Wednesday

How to increase this fat-burning hormone

With the announcement of my friend and colleague Joel Marion's new program at http://www.CheatYourWayLean.com that advocates strategic overeating to actually lose body fat faster than with typical "dieting", there have been questions about any legit science behind this.

Here's a really interesting article researched by Joel that PROVES there's real science behind strategic overeating. Check it out:

The Most Important Fat Burning Hormone You've Never Heard Of
By Joel Marion, CISSN, NSCA-CPT

LEPTIN-WHA??

It's name is Leptin (derived from the Greek word leptos, meaning "thin"), and it's without a doubt the most important hormone you probably never heard of.
You see, leptin was only first discovered just over 10 years ago, and as far as weight loss is concerned, that’s extremely recent.

Leptin's function? To communicate your nutritional status to your body and brain.

Leptin levels are mediated by two things. One is your level of body fat. All else being equal, people with higher levels of body fat will have higher leptin levels than those with lower levels of body fat and vice versa.

Because leptin is secreted by fat cells, it makes sense that under normal conditions there is a direct correlation between leptin levels and the amount of fat you are carrying.

Unfortunately, when you're attempting to lose fat and begin to restrict calories, conditions are anything but "normal" and the body responds accordingly by lowering leptin levels.
This is because the second mediator of blood leptin levels is your calorie intake. Lower your calorie intake and leptin will fall, independent of body fat.

So, yes, you can be overweight and still suffer from low leptin levels – just go on a diet.
So what happens when leptin levels fall and why the heck does it matter?

Again, under normal conditions leptin levels are normal and the brain gets the signal loud and clear that nutrition intake is adequate. Metabolism is high and the internal environment of the body is one very conducive to fat burning.
Until you start dieting.

Go on a diet and leptin levels quickly plummet (by 50% or more after only one week), sending a signal to the body that you're semi-starved and not consuming enough calories.

This puts the breaks on metabolism and creates a hormonal environment extremely conducive to fat storage. Thyroid hormones (hormones extremely important to metabolism) respond by taking a dive and the abdominal fat-storing stress hormone cortisol skyrockets measurably.
HELLO belly fat.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the appetite stimulating hormones ghrelin, neuropeptide-Y, and anandamide all hop on board to make your life even more miserable.

You don't have to remember any of those names, just remember that when leptin drops, you get seriously hungry.

Despite having a pretty good reason for its reaction, it's pretty ironic that our bodies are primed for fat loss at every other time except when we are trying to burn fat.

Wouldn't it be great if we could maintain high leptin levels and a body primed for fat burning while dieting? It would seemingly solve all of our problems.

But in order to do this, we'd have to somehow keep leptin levels high as we attempt to lose those extra pounds.

"HOW ABOUT SUPPLEMENTING WITH LEPTIN?"

A couple of problems here: First, leptin is a protein based hormone, which means that it can not be taken orally (otherwise, it would simply be digested). So that rules out a leptin pill.

This leaves the method of "supplemental" leptin administration to injection. And leptin injections DO indeed work, reversing the metabolic adaptations to dieting and "starvation" even while continuing to restrict calories.

In 1996, Ahima et al. used leptin injections to reverse starvation-induced neuroendrocrine adaptations in mice.

"Well, that's nice and all, but I'm human." Point taken; research with rodents doesn't always correlate to similar findings in humans, however…

In 1999, Heymsfield et al. performed a double-blind placebo controlled study analyzing weight loss over a 24-week period in 73 obese humans. Subjects either injected daily with leptin or a placebo (i.e. bogus alternative). At the end of the 24-week period, the leptin group lost significantly more weight than the placebo and a higher percentage of fat vs. muscle.

In 2002, Rosenbaum et al. administered low-dose leptin to subjects (male and female) who had dieted to a 10% decrease in body weight. During the diet period, thyroid hormone levels, 24-hr energy expenditure, and other metabolic markers substantially decreased. The result of the leptin replacement therapy?

"All of these endocrine changes were reversed..." Thyroid output and daily calorie burn increased back to pre-diet levels.

In 2003, Fogteloo et al. showed that leptin injections "tended to reduce the decline of energy expenditure associated with energy restriction, whereas the tendency of energy intake to increase back to baseline levels in placebo-treated subjects was largely prevented in subjects treated with leptin."

Yeah, that's a mouthful. Let me put in simple terms: not only did the leptin group experience less of a decline in metabolism, but they were also less hungry, allowing them to more easily stick to the prescribed diet.

In 2004, Welt et al. reported that leptin given to a group of women with thyroid disorder immediately raised circulating concentrations of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4.

In 2005, Rosenbaum and company were at it again, again showing that energy expenditure and circulating concentrations of T3 and T4 all returned to pre-weight-loss levels with regular leptin injections.

So, as theorized, keeping leptin levels high during a diet does indeed solve our dilemma by avoiding the negative metabolic (and perhaps behavioral) adaptations that calorie restriction perpetuates.

The problem?

Daily leptin injections are far too expensive, costing thousands and thousands of dollars per week. So, we can pretty much forget about supplemental leptin as a solution (which is probably moot anyway considering that not too many people are going to voluntarily plunge a needle into their skin daily).

A REAL Solution

Now that we know that leptin injections aren't going to save us, let's talk about the possibility of manipulating your body's natural leptin production.

And I've got good news – this can indeed be done, and without involving needles or thousands of dollars. In fact, we'll swap the injections and mounds of cash out for two things I can guarantee you're absolutely going to love: more calories and more carbs.

We know that leptin levels decrease by about 50% after only one week of dieting, but fortunately, it doesn't take nearly that long for leptin to bump back up with a substantial increase in caloric intake.

In fact, research has shown that it only takes about 12-24 hours. So, the answer to the fat loss catch-22? Strategic high-calorie, high-carb CHEATING.

By strategically cheating with high calorie foods (and yes, even stuff like pizza, ice cream, wings, cookies, burgers, fries, etc), you can give leptin and metabolism a major boost mid-diet which sets you up for plenty of subsequent fat loss when you resume your reduced calorie eating regimen.

This means greater net fat loss week after week, and ultimately, a much more realistic, maintainable way to bring you to the body you truly want and deserve.
So what's so special about carbs?

Well, leptin, carbohydrate and insulin have been shown to have very strong ties.
Calories alone don’t get the job done, as research shows that overfeeding on protein and fat has little effect on leptin.

In order to get a strong leptin response from overfeeding, there needs to be plenty of carbs in the mix. In fact, the relationship is SO strong that research conducted by Boden et al. at the Temple University School of Medicine shows that leptin levels will not fall even in response to all-out fasting so long as insulin and blood sugar are maintained via IV drip. That’s CRAZY.

Because of this carbohydrate/insulin-leptin relationship, it makes sense that foods combining both carbs and fat (like pizza, burgers, cookies, ice cream, etc) work best for reversing the negative adaptations caused by dieting because of the BIG-TIME insulin response they produce.

THIS is why strategic cheating with your favorite foods is so powerful. THIS is why you truly can use your favorite foods to lose fat faster than you ever could with restrictive dieting. THIS is freedom.

Essentially, it's everything "typical" dieting isn't.
With regular dieting, come week two, you're screwed.

With strategic cheating, you can literally use ANY food you want to *ensure* that you never go a single day without a body primed for fat loss.

The cheat or not to cheat? I think the choice is clear.
================

It's important to note that although I agree with cheat meals to increase fat loss, I don't agree with cheat meals involving deep fried foods, anything with high levels of trans fats, or high fructose corn syrup laden items like sodas or candy.

There are plenty of ways to strategically overeat while still avoiding horrendously processed foods. That means foods such as heaping plates of pasta and meatballs...oh yeah! but sodas, fries, donuts, and fried chicken - still a BIG NO for me!

Make sure to grab a copy of Joel's program this week during his half-price special.

Also, remember that Joel and I decided to put on a 90-minute teleconference for everyone that purchases through the website below, so that we can personally dedicate our time to helping you with your specific questions, so you can get better results.

You can only get access to this 90-minute teleconference bonus by ordering through this website:

http://www.CheatYourWayLean.com

Enjoy!

Best wishes,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com & BusyManFitness.com
http://AvalancheSkiTraining.com

Tuesday

overeating to increase fat burning?

Have you ever heard someone claim that you can "eat all the pizza, burgers, and ice cream you want and still lose weight"?

Well, there is SOME truth to that... as long as it's not a daily ritual.

If you've been a reader of mine for some time, you probably know that I'm a big proponent of "cheat meals" to actually increase your fat loss efforts and keep your metabolic rate higher. This is basically strategic planned overeating at certain times while keeping overall weekly calorie intake where it needs to be for fat loss.

One problem many people face when trying to lose fat is that their results seem to stall after they've tried to restrict calories for too long. Restricting calories for too long causes your body to fight back and reduce your metabolic rate. This is a simple survival tactic as your body thinks a possible famine is on the way so it needs to hold on to your body fat and start conserving calories.

To overcome this effect and keep your fat loss efforts on track, you need to fool your body into thinking that food is abundant again, so it can elevate your metabolic rate once again.

This all has to do with manipulating levels of the hormone leptin in your body by strategically overeating at certain times and by shifting carbohydrate intake throughout the week.

About 8 months ago, I met a famous fitness author named Joel Marion for a dinner meeting... Joel has spent years researching this one specific topic of planned overeating for controlling leptin levels in the body. (Joel was also the 2001 Body-for-Life Grand champion).

Joel has actually taken this concept of using cheat meals to lose body fat faster than with traditional "dieting" and put it into an entire system based on his carbohydrate shifting method... you can see Joel's system here:

http://CheatYourWayLean.com

I want to clear up some confusion as to my recommendations for planned overeating or "cheat meals". Although some people will tell you that "anything goes" for cheat meals, I still firmly believe that trans fats and high fructose corn syrup should be avoided as much as possible... and that includes in cheat meals too.

As for Joel's Program, since it is just being released today, he's having a "less than half price" sale going for the initial 3 days, so make sure to grab it now to get this week's discount.

Joel and I even decided to team up and do a 90-minute teleconference call for everyone that purchases the system this week, so that we can personally respond to questions and help you get the best results possible. The call will be planned in about 3 weeks from now and will be on a teleconference line that will be able to hold a couple hundred people.

Even if the phone lines fill up, we'll have it available to listen to the call online, and type in your questions to us via web conferencing.

This is a major bonus that Joel and I decided to offer... if you think about books you've bought at a bookstore, what are the chances you'd actually be able to get on a teleconference phone call with the actual author and get your questions answered? Zero!

That's why we thought this would be a great way to really add value and help you to get better results by making ourselves available for Q&A on the teleconference.

To qualify for the teleconference with Joel and I, you have to order Joel's system through this specific website below:

http://CheatYourWayLean.com

Since Joel's release of this system is today, you might see a lot of buzz around the internet with everyone talking about this... but to get on the teleconference with Joel and I, you have to make sure to only order through this website above to qualify for the bonus Q&A coaching call.

Joel will send out final details about the call in about 2-3 weeks. That will give you time to go through the entire program and get started on it so you can see how it's working and see what questions you have for us.

Good luck!

talk to you soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

the "chicken walk" exercise for fat loss

I've noticed that one thing that holds certain people back from doing new exercises that they've never tried before is worrying about "looking funny" while they do the exercises, either at the gym or during outdoor workouts.

Right now, I'm on a trip back on the east coast for several weeks visiting some friends and family and getting away from the Colorado mountains during the "mud season" when all of the snow is melting in the spring.

So just the other day, it was a beautiful warm sunny day here on the east coast and I decided to get outside and go to the park for a workout instead of going to the indoor gym. There's a great hill at the park nearby here so I like to do some hill sprints, and go over to the monkey bars and mix in some pullups in between sprint sessions.

I actually had a great workout of mixing up hill sprints with lunges up the hill, pushups, pullups, and even some sandbag exercises in between.

The funny thing I notice whenever I do outdoor workouts at the park is that there always seems to be people that walk by and give me the craziest looks (because they've never seen somebody do crazy outdoor workouts like this with sandbags, bodyweight exercises, kettlebells, hill sprints, and so on).

If I actually cared about the opinions of these people that give me funny looks, I might let what others think deprive me from getting these great workouts in and getting the results that I want.

And I've noticed this with other people that are trying to use more interesting workout methods to get in shape... they worry about what other people think, and let it cause them to avoid certain exercises, instead of just enjoying their workout and getting great results.

One interesting thing I've always noticed about these onlookers that will give you the funny looks while you workout at the park is that they are almost always severely overweight and out of shape. Obviously, they can't seem to wrap their mind around why somebody would ever willingly choose to work-out like this.

I've even had certain people come up to me at the park and ask me "what athletic event am I training for?"... As if the only reason any sane person would exercise like this is if they were some sort of competitive athlete or professional athlete.

They are always shocked to hear that I'm training so intensely just to keep myself in good shape and good health, and that I think it's fun... they just can't fathom that someone would actually exercise solely because they actually enjoy working out.

This leads me to the "chicken walk" exercise story...

I had a personal training client years ago that always refused to do a certain exercise -- walking lunges...

He would say, "I'm not going to do that stupid chicken-walk. I feel silly doing the chicken walk. I feel like people are watching me".

I thought it was hilarious that he called walking lunges "the chicken walk"... but the sad part is that he was allowing the fact that he thought he looked silly doing walking lunges keep him from doing one of the most effective fat burning exercises available.

My point of this email is to do whatever you want to do and not let what other people think discourage you from doing ANY types of workouts...

If you want to do kettlebell workouts or sandbag workouts or some other "unorthodox" style of training, don't worry that most people don't know what kettlebell workouts are or what sandbag workouts are, and might think you look funny... just do them because you know you're doing something great for yourself.

Plus, you'll keep your training more interesting than most people that do nothing but cardio and the same old weights routine they've used for 10 years now.

Keep it fun, keep it interesting, and keep it intense, and you'll be the one getting the last laugh with your rock hard body!

I just posted a great new article showing some cool sandbag exercises, as well as where to get sandbags if you want to try this style of training:

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/5-sandbag-exercises-odd-object-training.html

Also, if you want more ideas for mixing up your workouts and getting insane variety, these 15 workouts will surely give you some ideas:

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/15-top-workouts.html

If you liked these articles, feel free to fwd this email to your friends, family or coworkers that might enjoy them. Also, feel free to post these links to the articles above on your blogs or social networking sites.

Til next newsletter,
Don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal TrainerFounder - TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com

For those suffering back pain, 3 exercises that can help

Monday

The new muscle building & abs shredding program

I try to strike a nice balance with these newsletters where I give a lot of tips that are more health-related along with lots of healthy nutrition tips.

However, I also know that most of us simply want to look good too, so I try to also provide info for the "beach body" seekers. After all, who doesn't want a lean, tight body.

So today, I just wanted to send the announcement about a great DVD series that my good friend Vince Delmonte just put together. I'm trying to help spread the word about Vince's new Muscle Building & Six Pack Abs Shredding Video Series.

I've become good friends with Vince over the last 2 years and he is definitely one of the good guys in the fitness industry. Vince is one of the most genuine and honest guys I've had the pleasure of being friends with.

He even came out last summer and spent a week at my place in the mountains of Colorado and we had an "extreme adventure week"... where over the course of 7 days, we went skydiving from 17,000 feet, went ziplining over canyons, did 2 days of whitewater rafting trips on Class V rapids, and other hiking and biking adventures. So Vince is an adventure addict just like me.

And Vince definitely "walks the walk" when it comes to his fitness advice... he's even competed in several fitness model competitions (he also successfully added 41 lbs of muscle to his former skinny frame in only a 6-month period several years back when he made the goal to finally change from skinny to brawny).

Here's what Vince has put together for you to get started on your own "Beach-Body" right now:

** A 9-DVD set (workout videos plus manuals) detailing his entire Muscle-Building & Abs Shredding Programs...

http://tinyurl.com/muscle-vince

You get everything listed below when you grab a copy of Vince's system (he has DVDs in here for muscle building, fat loss, functional training and everything in between):

DVD 1: Upside Down Training Program4-Week Kick Start Program

DVD 2: The Beginner-Intermediate & Advanced 29-Week Muscle-Shredding Program

DVD 3: The 16-Week 3-Day Metabolic Boost Program & Women’s Fat Loss Program

DVD 4: The 16-Week 4-Day Metabolic Extreme Program

DVD 5/6: The 16-Week 5-Day Metabolic Overdrive Program

DVD 7: The Razor-Sharp Abdominal Cardio, 4-Week Bodyweight Program, & 16-Week Home Gym Program

Disk 8: No-Nonsense Muscle Building & Six Pack Printable PDF’s and Word Documents of Workouts

Disk 9: FREE Bonus DVD -- Disk 9 contains the following:
  • 4-Minute Fat Loss Circuit Day 1 and Day 2
  • Female-Only 6-Week Fitness Model Plan
  • Male-Only 6-Week Muscle Building Plan
  • Lower Abs Workout
  • 5 Killer Shoulder Exercises For Sculpted Delts
  • Truth About Fat Burning Supplements
  • Truth About Cardio and Fat Loss
  • Truth About Alcohol and Getting A Six-Pack
  • Best Fat Burning Exercises Ever
  • Hardcore Abdominal Circuit-Ultimate 10-Minute Warm Up
  • How To Make A Delicious Protein Smoothie
  • Best Core Exercises Ever
  • Transformers Soundtrack - motivational track
  • Victory Remix - motivational track

All in all, what Vince has put together here is one of the most comprehensive DVD series available on Muscle Building & Six Pack Abs Training.

And this is just in time for the upcoming beach/pool season (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere).

Grab a copy of this system now, because Vince is raising the price of the system this coming Friday April 10th.

Go here:
http://tinyurl.com/muscle-vince

Stayed tuned for my regular newsletters in a few days. I've got some great topics I'll be covering this month that you won't want to miss.

Til next newsletter,
Don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Honey vs Sugar -- which is better for you?

Friday

how to reduce cravings & automatically eat healthy for weight loss

After working with thousands of clients in my personal training business over the years, and now over 200,000 people with my Truth about Abs program, I've learned some interesting things about why some people get results and others don't when it comes to nutrition and exercise.

The bottom line is that if you follow the types of training programs I recommend and the types of nutrition strategies that I advocate, anyone WILL get results.

The problem is that some people get extraordinary results, while other people have a hard time actually changing their former poor habits.

Some of the biggest problems I see with clients are:
  • Can't fight off junk food cravings
  • Addicted to processed carbohydrates
  • Perceived lack of time to work out on a regular basis
A few months ago, I recommended a process that has a very high success rate for overcoming some of these types of obstacles keeping you from the body you want.

What I recommended trying is called Medical Hypnosis. But there's a technique where you can do this on your own without going to a hypnotherapist.

After all, what good is knowing the right types of foods to eat and the right types of workouts to do if you never actually take action on it.

That's what this is all about... medical hypnosis can literally help you to change your eating habits, eliminate cravings, and start enjoying exercise by reprogramming how your mind views these aspects of your life.

The program that I recommended is here:
http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/hypnosis/ewl/special?hn=1921

Now, it gets even more interesting...

Just recently, I found out that Matt Hoover (winner of NBC's, "The Biggest Loser" season two) also tried the same exact program.

When I first heard this, I was thought to myself, "But that guy already lost a ton of weight, why would he use medical hypnosis?"

Turns out, that after the show was over he was no longer able to eat like he did on the show (no personal chefs, no trainer, and no cameras to make sure he was track)... so he gained a lot of the weight back and was ashamed of himself. In his own words, he simply could not avoid temptation.

Well, a couple of months ago, he tried the same CDs I recommended in January and for the first time in his life, he is eating right and exercising without the star treatment. He is doing it on his own, and says it has been easy. By the way, he has also lost over 20 pounds of fat!

It has also been working for normal people Like Cynthia Roderick, a photographer from South Deerfield, Massachusetts:

"I had an addiction to sugar and my weight problems were so severe I was thinking of bypass surgery. I tried hypnosis programs in the past. Some programs made me tense and uncomfortable, the power of others seemed to fade away.

Within the first week I was getting obvious results. Since I started the program I've lost 30 pounds and I keep dropping them. My addiction to sugar is pretty much gone and decisions to turn down foods are easy."

**********************************************
Terrisa Harding, from Sapulpa, Oklahoma had this to say:

"I was always a thin person until my mid-thirties, then the weight began to creep up until I had gained over 30 lbs. I tried the Enjoying Weight Loss program and since being on it I've lost (so far permanent) over 20 lbs. I find I automatically eat much more healthfully, like more fruits and vegetables, I don't feel deprived and I'm energized. I feel GREAT!"

************************************************

A study from the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology shows medical hypnosis increased weight loss by an average of 97% during treatment. More importantly, medical hypnosis increased effectiveness AFTER treatment by over 146%.

Clearly, this technique is even more effective over time. And as you know, long-term commitment to any diet/fitness program is the key to lasting fat loss.

Dr. Roberta Temes is the brains behind how this program works to change your habits.
Dr. Temes is also on the faculty of the Psychiatry Department in the Medical School of the SUNY Health Science Center. She’s also involved with research on the behavioral factors involved with long-term weight loss.

If you struggle to stay on track with either your workouts or your nutrition, you fight with cravings for junk or sweets, or you always fall back into bad habits, now is the time to try something that could change all of that.

It may finally be the stimulis that creates lifelong good habits to get the body you want.
Try it out and see:

http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/hypnosis/ewl/special?hn=1921

Good luck!

I'll be back in a few days with the next Lean-Body Secrets Ezine.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com