Spring Cleaning and Fat Loss Videos

If you're a regular reader, you might have noticed some remodeling or Spring cleaning going on here. I deleted some old links that didn't work. And I deleted some "weight loss" links I felt sent the wrong message for my blog.

The reason I started this blog was to show what could be done physique wise with proper diet AND exercise. Particularly, I wanted to highlight the benefits of bodybuilding ie. resistance training.

Many weight loss / diet blogs put all the emphasis on diet and "weight loss" not fat loss. Weight loss just for the sake of weight loss is not optimal. It's a bad idea as muscle mass is lost. This is counter productive to health and slows your metabolism. You want to eat to support muscle mass, muscle gain, and FAT loss.

So all outgoing links will be to websites that offer optimal approaches to healthy fat loss or reliable nutrition information from here on out.

Enjoy these videos:

Fat Loss Secret: Why You're NOT Losing Weight!



The Fat Loss Fridge!



FAT LOSS & Bodybuilding Secrets - BURN YOUR Belly Fat!

Great video and advice by Darin Steen

Supplements for weight loss and a sexy summer body

Women and men both need resistance training for a sexy sleek look.
















So you’ve finally bit the bullet and started a resistance training program. You’ve signed up at the gym and recruited a personal trainer to walk you through a weightlifting program or you’ve bought a set of dumbbells or resistance bands and you’re working out to a resistance training video. See videos bleow. You’re eating plenty of protein (at least 0.8 to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight) and you’ve discovered the meaning of DOMS. (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).

You’re ready to take your training to the next level and want to add supplements to your program. But you don’t know where to start. And you certainly don’t want to waste your money on a load of supplements just because you saw them advertised in Muscle and Fitness, Muscular Development or MuscleMag. After all, that stuff is for the big guys, the pros who want to get HUGE. You just want to build enough muscle to burn some fat and look better in a swimsuit.

Wrong. Read more and watch the videos.

Want to improve your sex life?

Improving your sex life is just one reason to start a strength training or bodybuilding lifestyle now. Want to get an edge on your weight loss goals? Improve your metabolism? Strength training does all this and more. Here's a mini guide to what a bodybuilding lifestyle can do for you.

And it takes as little as 30 minutes twice a week to get started. Why not start today with a calisthenics or isometrics workout, also known as static contraction, you can do virtually anywhere. I've been sick and done isometric static contraction exercises in bed and my muscles were sore the next day. You really can get a good resistance training workout anywhere, at anytime. Read more.

Best DIGGS of the Week

I pretty much took Monday off after a busy weekend. I did do two 10 Minute Trainer workouts – click the link to read my review at Healthy New Age. You might want to check out the HNA "Meet Our Authors" page. I'm now an ongoing contributor.

And I took a two hour nap yesterday. Delicious and refreshing, and nice to wake up to a recharged stock market.

I also ran across some cool reading. Hey, it's research. Yeah, that's it, research. Here are the links: Hope you "DIGG" them too.

Sioux County.com is a gallery of Women's Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure Competitors. This site is a must for bodybuilders and fans.

6 Most Disastrous Uses of Work Email – True and Funny

Women and Muscle: Photography Great Bill Dobbins Speaks Out by Carol Bardelli for The Examiner

Best New Blog – Sanity Rant from Lady Rose of The Diet Pulpit.

Cutting Back on "Bad" Carbs

Check Out Healthy New Age

Healthy New Age is an informative, beautifully constructed and maintained website. Owned and ran by Kirk VandenBerghe & Sandy Breckenridge of HeartCore Corporation, they cover a wide variety of health topics including natural alternative medicine, holistic healing, acupuncture, Reiki, Ayurveda, fitness, emotional healing with EFT, herbal and nutritional supplements, and so much more. There's something here for virtually everyone.

Coolest of all they've hired me as a freelance writer and my first piece "Power Your Way To Fitness" review is now on their 'Bodybuilding With Tony Horton' page. Make sure to check it out as it's exclusive to Healthy New Age and you will never see it anywhere else.

Fun and Informative Links

Personal Update: I'm better but still having pain and other symptoms from this last bout of colitis. I haven't worked out for about a week and I'm strictly sticking to the colitis diet recommended my Dr. Gibbons, eating mostly turkey, chicken, shrimp, salmon, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, soft cheese, eggs, butter, olive oil, and white potatoes and rice. Oh, and homemade gluten free pizza (see this post for the recipe).

Hey, Don, if you read this, that homemade marinara in the pizza making photos is made from your garden fresh tomatoes from last year. Yum!

After awhile the pain wears you down. Luckily, it's less frequent now and ice packs help some. Over the counter pain relievers hurt my stomach - probably because this frigging disease can involve all of your digestive tract. In the past I've had esophageal involvement where I'd get even small bites of food stuck and because it wouldn't go down I had get it out by throwing up. This would only happen once in a while because I learned to take smaller bites, eat less, and chew longer.

Ironically I'm down to 118 pounds and 21 percent body fat despite not working out. I haven't bothered to count calories or macro-nutrients in the last week but know they're low, probably too low on some days. I'm still measuring my portions (habit) as in 2 ounces of meat and an ounce of cheese etc. i My appetite was in the gutter but it's coming back.

I'm going to buy some soy protein (ran out months ago) before I start weight lifting again. I had to stop the whey protein as whey is on the no no list along with milk.

Here’s some interesting links I thought I’d share:

Eight Amazing Metabolism Boosting Recipes by Jaime Filer

As promised, I have 8 recipes that include ingredients from my Top 10 list of metabolism boosting foods. The main ingredients in these dishes are great for your metabolism. Fire it up now with these great recipes! Read more.

Mechanism Behind Mind-body Connection Discovered

ScienceDaily (July 16, 2008) — Every cell contains a tiny clock called a telomere, which shortens each time the cell divides. Short telomeres are linked to a range of human diseases, including HIV, osteoporosis, heart disease and aging. Previous studies show that an enzyme within the cell, called telomerase, keeps immune cells young by preserving their telomere length and ability to continue dividing.

UCLA scientists found that the stress hormone cortisol suppresses immune cells' ability to activate their telomerase. This may explain why the cells of persons under chronic stress have shorter telomeres.

The study reveals how stress makes people more susceptible to illness. The findings also suggest a potential drug target for preventing damage to the immune systems of persons who are under long-term stress, such as caregivers to chronically ill family members, as well as astronauts, soldiers, air traffic controllers and people who drive long daily commutes. Read more.


The Push-Pull Workout by TC

I've known them all, German Volume Training, EDT, HIT, and Anti-Bodybuilding Hypertrophy Program. I've trained Thibaudeau style and the way of Cosgrove. You name it, I've tried it. I did it power-lifting style, Olympic style, and of course, regular old bodybuilding style.

All of them worked, of course...for awhile, but the one that I keep coming back to, the one that never fails me, is one of the most basic and ancient — in bodybuilding terms — routines of all. It's the basic Push/Pull system, presumably invented by that scoundrel, Joe Weider.

When I want to make guaranteed progress, I train Push/Pull. Read more.

Achieve Your Dream Body With Diet & Exercise By: Diana Chaloux
The Perks Of Achieving Your Dream Body

Are you dying to know how to get the body of your dreams? Do you want to be one of those people who walks into a room and makes every head turn and conversations stop? How does being self-confident, loving how you look, being full of energy, having a low risk of disease development and leading a higher quality and quantity of life sound to you? It sounds pretty good to me!

I've got a secret. I know how you can achieve all of these things. Patience, patience... I'm going to tell you. But before I spill the beans I've got to warn you. It's not a miracle pill, it's not a fad diet, and it's not the latest greatest thigh master machine.

The secret to success, the key to reaping all of these amazing benefits is this... drum roll please... proper nutrition and exercise! Read more.

Portion Control Quiz - Test your dieting IQ here!
Think you know your stuff when it comes to portion control? Test your knowledge on sizing up servings with our portion control quiz.

Mission Fat Loss - Day One (Low Carb)

It's day one of my fat loss mission. Today will be low carb. I'm planning on starting with a six day cycle of low carb (below 100 grams - this is NOT a ketogenic diet as I want to stay anabolic and preserve muscle). And I intend to have some heavy weight lifting workouts during this phase and intensity is nearly impossible on a very low carb diet...

"We also have to mention that without ingesting carbs, it's harder to have intense strength training sessions. It's true that some amino acids can be "turned into" glucose via gluconeogenesis, and that ketone bodies can be used for fuel after proper adaptation has set in. But truth be told, a low/no carb diet makes you lose your capacity to train hard in the gym." - Christian Thibaudeau

Today's menu looks like this:

Meal One - 4 ounces Tequila Lime chicken, 1/2 cup blackberries

Meal Two - Protein shake, 1/2 banana (pre-workout), 1 Tablespoon flax oil

Meal Three - 4 ounces Tequila Lime chicken, 1/2 cup blackberries

Meal Four - 4 ounces tuna, 1 cup mixed green salad, 1 1/2 teaspoon walnut oil

Meal Five - Protein shake, 1/2 cup mixed berries

Meal Six - 5 ounces shrimp, 1 cup mixed green salad, 1 1/2 teaspoon walnut oil

Beverages - 2 cups black coffee, 1 gallon water with lime, 3 - 3 1/2 ounce glasses red wine.

Unlimited non-calorie spices and condiments (pepper, vinegar, mustard, lime juice, etc.)

Supplements - 1 Multi-vitamin, 10 grams fish oil in softgels, 2000 mg calcium in chews, 3000 mg cranberry extract.

Calories 1606, Fat 49 grams, Carb 54 grams, Protein 186 grams, Alcohol 29 grams.

Workout One - Morning Chest & Back of 5 Sets Each Pull Ups x 25 reps, 5 Sets Each Push Ups (Performed on the ProForm BioVibe) x 25, 5 Sets Each Back Rows 8-10 Reps x 20 Pounds Per Side, 5 Sets Each Chest Flyes x 8-10 Reps x 20 Pounds Per Side.

Workout Two - Afternoon Pool Jogging / Aerobics / Pool Tag with Bruno - 1 1/2 Hours

Starting Weight 122 pounds, Body Fat Percent 24 Percent (Numbers taken pre-menstrual so they might be off).

Reasons Dieters Get Stuck & Solutions - Number Two: Low Carb Versus Low Fat: Part Two

Clarence Bass - Still Ripped at 70!
















I really cannot help but notice that the majority of low carbohydrate, low fat, and low calorie dieters I come in contact with say that they rarely or never reach goal. Even some of the “experts” out there are still overweight. The obvious logical conclusion is that else their dietary and exercise approaches are flawed, or they simply set their goal weight too low.

While part of this perceived “lack of success” may partly be due to unrealistic goals and expectations, many factors influence weight including genetics, lifestyle, height, bone structure, and body type (endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph). If you have been seriously obese you probably have more fat cells than an average person who has never been obese. How many fat cells you have influences what weight and body size you can expect to reach. When we lose weight our fat cells shrink but they do not disappear. Also shrunken fat cells give off signals to “please refill”. So successful dieters have to battle our bodies’ biological imperative to refeed and replenish our “gas tanks”.

Article – “The secret life of fat cells”

While low carbers and low fatters who are visibly overweight or have high body fat percentages are probably in need of further weight loss for health reasons, they may be facing other causes for their “failures”. (If your desire to lose is for cosmetic reasons, maybe it’s time to rethink. Very few people have the genetics or build to look like a fitness model).

Some dieters may be sabotaging their results with lack of exercise, the wrong kind of exercise – namely aerobics alone – or eating too many or too few calories. No these two opposites are not contradictory, they’re about the negative effects of eating below your BMR / RMR versus the effects of eating above your daily caloric requirements, (this is positive if you're in a muscle mass building phase, and negative if you're inactive or trying to lose weight). Read about eating too much while on low carb here, and the dangers of eating too little here.

Another fact quite a few people overlook is weight fluctuations are normal. Nobody hits goal and then maintains that number indefinitely. Usually a range of five pounds over or under goal is quite acceptable. Only when we allow our weight to continually creep upward should we worry.

As for low fat and low calorie dieters, particularly long term yo yo dieters, they almost always have slowed metabolisms and lack of muscle mass. Repeated low calorie dieting is a big mistake as it chips away at your muscle mass thus lowering your metabolism. You will lose muscle mass while dieting unless you eat adequate protein while doing adequate resistance training. (Obese people usually have more muscle mass in order to carry their excess weight. But repeat yo yo dieters slowly lower muscle mass and store more fat over time). The lower your metabolism and muscle mass, the harder it will be to keep fat off. By repeated starvation and near starvation dieting that leads to less muscle mass you are turning your body into a fat making, fat storing machine.

Low fat diets almost never provide your body with enough essential fatty acids, let alone enough saturated fats crucial for hormone production, hormone balance, metabolism of vitamins and healthy skin and hair. Your body needs adequate dietary fat to function properly.

Reason Dieters Get Stuck Number Two: Slowed Metabolism & Less Daily Caloric Demand

Both low carb and low fat dieters may have slowed metabolisms due to dieting alone (despite the muscle-sparing nature of a high protein / low carb diet muscle may be lost due to reduction in body weight). Unfortunately this means they will need to eat less to maintain their new weights. Several other factors influence metabolism and how much food you can eat and not gain weight including activity level, sex, age, genetics, hormones, and of course muscle mass.

Solution Number Two: Raise Metabolism By Building Muscle Mass, Create A Greater Daily Caloric Demand Through Added Muscle, Increased Activity, and Themogenic Effect of Food

“The USDA has weighed in on the connection between aging and metabolism, muscle mass and weight gain. Dr. David Chauvin, who wrote the article on anti-aging medicine, reported on a comprehensive study funded by the Agricultural Research Service, the chief research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and conducted by researchers at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. The study provides strong support for a "Metabolism Myth." The decline in metabolism which usually occurs as we grow older is caused by inactivity, not aging. Your metabolism won’t slow down if you don’t. Older people typically burn fewer calories at rest, which leads to creeping obesity, but the reason is loss of high-energy-consuming muscle cells, not an aging metabolism.” Clarence Bass of RIPPED.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: muscle mass is one of the few elements of metabolism (and hence fat burning) you can control. The other factors you can influence are activity level, and the thermogenic effect of food. Many people are surprised to find out about the second factor. We all know moving more burns more calories. But eating the right foods MORE OFTEN in portion controlled amounts burns MORE calories than eating three bigger meals a day. Also our bodies can not efficiently use large amounts of food at one time, any excess is stored as fat. And when more comes in, that fat does not get “called up” for service. We maximize our utilization of food by eating many small balanced meals throughout the day. (An example would be 2 ounces protein, 1/2 cup of unrefined carbohydrates, and 1 cup of vegetables or fruits, and 1 teaspoon of flax oil eaten every 3 hours. More on this later).

"This phenomenon, known as the thermic effect of food (or diet-induced thermogenesis), accounts for about 10 percent of daily energy expenditure, varying somewhat with the composition of the diet and prior dietary practices." - Britannica

Read "Are All Calories Created Equal?" and "Thermogenic Effect of Food"

Eat More Often To Burn Fat & Gain Muscle – Diet & Timing by Charlie Poole

(There’s not much you can do about the influence of sex, genetics, and past dieting history on your metabolism but you can build muscle at any age). Remember, more muscle mass equals a faster metabolism and greater fat burning. So, weight train!

(If you're a non-exercising dieter you might want to check out Tom Venuto's "The Amazing Slimming Secrets Of Fitness And Figure Models -Ordinary Low Calorie Diets Give You A "Skinny Fat Person" Body At Best, And An Unhealthy, Anorexic "Waif Model" Body At Worst...

If You Would Like To Learn How To Lose Fat (Not Muscle) In A Healthy Way, Without Starving Yourself, And Get A Lean, Firm, Strong Body Like A Top Fitness Model, Then Here Is A 100% Guaranteed Way For You To Learn How In The Shortest Possible Time...")

And make sure you support your resistance training efforts and maximize your results by lifting heavy enough to stimulate muscles (number one mistake in resistance training is not lifting heavy enough). Get adequate protein (minimum of 1 gram of protein a day per pound of body weight), adequate sleep (you build muscle while at rest not in the gym), and control stress and stress hormones like cortisol that adversely affect muscle building and fat loss.

Lean, Sexy & Hard: Weight Training For Women by John Berardi -
I decided to write this article to show how a woman should train and at the same time dispel some of the common misconceptions regarding female trainees...

7 Reasons Why Heavy Lifting Won’t Bulk You (Women) Up

And NO, aerobics do NOT build muscle. Aerobic exercise has its time and place particularly for cardiovascular fitness and fat loss. But too much aerobics, like improper dieting, can rob you of valuable muscle. See “Are you doing too much cardio? How to balance aerobic exercise and weight training to meet your fitness goals” by Bob Cooper, Men’s Fitness Magazine (Same advice applies to you, ladies).

It amazes me how many excuses people will come up with to avoid resistance training. (And usually it’s the same people who say they’ll do anything to lose weight). Lack of time, money, energy, health, and equipment are usually on their list. These are all bullshit excuses. (Pardon my French). Self sabotage is as common as fad diets, folks.

There are affordable gyms in most cities. Callisthenic and isometric exercises are FREE and very effective. If you watch television for half an hour a day you can do your resistance workout while watching. Resistance bands are cheap and effective if the resistance is heavy enough. Resistance workout DVDs are plentiful and cheap. If you’re dead broke, do push ups, pull ups, standing calf raises, squats, lunges, etc.

There are bodybuilders and weight trainers out there who are disabled, wheel chair bound, diabetic, arthritic, have other auto-immune diseases, and are over 50. If they can resistance train it’s likely you can too. (I speak from experience having Cerebral Palsy, colitis, intermittent tendonitis, and osteo-arthritis. In 17 months I’ll be 50 and fit another of those categories). Muscle building is for every body at every age (excuses are planning to fail – excuses are just self sabotage manifested).

And frankly, for many of us “lifters” resistance training is addictive. We love the challenge, the endorphins, and most of all the results!

Now, drop and give me 50 push ups!

Health Benefits of Resistance Training

Reasons Dieters Get Stuck & Solutions - Number Two - Part Three Coming Soon!
Mistake Number Two: both groups, by continually doing the same thing over and over, are sabotaging their results. Cycle Baby! Carbohydrate Cycling, Calorie Cycling, Exercise Cycling, Rest Cycling. And we’re not taking about bicycle cycling.

Additional Links:


Clarence Bass – still RIPPED at 70!


Inspired To Live – As a teenager, Alexsey lost both hands and one arm from an accident. This is his inspirational and humbling story about where he is from, how he became disabled, how he trains, and more.

Bodybuilder Nino Savona has a dream body despite having to walk on crutches.

When people ask him where his inspiration comes from, he simply points upwards and says "God". He says he is where he is to be as a source of inspiration for others, which he definitely is.

His disabilities do not slow him down and his endurance is most of the time super-human.

Many people find him to be over training when they see him doing several workout sessions, for when he does he constantly pushes every session to the limit. Always pushing, if his mind is set towards something he will get it done without excuses, his muscles have no choice but to follow.

Instead of doing his training sitting down he finds every way possible to get it done standing up. His intense training is now giving birth even to the muscles that did not work in him, including his legs.

Nino dropped his crutches stepped up to the treadmill and ran like nothing else mattered, sometimes running faster then any fully functional person would.

Exercise & Autoimmune Disease - Written by Tammy Thomas. After being suddenly afflicted with an autoimmune disease, my most beloved pastime activity of weight training came to a screeching halt. Find out how I overcame it and made new gains!

Pati’s Body Blog - A little about me…May 16, 2008

I have always been into bodybuilding since I can remember. I use to post pictures of Shawn Ray and other pro bb all over my walls. It’s just something I love doing and transforming my body is gratifying.

I suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis in my arms and legs and deal with this everyday. I have high cholesterol, border line diabetes, PCOS, Hypothyroidism and don’t lose weight like normal woman. I have to work out twice as hard and eat very clean to lose a pound. I fight everyday to lose weight and gain muscle and my body fights against me to keep every oz of fat on me. Talk about having my work cut out for me. I started two years ago at 180 lbs had enough of being called morbidly obese. I’m down to 155-160 lbs. Yes, I went up from 147 a few months back but, I have gained a lot of muscle in my upper body since then.

I want people to know that it is possible to get healthy, to get fit. It’s hard and a struggle for me everyday but, it is worth it to live to see my daughter grow up and be able to take Active part in it. I have motivated many people to do what I have done and I feel very happy inside knowing that I have that affect on people. I haven’t given up and other people haven’t given up on me. I will fight to get that bodybuilder body I want and maintain it… Don’t give up!


Bodybuilding With Diabetes

Weight training can be therapeutic and is recommended for the prevention and treatment of many diseases and illnesses. For example, it is recommended that people with diabetes exercise regularly. This is true for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The Schwarzbein Principle – Healing Your Metabolism

Heal Damaged Metabolism To Lose Weight


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Reasons Dieters Get Stuck & Solutions - Number Two: Low Carb Versus Low Fat: Part One

There are still two very distinct groups of dieters in the world. The low carb camp who limit carbohydrates and typically eat protein and fat indiscriminately. The low fat group limit fats of all kinds and typically eat carbohydrates indiscriminately. Most of the time these two ends of the dietary spectrum are diametrically opposed. And I'm going to step out on a limb and say both of these approaches used exclusively and long term are wrong for most people.

While both of these shotgun approaches won't necessarily hurt you in the short run, they also don't optimize your nutrition. And they may be hampering your metabolism and your fat loss and / or muscle building progress.

While most people can lose weight with either dietary approach they overlook the importance of tailoring their individual daily diet to their daily activity level and nutritional needs. At any given time your body's nutritional needs depend on diverse factors including activity level (how much activity you engage in), but other factors including what types of activities you're engaging in (aerobic, anaerobic, sedentary,) whether you're healing from illness or injury, stress levels, hormone levels, and even environmental factors like weather.

Here's a few generalized examples of why certain dietary approaches can be wrong in certain situations:

Scenario One, The Low Fatter (Pun Intended)

A typical yo yo dieter who has struggled with weight for years decides to go on a low fat diet because everybody knows fat is bad for you and cutting fat grams at 9 calories each (versus 4 calories per gram of protein and carbohydrate) gets you more calorie cutting for the buck. (Myth number one: fat is bad. If you truly believe this "fat is bad" nonsense read this. Myth number two: cutting fat calories is the best approach. If you believe this "cut the dietary fat" nonsense read this).

Mrs. Low Fat suffers through hunger and denial, overlooks her thinning hair and dry skin, and bad things she cannot see like unbalanced hormones and vitamin deficiencies due to a lack of essential dietary fats. She manages to lose some weight. But she hits a wall, quits losing, and perhaps binges followed by a self conflagration over her perceived failure and probable weight gain. A lack of calories and unbalanced nutrition has lead to a compromised metabolism (already lowered by less body weight and loss of muscle mass).

Desperate, she moves on to a crash diet of less than 1200 calories a day and less than 30 grams of fat a day. Unless her willpower is irrational and her determination insane she will succumb to her body's protestations through manifesting hunger and lack of energy. (Unless this dieter has developed a form of anorexia) a starvation or semi-starvation diet never works. Both are unsustainable and go against nature.

(Note: low fat and low calorie almost always go hand in hand. Both, when followed too long, are bad dieting tactics. While low carbohydrate dieters often cut calories also, increased dietary fat and protein appear to have a positive effect on appetite - and improved 24-hour blood glucose profiles, insulin sensitivity - in the short term).

Scenario Two, The Low Carber

An Atkins style low carber who never limits fat nor counts calories loses weight easily for several months. Within twenty pounds of goal weight, the dieter's weight loss stalls. They hit a plateau, maybe even gain weight, and decide to cut even more carbs. They may even return to an induction phase of low carb. But this time induction only nudges a small loss or no loss at all.

One obvious but usually overlooked clue as to why their weight won't budge is calories. The other is a reduced metabolic rate due to their previous weight loss. The less you weigh the less calories you need. Even if you eat zero carbohydrates, if you eat more calories than you burn you won't lose weight. Fat and protein calories are not magical. Eaten in excess they can and will be stored as body fat.

Both the above dieters are making crucial mistakes. And there are solutions to these mistakes that are relatively simple and easy to incorporate.

I'll tell you what they are in part two. (Cue the Hitchcockian suspense music).

Colitis Flare & Links On Various Topics

I'm on about the the eleventh day of a colitis flare and getting tired of it. My right side feels like someone stuck a dagger in it. This whole annoying episode started because I ate a Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster at Sonic and realized too late it was smothered in barbecue sauce. Almost every barbecue sauce on the market has high fructose corn syrup (and every other processed or packaged food does too including dill pickles). High fructose corn syrup is a major trigger for me.

I haven't worked out since Sunday partly due to this and because of spring cleaning. I'm sure the brief rest will do me good on the muscle building front - I tend towards over training - but the pain sucks. So I started Colon Clenz this morning to force the issue. (I'm regular, that's not the problem, but something irritating is still, well, hanging around).

The Double Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup By Bill Sanda, BS, MBA

Excerpt - For many years, Dr. Meira Fields and her coworkers at the US Department of Agriculture investigated the harmful effects of dietary sugar on rats. They discovered that when male rats are fed a diet deficient in copper, with sucrose as the carbohydrate, they develop severe pathologies of vital organs. Liver, heart and testes exhibit extreme swelling, while the pancreas atrophies, invariably leading to death of the rats before maturity.

Wiki on Colon

Best Book To Manage Colitis Through Diet

My personal story about developing and dealing with colitis.

Here's some links you might find informative:

Bodybuilding.com Women's Super Feature - This feature is designed specifically for the woman in mind. We cover all female related topics that can help you get into the strong and sexy shape that you desire.

Got Sugar? Skeletal Muscle Development Responds To Nutrient Availability

Excerpt - ScienceDaily (May 12, 2008) — A new study finds that restricted nutrient availability prevents muscle stem cells from growing into mature muscle cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the May issue of the journal Developmental Cell, provides exciting new information about how developing muscle cells sense and respond to nutrient levels. The study adds a new twist to ongoing research into the effects of caloric restriction on physiology and aging and may lead to new therapeutic avenues for muscle wasting.

Boost Your Metabolism - Tips To Speed Up & Increase Metabolism

Excerpt - Your metabolism can be affected by genetics and age but for the most part it is affected by what we do to it. Did you know you can slow down or speed up your metabolism? Before I get into that I would like to explain what metabolism is. Metabolism is the process in which your body breaks down food and uses it as energy. This gives you the ability to function and do all the things that your body is meant to do. If you have a fast metabolism your body stores less body fat. In return if you have a slow metabolism your body tends to store more fat.

These are the secrets to keeping your metabolism up.

1.) Feeding your body. Just keep in mind that your body needs

The Blood Sugar Hormones

Excerpt - Hormones are very important in building muscle. Understanding them can give you a boost in your endeavor to better your body. In this article, I will outline two major hormones that play a role in bodybuilding.

Psychological Stress Linked To Overeating, Monkey Study Shows

ScienceDaily (May 14, 2008) — Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have found socially subordinate female rhesus macaques over consume calorie-rich foods at a significantly higher level than do dominant females.

The study, which is available in the online edition of Physiology and Behavior, is a critical step in understanding the psychological basis for the sharp increase in obesity across all age groups since the mid-1970s. The study also is the first to show how food intake can be reliably and automatically measured, thus identifying the optimal animal model and setting for future obesity studies.

Because the relationship between diet, psychological stress and social and environmental factors is complex, Mark Wilson, PhD, chief of the Division of Psychobiology at Yerkes, and his research team set out to determine whether individuals chronically exposed to psychologically stressful environments over consume calorie-rich foods. To do this, they studied the feeding patterns of socially housed female rhesus macaques, which are organized by a dominance hierarchy that maintains group stability through continual harassment and threat of aggression. Such structure is a constant psychological stress to subordinates.

Metabolic Syndrome Linked To Overeating, Not Obesity

Excerpt - Overeating, not the obesity it causes, is the actual cause of metabolic syndrome, suggests a study with mice by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Metabolic syndrome is a collection of health factors that increase the risk of developing insulin resistance, fatty liver, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

This study was among the first to propose that weight gain is an early symptom, not a direct cause, of metabolic syndrome, the researchers said.

"Most people today think that obesity itself causes metabolic syndrome," senior author Dr. Roger Unger, professor of internal medicine, said in a prepared statement. "We're ingrained to think obesity is the cause of all health problems, when, in fact, it is the spillover of fat into organs other than fat cells that damages these organs, such as the heart and the liver. Depositing fatty molecules in fat cells where they belong actually delays that harmful spillover."

Cool & Informative Links

Can You Spot All Ten Cats? There's Two Moms and Eight Kittens In This Photo























Check out Lee Doyle's interview with Lady Rose of The Diet Pulpit. She even lists Kudos For Balanced Fitness & Lifestyle as a blog she reads regularly...that's too cool.

Also check out these cool links...

20 Strategies For Bodybuilding Success

Burning Fat - "How you can use these proven fat loss strategies to lose those unwanted pounds of body fat!"

The Science of Fat Loss: Why a Calorie Isn't Always a Calorie

Blueprint Your Success

Spring Shape Up - 4 Weeks to a Healthier You

Why You Don’t Need To Go To The Gym To Get Fit – Part One

Bodybuilding Pro Lee Priest Uses a Home Gym


















I can hear the gasps from the peanut gallery. “I don’t need to go to the gym to get fit! That’s ridiculous!” “Of course you need a real commercial gym to get really fit!” “Home gym equipment is inferior.”

This is sheer nonsense as professionals like Cathy and Lee Priest workout in a home gym. Lee points out working out at home improves his concentration which is key to achieving results.

Comments from Cathy and Lee Priest on their GYM AT HOME:

"The home gym is great. Powertec, Pro Spot Gym Equipment. It is the best! The Pro Spot machine is great and every gym should have one. At home it's quiet and you can focus much better than at a gym. No egos walking around screaming and yelling. I like it because you can do everything you want, any exercise, and nobody is around to stare at you! We are very pleased with the PowerTec equipment because sometimes in the gym the machines are too big (Lee is 5'4") and I can't use it. I like to train with someone so I call some friends to come over and train with me. Our gym is a good size. We have 20 machines so it is enough for us. When I am by myself I train on the Pro Spot machine so I am sure I will be safe. Our gym was good for me... at my last show I was in my best shape ever and some of my muscle was better too. I really have good concentration at home.”

Lee Priest Video




And of course the assumption circling the universe that commercial gym workouts are superior to home gym workouts is partly because gyms want your money. A commercial gym is only better if you’re one of those unmotivated types who needs peer pressure of other gym goers or a Pit Bull of a personal trainer to make you perform at the necessary intensity. If you’re any kind of a trouper or self starter a commercial gym and a personal trainer are probably just a waste of time and money.

Of course if you enjoy the commercial gym experience, driving to the gym, waiting for your turn on equipment, enduring other people's sweat on the equipment, wasting time between sets and exercises, taking three times longer to finish a workout, dealing with distractions like chit chat, showering and dressing in a public locker room, possibly having your stuff stolen, driving back home, and wasting money then a commercial gym is right for you!

Unless you’re bloody rich or one of the rare individuals that haven’t been affected in some way by the recent economic downturns, higher gas, grocery, and services prices (our satellite and water bills have raised their flat rate prices), and God forbid the mortgage fiasco, be my guest and throw your excess cash at you personal trainer and gym.

Home Gyms Versus Commercial Gyms

On the other hand why not bear with me and maybe just maybe save some time and money and get fit at home. What are some of the benefits of working out at home beside saving time and money? Convenience is a big one as you can workout when it suits you or fits your schedule. Another reason is privacy – you can do it in the nude! You can try new things and not worry somebody’s watching. There's no waiting to use equipment and you can blast out intense training in less time. You can take your after workout shower at home – alone – in the comfort of your own bathroom – WITHOUT PRYING EYES. Of course, if you look like a fitness model with a big ego and appetite for gawkers that might be a drawback.

Depending on your fitness level you can start a home gym for under $500, under $100, or even under $50, and I’ll show you how. (Of course you can spend upwards of $50,000 if you’re planning to go pro. Why waste the money if you're not Lee Priest?) I’ll also point out what not to buy because, no, you can’t get six pack abs by twisting on a RED barstool alone. Some home equipment is ineffective while others are prohibitively expensive. You can build an effective and versatile home gym that will get you fit, and you can build it over time.

Add together the cost of a year of a gym membership (the average monthly cost of gym membership is $50, according to a study done by industry trade group International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub), personal training (the normal rates for personal training can be anywhere from about $35 to $60 per session) sessions, and gas or transportation costs, and any of those amounts listed above are a deal. But you may have to change the way you think about working out, what it takes to get fit, and how you get and stay motivated.

Terrell Owens Home Gym - Terrell Working Out With Bands



Next up in part two, I’ll give you three examples of a home gym and equipment that is affordable and versatile and fits the lifestyle of an average Joe or Jane. Then we’ll look at setting up a workout program based on your fitness level that includes resistance training and aerobics that lead to muscle building and fat loss. Later we’ll look at nutrition and diet, as well as avoiding plateaus, using techniques like muscle confusion, and muscle mass training and diet versus training and diet for fat loss.

BOSU 3D Classic With Power Package

Click To Enlarge




















This puppy is in Sparks, Nevada as we speak (that's where my UPS hub is located) and should be out for delivery on Monday. Yeah! I can't wait. A review on my new BOSU 3D Classic with Power Package will be forthcoming.

As for my Rock N Roll Stepper the votes are in and we love it. There's not much I can say in the way of a review but I am planning to do a video demonstration as soon as possible. It's a straightforward little machine that rocks side to side and fun to use. I don't think I get much aerobic benefit as I'm pretty aerobically fit and it takes a lot to make me sweat and breath hard (think Kenpo Karate X) but it's a great addition to my circuit training and works your leg muscles nicely.

I did two rounds of circuit training today on the steppers, Leg Magic, and iSurf, then Power 90X Legs and Back, for a total of two hours of working out (including a load of laundry in the middle). That's what I call creating a black hole for food. Tomorrow's Super Bowl celebration will be no holds barred. I'll try for lots of protein as we made Sloppy Joes, Spicy Meatballs, cheese and crackers, and will make meat pizzas. (I'm averaging 90 to 120 grams of protein a day with 40 to 60 grams of fat - mostly omegas - and 100 to 150 grams of mostly unrefined carbs except post weight training). I'm happily looking forward to the dips, guacamole, crudites, and five kinds of chips too! Not to mention beer and wine will flow. Yummy!

Have a Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Power 90X Plus Kenpo Cardio Plus Review

There’s one word for this workout – intense! Oh, wait, here’s more words to describe Kenpo Cardio Plus – fast paced, demanding, driven, unforgiving. This workout is extreme to the max. The original Power 90X Kenpo Karate X has always been a favorite of mine and Bruno. This workout builds on the original and ramps it up. I was sweating before the warm up was over and totally soaked by the end.

At 45 minutes in length, it includes a warm up of running in place, twist jumps, jumping jacks, jump rope, yoga moves, standard stretches, ballistic stretches.

The body of the workout is Kenpo karate moves – mostly combinations that maximize impact. Here they are in order: Jab / Cross / Shuffle, Hook / Uppercut / Shuffle, Double Hammer / Lunge / Sword, Lower Block / Hammer / Front Kick, Low Block / Hammer / Front Kick, Side Speed Kicks, Cardio Break – Running In Place, Jump Rope, Jumping Jacks, Twisters, Jab / Cross / Shuffle, Hook / Uppercut / Shuffle, Jab / Step / Cross, Double Hammer / Lunge / Sword, Low Block / Hammer, Front Kick, Side Speed Kicks, Cardio Break – Same As Above, Jab / Uppercut / Back Kick, Claw / Hammer / Lunge, Back Fist / Hammer / Front Kick / Knee Kick, Elbow / Sword / Back Kick, Cardio Break, Jab / Uppercut / Back Kick, Claw / Hammer / Lunge, Claw / Hammer / Front Kick, Back Fist / Hammer / Front Kick / Knee Kick, Elbow / Sword / Back Kick, Cardio Break, The Gladiator, Spinning Swords, Spinning Sword / Back Hammer, Double Sword / Knee Kick / Back Kick, High Block / Knee Kick Burn Out, Cardio Break, The Gladiator, Spinning Swords, Spinning Sword, Back Hammer, Double Sword / Knee Kick / Back Kick, High Block / Knee Kick Burn Out, COOL DOWN.

The cool down includes traditional Power 90X moves like yoga moves, standard stretches, and ballistic stretches.

I modified for balance issues like this: I used an eight by three foot floor space framed in by my couch, my large padded office chair, and my iGallop. This allowed me to go all out without balance being an issue. The few times I started to lose balance something large and padded was nearby to support me until I got my balance back.

I highly recommend Kenpo Cardio Plus for anyone who wants to burn a lot of calories in a reasonably short time (45 minutes). Bring your best game, you'll need endurance and strength to get through this fat burner.

This is one I’d like to do a video of soon. If you’re curious about the original Power 90X Kenpo Karate X Bruno and I did five demo videos and they’re linked in my sidebar under “Our Videos”.

Next: Interval X Plus and Abs / Core Plus

Meal Plan From Yesterday

8 am – 3 ½ ounces chicken breast, 1 cup blackberries, 8 ounces yogurt.

11 am – protein shake in fresh juice from my juicer – orange, grapefruit, apple, ginger, carrot.

1 pm – workout – Kenpo Karate Plus

3 pm – 1 cup nonfat cottage cheese, 1 teaspoon flax oil, 4 tablespoons salsa.

6 pm – 2 glasses white wine, 1 ounce regular fat cheese, 12 olives, 1 ounce nuts.

9 pm – 2 glasses white wine, 2 veggie burger patties, 2 nonfat cheese slices, ½ cup vegetables, 1 tablespoon Smart Balance mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon flax oil.

Totals – calories 1757, 145 protein grams, 116 carbs grams 57 fat grams, 38 alcohol grams

I’m not sure if I’ll be posting again until Tuesday as Bruno has a four day weekend starting tomorrow due to having Friday off for end of semester and Monday due to Martin Luther King Day.

My Last Meal

Take Your Fitness To The Next Level

Buy Power 90X - Buy Power 90X Plus

This is my last day off from Power 90X. Tomorrow I go back on program - or should I say back to the Power 90X Lifestyle. My last Power 90X workout was Tuesday December 4th 2007 - Chest & Back. I remained active in other ways like moving a s#!t load of stuff when we moved my husband's home office and playing with my horse. But no official resistance training or aerobics was done.

I have been enjoying holiday treats like truffles, Belgian chocolates, crackers and cheese, caramel drizzled popcorn, champagne, caviar on Brie and more, but in moderation. Meaning I never left the portion control brigade. Off plan yet calorie controlled between 1550 and 2200 calories. My weight this morning is 114.5 pounds (premenstrual-I always gain water weight) and my body fat percentage this morning is 21 percent and 24 pounds body fat - this jumps around day to day due to variables like water weight, hydration, phase of the moon, Jupiter trine Mars. So I use my body fat meter as a guideline not as hard data. As long as my percentage stays between 17 and 20 percent, hey, I can live with it.

So I survived my holidays and being AWOL from Power 90X with little change in weight or body fat percent. I suspect some muscle loss due to lack of weight training, being off of creatine and protein shakes. Past experience tells me I can rely on muscle memory, new stimulus (Power 90X Plus is coming to my house and it arrived in Sparks, NV last night and should be out for delivery tomorrow), a supplement stack, and good nutrition to pack muscle back on and more.
















As for my last meal - the one I'll indulge in tonight before going to the gallows, um, I mean before going to the Tony Horton torture chamber - is fried seafood, fries and onion rings. Yummo! Shrimp and oysters dipped in tempura batter and deep fried. That, my friends and dear readers, is divine. Tomorrow it's back to high protein, controlled fat and controlled unrefined carbohydrates. And POWER 90X! Maybe I'll start at the beginning again and do Chest & Back. Or maybe my favorite Back & Legs. Followed by a coffee and mocha protein shake. Choices, choices.

Power 90X Plus - Buy It Now!

Free way to measure body fat percentage.

Healthy High Protein Bodybuilding Recipes From Critical Bench

Bodybuilding Recipe Links

Choosing and Starting a Fitness and Weight Loss Program

Hope your New Years Eve was as fun and safe. We spent it sipping champagne in bed. Jerry fell asleep around 7:30 pm as he had to work the next day after a nine day vacation. I got up after that and watched Jeeves and Wooster DVDs with Bruno until he fell asleep. I always outlast them both. Ha!

We’re expecting a big storm this weekend with up to 10 feet in the mountains and 2-10 inches in the valleys. Everyone’s happy about this because of all our Sierra Nevada ski resorts. Lotsa ski bums around here.

Now to my main topic. I was asked by a relative who was impressed by my results with Power 90X if I thought she should try it for weight loss and getting back in shape. The following is my response. I thought it might be helpful to others.

As for Power 90X you can read my reviews at my blog. They’re listed on the side bar. I copied one into this email below. Power 90X is not a start up or get back into exercise work out program. It’s recommended for people who are already fit who want to take it to the next level. I’ve been weightlifting and doing aerobics of one form or another since the 1990’s and I can attest the X in Power 90X really does stand for extreme. But if you want to go back to a workout program similar to Navy basic training or boot camp it certainly will push you and works. At $159.00 it features 12 DVDs – 5 are resistance training and require resistance bands or dumbbells and a pull up bar and include 1 Chest and Back, 1 Shoulders and Arms, 1 Legs and Back, 1 Chest Shoulders and Back, 1Back and Biceps, 1 Kenpo Karate, 1 Plyometrics (jumping which I do on a mini trampoline to lessen impact), 1 Yoga X, 1 Cardio X, 1 Stretch X, 1 Core Synergistics, and 1 Ab Ripper X. A guidebook and complete nutrition guide are included.

The back of the DVD box says, “Created for those seeking a higher level of fotness, P 90X features 12 comprehensive and demanding workouts-each designed with a specific fitness objective.

I can recommend a few other options as I own and use them too. Also from Beachbody.com and recommended in the P 90X guidebook as good programs to reach P 90X’s prerequisite fitness requirements are Slim In Six, Power 90 (NOT X but a less intense program), Turbo Jam, and from other sources there’s Taebo Amped (Bruno loves this and we almost knock each other out with the bars when we do it together. We also enjoy our Fluidity Bar workouts, Winsor Pilates – I have the whole set of 28 DVDs. I had good results after pregnancy with Body For Life, and we enjoy many others. All these programs come with nutrition guides. If budget is an issue buy used exercise videos at a thrift shop, Amazon, or eBay (this is how my collection grew to over 500 exercise tapes and DVDs). But my best results EVER have been with Power 90X. I now weigh 112 pounds, can wear a size 0/2, have more muscle mass and can eat 2000 calories a day without gaining weight! I use to have to eat around 1500 to maintain.

The most important thing is to find a program you can make a lifestyle. If one doesn’t suit you try another. And the results can be cumulative if you combine different workouts for variety. You don’t get bored and your progress doesn’t stall if you change things up regularly. And as Covert Bailey says, “The best exercise is the one you’ll do.”

Happy New Year and Good Luck! Carol

Power 90X Chest, Shoulders Triceps Review, Muscle Links Round Up, and More.

I’ve had several days off from working out due to a bunch of factors including menstrual cramps, a loaded schedule, and just flat out needing a break. But it’s time to get back on the Power 90X horse and bust some booty. I’ve got less than 4 weeks until my 48th birthday on the 31st and I’d love to see my goal weight of 110 pounds on the scale OR see a drop in body fat percentage by Halloween!

Also, until the 31st – which I intend to take off and celebrate Nevada Day and my birthday with the rest of my state – I plan on implementing a strenuous course of Power 90X with a diet clean up and I will share my adventures and results here. And I’ll call this mini-series of blog entries – wait for it – Riding The Power 90 X Express.

And boy am I off to a roaring fast start. Yesterday I did Power 90X Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps and I feel every muscle between the bottom of my shoulder blades up to the top of the base of my neck. It literally hurts to put a pen to paper, snap shut my address book, or hold my cell phone. It hurts to move period.

I’ve reached the penultimate level of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) because the ultimate level would probably kill me. I’ve never been this sore before. I smoked it and now I’m toast. (Actually I was hurting before I finished the workout!) At least three quarters of the 24 sets I did were to failure. (Definition: Failure - Doing a set until you can't do any more reps on your own. It's always good to have a spotter around and it's good in practice to work out to failure as often as you can. - From Demetri's Bodybuilding Terms).

The Power 90X Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout is roughly an hour long and is as follows:

Light cardio warm-up and stretch including running in place, followed by 24 resistance exercises described below.

I use Body Rev Perfect Push Up Bars for most push ups because they increase the intensity(not for One Arm Push Ups or Clap Plyo Push Ups). These are the exercises in the order they're performed with my reps listed as done yesterday:

Slow-motion 3-In-1 Push Up (36 reps)

In and Out Shoulder Fly (15 pounds, everyone is instructed to do 16 reps )

Chair Dips (27 reps)

Plange Push Up (33 reps)

Pike Press (12 pounds, 13 reps)

Side Tri-Rise (14 on left side, 16 on right)

Floor Fly Push Up (25 reps)

Scarecrow (10 pounds, 14 reps)

Overhead Triceps Extension (10 pounds, 11 reps)

Two Twitch Speed Push Up (4 fast, 3 slow x 36 total)

Y Press (8 pounds, 15 reps)

Lying Triceps Extension (10 pounds per hand, 13 reps)

Side To Side Push Up (36 reps)

Pour Fly (8 pounds, 12 reps)

Side Leaning Triceps Extension (8 pounds, 12 reps left, 15 reps right)

One Arm Push Up (24 reps)

Weighted Circle (8 pounds, everyone does 40 reps)

Throw The Bomb (10 pounds, 12 reps per side)

Clap Plyo Push Up (18 reps)

Slow Mo Throw (10 pounds, 13 reps per side)

Front To Back Triceps Extension (10 pounds, 12 reps per x 2)

One Arm Balance Push Up (14 per side)

Fly Row Press (8 pound per side, 12 reps)

Dumbbell Cross Body Blows (switched to bands – 15 pounds per side, 20 reps)

Cool down

“Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch.” Crawls away for a protein shake.

THIS IS THE MOST INTENSE WORKOUT! Go ahead, try it.

Sometimes I don't know whether to love or hate Tony Horton.

Technorati Profile

5 Top Fitness & Nutrition Articles and 5 Top Fitness & Nutrition Websites

We all know dieting alone is rarely successful in the long run. Just peruse the myriad of dieters blogs – including both low carbohydrate and low fat - to witness how many never reach goal nor manage to stay at goal. Even casual exercise is not always enough to help some maintain. After all it’s very easy in one meal alone to out eat the meager calorie deficit created by a single aerobics session.

If you take a different approach and seek out those who are successful at weight management and achieving their physique goals you’ll find a very different story. Success is not achieved through dieting alone nor is casual exercise the answer. The answer is a diligent resistance training program that includes aerobics and careful nutrition.

Below are five articles and five websites that demonstrate the path to success in your fitness and physique goals is a balanced approach that encompassed resistance training, informed nutrition, and aerobics.

Best Recent Articles:

Build and Burn – Cycling caloric surplus and deficit.

Debunking Nutrition Myths – Carbs are evil? Low fat diets are good? Debunking common nutrition myths.


Too Much of a Good Thing – The Drawbacks of Overtraining

6 Bodybuilding Diet Mistakes


Best Sites:

T-Nation

Bodybuilding.com

Dave Draper’s Iron Online

Lee LaBrada


The Elite Physique

This is by no means a comprehensive list. It's just a few I recently read and wanted to share.

Remember you get what you put into something and this is doubly true of fitness and nutrition. Avoid simplistic or incomplete approaches like dieting alone or having an affair with the elliptical machine while ignoring the weight room so long it cries itself to sleep. Finding balance is a worthy goal that will get you better results than half-arsed approaches.

Give Me The Gift of Muscle Part Two

Post Power 90X Workout & Post Shower Recovery Protein Shake






































The Happy Holidays, Give Me The Gift of Muscle, High Protein Moderate Fat Moderate Carbohydrate Muscle Building Diet and Weight Training Plan

I based this nutrition and fitness approach on years of reading, research, trial and error, correction, and finally results. Not just mine but the trials and results of many other amateur and professional athletes, fitness buffs, bodybuilders, and backyard workout warriors. Below (at the end of this entry) is a list of links to a few good bodybuilding, nutrition, and fitness sources if you wish to read more.

My ratios of macronutrients (protein-carbohydrate-fat) differ day to day but stay within a boundary of roughly 40 percent protein 30 percent carbohydrates 30 percent fat on intense workout days to 50-25-25 on off days. A 2000 calorie day would approximately look like this: 800 calories protein (200 grams), 600 calories carbohydrates (150 grams) 600 calories fat (150 grams).

This approach is not intended to lead to measurable weight loss as I’m aiming for muscle gain and these two approaches don’t always dovetail well with each other. They’re certainly achievable together – I did just that this Summer and Autumn with Power 90X - but this round is for muscle gain.

The reasoning behind moderate carbohydrates versus low carbohydrates is based on sound science (one such study is even discussed in Gary Taubes’ Good Calories, Bad Calories) and anecdotal evidence from the bodybuilding world. You can not achieve the OPTIMAL results on an intense weight training program without the quick fuel carbohydrates provide.

On some days, I cycle calories lower and eat a diet more moderate fats and carbohydrates meaning out of 1800 calories roughly 100 grams of carbs and 100 grams of fat a day to support hormones vital to anabolism while lowering calories. And the protein remains around 1000 calories because high protein is like, duh? We’re aiming for muscle building here and that’s what they’re made of.

As for Power 90X, Tony Horton says these aren’t your momma’s workouts. Right now, I’m limiting aerobics to the integrated cardio in Power 90X and walking. No Power 90X Doubles cardio-licious, ass busting, body fat kicking for 60-90 minutes in the afternoon after a demanding P 90X morning session like I did all summer. Muscle building resistance workouts are KING right now. I want muscle.

Here’s an actual (not sample) line up of my present plan of action with my goal being to gain as much muscle mass as possible in 12 weeks (maximum goal of 2.2 pounds gained).

Holiday Muscle Mass Gain Plan

Day One – Thanksgiving

6 am – Meal One: Coffee and Protein Powder 130 Calories, 25 grams Protein

9:00 :am – Meal Two: Homemade egg salad, 2 ounces ham, whole wheat toast, Smart Balance margarine, 400 Calories, 38 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates

12 pm - Workout – P90X Shoulders & Arms

1:30 pm – Meal Three: Recovery shake, 200 calories, 25 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrates

4:30 pm – Meal Four: 2 ounces ham, 2 ounces turkey, ½ cup sausage stuffing, ½ cup mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup Heinz turkey gravy, Crescent roll with butter, 12 ounces wine - 590 calories

9 pm – Meal Five: Repeat of 4 pm - 590 calories

Day Two – Friday 11/23

7 am – Meal One: Coffee, ham, eggs – Calories 235, 33 grams protein, 2 grams carbs

8 am – Shopping In Town (No Workout)

11 am – Meal Two – Subway Roast Beef and Cheese Sandwich with water - 290 calories, 18 grams protein, 39 carbs

3 pm – Meal Three: Protein shake 130 calories, 25 grams protein

5 pm – One bottle of wine sipped through the evening – calories below

9 pm – Meal Four: 2 ounces turkey, ½ cup sausage stuffing, ½ cup mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup Heinz turkey gravy, Crescent roll with butter, 1 bottle wine over the evening - 975 calories, 34 grams protein, 57 grams carbs

Day Three – Saturday 11/24

7:30 am – Meal One: Coffee ham and eggs, whole wheat toast, Smart Balance margarine, 400 Calories, 38 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates

10:30 am – Meal Two: Protein shake, fruit 204 calories, 25 grams protein, 19 grams carbs

1 pm - Workout – P90X Back & Legs

3 pm – Meal Three: Protein shake, fruit 224 calories, 25 grams protein, 24 grams carbs

6 pm – Meal Four: ½ bottle wine sipped over the evening

10 pm – Meal Five: 2 ounces turkey, ½ cup sausage stuffing, ½ cup mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup Heinz turkey gravy, Crescent roll with butter, 1/2 bottle wine over the evening - 975 calories, 34 grams protein, 57 grams carbs

Day Four – Sunday 11/25

8 am – Meal One: Coffee and Protein Powder 130 Calories

10:am – Meal Two: 2 ounce Ham, 2 ounce Turkey, ½ cup Potatoes, ½ cup Stuffing, gravy – 431 calories, 42 grams protein, 49 grams carbs

2 pm - Workout – P90X Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

3:45 pm – Meal Three: Recovery shake, 250 calories, 25 grams protein, 37 grams carbs

5 pm – bottle of wine sipped over the evening – 510 calories

9 pm – Meal Four: : 2 ounce Ham, 2 ounce Turkey, ½ cup Potatoes, ½ cup Stuffing, gravy – 431 calories, 42 grams protein, 49 grams carbs

Day Five – Monday 11/26

7 am – Meal One: Coffee and Protein Powder 130 Calories

10:am – Meal Two: 2 ounces ham, 2 eggs, 1 whole wheat toast with SB Margarine -318
calories, 24 grams protein, 12 grams carbs

1 pm - Workout – Power Half Hour Thighs & Buns (1 Hour Total)

3 pm – Meal Three: Protein recovery shake 200 calories, 25 grams protein, 25 grams carbs

5 pm – bottle of wine sipped over the evening – 510 calories

9 pm – Meal Four: : 2 ounce Ham, 2 ounce Turkey, ½ cup Potatoes, ½ cup Stuffing, gravy – 431 calories, 42 grams protein, 49 grams carbs

Day Six

Rest Day – approximately 1800 Calories, 150 grams protein, 150 grams carbs in four meals

Day Seven

7 am –Coffee and Protein Powder 130 Calories, 25 grams protein

10:am – Turkey sandwich 275 calories, 30 grams protein, 12 grams carbs

1 pm - Workout – P90X Back & Chest

3 pm – Protein recovery shake with fruit 220 calories, 30 grams protein, 25 grams carbs

6 pm – Beer, cheese & olives – 283 calories, 9 grams protein, 16 grams carb

9 pm – Pizza (ham & pineapple) & Beer – 590 calories 30 grams protein, 57 grams carbs

Bodybuilding & Muscle Mass Links To Check Out

I'm Pissed Off by The Angry Trainer

In a society where we're led to believe that eating under 1000 calories per day will lead to the best weight loss, or where "working out" for only 20 minutes three times per week will result in a body resembling a fitness model's, or where Ben Affleck is considered to be a good actor, it's no wonder people aren't making the progress they'd hoped for. And that pisses me off.

Day in and day out, people start a diet or head to the gym on a mission to get a lean, strong, and healthy looking body. More often than not, their efforts are sabotaged by false information from mainstream magazines, books, television shows, infomercials, and "experts" in the fitness industry.

People are very eager to follow training/nutritional advice from the most obscure and random sources. As a result, many end up fatter, slower, weaker, and unfortunately, hurt. I'm not a know-it-all, but I have a fair idea of what works and what doesn't.

Carbohydrates & Bodybuilding

If you ask any bodybuilder to tell you about protein’s role in muscle building you’ll get an in-depth response about the way muscle builds, hypotrophy, anabolic rates and more! But what about if you asked the same bodybuilder about the role of carbohydrates and building muscle? I doubt you’d get a very lengthy response.

Carbohydrates are often overlooked when planning a muscle building diet. This is because a lot of people are not aware of the importance of carbohydrates and the role they play in muscle development. The truth is what type of carbohydrates you eat, when you eat them and how much you eat can have a great effect on the muscle building process.

Using Both Protein and Carbs

Dietitians and nutritionists too often look at the percentage of total energy intake for proteins and carbohydrates. It would be better to look at actual intake levels. Both protein and carbs are needed in high amounts in order to gain muscle for all the reasons discussed above.

The problem in giving general advice is that we are individuals and therefore our requirements for different nutrients vary. If you are trying to gain muscle at the same time as trying to lose body fat, your carbohydrate intake will need to be reduced. If you are a beginner bodybuilder who is very skinny, your protein intake will need to be high and you will need to consume high carb foods regularly to gain weight.


Anabolic Nutrition

Lots of times I will open my e-mails and find tons of questions from people who want to know what supplements work as good or nearly as good as steroids. If there was such a supplement, there is no way the FDA would approve it. There is something you can take though that is more anabolic than the strongest steroid. Most people call it food. Nothing packs on lean mass like a load of food


Carbohydrates Are Back

When you restrict carbohydrate intake, your body responds by converting proteins into sugar; too much = fat. That is sweet's revenge. Fight back: rules to consider the next time you think about leaving out carbs.

Flipping The Holiday Calorie Equation In Our Favor

Or Putting The Happy Back In Happy Holidays or Give Me The Gift of Muscle.
















The majority of dieters, weight watchers, and casual exercisers view the holidays and feasting that accompanies them as a minefield. Each get-together or party is a potential calorie-laden bomb to be feared, viewed with suspicion, and pussy footed around. If I had a penny for every stressed out dieter who resented the Holiday season I could buy out Gold's Gym.

This is wrong thinking on two points (not the part about buying Gold's Gym, I could happily live in one). For one creating stress over your diet or anything is a bad influence on the hormones necessary for fat burning and can actually make you fatter. And two it overlooks the opportunity to put those extra calories to work for us by fueling a ramped up workout schedule. (Which by the way is a great way to cope with the holiday stress you can’t avoid).

Am I saying we should abandon all dietary reason and fall face first into the pumpkin pie and gravy soaked potatoes? No, of course not! But relaxing and enjoying the opportunities to eat luscious foods that can aid in changing your body composition is a wonderful thing.

Making judicious food choices like portion controlling calorie disasters like pecan pie and switching the full fat gravy for a lower calorie version are still essential for mitigating damage to your waistline. I am saying an extra serving of lean protein like turkey or ham (many delicious low fat versions are available) and a few extra carbohydrates like potatoes and stuffing can actually be beneficial to a well planned and well executed workout schedule.

To make this work forget about fat loss until after New Years Day and aim for muscle gain. If you gain a few pounds of body fat along with muscle so what. You can burn it off later and the extra muscle gained will help with that. How much muscle you actually gain will depend on your sex, protein intake, adequate rest, stress avoidance, and how intense you make your resistance training workouts.

With six weeks until New Years Day how much muscle could one expect to gain in this short period of time? The opinion on that varies but one informed source states “…know that beginner and intermediate trainers who train hard and train intelligently towards mass gain can and often do receive gains of 20 or 30 pounds over a 10-12 week period.”

Okay, for a little female squirt like me at five foot even and 115.9 pounds, and with little natural testosterone, this may be an unreasonable goal. But my numbers on Power 90X for two 12 week rounds was 9 pounds of muscle gained. That’s 0.375 pounds of muscle a week or almost 4 ounces. This is a very acceptable goal to me especially since I can eat more now and not gain body fat. I WANT MORE MUSCLE! So over six weeks I could expect to gain 2.25 pounds of muscle. That means I can expect to burn roughly 100 calories more a day from adding that much muscle.

Just think if you’re bigger than me, and particularly male, you can beat that number. How much will depend on the factors listed above.

So I’m game. Bring on the turkey, the free weights, and a butt load of Power 90X workouts.

My starting stats: 115.9 pounds (fluctuates between 116 and 114 in a week), 24 pounds body fat, 20.9 percent body fat, and 92 pounds lean mass. Bust 33.5 - Waist 27.5 – Hips 35.8 – Thighs both 19 – Biceps 11.5.

I’ll report on my progress here including what I ate and my workouts.

* Title: blogsticker
* Post: 5b64b6bb651f3f210870787a6cab5810

Thanksgiving Vacation, Mooning Over My Hammy, & Links To Get Fit and Healthy

Autumn In Mills Park, Carson City, Nevada















Thanksgiving looms and I’m about to get really busy. I finish up my shopping tomorrow and start cooking on Monsday to get a head start on the whole process. We’ll have turkey and ham as well as all our favorite fixings.




















Check out this delicious imported gourmet ham we bought last year and again this year, and at 99 percent fat free – a 2 ounce serving has 50 calories, 0.5 grams fat, > 1 gram carbs, and 10 grams protein - you get a good dose of delicious protein for less calories. And this ain’t your momma’s store bought ham, it’s oh so delic-i-o-so.

iGourmet.com Le Cochon d'Or Smoked Ham

This premium Canadian ham is prepared in the classic French tradition in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, a small town that lies between Quebec City and Montreal. The hogs in Cap-de-la-Madeleine are naturally raised with no growth hormones or steroids, which is a rare occurrence these days.

Their premium-quality hams are hard-carved from the leanest, most tender part of the animal and are 99% fat free. They are delicately coated with unique blends of herbed and spiced marinades and slow cured to develop a full rich flavor and uniform pink color. We offer three popular flavors - Baked Black Forest, Honey, and Cracked Black Pepper. Each ham weighs approximately seven pounds, making one perfect for a Sunday dinner for the whole family, a party on the weekend, or a team picnic. Varieties sold separately.

Price: $34.99
Size: 7 pounds

Assuming I don’t find time to blog in the coming week I’m leaving you with this super sized list of links chock full of information on fitness, nutrition, and a reminder to check out the website Wellness For Nancy and donate if you can.

Giving Thanks for All Our Blessings and Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving! Carol



7 Fat Loss Strategies For Busy Moms
Michael Jordan
November 16, 2007
Would you like to "jump start" your metabolism and lose your ‘mommy belly' once and for all? If so, the following seven tips are exactly what you need to improve your workouts and ignite your metabolism. Try some or all of these tips, but beware, the result may be a number of admiring second glances and the need to pull your ‘skinny jeans' out of the closet.

Bodybuilding Fat Loss Tips for Women
From Hugo Rivera

Lose Fat With IFBB Figure Pro Pauline Nordin
Everyone knows what to do to lose fat, right? Then how come so few reach their goals and achieve that lean look if it's so damn easy to get ripped?

I could tell you the very same things as everybody else does, but I definitely won't. It's not only about the perfect diet plan and the right amount of exercise, the best supplements and so on; the most important part of a fat-loss strategy is your mental approach to it.

That's what I'm going to tell you about. Basically, what you've got to do is stick to your plan. Period.

The Most Unusual Way To Build Muscle
By Mark McManus

Can you build muscle without touching a weight?

Imagine the possibility of using your mind to reshape your body size and strength!
Strange? Indeed.

I recently remembered reading about a study a few years ago in Men’s Health in which the subjects increased the size and strength of selected muscle groups by simply ‘thinking‘ about working them out.

They simply visualized the process and their bodies responded in the same manner as if they’d actually hit the iron!

It’s well known by a lot of people in psychology and exercise physiology that the brain cannot distinguish the difference between a ‘real’ event i.e. one that is observed objectively, and a vividly imagined one i.e. one that is created subjectively. The implications of this could be quite exciting for bodybuilders.


Tony Horton’s 11 Laws For Lifetime Fitness

4 Tips To Fat Loss by Gregg Gillies

“Can You Burn Fat And Build Muscle At The Same Time?”

How To Lose Weight By Eating More


Holiday Weight Management Survival Guide
From Paige Waehner


Holiday Pounds Forever - Consistent Eating for Long-Term Weight Control


7 Day Fat Loss Meal Plan


Fat Loss For Beginners-8 Tips For Getting Started

The No Weight Gain Holiday Guide

Harvard School of Public Health On Fruits & Vegetables

Increase Your Metabolism and Curb Your Appetite With This Fat Burning Food Group


99 Tips For Family Fitness Fun