Archive for November, 2009

This is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time.

Fitness pro Jon Benson released a bombshell last week on the fat-burning world.

He is giving away a book’s worth of material in his free 7-Day Personal Fat Loss Certification Course.

Free… and get this:  Anyone who completes the course gets his book “The Radical Fatloss Blueprint” free as well.

So there’s nothing to buy at all… in fact you get tons of free stuff AND you can even earn bucks in the program.

It’s just too cool for words.

So go see it for yourself:

Free Fatloss Course and Book

Here is a short review:

The Course is for anyone who wants to become their own “personal” fatloss expert. It is complete with a quiz each day and more material than most people sell in a book… and it’s totally freee.

After the course, you get his “Radical Fatloss Blueprint” free too. This is all about how he and a group of “guinea pigs” experimented with natural techniques and got up to 21 lbs of unwanted bodyfat off in just 21 days.

The average was 17.5, but some people got as much as 30 lbs off.

All with little to no muscle lost.

It then outlines the ‘exact’ workout and supplement “feeding” schedule Jon still uses to get into top shape in 21 days.

This is down to the ‘hour’… and it includes home workouts or gym workouts. Your choice.

This is his gift to my readers, and I am thrilled to share it with you.

Here you go:

Free Fatloss Course and Book

Enjoy the course!
 

Editor’s Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you.
 
Let’s get this one out in the open:

1. Fats do not make you gain bodyfat.

2. Fats do not put you on Heart Attack Row.

3. Fats are not the enemy.
 
We’ve been sold a bag of lies when it comes to fats.
 
Fats are essential for your body’s hormone production, skin health, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and even burning bodyfat. Yep… you need fats to burn fat.!

Studies have been conducted to attempt to elevate cholesterol levels using high-fat diets. Most all of them have failed miserably — in fact several “lowered” total cholesterol while raising the so-called “good” cholesterol (HDL).
 
That being said, you don’t need the following…
 
1. A lot of fats in your diet. Fats still contain over twice the calories per gram as carbs and protein.

2. Any kind of “fake fats” — margarine or processed oils of any kind are highly dangerous foods.
 
Here’s my simple dietary fats solution:
 
1. Eat fats as they occur in nature, but eat at least 80% as they “actually” occur in nature — meaning from grass-fed and free-range sources. The extra cost is worth it. It tastes better and your medical costs will well offset the few dollars more per pound you pay.

2. Cook with a combination of olive oil and coconut oil, but use both sparingly. If you are eating plenty of animal protein you do not need excessive fats… not because of ‘danger’ but because of needless calories. Not a good idea if you’re wanting to keep your abs. But a bit of raw butter or olive oil can make bland veggies taste wonderful, so feel freee.

Also, omega 3-rich fats like olive oil and fish (and especially fish oil) help lower inflammation. That’s the real culprit behind heart disease in most cases.

3. Avoid a lot of fats at night. The night-time meals should be high in lean protein (tuna, tofu, turkey breast) with very limited fats if you are wanting to really get lean. If you are just trying to shed bodyweight slowly, it’s okay to have some fats at night.

Just do me a favor: If you are on the “Fats make you gain bodyfat and have heart attacks” bandwagon, jump off. We have consumed fat for countless thousands of years. Just consume it the way we always HAVE (naturally, not stuffed with hormones and cooked up in a lab) and you’ll be fine.

If you want a diet-solution that actually uses dietary fats to help you take off the bodyfat, then use this one: Eat Fats, Burn Bodyfat!, it’s a real-world plan that allows you to eat your favorite foods and still shed the bodyweight you want.

And yes — that includes fats.
 

 
Editor’s Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you.
 
Got arm flab?

Know someone who does?

Some women I know with a healthy sense of humor refer to it as “their wings” because their arm flab flaps when they walk or jog.

It’s time to get rid of your wings ladies…

… and guys, listen up: You are not immune to arm flab. Even if your don’t have any, the tips I’m about to give will help you build stronger arms.

Before I go any further, I have to tell you about Marty Web.

Marty looked like … well, your typical 59-year-old housewife. Actually she looked a bit worse.

She was a good 80 pounds over her ideal bodyweight. And she had her wings…

… big time wings. Loads of arm flab.

That was at age 59.

At age 61… wow. Different story.

Marty transformed her body to such a degree that even I could have never guessed she was an OUNCE overweight!

Her story and 52 others just like her, male and female, are in my first book — and my best-seller Fit Over 40.

I’d like you to read more about it here – Cure For Arm Flab

Marty replaced her “wings” with toned, beautiful arms. And you can too.

She has two pages in Fit Over 40… too much to cover in an email… but here’s the basics to get you started:

1. You have to get your nutrition down pat. Most people think that the flab on their arms (or anywhere for that matter) can be solved by “turning it into muscle.”

This is not true folks. Fat does not turn into “anything”. It is used for energy. Period.

Muscle is muscle. Fat is fat.

You must use low-insulin nutrition like I recommend in all my books, including Fit Over 40, to lower your bodyfat. For ladies, the back-of-the-arm bodyfat is often the last bit to go.

But I promise — it will go. I can go for anyone. Marty Web and dozens of other ladies in Fit Over 40 prove that in living color… and they share how they did it.

1. Low-insulin nutrition means eating more protein-rich foods, foods that are not processed, and plenty of tasty veggies. But it does not mean you cannot have your pizza and burgers here and there. I do every week and my bodyfat is low.

2. You must train your triceps. The back of the arm is made of three muscles called the “triceps”. You have a long head, a medial head and a lateral head that form the triceps muscle group.

If you cannot access a gym, you can do plain-old pushups to work all three heads of the triceps. Here’s a few tips. First, if you cannot do a pushup with your legs straight, start by doing them on your knees. Work up to straight-legged pushups.

Next, do one third of your reps with your hands facing away from your body, one third with your hands facing toward your body (fingers pointing toward you) and the final third with your hands in the “normal” pushup position, facing the same direction as your body. This will work the various heads nicely.

If you have access to a gym, see the exercises for the triceps found in my book Fit Over 40:

Say Goodbye To Arm Flab

3. Finally, you have to have a role model. Find someone like Marty who has lost their wings and use their success to inspire you.

Put these three things together and you too will be “grounded” — wingless, but with a lovely pair of arms that never jiggle and look fantastic.

 
Editor’s Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you.

It’s like a dream come true.

“Gaining bodyfat is the result of a virus.”

Wouldn’t that be great news?

Well…

Let me tell you about the AD-36 adenovirus. Adenoviruses are the same nasty bugs that cause the common cold. We all have these viruses in various forms in our body all the time.

That last bit is a critical distinction.

Remember that.

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana has been doing some really ground-breaking research on AD-36. AD-36 affects stem cells… more specifically fat cells, both pre-formed and post-formed.

This means AD-36 can make MORE fat cells if contracted as an infant and make your fat cells larger if contracted as an adult.

Or so the theory goes.

To quote the study:

“Earlier researchers have concluded that Ad-36 may be contributors to obesity by super-charging fat cells to grow and store more fat. Until now, though, those researchers thought the viruses targeted pre-fat cells (called pre-adipocytes), causing them to convert in higher numbers to fat cells and causing those fat cells to be larger. Those studies were in mice. Pasaricas work determines the virus targets stem cells in humans.”

The result?

“In one test, a third of obese people had the rare and highly contagious virus compared to just 11 percent of thinner people. Weight gain can last three months until the body has built up resistance to the bug.”

Wow. Sounds like we have a winner here. A virus that you can catch that literally makes you gain bodyfat! All we need is…

A vaccine!

Right?

Wrong.

First of all, notice that 11% of LEAN people have AD-36. And at any given time, just like a cold or a flu virus, you could contract AD-36. If your body has ‘never’ been exposed to it, you may require about 3 months to build up antibodies to ward it off.

Now, you can gain a lot of weight in 3 months… but come on. You cannot become obese in three months unless you are really, REALLY working at it.

Plus, like most viruses, you build up immunity to AD-36. Researchers do not know how long the immunity lasts, but some theorize it could last years… some even decades.

And let’s not forget those 11% who are lean and have the virus.

Why did they not all of a sudden get “sick” with bodyfat?

Because they are not EATING or LIVING in a way that allows them to gain bodyfat no matter what nasty freakin’ viruses may be floating about, that’s why.

That’s right folks: It is always going to come down to the food we put in our body and the way we move.

Here’s another hypothesis presented by Sherry Strong, food philosopher and nutritionist: “This could very well be the result of nature creating a mutation to encourage us to eat more due to the fact our consumption of natural, whole and organic foods is so low.”

Brilliant observation… and one that makes complete sense.

Even if a “virus” is responsible for 20% of our weightgain, what about the other 80%?

We do not need a vaccine other than good food and a common sense workout plan.

Here’s the best ….

The “vaccine” for bodyfat

Here’s why I love this workout:

1. It’s fast. 7-14 minutes 3-5 days per week. Anyone on earth can do this.

2. The Basic Upgrade (you will see it) still comes with a copy of my book “The Every Other Day Diet.” Put the two together and you have an absolute winner of a plan that’s practical and enjoyable.

3. Plus, anyone who owns “Every Other Day Diet” gets my upcoming “Radical Fatloss Blueprint” book freee. It comes out March 1st.

That’s 3 good reasons to go here and check out 7 Minute Muscle…

The “vaccine” for bodyfat

Here’s one more:

You know better.

You know that there’s never going to be a magic pill for health, vitality, energy and looking your best.

We can keep hoping… or you can take action and get what you want now.

To me, that makes more sense than AD-36 “Super-Retro Fat-burning Vaccine” to hit the marketplace in 2021.

 
Editor’s Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you.
 
Just a word of warning:

I will be using the term “bodybuilder” or “bodybuilding” to refer to anyone who wants to build lean muscle and burn bodyfat in this article.

That means you.

Yep… you are a “bodybuilder.” That does not mean you want to look like a monster on stage and pose in front of thousands of people wearing nothing but your undies.

That means you want more lean muscle and less bodyfat — that’s it.

With that in mind, here’s something you have to know:

Bodybuilders do not “lift weights” — we “train” with weights.

We use weights as a tool like a sculptor uses a hammer and chisel.

The object of the game is not to lift some heavy weight from Point A to Point B and back. That’s weight lifting. “Bodybuilding” is about making the muscle you want to change do all the work.

Here’s two ways to do it:

1. Lower the weight and focus: Most people are just concerned with the lift itself. “Get this weight off of me!” seems to be the unconscious mantra. This will not get the job done. In fact you may end up looking bulky rather than sleek… or just not change at all. Instead, lower the weight slightly, slow the pace down (especially on the descent of the movement) and picture the muscle in your mind doing ALL of the work. Literally put your mind in the muscle. You will be amazed at how different the same exercise feels with this degree of concentration,.

2. Contract, hold, release: At the top of any movement, contract the muscle hard. Hold that contraction for a second or two, then release it and lower the weight slowly. This will not only cause faster muscle growth (that is a good thing) but also demand that you use less weight to get the job done. This means your joints — shoulders, knees, elbows — will last a lifetime. At 45 my joints are in perfect health. Protect yours at all costs.

Just remember: You are not just lifting weights when you train for muscle shape and “tone” — you are a sculptor. Treat your tools and your body with that degree of care.

I cover many more tips on how to build lean muscle and burn bodyfat faster in my book “7 Minute Muscle”.

Read more here: More Muscle In Far Less Time

 
[ Editor's Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]
 
It’s the spice of life.

Food that is. Or opinions. I guess there is a lot of things that are officially “the spice of life.”

I think spices are the spice of life.

I have a new-found love of spices since hanging around a killer healthy-food chef for the past week.

Wow oh wow… I had no idea.

And hey — I’m helping her put her recipes into to a book that will be out soon.

I’ll send you all a video of this woman doing her thing too in a week or so… prepare to be blown away.

Back to spices:

Not only can spices save an otherwise boring healthy meal…. turns out spices can help you burn more bodyfat.

The January 2006 issue of The Journal of Physiology and Behavior cited numerous studies on several spices that increased thermogenesis in the body.

Thermogenesis is simply heat — and since a calorie is a unit of heat, guess what?

More thermogenesis = more calories burned

= Less bodyfat.

Pretty cool stuff this thermogenesis.

In fact thermogenesis is the foundation of my upcoming handbook “The Radical Fatloss Blueprint.” Out in late February.

I’m giving this book away for freee for 21 days to anyone who owns a copy of “The Every Other Day Diet.”

The book comes out in late February… and it is… well, radical.

Up to 21 pounds in 21 days.

But you can only do it for 21 days. Fair deal, right?

If you want the book for freee, make sure you have “Every Other Day Diet” so I can send it to you the last week of February.

Get EODD here — More Thermogenesis, Less Bodyfat

For now, here’s the spices that work the best to help you burn bodyfat:

1. Capsaicin, the compound gives red chili pepper its heat, increased energy via heat expenditure by up to 23% after ingesting it at breakfast.

2. Black Pepper increases body heat (thermogenesis) by bonding to TRPV1 receptors in the brain.

3. Turmeric has both anti-cancer and pro-thermogenic support. Best of two worlds if you ask me.

Combine these three spices: Red chili pepper, black pepper and turmeric, and use them liberally (as you can handle them) on your lunch and dinner meals.

Just be careful not to overdo the spices, otherwise you’ll end up with more heartburn than fatburn.

I’ll be including FAR more powerful ways to burn bodyfat radically in “The Radical Fatloss Blueprint” — and you can get your copy free the last week of February if you own Every Other Day Diet.

Get it here — More Thermogenesis, Less Bodyfat
 

 
By Jon Benson.
 
I remember a friendly argument with my co-author of Fit Over 40 Tom Venuto. It all started when I told Tom how I was eating and training for my last peak. A peak is where you lower your bodyfat and try to maintain as much muscle mass as possible.

“There’s just no way I could ever get in shape eating and training like that,” says Tom. “Sure you could man…what are you, a mutant?” Tom fires back, then me, then Tom….and so it goes. (I really didn’t call Tom a mutant. That was creative liberty.)

So why are so many fitness pros like Tom freaked out about my training and nutrition plan? Simple: I claim it burns fat while building muscle at the same time. Every time I read an article by some doctor or expert claiming it’s “biologically impossible” to gain lean muscle mass on a hypocaloric diet (a diet low in calories) I just laugh.

I do more than make claims–I have proved this to be true many times. I’ve had my bodyfat hydrostatically measured during several peaks. In all but one I showed an increase of muscle mass and a decrease of bodyfat during a 12-16 week period. The one time I didn’t show an increase in muscle mass when was I was training the most in the gym. That may not make sense right now, but it will in a moment.

Article Continued Here — Gain Muscle Burn fat
 

 
There are three main keys to losing fat and gaining muscle. If you’re missing any of these you will most likely fail in your attempts to build a lean muscular body. So what are they?

1) Eat Less Calories than you burn off

2) Resistance Training

3) Eating enough protein to maintain muscle mass

That’s as short and sweet as I can put it.

Any diet can work as long as it gets you to eat less calories than you burn off. The key is to find a diet that suits your personality and your lifestyle. If you’re like me you don’t have time to spend on diet rules and focusing on good foods and bad foods, and what to eat and what not to eat, and meal timing and all of that.

The diet that will work for you will most likely be the one with the least amount of rules, or in fact no rules at all but rather just provide a guideline or two. For me that diet is Eat Stop Eat. It is the simplest nutrition program I have ever come across. There is only one guideline, and that is to take a 24 hour break from eating once or twice per week. That’s it, simple and effective.
 
See How Eat Stop Eat Can Benefit You
 
This type of eating program might work for you, or it might not. You just have to try it first. As long as you can find a diet you can stick with for the long term you’ll be able to lose weight, the next key it making sure all of that weight comes from fat. This is where resistance training comes in.

You have to do some form of resistance training in order to maintain and build muscle mass while you’re losing fat. If you are following an effective diet without doing resistance training you could end up losing muscle mass along the way. If this happens you could lose body weight without actually improving the look or shape of your body.

Your actual bodyweight doesn’t matter as much as your percentage of fat. If you can lose 5 pounds of fat, but gain 3 pounds of muscle you will only lose 2 pounds of bodyweight on the scale, but you’ll look 8 pounds different. Even though 2 pounds doesn’t sound like much, the difference on your body fat percentage is the key.

This is why weight training is so important while dieting. Weight training is the best way to make sure you don’t lose muscle while you diet, this helps with overall health as well as improving the overall look and shape of your body. After all when you diet the goal is to show off the lean muscle that is under the fat.

The third key to building muscle while losing fat is protein. You have to eat just enough protein to make sure your muscles can grow. This is a controversial topic that many nutrition ‘experts’ still don’t agree on. But the bottom line is protein is your friend when it comes to building muscle and especially when you’re dieting.

Mix these three key ingredients together and you’ll have a potent fat loss and muscle building program that can transform your body in no time.

****
Brad Pilon is a nutrition professional with over eight years experience working in the nutritional supplement industry specializing in clinical research management and new product development. Brad has completed graduate studies in nutritional sciences specializing in the use of short term fasting for weight loss.

His trademarked book Eat Stop Eat has been featured on national television and helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat without sacrificing the foods they love.
 
For more information See How Eat Stop Eat Can Benefit You

 
If you and I went to the local magazine stand and scanned the covers of the fitness magazines we would find dozens of ‘weight loss’ rules.

In fact we could spend the rest of the week reading magazines about the latest greatest weight loss tricks many of which may actually work for someone. But realistically there’s just no way you could actually follow ALL of them. So how do you know which ones are right for you?

The easy answer is you have to decide which rules fit best for YOUR life and then try to stick to just one or two that will make the most sense for you and have the most benefit.
 
See How Eat Stop Eat Can Benefit You
 
This may be the first time in your life you become a scientist, and your experiment is you.

Here’s what you do…

Browse any of the popular magazines, blogs, websites or anywhere you like to get fitness information. Read up on the diet and weight loss tips and tricks, these could be simple changes like not drinking calories, or a bigger philosophy like limiting the amount of carbs that you eat.

Make a top 10 list of diet strategies you’d like to try, and that sound doable to you. At this point add one new diet strategy to your life for two weeks. Record your bodyweight at the beginning of the two weeks and again at the end. If you haven’t lost any weight this strategy doesn’t work (for you). Discard it and move on to the next one.

This is the simplest way to tell if something will work for YOU. If the strategy you picked sounds like a good idea but seems too difficult for you to manage then it’s simply not a good fit for you in this stage of your life. If it worked for your friend but not for you that’s ok, there will be one that works just for you, this is why you make a top 10 list and try each of them, one at a time.

Let’s suppose you find one that works over a two week period and you don’t want to stop. That’s fine, just add the next one in the list, if you can handle more than one strategy at once more power to you and you’ll probably lose fat even faster. My guess is that sticking to more than one or two rules will be almost impossible, so it will be pretty easy to tell which strategy is really working.

For me the simpler the diet is the better, (which is the main premise behind Eat Stop Eat).

Even when you are following the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle you can still use the top 10-diet rule as a way to guide how you eat on your ‘eat days’.

The top 10 diet rule experiment is the fastest way to find dietary habits that work for you – after all you’ll never know until you try.

****
Brad Pilon is a nutrition professional with over eight years experience working in the nutritional supplement industry specializing in clinical research management and new product development. Brad has completed graduate studies in nutritional sciences specializing in the use of short term fasting for weight loss.

His trademarked book Eat Stop Eat has been featured on national television and helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat without sacrificing the foods they love.

For more information visit Eat Stop Eat
 

 
If you have stubborn body fat that just does not want to budge, you will find this free video helpful.

It’s only 16 minutes long and covers the connection between your “hormones” and body fat.

Not only body fat… Your sexual-drive, your energy, your mood, and of course issues like menopause, andropause (male menopause) and more.

Give it a look … Click Here To Watch The Video

Just by taking some of Dr. Lucille’s advice (natural, without harmful drugs) you can kick-start your hormonal system back into overdrive.

That’s the best way to end stubborn body fat and reboot your drive at the same time.