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The Dream so far…

May 29th, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice

As some of you know, I made a comeback to baseball this summer.

 It officially starts Saturday…but my first real game back in 3 years happened last night.

 It was nuts. I went 2 for 4 with a single, a double, and an RBI. It was like I never left.

I’m 26 playing with a bunch of 20 year old studs who will be playing pro one day. Here’s the thing. This whole thing is like your dreams.

If you want the body you’ve always dreamed about, go get it. You aren’t too old, or whatever excuse you have been coming up with.

 I made excuses about my baseball career. I was ‘too old’ at one point.

 So what changed? I’m not ‘too old’ anymore.

My head was stopping me and my head got me back in it.

 My best advice I can ever give you to get your dreams.

FIX YOUR HEAD,

have a great one,

Dan Grant

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Chronic Overthinking

May 26th, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice · fat loss advice

I got an overwhelming amount of email this week from people who
sound as fed up as I do about some of the things they see in
commercial gyms.

Thanks for the emails, I love getting them, even if you don’t agree
with me.

Today I’m challenging my own philosophy a bit.

I’ve been called a ‘chronic overthinker’ by some people - ie. mostly
my girlfriend - so obviously I get deep in thought about training
methods.

Maybe a little too much sometimes.

Thoughts for the week (from my overthinking mind):

- Here’s an example of how my head works about decided that interval
training is the way to go.
I hate jogging. Yes.
Does that mean it can’t be uses as a fat loss method? No
If people like jogging and want to lose weight should they jog? Sure.
But what about the loss of lean muscle that comes with jogging? It’s
probably not that big of deal unless you don’t lift weights hard and
really overdue it on the cardio.
So why don’t I teach long cardio? It sucks and I hate it. Actually a lot of
people I talk to hate jogging.

Why do I pump up interval training so much? It’s time efficient,
decreased risk of nagging little injuries by a ton, revs up your
metabolism for longer after your workouts so it will lead to greater
fat loss. It’s been proven in countless research studies to be WAY
better at fat loss results then long cardio, and it’s been proven
in real life with my clients and a lot of other trainers clients I
know and study.
So interval training is better for fat loss? Yes.
Can someone do both? Sure.
Okay. But I’ve seen people who do long cardio and weight training
get some good results.

Why don’t I teach it? Most of those people
don’t know about interval training, their diet is good - what you
eat makes up about 70% of your results, by the way - and usually
their stomach is still a major PROBLEM area to lose a lot of fat.
Interval training has been proven to burn significant amount of
stomach fat.
What about beginners? Can they do Interval Training? Yes.
How? Because the ‘work’ interval is 80-90% of their level. That might
be a fast walk.
So it will still work the same for them? Yes.
So that’s why I teach interval training. Yep.
- So just incase you’ve ever wondered why I teach interval training
or if I just copy some of the big names, I actually go through
quite elaborate thinking about it. Actually a lot more then I actually
just wrote. I didn’t even mention cortisol effect.

But, maybe I’m just overthinking it.
Wait till you hear my continual thoughts on weight training…
Maybe I’ll just save that one till next time.
What are your thoughts on my methods and thoughts?
What do you do to shed the pounds or build the muscle?
Let me know, I’d love to hear from ya.
Have a great one,
Dan Grant

PS - I’m in Sherwood Park, Alberta right now in training. Make sure you visit my blog at http://www.bodytransformationcoach.com where I’ll be updating it frequently with thoughts and training advice.

PPS - Here’s an email I got about one of my articles on The Soko

“I don’t like you anymore…

BUT I LOVE YOU!
I just read your article on weight loss and HIIT
i couldn’t agree more that jogging is a bad BAD thing.. and I am proof…
i am a 25yr old female ,my left ankle was sprained several times. and yet when i thought it recovered i was jogging to burn fat.. the jogging only debilitated the joints and made me go into a 4-6weeks resting period in which i ended up putting more weight than i started with.
so yeah you’re right a short interval training is better than hours running like a fool.
it is nice to know that one of your clients had some disabilities too and managed to lose weight *i always respect people who overcome their chronic injuries like i do. and not make excuses to be fat and lazy*
 
will look forward for more articles from you!
 
thanks..”

PPS- The Fat Loss Crew gives you REAL advice on fat loss because they’ve all done it. Some did it with walking, some intervals. A lot of things can work. Learn from them at http://www.thefatlosscrew.com.

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Tags: cardio, fat loss, interval training, jogging, overthinking

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Failing isn’t actually failing

May 22nd, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice

I was reading a book the other day called Your Portable Empire by Pat O’Bryan. It’s about internet marketing so it’s probably of no interest to you but I like to read different types of books every once in a while to see if I can pick up a fresh idea. The point, however, which I took from the book, was that all failure is just data.

I thought that was an interesting way to look at it. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. It’s hard sometimes to do something out of the ordinary because if you don’t succeed the way you thought you would, you may think the whole world will think of you as a failure.

But if you look at it from the outside in, you’ll realize that your ‘failure’ probably isn’t even that big of deal in other peoples eyes.

Failure isn’t really failing. It’s just collecting the proper data to help you along your journey to succeed in realizing your goals.

Think about it. If you tried to get a six pack before and ‘failed’, what happened? What did you do and what could you have done better?

Make a list of the things you thought helped you and make another list of the things that you probably could have done a better job on.

Now take the list that you wrote of things you could have done a better job on and make a side list of how you are going to do a better job with those things this time.

So let’s say that on your ‘could’ve done better’ list you wrote, “Had too many pizza and beer nights.”

So on your ‘how will I do better’ list you might write, “have a pizza and beer night only 1 time a month because if getting a six pack is really important to me I know I must sacrifice and have the will power to do so.”

That’s just an example, of course. You know better then I do what stopped you from reaching your goal.

The biggest thing to learn from all this is that you should NEVER quit because you didn’t achieve your goal the first time around (or even your second or third time). Just take it as data that will give you a better shot next time.

Cheers,

Dan Grant
www.degreesofchangefatlossplan.com

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Tags: fat loss, goals, pat obryan, weight loss success

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Thoughts from the Trenches: FINALLY!

May 18th, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice · fat loss advice

It’s been a week of driving and I FINALLY made it back to Thunder
Bay. I’m only in town for about a week though because I’m going
to head out west to Alberta to try and rekindle one of my dreams.

So as I get ready - and stay really busy - I didn’t really have too
much time for this week’s email or next weeks for that matter, so
if you don’t get an email next week that’s why.

I’ve gotten a lot of questions again this week so I will get back to
you - it might just take a couple days :).

Thoughts for the week:

- I went to a commercial gym for the first time in a few months
the other day. People were working hard - thinking they were
anyways -, but I really don’t know where this industry went
wrong. Maybe it’s the money - actually, it’s probably the money - but
the personal trainers there had people doing some of the most
pointless shit I’ve ever seen.

I think there’s a major LACK is motivation for these trainers. I
mean, if I paid somebody $50 an hour to train me, I wouldn’t be too
impressed if all we did for that hour was chat about life and go
from machine to machine not really challenging my muscles at all.

I think maybe these trainers just think that this is what the people
want maybe - I don’t know.

But when I see people - who are getting professional (kind of)
guidance - I cringe when I see them doing machine twist ab exercises
that are doing nothing but guaranteeing that client a major lower back
problem in the future.

All it takes is a little bit of learning for this industry to realize
that a lot of the machines out there are a waste of time, money, and
whatever else.

If you have a trainer and you haven’t learned AND implement the core
exercises of squats, dead lifts, pull ups, and pushups (variations of
them all too), it’s time to find somebody new.

That’s just my opinion. You may be getting the results now, but you
also may be setting yourself up for injury in the future.

Sorry if that was a little scattered. Just something to consider.

- Why people hate me - find out here.

- I’ve said EPOC quite a bit in the past but I’m not really sure if
I’ve ever explained it - that’s here.

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

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Tags: commercial gym, core, dead lift, epoc, fat loss, personal trainer, pushup, squat

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Why People Hate Me

May 15th, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice

SORRY! I’ve been on the road for what seems to be forever so posts have been limited.

Here’s my soon to be released article at The Soko:

There’s a lot of people out there who have used the information and programs that I have made for them and used them to great success. Yet, there as some that have gotten the same information and programs designed specifically for them but didn’t ‘believe’ in the program and got nowhere with it.

Those people, for whatever reason, now don’t like my ‘stuff’.

Some Success…

And that’s fine. I had a client who overcame double knee replacement surgery to lose over 20 pounds of fat in 2 months with only 60 minutes TOTAL of exercise per week. I’ve also helped a lady going off to Police College who couldn’t do a regular pushup to do 25 perfect pushups in 10 days.

And A Little Bit Of Failure…

I had a lady who paid me quite a bit of money for me to analyze her current program and then have me create a newer revised program because she wasn’t getting any results with her current program. The problem was that she never followed my program the way I wrote it out for her.

Why? Because it was ‘different’ from what she was used too. No kidding…

Anyways, this isn’t really a popularity contest for me, I just try to solve people’s fitness problem. So in this column we’re going to discuss a little bit of that.

I Don’t Hate Jogging…I Just Don’t Recommend It…Actually, I Do Hate Jogging

People who read my articles or decide they want to actually listen to me ramble on with fat loss advice often wonder out load, “Why don’t you like jogging? I thought that was how you lose weight?”

Yep, you can lose weight jogging and you can also lose weight by not eating for a week. Does that mean not eating for week should be recommended as fat loss protocol?

I used to work at a chiropractors office doing rehab work with people. I lost count at how many people came in with really bad knee, ankle, and/or ITB injuries. I probably don’t have to ask you why they kept coming in with these injuries, but I will just for fun anyways.

Do you know what the number one factor was that caused all of these injuries? Yep, you got it…jogging.

Do you know how many people came in to get treated for injury because they did sprint intervals (which many of the clients there did after talking to me)? NONE, a big ole’ goose egg.

I can keep bringing up examples and can continue to keep ranting but it would end up getting out of hand and I would probably never be allowed to write on here again. Well, that might happen anyway if this article gets a lot of people angry, but I’m willing to take that risk for the good of successful fat loss training.

Now, before I get totally anti-cardio on you, I will tell you that I do advise certain clients to do long cardio. And yes, doing something it better than nothing.

Interval training is just better for fat loss. It’s been proven in both clinical and real world studies. Plain and simple, you just burn A LOT more fat doing intervals then you do jogging for hours on end.

For more information on interval training check out one of my earlier articles, ‘3 Steps To Losing Belly Fat’.

“Yep, We Aren’t Touching The BOSU Ball”

You know what my new clients are usually most surprised about when they start training with me. That I don’t recommend using the BOSU ball (the half stability ball).

Why is the BOSU ball so friggin’ popular?

I know most people’s answer would be because it helps you ‘work’ your core too, but that just seems to be non-sense in my eyes.

For one thing, I see a lot of people doing a lot of bicep and tricep exercises on them, which if you read my articles you now know that’s not going to help your fat loss very much.

Secondly, this whole ‘working’ your core thing has gotten a little out of control in my eyes. Yes, you should do some ab exercise but you don’t need to bring in a BOSU ball to do it.

Squats, deadlifts, lunges, pushups, planks, ab wheel rollouts, sprinting, skipping, ‘work’ your core…just to name a few off the top of my head.

And i realize if you do a squat on a BOSU ball it will challenge your balance and you’ll feel a good ‘burn’, but it’s not going to have an optimal effect on your fat loss. Why? Because you aren’t really building any lean muscle…you’re just maybe improving your balance a little bit.

Now, remember we’re not talking about balance or performance type training here. But if you want to improve those things then the BOSU ball may be a good option.

I’m just saying lift some weight and stop worrying about this whole ‘work’ the core thing that comes along with stability equipment.

_________________________________________
different can be a good thing

Being different and not following the pack is almost always a good thing. You can realize that just by walking into a commercial gym. Typically, you can tell the difference between a fit person’s workout and an out of shape person’s. Here’s a hint, a lot of the people who are really fit with good looking bodies are the ones doing full body lifts and aren’t reading a magazine while doing their cardio training.

I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on this column post…and if you still like me or not.

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

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Tags: , balance training, BOSU ball, core training, dan grant, fat loss, fitness, interval training, lean muscle, the soko jogging, weight lifting

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My 205 foot fall

May 11th, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice

Had a pretty fun weekend. Went to Busch Gardens Europe and Colonial
Williamsburg, VA (Revolutionary War period themed).

At Busch’s I went on all the roller coasters - even The Griffin - which literally
hangs you over the edge at 205 feet for what seems like eternity and
then shoots you straight down so the people laughing at you from
the ground can see what faces of pure terror look like.

But it was fun and the picture of the weekend - I didn’t buy it
because of total embarrassment - was my girlfriend beside me on one
of the roller coasters with her hands in the air and big smile on her
face and me next to her holding on for dear life and the total
opposite of a smile on my face.

So, needless to say that was a picture that was never getting out
to the public - cause NOTHING scares me :).

My Thoughts from the week:

- when you’re doing your interval training, make sure during the
‘rest’ interval you’re only working at about 30% intensity. The
sprint is the most important part of the interval and if you go
down to 60-70% intensity at rest all you’re really doing is turning
into a cardio session.

- quote of the week: “If you can’t stand the heat, you better get out
of the kitchen” - President Harry S. Truman “(I was at a President’s
Museum too - it was a VERY American weekend)

- Happy Mother’s Day to all the mother’s that read my
blog.

- My top 3 tips to keep healthy while at an amusement park: 1. drink
water 2. spend the little bit extra for some decent quality food (I
mean - it cost’s like $60 just to get in - what’s a few dollars more)
3. bring a few healthy snacks with you

- don’t something really fun and really different in the gym every
once in awhile. Doing the same type of workout all the time just
plain sucks sometimes.

I usually have a ‘fun’ week every 6-8 weeks or so where I just do
different things to keep my self interested. For example, one week
I did 3 sets of 50 reps on the leg press and then did jump squats to
boot - it sucked, but it was different and refreshing in a way.

- here’s my new column piece at The Soko called: The Brilliance of
Baseball.
It’s actually about exercise :).

Talk to you soon,

Dan Grant

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Tags: , busch gardens, cravers, interval training, prograde, williamsburg

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EPOC explained…

May 8th, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice

I get emails about EPOC all the time so I thought I’d quickly explain it in an easy fashion hopefully.

Here’s a question I got from a trainer out in California yesterday:

Dan,
thanks for your respone. How about the whole “EPOC” equation??? Interval training would be included in this also, wouldn’t it?
Could you go into that a little for me? (and I will share with my clients!! even though they may not like it… :) )

My response:

EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) is the ‘afterburn’ of a workout. In simple terms…the more oxygen you are breathing in each breath the higher your metabolism is, thus the more fat you’re burning at that period of time.

So sprinting causes a higher EPOC effect then jogging.

An intense, heavy workout session causes a higher EPOC effect then higher rep light weight workouts.

The harder you work, generally the higher you’re EPOC will last.

You have to be smart though. A heavy or intense full body exercise will have a way bigger effect on your metabolism then tricep kickbacks for example.

Does that make sense????

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

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Tags: epoc, fat burn, intense exercise, metabolism

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Thoughts from the Trenches part 5

May 5th, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice

If you’ve emailed me last week, I will get back to you this week.

Last week was just a little too nuts for me at some points with all
the travel I did.

Before I get to this week’s edition I want to just tell you about a
couple fitness sales going on. Remember, this is just for people
INTERESTED in knowing about them.

If you’re not interested, don’t worry about them.

First, Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training is celebrating his
birthday for the next 3 days (if you’re on other fitness pros list,
you’ll probably be getting a lot of emails about it, just a warning).

Anyways, he’s got some great additions he’s added to the package, and
once you’ve bought it once you’ll always get new bonuses for life.

I bought his program last June and since then he’s given out some
pretty sweet bonuses after the fact.

So IF interested go to Turbulence Training.

Second, Mike Geary of Truth About Abs is doing a $4.95 trial offer
on his best selling program.

So IF interested about that go to Truth About Abs.

Alright, let’s get on to the crazy thougths in my head:

- The big Apple Blossom Festival happened this week in Winchester.
Jerry Rice was even here. Anyways, you know what the snack of choice
was? FRIED OREOS….I’m pretty sure I saw a few people grab their
chest immediately after scarfing them down.

- I was at a baseball tryout with a pro team on Tuesday and our warm
up was all static stretching. I guess I just assumed the industry
was a lot farther along. I had to re-warmup right after our supposed
warm up.

- A guy at the high school came up to me the other day frustrated as
to why he’s only lost 10 pounds in 4 weeks. I’m pretty sure I hate
The Biggest Loser for putting this crazy weight loss crap in people’s
heads.

- The best part about my job, changing people’s lives.

- I promised you the 100 Calorie Snack report last week. Here’s the
download link: 100 Calorie Report by Jayson Hunter

- I have a list of exercises that are pretty much always found in
my programs. One of them is the pull-ups. They are far more better
for you then pulldowns. If you can’t do a regular pullup then try a
horizontal pullup.

*Set the barbell at a height, typically a touch about your waist level.
Then lay underneath the bar and grab so you’re hanging with just your
heels are touching the floor (or bend your legs and have the soles
of your feet touching for beginners). The pull your chest to the bar
as many times as you can.*

- I may repeat myself quite abit but it’s only because I’ve found that
people just don’t get things right away sometimes. It takes constant
reminding and teaching.

- quote of the week: “Keep smiling, it makes people wonder what
you’re up to.”

- I understand that fat loss training can seem complicated at times,
but the best way to learn is by doing. So go out and try to figure
out what works for you. You don’t have to follow what everybody else
is doing. You can get in great shape in about 15 minutes, 3-4 times
a week. I wrote an article about it at The Soko.

Here’s the link to it: http://thesoko.com/thesoko/content.html?name=News&file=article&sid=1710

Have a great week,

Dan Grant

PS - What’s your number one question about fat loss training? Email
me and let me know. Thanks. admin @ dangrantfitness.com

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Tags: baseball, craig ballantyne, mike geary, oreos, pullups, the biggest loser, the soko, truth about abs, turbulence training

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“Give Me A Dog And A Beer” - How to Learn Fitness From Baseball

May 4th, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice · fat loss advice

Here’s my latest column article at The Soko:

Since I now have the honour of writing a column for The Soko, I thought it was about time to have a ‘get to know me’ kind of article. Since it’s baseball season, and since it’s the greatest sport in the world (Sorry hockey fans — I love hockey too, but it’s just not baseball.), I figured I should do a baseball themed article. I’m currently training to play pro baseball this summer, so this article is going to be a lot of fun.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Baseball’s famous song ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ is 100 years old this year. A lot has happened in 100 years, especially regarding nutrition and exercise. Have we learned anything? Of course. Has it made the industry any better at solving problems? Sadly, not really.

Let’s face it. A lot of trainers out there just don’t have a clue. There are many great ones, don’t get me wrong. Unfortunately, you really have to be skeptical these days about personal trainers, since it’s so easy to get certified. If you want to be a personal trainer, there is actually a way to become one in just a couple days. I mean, how scary is that?

In an industry that makes over $100 billion a year, while at the same time the results are actually getting worse, it’s probably time to rethink the strategy. But I guess I could be wrong. Maybe it’s not about the results anymore.

Just remember to keep your eyes open for some of the stupid stuff this industry gives you. A few examples would be any kind of pill that guarantees you significant fat loss, a diet that involves all your favourite foods and still helps you lose 30 pounds in 30 days and any advice Bob from The Biggest Loser gives you (sorry, I had to say it).

My Favourite Food Ever

I grew up playing ball. I played college ball. I’m going to be playing pro ball. I love being at the ballpark. You can’t help but love life when you’re at the ballpark on a sunny day in the afternoon whether you are playing or watching.

But before I get way too sentimental on you, I should probably get to my point. (Note: If you want to keep talking baseball with me just email me…I can talk forever about it). My point is my favourite food.

Hot dogs, of course.

I understand I’m a fitness professional and I shouldn’t be eating hot dogs or telling you it’s okay to eat them, but let’s be honest, they taste amazing. All those ‘trainers’ who tell you that you have to be on a crazy strict diet must be people who get all their meals cooked for them, and they also apparently want you to hate your life as much as they hate theirs.

It’s fine to have a cheat meal. It’s just not okay to have cheat days or cheat buffets. I’m a real person, just like you, and I like to eat some things that I know aren’t the best for me sometimes. Sue me.

I go by the 90 per cent rule. A lot of people can be extremely successful following the 85 per cent rule, meaning 85 per cent of your meals are nutritionally sound and will help you towards your goals. The other 15 per cent of your meals throughout the week can be meals of your choice. So sometimes I have a couple hot dogs, but not all the time. — just every once in a while in the summer.

So next time you’re enjoying watching the boys of summer (potentially me), go ahead and enjoy a dog and a beer…just don’t have one every second inning.

Slumps Are Part of the Game

Baseball players have slumps and so do people trying to get the body of their dreams. Sometimes the process might not seem fun anymore or the results seem to be stuck at a stand still. Maybe you go on a week vacation and you end up being less than healthy about your choices.

The best advice I ever heard when I was in a slump was, “just keep swinging the bat and they’ll start to fall.” I think that’s good advice for exercising too. Just keep working hard at it and the results will come.

Taking a week or two off isn’t going to destroy months and months of hard work. Sometimes going through a little bit of a tough streak gives you more momentum once you break out of it as well as new focus and excitement.

________________________________
persistence will pay off

I’ve had my share of ups and downs in my baseball career. I’m sure you’ve had ups and downs during your mission to get a better body. The only thing that will get you through those down times is persistence. There’s no miracle, quick-fix answer, unfortunately. It just takes a little bit of hard work. Every day is a new day to start or get closer to your dreams. Or as the famous pitcher Bob Feller once said, “Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is, with a new game every day, and that’s the way baseball is.”

Want to keep talking baseball with Dan? Email him at dan (at) thesoko (dot) com.

Source:
www.bodytransformationcoach.com
ThinkExist
www.dangrantcoaching.com

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

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Tags: baseball, bob feller, fat loss, fitness, hot dogs, slumps, take me out to the ballgame

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The Five Simple Steps for Losing Twenty Pounds Quickly and Safely

May 2nd, 2008
· Filed Under: Body Transformation Advice

Guest Article:

By Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter

It’s unfortunate, but true: Many women feel the need to starve themselves when they have twenty pounds they want to lose so they can look great for a special occasion. Whether it is a wedding, class reunion or some other special event there is a tremendous amount of pressure on women to look great. And this pressure often leads to the yo-yo dieting and weight gain that is so prevalent in our society today.

You know the pattern: You starve yourself and seem to drop a ton of weight fast. But then when you go back to your normal eating patterns you gain not only the weight you lost back, but you gain even more!

And it’s all the result of one thing: Starving your body of the nutrients it needs.

As you’ve probably read somewhere by now, your body’s metabolism actually burns more fat when it’s fed more often. So if you want to lose dress sizes and inches fast you need to be good to your body. And that means eating the foods it craves to help it melt fat.

So here are 5 simple steps you can follow to help you lose twenty pounds of pure fat. And these steps will help you keep the weight off and end – once and for all – the yo-yo dieting dilemma.

Oh, but before I forget, at the end of the five tips I will tell you about a website for you to visit where you can even more great FREE info and even a 30 day meal plan to make your life even easier!

1. Increase Non-Starchy Vegetable Intake

You have probably seen this many times before, but I guarantee it is one of the most important steps to losing weight. Why you ask? One reason is because eating non-starchy vegetables increases your fiber intake which makes you feel fuller quicker.

Another reason is that vegetables are energy consumers. It takes more energy to digest a vegetable than a type of carbohydrate. You could actually be in a negative calorie balance if you compared one carrot’s calories to the amount of calories it took to digest and utilize that carrot.

There are studies that show on average for those that ate 4 or more servings of non-starchy vegetables a day were the biggest losers when it came to weight loss

2. Protein Should Be At Every Meal

To optimally preserve your lean body mass while losing weight it is extremely important to consume some type of lean protein at every meal.

Protein is a great nutrient to prevent you from overeating because it will fill you up quicker.

It is also another nutrient that is energy costly, which means it takes more calories to digest and utilize protein than it does a carbohydrate.

Your best sources of protein are beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy.

3. Eat Whole Grain Carbohydrates

Consuming whole-grain carbohydrates regulates your insulin levels and keeps your body from producing too much insulin. This, in turn, keeps you losing weight.

Large amounts of insulin promote fat storage and fast digesting or simple carbohydrates produce large amounts of insulin. You want to limit or avoid these fast digesting carbs.

By doing this you not only improve your health, but will speed up your fat loss.

Some studies believe that up to 70% of successful weight loss stems from keeping insulin levels in check and to do this means eating whole grains and avoiding simple carbs.

4. Eat More Healthy Fats

Consume adequate amounts of healthy fat foods such as olive oil, walnuts, almonds, or other Omega-3 products.

Healthy fats are great antioxidants. They also help with brain function and many other essential processes that take place in the body on a daily basis.

Essential Fatty acids also help prevent certain diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Some studies are starting to show that consuming Omega-3 products may boost your metabolism by as much as 400 calories a day.

5. Eat Frequent Meals

There is a direct correlation with eating patterns and volume of food consumed as well as insulin levels.

Eat 4-6 small meals day a day instead of the usual 2-3 large meals. Eating frequently will help regulate and boost your metabolism to burn more calories.

By eating smaller portions throughout the day, you tend to eat less food overall. You also control your blood sugars because, by ingesting a steady state of nutrients throughout the day, your body has no need to significantly elevate insulin levels to handle large amounts of food.

Now of course I do recommend you exercise while making these 5 changes to your diet because nutrition and exercise go hand in hand for fat loss. If you make these simple changes to your diet and take part in an exercise program that has you burning calories then you will drop dress sizes and inches quickly, safely and permanently.

Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS is the author of the Carb Rotation Diet. To discover the 5 absolute truths Every Serial Dieter Who Seeks Rapid-Weight loss MUST come to grips with visit The Carb Rotation Diet.

Hope your weekend is going well,

Dan Grant

PS - Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Travel and festivals have been the name of the game this week. Check back a lot next week. Big things for just my blog viewers are coming.

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