In a recent fat loss tip we talked about the use of intermittent fasting as a natural way for your body to burn fat. On a personal note, this strategy has become by far my most effective weight loss strategy I currently practice.

In the article, we covered just a few of the benefits of fasting including the ability to burn fat without restricting your diet to bland salads and dried-out chicken breast. The story is a simple one:

Enjoy your favorite foods without guilt or anxiety and you will lose weight.

Fasting with favorite foods can equal weight loss - just go easy on the whipped cream!

Eye brows were raised, sentences re-read, and conversations ensued. One of our readers, Al, openly questioned the whole concept:

That sounds all well and good, BUT don’t I still need to eat healthy foods to lose weight. It doesn’t make sense that I can eat pizza and hot dogs everyday, input 2 24-hour fasts, and still expect to lose weight? Am i missing something?

Here is my response to Al which I’d like to share with everyone: (more…)

Watching the finale of Biggest Loser last night was inspiring. No need to recap, just find it on TiVO and you’ll be amazed at the transformations. But one thing that the audience should not gloss over is the end goal. As in, there is no end goal:

It’s a lifestyle!

[Congrats to Jerry Hayes for winning the at home portion of Biggest Loser. At 64, he was the show’s oldest contestant ever. He was eliminated early in the competition but continued to lose weight after the show going from 369 to 192 pounds, a loss of 177 pounds, or 47.97 percent weight loss. Look at the intensity in Jerry's face!]

If you want to burn off fat and keep it off permanently, there are a few things you absolutely must do (ie. build muscle), and a recent study from Wake Forest University has just uncovered another one.
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We all know those guys and gals who can eat what they want, barely work out, and still manage to stay more fit and lose more weight than their friends.

Why? Because they have a fast metabolism .

The rest of us? We’re left with our own jealous thoughts while we curse our genes for not being better at burning fat. But does having a slower metabolism relegate us to a lifestyle filled with weight gain and frustration?

The answer: NO .

"Sure, you’re stuck with your metabolism to some degree ", says the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Gary R. Hunter, PhD, director of the exercise physiology lab and professor at the School of Education. "But research shows that building and maintaining lean muscle can speed it up . "

In fact, by adding lean-muscle mass (which burns about 10 to 20 times the calories per pound each day that fat does) you’re boosting your metabolism not just during exercise but all day.

How? Because it raises your resting metabolic rate (RMR), the amount of energy it takes to sustain basic bodily functions, which accounts for a whopping 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn daily.

"Boost your RMR, and you can drop pounds and maintain a healthy weight " says Vince DelMonte, author of  Your Six Pack Quest , and contributor to Men’s Fitness Magazine. What’s more, that hike in lean muscle can help you lessen the decreasing metabolism (approximately 10 percent per decade) that comes with aging.

Sounds so simple, right?

Well get off the sidelines and try the following nutritional and exercise guidelines to kick start your metabolism and burn fat today!
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So you think you know everything about losing fat? Sure you’ve read about every weight loss trick and exercise on our site and others, but you still look in the mirror and wonder when the skinny version of you is going to break through?

Here we take a look at three secret weight loss tips that will melt the fat away immediately!

1. Body Weight Training

Isn’t this the same thing as yoga? Only girls do this type of training!

Simply put, most body weight training is hard and tends to crush the ego of the many who try. As far as we’re concerned, if you can not work with your own body weight than why in the world are you using additional weight such as barbells and dumbbells.

It’s incredible how many attempt to use heavy weights with a limited range of motion but can’t do a set of push ups, a squat to the floor or even one chin up. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a place for external loading with heavy weights but not until you have the ability to master the following bench marks:
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