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Here’s a food calorie list for those of you who like to dial in your diet. When trying to lose weight it’s very important to dial in your diet (i.e. keep track of calories). Why I think this is important is because when you keep track of how much you eat you’ll stay more consistent on a daily basis. It will also help you to be a better estimator of calories you eat per day even when not tracking. I’m going to break it down into proteins, carbs, and fats. Remember, these are not exact numbers, because each brand and type is always different. This only a guide:


Proteins
Food (usually 1 serving) Calories Protein Carbs Fat
Chicken breast, no skin, 4oz 183 34.5g 0g 4g
Turkey breast, no skin, 4oz 126 27.9g 0g 0.7g
1 whole egg, scrambled 109 6.8g 1.3g 7.4g
Egg whites, 1 cup 116.6 26.5g 1.8g 0.4g
Whey Protein, 1 scoop 120 24g 3g 1g
Tuna, in water, 1 can 131 28.4g 0g 2.2g
Eye of round roast, 4oz 169 24.7g 0g 7.1g
Carbs
Food (usually 1 serving) Calories Protein Carbs Fat
Oats, raw, 1/2 cup 155.5 6.5g 27.1g 2.6g
Brown rice, 1/2 cup 107.4 2.5g 22.2g 0.87g
Red potatoes, roasted, 4oz 100.9 2.6g 22.2g 0.17g
Sweet potato, roasted, 4oz 129.7 2.2g 22.6g 3.7g
Broccoli, raw, 1 cup 29.9 2.5g 5.8g 0.33g
Fat
Food (usually 1 serving) Calories Protein Carbs Fat
Olive oil, 1 tbsp 119.3 0g 0g 13.5g
Almonds, 1oz 163.9 6g 5.6g 14.4g
Peanut butter, 1 tbsp 94.1 4g 3.1g 8.1g

This is not a complete list of course. There are definitely more foods that are in my diet that are not included in here. However, these are the majority of the foods that I eat. If you would like me to add some foods please make a comment, and I’ll add it =)

What is the best way to lose belly fat? Should you be doing a thousand crunches to get that 6-pack abs? Should you be doing hours and hours of cardio to shred that fat? Well, I’m going to tell you that neither of these will help you. Everyday there seems to be a new diet or some type of contraption to make you lose fat rapidly. I’m going to tell you that you will be just wasting your money. It really only comes down to the basics. Most people already have abs, it’s just a matter of getting rid of the fat that’s on top of it! With the basics in line, you’ll start to lose fat and your abs will become more and more visible. That is the only way you will get a 6 pack of abs. Here are the basics:

Solid Nutrition

Your nutrition should be your first priority if you want to lose the belly fat. This is 90% of the game. Without nutrition, you can’t expect to lose much no matter how much cardio or crunches you do in a day. What should you be eating you ask? What I have found to be the most productive is to eat 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fats. You can easily track this by using a calorie counter software such as Fitday. Remember, these sources have to come from clean foods such as chicken breast, fish (tuna and salmon are my favourite), turkey breast, egg whites, oats, red potatoes, brown rice, green vegetables and fruit. However, I would try to limit your fruit intake until after your workouts due to the sugar (sugar is great after a workout because your body needs it). The type of fat you want to eat should be from sources such as almonds, natural peanut butter, fish oils, and olive oils. These types of fat will not promote fat storage, but will help you to lose fat if you keep it at 20% of your daily intake.

So how much should you be eating in a day? This is hard to say. My best advice would be to start your calorie intake at 12 x your bodyweight. If you see a stall in your progress reduce it by 500 calories. When you start to see a loss of 2lbs per week this should be the ideal intake. You don’t want to lose too much too fast as this will sacrifice lean mass instead of targeting fat.

A Consistent Workout Plan

Instead of focusing on cardio you should be concentrating on a consistent workout plan. Try to work out 3 times per week. What I like to do is rotate workout and cardio days. One day I’ll do a workout, then the next cardio, and repeat.

Supplementation

The only time you need to consider supplementation is if your nutrition is in place. That’s why they are called supplements – they supplement your nutrition, and give you the missing nutrients that are missing from your diet.

If you’re just starting out there are three main supplements that you want to consider: Multi-Vitamin, Whey Protein, and Fish Oils. Here are my recommendations:

Optimum Opti-Men, 180 Tablets

Optimum 100% Whey Protein, 5 Lbs., Double Rich Chocolate

NOW Ultra Omega-3, 90 Softgels

If you choose to purchase through Bodybuilding.com I have a coupons for you:

Take $15.00 Off Your $250 Order! Use coupon code 15off250.
Take $5.00 Off Your $100 Order! Use coupon code 5off100.

Remember, nutrition is 90% of the battle. If you can stick to eating clean you should have no problem losing fat. It is important to be honest with yourself. I know it can be tough to resist the temptation of food, but it gets easier as you continue to eat clean. I’ve been there many times.


Photo by Benny Yap
It’s been a big debate for a long time. Are eggs bad for your heart? Will eggs Raise LDL cholesterol? With recent studies it’s been shown that eggs are cholesterol healthy. These high cholesterol foods actually work towards lowering the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, and raising the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol – if they are in conjunction with a lower saturated fat diet. The test was an individual who ate 9 times the normal consumption of eggs (4 full eggs a day). If cholesterol went up that would mean that eggs are bad for you. So what were the results?

The participant started out at a cholesterol number of 3.8, which is a level just below the recommended by the Heart Foundation. After following the diet for two weeks the results were low. So low the machine didn’t even register a number! That is ridiculous.

Why Does It Lower Cholesterol?

Eggs are a food that are rich in nutrients, low in fat, and high in protein. Eggs lower cholesterol because they are high in cholesterol but low in saturated fats. Just because a food is high in cholesterol doesn’t mean that it will raise your cholesterol level. It’s the saturated fats from fatty meats, and a lot of the cream products that are the ones that raise the bad cholesterol.

Begin Taking The Right Steps To Lowering Cholesterol

It’s not that hard. All you really need to do is start eliminating those high saturated foods. Instead of eaitng red meat 3-4 times a week only have it once a week. Start eating foods that are a good source of omega fatty acids such as tuna and salmon. Like bacon and eggs in the morning? Cut out the bacon – it is VERY high in saturated fats. It’s the side meals that we have with eggs that are the bad part of the meal – the sausage and bacon. Choose to have eggs and oatmeal for breakfast instead. Drink skim milk instead of 2-4%.

Here are some suggestions on meals with eggs:

  • Scrambled eggs
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Crustless Quiche
  • Scrambled egg burritos w/ whole wheat tortillas
  • Scrambled eggs with salmon
  • Many and many types of Omellettes

Implementing these small changes will make a big difference in your cholesterol level. Let’s all make a small step to lowering cholesterol, and having a healthy lifestyle!

Finding Good Information Offline And Free Stuff

The internet is a great platform for learning how to lose weight fast and gain muscle. Sometimes we just need a different platform for learning. Besides reading on the internet I like to read Muscle Mag which is a canadian publication on bodybuilding. I know some of you aren’t really into bodybuilding so you could probably read something like Men’s/Woman’s Health. The great thing about reading the magazines is that paper is a lot easier on the eyes.

I know sometimes when I’m reading on the internet for too long my eyes start to hurt, and that’s due to the computer screen – it’s not the most friendliest platform for reading. When reading through the magazine I noticed a lot of the article writing styles are different. The magazines are also very motivating because of the high resolution pictures. Sometimes we tend to forget what we want to achieve – the magazines do a good job at this and place a picture of someone with a body that many dream of.

They also place good illustrations of exercises, and how to do the proper form. Along with the illustration is a step by step physical and mental instruction. I think this is what most of us need to learn when performing new exercises. When I was browsing through the magazine there are a lot of advertisements I’d have to admit. The great thing about the advertisements is that most of them offer free samples. I was reading through the July issue of Muscle Mag and came across a Gaspari advertisement about SuperPump250. They were offering a free sample, and mentioned to just send them an email with the address. I sent the email, and what do you know a week later the sample arrived in the mail.

As for the SuperPump250 it was very good tasting, and gave me a boost of energy. Unfortunately, the sample is only half the recommended dosage, and I think my tolerance could definitely handle the full dosage.

Cardio training should be included in everyone’s journey towards fat loss. Cardio can be fun, and sometimes it can be just dreadful. People perform cardio many different times during the day. Some perform it in the morning, some at lunch time, some after a workout, and some just before heading to bed. So when is the best time out of all these? Performing cardio on an empty stomach can burn 300% more fat than if you were to perform cardio in a non-fasted state. If you were to consume carbohydrates prior to cardio you would have to bust it out for 30 minutes before all the glycogen stores are burned, and begin to burn fat.

You want to burn the stored fat, because that is the fat that you see directly under the skin. If you are eating a deficit of calories during the day your body will handle those calories by itself. Also, another benefit is the accelerated fat burning after the cardio session. Some people wait 30 minutes after a cardio session to eat their first meal. Another benefit is that it gives you a sense of accomplishment for the rest of the day. If you were to wait all day knowing that you had to fit in a cardio session some time during that day you wouldn’t feel that accomplished for the most part of the day, would you?

Do you know what the main problem with performing cardio in the morning on an empty stomach is? There isn’t much motivation when you wake up, and don’t eat. So here are some things you can do to get the motivation to perform cardio in the morning:

  1. Have a cup of coffee. Coffee doesn’t have any calories so it’s fine to have a cup of joe before doing cardio.
  2. Set goals. By setting goals you know you will be disappointed if you don’t reach them – so you will get out of bed, and hit the treadmill.
  3. Read something motivating. Reading motivational material will help you can excited, and help you get focused.
  4. Listen to music that motivates you. I usually try to find a few songs that really get me motivated, and listen to them first – that really gets me going.

Most of you might say “Oh well, I’m not a morning person”. Sure then, but don’t be disappointed when you don’t see the results you desire. I was never a morning person either, but once you start getting into a routine your body will start getting used to it just like everything else. Even though I’m not a morning person I just get up anyway. I know the effort will be worth it. Getting down below the 10% bodyfat level is hard thing to do, and requires effort such as waking up when you don’t want to. You’ll get in the groove after the first few weeks, and it will be second nature.

Tell me what motivates you to do cardio in the morning.

CONFUSED by all those SUPPLEMENT INGREDIENTS? Get your Free Supps eBook at Bodybuilding.com. Start decoding them now!

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