By Tom Venuto
Author of: Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

It’s lunchtime, and you’re trying to decide what to make today. Normally, you would have your regular chicken salad with mixed nuts, but today is different. You’re going to a party in the evening, and even though you’re not quite sure what to expect, you know there will be a ton of food in an atmosphere of very little restraint. You decide that it’s probably best to eat a lighter lunch than usual, to prepare for the evening calorie-surge.

This is commonly known as “banking calories” which is analogous to saving calories like money because you’re going to consume more later.

I usually do not recommend this. Here’s why:

If you skip meals earlier in the day to “prepare” (bank calories) for a big feast at night, you are thinking only in terms of calories, but skipping meals is also depriving yourself of protein (amino acids), carbohydrates, essential fats, vitamins, minerals and other valuable nutrients that come from healthy food, as well as the small frequent meals which help control your appetite, stabilize your blood sugar and provide a steady flow of amino acids to your muscles. Skipping breakfast is especially detrimental.

Not only that, but eating less early in the day in anticipation of overeating later in the day is much more likely to increase your appetite, causing you to binge or eat even MORE than you thought you would at night when the big meal does arrive.

In fact, eating healthy, high fiber and lean protein food, as usual, earlier in the day is likely to make you LESS hungry for the holiday party meal and you’ll be more likely to eat only a harmlessly small amount of “party” foods.

I don’t like the concept of “banking calories” if it means skipping meals or if it’s used as justification for binge eating.

Even if it worked the way you wanted it to, the starving and binging pattern may cause more damage than an occasional oversize meal, even if only on a psychological level. Some dietitians might even argue that this kind of behavior borders on disordered eating.

A better approach is to stay on your regular menu of healthy foods and small meals through the entire day – business as usual – and then go ahead and enjoy yourself at your party by treating yourself to a SMALL amount of “BAD” food.

This is supported by the 2nd Corollary of the law of calorie balance:

“Small amounts of ANYTHING – even junk food- will probably not be stored as fat as long as you are in a calorie deficit where you are eating fewer calories than you burn.”

It should be a big relief for you to know that when you’re at a party, a banquet, dining out or eating at a relative’s house for a special occasion, you can eat whatever you want with little or no ill effect on body composition, as long as you respect the law of calorie balance ans as long as it is done infrequently.

However, you CANNOT starve and binge and expect not to reap negative consequences.

If you sincerely want to burn fat and be healthy, then you have to have the discipline to stick with your nutrition plan consistently and control your portion sizes.

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

To learn more about burning fat naturally in a healthy, sensible way, then be sure to take a look at Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

By Tom Venuto
Author of: Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

We’ve all been at the holiday get-togethers, and have quickly devoured something devilishly delicious with little thought. Some feel little shame for eating a cake or drinking half the bowl of punch, but others find themselves feeling guilty afterward and can’t help but think, “oops, I shouldn’t have eaten that.” I have to admit I do get a little chuckle out of the “accidental” part! Do you ever really “accidentally” eat anything? I think we are all responsible for everything we eat and how much we eat and until you consciously realize and accept this, and take the time to do some proactive meal planning, you will probably continue to have lots of “overeating accidents!”

After you overindulge, I definitely do NOT recommend skipping your next meal or skipping meals the next day to make up for it. I usually don’t even recommend cutting back either, although there may be exceptions where you could manipulate your meal size or macronutrient composition.

I generally recommend returning immediately to your “regularly scheduled meal programming,” because this continues to encourage the maintenance of positive habits such as eating 5-6 small meals every day.

I do suppose whether you cut back could depend on whether you’ve been on low calories a long time, how lean you were already, and on whether you were in a caloric deficit already. If you were in a calorie deficit for the day, then the extra calories might only bring you up to maintenance, not “over” your daily limit, which might not be as damaging as if you were in a calorie surplus.

If you were already very lean or had been dieting strictly for a long time (as in a bodybuilder coming off a competition), a large meal or entire high calorie day might not have any negative effect either. Your metabolism has a way of slowing down if you keep your calories too low 100% of the time.

With occasional (planned) higher calorie days, you’d be using the BURN THE FAT “zig-zag” or “cycling” principle, so eating more in this context can be a positive thing. (Note: You can learn more about this technique in the BURN THE FAT program at Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle). However, there’s a big difference between a planned “cheat meal” or a planned high carb, clean food “re-feed” day and a binge on junk food. Regardless of total 24 hour calorie intake for the day, you could still store body fat after heavy eating if it’s done at certain times and in a certain metabolic state.

Although I do prescribe calorie levels based on daily (24 hr) needs, I believe you should also pay attention to 3 hour “windows” when you’re thinking about adjusting your caloric intake. Calories and macronutrients (protein/aminos, carbs/sugar and fat) are partitioned into glycogen, muscle or fat tissue or burned immediately depending very much on present moment energy and recovery needs and on what’s going to happen over the next 3 hours or so as the food enters your system.

So, if you’re going to be plopping down on the couch to watch football games for the rest of the day and night after that big holiday meal, beware – you might just want to cut back on that next meal a little, especially starches and sugars.

Bottom line: It’s okay to eat small amounts of your favorite junk foods once in a while as planned “free meals,” and it’s a good idea to eat more in general from time to time to keep your metabolism humming along. However, your best bet if you’re really serious about fat loss is to avoid huge meals and avoid bingeing in the first place. ALWAYS practice portion control – even on holidays.

If you ever do slip, don’t beat yourself up, just get right back on the wagon with your next meal and remember, the past is behind you and today is a new day.

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

P.S. If you’re interested in burning fat naturally in a healthy, sensible way, then be sure to take a look at Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle – it’s the best place to start your journey: Click Here

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: Click here

First off, I’m not against drinking alcohol.  I believe it can have it’s part in a healthy and balanced diet.  I myself love to enjoy an adult beverage on a regular basis.  But; if there were one drug that would cause to to retain as much body fat as possible while losing lean muscle, it would be alcohol.

So whenever a client of mine wants to drop weight, especially body fat, fast.  I tell them to put the alcohol on hold for a while.

Take a break entirely from drinking any alcoholic beverages for a month and see what happens.  It might give you some nice insight on how much of an impact it actually has on your body.

There’s no need to give it up entirely.  After all, life wouldn’t be any fun if we didn’t cut lose and party every once in a while.

Speaking of which, did you know that Monkeys love to party.  Watch!

I have here another great free Ebook from nutritionist Mike Roussell.  As always, his information is easy to get and of the highest quality.  Feel free to download this great new resource and share it with friends.  Remember folks, this is Research Proven stuff, not just a bunch of BS and fluff.  Enjoy.

Right Click Here to Save As

By Mike Roussell PhD(c) http://thebuffgeek.com/warpspeedfatloss.php

Weight loss plateaus can be frustrating and detrimental to your fat loss if not dealt with swiftly and properly. Another way to look at weight loss plateaus is that they are actually your body settling in at a new body weight set point.

The set point theory is basically the idea that your body likes to be at a certain body weight and it will work to keep you there. Chances are you have experienced this in your own life. I’m talking about situations where you will gain or lose weight but inevitably after a couple weeks or months of trying to change you end up around the same body weight (I know for me 175lbs was a set point, in my own system for quite some time).

In order to break these body weight set points, it is important to understand the forces that you are working against (know thy enemy, right?). I’m talking about adaptive thermogenesis. Adaptive thermogenesis is the seemingly automatic reduction in energy expenditure that occurs when you diet. Many think that this is the driving force behind people’s body weight set point.

This is important so I want to make sure I’m explaining it clear enough so here’s an oversimplified example.

You are currently eating 2000 kcal per day. Your body is currently burning 2000 kcal per day. You decided that you need to lose weight so you cut 500 kcal from your diet. So in theory your body should now have to dig up another 500 kcal from body fat to fuel the calorie difference.

It doesn’t work that way. Studies show that your body adjusts its energy output so that it can now function on only 1500 kcal per day. This is adaptive thermogenesis. It has been demonstrated that adaptive thermogenesis occurs with both severe and modest calorie cutting.

What is the driving force behind this? Here are some candidates:

• Changes in body weight
• Changes in Leptin
• Changes in Insulin
• Changes in Thyroid Hormones
• Depletion of Fat Stores

 Fortunately you can beat all of these, prevent adaptive thermogenesis, and keep the weight loss coming.

The answer?

Exercise combined with diet.

This seems to help – but not in all cases. We know from research and anecdotal evidence that not all exercise prescriptions work. What does work is intense metabolic resistance training.

If you are currently stuck at a weight loss plateau, you need to break your body’s set point. To do this it is necessary to undergo a rigorous change in diet and training so that you can in essence shock your system.

Here’s what to do next. Once you break though your sticking weight using Warp Speed Fat Loss (or which ever method you choose), maintenance is very important. Get 5-15lbs below your old body weight set point and maintain that weight. Many people lose their fire and drive after they have lost the weight but you need to stay focused so that you can reset your body’s set point.

Maintain your new weight for 4 weeks (this is ideal – if you can’t go that long at least do 2 weeks) before you start losing weight again. This step wise approach will help reset your system to your new body weight and help fight its urge to return to the old set point. The key is keeping your body weight long enough so that your body ‘thinks’ that is the new normal.

About the Author/More Info:
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28 day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10,15, or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 day. To start losing weight fast visit http://www.thebuffgeek.com/warpspeedfatloss.php. Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University. Mike’s writings can be found in magazines such as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss (http://www.thebuffgeek.com/warpspeedfatloss.php) is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.

San Diego elephants lose weight on ‘dumbo’ diet

Over the past 9 years 7 Elephants of the San Diego Zoo have lost a combined weight of 11,314 lbs.  Most of the captive elephants we see are much more passive then their wild counterparts and so they tend be a bit more overweight.

The elephants lost this weight through an increase in activity and a decrease in the amount of calories consumed (diet & exercise).  The weight loss was calculable and consistent.

So what does this have to do with you?  I’ll admit, we as people do not have a lot in common with elephants.  But we do share a similar metabolism when it comes to energy in and energy out.  

So why do you have so much trouble losing weight and the elephants seem to be rock stars at it?  

Two things.

1.  You think too much.

2.  You have a choice.

Mind set is the number one reason why so many people have trouble when it comes to losing weight.  Some believe that they are somehow magically destined to be obese their entire lives.  Unless of course they find that magic diet or pill to counteract the magic curse.

Remember, it’s not so much the diet or routine you’re on.  It’s more about your ability to stay consistent and follow things through to the end.  These elephants don’t have a choice in the matter.  You do.

Autumn is probably one of my favorite seasons.  Unfortunately if you’re like me its also the time of year I start to be a little more loose wit my eating habits.  I’m a big fan of Halloween myself.  So for all the other computer geeks out there interested in shedding a couple pounds before the upcoming fat season, Ive decided to present to you Warp Speed Fat Loss.

First off, Warp Speed Fat Loss is a very cool concept. The idea that you have in your hands the exact step by step rapid weight loss blueprint that can help you lose 8lbs in the first week and up to 21lbs in just 28 days is very exciting.

Warp Speed Fat Loss is broken up into two main parts – diet and training. The good thing is you can be a complete idiot in both areas and still lose as boatload of weight since everything is laid out for you.

In regards to the diet. It is put together by nutritionist and fat loss master Mike Roussell. Mike has created a ton of different “diet levels” so all you need to do is 1. Know your body weight and 2. Print out the 28 day diet plan for that body weight. If you don’t like the foods Mike picked out that is okay as he made some really easy to follow videos that show you how to add your favorite foods to his diets.

The training part of Warp Speed Fat Loss isn’t a walk in the park; but if anyone told you that you could lose 20lbs of fat in just 4 weeks without a solid exercise program they’d be telling you lies. It isn’t like you have to spend your whole day in the gym either as each of the workouts are over in less than 57 minutes.

The Warp Speed Fat Loss program has already given hundreds of people results were nothing short of phenomenal. If you are looking for a brain dead simple guaranteed way to lose weight fast then definitely check out Warp Speed Fat Loss. You can pick up your copy at Warp Speed Fat Loss.