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.

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.

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.

Those who say that bodybuilding ain’t about supplements is partly right yet totally wrong. See, attitude, genetics and discipline are the basic foundations of bodybuilding. But supplements, the right one at that, gives one the decisive edge over the other. Tell me a champion bodybuilder who doesn’t have his/her own supplement stack and I’ll show you a liar. Let us see how important these supplements are.

Pre-workout Supplement With Fat Burning Effects

You work 8 hours a day. Travel for an hour and a half then you hit the gym. After a long stressful day at work, the big question would be, do you still have the energy to last a full 60-minute workout? What? Are you kidding me? Only Superman can. Even The Batman hits the sack straight from his nightly patrol of Gotham. So what do we need? A good and reliable pre-workout supplement.

NO (nitric oxide) supplements have gained quite a following since they initially debuted on the market as a supplement. This is because NO is a tool for promoting increased lean mass, enhancing fast twitch muscle, quicker recovery and improved strength.

The past few months has seen the rise of various NO pre-workout products. But for me, I recommend two namely Gaspari SuperPump 250 and new VPX NO Shotgun. The good thing about these two products is the fact that aside from giving you full pumped up energy, better focus and added boost of power, both products comes with fat burning compounds that helps you burn those flabs while building up mass. It’s like hitting 2 birds in 1 stone. And this has been attested to by individual clinical studies specially with VPX NO Shotgun’s V3 which comes with the reliable VPX Redline formula. SuperPump tastes better which is the reason why I always keep a tub of these 2 in my stack. SuperPump comes at $37.95 per 40 servings while NO Shotgun V3 sells for $41.95/1.43 lbs.

Post-workout Supplements

Whether you’re trying to build muscle or lose weight, post workout nutrition and supplementation is arguably the most vital factor in how fast you get results. The key to muscle growth is effective and complete muscle recovery. You have to give your body the support it needs, when it needs it, to get results fast.

The goal of proper post-workout nutrition is to quickly and efficiently refuel the muscles and then provide them with the raw materials they need to rebuild themselves to be bigger and stronger.

A sports drink like Gatorade, which you could get for less than $3 at just about anywhere, is a good first step in post-workout nutrition. It will act to quickly replace energy stores, replace lost nutrients and also create an insulin spike more on the importance of insulin.

Providing the body with a quality protein source is comes next in the post-workout supplementation list and it should follow the first step at the quickest possible time. This is where a quality protein whey product comes in like that of the ON 100 Gold Standard Whey Protein powder which sells for $19.95/2 lbs which is arguably the best whey protein product out there.

Your post-workout meal should be loaded with both protein and carbohydrates. While protein builds muscle, do not forget the important role carbohydrates play in the process. Carbs provide the much-needed insulin spike that provides the body with an excellent transport system for the nutrients to reach the muscle cells. For this one, I recommend Universal Torrent which costs just $31.95/3 lbs. These is probably the most complete Post-Workout drink out there that comes packed with the needed carbo, insulin, and of course, your complete creatine requirement in a day. The only downside? The taste.

Multivitamins

Whether you are regularly hitting the irons in the gym or your plain average joe, taking the right dose of multivitamins everyday should be a no-brainer. In fact, no one in their proper state of mind should go on his / her day without this very important supplement. Multivitamins is the one that fuels our body’s energy and immune system to combat regular grinds in our day. It increases our immune system, acts as good anti-oxidants and keeps our heart healthy. I suggest NOW Liquid Multi Gels which sells at $9.75/60 caps via A1Supplements.com which, in my own opinion, gives better value to your money.

Cracking Joints

Do you hear your joints cracking when you do that overhead barbell press? Or when you try that 120 kg. squats? Chances are, your joints are either too weary for what you are trying to do or they are all dried up and are too stubborn to follow your movements. With this, I strongly recommend that you add a joint support supplement like Dymatize Joint Repair 60 Caplets for just $13.95.

Final Notes

Now, the above things I listed are just it. Supplements. Which means, do not miss out on your whole food diet. Supplements, from the word itself, only serves to add that needed energy surge, that needed recovery matrix and that needed support for your body that can’t be filled in by whole foods. But missing out the whole ones for supps is a bad, bad idea. Also, if you noticed, I don’t have any intra-workout supplement. You know why? Because I believe that the best thing to take during workouts is water. Our body is 90% water so replenishing your muscles with water ensures that your body and muscles are well hydrated for the tough grind.

And one more. They are called workout supplements. Meaning, you need to work your butt out in the gym when you take them to get the best results possible. You can’t simply take those supps and do nothing else for they are supplements for your workout and your daily nutrition.

Unfortunately, if you buy into the hype you may end up getting ripped off. Money is precious to all and you shouldn’t supplement anything extraneous before buying your staple supplements. What exactly is a staple supplement? It’s simply something that the fitness freak must have in his or her arsenal at all times. Below are the top three things that I believe people should supplement at all times:

1. Protein, Protein, (WHEY) Protein! : If you’re thinking about spending your money on any supplement and you don’t have protein in your pantry already then you might as well just stop working out entirely. Protein is a universal supplement, beneficial to all. We all need it post-workout and we may even need to supplement throughout the day depending on how available we are to cook regular meals. The one time when you must have a good whey protein is after you’ve completed your workout. The “anabolic window”, as some call it, is the period between after your workout up until two hours after your workout where your body will use a large amount of protein to replenish and build muscle. Whey protein is the fastest digesting protein and can get into your bloodstream in as fast as 30 minutes. Typically, people need to eat their body weight (formula is g of protein = weight in lbs.) everyday if they’re physically active. This means that if you’re not eating enough meals throughout the day you may need to supplement protein more times than just post-workout. Whatever the case, this is the first supplement you need to buy when stocking up on supplements. The best deals for protein usually run at lowest $30 + shipping over the internet for a 5 lb. (~75 serving) tub. Most even come with added BCAA (branched chain amino acids) which are very effective aids to the anabolic process.

2. Multivitamins : The multivitamin is the basic foundation of daily health and well being. Multivitamins are an all-in-one supplement that provide us numerous benefits ranging from a stronger immune system to skin health. The multivitamin will cover your general health needs and is most effective when taken daily over a long period of time to allow the vitamins and minerals to build up in your system. The multivitamin is easily taken when dosed first thing in the morning. Taking a multivitamin with food aids in it’s absorption and is in my opinion the best way to avoid stomach pain felt from taking such a supplement. You may notice that you haven’t been sick or aching for awhile after regularly taking your multivitamin. This is likely because you’ve built a strong vitamin and mineral balance within your body and your defenses are in full force! Multivitamins come as cheap as $3.99 for a month’s supply (NOW Daily One) on sites such as our very own A1supplements.com!

3. Omega-3 Fish Oil : Earlier in this article, I mentioned that there is no miracle pill. Fish Oil; however, may be as close as it gets if taken over a long, continuous amount of time. Omega-3 fatty acids (in fish oil) are proven to lower cholesterol and blood pressure among numerous other benefits such as: less pain, less inflammation, protect from stroke or heart attack, better brain/memory function, and less depression. Probably most amazing is how fish oil prevents the growth of cancer cells, thus having effects at preventing all forms of cancer. Athletically, fish oil can help lubricate dried out joints for added recovery. It’s a pretty amazing supplement and the best part is that it’s relatively cheap. Just about 1 gram of EPA-DHA omega-3 fish oil is necessary per day. Generally, two gelcaps will cover this dosage. Typical bottles contain 100 to 250 pills and run anywhere from $5-$18 depending on the brand and amount. Make sure that you buy the molecularly distilled fish oil as mercury poisoning from poor water conditions can contaminate cheaper fish oils.

But wait, what about creatine? I thought I needed that!

Creatine is a great supplement for bodybuilders and athletes alike, but it isn’t as much of a staple supplement as some would like to think. While creatine increases ATP (energy) and floods our muscles with water, it can become saturated like anything in our bodies after prolonged use. Generally, if one takes 5 grams of creatine for up to 21-30 days, the body will be saturated with creatine and you will need to cycle off of creatine for 2-3 weeks before you begin usage again. The problem with overloading on creatine is that you can raise creatinine levels in the body to the point where it’s toxic. Awhile back a buddy of mine had to go to the hospital because he took too much creatine in a short period of time and had creatinine levels through the roof! Don’t let this be you! Cycle your creatine!

My friends and I can never workout without N.O. (Nitric Oxide) products… I need them!

If you think that you need N.O. products for great energy in the gym, then you probably just told me that you’re not eating enough pre-workout. Chances are, that you’d buy food before any supplements (at least I hope you do!) and you have some good carbohydrates laying around (oats, pasta, whole wheats). Carbing up before a workout is essential for smooth energy when you’re throwing around iron. A good amount of carbs for me is 60 g of complex carbohydrates eaten about 1 hour and 15 minutes before I hit the gym. A good source for this is oats or whole grain toast. Make sure that you don’t eat excessive amounts of food before the gym as digestion may make you tired. 60 g of carbs is more than enough to do the trick for a 1-2 hour workout. The reason that most N.O. products give good “kicks” of energy is because they rely on excessive amounts of caffeine. While N.O. products with ingredients like AAKG or OKG are beneficial as vasodilators, they can’t provide consistent energy like a good carb up. Why do you think bodybuilders carb load for a pump before their competition instead of taking a N.O. booster? It’s simple science. The “food” pump beats all pumps!

I’m not willing to lose fat without a thermogenic or non-thermogenic fat burner.

It’s sad that most people depend on fat burning pills to aid in a major part of their weight loss or cutting goals instead of sticking with a solid diet and a good amount of cardio in addition to strength training. I prefer to cut weight by an unconventional high fat, low carb diet. It works wonders if you can run with 50-75 carbs a day and you get to eat all of the meat you want! I’m talking steak, chops, the works! Most bodybuilders have switched to high fat diets because it allows them to get enough protein in through lean and fatty sources alike (but “good” fatty sources such as eggs, nuts, etc.). Caffeine pills can be your best friend and are extremely cheap to buy. Take a dose before working out (200-400 mg) and you’ll have plenty of energy to power through your workout. If you’re caffeine sensitive natural alternatives such as green tea extract have natural thermogenic effects. But overall, I would stray away from non-FDA approved fat loss supplements as there are a lot of health risks involved in using them. Most of them disappoint users anyway and you have to use them just right to see little if any results.

Do you have joint issues?

If you have dry joints or have injured yourself in the past in this area you may want to add another staple supplement – joint support. Two things that have worked very well for me are Glucosamine and Chondrotion as well as Cissus Quadrangularis. Both of these supplements do a nice job lubricating dry joints and have better effects the longer you use them. Cissus even provides a nice muscle pump while working out – that’ll get the endorphins going! Both supplements are always at the top of people’s heads when you mention joint support. They’re proven winners. You can buy Glucosamine and Chondrotion at any drug store for about $11 a bottle and bulk Cissus is as cheap as $9.99 for 500 g if you look online.

Some Final Thoughts…

Never, ever forget to buy your staple supplements. They’ll cost you about $45-$60 depending on where you buy them but you’ll get much better results in the gym with them. In review, remember the three don’t evers. Don’t ever workout without drinking whey protein afterward. Don’t ever start your day without a multivitamin. Lastly, don’t ever forget the power that fish oil can add to your overall well being. Train smart, train hard, and never give up on your dreams.

Most of the supplements which I have taken fall into the category of “working” with some portion giving negative results, but I would like to talk about two supplements which didn’t just work well, they were fantastic. But first, I will define my terms. I have taken supplements which worked excellently the first three times, then within a month or so I experienced no more positive benefits, and even if I waited months before using it again I saw minimal success. Those I will classify as merely “working”- because they did work for some amount of time, but regardless of how awesome the first week was, it never worked like that again. So the supplements which i will discuss today are better than that- they work excellently for months on end (of course they are only to be taken according to the instructions on the bottle- I have never, ever deviated from the “recommended usage” label on the side) and then after a layoff worked once again. One of them is for fat reduction, the other for putting on muscle.

Lipo-6x is the best fat burner I have ever tried. I cannot say enough good things about it. In general, even the best fat burners give you jitters, make you nauseous (which is maybe why the labels always say “suppresses appetite”?) and cause a “caffeine crash” an hour or so later. I don’t know how they did it, but the folks at Nutrex have found a way to make caffeine and synephrine not cause these side effects. Keep in mind that I am sensitive to stimulants- I once took ephedrine and was up for 6 straight days with delusions to boot! But I take Lipo-6x as directed and have no such problems! When I am monitoring fat loss I always do calculations based upon my weight and body fat percentage to know exactly how much fat I have lost as I see numbers ont he scale go down. On average I lose 2lbs of fat per week! That is fat, not muscle, water or bodily wastes, but 2lbs of fat per week. I also do not do anything crazy when I diet. 1.5-2 hours of steady state cardio per week, plus weights and a moderate diet (I still eat chocolate)… and I am naturally an endomorph who used to weigh 305lbs. This is the power of Lipo-6x! It helps a guy like me who is naturally fat to lose tremendous amounts of weight per week without insane dieting or aerobic sessions and no side effects. If you aren’t convinced by now, I don’t know what else could possibly sway you. Perhaps someone else will review a supplement that gives users x-ray vision or something.

When it comes to building muscle BSN’s Nitrix is the best supplement that I have ever used. It works well every cycle that I use it. It may be expensive, but it is certainly the best NO supplement on the market. I was astounded to find that not only was I stronger in my workouts, but I actually walked around all day with a muscle pump! My vascularity increases tremendously and I have a general feeling of confidence and well being when I do my lifts because I look so much bigger. I also notice that at the end of 12 weeks of usage that I am much bigger and stronger. This has worked through three (non-consecutive) cycles, so I know that it has the “staying-power” to remain in my supplement arsenal for a long time. It is also very easy to take (if you are used to swallowing big pills) because you don’t need to be carrying around shaker cups with you, just the pills. It is easy, convenient, and does what it says it will do. With all of the false advertising we as supplement consumers see, BSN’s Nitrix is a breath of fresh air and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to put on some lean mass this winter.

So while there certainly are many good supplements out there, I think that these are the best two that I have ever used. I suppose that now is a good time for the classic bodybuilding disclaimer that, as Nautilus founder Arthur Jones used to say, “everything comes down to genetics,” so just because I have such great results with these doesn’t mean that everyone will, and just because other supplements didn’t work as well for me doesn’t mean that they won’t work for you. This is why I did my best to describe myself so that you could have some idea of who I am and what I look like to decide if these results seem likely for you to achieve. I personally don’t think that I have stupendous bodybuilding genes which makes my experiences all the more relevant for the average person. If I would be the perfect mesomorph then perhaps a skinny or fat guy shouldn’t try to use my results as evidence that he will be able to do it to. But I am not, so to all of you big guys out there give Lipo-6x and Nitrix a shot, if it works half as well for you as it did for me it was worth the money.

I can flash back like it was yesterday when the tv dinners were small, flat tasting with small portions packaged in tin trays. Me and my brothers heated them up in the oven when my mom was out of town and we had little other options. It was a way to get a complete meal but without many options for main courses and little portions. Now there is an array of sizes as well as options of what you can eat and can microwave it in a few minutes. A dieter can even go the route of a Nutrisystem or Healthy Choice. With a measured meal and no room for overeating it can be beneficial to use these when cutting the fat. There also is the option of buying the prepared meals in bulk which they have many many options at Sams Club.

While in my teenage years when the parents were gone and with four brothers we were stocked with bags of buffalo wings, breaded chicken tenders, quesadillas, steak sandwiches, frozen vegetables (usually fries) and a dozen other options. To say the least we weren’t small and malnourished. Til this day the folks keep the freezer stocked for visiting family memebers on a quick visit. Looking back without the options and without the great food so readily available, we would have never went to the trouble of making any of it from scratch. The naysayers scream of processed foods and how high the cholesterol and fat content of all that type of food is to eat on a regular basis. I have to say there is some truth to that but what isn’t processed these days and how much butter and salt do you use to make everything taste better while cooking anyhow?

With the easy access of a Applebee’s at every corner, who will waste their hours preparing full course meals and reading recipe books and coming up with new ways to prepare the endless ways to make chicken. A young buck wanting to get out and lift weights and chase girls is going to watch Rachel Ray and perfect their souffle? I think not. I am reminded of a friend in college who bought 10lbs. of hamburger a week and made it all into single patties wrapped in aluminum foil. He had only burger patties in his freezer and a 12 pack of Busch in the fridge. He was from some rural place with just one McD’s and evidently ate just hamburgers plain because for lunch and dinner all I seen was burgers on the grill and a beer in one hand. Amazingly he was ripped to the bone and a physical specimen. My point being with a little genetics and packaged food, that is packed with protein albeit, it is possible to stay lean and look athletic. I know your saying, how unhealthy is this? But really, take your vitamins and eat a vegetable here and there and what else does the body require? Do we really need extra starches or the added cholesterol? I like to think of it as a caveman. Did you ever see a picture of an obese caveman. A fat dinosaur or any animal for that matter? That’s far fetched I know but think about it. The best way is to combine prepackaged meals with bulk cooking. I like to prepare a few chicken breasts or hamburgers and wrap them up and freeze them and have them throughout the week by cooking them on the George Foreman Grill or a gas grill. It’s much easier to prepare your foods ahead of time all at once and freeze them and to space out the meals for the times I do have a few minutes to cook. It’s easy to cook this way. Cooking a vegetable on the grill to go along with the meat is a great option and it cooks without the added grease and butter.

The older people I talk to can’t help but say, oh the damn internet and oh the damn chain restaurants and prepackaged foods. And how it’s all going downhill. I believe humans evolve and the things that change and stick are here to stay for a reason and that reason is because it just makes sense. The other day I was given a jar of pickled quail eggs and instantly thought of HBO’s 24/7 with Mayweather vs. Marquez and it showed Marquez eating raw quail eggs and they noted they were better for you than chicken eggs. It is a matter of time I predict these will be as readily available alongside the chicken eggs in grocery stores because it just makes sense. There is nothing to hide with the FDA monitoring what’s in the stores and no hidden dangers anymore. The prepackaged foods are just the better way. Who wants to spend half their life cooking and cleaning up their mess. Who wants to worry with counting their calories when we can just read it from the label on the box and see what exactly we are eating. If the fat and cholesterol is noticeably too high, that’s easy, go look at another healthier brand of who makes the exact same thing with less additives. At one time, everyone who wanted eggs and chicken to eat had to raise their own and someone got the smart idea to have a little extra and sell them to their neighbor. It is a new world out there, so why not enjoy the convenience of letting someone else make your dinner.

Growing up watching hit television shows that show the traditional family, one can see there is a vast contrast to today’s society. The June Cleavers, Alices (Brady Bunch), and Wilma Flintstones of the world are trading in their oven mitts for lap tops, blackberries and PDA’s as they enter the workforce. Where 1 paycheck was enough to amply provide for a family once, is no longer the case. While the times change and more households must rely on 2 incomes to provide the essentials of life, many lifestyle customs are simply being pushed out the door to make way for the new.

Cooking used to be a mainstay in traditional family settings. However, the days of the 5 o’clock home cooked meal have been replaced by the prepared meal that can be heated in a microwave in 5 minutes and served anytime. Whereas the art of preparing a meal from whole foods once took a couple hours to buy, prepare and cook, a meal can now be taken from the freezer, “zapped” and eaten in as little as 10 minutes. Now little Johnny can eat and make it to his baseball game on time and little Sally can simply pop in a dinner when she gets home from the mall late.

Fast food has also become a cult following so to speak. With the convenience of a McDonald’s, Arby’s and Burger King on every corner, it’s no wonder why American’s simply get larger and larger and the obesity related health issues soar out of the control. For many, the simple stress of today’s high-paced, technology lifestyle causes people to look for solutions by eating. With very few healthy alternatives available, junk food seems to be the answer for many.

As obesity reaches new heights, so to does the associated health concerns and healthcare costs. The health problems associated with obesity are numerous. Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem. It is a health hazard. Someone who is 40 per cent overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as is an average-weight person. This is because obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions, including:

• heart disease and stroke
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• cancer
• gallbladder disease and gallstones
• osteoarthritis
• gout
• breathing problems, such as sleep apnoea (when a person stops breathing for a short time during sleep) and asthma

As more and more companies are pressured to cut down on fats and open the doors to a healthier lifestyle, more healthy options are available than in years past, but they are still heavily outweighed by their unhealthy counterparts. Fast food chains are now offering healthy alternatives, but looking at any menu, one can see they only make up a small percentage of a chain’s overall options.

The microwaveable market is also seeing a shift toward healthy living. Right alongside your Hungryman dinners, you can pick up Health Choice, or Smart Living dinners. But has it taken too long for these right-sized portion meals to become mainstream? In the Super Size me society we live in, can we go from eating a triple cheeseburger to a single portion salad? Can we put down the Oreo Blizzard and pick up a glass of water? Can we disregard the loaded fries for slices of apples?

Being overweight most of my life, the answer is a lot harder than many believe. Food, especially junk food, is almost an addiction. It comforts you when you’ve had a tough day. It’s there for you when no one else is around. However, with enough determination and dedication, it do those and be healthy at the same time through spending the time and energy it takes to properly prepare and cook whole meals…get back to the basics.

“And if most people don’t know the wattage of their home microwaves, forget the ones they might use to nuke their lunch at work. “Who’s got a thermometer in their desk drawer?” Davidson said.

College student Jordan Sullivan said he regularly eats frozen pizza and pizza rolls, but never has given much thought to the safety of it.

“I just toss them in and wait till they look good,” Sullivan said of the rolls, which do include raw ingredients’” (Funk, 3).

Lastly, the importance of cooking food from scratch is another topic that needs to be addressed. Before the concept of “prepared meals”, the only food that people were able to eat was either raw food that could be eaten fresh like produce and dairy, food that was cooked at home, or food that was prepared in a restaurant or similar establishment. As such, the food that was cooked was more often than not prepared from scratch using quality ingredients and methods, especially if it was in people’s homes. As such, people knew what they were putting into the food that they would eat as they often went shopping for it, prepped it, and cooked it themselves. The same is true in today’s society, amidst the milieu of conventional methods of getting food as quickly and as conveniently as possible. Yes, people do in fact still cook their foods from scratch, despite the popularity of “prepared food”. And for good reason, too. Prepared foods are almost always healthier than the “prepared” equivalent, if one wants it to be. Trans fat, extra sodium, MSG, preservatives, additional colouring and artificial flavours that can be potentially harmful are not required for most meals prepared fresh, as they don’t need to be consumed years down the road. When cooking one’s own food, other essential, healthy practices can be incorporated in the process, like sanitary preparation and portion control – things that are not always available with “prepared” foods (think Pinnacle Foods’ Hungry Man Classic Fried Chicken, a 960 calorie monstrosity of a meal with little regard for nutritional requirment limits) (thedailyplate.com).

In addition to the health benefits of cooking your own food, it also can be used as a natural form of relieving stress, it provides one with a skill that can be used in a variety of situations, such as impressing in-laws or wooing an attractive date, and it can land you a temporary job that has the potential to inspire creativity and innovation, leading to culinary school or restaurant management.

The overall benefits of “prepared foods” match up well with those of cooking one’s own food. Sometimes there is just NO time to cook, but at other times laziness or lack of inspiration is no excuse. Thus, a compromise must be struck if you use both methods of getting your meals. However, given recent improvements in the continuously-evolving “prepared” foods industry as well as the surge in organic and natural raw foods, the prospects for both the “prepared” food industry and the culinary arts of meal preparation are looking all the more brighter.

1. Make a delicious low fat mayonnaise by combining one teaspoon of Dijon mustard or satay sauce with a low fat yogurt.
2. Do not skip meals. Skipping meals slicks the body into slowing down the metabolism, attempting to conserve calories during a period where limited fats and fuel are available. Remember that eating increases the metabolism.
3. Stuff vegetables like capsicum and zucchini with flavored fillings or minced chicken, white meat or fish. These are healthy and contain low fat.
4. Take pita bread roll ups or wraps with salad fillings.
5. Eight hours after waking up, our metabolism slows down that is why 30 minutes of exercise before dinner will increase the metabolism for about two to three hours. This produces an increase in burned fat even hours after the work out is over.
6. Add alfalfa or mung beans to salad to get extra iron.
7. Good cooking and healthy eating begins with learning about nutrition and how to prepare healthy recipes.
8. Learn how to make the family favorite recipes and make sure that fats, salt, and sugar are cut out. Substitute non-fat yogurt for cream, stir-fry without oil and use herbs and spices instead of salt to taste.
9. Consult the doctor before beginning an exercise or weight loss program.
10. Slowly eat and chew each bite during meals as this would decrease one’s appetite.
11. Complete three small meals and two snacks everyday instead of one or two huge meals.
12. Use chicken stock when stir-frying. This will cut down on hidden fat.
13. Buy non-toasted muesli instead of the toasted ones. A plate of toasted muesli contains more fat than a plate of bacon and eggs.
14. As much as possible do not remove the skins of fruits and vegetables since most of the nutrients are concentrated under the skin.
15. Warm water with just a squeeze of lemon juice before breakfast get the metabolism going for the day, this also help preventing constipation and is excellent for the skin.
16. One of the best sources of vegetable protein is from soya beans or tofu. All legumes provide some protein, so include lentils, lima beans etc into casseroles and soups.
17. Look for a weight loss “buddy,” club, or support mates. This will motivate you to stay and enjoy your weight loss program.
18. Though it’s hard at first, try not eating 3 hours or more before bedtime.
19. Make pasta a fast food choice – preparing a pasta meal or salad will only take 10-12 minutes.
20. Chilli helps to speed up metabolism – even the milder varieties.
21. Try making omelettes without adding the yolks! A dramatic decrease in fat.
22. Substitute baking soda, baking powder, MSG and soya sauce in cooking.
23. Remove fat by dropping ice cubes into the baking tray. Fat will stick to the ice cubes.
24. Drinking hot water instead of cold water in the morning can increase the speed of your metabolism and burn more calories.
25. Eat before you go food shopping and always prepare a shopping list. Only buy food which relates to your weekly menu plan and don’t be tempted to buy goodies.

Make sure that the right discipline is still practiced to promote consistency on the diet plan. This will lead eventually to a healthy life-style and a more fruitful living without the extra fat and extra pounds on the side.