A couple of days ago, I discussed the importance of “turning it up a notch” as far as your workout routine is concerned. This is a great way to see results in your quick weight loss diet. As I explained, increasing intensity is one of the best ways to reach your fitness goals and avoid exercise plateaus. Now, as a follow-up to that, I do want to point out an make very clear that you can’t increase intensity forever. Obviously our bodies, no matter how fit we are, have a limit before they start to “break down” in a sense.

This “break down” is often referred to as “over training” or “over exertion” and can really hinder your progress on your quick weight loss diet journey. So, how can you avoid over training? Well, firstly, understand how we build muscle. There is no magic pill that will make you strong and lean over night, and the use of steroids and other dangerous substances can cause extensive-and permanent-damage to your body. So that leaves opnly one way to build new lean muscle. Yeas, I know it’s not what you want to hear, but diet and exercise-namely strength training-are the answers.

When we exercise and use our muscles, we “tear” the muscle in a way and wear it down so it gets accustomed to doing a certain type of activity, exercise, or lifting a certain amount of weight. After being worked in this manner, however, the muscle needs to rest in order to recuperate and rebuild strength. With the right amount of exercise and recuperation time, the muscle will become bigger and therefore more capable of doing more work.

If we throw off this delicate balance of exercise and rest days, we risk injuring ourselves. Overworking your body and muscles can cause a number of problems and can lead to

Be sure to listen to your body in order to prevent injury during your quick weight loss diet journey.

injuries preventing us from being able to exercise at all for extended periods of times. Examples of injuries that can result are torn or pulled muscles, ligaments, and tendonitis.

So how can we know how to find this balance? Here are some guidelines you may want to follow:

1. Have a training schedule where you pre-plan your rest days. Make sure you throw in at least one day a week where you give your body a chance to relax altogether from exercise.

2. When strength training, be sure to evenly distribute your time over all major muscle groups. For example, if you are working upper body today, give those muscles a rest tomorrow and focus on some leg work. This will give time for your muscles to rest while still getting some exercise in by focusing on another area of the body. Never overwork one part of the body while neglecting the rest.

3. If training for an event, build up your intensity until about a week or two before the event. As the event nears, exercise at a more moderate intensity level to avoid injury. Some professional athletes take a few days to a whole week off before the big event to be sure to get enough rest to recuperate and re-energize!

4. Listen to your body! No one knows your body better than you do. If you feel dizzy, light-headed, or feel that you have an injury, stop exercising immediately and assess the situation. Find out if your symptoms are due to over training, extreme heat, dehydration, or injury.

It’s great to be motivated and to want to exercise and be fit. BUT, we need to take care of our bodies as well, and sometimes, that means resting. Be active but be smart, listen to your body and stay focused in order to reach your fitness goals.

Take Charge!

P.S. Want to: Learn the “Easy” way to get and stay in shape? Discover the secret to quick fat loss? How to exercise less and get better results? Discover the secret to ripped abs without doing endless crunches? Then be sure to get my “Amazing Fat Burning Formula” HERE.

P.P.S. If you like this post, and think it will help others, please help me help others by clicking on one of these “Share and Enjoy” links below.

It’s finally sunny today here in Miami Beach. It’s been raining for at least 2 weeks now… no kidding. Wet, soggy, and humid. Not exactly what you come to Miami Beach for.

So I wanted to talk to you today about vitamins and antioxidants. DON’T LOSE ME – THIS IS IMPORTANT. (this blog post will be a little long, but has some important info and ramifications for your future health on this planet – some of the findings I’ll share with you will be quite shocking).

Vitamins and minerals must be a part of your quick weight loss diet

Most people are not “proactive”, and instead “react” to things that happen to them. What I mean by this is most people turn to doctors, or medicines when some ailment strikes them. From a simple cold, to something more deadly – like cancer. But did you know the things you put into your body can help, or harm your ability to fend off diseases our Nation seems to be stricken with?

So Listen Up! (it’s for your own good)

Evidence suggests that the most important contributor to proper immune function is what you eat. For you to stay healthy — and to recover quickly from illness and help prevent disease — your immune system must be healthy too.

THE ANTIOXIDANT SHIELD

You’ve probably already heard about free radicals. These molecules cause cells to break down, speeding the aging process, promoting heart disease and cancer and weakening the immune system. There’s no way to completely avoid free radicals. They’re produced within the body as a result of normal metabolic processes. But certain antioxidant compounds destroy free radicals.

VITAMIN E

Vitamin E - must add to your quick weight loss diet

This potent antioxidant forestalls the gradual decline in immune function brought on by aging. It boosts synthesis of antibodies and encourages reproduction of key infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes.

People who take vitamin E supplements mount a stronger immune reaction against invading viruses and bacteria. They also enjoy a reduced risk for cancer.

It’s hard to get adequate amounts of vitamin E in your diet but good sources include seeds, nuts, avocados, and healthy vegetable oils (flaxseed, evening primrose oil, hemp oil, sesame oil, and sunflower oil).

CAROTENIDS

Beta Carotene - must add to your quick weight loss diet

These antioxidants increase the number of lymphocytes and natural-killer cells. Supplements are available, and the best food sources are fruits and vegetables — especially carrots, kale, collard greens, tomatoes and cantaloupes.

VITAMIN C

It energizes the immune system to react more vigorously to cancer cells and microbes. Diets rich in vitamin C have been linked to reduced risk for breast, colorectal and prostate cancer.

Good natural sources of vitamin C include all citrus fruits, cantaloupes and green or red peppers.

Vitamin C - good for colds... great for your quick weight loss diet

MINERALS

Minerals are needed for the synthesis of proteins, which are key components of all cells and enzymes in the body…

ZINC

The most important mineral for immune function, zinc boosts the number of lymphocytes and helps natural-killer cells attack cancer cells.

Trace Minerals - essential for your quick weight loss diet

The average person needs 15 mg of zinc a day. Higher dosages seem to impair immune function.

Meats and whole grains are good sources.

IRON

An iron deficiency increases infection risk by weakening many different types of immune cells. Too much iron impairs immune function too.

Meats and beans are good sources. Iron pills are good only if a doctor has found you to be iron-deficient.

SELENIUM

This mineral encourages growth of immune cells and stimulates production of antibodies.

Grains, nuts, seeds and fish are good sources of selenium. Because too much selenium can cause digestive and neurological problems, supplements generally are not a good idea.

IMMUNITY BOOSTERS

Research is beginning to confirm what traditional healers have long known — that certain foods and herbs boost immune function…

Shiitake mushrooms - a great quick weight loss diet addition

• SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS. Studies in Japan show that these mushrooms boost immune function and inhibit viral multiplication. In Japan, a shiitake derivative called lentinan is used as a cancer-fighting drug. Shiitakes are tasty in soups, stews and vegetables dishes. Eat two to six shiitakes a week.
• REISHI MUSHROOMS. These Chinese mushrooms boost reproduction of lymphocytes and trigger production of chemical “messengers” that coordinate immune system activity. Eat two to four reishis per week.
• GARLIC. Garlic is a good source of selenium and of certain compounds with anti-infection and anticancer properties. Season food with garlic at least three times a week.
• ECHINACEA. This popular herb boosts the ability of immune cells to swallow up cells infected with viruses…and stimulates production of compounds that coordinate the immune system’s response against yeast infections. Echinacea extract should be taken for no more than three days in a row — when you have a cold or flu, or feel one coming on. The usual dose is 30 drops of echinacea tincture, twice a day.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT

If you aren’t supplementing regularly with vitamins and minerals you may be deficient and not even know it. Why? Because of our society’s propensity to consume processed foods. And processed foods are notorious for being calorie rich and nutrient poor.

Combined with massively depleted levels of minerals in our soils (from excessive crop production) and you have the basis for widespread vitamin and mineral deficiency in our society.

This is also true a statement: the processing of whole foods destroys a lot of the phytonutrients they contain (plant nutrients including antioxidants and healthful enzymes). This means the more processed foods we eat, the more likely we lack the necessary raw materials to assure our bodies not only function optimally, but also help prevent disease from forming.

In fact, you should be quite alarmed at all of this.

I’ve reproduced for you key elements of a US Senate Document #264 written in 1936 and submitted as part of a Congressional investigation into US farming practices.

(selected excerpts from) US SENATE DOCUMENT #264:

”Most of us today are suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies which cannot be remedied until the depleted soils from which our foods come from are brought into proper mineral balance.”

”The alarming fact is that foods-fruits and vegetables-grains now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain minerals, are starving us…no matter how much of them we eat!”

”This talk of minerals is novel and quite startling. In fact, a realization of the importance of minerals in food is so new that the textbooks on nutritional dietetics contain very little about it. Nevertheless it is something that concerns all of us, and the further we delve into it the more startling it becomes.”

”Laboratory tests prove that the fruits, the vegetables, the grains, the eggs and even the milk and meats of today are not what they were a few generations ago. No man of today can eat enough fruits and vegetables to supply his system with the minerals he requires for perfect health…”

“No longer does a balanced and fully nourishing diet consist merely of so many calories or certain vitamins or a fixed proportion of starches, proteins, and
carbohydrates. We now know that it must contain, in addition, something like a score of trace minerals.”

“It is bad news to learn from our leading authorities that 99 percent of the American people are deficient in these minerals, and that a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals actually results in DISEASE. Any upset of the balance, any considerable lack of one or another element, however microscopic the body requirement may be, and we sicken, suffer, and shorten our lives.”

”This discovery is one of the latest and most important contributions of science to the problem of human health.”

”Dr. Northern asked himself how foods can be used intelligently in the treatment of disease, when they differed so widely in content. The answer seemed to be that they could not be used intelligently. In establishing the fact that serious deficiencies existed and in searching out the reasons therefore, he made an extensive study of the soil. It was he who first voiced the surprising fact that we must make soil building the basis of food building in order to accomplish human building. Bear in mind, says Dr. Northern, that minerals are vital to human metabolism and health-and that no plant or animal can appropriate to itself any mineral which is not present in the soil upon which it feeds.”

”We know that vitamins are complex chemical substances which are indispensable to nutrition, and that each of them is important for the normal function of some special structure of the body. Disorder and disease result from any vitamin deficiency. It is not commonly realized, however, that vitamins control the body’s appropriation of minerals, and that in the absence of minerals they have no function to perform. Lacking vitamins, the system can make some use of minerals, but lacking minerals, vitamins are useless.”

”Certainly our physical well being is more directly dependent upon the minerals we take in to our system than upon calories or vitamins or upon the precise
proportions of starch, protein or carbohydrates we consume.”

”So it goes, each mineral element playing a definite role in nutrition. A characteristic set of symptoms, just as specific as any vitamin deficiency disease, follows a deficiency in any one of them. It is alarming, therefore, to face the fact that we are starving for these precious health-giving substances.”

”Sick soils mean sick plants, sick animals, and sick people. Physical, mental and moral fitness depends largely upon an ample supply and a proper proportion of minerals in our foods. Nerve function, nerve stability and nerve cell-building likewise depend upon trace minerals.”

”Our soils, which are seriously deficient in trace minerals, cannot produce plant life competent to maintain our needs, and with the continuous cropping and
shipping away of those trace minerals and concentrates, the condition becomes worse.”

”One sure way to end the American people’s susceptibility to infection is to supply through food, a balanced ration of trace minerals. An organism supplied
with a diet adequate to, or preferably in excess of, all mineral requirements may so utilize these elements as to produce immunity from infection quite beyond
anything we are able to produce artificially by our present method of immunization. You can’t make up the deficiency by using a patent medicine or drug.”

”Prevention of disease is easier, more practical, and more economical than cure. Disease preys most surely and most viciously on the undernourished and unfit
plants, animals and human beings alike, and when the importance of these obscure mineral elements is fully realized, the chemistry of life will have to be rewritten. No man knows his mental or bodily capacity, how well he can feel or how long he can live, for we are all cripples and weaklings.”

What’s astounding about this is it was written over 70 years ago. The warning bells on soil depletion were already being sounded by those in the know back then.

What does this mean for you today? Do you think the situation is any better or worse? I think you know what the answer has to be. Even our most advanced medicines today have not been able to stem the tide of increased disease in this country.

Ask yourself this question… How do you feel… I mean really feel? Are you energetic all the time? Or do you feel tired all the time?

The next question is what are you going to do about it?

I have developed a high-potency antioxidant/vitamin/trace mineral blend that accomplishes what nature cannot do anymore. If you’re interested I have a trial offer for a FREE BOTTLE (just pay for shipping & handling) if you agree to try it on a regular basis. This offer is only available in limited quantities for those savvy and smart enough to realize they can’t get fully healthy simply from food alone. I wouldn’t delay as I only have so many bottles I can afford to give away for free. CLICK HERE For Your Free Bottle Deal.

Take Charge!

P.P.S. If you like this post, and think it will help others, please help me help others by clicking on one of these “Share and Enjoy” links below.

Regular exercise is only part of the formula for a better body and health. Eating the right foods is another part of the formula for a quick weight loss diet. In fact, I’d say your diet is most responsible for getting and keeping you in top shape. You can’t out-train a bad diet.

And while no single perfect food exists, many stand out as nutritional powerhouses. The list of 10 below are some of the ones I feel are at the top of the list. By including as many of them as possible in your quick weight loss diet you’ll not only look better, but you’ll also improve your health too.

1. Lean Beef

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 1

There are many people who have dieted and tried to reduce their red meat intake. Although there are cuts of red meat you should stay away from if losing fat and getting healthy is a priority, there are also very lean cuts of beef available. Some are even leaner than chicken.

Plus lean beef is a great source of iron, zinc, and high quality protein. Just make sure you choose the leanest cuts and trim away any excess fat you see on it.

The best cuts of lean beef are flank, eye of round, top sirloin, top round, and even the ground beef available today that is 96% fat free.

3 ounces of roasted, lean eye of round steak = 153 calories, 5.4 grams of fat (of which only 2 grams is saturated), 0 grams of carbohydrate, 24.5 grams of protein, 59 mg cholesterol, 53 mg sodium, 333 mg potassium, 15% of the USRDA for iron, 31% of the USRDA for zinc, plus many other important minerals in significant quantities such as niacin, vitamin B-6, folic acid, vitamin B-12, phosphorous, magnesium, and copper.

2. Fish/Fish Oils

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 2

Rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids, which research suggests provides protection against heart disease. Eating fish rich in omega-3’s (salmon is amongst the richest source although it is a little high in total fat) may be enough to reap their heart-protective benefits.

The other great thing about the fats found in fish is they help one to actually lose more fat. Gram for gram, the fat found in fish has been found to be a potent fat decoupler. They help to “release” the fatty acids found in your fat cells and allow them to be put into circulation in your bloodstream.

Since your body needs fuel to exercise these fat cells can then be more easily used since they are immediately available. For this reason they are the perfect for dieters.

I recommend eating fish 2-5 times per week as well as supplementing with fish oil capsules every day. I’ve found they truly do help in your fat loss efforts – plus they’re also good for you.

3. Collard Greens

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 3

What was the first impression that came into your mind when I said collard greens? Was it an appetizing one?

Typically a traditional southern food usually eaten boiled with added ham hocks or other meat, most people are unaware of collard greens impressive fat loss potential when eaten raw (don’t turn up your nose just yet).

One of the keys to losing fat is in curbing your appetite. One of the best ways to do that is to eat foods high in fiber. Fiber slows the digestive process down and creates a feeling of fullness. These two in concert go a long way towards keeping the “munchies” at bay.

I’ve found that collard greens has one of the highest fiber content to total carbohydrate content of just about any other food around. Here’s what I mean, 2 cups of raw, chopped collard greens are only 24 calories. There are only 4 grams of carbohydrates in those 2 cups and of those 4 (and here is the key part), a full 2.5 grams are pure fiber. This means over 60% of the carbohydrates found in collard greens are fiber. No other food can come this close.

Here’s what this means to you with regard to fat loss. Fiber goes mostly unprocessed through your digestive system. This means it adds little to no “real” calories to your body, especially since your body has to work (and expend energy) in order to process it.

Now, when you eat a food that has a lot of ‘bulk’, or fiber, but little calories associated with it, you will become much less hungry. And If you don’t get hunger pangs you are less likely to sabotage your diet. Most people bust their diets because they eat too many processed foods with little to no calories. What happens is they get larger blood sugar swings which results in hunger pangs. After a few weeks of eating the wrong types of diet foods a person begins to feel as if they’re deprived. This is the mortal enemy of the dieter. Once you put yourself into a deprived state then it’s only a matter of time before you can’t take it any more and binge. By eating high fiber foods you help keep those very powerful hunger pangs at bay and will be less likely to bust your diet.

And although raw collard greens may not sound appealing to you here’s what might help. Start to think of collard greens as any other salad vegetable. Instead of using romaine lettuce for your salad use raw, chopped collard greens instead. They actually have a very mild taste and go well with other salad vegetables like finely chopped red cabbage, kale, cucumbers, sweet green and red peppers, tomatoes, etc.

Bottom line – if you’re not eating collard greens on a regular basis then you’re missing out on its very powerful health and fat loss benefits.

4. Broccoli

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 4

One of the best nutrition bets around. Not only is it a vegetable of the cruciferous family (which may help fend off cancer), but it’s a good source of vitamin C (190% of the USRDA), vitamin A (25% of the USRDA and mainly in the form of non-toxic beta carotene), and an excellent source of soluble fiber, important for keeping blood sugar levels steady and helping you lose fat.

Broccoli also has certain compounds in it that help men bind excess estrogen in their system. And too much estrogen in your system will make it much harder for you to get leaner.

Broccoli is also one of the better sources of folic acid (31% USRDA) and a good source of calcium (21% USRDA) and magnesium.

5. Blueberries

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 5

In numerous studies blueberries have been shown to be one of the highest antioxidant-containing foods in existence. Not only high in the traditional antioxidants, it also contains rare and very powerful forms of antioxidants not found typically.

And as I’ve written before, a high antioxidant intake is essential not only for health, but also for improving your results in the gym. Antioxidants such as vitamin C help reduce the muscle-destroying effects of high cortisol in your body (which is typically raised following an intense exercise session).

I personally love using them in my protein shakes. I buy bags of frozen, unsweetened blueberries and store them in my freezer. Then, when I’m ready to have a protein shake I throw 1 cup of blueberries into a blender along with my protein mix, then top it off with a couple of teaspoons of healthy essential fats. Delicious, nutritious, and results producing.

6. Papaya

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 6

An untapped treasure of nutrients. One-half of this exotic fruit provides almost as much potassium as a banana and more than 100% of the USRDA for vitamin C. It’s also a good source of the cancer-fighting beta-carotene. Plus, papaya is also low in calories for its bulk and size. 1 papaya = only 58 calories, 15 grams of carbohydrates, and plenty of fiber (1 papaya has over 12% of your daily recommended allowance).

Papaya is also an excellent source of natural digestive enzymes. Giving your digestive system a little help with your 5-6 meals a day eating pattern is a smart thing to do. Folic acid is another strong point for papaya as it contains 15% of the USRDA.

7. Kiwi

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 7

The strange little fruit in the fuzzy brown wrapper imported from New Zealand proves that good things come in small packages. Each sweet and tangy kiwi fruit provides 100% of the USRDA for vitamin C and 12% of your daily fiber requirement. For a powerful antioxidant punch, kiwi fruit is right up there at the top of the list.

8. Essential Fats

The best sources of this “can’t live without” nutrient are fish and plant sources (such as flax seed). Also, another great way to get it is to supplement with carefully pressed oils. The FLORA COMPANY makes the best ones; they invented the extraction process of getting oil from the seeds without using heat (heat destroys the beneficial effects of essential fats).

Finally, don’t be scared of the word fat. This type of fat actually helps you lose fat. Salud!

9. Cottage Cheese

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 9

Cottage cheese has long been known as the “dieter’s friend”. And it deserves its reputation as the one food a dieter should never be without. It is one of the most bioavailable sources of protein available. There are few better protein sources for building muscle and helping you lose fat.

And it’s in the “helping you lose fat” department where it shines. You see, almost all dairy foods contain a very powerful substance called CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). Numerous studies have revealed the powerful fat-inducing and muscle building effects of this compound.

However, with the push for lower fat foods over the past couple of decades, including low-fat dairy, the amount of CLA we get today pales in comparison to what we used to receive. You see, CLA is found in high concentrations in the fat of dairy products. And with the push to lower our overall fat intake we inadvertently are also lowering our CLA intake as well.

This is not insignificant, as the studies on CLA have shown it is a very powerful fat loss stimulator. Animals and human subjects supplementing with CLA have shown over a 60%+ decrease in body fat.

This is one of the reasons I recommend full-fat, not low-fat, cottage cheese. The fat in the cottage cheese contains high amounts of the CLA that will help you lose body fat and gain lean muscle (another beneficial effect the studies discovered).

If your overall diet is derived from mostly natural foods that contain little fat then eating full-fat cottage cheese will still place you far below the amounts typically eaten by most people. Plus, the fat it does contain promotes fat loss.

Finally, the protein found in cottage cheese contains 2 important muscle-building properties.

First, it contains high amounts of Glutamine, which is the most abundant amino acid in your body. It is extremely important to make sure you get enough glutamine in your diet because of the high demand for it by your body. If not supplied by your diet your body will pull it from other areas in your body high in glutamine. And this is practically any muscle group in your body. This can potentially compromise the lean muscle you’re trying desperately hard to increase.

Finally, cottage cheese is composed of effective combinations of whey and casein protein. Whey is a fast acting protein that, when eaten, gets into your bloodstream very quickly. Casein is a much slower, timed-release type of protein. It’s important to get both of these as they each have unique benefits that will help build muscle quicker and more effectively than most any other natural protein source.

10. Protein Powders

Quick Weight Loss Diet: Tip 10

Protein powders are probably the food product most responsible for building better bodies than any other supplement in the world. And I say this with conviction. From numerous studies and real-world experience, an increased protein intake ALWAYS leads to greater muscularity and increased lean muscle mass, especially for those that were not supplementing with protein powder supplements before. The effect, in most cases, is very dramatic.

Increasing one’s protein intake is a very reliable way to increase lean muscle accretion on your body. Most people don’t take this serious enough. They think, “I get plenty of protein from the foods I eat.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. In order to put serious amounts of lean muscle on your body you have to supplement with much more protein than the USRDA recommends (and even women want to build as much lean muscle tissue as they can – more muscle helps burn more fat).

Of course it’s assumed you’re also employing a serious weight-training program as well. Extra protein all by itself will do very little to build more muscle tissue. You have to create the demand in the weight room in order to use the extra protein to rebuild your muscles.

Even if you’ve been taking in 1 gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight in the past, once you up your protein intake into the neighborhood of 1 to 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, you should see immediate results.

Your muscles will feel fuller and harder, and you should also feel leaner. A higher protein intake (as long as carbohydrates are kept in check) almost always leads to increased muscularity and reduced body fat.

This is the one I recommend the most (and it also tastes the best, in my opinion, as well):

http://bit.ly/hpdXl

Take Charge!

P.S. Want to: Learn the “Easy” way to get and stay in shape? Discover the secret to quick fat loss? How to exercise less and get better results? Discover the secret to ripped abs without doing endless crunches? Then be sure to get my “Amazing Fat Burning Formula” HERE.