Bad news about organic food - and what's better

If you didn't already know this, "organic food" doesn't necessarily mean healthy.  People fall into this trap everyday.

One prime example of this is organic meat or organic dairy.  Just because meat or dairy is labeled "organic" doesn't mean it was healthy grass-fed meat or dairy... it could have come from unhealthy corn-fed cows that were raised in a confinement feedlot instead of grazing on acres of lush green forage outdoors.   And as you know from my newletters, it's more important to find grass-fed beef and dairy rather than simply "organic".

Grain-fed meat and dairy can have an unhealthy omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of as high as 20:1, whereas most grass-fed beef and dairy can have a much healthier omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 2:1... that's 10x the difference!  Plus, grass-fed meat and dairy can have 3-5x the amount of healthy CLA fats, which is a fat known to help build muscle, lose fat, and help fight against cancer.

Another place where people go wrong with organic food is assuming that "organic snack foods" are somehow healthy.  Just because cookies and crackers say "organic" doesn't mean they are healthy necessarily... junk food is still junk food.

Make sure to continue reading my full article below about why choosing organic food is about way more than just pesticides, and some other aspects that you might not have thought of before:

Organic vs conventional food -- it's about more than pesticides

Please share this important article with your friends and family.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

My new semi-fasted morning workouts for lean abs

I've changed my exercise routine up recently to go along with the change in seasons now that spring has sprung, and I'm amazed at the results so far!  Here's what's been going on...

We've had a much warmer than normal March here in the Rockies, so although we're usually still getting pounded by snow in March and I would be enjoying some of the deepest powder days of the season, this March has been quite different and we've seen nothing but sunny skies and 60-degree weather.

So that means my normal outdoor fun exercises of skiing and snowshoeing from the winter have been replaced with wind sprints and mountain biking the last couple weeks (along with my normal weight training workouts at the gym 2-3x per week). 

I've only gone on a couple mountain bike rides so far, but the majority of what I've changed the last couple of weeks is getting back into wind sprints now that the local soccer field near my house no longer is covered in snow.

And man oh man... I'm always amazed at how fast the body fat levels drop once I start incorporating wind sprints back into the routines... any minor winter fat stores that built up just start melting away like crazy, and the abs start becoming more visible by the day...

The cool thing is that I've come up with a new morning protocol that involves "semi-fasted" sprints and I'll explain the nutrition tricks I've been using too...

Here's a blog post on exactly how this "semi-fasted" morning exercise works and the nutrition tricks that go along with it:

The "semi-fasted" morning routine to get single-digit body fat


I know that perhaps you might not be able to do the exact type of routine that I describe on that post, but hopefully you can take the information and adapt it to your specific morning routine that works best for you.

And don't forget to get out of that stuffy gym at least a few times a week and enjoy some outdoor exercise!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The healthiest diet? Foods can kill or heal you

I just watched a very powerful video about food... in this video, a Dr. Terry Wahls talks about foods that kill and foods that heal.  She talks about how she quite literally cured a major illness (MS) that she had by changing her diet.  Yes, food is powerful medicine!

She also explains how 80% of Americans are deficient in one particular vital nutrient (omega-3 fats), and 75% of Americans are deficient in yet another vital nutrient, iodine.  And the fact that 2 out of every 3 Americans are deficient in 4-6 other vitally important nutrients for optimal health.

I just posted this video on a new article page on my site:

Foods that Kill You and Foods that Heal You (What is the healthiest diet?)

I think you'll enjoy this, and please share this page with your friends and family to help them eat healthier and live happier.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Another related nutrition article:

My number 1 tip for eating to be lean and healthy for life

Are you eating these "obesogens" that disrupt your hormones?

I have another guest article for you today that talks about some types of foods containing chemicals that have been termed "obesogens". 

Aside from causing hormone imbalances, these nasty compounds have been linked to "stubborn fat" which is that body fat either in the abdomen or pecs on men or on the hips/thighs on women that can be particularly hard to burn off.  See below...


Are You Eating These "Obesogens" in Your Food?

by Sue Heintze, Fitness & Nutrition Expert

Scientists have recently discovered that certain chemicals we are exposed to in our environment and our food that can also wreak havoc with our hormones.  These have been termed ‘Obesogens’.

Everyday chemicals - particularly those in certain foods, pesticides, canned foods and plastics - are partially to blame for the obesity epidemic.  Of course, there's a lot more to it regarding the changes in our food supply over the years, but these harmful chemicals are one of the elements making the problem worse.  These estrogenic substances are ingested in significant enough amounts to trigger your body to hold on to its stubborn fat stores.

*Reference: Hormonal Balance, Understanding Hormones, Weight and Your Metabolism - Scott Isaacs (M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.E.)

These chemicals mimic estrogen and cause all kinds of chaos in your body (for both men and women), including:

* Forcing your pancreas to crank out too much insulin, encouraging your body to store fat
* Preventing the release of the hormone leptin (which tells your body that you are full)

You may be aware of all the recent commotion in the news about a toxic substance called Bisphenol A (BPA).

This particular toxic chemical is found in bottles made from polycarbonate plastic – the kind of plastic used to make hard drinking bottles and food storage containers. The #7 on the bottle indicates it contains BPA.

*If the plastic is NOT labeled with a number you can assume it too might be loaded with BPA.

So far BPA has been linked to health problems such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes and has also been shown to affect reproductive development. So, if there are any mums reading, or future mums; take special note. Don’t endanger your children or future children by exposing them to these toxins.

Extreme temperatures can make plastics even more dangerous. You should never microwave plastic or expose it to extreme heat as this causes toxins from the plastic to be leached into the food.

Some canned foods also contain BPA. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) BPA is at unsafe levels in one of every 10 servings of canned foods (11%) and one of every 3 cans of infant formula (33%).

The EWG states that even low doses of BPA can spur both the growth and formation of fat cells.

The EWG reports:

“The unusually broad toxicity of BPA is explained by a prominent scientist as stemming from the fact that BPA can alter the behaviour of over 200 genes — more than one per cent of all human genes (Myers 2006). These genes control the growth and repair of nearly every organ and tissue in the body. Taken in its totality, the range of toxic effects linked to BPA is startlingly similar to the litany of human health problems on the rise or common across the population, including breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity, infertility, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (Myers 2007).

Yet despite its ubiquity and toxicity, BPA remains entirely without safety standards. It is allowed in unlimited amounts in consumer products, drinking water, and food, the top exposure source for most people. The lack of enforceable limits has resulted in widespread contamination of canned foods at levels that pose potential risks. For instance, analysis of our tests reveals that for one of every five cans tested, and for one-third of all vegetables and pastas (ravioli and noodles with tomato sauce), a single serving would expose a pregnant woman to BPA at levels that fall within a factor of 5 of doses linked to birth defects — permanent damage of developing male reproductive organs.”

Thankfully, there are many products on the market now that are BPA-free, particularly in baby bottles and feeding utensils. The fact that these companies have gone to great lengths to avoid using BPA and advertise the fact very clearly on the packaging, shows that this toxic chemical is indeed a big issue.

I was appalled to find out only recently that the spring water bottles I have been using for years are full of BPA! And this is from one of the largest water bottlers in the country. Suffice to say I have since researched and sourced a different company to purchase my drinking water from.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to know what products are safe and what products are potentially hazardous to our health, and our waistlines. We need to be aware and informed, and I’ve made it my business to make sure that you are!
-----------------------------


Sue Heintze is the author of a new protocol that she's been developing for years to target trouble areas for females of the butt, hips, thighs, and scientific strategies to get rid of cellulite permanently.


If you missed it the other day, you can read my thoughts about Sue's new protocol below:

The TRUTH about losing cellulite permanently


Since we're on the topic of BPA today, make sure you've read my article below about why canned tomato products can actually have the WORST levels of harmful BPA:

Why you should NEVER eat canned tomato products

Please pass today's articles on to your friends and family to help protect their health. 


Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

How to get firm rock-hard glutes

Most of us in today's world sit at a desk most of the day, or just simply are in seated positions way too often. Our ancestors never sat at a desk for 8-10 hours a day, so this is obviously not natural for humans to sit as long as we do these days. This affects not only the strength of our back muscles, but also the proper balance of our glutes and our hip flexors.

Today's guest article shows you some important things you need to know if you want to get a firm rock-hard butt... and although Sue's main program is designed for females, today's article itself is useful for both men and women...

How to Get Firm Rock-Hard Glutes

by Sue Heintze, Fitness & Nutrition Expert

If you don't have a tight, firm tush, you may not even be aware that it may actually be because you are/have been using the WRONG muscles when you exercise.  If you don't activate and engage the right muscles, you'll NEVER have a beautiful butt.

Over time we, as in the human species, have adopted too many seated characteristics in our everyday lives. Given we spend so much time on our backsides, our bodies have become less able to engage and work the glutes properly.

This is because the more time we spend sitting (think desk job...), the tighter/shorter our hip flexors become and the longer or more stretched our glute muscles get - when your muscles stretch it makes it harder to activate them!

So if you want your butt to be nice and firm, tight and toned (as well as avoiding unnecessary back and hip pain), then it's essential to learn to engage your glutes and balance them with your hip flexors.

Consider your glutes and hip flexors as part of a marriage - there needs to a nice even balance between both parties in order for the relationship to function properly. If one side is more dominant than the other, you're very likely to have all sorts of problems! Strains, pulls, tears, lower back pain and many other issues are associated with these major muscle groups of our body.

The gluteal muscles comprise the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus while the hip flexors (in which we will consider the most dominant hip flexor, the Iliopsoas, but keep in mind there are more less-dominant muscles also involved) consists of the psoas major, psoas minor and the iliacus.

This ‘marriage' of muscles is involved in a number of movements about the hip that can greatly affect your posture and daily tasks such as sitting, walking, running and ultimately many areas down (or up) the chain. Hip flexion, extension, internal rotation, external rotation, adduction, abduction, transverse adduction and transverse abduction are among the major roles of the glutes and hip flexor muscle groups. In real layman's terms, they are responsible for a lot of stuff!

There are two main problems that we experience with our glutes.

Some of us are not able to engage our glutes at all - not even for everyday activities, like standing or walking and not for exercising such as running or squatting.

Others are able to engage their glutes but they are very weak because they are dominated by other muscles such as the quadriceps (typically). Even if these people aim to train their glutes when they hit the gym, they often end up missing the mark and allowing the stronger, more dominant leg muscles to take over. This leaves them with a great imbalance that just keeps increasing, and causing a multitude of problems as time goes on.

If you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk and have a rather sedentary job, not only is it good for your eyes to break from that computer screen (if you work at one) but it will also be good for your butt if you get up at regular intervals and take a quick stroll and perform some hip flexor stretches.

Not only will learning to engage your glutes help to build a nice toned, firm butt, it can help to improve lower back and knee pain.  For example, by learning to engage your glutes properly during a squat, you take a lot of stress off of the knees.

So, when it comes to training, it's really important that we ‘switch the appropriate muscles on' and activate our glutes prior to a lower body training session.

A great way to do this is to incorporate some activation exercises (such as glute bridges for example) into a 'dynamic' warm up. Rather than jump on the treadmill to warm up, a dynamic warm up involves a series of exercises to warm up and prepare the appropriate muscles and joints for training. This type of warm up will help to mobilize, stretch and strengthen the muscles thereby aiding in rehabilitating any current imbalances or injuries and avoiding future ones.

In my new Targeted Training Program you will begin each of the Cell-u-Burn Workouts with a Gorgeous Glutes Warm Up that includes specific exercises to activate and engage the appropriate muscles and allow you to sculpt a set of amazing glutes!
-----------------------------


Sue Heintze is the author of a new protocol that she's been developing for years to target trouble areas for females of the butt, hips, thighs, and scientific strategies to get rid of cellulite permanently.


If you missed it yesterday, you can read my thoughts about Sue's new protocol below:

The TRUTH about cellulite


Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The TRUTH about cellulite - causes and solutions

Let's face it... most products (such as creams) out there that claim to get rid of cellulite are pure GARBAGE!  I cringe when I see an advertisement for cellulite because I know most of those products don't work and many are downright scams.

Many trainers and fitness experts will argue that getting rid of cellulite is simply a matter of losing body fat in that particular area and firming up the muscle in order to pull the skin tighter.  And that's true, but there's more to the story... and this involves hormonal imbalances, circulation issues in those areas of the body, as well as chemicals that we are exposed to in food and our environment that cause excess "stubborn fat".

You'll find out in this email that getting rid of cellulite for good IS actually possible when you combine the right techniques for exercise, nutrition, balancing hormones, circulation, and fighting the effects of our chemical exposure.

I just was recently introduced to a fitness/nutrition expert on the topic of cellulite, Sue Heintze.  Sue has studied in-depth on this topic for over a decade, and tested her techniques for years now on her in-person clients in Australia. 

I just got done reviewing a brand new protocol that Sue has created specifically for those that struggle with cellulite, and I can honestly say that the information Sue has put together is top notch and even surprised me a few times on how well thought out the techniques are that she uses to target removal of cellulite from your body. 

I even learned a few things myself, as the topic of cellulite has always been one of those confusing and conflicting topics out there.

Read this page below in full, and you'll learn exactly why you struggle with cellulite and the protocols that Sue has put together that can help you successfully fight the battle against cellulite:

The TRUTH about cellulite - the real causes and real solutions

The cool thing is that Sue has even personally won the battle against cellulite herself, as she has made a really impressive transformation in her own body.

She even talks about how cellulite can not only affect overweight people, but also some seemingly "skinny" people, and exactly what to do about it.  She also talks about a condition known as "estrogen dominance" and how this might be contributing to your cellulite.

I highly recommend reading everything Sue has to say as she is clearly the authority on the subject of cellulite.  Go here to discover what causes your cellulite and how to get rid of it permanently.


Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
TruthAboutAbs.com | BusyManFitness.com | AvalancheSkiTraining.com

How vitamin D can make you equivalent to 5 years younger?

If you're a regular reader of my newsletter, you probably have noticed that I harp on vitamin D a lot... after all, studies continue to show that vitamin D regulates almost EVERYTHING in your body, from your immune system (low D levels is the biggest reason you get sick in winter as opposed to summer), to hormone balance, to bone density, your cancer risk, etc, etc...

It's quite literally, one of THE most important substances in your body, and the vast majority of people in this day and age of being "sun-phobic" are dangerously deficient.  Another reason is how our food supply has degraded in recent decades.

I'm going to be sending you a great article soon with dozens of interesting facts about vitamin D that I bet you didn't know...be on the lookout for that. 

Remember that although getting sunshine on your skin for 20-40 minutes (based on your skin pigmentation) at the strongest times of the day is the best way to increase your vitamin D levels, and if you live in the northern hemisphere north of approximately Atlanta to Los Angeles latitude, your body will NOT produce vitamin D in the winter time, even if you're out in the sun as the UVB rays are too weak in the winter since the sun is too low in the sky at most northern latitudes...

The scale slides depending on your latitude, but let's estimate that it's safe to say you can't produce vitamin D even if you're out in the sun any time between November through February in most of the US (except Florida, Hawaii, San Diego, and southern Texas perhaps).

The point is... if you don't supplement with vitamin D3 (preferably oil-based), you're pretty much guaranteed to be severely deficient in vitamin D in the winter (and no, the miniscule amounts of artificial vitamin D added to commercial milk or multi-vitamins does practically NOTHING to help your D levels). 

Study Shows 5 YEARS Less Aging Based on Vitamin D levels

Here's some further proof on the power of vitamin D...

I just read recently about a study that was done on 2100 female twin pairs ages 19-79.  They studied twins so that genetics were very similar but they could ascertain differences in health based on differing vitamin D levels between the twins.  They used a measure of aging, "telomeres" and associated vitamin D levels. 

All twins telomeres are the same length at birth, but will change throughout life based on lifestyle choices, food, exercise, and other factors... The researchers found that those with higher levels of vitamin D had longer telomeres, which is a measure of less aging (telomeres shorten as you age).  And the exciting part...

The researchers found that those in the study that that had higher vitamin D levels showed the equivalent of 5 years LESS aging!

Yet another reason to make sure your Vitamin D levels in your body are optimized!  Not only will it help balance your hormones, strengthen your bones, reduce cancer risk, and prevent you from getting sick... it will also help SLOW aging!

Important note:  I highly recommend an OIL-BASED vitamin d3 supplement as it's better absorbed by your body.  Unfortunately, most D supps use refined soybean oil as their oil of choice. 

I personally use this oil-based vitamin D3 supplement as it uses heart-healthy coconut oil instead of inflammatory refined soybean oil as the base, and it's combined with vitamin K2, which is VERY important, because your body can't use vit D properly without adequate K2.

I really liked the information on that site too, so be sure to read the whole thing... I thought this passage on that page was great:

"Humans have the ability to synthesize Vitamin D (which is actually a pro hormone) from skin exposure to the sun. Ancestral humans evolved with continual exposure to sunlight and even conservative estimates place our levels at 15,000 to 20,000 IU of Vitamin D per day. Unfortunately 50% of American’s have been shown to be clinically deficient in this essential vitamin."

Did you know that most multi-vitamins only contain 400 IU of vitamin D, whereas ancestral humans obtained 15,000-20,000 IU per day from sun exposure.  That's why I say that multi-vitamins don't really do anything to help your D levels.

Remember that in the summer if you're getting daily sunshine during the strongest times of the day (10am to 3pm) you do not need to take a daily vitamin D3 supplement, as it's best left for days that you don't get sun exposure.  It's also vitally important to take daily vitamin D3 during approximately October through March in the northern hemisphere -- depending on what latitude you live and how much sun you get. If you live in Florida, you might only need supplemental D3 during the deepest months of winter, December and January.  However, if you live in Canada, you'll need supplemental D3 at least 9 months of the year.

You can get a super high quality D3 and K2 here along with a good view of all of the benefits.

And I have a few more articles for you to read if you're one of the many that's been brainwashed into having a phobia about sun exposure and slathering on cancer-causing chemical sunscreens every time you go outside:

The TRUTH about sun exposure and how it can HELP your body

Also, as I alluded to in today's newsletter, your latitude (and also your skin pigmentation) affects your ability to produce vitamin D from the sun. This video and article has great info about that topic:

Your skin pigmentation, vitamin D, and your latitude

And one more important article:

How our food supply has been degraded of vitamin D in recent decades

Keep on the lookout for more great info on vitamin D coming soon.  I'll be back soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer