"weird" fitness contest results

"weird" fitness contest results

Almost everyone knows about the biggest loser - that reality show/ wt loss contest on TV where overweight people drop ridiculous amounts of weight - like 15 or 20 lbs in a week, and 150 or 200 lbs by the time the show is over.

This past January the guys at over at the Burn the Fat websites completed their first ever body transformation challenge contest. But their contest was NOTHING like the biggest loser. In fact, Josh Ketter, the overall men's winner, and Ryan Cochrane, one of the finalists, only lost a pound.
Now, you must be thinking, "what the heck kind of weird body transformation contest were they running where the winner and the finalists only drop a pound?
Well, it would seem weird if you thought that success at body transformation meant dropping weight on the scale But did you ever stop to think about the difference between fat weight and muscle weight?

CLICK HERE to learn more

Think about it - if those contestants on the biggest loser gain muscle - they get penalized, right?

Penalize someone for gaining muscle?

Shouldn't contestants be REWARDED for gaining muscle as well as burning fat?

That's the problem with wt loss contests today and with a lot of people in the industry in general - they are obsessed with scale weight but they don't pay any attention to body composition (the fat-to-muscle ratio).

Of course, some of the contestants in that contest did drop a lot of fat - 15, 20, even 25 lbs in only 50 days. But the person who dropped the most pounds was NOT necessarily voted as the winner.

That explains how the judging was done - some of the winners were rewarded because they made tremendous improvements in their body composition, even though their scale weight didn't change that much.

Josh lost 8 pounds of fat and gained 7 pounds of muscle in just 50 days. He only lost a pound on the scale because the muscle weight replaced the fat weight.

Ryan Cochrane lost 8 pounds of fat while gaining 7.7 lbs of muscle in 50 days. His weight hardly changed.

Sarah kensington actually GAINED a pound, from 119 to 120 but her body fat decreased from 19% to a ripped 12.6%. Thats a 7.9 pound GAIN in lean body mass and a 7 pound loss of body fat - remarkable for a MAN, almost unheard of for a woman!

When you look at their before and after pictures, you can see that even though their weight changed by less than a pound, they TOTALLY TRANSFORMED THEIR BODIES!
How? They gained muscle and lost fat at the same time!

Maybe you're thinking, "wait a minute, I thought it was impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? Don't you need a calorie deficit to burn fat and a calorie surplus to build muscle?"

Well, yes and no. Calories do matter, but according to fat loss expert Tom Venuto, the guy who sponsored the recent body composition fitness contest, it's much more complicated than that because of things like within-day energy balance, hormonal fluctuations and "energy partitioning."

It was these unusual contest results that prompted Tom to dig into the scientific research on concurrent muscle gain and fat loss and create a new program that he calls:

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

This is not an easy goal to achieve - So I'm sorry, but I have no miracle for you. If you're looking for magic bullets, go elsewhere. This is a serious and very strategic program.

Concurrent muscle gain and fat loss is the most difficult goal to achieve.

That's why people call it the "holy grail"; because it's so elusive.

BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE: IT IS POSSIBLE.

I'm sure you've heard this subject debated ad nauseum on discussion forums. Those debates probably left you confused and not sure what to believe either.

This new ebook sets the record straight in such a way that you could say it's the LAST WORD on gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time; it's impressively referenced with peer-reviewed research and frankly, it just makes sense.

Tom Venuto's previous best selling ebook, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) has become known to many as a "fat loss bible"

CLICK HERE

But BFFM is designed specifically for fat loss. what if you want to lose fat AND gain muscle?

That's exactly why this new program was created.

It's the first course of it's kind that builds on the techniques of BFFM and teaches a system for gaining muscle and burning fat simultaneously, and explains the process scientifically.

If you're skeptical, I don't blame you. Even I was skeptical when I heard about it.

But when you see BOTH; real-world case studies AND the scientific proof, it makes you want to stop and take a look.

Right now the 1st edition of Tom’s new HOLY GRAIL body transformation ebook is available for just the next 3 days in limited release.

It's actually not even for sale separately yet.

What Tom decided to do was offer the holy grail ebook as bonus with the purchase of his Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle ebook.

The Holy Grail ebook is available only for the next 3 days at: CLICK HERE (offer expires on Friday march 5th, 2010)

On March 6th, he's going to take the holy grail course off the market for a while, to correspond with some of his new customers and collect feedback and case studies to incorporate in the 2nd edition.

Then the grail ebook will be officially re-released later this year at the regular retail price.

So, this is a great opportunity to pick up Tom's fat loss bible AND get the holy grail ebook for frree at the same time.

If you'd like to be in this first wave of people to try this new combined muscle-building and fat burning system, this is the ONLY way to order at the moment: CLICK HERE

Purchase a copy of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle ebook, and the HOLY GRAIL body transformation ebook
comes along with BFFM for free.

Sincerely,
Jess

PS. You may have already heard of Tom's Burn the Fat, Feed the
Muscle book before, so if you already have it, the other way you
can get his new Holy Grail program is by joining the Burn the Fat
Inner Circle - all members there are also getting access to it
this week up until Friday the 5th. More info on Tom's inner circle HERE

Continue reading...

Replacing Junk Food With Nutritious Food to Achieve Weight Loss

Replacing Junk Food With Nutritious Food to Achieve Weight Loss

By Andrew E

Take away food is sold everywhere, and many people who are overweight have regular take away food. Take away food is quick to buy, and very easy to eat. The problem with fast food, that is often called junk food, is not that it contains no nutrition, but that the food content is surrounded by a lot of sugar and starch - not many vitamins, a lot of fat, and not fats of a healthy kind.
If you have been in the habit of eating take away food and have a liking for its flavor, there really is no harm in making up a new form of diet which includes many of the features of a take away food diet.

The main thing is that you make sure that your replacement food is of the best quality and not what is called "empty calorie" food - when a food is high in energy, but lacking in nutrients.

So, for your white flour roll, which may be full of salt and sugar, you can buy a whole meal bun, or perhaps some stone ground pita bread. For the main part of the meal, which may be chicken or beef, you can choose organic meat products, which contain no hormones or excess fats, and are very often more tasty to eat. You can also make sure that you have a portion to suit your diet instead of standard take away fare - you can have smaller or larger portions to suit your mood, and save some for a later snack. You can also afford to be more generous with salad proportions and make up a bowl full of your favorite salad ingredients to make up the bulk of the meal. If your grill your meat instead of frying it, then you probably can be excused for putting a little cold pressed oil as a dressing for your salad mix, which together with herbs and spices, can enhance the flavor of your salad so that it is almost a meal on its own.

You can very easily choose to replace the fries with some whole meal pasta, as this is quite filling and tasty when mixed perhaps with a helping of cream cheese and some more of the herbs and spices. Using natural herbs and spices to enhance the flavor of your food is good for a weight loss diet because although it gives you an appetite, it won't give you the craving for more that often comes with the use of artificial flavorings and food taste enhancing products. Also you will not need to use salt, and if you like the salty flavors, there are many natural herbal sprinkles, or garlic flavored salts that will give a jolt to your taste buds and also satisfy your nutritional needs.

Once you start playing around with alternatives to take away food, there is no limit to what you might find - eventually the dish that you are eating is so far removed from take away food, that you won't even remember what you are missing.

Continue reading...

Guide to weight reduction Exercises

Guide to weight reduction Exercises

Exercise is an effective and excellent tool to lose weight. However, if the process was really that simple, no one would have been facing the weight problem. For losing weight, one needs to do both strength training and aerobic exercises. Studies have shown that regular exercise protects us against 20 known diseases. You can also maintain a bone mass and reduce fat considerably with the help of regular exercise.
During summers, water is an ideal place to do some exercise and shed weight. At least, get your blood pressure and heartbeat checked, and get the approval from your physician for the sort of exercise schedule you am considering.
Aerobic exercise increases the heart beat rate and is a good weight reduction exercise. Most people feel that when you exercise alone, it needs large self-discipline. This can loosen the tight muscles, and scale back the possibilities of injury. You can also join the exercise class as per your obligation, but do not begin with something which is too arduous.

Walking is a great weight reduction exercise, and you do not want any hardware or experience to start. You can do it anywhere, anytime, and it is completely free. It is one of the finest weight reduction exercises.
To shed pounds, correct timing must be applied to the exercise. Pushups is maybe one of the finest exercise as it trains your shoulders, chest, abdominals, triceps, glutes and back. Steadily , you can increase the time to an hour, as well as skyrocketing the magnitude. Bear in mind the exercise is for life and the results are slow, so don’t hurry. Keep your body stiff and push back until your arms are extended.
Bodyweight squats are a fabulous weight reduction exercise. You can begin gently by heading off to the pool two times a week for just 15-20 mins. Then, continuously increase the work rate and swim in the water. You want to stand with your hands behind your head, elbows back and chest out. Bend your knees to lower your body and relax at your hips so far as possible. The key to any weight reduction program is endurance and patience. You want to remain motivated to see great results.
Once your finish your weight loss exercise, you must consume a regular meal with protein to help the reconstructing process of muscles. This is simply a modification of crunches, however work smarter by reducing the strain on the back and work harder by using more muscles. Be practical, and avoid doing too much too shortly. While working out, hear the body and understand the cues. If you’re feeling that you feel too exhausted after the work out, you want to decelerate. Patience and endurance is the key to any successful weight reduction program.

Continue reading...

Weight Loss and Staying Motivated

Weight Loss and Staying Motivated

By Marjorie Salada

Trying to lose weight has probably got to be the single most difficult thing in my life that I have tried to accomplish. Ask anyone else that has lost weight or tried to lose weight and I am sure that they will tell you the same thing. If it was easy, a larger percentage of people would be successful at it.

I think motivation is a major determining factor in how successful you are going to be at achieving your weight loss goals. If motivation is something that could be bought, we would all be rich and thin, but unfortunately it is something you have to work at. What works best for me is identifying certain things that make me feel like sticking to my plan and reaching my goals. Once I have identified these motivating factors; I surround myself with them and practice them.

The single thing that motivates me the most is success stories. When I say success stories, I mean people who have used a plan that is sensible. I tend to try to stay away from the to good to be true testimonials. You know the ones, I took this pill and lost 100 pounds in six months and you too can do the same or advertisements where they are talking about somebody’s weight loss and below it in tiny print are the words results not typical. If the results are not typical, what it means to me is it will not work that way for 95 percent of the people that try it.

The stories that motivate me are the ones where they lost 1 to 2 pounds a week and they did it with a tolerable, sensible diet and tolerable, regular exercise. When I say tolerable, I mean something you can live with, because if it is hard to live with you are not likely to stick with the plan for very long. People that have lost a lot of weight following a diet plan, that meets this criterion, are a lot more likely to keep the weight off.

I also tend to stay motivated if I do a lot of reading or research on subject matter that pertains to the task at hand. So, I spend a lot of time at the library and Barnes and Noble getting the latest information about things that are happening in the weight loss industry and learning about how the successful people reached their weight loss goal.

The other thing I have learned to do is avoid things that are going to cause me to feel overwhelmed. Nothing zaps my motivation quicker than feeling like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. If I can do things in an organized fashion 80 percent of the time, I will be able to stay on track and take the necessary steps to stay motivated to reach my weight loss goals.

The sooner you can identify the things in your life that make you feel good about your self, the better things are going to be for you. Surround yourself with positive things and you will find it easier to stay motivated not only in your weight loss journey, but also in other areas of your life.

Continue reading...

Natural Weight Loss for Good Health and Well Being

Natural Weight Loss for Good Health and Well Being

By Jennifer Kays

Weight loss is becoming an unhealthy obsession dealing with body images, but in some cases can improve health and fitness. When weight loss is a result of eating healthy, exercising and/or taking natural weight loss supplements in contrast to synthetic prescription drugs with the risk of harmful side effects, weight loss can be effective, rewarding, and greatly improve overall health.

Extra weight, especially extra fat on a person's body, applies significantly increased stresses on the heart, joints and back. These stresses can be extremely detrimental to one's health. Healthy weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis and other health problems, as well as generally extending an otherwise average life span. Recently, the scientific root cause or explanation of obesity has been revealed as being part of one's physiology. The internal functions of an obese person are different than those of a healthy person, and cause intense hunger pains and food cravings.

Natural weight loss supplements can help counteract this constant hunger and lead to healthy weight loss. Unbalanced hormones are a common cause of weight gain, therefore taking natural hormone balancers and herbal supplements would help to create a healthy weight loss regimen. Restoring your health allows you to lose weight naturally, without excess frustration and effort. It's all about losing weight from the inside out.

Emotional issues always accompany change, especially changes in our bodies e.g. natural weight loss. Weight loss affects our perception body image, our sense of identity i.e. who am I?, and how we feel about ourselves in general. Weight loss also effects our social relationships in that there may be people in our family or social contacts that are emotionally invested in our remaining the same i.e. overweight with all that it symbolizes e.g. friendliness, non-threatening, protective, jovial, helpful, etc. Beyond our physical health, it can be said that "size matters" cognitively and emotionally to ourselves and others. Eating and food have come to symbolize being accepted, being cared for and comfort. Having the support of others in our efforts to naturally lose weight and regain our health is a huge advantage.

We have been "conditioned" to fear any kind of loss, including weight loss. Especially if what we may lose is something with which we identify i.e. use to tell us who we are.

The emotions of fear, anger, anxiety and depression effect our weight. We often tend to "stuff our feelings" or numb these emotional feelings or stress by overeating. We may even overeat, thinking that will ease the physical discomfort caused by excess weight e.g. physical pain, lack of sleep, and lack of energy caused by moderate depression. To improve our overall health and support us through the process of natural weight loss and the emotional dynamics around it, we can take advantage of natural sleep aids, natural depression relief and natural pain relief health care products.

Our weight and health is greatly dependent upon our having a healthy digestive system or metabolism. Our digestive system converts, on a cellular and muscular level, the foods we eat, eliminates toxins, and uses and stores glucose for energy. Natural enzymes trigger hunger signals and facilitate absorption of nutrition. Good digestion with the help of natural enzymes aids in the conversion of fat to muscle.

Allergy and sensitivity to food, parasites, yeast overgrowth and emotional stress are signals of digestive disruption and inflammation. Natural essential fatty acids work to reduce intestinal inflammation, decrease harmful acids, help the liver process proteins that grow muscle, balance hormones and facilitate the elimination of toxins. Natural essential fatty acids help clear our digestive system of heavy metals, harmful bacteria, pesticides that we are increasingly encountering in our environment. Essential fatty acids along with natural fiber help us clean out the intestinal debris that harm our health and often lead to weight gain. Essential fatty acids also help our brain's neurotransmitters to function properly in order to deal with stress, emotions, and cravings that can lead to overeating and weight gain.

Natural amino acids are the building blocks that make up proteins. Next to water, protein makes up the greatest part of our body weight. Amino acids help increase metabolism, build muscle, ease moderate depression, and help burn fat. Natural antioxidants help carry more oxygen to cells and muscles to help increase energy, burn fat, build muscle and process the foods we eat.

Hormone balance is essential for natural weight loss. Our metabolism slows as we get older because of the decrease or imbalance of hormones. This contributes to weight gain. Hormone balance also helps us deal with stress that leads to weight gain. Proper hormone balance helps to decrease cravings and binge eating. There are many natural hormone balancing products available, e.g. natural progesterone, promensil, soy isoflavones, essential fatty acids and hormone balancing formulas.

Our metabolism's primary task is to nourish our brains. We need healthy neurotransmitters to help us curb craving, ease depression, and deal with stress that lead to weight gain. Balancing our natural brain chemistry has a calming effect and allows us to feel a sens of well being and safety. There are many natural health care products to help balance brain chemistry, e.g. essential fatty acids, natural depression relief products, natural products to increase serotonin, and more. When our brain feels well and safe, it is prone to change our metabolism from calorie saving to calorie burning.

Our bodies were designed to move and be active. Movement requires muscle activity. Muscle activity uses the glycogen supply found in our muscles. When this glycogen supply stored in our muscles is used, our body is forced to use stored fat as an energy source. Using this stored fat through movement and exercise, results in natural weight loss. There is no reason for us to become athletes to accomplish natural weight loss. Low impact exercise like swimming, walking, etc, can be done slowly and without strain. In order to lose real weight rather than "water weight", it is important to drink extra amounts of water when exercising. Drinking more water will also help our digestive system and metabolism to use and eliminate extra weight.

Remember, the first objective, accomplished through natural weight loss, is to improve our physical and emotional health. This involves having a healthy digestive system, a healthy emotional system and a healthy nutritional system. We can build these healthy systems with natural vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, natural digestive aid, pain relief aid, natural sleep aids, natural emotional and mood aids, essential fatty acids and many more helpful natural health care products. We need to concentrate on improving our general health, feeling good, and living well through natural weight loss, rather than constantly comparing ourselves to someone else's idea about appearance from some magazine. Physical and emotional health is primary. Appearance may be important to us, but it is secondary. Through natural weight loss, we can live well and live long.

Continue reading...

Nutrition Basics for New Fitness Disciples

Nutrition Basics for New Fitness Disciples

By Joe Kozma

This article is focused on the basics of nutrition for those who embarking on a fitness/weight training program. Today I'll talk about the three primary sources of calories for human beings. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Protein is of the utmost importance for those trying to improve their bodies. The eating plan for a person trying to improve their physique should have a diet whose foundation is protein. This is what I call the skeleton of a proper eating program. The skeleton of a proper eating program is all of the protein foods the eating plan will contain. The most commonly used protein foods will be meat, fish, poultry, protein supplements, eggs and dairy based protein foods such as cottage cheese. Below I will plot out for you a skeleton of a typical eating program for a personal training client.

1.) upon waking, 3 eggs with an additional 3 egg whites 2.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia 3.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia 4.) 3 hours later, 8 oz of broiled ground sirloin 5.) 3 hours later, Muscle Milk protein supplement 6.) 2 hours later, 1 cup small curd cottage cheese .

As of right now the foundation of a proper eating plan, being protein foods, has been completed. All that is needed is to add carbohydrate foods to the eating program. The level of carbohydrate intake should be tailored to the personal training client's goals. For example a skinny high school kid who wants to gain weight for football would eat a plentitude of carbohydrates. Let's take a look at how an eating program for such an individual might look. What we will do is take the skeleton eating program and add to it.

1.) upon waking, 3 eggs with an additional 3 egg whites, 4 slices toast with jam 2.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia, 1 cup white rice 3.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia, 1 cup white rice 4.) 3 hours later, 8 oz ground sirloin on a bun with ketchup 5.) 3 hours later, Muscle Milk protein supplement 6.) 2 hours later, 1 cup small curd cottage cheese, with 1 cup chopped pineapple.

Now we will look at a more typical scenario for my personal training clients. Nine out of ten people who come to me for training are coming to lose weight and become more toned and fit. I will use the exact same skeleton eating plan as I did in the other example but this eating plan will be vastly different in the carbohydrate department. Healthy carbohydrate foods are grains, rice, potatoes, whole grain bread, and fruit

1.) upon waking, 3 eggs with an additional 3 egg whites, 2 slices dry rye toast 2.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia, 1 cup steamed veggies 3.) 3 hours later, 8 oz. of grilled tilapia, 1 cup steamed veggies 4.) 3 hours later, 8 oz of broiled ground sirloin, 1 large green salad, w vinegarette 5.) 3 hours later, Muscle Milk protein supplement. 1 grapefruit 6.) 2 hours later, 1 cup small curd cottage cheese.

When constructing eating plans for weight loss, you can see that the order of the day is drastic reduction in carbohydrate consumption. No matter what kind of eating program I construct, I never purposely add fat calories. Adequate fat consumption is achieved with the fat that is present in the protein sources.

Continue reading...