3 Tips to Eat a Healthier Diet to Lose Weight Faster

If you want to lose weight, we all know that eating a healthy diet should be your first priority. Sure, exercise is important, but diet is king when it comes to lifelong weight management. I hope this article gives you some simple, yet effective ways for you to make healthy changes in the way you eat on a daily basis.

1. Make sure to eat at least some healthy fats in most of your meals. Eating enough healthy fats is very important for maintaining proper fat burning and muscle building hormone levels in your body. Adequate healthy fats in your diet also helps in keeping your appetite under control.

The healthiest sources of dietary fats are raw nuts, seeds, egg yolks (from organic free range eggs), avocados, extra virgin olive oil (highest antioxidant content of olive oils), coconut oil (a great source of healthy saturated fats in the form of medium chain triglycerides), and grass-fed meats (a great source of the healthy fat, conjugated linoleic acid, which can help burn body fat and build muscle).



Try this tip -- eat a handful of raw nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds are great healthy choices) 3 times a day about 30 minutes prior to meals. This can help to quell your appetite and give your body some protein, fiber, and healthy fats so that you eat less calories overall at your meals and get more nutrition at the same time due to the high nutrient density of most nuts.

2. Try to eat a high quality protein source with each meal and snack that you eat. Quality proteins from grass-fed meats, grass-fed raw dairy, and even from plant sources such as nuts and beans provides good appetite suppression so you can control your calorie intake easier.

Getting ample quality proteins also helps you to build lean muscle (if you're working out hard regularly) so that your metabolism can run at a higher rate from the increased lean muscle on your body.

Eating sufficient protein at most of your meals also aids your body in controlling blood sugar and insulin levels by helping to slow the breakdown of ingested carbohydrates.

3. Although I do not fully agree with extremely low-carb diets, I do believe that one of the main reasons that so many individuals struggle to lose weight for most of their lives is due to eating excessive processed carbohydrates such as refined grain-based starches and refined sugars on a daily basis.



The natural sugars in whole fruits and berries are ok because the fiber in fruits helps to slow the blood sugar response in your body. Just make sure to avoid fruit juices, which are mostly sugar and have the fiber removed in processing the juice.

In my experience as a nutrition specialist, when people start to minimize their grain consumption (from cereals, bagels, breads, pasta, etc), they start to lose body fat much easier. What I usually recommend is for people to minimize eating grains and focus their carbohydrate intake on fruits and vegetables solely. This simple step alone usually helps people to start managing their weight more easily.

Try to implement these 3 tips for eating a smarter, healthier diet and I'm willing to bet that you'll start to see a leaner body and more energy in no time.

5 Minute Healthy Chocolate Fudge Recipe

If you have a sweet tooth like me, I'm sure you've tried to find ways to still enjoy sweet treats, but also try to make them healthier than typical junk food desserts.

The major problem with most so-called "healthy" desserts is that most companies attempt to make them healthier by reducing the fat content and thereby increasing the sugar content or artificial sweeteners... there's nothing healthy about either of those!

Below is my famous healthy chocolate-peanut-butter fudge recipe that takes only 5 minutes to make and is really simple. The great thing is that I use no added sugars, no artificial sweeteners, and all healthy fat sources. You'll see why below.

My healthy chocolate-peanut-butter fudge recipe (peanut butter can be omitted if you prefer plain chocolate):

• Extra dark chocolate bar (3-4 oz bar works well -- look for at least 70% cocoa content, between 70-85% -- this minimizes the sugar content)


• 4 or 5 Tbsp of your favorite organic nut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter all work well)


• 2/3 to 3/4 cup of organic coconut milk (great source of healthy saturated fats from medium chain triglycerides - MCTs)


• 2 tbsp rice bran (additional healthy fiber source)


• 2 tbsp oat bran (more healthy fiber including soluble fiber)


• 1/2 cup raw pecans, almonds, or walnuts (yes, more healthy fats, antioxidants, and tons of vitamins/minerals)


• 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional based on your tastes)


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• a little stevia to lightly sweeten (stevia is a natural non-caloric sweetener as opposed to harmful artificial sweeteners)

Start with the coconut milk, nut butter, and chocolate bar in a medium saucepan and put it on the lowest heat possible. Continuously stir as the chocolate, coconut milk, and nut butter melts together. Once these melt together add in all of the other ingredients and stir together very well.

Once everything is mixed well together, spread the mixture onto some waxed paper laid out in a baking dish and throw it in the fridge to solidify.

Now you have some of the healthiest chocolate fudge ever known to man!

Keep in mind that you still need to keep your serving portions small because this is still a calorie-dense snack even though it is super-healthy. The good news is that it is lower in sugar and calories than typical fudge and has loads more nutrition than any typical fudge.

Enjoy!

Check out these 5 tips to Get a Flat Stomach faster with no bogus diet pills or useless "abdominizer" gadgets.

Good luck with your fitness goals!

3 Veggies That Help to Burn Stomach Fat

Specific vegetables that actually help to stimulate the burning of stomach fat? Sounds crazy right?

Well, check this out below and you'll see why it's not so far fetched.

First, one fact that you may have not realized is that there are certain chemicals in our food supply and in our environment, such as pesticides, herbicides, and petrochemicals that have an estrogenic effect inside our bodies. This problem can increase belly fat on both men and women, so pay attention.

These are called xenoestrogens, and exposure to them from these chemicals in our food supply, water supply, and the environment is one factor that can actually stimulate your body to hold onto belly fat. The problem is that in today's world, even if you eat organic and live in a relatively low-pollution area, it is almost impossible to not get at least some degree of daily exposure to xenoestrogens. They are even in household cleaners and cosmetics!

So how can you fight against these xenoestrogens so that they are not forcing your body to hold onto stomach fat?

Well, that's where these specific types of vegetables that I'm going to show you can help.

There are many classes of vegetables, teas, spices, etc that have compounds which can help to fight against the effects of xenoestrogens. However, one of the most powerful classes are cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.

These types of cruciferous vegetables contain very unique compounds (phytonutrients) such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that can help to combat the effects of xenoestrogens in your body, and therefore, can help you to burn abdominal fat more effectively.

As if you needed another excuse to eat more broccoli and cauliflower... Now, you can add losing stomach fat to the list!

Now here's the cool thing...

On this link, I'm going to show you my program that explains specific teas, spices, and other sources of these unique compounds that help to fight against xenoestrogens and help you to Burn Belly Fat faster and more effectively.

Enjoy, and good luck with your fitness goals!

Bodybuilding Concentration and Visualization

Visualization and sports/ physical activity have gone hand in hand for centuries. Since the beginning of recorded athletic events, history tells us that the competitors used what we now called visualization or visual imagery.



In the early days of bodybuilding competitors realized that the mind is greatly responsible for their degree of progress. The famous Mr. Olympia, now Governator of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has always emphasized that success in bodybuilding begins in the mind.

Concentration, or focused attention, is a key to achieving almost anything in life, and bodybuilding/ weight lifting is no exception. Regardless of how intently you apply yourself physically to the completion of an exercise, you will never meet the high standards that you need to meet in order to gain size and strength, unless your mind it totally focused on the exercise. It is a common flaw of all people that being able to focus 100% on one thing, at one time is almost impossible. There always seem to be other intrusions enter the mind: financial woes, relationship issues, doubt in yourself, lack of time…

These distractions are necessary, but as you continue to progress in your goals to succeed as a bodybuilder, you will become better and better at keeping out and ignoring these distractions.

The following 10 steps will help you hone your skills in order to concentrate on your bodybuilding success.

1. Try to block out all negative thoughts. This means ALL negative thoughts.


2. Always think about your training in a positive, encouraging manner.


3. Keep your mind on the workout. When in the gym, don’t think about anything but success in the gym.


4. Plan your workouts so you won’t be interrupted or distracted. This could include not working out next to the classroom during the bikini boot camp.


5. Don’t make excuses to miss a workout.


6. Make every exercise mental as well as physical.


7. Go to the gym to work out. Be nice, but make it clear that you are there to train, not to socialize. Wearing headphones will cut down on chit chat.


8. Have a plan. Develop a workout plan for the day’s workout so you will know what you have left to do, and what you have already accomplished.


9. Look forward to training. You are doing it for a reason, look forward to the benefits of successful training.


10. Use the visual imagery technique. Force your mind and will power to push your muscles.

Use these tips and stay focused.

Staying Focused on Your Muscle Building Goals

Summer is coming around so it’s time for new goals for gaining muscle and losing fat.

We all know that in order to achieve our goals, we have to stay with them on work on them. So many of us “start” a new program, but never actually get started. Here are a few tips on how to get or stay on track.

Replace “I Should,” with “I Am.”

Everyone knows what they “should” be doing, the question is what “are” you doing? Every time you start to think, “I Should,” replace it with, “I Am.” When you start thinking of what you should be doing, you dwell on what you aren’t doing and negativity infiltrates your positive momentum. Keep it positive by thinking of what you are doing and ways to improve it.

Remember “The Why”

Most people do things out of emotion, and working out is no different. You do it for a specific reason, and that reason stems from an emotion. Whenever you want to slack off, or you feel your goals sliding away, remember the actual emotional reason why you decided to get on the program in the first place.

Learn From The Past

When you feel the negativity coming on, think back to past exercise programs that didn’t work for you. Figure out what went wrong. Was it the program, or was it you? Obviously, if it was you, and the cold hard truth is that it probably was, you need to take a step back, to step 3 and reevaluate why you started, and why you need to finish.

Avoid the “Toos”

Avoid the immature emotional logic of the “toos” (too tired, too early, too cold, too late, too hot…). Think of the benefits of your exercise or nutrition program. Base your decision to exercise on positive emotions, not on excuses. Make a deal with yourself, once you get to the gym and workout for five minutes, if you feel like leaving you can. Most of the time, you won’t leave.

Whenever you find yourself getting off track with your workout, think of how pumped up you get after a great workout. Remember to always think of the positives, once you do, you leave little to no room for the negative to come in.

For more information on setting goals for building muscle, check out the Mental Edge Muscle Building Program. Right now, you can download the 7 Part Muscle Building Guide, for FREE. Several of the parts cover motivation and goal setting. Click here to learn more.

Shock the Muscle, Keep the Body Guessing

You’ve heard it before, you have to constantly shock the muscles into growth. This can mean different things for different people. Some people actually “Shock” their muscles with electricity. Do you remember the belts that went around your waste that were made to shock your abs and force a contraction? It did make your muscles contract, but not any better than good old fashioned crunches, but that’s another topic for another day.

What I want to do here is answer a question about shocking the muscles, or keeping your body guessing. The short answer is yes, you do have to “Shock” your muscles to make them grow, but this isn’t nearly as dramatic or difficult as it sounds, or as crazy as most gym rats make it out to be.

1.When a physical factor is presented to your body, your body naturally reacts to it. Think about being exposed to the sun for too long, you get sunburned. After running a distance, you get winded, but then something amazing happens.

2. After a certain amount of time, and this time varies for every individual, your body grows accustomed to certain factors, and it adapts to these factors, becoming more and more tolerant of the factor. This means that after repeated sun exposure, you start getting tan, and after running daily, you can run farther and faster.

3. When the body adapts to the factor, it needs more and varying levels of the factor to maintain the adaptation. You might have a tan, but if you stay out of the sun, you don’t need it and your tan fades away. If you stop running, your ability to run far and fast will start to fade; because your body doesn’t need to be able to run this way anymore.

The adaptations are based on what your body needs. The bad part is what you want, and what your body needs are usually two different things. Your body will adapt based on what it needs, not on what you want. This can be altered, if you know how to do it. My Mental Edge Muscle Building Program tells you how to merge what your body needs with what you want, to produce rapid, favorable results.

The previous rules apply to muscle growth. When you lift weights, your body reacts to it and you get sore. After a certain amount of weight training, your body adapts to the new stress by increasing muscle mass to increase strength. You have to continually present your muscles with different stresses to make sure it keeps adapting (growing), and that your muscles don’t fade away.

So as you can see, you must constantly give your muscles a stress load that they are not used to. Once you do this, they will adapt to the new stress, and then you will need to stress them even further. Basically, you have to keep giving them something they are not used to, so they will keep adapting (growing).

This isn’t very difficult to do, and luckily, you don’t have to do it all that often. Studies show that the body adapts and stops responding to certain weight training routines within a few days. This means that if you do the same reps, same weight, and do everything the same as the last workout, your muscles will not grow, they don’t need too, there is no new stress to adapt too. The bottom line is that something has to change.

There are several things that you can change to keep your muscles adapting, or “keep the body guessing.” The list below is only a few things that can be changed to shock your muscles. Remember, you only need a shock to the muscles, don’t electrocute them. When trying to shake things up, you only need to change one of the factors below. Every few weeks, try focusing on changing one of these factors.

• The amount of reps – More or less, and adjust your weight accordingly


• The amount of sets – Same as above, more sets =less reps per set


• The amount of weight – Try to add weight/tonnage every workout


• The amount of time for each set and for the workout as a whole – Try to reduce


• The amount of rest between sets – Reduce this time


• The frequency of your workouts- Change from MWF to TRS, or MWS

You don’t have to hang upside down from a metal pole with your legs between your arms and do a pull up to hit your biceps at a different angle. Simply focus on changing the reps, sets, weight, or any of the factors listed above to shock your muscles, and you will be constantly forcing your body to adapt and grow more muscle.

Does Diet Soda Make You Fat?

We all know by now that soda (aka "pop" in some areas) is one of the most evil things you can put in your body... the nasty chemicals, the gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup, and a myriad of health problems caused by this carbonated cocktail worshiped by those that don't care about their health or body.

Surprisingly, many people falsely believe that "diet" soda is in some way a good thing for losing body fat. In fact, I hear people all the time proudly state that they eat so healthy and only drink diet soda.

So let's set the record straight...

There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet soda. In fact, I've even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.

Here's some findings from an 8-year University of Texas study that I had read...

An excerpt from the study author:

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."

"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

Ok, as if we didn't already know how bad regular soda was for us, and now they're showing us studies that diet soda makes us even fatter than the already bad stuff!

There's a lot of complicating factors as to why this occurs...

One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.

Another reason is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.

I've said this all along, but the bottom line is that if you're serious about your health and body, soda of any kind (and artificial sweeteners in anything for that matter!) should be avoided at all times, except for very rare occasions when you can't avoid them.

So what is a good alternative to diet sodas?

The best alternatives are good old water with lemon or unsweetened iced teas... you have plenty of options with teas - green, white, black, oolong, red... be creative in making your iced teas and you'll enjoy it more. Plus you'll get a more diverse array of antioxidants.

I just add a little of the natural non-caloric sweetener stevia to my iced teas and I love them.

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