Plus an important lesson on how to help your mind control your exercise and diet results.
You may have noticed from a lot of my ezine issues that I speak a lot about the power of your mind and how this controls the results you get in your body.

This is yet another example of the power of the placebo effect, and probably the only reason anybody gets any results whatsoever from typical supplements (I’m talking more about bogus “miracle” diet pill supplements rather than legitimate whole food or herbal supplements).

I recently read about an interesting study regarding energy drinks and whether they actually give any results (sorry, I don’t have the exact citation or the exact numbers involved), but here was the general details of the study…

The researchers split the group into 2 large groups of people.  The first group they gave one of these typical “energy drinks” that you see everywhere (which I’ve mentioned before are a complete waste).

Now here’s the important part… the researchers specifically told this 1st group of people that the energy drink they were receiving would increase their strength and endurance levels and increase their energy output.

The 2nd group received the exact same “energy drink” but was not told what the drink was, so nothing was said about it improving anything. For all these people knew, they were just being given a drink because they were thirsty.  They were not told that this drink was an “energy drink”.

The very interesting results:

The 1st group, which was told that the energy drink would improve their strength and endurance, actually DID increase their strength outputs and endurance tests.

However, the 2nd group, which received the EXACT SAME “energy drink” was NOT TOLD that it would help anything, and therefore, they showed no measurable signs of improvement on any of the tests!

Wow… yet another powerful example of how it’s ALL IN YOUR MIND!

Energy drinks don’t really help with anything, but if you strongly believe in your mind that something you are doing will improve your results, it really CAN help your results.  This is the placebo effect at its best!

One way that this phenomenon can be applied to your nutrition and workouts:

1. When you’re performing certain exercises, you need to really strongly BELIEVE IN YOUR MIND that those exercises are transforming your body… in return, that strong belief will improve your results in the gym MUCH more than just mindlessly going through the exercises.

2. When you are eating healthy food, you need to really strongly believe and think about how much that food is making you leaner, stronger, and giving you more energy. If you believe strongly how much that food is helping you, it WILL help you much more than if you didn’t think positively about what you were eating.
This is very powerful stuff!  Your brain really CAN control your fitness results or lack of results.
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist?author

The Egg: this three letter word invokes almost as much fear into the hearts of Americans as our other favorite “deadly” three-letter word: F-A-T.

However, it’s finally time to crack the misconception that eggs are bad for our health, because they’re absolutely not.
It’s unfortunate, but many people still think that you cannot eat more than one egg per day, or even more than 3 eggs per week because if you do, you’ll develop high blood cholesterol levels and fatty arteries. But, this could not be farther from the truth.

So, why do we think this way?

In the 1960’s consumers were first “warned” about eggs as being a major player in the development of heart disease… without any conclusive evidence to back up this claim. News articles overwhelmingly focused on the egg- cholesterol – heart disease link when there was no real proof for this message.

Eggs were so demonized that egg substitute products became all the rage for cooking and baking, but they were no better, and sometimes far worse, than the whole egg itself.

Today, consumers need to understand that eggs are not evil, but in fact are healthy and important components of our diets.

High Protein Quality

First and foremost, eggs an inexpensive source of high quality protein that almost everyone can enjoy in various ways – from scrambled eggs to deviled eggs to green eggs and ham, eggs are a versatile way to quickly and easily get more protein in your diet. And, they’re not just for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner too!

In terms of protein quality, most foods rich in protein are measured in terms of the availability of that protein to effectively promote growth (cell growth), and this term is known as biological value.

Based on the amino acids contained in an egg and its ability to stimulate growth, egg protein is only second to mother’s milk for human nutrition.
On a scale, with 100 representing top efficiency, these are the biological values of proteins in several foods:

Biological Value of Protein Foods

Nutrition Powerhouses

Secondly, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition:

•    Eggs are among the few sources of naturally occurring vitamin D and K, which are known for cancer protection and longevity.

•    Eggs contain the highest source of dietary choline (125mg/egg), which is a nutrient necessary for proper nervous system development and structural integrity of cell membranes; particularly, choline is necessary for brain development in infants to impart lifelong enhancement of memory and attention.

•    They supply 6.3grams of high quality protein, 5 grams of fat primarily consisting of an even balance of saturates and monounsaturates, with less polyunsaturates, and barely no carbohydrates at all; they’re the perfect low carbohydrate food.
•    Some designer eggs contain up to 200 mg of DHA, the essential omega-3 fatty acid needed by all humans for normal development and functioning, and prevention of depression and memory loss.

•    The whole egg contains 166 mcg of lutein and zeaxanthin, two super antioxidants that contribute to eye health and prevent common causes of age-related blindness; research shows that the bioavailability of these nutrients from eggs is higher than other foods with higher contents.

Eggs Do NOT Cause Heart Disease

In November 2010, a paper was published by Canadian medical researchers entitled, “Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: not for patients at risk of vascular disease”.

The authors stated that: “Patients at risk of cardiovascular disease should limit their intake of cholesterol. Stopping the consumption of egg yolks after a stroke or myocardial infarction would be like quitting smoking after a diagnosis of lung cancer: a necessary action, but late.”

However, prior to this paper, over the past 10 years, numerous studies, both clinical and observational, were published with the findings that there is no connection between egg consumption and heart disease risk, especially in healthy individuals.

For example, Dr Maria-Luz Fernandez and colleagues have been investigating egg nutritional health for more than a decade and have published findings such as:

•    “Revisiting Dietary Cholesterol Recommendations: Does the Evidence Support a Limit of 300 mg/d?”. Overall, no study has yet shown an association between egg intake and risk for heart disease and there is no compelling epidemiological or clinical trial results that show compelling evidence for limiting cholesterol intake to 300 mg/day or restricting egg consumption.

•    “Dietary Cholesterol from Eggs Increases Plasma HDL Cholesterol in Overweight Men Consuming a Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet”. Raising HDL cholesterol is often called impossible, but is necessary to protect against plaque build-up in your arteries (HDL carries it away). This study shows that it can be easily increased in overweight men (a population very susceptible to heart disease) by reducing carb intake and using eggs in the diet regularly.

•    ‘Pre-menopausal women, classified as hypo- or hyper-responders, do not alter their LDL/HDL ratio following a high dietary cholesterol challenge”. When 50 pre-menopausal women (another very susceptible heart disease population) were given either an egg a day plus cholesterol from other foods, or a cholesterol-free egg substitute for 30 days, did not experience the development of an ‘atherogenic lipoprotein profile” regardless if they were hyper or hypo-responders to dietary cholesterol.

Overall, dietary cholesterol from eggs does NOT cause heart disease, rather a lifestyle and a diet high in foods that elicit increased inflammation, hyperglycemia and oxidative stress induces increased atherosclerotic build-up and increased risk for heart attack or stroke (among other diseases).
As such, it is wise to follow a diet low in sugar, void of processed foods, artificial chemicals (flavors and colors), preservatives and pesticides and avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, and replace it with a whole foods, natural, plant-rich diet balanced in protein, carbohydrates and fat to minimize heart disease risk.

Avoiding eggs is not the answer – in fact, including eggs in your wholesome diet will actually benefit you more . Two eggs provide 13 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and plenty of nutrients you barely find in any other foods. This will keep you satisfied, healthy and energized for hours after any meal and will help you choose other healthy foods at the right times.

However, If you choose not to live a healthy lifestyle with whole foods, adequate sleep, plenty of exercise and minimal toxins, and/or you already have heart disease, you may be advised to limit your intake of egg yolks because it may acerbate your current situation.

Here are your Plank coaching cues:

• Begin face down with your weight on your forearms and toes.
• Your body forms a nice straight line from the top of your head to your heels, and your shoulders are pulled down away from your ears.
• Tilt your pelvis and pull your navel in slightly to prevent your rear end from sticking up or sagging down.
• Hold the position for anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Having strong core muscles (also called trunk muscles or the “inner unit”) that work together properly is important for all movement, from sports and dynamic movement to the basic functions of daily life. A strong core is a prerequisite for the prevention of injury, enhanced sports performance, improved balance, and proper training and muscular development.

And of course a strong, well trained core will also help your stomach look flater and toned! A six pack is very aesthetically pleasing, so read on to find out more about core muscle training and exercises!

Core muscles

Core muscles include any muscle that has a functional role to play with one of the five major postures: standing, sitting, lying on the back, lying on the stomach, or on hands & knees. This means that in addition to abdominal muscles, the greater core area is made up of all the muscles of the lower back and shoulder girdle, the internal and external obliques, pelvic muscles, transverse abdominus (TVA), gluteal muscles, and even hamstrings.

• Rectus abdominis muscle: commonly known as abs or six pack this is a paired muscle running vertically on each side of the core muscle area
• Transversus abdominis: so called for the direction of its fibers, is the innermost of the flat muscles of the abdomen, being placed immediately beneath the internal oblique muscle
• Internal oblique: is the intermediate muscle of the abdomen, lying just underneath the external oblique and just above the transverse abdominal muscle
• External oblique: is the largest and outermost of the three flat muscles of the front core muscle area

Therefore to maximize your core strength working just one or two isolated groups of muscles isn’t enough. You need to focus on integrated training exercises that work several muscle groups together such as compound resistance exercises and challenging core & stability work. Swiss ball exercises are especially good for working the core because the unbalanced platform the inflated ball creates means more core muscles are recruited.

What do the core muscles do?

We now know where the core muscles are but why do we want to work them?!

• While no one is ever completely safe from injury, strong core muscles go a long way toward injury prevention in both sports and routine activities like carrying groceries or picking up a child.

• Strong core muscles help your extremities to work well in conjunction with the rest of your body. So when you’re teeing off or serving, muscles throughout your body contribute to the effort and cushion the strain on your joints.

• Back injuries often result from weak core muscles, so by strengthening the core your spine will be more stable and you’ll have less risk of herniation or a bulging disc. Our lower back muscles are often weak and are the first thing to go when we bend forward or twist. A strong core and core muscles can help reduce and prevent lower back pain.

How do you train the core?

There are a number of different ways to strengthen your core muscles with exercises, and it depends on your starting level and your aims for core development. It is best to talk to a qualified personal trainer to see what sort of exercises are best for you, and to make sure you’re doing them correctly.

In general, you should aim to work on strengthening your core muscles three times per week for at least ten minutes per session if you want to notice a real difference. Focus on the quality of the core exercises rather than the quantity of repetition, and keep the speed slow and controlled. If you can do more than 25 reps of a core muscle exercise it’s either too easy, your technique is not correct, or you are going too fast!

Core muscle exercises

Exercises for the core include prone holds, side holds, leg extensions, crunches, sit ups, oblique sit ups, oblique twists, back extensions, alternating arm and leg raises, supermans, plus a host of swiss ball exercises such as crunches, prone holds, russian twists, jacknives, hip bridges, hamstring curls and more.

Don’t forget that it’s not just core specific exercises that strengthen your core muscles. You fitness training program should include compound resistance exercises such as squats, bench press, lat pull downs, and shoulder press to work the core muscles in a more dynamic method.

By Mike T Nelson PhD(c)

Let’s face it, trying to lose fat can be hard at times.  The biggest thing that comes up time and time again is hunger.  In a perfect world, you would find a way to not be hungry and still watch your waistline shrink.   Can that really be done?   Below are 6 tips to help guide your waistline to a new low.

by Dr. Kareem Samhouri – CSCS, HFS
Neuro Metabolic Fitness & Rehab Expert

If you want to lose stubborn abdominal fat faster, don’t make these 3 common fat loss mistakes below…

1. Relying on Abs-Specific Training:

For some reason, the misconception of spot reduction continues.  No argument has ever convinced me that you can lose fat in a specific area by contracting the muscle in that specific area.  Fat loss just does not work this way.  Yet for some reason, we see hundreds of people every day at the gym doing hundreds of crunches and situps and thinking that they are somehow burning fat from their abdomen, when in reality, they’re just wasting time!

Fat loss is a systemic effect that takes place as your body morphs into a healthier you.  Fat storage patterns vary person to person according to hormonal levels, genetic fat storage patterns, myofascial restrictions, and inflammation.  Reducing body fat in those areas through exercise is only done if you are working to modify hormonal levels that have related fat storage areas, for example.

However, there has yet to be convincing evidence that you can do tricep presses, for example, and lose fat in the back of your arms… Just doesn’t work that way.  The same is true with your abs.  In this case, even if you do 3000 sit ups per day, you wouldn’t be doing much for fat loss.  Fat loss is about:

1. Energy system training
2. Compound movements targeting many joints at once
3. Muscle balancing
4. Motor unit recruitment, and
5. Multi-planar movement

It’s impossible to add all of the above into an abs exercise, or even a series of abs exercises.  The goal is to tire as much of your body as possible, to a safe extreme.  This is referred to as momentary muscular failure, and it’s when lactic acid onset takes place.  Remember, lactic acid, which is what makes you sore, is a very good thing.  It means your body is working hard to reduce inflammation and repair.  You’re well on your way to rapid fat loss.  You’ll see incredible results when you accept this:

I believe muscle soreness following a fat loss workout should be a 5 – 7 (on a 0 to 10 scale), most of the time, where:

0 = no pain whatsoever, no muscle soreness
10 = extreme muscle soreness, emergency level

This is a big wake-up call for a lot of people, but it may just shed light on why you’re not seeing the fat loss results for which you were hoping.
2. Low To Moderate Intensity Cardio For Long Duration:

Walking.  This, alone, simply won’t work for long-term fat loss results. It may work at first for somebody who is extremely obese and has been sedentary, but not for most people.  While I strongly believe in the benefits of walking for stress relief, personal time, reflection with movement, blood pressure and cholesterol modification, etc., I do not consider it a good method to lose body fat.

Losing fat is about shocking your body and stimulating a repair process.  Giving your body the chance to adapt to a demand over time doesn’t help you lose fat quickly.  Sure, you can see some initial results, often masked as ‘toning’, but in the end you’re turning your Type IIa muscle fibers (oxidative-glycolytic, or medium speed fibers) to Type I (oxidative, or slow muscle fibers that have great endurance).  The only trouble is that the Type II muscle fibers do a much better job of getting you lean.

By stimulating muscular strength (not necessarily “bulking”) you are enhancing your metabolism.  It takes energy to build and restore lean muscle tissue.  Allowing it to grow consumes a bit more energy, but you don’t have to bulk up to see great results.  Rather, just create a muscle repair process while stimulating your metabolism with fat-burning foods and you’ll see your results go wild.

After a full-body resistance-based alternation-style workout session, you’ll spike your metabolism for 2-3 days as your body re-uptakes the lactic acid from your bloodstream, restores oxygen to the muscle tissue you’ve worked, and repairs the micro-tears that took place in your muscles.  Supersets or circuits in full body workouts is one example of this, and interval training accomplishes this too, but what if we take things a step further and get you off a machine?

I suggest that we alternate body parts, directions, speeds, intensities, and muscle synergies, or pairs.  Alternation in any form, even when the intensity is a bit lower, is still a rapid fat loss signal to your body.  You’re sure to see wild fat-burning results once you start thinking about fat loss as “shocking the fat away”.
3. Caloric Restriction:

Caloric restriction = muscle starvation = fat loss grinds to a halt.

Muscle requires calories to grow.  Without some degree of muscle growth, it will atrophy under duress.  If you’re exercising intensely, which you should be, your muscle will be eating itself to survive.

It’s really important that you feed your system so it can grow and maintain its level of function.  Your body requires food for muscle repair, concentration, heart health, and digestive health.  Regular meals are best.  There are 2 schools of thought with eating for fat loss:

1. Eat 3 meals per day and up to 2 snacks.
2. Eat 5-6 small meals per day.

Normally, I recommend #2, because I find this is a great way to ensure you are not snacking on things that are bad for you, because you are eating healthy small meals often enough.  Also, I tend to never feel hungry when I’m eating on this schedule.  That’s very helpful for fat loss.

Contrarily, eating 3 meals per day seems like it should also allow you ample time to digest and re-spike your metabolism.  I believe there should be a small bout of exercise in between each meal if you choose this approach.  If thats the goal, let’s go at it.

Again, my recommendation is 5-6 meals/day, where you pre-plan your week’s meals over the weekend, cook many meals at once, and prepare yourself for fat loss.

Most importantly, make sure you are getting enough calories.  Yes, you do need a caloric deficit to lose fat over a certain time period, but taking your daily calories too low can reduce your metabolism and halt your fat loss.

Under no circumstance should an active female eat less than 1300 calories or an active male eat less than 1500 calories when trying to lose weight.  Within a few months of coaching, most of my female clients are eating 1800 – 2000 calories, and my male clients are eating 2100 – 2800 calories.  …and they keep losing fat faster and faster.  The goal should be to stimulate your metabolism to be able to eat more, not less.

In summary, there are 3 major fat loss mistakes you absolutely want to avoid:

1. Low to moderate intensity cardio for long duration – great way for your body to adapt to exercise and stop burning fat.  Plus, you’re converting your muscle fibers to the wrong type.

2. Abs-specific training – 3000 sit ups and no result?  That’s just depressing.  Train for full body systemic fat loss.  You’ll be glad you did.

3. Caloric restriction = starving muscle = no more fat loss; instead, make the goal to eat more and build more fat-burning muscle to ramp up your metabolism, permanently.

If you are new to exercising within the constraints of fibromyalgia, it may be helpful to enlist the help of a trainer, physical therapist or exercise physiologist to design a program specifically for you. Every person with fibromyalgia has a different exercise capacity, so you need an individualized program.

Another important concept related to exercise is your “baseline.” Each person has a different baseline. It is the level of exercise that you can maintain over time. It does not mean that you are pain-free, but that the pain doesn’t interfere with your lifestyle. You also need to remember that you’ll always have good days and bad days. You don’t stop or reduce your exercise because of a bad day. (Although you may reduce it for a while if you have a bad flare-up that lasts days or weeks.)

Exercise training for someone with fibromyalgia begins with stretching. Stretching reduces the stiffness and keeps ligaments and tendons from shortening over time. Stretching should be gentle and it should feel good. It is usually a good idea to warm your muscles with mild aerobic activity, such as walking, for a few minutes before stretching.

Daily low-impact, gentle aerobic exercise is the next step. Aerobic exercise has tons of health benefits. It specifically helps reduce fibromyalgia symptoms because it improves flexibility, causes your body to release endorphins and other happy chemicals and reduces stress. Walking and bicycling are excellent low-impact exercises. It is important to start at a level suitable to where you are and increase your level of exercise slowly. If you get fatigued after five minutes of walking, start there and increase your time by a minute or two every week or two.

Some activities are especially good for fibromyalgia. Water aerobics and swimming are wonderful. The buoyancy of the water supports your sore muscles and allows you to exercise with less pain. Swimming has a double benefit of gentle stretching along with aerobic exercise.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong and Yoga emphasize slow, gentle movements that are ideal for people with fibromyalgia. All three exercises include breathing and focusing, which decrease stress. You also learn to be aware of your body and learn to recognize signs of stress.

Pilates is another exercise system where you work with your body, stretching and toning it. Pilates is a non-weight bearing exercise, like chair aerobics. It is a gentle way to tone your body, and gentle is the word for exercising with fibromyalgia.

People with fibromyalgia can add some strength training slowly as they build up exercise tolerance. Resistance bands provide plenty of strength training for a while. Strength training must be undertaken carefully and gently, and it might be wise to get help from an exercise professional before adding it. There are many benefits to strength training, and it could be a very beneficial addition to your exercise, especially when you are feeling well.

Whether we are talking about exercise or sleep, pacing and routine are important if you have fibromyalgia. Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day helps with sleep. Exercising at the same time every day helps with exercise. Your body begins to respond to routine.

Exercise must be paced, too. That means starting at a low level, increasing gradually, and incorporating rest into your routine. You exercise, then rest, then exercise some more. Over time, you can shorten the rest periods and/or lengthen the exercise periods. Rhythm and pacing make a big difference in how much exercise you can tolerate.

It is recommended that you consult your doctor before starting any new exercise regime.

To find out more on why exercise can be so beneficial please visit http://www.FibromyalgiaNaturalRemedies.com.

Related Exercise Articles

If you have to watch the exact same episode of your favorite television show every day for the rest of your life, you would probably be banging your head against the wall by the end of the week. You would change the channel, pick up a book, or do anything you could to avoid something you once enjoyed.

Yet, many people starting on a fitness program feel compelled to follow the same routine, day after day after day, and consequently fall off the exercise wagon.

Most people would want the services of a fitness trainer in order to provide them the different portions of the fitness program in a livelier style.

Fitness trainers are actually experts in analyzing and creating a fitness program that is right for you. They are the ones who will calculate your appropriateness to a certain program with regards to your “fitness level,” create the program according to your specific needs, and keep you stimulated and inspired by giving you activities that will not bore you.

But then again, as with other entities included in the fitness world, not all fitness trainers are created equal. They may vary from the different trainings that they have, the health education they have acquired, and the skills that they have learned.

It is important to consider some factors that will determine if a certain fitness trainer is right for you. Here is how to find the fitness trainer that fits you:

1. The Fitness Trainers Certification. Like any item or product, the quality is sometimes measured and determined through the certification. Before you choose your fitness trainer, it is important to verify if the trainer is duly certified by a highly regarded fitness association.

It is also best to choose a fitness trainer that has a CPR certification or first aid qualifications.

2. The Fitness Trainers Education/Trainings. Be sure to choose a fitness trainer who had acquired an adequate training and education as far as health and physical fitness is concerned.

Even though it is not necessary, fitness trainers who have acquired education connected to physical fitness or any other related field will definitely have an edge over the others.

3. The Fitness Trainer should know how to give the right attention. A good fitness trainer should know how to provide his or her client an undivided attention whenever their session is going on. In this way, the trainer will be able to focus more on the details that need attention and offer immediate considerations.

4. The Fitness Trainer should know how to track development It is best to choose a fitness trainer that knows how to track his or her client’s progress as far as fitness is concerned. In this way, the trainer will be able to generate new activities and trainings designated for a particular result of the client.

5. Does your Fitness Trainer have a Good Personality? Since you will be dealing most with your fitness trainer, it is best if you will look for somebody with a compatible personality, somebody whom you can be comfortable with.

The services of a fitness program center and the contributions it can give you while working out on those belly fat, are, indeed, one of the best help that you can get from a professional person who knows what he is doing.

It is best to choose the best fitness trainer who can give you the best fitness program services that you need so that you will never get bored again.