How An Entire Year Could Go By With No Fat Loss

QUESTION: Dear Tom: I've been going to the gym for the past year now, but I have only lost 2 pounds. I eat about 1800 calories a day and I do 3 cardio and 3 weight training sessions a week. I am 5 feet 5 inches and 128 lbs. I would like to be at 120 lbs. To lose 8 more lbs isn't a lot to ask, but I'm really frustrated. I've been VERY persistent, and I rarely cheat except once each weekend, but at this rate, it will take me another 4 years for me to reach my goal! Please help!

ANSWER: Don't worry, it won't take another 4 years! In fact, you can reach your target wt. within the next month if you start getting feedback, charting results and making some strategic changes to your program.

First, it's important that you understand how a year could go by with almost no progress.

Have you been doing the same nutrition, same calories, same cardio and same workout for the entire past year with no changes? If so, then you shouldn't be suprised if you've continued to get the SAME results (very little).

If you do more of the same, you usually get more of the same.

Caloric intake, for example is not something you calculate once and then never pay attention to again. Calories have to be calculated and customized for each individual in the beginning and then adjusted continuously in "real time" during the course of a fat loss program, based on actual results.

Just because you start at 1800 doesn't mean your caloric intake should stay there. Calories may need to be increased or decreased depending on whether your goals, your body weight and your activity levels change and based on your weekly progress (or lack of).

Which brings me to another point. I am a huge fan of using progress charts. There is a saying in business management and sports coaching:

"What gets measured gets done."

When you start "keeping score" and tracking performance right down to the numbers, it's almost miraculous how this awareness of how you're doing translates into improved results.

When you track your body composition results every week, if a week or two goes by with no results, then you don't continue with more of what got you no results, you change some variable in your program immediately!

An old Turkish proverb that says,

"No matter how far you've traveled down the wrong road, always turn back!"

Of course, you don't have to throw out your entire program, you can simply "tweak" ONE or maybe two variables within the same program.

Also, when you measure, track and analyze muscle versus fat (body composition), instead of just scale weight, you might even discover you've gained some lean body mass and this offsets the drop on the scale (which means it's possible you made more progress than you thought).

Now, back to the calories. To break a plateau, you can take a reduction in calories, or an increase in activity, either of which will create a deficit if you are currently in energy balance, or increase your existing caloric deficit.

1800 calories may not provide a large enough deficit for some women, and in fact, the majority of women your height, weight and activity level usually are losing fat safely and successfully on 1500-1600 calories per day. (for men about 2200-2500 calories, avg.)

At the end of the day, fat loss boils down to calories in versus calories out, so if you plateau, you may need a simple calorie reduction, provided you don't restrict too low for too long (which tends to trigger your body's "starvation response.")

As for your cardio program, 3 days a week of cardio works for many people, but usually, I would consider three weekly cardio sesssions a maintenenance workout or at best a starting point for beginners,NOT a "maximum fat loss" program.

Example: this week, you could increase your cardio from 3 sessions to 4 sessions. If you combine the decrease in food intake with an increase in calories burned through activity, that will almost certainly get you burning fat again.

If it does, then stay with 4 days a week of cardio. If not, the next week go up to 5 days a week. Repeat this simple "feedback loop" process as many times and for as long as necessary.

Also remember that more (often) is not always better. You can also increase the intensity and get more calories burned in same amount of time. This feedback loop process can be used to make decisions about your training intensity, duration and type, as well as frequency.

Whichever strategy you choose to break the plateau, remember Albert Einstein's definition of insanity:

"Insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."

Although this seems like common sense to some people, what happened to you is really quite common because it does appear that you're doing everything you're "supposed to be doing" with perfectly good intentions.

You have have all the key elements there: You're exercising (weights and cardio). You're watching your nutrition, and you've been disciplined and consistent in following it.

The trouble with many popular programs – even good ones – is that they are too dogmatic. Their entire program may revolve around "X" number of calories, "X" days per week of cardio and "X" days a week of weights….

And you're not allowed to "tamper" with that "holy grail" formula.

I can understand the rationale for a simple diet and exercise prescription for a beginner in order to not confuse them with too many choices, but what if it doesnt work after a month, three months, six months, A WHOLE YEAR? What if there are no options, what then?

In NLP, there's a principle, (borrowed from cybernetics), called The Law of Requisite Variety, which says,

"The person with the most choices and the most flexibility is the person with the most power and the greatest chance for success."

You need to know what to do when you're not getting results… you need options and choices for breaking plateaus, and that's important because plateaus happen to everyone – including me.

Some people think that hitting a fat loss plateau means there's something wrong with them. But plateaus are natural and normal. In fact, you could look at it this way:

Hitting a plateau means your body is healthy and your body is functioning normally, because normal function of the body is to adapt effectively to stress, to protect you and to maintain homeostasis.

Exercise is a stress. Dieting is a stress. It's natural for your body to adapt to them. When you adapt, you must place a new "positive stress" onthe body if you want continued improvement.

If you want to learn more details about how to change your program to break plateaus and make continuous progress as fast as safely possible, then I recommend you take a look at Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM).

BFFM has flexibility, feedback and performance tracking built right into it. Chapter 4 in BFFM teaches the "BFFM feedback loop method", and shows you how to chart progress and adjust your diet and workouts on a weekly basis, to keep you making progress or get you back on track if your progress stalls out.

There is no reason to allow even a few weeks, let alone an entire year to go by without results. But you can't expect to get different results if you continue doing more of what's not working.

Keep after it! Be persistent – but also be flexible! <<< Watch This Amazing Video For More Information >>>

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Good Trans Fats vs. Bad Trans Fats

I'm going to talk about something today that most of you have probably never heard… that there is a distinction between good trans fats and bad trans fats. There is some evidence that the good trans fats can help you with fat loss, muscle building, and even cancer prevention, while the bad trans fats have been shown to cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and the general "blubbering" of your body.

 

I'm sure most of you have heard all of the ruckus in the news over the last few years about just how bad man-made trans fats are for your health. If you've been a reader of my newsletter and my Truth about Six Pack Abs e-book program, then you definitely know my opinion that these substances are some of the most evil food additives of all and are found in the vast majority of all processed foods and fast foods on the market today.

In my opinion, man-made trans fats are right up there with smoking in terms of their degree of danger to your health. After all, they are one of THE MAIN factors for the explosion of heart disease since approximately the 1950′s.

With all of the talk about trans fats in the news these days, I wanted to clarify some things, particularly regarding bad trans fats vs. good trans fats. If you've never heard of good trans fats before, let me explain in a bit.

The Bad Trans Fats

First, the bad trans fats I'm referring to are the man-made kind. These are represented by any artificially hydrogenated oils. The main culprits are margarine, shortening, and partially hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods, junk foods, and deep fried foods.

These hydrogenated oils are highly processed using harsh chemical solvents like hexane (a component of gasoline), high heat, pressure, have a metal catalyst added, and are then deodorized and bleached. A small % of the solvent is allowed to remain in the finished oil. This has now become more of an industrial oil rather than a food oil, but somehow the FDA still allows the food manufacturers to put this crap in our food at huge quantities, even with the well documented health dangers.

These hydrogenated oils cause inflammation inside of your body, which signals the deposition of cholesterol as a healing agent on artery walls. Hence, hydrogenated oil = inflammation = clogged arteries. You can see why heart disease has exploded since this crap has been loaded into our food supply over the last 5 to 6 decades.

As time goes on, and science continues to unveil how deadly these oils really are, I feel that eventually they will be illegal and banned from use. The labeling laws were just the first step. In fact, certain countries around the world have already banned the use of hydrogenated oils in food manufacturing or at least set dates to phase them out for good.

However, keep in mind that as companies are starting to phase out the use of hydrogenated oils in processed foods, they are replacing them, in most instances, with highly refined polyunsaturated oils such as soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, etc, etc. These are still heavily processed oils using high heat, solvents, deodorizers, and bleaching agents. Even refined oils are known to produce inflammation in your body…a far cry from natural sources of healthy fats.

Don't be fooled by the new onslaught of foods claiming "trans fat free"… if they use heavily refined oils (even if they're non-hydrogenated), it's still pure evil for your body, and very inflammatory. 

Once again, for the best results, your best bet is avoiding highly processed foods altogether and choose whole, natural, minimally processed foods. Your body will thank you!

The Good Trans Fats

Ok, after having trash talked the man-made trans fats, let me clearly state that there is such a thing as healthy natural trans fats. Natural trans fats are created in the stomachs of ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, etc. and make their way into the fat stores of the animals.

Therefore, the milk fat and the fat within the meat of these animals can provide natural healthy trans fats (best in grass-fed organic versions only).

Natural trans fats in your diet have been thought to have some potential benefit to aid in both muscle building and fat loss efforts. However, keep in mind that the quantity of healthy trans fats in the meat and dairy of ruminant animals is greatly reduced by mass-production methods of farming and their grain and soy heavy diets. Meat and dairy from grass-fed, free-range animals always have much higher quantities of these beneficial fats.

One such natural trans fat that you may have heard of is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has been marketed by many weight loss companies. Keep in mind that these man-made CLA pills you see in the stores may not be the best way to get CLA in your diet. They are artificially made from plant oils in a manner similar to hydrogenation, instead of the natural process that happens in ruminant animals. Once again, man-made just doesn't compare to the benefits of natural sources.

Here's a great site I found that I use to order all of my healthy grass-fed beef and other free range meats.  The service is impeccable and they deliver right to your doorstep in a sealed cooler. It's worth it to know that you and your family are actually eating meat that's good for you instead of the normal grocery store junk.

Now that all of your labels should be listing grams of trans fat, keep in mind that if a quantity of trans fat is listed on a meat or dairy product, it is most likely the natural good trans fats that we've discussed here (*I only recommend grass-fed meat or dairy). Otherwise, if the quantity of trans fat is listed on any processed foods, it is most likely the dangerous unhealthy crap from artificially hydrogenated oils, so stay away!  

One more important note about food labels and trans fat listings… keep in mind that food manufacturers are allowed to label a food "trans fat free" if 1 serving size contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat.  So you may see some products with hydrogenated oils as one of their main ingredients, but if they make the serving size small enough so that it contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, they can label it as trans fat free… now that's BS!  just another example of our broken system!

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Guide to Cooking Oils

 

Cooking oils are a necessary ingredient in the preparation of many different kinds of foods. When sautéing or frying help keep the food from burning. When baking, oils help keep the food moist. Oils are also added to sauces and dressings. However, all cooking oils are not created equal. Some oils are best suited to particular types of cooking, and certain ones are healthier than others.

While there are literally hundreds of different oils from which to choose only about 15-20 of them are most commonly used in the modern kitchen. The more common cooking oils on the market today include: vegetable oil; canola oil, olive oil; butter; peanut oil; sesame oil; sunflower oil; and margarine. Like I say there are lots more but right now we'll just focus on the ones you're most likely to see sitting on the shelf at the grocery store.

The production of cooking oils stretches back more than 5,000 years. In ancient times, people began heating oily plant products until the plants exuded oil that they could collect and use. Olive oil was being produced in southern Europe as early as 3,000 B.C. and soy oil first appeared in Asia around 2,000 B.C. Other cultures—such as those in Latin America, North America, Africa and others used peanuts, sunflowers, palm kernels and even coconut to produce cooking oil.

Although the basic steps have remained the same for thousands of years, modern science has significantly improved the cooking oil production process. Some types of oils including olive, peanut and certain sunflower and coconut oils can be cold-pressed, meaning that they undergo minimal processing. These oils tend to be light and flavorful but not suitable for use in all cooking scenarios. For example, olive oil has a relatively low smoke point, meaning that it's not ideal for certain types of cooking such as frying foods.

Vegetable oils that can't be cold pressed are first cleaned and ground before being pressed in order to extract the oil from them. After extraction, the oil is refined and washed in a centrifuge and then washed again. After some further refining, it is filtered or distilled and then packaged for sale.

Butter is also frequently used as cooking oil. It is usually made from sweet cream and is salted. Butter produced on the farm uses the cream directly from whole milk. Today's commercially-produced butter is made by extracting small amounts of cream from whey, a by-product of cheese-making, using large centrifuges.

 Now let's talk about margarine and get that part of the discussion out of the way. Margarine is a butter substitute that has been around since the late 1800s. It is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or a mixture of both. Its manufacturing process involves the addition of hydrogen atoms to the fat molecules, making them more saturated and raising the point at which they melt. As a result, margarine remains a solid at room temperature. This process is known as "hydrogenation," and requires the presence of a metal catalyst and temperatures of about 500°F (260°C).

All cooking oils contain fats. But as you should already know by now, all fats are not the same. Some fats are healthier for our bodies than others. Margarine is far and away the worst oil on the list. Most of margarines are loaded with trans-fats (the really bad fats), along with lots of artificial ingredients so do yourself a favor and just avoid them. When you want to spread something on your bread or pancakes, you're far better off choosing butter.

While you certainly shouldn't be gnawing on a stick of butter every day, the occasional use of butter is actually a good thing. First, butter is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. It also contains fatty acids, which are used as an energy source and can help protect against certain diseases and conditions. And, in moderation, the cholesterol contained in butter is good for the body. The type of cholesterol found in butter helps maintain intestinal health.

Lastly, let's look at how the other cooking oils—vegetable oil; canola oil, olive oil; peanut oil; sesame oil; and sunflower oil—compare with one another.

•Vegetable oil: Most vegetable oils are 'good' fats that have been altered or hydrogenated. Remember hydrogenation from the margarine manufacturing process? This process increases the level of 'bad' fats found in vegetable oils. Some manufacturers try to offset the bad side of vegetable oil by claiming that they're high in Omega-6s, a polyunsaturated fat that is good for the body when balanced with Omega-3 fatty acids. But that's not the case with vegetable oils and it is certainly not the case with the American diet, where we typically eat 20-to-1 Omega-6 to Omega-3.

•Canola oil: This oil is generally has less than 7% saturated fat, high in monounsaturated fat and has a beneficial Omega-3 fatty acid profile. As such, it is endorsed by the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association has one of the healthier oil choices for cooking.

•Olive oil: Considered by many to be the 'king' of cooking oils, olive oil is available in a lot of different varieties. Many people consider this to be one of—if not the the—most healthy cooking oils around. It's got lots of monounsaturated fats, which have been linked to a lowered risk of coronary disease.

•Peanut oil: This oil is frequently used in Asian countries. Though it is higher in saturated fats than olive oil, it's also a good source of monounsaturated fats. Peanut oil can be flavorful so it's not suited for all dishes. Persons with peanut allergies need to stay away from peanut oil.

•Sesame oil: Sesame oil has a high proportion of Omega-6 fatty acids (41%) but it has no Omega-3s. And while it's low on saturated fat, (13 grams), it's also fairly low on monounsaturated fats (46 grams compared to 77 grams in olive oil).

•Sunflower oil: This cooking oil comes in pretty low on the saturated fat scale (only 11 grams compared to 14 in olive oil), it is not such a great source of monounsaturated fat (20 grams versus 73 grams in olive oil).

The last thing I want to touch on here is the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio I mentioned earlier. Research suggests that our bodies are hard-wired to function best with a one-to-one ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids. But in today's Western diets very high ratios of Omega-6 to Omega-3 (up to 20 to 1) is the norm. This creates a host of health problems including cardiovascular disease and more. Lower ratios have been linked to prolonged healthy outcomes and reduced incidents of disease and illness.

So there you have some information about cooking oils that should help you to make an informed decision regarding which oil you'll be using next in the kitchen.

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Facial Blushing a Social Anxiety Symptom or is Social Anxiety a Facial Blushing Symptom?

Social Anxiety or Social anxiety or social phobia is referred to as social anxiety considerable distress and some problems during normal functioning of daily life. It may either be diagnosed as a specific disorder according to some specific situations or a generalized disorder. Generalized disorder is characterized by a constant, intense and chronic fear of being evaluated by others and not having any confidence in his or her action due to the fear of constant embarrassment and failure. This chronic fear is either through a perceived or actual constant scrutiny by others. Although these fears may seem totally irrational to some of us who perceive it, these are very hard to over come.

For a person to be scientifically diagnosed with social anxiety disorders he or she should meet the below mentioned criteria:

There is clearly foreseeable and marked fear of situations in which the person has to interact with totally unrelated and unknown individuals

Any chance of a public or social response provokes a severe anxiety attack

The involved person is totally aware that the fear is totally irrational.

Although a social situation is always avoided, if endured is totally in dread.

The avoidance, fear or anticipation of such a situation severely affects person's normal routine in daily life.

For individuals under the age of 18 it should persist for more than 6 months.

Irrational fear should not be a physiological effect of any drugs or medicine and should not be diagnosed under any other medical condition.

Symptoms:

The symptoms of this disorder can be categorized into mainly three aspects; Cognitive aspects, Behavioral aspect, Physiological aspect. We will discuss them one by one.

Cognitive aspects: In this aspect the sufferer consistently fears dread over how he represented himself to others, due to this they become overly self conscious. They always pay high attention to what ever they are doing and set very high standards for themselves. The sufferer constantly tries to put a good impression on others, but after every encounter he feels he has not been able to succeed in doing so. They constantly over analyze the situation and look for the slightest possibility of where they may have been embarrassed or humiliated.

Behavioral aspects: The fear of any situation social or public leads to the sufferer undergoing many behavioral changes which exceed the boundaries of shyness and enter into the realm of constant social avoidance and occupational impairment. This also leads to the surfacing of many physical symptoms such as stomach pain, dry mouth, sweating and various others. The sufferer also constantly tries to avoid any eye contact and you will also be able to see constant shaking.

Erythrophobia: Facial blushing or erythrophobia is a sudden reddening of the face that occurs spontaneously or in response to stressful stimuli. Even though Erythrophobia isn't one of the most widely recognized phobias in our society, it is fairly common among people who exhibit social anxiety symptoms and is just starting to become more and more accepted as a real phobia and certainly an overlooked, but more and more common in todays patients. Ask anyone with Social Anxiety if they suffer from facial blushing, and most definitely all of them will tell you Yes. I believe if we start treating more patients with blushing problems, as a special group of individuals who need different treatment than those who don't suffer from blushing problems, we would see a lot more different characteristics between the two groups that must each be treated differently. I believe by getting to the root cause of blushing, and treating those issues specially rather than just categorizing them in to a group who have social anxiety – the success rate of treatment would skyrocket. Patients who have constant blushing problems from shyness, embarrassment, or other stressful situations should not be put on medication for social anxiety. Their blushing problems may physically worsen, thus contradicting the entire purpose of treating the anxiety in the first place.

Physiological aspects: These are essentially the same that we encounter during an anxiety attack. In children there is a constant weeping and throwing tantrums and also shutting themselves out. In adults it may lead to tears, nausea, palpitations, chest pain and other symptoms.

Causes:

Although there are no definite theories about the cause of social disorders, with advancement of neurosciences several theories have been put up into the air. Some of them have been summarized below

Some scientists believe that if social awkwardness is present in your family tree, it's most probable that you will also inherit it. It has been linked to the working of some kind of genes.

Family factors also play an important role in the advent of social disorders; it is much more likely for a person coming from a highly disturbed childhood to develop such kind of social awkwardness. Also children who have had a bad bonding with their mothers are twice as likely to develop social disorders

A previous negative social experience involving the person being humiliated or embarrassed may put the person totally in fear of social gatherings and occasions

Some substances like drugs, benzodiazepines, alcohol when used in excess also play an important part in inducing social awkwardness, especially when someone who is addicted tries to dry himself from all these substances.

Treatment:

Most of the successful treatments are totally depended on the early diagnosis of that disorder. As social disorders are not given due importance during primary care, they are usually diagnosed after they set of complications such as clinical depression and also substance abuse. Some of the major and common treatment methods involve Psychotherapy, involving group sessions with other people who suffer from the same kind of disorders. You share your experiences with them try to speak among those people and get your confidence back online. There also a technique that involves gradual public exposure that sometimes can be really unpleasant but if used properly can be highly successful.

Pharmacological treatments involve intake of a specific class of drugs called as SSRI's, Selective Serotonin reuptake Inhibitors, this the first choice when it comes to drugs for the treatment of generalized social phobias. Other drugs that can be used are selective benzodiazepines, and RIMA's Reverse Inhibitors of Monoamine oxidase subtype A.

Ultimately it depends on the individual and their symptoms. I believe that symptoms must really be taken in to consideration before looking to treat or diagnose Social Anxiety in any form. Sometimes, if you take away the symptoms, you will take away the anxiety. However, people are so narrow minded these days on looking at it vice versa that medication is the first thing that comes to mind when looking to treat any disorder for that matter. However, if we start looking more carefully at the actual symptoms and diagnosing and treating the symptoms one by one, you may find that cause for medication may not be in check after all.

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Do Sunscreens Do More Harm Than Good? Cause Cancer? Make You Gain Weight?

So we've been told over and over again that we should slather on the sunscreen when you go out in the sun to prevent skin cancer, right? Well, guess what? Think again! Many of the common chemicals in most commercial sunscreen lotions actually can CONTRIBUTE to cancer, stubborn abdominal fat (due to the xenoestrogens in sunscreen chemicals), and many other health problems.

Some of that sunscreen may be as damaging or more dangerous to your health than going without any sunscreen at all!

While there is still some risk in spending time in the summer sun without sunscreen, your sunscreen itself can pose a bigger health risk. The chemicals in sunscreen are very harsh and are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream.

First of all, if you haven't read Mike Geary's article about the benefits of small doses of daily sunshine, click here.  It's important to understand why small amounts of daily sunshine (WITHOUT burning) is important to your health, vitamin D production, hormone balance, and skin cancer prevention.

Now back to harsh chemical sunscreens… Did you know that most sunscreens only protect against the burning UVB rays? Well, it is a fact that the UVA rays are damaging to your skin as well. What kinds of chemical concoctions are you putting on your skin that are absorbing into your bloodstream? Numerous studies have raised serious concerns about these chemicals' safety:

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a new study showing that nearly all Americans are contaminated with oxybenzone, a widely-used sunscreen ingredient. This chemical so far has shown potential links to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage, as well as low birth weight in babies whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) also has a guide that helps you to determine how chemical-laden your current sunscreen is.

Although sunscreens are meant for external use only, the popular 'spray on' sunscreens end up being inhaled as well, and are particularly dangerous. While inhaled particles of any size can pose a health risk, tiny nanoparticles — ultra-tiny particles used in many of these formulations — can more easily penetrate linings and tissues in your body and cause inflammation and increase risk of cancer or other respiratory issues.

Ok, so what to do to help prevent sunburn and photo aging from the sun?

Remember from Mike's article near the top of this page, that small daily doses of sunshine (10-30 minutes daily over most of body) can help to increase your Vitamin D levels in your body and actually PROTECT you and reduce your risk of skin cancer… The important key phrase there is "small daily dose" without burning.

If you are going to get more sun than that… The best and most natural sunscreen you can get if you are going to be spending more than a half hour out in the hot summer sun are the sunblocks (mineral based) that contain zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide as their active ingredients. These ingredients are safe, natural ingredients that physically block UVA and UVB rays by sitting on top of the skin instead of absorbing into the skin, and there are no health concerns about using these natural sunblocks on your skin.

The downside of these types of natural physical sunblocks is that they tend to leave a white coating on your skin so they don't look as appealing as the chemical sunscreens which are invisible since they absorb into your skin.  So the other option is simply to make sure to cover up with clothing if you don't want to use a mineral-based sunblock that makes the skin look white.

There may be some zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide based sunscreens available that do a better job of not leaving such a white layer on the skin, but you might have to experiment with different brands to find one.

And most important, to protect your skin and minimize the damage the sun can do to your skin…

EAT your sunscreen to best protect your skin against sun damage and cancer

Ok, I'm not talking about squeezing that stuff out of the bottle and actually eating it!

I am talking about protecting your skin from the inside out with nutrition! One of the best ways to prevent sun damage, and protect your skin, is with your diet. Yes, you can actually eat your own healthy version of natural sunscreen by following these recommendations:

First, be sure to eat plenty of omega-3 rich foods in your daily diet. Research studies show that eicosapentaenoic acid (also called EPA) in omega 3 fats helps prolong the time that it takes skin to get burned during sun exposure, and reduces your chances of skin cancer. Omega-3 fatty acids best sources come from grass-fed beef, free range whole eggs, and cold-water wild caught fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel.

But keep this in mind: An optimal balance of omega-3′s to omega-6′s (1:1 to 2:1) is critical for many, many health factors, including skin health. If you are eating much more omega 6 fatty acids in comparison to omega 3's, you actually increase your chances of skin cancer from the sun.

It is a well-known fact that people who regularly eat a diet higher in saturated fats and omega-3 fats tend to have much smoother, softer skin. In contrast, a diet high in trans fats and excessively high omega-6 fats ages skin and when people consume that type of diet they tend to have older-looking skin and wrinkles.

So, here's how to eat the healthiest kind of sunscreen that is best for your body and your skin:

To sum up:

1. Avoid the dangerous chemicals in regular chemical sunscreens. These contain potentially carcinogenic compounds as well as chemicals that are xenoestrogens, which are known to contribute to "stubborn belly fat".

2. Don't forget the skin protection and vitamin D benefits of getting small doses (10-30 minutes daily) of daily mid-day sun over a good portion of your body (without burning) before slathering on the sunblock or covering up with more clothing.

3. If you must spend a long amount of time out in the summer sun, eat a skin-healthy diet with lots of antioxidants such as various teas, berries, carotenoids, etc.  It's a good idea to take a daily Krill Oil supplement in the summer to protect your skin due to the natural form of astaxanthin which has been proven to be one of the most powerful compounds to protect your skin internally.

Also, protect your skin from excess sun and burning by either covering up with clothing or with a safe and natural zinc oxide or titanium oxide based sunscreen too… but ONLY after you've received your small dose (10-30 minutes) of full sun over large portions of your body to increase your vitamin D levels which protect your skin from cancer.

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Body Wraps and Waist Wraps: The Difference Between Losing Fat And Losing Inches

"Body wraps" have been around for ages in the weight loss and spa industry. Claims include loss of body weight, loss of body fat, and loss of inches. Infomercials for rubber "waist belts" are also back on TV and similar claims are made for these types of wraps as well. What few people realize is that there is a huge difference between losing fat and losing inches. When your body fat decreases, your circumference measurements will usually also decrease, but "fat" loss and "inch" loss are not one in the same. If you don't know how to tell the difference, you could be falling for one of the oldest, most notorious fitness and weight loss scams in the book.

The truth is, body wraps and waist belts do not shrink fat cells or burn body fat – no matter what type of wrap is used: bandages, plastic, foil, vinyl, or rubber and regardless of what you are wrapped in: herbs, minerals, enzymes, seaweed, clay, or mud – it doesn't matter. Fat can only be lost with a caloric deficit from a reduction in food intake, an increase in activity or ideally, a combination of both.

Whenever you see fat loss claims for wraps or any other product which doesn't involve a caloric deficit created though nutrition or exercise, the "scam alarm" should go off in your head, and you should always stay away, no matter how compelling the sales pitch.

Furthermore, the companies making fat loss claims would be in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if they were investigated and caught because claims for body fat reduction from wraps cannot be supported with scientific evidence.

The FTC as well as numerous state attorney general's offices have already taken action against body wrap companies in the past for false advertising and unsupported claims. Some companies simply had to stop making false claims, others had to pay stiff fines as well. The problem, from a legal and ethical standpoint, is the claim being made. Remember, "inches" and "fat" are not the same thing.

Some types of wraps can definitely take off inches (for example, they might reduce the circumference measurement of your waist, hips, arms and legs), but it's not fat, its water weight and fluid, and the results are temporary.

Suppose this claim is made in an advertisement:

* Lose Up To 15 inches in 1 Hour! *

This is legal advertising because the claim "lose inches" might be supportable (if enough circumference measurements are taken with a tape measure at enough sites, that might add up to a total of 15 inches in circumference loss)

However I believe that these types of claims are misleading (and probably intentionally so), because "inches" is not the same as body fat but the product vendors know that you might easily confuse "inches" with "fat."

Contrast that claim with this one:

* Lose Body Fat without diet or exercise in 1 Hour!*

That claim is totally false and scientifically unsupportable.

Again, body wraps cannot burn fat or "shrink fat cells."

If fat loss could be achieved with body wraps, it would be very easy to test and prove.

Body composition (body fat) testing (rather than measurements of inches) could be performed before and after the wrap, and the answer ("does it work") would become easily exposed.

Since it doesn't work, you won't find any wrap people accepting your challenge to allow you to do independent body composition testing, nor will you find a shred of scientific evidence showing reduction of bodyfat from wraps.

Unfortunately, bogus fat loss claims are still quite widespread, as a simple Internet search for "body wrap" will demonstrate. The most frequently used claims however, are for loss of "inches."

The inches lost simply come from loss of fluid. And guess what – those inches (and or water weight) will come right back in days if not hours, as soon as you completely re-hydrate yourself.

Other claims made for body wraps include detoxification, improved circulation and tighter, smoother and clearer skin. Most health and fitness researchers, as well as government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will tell you that these claims are "debatable" and mostly anecdotal.

Some experts even warn that certain types of wraps can be dangerous, mainly due to the rapid and excessive fluid loss/dehydration.

If you want to get wrapped because you find it relaxing or you consider it a "spa-like" treatment, that's one thing. Just remember, wraps have absolutely nothing to do with fat loss.

I'd suggest completely avoiding any companies that advertise fat loss when it's only water and inches you're losing, because a dishonest company is one you don't want to patronize at all.

One last thing – this is a timely subject because although "body wraps" have been around for ages and it's old news, I noticed that infomercials for "waist belts" or "sauna wraps" are back on TV in force and I see that they are replaying the ads over and over again, which means people are buying it.

Everything I just said about body wraps also applies to those rubber waist belts too.

On a web search I just did for those rubber belt waist wraps, I noticed some of the websites are STILL making claims like "Melt fat" (totally bogus, unsupported and illegal claim).

Other sites seem to be wary of the FTC paying them a visit, so they do a whole song and dance around the legal issues by saying stuff like, "sweat away inches," "therapeutic heat", "target your problem areas" and so on. Even if these claims are not illegal, the promotions are still deceptive…

The professional fitness model is pictured taking off the rubber belt, revealing ripped six pack abs below… as if those abs are a result of wearing the belt! Wishful thinking! These are professional models, folks. They got the abs the same way everyone else with abs got them – with a calorie deficit from a combination of strict diet and hard training!

Wraps and waist belt products might take off some inches or water weight, but they can't take off a single ounce of fat. Buyer beware.

Programs like Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle are focused on FAT LOSS, not water loss or loss of inches. When body fat decreases, circumferences in inches will also decrease, but "fat" lost and "inches" lost are not one in the same.<<< Watch This Amazing Video For More Information >>>

Source White Market

Are Toxins in Your Fat Cells Released When You Lose Weight?

QUESTION: Dear Tom: I have been following your Burn The Fat system with good results. I am losing body fat and maintaining my current lean mass. I've noticed that during my calorie deficit phase I sometimes suffer from light headedness and nausea out of the blue for no particular reason but not during my maintenance phase. I was looking into it and read an article that said that toxins from the food in the "typical American diet" of processed crappy foods get stored inside our fat cells along with excess dietary fat when we overeat, and when we create a calorie deficit and burn the excess fat in our bodies, we release those toxins back into the blood stream. Have you ever heard of this? Any truth? ?

ANSWER: Yes, your fat cells can accumulate numerous types of toxins. For example, almost everyone has traces of pesticides in their bodies. Many people freak out when they hear this, so they become more likely to fall for all kinds of bizarre and usually unproven "detoxification" rituals. It is a shame that our environment has become polluted, but the real questions are whether trace amounts of these substances pose any health risk and whether you actually have toxic levels in your body.

One group of substances that has come to attention recently in the context of fat loss, (in addition to health concerns), is organochlorines, including DDT, PCB's and Dioxins. There is scientific evidence that these chemicals can be stored in fat cells and are released into your system when fat is lost.

The fish and wildlife service web page (fws.gov) has some detailed info on the chemistry and toxicology. One part was of particular interest:

"Organochlorines (OC's) are compounds that contain carbon, chlorine, and hydrogen. Their chlorine-carbon bonds are very strong which means that they do not break down easily. They are highly insoluble in water, but are attracted to fats. Since they resist metabolism and are readily stored in fatty tissue of any animal ingesting them, they accumulate in animals in higher trophic levels. This may occur when birds eat fish that have been exposed to the contaminant. It may also affect humans if they drink milk of a dairy cow that has ingested the chemical because the chemical is excreted in its milk fat. This is called biological magnification."

Some people may recall Rachel Carson and "Silent Spring" back in the 1960′s which was largely responsible for the environmental movement and banning of DDT pesticides. Despite being banned decades ago, these chemicals can remain in our environment and in our bodies for years and organochlorine pollution appears to remain a very real issue today.

As for the release of these substances from your fat cells with weight loss, well, what can you say; those are the consequences of environmental pollution and this is just one more reason to stay lean and eat clean and perhaps also, do your share to take care of our environment, if you are so inclined. But I do believe for the most part, your body is quite well equipped to naturally detoxify most toxins that are ingested in "normal" (small) amounts or would likely be released slowly with normal rates of fat loss. I don't think this is a reason NOT to lose weight, although some researchers say that obese men and women have to "weigh the health advantages of losing the weight with a potentially harmful effect."

Unfortunately, there is another twist: Some data suggests that if these chemicals are released into your system as you lose weight, they could hamper fat loss by decreasing thyroid (T3 conversion) or reducing thermogenesis during weight loss if an obese person had accumulated these chemicals in their fat cells.

Everyone who loses weight experiences some degree of metabolic adaptation as they diet and lose weight, and some obese people seem to have a defect in thermogenesis or their hormones may be out of whack. Scientists began wondering if chemicals released from stored fat into circulation could be a cause of this metabolic slowdown. To the best of my knowledge, these findings have not been confirmed as causative through experimental research, but it's a disturbing prospect because getting lean is hard enough as it is.

Regarding the question about nausea and lightheadedness, I looked at several scientific studies on this subject and even after reading the full papers, I did not see any references to nausea or light headedness being related to Organochlorine release with weight loss. I did, however, see references to suppressed immune system and estrogenic effects in addition to the effects on thyroid. Light headedness could be as simple as low glycogen or blood sugar and caloric deficit.

If you take this research at face value it creates quite a conundrum, doesn't it? My advice is… don't. Don't be alarmist. Take the weight off anyway. Do it slowly and safely, and then keep it off – do NOT cycle up and down in weight. Also, this might be yet one more good reason to question the wisdom of losing weight quickly since the total body burden of OC's is greater in overweight people than in lean people, leaving them more susceptible to adverse effects. As one researcher said, "it could be preferable to moderate body weight loss."

I wouldn't let articles about "the typical American diet poisoning you with toxins" make you worry too much or jump on any bizarre detox rituals that don't have scientific support. You have to be pretty careful in the area of "detoxification" because it is filled with quackery and pseudoscience. Packaged, processed and refined foods are unhealthy. But this issue isn't about chemicals used in food processing, nor is it as simple as saying that eating "junk food" fills you with toxins. This is an environmental pollution issue, where the toxins find their way into our food supply – even "clean foods" – and then into our bodies, where in this case, they remain there for years.

I know it would be great if I could end this article by telling you how to get the OC's out of your system. Unfortunately, the research data I have read does not propose a solution yet. Some people choose organic to avoid pesticides that are still used today, although the benefits of that would be preventative, not retroactive. For now, the best bet is to lose weight at a sensible rate, maintain a healthy weight, and eat clean, unprocessed foods as much as possible.

If you'd like to learn more about how to decrease your body fat level in a safe, sensible, natural way, then visit:  <<< Watch This Amazing Video For More Information >>>

Source White Market