My Fight with Obesity and How I'm Beating It!

2006-12-20T00:18:00.000-05:00

Tips for a Diet Good in Nutrition

Hello Everyone,

A Diet good in nutrition is important. Below are some helpful tips on proper diet.

Eat a Well-balanced Diet
You’ll want to choose foods that are as rich in nutrition as possible. Your daily diet should include the following:
Lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, and legumes (dried peas and beans)
Low-fat dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt)

Whole-grain and enriched breads, cereals, and grain products
Fruits and vegetables According to the recent “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005”, published jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), you should have a mix of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Current recommendations based on the new food pyramids suggest that 45-65% of your calories should come from carbohydrates, with 20% to 35% of your calories coming from fat. Be sure to consider the types of fats that you eat.

Up to 20% of your calories should come from protein. However, if you are on dialysis, you may need to eat a high-protein diet. If you’re still on the waiting list for a kidney transplant you may need to limit the amount of protein you eat. Talk to your doctor about your specific protein needs.

Protein is particularly important, as it helps wounds heal. And remember, protein doesn’t come only from meats. In fact, leafy green vegetables like spinach have more protein per calorie than meatloaf. Dairy products, lentils, fish, peanut butter, and tofu are also great sources of protein. Try to eat meals that are well-balanced and include proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

Get Enough Vitamins
Though you should try to get your vitamins from a balanced diet, you may want to talk to your doctor about adding a multivitamin. A multivitamin can help ensure that you get enough calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, phosphorus, and B vitamins like folic acid. You may have also thought about herbal supplements and whether they might help you with your dietary and health needs. Talk to your dietician and transplant team about herbal products, since they may cause problems with your transplant medications. Herbal supplements aren’t just the pills and capsules sold in jars, but also beverages and other products that contain supplements like guarana, milk thistle, Echinacea, and ginseng.

Avoid Salt
Sodium can cause complications with your medications and your blood pressure, so it is best to avoid adding salt to foods or eating foods that are salty—like packaged foods (potato chips, salted nuts, pretzels), canned soups, hot dogs, cured meats (ham and deli meats), and other high-sodium foods and condiments (soy sauce).

Limit Saturated Fats
Different kinds of fats are considered either good or bad because of their effects on your cholesterol levels. You probably know that saturated fats are bad for you, as are partially hydrogenated fats, which result in trans fatty acid (found in baked goods such as doughnuts and pastries, deep fried foods, imitation cheese, and snack foods like chips and cookies).

You should consider limiting your intake of saturated fat to below 10% of your total calories. The best kind of fat—monounsaturated fat—should make up about 20% of your total calories. Monounsaturated fat is found in olive oil and canola oil.

Good Fats / Bad Fats
Olives/olive oil / Palm kernel oil
Canola oil / Coconut oil
Flax seed oil / Vegetable oil/shortening
Nuts/nut oils / Animal fat (butter, whole-fat dairy, high-fat meats like bacon)
Fish oil / Candy
Tofu / Fried foods
Beans, not fried or refried / Partially hydrogenated fats
Avocado

Enjoy the Benefits of Fiber
Some studies have shown that fiber can help reduce cholesterol. In addition, fiber can help to slow the flow of sugar from your digestive system to your bloodstream—a factor that’s important if you experience hyperglycemia. Good sources of fiber include whole-grain bread, oatmeal, brown rice, barley, raw fruits, and raw vegetables.

Overall:
Things to Avoid:
High fat and salty foods like potato chips, doughnuts, and pretzels should be avoided. When taking some medications, grapefruit, grapefruit juice, and star fruit should not be eaten.

Getting Your Folic Acid:
Folic acid and other B vitamins are critical to maintaining proper levels of homocysteine in your body. Since high homocysteine levels can affect kidney function, it is particularly important to get folic acid. Some good sources of folic acid are leafy green vegetables (like spinach), whole-wheat bread, enriched breads and breakfast cereals that have added vitamins (fortified), unsalted nuts and seeds, sprouts, oranges, and poultry.

Hope all these tips help you come up with very healthy meals this holiday season!

To Good Health and Nutrition!

James

Source Cited:
Healthy Living and theDietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. Assessed Online.

2006-11-19T06:23:00.000-05:00

The Book You have been Hearing About

and Why Its So Different...

Truth About Six Pack Abs Book

Hello Everyone,

I have received many emails asking me what do I think about Mike Geary's "Truth About Six Pack Abs Book," and whether or not it is worth the money. Well my answer is most assuredly yes! And I am stating this from my own personal opinion after reading the book, no other reason!

Alright, here's what make's The Truth about Six Pack Abs different:
-Responses quoted from Mike Geary, in addition to my own views and opinions.

1. The main focus of this program is NOT on abdominal exercises... And, better yet, this program consistently get's BETTER results by NOT focusing on abs exercises!

I know that sounds counterintuitive, but the fact of the matter is that abdominal exercises are ok, and you do need to do a certain amount of them to develop the abs as best as possible. But to be honest, most people that are trying to get better looking abdominals waste WAY too much time training the abs directly. What you really need to focus on is burning off the extra fat that is covering them up.

Let's get this straight right now... Abdominal exercises do NOT burn fat away from your abs! This can only be accomplished through a much more effective full body training routine that maximizes both your metabolic response and your hormonal response to your workouts. This is the main focus of the Truth about Six Pack Abs Program.

Now don't get me wrong. It wouldn't be an abs program if I didn't show you the most effective exercises for developing your abdominals. I also give you detailed instructions and photos on how to do them right. But like I said, the main focus of this program is the secret method that I use to compile the full body training routines and maximize your fat burning and metabolism boosting effect.

This is the main reason that this program will be MUCH more effective for you than any other abs programs you've tried before.

2. This program uses none of your typical boring monotonous cardio routines.

In fact, you don't have to do any typical cardio if you don't want to! I actually recommend against it.

Seriously, almost every program out there tells you that you MUST do endless cardio exercise regularly to lose the body fat that is covering your abs. Most of them tell you to do 30-60 minutes of cardio exercise 3-4 days/week in addition to your strength training routines.

The truth is that this is not only unnecessary, but it can actually be counterproductive if you're really trying to get as lean as possible, as quick as possible. I go into this in much more detail in the book, but basically this all comes back to the aspects of your metabolic rate, how much lean muscle you have, the hormonal response in your body from the exercise, and the residual calorie burn in the hours and days following your workouts. And normal boring moderate intensity cardio routines are ALL WRONG when it comes to maximizing these effects!

Seriously, look at all of the people pumping away mindlessly in the gyms on the treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes day after day, week after week, year after year. Do their bodies look any better than they did last month, or even last year?

I think NOT!

Now you're probably thinking that since I'm against typical boring cardio routines, then that must simply mean I'm a proponent of interval training. Yes, as a matter of fact, I believe interval training is MUCH better than typical cardio.

However, I also use a special exercise selection, combination, and sequencing in my Truth about Six Pack Abs Program that gets even more powerful fat loss and muscle defining results than interval training! And that's saying something, because interval training kicks butt! You'll find out how this system works inside the program.

Want proof that you don't need typical long-duration steady-pace cardio?

Well, first of all, I actually took a course recently that was devoted to scientific research into why steady-pace cardio exercise is actually not that effective at strengthening the heart. The focus of the research basically boiled down to the fact that the heart needs to be trained in a wide variety of ranges to actually be truly strengthened and ready for all the various stresses that life throws at it. Not only that, but steady-pace cardio was also proven in the research studies to be far less effective in the long term at reducing body fat stores.

To give you a real life example... Personally, I haven't done what most people would label "cardio" in probably well over 5 years, and I'm actually leaner now and have a lower bodyfat % now than years ago when I did cardio regularly. Not only that, but my heart is in the best condition ever, as I now consistently have the resting heart rate of an elite athlete at about 50 bpm (remember that lower is better). My resting heart rate used to be in the mid to upper 60's years ago when I used to do normal cardio and strength training routines like most people do.

This improvement in both body fat % and reduced resting heart rate is the direct result of the unique training methods used in developing the programs in The Truth about Six Pack Abs.

3. This program does NOT revolve around having to use supplements or "fat-loss" pills.

Trust me when I say that for the most part, about 95% of supplements are a complete waste of your hard earned money. I've been approached by supplement companies in the past looking for me to promote their products for them, and offering me a lot of money to do so. Well, you know what I do? I tell them to shove it! Seriously, I won't promote something to my readers that I don't honestly believe in.

The fact is, I've learned over the years through my own experience, as well as hundreds of my clients and friends experiences with supplements, that they are really just selling you the dream that their pill or powder will be some "magical" solution to your struggle with getting that lean ripped body that you've been wanting for years. In reality, most supplements do nothing at all to help you improve your body.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not totally bashing supplement companies, but like I said, about 95% of the products they promote are worthless, and won't create any noticeable changes in your body. I will admit that there can be a place for meal replacements for people that can't find the time to prepare or pack all of their real food meals. I also admit that I do think a high quality, fast digesting protein like whey protein can be useful to mix into your post-workout smoothies.

But the fact is that REAL FOOD is ALWAYS better for you than processed supplements (as long as you choose the right foods). Anybody that tells you otherwise has either been brainwashed by all of the propaganda and super-hyped up ads that the supplement companies have spread throughout every magazine on the planet, or they have financial ties to selling supplements in some way themselves.

I have dedicated myself to not being lured into the lucrative world of selling supplements. Even though I could make a lot more money selling supplements than by selling this program, it's just plain against my morals to rip people off like that.

Frankly, it amazes me that most people are more willing to spend $40, $50, even $100 or more on a bottle of pills or powder than to spend less than half that on a comprehensive training and nutrition guide like this Truth about Six Pack Abs program, which will set them up for life on training programs and dietary secrets that will keep them lean and ripped for life. The only thing that the bottle of pills or powder is going to do is give you expensive urine! You make the choice.

4. This program does not revolve around using any fancy "ab machines" or "ab gadgets".

In case you were suckered into buying any of these worthless ab belts, ab loungers, ab rockers, or any other worthless ab gadget or machine, I have bad news... You were ripped off!

The truth is that most of these machines and gadgets are not the best way to develop the abdominal muscles. Sure, some of them may help a tiny bit with strengthening the abdominals, but they are far less effective than some of the best floor, hanging, and standing abs exercises.

Also, more importantly, virtually all of these abs machines, belts, and gadgets do absolutely NOTHING to burn fat off of the abdominal area! Seriously, they don't do a damn thing to help you lose body fat from your stomach.

Again, losing the fat that's covering up your abs can only be accomplished with a smart nutritional program, and a well designed progressional training program that increases your metabolism and stimulates your fat-burning hormones in your body. Achieving this is simple once you understand the secrets I reveal in the Truth about Six Pack Abs program.

5. This program does not include some sort of fad diet or gimmicky diet trend.

None of that here. I promise you won't be given any more crap about needing to eat "low-carb" or "low-fat", or low or high anything, for that matter. The nutritional secrets I reveal in this program go against all of the authors and companies out there that are trying to lure you in with another one of their gimmicks.

The fact is that they need to come up with some sort of different "angle", so that their diet program appears unique and gives the media something to talk about. That's why there's always some gimmick, like low-fat, or low-carb, or high protein, or the "colors diet", the "low glycemic index diet", the fasting diet, the cabbage diet, Atkins, South Beach... you name it.

Instead, I wanted to give you the TRUTH about what it really takes to eat a nutritious diet that not only will have you burning off that stubborn belly fat, but will also have you feeling full of energy every single day. If you don't already feel energetic and alive every single day, then you are missing out, because it is an awesome feeling!

The great thing is that once you start eating balanced and healthy all the time, you virtually eliminate cravings altogether. Personally, I used to crave sweets constantly before I adopted the nutritious diet that I currently eat. Now, I can honestly say I can't remember the last craving I had. It had to be more than 5 years ago... no joke!

Not only that, but I actually enjoy everything I eat way more than I used to years ago when I ate a lot of junk. Does that mean that I never eat burgers, or pizza, or beer? Of course not... We all have a social life. In fact, there are actually very healthy ways and variations to preparing healthier burgers and healthier pizza that I occasionally use.

So, you have heard all the good this book provides, trust me it is not a total fitness book for people wanting to look like wrestlers! It is for typical men and women who want to lose weight, feel great, and also learn about health and nutrition and why it is so important to live a long and healthly life! Click on Mike's Website: TruthAboutAbs, and give yourself an opportunity to make a drastic change in your life!

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

2006-11-19T04:17:00.000-05:00

Phytochemicals for Your Immune Health

Hello Everyone,

While studyiny for my doctorate in Public Health and Epidemiology, I came across a very interesting article that I felt would be interesting for everyone to know about, just as Michael Geary mentions in high detail in his book TruthAboutAbs.com.

When you were growing up I am sure your mom may have fought to get you to eat your vegetables. Or maybe you’re the parent fighting with your kids to eat the right foods. What many of us don’t know is that our food also fights for us.

My mom used to dress the dinner plate in full matching regalia; yellow squash nestled next to green asparagus. Red and yellow peppers tossed around the salad added spectacular color.

Now dear mom knew these foods were healthy and she loved to decorate my plate with the colors of the season; but did she know that these wholesome foods contain phytochemicals?

Phytochemicals are the active substances in plants that give them their color, flavor, odor, and protection against plant diseases. Phytochemicals work as powerful antioxidants, which can increase our resistance to disease and boost immunity. While most research focuses on the anti-carcinogen effects of phytochemicals, the results are equally important to those who just want to boost their immune system or help reverse the aging clock.Scientists at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRC) rated 60 fruits and vegetables for potency of antioxidants, which stabilize cells and help fight the damaging effects of free radicals, which are molecules that weaken the immune system.

Antioxidants can help keep cancer, heart disease and other degenerative conditions at bay.The top scoring fruit in the HNRC study was blueberries followed by strawberries, prunes, black currants and boysenberries. The deeper the color, the better for you. Many of these antioxidants also have anti-inflammatory properties, and some naturally reduce blood cholesterol.

It’s important to fill your diet with all the colors of the food rainbow. Eat the blues, reds, purples, oranges, yellows, and greens.

Fresh or Frozen Produce?

It’s okay if you don’t have time to steam your own fresh veggies, studies by the FDA and the University of Illinois show that frozen fruits and vegetables are nearly as nutritious because they can wait to be picked until they're at the peak of freshness. Fresh produce is usually picked early, before it's ripe and fully nutritious, so that it ships well.

But if you’re lucky enough to grow your own fruits or vegetables, or you can buy straight from a farm – then that’s where you’ll find the most nutritious fruits and vegetables!

Other Phyto Foods:

Phyto foods come in many varieties and for all palates. Among the most common sources are:

FRUITS: Apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, berries, cherries, citrus fruits, grapes, kiwi fruit, lemons, mangoes, melons, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, plums.

GRAINS: Barley, cornmeal, whole grain, quinoa, brown rice, wheat germ.

NUTS and SEEDS: Flaxseed (a small brown seed used in cooking), macadamia, pecans, sesame seeds, walnuts.

VEGETABLES: Asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, dark leafy greens and lettuces, mushrooms, onions, green and dried peas, sweet and hot peppers, white and sweet potatoes, pumpkin, soybeans, watercress, winter squash, tomatoes. And a host of others.

I hope this article provided you with much information to make a wise choice when your at the grocery store next time.

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

Source Cited: www.maximizeyourmetabolism.com

2006-11-19T04:07:00.000-05:00

Is Barbecuing Really Healthier?

Hello Everyone,

People used to question the nutritional effects of barbecuing because they were concerned about the fat content of traditional barbecue fare like hot dogs and hamburgers. That concern is valid, but it's easily avoided by substituting skinless chicken and fish.Unfortunately, researchers say there is still another concern about the health impact of barbecuing any animal meats: when they are cooked in the intense heat of the barbecue, substances are formed that have been clearly shown to be carcinogens (substances that can start the development of cancer). And these substances develop regardless of whether low-fat or high-fat, red meat or white meat is on the grill.In a landmark report on diet and cancer risk, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) notes that as meat - red or white - is cooked, natural substances that it contains react under intense heat to form compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that have been linked with increased cancer risk in some animal studies. The longer the cooking time and higher the temperature, the more these carcinogenic substances formed.Studies in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute have shown that people who frequently eat heavily browned or very well done meat are three to five times more likely to develop breast, colon and stomach cancer than those who eat it less often. Studies of rodents demonstrated that these HCAs are distributed to mammary (breast) tissue and cause changes in a cell's genetic material. However, we don't have proof that this process occurs in people.Does this mean that if you care about your health you must banish the grill? Not necessarily. Researchers note that how people barbecue affects the risks. For example, marinating meat or poultry even briefly before cooking reduces the amount of HCAs formed by about 96 percent. Partially pre-cooking meat for two minutes in the microwave just before grilling prevents 90 percent of the HCAs normally formed.Avoid the black char that often forms during grilling, since it is particularly concentrated in cancer-causing substances. Other carcinogens of concern come from the smoke. You can limit the meat's contact with smoke and decrease this risk if you raise the grill a little higher from the heat and choose leaner meats and trim all visible fat so it can't drip and cause smoking. Placing food in a foil packet also prevents smoking.The rest of your meal can reduce the risks of grilling as well. Antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals in fruits, vegetables and soy foods seem to block some of the damage HCAs do to cells. Studies from Oregon State University demonstrate that substances in tea increase the body's ability to detoxify and excrete HCA before they do their damage.Look at the overall balance of your meal. AICR recommends that at any meal, animal protein like meat, poultry and seafood should occupy no more than a third of your plate. And that's especially true when it's grilled. By limiting your meat portion, you limit your exposure to HCAs and other carcinogens. And by enjoying a healthy portion of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, you get loads of cancer-fighting, health-promoting nutrients and phytochemicals. If you want to grill some of these veggies, that's no problem, since the HCA reaction occurs only in foods with animal protein.

Hope this helps and makes sense to everyone!

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

2006-11-04T08:31:00.000-05:00

Common Medical Issues

Hello Everyone,

I decided that I would post the most common medical conditions associated with obesity and the most common treatment for them. Please remember, the following is not meant to replace what your physician has prescribed or told you to do. It is simply to educate you on the illness and common medicinal and non-medicinal treatment. Always, follow you physician's advice on any of the following issues. I hope eveyone finds these informative and useful.

High Blood Pressure (hypertension)

“Blood pressure” is the pressure with which blood is being forced through the body’s blood vessels. Blood pressure rises and falls all the time. For example, exercising naturally causes blood pressure to rise temporarily. This is the way the body is able to get more blood to the parts of itself that need it. It is perfectly normal. Sometimes, though, blood pressure stays elevated, and it is then that it can become dangerous. High blood pressure is a very common disease, with very few symptoms until it reaches life-threatening levels. For this reason, it is often called “the silent killer”. Usually, the only way to diagnose it is by having your blood pressure checked several times in a row. By the time actual symptoms, such as headaches, nosebleeds, or blurred vision occur, it is likely that an advanced stage of this disease has been reached. The time to treat is before this level is reached. Hypertension can be caused by dysfunction in such organs as the kidneys, heart, blood vessels, and adrenals, but the most common form has no known organic cause and is thus labeled “essential hypertension .” Medical treatment usually consists of salt restriction, stress reduction and most commonly, drugs. The preventive and nutritional factors that can affect this disease are very similar to those listed above under Heart disease/cardiovascular disorders and Cholesterol levels, elevated. Recent work in the field indicates that it is not so much the avoidance of sodium (as in table salt) that is important, as the proper ingestion of sufficient amounts of potassium. Potassium is a mineral that acts in tandem with sodium—in a sense, as a counterbalance to it—in the body. It is found in large quantities in foods of plant origin (vegetables, fruits, whole grains).
Supplemental garlic and taurine (an amino acid) may also be helpful. Stress reduction is an important tool in controlling blood pressure. One of the best ways to accomplish this is with a technique called biofeedback, which is highly recommended. Regular aerobic activity is also very important in the treatment and prevention of this disease.

Ulcers (Stomach And Duodenal)

Ulcers are deteriorations (holes) in the lining of the stomach or upper small intestines (a region known as the duodenum. This disease is known to be exacerbated by excess stomach acidity, but may occur in cases of normal acidity as well. It is most often associated with infection by an organism called Helicobacter. The early stage of eventual ulcer disease is often gastritis, which literally means “inflammation of the stomach.” Symptoms may include abdominal pain, “heartburn ”, and sometimes, back pain. If the ulcer is severe and bleeding occurs, vomiting, diarrhea, black stools, anemia, dizziness and all other symptoms associated with internal bleeding may occur. Ulcers are a life-threatening disorder. In 20%-30% of all cases, the only symptom or sign is internal bleeding, which can be extremely serious. Any symptom that suggests an ulcer must always be taken very seriously. Any blood in stool, whether it is black or red, must be checked immediately by a physician. Medical treatment of ulcer disease consists of acid-reducing medications, dietary changes, antibiotics and medications for improving healing or protecting the involved areas. Surgery may be necessary in severe cases. There are some known causes and exacerbating factors for this disease, including: smoking, alcohol, coffee, some teas, spicy foods, and stress. Some include milk products in this list. Stress is a major factor and should be minimized as much as possible. Remember: “stress” is entirely determined by the mind of the person experiencing it. The same circumstances that are “stressful” to one person may be deemed “challenging” by another. We make our own stress. We can unmake it. Biofeedback and direct stress reduction therapy are two modalities by which this issue can be successfully addressed. Preventive and nutritional factors: Avoiding the causative influences mentioned above is vital. Also avoid over-the-counter calcium-based antacids, as they often cause a “rebound” phenomenon whereby more acid is produced by the stomach than would otherwise be made there. In other words, they may significantly worsen the problem. A diet high in fiber is helpful. Sugar should be avoided, as should the other offending items listed above. In general, smaller, more frequent meals are preferred to larger, less frequent ones. Sleeping on 2-3 pillows can help avoid reflux of food from the stomach into the esophagus (“food pipe”) and the resultant esophagitis (food pipe inflammation) that can cause. Nutrients that may help: vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C (taken with food), vitamin E, zinc and the bioflavonoids. (All these are well-balanced in the BioSlim Formulas.) Additional supplementation may include lactobacillus, or friendly, beneficial intestinal bacteria, available in capsule or liquid form. A comprehensive nutritional program is very important. Of particular interest are: aloe vera extract, taken internally as a drink, and cabbage extract.

Heart disease / Cardiovascular disorders

Note: Anyone with a serious disorder of the heart should begin this and any program of activity and nutritional support slowly and carefully. This means that any exercise or increased activity program and the doses of the Formulas should be started at low levels, then increased gradually, as tolerated. The supervision of a physician is essential. The heart is at once the body’s strongest, most durable muscle, and its most sensitive. It pumps life-sustaining blood throughout the circulatory system, including vessels that in turn feed the heart itself. These tiny blood vessels that feed the heart itself are called the “coronary arteries” because of the crown-like structure they form on the surface of the heart. When the blood vessels of the body become congested and clogged, the vessels that are most susceptible are those feeding the heart (the coronary arteries) and the ones feeding the brain. A complete blockage of a coronary artery causes a heart attack, while vessel blockage in the brain causes a stroke. In either case, the underlying mechanism of the problem is the same: for one reason or another, some blood vessel(s) is/are no longer able to carry blood to the organ involved, which causes parts of that organ to die—i.e., a heart attack (heart tissue death) or a stroke (brain tissue death) occurs. Arteries can be partially blocked, causing insufficient blood supply. This causes chest pain or angina in the heart, or mini-strokes known as TIAs (“Transient Ischemic Attacks ”) in the brain. These temporary insufficiencies of blood supply are much more common than full-blown blockages, one reason for which is that full blockages can only happen a very few times before death occurs, while it is possible for insufficiencies to occur hundreds of times in one individual. If an artery feeding the heart is partially blocked, chest pain may occur under any conditions that cause blood to flow more heavily to other parts of the body, because this places a load on the heart (it must beat stronger and faster) and causes it to require more blood to function properly. This extra need for blood by the heart itself cannot be properly supplied when a blockage or partial blockage is present in the coronary arteries that feed it, and this causes pain in the muscle of the heart. Activities that can precipitate chest pain under these conditions include: any large meal, exertion of any kind, stress of any kind, exposure to cold, even the strain of moving bowels when constipated. Of course, any heart condition must be treated by a physician. Medical treatment usually consists of drugs and/or surgery. Diet and lifestyle are usually addressed via the admonitions to eat less fat and stop smoking. There has been a tremendous amount of research done in recent decades on the causes of heart disease and atherosclerosis, the process by which arteries become clogged. Much has been written on the effects of elevated cholesterol levels, though for the most part, this concept is far less relevant than most people believe. For many years, we were told to eat more unsaturated oils. Now, with the possible exception of monounsaturated oils like olive and avocado oils, this advice has been found to be baseless, even harmful. Eating more unsaturated oil does nothing to prevent heart disease, and may well increase the risk of certain other diseases, especially cancer. It looks now like it may even increase the risk of heart disease itself! Seems sacrilegious, doesn’t it? Prevention: Stopping the smoking of cigarettes is the single most effective measure any smoker can take to prevent heart disease. Weight reduction in cases of obesity is also vitally important. Controlling blood pressure is important too; in some cases, it may be accomplished through dietary measures as well as relaxation methods. Of course, out-of-control blood pressure must be treated by a physician. Getting a reasonable level of physical activity is also a very important and effective preventive measure. Nutritional factors: The importance of avoiding added fats cannot be overemphasized. This is true for many reasons, including the general importance of fat reduction and, less commonly known, the fact that certain kinds of fat molecules—the trans fatty acids caused by the processing and heating of unsaturated fat—appear to directly generate atherosclerosis, the plugging up of blood vessels in the body. A diet high in fiber is also very helpful. Soy products (soy protein, to be precise), in particular, have been found to be beneficial to the health of the heart and blood vessels. Nutritional supplementation includes most of the vitamins and minerals, such as: vitamin A, vitamin B6, folic acid, niacin, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium (especially important), chromium, selenium, iodine, zinc, and others. Additional potentially helpful supplementation includes the Essential Fatty Acids (EFA s), bromelain, CoQ10, extract of the plant ginkgo biloba, and garlic. CoQ10 and magnesium have also been found helpful in certain heart arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). Historically, heart disease is a fairly new phenomenon, partly because people are living longer, but mostly because of the preponderance of non-foods being consumed today in place of real, whole, natural, recognizable food, and because of general inactivity. These are areas where you can do much to prevent disease and premature death.

I hope the above information on three (3) key medical areas have provided you the necessary education and guidance to make a healthy choice and lose the weight! Again, please remember to talk to your physician before starting or taking any of the suggested vitamins or minerals listed above.

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

(Source Cited: America Journal of Internal Medicine Online, Accessed November 3, 2006)

2006-10-15T16:40:00.000-04:00

Potatoes - Friend or Foe For a Lean-Body?

Hello Everyone,

I would like to thank my great friend and Fitness Professional, Michael Geary for the information provided in the following article. For more information, I highly recommend Mike's book, Truth about Six Pack Abs.

I'd like to start a little discussion today about carbohydrates. In particular, potatoes. One reason I wanted to mention this is because so many articles with health and fitness professionals trash talk potatoes about being a bad carbohydrate choice because of the high glycemic index. Some even say such ridiculous things as "avoid any and all white carbohydrates".

Ok, now while I certainly agree that white bread and refined white sugar are two of the worst things we can be feeding our bodies, I definately don't agree with avoiding any and all "white carbohydrates". Now I know all of the buzz lately has been about colorful foods and the protective antioxidants that they contain. They tell you to focus on colors and stay away from white. It's true that colorful foods are great, but it is a big mistake to specifically avoid white foods!

There are plenty of white foods that have specific nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. Let's look at a few examples:

What about onions and garlic? They are both white and they are chock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and trace minerals that aren't easy to find eslewhere in a normal diet... such nutrients as allicin, quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other unique anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Another example of something white that is great for you is cauliflower. Cauliflower is loaded with vitamin C, fiber, minerals, and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage.

Now that also leads us to another example - white potatoes (which by the way, can also be found in red, yellow, purple varieties, etc). Many health professionals claim that potatoes are a bad carbohydrate because they are thought to have a high glycemic index. First of all, if you've read the Truth about Six Pack Abs book, then you understand that glycemic index is not necessarily the most important factor in choosing your carbohydrates.

While a generalization can be made that most low glycemic index carbohydrate choices will help you lose body fat easier than high glycemic index choices, it is not all that it's cracked up to be. There are many other factors that determine how your body will react-to and process the carbohydrates you ingest, such as glycemic load and also how you combine the high GI food with other foods.

For example, using glycemic load as an example... a banana may have a high glycemic index, but let's say that you only ate a couple bites of a banana for a total of only 10 grams of carbohydrates. The glycemic load is just too low for your body to start packing on body fat just because you ate a high glycemic index fruit. I was just using that as an example... there's certainly nothing wrong with eating a whole banana.

Also, mentioned, food combinations are important in how your body processes the carbohydrates and the associated blood sugar and insulin response you receive. For example, if you mix a high glycemic index carbohydrate with an extra source of fiber, healthy fats, or even certain proteins, many times the blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down considerably by the way you combined the food. Again, this entire topic is explained in details in Mike's Truth about Six Pack Abs book.

Alright, so back to my point that white potatoes are actually a healthy carbohydrate as long as you eat them in the right form... with the entire skin, and please don't ruin them by deep frying them into french fries either! French fries are one of the most evil things ever invented for your health, but only because we ruin them by soaking them in a scorching bath of trans fats in the deep fryer from the hydrogenated oils that are typically used.

Keep in mind that potatoes contain so many vitamins and minerals that the list is way too long to even try. Also, as long as you eat the skins, you get a decent shot of fiber too.

On the topic of potatoes not being so bad after all, I don't remember where I saw this referenced, but I recently saw a particular study that had participants eat something like 7-9 whole potatoes per day for several weeks. At the conclusion of the study, the potato eaters had actually consistently lost wei.ght! I'd venture a guess that the reason the people lost we.ight is that they were probably so full from eating all of those damn potatoes, that they actually consumed less calories than normal! An average sized potato only has about 100-120 calories, and I can surely imagine you'd be full constantly from eating 7-9 potatoes each day.

Now I would never recommend going to those extremes, but my point is that an occasional potato is not going to hurt your efforts to get lean, especially if you combine it with some other fibrous vegetables and maybe a healthy fat and some protein.

I hope this article has provided you with information that will enable you to make a wise decision concerning your food options!

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

2006-10-15T15:42:00.000-04:00

My Initial Story- Please Read

Hello Everyone,

In case you are visiting my site for the first time, please start off by reading "My Story Of Change." It clearly explains my reasons and dedication to losing weight and beating obesity!

So, I ask you to please check out my first posting, dated back to August 12, 2006. Simply click on the cooresponding Archived Date on the sidebar menu and look for the title "My Story of Change."

I wish you the best and join me as I fight obesity!

To Good Health and Wellness!

-James

2006-09-24T17:32:00.000-04:00

Green Tea extract increases metabolic rates
Studies find many benefits

Hello Everyone,

I recently came across this article in the American Journal of Public Health, and felt that this was so interesting that I would share it with everyone.

Green tea extracts (Green Tea) has been found in several published studies to increase resting metabolic rate, help control appetite, improve food-induced thermogenesis (the heat the body creates after eating), and provide a host of other health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol and decreasing cancer risks. The efficacy of green tea extract has been tested in both animal and human studies. Significant weight loss was noted without changes to the diets of test subjects. Additional benefits were conferred when green tea extract was added to a weight control program of diet and increased activity. Food-induced thermogenesis (FIT) is the heat the body generates after eating. It is a prime way in which normally thin humans and animals burn up the calories ingested in food. FIT is found to be markedly diminished in overweight or obese subjects, leading investigators to theorize that anything that improves FIT should help in the weight loss effort. That is exactly what researchers found in studies utilizing high-EGCG green tea extract. (EGCG is epigallocatechin gallate, a primary active polyphenol component of green tea.) They also found that all the major components of green tea extract were important in achieving the observed results, some directly, others synergistically. In other words, it took the complete extract, as opposed to individual chemicals, to get the full benefit observed, though some benefits accrue even from individual components.

Many benefits of Green Tea

In separate studies, green tea was found to decrease high cholesterol levels and decrease the incidence of certain forms of cancer. One study found an apparent reduction of two-thirds in the incidence of prostate cancer as a result of ingesting green tea. Japanese researchers reported that increased consumption of green tea prior to clinical cancer onset is significantly associated with improved prognosis of stage I and II breast cancer. Green tea also appears to inhibit various human tumors in test tubes, including specific leukemic and skin cancers, and carcinomas of the breast, gastrointestinal tract, colon, and lung.

Topical application of the major polyphenol antioxidant in green tea (EGCG) reduces the amount of free radicals and inflammatory prostaglandins produced by immune cells in skin in response to UVB sunrays.

Epicatechins from green tea also lowered “apoB” (the main protein in harmful low density lipoprotein (LDL), by almost a half. ApoB levels predict heart disease more accurately than any cholesterol measure. According to researchers, green tea extract components block cholesterol absorption and increase excretion of cholesterol-containing bile salts and fatty acids in the stool.

Green tea extract also speeds the breakdown of triglycerides to fatty acids so they can be burned as energy, which may in turn be related to green tea’s ability to facilitate weight loss in obese individuals.

Safe and Recommended

Green tea extract (Green Tea) appears to be highly beneficial in many ways, especially in the treatment of obesity and the prevention of cancer. Since its reported side-effect profile is quite benign, it can be recommended for anyone seeking these or any of the other known benefits of green tea.

So a word of advice from me; It would be highly beneficial for everyone to drink a few cups or glasses of hot or cold Green Tea each and every day! It is available at any store, in regular tea bags, not the pre-bottled green tea, that is loaded with sugars, but by the bags and brew it yourself!

My great friend and fitness expert Michael Geary has mentioned this to me numerous times, and discusses it thorougly on his site and in his book, which if you haven't already purchased, I would highly recommend it as an excellent read, just click on: TruthAboutAbs.com, and take a look at all the numerous articles and helpful information provided that everyone needs to know!

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

2006-09-07T02:30:00.000-04:00

Why People Overeat?

Hello Everyone,

My good friend and fitness expert, Michael Geary, of TruthAboutAbs.com brought this article to my attention, that I felt was such a good read, I would post on my site for everyone to view. If you would like to view this article from its original site, visit the article on:

Bottom Line Health.

The fact that people continue to smoke cigarettes defies logic, given the enormous amount of harm it does to an individual. Similarly, people who are overweight continue along their current path despite the frequent new studies about the dangers of being overweight. There is an obesity epidemic in America - clearly there is more than just too many French fries going on for these individuals."Agreed," say life coaches Lauren Zander and Meredith Haberfeld, principals of the Personal Evolution Group, who spoke with me about why people are not dealing with the very real danger that excess weight presents. According to them, the situation of too many pounds isn't a matter of yet another diet. "It isn't about cheesecake," said Lauren. Rather it is about individuals who do not feel proud of themselves in general, be it their bodies or their station in life, which in turn makes them feel like they cannot control their lives nor do anything to change the situation. Lauren and Meredith work with their clients to help them understand that they indeed are the only ones in control of their bodies and their lives and they can lose weight once they understand what is driving them to eat unhealthfully in the first place.

LEARN THAT YOU CAN TAKE CHARGE

Having what you want in all areas of your life is about integrity, or doing what you say you will do. Food is just one measurable example of the bigger picture. Interestingly, learning to keep your word with regard to what you do or do not eat and whether or not you control your weight is a building block to all of your other dreams. When you learn to honor your body you will also learn to honor the other hopes and dreams you have in your life, since, as you will see, being at a healthy weight is simply another item on a person's list of hopes and dreams.The first step in losing weight, therefore, is to take ownership of your choice to lose weight and of your body. There is some number on the scale and an image you want to see when you look in the mirror that will delight you. This is not based on what other people think - it is the number on the scale and the way of looking that makes you happy. Not achieving these goals holds back your self-confidence.Step two, says Lauren, is for a person to accept the body that he/she was given- and work with it. "Many people actually separate themselves mentally from their body because they feel they "got stuck" with the one they have, rather than having had a choice in getting the one they would have preferred," explains Lauren.The problem is exacerbated by a more general resentment about being stuck with life and having had no choice or control about that either. The way these "victims" express their resentment is through resistance, breaking rules like teenagers who act out. You hear this all the time in attitudes of "who cares," "have another drink" and, for our purposes here, "but I like doughnuts." By numbing themselves through thoughtless eating, people further separate themselves from their bodies.

MAKING THE SHIFT

The question to ask yourself, then, is this: What number and picture do you carry in your mind? Remember, that number is the number that makes you feel great and confident -- it is not about being a cover model. It's crucial when you answer this to be absolutely honest -- no attempts to deny or justify why you aren't there. Then, once you have your number and image, it must become a part of your life, much like brushing your teeth is a part of your life.This is not about dieting, it is about making a promise to yourself and learning to keep that promise. Making promises to yourself and keeping them is the foundation for having what you want in every area of your life. Food and diet is a relatively easy and visible place to practice making these promises to yourself. This is not a superficial gesture, Lauren emphasizes, because reaching your weight goal shows you that you can meet your own ideal.In fact, weight loss is a particularly dramatic act because it is such visible evidence that shows change is possible and that you can affect it. So, each day you brush your teeth and you follow your food promises. If you break your food promises, look at the excuses you told yourself as to why you chose to eat dessert or have a second helping and then go back and reaffirm the weight you intend to be and how you are going to get there. Of course making these promises are easier said than done. It takes considerable focus and effort and many find they are better able to do this by working with a life coach or other professionals who understand food addiction and weight issues.In particular, Meredith explains that successful weight loss also requires investigating your dysfunctional relationship with food. All overweight people have a personal history with food that they've turned into a running saga, she says, a character-filled drama that goes back to childhood and sticks in memory with perpetual thorns. Your task now is to dislodge these thorns, watching for how you connect other people to your food choices, which in turn gives it disproportionate power over your life. As an example, rather than admitting that you are choosing to eat oversized portions, you may connect eating with being safe. By seeing the saga you have been living in, you can then see that you are not just a character in your drama -- you are in fact its author. And, most important, you are now free to construct a new life for yourself. You can dismantle the old stories that were never true and create new ones about the role food plays in your life, creating positive associations with the right foods and no longer "medicating yourself" with the wrong ones. Once you accept and embrace being the one in charge, you are ready to get down to the business of reaching your weight-loss goal. Lauren advises starting small.

SET A FEW NEW RULES EACH WEEK

For the first week, for example, you might limit bread and desserts to no more than twice a week. Next you might eliminate them completely and add in more fruits and vegetables, and so on.Throughout, however, keep a list of what you are eating. This will make you more mindful about your choices and help you spot potential problem areas. People who have more than 20 pounds to lose may need to get a coach or join a group such as Greysheet, a branch of Overeaters Anonymous, says Lauren. She recommends it as an excellent, though admittedly intense, way to overcome personal food addictions.Being in charge of being in a body you love is win-win in every way. Lauren reports that people find having accomplished it makes everything get better. Besides improving your health, it energizes your confidence and understanding that you can do well for yourself. Once that is in motion, she adds, it carries over to the other areas of your life. If you start to measure how much you suffer because you don't love your body, you understand this is about happiness, not dieting.

I hope everyone enjoyed the article and learned many valuable motivational strategies.

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

Source Cited: Bottom Line Health

2006-09-03T13:31:00.000-04:00

Artificial Sweetners- Friend or Enemy...

Hello Everyone,

My good friend and fitness expert, Michael Geary, of TruthAboutAbs.com brought this article to my attention. Since the majority of us use "Artificial Sweetners" in place of regular sugar, I felt this was an extremely important article to post on my site for everyone to read and understand.

I wanted to talk about artificial sweeteners today because I've noticed that there's a lot of confusion and misconceptions revolving around these non-caloric sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners and the huge list of products sweetened with them are marketed to you relentlessly as "healthy foods" or "healthier" than sugar or corn syrup sweetened products. But are they really?

Just to clarify, some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today are:
Splenda (sucralose)

Aspartame

Saccharine

Acesulfame Potassium (aka - acesulfame K)

These artificial sweeteners are used in abundance in almost every "diet" drink, "lite" yogurts, puddings, and ice creams, most "low-carb" products, and almost all "reduced-sugar" products. Heck, even most protein powders are loaded with artificial sweeteners too (just look on the ingredients and you'll usually see one of them).

Splenda is probably one of the worst offenders of claiming to be "healthy" as they say that it's made from real sugar. Don't be fooled! It's still an artificial substance. What they don't tell you is that Splenda is actually a chemically modified substance where chlorine is added to the chemical structure, making it more similar to a chlorinated pesticide than something we should be eating or drinking.

The truth is that artificial sweeteners are not even close to being healthy, and as you'll discover in a minute, can easily be just as bad for you, if not worse, than sugar or corn syrup. Most people think that they are doing something good for themselves by choosing the "diet" drinks or "lite" yogurts compared to the sugar-laden versions, but the problem is that you're exposing yourself to a whole new set of problems with the artificially sweetened drinks and foods.

I know you're probably frustrated by all of the contradicting messages you hear each day about which foods are good for you and which are bad. I'm sure just today you probably saw some clever ad or commercial somewhere screaming health benefits for a food product that is loaded with artificial sweeteners. Don't worry. We will get past the marketing hype for you and decipher the truth. We will also give you some ideas for great alternatives to artificial sweeteners as well as alternatives to sugar or corn syrup sweeteners.

The fact is, artificial sweeteners vs. sugar or corn syrup is really just a battle between two evils.

Which evil is worse?

I'm sure you already know the problems with sugar or high fructose corn syrup sweetened products. The excess empty calories, blood sugar spike, and resulting insulin surge this creates in your body not only promotes fat gain, but also stimulates your appetite further, making things even worse.

On the other hand, artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there's growing evidence that they can increase your appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more later in the day anyway. Therefore, you don't really save any calories at all. Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can stimulate high insulin levels in your body too, which again can promote fat storage.

All of the 4 artificial sweeteners listed above are nasty chemicals that the human body is simply not meant to ingest. However, most of us are ingesting a whole lot of these chemicals on a daily basis. Aside from the problems I touched on so far, other health issues that have been related to artificial sweeteners in scientific studies as well as observations are:

Some have been linked to potential cancer risks
Negative effects on the liver, kidneys, and other organs
Stimulating cravings
Gastrointestinal problems
Developmental problems in children and fetuses
Headaches
And too many more issues to list...

Now some of the above potential health problems are definitely not proven as fact in studies. However, some of them have been shown in animal studies given high doses. Regardless of the fact that any real health problems for actual human use are not proven yet, I don't know about you, but I'd rather protect myself and steer clear of these possibly dangerous artificial chemicals.

Of course, despite all of the health issues potentially associated with artificial sweeteners, the companies that sell the products will continue to claim that they are fully safe and they have studies that prove that they are safe. The bottom line is that the body was not designed to deal with foreign substances like artificial sweeteners!

So what are your options for alternatives? Well, your best alternatives for sugar or corn syrup are either raw honey, organic maple syrup, or even a little-known high antioxidant syrup called sorghum syrup (common in the southern US).

Even though these alternatives still have the same amount of calories as sugar or corn syrup, honey, organic maple syrup, and sorghum syrup actually provide some nutrients and antioxidants, so it's not just empty calories. Empty calories stimulate your appetite more because your body is lacking nutrients.

Now you're probably thinking that you'd like to still save on calories but avoid the nasty artificial sweeteners. Good news... You can!

An all natural sweetener, called Stevia is your answer! It is a natural, safe alternative sweetener when you still want to save a little on calories and sugar.

Stevia is not artificial like the other chemical sweeteners I mentioned above. Stevia is a natural non-caloric herb. It is a South American herb and when dried into a powder, has a sweetness about 200-300 times stronger than sugar. Something interesting that I heard recently was that artificial sweeteners are banned in Japan, and therefore Stevia is a very popular alternative over there.

One problem I've noticed with using Stevia is that the pure powder is a very powerful sweetener, so you can easily use too much. However, I've found some good Stevia products that use a bulking agent added so that you can measure out the stevia powder in direct comparison to measuring sugar.

I've yet to see any negative reports or health concerns regarding stevia and only positive potential health benefits. I definitely give Stevia my seal of approval. Do yourself a favor (and your family), and if you are currently an artificial sweetener junkie, please consider switching to stevia.

(You can find Stevia at any "Organic Food Store", or even online at the "Vitamin Shoppe.")

It is well worth the extra money to keep yourself healthy!

To Good Health and Nutrition!
-James

2006-08-29T17:29:00.000-04:00

The DreamHealer

"We all have the power to heal ourselves of ANYTHING!"

Hello Everyone,

I have been reading through a new book, called "The Path of the DreamHealer," and this book is very powerful in that it describes the quantum world of Energy Healing. The book and site created by the young man named Adam, explains how through your own mind, you have the power and energy to heal yourself of EVERYTHING!

The book, Was written and explained by Adam who shares the miraculous story of how he discovered his ability to heal injuries and illness. He explains that we are all interconnected and with a focused intention to heal and the power of energy, we all have the ability to heal ourselves. Adam demystifies scientific concepts and explains how all knowledge in the universe exists in the form or energy that can be accessed for healing through intuition and intentions. He discusses the more personal and metaphysical aspects of this oneness and interconnectedness as it relates to your health, such as: What role does your beliefs and emotions play? How does universal energy manifest itself in consciousness, reincarnation, karma, and past lives?

The main part of the book, is that: Everyone has the strength and empowering to participate in their own healing with profound and lasting changes. For we have the tools to positively influence our own health physically, emotionally and spiritually.

One thing the book really stresses and is highly inspirational is: "The only limits that you have are the limits that you have set for yourself in your own mind!" Please note, I am not promoting the book, as I have nothing affiliated with the site, I am merely bringing this information to your attention, for I strongly feel this is truly a book and site worth mentioning to you, for everyone should believe and understand that you actually have the power to heal oneself!

Adam is a gifted distant energy healer and best-selling author of three books about his work. In his books and workshops he explains how our minds, through intention, directly affect our immune systems. We each can develop skills to direct energy in re-establishing health, as we seek to achieve a higher level of consciousness. The academic theories of quantum physics come to life with his accounts of his direct experience of the interconnectedness we all share.

Adam uses energy healing in a unique way to merge the auras of all participants with healing intentions. Then he uses holographic views to energetically affect through intention those present. His full-day workshop contains two group treatments. Adam's workshops are participatory as through the use of visualizations he empowers individuals to use their own healing abilities. He will share his insights on this topic and share his own healing abilities with all attending. Adam guides your own healing abilities in the right direction and gives you some basic tools for improving and maintaining your health. He shows us how to take more effective control of our immune system and healing abilities through intention. The workshop treatments involves Adam's healing intentions, your intentions and the intentions of all those around you.

Adam brings a diverse yet youthful perspective to health and well-being. Endorsements of Adam's work in healing have been received from many people including Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell and rock star Ronnie Hawkins. Dr. Mitchell has been Adam's science mentor since their meeting four years ago, as Adam sees the healing that he does being explained within the realm of quantum physics and quantum holograms. Ronnie Hawkins provides an interesting account of Adam helping him to heal from terminal pancreatic cancer, as told in the book, "DreamHealer." His website is full of testimonials from hundreds of people from all walks of life. His message is simple, yet his journey is one which ultimately affects us all.

For more information visit: http://www.dreamhealer.com/index.php
Source Cited: http://www.dreamhealer.com

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

2006-08-27T14:57:00.000-04:00

The Secret

"Have you discovered the secret to life? If not, read on..."

Hello Everyone,

An outstanding DVD that everyone needs to see!

The Secret has existed throughout the history of humankind. It has been discovered, coveted, suppressed, hidden, lost and recovered. It has been hunted down, stolen, and bought for vast sums of money. Now for the first time in history, The Secret is being revealed to the world over two breathtaking hours.

A number of exceptional men and women discovered The Secret, and went on to become known as the greatest people who ever lived. Among them: Plato, Leonardo, Galileo, Napoleon, Hugo, Beethoven, Lincoln, Edison, Einstein and Carnegie, to name but a few.

Fragments of The Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation which will be life transforming for all who experience it.

Some of today's greatest teachers will be presented in The Secret and will impart this special wisdom that has been known by so few. They include some of the world's leaders in the fields of business, economics, medicine, psychology, history, theology and science. Each of these teachers is living proof of The Secret; each of them a walking marvel of achievement and success...

Included are; 'Miracle Man' Morris Goodman, who tells his awe inspiring story of how he recovered from paralysis by using The Secret. Dr. Denis Waitley, who used various aspects of The Secret in training Olympic athletes and Apollo astronauts to reach new heights of human endeavour. Best selling authors and philosophers including Bob Proctor, John Assaraf, James Ray and Joe Vitale, explain how they have created lives of phenomenal success utilising The Secret. Doctors in the fields of medicine and quantum physics explain the science behind The Secret.

The Secret reveals amazing real life stories and testimonials of regular people who have changed their lives in profound ways. By applying The Secret they present instances of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles and achieving what many would regard as impossible.

The Secret reveals how to apply this powerful knowledge to your life in every area from health to wealth, to success and relationships.

The Secret is everything you have dreamed of... and is beyond your wildest dreams.

Discover The Secret today...

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

Source Sited: http://whatisthesecret.tv

View the secret here:

2006-08-27T13:28:00.000-04:00

The Ultimate Secret of Mind Control and Motivation to Achieve the Exact Body Shape You Want

This article is written by my best friend and fitness mentor, Michael Geary, from TruthAboutAbs.com. I found this article to be such an inspiring piece of work that I decided it was mandatory to include on my site, for beating obesity!

I ask you to have an open mind and accept some ideas I'm going to throw at you today. If you can take full grasp of these ideas, take my word that this will be the most powerful secret you've ever discovered for attaining the exact body that you desire.

Keep in mind that this "ultimate secret" has nothing to do with our normal discussions of reps and sets. It has nothing to do with calories or fat or protein. It has nothing to do with cardio training or abs exercises. But once you discover the "Secret", you will be on your way to the body of your dreams, or any other goals that you have in your life, for that matter.

Elite athletes have practiced the "Secret". Champion bodybuilders have practiced the "Secret".

Virtually all of the most influential, powerful, wealthiest, and happiest people throughout history have either knowingly or not, practiced the "Secret". Some didn't even realize that they knew the "Secret", but applying its power is the sole reason for their success. In today's discussion,

I'm simply putting a little twist on this "Secret" and applying it to your fitness goals. But in reality, it works for any of your goals and desires in life.

Before I reveal the "Secret", I want to ask you a few questions today and I want you to answer the questions that are appropriate to your goals. I want you to be honest with yourself. If you discover that you have not accomplished your goals related to these questions, pay close attention, because I'm going to reveal to you how you can change this immediately and be on the path to achieving whatever it is that you want in life.

Do you currently have the body that you want?

Do you feel full of energy every single day?

Do you feel strong, confident, and proud of your body?

Do you feel that you have no physical limitation to be able to do whatever you want to do in life?Do you want to be thinner?

Do you want more muscle?

Do you want sexy flat abs or a tighter butt?

The answers to these questions will be vastly different for everyone. Not everyone wants the same things. Not everyone has the same goals.

But the most important thing to realize, is that ANY of your goals can be achieved, no matter who you are, if you understand and APPLY the "Secret". Alright, enough of the build-up. What exactly is the "Secret"? Drum roll please...

The "Secret" lies within your mind and revolves around the powerful "Law of Attraction". What you focus on becomes your reality. A wise man once put this another way, "What you resist, persists. Whatever you are feeling and thinking is a perfect reflection of what you will become."

In other words, if all you ever focus on is how frustrated you are that you can never lose weight or get rid of that belly fat, then you are doomed to a flabby body forever, because you are actually creating that reality.

On the other hand, if you focus on your successes with every ounce of your being, every single day, and continually feel in your mind what your dream body is going to be like, you will create that reality. The key point is that your thoughts and feelings must revolve around already having the body that you want. You must actually imagine daily that you are already living in your new body.

If you're closed-minded, at this point in reading this article, you will probably say something like, "what is all of this gobbly-gook crap this idiot is talking about". And then you will click away to another site, go back to your daily life, and continue to be frustrated by failing to achieve the body you want for the rest of your life.

On the other hand, if you're open minded, and truly want to succeed, you will continue to read, absorb, and start to apply the "Secret", and watch your body slowly become exactly what you want it to become.I've only recently discovered the "Secret" and how to apply this towards my other goals in life aside from fitness.

However, I also realized that the reason I've been successful with my fitness goals is that I've been unknowingly applying the "Secret" towards my fitness goals for many, many years now. I have always visualized exactly how I wanted my body to look, how energized I wanted to feel day in and day out, how strong and confident I wanted to feel. These visualizations led me on a constant mission to take massive daily ACTION towards exactly what I wanted.

So how do you get the exact body you want? Well, the first thing I want you to realize is that how you feel today and the body that you see in the mirror today is not the real you today... It is actually a combined result of how you have lived your life in the past... the habits, thoughts, and actions that you have taken throughout every single day that has preceded today.

If your past has not given you the body you want today, the energy you want, the powerful feeling of health that you want, then you need to change your mindset and start taking immediate and massive action towards exactly what you want.

You need to visualize yourself living in that desired lean, strong body... feel the energy, vitality, and strength running through every inch of you. Imagine the confidence you feel. If you want it bad enough, you WILL achieve it, but it takes a BURNING DESIRE to succeed. You need to keep running through this imagining process, and actually capture this "feeling" every single day, until the day comes that you realize that you have achieved your goals. If you practice this enough, you will attract into your life exactly what you want. Again, if all you focus on is your failures, and continue to think negatively, you will only attract more failures and negativity into your life.

Amazing things and amazing people have been coming into my life ever since I discovered the "Secret". If you have an open mind and focus your entire being on what you want, it WILL come into your life. It starts with the mindset, and your journey towards your goals continues from there with massive action taken on a daily basis toward your goals. Once you get this process right, you CAN'T fail.

I will leave you with one more powerful quote that has totally transformed the way I think about what I can achieve in life:

"Whether you THINK that you can or can't do something, either way, you are right."

Read that one again, and believe it! It is a powerful shift in mindset that will change your life.

I want you to do me a favor and read this entire article over again and really start thinking about how you can apply it towards your goals. They don't even have to be fitness goals. It can really be anything that you want to achieve.

Once you've got your mind in the right place, you are now ready to take massive action towards your goals starting now! Getting back to your fitness goals... If your goals revolve at all around losing body fat, tightening up your entire body, and creating an energy filled lifestyle, then a great place to get all of the information you need to achieve this and start taking action is in my Truth about Six Pack Abs book.

By the way, this book does not simply revolve around abs exercises. To be honest, the abs exercises are the LEAST important part of the book. The most important parts of the book are carrying out the nutritional program and compiling all of the training information into a full body training program to stimulate your metabolism and create the right hormonal environment in your body that removes body fat consistently.

Combining a fool-proof training and nutrition program such as this with the proper mindset and application of the "Secret", will give you a very powerful solution to the lean-body that you

desire.

The solution is here - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

All that stands now between you and your goals is getting your mindset right, and taking action!

I hope this article has given you some things to think about. I urge you to have an open mind and allow yourself to attract what you want into your life.

I hope you have been able to absorb all the motivational power released from this article!

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

2006-08-18T16:27:00.000-04:00

Antioxidants - The Secret to a Youthful Appearance, Disease Prevention, and a Leaner, More Muscular Body!

This article was written by my good friend and fitness mentor, Michael Geary, author of the best selling book: The Truth about Six Pack Abs.

I felt this article was extremely important for everyone to read and understand, and as such I decided it was highly worth posting on my site!

I’m sure by now you’ve heard all about the amazing health benefits of antioxidant rich foods in your diet. Not only do these free-radical fighting antioxidants help you look and feel younger by slowing down the aging process, but they also help to prevent cancer, heart disease, and loads of other degenerative diseases. But that’s not all. Antioxidants also help you to recover better from exercise…..and that means more muscle and less fat on your body in the long run!

The function that antioxidants play in aiding your recovery from exercise is the inhibition of free radicals produced during exercise. Any time you workout, free radicals are produced in the body that damage muscle tissue. Having an adequate supply of antioxidants about an hour or so before your workout can greatly reduce the muscle damage caused by free radicals, hence, improving your muscular recovery from exercise.

Some of the most potent sources of whole food antioxidants are berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries), cherries, acai fruit, various teas (green tea, white tea, black tea, and red tea - a.k.a. rooibos tea), nuts, seeds, red and black beans, purple potatoes, grapes, red wine, cinnamon, and dark chocolate or cocoa. Don’t be fooled by all of the intense marketing for expensive antioxidant supplement pills…..remember whole foods are always better for you (and cheaper) than a pill.

My favorite pre-workout antioxidant-loaded snack is a piece of whole grain toast with almond butter, a small amount of blackberry jam, and topped with a pile of fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries. I wash it down with a glass of iced green tea or rooibos tea sweetened with just a small bit (about a teaspoon) of raw honey. This is literally a quintuple-whammy of potent anti-oxidants! The almond butter, blackberries, blueberries, raw honey, and the green or rooibos tea are all loaded with different varieties of muscle protecting, youth promoting antioxidants. I throw down this snack about an hour before my training. Give it a try for yourself, or be creative and come up with your own antioxidant rich pre-workout snack based on your tastes.

Remember, your body is continually bombarded every day by free radicals (creating oxidative stress) from exercise, air pollution, smoke, sun exposure, junk food, exposure to chemicals, etc. To reap the full benefits of antioxidants, try to make sure that every meal and snack you eat has at least one or two sources of antioxidant rich foods. This will give you a continuous supply of antioxidants throughout every day to prevent the damage and aging that result from the free radicals you are constantly exposed to.

Antioxidants are just one piece to the puzzle of a healthy diet that will give you the lean, muscular, youthful, and disease free body that everyone wants. To discover the secrets behind all of the other pieces to the diet puzzle that create a lean body (macronutrients, glycemic response, hormonal response, glycogen storage, muscle protein synthesis, the role of leptin, the insulin process, etc.), don’t forget to get your copy of Mike's book, The Truth about Six Pack Abs

To Everyone's good nutrition and excellent health!

-James

2006-08-18T13:56:00.000-04:00

Psychological and Physical Issues of Weight Loss

What are the causes of weight gain?
Here I have analyzed some prominent factors leading weight gain/obesity:

Genes and Heredity
Obesity tends to run in families, implying genetic factors. The search for an "obesity gene" is complicated, however, by the fact that families also tend to share eating and lifestyle habits, making it difficult to separate genetics per se from behavior. Various studies have been conducted to determine how significantly genes and family lifestyles affect obesity.

Recent studies acknowledge a condition known as metabolic syndrome that has the potential for defining a cause of obesity. The premise of the metabolic syndrome is that clusters of illnesses like high cholesterol and high blood pressure may be directly related to gene mutations in the mitochondria or energy center of the cell. It is yet to be determined if weight gain triggers metabolic syndrome or if metabolic syndrome triggers weight gain.

Environmental Causes of Obesity
An average US citizen is obsessed with fast food, processed food, and enriched food choices on a daily basis. Promotions for these food products boast their nutrition values and ease of preparation can make our lives easier. We lead busy lives, eat fast, and choose television or computer over exercise. At the same time, underweight models on our magazines and movie screens symbolize a distorted American ideal.

The point's been hammered into us with such frequency that we hardly hear it anymore: in cultures where people eat high fat diets and get little exercise, more problems with weight gain are seen than in groups who eat low fat diets and get regular exercise. America falls squarely into the high fat/low exercise category. This is unlikely to change quickly, so anyone trying to lose weight has to contend with a culture that marginalizes the obese while simultaneously creating the perfect environment for weight gain. Trying to deal with this contradiction may be one of the leading psychological causes of obesity as well as eating disorders.

Psychological Factors
It's no surprise that psychological factors and behavioral problems may cause weight gain in people. Many people eat when they're stressed, bored or angry. Over time, the association between an emotion and food can become firmly fixed.

Depression and stress are leading causes of obesity and eating disorders. Indeed, obesity can be traced to behavioral or psychological difficulties. Contrary to popular myth, this does not indicate weakness or lack of will power. A mental disorder is as much a disease as any physical problem, and requires professional treatment.

Physical Causes
Certain physical disorders can lead to overeating, or interfere with the body's mechanism that regulates calorie use. Neurological damage can also interfere with proper calorie intake, especially if the hypothalamus, which regulates appetite, is damaged. In Cushings Syndrome, increased levels of cortisol are secreted. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is known to increase the appetite, which may be a cause of obesity.

Physical causes of obesity should always be considered. A condition known as hypothyroidism can lead to weight gain. In fact, hypothyroidism, a condition of the thyroid that slows the body's metabolism way down, is one of the significant causes of obesity in adults and in children.
Research is slowly revealing how hormones play a role in obesity. When full, fat cells release the hormone leptin, which curbs appetite. If leptin production is hindered, the fat cells are unable to signal that they're full, and weight gain occurs.

How to loose weight- Now how to weight loss possible? Weight loss is possible by two means:

-Diet control
-Exercising

Controlled Diet Plan
You gain weight because you eat unhealthy, fatty food. When you eat a lot of oily food, the fat gets deposited in your veins resulting in weight gain. When the layers of fat keep on depositing in the body it leads to obesity. So it is not about how much you eat but what you eat. Even if you eat a lot of food low on carbohydrates and calories it will not affect that much. On the contrary even if you eat a small greasy hamburger every day it will take its effect, resulting in more fat. Food alone contributes to weight gain. So a controlled diet will eventually help you in loosing weight.

Regular Exercising
Physical work out (Exercising) is obviously the most reliable and penetrating way to shred the extra kilos. Putting in some time at the gymnasium will not only help you loose weight but will keep your body refreshed and active thoroughly. It doesn’t matter how much you eat, as long as it is healthy and you are exercising on a daily basis your body will always be fit and active, and your energy levels will always be very high.

Importance of Exercise

Today more than half of the American population is overweight. This is basically due to the modern world where everybody has got used to leading a sedentary lifestyle. It is only after putting on weight that people realize that they need to bring about a change.

People look towards many quick-cures for weight loss like fad diets. These diets may bring about weight loss but might also cause harm as they help in loosing weight by eliminating a certain type of nutrient from the diet.

Fad diets have been successful for many people but once they go off these diets they manage to gain back a lot of the lost weight. People must remember sustained weight loss is attained when we exercise and burn calories. To loose weight we need to limit our calorie intake and manage to burn more calories than we eat.

People usually do not find enough motivation to exercise but there is no easy way out. We need to realize that exercising is highly essential not only to loose weight but also helps in improving metabolism, mental well-being, fat loss, heart condition, and all this leads to a longer life.

For many of us exercising means going to the gym and doing weight training. It does not have to be this way. Any exercise done for more than half an hour can help in burning calories. This can include walking, running, in-line skating and swimming. It needs to be an action that works the muscles of your body.

When we start off we should not aim too big. The body needs time to get used to exercises. Start small and build it up. In the beginning try exercising only three days a week. You don’t necessarily need to sign up with a gym. You can instead get your own small fitness equipments like a rowing machine or an exercise bike or even better, use your own body's resistance, for examples and tons of detailed information, I suggest you view this best selling book, by Michael Geary, CFT- The Truth about Six Pack Abs.

There is as such no fixed time at which you need to exercise. But most people feel exercising first thing in the morning works best. After exercise the whole day is spent with a feeling of well being. Some doctors recommend that exercise should be done on an empty diet, but others feel otherwise. You need to find out what works best for you. If you can manage to work out on an empty stomach then you need to do so. But, always remember to eat after you excercise, for you body will be starving for food after a good workout.

To Good Health and Nutrition!

-James

Source Cited: http://www.a1dietpill.com/insight-on-weight-gain.html

2006-08-18T13:51:00.000-04:00

Example of Eating 6 Healthy Meals per Day:

I have been eating tons of fruits, vegetables and salads (which are what I love the most). I buy a few bags of nearly every berry that exists! Plus stock up on veggies and fruits!

As for the diet itself, I eat 6 smaller meals per day instead of 3 big ones, here is one example:

1) For breakfast- I have a bowl of high fiber cereal with berries and skim milk.

2) Mid-morning - I have a bowl of low fat cottage cheese with fresh berries, or fruit in it.

3) For lunch I have a nice salad, loaded with fresh vegetables and some lean meats, such as sliced fresh turkey or chicken with a homemade Balsalmic Vinegar Dressing.

4) Mid-Afternoon I have either a dish or a piece of either fresh diced fruit or fresh diced veggies.

5) Dinner- I have a well balanced dish, with some sort of healthy protein (chicken, lean beef, or fish) all baked, or broiled. I make sure the meat has no fat visable, and use no cooking oils- except Extra Virgin Olive Oil in it. In addition to the meat, I will have a nice large helping of freshly steamed vegetables.

6) Night- I will have either a little bowl of high fiber cereal, cottage cheese, or a few pieces of nice ripe fruit.

Throughout the entire day, I drink Water with a touch of fresh strawberry or raspberry in it. And I drink 3-5 glasses of freshly brewed and chilled tea, unsweetened (Green Tea, Oolong Tea, and White Tea Combined together and chilled).

Exercises to Start With:

Do not worry if you are not able to do the workouts listed here the first time. It takes time and patience, but try and never give up!

You do not need big fancy machines or any equipment at all, to get into great shape! The best way to get into shape is to use your own weight resistance against you. Try to do the following excercises every day or every other day and increase intensity as you get stronger.

Bodyweight Squats - Squatting down and back as if there is a seat behind you and your sitting down.

Pushups - You may need to start with you knees bent, until your strong enough to do full pushups from the feet.
Lunges - Leaning forward on a bent knee and the other knee back

Stairs Climbing - Go up and down a staircase several times - enough to work you up

Those are the 4 best starting excercises. Try to work on them until you work up a good sweat, then stop. (The point is to make your heart rate increase some, and you sweat, plus increase your body's strength and muscle building). This will increase your metabolic rate and help you burn fat on a daily basis.

In the late afternoon, when it is cool out, take a moderate to fast paced walk for 15-30 minutes each day. That is also very helpful.

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For more workouts, exercises and recipes- please see the best selling book "The Truth About Six Pack Abs," by my weight loss coach, Michael Geary. It is very beneficial to read and has given me tons of great ideas!

(Please remember, get your physicians approval before beginning any exercise program)

2006-08-18T11:24:00.000-04:00

Healthy Foods to Stock Up On...

Here are some ideas from myself and mostly my great friend and fitness expert, Michael Geary, on the best foods to stock you fridge and cabinets with. Remember, if you don't have junk around the house, you're less likely to eat junk. If all you have is healthy food around the house, you're forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you'll enjoy.

Alright, so let's start with the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I'm loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. During the growing season, I only get local produce, but obviously in winter, I have to resort to the produce at the grocery store. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like zucchini, onions, fresh mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, red peppers, etc. to use in my morning eggs.

I also like to dice up some lean chicken or turkey sausage into the eggs, along with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses. Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it's also full of healthy saturated fats. Yeah, you heard me...I said healthy saturated fats! Healthy saturated fats like medium chain triglycerides, specifically an MCT called lauric acid. If the idea of healthy saturated fats is foreign to you, check out my healthy fats article

Back to the fridge, some other must haves:

Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds - delicious and great sources of healthy fats.

Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt - I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.

Whole flax seeds - I grind these in a mini coffee grinder and add to yogurt or salads. Always grind them fresh because the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals in pre-ground flax.

Eggs - one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol).

Nut butters - Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with sesame seed butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter...delicious and unbeatable nutrition!

Salsa - I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.

Butter - don't believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and can be part of a healthy diet (just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense...and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack).

Avocados - love them...plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.

Whole grain wraps and whole grain bread (look for wraps and bread with at least 3-4 grams of fiber per 20 grams of total carbs).

Rice bran and wheat germ - these may sound way too healthy for some, but they actually add a nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or smoothies, or can be added when baking muffins or breads to add nutrients and fiber.

Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots - for salads with dinner.

Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined soybean oil (full of inflammation-causing free radicals).

Some of the must haves in the freezer:

Frozen fish - I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored.

Frozen berries - during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal (Fiber One, All Bran), oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies

Frozen veggies - again, when the growing season is over and I can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.

Frozen chicken breasts - very convenient to nuke up for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.

Frozen buffalo, ostrich, venison, and other "exotic" lean meats - Yeah, I know...I'm weird, but I can tell you that these are some of the healthiest meats around, and if you're serious about a lean healthy body, these types of meats are much better for you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef and pork that's sold at most grocery stores.

Frozen lean ground beef

Alright, now the must haves in the cabinets:

Oat bran and steel cut oats - higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats.

Cans of coconut milk (Great Tasting) - to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.

Various antioxidant rich teas - green, oolong, white, rooibos are some of the best. (Brew and Mix all together for a delicious warm or cold tea)

Stevia - a natural non-caloric sweetener, which is an excellent alternative to the nasty chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.

Organic maple syrup - none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima crap...only real maple syrup can be considered real food. The only time I really use this (because of the high sugar load) is added to my post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients into your muscles.

Raw honey - better than processed honey...higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (how you process carbs). I use a teaspoon or so every morning in my teas.

Whole wheat or whole grain spelt pasta - much higher fiber than normal pastas (Try to stear away from pasta though, very high starch intake)

Brown rice and other higher fiber rice - NEVER white rice

Cans of black or kidney beans - I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican wraps for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth promoting antioxidants!

Tomato sauces - delicious, and as I'm sure you've heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup.

Dark chocolate (as dark as possible) - This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It's still calorie dense, so I keep it to just a couple squares; but that is enough to do the trick, so I don't feel like I need to go out and get cake and ice cream to satisfy my dessert urges. (Stay away from regular chocolate)

Organic unsweetened cocoa powder - I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks.

Another thing that's hard to go wrong with is a good variety of fresh fruits and berries. Fruits such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are good, but I like to also be a little more adventurous and include things like yellow mangoes, pomegranates, star fruit, kumquats, pineapples, papaya, and others. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries are some of the most nutrient and antioxidant dense fruits you can eat.

Hopefully this gives you some good ideas you can use next time you're at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.

This article was provided by my fitness mentor, Mike Geary of TruthAboutAbs.com with a few contributions by me.

-James

2006-08-13T13:22:00.000-04:00

The 5 Keys To Initial Weight Loss Success:

1) Mind- You must place an emphasis that you will lose weight. You must literally reprogram your mind to stop eating junk and eat nutritious. You must visualize and focus on yourself getting off the couch and doing some very simple exercises each day. Remember, you have to have it in your mind to change, or you will not be successful! See yourself losing weight, feeling good, and eating good!

2) Love- You must prove mentally and physically that you love your body and by doing so, your body will love you back. I know this sounds corny, but it is true. I have noticed over time, as I ate healthy food and began to drop weight, that my body gave me more energy, more self-esteem, more vitality. And there is proof in the medical world, that your body will actually heal itself from within, simply by caring and loving your body.

3) Change- You must set your goal to lose weight, workout, and eat healthy and that requires a complete change in your way of living. You must change your eating habits, Instead of 3 huge meals per day, change to 6 smaller nutritious meals per day. Instead of drinking soda or cola, try drinking water or freshly brewed and unsweetened iced tea.

The fact is, this is probably the most difficult task to complete. For everyone is so set on a certain daily way of living and eating, and now to literally change all that, is very tough- but that is why I listed this stage as the third, for hopefully by the time you have you mind and heart set to make a drastic change for the better of your health, you will be able to conquer this stage easily.

4) Support- You must have someone for support. Explain your feelings, goals, and what you want to change about yourself to a family member, friend, spouse or someone you know you can really trust; and ask them to help you with motivation and support.

For making this drastic change in your life is difficult, and with anything difficult, there will be times of lapses and wanting to give up, and this is where your support and motivation by a trusting friend comes into action, to prevent you from throwing everything you worked so hard on away. Never be afraid to communicate with your support partner every day if necessary to know that someone is always there for you, and cheering you on to success!

5) Work- You must work to succeed! This stage involves you actually following through with everything you planned above. You must start visualizing yourself as a slim, healthy person, who will show off to anyone who has ever looked twice at you in a mall. You must realize and start proving to yourself that your body is yours, and no one can change it but you, thus it must be rooted in your mind that because this is your only body and you love this body, that you will take care of this body so it will never let you down.

You must start and never stop the change process: Eat Healthy Nutritious Meals every day, work out with strength exercises a 3-4 times per week, walk at least 15-30 minutes everyday, and start to see and feel yourself changing as you begin to get into shape. Make sure to communicate with your support partner everyday or at least every other day to report how your doing, and explain to them how your feeling. Work with your body by following the steps above, and you will be initially ready to succeed in the fight against obesity!

(Please remember, get your physicians approval before beginning any exercise program)

2006-08-13T12:22:00.000-04:00

What About the Weight Loss Pills, Diet Pills, Etc..?

This is an article I wanted to post written by my fitness coach/mentor, Mike Geary, of TruthAboutAbs.com. I thought it gave some helpful things to think about and figured I'd share it here:

Regarding all of the "miracle" pills and supplements on the market today, the questions come in all the time, such as:

"Mike, what types of supplements should I be taking to help me lose fat quicker?", or

"Mike, I heard about this new weight loss pill called ______ that claims I can lose more than 30 lbs in a month. Do you think I should try it?"

People send me these types of questions all the time, and they always revolve around someone seeing an ad for a pill or powder claiming miraculous overnight results, without having to eat healthy or exercise.

It absolutely blows my mind every day that so many people are willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for all of these completely bogus supplements and pills, but they aren't willing to invest on a sure-fire guide to fat loss success, like my Truth about Six Pack Abs book, which shows them exactly how to save thousands throughout their lives by never having to buy supplements again, and discovering the training strategies and nutrition secrets that actually get REAL fat loss results for LIFE!

Seriously, the only thing you could call a "supplement" that I've bought during the last 5 years is whey protein for mixing into my post-workout smoothies. That's it! That's about the only thing I'd even recommend including regularly. And to be honest, you could even do fine without that as well.

As for all of the new miracle pills that everyone asks me about....again, PLEASE don't waste your money on this stuff. This is exactly how the pharmaceutical and supplement industry makes billions off of people looking for a quick fix. They take the quick fix pill or diet, might lose a few pounds, and they subsequently lower their metabolism by losing lean muscle. Then they gain back all of the weight plus more, in the long run.

So then when the next magic pill comes out, they buy that, make the pharmaceutical and supplement companies even richer, lose a little bit of weight again, wreck their metabolism again, eventually gain back even more than before, and go back to searching for another fad diet or magic pill.

This is an endless cycle that constantly goes on, and all that happens is these companies that promote this CRAP get richer, while the frustrated dieters get fatter. I'm serious... look at the stats... over the last 20 years, diet pills and supplements have exploded in popularity, while the population has simultaneously gotten fatter and fatter. Obviously, the pills and supplements have not solved the problem, and if anything, have only made things worse. So what does work?

The ONLY way to lose body fat and get to a nice lean body composition and maintain it for LIFE, comes from these basic principles:

1) Make your health a priority. With everything you eat, drink, and do, think about whether it's helping or hurting your health, and only do the things that help.

2) Eat a clean healthy diet made up of natural unprocessed foods regularly, and make this a habit. Avoid even allowing yourself to buy junk or processed foods at all. There's still a TON of delicious natural foods that can satisfy your cravings and give you great nutrition also.

3) Make regular exercise a daily part of your life. Every single day doesn't have to include an intense workout, but try to at least workout intensely 3-4 days/week, and then at least get out and walk or ride a bike or something that involves movement almost every day.

4) Try to keep from getting stressed, and get enough sleep every night. No matter how tough everyone thinks they are and that they only need 4-5 hrs of sleep per night, the studies consistently show that 7-8 hours a night is best. If you're not getting that, you're creating a metabolic environment in the body that wants to store more bodyfat.

5) Lastly, make sure you have the positive mental attitude where you know that you can actually achieve the body that you want. Believe me, I've worked with hundreds of people of all shapes and sizes, and I can attest that anybody can do it, but most people sabotage themselves with negative thoughts that they'll never be able to lose fat and their genetics has destined them to be overweight. That's a bunch of crap. You may not be able to look like a fitness model, but anybody can get down to at least a reasonably lean physique if they do the right things consistently. This mental aspect is more important than people realize! You need to stop focusing on what you don't want, and start focusing on what you do want.

My last thought is that I want you to think back to how many times over the years you had the idea that you wanted to get back into shape, and maybe even started exercising and eating right for a little while, but eventually went right back to the negative habits. Think about why you abandoned your good intentions and gave up, and then figure out why you're NOT going to give up this time.

I hope this helps you realize that supplements, miracle pills, and diet fads will NEVER work in the long run. You may lose some weight for a few weeks or months, but in the long run, these are all a waste of money, unless you adopt the right lifestyle to maintain a lean body for LIFE.

The above article was written by my good friend and my weight loss mentor: Micheal Geary, NCSF-CPT
(By the way- For tons of information, check out his best selling book The Truth About Six Pack Abs... the nutrition for fat loss section of the book alone is worth the investment)

-James

2006-08-12T15:20:00.000-04:00

Motivation from a Good Friend and Fitness Expert:

Hello Everyone,

After I decided that enough was enough and made the commitment to beat my obesity, I began my search for a good program to follow to help me lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. While searching some health and fitness sites on the internet, I came across some particular writings that really stuck out to me as sincere and motivational. This website was Mike Geary's TruthAboutAbs.com. I bought Mike's book, and his Fitness for Busy Men DVDs, and decided to give this all a shot.

I read through a bunch of Mike's motivating articles, his blog, and his Truth about Six Pack Abs book. Something about the way he was speaking really struck me that this guy really cares about the people he is helping out. It was sort of like his energy and his passion for health and fitness was just jumping off the page. Something told me that I had to write a letter to Mike. I didn't know why, but just felt like I should reach out to him.

So I typed out a long letter to Mike explaining all of my health struggles over the years and how I desperately needed help with my obesity problem. I revealed to Mike some very personal things that I have struggled with over the years -- things that I have never told any other people. I don't know why it all came out, but I just felt like he was someone I could trust.

I didn't really know whether to expect a reply or not. To my surprise, Mike did write me back. But not only that, he wrote such a sincere and motivating letter to me, that I was literally blown away. I have never had someone speak to me with such encouragement and positive thoughts. I really feel that Mike has influenced me to think in a whole new way, stay positive, and have the confidence to know that I can defeat my illness and my obesity.

Below is a copy of the letter that Mike wrote back to me:

"Hi there James! I've read through your letter and here's what I truly believe... James, if you listen to the doctors who say you'll be dead in 5 yrs, guess what... you're already dead! They are programming your mind to believe that there is nothing you can do. That is totally the opposite of what you need. I hope you realize how powerful the mind really is. I'm serious. Think about the placebo effect. In scientific studies, just by telling someone that some little pill will give them such and such results (the patient doesn't know it's just a sugar pill), a large % of the time, they actually get those results, because they believed in their mind that it would happen.

If you believe in your mind that you can't lose weight, then you're NOT gonna lose weight. If you believe in your mind you'll be dead in 5 yrs, then you'll be dead in 5 yrs. However, if you truly believe in your mind that you CAN lose weight, and you CAN defeat this disease, then you WILL.

But you have to actually FEEL health and vitality. You have to visualize every day how healthy, vibrant and lean you want to be. But not only visualize it, actually FEEL it. If you practice this every day, eventually you will CREATE it. It will become such a part of your being that you literally attract health and vitality into your life.

James, I believe you can totally transform your body and mind. I see you dropping from 365 lbs down to 200 lbs over the next 1-2 years. I believe you will go back to those doctors after losing this weight and you will get that liver transplant that you need so desperately. I see you drastically changing your diet to the healthiest diet on the planet that will help regenerate everything that is going wrong in your body. I see you becoming stress-free, which will also help regenerate your body.

James, I've heard miraculous stories about people overcoming major obstacles with their health because they truly believed they could do it. I recently saw a motivational story about a woman who was diagnosed with cancer, and she refused chemo and radiation treatment. She decided to drastically change the way she lives her life... she totally de-stressed her life, she laughed every single day, she drastically transformed her diet to a healthy balanced organic diet full of antioxidants, she started exercising, and she took up relaxation and meditation techniques. And guess what... in as little as 3 months, she was re-evaluated and the cancer had totally disappeared! All done through the power of her mind and transforming her life into nothing but healthy habits. She believed she could do it, and she visualized herself being fully healthy and strong, and her mind delivered the way to her body. I believe the same will happen to you!

You have to believe in yourself James and you have to believe in your mind that you can make this life-saving transformation in your health. You've made a smart choice by investing in my health and fitness programs, and you're already well on your way to defeating your obesity problem and getting that liver transplant. You can trust me when I say that I've been touched by your story and I'm here any time you need me to help you, give you support, and mentor you while you go through this battle.

Your friend in health and happiness,

Mike Geary

2006-08-12T13:19:00.000-04:00

My Story of Change

by: James L. Majors

Hello Everyone,

The following is a brief overview of "My Story..."

I was born prematurely on July 29, 1978 here in Miami, Florida. I am the youngest of three children in which my two older brothers are nearly double my age with there own lives and families, in which I was never included. Being the youngest has not been the easiest, for my two older brothers literally grew up and did everything together, in which I never had the opportunity to experience. Literally, I grew up feeling like an “only child” since I never experienced the life and challenges that growing up with siblings of the same age do.

Nevertheless, I have achieved significantly in my life, although it has not went without excessive challenges and disruptions. I graduated in the top 10% of my Senior High School Class, On the Dean’s List with Honor’s from Miami-Dade College with my Associate of Arts Degree, and also on the Dean’s List with Honor’s from Nova Southeastern University, with my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. I am currently working on earning my Ph.D. in Public Health and Epidemiology from Walden University. I completed and passed the National Board Exam in Pharmaceutical Sciences Technology, and I was recently inducted into “Psi Chi,” The National Honor Society in Psychology. Although, my academic credentials have been the up-most of importance through-out my life, I have been facing a life-long battle since birth that could make all my credentials worthless…

As I stated above, I was born prematurely in 1978, and as a result I required a large number of blood transfusions in order to survive. Needless to say, I survived the premature birth and the months in the hospital the resulted from it. However, what was not known back then and not until 1995, was that the blood transfusions I received at birth which was meant to save my life, also contained a liver disease, in which would destroy my life.

Throughout my Junior and Senior year in High School, I was constantly in and out of school, home sick due to this debilitating illness. I was trying to keep my illness from being known in my High School, however with my consistent absenteeism, It got out to my fellow classmates that I was suffering from a serious and deadly liver disease. Needless to say, once the word got out, all my “so-called” friends abandoned me, in fear that they would catch this disease by simply talking or breathing around me, which was totally incorrect, as this disease is NOT contagious in any way except blood to blood! Thus, I spent my last two years in high school pretty much alone, and it became to a point that even my brothers ignorance got the best of them, and they feared coming around me; Regardless of even having physician’s explain to them it is not contagious, but a blood born illness. Thus, I spent many years alone and suffering with no-one to talk to, no-one to hang out with, and no-one to just be there with me! I thank God for my wonderful parents, who are the only two people who never worried or feared about this illness, and have been doing everything to help me!

In 1996 I was officially diagnosed with a Chronic Liver Disease, that had progressed to Cirrhosis and Liver Carcinoma. I underwent numerous therapy regimens and treatments for this non-contagious disease, however, after years of painful injections, and trial medications, I was declared a non-responder and stopped off all treatments.

In addition to this, all my life I have been overweight and never seemed to be able to lose the weight. Today, I am starting to feel the severe adverse effects of this disease, as literally half of my liver is completely shut down. My failing liver is now backing up blood flow and causing bleeding varices in my esophagus and abdomen, and I was informed by all my physicians that there is literally nothing more to be done, except to get a liver transplant or else the way I am going, "I will die from all these illnesses and complications within the next 5 years."

That left me in a complete astonishment to hear all this, and then it was told to me that since I weighed 385 lbs, I will not be placed on the transplant list, no matter how bad my liver gets, for "they will not waste a good liver on someone who would most likely die on the table from the obesity." Again, this left me angry and depressed at the same time. Needless to say, I said "Enough is Enough" and I was going to show all these physicians and everyone who ever said that statement to me, that I will lose the weight, get into shape, get the transplant, look and feel the best I ever have in my entire life! I am determined to fight obesity and beat it!

This has now become a life or death situation for me, as I must conquer this obesity before I can receive a new liver, and keep defeat this battle to continue living life! Thus, I created this site today, for I am defeating obesity and working on creating a new wonderful life! As such, I want to share this with each and everyone who has similar issues, and has been struggling with obesity. I want this site to offer guidance and support, in order to help all of us that struggle with obesity down the path to weight loss, great health, excellent nutrition, and enjoying a long happy life!

I will fight this Disease and Obesity!

-James Majors

August 12, 2006