time can come in a snap of a finger. In a breath, your light can go out.

But until then, I urge you to fight the good fight.

And keep your candle lit for all the world to see.

Fit Bits: This Will Kill You. Really.

Inflammation.

That’s the ticket. That’s the answer.

That’s what you must address if you want to live a longer and more productive, healthy life. No ifs, ands or buts.

Inflammation is caused by insulin resistance, among other things.

I’ve decided to share this week’s Fit Bits with you in an entertaining video I made called “Low Carb Lunacy.”

Get ready for the facts like you’ve never seen them before…

Please press the Play button to start the video. Thanks!

P.S. For those of you who really want to take charge of your health, I do encourage you to adopt a dietary plan you can live with. The best I know of is found below.

The Every Other Day Diet     Lose Weight. Lower Inflammation!

[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]

In this video I hope to shed some light on some provocative issues. First, craving fatty, sugary, high-calorie foods is not your fault. However, it is your responsibility—you have to learn to manage this vestibule pattern passed down through generations of DNA.

I have included a transcription of the video below. Enjoy!

Note: Thanks to too many years in scuba, I continually say “vestibular” in the video. The correct term of course is vestigial. But other than that… ; )

Please press the Play button to start the video…

Note: You can learn more about how to escape the “vestigial loop” covered in this video while still eating your favorite foods and losing all the weight you want by picking up my book The Ever Other Day Diet below…

TRANSCRIPTION

Hi, Jon Benson from Jon Benson Fitness dot com. Again, excuse the video-less video… my iCam is busted, but I’m getting it fixed this weekend.

If you missed the first video in this series, “Low Carb Lunacy”, be sure to check that out. Link below:

Low Carb Lunacy Video

Fat is not your fault.

Craving foods high in fat is not your fault.

Craving foods high in sugar is not your fault.

Craving high-calorie foods is not your fault.

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Well, it’s a biological and evolutionary fact.

BUT….

Guess what.

Just as a ruptured appendix is not your fault, it’s damn well your responsibility.

Just as your appendix is primarily useless; a vestigial organ no longer required for daily function, so is… yep.

Your cravings for sugar, fat, and calories.

Picture yourself living on the Savannah countless thousands of years ago. Everything you ate you either hunted or gathered—and for most of your days hunting was far more rewarded by your clan and by the females than gathering.

Gathering was the sign of a poor hunter. In fact, there’s an old joke: Vegetarian in the Cherokee tongue means Bad Hunter.

Turns out there may be more to this joke than you think.

On the Savannah, you might go days without food. Hunger and discomfort was associated mentally with “gathering” — picking up second choice. Is it any wonder so many of us as children seem to have a built-in aversion to vegetables? Our ancestors probably viewed what little vegetables were available during the warmer seasons as scraps from a table — not nearly enough calories, protein or fat to sustain themselves against the ravages of the day.

But bring home a nice tiger or lean game and presto: Hero status. The clan celebrated. The women swooned (great hunters were like rock stars in that day, or so I can imagine.) And the clan ate like crazy. Why? Who knew when the next high-fat, high protein, super-filling meal would come?

Folks, this same pattern, now just a vestigial mental organ if you will, is very much alive in your DNA. The problem? That tiger is now conveniently packed in your grocery’s freezer section. You may expend about 75 calories driving to the store, picking up a nice fatted piece of beef, drive home, cook it, and serve it. Hardly worthy of lavish praises from the female in your “clan”… but again, that genetic memory is a monster. It kicks in. The “provider” is still “worshiped” in the recesses of your DNA guys.

Unfortunately, it’s now a matter of economics, not hunting prowess. And being good with money rarely entails expending calories. So, that same drive to collect high-calorie, high-fat, energy-sustaining food is all but useless in today’s evolved society.

Same with sugars. When sweet fruits were in season on the Savannah, they provided the energy needed for the hunt. They tasted great. They were, as some anthropologists suggest, a type of early aphrodisiac. Sugar can trigger powerful “feel good” hormones, especially in its refined form. So, if you cannot eat filling food, how about a quick fix of feel good food?

Again, you were rewarded for this, albeit probably not as much — and definitely in different ways — back on the Savannah.

So you’re bucking eons of societal evolution folks… countless thousands of years of how humans ate, every time you sense hunger. Every. Single. Time.

Only now, everything is at your fingertips. Ladies, you no longer need a “hunter” — you can “hunt” for yourselves. Unfortunately you expend far less calories than males, both then and now. Some theorize than the females were responsible for preparing the meals. that, in and of itself, was very demanding calorically. Now… er… not so much. Guys, the hunt is over. All that’s left is brining in the cash to pay for the meals — one of the reasons, btw, many psychologists believe women are attracted to security of wealth. Yep — it all goes back to the hunting fields.

The obvious problem is that we now have these foods — but we have them at our fingertips and we have them on steroids multiplied by infinity. Our sugars are 100x sweeter than any fruit ancient man could have ever tasted. Our beef is loaded with hormones and unhealthy altered fats never known in the ancient world.

But our vestigial cravings are still there.

So, while craving foods that are high in sugar and fat makes perfect biological sense, it is no different than your appendix. It is a useless vestigial organ if you will, and it must be removed.

That part is your responsibility. It is the price we pay for societal evolution. But you can do it. As we’ve evolved, we’ve also become far more intelligent. More aware of our actions and their consequences. And we can fool the body quite nicely into thinking it has all the nutrients it needs.

I cover more about how to trick the body out of this historical “loop” of hunter/gatherism in my book The Every Other Day Diet…

Think about it. Comment below. Let me know if this resonates with you at all.

Thanks.

[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]

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[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]

Please press the Play button to begin the audio. Thanks!

Related Product: