Today’s post is a link to other blogs I’ve written in the past year that give helpful tips on nutrition, power foods, breakfast and grocery shopping.

As I’ve looked back at previous blogs, I’ve realized that I have quite a few very good blogs with useful information. However, not having them all in one place isn’t always convenient for someone looking for quick information. That’s why I’ve put them all here for you to read, take notes and put into action.

Nutritional Tips

Nutrition Tips To Get Things Started

Lean For Life

Six Habits For A Six-Pack

Low-Carb And Mediterranean Diets Are Both Winners

Back-to-School Health Habits

Power Foods

Power Foods

Power Foods Part 2

Stay Healthy Super Foods

Five Ways To Boost Your Fiber Intake

Got Milk (And Other Dairy Products)?

Four More Foods For Fat Loss

Breakfast

Always Eat Breakfast

Eat Your Eggs (The Whole Egg!)

Benefits of Breakfast

Breakfast Ideas To Start Off The Day

Grocery Shopping Tips

Tips To Improve Grocery Shopping

Save Money On Groceries

There you go! These blog posts will give you the information you need to begin making changes in your life one step at a time and have an easy resource guide to come back to as needed.

This is an article originally written by Mike Roussell, Ph.D. I wanted to post it as today’s blog since it gives some good information on what foods to eat for fat loss. You’ll see that many of the points he makes goes along with previous blogs I’ve written about power foods.

What foods should I eat for maximum fat loss? This is a common question that I get from clients and friends. There is so much new information out there everyday, “X food is now good for you but Y food is now bad.”

How can you possibly sort through all the junk science and sensational reporting to truly find out which foods will help you lose weight and which foods won’t?

Let me help. Here’s a look at foods that you should eat to maximize fat loss. These foods are listed in no particular order because they are all important.

1. Salmon – While salmon was once demonized by the fitness community in the 90′s because of its fat content (I actually saw it in an article about “Foods to Avoid for Fat Loss”), we now know that the long-chain omega-3 fats found in salmon are the best kind. Research has shown that these fats can actually help you burn more fat. Salmon also contains high levels of protein – it really is the perfect package! Look for wild Salmon (not farmed).
2. Almonds – Almonds are a great fat loss snack. Almonds are extremely convenient, portable and they have a long shelf life. You should keep a small bag of almonds at your desk, in your briefcase, or in your backpack as an emergency weight loss snack. Almonds contain fat, fiber and protein – all of which will help curb your hunger. They are also low in carbohydrates and provide your body with energy while keeping your blood sugar levels under control. Buy them raw not roasted, dry roasted or salted (usually in the baking aisle at the grocery store).
3. Broccoli – Broccoli is a true superfood. From a health perspective, it contains antioxidants and phytochemicals that have been shown to help fight cancer. There is also some evidence to suggest that other compounds found in broccoli (like Calcium D-glucarate) can bind excess estrogen in the body. It is a low-impact carb with a nice dose of fiber. You can buy it fresh or frozen (broccoli cuts or florets – go with the florets). The bottom line: Eat broccoli often!
4. Green Tea – Green tea is another powerful food, like broccoli, that will have a huge impact on your fat loss and health. Green tea can be an acquired taste for some people. If you let it steep too long (e.g. leave the tea bag in the water), it can be very bitter. You can drink it hot or cold (if you opt for cold you may need to add a little Splenda, Stevia or Xylitol). Green tea contains cancer-fighting compounds, not to mention antioxidants, caffeine and the fat-burning powerhouse – EGCG. Research has shown that the combination of caffeine and EGCG (which is naturally combined in green tea) can help burn extra fat. Drink 2-3 cups a day.

There you have it. Four time-tested and research-proven foods to help you burn more fat. If you aren’t eating (or drinking) all of these foods daily (or at least every few days), then you are not doing everything possible to burn maximum fat. Add them to your diet, get healthier and leaner.

About the Author/More Info
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28-day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10, 15 or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 days. To start losing weight fast visit Warp Speed Fat Loss.

Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at the Pennsylvania State University. Mike’s writings can be found in magazines such as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.

This is an article originally written by Alwyn Cosgrove. I wanted to post it as today’s blog since it gives good information on how to lose fat. You’ll see that many of the points he makes go along with previous blogs I’ve written about effective ways to lose fat through a proper diet (lower carb) and exercise (higher intensity).

How do we actually lose fat? What do we mean by fat “burning?” Here’s a very simple explanation of what actually goes on to create a fat-loss effect.

The key concept that trainers and physiologists have shoved down our throat for years is that it’s all about calories in vs. calories out. This is true – for weight loss – but it’s not the whole truth for fat loss. There are a number of protective mechanisms that the body has in place – called rate-limiting steps – to prevent fat from being lost or burned.

On a very basic level, Fat “burning” is essentially a two-step process.

The first step is mobilization.

How do we actually get fat out of the fat cells so that we can subsequently use it as a fuel source? Fat mobilization is governed essentially by levels of a hormone known as hormone-sensitive lipase or HSL (you can forget the name as there won’t be a test). It’s an oversimplification but basically the higher the HSL levels, the higher the fat mobilization.

How do we get higher HSL? Increase catecholamine levels (specifically adrenaline). How do we do that? Exercise. Particularly, high-intensity exercise.

But HSL is also limited by insulin.

High insulin levels = Low HSL levels = Low fat mobilization.

A great strategy for part one is low insulin levels (from diet and training), plus high catecholamines (through intense training).

Part two of the process is transport and oxidation.

If HSL levels are high, fat cells break down into free fatty acids (FFA) which circulate in the blood and eventually end up in a muscle (which needs energy) where they can be burned off in the mitochondria (this is the “powerhouse” of the cell that your high school biology teacher kept going on about).

But there’s another rate-limiting step here: Transporting the FFA into the mitochondria where it can be burned off. That transport is controlled by carnitine levels.

If carnitine levels are high, fat transport is high. Think of carnitine like passport control officials.

If you get off a plane with 500 other passengers and there is one official at passport control, it’ll take a long time to get through. If there are 500 officials, then you go through quickly and can leave the airport (leaving the airport is the equivalent of fat being burned off). The more officials (carnitine), the easier the process.

How do we ramp up carnitine levels? Well, again, we have a rate-limiting step. If muscle glycogen is high, then carnitine levels are low.

If we reduce muscle glycogen through metabolic work, we have the optimal fat-oxidation state. Therefore, high-intensity glycogen depleting exercise is the tool of choice here.

High levels of fat mobilization + High levels of fat oxidation = Accelerated fat loss.

If you figure out how to integrate all those steps, and circumvent each rate-limiting step, you’ll find that fat loss is simple.

So how do you put all of those steps into effect so that fat loss becomes simple? One way is to follow a proper training and nutrition program like Warp Speed Fat Loss.

About the Author/More Info
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28-day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10, 15 or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 days. To start losing weight fast visit Warp Speed Fat Loss.

Alwyn Cosgrove, M.S., C.S.C.S., is a nationally-renown fat loss expert whose work has appeared in magazines such as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Men’s Journal, Self, Oxygen, Muscle & Fitness HERS and Testosterone Nation. His Warp Speed Fat Loss system is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat and exactly what to do for exercise to lose weight in record time.

In previous blogs, I’ve spoken about the effectiveness of interval training for fat loss. For a summary, check out these blogs:

Nutrition Tips, Aerobic Exercise and High Intensity Interval Training

More on Interval Training for Fat Loss

Tabata Interval Training

Burn Fat and Increase Metabolism with Resistance and Interval Training

How to Perform Interval Training

Metabolic Acceleration Training – A Better Way!

Warp Speed Fat Loss (combines interval training and metabolic strength training)

It’s been proven that interval training works – and works well – for fat loss. However, there are many people who still enjoy steady-state aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging, swimming and bicycling. Although steady-state aerobic exercise is on the lower end of effectiveness in the hierarchy of fat loss, it can still be used for cardiovascular benefits and fat loss if you have more time to train.

Another effective way to get the fat loss you desire is to combine interval training with steady-state aerobic exercise. Alwyn Cosgrove has used this with many of his clients and in some of his training programs including those listed in his book The New Rules of Lifting for Women and Warp Speed Fat Loss.

The best way to combine the two methods is as follows:

• Perform a five-minute warmup (bodyweight circuit, fast walk, jump rope, light jog, bike, etc.)
• Perform interval training (9-20 minutes total depending on the intervals chosen)
• Stop and rest for five minutes (this gives the body time to release the triglycerides into the bloodstream so you can burn them off with steady-state aerobic exercise)
• Perform 20-30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise (fast walk, light jog, bicycling or perform on various aerobic exercise equipment – treadmill, stationary bike, stair stepper, rower, elliptical, etc.)

Using this combination of interval training and steady-state aerobic exercise seems to be the most effective way to accomplish your fat loss goals while also increasing your conditioning and fitness levels.

I would recommend using this method 2-3 times each week depending on your training experience in addition to 2-3 days per week of resistance training (see this blog on how to set up an effective metabolic resistance training program). Depending on how much time you have available to train, you could set it up like this:

Monday – Full-body Metabolic Resistance Training (30-60 minutes total time)
Tuesday – Intervals + Steady-State Aerobic Exercise (30-50 minutes total time)
Wednesday – Off or light activity, walk the dog, play with the kids
Thursday – Full-body Metabolic Resistance Training (30-60 minutes total time)
Friday – Intervals + Steady-State Aerobic Exercise (30-50 minutes total time)
Saturday and Sunday – Off or light activity, walk the dog, play with the kids

The above schedule requires four days and approximately 2-4 hours of exercise per week. That is not a huge time commitment and it also gets you very close to the five hours per week that is recommended by most fitness experts.

If four days per week is not possible, you can adjust the schedule so that you perform your interval training and steady-state aerobic exercise after your metabolic resistance training workouts. You could set it up for two days per week like this:

Monday – Full-body Metabolic Resistance Training (30-60 minutes total time) and Intervals + Steady-State Aerobic Exercise (30-50 minutes total time)

Thursday – Full-body Metabolic Resistance Training (30-60 minutes total time) and Intervals + Steady-State Aerobic Exercise (30-50 minutes total time)

The only negative to the above schedule is that you will need to devote approximately 1-2 hours each training session – and it can be hard to accomplish that much work in one session unless you are already well conditioned.

Or you could divide it up over three days per week like this:

Monday – Full-body Metabolic Resistance Training (30-60 minutes total time) and Intervals + Steady-State Aerobic Exercise (30-50 minutes total time)

Wednesday – Full-body Metabolic Resistance Training (30-60 minutes total time)

Friday – Full-body Metabolic Resistance Training (30-60 minutes total time) and Intervals + Steady-State Aerobic Exercise (30-50 minutes total time)

There are other ways to adjust the schedule to fit your time constraints and availability. But you must make the time (turn off the TV, get off the computer, play less video games, eliminate time-wasting activities) and put in the effort and consistency to reap the benefits. And, of course, your nutrition program needs to complement your training to get the best results.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. I can always give you suggestions and sample programs to follow to help accomplish your fat loss goals no matter what your training experience may be or what equipment you have available.

This is an article originally written by Mike Roussell, Ph.D. I wanted to post it as today’s blog since it gives some good information on how to lose weight (fat) the right way. You’ll see that many of the points he makes goes along with previous blogs I’ve written.

There are many different ways to lose weight (by “weight” we are referring to fat loss) – some ways are very good and some ways are very bad. In this article, we will look at four wrong ways to go about losing fat and then six effective fat loss strategies that you can use to increase not only your fat loss but the rate in which you lose weight.

First, let’s look at the wrong ways to go about losing weight:

1. Focus on Creating an Energy Deficit by Reducing Calories – You need to create an energy deficit – but reducing calories leads to the slowing of your metabolism. It is important to focus on increasing energy expenditure AND reducing calories (slightly).
2. Removal of Dietary Fat – Despite all the advances in science, many people still believe that absolute reduction of dietary fat is the key to losing body fat. This is not the case. You need fat in the diet for a variety of functions, including losing weight!
3. Relying on Weight Loss “Gimmicks” – Eating Cabbage or Grapefruit at every meal to lose body fat isn’t smart. These “diets” rely on absolute caloric restriction to elicit temporary fat loss – not some special characteristic of the “gimmick food.”
4. Believing some Chinese Tea will make You Thin – These web sites are ALL OVER THE PLACE. People don’t make thousands of web sites selling a product unless people are buying the product. There is no magic tea from China that will help you lose weight. Green Tea can help (but you need to drink A LOT). Ignore the celebrity “endorsements” and skip the magic tea.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s look at six strategies that you can use to start losing weight right now. No fluff. This is what you need to do.

1. Limit Your Intake of Rice, Sugary Drinks, Potatoes, Bread, etc. Until after Your Workout. This takes advantage of a biochemical window in which your body is put in a state to better process these types of foods instead of having them lay the foundation for another layer of body fat.
2. Increase Your Intake of Green Leafy Vegetables (preferably at every meal). Green leafy vegetables have a “volume advantage,” meaning that you get to eat lots of them without eating a lot of calories. This is a huge benefit when dieting as it will help curb your hunger.
3. Eat 5-6 Times Each and Every Day. Eating more often is a required habit if you want to lose a lot of weight. It will allow for better control over blood sugar levels, a constant flow of nutrients to your body throughout the day and it will help curb hunger cravings because you will constantly be eating.
4. Eat More Protein (every meal). Protein is your ace in the hole. It takes more energy to digest than other nutrients, supports the maintenance and protection of your lean body mass and is a good replacement for carbohydrates as it is not a large stimulator of insulin – which you need to control when dieting.
5. Participate in Metabolically Demanding Strength Training and Interval Training 3-5 Times a Week. Metabolic resistance training, categorized by short rest periods and sets of 8-12 reps, will help you melt off the fat. Don’t be afraid to lift heavy weights just because you are dieting. Interval training (short periods of intense exercise followed by short periods of rest) has been found to be very effective for fat loss over steady-state cardiovascular exercise.
6. Rinse and Repeat. Okay don’t “rinse,” but repeat these steps everyday and watch your pants fall off your waist.

There you have it – Four ways to completely sabotage your fat loss and six strategies to burn maximum fat. Now listen to step 6 and put them into action!

About the Author/More Info
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28-day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10, 15, or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 days. To start losing weight fast visit Warp Speed Fat Loss.

Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University. Mike’s writings can be found in magazines such as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.