It’s never become more apparent than in the 21st century that the earth is saturated with poisons. It’s nearly impossible to avoid them, despite our best attempts. The media, coupled with the “all-knowing experts,” advise us to steer clear of pesticides, household cleaners, processed foods, food additives, preservatives, and gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. If it were up to them, we would all be living in the mountains of Montana, growing our own food, drinking aquifer-supplied water, and driving a hybrid car or riding a horse. While this might be an ideal way to live, unfortunately for you and me, it’s likely not possible. That’s why it’s even more important to build up and support our immune systems and make healthy choices when it comes to what we eat, what types of foods we choose to have in our homes, and which foods we provide for our children. I don’t want to sound paranoid. And my desire is not to make you eliminate all of the things that are a part of our everyday lives. I will, however, offer you the following scientific evidence and guidelines for avoiding what I believe to be the most toxic substances to our bodies, which drain our energy!

Sugar and hydrogenated fats. These two toxins, which are consumed by the billions of tons each year, literally drain our mental and physical energy and infect us like a poison.

Here’s a brief explanation of each and how they negatively affect us
“Sugar makes you irritable, hyperactive, and causes premature aging…”Sugar is the most consumed substance on the planet. Whether it’s in the form of fructose, sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, maltodextrin, or confectionary sugarthis poison negatively affects our mood and behavior. It makes us want more and leaves us cranky when we don’t have it.

Scientific evidence has shown that sugar, in any form, depletes essential B vitamins and lowers your body’s resistance to bacteria, viruses, and yeasts. Sugar makes you irritable, hyperactive, and causes premature aging through a process called glycosylation pronounced gly ko si lay shun. And to no surprise, sugar is the number one culprit to adult-onset Type II diabetes, which is typically self-induced as a result of a life laden with sugar. At this point, the body is no longer capable of disposing of insulin properly, which becomes a serious risk factor for heart disease.

The Insulin “Roller Coaster” Ride
When you eat sugar, it enters your bloodstream all at once, instead of slowly as it would as part of a whole-food, naturally occurring meal. Insulin is then immediately secreted and shuttles the sugar away into cells within muscle or adipose tissue fat. Now that there is not enough sugar in your bloodstream, your brain senses that you are in a time of famine and sends a message to the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol.

Adrenaline releases energy from sugar stored in your liver and muscles, and cortisol begins to break down your own muscle mass into sugar like I shared earlier. This sequence of events is called the insulin – adrenaline – cortisol cycle. It’s a vicious “roller coaster” ride for your body, and the worst part is that afterwards, it leaves you feeling lethargic, cranky, and surprisingly, craving even more refined, sugary foods.

Thus, the cycle starts over again. As you can see, it’s a downward spiral to poor health and even poorer energy levels.

HYDROGENATED FATS
We have heard it said that we eat too much fat and that fat consumption has risen in the last 20 years, and we are becoming an increasingly obese nation. While the later of these statements is true, statistics have since proven the former is false. See, fat consumption has not changed what has changed is the type of fats people eat.

Today, more and more people are getting the majority of their fats from “manmade” hydrogenated fats and other harmful polyunsaturated oils such as palm and corn oil. As long as 20, 30, or 50 years ago, people ate a diet which consisted of more naturally occurring fats and oils, such as butter, coconut oil, lard, olive oil, and tallow fats from red meat and lamb.

“…fat consumption has not changed what has changed is the type of fats people eat.” Now, our diets are polluted with hydrogenated fats. These types of fats have been clearly linked to slowing our bodies’ metabolic processes and have also been shown to cause heart disease and cancer.

The reason these fats are particularly harmful to us is because polyunsaturated and hydrogenated oils have been subjected to damaging industrial processes literally restructuring them, which has rendered them toxic. Their new “trans molecular structure” has not, until recently, been incorporated into human physiology and is therefore unrecognizable to the human body. Since their introduction to our diets, just in the last century, these unhealthy oils have been linked to heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

The best examples of a polyunsaturated oil is corn, cottonseed, canola, vegetable… and any derivative of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.

Make no mistake, these toxic fats should be avoided at all costs. By avoiding sugar and hydrogenated fats, you will

Improve concentration and mental clarity along with short-term memory;
Enhance your immune system;
Slow the aging process;
Reduce fat on the abdomen area;
Eliminate future “junk-food” cravings.
The way I see it, the real problem is the food industrywhich thrives on the sales of sugar and “fake” fat-containing foods.

They have succeeded in brainwashing the public and suppressing the scientific findings that eating whole foods, which contain little to no sugar, and meats and oils, which contain naturally occurring saturated fats do not contribute to heart disease like they claim and are, in fact, a healthy way to boost your metabolism, stabilize your cholesterol levels, improve your immune system, and provide energy and structural integrity to literally every living cell in your body.

Therefore, to avoid these toxins, here’s all you do tomorrow

Daily Energy Exercise Rid Toxins from Your Life
Take about 10 minutes to check the food labels and ingredients panels on the foods in your cupboards, refrigerator, and on the counters in your kitchen.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR?
Any foods that list sugar, dextrose, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, or maltodextrin as the first, second, or third ingredient. These are typically things like soda, breakfast cereals, and white-flour products like bread. Any foods that list hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, or corn, palm, or cottonseed oils. These are typically things like processed, frozen, and nearly all deep-fried foods and even some nutrition bars and most meal replacementsprotein drinks. Not Eat-Smart, however! Make a special trip to the grocery store to pick up items to replace these harmful toxic foods.

Instead of soda, use water preferably, sugar-free Crystal Light, iced tea, or on occasion even diet soda.

Instead of breakfast cereals, use whole oats or grits.

Instead of white-flour products, use whole-wheat or soy-flour type products.

Simply instruct yourself that you WILL NOT eat deep fried foods any longer like French fries, chips, etc.. Deep-fried foods and the oils they’re cooked in have no nutritional health benefits whatsoever.

Replace your salad dressings and cooking oils with healthy oils like flaxseed oil, olive oil, sesame oil, and walnut oil.

Read your labels carefully… manufacturers are tricky about trying to hide these harmful ingredients. Now you know why!

Adding weight that is all or mostly muscle can be a tricky thing if you arent too sure how to approach it. Well just assume that most people know that to add weight to your frame you are going to need to consume more calories and to lose weight you need to consume less calories, but the process of adding muscle weight is just a tiny bit more complex than that simple equation.

When people are trying to drop pounds, they often look to eliminate empty calorie foods that are high in fats desserts, cookies, whole milk, fried foods, etc., so a simple assumption would be to gain weight by adding these things to your diet. Well you could gain all of the weight that you wanted by wolfing down bags of cookies and buckets of fried chicken, but its not going to be the type of weight gain that you are looking for.

It isnt really as difficult as it sounds, but too many people stop listening after they hear eat more food, and end up eating too much of the wrong things.

So what do you do when you are attempting to pile on muscle mass?

If youve been on the standard diet consisting of three meals, its time to start stepping up your numbers. You want to consume anywhere from four to six moderately sized meals a day. Dont get too excited, Im not suggesting that you sit down to six steak dinners a day, there are some very simple ways to get the extra calories and protein that youll need to help your muscles grow.

Restructure your three normal meals so that each one contains a good lean source of protein if it hadnt already your breakfast could be built around eggs, lunch could be chicken breast and dinner could focus on fish that will most likely add some of the necessary protein without having to do any extra work at all. For the three additional meals you can keep it super simple a meal could consist of cottage cheese and some fruit, your favorite yogurt and a couple handfuls of trail mix or if you could even have a couple peanut butter sandwiches.

Protein drinks and meal replacement shakes are also excellent ways to tack on extra high quality calories. Many people dont like to eat right before bed because it can disrupt their sleep pattern, which can also affect the rate of recovery a great way to combat this is by drinking a protein shake shortly before you turn in. The shake shouldnt overload your stomach or make you feel like youve just eaten a full meal before laying down, but it will provide just as many calories and, chances are, even more protein than a small meal. There are even some people that drink a shake before bed, then set their alarm clocks for about half way through the night to get up and have another shake before going back to sleep.

And just because youve upped your meal anti to five or six a day, that doesnt mean that you should necessarily cut out the snacks. A glass of milk and a handful of mixed nuts will add even more protein, vitamins and essential fats as will carrot or celery sticks with peanut butter or a few hard boiled eggs.

The simple fact is, no matter what your body type, even if you see yourself as a so called hard gainer If you approach your training intelligently, always using proper form and high intensity; allow your body plenty of time for recovery, and increase your calorie intake with good lean sources of protein while maintaining a well balanced diet, your muscles will grow.

There seems to be much confusion amongst trainers and trainees as to whether squats should be performed all the way down or just half way. In most gyms today, a common instruction during squats, deadlifts, and lunges as taught by many personal training organizations is not to allow the knees to travel beyond the toes. Doing so will ultimately cause the destruction of your knees! I do not agree. There are certain instances where partial range of motion ROM is indicated, but for the most part, I teach people the full squat for the following reasons

It is the most primitive movement pattern known to man; our ancestors used to perform many daily functions i.e. harvesting, gathering, hunting, cooking, eating, etc. in a full squat position.

Also, in case anyone hasn’t noticed, we spend 40 weeks in the fetal position which is basically a full squat prior to entering this world – do we come out with bad knees?

We should strive to train in full ROM for each and every exercise. The squat is no exception.

Every exercise produces stress around a joint – the body then adapts to this stress.

Cocontraction of the quadriceps, hamstrings and gastrocnemius maintains integrity around the knee joint.

Sheering and compressive forces do occur around the knee joint as opposed to only sheering forces that occur in some open kinetic chain lower body exercises, such as the leg extension; however, the large contact area of the patella with the femoral groove as knee flexion increases during the full squat helps to dissipate compressive forces.

Therefore, not only is the squat – as a closed chain exercise – considered a natural movement pattern with high functional carryover, but it is also a safe exercise if performed correctly and that includes full ROM!

Drawer tests are performed at a knee angle of 90 degrees because there is a greater amount of laxity in the knee joint at that specific angle. So, does it make sense to only go down half way where you are most vulnerable especially when greater loads can be used because you are much stronger in this partial ROM?

According to Ironman contributor, George Turner, the fulcrum moves to the knee joint in a parallel squat as opposed to the muscle belly of the quadriceps in a full squat.

Think about it, if you constantly trained in a limited ROM, the likelihood of injury increases if one day you happen to squat beyond your trained ROM.

Partial squats performed on a regular basis will decrease flexibility.

There is a low incidence of lower back pain and knee injury in Aboriginal and Oriental societies which perform full squats on a regular basis.

Even Olympic weight lifters who practice full squats have quite healthy knees compared to other athletes.

Although you may find some research that indicates full squats as potentially harmful to the knees, only one study has ever proved this to be true. However, it was performed on a skeleton – the same results do not hold true with surrounding connective tissue. On the other hand, numerous studies show the benefits of full squats.

Unfortunately, many personal training certification courses are teaching half squats as a safe version suitable for all individuals and this has now become written in stone. God forbid that you deviate from this golden rule to do something that our bodies are meant to do! Read this carefully squatting should be performed in a full ROM where the hamstrings make contact with the calves so that no light can be seen passing through your legs at the bottom position. It is okay for your knees to travel beyond the toes just do not relax the knees in the bottom position. In other words, keep the legs tight and try to stay as upright as possible throughout the exercise. So, next time some fitness instructor approaches you in the gym and advises not to go deep while squatting tell himher that they don’t know squat!

About the Author

Keith Londrie II is a recognized expert with respect to muscle building. Please stop by his web site to learn more about
the subject.

Keith E. Londrie II
infoserve mchsi.com

Shape your legs, tone your butt and build functional strength, with the Reverse Lunge. Lunges are an exceptional exercise for conditioning your lower body. They stress the muscles from a perfect angle to develop incredible shape and symmetry in your legs, thighs and butt.

Because they require balance, lunges also build neuromuscular and functional capacity – helping your body go through its daily motions and letting you pick up your children with ease.

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, want to look sleeker in shorts, or improve your athletic performance, lunges should be part of your training program.

In my opinion, the Ultimate Lunge is the Reverse Lunge. There are many types of lunges, and many ways to perform them all, but since we only have time to cover one – my choice is the reverse lunge. Here’s why

- Because you have more balance and support, it’s easy to learn and perform. Plus, you have less momentum to contend with during the exercise which provides more effective stress to the muscles and yields better results.

- It’s safer and softer on your knees because your back foot absorbs the ballistic shock of the lunge step. Contrasted to the front lunge where impact shock can transfer to the knee even if you land heel to toe.

- It creates muscular balance by initiating the movement backward as opposed to most other exercise movement patterns that take you forward and bias your musculature toward forward motion.

How To Do A Reverse Lunge Correctly

- Start facing forward, with your feet shoulder width apart, and your arms at your side.

- Step back with one leg far enough to allow your knees to bend at 90 degree angles. You can simultaneously bring your arms up to act as a slight counter balance. If you want a greater challenge, hold light weights in your hands.

- You’re in correct position at the bottom of your lunge when your front knee is directly over the ankle.

IMPORTANT – To go back to the start position, start dropping your arms and lift from the heel of your front leg. DO NOT PUSH OFF YOUR BACK LEG. This simple advice will dramatically improve the effectiveness of your reverse lunge, give you a far tighter, leaner butt and get you much better results in half the time.

Try doing reverse lunges 3 times a week on non-consecutive days. Work up to 2 sets of 10 repetitions on each leg. After a month, I think you’ll be amazed at the impact the reverse lunge will have on your physique.

Interestingly, when I made the comment that it’s easy for me to get in shape, Shaun jumped into the conversation and emphatically stated…

“It’s not easy. No way. It’s simple!”

And you know what? He was right.

It’s not easy to get into shape. To eat better. To train harder. To set a plan in place. Rather, it’s simple. It’s simple to make such small changes in your lifestyle. And as a result, create such incredibly satisfying and rewarding changes in your physique.

I told Shaun he was right. Building a better body and getting into tiptop shape isn’t easy.

What I got from our conversation was a little perspective on this subject. That is, whenever I decide I am going to get into better shape, it is easy for me because I know what to do. That’s the difference.

See, most people, when they make the decision to get into their best shape whether it’s their first time or a second, third, or forth time trying, simply don’t know what to do. For that reason, for them, it’s not easy.

“It’s simple to make such small changes in your lifestyle. And as a result, create such incredibly satisfying and rewarding changes in your physique.”As Shaun and I talked more, we found there were many other things we had in common. One of which was that we both agreed that most people tend to make this topic more complicated than it needs to be. And if people really knew how simple the changes they need to make to build a better body are, many, many more people would do it.

So, after dinner I promised Shaun I would start by sharing my personal view on building a leaner, healthier, more muscular body in our upcoming newsletter. To help others understand how each lifestyle change works togetheralong with how simple weight training, diet, and supplements really can be.

Therefore, what I’d like to do is take you through a typical day for me. Using specific examples, I’ll guide you through how I follow my own Maximum Growth Program. Basically, I’ll show you how, when, and what I eat; which supplements I use; and how I follow the exercise plan.

But before we start, there’s something I need to tell you. There are plenty of ways to gain muscle size and strength and build a head-turning body, and in no way am I proclaiming that my way is the only way. Far too many self-professed “experts” do this already! What I can honestly say is these techniques and tools are simply what have worked for meyear after yearand continue to work for countless others. And if you follow them, for at least four weeks, you will absolutely, positively achieve greater gains in strength and size and lose more bodyfat. Results you can be damn proud of. I promise.

Are you ready? Great. Let’s get started.

First, I can’t understate the importance of planning. Before I even consider anything else, I always, always make sure I have my entire day planned in advance. For me, there could be nothing more integral to my success. In fact, whenever I don’t plan my days, I notice that everything feels “out of control” the next day. And it is. Maybe this has happened to you? That’s why I always take about 15 to 20 minutes each night, before I go to bed, and plan out my next day’s workout, prepare my meals, write my most important “To-Dos,” and as corny as it sounds, pick out my clothes to wear. I can’t tell you how much time the next day this nightly ritual saves me. I’d bet over ten times.

“…whenever I don’t plan my days, I notice that everything feels “out of control” the next day.”If you’re already good at planning, then you’ll certainly agree. If not, then I’d encourage you to start tomorrow and adopt this results-producing, fantastic habit. Remember, the only thing that separates those who are successful from those who are not are habits. It’s easy to see those who follow good habits are much more likely to be successful, and those who follow haphazard, free-spirited habits, are usually less successful. You get the point.

So now let’s take a closer look at exactly how I apply these techniques and tools to my new, improved Maximum Growth Program which, by the way… has been completely updated and revised with a full 8-week Program, new diet plans, weight-training routines, and even a section which provides explanations and pictures of each exercise. It is at the printers right now, and I plan to produce only 1,000 to start. So, if you’d like to reserve your copy today, so you don’t get left behind, please call us at 1-866-688-7679 and tell whoever answers that you are a regular reader of Real SOLUTIONS and you want to reserve your copy of Volume 2 of Maximum Growth. Like I said, there will only be 1,000 copies printed, and since they are freeall we ask is a measly 5 to pay for postage and handlingI expect these will go quickly. Don’t get left behind. Call us now. The number is 1-866-688-7679. Even the call is free! Or, click here and fill out your information online Maximum Growth.

Luckily, a great deal of the planning “work” has already been done in my new book. We’ve laid out the days you should work out. Pointed out exactly which body parts to train. We’ve even planned the exact number of sets, reps, and time to rest for each workout. On top of that, we included seven full sample mealsfrom breakfast, to pre-and post-workout, to nighttime mealsso you can easily put together your daily eating plan.

Believe me, when you look at how much of the guesswork we’ve taken out of building muscle and gaining strength with the Maximum Growth Program, you’ll realize it doesn’t get much better than this. In fact, if someone had offered me a Program like this one when I first started out, I would have paid a couple of hundred dollars for it, easily.

To me, it seems no one wants to really help you like this any longer… they just want you to buy their supplement, shake your hand, say “good luck,” and send you on you way. I don’t agree with this approach. I feel it’s much more important to provide a plan, a path, and every bit of assistance I can to help you reach your goals. I honestly really care about people.

Anyway, let’s get back to how I put everything together as I follow the Maximum Growth Program to build my best body

Once I’ve planned my Weight-Training journal sheet, I move onto my nutrition plan. From the first to the last meal, including the supplements I’ll take and how much water I plan to drink. I don’t like to leave anything to chance, and as a result, I usually stay right on course each day. I’ve found the closer you follow your plan, the faster you reach your goals. There are really no two ways about it. I’ve also provided blank Daily Meal Plan Sheets here, so you can print out copies and use them to plan and write out your meals each day.

If you read through the Maximum Growth Program, you’ll notice my total calories are somewhat higher than the examples I’ve provided in The Meals section. That’s because I weigh around 220 lbs and the examples I’ve provided are for a 175-lb person. You might weigh more or less than this, so you’ll need to calculate your daily calorie and protein needs for your desired weight. Once you do that, it’s pretty easy to plan your meals.

Or, you can simply look at the daily sample meal plans we’ve provided for you. From there, you can pick and choose which meals most closely match your likenesses for particular foods and then adjust the portion sizes to meet your calorie and protein needs. If you have trouble figuring out how to do this, I encourage you to give us a call anytime, and one of our friendly, qualified fitness experts will be glad to help you out. We can be reached from 800 a.m. to 600 p.m., Monday through Friday MST. If we don’t answer your call, please leave a message, and we’ll call you back right away. Our number is 1-866-688-7679.

Now that I’ve written out the meals I plan to eat the following day, I’m about 50 done with my planning. Next I prepare the meals I am going to eat. Since tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me and I have a luncheon meeting, I plan on eating two whole-food meals and three nutrition shakes… so I’ll need to make the meals in advance. After preparing my tuna pita sandwich and putting my cooked brown rice in a Tupperware bowl, I grab the rest of my fruits, bottled water, and supplements and put them in my shoulder bag to take to work with me the next day. I always double-check my supplement case to make sure I’ve got enough supplements to last me the entire week. If you don’t have a supplement case, I’d encourage you to get one. They are pretty inexpensive and very convenient to use. You can buy a pocket case online at WebVitamins.com.

Because I usually train in the mornings, I keep most of my breakfast foods, like oatmeal and condiments like Splenda sweetener, at the office since that’s where I eat after my morning workout. I also keep a spare container of Eat-Smart my favorite meal replacement shake at the office too, so I don’t need to lug it back and forthfrom home to work and from work back to home. That can be annoying.

Now that I’ve written out my goal weights for my next workout; written out and prepared the meals I plan to eat tomorrow; made sure I’ve got the supplements I need to use, the final thing I do is prepare my clothes. Since I work out in the morning, I make sure I’ve got a comfortable T-shirt, a pair of track pants, some socks and underwear, and my tennis shoes and baseball hat laid out. Then, I pack the clothes I’ll wear at work in my gym bag. Last, I make sure I’ve got my iPod a digital headphonemusic system that helps keep my intensity up, while working out in the early morning, wallet, keys, and cell phone… all packed and ready to go. After this, I’m off to bed. It’s usually around 1000 or 1030 p.m.

“There’s nothing more refreshing, and important, than a tall glass of water first thing in the morning.”The next morning, just like I do every day, I wake up at 515 a.m. Without hesitation, before getting dressed, I head for the kitchen and pour a large glass of water. There’s nothing more refreshing, and important, than a tall glass of water first thing in the morning. Especially considering your body hasn’t had any food or liquids for about seven to eight hours. Typically, most people would make a cup of coffee at this pointto help them “get going.” But I don’t feel this way. I think coffee actually robs your body of energy, instead of really giving it to you. As you know, when you drink coffee, the increase in energy only lasts about an hour, until it wears off, leaving you feeling worse than you did before. This is called the “crash.” I hate the way this makes me feel.

That’s why I helped create and use a supplement, instead, called Energize. We developed this all-natural supplement with Dr. Mark Tallon. He is a very bright person, earning his Ph.D. in biochemistry. He even works with Olympic athletes as a nutrition consultant. Plus, he’s an IronMan triathlete himself. To say this guy is brilliant, and in great shape, is an understatement.

He formulated Energize to work with your body’s natural ability to produce safe, long-lasting energy. And it works especially well, either in the morning to really perk you up, or during the middle of the day to avoid the fatal midday “crash” after lunch. I absolutely love using it before I weight train. I find it clears my mind and cranks up my workout intensity. This is helpful when you train, like I do, at 600 in the morning!

I take two time-released tablets of Energize with my water on an empty stomach. I head back upstairs to my bedroom, get dressed… kiss my wife and kids goodbye while they’re still sleeping, grab my gym bag, and head off to the gym.

I usually arrive at the gym a few minutes before 600 and, after getting my iPod headphones on with my favorite music, I’m ready to start training by 600 a.m. sharp. Today I am going to work out my chest, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. See The Exercises section by clicking here for a detailed explanation and demonstration photos for all of the exercises I do.

Today’s weight-training workout should take no longer than my scheduled goal of 45 minutes. While it’s not my goal to always finish under my scheduled time, it is important to stay within it by a couple of minutes. After my workout, I sit down on a bench and take a couple of minutes to record my final actual reps and then run a quick glance over my goal to actual planned weights and reps for each exercise. Today everything was pretty close.

Remember, when you do your workouts, you might use less or more weight than I do. That doesn’t really matter. What matters most is that you keep a constant record of the actual weights and reps you did, and pay close attention to the time you rest between sets. This way, you’re sure to keep your intensity levels up and make the most of your time spent in the gym. I also use this time to jot down a few notes about the workout. For instance, today I repeatedly noticed how pumped my arms felt. I got a great burn, and I was very strong. In fact, I’ll need to make a note for the next time I train chest that I should increase the weights usedsince I hit a new six-rep max today! This is all very important information to record.

And this is it for the weight-training portion of my day. Pretty simple, eh? Not easy, but as you’ll see in my new book, it’s relatively simple to follow!

“…there is absolutely, positively no better way to start your day than with an intense, focused weight-training workout.”After I finish my early morning workout, it’s usually around 650 a.m. and it’s time to get into the office and focus on my nutrition. I have to tell you, though, there is absolutely, positively no better way to start your day than with an intense, focused weight-training workout. By the time I walk into my office, my mind is refreshed, and I’m ready to take on the day’s challenges.

Following the weight-training Program from Maximum Growth Volume 2 means I train with weights four days a week. I follow the calendar to the letter which is contained in the new book as well. In fact, like I said earlier, the closer I follow my plan, the faster I see results… and the greater my progress.

Oh yeah, even though this Program doesn’t suggest doing any cardio exercise, if you want to perform it, I would encourage you to do it on alternate days. On the days you don’t weight train. Or, if you have the time, you can always perform cardio after you train with weights. But remember, never, ever perform cardio before your weight-training workouts or the day after you train your legs.

By the way, there is really no need to do cardio exercise any more than three times during the week and for no more than 30 minutes at a time. Any more than this will only be harmful to your muscle-building progress.

I arrive at my office at 700 a.m., and the very first thing I do is head for the kitchento eat. But not any meal will do. Because I just worked out, my body is primed for quality nutrients to help it recover and start rebuilding new, lean muscle mass. Besides that, I haven’t eaten now for nine hours, so I’m extremely hungry too! This time is called my “open window.” My muscles will literally suck up anything I feed them during this state. That’s why it’s critical we combine our post-workout meal into a specific three-to-one ratio of carbohydrates to protein.

I start off by making an Eat-Smart meal replacement shake. I simply combine 20 oz of water into the blender, add three ice cubes and two rounded scoops of my Eat-Smart Base formula. Then, because I’m going to have my favorite post-workout Fruit Smoothie Maximum Muscle Shake, I add one Strawberry Cheesecake Flavor Enhancer packet to the blender. Now, for added carbohydrates, I add one-half cup of frozen strawberries. And to top it off, I add two scoops of our orange-flavored lean-mass-building supplement, Meta-CEL. Each serving of Meta-CEL provides an effective dose of creatine and D-pinitol, two compounds which have been shown in a recent study to increase absorption and retention of creatine within the body. The more creatine you have in the body, and the longer it stays there, the more likely you are to experience greater gains in muscle size and strength and retain it for longer. The reason I use orange is because when it’s mixed with the strawberry flavors already in the blender, it gives the shake a fruity tastea lot like one of those frozen tropical fruit smoothies you get while on vacation in Mexico or Hawaii.

While blending my special Maximum Muscle shake, I heat up a bowl of water in the microwave and stir in one-half cup of old-fashioned oats. After it’s heated up, I stir in two packets of Splenda sweetener. And now, for my “post-workout” meal, I’ve got a chilled, thick, rich nutrition shake… and a bowl of complex, heart-healthy oats… in less than a minute. That’s what I call convenient. I’ve now provided myself with the perfect three-to-one ratio of carbs to protein, which is essential for supplying my body with the precise nutrients it needs to reach my goals. This “meal” will keep me satisfied for another two and a half hours, at least. So, I take a shower, get dressed, and start my work day by 730 a.m.

In between my first and second meal, I’m continually drinking water from a large bottle I keep at my desk. It is really important to stay hydrated, especially since I just trained as well and lost a great deal of water through perspiration.

At 1000 a.m. I’m ready for my second meal. I take a quick look at my nutrition plan, and I’ve got “tuna pita sandwich, brown rice, and half an apple” written down. So, I head back to the kitchen to eat just that. I like to take paperwork back with me to read while I eat. This way I can be more efficient. With this meal, I make sure I drink two tall glasses of water as well.

I have a luncheon meeting today, so I won’t need to prepare anything in the kitchen for lunch. At 1220 p.m., my appointment arrives 10 minutes early. We head to lunch at a favorite nearby restaurant of mine in Golden, called Blue Sky. I like this place because the servers, managers, and owner know me very well. Keep this in mind the next time you go out to eat. Try to choose places where you can visit regularly and employees can begin to become familiar with your healthy eating habits. I find this helps. A lot. They don’t look at me like I’m crazy when I ask for egg whites and extra chicken, with no butter. This is important, because you don’t want to miss out on being able to socialize and have breakfast, lunch, or dinner with your family, friends, or people you work with. It’s easier to become familiar with restaurants that will happily accommodate your “healthy” eating requests. If they don’t, then I wouldn’t eat there any longer.

Today, just like most days when I visit Blue Sky, I order the Rambler Skillet. This dish consists of sliced potatoes, diced chicken breast, egg whites, topped with roasted pecans. It’s a perfect combination of complex carbs, good quality proteins, and even essential fats from the nuts. With lunch, I drink a glass of iced tea with a packet of Splenda and a glass of water as well.

About 30 minutes after lunch, I typically take another two tablets of Energize. This way, I am certain I won’t get hit by the “mid-day crash,” which no matter how hard you try, sometimes seems inevitable. I don’t always need this extra dosage of Energize, but I know I still have a lot of work to do, and I’m going to be working late. Besides that, I have several more important meetings today, and I really want to be refreshed, clear-minded, and focused for them. Energize does that for me and keeps me going strong all day.

At 300 p.m., I head for the kitchen to make an Eat-Smart nutrition shake. Only this time, I make a different flavor. See, that’s the great thing about Eat-Smart you can choose from a wide variety of flavors so you never get bored with themlike I did with regular chocolate and vanilla from other shakes I used to drink. This time I’m going to make a Cinnamon Roll flavored shake. And to get another 50 grams of carbs, I’ll add a banana to the blender while I’m mixing it up. Man, these shakes are tasty. I know I’m a little biased, but they’re almost too good if you ask me! A lot of people have emailed to tell me how much they love the flavors of Eat-Smart and that it contains such high-quality ingredients, like fiber and flaxseed oil. That makes me feel goodbecause we worked really, really hard to develop such a fantastic supplement.

As you can see, it’s important to feed your body with protein, carbohydrates, and essential fats it needs. That’s why I eat every two and half to three hours during the day.

At 530 p.m. I have what I call a “snack-meal.” It’s not really a full meal, and it’s definitely more than a snack. It’s not really a part of the Program I’ve put together for you, but I do this differently because I know I’m going to be heading home from work in about an hour to 90 minutes, and my wife Julia… well, let’s just say she’s from the South and loves to cook. So, while I don’t want to spoil her fantastic dinner, by eating too much too soon before we eat dinner, I don’t like to go home starving. My snack-meal consists of a bowl of low-fat cottage cheese, some fruit, and a overloaded spoonful of Power Butter’s peanut butter. This gives me just the right amount of protein, carbs, and some healthy fats. This type of meal will also digest more slowly and therefore I won’t feel as hungry when I get home, which keeps me from overeating which, if you ever come over to visit and eat at my house, is easy to do, with my wife’s glorious cooking.

I usually arrive home near 700 p.m. That’s when we have dinner as a family. Although my wife is a great cook, she is also very cautious of how our food is prepared. While she doesn’t douse our foods in butters and unhealthy oils, she uses plenty of spices and healthy oils to really make our food taste great! Plus, one of our goals as parents is to help our children learn healthy eating habits, early on, so they can live healthier lives too. Julia always makes sure protein is the center of our meals, whether it’s chicken, fresh fish, or red meat. Tonight she has prepared her famous tuna steaks with fat-free wassabi mayonnaise. A side dish of wild brown rice and asparagus accompanied the meal. For more of Julia’s meals, you can read her regular column, by subscribing to our Real SOLUTIONS magazine, or find them in The Lean System Nutrition Guide.

Finally, at 930 p.m., I have another Eat-Smart shake. Only this time, I use less water than the label recommends, which makes it into a creamy pudding. I use the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup flavor. This is my absolute favorite flavor, only to a close second Cookies and Cream. After I mix it up with a spoon in a bowl, I let it sit in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Voila! It’s instant dessert, only I know it’s good for me.

After I finish my Eat-Smart pudding nutrition shake, I drink another serving of Meta-CEL, mixed with eight ounces of water. I always use a second serving of Meta-CEL on the days when I weight train because I know my body needs it and will use it!. Now, with my Meta-CEL, I take a multivitamin and mineral formula it’s made by GNC, called Mega Men.

“…there is nothing overcomplicated about my workouts, my eating habits, nor the supplements I take. There is no magic.”Now, it’s close to 1000 p.m., so I sit down and review my notes from today and start my planning for tomorrow. The next day, however, I won’t be weight training, so I only have to plan out my meals.

And that’s it! That’s how I put all of the basic pieces together to build the best body my genetics will allow. It’s pretty simple, and best of all, it’s worked well for me, and I’m certain it can work for you too!

As you can plainly see, there is nothing overcomplicated about my workouts, my eating habits, nor the supplements I take. There is no magic. To be honest, I’d say most people make it way more complex than it needs to be. Now, make no mistake about it, I’m not saying it’s easy. Rather, I believe it’s simple. It’s simple to follow a planas long as you’ve carefully thought it out. The most important thing is to be consistent and treat each day as another step closer toward reaching your ultimate goals. Put enough steps together and you will not only begin to feel better about yourself and the changes you’re capable of making, but you’ll certainly look better too… as you steadily increase your body’s ability to build muscle size, strength, personal power, and confidence.

How do I overcome urges to eat?

To answer this question, we first need to understand why we eat in the first place. It’s probably safe to say, you likely already know the answers to that question. We eat for energy. We eat to stay alive. We eat to nourish our bodies. And, we eat to preserve our health. There are social reasons toosuch as a business lunch or a dinner party with friends. There are cultural reasonssuch as the Fourth of July BBQ and Thanksgiving dinner. And, of course, we can never forget to eat a piece or two of the traditional birthday cake during a celebration. Eating is even focused around religious observationslike Easter dinner, Passover, or a Bar-mitzvah. And, for some of us, eating plays a role in our romantic activities as wellthe infamous late night dinner date or breakfast in bed.

But why do we sometimes feel the overwhelming magnetic attraction to stop by the local fast-food joint and grab a double-cheeseburger and fries? Why do we feel the need to super size our meals when we’re depressed or have had a bad day? Where does the desire to gulp down every last bite of a restaurant mealwhose portions are grossly oversizedcome from? Why do we feel the sudden urge to raid the refrigerator late at nightlooking for anything fattening or sweet? And why do we feel the need to mindlessly munch on “snack-foods” from the nearby vending machine during the middle of a workday… when we’re not even really hungry?

If you’ve ever experienced any of these common scenarios, you’re not alone. Thousands of people every day, including me, battle with these sudden “urges” to eat. The truth is, in most cases, these desires are driven primarily by our emotions and, in some instances, physiologically, by our brain chemicals. Either way, the two are intertwined more closely than some people and scientists think.

Typically, “urges” to eat are first driven by our emotions. Emotions so strong, they can easily override our common sense or desire to do the “right thing”that is, to eat healthy, nutritious, moderately low-fat foods. So, why, when we are working so hard to improve ourselves and striving to build a better body do we allow ourselves to fall into these “mindless” eating traps? Eating like we are… well… out of control. We are supposed to be different than that, aren’t we? We’re supposed to be perfect, right? We’re supposed to be healthy and always eating only what’s on our prescribed list of “approved” foods, isn’t that correct? Well, I’ve got some news for you…

“Once we can accept that we are not perfect and determine how to overcome those emotional “urges” when they do arise… we can keep ourselves on the right path to a lean, strong, healthy body.”We are not perfect. We’re not always going to eat the right foods! We are going to make mistakes. You know it, and I know it. The good news is, once we’ve become aware of that fact, we can begin to accept that we are not perfect and determine how to overcome those emotional “urges” when they do arise… and keep ourselves on the right path to a lean, strong, healthy body.

Eating Success Strategies
Now, let me share with you what I believe is the most powerful strategy you can use to help overcome any challenges that typically arise or are associated with “emotional eating.”

From here on out, I will refer to these as “Eating for Success strategies.” Here are the strategies to help you overcome your emotional urges to eat

THE PSYCHOLOGY FACTORRECOGNIZE THE EMOTIONS THAT DRIVES YOU TO EAT
We eat for a range of different reasons, besides trying to build muscle and slash bodyfat.

Of course, we already know the importance of eating smart. So why do we sometimes crave “bad” foods? Overeat? Or eat when we’re not even hungry? The answer to those questions is not so simple. However, as the latest science has shown, unless you’re one of the small percentage of people who have a genetic tendency to produce higher-than-normal amounts of the “hunger” hormone, ghrelin or the newest appetite-stimulating gene, recently discovered in France, called GAD2, there’s an overwhelming amount of evidence to support the fact that your personal psychology plays a prominent role in determining when, and how much, you “feel” the need to eat.

See, our ability to control our eating has a great deal to do with our emotionsour personal psychology. Or, what I call “emotional triggers.” It can be extremely helpful to become very aware of the psychological factors that may be negatively influencing your eating habits. Awareness is the first and most important step. Maybe we eat in response to different emotions. We get upset or angry at our spouse or have a dispute with a co-worker. We get depressed when a loved one passes or a cherished relationship ends. We’re bored at night or during the weekends or lonely and living alone and it’s just you and the fridge!. It’s as if food is supposed to suddenly “fix” these feelings or solve your problems.

Not a FAT chance! As you know, if you’ve experienced any one of these emotional triggers, eating food in response to them DOES NOT make you feel any better afterward. In fact, oftentimes you feel downright guilty because you know you’re more “in control” than what you displayed by eating so mindlessly. And more often than not, you’re angry at yourself too, because you likely ate an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk ice cream, topped it off with a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats, and set yourself back on your course to your new body.

AWARENESS IS THE KEY
To minimize emotional triggers that cause you to crave unhealthy foods, I suggest you keep a food journal, writing down everything you eat each day for about one week. When you eat uncontrollably, or mindlessly, simply write down how you were feeling when the urge to eat hit.

“To minimize emotional triggers that cause you to crave unhealthy foods, I suggest you keep a food journal…”Once you become aware of an emotional issue that repeatedly causes you to go into a tailspin of eating mindlessly, you can actually turn that awareness into action to control the issue. See, every personal insight you can collect then becomes an opportunity for a careful choice in the future. And a mindful, careful choice is the key to gaining control over your urges to eat, and thus, instead of eating “comfort foods,” you can make the right decisionssmarter decisionswhen it comes to maintaining balanced, healthy food choices.

By understanding that awareness of when and how your particular emotional responses are triggered, you’ll quickly discover the reasons for many of your choices in the past. And possibly more importantly, you’ll gain an appreciation for how your past choices may have led to current, sometimes careless eating habits. In other words, you’ll learn when poor eating habits derailed your progress in achieving your physique development goals and how they may have been better dealt with, more wisely and more consciously.

HOW TO OVERCOME EMOTIONAL EATING
So, now we’ve come to the 64,000 question How should you respond to those sudden, uncontrollable urges to eat? Well, let’s start with some very effective preventative measures… strategies I’ve used for some 15 years now to keep me on the right path to a better body.

Eat smart. Not less. Try to consume five to six protein- and carbohydrate-balanced meals each day. It amazes me how many times I’ve given out this advice, yet at the same time, I find it’s continually overlooked. Besides the scientific fact that by eating small meals throughout the day, you can keep brain chemicals i.e., hunger hormones and insulin along with blood sugar levels even, in doing so, you will undoubtedly suppress those uncontrollable emotional hunger cravings.

Also, cutting calories, or eliminating food groups altogether, such as all carbohydrates or all fats recommendations often found in traditional diets, is the absolute WORST thing you can do. Limiting calories andor food tells your mind that you’re depriving yourself… and shortly thereafter, your body will crave those forbidden foods. In essence, you’re more likely to psychologically “want” to eat them and, consequently, more likely to binge on them. That’s besides the fact that once you reintroduce them into your diet, you’ll easily put back any pounds you lost.

“…cutting calories, or eliminating food groups altogether, such as all carbohydrates or all fats recommendations often found in traditional diets, is the absolute WORST thing you can do.”Research shows that by consuming five to six protein- and carbohydrate-balanced meals each dayeating every two to three hours while you’re awakeis the optimal way to keep your body in a fat-burning mode, supply your muscle tissue with plenty of the nutrients it needs to rebuild itself, and defer any hunger cravings that could otherwise arise. One great way to achieve this is by using a meal replacement. These powders are convenient and provide your body with all of the essential nutrients of a whole-food meal without all of the hassle of shopping, preparing, cooking, eating, and cleaning up after a regular meal. Think of meal-replacement protein shakes as fast food for the 21st century. They are extremely convenient and work exceptionally well to fulfill your daily nutritional needs.

My favorite meal replacementprotein supplement is called Eat-Smart. I helped to create Eat-Smart, and it’s as delicious as it is nutritious. Eat-Smart contains healthy, whole-food ingredients and absolutely no bad stuff like fructose, hydrogenated oils, or aspartame. The best part might well be that you can choose from “dessert-like” flavors. If you’d like to learn more about Eat-Smart, please visit www.EatSmartMRP.com.

Make better bad choices if it comes to that!
Here’s an example whenever you get caught on a three-hour plane flight, and you weren’t prepared leaving your proteinnutrition bar or RTD at homehey! I’m just as guiltyand your only choice is the airline’s mystery meat sandwich… as crazy as it sounds, eat what the airplane serves you. Now, before you think I’m crazy, here’s what I mean by making a “better bad choice”…

In the above scenario, you’re faced with literally NOTHING in your stomach for three or maybe four hours. Then, there’s the strong likelihood that once you land and retrieve your luggage, you’ll make a B-line for the nearest fast-food joint and gobble down EVERYTHING in sight.

That’s clearly not what you want!

So, to keep this from happening, simply eat what the airlines offers you; however, here’s what I’d suggest to make it truly a “better” bad choice drink water or a diet soda, take half the bread off of the sandwich, don’t spread on the mayonnaise, and don’t even look at that little slice of cheesecake or cookie served on the side. Now, believe it or not, in that instance, by at least eating SOMETHING halfway nutritious, you’ve just made a better choice. This goes for having a night out e.g., dinner and drinks with your friends. Instead of gulping down two or three beers, have a glass a wine. Instead of chomping down on the bowl of deep-fried tortilla chips in front of you, ask the server for some plain corn tortillas, and dip them in the salsa. Instead of allowing the restaurant cooks to douse your vegetables in butter, tell the server you want them steamed with no butter!. And last, go for the low-fat or nonfat dressings if you can when you order your salad.

Making “better bad choices” like these is really as simple as that. And, once you begin to put this strategy into practice, you’ll quickly see how easy it is to follow through, no matter what your circumstances. Plus, you’ll feel much more in control.
Plan and prepare your meals in advance.
If you fail to plan, you might as well plan to fail. Seriously. While I recognize that most of us are too busy to prepare healthy, low-fat, nutrient-rich foods every daysix times a day I’m included here!don’t make the mistake so many others make, which is to plan their workouts but eat “accidentally.” If you fail to follow a proven nutrition strategy, your chances of building a better body are pretty much slim to none.

One possible solution I’ve used over the years with great success is for my wife and I to prepare our meals for the week on Sunday night and then store them and freeze the rest. Cooking in larger quantities will take the pressure off of you having to shop, cook, prepare, and clean-up after several meals throughout the week. Plus, as a bonus, by shopping like this, you’ll likely save more money on groceries too.

In addition, by being more prepared throughout the week, you won’t have to “think” about what you’re going to eat or how you’re going to get your food… you only have to consider when to eat it. It’s a simple solution to a complex problem that many, many people suffer from each and every day. It’s a shame to see so many people put in such hard work at the gym and then follow a haphazard eating pattern. Being prepared with healthy, nutritious meals will ensure you’re not the guy you see every day standing by the break-room vending machine, slamming in 50 cents to get his daily lunchtime candy bar. Following this strategy, you won’t look and feel like him either.

PUTTING THEM INTO PRACTICE
Now it’s time for you to get to work. That means, it’s time for you to take these THREE success strategies I’ve described and put them into your daily practice.

Remember, all successes and failures in life are based on habit. Those who are unsuccessful have the EXACT same biological make-up as those who are successful. The only difference is, successful people follow successful habits, and unsuccessful people follow unsuccessful habits. It’s really as simple as that.

My hope is this exercise has enabled you to identify a number of useful, actionable, and motivating strategies for creating your own success… so you can now overcome any emotional eating habits you might have had and stay on the right path to building your absolute best body!