Carbohydrates: What You must know
by Gary Matthews

This scares me to death, every day you walk down the street
it is becoming more and more apparent that the average person
is becoming larger and this trend has escalated over
recent years.

Why are they getting fatter? Here are some reasons…

* Less incidental activity
* Automated and computerized lifestyle
* Longer working hours and less leisure
* Increased consumption of processed foods
* Our food servings are larger than ever

Being overweight, or obese, has now moved from a social nuisance
and domestic embarrassment to an official disease. The American
Heart Association has announced obesity is a major risk for
heart disease.

Obesity itself has become a major and dangerous epidemic. More
than 70% of US adults are overweight and that figure is rapidly
increasing.

What do most people do to rid their body of unwanted fat?
They diet! Dieting is now a trillion dollar industry and just
about every month a new diet is announced.

If you do have weight problems how do you find a diet that is
safe, effective and sustainable?

What you do is try to find a diet that includes a variety of
foods that you can live with comfortably. You have to take a
long-term view and include plenty of exercise.

A good diet is one that supplies all of the essential vitamins
and minerals, and is not high in fat or protein.

Research on people, who have successfully lost a lot of weight
and kept it off long term, shows that the vast majority succeeded
by consuming a low fat diet high in fibre coupled with strength
training and cardiovascular activity.

Be wary of diets that

* Ban a specific food group
* Promise a quick fix
* Replace a balanced meal with a drink or a snack bar
* Make recommendations based on single studies
* Make recommendations to help sell a single product

Excess weight does not appear overnight and nor will it disappear
overnight! In fact the faster you lose weight, the more likely
you are to pile the pounds back on.

Seek out a program that will help you maintain long-term body fat
losses by providing attainable solutions such as a program that
promotes lifestyle changes, healthy eating and regular exercise.

Regular exercise is important (i.e. strength training) as it
burns fat, boosts your metabolism and also increases your energy
levels.

Dietary changes can lead to initial weight loss, but this is only
for the short term. Exercise is essential for maintaining weight
loss for the long term.

Now let’s take a closer look at what food is made up of and then
you will have a good idea of what to look for in your daily
eating plan. Firstly we need a wide range of nutrients to
perform various functions for a healthy life.

These nutrients include carbohydrates, proteins and fat and are
all present in the food we eat on a daily basis.

The foods containing these nutrients are cereals, legumes, nuts,
vegetables, fruits, milk products and flesh foods (fish, meat and
poultry).

We need all these nutrients to live and thrive and since we
receive them through the food we eat, our food must be well
balanced and in the proper proportions. Food is a fuel; the body
requires this fuel for energy, which is measured in fats,
carbohydrate and protein.

Each of these nutrients provides different amounts of energy and
these are measured in calories.

Nutrient Calories per Gram

Carbohydrate 4
Protein 4
Fat 9

Let’s look at carbohydrates first, carbohydrates supply energy
for our body, they provide fibre for the prevention of disease
and taste and texture to food. They are found in cereals,
potatoes, fruits and vegetables.

They come in two basic forms, simple and complex. Simple carbs
are easily identified by their taste and are sweet. Complex
carbs, such as potatoes are pleasant to the taste buds, but are
not sweet.

They are then divided into two groups, high fibre and low fibre.

High-fibre foods are the healthiest choices for nutrition and the
intake of these foods is associated with a lower incidence of
cancer and diabetes. Carbohydrates supply the sort of calories
easily burned during cardiovascular exercise.

They are often wrongly feared and considered fattening, but the
most important factor in weight control is balancing the energy
(calories) consumed.

Please remember:

Energy In is more than Energy Out = Weight gain
Energy In is equal to Energy Out = Weight maintenance
Energy In is less than Energy Out = Weight loss

Different foods affect the ability to exercise at different
levels.

High levels of exercise (cardio and strength training) require
carbohydrate as a fuel source; at lower levels it is fat.

A lack of carbohydrate in the diet will lead to fatigue, the
inability to exercise effectively, and excess fat consumption.
When our food is digested, carbohydrates are broken down
into simple sugars.

These sugars are absorbed by the body and used by the
muscles or stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. As
our glycogen storage capacity is limited, carbohydrate needs
to be continually topped up by the foods we eat.

But the body has an unlimited storage capacity for fat!

The average person is extremely vulnerable to fad diets and
extreme dieting behaviours. The low carbohydrate diet is one
of the latest eating plans to hit the streets.

This current diet craze is very popular but there are safer and
more effective methods based on scientific research, to
reduce body fat levels.

Low carbohydrate dieting is simply wrong.

Why is this? Just as a car runs better on a certain fuel, so does
the human body. Unfortunately the latest low-carbohydrate fad
diets are not the fuel mix the human body was designed to run on.

Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram, whereas fats contain 9
calories per gram. For weight loss, the priority is to decrease
total calorie intake. Reducing the amount of fat in the diet will
make the biggest difference in reducing total daily calorie
intake and hence weight loss.

Carbohydrate intake is not fattening, excess calorie intake is
fattening.

If you aren’t having enough carbohydrates in your diet you will
experience:

* Fatigue due to low blood sugar levels inadequate intake of
vitamins and minerals
* Low fibre intake, which may affect bowel movements
* ‘Bad’ breath due to the breakdown products of fats (called
ketones)

The bottom line for carbohydrates and weight loss is to:

* Try to balance carbohydrate intake with activity levels
* Maintain energy levels by eating carbohydrate rich foods on a
regular basis
* Carbohydrate rich foods are normally low in fat and nutrient-
rich

A real weight loss program includes all the food groups, strength
training, and low-level aerobics, a slight decrease in your daily
calorie levels and a program that can be followed for life.

In conclusion try to achieve a balanced diet, eating a balanced
variety of foods will help you to feel great every day, ensure
better long-term health and improve weight control.

About the author
Gary Matthews is the author of Maximum Weight Gain in Ten Weeks.

A former fitness instructor with the Royal Australian Air Force, Gary Matthews’s Maximum Weight Gain program is the result of 20 years experience in the bodybuilding industry. “I have developed Maximum Weight Gain with Unique Training Techniques, so that you don’t have to live in the gym or endure major disruptions to your lifestyle.” 

Gary’s eBook is based on scientific principles has been adopted to address the biggest concerns of his clients “Time Constraints” resulting in a practical, do-able program - perfect for those who require results quickly.

Maximum Weight Gain in Ten Weeks is an attractive professional formatted PDF ebook. It’s a quick and unintimidating read with a complete section on nutrition and food substitutions.

So if you’re stuck in a rut and need a program that will deliver real results… Study and put into practice the muscle gain principles found in Maximum Weight Gain and find yourself putting on significant solid muscular bodyweight! Click-Here to visit Gary’s website.

Movement Sufficiency NOT Calorie Deficiency
By David Grisaffi, CHEK
Corrective Exercise Kinesiologist
Golf Biomechanic Certified
Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach

Three universal goals nearly all of us share are: (1) to live longer,
(2) to live free of illness and (3) to control our weight. Amazingly,
walking lets us achieve all three. In fact, walking may be your best
medicine for slowing the aging process, reducing your chances of illness
and slashing your body fat. For anyone out of shape or not athletically-
inclined, walking is the no-stress, no-sweat answer to lifelong
conditioning. All you need is a good pair of shoes, a little time, a few
guidelines from a fitness professional and you’re ready to go.

Unfortunately, there’s more misinformation floating around today about
fitness walking and weight loss than ever before. Some experts even say
walking is not effective for weight loss at all and they insist that
only higher intensity forms of cardio will do anything to improve your
body composition. Others fitness experts believe that you should not do
cardiovascular exercise every day - even walking.

There may be a little truth in each of those statements, however,
walking always was and still is one of the best exercises for
strengthening your bones, controlling your weight, toning the muscles in
your lower body, maintaining good posture and improving your self image.

Walking uses almost every muscle in the body, it improves circulation of
blood to the joints and massages the blood vessels, keeping them more
elastic. Walking also helps you maintain muscle and an efficient
metabolism as you get older (not to mention keeping you young "in
spirit.")

Walking is incredibly convenient too. Since you don’t need a gym or any
special equipment, you can walk any place, at any time and that allows
you to lose weight and get fit with little or no interruption to your
busy schedule.

People who diet without exercising often get fatter with time. Although
your weight may initially drop while dieting, weight loss from low
calorie and especially low carb diets consists mostly of water and
muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid
getting fatter over time, you must increase your metabolism by
exercising daily.

To get the maximum benefits of a walking program, you need make it more
challenging than a leisurely "walk in the park." Walking at a steady and
brisk pace burns more fat simply because it burns more calories. Just
remember to begin slowly to avoid muscle soreness, and increase your
pace over time as you become more fit.

To lose weight, it’s ideal to alternate your walking sessions between
high intensity and lower intensity days. For example, on one day walk
for 30- 45 minutes as a steady and moderate pace. On the next day, walk
at a faster pace. You could even do "road work" like the boxers do,
where you break up your walk along the route with some sets of squats,
lunges, bench push ups or other body weight or calisthenic exercises to
make it a real cardiovascular and muscle blaster of a workout! It
doesn’t have to be boring or the same thing every day. Make it fun and
keep it up consistently, leading an active life-style 365 days a year.

Slow and casual walking has benefits, but you will not get as much out
of walking at a very slow pace because we all have a built-in mechanical
advantage for walking long distances at normal speeds.

Our bodies, via the spinal column, muscle attachments and bony
structures, reserve energy in the musculoskeletal system and release it
back to us without asking for additional energy output. In other words,
as you walk, your spinal column keeps energy in reserve because of the
way you straighten and extend your spine during normal walking.

As you step, your spine is stretched, and as you take another step, the
energy reserved in the spine is used in propulsion. The spine acts very
much like rubber band as your walk, harnessing this reserve energy.

To get substantial cardiovascular, muscular and weight loss benefits,
this is why you must walk briskly or create extra movement patterns
beyond casual, slow walking in order to optimize your walking program
for weight loss and cardiovascular fitness.

Walking the right way will also improve your posture and tends to help
keep you upright (because you must see where you are going). Just hold
your chin up and shoulder slightly back.. Walk with your heels hitting
the ground first and your feet pointed forward. Swing your arms fully
and make lengthy strides.

To lose weight and achieve optimum health, exercise and diet are both
necessary and interrelated. Exercising without maintaining a balanced
diet is no more beneficial than dieting while remaining a couch potato.

Carbohydrates are high-octane fuel. They provide energy for movement
and help raise internal body metabolism. They’re also satisfying. The
key is to avoid adding high-fat and high calorie toppings to your
carbohydrates. Also be sure to focus on fruits and vegetables and do not
eat the majority of your carbohydrates from the starch category such as
bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. These type of carbs can create an
insulin spike, which in turn feeds your fat storing system.

Fruits and vegetables are the ideal health, diet and fat loss foods for
many reasons. They’re relatively low in fat and calories, high in fiber
and rich in essential vitamins and minerals. The National Research
Council recommends eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables
a day.

Your everyday habits will determine your long term body weight and body
composition. Make sure you get enough sleep, drink enough water to
expel toxins, avoid processed food as much as you can, eat your fruits
and veggies, eat organic when ever possible and work hard.

Just one last thought: taking a three-minute walk after each meal is
worth a four pound reduction in body fat in a year’s time. Climbing two
flights of stairs a day burns off half a pound of body fat in a year.
On the other hand, one candy bar eaten daily will cost you 20 pounds
annually.

If you enjoyed the information in this article, you will also enjoy the David Grisaffi Walking Guide, which is a complete walking exercise plan that comes FREE with the Firm And Flatten Your Abs program at
http://flattenyourabs.atozfitness.com/

David Grisaffi, C. H. E. K. II, CFT, PN
Corrective Exercise Kinesiologist II
Golf Biomechanic
Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach II
mailto:david@flattenyourabs.net
http://flattenyourabs.atozfitness.com/

Weight Training Outdoors: Jen’s Custom Park Workout
By Jen heath

We all know how nice it is to get outside for some of out physical activity after those colder months, so let me just cut to the chase. Whether you have kids or not, the bottom line is that there are FANTASTIC options for training outside the gym.  Go alone for some time in the fresh air, but don’t think you cannot do this if you have children to take along. This is perfect for them as well! Kids make “great weights”. I put my 40 lb daughter on my back for my pushups for a tremendous exertion. While I do not need her for my workout, she simply plays! Choose exercises that require little or no weight for maximal effort. Read on!

I’m going to make this simple and put on paper my own personal park workout. (Just a side note: I bring my straps with me for the pull-ups) Here’s the basic routine:

Weights Circuit, 1^st time through:

Pullups on the monkey bars or rings:  1 set to failure

Sissy Squats:                                1 set to failure

Leg-under pushups (med grip)          1 set to failure (both sides = 1 set)

Single Leg Squats                          1 set to failure (both sides = 1 set)

**2 minutes active recovery: walking/stretching

Weights Circuit, 2^nd time through:

The circuit keeps the same basis, but adds in some variations. On the second time through, you should change the standing sissy squats to kneeling sissy squats, replace the leg under pushups with regular, wide grip pushups, and change from a standard single leg squat to a pistol squat.

**2 minutes active recovery: walking/stretching

Weights Circuit, 3^rd time through:

On the third time through, change the grip of the pull-up by moving to a different bar (if available), go back to the original sissy squat, change the pushups to triceps pushups, and go back to the original single leg squat variation.

Lastly, I finish off my workout with some HIIT callisthenic intervals. I perform 45 seconds on the work interval which is always followed by 1 minute plus of active recovery/stretching.

Here are some of the common intervals I choose:

Hill Sprints (if available)

Jumping Jacks

Squat Jumps

High Knees

Speed Skates (www.putfile.com/jenheath)

Hip Extension Jumps (www.putfile.com/jenheath)

Jumps front to back (both feet)

Jumps side to side (both feet)

Calve Jumps (like a jump squat, but using only your calve muscles to propel yourself)

Most often I perform these intervals with accompanying rest periods 2-3 times through. This should feel tough after the prior intense weight training. Once complete, I guarantee that you will have gotten one of the best workouts ever…all while soaking up that good old vitamin D!

-Jen Heath

About the Author: 
I was born in Portland, Oregon.  I grew up as an active child…my favorite thing happened to be running around the beach on the Oregon coast. Throughout my younger years, I was always inclined to sports. Local stuff at the YMCA among PE being my favorite thing to do at grade school.

Jen is the creator of FAT LOSS PROS THE ULTIMATE FAT LOSS COLLECTION featured below.

My dad has always been kind of a sports junkie following just about everything…baseball, basketball, hockey, football, even golf and bowling!  I got acclimated to being athletic at a young age due largely in part to the fact that I was exposed to it on such a regular basis.

I started training for competition in July of 2006.  I had a detailed yet simple plan to execute incorporating goal specific nutrition, training, and rest (the hardest part as a mother of our, I assure you).  All of my hard work landed me at 7% bf  and shredded. That night, at the NGA Northern States Competition in Clearfield, Utah, I won my NGA Pro card on my first show. I was one of the best experiences of my life. Words cannot describe how emotional I was that night, knowing that I had taken care of my family (tough work) while at the same time achieving the goal I had set for myself.  Trust me when, I say to you that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to…because it is absolutely true!

In addition to bodybuilding, I am also a fitness and commercial model. I enjoy this because it gives my off-season variety. Rather than bulking or cutting for too long a period of time, it gives me a chance to do both, which my body seems to like.  If you look at some of my pictures, you will see that my smile loves the camera!

In addition to personal successes I have achieved as a trainer, as a trainee and as an athlete, I truly enjoy helping others achieve their goals. It doesn’t matter what the goal…general health and fitness, weight loss, or any aspect of bodybuilding.  I have formulated many individually unique programs that have led many to their goals.  I enjoy doing this as a profession for one main reason: It helps others become their best. That’s what it is all about folks…healthy goals that bring us closer to our personal best.  We are all unique, from our metabolisms to our schedules, all the way down to the quirks that make us who we are.

My Credentials:
NGA Professional Bodybuilder
ACSM Certified Personal Trainer

Why Some People Quit And Some People NEVER Give Up
By Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
www.BurnTheFat.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the Author:

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

Best Foods for Fat Burning
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

I couldn’t be any simpler with my nutrition recommendations for fat burning. You will get have the most energy and the best body and fitness level possible if you eat whole, natural foods. I always ask Dr. Chris Mohr, author of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines if I ever need help with nutrition information.

You must avoid processed foods, which is pretty much anything in a bag or a box. So cut out muffins, donuts, pre-packaged cereals, white bread, pasta, chips, crackers, cookies, etc. 

We need to return to a time of simpler eating, focusing on fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean proteins, and healthy fats. It will take some "bad habit breaking" to rid yourself of your addiction to processed foods, but in your journey you will learn to appreciate the taste of REAL food again.

You don’t have to eat meat to lose fat and build muscle, but it’s not unhealthy to eat beef, chicken, and fish. In fact, fish contains essential fatty acids we can’t do without.

You might have heard about the importance of healthy fats, which is a big turn-around from the low-fat mentality of the 80’s and 90’s. We now know eating fish and nuts won’t make us fat, but will in fact make us healthy and help control our appetite.

So just focus on foods that haven’t been processed, and you’ll start to see changes in your body and energy levels in a matter of days. Get rid of the processed foods and you won’t be tired anymore!

I strongly believe nutrition is the MOST important factor in fat loss and in health. If you’re eating processed foods, trans-fats, and too many calories, you won’t get maximum benefits from your exercise program, no matter what you are doing. Nutrition can either heal you or kill you, so choose wisely. Fortunately, the right choices are the simple choices.

I’ve had clients that switched to whole, natural foods and almost overnight they’ve reported changes in their bodies and huge increases in mental energy. So stick with the simple nutrition approach for fat burning.

F.ree Download
I mentioned a f.ree download and yes it is brand new as I just received it this morning from Craig, 4-Week Bodyweight Program for Beginners, Intermediate & Advanced Fitness Levels . 

Turbulence Training is scientifically proven, endorsed by elite trainers and top fitness magazines, and used by thousands of men and women for burning fat as well as increasing muscle and improving your health and energy levels at the same time.

You can download your f.ree e-book by folloing this link.
http://www.bestofallstars.com/thankscreaig.php

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 for Fat Loss

Visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com today to get your free report, “The Dark Side of Cardio & Other Ineffective Fat Loss Programs”