Link Fat Loss Myths: 5 Myths And 5 Fat Loss Solutions
Dispell the all to common myths about fat loss. And let's look at 5 Solutions to permanent fat loss
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
3 Reasons Why Intermittent Fasting Is A Good Idea!
Link Intermittent Fasting
You may not have heard of intermittent fasting, and so you may not know why it can and should be a part of your workout and fat loss plan. Intermittent fasting is the practice of abstaining from all but water for a period of usually 24 hours to help with the goals associated with fat loss and weight loss in general. The way in which it helps in this arena is by cutting out a full days caloric intake, while still being able to maintain a full workout schedule. Let's look at three main reasons I believe that intermittent fasting is a good idea for anyone serious about fat loss and muscle building!
Click the link above to read the rest of the article
You may not have heard of intermittent fasting, and so you may not know why it can and should be a part of your workout and fat loss plan. Intermittent fasting is the practice of abstaining from all but water for a period of usually 24 hours to help with the goals associated with fat loss and weight loss in general. The way in which it helps in this arena is by cutting out a full days caloric intake, while still being able to maintain a full workout schedule. Let's look at three main reasons I believe that intermittent fasting is a good idea for anyone serious about fat loss and muscle building!
Click the link above to read the rest of the article
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Fat Burning Insanity Extreme Burpees Your Fat Burning And Cardio On Fire
Link http://howtogetthatsixpackabslook.com/Articles/?p=246
If you do only one bodyweight exercise in your fat burning workouts it should be the Burpee. We are talking a total body fat burning and conditioning exercise. And the variations you can do using a barbell, medicine ball, dumbbells, kettlebells and sandbags just keeps upping the intensity.
And wait till you see the third video I posted unreal.
So what are you doing still here click the link above.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Burn Fat With This 1 Fat Burning Exercise
Link http://howtogetthatsixpackabslook.com/Articles/?p=217
Click the link above to get the article and video of the bear. Don't know what the bear is? It is the end of your I have no time to exercise excuse.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
For Fat Loss Cardio Workout Before Or After Weght Training?
Cardio Training For Fat Loss - Should I Do It BEFORE or AFTER My Weight Training For Best Results? By Nick Nilsson
Training for fat loss is not easy and proper cardio training is an important part of the process. But if you're doing your cardio at the WRONG time, you could be
shooting yourself in the foot! Find out the best time to do it and why.
When it comes to fat loss, one of THE most frequently-asked questions I get is "to maximize fat loss, should I do my cardio before or after my weight training?"
I know there are times when I like to be kept in suspense…
But I'm not going to do that to you here…
Physiologically speaking, if maximum fat loss is your goal and you want to incorporate cardio into your training schedule, you're better off doing your cardio training immediately AFTER your weight training.
Here's why:
1. When you do weight training first, you have more energy and strength for that weight training.
I know cardio junkies won't want to hear this, but intense, QUALITY weight training is actually MORE effective for fat loss than cardio training. Why the emphasis on quality? Well, if you go to the gym and just flail around with light weights for 30 minutes, it's not really going to be very effective for fat loss.
However, if you really put some effort into it and train hard, the metabolic boost you get from weight training (in terms of not only calories burned while doing it but the increase in metabolism after AND the increase in muscle mass you get from weight training) is greater than the boost you get from cardio training. And, when compared to slow, long-duration cardio training, that boost is MUCH greater.
So by performing your weight training FIRST, while you're fresh, you're going to have more energy to put into it and you're going to be stronger. This will increase metabolic and muscle mass stimulation and therefore overall fat loss. It's a win-win situation!
That's not to say you can't do a couple of minutes of cardio as a general warm-up before starting into the weights...just don't do an entire cardio session before weight training. Always keep in mind that the weight training is the REAL engine behind your fat loss efforts.
And if THAT isn't enough to convince you to do cardio after weights, I've got another reason for you…
2. Performing weight training first decreases available blood sugar and puts the body in "fat burning" mode.
When you train with weights, you're performing short, intense muscle contractions. Glucose (blood sugar) is the preferred fuel for driving these intense contractions. As you go through your workout, your body gradually uses up its readily-available supply of sugars and starts mobilizing fat for energy.
Here's the key…mobilizing bodyfat for energy is a process that takes time. If you do your cardio first, your body will be initially working on that blood sugar before getting started on the bodyfat. By the time you're done with cardio and move to weights, THAT is when you're in the optimal fat-burning mode.
But the problem is, fat is NOT an efficient fuel for weight training. By doing cardio first, you use up all the "good" stuff for weight training and force your body to make do with a less powerful fuel source. Your weight training workouts will decrease in quality and your cardio efforts won't be as effective for achieving fat-burning, which is your primary goal!
So basically, you're shooting yourself in the foot TWICE!
Think of your body as a hybrid gas-electric car. This car uses gas to provide more power for acceleration and electricity to provide long-term power for maintaining speed.
Now think of blood sugar as gas and weight training as powerful acceleration. When you press the pedal (performing weight training), you're going to get much better acceleration when you're using the proper fuel (i.e. gas).
If you try and power the acceleration with electricity, you'll go forward but not nearly as quickly as if you were using gas.
The bottom line is this…perform your weight training first so you use up the "fast" energy first. Then, by the time you hit the cardio, you're ALREADY in fat-burning mode and every single second you're doing that cardio is going to be burning more fat than if you did it first.
---
These two reasons apply no matter if you're doing slower, long-duration cardio or high-intensity interval training (which I recommend). The key thing to keep in mind is that WEIGHT TRAINING is what's going to help you change your body FAST…cardio is a useful tool for improving your results but it's NOT what drives your fat-loss results.
And that being said, if you absolutely feel you MUST do your cardio first, I'm NOT going to tell you it's the worst thing in the world…the fact that you're doing SOMETHING trumps doing nothing ANY day of the week!
But if you're looking for maximum impact for the time and effort you're putting your training, DEFINITELY hit the weights first and cardio after.
Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss
------------------
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 17 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://www.fitness-ebooks.com).
Training for fat loss is not easy and proper cardio training is an important part of the process. But if you're doing your cardio at the WRONG time, you could be
shooting yourself in the foot! Find out the best time to do it and why.
When it comes to fat loss, one of THE most frequently-asked questions I get is "to maximize fat loss, should I do my cardio before or after my weight training?"
I know there are times when I like to be kept in suspense…
But I'm not going to do that to you here…
Physiologically speaking, if maximum fat loss is your goal and you want to incorporate cardio into your training schedule, you're better off doing your cardio training immediately AFTER your weight training.
Here's why:
1. When you do weight training first, you have more energy and strength for that weight training.
I know cardio junkies won't want to hear this, but intense, QUALITY weight training is actually MORE effective for fat loss than cardio training. Why the emphasis on quality? Well, if you go to the gym and just flail around with light weights for 30 minutes, it's not really going to be very effective for fat loss.
However, if you really put some effort into it and train hard, the metabolic boost you get from weight training (in terms of not only calories burned while doing it but the increase in metabolism after AND the increase in muscle mass you get from weight training) is greater than the boost you get from cardio training. And, when compared to slow, long-duration cardio training, that boost is MUCH greater.
So by performing your weight training FIRST, while you're fresh, you're going to have more energy to put into it and you're going to be stronger. This will increase metabolic and muscle mass stimulation and therefore overall fat loss. It's a win-win situation!
That's not to say you can't do a couple of minutes of cardio as a general warm-up before starting into the weights...just don't do an entire cardio session before weight training. Always keep in mind that the weight training is the REAL engine behind your fat loss efforts.
And if THAT isn't enough to convince you to do cardio after weights, I've got another reason for you…
2. Performing weight training first decreases available blood sugar and puts the body in "fat burning" mode.
When you train with weights, you're performing short, intense muscle contractions. Glucose (blood sugar) is the preferred fuel for driving these intense contractions. As you go through your workout, your body gradually uses up its readily-available supply of sugars and starts mobilizing fat for energy.
Here's the key…mobilizing bodyfat for energy is a process that takes time. If you do your cardio first, your body will be initially working on that blood sugar before getting started on the bodyfat. By the time you're done with cardio and move to weights, THAT is when you're in the optimal fat-burning mode.
But the problem is, fat is NOT an efficient fuel for weight training. By doing cardio first, you use up all the "good" stuff for weight training and force your body to make do with a less powerful fuel source. Your weight training workouts will decrease in quality and your cardio efforts won't be as effective for achieving fat-burning, which is your primary goal!
So basically, you're shooting yourself in the foot TWICE!
Think of your body as a hybrid gas-electric car. This car uses gas to provide more power for acceleration and electricity to provide long-term power for maintaining speed.
Now think of blood sugar as gas and weight training as powerful acceleration. When you press the pedal (performing weight training), you're going to get much better acceleration when you're using the proper fuel (i.e. gas).
If you try and power the acceleration with electricity, you'll go forward but not nearly as quickly as if you were using gas.
The bottom line is this…perform your weight training first so you use up the "fast" energy first. Then, by the time you hit the cardio, you're ALREADY in fat-burning mode and every single second you're doing that cardio is going to be burning more fat than if you did it first.
---
These two reasons apply no matter if you're doing slower, long-duration cardio or high-intensity interval training (which I recommend). The key thing to keep in mind is that WEIGHT TRAINING is what's going to help you change your body FAST…cardio is a useful tool for improving your results but it's NOT what drives your fat-loss results.
And that being said, if you absolutely feel you MUST do your cardio first, I'm NOT going to tell you it's the worst thing in the world…the fact that you're doing SOMETHING trumps doing nothing ANY day of the week!
But if you're looking for maximum impact for the time and effort you're putting your training, DEFINITELY hit the weights first and cardio after.
Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss
------------------
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 17 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://www.fitness-ebooks.com).
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
An Innovative Fat Burning Workout
Triple Add Sets - A Revolutionary New Intensity Technique
That Will Work ALL Your Muscle Fibers In One Set!
Normal sets only work a select type and number of muscle
fibers. Find out how the Triple Add Set technique can
work EVERY muscle fiber you've got in a single set.
By Nick Nilsson
Looking for a new challenge in your workouts? The Triple Add
Set is just what you need. It is very a tough intensity
technique, but it is extremely effective. The Triple Add
Set will strongly work all three of the major muscle fiber
types (I, IIa, and IIb) in one extended set, pushing the very
limits of your body's strength and endurance. If this sounds
good to you, you're going to love this technique!
To fully understand the effectiveness of the Triple Add Set,
let's take a look at the muscle fiber types and why it's such
a good thing to work all three of the major types at once.
- Type I muscle fibers are endurance-oriented muscle fibers.
They primarily work in higher rep ranges and during aerobic
exercise.
- Type IIa muscle fibers work when the weight used is
moderate-to-heavy. This fiber type is most active in
moderate rep range weight training (e.g. 5 to 10 reps per
set)
- Type IIb muscle fibers are the explosive muscle fibers.
They are called upon when the weight is very heavy and
great power or explosiveness is needed.
When you lift a weight, your body recruits a certain number
of muscle fibers to get the job done. It recruits a certain
percentage of each type of fiber, depending on how heavy the
load is. For instance, the lighter the load, the more Type I
fibers will be called upon. The heavier the load, the more
Type IIa fibers will be called upon. With very heavy loads,
Type IIb fibers will be the most heavily recruited.
With regular training, your body learns to become more
efficient with this recruitment and tries to get away with
firing as few fibers as possible to get the job done. It's
the body's natural tendency to conserve energy.
Unfortunately, this also leaves many muscle fibers underworked
and not developed to their full potential. We need to find a
way to force your body to recruit every available fiber to
maximally work the muscle and develop it to it's full
potential. That's where the Triple Add Set comes in.
If you're familiar with Triple Drop Sets (where you start
with a heavy weight for the first part, then drop to a lighter
weight for more reps then drop to a somewhat lighter weight
for more reps to finish with) then you're familiar with the
basic idea of this style of training.
However, here's the switch: instead of starting with a heavy
weight and working down, we're going to start with a light
weight and work our way up!
The Triple Add Set technique will first exhaust your Type I
muscle fibers with light weights and high reps.
Then it will work on the Type IIa muscle fibers by moving to
heavier weights and moderate reps. Since Type I fibers are
still being activated at this point, even though the weights
are heavier, your body will recruit more and more of those
Type I fibers as you keep going.
On the third and final part of the set, very heavy weights
will be used. Your Type IIb fibers will now be preferentially
activated. But now, because the load is extremely demanding,
your Type I fibers and even more of your Type IIa fibers are
being recruited to help.
By the time you're done with the Triple Add Set, you've
recruited almost every available muscle fiber in the target
muscle. Then we do one or two more sets just to be sure
they're completely worked!
How To Do It:
- Start with a light weight and do a high-rep set, e.g. 20
to 30 reps. Your muscles will be burning. This will hit
the Type I endurance muscle fibers and fill the target
muscles with blood.
- Rest 10 seconds to flush out enough of the waste products
that have accumulated in your muscles for you to keep going.
This is basically the time it takes to switch weights on
the machine or grab a new set of dumbells, take a few deep
breaths and jump back in.
- Next, you'll move on to a somewhat heavier weight and aim
for about 6 to 8 reps. This will hit the Type IIa muscle
fibers (the moderate-to-heavy oriented fibers).
- Take 10 seconds rest again.
- After that, you will do your last set with a heavy weight,
going for only 1 to 3 reps. This will work on strength
and connective tissue while focusing on the Type IIb muscle
fibers (the very heavy and explosive fibers).
- Your muscles will feel incredibly hard and pumped up. The
effect of this type of training is immediately noticeable
and very powerful.
It will take a little practice to figure out what weights
you'll be using. It will really depend on how well your body
deals with lactic acid build-up. This is a training stimulus
your body will most likely NEVER have experienced before.
The first part of the set should use a very light weight. Go
for strict form and go for the burn. The first time through
you should get at least 20 to 30 reps.
On the second Add Set, your reps will go down significantly
as the waste products of the first set will not have been
completely cleared.
The second Add Set should use about double what you used on
the first set, e.g. start with 25 pound dumbells then do
50 pound dumbells (this increase will vary a lot depending
on the exercise - experiment with the weights you use to find
out what works for you).
The third and final part of the set is the hardest. Since
you've already worked hard on the previous two parts, you
will be using a weight that is lighter than what you'd
normally use for this rep range in regular sets. When you do
the third part, you will feel an extremely strong and deep
burning in the muscles. You are tapping muscle fibers that
have rarely been worked! The first two Add Sets worked the
majority of your muscle fibers - every fiber you've got now
has to kick in and fire to move the weight in the third Add Set!
It's extremely hard and extremely effective. You'll either
love it or dread it but it works!
These are Triple Add Sets. Pick an exercise and give this
technique a try the next chance you get. You will be amazed
at the incredible burning and pump that results from this
unique training stimulus!
The Triple Add Set is only one of the many innovative
exercise techniques you'll find in my new ebook "Metabolic
Surge - Rapid Fat Loss." This book is all about how to lose
fat as quickly as possible while keeping and even BUILDING
muscle mass.
Click this link now to find out more!
Metabolism Surge For Rapid Fat Loss
------------------
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training
company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education
and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques
for more than 18 years. Nick is the author of a number of
bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss,"
"The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the
Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "Specialization Training,"
all available at Fitstep.com.
That Will Work ALL Your Muscle Fibers In One Set!
Normal sets only work a select type and number of muscle
fibers. Find out how the Triple Add Set technique can
work EVERY muscle fiber you've got in a single set.
By Nick Nilsson
Looking for a new challenge in your workouts? The Triple Add
Set is just what you need. It is very a tough intensity
technique, but it is extremely effective. The Triple Add
Set will strongly work all three of the major muscle fiber
types (I, IIa, and IIb) in one extended set, pushing the very
limits of your body's strength and endurance. If this sounds
good to you, you're going to love this technique!
To fully understand the effectiveness of the Triple Add Set,
let's take a look at the muscle fiber types and why it's such
a good thing to work all three of the major types at once.
- Type I muscle fibers are endurance-oriented muscle fibers.
They primarily work in higher rep ranges and during aerobic
exercise.
- Type IIa muscle fibers work when the weight used is
moderate-to-heavy. This fiber type is most active in
moderate rep range weight training (e.g. 5 to 10 reps per
set)
- Type IIb muscle fibers are the explosive muscle fibers.
They are called upon when the weight is very heavy and
great power or explosiveness is needed.
When you lift a weight, your body recruits a certain number
of muscle fibers to get the job done. It recruits a certain
percentage of each type of fiber, depending on how heavy the
load is. For instance, the lighter the load, the more Type I
fibers will be called upon. The heavier the load, the more
Type IIa fibers will be called upon. With very heavy loads,
Type IIb fibers will be the most heavily recruited.
With regular training, your body learns to become more
efficient with this recruitment and tries to get away with
firing as few fibers as possible to get the job done. It's
the body's natural tendency to conserve energy.
Unfortunately, this also leaves many muscle fibers underworked
and not developed to their full potential. We need to find a
way to force your body to recruit every available fiber to
maximally work the muscle and develop it to it's full
potential. That's where the Triple Add Set comes in.
If you're familiar with Triple Drop Sets (where you start
with a heavy weight for the first part, then drop to a lighter
weight for more reps then drop to a somewhat lighter weight
for more reps to finish with) then you're familiar with the
basic idea of this style of training.
However, here's the switch: instead of starting with a heavy
weight and working down, we're going to start with a light
weight and work our way up!
The Triple Add Set technique will first exhaust your Type I
muscle fibers with light weights and high reps.
Then it will work on the Type IIa muscle fibers by moving to
heavier weights and moderate reps. Since Type I fibers are
still being activated at this point, even though the weights
are heavier, your body will recruit more and more of those
Type I fibers as you keep going.
On the third and final part of the set, very heavy weights
will be used. Your Type IIb fibers will now be preferentially
activated. But now, because the load is extremely demanding,
your Type I fibers and even more of your Type IIa fibers are
being recruited to help.
By the time you're done with the Triple Add Set, you've
recruited almost every available muscle fiber in the target
muscle. Then we do one or two more sets just to be sure
they're completely worked!
How To Do It:
- Start with a light weight and do a high-rep set, e.g. 20
to 30 reps. Your muscles will be burning. This will hit
the Type I endurance muscle fibers and fill the target
muscles with blood.
- Rest 10 seconds to flush out enough of the waste products
that have accumulated in your muscles for you to keep going.
This is basically the time it takes to switch weights on
the machine or grab a new set of dumbells, take a few deep
breaths and jump back in.
- Next, you'll move on to a somewhat heavier weight and aim
for about 6 to 8 reps. This will hit the Type IIa muscle
fibers (the moderate-to-heavy oriented fibers).
- Take 10 seconds rest again.
- After that, you will do your last set with a heavy weight,
going for only 1 to 3 reps. This will work on strength
and connective tissue while focusing on the Type IIb muscle
fibers (the very heavy and explosive fibers).
- Your muscles will feel incredibly hard and pumped up. The
effect of this type of training is immediately noticeable
and very powerful.
It will take a little practice to figure out what weights
you'll be using. It will really depend on how well your body
deals with lactic acid build-up. This is a training stimulus
your body will most likely NEVER have experienced before.
The first part of the set should use a very light weight. Go
for strict form and go for the burn. The first time through
you should get at least 20 to 30 reps.
On the second Add Set, your reps will go down significantly
as the waste products of the first set will not have been
completely cleared.
The second Add Set should use about double what you used on
the first set, e.g. start with 25 pound dumbells then do
50 pound dumbells (this increase will vary a lot depending
on the exercise - experiment with the weights you use to find
out what works for you).
The third and final part of the set is the hardest. Since
you've already worked hard on the previous two parts, you
will be using a weight that is lighter than what you'd
normally use for this rep range in regular sets. When you do
the third part, you will feel an extremely strong and deep
burning in the muscles. You are tapping muscle fibers that
have rarely been worked! The first two Add Sets worked the
majority of your muscle fibers - every fiber you've got now
has to kick in and fire to move the weight in the third Add Set!
It's extremely hard and extremely effective. You'll either
love it or dread it but it works!
These are Triple Add Sets. Pick an exercise and give this
technique a try the next chance you get. You will be amazed
at the incredible burning and pump that results from this
unique training stimulus!
The Triple Add Set is only one of the many innovative
exercise techniques you'll find in my new ebook "Metabolic
Surge - Rapid Fat Loss." This book is all about how to lose
fat as quickly as possible while keeping and even BUILDING
muscle mass.
Click this link now to find out more!
Metabolism Surge For Rapid Fat Loss
------------------
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training
company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education
and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques
for more than 18 years. Nick is the author of a number of
bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss,"
"The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the
Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "Specialization Training,"
all available at Fitstep.com.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Eating Fruit Will It Make You Fat?
Will Fruit Make You Fat?
By Nick Nilsson
Learn the truth about fruit...is it the diabolical diet-killer it's
sometimes made out to be or is it just fruit
and actually pretty good for you?!
The answer to the question of whether fruit can or will make you fat isn't as simple as yes OR no...because the answer is yes AND no.
Sound confusing? It's not so bad!
There have been studies done on fruit sugar (fructose) and how it's metabolized in the body and liver, which I'll get into in a bit, but I'm also going to talk about fruit from a practical standpoint.
First, here is why it WON'T make you fat...
Fruit is a fat-free (with rare exception, like avocados) and fairly low-calorie, high-fiber food. It's going to be hard to eat ENOUGH fruit to result in an excess of calories, resulting in noticeable fat gain...hard, but not impossible.
You would have to look long and hard to find somebody who ate a lot of fruit and had gained a lot of fat because of all the fruit they ate. Fruit roll-ups, fruit juice (with 10% real juice), Fruity Pebbles and Froot Loops...maybe not so hard, though I do have to say high fructose corn syrup is NOT a fruit just because it has the word "fructose" in it, so that doesn't count.
And I don't know about you, but I have yet to hear of somebody sitting down in front of the television and not realizing they ate an entire bag of apples or saying their doctor told them they need to lay off the bananas!
"Real" fruit actually contains a lot of water, nutrients, fiber, etc...healthy stuff...stuff your body NEEDS. It's generally when we start mucking around with fruit that we start to run into problems.
In the words of Homer Simpson..."This jelly donut has purple stuff in it. Purple is a fruit."
That being said, there ARE metabolic issues with fruit and fat.
Yes, it IS true that the body has certain limitations processing fructose (the type of sugar found in fruit).
Fructose can only be stored as glycogen (glycogen is the carbohydrate storage molecule in the body) in the liver, not in the muscles. Muscle cells lack the proper enzymes to convert fructose into this storage molecule.
So that leaves the liver for storage...
When liver glycogen levels are full and your body can't store any more carbs in the liver, fructose IS easier for the body to convert into fat than other carbs because of its molecular structure.
This fat is NOT immediately converted into bodyfat, however. It becomes free fatty acids circulating in the bloodstream. If they're not burned, they CAN be stored as bodyfat.
But the OTHER good stuff you find in fruit, notably the fiber and vitamins and minerals, outweigh the "dangers" of storing a little extra fat.
And here's the point that a lot of people miss, especially when they hear that fruit has the potential to work against fat loss when on a diet...
If you're dieting, you should be in a caloric deficit. This means that your liver glycogen levels should very RARELY be full. You're in a deficit after all!
Therefore...
1. The fructose should have little chance of being converted into fat.
2. If some excess fructose IS converted to fat, chances are good it'll be USED by the body soon after being converted to fat because you're in a caloric deficit.
Granted, just like ANY other carbohydrate, if you eat too much of it, it can be stored as fat. If you're a competitive bodybuilder peaking for a competition, you MAY have to watch your fruit intake to be sure you come in at your leanest.
But for the average person looking to drop bodyfat, fruit is not something I would be too worried about (unless you're on a low-carb diet, in which case you're watching ALL carbs anyway).
I would be FAR more concerned about a person drinking too much of that diet soda garbage while dieting before I'd even be slightly concerned about them eating an apple.
Bottom line, my stance is this...DO NOT feel guilty about eating fruit, even while dieting. Treat it as you would any other food with calories in it and simply be aware of your intake because ANY food has the potential to make you fat, especially if you eat it when your body doesn't need any more calories for that day.
If you want to minimize the impact of fruit on your fat-loss diet, eat it in the morning when liver glycogen levels are naturally at their lowest point. This will help ensure fructose won't be converted into fat.
Honestly, there are MUCH more important things to worry about when it comes to fat loss...your training and overall nutrition are much more important than worrying about eating too much fruit.
------------------
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 18 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://www.fitness-ebooks.com).
By Nick Nilsson
Learn the truth about fruit...is it the diabolical diet-killer it's
sometimes made out to be or is it just fruit
and actually pretty good for you?!
The answer to the question of whether fruit can or will make you fat isn't as simple as yes OR no...because the answer is yes AND no.
Sound confusing? It's not so bad!
There have been studies done on fruit sugar (fructose) and how it's metabolized in the body and liver, which I'll get into in a bit, but I'm also going to talk about fruit from a practical standpoint.
First, here is why it WON'T make you fat...
Fruit is a fat-free (with rare exception, like avocados) and fairly low-calorie, high-fiber food. It's going to be hard to eat ENOUGH fruit to result in an excess of calories, resulting in noticeable fat gain...hard, but not impossible.
You would have to look long and hard to find somebody who ate a lot of fruit and had gained a lot of fat because of all the fruit they ate. Fruit roll-ups, fruit juice (with 10% real juice), Fruity Pebbles and Froot Loops...maybe not so hard, though I do have to say high fructose corn syrup is NOT a fruit just because it has the word "fructose" in it, so that doesn't count.
And I don't know about you, but I have yet to hear of somebody sitting down in front of the television and not realizing they ate an entire bag of apples or saying their doctor told them they need to lay off the bananas!
"Real" fruit actually contains a lot of water, nutrients, fiber, etc...healthy stuff...stuff your body NEEDS. It's generally when we start mucking around with fruit that we start to run into problems.
In the words of Homer Simpson..."This jelly donut has purple stuff in it. Purple is a fruit."
That being said, there ARE metabolic issues with fruit and fat.
Yes, it IS true that the body has certain limitations processing fructose (the type of sugar found in fruit).
Fructose can only be stored as glycogen (glycogen is the carbohydrate storage molecule in the body) in the liver, not in the muscles. Muscle cells lack the proper enzymes to convert fructose into this storage molecule.
So that leaves the liver for storage...
When liver glycogen levels are full and your body can't store any more carbs in the liver, fructose IS easier for the body to convert into fat than other carbs because of its molecular structure.
This fat is NOT immediately converted into bodyfat, however. It becomes free fatty acids circulating in the bloodstream. If they're not burned, they CAN be stored as bodyfat.
But the OTHER good stuff you find in fruit, notably the fiber and vitamins and minerals, outweigh the "dangers" of storing a little extra fat.
And here's the point that a lot of people miss, especially when they hear that fruit has the potential to work against fat loss when on a diet...
If you're dieting, you should be in a caloric deficit. This means that your liver glycogen levels should very RARELY be full. You're in a deficit after all!
Therefore...
1. The fructose should have little chance of being converted into fat.
2. If some excess fructose IS converted to fat, chances are good it'll be USED by the body soon after being converted to fat because you're in a caloric deficit.
Granted, just like ANY other carbohydrate, if you eat too much of it, it can be stored as fat. If you're a competitive bodybuilder peaking for a competition, you MAY have to watch your fruit intake to be sure you come in at your leanest.
But for the average person looking to drop bodyfat, fruit is not something I would be too worried about (unless you're on a low-carb diet, in which case you're watching ALL carbs anyway).
I would be FAR more concerned about a person drinking too much of that diet soda garbage while dieting before I'd even be slightly concerned about them eating an apple.
Bottom line, my stance is this...DO NOT feel guilty about eating fruit, even while dieting. Treat it as you would any other food with calories in it and simply be aware of your intake because ANY food has the potential to make you fat, especially if you eat it when your body doesn't need any more calories for that day.
If you want to minimize the impact of fruit on your fat-loss diet, eat it in the morning when liver glycogen levels are naturally at their lowest point. This will help ensure fructose won't be converted into fat.
Honestly, there are MUCH more important things to worry about when it comes to fat loss...your training and overall nutrition are much more important than worrying about eating too much fruit.
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 18 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://www.fitness-ebooks.com).
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
7 Myths And Facts About Fat Loss
There are certain things about fat loss that people have been taught to believe as fact which are, in reality, dead wrong. Even myself, until very recently, believed many of these to be facts that were set in stone.
Not anymore.
As a word of caution, some of these 7 fat loss myths and facts that I'm going to tell you about may go against everything you've been taught to believe about fat loss. However, sometimes going against convention is exactly what you need to do to get spectacular results!
Let's begin...
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MYTH #1: Successfully losing fat always means losing some muscle mass as well.
FACT: It is possible to actually GAIN muscle while losing fat, not just in beginners but even in advanced trainers. All it takes is the right program of training and nutrition.
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MYTH #2: Gaining muscle requires additional calories from food, therefore it's impossible to gain muscle under reduced-calorie conditions.
FACT: Under the right dietary and training conditions, your body can actually use your own bodyfat to provide energy for building muscle, practically doubling the speed of fat loss.
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MYTH #3: You must choose a consistently-strict diet of either low-carb or low-fat foods to lose fat rapidly.
FACT: Low-carb diets work. Low-fat diets work. But neither works forever. You can take the best features of both and combine them to actually FEED off each other with NO plateaus EVER.
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MYTH #4: To lose fat with weight training, you must use high-reps with light weights.
FACT: Training with high reps and isolation exercises for fat loss is a waste of time and energy. It will practically guarantee that you lose muscle.
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MYTH #5: You need to take fat-burning pills or supplements to maximize fat loss.
FACT: Your own natural metabolism is FAR more powerful for burning fat than any fat-loss pills or potions you could ever take IF you know how to stimulate it properly.
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MYTH #6: Gradually reducing your caloric intake over time is the best way to ensure steady fat loss.
FACT: Consistently reducing your caloric intake is a great way to lose muscle mass. However, precise manipulation of the nutrients in your diet (protein, fat and carbs) can have extraordinary anabolic (muscle-building) and lipolytic (fat-burning) hormonal effects on your body. It's all a matter of what you eat and when you eat it.
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MYTH #7: When you come off a fat-loss diet, there will always be some rebound weight gain.
FACT: When the metabolism is properly stimulated and the right combination of nutrients is eaten, rebound weight gain can not only be eliminated, it can be reversed. With the proper training and nutrition plan, you can actually CONTINUE to lose fat even when you go back to normal training and eating.
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