All About Glutamine: Your Expert Guide

If your body was a country club for supplements, you'd see glutamine everywhere: chilling by the pool, hobnobbing with directors, and playing entirely too much tennis.

As the most abundant amino acid in the body, glutamine can be found in muscle tissue, plasma, and in nearly every animal product you ingest. On average, it constitutes a little more than five percent of the amino acids found in animal-derived protein sources such as meats, dairy products, and eggs. That may not sound like much, but make no doubt: Glutamine is critically important to a wide range of bodily processes.

Expert Guides: Glutamine
Something this important has to be an "essential" acid, right? Not exactly. Glutamine is considered "conditionally essential." This means your body can produce enough to meet its needs under normal circumstances, but not always. In other words, you need to consume dietary sources of glutamine under certain circumstances when your body is under extreme duress.

As a supplement, glutamine has plenty of die-hard fans. It also has detractors who say that unless you are a recovering burn patient, this amino is best left on the shelf. I'm here to sort through the research and help you decide if glutamine is right for you.


Glutamine is created in the human body when the non-essential amino acid glutamate (or glutamic acid) is broken down and binds with nitrogen-containing ammonia molecules. Think of glutamine as a kind of nitrogen sponge. It mops up ammonia and shuttles nitrogen between tissues, where it can be used for cell growth and tissue repair, among many other functions. It's been reported that some 30-35 percent of all nitrogen derived from protein breakdown is transported in the form of glutamine. Glutamine can also be broken down to re-synthesize glutamate, which makes glutamine a critical source of ammonia and nitrogen.

Approximately 70 percent of your body's internal glutamine is produced in skeletal muscle, from where it travels to the small intestine, kidneys, and white blood cells. These are the dominant sites of glutamine usage.
Internal levels of this amino acid depend on various factors. Pregnancy and lactation significantly deplete the body's glutamine stores, as do exhaustive exercise, illness, disease, starvation or fasting, rapid growth and development, and other conditions of extreme physiological stress. These are some of the conditions where increasing your glutamine intake or considering supplementation is appropriate.

Glutamine—like other alpha-amino acids—is involved in regulating protein synthesis and breakdown. However, there's far more to it than that. Glutamine significantly affects BCAA metabolism, gut barrier maintenance, normal immune function, glucose formation, water transport, neurotransmission, and more.

Your kidneys are a primary consumer of glutamine use that's where the ammonia cleaved from glutamine works to maintain your body's acid-base balance. Anywhere you find ammonia, you'll find glutamine. As metabolic acidosis increases—as in response to intense training or a high-protein diet—renal uptake of glutamine soars. In fact, one study found that just four days of a high-protein, high-fat diet, was enough to cause a 25 percent drop in glutamine levels in the plasma and muscle tissue.

If all of these competing uses begin to outpace your body's ability to produce glutamine, then you may start to show signs of deficiency, including muscle wasting, depleted energy, and increased susceptibility to infections.

What Are the Performance and Physique Applications? ///
Despite glutamine's various functions, little evidence suggests it will directly result in increased muscle mass, reduced body fat, or gains in muscle strength or power in normal, healthy people. However, given how stressful intense training is on the human body, athletes may see certain benefits from supplementing with significant levels of glutamine, or from stacking it with other supplements.

One study found that when athletes suffered from mild dehydration, supplemental glutamine increased exercise performance and enhanced fluid and electrolyte uptake when combined with a glucose and electrolyte beverage. Supplementation has also been shown to raise levels of growth hormone in response to cycling to exhaustion.


Extracellular concentrations of glutamine have also been shown to activate the signaling pathway mTOR, which is known to be responsible for increasing muscle size. However, here again, the benefits of glutamine supplementation required that other conditions be met: in this case, mTOR signaling appeared to require the presence of BCAAs (leucine, most importantly), as well as some threshold level of cellular hydration.
In another case, collegiate track and field athletes who consumed four grams of glutamine per day for eight weeks, along with a loading and maintenance dose of creatine, saw greater gains in lean body mass than those who used creatine alone. This may sound significant, but it's hard to draw conclusions over a mere eight weeks at such a low dosage. Whether higher doses or a longer study would have resulted in significant differences is anyone's guess.

What Are the Differences Between Types of Glutamine? ///
Other than your stack, the most important thing to consider when selecting a glutamine product is the delivery system. If you're purchasing a powder, capsule or tablet, then free form L-glutamine works best. However, because glutamine is unstable, avoid ready-to-drink beverages or protein bars claiming to contain supplemental L-glutamine.

If you favor RTDs and bars, look for the peptide-bound forms of glutamine, such as L-alanyl-L-glutamine, glycyl-L-glutamine hydrate, or an ingredient listed as "glutamine peptide." Just remember that the glutamine concentration of one of these peptide forms is typically approximately 65-70 percent. In other words, there's only about 6.5-7g of glutamine per 10g of glutamine peptide. Dose accordingly.

Regardless of the form, up to 90 percent of ingested glutamine is eliminated during first pass. A mere fraction of the glutamine you consume will make it beyond your liver. The majority of the glutamine you consume being eliminated by the digestive enterocytes and immune cells within your gut.

It's best to avoid products that contain n-acetyl-l-glutamine (not to be confused with N-acetyl glucosamine) or alpha-ketoisocaproyl-glutamine (also known as aKIC-glutamine). Both the acylated and aKIC forms may be stable, but the existing evidence suggests that they're both poor delivery forms for glutamine.

What Should I Use It With? ///
Consider stacking glutamine with sodium and other electrolytes first and foremost. Glutamine transport occurs via a sodium-dependent mechanism, and it has been shown to significantly increase cell volume, electrolyte absorption, and hydration. This might be helpful for both endurance and physique athletes, the latter because cell water volume is one of the many aspects of muscle hypertrophy. Significant decreases in cell water volume can also inhibit mTor signaling, which is crucial to building muscle.

Other candidates to stack with glutamine include:
BCAAs: There are two main reasons why combining BCAAs and glutamine may promote greater gains in muscle mass and performance. First, ammonia concentrations, and therefore glutamine, directly affects BCAA metabolism. And second, mTOR signaling from extracellular glutamine first requires the uptake of BCAAs, primarily leucine. BCAAs plus glutamine might promote performance and muscle gains.

Citrulline: Glutamine functions as a precursor for arginine and NO synthesis by transporting citrulline between tissues. Using glutamine with citrulline might boost citrulline's ability to stimulate the production of nitric oxide, which might lead to better oxygen delivery and nutrient transport to skeletal muscle. More nutrients to the muscle might translate to better recovery and growth. That may sound somewhat indirect, but then again, a messenger substance like glutamine has its hand in a lot of processes.

Alpha-Ketoglutarate: Like glutamine, aKG serves as a precursor to glutamate and has been shown to dose-dependently spare glutamine degradation and increase mTOR signaling pathways, as well as glutathione. This means that glutamine, taken with aKG, might boost the potential for muscle growth and the production of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant.

Glucose or N-Acetylglucosamine: Glucose deprivation reduces glutamine uptake and negatively affects cell growth and survival. If you're on a low-carb diet, it appears that the glycoprotein N-acetylglucosamine (NAG), which is available in supplement form, might be able to restore glutamine uptake and metabolism, potentially boosting recovery and cell function.

It appears that the daily intake of supplemental glutamine needs to be high—at least 20-30 g per day, consumed frequently—in order to raise plasma glutamine concentrations.

To provide some perspective, consider that critically ill patients usually receive a constant intravenous infusion of between 20-30 g of glutamine per day. However, the bioavailability of infused glutamine they receive is 100 percent. It's no more than 30 percent from orally consumed glutamine. Thus, I recommend up to 30 g of glutamine per day in divided doses throughout the day, preferably with meals or snacks containing carbohydrates to support glucose utilization.

On training days, I recommend you consume glutamine prior to or during exercise to support hydration, electrolyte transport, and BCAA metabolism. You could take 10 g before, during, and after your workout, or you could reduce those dosages to 5 g if you also dose in the hours leading up to or following exercise. On non-training days, consume at least 5 g of glutamine at frequent intervals, at least every 2-3 hours, to sustain an increase in plasma glutamine concentrations.

There appears to be no need to cycle glutamine. In fact, there's more evidence to support the need for chronic ingestion of glutamine during periods of extreme physiological stress.

Are There any Side Effects? ///
There's a considerable amount of data supporting the lack of adverse reactions to glutamine doses as high as 30 g per day. A recent 13-week toxicity study concluded that the "no-observed adverse effect level" (NOAEL) for L-glutamine occurred at the highest daily dose provided to male and female rats.
In a human, this dose equates to roughly 0.308 g of glutamine per pound of body mass per day. For a 170-pound adult, that's a little more than 52 g of glutamine per day. Again, this dose was shown to result in an extremely high level of safety with no documented adverse effects.

Yes, glutamine is a key player in a whole host of functions that dramatically impact your ability to achieve your overall health and fitness goals. However, if you're depending solely upon glutamine or aren't using enough, you may be disappointed.

Maximizing glutamine's effects on your body requires you to use your head first. If you're not training hard, your body probably can supply you all you need. But if you're the type who punishes your body regularly, taking it in the right way could help you keep performing at an elite level.

About The AuthorDr. Chris Lockwood earned his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology and his M.S. in Exercise & Sports Science. Your comment has been posted! Because comments are displayed from oldest to newest, it will appear on the last page. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer mattis varius nisi eu aliquet. Integer mattis.Lorem ipsum dolor sit ametFeatured Product
BodySpace is YOUR key to success! Create a profile, meet others, track your progress and much more!

View the original article here

The Deadly Truth About Veganism

This is a guest post by Mishka Thomas, a food and beverage blogger

This article caught my attention so I thought it might interest you

The tragic death of an infant is among the many cases that shed light on the consequences of vegetarianism/veganism, among which are fatal vitamin deficiencies.

 Sergine and Joel Le Moaligou of France fed their 11-month-old daughter Louise breast milk alone– one day in March 2008 the baby became listless and the couple called emergency services. The baby died of a vitamin deficiency.

According to the autopsy report, the baby suffered from a vitamin A and vitamin B12 deficiency, which experts say raises a child’s vulnerability to infection. The deficiency may have been due to an unbalanced diet, and that the couple did not heed the doctor’s advice for hospitalization when Louise contracted bronchitis and had dropping weight during her nine-month checkup.

While breast milk is a near-perfect food that proves to be the best nourishment you can give your baby, its nutritional value is influenced by the mother diet. Louise’s mother is a vegan, and it apparently created vitamin deficiencies in the breast milk that she was fed on exclusively.

Are you convinced that a strict vegan diet is the healthiest way to go? Read on and be enlightened about the potential deadly dangers of this practice.

The Health Setbacks of Going Strictly Vegan
Many individuals go down the vegetarian/vegan route based on their ethical or spiritual convictions. However, this dietary choice often leads to serious effects, as avoiding all animal foods may deprive you of the critical nutrients needed for optimal health and well-being. Even Angelina Jolie, a vegan for so many years, was quoted as saying “It nearly killed me.”

Vitamin B12 deficiency is the  thing to watch out for. Vitamin B12, one among the eight B-complex vitamins, is naturally found in animal foods such as meat, fish, milk, milk products, and dairy.
Researcher Michael Donaldson, PhD, of Cornell University reveals his study on the Hallelujah diet, a strict vegan diet:
“Our study revealed early signs of vitamin B12 deficiency in 26 of the 54 people tested, after following the Hallelujah Diet for as little as two to four years…
Based on the published studies and our results, adequate vitamin B12 status of vegans cannot be taken for granted. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants, and small children are particularly vulnerable to B12 shortages. Ensuring adequate B12 is critical for normal neurological development and maintenance, with shortages resulting in permanent damage.”

Another concern: even if vitamin B12 is water-soluble, it does not go out of your body quickly like other water-soluble vitamins do. It is stored in your kidneys, liver, and other bodily tissues. As a result, vitamin B12 deficiency many not manifest until after a number of years.
Saturated fats, animal-based omega-3 fats like krill oil, and vitamin A are other nutrients that a growing child may be missing out on with a strict vegan diet.

Know Your Nutritional Type, Too!
If you are currently following a vegetarian or vegan diet, it may be beneficial for you to add a number of animal-based proteins to your eating choices, like raw organic eggs and dairy. However, its sufficiency largely depends on your Nutritional Type, which determines the ratio of fats, carbohydrates, and protein you need.

Here are the three groups under Nutritional Typing:
1. Protein Type – High amounts of healthy fats and protein, lower amounts of vegetables
2. Carb Type – High amounts of vegetables, lower amounts of protein and fat
3. Mixed Type – somewhere between Protein and Carb Types
Your body needs some of each of these categories above, but individuals require different ratios of each. While some may thrive on large vegetable amounts and very little animal protein, this ratio would spell disaster for some people.

You fare worst on vegetarian and vegan diets if you are a natural Protein Type, as sticking to such diet deprives of your body’s essential fuel, as dictated by your genetic and biochemical makeup. Consider these facts for yourself and your family, and especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

About the Author
Mishka Thomas is a food and beverage blogger, favoring healthy, organic finds and restaurants found in his hometown in Los Angeles. He was diagnosed with vitamin
B12 deficiency a year ago, and this forced him to reevaluate his dietary and lifestyle choices. He is currently living with his partner of five years and their daughter, Belle.
View the original article here

How to Build a Good Body - Essential Facts About Body Building

This is the perfect article for you if you would like to build a perfect body. While you may be thinking that body building is a tough job, it is not so; if you have the right guidance it will not be difficult for you to build that dream body you have always wanted. Before adopting any technique for body building, you must know the essential facts about body building. This article will provide you with all those basic facts that you must know. This is the starting point of your body building process. After reading this article it will be easy for you to make your body building plan accordingly.

Consider the essential facts given below:

1. If you are overweight. Then, first of all, you must consult a physician or a gym instructor. You have to get rid of the unwanted fats first and then you can concentrate on building the body. Get your body mass index checked and also find out what is the ideal weight that you should have. If you are overweight, you cannot directly start the body building exercises. Initially, you will have to get rid of the excess weight and then you can start building your body.

2. Don't be very hard on yourself. It is true that you might be very excited to build your body. But you also have to be realistic while doing so. If you directly start by doing heavy exercises, your health might get adversely affected. If you are doing body building exercises for the first time, then you must start with slow intensity exercises and then you can increase the intensity of your exercises as your capacity increases.

3. Commitment if the most essential thing if you want to build your body. You should have a commitment with yourself that you won't give up your efforts till you don't get that perfect body. You must be committed towards your exercise routine and you must make sure that you are exercising regularly. If you don't exercise regularly, you won't be able to get the right effects.

4. You must also check your weight and measurements regularly; so that if you have to make any changes in your exercise routine you can do that. This will also give you a clear idea about what kind of exercises to do and what kind of diet to follow.

Consider the above mentioned essential facts before making any attempts to build a good body and you will stand better chances of getting a perfect body.

Do YOU know the exact way of building rock-hard, ripped and shredded body? If No! Not to worry. On next page, I have had shared a Complete Body Building Guide by which you can easily build a body of your dream without supplement, without spending every day in GYM and in very less time. Click Here To Visit Next Page.

Advice About Body Toning Exercises for Women

The trick with many body toning exercises for women is that you have to know how to perform them in order to get the most benefit. But while the instructions can be lengthy and your personal trainer may walk you through them time and time again, you still might be doing the body toning movements incorrectly - wasting your time in the process. Instead of just going through the motions, here are some great ideas for learning how to perform your fitness program right each and every time.

Before you even begin the workout that you have planned, you should look at the body toning exercises for women that are included. If they're on a tape, try to watch the tape all the way through once and even again to see what is happening. You should also read any instructions thoroughly when you are reading about a program from a website or a book. Take the time to study any pictures that you might find and try to imitate the model as though you were a mirror image of them. You might also want to enlist a friend to see how they might interpret an exercise. Sometimes having another perspective will help you figure it out for yourself.

When you're doing the workout, it's a good idea to perform any body toning exercises for women as slowly as you can at first. If you're in a body toning class for women, this might mean that you will lag behind the other participants, but this is okay. It will give you a chance to look at everyone else's form - especially the instructor and those that have bodies that you'd like to have. Take your time for the first few workouts and only do half of the repetitions if you can. As you build up your confidence, you can add more and move more quickly. Until then, it's best to figure things out before teaching your body the wrong movements.

Other things to keep in mind with body toning exercises for women is that you need to protect your joints. Try to avoid bending are angles that can harm your body. For example, when you're doing a lunge, you don't want your front knee to extend past the toe of the same leg. When you cross your toe line, you will be at a higher risk of hurting your knees. This rule also applies for squat exercises too. Listen carefully to the instructor to hear about any other adjustments that might help you prevent injury.

When you're first starting a body toning exercises for women program, you need to be aware that you might not know everything right from the start. So, instead of learning the ineffective ways of doing the routine, why not take your time to learn what really works?

Machelle Lee owns and operates, The Invisible Gym in Santa Cruz, CA. Her mission is to inspire people to become physically active and enjoy the benefits of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. For more information and questions you can visit her website. http://www.the-invisible-gym.com/

Learn About Diet Nutritional Supplements - The Best Diet Nutritional Supplements

Diet nutritional supplements, or dietary supplements, are formulated to provide nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids to individuals who are not consuming the sufficient daily requirements that constitute a well-balanced diet. Technically, dietary supplements also include herbal supplements, which claim to aid in the prevention or treatment of certain conditions and diseases.

Diet nutritional supplements are intended for ingestion in capsule, pill, tablet, liquid, or powder form. They are clearly labeled as "dietary supplements," and, by law, should not be represented as conventional food. It is not intended for supplanting a proper meal, or be made as a sole item of a diet. In the US, diet nutritional supplements are defined under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 to contain one or more of the following ingredients:

1. Vitamins

Vitamins are the most common diet nutritional supplements; they are required by the body for essential metabolic reactions. Different vitamins have different uses and can have multiple reactions and functions. There are thirteen human vitamins divided into two groups: the nine water-soluble vitamins (eight B vitamins and vitamin C) and the four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K).

2. Minerals

Minerals can be naturally occurring in food or come in the form of diet nutritional supplements. They are chemical elements that are required by the body to maintain physical health. They can either be trace minerals (required in very small amounts) or bulk minerals (required in larger amounts). Human bulk minerals include calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Human trace minerals include chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. Excessive dietary mineral intake may lead to illness.

3. Amino acids

The body needs 10 of the 20 standard proteinogenic amino acids (and thus called essential amino acids). These include: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, arginine, and histidine. Arginine and histidine are essential only in some cases.

4. Herbs or botanicals

Herbs or botanicals that have not yet been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration are marketed as diet nutritional supplements if they claim to improve health, shape the body, improve immunity, improve vision, improve mental acuity, boost energy, or help prevent diseases.

Very important reminder

Make sure that the diet nutritional supplements you are buying have no additives or fillers such as starch, sugar, silica, gluten, and artificial colors or flavors. It is best to buy only from a GMP-compliant manufacturer that has passed very stringent manufacturing standards.

The product we personally use called Total Balance - http://www.health-product-we-use.com is the most natural and effective supplement we have come across. We have been using this product for over 3 years with excellent health results.

We highly recommend you learn more about our best natural nutritional supplement if you are interested in improving your overall health.

Jean Helmet runs a series of health websites, We offer a free health book for subscribers to our websites newsletter. We cover everything you need to know on nutrition and how to improve your general overall health. Check out our nutrition e-book, for more information on our nutrition book.

Some Basic Facts About Discovering Food and Nutrition

Discovering food and nutrition go hand in hand is no surprise so in this article I will try to explain some of the basic facts of what we need in our foods and everyday diets.

1: Proteins-These are digested and converted into amino acids which help build and regenerate our cells. Known as a building block for muscles.

2: Calcium: This mineral helps build strong bones and teeth among other body benefits such as nerve conductivity.

3: Fats- Contrary to popular belief we do need some fats in our diet. They form protective membranes around cells and help regenerate muscle proteins and hormones.

Nutrients in our foods are very important to our everyday functions.They also help ward off diseases and strengthen our immune system.

Earlier I said we need some fat in our foods.While this is true avoid fatty foods like fast or junk foods since these types of fats will really harm your body. Instead eat foods high in vitamins and minerals to give your body the energy it needs.

A full belly does not mean you have a healthy lifestyle.Eating correctly is more about proper choices not stuffing yourself for that full feeling.Diets to lose weight employ these guidelines by balancing minerals and vitamins.

I have discussed what needs to be in food so know lets talk about what kind of food to eat.

At the top of the list are organic or high quality foods. The benefit here is that no pesticides are used.

Eat foods that will increase your energy and make you feel good. I can't give you examples because different people react differently to foods. Experiment with healthy foods or consult a nutritionist.

Nutrition is a life long commitment not a fashion statement. Simply put good nutrition has been around a lot longer than any fad diet in existence. Weight loss is a benefit not the goal.

With proper preparation cooking and eating healthy can be easier than running out for junk food.

The bottom line about these nutrition facts are that they require discipline and action to make them come true.

Discovering food and nutrition need not be a mystery,in most cases let common sense prevail.

Ralph Wilhelm-dude17111 is an online researcher and marketer. Stop by http://howmanycaloriestoloseweightv.com/ to find out more about Diet and Exercise

Maintaining a Raw Food Diet and Things to Think About

Each and every day we are constantly scrutinized and bombarded with media about our eating habits and what we should or should not be eating. While we know the right's and wrong's of what we should or should not be eating and that it's unhealthy but it's so good that we find it hard or we're unable to stop. You physical health then takes and turn for the worst because we cannot or will not change our exercise or dieting habits.

Two things that have are an integral part of our nutrition are physical fitness and our emotions. Each plays a roll in how our body takes in and processes food after we eat. When people get some bad news most suddenly loose their willingness to eat. Our emotions clearly play an important roll in our ability to assimilate food. Our overall health is very dependent upon it.

Even if you're a veteran raw-foodist, hopefully you will find some key thoughts in this article that will help you refine your diet and improve your overall health program. Here are some things to consider

1. Cravings

As we make the decision to start a raw food diet we feel the need for processed and cooked food. This need is persistent and hard to resist but is a perfectly normal experience.

In has been my experience that there are two reasons for our cravings: our nutritional and emotional responses.

Addressing the nutritional points are fairly simple: You'll continue to have cravings for processed cooked foods if you fail to get into a routine of eating your fruits and veggies.

The toughest part of trying to get enough minerals from your veggies while not taking in too much fat from all the fruit.

A low fat diet is always the best way to steer you away from the cravings. While we unknowingly like fat it also increases our cravings. A nutritional and healthy path is always the best defense against the feared "cravings".

But keep in mind though, that the average active woman should consume between 1800 to 2500 calories each day, and the average active man should consume between 2500 to 3000. A visit to http://www.fitday.com will be able to show you if you're consuming enough vegetables and fruits to maintain you daily calorie intake.

2. Always Incorporate Fitness into your daily routine

Did you know that physically fit people are not necessarily healthy? Have you heard of athletes that have died of heart attacks? You can be physically fit and not healthy but not healthy without being physically fit.

Your health may still suffer even though you are watching your diet. You need to get to where your body fat index is optimal and you are above average in your fitness routine or you won't get the results you want.

People who are physically fit not only digest their food better, the whole process of nutrition is dramatically improved with an improved fitness program. This means the food you eat will be assimilated better, you're blood sugar will be more under control, and numerous other health advantages.

As always, improve on your areas of weakness first as these will be the hardest to overcome and bring greater joy early on when you achieve your goal but most of our weakness resides in the fitness portion of our lives.

3. Eating fruit before every meal is ideal

Making the move to a raw food diet can be made easier by including fruit first in your diet before each meal. Including fruit when you get hungry before linch and dinner will reduce the amount of food you eat during your regular meal. Eat as much fruit as you feel comfortable with for the best benefit.

This is what is called the transition strategy. Just get started by getting the raw food in by eating fruit at the beginning of each meal. Do you remember your mom telling you not to do that when you were a kid? But as we've all grownup and found out that the Standard American Diet didn't work, we need to get back to our natural instincts to satisfy our natural sweet tooth craving by eating as much fruit as we need at the beginning of every meal.

4. Including Whole Grain in Your Diet

The benefits of including whole grains into your diet are widespread, from the toxic waste flushing antioxidant and fibers to the slow metabolizing carbohydrates that keep us going all day long. Experts have long agreed about the affects and benefits. Including 100% whole grain products into your diet will only do your body good. Our ancestors can't all be wrong can they? As they lived very long and busy lives due to a high fiber grain diet.

You can either take the next 2 to 20 years to get your health in check or you can take a little time and do it in the next 2 months. You can't argue the health benefits of a raw food diet.

Want to find out more about Raw Food Diets? [http://www.raw-food-diet-book.com/], then learn how to choose the best Raw Food Diet for you.

Bob Hirt

The Deadly Truth About Veganism

Welcome to My DoFollow Blog! As a Big Thank You, I'd Like to Give You FREE Access to my "19 Tips to Build Muscle & Gain Weight" Report That Gives You The Key Ingredients For Success in YOUR all your workouts! ~ Marc David; CPT

This is a guest post by Mishka Thomas, a food and beverage blogger

The tragic death of an infant is among the many cases that shed light on the consequences of vegetarianism/veganism, among which are fatal vitamin deficiencies. Sergine and Joel Le Moaligou of France fed their 11-month-old daughter Louise breast milk alone– one day in March 2008 the baby became listless and the couple called emergency services. The baby died of a vitamin deficiency.

According to the autopsy report, the baby suffered from a vitamin A and vitamin B12 deficiency, which experts say raises a child’s vulnerability to infection. The deficiency may have been due to an unbalanced diet, and that the couple did not heed the doctor’s advice for hospitalization when Louise contracted bronchitis and had dropping weight during her nine-month checkup.

While breast milk is a near-perfect food that proves to be the best nourishment you can give your baby, its nutritional value is influenced by the mother diet. Louise’s mother is a vegan, and it apparently created vitamin deficiencies in the breast milk that she was fed on exclusively.

Are you convinced that a strict vegan diet is the healthiest way to go? Read on and be enlightened about the potential deadly dangers of this practice.

The Health Setbacks of Going Strictly Vegan

Many individuals go down the vegetarian/vegan route based on their ethical or spiritual convictions. However, this dietary choice often leads to serious effects, as avoiding all animal foods may deprive you of the critical nutrients needed for optimal health and well-being. Even Angelina Jolie, a vegan for so many years, was quoted as saying “It nearly killed me.”

Vitamin B12 deficiency is thing to watch out for. Vitamin B12, one among the eight B-complex vitamins, is naturally found in animal foods such as meat, fish, milk, milk products, and dairy.

Researcher Michael Donaldson, PhD, of Cornell University reveals his study on the Hallelujah diet, a strict vegan diet:

“Our study revealed early signs of vitamin B12 deficiency in 26 of the 54 people tested, after following the Hallelujah Diet for as little as two to four years…

Based on the published studies and our results, adequate vitamin B12 status of vegans cannot be taken for granted. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants, and small children are particularly vulnerable to B12 shortages. Ensuring adequate B12 is critical for normal neurological development and maintenance, with shortages resulting in permanent damage.”

Another concern: even if vitamin B12 is water-soluble, it does not go out of your body quickly like other water-soluble vitamins do. It is stored in your kidneys, liver, and other bodily tissues. As a result, vitamin B12 deficiency many not manifest until after a number of years.

Saturated fats, animal-based omega-3 fats like krill oil, and vitamin A are other nutrients that a growing child may be missing out on with a strict vegan diet.

Know Your Nutritional Type, Too!

If you are currently following a vegetarian or vegan diet, it may be beneficial for you to add a number of animal-based proteins to your eating choices, like raw organic eggs and dairy. However, its sufficiency largely depends on your Nutritional Type, which determines the ratio of fats, carbohydrates, and protein you need.

Here are the three groups under Nutritional Typing:

1. Protein Type – High amounts of healthy fats and protein, lower amounts of vegetables

2. Carb Type – High amounts of vegetables, lower amounts of protein and fat

3. Mixed Type – somewhere between Protein and Carb Types

Your body needs some of each of these categories above, but individuals require different ratios of each. While some may thrive on large vegetable amounts and very little animal protein, this ratio would spell disaster for some people.

You fare worst on vegetarian and vegan diets if you are a natural Protein Type, as sticking to such diet deprives of your body’s essential fuel, as dictated by your genetic and biochemical makeup. Consider these facts for yourself and your family, and especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

About the Author

Mishka Thomas is a food and beverage blogger, favoring healthy, organic finds and restaurants found in his hometown in Los Angeles. He was diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency a year ago, and this forced him to reevaluate his dietary and lifestyle choices. He is currently living with his partner of five years and their daughter, Belle.

View the original article here

Learn About Diet Nutritional Supplements - The Best Diet Nutritional Supplements

Diet nutritional supplements, or dietary supplements, are formulated to provide nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids to individuals who are not consuming the sufficient daily requirements that constitute a well-balanced diet. Technically, dietary supplements also include herbal supplements, which claim to aid in the prevention or treatment of certain conditions and diseases.

Diet nutritional supplements are intended for ingestion in capsule, pill, tablet, liquid, or powder form. They are clearly labeled as "dietary supplements," and, by law, should not be represented as conventional food. It is not intended for supplanting a proper meal, or be made as a sole item of a diet. In the US, diet nutritional supplements are defined under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 to contain one or more of the following ingredients:

1. Vitamins

Vitamins are the most common diet nutritional supplements; they are required by the body for essential metabolic reactions. Different vitamins have different uses and can have multiple reactions and functions. There are thirteen human vitamins divided into two groups: the nine water-soluble vitamins (eight B vitamins and vitamin C) and the four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K).

2. Minerals

Minerals can be naturally occurring in food or come in the form of diet nutritional supplements. They are chemical elements that are required by the body to maintain physical health. They can either be trace minerals (required in very small amounts) or bulk minerals (required in larger amounts). Human bulk minerals include calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Human trace minerals include chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. Excessive dietary mineral intake may lead to illness.

3. Amino acids

The body needs 10 of the 20 standard proteinogenic amino acids (and thus called essential amino acids). These include: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, arginine, and histidine. Arginine and histidine are essential only in some cases.

4. Herbs or botanicals

Herbs or botanicals that have not yet been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration are marketed as diet nutritional supplements if they claim to improve health, shape the body, improve immunity, improve vision, improve mental acuity, boost energy, or help prevent diseases.

Very important reminder

Make sure that the diet nutritional supplements you are buying have no additives or fillers such as starch, sugar, silica, gluten, and artificial colors or flavors. It is best to buy only from a GMP-compliant manufacturer that has passed very stringent manufacturing standards.

The product we personally use called Total Balance - http://www.health-product-we-use.com is the most natural and effective supplement we have come across. We have been using this product for over 3 years with excellent health results.

We highly recommend you learn more about our best natural nutritional supplement if you are interested in improving your overall health.

Jean Helmet runs a series of health websites, We offer a free health book for subscribers to our websites newsletter. We cover everything you need to know on nutrition and how to improve your general overall health. Check out our nutrition e-book, for more information on our nutrition book.

The Truth About Bodybuilding Clothing And Apparel

Are you among those individuals who want to wear bodybuilding clothing and apparel and don't know where to begin? Well take a moment and think back to what it was like in high school years ago. Do you remember using the weight room if you participated in sporting events or taking gym class? Back then, there were no alternatives to wearing a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, such as the fashions of today in bodybuilding clothing and apparel. No one was searching for any particular type of style or brand of bodybuilding and fitness clothes, since they were not available at that time.

Everyone looked the same in their cut off jeans and tee shirts, concisely; they wore what they found to be personally comfortable to wear, while working out. Actually, the only clothing that may have even come close to being considered bodybuilding clothing and apparel were wearing clothes in their school colors or even their school sports jersey. Back then, clothes were simply clothes. However, today, many individuals who prefer to work out have the option of wearing certain types of clothing that shows off all their muscles or makes them look younger in appearance.

Physique Body Wear is one company that provides some of the best quality in bodybuilding and fitness clothing to be found anywhere. This company features many different and comfortable designs for both men and women while they workout, such as workout clothes, active wear, bodybuilding gear and athletic cut gym apparel from stringer tank tops, big tops, muscle shirts, gym shorts, lace-up shorts, posing suits, men's baggy pants & karate pants. As well as aerobic wear, tops, shorts, bootleg fitness pants & yoga clothes for women.

Physique Body Wear offers a wide range of bodybuilding clothing and apparel as well as anything else you may need while working out and looking your very best while you stay in shape. Since they do offer such a great line of work out and fitness clothing as well as plus size exercise and bodybuilding apparel for both women and men, you should be able to find exactly what you need. You might also want to check out their discontinued and clearance items, as you may be able to find the bodybuilding clothing and apparel that you need while saving some of your hard-earned money.

However, you must keep in mind that fitness or bodybuilding do cost a considerable amount of money, although, they will never be able to produce muscle content on their own, this is something that the individual must attend to himself or herself. Of course, there are people who wear what they wear because someone else is wearing the same outfit or the same type of clothing, because they want to fit in and belong. They will normally do what everyone else does to uphold their reputation and their high profile.

There are other reasons for wearing bodybuilding clothing and apparel.

The world is full of individuals who are vain and expect everyone to consider their body as a masterpiece of perfection, with the notion that everyone around them should be mesmerized and magnetized to the experience of their very being. A lot of them like to wear bodybuilding clothing and apparel, since they make them look great; this however is their true goal. They want to look good and fit in so that other people pay them attention and then they do not feel so very lonely.

Even though some women will of course attract attention while working out in a gym, they do not necessarily want to make a point or aim to impress anyone at all, rather they enjoy wearing their own bodybuilding clothing and apparel while they are training or working out.

Overall, there is nothing wrong with wearing bodybuilding clothing and apparel. When the right individuals wear bodybuilding and fitness clothes, they will attract attention since they look and feel great while wearing them. Some people may look down their nose at those who wear bodybuilding clothing and apparel, however, if the truth was told, they would wear bodybuilding clothing and apparel also if they have the proper shape to do so. It only makes sense that if a person looks great, they will also feel great and they should wear bodybuilding and fitness clothes. Although, wearing bodybuilding clothing and apparel while not in shape can draw negative attention.

Download the free Bodybuilding Weight Training Secrets e-book. Discover incredible body building weight training techniques, find bodybuilding clothing and apparel and get free weekly tips that that will improve your training. Go to http://www.bodybuildingwiz.com right now before we end this free offer.

The Truth About Natural Bodybuilding

Over the decades, bodybuilding has evolved tremendously but it is generally understood that there are two main factions or philosophies of the lifestyle; natural bodybuilding and pharmaceutical bodybuilding. Around the time drug use entered the sporting arena, the lines between the two were more blurred and it wasn't particularly easy to spot an enhanced athlete. Today however, the line between the two can be more clearly defined. Those who take the chemical alternative have perfected the dosage combination's to develop muscles that far exceed even the most gifted of natural lifters. Just watching a natural bodybuilding show and comparing the contestants to it's professional counterpart, it's easy to view them as completely different sports, which they really are.

All bodybuilding associations promote natural bodybuilding, yet it is seldom practiced by the world's top bodybuilders. In fact, none of those at the peak of competitive bodybuilding are natural bodybuilders. The IFBB Mr. Olympia, considered by many to be the greatest bodybuilding title in the world, is an excellent example of pharmaceutical bodybuilding. In competitive bodybuilding, it seems that winning has everything to do with how you play the game. Pharmaceuticals such as diuretics, growth hormone, beta-blockers, insulin, EPO, amphetamines, steroids and countless other doping substances are the rule, not the exception. One thing that is often ignored is the damage that can result from using these substances.

Natural bodybuilding is an art and a science. The objective is to create a body that is beautiful to behold, resilient, strong, graceful, flexible, lean and highly functional. Natural bodybuilding represents a positive life-giving phenomenon. It is a form of training that creates and preserves form, function and health. Natural bodybuilding uses exercise, dietary supplements and a healthy diet to enhance immune function and increase resistance to degenerative disease. With each repetition, cells are flushed with life-giving oxygen and micro-nutrients. Waste is removed efficiently and quickly. When practiced correctly, it does not destroy or eliminate. It adds much more than symmetry and quality muscle, but gives you benefits beyond what can be seen with the naked eye.

Natural bodybuilding represents the truest element of bodybuilding by requiring a clean lifestyle which promotes the achievement of optimum health. Optimum health gives us the opportunity and insight to define our goals and the motivation required to achieve them. Once truly well, we are able to adapt to change and stress without significant damage. A healthy person is well-nourished and physically fit inside and out.

Those who lift weights or use their own body as resistance to achieve any degree of muscle tone, strength or power are engaged in "building" their body. This practice has numerous names - body-shaping, body-sculpting, resistance training, weight-lifting, weight training or working-out. Whatever you call it, if you pump iron you are bodybuilding to some degree. Competition level bodybuilders simply take the same process of training and dieting to an extreme level.

Natural bodybuilding avoids any chemicals or toxic substances. Natural athletes avoid banned substances for two reasons. First, the rules of natural bodybuilding clearly state that they are not permitted and second, crossing the pharmaceutical line reduces health, and health is what natural bodybuilding is all about. Therefore the destructive use of performance enhancing drugs is deemed unacceptable.

The idea of natural bodybuilding is to take your genetic potential to the maximum using supplements, training and high quality food. Health is never compromised for aesthetic value; rather aesthetics are altered in response to controlled exercise performed faithfully and always progressively. This creates a natural cause and effect, facilitated through both hard and smart work and constant vigilance. Biological bodybuilding provides us with the opportunity to challenge ourselves, outperform ourselves and demonstrate our potential. It is not about looking better than anyone else. The lifestyle encourages wellness and provides a reliable means of extending health span.

Craig is a top Vancouver personal trainer and owner of Transfigure - Physique Transformation Services in Vancouver, B.C.

Please visit his blog for more articles like this and more physique transformation strategies.

Craig's put together a bodybuilding program for those who are interested and live in Vancouver BC.

Simple Truth About Successful Weight Loss

Nowadays and all around the world, there is a growing trend and number of people getting overweight or obese. As a result, countless weight loss products and programs come into being and weight loss has become a multi-billion dollar industry. However, despite the claims of some of the fad diets or pills, there are no miracles in weight loss. Stay away from products and diet plans that promise fast results with minimum effort. These promises are too good to be true. The simple truth is: there is only one way to lose weight successfully and keep the weight off - through a balanced diet and regular exercise.

A balanced diet does not completely exclude any food type from your meals but promotes the consumption of carbohydrates, protein and fats in proportion appropriate to the dieter's circumstances. All these nutrients are essential for a healthy body. There are a number of diet plans on the market that focus on eating or eliminating one type of food. However, it is better to eat a well balanced diet that includes a wide variety of food types.

To build a balanced diet, aim to include a mix of the following foods daily: vegetables (3-5 portions), fruits (2-4 portions), grains and potatoes (4-6 portions), calcium-rich foods (2-4 portions), protein-rich foods (2-4 portions), healthy fats and oils (1 portion). Examples of healthy fats include: olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, oily fish. In addition, follow these principles:


Avoid saturated fats (e.g. fatty meat, full-fat dairy products, butter).
Avoid trans fats (e.g. margarine, fried foods, commercially manufactured baked goods and any food with partially hydrogenated oil on its list of ingredients).
Eat more plant based foods and fewer animal based foods.
Eat only as much food as your body needs, preferably stop when you feel 80% full..
Eat foods as close as possible to the way they come in nature.

Regular exercise is the other half of the formula for successful weight loss. Aim to include the following these two types of exercise in your weekly schedule:


Cardiovascular exercise (eg. cycling, running, swimming, walking and using cardio machines) for a minimum of 20 minutes each session, three times a week. This will burn fat and shift your metabolism into higher gear; and

Strength training (weight lifting and resistance training exercise) for three times a week. These should be total-body workouts and the exercises will help you build more muscle tissue, which will help you burn more fat.

In planning the exercises, please take note of the following:


Leave at least 48 hours between weight workouts of the same body parts. Your muscles need time to recover and repair after a workout.
Take a day each week with no formal exercise.
Warm up for 5 minutes before starting to exercise to avoid injury.

So, if you want to lose weight successfully and keep the weight off, I would highly recommend you follow the principle of a combination of a balanced diet, regular cardio plus weight lifting exercises. You would have a much better chance of success.

The author started the website http://HealthyWealthyClub.com/blog which is a website about building and leading a healthy and wealthy life. Check out the website for ideas, suggestions and products in your journey towards a healthy wealthy life.

About Senior Exercise Programs

As seniors, and I am 64, by the way, you and I are aware that we are different from many portions of the population which is catered to by exercise publications and equipment. However, that does not mean that we are so different that we cannot make use of the same information, guidance, and resources that "young folk" do. We just have to "exercise" (pun intended) some of that wisdom that supposedly comes with getting older.

Notice, I did NOT say, "old age". I'm not there yet and neither are you!

Actually, senior exercise programs, in most cases, can be essentially the same as any exercise program presented to younger people, just adjusted for the facts of life.

For example, younger folk may do a lot of bouncing around, while many of us...ahem...more mature individuals, will want to use less bouncing and more around in our senior exercise programs.

Of course, as in so many other things, a lot will depend on the individual, but as we age, joints tend to wear out, various conditions surface, and we have to take those things into account.

Another example of what we might need to consider when planning our senior exercise programs is the fact that, as we age, we lose a certain amount of strength. Even the most physically fit individual will commonly only be able to lift a portion of what he or she could lift a few years previously.

So, when you pick up an exercise book written by younger people FOR younger people, realize that you can probably still do most of the exercises, but maybe not at the same level of intensity as before. Those in senior exercise programs should realize, in fact, that, while they can do almost anything the young people do, they probably cannot do it at quite the same level.

It really doesn't seem to matter too much what kind of exercise or activity we are talking about, seniors can probably do it, they just need to adjust their expectations and goals to fit reality. This is not really too hard because first of all we are probably grateful that we DON'T have to work as hard as before, and the pressure is off to perform at some jock-like level.

When we were younger, we wanted big biceps or bosoms, but now we are grateful to have okay biceps or bosoms, and a little regular physical activity...okay, "exercise"...can help us attain our goals.

So, whether you are into yoga, weight lifting, swimming, biking, or some other example of the many senior exercise programs possible, you can do it and have fun. That's nice, isn't it: doing something that's good for you and having fun at the same time?

There are probably as many possible different senior exercise programs as there are seniors, so get out there and figure out what yours is.

Donovan Baldwin is a 64-year-young amateur bodybuilder and freelance writer currently living in Stone Mountain, GA. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he is a member of Mensa and has held several managerial positions. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, he became interested in internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has recently posted a relevant article, "Exercise and Weight Training for Seniors on his website at http://nodiet4me.com/exercise/seniors/weight_training.html .

Two Questions With Answers About Using Weights

Q. I am overweight and over 65. My muscles are getting flabby and I want to start using weights. I have some arthritis but am otherwise in good health. What size weights should I start with? How will I know when to add more weight - I don't want to be a bodybuilder.

A. Good for you, being willing to work with weights. Be sure to check with your physician before starting a new exercise program. I am sure that he or she will be delighted. It has been noted that exercise is a cornerstone of therapy for persons with arthritis. No matter how severe the condition, it is extremely important for older adults with arthritis to participate in physical-activity programs since a deterioration in fitness will clearly worsen their condition. People with arthritis who are de-conditioned lose strength, flexibility and endurance.

You will need to determine the size of weights to use. You need them to be heavy enough that they challenge you and yet not so heavy that they cause pain (Remember, you will feel some soreness in the beginning, which is usually located in the muscle and eases after a few weeks into training. Pain that originates in the joint will last longer than a few weeks, generally indicating that you have exercised that joint too strenuously, so pull back.)

To build strength, one uses a heavier weight or added resistance, lifting slowly with fewer repetitions, but continuing until you feel true muscle fatigue. To build endurance, use lighter weights with more repetitions, but again repeat until muscle fatigue. You should work with weights three times a week with at least 48 hours in between muscle work. You start increasing the size of your weights, along with the number of sets of repetitions as the workout becomes easier and/or you notice that you have reached a plateau. Don't worry, you will not become a body builder!

Q. Why should I rest a day between lifting weights? I am eager for results.

A. It is commendable that you are eager for results, but be cautious not to overdo. It is recommended that we rest our muscles for at least 48 hours between working them. The reason for this is that it gives the muscles and muscle fibers that we have challenged a chance to revive and also reduces the chance of overtraining.

However, this rule/suggestion pertains to heavy weight lifting where the goal is to build muscle size and strength. A bodybuilder who wants to create size purposely trains for brief, very intense periods, followed by rest days so that the muscle can grow. On the other hand, if your goal is to become stronger and increase your lean muscle mass without building size, then it is suggested that you exercise for longer durations on a daily or high-frequency basis with moderate intensity. Allow your muscles to fatigue, and when you feel you can't complete more than three to five more repetitions, stop.

Perfect form is essential - the body will find ways to cheat and perform less work. When using weights, do not rely on momentum by swinging the weights or working too quickly. And whether or not you are using weights, always hold for a two-count beat at the top and bottom of every movement. This type of control in your training stimulates the deep muscle fibers and ensures maximum results from your efforts.

Remember to have patience!

When we are in a hurry for results we can easily overdo and sustain injury and/or pain. With practice and consistency it won't take too long for you to start noticing and feeling the changes in your body and physical condition. Keep up the good work!

Chris King of Creative Keys is an A.C.E. (American Council on Exercise) Certified Group Fitness Instructor. She teaches twelve classes a week for all ages. She loves her "Portfolio Career" (many careers at the same time). For her Special Reports about fitness visit, http://www.creativekeys.net/specialreports.htm Or if you would like to find out if you could handle and love having a "Portfolio Career" visit http://www.creativekeys.net/portfoliocareertest.htm

3 of the Most Common Questions About Cardio After Weights!

Should you indulge in cardio after weight lifting? This seems to be the big question, which has been prevailing in the minds of fitness freaks since times immemorial. We carry out these aerobic exercises for the purpose of the purpose of achieving peak physical fitness. This in turn helps in increasing oxygen supply in the lungs and as a result in our blood as well. Cardio exercises also helps in the proper functioning of the cardio respiratory organs of the human body.

The answer to the first question has many contrasting answers. Some people prefer doing cardio exercises as a warm-up for other advanced exercises. Others like to carry out these exercises after the weight lifting process in a bid to tone down the muscles. This allows them to relax their body after a heavy workout schedule. Nevertheless, on a general basis people like to do cardio exercises before their normal routine workout, or when they are not interested in lifting weights.

Does cardio save energy for weight lifting? This question is also there in the mind of many workout enthusiasts. This may have its own logic. Generally, we prefer doing cardio exercises for about ten minutes before the main exercise. This prepares the body for that major role that it has to play while lifting free weights.

Do cardio exercises help in burning of fat after weight lifting? Many people may not agree with this. The fact remains on the amount of workout that you do even for the sake of cardio exercises. These questions often prevail in the minds of people who like to workout on a regular basis.

Pro Trainer Reveals...

If You're Making Even Just One Of These 5 Simple Workout Mistakes You Might As Well Be Skipping The Gym And Sitting On The Couch Eating Ice-Cream.

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Lifting Weights For Weight Loss - One Cool Trick You Probably Forgot About

The quest for finding ways to lose weight is like the quest for the holy grail. Losing weight and body fat and looking fantastic is all consuming for some people. This trick I am about to share, is for anyone that has tried everything to lose weight and still struggles.

Since the different types of diets out there run rampant, does it not make sense to stick to proven methods? I think the real reason many people do not pursue what works in weight loss, is that they are looking for a quick fix. Yes, it would be much easier if there were a magic weight loss pill, but sadly there is not. Lifting weights for weight loss just happens to be the answer to your success in this area of your life.

If you hate lifting weights you might just be tuning out right about now, but please do not. There is more than one way to lift weights. Before I tell you about it though, you need to know that in order to lose weight, you must lift weights. You may lose a bit without doing it, but you will never keep it off for good if you skip it.

One reason strength training is essential is that when you use your muscle and fatigue it, it will grow back stronger and larger. When this happens, your body now has more muscle. When your body has more muscle, you burn more fat. Even when your body is at rest. So you may not actually like lifting weights for weight loss, but I am sure you can see why it works and is the only way to burn fat effectively.

Now for those of you who do not like lifting weights for weight loss, I will tell you a secret, you do not have to. That is right, because you can lift something even better. You can lift your own body weight and still have the same results as weight lifting. I'll bet that is something you either never thought about, or completely forgot about doing.

Here are 3 reasons why it works:

1. You can literally do this anywhere. If you are on vacation, at work, or on business, then you can still use your own body. It is with you all the time, right?

2. No excuses that you do not have the proper exercise equipment.

3. It is easy, fast, there is an endless supply of exercises, plus you can wear whatever you want.

Now lifting weights for weight loss is fun as far as I am concerned and I think this is just because I love the results. But lifting body weight just might be right up your ally.

Try some push ups against a wall or step. Squats and lunges as well as tricep dips off a chair work wonders. You get the picture, but for more exercises just search the internet. Please make sure if you are going to do all this work, you eat for weight loss as well. Try not to do all these great body weight exercises and then go out and eat ice cream.

There are plenty of foods to use for fuel that will help to burn the fat easily, and I would be willing to bet that some of these are in your house right now. So get to work finding them and then eating them and you will be on your way to your best body yet.

Lori-Ann Petrosino is an avid health enthusiast, with a passion for helping others acheive their best self. She does this through encouraging others to feel and look their best in all areas of mental and physical health.

Check Out The FREE Presentation To Learn About:

?5 More Foods That Significantly Aid In Burning Body Fat!
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Your Grandmother Lifts Weights - How About You?

Remember when you were a kid?

Watch some kids playing. They run. They jump. They climb. They fall and then they get up again.

You might feel like telling them to slow down, but you never have to tell children to speed up.

Then you got older

But things change when you get older. You might not be quite as fast as you used to be. You might even have the idea that, "I'm too old to exercise."

You see it in a lot of people right after high school. They just aren't active anymore. They think that their running and jumping days are behind them. It just isn't true.

You've still got it in you

You can be active at any age. And you can use exercise, heavy exercise, to help you get the lean body that you want.

Now, before you strap on the gym shoes and start sprinting take a look at your condition. Are you really out of shape? Then you'll need to build up gradually.

Too much, too soon, and you can injure yourself. Or you will be too exhausted to continue, and you will give up.

So where do you start

So what do you do if you are no longer a kid, but you decide it is time for you to get into some kind of shape? The best answer for you is resistance training.

What is resistance training? There are lots of ways to do resistance training. But the kind that you can do and should do is weight lifting.

Weight lifting, at any age, is the safest and most effective way to get in shape. And especially if you are getting older, stiffer, heavier, and out of shape, weight lifting may be ideal for you.

The proof

That may not seem logical at first glance, but here is why. One example of the benefits of weight training is found in the research done at the University of Arkansas. (Exercise training guidelines for the elderly. Evans WJ, Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999 Jan;31(1):12-7.)

This is one of many studies which showed the benefits of heavy weight training in all ages.

They picked elderly nursing home residents and had them do high-intensity resistance training. That's right -- heavy weights. The elderly are the group that you would think would be most prone to injury and least likely to be able to exercise.

What did they find?

What the researchers found was that the frail elderly develop increased muscle mass and dramatically increased strength in a few short weeks.

Further, they became more active in their daily lives after they got more fit. All from high-intensity training.

What is high intensity?

They defined high-intensity resistance training as movements involving greater than 60% of the one repetition maximum. For example, if the maximum that you could lift one time was 100 pounds, then high-intensity resistance training would require you to lift at least 60 pounds.

Sixty percent of your one repetition maximum is enough resistance to cause muscle growth.

You have to work your muscles against resistance to cause muscle growth. That's why most people get so little benefit from their treadmill workouts and why they often give up.

Plodding on the treadmill does not stimulate muscle growth, and it will not give you the changes in your body you are hoping for.

Will it work for you?

If it works for an elderly person in a nursing home it will surely work for you. It works for people of all ages.

Resistance training in any form will give you all sorts of benefits. It increases muscle tone and it increases muscle mass.

The increased tone gives women a shapelier figure. It gives men a more powerful silhouette. And the increased mass burns calories and aids weight loss.

What exercise should you do?

There are many forms of resistance training. Any exercise which will cause you to exert yourself at least 60 percent of your maximum exertion will do. But if you are out of shape it is very difficult to do a lot of resistance activities.

Pullups are great. Pushups are wonderful. Even climbing a tree would work. But for those things you have to be in pretty good shape already.

But what if you're not in good shape? Working with weights is the ideal resistance exercise for most people -- especially if you are out of shape.

Why is that? Because weights come in all sizes, from the 8 ounce soup can in your cupboard to 150 pound dumbbells at the gym. The variety of exercises is infinite and limited only by your imagination. There are many excellent books, videos and magazines available on the subject.

What are the benefits?

The gains you make are easy to see, because the numbers are right there in front of you. You started with 10 pounds. Now you are lifting 20 pounds. So you don't have to wonder if you are making gains.

You will make gains, and you will see so yourself in a very few weeks. Weight lifting can bring dramatic changes in a very short period of time if done right. This is especially true if you let yourself get really out of shape. It's ironic, but the worse shape you are in, the easier it is to improve.

Weight lifting is fun!

And perhaps most importantly weight lifting can be fun. You will see after you try it. It is fun when you see yourself becoming strong and lean.

So give it a try. You have tried every gimmick "fast-weight-loss" diet that has come around, and look where you are now. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Lift some weights. Lose some weight. If your grandmother can do it, so can you.

Are You Tired Of Being Fat?

Dan Curtis, M.D. is an author, lecturer, and university professor. For more help with your weight loss visit: http://www.my-weight-loss-advisor.com How many calories do you need to lose weight?

http://www.my-weight-loss-advisor.com/calories-for-weight-loss.html

A Startling Fact About Weight Lifting Shoes

The Costly Truth About Good Weight Lifting Shoes

Have you ever thought about what shoes you're going to wear to the gym?

Do your gym shoes serve the purpose? Is it suitable for your bodybuilding task. Does it help your performance? Is it safe to wear your shoes in the gym while working out?

Proper footwear is so important when you're working out in the gym, especially if you are lifting free weights

Another issue is to control the way your body is in position while you may be standing on an unstable surface. You do not want to lose your balance while lifting heavy weights.

Here are 3 insider secrets for safe gym shoes and safety in the gym:

A good weight lifting shoe needs to be snug fitting, provide good balance support and have a noncompressible neoprene or crepe wedge sole for traction on the floor

If you check online stores for bodybuilding shoes, you will see that they will lace all the way down to the toe and usually will have an adjustable strap across the metatarsal area that add more lateral stability.

You will need to check online what type of gym shoes that I'm not overly expensive, but not too cheap. After all, when you are comfortable working out, you can build massive muscles without worry about your shoes.

Warning: Do not ignore the above! Be sure to take this advice seriously if you want develop massive muscles by wearing the best weight lifting shoes.

Always seek medical advice before embarking on any nutritional or exercise program.

If you want to know more secrets to develop a muscle weight training program and using the best weight lifting shoes pay attention!

Click here to find out more 12 more weight lifting workouts - http://www.nobellyfat.info

Do You Know These 5 Common Myths About Exercise and Weight Loss?

Exercise is an important component of the weight loss process, but we need to know the truth about what exercise can and cannot do for us. Here are some of the most common exercise and weight loss myths.

Myth #1 Do not eat before a workout

This is one of the most intriguing myths for me as I have been told that you should have at least a small snack before you exercise. The snack is eaten to provide your body with a ready supply of glucose and the energy that you need for your workout. Food needs to be digested and absorbed before it can provide you with fuel, so large meals need to be eaten 3-4 hours before a workout and lighter snacks 1-2 hours before.

One to two hours before exercise, you can try eating breakfast cereal with milk, liquid meal supplements, cereal bars, yogurt and fruit. If you have less than one hour before you exercise and you need a quick energy burst, try cordial, jelly lollies or sports drinks. This may not be suitable for everybody though. The increase in insulin in response to the increased blood sugars can make your blood sugar drop too low causing fatigue, shakiness and dizziness. You will need to experiment to find out what works for you.

If you exercise in the morning like I do, you should only have a light snack before exercising. I actually prefer not to eat before I exercise so it is really an individual preference and a case of discovering what works for you.

Myth #2: Crunches will get rid of your belly fat

Unfortunately you cannot chose where you are going to lose fat on your body and that includes belly fat. For fat loss you need to combine a good healthy eating plan, cut out any processed foods including sweet drinks, and do a combination of cardiovascular exercise and strength training. Crunches and other strength training exercises will help to tone you up so that you build lean, toned muscle.

Myth #3 Strength building will make women bulk up

A normal strength building plan using light weights, will not make you bulk up if you are a woman. Female body builders spend many dedicated hours in the gym lifting seriously heavy weights. If you keep your program to using light weights with more repetitions (as opposed to fewer repetitions using heavier weights), you will not bulk up.

Keep in mind that a pound of fat takes up at least twice the volume of a pound of muscle. If you lose a pound of fat, but gain a pound of nice lean muscle, you will weigh the same, but your measurements will decrease. This is why it is very important to measure yourself and possibly more important than looking at the numbers on the scales.

Myth #4 When you exercise, fat turns into muscle

This is actually a physical impossibility because fat and muscle are two completely different tissues. It is like saying that an apple can be turned into an orange. They are both fruits but you cannot turn one into the other. When you lose weight and exercise, you lose fat and increase nice lean muscle. Similarly, when you stop exercising, the lean muscle starts to waste away and if you do not eat less, you will start to put on weight (fat). Hence the illusion that muscle is turning into fat.

Myth #5 Muscle burns more calories than fat

This is a very interesting topic of discussion and it is not actually a myth. The reason why I included it is because we don't really know if muscle burns enough calories to make a great deal of difference if we are trying to lose weight. It is very difficult to measure metabolic changes after exercise, and studies vary between 6 calories up to 35 extra calories per pound of muscle for men who lift weights. Whatever we burn, this does not discount the importance of doing weight training to keep our muscular system strong and lean.

While exercise is a very important component of your weight loss plan, it is not the most important part. The most important part is to find a healthy eating plan for weight loss that you can follow. 70% of your success will be achieved through what you eat and 30% through exercise, although exercise plays an essential role in helping you to maintain your weight.

Visit Jan at eating plans for weight loss where you can read my three favorite diet reviews, find out how exercise, sleep and stress affect weight loss and get the latest research on losing weight, nutrition and wellness. Visit today to learn how to stop sugar addiction. Nutrition is my passion.

Ten Things You May Not Know About Weight Lifting For Runners

1. Do NOT stretch before you run!

Now, before you have a coronary, let me explain. Studies support that static stretching (holding a stretch for 30-60 seconds) before physical activity can INCREASE your chances of injury and decrease your athletic performance. What should you do? Perform what we call an active warm-up prior to your run. This warm-up involves moving through ranges of motion that mimic athletic movements, while enhancing your flexibility.

2. Strength training makes you MORE flexible.

Forget about the giant bodybuilder who can't clap his hands or scratch his booty because he is simple too developed. Weight training performed properly will promote flexibility by working your joints safely through a full range of motion. This is especially important for distance runners due to the limited range of motion that distance running requires.

3. Increase strength = Increase endurance

We all have fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. Fast twitch fibers are used for explosive movements (jumping, weight lifting) and slow twitch fibers are used for endurance activities (distance running). There are times when both types of fiber are necessary (running up a short steep hill in the middle of a 10K). The better conditioned your fast twitch fibers, they slower they will be to reach fatigue, thus making you faster over a longer period of time.

4. Crunches make you slow!

We could all work on our posture these days. With all of the sitting we do, it's no wonder that tight hips and rounded shoulders are not all that uncommon. Crunches, by nature, mimic poor posture. The last thing we want to do is include an exercise that will exacerbate poor posture. A far better choice is planks (front and side). Planks will make your abs look great and train your core to stabilize in the correct position.

5. The opposite game - contra lateral lifting

Running takes place on one leg with one arm forward. Try to train your body with weights in the same manner. Example: hold a weight in your right hand

and step up to a box with your left leg. This works your core musculature and builds coordination for running.

6. Stroke it!

Studies support that weight training can increase the stroke volume of your most important muscle. If your heart can pump more blood with each stroke, it won't have to work as hard over the course of a race or run.

7. I like big butts and I cannot lie! It's your most important muscle.

Your hips are actually part of your core! Also, your hip complex contains some of your largest and most powerful muscles. If you want to run fast and have healthy knees, back and feet, you need to build strength in your hips. This can be addressed with lunge and squat variations a few times a week.

8. Sitting stinks! Daily posture habits make a huge difference!

Like I mentioned in point #4, sitting can now be considered a dynamic activity. Tight hamstrings, short hip flexors, and rounded shoulders are all the result of excessive sitting. Armed with this knowledge, you can plan your intense runs around the days when you are not strapped to the desk!

9. Bodybuilding magazines are evil. Train movements not muscles.

This single biggest mistake I see runners make in regards to weight training is to design their workouts based on routines featured in bodybuilding magazines. You should aim to develop your weight training regimen so that it compliments your running. Bodybuilding program are design for one thing and one thing only- building massive muscles. The goal for runners is to develop as much strength as possible with little or no weight gain. Strength to weight ratios make all the difference in endurance sports. Just ask Lance Armstrong!

10. Bay to Breakers. Are you ready?

Would you be willing to run naked in front of thousands of cheering fans? No? Then you need to add some weight training to your weekly schedule. While running is a fantastic weight loss tool, nothing will change the shape of your body like weightlifting. Adding a little lean tissue to your body will elevate your metabolism and turn your body into a calorie burning machine. Would you like to burn an additional 50-100 calories on every 30 minute run? Hit the weights!

Rick Mayo CPT

President

North Point Personal Training

NorthPointPT.com

rickmayoblog.blogspot.com

770-998-9009

Rick Mayo is a fitness industry expert, author, speaker, certified personal trainer, and fitness business consultant. He is the owner of North Point Personal Training in Roswell, GA., which has been in business since 1992. Rick and his team are available for fitness coaching, writing, and speaking engagements.

http://www.NorthPointPT.com

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