DOES A CRASH DIET WORK?

Crash diets promise quick and efficient weight loss, but the real question isDoes a Crash Diet Work.

Crash diets are diet plans that severely reduce calories, are nutritionally restrictive, and are supposed to promote quick weight loss. Often these diets focus on one or two food groups and are not intended for long-term lifestyle changes. Most Crash Diets have a calorie count of less than a 1,000 calories a day. Long-term, this can be dangerous and create issues throughout the body.

Does a Crash Diet Work? Crash diets can be temporarily effective for people who have no personal control and are easily tempted by food (underscore “temporary”).  Temporary means no more than one week. Crash Diets, when set up properly are not really crash diets at all, they are shred diets. Meaning you will shred and drop some weight quickly because it shocks the body. Again this should be very temporary just to get the weight loss process going, to curb cravings, and begin the process of seeing portions for what they should be. This type of plan should not be maintained beyond 7 days.

DOES A CRASH DIET WORK?

Crash diets can have many risks due to their nutrient deficiencies. These diets make it difficult to get a sufficient amount of calcium, vitamin D, or iron and other important nutrients. If this type of plan is followed long-term it can cause permanent damage to the organs by not providing them with their required fuel. If there is too much fluid loss, you can damage your electrolyte level, and become easily dehydrated, and when this happens you may experience cramping, fainting, and even heart failure.

Another issue with a Crash Diet is the slowing of the metabolism. Our bodies are extremely efficient machines and will slow down and lower its resting metabolic rate in order to survive longer if the calories or nutrients are too low. When this happens for long periods of time our bodies begin to cannibalize its own lean muscle tissue for nutrients to maintain itself. Slow metabolism will create a decrease in energy and you will feel sluggish, have ashy skin, and other issues. This will have a negative effect on your home and work life, and your ability to workout will be non-existent.

Another negative factor of a Crash Diet is its effect on your emotional and mental state. When on a crash diet, irritability, depression, and lack of patience begin to set in. Sleep patterns are disrupted and in severe cases it can cause full blown insomnia. Again this will affect your workouts, because it is during rest that the muscles recover.

Does a Crash Diet Work? The answer really is NO. When you return to a rational eating plan, your body will store everything you eat, as it thinks it has been starving for the last few weeks, and as a result support rapid weight gain.

The answer is, as it has been for centuries, a decision to change has to be greater than to stay the same. To lose weight you must make a lifestyle change. You have to have motivation and discipline to stick to a well-rounded clean eating plan. Though you can kick off with a 7-day shred plan that is a well-balanced 900-1200 calories, you must bump that up to me 1,400 to 3,000 calories depending on your needs for long-term success at weight loss, muscle building, or other goals. These calories should be split up over 5 to 6 meals a day and have a proper balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats.

DOES A CRASH DIET WORK?

If you combine this with 30-45 minutes of intense exercise you will be speeding up your metabolism.

Does a Crash Diet Work? Not if you want your New Year’s resolutions to come to fruition. Stay off the crash diet / fad diet merry-go-round. Commit to choosing your health and making a lifestyle change.

FOAM ROLLING - IT'S A GOOD THING!

Foam Rolling has many potentially valuable effects for the general population. One of the greatest benefits of foam rolling, also known as self-myofascial release, is to decrease lactic acid pain that can be experienced during a workout. The irony of foam rolling is that it can be quite painful, at least when you do it inconsistently or are just getting started with a Foam Rolling regimen.

With Foam Rolling you need to start appropriately. Starting with your iliotibial band with both legs stacked is probably not going to work well for you. You want to start with one leg and progress to two over time, as your pain tolerance increases (or better said, as your soft-tissue extensibility improves).

Foam rolling may help promote muscle balance around a joint if you first inhibit a short, tight, strong muscle and then immediately activate a long, flaccid, weak muscle on the opposite side of the joint. In layman’s terms, you soften the “tight” tissue and tighten the “soft” tissue.

FOAM ROLLING: IT’S A GOOD THING!

Though pressure is needed and it can be painful, too much pain is not a good thing. You need to do it properly so you do not create subsequent inflammation. Think of the foam roller as just another tool in your toolbox. You need to use it just as you would any tool. If you use a sander to smooth a piece of wood, you don’t sand too long or hard in one spot.  So like the sandpaper, just a few strokes with a foam roller may be enough.

If you do decide that the foam roller is a good warm-up tool, it doesn’t mean that you should use it on every muscle if the muscle doesn’t need to be rolled. A good rule of thumb is when you find that foam rolling is no longer painful, stop doing it before a workout. At that point you would use foam rolling as a separate restoration method as its own regimen for some relaxation later at night, but not before you train.

FOAM ROLLING: IT’S A GOOD THING!

As a restoration or training method, you need to determine what works well for you. You must always keep in mind that what works well for you today may not work well for you tomorrow. So, go ahead and experiment with foam rolling during your warm-ups. Once the pain of foam rolling diminishes, you will then move into using as its own regimen and not prior to training. 

101 HEALTHY SHAKE RECIPES 

See Big Results with Small Changes

People who want to lose weight, be better athletes, gain muscle, and more want to see results. Results can come without a lot of big changes. You canSee Big Results with Small Changes. As Darren Hardy says, many small changes will compound into the large change you are looking for. Whether you’re just getting started or a seasoned fitness person, you will See Big Results with Small Changes when you follow these few ideas.

SEE BIG RESULTS WITH SMALL CHANGES

Nutrition is 80% of a healthy lifestyle, so nutrition is the best place to start so you can See Big Results with Small Changes.

1. Reach for mustard, hot sauce, and salsa instead of ketchup, mayo, or sour cream for fewer calories, more nutrients, and less sugar.
2. Eat slowly. It takes your body 20 minutes to realize it’s full. Eating slower will help stop you from overeating.
3. Use Avocado instead of butter or mayo on your sandwiches. It’s full of healthy monounsaturated fat and fiber.
4. Replace refined carbs (like white rice or enriched pasta) with whole grain versions. Whole grains have more fiber and more nutrients and absorb slower. This keeps your blood sugars more even and provides longer-lasting energy.
5. Dump the sugary drinks and diet drinks. You’ll save hundreds of calories and won’t be drinking chemicals.
6. When cooking use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. It is heart healthy and doesn’t leave by products when it is heated
7. Dedicate 75% of your plate to vegetables and the remainder to whole grains and lean proteins. You will feel more full and provide your body with necessary vitamins and minerals.

See Big Results with Small Changes in daily life can also have a huge impact.

1. Sign up for an athletic competition or event. Having an event to work towards can really keep you motivated.
2. Plan a fun activity, like a hike, group run, bike ride, or snowball fight. Activities and laughter with friends and family have an impact on your health.
3. Get proper sleep! 7 to 8 hours of sleep will help your muscles recover faster, your brain work better, and you are more likely to not overeat.
4. Go the distance. Take the stairs! Park farther from the entrance! Your body wants you to be moving, plus that means more calories burned.
5. Keep your workout playlist fresh. Fresh music keeps the brain happy and you going.
6. Move while watching TV. Do push-ups, crunches, squats, or stretch during commercials. These mini works provide extra calorie burn and feed your brain with chemicals it needs to function better.
7. Reward yourself with clothing or new fitness gear when you hit milestones. Train your brain to stop rewarding your body with food.
8. Wear a pedometer. Blast belly fat by moving 10,000 steps per day, or approximately five miles.

Tips for Fat Loss

We are surrounded daily by Tips for Fat Loss. The problem is that many people are using the wrong Information and Tips for Fat Loss to try and achieve their fat loss goals. Everyone understands how they would like to look or feel, but frustration just sets in as they use tips that just has them doing it all the wrong. This just ends up becoming a vicious cycle of frustration, desperation, crash diets, metabolic damage and eventually more fat gain or regain.

The majority of the information and tips that the fitness and fat loss industry puts out there is not designed to truly work. It is about earning money versus changing lives. If all the recommended methods did work, everyone would be walking around lean and healthy. If the book, supplement, and lose fat quickly companies wanted you to really lose the weight they couldn’t continue to sell millions upon millions of products that keep their company earning billions.  

TIPS FOR FAT LOSS

1. Avoid Processed Carbohydrates: Processed carbohydrates include white or low quality wheat breads, pasta, crackers, muffins, gluten free products, chips, sugar, fruit juices, oats with sugar, breakfast cereals, “health” bars, pastries and grains.

Processed carbs raise our blood sugar rapidly, causing the release of our main fat storage hormone insulin. When blood sugar and insulin levels stay low the body is able to burn excess body fat as fuel instead of needing carbs and sugars constantly.

2. Eat Enough Protein: Protein is one of the highest satiety foods. It will leave you feeling satisfied and fuller for a longer period. Muscles helps us to burn fat, and protein is needed to build muscle.

3. Eight Hours of Sleep per Night: Sleep is when the body is the most anabolic and builds muscle. Adequate sleep is also important for optimal recovery from exercise. Not getting enough sleep leads to an increase in appetite and cravings for carbohydrates and sugary foods.

4. Clean Out the Junk: Clean out the foods that are junk foods that become a habitual grab and roadblock. Out of Sight, Out of Mind is the best method. A drug addict who is getting clean doesn’t keep their stash around just because they already paid for it.

Removing junk food also has an effect on the brain as it is a form of dedication to your journey to a healthy lifestyle.

TIPS FOR FAT LOSS

5. Portion Control: Be aware of portion sizes. Society has skewed the view on an actual portion size of most if not all foods. Balance is what you need.

Your metabolic system will love real foods, balanced out throughout the day in the right portions. This will rev-up your fat burning ability. If you need assistance in establishing the best nutrition plan you may want to check out the Portion Balanced Plan that Beachbody offers with all of its latest fitness programs.

READ: Mistakes That Keeps Millions Overweight

EXERCISE TO AVOID PLATEAUS AND BOREDOM

How do you Exercise to Avoid Plateaus and Boredom? Most people just start working out and following a program, not even considering how that could Exercise to Avoid Plateaus and Boredom. This holds especially true for people who most often attend group training programs. Typically, the group trainer does not have the participants track their progress or invite them to change up the weights or functionality of their exercise, with the result that you don’t use progression to avoid plateaus.

Planning Exercise to Avoid Plateaus and Boredom doesn’t just come from adjusting the load and having various levels of exercise. There are five very important exercise progressions that can help you avoid boredom and plateaus.

EXERCISE TO AVOID PLATEAUS AND BOREDOM

• The Load (Weight) – This is the obvious exercise progression. Adding more weight makes the exercise harder.  Many people don’t realize that you can change the load of an exercise by also changing the angle. An example would be push-ups on the decline or the incline. When you are changing the load and angles often you can have better gains, avoid plateaus, and keep you from being bored with the same old exercises.

• Change How You Stand – Adjusting your body position and stance can reduce or increase how your body is supported. When you do this your body has to work in different ways to support the exercise. An example would be to move from a standing normal to a staggered stance. This creates a whole new level of support needed throughout an exercise.

• Tempo – Changing the tempo or speed of the exercise can definitely change how the body responds to the exercise. Increase or decrease the overall speed. Increasing the concentric, and slowing the eccentric move or vice versus can create different results. For example, you could alter the tempo of a squat with a one count on the way down and a three count up as you come out of the squat.

• Combination Moves – This is when you put two exercises or movements together. Combinations create a bigger metabolic demand on the body or body part, which in turn creates more results.  You can combine squats with a shoulder press, deadlifts with back rows, or other exercises..

• Move More – The more you move the more you are adding to your exercise and exercise program. An example would be a kettlebell squat swing. The swing is great on its own, but if you step to the side, then squat and swing, then step back in and on to the other side to repeat you are doing more.

Overall you just need to always be challenging and changing your skill level. Exercise and training should always be progressing in the overall program, the way you lift or move, and how much you lift or move.

EXERCISE TO AVOID PLATEAUS AND BOREDOM

Many people have a hard time developing these progressions and then doing them in the proper progression and safe manner. So if you can, it is always suggested to work with a trainer to help you develop these skills. If working with a trainer is not something that works for you, then taking a look at Beachbody Fitness Programs like the Master’s Hammer and Chisel, P90X3, 21 Day Fix, and more is the next best thing. These programs provide the proper Exercise Progression to Avoid Plateaus and Boredom. Plus, they all come with amazing easy to use nutrition plans, and a free coach.

With Beachbody Programs your options are limitless and you will definitely not get bored and you will avoid plateaus.

FEEL BETTER AFTER 40 WITH TWO EASY LIFESTYLE SHIFTS

We can all Feel Better After 40 with Two Easy Lifestyle Shifts. In today’s society it is unfortunate, but many people over the age of 40 have difficulty with daily routine, let alone running around with their children. For people who don’t take care of themselves, injury and fatigue are far too common.

Why do people let this happen to themselves? Who wants to only live an active life up to the age of forty and then basically give up on strength, energy, and easy mobility?

Shifts in what you do can make you feel better now. Think how you will Feel Better After 40 with Two Easy Lifestyle Shifts. The best part is you don’t need to hire top nutrition and fitness coaches, and you definitely don’t need to spend wasted weeks and month experimenting with products and programs trying to educate yourself. There are two major but easy and inexpensive shifts that can make a world of difference.

FEEL BETTER AFTER 40 WITH TWO EASY LIFESTYLE SHIFTS

So, here it is… Feel Better After 40 with Two Easy Lifestyle Shifts.

• Get Moving with a Fitness Program that Is Designed to Create a Strong and Healthy Body!

We are meant to move, not sit for hours on end. Unfortunately, many of our jobs these days are desk jobs, so intentional movement is very important. Walking helps but isn’t the full answer. You need movement is designed to help you get stronger, do it in a way that is safe, creates a foundation of fitness, and challenges you as you become stronger. So how do you get that in 45 minutes or less per day? Easy… Beachbody fitness programs and Beachbody On-Demand. These programs will have you moving and being healthy in 45 minutes or less per day.

• Don’t Count Calories, Eat Foods with a Lifestyle Plan

Yes, processed sugars, (cookies, cake, etc), dairy, alcohol, and refined grains (cereal, bread, boxed pasta, etc.) are just not good for you. Reducing these alone can get you started on the track to feeling more energetic. With that said, creating a lifestyle plan where you still can enjoy those things on occasion and don’t have to count calories each day is what makes eating healthier so much easier. There are two things that can make all the difference in creating a healthy nutritional lifestyle.

One is to drink Shakeology. It is the cleanest and natural nutritional shake on the market. Why not get total nutrition in a tasty shake? Plus, Shakeology has proven to help energy, digestion, weight loss, cravings, and an array of health issues associated with unhealthy nutrition and lack of exercise.  

FEEL BETTER AFTER 40 WITH TWO EASY LIFESTYLE SHIFTS

Second. Don’t worry about counting calories,  but enjoy proper portions of the foods you love. This is easily done with Beachbody’s Portion Fix Nutrition Plan. You cannot ask for an easier plan that will leave you full, satisfied, and happy you don’t have to think or count calories to be healthy. This nutrition plan also comes with all of Beachbody’s top Fitness Programs like 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme, Cize, Insanity Max30, Master’s Hammer and Chisel, and more.

The greatest thing about these two easy lifestyle shift is they are inexpensive. If you consider adding up the costs of  a gym membership, nutritional products, gas to drive to the gym, and your time driving to the gym,  your expense will be at least $10 a day and only 1 in 3 people get lasting results. If you add the cost of trainer into the mix you are looking at way more money.

So why not get a Free Coach to help guide you, a nutritional plan, fitness program, and nutritional supplements for $5 or less per day, and know that what you are using and doing works.

WHAT TO DO IF I CHEAT ON MY DIET

I love the reasonable, I don't have to be perfect approach in this article! I firmly believe what's most important is to consider 'Long-Term Health' as my first priority! Make the inside healthy and the outside will reflect with vitality!

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What to Do If I Cheat on My Diet, has a short answer and a long answer.

Cheating with a meal or two on your diet has temporary effects like fluid retention which is always caused by excess salt, sugar, and fat intake. In extreme events when you throw caution to the wind and binge massively over an entire weekend you will have actual body fat gain. If this is the case the question of “What to Do If I Cheat on my Diet?” question is out the door. There is nothing you can do about gained fat other than get back to work. The temporary side effects of a meal or two will flush out in 24-48 hours. You have to deal with the effects as you bring them on.

WHAT TO DO IF I CHEAT ON MY DIET

Before we get into the long answer of this question, you need to remember that the scale is really a bad indicator of to whatever damage was caused by a binge weekend. It takes 3,500 excess calories to create a pound of fat. With that said there are also other factors that must be taken into account before you can say that you just are going to put on a pound of fat. Some of those factors include hormonal shifts and gut bacteria levels.

So your weekend binge is really not five pounds of fat when you step on that scale Monday morning, though that doesn’t give you the green light to binge all the time. Bingeing will catch up with you and it’s not good for your health. Our bodies thrive on clean eating. The more clean eating you do, and the less bingeing, the better you will feel.

The majority of the Monday morning scale number is temporary fluid retention due to too much salt, sugar, and fat and a great indication that your muscles are clean fuel-starved.

It is very simple to understand this process. Our bodies like to maintain a certain salinity in our extracellular fluid. If you consume too much salt, the salinity goes up, so your body holds on to more water as it focuses on restoring the balance. Once you stop consuming all the excess salt, your body will restore the balance, and the water will flush out.

Clean fuel-starved muscles are the other factor. Our muscles contain their own internal carb-based fuel source called glycogen. Glycogen brings water into muscle. When you are working on losing weight you are typically creating a calorie deficit, and your muscles tend to run lower in glycogen levels, and therefore the muscle tissue carries less water. So if you suddenly eat at a surplus of calories, sugar, salt, and fat this will stimulate the body to recharge the glycogen stores, which in turn increases the fluid volume in muscle tissue, which will also bring up the number on the scale.

WHAT TO DO IF I CHEAT ON MY DIET

So if you are a person who is consuming 1,200-1,400 calories a day to lose weight but are also add in weight training this will initially cause a weight gain, as the body has to store water as it balances what the muscles need. It will subside after some time. So the scale can go up or down from water during a weight loss, muscle gain regimen.

Having a Cheat Meal every 25-30 days is not necessarily a bad thing. An increase in calories thrown into the middle of a longer period of eating at a calorie deficit can actually benefit your overall goals.

What to Do If I Cheat on My Diet? That is easily answered. You simply get right back on track. Of course you don’t want to go on a pizza binge for days, but to have one meal every 25-30 days where you have some extra calories can actually help.  So dump the guilt trip and jump back in with your workouts and clean eating. Your body will let you know that you cannot do that often. It likes the extra calories now and then, but it wants to be healthy and clean.