My Diet Secret

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTrainingProgram.com

I’m not a “low-carb guy” by any means, but I have found something that works wonders for fat loss. And it does involve cutting back on whole-grains.

Back in December, I substituted more fruits and vegetables for any whole-grains in my diet, and I was as lean as I’ve been in years with this approach. So if you’re trying to lose fat and look better than ever this summer, try this approach.

Here are some easy changes to make.

a) Instead of having toast for breakfast, have an apple.

b) Usually have a side of rice at lunch? Have 1 cup of broccoli.

c) Typically have a bowl of cereal at night? Have an orange and an ounce of pecans (or walnuts or almonds), instead.

Think I’m out to lunch?

Check this study …

(For science nerds like me, here’s the reference: Amer. J. Clin.
Nutr. 85: 1465-1477, 2007.)

Woman on a low-fat diet that ate more fruits and vegetables lost
more fat than another group of woman on only the low-fat diet.

After 1-year, the low-fat, fruits and vegetables group (LF-FV) lost more weight than another group of woman on the low-fat (LF) diet only.

Why?

The LF-FV group reported being less hungry, thanks to being able to eat more food than the LF group.

So you’ll eat fewer calories if you are filling up on fruits and
vegetables, while keeping un-necessary fat out of the diet.

And isn’t the summer a great time to implement this program? With watermelon, berries, apples, and cherries all in great abundance, you can satisfy your sweet tooth naturally, while burning fat with the Turbulence Training fat loss workouts at home.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTrainingProgram.com

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 Fat Loss Interview with Rachel Cosgrove [32:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this fat loss interview with Rachel Cosgrove, you will hear Rachel’s account of why long duration cardio is not necessarily the best training method for weight loss. After all, with the miles that she put in over the past year running, swimming, and preparing for the IronMan Triathlon she should have burned over 65 pounds of fat, yet all she lost was 10-15 pounds. This interview was packed with great information about what separates the people who achieve weight loss success and those who continue to struggle. And that’s not all.

Rachel co-authored a top-notch fat loss book with her husband Alwyn Cosgrove called Afterburn. If you would like to learn more about this great book simply visit:

www.TheFitChic.com/afterburn

The principles that are taught in the book Afterburn are the same principles that Rachel and Alwyn use to get the members of their health club, “Results Fitness” in fantastic shape.

In our interview Rachel shared with me how the experience of watching her husband Alwyn battle cancer more than once and finally kicking it’s ass has helper her grow as a person and influenced her health and fitness goals.

One great thing that has come from Alwyn winning his battle against cancer is a great product that they put together called “Lift Strong”. All the proceeds from the sales of “Lift Strong” go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This is just one way that Rachel and Alwyn have given back for all the help and support that they received during their difficult times.

Enjoy this fantastic interview with Rachel Cosgrove and take a moment to share your thoughts about the interview by leaving a comment.

Have a totally amazing day!

Scott Tousignant
www.UnstoppableFatLoss.com

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Keep Track for Ultimate Results!
By Rachel Cosgrove
Co-Author of Afterburn

Have you ever jumped in your car and just started driving without a plan of where to go or a map of what streets to get you there? Most likely every time you get in your car you know exactly where you are going and if not you have a map to tell you where to go. Once you’re on your way you continually check the streets and landmarks to make sure you are headed in the right direction.

If you have a destination you want to reach with your health and fitness you must have a roadmap or a plan and you must continually check in to make sure you are headed in the right direction otherwise you could be going the completely wrong direction and not know it. It is very important to set yourself small goals regularly, measure frequently, keep track and make changes as needed. Clients who keep track are always more successful!

The first thing you need to do is find a journal or book to write in everyday. I have used notebooks, pretty expensive journals, binders with notebook paper, printed pages with meal times…it doesn’t really matter what you write in but find something today. It should fit your personality. If going out and spending $20.00 on a pretty journal will encourage you to write in it then go for it or if getting on the computer on excel or word and making a fancy food journal is your thing do what ever works. Or just grab some notebook paper and stick it in a binder. The key is you need to have room to track what you put in your mouth, your workouts and room to write how you are feeling. Tracking these things will keep you accountable.

When someone asks me for help, the first thing I tell them is to keep track of what they are doing for 4 days and then I will look it over. Many times just having them keep track for this short period of time they will eat better, not miss a workout and will lose a pound over the 4 days. They will thank me before I have even done anything because I made them accountable. Keeping track is very powerful.

Having these records will enable you to make changes when you aren’t getting the results you want. You can easily look back and make changes to what you are doing. If you haven’t kept track it is hard to know if you were doing everything as planned and what changes to make, you end up guessing instead.

Follow these tips to keep track:
1. On the first page of your journal or the inside cover write down your goals. Be specific and give your self a timeline. Read your goal every single day. This will keep you focused.

2. Find a time of day that you will sit down and write what you ate that day or carry your journal with you and keep track all day. I prefer writing at the end of the day before I go to bed. Write down your supplements and how much water you drank. Then write a few sentences about how you are feeling, whether you feel motivated, tired, focused, etc. Writing everything down will keep you accountable and you will think twice before you eat something you know you shouldn’t.

2. Keep track of your workouts. If you have a trainer or fitness coach they should be doing this but if you’re on your own you should keep track of everything including how much weight you lifted, if you are recovering, etc. This is important to know if you are improving and getting stronger. You may also notice that you have adapted to a routine because it is getting easier or you haven’t been able to increase your weights or intensity at all.

3. Measure 2-4x a month and keep track of it in your journal. If you are consistantly losing then what you are doing is working. If you don’t lose or you gain one week check back in your records and see what happened…you probably missed a workout or ate a little more then you should, or skipped too many meals. Having these records will help you target the problem and make a change. If you look back in your records and you did everything as planned maybe it is time to change your workout or your menu.

4. Periodically read back in your journals for motivation. If you are losing your focus, look back to day one when you were super motivated and read what you wrote and get inspired again. You will lose focus as time goes on so it is important to be able to tap into that motivation you had when you first started your quest for a fit healthy body.

Keeping track is very powerful and will eliminate the guesswork. Your progress will speed up and you’ll be at your fitness goal in no time!

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After the interview and article series with Registered Dietitians Dr. Chris Mohr and Jason Hunter the creators of www.MealPlans-101.com I received a tremendous amount of positive feedback and praise for their work. I also received many more nutrition questions that many of you would like the answers to. So here are the answers to 3 of the most frequently asked nutrition questions that I was asked:

1) Is it possible to consume too much fiber?

Answer: I guess it is possible, but the only real side effect would be constipation. The more likely question to this is: Is it likely to happen? There is probably less than 1% of the population that consumes way over the suggested amount per day.

The suggested amount is 25-30 gms of fiber a day and we average around 13 grams a day. So less than half of the recommended amount. If you are to eat over 30gms of fiber a day be sure to consume plenty of fluids throughout the day and you shouldn’t have any side effects such as constipation.

2) There’s been a lot of talk lately about the levels of sodium in our foods being extremely high. What are the complications of this and what foods are the culprits?

Answer: The complication is that high sodium levels contribute to high blood pressure which puts a strain on your heart and all your vessels and veins. Generally processed foods are the culprit because sodium is used as a preservative to lengthen the shelf life of foods. Canned foods is another culprit. If you look on the shelves you are able to purchase the same canned foods that are either sodium free or light sodium.

The best best is to choose non-processed and non-canned foods. Instead chose fresh or frozen vegetables, make your own soups, and eat lean meats and whole grain starches. If you limit the processed and canned products then you shouldn’t have to worry about sodium levels.

3) When it comes to cholesterol it sounds like the most common advice is to reduce your intake of eggs and cheese. Does diet affect your cholesterol much or is it mostly genetic?

Answer: This theory has changed over the years as more research and
scientific information has been uncovered. It used to be that we thought eggs and cheese was the reason that individuals had high cholesterol. We thought the cholesterol in these products was the reason why. Research has shown us that cholesterol is not really the culprit at all. It is saturated fats that are the bigger contributor to higher cholesterol levels. Saturated fats can be found in many foods and eggs and cheese are not always the highest source for saturated fats.

Diet does affect your cholesterol level, but it is due more to overall saturated fat intake and not so much cholesterol intake. Genetics can also play a role in higher cholesterol levels, but it is not as common as one would think.

Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS, is a registered dietitian and fitness professional with more than 10 years of experience. He has worked with 1000’s of individuals in achieving their ideal body and has been published in numerous magazines. He is also co-creator of Meal Plans 101 nutrition software. For more information on how you can utilize Jayson’s expertise go to www.mealplans-101.com

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By 2015, 75% of Adults Will Be Overweight; 41% Will Be Obese. That’s a pretty scary statistic that was just released by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In fact they are calling it a public health crisis. So are you going to accept these statistics as inevitable? Or even worse, are you going to become a part of that statistic?

I don’t think so! You’re smarter than that. You realize that the only reality is this very moment and in this very moment you have a choice to take matters into your own hands and strive for the healthy and vibrant body that you deserve.

Since we’re talking statistics here I may as well bring up one that most of us are familiar with; 95% of all people who attempt to lose weight will gain it all back and more.

Pretty depressing huh? Most people will look at that and see the odds completely stacked against them. You on the other hand are beaming with excitement and enthusiasm. You see that 5% and you are absolutely certain that’s where you belong.

Those people who can’t seem to get their focus off the 95% are afraid to set a fat loss goal because they see the chances of failing are pretty darn high. There’s no way they’ll ever tell anyone about their dream of fitting into a 2 piece bathing suit, because it would certainly be embarrassing if they don’t accomplish their goal.

I guarantee that if you are afraid of failing to reach your weight loss goal you will fail by default. The problem is that these people are basing their dreams on logic. Doesn’t that kind of take the fun out of dreaming?

Do you really want to develop the ‘Unstoppable’ motivation that will drive you towards achieving fat loss success? Did I hear a ‘YES’? Sorry what I meant to say was, “Do you really, truly, from the bottom of your heart and every ounce of your being want to learn the necessary skills to develop the type of attitude and belief that absolutely nothing in this world or any other will ever get in the way of you and your dream body?

Can I get a Hell Ya?

That’s what I’m talking about! Allow me to share with you some of my top strategies that will ignite that ‘Unstoppable’ mindset within you. I’m not going to go into detail about goal setting, visualization, and positive thinking right now because I’m sure that you’ve heard a fair amount about that lately. It’s all great stuff, but if you really want that unstoppable attitude like you said you do it’s going to take much more than that.

1. Passion – This is wear it all starts. Set your goals from your heart. Forget about what the statistics say and any of your past failures. What does your dream body look like? How bad do you want it? Why do you want it so bad? How is your life going to change once you achieve it? Think of how much passion will come into your life once you are lean and sexy.

2. Growth – Achieving your fat loss goal does not have to happen over night. Small changes add up very quickly. A great strategy is to simply be better today then you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you are today. After 6 months you will be blown away with the improvements that you’ve made. 18 months from now you could be a fitness model. It’s true!

3. Comfort Zone – In order to experience this daily growth there are times when you will have to step outside of your comfort zone. You will have to increase the intensity of your workouts, prepare food in advance, write down your goals, spend some time visualizing, pass on the dessert, and other things that have not become a habit for you just yet. Accept discomfort and expect it. It’s an opportunity for you to become better than you are today.

4. Gratitude – It’s easy to be grateful when things are going well, but I find the practice of being grateful for who you are today and for the so called failures and challenges of your past is much more powerful. Each challenge or failure provides you with the opportunity to grow and improve yourself. If you want to be happy in your body start today! Love yourself unconditionally. Be grateful for all your past experiences because they have contributed to the lean and sexy person that you are about to become.

5. Become – This could very well be the most powerful word in your vocabulary when you use it properly. For example; “I have become UNSTOPPABLE!” “I have become Mary, the lean and sexy women who loves healthy foods and living the active lifestyle.”

When you ‘become’ something or someone it is no longer a hope or dream. It’s a part of who you are. You now hold these beliefs and attitudes that nothing will get in your way.

I knew that I became ‘Unstoppable’ when the alarm clock would go off at 5:00am so I could go for my morning walk, and it was no longer about fat loss. I was doing it because I loved it. It provided me with an opportunity to clear my head, plan out my day, enjoy the sounds of the birds chirping, listen to an educational audio on my Mp3 player, and more than anything it energized me first thing in the morning when I would typically be tired.

6. Fun – Research shows that the people who choose activities that they enjoy are more likely to stick to their programs for the long term. You may read a book that lays out the best fat burning workout routine and nutrition program, but if you don’t enjoy it chances are you will not stick with it.

There are so many different workout programs on the market. Experiment with them and find the ones that fit best with your lifestyle and the ones that you enjoy the most. Don’t just stick with one. You need variety and variety will keep the enjoyment of activity at a high level.

7. Role Model – You need new references, which demonstrate that achieving your dream body will happen. Seek out that 5% of the population and model their behaviors and actions. If someone tells you that your fat loss goals are unrealistic just show them a picture of your role models.

Will you join me in making sure that this recent statistic showing “By 2015, 75% of Adults Will Be Overweight; 41% Will Be Obese” never becomes a reality? After all, you deserve to be living in your dream body.