Remember Jared Fogle, the Subway guy? He lost 245 pounds while eating at Subway regularly. He simply picked the lower calorie menu items. Seeing an opportunity, the local store owner pitched Subway corporate with an idea. Before long, Jared was the company spokesperson in their nationwide advertising campaigns which became known as The Subway Diet.
Sales doubled to 8.2 billion. How much the increase came from the weight loss ads is unknown, but there’s little doubt that using weight loss as a marketing platform was a boon for the sandwich maker. Other fast food chains picked up the weight loss torch where Subway left off.
The latest is the Taco Bell Drive through diet, with their own skinny spokesperson: Christine! The ads, which are admittedly conservative, perhaps due to more stringent FTC laws, say Christine lost 54 lbs over 2 years by reducing her calories to 1250 a day, and choosing Taco Bell’s new lower calorie “Fresco” items.
These include “7 diet items with 150 to 240 calories and under 9 grams of fat.” For example, there’s a chicken soft taco with only 170 calories and 4 grams of fat.
For people who refuse to give up eating at fast food restaurants, this is arguably a positive thing. Take my brother for example, He’s not a total junk food junkie, but left to his own devices, he WILL make a beeline to Taco Bell and McDonalds.
I went to McDonalds with him a few months ago (I was dragged there), and he was about to order a bacon cheeseburger. I glanced at the menu and said, “That’s 790 calories!” I glanced down at his belly then continued, “Look, they have chicken wraps. Why don’t you have one of those?” Without questioning me, he agreed, apparently happy to get any McDonalds fix.
Right there at the counter they had the nutrition information sheets:
McDonald’s honey mustard grilled chicken wrap: 260 calories, 9 grams fat, 27 grams of carbs, 18 grams of protein.
That saved him 530 calories. Am I happy there was something with only 260 calories on the menu? Absolutely. Do I applaud the fast food restaurants for offering lower calorie choices? You bet. But the big question is: are these really “healthy choices?”
A few journalists and bloggers recently answered, “These fast food diet items are NOT healthy, they’re only ‘healthi-ER.’”
I think they’re both mistaken. I think this food is not healthy nor is it healthier. It’s only lower in calories. If you eat lower calorie food, that can help you lose weight and if you lose weight, that can improve your health. But what if your definition of healthy food includes nutrition, nutrient density and absence of artificial ingredients?
Let’s take a look at that very low calorie chicken wrap. Is it really healthier just because it’s got 1/3 the calories of a bacon cheeseburger?
Here’s the ingredients straight from McDonald’s website:
McDonald’s Grilled Chicken Breast Filet (wrap): Chicken breast filets with rib meat, water, seasoning (salt, sugar, food starch-modified, maltodextrin, spices, dextrose, autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed [corn gluten, soy, wheat gluten] proteins, garlic powder, paprika, chicken fat, chicken broth, natural flavors (plant and animal source), caramel color, polysorbate 80, xanthan gum, onion powder, extractives of paprika), modified potato starch, and sodium phosphates. CONTAINS: SOY AND WHEAT. Prepared with Liquid Margarine: Liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservative), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color). (and don’t forget the 800 mg of sodium).
HOLY CRAP! Shouldn’t chicken breast be just one ingredient… chicken breast?
This is not food. It’s more like what author Michael Pollan would call an “edible food-like substance.”
What about the honey mustard sauce? The first ingredient after water is… SUGAR!
The flour tortilla ingredients? Enriched bleached wheat flour, also made with vegetable shortening (may contain one or more of the following: hydrogenated soybean oil, soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, hydrogenated cottonseed oil with mono- and diglycerides added), contains 2% or less of the following: sugar, leavening (sodium aluminum sulfate, calcium sulfate, sodium phosphate, baking soda, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), salt, wheat gluten, dough conditioners, sodium metabisulfite, distilled monoglycerides.
Trans fats? Sugar? Aluminum? Stuff you can’t pronounce and have to look up to find out it’s preservatives and disinfectants?
Don’t confuse the issues: weight loss and health…. Calories and nutrition. There IS a difference, and that is what makes “healthy” fast food a double edged sword at best.
Some people, like my brother, simply aren’t going to give up fast food completely. If I can get him to make better bad choices, that could help him control his weight. If that works, then I’m pleased that the fast food restaurants have such choices to offer.
But if you wanted to make a good choice - a healthy choice - you’d forget about “driving through” anywhere on a regular basis. You’d shop for whole, fresh, natural real food, keep a well-stocked kitchen… and learn how to cook.
The Subway diet, the Drive Through diet, or the Weight Watchers approved McDonalds menu (yes its true, what a pair that is!) Don’t kid yourself – this is not only not healthy, it’s not healthier – it’s lower calorie junk food.
“Welcome to our restaurant sir. Would you like a large plate of dog poo or a small plate of dog poo?”
“No thank you, I will take neither. No matter what the serving size, crap is still crap.”
Train hard and expect success!
Tom Venuto, author ofAbout the Author:
Tom Venuto is the author of the #1 best seller, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom is a lifetime natural bodybuilder and fat loss expert who achieved an astonishing 3.7% body fat level without drugs or supplements. Discover how to increase your metabolism and burn stubborn body fat, find out which foods burn fat and which foods turn to fat, plus get a free fat loss report and mini course by visiting Tom\'s site at:
When you pause and reflect on the past decade as you look ahead to a new one, it makes you appreciate how short life is, how valuable time is and how quickly the time can pass you by - with nothing to show for it, if you don’t plan otherwise.
That’s why the passing of another decade can feel like a wakeup call as much as a fresh start: Looking at the technological wonders that surround us in 2010, I can’t help thinking it feels like science fiction.
In fact, modern technology is one of the reasons why some people have succeeded at body transformation while others have failed.
I’m still in awe of the web. The satellite navigation system in my car amazes me every time I drive. I can store a library of books in a device that fits in my pocket. It blows my mind that we can speak to each other face to face through the internet live on video. That’s straight from Star Trek! And those are just the everyday little things.
The cover story of the January 2010 National Geographic magazine is titled, “Merging Man and Machine” – it’s about bionic limbs. Richard Branson’s company, Virgin Galactic just unveiled spaceship two and is preparing to launch civilians into sub orbital space flights.
It’s the greatest time to be alive in all of human history! Unfortunately, today’s modern conveniences have brought a dark side upon us.
Rising obesity has paralleled the march of technology. The chair-bound, desk-job, computer, car, elevator, television based society of today is helping to make millions of people fat and lazy.
Our current way of life is less than a century old, yet our biology hasn’t changed in tens of thousands of years. Our bodies were designed to move and work, not sit and click.
We’ve become spoiled. Complacent. Dependent. And we are paying a price for it. We are fatter than ever before in all of human history. More than two thirds of Americans are now overweight. One third are obese.
People are dying because they‘re too fat.
Ironically, none of our new technology can solve our body fat problems. There’s no easy way. No pill. No machine. No drug. More knowledge isn’t going to help. We already have most of the answers. We know more about the human body than ever before. But it’s all academic.
The problem lies in the doing. You have to do the work – in the gym and in the kitchen. Hard work.
We are a quick fix society. It’s partly human nature, but technology is making us more impatient. We can have products delivered to us with one click and even do it from our cell phones. We have instant downloads, movies on demand, and drive through coffee shops. We get our food made and delivered in just minutes while we are sitting in our cars, and it’s still not quick enough. The internet is blazingly fast, but most people will abandon a web page in seconds if it hasn’t loaded. It’s no different with fat loss. We want six pack abs yesterday.
Simultaneously fighting the pull of human nature and the convenience of new technology is no easy task. But there is a solution: Future Orientation.
The most successful people in the world today are those who have a long term perspective. They plan 5-10 years in advance and beyond. They know how to enjoy and live in the present moment, but they take action and make decisions based on their future vision.
The passing of another decade makes you take stock of yourself and your achievements, or lack thereof. “What did I accomplish in the last 10 years? Am I a better person today than I was in 2000?”
If you don’t like the answers, then it’s time to finally get serious about your future because the next 10 years are going to fly by even faster than the last 10 as the pace of life and society gets even faster.
To succeed in the new decade, think beyond new year’s resolutions. Think beyond the 12 week fitness goal. As you write your goals this year, don’t stop with 3 month or even 1 year goals.
Project yourself into the future: 3, 5 and 10 years from now. For each point, dream, fantasize, visualize: if your body, your health your physical performance were perfect in every way, what would that look like? Describe it in vivid detail.
With our ingrained penchant for quick fixes, we often overestimate what we can achieve in the short term and set unrealistic deadlines on our short term goals. But the flipside is that we often underestimate what we can achieve in the long term, so we set our long term goals too low. Do you realize that people have gone from broke to billionaire in 10 years? In this internet age, some have done it even faster.
My challenge for you this year is to start thinking about your body and your life with the same type of creativity that has led to our greatest technological advances:
Not the same thoughts as yesterday. Not just positive thoughts. just bigger thoughts. NEW THOUGHTS! Creative thoughts! Inventive thoughts! From new thoughts will spring new goals, new actions and new achievements.
Fitness goals should not take over your life, they should enhance every other part of it. So take this opportunity to achieve balance by setting long term goals for every area of your life – health, fitness, finances, career, relationships, experiences, travel, possessions and spiritual growth.
Most people didn’t set any goals 10 years ago. They’re among the masses who are in the same place today as they were a decade ago.
Some people only set short term goals, so they accomplished a few little things, but then stopped, as if a goal were a final destination rather than a stepping stone along a path. Other people set goals but didn’t follow through on them. They forgot that goal setting and goal achieving are two different things.
Don’t fall into these traps.
If you need coaching in the goal setting process – from the daily and weekly baby steps to the long term goals and dreams that span a decade – read chapter one of Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle. If you already have it. Now is the time to revisit it.
If you don’t own a copy yet, you can get the program at:
Most people make resolutions. Some people set well-formed goals. But long term goals are the goals that almost everyone forgets to set.
If you didn’t do this exercise 10 years ago, do it now. If you do, I guarantee that in 2013, 2015, 2020, you’ll not only find yourself living at a whole new level, you’ll find yourself living in another world - one of your own creation.
Happy New Year!
Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle
burnthefat.com
Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle
Burnthefatinntercircle.com
PS. Remember, goal setting is just the start. Goal ACHIEVING requires a nutrition and training plan. Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is the most comprehensive fat loss program of its kind because it teaches you every element necessary to succeed: nutrition, cardio training, weight training and "mental training" (goal setting and mindset).
Learn more about the Burn The Fat program at:
burnthefatinnercircle.com
Learn more about our Burn The Fat Inner Circle community at:
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About the Author:
1. Just put an end to all those taste bud cravings; throw away all the junk food and empty your refrigerator and clean up all the sweets in your pantry. Out of sight is out of mind. And you need to personally adhere to giving up on junk stuff; that requires a strong mind. So here comes your first step to help you shed a few calories for sure.
2. A good healthy breakfast will keep you going for the entire day. Add some fruits to your breakfast that will provide the required fibre for your body.
3. Improve your metabolism by eating small meals at regular intervals instead of having a full course lunch and dinner. This will enable the body to digest the food consumed regularly and boosts the metabolism.
4. A sound sleep of eight hours will do a whole lot good. Studies reveal that disturbed or less sleep will increase your hunger pangs. So sleep well!
5. Hit the gym and use some weight to build that muscle, it requires a minimum of 15 minutes for at least two times a week only! The body can burn 50 calories for every single pound of the muscle. So what are you waiting for? Start treading towards your gym and shed those extra pounds now.
Build a Bigger Chest in 3-4 Workouts or Less
If your pecs are a weak body part, or, if you’ve simply hit a progress plateau in your chest development, then this high intensity chest training program will pack slabs of muscle mass on your chest after just 3-4 workouts - and I guarantee it. This is a high intensity bodybuilding workout for advanced bodybuilders only. (Beginners don’t even think about it...)
Considering I’m on a calorie deficit in a cutting phase, I’m especially impressed with the increase in my chest size and development after 3 workouts. You’re not going to gain much if any muscular body weight if you are in a caloric deficit, but NO DOUBT, you can improve the development of a muscle group even while cutting up. This is a perfect example. I’m going to return to this program again for sure on my next mass phase. This program is called…
Multi-Angular Rest Pause With Pump Finisher
Here’s how it works. You select two exercises. For exercise one (the main course), I chose a basic pec mass exercise that can be done at any angle from steep incline to flat bench. Thats the primary exercise you stick with for all 4 workouts. Incline Dumbbell Press was the natural choice. I set up on a fully adjustable bench that allows multiple angles of incline.
For exercise two (dessert), I chose an isolation exercise for a pump finisher, and it changes with every workout.
Here’s the sequence:
A1 Incline Dumbbell Press - steep incline - about 65-70 degrees
6 reps
rest 10 seconds
A2 Incline Dumbbell Press - medium (regular) incline - about 45 degress
6 reps
10 seconds
A3 Incline Dumbbell Press - low incline - about 20-25 degrees
6 reps
10 seconds rest
A4 Dumbbell Press - flat bench
6 reps
Now rest 2 - 3 minutes.
That’s one "set." Technically of course, that is FOUR SETS, done in rest pause fashion, so lets call it one “round” for clarity’s sake.
Yes… that was round ONE. Now do it two more times.
Note: It helps a lot if you have a training partner change the bench angle so you can stay seated and keep the dumbbells in your hands. Doing it alone is slow and cumbersome.
For poundage, youre going to have to go MUCH lighter than usual. Although I don\'t train heavy pecs anymore, last time I did, I was doing 6 reps with 125s on the incline. So for this program I took about 50-60% of that; 70 lbs on workout 1, 75 lbs on workout 2,and 80 lbs on workout 3. On the last one, I had to drop to the 75s to finish all 3 rounds and even then I needed some forced reps towards the end.
You may need to decrease the weight on the 2nd or 3rd round, but if at all humanly possible, do NOT reduce the weight during each round. Doing all four angles at the same poundage is the whole idea.
What may happen, especially if you even slightly overestimated your starting poundage, is that reps may drop with each angle change within a round. First angle - 6 reps is easy. second angle, a little harder, but still no problem. Third angle, you might only squeeze out 5 reps or hit honest failure on the 6th rep. 4th angle (flat), you might hit total failure on the 4th or 5th rep.
Now this is also where a training partner comes in. This routine should not be attempted without a spotter. Sorry, but you are a dork if you try to do this without a spotter. This program causes HONEST muscle failure (I’ll explain that in more detail shortly), so you need the spotter for safety, but moreover, you will need a spotter’s assistance to complete forced reps, at least on the final round or two, if not the first round. In general, forced reps should not be overused, but they play an important part of this program.
Ok, where were we? Oh yeah, you just finished your 3rd round. You might be finished! Yeah. some people will be DONE, KAPUT, ZONKED, BONKED, NUKED, GAME OVER, after 3 rounds of that (think about it - that was 12 sets, disguised as 3 sets!) However, for those who want the full course…. come with me and lets finish off those pecs with the pump (oh, you thought were already pumped… heh.. just wait…you’ll see what a pump is!)
The second exercise (exercise B) is going to be an isolation exercise.. ie., DB flye, cable crossover, machine flye (pec deck), etc., and you will perform 20-25 reps, non stop in piston-like fashion. use a steady quick tempo, but not so fast that you use momentum.
This isolation /pump exercise will change with every workout:
B1 Workout 1: standing cable crossover
2-3 sets, 20-25 reps
B1 Workout 2: machine flye or pec deck
2-3 sets, 20-25 reps
B1 Workout 3: decline dumbbell flye
2-3 sets 20-25 reps
B1 Workout 4: flat bench cable flyes in cable crossover machine
2-3 sets, 20-25 reps
That’s it! That’s the whole program. Three rounds of multi-angular rest pause, then finish your workout with 2-3 sets of 25 reps on a pumping, isolation movement.
This routine is performed within a standard bodybuilding type of split, so it should be done once in 5-7 days, no more. You would probably do another body part after chest,such as biceps or triceps, depending on how you organize your split routine.
I would recommend advanced bodybuilders use this program a couple times a year if and when they need a boost in chest development. This is not the type of program you would use all the time. You would burn out and overtrain.
There’s one more very important part of this routine - progression.
On the Incline Dumbbell Presses, you will increase the poundage with every workout. Keep in mind, you will not be able to complete all 3 rounds at all 4 angles for 6 unassisted reps. Its going to get harder each time, even as you get stronger. You may have to use a spotter more with each progressing workout. You may also find that on workout 1 or workout 2, you can complete all 3 rounds with the same dumbbells, but on workout 3, by the 2nd or 3rd round, you have to drop the weight or you’ll barely be getting 2 or 3 reps.
Now let me re-emphasize the importance of a spotter. Theres something thats going to happen when you do this routine that does not happen often. You will hit what my training partner and I call “HONEST FAILURE.” This means that your muscles literally fail, or give out right underneath you. Mind you, this is not something you would usually aim for, but that’s just the nature of this program and this is only a 4-workout high intensity “shock” type of routine.
When I say your muscles will give out, I mean that literally. On the last rep or two of 3rd or 4th angle, of the 2nd or 3rd round, your arms may literally buckle underneath you. That’s honest failure.
You see, there are several types of failure… First there is “sissy failure”.. that’s when there is a lactic acid burn or a fatigue in the muscle (you’re tired) and because it hurts or youre tired, that causes you to stop. Thats sissy failure (sarcasm).
Then you have positive failure. This is where you can no longer push the weight up in a concentric motion, but you are still able to lower the weight and exert an upward force against the weight. For example, you’re bench pressing and you hit the “sticking point,” but you are holding that bar at the sticking point (its not coming back down), and you’re still exerting force to push the bar upward, but the bar simply isn\'t moving up!
Then you have honest failure. This is where the muscle simply gives out.. it buckles. you have reached concentric and eccentric failure. This type of failiure is rarely discussed. In fact I don’t recall anyone ever writing about it except for Arthur Jones and Ellington darden and the rest of the High Intensity Training (HIT) camp.
Rarely does any bodybuilder tread in this territory, and for good reason, as it is really not necessary and can be dangerous for anyone but a veteran who knows what the heck he is doing - and all the kidding aside for a moment, Im serious about this. Its no joke if your chest and arms give out from underneath you and you dump a 70 or 80 pound dumbbell on your face. (you do like your teeth, don’t you?)
However, as a technique you use on rare occasion for a shock routine that breaks through progress plateaus, that untrodden territory is there… for those who dare. There is something about this particular program (multi angular rest pause) that takes you there. You\'ve been warned! Train hard, but be safe!
Now, go out there and get jacked!
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Lifetime Natural Bodybuilder
BurnTheFat.com
The Ideal Body Measurements
I’m often asked what my body measurements are and/or what are the ideal measurements for a bodybuilder or a classical muscular male physique. Believe it or not, there are actually many formulas for determining the “ideal body proportions.” On the other hand, you might want to take them with a grain of salt…
QUESTION: Tom, there is one thing that I really would like to know – your measurements. You have a physique that (in my opinion) is ideal and your photos are a real inspiration to me. I am able to move up in weight gradually with my workouts, so I know I am building muscle, but I never have a measurement to shoot for – e.g. biceps, chest, waist, hips, etc. Also, it seems like certain ratios (for example, chest to waist ratio, and maybe there are others?), would be helpful also. My thinking is that if my waist and hips are “growing” faster than my chest, then that might be an indicator that I am gaining fat where it likes to show up first (hips and waist). The measurements I have of myself are: chest, waist, hips, biceps, forearms, thighs, calves. Thank you.
ANSWER: Personally, I no longer take my measurements, although I did regularly when I was a teenager. I do, however think it’s a great way to chart progress. Circumference measurements give you feedback about how well your training (and nutrition) regimen are working and let’s you catch yourself if certain body parts are lagging behind others, or in the case of waist and hips, if you’re gaining body fat.
The waist measurement is an important one, because when your waist circumference is going down, you know your overall body fat is going down. Also, when your waist shrinks even a little bit, it tends to completely change the way you look – even if you don’t gain any muscle, a narrow waist creates an illusion of broader shoulders. Abdominal fat and a large waist measurement is also a health risk.
There have been all kinds of different formulas proposed over the years for the “ideal proportions”, but I never aimed for a certain measurement myself. Bodybuilding is a very visual sport. The judges don’t come up on stage and measure your arms in a bodybuilding contest – you are judged on appearance.
I’ve always gone after a certain “look” as opposed to a certain measurement. I cut out photos of bodybuilders whose physiques I admire and want to emulate and rather than having a measurement in mind, I always have a picture of my ideal in mind.
On top of a solid base of muscle size, I simply work towards symmetry, so all muscles are developed equally, with no single muscle groups that are out of proportion compared to others - for example, a huge chest and rib cage with small arms looks silly - huge arms and small legs looks un-symmetrical as well.
I’m not all that hung up on weighing a certain amount either, although I do weigh myself regularly. The main reason I monitor my weight closely is because in the off season, I’m always interested in gaining more lean body mass and prior to competition I have to make a weight class (middleweight has a 176 1/4 lbs cutoff. )
I’m 5’ 8” tall and I weigh 174-176 for competitions. That is very much a “false” weight, however, because I easily lose 6-10 pounds of water weight in the three days before a contest. By the Monday after a Saturday contest, my weight is usually back up to 180-184 or so. Off season, I weigh about 195-200 lbs. My off season body fat is usually around 9-10% and before contests it’s around 4%.
Years ago I do remember measuring my arms and they were 17 1/2” cold and 18” pumped. That was a long time ago. I would imagine they’re bit larger now, but who knows. My waist is 31-32” most of the year, even smaller before contests (last notch on the lifting belt!)
These are somewhat typical off season / pre contest height, weight and body fat measurements for a natural bodybuilder. In the professional and open federations (not drug tested), those weights and measurements might be considered “small.” However, a 17-18 inch arm on a lean and proportionate body can look very impressive.
Steve Reeves for example, was known as one of the most symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing bodybuilders of all time, even though he was not “huge” by today’s standards.
Reeves wrote about ideal measurements frequently and was always striving for his idea of perfection in this regard (and came close to achieving his own personal ideal). One of his criteria for ideal proportions included having his arms, calves and neck measure the same.
Steve Reeves Measurements:
Arms: 18.5 inches
Calves: 18.5 inches
Neck: 18.5 inches
Thighs: 27 inches
Chest: 54 inches
Waist: 30 inches
In his “classic physique” book, Reeves said his formula for “ideal proportions” was as follows:
Muscle to bone ratios:
Arm size= 252% of wrist size
Calf size= 192% of ankle size
Neck Size= 79% of head size
Chest Size= 148% of pelvis size
Waist size= 86% of pelvis size
Thigh size= 175% of knee size
Steve Reeves’ height and weight chart for a bodybuilder (natural)
5’5” 160lbs
5’6” 165lbs
5’7” 170lbs
5’8” 175lbs
5’9” 180lbs
5’10” 185lbs
5’11” 190lbs
6’0” 200lbs
6’1” 210lbs
6’2” 220lbs
6’3” 230lbs
6’4” 240lbs
6’5” 250lbs
In the book Brawn, Stuart McRobert published the old “John McCallum formula for “challenging yet realistic” measurements for “hard gainers. His formula is based on wrist measurement and was also published in the book Super Squats:
John McCallum’s realistic measurement ideals for hard gainers
1. 6.5 times your wrist gives chest girth
2. 85% of the chest girth produces the hips
3. Take 70% of the chest girth for the waist
4. 53% of the chest gives the thigh girth
5. The neck size is 37% of the chest
6. 36% of the chest produces the upper arm girth
7. The calves come out a little less at 34%
8. The forearms get 29% of the chest measurement
Incidentally, McRobert’s book Brawn has an entire chapter called “expectations” which discusses the truth about measurement claims.
I find all these measurement ideals very interesting, but personally I take them with a grain of salt.
Be careful with some of the formulas for “ideal measurements”, because if they were based on steroid using and or pro bodybuilders, you may get discouraged by trying to pursue an impossible goal for a natural bodybuilder or the measurements of someone with a totally different bone structure than you have.
Measurements - especially arm measurements - are also frequently exaggerated. Twenty inch arms, for example, are rare and when you actually see them in person, you realize just how massive they really are. But somehow beginners and natural athletes get the idea in their head that bodybuilding success means 250 pounds and a 20 inch arm.
The truth is, a 17 to 18 inch arm on a ripped 175-180 pound physique with excellent balance, symmetry and proportion can look much larger than it really is – it’s an optical illusion of sorts.
Some of these guidelines for “ideal proportions” are the “Grecian” or “classical” ideals while others are ideals for bodybuilders. In either case, keep in mind they are subjective – they’re just someone else’s opinion of what is an ideal measurement. The only opinion that matters in the end is your own.
Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Lifetime Natural Bodybuilder
BurnTheFat.com
About the Author:
Why Some People Can Drink Alcohol Without Getting Fat
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
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: 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: burnthefat.com
','24319380'); threads[7] = new thread(2450937, 'How An Entire Year Pass With No Fat Loss', 'tomvenuto', '01/27/08', '12:45 PM','QUESTION: Dear Tom: I’ve been going to the gym for the past year now, but I have only lost 2 pounds. I eat about 1800 calories a day and I do 3 cardio and 3 weight training sessions a week. I am 5 feet 5 inches and 128 lbs. I would like to be at 120 lbs. To lose 8 more lbs isn’t a lot to ask, but I’m really frustrated. I’ve been VERY persistent, and I rarely cheat except once each weekend, but at this rate, it will take me another 4 years for me to reach my goal! Please help!
ANSWER: Don\'t worry, it won\'t take another 4 years! In fact, you can reach your target wt. within the next month if you start getting feedback, charting results and making some strategic changes to your program.
First, it\'s important that you understand how a year could go by with almost no progress.
Have you been doing the same nutrition, same calories, same cardio and same workout for the entire past year with no changes? If so, then you shouldn\'t be suprised if you\'ve continued to get the SAME results (very little).
If you do more of the same, you usually get more of the same.
Caloric intake, for example is not something you calculate once and then never pay attention to again. Calories have to be calculated and customized for each individual in the beginning and then adjusted continuously in “real time” during the course of a fat loss program, based on actual results.
Just because you start at 1800 doesn’t mean your caloric intake should stay there. Calories may need to be increased or decreased depending on whether your goals, your body weight and your activity levels change and based on your weekly progress (or lack of).
Which brings me to another point. I am a huge fan of using progress charts. There is a saying in business management and sports coaching:
“What gets measured gets done.”
When you start “keeping score” and tracking performance right down to the numbers, it’s almost miraculous how this awareness of how you’re doing translates into improved results.
When you track your body composition results every week, if a week or two goes by with no results, then you don’t continue with more of what got you no results, you change some variable in your program immediately!
An old Turkish proverb that says,
“No matter how far you’ve traveled down the wrong road, always turn back!”
Of course, you don’t have to throw out your entire program, you can simply “tweak” ONE or maybe two variables within the same program.
Also, when you measure, track and analyze muscle versus fat (body composition), instead of just scale weight, you might even discover you’ve gained some lean body mass and this offsets the drop on the scale (which means it’s possible you made more progress than you thought).
Now, back to the calories. To break a plateau, you can take a reduction in calories, or an increase in activity, either of which will create a deficit if you are currently in energy balance, or increase your existing caloric deficit.
1800 calories may not provide a large enough deficit for some women, and in fact, the majority of women your height, weight and activity level usually are losing fat safely and successfully on 1500-1600 calories per day. (for men about 2200-2500 calories, avg.)
At the end of the day, fat loss boils down to calories in versus calories out, so if you plateau, you may need a simple calorie reduction, provided you don’t restrict too low for too long (which tends to trigger your body’s “starvation response.”)
As for your cardio program, 3 days a week of cardio works for many people, but usually, I would consider three weekly cardio sesssions a maintenenance workout or at best a starting point for beginners,NOT a “maximum fat loss” program.
Example: this week, you could increase your cardio from 3 sessions to 4 sessions. If you combine the decrease in food intake with an increase in calories burned through activity, that will almost certainly get you burning fat again.
If it does, then stay with 4 days a week of cardio. If not, the next week go up to 5 days a week. Repeat this simple “feedback loop” process as many times and for as long as necessary.
Also remember that more (often) is not always better. You can also increase the intensity and get more calories burned in same amount of time. This feedback loop process can be used to make decisions about your training intensity, duration and type, as well as frequency.
Whichever strategy you choose to break the plateau, remember Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity:
“Insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
Although this seems like common sense to some people, what happened to you is really quite common because it does appear that you’re doing everything you’re “supposed to be doing” with perfectly good intentions.
You have have all the key elements there: You’re exercising (weights and cardio). You’re watching your nutrition, and you’ve been disciplined and consistent in following it.
The trouble with many popular programs - even good ones - is that they are too dogmatic. Their entire program may revolve around “X” number of calories, “X” days per week of cardio and “X” days a week of weights….
And you’re not allowed to “tamper” with that “holy grail” formula.
I can understand the rationale for a simple diet and exercise prescription for a beginner in order to not confuse them with too many choices, but what if it doesnt work after a month, three months, six months, A WHOLE YEAR? What if there are no options, what then?
In NLP, there’s a principle, (borrowed from cybernetics), called The Law of Requisite Variety, which says,
“The person with the most choices and the most flexibility is the person with the most power and the greatest chance for success.”
You need to know what to do when you’re not getting results… you need options and choices for breaking plateaus, and that’s important because plateaus happen to everyone - including me.
Some people think that hitting a fat loss plateau means there’s something wrong with them. But plateaus are natural and normal. In fact, you could look at it this way:
Hitting a plateau means your body is healthy and your body is functioning normally, because normal function of the body is to adapt effectively to stress, to protect you and to maintain homeostasis.
Exercise is a stress. Dieting is a stress. It’s natural for your body to adapt to them. When you adapt, you must place a new “positive stress” onthe body if you want continued improvement.
If you want to learn more details about how to change your program to break plateaus and make continuous progress as fast as safely possible, then I recommend you take a look at Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM).
BFFM has flexibility, feedback and performance tracking built right into it. Chapter 4 in BFFM teaches the “BFFM feedback loop method”, and shows you how to chart progress and adjust your diet and workouts on a weekly basis, to keep you making progress or get you back on track if your progress stalls out.
Keep after it! Be persistent - but also be flexible!
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: burnthefat.com
','23457318'); threads[8] = new thread(2227168, 'Everything you need to know about fat loss', 'tomvenuto', '10/16/07', '09:37 PM','Everything You Need To Know About Loose Skin And Weight Loss
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
burnthefat.com
I receive a lot of e-mail from people with loose skin or from overweight people who are concerned about having loose skin after they lose the weight. In fact, this is one of the biggest concerns and most frequently asked questions I receive from men and women who have a lot of weight to lose.
Just recently, I received this email from a reader of my syndicated "Ask Tom" fat loss column:
"Tom, I began a fat loss program using your Burn The Fat system and it worked so well I got down to 15 1/2 stones (from 19). However, this has caused me a problem: Excess abdominal skin. I didn\'t crash lose this weight, it came off at the rate of about 2 lbs. per week just like you recommended. Now I\'m unsure of whether to carry on, as my abdomen has quite a lot of excess skin - I feel like I\'ve turned into a bloody Shar-Pei! Does everyone go through this? Will the skin tighten up? I was overweight for more than 12 years. Am I going to end up needing surgical skin removal? Can you offer me any advice? I\'m a medical student in the UK and my colleagues seem determined to proffer surgery as the only option."
There are 14 things you should know about loose skin after very large weight losses:
1. Skin is incredibly elastic. Your skin can stretch and expand or tighten and retract to a great degree. Look at what women go through during pregnancy. Some women do experience stretch marks after pregnancy, but obviously skin is remarkably elastic. 2. Elasticity of skin depends on both genetics and environment/lifestyle. Wrinkling and loss of elasticity is partly the consequence of aging (genetic factors) and also a result of environmental factors such as oxidative stress, excessive sun exposure, and nutritional deficiency. The environmental parts you can fix, the genetics and age part, you cannot. Advice: Get moving and change the things you have control over... Be realistic and don\'t worry about those things you don\'t have control over. 3. How much your skin returns to its former tautness depends partly on age. The older you get, the more an extremely large weight loss can leave loose skin that will not return to normal. 4. How long you carry extra weight may influence how much the skin will become taut after the weight loss: For example, compare a 9 month pregnancy with 9 years carrying 100 excess pounds. 5. How much weight was carried has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so much and be expected to "snap back" one hundred percent. With extreme obesity, the probability of there still being loose skin after weight loss is higher. 6. How fast the weight was gained also has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so quickly and be expected to "snap back." 7. How fast weight is lost also has a lot to do with how much the skin will tighten up. Rapid weight loss doesn\'t allow the skin time to slowly resume to normal. (This is yet another reason to lose fat slowly; 1-2 pounds per week, 3 pounds at the most if you have a lot of weight to lose, and even then, only if you are measuring body fat and you\'re certain it\'s fat you\'re losing, not lean tissue). 8. There are exceptions to all of the above; For example, people who gained and then lost incredible amounts of weight quickly at age 50 or 60, and their skin returned 100% to normal. 9. Creams probably don\'t work. There are many creams advertised as having the ability to restore the tightness of your skin. the late bodybuilding guru Dan duchaine used to recommend topical creams made with pycnogenol, which contain the antioxidant bioflavanoids called proanthocyanidins. But to the best of my knowledge, none of the topical creams are scientifically validated. I haven\'t even heard much anecdotal evidence that they work -- at least not permanently and measurably -- and especially if you have a lot of loose skin. There are definitely some topicals that will pull water from under your skin, but remeber, that is temporary. Buyer should beware with topical products. (as an aside, Ive also heard anectodal reports that skin brushing was helpful, but again, I am not aware of any scientific evidence proving this is effective). 10. Nutrition has a lot to do with the health of your skin. Essential fatty acids in particular are very valuable for many reasons, and one of them is for the health of your skin. It would be worth taking an EFA supplement such as fish oil, flax oil or an oil blend like Udo\'s choice. Antioxidants are also very important, so be sure to consume copious amounts of a variety of vegetables and fruits. Also pay very close attention to hydration. Drink approximately a gallon of water a day or a minimum of half your body weight in ounces. (By the way, whey protein is high in a powerful antioxidant called glutathione). 11. Exercise has a lot to do with how your skin appears after you lose body fat. If you use very low calorie diets, you are likely to lose lean body mass, and this is going to exacerbate the loose, hanging skin appearance. On the other hand, if you are exercising regularly and increasing lean body mass with weight training, you will be more likely to minimize the appearance of loose skin. 12. Get second opinions if you are considering surgery.If you\'re considering surgical skin removal, consult a physician for advice because this is not a minor operation, but keep in mind that your plastic surgeon may be making his BMW payments with your abdominoplasty money. (Surgery might be recommended in situations where it\'s not 100% necessary). Surgery should be left as the absolute final option in extreme cases. 13. Give your skin time. Your skin will definitely get tighter as your body fat gets lower. I\'ve seen and heard of many cases where the skin gradually tightened up, at least partially, after a one or two year period where the weight loss was maintained and exercise continued. 14. Know your body fat percentage before even thinking about surgery. Loose skin is one thing, but still having a lot of body fat is another. Be honest with yourself and do that by taking your body fat measurement. This can be done with skinfold calipers or a variety of other devices (calipers might not be the best method if you have large folds of loose skin. Look into impedance analysis, underwater weighing, DEXA or Bod Pod). Suppose for example, a man drops from 35% body fat all the way down to 20%. He should be congratulated, but I would tell him, "Don\'t complain about loose skin yet, your body fat is still high. Press onward and keep getting leaner and be sure to focus on strength training to increase lean body mass as well." Average body fat for men is in the mid teens (16% or so). Average body fat for women is in the 20-25% range. Good body fat for men is 10-12%, and single digits is extremely lean. Men shouldn\'t expect to look "ripped" with 100% tight skin on the abs unless they have single digit body fat. Women shouldn\'t expect to have tight abdominal skin unless they are in the low to mid teens in body fat. Except in extreme cases, you are actually unlikely to see someone with loose skin who has very low body fat and especially someone who has not just "lost weight" but has altered body composition by adding lean muscle as well. It\'s quite remarkable how much your skin can tighten up once your body fat goes from "average" to "excellent" and even more so when lean body mass increase. Someone with legitimate single digit body fat and a ton of loose skin is a rare sight. So the key to getting tighter skin is to improve your body composition (muscle to fat ratio), and lose more body fat, slowly and sensibly, up to the point where your body composition rating is BETTER than average (in the "good" to "great" category, not just "okay"). Only AFTER you reach your long term body fat percentage goal should you give thought to "excess skin removal." At that point, admittedly, there are bound to be a few isolated cases where surgery is necessary if you can\'t live with the amount of loose skin remaining. However, unless you are really, really lean, it\'s difficult to get a clear picture of what is loose skin, what is just remaining body fat and how much further the skin will tighten up when the rest of the fat is lost. Need help getting rid of that last bit of body body fat? Click here to find out how to do it the natural way: http://www.burnthefat.com burnthefat.com About the Author: Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. For information on Tom\'s Fat Loss program, visit: burnthefat.com
3500 Calories To Lose A Pound - Is This Formula All Wrong?
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
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
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: 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: burnthefat.com
','20931804'); threads[10] = new thread(2158318, 'Nutrition or Training - Which is more important', 'tomvenuto', '09/16/07', '12:21 PM','Nutrition Or Training - Which Is More Important?
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
burnthefat.com
Legendary bodybuilding trainer Vince, "The Iron Guru" Gironda was famous for saying, "Bodybuilding is 80% nutrition!" But is this really true or is it just another fitness and bodybuilding myth passed down like gospel without ever being questioned? Which is really more important, nutrition or training? This IS an interesting question and I believe there is a definite answer:
The first thing I would say is that you cannot separate nutrition and training. The two work together synergistically. Regardless of your goals - gaining muscle, losing fat, athletic conditioning, whatever -you will get less than-optimal or even non-existent results without paying attention paid to both.
In fact, I like to look at gaining muscle or losing fat in three parts - weight training, cardio training and nutrition - with each part like a leg of a three legged stool. pull ANY one of the legs off the stool, and guess what happens?
In reality, it\'s impossible to put a specific percentage on which is more important - how could we possibly know such a number to the digit?
Nutrition and training are both important, but at certain stages of your training progress, I do believe placing more attention on one component over the other can create larger improvements. Let me explain:
If you\'re a beginner and you don\'t posses nutritional knowledge, then mastering nutrition is far more important than training and should become your number one priority. I say this because improving a poor diet can create rapid, quantum leaps in fat loss and muscle building progress.
For example, if you\'ve been skipping meals and only eating 2 times per day, jumping your meal frequency up to 5 or 6 smaller meals a day will transform your physique very rapidly.
If you\'re still eating lots of processed fats and refined sugars, cutting them out and replacing them with good fats like the omega threes found in fish and unrefined foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains will make an enormous and noticeable difference in your physique very quickly.
If your diet is low in protein, simply adding a complete protein food like chicken breast, fish or egg whites at each meal will muscle you up fast.
No matter how hard you train or what type of training routine you\'re on, it\'s all in vain if you don\'t provide yourself with the right nutritional support.
In beginners (or in advanced trainees who are still eating poorly), these changes in diet are more likely to result in great improvements than a change in training.
The muscular and nervous systems of a beginner are unaccustomed to exercise. Therefore, just about any training program can cause muscle growth and strength development to occur because it\'s all a "shock" to the untrained body.
You can almost always find ways to tweak your nutrition to higher and higher levels, but once you’ve mastered all the nutritional basics, then further improvements in your diet don\'t have as great of an impact as those initial important changes...
Eating more than six meals will have minimal effect. Eating more protein ad infinitum won\'t help. Once you\'re eating low fat, going to zero fat won\'t help more - it will probably hurt. If you\'re eating a wide variety of foods and taking a good multi vitamin/mineral, then more supplements probably wont help much either. If you\'re already eating natural complex carbs and lean proteins every three hours, there\'s not too much more you can do other than continue to be consistent day after day...
At this point, as an intermediate or advanced trainee who has the nutrition in place, changes in your training become much more important, relatively speaking. Your training must become downright scientific.
Except for the changes that need to be made between an "off season" muscle growth diet and a "precontest" cutting diet, the diet won\'t and can\'t change much - it will remain fairly constant.
But you can continue to pump up the intensity of your training and improve the efficiency of your workouts almost without limit. In fact, the more advanced you become, the more crucial training progression and variation becomes because the well-trained body adapts so quickly.
According to powerlifter Dave Tate, an advanced lifter may adapt to a routine within 1-2 weeks. That\'s why elite lifters rotate exercises constantly and use as many as 300 different variations on exercises.
Strength coach Ian King says that unless you\'re a beginner, you\'ll adapt to any training routine within 3-4 weeks. Coach Charles Poliquin says that you\'ll adapt within 5-6 workouts.
So, to answer the question, while nutrition is ALWAYS critically important, it\'s more important to emphasize for the beginner (or the person whose diet is still a "mess"), while training is more important for the advanced person... (in my opinion).
It\'s not that nutrition ever ceases to be important, the point is, further improvements in nutrition won\'t have as much impact once you already have all the fundamentals in place.
Once you\'ve mastered nutrition, then it\'s all about keeping that nutrition consistent and progressively increasing the efficiency and intensity of your workouts, and mastering the art of planned workout variation, which is also known as "periodization."
The bottom line: There\'s a saying among strength coaches and personal trainers...
"You can\'t out-train a lousy diet!"
If your nutrition program is your weakest area, either because you\'re just starting out or you simply don\'t have the nutritional knowledge you know you need to get results, then be sure to take a look at the Burn The Fat program at: burnthefat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written hundreds of articles and been featured in IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on dozens of websites worldwide. For information on Tom\'s Fat Loss program, visit: burnthefat.com
','20496557'); threads[11] = new thread(2145573, 'What A "Muscle Head" Says About Organic Food', 'tomvenuto', '09/10/07', '06:20 PM','What A "Muscle Head" Says About Organic Food
By Tom Venuto, Natural Bodybuilder
burnthefat.com
Last week I was talking about nutrition with one of my workout buddies and when I mentioned grass fed beef and "organic food” he asked, "Do you mean like what you get at Whole Foods Market?"
I said, "Yes, exactly... that\'s a natural food and organic supermarket." He said, "Yeah well, that place costs so much, I call it Whole Paycheck!"
I was rolling on the floor laughing, but the truth is, organic food really is expensive and so is grass fed beef and free range chicken, so it\'s a valid question to ask, “Is it worth it?”
After researching the subject and doing some personal experiments with my own diet, let me offer you my take on it from a bodybuilder’s viewpoint. This is a perspective on organics you may not have heard before.
First, look at it this way - if you put the cheapest fuel in your luxury car, how well is it going to run and how many miles are you going to get out of it?
While I\'m on car analogies, health and fitness author and educator Paul Chek once wrote about how ridiculous it is to watch how many $75,000 + cars pull up to the Mcdonald\'s or Burger King drive through window to buy $1.99 hamburgers.
I would say that\'s a serious case of screwed up priorities, wouldn\'t you? The driver has no problem shelling out the $1,100 monthly car payment, but it\'s too much to ask him to put premium fuel into his own "bodily vehicle."
How can you put ANY price tag on your body and your health? You can buy another car, but you\'ve only got one body.
Now, as for the grass fed beef and organic foods question….
For best results in body composition improvement, which I define as burning fat and or building muscle, (and I\'ll even go as far as to say for optimal health as well), I am a believer in including animal proteins, including lean meats.
I have no wish to take up the vegetarian debate in this article. I respect vegetarians and acknowledge that a healthy and lean body can be developed with a vegetarian diet if it is done properly, although it may be more challenging for strict vegans to gain muscle for various reasons.
However, in recommending animal protein as part of a healthy fat loss and muscle building nutrition program, I do agree that we all need to give some serious thought to what is in our meat (and in the rest of our food).
Some people say that meat is part of our “evolutionary” diet and it’s the way we were intended to eat and I wouldn’t argue with that. But is the meat we’re eating in today’s modern society the same as what was hunted and eaten many thousands of years ago by our cave-man ancestors, or has some “toxic stuff” found its way into our beef, poultry and fish that wasn’t there before?
I also think we should consider what is *missing* from our commercially grown food, that is supposed to be in there, that probably used to be there in the past, but may not be today.
A lot of people are not paying any attention to this... even people who should know better. I admit it - I was oblivious to this for a long time myself. Here’s why:
I am not your typical "health and wellness" or "weight loss" expert. I am also competitive bodybuilder. We bodybuilders are well known for eating very clean diets with lots of lean protein and natural carbs, as well as for looking like "the picture of health" with our ripped abs and impressive muscularity.
We eat our oatmeal and egg whites for breakfast, and proudly walk around with our chicken breast, rice and broccoli or our flank steak, yams and asparagus, and boast about how perfect and clean our meals are and how our diets are already “clean” and could not be improved.
But how many bodybuilders or fitness enthusiasts are there - even serious, dedicated and educated ones - who don\'t give a single thought to the poisonous chemicals that might be lurking in our supposedly "clean" food?
The Food and Drug Administration lists more than 3,000 chemicals that can be added to our food supply. One billion pounds of pesticides and farming chemicals are used on our crops every year.
Depending on what source you quote, the average American consumes as much as 150 pounds of chemicals and food additives per year.
Does ANYBODY out there think that this is good for you?
Didn\'t think so.
If you had a way to avoid all these chemicals and toxins, would you at least explore it, even if it cost a little more?
Although this topic is controversial and hotly debated, organic food is gaining in popularity and seems to fit this bill.
Food grown on certified organic farms does not contain:
Pesticides
Herbicides
Fungicides
Hormones
Antibiotics
Chemical fertilizers
It is also not:
Irradiated
Genetically modified
Beyond the "certified organic" label, grass fed beef and free range chicken (and eggs), have other advantages.
Not only can there be tons of antibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals in our meat, but also commercially raised beef is fed grain or corn and yet that is not what the animals were meant to eat.
The result - aside from sick, drugged animals - is a higher overall fat, higher saturated fat and a screwed up ratio of omega three to omega six fats, which is a very big problem today - even when you think you\'re eating "clean." Most people accept the idea that “you are what you eat,” but they forget that the animals we eat are what they ate!
Last but not least, proponents of organic food suggest that the vitamin, mineral and phytonutrient content of commercially grown foods can be anywhere from a little bit low to virtually absent.
So... if organic and or grass fed beef and free range chicken can help us avoid some of these problems and dangers, then I\'m all for it and the extra investment.
I started eating grass fed beef almost exclusively (except for my occasional restaurant steak), quite a few years ago, and I even mentioned it in my book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle (burnthefat.com).
I can\'t say I eat entirely organic. I eat a lot of it, but not 100%. If I\'m eating an apple or some blueberries, and it doesn\'t happen to be organic, I don’t freak out over it. When you really study deeply into the subject of food processing, industrial pollution and commercial farming, it can almost scare you half to death, but I don\'t recommend getting "alarmist" about it.
Sometimes it\'s the people who live in fear of a disease who are most likely to get it. I for one, am not going to live in a plastic bubble to isolate myself from a “toxic world”… oh, wait... make that a ceramic bubble, plastics are really bad for you.
All joking aside, the fear of toxins can be taken to the point where the fear itself is unhealthy, but the more I study this subject - from a variety of sources and perspectives - the more the organic argument does make sense to me.
I’ve built my career in fitness based on being a natural bodybuilder, which means no steroids or performance enhancing drugs, so why would I expose myself to other chemicals if I can avoid them?
Honestly, I can\'t say I noticed any dramatic change in my physique or in the way I feel – at least not yet. I have always eaten clean and I was a successful bodybuilder for many years before I started eating more organic food and grass fed beef.
However, I feel confident about my decision to spend the extra money on grass fed beef, free range chicken (and eggs), and an increasing amount of organic food, knowing that I am avoiding toxins and getting more of the nutritional value I need to support my training and my health long term.
I\'m certain this is the type of nutritional lifestyle change that can accrue benefits over time, even if you don\'t see an immediate "transformation."
One thing I would suggest before you run out for organic fruits and vegetables or grass fed beef and so on, is to consider what kind of shape your diet and your lifestyle are in right now. If your diet is currently such a total mess that you’re drinking a lot of alcohol, smoking, abusing coffee and stimulants, not even eating ANY fruits and vegetables to begin with...
And if your idea of lean protein is the processed lunch meat you get in your foot long sub at the local deli, then I think it might be a little moot to worry about whether your fruits and veggies are 100% certified organic or whether your beef is grass fed. Just start cleaning up your diet and establishing new healthy habits, one step at a time. Focus on nutrition and lifestyle improvement, not perfection.
There are some very strong opinions on this subject. I am aware of that, and I\'m not going to stand up on a pulpit and preach either way. What I have done here is simply share what I have found from my own research and what I decided to do in my own personal health and bodybuilding regimen.
My advice to everyone else is to become educated about what is really in your food, including how it is raised or grown, and to continuously seek ways to improve your nutrition above the level it’s at now.
For more information about the "natural bodybuilder\'s method" for losing fat, building muscle and achieving peak health, visit: burnthefat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world\'s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: burnthefat.com. To get Tom\'s free fitness newsletter, visit: tomvenuto.com
Increase Your Metabolism And Decrease Your Appetite With This Fat-Burning Food Group
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
burnthefat.com
There have been countless studies performed on the role of protein in the muscle growth process to try and determine exactly how much protein you should consume to build muscle mass. Recently, several studies have looked at the role that dietary protein plays in helping you lose fat, and more importantly, helping you keep it off!
One thing scientists have discovered is that eating lean protein foods is important for regulating body composition because it decreases your appetite.
In a 2003 study reported in the journal, Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition And Metabolic Care (2003; 6(6): 635-638), protein was shown to be more satiating (made you feel fuller) than both carbohydrate and fat both in the short term and the long term.
Eating more lean protein foods has also been proven as an effective strategy to help you burn fat and keep it off because of something called, “dietary thermogenesis” (also known as the thermic effect of food).
In a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2005 (93(2): 281-289), researchers followed a group of 113 overweight subjects after 4 weeks of a very low calorie diet, through a 6 month period of weight maintenance. The subjects were divided into a protein group or a control group. The protein group was simply given an extra 30 grams of protein per day on top of their usual diet.
The researchers found that during weight maintenance, the group with the higher protein intake was less likely to regain the lost weight, and any weight gain in the protein group was lean tissue and not fat. The results were attributed to higher thermic effect and a decrease in appetite.
Although calories will always be the bottom line when it comes to fat loss, studies such as these are confirming what bodybuilders have known for a long time: That calories are not the only factor that can influence your body composition. Your protein intake and your ratios of protein relative to carbohydrate and fat can clearly play a key role in helping you lose fat and keep the fat off.
None of this is news to bodybuilders or to anyone who is already familiar with bodybuilding-style nutrition programs such as Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. But it’s interesting that such positive results were achieved in studies where protein was increased so conservatively - as little as 30 additional grams of protein per day or a 20% increase above traditional protein recommendations.
Many bodybuilding-style diets (such as Burn The Fat and Body For Life) call for as much as 30%-40% of the total daily calories from protein and some competitive bodybuilders crank up the protein (temporarily) to as much as 50% before competitions.
I’m curious to see if any research is ever conducted with these more aggressive protein intakes. If so, my guess is that we will find once again, that the bodybuilders are ahead of the science when it comes to the manipulation of diet for improving body composition.
The take home lesson is simple: If you remove some carbs and put in some protein - nothing too radical; even as little as trading 30 grams per day of carbs for 30 grams of lean protein - this small change in your diet may decrease your appetite, decrease your body fat and help you keep the fat off after you lose it.
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world\'s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: burnthefat.com. To get Tom\'s free fitness newsletter, visit: tomvenuto.com
','20367643'); threads[13] = new thread(2122758, 'The Perils Of Diving Into Strict Diets Headfirst', 'tomvenuto', '08/30/07', '07:47 PM','Induction Destruction: The Perils Of Diving Into Strict Diets Headfirst
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
burnthefat.com
Every so often you read a sad story in the newspaper about someone who dove headfirst into a river or lake, without checking to see how deep the water was beforehand. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a shallow 18 inches and the consequence of this miscalculated plunge was a broken neck and a wheelchair.
This reminds me of the way most people impatiently dive into strict, extreme, or unbalanced crash diets, without thinking about the long term consequences, invariably crippling any chance they had for keeping the fat off in the long run.
One thing that almost all mainstream popular diets have in common is an “induction phase” (or the equivalent). This is often done under the scientific-sounding auspices of “making the metabolic switch” from “carb burner” to “fat burner.”
Another common way that popular diets begin is with a “liquid fast” or “internal cleansing” phase. This is often suggested as necessary for clearing out all the gunk that has accumulated on your insides which (says them), is the reason you feel like “blah” and can’t lose any weight.
Larrian Gillespie, the About.com guide to low carb diets, made a keen observation in a recent article. Writing about the Induction plan on programs such as the Atkins diet, she noted:
"Frankly, the only thing I object to is the induction plan concept...for ANY diet. It\'s a cheap trick approach to weight management, since we as Americans are fixated on quick fixes or we toss a plan and go onto the next marketing promise."
Not only do I agree – I would take it a step further. I believe that this radical beginning phase actually increases the chances of failure in the long term.
Gillespie continues with advice about what to do if you choose a low carb approach such as Atkins…
"This (induction) approach will trigger a rebound weight gain. Don\'t overdo the induction phase. Better yet, go directly to stage 2 of the plan and begin there. There is nothing more irritating to a physician than having a patient come in with health problems as a direct result of following some crazy diet, like eating ONLY cabbage, or only grapefruit."
“Induction” is simply a politically correct way to say you have to crash diet and starve yourself in the beginning. Look at the forums and message boards: They’re filled with posts from people about to start these programs, dreading the “initial” phase and wondering if they’ll be able to hack it (and with people telling war stories about how they “survived” it ...or tried it and failed).
“Induction” has nothing to do with science, health or permanent fat loss. It has everything to do with marketing and instant gratification. Dieters flock to the gurus that promise 12 to 15 pounds of weight loss in the first two weeks, while sneering at the idea of losing a paltry 2 pounds of fat per week. “Give me results now” is the mindset, with no thought given to body composition, health or long-term consequences. What sells more books: “Quickly Lose 8-10 pounds in the first week” or “lose 8-10 pounds of fat per month and never gain it back?” Unfortunately, it is usually the former.
Over the past decade and a half I have almost always used the opposite approach with my clients – and that is, never dive into diets – instead, ease into a new way of life, one habit at a time, if necessary.
My clients are introduced to words such as habits, balance, lifestyle and patience. I sit them down, look them in the eye and ask, “Do you want to lose weight quickly and gain it back or do you want to lose fat slowly and keep it off forever and never have to “diet” again?”
When confronted face to face, the answer is always the latter (but often begrudgingly so). The patience pays off, and those who are wise enough to listen enjoy the fruits of lifelong health, leanness and fitness, never having to endure the repeated yo-yo losses and gains so many people suffer for an entire lifetime.
Consider these concepts: Do NOT crash diet only to relapse to your old, unhealthy ways. Do not even put yourself in “emergency” situations where you feel pressured to lose weight quickly. Build a foundation and master the fundamentals first, then nit pick, sweat the small stuff and try “advanced” techniques later.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, then you can slowly make your plan stricter – if necessary – based on your results. You can reduce or eliminate cheat days, and tighten up your food choices.
Yes, carbs can be s-l-o-w-l-y reduced to find that optimal level for your body type where fat loss really kicks in. Calorie levels can dropped, more cardio added, rest between sets decreased, and training intensity increased.
On and on your regimen can be gradually “tightened up” and compliance increased until the desired results are achieved. Then, it’s a gradual, comfortable transition to maintenance phase, which is never far away from the fat loss phase.
Contrast this sensible, healthy, lifestyle approach, (which most people view not only as slow, but flat out “backwards”), with the crash diet or “induction” approach:
The new dieter STARTS from day one with the strictest, most extreme version of the diet. It’s often very unbalanced with entire food groups removed, or it emphasizes only one food or food type. Sometimes, the restrictions are so tight, you even have to limit the amount of vegetables you eat! Is that CRAZY or WHAT????
The weight comes flying off… SUCCESS! Or so it appears…until all the weight has returned 6-12 months later along with the rest of the 95% of dieters who fail because they insisted on following the herd and hopping on the latest quick fix bandwagon.
No two people are exactly alike and no single nutrition program is right for everyone. For example, some people really do thrive on reduced carbohydrate diets. But one thing that‘s true for 100% of people 100% of the time is that starvation and crash dieting are a one-way ticket to eventual weight regain and metabolic destruction.
What should you do instead? Ease into it. Stick your toes in the water first. Isolate bad habits and replace them with good ones – one or two at a time – for life. Psychologists say it only takes 21 days to form a new good habit, and habits, not diets, are the key to long-term fat loss success. Any nutrition program not built squarely on a strong foundation of nutritional fundamentals and good long-term habits is an accident waiting to happen.
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world\'s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: burnthefat.com. To get Tom\'s free fitness newsletter, visit: tomvenuto.com
How To Repair A Damaged Metabolism
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
burnthefat.com
If you\'ve caused metabolic damage as a result of following starvation diets or losing weight too rapidly in the past, it can be extremely difficult to achieve any further fat loss at all. The good news is, metabolic damage can be repaired. All it takes is the right combination of metabolism stimulating exercise and metabolism stimulating nutrition (NOT just a diet), all done consistently over time.
The big irony is that most of the diet programs that claim to help you get rid of excess weight, only end up making it harder for you in the long run because they use harsh metabolism-decreasing diets and not enough exercise (almost never any weight training).
It may take a little longer if you have really messed things up with severe starvation dieting in the past, especially if you\'ve lost a lot of lean body mass, but it is never hopeless. Anyone can increase their metabolism.
Most people get an almost immediate boost in metabolic rate when they start the Burn The Fat program. However, the results are not going to be "overnight." Give it a little time...
Within 3 weeks your metabolism will already be more efficient. Within 6-8 weeks, it\'s burning hot. Give me 12 weeks of consistent diligent effort, sticking with all the metabolism boosting strategies I teach, and your metabolism really will become like a turbo charged engine, and I\'m not exaggerating when I say that.
What’s most important for upping your metabolism is CONSISTENCY in applying the Burn The Fat nutrition and training principles every single day.
That includes:
The weight training is extremely important in cases of "metabolic damage" because this is the stimulus to keep the muscle you have and begin rebuilding new muscle tissue, which is the engine that drives your metabolism.
The men don\'t usually have a problem with the weight training, but I still hear women say they don\'t want to lift weights as part of their fat loss programs. Well, people who wont lift weights can expect a very, very long metabolism "repair process" if they achieve it at all.
Consistency is the key.
Nothing will undermine the "re-building" of your metabolism like inconsistency. If you stop and start, or skip meals and workouts often, you will not even get off the ground.
After your metabolism is back up where it should be, it takes continued "stoking" of the metabolic furnace to keep it there. Once you get your metabolic engine running, you\'ve got to keep feeding it fuel or the fire will die down.
Picture an old fashioned wood burning stove...
Imagine you\'re in a cabin up in the mountains in the winter. It\'s cold in there and you want to keep the cabin warm. Can you achieve this by feeding the fire once or twice per day? Nope. Not enough fuel to burn, so not much heat is generated.
What if you just toss an entire pile of wood in the stove all at once? Will that work? Nope. Lots of fuel, but can\'t all be used at once... it just smothers the fire and the excess just sits there.
How about if you throw some tissue paper or crumpled newspaper in the stove, will that work? Nope - too quickly burning.
You have to keep putting small amounts of wood (the right type of fuel) on the fire at regular intervals or the fire burns out.
It\'s also difficult to get the fire lit again. In the case of metabolism, it\'s like going through that initial few weeks of overcoming inertia all over again.
Your goal is to get your metabolism burning hot and keep it burning and this cannot be achieved by missing meals, missing workouts or with sporadic, infrequent training.
I have only seen a handful of cases where all these things were done properly and there was still a longer "repair" process.
For example, one case was former ballet dancer. At 5\' 5", she was previously 110 lbs and had increased to about 145 or so. She didn’t want to reach her previous 110, but find a happy medium of about 125 lbs.
I figured with 20 lbs to cut, this would be a simple and predictable process, but she had a challenging time (and I didn\'t know why at first).
I later found out that she had been anorexic and bulimic for many years. This had caused a lot of damage, and although she did reach her goal, it took about twice as long as we had anticipated.
The good news is, even in this extreme case, the same nutrition and training principles worked! It just took a little longer. And by the way her program included some serious training with free weights and she ate a lot more (clean) food than she had ever eaten before. No "starvation!"
That’s the power of burning the fat and feeding the muscles... Trying to starve the fat with crash diets is what causes the metabolic damage in the first place!
If you’re interested in the healthy, sensible way to take off the fat, while keeping all your muscle and actually increasing your metabolism in the process, then my Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle program can teach you how. No gimmicks or false promises. Just the truth - you have to work at it and you have to be patient. burnthefat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world\'s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: burnthefat.com.
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