Fat Loss Essential- Protect Yourself From Yourself

(My Original Blog Post: http://nakednutritionnetwork.com/fat-loss-essential-protect-yourself-from-yourself/)
Yes, I'm back after a long blogging hiatus. My PhD studies combined with a lot of movement behind the scenes at Naked Nutrition has been just about all my time over the past several weeks but I should be back blogging on a regular basis now.



Last weekend I made a trip up to my alma mater, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, (which I have since learned made the list of America's 50 Most Expensive Colleges) as my little sister (who is slowly becoming not so 'little') was graduating. The weekend festivities were great, especially because I got to catch up with a lot of family that I hadn't seen in a while. One conversation was especially relevant to the Naked Nutrition Approach and knew I wanted to share with it you right away.

I was talking with a family friend about his sleeping problems and if he had been able to crack the insomnia code to get more sleep. He said he was getting better but hadn't reconciled the problem completely. He did say that the one strategy that had provided him the most benefit was a sleep journal. What he did was each morning, upon waking, he recorded that nights events - about when he fell asleep, when he woke up, how long he was up, when he fell back asleep, etc.

This was so powerful because he realized that he actually was sleeping more than he thought. Knowing this relieved a significant about of anxiety surround his insomnia.

I instantly saw this as a perfect analogy for compliance charts. I've written about the 90% rule and compliance here, here, here, and numerous other places and I keep bringing it up because it is a make or break strategy that I don't see enough people using.

Just as my friend was under the impression that he was hardly sleeping at all, I have never met something who didn't think there diet was better than it really was. Once my friend took the time to quantify his sleeping habits he was able to see the truth of the situation and then employ more strategies that were appropriate for his actual situation.

Until you take the time and quantify your nutritional compliance, you really have no idea how well or poor you are adhering to your diet. If you don't know how well you are following your plan then any adjustment or 'fixes' that you apply to your diet is essentially throwing darts in the dark at your weight loss target.

Do yourself a favor, save yourself a lot of frustration and this week take the time to track your compliance before you try any new exercise plans, diet modifications, or supplements.

Apple Cider Vinegar

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/ARAik)
Before we get into today's post I wanted to follow up on Monday's contest. In response to my "3 Foods To Always Stock in Your Cupboards" post

The winner is Petra with her post :

Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of most grains, but I do like oatmeal, so my cupboard is always stocked with oatmeal. In addition, I have raw nuts, mainly almonds and walnuts, and raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. I don't know if it provides all the health benefits that I have heard about, but it makes a great vinaigrette when mixed with olive oil, garlic, herbs and spices.

(Petra - email me at support [at] nakednutritionnetwork.com and I'll send you the Fat Loss Edge Audio recording)


In regards to her question about apple cider vinegar...there are some amazing claims about this floating around the internet from its ability t0 slice open fat cells so that the fat drains out to and curing the flu (yes, the flu).

Most of the claims are completely unsupported and some are rather misleading. A perfect example of this is the claim that apple cider vinegar reduces cholesterol levels. The support for this uses one of my favorite tactics, the good ol' if it worked in rats then it'll work in humans justifications. Unfortunately if it works in rats, it does not mean that it will work in humans. Let's be a little reasonable here, even interventions that work in some humans don't work in all humans.

Back to the cholesterol issue.

WebMD.com summarizes this for us:

High cholesterol. A 2006 study showed evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol. However, the study was done in rats, so it's too early to know how it might work in people.

So is apple cider vinegar good? Definitely. As Petra pointed out, it makes a great vinaigrette. For a while I was Balsamic vinegared out on my salads and apple cider vinegar is a good change of pace.

Despite all the unsupported claims about apple cider vinegar, don't let that turn you off completely from its health benefits as vinegar in general (not unique to apple cider vinegar) can slow the rate in which food leaves your stomach, helping your better control your blood sugar levels.

Also, in regards to salad dressings. I'm in the final stages of my first Naked Nutrition Cookbook and would love to include recipes from readers. If you have a salad dressing that you would like to have featured in the book post it below.

I look forward to your recipes and have a good one!

-Mike

3 Foods To Always Stock in Your Cupboard

(My Original Blog Post: http://nakednutritionnetwork.com/3-foods-to-always-stock-in-your-cupboard/)
Having healthy fat burning food on hand at all times is essential for success with your diet. In order to hit the 90% percent rule week after week you need to make your nutrition be automatic and delicious. If you are truly going to change the way that you eat for the rest of your life and adopt the Naked Nutrition eating plan as a permanent change and not just an 'I need to lose a couple pounds so I'll do this for a couple weeks' then eating delicious food is another must

Today I wanted to share with you 5 foods that I always make sure that we have on hand in our cupboards.

1. Quinoa - Quinoa is second favorite grain (second to oats - my favorite is the steel cut variety). This 'ancient' grain has found main stream popularity over the past couple years. In has all but replaced brown rice in my diet. Compared to brown rice quinoa has a lighter, nuttier flavor. In addition it one of the only grains that is a complete protein (meaning that it has all the essential amino acids). Plus, if you are a busy person you'll love quinoa as it cooks in half of the time it would take for you to make brown rice.

2. Walnuts - Walnuts are hands down my favorite nut. They contains a wide spectrum of health boosting fats, including the ever popular omega-3 fat alpha linolenic acid. Walnuts are great in shakes as they blend up and dissolve into your shake with out a trace (unlike almonds which often will settle to the bottom of the blender). If you aren't going to use walnuts in shakes, they go great on salads and you can crush them into a powder (they make a texture similar to moist corn meal), and stuff chicken breasts for a great twist on an old stand by protein.

3. Chickpeas - Like walnuts, chickpeas are very versatile. Whether you are eating them blended up with olive oil and tahaini in the form of hummus, added cold to your salad for extra fiber and protein, or in chili in place of black beans - Chickpeas are my favorite legume.

What else do you consider essential for your fat burning cupboard? Post below and the person with the best top 3 get a copy of my Fat Loss Edge Seminar Audio Recording.

Resource: In each issue of Strong, Fit, & Healthy I share with you 2 new delicious Naked Nutrition approved recipes - you can become a member and get instant access to the entire Strong, Fit, & Healthy archives here.

7 Personal Lessons for Losing Fat

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/oQ5EV)
There Are 7 Lessons From My Story That You Can Use Yourself To Lose Fat or Even Get Ripped Like I Did... - Guest Blog from Jason Ferruggia

I want to share these with you because even if you have a different personal history than I do (most of my readers are NOT bodybuilders), these 7 lessons are the keys to achieving any previously elusive fitness goal for the first time and I know they apply to everyone.

1. Set the big goal and go for it. If your goal doesn’t excite you and scare you at the same time, your goal is too small. If you don’t feel fear or uncertainty, you’re inside your comfort zone. Puny goals aren’t motivating. Sometimes it takes a competition or a big challenge of some kind to get your blood boiling.

2. Align your values with your goals. I understood my values and made a decision to be congruent with who I really was and who I wanted to be. When you know your values, get your priorities straight and align your goals with your values, then doing what it takes is easy.

3. Do the math. Stop looking for magic. A lean body does not come from ONE "magic" type of exercise or one "magic" type of food or food group, it’s the calories burned vs calories consumed that determines weight loss or weight gain. Don't get me wrong - the strength training is crucial for optimizing body composition, and you might do better by decreasing the calories consumed, whereas I depended more on increasing the calories burned, but either way, it’s still a math equation. Deny it at your own peril.

4. Get social support and social accountability. Support and encouragement from your friends can help get you through anything. Real time accountability to a training partner or trainer can make all the difference.

5. Be consistent. Nothing will ever work if you don’t work at it every day. Sporadic efforts don’t just produce sporadic results, sometimes they produce zero results.

6. Persist through difficulty and self doubt. If you think it’s going to be smooth sailing all the way with no ups and downs, you’re fooling yourself. For every sunny day, there’s going to be a storm. If you can’t weather the storms, you’ll never reach new shores.

7. Redeem yourself. Non-achievers sit on the couch and wallow in past failures. Winners use past failures as motivational rocket fuel. It always feels good to achieve a goal, but nothing feels as good as achieving a goal with redemption.

Note from Mike: This is flat out great advice. #6 and #7 are my favorite of the bunch and are rarely talked about.

Additional Resources from Jason

Two years ago I decided to start experimenting on a large number of my clients and coaching group members. I wanted to see if I could create an athletic based muscle building system and help average guys get the same kind of results elite athletes get from their training. The only difference is the average guy doesn’t have the genetics, recovery ability or schedule of a professional athlete. But they all want to look like them.

So I took it upon myself to create the ultimate system that would help Average Joe’s and weekend warriors get a little bit closer to looking and performing like Reggie Bush or Georges St. Pierre.

I know how to help skinny guys get jacked. That’s old hat to me. I can do it in my sleep. As long as someone listens and does what I say they will pack on size.

But Triple Threat Muscle is a little different. Not only is the program focused on size gains, but also the development of explosive power and unrelenting endurance. So you get the jacked, muscular physique and the athleticism to go with it.

Get Triple Threat Muscle now and save $30. Click Here to Get Started Now

In the process of updated my Naked Nutrition for Fat Loss Program - It is going to be so much more comprehensive.

Bodybuilding.com delivered my order in less than 24hrs! Wow

just answered some rapid weight loss diet questions in regards to carbohdyrates http://readnow.at/18mm3

Testing out ping.fm. Hope you're having a great weekend

We're Moving!!!

Well my wife and I aren't moving (yet). But this blog is. The entire contents of this blog have been moved over to a new site --> http://blog.nakednutritionguide.com

If you have subscribed via RSS feed don't worry about changing your feed or re-subscribing as I've already taken care of that for you. Head over to the new blog's home and let me know what you think!

This will be the last post here at the blogger account so if you have linked to the blog on your blog or webpage please update the link to http://blog.nakednutritionguide.com

See you over there,
Mike

Video Friday - Bob Paris

I'm going to be traveling tomorrow for Memorial Day Weekend so I thought I'd post the video for Video Friday early.

Bob Paris is one of my favorite bodybuilders of all-time. He isn't a mass monster. Bob has the kind of physique that many men would aspire to - symmetrical, proportional, and not over the top. Today's video is a great as it is one of Bob's posing routines. If you have read Bob Paris' book Gorilla Suit then I highly recommend that you check it out. It is one of the few good books written on bodybuilding.

Tags: bob paris, bodybuilding, youtube, good books

Rooibos - Better Than Green Tea??

I've been getting a lot of emails lately about Rooibos tea. People are wondering what it is and if it is better than green tea (especially because a talk a bunch about Green Tea in Your Naked Nutrition Guide).

Rooibos (pronounced Roy-bus) isn't necessarily better than green tea but it is good. Rooibos comes from a South Africian legume. It is naturally caffeine free and brews up a dark rich red cup of tea. Rooibos is also loaded with antioxidants. Many of the health claims surrounding Rooibos tea and Rooibos extract are from animal and cell culture studies and thus should be taken as suggestive and not definitive.

While reading up on the research regarding Rooibos, I found a study that showed that Rooibos tea inhibited the activation of the COX-2 enzyme in human cells. The COX-2 enzyme is a major gateway for inflammation. Aspirin, Advil, and DHA (one of the fatty acids in fish oil) all also exhibit anti-inflammatory actions through inhibiting COX-2. This research is interesting as it suggests that Rooibos has anti-inflammatory properties.

So should you throw out your green tea for Rooibos?? Nope. Drink them both. Because Rooibos tea is naturally decaffeinated and Green Tea is naturally caffeinated they both can find a place in your day. Green Tea in the morning and Rooibos at night. Plus they both contain different types of antioxidants so drinking them both will give you a nice blend of antioxidant in your diet.

On a completely different note - NSCA Strength Coach of the Year Robert Dos Remedios has just launched a blog and website - www.CoachDos.com

Tags: rooibos tea, green tea, anti-inflammatory, health, nutrition

Black Cohosh - uber Supplement For Women or Not?

One of the most popular supplements for females is Black Cohosh. Black Cohosh is a member of the buttercup family and was originally used by Native Americans. Black Cohosh is now commonly sold as a dietary supplement with the claim of increase estrogen production/action. As a result Black Cohosh is popular among women under undergoing menopause.

However, a recent study from the Annals of Internal Medicine showed quite the opposite result. 351 women ages 45-55 who had reported getting hot flashes at least twice a day were given 1 of 5 treatments. The treatments ranged from 160mg of Black Cohosh to multi-herbal mixtures containing 200mg of Black Cohosh to Estrogen replacement therapy, to nothing (placebo).

After 1 year none of the herbal treatment groups had any reduction in symptoms while the estrogen replacement therapy group did.

Tags: supplements, black cohosh, estrogen, menopause

Workout Music - myTunes Part II

My last entry prompted a lot of messages into my inbox wondering what else is on my training muscle playlist. Here are some more songs that will boost your workout intensity.


Blood Pressure - LOX
Where the Hood At (Remix) - DMX
There It Go (The Whistle Song) - Juelz Santana
Last Ones Left - Tupac
Bump Heads - Eminem feat G Unit
So Much Pain - Tupac (this is hard to find)
Is That Yo Chick - Memphis Bleek, Jay-Z, Twista
Trill Recognize Trill - Bun B
Touch It (Remix) - Busta Rhymes & DMX
Rite Where You Stand - Gangstarr & Jadakiss
Wu-Gambinos - Wu-Tang Clan
Certified Gangsta - Jim Jones
It's Mine - Mobb Deep feat Nas
Triumph - Wu-Tang Clan
I'ma Hustla - Cassidy
Blaze of Glory - Bon Jovi

...now that's good music.

Tags: workout music, ipod

Workout Music - myTunes

I've mentioned it previously on this blog that I currently workout at one of the gyms on the Penn State campus. It has A LOT more equipment and space that when I worked out in our basement in Vermont but I would give anything to be back in the basement with a wobbly squat rack, 450lbs of weight, 1 olympic bar, and two plate loading dumbbells. It was low budget but the atmosphere was amazing. Fast forward to now. The gym is full of fancy machines, guys in polo shirts talking on their cell phones between sets, other guys talking to girls during sets of dumbbell curls (I'm not making that up!), and the music...don't get me started.



Fortunately, I have Maximus. Maximus is my red 8GB iPod Nano. I currently have 86 songs on my Training Music playlist with more songs being added everyday. Here are some of my current favorites:

Ebonics - Big L
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
Hoody Hoo - TRU
The Ruler's Back - Jay-Z
Diamonds Is Forever - Jay-Z
Tell Me Where to Go - E-40
Break Ya Neck - Busta Rhymes
Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Deliverance - Bubba Sparxxx
Built this City - Diplomats
Quiet Money Anthem - AZ
Black Repulbican - Jay-Z & Nas
Blackout - DMX
Keep It Thoro - Prodigy (from Mobb Deep)
Why We Thugs - Ice Cube
Let's Go - Trick Daddy
Paradise City - Guns and Roses


Have a great weekend! Remember to take time to plan your meals this weekend. It will greatly improve your chances of success.

Tags: ipod nano, workout music, weight training

Plan Your Nutrition Ahead

A key component to nutritional success throughout the week is making your nutrition a no brainer. When I was in Washington DC at the Experimental Biology conference I came across a poster presentation by the graduate students of Brian Wansink (the author of Mindless Eating)

They were reporting the results of a study that showed how people think they make ~15 food decisions a day but in reality they make >200. Whether or not these numbers are accurate is debatable but you get the point. We make a lot of decisions about food whether we like it or not.

This is why planning your meals ahead of time is so important. It takes all the thinking out of nutrition for the week. In the morning you get up, pull your pre-prepared meals out of the refrigerator or freezer, put them in your mini cooler and you're off. No cooking, portioning, or thinking.

Take the time on Sunday to cook and prepare your meals. You will find that your nutrition is much more consistent and you'll stay on track during the week as a result. Here's a picture of what I grilled up this past Sunday.




If you want more information about nutrition planning and strategies for success check out my new manual Your Naked Nutrition Guide.

Resveratrol Does Damage Control

Resveratrol is one of the hottest up and coming antioxidants. Resveratrol is a polyphenol that is most notably found in grapes and red wine. For a long time many people believe that red wine was a superior type of alcohol because of its high resveratrol content. Recently I co-authored a scientific manuscript in which we found that resveratrol has little to nothing to do with the increase in "good" cholesterol found with moderate red wine (or any alcohol for that matter) consumption.

Regardless of resveratrol's lack of influence on HDL cholesterol it has been shown to have powerful anti-aging and anti-inflammatory effects in animal and in vitro studies. This is where I see the main problem with Resveratrol research to date. There is a complete lack of direct human data. The amounts of resveratrol being given to mice and rats in the animal studies far exceeds the amounts one can consume by drinking red wine. Resveratrol supplements are now becoming more popular and those dosages are more comparable to the ones used in animal studies.

Most recently I came across a new study from the Journal of Applied Physiology in which researchers found that when human endothelial cells were exposed to oxidized LDL cholesterol (oxLDL) particles (these are thought to be one of the molecules that begins the cascade of events leading to heart disease) in the presence of resveratrol. The oxLDL had a decreased ablilty to cause the generation of reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species are molecules turned rouge that fly around our system causing cellular and DNA damage until are quenched by anti-oxidants. From this research is seems that resveratol can protect against oxidative damage by

1. Quenching reactive oxygen species
2. Slowing down the cellular machinery that produces reactive oxygen species

This is just another feather in the cap of resveratrol and with data like this being produced every month you can bet that resveratrol will have a central role in the prevention and treatment of many diseases in the future.

Tags: resveratrol, heart disease, antioxidants, DNA damage

Crockpot Questions

On a previous edition of Max-Out Radio I featured a recipe remix using a crockpot. Crockpots are a great tool for busy people as you can prepare the food ahead of time, leave it to cook during the day, and then when you get home your house smell great and dinner is ready. Here are some questions I received from a listener regarding using crockpots.


Can you prepare the food the night before? Yes, definitely. That is the beauty of using a crockpot. You can prepare all the food, put it in the crockpot liner, and stick it in the refrigerator until it is ready be used.


Is it only a matter of an hour or two longer cooking time if you do so? Yes. Because I leave the crockpot in the refrigerator over night it is a little cold and that may require a little longer cooking. What I do is remove it from the refrigerator when I get up and just put it on the counter. When I’m ready to leave the house I'll put it on the base and it is usually cooled down to room temperature (or close to it)


Does the crock-pot have a timer so you can put it to turn on itselfe, say 3 hours after you left home? They do have timers usually 8 and 10 hours. If you leave it longer than that then they will just go into warm mode. So if you are out of the house for 11 hours it won't matter.

What people are saying about Naked Nutrition

The launch of Your Naked Nutrition Guide has definitely generated some buzz. Here are some links to what people some people are saying:

http://forums.jpfitness.com/showthread.php?t=25142


http://alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com/2007/05/six-pillars-of-naked-nutrition.html


http://tonygentilcore.blogspot.com/2007/05/your-naked-nutrition-guide.html


http://billhartman.blogspot.com/2007/05/get-naked-nutrition-now.html

Tags: Naked Nutrition

It is time!

After months and months of writing, rewriting, planning, and drafting...Your Naked Nutrition Guide is now available at

http://www.NakedNutritionGuide.com

Click on the link and go pick up your copy.

Get "Naked".....Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day that I know many of you (by the volume of emails in my inbox) have been waiting for. Yes, Your Naked Nutrition Guide will be available tomorrow at NakedNutritionGuide.com.

I was up late last night formating the bonus workout plans from Alwyn Cosgrove, Nate Green, and Jimmy Smith. This is a dynamite package that will allow you to stop with the nutritional guess work and get results.

10:00am EST Tomorrow.

See you there (figuratively of course)