Salt-less seasonings have a great place in folks’ diets these days. Less of the sodium in a diet may be a burn fat tip of its own. Salt does hold on to water, so limiting it may help to drop some of that water weight, in preparation for fat loss. The lowering of calorie intake, as well as that of salt and fat, may do the trick for one. Delectable flavor can still be found, if one looks for it.

Do you want to stop wasting time bouncing around from crash diet to crash diet? Do you hate those infomercials for the latest “get abs today!” junky exercise equipment? Do you finally want fat loss tips that gives you, weekly, step-by-step action plans for changing your habits so that you shed fat forever?

For a limited time, Benjamin Teal is giving away a free presentation for the Fat Loss Academy, a radically new, common sense, take-you by-the-hand approach to changing your body once and for all. Be sure to check it out before it’s gone forever!

Most folks love to eat and the tastier the better. Processed food is one of the tastiest, albeit not that healthy. Calories are hiding in there, beside the sodium and fat. “A moment on the lips and forever on the hips” might be the adage to keep in mind the next time a slice of chocolate cake beckons to you.

Before fast foods and processed ones, came fresh fruit and vegetables. The folks who consumed these bulky, fibrous foods, rather than chips, burgers and fries, seemed better able to keep their weight and health in balance.

Soft drink intake can be a major key to losing or not losing in the losing game. The amount of sugar lurking in that can or bottle of soda is astounding. The body knows not what is put into it, only that it likes the taste. People need to make wiser choices regarding what passes their lips. If one can avoid thirty-five hundred less calories, they may be able to lose a pound of unsightly and unhealthy fat. Water is a choice that most people have access to and it does lend itself to a person being able to taste the real food one eats, without the noticeable taste of sugars in soda being mixed up in there.

Sleeping is an activity of its own type. The body at rest still consumes energy, if just to keep breathing and running the crucial functions of all the organs in there. If the stomach is full of carbs, being converted to instant food for the body, the body will not spend much time trying to access the fat stored in those plump little cells. Observing a burn fat tip and eliminating the late-night pizza or chips and burger, may put a screeching halt to that laziness of the energy-seekers, sending them packing off to raid the fat cells.

Loading a body with calories from only two or three meals in a day really fouls up the works. Taking in smaller amounts more often, may be one of the keys to a healthier body, eventually. Being able to access the needed nutrients in a gradual manner helps the body to work better.

When people forget how food was used in the distant past, and continue to indulge in instant gratification, ones body will often rebel. Padding the curves with little bundles of fat could be the undesired result. The old burn fat tip of consuming fresh fruit and vegetables with less processed items and meats might provide the body with a healthier way to function.

And the most effective ones are the exercises that you will do consistently. Here are some examples.

Dance. That’s right, I said dance. The reason? It’s fun. Who hasn’t put on their favorite music and just danced around? And you can do it for long periods of time. It exercise without actually feeling like exercise! While this may sound a little crazy, it’s actually not a bad concept when you think about it. The basic concept behind this is that you are moving and getting some sort of exercise. At the end of the day, your body doesn’t care whether you’re on a treadmill being bored out of your mind or bouncing around to the latest club banger. It doesn’t matter how the motion happens, just so long as it happens.

Power walking is not just for the mall anymore. I really enjoy getting out into the fresh air and taking a nice, long, mind-clearing walk. This is another great exercise that you are able to do when you are burning fat away. And the more that you walk, then the better of results that you will have. And, best of all, it’s not hard to do at all! Take your dog, your kids, or significant other. Do it alone and listen to the birds. Put your headphones on, and just walk.

While there are plenty of services and products that are on the market, the best thing that you can do is to stick to the exercises that you really enjoy. The sad part of this is that often times people are seeking the mythical holy grail of fat burning, but the only weight that is lost is that in your wallet.

Burn fat exercises are only as effective as the efforts that you place into them, it is due to this fact that the exercises need to be designed in a way that will afford you to get the best results from these, and this will give you the results that you always thought were possible.

There is much more to getting in the shape of your life than just doing burn fat exercises. For a limited time, Benjamin Teal is giving away FREE access to the secrets of losing the belly fat now. To get your free access ( while it lasts! ), check out Losing the Belly Fat now!

You have to realize that there are literally many different pieces and parts that make up a successful and effective routine to lose weight and get into better shape. To be more specific, you are going to be able to break this process down into four crucial parts, and that is what this article is slated to address.

Certainly, these workouts to burn fat are just the tip of the iceberg for those looking shed fat. For a limited time, Benjamin Teal is giving away FREE access to the secrets of losing the belly fat now. To get your free access ( while it lasts! ), check out Losing the Belly Fat now!

For many different people that endure this process, you are not going to see results right away. It might be simple to suggest that the pounds should just melt off of your body with a little bit of effort, but this is not going to be the case. You will find that it is actually going to be a long and difficult road for many people, and that likely includes you.

One thing that you should consider will be breaking up your workouts to burn fat into various pieces and parts that require your body to never become fully adjusted to the transitions. This means starting with cardio, then right into some strength training, some abs work, back to cardio and cycle it in such a way that you are building muscle, you are burning calories and making a big difference in your body in a shorter amount of time.

You will find that in terms of cardio, one of the very best things to begin the process will be running or jogging. This is something that works muscles from your arms to your legs and almost everything in between. You have to push yourself to go harder and farther every time and you wont regret the results.

You need to understand that for many people, drastic changes need to be made to the dietary choices that are made. If you are still contending with bad eating habits such as eating more than what would be a single portion or eating all the wrong foods, these need to be contended with as well as your commitment to workouts to burn fat.

Now there are several different things that you will need to keep in mind and appreciate about this long and difficult road that lay ahead. You can do this, as long as you stay diligent and dedicated. You will find that sometimes the worst hurdle to overcome is the voice in your head saying that you can’t keep pace with workouts to burn fat.

And go here to grab a free workout plan…

These basic principles will simply involve eating the right foods at the right time, getting lots of water in your diet, exercising regularly, and perhaps adding some lean muscle. Do all of this properly and your goals will be achieved, providing you have the commitment and motivation to stick with your diet and exercise routine.

Clearly, this is just a brief overview of a the many ways you can lose that belly. For a limited time, Benjamin Teal is giving away FREE access to the secrets of losing the belly fat now. To get your free access ( while it lasts! ), check out Losing the Belly Fat now!

Everything starts in the kitchen and if you don’t have a proper diet to follow you are not going to achieve your goals, period. You should be completely aware of what you can eat and what you cannot eat if you want to lose that belly and achieve your weight loss goals.

If, for some crazy reason, you don’t exactly know what sorts of foods you shouldn’t be eating and what you should be eating, then you will need to find out. You should firstly you start off by conducting research on the Internet and building your knowledge. From here you will be able to find all sorts of diets that you could follow and which will lead to decent results. If you are looking to get a diet that is tailor-made fee you then consider talking to a nutritionist, dietitian, personal trainer, or other fitness professional.

Your diet is certainly very important, but on top of that it is also important to you to eat on a tight schedule. If you want to lose that belly effectively then it is important to eat small and regular meals. This will keep cravings away and will keep your metabolism high. Eating three square meals a day will not provide you with the best results, even if you are eating the right foods.

Water is certainly extremely important and you need to incorporate at least eight glasses a day into your routine as well. Most people only actually have roughly 2 or three glasses and this is completely insufficient if you want to see decent results. Water is essential in helping you to keep away your cravings and to wash away fat cells that your body breaks down.

Your diet should be sufficient to allow you to achieve your goals in the main. If, however, you really want to improve your results and see them more quickly then it is certainly a good idea to develop a cardiovascular exercise routine to follow as well. This may not be necessary, but it is certainly going to help you achieve quicker results.

Ideally your focus will be on incorporating high-intensity training into your cardiovascular routine. High-intensity training is far more productive than longer sessions of low intensity exercise. You simply do short and high-intensity intervals intermixed with longer and low intensity intervals. You can do this with any type of exercise you want, giving you flexibility.

Anyone who wants to really develop the physique properly should also try to add some lean muscle as well. Muscle burns off more calories than fat does and therefore you should look to put on some lean muscle if you want to keep the fat at bay in the longer term. Do all of this properly and you will lose that belly relatively quickly.

Clearly, this is just a brief overview of a the many ways you can lose fat on belly. For a limited time, Benjamin Teal is giving away FREE access to the secrets of losing the belly fat now. To get your free access ( while it lasts! ), check out Losing the Belly Fat now!

Plan your meals in a way as to ensure you eat small meals – about six to seven in all – spread out throughout the day instead of having three huge meals per day. This prevents you from overeating. Always take your breakfast each morning to kick start your metabolism for the day ahead.

You can also lose fat on the belly by ensuring lower intake of carbohydrates and sugar while increasing your protein consumption. Consider eating eggs, beans and fish to keep you going. In addition do not forget your vegetables and use healthy fats such as olive oil when doing your cooking since these are considered as essential fats – fats which actually assist in getting rid of the tummy fat.

Ensure you always keep your body well hydrated by drinking sufficient amounts of water for you to successfully lose fat on the belly. Remember the body’s vital organs, especially the liver which aids in fat burning, are able to carry out their functions when well hydrated. In addition, do not try to replace the water with canned fruit juices or even soft drinks as they have very high sugar and calorie content which will only stand in the way of burning that fat.

Consider exercises to help raise your heart rate like the cardio workouts and weight training. Try jogging, cycling or take up swimming as these are excellent in helping get rid of that stubborn fat. Remember to combine the cardio workouts with your weight training in order for you to get the desired results. Click on the link for some free workout plans.

Forget the idea of spot reduction if you really want to get rid of fat stored in the tummy area. The way our bodies work it is not possible to just target one place and exercise it to get rid of fat in just the area exercised. You lose fat all over your body no matter what exercise you do. It’s stored energy for the entire body, not just a particular part. Therefore, instead of tiring up yourself with countless amounts of crunches to target the abdominal fat, do exercises that burn calories more efficiently.

For you to successfully lose fat on the belly, you should practice good eating habits and ensure you faithfully do your workout routines. Avoid alcoholic drinks as they tend to just add empty calories and dehydrate you. Drink adequate amounts of water and get plenty of sleep give the body a chance to rest and work efficiently at burning the unwanted fat.

You should look for exercises that get your heart pumping. These types of activities will go a long way into helping increase your metabolism – the rate at which your body burns calories.

Of course, this is just a brief overview of a the exercises that burn fat. For a limited time, Benjamin Teal is giving away FREE access to the secrets of losing the belly fat now. To get your free access ( while it lasts! ), check out Losing the Belly Fat now!

Many weight lifting moves are among the best exercises that burn fat fast. If you’re new to weight lifting, you should consider joining a weight lifting class to learn how to go about it.

Weight lifting gives you a nice metabolism boost. This metabolism boost comes from three main areas:

1. The first is the cardiovascular effect. It gets your heart rate up. If you don’t believe me, jump on some heavy squats, dead lifts or lunges. I can run at an all out sprint and I don’t think I can get my heart pumping as hard as when I am moving big weights with my legs.
2. Recuperation and repair of damaged muscles. Many people don’t realize this, but your muscles actually grow once you leave the gym, not while you’re in it. Sure, you are putting in the work in the gym, and the blood rushing to the area you are working gives you that “pump” that makes it seem like your muscles are growing. But what’s really happening is that as you are lifting weights, you are causing small tears in the muscle. These tears start to heal once you’re workout is finished (it’s the reason you’re not supposed to lift the same body part, day after day. It won’t have time to repair and grow). This muscle repairing process increased your metabolism after you’ve left the gym.
3. Finally, and this is interesting as well, the heavier you are, the faster your metabolism, generally speaking. Yep, that’s right. When I weight 300 pounds, my basal metabolism – the calories I burn just to stay alive and perform necessary functions – was higher than it is now at 200 pounds. Why is that? Well, if you think about it, when you are “bigger”, your body has to expend more energy to move blood (and oxygen) around your body. Not to mention energy used carrying a heavier load around.The cool thing about muscle is that it is more dense than fat (this is where the saying a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat comes from). What that means is that pound for pound, muscle takes up less space than fat. So you can still look sleek and sexy, and with more muscle, actually burn more fat even when you are sitting still.

Weight lifting should be at the top of your exercises that burn fat list. And remember, just like anything, you won’t get the full benefits unless you are dedicated. You can’t go to the gym once a month and expect a miracle. Sure, starting a new routine is hard in the beginning, but if you really want to change the way you look, focus on it relentlessly, and before you know it, your weight lifting routines will become a habit, and you’ll have no idea how you ever got by without it!

The human body does not like stress. When losing weight fast, it puts unnecessary stress on you which is not healthy. A crash diet causes the body to work over time looking for necessary resources to maintain proper bodily functions.

Of course, this is just a brief overview of a fat burn diet. For a limited time, I’m giving away FREE access to the secrets of losing the belly fat. To get your free access ( while it lasts! ), check out Losing the Belly Fat now!

When you are looking to shed a small amount of fat, a crash diet is never the answer. You don’t need to burn much fat so you will not be put under a lot of stress losing a small amount, so set a reasonable goal, and come up with some tweaks in your diet and exercise plan to hit (and maintain) your target weight. If you are looking for a way to rid yourself of a large amount of fat, it’s better to do so at a slower rate to ensure you keep it off.

When looking to loose fat, it’s always better to take longer to do so. Your body needs a constant supply of nutrients and vitamins to function properly. When choosing a faster way, your body does not always receive the necessary requirements. You will starve your body when trying to loose fat faster. When your diet is finished and it is time to eat normally again your body will immediately store any food eaten as fat. This is stored to use as energy in case you start starving it again.

Speeding up the metabolism will be a healthy way to teach you the correct way to eat healthy foods. This way you will not be starved and will not have less energy than is needed to function properly. Smaller eating portions will be worked out for you. Your stomach will then digest your meals easier and will release the energy faster that is stored in the food.

When loosing weight it’s always better to choose the healthier option for you. Your life style should also be taken into account when choosing the right method of burning fat. A fast pace life would require foods that have loads of energy that can be burnt off quickly. A person who lives a slower life style would need foods that are not full of large quantities of energy but smaller amounts that will take longer to burn off.

Taking longer to burn fat is always the best to achieve the long term desired goal.However, before choosing, it’s always a good idea to consult with a doctor.

Just an annoucement…

It’s likely that we all know someone, or at least know someone that knows someone whose life has been affected by breast cancer.

When I thought about launching a Facebook fan page for Build Muscle and Burn Fat with Middle Management, I originally thought about holding a contest. You know, give away some cool prizes, maybe some cash. And I will certainly do that in the future.

But then I thought that I could do better.

WE could do better.

We could help make a difference.

So, I decided to support a cause that is near to my family’s heart and soul – Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Listen! Here’s the deal: for every person that “Likes” this page and becomes a fan between now and midnight on October 31 (EST), I
am going to donate $1 (up to a total of $1000) to the fight against breast cancer. I will donate another $500 if we can reach the 100k fan mark…

So, to become a fan, just go to

http://www.BeAMMFan.com <== CLICK

and hit the "Like" button.

And, if you know someone that might want to help support the cause and become a fan as well, please feel free to forward this note
along to them!

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Your Body IS Your Business!

Ben

PS – Make me pay… go to http://www.BeAMMFan.com and click “Like”now!

Usually, the answer is “not much.”

But this week, something very unique and interesting was released:
Tom Venuto’s new “Holy Grail system.”

Tom is the guy that wrote “Burn the fat, Feed the muscle”, which
is considered a fat loss classic.

He’s also a writer for Men’s Fitness, he’s been seen in
Oprah magazine, he’s written national and #1 Amazon bestsellers,
and as a natural bodybuilder, he’s one of the guys who really
walks the walk (just check out his abs!)

So what’s any different about his new program?

Tom says, This is the new – and only – program that teaches
you how to:

a) Gain muscle without gaining fat (no bulking up, just lean muscle)
b) Lose fat without losing muscle
c) Gain muscle while losing fat at the same time
(the “holy grail” of fitness goals)

As part of his new program release promotion, all week long
Tom has been giving away 4 limited-time bonuses worth $114.80,
but the offer ends tonite at midnight at:

===> ==> http://www.GetTheGrail.com
BONUS #1: Extreme And Controversial Fat Loss Techniques
(Ebook $19.95 value)
Cardio on an empty stomach? Eat less at night? Ketogenic diets?
Very high protein? Low calorie rapid fat loss diets? High volume
cardio? No food after cardio? These are just a handful of the
controversial rapid fat loss techniques that are analyzed for
risks versus benefits in this revealing 27-page report. Read this
and find out (a) if these methods work at all and (b) if they work,
are they also too risky for you?

BONUS #2: Super Lean Seminar – Secrets Of Achieving Very
Low Body Fat (Audio MP3 and ebook Transcripts $49.95 value)

Get my “Secret Weapon” strategies for reaching super-low body fat
and dropping those last 10 stubborn pounds. Find out how the “anti
starvation hormone” prevents you from getting lean, how to boost
the “good hormones” naturally, how to break any fat loss plateau,
advanced “peaking methods” to look “super-lean” for photo shoots
or contests, which 2 natural herbs eliminate water retention and
make your muscles look more defined overnight and much more.

BONUS #3: The Science Of Goal Achievement – 10 Secrets
of Subconscious Mind Power and 7 Secrets of Scientific
Goal Setting (e-book, 55 pages, $29.95 value)

Most people try to force changes with willpower, but willpower
doesn’t last. Subconscious mind power is the real secret to
putting healthy eating and training habits on automatic pilot:
Using just 1 of the 10 subconscious secrets could help you bust
old habits and create permanent behavior change

BONUS #4: How To Measure Your Body Fat In The Privacy
Of Your Own Home (ebook) $19.95 value)

It’s NOT just about the scale. What’s more important is your body
composition – your ratio of muscle to fat. Many people are losing
muscle and they don’t even realize it, because they don’t know how
to measure it. This e-book will teach you a simple 2-minute test
you can use to measure your body fat at home… If you start
measuring your progress the right way, you can lose 100% pure fat!

When you get the Holy Grail program today, you get all 4 of these
bonuses, (seriously good info, valued at $114.80) for f-r-e-e

(last day! don’t miss!)
===> http://www.GetTheGrail.com
Ben
PS. See what people are saying about this new breakthrough below

” I used The Holy Grail (THG) system this summer to trim fat while
holding onto muscle. I managed to go from “lean” to “ripped”.
Using the strategies detailed in THG I cut from 10% to less than
5% body fat! Now I am using THG to add even more muscle without
getting fat. This program works.”

-Brian Nordberg

“In the last 98 days I have: burned 12% body fat, shed 25 pounds
of fat shrunk my waist by 19 cm and gained 5 pounds of muscle.
The Holy Grail WORKS!

-Peta Freestone

“Thanks, Tom! Your Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) info has
lead to dramatic improvements for me in the last 5 years and the
“Holy Grail” you are launching now seems to be nothing short
of revolutionary!”

-Gopal

“I lost 15 pounds but the best part of all was that I added visible
muscle to my frame in the process. Unbelievable? Yes, but it’s true!

-Erica Perna

“I felt like I already understood nutrition, but the Holy Grail
has completely revamped my thinking!” (lost 28.2 lbs, gained 9 lbs
lean body mass)

-Ryan Wilson

the deadline for all the extra bonuses is Friday,
October 1st at Midnight EST – dont miss!

You can download all your bonuses here:
==> http://www.GetTheGrail.com

Since the Holy Grail was launched, my inbox has been flooded with questions about the program, particularly about whether the program is appropriate for you, depending on what your goals are…

So I asked Tom if he would take a look and provide some answers. Being the unbelievably cool dude that he is, he sent me this complete list of FAQ’s and answers!

Below, you’ll see the list of “frequently asked questions” (FAQ’

Read the FAQ\’s for the Holy Grail Body Transformation Program…

http://ping.fm/ezoCP <– (Free Report)

Inside this FREE report , you’ll discover:

* The short-cut to bypassing weeks, months or even years or frustratingly slow progress and reach your fat loss, muscle-building or body-shaping goals faster than you ever thought possible

* Other people have already cracked the code on body transformation… see how you can easily “copy and paste” the mental and physical success strategies of those who already succeeded (why re-invent the wheel?)

* How to find the one “bottleneck” that’s been choking off your progress for months or years… and how to fix it

http://ping.fm/hj7PK <– (Free Report)

Never Lose Muscle: The Holy Grail Method for 100% Pure Fat Loss

http://www.build-muscle-and-burn-fat.com/NoMuscleLoss

This is a controversial subject (do you lose muscle from dieting… if so, why?… and how to you STOP it?)

Tom tackles this controversy head on and reveals:

* The top 3 muscle-retaining factors that determine whether you’ll lose muscle or keep your muscle on a fat loss diet (they are very simple, but you can’t dispute their truth or importance)

* 13 NEW fat loss research discoveries from scientists at the National Instutite of Health and how you can use them to lose more fat without losing muscle

* Why overweight people have totally different physiologies than lean people or even people with “average” body fat… and why you MUST adjust your nutrition according to your current body fat level

* The New Rules of Cutting Calories: if you’re still cutting “500 calories a day to lose 1 pound per week” or cutting “1000 calories per day to lose 2 pounds per week” you might be completely sabotaging yourself .. find out why!

The report is available as a PDF download here:

http://www.build-muscle-and-burn-fat.com/NoMuscleLoss

Your Body IS Your Business,
Ben

PS. This report won’t be available for long, so be sure to grab your copy quick before it’s taken down:

http://www.build-muscle-and-burn-fat.com/NoMuscleLoss

Belly fat is a problem, particularly for those of us who have experienced that approaching-middle-age metabolism adjustment (like me) that usually comes

Best Foods to Burn Fat

Common theory is that running is a great way to achieve fitness. The truth is many people end up gaining weight instead of losing it.

Why does this happen?

Running for thirty minutes will burn around 300 calories (dep

Read more …

At the Maximum Muscle Building Blog:

Addicted to Junk Food (Three Part Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

Best Foods to Burn Fat: When Crunches and Sit-Ups Aren’t Enough

What Health Food Companies Don’t Want You to Know…

Want a Fast Way to Build Muscle? Are You Sure?

And from the Faster Fat Burning Blog…

Weights vs Cardio for Weight Loss – Which Is Best?

Distactions, Distractions

Why is it Hard to Lose Weight by Running?

What the Fat Burning Zone REALLY Means To Your Weight Loss

Help! I’m Exercising But Not Losing Weight!

It’s been a productive, focused week. Largely because of my new project about how I generate online income and just get stuff done in general, all while kind of maintaining my laid back persona… it’s called Flip-Flop Life… not about my physical fitness, but more about my mental fitness… 

Even when we know better, those junk food cravings are often overwhelming.

But I have found a way to eliminate my junk food cravings. 

One way I stop my cravings for junk food is by going for the magic potion first. What magic potion, you ask? Water, of course.

When I find myself craving potato chips, or ice cream, or popcorn, or any number of other junky food things that shouldn’t be shoved into my mouth, I drink a big glass of water and wait 15 minutes. A very large percentage of the time, the cravings disappear.

Over at my Faster Fat Burning blog, I posted 5 Quick Ways to Eliminiate Junk Food Cravings. It outlines some other great ways to fight those hunger pangs if that glass of water doesn’t work.

Follow those 5 tricks and you will be well on your way to fighting the good fight and winning!

I sometimes (more often than I’d like to admit) fool myself into thinking I will go to the gym later. Later seems to never come. Moral: There is no later, there is only now. Go now.

Originally posted as a comment
by benjamteal
on The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans using DISQUS.

I am not going to spend a ton of time boring you with all of the crazy details. But suffice it to say that it is going to change the way we build muscle and burn fat.

Let’s talk for a minute about body types…

You generally have two types of muscle fiber… Type-I and Type-II.

Type-I is that fast twitch, aerobic muscle. People that are naturally lean, have a lot of endurance, and seem to have trouble putting on weight no matter how much they eat (not a problem I tend to have) genearlly have a lot of type-I fibers.

On the other hand, people with a lot of type-II fibers are bigger and generally stronger and bigger (in good ways - muscle – and bad ways – fat).

You wouldn’t train the same way at all to achieve that lean, sleek, sexy, muscular look. But yet, you look through the muscle magazines, and there it is… the one-size-fits-all approach.

That was until now. The game is changing thanks to this Lean Hybrid Muscle approach. There is apparantly another, lesser known, lesser used muscle fiber called a Type-III, or hybrid muscle fiber. And this bad boy is supposedly the key to shedding fat and building muscle at the same time…

This, my good friends, is extremely cool stuff…

Read more about this amazing new plan at our main site now. [Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com Article].

We already know that drinking water to lose weight is a good idea. But did you know that, with one easy trick, you can burn another 64 calories each day?

Make that an ice water, and you could burn an extra 64 calories per day.

How is that you ask?

It turns out, that if you drink 8 ounces of ice water, you burn about 8 calories when you body works to raise the temperature of the water (from about 4 degrees C to 37.5 degrees C).

If you drink eight 8 ounce glasses per day, that is 64 extra calories burned every day.

Interestingly, Chow.com makes it sound like this is a waste of time:

Dividing 8,040 by 1,000 gives us 8.04 food calories (kilocalories). Therefore, you’ll burn about 8 calories for each glass of iced calorie-free beverage you drink. That’s equal to about one Life Saver: not exactly a weight-loss miracle.

Using Clemens’s figures, it would take about 435 8-ounce glasses of ice water to lose a pound.

Ummm… McFly!?! (sorry for the Back to the Future reference)…

Yeah, we wouldn’t want to waste our time… with…

WAIT A SECOND!

Those calories add up!

If I drink 8 glasses per day, then I would lose an extra 6 pounds per year.

Add that to your 100 equals 10 plan, and you are up to 16 pounds per year.

Now, that’s real weight loss!

Basically, the test checks for three things:

• How much fat from you absorb from your diet.
• How your body metabolizes carbohydrates, and
• How you respond to exercise.

Does anybody want to guess where this is going?

The recommendations from this test don’t seem to be much different than advice you might read here at this blog or hundreds of others like it. And I can assure you that you won’t have to pay me $149 (though if you want to, I won’t refuse it).

According to several sources (Fitness Tech Examiner, CBS4.com), the recommendations from the test are not all that different from simply following the governments dietary guidelines.

Both articles cited above use Amy Katsis as an example. After struggling with many diets, she took the DNA test. The recommendation?

Reduce carbs, more exercise.

Interestingly, the president of Inherent Health (the DNA testing company) had this to say (from the CBS4.com article):

It’s not a magic diet. It is in fact an indication. A very clear indication of how an individual’s body works with certain foods and not with others… The test told me that I would benefit from a reduced carbohydrate diet. [emphasis mine]

Hmmm, a reduced carbohydrate diet. I am going to go out on a limb and say that most results are likely to recommend a lower carb or lower fat diet. And more exercise.

Why?

Because it works. But we already knew that, didn’t we?

In fact, quoting from the CBS4.com article,

Joan Salge Blake is a registered dietitian and author of “Nutrition and You.” She said the number of obese Americans has doubled since 1980, and that’s not simply a question of genetics. “What has changed is our environment, our lifestyle, the way we eat,” Blake said.

Better diet, more exercise. That is at the core of everything you have read from Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com and this blog. And it cost you much less than $149.

Both of these decisions affected me for several years afterward (and, it could be argued, that they still affect me to this day).

In both regards, I could have done much better, I just chose not to.

The problem was, I didn’t do anything to improve myself for 3 years.

I took no responsibility for my situation. Rather, I blamed others or thought up excuses. And, guess what? I was stuck in a job I hated, and I was gaining weight and girth.

And then, one day, I woke up, and decided that I need to change my circumstances. But I just didn’t know how.

And then, by chance, or by the stars aligning, I visited the bookstore. I am generally an avid reader, so it was not unusual for me to be loitering there. I picked up a book on quotes (you may have guessed that I like quotes)…

I opened the book, and this quote jumped right out at me…

I am who I choose to be. I always have been what I chose – though not always what I pleased.

Admittingly, I had to look up who originally said this. It was Lois McMaster Bujold, who is an American science fiction writer.

For more than a year (in my old house), this quote was taped to my bathroom mirror. While looking through a drawer for some batteries recently, I rediscovered it, and thought I would share it with you.

I have not always been what I pleased, but I have always been the sum of my choices. I chose to eat and not exercise. I chose to stay in a job I hated.

And then I chose to focus on eating healthy and exercising. I focused mentally, on my metrics, on my metabolism, and on staying motivated. And the pounds came off.

I focused on finding a better job, and I didn’t stop until I found it.

I took personal responsibility. No more excuses. And I plowed ahead until I got what I wanted. And you can too.

At the end of each episode, the ringleader, Hannibal Smith, says…

I love it when a plan comes together…

What’s funny, is they always came up with some of the craziest plans you have ever seen. And they always worked.

Much of it was because it is the magic of television… you don’t even necessarily need to obey fundamental laws of physics.

But this isn’t about that. It’s about what can we learn from the show.

So, other than the fact that it was TV, what other reasons might there be for the plans always working?

Hmmm… (taps chin while entering deep thought mode)…

Ah ha! Maybe this quote from Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan will help point us in the right direction…

It is not good enough for things to be planned – they still have to be done; for the intention to become a reality, energy has to be launched into operation.

Yes, yes. That is it.

It is what make the plan come together. What is “it,” you ask?

Execution.

None of the plans, no matter how crazy or sane, the A-Team came up with would have worked if they just stopped with the plan.

It was only when they put the plan into action that they even had a chance of being successful. And even when it appeared to be going all wrong, they focused and continued to execute… They didn’t give up when the going got tough.

And that is lesson number 2 from the A-Team…

As Michael Jordan once said

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

The same is true with building muscle or burning fat. You can find plans to do both in magazines and at Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com.

Until you put those plans into action, and then stick with them, tweaking as necessary, you won’t succeed. It takes more than planning… it takes action and perseverance to be successful in the long run.

We primarily talk about building muscle and burning fat here at this blog and on the main Build Muscle and Burn Fat site.

I don’t really get too much into hardcore bodybuilding, as that has never been where I wanted the site to go.

But, as you are aware, bodybuilders are extremely efficient at building muscle and burning fat.

Over the years, the bodybuilder look has changes quite a bit.

And that is subject of Marc’s post.

He presents the classic bodybuilding physique versus its modern counterpart.

Check it out here: Frank Zane vs. Markus Ruhl

Then come back here and tell me what you think…

• Burn Fat
• Build Muscle
• More Protein
• Feel Good
• More Energy
• Look Younger
• Lift More Weight
• Feel Less Hungry

That list is long and varied.

What is the one thing you will never find a supplement for?

Hard work.

And do you know what’s really strange? Most of those supplements you can buy at the store won’t get you to the body you really want by themselves.

You have to supplement the supplements with old fashioned hard work.

I remember when I was overweight. Before I wasn’t overweight (come on – who am I kidding, I was fat), I used to sit around and think about the days when I was skinny and muscular. I wished that I could have that body again. That was my dream…

Do you have similar dreams?

Well, make them real. Make a plan. Take action… as Douglas Everett, Canadian Senator once said…

There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.

What I did, in the years after college, was turn my reality into a dream. I was that guy, the athlete. The body I wanted. Confidence.

I turned my reality into a dream. After a few years, I could only dream of that body. Then I had to reverse the process…

Turn my dream back into my reality. It took a decision to take action, and then a devotion to that mission… I could have the body I wanted. And, over time, that dream once again became a reality.

One of the most often quoted folks in the world, Unknown, aka Anonymous, once said…

“Aim for a 1% improvement every single day”

This small improvement each and every day will lead directly to BIG changes in a fairly short amount of time.

That is because, as Albert Einstein (not as often quoted as Unknown, but quoted a lot, nonetheless), once said…

The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.

In fact, if you make a 1% improvement today on your diet and exercise plan, and then a 1% improvement tomorrow, and then keep going, you would be over 3000% (that’s not a typo) better by the end of the year!

At Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com Middle Management, I constantly harp on making small changes, usually just one small change per week… in my opinion that is the easisiet way to sustainable, long-term improvement.

After all, if you made a 1% improvement each week (like I suggest at the FatLossAcademy.com), at the end of the year you would still be 168% better at the end of the year.

We all have things we want to be better at, not just burning fat or building muscle. The power of small lasting changes, compounded over time, leads to permanent big changes.

Remember this next time you come across a diet or fitness plan that suggest sweeping wholesale changes. You don’t need to make a bunch of big changes all at once.

Start small. End big.

I guess occasionally I get on my soap box. And rant. I know that everyone won’t agree with me. And I don’t want them to. I imagine this is one of those times where you might not agree with me. If not, great! Let me know that you don’t (and why) in the comments. If you do, great! Also let me know in the comments…

There has been a lot of talk lately about investigating the soda-obesity link in the US, probably, at least partially, driven by healthcare debate.

Here is just a small sampling of what’s on Google News…

• Proposed Tax on Sugary Beverages Debated
• Soda tax is a sweet way to finance health reform
• Coca-Cola Chief Says Soda-Tax Idea Is ‘Outrageous’
• UCLA study connects soda to obesity epidemic

I could probably list about 30 more articles, but you get the point.

But what I don’t get, is why we need a tax on soda specifically. I am sure that you can probably find a link to cupcake consumption and obesity.

There is also a link between TV and obesity (though I still am not sure I buy that TV is the cause… you have to believe that instead of TV, people would exercise, and I don’t necessarily buy that line of thought).

There is a link between any calorie dense food and obesity. I could drink nothing but water all day, and eat 12 hamburgers, and likely gain weight.

I could probably drag this list out for a while too.

Never mind that I think the tax is a bad idea. It is incredibly regressive (it will take the poor disproportionately).

But if you are going to create a “cause people to get fat” tax… why stop at soda? Why not tax TV consumption and hamburgers and pizza? Or cupcakes?

I used to weigh almost 300 pounds. Partly because I drank ALOT of soda. Partly because I ate entire pizzas. Largely because I stopped exercising. And totally, because I refused to take responsibility for the fact that I didn’t exercise and ate crappy food, not in moderation, but in abundance. I chose what to eat and drink.

Only when I held myself accountable, and started making good decisions for myself, was I able to shed the weight.

So, if they tax soda, ask yourself this… when does the slippery slope stop?

And when does personal responsibility start?

The other day, this came on the TV…

I don’t really know what to say… It just seems surreal to me.

Do you know about it? Well, you do now.

I will be there. Count on it. May even bring a few freebies, have a contest, give a few shout outs.

I want to see you there. I want to see your smiling face, and shake your hand. I want to know your story. I want to teach and be taught. School and be schooled. 

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I was having a conversation the other day with a friend, who happened to ask me what the secret was to my success in burning fat and building muscle…

My answer?

2 weeks.

My theory is this:

If you can make it through the first 2 weeks, it is all down hill from there. Those 2 weeks are hard. The next 2 not so much. The 2 after that, easier still.

But you have to remember, you can’t go off the deep end, and you can’t lose all the weight overnight.

I look back on a time when I could eat an entire large pizza, all the meats, extra cheese. In one sitting.

I can’t do that today. I would feel like I were going to explode.

And when I started gaining weight, I couldn’t do it either. But gradually, I ate more and more at meals, and throughout the day.

You have to reverse that process slowly, until you get down to some reasonable calorie intake.

Thomas Fuller, English historian, once said

All things are difficult before they are easy.

That is especially true in this case. When you start cutting calories, even by 500 or so (net) per week, you will feel hungry. You have to give yourself time to adjust.

Once you get through that 2 weeks, you not only allow your body to acclimate itself to a new habit, you also let your brain know that YOU CAN DO IT.

That new mental focus leads to increased motivation, which leads to long term success… a success, for me at least, that has become easier and easier to achieve with each passing week.

My question is what is the best target heart rate percentage to burn the most fat calories? I have heard it is in the lower 65 to 70 percent range but then also hear that the higher the better.  I am confused as to what to set my pace now to burn the most amount of fat (usually I work out for about 45 minutes)…

That’s a pretty good question.

You are correct in that the intensity at which you workout can have a significant effect on both calories burned and the primary fuel source for those calories.  The trick, though, is that it is a percentage of calories versus a total number of calories, and this is where the confusion comes in.

This article, Lose Belly Fat Fast: Understand Your Target Heart Rate and Perceive Exertion to Burn Fat, goes into pretty good detail, and I will summarize it here.

There are 4 basic heart rate zones, and each burns a different percentage of calories from fat and glycogen (carbs). They are:

Looking at that chart, you would think that the optimal range is the traditional “fat burning zone” of 60% to 70% of you maximum heart rate…

But there are other considerations here.

To quote from the article:

These percentages can be slightly misleading. Let’s say that you are exercising at a “low” heart rate intensity, and burning 150 calories per hour. If 85% of those calories come from fat, then you will burn 127.5 calories from fat.

Now, let’s say you kick up the intensity into the “moderate” zone and your calories burned per hour increases to 325. In this zone, 50% of you calories burned come from fat. That is 162.5 calories from fat!

As you can see, you have to monitor not only your heart rate, but also the number of calories you burn per hour at the increase heart rate to figure out what zone burns the most calories from fat.

To get even more detailed information, check out Lose Belly Fat Fast: Understand Your Target Heart Rate and Perceive Exertion to Burn Fat.

Agree? Disagree? Leave comments below!

And it inspires this brief, but useful post, especially for you “night” types out there on the weekend. I have been there… It’s a challenge to balance “socializing” and fat loss.

With a wife and two kids, hitting the town is a rare occasion for me, which leads me to the scene…

MARTY
Can I change your mind about doing this IPO scheme?

SETH
No. I’m sorry. I already found someone who’s going in with me.

MARTY
Well then I’m going to help you out with it.

SETH
You’re gonna do it with me?!

MARTY
No, I can’t do it, Seth, but I want to at least make sure you don’t get caught…

Seth is about to do something that he knows better than to do, and his dad, Marty, a Federal Judge, knows he can’t stop him. But he will do everything in his power to help him…

Now, I am not going to go out with you tonight to paint the town red. And you know that having a few drinks will do nothing for your fat loss, and I know I can’t talk you out of it (’cause I am realist)…

But I can help make sure you don’t completely blow your diet.

Alcohol comes in at about 7 calories per gram (that’s calories for gin, vodka, rum, tequila, etc.). 1 ounce of 80 proof is going to run you about 64 calories on average.

Given that, the mixer is where you can really go off the rails. Things like large mudslides and margaritas can start to approach several hundred calories each.

Here are some other mixers that you might consider to keep the calorie count down…

Diet cola – 0 calories and great for rum and coke…

Orange Juice – 122 calories per cup… screwdrivers anyone?

(Tropicana Light N’ Healthy is only 50 cals per cup, by the way… I’m just saying in case you are going BYOB or having a party at your place…)

Cranberry Juice for that Vodka Cranberry? 137 calories per cup.

The moral of the story is that the simpler the drink, generally speaking, the lower the calories. One alcohol, one mixer. Usually juice.

The best option of course is to not drink at all. but if you do, Keep it simple.. and definitely don’t drive after drinking.

Check out this article for even more tricks you can use to cut back the calories when you are out on the town…

Photo Credit: 8175535@N05 / CC BY-SA 2.0

I always have a challenge in that I want a good mix of songs for the various times I listen to music.

There are two primary times that I listen to the iPod…

• Walking the mile from my parking deck to my building at work and back (this is intentional, so now you know I practice what I preach). Sometimes, I zig-zag the blocks to a fro so this can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on how many blocks I zig-zag (I am strange, okay? I have the zig-zag, which is a 1-block by 1-block pattern, the mid-zag, which is a 2-block by 1-block pattern, and the big-zag, which is a 3-block by 1-block pattern).

• Lifting Weights. When I am in the gym I go hard. Period.

So, if you were to pick up my iPod and start listening, you would see the dichotomy. There are some songs with a higher BPM to keep me at a good pace while walking, mixed with some more aggressive for my gym time.

To give you a sample, I have “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas, “Here I Go” by Mystikal, and “More Human than Human” by White Zombie (if you want the whole list, just let me know and I will post it). I listen to a wide variety of music and open to about anything.

I have been rocking that list for about 3 months, and it is time to switch it up…

What is on your playlist right now that you think should be on my playlist?

(Please leave your suggestions in the comments below.)

Photo Credit: derkt / CC BY-SA 2.0

Today, I was pointed in the direction of a blog I had never seen before (but will definitely see again!), called Fitness and Spice. It’s a great read.

Yesterday, I went into what turned into a (lengthy) post about why I Squidoo. And Tweet. And Blog.

Then, I came across this post from Fitness and Spice…

It had this quote by James Keller:

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

What I really like about it is that it sums up, in a nice tidy package, the exact reason that I publish where and as often as I do…

I want to light as many candles as I can, to show that you can become fit.

That you are worth it.

But that leads me to ask…

What are you doing to light other candles in your life?

Photo Credit: powi / CC BY 2.0

Yesterday on this blog I mentioned that I was testing putting some fitness content on Squidoo. I also tweeted about updating my “lenses” on their site.

And then something (good, I think) happened…

A couple of people asked what Squidoo was exactly. Now, before I get into exactly what it is, let me tell you why I think it is good that (at least) some of my readers don’t know what it is.

According to Quantcast.com, Squidoo is the 168th most trafficked site in the United States, and, according to Alexa.com, 373rd in the entire world.

That is nearly 6MM U.S. visitors every month.

My goal has long been to reach as many people as possible to share by knowledge and my approach (the Middle Management Method) to building muscle and burning fat.

So, being involved in Squidoo possibly allows me to reach more people. The fact that some of my current readers and followers have no idea what it is, means that I may be able to also reach different readers.

With that said, here is what Squidoo is, according to Wikipedia:

Squidoo is a user-generated website which uses the concept of a lens as its primary feature. In his ebook “Everyone’s an Expert,” Godin describes a lens as “[filtering] light and [showing] us what we need to see.” Lenses are much like a blog posts, except on a single subject. The site allows content creators to earn revenue from referral links to sites like Amazon.com and Ebay. The users who create lenses, called “lensmasters,” can be anyone with an interest in a specific subject; they do not necessarily have to be externally-recognized experts. In Squidoo’s early stages, Godin noted that Martha Stewart and Jane Goodall’s lenses did not receive large amounts of traffic, whereas lenses on MySpace and the online game line rider were among the site’s most successful. Squidoo contains lenses on 22 different topics, including Health & Medicine, Food & Cooking, and Business.

Squidoo is notable in that it allows users to create multimedia pages without learning html. These pages often achieve built-in popularity due to their association with thousands of other Squidoo pages.

You can see why it this is kind of intriguing to me. Not only is it a different avenue, but it also allows me to present my content in a new way.

So far, I only have two lenses:

Raw Food Diet Review

Army Body Fat Worksheet

Like I said, I am pretty new to this whole thing, so comments are encouraged (both here, and there – there is a comments section at the bottom of both pages).

I will post here when I update or create new lenses, so you will always be included in what’s going on there.

I hope that clears up what Squidoo is, and I hope you enjoy the new and exciting places Middle Management is “spreading its tentacles!”

I thought long and hard about how I wanted to title this semi-new weekly segment…

You see, come the end of the weekend, I usually have a little to say about a lot of things, rather than my usual, more in depth, FocusOnOneTopic posts.

I have some things just to kinda get off my chest, so to speak.

And, being the official blog of Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com, and me being the official owner of said site and blog, I was forced to muster all of the creativity I had in me to come up with “Bench Press Day.”

You know, the day to get a few things right up off of my chest…

[ I humor myself, so hopefully you got a little chuckle out of it too. If not, my bad... ]

So, here it goes…

Each Monday (or, following a long weekend like this one, Tuesday), I start planning my week and finding my motivation. Often that motivation is at least partially found in a motivational quote… and often it is found in the support of the people around me.

Sometimes I need motivation to “be fit.” Sometimes I need motivation to keep building my little slice of the internet and to plot to take over the universe. Other times I need motivation to just “be me.”

In my life, it has been rare to find one person to motivate you in all three areas. I have been blessed enough to find two.

MizFit of MizFitOnline, and Roni of RonisWeigh have both inspired me more than they will ever know (I know, you expected me to say some big time male bodybuilder or fitness guru. Learn to expect the unexpected, keep your mind open, and you will find friends and opportunity all around you).

I strive to be like them. They inspire me. Online and off. Why? Because they are who they portray themselves to be online. Helpful. Caring. Real. And, to paraphrase MizFit, unapologetically themselves.

Though I have never met either in person, I hope to meet them both soon. If you haven’t gotten the opportunity to read their stuff, what are you waiting for?

I have also started messing around over at Squidoo and have created two lenses so far.  I will keep you up to date on how that is coming, and post a list of my lenses there in a few days.

The other thing I am thinking, and would really love your opinions on, is whether I should move this blog onto a paid domain. Right now, being on the free WordPress platform limits my ability to design and create and be flexible.

Do you like the format here? Have you moved a blog out of the WordPress domain? What are the pros and cons?

Well, that’s about it for this long weekend. I will be making Bench Press Day a Sunday/End of Weekend tradition going forward.

Hope you like it!

Photo Credit: ennuidesign / CC BY 2.0

Do you see something wrong with this picture?

You are at a hole-in-the-wall diner. A juicy hamburger is sitting right in front of you. A large order of fries on the side, not too crispy, not too soggy. Just how you like them.

Well, if you are reading my blog, you know that something is wrong. As much as your mouth may be watering, you know you should be having at lease a nice order of cooked veggies instead of the fries, right?

Well, if you ask a raw “foodist”, even that might be bad for you.

So, what is this Raw Food Diet, and why do you care?

suzijane / CC BY-SA 2.0

Well, it is being touted these days as one of the fastest and easiest ways to get rid of belly fat. Not only that, say proponents of this lifestyle, (and believe me, it is a lifestyle… check out my raw food diet review), but our bodies were meant to eat raw foods. In fact, they point out that we (humans) are the only ones who actually cook and eat our food (an argument that has flaws, but a valid point nonetheless). They believe that eating cooked food is a fairly recent happening, evolutionarily speaking, and, as a result, your bodies generally and our digestive system specifically is more atune to eating raw foods than cooked.

Generally speaking, raw food is unprocessed and/or uncooked (those little black LeanCuisine trays you are so fond of? notsomuch). That leaves you with not only things like fresh fruits and vegetables, but also nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains and beans. Many proponents of the raw food diet feel that cooked food has been stripped of many of the vitamines, nutrients and enzymes our body needs to function optimally. Also, some health experts believe that raw foods are easier on our digestive systems since nearly 100% of the food can be absorbed and used by the body.

A typical raw food diet is made up of about 75% raw food, and often follows a seasonal pattern. You can try a wide variety of fruits and vegetables as they come into season.

This is only the tip of the iceberg (lettuce) on the raw food diet. For more information, check out my raw food diet review now.

Heard enough and want to try the raw food diet for yourself? Click Here!

Have you tried the raw food diet? Tell us about it. What did you like? What did you hate?

Do you want more info on this lifestyle? Let me know that as well and I will do a series of posts on the subject!

Do you think weight training is boring?

I know how you feel. I tend to get bored with the same routine after a few weeks. As a result, I like to switch it up and, every now and then, throw something completely different into the the mix.

And medicine ball exercises are the perfect change-up to your normal workout routine

Using medicine ball exercises may be just the change of pace you need in your routines. They are easy to use, and add variety to workouts, making them more interesting and fun. And that is something we could all use in our fat buring workouts, right? A little more fun.

gigaboss / CC BY 2.0

What exactly is a medicine ball? Well, it is an exercise ball that is about 14 inches around and can weight anywhere from 2 to 25 pounds. The lighter ones tend be a bit smaller in size. For example, you can find medicine balls as small as a softball in the lighter weights.

The neat thing about using a medicine ball to burn fat is that you can easily add them to your normal routines for an added challenge. When you get more comfortable using the medicine ball, you can move on to more advanced exercises. Many of these are full body exercises that you can do with a partner to raise your heart rate into the fat burning zone allowing you to burn fat faster and build a little muscle too!

You can use any of these medicine ball workouts to burn fat, or you can choose from these medicine ball exercises and create your own customer medicine ball routine.

Are you already using medicine ball exercises in your workouts? If so, let me know in the comments!

There are two key problems that many people face when they undertake a new running plan.

The first is, amazingly enough, that many people don’t lose weight when they start a running plan. Some even gain weight?

Why is that?

Well, it’s simple really, once you know the answer.  When you start any new exercise routine, including a running plan, to lose weight, you start burning more calories than normal.  Your body reacts by… you guessed it… wanting more calories.

So what happens is people tend to overestimate the number of additional calories they are burning, which leads to overeating.

Always remember the old saying, you eat to run, not run to eat.

The second problem many people face is sticking to their plan to lose weight by running.  This is usually triggered by starting off too fast and going to hard.

This leads to excessive fatigue and injuries, and eventually causes you to stop running altogether.

In order to overcome these two problems, you need to “get off on the right foot,” so to speak.

That is why I wrote this article:

Lose Weight By Running: 5 Steps to Get You Started

Check it out, and let me know what you think and what you would add (or take away) from the article. I look forward to reading your comments!

If you watched them, you may remember that after each episode, they did Public Service Announcements that ended with the line,

Now you know… And knowing is half the battle!

If you don’t know what I am talking about, check the video below, and you will get the idea…

It turns out that G.I. Joe is right.

Knowing is half the battle… However, it is only half the battle.

I relate a lot of things I see, read, and recall back to the struggles I had and the decisions I made after I gained (and lost) all that weight after college.

I spend some time (sometimes too much time) on Twitter (follow me!). Tonight, one of the folks I follow, Jesse Lear (his blog: millionairelifehack.com – a very interesting read) posted the following

Resist the temptation to say, “Oh, I already know that”. Knowing is worthless. How have you applied it to your life?

Which of course made me think about G.I. Joe. And my own battles.

You may or may not know that I was an athlete in college. As such, I learned quite a bit about nutrition and exercise.

However, that knowledge didn’t keep me from putting on almost 100 pounds in the years after I graduated. It wasn’t until I applied that knowledge that I was able to get rid of most of it again.

I have been (and continue to) share the things that I have learned over at Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com. But all I can do is share the knowledge. And maybe you know some m9st of it, maybe you don’t. In either case, I cannot apply it for you.

Like you probably have done a few times, I know that many times I have read something and my initial reaction was exactly as Jesse says, “I know that.”

However, I will make a new focus to move a little farther into the though process, and ask instead, “How am I applying it to my current situation…”

Because “Knowing is half the battle…”

But only half.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Cause and Effect.

You reap what you sow.

Or as Zig Ziglar put it,

Every choice you make has an end result.

One of the biggest challenges I have to overcome when I am in a fat burning or muscle building mode is to recognize the consequences of my choices before I make them.

If I choose to go out with my friends, will I be able to resist the temptation of having a few drinks and appetizers? If I choose to have those beverages and foods, what are the consequences on my body, and the effort I put in at the gym?

If I choose to skip the gym, what result will that have on my training schedule, and on my goals.

I force myself to think rationally about the choice I am making. It’s not easy, because the right answer is not always clear, but when it comes to the result, you will rarely see me lay the blame anywhere but at my own feet.

I made the choice, whether that choice ends up being good or bad. If it was a bad choice, I make sure I learn from that decision so that I don’t repeat it.

Many times, if you examine yourself thoroughly, you are largely the sum of your choices.

So, I challenge you, think about the results of your choices over the next few days, and the results they are going to have on your goals. Ask yourself whether the choice you are making will move you closer to or farther from your goals…

What choices have you made lately and what were the results? What choices will you make and what do you anticipate the results are going to be?

Have you ever opted to eat out, because you didn’t have time to cook  a healthy meal?

Sure you have. So have I.

You feel like you will never find the time.

And you know what?

You’re 100% right.

Yep, you read it. I wrote it.

“But Ben, you have spent the last few weeks talking about motivation, getting things done, managing time so that we can get more stuff done… what’s going on?”

Well, noting really.

What I mean is exactly what Charles Buxton said. But before I tell you what he said, let me tell you what he did. He was a brewer, a philanthropist, a writer, and a Member of Parliament in Britain.

In other words, he was a busy dude, who did a lot of stuff that he wanted to do.

So, how did he do it?

You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.

And there it is.

If you keep looking for it, you will never find it. There is no extra time laying around. But…

Remember yesterday’s post. Time is given to you. Every day. In 24 hour increments. All the money in the world won’t buy you more. But remember this… time is given to you. It is yours.

That means you can make it into anything you want.

Do what you have to do, but make it work for you. Make time to exercise. Make time to plan and prepare healthy meals.

Find all of the things that are stealing your time from you… and systematically get rid of them.

Let me say it this way…

Take your time… back!

Why is that?

Great question!

A while back, I read an unattributed quote (if anyone knows who wrote it, let me know)… and that quote has stuck with me.

Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn’t buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure?

Let that sink in for just a moment. You are given 24 hours each and every day. Free. You are able to pretty much spend them as you choose. Yet, even if you had infinite wealth, you cannot buy extra time.

Time is, without a doubt, the most precious resource you have.

I took that to heart. I was the kind of procrastination. Put it off until later. I can get started on my diet tomorrow. I can go to the gym “later.”

Yet, I don’t know how many times I used “I don’t have enough time to do that right now” as an excuse to procrastinate even more.

The more time I didn’t have, the fatter and less productive I became, and then the less time I had. It was a never ending cycle.

After I read absorbed that quote, I took a time inventory. And I found out that I was spending my time like I had an unending supply. Goofing off. Television. Internet.

I found ways to eliminate some of that wasted time. Made it a priority to plan in workout time. Planned to be productive. Planned to get stuff done. Scheduled it.

And then I got it done. I lost the extra weight I had put on since college. I got more done during the day than I thought possible. And still had time to relax.

Whether it be fitness or internet work, or even “play,” I have chosen to spend my time with a clear purpose, even if that purpose is to unwind.

I chunk my time together. Gym is a focused hour. This blog post is a focused 30 minutes. I have an hour set aside to research and write a new article for Build Muscle and Burn Fat with Middle Management. If I want to watch a TV show, it is an hour of relaxing. And then I go out of my way to not get sucked in to the next show.

You get the idea. Plan and then stick to it. Plan it all – even the fun time. And then focus on what you want to get from that hour you are spending…

Because time is always running out.

How are you going to spend your time this week to improve your fitness? To improve your productivity? To improve your LIFE?

Geared to both those that want to burn fat and those that want to build muscle, we have more than 30 Middle Management created workouts and 16 user generated workouts.

I have tried to focus on quality rather than quantity. After all, there is a near infinite combination of exercises out there that can be combined into a free workout plan.

Check it out at the link below, and then let me know what you want to see in the comments section of this blog…

Free Workout Plan

Here is what I need to know… what’s missing? What will make it better? What will make you come back for more? Do you have a free workout plan that should be included here?

Thank you for your help, and we’ll talk again soon!

• I’ll start tomorrow.
• I’ll get started on Monday.
• Just wait until the new year.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you have used a couple of those yourself.

It took me a while, but I finally realized that in order to lose 50 pounds (or 75, or 100), I had to lose 1 pound first. If I didn’t lose the first one, I couldn’t lose the second one.

Losing 1 pounds is a whole lot less intimidating that 100. It’s a goal that almost everyone could achieve. And when the goal seems achievable, getting started is easier.

So when do you start?

18th Century British writer Mary Wollstonecraft gives us clear guidance…

The beginning is always today.

Start today. Start now. Go for a walk. Eat healthier starting with your very next meal. Set a goal of losing 1 pound. When you hit that one, set a goal of losing another pound.

Step by step, pound by pound, the weight will come off. But you have to get started.

Today.

Those that approach their lives with from a “can do” perspective often find themselves in positions to succeed in the long term, while those that often take the perspective that something “can’t be done” or that its just “too hard” find that their position never changes.

So, if you are looking to change your body or your life, you should start with the right attitude.

As William J. Johnson said:

The most significant change in a person’s life is a change of attitude. Right attitudes produce right actions.

This is, at its most fundamental level, says that a positive attitude generally leads to positive results.

This ties in to a post from two days ago titled What Do You Mean You’re Trying? In that post, I discussed what it means to “try.” The hypothesis was the 99% of the people who claim to have tried to burn fat or build muscle didn’t really try, but merely paid lip service to the idea.

Those people are approaching it from the wrong perspective… the wrong attitude.

I have always approached my life from the attitude that “I will, no matter what it takes.” If it were attainable and realistic, I can achieve it.

And that’s what I want you to take from this post…

You can do it.

Believe it. And if you believe it and you can achieve it.

Venus had to be in retrograde during a solar eclipse that happened exactly 12 hours prior to a lunar eclipse before I would decide to start a diet.

It could be that we were starting a family. Or I was starting a new job. Or we were selling our house. Or the sun was up. Or it was a day that ended in “y”.

I would use any reason excuse I could find to keep from starting (much less focusing) on a diet plan.

Then I read a book called “Think and Grow Rich” by a fella named Napoleon Hill. You may or may not have heard of it, but it is one of the epics of the “get rich/law of attraction” niche.

But this is not about that.

Anyway, there was a quote from that book that really hit me where I need to be hit.

Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.

As Scooby-Doo would say, “Ruh-Roh.”

I knew he was right. If I wanted, I could always find a reason excuse to remain in the overweight state I found myself.

So I resolved to start that day. The very next meal.

And guess what? That was the start of not only my weight loss, but also the birth of Middle Management…

And here I am now, much lighter, and much happier. And more motivated than other to be better.

So what are you waiting for? The time is ALWAYS right.

I gave a vague description of what trying is not…

I don’t mean that little try my 2 year old gives me when I ask him to get up. That “fake” try.

I realize that is still pretty vague, so let’s get in the weeds just a bit on what it means when I say “try.”

For our purposes, author Les Brown puts packages it up nicely…

You must tell yourself, ‘no matter how hard it is, or how hard it gets, I’m going to make it.’

That is what I mean by “try.”

Not that you went on a low carb diet today, and decided that it was too hard tomorrow.

Not that you did heavy squats this week and you decided you didn’t like being sore so I won’t ever do them again.

That is not trying. That is giving up when it gets hard. That is not wanting the results enough. You didn’t fail, you never even got started.

I don’t know how many times I was guilty of this before I finally “got it.” But the thing is, once the concept of really trying something sinks in, there is almost nothing that you won’t be able to do.

It’s like planning to go to the beach, so you put a cooler in the car. And then you sit back down on the couch and watch TV and never finish packing and never start driving. Did you really “try” to go to the beach? No.

For many, many of us, we don’t fail to burn fat or build muscle. If we fail at anything… it is this…

We fail to try.

Resolve today to try.  Put it in writing in the comments below. What to you resolve to try?

They don’t fail to lose weight and burn fat; they don’t fail to build muscle; they don’t fail to get healthier, or fitter, or richer, or any thing that might be added to this list.

Only about 1% of people fail. And that 1% of people is the most successful of the bunch.

How can I say that? Easy. Watch me do it again.

Only 1% of people fail, and for that reason, they are successful.

No, 99% of people never fail. Why? Because they never try.

In order to fail, you have to try. I don’t mean that little try my 2 year old gives me when I ask him to get up. That “fake” try.

No.

I mean really, REALLY try.

That requires breaking the inertia of not doing anything about anything. It requires action.

Playwright George Bernard Shaw once said…

The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.

That quote has a lot of power. If we are not acting, if we are not trying, then we are only left to react to what comes our way. We give up control of our circumstances.

But…

If we take action, if we try, if we initiate, then we have control over where the ship is headed. And that, my fellow MiddleManagers, if powerful stuff.

I can remember and old saying that went something like, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.”

If you don’t take action, then you are basically doing what you’ve always done.

So… Are you going to get what you’ve always got, or…

Are you going to take action today? If so, how?

And, a lot of times, we just don’t know how to go about changing our attitudes, our habits, our lives.

Enter noted America psychologist and philosopher William James, who gives us this simple process for making those changes…

To change one’s life: 1. Start immediately. 2. Do it flamboyantly. 3. No exceptions.

So, that process goes something like this…

Don’t wait. Start right now.

Make a big deal about your new lifestyle. Shout it from the mountain tops. Be excited, be motivated, be flamboyant.

This applies to everyone… even YOU.

But this is only one approach to making changes in your life… I am sure there are others.

What is your process? What has worked for you?

While that may not be true in the most literal sense, it turns out, you are what you think you are…

Noted author C. S. Lewis said…

We are what we believe we are.

There is much truth in that short, concise, elegant statement. If you believe that you are out of shape, then you will be out of shape.

On the other hand, if you believe, I mean deep down, rubberhittingtheroad, believe, that you can be healthy, thin, muscular… whatever you want… then you will achieve it.

I believe this is true because I think that in the believing, you will take action. With true belief, you will behave in the right ways.

If you believe you are muscular, you will eat like it, you will train like it, until it becomes a reality. If you believe that you are thin, you will eat like it and train like it, until you lose the weight.

There is a saying that goes, “act as if.” Act as if you are x, y or z, and you will eventually become x, y, or z. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

You may have heard it another way (this is the way I always heard it and the saying that I actually put into practice when I fought with being overweight)…

Fake it until you make it.

Either way, it breaks down into an easy three step process:

1. Believe
2. Behave
3. Become

Instead of asking you what you want to become… I am going to ask it this way:

What do you believe you are?

And then my bosses boss came in. And yelled at me. In front of everybody. I had made a mistake, and some numbers were off. Actually, the numbers were right, but trying to tie two data sets from completely different sources has a few challenges. The least of which is making the numbers foot with each other.

In any case, he yelled. And yelled.

When he left, I was paralyzed. The keys stopped clacking. Number were not being crunched. No processing. No ramming.

I was terrified of making another mistake.

After about two hours of inaction, a peer of the guy that yelled at me took me outside. He looked me in the eye and said

I would rather you screw something up doing something, than never make a mistake because you did nothing.

That one thought changed my life.

Often times, we become paralyzed by fear.

What if I fail?

What if I can’t lose the weight?

What if I can’t build the muscle?

What diet should I try?

What exercises should I do?

What if people look at me funny?

Any of that sound familiar? I have heard all of that time and again.  The thing is, I can’t answer those questions for you. I can barely answer them for myself on some days.

But I do know this…

Nothing will happen if I do nothing to make it happen. Period. End of story.

Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw summed it up nicely…

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

So, the question you have to ask yourself, right now, is, what action are you going to take to make yourself better?

Seriously, what are you going to do? Don’t just sit there… DO SOMETHING!

And you know what?

That’s not a bad thing.

As author James Joyce said

Mistakes are the portals of discovery.

When I first started struggling with my weight, I made many mistakes. But that is how I learned what worked for me and what didn’t.

I didn’t let the mistakes get me down or take me off track… and neither should you.

Not all diets work for all people. Not all workouts build muscle for all people. There is a lot of trial and error involved to find what works best for you. It is all a learning experience.

Once you make a mistake, you should resolve to never make that mistake again. Figure out what caused you temporarily divert from your goals, correct the situation, and move forward.

That is one of the great things about Middle Management. It is a focused approach to analyzing your programs, whether they are for building muscle or burning fat, quickly identify areas for improvement, make corrections and keep plowing ahead toward your goals.

Make mistakes. It’s the only way to get better.

The problem in my life and other people’s lives is not the
absence of knowing what to do, but the absence of doing it.

There is nothing more true.

Let’s be honest and speak frankly for a moment. You and I both know how to burn fat. For most people (there are exceptions), it is relatively straight forward.

Eat less than you burn.

So we know what to do. We know how to be successful. We just don’t do it.

How many times have you heard someone say said, “I will start tomorrow,” or “I will start on Monday”?

Why not start right now? Why wait?

Take action… You know the basics…

Start doing the right things right now… and learn more as you go. If you wait until you think you know everything, you will never get going.

You can do it, I know you can. But YOU have to take the first step and get started…

And then someone asks a question like this…

Can I lose weight by running?

yes, Yes, YEs, YES!

There are two sides of the weight loss equation. Calories in. Everyone seems to get that.

Calories out – aka exercise – that is the one everybody seems to ignore.

I was one of those people for the longest time. After college, I grew fatter and fatter. Then I would diet down, lose a lot of weight, then go back to eating like I would in college.

Now, like a lot of people, I ate like crap in college. Pizza and beer were staples. Yet, I didn’t gain weight, and often lost. So what was different?

Well, I was younger, for one. But, I was also an athlete, and with that comes a lot of exercise… particularly, running.

I finally decided that I like eating more than I dislike exercise, so I decided to add exercise (back) to the regimen.  I was going to lose weight by running (and eating a little better – there ARE really two sides to the equation).

Instead of the tired feeling I had when I relied on diet alone, I felt energized after my runs, and I looked better as I lost weight. And I didn’t feel so guilty when I had real food (and by real food, I mean pizza and beer).

Of course, I don’t run or exercise nearly as much as I did in college, but I don’t eat nearly as much either. I have learned to balance the calorie equation.

But I don’t think I would have ever gotten to that point had I not realized that I had other levers to pull besides diet… that, Yes! I could lose weight by running!

Considering running to lose weight? Check out these 5 steps to for starting to lose weight by running over at the main site… NOW!

What if I said to you that there was not a problem with the health care system? What if I said that the system we have right now works just fine, but the rising costs of health care come from one particular “growing” problem? What would you say?

Non-profit research group RTI International believes they have identified the problem…

Obesity.

RTI health economist Eric Finkelstein is quoted in the Wall Street Journal: “Unless you address obesity, you’re never going to address rising health-care costs.”

The study finds that Obesity-related conditions account for 9.1% of all medical spending (6.5% in 1998).

RTI is not alone in linking the rising cost of health care to obesity…

Health economists have long warned that obesity is a driving force behind the rise in health spending. For example, diabetes costs the nation $190 billion a year to treat, and excess weight is the single biggest risk factor for developing diabetes. Moreover, obese diabetics are the hardest to treat, with higher rates of foot ulcers and amputations, among other things.

Read the entire article

Roughly 33% of all Americans are classified as obese, using the BMI as the measurement system.

Let’s assume for just a moment that these folks are right – that obesity is the problem, and solving obesity solves the health care crisis (meaning the real crisis is not the health care system, but rather, the growing girth of Americans).

How would you solve the obesity problem in America?

Unfortunately, I write in an industry where that is harder than it sounds. Everyday I log on to my computer there is some new fad diet to lose weight or build muscle.

In most instances, the best case is the “plan” simply doesn’t work or is unsustainable. In other cases, it can be dangerous.

Therefore, as you can imagine, it is refreshing then to come across people who have the same singular vision that I have: to cut through the crap out there and give you real information that you can use to change your body (and your life).

People that realize that changing the way you look on the outside cannot begin until you accept who you are on the inside.  That your worth as a person is not invested in how you look, but how you feel about yourself are and act toward others.

One of the things that can never be talked about enough is this: One of the easiest way to change how you look to others, is to feel good about yourself.  Happiness and self-esteem are viral. Period.

With that said, let me introduce you to my friends Carla (aka MizFit) and Roni.  They are not only some of the finest bloggers on the internets, but also some of the nicest people that I have interacted with.

They are part of a new effort called the Real Deal Girls. Their mission? Simple:

We are Body Image Activists.

Fatties, skinnies, and disordered eaters who want every girl to feel beautiful and strong.

Muscle chicks and plus-size fashionistas, yoginis, marathon-runners and mathletes, alpha women, gamma girls, cheerleaders, bookworms, punks, moms, daughters, sisters, and friends.

WE are the collective YOU.

We are united on a single cause.

Cultivating self esteem and positive body image for girls and women.

We don’t agree on all issues, but we respect each others perspective.

We speak our personal truth, and we want to listen to you.

This is the only path to change.

A very worthy cause, IMHO.

If you have a momement, stop by and say hello to them. Tell them Ben sent you…

http://watrd.wordpress.com/

I get it, you want a way to estimate your body fat that is quick and efficient.

Well, here comes the Army to the rescue!

The Army is nothing if not quick and efficient.

This efficiency permeates every aspect of the Army life, from eating to training. And that includes measuring body composition.

The Army Body Fat Worksheet makes is easy to estimate your body fat percentage. All you need to do is take a few measurements, make a quick calculation, and look up your result on a simple chart.

You can download the worksheets from the main Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com site by following the link below.

Army Body Fat Worksheet

I am going to work on a calculator based on these sheets, so let me know if there are any features you would like to see and I will see what I can do to get them added to the utility!

Talk again soon,

Ben

At 5PM Eastern Valerie Waters is going LIVE on Ustream.TV and she wants to invite you to join her and the girls.

You can see and chat with her here…

http://tinyurl.com/val-tv

She’s going to be LIVE for 5 hours, and you’ll have the chance to ask her anything you want!

You’ll also have the opportunity to chat with some special celebrity guests on the show and get access into her Diamond Express Celebrity Body Coaching Program.

You DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS…

http://tinyurl.com/val-tv

Additionally, I’ve worked out a special deal to get you into the Celebrity Body Program, but you have to show up at the show to redeem the special offer.

Head on over and take a peak at Valerie and friends on this page…

http://tinyurl.com/val-tv

I thought I would get the tips off to a fun start, so here we go…

Tip: Wear Sunscreen

There is actually a ton really good advice in that video, and is one of my favorites.

Now, on to the more serious stuff…

Shop the Perimeter

When you take your weekly trip to go grocery shopping, where do you spend most of your shopping time? My guess, if you were anything like me, is going up and down the isles. Next time you go into the supermarket, take a moment to make an observation…

Where is all the healthy food?

It is on the perimeter of the store. Whole grain breads, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, milk, eggs, dairy. Most of the time, these items are on the perimeter of the store, and this is intentionally so. It is designed that way to get you into the center section of the store.

What’s in the center section? Cookies, chips, ice cream and soda.

It often seems like to me that the grocery stores are conspiring to make be overeat. So I chose to fight back. I spend over 80% of my shopping time on the outside isles of the store. And my waistline has thanked me for it.

Have a Drink…Of Water!

Drinking water is one of the simplest ways to cut calories from your diet.

Not only does the water replace the empty calories you are drinking in from your soft drink, if you drink approximately 8 to 10 ounces before a meal, you will eat less during that meal.

The reason is that the water takes up space in your stomach that would normally be taken up by food. You will feel fuller faster, and eat less.

To Lose a Lot ( and Keep it Off ), Change a Little

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started losing weight a few years back was jumping all over the crash diet bandwagon. And you know what happened? That bandwagon did exactly that – crashed – each and every time.

I finally had success when I started to make small sustainable changes like the two listed above. Those are easy changes that I can repeat day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year.

It can be something as easy as saying “no” next time someone asks you, “Would you like to supersize that?”

Start small and build from there…

Are You Using This Tip?

I call this the "Blogger's Diet."

This great cartoon came from the great folks over at Funny and Jokes.

Well, that wraps up this Tuesday’s Tips.

What is you best fat loss tip? Please leave it in the comments below.

Valerie Waters

If you want to finally transform your body, my friend and celebrity ‘super-trainer’ Valerie Waters  (she trains Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, and more)  has a cool thing going on right now.  She’s starting an online coaching program in a few days and during the promotion this week, she’s giving away a lot of great information – for FREE.

Anyways, she took this woman Alicia (not a celeb) through a 6 week program and she saw some pretty spectacular results.  The cool thing is that Alicia kept a very detailed journal about what she did & what she ate..  and Valerie is allowing you to go and download the journal.  There’s a bunch of great Daily Meal Templates sorta laid out from someone who really rocked the program   It’s very nice!

Here’s how you get your copy:

Go to http://tinyurl.com/freejournal and watch the video.

It’s not even 2 minutes long but take a look at the results this woman Alicia got working with Valerie – it’s pretty amazing and she will tell you how to get your copy.

But even more important than that, by downloading the journal, you’re also entered in a raffle to win a free spot in Valerie’s upcoming Diamond Express Coaching Program (apparently, the original “Diamond” program sold out before the doors even opened).

So to get your copy of this ‘superwoman’ Alicia’s journal and your entry in Valerie’s raffle.  I know you’re going to love it!

http://tinyurl.com/freejournal

Oh, I almost forgot. She also has this awesome video of Jennifer Garner and her discussing her program & diet in Valerie’s home office!  Jennifer just came over and they were taking questions from a live chat room.  You can take a look at that over at this page too:

http://tinyurl.com/jengarner

Generally speaking, I usually get a theme song that takes me through the day… that gets me motivated.  Today’s song is “Sabatoge” by the Beastie Boys.

My favorite lyrics from this song:

You’ll shut me down with the push of a button?

But you, I’m out and I’m gone,

I’ll tell you know, I keep it on and on.

Sometimes I just need a king of “me against the world” kind of vibe to get me going.

And if that that fails to motivate you and get the juices flowing, this speech from Al Pacino from “Any Given Sunday” should help!

Life truly is a game of inches, and you have to set goals, not only for the long term, but also for every every inch of life. What are you going to do this month to build muscle or burn fat? In the next week? In the next day? Next hour?

My first journal was just a pad on the refrigerator with my weight and waist size posted on it every Monday.  When ever I put on a pound or two in a given week, all I had to do was look at that pad.  I could see that I had actually lost 10 or 12 pounds, not gained 2, and I was right back in the game.

Now my journal tracks not only my waist size and weight, but my body fat percentage, what I ate in a given day with calories, protein, fat, carbs, exercises for the day, and how I felt.

And whenever I need a little motivational jolt, I simply turn to the first page!

What are some of the things that motivate you to succeed?

I am going to share a great video with you to help you get your new year off to a great start. Read on to find out more.

My motto for this coming year will be to “Shine in 2009.”

I am very excited for some of the things I have in store for Middle Management and Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com. Just like you though, I get extremely nervous that some of the things I have planned to do will not be successful.

However, I know that if I can continue to motivate myself, all of my plans to help you “shine in 2009″ will be met with success.

To help you stay motivated, I have put together an easy to follow collection of motivation tips here:

http://www.build-muscle-and-burn-fat.com/self-motivation-tips.html

Be sure to check out the special video I found for you on YouTube, it really gets me motivated every time I watch it!

Some of you may have seen my article about my 8 Self Motivation Tips, and if you have, AWESOME! You have a head start on the New Year!

If you have not seen the YouTube video, it is at the bottom of the page. Check it out now:

http://www.build-muscle-and-burn-fat.com/self-motivation-tips.html

Be sure shoot me a note and tell me how you are progressing.

Finally, I have a question for you… if you could have a private conversation with me, what two questions would you would like to ask me?

Post your question in the comments below.

That’s all for now, look for the next post very soon…

Best Regards,
Ben

However, you can’t build boulders if you spend half the time battling shoulder injuries.

Injuries can slow any muscle building effort, so it is best to avoid them altogether.  The easiest way to do this is to build a solid foundation with preventative exercises.

The most common shoulder injury that prevents people from performing their shoulder exercises is a rotator cuff injury. Your rotator cuff can be injured by overhead motions like throwing a ball or serving a tennis ball or other repetitive overhead motions such as placing items on a shelf, or intense weight training.

To avoid these types of injuries, you should focus on rotator cuff strengthening exercises.

These exercises help strengthen the muscles and tendons in your shoulder joint that are most often injured.

The video is 9:37 long and gives you some idea of the amount of work needed to put on this kind of muscle this quickly.

Coming Soon… and a Tweet! (11/11/2008)

1075. Pound. Bench Press. (11/18/2008)

Poor, Obese Children Not Eating Enough (11/20/2008)

Really? Some Calories Count More than Others? (11/25/2008)

Thanksgiving Tip – Don’t Worry, Be Happy! (11/27/2008)

Top 5 Referrers

Big Fat Deal Blog

He’s Fit

Internet Duct Tape

Bits & Pieces (new site) (old site)

Happy Lists

Top Commenter

novice1

That is our monthly wrap-up.  What would you like to read/learn about next?  Leave it in the comments section below!

For more tips and tricks, don’t forget to follow me on twitter!

Unfortunately, many of these products simply don’t work.

There is one product that is used primarily for abdominal exercises (though it can be used for a myriad of other exercises) that really helps to target you midsection and build a rock hard set of abs.

The stability ball.

Using the ball can improve many of the traditional abdominal exercises by increasing the effective range of motion of the exercise.  The increased range of motion allows for greater activation of the muscles by recruiting more muscle fibers.  This allows you to build muscle faster and burn more calories during the exercise.

So, what are my 5 favorite stability ball exercises?

1. Ab Rolls (upper abs)
2. Ab Tucks (lower abs)
3. Crunch, Reach, Pass (upper and lower abs simultaneously)
4. Oblique Crunch (obliques)
5. Stability Ball Crunch (upper abs)

These 5 stability ball exercises allow you to target all of the main sections of the abdominals.

You can find a description of these exercises on our stability ball exercises page.

So, how do you incorporate these exercises into a complete 6-pack abdominal routine?

Well, I have done that for you too!

Check out this exercise ball workout routine for 6-pack abs.

This all, of course, begs the question…

What is your favorite stability ball exercise for 6-pack abs?

But why does that mean you have to wait another 30 days to get started on your muscle building or fat burning goals?  Are you waiting to put on a few extra pounds?  Maybe trying to make it that much harder to get the body you want next year?

You don’t have to wait.  It is easy to get started today!

Here are 3 easy strategies you can put to work now. So, stop procrastinating until the new year and get motivated!

Make a Small Nutrition Change

Can you find a way to cut 100 calories or so from every meal today?

Maybe add a serving or two of lean protein to help build muscle?

How about adding an extra side of a green vegetable or a delicious fruit?

Instead of having candy bar and soda at break time today, try an apple and a bottle of water.

Add a post workout shake to feed your muscles following that intense workout.

Speaking of which…

Add a Few Minutes to Your Exercise Routine

If at all possible, add 5 minutes (or more!) to your regular workout routine.

What’s that you say? You don’t have an exercise routine?

Funny thing about that.

I didn’t have one either until I started one.

And it all started with a 5 minute walk.

Start a Journal

One of the most important things you can do, when building muscle or burning fat is to keep a good journal.  A record of what you ate, what you did in the gym, and how you felt about it.

Even if you don’t change anything in your diet or workout plans immediately, starting a journal allows you to baseline where you are now, so that you know what changes to make in the new year.

When i started my journey a few years back, I understood that getting a good baseline of what I was currently doing would help me make the changes in the long run that would lead to my new body.  I wrote down everything I ate and how many calories it contained.

This process is what opened my eyes to the number of calories in a can of soda, and how big a serving of ice cream really was (hint: it was much less than I put in my bowl).

So keep a record of where you are now, because if you have no idea where you are, how in the world will you ever know how to get to where you are going?

Bonus: Reward Yourself

Make it a goal to implement one of the tips above and stick to it through the holidays. Then, think of that big holiday meal as your reward for a successful month of a new lifestyle!

These are some easy ways to get a jump start and to get some momentum heading into the new year.

Motivation Monday.

There is an old story about how the Spanish explorer Cortez motivated his troops when they landed in Veracruz, Mexico. The first thing  Cortez did was to burn all his ships.

Thus he gave his men a very simple choice: to fight or to die.

Monday has always been the hardest day to get going and be motivated, for me at least, so I am always looking for ways to “burn my ships” so that the choice to stick to my plan to fight fat and build muscle will be easier.

So, starting on 12/1/2008, we will start dedicating Monday’s to motivational tips, tricks, and quotes to get us going.

They will be posted first at twitter, and then here at the end of the day.

Also, start looking for a special free giveaway for those of you who follow me on twitter.

http://twitter.com/benjamteal

Get ready to be motivated!

I am thankful for everyone of my readers, both here, at my free newsletter, and at the main site, Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com.  I cannot say it enough:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

Now, for a special Thanksgiving tip.  If you are worried about indulging, I want to remind you of two previous posts here at THe Middle Manager:

Cheaters Do Win Sometimes

and

Indulge!

It is not the end of the world to have a day here or there to eat until you are full and satiated. In fact, it can often help your weight loss efforts, as the two posts above explain.

So, enjoy your Thanksgiving!

While I do believe there is a percentage of people out there who truly cannot help their weight, the study cited did not support that conclusion.

Well, not it seems the Seattle Post Intelligencer wants to get in on the misleading statements train.

The first line in their article, “The You Docs: Snack on This, Get Slender” opens with this scientific bombshell:

When it comes to weight loss, some calories do count more than others.

Huh?

You mean that there are mysterious “mega” calories out there, that, instead of being equal to 1 calorie, are somehow equal to more than 1 calorie?

The article is about how a study recently found that people who ate soup for lunch lost more weight than those who ate the identical number of calories, only from other foods.

So, if person 1 ate a 200 calorie bowl of soup, then person 2 ate 200 calories of sandwich, for example.

The conclusion, according to the Post Intelligencer, is that the calories from soup must actually count more than other calories.

The follow up their bombshell with the actual reason, and we find out that a calorie is a calorie after all:

The reason the soup eaters lost more is likely because a nice, warm bowl of it has a low ratio of calories to ounces. In other words, the soup takes up more space in people’s bellies, and those who ate it felt less hungry later and ate less other food over the course of the day.

So, the water from the soup filled them up longer, causing them to eat less calories throughout the day. After all, brothy (yes, I made up that word) is really just flavored water with some chunks.  The Post Intelligencer admits that creamy soups will not help you lose weight.

Interesting.

Here is a tip for you.  Drink 8 to 16 ounces of water about 15 minutes before your next meal.  You will eat less because the water makes you feel full.  Those calories in water also have magical properties. Wait, there are no calories in water.

Poor, Obese Children Not Eating Enough

Posted using ShareThis

The post links back to a KansasCity.com news article of the same title.  That article on KansasCity.com would lead a casual reader to believe that the common calories in vs. calories out explanation for obesity had be soundly refuted by science.

However, the actual Journal article paints a slightly different picture than the one painted on KansasCity.com. Below is a reasonable facsimile of my comment of the BFD blog (altered for it to make sense in the context of this blog post).

I went out and read the article. The summary at KansasCity.com is only taking from the abstract of the actual study.

Before I comment on the article itself, I want to preface it by saying that I STRONGLY agree that some people are predisposed to being overweight. Unfortunately, after reading the actual Journal Article, the data collected in this case does not support that notion as strongly as KansasCity.com would lead us to believe.

The study, “Diabetes Risk, Low Fitness, and Energy Insufficiency Levels among Children from Poor Families,” goes much farther than just looking at macronutrient and caloric intake; it also looks extensively at fitness levels.

The data showed that only 11.1% of the children had acceptable fitness levels.

Fitness was measured using a “step test,” where basically the change in heart over baseline after stepping up and down onto a small stool for five minutes.

There are a couple of interesting observations in the “Discussion” section of the article; I will paste a couple of quotes below (with my commentary in () after each quote):

“There are several possibilities to explain the food insufficiency and obesity paradox. Individuals not having enough food at certain time periods may engage in binge eating or compromise the nutritional quality of their diets when food becomes available resulting in being overweight. Binge eating may promote fat accumulation due to the dramatic rise in postprandial lipid, glucose, and insulin levels. Following periods of fasting, the liver is primed to synthesize lipids and increase fat storage capacity.”

(this goes directly to some of the comments from the BFD blog, about how binging followed by fasting often triggers a fat storage mechanism)

“A second limitation was the use of children’s self assessment of dietary intake. Inaccurate reporting has been shown among populations from different age, sex, ethnicity, culture, education, social class, and nationality regardless if food records, dietary recalls, food frequency questionnaires, food weighed, and cafeteria menus were used. That study participants worldwide knowingly or subconsciously systematically misreport their dietary intake and that energy intake is consistently and significantly in opposite direction to BMI and body fat appears all too coincidental.”

(the children in this study were asked to recall everything they ate the previous day, and previous studies of suggested, basically, the higher the BMI or BF%, then the more likely the person is to underestimate their food intake)

“Could obesity in children be more closely related to low physical activity and low micronutrient intake than to excessive energy intake? Children in our study had low fitness levels and low calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and folate dietary intake. The literature showing the relationship between inactivity and obesity is extensive…”

(I think that based on the data in this study, we cannot rule out the possibility. The dietary recommendations are based on a normal (acceptable) level of physical fitness, and the data here suggests that the vast majority of the children studied did not meet that standard. The “calories out” side of the equation is at least as off kilter as the “calories in” side).

So, that is the summary of the article. Hopefully it was helpful. It is just disappointing to me that KansasCity.com would put a certain spin on a scientific study without actually reading what the authors said.

I would be interested to know what you all think…

Roberto P. Trevino, Donovan L. Fogt, Tammy Jordan Wyatt,
Liset Leal-Vasquez, Erica Sosa, Charlotte Woods.
Diabetes Risk, Low Fitness, and Energy Insufficiency
Levels among Children from Poor Families, Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, Volume 108, Issue 11,
November 2008, Pages 1846-1853,
ISSN 0002-8223, DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2008.08.009.
(ScienceDirect.com Link)

On November 8th, 2008 at the Pride Performance Strength Wars in Kennewick Washington, Kennelly completed a lift of  1075 lbs (489 kg).

You read that right.

1075 pounds.

Perhaps more amazing is that it was his third successful lift of the day of more than 1000 pounds!

Check out a video of the lift below:

More information on the Ryan Kennelly and the World Record Bench Press.

I am working on a really neat “crash course” piece of content that will be first released exclusively to subscribers of the e-zine.

I will be putting together some exclusive video content over the next few weeks/months as well, so check back often for more information on that.

Starting after the Thanksgiving holidays in the US, we will also be starting a regular podcast.

As always, there is new content being posted all the time over at the main site, and frequent updates here on the blog including tips and tricks to keep you managing those middles!

That “crash course” is going to be COOL!

Also, for those tweeples (and you know who you are!) out there, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/benjamteal

Watching TV Makes You Fat | Fitness, Weight Loss, and Diet Blog by Better Body Journal

which would, at least at first blush, seem to support that notion.  That post includes this graph:

That dot in the upper right hand corner is the good old United States of America.  It seems clear that American’s watch more TV, and they are fatter on average, ergo, TV is related to obesity. But don’t let the one data point distract your from what is really happening here.

All of the other data points are fairly tightly clustered and fairly randomly distributed. If we look at the correlation of these clustered data points, the correlation is very close to 0 and actually slightly negative (-0.09).

In statistics, the US data point would be considered an outlier.

The high level conclusion I draw from this graph is that hours watching TV is not the answer to obesity (or, perhaps, not even an answer).  It is really understanding what the difference is between the US and other countries.

What are the people doing differently than the people in other countries?

Sure, they are watching far more TV, but what are they trading off?  My guess is that if we were to plot hours exercised per week versus obesity rate, we would see a much clearer picture of causes of obesity.  I am willing to bet that is the trade off.

I say all of that to say this:

Let’s stop looking for relationships that do not exist.  The answer to obesity, for a large proportion of people, the choice we make or do not make regarding diet and exercise.  I do realize there are exceptions. However, by definition that is a minority of the population – otherwise, they would not be exceptions.

Exercise and diet.

What do you think?

It seems like there are milestones left and right.  First, it our 100th post, then it was our 1,000th subscriber to our free online diet exercsies magazine, now it our 2 year anniversary.

I want to thank all of my readers out there, if it were not for you, there would be no us!

THANK YOU!

And even worse, you do the same exercises!

In order to keep the muscle building and the fat burning, you have to keep your body guessing.

At the same time, you need to keep getting stronger by working on your stabilizer muscles that support your normal weight lifting exercises.

One of the best ways to do this is by incorporating stability ball exercises into your workout plans.

By sitting on a stability ball during your exercises, you incorporate you core (abs and back) as well as many of the small stabilizer muscles that help your larger muscles perform heavy lifts.

Just as important, they break up the monotony and boredom that seep into our fitness routines.

I often use a stability ball for incline bench presses, shoulder presses, dumbbell squats, not to mention to really hit my abs.

Just be sure to remember that stability ball exercises should not permanently replace your normal weight training exercises, but should supplement them from time to time to keep your muscles guessing and your workouts interesting.

And, while we are talking about balls, don’t forget that you can also spice your workouts with medicine ball exercises.

I often encourage eating the foods that you like to eat, but always in moderation.  Moderation can come in many shapes and sizes, however.

Personally, I have an ice cream itch that needs to be scratched occasionally.  There are two ways that I can have the ice cream in the confines of my nutrition plan.

Way number one is to have a small serving every day or so, but only enough to quell my craving.

The other way is the way I prefer.  I set 14 day goals, and I stick strictly to the nutrition plan for 14 days.  After those 14 days, I reward myself with a cheat day where I eat anything that I want.

In either case, however, I encourage you to indulge.  If you indulgence is ice cream, eat the best ice cream available.  If it is pizza, get the best pizza you can find.  No matter your favorite food, eat the tastiest and best you can.

The way I figure it, if I am going to put an extra few hundred calories in my mouth, I mine as well enjoy it!

UNTIL TODAY!

Here in America (and many other countries of the world), we live in a democracy.  This gives us the right, nee the obligation, to vote, especially on what we put into our mouths.

It is okay (and encouraged) to be finicky.   If you don’t want fried food, you don’t have to eat it.  If you don’t want salad dressing drowning your salad, ask for it on the side. You don’t have to have mayo and melted cheese.  You can veto that “special sauce” and save hundreds of hard earned calories in the process.

Ask for your food to be prepared the way you want it – the healthy way.

So, no matter who you vote for in a few days, exercise your right to be healthy today, and every day!

I am the Original Middle Manager, and I approved this message.

What?!?  You haven’t subscribed yet?  Subsribe over at Build Muscle and Burn Fat now!

How else are you going to know when our book launches?

Do you drink regular soda?  Do you know how many calories you are drinking in?

Believe it or not, a 20oz. bottle of Coke has about 240 calories.

To cut 100 a calories per day from your diet, try this:  Split your regular soda with a friend.  You can save calories and maybe even make some new friends!

This tip (and a series of tips to follow) is an easy way to cut 100 calories out of your diet today and every day.  It will help you make small, sustainable changes.  And small changes are easier to maintain in the long run…

Usain Bolt is a streak of lightning – literally.  The fastest human that has ever set foot on the face of the earth.  Period.  Fastest. Man. Ever.

And he likes to have fun.  Some may interpret it as cockiness or arrogance.  Some may call pounding your chest as you cross the finish line (under world record time, and well ahead of his fellow competitors) as a form of “trash” talk.

I think he is a breath of fresh air and entertaining.  Love him or hate him, you will likely want to watch him again and exactly what a sport besieged by doping scandals needs to get back to the forefront of the sports world.

Today, the head of the IOC decided to condemn Usain Bolt for his enthusiasm.

As this article points out, he chose not to condemn China for bending the truth to get the Olymics in the first place, but rather chose to focus his attention on the island nation of Jamaica and its biggest star.

A wise man once told me, “It’s not talking trash if you can back it up.”

Usain can back his up.  Can the IOC and China back up theirs?

One of these ways to by eating foods that can help you burn fat.  So what is and example of a fat fighting food?

Spicy food lovers rejoice! One of the best fat fighting foods is… cayenne pepper!

Cayenne pepper contains a chemical compound called capsaicin.  In addition to being what makes cayenne pepper spicy, it also may create a thermogenic effect in the body, causing you to burn a few extra calories and give you that fat burning edge.

Here are several more foods that burn fat to “spice” up your diet plans!

“How do I get started losing weight?”

My suggestion?

Start by making one change at a time.  One of the easiest changes to make is to add one vegetable serving to your daily routine.  Yes, you read that right, one per day.  As you get more comfortable with that change, add another serving per day until you are eating at least 8 vegetable servings per day.

Remember, you are making a lifestyle change, and old habits die hard.  Introduce the changes slowly and consistently, and you are more likely to keep them for the long term.

And keeping them for the long term is how you achieve permanent and lasting weight loss.

Speaking of medals, I came across this interesting and informative page at the New York Times which graphically displays medal counts by nation.  Click on the image below to check it out!

I took it upon myself to attempt to close this gap. I have started a medicine ball exercises database. I will be adding 2 or 3 exercises per day. I hope to have more than 30 exercises up before the end of the month. This would make it one of, if not the most, comprehensive medicine ball exercise databases on the internet.

I am also setting a goal of a post a day for the next 30 days. You guys hold me accountable!

It turns out that your mother was right.  Chewing your food 15 to 20 times per mouthful can decrease your caloric intake significantly.

In this study, subjects who ate at their normal speed ate about 650 calories worth of pasta in 9 minutes.  During a second visit to the lab, they were instructed to chew their food 15 to 20 times.

The results?

They consumed about 580 calories… over 29 minutes!

In addition to eating 70 less calories, they also reported feeling more satisfied.

So, the moral of the story is two fold:

1.) Chew your food 15 to 20 times per bite to slow your eating and therefore cut calories, even when eating your favorite foods…

and

2.) Listen to your mother.

The trick, however, is to physically put the fork (or spoon, or knife) down between each and every bite.  This tip works by slowing your eating down.  Many of us literally shovel our food into our mouthes and eat way, way, too fast.

There is a delay between the time we eat, and the time our stomachs trigger our brain to let us know that it is full.  Therefore, by slowing our eating process, we give more time for that signal to occur.

But what if you are eating pizza or a burger?  Simple.  Between every bite, put that slice down.  Set the burger back on the plate.

Make eating more deliberate, and you will feel full faster, and eat less as a result.  For many of us, it is not depriving ourselves of the foods we love, but simply eating less of them that is an excellent first step to a healthier, fitter lifestyle.

You can change the angle of the bench from 90 degrees, to incline, to flat, to decline to target (respectively) the shoulders, the upper chest, the overall pectoral region, and the lower chest.

In addition to angle variation, grip width and angle plays an important role in muscle activation.  A recent study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 587–591), looked at how varying grip width and angle affects muscle activation during the bench press.

A reverse grip bench press (this is an advanced move with the palms facing toward you) resulted in increased activity for the biceps and the upper section of the chest.  As you narrow your grip, your triceps activity is increased and inner portion of you chest sees less work.

Contrast this with the pronated grip (this is the normal grip for a bench press).   Moving to a narrower grip increased both the triceps involvement as well as increased inner chest work.

The chest and shoulder girdle are complex, and as a result, need to be target from many different angles to achieve maximum work. Not to mention, that a new angle will add a little variety to your workout session and make it slightly less monotonous.

I have been pushing hard the last couple of months to get my main website to where it needs to be, but alas, I have neglected the loyal readers of my blog here at WordPress.

I am in a good spot right now, so here I am again, blogging away on all things building muscle and burning fat, trying out new concepts for my main site.

I also wanted to give a big warm shout out to my friends in the ‘sphere:

The Queen of TaeBo herself: Limenade and Watermelon

and

The Man with the Shrinking Waist: WaistLoss (who seems to have pulled a Middle Manager type disappearing act as of late…)

Thank you both for your support, and keep fighting the good fight!

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Visit this blog often for the best muscle building and fat burning science.

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Read the Biggest Loser Blog Now.

Saturday: 3,283

Friday:2,758

Thursday: 2,826

Wednesday: 2,874

Tuesday: 11,825

Monday: 5,337

As you can see, I had some time on Tuesday, and it was a good day at work.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were brutal with meetings all day.  Next week is going to be similar… dying a slow death by meeting…

Total steps since last update: 28,903

Total feet: 57,806

Total miles: 10.95

Distance to date: 42.08 miles

That doesn’t look too shabby. But it could be better.  Much, much better.

When we last saw our tennis shoed crusader, he has 25.54 miles complete.  After two days of walking, where do we find our hero on Monday?

We find him with 6,953 steps on Saturday, and 7,796 steps on Sunday for a weekend total of… drumroll…

14,749 steps

or…

29,498 feet

or…

5.59 miles!

Still not good enough to complete the 500 miles by year end, but, my feet are feeling better.  I am going to hop on the elliptical trainer tonight to get in some steps as well.  Gotta keep moving!

Total miles to date? 31.13 miles

Will our t-shirted wanderer succeed?  Tune in to the same bat station tomorrow and everyday to find out!

To reiterate yesterday’s tip on proper form when lifting weight, it is often the negative portion of a lift that is neglected (bouncing on the bench press, dropping the weight on deadlifts, etc.), and as a result, building muscle is slowed significantly.

To build muscle fast, be sure to concentrate and lower your weights in a controlled method to completely work and fatigue the muscle for more efficient muscle building.