We’re going to make this post extremely quick and easy.

To enter to win one of the 5 10 free copies of the entire Xtreme Fat Loss Diet 2.1 system that I’m GIVING AWAY today, simply reply in the comments section below this post (reply form is at the bottom of the page) with the following information:

In 250 words or less, I want you to tell me exactly why this program is the perfect program for you at this point in your life.  Tell me WHY you NEED access to this information.

Again, please keep your reply less than 250 words, and please, leave finances out of your reply.  This program (via our special launch pre-sale) will be affordable for literally anyone who wants access to  it.  Anyone.

So, again, leaving the financial stuff out, I want you to tell me, based on everything you’ve learned about the strategic Xtreme Fat Loss Diet 2.1 system over the last 6 updates, why this program is the perfect fit for you.

I will keep the contest open for a full 24 hours, and then I’ll go through the replies and notify the winners via email sometime late Saturday!

Good luck!

Joel

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

We’re going to make this post extremely quick and easy.

To enter to win one of the five TEN free copies of the entire 24/7 Fat Loss system that we’re GIVING AWAY today, simply reply in the comments section below this post (reply form is at the bottom of the page) with the following information:

In 250 words or less, we want you to tell us exactly why this program is the perfect program for you at this point in your life.  Tell us WHY you NEED access to this information.

Again, please keep your reply less than 250 words, and please, leave finances out of your reply.  This program (via our special VIP pre-sale) will be affordable for literally anyone who wants access to  it.  Anyone.

So, again, leaving the financial stuff out, we want you to tell us, based on everything you’ve learned about the strategic 24/7 Fat Loss system over the last 6 updates, why this program is the perfect fit for you.

We will keep the contest open for a full 24 hours, and then we’ll go through the replies and notify the winners via email sometime late Saturday!

Good luck!

Joel & Craig

NOTE:  This contest is now closed.

But first, a quick recap of the previous article:

In the last article it was suggested that you never consume large amounts of fat and carbs together.  Now, there are numerous reasons why the combo isn’t desirable, but the main issue is the insulin secreted from the carb intake and the “storage”  environment it creates in the blood.  Insulin (storage hormone) + fatty acids = more fat storage.

The presense of insulin also cause several fatty acid transporters to relocate to the cell membrane to make for easier fat storage.

Sure, fat can store itself without insulin, but adding insulin makes the fat storage proces easier.  Needless to say, if you’re looking to lose fat, making it easier for your body to store fat is probably the last thing you want.

Moving on to the one nutrient you should ALWAYS eat with carbs:  Protein, and again for several reasons.

Consuming a large portion of carbs generally results in loads of blood sugar being dumped in to the blood stream and a large insulin response.  When you consume protein with carbs, however, digestion is slowed, blood sugar release is more stable, and the hormone glucagon is secreted to antagonize and control insulin.

Basically, carbs + protein is a much better, controlled situation than eating carbs alone.

Take home message:  Never eat carbs alone.

Want to learn 3 other specific fat-burning tips that you can start using today?  Check out the below link:

==> What “special” foods can boost fat-burning by 207%?

 
Enjoy the above tips!

Joel

Well, that’s a bunch of crap. :)

Sure, there’s a time and a place to go low-carb, but there’s nothing “bad” about carbs so long as their the unprocessed, fibrous variety.

That said, there is one little rule that you should always employ when consuming your favorite carb, and that’s this:  never combine fat with carbs.  In other words, limit your fat intake whenever you’re eating carbs.

Why?  When you consume fat, fatty acids are released into the blood stream.  When you consume carbohdrates, the storage hormone insulin is released in to the blood stream.  Fatty acids + insulin = fat storage.

On top of that, insulin also causes certain fatty acid “transporters” to activate within the body’s fat cells, making fat storage even easier.  Essentially, the “deadly combination” that it’s always best to avoid is having high levels of fatty acids and high levels of the storage hormone insulin (caused by carbohydrate consumption) in the blood stream simultaneously.  How can you avoid this?  Avoid eating fat with carbs, and vice versa.

Here’s a good rule of thumb:

If you are eating fat, limit your carbohydrate intake to less than 10 grams in that meal.

If you are eating carbs, limit your fat intake to less than 10 grams in that meal.

Simply by avoiding carbs and fat in the same meal (without even having to change the amount of food and/or calories you’re eating), you’ll create a more optimized fat-burning hormonal environment in your body and you’ll begin seeing faster results.

Want to learn to some other “food” tricks to help you burn up to 10% of your body fat in the next 10 days?  My good friend Isabel shows you here:

==> Burn 10% of your unwanted body fat in the next 10 days

Keep rockin’,

Joel

Just think back to the last time you had a business trip or were required to be away from home for a few days-what did your diet look like?

If you’re like most, the term “healthy” isn’t anywhere in sight.

Fortunately, though, eating healthy while on the road doesn’t have to be an impossible task, and with a little foresight, it can actually become quite painless.

It all comes down to planning.

With a plan in place, if you know you’ll be in a situation where access to healthy food may be scarce, you already know how you are going to handle that situation (instead of winging it once you’re there, which almost always ultimately leads to poor food choices).

Before your next trip, look into the various situations you will be in, and devise a plan of action. Here are a few tips for some of the situations you are likely to encounter:

• Travel: If taking the train, pack a healthy meal to enjoy on your trip. If flying, check with the airline in advance to see if they offer any healthy options on board, or you can pack something easily portable such as a sandwich, fruit, etc.
   
• Long Days: Sometimes you’ll have back to back to back meetings with very little time to eat. If you know this will be the case, plan your course of action in advance. The solution may be to just ensure that you have a local place to enjoy a healthy lunch or to even bring a few healthy snacks along as you go through your busy day.  For these types of situations, I love Prograde Protein (all natural, stevia sweetened protein powder) and their ultra convenient fruit flavored protein packets, Prograde Fusion (pour directly into a bottle of water and shake…couldn’t be easier).
   
• Downtime: Even on the busiest trips, there will be some downtime in which what you eat is up to you. Before you leave, check out the restaurants in the area (many websites have online menus) and pick a few places that you’d like to eat. Additionally, scope out the area for any grocery stores close to your hotel where you can do a little shopping for your stay; just be sure your room is equipped with a refrigerator beforehand.
   
• Back-up Planning: Things don’t always go as planned, so it’s best to always have “safe” back-up, alternative choices on hand. Throw a couple healthy snack bars (I recommend Prograde Cravers – the best tasting, all-natural organic bar you’ll ever taste), Prograde Fusion packets, or pieces of fruit in your bag just in case you get held up longer than expected.

As the saying goes, fail to plan, and you might as well plan to fail. So, instead, plan to succeed and take a few minutes to incorporate the above tips into your holiday travel plans.

Find this post helpful? Have any additional tips you can share with our members? What are some ways that help you stick to your diet while on the road?

Post your reply in the comments section!

Talk to you there,

Joel

Well, it’s not really news, because you probably already know this:  Less than 5% of people who go on a diet actually succeed at losing weight (and keeping it off).

*Moment of silence.*What a sad, yet very true statistic.

Fortunately, it’s not really all that complicated when you know “what’s up” (as the kids say).  You see, out of all the reasons people fail to see results from dieting, I’ve enumerate what I feel are the 3 BIGGEST culprits below…and if you STOP doing these 3 things, you’ll be well on your way to losing a ton of weight…for good.

The 3 Worst Things to NEVER Do While Dieting

1.  Heavily restrict your calorie intake.  Sure, it may make logical sense that if you only eat a cup of salad a day, you’ll be losing fat like gangbusters.  Unfortunately, it don’t quite work like dat.  The truth is, your body hates heavy calorie restriction and crash diets…they almost instantly send your body in to “starvation mode”, decreasing metabolism and causing your body to hold on to your fat stores as a starvation protection mechanism.

Moderate, not severe, calorie restriction is the way to go for consistent, week-to-week fat loss…but even that can become problematic.  Bringing us to our next worst thing to NEVER do while dieting:

2.  Restrict calories for more than 1 week.  No matter how moderate your calorie restriction, it won’t take the body long to figure out that you’re eating fewer calories than it’s used to getting on a daily basis.  The result?  Slowed fat loss and the dreaded fat loss plateau.  Not only do fat loss plateaus suck from a results standpoint, but they’re incredibly disheartening psychologically and cause many people to give up on diets from the lack of progress.  I mean, who wants to sacrifice for no reward?  Not me.

Research has shown that it takes just under a week for important fat burning hormones to drop off due to calorie restriction, so it’s best that calorie restriction be limited to 1 week at a time.  So what do you do to “reset” your metabolism after a week of dieting?  Well, that brings us to our next worst thing to NEVER do while dieting:

3.  Deprive yourself of your favorite foods.  Do you like ice cream?  Yeah, me too.  How about pizza?  Love it.  Shame that these delectable favorites aren’t on the “approved” foods list of very many “diets”, and that brings up several problems:

A) You’re GOING to cheat.  Yes, even you with the supersonic will power.  And when you do, you’re going to feel guilty and defeated…but you don’t have to, and you shouldn’t feel that way (more on that later).

B) Depriving yourself of your favorite foods for weeks at a time will actually detract from your results due to the reasons shared in #2.

Bottom line, your favorite foods should be strategically implemented in to your fat loss program at least once a week.  And that brings me to a little announcement:

How to Solve ALL 3 of the Above Problems

Forgive me if you already know this, as more than 100,000 people are already users of my Cheat Your Way Thin program worldwide, but my Cheat Your Way Thin system was specifically developed to overcome these 3 major diet pitfalls…and that’s essentially why it has such a high success rate.

1.  You’re NEVER heavily restricting calories

2.  You’re NEVER restricting calories (even moderately) for more than 1 week at a time

3.  You’re NEVER depriving yourself of your favorite foods for more than a few days at a time

Instead:

1.  You avoid fat loss pleateaus and instead enjoy consistent week to week fat loss

2.  You don’t feel guilty when you cheat; instead you enjoy every minute because you know you’re setting yourself up to lose weight faster the following week.

3.  You protect your metabolism as you lose weight so your lost weight stays lost (no rebound weight gain)

Yes, you’ll get to eat pizza and ice cream…and plenty of it.  You’ll never be hungry, and you won’t have to shun your cravings for weeks and months at a time.  And oh yeah, you get fast, consistent results.

And better yet, I’ve decided to slash the price by 50% for the rest of today with a half off special offer page:

==> Get Cheat Your Way Thin at 1/2 OFF

Remember, NEVER do the above 3 things if you wish to enjoy consistent fat loss results.  Instead, follow a program that automatically avoids these 3 diet pitfalls like my Cheat Your Way Thin program.  And hey, enjoy 50% off while you’re at it for the rest of the day:

==> Get Cheat Your Way Thin at 1/2 OFF

Keep rockin’,

Joel

A quick recap:

Interval training can be defined as the repeated alternating between higher intensity period of really “hard” work, and lower intensity periods of active recovery (i.e. walking).

Its benefits over traditional cardio include:

• Greater total calories burned (due to the “afterburn” effect)
• Greater fat loss (up to NINE times greater)
• Greater improvements in both aerobic and anaerobic fitness

On to the routine:

The program I am about to outline is a sprint-based interval training routine. If you are not in “sprinting” shape, you’ll need to gradually move toward this type of training through a progressive program (which is exactly what I’ve outlined below).

Week 1, Workout 1: 20 minutes @ 70% of HRmax
Week 1, Workout 2: 25 minutes @ 70% of HRmax
Week 1, Workout 3: 30 minutes @ 70% of HRmax

Week 2, Workout 1: 20 minutes @ 75% of HRmax
Week 2, Workout 2: 25 minutes @ 75% of HRmax
Week 2, Workout 3: 30 minutes @ 75% of HRmax

Week 3, Workout 1: 20 minutes @ 80% of HRmax
Week 3, Workout 2: 25 minutes @ 80% of HRmax
Week 3, Workout 3: 30 minutes @ 80% of HRmax

Week 4, Workout 1: 20 minutes @ 85% of HRmax
Week 4, Workout 2: 25 minutes @ 85% of HRmax
Week 4, Workout 3: 30 minutes @ 85% of HRmax

Week 5, Workout 1: 5 sprint intervals
Week 5, Workout 2: 5 sprint intervals
Week 5, Workout 3: 6 sprint intervals

Week 6, Workout 1: 6 sprint intervals
Week 6, Workout 2: 7 sprint intervals
Week 6, Workout 3: 7 sprint intervals

Week 7, Workout 1: 8 sprint intervals

Continue to add a sprint interval every third workout, working you way up to 15 intervals (there is no need to go any higher than 15).

NOTE: Your age predicted maximum heart rate (APMHR) can be obtained by simply subtracting your age from the number 220. For example, if you are 30 years old, your APMHR is 190 beats per minute (bpm). Therefore, if following the complete program above, your first workout would be 20 minutes in duration and would be performed at the intensity of roughly 130 beats per minute.

For the “sprinting” portion of the program, each interval should be one minute in duration; 20 seconds of maximal effort and 40 seconds of active recovery. Begin each workout with a light warm-up and stretching and finish each up with continued walking until your breathing rate has returned to normal.

Do I Have To “Sprint”?

While sprinting is probably the easiest choice (no equipment required, etc), there are certainly other modes of exercise that work just as well so long as you follow the basic max effort/active recovery. Some examples of other acceptable modes of exercise include the elliptical trainer, the stair stepper, cycling, rowing, swimming, and jumping rope.

Regardless of what exercise you choose, just make sure that the “sprint” portion of the interval is performed at near maximal effort with the active recovery portion falling at the opposite end of the effort spectrum.

Mixing Things Up

You can avoid boredom and stagnation by making some adjustments to your interval training sessions every few weeks. An easy and effective way to do this is to manipulate the work to rest ratio of each session. In the above program, the work to rest ratio was set at 1:2 (20 seconds sprint, 40 seconds walk). Other work to rest ratios that have proven to be successful are 2:1, 1:1, and 1:3. Below are some example programs using each:

Work to Rest Ratio- 1:1/2

Sprint 20 seconds/Walk 10 seconds, repeat 8-10 times

Work to Rest Ratio- 1:1

Sprint 20 seconds/Walk 20 seconds, repeat 10-12 times

Work to Rest Ratio- 1:3

Sprint 20 seconds/Walk 60 seconds, repeat 12-15 times
Less time, more results – that’s what interval training is all about.

Combine it with the even more effective metabolic resistance training and you’ll be on the fastest possible track to the body of your dreams—guaranteed.

Speaking of metabolic resistance training (MRT), one of my go-to guys in the industry, a metabolic resistance training genius, recently shared some of his best stuff with me…I’ll be back on Monday to pass on some of that MRT goodness to you.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today’s complimentary interval training workout!

Commited to your success,

Joel

P.S.  Every so often, something crosses my desk that’s just too good not to share with you.  Well, my buddy and uber nutritionist Kyle Leon is at it again:

==> Metabolism trick to OVERCOME your genetics (actually works)
 

Simply put, if you are looking for the fastest fat loss results, high intensity exercise is a MUST.

Short duration, high intensity exercise comes in two major forms: metabolic resistance training and interval training. Today, I want to take a DEEP look into the benefits of each.

First up, metabolic resistance training:

As mentioned in my previous post, metabolic resistance training is simply “cardio with weights”, and when speaking of the most effective form of exercise for the fastest possible fat loss, this is it.

A couple of studies to support this that my buddy Alwyn Cosgrove dug up:

Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM.
Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7. Epub 2002 Jan 29.

In this study a 30-minute circuit style metabolic resistance training session was put to the test. The result was a 38 hour increase in metabolism – massive AFTERBURN.

Let’s put this in perspective: Say that you worked out at 8AM on Friday. By way of metabolic resistance training, you’d still be burning calories from that workout while out at the movies on Saturday night.

You want to burn calories by watching Wolverine? Now you can.

Here’s another:

Kramer, Volek et al.
Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men.
Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1320-1329, 1999.

This study showed that those who added metabolic resistance training to a reduced calorie diet burned up to 44% more fat than those who dieted alone.

Don’t get me wrong, diet is the NUMBER ONE component of the fat loss puzzle, but once you’ve got that down, metabolic resistance training can really take your results to a whole new level.

And here’s one more:

Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R.
Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate.
J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21.

This study compared “slow-go” aerobic exercise to metabolic resistance training and found that the resistance group lost significantly more fat without losing ANY lean muscle even at an extremely low calorie intake (not so for the aerobic group).

In fact, believe it or not, while the aerobic group experienced a decrease in metabolism (and lost muscle), the resistance training group actually increased overall metabolic rate.

THAT’S the power of metabolic resistance training.

Convinced that metabolic resistance training flat out WORKS? Good. Next up, interval training:

Interval training is simply a form of high intensity cardio in which you alternate back and forth between periods of high effort and periods of active recovery.

For example, you may run very hard for a period of one minute and then follow it up with walking for one minute, repeating 8-10 times for a less-than-20-minute workout.

Does it work?

Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C.
Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism.
Metabolism. 1994 Jul;43(7):814-8

Are you sitting down? If not, take a seat.

You want to know what happened when this research group compared 20 weeks of endurance training vs. 15 weeks of interval training?

While the aerobic/endurance group actually managed to burn more total calories during exercise, the interval training group lost NINE TIMES more body fat. NINE TIMES.

Nine times more fat loss in half the time? The clear choice for fat loss is interval training.

And it all comes down to elevated metabolism after your workout is completed – the afterburn.

Are you experiencing the afterburn?

Give me at least 700 comments and I’ll be back tomorrow with some sample interval training workouts and a post you won’t want to miss!

Talk to you in the comments section!

Joel

P.S.  Every so often, something crosses my desk that’s just too good not to share with you.  Well, my buddy and uber nutritionist Kyle Leon is at it again:

==> Metabolism trick to OVERCOME your genetics (actually works)
 

Now, I say “cardio”, but really it was a metabolic resistance training session.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, the simple definition for metabolic resistance training is “cardio with weights”. We’ll cover this more in detail in another update so as not to get too off topic.

So we’re about 10 minutes into the workout and Mikey looks like he’s in pretty bad shape (despite being in really GOOD shape). So I asked him what the deal was.

“I didn’t eat anything for breakfast.”

Me: Why the heck not?

“I thought that’s what you’re supposed to do if you want to burn the most fat from your morning workouts.”

Uh oh.

Perhaps you’re still believing this old myth just like good ol’ Mikey, so allow me to take a moment to dispel it.

The theory behind empty stomach is cardio is simple: supposedly, by doing cardio on a empty stomach, you tap directly into fat stores since glycogen (carbohydrate) stores are somewhat depleted after an overnight fast.

Seems to make sense, but research has proven this to be wrong.

Several studies have shown no difference in substrate utilization (glycogen vs. fat) for those working out on an empty stomach vs. those who eat a small meal prior to their morning workouts.

In fact, one study showed the exact opposite—those who had a small meal first burned more calories and more fat than the empty stomach group.

How can this be?

The reason is rather simple if you think about it. I was kicking butt and taking names with my workout, and Mikey was barely able to get through his. Even if not eating beforehand allowed you to burn more fat (which it doesn’t), the major trade off is performance.

And why does performance matter? Well, if you can’t perform at an optimal level and put forth maximal effort, then you are not going to be burning an optimal amount of calories–period.

The truth is, empty stomach cardio is an outdated philosophy whose theory was proven incorrect by research. Still, there are plenty of people who hold on to the theory despite the available research. Perhaps they’re not aware of it, perhaps they just go by what the fitness and bodybuilding magazines tell them (bad idea); I’m not sure.

Whatever the reason, popular philosophy doesn’t always mean correct philosophy, and this is one such instance.

So I’ll leave you with some practical recommendations:

At the very minimum, have a couple scoops of whey before any morning “cardio” workout.

That said, if it’s still negatively affecting your performance, you need to go a bit further. The meal doesn’t have to be large, but it should contain some complex carbs (oatmeal, etc) along with a small serving of protein.

Give it about a half hour to begin digesting and then hit your workout.

Better performance = more calories burned = more fat loss = improved cardiovascular functioning = even better performance = even more calories burned = even more fat loss.

Don’t be like my friend Mikey and have a crappy workout because you didn’t eat. As I shared with you, the research shows that’s not going to make a difference anyway. Instead, eat your Wheaties (figuratively speaking) and then dominate your workout!

Alright, now it’s comment time:

I want to know:  Do you still do empty stomach cardio? Will you give it up based on this post? Do you notice your performance suffers?

Or maybe you do REALLY well with empty stomach cardio.

Either way, let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below!

Chat with you below!

Your friend,

Joel

Apparently, many people are still stuck doing long duration, low-intensity cardiovascular exercise — yikes!

Here’s the deal: if you’re looking to achieve maximal benefit from the time you put into your workouts, long duration “slow-go” cardio is NOT the way to go, and for many reasons.

Here are my top 5:

1. Minimal calories burned — 45 minutes on the treadmill may burn a whopping 300 calories if you’re lucky, the equivalent of ONE TENTH of a pound of fat. Exercise ten hours a week and you might just lose a pound!

Which brings me to my next point:

2. Way too much time involved — I don’t know about you, but I don’t have hours and hours of my time to pour into working out each week. In fact, very rarely do I ever exceed three hours of exercise weekly, and you know what? That’s ALL you need.

Beyond that, slow-go cardio is:

3. BORING as heck — Sitting on an exercise bike staring at the wall in front of me for 45-60 minutes? No thanks.

But perhaps even worse is the fact that slow-go cardio provides:

4. No prolonged metabolic benefit — Did you know that with higher intensity exercise it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? It’s true (and we’ll be discussing this “afterburn” effect in another post very soon). But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides virtually NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session.

And finally, the reason that trumps all the others:

5. Minimal fat loss — Minimal calories burned during the session and virtually no additional calories burned afterward = minimal, if any fat loss results. And let’s be honest, the only reason anyone is doing cardio is for the “result”.

So if slow-go cardio isn’t a great solution, what is?

Short duration, high-intensity exercise.  Less time, faster results — THAT’S what it’s all about.

And keep in mind, “high intensity” is relative to you. I don’t care if you’re already in great shape or if you’re 40 lbs overweight, you can exercise with intensity.

So what about you? Are you stuck doing slow-go cardio or have you embraced the benefit of much shorter, higher intensity sessions?

Give me at least 750 comments and I’ll be back to talk about short duration, high intensity exercise in more detail tomorrow.

Talk to you in the comments section,

Joel

P.S. Want to learn 3 other specific fat-burning tips that you can start using today?  Check out the below link:

==> What “special” foods can boost fat-burning by 207%?