Using Stevia As A Sugar Replacement

People are always trying to cut down on sugar, and many experts agree that this is highly justified, given the many poor health effects of sugar.
Not only does sugar have an extremely high Glycemic Index and is usually highly processed (remember the rule of thumb - the less processed the food, usually the better!) but it can also destroy your metabolism and make weight loss seem like a never-ending nightmare.
So the issue then is very simple - find a sugar replacement!

The problem here is that for many people with a sweet tooth, nothing quite compares to the taste of real sugar. FALSE!

There are many sugar alternatives and if you've been heading down the sugar-free-road for a while now you have probably heard about all of the artificial sweeteners that are available which contain an ingredient called aspartame. The problem with these sweeteners, although they might contain very little or even zero calories, they can mess with your metabolism through hormonal imbalance.

What's great about Stevia?
It's 100% natural, it is quite literally a plant. And it's been used for centuries in cultures around the world. Stevia has only a fraction of the calorific content that sugar has and tastes good too. I'll admit, it has a slightly different taste to it, but if you want to shed some fat and get slim, sexy abs then it's well worth trying it for a couple of months to see how easy it is to adapt.

Image sourced from: https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQA-U38q6E2UHI_Pho4K4cuPRSYu3A1r44KKCuUaVwv0qkPT0Q19w

Burn Fat At Night? Google Says No - I Say Yes.

There is always scepticism and controversy around wild miracle fitness claims - and rightly so. Too often are people all over the world trying to scrape the dollars out of your hard earned stash for themselves with some bogus instant fat loss machine or pill or 30 second exercise program.

Now I'm definitely not saying you should believe the trainers out there claiming incredible results with no effort at all!

What I do believe though is that if you are going to burn fat - burning fat at night is the way to go! While your sleeping no less. And yes, I am being a little bit cheeky here because clearly you are not trying to lose fat while you sleep (even though you might fret about it). What I am saying is that the effort and diligence that you put into your fitness routine during your waking hours is the catalyst to your body burning inches of fat while you sleep!

That's right - you can burn fat at night while you sleep. I said it. But I'm not the first to have said so. Your body does all sorts of important things while you sleep. The problem is if you're doing the wrong things during the day your body won't do jack all when you're snuggling up at night. No wonder people are so sceptical about fat loss during sleep - most people don't do it because they don't implement the catalysts for fat loss while they're awake!

If you are trying to lose fat doing the following then you might as well quit right now:
* Diet shakes that ruin your metabolism
* Fat loss pills claimed to be the next scientific breakthrough to cure obesity
* Cardio exercise at 60 - 80 % intensity which is in the so called "fat-burning-zone"

Stop and think about this one question: Would I rather keep wasting my time and ruining my body with the above strategies fed to me by conglomerate sales reps OR would I like to start learning how to burn fat at night?

Oh and one more thing I should probably mention - Google's input on the matter. We don't strictly disagree, Google and I. I may have taken the comment out of context a little, but it made me think about all the crazy schemes people trust and what needs to be done about it - Fitness Education!

Google's Comment: Reserve scepticism for "Burn fat at night" diet pills.

Conclusion: The "Burn fat at night" part is TOTALLY achievable. Through diet pills though? Not a chance.

Image sourced: http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/05/news/companies/google_monster/index.htm

7 Ways To Burn Fat In 7 Days

So - we all want results. And we want them now.
I have seen this hundreds, if not thousands of times first hand as a personal trainer. People come to see me and they have reached that critical point of making a decision on losing weight, burning fat, toning up or something along those lines and they tell me "I want results ASAP".

Whether it's because they have an important upcoming event, a formal, a dinner, a wedding or whatever, it's always the same. We are impatient beings by nature and it doesn't always work in our favour.

But what about you? OK, I'll get to the darn point. What are 7 ways you can shed fat and get leaner in a week?
Well here they are:

1. Starve yourself (almost) to death - Well this isn't a very good way to burn fat actually, contrary to popular belief. Your body will almost certainly lose weight due to dehydration and other unmentionable bodily actions. But on the contrary, your body is programmed to store fat in the event that you stop putting food in your belly. So you might get fatter in your 7 days - which is not what you want!
2. Do an intensive 7 do workout regime targeted at destroying the fat! Again, this is a bit extreme (I don't recommend it). You might lose some fat. In fact you almost certainly will. The trouble here is, you will also flood your body with toxins in the intense exercise sessions which might end up ruining your metabolism and making it more difficult to keep fat off!
3. Take the advice of money crazed fitness "gurus". You know who I'm talking about right? Those guys you see on TV trying to peddle you off some useless piece of junk that you know is doomed to sit under your bed or in the closet for the next 47 months. These things don't work people - stop buying them!

OK, lets get to the proper stuff shall we. Now before reading any further, I want you to realise the most important key to losing fat in 7 days is to consider the importance of your health and of taking a balanced approach to fat loss.

Change your eating habits starting now. That's right. Commit to 7 days without two thirds of your favourite junk foods. Just throw them in the bin if losing fat is actually important to you.WARNING: Don't deprive yourself. Throw out 2/3 of what you would normally eat that would make you fat.Keep 1/3 as your treat.
Start your exercise regime or change it up. Exercise is vital - getting it right is even more important. Who wants to waste hours of time in the gym and still have the flabby gut hanging out at the end of it all? Not you!
Load up on vitamins from natural sources. Get your fridge choc-a-block full of cruciferous vegetables, antioxidant rich fruits and organic, grass-fed meats.
Hydrate and make sure your pee is clear. Self explanatory really. How many times do I have to tell you guys to drink more water, honestly. It won't sit in your body making you chubby. It WILL flush out toxins and make it easier for your body to function normally after the torment of ice cream and cola that you flooded it with! --> Unique ways to drink more water.

That's it people. I give you 7 ways to burn fat in 7 days. But if you ask me, burning fat is a lifestyle matter and you shouldn't be in a place where you need to burn it off in 7 days! Get the point? Visit my site to learn how to live a fitness lifestyle with a toned sexy body every day.

Coconut Oil For Sexy Abs & Awesome Health

I have always promoted natural foods as some of the best metabolism boosting products available in the world today. I always cringe when I hear about the next fat-blasting craze to hit the market or that certain nuts are "fatty" - I've even heard people talk about how avocados make you fat!

Well coconut oil is no exception to the general "fat boosting natural foods" rule. In other words, if you haven't tried out this little known natural metabolism booster, you could well be missing out on pounds of belly fat you could be losing! Does that make sense?


Let me give you the basic run-down on how coconut oil can give you toned, sexy abs:

• Short and medium chain fatty acids help bolster your metabolism
• Reduction of fattening stress hormones - natural hormonal balancing
• Assists healthy function of thyroid and enzyme functions - a seriously under-rated part of fat loss 

The dead give-away here is the fact that you never see people from cultures that thrive off coastal foods such as the coconut suffering from obesity. Did you catch that? People who eat lots of coconuts don't get fat! Don't get me wrong here - there are a number of lifestyle issues at play here too.

There are a tonne of other health benefits (besides getting flat, sexy abs) to be had by taking coconut oil regularly and these include:

• Teeth
• Hair
• Bones
• Kidneys
• Stress Relief
• Pancreas
• Liver

No wonder people like Miranda Kerr swear by coconut oil as a part of their health and well-being regiment.

Image source from: http://www.optimallyorganic.com/coconuts.jpg

Does Coffee Make You Fat? How You Take Yours Will Tell...

Image via Wikipedia
Coffee (definitely one of my vices) can be an addictive habit indeed. But is it actually going to make you fatter? With everyone around me ordering extra skinny lattes with artificial sweetener it leaves me wondering about all the misinformation out there that almost seems like it's designed to stop you from getting lean abs!

Let me tell you first and foremost - coffee is a substance which gives your body a metabolic boost. This means it will actively increase your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and help you burn more fat.
I'll admit it, coffee isn't for everyone and if it's consumed with "skinny" milk and artificial sweeteners it may well cause more problems than benefits in terms of fat loss.

Every time I encounter this argument of "will coffee make me fat?" I always will argue a resounding NO.
Maybe we should examine the different things that make you fat compared to things a lot of people THINK make you fat...

Things the people think will make them fat:

• Full Cream Milk
• Sugar

Things that actually make people fat:

• Low Fat Milk
• Artificial Sweeteners
• Sugar (depends on how much)

The adverse hormonal effects of aspartame-based artificial sweeteners and low fat milk which has virtually all nutritional value stripped from it completely, are far greater than the little bit of fat and sugar contents of a regular cup of coffee. Besides, if you want to take advantage of the fat burning potential of coffee (from the caffeine) you will want as little hormonal interference as possible. I suggest trying stevia (a natural sweetener) and full-cream, organic milk straight from the cow! - But that's for another post.

 

Related articles

• Artificial Sweeteners Encourage Weight Gain (lewrockwell.com)
• Metabolic Cooking Tricks To Burn Fat Faster & Banish Your Boring Fat Loss Diet (wlfreedom.typepad.com)

Fat Loss With Drugs And Supplements - The Truth

There are loads of people out there that claim all sorts of crazy things about just about anything. A certain percentage of those people are called conspiracy theorists, some are just laughed at and funnily enough, some are hailed as the next best thing since sliced bread.
I'd like to be able to say things were not the same in the fitness industry but alas... They are not!

Have you ever wondered about supplements and "wonder drug" fat buster pills that claim to increase your metabolism 10 fold overnight to give you a super-lean waist and ripped six pack abs overnight? Well... So have I.
The truth is that fat loss can not be sustained in a healthy way through the use of drugs and supplements. This is mainly because, as a natural organism, the human body can deal best (in the long term) with natural changes and processes. Any foreign substances which are not naturally found in human diets are pretty well destined to cause metabolic trouble in the medium to long term. This means storing more fat, being more prone to mood swings and having more trouble toning up!

What about supplements, I hear? Well, yes I am a fan of some supplements but only when their contents are naturally occurring and can be used by the human body to increase the body's metabolism to a level that is:

1. Healthy and sustainable for health
2. Going to cause a healthy level of fat loss to occur (about 2 pounds per week, depending on your current weight)

So I would recommend following an energetic eating plan to get your metabolism on the right track and doing just enough exercise to back it up as well. Now of course everyone is different - I know. But you will definitely benefit (from the perspective of fat loss) if you can incorporate metabolism boosting mega-foods (such as antioxidant rich teas) into your regular eating. And what's more? You'll get WAY better results in the long term than any wonder fat blasting pill could do. Most of them will wreck your metabolism completely.

So don't go for the drugs, choose your supplements wisely, go for natural, pure supplements that your body can absorb (not chelated) and aim to boost metabolism through your food - you'll be 2 steps ahead of everyone else. That's the truth about fat loss.

Image sourced: http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/uploads/VMC/PageImages/drugs6_250.jpg

How To Get A Waist Like Kate Middleton

OK, I'll admit it, royal fever has officially struck the world and as impartial as I am with the whole fuss, I must admit that one of the things that did catch my ear when listening to some coverage of the royal wedding was all the presenters talking about the size of Kate Middleton's waist...

Well, I'll give you this one for free - If you're a lady, and you'd love to see yourself in her body then it won't necessarily be "EASY". In all likelihood I will mention that some people ARE born with "favorable genetics" when it comes to having a slim waistline. But, given your own genetics, you can still make your own waist slim, firm and toned by taking a few simple pieces of advice... I'll start with the obvious ones first:

* Eat well - don't eat too much "crap food"!
* Exercise a bit... Don't go crazy on a running spree or anything, just make sure you get SOME exercise into your day A.O.A.P. (as often as possible). NOTE: There are ways to minimize your time exercising and maximize your results (I talk about this in other blog posts).
* Focus on getting cruciferous vegetables into your daily eating.
* Work on your health and fitness knowledge - especially about how to get the thermogenic effects of food on your side!

Now that's about as simple as I've ever said it and if you need more info, feel free to browse my blog and also my web site. Make sure you share this info if you think it's useful! Absolutely not enough people are making use of their fitness potential mainly because they don't know these key things!!!

So whether or not your waist will end up looking like Kate Middleton's will depend on:

1. Your genetics
2. Your commitment to a handful of simple food and exercise "keys"

But even if you think your genetics are "shot", you can still have a tighter, slimmer, sexier waistline and it doesn't take as much effort as you think!

Image courtesy: http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2011/Apr/Week4/15982594.jpg

The #1 Key Thing That's 80% To Blame For Excess Fat

We all know that what we eat and what kind of exercise we do affects our levels of excess fat right? No big secrets there obviously.
What is it then that gives so few people success with their fat loss efforts and lets so many people struggle in and out of starvation diets, exercise programs, gym memberships?
Well as I've pointed out several times before, fat loss is about the basic fundamentals of health. And although it's about combining lots of small effects to work together in producing a successful result, if there was 1 key that would help to give you 80% of your results, I'm very sure it would be this:

"It takes 3 months for your taste buds to change"

Losing weight and excess fat can be hard! It's absolutely a struggle for so many people, mainly because they ignore this 1 simple key!

You see, you can make drastic results happen by changing just a few of your eating habits. Every health and fitness expert I have ever come across has agreed that adjusting food intake gives you 80% of your results when it comes to losing fat and 20% is due to exercise. The trick in changing your eating habits though, is waiting out the 3 months. Learn a little bit about what tastes good and works for fat loss, and the chore suddenly becomes much easier.

So here's a quick summary:

1. The main key to blame for excess fat is rogue food habits
2. All it takes to change those habits is giving yourself 3 months to adjust to some "new foods"
3. Knowing some tasty foods that are awesome for fat loss can really help in this process
4. Don't discount exercise (It still helps your metabolism get a major boost and you will notice a difference if you do the right types of exercises). 

Losing 2 Pounds A Week - Is It Easy? Is It Possible?

Heaps of people want to know about losing 2 pounds a week. The first and most important question which should be asked though, and is not always obvious, is what are you really trying to achieve?
Losing weight might just mean losing water from your body, or losing muscle mass or like most people, losing fat is the real goal. The important thing to remember here is: Fat Loss Does Not Equal Weight Loss.
So let's just rephrase a little and say you want to lose 2 pounds of fat per week.

Q: Is this going to be easy?
A: It can be easy, but it depends mainly on what advice you have and what methods your actively following.

Q: Is it possible?
A: It most definitely is possible, although I recommend that if you want to maintain a healthy metabolism (and who doesn't) that you limit the fat loss to approximately 1 pound per week. I pound of pure fat lost actually equates to quite a drastic change in the way you look though.

Q: Is it healthy?
A: Losing 2 pounds a week is considered to be on the border of healthy and overkill. The danger in losing too much weight too quickly is that it can actually destroy your metabolism. The shockingly fast changes make alterations to the way your body regulates your weight automatically - this is going to make it a struggle for you to lose weight in the future.

So that is the basic "low-down" on the (commonly asked) question on losing 2 pounds a week.

Image courtesy http://www.truthaboutabs.com

How To Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle... 3 Tips On Approaching Fat Loss

Well, we are into 2011 now and want to act on some of our new years goals that will stick!

A problem (more common than you think) that I come across with people all the time is how to lose fat without losing muscle. The truth is, people struggle with this everywhere. The challenge is staying lean with a muscular frame but getting rid of the fat on top of the muscle.

So what's the answer then?

Well, there are a few easy tips that I'm going to show you that will absolutely change the way you look at fat loss and will revolutionize your results. 

Here they are:

Tip #1 - Don't follow your intuition.

Although your instincts are extremely useful and may be very helpful in other areas of your life - fat loss is simply not one of those areas. Most people intuitively think things like:

• "If I stop eating as much, I'll lose weight"
• "If I cut fat out of my diet, I won't put on any fat"
• "If I exercise my stomach muscles, I'll get a flat stomach"

FALSE!

These all sound like reasonable assumptions but it simply won't work.

Instead of following your intuition, look for some sound, credible advice (don't take the word of your friend who is in the same boat as you with trying to lose fat without losing muscle).

Tip #2 - Work on increasing your muscle mass.

This tip right here can be a little controversial, especially with the ladies, because not everyone wants bigger muscles. The thing is, muscle mass is like an automatic fat burning advantage. Every extra pound of muscle mass you put on will burn extra layers of fat off your body - this is hard science about how your body works. 

So instead of doing cardio all the time, try doing some strength training - the intensity and style of your strength training will also determine how much bigger you get, so if you don't want to grow much but just want to get rid of the fat, just start slowly and watch the effects take place.

Tip #3 - Eating, eating, eating.

Too many people mess this part up big time. And you DON'T have to be a health nut to get it right. Here are a few easy rules of thumb when it comes to your regular eating:

• Avoid processed junk foods on a regular basis
• Eat at least some raw foods every day and don't avoid fat
• Find out which foods boost your metabolism the most and eat them regularly
• Don't skimp on your eating - especially DON'T skip meals, it actually makes your body create MORE FAT!

Now that is an easy list of 4 food tips that anyone can put in place. I hope you got something out of this and know a little more about how to lose fat without losing muscle.

New Years Goals That Stick - Your 3 Step Guide!

New years goals that stick... How can you make it work for you?
As we get right into the new year many of us start to have a bit of a reality shift in terms of what we want in life.

We realize that there are a few things in life that we want... but we haven't made a priority...
...YET!

If you're familiar with goal setting, you'll know how important it IS in achieving any goal whether it be  getting six pack abs, losing weight or any other non-fitness related goal for that matter.

The process:
There are 3 easy steps to setting goals that work and here they are (these are definitely advisable for anyone wanting to get six pack abs)...

1. Decide on your goal - make it something realistic, something achievable and something that you desire.
2. Write down your goal in the present tense - For example, if you want to lose 10 pounds of fat write it like: "It is may 10th, 2011 and I have an awesome, toned body. I now weigh x-amount pounds and I feel awesome!"
3. If you want to do this thing properly and make it heaps more motivating to reach your goal, take the time to find a picture which reflects your goal beautifully. For example, if you want 6 pack abs, find a picture of a guy (or gal) with a 6 pack and stick a pic of your face on it... Hang it somewhere you'll see it frequently and you're set.

Goal setting is not hard. 

It can take a few minutes of your time, but millions around the world swear by it for getting real results. 

I personally guarantee that setting a new years goal properly makes your goal HEAPS more achievable. It means at least you know what you want and you have a bit of motivation to get there. 

Take the time to do it - set your new years goals now!

Image courtesy: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NcK4LkP1MbU_BM0I16jQ6dtC9i1PTU6Fp-g90jECRhQxOrv9e4edLgqDfu7Mzk0JF_EqMs9NXt53JH39BgW73vFRW8QULLHU0y2a-hYGyGVjWeZwZu7Dtob6XKUVGXQOYhA0t9aNHgQ/s1600/goal-objective-setting1.jpg

Chocolate - Is It Really Your 6 Pack's Enemy?

You wanna get 6 pack abs?
Of course you do! You're reading this after all right?

The problem for most is THIS:
On some level - either consciously or unconsciously - you don't think that it's possible for your flabby tummy to transform into a flat, sexy mid-section.


Now, I won't get too philosophical here. Let's keep it simple - you want sexy abs and you want to know how to get them fast. The new year is here after all - this is the time for CHANGE!

So let's talk about chocolate for one thing - is this delicious, irresistible treat really as bad as it is so often thought to be? I've known people who blame every health problem known to man on chocolate - from stomach pains to itchy skin! So what about stomach fat?

Q: What stops you from having the stomach you want?
A: Stomach fat.

Q: What is it that makes stomach fat appear and remain on your stomach?
A: Processed foods and lack of proper exercise.

Q: Does chocolate contribute to this?
A: It depends what type of chocolate.

In general, 80-90% of chocolate sweets sold at your regular grocery store will be full of processed "junk".
BUT, having said that - cocoa is an extremely antioxidant rich food which can actually help you boost your stomach fat loss!

That's right - chocolate can help you get sexy abs.

The trick is picking the right chocolate and formulating a strategy that works along with other fat loss methods.

The chocolate strategy:
Find a brand of chocolate that you like which sells a range of different chocolates including cocoa-rich chocolates. Now most regular mainstream media will recommend at least 60% cocoa solids but I'm going to say that is NOT enough. Here's what you need to do if you're absolutely addicted to chocolate and can't cut it out.
Step 1: Start by "supplementing" your regular chocolate intake with regular dark chocolate.
Step 2: Gradually shift the amount of chocolate you buy until you buy only dark chocolate.
Step 3: Slowly move to buying more and more of the cocoa-rich dark chocolates and less of the others.

Example:
Week 1: Buy 1 block of milk chocolate and 1 block of dark chocolate.
Week 2: buy 2 blocks of dark chocolate and 1 small milk chocolate treat.
Week 3: Buy 1 block of dark chocolate and 1 block of 60% cocoa chocolate.
Week 4: Buy 1 block of 60% cocoa chocolate and 1 block of 70% cocoa chocolate.
Week 5: Buy 1 block of 70% cocoa chocolate and 1 block of 85% cocoa chocolate.
Week 6: Buy 1 block of 85% cocoa chocolate and 1 block of 90% cocoa chocolate.

Now you'll only buy 90% cocoa chocolate (or even 95% if it's available). This will also alter your taste buds and you will only ever crave the dark chocolate - making you an unstoppable fat-burning machine!

Here is another interesting article from the former fat guy about having chocolate in your regular diet.

How Is Fat Essential For Fat Loss?

Fats get a lot of attention... Always have really. But over the past few decades, there have been some major changes in the way that the general population views fats and our understanding of fats has changed greatly.
We know about all the different types of fats, but do we really?

Well I know for a fact that even if someone does know which foods contain fat and which ones don't, they don't necessarily know whether or not they should eat it...
More importantly... Will it help with their fat loss?

There are tonnes of important things to learn about fats but in general, it's good to hold the understanding that we all HAVE TO eat fats. They are an extremely VITAL part of your health!!

Also, if you're going to remember anything about fats, remember this:
"Foods which contain fat are only good for you if they have had a minimal amount of processing."

So things like raw pecans and walnuts which have loads of "good fat" are absolutely AWESOME for you and will help you burn off excess fat quick-smart if you start eating them regularly.

Are Lean Abs & Cinnamon Closely Related?

If you've done a bit of reading on lean abs lately, then you've made the connection between powerful antioxidants and fat loss.
How many times have you heard that?

Antioxidants are constantly featured on every type of media around us today. TV, Newspapers, Magazines...
The fact is, antioxidants are great for you. What's even better though?
Antioxidant rich foods are absolutely awesome for fat loss and getting lean abs. In fact, a lot of fitness professionals (more and more by the day) swear that antioxidants are essential in the battle for lean abs and a lean body in general.

So no wonder then, that the whole world is in a massive riot bent on finding the foods with the richest antioxidant content. And unlike just about everything else, there is virtually no limit to how much antioxidant rich foods you can eat in terms of them ever having a negative effect on your health.

What about this cinnamon then?
Well, according to www.oracvalues.com, cinnamon has the 3rd highest ORAC value at 267,536!
If you don't know already, ORAC is Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and is a measure of how potent the antioxidant content of the food is.

That's gotta be worth something right?
The answer is, DEFINITELY! Cinnamon is definitely an extremely powerful food in its ability to get you lean abs. It's also got dozens of other properties that knock other foods dead in terms of health benefits.

"A teaspoon of cinnamon a day keeps the belly fat away!"
In all honesty, this is a great motto and you should follow it if your aim is to lose some tummy fat and get lean abs. Why wouldn't you? The beauty of it is, cinnamon is so easy to include in your daily eating. I mean, who doesn't like cinnamon? I love the stuff. I practically eat it by the bowl full.
It goes great with:

• Porridge
• Muesli
• Teas like chai
• Apple
• Berries
• Anything sweet 
• Tonnes of other stuff

So if you've neglected some of the exercise tips I've been dishing out and you're not motivated to change very much about your regular diet, eat a bit of cinnamon each day and watch the effects. You'll see what I mean.

How Most Health & Fitness "Gurus" Cheat You Blind (With Ultimately No Results To Show)

The health and fitness industry is enormous. It doesn't take a genius to tell you that there are literally millions of health and fitness "gurus" out there trying to sell you all sorts of junk with absolutely no follow-up or accountability to offer. More than 90% of people don't look after themselves physically, not because they don't want to be fit and healthy, but mainly because they are not in the right frame of mind due to their conditioning on eating and physical activity. These things can be very hard to change, but they don't have to be!
What's more shocking?
90% of the 10% who do "look after themselves" end up failing at their initial health and fitness goals in the long run. This leaves 1 in every hundred people "fit and healthy". No joke.

The major obstacle, you might think, must be food and exercise, right?
WRONG.

The reason that so many people fail to reach their ideal health and fitness goals is because:

a) Unrealistic expectation and lack of commitment (completely psychological)
b) A lack of sound advice and knowledge (too many "gurus" with contradicting stories)
c) Cheat psychology (wanting the quick-fix)

So when you see a commercial on TV or a marketing campaign focused on getting you fit, do not fall into the sales traps of the corporate fitness "gurus" who spend billions each year on learning how to take your money.

Health and fitness is simple:

1. Find good information and advice suited to you personally
2. Follow through with accountability to ensure your success  

This is a matter of what you eat, how you eat it and what exercises you engage in etc. But the major, MAJOR obstacle is truly getting the two steps above right in the first place. You can achieve this by finding someone fit and healthy (preferably a professional), getting their advice on your situation and getting a group of like-minded people to form a "social-group-network" which is going to hold you to your goals.

Image sourced: http://netdna.copyblogger.com/images/sleazy-salesman.jpg

Top Superfoods For Fat Loss, Health & Backwards Aging

There is not as much talk about these incredible superfoods as I would expect, given their AMAZING potential for fat loss, health, longevity and "backwards aging". Sure we hear a LOT about anti-oxidants in the mainstream media and how they can benefit our health but in all honesty, most of the truly simple superfoods are not often spoken of, mainly due to their lack of marketing potential to big companies.

So here is a list of my top superfoods to accelerate fat loss and make your body an energetic, lean machine!

• Goji Berries (also known as Wolf Berries), Acai Berries, Blueberries, Elderberries, Blackberries
• Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom, Turmeric, Garlic, Cumin Seeds
• Kale, Red Onion, Spring Onion
• Walnuts, Pecan Nuts, Almonds, Pistachios
• Lentils & Beans
• Organic, grass-fed meats
• Broccoli, Cauliflower & Spinach

It's important to realize that the foods listed above are all "super-foods", but the quantities of antioxidants and vitamins and minerals differs with each one. It's also vital to understand that although one superfood like cinnamon has loads of antioxidants (see graph below), it's unlikely that you will eat more than a few teaspoons of it per day as compared with say, lentils of which you could easily eat half a pound or more.

ORAC values of selected super-foods as taken from www.oracvalues.com

These are all amazing foods which you should try to include in your diet as much as possible. Berries and nuts make a great snack food if you get hungry between meals and loads of the others can be used to flavor or garnish your meals regularly. If you do this, you will find fat loss is HEAPS easier and you will get a tonne of health benefits as well.

Image above sourced from http://vitalityoflife.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/superfoods2.jpg

How To Beat Ugly (and DANGEROUS) Abdominal Fat

Not only is excess abdominal fat ugly sitting as a flabby layer on top of your pristine 6 pack abs, that extra fat is actually also dangerous to your health...

Why?...
It's simple. Abdominal fat is a symptom of poor health. The more you listen to your "consumer mentality" mindset and ignore the "righteous mentality" side, the more you fall into the trap of eating the foods that are well marketed instead of the foods that fuel fat burning processes, and also taste AWESOME!

But this is not just about right and wrong. It's about your lifestyle choices, and how you choose to live. If you listen to the common fantasies about doing crunches and dieting to get flat abs then, like 99% of us, you will fail to reach your goals of abdominal fat loss.

The truth is, it's easy to beat ugly abdominal fat. The exercises are easy and can fit into ANY schedule because they are time effective and adaptable. The food tastes AMAZING and will enrich your life and health more than any starvation diet will ever do.

An easy way to start winning this battle is to start a commitment. Buy at least 2 super-foods which you are going to include in your regular eating and eliminate at least 1 fat-friend-food. Now if you are currently doing some form of exercise, like walking, mix into this just 1 minute of high-intensity exercise. This is an awesome start for anyone trying to beat abdominal fat, not only for the amazing transformation in your looks, but also in your health.

Image sourced from http://losefatgut.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/getting_rid_of_fat_belly-200x300.png

Dandelion Tea To Burn Fat

Back in May this year I wrote a little spot on dandelion tea and how awesome it can be to burn fat. I love this stuff so much that I just had to give you a reminder about how powerful little things can be in aiding to lose stomach fat. After all, why not try dandelion tea to help burn fat? It tastes great, has loads of benefits and can be easily substituted into your regular diet as a coffee replacement.

Also, if you want to DOUBLE your fat burning potential, use stevia as a sweetener and I guarantee you'll start to notice a difference in your body within a week!

But don't stop there by any means. There are so many simple little ways that can help you to burn massive amounts of fat and get six pack abs really fast. By using a combinational approach implementing very little known methods, you're way ahead of the pack already!

Dandelion tea is not the only fat burning tea out there either. In fact most teas have some form of beneficial fat burning properties that help in a massive way and make it heaps easier to lose fat.

Remember: It is always simple things that make a big difference. Just implement it and you'll see for yourself how awesome it can be!

Image sourced from: http://www.crazyfortea.com/images/dandelion.jpg

10 Simple Things That Burn Fat

You have to admit, it's not always easy to achieve a health and fitness goal based around fat loss. In fact, it may be one of the most challenging things to achieve full stop. One reason for this is that there is a serious lack of sound knowledge accepted wholly by the health and fitness community.
Another reason I can think of is that people over complicate things. Really fat burning is not that hard. It's about doing simple things consistently and sticking with the mindset of achieving that goal to lose stomach fat or whatever your goal may be.
Here's a list of 10 simple things that burn fat:

1. Walking - everyone walks right, so try to make walking a part of your daily routine if you haven't already - like most things it won't make a difference on its own but if you combine it with other techniques it can be powerful.

2. Drinking water - don't count coffee and juices towards your daily water count, drink at least 6 large glasses of water each day to replenish your cells and flush out fat-storing toxins.

3. Exercise habitually (outside of walking) - Find something you love doing which gives you a good workout and stick it into your weekly schedule.

4. Don't refuse exercise if you can help it - make movement a priority and put other things second.

5. Ask a friend to commit with you - find a fitness bootcamp or another activity and get a friend to join in.

6. Make yourself an adventurer - Almost everyone loves a bit of adventure right? So commit to do some form of adventure activity once per month - get some friends involved and do it!

7. Make a note of refusing to eat over-processed garbage disguised as food! Eat fresh, vitamin-packed foods each day and watch how much fat comes off.

8. Reward your good efforts - If you've done well throughout the week (keep a food diary to make sure) then give yourself a reward. This gives you power and reinforces the good habits to make sure you have maximum motivation to keep it up.

9. Stop listening to what your "friends" say when they are being negative - switch yourself on and listen carefully to what people say. You can still love someone and not agree with them all the time. Do what's good for you!

10. Sign up to a blog like this one and read good quality information diligently - Once you know all there is to know, you can put it into practice and achieve great things with fat loss.

That's it! You should be able to EASILY do 5 of these things regularly. With a bit of extra effort, you should be able to do all 10 and keep it going. You will definitely achieve results in terms of fat loss if you do.

Stomach Exercise Structure Basics

There are loads of different ways to perform an exercise session as you are most likely already aware!
So what's the best way to get down and dirty and do some effective stomach exercise?
The answer is going to be different for each person. And this is exactly why we end up with a tonne of myths in the fitness industry. No two people are the same and so no exercise structure is the same.

What we CAN do, however, is create some really effective general programming and let the individual make up their own mind on how it works for them.

So, in basic terms, when you're performing a stomach exercise routine, you want to make sure it has the following sections covered:

• A general warm up
• Specific warm up sets
• Oblique targeting
• Rectus abdominis targeting
• Functional focus

So what we are aiming for here is a safe stomach exercise structure that gets some great results all over your body. After all, usually it's the stomach FAT that is preventing you from having a flat stomach NOT the stomach muscles.

A general warm up could be anything from a jog, skipping, a bicycle ride etc. usually for about 3 - 5 min. 

A specific warm up is a little trickier in that it is basically a brief warm up for the section you will focus on next. If you're doing bench press for example, a few pushups is a specific warm up.

As far as targeting specific stomach muscles, this should almost always be done using some type of functional exercise. Burpees are a great example of an exercise that burns loads of fat and works your rectus abdominis at the same time, giving you a flat, toned stomach as the end result.

So that is just a few basics of a stomach exercise structure. I hope you got something great out of it. Remember, it's almost always the small things that count BIG cumulatively.