Hey Tyron here with another really cool guest post from Mike Geary, fat loss and abs expert and creator of The Truth About Six Pack Abs, the #1 Rated Abs Program on the Internet(As Ranked by Clickbank.com).
But before I get to that I just wanted to remind you that I
opened up another one of my highly successful fitness boot camps this past Monday Sept. 14. It runs at 11:45am to 12:30pm (noontime) every Monday, Wednesday,
Friday at 2104 Front Street, just off old Dollarton in North
Vancouver. All my members now have access to 2 locations to choose from. So whether you sign up for 1, 2, or 3 times per week, you can choose each week what location and time works better for your schedule.
Stay tuned as the opening of my 3rd boot camp Monday, Wednesday, Friday will most definitely be on the horizon. Please leave a comment below letting me know which time(s) (i.e. 6am, 7am, etc) would work best for you as I want to accommodate those interested as much as I can.
For those who want to sign up for your FR.EE 1 week
trial visit http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com. Now you can attend any location that works for you, i.e. Monday come to the
noon class, Wednesday come to the evening class, and Friday come to
the noon class, your choice! And those who sign up for my Rapid
Results program can attend as many classes as they want per week
which works out to 6 classes at $8 per class!
Back to the article, Mike wrote an article about the dangers of canola oil and why you SHOULDN'T cook with it, use it raw as a salad dressing or give it to your worst enemy! If you've ever gone thru my Rapid Fat Loss Nutrition Habits you'll know I'm not a fan of ANY vegetable oil.
Read the short article below and put action to what you learn as its the doers that get results in life not the hearers (or readers in this case :)!
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
FYI - the guys at Prograde emailed me and told me that they are having a 10% off Back-to-School sale on ALL of their products until this Friday.
I'm currently using their VGF 25+ Multivitamin, and their Workout Drink for my post-workout nutrition to increase fat loss and muscle. I also have their organic snack bar Cravers too (peanut butter is the way to go!).
The 10% off everything sale is at this page, so stock up (ends Friday):
http://ProgradeNutritionals.com/specials
The Canola Oil Marketing Deception
Hey, Mike Geary here again with another kickin' article for you.
If you've been following my fitness newsletters for some time or know anything about me, you may have noticed that I NEVER include canola oil in any of my recipes or any of my lists of healthy foods.
Many people have asked me why, because all they hear in the mainstream media is that canola oil is "heart healthy" and a good source of monounsaturated fats similar to olive oil.
Well, first of all, you need to realize that much of what you hear in the mainstream media has been influenced by heavy handed marketing tactics by big food companies. Canola oil is cheap for them to produce so they want to fool you into thinking it's a "health oil" so that people, restaurants, etc. will buy it up as their main oil of choice.
The dirty truth about canola oil
Yes, it's true that canola oil is high in monounsaturates, but let me explain why canola oil is anything but "healthy".
Canola oil is made from something called rapeseed. Rapeseed actually had to be bred over the years to reduce the percentage of a problematic component of rapeseed, which is erucic acid.
Important note on canola oil "urban legends": There is a problem with most websites that DEFEND canola oil, saying that internet "urban legends" on the dangers of canola oil are unfounded. The problem is that these websites that defend canola oil ONLY talk about the issue of erucic acid. The issue of erucic acid IS an urban legend, because erucic acid has been bred out to very low levels over the years, so it is a non-issue.
However, these websites that defend canola oil are barking up the wrong tree because they don't address the issue of the processing of canola oil and oxidation of the polyunsaturated component of canola oil, which is what makes it unhealthy for human consumption. THAT'S the real issue that they either don't understand (because they are not nutrition experts) or are simply ignoring.
Let's look at the REAL issues with canola oil:
Canola oil typically ranges between 55-65% monounsaturated fat and between 28-35% polyunsaturated fat, with just a small amount of saturated fat.
While we've been led to believe that high monounsaturated fat oils are good for us (which they are in the case of virgin olive oil or from unprocessed nuts or seeds), the fact is that canola oil has more detriments than it does benefits.
As you may have heard me talk about in other articles or in my Truth about Abs book... one of the biggest problems with highly processed and refined vegetable oils such as corn oil, soybean oil, and yes, even canola oil, is that the polyunsaturated component of the oil is highly unstable under heat, light, and pressure, and this heavily oxidizes the polyunsaturates which increases free radicals in your body.
The end result of all of this refining and processing are oils that are highly inflammatory in your body when you ingest them, potentially contributing to heart disease, weight gain, and other degenerative diseases.
The reason that extra virgin olive oil is good for you is that it is cold pressed without the use of heat and solvents to aid extraction.
Canola oil, on the other hand, is typically extracted and refined using high heat, pressure, and petroleum solvents such as hexane. Most canola oil undergoes a process of caustic refining, degumming, bleaching, and deoderization, all using high heat and questionable chemicals.
Does canola even have trans fats?
Even worse, all of this high heat, high pressure processing with solvents actually forces some of the omega-3 content of canola oil to be transformed into trans fats.
According to Dr. Mary Enig, PhD, and Nutritional Biochemist, "Although the Canadian government lists the trans fat content of canola at a minimal 0.2 percent, research at the University of Florida at Gainesville, found trans fat levels as high as 4.6 percent in commercial liquid canola oil".
And this is the junk that's being marketed to you as a "health oil"!
As you can see from the details above on how canola oil is processed, it is barely any healthier for you than other junk oils like soybean oil or corn oil. The bottom line is that it is an inflammatory oil in your body and should be avoided.
The only canola oil that might be reasonable is if you see that it is "cold pressed" and organic. Most canola oil is NOT cold pressed or organic, so you might as well choose oils that you know are healthier.
Your best bets are these oils:
* extra virgin olive oil - for lower temperature cooking or used as a healthy salad dressing oil
* Udo's Choice Oil Blend - NEVER use this for cooking as it has a higher polyunsaturated fat content (therefore heat destroys the benefits of this oil), but it is a cold processed blend of healthy oils that mixes well with olive oil for salad dressings.
* Virgin coconut oil - great for all temperatures of cooking due to it's high stability under heat. A great source of healthy saturated fats in the form of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), one of which is Lauric Acid, which helps support the immune system and is lacking in most western diets.
* Good Old Fashion Butter - I like to use a mix of butter, coconut oil, and a small bit of olive oil for most of my cooking.
So don't be fooled by food labels claiming that they contain "healthy canola oil"... as you can see, this couldn't be further from the truth! Choose some of the healthier options above and your body will thank you!
Mike
PS- What are your thoughts about this article? Are you using Canola oil or another vegetable to cook with or use on salads? Please share your thoughts by making a comment to this blog post below, thanks! Also, please let me know what boot camp times and locations would work best for you
Mike Geary is the owner of TruthAboutAbs.com & Busy Man Fitness.com. He's authored the internationally best-selling ebook, The Truth about Six Pack Abs. Currently, The Truth about Six Pack Abs is the #1 ranked Abdominals ebook in the world (as ranked by clickbank.com) with over 263,000 readers in 154 countries to date.
Grab your copy by clicking the link below:
The Truth About Six Pack Abs
PS- If you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience some of the best rapid weight loss personal training that GUARANTEES you results or your money back, click the link below:
North Vancouver Personal Training
PPS- Or if you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience one of the best rapid weight loss fitness boot camps that'll get you lean and strong like the ladies in the video below (check out the video if you haven't already it's hilarious), please click the link below:
North Vancouver Boot Camp
Click the video below:
Tweet This
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The Truth about Low-Carb Diets vs. Controlled-Carb Meals
Hey Tyron here with another really cool guest post from Mike Geary, fat loss and abs expert and creator of The Truth About Six Pack Abs, the #1 Rated Abs Program on the Internet(As Ranked by Clickbank.com).
But before I get to that I just wanted to let you know that I'm
opening up another one of my fitness boot camps this coming Monday
Sept. 14 at 11:45am to 12:30pm (noontime) every Monday, Wednesday,
Friday at 2104 Front Street, just off old Dollarton in North
Vancouver.
For those who want to sign up for your FR.EE 1 week
trial visit http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com. Now you can attend any location that works for you, i.e. Monday come to the
noon class, Wednesday come to the evening class, and Friday come to
the noon class, your choice! And those who sign up for my Rapid
Results program can attend as many classes as they want per week
which works out to 6 classes at $8 per class!
Back to the article, Mike wrote an article about the truth of
low-carb diets vs. controlled carb diets and gave some suggestions for meals options.
Read the short article below and put action to what you learn as its the doers that get results in life not the hearers (or readers in this case :)!
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
The Truth about Low-Carb Diets vs Controlled-Carb Meals
Hey, Mike Geary here again with another kickin' article for you.
One of the problems I see with "diet talk" is that nobody seems to agree what "low carb" really means... One person may think of "low carb" as an Atkins style diet with as much fatty sausages, hotdogs, and nitrate processed meats as you want and virtually no carbohydrate based foods at all.
Another person may view "low carb" as 40% of daily calories coming from carbs instead of the traditionally recommended 55% to 60%.
If you think about it, in a 40/30/30 type of diet, the majority of the calories are coming from carbs, so that obviously can't be called "low carb"...yet some people do call it that.
Because of these drastic differences in how different people view the term "low carb", sometimes my clients are confused as to what I recommend.
First of all, I don't recommend "low carb" or "high carb" per se... I don't think it's vitally important to have any sort of exact ratio. I think everyone needs to explore for themselves how they feel at different ratios of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
After all, the most important aspect to your success is your total caloric intake vs your caloric expenditure over a given time period.
But where carbohydrate intake becomes important is in how it can affect your hormones and blood sugar in your body and stimulate cravings. You could tell someone to eat 2500 calories/day of a higher fat and higher protein content combined with reduced carbs and they may actually finish the day at 2500 calories because their appetite is satisfied.
However, tell that same person to eat 2500 calories per day in a high carb fashion, and they may end up eating 3000 or more calories per day because the higher carbohydrate diet stimulated their cravings and they ended up overeating.
I know personally, if you throw a big steak in front of me and a big pile of vegetables, my appetite will be satisfied when I'm done that meal and for hours afterward. However, you throw a big plate of pasta in front of me, and I'm gonna devour the entire plate, and then head back for seconds and maybe even thirds.
This is what happens for a lot of people... once you start eating large portions of carbs like pasta or rice or cereals, it becomes hard to stop and then you're craving more carbs an hour later too!
So what I've found to work best for me, and a large % of my clients in the past is to eat in a "controlled carbs" manner... this doesn't mean atkins style... it means very reduced grains, zero refined sugars (to the best of ability of avoiding), and instead, getting almost all of your healthy carbs from vegetables, fruits, and maybe beans on occasion.
This ends up being very similar to the hunter-gatherer type of diet of meats, eggs, nuts, seeds, fruits, and veggies, which I believe is the healthiest way to eat.
Sometimes it just takes thinking a little differently about the way you eat and what's considered "normal" in order to get rid of some of the useless grains and sugars in your diet.
For example, why do we need to eat a burger on a bun? Most people don't even think of doing it any other way because that's what's "normal".
One of my favorite lunch meals lately has been cooking up a grass-fed bison burger with no bun, and then I top it with grass-fed cheese, sliced avocados, diced onions, and salsa. I have a big side of sliced fresh veggies like carrots and red peppers (with hummus sometimes), and then maybe have a little bit of fruit or berries on the side too.
What you end up with is a meal that's pretty well balanced between protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs instead of overloaded with the refined grains from the typical hamburger bun.
Think about breakfast too...
do you really "need" the toast with your eggs, or can you do much better with loads of veggies with your eggs instead?
That's what I like to do for breakfast... whole eggs with cheese and loads of veggies, avocado (yeah, avo's are one of my favorite foods), and some green or white tea (or lately I've been really digging this mango yerba mate tea...mmm) with a little raw honey. So I get my carbs from the veggies and the little bit of raw honey instead of from the typical toast and orange juice that loads you up with extra carbs.
...Just some ideas in case it helps you to think differently about where you get your carbs from.
Mike
PS- What are your thoughts about this article? If you enjoy drinking, did it give you some tips you put immediate action to? Please share your thoughts by making a comment to this blog post below, thanks!
Mike Geary is the owner of TruthAboutAbs.com & Busy Man Fitness.com. He's authored the internationally best-selling ebook, The Truth about Six Pack Abs. Currently, The Truth about Six Pack Abs is the #1 ranked Abdominals ebook in the world (as ranked by clickbank.com) with over 263,000 readers in 154 countries to date.
Grab your copy by clicking the link below:
The Truth About Six Pack Abs
PS- If you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience some of the best rapid weight loss personal training that GUARANTEES you results or your money back, click the link below:
North Vancouver Personal Training
PPS- Or if you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience one of the best rapid weight loss fitness boot camps that'll get you lean and strong like the ladies in the video below (check out the video if you haven't already it's hilarious), please click the link below:
North Vancouver Boot Camp
Click the video below:
Tweet This
But before I get to that I just wanted to let you know that I'm
opening up another one of my fitness boot camps this coming Monday
Sept. 14 at 11:45am to 12:30pm (noontime) every Monday, Wednesday,
Friday at 2104 Front Street, just off old Dollarton in North
Vancouver.
For those who want to sign up for your FR.EE 1 week
trial visit http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com. Now you can attend any location that works for you, i.e. Monday come to the
noon class, Wednesday come to the evening class, and Friday come to
the noon class, your choice! And those who sign up for my Rapid
Results program can attend as many classes as they want per week
which works out to 6 classes at $8 per class!
Back to the article, Mike wrote an article about the truth of
low-carb diets vs. controlled carb diets and gave some suggestions for meals options.
Read the short article below and put action to what you learn as its the doers that get results in life not the hearers (or readers in this case :)!
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
The Truth about Low-Carb Diets vs Controlled-Carb Meals
Hey, Mike Geary here again with another kickin' article for you.
One of the problems I see with "diet talk" is that nobody seems to agree what "low carb" really means... One person may think of "low carb" as an Atkins style diet with as much fatty sausages, hotdogs, and nitrate processed meats as you want and virtually no carbohydrate based foods at all.
Another person may view "low carb" as 40% of daily calories coming from carbs instead of the traditionally recommended 55% to 60%.
If you think about it, in a 40/30/30 type of diet, the majority of the calories are coming from carbs, so that obviously can't be called "low carb"...yet some people do call it that.
Because of these drastic differences in how different people view the term "low carb", sometimes my clients are confused as to what I recommend.
First of all, I don't recommend "low carb" or "high carb" per se... I don't think it's vitally important to have any sort of exact ratio. I think everyone needs to explore for themselves how they feel at different ratios of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
After all, the most important aspect to your success is your total caloric intake vs your caloric expenditure over a given time period.
But where carbohydrate intake becomes important is in how it can affect your hormones and blood sugar in your body and stimulate cravings. You could tell someone to eat 2500 calories/day of a higher fat and higher protein content combined with reduced carbs and they may actually finish the day at 2500 calories because their appetite is satisfied.
However, tell that same person to eat 2500 calories per day in a high carb fashion, and they may end up eating 3000 or more calories per day because the higher carbohydrate diet stimulated their cravings and they ended up overeating.
I know personally, if you throw a big steak in front of me and a big pile of vegetables, my appetite will be satisfied when I'm done that meal and for hours afterward. However, you throw a big plate of pasta in front of me, and I'm gonna devour the entire plate, and then head back for seconds and maybe even thirds.
This is what happens for a lot of people... once you start eating large portions of carbs like pasta or rice or cereals, it becomes hard to stop and then you're craving more carbs an hour later too!
So what I've found to work best for me, and a large % of my clients in the past is to eat in a "controlled carbs" manner... this doesn't mean atkins style... it means very reduced grains, zero refined sugars (to the best of ability of avoiding), and instead, getting almost all of your healthy carbs from vegetables, fruits, and maybe beans on occasion.
This ends up being very similar to the hunter-gatherer type of diet of meats, eggs, nuts, seeds, fruits, and veggies, which I believe is the healthiest way to eat.
Sometimes it just takes thinking a little differently about the way you eat and what's considered "normal" in order to get rid of some of the useless grains and sugars in your diet.
For example, why do we need to eat a burger on a bun? Most people don't even think of doing it any other way because that's what's "normal".
One of my favorite lunch meals lately has been cooking up a grass-fed bison burger with no bun, and then I top it with grass-fed cheese, sliced avocados, diced onions, and salsa. I have a big side of sliced fresh veggies like carrots and red peppers (with hummus sometimes), and then maybe have a little bit of fruit or berries on the side too.
What you end up with is a meal that's pretty well balanced between protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs instead of overloaded with the refined grains from the typical hamburger bun.
Think about breakfast too...
do you really "need" the toast with your eggs, or can you do much better with loads of veggies with your eggs instead?
That's what I like to do for breakfast... whole eggs with cheese and loads of veggies, avocado (yeah, avo's are one of my favorite foods), and some green or white tea (or lately I've been really digging this mango yerba mate tea...mmm) with a little raw honey. So I get my carbs from the veggies and the little bit of raw honey instead of from the typical toast and orange juice that loads you up with extra carbs.
...Just some ideas in case it helps you to think differently about where you get your carbs from.
Mike
PS- What are your thoughts about this article? If you enjoy drinking, did it give you some tips you put immediate action to? Please share your thoughts by making a comment to this blog post below, thanks!
Mike Geary is the owner of TruthAboutAbs.com & Busy Man Fitness.com. He's authored the internationally best-selling ebook, The Truth about Six Pack Abs. Currently, The Truth about Six Pack Abs is the #1 ranked Abdominals ebook in the world (as ranked by clickbank.com) with over 263,000 readers in 154 countries to date.
Grab your copy by clicking the link below:
The Truth About Six Pack Abs
PS- If you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience some of the best rapid weight loss personal training that GUARANTEES you results or your money back, click the link below:
North Vancouver Personal Training
PPS- Or if you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience one of the best rapid weight loss fitness boot camps that'll get you lean and strong like the ladies in the video below (check out the video if you haven't already it's hilarious), please click the link below:
North Vancouver Boot Camp
Click the video below:
Tweet This
Can you drink alcohol and still stay lean?
Hey Tyron here with a really cool guest post from Mike Geary, fat loss and abs expert and creator of The Truth About Six Pack Abs, the #1 Rated Abs Program on the Internet(As Ranked by Clickbank.com).
He wrote an article about how to enjoy drinking alcohol without having to gain belly fat and lose all the results you've gained. Since I know a number of people can't completely give up alcohol (nor do you need to unless you have a problem with it) I thought you'd enjoy this.
In this guest post, Mike lays out his tips for how to accomplish your fat loss and health goals while enjoying a drink here and there.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
How fat loss, muscle building, and health are affected by alcohol consumption
Hey, Mike Geary here. This topic of should I or should I not consume alcohol seems to be a common struggle I hear from a lot of people... They want to get lean, but they don't want to give up drinking alcohol.
Now, I'm not talking about alcoholic type of drinking (that is obviously a problem)... we're just talking moderate social drinking here.
First, although some people may willingly choose to give up alcohol entirely, I still think most of us can drink in moderation, and still stay perfectly healthy and lean. But there are a few tricks that can help you to not pack on the pounds... and I'll mention those in a little bit.
As for myself, it comes down to choosing what I'm going to be strict about to maintain my fitness lifestyle and what I'm not going to be strict about.
For example, I'm pretty strict about never eating anything deep fried or made with trans fats, never eating white bread, and never drinking sodas or sweetened soft drinks of any kind... but I'll admit that one thing I've chosen to not be strict about is drinking alcohol.
I'm in my 30's now and I certainly don't drink as frequently as I did back in my crazy college days, but I'll certainly enjoy some cold ones when hanging out with friends, going to a bbq or dinner party, or during a night out at the bars and nightclubs.
It's all about balance in your life, and not every aspect has to be perfect in order for you to still get the body and health that you want. You'll drive yourself crazy if you're trying to be perfect.
Of course, if you have no problem abstaining from alcohol, then that will certainly be the best thing for your health and your body.
However, for the rest of us, that actually do like to partake in some social drinking, here are a few tips that have helped me to stay single-digit body fat lean, while still drinking alcohol occasionally.
Tip #1
Obviously alcohol gives you extra empty calories on the days that you choose to drink. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for carbs and protein, and 9 calories per gram for fats.
On nights that I know are going to involve some drinking, it helps to make sure that dinner is based only around protein and vegetables. You're going to take in a lot of empty calories with the alcohol, so eating a good portion of appetite-satisfying protein along with nutrient-rich vegetables can help to control your appetite and give your body the nutrients it needs.
Plus, most importantly, there's just no room for loads of carbohydrate-rich foods if you're also going to be consuming alcohol. Carbs + alcohol is a perfect recipe for growing a beer belly! Try to keep that evening meal a fairly low-carb meal to save yourself from extra empty calories.
Tip #2
If you want to save your body from adding layers of ugly fat, by all means stay away from syrupy, fruity drinks that are loaded with sugar... this is a double whammy for your gut as you're not only getting all of the empty alcohol calories, but also loads of empty sugar calories. Big fruity drinks such as a margarita can sometimes have as much as 500-600 calories per serving!
Instead, your best bet is to stick with a clear alcohol mixed with club soda and a squeeze of lime or lemon. Vodka with club soda and extra lemon/lime squeeze is my drink of choice at the bars and nightclubs.
Stay away from tonic water mixers! Some people don't realize this, but tonic water is loaded with almost as much sugar as regular soda pop... on the other hand, club soda has no calories at all. It's clearly the lowest calorie way to drink.
Tip #3
If you're going to drink beer, you're better off choosing just 1 or 2 dark beers rather than 5 or 6 light beers. Sure, dark beers have more calories than light beers, but dark beers also have more B vitamins and antioxidants than light beers, so you actually get more nutrition from the dark beer. As long as you keep it to just 1 or 2 dark beers, you may still stay within 150-400 calories.
Tip #4
Try to get in a high intensity full body workout before your night out of drinking. At least you've revved up your metabolism and have your body processing calories a little faster.
Also, trying to get in some sort of exercise the morning after your night out can also help to get your body back to a good state of health. This may not be your best workouts in terms of energy, but it can help to just get your body moving and break a sweat.
Tip #5
Avoid the late-night munchies after a night of drinking! This is where most people do the biggest damage to their waistlines.
Instead, make sure to have some lean protein and vegetables quickly available at home (perhaps some pre-cooked chicken breasts, grass-fed steaks, or even tuna fish and some veggie sticks) so that you can satisfy your late night post-party appetite with lean protein instead of carbohydrates.
The worst thing for your body is loading up on pizza, ice cream, and other carb-rich junk after a night out of drinking.
Tip #6
If you drink multiple drinks socially, try to keep drinking alcohol to only 1-2 days/week maximum if you want to stay lean. On the other hand, if you never drink more than 1-2 drinks per day, I think having 1-2 drinks daily with a meal can still be part of a healthy lifestyle. As long as those calories are accounted for and you still stay within your daily caloric maintenance.
Tip #7
Wine is one of the healthier drink choices... if you must have a drink, you might as well choose wine so you at least get a good dose of antioxidants as well. Red wine is known for it's antioxidant content, however even white wines contain antioxidants as well.
And finally, like I mentioned before, drinking alcohol just adds one more thing to your list that you have to work against in getting the body you want.
Abstaining may always be the best choice, BUT we also need to be realistic and know that social drinking is not something that most people are willing to give up entirely.
For that reason, this list of tips to help manage social drinking in a healthier way can really help you to stay leaner and healthier and still balance a little bit of social drinking into your life.
PS- What are your thoughts about this article? If you enjoy drinking, did it give you some tips you put immediate action to? Please share your thoughts by making a comment to this blog post below, thanks!
Mike Geary is the owner of TruthAboutAbs.com & Busy Man Fitness.com. He's authored the internationally best-selling ebook, The Truth about Six Pack Abs. Currently, The Truth about Six Pack Abs is the #1 ranked Abdominals ebook in the world (as ranked by clickbank.com) with over 263,000 readers in 154 countries to date.
Grab your copy by clicking the link below:
The Truth About Six Pack Abs
PS- If you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience some of the best rapid weight loss personal training so you can build a lean, strong, health body that'll get your metabolism revved up so you can enjoy some social drinking guilt-free, click the link below:
North Vancouver Personal Training
PPS- Or if you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience one of the best rapid weight loss fitness boot camps that'll get you lean and strong like the ladies in the video below, please click the link below:
North Vancouver Boot Camp
Tweet This
He wrote an article about how to enjoy drinking alcohol without having to gain belly fat and lose all the results you've gained. Since I know a number of people can't completely give up alcohol (nor do you need to unless you have a problem with it) I thought you'd enjoy this.
In this guest post, Mike lays out his tips for how to accomplish your fat loss and health goals while enjoying a drink here and there.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
How fat loss, muscle building, and health are affected by alcohol consumption
Hey, Mike Geary here. This topic of should I or should I not consume alcohol seems to be a common struggle I hear from a lot of people... They want to get lean, but they don't want to give up drinking alcohol.
Now, I'm not talking about alcoholic type of drinking (that is obviously a problem)... we're just talking moderate social drinking here.
First, although some people may willingly choose to give up alcohol entirely, I still think most of us can drink in moderation, and still stay perfectly healthy and lean. But there are a few tricks that can help you to not pack on the pounds... and I'll mention those in a little bit.
As for myself, it comes down to choosing what I'm going to be strict about to maintain my fitness lifestyle and what I'm not going to be strict about.
For example, I'm pretty strict about never eating anything deep fried or made with trans fats, never eating white bread, and never drinking sodas or sweetened soft drinks of any kind... but I'll admit that one thing I've chosen to not be strict about is drinking alcohol.
I'm in my 30's now and I certainly don't drink as frequently as I did back in my crazy college days, but I'll certainly enjoy some cold ones when hanging out with friends, going to a bbq or dinner party, or during a night out at the bars and nightclubs.
It's all about balance in your life, and not every aspect has to be perfect in order for you to still get the body and health that you want. You'll drive yourself crazy if you're trying to be perfect.
Of course, if you have no problem abstaining from alcohol, then that will certainly be the best thing for your health and your body.
However, for the rest of us, that actually do like to partake in some social drinking, here are a few tips that have helped me to stay single-digit body fat lean, while still drinking alcohol occasionally.
Tip #1
Obviously alcohol gives you extra empty calories on the days that you choose to drink. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for carbs and protein, and 9 calories per gram for fats.
On nights that I know are going to involve some drinking, it helps to make sure that dinner is based only around protein and vegetables. You're going to take in a lot of empty calories with the alcohol, so eating a good portion of appetite-satisfying protein along with nutrient-rich vegetables can help to control your appetite and give your body the nutrients it needs.
Plus, most importantly, there's just no room for loads of carbohydrate-rich foods if you're also going to be consuming alcohol. Carbs + alcohol is a perfect recipe for growing a beer belly! Try to keep that evening meal a fairly low-carb meal to save yourself from extra empty calories.
Tip #2
If you want to save your body from adding layers of ugly fat, by all means stay away from syrupy, fruity drinks that are loaded with sugar... this is a double whammy for your gut as you're not only getting all of the empty alcohol calories, but also loads of empty sugar calories. Big fruity drinks such as a margarita can sometimes have as much as 500-600 calories per serving!
Instead, your best bet is to stick with a clear alcohol mixed with club soda and a squeeze of lime or lemon. Vodka with club soda and extra lemon/lime squeeze is my drink of choice at the bars and nightclubs.
Stay away from tonic water mixers! Some people don't realize this, but tonic water is loaded with almost as much sugar as regular soda pop... on the other hand, club soda has no calories at all. It's clearly the lowest calorie way to drink.
Tip #3
If you're going to drink beer, you're better off choosing just 1 or 2 dark beers rather than 5 or 6 light beers. Sure, dark beers have more calories than light beers, but dark beers also have more B vitamins and antioxidants than light beers, so you actually get more nutrition from the dark beer. As long as you keep it to just 1 or 2 dark beers, you may still stay within 150-400 calories.
Tip #4
Try to get in a high intensity full body workout before your night out of drinking. At least you've revved up your metabolism and have your body processing calories a little faster.
Also, trying to get in some sort of exercise the morning after your night out can also help to get your body back to a good state of health. This may not be your best workouts in terms of energy, but it can help to just get your body moving and break a sweat.
Tip #5
Avoid the late-night munchies after a night of drinking! This is where most people do the biggest damage to their waistlines.
Instead, make sure to have some lean protein and vegetables quickly available at home (perhaps some pre-cooked chicken breasts, grass-fed steaks, or even tuna fish and some veggie sticks) so that you can satisfy your late night post-party appetite with lean protein instead of carbohydrates.
The worst thing for your body is loading up on pizza, ice cream, and other carb-rich junk after a night out of drinking.
Tip #6
If you drink multiple drinks socially, try to keep drinking alcohol to only 1-2 days/week maximum if you want to stay lean. On the other hand, if you never drink more than 1-2 drinks per day, I think having 1-2 drinks daily with a meal can still be part of a healthy lifestyle. As long as those calories are accounted for and you still stay within your daily caloric maintenance.
Tip #7
Wine is one of the healthier drink choices... if you must have a drink, you might as well choose wine so you at least get a good dose of antioxidants as well. Red wine is known for it's antioxidant content, however even white wines contain antioxidants as well.
And finally, like I mentioned before, drinking alcohol just adds one more thing to your list that you have to work against in getting the body you want.
Abstaining may always be the best choice, BUT we also need to be realistic and know that social drinking is not something that most people are willing to give up entirely.
For that reason, this list of tips to help manage social drinking in a healthier way can really help you to stay leaner and healthier and still balance a little bit of social drinking into your life.
PS- What are your thoughts about this article? If you enjoy drinking, did it give you some tips you put immediate action to? Please share your thoughts by making a comment to this blog post below, thanks!
Mike Geary is the owner of TruthAboutAbs.com & Busy Man Fitness.com. He's authored the internationally best-selling ebook, The Truth about Six Pack Abs. Currently, The Truth about Six Pack Abs is the #1 ranked Abdominals ebook in the world (as ranked by clickbank.com) with over 263,000 readers in 154 countries to date.
Grab your copy by clicking the link below:
The Truth About Six Pack Abs
PS- If you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience some of the best rapid weight loss personal training so you can build a lean, strong, health body that'll get your metabolism revved up so you can enjoy some social drinking guilt-free, click the link below:
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PPS- Or if you live in Vancouver, BC and want to experience one of the best rapid weight loss fitness boot camps that'll get you lean and strong like the ladies in the video below, please click the link below:
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