Most of us want to lose weight quickly. A fat loss program is not very fun so we want to get it over with as quickly as possible. But to expect to fit into a pair of jeans you outgrew 10 years ago in 10 days is just plain unrealistic, and can also be very unhealthy, even dangerous. There are plans that promise the fastest way to lose weight. And the good ones are designed to minimize the adverse affect of rapid weight loss. But before starting on a fast fat loss program, you need to know what the side effects and dangers are so that if you notice any of them, you can take corrective action.

A constant feeling of tiredness, feeling sleepy all day and needing more than your usual amount of sleep at night is a sure sign that your quick fat loss program is hurting you. These are all signs of a lack of the basic nutrition your body requires. Remember that diet plans are designed for the “average” person, whereas each body is different. What suits you may not suit your best friend. If you notice any of these symptoms, stop your diet, return to your normal food intake and see if the feelings disappear. If so, your fast weight loss plan doesn’t suit you. If the symptoms remain, consult a doctor.

Another sign that a quick fat loss plan does not agree with you is when you find your levels of concentration dropping. You will find that doing simple mental tasks becomes difficult. Your brain is a muscle too and it needs its nutrients to keep working and without them it slows down. Once again, if you notice these symptoms, stop your diet and see if your concentration levels improve with a return to your normal food intake.

A weight loss program is supposed to make you look better. If you find your good friends (the ones who are honest with you!) telling you how worn out or run down you look, it probably your fast fat loss program that is causing this. Remember, if you don’t look healthy, it means you’re not, even if there are no other immediately noticeable symptoms.

Do you know that a rapid fat loss program that is not suited to your specific metabolism can actually force you to add weight? If your body is deprived of essential nutrients, it protects itself by slowing down the metabolic rate – the speed at which your body functions. When this happens, you burn less fat and so soon the weight loss either stops or slows down to a speed even less than that of a regular diet. And once you end the diet and return to your normal food intake, your metabolism will not be ready to immediately speed up. So you end up burning less fat than you did before you started the diet and the un-burnt fat gets stored in your body. And then your weight increases and the belly fat returns.

There’s nothing wrong with most quick weight loss programs and seeing your belly fat disappear fast can be a major boost to your sense of well being. Just remember that a rapid weight loss plan is not a one size fits all program. They are designed for the “average” body at a specific age. Your body may have different requirements. If you find a fast weight loss plan is having side affects that affect your health, stop and try something else. The fastest way to lose fat is not always the best.

Matt Lisk is a fat loss expert who has used his knowledge to lose over 80 pounds of body fat, reduce his body fat percentage to under 10% and to resolve a variety of health issues he was experiencing. He is the author of Lean State University’s Fat Loss 101 Newsletter.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Everybody probably knows what the #1 most important meal of the day is. It’s breakfast. That fact has been drilled into us since we were little. It sets your body’s tone and metabolism for the day. Fat loss is virtually impossible with out it.

Problem is a lot of people don’t know about this little fat loss secret I’m about to share with you. What you eat before a workout is one of the most important things you can do during the day for ultimate fat loss. Without a solid pre-workout nutrition regiment your post-workout meal will be a lot less effective.

The questions I get asked the most are ‘what’ and when’ to eat this meal. First off let’s talk about why you need to be eating this meal.

The pre-workout meal ensures that you will have adequate nutrition to make it through your workout. You should concentrate on getting fuel into your body. And the body’s best fuel source is carbohydrates. Most importantly you want to concentrate on complex or fibrous carbs, which are the carbs that give you sustained energy. What you are doing with these carbs is making sure that your glycogen levels (stored carbohydrates) are full, because when you workout your body pulls the carbs out of glycogen storage to be used as energy. So if you your levels are depleted, like when you wake up in the morning, and you skip the pre-workout meal then you have no glycogen to pull out. So the body will resort to pulling lean muscle tissue off your muscles to fuel the workout, which results in less muscle mass, decreased metabolism, and increased fat gain.

You also need to get a lean source of protein. Protein should be consumed with every meal regardless, to keep the protein (amino acid) stores up.

If you workout on an empty stomach your body doesn’t have any energy. You can’t give 100% intensity, and if you do you will most likely feel sick, light-headed, and nauseous. You will reach fatigue a lot quicker also.

When to eat this meal ideally would be at least 60 minutes before hand. And about 60-90 minutes is a good time range. This will give the body enough time to digest the meal and give the body a full dose of energy for the workout. If this is not possible, as in an early morning workout then 20-30 minutes should suffice, but the meal should be a lot lighter. Early morning workouts are ideal for a meal replacement shake, especially if you have trouble eating so early.

Now to the part you probably care, and want to know the most about—what to eat. The best carbohydrate source to eat before a workout would be oatmeal in milk, or some added whey protein if lactose intolerant. It supplies long lasting energy and is a good source of protein when combined with milk. Other things you could consider would be a bowl of cereal, peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and energy bars. But be careful with the bars, I only really recommend Lara Bars, Luna, Cliff Bars, and Prograde Cravers, other then that it pretty much is just eating a bunch of sugar and chemicals.

Good choices of protein would be whey protein shakes, chicken breast, turkey breast, lean cuts of steak, fish, or meal replacement shakes or bars.

The meal replacement shake I use is Prograde Lean. It’s definitely the best tasting one I’ve found. And the whey protein I use is Buy Bulk Whey. It’s a natural protein, which is good because you can mix it with almost anything and it will maintain its flavor. I add it to yogurt, pancakes, Gatorade, fruit juices, and a lot of different recipes.

Jason Yun, a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Sports Nutritionist, is the owner of Yun Strength and Fitness Systems, LLC and runs Yun Fitness Bootcamps in Columbus, OH and the Metabolism Makeover Nutrition Course. Please visit the website for more information about pre-workout nutrition supplements at: www.Yuntraining.com/lean.html and www.Yuntraining.com/whey.html

Popularity: 23% [?]

Popularity: 6% [?]

This is a great video showing you what equipment you can buy pretty cheaply (probably under $100) to build a great, and well rounded home gym.

Popularity: 18% [?]

There are many different reasons why people become overweight.  It is not as basic or simple as saying that overweight people just eat too much .  There can be any number of psychological reasons that make people want to eat more.

Emotional triggers like stress, sadness, depression, etc. can cause a person to eat more.  An interesting thing to realize is that there are certain chemicals in the brain that are linked to both mood and hunger.  Some people associate eating with different emotions and tend to eat more food as a form of comforting themselves when they experiencing these emotions.

If this is contributing to your weight problem, it is probably better to work on resolving or at least improving the issues first. Make the commitment to yourself and talk to a specialist if you need to, but form a new plan to deal with these emotions.  It has become a habit to over eat for many people, and behavioral modification will be the key to weight loss success in these cases.

Don’t by the comfort or  junk foods when you go shopping, it will make it much easier to change your eating habits if you eliminate any temptations.  Buying healthier foods like fruits and vegetables will help you reach your goals and will encourage you to eat better foods even if you do still seek food for emotional comfort.

If you do the shopping, then you can decide what foods to buy to help to make your weight loss easier.  It will also provide better nutrition for all members of the household as well.

Most important is to work towards these gradual improvements while being kind to yourself.  If you achieve a really good week eating well and working out regularly, celebrate it.  If you have times when you fall short, don’t beat yourself up, just acknowledge it and work to understand what triggered it and create a plan that will help you cope better the next time.  Call a friend and talk about what is stressing or aggravating you rather than eating something bad for comfort.  Remember, once slip does not flush all your successes!

Popularity: unranked [?]