I don’t spend a lot of time on Pinterest, but I know Alissa does, and we often have a big laugh when she’s on the health and / or fitness boards.  The amount of misinformation that gets disseminated there is astounding.  It would take me a few years to refute all of the incorrect “pins,” and that’s time I just don’t have.

I do have time to take care of one right now, though. . .  This is one of the most ridiculous pins I’ve heard, and one of the most absurd claims I’ve ever heard.  I wanted to go over this one in particular because it completely disregards science, and tries to give the middle finger to how our bodies work.

Have you heard the one about how taking Honey and Cinnamon together will make you lose weight?  Here’s the claim:

“Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast and on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. When taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.”

Pictured: The alleged solution for the obesity epidemic.

This is ridiculous.  First off, there is no food that will “not allow the fat to accumulate” on the body.  Fat doesn’t accumulate–  Fat is stored.  You have an amount of fat cells in your body, and if you gain weight / fat, those fat cells fill with oil.  If you lose weight, those fat cells don’t go away. . .  They simply release and oxidize that oil.  The person that came up with this outrageous claim probably believes that eating fatty foods will lead to fat gain because fat will “accumulate” in your body, but that is a myth as well.

Weight gain and weight loss in normal, healthy individuals is a simple numbers game.  Your body expends a certain amount of energy throughout the day–  If you eat more energy (Fun fact: A calorie is a unit of energy) than you expend, you will gain weight;  If you eat less energy than you expend, you will lose weight.  If we don’t account for body types and depressed metabolisms (from Chronic Dieting), it is that simple.  So the claim that it will reduce weight even when eating a high calorie diet?  Wrong.

Also, “it reduces the weight of even the most obese person.”  What!?  So they’re claiming that this is a thermogenic (fat burning) food?  What’s interesting is that honey is comprised of 100% carbs;  Carbs are the least thermogenic of the macro nutrients.  Ridiculous.  For the record, protein is generally accepted as the most thermogenic food (Though some studies claim fat is); The one consistency to all of these studies is that carbs come in last.

So what will happen if you eat that concoction twice a day?  Nothing.  You will eat honey and cinnamon, which is more calories than you (probably) would have eaten otherwise.  If anything, if you don’t put a lot of cinnamon in this (as cinnamon can help control blood sugar), you will make your body fattier as you may be spiking your blood sugar and forcing an insulin response multiple times per day.  (Honey has a very high glycemic load;  I eat honey only when I want to spike my blood sugar.)

“But Gabriel, how do you explain my mailman’s dog’s best friend who lost weight with this LOL?”  Easy.  They made a lifestyle adjustment separate from the honey cinnamon that helped them to lose weight.  (I crafted that hypothetical rebuttal myself–  I haven’t heard of anyone even doing this.)

If anything claims you will lose weight with no effort, it lies;  If anything claims that it will drastically cut the time it takes to achieve your goals, it’s probably not going to.  If you chase after fad diets and crazy concoctions, the amount of time you spend on all of that could have been used simply changing your lifestyle, and then you would see real results.

It’s worth noting that there are many other (claimed) benefits of a Cinnamon Honey concoction–  I’m not addressing a single one of those. . .  Just the incorrect claim that it can help you lose weight.

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Once upon a time, we discussed HIIT–  High Intensity Interval Training.  We discussed why it’s so great, and different ideas for a HIIT routine.

Since then we have learned a lot more, and have discovered a fantastic HIIT routine that I would call a definite a** kicker;  I would also call it the most effective cardio I’ve done.  For the record, we did not come up with this. . .  This is actually recommended by Lyle McDonald as part of his “Stubborn Fat Protocol.”   There’s is an accompanying  supplement stack that you take with his program, and while it’s ridiculously effective for fat loss, it’s not necessary, nor recommended in some cases–  We will mention it in this post, though.  Anyway. . .  The workout requires you to go to the gym first thing in the morning, without eating, and to get on a treadmill:

You start with a brief warmup–  We go to a gym that requires a lot of walking to get to, so that’s considered part of the warm up.  We continue with 3 minutes of walking on the treadmill at a speed of 4.  (15 min / mi pace)  Officially, the warm up is to be 3 – 5 minutes.

Your first round of HIIT:  You have to sprint as hard as you can in order for this to be as effective as possible.  You go 30 seconds of sprinting, and 30 seconds of walking or complete rest.  (After two or three intervals, I start jumping on and off the treadmill for my breaks, but slowing down the treadmill so your rest periods consist of walking is just fine as well.)  It’s worth noting that by “Sprinting,” I mean going at a pace that is hard to sprint continuously for 30 seconds.

If I could keep that up, I would be running a 4:17 mile, which is insane for me.

Be careful, though. . .  Most treadmills can’t handle certain speeds, so if you’re a fan of pushing yourself, or are really fast, you’ll probably need to do this workout outside in order for it to be most effective.  Otherwise. . .

I have discovered that Precor Treadmills break every time you go at a 4:17 (14) or better pace. . . So I save that sprint for the very end.

After you finish you first round of HIIT, you sit down.  You can also stretch, and get water, but make sure you sit down and rest for 5 minutes.

Now comes the steady state.  Go to your favorite cardio machine  (We’re a fan of the elliptical, but you can also use the stairmaster or treadmill), and go moderate intensity for 25 – 40 minutes.  When you’re through there, you rest again for five minutes.

And then the second round of HIIT, which is a strange thing–  At this point my legs are so tired from the first round that they don’t want to go again, but they’re so warm, and I feel so good that they will just fly.  Either way, you do between 5 and 10 minutes of HIIT this second time–  Whatever you are physically capable of.  I have trouble finishing 6 minutes, so I usually stick with that.

When you’re through, do whatever you need to do to cool down and hope your stomach isn’t turning too much.  Wait an hour and then have a small protein meal (Whatever that means to you–  The point is no carbs and little to no fat. . .  We opt for a scoop of protein powder with 1/2C almond milk);  Wait two hours after that and eat as you normally would.

And that’s it!  Anyone can do that and you will see fantastic results!

There is also the supplement stack that is only recommended if you’ve lost a significant amount of body fat, or if you already have a decently low body fat percentage.  This should be taken 30 – 45 minutes before your workout, and never done more than 3 times per week (Though we stick to 2):

200mg Caffeine;  2g Vitamin C;  2 – 3g L-Tyrosine;  and 0.2mg / kg bodyweight of Yohimbine HCl.

So why this stack?  To avoid an overly scientific answer, the Caffeine and Vitamin C boost your metabolism;  The L-Tyrosine improves fat mobilization / lipolysis;  And Yohimbine also helps with fat mobilization  and lipolysis, but has the added bonus of targeting alpha receptors in stubborn fat areas of the body. (Hence the name of Lyle McDonald’s program, and why the supplement stack is really only recommended for those who are trying to cut down even more.)

Supplements or not, this is a fantastic option for cardio!

Filed under: Health, Nutrition, Nutrition Myth by DeVinePhysiques
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The post about our HIIT cardio routine will come next week. . .  For now, we had to debunk an article!

On Facebook, people post a lot of links to articles and tips for health, “weight loss,” and nutrition;  Often times there are quality articles out there, but it seems like almost as often, there are articles posted that are misleading, incorrect, or have their hearts in the right place but don’t understand science.

Case in point, this article.

Now, I admire that they’re trying to give lifestyle advice to people seeking it, but there are a lot of tidbits of information here that are just plain wrong–  You can’t completely fault them, though.  A lot of what they write are recycled health and nutrition myths that almost everyone believes.  (Before I was enlightened, I believed them too.  Honest mistake!)

Error #1:  Fat is the only result of excessive calories.  Let’s start with their explanation of what a calorie is.  They very correctly state that it’s a unit of energy, but then they go on to say that if your body doesn’t use it for energy, it will store it as fat.  What about eating an excess of calories after hypertrophy (weight training to failure) training?  The result of that “unused energy” is muscle tissue.  Perhaps they’ll argue that you’re “using” that energy, but if the author tried to claim this, then they would not be able to claim their “Calorie neutral” stance.  What’s that?

Error #2:  “Practice being ‘calorie neutral. . .'”  They explain that this means you should burn the calories you consume before eating more.  Their logic states that, they’re pretty sure your 400 calories breakfast will be burned off by the time you eat again.  What if you eat a lot of fat, which takes hours to completely metabolize?  I know I’m being picky here, but seriously, a beginner error (that I even I made) is treating all calories equal, when you must take macro nutrients into account–  All calories are different.  (To relate to the muscle building rhetorical claim from error #1, if you’re “calorie neutral,” then you can’t eat enough to gain muscle, ever.)

Error #3:  Nutrient timing is too real!  Be afraid of dinner!  Wrong.  A common beginner error is to believe that you shouldn’t eat after 6 or 7 PM, and more importantly, you shouldn’t eat carbs.  This is an old wives tale, and I really wish this thinking would go away.  To quote the article:  “Now, if you eat a 1,000 calorie dinner, I can guarantee you that, unless you will be sprinting for the next 2 hours afterwards, you’ll store these calories as fat to be used later. It doesn’t matter if you eat carbohydrates, fat, or protein, if you’re body doesn’t use it, it’ll store it as fat.”  At the end of the day, the only way you’ll store those calories as fat is if you ate above your TDEE  (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) throughout the day.  If your TDEE is 2000 calories, and you end the day at 1600 calories, with 1000 of those eaten during dinner, the result is the same as if you ate 4 meals at 400 calories each–  You will lose weight as you will be in a caloric deficit.

Notice I said “weight” and not “fat.”  They also incorrectly state that the macros don’t matter for fat storage (and thus, body composition).  Well, it does if you’re eating above or below your TDEE.  Fat and Protein won’t directly contribute to fat gain, whereas carbs can have a direct effect on your Adipose Body Mass / ABM  (read: Body Fat).  Again–  Not all calories are created equal.  Graduate past this!

On top of all of that, I would argue, as would others, that you should only eat carbs at night.  Thus far I have seen fantastic results by isolating carbohydrate intake to late in the day, after weight training.

Error #4:  Eating breakfast kick starts your metabolism!  This is something that, I’m pretty sure at one point we advocated, but is now in the myth column as far as nutritional research is concerned.  Your body does not need you to “kick start” your metabolism by eating–  If you’re healthy and have a healthy metabolism, your body will burn calories just as it should regardless.  Admittedly, they claim in the article that you’ll burn them at a “normal” rate instead of an accelerated rate, however, the amount of calories you would burn by “kick starting” your metabolism are negligible.  (Also, there are great benefits to skipping breakfast)  If there’s any adjustment to be made to breakfast, it’s to avoid carbs at all costs.  Carbs in the morning can trigger an insulin response, which can promote fat storage and can start the blood sugar roller coaster early.  (We reiterate this in the next point.)

Error #5:  If you skip breakfast, you’ll be so ravenous that you will eat junk food!  Well, that really boils down to self control, and whether or not you have it.  It’s also worth noting that if you eat your carbs for breakfast, you will have a carbocrash earlier, which could lead to making you ravenous.  Instead, if you use Intermittent Fasting to push your breakfast later, or stick to low to no carbs, you won’t run into that problem.

No hunger, and no carbocrash if you control your carbs. (Image stolen from getslimshop.com)

At the end of the day, if this advice is helping you to lose weight, keep on keeping on–  Just understand that the advice given in this article is flawed, and eventually, your goals will likely need to expand outside of the myths.

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Testosterone is a hormone that all bodybuilders strive to elevate, and keep elevated.  Testosterone is 100% necessary to build and maintain muscle mass, whereas it’s counterpart Estrogen can, and will, prevent the development of muscle mass.  In the broadest terms possible, hormonally, men are dominated by Testosterone, and women are dominated by Estrogen.  There are plenty of other hormones, and there are actually two different measures of testosterone levels, but for the sake of this article, we’re only going to talk about them in broad terms.  So, we want to build muscle;  This means that we need to get our Testosterone levels higher. . .  But how do you do this naturally?  Well, here are 9 of the most effective (and 1 that’s fun but not very effective) natural methods for boosting testosterone levels:

1)  Do compound lifts.  In my current workout plan, I don’t have a “leg day,” because I start every workout with either Deadlifts, Squats, or a variant.  Studies have shown that compound movements, such as Deads, Squats, Bench Press, Military Press, Pull Ups, and others, dramatically increase testosterone levels when done with a weight that keeps you in the 5 rep area.  This is why Deadlifts are regularly done in a 1X5 fashion, and Squats in the 3X5 or 5X5.

2)  Supplement with Zinc.  A Zinc deficiency can hinder Testosterone Production, and Zinc is also capable of converting Estrogen into Testosterone.  The best way to ensure healthy Zinc levels is through diet and supplementation of Zinc, specifically ZMA.  ZMA is a fantastic Zinc supplement that is also chock full of Magnesium and B6, and I take it nightly.  (It’s worth noting that ZMA is claimed to be a sleep aid, as well.  See #5)  Great places to get it from food:  Shellfish, poultry, and most nuts and seeds.

3)  Get your Vitamin D.  Whether through fun in the sun or supplements, make sure you get plenty of Vitamin D.  Again, RDI is 400 – 800 IU, but levels necessary to dramatically increase testosterone levels are closer to 3,000 IU.  In addition to helping regulate testosterone levels, Vitamin D can also reduce the concentration of the “Aromatase” enzyme.

4)  Limit (or eliminate) alcohol consumption.  We’ve mentioned what happens internally when you drink alcohol, but alcohol consumption directly affects testosterone levels by halting testosterone production, depleting Zinc levels, and making it difficult for your body to breakdown estrogen in the liver.

5)  Lose body fat.  Body fat contains an enzyme called “Aromatase” that is known to convert testosterone into estrogen.  The higher your body fat percentage, the higher concentration of this enzyme, thus, a higher estrogen level.

6)  Rest harder than you train on a daily basis.  A study by the University of Chicago showed that men who got little sleep had significantly lower testosterone levels than those who got 6 – 8 hours;  A separate study showed that testosterone levels could drop as much as 40% with lack of sleep.   Your body produced most of your daily testosterone while you sleep, which is why it’s imperative you get adequate rest–  Couple that with the fact that sleep time is when your muscles rebuild and grow shows just how important daily rest is.

7)  Stop stressing out!  Stress releases the “stress hormone” cortisol, which can shut down testosterone production, and is proven to store fat.  This can lead to a vicious cycle since (As we saw in #4) body fat can lead to lower testosterone levels and higher estrogen levels.  So try and relax more often, or consider a cortisol blocker, such as. . .

8)  Supplement with Vitamin C.  Our Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Vitamin C is only 75 mg, which is enough to function, but Vitamin C in high doses can help you in many ways:  Vitamin C in the 1,000 to 2,000 mg range can be an effective cortisol blocker;  and Vitamin C in the 1,000 to 2,000 range can also reduce the concentration of the enzyme, “Aromatase.”

9)  Talk to women.  Studies have shown that a five minute conversation with an “attractive female” can affect testosterone levels–  Not as much as anything else on this list, but it’s still worth mentioning!

10)  Become aroused as often as possible.  Yes, it may seem strange, but sexual arousal heightens testosterone levels immensely.  One study even found that watching just four minutes of erotica enhances performance on a 3 rep squat.  (Powerlifting, basically.)  Even better, it was previously believed that achieving sexual climax would adversely affect testosterone levels, however, emerging studies are showing this may not be the case  (Or if it is, it’s a negligible amount).  Have an issue with this?  Increasing testosterone levels naturally (Through the steps on this page) will lead to an increase in libido which will increase chances of arousal, thus, boosting testosterone!

We hope these all help you!  Think of it like this:  There’s a faucet that’s always running–  One knob controls testosterone, and the other estrogen–  Only one side can be opened at once. . .  Which do you want flowing?

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No long post today, just a few pointers for the start to 2013 regarding New Year Resolutions.

Seriously. Brace Yourselves.

If you’re a regular gym goer, be patient.  Every year, the month of January turns the gym into a mad house;  What’s especially frustrating is watching people take up equipment and knowing that you’ll only see them during the month of January.  If you’re an impatient person, now is the time to hone your skills and become patient, especially if you have a training day scheduled for the first of the year.  (As we do. . .  I try to plan maintenance weeks around the beginning of the year, but this year it didn’t line up.)

If you’re one of the “New Year Resolution Gym Members,” don’t be.  A healthy lifestyle is just that–  A lifestyle.  Resolving to go the gym all year “as my next year resolution” won’t cut it, nor will creating a resolution simply from pressure by others;  The desire to change has to be present, otherwise you’ll only ever know the gym during January.

If you are making health, fitness, nutrition, or all of the above a part of your new year resolutions, be realistic.  I’ve read countless articles about the reason resolutions fail, and in most cases, it’s because unrealistic resolutions were decided on.  Start small, and allow your goals to evolve as you reach certain benchmarks, or stick with it long enough.  Everything in life can be looked at as a staircase;  You can try to jump from the floor to the sixth step, but failure is very likely. . .  It’s best to look at the path ahead and take it one step at a time.  (Even if your resolutions have nothing to with health or fitness, that still applies!)

Regarding my health / fitness goals, I only really have two, and both are within my grasp since I’ve been working toward them for some time:  The first is to finally deadlift four plates (405 lbs. 1 X 5);  I’ve been working on this for over a year and am at 395 lbs. currently.  My second goal is to continue on the path I’m on and compete in a natural physique competition this summer.

We just survived the “Apocalypse,” so let’s make 2013 a great year!

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I wanted to take a little time today to debunk a major myth among women. Women shouldn’t do heavy weight lifting. For some reason as a society we have trained ourselves to think that it is just fine for men to lift heavy in the gym, but that women should only lift light weights and do more reps of the exercise.

Women have a fear that if they start to lift heavy they will get huge and bulky muscle, this is only a concern if that woman is taking steroids. The female body doesn’t produce enough testosterone to build muscle like that. All that will happen when a woman lifts heavy is that she will start to build some muscle  burn more fat, and look leaner and more toned.

I recently told another lady how much weight I can deadlift (195lbs) and her response was hysterical to me. She said “lifting weight that is heavier than you can’t be good for your body.” I am not sure how she even decided that in her head because I can see absolutely no reason that could possibly be bad for you. If you train with correct posture and know how lifting heavy will never hurt you.

I can’t even begin to describe how much my body has changed for the good since I really started lifting heavy. I look better, I feel confident in my abilities and my appearance, and I know that I can handle anything that comes my way physically.

If you are a woman, do yourself a favor… start lifting heavier weights. You won’t believe how quickly your body will transform and how much stronger you will become.

If you do it right you will only gain benefits!

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We’ve done a few vlogs before, but this is our first joint vlog.  Enjoy!  (And be sure to watch it all the way through!)

Remember, treat people how you would love to be treated in return, and respect lifestyle choices!

And on a technical note, we’re sorry about the lighting.  We swear we really are semi-professional filmmakers!

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Every so often, I read an article, or see a post somewhere with information that is either wrong, misleading, or entirely dependent on your goals.  Alissa and I constantly have to preface statements and new ideas with “For my goals,” because all of us want to achieve something different.  I’m looking to get to a certain level of muscularity, and plan to maintain 7 – 8% body fat.  In stark contrast, Alissa is also looking for a level of muscularity (significantly less than mine, which makes good sense), and is looking to maintain 18% body fat.  So, because of this, even though we workout together, and cook together, almost everything about our programs is different.  This is important, because a lot of the time, you will read “tips” or “guides,” they usually don’t define who the tips are for.  So, here’s a breakdown, and my thoughts, on an article I read called “10 Rules of Good Nutrition.”

Rule #1: Never Skip Breakfast.  We actually firmly believed in this idea until we discovered carbohydrate backloading.  In the plan, John Kiefer recommends either a late breakfast, or skipping it all together.  (Mostly relevant if you eat carbs for breakfast)  He’s not just throwing that out there for the sake of saying so, though. . .  Based on what your body is doing hormonally (Specifically in regard to Cortisol), your body is actually primed to burn body fat for fuel in the morning, and eating will reverse this.  The alternative:  Eat a breakfast with no carbs–  Carbs will reverse the fat burning state, protein and fats won’t;  Also, carbs will likely produce an insulin response, which will prime your body for fat storage all day.

New slogan: “The breakfast for fat storage!”

Rule #2:  Eat Every 3 to 4 Hours!  Yeah, we eat every two, and I fully support this.  Not only does it keep you full throughout the day, but it does keep your metabolism chugging along–  Just be careful.  If every 2 – 3 hours you’re having high GI carbs, you will be priming your body for fat storage all day, giving your body no choice but to eat muscle for fuel.  Choose low GI carbs, nuts, proteins, etc.

Rule #3: Always Eat a Carbohydrate with a Protein!  I agree with this–  I never recommend eating carbs alone.  If you group carbs with fats or proteins, it lessens the effects, if any, the meal will have on blood sugar, thus preventing an insulin response.  Here is a part I don’t agree with, though:  They point out that the RDA for woman under 140 lbs. is 50g of protein.  Our current macro nutrient RDAs are severely messed up, and are not optimal for healthy, fit bodies.  I recommend everyone eat at least one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, as this is an accepted standard in bodybuilding.  (For the record, there are numerous studies that have been done regarding protein intake, and we plan on doing an entire post on the subject.  For now, I would point you to a very credible 2011 study that says .82g / lb. body weight)

Rule #4:  Double Your Fiber!  Do it!  Fiber is great for your digestive system, and because of how your body digests fiber, it doesn’t count toward your net carbs for the day.  Plus, fiber comes from great sources, like Almonds / Nuts, Vegetables, Whole Grains, etc.  For the record, the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance / Intake) is between 25g and 35g of fiber a day, and I highly recommend having at least 20g.

Rule #5:  Trim the Fat From Your Diet!  This, I don’t agree with.  Fat, as a macro nutrient, has a bad reputation for no reason.  A lot of people think, “A low fat diet means I won’t gain fat!”  Well, that’s 100% wrong.  Carbohydrates are the macro nutrient most responsible for fat storage;  And on top of that, low fat alternatives to typically have high fat foods often have an insane amount of added sugar.  A great example?  Look at low fat peanut butter.

What’s supposed to be a decent protein source that keeps you full and has a glycemic load of zero can now affect your blood sugar and make you hungrier. Great job!  (For those who don’t have the nutrition facts memorized, sugar free peanut butter has half of the calories, twice as many carbs, and half the protein.  The fat content is lower, though.

That stuff is terrible for you, and at the end of the day, the increase in sugar consumption will lead to fat gain over consumption of dietary fat.  Plus, because fat takes a while for your body to digest, you can effectively make something that’s High GI have less of an impact on blood sugar. . . On top of all of that, if your Carb Backloading, Carb Cycling, or doing Carb Nite, you’re converting your body’s energy source to dietary and body fat.

Just limit your trans fat and saturated fat intake–  Unsaturated fats are good, while saturated fat needs to be limited.  (As a side note, though, higher fat foods typically have more calories, so you do need to be careful with fat consumption.)

Rule #6:  Eat Your Vegetables!  Seriously.  Eat as many as you can.  Most cruciferous vegetables (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, etc.) have great cortisol blocking properties, too.  (Cortisol, a stress hormone, can promote fat storage and prevent your body from oxidizing fat for fuel.)

Rule #7: Get Your Vitamins and Minerals from Food, not Pills!  No way.  This is something I can’t agree with at all.  I wish I still had the source, but I once read that only 10% of the world population gets all of their micro nutrients from food sources.  Here’s my stance:  A good multivitamin is a supplement;  A supplement is meant to supplement a healthy diet with the micro nutrients that may be lacking.  Of course you should try and eat as healthy as possible, consume as many micro nutrients through food as possible, but you should always take a good multi too.  (I do realize that the author of the article admits to using a multi, and even recommends one, but I can’t agree with the way the “Rule” is stated.)

Rule #8:  Drink 8 – 10 Glasses of Water a Day!  Yes.  Drink more, even.

Rule #9:  Consume Minimum Amounts of Sugar, Salt, Caffeine, and Alcohol!  I agree with all three of this, except for the Caffeine, and I’ll be honest, this is purely subjective.  Every month, another study comes out either for, or against coffee consumption;  At the end of the day, I love coffee, and you will have to make up your own mind about it.  Caffeine, as a stimulant, is also a great metabolism booster, and can be found in many other sources outside of coffee, like green tea, a popular “Weight loss” supplement.  As far as limiting Sugar and Alcohol, these are topics we’ve definitely discussed here before;  Salt is something else to watch, as high sodium intake with a sedentary lifestyle can lead to high blood pressure.  (It’s worth noting that a lot of different factors go into this, though.)

Rule #10:  Never go on a Fad Diet!  I 100% agree, and I agree with the reason listed:  Fad diets give you a finish line, when health and nutrition are, and should always remain lifelong lifestyle choices.  We even wrote a post about it.

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“Don’t give in to peer pressure.”

I’m sure we have all heard about peer pressure growing up, but the secret that adults never tell you is that peer pressure exists in adulthood too.  Being healthy, or attaining the physique you want can be a very demanding task that requires an immense amount of self discipline.  To take the time to plan out your food every day, keeping your calories within the range that you need for your goals, and keeping your macronutrient ratios in the optimal ranges;  To spend all of the time at the gym required to build (or maintain) muscle and cut away fat;  To spend all of the time reading and doing research to find a health and nutrition plan that works for you, not to mention all of the experimenting with plans and the months that could go into that–  All of this, and more, is necessary to achieve your goals.

Yet, some people will try and derail your progress for whatever reason they see fit, and to that I must remind you to not give in to peer pressure.

“You said you did weight training earlier– Now you need carbs!”

A lot of hard work can go to waste over giving in, but if you can maintain the same level of self discipline, you will never set yourself back.

Plus, the option exists to plan your workouts and meals around those who may influence you.  This past weekend we were visiting family, and I knew we would be going out for dinner one night.  So earlier in the week, while planning my workouts, I planned to do weights before that dinner so I could eat whatever I wanted, as I’m “Carb Backloading.”

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I always say that nutrition is 80% and exercise is only 20%. This may lead people to believe that exercise is not that imperative to a great body.  While you can achieve a relatively small body without much exercise, this body will be lacking in tone and definition.  Exercise may be the smaller part of the equation, but it’s still a part of the equation.

In our current society, it is so easy not to move really at all in a day.  We get in our cars to drive everywhere, we sit in front of a computer all day at work, and then we get home and sit down in front of the TV. Our ancestors had to move so much more than we do just to survive;  Perhaps this, combined with no processed foods, is why obesity didn’t exist in caveman days.

Our bodies are made to move.  I can’t tell you how great I feel after an amazing workout, weights or cardio.  My body has all of these muscles for a reason and loves to use them.

Don’t forget how important it is for your health to exercise.  If we don’t move our bodies can get weighed down with all the food we are eating, it can cause health problems beyond even obesity.  Plus, without exercise we couldn’t build strength, nor could we compete against each other–  And we all need that.

Next week, we’ll be discussing carbohydrate back loading, a controversial, yet amazing technique that combines strict nutrition with exercise to create incredible results.

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