The Market Outfit

1. Enjoy what you eat

Whether someone is following the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, the advice contained in Tom Venuto’s e-Book, “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle” or even a program of their own design, success depends on enjoying what you eat. When you don’t enjoy your food, you resist it. Resistance creates stress and stress is counter-productive to fat loss. It is important to look at eating as a part of your life, not a chore that interrupts your life.

The question ultimately becomes, “How do I learn to enjoy healthy foods?” Most people did not enjoy their first cup of coffee or can of beer. What happened is that in their environment, external pressures - stress, fatigue, peer pressure - created a desire to enjoy that steaming hot espresso or to be able to chug down a draught of beer with the best of their buddies. Eventually, a strange thing happened - when the coffee cup was repeatedly associated with more energy or productivity, or simply the pleasure of settling down to read something while draining the cup, or when the beer became associated with fun times and great parties, they “acquired a taste.”

You can acquire a taste for healthy foods. It is important to understand how you operate, to determine if it makes sense to go “cold turkey” or transition. Many people cling to diets that allow “free days” or “gorge fests” because they never really learn to enjoy the healthy food - they need the psychological crutch of getting comfortable again (if comfortable means bloated and nauseous from overeating junk food) and live from “free day” to “free day.” Is this you? If so, you might start transitioning and looking for an alternative. Instead of a free day, how about this: have a few free meals and then focus on enjoying the food that you consume throughout the week. Experiment with new recipes. Don’t like raw vegetables? Try steamed. Don’t like them plain? Spice them up. As you lose weight and gain energy, focus on the connection between your healthy foods and your new physique. Before long, you might even “acquire a taste” for healthy foods.
2. Believe in what you are doing
Belief is an important component of any lifestyle. If you don’t believe what you are doing will work, why should you continue to do it? Often times, the lack of belief is not in the program you are following, but rather in yourself. Food is an addiction that is no different than addiction to cigarettes, alcohol, or illegal drugs. To overcome this addiction, the first place to look is within you. Without faith, you are going to allow fear to maneuver you into a position to binge, overeat, and sabotage yourself.

When you don’t believe, you simply “do.” It is a frustrating concept, especially for analytical people, because they want to have a simple set of rules. It is easy as an analytical person to get into your comfort zone. Find an equation that spits out a number of calories. Get a “ratio” of foods - 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat, right? Then you have that exact formula and you are ready to go. Unfortunately, if it were that simple, more people would be sharing their success story (and their formulas) with everyone else.

The fact is that it is not the calorie or the formula or the ratio that determines your success. It is you. Whether you are on a high protein, low fat, no-sugar, or other program, your success will be determined by the level of your belief. I have witnessed people achieve success using many different nutrition styles, and the common element that linked their success was belief. If you asked them, “Will you lose your weight,” they would reply, “Absolutely.” If you cannot state that without confidence, it is time to find something you can believe in … and more often than not, it will not be a new program, but you. Believe in you.

3. Practice moderation

Moderation is the key to everything. Many people operate in an either/or mode - either they are following a program perfectly, or they are simply going wild with their eating habits. A true lifestyle plan will be easy to follow because you won’t have to worry about counting calories or weighing foods. Why? Because you are operating from a zone called moderation. This zone is tough for many people to find, and sometimes it requires going through a strict dietary regimen in order to create the control you deserve to have over food, instead of allowing food to control you.

Moderation simply means permission to enjoy without excess. When you want a glass of wine, you pour one and savor it. You do not suddenly feel guilty and then punish yourself for having it. If you are having a slice of pizza or ice cream, you don’t create a license to eat until you are stuffed. Instead, you have a slice or two and enjoy it. If you are full, you are done. If not, then you might share a dessert with your spouse or someone else at the table.

Those who are successful at keeping their weight off don’t overeat and they don’t create limits. Some people truly enjoy healthy foods and eat these all of the time. Others have a balance they create. What is common is that they do not become a victim when they cannot eat a certain food - if a special occasion arises, they are happy to enjoy a piece of cake. The key is that they are in control and don’t overdo it … and when it is done, they don’t allow guilt to override their success.

4. Be flexible with new ideas

Change is tough. Change is scary. If change were easy, there would not be millions of dollars in books about how to face change being sold. Change in your nutrition or health is no different than change in other areas of your life. Embracing a new style of eating can feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar. I know - I have been there and done that myself.

The key to success, however, is not to become so boxed into your comfort zone that you cannot open to new ideas. For example, I had been conditioned to combine protein and carbs at every meal, that when my wife suggested I attempt food-combining (a concept where you do not eat proteins and starches together - for more information, read “Fit for Life” by Harvey Diamond or “Total Health Makeover” by Marilu Henner) I simply resisted. “No way - that’s not right! I’ve learned that …”

Eventually, however, I came to my senses. No matter how much I have read or learned, the reality is experience. You can argue with me all day long about what color the sky is - but if it is blue in my reality, then that is the reality I will embrace. Everything productive in my life has come from being able to embrace change and try out new things. I discard what doesn’t work, and embrace what does. This ability to not fear the unknown allowed me to try food-combining even though it did not fit into my existing reality. What I found was an eating method that gave me more energy and helped me feel more comfortable. By stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying something new, I was able to integrate more freedom into my eating plan.

Don’t be afraid to try new programs, new dishes, and new recipes. Don’t pre-qualify your decisions by going to research and reading about calories and studying the fat content. Instead, just try it. Keep a journal. Record your feelings in the journal. Observe how your body reacts. Create a dialogue with food that works for you rather than living in someone else’s system. Don’t fear change - change is required to move from overweight or obese to healthy and lean!
5. Learn to hear your body
Most of us tune out our body’s protests. It is a requirement in modern society. When we are constantly stuffing our bodies with foods that damage and harm us, our bodies cannot continue to sensitize us to the pain or we would be in a constant state of suffering. So instead, the brain tunes out the signals like background noise. We no longer realize the harm that we are doing to ourselves. We confuse cravings with hunger. We think we want sugar when our body is screaming for healthy fats. It creates a state of constant stress that we are not conscious of, and it impacts the core of our health.

This is why I believe it is great to quiet and calm things down. Don’t be afraid to juice fast for a few days. Try a “5-day high-fiber cleanse” to reconnect with your own health. Don’t listen to your friends who will scream “starvation” and swear you are going to lose pounds of muscle. Muscle doesn’t disappear overnight, and starvation is when you have NO food, not when you go on a modified fast that provides nutrients but gives you the ability to break out of a cycle of cravings and self-abuse that modern, processed foods create.

Learn to eat when you are ready, not when it is time. This doesn’t mean that if your preferred style of nutrition is consuming six meals per day that you stop. What this means is that you get in tune with your body. If you are not hungry when it is time for meal two, go back and adjust meal one so that it doesn’t fill you up so much. If you are starving by meal two, change meal one so that you are satisfied - increase the portion size, add healthy fats, or introduce new foods.

By learning your body, you can break out of the cycle of measuring and weighing foods. You come into contact with yourself, and learn to flow. When you feel it is time to eat, you eat. You don’t eat a pre-allotted amount of calories. Instead, you listen to yourself. Think about whether you feel like having a lot of protein. If the thought turns your stomach, focus on salads, or fruit, or whole grains. Find what feels comfortable and then eat enough to satisfy you without leaving you stuffed. Practice this for a few weeks and you’ll find that you can think yourself into the shape you desire without having to obsess over calories.

These are the five keys to successful, healthy living that I have observed. The people I know who have conquered their weight and are comfortable in their bodies used different methods. Some are vegetarians, some advocate low carbohydrate diets and others feel that high protein is important. Despite these differences, however, ultimately the plan they settled into addressed these five key points and allowed them to live in their health rather than having to work on their lack of it.

To learn more about yourself and how you can conquer the mental barriers you erect to sabotage our own progress to good health, read www.losefatnotfaith.com - this e-Book goes beyond the mainstream to focus on personal development and the success mindet. It will empower your transformation through inspiration and easy-to-understand information about nutrition and training.

Jeremy Likness, the CEO of Natural Physiques (a division of Golden Summit Inc) is a Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Performance Nutrition. He has coached clients around the world to lose fat, gain muscle, and live healthy after losing over 65 pounds of fat himself. He is the author of the internationally-selling e-Book, “Lose Fat, Not Faith” that has been sold in over a dozen countries. Visit Jeremy at http://www.naturalphysiques.com and join him on his weekly coaching call at http://www.become-your-best.com.

Vitamins are a major necessity for a healthy life. Vitamin D may reduce the risk of injuries from falls by more than 20 percent in otherwise healthy men and women age 60 and over. Vitamin D has long been known to strengthen bones but new studies indicate it also improves muscle strength. The combination makes injuries less likely when people fall. Vitamin D is helpful whether it is consumed in fortified foods, dairy products, or supplements.

There are 13 known vitamins and each have different roles within the body.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A occurs in two principal forms in nature: retinol, which is found only in animal sources, and certain carotenoids, the best known of which is ‘beta-carotene’ found in carrots and other yellow to red plants. Beta-carotene can be converted to retinol in the body, and it may have a role in protecting against heart disease and cancer.

Vitamin A is essential for vision and adequate growth. Deficiency symptoms include night blindness, hyperkeratinosis of the skin, and xerophthalmia - an eye condition, which if untreated can lead to permanent blindness. Vitamin A deficiency is still widespread in many developing countries.

Vitamin A is found in pumpkins, kumara (sweet potato), apricots, squash, nectarines, peaches, and mangos. It is also found in spinach, broccoli, watercress, asparagus and peas.

The B Group Vitamins

The B group vitamins work as a team to convert food to energy. Vitamin B1 is vital for releasing energy from starchy and sugary foods, while vitamins B2, B6, and niacin help release energy from foods including protein and fats.

If you increase your energy intake, particularly by eating more carbohydrates, your body may need extra vitamin B.

Vitamin B12 and folic acid, together with iron and vitamin C are of major importance to sportsmen and women as they are used in the formation of red blood cells which transport oxygen to the muscles.

Vitamin B1 (thiamine)

Vitamin B1 is essential for the release of energy especially from carbohydrates, functioning of nerves, brain and muscles.

The best source of this is vitamin is from dried brewers yeast. Other good sources include pork, poultry, cereals, nuts and beans.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

Vitamin B2 is found in all plant and animal cells. It is necessary for the release of energy from food and for healthy vision and skin.

Yeast and liver contain the highest amount of this vitamin. It is also found in other meat, eggs and dairy food.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

This vitamin is required for protein and fat metabolism, red blood cell formation, and the nervous system.

The best sources of this vitamin are liver of beef, pork and chicken. Other sources include cereals, fish, nuts, bananas and wheatgerm.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)

Vitamin B12 is necessary for the formation of red blood cells, a healthy nervous system, and is essential for growth.

This vitamin is stored efficiently by the body so a deficiency can take years to develop. Since it is found primarily in animal products, vegetarians are at risk from deficiency unless they take supplements. In its most extreme form, deficiency can lead to megaloblastic anaemia and irreversible degeneration of the spinal cord.

Vitamin E is found in animal meat, particularly liver, kidney, heart and brain. It is also present in yeast extract.

Biotin

This is needed for the manufacture of fatty acid and glycogen, protein metabolism and growth. It is found in egg yolk, liver, wholegrain cereals, and nuts.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

Vitamin C is required for the production of collagen, the ‘cement’ substance that gives structure to muscles, vascular tissues, bones and cartilage. Deficiency causes a weakening of these tissues (scurvy), resulting in capillary bleeding.

Together with beta-carotene and vitamin E, vitamin C forms the trio of antioxidant vitamins now believed to help prevent degenerative diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Vitamin C is also commonly used as a natural antioxidant, i.e. it is added to foodstuffs to protect colour, aroma or nutrient content, not for its action as a vitamin.

It is essential for the immune system and there is some evidence to show that extra vitamin C may reduce the severity of respiratory infections.

Vitamin C helps iron absorption. Its role in red blood cell formation also helps to transport essential oxygen to exercising muscles.

It promotes healthy body cells, blood vessels, bones and tissues (e.g. tendons and ligaments). It is also necessary for the manufacture of adrenaline.

Vitamin C is not stored within the body so make sure your diet contains a regular supply. It is found naturally in citrus fruits, blackcurrants, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, mango, sweet peppers, parsley, broccoli, kumara, and cauliflower.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is required for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the diet, and is needed for healthy bone growth. It also plays an important role in the proper functioning of muscles, nerves, and blood clotting.

Vitamin D is produced by the action of sunlight on the skin. It is found in wholemilk, margarine, oily fish, and fortified cereals.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is vital to the formation and normal function of red blood cells and muscles.

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant which helps to protect cells from damage by free radicals.

Polyunsaturated fats in our diets are protected from damage by vitamin E. Polyunsaturated fats, which are found in vegetable and fish oils, are essential for the normal function of cells in the body.

Together with beta-carotene and vitamin C , vitamin E forms the trio of antioxidant vitamins now believed to have a preventive effect on degenerative diseases such as heart disease or cancer.

The largest sources of vitamin E are vegetable oils including peanut, soya, palm, sunflower etc. Other sources include nuts, seeds, whole grains and leafy green vegetables.

Folic acid

Folic acid plays an important role in the metabolism of desoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), the carriers of genetic information in all living things. It is necessary for the formation of red blood cells and regulating growth cells.

Severe folic acid deficiency in humans results in megaloblastic anaemia. Folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube birth defects when consumed in adequate amounts by women before and during early pregnancy. For this reason, the enrichment of cereal products with folic acid is compulsory in the USA.

Folates are found in a wide variety of foods. The richest sources are liver, dark green leafy vegetables, beans, wheat germ and yeast. Other sources are egg yolk, fortified cereal, milk and dairy products.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is needed primarily for the blood-clotting mechanism which prevents bleeding to death from cuts and wounds or internal bleeding.

The best plant sources of vitamin K are green leafy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cabbage and lettuce. Other sources include tomatoes, potatoes, oats, egg yolk, asparagus, butter and cheese.

Niacin

In the body, niacin is responsible for using the energy provided by food. Niacin is essential for growth and is involved in the production of hormones in the body.

Yeast, liver, poultry, lean meats, nuts and legumes contribute the largest amounts of niacin in food. Milk and green leafy vegetables contain smaller amounts.

Pantothenic acid

Pantothenic acid belongs to the group of B vitamins. It plays a key role in the maintenance and repair of all cells and tissues, the metabolism of fats and carbohydrate, and healthy skin and hair growth.

Pantothenic acid requires vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid and biotin in order to function properly.

It is found in vegetables, liver, yeast extract, kidney, eggs, nuts and bread.

http://www.starherb.com

Although the issue can be debated, bodybuilding physiques have come a long way over the past twenty years. Besides the increased muscle mass, the other primary characteristic that separates today’s bodybuilders with their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago is body fat percentage. Back in the sixties and seventies breaking the 10-percent barrier was considered phenomenal. But the average pro bodybuilder these days is stepping onstage with body fat percentages down in the 2 to 3 percent range. As much as we’d like to say that better nutrition and more advanced cardio machines are the reason, we can’t. Just as steroids lead to dramatic increases in muscle growth, so too have many bodybuilders turned to modern pharmacology to “rip” their physiques and promote fat loss; and often the drug of choice is Cytomel.

The first thing we should point out is that Cytomel is not an anabolic steroid but a synthetic thyroid hormone. It has been designed to resemble the natural thyroid hormone tricodide-thyronine (T3). In a healthy person the thyroid produces two hormones, L-thyroxine (T4) and L-trilodine~thyronine (T3). Since Cytomel is a synthetic version of T3, it causes much the same effects in the body as if the thyroid were to naturally increase T3 levels

Physicians use Cytomel to treat thyroid insufficiency (hypothyroidism); the symptoms of which are rapid weight gain, chronic fatigue, and numerous metabolic disorders. Bodybuilders use Cytomel to stimulate their metabolisms, particularly to promote lipolysis or fat burning. Initially Cytomel was only used a few months before a bodybuilding contest to promote fat loss, but now days many bodybuilders use the drug to stay “hard” year round. Many bodybuilders also report that low dosages of Cytomel increase the effectiveness of steroids. As with Growth hormone and insulin, there seems to be some sort of synergistic effect taking place.

How effective is Cytomel?

It may shock you to hear that many of the huge, rock hard pro bodybuilders who are featured in the muscle magazines, practically live on junk food! Their over-stimulated thyroids literally burn calories like a furnace. The next time you hear that some pro bodybuilders are still eating 5000 calories a day in the weeks before a contest, you’ll understand why.

Besides bodybuilders, Cytomel is also popular for fat loss among female fitness contestants. Since females normally have slower metabolisms than males, it is much harder for them to obtain the extremely low body fat percentages that seem to be rewarded for at contests these days. Drastically cutting food and calories often leaves the individual drawn and emaciated-looking. But all this can be avoided by using Cytomel.

Fat loss - but at what risk?

It may sound like the perfect solution to fat loss, but its not. Bodybuilders and fitness competitors who abuse Cytomel over a long period of time are at great risk for developing chronic thyroid problems. As a result, the individuals might become dependent on thyroid medication for the rest of their lives. This is similar to male bodybuilders taking steroids, the higher the dosage, and the longer the cycles, the greater the risk of shutting down natural hormone production.

Other side effects of Cytomel include:

heart palpitation

trembling

irregular heartbeat

agitation

shortness of breath

excretion of sugar through the urine

excessive perspiration

diarrhea

weight loss

trembling of hands

nausea

headaches

increased perspiration

We are not going to continue to preach to you about the evils of Cytomel. But be aware that the drug can produce the previous side effects. With the science of supplementation becoming so advanced there are now products that promote fat loss just as effectively as Cytomel. Bodybuilders report that most of these steroid alternatives will produce muscle building and fat burning effects that are similar to steroids. These safe legal analogs have been designed with the purist pharmaceutical grade ingredients to maximize your bodybuilding potential. Check them out!

The previous information has been created by experts to help you increase your knowledge base about bodybuilding training and drugs. Be knowledgeable. Be informed. Make the right choice!

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you
looking for more of his Cytomel articles?

http://www.bodybuilding-news.net © Bob Howard 04/21/06

Read this article before you consider paying for your drinking water.

Wouldn’t it be nice to stop poisoning ourselves with polluted or unhealthy drinking water? I, for one, felt that I would love to find a source of safe inexpensive drinking water. (Ideally, I’d love to turn on the tap, and out it would flow!)

Whether it’s curing cancer with magnets or herbal wonder-remedies or Vioxx, we’ve all seen the fantastic claims people make about their health products AND about how your whole life will be changed! I can tell you right now that 90% are frauds. You may even have fallen prey to some of these scams, selling you the latest fad. Me too. I’ve bought so many kinds of drinking water, I can’t recall. (If a lie is repeated often enough, it becomes “the truth”).

Finally, after many disappointments I got FED UP. I decided to get to the bottom of this desire we all have to make sure that our most basic nutrient — water — will keep us healthy, not make us sick.

I checked out endless commercial websites and a number of university and government sites; and I was dismayed at what I repeatedly found:

–Outdated information or info repeated from other websites
–Wild and sensational claims
–No research
–No refunds, etc.

I already knew that we can’t trust our tap water because of the presence of up to 2000 contaminants.

Specifically, I found:

a) Bottled Water: a real mish-mash of quality, often no more than filtered tap water sold at outrageous mark-ups and at quite an environmental cost.

b) Reverse-osmosis and distilled water: completely ignored the medical evidence of the dangers in the ongoing drinking of water that is void of minerals, acid in nature and oxidizing.

I quickly realized that these products were either useless, overpriced or potentially harmful long-term. And the companies were smiling all the way to the bank.

Nevertheless I was able to find products that were well-researched and legitimate: water ionizers and certain filters. I found two websites providing comparisons of reliable water purifiers: www.waterfiltercomparisons.net and www.waterpurifier101.com. (While the first of these sites does not address the problem of acidity in drinking water, it is straightforward in its assessment of what various water filters do.)

I hope that you’re not misled by false claims, and take a look at these resources, for the sake of your health.

(free to publish)

Stan Howard is a researcher with Best Water, which offers a free report comparing all types of water purification, and other vital information on drinking water quality. Receive your free report here =>Water Purifiers.