Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category

4
August

Fat Burning Foods Myth

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Read more about Simple Nutrition

I have to admit something…I am going to upset a few of my good
friends when I crush this nutrition myth. But if I have to
sacrifice myself in order to help you out, then that’s what I have
to do.

So here’s the final (and most ridiculous) nutrition myth…

The Myth – Fat Burning Foods Exist

This. Is. Wrong.

Fat burning foods are the “unicorns” of the nutrition world.

They do not exist.

And when you think about it, the term doesn’t make sense.

How can a food cause you to burn fat?

It can’t.

Foods GIVE you energy.

They don’t cause you to burn fat.

When you eat food, the hormonal changes in your body SLOW fat
burning, they don’t speed it up – no matter what you eat!

Listen, the experts mean well.

They want to show you a list of foods that will help you with fat
loss, but it is a myth that “fat burning foods” exist.

And yes, they are right that whole, natural foods such as chicken
breasts, eggs, nuts, fruits, and vegetables all help you lose fat by
controlling your appetite and by not causing you to gain fat, but
NOT ONE of those ingredients actually burns fat.

Now some might argue that eating hot peppers or caffeine or even
green tea can burn fat, but do you seriously think that eating those
foods is even 1/1000th as effective as a workout?

They aren’t.

Sorry.

Instead, keep your nutrition SIMPLE. Focus on whole, natural foods
and limit high-calorie, high-sugar foods to just a couple of treats
per week. Combine that with your favorite Turbulence Training
workouts and you’ll lose fat fast.

1
August

Two Fat Loss Nutrition Myths

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Read more about Simple Nutrition

Ready to crush some nutrition myths?

I get extreme nutrition questions all the time. In fact, just
yesterday I was asked about whether it was bad to eat carbohydrates
and protein at the same time. I can’t stand that type of obsessive-
compulsive thinking. There’s no reason to be worried about that kind
of tiny detail.

So here are two nutrition myths I crushed while down in California
hanging out with friends and celebrating my buddy Bedros Keuilian’s
birthday down over the weekend. (By the way, by ignoring these
myths, I ate amazing meals and still didn’t gain any fat!)

Myth #1) You can’t eat late at night

I blew that one out of the water on the first night I arrived. My
flight from Toronto to Orange County was at 6pm Thursday. I ate
before I went to the airport, and then aside from a few almonds on
the plane, I didn’t eat until I arrived at 8pm California time.

So that’s 5 hours past my normal dinner time.

But “nutrition experts” are going to tell me I can’t eat now?

They are going to send me to bed without any supper?

Who do they think they are, some kind of evil villain from a Mother
Goose nursery rhyme?

Some type of wicked step-mother nutrition witch, or something?

Well, I’ll have my dinner whenever I want, thank you very much. And
if that means eating at 9pm, then that’s when I’ll eat.

The bottom line: It’s not WHEN you eat, it’s HOW MUCH you eat.

By the way, just to horrify these so-called nutrition experts even
more, I even ordered a pizza when I ate at 9pm last Thursday. Then
again, I ate dinner with Mr. Cheat Diet, Joel Marion…

Myth #2) You must use protein shakes if you want to lose fat/gain
muscle

Survey says, “Wrong!”

There has never been a scientific study showing that you’ll build
muscle or burn fat better if you eat more than 1.8 grams of protein
per kilogram of bodyweight.

That translates to LESS than one gram of protein per pound of body
weight.

So yes, it’s fine to round up to one gram per pound, BUT that ONLY
works if you are relatively lean.

If you are more than 20% fat, you do NOT need anywhere near one
gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Let’s say you’re a 175 pound guy or a 145 pound woman with 20% fat.

At most, you’ll need one gram per pound of LEAN body mass (that’s
your total weight minus your fat weight).

So our man would need 140 grams of protein and our female would
need 115 grams of protein per day.

That is SO EASY to get through REAL FOOD that you don’t need to
suck down the “swill” that nutrition stores sell you (aka – protein
powder).

Just check out how much protein you get from REAL food:

* One cup of any dairy product = 8-10 grams of protein
* One ounce of meat = 7-10 grams of protein
* One ounce of fish = 6 grams of protein
* One egg = 7 grams of protein
* One cup of kidney beans or black beans = 15 grams of protein
* One tbspn peanut butter = 4 grams of protein
* One slice of bread = 5 grams of protein (!)

So you see, you don’t need bad-tasting powders when you can eat
real, delicious foods for all your protein needs.

Instead, keep your nutrition SIMPLE. Focus on whole, natural foods
and limit high-calorie, high-sugar foods to just a couple of treats
per week. Combine that with your favorite Turbulence Training
workouts and you’ll lose fat fast.

29
July

Fruit Makes You Fat?

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Read more about Simple Nutrition

Time to crush 2 more nutrition myths and prove to you that you can
eat your favorite foods while losing fat.

Nutrition Myth #1 – Fruit Makes You Fat

This. Is. Ridiculous.

No one, and I repeat, NO ONE is fat because they eat too much fruit.

Let’s clear things up. Yes, fruit contains sugar. But fruit also
contains fiber and water and fills you up for just a few calories.

Check out this calorie chart of our favorite fruits:

* 1 cup of cherries = 75 calories
* 1 medium apple = 75 calories
* 1 medium banana = 100 calories
* 1 cup blueberries = 80 calories
* 1 date = 25 calories
* 1 grapefruit = 80-100 calories
* 1 orange = 60 calories
* 1 peach = 40 calories
* 1 cup pineapple = 65 calories
* 1 cup strawberries = 45 calories
* 1 cup watermelon = 50 calories

So seriously, let’s just say you ate that entire list…you’re still
only at about 750 calories.

Compare that to these common foods – the ones that really make us
fat.

* Grande Iced Caffe Mocha = 200 calories
* Grande Caramel Frappuccino = 430 calories
* Starbucks Low Fat Blueberry Muffin = 430 calories (only 1g fiber!)
* Plain Bagel = 300 calories (2g fiber – whoop-de-doo!)

You see my point? And we’re worrying about “fruit making us fat”?

Sheesh.

Whooooaaa, don’t eat that 75 calorie apple, you might get fat!
(Note: Sarcasm)

Heck, there are days this summer when I’ve had:

* 1/2 a watermelon
* 2 apples
* 1/2 cup blueberries
* 1/2 cup strawberries
* 2 peaches
* 5 dates
* 2 bananas
* 1 pear

And you can see from my Facebook photos that fruit isn’t making me
fat.

So the myth that fruit makes you fat is a joke. The truth is that
fruit is healthy for you and fills you up and helps you LOSE fat.

Nutrition Myth #2 – You can’t eat delicious foods while losing fat

This is not true. However, “delicious” is a subjective term, right?

So what I might think is awesome (natural peanut butter sandwiches
on flax bread with blueberries), might be your idea of boredom.

You do not have to give up your favorite foods completely when you
are on a fat loss program.

Now I’m not going to lie and say you can eat whatever you want, and
however much you want, every meal and every day.

You just need to harness the power of portion control and improve
the overall quality of your diet, and you’ll still be able to get a
lean and sexy body this summer with your favorite foods.

So keep your nutrition SIMPLE. Focus on whole, natural foods and
limit high-calorie, high-sugar foods to just a couple of treats per
week. Combine that with your favorite Turbulence Training workouts
and you’ll lose fat fast.

10
June

5 More Fat Burning Tips for You

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

At this time of year, we can use every last tip to help avoid
holiday weight gain.

So here are 5 more fat loss tips for beginner & advanced readers.

1) No liquid calories (with the exception of a post-workout drink).

Get rid of all the juices, the sodas, and the sports drinks. Liquid
sugar is the last thing you need when you are trying to lose fat.

You must also limit your alcohol intake – especially if you are
adding mix to drinks…that is a double calorie bomb! A single “Jackand Coke” is over 200 calories (100 calories from booze and 100 calories from mix).

2) No fast food.

Do not eat at fast food restaurants. Even if you choose what you
think is healthy, remember this:

Fast food restaurants are all about profit.

And in order to profit while giving you cheap, quick, and easy to
prepare foods, the quality of the food ingredients will be poor -
especially the protein.

Now you might have read that you can still make healthy choices at fast food restaurants. But you know what, that’s just
politically-correct opinion. If it’s fast food, it’s poor food.

Walking into a burger joint and grabbing a chicken breast on a
white bread bun with a piece of old lettuce and a half-green,
half-pink tomato is “barely” healthy eating.

The politically-incorrect truth is that it’s going to take time and
effort to eat properly. You will have to plan, shop, and prepare
healthy meals. You will have to spend time cleaning, cutting, and
cooking your food. That’s the truth.

But believe me, it will taste so much better than fast food, and
healthy eating will make you more alert. Eating fast food will make you feel terrible, and will make you want to have an afternoon nap at your desk.

Make one small improvement to your nutrition everyday for the rest of your life.

3) Eat more fruits and vegetables.

If you are eating 2 servings per day, then go up to 4 servings per day by the end of the week. And even if you think you are doing great by having 5 servings per day, you still need to double that (take 2-3 weeks to work your way up to 10 servings per day).

Stick with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables – organic if possible.

4) Eat 1oz of almonds or walnuts per day (1/2 oz in the AM, and the other half in the afternoon).

Most nuts are roasted in oils (possible source of trans fats), so
stick to natural or dry-roasted nuts.

Don’t panic…this small amount of nuts won’t make you fat, but will fill you up and help you lose weight.

5) Be consistent with your workouts.

And make sure the workouts are efficient and effective. To make it easy for you to follow, stick with the Turbulence Training fat burning workout system.

It doesn’t matter if you train in the morning before or after
breakfast, or at night before or after dinner, or at 1pm on days
when the moon is in line with Saturn…don’t worry about the
details, just train consistently.

Click here to get Turbulence Training
==> www.TurbulenceTraining.com

6) BONUS TIP: Go for a walk after lunch or dinner (or anytime you eat a big meal). Research shows this will help you control your cholesterol and triglycerides, plus any movement is better than sitting around watching the TV and snacking.

Improve your lifestyle everyday,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

PS – Change your workouts to beat a fat loss plateau.

“The constant shakeup is amazing. I look forward to my workouts. I feel so much better than I did 6 weeks ago. I had almost given up on fitness as I was becoming very frustrated with my plateaus. I started out at 233 lbs and am already heading for 225 in only a few short weeks. Thank you for developing this truly amazing program and for sharing with the rest of us. It’s very refreshing to enjoy working out again!”
Dave Heffernan

“Turbulence Training is AWESOME! I started working out in 2004 first time in gym at 39 yrs. Then I discovered T.T. in 2006 and started receiving unbelievable info on xercises/nutrition. Immediately I started incorporating T.T. in my busy schedule which is improving my strength, definition, flexibility and nutrition. Craig is quick to reply to questions and supportive. My confidence and strength has definitely improved. If I only knew of Turbulence Training in 2004. The gym crowd is really checking me out now.”
Kimmie Clark

“I lost 14 pounds this month and the weight is just falling off me.
My wife says I now look like when we first met and I still have
more to go. I can fit into my old jeans again which is a big deal
for me. I just cut back on starches and bread and do your routine 2-3 times a week. I never thought in a million years that just 10-20 minutes of weight training followed by some cardio would get me such steady results. I even cheat a bit on the weekends.”
Billy Williams

Turn your health around with Turbulence Training:
==> www.TurbulenceTraining.com

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

8
June

Top 5 Fat Loss Tips

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
=> www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Men’s Fitness magazine recently asked me for 3 of my best fat loss
secrets. Since most times the magazines just don’t have enough space
to run my full tips, I thought I’d give you a more detailed
explanation of my secrets here (plus a few extra bonus tips that I
didn’t send to the magazine).

Secret #1 – Focus on burning carbohydrate, not fat, during your
fat-loss workouts.

Sounds backwards, right? But not when you look at how I structure
my workouts.

Remember that Turbulence Training focuses on resistance training
and interval training. Both of these use carbohydrate as the main
source of energy. So it’s obvious the workout is designed to burn
carbohydrates during the training session.

I have no interest in you trying to train in your “target heart
rate zone” for fat burning (aka – the fat burning zone). The whole
idea of a fat-burning zone is an over-simplified idea of how the
body works during exercise.

Leave the inefficient fat burning zone to the mis-educated trainers
in the commercial gyms (that not surprisingly, also want to sell you
a heart rate monitor so you can stay in your “fat burning heart
rate zone”).

If you want to get the most results in the least amount of time,
focus on burning carbohydrates, not fat.

Why do my fat loss workouts focus on burning carbohydrate rather
than fat?

In order to burn more calories after the workout, that’s why. When
you exercise with intervals and heavy resistance training, your body
uses more calories in the hours after exercise than it would if you
did traditional cardio and lifted lighter weights.

I call this ‘Turbulence’. By any name it gives you the same results
- maximum improvements in your body composition (helping you lose
fat while gaining muscle).

Secret #2 – Use a range of repetitions in your strength training
workouts.

In order to train more muscle fibers and burn more carbohydrates, I
have clients use a range of repetitions within the same workout.

The Turbulence Training workouts now use 6, 8, and 12 reps per set
in order to work the muscle the most effectively.

This will burn more carbohydrates and promote as much muscle growth
as possible when you are keeping the calories low.

Secret #3 – Use the stationary cycle for interval training.

I choose the stationary bike for intervals whenever possible
because cycling against a resistance can help maintain muscle mass.

Cycling against a resistance also allows you to perform a large
amount of mechanical work, and that is a key determinant of the
Turbulence in my training.

But please note: I don’t use low-intensity, fast pedaling ‘spinning’
intervals as I’m convinced that the hard, resistance based
intervals are more effective for fat loss. My clients only cycle
against a strong resistance in their intervals.

And while I really like the bike, but there are many other ways to
do intervals. Use what works for you, but if you are at a plateau,
try the bike.

Secret #4 – Increase meal frequency

Okay, so this isn’t really a secret to anyone that has read about
fat loss.

But a 2005 study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
showed that eating 6 times per day was associated with eating fewer
calories per day, lowering cholesterol levels, and lowering
post-meal insulin levels.

Combine an increased meal frequency with an increased protein and
fiber intake, and you’ll see your body composition improve rapidly.

If you need more nutrition help, then you’ll love the new
Turbulence Training Nutrition Guide for Men & Women – written by
Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D.

See below for more details…

Secret #5 – My Synergistic Turbulence Training Workouts

My Turbulence Training Fat Loss workouts are fast becoming the most
effective way to burn fat, build muscle, and get lean. The
synergistic strength training-interval training workouts are
efficient and effective – getting you in and out of the gym in
under an hour.

Here are some tips that you can use for an advanced training phase.
Use these advanced secrets for 2 weeks then return to your normal
training schedule:

a) Add 10 seconds to each interval but maintain the intensity

b) Add in some bodyweight circuits (10-20 minutes per day) done in
the morning or evening (if you do your regular workout in the AM, do
your bodyweight circuits after dinner; otherwise, do the bw circuits
first thing in the AM, and then do your regular workout at lunch or
later in the afternoon or evening)

If you are advanced, you can use squats, pushups, and bodyweight
rows for your circuit.

If you are a beginner, you could use lying hip extensions, modified
pushups, and stick-ups.

c) Add an extra set to each exercise in the first superset you do
in each workout.

Again, use these three tips for an advanced fat loss period of two
weeks, then return to a normal training schedule.

But always stick to the best fat loss nutrition plan possible.

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne
Author, Turbulence Training

P.S. Big Nutrition Announcement!

The Turbulence Training Nutrition Guide for Men & Women – written
by Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D., is ready for you.

Here are just some of the things you’ll learn from Dr. Mohr…

1) How to calculate your calorie needs (p. 6)

2) Calorie recommendations for obese individuals (p.7)

3) The 23 types of sugar (many hidden!) to avoid (p. 9)

4) The 20 whole-grain sources to fuel your fat loss program (p9)

5) Over 60 fruits and vegetables that should be added to your diet
(p. 10)

6) The 16 protein sources you should select most often (p. 13)

7) Shocking trans-fat content of 18 common foods – find out which
food is the deadliest in terms of fat content (p. 16)

8] The 9 Fat Sources you should select most often (p. 17)

9) Dr. Mohr’s 12 Rules for Fat Loss (p. 18)

10) The TT Nutrition Plan for Men (p. 19)

11) The TT Nutrition Plan for Women (p. 23)

12) Bonus Supplement Report: The Truth About Fat Loss Pills (p. 27)

Try Turbulence Training today:
=> www.TurbulenceTraining.com