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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This guest blog post is a transcription between fitness and nutrition authors Jayson Hunter and Jim Labadie. I have their permission to share it with you.

Jim: I got another question for you Jayson. With yogurt, it seems to me every time I go to the store I see yogurt and it’s mostly sugar and some protein. So, is there any, in terms of yogurt, is there anything you can do? I mean is it a good source of protein? Is it an okay source of protein?

Jayson: The basic form of yogurt is a good source of protein. When I say yogurt, I’m not talking about the Key Lime Whip, Yoplait type or the strawberry flavored. Yogurt would be just plain yogurt and you can get it in no added sugar and things like that. You can also do just the plain yogurt and if you don’t necessarily love the taste, mix a little protein powder in it or something like that to give it more of a chocolaty flavor or a natural strawberry flavor, but you’re getting more protein in that way as well. So, yeah I would probably try to avoid all the extravagant flavored yogurts and just stick to the basics or stick to the no added sugar type yogurts.

Jim: Is there any particular brand that you recommend, that you eat?

Jayson: I think the brand that I eat is, I think it’s Dannon. I’d have to go and look probably. But it’s the no added sugar type, and tastes great, and it has I believe Sucralose so there’s not the risk of cancer with the aspartame type theory. Which, actually I just read recently that they’re finding that that has been blown way out of portion actually and there’re studies coming out to prove that, so, yeah I think it’s with Sucralose and I think it’s by Dannon.

Jim: Okay, so basically let’s go no added sugar, right? What’s what we’re looking at?

Jayson: Yeah and it actually – I think it tastes better than regular plain yogurt.

Jim: Alright, that’s awesome because I’ll tell you what Jayson, that’s the kind of thing our listeners want to know. That would definitely be something for your Blog and by the way Jayson’s Blog is at GetRidOfMyGut.com. You can keep up with the great things Jayson discusses. And for those who don’t know, Jayson is a registered dietitian. He’s not just some guy who’s spouting off theories and the latest thing he read in a magazine. Jayson is one of the people that you’ll see in the magazines. So, anyway, tip number 3. I’ve got here, eat whole grain carbohydrates. So now, what is a whole grain carb? What’s a good carb? What’s a bad carb? When am I supposed to be eating some of these carbs?

Jayson: A whole grain carb would be carbohydrates that are considered a good source of fiber. So, you know, staying away from the – you’ve heard the thing of no white breads and things like that and white rice, and to a point there’s validity to why people say that. I don’t know that they always know why they are saying it, but the reason that they should try to limit those is because those are usually made with process carbohydrates and very little fiber content. So, those two right there are going to dramatically increase your insulin level, and obviously we want to keep our insulin low and our insulin response low, so fiber is going to help keep that insulin level low like I talked about with the vegetables.

You’re whole grain carbs are going to be anything that really says 100% whole grain. Some whole wheat, you have to look though because some will say wheat bread. Well, wheat bread is just white bread that hasn’t been bleached. So you need to look for the whole grain or the whole wheat wording in it to find out, and look at the fiber source. Most of them should have at least 2 grams of fiber per serving, if not 3 to be considered a good fiber source. So, that will help you get you your answer as well with that. So, brown rice is – you mentioned meat and potatoes eat the baked potato with the skin. Include that skin because that’s going to give you that fiber, that’s going to give you your vitamins and minerals that are going to help that insulin level. Don’t just eat the white of the potato.

Jim: Gotcha. Okay. So, trying to get back to one of the points you were talking about there, the bread. When I read a food label for whole wheat bread, what should – I’ve seen enriched flour or, I was taught when I was in school to always look for 100% whole wheat, you know is that the one main ingredient on whole wheat bread that we’re looking for? Or, how do we truly know that it’s whole grain as opposed –

Jayson: That’s, right, you do want to look within the first 5 ingredients for something that says whole grain, whole oat, as one of those ingredients. You want to avoid the enriched because that’s the processed portion. Then you also want to look at the fiber, because that’s also going to help – if it’s whole grain, whole wheat type product it will have fiber in it and it will be a decent source of fiber. If it has one gram or less of fiber in it it’s not going to be 100% whole grain.

Jim: Okay.

Jayson: To be whole grain usually means that they keep the skin or the husk of the kernels and different oats, the skin of those attached and that’s what’s giving it that fiber. To make the white breads and whatnot, they shuck all those outer skins off and just use the insides and that’s where you get just your white breads and you’re just plain wheat breads that haven’t been bleached.

Jim: Wow, that’s pretty cool. I never knew that.

Jayson: Learn something new every day.

Jim: Now you know, yeah. I’m sure glad I’m doing this interview. Alright, rapid weight loss diet tip number 4. Eat more healthy fats. Now, this is very confusing for people, I’m sure. Healthy fats, unhealthy fats, Trans fats, why is this going to be such a big deal when it comes to losing weight fast?

Jayson: Well, your healthy fats are actually what you see in the media and in your print advertisements is what’s usually called essential fatty acids, and what that means is that it’s fatty acids and fats that we cannot produce in the body on our own, so we have to get them through diet. And, why essential fatty acids are so important is, because there’s hundreds and hundreds of studies that are showing that it helps with brain function.

The government is doing studies with Alzheimer’s patients because of the role with brain function, it’s helping slow down that disease; help prevent certain diseases such as heart disease and cancer. The studies are actually now showing that it may actually increase your metabolism by as much as 400 calories a day and that’s the big one when it comes to just specific weight loss.

If you want to just throw out all the numerous health benefits of why essential fatty acids are good and just go off of the fact for weight loss and fat loss, it actually helps increase your metabolism and there’s also some studies showing that it may actually block what they tend to call pre-fat cells from turning into permanent fat cells. So, again, that’s another huge step in regards to weight loss and trying to prevent weight gain. And, essential fatty acids primarily are, what you’ll also hear or read, is Omega 3 fats.

You’ll see that fish is an excellent source of Omega 3 fats. Olive oil, people are promoting instead of using vegetable oil, use olive oil because of the essential fatty acids and the Omega 3s. Walnuts and Almonds are another good source and they’re actually a good protein source, they contain good fiber, and they contain healthy fat.

So, if you want a healthy snack, throw some almonds in a bag and take them with you to work, keep them at your desk. They’re a great snack to help you feel full; help boost that metabolism and it’s actually it’s a really good food for you in many ways. You know you’re getting your fiber, you’re getting your protein, you’re getting your healthy fat, you’re getting three of the five tips I’m giving you today just in one food, with that.

Jim: There you go guys. You have no excuse but to lose that gut of yours. So, Jayson we’re almost out of time. How to lose belly fat tip number 5. Eat frequent meals. Alright so we’ve got busy guys on the go that want to know how to get rid of that gut fast. I’m sure they’ve heard it before eat smaller meals throughout the day. They’re probably having a muffin and coffee for breakfast, having a big lunch, maybe not eating all afternoon, come home and eat a huge, huge dinner. How are these guys going to get 4-6 small meals a day?

Jayson: Well, you do have to do a little planning ahead, but if you use the previous four tips, you know, you could cut up some vegetables ahead of time on a Sunday and just put them in bags so that you have them available to put into your lunch or as a snack. Protein choices you’ve got the yogurt, you could hard boil the eggs, you could have some string cheese, mozzarella cheese, as a snack. Almonds, as we talked about.

You know those types of things and plan ahead to where you don’t have to think the morning of, “Alright what am I going to eat for my snack today? What am I going to do for lunch? And then I got that snack in the afternoon.” It’s all already in the fridge. If you do maybe an hour of planning on a Sunday or a Saturday, all you have to do is pack it. Put it in individual bags or Tupperware containers, throw it in your cooler or bring it with you and put it in the refrigerator at work, so that it’s available. That way, the less thinking you can take out of it, the better off you’re going to be.

Because it’s those times where you’re hungry and you have nothing in front of you that you end up going to the vending machine, or you end up not eating at all, which is actually really bad because, the reason you should be eating frequently throughout the day is it boosts your metabolism. Every time you eat your metabolism increases to digest that food. Your body uses calories to digest calories? So, you want to keep that metabolism revved up every day.

And just yesterday I’m working with a group of people at a local company here and one of the guys, he ate pretty healthy, he’s not severely overweight but he’s got a gut and it seems to be getting bigger. He was like, how do I lose my belly fat. And, he wasn’t eating frequently, so I said, “First, you need to start eating 4-6 times a day?” And that was the biggest shock to a lot of these guys; they were like “Really?” You know, because they are used to skipping breakfast, eating McDonalds for lunch and then going home and eating dinner.

So, the only change he’s really done is he’s eating 6 times a day and he’s lost like, I want to say 18 lbs or something like that since Thanksgiving. And that’s really the only change he’s done. We have not changed much else. It wasn’t like he was eating no protein and went to eating protein at every meal or he went to all non-starchy foods. He was, already doing some of that sprinkled in there already, but his biggest change was, he ate frequently. And the weight is coming off.

Jim: And for those of you who are listening to this, it’s January now that we’re recording this.

Jayson: It’s been like 6 weeks maybe, since we started with this.

Jim: And that’s rapid weight loss but it’s also permanent, safe, it helps metabolism, improves metabolism and that’s not a starvation diet where it’s going to cause massive problems down the road right?

Jayson: No, and he gets to eat. I mean, what guy doesn’t want to eat. You know, the worst thing about trying to lose weight is you think you have to starve yourself and that’s the exact opposite that you want to do if you’re going to lose weight. You need to feed yourself and you need to feed yourself consistently because then the weight will come off. If you restrict eating and that metabolism plummets cause your body has to survive. It goes into a survival mode at that point and it’s going to do everything possible to burn as little calories as possible because you don’t feed it frequently enough.

Jim: Absolutely. Alright Jayson, well we appreciate you being here very, very much. For all those guys out there looking to lose belly fat, get rid of their guts, get in shape, you’ve heard it here from Jayson. Again his Blog is GetRidOfMyGut.com, lots of great information there, got a great news letter, and he’s got a free e-book, 36 Potent Foods to Help You Lose Weight. It’s a very cool e-book and I definitely recommend you get on it and get that. That’s at GetRidOfMyGutDiet.com so be sure to check that out and Jayson, we will talk to you next time.

Jayson: Alright, thank you.

For more gut busting strategies check out how to lose weight fast and fast easy weight loss

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This guest blog post is a transcription between fitness and nutrition authors Jayson Hunter and Jim Labadie. I have their permission to share it with you.

Jim: Hey fellas! It’s Jim Labadie and I am interviewing Jayson Hunter of GetRidofMyGutDiet.com. He’s going to tell us all about how to get rid of your fat belly and how to get rid of your beer gut. He’s going to teach you fast healthy weight loss tips for rapid weight loss.

The difference between this program and others is that it’s a really amazing system that Jayson has that helps you lose weight very quickly, but also helps you keep it off. This isn’t that BS stuff that’s floating around out there, those nonsense diets. This is the real deal. So, any of you guys out there with the big ol’ beer gut and you want to get rid of it fast, Jayson is the man to talk to. So today we’re going to go over 5 simple steps that you can take to lose that weight fast. So, Jayson, thank you for being here.

Jayson: Well, thank you for having me.

Jim: Okay, so let’s get started. What’s tip number 1? How do they lose weight fast?

Jayson: Well, a real simple one is and we’ve all been taught it, from the time we were kids from our parents, is increase your vegetable intake, more specifically your non-starchy vegetable intake, which the difference between starchy vegetables and non-starchy vegetables comes down to really just two vegetables. Corn and peas are considered starchy vegetables and pretty much ever other vegetables are non-starchy, so it’s not to hard to choose a vegetable that’s non-starchy.

The main reason is, because you want to be able to eat something that is no caloricly dense but nutrient dense and non-starchy vegetables contain a lot of vitamins and minerals. They’re a great source of fiber which is very important for helping you feel fuller longer, not encouraging you to eat 30 minutes after you eat something. You’re going to be nice and full for a long time. And, it requires more calories to burn those vegetables up because there’s more substance to them. That fiber takes a little longer to digest, so the body has to work a little harder with that and you keep your insulin levels in check which is a big one for preventing those promotions of fat storage.

Jim: Okay, so my questions on that are real quick. Where does a potato fall? I mean, most guys in there who’ve got these big beer guts, they’re probably meat and potatoes guy. So, where does a potato fall?

Jayson: A potato actually falls more in line of a carbohydrate then a vegetable.

Jim: Okay.

Jayson: So it’s more of a starch. What you’re really looking for to eat is cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, green beans, are your most common ones that people are going to eat, and then of course you can get into more of your non-common string beans, artichoke hearts, and things that are probably more of people that are vegetable aficionados or maybe grow their own gardens or live in rural areas that are more likely to have a wide variety of vegetables at their disposal.

Jim: Got it. Okay, real quick. What is insulin you mentioned insulin there? Just for those who don’t know.

Jayson: Well, insulin shuttles blood — When you eat you get sugar in your blood and your body has to get that sugar out of the blood and either use it as energy or store it for use at a later time. Insulin actually does that. When you ingest food and you get these sugars into your blood, your insulin increases to go out and get those sugars, pull them out of your blood and either, like I said, burn them for energy or store them to be used at a later time. When all of your carbohydrate glycogen levels are full, well then the only other alternative is to be stored as fat. And so, insulin tends to promote fat storage because most peoples glycogen/carbohydrate levels are usually pretty full, so the alternative is fat storage.

Jim: Gotcha. Okay, so those of us looking to get rid of our big ol’ male beer guts, we’re looking to be very careful of insulin and its response.

Jayson: You want to keep that insulin response low, which is one of the main goals.

Jim: Alright, cool. So, just to let everybody know, Jayson has a killer free e-book you can get at GetRidOfMyGutDiet.com.Its 36 foods that you can read about, with all sorts of vegetables, and all sorts of great choices fast. So, check out GetRidOfMyGutDiet.com. Alright, Jayson number 2, protein at every meal. We hear so much about protein; again, the guys are probably meat and potatoes guys. Why is it so important – how do we maybe make the transformation to just eating fatty protein sources to types of proteins that they should be eating to help them lose that gut.

Jayson: Well, like you said, men are definitely meat and potatoes type of guys so it definitely should be easy to get protein into your diet consistently, but you also do want to control the types of protein you get in. A fried chicken breast, or 18 chicken wings from Hooters, probably isn’t going to be the best source. Yes, its protein, but you are also going to pack in a lot of extra calories that you really don’t need if you’re trying to lose your gut. So, one of the things you want to do is to look for those lean protein sources. Skinless chicken breasts, lean beef and steaks, fish grilled not fried. Eggs are another good source.

You know so many people are scared of eggs but it seems more and more of the research is showing that really eggs aren’t that bad for you. They’re not the main culprit of why people are fat and have high cholesterol. Dairy is also another good source. If you like cottage cheese or yogurts or things like that, you can get in your lean protein that way as well.

Learn more about Get Rid of My Gut Diet in part 2

For more info on Get Rid of My Gut Diet program **click here**

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

How do I Determine if I’m Over-training?

Determining if you’re currently over-training is fairly simple. If you’re in tune with your body, you can often see the signs of over-training before they get serious. If you are losing interest in workouts, are having trouble sleeping, and feel weak and irritable, you may be in a state of over-training and should take a week or more off.

If you are experiencing two or more of the symptoms outlined earlier in the article, this should raise a red flag.

Another variable you can use to determine if you are over-training is by tracking the performance of your workouts.

Has your physical performance improved compared to your last workout?

For example, let’s say last workout you were able to perform 8 pull-ups using your body-weight, but were only able to perform 6 pull-ups the following week. This means that you have not “out done” your previous workout, have not fully recovered, and therefore are likely over-training. You have to re-asses your program and make modifications so that you see progress every workout.

How Can I Prevent Over-training?

In order to avoid over-training, you need to take a multi-faceted approach. Determining the correct training volume and intensity, eating the right foods, and getting the right amount of rest and recovery must all be taken in to consideration. Now let’s take a look at each of those factors in more detail.

Correct Training Volume

Determining the correct training volume can be difficult, especially when you are first starting out. You have to determine how much weight to lift, how many repetitions and set to perform for every single workout.

You need to use your own judgment in this case, based on your recovery ability and your recovery methods. Remember that the goal is that you improve every single workout, and if this isn’t happening, you have to decrease the intensity of your workouts.

This is where many people go wrong though. You begin your workout and realize that you have not fully recovered. You can either continue to train at a lower intensity than the previous workout, or skip the workout entirely.

As hard as it may be, skipping the workout is the right way to go. Just turn around and go home! Your body is telling you that it needs more rest, and you must listen to it!

There is no point in training at a lower intensity, further breaking down the muscle tissue. By doing this you will increase your risk of injury, and make it harder for your body to fully recovery for your next training session.

Proper Nutrition

Your diet plays a huge role in your muscle building program. It helps regulate hormone levels, provides energy, and provides the raw building blocks that are used to create new tissue.

Here are some dietary recommendations that will limit the chance of over-training:

• Do not skip breakfast. This is one of the most important meals of the day. Skipping breakfast is very catabolic, and can promote muscle loss.
• Never let yourself get hungry. If you’re trying to build muscle mass, you have to constantly feed your body quality foods so that it never has the chance catabolize muscle tissue.
• Unless you are trying to build muscle and lose fat, make sure you have eaten prior to your training session and are not hungry.
• Have the largest meal of the day within an hour after your workout. Do this every single workout!
• Consider taking proven supplements like creatine, and antioxidants to increase performance and fight free radicals.
• Eat every 2-3 hours to ensure that your body remains in an anabolic state.
• Keep glycogen levels at full capacity to inhibit muscle tissue breakdown.

Rest & Recovery

Rest and recovery is essential when it comes to avoiding over-training. Make sure that you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night, and that you are on a consistent schedule. As for recovery time, it’s important that you have days off between weight training workouts. Try to have one rest day between weight training workouts, and never train the same muscle groups on consecutive days.

About the Author:
Vince Delmonteis a competitive fitness model and personal trainer, as well as the author of No-Nonsense Muscle Building, a complete guide to building muscle for the hardgainer.

Vince’s program includes extensive diet plans, complete weight training regimens, video tutorials, and full email personal training support.

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

Almost anyone that’s picked up a set of weights has or will experience symptoms of over-training at one point in there muscle building program. Over-training can lead to serious injury, chronic fatigue, and even muscle loss.

Over-training is very common amongst athletes and particularly bodybuilders, since they figure that training as much as possible is the fastest way to massive muscle gains.

This couldn’t be any further from the truth however…

Training too much, or at too high of an intensity will lead to over-training.

Now this doesn’t mean you don’t have to put plenty of effort in to see some decent results… Whether you are a bodybuilder, athlete, or just someone that wants to add some additional mass to your frame, you need to train hard and be consistent-that’s a given. In order to get the most out of your genetics, you have to progressively overload the muscles by increasing the weight and / or intensity of each weight training workout.

The problem is however, that many of us increase the intensity of our workouts or get insufficient amounts of rest, or even worse, a combination of both. The trick is finding the right balance between workout volume and intensity, and rest and recovery. And that is exactly what I’ll cover in this article.

The Effects of Over-Training on Bodybuilders

First, let’s take a look at some of the effects of over-training and how one can prevent over-training from happening in the first place.

The Effects of Over-training on the Nervous System

Over-training effects both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in the following negative ways:

• Higher resting heart rate
• Weak appetite
• High blood pressure
• Weight loss
• Trouble sleeping
• Increased metabolic rate
• Irritability
• Early onset of fatigue

If you are experiencing more than one of the symptoms outlined above, you may be in a state of over-training, and should evaluate your routine as soon as possible.

The Effects of Over-training on Hormone Levels

Many studies have indicated that over-training negatively effects the levels of hormones, as well as the hormone response in the body. Since hormones play such an important role in the muscle building process, this can have a detrimental effect on your training progress.

Over-training has been show to:

• Decrease testosterone levels
• Decrease thyroxine levels
• Increase cortisol levels

The increase in cortisol levels along with the decrease in testosterone levels is a deadly combination, since this leads to protein tissue break down. This will ultimately lead to a loss of muscle tissue.

The Effects of Over-training on the Immune System

perhaps one of the most alarming repercussions of over-training is it’s negative impact on the immune system-you’re bodies first defense against harmful viruses and bacteria.

Over-training can drastically decrease the levels of antibodies and lymphocytes in your body, making you much more susceptible to illness. Simply put, this means that if you are in a state of over-training, you are much more likely to get sick. Since you will have to skip workouts while you are sick, your muscle building progress will slow considerably.

The Effects of Over-training on the Metabolic System

Here is a list of how over-training can effect the metabolic system. These symptoms are the ones that are most commonly discussed, and are ones we can’t ignore:

• Micro tears in the muscle
• Chronically depleted glycogen levels
• Slow, weak muscle contractions
• Depleted creatine phosphate stores
• Excessive accumulation of lactic acid
• Extreme DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)
• Tendon and connective tissue damage

So you must get the point by now… Over-training effects the entire body, and can seriously impact the results of your muscle building program.

Now let’s take a look at the different types of over-training, and what we can do to prevent it.

Is it Worse to Over-Train With Cardio or Weight Training?

Any form of over-training is a bad thing, however, I’ve personally experienced both types of over-training and can honestly say that over-training in the weight room is much worse, and much more prevalent than over-training through cardiovascular training.

Here are some of the reasons why:

• In order to grow, muscles must fully recover from their last workout, every workout. If you are over-training and work the muscles before they have fully recovered, you will break down the muscle tissue before it has rebuilt-making it impossible to build muscle!
• Over-training with weights makes you more susceptible to nervous systems hormone and immune system issues, which all pose serious health risks.
• It can lead beginners down the wrong path, perhaps wasting money on unnecessary supplements, or even worse, steroids.

I personally believe that only competitive athletes such as swimmers, runners and bikers run a serious risk of reaching a state of cardiovascular over-training, since there are often training for two or more hours daily.

The bottom line is that it is much easier for the average person to over-train while weight training than while cardiovascular training, and I think the effects can be more serious.

In Part 2 read about How to determine and Prevent Over-training

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

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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.

As a member of a popular fitness center for a few years, I noticed countless others frustrated with their fat burning exercise routines and eating practices, working so hard and long but with virtually no improvement to show for it.

Several of my own friends and relatives would mention this new program or product they had just shelled out cash for that was the answer to their fat loss or fitness goals. They were so excited about it and couldn’t wait to get started.

Then, a few weeks later, the same happy-go-lucky people that were once jumping with joy about their new plan to burn fat and get a new body became downright discouraged. It was hard to watch.

I’d ask them how their fat burning plan was working and they’d tell me that it seemed pretty good at first, but they didn’t get the results they were expecting or they felt were promised. They quickly became tired of following the daily workouts and found following the strict eating guidelines almost maddening at times. So they hopped onto the next plan.

Even worse, they became so frustrated with following these so-called exercise gurus’ programs, that they fell even deeper into unhealthy eating habits once they stopped the program. Binging became their only form of satisfaction. Forget about maximum fat burning, and talk about moving in the wrong direction.

What’s worse is that all of these people were following the typically recommended exercise and fad diets that were all the rage. They were doing what everyone else was doing to burn fat fast.

After speaking with many of these friends and inquiring about their exercise routines, I noticed one common theme that kept popping up in our discussions…they were focused on the short term…their approach was wrong. They weren’t thinking of lifelong health and fitness, but instead they were thinking about burning fat and getting in shape for “swimsuit season”.

More specifically, they were also performing their exercise in a less than optimal manner. And then I noticed this with many others at the fitness center I worked out in. They just seemed to lack the fire or intensity in their fat burning workouts which I knew could turn their programs from nothing to something literally overnight.

But you know, you can hardly blame them, and you certainly shouldn’t blame yourself if you’ve fallen into the cycle of fad exercise and diet programs. We all want to achieve what we know in our hearts we’re capable of so badly, and that’s why we’re such easy prey to this “get fit quick” mentality.

Most people are approaching health and fitness in the exact opposite way that they should be, and they’re not going to burn fat because of it. If you continually think of using exercise and nutrition as ways to lose a couple of pounds, or get in shape for summer, you’re going to be disappointed with your results.

If you think of exercise, nutrition, and rest as separate things, you’re going to be disappointed with your fat burning and fitness results. If you think you need to spend hours a week in the gym or adhere to some strange unnatural eating strategy, you’re going to be disappointed with your results.

What all of these approaches will do, is put you into the fat burning and fitness cycle of confusion that so many are stuck in these days. If instead, you choose to forget what you thought you knew, and start off with the right approach, the approach that focuses on making changes in your lifestyle long term, you’ll instantly improve your results by 1000%.

When your approach includes combining proper exercise that takes very little of your time, nutrition the way nature intended you to eat that is simple to understand and follow, and the rest and recovery that is vital to lifelong vitality and energy, you’ll experience an awakening of both body and mind. Plus you’ll burn more fat, too.

If you choose the path most often taken by those looking to improve upon them selves, you’ll most likely end up like most of them. Confused, frustrated, unhappy, burnt out, injured, sick, or worse. Did I mention very uhappy with their fat burning progress as well?

Instead, you can choose to embrace a lifestyle that includes brief, progressive, and intense resistance training, eating a diet full of nutrient rich foods, drinking tons of water, and getting plenty of quality sleep and rest. But know that when you do so, you’ll be joining the select few who understand that one of the true secrets to life long fat burning and fitness is not found on a fad diet or in a bottle on the shelf of your local health store.

Claim your free copy of Rob Poulos’s “7 Secrets Of Permanent Fat Loss & Fitness” at his website: http://www.fatburningfurnace.com

Rob Poulos is a celebrated fitness author, fat loss expert, and the founder and CEO of Zero to Hero Fitness. Rob created the world’s most efficient method for fast and permanent fat loss with his “Fat Burning Furnace” system to help those looking to put an end to restrictive fad diets, long boring cardio workouts, and the need for super-human willpower for good.

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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.

Some of the staples in the freezer:

Frozen fish – I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored.

Frozen berries – during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies

Frozen veggies – again, when the growing season is over and I can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.

Frozen chicken breasts – very convenient to nuke up for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.

Frozen buffalo, ostrich, venison, and other “exotic” lean meats – Yeah, I know…I’m weird, but I can tell you that these are some of the healthiest meats around, and if you’re serious about a lean healthy body, these types of meats are much better for you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef and pork that’s sold at most grocery stores.

Grass-fed steaks, burgers, and ground beef – Grassfed meats have been shown to have as high as, or even higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than salmon (without the mercury). Also, grass-fed meats have much higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compared to typical grain-fed beef. I recently found an excellent on-line store where I buy all of my grass-fed meats now (they even deliver right to your door in a sealed cooler) – http://www.healthygrassfed.2ya.com

Alright, now the staples in my cabinets:

Oat bran and steel cut oats – higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats.

Cans of coconut milk – to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.

Various antioxidant rich teas – green, oolong, white, rooibos are some of the best.

Stevia – a natural non-caloric sweetener, which is an excellent alternative to the nasty chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.

Organic maple syrup – none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima crap…only real maple syrup can be considered real food. The only time I really use this (because of the high sugar load) is added to my post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients into your muscles.

Raw honey – better than processed honey… higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (how you process carbs). I use a teaspoon or so every morning in my teas. Yes, it is pure sugar, but at least it has some nutritional benefits… and let’s be real, a teaspoon of honey is only 5 grams of carbs… certainly nothing to worry about.

Whole wheat or whole grain spelt pasta – much higher fiber than normal pastas.

Brown rice and other higher fiber rice – NEVER white rice

Cans of black or kidney beans – I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican wraps for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth promoting antioxidants!

Tomato sauces – delicious, and as I’m sure you’ve heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup.

Dark chocolate (as dark as possible) – This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It’s still calorie dense, so I keep it to just a couple squares; but that is enough to do the trick, so I don’t feel like I need to go out and get cake and ice cream to satisfy my dessert urges.

Organic unsweetened cocoa powder – I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks.

Lastly, another thing that’s hard to go wrong with is a good variety of fresh fruits and berries.

The staples such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are good, but I like to also be a little more adventurous and include things like yellow mangoes, pomegranates, star fruit, kumquats, pineapples, papaya, and others. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries are some of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense fruits you can eat.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this special look into my favorite lean body meals and how I stock my cabinets and fridge. Your tastes are probably quite different than mine, but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you can use next time you’re at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.

Be sure to pick up a copy of my book The Truth about Six Pack Abs, which introduces you to the entire comprehensive training and nutritional program that will turn your body into a lean, ripped specimen that others will envy!

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 Michael Geary I have his permission to share it with you.

In most of my Lean-Body Secrets Newsletters, I like to provide a healthy snack or meal recipe that not only is delicious, but also helps to get you closer to that hard-body appearance that everyone is looking for. In this article, I’d like to give you healthy food ideas in a different way. This time, I figured I’d just give you some ideas of what I stock my fridge and cabinets with.

Remember, if you don’t have junk around the house, you’re less likely to eat junk. If all you have is healthy food around the house, you’re forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you’ll enjoy.

Alright, so let’s start with the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I’m loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. During the growing season, I only get local produce, but obviously in winter, I have to resort to the produce at the grocery store. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like zucchini, onions, fresh mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, red peppers, etc. to use in my morning eggs. I also like to dice up some lean chicken or turkey sausage into the eggs, along with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses.

By the way I’m talking about whole eggs, NOT egg whites. Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part… and no, it’s NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol… eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol. Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality.

Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it’s also full of healthy saturated fats. Yeah, you heard me…I said healthy saturated fats! Healthy saturated fats like medium chain triglycerides, specifically an MCT called lauric acid. If the idea of healthy saturated fats is foreign to you, check out my healthy fats article.

Back to the fridge, some other staples:

Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt – I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.

Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds – delicious and great sources of healthy fats.

Whole flax seeds – I grind these in a mini coffee grinder and add to yogurt or salads. Always grind them fresh because the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals in pre-ground flax.

Whole eggs – one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).

Nut butters – Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with sesame seed butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter…delicious and unbeatable nutrition!

Salsa – I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.

Butter – don’t believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and can be part of a healthy diet (just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense…and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack).

Avocados – love them…plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.

Whole grain wraps and whole grain bread (look for wraps and bread with at least 3-4 grams of fiber per 20 grams of total carbs).

Rice bran and wheat germ – these may sound way too healthy for some, but they actually add a nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or smoothies, or can be added when baking muffins or breads to add nutrients and fiber.

Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots – for salads with dinner.

Home-made salad dressing – using balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo’s Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined soybean oil (full of inflammation-causing free radicals).

In part two look out for staples in the freezer and staples in the cabinets.

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 Kardena Pauza I have her permission to share it with you.

For many of us traveling, it means skipping workouts, eating processed foods, and generally feeling guilty and frustrated because our commitment to a healthy lifestyle has temporarily gone by the wayside.

But with a little effort and following some quick and easy tips I’ll share with you, you’ll never have to resort to the over-priced, high-calorie food options that are prevalent in airports.

But first, did you know that when you’re at the airport you can actually take your own food through the security check? Most people don’t know this, but as long as it isn’t liquid, gels, or gooey stuff over 3 oz. then you’re in the clear.

Okay, so you know that preparation is the key for anyone looking to lose weight and stay fit. Well, this is especially the case when a last minute road trip unexpectedly arises.

So, with that in mind, here are some healthy food options suitable as snacks, breakfast, or dinner, that you can easily put together.

1. Grab all the veggies you have in the refrigerator and combine them to make one big tasty salad.

2. Pack 2-4 healthy nut bars. My favourite is the RAW bar.

3. Cut up fresh celery, carrots, and cucumbers – it’s quick and it’s easy.

4. Add a few pieces of fruit to your “lunch pack”.

5. Nuts are another excellent snack option.

6. Seaweed snacks. These delicious treats are sure to draw some wandering eyes as people try to figure out just what the heck it is you’re eating.

7. And lastly, pack a bag of flax crackers.

If you can put just 10 minutes into preparing some snacks for your trip, you’ll feel so much better later on when everyone else is stuffing their face with high fattening foods and you’re sticking to you healthy diet.

Even if it’s just some healthy snacks to tie you over while waiting at the airport, this plan with help you eat healthier and avoid the junk you know is bad for you.

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

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