Obesity increases a person’s risk for developing several serious obesity-related health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, thyroid disease, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and diabetes. In addition, childhood obesity affects more than 15 percent of the population under 18 years old classified as overweight. 3

It’s no wonder fad diets have become so popular as people look for the easy way out. In a time and age where many households are seeing both parents working, something as simple as sitting down for a home-cooked family dinner at 5:00 pm is nearly impossible nowadays. There is such an emphasis on competing with the Jones’, that people are often working harder and harder, longer and longer, to achieve financial success that has become the norm in our society.

The weight-loss industry is estimated to be a $50 billion a year industry. 4 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that at any given time two-thirds of all American adults are on a diet to either lose weight or prevent weight gain. Of those, 29 percent are men and 44 percent women. Yet only 5 percent of these dieters will be successful at keeping the weight that they lost off. 5

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that each day Americans spend an average of $109 million on dieting or diet related products, including tapes, videos, supplements, books, foods, and medications. 5

Often times people find themselves cycling from fad diet to fad diet because many of them show results initially, but most people bounce back to pre-diet weight or more once the diet has ended.

Ultimately, this cycle does not produce long-term results and often ends up with the person gradually gaining weight as their bodies re-adjust to the calorie deficits once the diet has finished. By fad-dieting, people often lose sight of their long-term goals for a quick fix.

The most healthy, in-shape people rarely “diet” as it is defined. These people eat a wide variety of food and as many as 6 meals a day and exercise at least 3-4 times a week — usually a combination of weight training and cardio activity. Many of them also allow themselves a “cheat meal” once a week, where they get to eat something a little less healthy.

Taking this approach can actually enable a person to safely lose between 2-3 lbs of fat a week, and research has shown that individuals who lose body fat slowly are much more likely to keep it off permanently. 6

Minor adjustments to your diet can also have dramatic cumulative results as long as a person is willing and determined enough to keep those changes over the long run.
Ditching soda, for example, for tea or flavored waters can often result in a loss of several pounds within just a few weeks. Substituting in complex carbs like oatmeal and brown rice for simple carbs like white rice and white bread, can also allow people to shed fat. In fact, finding foods that you can substitute for junk food is one of the most effective ways of cleaning up your diet and losing body fat for good. And you won’t starve yourself in the process or put your health at risk. 6

Finally, a very solid way to ensure weight loss is done safe and properly can be seen in a formula I often propose to people who ask on A1 forums. Eat 1 – 1.5 grams of protein for each pound of bodyweight. Eat ½ your weight in carbs (complex) each day. Eat 10 times your body weight in calories each day along with exercising 3-4 times a week. If you don’t see the results to your satisfaction, subtract 10% until you are reaching your goals.

1. Mokdad, A., et. al., Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000. JAMA, 2004; 291:1238-1245
2. National Institutes of Health: National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases. “Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity: The Economic Costs.” win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/index.htm
3. Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;288:1728–1732.
4. Kovacs, Betty, MS, RD. Caffeine. www.medicinenet.com
5. AnswerFitness.com
6. Fad Diets: Why They are Bad and How to Spot Them. answerfitness.com

Busted: While it is true that creatine has a hydration requirement because it draws water to you muscle cells. That hydration requirement isn’t any highter than the 1-2 gallons of water you should be drinking everyday for sports in the heat. And contrary to popular belief, b/c creatine can hold intramuscular water, it actually increases your bodies ability to maintain proper temprature in the heat, aiding in performance.

Myth: I heard creatine only gives you water muscle.

Busted: you muscles are 70% water to begin with. But what creatine does is increase strength (thereby increasing performance in the gym) and stimulate satellite cells (cells that aid in repair and building muscle tissue). It does cause muscle volumization (optimizing muscle size) and water retention which can be lost after a cycle is done, but the muscle you gain won’t be lost.

Myth: I don’t like creatine b/c i heard it has side effects like kidney stones, or muscle tears.

Busted: Unless you have a genetic predisposition to kidney infection or related diseases or you use a dosage well outside the recommendation, you should be fine. Recent research suggests there is no longer a need for a loading phase as long as creatine is taken properly. A long term creatine study was done on men and women to seek out evidence of the word of mouth side effects.

No such side effects were discovered…

Cycle on and off your creatine (2-4 wks on, 2-4 wks off) so your body doesn’t become accustomed to the constantly elevated creatine phosphate levels…

Betancourt Nutrition uses di-creatine-malate, it is proven more bioavailable than creatine monohydrate and with less water retention while providing equal if not superior work capacity.

2. Humor – Laugh and have fun. Working out can become monotonous and droll. Keep a smile even when the testosterone kicks in and work on a plan to have fun in your workout.

3. Plan – Find a workout plan for you. Each person likes different things, so adventure a little bit and try some classes if you’re unsure where to start or just want to liven things up. Cycling, cross fit, dance, whatever it maybe be as long as your moving your body and feeling great.

4. EAT – Your body is constantly eating at something. So feed it what it needs and sometimes with what you want. You have probably seen enough T.V to understand what is healthy to eat and what is not, so find out the healthy foods you like and learn to live with it. Supplements do help when you miss out on certain vitamins in food or when you’re trying to fight you genes, not jeans. Now on that same note enjoy certain fried and ice cream foods in moderation, these produce happiness too. Here is a suggestion, pack your lunch to save money and from eating crap foods when at work or vacation.

5. Drinking? – Not alcohol I hope, although most people will tell you it is healthy. I myself enjoy a beer every now and then, but drinking everyday is not in the productive part of life. Drinking water is, and beneficial to making all your body parts work. So replace your Monster or beer with a bottle of water and quench your body’s thirst.

6. Time – This category fits into everything. People never have enough time, except to smoke, TV break, video games, movies, school, kids, and life in general. Excuses will only waste time. MAKE TIME WORK FOR YOU. Even if you think you have no time for physical activity. One basic activity everyone forgets about is the ancient workout called walking. 30 minutes of walking is better than 30 minutes of driving.

7. Sacrifice – Make one you lazy person. Sacrifice your crappy routine of waking up, working, TV, eating, and sleeping for something productive to your health. That goes for the workout nuts too. Part of being healthy is having a life. Life is composed of many things, not just the gym.

8. New And Old Workouts – Every time someone finds a new workout that works to lose weight, it becomes the craze. GREAT! Try it out. If it’s not for you, try something old that has been going on for a while. Jogging, sports, and lifting weights have seemed to work for a long time. Face your fears of trying something new or of trying something at all.

9. Got Fat? – Good, everybody has fat, don’t be ashamed to get out do stuff because you think your too fat or look ugly. Get over yourself and think about long term as in being healthy and happy. You will always have fat on your body so get used to it even if your insecure or a cardio junkie. So feel good about yourself and remember that there is a difference between being overweight and having fat.

10. Motivation – Keep yourself and others motivated to have fun by staying fit. This includes your kids, spouse, friends, and family. You don’t have to pay a trainer to provide motivation. Find a friend or friends who stay active and ask to get involved in what they do. Its free and fun. Not all activities are fun, so stay positive and you will be happy healthy and hopefully one day fit, if not already.

First, they can replace high-wattage light bulbs in their buildings and offices for compact fluorescent, they can also prominently display recycling receptacles in their gyms, stores, and manufacturing facilities. The janitors can also begin to use all-natural products to clean the floors and restrooms. Fitness gyms can replace all bottled drinks in their vending machines to Aquafina bottles made with 50% less plastic or any other bottled drink that is labeled as using recycled materials. They can begin using recycled paper to print on as well as using vegetable based inks in their printers. Gym’s can start sending more e-mail promotions as opposed to postcard mailers that a lot of people just throw away.

They can also install those faucets that only turn on when your hands are underneath, which would avoid faucets being left on for long periods of time. They can replace shower heads, and toilets, and water fountains to more water efficient ones. They can install solar panels. They can have hand driers instead of paper towels. All these things come at a high cost but the payout is even greater, most facilities that start implementing green initiatives will break even after at least 11 months with all their savings in energy and water bills, plus they will be helping the environment.

At home I always unplug everything when it is not being used: chargers, TV, computer, microwave, coffee maker, everything, with the exception of my refrigerator and stove! & my energy bill has never really been higher than 100 dollars. If gyms did this, it would save them a lot of money as well. Because even if something is turned off and not being used, it is still using power. When you are not using your microwave & the time is showing, you are using power. When you are not using your computer, & the little light is still flashing on it, it is using power. In gyms, when all the treadmills are not being used, but have lights and words scrolling through the screens, or the tv’s have their little standby light on, power is being wasted. If they just unplugged everything, they would all notice huge paybacks.

Supplement companies don’t need to give up plastic packaging, because paper is equally harmful to the environment, cutting down all those trees will have an even bigger impact on our earth & compromising supplements for paper packaging would be a bad move. Honestly, you would not buy vitamins in a paper bag. What I do believe though is in making more efficient packaging, Volumaize and Introvol for example, come in plastic bottles, inside of a cardboard box ? totally un necessary. Pill bottles do not need to be in cardboard boxes either. They can use thinner plastic, or fill bottles completely. They can use recycled materials. There are many many endless things that there supplement and vitamin manufactures can change.

Sending back empty bottles sounds like a good idea, but think about it – consumers would have to pay for shipping, if manufactures did it, they would spend money they really don’t need to. Consumers would have to package their bottles most likely in a cardboard box, which would totally contradict the idea of going green because more and more cardboard would be sent and wasted.

People need to learn to re use these things themselves. Keep cardboard boxes and use them at a later time. Keep the plastic protein bottles and use it as a piggy bank, or cut the top off and plant a flower in it. I use an old 5lb protein bottle to put rice inside because the plastic bag it comes in spills all over my pantry all the time, and one for dry beans. I also use one to keep change in. I buy cereal bags with a zipper on the top and if the zipper breaks I put it in one of my plastic bottles so that it won’t get stale. You can put so many things inside of these bottles. Sugar, flour, dry pasta, baking powder, the possibilities are endless. We are depending so much on manufactures and companies to go green when we should really start with ourselves.

As far as paying more for these “green” products, it really would just depend. Going green doesn’t mean going expensive. The plastic aquafina bottles that use less plastic aren’t more expensive than regular water bottles. So I wouldn’t expect a huge price increase for these green products.

Equipment wise, one of the leaders of the fitness industry is Cybex. You’ll see a lot of their equipment in big chain gyms like 24 Hour Fitness, Gold’s Gym, and Powerhouse Gym just to name a few. [1]“Cybex is striving to be more eco-friendly and showing they can lead the way. They have taken steps such as building a state of the art 3.5 million dollar electrostatic painting system that uses energy efficient motors and keeps paint proportionally distributed for less waste. They have installed a water recycling system that re-uses water over and over during this process to reduce waste water. This process helps lower mercury pollution and greenhouse gases. Along with these advancements, Cybex has utilized advanced building design and heavy insulation to lower overall costs by 25%. Part of this building design is an abundance of windows to help utilize more natural light. When artificial light is needed, they have installed state of the art HID Holophane lighting to reduce both overall cost and energy. This saves the company, its customers and the environment in the process. Cybex has also seeded its acreage surrounding their new facility to create an environment to support both foliage and wildlife.” Like at Cybex, I see a lot more gyms putting in more windows to support less artificial light and encourage more natural light use.

At gyms, so much money could possibly be saved and the environment less damaged. Lights could be switched over to LED’s or CFL’s to save electricity. Solar panels could be installed when needed and the savings over time would be passed on to the customer. Shower heads could be changed to use less water but still feel comfortable. In addition to energy saving lights, use motion sensor lighting. Why keep a light on when no one is there to use it? These are just a few things that companies could change to “go green” with equipment. These options are very simple and easy to do also.

Supplement wise, companies could increase the amount of pills in a bottle so you wouldn’t have to keep buying more often. For example, making only a 360 count pill bottle instead of having a 180 and 360 count. It would be more economically beneficial to the consumer and the producer in the long run. It would also save with plastics, paper, etc. Also, maybe create a program in which a customer could return empty bottles as a type of credit program. For example, after every 15 bottles you return, get 1 bottle of the same product for free to encourage recycling. Not only would it encourage recycling, it would promote customer loyalty and repeat business. It would be a win win situation for both customer and producer. Companies can also start using less plastic through bottling. I’ve always wondered why a powdered supplement bottle is always only 3/4 full. The rest is wasted plastic packaging.

I’ve bought many items through A1supplements.com and you guys have saved me a lot of money. However, one thing I always thought you guys didn’t need was to send those paper receipts. Personally, I think the email receipt is enough. I’m sure if you guys eliminated the paper receipts sent in the box, a lot of money spent on paper would be saved which would then assist in the amount of trees being used to make paper.

To answer the original question, YES, I would pay more. Of course, I know that taking the initiative to “go green” will take some extra funds to use brand new technologies. In these economic times especially, everyone needs that extra help to pay for this or that. I would support a company who would “go green” and would encourage others to do so as well. This has to be a combined effort not only 1 or 2 companies trying.

This is just several of many examples companies could do to try and help out and “go green.” Now imagine this, maybe not as much (but just a little helps), but with the thousands of fitness related companies doing just a little to help out? Everyone doing a little adds up to ALOT and will go a long way in saving our environment and our future.

The term “going green” is not something that should be used lightly. It is not just about cardboard and plastic and recycling, it’s much much more and much bigger than that. Going green is about reducing the negative impact we put on the earth and all of its resources. Going green in the fitness industry should go further than just supplement companies, and include gym facilities and workout equipment manufacturers.

Gym’s around the world have already jumped on the “green” bandwagon and are going “green” inside their fitness facilities. Recently a Les Mills Gym chain in New Zealand have installed intelligent lighting controls with smart sensors that switch off lights when there is sufficient daylight or areas are unoccupied. They have also changed to water efficient shower heads, faucets, and toilets, thus reducing their water consumption; they have also replaced outdated and inefficient hot water systems with new high efficiency boilers. These gyms have also started a recycling plan to use environmentally materials in the construction of future building works.

Philip Mills the chairman and founder of Les Mills International spoke about going green and even went as far as saying we should “green our bodies”, stating that we could substantially reduce healthcare cost if more people exercised everyday and ate nutritiously.

Les Mills is not the only gym doing its part in preserving our environment, gyms around the world are all making efforts to reduce their negative impact and energy waste on the earth.

Cybex, one of the largest fitness equipment manufactures is also going green. I’m positive you have seen some of their fitness equipment at your local gym. They have built a state of the art electrostatic painting system that uses energy efficient motors and keeps painting proportionally distributed; they have also implemented a water recycling system that re-uses water over and over to reduce water waste. By doing this they have drastically lowered their mercury pollution and greenhouse gases.

Gyms, fitness equipment manufacturers, and vitamin and supplement manufacturers can do many many easy things to help our environment. Which include but are not limited to;

1. Replacing light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs or light emitting diodes and turning off lights and other devices when they are not being used.
2. Having more windows in their businesses and using more natural light.
3. Putting heavy insulation in buildings to lower cooling and heating costs.
4. Planting more plants and trees outside their buildings.
5. Buying recycled paper, sending out documents to staff in emails instead of paper letters.

The supplement manufacturing industry should implement all of these energy conservation tips to their factories. By simply using recycled plastic, paper, and cardboard for the packaging of all their products they would drastically reduce their carbon footprint on earth. I don’t think supplement formulas should be compromised just because Muscletech’s Nano Vapor is in bigger packaging than USP Labs – Jack3d. But they could begin to replace synthetic ingredients with organic or natural ones, that are a lot better for my body and for the earth.

Now Foods for example has tons of organic vitamins and supplements. Which is a hundred times better for my body and will probably produce better results in the long run and still manage to have some of the lowest prices around for their vitamins and supplements.

So, as far as paying more for supplements made with “green packaging, energy and technology” – I don’t think that during this economy would be the right time to increase prices of the supplements we buy everyday. Going green might come at a high expense initially to these companies, but they will save thousands of dollars in the long run on energy and water conservation alone. So I would expect somewhat lower prices for their products. Its not true that everything made from green technology needs to be more expensive.

With polar ice caps melting and glaciers floating to waters they never have been in, going green is on everyone’s minds these days. The Earth is becoming smaller due to more people inhabiting the planet and we are consuming more which causes more waste. I personally have dealt with my own Eco-friendly work with building LEED buildings or green buildings to help relieve the stress and abuse done to the Earth by us all. It is ironic for me to hear a popular coined phrase using the word green in front of a supplement and how it’s an idea to help the environment. The idea of going green with our supplements is catchy and a real good idea since most all the containers are made of plastic and are non-biodegradable.

The fact that so many supplements are being consumed and distributed it is a wonder why so many companies use the unfriendly to the environment thick plastic packaging. To think of how the huge plastic bottles are oversized and half filled is so much a waste. A lot of people would be happier with a filled container and can use a smaller one to easily carry in their gym bag. The cost would actually become cheaper for the companies to package this way due to lighter distribution and less bottles being used. It makes me think of Jack3d, which is a great new product, and how it comes in a small full container. I’m guessing the companies that make the bigger, half full bottles are companies that want you to think your getting a huge bottle of something. The fact that people who make supplements with the main stream idea of going green at it’s core and how excess is just for show and not really needed would be so great for us all. I like the direction the market is taking and we are trimming the fat so to speak. We evolve and become streamlined. It would be a great thing to package supplements in a foil pack or a plastic ziploc bag like you get a lot of the multivitamins in. The new NOxplode NT is one that is boxed in a thin recyclable cardboard with the product individually packaged in single foil packs. It would be an easy change for all companies to start doing but don’t because the bigger companies
could care less of regulations they are not required to do. I would like to see a green company get a product that is widely demanded and make going green come to fruition. It will not be the little companies that step up and will start this trend. It will have to come from the big boys like BSN and Muscle Tech. It is also these companies that are incasing plastic containers with cardboard to primp up there old/new products to make even more waste. It is imperative that the FDA and government regulate these companies to incorporate a mandate for unnecessary use of such material. People are afraid to say that the government should step in, in fear of them stepping on too many toes and taking over it all. I hate to see everything governed but on this issue it is for the good of our children’s future, that is why we must let them come in and make an effort to cut down on usage of all non-recyclables.

The supplement companies are growing into a massive industry. As far as producing and shipping supplements goes I feel it is done pretty well by using recyclable cardboard boxes to deliver in. I do feel the government and FDA needs to monitor all distributions and manufacturing plants due to there is a strong need for control and to make sure any chemicals are not being disposed of hazardly to make any of the products. Some big companies in other industries have been known to cut corners to stay afloat. If history repeats itself we can see some of these big plants like these contaminating the waters by dumping chemicals into our waterways. Anything could be possible due to the amount of money being made and how that leads to greed.

Thanks to internet and paperless services, it is a great way to get supplements and become eco friendly. The cause is simple and is a good reason for us to change before what we do is irreversible. It might be the greatest lesson of all to be green minded for the future. I hope we will not have to make our future descendants pay the price of our negligence.

But then a study came out a couple of weeks ago that changed the way I think about fasting. I read about it in InteliHealth, a newsletter that publishes medical findings. They have never promoted fasting, and probably wouldn’t recommend it (that’s the general medical stance on fasting — it’s dangerous). In other words, InteliHealth has no vested interest in saying fasting is great. And yet this study is remarkable.

The experiment was conducted by Mark Mattson and his team at the National Institute on Aging. Mattson fed mice nothing every other day. The mice could eat as much as they wanted on the days in between, and they did. They pigged out. They ended up eating very nearly double what normal mice eat in a day.

But fasting every other day caused them to live longer and healthier lives. A lot longer and a lot healthier. The researchers don’t exactly know what to make of it. Mattson said, “We think what happens is going without food imposes a mild stress on the cells, and cells respond by increasing their ability to cope with more severe stress.” He said maybe it’s similar to what happens when you lift weights: You stress your muscles and they respond by growing stronger.

Near the very end of the study, they injected all the mice (those fasting every other day, and those eating a normal diet) with a toxin that damages the cells in the same part of the brain Alzheimer’s damages in humans (the hippocampus). Mattson and his team later looked at the brains of the mice and found that those that had been fasting every other day suffered less damage to their brain cells.

This study made me think maybe all the claims in these fasting books might not be ridiculous. At least some of it might be true.

I’ve been thinking about this. It seems likely that at least an occasional state of hunger would have been fairly common throughout our evolution. Our bodies might be adapted to it. Maybe it creates unnatural problems when the body doesn’t ever go hungry. Maybe eating three square meals a day, every day, is unnatural.

Up until the first time I fasted, I had gone my whole life without ever going even one day without food, and very rarely even went twelve hours without food. That ain’t natural.

For the millions of years mammals have been evolving and right up to our invention of agriculture a short ten thousand years ago, mammals often went hungry many times in an individual’s lifetime. Surely our bodies have evolved to handle this. Maybe that’s why it is totally accepted by most people in the health profession that human beings gain about a pound a year. Maybe that is part of the body’s adaptation to the inevitable lean times the eons have adapted us to.

In other words, eating plenty of food every day is probably unnatural for mice as well as for people. An occasional fast might very well be more natural and very good for us.

Here’s a list of some documented benefits:

1. Initiates rapid weight loss with little or no hunger. Most people are surprised at how little desire for food they have while fasting.
2. Promotes detoxification. As the body breaks down its fat reserves, it mobilizes and eliminates stored toxins.
3. Gives the digestive system a much-needed rest. After fasting, both digestion and elimination are invigorated.
4. Promotes the resolution of inflammatory processes, such as in rheumatoid arthritis.
5. Quiets allergic reactions, including asthma and hay fever.
6. Promotes the drying up of abnormal fluid accumulations, such as edema in the ankles and legs and swelling in the abdomen.
7. Corrects high blood pressure without drugs. Fasting will normalize blood pressure in the vast majority of cases, the blood pressure will remain low after the fast, if the person follows a health-supporting diet and lifestyle.
8. Makes it easy to overcome bad habits and addictions. Many people have overcome tobacco and alcohol addictions by fasting, and even drug addictions. Fasting rapidly dissipates the craving for nicotine, alcohol, caffeine and other drugs.
9. Clears the skin and whitens the eyes. It is common to see skin eruptions clear while fasting, and the whites of the eyes never look so clear and bright as they do after fasting.
10. Restores taste appreciation for wholesome natural foods. People say that their taste buds come alive after fasting and that food never tasted so good.
11. Is the perfect gateway to a healthful diet and lifestyle. Going on a fast gives you the motivation and enthusiasm to make a fresh start.

Some fasting diets involve drinking only water or eating only raw foods for a period of one or more days, while others restrict food on alternate days. Certain fasting diets allow liquids like water, juice, or tea, while others dramatically cut calories but don’t eliminate food altogether. Would bodybuilders benefit from fasting???

Losing Weight:

Yes, because fasting dramatically decreases ones caloric intake, the body is forced to use fat & protein for fuel. However, the longer the fasting period, the more adaptable the body gets, and surely will begin to slow metabolism in order to conserve energy. Eventually, when the fasting period is over and one reverts back to their diet, the wieght loss will be put right back on. Research has shown that fasting on alternate days can help people lose weight, but not for long. In one study, people who followed an alternate-day fasting diet shed pounds, even when they ate all they wanted on the non-fasting days. However, they couldn’t maintain the weight loss over time. And if you did loose weight, where do you think it would come from? Not only fat stores, but MUSCLE stores as well, which is a bodybuilders nightmare!

Detoxify The Body?

Some fasting diets claim that they can cleanse the body of impurities. However, there’s no evidence that fasting detoxifies your body, or that your body even needs to be detoxified. It is naturally designed to remove toxins through the skin (sweating), liver, colon, and kidneys.

As bodybuilders, we consume plenty of fibers from oats to veggies galore…there is NO NEED to “detoxify” our bodies, as we are one of the healthiest sub population in the world. Follow your instincts!!!

Longevity

Studies of fasting in both rodents and humans appear to indicate a connection between calorie restriction and longevity. In one study of overweight men and women, a calorie-restricted diet improved markers of aging, such as insulin level and body temperature.
Fasting might also improve longevity by delaying the onset of age-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and diabetes. One study showed that skipping meals once a month as the Mormons do reduces the risk of Coronary artery disease. However, it’s not clear from this research whether fasting alone or the Mormons’ generally healthier lifestyle (they also abstain from coffee, alcohol, and smoking) is responsible for the improved heart health.

Researchers don’t yet know whether the effects of fasting translate into an actual increase in lifespan, because they haven’t followed people for long enough periods of time.

Safety

Fasting for a day or two likely won’t hurt people who are generally healthy. However, fasting for long periods of time can be harmful. Your body needs a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from food to stay healthy. Self deprivation of these nutrients can lead to fatigue, dizziness, constipation, dehydration, gallstones, and cold intolerance. It’s possible to die if you fast too long.

Fasting for Bodybuilders: Good or Bad

I’m sorry folks, but personally, I am totally against fasting/colon clensing. We have a Gastrointestinal tract for a reason. We NEED daily consumption of food to function optimally. As bodybuilders, this is a NONO!!! Think about it? Everything from books to the pros with years of experience advocate to eat at least 5 if not more than 7 meals per day. Why would we cut this down to ZERO??? Something so drastic would only lead to muscle catabolism as well as unproductive workouts!

As bodybuilders we must EAT EAT EAT!!! in order to GROW GROW GROW! This is one hard and fast rule I stand by.

Alternatives?

If bodybuilders want to “clense” their gastrointestinal tract, I would recommend upping fiber consumption and decreasing fat (especially saturated fat) intake. This would be more reasonable than cutting all foods out of the equation. Protein should always be kept at maximal intake, as no other sport requires the dietary demand of protein as bodybuilding!

Fasting. Another F word that health-conscious people are wary about aside of course from the ever stubborn fat. Diet and fast just don’t come along quite well. Much more with bodybuilding. Most bodybuilders would smirk at the idea of fasting as part of a regular routine arguing that a bodybuilder needs to have a continuous intake of protein and nutrients to prevent muscles from breaking itself down and being used as energy fuel. But this has been more of a myth than fact. Want to know why? Just stick it out with the rest of my piece.

What You Don’t Know

Do you love meats? How about eggs and milk? Hmmm. How about that protein packed low fat cottage cheese? You surely loved those stuffs especially if you are into bodybuilding and have decided that you need to build more mass on your physique. My question would be, do you also take enough fibers on your diet? Why do I ask this? Simple. If you don’t have enough dietary fibers on your meal plan, chances are you have already stock piled more than enough toxins in your intestines for you to be considered as hazardous. Hmm. That’s an exaggeration. But the truth is not that far from it. Those dairy products and meat that you consume every freaking day believing that it would build mass and make you healthier without taking in enough fibers in your diet actually ends up hurting your body than helping it. You might probably have built enough toxins in your belly and intestines that could qualify into some forms of cancer causing gunk. Studies show that most obese have enough of this intestinal garbage that causes them to be at least 20 pounds overweight.

Now What?

Now that you have already learned what most people don’t know, would you also want to find out how to get rid of this intestinal gunk? Simple and short answer. Fast.

Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. It is normally an abstention from hard and solid foods as you let the body cleanse out itself from all those toxins brought about by an unhealthy diet and lifestyle. Fasting is also used in a medical context to refer to the state achieved after digestion of a meal. A number of metabolic adjustments occur during fasting and many medical diagnostic tests are standardized for fasting conditions.

The body is a highly adaptable and natural machine. It adapts to its environment in the course of time and it has its own natural healing machinery. Fasting is necessary to jumpstart this healing process. You see, fasting flushes out toxins from your body. It helps to rest the digestive tract and in lowering blood lipids. It has been proven to lower blood sugar, lower cholesterol and it do helps in the lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, in Islam, fasting is highly-recommended for the treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity, and essential hypertension. This is because during the fasting period, the body systematically cleanses itself of everything except vital tissue.

Fasting allows you to refocus and reconnect to your body. You may have been so focused on work and food that you forgot to check whether your body is still at a level that would help you attain much of the goals that you have set in your life. The body goes where you lead it. And by maintaining a lifestyle that hurts your body, you minimizes your chance of becoming happy in the near future. Fasting is like a reboot button on your desktop that helps your body recharge and recover.

But Isn’t Hurting My Muscles?

I don’t want to lie about it. You would be and would surely lose some of those muscles you have built through training. But the question would be, how much mass would it be? In my opinion, not much. Especially if you would be adopting a continuing workout program while on fast. A couple of pounds for a one week cleansing diet program surely won’t be a cause for alarm in terms of muscle loss. If you keep on hitting the gym and pumping on those irons, the muscle loss would be very minimal. Not zero but minimal. Much like losing on a dime out of your month’s worth of salary. You know that I’m kidding right?

Have you heard about the one they called intermittent fasting? If you are a hardcore bodybuilder, you may have come across this one. What is this? This is a method of fasting wherein the 24 hours in a day are broken into two different parts. The 16 hour fast and the 8 hours of overeating. It wouldn’t be good if I’ll be discussing it here since this topic is not about it but in a nutshell, this rather unique and controversial system of fasting has done wonders to those who dared tried it. Just go to Google and type intermittent fasting if you don’t believe me.

The bottom line on this is that the benefits you get from fasting easily outweigh the concerns for muscle and mass loss. Muscle loss that you could and would definitely be able to regain after say a one week cleansing fast via a consistent and proper workout routine.

Tell Me More

I think I have already gotten you curious about this, haven’t I? Well, since I know I got your full attention now, let me add some more cream on the pudding.

Fasting and bodybuilding, contrary to what other believes, can go and work together hand in hand. You see, both have the same objective. To keep the body healthy and the mind alert. So why would two things having the same goal fail to blend perfectly with each other? The secret is knowing how to make them work together.

Like a vintage Volkswagen that could reach a top speed of 120 km/h with proper engine tune up and calibration, our body, once rightfully figured out, could heap the benefits of both a well-timed fasting and a properly scheduled bodybuilding routine. And one perfect example was the type of fasting I have mentioned on the preceding topic of this article. The intermittent fasting.

A controversial method during its inception (actually until this very moment), Intermittent Fasting met quite a resistance especially in the bodybuilding world when it was introduced during the last half of 2007. The idea of depriving our body with the right caloric intake as we through those heavy plates around went against traditional concepts of eating at least 6 meals a day to gain mass and lean muscle mass. But as history has shown, this rather radical principle has recorded significant success to those who tried it.

Tell Me How It Works

Intermittent fasting has at least two common ways; the condensed window and the 24 off 24 on variation. This is how they work.

The condensed window is a method that allows a person to fast at least 15 hours a day then overfeed the body within the 8 hour window. This method allows maximum absorption of the needed caloric intake condensed in the prescribed 8 hour window.

The other variation, the 24 on 24 off method, is basically self-explanatory. From the name itself, it means to fast for a full 24 hours then start the eating cycle on the 25th hour. This variation which is also known as alternate day fast is considered as easier to follow since the meal preparations and intake are spread throughout the whole day 24 hours after you last had your meal.

The question is, did it worked for bodybuilders? You would probably be astonished to find out that most of those who successfully used this technique were fitness experts and full-time bodybuilders. And all of them agrees that intermittent fasting coupled with a good and regular workout routine produces unprecedented fat loss and lean muscle gains.

What Are You Still Waiting For? FAST

Now that you have already learned the benefits of pausing for a while and giving your midsection it’s much deserved break, will you still keep on chit chatting and dilly dallying on your couch while watching your favorite TV show and waiting for the clock to hit 7 and start your daily cycle of eating frenzy? Or would you go straight to the market, buy yourself some pretty good fruits and vegetables, throw some into the blender then take a sip as you let nature’s process take over your body for a while. Or if you are like me, an old-fashioned bodybuilder who loves losing weight but hates losing mass, then take on the intermittent fasting approach. You approach fat like a double barrel shotgun, lose fat while gaining lean and strong muscles without depriving yourself the luxury of eating anything you want.

This is what the word relaxation and replenishing really means. And I guarantee you that at the end of it all, you’ll be more that what you used to be in terms of physical energy, appeal and mental focus.

Live, FAST and enjoy the rest of the way.