This guest blog post was written by fitness and nutrition author Kardena Pauza I have her permission to share it with you.

The most common argument against a vegetarian diet is that you can’t get enough calcium or iron, or that you will need to get a Vitamin B12 shot from your doctor.

However, it is easy to get plenty of calcium to build strong bones and it’s not difficult to get enough iron. The ONLY nutrient that will take a little extra effort is Vitamin B12.

Calcium

Everyone thinks you need to drink milk to get calcium, but cows, horses, gorillas, and elephants, some of the world’s strongest and most powerful animals, all have built their big strong bones on a vegetarian diet.
Plant based calcium sources are easier to digest, and you don’t have to worry about being lactose intolerant when you eat plant based calcium sources.

The BEST non-dairy sources of calcium are fortified beverages (such as soymilk and orange juice) and dark, leafy greens like kale and broccoli. Other foods like legumes and almonds can give you calcium.

Iron

Iron is an important element in your red blood cells to help carry oxygen throughout your body. Iron deficiency is known as anemia and is characterized by chronic fatigue and being susceptible to infections. If these symptoms exist then you MUST first visit a doctor to verify and diagnose the issue.

Since meat is traditionally known as the best source of iron, people think vegetarians will end up iron-deficient and anemic.
However, there are many iron-rich vegetarian foods, and by eating a variety of whole foods the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients work together synergistically to maximize absorption of the other nutrients in the foods.

For example, scientists have found that eating vitamin C rich foods with iron rich foods (like spinach) increases the absorption of iron. For example, because bell peppers give you 230% of your daily Vitamin C requires (that’s more than twice as much as oranges),you can eat a salad containing spinach and bell peppers and you’ll absorb a lot of iron.

Plant SOURCES of iron range from green leafy vegetables (spinach, collard greens, swiss chard, kale), whole grains, legumes, soy beans, black strap molasses and dried fruit. And remember to eat foods rich in vitamin C to enhance absorption.

With that being said, the RDA recommends for pre-menopausal women 15 mg per day and 10 mg for men and post menopausal women.

Here’s a list of iron rich foods:

Broccoli ½ cup 0.7 mg

Tofu ½ cup 13 mg

Black beans ½ cup 1.8 mg

Molasses, black strap 1 Tbl. 5 mg

Raisins 1 oz. 0.7 mg

Parsley 3 Tbl. 0.6 mg

Whole wheat cereal 1/3 cup 1.1 mg

Oats, whole rolled 1/3 cup 2.5 mg

Lentils, sprouted raw 1 cup 2.5 mg

Buckwheat 1/3 cup 1.3 mg

Kale fresh 1 cup 1.1 mg

Beets 1 cup 1.1 mg

Wheatgrass juice 1 oz. 0.6 mg

As you can see, it’s not hard to get enough iron by consuming whole, natural foods. In addition, many foods – such as breads and cereals – are now FORTIFIED with iron which can help supplement your diet if necessary. However, just watch that these cereals and breads are not refined or full of additives or preservatives.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is essential for your body and is stored in the liver and released when it is needed. Scientists like Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of “The China Study”, say that Vitamin B12 can be stored for up to 3 years. As of right now the only confirmed way to obtain Vitamin B12 is through fortified foods or supplementation. The RDA for Vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms for adults.

You may need to talk to your Doctor about taking a Vitamin B12 supplement because this is the one nutrient that is not naturally found in plant foods. So it is ESSENTIAL to make an effort to add this to your diet.

Foods fortified with Vitamin B12 include non-dairy milks (soy and rice milk), veggie “meats” and breakfast cereals. But look at all the ingredients in these foods to eliminate refined products or additives and preservatives.

I personally use “Living Vitamin B Nano Plex” as an excellent source of Vitamin B12. It is the first Vitamin B12 made from probiotic fermentation which is more bioavailable to the body. Another option is taking B12 sublingual (dissolve under the tongue). I recommend methylcobalamin which is naturally occurring.

Cyanocobalamin is a commonly used synthetic B12 supplement that’s also used in fortification of foods because it can be produced so cheaply. When cyanocobalamin is metabolized in the body the by product created in small amounts is cyanide. We are not exactly sure the impact on the body but I don’t feel comfortable using it.

For more info on Kardena’s program **Click Here **

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This guest blog post was written by fitness and nutrition author Michael Geary I have his permission to share it with you.

Working as a fitness professional, there is one type of question I get all the time that shows that many people are missing the big picture regarding the benefits of strength training. This popular question usually goes something like this:

“What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice – abs, quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?”

It doesn’t matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be asking how to ‘isolate’ it. My first response to this question is always – “Why in the world would you want to isolate it?”

The first thing I try to teach my clients is that the body does not work well in muscle isolation. Rather, it works better in movements along a kinetic chain; that is, large portions of the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex movement. In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle isolation. There is almost always a nearby muscle group that will assist in some way with whatever movement you are doing. However, this article compares attempting to ‘isolate’ body parts via single-joint exercises to the much more effective strategy of performing multi-joint complex movements.

When you attempt to ‘isolate’ muscles by performing single-joint exercises, you are actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury. Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a powerful, functional unit that works together.

Now if you really want to end up hobbling around in a body bandaged up with joint problems, tendonitis, and excess body fat, then by all means, continue trying to ‘isolate’ body parts. On the other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular, injury-free, functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need to shift your focus away from muscle isolation.

Believe me, focusing on how well your body functions will give you the side effect of a body that looks even better than it would have if you focused on muscle isolation. For example, take a look at the physiques of any NFL running backs, wide receivers, or even world class sprinters. Trust me when I say that these guys pretty much NEVER train for muscle isolation (their strength coaches wouldn’t be crazy enough to let them), yet they are absolutely ripped to shreds! Just look at guys like Maurice Green or Terrell Owens and tell me who wouldn’t want a physique like those guys.

Another benefit to moving away from the ‘muscle isolation’ mindset to a more ‘complex movement’ mindset is that you will find it much easier to lose body fat. The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to single-joint muscle isolation, you not only burn a lot more calories during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone.

Let’s look at an example. The machine leg extension is a single joint exercise that works mainly the quadriceps, can potentially cause knee joint instability in the long run, and doesn’t even burn that many calories. On the other hand, exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex movements that work hundreds of muscles in the body (including the quadriceps) as a functional unit, create more stable and strong joints in the long run (when done properly), and also burn massive quantities of calories compared to the single-joint exercises.

If you’re interested in discovering more ways to create a body that looks as good as it functions, pick up a copy of my innovative book The Truth About Six Pack Abs
http://www.thetruthaboutabs.com

For more info on Mike’s program ** Visit Six Pack Seeker **

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This guest blog post was written by fitness and nutrition author Jayson Hunter I have his permission to share it with you

To have the perfect “Abs Diet” you need to need eat the proper foods. Eat the wrong foods or worse yet eat them at the absolute worst time and you could destroy the perfect healthy weight loss diet, the workout you just completed or behave like a turtle at your next workout.

If you want to perform at your best stock your cupboards with these powerfoods to perform at your best and slim down if you are a women or get ripped if you are a man. Here are the foods to include in your healthy eating plans.

1. Avocados: This is a healthy fat food that will help you keep your muscles and joints strong. If you follow a very low fat diet you are more prone to injury. If you are injured you can’t exercise and also tend to overeat. Not the ideal healthy weight loss diet you want to be following and it won’t lead to quick weight loss. Eat this healthy fat which by the way also helps lower cholesterol to keep your body strong.

2. Berries: Do you want to fight off disease and repair your body at a very fast rate? Then include berries into your healthy weight loss diet. The USDA recently placed berries as one of the top 20 foods richest in antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect muscles from free radical damage and inflammation, which are both believed to contribute to disease and a unhealthy body. Choose berries with a deep color for the highest potency of antioxidants in your healthy eating plans.

3. Low Fat Cottage Cheese: This powerfood packs 14gms of protein per half a cup. Protein not only helps repair your muscles, but it releases a hormone called leptin which helps control hunger. It also increases your metabolism because your body requires more calories to be used in the digestion of protein than it does other nutrients. Make sure you follow this healthy weight loss tip.

4. Salmon: New studies are showing that Omega 3 fatty acids might help lessen abdominal fat as well as block pre-fat cells from becoming permanent fat cells. Guess what is a great source of Omega 3 fat? Salmon of course. Eating a cold water fish 2 times a week such as salmon is great for helping you lose fat and obtain the perfect healthy weight loss diet..

5. Yogurt: Need a perfect late night snack? Have you thought about yogurt? Yogurt is a great immune system strengthening food, but more importantly for your healthy eating plans it is an ideal slow digesting protein food to provide you with nutrients all night long while you sleep. Your body does most of its recovery at night while you are a sleep. Although you don’t need a lot of calories at night you do need certain nutrients to help you with recovery. Yogurt is idea because of its casein based protein.

If you are serious about slimming down and creating that six-pack you have always wanted then incorporate these foods into your healthy weight loss diet to power up your diet and lose belly fat fast.

For more info on Jayson ’s program **click here**

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This guest blog post was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson I have his permission to share it with you.

What makes a diet stop working? What causes a man or a woman go on a diet, full of good intentions, only to discard the diet in a few weeks or months?

Is it discipline? Frustration? A lack of effectiveness? According to nutrition and fitness author Jon Benson, it comes down to one word: “Love.”

“Love is the key to staying on a diet, a workout plan… anything that requires a change of lifestyle. It may seem obvious, but unless you actually ‘love’ the diet you are on, there is little chance of you staying on it for very long,” says Benson. “All diets require a change in how you look at food, how you consume food, and even how you think about food. The problem is most diets make too many demands of the dieter right off the bat. They tell you not to eat certain foods, sometimes making that a permanent restriction, while allowing perhaps a day per week to ‘overeat’ your favorite foods.”

“This is a disaster waiting to happen… and there is a much more balanced, healthy and effective way to diet than this,” states Benson.

Ten years ago Benson was a somewhat typical American male: Overworked, over-stressed, and overweight. Benson’s weight put him officially into the “obese” category and brought with it all the associated disease states such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides (a type of blood fat) and of course massive amounts of “stress fat” around the belly and chest region.

When Benson decided enough was enough, he, like so many others who are truly ready to change their body and their life, went a bit overboard. “Oh sure, I ate the typical dry chicken, oatmeal with nothing on it, bland rice, and tried to never eat anything I actually enjoyed. Lucky for me I actually love chicken, but most of my diet was composed of what I call my “hate foods”, not my love foods — foods I truly enjoyed eating. But my thinking was just like that of the typical dieter: ‘If I eat (fill-in-the-blank favorite food) I’ll get fatter and never lose weight!’ How wrong I was… and after I started and stopped my diet at least ten times during a course of three years I finally got the message.”

Benson decided to use his nutritional knowledge and his background in body shaping to his advantage. “I started thinking, ‘Why not focus on progress rather than perfection?’ Again, this seems like common sense, but most dieters are focused on being perfect all the time. So I began applying some old body shaping tricks to my dietary plan. For example, I started cycling my calories. I would eat more on one day, less on another. This kept my metabolism guessing and never allowed my body to hit that dreaded ‘no more weight loss’ plateau.”

“Then I decided to push the envelope. I started experimenting with including my favorite foods — pizza, pasta, and even desserts, all in reasonable quantities — on my higher-calorie food days. At first it didn’t work out too well. But then I used what I now call my “Caveman Principle” which involves strategically eating protein at specific times with a bit less food volume (and this allowed me to stop counting calories too!) and then including my favorite foods on specific days and, most important, specific times. Timing in this case is everything.”

Benson says this timing includes both time of day as well as eating higher-calorie, higher-fat, higher-carbohydrate foods only after exercise. “Specific exercise, done for short periods of time, can set the body up to receive additional calories and carbohydrates more effectively without storing them as body fat. You just have to have to know when to do it. Do it right and it works like a charm.”

“The end result was a loss of over 70 pounds of fat, and I never gave up eating my favorite foods… not once, but at least three times a week.”

A study conducted at the University of Phoenix could shed some light on why this approach to dieting may work better than traditional “calorie-counting” and overly-restrictive foods plans. People given the option of eating more frequently versus three meals a day ended up eating smaller servings of both healthy foods and, on some days, “junk foods” yet still lost more weight than the three-meals-per-day group. The evidence pointed toward the elevation of the metabolic rate through frequent eating and the psychological ease of being less restrictive regarding foods consumed.

“I believe food should be enjoyed, and in my opinion life is way too short to worry about eating perfect all the time,” says Benson. “When I crafted this approach into what is now known as “The Every Other Day Diet”, it became an overnight smash, and for good reason… it gave people a chance to have a life while they are losing weight. Let’s face it: Anyone can diet for a day or two, and that’s basically what The Every Other Day Diet asks of its users. Of course you cannot go hog wild on your Feed Days (the higher-calories favorite food meals) but just knowing your favorite foods are always just around the corner keeps you on the weight loss track.”

“The end result is a diet that just about everyone can fall in love with. Loving your diet is the key to dietary success, as I said. And I do happen to love me some pizza! I just use that pizza now to actually help me lose weight rather than gain it, all while staying in good health.”

Today, Jon Benson’s online best-seller, The Every Other Day Diet, can be purchased along with nine additional dieters bonuses, including the first 30 days of private email diet coaching free of charge, for only $39.97, and the program is guaranteed for a full 60 days. If you are not satisfied in any way, the company, Jon Benson Fitness LLC, will refund your money without questions or hassles. Click to watch a presentation on Jon’s “Caveman Principle” of eating and why it works so well for hundreds of thousands of people for fast, sustainable, and enjoyable weight loss.

For more info on Jon’s program ** click here**

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Injuries are an unfortunate consequence of working out sometimes. If you do weight training then your injury risk increases and if you’ve been working out for many years I imagine you’ve been I injured at some time. If you haven’t then lucky you, if you have then you should expect to spend some time on the sports therapy couch.

Here’s my Top 5 Things Your Sports Injury Practitioner Should Be Doing

1. Do they do a full body screening examination? The first thing they should do after talking to you. Lots of injuries have nothing to do with the actual site of pain and can be referred from other ‘weak’ areas of the body.
2. Did they give you a full diagnosis? Don’t accept poor answers like “hamstring strain”, get more details, which muscle particularly? Grade of damage? Healing time? etc
3. Do they lay their hands on you? If your sports injury person only uses machines and doesn’t use manual therapy (actually using their hands to, manipulate, stretch, trigger point etc.) then they are not treating you properly.
4. Have they given you a rehabilitation program? Are they giving you exercises to make things better and strengthen the weak parts or are you just turning up, getting treated and then that’s it until next time…if this is the case quite frankly you are not being looked after properly.
5. Do they have an idea of how to help you return to sport? When you’ve been injured it is quite common to come back and reinjure yourself in a different but related area i.e. you have just recovered from a knee operation and then promptly go out and tear a hamstring or turn an ankle over.

It’s not really important what type of practitioner you see; it could be a physiotherapist, a sports therapist, a chiropractor or an osteopath. All these ‘medical’ people have different ways of treating the same problem, but they must be doing the 5 things I listed above or you should think very hard about changing who you see.

I’ve been treated by all of these different types of therapist and have experienced good and bad in all types, if you don’t already see someone and need to then do some research, it could end up saving you a fortune!

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This guest blog post was written by fitness and nutrition author Rob Poulos I have his permission to share it with you.

Ask ten people what type of exercise they should be doing to burn fat and fire up their metabolism and they’ll all probably tell you the same thing. They’ll tell you that you need to do 30-40 minutes of moderately-paced aerobic exercise on a treadmill, elliptical machine, stair climber, etc. for 3-5 times per week.

They’ll probably also tell you that more is better…4 times per week would be better than 3, and 5 times per week would be even better.

People will tell you this because that’s been and continues to be the mainstream recommendation for fat burning by many fitness professionals. Get in a certain target heart rate and stay at that heart rate for 30 minutes or so, several times per week. I am here to tell you there is a better way.

Sure, you’ll burn some calories while you’re running to nowhere on a treadmill, but you won’t make a complete physique transformation with this type of exercise alone.

In fact, this type of exercise can actually be counterproductive to burning fat. Here are just a couple of reasons:
Long duration, lower intensity aerobics calls upon your stored body fat for energy during the sessions. While this may sound good, this can actually cause your body to create more body fat in reserve after the workout is over to have ready for your next workout. Yikes!

What’s worse, this type of exercise when done frequently as typically suggested, trains your cardiovascular system to be efficient. Again, while this sounds good, your heart and lungs can actually reduce their capacity for work as they are getting more efficient at doing easy work (your long duration, low intensity aerobic workouts), which reduces their ability to handle stress.

This can lead to a host of other problems including higher change of heart attack. You are only working within your current aerobic capacity because you’re never challenging it to go beyond what it’s capable of. And anything that is easy will not yield results even close to what’s challenging for the body to accomplish.

Instead, you should be challenging the body to increase its capacity, so that it is stronger and able to deal with stress more easily. How is this done?

The fastest and most efficient way to rev up your metabolism, burn fat faster, and develop lifelong health and fitness is to add lean muscle to your body through resistance training – period. You want life changing results in the quickest possible time? Get stronger and build some muscle. When you add lean muscle to your body you’ll be literally turning your body into a fat burning machine!

Let’s say that you were eating the amount of calories that allow you to maintain your current bodyweight, but began to add lean muscle to your body through proper resistance training…you’ll need to use some of those calories you’re eating to feed the new muscle, creating a calorie deficit in your body.

In addition, when you stimulate your body with proper resistance training like I teach my students, the repair and growth process will call upon your stored body fat for energy. This calorie deficit combined with the repair and growth process will allow you to burn fat all day long, every day. You’ll even get these fat burning effects when you’re sitting around doing nothing at all.

Also, properly conducted resistance training actually increases your heart and lung’s capacity for work. By placing intense demands on your body, it is forced into being ready for anything you throw at it. This makes you more resistant to cardiovascular health problems that plague most people…even those that exercise with aerobics frequently.

And the beauty is I’ve discovered that you don’t have to spend much time working out to get the fat loss effects, and strength and muscle gains that will create this environment…you can actually get it done with 2 or 3 weekly workouts that last between 20 and 30 minutes, and even less time at an advanced level.

And it’s easy to make this type of exercise part of your life because of its efficiency…and it will help keep you lean and healthy for the rest of it…muscle is the stuff that fat burning furnaces are made of! That I can promise you.

For more info on Rob’s program **click here**

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Weight training exercises are essential in the development of specfic strength. The front squat is one of these and should be an important aspect of your programming

When performing the front squat you must learn to ‘rack’ the bar on the front of the shoulders and hold the bar in the ‘Olympic’ position.

This is a key technique, especially as it is a foundation exercise needed before to transition into the full Olympic lifts such as the clean.

The exercise starts by sitting down into your heels by pushing your hips back. Maintain a tight core by engaging your abs and keep your elbows high as you go down.

Now the depth to which you go will depend upon a number of factors that you may or may not be able to change (but that’s for further discussion at another point).

The important thing is that you do not go so deep that your ‘tail’ bone starts to rotate under you, the risks to your lower back are just too large to any benefits you could gain.

The picture to the left is the lowest I am willing to go before I start to compromise my spinal position.

Everyone is different and you need to keep with in the safe zone to be safe…some people will undoubtedly tell you that you are not squatting deep enough but until you address the causes of your lack of range the most prudent thing to do is be cautious…you’ll still get some great gains from doing it any way.

Especially as most people are trying to be fit for daily functioning not fit for weight lifting competitions.

It’s important in the bottom posistion of the front squat to keep your weight back into the heels and the elbows as high as you can.

You initiate the up movement by driving the hips forward keeping you weight into the heels and generating as much power from the glutes and hamstrings as possible.

The beauty of the front squat is that recent research suggests the loading on the hips and the thighs is similar as to that of the back squat. Also the lumber spine forces are also of fairly equal loads.

The major advantage the literature reports is the reduced knee compression forces in the front squat compared with the back squat.

This can be incredibly important in reducing the amount of wear and tear in the knee joint and is especially pertinent to the heavier people who’s knees are forced to bear increasingly larger loads.

Of course don’t forget the main reason for lifting this way is to learn one of the key components of the Olympic clean.

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This guest blog post was written by fitness and nutrition author Craig BallantyneI have his permission to share it with you.

If you are looking for a fat burning workout routine that gets you maximum results in minimum time, then you have come to the right place.

So many people are

– Eating well
– Exercising regularly
– but TICKED OFF they aren’t making progress.

That just means they haven’t found the right fat burning workout routine. Fortunately, I’ve spent over 16 years developing the best fat burning workout routine that you can do in the comfort of your own home.

First, let’s go over 3 common mistakes that are holding you back from burning fat.

1) Your perception of your nutrition "success" doesn’t match the reality of what, when, and how often you are eating. To learn the rules of fat loss, you need to read (scratch that, you need to
STUDY), Dr. Chris Mohr’s Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines.

2) There is no variety in your training.

3) You need to up the intensity of your fat burning workout routine.

Let’s face it. Human beings like to stick to a routine. We don’t like change. We like our comfort zone – some more than others. But if there is no change in your workout from month to month, then your body will not change either.

That is why I insist on changing your workouts every 4 weeks as you do in the TT workouts.

You won’t succeed by doing the same thing over and over again. Would you get ahead at work by doing the same tasks you did as the first day on your job? No way. You have to take on more challenges.

With variety in your training, you will continue to apply "turbulence" to the muscle, and making your body use lots of energy (i.e. calories and fat) during the recovery period to repair the muscle and replenish the energy used. That will "jack up" your metabolism.

If your body is used to the training, the exercises, the sets, and the reps, it will give a "ho-hum" response and your metabolism will flat line. And that’s why you need to raise the intensity of the workout as well.

Slow, boring cardio doesn’t jack up the metabolism like intervals. And research has shown that 8 reps boost your post-workout metabolism more than 12 reps. So you have to safely add a little weight (try using 5% more weight with perfect form, of course), and decreasing the number of reps per set by 2. That’s a good place to start.

And if you’ve been doing a machine circuit, then stop, and give this sample free weight Turbulence Training workout a try.

Warm up with a bodyweight circuit. Do 8 reps per exercise, and go through the circuit twice.

Sample bodyweight circuit:

i) Bodyweight squat
ii) An easy pushup
iii) A bodyweight row if possible, if not, do stick-ups

Then do 20 minutes of total body strength training done in supersets.

ie.
1a) DB Squat
1b) DB Press

Do each exercise with a weight that allows only 8 reps. Do not rest between the squat and press. Rest 1 minute after the press. Repeat the superset 2 more times.

Next superset:

2a) Split Squat
2b) DB Row

Do each exercise with a weight that allows only 8 reps. Do not rest between the squat and press. Rest 1 minute after the press. Repeat the superset 2 more times.

Then you can move on to intervals:

Start with a 5 minute warm up.

Then do 6 intervals of 60 seconds at a "harder than normal cardio pace" with 60-90 seconds recovery (at the easiest pace possible).

Finish with a 5 minute cool down and then stretch tight muscles only.

That’s it. You are all done.

We don’t do slow cardio in the Turbulence Training fat burning workout routines. It does nothing for men or women who are short on time.

And of course, always train safe and don’t do anything you are not comfortable doing…but if you are fit and healthy, you can increase the intensity, change the variables, and burst through
your fat loss plateaus.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne,

Author, Turbulence Training – The Fastest Fat Burning Workout Routines

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This guest blog post was written by fitness and nutrition author Kardena Pauza I have her permission to share it with you.

A healthy diet is a vital component to any fat loss program. Fortunately, this superfood can be found at any grocery store or farmer’s market at a relatively inexpensive price. 

What’s more, this superfood supplies a majority of the Recommended Daily Allowance for vitamins and minerals to give you endless amounts of energy, it stabilizes your blood sugar and detoxifies your body, and it provides you with the essential amino acids your body needs to build strong, lean muscles.

So what is it?

None other than the leafy green vegetable.

I hope you aren’t disappointed it wasn’t something exotic like elixir berry juice.  But, the truth of the matter is, the leafy green vegetable is an underrated, nutrient dense, inexpensive, and readily available superfood.

It does, however, get a little more exciting in that this dark green vegetable has many substitutes, including spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, chard, parsley, cilantro, and many others.

In fact, if you go to a farmer’s market I’m sure you’ll find plenty to choose from.  And variety is important because each green offers a different composition of minerals and vitamins.

Most leafy greens have a mild flavour, but if you’re unsure about one, here’s a little tip you can use when doing your shopping.  When you find a green that you think you’d like to try, simply pinch off a small piece of it and give it a try.  If you like the taste, add it to the cart, if not, just hope no one was watching!

Alright, you’re home and ready to give the leafy greens a try, but you’re unsure how to eat them.  Well, here are some suggestions:

1.   Prepare a salad with a base of greens that you like, while adding in some of the new, unfamiliar greens. You’ll find that over time you’ll acquire a taste for the new darker greens and begin to really enjoy them.
2.   Add greens to your smoothies. I know it sounds odd, but trust me, you won’t taste a thing.  Just start out with a small amount of greens and slowly add more.
3.   Try making fresh fruit and veggie juice with greens in it. Personally, I like cilantro, parsley, and spinach in mine.
4.   Stir fries are a great way to add in veggies and greens.
5.   Also, try making soups with added greens.

So, those are just some of the ways in which you can add one of the best superfoods to your diet.  Try them out for two weeks and I guarantee that you will feel more alert and have more energy.

For more info on Kardena’s program **Click Here **

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This guest blog post was written by fitness and nutrition author Tom Venuto I have his permission to share it with you.

The Negative Calorie Diet Theory

The phrase, "negative calorie food", as highlighted in negative calorie diet programs and books, usually refers to foods that allegedly require more energy to digest than they contain. Since the process of digestion requires the use of calories for energy, sometimes the net amount of metabolizable energy available from a food is less than the gross number of calories contained in the food.

However, there is actually no such thing as a negative calorie food, if your definition of negative calorie food is that more calories are required to digest, aborb and assimilate the food than are contained in the food. In reality, the energy required to digest the food is only a small percentage of the total calories.

The Thermic Effect of Food, Explained

The energy used to digest food is known as the thermic effect of feeding. The thermic effect of each food varies based on the food type:

• Dietary fat has the lowest thermic effect of only about 3-5%
• Carbs have a thermic effect of about 15%
• Proteins have a thermic effect of about 30%.

You may notice that fruits and vegetables make up most negative calorie food lists, but protein foods have the highest thermic effect. A significant amount of calories are required to digest and process proteins. In a protein food like a chicken breast, if a serving contained 200 calories, 30% or 60 calories may be required for the process of digestion. Therefore, the available metabolizable calories remaining are approximately 140.

Lean Protein Foods Have the Highest Thermic Effect

Not only do lean proteins have the highest thermic effect, research has proven that proteins are the most satiating and they help suppress the appetite better than other foods. Unless you are a vegetarian, in which case you will need to get your protein from plant-based sources, it makes sense to include lean proteins with each meal on a diet program to burn fat:

• Poultry; chicken and turkey breast
• Lean red meat; top round, extra lean sirloin, game meats
• Fish; all varieties
• Eggs; egg whites and whole eggs in moderate quantities (approx 1 yolk a day)

In this context, there is a grain of truth to the theory of negative calorie foods, but only if you’re referring to the fact that some calories are burned in the digestive process, leaving a net calorie intake lower than the gross calories. There are NO foods that cost more calories to digest than the foods themselves contain.

Dietary Fiber and Non-Metabolizable Calories

Another possible interpretation of negative calorie foods is in the case of high fiber foods. Part of the caloric energy in fiber cannot be used by the human body and is passed through the digestive tract unabsorbed.

Certain foods such as low calorie fruits and especially fibrous and green vegetables, which are extremely low in calorie density, do not provide very many metabolizable calories and some of the calories are not absorbed. In that sense, like the thermic effect of food, you could say there is a "negative calorie" effect.

Celery as the Quintessential "Negative Calorie Food"

Many people search the web for a list of negative calorie foods. The most commonly included food is celery. Celery is extemely low in calories. Two large stalks of celery contain only 20 calories, with 1 gram of protein, 2 grams of carbs and no fat. Celery also contains 2 grams of dietary fiber known as cellulose.

Although some animals, such as ruminants (cows, etc), can digest cellulose, humans cannot. Since we can’t absorb the calories from this dietary fiber, this probably helps explain the origin of the myth that celery has negative calories. The truth of the matter is that celery doesn’t contain much of anything – it’s very low in nutrients and calories. However, that does NOT mean it takes more calories to digest the celery than the celery contains.

For nutritional bang for your buck, you’re actually better off choosing darker greens such as Romaine lettuce, spinach, collard greens, kale, arugula, swiss chard, mustard greens and turnip greens. Not that you shouldn’t eat celery. I find that by adding celery into some of my recipes, it adds crunch and gives a meal more bulk, so you feel fuller on less calories. Just don’t buy into the celery and negative calories for weight loss myth.

Conclusions and Recommendations

When you look at various foods from this perspective you can see that eating more lean protein foods and more fruits and vegetables which have a high fiber content, may be more conducive to a fat loss program. However, it is a myth that there are negative calorie foods which require more calories to digest than they contain.

My advice is not to get too caught up in the idea of negative calorie foods, but certainly do take advantage of foods that have a high thermic effect, which are low in calorie density, high in nutrient density, high in fiber and which help suppress your appetite, naturally (it sure beats popping pills!) Do this as one part of a balanced nutrition program that is in line with your goals, just like what I teach in my best-selling fat loss program explained on the Home Page .

Sincerely,

Tom Venuto

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