Is Cardio The Solution to Lost Weight?

Today is the first unofficial work day of the year 2009. I'm sure a lot of people are panicking about their weight gain over the holiday season. The gym floor is packed. All cardio machines (treadmills, elliptical trainers, bikes, stairmasters, step climbers) are taken with 30-minute limits.

If you think that time spent on those cardio machines alone can help you lose weight and get the six pack abs, you're grossly wrong, wrong, wrong!!

In fact, far too many (particularly overweight people) overdo the cardio that may cause damage than good.

The following is a list of 14 tips from two famous trainer, Craig Ballantyne and Vince DelMonte, that cardio is not the be all and end all of exercise for fat loss. Take note if you (or anyone you know) have at least one or more of the 14 signs that you're doing too much cardio.

Typicall males can get down to 10% body fat and females 16% body fat with proper nutrition and weight training alone. Cardio is not needed until you need to strip the last few pounds off.

#1 - You have to spend 5 minutes before your workout flipping through all the magazines in the gym to find one you haven’t read before.

#2 - You know the other cardio addicts on the machines beside you (that you talk to everyday) better than you know your own friends.

#3 - You know exactly how many calories you burn per minute on every machine in the gym. (And you use that information to justify every calorie you eat.)

#4 - You simply hate doing it and dread your workouts more than a trip to the dentist.

#5 - The only thing you are losing is precious time - and not belly fat.

#6 - You go to the gym to watch your favorite television shows while doing cardio.

#7 - You’re getting overuse injuries from repetitive motion because you keep doing the same activity over and over again everyday.

#8 - You do cardio with your cell phone.

#9 - You calves are bigger than your biceps.

#10 - You can actually tell the difference between Gatorade and Powerade.

#11 - You asked for a water belt for Christmas.

#12 - You can recognize the members in your gym by the sounds of their breathing.

#13 - Your 8KG iPod is not large enough to store all your workout music.

#14 - You look the exact same as last month.

(Credits: Craig Ballantyne, Vince Delmonte)

Free Download - The Dark Side of Cardio and Sample Fat Burning Workout



"The Body Fat Solution" Book Review

Reviewed by Kelly Jadon on Tom Venuto's new book The Body Fat Solution

Tom Venuto has a fearless reputation as a man who is a fat loss expert and a natural, steroid-free bodybuilder. Since 1990, he has trained hundreds of individuals, and graduated 600 plus people from his nationally known 12-week coaching program, which was the base for his highly successful ebook Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle.

The Body Fat Solution provides solutions for regular people who live with stress, a shortage of time, emotional eating habits, and who lack motivation. Venuto presents a simple five-part formula which works for millions of people and encompasses a total-life approach addressing physical, mental, emotional, and social weight loss needs. The book aims to help the reader find and address the cause of his or her obesity, then eliminate it.

Venuto offers explanations for why we believe weight loss and body fat myths:

You can eat as much as you want and still lose weight.

Overweight people have a slower metabolism than thin people.

Some people are diet-resistant and can't lose weight.

Your genetics are why you are overweight.

Dietary fat makes you gain body fat.

Carbs make you fat.

Dietary changes for health and weight loss are one and the same.

Insulin resistance causes obesity.

Venuto makes an extraordinary statement, "The real secret of success is to understand and intentionally use the power of your unconscious mind. It's the key to the body of your dreams and everything else you want in life." He backs this truth up with current research into the unconscious mind and shows the reader how to overcome negative mindsets which have prevented weight loss. As a reviewer, I believe that this is key. The best weight loss books now show the importance of the mind in relation to physical well being.

Venuto also covers nutrition, calories, the metabolic rate, various forms of exercise including the importance of weight training. Several pages of photos demonstrate proper form for exercises. An interesting chapter validates the necessity of having a positive social network of support.

In "Keeping Score and Staying on Track," Venuto provides means for tracking fat loss and charting progress. Near the end of weight loss, fat burners sometimes plateau and weight loss stops. Venuto know the answers to these problems and lets the reader know how to kick-start it again.

The Body Fat Solution also contains an appendix of recommended foods (many) which gives the calorie count, protein, carb, fat, and fiber break down per serving. Most of these foods are natural--recipes not included--but can be located on the author's website.

Through reading and implementing The Body Fat Solution, the reader will be able to:

Promote successful thinking

Stop any bingeing and self-sabotaging behavior

Lose Fat

Increase Muscle

Eat delicious foods

Become motivated

Quit dieting

Increase metabolism

Break the fat loss plateau and lose those last few pounds

Develop a positive social network

The Body Fat Solution is a book written by a man who has the body to prove it. He's put his life into the writing of this book--noting important tips from the gym which do make a difference between those who lose and those who don't. Venuto is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA); he has also won several titles as a natural bodybuilder, including: Natural Mid Atlantic States and the NPC Natural Eastern Classic. Venuto has also placed as runner-up at the Mr. Natural USA and The Natural North American championships.

Eat Less Now To Pig Out Later?

A guest article contribution from Tom Venuto, CSCS, fat loss expert and author of the #1 best-selling e-Book, Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.

Suppose you’re on a diet and you have a banquet or a holiday party coming up. You’re expecting a big meal to be served for dinner, and there will be open bar with lots and lots of “party snacks.” You’re not sure if there will be any healthy food there, but you are sure that you’re going to be in a festive, partying mood! What should you do? Should you cut back on your food earlier in the day to make room for the big feast?

What I’ve just described is commonly known as "banking calories," which is analogous to saving calories like money because you're going to consume more later, and it’s a very common practice among dieters. If you’re really serious about your diet and fitness goals however, then the answer is no, you should NOT “bank calories! Here's why and here's what you should do instead:

First of all, if you're being really honest with yourself, you have to agree that there's almost always something healthy to eat at any gathering. You know those tables you see at holiday parties that are covered with yards of chips, dips, pretzels, cookies, salami, candies, cheese, punch, liquor, and a seemingly endless assortment of other goodies? Well, did you also notice that there's usually a tray full of carrot sticks, cauliflower, celery, fruit, turkey breast and other healthy snacks too?

No matter where you are, you always have options, so make the best choice you can based on whatever your options are. If nothing else, you can choose to eat a small portion of "party foods" rather than a huge portion, thereby obeying the law of calorie balance.

If you skip meals or eat less earlier in the day to bank calories for a big feast at night, you are thinking only in terms of calories, but you’re depriving yourself of the valuable nutrition you need all day long in terms of protein (amino acids), carbohydrates, essential fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that come from healthy food, as well as the small frequent meals required to stoke the furnace of your metabolism.

Not only that, but eating less early in the day in anticipation for overeating later is more likely to increase your appetite, causing you to binge or eat much more than you thought you would at night when the banquet does arrive.

Eating healthy food earlier in the day is likely to fill you up and you'll be less likely to overeat in the evening. High fiber foods, healthy fats and especially lean protein, tend to suppress your appetite the most.

I don’t like the concept of "banking calories." Your body just doesn't work that way - it tends to seek equilibrium by adjusting your appetite to the point where you consume the same total amount of calories in the end anyway.

Even if it worked the way you wanted it to, why would you eat less (starve) in an attempt to burn more fat, then overeat (binge) and put the fat right back on? Why allow yourself to put on fat in the first place?

A starving and bingeing pattern will almost certainly cause more damage than an occasional oversize meal. Some dieticians might even say that this kind of behavior borders on disordered eating.

A better approach is to stay on your regular menu of healthy foods and small meals through the entire day - business as usual - and then go ahead and treat yourself to a "cheat meal," but sure to keep your portions small.

It should be a big relief to know that on special occasions, whether it's a party, restaurant meal, banquet or holiday dinner, you can eat whatever you want with little or no ill effect on body composition, as long as you respect the law of calorie balance. However, you CANNOT starve and binge and expect not to reap negative consequences.

To burn fat and be healthy, you don't have to be a "party pooper" or completely deny yourself of foods you enjoy, but you do need to have the discipline to stick with your regular meal plan most of the time and control your portion sizes all of the time.

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide.