Want a Better Workout? Prepare in Advance!

Countless numbers of people stream through the doors of gyms around the world without knowing what kind of workout they're going to do. They don't know what body parts they're going to work on, they don't know what exercises they're going to do, they don't even know if they're going to do weights or cardio. Many people just show up to the gym and "just do whatever machines are free"

This is absolutely ludicrous if you want results.

I know there are people who go to the gym and have other motives- like finding a date for Saturday night or as someone told me last week "just to get my blood moving". I imagine if you're reading our newsletter you're not in this category. Chances are that you want a specific result- like lose some weight and get in decent shape.

Every result has a specific set of actions that get you to that result. If you're going from New York to San Diego, you don't just get in the car and drive and hope you end up there. You get on Google maps and figure out exactly how to get there. The same thing applies in affecting change in your body.

Before you touch the weight or your foot hits the pedal on your elliptical, know exactly what you're striving for. Do you want to burn a certain amount of calories? Do you want to perform at a certain level of intensity for a specific amount of time? Plan it in advance. There are more reasons to do this than you know. Invest wisely in our Black Book of Secrets for exactly what you need to do.

Clearing up Confusion on Cheat Meals or "Free Days"

You'll often hear people talking about their cheat meals or Free Days while on a diet. This morning while doing some early morning cardio, I hear a guy talking to his workout buddy about how he puts away ungodly amounts of food on Saturdays- his Free Day. Wings, pizza, pretzels, cupcakes and of course plenty of beer.

This guy has obviously not read our Black Book of Secrets.

The cheat meal is meant as a mini reward for your hard work during the week. It breaks up the monotony of strict dieting and gives you something to look forward to. Many people report having an easier time mentally, thus increasing compliance rate. The cheat meal is not meant to undo all the ass busting work you've done all week.

The Cheat Meal Rules

The cheat meal is not license to cram every high calorie morsel in sight down all day. Just one meal.

The cheat meal is one (1) meal per week that you plan in advance.

The cheat meal length is your duration at the table. Once you get up, it's over Johnny.

Also, check out the best time to eat a cheat meal

Having Problems Losing Weight? Drop the Diet Soda...

Are you a big diet cola drinker? Having problems losing weight? I know some people who pound down 6- 8 cans of diet cola daily to get their caffeine rush during the day. Since it's calorie free, this should be no problem, right? Well, not according to recent findings. Although there has been no confirmation that artificial sweeteners have inherently negative health effects, some researchers believe that the body is tricked into releasing insulin due to it's conditioning towards sweetness.

Basically, this means that your body thinks you're ingesting sugar and releases insulin in response. As you know, insulin is released into the bloodstream to process glucose from the food you eat. It is involved in some very crucial actions in the body. However, as anything else, too much is too much. And too much (chronically raised levels) insulin can cause some serious problems such as diabetes, high triglyceride levels, and high blood pressure.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that insulin is a storage hormone and when it is chronically raised, it makes packing on weight easy and burning body fat as fuel damn near impossible.

So what do you do? Try gradually switching over to water or green tea. Or, go with my favorite which is seltzer with a squeeze of lemon or lime. Watch out for those restaurant lemons though, as you don't know how they've been handled. (Watch the video below if you haven't seen the study)

Just Start with One Step

Are you one of those people who buys a diet book, gets excited by the prospect of starting a new diet, then get to the middle of the book and lose interest? Well, you’re not alone. I wish I had a nickel for every person who’s told me some version of that story. In fact, that one problem triggered us to put together Black Book of Secrets, our manual of 61 fat loss techniques, each of which you can learn and apply immediately.

Listen; don’t complicate matters by trying to tackle all these big concepts like going zero carbs, or going through induction phases before you even take a baby step. You’ll likely get frustrated and then stop your journey before you even start.

Keep it nice and simple when you start. Start with conscious eating. That is, take note of what you’re eating and how much. The overall concept that controls your weight loss or gain is the amount of calories you take in against the calories you burn for the day. Work on trimming unnecessary calories from each meal. This is the simplest step you can take. It’s painless, it’s easy to do, and you won’t feel hungry.

The biggest benefit is that you are preparing your mind and body for subsequent, larger steps. Each day, you’ll build more “action muscle”, meaning taking action will get easier and easier. Start a food journal so you can keep details, and you’ll be able to track your progress.

Stop Drinking Your Calories and Start to See the Scale Move

It amazes me that people are still drinking sugar containing beverages while trying to lose weight. There’s no possible way to have read up on weight loss and not been told about the evils of these sugar laden drinks.

Today I was doing a consultation with a brand new client. She had brought in a regular (sugar containing) Snapple Green Tea. She thought she would get a pat on the back and a “good job” because it’s green tea. Now, green tea is good for a plethora of things from raising metabolism a bit to providing cancer fighting antioxidants. I love it and drink a few cups of it most days… without sugar.

While she had good intentions, as many people do in her situation, it certainly pays to dig a little deeper and learn the basics. Eliminating sugar is one rule of those basics. Eliminating beverages containing any calories (from fat or sugar) is another rule of the basics.

Here are 3 outstanding reasons why NOT to drink your calories

1) If you’re on a diet, this assumes you will be eating less total food anyway. Don’t you want to get the feeling of actually eating the little bit that you are eating?

2) The calories often come from fat or sugar. At this juncture, these are empty calories. They do nothing to support your fat loss goals and subsequently, make a calorie deficit more difficult to achieve.

3) Sugar laden drinks boost insulin levels, and then plummet them. The sugar is liquid, devoid of fiber, and high glycemic. This is a recipe for an immediate spike and crash of blood sugar. This means triggered cravings and possible invoking a binge cycle, where you eat more than you normally would have. On top of that, simply having insulin raised in this manner will stop body fat from being burned.

Awful.

The only time during a dieting phase that you should be drinking calories is during your workout energy and recovery intake. To stay in the hormonal fat burning zone, stick with water or unsweetened, zero calorie beverages

Eating Often to Lose Body Fat

When trying to lose body fat, you need to create a caloric deficit. That is, you must take in less calories than you’re expending throughout the day doing things like working, working out, sleeping and even breathing. Everything you do takes calories to provide energy. When trying to burn off body fat, you want to use those fat stores as fuel instead of the food you eat.

Since eating less calories is the name of the game, it would seem strange that I’d recommend you eat more often, but it is this case.

When in a dieting down phase (attempting to lose body fat), there are several benefits in eating more often- like 6 or 7 times a day. The first being you are able to manage your insulin levels more effectively, resulting in more body fat being accessible to be used as fuel. Also, when insulin levels are kept in check, hunger goes down as well.

One of the underrated aspects of eating 6 or 7 times per day is that you avoid lulls in mental energy. Mental energy is crucial for getting “thought- type” work done. If your paycheck is based on how creative you are or how fast you think on your feet, you’ll certainly appreciate the stable, consistent energy more frequent meals provide.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of eating more frequently is its ability to bolster your ability to stick to it- “it” being your workout program, your diet, everything. Think about this, last time you cheated on a diet, or quit on that diet, we’re you feeling full or hungry and deprived? I’m willing to bet it’s the latter.

If you’re only eating the traditional 3 meals per day- breakfast lunch and dinner, it’s time to update. Adjust by increasing the frequency of meals by 1 meal per 3 days. This will allow your mind and body to acclimate to your new schedule.

Another thing to keep an eye on is your calorie intake. The point here is not to eat more. The key is to spread the total food you are eating out over more meals.

Start a food journal now. This can be an invaluable tool in your effort to lose body fat. Also, for an in- depth comprehensive program to lose weight now, purchase our instantly downloadable, 100% guaranteed fat loss program the Black Book of Secrets

Have a Lean Body, But Poor Posture? It May Be Your Computer Habits

I got a question from a reader today regarding proper posture while sitting at the computer. It's actually a great question, and something often overlooked by those who sit at the computer for work or fun for hours on end.

If you're sitting at the computer for more than an hour at a time, you're putting yourself at risk of developing injuries of the hand/arm, shoulder, neck, and back. Obviously these injuries don't occur immediately. They take time to form, due to gradual adaptation of your body to unnatural position. Essentially you're molding your body.

That being said, there are things you can do to counteract any problems from cropping up. Here are a few things that I do, that you could easily incorporate...

1) Strength training the abdominal muscles and lower back muscles.

2) Take a break every 30 minutes. Stand up, walk around, shake your body out and get a glass of water.

3) Stretch the hamstrings (back of the leg) and quadriceps (front of the leg) lightly. Sitting for long periods of time causes some tightness in the legs which can lead to lower back tightness or pain.

4) Take some deep breaths that fill your lower abdomen (stomach). Often while sitting at the computer for long periods of time, people tend to lean forward or slouch, leading to more shallow breaths and reduced oxygen intake.

5) Sit up straight with chin up. If possible, have your screen on level with your eye- line to avoid jutting your head out, leading to stress in the neck and spine.

6) Sit on a swiss ball (stability ball). I only use it once in a while, but some people swear by it. Sitting on the stability ball forces your body to contract the posture muscles so that you don't fall over. It also strengthens the "core" muscles.


7) Foam roller. I love this thing. I foam- roll my full body twice per day and sometimes more if I'm sitting for long periods of time. Here's the one I use at home. I got it at Perform Better. Here's a quick tutorial from Power Systems on how to use it

8) Arrange your work station properly. I'm not a work station expert, so I'll leave you with Cornell Universities' Ergonomic Guidelines for Arranging a Computer Workstation- 10 Steps for Users.

Keep in mind, you may have a lean body, but if you've got bad posture, it offsets the entire presentation.