Weight Loss Central

It was a bad week diet wise. This past week end was a total collapse. I am paying for it this week. My leg is not letting me exercise as hard as I can and need too.

I also had to move my blog.

Time to fess up.

I gained a pound(now 228) this last week. I am looking back over this last month, my exercise has been spot on. My diet has been good but not perfect. Yet the I have only lost 1 pound net.

Time to adjust the plan.  I had used formulas to figure my needed calories for maintenance and reduce my intake to get the pounds per week I want. I wasn’t including exercise calories in the equation. Well my body must be more efficient than most!! The weight I lost reflects more closely the calories I burnt in exercise.

New Plan:

Drop calories by 400 to about 1825.

Work in more morning exercise. Continue to increase intensity of exercise.

My goals are still in reach!!!

Weight is down to 227. Body Fat is at 24 %.

Welcome to all the visitors from Livin’ La Vida low-carb !

This last week I rediscovered  one of my weight loss secrets.

Morning Exercise.

It has taken me from hold to a small loss to losing like I should be. I may be weird and I do not like getting up at 5 am but morning exercise is a key for me to loss weight.

My weight is now 228.0.

Still getting into the groove of getting up early to exercise.

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

Understanding the mind’s role in motivation and behavior is one of the most critical elements in fitness success. If you struggle with changing habits and behaviors or if you can’t get motivated, then even the best training and nutrition program is not much help.

A fascinating fact about your subconscious mind is that it’s completely deductive in nature. In other words, it’s fully capable of working backwards from the end to the means. You don’t need to know how to reach a goal at the time you set the goal. If you “program” only the desired outcome successfully into your “mental computer,” then your subconscious will take over and help you find the information and means and carry out the actions necessary to reach it.
Read the rest here.

By Alton Morris

The best way to get rid of belly fat is not a pill, or some plan to restrictive to maintain. If you are looking for some pill or restrictive diet plan, you will not experience the forever part. Research has shown maintaining weight loss long term requires that you develop the proper diet and exercise habits.

Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you have fed him for a life time.’ Pills and restrictive diets are like giving you a fish. If you want to keep the fat off you must learn the habits it takes to do it.

Every person is different and will require a different combination of foods and exercise to achieve results. That being said there are some basic truths that will work for everyone.

The first is plain old calorie restriction. However do not exceed a restriction of 20% below your maintenance level. What is that level? That is the point at which you do not gain or lose weight. It is different for everyone. the American College of Sports

Medicine (ACSM) has suggested 1200 calories as the minimal daily calorie level for women and 1800 as the minimum for men.

Why do you not want to go below that for any length of time? Your body will go into starvation mode. That means your metabolism slows down, you feel tired and you burn muscle as well as fat. Some studies have shown that resting metabolism can become depressed by as much as 45%, during severe calorie restriction.

So now we know about the diet side, what about the exercise side? You can not spot remove fat from the body. I wish it were not so, but it is. The only way to lose the belly is to lose fat in general. Some people it will com off the stomach faster then others. If you need some reasons to exercise and not just diet:

1. Exercise - aerobic and weight training - raises your metabolic rate.

2. Exercise creates a caloric deficit without triggering the starvation response.

3. Exercise is good for your health. Dieting is harmful to your health.

4. Exercise, especially weight training, signals your body to keep your muscle and not burn it for energy. Dieting without exercise can result in up to 50% of the weight loss to come from lean body mass.

5. Exercise increases fat-burning enzymes and hormones.

6. Exercise increases the cells sensitivity to insulin so that carbohydrates are burned for energy and stored as glycogen rather then being stored as fat.

Exercise can be anything that gets you up off that couch and keeps you moving. DO NOT work your abs every day, though. They need time to recover just like any other muscle. For you in a hurray I would suggest high intensity interval training, known as HIIT for short. You use this with running, jogging, tread mill, any aerobic work out. An example routine I would be:

Level 3: 5 minutes (warm-up)

Level 4: 1 minute (rest interval)

Level 7: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 7: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 7: 1 minute (work interval

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 7: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 7: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 7: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 3: 5 minutes (cool down)

Why HIIT? Your metabolic rate stays elevated longer after the workout is over than steady state cardio. Yep you keep burning at a high rate longer that with normal cardio and therefore burn more calories!

There you have it some basic truths that should help anyone melt away that belly fat away and keep it gone.

Alton Morris has struggled with weight problems his whole life. I have been actively researching an answer for several years now. Interested in reading more? Come to my web page Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alton_Morris
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Melt-Belly-Fat-Away-Forever&id=887179

by Craig Burton

 Fats and oils are simply essential to optimal health. They are important building blocks for the cells of your body, a source of energy and they provide a variety of hormones.

The respected medical journal ‘The Lancet’ (v339, 3/21/93) comments that low-fat diets are associated with increased rates of depression, psychological problems, fatigue, violence and suicide (3).

So why all the bad publicity? Let’s take a brief look at the history of dietary fats and heart disease.

Before 1920 Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) was rare in America, but by the mid fifties it was the leading cause of death among Americans (this corresponds with most Western countries). So what had changed?

In 1953 American doctor Ancel Keys believed that high-fat food was the culprit. He set out to prove this by comparing death rates from CHD and the amount of fats eaten in certain countries to suggest a positive correlation. However it seems Dr. Keys was very selective as to which countries he chose. Out of the possible 22 countries with available data he chose only 6 that supported his hypothesis, which ultimately painted a very different picture.

Dr. Uffe Ravnskov in his book ‘The cholesterol myths’- exposing the fallacy that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease’ shows Dr. Keys selected graph with only 6 countries and as a comparison the complete picture with all 22 countries that shows no correlation at all.

However Dr. Keys proved to be very persuasive at the time and so the ‘diet/heart’ hypothesis was born. How, with such a dramatic flaw, could this hypothesis recommending a reduction in saturated fats and cholesterol have further continued and gathered strength one may ask? Proponents of the ‘diet/heart’ hypothesis point the finger at the beneficiaries. The main beneficiaries of the research that found fault with competing traditional foods were the vegetable oil and food processing industries, who consequently then began promoting and funding further research designed to support the ‘diet/heart’ hypothesis.

Out of the ‘diet/heart’ hypothesis came several large-scale, long-term, human intervention studies to be set up in many parts of the world. These involved thousands of subjects and hundreds of doctors and scientists costing billions of dollars to prove that a fatty diet caused heart disease.

The most influential and respected investigation of heart disease was carried out by the Harvard University Medical School and called the Framingham Heart Study. This study was influential in determining our current dietary fat recommendations – such as reduce saturated fats and cholesterol – and involved measuring cholesterol and saturated fat intake with subsequent blood cholesterol levels. However after 22 years, the researchers concluded:

“There is, in short, no suggestion of any relation between diet and the subsequent development of CHD in the study group” (1). So why are we still being told this you may ask? Good question!

Nathan Pritikin is cited for being instrumental in the low-fat diet movement. His weight-loss programs proved to be very successful at first. One component included reducing fat. However he also advocated eliminating sugar, white flour and all processed foods and replacing them with fresh, whole foods and a strenuous exercise program, which obviously makes it difficult to single out any one factor. Unfortunately the low fat and fat free diets proved to be very difficult to maintain and over a length of time, as many clients suffered from low energy, depression and weight gain (2).

The World Health Organisation’s European Coronary Prevention Study published in 1983 again proved no correlation between fats and heart disease. The study reduced saturated fats to only 8% of the calorie intake daily, yet in the UK section those subjects who ate more saturated fat died later (1).

So what is the real culprit? Here are some ‘interesting’ facts:

Between 1910 and 1970: animal fat consumption decreased from 83% to 62%

Butter consumption decreased from 18 pounds to 4 pounds per year

Margarine, shortening and refined oils consumption increased 400%

The fatty acids found in arterial clogs are mostly unsaturated (74%) of which 41% are polyunsaturated (Lancet 1994, 344:1195) (3)

Today, CHD causes at least 40% of all US deaths

Let us now have a closer look at fats for a better understanding of their differences. Fatty Acids are classified in the following ways:

Saturated Oils

All carbon bonds are occupied by a hydrogen atom. They are highly stable, solid at room temperature, and normally do not go rancid, even when heated. E.g. coconut oil, butter and lard.

Monosaturated Oils

One double bond in the form of two carbon atoms, double-bonded to each other, and therefore lack two hydrogen atoms. They tend to be liquid at room temperature and like saturated fat are relatively stable, not going rancid easily and therefore can be used in cooking. E.g. olive, almond and peanut oil as well as avocados.

Polyunsaturated Oils

Have two or more pairs of double bonds and therefore lack four or more hydrogen atoms. They remain liquid, even when refrigerated, go rancid easily and must be treated with care. These oils should never be heated or used in cooking. E.g. sunflower, soy, corn and safflower oil.

So, currently most western governments and dieticians recommend reducing saturated fats. However, saturated fats play many important roles in the body. They constitute at least 50% of all cell membranes. They enhance the immune system and protect us from harmful micro organisms entering into the digestive track (2).

Excess consumption of polyunsaturated oils (which are highly recommended by the government) has shown to cause many health problems like heart disease, cancer, immune system dysfunction, liver damage and weight gain (2). Which leads us to that recurring question: why does the government persist in recommending them? The short answer is the government listens to it’s advisors who look to the research and sometimes the research is flawed and influenced by whichever industry funds the study eg the grain, beef, or dairy industry…. Knowing where the money came from is always a good indication of how reliable the information is.

The main reason why the polyunsaturated fat can be harmful is because they become oxidized or rancid when subjected to heat. Rancid oils are characterized by free radicals, which attack the cell membranes and red blood cells. New evidence links free radicals to premature aging and an assortment of diseases including cancer.

Now for the really bad guys: hydrogenated, transfatty acids.

Hydrogenation turns polyunsaturated oils that are normally liquid at room temperature into solids, like margarine and shortenings.

Transfatty (from trans formation): one hydrogen atom of the pair is moved to the other side so that the molecule straightens. Most of these manmade transfatty acids are toxins to the body. But unfortunately your digestive system does not recognize them as such. In the end transfatty acids are structurally closer to plastic than fat – seriously! (4)

Here are the steps to making hydrogenated transfatty acids:

- Begin with a cheap, polyunsaturated oil (e.g. sunflower, soy, corn and safflower oil)

- Mix with tiny metal particles

- Subject this to hydrogen gas in a high pressure, high temperature reactor

- Add soap-like emulsifiers to give better consistency

- Steam clean at high temperature to remove unpleasant odor

- Add dyes and strong flavors

- Compress and pack in blocks and tubs as health food

A long way from being a ‘true’ health food in my opinion!

The popularity of margarine over butter is a true test of the power of advertising. How else could a product with such questionable health risks grow in sales by over 400%?

In summary when viewing all the research, the current recommendations for fat consumption reads like a comedy of errors or, perhaps considering that we have not made a dent in the statistics for preventable diseases, a horror movie. I know for many of you this may all seem too far-fetched which is why I encourage you to not blindly believe what I say, but check your references (starting with those listed below) and dig deeper to formulate your own opinion, which will lead to true empowerment for your health and that of your family and friends

Your 3d Coach
Craig Burton

References
(1) The Cholesterol Myth Part 2, http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/choleserol_myth_2.html
(2) Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon, 2001, NewTrends Publishing
(3) The Weston A. Price Foundation website www.westonaprice.org
(4) How to eat, move and be healthy, Paul Chek, 2004, C.H.E.K Institute Publication
(5) Total health, Dr. Mercola, 2004, www.mercola.com
(6) Know your fats: The complete primer for understanding the nutrition of fats, oils and cholesterol, Mary Enig, Ph.D., 1999
(7) The Cholesterol Myth- Exposing the fallacy that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease, Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PHD, 2000, NewTrends Publishing

Article by Craig Burton. Craig is a prominent European based holistic health and fitness coach and founder of 3D Personal Training Systems. Craig is a Sports Science graduate with postgraduate accreditations in nutrition, massage, athletic training, and corrective exercise therapy.
He is the author of “The 21 Day Roadmap to Health” available at http://www.21dayroadmap.com.
Receive your FREE 3d pts tools including the 7 Part Series: Success Strategies for transforming the body, mind and spirit, our FREE monthly Peak Performance Newsletter and our FREE questionnaire to find out more about your current health status at http://www.3dpts.com/freetools.
For more information and articles on health and fitness visit http://www.3dpts.com/articles.

Good idea’s. Now I need to apply them!!!

10 Ideas to Get You Exercising

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

There are many fantastic ways to get focused and motivated to begin a diet or exercise program, but often the most difficult thing to do is keep that drive and ambition alive for more than a few weeks and see your goal through to completion.

Within just weeks of starting, many people have already hit their first snag or setback, and as a result, have slipped backwards in the mental focus and motivation department. Setting goals in writing is an essential step to success, but how do you stay focused on them? One technique I have used ever since my very first bodybuilding competition 18 years ago, is…

The “contest countdown calendar.”

I have used it ever since, through 28 competitions and it will work for you too, for any fitness goal.

I purchase a desk or wall calendar - the type that shows each week stretching horizontally across the page with an open block of space for each day.

After I set my goal and place a deadline on it, I do NOT stop there. I take out my calendar and start counting backwards from my target goal deadline to the present day.

T-minus 117 days….

T-minus 116 days…

T-minus 115 days….

I also fill in my workouts for the entire 3-4 month period, which is the typical length I allow for my mid-range goals like contest prep.

you would be shocked - pleasantly so - just how focused this keeps you. Even better still, you get MORE and MORE motivated with each passing day you countdown because the deadline is getting closer

Deadlines are absolutely critical to your success. Little gets done without deadlines.

There is a saying in management and psychology that “work will always expand to fill the time allowed for it’s completion.”

Remember term papers in school? when you were given a term paper assignment and you had the entire semester to do it, did you run home that first night and get crankin on it?

How about after a week? two weeks? A month? TWO MONTHS?

probably not, eh?

If you’re like most people, you put it off until the last minute and you barely got it turned in on time. In fact, there are always a few people who pull all nighters the night before!

Alas, the power of the deadline!

In your fitness endeavors, if you don’t have IMPENDING deadlines that give you that twinge in your stomach that says “take action now, or else!” then you find it very easy to say to yourself, ‘ I have plenty of time so this one cheat meal doesn’t matter… it doesn’t make much difference at this point if I skip this one workout… I have time to make it up…”

And then, just like the term paper, you are scrambling at the last minute to reach your weight goal. But in the case of a your body, the consequences are more severe and painful than just a bad grade or late penalty.

Inevitably, you succumb to crash dieting and overtraining or other unhealthy fast-weight-loss madness, which eats up your own muscle like a hungry cannibal and sends you spiraling into the dark pit of metabolic damage and the inevitable plateau and weight gain that follow.

But the solution is so simple: Count your way down to success!

Don’t stop with setting goals. Put your goal countdown on paper, review your goals every single day, AND know, every single day, how many days there are until your target goal date. You will stay more consciously focused and even better, your unconscious mind will go to work for you in keeping you motivated, on track, and on schedule. You’ll come in for a landing on your goal deadline date like an F-16 landing on an aircraft carrier.

I just did my countdown calendar earlier this week… T minus 117 days til my next bodybuilding competition, and thanks to this simple but powerful technique, I’m already focused like a laser beam and have been making steady progress without so much as a hiccup…

Don’t under-estimate this simple technique… Give it an honest test… because it’s often the simplest motivational techniques that are the most powerful of all!.

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: www.burnthefat.com.