Low-carb diets are equal to low-fat diets for weight loss

Clinical Question: In adults, are low-carbohydrate diets as effective as low-fat, low-calorie diets in producing and maintaining weight loss?

Setting: Outpatient (any)

Study Design: Meta-analysis (randomized controlled trials)

Synopsis: Although there are multiple theories on how best to help patients lose weight, most of them focus on eating. The researchers conducting this study searched seven databases for randomized controlled trials comparing low-carbohydrate diets with low-fat diets. They also checked review articles, contacted experts, and searched reference lists of articles. They found five studies that enrolled a total of 447 patients. Three of the studies monitored patients for 12 months. All studies enrolled patients who followed specified diets and bought their own foods.

The low-carbohydrate diets did not restrict calories but limited carbohydrate intake to less than 20 to 30 g per day with a gradual increase. Low-fat diets restricted fat intake to less than 30 percent of total calories, and one diet restricted fat intake to less than 10 percent of total calories. All low-fat diets restricted total calories per day.

Patients on the low-carbohydrate diets lost more weight more quickly (average of 7.3 lb [3.3 kg] more), though the low-fat dieters caught up by month 12. Triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were improved with the low-carbohydrate diets, and total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were improved with low-fat diets. Low-fat diets resulted in an average sustained weight loss of between 7.3 and 9.7 lb (3.3 and 4.3 kg), and low-carbohydrate diets resulted in an average weight loss of 4.6 to 15.8 lb (2.1 to 7.2 kg). Blood pressure reductions were greater in the low-carbohydrate group at six months but not at 12 months. The three trials that reported glucose and insulin levels found no differences between the groups at 12 months.

Bottom Line: Patients interested in weight loss can choose a low-fat, reduced-calorie diet, or a low-carbohydrate diet without calorie restrictions to lose a small but sustained amount of weight. The effects on cardiovascular outcomes of either diet are not known, although each has different effects on lipid levels, which may or may not translate into an actual effect on patient-oriented outcomes. (Level of Evidence: 1a)

ALLEN F. SHAUGHNESSY, PHARM.D.

Study Reference: Nordmann AJ, et al. Effects of low-carbohydrate vs low-fat diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med February 13, 2006;166:285-93.

Used with permission from Shaughnessy AF. Diets: low carb = low fat. Accessed March 29, 2006, at: http://www. InfoPOEMs.com.

How low is too low? Quick assessments ensure that low-carb diets continue their fat-loss magic

Cutting carbs from a diet often results in almost immediate changes in appearance. A low-carb diet tends to flush away excess retained water. The result: within a couple of days, you will look tighter, even if only from water loss. Low-carb diets also speed the fat-burning process by promoting an increase in hormones that help burn bodyfat while simultaneously inhibiting hormones that can add to fat deposition. It seems like a low-carb diet is the perfect recipe for tightening up a physique. So why not go for broke and drive fat burning into the stratosphere by dropping carbs altogether? Because often, there is a point of diminishing returns.

Many bodybuilders like to keep things simple--they detest calculating and recording calories or grams of carbs, protein and fat. I'm right there with you. Without becoming too much of a slave to numbers, let's establish what I consider a lower-carb diet--one that effectively promotes fat burning.

I suggest starting with six meals a day, with seven to 10 ounces of protein at each meal or the equivalent of 40-60 grams of protein from protein powder. Next, ingest carbs at only three of those meals: the first meal of the day, preworkout and postworkout. A reasonable amount of carbs would be two slices of whole-wheat toast, 1-2 cups of cooked oatmeal or a large piece of fruit, such as a banana, for breakfast; a medium piece of fruit, 1 cup of cooked oatmeal or a medium sweet potato about 30 minutes before workouts; and 20-32 ounces of a sports drink (such as Gatorade), a large plain bagel, or a large slice of angel food cake immediately after workouts, which is one of the few times of day when you want fast-digesting carbs to spike insulin for driving recovery and growth.

In general, most bodybuilders will be able to drop fat by limiting carbs to three meals. Assess your physique each week to see if this approach is working. If you look leaner or weigh less, you're on track. If you fail to look leaner or the scale doesn't budge, make small adjustments: decrease the portion sizes of your carb sources so you are eating less at each of the three meals. If that doesn't work, consider having only a protein shake for your preworkout meal (no carbs).

RELATED ARTICLE: THE THRESHOLD

The goal is to figure out the point at which your body will give up fat as energy, allowing you to become leaner. I call it the carb threshold. For most bodybuilders, three meals with a moderate amount of carbs will do the trick. For others, a modified approach may be necessary--reducing portion sizes. Others may have to cut carbs from their preworkout meal. In a nutshell, you have to determine how much carbohydrate you can consume and still decrease bodyfat.

Body fat distribution and weight loss differences in white and black women

In recent years, intraabdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) has proven to be strongly related to metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity. Weight reduction programs have promoted weight loss and reduced the health risks that go along with IAAT. Waist circumference correlates well with IAAT and is often used for a marker of visceral adipose tissue, as it appears to accurately reflect the relation between visceral adipose tissue and health risk. Racial differences exist in regards to the risk of obesity-related health problems and therefore attention has focused on the association between risk factors and abdominal fat distribution in white and black populations. Based upon previous research, black women and children appear to have lower distribution of adipose tissue as IAAT than as subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT) than do white women and children. At present, little is known about the effect of weight loss on changes in visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat distribution in overweight white and black individuals.

The purpose of a recent intervention was to prospectively examine the abdominal fat distribution patterns of overweight weight and black women, before and after weight loss, in relationship to those of never-overweight control women. Subjects included white and black pre-menopausal women between the ages of 20 and 46 years. 23 overweight white women and 23 overweight black women participated. Overweight was defined as having a body mass index (BMI) between 27 and 30 and a family history of obesity in a least one first-degree relative. Twenty-three white and 15 black, never-overweight women served as controls. Subjects were evaluated at baseline when they were overweight, and again at normal weight and underweight, following dietary intervention. Subjects were maintained in a weight-stable state for four weeks, during the final two-week were given meals providing 20 percent of energy as fat, 16 percent as protein, and 64 percent as carbohydrate. All prepared meals for weigh reduction afforded 800 kcal/day. Adherence and body weight were monitored twice weekly until subjects lost 10kg and reached a normal weight, defined as a BMI of <25.>

Weight loss, losses of total fat, trunk fat and waist circumference were similar in both the white and black women. White women were found to have lost more IAAT and less SAAT than did black women. Changes in waist circumference correlated with changes in IAAT in white women, but not in black women.

This data indicates that white women had significantly more IAAT and significantly more IAAT relative to SAAT than did black women despite comparable decreases in total and trunk fat. Further studies investigating the changes in metabolic risk factors associated with weight loss and gain and body fat distribution in both black and white individuals are needed to gain understanding of the clinical significance of these different racial responses in abdominal fat utilization.

R. Weinsier, G Hunter, B. Gower, et al. Body fat distribution in white and black women: different patterns of intra-abdominal and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue utilization with weight loss. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 74: 631-636 (November 2001) [Correspondence: R. L. Weinsier, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294. E-mail: weinsier@shrp.uab.edu.]

Why Low-Fat Dieting Has No Effect on Weight Loss

That low-fat diet you've been struggling to stay on may have no effect on your weight loss . Pioneering research by Harvard Medical School's David Ludwig recently found that dietary fat is not a major determinant of body fat. The main factor that determines changes in body weight and waist circumference (also known as belly fat) is how your body responds to any type of sugar, carbohydrate, or glucose load.

"Over the last 15 years, I have tested nearly all of my patients using a test that most doctors never use. Thankfully, Dr. Ludwig's research brings this critical method of diagnosing insulin resistance and the cause of obesity and disease to the forefront," said Mark Hyman, M.D. of UltraWellness. "I strongly recommend the glucose tolerance test, which measures your insulin and blood sugar at 30 minutes, one hour, and two hours to get the best picture of your insulin profile."

If you are a high insulin secretor and your insulin goes over 30 during the test, you produce too much insulin and need to be sure you are staying on a low glycemic load, whole-foods, unprocessed diet which keeps your blood sugar even.

"The future of treating obesity and weight loss is in personalizing our approach," said Hyman. "This approach is detailed in my book 'UltraMetabolism.' It's called nutrigenomics, which is the science of how we can use food to influence our genes and personalize our approach to health."

The glucose tolerance test is cheap, easy to do, and it is probably the most important test for determining your overall health, the causes for obesity, and your risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, and premature aging.

For more information on the test, nutrigenomics and eating a low glucose diet for weight loss, visit The UltraWellness Blog ( www.ultrawellness.com/blog ).

References:

Ebbeling CB, Leidig MM, Feldman HA, Lovesky MM, Ludwig DS. Effects of a low-glycemic load vs low-fat diet in obese young adults: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2007 May 16;297(19):2092-102

Chaput JP, Tremblay A, Rimm EB, Bouchard C, Ludwig DS. A novel interaction between dietary composition and insulin secretion: effects on weight gain in the Quebec Family Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Feb;87(2):303-9

About UltraWellness:

UltraWellness -- lifelong health and vitality -- is based on the emerging field of functional medicine , which addresses health problems not by treating the symptoms, but by balancing the 7 core underlying biological processes that govern health. This is done by finding imbalances, getting rid of the things that cause those imbalances, and providing the necessary things to restore balance, which then allows the body's natural intelligence to facilitate healing and take care of the rest. Co-founder of UltraWellness, Mark Hyman, M.D., is a respected medical consultant, New York Times bestselling author, lecturer, practicing physician and leader in the emerging field of functional medicine.

Too little fat can thwart weight loss - Eat Right News

It seems that a moderate-fat diet is more conducive to long-term weight loss than a low-fat one. In a study of 101 people at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, half ate a diet with no more than 20 percent of calories from fat, while the other half ate a 35-percent-fat diet. Of the 44 people who remained on their respective regimens a year later, all had lost about 11 pounds even though only 14 of them were on the low-fat diet.

Six months after that, some on the low-fat diet had regained weight, while the moderate-fat eaters kept off their lost weight and were eating a healthier diet with more fiber and vegetables.

Very low-fat diets and abdominal fat loss

Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but in women, abdominal obesity, defined by a large waist circumference or high waist to hip ratio, is a stronger risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes than BMI. Dietary macronutrient composition can potentiate the improvement in cardiovascular risk factors achieved with weight loss. Dietary macronutrient composition may also influence body composition. In 2 previously published studies, one in energy balance and one that was energy restricted, subjects with type 2 diabetes experienced an adverse effect on the ratio of upper body to lower body fat after consumption of a high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet compared with a high monounsaturated fat diet, which produced no change in this ratio. The aim of the current study was to establish whether these changes could be reproduced in a weight loss study in nondiabetic women, in which significant losses in total fat mass were achieved.

The subjects included 70 nondiabetic women with BMI > 27 kg/[m.sup.2]. The subjects were matched for BMI and self-reported menopause status. The women were blocked into two groups and randomly assigned to consume a diet either high in monounsaturated fat (HIMO) with 35% of energy from fat, 20% energy from monounsaturated fat, and 6% energy from saturated fat or a very low-fat (VLF) diet with 12% energy from fat, 4% energy as monounsaturated fat, and 4% energy from saturated fat for 12 wk. Protein intake provided 21% of energy.
Eight subjects (four from each dietary intervention) withdrew because of inability to maintain compliance or because of work or travel commitments. Total fat, carbohydrate, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat intakes differed between the groups. Energy intake did not differ. Weight loss did not differ between the groups nor did total fat loss. Total fat mass fell 14% in both groups. There was a significant effect of menopausal status on the amount of trunk fat such that postmenopausal women lost more trunk fat when consuming VLF. Serum lipids declined during the course of the study.
In this study, a very low-fat weight loss diet compared with a high monounsaturated weight loss diet did not have differential effects on fat distribution. The researchers confirmed previous findings that weight loss was the same when either HIMO or VLF diets were consumed under energy-restricted conditions. However, in contrast to previous findings, the amount of fat and lean tissue lost and the distribution of the loss did not differ between groups.
P Clifton, M Noakes, J Keogh. Very low-fat (12%) and high monounsaturated fat (35%) diets do not differentially affect abdominal fat loss in overweight, nondiabetic women. d Nutr 134:1741-1745 (July 2004) [Correspondence: Peter Clifton. Email: peter.clifton@hsn.csiro.au]

Effects of fat intake on weight loss

Several lines of evidence suggest that different food sources of calories may have different effects on metabolic processes and fat deposition. Dietary fat appears to be more fattening than dietary carbohydrate because it may be converted more readily to adipose tissue and requires less energy to metabolize. Little is known, however, about the effects of variations in dietary fat intake on weight loss during a calorie-restricted diet. Criticism has been leveled at the only previous study to evaluate this subject, because the protein content of the various test diets was not kept constant and because no exercise program was included in the weight-loss regimen.

In a new study conducted at Brigham Young University, the effects of varying fat content were evaluated in the context of a weight-loss program that included both diet restriction and supervised exercise. Forty-eight obese premenopausal women were randomly assigned to 1,200 kcal test diets with 10, 20, 30, or 40% of calories from fat. The protein content of all of the test diets was held constant at 20%, and subjects followed the test diets for 12 weeks, while participating in a structured exercise program five days each week.

There were no significant differences among any of the four dietary treatment groups in the amount or rate of weight loss or in the percent of body fat lost during the 12-week treatment period. The authors conclude that diet composition has little, if any, effect on the loss of body weight or body fat during short-term obesity treatment. This conclusion is consistent with the findings of the one previous study that investigated this topic. The authors speculate that a 12-week period may be too brief to detect effects of diet composition on weight loss or that diet composition may be important only when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, not when energy balance is negative, as it is on a weight-loss regimen.

John J Powell, Larry Tucker, A Garth Fisher, and Kim Wilcox, The Effects of Different Percentages of Dietary Fat Intake, Exercise, and Calorie Restriction on Body Composition and Body Weight in Obese Females, American J Health Promotion 8(6):442-448 (July/Aug 1994) [Reprints: Larry Tucker, Phd, 237 SFH, Brigham Young University, Provo UT 84602!

3 Simple Ways of Eating To Lose Body Fat

Firstly, I must talk about the invisible saboteurs of your weight program before I can even discuss the simple ways of eating to lose body fat. When you start a weight loss program, you would definitely want to have as many people that are close to you to be supportive of your weight loss goals. Unfortunately, this idealistic mind set is almost impossible to achieve in this imperfect world. There are to be saboteurs in each and every little endeavor you choose to take in life and that includes your weight loss program too, where we will learn eating to lose body fat! This should not dishearten you to abandon your weight loss goals, but what you need is to strengthen your willpower and resist those subtle and malicious suggestions or responses they make whenever you reach a specific milestone on your path towards a slimmer body and a healthier lifestyle. Why does this happen? Well, the reason why these people adopt such a response to your success is that they are afraid of losing something once the goal is attained. If it is a spouse, he or she may feel threatened by your new look and that you will appear more attractive to others. If he or she is a sibling, then they may feel uncomfortable with losing a friend to share the good food they use to enjoy, or they can stem form the feelings of jealousy. This is also apparent if your best friend is sabotaging your weight loss program. They may fear the fact of losing you to a new and improved circle of friends once you get all the weight off. Now we are getting closer to discussing the simple eating to lose body fat methods that will not only lose the fat, but also keep it off for good.

Here are some clues to use if you want to see if the folks in your circle belong to this category of saboteurs 1. Offer you Fattening Foods This is one neat trick that can make you fall to their plans and be a victim of these weight loss saboteurs! Over time, they may shove you with your favorite food and offer something that used to be your personal cravings. Thank them and refuse to have any of them. 2. Negative Comments Some small remarks such as, ‘You can never stick to your weight loss goals’, or ‘You look good being fat!’ are simply some of the tactics employed by these tricky characters! 3. Catch you Doing Something Forbidden They have a habit of keeping an eye on you and then merely to jump onto something you did that is on the contrary to your weight loss program. 4. Constant Criticism They have a habit of criticizing everything you can and how you decide to manage your weight loss program. So how do you face these characters in your life? They are the people dearest to you and you can't simply shove them aside. Well, what you can do is to simply ignore these remarks, and move on with your weight loss program. You can make some attempts to reassure them that things will not change and will be what it used to be in the past. What is changing is only your weight and your lifestyle and you are doing it for your own well being and your health. Isn't your happiness more important to them than their fear of the unknown? The problem of overcoming your personal saboteurs in your life is the first hurdle that you must clear before we can really go on to discuss and put into action the 3 really simple ways of eating to lose body fat. If what I just discussed has helped you with your first realization in your path to lose body fat, then let us get into a little more meat. Please go here

Determining the Best Way to Burn Fat without Sacrificing Muscle

What is the best way to burn fat off your body, and look and feel absolutely terrific? It sounds almost like a dream for many people. However, while everyone’s bodies and goals may be different, there are some basic fat loss principles that will help you burn fat fast.

The first thing you want to do is take a look at your current diet and make a decision to start making long-term improvements. This may involve replacing bad habits such as snacking on chocolate bars with new positive habits such as resorting to fruits and nuts for snacks.

When being asked for diet advice, I always recommend cutting way back on sugary drinks, fried foods and other foods high in sugar and unhealthy fats. I also recommend sticking to natural and unprocessed sources of foods as much as possible. Really, is it any surprise that 35% of Americans are obese when the average American diet is pizza, fried foods, pastries, donuts, ice cream, soft drinks, sodas, beers, and whatever else we’re polluting our bodies with?

When you begin a program to lose fat, it is easy to fall into the habit of cutting calories. Most dieters do exactly that, drastically lowering their calories to the point where they aren’t losing fat, they’re unknowingly burning up muscle tissue. As a result, their body starts to use fewer calories to maintain itself and they find themselves gaining fat much easier when they finish their diet.

So if reducing your calories is not the best way to burn fat, what is? Well, instead of focusing on depriving yourself, and increasing the chances of burning muscle tissue, focus on eating small, frequent and healthy meals and perform regular fat-burning aerobic exercise. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend your life in the gym as there are many ways of exercising. Who knows, you might choose to get an exercise video to work out with if that suits your lifestyle, or you may decide to pick up a sport you could enjoy.

Performing the right type of aerobic exercise not only burns fat through the workout itself, but it also increases the calories you burn after the workout, increases production of specific enzymes and hormones which promote fat burning, and increase your insulin sensitivity, resulting in less carbohydrates being stored as fat. Apart from being the best way to burn fat it is a great way to increase your general health and fitness.

If I told you that by adding another part to the fat loss equation you could not only multiply your results, but at the same time get stronger, improve your exercise performance, prevent injuries and much more, while achieving a more toned appearance and a huge confidence boost, would you be interested?

Simply eating smaller healthier meals and performing regular aerobic exercise will begin the fat loss process, but the best way to burn fat also includes strength training. It will stop your body eating away your muscle tissue, and also build muscle at the same time which means that, since muscle tissue needs energy to be maintained, your metabolism will increase significantly as your body will need more calories as your muscles develop.

To get the biggest benefits from strength training consider lifting weights regularly, although bodyweight workouts are also very beneficial. Not only does your metabolism become faster allowing you to burn more calories even while resting, you’ll also find that your aerobic workouts will burn more calories as a result of the increased muscle.

Avoid the hype out there telling you that simply lowering calories will magically strip the fat off your body. Eating frequent, small and healthy meals, performing regular fat-burning aerobic exercise and strengthening and building muscle is the best way to burn fat fast and keep it off for good. Why do 95% of dieters fail within one year? Why are fat burning pills a complete rip-off? Joseph Cole answers these questions and more in his revealing industry report "Weight Loss Scams, Myths and Cons Exposed". Get your FREE copy today at: http://www.theantidietplan.com/1

Getting rid of Belly Fat Without Crunches

Getting rid of Belly Fat Without Crunches The desire to reduce belly fat is strong in many people. After all, it doesn't feel good and we often feel unattractive with the fat around our tummy. When we put clothes on we're reminded of this fat, when we look in the mirror we can see it staring back at us. And we've often tried many different ways to get rid of it, even resorting to some of those weird exercise contraptions that promised us we'd have flat perfect abs.

However, the reality is these things haven't worked and you still want to get rid of the fat around your belly. Like most people you may well have tried doing lots of ab crunches to get that flatter stomach. Only that doesn't seem to have worked for you either.

Let me first explain why this doesn't work. The purpose of exercises like ab crunches are to strengthen the muscles. As you're doing these exercises your muscles should be getting stronger and more toned. The problem is that you can't see this because there is fat on top of these muscles and until this fat is burnt up by your body it will still be sitting there on your tummy.

So, the most important step you can take to reduce your belly fat is to work on burning the fat in your body. This is achieved by exercise that burns fat and changing your eating habits.

To make your workouts burn more fat, ideally you need to add some weight training and some interval training. These both step up your bodies metabolism and hence its ability to burn more fat.

Eating healthier is also key and one area that most people can benefit from is by reducing their intake of sugar. Any sugar in your body that isn't burnt up turns to fat and I'm sure you don't want to be adding any more fat to your body.

Instead, I want for you to be reducing your fat so that you feel happier with they way your tummy and the whole of your body looks. Discover how to lose stomach fat and drop pounds from your body to look better and feel great!

Wendy Hearn has helped thousands of people achieve healthy weight loss

3 Tips To Get Rid Of Abdominal Fat

Is it your dream to get rid of that abdominal fat and have a flat stomach with no bulges hanging over your jeans? My guess is that if you are reading this article the answer is most probably yes. Well don't despair there are things you can do which will help you solve this problem lets have a look at a few solutions.

Before we get started it is important you remember, you are not going to see results overnight and it is going to require a bit of time and effort on your part. Now that we have that straight lets have a look at what you can do.

1. Diet, as always this is the number one starting point. Empty your fridge and get rid of all the carbonated soft drinks which are loaded with sugar and all the ready meals and processed foods. These are often high in salt and saturated fats - take a look at the label I bet you will be shocked.

It is time to get back to basics. Refill your fridge with fresh vegetables, lean cuts of meat, poultry and fish, stock up on lots of fresh fruit, and low fat dairy products. If you go for fruit and vegetables which are in season you will probably save yourself a bit of money too.

Avoid snacking between meals especially on things like crisps and cookies. The easiest way to do this is instead of sitting down to 3 large meals per day try eating 6 small meals. By doing this you will give your metabolism a boost thus making it easier for your body to burn off more calories and therefore abdominal fat.

2. Exercise, is key to the success of any weight loss program. By doing some form of cardio exercise which gets the heart pumping and encourages the body to burn excess calories you will see a reduction in weight quite quickly provided you exercise regularly. Experts would suggest a 30 minute session 4-5 times per week. It doesn't have to get boring there a many different types of exercise you can try - jogging, swimming, cycling, join a gym or even take a dance class!

For even better results some kind of strength training is also a great idea as well as the cardio exercise. This will allow you to build muscle which even when you are at rest burns more calories than fat would.

Any form of exercise session can help your body to continue burning calories for many hours after the session has ended.

3. Detox is the third and final element you should consider. By eliminating toxins and impurities from your body you will ensure that it is functioning at its optimum level. Fibre supplements and body wraps can work really well - although I would rather incorporate more fibre into the diet than take supplements and it is less expensive something as simple as eating 3 juicy apples a day will get you started. Drinking lots of water, at least 8 large glasses per day is also great for a detox.

Getting rid of unwanted abdominal fat from the tummy is not always easy as this is usually the last place to lose fatty deposits. However if you take the advice given here and put in a little effort you will begin to see the fruits of your labour fairly quickly. With a healthy diet, detox and exercise not only will you begin to look more like the person you want to be but you will begin to feel the benefits too.

Discover the top fat burning weight loss programs now at http://dieting-site.com and find more free articles offering tips to getting rid of abdominal fat.

Why did ladies of yore not get fat?

In Jane Austen's day young women were not usually overweight even though it was unfashionable to be too thin. Food (for people in society) was plentiful and served in large quantities. (Just think of all those formal meals and banquets). But habits and customs were different.

What can we learn from those times which will help us today?

1. Real food

All the food available was the real thing. There were no fast foods and fizzy drinks full of hidden fat and chemicals in Elizabeth Bennett's day. The foods eaten were mainly local and seasonal and meat would be organic (from animals which were not pumped full of hormones or fed artificially). The only additives would be herbs and spices. Pizza and chocolate bars had no place in Elizabeth's life!

2. Focus on food

For the middle classes at least, food was served formally. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were eaten at a proper dining table and food and conversation were the only focus. Elizabeth Bennett did not mindlessly shovel forkfuls of food into her mouth while being glued to the latest soap.

3. No snacking

Food was only available at set times and so Elizabeth never got into the habit of munching 500 calories worth of snacks on a boring afternoon (although she certainly had a few of those!)

4. Manners maketh a woman

It just wasn't seemly to grab and gobble large quantities of food. Ladies would eat modestly, slowly and daintily making it unlikely that they could shift vast amounts of calories at any meal.

5. No adverts

Elizabeth (lucky girl!) was not exposed to the 10,000 advertising messages a day we are said to get thrown at us these days. So she would not be getting continual bombardment from the media with "Eat me" messages. Turn those commercials off whenever you can!

6. A calmer pace of life

The girls in the Bennett household did not have to hold down a full time job, get the kids to school and dinner on the table. They had servants to take much of the load. If you turn to food when you're stressed, have a look at delegating some of your workload and reducing your commitments. With no TV to keep them up the Bennetts would get plenty of sleep too!

7. Short journeys on foot

Elizabeth would walk miles to wherever she needed to go. Only long distances would call for a horse, carriage or coach. She would burn up lots of calories in this way. What about you? Do you pop in the car to go a mile down the road?

8. Active pursuits

Elizabeth and her sisters would also walk for pleasure - and of course they all loved dancing - fantastic exercise without going to the gym. How about trying salsa dancing, ballet or line-dancing for a fun way to exercise?

9. Nowhere to hide

The fashion of the day was pretty revealing with flimsy material and an Empire line. This is a pretty look if you're slender. But you could expect your dance card to stay unmarked if you looked like a beached whale in a lace curtain.

10. Love helps

Of course a bit of love interest in the shape of tall, dark, proud Mr. Darcy helps a girl go off her food a bit too. Now all you need is a dark proud hero of your own!

Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on cuisines, culinary styles, recipes and more , do please browse for more information at our websites. www.infozabout.com www.cookery.infozabout.com

How To Get Rid Of Stomach Fat

The way to do this most effectively means both diet and also exercising. You shouldn't be suprised by this fact. If you would like to know how to lose stomach fat and how to lose it fast, then you must use the two together for maximum effect. Although you may be suprised at the methods this solution encompasses as they are unusual.

First we will examine the diet side of things, then we will examine the exercising side.

The best and fastest way to lose excess fat on your stomach is by doing a low carb eating plan. This doesn't mean zero carbohydrates as that would be almost impossible and dangerous because it would be unhealthy. What it means is lowering your reliance for energy on carbohydrates. What will happen then is your body will burn fat for energy.

You get your daily from these sources in this order. 1. Carbohydrates 2. Fat 3. Protein

All of the above can come from food or from supplies stored in the body. So you must cut down your carbs so your body starts to burn fat, which it will after a little time when it accepts the idea. But you can't eat tons of high fat food because it doesn't work like that. If you did that you would have more than enough energy from the fatty food and wouldn't use any of the spare fat off your belly. At the other end you can't go ultra low-fat as your body begins to burn its store of proteins for energy. That is to say you will be burning off muscle tissue and that is unacceptable too.

Muscle tissue burns calories all the time even at rest, just by being there. If a dieter loses muscle their metabolism slows down and the body burns less calories. Inevitably, this state of affairs is a disaster for someone wanting to get rid of fat.

Under 100 grams of carbs in a day will do it. Under 60 grams is fantastic.

Then, together with this eating plan you need to get some exercise. What do you think you need to do? Lots of swimming, cycling and running? Well actually no, you don't have to perform endless cardiovascular exercise. Too much cardio sends the body into what is called catabolism where it breaks down lean muscle tissue.

To accompany the fat-burning eating regime you have to get doing High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT. This means performing low and high intensity exercises in intervals. You do a period of low intensity cardio exercise and then a period of higher intensity.

Research has discovered that this type of combination training burns more stored fat than normal cardio done at a steady rate. The figures average out at fifty percent more however some studies showed far greater ratios than that. Up to 5 times more. Why does this mean you lose belly fat? Well, the body stores the extra fat that you provide it where it is easiest to put it - the belly. Oppositely, when the time comes for the body to use up some of the stored fat to burn as energy it gets it from where it is easiest to get - the stomach.

Not only that, studies have revealed that HIIT burns two times as much excess fat from the belly area than other cardio type exercise even when they train for longer. And there is more happy news. HIIT only needs to be done for short periods of time, typically 10-20 minutes at a time.

So, as you can see, this special mix of exercise and diet will give you quick fat loss that is healthy and you can keep off. Unlike other diets where you achieve a starting period of fat loss but then it all collapses, this approach is better for the long term.

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Advanced Dieting Methods & Fat Burning Techniques - Your Fast Pass to Weight Loss

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Advanced Dieting Methods & Fat Burning Techniques - Your Fast Pass to Weight Loss.
A NEW TYPE OF DIET HAS BEEN INVENTED FOR YOU...

What if you could be shown a system of eating which was so
different from anything else you've ever seen, that you'll
notice a change in your body in just 11 Days from Today?

Forget about your past dieting failures for a moment.

Just focus on one thought right now; WHAT IF it was really
possible to change your body in 11 days?

Believe it or not it's really possible to change your body
over the NEXT 11 DAYS, and it has NOTHING to do with
positive thinking, because positive thinking all by itself
won't remove a single pound from your body.

That's right, if you want to get NOTICEABLY THINNER IN THE
MIRROR then you need MUCH MORE than just "positive
thinking".

FOOD is NOT the Enemy

Did you know that your brain controls the release of Fat
Burning Hormones after each meal? It's true.

Every time you eat something, there are 2 types of hormones
released into your bloodstream, and together they control
Fat Burning and Fat Storage.

Also, did you know that these 2 hormones are controlled by
the foods that you eat? It's true.

The Diet that Manipulates Fat Burning HORMONES

This diet manipulates these hormones, so after each meal
your body will produce a greater quantity of Fat Burning
Hormones, while Fat Storing Hormones are MINIMIZED as much
as humanly possible.

That's why you'll be eating MORE THAN 3 TIMES PER DAY
during the next 11 Days, because to alter these hormones
correctly you'll be required to eat MORE than 3 times per
day.

You probably find it hard to believe that eating more than
3 times per day could be the solution to speeding up weight
loss, right?

After all, most people believe that food is the "enemy"
which makes them overweight.

But that's simply WRONG. Food is NOT the enemy.

So if Food is Not the Enemy, Then What is it?

Food is like a LIGHT SWITCH which can turn Fat Burning ON
or OFF.

So even though it may seem like a contradiction to say that
eating more often is the solution to weight loss, but
that's exactly what this New Dieting System is all about.

Of course, you must eat the right meals in the right
patterns each day (since obviously you cannot eat chocolate
10 times per day and get skinny).

However, the bottom line is that you'll be eating MORE than
3 meals per day during the next 11 Days. And, after 11 days
have passed you'll be much slimmer and lighter on the scale.

Don't believe it?

Well, you've already discovered that low calorie diets
don't work.

So what does this tell you?

It tells you that eating less is NOT THE ANSWER, and it
tells you that the solution must be something totally
different.

There are some people who don't truly believe that they can
change their own body within the next couple weeks, but
this has been proven to thousands of thinner people, and
can be proven to you too - in only 11 days.

Okay, get ready to be shown an Eating System which is so
unique that you're going to be anxious to begin immediately.

The Fat Burning Bible - Guaranteed Success at Melting Away Fat

Are you ready to be rid of your excess fat once and for all? Are you carrying extra weight from a pregnancy or middle age that you just want to melt away? Whether you have always struggled with your weight or only recently encountered a problem with fat, the Fat Burning Bible has a plan that will work for you. Click Here It seems these days that everyone out there has a gimmick or scheme to help you lose weight. Most don’t work at all and the ones that do are either dangerous to your health or only short-lived as you will gain the weight right back. Are you ready for a real solution? Are you ready for something that will truly help you lose weight, and keep it off, all in a safe and natural way? The Fat Burning Bible program may just be the best weight loss advice you will ever receive. This isn’t another quick scam to take your money and leave you disappointed. It is a real, easy to follow, dependable plan to take control of your body and your weight once and for all. This program will help you truly understand your body- which is different and unique from anyone else out there- and help you form a plan that suits your needs the best instead of trying to mimic someone else’s idea of what will work for your body. The Fat Burning Bible Plan will help you take control of your body and reshape it by forming safe, natural and healthy habits that will remain with you for a lifetime. You never have to worry that the weight will come back and you will be a healthier person overall because of it. Instead of looking for a miracle cure to your weight problem, you need to focus on real technique and strategies you can do- starting on the inside and working your way out. Even very small changes in your diet or routine can leave big impressions on your health and fitness. . Click Here Melting fat and being healthy doesn’t have to be about boot camp fitness training every day, starvation diets, avoiding your favorite foods or popping harmful pills before every meal. The Fat Burning Bible has a new, improved, natural and healthy way of losing the weight and keeping it off. You owe it to yourself to give it a try today!

Weight Loss Tips - Low Fat & Fat Free Foods Will Get You Nowhere

If you walk down the aisle of any grocery store you'll see dozens "low fat" and "fat free" food items nearly everywhere you look.

The whole world has gone "low fat" crazy -- and most people think that if they just begin eating low fat foods then their bodies will have less fat too.

Sounds logical right?

Wrong.

You see, the problem with this type of thinking is that there is no "direct" relationship between fat calories eaten and fat tissue on a person's body.

The truth is that your body can convert ANY type of calorie to fat tissue, not just fat calories.

For example, if you eat 2 lbs. of sugar every day then you'll probably gain some fat tissue after a while - but yet sugar has ZERO FAT CALORIES in it. So eating 2 lbs. of sugar every day is a "fat free" diet, but yet you'd still gain fat.

Likewise, if you eat a huge bowl of white rice at every single meal then you'd soon gain fat tissue on your body - but yet this is a fat free food too.

So what does that tell you about eating fat free foods?

Not only that, but there are plenty of low fat cakes, cookies and desserts sold at every grocery store. Yet, do you honestly think that these foods are "healthy" merely because they are low in fat?

Of course not, and you'll gain extra fat if you eat too much of them.

In fact, our entire society has been eating low fat foods in greater quantity over the last decade - but yet our society is still getting fatter and fatter. So that should tell you something about low fat diets.

You should stop thinking "non fat" and "low fat"- since those are just buzz words designed to make you feel as though such foods are healthy.

The truth is that you don't need to worry about "fat" calories so much, and you also don't need to worry about total "carbs" so much either...

What you need to worry about is the exact types of foods that you combine together at each meal, so that you get the proper portion of fat calories and carbs at each meal - which will maximize weight loss.

To begin losing weight fast we recommend using the new Idiot Proof Diet from Fat Loss 4 Idiots -- because it's not based on "low fat" foods.

In fact, it's not based on "low calories" either, and it's also not based on "low carbs" (since low carb diets don't work very well)... The Idiot Proof Diet is a brand new type of diet never seen before, so give it a try and watch the pounds come off fast.

How effective are Detox Diet Plan?

It is human nature to follow fads, and many obese adults these days seem to be following the fad called detox diet plan. Does it really work for them though? I cannot say for sure. All I can say is that people who use it do lose weight for a temporary period, but usually gain back all the 'lost' weight after sometime. Thus it doesn't look any different from the other fad diets.

What is the reason behind it? One reason can be that your body is so full of toxins that any weight control measure that you undertake seems to fall flat! You could have accumulated these toxins from any source, such as food, talcum powder, air, etc. While your body might have developed a healthy detoxification system to combat the general toxins, it looks like it cannot cope up with the synthetic chemicals that get inside through various means.

It is not that only adults' bodies are full of toxins; studies have pointed out that even a newborn child inherits loads of toxins from his mother's body. Scientists have also claimed that the detox diets simply do not work the way they should and hence, they are totally unnecessary!

The toxins within our bodies cause us to eat more than we should. And at the same time, our body ability to burn the extra calories effectively has diminished. The end results will be that all the excess calories will end up as fats deposited in our bodies. Therefore it will be wise to avoid processed foods like butter, cream and even some cheese as they have toxins in them which are harmful to us.

The best detox diet plan which you can follow is to just avoid foods which had been processed but go for foods that re organically grown. Good examples of good foods are raw fruits, vegetables which can help a person lose weight quickly. Another good thing to do is to drink more water as water will assist our bodies to increase its metabolism rate. Do not take beer, Alcohol, soda & soft drinks. Abstain from foods like white flour & Sugar as well. These types of foods provides your body with nothing except "empty calories" which ultimately gets converted to fats in our bodies.

Foods containing complex carbs such as potatoes are also good for your health!

Take unsaturated fats like those which can be found in Tuna, Salmon etc. Avoid saturated fats which are present in Butter & cream which only makes a person fat. In conclusion, I hope this version of the detox diet plan will be able to help you with quick weight loss. Lose weight with an easy-to-follow natural weight loss program using lemons and maple syrup?

You can find that specific program at Weight Loss Insider. I recommend you take a look at this Master CLeanse Secrets and see what they have to say about what you should do to lose 40lbs in 3 months healthily!

My Top 10 Fat Burning Workouts You Have Never Tried

If you have read some of my other articles, you will know that I'm always giving you new ways to make your exercise different, to keep it effective and fun. Making your workout fun and using variety is the big difference between people who acheive the body they wanted by adotping a fitness lifestyle and those that jump on and off the "fitness train" a few times each year and never really make any progress. It is important to make sure your program is fun, interesting and it makes your fitness a priority in your life and you will acheive the body you want.

Something I have noticed is that most people will exercise regularly for a few months and they tend to get either bored with the same resistance training and Cardio programs, or they tend to get demotivated when they no longer get the results they were getting when they started. I beleive, that your exercise should never be boring, we just need to keep an open mind to the wealth of different exercise methods there are to use to get you to

your goal. Really there are so many various styles of exercise you can use, there is absolutly no reason you should ever get bored and give up on getting the lean body you always wanted. Using different exercise methods also has the benifit of building stronger joints as it reduces the movement pattern overload common with many traditional programs.

Before I give you my favourite exercise methods, I need to tell you one of the best ways I know to get a lean healthy looking body is to use a consistant resistance training program utilising free weights. Using some of these different exercise methods in your resistance training program on the same day, as an alternative session on another day or as a seperate exercise cycle are all great ways to make your program more effective by using variety.

Ok, here are some of my top different exercise techniques:

1. Staircase Workouts - Stair training is great because stairs are everywhere. You can go to a football oval and do stadium stairs, any building that has stairs like a hotel (most people take the elevator, so you will not even have many people looking at you while you're working out), or even the stairs in your own home. For an awesome full body workout, try mixing stairs sprints with an upper body exercise like pushups or pull-ups. If done with a high enough intensity, stairs workouts help to create changes throughout your entire body due to the muscle building and fat burning hormonal response and metabolism increase that you get through working the biggest muscle groups in your entire body. If you thought that going up and down the stairs was the only way to get a good stairs workout...think again. My fellow trainer and friend, Virgil Aponte, has developed a website that focuses

on creative stairs workouts using all kinds of exercises you never would have thought of before. You can find out more info on stairs exercises workouts at my 'fitness products' page at truthaboutabs.com at the link below.

2. Wind Sprints and Hill Sprints - Find any open field in a park or athletic field and try 50, 75, and 100-yard all-out wind sprints. After each sprint, rest long enough to catch your breath before the next one (generally 1-2 minutes). Try workouts of anywhere from 6 to 20 wind sprints for a great "cutting" workout. Also, if you have a hill nearby, hill sprints are also great workouts. Sprint up the hill as fast as you can and walk down for your rest interval. Repeat until you're whooped (a 20-30 minute hill workout is plenty). These sprint workouts are so amazingly effective at changing your entire body for the same reason as stairs exercises...by powerfully working the biggest muscle groups in your entire body, you greatly stimulate your metabolism while simultaneously increasing your fat burning and muscle building hormones.

Just look at any world class 100-meter sprinters and notice how ripped-to-shreds those guys are. Now compare that to the emaciated weakling physiques of many marathoners, and you'll see that sprinting is where the action is at for a healthy, ripped, powerful body! Now I don't want to upset all of you distance runners out there. Hey, if distance running is something you enjoy, then go right ahead. But don't say you're doing it for the health benefits, because I might just have to disagree. You can read my full story on why I believe variable intensity training is far superior to steady-state endurance training in one of my other ezinearticles.com articles at Cardio-Enthusiasts: Discover a More Effective exercise Method for Fat Loss and Heart Health!

3. Kettlebell training - If you've been reading my articles for some time, you've probably heard me praise kettlebell training many times before, but I will have to reiterate that it has been one of the best exercise methods that I've ever tried and has taken my physical capabilities to a whole new level. Kettlebells are an alternative type of free-weight exercise instead of barbells and dumbbells. Their unique construction and resistance distribution (basically a cannonball with a handle) allows for a whole different realm of exercises that's available compared to dumbbells and barbells. Kettlebells have been typically used for training hard-core athletes, military units, martial arts competitors, and other tough individuals, but there is no reason that anybody looking to get stronger, bigger, or more cut can't learn the exercises and benefit from them.

It's been a little over a year now since I've incorporated kettlebell training into my programs, and I'll admit that I'm hooked for life! At between $100-$150 per kettlebell, they are definitely not cheap, but they are well worth the money. Just one or two kettlebells and you've literally got yourself an entire home gym that you can use for the rest of your life...worth every penny in my book! If you want to give these body-hardening kettlebells a try, you can find more info at my 'fitness products' page at truthaboutabs.com at the link below.

4. Bodyweight Workouts - For a change of pace, try adding to your program one or two workouts a week at home with just bodyweight based exercises. These can be great because you can get a high intensity workout done in only 15-30 minutes without having to go to the gym on days that you might not have time for a trip to the gym. Try alternating bodyweight squats, pushups variations, lunges, and floor abs exercises continuously for 15-30 minutes. Try to take very short rest periods or none at all to really amp up the intensity since this will be a brief workout. If you're more advanced, you can even incorporate more challenging exercises like handstand pushups, one-arm pushups, and one-legged squats into your bodyweight

exercise programs.

5. Ring training - This type of exercise basically uses portable gymnastic rings that you can take anywhere with you. You throw the straps up over any high bar like a pullup bar, the top of a power rack, or even over a football field goal crossbar. Then you can quickly adjust the rings to do exercises like ring dips, ring pushups, ring pull-ups, hanging leg raises, horizontal body rows, L-sits, and more. Dips and pushups on the rings are my favorites and the rings really make them a hell of a lot more difficult, while also incorporating your stabilizer muscles to a much greater degree. The rings allow your joints to move in a more natural pattern and can help you prevent or even recover from shoulder injuries. Personally, when I try dips on a normal dip stand, it hurts my shoulders. However, dips on the training rings feel perfect,

and also give me a much better muscle pump. The training rings are one of the best exercise devices I've ever bought. Give them a try...I think you'll like them if you're up for a challenge. I found my rings, which you can hang up easily on a power rack, pullup bars, or at a park, at ringtraining.com.

6. Swimming - A great full body workout that stresses the muscles and joints in a much different way than most resistance training. Incorporating swimming workouts once or twice a week into your normal exercise programs can really enhance your physique. I recommend trying a "sprint" style swimming workout, which will help more for building muscle compared with endurance long distance swimming. For sprint style, swim as hard as you can to the other side of a 25-meter or 50-meter pool (or sprint swim similar distances in a lake or

the ocean if you like to swim outdoors). Rest enough to catch your breath between sprint swims (about 20-40 seconds). Try to keep the rest intervals fairly short with swim sprints. You can also mix different strokes (crawl, breaststroke, sidestroke, backstroke, butterfly) on each swim sprint. I've found that sprint swimming gives me a great muscle pump (especially in the upper body), without any soreness the next day as is typical with resistance training. This is because swimming has no eccentric movement (the negative portion of a lift), which is what causes muscle soreness. Keep in mind that even though swimming works your muscles well and is a nice alternative workout to mix in once or twice a week, it does not strengthen your bones. You still need to do regular resistance training to do that.

7. Sandbag training - This form of exercise is a nice variation to mix in with your strength training. It works your body with an unstable object, which makes muscles that might normally be neglected get in on the action to perform the movements. I've been mixing some sandbag training into my programs for over a year now, and I've found it is a very intense method of exercise that works your muscles in a different way and gets you huffing and puffing like crazy. You can make your own sandbags to train with by filling various sized duffle bags with sand, or you can use those construction type sandbags that come in several shapes. Sandbag exercises can be done as squats, cleans, presses, lunges, shouldering, throws or heaves, carrying up hills, etc. Make no mistake, training intensely with sandbags will get you ripped in no time flat! I've actually found an entire book devoted to sandbag training, which gave me some great ideas for doing sandbag based workouts. If you're interested in this type of exercise, you can find more info at my 'fitness products' page at truthaboutabs.com at the link below.

8. Mountain Biking - As you may have figured by now, I'm not a proponent of steady pace endurance exercise, but rather, highly variable intensity exercise that works with bursts of exertion followed by recovery intervals. Well, mountain biking fits this bill perfectly. You get the leg pumping exertion during the uphill climbs, while also getting the adrenaline rush of the downhill acting as your recovery intervals. Mix it all together and you get a super-fun, high-intensity, leg burning workout that will melt fat off of your entire body and build awesome legs at the same time. The climbs can be tough and will challenge you both physically and mentally as you pump away trying to make it up steep hills without having to resort to getting off of the bike. Then after you make it up the challenging climbs, you get rewarded with the adrenaline rush of flying down steep hills while jumping off of boulders and logs and trying not to stumble or fall off the bike. It's such an addicting thrill...I love it! See, who says that working out has to be boring!

9. Indoor (or outdoor) Rock Climbing - This is yet another fun way to get in a great workout that will also challenge you both physically and mentally. Indoor rock climbing gyms have starting popping up all over the place in recent years and will be more accessible than outdoor rock climbing to most people. Rock climbing is a great workout for your legs, arms, shoulders, and your entire back. It also really works your grip strength and forearms like crazy. Whenever I go indoor rock climbing (which is only on occasion), my forearms are sore for about 2-3 days afterwards. Give it a try if you've never done it...it may be just what you're looking for to spice up your fitness program.

10. Stick Wrestling - This is a killer full body workout and can also be a great competition between you and your friends. This is probably more of a guy thing for most people. You could even come up with your own "fight club" and have stick wrestling competitions with your buddies to see who is toughest. There are actually sticks designed specifically for stick wresting, but you can even just use a strong broomstick cut down to about 30-36 inches long and taped up with some athletic tape to prevent splinters. For your stick wrestling workout, stand on a soft mat or carpeted area (or grass if outdoors), match up with a friend or foe. You'll both grab the same stick toward the ends with your hands on the outsides of your partner's hands, on the inside, or staggered. Then you simply push, pull, jerk, and thrash your opponent around trying to knock them off balance until they

either fall or lose their grip of the stick...and you win that round! Be careful not to get the stick up high and knock each other in the face. Use common sense. You can do this in 1-2 minute rounds or just keep going until someone gives up. Be creative and keep going until you've gotten a killer workout. Your forearms and legs will be screaming!

I trust you have enjoyed these ideas and will enjoy the workouts, as they will really help you to make your exercise fun again. Some of them might seem a little crazy, but keep your mind open to the different possibilities of different exercise methods and you will maximise your results and you will never be bored with your exercise again. Learn 5 Facts You MUST Understand if You Are Ever Going to Lose Your Belly Fat & Get Six Pack Abs go to http://www.homefitnesstrainer.com.au/truthaboutabs.htm

Foods That Burn Fat: The Top 10 Lists

Anytime the topic of discussion in my blogs, articles or newsletters has turned to my own personal grocery shopping list, there has always been a spike in interest. It seems that many people are not only curious about what foods a natural bodybuilder eats to maintain single digit body fat, but they also want to be taken by the hand and told exactly what foods to eat themselves while on fat-burning or muscle building programs. That’s why I decided to put together four separate “top 10” lists of healthy foods that burn fat and build muscle.

Exact quantities and menus are not listed, just the individual foods, and of course my food intake does vary. I aim to get as many different varieties of fruits and vegetables as possible over the course of every week and there are a lot of substitutions made, so you are not seeing the full list of everything I eat, only what foods I eat most of the time.

I also want to point out that while I don’t believe that extreme low carbs are necessary or most effective when you look at the long term, research has shown that there are some definite advantages to a low to moderate carb and higher protein diet for fat loss purposes. These include reduced appetite, higher thermic effect of food and “automatic” calorie control.

Personally, I reduce my carb intake moderately and temporarily prior to bodybuilding competitions. Specifically, it’s the foods that are on the starchy carbs and grains list that go down during the brief pre-competition period when I’m working on that really “ripped” look. I keep the green and fibrous veggie intake very high however, along with large amounts of lean protein, small amounts of fruit, and adequate amounts of essential fats.

This list reflects my personal preferences, so this is not a prescription to all readers to eat as I do. It’s very important for compliance to choose foods you enjoy and to have the option for a wide variety of choices. In the past several years, nutrition and obesity research - in studying ALL types of diets - has continued to conclude that almost any hypocaloric diet that is not completely “moronic” can work, at least in the short term.

It’s not so much about the high carb - low carb argument or any other debate as much as it is about calorie control and compliance. The trouble is, restricted diets and staying in a calorie deficit is difficult, so most people can’t stick with any program and they fall off the wagon, whichever wagon that may be.

I believe that a lot of our attention needs to shift away from pointless debates (for example, low carb vs. high carb is getting really old… so like… get over it everyone, its a calorie deficit that makes you lose weight, not the amount of carbs).

Instead, our focus should shift towards these questions:

* How can we build an eating program that we can enjoy while still getting us leaner and healthier?

* How can we build an eating program that helps us control calories?

* How can we build an eating program that improves compliance?

Here’s one good answer: Eat a wide variety of high nutrient density, low calorie density foods that you enjoy which still fit within healthy, fat-burning, muscle-building guidelines!

Here are the lists of foods I choose to achieve these three outcomes. This eating plan is not difficult to stick with at all, by the way. I enjoy eating like this and it feels almost weird not to eat like this after doing it for so long.

Remember, habits work in both directions, and as motivational speaker Jim Rohn has said, “Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with and good habits are hard to form but easy to live with.”

These are listed in the order I frequently consume them. So for example, if oatmeal is on the top of the list, it means that is the food I am most likely to eat every single day.

My 10 top natural starchy carb and whole grains

1. Oatmeal (old fashioned) 2. Yams 3. Brown rice (a favorite is basmati, a long grain aromatic rice) 4. Sweet potatoes (almost same as yams) 5. Multi grain hot cereal (mix or barley, oats, rye. titricale and a few others) 6. White potatoes 7. 100 whole wheat pasta 9. Beans (great for healthy chili recipes) 10. Cream of rice hot cereal

My Top 10 top vegetables

1. Broccoli 2. Asparagus 3. Spinach 4. Salad greens 5. Tomatoes 6. Peppers (green, red or yellow) 7. Onions 8. Mushrooms 9. Cucumbers 10. Zucchini

My top 10 lean proteins

1. Egg whites (whole eggs in limited quantities) 2. Whey or Casein protein (protein powder supplements) 3. Chicken Breast 4. Salmon (wild Alaskan) 5. Turkey Breast 6. Top round steak (grass fed beef) 7. Flank Steak (grass fed beef) 8. Lean Ground Turkey 9. Bison/Buffalo 10. Trout

My top 10 fruits

1. Grapefruit 2. Apples 3. Blueberries 4. Canteloupe 5. Oranges 6. Bananas 7. Peaches 8. Grapes 9. Strawberries 10. Pineapple

Note: I DO include healthy fats as well, such as walnuts, almonds, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil (supplement - not to cook with), avocado and a few others.

Also, I do eat dairy products and have nothing against them, nor am I lactose intolerant. I simply don’t eat as much dairy as the rest of the stuff on my lists. When I eat dairy, its usually skim milk, low or non fat cottage cheese, low or non fat yogurt and low or non fat cheese (great for omelettes).

Last but not least, I usually follow a compliance rate of about 95%, which means I take two or three meals per week of whatever I want (stuff that is NOT on these lists - like pizza, sushi, big fatty restaurant steaks, etc)

I hope you found this helpful and interesting. Keep in mind, this is MY food list, and although you probably couldn’t go wrong to emulate it, you need to choose natural foods you enjoy in order to develop habits you can stick with long term. In the fruits and vegetables categories alone, there are hundreds of other choices out there, so enjoy them all!

The Secret to Burning Fat Up To 300% Faster

When is the best time of day to do your aerobic exercise? The answer is any time! The most important thing is that you just do it. Continuous cardiovascular exercise, such as walking, jogging, stairclimbing, or cycling, sustained for at least 30 minutes, will burn body fat no matter when you do it.

However, if you want to get the maximum benefits possible from every minute you invest in your workouts, then you should consider getting up early and doing cardio before you eat your first meal - even if you're not a "morning person." Early morning aerobic exercise on an empty stomach has three major advantages over exercising later in the day:

Early in the morning before you eat, your levels of muscle and liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) are low. If you eat dinner at 7 p.m and you eat breakfast at 7 a.m., that's 12 hours without food. During this 12-hour overnight fast, your levels of glycogen slowly decline to provide glucose for various bodily functions that go on even while you sleep.

As a result, you wake up in the morning with depleted glycogen and lower blood sugar - the optimum environment for burning fat instead of carbohydrate. How much more fat you'll burn is uncertain, but some studies have suggested that up to 300% more fat is burned when cardio is done in a fasted, glycogen-depleted state.

So how exactly does this work? It's quite simple, really. Carbohydrate (glycogen) is your body's primary and preferred energy source. When your primary fuel source is in short supply, this forces your body to tap into its secondary or reserve energy source; body fat.

If you do cardio immediately after eating a meal, you'll still burn fat, but you'll burn less of it because you'll be burning off the carbohydrates you ate first. You always burn a combination of fat and carbohydrate for fuel, but depending on when you exercise, you can burn a greater proportion of fat relative to carbohydrate.

If doing cardio first thing in the morning is not an option for you, then the second best time to do it would be immediately after weight training. Lifting weights is anaerobic (carbohydrate-burning) by nature, and therefore depletes muscle glycogen. That's why a post lifting cardio session has a similar effect as morning cardio on an empty stomach.

The second benefit you'll get from early morning cardio sessions is what I call the "afterburn" effect. When you do a cardio session in the morning, you not only burn fat during the session, but you also continue to burn fat at an accelerated rate after the workout.

Why? Because an intense session of cardiovascular exercise can keep your metabolism elevated for hours after the session is over. If you do cardio at night, you will still burn fat during the session, so you definitely benefit from it. However, nighttime cardio fails to take advantage of the "afterburn" effect because your metabolism drops like a ton of bricks as soon as you go to sleep. While you sleep, your metabolic rate is slower than any other time of the day.

Burning more fat isn't the only reason you should do your cardio early. The third benefit of morning workouts is the "rush" and feeling of accomplishment that stays with you all day long after an invigorating workout. Exercise can become a pleasant and enjoyable experience, but the more difficult or challenging it is for you, the more important it is to get it out of the way early.

When you put off any task you consider unpleasant, it hangs over you all day long, leaving you with a feeling of guilt, stress and incompleteness (not to mention that you are more likely to "blow off" an evening workout if you are tired from a long day at work or if your pals try to persuade you to join them at the pub for happy hour.)

You might find it hard to wake up early in the morning and get motivated to workout. But think back for a moment to a time in your life when you tackled a difficult task and you finished it. Didn't you feel great afterwards? Completing any task, especially a physically challenging one, gives you a "buzz."

When the task is exercise, the buzz is physiological and psychological. Physiologically, exercise releases endorphins in your body. Endorphins are opiate-like hormones hundreds of times more powerful than the strongest morphine. Endorphins create a natural "high" that makes you feel positively euphoric! Endorphins reduce stress, improve your mood, increase circulation and relieve pain. The "high" is partly psychological too.

Getting up early and successfully achieving a small goal kick starts your day and gives you feelings of completion, satisfaction and accomplishment. For the rest of the day you feel happy and you feel less stress knowing that the most difficult part of the day is behind you.

So, you say you're not a morning person? Take heart; neither am I. I can sleep in like you wouldn't believe! But I get up anyway because I know the effort is worth the results. When I have a bodybuilding goal that I am clearly focused on, such as reaching 4% or 5% body fat for a competition, I'm on my Stairmaster for 45 minutes every morning at the crack of dawn without fail.

Sure it's a challenge at first, but you know what? After a few short weeks, It's no longer a chore and I'm "in the groove" - and you will be too. Just try it. Make a commitment to yourself to do it for just 21 days. Once those 21 days have gone by, you'll already be leaner and you'll be on your way to making morning workouts a habit that's as natural as brushing your teeth or taking a shower.

Once you start getting used to feeling that buzz, you'll become "positively addicted" to it. The more you do it, the more you'll want to do it. Before you know it, early morning cardio will your new habit; you'll be leaner, your metabolism will be faster and you'll feel fantastic all day long!

http://www.1stopnutrition.com/burning_optimalfat

Fat Burners: Concise, Accurate And Unbiased Information; Part 3 of 4

You'll be happy to know that there is some great news concerning fat burners.

I recently finished a lengthy test on fat burners, carried out on the top 20 (as far as sales and popularity go) on the market to see if any would do what it claimed and what most people, maybe you included, want them to do.

To see if a product works or not, especially fat burners, my testing and research is done only when clients have been on an exercise and nutrition program for at least one month.

Only then are fat burners added into the over-all program to see if there is an improvement.

Now, you want to know if there was a clear winner and if there's any fat burners that'll eliminate your weight problem once and for all, right?

Well you'll be happy to know that there are indeed fat burners that are better than the others tested, and may produce very good fat-burning results for the majority.

My own research (not the manufacturing company's) did show that these particular fat burners will burn a tremendous amount of body fat!

You can view my results at:

http://www.womens-health-fitness.com/fat-burners-results.html

This may indeed be the fat-loss phenomenon that you, and everyone else, have been hoping for.

This is positively not an exaggeration.

So, what makes this supplement so valuable and unique?

First of all, it's far more effective at burning off body fat than all the other fat burners researched and tested.

What's more, unlike ephedra-based products, it doesn't become ineffective over time.

All of the benefits provided by this very effective and unique supplement seem to be constant, week after week, as long as you continue to take the formula.

Here's another really impressive finding about this fat burner:

This product worked better than any other I've ever seen or tested when combined with exercise, but they even worked to burn off body fat in the individuals who didn't exercise at all!

The individuals taking the fat burners in addition to exercise lost a lot more fat than the ones not including the fat burners!

And all indications are that these fat burners are completely safe and don't have any side effects, unlike other fat burners.

Without getting too technical, you can gain an understanding about what these fat burners do, in this next section.

When you lose weight, your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories) will decrease. This is why you may become very frustrated when trying to lose fat.

You may lose fat for a few weeks then your progress comes to a screeching halt.

Because your body burns fewer and fewer calories on any diet, in order to continue to lose fat, you may feel the need to reduce your food intake to the point where it's not only uncomfortable but also is more likely to cause a loss of muscle tissue.

This is one of the worst things you can do.

Now what fat burners should help your body do is to maintain lean muscle, which in turn will increase your metabolism or at the very least maintain it.

I've always been very disappointed in fat burners over the years for the fact that none could address this problem.

In order for fat burners to work properly, they should be strong enough to curb your appetite, speed up the metabolism so you will burn more calories, create heat so you burn more fat, but will not give you the unwanted side effects such as: jitteriness, nervousness or heart palpitations.

I noticed that the fat burners I'm testing can help you to maintain your lean muscle tissue while dieting and exercising, thereby forcing your body to increase it's metabolism and use stored body fat as fuel.

Again, you can view my test results on fat burners at:

http://www.womens-health-fitness.com/fat-burners-results.html