Does Canned Food and Bottled Water Increase Your Abdominal Fat Through Hidden Chemicals?

..and 9 Tips to Minimize Your Exposure to these Harmful Chemicals
by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-selling program - The Truth About 6-Pack Abs

You may have started hearing in the news about some of the hidden chemicals that might be lurking in your canned foods and bottled water and other drinks.  Some of them are known as xenoestrogens, which have the potential to cause serious health problems over time, as well as increase abdominal fat from the estrogenic effect.

Today, I want to share with you some important details about one of the MOST problematic chemicals that you're being exposed to specifically from canned foods and bottled drinks, etc...
It's called Bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA can be found as a component of some types of plastic bottles, and also in the lining inside of canned foods.

Since BPA is a known "xenoestrogen", it's been linked in animal studies (at surprisingly small doses) to all sorts of various health issues such as cancer, metabolic disorders, heart disease, diabetes, and fertility problems and birth defects or miscarriages... and of course, any xenoestrogens in large enough amounts can trigger your body to hold onto abdominal fat (aka - stubborn belly fat).

The major offenders to look for are polycarbonate bottles (some plastics with the #7 symbol on the bottom are polycarbonate, but not all) and also canned foods, since the lining of most canned foods contains BPA, which can leach into food.  The longer that a can of food sits on a shelf and the higher the temperature, the more BPA can leach into your food. The same can be said for polycarbonate bottles that contain food or drinks.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), BPA was detected in the bodies of 95% of Americans in one CDC study (this is a worldwide issue though, not just limited to the US).  This is nothing to shrug off either... look at this scary finding...

The Environmental Working Group reports, "analysis of our tests reveals that for one of every five cans tested, and for one-third of all vegetables and pastas (ravioli and noodles with tomato sauce), a single serving would expose a pregnant woman to BPA at levels that fall within a factor of 5 of doses linked to birth defects — permanent damage of developing male reproductive organs".

If that didn't get your attention, how about this... 

The EWG also reports evidence of... "An investigation demonstrating that low doses of BPA spur both the formation and growth of fat cells, the two factors that drive obesity in humans (Masumo et al. 2002)."

This is not surprising, since as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, BPA is a known xenoestrogen, and any xenoestrogens can contribute to what's been referred to as "stubborn abdominal fat" as well as cancer and other health problems.

It's also important to note that any canned tomato products (canned ravioli, pastas, canned tomato pastes, tomato sauces, etc) are some of the biggest offenders with the highest BPA concentrations due to the acidic nature of tomatoes, which leaches more of the BPA.

So what steps can you take to minimize your exposure to BPA and it's negative effects on bodyfat and other health risks?

 1. Try to always avoid canned foods as much as possible and choose frozen or fresh foods instead.  Buy the ingredients yourself and prepare the meal the old fashioned way instead of resorting to canned foods.  Also, a better alternative to canned foods is products in glass containers.

 2.  If you do resort to using canned foods instead of fresh foods, try to find labels that say that the cans are free of BPA.

 3.  If you need tomato products, always avoid canned varieties and search for tomato sauces, pastes, etc in glass bottles instead (unless the can specifically states that it is BPA-free).  Or just make your own tomato dishes from scratch with fresh tomatoes.

 4.  If you use plastic wrap, plastic ziplock bags, plastic containers for food storage, etc, try to investigate on the label if the product is BPA-free or not.  Some brands packaging will label if their products are BPA-free.

 5.  If you for some reason choose to use a microwave with your food (which by the way, microwaved food is thought to have negative health effects), then by all means, do not microwave the food in plastic containers as it can increase the leaching of chemicals including BPA.

 6.  If you drink bottled water, or water from reusable plastic bottles, make sure that it is not a polycarbonate bottle, or make sure that the label says BPA-free. Plastic that shows #7 on the bottom will sometimes contain BPA, but not always.  If a bottle shows "PC" on the bottom, it is made from polycarbonate, so it will contain BPA.  In addition, sometimes aluminum bottles will contain a lining that has BPA, so avoid these.

 7.  Avoid soda cans, as the EWG states analysis showed that 42% of soda cans contained BPA.  Of course, if you care about your health and your body, I'm sure you never drink soda anyway -- it's pure evil for your body... and yes, that includes unhealthy diet soda too, with it's dangerous artificial sweeteners.

 8.  Never use plastic cups for hot liquids such as hot tea or coffee, as this can accelerate leaching of BPA and other chemicals, depending on the type of plastic.

 9.  As much as you can try to avoid BPA and other xenoestrogens, you will most likely still be exposed to some levels of xenoestrogens from various chemicals in your foods (from pesticide/herbicide residues, packaging chemicals, etc), chemicals in your water supply, chemicals from cosmetics, lotions, etc.
However, you can help to protect yourself and counteract these harmful xenoestrogen chemicals in your body with certain powerful phytonutrients in foods like onions, garlic, chamomile and green teas, and cruciferious vegetables.  In fact, read this article to see how 3 specific veggies can help you to fight abdominal fat by counteracting xenoestrogens.

If you stick to most of these guidelines, you can help to protect yourself and your family from the health dangers of bisphenol-A (BPA).  And you can also help protect yourself against the issue of "stubborn abdominal fat" that can be caused by the xenoestrogen effect of BPA exposure too... which I'm sure you'd rather avoid!

Please share this article with your friends and family to help them protect their health from BPA exposure.

7 "FATTY" Foods that Can Help You to Get a Flat Stomach

(some of these will surprise you!)

These 7 shocking Fatty (but healthy) super-foods can actually help you to burn body fat faster!
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of the best-seller -- The Truth about Six Pack Abs

1.  Super Dark Chocolate (at least 72% cacao content or higher) - It might not be a secret anymore, but yes, dark chocolate (NOT milk chocolate) can be a very healthy food, even though it is technically calorie dense.

However, I would contend that dark chocolate can actually HELP you to burn off more body fat if you're the type of person that has a sweet tooth and likes to eat a lot of desserts.  In this case, just 1 or 2 small squares of dark chocolate can many times satisfy your sweet tooth for only 30 or 40 calories as opposed to 500 calories for a piece of chocolate cake or a piece of pie.

Also some brands of dark chocolate that are in the mid 70's in % cacao content or higher, can have a fairly high ratio of fiber content (I've seen some brands have 5 grams of fiber out of 15 grams of total carbs per serving), and relatively low sugar content compared to the amount of healthy fats.  In fact, that's one of the "tricks" I use to select a good quality chocolate... I look for more total fat than total carbs (or about the same number of grams of each).

The importance of that fact is that it means many dark chocolates will not greatly affect your blood sugar and will have a fairly blunted blood sugar response compared to other "sweets".

In addition, dark chocolate is also very rich in healthful antioxidants, including a powerful compound called theobromine which has been shown to help lower blood pressure and have other health benefits.  The fat content in a good dark chocolate should come solely from the natural healthy fats occuring in cocoa butter and not from any other added fats.  Any chocolates with added fats or other additives will generally not be as healthy.

The reason I say to choose dark chocolates with at least 72% cacao content is that the higher the % of cacao, the lower the % of sugar.  However, this does mean that any chocolate over 80% cacao content will generally start to get a more bitter taste and have very little sweetness.  If you like this type of taste, then the higher % cocao, the better. Otherwise, a good 75% dark chocolate is in my opinion an almost perfect combination of lightly sweet with a rich chocolate taste.  Just remember to keep those daily quantities of chocolate small as it is calorie dense!

You can also reap the benefits of the antioxidants and fiber without all of the calories by using organic unsweetened cocoa powder in your smoothies or other recipes.

2.  Coconut milk, coconut flour, and coconut oil --  Coconut milk and oil are great sources of a super healthy type of saturated fat called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), including a component called lauric acid, which is a powerful nutrient for your immune system, and is lacking in most western diets.  In addition, MCTs are readily used for energy by the body and less likely to be stored as bodyfat compared to other types of fats.

Along with coconut milk and coconut oil as healthy fat choices, we've also got coconut flour as a healthier flour option for baking. Coconut flour is an extremely high fiber flour alternative (almost ALL of the carbs in this flour are fiber and not starch!).  Coconut flour is also VERY high in protein compared to most flours and is also gluten free!

Just beware that if you're going to use coconut flour for baking, it absolutely NEEDS to be mixed with other flours as it sucks up moisture like crazy... I've made delicious baked goods by mixing coconut flour with almond flour and quinoa flour in equal parts, and adding slightly more liquid ingredients than the recipe calls for.

3.  Grass-fed (pasture-raised) butter -- yes, delicious smooth and rich BUTTER (real butter, not deadly margarine!)... It's delicious, contains loads of healthy nutritional factors, and does NOT have to be avoided in order to get lean.  In fact, I eat a couple pats of grass-fed butter daily and maintain single digit bodyfat most times of the year.

There's a lot of confusion about this topic... in fact, I just saw a TV show today that was talking about unhealthy foods and one of the first things they showed was butter.  It just shows that the majority of the population has zero idea that butter (grass-fed only!) can actually be a healthy part of your diet.
This discussion of why butter is actually healthy would take up too much room on this article, so I refer you to this article:  how REAL butter can make you leaner.

If you have a hard time finding a grass-fed butter at your grocery store, Kerrygold Irish butter is one of my favorites, and even though the label doesn't clearly state "grass-fed", the cows are 100% grass-fed on lush green pastures in Ireland. It's one of the richest butters in color that I've seen, which indicates high levels of carotenoids.

4.  Whole Eggs, including the yolk (not just egg whites) -- Most people know that eggs are one of the highest quality sources of protein.  However, most people don't know that the egg yolks are the healthiest part of the egg... that's where almost all of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (such as lutein) are found in eggs.

In fact, the egg yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids.  Also, the protein of whole eggs is more bio-available than egg whites alone due to a more balanced amino acid profile that the yolks help to build.

Just make sure to choose free-range organic eggs instead of normal grocery store eggs.  Similar to the grass-fed beef scenerio, the nutrient content of the eggs and the balance between healthy omega-3 fatty acids and inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids (in excess) is controlled by the diet of the hens.

Chickens that are allowed to roam free outside and eat a more natural diet will give you healthier, more nutrient-rich eggs with a healthier fat balance compared with your typical grocery store eggs (that came from chickens fed nothing but soy and corn and crowded inside "egg factories" all day long).
If you want more details on eggs, here is an article that details more about why egg yolks are BETTER for you than egg whites.

5.  Grass-fed beef or bison (NOT the typical grocery store beef!) -- I know most people think that red meat is unhealthy for you, but that's because they do not understand how the health of the animal affects how healthy the meat is for consumption.  Keep this in mind -- "an unhealthy animal provides unhealthy meat, but a healthy animal provides healthy meat".

Typical beef or bison that you see at the grocery store is raised on grains, mainly corn (and to some extent, soybeans). Soy and corn are NOT the natural diet of cattle or bison, and therefore changes the chemical balance of fats and other nutrients in the beef or bison.  Grain-fed beef and bison is typically WAY too high in omega-6 fats and WAY too low in omega-3 fats.  In addition, the practice of feeding cattle corn and soy as the main portion of their diet upsets their digestive system and makes them sick... and it also increases the amount of dangerous e-coli in the meat.  This is not the case with grass-fed meat.
On the other hand, grass-fed beef from cattle and buffalo (or bison) that were raised on the type of natural foods that they were meant to eat in nature (grass and other forage), have much higher levels of healthy omega-3 fats and lower levels of inflammatory omega-6 fats (that most people already eat way too much of) compared to grain fed beef or bison.

Grass fed meats also typically contain up to 3 times the Vitamin E as in grain fed meats.
In addition, grass-fed meat from healthy cattle or bison also contain a special healthy fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in MUCH higher levels than grain-fed meat.  CLA has been proven in scientific studies in recent years to help in burning fat and building lean muscle (which can help you lose weight!).  These benefits are on top of the fact that grass-fed meats are some of the highest quality proteins that you can possibly eat... and this also aids in burning fat and building lean muscle.

Grass-fed meats are a little harder to find, but just ask your butcher or find a specialty grocery store and they usually have cuts available.  I've also found a great site to order grass-fed meats online and have gotten to know the owner of this company well, and they are dedicated to the quality of their foods.

6.  Avocodos -- Even though avocados are typically thought of as a "fatty food", they are chock full of healthy fats!  Not only is this fruit (yes, surprisingly, avocados are actually a fruit) super-high in monounsaturated fat, but also chock full of vitamins, minerals, micro-nutrients, and antioxidants.

Also, in my opinion, guacamole (mashed avocados with garlic, onion, tomato, pepper, etc) is one of the most delicious food toppings ever created, and you can be happy to know that it's also one of the healthiest toppings you can use on your foods.  Try sliced avocados or guacamole on sandwiches, burgers, eggs or omelets, on salads or with fish, or as a delicious side to just about any meal.

The quality dose of healthy fats, fiber, and micronutrients that you get from avocados helps your body to maintain proper levels of hormones that help with fat loss and muscle building.  Also, since avocados are an extremely satiating food, eating them helps to reduce your appetite in the hours after your meal.  Say goodbye to junk food cravings and bring on that fat burning!  I personally eat anywhere from a half to a full avocado DAILY and it only helps to keep me lean.

7.  Nuts:  Walnuts, Almonds, Pistachios, Pecans, Brazil Nuts, Macadamias, etc --  Yes, this is yet another "fatty food" that can actually help you burn belly fat!  Although nuts are generally between 75-90% fat in terms of a ratio of fat calories to total calories, this is another type of food that is all healthy fats, along with high levels of micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.  Nuts are also a good source of fiber and protein, which of course, you know helps to control blood sugar and can aid in fat loss.

Nuts also help to maintain good levels of fat burning hormones in your body (adequate healthy fat intake is vitally important to hormone balance) as well as helping to control appetite and cravings so that you essentially eat less calories overall, even though you're consuming a high-fat food.  My favorite healthy nuts are pecans, pistachios, almonds, macadamias, and walnuts, and by eating them in variety, you help to broaden the types of vitamins and minerals and also the balance of polyunsaturated to monounsaturated fats you obtain.
Try to find raw nuts instead of roasted nuts if you can, as it helps to maintain the quality and nutritional content of the healthy fats that you will eat.

Also, try to broaden your horizons beyond the typical peanut butter that most people eat, and try almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, or macadamia butter to add variety to your diet.
One of the little "tricks" that I've used with clients when trying to cut down body fat is to have them eat a handful of nuts such as almonds or pecans about 20 minutes before lunch and dinner.  This ends up being a perfect time to control your appetite before lunch or dinner and helps you to eat less overall calories on that meal.

I hope you enjoyed this look at some of the healthiest "fatty" fat-burning foods you can possibly eat.  I could list a ton more, but wanted to give you a few of my favorites for now.  Enjoy!

My Recipe For HEALTHY Pancakes -- High Fiber and Protein

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that your typical pancakes are certainly NOT the type of food you want to eat if your goal is fat loss or staying lean.  The refined flour with almost zero fiber, the added refined sugars, the crappy inflammatory vegetable oils... not good.

The fact is... normal pancakes make you gain FAT!

However, for years, there's been a basic type of modified pancake recipe floating around in bodybuilding circles that is a healthier higher protein version (although not my favorite)...

Basically, the bodybuilder version is as simple as using a carton of egg whites in a blender, adding some dry oatmeal and vanilla whey protein (and a few other minor ingredients), and then cooking them up as "protein pancakes".

But I'll be honest with you... this bodybuilding pancake recipe tastes more like sweetened eggs than it does like pancakes.

So what I've done is come up with my own variation of healthier higher fiber and high protein pancakes that actually TASTES like pancakes. Of course, we know that most pre-made pancake dry mixes are not the healthiest option. However, they can be more convenient for most people than trying to make pancakes from scratch.

Here's what you can do to make much healthier pancakes:

1. Take only 1/3 of the quantity of pancake mix that the box calls for. So if the box says to use 1 cup of dry pancake mix, just use 1/3 cup instead. This way, you're greatly reducing the amount of refined wheat flour and sugar that are in these mixes by only using 1/3 of the amount recommended.

I know I'm usually pretty strict with ruling out ALL refined wheat flours, but sometimes just reducing the quantity and substituting the remainder with healthier ingredients is the best option for something like this.  If you want the healthiest option, start from scratch with your own blend of almond flour, coconut flour, and quinoa flour.  Otherwise, the easier method is just to follow this recipe.

2. For the remaining 2/3 of the dry mix, substitute in a mixture of equal parts oat bran, rice bran, and whey protein (preferably grass-fed raw whey protein). You can find oat bran at most grocery stores, and rice bran at most health food stores. Try using a little cinnamon too if you like the taste (cinnamon boosts the antioxidant content and also stabilizes the blood sugar response).

3. Use whole eggs instead of egg whites and use 1 extra egg than what the recipe calls for to increase the protein and healthy fats content.

If you missed my previous article about whole eggs vs egg whites, you'll see why it is downright foolish to use egg whites instead of whole eggs.

4. After mixing in the milk called for on the box, whisk the mixture in a bowl. Now you're ready to pour the healthier pancakes into the pan. Don't forget to top them with some blueberries or other berries for some extra taste and healthful benefits.

5. The best oil to use in the pan for cooking is virgin coconut oil. I use virgin coconut oil for most of my cooking as it's one of the healthiest options. It's a much more stable oil for cooking so it's not prone to the oxidation and free radical production that typical vegetable oils are prone to.

If you're confused about which cooking oils are healthy and which are not, this article of mine clears that up.

Again, the trick to this recipe is using only 1/3 of the dry pancake mix (since that's the least healthy part of this recipe) and the other 2/3 of the dry materials are the oat bran, rice bran, and whey protein (healthiest whey is this raw grass-fed whey here) to boost the fiber and protein content of the pancakes.

I only do pancakes on occasion as they are a nice treat, but at least with this recipe, you have yourself a much healthier version of pancakes that are quite high in fiber and much higher in protein and healthy fats than your typical pancake recipe... but they still taste like pancakes and are delicious in my opinion!

And do yourself a favor and please do not ruin this meal by dousing it with your typical fake maple syrup, which is usually all high fructose corn syrup!  Real maple syrup is better than fake syrup, but beware, as it still packs a LOT of sugar and calories.

Instead, a much lower calorie option is to simply top your high fiber, high protein pancakes with some REAL butter (grass-fed, organic) and some fresh berries or other cut fruit instead of syrup.

Enjoy! 

Feel free to share this page with all of your friends, family, and coworkers that might enjoy it. Copy this page into facebook to share this healthy pancake idea with your friends.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com

New Study: Can Cell Phone Use Damage Your Bones?

If you read a lot of health news, I'm sure you've read plenty of articles about some of the emerging health risks that are being found with excessive use of cell phones.  Well, I just read about YET another study that is showing health concerns with cell phone use...

According to a study conducted by Dr. Fernando Saravi at the National University of Cuyo in Argentina, they studied bone mineral density of 48 healthy men who carried cell phones on their right hip for a year.  It was found that the men who carried cell phones on their right hip had lower mineral content and bone density in the upper thigh bones near where the cell phone was carried, compared to their left hip.

The researchers believe that the low level EM radiation given off by cell phones leads to bone degradation over time in the area that the cell phone is carried most.  This means that it could potentially raise the risk for osteoporosis or other bone diseases the longer that someone carries a cell phone in the same place on their body.

This shocking study doesn't surprise me...  In fact, make sure to read this article below which ALSO shows some actual tests that were performed that showed reduced testosterone levels, reduced sperm counts, and other health risks associated with carrying a cell phone in your pocket:

Shocking study about dangers of carrying a cell phone in your pocket

This information shouldn't be taken lightly.  I know that cell phones are a major part of most people's lives now, and they are here to stay, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce your risks of getting long term health consequences, and those protective steps are described in the article here.

Please help to protect the health of your friends and family and fwd this email to everyone you care about.  The article above also has easy sharing buttons to share with your friends on facebook and twitter.

Helping to protect your health,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
TruthAboutAbs.com

My 12-day Carbohydrate Binge Experiment

How I gained lean muscle and lost body fat by using strategic carb cycling and training styles
by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-selling program - The Truth About 6-Pack Abs

Here's how this cool little carb binge experiment went down... I just went on a 12-day trip where the first 7 days were spent in beautiful Turks & Caicos with my girlfriend and also my good friends Dr. Kareem (the author of the popular Double Edged Fat Loss program) and his wife Karen.

The next 5 days of our trip was spent on the east coast of the US visiting my parents and helping them to do a lot of spring yardwork, etc. before coming back home last night to a springtime snowstorm here in the rocky mountains of Colorado (hello May powder day tomorrow at A-basin!)

Since I knew that high carbohydrate temptations were going to be everywhere during this 12 day trip (yes, even at my parents house!), I decided to not try to fight the urge to indulge, but rather, just indulge like crazy in the extra carbs, and shift my training program to benefit from the extra carbs for muscle building... and then shift back to a low carb "paleo" style nutrition plan upon returning.

The Priming Phase

In order for this carb binge to work favorably and not just pack on loads of body fat, I had to "prime" my body for about 10 days prior to this trip by going very low carb and using a specific style of training.  Then, my body would be primed to utilize the extra carbs during my trip for muscle glycogen and using a high volume "pump" style training program to shift focus to muscle building.

The low-carb phase is also used to increase insulin sensitivity and improve the efficiency of the body in regulating blood sugar.  I've actually used similar low-high carb cycling (combined with the appropriate training style) throughout this past winter and have seen some great gains in strength and lean muscle mass, and also reduced bodyfat a couple % too!

Here's how I maximized the benefits of this high-carb and low-carb cycling:

First, during the 10-day low carb "priming" phase, I didn't eat any breads, cereals, pasta, or any grains at all... none!  I only ate a small amount of daily carbs from berries and lots of veggies.  This phase was mostly healthy fats and protein.

I ate almost entirely meat and veggies, lots of eggs (yes, including the yolks!), nuts, cheese, seeds, some berries, lots of almond butter on celery, supplemental protein and fiber (this grass-fed raw whey is my favorite new protein), veggies and hummus, lots of avocados, olive oil, coconut oil and cream.  All of the meats I eat at home are always grass-fed or free range organic meats (bison, beef, venison, and some free range local chicken or pork).

The low-carb priming phase workouts

When you're going low carb, it's no time to try to do high volume training... meaning, you won't be able to achieve a "pump", so it makes more sense to do 2 specific styles of training:

1.  Very heavy weight low rep training for max strength -- This type of training was the first 30 minutes of each workout during the low carb phase and included mostly heavy deadlifts, barbell squats, weighted pullups, and bench press.  The goal of this training is to maintain lean muscle and max strength on a low carb phase.  Reps per set would be no more than 3-4 reps, which means HEAVY training.
The absolute BEST supersets for this style of super heavy training is deadlifts paired with bench, and squats paired with weighted pullups.  The reason that pullups and deadlifts can't be paired together is that they're both grip intensive and will hurt the results on each other if paired.

2.  High intensity metabolic training --  This type of training was the second 30 minutes of each workout during the low carb phase and involves more "circuit" style training at high intensity and almost no rest in between sets.  One of the killer combos I used was this:

• Dumbbell squat and presses
• Renegade dumbbell rows
• Dumbbell reverse lunges
• Dumbbell bench step ups
• Dumbbell bent over reverse flyes

The goal of this style of training for the second 30 minutes of each workout was simply to get a super high metabolic response and further deplete muscle glycogen and burn body fat.
I did this style of training and super low carb nutrition plan for about 10 days leading up to my trip, which I planned to go on a carb bender and indulge in whatever high-calorie high-carbohydrate foods I wanted during my trip.

Weird side note:  Oddly enough, as much as I enjoyed the carbohydrate bender and eating loads of breads, pasta, and desserts on my trip, I actually really enjoyed the super low carb strict phase too.  Overall, I think I just feel better and more mentally clear, and with more energy when I'm eating a lower carb "paleo" style of diet.  But I won't lie... the carb bender was loads of fun too!

The 12-day high-carb binge phase!

While I was on the 7-day trip in Turks & Caicos, we were obviously eating a lot at restaurants, which means lots of carbs, but we also stocked up at the grocery store and made breakfasts and lunches in our condo.  Regardless, I wasn't shy about loading up on the carbos!

The purpose of the high carb binge phase was:

1.  Allow myself to go a little nuts on vacation with food
2.  Max out muscle glycogen to get a super "pump" during high volume weight training
3.  Benefit from the extra calories and the extra insulin production to get a muscle building effect.

Although high insulin can trigger fat gain if left high for too long, elevating insulin strategically can also help to gain muscle.  Gaining lean muscle can subsequently make fat loss easier due to your increased metabolic rate.  Muscle is KEY to having a blazing metabolism for life!

During the carb binge period, I still had at least one daily serving of Athletic Greens, which is shockingly delicious for a "greens" drink.  It's loaded with antioxidants, superfoods, and also lots of probiotics, so that was an important part of my regime to make sure my digestion was still going strong and all of my micro-nutrition was complete.

After the 7 days in Turks, we had 5 days at my parents house in Pennsylvania, and I continued the carb binge, as there was lots of cereal, pasta, and desserts lying around.  In defense of my parents, they eat a healthier diet than 95% of the population... at least 75% of the meat that they eat comes from wild game or wild fish that they caught themselves.

And they grow most of their own organic produce for at least 7 months out of the year as they keep a huge organic garden in their backyard.  But, they also eat bread and cereal almost daily and have sugary desserts almost daily too.  So they eat more grains and sugar than I would recommend to anyone, but aside from that, they eat pretty healthy overall.  They're very active too, so they are not overweight despite eating more grains and sugar than they probably should.

It was a carb feast!

While at my parents house, we had big pasta and venison sausage dinners, sandwiches, lots of bread, lots of cereal, and lots of ice cream every night for dessert.  I was in a carb coma most of the time!  This is almost a shock to my system since I eat such a low carb "paleo" style diet most of the time.  But remember that I was utilizing these excess carbs for a PURPOSE!  To build muscle.  Of course, the carbs themselves aren't the building blocks of muscle (that's the job of protein), but they add the extra calories and the biochemical environment that can make muscle building easier.

Although I might have loaded up on high carb foods that I wouldn't normally eat during this 12 day phase, such as pasta, cereals, muffins, and breads, I still stuck to my guns and refused to eat any artificial trans fats at all, and zero high fructose corn syrup as well.  Those 2 food additives are just too evil in my mind.
Keep in mind that I also worked my arse off every day during this carb binge!

The high-carb binge phase workouts

My goal during the high carb binge phase was different than during the low carb phase.  Since I was maxing out muscle glycogen with all of those carbs, I wanted to take advantage of that and do more high volume weight training and go for more of the "pump" with the workouts.  One of the things we're trying to do is "stretch" the muscle fibers while in a pumped state.

This was also the only time that I would include some single joint "bodybuilding" style exercises into my routine, such as bicep curls, tricep presses, dumbell pullovers, pec flyes, etc.  However, the focus of the workouts was still multi-joint compound exercises first (such as squats, bench, lat pulls, barbell rows, dumbbell rows, etc), but in higher rep, high volume fashion.

In addition to the high volume "pump" style weight training during this carb binge phase, I was also doing a lot of daily firewood splitting with an axe to help my parents prep for next winter (I LOVE the muscular workout involved in splitting massive logs the old fashioned way!).  This was a great way to help my parents with some of the yard work and get in some extra daily exercise.

So although it might have sounded careless (especially if you know my track record of healthy eating) for me to be carb bingeing so heavily, realize that I was also getting TONS of daily exercise and trying to make the best use of those excess carbs for building muscle.

Back to a lower carb plan again...

Now that I'm back home, I'm back on a lower carb plan again eating almost solely meats, lots of veggies, eggs, nuts, seeds, avocados, etc.  When I'm on a lower carb "paleo" style plan, if I had to estimate my macro-nutrient ratios, I'd say it's probably around 15% carbs, 35% protein, and 50% healthy fats.

Side note:  One of the purposes of the super heavy, low rep weight training during the low-carb, high fat phase is that both of these aspects (the heavy training and the high fat intake) help to maximize healthy testosterone levels... which is obviously good for both maintaining muscle and losing body fat, among other benefits.  I have another article here that explains the exact workout methods that help increase both testosterone and growth hormone naturally to help lose body fat and build muscle faster.

After my first workout back on a lower-carb plan today, I broke lifetime personal records in 3 of my lifts on strength levels!  Score!  Yes, that was a benefit of this type of cycling.  And I guarantee that losing that last bit of abdominal fat is going to be easy over the next couple weeks of low carb eating now that I'm carrying a few pounds more lean muscle on my frame.

I'll continue a low carb cycle again for another 2-3 weeks before I go on another carb binge for 10-12 days.
I've done this type of cycle several times in the last 4 months or so, and I can say that I've improved body composition every time... more muscle and less fat after all was said and done!

If you have a vacation coming up and want to "go nuts" on the carbs and calories while on vacation, keep this strategy in mind and make sure to do the low carb "priming" for 10-14 days before the trip and about 2 weeks after the trip too, before settling back to your "maintenance" diet.

This plan of low carb and high carb cycling and associated workout modifications can also be used even if you're not going on vacation... but it sure is fun on vacation!

Feel free to share this article with your friends on facebook, twitter, etc...

Metabolic Damage Why It Happens, How to Avoid It and How to Fix It

By Tom Venuto, Fat Loss Expert,
Author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle

Somewhere in your fitness travels (or random googling), you may have come across the topic of “metabolic damage” or its close relative, “starvation mode.” Perhaps both.  If so, you probably felt a twinge of fear after hearing a description like this one:

star•va•tion mode - noun (stär-ˈvā-shən mōd): a series of metabolic, hormonal and behavioral responses to extreme or prolonged calorie deprivation, which is common during many popular weight loss diets. Since your body can’t recognize the difference between severe dieting and starving, it responds as if you were really starving: Protective mechanisms are activated to decrease your rate of further weight loss, including reduced energy, lower physical activity and increased appetite. Your metabolism also slows down more than you’d predict for the amount of body weight lost. 

As you self-diagnose your symptoms, you really begin to worry: low energy… hungry all the time… can’t stop thinking about food... seems like you’re not losing fast enough for how little you’re eating…  weight loss has gotten slower or even reached a plateau. And when returning to normal eating, you seem to gain back the weight faster and easier than you ever gained weight before!

At this point, your heart drops into the pit of your stomach and you’re convinced that you’re a metabolic damage victim.   “What If I’m in starvation mode?” you ask yourself.  “What if I’ve messed up my thyroid gland?” “What if I’m stuck with this fat forever because my metabolism is SHOT?”

Okay, now that I’ve scared you half to death, you can take a deep sigh of relief. Not because there’s no truth to the problems I’ve just described, but because there are solutions.

The metabolic damage and starvation mode controversies

First, I want to confirm that both “starvation mode” and “metabolic damage” are real, although some bloggers and internet writers keep insisting they’re not. The reason for the confusion is understandable though, because these phenomena are misunderstood, and myths about them abound.

The big doozy is the (mythical) girl who (claims) she’s eating “only 300 calories a day and not losing weight.” Funny how you put her in a metabolic ward on 1000-1200 calories a day (measured and enforced) and she starts losing weight like crazy. That wasn’t starvation mode caused by a 300 calorie per day “slow metabolism.” The damaging admission you’ll never hear from our physics-defying girl is, “I suck at counting calories and I underreport how much I eat…. Oh yeah, I overestimate how many calories I burn too.” [end sarcasm]

Starvation mode and metabolic damage are also not scientific terms, which is another reason they are unduly dismissed. If you look up “adaptive thermogenesis” however, (the technical term for the metabolic decrease part of starvation mode), you’ll find plenty of evidence proving that it’s real. It affects some people more than others due to genetic and lifestyle factors and it’s not a stretch to suggest that metabolic damage hits women harder than men.

Details about the mechanisms and hormones involved are beyond the scope of this article and would put 90% of my readers to sleep anyway. What’s important for now is that you understand this:  starvation dieting causes rapid weight loss, but also causes “bad stuff” to happen to your body that makes continued weight loss more difficult and weight regain more likely. It’s a very complex process, involving numerous feedback loops and body systems.

The lasting effects of starvation dieting

Research dating back to the 1980’s and 1990’s found that diet-induced decreases in metabolism can extend to the period AFTER the diet is over.  This gives us yet another reason why keeping the weight off is so hard.
Diane Elliot, an MD and professor of medicine at Oregon University published her research in 1989 about the lasting effects of very low calorie diets. She wrote:

"Resting metabolic rate of our obese subjects remained depressed after massive weight loss despite increased caloric consumption to a level that allowed body weight stabilization."

In 1997, Abdul Dulloo and his colleagues at the University of Geneva completed a similar study which examined the effects of semi starvation after the calorie restriction had ended. He said:

"The reduction in thermogenesis during semistarvation persists after 12 weeks of restricted refeeding, with its size being inversely proportional to the degree of fat recovery."

In 1999, Arne Astrup published a meta analysis with data from all the studies which had investigated changes in metabolism after weight loss. They found that formerly obese subjects had a 3-5% lower resting metabolic rate than control subjects who had never been obese.

These and other studies suggest that metabolic consequences of crash dieting and rapid weight loss persist after the diet is over. The degree of metabolic drop can vary from the almost insignificant to the very serious, but the drop is real. This is “metabolic damage.”  I would define it not only as the bad stuff that happens during the diet, but also as the lag time between when a severe diet ends and when your hormones, metabolic rate and appetite-regulating mechanisms get back to normal.

Pursuing weight loss the wrong way (“dumb dieting”) makes the bad stuff worse and aftereffects linger longer. Pursuing fat loss and body composition improvement the smart way minimizes the bad stuff and prevents outright metabolic damage. The Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) program is based – from A to Z – on doing fat loss the smart way.

7 Smart strategies for fat burning and metabolic health
Below, you’ll see 7 of the best fat burning strategies which keep your hormones happy and your metabolism burning hot.

Eat more! You need a caloric deficit for weight loss, but there are different ways to do it. You can eat less. You can exercise more. You can do a little bit of both.  In addition, how specifically you eat less and exercise more makes all the difference. The smart way is to avoid crash diets and pursue slower but steady fat loss with an eye on body composition. Start with a conservative deficit of only 20% below your maintenance level. Use a larger deficit only if you’re seriously overweight. Increase the deficit incrementally when you need to, ideally not going above 30% under maintenance. When you add in resistance training, cardio training and an active lifestyle, your calorie expenditure (metabolism) goes way up, and that’s how you can legitimately eat more and keep getting leaner. 

1. Eat natural. The long term use of refined, artificial foods will eventually take its toll on your health. When hormonal health declines, body composition outcomes are worse during weight loss and risk of metabolic damage may increase. Furthermore, most natural, unprocessed foods, especially vegetables and lean proteins, are lower in caloric density and can lead to spontaneous decreases in caloric intake compared to the standard American diet (S.A.D.)  For optimal body composition results and  metabolic and hormonal health, it’s not just about calorie quantity, but also calorie quality. Don’t focus on one to the neglect of the other.

2. Eat often and regularly: I recommend eating like a physique athlete. Spread your total daily calories into 4-6 small meals per day, if feasible, and be sure to include a source of lean protein with every meal. But whatever meal schedule you choose, consistency is of great importance: studies have shown that haphazard eating patterns are at least partially responsible for metabolic disarray including decreased thermic effect of feeding and dysregulation of blood sugar and insulin 

3. Use carb cycling. The Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle Method puts you in the optimal healthy calorie deficit, but periodically, you increase your calories to keep your metabolism and appetite regulating hormones up at the normal level. Instead of the carb-phobic diets that millions of people still follow (which can actually suppress hormones like thyroid and leptin), carb cycling with a high carb refeed every 4th day or so, allows you to eat more carbs and you still keep losing fat.  The benefits are physical and psychological and best part is, you’re never completely deprived.  

4. Take Diet breaks: Avoid prolonged periods in aggressive caloric deficits. If you have a lot of fat to lose and it’s going to take more than 3 months to hit your long term fat loss goal, don’t do it all in one stretch. Take a week at maintenance calories after 12 weeks of restricted dieting. This – raising your calories - is the most counter-intuitive of all the metabolism-rebuilding strategies but it’s one of the most important.  

5. Do Cardio. Don’t Over-Do It. If you’re overweight, you can sometimes get away with very low calorie diets without adverse consequences if you’re not doing tons of cardio on top of it.  Endurance athletes get away with high volume training because they provide ample amounts of food to fuel it (man, those guys can EAT!) Dieters and physique competitors on the other hand, often semi-starve themselves while doing huge amounts of cardio at the same time.

6. Do Cardio. Don’t Over-Do It. If you’re overweight, you can sometimes get away with very low calorie diets without adverse consequences if you’re not doing tons of cardio on top of it.  Endurance athletes get away with high volume training because they provide ample amounts of food to fuel it (man, those guys can EAT!) Dieters and physique competitors on the other hand, often semi-starve themselves while doing huge amounts of cardio at the same time. 

Exercise research says that extreme amounts of cardio during a diet can actually cause the same type of adaptive metabolic downshift as eating too little food. Fitness and figure competitors have been known to do 2 or even 3 hours of cardio a day before competitions. This kind of overtraining can be counter-productive when you look at the metabolic damage and “cardio dependency” potential. And remember, if you’re not diligent, you can out-eat almost any amount of exercise. If you’re doing upwards of an hour of cardio a day and not seeing significant fat loss, you’d better take a close look at your diet first before you rush to add more cardio. 

7. Weight training: In the physique world, weight training is a foregone conclusion. But in the everyday world of non-athletes, weight loss = “diet,” not weight loss = “lift weights.”   For Suzy soccer mom, “lift weights to lose weight” probably doesn't even compute. But weight training is so important for metabolic health and better body composition, that if you were forced to choose one or the other – cardio or weights – the weightlifting would be a NO BRAINER decision. If you have a concern about metabolic damage and you’re not weight training yet, there’s nothing else to discuss. Start pumping iron, then get back to me.

What if you have long history of starvation dieting and yo yo weight cycling?

Ok, so these 7 strategies are great for avoiding metabolic damage and minimizing the metabolic adaptations that happen while dieting. But what if you’re a chronic dieter and you fear that you’ve already messed up your metabolism?

Take another sigh of relief. With the exception of a pessimistic report we see here and there about metabolic damage being irreparable, the majority of the research says the effects are temporary. In severe cases, it may take a little longer to get back to normal and continue on to achieve your long term goals, but it's never hopeless.

One case I recall was a former jazz and ballet dancer. At 5' 5", she was previously 110 lbs and had increased to about 145 or so. She didn't want to reach her previous 110, but find a happy medium of about 125 -130 lbs. I figured with at most 20 lbs to cut, this would be a simple and predictable process, but she had a challenging time dropping fat even on a surprisingly low caloric intake. I didn't know why at first – but I knew she wasn’t cheating and she was tracking food intake meticulously.

I later found out that she had been anorexic and bulimic for many years. This had lasting repercussions, and although she did reach her goal, it took about twice as long as we anticipated.

Easing into more calories and more carbs with a transitional period 

If you think you’re in the same boat:  (A) it seems like you’re not eating that much, but you’re not losing fat and or (B) you’ve finally reached your goal but you’re terrified of regaining if you raise your calories, you should use the same 7 strategies to get your metabolism back in gear.  You simply need to add a “transition period” to build your calories back up slowly. If you’re worried about suddenly increasing your calories, you’re not paranoid – you’re prudent.

After becoming accustomed and somewhat adapted to a lower caloric intake, avoid abruptly jumping up to your predicted maintenance level. Instead, increase calories slowly 100-200 at a time and hold them there for one week. Measure the results after each one week phase, and then repeat until you reach your appropriate deficit or maintenance level. This will give your body and your mind time to adjust.

Here’s another safe way to ease into a higher food intake. This is ideal if you’ve been on a low calorie, low carb diet and you want to ease out of it. Add carbs, but start by adding them only in the post workout meal. During the post-training window of opportunity, not only will the carbs NOT get stored as fat, (they’ll get sucked right up into muscle glycogen), this strategy can dramatically improve your body composition and workout recovery.

If you still feel discouraged despite now having these strategies at your fingertips, then take one last sigh of relief. The good news is, even in extreme cases, these nutrition and training principles work! It just takes a little longer.

My dancer client? She kept going. With patience and hard work, she placed top 5 in a national fitness competition – and as you can imagine, her routine was killer, just like her body!  By the way, her program included serious heavy training with free weights and she ate a lot more (clean) food than she had ever eaten before…

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

A New Morning Ritual to Get Ripped Abs

Instead of an in-depth article for you to read today, I just wanted to share a few fitness techniques I've been using myself lately, and my new "morning ritual" which has been getting killer results! 

In fact, just doing this morning ritual for the last 7 mornings in a row, I can already see that my lower abs are getting more defined by the day (indicating that this is lowering my body fat % a bit more).

This involves both exercise AND nutrition tricks, so read this whole post, even if you can't do the exact same type of exercise.

Ok, here's the method I've been using that is getting amazing results...

We just started getting really warm spring weather here in the Rockies, so the last 7 mornings in a row, I've walked 15 minutes over to the local soccer field and done about 20 minutes or so of all-out wind sprints (50-100 yard wind sprints with full out intensity), and then I do the 15 minute walk back home.

Even if you can't do wind sprints, keep in mind that you can still do something similar that is a higher intensity for you personally (perhaps hill walking instead of wind sprints, for example). 

By the way, outdoor sprints are where the action is... sprints on a treadmill don't have the same effect as there's more force production involved in accelerating a sprint outdoors compared to on a treadmill.  Plus, the max speed on a treadmill is not high enough usually for an "all-out" sprint.  In my mind, it's a world of difference.  Personally I never step foot on a treadmill.

How wind sprints raise your fat melting hormones:

One of the reasons that wind sprints are so effective at chiseling your body and reducing body fat to "ripped" levels (have you ever seen the bodies of some competitive sprinters? ripped!) is that sprints are one of the specific exercises that are known to have a great effect on increasing Growth Hormone (GH) naturally in your body...

...and we all know that GH production in your body is one of the key secrets to getting lean, strong, and also staying youthful!

For the wind sprints, what I've been doing is increasing distance on each sprint from 50 meters to 60 meters, 70, 80, 90, and finally 100 meters.  Then I repeat the cycle.  Usually just 2 cycles of this is enough to get me fully whooped (about 12 all-out sprints)!  But as time goes on this summer, I will try to increase distance, the number of sprints, or the intensity to keep progressing.

Now for the morning nutrition trick I've been using...

I've tried "morning empty stomach exercise" in the past, and here's the deal... I usually don't have the energy to do anything intense first thing in the morning without eating, so for these sprints, I've found a nice little concoction I came up with that gives me the energy to do these high intensity sprints without weighing me down, and without many calories.  It's just enough to do the trick!

What I've been doing is mixing Athletic Greens (which is lightly sweetened with stevia, nothing artificial, and with only 40 calories per serving, but 76 superfoods mixed in) with unsweetened iced tea (green, white, oolong, and yerba mate mixture) first thing in the morning.  I usually have a big batch of unsweetened iced tea in a gallon container in the fridge that has at least these 4 teas mixed for taste and diversity of antioxidants.

I also mix in about a half scoop (12 grams) of raw grass-fed whey protein, and I have a couple grams of BCAA's (to help minimize muscle catabolism), and a few caps of krill oil.

This entire concoction is only about 120 calories total (with only 3 grams of carbs from the Athletic Greens), so it's just enough to give me energy to do the high intensity sprints, but not too much to weigh me down.

I also take one capsule of an oolong tea extract (capsules are explained on the order page there) that I've been experimenting with lately.  This has about 50 mg of naturally occuring caffeine per capsule, and oolong tea is shown in some studies to increase the % of fat calories burned if taken before exercise.

I get about 15-20 minutes to digest this mixture a little (the walk to the soccer field takes about 15 min) and then I start to rock out the 20-25 minutes of all-out wind sprints.  The 15 minute walk back home is a nice cool down.
 
It feels amazing, and I end up getting an insane workout with plenty of energy, as opposed to the no energy feeling I have if I try to do "empty stomach" exercise first thing in the morning.  This also makes me feel really energetic for the rest of the day too, and I'm sure boosts my metabolism!

When I come back from the sprinting, I then make my full breakfast, which lately has been my fairly low-carb healthy breakfast of 4 whole eggs (free range from a local farmers market), grass-fed bison sausage, lots of veggies mixed in to the eggs (mushrooms, onions, spinach, kale, and red peppers), and a half of an avocado on the side.  And I have a cup of unsweetened green tea or yerba mate.

The fat loss results so far:

Keep in mind, I've only been doing this morning ritual for about 7 mornings so far... but even with only a week of this method, I've already had noticeably more definition in the lower abs doing this every morning for the last 7 days or so!

So if you're up for a challenge and a great training and nutrition combo method, this seems to be working wonders for me so far!  Let's get ripped and ready for summer!  Perhaps you can find a way to do something similar in your routine.

I hope this post has given you some good ideas to use.  Have fun!

By the way, if you haven't seen this article yet, give it a read, and make sure you're not doing any of these:

The 7 WORST exercises to STOP doing

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
TruthAboutAbs.com