Why Some People Can Drink Alcohol Without Getting Fat

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

Alcohol has been implicated as a factor that may hurt your efforts to lose body fat. Whether alcohol is "fattening" has been a very controversial subject because technically speaking, alcohol is NOT stored as fat; it is oxidized ahead of other fuels.

Whether moderate drinking is healthy has also been a subject of controversy. Many studies show that cardiovascular health benefits are associated with moderate beer or wine drinking (which has been of particular interest lately with reservatrol in the news so much), while other studies show improved insulin sensitivity. Some experts however, say that alcohol has no place in a fitness lifestyle.

A recent study published in the journal Obesity adds new findings to our knowledge about alcohol, insulin resistance and abdominal obesity. Analysis of the results as compared to other studies also gives us some insights into why some people seem to drink and get fat while others seem to drink and get thin!

The truth about the beer belly phenomenon

This new study, by Ulf Riserus and Erik Inglesson, was based on the Swedish Uppsala Longitudinal cohort. The researchers found that alcohol intake in older men did not improve insulin sensitivity, which contradicted their own hypothesis and numerous previous studies.

They also said there was a very "robust" association between alcohol intake, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio. They pointed out that a high alcohol intake, especially hard liquor, was closely associated with abdominal body fat, not just overall body mass.

Abdominal fat accumulation is not just a cosmetic problem, it can be a serious health risk. Abdominal fat, also known as "android" or "central" obesity, increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, glucose intolerance and elevated insulin levels.

Many other studies have also found a link between alcohol intake and abdominal fat, but this too has been controversial. A study that was widely publicized by the BBC in 2003 dismissed the concept of the “beer belly.”

Nevertheless, it looks like there’s some scientific support to it after all (or at least a “liquor belly” according to this newer study).

Hormones may be strongly involved because high alcohol intake has been shown to decrease blood testosterone in men, and also increase cortisol levels, which can lead to visceral fat accumulation.

Why is there so much controversy? Why the discrepancy in research findings about alcohol’s influence on obesity, abdominal fat, and insulin sensitivity?

Well, here’s the real story of why some people don’t get fat when they drink:

A lot of the confusion is because epidemiological research cannot show cause and effect relationships and mistakes can easily be made when drawing associations based on limited data.

With the nature of these longitudinal studies, you have to look at the lifestyle and nature of drinkers in general (or in this study, hard liquor drinkers). Also, the Swedish study focused on older men, so age may have been a factor. You may be more likely to deposit alcohol right on your belly as you get older.

When you hear that alcohol increases belly fat, you also have to look at what else is going on in the life of the drinker, particularly what the rest of a person’s diet looks like, and how alcohol intake affects appetite and eating habits.

Research says that alcohol can mess up your body’s perception of hunger, satiety and fullness. If drinking stimulates additional eating, or adds additional calories that aren’t compensated for and which lead to positive energy balance, then you get fat. You may also get fat in the belly, no thanks to what booze does to hormones.

Another thing that confounds the reports on whether alcohol contributes to weight gain is the fact that the game changes in heavy drinkers. We know that alcohol contains 7.1 calories per gram and these calories always count as part of the energy balance equation… or do they? With chronic excessive alcohol consumption, it's possible that not all of these calories are available for energy. Due to changes in liver function and something called the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS), alcoholism may be a real case of where some calories don’t count. Many alcoholics also skip meals and eat less with increasing alcohol consumption.

Alcohol metabolizing pathways notwithstanding, even if binge drinkers, daily drinkers or heavy drinkers consume most of their calories from alcohol, if they eat very little, and remain in a calorie deficit, they will not get fat. Compound this with the hormonal effects and you witness the skinny, but under-nourished, unhealthy and atrophied alcoholic (the person you'd think would be most likely to have a beer belly).

It's the calories that count

The bottom line is, the idea that alcohol just automatically turns into fat or gives you a beer belly is mistaken. It’s true that alcohol suppresses fat oxidation, but mainly, alcohol adds calories into your diet, messes with your hormones and can stimulate appetite, leading to even more calories consumed. That’s where the fat gain comes from.

If you drink in moderation, if you’re aware of the calories in the alcohol, if you're aware of the calories from additional food intake consumed during or after drinking, and if you compensate for all of the above accordingly, you won’t get fat.

Now, with that said, you might be wondering: “You mean I can drink and still lose fat? I just need to keep in a calorie deficit?”

Yes, that's exactly what I mean. But before you rush off to the pub for a cold one, hold that thought for a minute while you consider this first: The empty alcohol calories displace the nutrient dense calories!

When you’re on a fat loss program you have a fairly small “calorie budget”, so you need to give some careful thought to how those calories should be “spent.” For example, if a female is on a 1500 calorie per day diet, does she really want to "spend" 500 of those calories – one third of her intake - for a few alcoholic drinks, and leave only 1000 for health-promoting food, fiber and lean muscle building protein?

I realize some people may answer “yes” to that question, but then again, if some people spent their money as frivolously as they spent their calories, they would be in deep trouble!

To summarize this into some practical, take-home advice, here are 7 of my personal tips for alcohol consumption in the fitness lifestyle:

(1) Don’t drink on a fat loss program. Although you could certainly drink and “get away with it” if you diligently maintained your calorie deficit as noted above, it certainly does not help your fat loss cause or your nutritional status.

(2) Drink in moderation during maintenance. For lifelong weight maintenance and a healthy lifestyle, if you drink, do so in moderation and only occasionally, such as on weekends or when you go out to dine in restaurants. Binge drinking and getting drunk has no place in a fitness lifestyle (not to mention hangovers aren’t very conducive to good workouts).

(3) Don't drink daily. Moderate drinking, including daily drinking, has been associated with cardiovascular health benefits. However, I don’t recommend daily drinking because behaviors repeated daily become habits. Behaviors repeated multiple times daily become strong habits. Habitual drinking may lead to heavier drinking or full-blown addictions and can be hard to stop if you ever need to cut back.

(4) Count the calories. If you decide to have a bottle of beer or a glass of wine or two (or whatever moderation is for you), be sure to account for the alcohol in your daily calorie budget.

(5) Watch your appetite. Don’t let the “munchies” get control of you during or after you drink (Note to chicken wing and nacho-eating men: The correlation to alcohol and body fat is higher in men in almost all the studies. One possible explanation is that men tend to drink and eat, while women may tend to drink instead of eating).

(6) Watch the fatty foods. When drinking, watch the fatty foods in particular. A study by Angelo Tremblay back in 1995 suggested that alcohol and a high fat diet are a combination that favors overfeeding.

(7) Enjoy without guilt. If you choose to drink (moderately and sensibly), then don’t feel guilty about it or beat yourself up afterwards, just enjoy the darn stuff, will you!

To see a complete fat burning system that takes you by the hand, step by step and shows you what to eat, what to drink (and what not drink), how to exercise and how to stay motivated, visit: www.burnthefat.com

References:

(1) Alcohol Intake, Insulin Resistance, and abdominal obesity in elderly men. Riserus U, Ingelsson E., Obesity. 15(7): 1766-1773. 2007

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

3500 Calories To Lose A Pound - Is This Formula All Wrong?

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

Most fitness conscious people have heard that there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, so if you create a deficit of 3500 calories in a week, you lose a pound of weight. If you create a deficit of 7000 calories in a week, you lose two pounds, and so on. Right? Well, not so fast…

Dr. Kevin Hall, an investigator at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda has done some interesting research about the mechanisms regulating human body weight. He recently published a new paper in the International Journal of Obesity that throws a wrench in works of the “3500 calories to lose a pound” idea.

Some of the equations in his paper made my head hurt, but despite the complex math he used to come to his conclusions, his article clearly prompts the question, "3500 calories to lose a pound of WHAT?" His paper also contained a lot of simple and practical tips you can use to properly balance your caloric intake with output, fine tune your calorie deficit and help you retain more muscle when you diet.

Below, I’ve distilled some of the information into a simple bullet-point summary that any non-scientist can understand. Then I wrap up with my interpretation of how you can apply this data in your own fat loss program:

Calculating the calories required to lose a pound and fine-tuning your caloric deficit

• 3500 calories to lose a pound has always been the rule of thumb. However, this 3500 calories figure goes back to research which assumed that all the weight lost would be adipose tissue (which would be ideal, of course).
• But as we all know (unfortunately), lean body mass is lost along with body fat, which would indicate that the 3500 calorie figure could be an oversimplification.
• The amount of lean body mass lost is based on initial body fat level and size of the calorie deficit
• Lean people tend to lose more lean body mass and retain more fat.
• Fat people tend to lose more body fat and retain more lean tissue (revealing why obese people can tolerate aggressive low calorie diets better than already lean people)
• Very aggressive low calorie diets tend to erode lean body mass to a greater degree than more conservative diets.
• whether the weight loss is lean or fat gives you the real answer of what is the required energy deficit per unit of weight loss
• The metabolizable energy in fat is different than the metabolizable energy in muscle tissue. A pound of muscle is not 3500 calories. A pound of muscle yields about 600 calories.
• If you lose lean body mass, then you lose more weight than if you lose fat.
• If you create a 3500 calorie deficit in one week and you lose 100% body fat, you will lose one pound.
• But if you create a 3500 calorie weekly deficit and as a result of that deficit, lose 100% muscle, you would lose almost 6 pounds of body weight! (of course, if you manage to lose 100% muscle, you will be forced to wear the Dieter’s Dunce cap)
• If you have a high initial body fat percentage, then you are going to lose more fat relative to lean, so you may need a larger deficit to lose the same amount of weight as compared to a lean person
• Creating a calorie deficit once at the beginning of a diet and maintaining that same caloric intake for the duration of the diet and after major weight loss fails to account for how your body decreases energy expenditure with reduced body weight
• Weight loss typically slows down over time for a prescribed constant diet (the “plateau”). This is either due to the decreased metabolism mentioned above, or a relaxing of the diet compliance, or both (most people just can’t hack aggressive calorie reductions for long)
• Progressive resistance training and or high protein diets can modify the proportion of weight lost from body fat versus lean tissue (which is why weight training and sufficient protein while on calorie restricted diets are absolute musts!)

So, based on this info, should you throw out the old calorie formulas?

Well, not necessarily. You can still use the standard calorie formulas to figure out how much you should eat, and you can use a 500-1000 calorie per day deficit (below maintenance) as a generic guideline to figure where to set your calories to lose one or two pounds per week respectively (at least that works “on paper” anyway).

Even better however, you could use this info to fine tune your caloric deficit using a percentage method and also base your deficit on your starting body fat level, to get a much more personalized and effective approach:

15-20% below maintenance calories = conservative deficit
20-25% below maintenance calories = moderate deficit
25-30% below maintenance calories = aggressive deficit
31-40% below maintenance calories = very aggressive deficit (risky)
50%+ below maintenance calories = semi starvation/starvation (potentially dangerous and unhealthy)

(Note: According to exercise physiologists Katch & Mcardle, the average female between the ages of 23 and 50 has a maintenance level of about 2000-2100 calories per day and the average male about 2700-2900 calories per day)

Usually, we would suggest starting with a conservative deficit of around 15-20% below maintenance. Based on this research, however, we see that there can be a big difference between lean and overweight people in how many calories they can or should cut.

If you have very high body fat to begin with, the typical rule of thumb on calorie deficits may underestimate the deficit required to lose a pound. It may also be too conservative, and you can probably use a more aggressive deficit safely without as much worry about muscle loss or metabolic slowdown.

If you are extremely lean, like a bodybuilder trying to get ready for competition, you would want to be very cautious about using aggressive calorie deficits. You’d be better off keeping the deficit conservative and starting your diet/cutting phase earlier to allow for a slow, but safe rate of fat loss, with maximum retention of muscle tissue.

The bottom line is that it’s not quite so simple as 3,500 calories being the deficit to lose a pound. Like lots of other things in nutrition that vary from person to person, the ideal amount of calories to cut “depends”…

Note: The Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle program not only has an entire chapter dedicated to helping you calculate your exact calorie needs, it was designed very specifically to keep a fairly conservative approach to caloric deficits and to maximize the amount of lean tissue you retain and minimize the amount of metabolic adaptation that occurs when you’re dieting. The approach may be more conservative, and the fat loss may be slower, but it has a better long term track record… You can either lose weight fast, sacrifice muscle and gain the fat back like 95% of people do, or lose fat slow and keep it off forever like the 5% of the people who know the secrets. The choice is yours. For more information, visit: http://www.burnthefat.com

References:

Forbes GB. Body fat content influences the body composition response to nutrition and exercise. Ann NY Acad Sci. 904: 359-365. 2000

Hall, KD., What is the required energy deficit per unit of weight loss? Int J Obesity. 2007 Epub ahead of print.

McArdle WD. Exercise physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human performance. 4td ed. Williams & Wilkins. 1996.

Wishnofsky M. Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight. Am J Clin Nutr. 6: 542-546.

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

THE GREAT ABS MISTAKE "He Was Doing One Thousand Crunches And Sit Ups A Day... But Still NO Abs!!!

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

After 18 years in the fitness business, “How do I get great abs” is still BY FAR the most frequently asked question I receive out of the 30,000+ emails that come into my office every month. No doubt, it's because abs are the one body part that most people are the most frustrated with. Although their questions are often phrased differently and each person’s situation seems unique, my answer to “how do I get great abs” is almost always the same… and you’re about to hear it...

"1,000 Sit-Ups And Crunches A Day and Still No Abs!"

One question I received recently REALLY got my attention because a young guy told me he was doing 1,000 crunches and sit ups a day and said he still couldn’t see his abdominals. He wrote:

“Tom: I have been working out for around a year now and I cannot get my lower abs into any type of shape. I'm starting to see my upper abs a little bit, which is great, but despite doing 900 various crunches, ab roller, and 100 sit-ups four days a week, along with my regular workout on the weights, I still have a tire around my waist. What else can I do?”

What did I tell him? Well, I gave him the same answer I’ve given thousands of people over the years, which is the only true “Secret” to great abs...

It takes training to increase strength, build endurance and DEVELOP the abdominals, but to SEE the definition in your abdominals - or any other muscle group for that matter - is almost entirely the result of low body fat levels.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but if you can't see your abs, it's not an issue of “muscle development” at all. You simply have too much body fat covering up the ab muscles. The lower abdominal area also happens to be the one place that most people - especially men - store the body fat first.

There's a Scientific Reason Why Your
Lower Ab Flab Is The Last Place To Go: Belly Fat - A Big Problem

Most people don't have their fat distributed evenly throughout their bodies. Each of us inherits a genetically determined and hormonally-influenced pattern of fat storage just as we inherit our eye or hair color. In other words, the fat seems to "stick" to certain areas more than others.

There's a scientific reason for this. Your fat cells are not just inert "storage tanks" for excess fuel. They are actually endocrine glands which send and receive signals from the rest of the body. You could say that your fat cells "talk to your body" and your body "talks to your fat cells." This occurs through a hormone and receptor system.

For body fat loss to occur, you must first get the fat cell (adipocyte) to release the fat into the bloodstream. THEN, the free fatty acids must be delivered to the working muscles where they are burned for energy.

For fat to be released, the hormone adrenaline (epinephrine) must be secreted and send a signal to your fat cells. Your fat cells receive this hormonal signal via adrenaline receptors called adrenoreceptors.

Fat cells have Beta 1 (B1) and Alpha 2 (A2) receptors. B1 receptors are the good guys. They activate hormone sensitive lipase, the enzyme that breaks down the fat and allows it to be released into the bloodstream to be burned. A2 receptors are the bad guys. They block the fat-releasing enzymes in the fat cell and encourage body fat formation.

How Body Fat Storage Patterns Affect You
And Keep Your Abs From Showing

What's the point of all the physiology? Well, it turns out that in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us one possible explanation of why the lower abdominal region is often the first place the fat goes when you gain it, and the last place it comes off when you're losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women's hips and thighs is also higher in A2 receptors). This situation is dictated by genetics and by the hormonal and enzymatic pathways we discussed.

Think of ab fat like the deep end of the swimming pool. No matter how much you protest, there is no way you can drain the deep end before the shallow end. However, don't let this discourage you. Lower ab fat WILL come off, it will simply be the last place to come off. First place on - Last place off.

This helps to explain why abdominal exercises have little impact on body fat loss. It's a huge mistake to think that hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises will remove lower abdominal fat, except to the degree that it burns calories and contributes to the calorie deficit. What removes the fat - all over your body - is a calorie deficit and that comes from decreasing food intake, increasing activity, or a combination of both.

What I suggested to this young man was cutting back the ab training, spending the time he was wasting on excess ab exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio and weight training for the rest of the body. I also suggested he do an accounting of his food intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease his calories slightly if necessary.

As it turned out, his diet was a mess, and as nutrition experts like to say, "You can’t out-train a lousy diet."

It's a monumental error to think that 1,000 reps of ab work a day will make your abs finally "pop" when your diet is a disaster and that's leading to fat storage. It’s not that ab exercises aren’t important. But all the ab exercises in the world won't help as long as you still have body fat covering the muscles. You can't "spot reduce" with abdominal exercise and YOU CAN'T SEE YOUR ABS THROUGH A LAYER OF BODY FAT!

My Championship-Winning Ab Workout Routine

Personally, I only do about 15 minutes of ab work two times per week, with anywhere from two to four exercises for about 10-25 reps per exercise. Forget about thousands of reps of sit ups – it’s a waste of time. The reason my abs look the way they do is not from endless repetitions, but because I get my body fat down into the single digits with a highly specialized fat-burning diet program.

Here’s a recent ab routine that I've used (for bodybuilding/ ab-development purposes). I do this routine only twice a week and I change the exercises approximately every month so my body doesn't adapt. I prefer slightly higher rep range than other muscle groups, but as you can see, it is far from doing a thousand reps a day.

A1 Hanging leg raises
3 sets, 15-20 reps

Superset to:

A2 Hanging knee ups (bent-knee leg raises)
3 sets, 15-20 reps
(no rest between supersetted exercises A1 & A2, 60 sec between supersets)

B1 Weighted swiss ball crunches (or weighted cable crunches)
3 sets, 15-20 reps

Superset to:

B2 Incline Bench Reverse crunches
3 sets, 15-20 reps
(no rest between supersetted exercises B1 & B2, 60 sec between supersets)

How To Use Cardio For MAXIMUM Fat-Burning

Times have changed since the Aerobics revolution of the 1970's and 1980's. For years, aerobics was the darling of the fitness world. Then scientists began to acknowledge the benefits of weight training - for everyone, not just for bodybuilders.

Recently, the pendulum has swung the other direction and we've actually started hearing fitness "experts" suggesting that cardio should be kept to a minimum or even avoided completely. That's the way things tend to go in the fitness world - they swing back and forth in trends, from one extreme to another. Lots of cardio or no cardio.

I suggest you avoid trend-hopping and pay close attention to what actually works, by people who know what they are talking about (such as bodybuilders, who are the leanest muscular athletes in the world). Doing nothing but cardio is a mistake. But cutting our cardio completely is also a mistake. The truth lies in the middle. Maximum fat burning occurs when you combine cardio training and weight training together.

Those who are genetically gifted with above average metabolisms will find that a slight drop in food intake and just a few days a week of cardio will usually do the trick. However, most people who are struggling with fat loss (sometimes referred to as "endomorph" body type) are simply NOT burning enough calories to get the results they want. The answer for them is more activity to burn more calories.

For health and weight maintenance, I would suggest 3 short cardio workouts per week, about 20-30 minutes per session. But for maximum fat loss, I recommend 4-7 days per week of cardio or other physical activity for 30-45 minutes (based on results), at a moderate pace. You can mix up the type of cardio you do, or choose the type you enjoy the most - stationary cycling, stairclimbing, elliptical machines, aerobic classes and other continuous activities are all excellent fat burners (it doesn't have to be indoors or on a cardio machine).

If time efficiency is a concern for you, you could do 2-3 of those cardio workouts as high intensity interval training and you'll achieve very good results even with briefer workouts. Even as little as 20-25 minutes per session can get great results IF your intensity level is high enough. Remember, seeing your abs is about low body fat. Low body fat is about burning calories and creating a calorie deficit. The calorie deficit is created by increasing the number of calories you burn and or decreasing the amount of calories you take in from food. Increasing intensity is one way to burn more calories in less time.

NOTE: To reach the "ripped" 3.7% body fat level you see in my photos, I do cardio 7 days a week for 30-45 minutes per session, in addition to my 4 weight training workouts per week.

7 Nutrition Secrets For Great Abs

That leads us to nutrition. Many people say that "abdominals are made in the kitchen, not in the gym," and there's a lot of truth to that. You can do thousands of reps of ab work every week, but if your nutrition is not in order, you can forget about getting a great set of 6-pack abs.

1. Eat about 15-20% below your calorie maintenance level. If you use a more aggressive calorie deficit of 25-30%, then do not keep calories too low for too long; increase calories to maintenance or maintenance +10-15% 1-2 days per week.
2. Spread your calories into 5-6 smaller meals instead of 2-3 big ones. Be very conscious of portion size. If you eat too much of anything (even "healthy" food), you can say goodbye to your abs. Period.
3. Eat a source of complete, high quality lean protein with each meal (egg whites, lean meat, fish, protein powder, etc)
4. Choose natural, complex carbs such as vegetables, oatmeal, yams, potatoes, beans, brown rice and whole grains. Start with aprox. 50% of your calories from natural carbs and reduce carbs slightly (esp. late in the day) if you are not losing fat.
5. Avoid refined, simple carbs that contain white flour or white sugar
6. Keep total fats low and saturated fats low. Aim for 20% of your total calories from fat (and no more than 30%). A little bit of "good fat" like flax oil, fish fat, nuts & seeds, etc is better than a no fat diet. Essential fatty acids actually assist the fat burning process.
7. Drink plenty of water - a gallon is a good ballpark to shoot for if you are physically active.

1000+ reps of daily ab work is an amazing feat of endurance, but that’s not how you get visible, 6-pack abs! If you were to do 1,000 reps of ab exercises every day, you would have outstanding development in your abdominal muscles and you would definitely have great muscular endurance. Unfortunately, if your abs are covered up with a layer of fat, you will never see them even if you do 10,000 reps a day!

You Condition and Strengthen Your Abs With Specific Ab Exercises...
But The Secret To Seeing Your Abs Is Reducing Your Body Fat!

I once saw a photo of a man who broke one of the Guiness World Records for sit ups. It was the most paradoxical thing, but this man did not have any abdominal muscle definition. He was not obese or overweight at all, mind you, but he had a small enough layer of body fat that the muscular defintion did not show through. I've never seen a better real life example which demonstrates the basic principle discussed in this article:

You get great abs from reducing your body fat, and you reduce your body fat by creating a caloric deficit through nutrition and metabolism-stimulating and calorie-burning exercise.

I've spent my entire career - through more than 18 years and 28 bodybuilding competitions - studying the science and practicing the art of body fat reduction. I speak from experience and I walk my talk as you can see from my pictures.

If you'd like to learn for yourself, what I've learned about fat burning nutrition and getting your body fat level low enough so that you can finally see a "6 pack rack" of abs, then be sure to take a look at the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program. Thousands of men and women call this their "fat loss bible." For all the details, click here:
www.BurnTheFat.com

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

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: www.burnthefat.com

Foods That Burn Fat: The Top 10 Lists

Foods That Burn Fat: The Top 10 Lists

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: www.burnthefat.com

Three Easy Ways To Lose Weight!

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

I know, as soon as you saw the words “easy” and “lose weight” in the headline, you were ready to write this off as another one of those gimmicks or programs sound too good to be true and usually are. But bear with me and you’ll learn 3 strategies that I guarantee will help you in your weight loss efforts.

You’ve probably been conditioned to believe that weight loss had to be tied to countless hours at the gym, the latest supplement breakthroughs or eating nothing but celery stalks and tofu. Fortunately, dropping a couple dress sizes doesn’t take anything that drastic. What it does take is making some small changes in the behaviors that led to the addition of those unwanted pounds. Here are 3 lifestyle changes that will immediately help you lose that unwanted fat and get your body back.

1. Stop Eating Out. Think back to when you were growing up. Do you remember what the dinner plates looked like? Now compare that to what the “plates” look like at O’Charleys, Applebees or any of the other chain restaurants. It’s no wonder we’re gaining weight. There are dozens of studies about eating out and they all lead to one conclusion: if you eat out, you overeat! Not only is it almost impossible to exercise effective portion control when you eat out, but you’re also compelled to get you money’s worth so you eat everything you’re served rather than stopping when you should.

The bottom line is that those who eat out consume more calories than those that don’t. Take a break from eating out for the next six weeks and see how easily you can drop a dress size or even two. And you can use the money you saved eating at home to buy a couple of new outfits to showcase your improved body.

2. Eat Smaller Portions. You don’t have to avoid the foods that you enjoy – you just can’t eat big servings of them. An easy way to do this is to use smaller plates for your meals. This will help you fell like you’re not depriving yourself while still exercising good judgment. And don’t think that just because something is on your plate, you have to eat it. As opposed to what your mother told you, you don’t have to ‘clean your plate.’ In fact - you shouldn’t. Eat slowly and stop when you aren’t hungry any more. You’ll quickly find that you can enjoy your favorite foods and your skinny jeans at the same time.

3. Make Better Choices. I know I just said that you can eat the foods you enjoy and still lose weight, but that doesn’t mean overindulging on processed foods, candy, sodas and chips. The key is moderation. So when you go to the supermarket, do the bulk of your shopping around the perimeter of the store and spend less time in the isles. When you’re at work, keep health snacks handy so you don’t have to rely on the company’s vending machine for your energy boost. But most importantly, make good choices with the meals that don’t really matter. Your quality of life won’t dramatically improve if you choose a cheeseburger over a grilled chicken salad for lunch, so don’t do it. Save the times when you are going to choose foods that might be considered unsupportive for the meals that you really look forward to. Improving your choices will accelerate your weight loss and help you save unnecessary calories without really trying.

Obviously, there is nothing magic about any of these three strategies other than the results that they produce. So start applying these three simple ideas and prepare to get your body back.

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. Go to http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html to get your FREE copy of her special report: “The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism.”

Fit Yummy Mummy Review

http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

What Is It?

This lifestyle program for busy moms is a comprehensive guide to what’s arguably the most widespread, challenging and frustrating issue faced by moms today: how to get their pre-baby body back. For almost all mothers the changes their bodies incur during pregnancy coupled with the countless responsibilities that motherhood bring spell trouble for regaining their pre-pregnancy figure.

There is no shortage of fitness, diet and fat loss products on the market today. You can find a veritable library of conflicting arguments almost anywhere you choose to seek information on the subject of fitness for women, whether it’s online, at your local library, through contact with personal trainers, or through the (less reputable but nevertheless very common) ranks of wannabe experts: aka, those frustrating people with no qualifications and no practical experience but are self professed experts because they ready the last issue of Shape magazine.

What Sets This Product Apart?

After months of frustration spent trawling through the mass of conflicting information on fitness and fat loss, it was with a mixture of joy and near-tearful relief that I stumbled across “Fit Yummy Mummy”, by Holly Rigsby. As the title suggests, this product is specifically for moms wanting to get fit. Literally all aspects of losing fat and getting fit are covered – and the best part is that it is written specifically for busy moms. The material is presented in a manner both chatty and educational – it’s kind of like having a friendly conversation with a close friend that happens to be a fitness expert (with the added benefit of being able to refresh your understanding of the matter at any given time, simply by scrolling back to the relevant section!)

The tone of the book presents a welcome contrast to the other fitness products so freely available elsewhere on the Net: it’s friendly, understanding of the unique situations moms face, informative, and above all, commonsensical. No unrealistic recommendations, 2 hour workouts, or zero-carb diets here: it doesn’t take long to see that this lady knows what she’s talking about when it comes to mom’s lifestyles (and did I mention she’s a mom too?)

What’s Actually Included?

There’s a quick section on getting started and goal setting along with some morale-boosting advice on how to stay on track throughout the program, and then it’s straight into an action plan to get you started on the path to burning baby fat and getting your body back.

The Supportive Nutrition Plan is next – this is particularly helpful! Every conceivable nutrition issue is covered, from how often you should eat to what you should keep in your pantry. And on top of that, it includes a ‘Create a Menu Planner’ to guide you in creating every meal to support your success.

Next, the Fit Yummy Mummy fat loss workouts are covered, but not without easy to follow explanations of the why’s and the how’s for every part of the workout program. The workout plan even offers four different formats that you can plug into your lifestyle, something not found in any of the cookie cutter fat loss programs on the market. My favorite part of the workout section is that regardless of your exercise (or lack of exercise) background, there is a workout designed specifically for you. And no matter what you fitness level is, none of the workout programs require more than 90 minutes a week.

Finally, there’s a section called the Busy Mom’s Fat Loss Companion crammed with easy to use tools and resources like a goal setting sheet, fitness journal, exercise descriptions and even a ready made grocery list. The author has figured out every excuse and obstacle busy moms have and addressed them all.

Just Because It’s Detailed Doesn’t Mean It’s Confusing

Sound overwhelming? It’s actually very user-friendly. Not only is this e-book packed with sound practical advice and the whole thing is laid out in a very logical and easy-to-understand format, but it comes with a Quick Start Guide to make sure you start acting (and seeing results) fast. The tone of Fit Yummy Mummy light and non-threatening (no scientific terminology here!) and it proceeds in a logical manner from step to step, with plenty of photos and descriptions to ensure that you are doing everything right.

Troubleshooting

In my opinion, one of the best parts: a follow up e-mail coaching series from the author that keeps you on track, gives you daily fitness tips and even healthy recipes. While most moms have the best of intentions, staying on track is tough. This follow up e-mail coaching series is the perfect solution.
The Verdict

Regaining their pre-pregnancy body is a daunting task for most moms, but the author’s personal experience and hands on work with over 250 moms is pretty reassuring; and she certainly knows how to break it down for even the most exercise illiterate. In addition to the main features detailed above, there are plenty of valuable extras included to make getting your pre-baby body back as easy as possible: checklists, do’s and don’ts, printable workout sheets, even ready to follow meal plans!

All in all, two thumbs up from me: when the information on hand is as detailed, easy to absorb, and - above all – reliable as Fit Yummy Mummy, you really can’t go wrong.

http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

The Perfect Time to Begin your Fat Loss Program

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

“I’ll Begin When….”
Sound familiar? Waiting for the right time to begin your fat loss program?
I’m wondering something….

What is the magic in waiting?
What do you expect will suddenly be different one week, two weeks, a month from now?

As Busy Moms - there will always be too much to do. And guess what….there is no “perfect time” - except the time that you can take RIGHT NOW - to make a firm decision to begin something that is Overflowing with benefits into your life and the lives of your family.

If I told you that you could…

~ Have more energy
~ Eliminate cravings
~ Dramatically reduce stress
~ Drop a Jean Size
~ Feel good about yourself again

Would you smile, look me in the eye and say….”No thanks, not right now, the time just isn’t right” Huh…?

If not now -to Look and Feel great…. then when? And when that time arrives….what is to prevent you from making the exact same statement? Then you look up to find another year has passed!

So what are you hoping to accomplish by putting off what you deserve to have right now?

It is quite unfortunate that during the holiday season, on the cusp of the New Year where “resolutioners” come out of their sedentary lifestyles for a brief moment as they promise…”This time I will lose weight” - only to find themselves defeated yet again as they quickly revert back to old habits.

It’s pretty obvious that this approach just does not work. Taking the easy route, the route that allows us to stay with unsupportive, familiar habits is giving us nothing in return - in fact it is draining and taking away your 3 sources power … your valuable time, money and energy.

Super Busy Mom, Sarah Z. came to an amazing realization…

“One of the things that has been holding me back was needing to feel like everything was ‘in place’ (more or less) before I took the time to exercise.

I felt like I had to ‘have time’ to exercise.

Nope, I’ve got to make time, I know…but now I know what that really means.

It means making time to do it REGARDLESS OF THE CHAOS around me. I am now starting to visualize a messy house (not too hard a stack of piles waiting for me — and me exercising anyway — and then tacking all that stuff AFTER I’ve exercised.”

This is a brilliant realization and one you need to take to heart, moms.

“Your actions express your priorities”

What statement are you making about what matters most to you if you put it on the back burner?

Moms - It’s Time! Time to make your health and fitness, your ability to reclaim your pre-baby body, your ability to look in the mirror and feel good about what you see a Priority starting today. Fit Yummy Mummy is your solution to putting your priorities into action.

Holly Rigsby, CPT, MAT America’s #1 Fat Loss Expert for Busy Moms and the author of http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html. Holly has worked with over 300 Mom’s to help them lose the stubborn baby fat, get their pre-baby body back and reclaim their yummy-ness.

Busy Moms Burn More Fat with Breakfast!

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

Breakfast is easily the most overlooked solution than all other fat burning tips combined.

Q: Breakfast.

I always eat breakfast but often don't get to it until about an hour or sometimes two (if I'm up early) after I get up. Is this OK or do I have to eat earlier than this? (I'm busy during the week getting the kids ready and off to school). What's the maximum amount of time I can go from waking to eating brekky?

A: Hooray! You are eating the most important meal of the day!

Many Busy Moms tend to skip this meal for a variety of reasons. However, doing so will only work against your body's ability to lose fat.

Skipping breakfast will only send the message to your body that you're starving - you haven't had food in the last 6-8 hours. This leads your body to SLOW your metabolism for survival purposes. You essentially are choosing to start your day in fat storage mode.

PLUS - if you do not start your day with a supportive breakfast, it is only natural that by the time lunch rolls around - You are STARVING. The best of intentions cannot overcome the cravings that accompany this feeling. Sure, you may start off your "lunch time" snack or meal with something you consider to be quite healthy. Yet, those nagging cravings do not go away and you are compelled to eat more.

To make matters worse, skipping breakfast also leads to eating more later in the day - a big "dinner". Eating more calories during the last meal of the day, when your metabolism is naturally slower during the second half of the day and slower because breakfast was skipped leads your body to store those calories as fat.

In fact, studies show that people who skip breakfast and eat fewer times during the day tend to be heavier than people who eat a healthy breakfast and eat four or five times a day. If you skip meals, you tend to feel hungrier later on and you will eat more than you normally would.

To get the Best Benefits of Breakfast - yes, eating within an hour of waking is best. Breakfast will provide 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.

Favorite Busy Mom Breakfast: 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. Choose cereals carefully based on the information on the food label.

Top Breakfast Choices have:
~ 5 grams of Fiber or more
~ 8 grams of Sugar or LESS
~ Sugar is not listed as one of the first 4-5 ingredients.

Holly Rigsby, CPT, MAT America’s #1 Fat Loss Expert for Busy Moms and the author of http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html. Holly has worked with over 300 Mom's to help them lose the stubborn baby fat, get their pre-baby body back and reclaim their yummy-ness.

The Truth about How to Burn Holiday Fat

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

“Activity is not Achievement”
Does the solution really lie in doing more cardio?
Thanksgiving marked the start of a 6-week period where we are bombarded with strategies to burn off the dreaded holiday weight gain..
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The more active you are, the more calories you burn, right? Sure, but how much time do you have? If “moving more” is THE solution, are you ready to make the time to add in the extra activity?
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Eat a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream = 450 calories. Misleading Solution - Brisk Walking, to burn 3-5.7 calories per minute. So do you have 80 to 150 extra minutes just to burn this one indulgence off? What about all the other treats you plan to indulge in over the holidays?
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Do you want to Maintain or Achieve?
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"So go ahead and indulge, just plan on some extra time on the treadmill, and you will be back to your pre-holiday weight."
This is a quote that is floating around out there! Yes, there is a difference between maintaining your weight over the holidays vs. not going overboard, gaining weight only to end up working your butt off to get back to where you started - if that.
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Extended periods of cardio offer little return for the precious time you invest. Beating the holiday bulge is more than how many calories you burn during a workout. Rather, the solution lies in increasing and maintaining lean muscle through short burst exercise.
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Cardio does nothing to increase muscle and in come cases actually breaks down your muscle! Unlike traditional cardio, short burst exercise will boost your metabolism and increase the number of calories your burn 24-7, essentially making your body work for you!
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Do not abandon the basic principles of Fat Loss during the holidays. Working longer and harder will not get you faster results. Stop wasting your time with hours of traditional cardio.
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Your Holiday Fat Loss Solution lies in moderation and Short Burst Resistance Training and Intervals. With as little as 90 minutes a week, you can lose up to 2 pounds of fat. Practice a bit of balance and moderation and your results will be even greater! Why wait? Start the New Year at least 10 pounds lighter!
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Holly Rigsby, CPT, MAT America’s #1 Fat Loss Expert for Busy Moms and the author of http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html. Holly has worked with over 300 Mom's to help them lose the stubborn baby fat, get their pre-baby body back and reclaim their yummy-ness.

Two Flat Stomach Secrets For Women

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

Have you tried everything under the sun to get a flat stomach, only to come up disappointed? Have you fallen prey to all the gimmicks, fad diets and shameless infomercials promising you that elusive flat stomach that you desire?

Well fret no more, I'm going to let you in on the two ‘secrets' that will help you shed unwanted fat and reveal your toned, flat stomach once and for all.

The first secret for a flat stomach is eating supportively. While this doesn't seem like a secret at all, most women get this wrong in spite of their best – but misguided – efforts. Women have fallen prey to low-fat, low-carb, Hollywood, grapefruit, South Beach and every other over hyped diet that marketers can dream up, all in hopes of shedding those unwanted pounds. But eating supportively is isn't about dieting or deprivation; it's about moderation and balance. While cutting carbs or fats out of your nutrition plan might give you a temporary loss of a couple of pounds, it's typically followed by a drop in metabolism and a weight gain of more than you lost in the first place once you go back to your old eating habits.

So what is eating supportively? Eating supportively is having protein and carbohydrates at every meal. It's grazing on 4-6 meals or snack each day instead of missing meals and then gorging yourself. It's enjoying a healthy breakfast and not drinking your calories. But most of all, eating supportively is enjoying the foods you love in moderation instead of in excess.

If eating supportively is the first secret to a flat stomach, then what's the second? The second flat stomach secret is resistance training. Unfortunately, just as fad diets have stood in the path of women achieving the flat stomachs they so desired, so have the myths of spot reduction and cardio being the best method for fat loss. Late night infomercials have long promoted gadgets that promised to spot reduce those trouble spots that women struggle with and sucked us in with testimonials from fitness models that undoubtedly picked up a nifty paycheck for endorsing their wares. But spot reduction is a myth. Think about it – have you ever met someone with a flat stomach and fat arms? Didn't think so. If spot reduction was possible then undoubtedly one of these happy customers would have toned and tightened their stomach, yet kept their flabby arms.

The other myth that has led women astray is the belief that cardio is the best solution for fat loss. Treadmill manufacturers have sold the virtues of the ‘fat burning zone' and led us to believe that we could plod along on a treadmill watching Oprah and before long a flat stomach would be ours. These two myths have diverted us from the path of what really does work – resistance training. Resistance training is a flat stomach's best friend because not only does an effective resistance training session burn plenty of calories while you're doing it, but it keeps you're metabolism revved long after you're done. One recent study showed that you're metabolism would stay elevated for over 36 hours after a resistance training session.

Try to get that out of an aerobics class.

And there's another benefit of resistance training when it comes to getting a flat stomach. The lean muscle that you gain will raise you're resting metabolic rate and help you burn more fat all day long, each and every day.

There you have it, two ‘secrets' that are guaranteed to boost your metabolism and give you that flat stomach you've been longing for. So ditch the diet books and the aerobics classes and start eating supportively and resistance training. Before long that flat stomach will finally be yours.

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. Go to http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."

The Magic Potion For Fat Loss

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

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. Go to http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."

Fat Loss, One A Day At A Time

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

Rome wasn't built in a day and your fat loss won't happen that way either. Don't expect to start eating perfectly and exercising religiously tomorrow. Instead set yourself up for success by implementing at least one supportive habit per week. Make an effort to adopt the premise of "progress, not perfection." By developing awareness that improvement is measured by your daily progress, you can save yourself a lot of grief and frustration from the beginning. Focusing on small, positive steps in everything you do is a vital component to change. It starts you moving in the right direction and the momentum of your amazing, transforming results will soon follow. With time, commitment and a willingness to continue to take those small steps, failure is not an option.

How to do it: Be mindful of the fact that you didn't gain it overnight so you're not going to lose it overnight. A safe and effective fat loss program will yield 1 to 2 pounds of fat loss a week, not 10. As you begin your weight loss journey, aim for 2-3 small improvements each week. Build up to eating more supportively and moving a little more than yesterday. These small changes will add up to big improvements over time.

Beware of supplements and "quick fixes" that promise accelerated fat loss. Instead, plan on losing fat weight slowly. Sure we all want instant results, but it's impossible to undo a years of inactivity and poor nutrition overnight.

Instead of only looking at the big picture, try to break it down into smaller bites. Set one-month goals, three-month goals, six-month goals and even yearly goals. Carry over each previous goal to make sure that you aren't stopping one to achieve another. Make sure goals are achievable and realistic and what you truly want. A half-hearted desire will produce half-hearted results.

Remember, life happens and we must face the challenges. Sometimes that means not getting to exercise or eat properly. The difference is we get it. We make it a point to view each situation, each setback as an opportunity to LEARN and ASK, "What could I do differently next time?" Then it becomes a matter of getting back on track as soon as possible. Leave the excuses and blame behind and forget about beating ourselves up – we're only human. Strive to do a little better today than you did the day before. The key is to stay consistent, focused and take daily action. Make goals meaningful. Our minds cannot differentiate between achieving an enormous goal or a miniscule goal it only perceives success or failure. If you set a goal that is impossible to fail you'll only be setting yourself up for tremendous victory.

Don't be too rigid. Telling your self that you HAVE to workout for a set time to feel a sense of completion is ill fated. If you set out to workout for 30 minutes and you only get in 20, you'll more apt to be disappointed regardless of how hard you worked. If you simply set a goal to go to the gym at least 2-3 days a week and complete your resistance training and cardio you'll perceive yourself as a winner.

An additional goal idea: Have you ever wanted to participate in a race or sport that you've never had the endurance for? Then use that as a goal! When the end justifies the means it's easier to make it through the rough spots. It's a win-win situation if you are able to achieve a want and a need simultaneously!

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. Go to http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."

Beat Fat With Breakfast

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

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. Go to http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."

7 Fat Loss Strategies For Busy Moms

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

Would you like to "jump start" your metabolism and lose your ‘mommy belly' once and for all? If so, the following seven tips are exactly what you need to improve your workouts and ignite your metabolism. Try some or all of these tips, but beware, the result may be a number of admiring second glances and the need to pull your ‘skinny jeans' out of the closet.

1. The majority of your workouts should be composed of free-weight, bodyweight or cable exercises.

Compared to machines, free-weight, bodyweight and cable movements often require more skill, create muscular balance, and have a greater metabolic cost. For example, it is more difficult to balance the weights, and to coordinate muscles when performing free-weight exercises. Although this may sound like a disadvantage, it is actually a benefit. By balancing and stabilizing free-weights or cables you are working more muscles through a greater range of motion resulting in more muscles developed and more calories burned.

2. Use exercises that work more than one muscle at a time.

When focusing on fat loss, you can't worry about "shaping" exercises, instead you should use exercises that'll get you the biggest bang for your buck and work as many muscles as possible. Isolation exercises can be used at the end of a workout to work on a specific target area, but they just serve to supplement your core movements.

Virtually every savvy fitness professional is privy to the fact that compound exercises recruit the most muscle groups for any given body part.

If you seek lean, toned muscles and the increase in metabolism that comes with them, you must choose exercises that work as many different muscles as possible. One of the main reasons why squats are superior to leg extensions for improving your body is that they also work your butt, hamstrings and inner thighs in addition to toning your quadriceps while leg extensions focus on just the front of your thigh and don't really offer any other benefit. That same rationale hold true for arm exercises too. That's why dumbell presses and dips will are more valuable for your arms than triceps kickbacks and pushdowns.

A good rule of thumb is to use movements that will allow you to use the most weight. These will have a systemic effect on your body that'll help maintain or increase your lean muscle, and in turn ignite your metabolism.

3. Pair exercises.

Pair your exercises together so that you alternate between upper-body exercises and lower-body exercises or between exercises that target opposing muscle groups (e.g. chest and back).

This type of approach will keep your workouts short and efficient by eliminating much of the downtime that comes between sets of a single exercise since you are working on one movement while resting from another. This approach can also yield huge benefits in your mission to burn fat. Since you'll constantly be moving and keeping your heart rate elevated, you'll be burning far more calories than you would during a typical workout.

4. Keep your reps between 8 and 12.

Through research, it has been determined that the best range for building lean muscle is roughly between 8-12 reps. Since the main focus of your resistance training efforts is to gain lean body mass and stimulate your metabolism, this rep range fills the bill perfectly. "High reps for tone and fat loss" is one of the biggest (and most unproductive) training myths! Somehow the aerobics, yoga and Pilates' community have convinced us that when we perform bodyweight exercises or light resistance training for high reps, our muscles magically take on a beautiful shape without growing or bulging. On the other hand, if you challenge yourself with moderately heavy weights, your body will take on a bulky, unflattering appearance. If you believe this, you probably still believe in the Tooth Fairy!

5. Rest only 30 to 60 seconds between sets.

When you keep the rest periods under one minute, it's easier to stay focused on the task at hand and keeps your heart rate elevated. In addition, it forces your muscles to recover more quickly between sets, along with keeping your nervous system revved up.

If your first movement in an upper/lower body pair is squats, you might want to rest 60 seconds before attempting your second movement. However, if your first exercise is a fairly "easy" exercise, like lat pull downs, you might only wish to wait 30 seconds before doing the second part of the pair.

6. Perform total body workouts.

You must drop the notion that muscle groups work independently of one another. Muscles work together and should be trained that way. Besides, not only does this approach mean less time in the gym, but by working the whole body three times per week, you'll be maximizing the fat burning effect of your program.

7. Cardio is not the cure-all for fat loss.

Cardiovascular exercise aids in the creation of a caloric deficit, but the caloric expenditure during cardio is temporary. Strength training addresses the core of the problem by permanently increasing the rate at which the body burns calories by adding muscle. The best programs will include both strength training and cardiovascular training, but the core or the programs effectiveness is resistance training.

Take these strategies and incorporate them into your workout routine. Not only will you save a lot of time, but you'll also soon see a leaner and more toned body. Not to mention a few more turned heads and the re-emergence of your skinny jeans.

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. Go to http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."

7 Surefire Strategies to Avoid the Dreaded Holiday Bulge

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html

The holidays are a time to offer thanks, to spend time with loved ones and a time to EAT - turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc. Unfortunately, the holidays are the time of year when many people end up putting on the extra “holiday pounds” which is easy to do for the season continues for just about two months! But the holidays come once a year. What's the point of refusing a piece of pecan pie, then feeling miserable? As my most successful strategies are about to reveal…..it's absolutely OK to enjoy your favorite holiday treats and continue to make progress. Incorporate the following 7 strategies to fight back against the battle of the holiday bulge.

1. Make Exercise A Priority

The first key to preventing weight gain is to increase your activity level. Besides burning extra holiday calories, exercise reduces stress, elevates your mood and gives you more energy. Sure it may seem difficult to fit in a workout when you are traveling, shopping, baking plus a ton of other holiday-related activities. That's why it's important to first make a commitment to your fitness goals and incorporate short burst exercise into your routine – all you need is 90 minutes a week!

2. Have a Plan

If you are known for overindulging, you must have a plan in place. Visualize what and how much you will eat before you approach the festive meals and treats. You can also incorporate a backup plan that requires you to be more active for that particular day, or the following day, to keep your metabolism humming so you burn off those extra calories.

3. Don't Skip Meals

On the day of the holiday feast, be sure to eat regularly all day long. If you will be eating in the evening, start with a supportive breakfast – particularly something with protein and high fiber carbohydrates. Be sure to eat something light in the afternoon like a quality high protein snack. Protein will help you feel full longer so you’ll be less likely to binge. Once you arrive, go ahead and indulge in some of the delightfully delicious foods. Since you have eaten meals earlier in the day, you will find that you aren't as tempted to go overboard and eat everything in sight. Whatever you do, do not starve yourself. Not only will you slow your metabolism down to a hearty fat storing rate, arriving ravenous will guarantee overindulgence.

4. Portion Control is Key

Allow yourself to enjoy your favorite foods with the ones you love, but do so in moderation. Take time to survey the foods before you make your choices. Try a “serving-spoon” size of the foods you really want to eat and ½ the size of the foods you just want to try out. This way you can enjoy trying many different foods without overeating. Eat off a smaller plate and skip the seconds. Instead, save room for dessert. You don’t need to deprive yourself of the foods you love, otherwise your cravings will grow and you'll be more likely to overindulge.

5. Wear Form-Fitting Clothes

Want to really keep yourself honest and the same size during the holiday season? Wear your most form-fitting clothing. Another trick is to tie a string around your waist under your clothing to help keep you mindful of the actions you take during the holiday feast.

6. Limit or Avoid Alcoholic Beverages.

The average alcoholic drink contains 200 calories per glass while an 8-ounce cup of eggnog with rum contains 450 calories. Not only does alcohol pack a lot of empty calories, but over-consumption lowers inhibitions and self-control…..not a good combination when you’re near a buffet of festive foods! If you decide to drink alcohol, stick to light beer or a champagne spritzer or for non-alcoholic alternatives try club soda with lime, tomato juice or diet soda with a lime.

7. Practice the “Cheat Technique”

If you make supportive food choices 80-90 percent of the time, you have every right to let loose and ''cheat'' the other 10-20 percent. This not only allows you something to look forward to so you stay on track, you'll also enjoy the festivities without carrying them around on your waistline and into the New Year.

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
You have the choice to make fitness your priority. Thinking you’ll “get around to it” or that you are “waiting for right time” are simply excuses that take you nowhere. Make a plan, write it down, and stick to it. If you do over-do it, be forgiving of yourself and get back on track the following day.

Have a Fit and Healthy Holiday Season!
Holly Rigsby, CPT, MAT America’s #1 Fat Loss Expert for Busy Moms and the author of http://www.loss-natural-weight.com/burn-baby-fat.html. Holly has worked with over 300 Mom's to help them lose the stubborn baby fat, get their pre-baby body back and reclaim their yummy-ness.

The Problem with Weight Loss: Your Body Will Do The Opposite.

By Alwyn Cosgrove
www.WarpSpeedFatLoss.com



Homeostasis is the property of a living organism, that regulates its internal environment so as to maintain a stable, constant condition.


When you don't drink enough water in the short term -- often the body retains water. It attempts to maintain homeostasis by counteracting the stresses we put on it.


When you drink a lot of extra water - your body excretes more water to maintain balance.


When we weight train -- we actually break down muscle tissue. And the body responds by building new muscle. It attempts to maintain homeostasis by doing the reverse of the stimulus we placed on it.


When a male takes supplemental testosterone -- the body shuts down its own production in a bid to maintain homeostasis.


When we immunize children against disease -- we actually inject them with a small dose of that disease. The immune system recognizes the vaccine as foreign, destroys it, and 'remembers' it. When the virulent version of an agent comes along, the immune system is thus prepared to respond. In order to prepare the body to defend against a disease - we expose it to the disease - and it responds by doing the opposite - it destroys the disease.



In almost every situation I can think of, the body tries to maintain homeostasis by "doing the opposite" of the stimulus.


How does this apply to weight loss?


Now we know that while you are doing it -- low intensity exercise burns primarily fat.


Higher intensity exercise actually burns more carb stores than fat.


But in every head to head comparison, high intensity exercise results in more fat loss than low intensity exercise - even though the more intense work may burn a lesser percentage of fat during the exercise session.


Burning glycogen results in a larger amount of fat lost than burning fat directly.


The body responds by "doing the opposite"...


Break down muscle to grow more muscle. Burn glycogen to lose more fat.


I designed Warp Speed Fat Loss training program to specifically take advantage of this law of nature so that when your body does the opposite you'll end up with faster and greater fat loss.

About the Author/More Info:

Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28 day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10,15, or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 day. To start losing weight fast visit www.WarpSpeedFatLoss.com. Alwyn Cosgrove, M.S., C.S.C.S. is a nationally renown weight loss expert whose work has appeared in magazines such as Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Men's Journal, Self, Oxygen, and Muscle & Fitness HERS. His Warp Speed Fat Loss system is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat and exactly what to do for exercise to lose weight in record time.