Seven Mistakes People Make When Trying to Lose Fat
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
1. They fail to consider the consequences of their actions.
Alwyn Cosgrove (one of the top trainers in the business) once told me, “I get my clients to think, “Will this help me or not? Is this a positive step or not?” If you can see that every action that you take is either helping you lose fat or stopping you from losing fat, then you will start to make better choices. So remember that everything you put in your mouth is either for or against fat loss. And every exercise choice you make is either for or against fat loss. “Get that”, Alwyn says, “and you’re a hit.”
2. They neglect to control their insulin and blood sugar levels – 2 key factors in determining whether or not the body fat will come off.
If you eat processed foods you are guaranteed to elevate your insulin & blood sugar levels. If you do that, your body sends the message, “Store fat!”, and you won’t make any progress. So avoid white-flour based bakery products, sugary drinks, and almost any carbohydrate snack that comes in a bag or a box.
3. They train like it’s the 80’s.
Yes, I know. Eighties music is popular again. But that doesn’t mean ineffective training methods from the 80’s like light weights, low intensity steady state cardio, and endless low-intensity ab work should also make a comeback. That type of training should stay buried in the back issues of cheesy muscle magazines. Stick to strength training and interval training for efficient and effective body changing routines.
4. They don’t take 30 minutes to plan their next day’s food intake.
If you fail to do this, you will set your fat loss efforts back by a minimum of 72 hours. Without a good meal plan, you are left to hunt and gather food in the modern world. And that’s a recipe for fat loss disaster. You are bound to eat something processed if you aren’t prepared. You will lose the fat burning benefits from yesterday’s workout and it will take until the end of the following day to get back on track. An entire 72-hour period wasted.
5. They don’t eat enough vegetables.
We can thank John Berardi for making it common knowledge that you should eat fibrous vegetables at every meal to assist your fat loss efforts. By doing so, you’ll control your blood sugar and insulin – thus supporting the optimal hormonal situation for fat loss.
6. They screw up their hormones with poor lifestyle choices.
If you are out boozing and staying up late on the weekend, you are shutting down your fat loss and messing up the optimal hormonal environment for fat burning. I will talk a lot more about the optimal hormonal levels for fat loss, as I believe this is the underrated key to building your best body ever.
7. They don’t plan and monitor their training sessions.
If you are still going to the gym without a plan, then you are going to have a hard time losing fat. And if you aren’t recording your workouts and eating habits, then you aren’t losing as much fat as you probably can. To fix this mistake, start by getting on track with strength training and interval training. It’s guaranteed to get you lean.
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com
For most people a big roll of belly fat hanging over their belt is a vanity issue. The reality is that most people simply don’t realize how dangerous their excess abdominal fat really is to their overall health. Here’s an article contributed by Mike Geary, the founder of TruthAboutAbs.com.
The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.
However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.
There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.
The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.
Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.
Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.
If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.
So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?
The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.
The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.
I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.
Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.
Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.
Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.
The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.
Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.
If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork… it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It’s really that simple.
The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.
I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.
Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.
Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem at…
Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth about Six Pack Abs
This article was written by my favorite fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson.
What do these six things have in common?
– McDonalds
– Renée Zellweger
– Epileptic children
– Yours truly
– Most bodybuilding and fitness competitors
– Kiefer Sutherland
Give up?
All the above employ the strategies of the low-carb dietplan.
Recently researchers have found that low-carb nutrition plan reduced the number of seizures in epileptic children.
Most of the world’s leanest physiques get that way on a regimen, limited or not, of low-carbs and higher protein.
Even McDonalds is getting into the act.
Even Renée Zellweger.
Even Kiefer Sutherland.
Even me.
Kinda.
Read on and I’ll explain what I mean…
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Why Low-Carb Works
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When McDonalds starts counting carb grams in their food, you know someone is either jumping on a trend or finally seeing the light.
In this case, both — but it is a good thing. Low-carb dietplans. They work.
For the masses, they work because they are the easiest nutrition plan to follow when you’re busy.
McDonalds and stars like Kiefer Sutherland figured this out. The busy on-the-go guy or gal doesn’t want to make the time to prepare six meals per day and carry them around in Tupperware.
When choosing my own lifestyle nutrition plan, time and convenience played a major role. I looked at role models who were very busy, formerly obese, and very lean.
Most of them rely in some form or fashion on a low-carb strategy.
Low-carb also works, much to the hem and haw of traditional doctors and nutritionists, due to the way the body processes fuel.
For those of us fortunate enough to grow up on whole grains and very low-sugar mealplans, a moderate to higher-carb nutrition plan may work just fine.
But most of us grew up eating junk.
Processed foods, fast foods, and downright junk was the cornerstone of our dietplans. That puts your body on the “carb defense.”
After years of abuse the body becomes resistant to carbohydrates. The insulin they produce can cause all sorts of health issues, fat-burning problems, and more.
When carbs are removed, even healthy carbs like whole grains, the body has time to re-adjust.
In some cases, you can go back to a moderate-carb plan with whole grains and fruits after a period of time.
In others, you are a “low-carber” for life.
Guess which one I am?
Finally, low-carb works because you tend to eat less. Fat is very satiating, and most low-carb plans are fairly high in dietaryfat.
So, in recap:
— Easy and convenient;
— Metabolically important for carb recovery;
— Lower in total food volume (eat less)
Do not make light of that first point. Any plan that is not simple is one very few people will stick to. Making your plan simple and tasty is key, even if that plan is not “perfect” by nutritional standards.
Now, by far, the best low-carb dietplan in the world (yes, I’m bias for good reason!) is this:
click.here ——> My Favorite Foods Diet Presentation
EODD works so well because your carbs are low for “most” of the time. Not “all” of the time. And the times when your carbs are not low you can enjoy your favorite foods.
Personally I enjoy pizza and burgers on my non-low-carb days. You can enjoy whatever you want if you just keep it reasonable.
You see, there’s no need to diet-perfect.
Progress always trumps perfection.
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Why Low-Carb Fails
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There are two primary reasons for the failure of the low-carb nutrition plans: boredom and media bashing.
One causes irritability. The other, doubt. Unless you’re certain that your plan will work, you will eventually go off of it.
This is true of any plan, no matter how ideal it is. Certainty rules.
That’s why I believe in having a flexible, tasty plan like EODD.
Then boredom is easily solved.
I share my own unique ideas about “cycling” carbs and fats in the presentation here:
click.here ——> My Favorite Foods Diet Presentation
Using my cycle strategy you will rarely if ever become bored. And your body will burn more bodyfat too. It’s just a cheap metabolic trick…but boy, it works.
The second reason is media and medical bias. One study after another has proven that low-carb plans, even the Atkins plan, works and is safe to use for most people.
Check with your doctor first, of course.
I’ve seen researchers get down-right angry when the results come back. In one study, carried out for a full year, the low-carb plan out-performed the so-called “healthy” Dean Ornish plan.
Lower blood fats, more weightloss, and more energy were the results.
My preference always comes back to low-carb nutrition. I just cycle it in a way that allows me to get plenty of veggies, some grains, and ample fiber.
Even a slice of cheesecake here and there… : )
Hey…I said “low-carb”, not “low-life!”
Yours In Fitness,
J O N B E N S O N
P.S. One of these days the mainstream medical community will wake up to the fact that 90% of the population will never eat 15 servings of veggies per day.
While this may be “optimal”, it’s not at all practical. I’d rather give you down-to- earth practical nutrition advice that you CAN and WILL follow — and enjoy.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
click.here ——> My Favorite Foods Diet Presentation