In the previous newsletter I discussed three common mistakes people make to sabotage their success Q and A – Your Weight Loss and Fat Loss Questions. Part 1 covered not planning for the long-term, not having a diet that fits with your lifestyle, and eating too little. Now let’s go right to my last 3 commonly overlooked dieting mistakes.

Here are 3 more common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight and decrease their body fat:

Mistake 4 – Relying too much on the scale

Hopefully everyone knows that weight loss and fat loss are far from the same thing and fat loss is much more important than weight loss. Focusing on weight loss is especially problematic for people who excessively restrict calories, because most of the weight lost in these situations is healthy weight, such as water, muscle, and even bone.

That said, this Q&A is about commonly overlooked problems and one thing that many people do not realize is that what you do one day or even one week (nutrition and exercise) does not necessarily show up on the scale right away. There is often a delayed effect that can derail an otherwise successful fat loss program.

For instance, I had a sedentary client who started exercising three days per week and put a lot of work into improving her nutrition. After two weeks of exercising and eating right she weighed herself and found that she only lost one pound. As a result, she became discouraged and said she wanted to change things up and try something new.

I encouraged her to give it one more week, because I knew that she was doing the right things and it was only a matter of time before her body responded. Fortunately, when she weighed herself one week later, the scale showed that she lost 7 pounds. Then she felt better and stuck with her program and continued progressing gradually, although she did not lose 7 pounds in a week again.

I know the 7 pound weight loss was not just from the last week, because she did the same thing the third week that she did the previous 2 weeks. It just happened that her body decided to get with the program during the third week and stopped resisting the changes she was trying to make.

The reality is that she would almost certainly have had a significant weight loss regardless of any changes we might have made during the third week, simply due to the hard work she put in the two weeks before. These types of situations can cause serious problems for people, if they do not understand what is happening with their bodies.

If she would have given up on her program and slacked off or done something completely different during the third week, and then had a good weight loss, what do you think her reaction would have been? I can almost guarantee that she would have associated her positive results with whatever she did during the last week, although that would not be an accurate reflection of what really happened.

I know a lot of people are inconsistent with their eating and exercise and frequently have good and bad weeks. When people lose weight or do not gain weight after a bad week, it is tempting to think that progress can be made without eating right or exercising, but this is simply a short-term illusion. Eating right and exercising are always needed for real success.

As a final note, before the person in my example weighed herself the first time, she was feeling better and felt like she was making progress. One step on the scale and all those good feeling went away, even though her body was giving her more accurate information about her progress. Sometimes the scale can be your worst enemy.

Action Step: Instead of using a scale to measure success, put more emphasis on things like how you feel, physical improvements, or how your clothes fit. If you want more, get a quality body fat test done for a meaningful measurement of progress.

Mistake 5 – Lack of Consistency

Being inconsistent with nutrition obviously increases the length of time it takes to achieve your goals, but that is not the only problem it creates. When people only have good eating habits some of the time, it has serious implications for losing fat from your problem areas.

Most people have “problem areas,” which are areas of the body that seem to not want to lose fat, even when you are eating right and exercising. I have heard so many people say things like “I can’t lose weight from my _____, no matter what I do.” I used a blank space, because problem areas very from person to person, but they are usually around the middle of the body (abs, butt, thighs).

A common scenario is for people to be good for a while and possibly even make some progress, but if they do not see results in their problem area(s) they may give up and try to find something better or get discouraged and quit altogether. This is where people go wrong because if you are improving your body, then you are making progress, even if it is not exactly where you want.

I have said/written this so many times and I will likely have to repeat it many times more, but “Your body loses fat from wherever it wants.” People want to believe there is a magical exercise or diet that makes them lose fat from the places they want to lose it most, but physiology/genetics have a lot to do with how your body loses fat.

The good news is that if you can lose fat from one area of your body, then you can also lose it from your problem areas, but you need to be consistent. Most people lose fat from the outside in, meaning they lose it from their arms and legs first and their torso last. In order to lose the weight in your torso, you may have to lose a significant amount from your arms and legs first, so it is important to stick with it.

To give you a real world example of why consistently good nutrition is so important, I will use myself as an example. I always lose fat from my arms first and abs last (abs are my problem area). When I get sick, my nutrition usually goes down the drain and I tend to eat junk foods, especially sugary foods. This combined with a lack of exercise means I will gain some fat.

Fat gained in a short period of time can be lost fairly easily, but even in this situation, the fat may not be lost in the same place it was just gained. After I gain fat in my midsection, when I resume my normal eating and exercise routine, my first fat loss is typically in my arms again and the abdominal fat loss does not happen until later. This is exactly why problem areas are such a problem.

Whenever you break from good nutrition and exercise, you run the risk of gaining more fat in your problem areas, so the only real solution is to be good all the time or at least as much as possible. After your body loses fat from everywhere else, it will eventually target your problem areas and you will achieve your desired results.

Action Step: Eat right and exercise as consistently as possible. Long-term success and fat loss from problem areas does not happen without consistency.

Mistake 6 – Putting too much pressure on yourself

While this is not as common as the previous two issues, it is possible to be too strict with your nutrition. I do not mean you can be too healthy, but if you try to be perfect with your eating, it can backfire and hurt your results.

I went through this about 15 years ago when I was obsessive about eating right. I planned my life around my eating and exercise schedule and would even bring my own food when I went out to eat with friends, so I knew exactly what I was eating at all times.

My diet was almost ideal on paper, but I ended up constantly stressing about eating right.
Getting stressed is never a good thing, because it decreases progress or even stops it completely. Eventually, I realized my results were not as good as they should have been based on what I was doing, so I decided to be more lenient with my nutrition.

I still ate right most of the time, but allowed myself to have bad foods on occasion, especially in social settings. After that change, my fat loss improved, even though my nutrition technically became worse. Nutrition is not just about numbers (calories, etc.) and you always have to take into account how your choices affect you entire life (stress, happiness, etc.). The key is to find the balance that works best for you.

Action Step: Make an effort to eat right as much as possible, but don’t let great eating habits have a negative impact on the rest of your life.

That’s it for my 2-part Q&A on overlooked nutritional issues that prevent weight and fat loss. There are of course many other things that can cause problems for people trying to lose weight, but these are some of the ones people typically don’t think about. If you know the problems to avoid it always makes things easier, so I hope this helps.

By Ross Harrison
VFT Fitness Expert
© Virtual Fitness Trainer.com

A lot of people asked questions like, “What are the best foods for weight loss?” or “What is the best diet?” At the heart of those questions is really the issue of how to lose weight and more importantly how to lose fat.

In most real world situations, achieving long-term fat loss is not about eating a specific food or following a specific diet. A lot of people who actively try to improve their body have decent eating habits, but typically also do some things that have a negative impact and prevent them from achieving their desired results.

There are a lot of healthy foods available and there are always things you can do to improve your nutrition and help lose fat, but there also many things that can sabotage your nutritional success. Success is rarely about eating the “best” foods, but rather having a good overall program, which includes avoiding behaviors that cause your body to actively work against you.

In some cases, the thing that sabotages people’s success is something they do on purpose because they think it is beneficial. In other cases, people do not realize that some of the things they do have a negative impact on their ability to lose fat. People are not unsuccessful because they avoid a specific food, although there are problems if people avoid specific nutrients (water, fiber, protein, etc.).

Whenever I analyze someone’s eating and lifestyle behaviors, there are one or two things that stand out as having a significant negative impact on their nutritional efforts and some of the most common issues are the focus of this Q&A.

Here are 3 common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight and decrease their body fat:

Mistake 1 – Only planning for the short-term

This is one of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to achieving long-term fat loss success. Many people are able to achieve some success over a short period of time, but keeping maintaining the positive results indefinitely can be more difficult, depending on how the progress was made.

Many weight loss strategies (highly restrictive diets, etc.) are just quick fixes that only result in short-term weight loss and sometimes very little actual fat loss. Then once you stop doing the thing that caused you to lose the weight, you will most likely regain the lost weight and there is a good chance you will even gain back a higher percentage of fat than you lost.

People often have the mindset that once they lose their desired amount of weight, everything will be great and they won’t have to diet anymore. While you may not have to be as strict with your nutrition, you cannot assume you will automatically maintain your new weight.

If your diet is designed around developing good eating habits (portion control, etc.) and eating healthy foods, the weight loss can be maintained without much additional effort. However, most people follow diets that are nothing like their regular eating habits and when the diet is over, they don’t know what to do, so they return to old unhealthy habits that got them into trouble in the first place.

Healthy eating cannot be thought of as something you only do while dieting. It has to be something you plan to continue for the rest of your life, if you hope to maintain your positive results.

If your weight loss strategy is not something you will be able to maintain after you stop dieting (with just minor changes), then it is probably not a good plan to follow. In my experience, people have the best long-term success when their weight loss plan is a little stricter version of their maintenance plan and is based on developing good basic nutritional habits.

Action Step: Make healthy eating habits a permanent part of your life. Have a plan for after you stop dieting and ideally your “diet” will have a similar structure to how you will eat after you lose your desired amount of weight.

Mistake 2 – Strictly following a specific diet or eating plan instead of having a plan that works with your lifestyle

This probably causes more problems for dieters than almost anything else, especially for people who never seem to make much progress or cannot stick with a diet. I am not suggesting you have to make your own eating plan from scratch, but trying to strictly follow a new diet plan rarely leads to the success people expect.

I have spoken with so many people who asked me to design them the ideal nutrition program or say things like “just tell me what to eat and I will do it.” Early in my career I made up detailed nutrition programs for people, taking into consideration their major likes and dislikes, but I soon realized this was not really an effective strategy, especially in the long-run.

People would be very motivated initially and tried to follow the plan exactly, but it was almost always too difficult, because it was too different from their regular eating habits. Some people can go “cold turkey” and immediately stop eating all their unhealthy foods and adopt good eating habits, but it is rare for a person to instantly switch from bad to good nutrition and maintain it.

It may not be too difficult at first due to the person’s high level of motivation, but a new program becomes harder to stick with week after week and each day ends up feeling like more of a struggle. In addition, cravings for old foods increase as does the overall feeling that the diet is too difficult to maintain and long-term success will not be possible.

When people start getting discouraged or their cravings become too much, they often start reverting to their old unhealthy eating habits. Many people end up feeling as though they failed because of a lack of motivation or dedication, but this is not really true. This approach to dieting fails, because the change in nutrition is too large and too fast, so your body does not have a chance to acclimate to the drastic changes.

Now, instead of making programs for people from scratch I start by having the person keep a nutritional journal for at least a few days and ideally a week. That way I can see how the person currently eats and figure out what their biggest problems are. Then I start by addressing the biggest issues, without trying to change everything at once, which becomes overwhelming.

A real world example could be someone who eats fried foods every day. Obviously fried foods are bad, but just telling someone to stop eating all fried foods is not the best approach. A better idea is to decrease the number of days the person eats fried foods by one or 2 days per week. When the person successfully eliminates or drastically reduces their fried food intake, move on to the next problem.

Most people can tolerate a more gradual decrease in unhealthy eating behaviors, especially when it is on their own terms and they have a realistic goal to meet each week. The change may happen faster or slower than originally predicted, but as long as the nutrition consistently improves, they will be successful in the long-run and the changes are maintainable indefinitely.

Action Step: Instead of changing your entire way of eating overnight, focus on improving the one or two biggest problems. Your improvement may be a little slower, but you will be able to maintain the improvements and throughout your life.

Mistake 3 – Not eating enough

This is not something a lot of people have problems with, but if you don’t consume enough calories, your fat loss will come to a standstill before you know it.

It is true that if you consume too many calories you will gain weight and if you eat too much, cutting calories and/or burning more calories are necessary for weight loss. However, this does not mean that the fewer calories you eat, the more weight you will lose. Cutting calories is only helpful up to a point.

Your body requires a certain number of calories (varies from person to person) to function on a daily basis and if you do not eat enough, your body starts shutting down. For instance, I know someone who ate less than 500 calories per day for an extended period of time and could not lose fat. If she did lose weight it was more muscle or water than fat.

Not only that, her hair and nails stopped growing and she had a lot of muscle problems that needed to be corrected. It took a while for her body to get used to eating more calories, but once she did, her whole body started working better and she felt better as well.

Action Step: Never starve yourself or skip meals. In addition, the fewer calories you eat, the healthier those calories need to be (containing more nutrients). Your body needs minimum amounts of many nutrients to optimize fat loss and the less you eat the harder it becomes to get the required nutrients.

I hope you found this information helpful and stay tuned for part 2 of this Q&A for more common mistakes that sabotage weight and fat loss success.

By Ross Harrison
VFT Fitness Expert
© Virtual Fitness Trainer.com

[ Note: Another kick-butt article from Jon Benson ]

When I wrote “7 Minute Muscle” and “7 Minute Body” (the in-home version; both books come in the same package) I thought I was doing the muscle-mass crowd a huge favor.

I was right… and I was wrong.

I was right because the 7MM-style training has put serious muscle shape, tone, and size on people from all ages.

I was WRONG because it did more than just add lean muscle:

THIS makes people THINNER…

7 Minute Body workouts <– fastest bodyshaping workout EVER

The short version of the science behind why this happens and a sample workout routine is included in today’s newsletter.

Yep: the workout I intended people to use for building muscle turned into one of the fastest ways to melt body fat.

Weird.

I say “weird”… it’s not that weird to me. I know why it works so well. But it was kinda weird for my readers.

The secret is density training.

Density is basically getting the most amount of work done in the least amount of time. More work in less time = more energy.

More energy spent = greater fatloss.

Fatloss (and muscle-shaping) is not an issue of length of time as much as it is an issue of work divided by time.

The body was made to perform in bursts, not in long bouts. This is why our immediate fuel sources (which come mostly from carbohydrates) are WAY too efficient… so much so that we store incredible amounts of fat from consuming too many of the “fast-fuel” foods.

The best way to combat this fat-storing problem is to use your body the way it was designed to be used: In bursts of fat-burning power that are intense, short, and highly focused.

That’s the basics behind density training.

More here:

7 Minute Body workouts <– fastest bodyshaping workout EVER

Want a practical example? Great… let’s look at a 7 Minute Muscle chest workout followed by a 7 Minute Muscle “GXP” Cardio workout.

Your total workout time: A whopping 16 minutes.

That’s “TOTAL” workout and cardio time, minus a short warm-up.

After your warm-up, you would start with the first of two “Phases”:

The first 5 minutes is called The Power Phase.

This is followed by The Mass Phase (Mass is for adding lean muscle) which last only 2 minutes.

During the Power Phase, your weight you select for any movement (from a bench press to a push-up) stays the same. This makes it very easy to shorten your rest intervals between sets.

Your repetitions will be a maximum of 5 for your Power Phase using a weight that’s about 60% of your normal 5-rep max. You will rest as little as possible between sets.

The first few sets will feel light, but as time progresses this “light” weight will become more and more challenging. In fact you will drop your repetitions down quite low in order to complete the 5-minute Phase… and that’s GOOD.

That’s what we want: As many repetitions as you can get during 5 minutes, but never exceeding FIVE repetitions, during your Power Phase.

Your rest intervals are up to YOU… you can rest a short or as long as you need.

This is a very creative and personal workout!

Your goal is simple: Get more TOTAL reps (called “Aggregate Repetitions”, or “AR”) than your previous workout.

This is what makes 7 Minute Muscle so unique: The progression is built-in.

Most people fail to progress in the gym because they simply do not track their workouts carefully enough.

With 7 Minute Muscle you don’t have to track an entire workout: Only ONE number. The total number of repetitions, or your “AR”.

Simple!

Your Power Phase for a chest workout may look like this:

EXERCISE:
Incline Machine Press (upper chest)

5 reps (rest 20 seconds)
5 reps (rest 15 seconds)
4 reps (rest 20 seconds)
3 reps (rest 30 seconds)
3 reps (rest 30 seconds)
1 rep (rest 20 seconds)
1 rep (end)

]Total AR: 22 reps
Total Time: 5 minutes

Your goal next time is to get 23 repetitions using the same weight. Once you can get 5 repetitions every set it’s time to increase the weight for this movement.

You would then move to your Mass Phase (2 minutes) which would be a different chest exercise for TEN repetitions.

Same goal, same principles apply… beat your previous AR.

The end result is a 7-minute workout that shapes your chest AND burns a lot of fat due to the principles of time/energy expenditure and the fact that muscle burns calories.

You end your 7 minute workout with “GXP” Cardio. This is 9 minutes long… that’s it! But your body is primed to melt off a lot of fat after your 7 minutes of intense weight training… and you will drop the fat if you do this workout right.

You start with 3 minutes on the exercise device of your choice (I prefer the treadmill.)

You work your way up to 85-90% of your maximum heart rate, or a perceived exertion rate on a scale of 1-10 of 7 to 8. No more is needed to get the desired results.

You stay at this level for just 3 minutes.

Then you cool down for 3 minutes.

That’s IT.

That’s your entire cardio workout and weight-training workout… all in 16 minutes (about 20 with a warm-up.)

And you will progress faster, burn a lot more fat, and save SO much time you may have to take up a new hobby!

Get more info here:

7 Minute Body workouts <– fastest bodyshaping workout EVER

[ Note: Another kick-butt article from Jon Benson ]

I took a big, huge, massive sigh of relief today.

Finally… the FDA did something right when it comes to bogus “magic” diet-fatburn pills.

A panel of experts reviewed Vivus Inc.’s new wonder-pill “Qnexa” today.

They gave it the thumbs-down.

Why?

Oh… pesky little reported side-effects like… (are you ready for this?)…

Heart Attacks
Stroke
Increased Risk of Suicide (yikes!)
Memory/Concentration Loss

You know… “minor” stuff like that.

GEEZ. What the hell are these drug companies thinking?

Oh, right…

Quick-Fix =
Big-Bucks

Got it.

So, I am going to believe that YOU are much smarter than the morons who tried to get this drug past the FDA.

I’m going to assume you want a solution to this obesity pandemic and your own fatloss issues (if you have them) that do NOT involve risking your life for a thinner you.

“Oh, Marge… she looks so thin in her casket…”

THIS IS NOT A GOOD EULOGY! : )

Listen: I get it. I really do.

I’m an athlete and we are always looking for tricks to help increase our performance. But your body is simply too smart for these fatloss-pills people are trying to pass off as “a break-through medical discovery.”

Nonsense… more like heart-breaking medical waste of time.

One day… perhaps even in my lifetime… someone will invent a chemical that actually works to shed bodyfat without harming the body. That will be a great day for all of us.

Even so, I can all but promise you that this chemical will have its nasty side-effects and/or be limited in duration or power.

Nothing, repeat NOTHING you can pop in your mouth will give you the JOY that managing your dietplan and bodyweight can give you.

NOTHING!

It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.

And here’s a fantastic clue for you: The reason we want to be thin is because of the FEELING it gives us. Most everything we do is based on feelings.

Quick-fixes negate the most powerful thing about feelings: Earning the right to have them!

Think of it this way: Would you feel more alive and powerful if you climbed a mountain or if you took a helicopter ride to the summit?

Sure, the helicopter is easy… but which is more personally rewarding?

Think of your own body transformation goals as your personal mountain to climb.

No helicopters… just really good guides (I volunteer) and solid climbing tools (like a great real-world dietplan, solid workouts that work WITH your schedule, and realistic but exciting goals.)

Your goals will become your base camps along your summit of your personal journey to the best you possible.

Color me silly, but I think that sounds FAR more empowering and rewarding that popping pills.

As you probably know I wrote one of the top books in the world on “real-world” weighttloss (spelled that way so the spambox won’t eat your email… : ) I made this dietary System as easy as possible… but NO plan is “easy” and there is NO quick-fixes out there without serious pricetags.

That said, I have some “rebel tricks” to share with you today… and they won’t put you six feet under before your time.

Just click on the page below and then click on “Articles”… then you’ll see it. It’s the first article, “3 Diet Secrets Revealed”.

Go here:

Video Plus Articles Homepage

You can’t sell this stuff in a bottle… but it works to get the bodyfat off and keep it off.

Remember:

Don’t Quit… Get Fit.

Sincerely,

J O N B E N S O N

—-> SPECIAL NOTE: On the article page above, be sure to read until the bottom. If you like that article you can now just click a button and share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or any number of cool sites.

The button looks like this:

P.S. If you pick up my dietplan (on the article page above) you’ll find in the Member’s Area three supplements that actually DO work to help you burn-off-fat… but they do not work like magic. They work like they’re supposed to: Realistically, and without harming your body. I take them. So should you.

[ Note: Another kick-butt article from Jon Benson ]

Another good article appeared today in the fitness section of MSNBC.

Since you’re busy, I’ll do a quick summary of the article — the good stuff, the bad stuff, and what you need to do today to get started…

First, you need to know this…

And this will probably shock you…

Rarely, if EVER, do you need to suppress your appetite!

The real secret is to increase your metabolism… the rate at which your body uses food for fuel.

Then being hungry is a good thing… as long as you’re eating the right foods at the right time.

My “Favorite Foods” plan is a great way to do this…

My “Favorite Foods” Dietplan revealed <== click.

But let’s say you want to curb your appetite at night…. that’s the time most people really lose it on a dietplan. Even on a plan that ASKS you to eat frequently like mine, there are times where night-time cravings need to be put to sleep.

So use these tips from the article to ease the urge to eat at night:

1. Protein First

As I say in my dietplan, “Rise and shine with protein.” What does this have to do with night-time cravings you ask?

Everything.

Set the body up to use your own fat-stores for fuel by eating protein in the morning and your appetite FOR fatty foods goes way down during the day and the night. Protein is “thermogenic”, meaning it helps increase your metabolism. It also acts as a natural appetite regulator.

Notice I said “regulator” and not “suppressant.” That’s because you only need to regulate your appetite, no matter how much bodyfat you desire to drop.

I show you how here:

My “Favorite Foods” Dietplan revealed <== click.

Cool, right?

2. Go For The Grapefruit

In a study at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, people who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost an average of 3.6 pounds in three months. That doesn’t sound like a lot (and it isn’t) but that’s ALL they changed.

It doesn’t matter for our purposes… we want to lower insulin at night. Why? Insulin is not only dangerous for your health in excess but it also can cause a LOT of fat storage if secreted too much at night. Enter the lowly grapefruit.

A great snack, especially if you have a few bites of lean protein with it.

3. Smell This!

This is a trick I didn’t know about until recently.

Smelling food can trick your brain into thinking you’ve eaten.

A recent study found that those who inhaled peppermint in scent form every 2 hours at (get this) 2700 calories LESS per week than they normally did.

Let me put that in perspective: That’s a fatloss of more than half a pound a week… from sniffing peppermint!

Vanilla also works. You can keep vanilla-scented drops or even candles around the office and take a wiff every few hours.

How easy is that?

The Bad Part

The MSNBC article goes on with advice like “eat potatoes” and “eat just a little bit of fat”, both of which are nonsense.

Potatoes may fill you up, but they are still starch – and starch should be consumed on your “off” days.

Potatoes are especially bad due to the higher-than-desired glycemic index of 85 (anything over 50 is too high.)

You also need dietary fat… and not just “a little.” You need a moderate amount to stay healthy and keep insulin regulated.

My “Favorite Foods” Dietplan revealed <== click.

Olive oil and even coconut oil are excellent sources, as are naturally occurring fats in fresh fish, grass-fed beef, farm-raised chicken and whole eggs.

The rest of the article is common sense stuff: Workout, eat dense food that requires you to chew a lot (tire out the jaw muscles and you naturally eat less), etc.

The top 3 are the real winners.

[ Note: Another kick butt article from Jon Benson ]

I bet you didn’t know this …

Obesity…even being overfat… is a disease.

No, really.

At least that’s what several social groups wish you to believe. “Suffers Of Obesity” is just one of those groups. Their entire stance is obesity (which, btw, can be only 30lbs or so over your ideal bodyweight) is an actual disease.

Well, is it?

Yes… and no.

Comedian Ricky Gervais has a hilarious go at this stance… that obesity is a disease. You sometimes have to laugh, you know? ; )

“No… it’s not a disease… it’s greed. You just love to eat,” or so Gervais believes.

Well, in my first newsletter for 2010, a new decade with new ideas, I’m here to share a new idea with you:

     We really need to redefine some words.

One of those words is “disease”.

Case-in-point:  Wikipedia.com defines disease…

“In human beings, “disease” is often used more broadly to refer to any condition that causes pain, dysfunction, distress, social problems, and/or death to the person afflicted, or similar problems for those in contact with the person. In this broader sense, it sometimes includes injuries, disabilities, disorders, syndromes, infections, isolated symptoms, deviant behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and function, while in other contexts and for other purposes these may be considered distinguishable categories.”

Let’s think about that.

If you bump your knee against a sharp object, is this a new disease called “bumpuskneeitis?” Er… no. It’s an accident. Sure, it may ’cause’ a specific set of symptoms that could broadly (as in as broad as the back-side of a barn) be considered a “disease”, but … no. It’s an accident with biological consequences.

Social problems?  So, if I decide to read 17 books on why my parents suck as a teenager and develop anti-social behavior, is this a “disease”?  NO!  This is the angst of youth combined, perhaps, with poor parenting!  Sure, it can lead to mental issues that could be classified as “disease”, but guess what?

It’s totally within your control. No one force-fed the books to the teen. And no one is force-feeding you, or anyone you know.

That decision is yours and yours alone… and anyone, repeat ANYONE on the face of planet earth can change their behaviors and attitudes toward food.

Okay, some more thoughts on disease:

Let me give you a few examples of what is typically thought of as “disease”…

— Leprosy
— Cancer
— Hypothyroidism

We’ll just take three… there are thousands as you know.

Now, we can all agree that these three states represent true “disease”. The first you could catch by accident; the second is a combination of genetics, environment, and who-knows-what-else, and the third is almost always genetic.

One, cancer, is something you ‘may’ be able to do something about. For example, lung cancer. 90% of lung cancer patients contract the disease from smoking.

Let’s just cover these 90%, shall we?

And folks, I’m asking for an open mind here…

Is lung cancer, in the case of the 90%, REALLY a disease?

     Or is it a biological consequence?

Sure, “cancer” is a disease. But what caused it in this case? Something involuntary? Hardly. Something that could not be stopped?

No way.

The 90% caused it. Period.

Welcome to the real world.

So, I propose this:  We redefine “disease” as an abnormal biological condition that we DO NOT have direct cause or effect over.

Airborne viruses: Disease.  Obesity: NOT a disease.

And yes, lung cancer in chain smokers:  NOT a disease; it’s a biological outcome. The end result should be treated as a disease, of course, but come on: Where is the responsibility folks?

Life, if you want to life it fully and without fear, is ALL about taking total responsibility. That’s empowerment. Anything less is… well, LESS.

In our example, lung cancer is no more a “disease” than, say, me hitting myself over the head with a hammer every day and causing brain damage is a disease.

Brain damage (not self-induced) = disease.

Brain damage caused by self-inflicted hammer-hitting = biological consequence. In this case of sheer stupidity!

Now, one could (and many will) make the argument that I had a “mental” disease that caused me to WANT to hit myself over the head with a hammer… but… well…

At this point we need to redefine the word “disease” in my opinion. Here’s why:

First, if this were the case, I could say that all criminals have a disease.

They all have a mental disease that makes them want to kill, steal… you name it.

This may in fact BE true… we do not know… but do we hold them NOT responsible if it is? No, we do not.

And that brings us back to obesity.

     Obesity and being overfat is not a disease folks…
     —— >  it’s a biological consequence.

And, with the exception of the extremely ‘rare’ cases of total glandular dysfunction from birth, obesity… your bodyweight… is your responsibility.

Period. End of story.

Sorry, but that’s the way the ball bounces.

Am I being mean? No. I was obese. I have a right to speak my mind about it, and trust me:  My depression (a disease… sorta… some genetic, but a lot of it was caused by eating too much sugar) definitely aided in my obesity.

Then how come I’m not obese any more?

I found a better way to eat. I re-trained my body to crave this style of eating (and exercise) over stuffing myself with pizza and burgers every day.

Here’s what I use:

Click.Here———–>  My No-Disease No-Obesity Wake-up Call!

It torches bellyfat… and it reprograms the body and mind to use food as fuel… especially if you use my “7 Minute Body” workout system (you can get it at 77% off after you pick up EODD on the page above… ; )

So be brave. Be fearless. And be responsible.

Oh… and be sure not to catch “internetemailitis”… its a disease that causes you to want to check your email more than 10 times a day.

I have it. So be careful… may be contagious. : )

P.S. In my journey from obesity to total leanness I had to overcome ‘real’ diseases, like pituitary failure from a high fever (i.e. viral pneumonia that almost killed me) and, yes, clinical depression (partially my fault; partially not… i.e. half disease, half biological consequence.) So I have sympathy, believe me. But I also know what you can do once you have a solid plan in place and a determined mind.

Then no “disease” can stop you… at least the ones that do not kill you.

So go for it… be brave, be responsible… and be lean!

click.here ——>  My No-Disease No-Obesity Wake-up Call!

Recently one of the UK’s top trainers, Paul Mort interrogated Men’s Health writer Craig Ballantyne on the benefits of high-intensity exercise for weight loss.

Q: First, can you tell us the basics about high-intensity training?

Answer:

This type of training is the result of years of study in the gym and in the research labs and library. From personal experience, I’ve found there is only one way to get the most fat loss and workout results in the least amount of time – you must increase your training intensity.

With the right workout, you can get more fat loss results in less workout time. Period. That is the one and only goal of this training program. A better body in fewer workout sessions, and shorter exercise bouts.

That means:

a) Shorter interval workouts instead of long slow cardio workouts

b) More challenging strength training exercises, such as advanced bodyweight exercises and some traditional strength training free weight exercises

If you have two hours to spend in the gym everyday, you can feel free to stick to the same relatively ineffective and inefficient program of long cardio and light weights. But if you are like most men and women and have 45 minutes (or less) on only three days of the week to workout, then harder training will work wonders for you.

Male or female, almost everyone I see in traditional fitness centers could benefit from increasing the challenge in their workout. And they can also benefit from getting in and out of the gym faster.

So that’s what led me to intense training. It’s simple, no B.S., no-fluff, just-the-basics, results-oriented training. You don’t need fancy gym machines or even an expensive gym membership. If you have a bench, a ball and some dumbbells at home, you are set.

Q: Okay so we’re clear these workouts will melt bodyfat fast, what makes it so effective?

Answer:

Most people are so darn hung-up on burning a specific number of calories on a cardio machine, that they don’t care how long they spend in the gym.

But big deal. If you burn X calories over 30 minutes in the gym doing cardio, but don’t boost your post-exercise metabolism, you’re wasting the other 23.5 hours to burn a lot more calories.

And that’s what happens with slow, steady workouts that never change. Sure you burn a few calories in the gym, but there is no “turbulence” on the body to increase your metabolism outside of the gym.

Instead, by using challenging strength training, and choosing intervals over monotonous cardio, research has shown that your post workout metabolism is significantly greater. And an increased metabolism for an entire 24 hour period is what gives people results.

It’s like putting money in the bank. It makes you more money even while you sit at home or sleep! That’s the power of a more challenging workout.

And with intense workouts, and other “challenging” workouts are always exponentially more enjoyable than staring at a TV (or worse a wall) when “doing your time” on a cardio machine. You can get this great “metabolic turbulence” in a boot camp, with bodyweight, at home with dumbbells, or even in a busy gym.

Nothing is more effective than intense training if you only have 45 minutes, three times per week to workout.

Q: In my opinion, resistance training, both with free weights and bodyweight is the key to losing bodyfat, for our readers that are still unsure about this could you give me your opinion on my this statement?

Answer:

Strength training is just one key for fat loss, it is essential to maximize your metabolism, and it is absolutely, positively paramount to building the best body of your dreams.

For those that doubt, start with bodyweight training. Not only is this method of strength training effective at helping you sculpt your body, but it is also empowering to your self-confidence and 100% applicable to your daily living.

Everything from carrying groceries to “seks” will be easier if you are stronger in the bodyweight exercises. Your mobility and stamina will increase, so that you will be able to carry your children to bed easier, you will be able to do yardwork with less fatigue, and you’ll literally improve your “zest for life” simply from mastering your bodyweight strength.

All of these benefits without touching a single free weight…but if you do go with free weights, you’ll take your fitness to an even greater level.

Research from the 2001 meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine showed that female subjects boosted their post-exercise metabolism to a greater level when they did 8 reps per exercise, rather than 12 reps.

So low rep, strength training is best for boosting metabolism. It will get you more results in less time because it will continue to work while you recover.

Q: I’m always telling people that aerobic exercise is useless for fat loss, does you agree with this? And why?

Answer:

Aerobic exercise is certainly inefficient for fat loss.

By that I mean, the benefits pale in comparison to the fat loss you can achieve in less time with interval training. Most people would be able to cut their workout time in half simply by using intervals rather than aerobic exercise.

Now I’ve witnessed a few people lose fat and maintain a beautiful body with aerobic exercise, but these have been limited to: young University-aged males that also did 4 days of heavy strength training, who had no “life” stress and plenty of time on their hands to train up to 10 hours per week (not counting recreational sports).

But does that sound like your average gym-goer’s lifestyle?

I doubt it. If it does, where do you live? I want to move there!

So next time you go to the gym, do this admittedly un-scientific test…Take a visual survey of the “cardio” area and the strength training area. Where are the best bodies?

In the strength training area, no doubt.

And in fact, we can also find a lot of beautiful bodies in the Yoga and Pilates area. Why? There’s certainly no “fat burning” cardio zone going on there. So what gives?

Nutrition.

Nutrition is the #1 factor in fat loss. It trumps any fat loss program, no matter how good it is. Yes, even my beloved intense training will not be 100% effective if someone continues to eat chips and pints as their meals.

There are far more efficient ways to change your body.

Eat for fat loss, and do some form of strength training to sculpt your body. When you take care of your nutrition and eat according to simple fat loss nutrition guidelines, your body will be like modeling clay in your hands…and the exercises you choose to do with sculpt it. If someone continues on with aerobic exercise, the improvements will be negligible.

So that’s why you don’t see cardio in a structured intense program. If someone wants to do a family bike ride or play a game of football on the weekend, by all means go ahead. But it is far too inefficient to get put in my main workouts.

Q: What about somebody that isn’t a member of a gym? Can they still benefit from intense training?

Answer:

Absolutely. As mentioned earlier, all you need is a bench, a Stability Ball (aka – Physioball), and a set of dumbbells. A pullup bar would be a bonus, if you are strong enough to use the pullup and chinup exercises.

I’ve done many of the bodyweight exercises outside, as obviously you don’t need any equipment to do many of the novel ab, leg, and pushing exercises. Heck, I bet you use many of the exercises in your boot camps and you know how little equipment is needed for a hard workout.

Think back to the days before the glitzy chrome-and-machine gyms.

People were still able to get fit with free weights andbodyweight.

And good nutrition certainly doesn’t need a gym membership.

Q: And lastly, I meet a lot of people who seem to have tried every diet going, tried classes, gyms and DVDS, what makes intense training different from these?

Answer:

Most people train in their comfort zones. And while a lot of programs require a lot of effort (those classes are no joke), most programs lack an effective level of intensity.

By intensity, we are talking about working closer to your maximum level of effort.

Sure, a set of 15 repetitions to failure for triceps pressdowns is tough, but it’s not truly intense. Compare that to doing a set of 8 pushups – which for many people is much more intense – and now you are using your entire body a lot harder. Thus, the turbulence on the body is much greater. And your body will have to work harder after training to recover – and that’s what increases your metabolism – and allows you to burn fat all day, rather than just for 20-30 minutes.

The same goes with the cardio vs. intervals. If you switch to intervals, you’ll notice changes in days.

Stay consistent with the plan, and you’re gold!

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines.