Does This Common Substance Make You FAT?

Hey there, it's Mike again from TruthAboutAbs.com 

Today I want to talk about artificial sweeteners because I've noticed that there's a lot of confusion and misconceptions revolving around these non-caloric sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners and the massive list of products sweetened containing them are marketed to you relentlessly as "healthy foods" or "healthier" than sugar or corn syrup sweetened products. But are they really?

Just to clarify, some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today are:

Splenda (sucralose)
Aspartame
Saccharine
Acesulfame Potassium (aka - acesulfame K)

These artificial sweeteners are used in abundance in virtually every "diet" drink, "lite" yogurts, puddings, and ice creams, most "low-carb" products, and almost all "reduced-sugar" products. Even most protein powders are loaded with artificial sweeteners too (just look on the ingredients and you'll usually see one or more of them).

Splenda has got to be one of the worst offenders claiming to be "healthy" because they say that it's made from real sugar. Don't be fooled by this! It's still an artificial substance. What they don't tell you is that Splenda is actually a chemically modified substance where chlorine is added to the chemical structure, making it more similar to a chlorinated pesticide than something we should be eating or drinking!

The fact is that artificial sweeteners are not even close to being healthy, and as you'll soon discover, can easily be just as bad for you, if not worse, than sugar or corn syrup. Most people think that they are doing something good for themselves by choosing the "diet" drinks or "lite" yogurts compared to the sugar-laden versions, but the problem is that you're exposing yourself to a whole new set of problems with the artificially sweetened drinks and foods.

I know it's frustrating to hear all of the contradicting messages about which foods are good for you and which are bad. I'm sure just today you probably saw some clever ad or commercial somewhere claiming health benefits for a food product that is loaded with artificial sweeteners. Don't worry. 

Just stick with me and I'll get past the marketing hype for you and decipher the truth. I'll also give you some ideas for great alternatives to artificial sweeteners as well as alternatives to sugar or corn syrup sweeteners.
The fact is, artificial sweeteners vs. sugar or corn syrup is really just a battle between two evils. Which evil is worse? 

I'm sure you already know the problems with sugar or high fructose corn syrup sweetened products. The excess empty calories, blood sugar spike, and resulting insulin surge this creates in your body not only promotes fat gain, but also stimulates your appetite further, making things even worse.

On the other hand, artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there's growing evidence that they can increase your appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more later in the day anyway. Therefore, you don't really save any calories at all. Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can stimulate high insulin levels in your body too, which again can promote fat storage.

All of the 4 artificial sweeteners listed above are nasty chemicals that the human body is simply not meant to ingest. However, most of us are ingesting a whole lot of these chemicals on a daily basis. Aside from the problems I touched on so far, other health issues that have been related to artificial sweeteners in scientific studies as well as observations are:

• some have been linked to potential cancer risks
• negative effects on the liver, kidneys, and other organs
• stimulating cravings
• gastrointestinal problems
• developmental problems in children and fetuses
• headaches
• and too many more issues to list

Now some of the above potential health problems are definitely not proven as fact in studies. However, some of them have been shown in animal studies given high doses. Regardless of the fact that any real health problems for actual human use are not proven yet, I don't know about you, but I'd rather protect myself and steer clear of these possibly dangerous artificial chemicals.

Of course, despite all of the health issues potentially associated with artificial sweeteners, the companies that sell the products will continue to claim that they are fully safe and they have studies that prove that they are safe. The bottom line is that the body was not designed to deal with foreign substances like artificial sweeteners. Take my word on that one.

So what are your options for alternatives? Well, your best alternatives for sugar or corn syrup are either raw honey, organic maple syrup, or even a little-known high antioxidant syrup called sorghum syrup (common in the southern US). Even though these alternatives still have the same amount of calories as sugar or corn syrup... honey, organic maple syrup, and sorghum syrup actually provide some nutrients and antioxidants, so it's not just empty calories. Empty calories stimulate your appetite more because your body is lacking nutrients.

Now you're probably thinking that you'd like to still save on calories but avoid the nasty artificial sweeteners. Good news... You can!

You've probably seen me reference this natural sweetener in a lot of my recipes. It's called Stevia. I've been using it for years as an alternative sweetener when you still want to save a little on calories and sugar.
Stevia is not artificial like the other chemical sweeteners I mentioned above. Stevia is a natural non-caloric herb. It is a South American herb and when dried into a powder, has a sweetness about 200-300 times stronger than sugar. 

One problem I've noticed with using Stevia is that the pure powder is a very powerful sweetener, so you can easily use too much. However, I've found some good Stevia products that use a bulking agent added so that you can measure out the stevia powder in direct comparison to measuring sugar.

I've yet to see any negative reports or health concerns regarding stevia and only positive potential health benefits. I definitely give Stevia my seal of approval. Do yourself a favor (and your family), and if you are currently an artificial sweetener junkie, please consider switching to stevia.

I suggest giving it a try! Just look for the "Steviva Blend". You can use it in your coffee or tea, to sweeten up plain yogurt, added to smoothies for extra sweetness, on cereals or oatmeal, in baking, or where ever else you might need a sweetener but want to reduce the sugar content.

If you want to grab some, here's the link:
http://www.steviva.com/cgi-bin/cp-app.pl?rrc=N&pg=store&affl=m231g

Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this important discussion. Feel free to forward this email to anybody you know that might be overdoing the artificial sweeteners. 



Stay lean,
Mike Geary
Fitness/Lifestyle Coach
Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Founder - Truth About Abs

Top 5 Fat Loss Tips

I came across this interesting article and thought it would be useful to share:

Top 5 Fat Loss Tips

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulance Training

Men's Fitness magazine recently asked me for 3 of my best fat loss
secrets. Since most times the magazines just don't have enough space
to run my full tips, I thought I'd give you a more detailed
explanation of my secrets here (plus a few extra bonus tips that I
didn't send to the magazine).

Secret #1 - Focus on burning carbohydrate, not fat, during your
fat-loss workouts.

Sounds backwards, right? But not when you look at how I structure
my workouts.

Remember that Turbulence Training focuses on resistance training
and interval training. Both of these use carbohydrate as the main
source of energy. So it's obvious the workout is designed to burn
carbohydrates during the training session.

I have no interest in you trying to train in your "target heart
rate zone" for fat burning (aka - the fat burning zone). The whole
idea of a fat-burning zone is an over-simplified idea of how the
body works during exercise.

Leave the inefficient fat burning zone to the mis-educated trainers
in the commercial gyms (that not surprisingly, also want to sell you
a heart rate monitor so you can stay in your "fat burning heart
rate zone").

If you want to get the most results in the least amount of time,
focus on burning carbohydrates, not fat.

Why do my fat loss workouts focus on burning carbohydrate rather
than fat?

In order to burn more calories after the workout, that's why. When
you exercise with intervals and heavy resistance training, your body
uses more calories in the hours after exercise than it would if you
did traditional cardio and lifted lighter weights.

I call this 'Turbulence'. By any name it gives you the same results
- maximum improvements in your body composition (helping you lose
fat while gaining muscle).

Secret #2 - Use a range of repetitions in your strength training
workouts.

In order to train more muscle fibers and burn more carbohydrates, I
have clients use a range of repetitions within the same workout.

The Turbulence Training workouts now use 6, 8, and 12 reps per set
in order to work the muscle the most effectively.

This will burn more carbohydrates and promote as much muscle growth
as possible when you are keeping the calories low.

Secret #3 - Use the stationary cycle for interval training.

I choose the stationary bike for intervals whenever possible
because cycling against a resistance can help maintain muscle mass.

Cycling against a resistance also allows you to perform a large
amount of mechanical work, and that is a key determinant of the
Turbulence in my training.

But please note: I don't use low-intensity, fast pedaling 'spinning'
intervals as I'm convinced that the hard, resistance based
intervals are more effective for fat loss. My clients only cycle
against a strong resistance in their intervals.

And while I really like the bike, but there are many other ways to
do intervals. Use what works for you, but if you are at a plateau,
try the bike.

Secret #4 - Increase meal frequency

Okay, so this isn't really a secret to anyone that has read about
fat loss.

But a 2005 study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
showed that eating 6 times per day was associated with eating fewer
calories per day, lowering cholesterol levels, and lowering
post-meal insulin levels.

Combine an increased meal frequency with an increased protein and
fiber intake, and you'll see your body composition improve rapidly.


Secret #5 - My Synergistic Turbulence Training Workouts

My Turbulence Training Fat Loss workouts are fast becoming the most
effective way to burn fat, build muscle, and get lean. The
synergistic strength training-interval training workouts are
efficient and effective - getting you in and out of the gym in
under an hour.

Here are some tips that you can use for an advanced training phase.
Use these advanced secrets for 2 weeks then return to your normal
training schedule:

a) Add 10 seconds to each interval but maintain the intensity

b) Add in some bodyweight circuits (10-20 minutes per day) done in
the morning or evening (if you do your regular workout in the AM, do
your bodyweight circuits after dinner; otherwise, do the bw circuits
first thing in the AM, and then do your regular workout at lunch or
later in the afternoon or evening)

If you are advanced, you can use squats, pushups, and bodyweight
rows for your circuit.

If you are a beginner, you could use lying hip extensions, modified
pushups, and stick-ups.

c) Add an extra set to each exercise in the first superset you do
in each workout.

Again, use these three tips for an advanced fat loss period of two
weeks, then return to a normal training schedule.

But always stick to the best fat loss nutrition plan possible.

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne
Author, Turbulence Training

More Ways to Motivate You Into Weight Loss

Exercise in the Morning (As soon as possible)

I know this is a hard one, and it was for me too for many years.  If you exercise first thing in the morning though, you get it over with.  You don't have the whole day to talk yourself out of it.  I know how it goes:  You've had a hard day at work and you rationalize to yourself that you deserve a break or a treat when you get home, so when you get there, you make yourself a comfort meal and sit on the couch watching TV for the rest of the night.  But if you exercise first thing in the morning, you won't have the whole day to talk yourself out of it. Plus, you'll feel great about yourself for having done it. This great feeling will then impact the rest of your day, so that you'll be better prepared to handle a tough day at work, both physically and  mentally.  Use your challenging job as a reason to exercise, rather than as an excuse not too!

Ways to Stay Motivated to Lose Weight

Well, it's a New Year and many of you have made resolutions to lose weight, get fit and stay healthy.  That's great!  Good for you!  The problem is most of you will lose motivation and will quickly let your resolution slide away.....So, let's prevent that from happening! Here's some helpful ways to stay motivated this year!

 Put Pen to Paper

You may laugh at this, but writing down your fitness and weight goals is a very effective way to convince yourself that you mean business.  It will also keep you accountable.  Seeing your resolution in words will help you realize that you deserve to lose weight and be healthy.

When you write down your goals, be specific.  Use the SMART system:
S: Specific.  Be very clear in what your goals are. Losing weight by exercising and eating nutritional foods

M: Measurable: I am going to lose 10 pounds

A: Action: What actions will you take?  Will you join a gym?  Start running? By some exercise DVD's? Enlist help online? Start making healthier recipes?

R: Realistic: You can't set a goal that you know you won't attain.  Don't say "I plan on losing 100 pounds in the next 3 months"  That's just setting yourself up for a disappointment. Something more like " I will lose 1-2 pounds per week" is much more do-able, and your brain will say "yes, okay! Can-do!"

T: Time-based: Set yourself a time limit.  If you have a deadline you are much more likely to work towards it, then if you don't!

Stop by tomorrow for another great way to stay motivated!

Fat Loss Workouts That Are Better Than Cardio Exercise

Despite common belief by fitness enthusiasts, cardio workouts are NOT effective for fat loss or losing weight long term. 

by Craig Ballantyne, Men's Health Fitness Advisor, Expert Fitness Author - Beyond Cardio Workouts .com

One of the most frustrating sights in the world is watching people do the same so-called “fat loss cardio workouts” over and over again without results. It happens all the time! The truth is, there’s hardly anyone in any gym who is able to lose weight with long, slow cardio.

Even research from the scientific journal, “Obesity” showed that when people do up to 300 hours of cardio exercise per year, they only lose 4-6 pounds of weight. That's just not worth it, in my opinion! Do you have time to do 50 hours of cardio in order to lose one pound of weight? I thought not.


That’s why fat loss workouts that are better than cardio. Research and experience proves that interval training (and even high intensity weight training) is better for burning belly fat than long, slow cardio. The good news is, interval training workouts are fun, fast, and more enjoyable. You’ll save time, lose more weight, and build a fitter, better functioning body with these fat loss workouts.



If you are stuck exercising inside a commercial gym for your workout, you can use traditional cardio machines for interval training. 

An easy interval training program is doing a 5-minute warm-up followed by six intervals of 30-60 seconds of hard exercise, alternated with 60 seconds of easy exercise. Then you cool down for 5 minutes and you’re done. That’s less than half the time that most people spend on machines doing long, slow cardio!

After warming-up, do a one minute “work interval” where you will exercise harder than normal. After one minute, decrease the intensity all the way down to a cool-down level for one minute. Repeat the hard-easy combo up to 6 times and then finish with a cool down. That is the easiest way to do interval training. 

If you usually run at 6 miles per hour on the treadmill for 30 minutes, you can do your first interval workout by running at 7 miles per hour for 1 minute and then walking at 3.5 miles per hour for 2 minutes. That’s a good place to start with interval training. You’d repeat that “hard-easy” routine 6 times in an interval training workout (after a warm-up and followed by a cool-down).
 

The best cardio machines (if you must use indoor cardio machines) for efficient interval training fat loss workouts are the treadmill and stationary cycle. Rowing machines and elliptical (cross-trainers) are ok, but in my experience, the treadmill and bike are best. 

Best Alternative Workouts to Traditional Cardio Exercise

Most people enjoy getting out of the gym or doing alternative fat loss interval training workouts (instead of boring cardio workouts inside a stuffy gym). You can use a kettlebell, your bodyweight, a skipping rope, or medicine ball for interval workouts in just a small space in your home or garage. You don’t need to go to a big, fancy, expensive commercial gym to burn fat or get long term weight loss success.

Plus, it’s easier to experiment with different interval training workout programs when you don’t have to deal with intensity settings on cardio machines.


Bodyweight training is the most underappreciated fat loss workout option. Most people are drawn to sophisticated equipment, but only because the equipment makes the workout easier. Moving your own bodyweight is tough, and keeps you honest! 

In the Turbulence Training bodyweight cardio circuits, you’ll use 6-8 bodyweight exercises, alternating between a lower body exercise and an upper body exercise, before finishing the circuit with a fast total body exercise such as running in place, burpees, or jumps.


In the circuits, you’ll do 6-20 repetitions per exercise depending on your fitness level. Once you finish the circuit, rest for one minute, and then repeat the circuit 1-3 more times. If you are new to bodyweight circuits, just do two total circuits. 

The good news is that in most cases, you don’t need a single piece of equipment to do these fat burning bodyweight workouts, so you can do them in a hotel room, your garage, or even in front of the TV. 

Now you have lots of fun, fast, effective fat loss workouts that are better than cardio!

5 Facts You MUST Understand if You Are Ever Going to Lose Your Belly Fat and Get Six Pack Abs

1. Many so-called "health foods" are just cleverly disguised junk foods that can actually make you to gain more belly fat... yet the diet food marketing industry continues to lie to you so they can make more money from you.


2. Abdominal exercises such as crunches, sit-ups, and ab machines are actually the LEAST effective method of getting flat abs. We'll explore what types of exercises REALLY work at the end.


3. Boring repetitive cardio exercises are NOT the most efficient way to lose body fat and bring out those six pack abs. I'll show you the specific types of workouts that produce 10x better results below. These will surprise you!


4. You DO NOT need to waste your money on expensive "diet" pills or other 'miracle fat-loss' supplements. I'll show you how to use the power of natural foods in more detail below.


5. Do not waste your money on ab belts, ab-rockers, ab-loungers, and other infomercial ab-gimmicks... Despite the misleading infomercials, the perfectly chiseled fitness models in the commercials did NOT get their perfect body by using that "ab contraption"... they got their perfect body through REAL workouts and REAL nutrition strategies. Again, you'll learn some of their secrets and what really works below.



Men Click Here
Women Click Here

The Top 3 Fat Burning Foods

In many years as a professional Nutrition Specialist, I've noticed that most people are surprised to learn about my picks for the top fat burning foods that are best for weight loss and overall good health.

I won't lecture you with all of the typical "healthy foods" that you already know about such as fruits and veggies. Instead, I'm going to talk about some shockers that most people don't realize are super healthy foods for fat loss.

1. Egg Yolks - yes, you read that right... full fatty egg yolks with all of their fat and cholesterol. Actually, you've been mislead about the cholesterol in egg yolks -- it actually raises your GOOD cholesterol and helps balance proper ratios, so don't be afraid of the fat and cholesterol in these little nutrition power packed gems. And if you choose cage-free eggs from free roaming hens, the omega-3 content is higher with a more balanced fat profile.

Egg yolks are also one of the most nutrient dense foods in existence in terms of vitamins, minerals, and trace nutrients. Trying to list all of the vital nutrients in egg yolks would take too much time, so I won't even try that here. Just realize that egg yolks should NOT be avoided in favor of egg whites.

So don't be afraid to eat those delicious and healthy eggs and start burning belly fat faster.

2. Avocados - This is yet another "fatty food" that is also one of the best fat burning foods! Not only that, but avocados make just about everything taste better. They are also power-packed with healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants, as well as vitamins and minerals. The healthy fat in avocados also helps control appetite and fat burning hormones in your body.

Add some avocado slices or guacamole to everything from morning eggs, salads, sandwiches, and burgers, and starting burning body fat much faster! I would definitely consider avocados one of the best healthy super foods.

3. Grass-fed beef - While most beef you see at the grocery store is grain fed beef from cattle that are in poor health and has lower nutrition values and omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratios that are far out of whack, there is a better option... and that is Grass-Fed Beef!

Grass-fed beef is known to have much higher levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and lower omega-6 fats (which most people get too much of anyway). Grass-fed beef also contains higher levels of many vitamins and minerals, as well as containing high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is a healthy fat that is known to help muscle building and fat burning.

So don't worry about eating more beef, as long as you choose healthy grass-fed beef instead of grain fed beef. Enjoy and start burning more body fat with these so called "fatty" foods!


Enjoy, and good luck with your fitness endeavors!
Mike Geary
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs