Positively Fit

Editor's Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you.


There's stuff you know.


Then there's stuff you don't know.

But the key to success in anything is the discovery of one other variable:

The things you don't know you don't know.

Think about that.

So many people ask me questions like...

-- How can I get rid of my stubborn body fat?


-- How fast can I do it?


-- What's the best diet plan for me?

These are good questions, don't get me wrong.

But there are at least 10 questions most people never know to ask.


It's the stuff they didn't know they didn't know... make sense?


Today we'll cover 3 of the 10...

HIDDEN QUESTION 1: "What's The Best Dietary-Fat To Eat To Get Rid Of Bodyfat?"

Sounds nutty, doesn't it?


The media loves to deceive you when it comes to dietary fats... and I'm here to set the record straight:

You absolutely must consume dietary fat in order to burn-off your bodyfat.

There's an old saying: "Fat burns...but in the presence of dietary-fat."


It's true.


There are actually two "Best Fats" you should be eating:


Coconut Oil


CLA


Coconut oil is ideal to cook with. Use that in place of all the starchy foods you may be eating. You'll get leaner faster... and you'll be a ton more healthy too.


Coconut oil keeps you satisfied longer, lubricates your joints, and yes... actually helps you get rid of stubborn body fat.

Use 1 tablespoon per 50 lbs per day, but be sure to decrease your starchy carbs (breads, rice, potatoes, etc.)


CLA is a form of (gasp!) transfat... but it's a healthy form that helps your body get rid of body fat. You can only get it in supplement-form... well, that's the best way.

I personally take 4 grams per day. Jarrow is my favorite brand. You can get it at most health food stores.


I cover several other fats you need to eat in my video and book, found here:

http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/go/Msfit31 <-- Click-Here


HIDDEN QUESTION 2: "Why Is Cardio Bad For Me?"


Okay... that's an over-statement. It's not 'bad' for you... it's just not nearly as 'good' for you as the media and magazines want you to believe.


Especially if you do it the way they suggest: Too long, too frequently.


Do it the way I suggest and watch what happens.


First, spend 80% of your exercise time doing 'resistance' training, not cardio... but rest very brief between sets.


My newest update to "7 Minute Muscle" is called "7 Minute Body". It combines both "7 Minute Muscle" and an additional 100 or so pages of in-home ONLY workouts.


That way you can train in the gym... or in your home... and get it done in 7 to 14 minutes a day. Done!


You will be shaping your body and burning-off some major calories at the same time... all without boring cardio.


Then when you "do" cardio, do it the way I detail in "7 Minute Body"... use the 9-minute GXP Cardio Workout.


Add simple walking to this several days a week and your cardio is set.

GXP works because it is progressive and does not over-tax the recovery system. You warm up, then hit about 85% of your max effort, then cool down.


But the key is 'when' to do it... and that's covered in my book.


I still enjoy sitting on my bike and watching TV, but I do that just to burn-off those last bits of bodyfat. Most of you do not need to do this.

It's a waste of time for the masses... but resistance training is not.


Oh, one more thing: Runners have a far higher degree of heart attacks than non-runners. So cardio 'can' be bad for you if you over-do it.


NOTE: You can pick up "7 Minute Body" at 77% off... but only if you get EODD...


More here: http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/go/Msfit31 <-- Click-Here


HIDDEN QUESTION 3: "How Does Pizza Help Me Shed Body fat?"


Sounds like a dream, doesn't it?

Think again.


My dietary plan not only "lets" you eat pizza (or whatever your favorite foods might be) every week, several times a week... it DEMANDS that you do it.


What the.... ?


Yep. Here's why.


First, I have you eat less on certain days and certain times. If done the way I suggest your metabolism (the rate you use fat, energy, etc.) will not slow down that much.


Then... at a specific time... boom! You eat a lot more food... and the best way to do this is eating your favorite foods.


First, they usually have more calories.. duh! Second, you'll ENJOY the freakin' process! Most "diets" fail because people hate them... too restrictive.


So I created my System from the ground up to ensure I never got bored with my eating... and the extra cals from pizza (or my favorite... Mexican... or Key Lime Pie... yum) actually boosts my metabolism sky-high.


Here's an example:


Last week I ate the normal Every Other Day Diet-way... for me it's the "Extreme Plan" (there are 4 Plans, each for different goals.)


So, after several days of lower-cal, lower-carb eating, I ate about 5000 calories of Mexican food (so good!) But the TIMING is crucial. You just can wing it. Don't worry... I tell you exactly when to do it.


The next morning I saw more of my abs.


I went back to EODD-style eating, which I love btw... and then later had some Key Lime Pie... and what do you know? Leaner the next day.


Now I'm doing this as I "peak" -- I have to be in top shape in December. The only time I stop this is 4 weeks prior to a photo shoot... but unless you want to be 5% body fat (and you probably do not) you never have to stop it.


Works like a charm.


Watch this and find out why:


http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/go/Msfit31 <-- Click-Here

Yours In Fitness,




Monica


P.S. Special freebie to those who watch my entire presentation on the page above... very nice... : )

By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

You may have heard (or, heh, realized), that it's more difficult for women to lose fat than men. Immediately most people think it must be estrogen or hormonal issues. But perhaps the biggest factor is NOT hormones, but the simple fact that women are usually smaller and lighter than men.


When you have a smaller body, you have lower calorie needs. When you have lower calorie needs, your relative deficit (20%, 30% etc) gives you a smaller absolute deficit and therefore you lose fat more slowly than someone who is larger and can create a large deficit more easily.

For example, if my TDEE is 3300 calories a day (I’m 5' 8" and moderately to very active), then a 20% deficit is 660 calories, which brings me to 2640 calories a day. On paper, that will give me about 1.3 lbs of wt loss per week, rather painlessly, I might add.


If I bumped my calorie burn up or decreased my intake by another 340 a day, that's enough to give me a 2 lbs per week wt loss.


That's hardly a starvation diet (Ahhh, the joys of being a man). For smaller women, the math equation is very different.

If your total daily energy expenditure is only 1970 calories, even at a VERY high exercise level, then a 20% deficit for you is only 394 calories which would put you at 1576 calories a day for (on paper) only 8/10th of a lb of fat loss/wk.


If you pursued your plan to take a more aggressive calorie deficit of 30%, that puts you at a 591 calorie deficit which would now drop you down to only 1382 calories/day.


That's starting to get fairly low in calories. However, you would still have a fairly small calorie deficit. In fact, I would get to eat almost twice as many calories as you and I'd still get almost twice the weekly rate of fat loss!


What this all means is that women who are petite or have a small body size are going to lose fat more slowly than larger women and much more slowly than men, so you cannot compare yourself to them.


It's great to be inspired by our success stories, but if you're looking for someone to model yourself after, choose one of our success stories of someone your body size and wt, rather than the folks who started 100 lbs overweight and were therefore easily dropping 3 lbs a week.


ONE POUND a week of fat loss is much more in line with a realistic goal for someone of a smaller body size. Overweight people can lose it faster. The best thing you can do is to be extremely consistent with your nutrition over time.


Suggestion #1: Weigh and measure all your food any time you feel you are stuck at a plateau, just to be sure. When your calorie expenditure is on the low side, you don't have much margin for error.


Suggestion #2: Take your body comp measurements with a grain of salt, especially if you are using Bioelectric Impedance Analysis (BIA) scales (they are a bit wonky) and remember that body comp testing is seldom perfect. Pay attention to your circumference measurements, how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror and in photos as well.


Suggestion #3: You might actually want to take fewer refeeds - once a week instead of every 4th day, or even just once every 10-14 days, so you can get a larger weekly deficit.


Suggestion #4: You may want to take 2 or 3 of your long cardio sessions on the treadmill and switch them to intense intervals or ANY other type of activity that has potential to burn more than 362 calories for an hour's investment of time, or perhaps that equivalent calorie burn in less time. No need to add more days of cardio or more time - get the most out of the time you are already spending.


Suggestion #5: If you do intervals, don't make the workout too brief (ignore the advertisements for those "4 minute miracle" workouts, etc.), or you may burn fewer calories than you were before! In fact, you might even try the method where you do HIIT
for 15-20 min, then continue for another 30-40 at slow to medium intensity. Increasing total calories burned should be your focus.

Dropping only ONE pound per week (or less) may seem excruciatingly slow, but it's actually the same type of thing I do. As a bodybuilder, I go from lean to extremely lean when I diet and I don't expect more than a pound a week during contest cuts.

You are in a similar situation, even if not competing. Even if you get a half a pound a week fat loss, if you get that progress every week, that’s what you’re looking for - steady progress – even if slow.


It's entirely possible that you HAVE been making progress, only very slowly. With the way water weight and glycogen levels can fluctuate (and lean mass may increase), a half a pound or pound fat loss in a week could have been easily masked... and therefore, missed. That's one of the drawbacks of going by the scale alone.