Unusual Fat Loss Tips, Healthy Diet Tricks to Lose Belly Fat

This chemical turns men into "girly men" - BPA

2012-01-22T21:23:00.000-05:00

If there's one message I try to keep hammering home in this newsletter, it is the danger present in some of the harmful chemicals that we are exposed to in our food supply, our cleaning supplies, our environment, as well as lotions, shampoos, etc.

As you know, one topic I talk about often is how we are being bombarded by chemicals known as "xenoestrogens" in our new modern chemical-laden world, and the harm to BOTH men and women with these chemicals.

Read this new article to protect yourself from this potential harm:

This chemical turns men into "girly men" (how much exposure are you getting?)

As you can see in that article, we are exposed to this chemical in some weird places, included that shiny paper receipt that you get from almost any store when it touches your skin, or touches your food (yes, even common receipts are one of your exposure points).

Also, if you missed this article, you can read here how you are exposed to this harmful chemical in canned tomatoes as well as bottled drinks. You NEED to know what to watch out for to protect yourself from these harmful "xenoestrogens".

And although we should always do our best to avoid exposure to BPA and other xenoestrogens, some exposure is going to happen anyway, as these chemicals are all around us. There is a specific class of vegetables that can help fight against xenoestrogens and belly fat.

PS - if you thought today's articles were beneficial, please share this page with any of your friends, family, or co-workers to help protect their health too.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The REAL reason Paula Deen got diabetes

2012-01-20T00:16:00.002-05:00

If you've been following the news lately, I'm sure you've seen that celebrity chef Paula Deen (known for her notoriously unhealthy dishes) has announced that she has type 2 diabetes, and has known about her condition for at least 3 years, while continuing to promote her unhealthy recipes on her show.

She's been taking some serious heat in the media for all of the sudden partnering with a pharmaceutical company that sells diabetes drugs as opposed to her promoting a healthy lifestyle instead.

I'm always amazed that type 2 diabetics decide to take dangerous drugs as opposed to just changing their eating habits and lifestyle. Remember that type 2 diabetes is 100% reversible simply by eating a very healthy low carbohydrate nutrition plan and exercising regularly.

I couldn't help but catch part of Ms Deen's show the other day where she said they'll be trying to show how to modify some of her recipes to be better for diabetics. The problem is that they seem to be clueless on what changes you actually need to make for a diabetic.

First of all, I think it's ridiculous that she tried to blame her type 2 diabetes on "genetics"... sorry, but humans aren't programmed to get type 2 diabetes, and even if you have family history of type 2 diabetes, eating right and avoiding excessive carbohydrates will prevent it 100% of the time ... people get type 2 diabetes by abusing the blood sugar regulation system in their bodies for years and years with excessive amounts of carbohydrates, particularly too much sugars, corn syrup, and refined grains.

Ok, so back to why their modifications for a diabetic made no sense...

One of the things that they kept saying on the show was how they could reduce the butter, sugar, or egg yolks in a recipe. Now you can see how confused they are about nutrition... Reducing the sugar is a good thing, but what does butter or egg yolks have to do with type 2 diabetes? In fact, NOTHING at all!

Type 2 diabetes is COMPLETELY about excessive carbohydrates throughout one's life... not dietary fat or cholesterol. So why did they keep talking about reducing the butter and egg yolks in recipes? Just shows how most of society is confused about nutrition.

In fact, the butter and egg yolks in a baked product are in most cases the healthiest part of that product, while the sugar and flour are the ingredients that CAUSE diabetes! You can read this article to see more of the health benefits of grass-fed butter.

And as you can see, the Deen crew obviously hasn't been reading my newsletters, so they don't understand that egg yolks are actually the healthiest part of the egg!

The point here is that reducing the sugar and refined carbohydrates is what she really needs to do to reverse her diabetes...not reducing butter or egg yolks!

In fact, I think Paula could easily reverse her type 2 diabetes in as little as 6 months by simply eating more healthy fats, more proteins, and less carbohydrates, while getting all of her carbs from veggies instead of grains and sugars. Add some healthy spices like cinnamon too which are known to help control blood sugar... and throw in some reasonably intense exercise along with that reduced carb nutrition plan, and she'd be good to go!

Want to know something else that fights type 2 diabetes and controls blood sugar...

Read this article for another nutrient that fights diabetes

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Does jogging make you fatter?

2012-01-16T15:14:00.002-05:00

As you probably know from reading my book and a lot of my articles, I'm not a fan of steady pace "jogging" in terms of health benefits... in fact, I've even read about a few emerging studies that have shown heart scarring on people that do long distance jogging at the same heart rate frequently (marathoners for example).

Remember that it's ALL about heart rate variability, as opposed to training at the exact same heart rate all the time. That's why highly variable interval training, bodyweight training, kettlebell training, wind sprinting or hill sprinting, and weight training are all such great forms of exercise... besides the muscular component and metabolic stimulus, they all employ a high degree of heart rate variability, which is what you want for the strongest possible heart.

Read this article to see why "jogging" may even make you fatter.

One interesting thing to note from that article is how your body burns less calories the more frequently that you run, as your body becomes more efficient at it.

Also, take note of the high potential for joint injury from "jogging", as opposed to exercises like kettlebells, weight training, or bodyweight training that can all make your joints stronger when done correctly.

And another major aspect that this article talks about is the reduced metabolic rate as you lose lean muscle from excessive jogging.

On a related topic, make sure to read my article on 5 reasons why treadmills and ellipticals are a WASTE of time for the most part, and my top 10 best alternative workout styles.

Also, read this new article about the ONLY good use I've found for a treadmill. This is actually a GREAT workout!

I hope you are kicking butt in your 2012 fitness goals!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
TruthAboutAbs.com

This "sweet" food can help you fight belly fat

2012-01-09T23:58:00.000-05:00

About 3 weeks ago, I sent a newsletter recommending a new healthy ice cream product that I've really been enjoying personally, and it's a high protein, high fiber ice cream formula called FitFreeze, that also tastes incredible!

Well, according to my help-desk staff, while a lot of people really enjoyed this new healthy ice cream alternative, a few others questioned the ingredients and if they are truly "natural" or not.

Also a few other people were wondering if I actually use FitFreeze myself, or if this was simply an "advertisement". Well, the answer to that is YES, I love this stuff, and I've even made 2 batches of it since Christmas. Hey, I'm not gonna lie...I love ice cream, but I pretty much never buy regular ice cream because of the high loads of sugar. I usually only enjoy ice cream once per month as a treat out at a restaurant, but I don't bring ice cream in my house usually since I might be tempted to eat too much of it at once.

But FitFreeze has allowed me to enjoy a serving of ice cream each night after dinner without having to worry about loading up on massive amounts of sugar in regular ice cream, or the nasty artificial sweeteners that are in typical "light ice cream". FitFreeze, on the other hand, is naturally sweetened with zero-calorie stevia, while also having 15 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber per serving! There's not a single ice cream at the grocery store that can claim that.

Now to answer the question about whether it contains truly "natural" ingredients...

Although there are a few minor ingredients added for texture and extra fiber that might not sound "natural", it doesn't mean that they aren't technically natural. According to the food scientist that helped develop FitFreeze, the product does indeed qualify to be labeled as "natural", and any minor ingredients such as polydextrose or cellulose gum that may sound questionable are in such small quantities, that it is irrelevant.

Personally, to answer those that questioned a few of the ingredients in FitFreeze, I have no problems at all with the FitFreeze formula... My main goals are to avoid ingredients with MAJOR issues such as hydrogenated oils (trans fats), refined omega-6 oils (inflammatory), harmful artificial sweeteners, or added sugars or high fructose corn syrup. And FitFreeze doesn't contain any of those harmful ingredients.

And the cool thing is that you can customize Fitfreeze by adding your own extra ingredients to the vanilla or chocolate flavors that they currently sell. Since you mix FitFreeze in the blender before freezing, you can add a few extra healthy ingredients in you want to customize.

For example, during Christmas week at my mom's house, I made a batch of chocolate FitFreeze and added a little bit of banana and peanut butter to make a chocolate-banana-peanut-butter ice cream. It was great! And just this week at my house, I made the vanilla FitFreeze with some added frozen organic black cherries and raw walnuts to the blender to make a Vanilla-cherry-walnut ice cream... mmm, delicious!

Lastly, my help-desk told me that a few people also complained about why they had to pay shipping despite the offer being for free samples of FitFreeze. Geez, cut them a break... they would go out of business if they shipped thousands of cartons out without at least covering their shipping costs. I think it's completely fair for them to charge for shipping if you want to try out the free samples. After all, this is a unique product and isn't something that you can find in any store.

You can try FitFreeze free samples here for only S&H.

If you want to read my initial post about FitFreeze, you can read here the delicious details about this healthy lean-body ice cream.

I think you'll enjoy this new high protein, high fiber ice cream as much as I have!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

How to lose your lower abdomen fat (stubborn fat)

2012-01-03T22:42:00.002-05:00

I've got something really cool for you today... it's a 14-day sequence to lose significant amounts of lower abdomen fat, and these are some powerful techniques! And it focuses on what's been termed "stubborn fat".

You can grab this report (with no email opt-in required to get access) here:

The Stubborn Fat Protocol: Your 14-Day Sequence to Lose Your Lower Abdomen Fat

This is a BRAND new report that you are going to LOVE... and it contains some extremely powerful techniques for getting rid of lower abdomen fat in a smart and scientific way.

I met the author, Shaun Hadsall, at a fitness conference last summer and I was instantly intrigued in some of the methods that Shaun told me he was experimenting with. And one other thing... Shaun doesn't preach a good game and then not take care of himself...the dude is ripped, so you know he follows his own advice.

Make sure to check this out here:

How to lose significant lower abdomen fat in 14 days
Enjoy! And please pass this email on to your friends and family and help them improve their health and body in 2012!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Quick "on-the-go" fat-burning breakfasts

2011-12-31T12:20:00.003-05:00

I just had a conversation with a good friend of mine who said she needs options for FAST "on-the-go" healthy breakfasts, because she doesn't have time in the morning to make a full omelette and veggies breakfast.

This is a problem for a lot of people and most people end up resorting to a cereal breakfast or bagel or toast breakfast, which is NOT good if you're looking to get truly lean and healthy.

Remember as I've talked about many times before that studies consistently show that people that eat cereal or other carbohydrate-based breakfasts such as bagels, toast, or muffins typically struggle more with bodyweight (and blood sugar, cravings, etc) compared to those that eat more of a protein and healthy fat based breakfast.

As you know, I tend to favor having eggs and veggies (and avocado) as my breakfast of choice. But as my friend asked here, she doesn't have time in the morning to make an omelette breakfast.

So what are the best choices so that you don't have to resort to cereals, bagels, and other carb-based breakfasts that will make you fatter, cause your blood sugar to go crazy, and have you craving more carbs the rest of the day?

Here were my suggestions for FAST, but healthy options that will help your goal in getting lean and also controlling blood sugar:

Option 1. On your way out of the house, grab a piece of fruit (an apple, orange, pear, or bag of berries) and a ziplock bag of almonds, pecans, or walnuts. Go with raw nuts if possible to prevent the polyunsaturated fats from oxidizing as can happen in roasted nuts. But even roasted nuts are a better option compared to cereals or bagels.

You might want to get a little extra protein to go with this breakfast too, so try to swig down a quick glass of a quality whey protein (preferably raw grass-fed whey) before leaving the house.

Option 2. Another quick option for a healthy blood sugar stabilizing breakfast is to make a quick protein and berry smoothie. If you need to get out of the house quick in the morning, it only takes a minute to blend up a smoothie, put it in a to-go container and head out.

Try to mix in some frozen berries for extra fiber and antioxidants as well as some nutrient dense chia seeds and/or hemp seeds for extra nutrition. Some organic unsweetened cocoa powder adds helpful blood pressure lowering antioxidants.

Unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk makes a great base for the smoothie, and you can try either a whey protein, or a mix such as Prograde Lean (which as 35 gms of protein and 8 gms of blood sugar controlling fiber).

Option 3. And yet another great option for a FAST and healthy breakfast "on-the-go" is simply to grab a couple hard boiled eggs and veggie sticks (and maybe some hummus too). You can't go wrong with this nutrient-rich breakfast as it's the perfect breakfast to get super lean and keep your blood sugar and appetite 100% controlled.

There you have it... 3 perfect options for fast "on-the-go" lean body breakfasts! Rotate all 3 of these ideas if you need variety each week.

Want more tips for a leaner body in 2012? Check out my buddy Rob's advice here:

3 Simple and quick "tiny belly" tricks

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

My new discovery: HEALTHY ICE CREAM!

2011-12-21T22:40:00.003-05:00

Let's face it... typical sugar-loaded ice cream is NOT usually our friend in keeping a lean body...

BUT, I just recently tried out an awesome new healthy ice cream product, and I'm pretty excited about this discovery.

First of all, this ice cream tastes freakin amazing... but aside from taste, check out this unheard of nutrition profile of this ice cream:

* 8 grams of fiber per serving (show me another ice cream with 8 grams of fiber!)
* 15 grams of PROTEIN per serving (sorry, I don't know any ice cream that has more than 2 grams of protein)
* ZERO artificial sweeteners (that's right, no nasty cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting chemicals that are in most "lite" ice creams)
* a measly 5 grams of sugar per serving (compared to about 25 grams of sugar in a serving of normal ice cream)
* 100% all-natural, with no artificial chemicals
* helps satisfy sugar cravings in a healthy way

Pretty exciting stuff huh... Now you can have ice cream for dessert each night and not feel guilty!

I've personally tried both the chocolate and vanilla flavors and they are both out of this world. I also added some pecans and cinnamon to the vanilla flavor, which was deeee-lish!

And here's the best part yet... since this product is brand new, the company is trying to increase awareness and word-of-mouth about the new healthy ice cream product by giving away free samples! I'm friends with the owner of this company which was how I got to taste-test both the chocolate and vanilla flavors and I can tell you... you are going to LOVE this...

Try out a free sample of this healthy ice cream here.

Where else can you get ice cream with 15 grams of protein per serving, and 8 grams of fiber per serving... awesome stuff!

By the way, speaking of healthy desserts, if you haven't tried my healthy fudge recipe or my healthy pudding recipes yet, make sure to bookmark these pages below:

My delicious healthy chocolate fudge recipe

My healthy lean-body chocolate pudding recipe

I think you'll LOVE these healthy desserts!

Also, if you haven't tried any of these desserts yet, make sure to check out my friend Kelley's incredibly healthy dessert recipes here.

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The WORST gifts that can harm your friends

2011-12-09T23:31:00.001-05:00

You would never want to purposely cause your friends and family diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer, right?

But with some Holiday gifts that are all too common, you do just THAT... you contribute to those horrible health issues for your friends and family.

I know this might sound a little overly health-conscious to some, but every time you buy a friend or family member a junk food gift like a big box of cheap commercial chocolates (loaded with corn syrup and trans fats), pies/cakes, or a giant sugary fruit cake, you're essentially CAUSING your friend or family member to get one-step closer to their grave...

Do you really want to contribute to your friends and family getting horrendous diseases like diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer?

I'm not going to sit here and say that all Holiday junk food is off limits at all times... after all, you know I believe in weekly "cheat days" to keep your sanity and also help your metabolism.

But the problem is that you know that if you give a friend a big box of chocolates or a fruit cake, they're going to eat that crap every day for at least a week straight. And if they're the type of person with no self discipline, you're contributing to their deteriorating health. Not good!

Instead of hurting your friends health... The fact is that there are DELICIOUS YET HEALTHY ways to make mouth-watering chocolates, healthy chocolate fudge, pies, cakes, and all of those other seemingly "off limits" desserts... you just need to use a few tricks that are easy to follow and can make almost any dessert or sweet treat into a healthy "lean-body" version.

My friend Kelley shows you how here:

How to make healthy fat-burning cakes, pies, cheesecake, chocolates, and brownies

I absolutely LOVED this! Instead of sending your friends and family one step closer to the grave, make some of these healthy desserts for them and help them get healthier!

And all of those delicious desserts are gluten-free, low-sugar, diabetic-friendly, and also loaded with healthy fats that contribute to a leaner body.

Also, here are a few more great Holiday gifts that you can give that help spread good health instead of deteriorating health...

1. Food Inc., Movie -- this has been one of my favorite documentaries that sheds light on our horrendous food supply and what you can do about it to protect your health and contribute to the greater good of an improving food supply.

I think this documentary is a MUST-SEE for everyone. If you have kids, it's also good to watch with your kids to teach them about nutrition and our food supply.

2. Burzynski, the Movie -- If you're concerned about cancer, or have a loved one that has been fighting or killed by cancer, this documentary is a must-see. Remember that cancer is BIG business, and unfortunately corporate profits have ruled over saving lives. You'll be infuriated to hear the story about this Polish doctor and biochemist, Burzynski, and his cancer treatment discovery that is MORE effective than chemo or radiation, yet he's been harassed for over a decade by the FDA to keep this treatment hushed up, as it stands to crumble a billion dollar cancer industry.

3. King Corn, Movie -- This is another great documentary about our food supply. This is done in an entertaining way, but also shows why corn is the basis of our food supply, and how basing our food supply around corn deteriorates our health. You'll also learn quite a few new facts about how bad this trend really is in our food supply.

I could probably think of a few more that I've seen over the last year, but these 3 are great gifts, and also must-see documentaries for yourself too! If I remember a few other good ones, I'll let you know.

Another great gift below... although this is more self-improvement instead of health...

A brain trick to learn ANY new language in only 10 days?
You may already know this about me, but I LOVE to travel and explore the world. I've traveled extensively in South America, Central America, Mexico, lots of islands, and Europe. In fact, I just got back from a little surfing and enjoying beautiful Mexico last week.

While traveling is a blast, one of my biggest frustrations is that I only know english and frequently cannot communicate with locals in many of the countries we travel through.

Over the past year or two, I've had the chance to become good friends with the CEO of a really cool company that shows you how to learn ANY language in only 10 days, and 30 minutes per day. The interesting thing is that they don't use any of the standard techniques taught in college courses or even the popular Rosetta Stone.

They use a technique that works MUCH faster and easier than most courses. My girlfriend and I have just started on the spanish version so that the next time we travel to Mexico or any other spanish speaking countries, we can communicate with the locals.

If you want to learn a new language FAST, you'll be blown away by this... check it out:

How to learn ANY language in only 10 days (30 minutes per day)
This makes a great Holiday gift too!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The effects of antibiotics on your belly fat and gut flora

2011-12-03T12:27:00.000-05:00

I know that there is a time and place for antibiotics, particularly with life-threatening infections. However, there's a dark side to taking antibiotics, and as you'll see in today's brand new article, you'll see how one of the side-effects of taking antibiotics is increased abdominal fat.

Scary huh! Read the new article here:

Do antibiotics increase your abdominal fat?

This article is important for your health and that of your family and friends, so please fwd this email on to any of your friends, family, or co-workers to help protect their health.

I think you'll find this article quite shocking when you see some of the scientific proof on how antibiotics effect the health and diversity of your gut flora, and the negative effects of this on your digestion and immune system.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

How to eat a FEAST and stay lean

2011-11-23T01:01:00.002-05:00

It seems that Thanksgiving week every year, all I keep seeing everywhere in the media and in online fitness articles is how you need to control yourself this Thanksgiving so you don't pack on the pounds from the feasting.

These articles and news stories tell you how you need to "control your portions", or eat "low-fat gravy" (and other garbage fitness advice) and be disciplined on this holiday where you'll be tempted to stuff your face with stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, yams, and all of the pies and desserts.

Well, I have a WAY different opinion on this. In fact, why should we restrict at all? After all, in the US, it's only 1 day per year that you have this enormous Thanksgiving feast. Why not just eat as much as you want?

Seriously, 1 day of feasting out of a full year is NOT going to make or break the results you're getting with your fitness routine, as long as you make sure a massive feast like this is a VERY rare occasion.

As a matter of fact, even if you decide to feast on every holiday that you celebrate throughout the year, this is still only going to be 5 or 6 feasts per year.

That's only about 1 feast every 2 months... certainly nothing that is worth worrying about in terms of your fitness results.

In fact, as you know, I've written about a similar topic like this many times before, when we talk about having a weekly "cheat day"...

Now keep in mind, I would consider a weekly cheat day to be a step below a Thanksgiving feast in terms of calories... but the fact remains that OCCASIONAL overeating can actually have surprising benefits to revamping your metabolic rate via the leptin hormone response (this triggers your body to "crank up" your metabolism again if you've been restricting calories previously).

I will stress though, when it comes to the scale of feasting that typically comes with Thanksgiving meals in the US, that this really does only mean occasional feasting. This means that you still do have to control your caloric intake the majority of the time if you want the lean body you're looking for.

But my main point of this email is that I think it's downright silly to sit there on Thanksgiving or any other holiday for that matter and try to restrict yourself too much when these holidays are really only a few days out of the entire year. Just make sure to get your normal healthy diet back on track the very next day after the Thanksgiving feast.

So I say... go right ahead and eat as much as you want... Just be sure you make it to the gym the day after Thanksgiving for a SUPER high intensity resistance training workout.

In fact, training hard with weights the day after Thanksgiving will give you the best pump you'll feel all year long from the super-saturated muscle glycogen in your muscle cells. I actually LOVE to do a really high volume "muscle pump" style workout the day after thanksgiving to really get that cool pumped up feeling and help utilize all of that stored muscle glycogen.

Alright, enjoy your Thanksgiving feast! And if you do this right, you can actually benefit from the T-day feast by boosting your metabolism (via leptin response) and also get the best pump of the year in your weight training workout the day after Thanksgiving.

Feast hard, train hard!

Want to see a really cool daily trick you can use to "crank up" your metabolism? This particular trick has nothing to do with overeating on occasion...but is a very unique tactic. Check it out below, and you'll see at about the 2 minute mark how to do this:

A very unique daily trick to "crank up" your metabolism

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

How to make (or order) a healthier low sugar margarita

2011-11-18T18:09:00.002-05:00

I'm sure you know that most Margaritas are a disaster for your body... some popular Margaritas can have as much as 500 calories, mostly from all of the sugar or high fructose corn syrup in the sour mix used.

So today, I'm going to show you how to save 400 calories by ordering a much healthier Margarita version, and you'll also see my "Super-Human Margarita" recipe if you want to make it even healthier:

How to order a Lean-Body Margarita - plus my Super-Human Margarita recipe

Remember that heavy drinking will definitely hurt your efforts for a lean and healthy body, but 1-2 drinks a couple days a week I think can actually be a healthy part of your plan. Drink responsibly, and make it a healthy drink!

Also, I have a full article on how to balance moderate social drinking into your fitness plan and stay lean...make sure to read it:

7 tips to enjoy moderate alcohol and stay lean
Enjoy your weekend!

Oh, one last thing...

Have you read about the "bionic burger" that even mold and bacteria refuses to eat? Yet you might be eating these or feeding them to your children.

PS - if you liked todays articles, please fwd this email on to any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy it.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

A healthy fat-burning BROWNIE recipe? (gluten-free, diabetic safe)

2011-11-15T23:35:00.006-05:00

If you've been reading my newsletters for some time, I'm sure you know that I LOVE cooking and baking, and making seemingly unhealthy meals, snacks, or desserts into healthy versions.

In fact, my own recipes for healthy chocolate fudge and also my healthy chocolate pudding on the TruthAboutAbs site have both become extremely popular worldwide!

But I was recently introduced to a chef who is the MASTER at creating healthy but delicious desserts (yes, I'll admit she's even better than me!), that are also diabetic-friendly and with no gluten as well -- which is a major concern for many these days...

Her name is Kelley and she has PERFECTED the art of making desserts that are very low in sugar, high in fiber, higher in protein, and also with no gluten and also healthy for diabetics!

I've been reading through some of Kelley's recipes and I am LOVING them! I can't wait to try every single recipe recipe she's created.

I don't get excited very often like this because most so-called "healthy" recipe books usually recommend terrible ingredients like artificial sweeteners, or "low-fat" ingredients which simply gives you a high sugar, low-fat recipe that spikes your blood sugar and makes you fatter.

Not Kelley.... she's one of the few chefs and authors that actually "gets it" and understands that healthy eating can involve ample amounts of fat, as long as it's healthy fat (which also makes delicious moist desserts!)

Go here to see how Kelley makes healthy fat-burning brownies
(and 40 other healthy delicious desserts that are diabetic friendly and no gluten!)

What else will you find in Kelley's awesome healthy dessert recipes? Well, how about these:

* healthy chocolate chip cookies
* healthy carrot cake cupcakes
* healthy flourless chocolate cake
* healthy cheesecake with berries
* healthy chocolate coconut truffles
* healthy cranberry pecan muffins
* healthy poundcake (with 10 grams of protein per serving!)
* healthy espresso chocolate mousse
* healthy mint chip ice cream
* healthy creme brulee

...and over 40 other delicious mouth-watering healthy dessert recipes that are diabetic-friendly and no gluten -- and I put my personal "Lean-Body" seal of approval on these dessert recipes!

Check out Kelley's mouth-watering healthy desserts here

You're going to LOVE these.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

This MRT trick burns fat for 2 full days

2011-11-10T01:21:00.000-05:00

If you've been a reader of this newsletter for some time, I'm sure you know that I'm much more of a fan of interval training compared to steady pace cardio when it comes to fat loss.

Even for recreational activities that I enjoy, such as hiking and mountain biking, these involve large variations in intensity depending on the steepness of the climb at any given time, ground conditions, ascent vs descent, etc... and this means a lot of heart rate variability, which is a good thing.

This is vastly different than what you see most people do at gyms where they get on a treadmill or elliptical and go the same exact pace (and heart rate) for an hour or more... booooorrrrring! (and ineffective too)

But let's take another step more advanced than even interval training...

In this case, what I'm referring to is MRT (metabolic resistance training)
As you know, I'm a HUGE fan of resistance training (weight training and/or bodyweight training) to get a lean, strong, functional body... and you also know I'm a huge fan of interval training.

MRT is essentially a form of combining resistance training with interval training.

Here's a KILLER workout example using MRT from my good friends Craig and Joel from 24/7 Fat Loss...

1A) DB Bulgarian Split Squat 1 & ½ rep-style - 8 reps per side (tempo 2-0-1)
1B) DB Triple Press - 6 reps per position (2-0-1)
1C) DB Elbow-out Row - 8 reps per side (2-0-1)

Perform the above circuit with no rest between exercises. Rest 1 minute after completing the circuit. Repeat the circuit twice more for a total of 3 rounds, resting 1 minute between each. After completing all rounds rest 1 minute and move on to below circuit.

2A) Goblet Squat - 40 seconds
2B) Renegade Crawl - 40 seconds
2C) DB Swing - 40 seconds
2D) Stability Ball Cross-Body Mountain Climber - 40 seconds

Perform the above circuit with no rest between exercises. Rest 1 minute after completing the circuit. Repeat the circuit twice more for a total of 3 rounds, resting 1 minute between each. After completing all rounds rest 1 minute and move on to below circuit.

3A) Prisoner Squat - 40 seconds
3B) Jumping Jacks - 40 seconds
3C) Prisoner Lunge - 40 seconds
3D) Run-in-Place - 40 seconds

Perform the above circuit with no rest between exercises. Rest 30 seconds after completing the circuit. Repeat the circuit twice more for a total of 3 rounds, resting 30 seconds between each.

End workout
3-4 minutes Stretching

The day after this workout is completed can be a 20-minute interval session.

For full descriptions of any of these exercises and also the full progressional programs from beginner to advanced, make sure to grab your copy of the brand new 24/7 Fat Loss System today. (Extra bonuses expire tonight)

Now this is an awesome style of workout that gets CRAZY results for a lean body!

Remember that today is the last day to take advantage of the extra bonus (The 4-day RapidFatLossDiet) that comes with the new 24/7 Fat Loss System.

Get started on your new lean body with the 24/7 Fat Loss System & The 4-day Rapid Fat Loss Diet bonus

Enjoy those workouts!

On a similar topic, you can see here why I think treadmills and ellipticals are a completely ineffective form of exercise.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The EXACT time to eat carbs for fat loss

2011-11-09T01:45:00.000-05:00

I wanted to clarify some concepts today about carbohydrates and fat loss. If you've been a reader of my newsletters for some time, you may feel like I bash carbs quite often... This is true to some extent, but there are exceptions.

I believe over consumption of grain-based carbs in particular (breads, cereals, pasta, etc) is one of the major factors holding most people back from a lean body. Notice I said OVER-consumption of grains. I don't like to 100% forbid any one food type (except artificial trans fats, which are just THAT evil).

And keep in mind that carbs come in many more forms than just grains... we've also got fruits, berries, veggies, beans, potatoes, etc... some of which are much healthier than grains as a carb source.

...and if you've paid close attention to these newsletters, you also know that I strategically incorporate good amounts of delicious carbs into meal plans that get great fat loss results. This could be cheat days, but also can be daily timing for optimal carb usage by your body.

So today I wanted to talk about the concept of Carb Synching... this term was created by my friends Craig Ballantyne and Joel Marion of 24/7 Fat Loss...

With the "Carb Synching" technique, you basically ONLY eat carbs when your body is most primed to deal with carbs, and you consume mostly protein, fats, and veggies at ALL other times of the day and week.

There are 2 particular times when your body can best deal with carbohydrates, and that is...

1. Immediately after an intense resistance training workout
2. In the mornings

The rest of each day (other than complete cheat days) should rely mostly on proteins, fats, and veggies.

Here's an example of how the Carb Synching technique would work on both a training day and a non-training day... this example would be a typical week with intense resistance training about 3-4 days per week.

Example resistance training day (morning resistance workout)
Breakfast: protein/carbs
Mid-morning: protein/carbs
Lunch: protein/carbs
Mid-afternoon: protein/fat
Evening: protein/fat

Notice how the daily carbohydrate intake is all centered around the resistance training time of day, in this example, the morning.

Example non-resistance training day
(In this example, there's either no resistance workout, or only cardio or recreational exercise)

Breakfast: protein/fat
Mid-morning: protein/fat
Lunch: protein/fat
Mid-afternoon: protein/fat
Evening: protein/fat

On this particular day, you keep all the meals based around protein, fats, and veggies. No starchy carbs or sugars.

This system works like crazy because you're taking in the vast majority of your carbohydrates ONLY when your body is primed to deal with them. At all other times, you keep the fat loss furnace blazing, hormones balanced, and blood sugar controlled by only consuming protein, fats, and veggies.

Works like a charm! We've seen this work with hundreds of clients time and time again.

This is just one of the dozens of techniques used in the brand new 24/7 Fat Loss System.

Updated bonus announcement:
Joel and Craig have just updated this offer and if you try out the new 24/7 Fat Loss System, you also get ANOTHER full blown program included!

** The 4-Day Rapid Fat Loss Diet.

As the name suggests, the 4-Day Rapid Fat Loss Diet is a BRAND NEW rapid fat loss program that promises to deliver exceptionally fast fat loss in a very short period of time -- just 4 days.

The program revolves around an incredibly strategic 4 day sequence where each day builds on the previous day to literally create the perfect fat loss environment within your body over the course of 96 hours.

The result? You get measurably leaner in only 4 days.

24/7 Fat Loss + The 4 Day Rapid Fat Loss Diet <------- be leaner by the weekend

Good luck!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

A healthy fat-burning breakfast - and carb addiction?

2011-11-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

I had a question recently from an old friend about her struggles with her weight. Basically, she works out very regularly and intensely, but she still often can't seem to make any progress with her weight.

Now, knowing a good bit about what she eats on a regular basis, I had a fairly good idea of why I think she's still struggling with her weight. Here was my response to her:

--------
T, here's what I think... keep in mind I'm not there to see what you're eating every day, or what your kitchen is stocked with... But from everything you've told me in the past, my instinct tells me that your diet is way too high in grains, and carbs in general, but specifically the grains. Have you ever tried going a solid 2-3 weeks without any grains at all (aside from cheat days)? I think you'd see great results, and it's worth a test!

I'm not going to say this works for absolutely everyone, but almost everyone I've recommended it to that's actually implemented it has seen tremendous results with their body.

It's easier than you think -- unless of course your kids are grain addicts with breads, cereals, etc and having those foods around the house makes it impossible to avoid temptation.

If you want to give it a try, here's an example day for me without any grains that's pretty easy for me to stick to... this is just my example personally, so modify to what works best for you:

I wake up around 9am and do 40 min hike or bike on empty stomach with just tea and bcaa's (to prevent muscle catabolism)

Sometimes I mix my unsweetened iced tea with this Superfoods Cocktail (which has 74 superfood ingredients and is surprisingly delicious!)

breakfast 10am:
-eggs with lots of veggies, a healthy type of grass-fed sausage, cheese, and avocado, and sometimes salsa
-hot tea or occasionally coffee with tiny bit of stevia

130 or 2pm:
apple with almond butter

430pm:
veggie sticks with hummus, and 1 hard boiled egg

workout w/ weights 6-7pm

post workout smoothie 730pm (frozen fruit, grass-fed whey, organic cocoa, etc)

dinner: 10pm
-grass fed steaks or wild salmon
-steamed veggies with melted cheese
-large greens salad with avocado and my home made healthy salad dressing
-small piece of dark chocolate for dessert (1 square)

midnight snack: some almonds or pecans and chamomile tea

Not so hard right? And it works! I've never had a client that didn't get super lean on this type of plan (if they actually followed it, which is another story).

The thing I've noticed with almost everybody that's told me they are struggling with their weight despite working out really hard is when I look at their nutrition, they are essentially "carb addicts".... almost every single time, their house is loaded with cereals, orange juice, breads, bagels, muffins, pasta, etc. Give up that stuff at least 6 days a week, and the weight flies off no problem.

Did you know how important your hormone balance is to fat loss?

This video is loaded with great tips from a well respected doctor:

3 Sneaky hormones that are destroying your metabolism?

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

What are the healthiest and most unhealthy condiments?

2011-10-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

I just put together a brand new article for you that I think you'll like...

You're going to be surprised at some of the healthiest condiments (and most unhealthy condiments too) that you can put on food:

The top 5 healthiest condiments (and the WORST)

How did ketchup fare? mayo? guac? mustard? barbeque sauce?

What about your favorite food condiment? It's all in the article!

As you can see in the article, you need to beware about the ingredients in ketchup, bbq sauce, mayo, and even most salad dressings. On the other hand, some of the super healthy condiments such as mustard, guacamole, or pesto might have surprised you!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

How to get deep cut abs (unusual post workout trick)

2011-10-28T02:17:00.000-05:00

My friend Rusty Moore is a fanatic when it comes to having dense and defined abs.

I asked him what his favorite ab exercise was. Here's what he told me:

Mike,

20 years ago back in college I met a golf pro with amazing abs. When I asked him how he got such ripped deep abs he demonstrated how to effectively perform the Hanging Leg Raise. Within 4-5 months of following his routine I had the most ripped abs of my life.

...but there was a problem. Hanging Leg Raises were weakening my spine, creating an unnatural curve, and slowly bringing me bad lower back pain. The same thing happened to my workout partner at that time.

So I dropped this routine...did planks and other stabilization exercises for the next few months...and simply had O.K. abs.

But a little over a year ago, I found out a way to use the ab routine the golf pro taught me...and without risking lower back pain or back injury!

The Discovery?

---> Do hip bridges or back bridges after each and every ab workout!

[+] Lay down on an exercise mat and push your hips up high.
[+] As time passes, relax your hip flexors and push a little higher.
[+] Hold this position for 3-4 minutes.

The reason this works?

Doing too many ab exercises over time can curl the spine forward and over time weaken the spinal column. Bridging brings back the natural arch in your spine and makes it strong.

I recommend that you end each and every ab workout with some form of bridging.

After doing these you will actually feel a bit taller.

It also ensures that you don't get that "pulled forward" posture that is so common among guys who train a lot.

Men go here for more tips to get that lean, cut, chiseled "hollywood look"

For the ladies reading this...

Here is Rusty's site geared specifically for women...

Tips for women to get the slim feminine physique:

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The government saturated fat tax?

2011-10-10T19:11:00.001-05:00

You might have heard on the news over the past couple of weeks that the government in Denmark apparently implemented a "saturated fat tax", which imposes an extra tax on foods that have a certain % of saturated fat in them.

Now I know this type of stuff really angers a lot of people... whether it's an extra cigarette tax, a soda tax, or this new so-called "saturated fat tax".

But I don't want to delve into that argument today... I want to talk about something that's even more concerning about this particular tax, and shows how clueless governments are about nutrition.

The MAJOR issue as I see it here is that there's ZERO scientific proof that saturated fat is bad for you!

Apparently the Danish government hasn't been made aware of the new scientific findings in recent years that has completely debunked the MYTH which originated in the 1950's that saturated fat is bad for you.

If you've been a long time reader of my newsletters here, you should already know the science that saturated fat is in fact, NOT bad for you, and in some cases, can even be VERY beneficial to you, including hormonal balance, immune system function, and so on.

If you need a refresher on the some of the science of why saturated fat can actually be good for you, read these 2 articles:

Yes, saturated fat can actually be GOOD for you

The TRUTH about saturated fat (written by a PhD in nutritional biochemistry)

Back to this absurd "saturated fat tax"...

Just look at the example of coconuts and coconut fat... there's not a single nutrition scientist with half a brain that would claim that coconut fat is bad for you... in fact, although it's 90% saturated fat, it's one of the healthiest fats you can eat, yet according to this Danish saturated fat tax, you'd have to pay a hefty tax if you wanted to eat healthful coconut fat.

Now to give the Danish government some credit, apparently they had already banned the use of trans fats a while back. At least they got that one right. This is something I think every government should ban, as there's no reason any human should still be ingesting artificial trans fats in this day and age that we know how deadly they really are...especially considering that there are healthier alternatives to trans fats that can be used for cooking oils, such as saturated fats!

If you want to live and breath TRUE nutrition, make sure you've watched my friend and nutritionist, Isabel De Los Rios' nutrition video here:

4 so-called "healthy" foods to STOP eating

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

A link between air pollution and abdominal fat?

2011-10-06T00:44:00.001-05:00

This may sound like a weird study, but it's just more evidence that the further we stray from our natural world, the worse health we see. This applies to our degraded food supply, our stressful lives in this modern era, our water pollution, noise pollution (yes, living in a noisy city subconsciously increases our stress levels and deteriorates health), and also, air pollution.

According to Men's Health, "Researchers at Ohio State University found that mice exposed to air pollution developed more abdominal fat, higher blood sugar levels, and more insulin resistance than mice who breathed clean air. Pollutants may trigger an increase in the number and size of fat cells."

I know this particular study was on mice, but I don't think anybody will disagree that exposure to air pollution is definitely going to have negative health effects on humans with chronic exposure. And this study just happened to show that some of those negative health effects can be on body fat and insulin resistance.

So, if you live in out in the countryside or the mountains, you can rejoice about how your clean air is helping your body!

One other not so fun fact for you regarding air pollution...
Did you know that if you live in a smoggy city, even on a sunny day in the summer, the UVB rays don't pass through the smog sufficiently enough to trigger Vitamin D production in your body. UVA rays pass through smog, but only UVB rays trigger Vit D production in your body, and UVB is blocked by smog.

So someone who lives in a smoggy city could easily end up chronically deficient in Vitamin D, which as you know, can throw almost every hormone in your body out of whack.

... Just more bad news for air pollution. I know you don't have much choice if you live in a polluted city (except to fight against air pollution), but this is just more reason for trips out to the countryside or mountains to breath that fresh air and get your vitamin D producing sunshine, non-impeded by smog.

**By the way, if you missed the other newsletters this week, today is the last day to take advantage of all of the crazy fat loss bonuses that my friend and nutritionist, Josh Bezoni, has for you here:

Last day for the fat loss bonuses with the 7-Day BellyBlastDiet 2.0

Want to read more of my articles about Vitamin D (one of THE most important substances in your body) ...

Why our food supply is lower in Vitamin D now compared to decades ago

How your skin pigmentation and latitude you live affects your health

I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets.

Please fwd this email to any of your friends that would benefit.

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

Can coffee be super healthy?

2011-09-30T16:08:00.000-05:00

Ahh delicious coffee... almost everybody drinks it... some people have 3-4 cups per day or more. There are apparently more than 150 MILLION coffee drinkers in the US alone.

But most people don't think of coffee as a "health drink". And it's certainly NOT healthy the way most people make it with loads of added sugar or artificial sweeteners and artificial trans fat laden creamers.

Read my quick article today and you'll see how to make the healthiest cup of coffee that's both healthy AND delicious:

3 tricks to make your coffee super-healthy

Did you not know about some of the health benefits and powerful antioxidants in coffee? Read this article about the powerful health benefits of coffee.

Enjoy! Please feel free to send this page to any of your friends or family that love coffee.

Mike Geary
Author of best-seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

How PYY controls your appetite and cravings

2011-09-25T21:12:00.000-05:00

What exactly is "PYY" and how does it tame your appetite and cravings?

Well, PYY is a hormone in your body called Peptide YY. PYY is an important hormone that that controls your appetite and signals you to stop eating.

PYY has also been shown to increase your leptin sensitivity, which is a good thing. If you've read my book or a lot of my past newsletters, you already know that leptin is an important hormone that keeps your metabolism humming in high gear!

So how do we increase PYY so that we can control our appetite best when considering the quantity of calories we've ingested? Great question and surprisingly, I have a simple answer for you...

Proteins and fats increase PYY in your body to a great extent. Carbohydrates do almost nothing for PYY.

Therefore, if you've been following my advice and eat a nice hearty protein and healthy fat rich breakfast such as whole eggs, veggies, healthy grass-fed meats, and avocado, you'll increase your PYY and control your appetite for the rest of the day so well, that you'll easily control your caloric intake without much effort.

However, if you've ignored my advice, and continue to eat the typical american breakfast of cereals, muffins, toast, bagels, orange juice, and sugar-loaded coffees... your appetite the rest of the day is going to be ravenous and very hard to control as you've done nothing to stimulate appetite-killing PYY in your body. And just to clarify, high fiber cereals and bran muffins are still total junk and are not necessary nor optimal for good health or fat loss.

If you don't like eggs for breakfast, seek out another high protein, high fat (healthy fat) based breakfast such as a protein meal replacement such as PG Lean with added almond butter and coconut milk for extra healthy fats... this is a great PYY-increasing, appetite-satisfying breakfast if you don't have time to cook.

...Or maybe have hard boiled eggs and veggie sticks from the night before to take on the road with you if you don't feel like you have time to make eggs each morning.

I hope today's quick tip helps... remember, it's ALL about protein and healthy fats to control appetite and maximize your good hormones, and give you stable energy... on the other hand, those typical carb-dominated breakfasts (the typical american breakfast) just destroy your ability to control your appetite and also keep you on a wild blood sugar ride all morning... not good!

If you haven't already seen this, I highly recommend watching my friend, and fellow nutritionist, Isabel De Los Rios' information packed nutrition video:

So-called "healthy" foods to NEVER eat (if you want a flat stomach)

This video is chock full of great tips to eat healthier and get lean!

Related Popular TruthAboutAbs articles:

Carcinogens in your cereal and bread? (more ammo against grains, as if you needed any more)

2 Ways that corn can KILL you? (overly dramatic or real issues?)

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The WORST food to ever eat - if you want a flat belly

2011-09-21T23:11:00.001-05:00

What is the absolute worst food for your body? We're talking foods that cause cancer, diabetes, a fat belly, and lots more damage to your body...

Is it donuts? Maybe french fries or chips? Those trans fats are very damaging to your insides! What about mac & cheese or pizza? Soft drinks stuffed with high fructose corn syrup? Sugar-loaded muffins, cookies, and cakes? Or what about foods like pasta, cereals, and breads that most people falsely think are "healthy"?

Hmm ... although all of these foods are at the top of my "bad" list, let's distinguish what is the WORST for YOU specifically...

The worst food ever is ... drum roll please ... ANY food that you personally can't stop eating. I'm talking about your personal "trigger foods". You know, that one food that you'll keep eating until you practically make yourself sick.

For some it's ice cream. For others, it's candy, chocolate, or something crunchy and salty like chips or fries. For me, it used to be cereals years ago... Once I'd have one bowl, I'd be like some crazed addict and need to eat 2-3 more bowls.

Note - I NEVER EVER keep cereals around my house anymore, as I don't have the willpower to resist them, nor are they a food that hunter-gatherer humans were ever meant to eat in nature (hence the antinutrients in grains).

Whatever it is, if your trigger food is in your house ... chances are you'll come up with dozens of excuses about why it's okay to eat it.

"I'll workout extra hard tomorrow."

Or,

"I ate really healthy earlier today so it's okay to cheat tonight"

Or,

"I don't care ... give me that darn ice cream scooper!"

The key to getting (and keeping a flat belly) is recognizing these trigger foods and keeping them OUT OF YOUR HOUSE all the time!

Seriously. This tip alone can save you thousands of calories every week.

So today's take home message is this: make a list of your top trigger foods and "send them packin'."

I know that the thought of never having your favorite junk food in your house again may SCARE you to death, but this doesn't mean you can never eat them again.

The secret is to ONLY eat these favorite junk trigger foods on your cheat day (1 cheat day per week) and NEVER keep them in your house! So this means going OUT to eat on your cheat day, but NOT bringing these foods in your house. Let's face it... almost nobody has the willpower to avoid their favorite junk foods all week long if they are staring you in the face in your cupboards.

If you eat close to 100% clean 6 days/week, then you can get away with eating your favorite junk trigger foods on 1 cheat day per week. It works...try it!

In case you missed my email yesterday, make sure to grab this new complimentary 40-page special report below...

FIFTEEN foods that kill belly fat fast (last chance to grab this)

Want some more ideas of the healthy foods that SHOULD fill your kitchen... make sure you've read these 2 articles below:

My top 55 flat-belly foods

7 healthy high-fat foods that help you get lean

Bon appetit!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

18 foods and nutrients to boost testosterone levels

2011-09-13T00:14:00.000-05:00

I just read through a great new report that talks all about foods and nutrients to help guys balance their hormones better and also increase those ever important T levels (yes, that's testosterone!)

Although this report is geared towards the men, I think you ladies reading this will also want to make sure to download this report for your man... remember that the benefits of balancing hormones and improving T levels is more than just a better body... it's also more desire in the bedroom too!

Inside the report you'll also find out about 18 specific foods that can help with Testosterone levels, and also a few obscure nutrients that can assist too... You can grab this new report for FREE here:

18 foods and 6 obscure nutrients to boost Testosterone levels for men (free report)

On a similar topic, make sure you've read this vitally important article below about how your cell phone can actually reduce your Testosterone levels, and what to do about it to protect yourself:

Can cell phone radiation HARM your Testosterone levels? (important article and protective steps)

And while we're at it, did you know that there are studies that show harm to your bone density in the area of your body that you carry your cell phone? Read this article to see:

Study on cell phone use and damage to your bones

And because I really want to see you maximize the effects of increasing your testosterone levels naturally, make sure to incorporate the exercise techniques in this article:

2 powerful exercise tips to boost testosterone and growth hormone levels naturally

As always, if you found the information helpful today, please pass this web page onto your friends and family.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

My personal daily fat-loss routine

2011-09-01T02:18:00.000-05:00

When I first meet someone and they hear what I do for a living as a fitness author, and see that I'm in good shape... one of the first things that most people want to hear is what I do personally on my daily routines... what do my workouts look like, and what do I eat.

Theory and science is great, but sometimes most people just want to hear examples of what's working for someone else.

So I'm going to keep most of the science and theory out of this and just show you what works for me for a daily routine.

Now I know that I said "daily fat loss routine" in the subject of this email, but in reality, I only focus on a fat-loss routine for certain portions of the year. At other times of the year, I might be focusing on muscle building (usually in the winter). And at other times of the year, I might be focusing on just maintaining leanness, but not necessarily trying to get leaner.

I'll focus this email on what has worked for me during both fat-loss goals and just maintaining leanness of around 8-10% bodyfat.

Ok, let's get started with mornings...

In the mornings, I've been toying around this year with semi-fasted exercise, which is usually wind sprints at the nearby soccer field 2-3 times/week, or a hike up the mountain behind my house 2-3 times/week.

What do I mean by "semi-fasted exercise"?
Well, you've probably heard a lot of debate in the fitness world about the efficacy of empty stomach morning cardio. Some people swear it's the holy grail of fat loss and others say it can cause too much lean muscle loss, hence lowering your resting metabolic rate.

In my TruthAboutAbs book, you may remember that I said that I experimented with empty stomach morning cardio in the past and it always backfired on me, causing me to lose muscle, which was NOT my goal. The solution to this is to take about 4-5 grams of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA's) first thing in the morning and this is supposed to prevent the muscle catabolism that would normally occur since your body is breaking down muscle tissue to obtain the aminos it needs for organ function, etc.

However, even taking the BCAA's in the morning, I still would never get a good workout, because I would feel weak without having any calories in me since the night before. And a weak workout is going to get poor results compared to a workout where you feel strong and energetic.

The solution I came up with was just to drink a concoction I came up with that's only about 60-80 calories, first thing in the morning (but no carbs), and then do my exercise. This concoction would cause very little, if any blood sugar response, so theoretically should keep me in fat-burning mode. However, it's just enough to give me the energy to get through my morning wind sprints or hike up the mountain with good intensity instead of feeling lethargic.

Here's my morning drink concoction:
* 2 cups of a mixed iced tea (unsweetened) - tea mixture explained below
* 1 heaping spoonful of this Superfoods Cocktail (which has a mix of 76 superfoods in it; I use this everyday and love it!)
* 1/2 scoop of grass-fed whey protein (about 10-12 grams of protein)

I've also been taking about 2-3 grams of BCAA's along with this drink for some extra assurance on preventing catabolism of muscle.

My iced tea mixture is usually made with green tea, oolong tea, and either red tea or white tea. I always have a gallon container of this in the fridge. The oolong tea is purported to possibly have even better fat-burning stimulation in the body compared to green tea. Although I think they both have benefits since they contain different types of antioxidants and other compounds.

One of the unique compounds that's been identified in studies on oolong tea is the high levels of polymerized polyphenols, which is apparently part of the reason it can aid fat loss. Here's an excerpt from a Japanese study comparing green tea and oolong tea:

"In the current study, the concentration of total polymerized polyphenols in oolong tea (68 mg/300 ml) was much higher than that in green tea (17 mg/300 ml). These results suggest that polymerized polyphenols might be the major factor in causing the increase of EE (Energy Expenditure) by oolong tea."

This is the type of oolong tea that I've been using daily.

After my morning drink concoction, it's time for either the sprints or the hike...

When I do my morning wind sprints, it's about a 10-minute bike ride to the soccer field, then I do about 15 minutes of intense wind sprints alternated with walking, and then the 10-minute bike ride back home. So it only about a 35 minute workout total.

If I choose to do the hike up the mountain behind my house in the morning instead of the sprints, I usually do about 40-45 minutes, and it's a great mix of ups/downs to keep the intensity variable (and variability of intensity is super important for maximizing the benefit to your heart).

After my morning workout, I make my breakfast, which is usually some form of eggs, veggies, and meat. I usually make a big omelet with some mixture of veggies such as onions, zucchini, mushrooms, green/red peppers, spinach, and/or jalapeno peppers. I usually use a grass-fed bison sausage in my eggs too. But sometimes I use a delicious wild boar sausage that I've found at a local market. I always make sure the sausage has zero nitrates/nitrites. I also add garlic powder, black pepper, and turmeric to my eggs, both for taste and health benefits.

And of course, I always have some hot green tea, oolong tea, or yerba mate with my breakfast!

These breakfasts are mostly quality proteins, healthy fats, and lots of veggies. If fat loss is my goal I stay away from breads and cereals fully. If muscle building is my goal, I'll include some sprouted grain bread for extra calories.

On cheat days, even during fat loss cycles, once a week for breakfast I'll make some delicious french toast using sprouted grain raisin bread and topped with fresh berries and grass-fed butter, and I'll have it with chicken and apple sausage, and a couple eggs over easy... mmm, delicious! And I always have coffee instead of tea on my cheat days and use just a touch of real maple syrup in my coffee... none of that high fructose corn syrup crap...just real maple syrup.

Ok, back to non-cheat days...

Mid-afternoon, my meal usually consists of some mixture of unsweetened greek yogurt (the highest protein yogurt) with some berries, pecans or almonds, and chia seeds for some extra nutrition. I just use a small bit of vanilla whey protein mixed in with the yogurt to lightly sweeten it without artificial sweeteners or added sugar. A small touch of water or milk helps the protein mix with the yogurt.

Late afternoon, I'll usually have a piece of fruit along with some nuts (raw almonds are my favorite) and on gym days (which is 3x a week usually) this will be my pre-workout meal about 60-90 minutes before a workout. If there's no local fruit in season, I might go with celery topped with almond butter for this meal, or hummus with carrot sticks, both super healthy snacks that I love.

I like to do my weight training workouts in the early evening as that's when I feel like I have the most strength. Usually, my weight training workouts take about 45-50 minutes and are fairly intense and heavy!

My weight training workouts are most times some form of supersetting barbell squats paired with upper body pulling (pullups or rows) or barbell deadlifts paired with upper body pressing (bench, dumbbell presses, overhead presses, etc) for the main portions of the workouts with accessory exercises after that.

Sometimes I'll do circuit training, density training, or workout complexes for variety. And of course, if you know me, you know that I love to mix in the occasionally high intensity kettlebell workout into the mix too.

My girlfriend Nayri has been using John Romaniello's Super Hero workouts lately and she has been loving them! Very cool format to those workouts and a challenge for both guys and gals if you're up for something intense.

When we come home from the gym at night, I make a big smoothie right away, usually with frozen bananas mixed with other frozen berries, raw grass-fed milk, organic cocoa powder, a touch of real maple syrup, a spoonful of spirulina powder, and a scoop of grass-fed whey protein. This is a great post-workout shake that we love.

About 2 hours after that shake, we cook dinner, and usually have different variations of a healthy meat option, side veggies, and a salad with fresh greens, avocado, sliced beets, and my homemade healthy salad dressing.

Notice that we don't have any starches generally with dinner... only meat, veggies, and salad. This strategy in particular has been one of the biggest things that I've seen help people to jumpstart their fat loss results for those that struggle.

Probably about twice a week, we'll have some organic red wine with dinner. Although some people in the health field don't agree with drinking any alcohol at all, I personally believe there's some health benefits to having red wine a couple times a week. You may also know that I have a very unsided balanced opinion about alcohol, and this article shows my techniques to still enjoy drinking moderately while staying lean and healthy.

For the meat with our dinners, my favorites are either a grass-fed steak, grass-fed burger, game meat such as moose or venison, or some wild salmon! Occasionally we'll have some sort of chicken, but I try to avoid grocery store chicken (since it's almost all unhealthy birds raised in horrendous conditions). Instead, we usually get some great free roaming chicken meat from a local farmers market... chickens that actually spent most of their time outside instead of cooped up inside a factory farm without ever seeing sunshine or fresh air.

If you don't know how important it is for animals in our food supply to see sunshine and why factory farms hurt the nutrition of our food supply, read this article

Late night, we usually enjoy some sort of night time tea... most times it's a mix of chamomile and mint tea. Remember from my book that chamomile tea is one of those special plants with unique phytochemicals that can help you fight against the bombardment of xenoestrogens you're exposed to daily from plastics, pesticides, and other chemicals in your house and our environment.

We usually have the tea about an hour before bed as it helps me to relax and unwind at night. Then I try my best to get about 8 hours of sleep each night. I used to only get 6-7 hours of sleep per night years ago but now that I get 8 hours of sleep each night, I can't even begin to explain how much better I feel every single day. Just the difference in energy is incredible!

Well, that's about it... a fairly good example of an average day that keeps me and my girlfriend super lean year round. Things change a bit depending on season, as I'll be skiing a lot in the winter, so skiing and snowshoeing in the winter replaces the hiking and mountain biking that I enjoy in the warm months.

Anyway, I hope you're able to benefit from some of the ideas here today. I know we're all different and have different exercise and food preferences, but I get so many requests to simply hear what my daily routines are like, that I figured I'd just throw these ideas out there.

Have a great day,

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

51 delicious fat-burning dessert recipes, snacks, and breakfasts

2011-08-17T00:59:00.002-05:00

You absolutely HAVE to try some of these delicious high-protein, fat-burning desserts, snacks, and breakfast recipes... and there's ZERO cost to grab this recipe book today from my good friend and dietician, Jayson Hunter!

You'll want to try some of these goodies:
* Chewy "No Bake" Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies that are just 92 calories - p.1
* Yummy Vanilla Cake packed with a body-sculpting 35 grams of protein - p.4
* Guilt-Free French Toast with just 106 calories (perfect for a quick, healthy breakfast!) - p.23
* Velvety Orange mousse packed with an incredible 42 grams of protein - p.14
* Sinfully delicious Chocolate Cherry Parfait with just 1 gram of fat and 31 grams of protein? Yes! - p.16
* The Famous 65-calorie Decadent Chocolate-Covered Coconut Truffles - p.17
* Go back to your childhood with the comforting Ice Cream Sandwich - but the "healthy" version crammed with 34g of protein and only 3g of fat - p.40
* Ever heard of a hot fudge topping for your ice cream with 28 grams of protein? Well now you have! - p.51

Grab all 51 of these protein-packed delicious recipes here <-- at ZERO cost!

Get ready to enjoy all of these delicious mouth watering recipes while simultaneously killing your cravings and boosting your metabolic rate!

By the way, if you have yet to read this awesome article showing why real butter can actually help you to get leaner, don't miss it! Yes, there are actually specific compounds in real butter than can help you to get a leaner body.

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

How Alex got ripped six pack abs

2011-08-16T00:44:00.001-05:00

If you want some inspiration, you've GOT to see the pics that one of my readers, Alex, has sent over. He's literally gone from "a little bit chubby" to RIPPED six pack abs!

Check out Alex's six pack pics:

Alex's ripped six-pack abs pics (and his story)

As you'll see on that page, I also got Alex to agree to let me do a Q&A with him on exactly how he got such crazy results and transformed his body. I really think you'll like his story and be inspired by it!

Alex is a great example of somebody that took big time action on his fitness goals and achieved his dream body. And he tells you all the nitty gritty details of how he got six pack abs here... we're talking nutrition, workouts, motivation, and more!

Enjoy!

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

What's in your gut? How probiotics and prebiotics keep you healthy

2011-08-13T02:48:00.002-05:00

Are you aware that approximately 60-70% of your immune system is found in your gut? It's true and I'll expand on that in this article.

Do you get sick all of the time or are you in stellar health 99% of the time?

For most people, it seems they get sick every couple of weeks. That's no way to live!

Other people seem to almost never get sick or go years without getting sick. What's the secret of those that always stay healthy and rarely get sick?

Well, first we have to remember that one of the absolute biggest factors controlling your immune system and overall health is your vitamin D levels (of which you produce most vitamin D from sun exposure). That's the main reason people get more sick in the winter compared to summer... lack of sun equals reduced vitamin D levels and reduced immunity.

You can read a more detailed article about how your vitamin d levels are affecting your health here.

Another topic we'll cover here is your digestion... Do you get stomach aches, gas, bloating and other digestion problems frequently or never?

Well, there are tons of reasons for the differences in both immunity and digestion issues... including stress levels, types of food intake, sleep quality and quantity, overall general health and fitness levels, our vitamin D levels, and even some factors going back to childhood (such as breastfeeding, the type of diet during developmental years, etc).

What I've noticed for myself personally is that the healthier that I eat as the years go on, the less frequently I get sick, and the less frequently I get digestion problems.

As a matter of fact, my diet has become so healthy over the last few years that I really never get sick at all anymore (I can't even remember having 1 measly cold in the last year), and I also can't remember the last stomach ache I had (pretty much never have them anymore).

Besides just keeping fit and healthy in general, I have a little bit of a secret that I believe helps a lot with my immunity as well as digestion, and hopefully this info will help you as well.

One of my major secrets is the heavy use of both probiotics and prebiotics... and this doesn't necessarily mean supplements (although I occasionally use probiotic supps)... rather, I get most of this from regular natural foods.

Probiotics are basically live microorganisms (friendly bacteria and other good microorganisms) that can be ingested in certain fermented and raw foods. Some probiotics you may have heard of are Bifidus, Lactobacilli, L. casei, etc.

It's estimated that the average person has several TRILLION of these little buggers doing work at any given time inside your digestive system.

Probiotic microorganisms actually like the acidic environment of your stomach and small intestine, and provide a HUGE amount of benefits to you.

Here are some of the benefits that probiotics in your digestive system provide:

*Improve digestion
*Increase your immunity
*Help reduce yeast infections, urinary tract infections, etc
*Reduce chances of diarrhea and/or constipation
*Improve lactose intolerance
*Increase absorption of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients
*Increase production of white blood cells to help reduce inflammation, allergies, and other conditions
*and much more important functions

Keep in mind that taking antibiotics kills off a portion of your friendly bacteria living inside of you, so you need to make sure to increase your intake of probiotics if you're ever forced to take antibiotics.

Personally, I would never take antibiotics unless it was something life threatening that needed to be eradicated. But to be compliant, I have to tell you to do whatever your doctor tells you to do.

By the way, many doctors will prescribe antibiotics a lot of times even if you have a viral infection (which is pointless), and is only doing you harm by killing some of your good probiotic bacteria in your system and potentially allowing another bug to make you ill now that your defenses are reduced (the probiotics are your defenses).

Make sure to confirm with your doc that you really do have a bacterial infection before allowing him/her to prescribe you an antibiotic. Even in those cases, you should ask your doc if the antibiotic is really required or if you can get better on your own (which is preferred).

So what foods are good sources of these health-giving friendly probiotics?

A couple major sources are:

*Yogurt - make sure that the yogurt label says that it has live cultures in it. Also, steer clear of yogurts that use artificial sweeteners or are loaded with sugar and corn syrup... Instead, your best bet is plain yogurt (grass fed and organic if possible), and then add your own fruit, nuts, and stevia to "flavor it up".

*Kefir - similar to yogurt, but more of a liquid form of fermented milk (can have 2-3 billion or more active friendly organisms per serving).

*Aged types of cheese - blue cheese, hard aged cheeses, aged cheddar... all can contain up to 10 billion friendly organisms per serving.

*Kombucha - a type of fermented tea (this has a very strong taste, so consider mixing it with regular iced tea). There are also other probiotic drinks on the market now in some health food stores... one of which that tastes great I think is called "Kevita".

*Natto, miso, and tempeh - forms of fermented soybean (the ONLY types of soy that I believe are ok in limited quantities) -- remember to avoid processed soy protein, soybean oil, and soymilk as they are some of the most unhealthy foods you can eat... I can't even really label them as "foods"...more like industrial waste!

*Sauerkraut - probably needs to be homemade as I believe most supermarket sauerkrauts are pasteurized, which kills the friendly probiotics.

*other naturally fermented foods

So as you can see, trying to include a variety of these probiotic-rich foods into your daily diet can go a long way towards keeping you healthy, strengthen your immune system and prevent sickness, and also help prevent digestion problems.

The other thing I wanted to explain was PREBIOTICS. If probiotics are the actual organisms, prebiotics are types of foods that you can eat to help stimulate the growth of probiotics within your system.

Soluble fiber is the main prebiotic that can help the probiotics flourish in your digestive system. Oatmeal, oat bran, inulin (not insulin, but inulin...a soluble fiber), and various fruits and vegetables all help to supply you with prebiotics.

There you have it! Probiotics and prebiotics explained.

Also make sure to read this article of mine:

7 powerful tips to never get sick again

Please feel free to share this article with your friends and family. Share it on facebook or email to your friends!

To your health,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Which milk is healthier - cows, almond, coconut, soy or rice milk?

2011-08-10T02:34:00.001-05:00

I had a conversation about this topic with a good friend of mine today and it reminded me of how many other people always have this same question...

The problem is that we've established (as you know from the thorough details in my Fat Burning Kitchen ebook) that regular pasteurized/homogenized milk is horrible for you...

We're talking about the regular milk (no matter whether it's skim, 2%, or whole) that you get at the grocery store -- which is almost ALL from factory farms where the cows are kept in horrendous conditions, poor health, and fed the wrong foods.

Even if you find milk that is "organic" at your grocery store, it still has the problem that the homogenization process renders the fat molecules unhealthy within your body, and the pasteurization destroys beneficial enzymes that help the proper digestion of milk proteins and lactose.

But we've also established that raw whole milk from grass-fed cows raised in a healthy manner, fed the correct foods, and treated right, is the ONLY source of healthy cows milk.

And no, despite the propaganda you've been fed, raw milk is NOT dangerous... not when it comes from a clean grass-fed farm operation certified to produce raw milk and with healthy cows.

I'm living proof of that fact... I've been drinking hundreds and hundreds of gallons of raw whole milk for about 8 years now, and never once have gotten sick from it. Nor have any of the families and friends I know that have also been drinking it for years. Certainly, if raw milk was "dangerous", we'd all be dead by now or at least have been sick multiple times by now. Nope, not once!

But the fact that raw milk is the only healthy milk is a problem for many people because they simply can't find a farm in their area that supplies raw milk. By the way, you can search your area on realmilk.com to see if any farms deliver in your area.

So I've come up with a possible healthy alternative if you can't find raw milk and want a good cows milk alternative...

First of all, stay FAR, FAR away from soymilk! It's a straight-up junk food. There's an entire article on my website dedicated to this topic of why soy is pure junk...

What about Rice Milk?
No! Way too much sugar and total carbs and almost ZERO protein. If you want to shoot your blood sugar through the roof, rice milk will do the job, and will pack on the blubber just as fast.

Here's one of the best options I've found...
It's a new "Coconut Milk Beverage" that I've seen recently in the grocery stores here in the US. It seems to differ from the "coconut milk" that you see in cans simply that it's diluted down with water more than canned coconut milk which usually has more of a thick coconut cream consistency.

Side note: try the thick creamy canned coconut milk (organic of course) in your coffee for a healthy creamer alternative... delicious!

Now as you know from reading my books and newsletters, coconut fat is one of the healthiest fats you can consume... Yes, it's saturated fat, but research has proven that it is a very healthy form of saturated fat, and is mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) including lauric acid, which supports a strong immune system.

If you want more info about why saturated fat is actually healthy, here are 2 articles on my site to make sure to read:

Why saturated fat is not so bad after all

The truth about saturated fat (written by a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry)

Back to the healthy milk alternatives...

The flavored "coconut milk beverages" do have some added sugar, but still only have 9 grams of carbs per 8 oz, which is less sugar than a glass of cows milk.

But they also have an unsweetened version, which only has 1 gram of carbs.

The only problem is that this "coconut milk beverage" only has 1 gram of protein too. This is one place where this milk lacks nutritionally.

So here's my solution... get a good quality vanilla whey protein, preferably grass-fed whey protein (sweetened with stevia instead of typical artificial sweeteners) and mix 3-4 scoops of whey protein into the entire half gallon carton of "coconut milk beverage"... possibly in a blender and then transfer to a new pitcher or container of some sort.

Now you have a milk alternative that's high in healthy fats (MCTs in this case) and also quality protein, with only 1 gram of sugar per 8 oz serving!

I still won't give up my raw whole cows milk for this (since I do have access to a good raw milk farm)... but this coconut milk mixture would be one of the only options that I would actually drink if I couldn't get my good raw milk.

What about almond milk?
Actually, I don't have a problem with almond milk as long as it's not heavily sweetened with added sugars or artificial sweeteners. I've seen almond milk brands that have unsweetened versions and only has 1 gram of sugar per 8oz, just like the coconut milk. These unsweetened almond milks are actually pretty tasty... I think a bit better tasting than the coconut milk drinks in my opinion.

The only problem with almond milk is that it is very low in protein similar to the coconut milk drinks.

Adding the whey protein to almond milk would make a great mixture too and make it more balanced as a good healthy milk alternative. I actually think the best tasting mixture might be to try mixing unsweetened almond milk with unsweetened coconut milk and then blending in a few scoops of vanilla whey protein in the blender to the whole mix.

By the way, one of the best whey proteins out there is this raw grass-fed whey protein with ZERO artificial sweeteners. This is the brand that I use personally.

Feel free to pass on this email to friends and family that may be interested in today's article on milk.

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

Foods that KILL high blood pressure?

2011-07-29T03:01:00.000-05:00

Whether you currently have high blood pressure or not, make sure you're eating these 5 powerful foods to help control your blood pressure, even in the future. Today's article is written by guest author Frank Mangano, and I couldn't agree more... Heart disease and stroke are still 2 of the biggest killers in our society, so it is vitally important to take care of your cardiovascular health.

The 5 foods described in this article contain powerful phytochemicals that help to manage your blood pressure. There are dozens of others too, but these are a great starting point to make sure you're including in your diet:

5 Foods that help reduce high blood pressure <-- are you eating these?

Another interesting article for you:

Grow younger with this special type of fat?

I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets.

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

Healthy high protein ice cream recipe

2011-07-24T18:14:00.001-05:00

Ice cream is not usually something thought of as healthy, but you can honestly make pretty healthy (and high protein) versions of ice cream if you get a little creative.

I just saw this delicious looking high protein, low-sugar ice cream recipe today and I had to share it with you... I'm going to try it myself today:

High protein peanut butter ice cream recipe (easy and fast to make)

This is the type of dessert or snack that can even support your fat loss metabolism, since it it very low in sugar and high in protein. This can also help to balance blood sugar and reduce cravings for sweets! And that healthy ice cream recipe uses absolutely ZERO artificial sweeteners or added sugars (only uses natural stevia).

And we're not even done yet with awesome healthy ice cream recipes. Check these out below:

8 more healthy high protein ice cream recipes

These healthy recipes even help to support your fat burning metabolism!

Enjoy some delicious ice cream and control your cravings and blood sugar!

If you liked today's recipes, please email or share this page with any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy them.

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

A link between sunscreens and belly fat -- bad news

2011-07-20T00:39:00.000-05:00

As you've probably noticed, I've run a series of articles in this newsletter about various places that you are being exposed to dangerous chemicals that can negatively affect your hormones... whether it's xenoestrogens in foods, cosmetics, lotions, or environmental chemicals...

But this one is a bit more sinister and not many people understand the risks with excessive use of chemical sunscreens. Read below to discover the shocking truth:

A link between sunscreens and belly fat (and the solution)

If you're a man in today's world, it's almost impossible to avoid the bombardment of xenoestrogens (from pesticides/herbicides in our food supply, plastic containers with BPA, the water supply, environmental toxins, canned food linings, lotions and self care products).

On top of that, we also have a major issue with excess exposure to phytoestrogens because of the deceptive mass marketing of soy as a health food in the last decade.

This entire issue of both xenoestrogens and phytoestrogens has caused a feminization of men on a grand scale, where Testosterone levels in men have been decreasing steadily over the past few decades, and estrogen levels have been increasing in men.

Not good! This can cause a LOT of problems for men, not only in the bedroom, but with increased rates of gynecomastia (male breast enlargement), reduced fertility, reduced muscle, and excess body fat.

I've been really excited about this new product that my buds at Prograde have just come out with... read below to see the 6 unusual herbs that have been proven to help boost T levels and create a more favorable T to estrogen ratio in men:

6 unusual herbal substances that boost T levels and fight estrogenic exposure
Read the whole page and you'll see that there are legitimate studies to back up the power of these 6 ingredients in helping you to "get your mojo back", increase muscle, reduce body fat, and all of the other benefits with boosting T levels and creating a better T:E ratio in men.

Aside from the 6 nutrients talked about in the page above, here are some other tips to help fight against xenoestrogens and phytoestrogens that you may be exposed to, and help maximize your T levels and T:E ratio...

1. Make sure to eat a lot of this specific class of veggies that helps to fight against xenoestrogens.

2. Drinking a few cups of green tea each day can help fight xenoestrogens, and also a cup of chamomile tea each night can help fight the effects of xenoestrogens.

3. Don't carry your cell phone in your pants pocket, as the EM radiation is shown to decrease T levels in men, along with risks of testicular cancer, reduced fertility, etc.

4. Avoid chemicals such as BPA in certain plastics and canned food linings, as these are strong xenoestrogens.

5. Eat organic food as often as possible to avoid the xenoestrogens from pesticide and herbicide residues.

6. Train with heavy weights on big exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, weighted pullups, etc as these exercises with heavy weights can help to boost your T levels.

7. Make sure to incorporate these 2 exercise "tricks" to boost Testosterone levels and Growth Hormone naturally.

If today's article was helpful, please fwd this on to your friends and family.

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

2 indirect ways that corn can kill you?

2011-07-17T00:48:00.000-05:00

I know that title may sound a bit shocking, a little absurd, and almost impossible...

And of course...eating some corn flakes, corn bread, or tortilla chips on occasion is NOT going to instantly put you on your death bed (although they're NOT helping you get lean either!)

But, hang with me for a minute, and read this entire article below, and I will show you at least two indirect ways that corn CAN kill...

2 Indirect ways that corn can KILL you

Please share this article with your friends and family.

If you enjoy these newsletters, please do me a favor (and your friends a favor), and go to this page and click "share" for facebook to tell your friends about my health and fitness newsletters, so they can benefit from these as well.

Talk to you soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Are these 20 harmful chemicals found in your burgers?

2011-07-02T23:04:00.001-05:00

Check out the videos on the article page below to see over 20 hidden chemicals that may be lurking in your hamburgers, and how you can avoid them:

20+ harmful chemicals lurking your burgers?

I hope these videos shock you into never wanting to eat fast food again. In my opinion, fast food in general shouldn't even be classified as real "food", especially considering all of the pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and preservatives that are lurking in fast food meals.

Important health issue: If you missed this before, this article below is a must-read, and is one of the most misunderstood aspects of our health these days... it's also vitally important to understand why you get sick, why risk of cancer has increased, and more:

Serious health issue: your skin pigmentation, vitamin D, and your latitude
And if you have a couple more minutes, I'd also suggest that you make sure to read this article below:

The missing link destroying your health silently - vitamin D deficiency

PS - if you liked todays articles, please share this page with any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy it. Feel free to post the link to this page on facebook, twitter, etc.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

A sinister health problem - the area you live, your skin pigmentation, and vitamin D

2011-06-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

This is an important article and video below that shows how the area that you live could be harming your health. The video also shows how this relates to our skin pigmentation and could cause a problem quietly brewing inside your body:

Is the area that you live harming your health through Vitamin D deficiency?

Also, if you missed the article the other day, make sure to read about how problems in our food supply could be causing you to be deficient in this critical nutrient.

On an unrelated note...

If you remember from a newsletter a while back, I warned that although I love most of Prograde Nutrition's products, there was one particular product that I recommended NOT using, and that was Prograde Lean, because it contained artificial sweeteners (and I'm strictly anti artificial sweetener).

Well, my complaint about that product didn't fall on deaf ears... Prograde has changed the formula and come out with a new and improved Prograde Lean meal replacement that is naturally sweetened with stevia!

It has coffee and chocolate flavors, and supposedly the coffee flavor is surprisingly good. And it has either 8 grams (coffee flavor) or 11 grams of fiber (chocolate flavor) per serving, along with a whopping 35 grams of protein!

My boys at PG tell me that they're having a 10%-off sale until tomorrow on the entire store if you want to try out the new Prograde Lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Is vitamin D deficiency destroying your health?

2011-06-29T04:39:00.000-05:00

Today's article will probably shock you. Most people don't realize they are deficient in this vital substance that regulates almost everything inside your body.

And although you're probably aware what this nutrient is, there's a very important aspect I cover in this article that almost nobody is talking about...

The missing link destroying your health?

Please read this article in full, as it is very important to understand the EXACT reasons why you are probably deficient in vitamin D and don't even know it.

If you missed this article last week, make sure to read about the new study that shows why high-fructose corn syrup can actually be WORSE for you than plain sugar (keeping in mind that sugar is bad too). You'll get a laugh out of the end of this article too!

Talk to you soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

3 Major Fat Loss Mistakes

2011-06-25T00:43:00.001-05:00

I've got a brand new article for you today from our favorite physical therapist, Dr K, guest author... Make sure to avoid these 3 MAJOR fat loss mistakes if you want to get truly lean for life:

3 major fat loss MISTAKES to avoid

Great points from Dr K in that article! I'm always amazed at how many people I see at the gym pumping away for hundreds of situps and crunches thinking that their stomach fat is "melting" away or something like that... but they're just wasting time in reality... time that could be better spent on exercises that actually trigger a metabolic change, like squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc.

Also, you may have missed Dr K's other recent article, which was quite a shocker to most people:

The 7 WORST exercises to NEVER do

Enjoy the articles!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

New study shows high fructose corn syrup worse than sugar

2011-06-23T02:39:00.001-05:00

You've heard the debates about which is worse, high-fructose corn syrup or plain sugar... and you've also probably seen the ridiculous propaganda campaign that the Corn Refiners Association has been spreading trying to make you think that HFCS is "natural" and "no worse than sugar".

But now a new study has emerged that might shock you. Make sure to read this whole page, as it even shows exactly why HFCS does make you fatter than plain sugar!

New study shows HFCS does make you fatter than sugar

And I also have something on that article page that is going to give you a good laugh... you'll see what I mean on the site!

Share this article with your friends to spread the word on the new studies on HFCS.

Also, I just wanted to give you one last reminder that this is your last chance to check out the new ShapeShifter Body Redesign system for the launch week special.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Unique Home Workouts - the ShapeShifter System

2011-06-21T00:23:00.000-05:00

You've got to check out these super-unique new home workouts that my friends Adam and Ryan just released today... these guys always blow me away with how different and innovative their exercises are...

Check out Adam and Ryan's new weird "ShapeShifter" workouts

What is the ShapeShifter?
Well, we're talking innovative bodyweight training programs fully integrated with no-nonsense diet and lifestyle lessons. One of their beta testers of the "ShapeShifter" lost 8.5 inches off her body in only 6 weeks--without setting foot in a gym! The exercises were all done at home. And every inch that she lost was fat!

That's the secret of their body "RE-DESIGN" system. They've arranged the program in a day-by-day format that removes fat off your body fast while maintaining or even adding muscle in EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACES for the most impressive VISUAL impact... hence, re-designing your body in 6 weeks!

And that's what getting in shape is all about, right? Changing your shape. I mean, there's no point working your butt off in the gym if no one notices!

And that's exactly what usually happens with generic exercise and diet programs. You might lose weight and simply end up with nothing more than a smaller version of the same flabby body. But NOT with the ShapeShifter! With this, you will lose body fat while reshaping your body.

Get the Shapeshifter system now (re-design your shape)

This is by far one of the best bodyweight training programs I've ever seen. It's also one of the highest quality and most innovative programs I've seen in a long time, period.

If you try out the ShapeShifter program for the next couple of days during this 51% off launch special, you'll also get some killer bonuses that I don't think you want to miss...

Get started on re-designing your shape (no gym needed)

Have fun with this... These are awesome workouts to add to your arsenal for a lean chiseled body!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

3 counterfeit foods that have deceptive health claims

2011-06-17T16:35:00.004-05:00

Whenever I go to the grocery store, I always have to shake my head at how deceptive so many food labels are... no wonder so many people are confused as to what foods are healthy and which are not.

In today's article, I show you 3 examples of foods that have been manipulated from their natural state and transformed into processed "counterfeit" foods. Shockingly, the food manufacturers try to claim that these foods are "healthier" than the original natural version. Don't be fooled!

3 "counterfeit" foods that are deceptive

Last thing for today:

If you haven't done so yet, make sure to try out the new Prograde Fusion protein/fiber tasty drink concoction that helps to satisfy your appetite and control cravings between meals.

I'm excited about this new product, and the origin of the idea came from when I was doing a cutting cycle and needed something to control my appetite mid-day between meals and late night when the cravings might creep in. So I talked to my boys at PG about maybe producing something like this... and a year later, voila!

PG Fusion has 24 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and only 2 grams of sugar (and ZERO artificial sweeteners)... but it tastes like a delicious fruity drink.

Heck it might sound crazy, but the next time I'm having cocktails with friends, I might try a Fusion mixed with vodka or rum...

I'm not recommending alcohol obviously, but if I'm hanging out with friends and going to have a cocktail anyway (let's face it, most of us aren't willing to give up alcohol entirely), we might as well get 24 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber with it too!

By the way, on this topic, here is an article I did that explains how to stay lean and healthy if you don't want to entirely give up alcohol.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The 3D Metabolic Exercise Method for Flat Abs

2011-06-11T10:44:00.001-05:00

I've got a special Q&A piece for you today that shows you all about a new exercise technique called "3D Metabolic Exercise" from my good buddy, Dr. Kareem.

**The 3D Metabolic exercise method for flat abs**

Mike: Hey Dr. K! Most of my readers come to me because they want an honest source on health
and fitness... aka "The Truth" -

A couple weeks ago, I shared with everyone why I think your Metabolic Abs program is one of the most cutting-edge and effective fat loss workouts out there, but I'm not sure everyone is clear about your method. What is 3D metabolic exercise and why does it work so well?

Dr. Kareem: Awesome to be here, Mike. Thanks for having me.

Before you fully understand what 3D Metabolic Exercise is, let's just take a peek at the problem that this method was designed to solve:

Most workout programs either take too long to do, require a gym membership, or recommend unrealistic diet expectations to help you get six pack abs. By definition, if you can't follow something, it can't work.

3D Exercise is basically the fastest way to lose fat and build six pack abs. By working your body in real-life ways, in all directions at once, you are simulating the same demands that take place in daily living, but with greater resistance and intensity. This allows the carryover effect from exercise to be that much greater.

Metabolic exercise is a strategic balance between your three energy systems in your body. You have your ATP-PC energy system, Anaerobic energy system, and Aerobic energy system. When you work all three for a specific amount of time/workout, and you work them in a specific sequence, you get much better results.

Finally, we combine 3D movement and our metabolic protocols with ‘Neuro Fat Loss' techniques. Basically, we reposition your body for better alignment of your joints and muscles. In turn, your posture improves, but so does your strength. With a better muscle strength to length ratio, your body moves more fluidly and accepts muscle growth more readily.

Mike: Can your 3D Exercise method be done at home and if so, how much equipment is required?

Dr. Kareem: These workouts can absolutely be done at home. That's where I do them... or when I'm traveling, in a hotel room or hotel gym. There are a few pieces of equipment I use in the videos, but I also
provide you with household equipment suggestions if you're working out in your home and need some advice there.

I have clients who do just the bodyweight version of every exercise and they get GREAT results. I find that I do this if I'm in a hotel room and don't have a great place to exercise. It's my ten minute back up plan
when I'm in a pinch, because it consistently gets me some of the best results out of anything I do, no matter how long.

If you don't have a lot of time, I totally get it. I've been there too.

Each workout is 10 minutes. There are 5, meaning that you will exercise 5 days/week for 10 minutes/workout. That's a total of 50 minutes of workouts per week. Less than one hour!

Mike: 10 minutes a day is fast. That's one of my favorite aspects about Metabolic Abs training, is the speed. Sometimes you just want to grab a really quick workout and know it's super effective.

Dr. Kareem: Thanks Mike! I want to bring up another point... A lot of older adults out there are afraid to participate in an exercise program that is intense. Age alone isn't a reason not to do an intense fat loss
program, but it's always wise to check with your doctor before starting an exercise program if you have any conditions that would warrant his/her approval or if this is your first time exercising.

For your information, my current oldest client in Ab Strength Guide is an 84 year old woman. My youngest is an 8 year old boy, who does bodyweight only. It doesn't matter - they're both getting great results.

The key is that you choose an exercise program that is adjustable by intensity, duration, and range of motion. Then, you simply work to progress all the time. Once you are able to hit a certain level of intensity,
your results show up nearly instantly. It's really funny how we hit a "tipping point" with so many things in life, ya know?

Mike: Totally. I think the same thing is true with nutrition. A lot of people don't have a clue how to start eating healthy and clean until they do. It takes a few days or weeks to find where you can get the
best deals on everything, but then you're all set.... When you look back, it's hard to imagine eating any other way. ...all the while, you're just getting leaner the whole time.

That said, one thing that caught my attention that you just said was that you've created a workout method where your client can self-adjust the level?

Dr. Kareem: Now, that's the really cool aspect of Metabolic Abs Training. In the beginning, just learn the movements and how to ‘feel' an exercise in the right place. This, alone, will produce an outstanding result if you're just starting out, especially because of how dynamic each movement is. Your body will naturally balance out, and fat will shed right off once your body is in balance.

As you become more experienced, or if that's where you are right now, your intensity increases, and the results do as well. At my record lowest bodyfat of 7.5%, I was using these workouts on a regular basis, b/c I can depend on them to get me insane results every time.

Mike: Shifting focus, completely, there's something really cool I'd like to share with you:

In addition to getting you six pack abs, these workouts were designed to reduce joint pain if you have any. That's one of the reasons that I love referring you to the doc.

Dr. Kareem: Thanks Mike. You know I consider you a mentor to all of us with your exercise program design for fat loss. That said, I used these exact workouts in my own personal transformation.

I used to have extremely severe pain in most joints of my body before I got leaner and in better shape. I don't have great genes, but I'm a big believer in taking advantage of your body's full potential. Metabolic Abs Training will help you do that.

Mike: It certainly will. I know I get a crazy sweat when we work out together. It's been a lot of fun... you can definitely see changes going on all the time. It's really cool how we just come up with stuff back and forth. I remember not too long ago we were talking about how men and women are still confused
about exercising for fat loss - would you mind explaining this in your own terms for everybody?

Dr. Kareem: Sure, I'd be happy to. A solid fat loss workout is proven to work with both genders. Here's the deal, as I know you explained in an article before, we are all human beings. Our bodies secrete different amounts of testosterone and estrogen, depending on whether we are male or female, but we both have...
well, both.

If anything, it stands to argue that a woman who wants to lose fat will have to build a little bit of muscle first if she doesn't have a whole lot of meat on her body. Otherwise, she'll never raise her metabolism. I know you've talked about this before, but it's your muscle to fat ratio that ultimately dictates your metabolism.

Mike: Thanks for the interview Dr. K! It's always great chatting with you about health and fitness. Make sure to check out this special video presentation Dr. K put up for you:

Dr. Kareem's Method Explained ---> 3 Odd methods to get a flat belly

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

How to redesign your body - FREE 6-day plan

2011-06-06T18:27:00.000-05:00

I've got a killer gift for you today from a couple fitness pros that I've spent time with quite a bit over the past couple of months... Adam Steer and Ryan Murdock. These guys have some of the most unique and innovative exercise techniques I've seen out there... really cool stuff!

Check out their site below and grab a free copy of their 6-day "body redesign" program. You're gonna love this! Instead of just losing weight and ending up with a thinner, but still flabby body, this is all about re-shaping your muscle while losing body fat.

Grab your FREE 6-day "body redesign" program here

Inside this resource, you'll find cool info such as:

a NEW technique, called "ShapeShifter 3D Strength", for super-charged fat loss
a simple food mistake that could be keeping you soft and flabby
small physique changes that make a BIG visual impact on how you look

FREE 6-day plan to lose fat and redesign your body

Enjoy! I really think you'll like Ryan and Adam's stuff!

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

Are sunscreens harmful to your health?

2011-06-05T13:06:00.003-05:00

If you listen to some clueless news reporters, you would think that being out in the sun without sunscreen on for even just 1 minute is going to instantly give you cancer and lead to your death. Yet, for eons, our ancestors spent at least 10x more time out in the sun than the average person in the modern world.

And more info is surfacing lately about possible health risks with heavy use of sunscreens (carcinogenic, estrogenic effects). In fact, did you know that underexposure to the sun is as big of a health threat as overexposure to the sun? It's true...

Read today's article to see the gory details on this...

The TRUTH about sun exposure and sunscreens

I have another good article for you below that shows a unique way to ingest a natural nutrient that gives you "internal sun protection"...

Unique natural nutrient that gives you internal sun protection

Please pass these articles onto your friends and family to help protect their health!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

What about lecithin, dextrose, and maltodextrin?

2011-06-03T00:03:00.000-05:00

After the announcement yesterday about the new tasty protein/fiber drink mix, Prograde Fusion, I had some friends ask me why I would personally drink something that has dextrose, maltodextrin, and lecithin in it when I'm so strict about sugars and soy products.

Good question, and a fairly easy answer too...

First of all, let's talk about the dextrose. Yes, this is basically just sugar, and most of the time, I try to avoid refined sugar. However, the amount of sugar in this new Prograde Fusion drink mix is only 2 grams per serving, which is pretty miniscule. Remember that you could easily down about 30-40 grams of sugar in some of the popular "sports drinks", so 2 grams is basically negligible.

Plus, when you combine only 2 grams of sugar with 24 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber, it makes that 2 grams of sugar completely a non-issue, and will have almost ZERO effect on blood sugar.

Also, although I may be extremely strict about avoiding some things such as artificial trans fats, I don't believe in being super-militant about a couple grams of sugar or tiny amounts of things I might normally avoid. Sure, something that contains 40 grams of sugar I might save for a cheat day, but tiny amounts like 2 grams is nothing to worry about.

Same thing goes for the maltodextrin... yes, it's a processed carbohydrate and will effect blood sugar and insulin response, but not 1 gram! In fact, some post-workout shakes can have 50 grams or more of maltodextrin or similar fast acting carbs, which after a workout, has benefits and helps to speed nutrients into the muscle cells for recovery.

So while I might sometimes choose post workout drinks that contain high amounts of maltodextrin, the purpose of the Prograde Fusion drink mix is NOT for post workout, but rather for appetite control and amino acid balance between meals or any time that you need to control cravings, and 1 gram of maltodextrin is nothing to worry about.

As for lecithin... yes, it's derived from soy, and as you know, I'm fairly anti-soy in most cases. But that's mostly referring to heavily refined soybean oils or highly processed soy proteins (and other soy junk foods like soy milk), both of which I recommend staying away from as the article above explains.

But when it comes to tiny amounts of lecithin, it's not something I'm concerned about, and may even have benefits. This article here shows why added lecithin is nothing to worry about, unless you're strongly allergic to all soy derivatives.

Again, with all 3 of these ingredients (lecithin, dextrose, maltodextrin), if the amounts are miniscule, such as in Prograde Fusion protein/fiber drink mix, this is nothing I would worry about.

Remember that this week is your chance to try out the tasty new PG Fusion as they have a 10% off sale on the whole store to celebrate the release of this new product.

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

My protein and fiber drink mix to burn fat

2011-06-01T19:30:00.004-05:00

If you've read my Fat-Burning Kitchen ebook, then you know that one of the dozen or so tricks that I used during my 23-day cutting cycle was to use a special protein/fiber drink concoction during specific times of the day to control cravings, preserve lean muscle, and keep my metabolism high.

Here's an excerpt from the book that describes this:

"When you're doing an accelerated fat burning cycle, protein and fiber are easily 2 of the most important things that you need adequate amounts. Both of them help you to keep hunger under control, and a high protein intake during the cutting cycle can help to prevent catabolism, so you don't lose lean muscle.

This was another of my secret weapons that I used each day... what I did was concoct my own protein/fiber drink mixes and have 1 drink each day at a time when I needed to control hunger but didn't want or didn't have time for a full meal. I either used these drinks in the afternoon on non-training days to keep satisfied or I used them at night to keep appetite under control and get an extra dose of fiber and protein."

When I wrote this section, I was at the time buying the protein and fiber ingredients separately and mixing them myself each day. My good friend Jayson Hunter, who is head of R&D for Prograde Nutrition, told me to tell them what I was looking for and he could probably formulate something exactly like what I was looking for, but with an even better taste.

So I told Jayson that this was what I was looking for:

1. A drink that has about 20-25 grams of protein per serving.
2. This drink should also have at least 3-4 grams of fiber per serving
3. And it should also be lightly sweetened with stevia (no artificial sweeteners!), and very little sugar, if any.

Well, over a year later, Jayson and Prograde just recently introduced the brand new Prograde Fusion, the exact type of protein/fiber drink that I was asking for.

PG Fusion contains a whopping 24 grams of protein per serving, 3 grams of fiber, and only 2 grams of sugar! Only 145 calories total per serving, most of which comes from the protein! And it tastes like a delicious sports drink but without all of the crappy added sugars that most sports drinks have.

These are the 2 main times when I think this drink is PERFECT:

1. In the middle of the afternoon to hold off your appetite and cravings until dinner, but still give you an added jolt of protein and fiber to help keep your metabolism burning high.

2. Late night, just when those late night cravings start to come on and you want to grab some junk food. But instead, just grab this protein/fiber drink and your cravings will go away without doing any damage to your waist.

Since this product was just released last week, Prograde is having a 10% off sale on the entire store to celebrate the release of this new product. Give it a try and see what you think!

Check out the new Fusion protein/fiber tasty drink here (and save 10%)

This is probably my favorite new product and very handy to help quell those cravings at key times throughout the day... And MUCH healthier than those crappy sugar-laden sports drinks!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

3 Healthy foods to AVOID

2011-05-24T14:50:00.000-05:00

I've got a new 'fitness quickie' article for you today about 3 so-called "healthy" foods that you should AVOID.

But first, I wanted to make sure you saw the announcement last night about Joel Marion's new 25-Day Xtreme Fat Loss Challenge Program that's discounted for the next 3 days... but more importantly, if you grab your copy today, you get the day 1 fast-action bonus (worth $397 retail) at no extra cost!

You can see all the details about the 25-Day Xtreme Fat Loss Challenge here... don't procrastinate -- this is your chance to get RAPID results and make a significant change in your body in only 25 days! This is NOT for everyone... it's NOT for wimps! It's ONLY for people with the discipline to stick with a program for 25 days before going back to a maintenance routine. But it works.

Today's Fitness Quickie:

3 "Healthy" foods that you should AVOID

1. The first food that I'd like to mention that's promoted as "healthier" than the original food is "reduced-fat" peanut butter. I've compared labels on some of these brands, and many of them aren't even lower in calories due to the extra SUGAR that they contain. And other brands, you might only save 10 or 20 calories per serving.

BUT, there's a problem with this... even if you do save a tiny amount of calories with some brands of reduced-fat peanut butter, you end up getting almost double the amount of carbohydrates and sugar, which is going to have more of an effect on your blood sugar compared to regular peanut butter.

My advice: just stick to regular peanut butter instead of "reduced-fat" varieties... it's more natural, with less additives, and will have less negative effects on your blood sugar. Plus, the extra healthy fats that you get help to curb cravings later in the day. Just make sure to choose a natural brand of peanut butter that doesn't have added trans fats (hydrogenated oils). If possible, choose organic too, to help protect yourself from estrogenic pesticide residues.

One more thing... I actually prefer to use a variety of nut butters instead of only peanut butter, so I sometimes mix almond butter with cashew butter, or almond butter with pecan butter to make a more nutrient-diverse nut butter mix. These types of mixtures have more diversity of vitamins and minerals than just peanut butter.

2. The next so-called "healthy" food to avoid is orange juice. Sorry, although it does contain a decent amount of vitamins, orange juice just simply contains too much sugar and not enough fiber to count as a healthy food. Orange juice is a big culprit for some people in throwing their blood sugar out of whack and reducing insulin sensitivity.

Remember that whole fruits are great, but juices are NOT! When you drink a juice, you're getting a big dose of sugar, but leaving out a lot of the fiber and other beneficial nutrients that are left behind in the fruit pulp/fiber. A glass of orange juice may have 35 grams of sugar and only 1 gram of fiber, whereas eating a whole orange may have 20 grams of sugar and 4-5 grams of fiber.... big difference!

3. The third so-called "healthy" food to avoid that I'd like to mention today is canola oil -- yes, that's right... Despite the clever marketing propaganda, there is NOTHING healthy about canola oil. Instead of going into details in this email, I have a full article for you here which describes why canola oil is NOT healthy and how you've been deceived!

Have a healthy day, and I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets!

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

New Study: cell phone use can damage your bones?

2011-05-22T19:26:00.002-05:00

If you read a lot of health news, I'm sure you've read plenty of articles about some of the emerging health risks that are being found with excessive use of cell phones. Well, I just read about YET another study that is showing health concerns with cell phone use...

According to a study conducted by Dr. Fernando Saravi at the National University of Cuyo in Argentina, they studied bone mineral density of 48 healthy men who carried cell phones on their right hip for a year. It was found that the men who carried cell phones on their right hip had lower mineral content and bone density in the upper thigh bones near where the cell phone was carried, compared to their left hip.

The researchers believe that the low level EM radiation given off by cell phones leads to bone degradation over time in the area that the cell phone is carried most. This means that it could potentially raise the risk for osteoporosis or other bone diseases the longer that someone carries a cell phone in the same place on their body.

This shocking study doesn't surprise me... In fact, make sure to read this article below which ALSO shows some actual tests that were performed that showed reduced testosterone levels, reduced sperm counts, and other health risks associated with carrying a cell phone in your pocket:

Shocking study about dangers of carrying a cell phone in your pocket

This information shouldn't be taken lightly. I know that cell phones are a major part of most people's lives now, and they are here to stay, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce your risks of getting long term health consequences, and those protective steps are described in the article here.

Please help to protect the health of your friends and family and fwd this email to everyone you care about. The article above also has easy sharing buttons to share with your friends on facebook and twitter.

Helping to protect your health,

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

Do you have a damaged metabolism?

2011-05-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

I've got 2 new and important articles for you today about your metabolism.

In the first article today, my colleague Tom Venuto (I highly respect Tom's fitness and nutrition expertise) explores the very REAL science behind what's been termed "metabolic damage".

He talks about what causes "metabolic damage". And he also shows 7 strategies to essentially "repair" that metabolic damage.

Do you have "metabolic damage"? <-- great article + 7 strategies to fix your damaged metabolism

Metabolism Article #2:

This article explores whether our metabolisms actually "slow down" as we get older. As you'll see, it doesn't have to happen! And what foods can we eat that actually ramp-up your metabolism? Read on and see...

A "slow metabolism" and foods that ramp-up your metabolic rate

Have fun revving up your metabolism!

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

Is empty stomach exercise effective?

2011-05-18T23:59:00.001-05:00

With my new blog post yesterday, I realized that I need to clarify my opinion on morning "empty-stomach" exercise.

If you don't know, the theory on morning empty stomach cardio is that since you're in a fasted state and don't have immediate carbs in your system, your body will rely more heavily on bodyfat for fuel during the workout, and you'll burn more bodyfat. Nice in theory (and to be honest, does work for some people), but as you'll see below, it didn't work for me, and others I know too that have tried it.

As you probably know if you've read my Truth about Six Pack Abs ebook, one of the main problems I've had with morning "empty stomach" exercise, is that in a lot of people, it tends to make you lose lean muscle, which can lower your metabolic rate.

In fact, when I tested morning exercise on an empty stomach in the past, I ended up losing strength and a little bit of muscle after a couple weeks (despite the fact I was still weight training on separate workouts). I subsequently gained fat quicker due to a reduction in my metabolic rate after that muscle loss.

I found a fix to that problem when I re-tested morning empty stomach exercise a few months ago. What I did this time was use BCAA's immediately upon waking and before the exercise, which has been proven to help prevent the muscle catabolism that would occur otherwise.

However, there was still a problem... I still would have ZERO energy to do anything intense in this type of empty stomach workout. Walking maybe...but that's about it. I prefer high intensity exercise and believe more strongly in the benefits of really challenging your body with intense exercise. That's why I love to do wind sprints!

For me, I just don't have the energy to anything intense on an empty stomach in the morning, so that's why I tested the little drink concoction that I talked about in yesterday's post.

That little drink concoction has totally changed the game, and I've been having TONS of energy and feeling great during my morning wind sprints... plus, as I mentioned, I've actually noticed more definition in the lower abs just doing these morning wind sprints every day for a week straight!

Side note: For the last couple of months, I've been using those fancy new Vibram 5-Fingers "barefoot" shoes (they look more like socks than shoes) for all of my gym workouts and also my wind sprints. My physical therapist friends swear by these, and tell me that they are more natural for your feet for squats, deadlifts and other gym exercises, and help reduce risk for injuries.

My squats and deadlifts have felt awesome since I started using these 5-Finger shoes! My numbers have been going up like crazy. I even worked my max deadlift from 355 to 405 lbs in the last 3 months!

Also, the 5 Fingers feel perfect for sprints... I've always thought that barefoot sprinting felt more natural compared to running shoes, but I never wanted to sprint barefoot on a field for fear of cutting my feet on a rock or something. But with these 5-Fingers shoes, you get the feel of barefoot sprinting, but with a layer of rubber protection between your feet and the ground.

Overall, they felt super powerful for the wind sprints and I'm never going back to running shoes again!

Important article you may have missed:

Are these carcinogens in your bread and cereal?

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

My new morning ritual to get ripped abs

2011-05-17T18:28:00.009-05:00

Instead of an in-depth article for you to read today, I just wanted to share a few fitness techniques I've been using myself lately, and my new "morning ritual" which has been getting killer results!

In fact, just doing this morning ritual for the last 7 mornings in a row, I can already see that my lower abs are getting more defined by the day (indicating that this is lowering my body fat % a bit more).

This involves both exercise AND nutrition tricks, so read this whole post, even if you can't do the exact same type of exercise.

Ok, here's the method I've been using that is getting crazy results...

We just started getting really warm spring weather here in the Rockies, so the last 7 mornings in a row, I've walked 15 minutes over to the local soccer field and done about 20 minutes or so of all-out wind sprints (50-100 yard wind sprints with full out intensity), and then I do the 15 minute walk back home.

Even if you can't do wind sprints, keep in mind that you can still do something similar that is a higher intensity for you personally (perhaps hill walking instead of wind sprints, for example).

By the way, outdoor sprints are where the action is... sprints on a treadmill don't have the same effect as there's more force production involved in accelerating a sprint outdoors compared to on a treadmill. Plus, the max speed on a treadmill is not high enough usually for an "all-out" sprint. In my mind, it's a world of difference. Personally I never step foot on a treadmill.

How wind sprints raise your fat melting hormones:

One of the reasons that wind sprints are so effective at chiseling your body and reducing body fat to "ripped" levels (have you ever seen the bodies of some competitive sprinters? ripped!) is that sprints are one of the specific exercises that are known to have a great effect on increasing Growth Hormone (GH) naturally in your body...

...and we all know that GH production in your body is one of the key secrets to getting lean, strong, and also staying youthful!

For the wind sprints, what I've been doing is increasing distance on each sprint from 50 meters to 60 meters, 70, 80, 90, and finally 100 meters. Then I repeat the cycle. Usually just 2 cycles of this is enough to get me fully whooped (about 12 all-out sprints)! But as time goes on this summer, I will try to increase distance, the number of sprints, or the intensity to keep progressing.

Now for the morning nutrition trick I've been using...

I've tried "morning empty stomach exercise" in the past, and here's the deal... I usually don't have the energy to do anything intense first thing in the morning without eating, so for these sprints, I've found a nice little concoction I came up with that gives me the energy to do these high intensity sprints without weighing me down, and without many calories. It's just enough to do the trick!

What I've been doing is mixing Athletic Greens (which is lightly sweetened with stevia, nothing artificial, and with only 40 calories per serving, but 76 superfoods mixed in) with unsweetened iced tea (green, white, oolong, and yerba mate mixture) first thing in the morning. I usually have a big batch of unsweetened iced tea in a gallon container in the fridge that has at least these 4 teas mixed for taste and diversity of antioxidants.

I also mix in about a half scoop (12 grams) of raw grass-fed whey protein, and I have a couple grams of BCAA's (to help minimize muscle catabolism), and a few caps of krill oil.

This entire concoction is only about 120 calories total (with only 3 grams of carbs from the Athletic Greens), so it's just enough to give me energy to do the high intensity sprints, but not too much to weigh me down.

I also take one capsule of an oolong tea extract (capsules are explained on the order page there) that I've been experimenting with lately. This has about 50 mg of naturally occuring caffeine per capsule, and oolong tea is shown in some studies to increase the % of fat calories burned if taken before exercise.

I get about 15-20 minutes to digest this mixture a little (the walk to the soccer field takes about 15 min) and then I start to rock out the 20-25 minutes of all-out wind sprints. The 15 minute walk back home is a nice cool down.

It feels amazing, and I end up getting an insane workout with plenty of energy, as opposed to the no energy feeling I have if I try to do "empty stomach" exercise first thing in the morning. This also makes me feel really energetic for the rest of the day too, and I'm sure boosts my metabolism!

When I come back from the sprinting, I then make my full breakfast, which lately has been my fairly low-carb healthy breakfast of 4 whole eggs (free range from a local farmers market), grass-fed bison sausage, lots of veggies mixed in to the eggs (mushrooms, onions, spinach, kale, and red peppers), and a half of an avocado on the side. And I have a cup of unsweetened green tea or yerba mate.

The fat loss results so far:

Keep in mind, I've only been doing this morning ritual for about 7 mornings so far... but even with only a week of this method, I've already had noticeably more definition in the lower abs doing this every morning for the last 7 days or so!

So if you're up for a challenge and a great training and nutrition combo method, this seems to be working wonders for me so far! Let's get ripped and ready for summer! Perhaps you can find a way to do something similar in your routine.

I hope this post has given you some good ideas to use. Have fun!

By the way, if you haven't seen this article yet, give it a read, and make sure you're not doing any of these:

The 7 WORST exercises to STOP doing

and another good one to check out:

My 12-day carbohydrate binge experiment (with great results)

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

Fat Loss Workouts for Women

2011-04-26T22:32:00.001-05:00

Today's post is mostly for the ladies (or for guys who want to get their woman a great gift).

You know by now about my opinion that men and women should generally train similar for similar goals... I hate the misconception that many females have that they need to somehow train differently than men. Humans are humans!

With that said, I wanted to announce a great new website that was just released by my buddy Vince Delmonte's wife, Flavia.

The cool thing is that I think Flavia is a great example for many women, because she trains HARD... she trains with HEAVY weights... yet she certainly doesn't look "bulky" to me... you be the judge! See her picture below:

Check out Flavia's Lean Body and her Full-Body Licious Program here

Flavia's workout and nutrition system has been tested by 95 females and founded on science based principles from Flavia's Masters Level Exercise & Nutrition Certification.

Plus, Flavia actually created this program based on the exact workouts and nutrition tactics that she used to get ready for a photo shoot where she went from 18% body fat down to 13.4% body fat in only 10 weeks! Crazy stuff, and congrats to Flavia for the results of her hard work as you can see.

Go on over and check out Flavia's site to see her F.O.R.C.E Principles for a Flawless figure.

I really think you'll like this program and I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't let you know about it.

In fact, my girlfriend went through all of the videos and manuals yesterday (as a publisher, I got a sneak peak at the program), and she LOVES them... she actually already did one of the workouts last night and was totally whooped afterwards. She felt great!

Read this page and start getting a flatter stomach, tighter booty, and great legs!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The Worst 7 Exercises That You Should NEVER Do

2011-04-25T16:35:00.002-05:00

I wanted to make sure you didn't miss this new important article we just published...

I just put a brand new article on the site that is a MUST-READ if you workout with typical gym exercises. We all know some of my favorite exercises that rock your metabolism and build strong lean muscle such as squat variations, step-ups, deadlift variations, lunges, presses, upper body rows, etc...

However, today's article shows 7 common exercises that MOST people do at the gym that are horrendous for your body. Most of these have almost no fat loss or muscle building benefit, and simultaneously can trigger injuries or joint problems over time.

Read every word of this article to see these 7 common gym exercises that you should NEVER do! This is VERY important if you want to get the best results in your workouts without harming your body.

The 7 WORST exercises you should NEVER do (great article)

Please feel free to share this page with your friends and family that workout too so that we can protect them from injuring themselves at the gym.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The TRUTH about fat burner pills, metabolism boosters, and appetite suppressants

2011-04-21T17:17:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you're sick and tired of all of the bogus "miracle fat burner pills" that come along all the time claiming to be the next thing that will allow you to get a perfect body without changing your lifestyle.

We all know by now that it takes a true dedication to quality nutrition from whole foods and a fitness lifestyle to lose fat and get the body that you want. However, as you know, I'm also big on trying to get whatever small fat loss advantage I can from certain natural substances such as cinnamon, teas, capsaicin, etc to assist my good healthy nutrition and intense workout programs.

I just got done reading a great new report that blows the lid on some of the biggest scams surrounding supplements such as carb blockers, fat blockers, "fat burners", "metabolism-boosters", appetite suppressants, etc. This report also shows what science is available to back up certain natural substances that we can take for that slight fat burning "edge" or boost...

You can grab that report at no cost below:

The TRUTH about "metabolism-boosters", fat burners, appetite suppressants, stimulants, and more

Enjoy the report!

Some popular TruthAboutAbs articles that you might have missed:

7 tips to never get sick again

3 Random fitness tips about watermelons, onions, and glycemic index

My #1 most important diet lesson ever

PS - if you liked todays articles and report, please feel free to email this page to any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy it, or share it with your friends on facebook.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

A problem with modern fruits and veggies

2011-04-15T16:57:00.001-05:00

Most people think that "fruits and veggies" in general are all healthy. This is true to some extent.

However, we're not quite eating the fruits and veggies that nature intended us to eat... if that sounds strange to you, let me explain...

You see, the fruits and vegetables that we have at our grocery stores currently have been bred over the years to maximize sugar content, size, and appearance. Therefore, the nutritional content of these fruits and veggies has diminished over the years as produce has been bred for sweetness or size instead of nutrition.

This means that although our fruits and veggies may still have relatively good micro-nutrient and antioxidant content (compared to processed foods), today's modern agricultural fruits and veggies are a far cry from what we would have eaten in the wild tens of thousands of years ago. Those wild fruits and veggies were far more nutrient dense than what we're eating these days.

You can see this trend with any "wild" version of a fruit vs an agriculturally grown version. Just take agricultural blueberries vs wild blueberries as an example... some ORAC (antioxidant measurement) reporting shows wild blueberries to have almost double the antioxidant levels of some cultivated blueberries.

As you can see, this means that even if we eat lots of fruits and veggies in today's age, we still may be getting significantly less antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals compared to what we were meant to get in nature eating more "wild" varieties of fruits and veggies.

That's one of the main reasons I also started recently supplementing with a superfoods drink like Athletic Greens each day... this is one of my favorites because it has WAY more than just a few random greens powders...it also contains components from high ORAC berries, mushrooms, and dozens of other superfoods (a total of 76 superfood ingredients), all mixed into a pretty tasty drink. This is by far the best tasting greens drink I've ever had...it has a nice lightly sweetened taste, but uses natural stevia as the sweetener.

I actually personally know the owner of the Athletic Greens company (actually just had breakfast with him this morning on a trip I'm on in California), and I can tell you that he is very passionate about the quality of this product...they didn't cut any corners on sourcing the highest quality ingredients for producing Athletic Greens.

Back to choosing healthier fruits and veggies... as I mentioned "wild" varieties are best, but apparently "heirloom" varieties may be higher in nutrients too and have had less breeding for sweetness and appearance than typical supermarket varieties.

In addition, choosing organic versions is generally a step in the right direction and also obtaining your produce as much as possible from a local organic farmer, your own garden, or local produce stands or farmers markets can help to obtain produce with higher nutrient levels than typical supermarket produce.

One more thing I do to try to increase the amount of antioxidants I get daily to account for our slightly lower quality fruits and veggies in today's age is to use high antioxidant spices as much as I can such as turmeric, cinnamon, basil, oregano, etc. I also like to take a quality antioxidant supplement like Prograde Longevity for a little extra nutrition "insurance".

Please pass this email on to your friends and family to help them eat healthier.

If you still haven't seen my friend Isabel De Los Rios' website, I highly recommend checking out her nutrition video: 4 foods to NEVER eat (if you want to be lean)

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

Metabolism-Boosting Foods

2011-04-05T00:20:00.000-05:00

I love exploring new ways to make delicious meals that still support your efforts to get a lean body... As you know, I absolutely HATE bland and boring meal plans.

Although it's popular in bodybuilding circles to eat boring meals, you'll never find me eating dry chicken breast, steamed broccoli (with nothing on it), and oatmeal with nothing in it.

I just found a new resource that I think you'll love with over 260 Metabolism-Boosting Recipes...

We're talking delicous fat burning meals such as:

* Metabolic Pancakes
* Metabolicious Krazy Kiwi Smootie
* Asian turkey burgers
* Choco-Peanut butter oat muffins
* Hot Paprika shrimp
* and over 250 other delicous fat-torching recipes

These new Metabolic recipes include:

-Breakfast
-Snacks
-Side dishes
-Smoothies
-Red Meat
-Chicken & Poultry
-Pork
-Fish & Seafood
-and even Vegetarian

Make sure to grab a copy of this new Metabolic Cooking series now and start enjoying eating delicious metabolism-boosting foods for a lean body!

Bon appetit!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

How REAL butter can make you leaner

2011-04-04T00:50:00.003-05:00

If you've read my book or my newsletters for some time, you know I'm a big fan of REAL butter... and NOT margarine.

In fact, I would NEVER, EVER even think about touching margarine with a ten foot pole... and even these new fancy so-called "cholesterol lowering" margarines still contain some trans fats and inflammatory refined oils. I would NEVER touch those either.

I can't tell you how many times I've been at certain restaurants and been horrified to find that they don't even have real butter.... instead, they have nothing but artery-clogging trans fat laden margarine! Yuck. No thanks.

I've also been shocked to find that some people (a LOT of people) are still confused about the whole butter and margarine thing. In case you're still confused, let's clear this up now... the debate has actually been over for YEARS now, and I'll make it real simple:

Butter is healthy (if you choose the right type) ... Margarine is deadly! Simple as that.

I know that's a bold claim to say that butter is healthy...but it's true, as long as you choose organic grass-fed (pastured) butter, and NOT butter that came from confinement feedlots (CAFOs) from cows fed corn.

In fact, butter is one of the best natural sources of the healthy fat conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that actually helps you to build muscle and lose fat. Butter is also a good source of the healthy fats, MCTs, and also omega-3's in grass-fed butter too.

But it doesn't stop there... this article below shows not only how butter can help you get leaner, but is also one of the best sources of a few very unique vitamins that are hard to get elsewhere, can improve your cardiovascular function, and even lower diabetes risk.

How butter can make you leaner and improve your health

That article is a must read! It's refreshing to see a health author that actually "gets it" when it comes to this stuff. I'm sick of reading meal plans from bodybuilders and nutritionists that say to avoid butter and make sure to have plain boring steamed vegetables instead.

No way! I'll take my grass-fed butter on my vegetables and I'll love it. And by the way, yes you CAN get single digit bodyfat lean and still use butter on your foods if you want. I do it every day.

Some people have told me that they have a hard time finding grass-fed butter in their grocery store. My favorite that I've found is called Kerrygold Irish butter, and although the label doesn't clearly state "grass-fed", this butter is 100% pasture-raised from cows that eat lush green grass in Ireland. You can tell from the deep color of this butter, that it has higher levels of carotenoids than standard butter.

On related topics, here are a few articles of mine that I'd recommend reading:

How to choose healthy cooking oils (you may be surprised)

A land meat with more omega-3's than salmon?

Why Canola Oil is NOT healthy (don't be fooled)

Please fwd this email on to your friends and family to help them live healthier!

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

PS - have you seen my delicious healthy chocolate pudding recipe?

How to Lose Fat Up to 9x Faster

2011-04-01T16:21:00.001-05:00

I've got a great gift for you today that I think you'll love...

How you pair your exercise and nutrition habits together
is the most CRITICAL factor in determining your ultimate fat
loss success.

Our awesome friend and mentor, Dr. Kareem,
has written a report that will make you feel like kicking
yourself when you're done - This fat loss method is so
simple, and it's so effective - plus, it won't cost you a dime:

Lose Fat Up To 9x Faster: http://www.GetLeanFaster.com

Inside of this report, Dr K actually teaches you how to
think about choosing the proper exercise strategy
for each day, depending upon your nutritional intake.
It's fascinating, and it's spot on!

Plus, you'll get 2 KILLER workouts (at no cost), all equipped
with exercise videos, and they're ﬁlmed by Dr. Kareem himself,
so you know the form is perfect and the exercises are easy to
follow.

A specific new method to get LEAN faster:

http://www.GetLeanFaster.com

Enjoy the report, and if you enjoy it, go ahead and share this
email with your friends and family.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

New article - Benefits of Krill Oil on Fat Metabolism:

Drink with 76 Lean-Body Ingredients and super antioxidants

2011-03-25T13:09:00.005-05:00

I was on a business trip a couple months ago with my good friend Dr. Kareem (my favorite metabolic abs expert), and his wife Karen, and I noticed an interesting green "liquid concoction" that Dr K was drinking every morning.

This green stuff looked disgusting!
Despite the "swamp water" look, Dr K was chugging this green stuff down and proclaiming how delicious it was. I wasn't convinced. But Dr K talked me into giving it a try, and I had to admit... this green concoction was pretty damn delicious! I was sort of shocked.

So I immediately figured it HAD to be loaded with sugar and/or artificial sweetners to make a "greens drink" taste like that. Wrong! I looked at the ingredients... zero added sugars, nothing artificial at all... and contains 76 ingredients based on greens, fruits, veggies, enzymes, pre and probiotics, and more.

What Dr K had introduced me to was a new drink called Athletic Greens, which has recently been becoming more and more popular.

I had the chance recently to exchange emails with the owner of the company (through a couple mutual friends), and after I fired some questions his way about how this stuff is made and the quality of the ingredients, here was a portion of his reply to me... keep in mind that he's a Kiwi, as you'll see in some of his words:

"Hey mate,

We designed Athletic Greens to be the ultimate in nutritional insurance. By that I mean covering people's bases in terms of micronutrients daily. Our ingredients (76 of them) are 100% food sourced, freeze dried, with co-factors and enzymes intact for absorption for everything green. In the case of the minerals, they are the most bio-available and stable option in each instance.

Then we kept going... realizing that gut health is ultimately everything (it doesn't matter a whit if you don't absorb anything), and on top of that, absorption of those nutrients was imperative. We kept adding things, with a few to making it the ultimate daily "all in one", there are a bunch of items to improve digestion quality, both pre and pro biotics, as well as some great digestive enzymes. there are some mild detoxifying agents such as dandelion root and milk thistle, plenty of immunity-boosting herbs and extracts, neural protection from a clinical grade PS and Pcholine, rosemary, and coQ10.

There are PLENTY of antioxidants in there, all whole food sourced again, and we capped the ORAC value at 5000 since that is where the research seems to show the best bang, (more than that is not necessarily better).

Then we put in the "greens" - our NZ sourced chlorella and spirulina are without compare, as are the bulk of our other green ingredients. We went light on grasses, and stuck to blue green algae and more potent green superfoods. The nutrient content of those ingredients is signifcant.

It is powder to avoid the heat treatment and pressure of tableting or encapsulation, because we absorb powders mixed in liquid up to 3x more efficiently than in capsule form, and because to get the equivalent of one dose of Athletic Greens in capsules you would be looking at around 12-18 capsules. No way!

Stack that with the fact that our ingredients are all-natural, organic where applicable, and 100% food sourced, we went with the best in class for everything... and you can see why -- despite the amount of stuff we have in there no one's urine changes colour, ie, it is all being absorbed."

Well, I'm sold! Beyond the great taste, this is one of the best "superfood concoctions" I've seen anywhere...

Athletic Greens is full of RAW greens, antioxidants, herbs, enzymes, co-factors, medicinal mushrooms, vitamins, scarce nutrients, adaptogens, trace elements and minerals, pre and probiotics, and more.

What does Athletic Greens NOT contain?
AG contains absolutely no synthetic chemicals, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners of any kind, no GMO's, herbicides, or pesticides, no wheat, dairy, gluten, corn, lactose, sucrose, dextrose, egg, yeast, or peanuts (in case of any worry about allergies).

Check out the 76 lean-body ingredients in Athletic Greens

More energy, a leaner body, and elimination of deficiencies are awaiting you!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

For skiers: my good friend Mastro has just started a new blog for skiing nuts like us - The Skiing Fanatic. If you want some good skiing info on all topics, he's building it out.

Health Warning: chemicals that leach into your food and drinks

2011-03-22T20:58:00.000-05:00

If you received my email a couple weeks ago about the chemical "BPA", then you learned about some of the harmful chemicals that can be leaching into your food and drinks from canned food and bottled drinks, and how to avoid them.

Today, I have another chemical to tell you about below, in addition to BPA.

By the way, if you missed that BPA article, this is a MUST-READ, so please read below...

How BPA in canned foods and bottled drinks can increase abdominal fat, etc

New Health Warning:
In addition to the health issues related to BPA exposure, I just read a few articles on another chemical that we're being exposed to and how to avoid it.

The risk apparently comes from hot, fatty, or acidic liquids that you drink from styrofoam containers, which can leach small amounts of the chemical polystyrene (and the component, styrene) into your drink or food.

This also applies to food leftovers, sauces, oils, etc that are stored in styrofoam containers (which is typical from a leftover box from dining out) and/or reheated in those containers.

Styrene has been linked to cancer risk, neurotoxic symptoms, and more...

According to the Foundation for Achievements in Science and Education fact sheet, "long term exposure to small quantities of styrene can cause neurotoxic (fatigue, nervousness, difficulty sleeping), hematological (low platelet and hemoglobin values), cytogenetic (chromosomal and lymphatic abnormalities), and carcinogenic effects".

Doesn't sound like something we should be ingesting, does it.

With that said, keep in mind that occasional use of styrofoam is probably not going to hurt you... remember that the human body can handle acute exposure to small amounts of chemicals... this happens everyday with various chemicals that you're exposed to.

However, the point is to try to avoid "chronic" exposure to some of these chemicals that we warn against... for example, it's probably not a good idea to use styrofoam cups every single day with hot liquids, or to use styrofoam containers several times per week for reheating leftovers from dining out.  Not a good idea.

But with that said, I wouldn't panic about occasional use of styrofoam, such as once a month. The point is to avoid these chemicals as much as possible to limit your exposure. The same goes for the BPA that we talked about in that article.

Fwd this email to your friends and family to help protect their health too!

**Awesome new protein bars I found:
I recently came across some awesome new protein bars that I really like... no junk, no soy protein, no HFCS, no sugar alcohols, etc.

Plus they taste great!

They're called Boku SuperFood Bars (you'll see them listed on that page)

Here's why I think these bars are almost perfect nutrition-wise:

    * 15 grams of quality protein (from raw sprouted brown rice protein... and some from the almond butter too)
    * a whopping 11 grams of fiber out of 30 grams of total carbs! (that's a 37% ratio of fiber content... pefect for blood sugar stability)
    * there's 13 grams of healthy fats (mostly from the almond butter and almonds)
    * these bars also have some sprouted quinoa, and celtic sea salt (but are still low sodium)
    * and best of all, they contain loads of superfoods from the Boku Superfood blend of greens, maca, goji berries, antioxidant-rich mushrooms, probiotics, enzymes, and more

I'd also highly recommend trying their Boku SuperProtein, which you'll also see listed if you go to this page.

One thing that surprised me was that this Super-Protein has 77% DV of calcium (naturally-occuring), 59% DV of vitamin C, and 18% DV of vitamin A... all naturally-occuring due to the sprouted brown rice (which the sprouting produces more of these nutrients compared to plain brown rice).

Plus, you get all of these micro-nutrients without all of the starchy carbs that you get from brown rice... this Super-Protein has 26 gms of highly bioavailable protein per serving and only 3 gms of total carbs, along with 1 gm of fiber. There's just a small amount of natural organic maple syrup in this Super-Protein too which adds a nice sweetness while still being very low in sugar.

What I've started to do when I make my smoothies now is mix this Super-Protein half and half with my typical raw grass-fed whey that I use too. This actually makes a really tasty mixture!

You can try out this Boku SuperProtein and the Boku Bars at the site here (both items listed on this page)

Enjoy... They are delicious, and superior nutrition!

Last thing for today:
We had previously closed down our Online Personalized Fitness Coaching program a few months back to focus all of our attention on the individuals in the program. We now have some openings if you want to try out this service... and by the way, I personally review your program with another certified trainer and we work on your progress together.

See the details about the Personalized Online Fitness Coaching program here.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

4 Odd Workouts that burn off love handles and belly fat

2011-03-17T19:43:00.003-05:00

Before the Q and A today that shows these 4 unique workout styles, I want to remind you that this is your last chance to take advantage of the 52%-off special on John Romaniello's brand new Final Phase Fat Loss 2.0 system.

If you haven't ordered yet, here's where to go:

FPFL Hormonal "Repair" Training

Okay, here's a Q and A between John and I where John gives some unique info on training to erase hormonal issues, love handles, bellyfat, and leg fat issues...

Mike: Looking through your Final Phase Fat Loss program, it's clear that you've got some really unusual, unique ideas about training...which I really like. Can you sum up your training philosophy or give a brief description of your methods?

Roman: I can try, but I'm not very good at "brief" to be honest! (laughs)

The main thing I stress is that people work hard and work smart. Either CAN be effective on its own, but together they're unstoppable.

My programs use a lot of the same elements as many trainers, but I like to change up training styles to make things more effective, especially when trying to fix slow fat loss, bust through fat loss plateaus, or when attempting to lose those last 10 - 15 pounds of stubborn body fat.

Mike: That leads me to my next question--what's your take on why most people seem to have the most trouble in losing the last 10 - 15 pounds of body fat?

Roman: Ah, that's the million dollar question. The most common mistake people make when getting that low is not switching gears. Whether you realize it or not, losing the last 10 - 15 pounds requires a MUCH different approach than the first 10 - 15.

First, let's look at things mathematically.

A theoretical example: If I'm 200 pounds and 30% body fat, then I have 60 pounds of fat on my body. Losing 10 of it only represents 1/6th of my total body fat. That's hard, but it's doable.

If I'm 200 at 15% bodyfat, I have 30 pounds of fat on my body. Losing just 15 pounds is literally losing HALF of my total body fat. HALF.

If you think your body is going to react the same way to those two goals, you're crazy.

From a standpoint of absolutes, yes, 10 - 15 pounds of fat is 10 - 15 pounds of fat-however, your body doesn't work well with absolutes. Your body functions on principles of reaction. So from a relative perspective, it's just going to be an uphill battle.

All of the evolutionary history of the human race has prepared us to hold fat efficiently; and that's especially true with the last 10 - 15 pounds. So, do you really think you can follow the same training program?

Of course not!

You need a program that addresses the specific hormonal issues that occur when you're trying to overcome a plateau or get leaner than you've been before.

And Final Phase Fat Loss was designed specifically to address the issues of both.

The Final Phase Fat Loss 2.0 System

Mike: And with the Final Phase Fat Loss programs you have different styles of workouts to combat different hormones and problem areas?

Roman: Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I learned all about the beauty of combining vastly different training methods, and that very theory is the foundation of Final Phase Fat Loss.

Final Phase Fat Loss is a fully comprehensive fat loss protocol. It's 6 weeks of training, made up of 24 unique workouts - 6 workouts each drawn from 4 separate training modalities.

In FPFL specifically, we use these four methods. Some unusual, all highly effective:

a) dynamic training

b) lactic acid based training

c) density based training

d) heavy strength oriented training.

This not only challenges the body with frequently changing stimulus, but also allows for the strengths of certain methods to offset the weaknesses of others.

So, rather, than just being additive, the combination of the training styles is actually synergistically more effective.

And then of course there is the hormonal stuff that we attack.

Mike: You've mentioned the hormonal stuff, and THAT'S what everyone's talking about. Can you give us a break down?

Roman: Great question. The main thing to consider is how powerful your hormones are, and how they effect every aspect of your physiology-include whether you burn or store fat AND where you store it.

What we've found over the years is that people who store fat in their love handles and lower back are generally insulin resistant.

If you've got a lot of lower body fat, it's likely your estrogen levels are high (yes, this can even strike men too).

And the one so many people have a problem with: cortisol, which is correlated with belly fat.

Mike: In Final Phase Fat Loss, you talk about fighting hormones with hormones. So with each of the above...

Roman: There is a hormone to counteract the effects, yes. Before we get into that, let's go back to training for a second.

I don't have to tell you, but training has a hormonal response to it. And as I mentioned, we use multiple training styles in the FPFL system.

Well, each one of those training styles is also intentioned to combat a specific hormonal issue as it burns fat in general.

Dynamic training will produce IGF-1, which will combat insulin sensitivity and help you to lose love handle and lower back fat.

Density based training increases testosterone, which works against estrogen related fat storage in the lower body (and yes, this helps women too, not just men).

For cortisol and belly fat, we look to lactic acid training, which produces growth hormone --and GH not only combats cortisol, but is fantastic for overall fat loss.

Mike: Very interesting my Roman friend! So basically, all of the different styles are each great for fat loss, and they each also work with your body to combat hormonal issues and produce hormones that help burn fat from your trouble areas?

Roman: Exactly. On top of that, the simple act of rotating training modalities makes them all more effective. Essentially, you're burning fat in every way possible, with 4 different types of attacks.

Mike: Awesome. All around, who do you think FPFL is right for and what sort of person is it wrong for?

Roman: Again, great question. Final Phase Fat Loss is GREAT for 4 types of people:

1) Anyone looking to blast off that last 10 - 15 pounds.

2) Anyone who's been losing fat but has hit a plateau, and wants to revive their progress.

3) Anyone who suffers from hormonal fat storage in the

   a) lower body,
   b) belly/stomach,
   c) love handles, or
   d) if you're a guy, the dreaded "manboobs"

4) Anyone who has been using other fat loss programs in the past and is looking for something more advanced. I have to say Final Phase Fat Loss really is the most advanced fat loss workout I've come across.

This program tends to change the entire game for many people!

This ISN'T for someone who's a total beginner or anyone who hasn't exercised in an extended period of time. There's just too much ass-kicking involved. People need to get their feet wet a bit beforehand.

Mike: Okay, last question. You're currently in the middle of the Final Phase Fat Loss 2.0 "Grand Opening" Special. I know that you're offering it at 52% off in honor of your high school football number; how much longer do people have to grab Final Phase Fat Loss 2.0 at the HUGE discount?

Roman: We're running the sale for the rest of the day today, and it's set to expire tonight at midnight. So this is everyone's LAST chance to grab the program and finally get rid of their stubborn fat before the price more than doubles at midnight tonight...

Go here:

Conquer those love handles, manboobs, ab fat, leg fat with the FPFL system!

Have fun with this program! It's time to get the lean ripped body that you deserve!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

My airline nightmare and travel workouts and healthy meals

2011-03-09T19:19:00.001-05:00

Wait til you hear about my airline NIGHTMARE that happened this past weekend...I think we set a record for most canceled flights and mechanical problems with planes in row! I'll also share the tricks I use to try to stay in great shape while traveling, dealing with food temptations, etc.

I was at a business conference in DC this past weekend, and was trying to get back home to Colorado on sunday. I was exhausted after a long 4-day weekend of the business sessions, and also all of the night-time parties and socializing. Yes, I know... as I've mentioned before, I'm not a fitness "robot" all the time, and I do drink moderately...

Here's my previous article on how to balance alcohol into a fitness lifestyle

back to my travel nightmare...

So it turned out that our first flight on sunday early afternoon was canceled due to some sort of mechanical problem with the plane. So they switched us to a different airline and got us a flight 5 hours later that day.

Then, we got on that sunday night flight, pulled out of the gate, and all of the sudden the captain came on the speaker and said that they just found something broken on the plane, so we pulled back into the gate. We sat on the plane for an hour and they still couldn't fix the problem. So then, they told us to de-plane and we waited at the gate for another 2 hours while they were trying to fix the problem. At a certain point, they said the problem couldn't be fixed until the morning and they had to put us in hotels for the evening and fly us out at 6am the next morning.

Frustrated that we were not going to get back to our own beds, we headed for the airport hotel, only to have to wake up at the ridiculously early hour of 4am. We get back to the airport and try to check in for the 6am flight, and now this new flight is canceled too for other mechanical problems! Are you kidding me...this is turning into a nightmare.

Next, they finally figure out how to change us over to another airline yet again and get us a flight out from DC to Denver at 9am. After 3 canceled flights in a row, we finally make it to Denver, but we still need to connect to Eagle-Vail airport, and there's a snowstorm coming in the mountains.

After a 3-hour layover in Denver, we're finally ready to board for our connection to Eagle-Vail. Not so fast! Can we possibly have a 4th flight with mechanical problems?!? Right as we're about to board, they make an announcement that the plane has a flat tire and needs to be replaced. Ok, now it's getting almost comical on our bad luck. All we can do is shake our heads.

But after another 45 minute delay or so while they changed the tire, we were FINALLY on our way safely back to Eagle-Vail, just beating the snowstorm that arrived a couple hours later.

All in all, that was FOUR flights with mechanical problems on THREE different airlines, an extra hotel stay that we didn't want, total lack of sleep, and didn't get home until a day and a half after we should have.

Travel nightmare over!

So how does this relate to staying in shape while traveling? Well, as you may have seen from past newsletters, I travel frequently for work and business conferences in the fitness world... probably about 10 days per month on average. So this means I need to find time in my busy schedule while on trips to squeeze workouts in and maintain somewhat healthy eating.

I do the best I can with hotel gyms, but sometimes I do better with some high intensity bodyweight exercise routines right in the hotel room. Most of the time, I try to squeeze my workout in right before going to a group dinner... that way, the dinner is like my post-workout meal and the carbs are utilized better since I just depleted muscle glycogen with the workout.

Some of the most unique bodyweight workouts that I've been playing with lately are from a program called, The Bodyweight-Blueprint, and these are fantastic and REALLY unique! Check it out and you'll see what I mean.

Sometimes our schedule is really tight on these business trips, and a full workout might not even be possible. For example, on saturday, I was in the conference until 630pm and then had a group dinner planned at 7pm. So what I did was run back to my hotel room and knocked out 5 minutes of super high intensity bodyweight exercises with absolutely zero rest in between exercises, just choosing exercises such as jump lunges, jump squats, and plyo pushups to get the highest intensity possible since I only had 5 minutes to workout and then jump in the shower before the group dinner.

But hey, I made an effort to at least get something in. This is a fitness lifestyle and I have a rule that I can't go to a high calorie restaurant dinner without getting some sort of workout in first.

Now what about food choices at the airports, etc?

Well, I try to do my best with this, but sometimes you only have time for a fast-food place instead of a sit down meal. I never ever resort to Mickey D's or any junk fast food places like that! However, here's a blog post I did previously that shows one of the healthiest fast food choices I've found while traveling:

I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets newsletters.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Bad nutrition advice from the Biggest Loser

2011-02-23T03:24:00.002-05:00

I have to admit... up until this season, I have never watched that much of the "Biggest Loser" tv show.

And although I hear a lot of people criticize the show for many reasons, one thing I like about it is that I feel it gives people hope... people that have long given up on getting the body they want and falsely think that they are "cursed with a bad metabolism" or other garbage that goes through their minds. I think there's definitely a great motivating aspect to the show that can really help a lot of people to finally lose weight.

Although one criticism I have is that I think it makes people think that losing 10-15 lbs a week is normal, when it most certainly is NOT.

Obviously the people on the show are basically in a camp where calories are controlled and they work out for ridiculous numbers of hours per day. So then when average Joe or Jane goes to try to lose weight, and he or she only loses 2 lbs per week, they think they are "failing", when in reality, that's a perfectly healthy weight loss pace.

And now comes my nutritional criticism of the show...

I couldn't help but cringe about some of the nutrition advice on several of the recent episodes.

The first example...

On one of the recent shows, they had one of those "trainer tips" 30-second spots on the show, and the recommendation was to eat MORE cereal if you want to lose weight.

Are you kidding me?

The ONLY time I would recommend more cereal is if somebody's goal involved wanting to GAIN weight.

Seriously, I've had clients in the past that had difficulties gaining weight, and one of the techniques we use in those cases is to have them eat more grains like cereal, because it tends to stimulate weight gain nicely. But it's few and far between where people actually want to GAIN weight, so this recommendation to eat more cereal to aid weight loss is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

Of course, this little 30-second "trainer tip" was sponsored by a cereal company... big surprise.

I could go on and on as to why we DON'T need any more grains in our diets... but I think this previous article of mine explains it well:

3 foods we should STOP eating

The second example...

The next nutrition criticism I had wasn't a bad trainer recommendation, but it shows some misunderstanding of nutrition by the contestants. One of the contestants chose a breakfast sandwich of egg whites on whole wheat bread.

This shows 2 things that they misunderstand about nutrition... for one, they falsely think that they need to avoid egg yolks, when those yolks are vitally important to controlling their appetite and balancing their fat burning hormones. As you know from one of my previous articles, egg yolks are actually the MOST important part of the egg!

And the second misunderstanding they have is that "whole wheat" is good for you and a good thing for fat loss. Again, I would only recommend bread (even so-called "whole wheat" bread) for somebody that is trying to GAIN weight... not for somebody who is desperately trying to lose weight. Read this article to see more details about the problems of eating lots of wheat.

If I was to recommend one of the best breakfasts for fat loss, I'd recommend several WHOLE eggs with lots of veggies. I personally LOVE a 3 or 4-egg omelet with onions, mushrooms, zucchini, red peppers, spinach, and topped with salsa and sliced avocado!

The third example...

This is another example of a misunderstanding of nutrition by the contestants. In one of the shows, several of the contestants scolded another one of the contestants because he was thinking of making a steak for dinner. They told him that he MUST have fish instead of steak. They seem to have this false assumption that steak is somehow horrible for you.... which in the case of a corn-fed steak, may be the case.

However, this ignores the fact that a grass-fed steak can be equally as good of a fat loss meal as a piece of fish. Actually a steak, vegetables, and a salad is a perfect meal plan, especially if it's a grass-fed steak, which contains that oh-so important healthy fat called CLA, which can help you to burn fat and build muscle. And CLA is something that fish doesn't have.

I would be more concerned about his choice of side dish rather than the steak or fish question. The more important thing is to avoid the starchy carbs and focus on the meat and vegetables if fat loss is the goal.

I could go on with more examples of nutritional misunderstandings on the Biggest Loser show, but I think this gives some good ideas for now.

If you want to be set straight for life on nutrition, make sure you have a copy of my Fat-Burning Kitchen program.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The type of Fish Oil to NEVER take

2011-02-16T02:15:00.002-05:00

As you know, fish oil is one of the healthiest and most powerful supplements that you can take for your health...

but I just got done reading a new report that shows testing results from some major brands of fish oils out there that showed shocking levels of contaminants and also rancid oils, which could be more harmful than beneficial.

The report is available for FREE below:

Shocking report shows the type of fish oil to NEVER take

Inside this report, you'll also learn:

How some fish oils may be elevating levels of oxidative stress in your body and increasing your risk for advanced aging and disease!
A fish oil related neurotoxin which can cause irreversible brain damage
The disturbing truth about the fish finding their way into YOUR supplements (we bet you didn't realize this)
How to detect and avoid rancid fish oil containing incredibly dangerous lipid peroxides
The mega-powerful carotenoid found in the best sources of essential fatty acids - but probably not YOUR bottle of fish oil!
The real environmental impact fish harvesting is having on eco-systems

Grab the new FREE report here:

What your doctor never told you about fish oil

This report is a must-read if you take fish oil. Please don't think this is all bad news. The report shows how powerful fish oil and krill oil can be for your health, but shows you exactly what to look for so you don't choose one of the brands that failed testing.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

4 "fatty" foods for a flat belly

A delicious new healthy low-sugar chocolate truffle

2011-02-10T11:20:00.001-05:00

I just found a new healthy low-sugar chocolate "truffle" at Whole Foods the other day. Wow, delicious! And surprisingly healthy too as it contains a good amount of healthy fats, antioxidants and VERY LOW in sugar.

Even if you don't have a Whole Foods near you, you might even be able to make these at home as I'll show below.

And more exciting... these chocolate truffles are low carb and low sugar with absolutely ZERO sugar alcohols and ZERO artificial sweeteners!

They are simply called "Organic Chocolate Truffles" and I found them at Whole Foods, but I've seen almost identical types at other health food stores, and I think Trader Joes as well.

I found that eating just 1 truffle satisfies my sweet tooth after a meal, and only has 55 calories, which is pretty low if you absolutely have to have dessert after a meal.

Each chocolate truffle contains:

55 calories
2.5 gms total carbs
5 gms total fat (all healthy fats)

...and 76% of the calories come from healthy fats (mostly from organic coconut oil which makes it oh so creamy and smooth)... the healthy fat content helps to eliminate further cravings and control appetite and hormone levels. Since there's only 2.5 gms of sugar in each truffle, this will have almost zero effect on blood sugar compared to a typical high sugar dessert.

The ingredients are all healthy (except for one) as seen below:

organic cocoa mass (rich in antioxidants and healthy fats)
organic coconut oil (healthy fats and immune boosting lauric acid)
organic sugar (the only non-healthy part of these, but only 2.5 gms of sugar, so pretty low)
organic cocoa butter (a reasonable source of healthy fats despite false rumors about this type of fat)
organic cocoa powder (more goodness)

If you were to try to make something similar to this at home, I would use real maple syrup as the sweetener instead of sugar. Or I would try stevia or a blend of stevia and a small amount of real maple syrup. And for the cocoa mass, just melt a baking chocolate bar that's 100% cocoa content.

If you haven't seen these before, I have 2 amazingly delicious healthy chocolate recipes that have been super popular with readers:

My super-healthy chocolate fudge recipe

High-protein, high-fiber delicious healthy chocolate pudding recipe

Last note for today:

If you haven't check out the new program yet, "Lean Hybrid Muscle", check it out below... I really liked this program and the nutrition component is spot-on in my opinion. Plus, there's some super-unique training methods inside:

The weird new "Lean Hybrid Muscle" method

Enjoy those healthy chocolate treats and feel free to share this with friends and family!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

The number 1 thing stopping your fat loss

2011-02-01T11:48:00.000-05:00

You may notice that the internet is flooded today with people talking about best-selling author, Bill Phillips (the famous author of Body-For-Life), and his new Transformation program.

But I have a different perspective than most... You see, I actually got the pleasure of meeting Bill in person and spending a day at his house in Beverly Hills with about 2 dozen other fitness authors a couple months ago. Here is a pic of me and Bill in Bill's yard in California:

One of the biggest things that stood out to me when I met Bill was his sincere desire to change our society's unhealthy habits... and how genuinely he wants to help people live better lives. As you may know, he's even won awards for being one of the biggest contributors to the Make-a-Wish Foundation charity.

The guy is a class act...plain and simple.

So what is all of this new buzz surrounding Bill on the internet today?

Here's what all the buzz is about: If you've tried, over and over, to lose body fat but just couldn't do it, or you gained it back after you did, then you HAVE to hear what Bill wants to share with you about the newly discovered roadblock that is keeping you from dropping 225% more body fat, boosting energy levels, reversing poor health and feeling great from the inside out...

Your #1 Roadblock to Burning 225% More Fat

Even celebrities like Brooke Burke (Host of Dancing With The Stars) and Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) are tweeting about Bill's new Transformation Solution program.

And I can attest to the fact that Bill's program is POWERFUL... I'm not talking about little nutrition and exercise tips... we're talking LIFE-CHANGING type of powerful.

After all, if exercise and nutrition tips aren't changing your body and your life, maybe you need to think about things in an entirely new way... and that's what Bill's program is all about.

And the exciting news is that since Bill is just releasing his new program today, he's having a HALF-PRICE sale for only the next 3 days...

But better yet, you can feel good about supporting this program, because Bill is donating ALL of his profits from this program to charities for children, so it's for a good cause... plus you get a very special bonus when you order by MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.

Inside the Transformation Solution Program, Bill not only reveals the #1 roadblock to your success, but he also unveils what he calls the 'Bio-Balance Anti-Diet Solution,' which is scientifically designed to help people quickly lose body fat who have NEVER been able to before.

Read about Bill's "Bio-Balance Anti-Diet Solution"

I really think you're going to enjoy Bill's program... the information is truly profound and powerfully life changing!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
author: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

2 Foods to lower cancer risk and blood pressure

2011-01-24T23:46:00.000-05:00

I just read these 2 tips in Mens Health and figured I'd pass them along...

1. According to Mens Health, in a Washington State University study, people who drank a daily shake with whey protein for 6 weeks lowered their blood pressure by about 8 points. Apparently whey protein may help to improve the function of blood vessel linings according to the study author.

Of course, you probably already know some of the other muscle building and fat loss benefits of a quality whey protein too. I use whey protein in all of my post workout smoothies, and lately I've also been adding vanilla whey to my yogurt/berry/nut mixtures for an extra protein boost.

FYI - my favorite whey protein that I've found is this grass-fed raw whey protein, which is one of the highest quality that I've been able to find.

Almost all whey proteins on the market are made from milk from factory farm cows that are crowded inside horrendous "milk factories" and fed mostly corn, both of which makes the cows sick. I've verified that the whey listed above is from truly grass-fed cows that spend their time outdoors eating grass, and not corn.

Also, on the topic of lowering blood pressure... over the past year, I've been trying to help my mom with some natural remedies to help lower her elevated blood pressure. In my searching, I purchased several different manuals and books about blood pressure...

However, the absolute best one that I read about six months ago was from a natural health author named Frank Mangano, and it's called The Blood Pressure Miracle.

This manual had TONS of great tips and several dozen really interesting natural remedies for lowering blood pressure without dangerous drugs. It was by far the best blood pressure manual that I've read.

2. The second study that I just read about in Mens Health shows how fish oil may help prevent pancreatic cancer.

The study was from the International Journal of Cancer, and found that participants who took at least 850 mg of omega-3's per day reduced the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 53%.

Although this study only talked about pancreatic cancer, I think we already know how powerful the EPA and DHA types of omega-3's in fish oil can be for so many aspects of our health besides just cancer risk.

Warning: I've been reading more and more studies recently about many types of fish oil on the market that have gone rancid in the processing of that fish oil, or contain other contaminants in the fish oil.

Make sure to read this page that shows problems with some fish oils on the market.

I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth About Six Pack Abs

Top 3 Flat Belly Spices

2011-01-21T02:57:00.000-05:00

You probably already know that some herbs and spices are some of the most potent antioxidants on the planet...and they all have unique types of antioxidants, varying health benefits, and some even have properties that help you to get a leaner body...

With that said... here are 3 of the absolute healthiest:

1. This first one is from my good friend, and famous nutritionist, Isabel De Los Rios - author of my favorite nutrition program, The Diet Solution Program

Ginger:

Ginger is a plant that is used as a natural spice and has been used by Chinese herbalists for more than 2,500 years in flavoring foods and part of natural medicines.

One of ginger's biggest "claims to fame" is its ability to quickly calm the digestive system to relieve distress and discomfort from gas pains and cramping. It also has been used to relieve nausea from motion sickness, morning sickness or the occasional "I just ate the wrong thing and it's killing my stomach!".

Ginger has also been used in the treatment and prevention of inflammatory conditions like painful arthritis and it's a wonderful cold and flu fighter.

So we know ginger is definitely a great food to keep the body super healthy, but does it have the ability to assist the body in burning fat? Yes, ginger root has been found to help accelerate the metabolism and assists in reducing stomach bloating by helping food digest properly.

For me, any food that will assist my digestion and keep my stomach feeling good is a food that is well worth adding to my meal plans. I also really enjoy the delicious taste of ginger and love adding it to several different recipes. I try to add ginger to almost any fish dishes.

2. Turmeric:

Turmeric is thought by many nutritionists and health professionals to be quite possibly the healthiest spice on the planet. It is also thought to be one of the most powerful anti-cancer spices.

The extreme health benefits of turmeric

3. Blood sugar controlling cinnamon:

Yes, that's right... one of the healthiest spices on earth that also helps to control your blood sugar response:

Read how cinnamon can help to fight abdominal fat

Enjoy those healthy spices and get a leaner body!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Trick to end cravings and double your fat loss

2011-01-04T01:23:00.001-05:00

If you are having trouble with over-eating, keeping your portions under control, or with sugar cravings - then please read this entire post.

I am about to show you a weird technique that clinical studies have shown increases the amount of fat you can lose by 146%, and more importantly ... this is weight loss over the long term!

And this is NOT about willpower, discipline, a fad diet, or taking a bunch of worthless weight loss pills... (I have seen every fat loss scam and scheme out there).

You and I both know these are a waste of time and money. And you usually end up adding more fat to your body because you have totally messed up your metabolism...

A fat loss tool that really works...

Not only has this tool been proven to more than double your weight loss results, it also makes a lot of sense.

That's because instead of relying on magic or super-human feats of willpower, this actually makes it easier for you to make the right food choices.

The technique is called medical hypnosis, and this specific program has been helping normal people just like you lose weight the right way for over 5 years...

Before you scoff, let me assure you that this isn't new-age clap trap!

Dr. Temes is on the Department of Psychiatry at the SUNY Health Science Center Medical School so everything she does is based on research and not "pop" psychology or mainstream hype.

More importantly, this particular program is PROVEN to actually work for long term weight loss.

Independently tested to Work for Weight Loss 92% of the Time

This is the only hypnosis program independently tested to get results. The National Health and Wellness Club tested this program with 50 of their members, and 92% got results.

This means that over 9 out of 10 people get results, compare this with any other weight loss program of any other kind and you simply will not see results like these.

This is why it is the first pure hypnosis program I have ever recommended.

How this program will help you lose fat and get a lean body...

Just by closing your eyes and relaxing for less than 20 minutes day, your brain will begin to absorb a new way of thinking about food and health.

Because it is working at a deep level, It won't be about denying yourself; you just won't want what's bad for you in the first place... THIS IS KEY! After working in the fitness and diet field for over a decade, I've found that the biggest obstacle for most people is not lack of knowledge, but not being able to stick with their diet plan.

And get this, you generally don't even think about it while it's working.

Natalie Laevsky from Brooklyn, New York is an example. After using the CDs, here's what she had to say:

"For three weeks, while listening to the CDs every day, I have lost 14 pounds without any increased effort. And this is after many years of struggling with weight and trying a lot of different programs and pills. I am so happy..."

Notice how effortless this is for Natalie now. She is finally off of the fat loss roller coaster.

It is your turn to finally take control and get a lean body forever...

I want to be clear, this may not work for everyone (about one out of ten people will not get results). But if you are overweight and it has anything to do with overeating or not being able to resist the wrong foods... then giving this a try simply makes sense.

Some other great things that will happen to you in just 20 relaxing minutes a day:

Cravings can be reduced instantaneously, allowing you to stop binging before you start
New neural pathways will be created that empower you to replace unhealthy eating habits with healthy ones
Experience effortless motivation without relying on willpower
Your desire for sodas will be eliminated and replaced with a craving for WATER!
Pounds will melt away as you automatically eat the right foods and the right portions
Most people notice a dramatic change within just 21 days!

Less expensive than you would think

Seeing Dr. Temes in person would cost you well over $300 per session. In this program you get seven powerful sessions. But because these are recorded, you will not pay anything close to $2,000.

Because I believe in this program and because it is so important to your health that you are able to stop the dietary self-sabotage, we have negotiated a great way for you to try the program.

The seven sessions on CD would normally cost you $119 (which I think is more than fair).

But for my readers, The Hypnosis Network is going to add $75 worth of valuable bonuses and has cut the price to under $100.

And because they are confident you are going to get results, they are going to let you try it for 30 days for just the cost of shipping.

And they guarantee their program for a whole year.

This means you can test what could be a life changing program at absolutely no risk to you.

Why carry around those unwanted pounds when you can finally get rid of them so easily?

You'll feel a lot better (both emotionally and physically), you'll live longer, and you'll look better than ever.

http://www.FatLossHypnotherapy.com

To your new lean body and good health,

Mike Geary

Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Author of best-selling program: The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

P.S. Oh, I almost forgot to mention:

This program is "eating plan agnostic" - it works with any smart nutrition plan. Over 20% of the people on the program use it to stay on a plan given to them by a nutritionist or dietician. If you're currently using the nutrition plans from TruthAboutAbs or one of my favorites, The Diet Solution program, this program will help you stick to the plans without fail!
You can use this program in the privacy of your own home. Seven sessions that you can use over and over again.
This is the best time for you to save. These 7 sessions on CD cost $250 less than just ONE session with Dr. Temes in person.
And it helps to know the kind of feedback this program has been getting:

"After using the weight loss hypnosis CDs for 3 weeks I have lost 6 pounds. I am sleeping better and just feel better overall. I am paying more attention to my food choices, and to exactly how I am feeling, asking: 'Am I genuinely hungry? Or is it thirst, boredom, loneliness, etc.?' Mainly, I don't feel like I am on a 'DIET'..."
Cindy Mears
Brattleboro, Vermont

http://www.fatlosshypnotherapy.com/

* Kirsch, Irving (1996). Hypnotic enhancement of cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments --Another meta-reanalysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64 (3), 517-519.

In a meta-analysis, comparing the results of adding hypnosis to weight loss treatment across multiple studies showed that adding hypnosis increased weight loss by an average of 97% during treatment, and even more importantly increased the effectiveness POST TREATMENT by over 146%. This shows that hypnosis works even better over time

Win a Maserati in this Fat Loss Contest

2010-12-29T23:22:00.001-05:00

I'm sure you've heard of the hit TV show, The Biggest Loser, right?

Well, as you may already know as a reader of Truth About Abs, I work closely with one of the former star trainers on that show (from season 3), Kim Lyons.

In fact, I just hung out with Kim in Costa Rica several weeks ago while we were both there for a conference, and we got to talking about an incredible fitness contest she's having over at her site, starting NOW!

And when I say incredible contest... I mean HUGE! Seriously, you have a legit chance at winning a freakin Maserati! She's also giving away good ol cashola, as well as a dream vaca... including a chance to hang out and even train with Kim herself!

Here's how to lose weight and drive away in a Maserati

What better chance to give yourself the motivation to get in the best shape of your life?! Seriously, it's proven that you're MUCH more likely to take action and achieve your goals if you're involved in a contest with a deadline!

Beyond just your chance to take home the Maserati or go on a dream vaca with Kim, she's got some great videos for you over at the site (100% complimentary) with cool tips such as:

* 3 Simple steps to stop sweet tooth cravings NOW
* How to increase your metabolism while out at your favorite restaurant or sports bar
* How to exercise less but still get better, FASTER weight loss results
* The #1 trick for blasting past fat loss plateaus

Go here for a chance at the Maserati and for the fat loss tips

This is NOT something you want to miss! It's not everyday that you get a chance to get in the best shape of your life, and lose a LOT of weight, all while simultaneously bringing home a Maserati, some good cash, or even a dream vacation!

Don't procrastinate... it's time to take action!

PS - I was told that many people missed these awesome new card game workouts the other day...I just put this page together and it's super-cool workouts to do at home with a deck of cards:

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/card-game-workouts.html

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

5 New Crazy Card Game Workouts for Home

2010-12-26T11:47:00.000-05:00

I just put together some super-cool workouts that you can do at home (or the gym if you want), and all you need is a deck of cards!

This is a really FUN way to get in great workouts and you can do them either by yourself or with a partner, spouse, or friend. I also describe how the progression works on these workouts so you can keep getting in better shape as you improve on these.

I really think you'll LOVE these workouts... and you can challenge your partner to do these with you and keep each other accountable for progression. Check it out:

5 Crazy Card Game Workouts for Home (fun stuff!)

Have fun with these! and pass this page on to your friends to give them a new workout idea.

To spice things up, how about putting out a challenge to your spouse or partner to do these with you...this makes it sort of a competition and keeps you both motivated and working hard.

Also, I just recently found some awesome new bodyweight workouts...super, super unique stuff! It's called the Bodyweight Blueprint, and it's one of the most unique and comprehensive bodyweight workout programs I've come across...

If you want some great new bodyweight workouts to do at home, in hotels, or anywhere, these will give you a rock-hard body for sure... check it out here!

I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets.

PS - the shocking article from last week about cell phone dangers to your "crotch" has been updated. As ridiculous as this might sound, this article needs to be taken seriously. Please make sure to read it as we've updated it with a few more references of studies, etc:

Warning: Is Your Cell Phone Carried in Your Pocket Harming Your "Crotch"?

Talk soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The Top 10 "mad scientist" exercises for abs, butt, chest, arms

2010-12-20T12:54:00.000-05:00

I've got a great new report for you today (at no cost) from my friend, the "mad scientist", Nick Nillson.

This report shows 10 killer exercises that you've most likely never even heard of. Seriously, you might have seen 1 or 2 of these exercises before, but most of them are crazy unique...

Wait til you see Mad Scientist exercise #1... it's BRUTAL on your abs! love it.

There's a unique exercise in here for almost every body part too... glutes, chest, triceps, biceps, etc, etc.... really cool stuff.

Go here to get your free Top 10 "Mad Scientist" Exercises

I think you'll love this report!

I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets

Popular articles:

The top 55 Lean-Body foods

Microwaved foods affect your blood chemistry

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Jackie from girlwithnoname.com interviews Mike Geary on Truth About Abs and Fat Burning Kitchen nutrition and exercise philosophy

How GLUT-4 shuttles calories into muscle instead of fat

2010-12-17T15:55:00.001-05:00

Have you ever heard of a substance in your body called "GLUT-4" and how it can help preferentially shift calories into muscle cells instead of fat cells? Well, read on...

What if we could do a certain type of exercise for only about 1 minute immediately before a meal and this could help stimulate GLUT-4 to shift calories into muscle cells instead of being stored in fat cells... sounds good to me!

So what's the trick?

Well, as you might have guessed this is yet another trick I learned from reading Tim Ferriss' new book, The 4-Hour Body, which contains over 100 of these types of cool tests and studies that Tim researched.

GLUT-4 is glucose transporter type 4. According to research that Tim has done, doing about 60-90 seconds of muscular contractions a few minutes before a meal and, ideally, about 90 minutes after a meal, helps to bring GLUT-4 to the surface of muscle cells, opening more gates for the calories to flow into.

As Tim continues, "The more muscular gates we have open before insulin triggers the same GLUT-4 on the surface of fat cells, the more we can put calories in muscle instead of fat".

I won't go into all the scientific details, but Tim actually cites several studies in his book that back up his theory that doing these muscular contractions a few minutes before a meal and 90 minutes after a meal help to shuttle calories into muscle cells instead of fat cells.

What Tim uses is a combination of bodyweight squats (which he calls "air squats", for contractions throughout leg muscles), band pull-aparts (contraction in upper back muscles), and wall tricep extensions.

He chose these specific exercises because they would satisfy the muscular contraction needs in large areas of the body for the pre-meal and post meal contractions, but they wouldn't cause a lot of muscular damage that would interfere with his regular gym workouts.

Interesting stuff! And I'm certainly trying to do about 1-2 minutes of exercise now before all of my dinners at home. I've also been incorporating the 2-arm kettlebell swing in my living room for about 60 seconds prior to eating a meal.

This is the kind of stuff that I've been enjoying while reading Tim's new book. He has all sorts of cool experiments and studies for little "tips and tricks" that you can use to change your body.

If you haven't grabbed a copy yet... this is one of the most interesting fitness books I've read in years...
You can go here to get copies of The 4-Hour Body. This thing is a steal at under $20!

If you missed the interesting articles from earlier in this week, see below:

2 Substances You Can Eat Pre-Meal to Control Your Blood Sugar Response

Warning: Your Cell Phone Carried in Your Pocket May be Damaging Your "Junk"

One last thing for today:

If you enjoy a lot of these fitness and nutrition articles that I publish in this newsletter, please do me a favor and share these newsletters with your friends and family on Facebook. To do so, just go to the page below (if you're logged into facebook, and click "share" on the page to let your friends know about this newsletter:

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/FREENewsletter.html

Talk to you soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

How BAT helps reduce your abdominal fat

2010-12-14T02:53:00.001-05:00

You're going to LOVE this! We're talking hundreds of experiments on weird food and nutrient combos, unheard-of supplements and herbs, odd workout styles, and more...all with proof and real-world experiments on how to use simple little tweaks to powerfully change your body!

What am I talking about? well, I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy 2 weeks ago of best-selling author, Tim Ferriss' new book "The 4-Hour Body", and I've been pouring through this thing for the last week or two... it's freakin amazing! The book actually just launched today on amazon.

I'd have to say that this is easily one of the best fitness and nutrition books I've ever read...probably in the top 2.

I was at an event in Austin Texas last summer and was hanging out with Tim, and he was telling me about all of the crazy experiments he details in this new book... at the time, he was thinking of calling it "Becoming SuperHuman", and immediately I was intrigued.

By the way, the subtitle for this book is: "An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming SuperHuman".

This is a perfect gift for Christmas for anybody interested in health, fitness, food, or performance in the bedroom... yes, there's some CRAZY stuff in this book. Grab a few copies today and you won't be disappointed. This book is extremely entertaining too.

What's insane about this book is that Tim actually made himself a human guinea pig for a lot of the experiments that he writes about in the book. He had over 1000 blood tests taken on himself, and 10 years worth of experiments to study the effects of different foods, workout styles, sleeping methods, etc, etc.

Not only that, but Tim worked closely with and compiled secrets from hundreds of elite athletes, Olympic training coaches, dozens of MD's, bodybuilders, triathletes, and more to extract some of the best tricks and tips for "becoming superhuman" and getting your best body fast.

Check out some of the crazy stuff he details in this book (for both men and women)

*Unusual tricks to prevent fat gain while bingeing (such as on X-mas, holidays, weekends)
*1 NIGHTLY tip to increase fat loss by 300%
*Tim's unusual 21-day beef and almond experiment (very interesting)
*How to go from running 5 kilometers to 50 kilometers in 12 weeks (if you're into that kind of thing)
*How Tim gained 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days, without drugs, and in only four hours of total gym time (he has proof of how he did this without gaining body fat)
*How to reverse "permanent" injuries
*Specific food and nutrient combos to triple your testosterone
*How to add 150+ pounds to your lifts in 6 months
*And for the ladies, the #1 MOST important exercise to get a perfect butt (most people DON'T do this one)

Tim also talks about a specific food plan that he calls the "Slow Carb Diet" which is the first eating plan that actually stripped so much fat off of his abdominals, that he could actually see veins on his abdomen. Pretty cool stuff.

That's what this book is all about... all together, it's over 500 pages, and seems intimidating at first glance... but it's actually formatted so that you can simply pick and choose little bite-sized chapters and experiments at a time.

Personally, I'm a really slow reader, but I've been FLYING through this book!

If you want to see a super-cool 45-second video trailer about what this book is all about, go to this amazon page and look on the left side below the book image... you'll see the 45-second video clip on there... really cool stuff!

Regarding the subject line of today's email and "BAT"... here's one trick that Tim talks about in the book...

As you may have heard about before, there's a difference between types of fat inside your body - white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT)...

BAT has gotten a lot of press for it's ability to trigger increased calorie expenditure in your body. As Tim says in the book, "BAT helps dissipate excess calories as heat. These excess calories would otherwise be stored in the aforementioned WAT and end up in your beer gut or muffin top".

So how do we stimulate BAT to get rid of more body fat? Well, that is what Tim sought to experiment with, and in one of the chapters in The 4-Hour Body, he details several experiments he did... One of those experiments was not something you will want to repeat, and it involved painful 20-minute full body ice baths.

However, Tim discovered an experiment that worked almost equally well, and it was much easier... it involved simply using an ice pack on his neck and upper trapezius area for 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week.

The reason this worked for BAT stimulation was that BAT is apparently more concentrated in your upper chest and neck areas. This experiment that Tim did on himself led to significant body fat reduction.

This is just 1 example of the 100's of experiments that Tim details in this new book. It's some seriously entertaining reading, and gives you tons of ideas on little things you can test to get a better body, get stronger, get leaner, or perform better.

Really cool stuff.

Make sure to grab yourself a copy and I'd recommend grabbing a couple extra copies as gifts for friends or family interested in health and fitness... this is a great gift for anybody interested in health, fitness, nutrition, or athletics.
Go to amazon here and get a few copies.

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

PS - Check out this low-carb healthier pasta alternative

Boost Your Metabolism by Holiday Feasting?

2010-11-16T17:00:00.000-05:00

With Thanksgiving feasts and other holiday gatherings coming up soon, you might think that you have to surrender your body to automatically gaining LOADS of body fat this holiday season.

But alas... you'd be mistaken!

In fact, there is a scientifically proven way to manipulate your hormonal response to these holiday feasts to actually get LEANER this holiday season and INCREASE your metabolic rate (if you follow some specific techniques...otherwise, you'll just gain fat like usual)

This concept is the entire basis of my colleague Joel Marion's Cheat Your Way Thin System - Holiday Edition

For Thanksgiving and the rest of this holiday season, the truth is that you DON'T have to give up your desserts, your glorious stuffing and mashed potatoes, your delicious pumpkin pie and ice cream, your holiday egg nog, and all of the other party treats you'll be tempted with...

(I know I certainly don't give any of that up...and I'm one of the strictest nutrition professionals around!)

However, it's vitally important that you know EXACTLY how to manage this aspect of overeating on the specific days that you have gatherings (along with the proper way to combine this with strategic exercise) during this holiday season to actually give you an advantage in firing up your metabolism and maximizing the correct hormones to get you LEANER instead of fatter during this holiday season.

Make sure to read the page below ASAP, because Joel has some killer bonuses and coaching sessions available for you if you take action on the first day of this launch (that's today!)

Boost your metabolism and get LEANER by strategic feasting

And enjoy that turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Recent controversial article:

The Controversy over the "Twinkie Diet"

Burns more calories than jogging?

2010-11-11T12:45:00.000-05:00

Based on all of the buzz going around lately about the brand-new 1000-Calorie Challenge (which yes, burns WAY more calories than jogging ever will), we put together a little interview below to help answer some of the questions about this program...

Mike: There's been a lot of buzz going around lately regarding your 1,000 Calorie Challenge program, but can you give my readers a little more insight as to what the program entails?

Joel: Sure thing. The 1,000 Calorie Challenge is an 8-week rapid fat loss program that I truly to believe to be the most strategic, rapid fat loss progression system ever developed.

It's made up of two phases - Phase 1 which rapidly builds you up to doing 1,000 calorie workouts, and Phase 2 which are the actual 1,000 calorie sessions.

To further up the ante, we combine these workouts with three strategically placed 1,000 calorie diet days each week. The result, as you can probably guess, is extremely rapid fat loss.

Mike: During one of our previous conversations you mentioned that you combine the 1,000 calorie workouts with the 1,000 calorie diet days to achieve what you refer to as "The #1 Rule of Fat Loss". Can you talk about that for a minute?

Joel: Of course, and you're right. The #1 rule of fat loss is that in order to lose fat fast, you absolutely MUST create a massive calorie deficit. That is, you need to burn more calories than you consume...a LOT more.

Essentially, fat loss is a math game. The more calories you have going out, the more fat you have coming off.

Mike: What do you feel is the best way to achieve a calorie deficit?

Joel: Well, there are a few ways, and it's BEST when you use all three, and that's exactly what the 1,000 calorie challenge does.

1. Burn more calories
2. Consume fewer calories
3. Increase metabolism

We burn more calories through metabolically taxing resistance training, we consume fewer calories on strategically placed low-calorie diet days, and we increase metabolism through something call the "afterburn" effect.

Mike: Can you talk more about that?

Joel: Yes, and this is one of the coolest parts about the 1,000 Calorie Challenge. Not only have our workouts been tested to burn 1,000 calories during the actual workout, but they've also been shown to dramatically increase metabolic rate for up to 48 hours after the workout due to the strategic style of resistance training we've implanted in the program.

That means if you're sitting there on the couch watching football on Sunday, you'll still be burning calories from your Friday workout. Pretty cool, huh?

Bottom line, our 1,000 calorie workouts in all actuality burn at least DOUBLE that number when you account for the massive afterburn created from the intense resistance training nature of each workout.

Mike: Very cool, now you mentioned that most people won't start with the 1,000 calorie workouts, but you do have a system in place to progress them to that level really quickly. This is one of the most intriguing parts of the program. Can you touch on that briefly?

Joel: Absolutely. And I agree, the strategic progression system we use in Phase 1 to graduate people to 1,000 calorie workouts is what sets this program apart from literally any other program on the market. That fact is, most people can't do a 1,000 calorie workout and most people never will be able to reach that level with their current training.

BUT, we've been able to take even relative beginners and get them there in 4 weeks or less. We use two different progression systems - one called R-Quattro where we manipulate 4 different training variables strategically from workout to workout: reps, rest, rounds, and resistance. The other we call SSP or Strategic Set Progression which progresses the style of the workout from week to week. I talk about that more at the page here: Learn More About Strategic Set Progression

Mike: Those two systems are definitely two of my favorite aspects of the program. Another question we've received from readers this week is just how much weight can people expect to lose on this program?

Joel: That's an interesting question, and instead of just throwing a number out there, I'll prove it with simple math:

Let's say you burn X amount of calories currently. Add three 1,000+ calorie workouts to your bottom line each week, and you'll be burning at least TWICE as much.

Now add another 1,000 calorie AFTERBURN x 3 as you hang out at home as a result of those workouts.

Now add another 1,000 - 2,000 calorie deficit x 3 from the strategic 1,000 calorie diet days.

Here's the math:

1,000 x 3 thousand calorie workouts.
1,000 x 3 for the afterburn
1,500 x 3 for the 1,000 calorie diet days
500 x 3 for the moderate diet days

That right there is 12,000 calories or AT LEAST 4 pounds of pure fat every week.

And that's about the average fat loss we've seen on this program - 3 to 5 pounds of pure fat in a single week.

Mike: Interesting breakdown for sure! Thanks Joel, appreciate you taking the time to lay out the details of the program to my readers.

Joel: Anytime Mike.

Go here to get started with the 1000-Calorie Challenge

Enjoy the program! It's a good challenge!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Amazing hiking and pictures of Loreto Mexico

2010-11-04T11:40:00.008-05:00

I've been in Loreto, Mexico this week on a combination business/pleasure trip, and along with some business discussions with the one and only Dr. Kareem (the inventor of the Double Edge Fat Loss System), we've done a bunch of fun activities like climbing a small but vertical peak with a cliff that overlooked the ocean, did 2 great scuba dives yesterday seeing some amazing marine wildlife and underwater cliffs, and also did what I would say is the best hike I've ever been on in my life!

I wanted to show you some pics from this one particular hike because it was so incredible, and it was also an extremely fun and challenging hike that involved almost as much climbing as actual hiking, involved some bouldering, and even some climbing through several caves to get where we needed to go!

Remember that I live in the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains and do a lot of hiking and mountain biking, so finding a hike that can impress me more than colorado takes a lot.

But this hike/climb in Loreto, MX was unlike any hike I've done in the states... it was also an awesome workout, had very unique and beautiful desert/canyon/arroyo scenery, and like I said, also involved almost as much climbing up cliffs, boulders, and caves, as it did normal hiking.

Here are some pics from our hike/climb:

Going through the canyon with Dr Kareem, his wife Karen, and me and Nayri

This was a different hike that we did to the top of a small peak that overlooked the Sea of Cortez. beautiful!

still going up!

here's a crazy tarantula that we saw while hiking the canyon... yes, this thing was about the size of my hand! a little freaky.

here's Karen coming out of one of the caves we had to climb up and through to continue on our canyon trail.

a look back down part of the canyon we had hiked up. Notice the Sea of Cortez in the background.

more scenery from inside the Baja desert canyon

these are some of the massive boulders that we had to climb over.

And our reward for the hard hiking... some margaritas later that evening overlooking the ocean!!

Hope you enjoyed the pics.

Some recent articles:

13 Healthy Fat-Burning Snacks

Interesting results of "energy drink" study

High-protein Chocolate Pudding recipe

A trick to prevent a hangover

2010-11-01T00:38:00.000-05:00

How to Prevent a Hangover

I was at a Halloween party last night with some friends having a few drinks, and the topic of hangovers came up (along with a few laughs about the movie, The Hangover). Now personally, I never really get hangovers, even if I have a few too many, so I haven't tried this myself...

but 2 of my friends specifically said that they used to get hangovers after a night of drinking, but now they take something called VGF25+ (a whole foods based vitamin, which the name stands for 25 veggies, greens, and fruits) and this somehow prevents the hangover, they believe.

They told me that what they do is take one of the VGF25+ caps before they go to bed with some water after a night of drinking, and they haven't had a hangover since they've been doing this. Again, I haven't tried this myself, but you can grab some VGF25+ here and try it as a hangover preventative for yourself.

Also, if you missed it a couple weeks ago, I published an article about the whole topic of drinking and some specific tips to balance this aspect of your life and stay lean if you choose to partake in some social drinking. A lot of people struggle with packing on lbs from alcohol, but I also know that most people don't want to fully give up social drinking altogether.

So I give 7 specific tips in this article below about how to prevent packing on the blubber and still enjoy a little bit of social drinking in moderation.

7 Tips to Stay Lean and Still Enjoy Social Drinking

Feel free to fwd this newsletter to your friends if you enjoyed this article.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

What to NEVER eat after you workout

2010-10-26T00:11:00.000-05:00

I just got done reading an interesting report about pre-workout and post-workout meals. I think this is an important read to make sure you're maximizing the benefits of your workouts and not sabotaging some of your results by eating the WRONG things after you workout.

The report was written by a PhD and registered Dietician, one of my friends that works as a researcher with Prograde Nutrition. Just plug in your email at this page below and they'll email you the report to you at NO charge.

What to NEVER Eat After You Workout

2nd Update for today (if you've ever had back pain)

If you missed this previously, you still have a chance to take advantage of this FREE 7-Day Back-Pain Cure book...

This is a physical book, not an ebook, so there is a small shipping fee, but the good news is that a portion of your shipping fee actually goes to your choice of 2 charities... Habitat for Humanity or Kiva.

If you've had back pain, I highly recommend reading this book.

3rd Update for today:

This was an article that was quite popular a few weeks back with my readers... make sure to take a read if you missed it:

3 Foods You Should STOP Eating (if you want to be lean)

I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

PS - for SKIERS only:

Make sure to grab my program to get "legs of steel" for the upcoming ski season... we just got 6 inches of snow here in Vail today and I'm getting pumped to start hitting the slopes! Get your legs ready to rock for the season here:

Best workouts for skiers for leg strength and endurance

The one key to your fitness goals, financial goals, and more

2010-10-15T15:02:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered why you might not be reaching your fitness goals, or your financial goals, or perhaps the relationships that you want?

After all, you may have studied about all kinds of different workouts, studied different nutrition plans, different wealth building strategies... but are you actually succeeding in all of those areas?

Or are you frustrated by NOT achieving your goals in one or more of these areas of your life?

One of my good friends, and colleague Jon Benson, just put together a brand new audio/video message for you that shows a VERY powerful way to "force" yourself to achieve your goals... whether fitness, financial, relationship, or other goals.

Jon actually recorded this audio/video message for you today on his birthday -- Happy birthday Jon!

This video contains some very powerful messages that I think you'll benefit greatly from. This isn't just about "motivation"... it's about a very unique way to FORCE yourself to achieve your goals.

Please don't skip this, as it could very well change your life... make sure to watch this below...

The ONE thing holding you BACK from your goals

Good luck!

I'll be back in a few days with more Lean-Body Secrets.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Study shows how sniffing scents can help weight loss

2010-10-09T20:25:00.001-05:00

I just saw this cool article from my colleague Jeff Anderson this morning, and I had to share it with you...

It outlines an eye-opening (and weird) study that took place in 1999 that shows how certain smells can actually HELP your weight loss efforts... very interesting stuff!

Read below...

The Fat-Burning "Sniff Trick"
by Jeff Anderson

Do you realize that if you were blindfolded and plugged your nose that you couldn't tell if you were eating an apple or an onion?

It's true! You can even test it yourself!

You see, our olfactory sense (brainiac translation = "our sense of smell") is directly tied in with our brain's perception of what we eat, and as recent research has concluded...

...how MUCH we eat!

Here's why it's important and how it can help YOU shave off inches over the next month and even ultimately reach your fat burning goal:

Scientific breakthrough "tricks" your body for faster fat burning...

A 1999 project conducted two randomized, double-blind studies consisting of over 3,000 subjects who had at least 10 lbs to lose.

In addition, 3/4 of the subjects also were psychologically affected by their weight, claiming:

* Impaired sex life
* Bad feelings about overeating
* Lack of energy, and
* Poor self-image

Each test subject was directed to NOT make any changes to their diet or exercise program except for one thing:

One test group was directed to sniff a specific aroma prior to eating their meals and whenever they felt hungry.

Specifically, here's what they smelled:

Month 1 and 4: Peppermint
Month 2 and 5: Banana
Month 3 and 6: Green Apple

The other group (the "control" group) was given a placebo inhalent that simply smelled like detergent.

At the end of the study, the subjects who were given the "smelly" inhalents reported:

* 50% decrease in food cravings
* Decreased appetite
* No nagging hunger pains
* Much less "snacking"

And get this...

* 497% more weight loss!

(the food aromas group lost 19.15 lbs average vs. only 3.85 lbs in the placebo group)

Here's why it works...

One of the factors that tells your brain that you're "full" is your sense of smell as you bring food up to your mouth to eat.

Literally, after your brain senses it's "smelled enough", it tells your body you're full and it's time to stop eating.

By smelling the three aromas, you're able to "trick" the body into eating less and therefore consuming less calories (and you know what THAT means, right... faster weight loss!)

Now, here's what you need to do to use this weight loss trick...

1. Find yourself 3 different essential oils (even candles will work if you can find them) that match the 3 used in the study:

* Peppermint
* Banana
* Green Apple

(I found $2 "tester" vials online for these 3 scents.)

2. Use each scent for one month and then switch.

(I don't know why this is important but it's how they conducted the study so I'm sure there's a reason. Why fix what isn't broke? ;-)

3. Keep the scent handy throughout the day and sniff it in the following instances:

* 5 minutes prior to your "main" meals
* 5 minutes prior to any planned snacks
* Any time you feel feel hungry

4. To "sniff properly" (I know...sounds strange, right?), plug up one nostril and sniff the scent 3 times through the other and then switch.

Do this 3 times for each side (total of 18 sniffs) at the designated times.

Enjoy your new found weight loss results, appetite control, and less cravings!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey, it's Mike here again...

I've been reading Jeff's stuff lately, and he has a gazillion of these types of interesting fat loss tips..

In fact, check out this quick 8 minute video below that shows his really unusual 27-second DAILY fat-burning trick (which involves stimulating something called "brown fat" inside your body)

He gives you the exact method of how to use this 27-second daily trick at around the 5 minute mark of the video...

27-Second DAILY Fat-Burning Trick

Feel free to email this page to your friends and family if you found this fat loss "sniff trick" study interesting.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Check out my hard-core skiing workouts for rock hard legs

Contoversy over Genetically Modified Salmon

2010-10-08T18:16:00.000-05:00

I have an important topic for you to read about today if you care about your health and that of your family...

You might have already heard in the news about the controversy over the possible introduction into our food supply of genetically modified salmon (which, if approved by the FDA, would be the first genetically modified animal product in history to be approved for sale to consumers)

This is scary for many reasons...and I'll give you a few of my opinions below... but first, here's an article from my friend and dietician, Jayson Hunter, about this topic:

Genetically Modified Salmon without labeling could be marketed to you soon

Regardless of your stance on any possible benefits of genetically modified crops, it's hard to ignore the fact that the entire population is basically involved in a giant guinea pig study of the safety of GM foods... after all, there are animal studies that show that 2nd generation offspring following high consumption of GM foods end up sterile and with other serious health conditions.

However, humans haven't been involved in consuming GM foods long enough yet to see what detrimental effects we might see in our 2nd generation offspring... that's because GM foods didn't go to market for human consumption until the early 1990's.

So if you think about it, even if some short term study shows that consuming GM foods does not cause any immediate diseases or harm, there is absolutely ZERO proof that GM foods won't harm our kids or our grandkids, similar to what has been found in animal studies showing 2nd generation sterility and other health conditions.

I know this is a controversial topic, and I honestly feel that if someone willingly wants to eat GM foods (or the potential GM salmon that might be coming to market) then by all means, go for it.

However, what I DON'T agree with is that GM foods aren't required to be labeled in the US, which means most consumers don't have the choice to avoid these "franken foods" if they want to, since they aren't labeled.

My 2 easiest tips to avoid GM foods:

1. You should know that anything labeled 100% organic is not allowed to contain GM foods.

2. The biggest GM food offenders to avoid at all costs are soy products, corn products, canola and cottonseed oils. Organic is a small step better for these 4 foods, but I still try to avoid them fully. As you know, I already strongly recommend avoiding corn and soy, as well as unhealthy canola oil as much as possible.

And let's fight to make sure that this new genetically modified salmon does NOT get approval!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

3 Odd Workout Tricks

2010-10-06T21:59:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a few new workout tricks that I've been using lately in today's quick tips.

But first, if you missed this email yesterday, make sure to grab the new report that my friends Arnel Ricafranca and Joel Marion just came out with, called "4 Keys to 4x Faster FatLoss" --

...this report is 100% free for the next day or so, and is LOADED with tons of great ideas to maximize calories burned during your workouts (as well as a special nutrition concept they have for you too!)

Now on to today's tips:

1. I just started recently playing around with a weighted vest for a couple things... for one, I've been using the weighted vest on some recent hikes (the vest adds approx 17-lbs to my weight), and this has made the hill climbing during hikes a good bit more challenging... I really like it!

If you want to see an example of the type of weighted vest I'm using, it's something like this here.

I've also been using the weighted vest for pushups, and this makes doing plyo pushups (explosive pushups) quite a crazy upper body blaster!

It's also made jump lunges and jump squats a lot more challenging.

2. I've been noticing good results with this one... what I've been doing is mixing my weight training routines with bodyweight training a couple times per week, and have noticed better results of late by mixing these.

For example, I'll do full body heavy weight training routines 2 days per week (mon and thurs for example), and then I'll do bodyweight workouts on 2 other days per week (such as tues and friday for example).

As I mentioned about 4 weeks ago, I've been integrating the crazy unusual TacFit Commando Bodyweight workouts as the majority of my new bodyweight exercises... like I mentioned before, these TacFit exercises are some of the most unique exercises I've seen in years!

I think that the mixing of bodyweight workouts and weight training workouts each week is giving my body a nice mix of intensity and variable resistance (as well as different levels of stress for the central nervous system), which helps to prevent overtraining in any one modality.

It's been fun!

3. And lastly for today, this article below shows just how much your mind is in control of your results... this study is shocking to most people, but is pretty amazing to see the power of the mind in relation to your exercise:

Obscure Study of How to Trick Your Body with Your Brain

I'll talk to you soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

PS: Check out my Best Skiing Workouts for Legs of Steel here

Digestion Trick to Make 300 Calories Disappear

2010-09-30T00:51:00.000-05:00

I have a new article for you today... but I wanted to make one last mention first...

As I'm sure you've seen, this is the last day to take up my buddy, and nutritionist, Josh Bezoni, on his brand new 7-Day Belly Blast Diet Program before the launch week special deal goes away...

The best thing is... just go ahead and TRY his program out for 60 days, and if you honestly don't have a flatter stomach in that time, then simply ask Josh for a refund at his support email. It's really that simple.

Get started here TODAY:

http://tinyurl.com/37-belly-burning-foods

And Josh has one more article for you below...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sneaky Trick That Makes 300 Calories Disappear Every Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**By Nutritionist Josh Bezoni

Here's a common myth...

When you want to lose a lot of weight, you should cut calories for long periods of time, right?

WRONG.

Cutting calories magnifies nutrient deficiencies in your body. This results in severe cravings as your brain sends emergency "low nutrient signals" to your stomach to eat more food.

Problem is, most people end up eating more "nutrient-dead food" which causes cravings to completely spiral out of control. (If you feel hungry all the time, now you know why.)

To make matters worse, after about a week of dieting, your body is genetically programmed to fight back by lowering the hormones responsible for keeping your metabolism humming along (like the calorie-burning thyroid hormones). At the same time, it will decrease the "hunger hormone" leptin. (Double whammy.)

As a result, your fat loss will come to a screeching halt, lickity split.

At this point, to keep burning fat you'll be forced to reduce your calories even lower, and/or do MORE exercise. (Not a fun problem to have... I've been there.)

So what's the solution? One of my favorite sneaky tricks I call "The Thermal Burn Technique."

You see, you really can fix your broken, calorie-burning furnace, reverse nutrient deficiencies (that cause cravings), and lose stomach fat all at the same time by simply eating the right kinds of food.

Make no mistake, calories from different types of food act very differently once inside your body. Some of them ignite what I call "Thermal Burn" and others are plain "Thermal Duds." (For some reason, now I'm thinking of "Milk Duds" chocolate candies. As Homer Simpson would say, "Mmm...Duds.")

Anyway, let's start with fun ol' fats.

FATS

Quality sources of good fats include oils such as flax, olive, and coconut along with avocados and nuts like walnuts, almonds and pistachios. Of course, we can't forget about seafood sources like wild salmon and tuna, just to name a few.

Sure, fat is "fabulous" (did I really just say that?), but here's the rub: your metabolic rate (or metabolism) will only increase by approximately 5% in response to eating fats.

Oh friggin' boy, right?

This means that for every 1,000 calories of fat you eat, your body will burn only 50 of its own calories to digest and process the fat you just consumed. No big deal, right? (But remember, good fats help to "melt" body fat in other ways, so don't discount their importance.)

Carbs

Carbohydrates often get a bad rap, but the key is to eat the right carbohydrates. Yes, as I'm sure you're aware: there are right and wrong carbs. Most simple carbs are the wrong carbs — in fact, they are one of the top "Obesity Additives" out there.

They tend to be highly processed and stripped of their nutrients. Examples of foods that contain wrong carbohydrates include soft drinks, candy bars, ice cream, donuts, cereals, processed corn byproducts (HFCS), and processed "white foods" like breads, pastas, and rice.

Remember, white foods are like white glue that keeps your belly fat locked in place.

Instead, stick to natural carb choices such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.

Now let's get to the brass tacks...

When you eat carbohydrates, your metabolic rate will increase by up to 10% (less for refined carbs like sugar that are easily digested, more for high-fiber choices). This means your body uses 100 calories to digest and assimilate 1,000 calories of carbs.

Is it getting hotter in here, or did my buddy Mike Geary just walk in with his shirt off?

PROTEINS

Protein has the highest Thermal-Burn of all foods, increasing your metabolism by up to a whopping 20-30%. POW! (That just happened...)

You see, protein is a very complex nutrient, so for every 1,000 calories of protein you eat, your body will use up to 300 calories to digest and process this macro-nutrient.

This means you're only netting about 700 calories for every 1,000 calories you eat of protein.

So, you're getting 300 "free calories." (They're gone... just like magic.)

Protein also helps to build muscle (along with specific types of exercise), and for every pound of muscle you add, you will burn approximately 50 extra calories per day. Five pounds will burn 250 calories per day. You get the picture.

Pretty cool, huh?

And here's something even cooler... the "Thermal Burn" of some natural foods is so high that they don't even register on the caloric scale. They're "Free Foods" that you can practically eat all day without gaining an ounce.

Now, to backtrack a bit; I'm not suggesting that you eat ONLY protein in an attempt to increase your metabolism. (Cluck, cluck... another chicken breast anyone?)

No, not at all.

But what I am saying is that eating specific "Thermal-Burn Meals" that combine precise amounts of protein, slow-absorbing carbs, and a dollop of good fat, (love that word...dollop), will help boost your mangled metabolism, crush cravings brought on by nutrient deficiencies, and slash unattractive abdominal fat.

The bottom line is that you'll be able to eat MORE delicious food, but with a lower calorie impact. More bang for your buck. And I don't know about you, but I LOVE eating, so this is a very exciting way accelerate your results.

***

The above fat loss trick is just one of the 11 advanced strategies that Joel uses in his new 7-Day Belly Blast Diet program. Make sure to grab your copy now before Josh's special launch week special ends on Thursday:

http://tinyurl.com/37-belly-burning-foods

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

The NEW 7-Day Belly Blast Diet Plan

2010-09-28T00:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm sure you've heard all of the buzz the last couple weeks, but the time is finally here...

My friend and colleague, nutritionist Josh Bezoni, is releasing his brand-new 7-Day Belly Blast Diet today! Grab it today to make sure you don't miss out on the 1st-day fast-action bonuses:

http://tinyurl.com/7-day-belly-blast

One thing you'll see that Josh talks about is his "37 Belly-Blasting Foods"... but after reviewing this entire program, I can tell you that it's about a LOT more than just specific foods...

There's motivating stories in here, unique fat-burning tricks, metabolism-boosting tips, and the special 7-day initiation plan that jump starts your fat loss and metabolism.

One of the ONLY things I disagreed with as I reviewed the program was that Josh tends to trash talk saturated fats a little bit... and as you know from my teachings, from a strict biochemistry standpoint, saturated fats are NOT bad for you per se...

But Josh redeemed himself as he acknowledged that some saturated fats, such as coconut oil, etc can actually be very beneficial... and his comments on saturated fat in general were meant to refer to factory farm raised animal products (not the grass-fed products we talk about in this newsletter).

BEWARE THOUGH...

This advanced belly-blasting program is NOT for Pro body builders or for people who have only 2 or 3 "vanity pounds" they want to get rid of.

This program is for busy folks like you who LOVE TO EAT and struggle to find the energy, will power, and extra time in their day to achieve fast and lasting results.

Inside the program, one of the sneaky tricks is a new technology Josh developed called "Calorie Confusion" which ensures that you keep getting rapid fat loss results without hitting a plateau or experiencing that dreaded rebound.

As a launch-day special, when you order today, (and today only), you will be invited to attend a special LIVE, 90-minute Coaching Session where Josh Bezoni and Kim Lyons (the All-Star trainer from the hit TV show, NBC's The Biggest Loser), will be LIVE on the telephone to reveal their very BEST fat loss tips while answering all of your questions.

Josh and Kim are NOT available for direct one-on-one coaching, but when you get The 7-Day Belly Blast Diet TODAY, you'll get exclusive access to this LIVE call at no extra cost.

Ok, time to get started... grab this program TODAY, so you don't miss out on the special fast-action 1st-day Bonuses!

Start here: http://tinyurl.com/7-day-belly-blast

Good luck!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about 6-Pack Abs

Unusual "smoothie trick" to suppress appetite

2010-09-26T22:57:00.001-05:00

You can thank Mens Health mag for this little factoid... I was reading a recent issue last week, and thought this was interesting, so thought I would pass it along...

According to MensHealth magazine, a Penn State study found that you can suppress your appetite more by whipping a smoothie to a thick froth. They found that more aerated shakes caused people to eat 12% less calories in their next meal compared to those that drank the less aerated shakes.

The scientists theorized that the larger appearance of a more whipped aerated shake made people think they were consuming more than they really were.

I would also speculate that a more aerated shake makes your stomach feel fuller and therefore helps to suppress the appetite.

I know this for a fact with myself, because I've accidentally let the blender run too long on a few smoothies, and ended up with an extremely whipped shake that really made me a lot more full than normal due to the extra volume from the air.

Speaking of healthy protein smoothies... if you remember a couple weeks ago, I told you about the new Boku SuperFood product that I had stumbled onto recently and started using myself.

This was one of the most complete greens supps I've ever found, because it's not only greens, but also superfruits, probiotics, flax, maca root, spirulina, chlorella, hawthorne, blue-green algae, enzymes, and even a mix of about 12 different superfood mushrooms, which contain very powerful antioxidants.

However, I didn't notice that they also had a Super-Protein made from raw sprouted brown rice, so I ordered that too just last week... this Super-Protein just arrived a few days ago, and I absolutely LOVE this!

One thing that surprised me was that this Super-Protein has 77% DV of calcium (naturally-occuring), 59% DV of vitamin C, and 18% DV of vitamin A... all naturally-occuring due to the sprouted brown rice (which the sprouting produces more of these nutrients compared to plain brown rice).

Plus, you get all of these micro-nutrients without all of the starchy carbs that you get from brown rice... this Super-Protein has 26 gms of highly bioavailable protein per serving and only 3 gms of total carbs, along with 1 gm of fiber. There's just a small amount of natural organic maple syrup in this Super-Protein too which adds a nice sweetness while still being very low in sugar.

What I've started to do when I make my smoothies now is mix this Super-Protein half and half with my typical raw grass-fed whey that I use too. This actually makes a really tasty mixture!

To find the Super-Protein at the Boku SuperFoods site, just look for the link on the right side of the page under "recommended products" that says Boku Super Protein.

You can also go to the "shop" link if you don't see the Super-Protein on the right side of the site.

Last note for today:

We had a couple spots just open up for the Personalized Fitness Coaching Program. Remember that if you're accepted into this program, I personally analyze all of your nutrition, training, and other lifestyle factors along with another Personal Trainer, and we both come up with a customized program and help you out all along the way.

If you want to take your fitness to the next level, take advantage of this while we still have a couple spots open... We can only take about 5-6 new clients for this program because this is a very time consuming program for us to analyze and design each program personally.

Get started here:

Online Fitness Coaching

I'll be back in a couple days with more Lean-Body Secrets.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

3 tips to gain more muscle

A New Fat-Burning Method

2010-09-19T22:12:00.000-05:00

Today I have a great article...another one by my good friend Dr. K., who is an expert Doctor of Physical Therapy, as well as renowned Personal Trainer.

Neuro Fitness - The New Wave In Fat Loss

by Dr. Kareem F. Samhouri, CSCS, HFS
Neuro Metabolic Fat Loss Expert

Neuro Fitness is an interesting approach to fat loss for 3 main reasons:

1. It leads to faster fat loss
2. More muscle contracts with each exercise
3. Improved coordination with decreased risk of injury

How Neuro Fitness Helps You Lose Fat More Quickly:

By teaching your nervous system how to properly contract muscle, your body will start building muscle more easily (remember, muscle = your metabolism, so building muscle is important even when you don't want to get bigger.) You see, nerve signals tell muscle to shorten, which leads to a muscle contraction. Here's how this works:

Nerve signal travels from brain down to your spinal cord,
then from your trunk to your arms and legs.

Brain ====> Spinal Cord & Trunk Muscles ===> Arms/Legs

It's pretty simple, actually. Your brain controls the initiation of nerve signals, your muscles react according to the instructions your brain provides, and then your joints have little nerve receptors that provide feedback to your brain and let it know how everything ended up. The feedback receptors are called Proprioceptors, and they deal with position sense (where your body is in space.)

The faster (and more accurate) your nerve speed, the more muscle you get to use in any given exercise. The more muscle you use, the higher the metabolic demand of exercise. With increased metabolic demand your body starts to burn calories in overdrive mode hours after you leave the gym. (this is referred to as EPOC)

How Neuro Fitness Helps More Muscle Contract With Each Exercise:

Ok, so enough about where the motor signal comes from. There's actually another signal that's really important if you want to activate as much muscle as possible. That's known as your 'Premotor Signal'.

You must be wondering how all of this applies to your fat loss program. Well, let me break it down for you - with enhanced signaling strength & motor pathways, your body is going to be able to perform movement with less effort, thereby allowing the ‘Premotor Area' of your brain to start working harder. The ‘Premotor Area' is your movement planning center. By properly learning to activate your movement planning center, you can increase contractile strength by up to 30%. Pretty crazy, huh?

By learning how to plan a movement in a language that makes sense for your brain, you can lift 30% more. That means you are leaving 30% of your strength on the table every time you work out. It's no wonder you're not getting results fast enough.

How Neuro Fitness Leads To Improved Coordination With Decreased Risk Of Injury:

Remember talking about proprioceptors (position sensors) up there? Well, once your body learns a movement over a period of about 6 weeks, something called ‘Plasticity' takes place. This is a chemical change in your brain where grooves & bumps (sulci & gyri) develop to represent movement. Your brain actually becomes more organized and a permanent (or "plastic") change takes place.

That's why people say the famous quote, "It's just like riding a bike" when they say it's easy to pick back up on something. That's where ‘Muscle Memory' comes from - Plasticity.

Well, with plasticity taking place, your body no longer has to tense every muscle up and hold on for dear life every time you do a pull up, and it knows exactly where to go. Your brain is no longer telling you that the weights may come crashing down on your head when you do bench press or skull crushers.

Now, your body can work on fluidity of movement, or coordination. With improved coordination, it's less likely to pull a muscle or move a joint out of place. With increased coordination, you're more likely to last longer with each set, because only the intended muscles are being targeted.

If you last longer on each set, you get more work done. If you get more work done, you lose fat faster. And around and around we go... I've put together a Neuro Fat Loss & Fitness website that will teach you everything we discussed above and provide you with insanely effective neuro fat loss workouts that you can start doing today.

If you want to trigger new results starting today, go here to start the neuro fat loss method.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Fat loss tips

15 Foods that KILL Abdominal Fat

2010-09-14T23:58:00.000-05:00

I've got a great report for you today that shows you at LEAST 15 specific foods that help you to destroy stubborn abdominal fat...

Not only that, but it also shows you some hidden foods you might have thought were "healthy" but can actually trigger deposition of belly fat stores.

Also, it talks about something we call "Obesity Additives" that food manufacturers load into the foods that you're eating that essentially whacks out your hormones and makes you crave more junk foods.

The report was written by a nutritionist that I've become good friends with over the past year, Josh Bezoni. Josh and I actually spent a good amount of time at a 3-day lake party and networking event back in July in Austin TX, and I found that we have a lot of similar views on nutrition.

All you have to do to grab this complimentary report 15 Foods that KILL Belly Fat is to go to this page, and then make sure to confirm your email, and you'll get immediate access.

Go grab this today... I just got done reading it myself, and I think you'll really like it!

http://tinyurl.com/15-foods

Josh was also the nutritionist working for years as the right-hand man beside Bill Phillips of EAS and Body-for-Life fame.

There's some great materials Josh put together in this report, so don't miss out on it.

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

PS - I just recently found a whey protein that is made from GRASS-FED RAW MILK!! Finally!

Most wheys are heat processed and are also from unhealthy grain-fed cows in horrendous conditions on factory farm feedlots. We've finally found whey protein with integrity -- and tons more health benefits, including more naturally-occuring CLA!

Check out this new Grass-Fed Raw Whey Protein here:

http://www.BestGrassFedWhey.com/

A 5-minute workout with more results than a 50-minute workout?

2010-09-10T01:36:00.000-05:00

I just finished a great interview with Dr. Kareem and I wanted to mail this out to you right away. In this rather shocking interview below, we talked about some pretty cool stuff such as...

* How to create more results out of 5 minutes exercising than most people do in 50

* The hidden way to shape muscle that is pretty much ignored and makes a BIG difference

* The "Triple M Method" For Rapid Fat Loss

I know you're really going to enjoy this - there's some great info in this interview below... Also don't forget to take advantage of Kareem's special 66%-OFF discount before it expires friday:

http://www.burnthefatdoc.com/

now for the interview...

*************************

Mike: Hey Doc. Welcome. I wanted to interview you for my subscribers, because I knew you had some pretty incredible fat loss information to share with them, and I thought they should hear it straight from the horse's mouth. With the release of Double Edged Fat Loss 2.0, there’s been a lot of buzz about this 'neuro fat loss' stuff. Can you explain to everyone what exactly is 'Neuro Fat Loss' and why does it work so well?

Dr. K: Sure, Mike. Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to sharing some incredible information with everyone today that concerns losing fat exponentially faster over time.... let me explain... The first time that someone trains their nervous system to be primed for fat loss, they may increase muscle signal efficiency from 30% to 50%, for example. However, they are still operating at 50% of their true muscular potential with every exercise.

The next time that they train for fat loss, they may increase this number all the way to 70% or 80%, thereby involving more muscle fibers in every repetition of every exercise they do. This catapults your results, because you can progressively lift more weight and involve more muscle in less time. Essentially, 'neuro fat loss' is a short-cut to fat loss.

Mike: Now this is where it gets really interesting for me. I've heard you say that you see people get results in 5 minutes per day... how can this be?

Dr. K: In complete fairness, that's really only going to work for a few weeks as you straighten up posture, balance out muscles, and build a bit of muscular endurance in areas that were missing it. However, my clients continuously lose up to 5-6 pounds in the first week using a very simple method I've come to term the Body Transformation Mini Circuit.

This restores posture and balances out muscles that keep you from losing fat. After that, a truly solid fat loss workout plan may take up to 15-20 minutes to overload your muscles and create the level of afterburn effect we’re looking for... you know the thing that makes you lose fat while you sleep?

Mike: Yeah, afterburn is everything in a fat loss program. A lot of people think it's about how many calories you burn while you're in the gym, but it's actually about how many calories your body burns for you after you leave the gym that matters...

Dr. K: Precisely!

I recommend combining HIIT (high intensity interval training) for about 15-20 minutes with the Triple M Method For Rapid Fat Loss, which I'll explain in a minute. When you do this, and you train all 3 Energy Systems in your body, you're signaling to your body that you’re ready to melt fat in the fastest way possible.

Let's take a step back...

Your body has many systems, right?

And it wants them to work together and function well, right?

So, with that in mind, we shouldn't ever just be exercising with a focus on one system. For example, if we are putting ourselves in folded up positions and staying there for some time while choosing an upper body exercise, for example, we are reducing equal circulation to all areas of our lower body. Our body thinks that we moving into fetal position, out of fear or risk, and it slows down our metabolic rate.

That’s why we have to choose functional exercises that put our bodies in very natural positions. Another example would be if we are sick. If we stress our body to maximal exertion with our musculoskeletal system, it breaks down our immune system further to tell us to stop doing that and play catch up on the immune side. On the other hand, if we have a lower functioning immune system (say 40%) and we reduce our exercise intensity to 40% max, now we're speaking the same language.

Tomorrow, we'd simply observe if we are feeling a bit better and then match the same intensity. If I'm 60% of my best, I exercise at 60% max intensity for the day. You get the idea....

This is the exact principle that I founded the Triple M Method For Rapid Fat Loss on, but before I get to that, any questions about what we just covered?

Mike: All good. Your 5 minute circuits communicate with your body by balancing out smaller muscles that go untrained. This makes your brain understand you're ready for more muscle in those areas and your metabolism goes up.

When you're sick or some other system in your body is working at a lower efficiency, you're matching that to your exercise program. This is helping your body recover faster and get results more quickly. That makes a lot of sense.

You mentioned the Triple M System. Mind explaining what this is and how it can help people right now?

Dr. K: Great! Ok, let's talk about it...

Here are the benefits of training with the Triple M System for Rapid Fat Loss:

1. Muscle Shaping - Getting sexy arms, legs, and abs is a heck of a lot easier when you can increase the metabolic potential in any area of your body. Your body is made up of many metabolisms (there is a 'local metabolism' at every joint), which adds up to form your whole-body, or 'global metabolism'. By activating more of every area, you raise your metabolism in each area and as a whole. This helps shed fat and tone muscles into more desirable shape.

2. Muscle Balancing - This is one of the M's that comprise my 'Triple M System For Rapid Fat Loss' - I'll talk more about this in a sec...

3. Faster Fat Loss Forever - basically, once you have your body working on autopilot, you can expect more results from every workout, indefinitely.

4. More Muscle - once you spend 30-45 days training this way, if you decide to modify your program and build muscle, you can easily do that and expect to see more dramatic results by 2-3 fold.

5. Less Bloating And Gas - This has to do with the interaction between your 'Parasympathetic' (or "rest and digest") nervous system vs your 'Sympathetic' (or "fight or flight") nervous system. Most people don't train all 3 energy systems when they work out, which in turn doesn’t allow enough endorphin release to cause your parasympathetic nervous system to take over after a workout. We live in a hyper-stimulated environment between work, home, school, or what have you... even down to fluorescent lights. Your body sees this as stress.

6. Stress Reduction - Your nerves are your tension. Your tension is a result of your nerves. Once you can control this signal, you can relax your body and feel less stress, which leads to better sleep, more patience, and higher productivity at work.

There are a lot more benefits, but that's plenty to get started.

I mentioned that I'd tell exactly what the Triple M System is, and why it's brought so much interest into the Double Edged Fat Loss system and caused so many fitness pro's to start adopting its principles. This stands for:

1. Muscle Balancing - balancing muscles around your body (for example: pecs to lats or bi's to tri's) improves posture and helps activate more muscle. Slight muscular imbalances cause pain signals to go off in your joints, and this leads to less muscle contraction, as your brain is telling your muscle “No more - You might hurt me!” This also helps prevent injury when you are balanced, naturally.

2. Movement Complexes - stacking exercises creates more work in less time, which equals more calories burned and faster fat loss results. Using principles of supersets, giant sets, and 2-5 exercises built into one, you can really speed up your progress. I find that it only really takes about 15 minutes of working out after intervals to get the “ideal” fat loss effect.

3. Multi-Planar Movement - 3D exercise. We live in a 3D world, we need to train in a 3D way. It's time that we stop doing 'gym exercises' and start working out in the most functional of ways, using different angles, different muscle actions, and combination muscle groups. There is a higher metabolic demand on our bodies when we train this way, and there is a higher functional carryover. It's a win-win.

Mike: Good stuff doc! I can really see why this is so effective... but what kinds of results are people getting with this method?

Dr. K: I'm really glad you asked this, Mike. As with all programs, results can vary greatly, but here are a few examples of results that I've seen so far:

* Me - I lost 7.5% bodyfat in 23 days (15 pounds of scale weight) using this method

* In-person clients - most lose 4-6 pounds in the first week using the DEFL method, whether with me or with one of my Master Trainers on board at my facility

* Online clients - This is the hardest to determine average, as you might imagine, but there are plenty of success stories. I just received a very warm email from a client of mine yesterday who set a new record for results with DEFL. Naturally, this is not every single person, but I think you'll get an idea of how powerful it is. She lost 85 pounds in less than 4 months without any dietary change whatsoever. Crazy!

Does this help?

Mike: Wow, 85 pounds without even seeing you in person, huh? Did she lose most of that weight in the first month?

Dr. K: Actually, no. Her record weight loss was in the last month. As I said, fat loss gets faster and faster when you adopt these principles.

Mike: Where can people learn more about this and how can they get their hands on your program while it's still on sale?

Dr. K: Sure thing. All you have to do is actually go to this website:

http://www.burnthefatdoc.com/ ...and check out the pretty amazing offer I put together for you. Essentially, I've taken away the monthly fee thing with a membership website, and I'm just giving everyone access for life. I want this to be a lifetime health and fitness resource for you, so that's the way I've designed it.

I've included my top 8 fat loss workouts of all time (televised on NBC), 13 educational modules where I teach you how to build your own workouts and become independent, audios on goal setting, mindset training, and dieting, a nutrition section with some of the world’s best nutritional experts, such as yourself. I've even included Assess & Correct workshops where I teach you how to self-assess your muscular imbalances and postural abnormalities and then what to do about them.

Essentially, this is a culmination of everything I've ever learned about fitness and fat loss, but in lay-person terms.

Mike: Great, well, I'm going to first thank you for joining us... and then remind everyone to go to this link and check out the Body Transformation Mini Circuit (freee download) as well as the special offer that Dr. K has put together for you:

http://www.burnthefatdoc.com/

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://truthaboutabs.com/ & http://busymanfitness.com/

Free Fat Loss Tips to Lose 5 lbs in 7 days

2010-09-02T20:21:00.000-05:00

I've got a great free gift for you today that I think you're going to love.

You've probably heard me talk before about my good buddy in the fitness industry, Dr. Kareem (aka Dr. K).

He is notorious for being extremely generous and giving away all kinds of gifts (fat burning workouts, reports, webinars, nutrition tips) without requiring you to purchase one of his programs.

In all honesty, that's his way of trying to show you just HOW good his stuff is, so that he can earn your trust, and perhaps you'll consider buying one of his fat loss programs in the future. After all, that's a fair exchange, right?

In fact, I personally trust Dr. K. so much that I've referred several of my family members to work with him on personal training and physical therapy at his private Personal Training and Physical Therapy studio in PA.

I wouldn't send my family members to him if I didn't trust him.

Well, he's done it again and has lined up several REALLY COOL fitness and fat loss gifts for you at no charge... but make sure to grab these ASAP, as he's closing down this gift offering in a couple days...

http://doubleedgefatloss.com/

I think you'll enjoy these gifts!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Foods for fat loss

A 27-second DAILY Fat-Burning Routine

2010-09-01T19:50:00.000-05:00

This is pretty cool...

I just watched this quick video that talked about an unusual way that you can do a DAILY routine that takes less than 30 seconds per day, but can trigger increased fat-burning in your body.

It has something to do with stimulating what's called "brown fat" inside your body. Stimulating "brown fat" in your body is known scientifically to increase your metabolic rate and aid fat loss... but there's been debate on what's the best way to stimulate "brown fat".

I thought the method that's suggested in this video is REALLY interesting!

It's certainly something that's quick and easy, and if it only takes less than 30 seconds a day to make it a DAILY routine, should be at least worth a try...

Check it out:

http://SecretWeightLossTrick.com/video

If you like the weird fat-burning idea in this video, feel free to pass this page on to friends and family.

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://truthaboutabs.com/ & http://busymanfitness.com/

PS - I just wanted to let you know that my friends at Prograde Nutrition have new stocks of their best-selling EFA Icon Krill Oil in... This is one of the very few supplements that I actually use daily, and I recommend more than any other supplements.

** http://natural.getprograde.com/icon

Remember that krill oil is often regarded as superior to standard fish oil for the phospholipid content, as well as being measured as 47x the antioxidant power of fish oil.

The Best NATURAL pain killer

2010-08-30T13:33:00.000-05:00

If you want a great NATURAL way to reduce pain and inflammation (back pain, joint pain, muscle soreness, etc), without resorting to dangerous drugs, the answer may lie in this...

** Systemic Proteolytic Enzymes **

If you want the fully "geeky" article about what these are and how they work inside your body, I've pasted that article below.

But if you want the quick and dirty details, here's the deal...

I've become good friends over the past 2-3 years with the owner of the HealthyBack Institute, and I just recently found out about a great formula they have developed called Heal-and-Soothe.

This product uses Systemic Proteolytic enzymes combined with other powerful herbs as one of the main ways to NATURALLY relieve pain (and it's not just limited to back pain or joint pain)... and they are currently have a special offer for you to get a complimentary bottle to try it out:

http://tinyurl.com/heal-soothe

**The "geeky" science behind systemic proteolytic enzymes **

By Steven Hefferon, CMT, PTA, CPRS

Proteolytic enzymes, also referred to as "proteases," are enzymes that break down proteins into their smallest elements. If this breakdown of proteins happens in your gut, we call the enzymes "digestive," because they help us digest our food. Systemic proteolytic enzymes, however, have a completely different purpose, so please don't confuse the two.

When taken on an empty stomach, proteolytic enzymes will pass through the stomach or intestine lining and enter the circulatory system. This is why they are called "systemic" - once they enter the circulatory system, they circulate throughout the body.

Why are systemic proteolytic enzymes important?

The most important thing that systemic proteolytic enzymes do is to break down excess fibrin in your circulatory system and in other connective tissue, such as your muscles. These enzymes bring nutrients and oxygen-rich blood that remove the metabolic waste produced by inflammation and excess fibrin.

For example, If you have an injury or are recovering from a painful condition of any kind and your blood flow is restricted, you will have a longer recovery process. In addition, the exchange of nutrients and oxygen in your body will be limited, and there will be an will have a longer recovery but an increase in pain and inflammation.

One more important thing to understand: Whenever you're recovering from a muscle irritation, injury, or surgery, the body uses fibrin to help heal itself. This is normal and healthy. The only problem is that with poor blood flow and a lack of enzyme activity, that fibrin will start to accumulate. If the area in question is slow to heal, an excess of fibrin will appear as clumps of scar tissue in the muscle or at the surgical site. Once this happens, you acute condition becomes chronic.

Now that you know that excess fibrin throughout your circulatory system will severely limit the amount of blood flow to areas that need it the most, you may be wondering how the body tries to compensate for this restriction. The answer is simple: by forcing the heart to work harder and increasing your blood pressure.

How do you know if you have too much fibrin?

As I have noted, the body will do what it needs to do to keep us alive - sometimes at great cost to your overall health. Some possible indicators of excess fibrin in your system include: chronic fatigue, slow healing, inflammation and pain, and elevated blood pressure. There is also a medical test to measure something called "blood monomers."

The dangers of too much fibrin...

The medical community has long known that excess fibrin presents a cardiac and stroke risk. Finally, they have acknowledged a link between excess fibrin and chronic systemic inflammation, the true root cause of virtually every disease and painful condition know to man.

Which conditions do proteolytic enzymes help and how?

The list below is only a sample of the types of conditions that can be addressed with systemic proteolytic enzymes. If you are still wondering how one little substance can support all of these conditions, remember that they all have one thing in common - excess fibrin, which causes a reduction in blood flow.

*Arthritis
*Atherosclerosis
*Back Pain
*Chronic Fatigue
*Chronic Pain
*Fibrocystic Breast
*Fibromyalgia
*High Blood Pressure
*Herniated Disc
*Hyper-coagulation
*Sciatica
*Spinal Stenosis
*Strains and Sprains
*Post-operative Scar Tissue
*Traumatic Inflammation
*Uterine Fibroids

Which would you rather take - a pain killer or a healing enzyme?

Truth is, very few pain killers help heal the body, and in most cases the side effects are rather unpleasant. On the other hand, systemic proteolytic enzymes support the body's ability to heal itself, and they reduce the signs and symptoms of a chronic condition.

Can proteolytic enzymes be used with other pain meds?

I knew you were going to ask. Yes, enzymes can used if you are taking low-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as long as they are taken 60 minutes apart.

How about clinical research?

Where is the proof? There are untold numbers of clinical studies that have been done on proteolytic enzymes, and we have 76 of the most relevant studies listed on our site. Let's not forget that these enzymes have been in use in Europe for more than 50 years. And in Japan, some proteolytic enzymes are classified as prescription drugs.

Where do proteolytic enzymes come form?

Some are animal-bases, some are plant-based - such as Bromelain and Papain - and some are fungus-based, such as Serrazimes.

Which types are best and why?

I recommend plant- and fungus-based enzymes because they tolerate the gastric environment better, so more of the enzymes make their way into the circulatory system.

How long does it take to start to work?

Enzymes go to work immediately. The big difference between enzymes and vitamins is the way they are measured. Enzymes are not measured by weight; they are measured in Units of Fibrolytic Activity, which means how much fibrin they break down in a set amount of time.

The questions you really want answered are: "How long will it take to get pain relief and reduce my inflammation?" and "How fast will my healing happen?" Truth is, there is no simple answer because the healing process and outcome will be different for everyone.

There are a number of factors that bear on how fast the enzymes will work for you, including dosage, quality of sleep, diet, and physical activity. Even the very treatments you are undergoing to try to get better could be holding you back.

Are proteolytic enzymes safe for continued use?

Yes, proteolytic enzymes should be considered safe for continued use. There are three suggested usage protocols: one is a rotation of 12 weeks on and 4 weeks off; two is to take them continuously; and three is to take them on as-needed basis.

Who should not take proteolytic enzymes?

1. Individuals taking prescription blood thinners (Coumadin, Heparin, Plavix)
2. Anyone who will be having surgery in less than two weeks
3. Individuals with known ulcers of the stomach
4. Individuals with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.(GERD)
5. Pregnant or lactating women
6. Individuals currently taking antibiotics
7. Individuals with an allergic reaction to pineapples or papayas

Are there any side effects?

Proteolytic enzymes have an excellent safety record, with no significant side effects reported. With any supplement, however, there is always the risk of developing an allergy to one or more ingredients. If this happens, you should discontinue use.

Choosing to try systemic proteolytic enzymes.

Remember, the enzymes are supporting the healing process, so recovery from any condition is going to take time. You don't just take the enzymes and expect to get better immediately. By using these enzymes as part of a well-planned recovery process, you're making a commitment to doing what it takes to make improvements in your life.

Everything I've told you so far I learned from people who are far more knowledgeable than I am about the role enzymes play in helping us achieve optimal health.

So, when I say that I had a hand in creating Heal-n-Soothe™ - albeit a small hand - I nevertheless did my part, which was to find the world's best enzyme formulators. Once I had done that, I told them to make me the best product in the world - and that's exactly what they did.

Without question, the Heal-n-Soothe™ formula has the highest fibrolytic activity of any product in the world per dose. Our formulators blended 11 ingredients that would have a cascading effect, which means that they help support the work of the enzymes and deliver even more beneficial results.

I'm not a big fan of taking a lot of supplements. I drink my multivitamin and pop my enzymes - that's it. I know that trying to figure out which supplements to take can be overwhelming and that taking supplements can get expensive. Still, I look at supplements as a long-term investment toward achieving optimal health.

So, if working toward optimal health is your goal and you think that your life and your body would benefit form having less fibrin and better blood flow, then you should seriously consider enzymes.

If you do decide to try enzymes, do me one favor: Never - ever - buy an enzyme that lists the dose in milligrams (mg) or has "Proprietary Enzyme Blend" on the label.

Enzymes are not measured in mg and should not be sold in mg. "Proprietary Enzyme Blend" is a shady way of not telling you the consumer how much enzyme is in the product, so don't support a company that cannot be honest with you. Demand full disclosure on the label.

Don't miss out on the chance to get your complimentary bottle and try out this formula for yourself:

http://tinyurl.com/heal-soothe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

A light bulb that helps to burn fat?

2010-08-25T13:11:00.000-05:00

Wow!

Feedback on the "secret deal" for you from Friday for Jeff Anderson's
"101 Sneaky Fat Loss Tricks" program has been great.

What people seem to like best is that this isn't a giant program
you need to scrap every area of your life or current fat-burning
program for.

It's literally a giant list of 101 scientific "quick tips" you can
put to use right away for getting better and faster results from
ANY program (or with NO program!)
If you want a copy, go NOW to:

http://101SneakyWeightLossTips.com/truth

In the meantime, Jeff sent me...

...a "BONUS SNEAKY TIP" for you:

by Jeff Anderson

Ok, this is going to sound strange but...

...did you realize that a LIGHT BULB that can actually help you
burn more fat?

It's "Trick #100" in the Do This Burn Fat program and here's what it
covers:

Scientists have found a direct link between sunlight exposure and
muscle-building, fat-burning hormone production.

In fact, direct exposure to the sun resulted in a whopping 65%
increase in the body's hormones that make you a "fat-burning
machine"!

Problem is, you need about 1 hour of direct sunlight to get
that effect.

For people who work inside all day, that's a huge challenge
right?

Well, here's the answer...

Go down to your local hardware store and pick up a 120 watt "full
spectrum" light bulb.

The light emitted from these bulbs very closely mimics the sun's
rays and has been shown to provide the SAME GREAT BENEFITS as
getting direct sunlight exposure.

As an added bonus, the light bulb ALSO works at boosting mood and
gives you a "feel good" euphoria throughout the day.

Test it out yourself and you'll be AMAZED at the difference!

================================

Please don't miss out on Jeff's special offer this week.

Jeff rarely ever discounts his programs and the only place you can get
it this week is from this special hidden page below...

101 Sneaky Fat-Loss Tricks

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Recent popular article:
3 unhealthy foods that make up 67% of your calorie intake

Awesome Outdoor Workout

2010-08-22T22:50:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a great day of the "fitness lifestyle" that I had today!

First, I had an awesome hike to some beautiful waterfalls with my girlfriend earlier in the day. The hike was nice and steep but not overly long (about an hour and a half total), and the waterfalls were spectacular... gotta love the beautiful Colorado mountains!

Then after I came home from the hike I whipped up one of my "Super-Human Smoothies" that I told you about recently.

Maybe it's half in my head (placebo effect), because I actually consciously think about how incredibly healthy this smoothie is, but I swear I had the biggest surge of energy about 1-2 hours after downing this smoothie. Placebo or not, my energy was through the roof!

I had so much energy (even though we did the hike earlier in the day), that I went out to the local soccer field early in the evening and did a crazy combination workout that involved half kettlebell training, combined with some of those super-unique bodyweight exercises from the TacFit Commando workouts.

I have to say that the TacFit exercises are definitely some of the most unique bodyweight exercises I've been exposed to. Anyway, my workout absolutely rocked, and I put in some crazy intensity!

Although I love the format and progressions of the TacFit workouts, I basically "freestyled" this workout since I was combining it with kettlebell drills too.

Here's what I did in a circuit fashion:

* kettlebell 1-arm snatches with one 70-pounder
* Sit-Thru knee from TacFit
* kettlebell 2-arm high pulls with two 70-pounders
* Sit-Thru reach from TacFit
* kettlebell 2-arm snatches with two 53-pounders
* Tripod Overhead from TacFit
* kettlebell 2-arm Clean & Presses with two 70-pounders
* Tripod Twist from TacFit
* Plank Push Squat from TacFit
* 80-yard wind sprint to finish the circuit

I didn't time things exactly between exercises, but just took enough rest time to basically get my breathing under control before moving to the next exercise in the circuit (generally about 20-30 seconds). I repeated the circuit about 3 times I think for the whole workout.

Wow, that was one KILLER workout! The combination of the TacFit exercises and the kettlebell exercises was one of the best workouts I've had in a long time.

While I was on my 2-week roadtrip the last couple weeks, I didn't have access to any gyms, so I was keeping in shape with the TacFit Commando workouts, which I have to admit, challenged me a good bit, despite being bodyweight-only workouts. I have to give big props to Scott and the boys for coming up with that program...great stuff!

Well, that's about it for today... if this email gives you some ideas for challenging yourself with new styles of workouts, go for it!

One last announcement for today:

If you have any type of pain in your body, or just want a very healthy inflammation-fighting enzymatic formula, check this out...

My friends at the Healthy Back Institute are running a promo right now where you can get a complimentary bottle of their new Heal-and-Sooth pain-reduction formula.

I actually really like their formula on this, as it's a great combination of herbs, powerful antioxidants, and enzymes. This formula can:

* Reduce pain and inflammation
* Boost your immune system
* Improve joint mobility and flexibility

Check out the quick 3-minute video here and see how you can get the complimentary bottle to try it out.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

101 SNEAKY Fat-Burning Tips

2010-08-20T19:12:00.000-05:00

I've got some really cool stuff from one of my buddies in the fitness industry today. His name is Jeff Anderson and I've been reading his materials for about 3-4 years now...

Jeff has a very entertaining style of writing, and his fat loss tips and tricks are VERY unique... You'll see what I mean in a minute.

You're gonna be blown away by some of Jeff's "101 SNEAKY Fat-Burning Tricks"... Here's more about it:

**Jeff's 101 SNEAKY Fat-Burning Tricks**

Let's face it...fat doesn't fight FAIR!

You bust your hump in the gym, live on tree bark and carrots, and
STILL only see modest changes (if any) on the scale.

What's it take to finally see the rapid body transformation all
those reality shows and info-mercials promise?

Well, I'll tell you what it takes...

...ya gotta get MEAN!

...ya gotta fight DIRTY!

...ya gotta get downright "SNEAKY"!

Fact is, I don't care how much time you spend on the treadmill or
how many grapes you counted out for lunch.

The REAL SECRET to losing weight quickly and permanently is in
the "little things" you do throughout your day!

====================================
For example, did you know...
====================================

* That a simple twist to your morning routine can INSTANTLY
jumpstart your metabolism and boosts fat-burning by as much
as 30%!

* There's an amazing "super food" that in one clinical study,
dissolved away more than 10 extra pounds in twelve
weeks...WITHOUT DIETING or any other lifestyle changes!

* That Japanese researchers unlocked a strange biological
trigger that tricks the brain into REDUCING blood sugar and
short-circuiting fat storage...WHILE you watch TV!

* And that there's an amazing "bedroom trick" that can
actually burn more fat...AND drive your partner WILD with
ectasy?

(Did THAT one get your attention?)

You see, while so many men and women are out there taking on
monster fat-burning programs and struggling to follow every
little detail, there are actually several "little things" you can
do RIGHT NOW that can have an even BIGGER IMPACT on your
waistline!

That's why I want to hand you of the SIMPLEST, EASIEST, FASTEST
and yes...SNEAKIEST tips, tricks and tactics you can use RIGHT
NOW with ANY fitness program to achieve BETTER and FASTER results
than ever before!

====================================
Here's the deal...
====================================

My buddy and fitness coach, Jeff Anderson, just launched a brand
new website that's pulled together a ton of the most cutting edge
scientific advancements in fat loss all in one location.

Here's the website but I have to warn you...

...do NOT buy from this site (I'll tell you WHY in a second):

http://101sneakyweightlosstips.com/ <==Look but do NOT buy!

I'm only showing you that page to you so you can see that right
this minute, it's being sold for just $47 for the complete
package.

Frankly, that's a STEAL considering that any ONE of these
fat-burning breakthroughs can make a world of difference in what
you see in the mirror.

But YOU aren't going to pay that much!

Jeff and I go WAAAAAAAY back and he's offering MY NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBERS ONLY this week a special deal that gives you the
$47 program for (get this)...

...17 FREAKING BUCKS!

====================================
You can jump on this NOW at:

http://101SneakyWeightLossTips.com/truth  <==$17 Special Offer Page

====================================

And this is NOT some "massive marketing campaign" where you'll
get a ton of other emails from a boatload of other gurus!

This is ONLY for YOU, my subscribers...

You can ONLY get this on a special page that Jeff put up for you
so make sure you DON'T use the previous link.

Use THIS ONE instead...

http://101SneakyWeightLossTips.com/truth  <==$17 Special Offer Page

When you get to this special offer page, you'll see exactly why
this is probably the COOLEST fat-burning program available right
now.

Go NOW before you forget and miss this chance, ok?

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://truthaboutabs.com/ & http://busymanfitness.com/
http://www.avalancheskitraining.com/

P.S. - Don't make the mistake of thinking this is just a bunch of
"eat lettuce, workout, blah, blah, blah" fat-burning tips.

These are STRANGE (but TRUE) real-world "tricks" that are ALL
backed by hard science.

You don't even have to scrap your current fitness program because
this collection of 101 "breakthroughs" easily slip them into
anything you're currently doing with ease.

In fact, it will great MAGNIFY the results you're currently
getting!

Go check it out NOW before this offer comes down...

http://101SneakyWeightLossTips.com/truth  <===$17 Special Offer Page

A Healthier Coffee Creamer Alternative and My Roadtrip Workouts

2010-08-12T00:49:00.000-05:00

I'm currently on an amazing roadtrip with some family and my girlfriend through northern colorado, wyoming, idaho, and montana. This is one of the most beautiful areas of the country and we've just been soaking up all of the spectacular scenery. We'll be seeing both Glacier National Park and Yellowstone on this trip, so can't wait for that!

I wanted to try to maintain some sort of workouts on this roadtrip, so I've been trying to do some of the crazy TacFit Commando bodyweight workouts.

Wow... some of these exercises are insane!

I was working a lot earlier today on the "sit-thru knee" and the "sit-thru reach" exercises and they are awesome! I literally felt almost every muscle in my body working, and I've never felt such good work for my lats, triceps, and abs combined all in 1 bodyweight exercise.

Good stuff!

Also, I worked on the "tripod overhead" and "tripod twist" exercises and these are unlike any other bodyweight exercises I've ever done... it's pretty crazy how hard these work almost every muscle in your body... and this coming from a guy that generally sees bodyweight exercises as inferior to weight training, kettlebell training, etc.

If you haven't tried out the TacFit Commando workouts yet, give them a try for sure! This is the most unique program I've seen in several years, and I review almost every new workout program that comes out. You can grab it here:

http://www.tacfitcommando.com/blog/thetruth

A Healthier Coffee Creamer Alternative

Another thing that's come up on this roadtrip was trying to find a healthy alternative to typical powdered coffee creamers or those little processed individual liquid coffee creamers, which usually contain high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and other crappy "non-food" additives and chemicals.

While I usually don't drink coffee at home and I prefer teas of all different types, I do like to drink coffee while traveling...it's sort a treat for me since I don't drink it at home.

But instead of loading up the coffee with lots of sugars and chemical-laden artificial creamers, what we've been doing at the cabin we're staying at is using a can of coconut milk as our coffee creamer and using stevia for the sweetener.

The coconut milk is a healthier alternative because of the healthy fats, specifically the medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) it contains, which support your immune system and are a type of fat calories that are readily used for energy.

Although my family thought it was a little unusual to use the coconut cream/milk as a coffee creamer, after they tasted it, everybody really liked it.

If you're a coffee drinker and you've been hooked on all of those artificial chemical-laden coffee creamer powders or liquids, give coconut milk a try for a much healthier alternative!

Make sure to shake up the can of coconut milk before opening it, as some of the water can separate from the coconut cream. Also, if room temperature is below the mid-70's F, the coconut cream will harden a little, but putting the whole can in a bowl of warm water before opening it, and then shaking it will mix the cream back up.

Enjoy!

If you missed this article below, check it out to see 5 of the best fat burning foods

I'll update you soon on my roadtrip adventures and the progress of my TacFit Commando Workouts. Talk to you soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Tips to Reduce Back Pain or Neck Pain

2010-07-29T23:05:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure if you saw this recently or not, but I just wanted you to know that as a subscriber of this Ezine, I have a good friend in the publishing business that has offered their 7-Day Back Pain Cure book FREE if you want to grab it now!

This is a physical softcover book, not an Ebook, so there is a very small shipping fee, but $2 of that fee goes towards your choice of charity -- either Habitat for Humanity or Kiva.

So who is the author of this book and is he reputable?

Well, yes I know Jesse personally as we're both members of a private group of fitness professionals that all network together on a regular basis.

Jesse Cannone is the author of the 7-Day Back Pain Cure book. Jesse is recognized as one of the leading back pain relief experts in the world and co-founder of The Healthy Back Institute.

This book is great because it gives you dozens of useful tips for eliminating back pain... everything from tips on how to sit, specific foods that can help, unique exercises, and even 7-day "action plans" so you can start getting results in the first week.

For example, if you have a herniated or bulging disc, then use that action plan.... Neck pain? page 172... Sciatica? page 178

So, if you suffer from any type of back pain, I highly recommend you go grab yourself a free copy of his book now.

The Ugly Truth About Back Pain

Here's a little-known fact. The real cause of back pain is almost always overlooked. Most doctors only treat the symptoms. They use "band-aid" treatments like:

Cortisone shots
Dangerous drugs
Physical therapy
Surgery
Chiropractic manipulation

These may work sometimes. When they do, it's almost never long-term.

It's not until you treat the "hidden" underlying causes that you get lasting pain relief. Back pain is almost always caused by muscle imbalances which are a result of hip-dysfunctions.

What are "hip-dysfunctions"? In short, they're the combination of tight and loose muscles in your upper legs, buttocks and hips that pull your pelvis and spine out of their natural alignment over the years.

This makes your back muscles work against the grain so they get hurt ... it puts pressure on your spine, discs and nerves and causes all kinds of back, neck, sciatic related pain.

The good news is, it's VERY FIXABLE - without expensive and never-ending trips to a chiropractor, without dangerous prescription drugs and without surgery.

Fixing the imbalances causing these dysfunctions returns your body to the natural, balance structure it was when you were young and didn't have back-pain.

Medical doctors and Chiropractors are finally catching on and using this method as a treatment with their back pain patients. The results are nothing short of impressive.

My good friend Jesse Cannone, co-founder of the Healthy Back Institute, and his colleagues, are at the forefront of this revolutionary treatment.

Jerry Talisman of Carlsbad California claims: "50 Years of Chronic Back Pain and Sciatica Gone in Just Days!"

And tens of thousands of others are reporting similar success using this "formula"...

In Jesse's new book "The 7 Day Back Pain Cure" he does what no one else in the medical community does, and that is put together all of the pieces... see, most people when they have back pain usually get treatments that only mask the pain... and even then, the treatments only address the physical symptoms...

In his new book, he shows you:

Why traditional treatments always FAIL to deliver lasting relief
The 7 mistakes that most people make that keep them in pain
How to identify the real, underlying causes of your pain
Which treatments work, which ones don't and how to know which is right for you

Now here's the best part. Right now he is actually giving his new book away for free... you can also buy it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble for full price, but if you grab one of the free copies from their website, he is donating $2 of the tiny shipping fee to Habitat for Humanity or Kiva.org - you even get to choose the charity!

Go here to grab your copy today and eliminate back pain

Other TAA articles you may have missed recently:

Top 5 Fat Burning Foods

The Truth About Carbohydrates

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

13 Healthy and Tasty Fat Burning Snacks

2010-07-22T12:33:00.000-05:00

I've got a great article today for you with 13 tasty fat-burning snack ideas.

But just one reminder first... this is the last day that you can get the special discounted TacFit Commando program with those wild bodyweight workouts... Go here to check it out before the deal expires:

http://www.tacfitcommando.com/blog/thetruth

I also have another article further below that shows some cool examples of how this system works.

But first, here's today's article --

13 Healthy (and Tasty) Fat-Burning Snack Ideas

~~~~~~~~~
Now here's a little more info about that unusual Tacfit Commando program.

Tacfit is a bodyweight exercise approach that will help you get lean, condition your heart, and leave you gasping for breath. Here's just one example of many of the concepts that Tacfit teaches:

The trick is to do your exercise routine with a full-body matrix of bodyweight exercises.

You're probably asking, "What the heck is a full-body matrix?"

It's based on a 6-D movement model from aviation. It's useful because it describes how your body moves through space:

Heaving: moving up and down
Swaying: moving right and left
Surging: moving forward and backward
Pitching: bending forward and backward
Yawing: twisting right and left
Rolling: turning right and left

Most programs focus on just three of these essential elements: Moving front/back (think of lunges or pushups), moving up/down (think bodyweight squats), and moving side to side (think of jumping jacks or side lunges).

But you’re leaving a lot of potential fat loss on the table if you ignore all the rotational movements. The magic comes when you combine all these movements into one bodyweight circuit.

Putting all 6 together will kick your butt faster than any other method. You'll get in incredible shape fast, and you'll get your training out of the way sooner so you can spend more of your hard earned vacation time playing on the beach or hanging out with your family.

Here's a very simple example to get you started. Do the 6 exercises below for 30 seconds each, no rest between exercises. Then rest one minute and start again. Do 5 rounds for a total of 20 minutes. With your warm up and cool down you're done in half an hour.

1. Push up (Surge)
2. Crunch (Pitch)
3. Side Lunge (Sway)
4. Alternating Side Plank (Roll)
5. Russian Twist (Yaw)
6. Bodyweight Jump Squat (Heave)

Training in a full-body matrix like that also makes sure your body stays balanced. You won't waste time dealing with overuse injuries caused by doing the same repetitive movements in the same planes day after day, because you’re moving your body through full ranges of motion.

This is one of the unique approaches of TACFIT Commando. They've built an entire 3 month program around exactly this kind of bodyweight exercise approach, except with some seriously cool and unique exercises you've probably never seen before.

The whole program is based on actual training methods they use with military special ops and police types around the world, but it is made for everyday folks like you and me. Check it out here for the last day of the special:

http://www.tacfitcommando.com/blog/thetruth

Have fun with it!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer