Tag: "bodybuilding"

4 Proven Tricks to Eat Less Food

4 Proven Tricks to Eat Less Food

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author - The Truth About Six Pack Abs

I found these 4 tricks (that are proven to help people eat less food and overall calories) while reading a fascinating book recently called 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot (Borzoi Books). I think you’ll find these very helpful if you’re looking to control your caloric intake and reduce your body fat.

These tricks were tested in scientific studies and are quick and easy to implement. I thought these were VERY interesting…

Trick #1 to Eat Less — Several studies prove that the size of the bowl, plate, or spoon that you use can directly influence how much food and calories you consume.

Richard Wiseman, in the book 59 Seconds, talks about one study conducted where party guests were randomly given either 17 or 34-ounce bowls and 2 or 3 ounce spoons, and allowed to help themselves to ice cream. It was found that the party guests given the large spoons and large bowls had eaten 14% and 31% more ice cream respectively, than the people using the smaller spoons or smaller bowls. Interesting huh!

Another study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania used a bowl of M&Ms that were left in the hallway of an apartment building. A sign next to the bowl told people to help themselves to the M&Ms. Some days a tablespoon sized scoop was used in the M&Ms and on other days, a larger scoop was used in the bowl. The researchers found that the larger scoop caused people to take TWICE the amount of M&Ms on average compared to the people that had used the smaller scoop.

I’ve also seen studies referenced in the past that showed that people who used larger plates consumed more calories than those using smaller plates.

The lesson — Use smaller plates, bowls, and silverware and you may inadvertently reduce your calorie intake. This also means saying NO to seconds and thirds!

The Weight Loss Battle Is Won or Lost In Your Mind

Have you ever stopped to take an inventory of all the things you currently do for weight loss, fitness, nutrition and your health in general? If you do you’ll quickly find out what you’re doing for your body that is working and what you’re doing that might not be working so well. You might be following a regular workout routine, and have some nutrition guidelines like ‘never drink calories’ or ‘always choose the low fat version’. But if you honestly take a really good look at everything you’re doing, can you honestly say which things are working and which things aren’t?

And specifically what is working for weight loss?

Weight loss seems to be more of a mental battle than a physical one. Sure there are some hunger cravings to deal with every now and then, but 90% of the battle is in your mind. If you can win the battle in your mind you can also win the battle around your waist or butt (or wherever you store your fat).

THE HOLY GRAIL BODY TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM: How To Gain Muscle And Lose Fat At Same Time?

THE HOLY GRAIL BODY TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM: How To Gain Muscle And Lose Fat At Same Time?

I just heard about some really ‘weird’ results that occurred during a recent body transformation contest… Some of the contestants actually lost fat while building muscle at the SAME TIME! In fact, one of the winners of this contest actually GAINED weight!

If you know anything about before and after fitness contests or the reality TV shows like the biggest loser, then you know that those types of results are unheard of. Usually the goal is to cut as many pounds on the scale as humanly possible, right? But what those shows never talk about is “body composition” and the possibility of “body RE-composition”, or gaining lean body mass as you burn the fat.

The thing is, most people, even a lot of veteran trainers, believe that it’s impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. You might have heard all the debates and arguments about this subject yourself on forums and blogs, etc. etc.

Even though the experts disagree, if there’s any consensus at all, it’s that simultaneously gaining muscle while losing fat is the most difficult fitness goal to achieve… That’s why people call it the “holy grail”; because it’s so elusive.

BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE: IT IS POSSIBLE.  (“difficult” and “impossible” are not the same thing)

“THE HOLY GRAIL BODY TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM: How to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time”

What does work for true fat loss and a lean muscular body for life?

What does work for true fat loss and a lean muscular body for life?

The ONLY way to lose body fat and get to a nice lean body composition and maintain it for LIFE, comes from these basic aspects:

  • Make your health a priority. With everything you eat, drink, and do, think about whether it’s helping or hurting your health, and only do the things that help. If you honestly think about what you’re eating and what it will do to your body before you put it in your mouth, you’ll be one step closer to eating clean for life.
  • Eat a clean healthy diet made up of natural unprocessed foods regularly, and make this a habit. Avoid even allowing yourself to buy junk or processed foods at all. There’s still a TON of delicious natural foods that can satisfy your cravings and give you great nutrition at the same time.  If you can’t give up junk foods altogether, choose 1 day per week as a “cheat day” and only eat your junk foods on that day (this still means not having them in your house, but getting them only for your cheat days).
  • Make regular exercise a daily part of your life. Every single day doesn’t have to include an intense workout, but try to at least workout intensely 3-4 days/week, and then at least get out and walk or ride a bike or something that involves movement almost every day.
The Hidden Truth About “Reducing Your Cholesterol”

The Hidden Truth About “Reducing Your Cholesterol”

You may be surprised at the REAL causes of heart disease — and it’s NOT saturated fat or cholesterol

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

We all know that heart disease is one of the leading killers of people around the world, particularly highest in countries such as the US and Australia.

However, did you know that there are several medical studies worldwide that clearly show that higher cholesterol levels in the body actually increases longevity instead of decreasing it? Yes, you heard that right! People with high cholesterol have been statistically shown to live longer and healthier than people with low cholesterol in several studies. There are multiple references for this phenomenon in Shane Ellison’s controversial book, The Hidden Truth about Cholesterol Lowering Drugs, Dr. Uffe Ravnskov’s (MD, PhD) book entitled The Cholesterol Myths, as well as Sally Fallon and Mary Enig’s book, Nourishing Traditions.

So why in the world are the pharmaceutical and medical industry pushing for practically everyone on the planet to “lower their cholesterol”? Well, the first, and more innocent answer, is flawed medical studies from decades ago that have been accepted as fact and never fully analyzed for their validity. Another answer is that this practice of recommending that half of the damn planet takes a cholesterol lowering medication (currently, statins), regardless of whether they truly have any real risk for heart disease, creates insane multi-squillion dollar profits for the drug companies!

As a perfectly absurd example of how doctors have been wrongly influenced by the drug companies… a couple years ago, I was a perfectly healthy 28 yr old, in great shape, exercising daily, eating a balanced healthy diet full of antioxidants and quality nutrition, no smoking, and with no real risk factors for heart disease, and just because my cholesterol level has been consistently measured over 200 for my entire life, my doctor recommended I consider using a cholesterol lowering statin drug.

Are You Caught Up In A Cycle Of Fat Loss & Fitness Confusion?

Are You Caught Up In A Cycle Of Fat Loss & Fitness Confusion?

By Rob Poulos, Fat Loss & Fitness Expert & Creator of ‘Fat Burning Furnace’

As a member of a popular fitness center for a few years, I noticed countless others frustrated with their fat burning exercise routines and eating practices, working so hard and long but with virtually no improvement to show for it.

Several of my own friends and relatives would mention this new program or product they had just shelled out cash for that was the answer to their fat loss or fitness goals. They were so excited about it and couldn’t wait to get started.

Then, a few weeks later, the same happy-go-lucky people that were once jumping with joy about their new plan to burn fat and get a new body became downright discouraged. It was hard to watch.

I’d ask them how their fat burning plan was working and they’d tell me that it seemed pretty good at first, but they didn’t get the results they were expecting or they felt were promised. They quickly became tired of following the daily workouts and found following the strict eating guidelines almost maddening at times. So they hopped onto the next plan.

The Greatest Quad Builder… That Almost No One Wants To Do

The Greatest Quad Builder… That Almost No One Wants To Do

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

It’s axiomatic that the exercises which give you the best results are always the hardest ones to do. If you want a huge back… you row and deadlift. If you want huge legs, you squat… OR… you do THIS leg exercise – that almost no one wants to do because its one of the hardest of them all.

Which one am I talking about? FRONT SQUATS!

Can you Run Away From Fat?

Can you Run Away From Fat?

Every day I go to the gym I see dozens of people running on treadmills. Some of them are running from the moment I arrive until the time I leave. I always wonder if these people are running because they really like running, or if they are running in hopes of burning off body fat.

My guess is most of them are interested in fat loss, and only a small portion of them are actually doing it simply because they like running. Unfortunately for these people running is not a very effective way of burning fat. Let me explain.

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