Here’s an awesome recipe from my partners at Prograde Nutrition

Your bad habits might include too much snacking and cheating on your nutrition plan, coming up with excuses to skip exercise, or watching too much TV.

Bad habits are the reason we need coaches. One of my coaches gave me the exercises below, that I want you to go through to help you break your bad habits.

If you’ve been trying to lose fat and get lean by yourself, but with no luck, isn’t it time to get professional help & social support?

It’s hard to change. I know it. I battle against my bad habits all the time, just like you do every day. But each day I also make an effort to overcome my bad habits, just as you should have a plan in place to overcome your bad  habits.

Don’t let insecurity, fear of failure, or the fear of the unknown hold you back from making changes. Don’t be a victim. Empower yourself to change.

So let’s take action. Copy this and print it out. Now write down 3 excuses you are using to avoid making the changes you need to succeed.

1.______________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________

How have these excuses affected your life? What have the excuses stopped you from achieving? Write down 3 very important things that you have missed out on because you’ve allowed yourself to make excuses.

1.______________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________

Now how do you feel when you fall victim to one of your self-sabotaging excuses?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

What benefits do you get from the excuse? Is it simply that you get to remain in your comfort zone? That’s a big one for me. If I can convince myself that I don’t need to build business relationships, then I get to remain in my comfort zone and avoid the hard work and fear of failure that comes with trying to build these relationships. Or is it the fear of the unknown that is holding you back? Write down 3 ways you benefit from making excuses.

1.______________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________

So now we both know why we’ve created our excuses – to avoid something. All we need to do now is find a way to overcome these bad habits. I want you to write down 3 behaviors you want to stop.

1.______________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________

Now write down why you end up doing it…were you bored, fearful, lazy, etc.

1.______________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________

Now give yourself the permission to change. “Visualize the rewards you will get when you make the change to your life and habits,” Give yourself an emotional list of reasons for fixing the habit.

1.______________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________

Working on bad habits everyday will give you an incredible boost in self-esteem and confidence. With each small successful improvement you’ll build confidence and momentum to take on the other major habits that are holding you back.

Every day is a work in progress. You might have bad days, but as long as you make overall improvement each week and month – that is all that matters. Remember small changes and improvements overtime lead to monumental life changing improvements in the long run.

It’s also been proven that charting your progress increases your chance of success. You need to keep records of your workouts and nutrition. Only then will you know what works and how much improvement you have made.

And finally, get social support. Don’t expect to do this alone.

Scientists have suggested that if you have a positive social support system  you can overcome even the worst environments and accomplish great things. 

Unfortunately, if you don’t have these types of people around, it’s harder to accomplish even modest goals.  So who you choose to spend your time with has a lot to do with who you are today and who you will become in the future.

It has been said  that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. So add those people up and divide by five. Do you like the answer you get?

Well we want to offer you social support, via our “21 Day Drop a Dress Size Program”. You’ll get a 21 day membership that includes 9 supervised Boot Camp Workouts, 21 day done for you meal plans, 21 day member zone with cardio, nutrition and social support resources and weekly emails.

All this for a fraction of the price of our regular memberships. So for only $97 you can not only “Drop a Dress Size” but learn how to break bad habits, how to eat supportively for safe and effective fat loss, how to effectively resistance train for maximal fat loss and how to accelerate your fat loss with proven cardio strategies.

So if you’re ready for the support proven for guarenteed results for a fraction of the cost and a DOUBLE YOUR MONEY BACK GUARENTEE, then click on the image below and register today….

 Unfortunately, boot camps do have their downside. Many fitness instructors want to jump on the lucrative boot camp bandwagon without having any of the skills or experience to design custom workouts for the wide variety of fitness levels typical in large group training. Here are 10 tips on how to select a boot camp that will get you results and keep you safe at the same time:

 The Top 10 Boot Camp Safety Checklist

 1.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Certified With Nationally Recognized Institutions such as the International Sports Science Association, National Strength and Conditioning Association or the National Academy of Sports Medicine. There are many online pay-for-certifications and 1 day certifications where people can get a certificate with little or no knowledge of proper training methods. This is a big part of what gets people hurt and gives fitness a bad name!

 2.) The Instructor(s) Must Look The Part And Walk The Walk. If the trainer takes physical fitness seriously and is on the cutting edge of new training methodologies, they will be fit themselves, plain and simple. After all, who wants to take advice from someone who is in worse shape than they are!

3.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Experts With Exercise Progressions. Every exercise has the appropriate regression and progression based on your current fitness level. Overweight, de-conditioned beginners SHOULD NOT perform the exact same exercises as their more fit counterparts. If you ask your trainer if he/she can show an exercise modification that better suits your particular situation and they give you a blank stare, leave the class on the spot!

4.) The Boot Camp should always start with a proper warm-up which should address muscle tissue quality,muscle imbalances, mobility, flexibility and activiation of stabilzers(postural muscles) throughout the whole body. An appropriate warm-up will prepare you for the workout by bringing up your core temperature while also stimulating the central nervous system. Not only will a good warm-up prepare you for your workout but it will also target weak postural muscles and tight anterior muscles helping to gain back mobility and stability throughout the joints in your body all while reducing pain and preventing injury and increasing performance. So many programs skip this very important step  or don’t provide an appopriate warm-up which is the most important aspect of any program. If your in more pain then when you joined, run forrest run…

5.) The Program Must Emphasize Body Weight Before External Resistance. There should be no added weight to any movements until you have mastered the key foundational body weight exercises in full ranges of motion like push-ups, squats, lunges, etc. A red flag should be raised if you are being instructed to add weight to a movement that you have yet to master with your body weight alone. This one’s important because it’s not a matter of if you will get hurt… it’s a matter of when!

6.) The Training System Must Focus on Full Body Resistance or Bodyweight Training plus Cardio Interval Training. Basically speaking,when you work a lot of muscles at once, and when you do it with a high intensity, it creates a large demand on your metabolism. High-Intensity Interval Cardio Training is scientifically proven to burn 9x more fat than the aerobic training alternative, so it is critical that both the resistance training AND cardio programs provided incorporate intervals since the goal of 99% of fitness enthusiasts is fat loss. Furthermore, most people are seeking for the lean, athletic look and this is best accomplished with full body weight resistance training movements organized in a circuit fashion with the proper pre-programmed work to rest periods between exercises. Plus a truly skilled trainer has mastered the art of intensifying movements without the need for extra loading.

 7.) The Program Must Provide Nutritional Information. Nutrition is 80% of the weight loss battle. Without it, you are joining an incomplete program and wasting your money since there is no amount of exercise that can compensate for poor dietary habits. People are too busy, and frankly too lazy, so the nutrition program needs to be clearly outlined and easy to follow. It should provide both Quick-Start Nutrition Guides for Males and Females respectively that will have you eating to support your fat loss goals in 5 minutes or less. Plus, a cookbook with a bunch of tasty and healthy done-for-you recipes should be provided to keep you on track!

8.) The Program Must Have A Website AND An Interactive Social Network. Bottom line, if the boot camp program in question does not have a website in this day in age it is not worth your time and money. Personal training is not just about “training,” it is a business and it needs to be approached that way. Furthermore, social support must extend outside of the boot camp workout. There are several  interactive social networks (e.g. NING) that offer member profiles, blogging, and a forum where trainers and clients can interact with each other for FREE, so there is no excuse not to set this up for boot camp clients.

9.) The Program Must Have Social Proof And Raving Fans. If the program works, there should be proof in the form of client testimonials. Their previous clients should have results and be raving about all of the benefits that they have received from the program. Ask for before and after pictures and written or video testimonials of their services before signing up (again, this should be made available on the company website). And remember, it’s NOT just about the weight loss. Benefits should include, but not be limited to, increased energy levels, dress/pant size reduction, improved health profiles, increased strength and flexibility, less joint pain, etc.

10.) The Program Must Offer A FREE Trial or Satisfaction Guarantee. If the program is confident about what they have to offer, then they will let you come in and try it for free or they will guarantee your satisfaction or your money back to completely eliminate the risk on your end. A results-based programs looks to minimize barriers of entry for prospects into their boot camps because they know that once the prospect experiences the benefits of the program firsthand they will surely buy!

There you have it a guide to choosing a bootcamp that is not only safe, but supportive and effective.

Please leave comments on any good or bad experiences you’ve had with bootcamps.

No Excuses, Just Results!

Sign Up Here For Your Free 2 Week Trial Today!

So I’m not surprised at all to see them release this amazing report on what’s really going on with Protein Powders these days.

Being that you’re into fitness you’ve probably seen some of those crazy reports about protein powders being dangerous.

Well, I can’t speak for all companies, but I can tell you:

1) Prograde has passed with flying colors.

2) Those reports in the media were entirely misleading.

3) Go to this page to find out the truth about the whole thing: http://getprograde.com/specials.html

4) You’ll also find a coupon code to save 10% on all Prograde products with protein. But that deal only lasts through Friday, so get a move on

Yours in health,

Tim Rudd

PS – Seriously, you cannot miss this one. You need to be an educated consumer so you can make the best decision possible.

 http://getprograde.com/specials.html

If this is then keep reading and discover my Top 3 Strategies For Burning Belly Fat. There is plenty of research to support these strategies and I do share some of it with you, but the succes of these strategies have been proven by the amazing results my clients get in my Boot Camps by following these exact strategies.  So read on and enjoy… 

Strategy Number #1 :Supportive Nutrtion

You must first have a supportive nutrition plan. An effective and supportive nutrition plan will keep insulin at bay (insulin is a storage hormone) and elevate your metabolism up to 15% just from eating the right foods at the right time.

This is known as TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) which increases the amount of fat calories your body burns throughout the day. Also supportive nutrition will support muscle recovery, reduce joint inflammation, stimulate fat burning hormones, keep cortisol levels down and support a healthy immune system.

Your workouts break you down, your nutrition builds you back up and will support continued fat loss and health. Remeber you are what you eat, if you eat crap, expect to feel and look like crap.

So here are 10 Supportive Nutrition tips that were created by John Berardi of Precision Nutrition:

10 Supportive Nutrtional Habits:

1. Eat every 2-3 hours.

 2. Eat complete, lean protein each time you eat.

 3. Eat vegetables every time you eat.

4. Eat carbs only when you deserve to.

5. Learn to love healthy fats.

6. Ditch the calorie containing drinks (including fruit juice).

7. Focus on whole foods.

8. Follow the 10% Rule. You can have unsupportive meals 10% every week(missed meals are also unsupportive). Ie: 42 supportive meals in 7 days equals 4 cheat meals per week.

9. Develop food preparation strategies.

10. Balance daily food choices with healthy variety.

Strategy Number 2: Resistance Training

Follow that up with supersets of resistance training using multi-muscle exercises for maximum metabolism boosting. This works so much for post-exercise calorie burning than slow cardio workouts. That will lead to more belly fat burning as well.

And a recent study from the prestigious Journal of Applied Physiology showed strength training also doubled post-exercise fat burning.

Any “expert” who says resistance training doesn’t burn fat is living in the 1970′s.Resistance training must be a part of your fat-blasting workout routine.

Make sure to start with a 10 minute full body warm-up that includes Self Myofascial release, active flexibility, and mobility, jacks and activation and movement preparation.

Resistance Training Example:

1) Squats

2) Triangle Push-ups

3) 1L Bowler Squats

4) Inverted Rows

5) Mountain Climbers

Complete each exercise for 30 Seconds on with a 30 second transition for 4 total sets equaling 20 minutes.

Strategy #3: Interval Training

After your 20 minutes of resistance training, complete a 12 to 20 minute interval workout.

Australian researchers believe that interval training can lead to a spot reduction of belly fat. That’s something that no amount of abdominal training can do.

These researchers believe that this type of training works due to ‘catecholamine’s’. Catecholamines are hormones that are released by the adrenal glands in situations of stress.

They cause general physiological changes that prepare the body for physical activity. These catecholamines are produced in larger amounts when undertaking interval training and the consequence is believed to be increased weight loss.

Interval training can quickly reduce fat in troublesome areas such as the legs, buttocks and abdomen.

Example #1: Sprints

1a) Sprint 30 Seconds

1b) 90 Second Recovery: Planks, Butt Kickers, Cradle Walks, Inch Worms etc..

Repeat 8 times for 16 total minutes.

Example # 2 Jump rope workout:

1a) Forward Jumps- 100-200 reps

1b) Backward Jumps- 100-200 reps

1c) Alternating Jumps- 100-200 reps

1d) Sprint in Place Jumps- 100-200 reps

Rest 30-60 seconds between sets and repeat as many times as possible for 15-20 minutes.

Example # 3: Body Weight Interval

1a) Squat Thrust-Jumps-30 seconds

1b) Jumping Jacks- 60 sec easy pace

1c) Split Jumps- 30 sec maximal effort

1d) Highland Flings- 60 sec easy pace

Repeat 4 times for a total of 12 minutes.

With that workout schedule, you’ll be in and out of the gym in 45- 60 minutes, three times per week.

Compare that to what most people do, which is run, jog, cycle or use the cardio machines for 45 minutes straight. Sure, that will burn calories, but it doesn’t build a better body.

Your body was not meant to run marathons. Instead, it was meant to perform quick bursts of exercise, and that is why resistance training and interval training along with a supportive nutrition plan, sculpt a leaner and healthier body, than long slow cardio with a supportive nutrition plan.

Grease two baking sheets and preheat oven to 375° F. In a medium size bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Beat the egg and stir into the oil mixture. Gradually stir in flour and baking soda to form a stiff batter. Fold in carob chips and drop the batter into the baking sheets by teaspoons. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cookies are lightly brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve with almond or rice milk.

from http://healthyurbaneating.com

Pre-heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Mix seasoning in a bowl. Place chicken, turkey, and sausage on a flat roasting sheet or pan. Sprinkle with half of seasoning. Cook 15 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with remaining seasoning. Continue basting and turning for 15 minutes and cook through. Turn once more then pour lemon juice over the legs and the sausage. Garnish with lemon slices.

from http://healthyurbaneating.com

You’re going to LOVE this article from my partners over at Prograde Nutrition.

It answers this question perfectly:

“I’ve heard that eating more frequently will increase my Metabolism and help me lose weight.
Is this true? Why?”

Q: I’ve heard that eating more frequently will increase my metabolism and help me lose weight? Is this true and how does this happen? I thought you had to eat less to lose weight.

A: You’ve probably heard this advice from many different places: personal trainers at your gym, online weight-loss websites, and popular diet books. Even though it has some merit, it may not be entirely correct, especially if your physical activity levels are low or non-existent.

The suggestion to increase your eating frequency, meaning going from eating three square meals a day to six smaller meals and snacks, stems from both research and anecdotal findings. Some of the benefits attributed to eating more often include reducing hunger and caloric intake, boosting your metabolic rate, and controlling hormones that increase your desire for food. For some people this is true, for others, not so much.

In the research world, scientists have shown certain benefits from eating more often compared to less:

• By eating the same amount of calories in several meals spread throughout the day there’s a suppression of free fatty acid release from adipose tissue, which enhances your ability to use glucose (from carbohydrate foods) as fuel

• The amount of insulin secreted from your pancreas to help you use the nutrients you’re eating is reduced, so there is less potential for those nutrients to be stored in fat cells. Instead, the insulin that is released sends those calories to your needy muscle cells where they’re used to provide energy for daily movement

• Your stomach is stretched less with smaller meals, which slows the rate at which food is delivered to your intestine, and in turn, your blood stream. This creates a consistent flow of energy to your body rather than one fast, large dump of nutrients

• Blood total and LDL-cholesterol levels in your body are decreased due to less cholesterol synthesis and increased cholesterol removal

Despite these findings, reviews of all the scientific investigations looking at the effect of increased eating on weight loss have not shown that eating more often reduces body weight. The recent review by Palmer and colleagues in 2009, and the ones by Bellisle and colleagues in 1997 both found this same result; eating more often does not seem to decrease body weight in every person.

Explanations for this finding includes the fact that the energy density of our food has increased over the years, even though we’re evolutionarily meant to be “grazers”. Even with lower calories, eating more frequently does not help decrease the numbers on the scale by itself.

For body composition, some observations of people that eat more rather than less show that their body carries less fat. However, research investigations have not shown that just going from eating less to eating more magically lowers body fat. Those people that eat more may simply burn more calories naturally during the day, or expend more calories in movement. Then there are those people that never gain fat no matter how hard they try (not the norm nowadays though).

However, there are clear benefits to eating more often:

• You stave off hunger before it sets in and pushes you to overeat

• You give yourself more energy to exercise harder

• You prevent swings in your blood sugar levels which can make you cranky, unhappy and lethargic

As far as increasing your metabolism, eating more often can potentially increase the amount of calories you burn in a day, by a mechanism known as the “Thermic Effect of Feeding”. However, this effect is relatively small and can be made easily obsolete with poor food choices and excess caloric intake.

It is true though that when you eat more often rather than less, you’re more likely to meet your exercise goals instead of not having the energy to even begin to do anything. Then, when you exercise more, especially a combination of weight training and cardio, you can increase your muscle mass and lower your body fat, which makes your body look tighter and fit better in clothing. And who doesn’t want that?

However, eating more often doesn’t work for everyone: If you’re not exercising, eating more will definitely cause fat gain – those calories have no where else to go! And, when you eat more you still have to make good food choices and balance your intake of protein, carbohydrates and fat; eating more chocolate and soda will not help your metabolism at all. Considering that most “snack” foods are based off sugar and starchy carbohydrates (crackers, granola bars, etc), it’s really easy to over-consume carbs and miss out on important proteins and fats.

Bottom line: Eating more can help meet your body composition and weight goals if you’re selecting your nutrients wisely and using them to help you exercise consistently.

Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS

Click here for 7 powerful ingredients that boost your metabolism

Resources:

Palmer MA, Capra S, & Baines SK. Association between eating frequency, weight, and health. Review

Nutr Rev. 2009 Jul;67(7):379-90

Bellisle F, McDevitt R, Prentice A. Meal frequency and energy balance. Brit J Nutrition. 1997;77(Suppl 1):S57–S70

Jenkins D, Wolever T, Vuksan V, et al. Nibbling versus gorging: metabolic advantages of increased meal frequency. N Engl J Med. 1989;321:929–934

Frequent Eating Associated with Lower Lipid Concentrations. JWatch General. 2002: 3-3

Farshchi HR, Taylor MA, Macdonald IA. Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2005;81:16-24

Ruidavets JB, Bongard V, Bataille V, et al. Eating frequency and body fatness in middle-aged men International Journal of Obesity. 2002; 26: 1476-1483

I’m sure there are times you might go out for social events, family dinners, special occasions and even work related lunches or dinners.

So knowing that you eat out once in awhile or maybe more than once in awhile I’ve come up with 15 tips to help you eat out without expanding your waistline.

1. Take One Bite At A Time

Inhaling your food in a few bites, or gulps, results in a larger amount of food entering the stomach at once. This is not only bad for digestion and absorption but it can leave you feeling bloated and with unpleasant gas problems (so I’ve heard). Eating slower will ensure you don’t over eat because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that you’re full. If you eat fast or gulp fast then you eat beyond the point of fullness and this leads to unhealthy weight gain. If you want to lose fat and get lean, enjoy your food and eat slower.

2. Broiled or Baked?

Do your best to order you food broiled, steamed or baked. Broiling and baking remove fat as the cooking takes place, opposed to frying and deep-frying add extra fat calories.

3. “Take It Away!”

That’s what you say when they bring by the basket of “free” bread. Have your waiter take it away and don’t even bother letting it sit there to tempt you. If it’s not starring at you then you won’t eat it. Nothing in life is “free.” Your belly will “pay” for it later!

4. Avoid Eating Out Late!

Go out for dinner early so you’re not ordering a double chocolate ice cream brownie dessert at 10pm at night. You are probably familiar with the theory of eating processed carbohydrates and fats causes weight gain and I’m a firm believer in this message. Some experts argue that total calories are the main factor in weight gain and a small amount of carbs in the evening time will have minimal harm, and I agree. However, restaurant dinners usually contain more than a “small handful of carbs” so not only will the excess calories get stored as fat but you’ll spike your insulin causing fat storage while you sleep.

5. Pass The Salt

Although you need a bit of salt for chemical reactions in your body and nerve impulses, you’ll get more in your diet than necessary without even trying. For example, 2 slices of bread supply more than your daily requirement for salt. Too much salt has been connected to heart and kidney diseases. Bottom line, don’t add salt to your food.

6. Steam Your Vegetables

The most nutritious form of vegetables are raw so eat your veggies like this whenever possible. Cooking destroys much of the nutritional content. If you’re in a restaurant, ask them to steam your vegetables instead of boiling. Boiling will suck out 50 to 75 percent of the nutrient value. Considering vegetables are not cheap, this is a horrible way to throw your money down the toilet.

7. Ask For Fruit Or Oatmeal Instead Of The Bread

I love eating out for breakfast. You need complex carbohydrtates to shrink your waistline, breads are never your best bet. Even whole-grained breads are more refined than potato or oatmeal. Always ask for oatmeal instead of all the bread that comes with your breakfast meal. You can often get a side of tomatoes or fruit instead of the starch for cleaner calories and a lot more fiber.

8. Skip The Appetizer

It’s almost sickening to see how much food the North American culture consumes when we eat out. Do you really need an appetizer? Do you have appetizers when you eat at your home? You do realize appetizers are complete money grab right? And another meal in itself! Enjoy a nice entree by not getting filled up and charged extra for food your body does not need.

9. “Undress” Your Food

For example, instead of ordering a grilled chicken sandwich loaded with fat-packed mayonnaise, ask them to hold the mayo and request some mustard instead, which will control your caloric intake. If you’re ordering any kind of meal with sauce, have the server bring the sauce on the side. If you’re really want to cut weight, just say “No sauce.”

10. Never Order Sodas

Always order water and lemon (and lime) or a unsweetened iced tea. I often just ask for a jug of water for the table so I don’t have to wait around for the server to return. After a few “free” refills on soda, you can consume easily over 500 calories, which is a meal in itself!

11. Don’t Let The Menu Bully You Around

Never be afraid to custom order your meal. Most restraints nowadays will honor some simple requests like “no sauces”, “extra veggies”, “steamed instead of boiled” and no added oils.

12. Save The Alcohol For Special Occassions

Not only is alcohol overpriced in restaurants but it also costs your waist line 7 calories for every gram. And alcohol stops your body from burning fat for up to 3 hours. If your goal is to lose that belly fat then be prepared to cut back on your alcohol and if you “must” get an alcoholic beverage than go with a glass of red or white wine to get a bit of nutrition. Limit your intake to just one drink. Another problem with drinking more than one beer or glass of wine at a restaurant is that it impairs your judgment – making you likely to order more deep-fried foods, extra bread and some dessert. Not to mention, tomorrow’s workout is going to suffer.

13. Sugar Substitutes

When you’re finishing your dinner with a coffee, cappuccino or espresso, go for sugar free i.e. Even though sugar substitutes like Stevia are among one of the most tested food compounds in the world and for the most part are considered safe. One packet of sugar contains about 15 calories while artificial sweeteners contain no calories. I advise you to use the famous saying, “Everything in moderation.” The ideal standard to shoot for would be to avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners completely.

14. Table Rules

After a night out for a dinner you can drive home knowing that either 1 of 2 things happened based on how you feel: Leave the table satisfied and you’ll maintain or lose weight. Leave the table full and you will gain weight.

15. Buy Yourself An Awesome Cookbook!

Eating out is great but there is nothing like cooking a gourmet dinner in your own home at a fraction of the cost. An awesome cookbook will provide creative freedom over what you eat. Without options, you’ll always cater to the “same-old-same-old” which can get boring and bland. One of my favorite cookbooks is “Gourmet Nutrition” by Dr. John Berardi at http://www.precisionnutrition.com. The recipes are delicious. This is just one of many, go to Amazon.com and find your favorite.

Part 2

In part 1 of this series we revealed four slimming secrets available from your supermarket -coffee, hot red pepper, cinnamon and green tea- and their calorie-burning effects. Along the way, we learned that increasing your calorie-burning rate is the first step towards achieving negative fat balance, a metabolic state of affairs in which your body is burning more fat than it’s storing, and without which, fat loss is impossible. In this report we discuss how practical it actually is to use the “Top Four” to help you get you into negative fat balance and see the fat pounds come off.

Coffee

Studies have made it fairly clear that taking caffeine can increase your calorie-burning rate. But can drinking coffee have the same effect? For help in answering this question, we reached out to Dr. Abdul Dulloo (Ph.D.), a lecturer and research fellow in the Department of Medicine and Physiology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He states1 “There have been a couple of studies that have compared coffee with its equivalent in caffeine on metabolic rate. No differences have been found, suggesting that the thermogenic effect of coffee (as assessed at rest) is explained essentially by its caffeine content.”

Dulloo’s own studies suggest, however, that one cup may not be enough to produce fat loss, even if repeated long term. Recall from part 1 that when he and his colleagues2 gave subjects a single 100-mg dose of caffeine (equivalent to ~1.2 cups of coffee), their calorie-burning rate rose up to 4% for 2.5 hours. Anything less than 100 mg, the scientists felt, was unlikely to produce a demonstrable thermogenic effect. *

Let’s put these numbers into perspective. For the sake of example, assume that at rest you normally burn 1500 Calories a day. This is your resting metabolic rate. Thus, a 4% increase sustained over 2.5 hours equates to burning an additional 6.25 Calories, roughly the caloric content of a tablespoon of nonfat milk. Not impressed? You’re shouldn’t be.

In the same study, Dulloo and his colleagues tried stepping things up by giving subjects 100 mg of caffeine every 2 hours for 12 hours (600 mg total). The result? Their calorie-burning rate increased 8-11% over the same time frame. Continuing with our example, this would equate to burning an extra 60-83 Calories a day, or about half a glass of Merlot. While this is considerably more impressive, remember that 600 mg of caffeine corresponds to about 7 cups of coffee.

Even if you have a coffee habit like Hugo Chavez, some scientists suggest that you might not experience the same effects as you would by taking the equivalent amount of caffeine. Nishijima et al.3 relate:

“It needs to be pointed out that the common belief that caffeine and coffee consumption might have very similar physiological effects is not the case. Graham et al. (1998) have shown that the same dose of caffeine, either ingested in a capsule as in the present study, or in coffee resulted in different plasma adrenaline concentrations, i.e. being significantly higher after taking the caffeine capsules. These findings suggest that one cannot extrapolate the effects of caffeine to coffee; there must be something in coffee that moderates the effects of caffeine.”

Whether coffee can produce the same calorie-burning effect as has been repeatedly demonstrated for caffeine or not, it’s safe to say that many of us would prefer not to consume large quantities of either. The more practical, if not effective, approach may be to consume enough pure caffeine to provide a modest calorie-burning boost in combination with other ingredients that can safely elevate it further –a “team” approach, if you will. After all, if you were to burn an extra 83 Calories a day and do nothing else, it would take nearly a month and a half to lose one pound of body fat. Double this figure, however, and it would take only 20 days.

*[NOTE: Individual responses to caffeine can vary markedly. Also, more recent studies have found that doses less than 100 mg can produce modest thermogenic effects. For instance, in a double-blind study, Belza et al.4 gave young normal-weight men 50 mg of caffeine. Over the next 4 hours they burned roughly 17 more Calories (a 6% increase) than subjects taking a placebo.]

Hot Red Pepper

One of the ingredients to consider combining with caffeine is capsaicin, the compound responsible for the painful punch of hot red peppers. While it may not be at the top of your grocery list, it’s possible to consume enough of capsaicin from your diet to raise your calorie-burning rate, says Dr. Toshio Moritani (Ph.D.)5, a professor and director of the Laboratory of Applied Physiology at Kyoto University in Japan. He suggests adding chili pepper to curried rice.

Moritani and his colleagues have reported on the calorie-burning effects of capsaicin in several studies, one of which we discussed in part 1. In it, female subjects who received a curried rice meal containing 3 mg of capsaicin experienced a 10% increase in their calorie-burning rate. While this would equate to burning an additional 129 Calories a day if the effect were sustained for 24 hours, it was only measured for 30 minutes. Moritani relates “the expected increase in energy metabolism [calorie burning] is rather minimal such that only 10 to 20 Calories might be generated. It will take a year to lose 1 kg [2.2 lb] of body fat!”

Dr. Anita Belza, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Copenhagen, concurs6:

“The capsaicin concentration varies widely in the different chili fruits (0-13 mg/kg). Studies have been able to serve a palatable test meal with approximately 30 g of red pepper (3 mg capsaicin/g red pepper –Yoshiioka et al., Br J Nutr, 2001) to Western subjects 3 times a day. However, we have only worked with capsaicin in tablet form and in lower dosage but probably a more pure form. I think it will probably be quite difficult for a Western population to eat a dosage of capsaicin from food items to obtain a fat-reducing effect.”

As with caffeine, what Drs. Moritani and Belza are suggesting, in other words, is that you may need to consume larger amounts of capsaicin throughout the day before you see fat loss, amounts that may be intolerably difficult to obtain by adding hot red pepper to your meals. Like many things in life, these larger amounts bring with them a greater risk of undesirable side effects. Dr. Jose Galgani (Ph.D.), an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Chile, says7 that subjects have been known to drop out of capsaicin studies because of its pungency. In large quantities it can cause stomach discomfort.

Once again the more sensible approach may be to consume enough capsaicin to achieve a modest calorie-burning effect in combination with other natural ingredients capable of doing the same.

The good news is that although capsaicin appears to work by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, it doesn’t produce the undesirable side effects associated with sympathetic stimulants such as ephedrine. Dr. Moritani explains5:

“With the amount of capsaicin commonly taken as part of diet, no adverse effects on sympathetic overreaction nor ECG [cardiac] abnormality have been reported. Actually menopausal women with depressed autonomic nervous system could enhance sympatho-vagal functions and might be able to prevent obesity. [Low sympathetic nervous system activity has been suggested to be a risk factor for future weight gain and obesity.] Incidentally, caffeine could increase both sympathetic and parasympathetic activities without any adverse effects on cardiac functions.”

Cinnamon

In part 1 we referred to research showing that cinnamon improves insulin sensitivity and blood glucose regulation even in lean, healthy subjects. Greater insulin sensitivity, in turn, may have metabolic effects leading to lower risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, for instance. While this is important, what we’re focusing on here is fat loss.

That’s why it was encouraging to hear USDA scientist and well-published cinnamon researcher Dr. Richard Anderson (Ph.D.) tell us8 about the study conducted by he and his colleagues that demonstrated reductions in body fat in subjects given a cinnamon extract for 12 weeks. The subjects received 2 capsules twice each day (at breakfast and dinner) providing a total of 500 mg of extract equivalent to approximately 10 g (1.5 tablespoons) of whole cinnamon powder.

Ten grams of cinnamon is not a quantity ordinarily used in food. While Anderson tells8 us it may be possible to get enough cinnamon from the diet to lose body fat and even increase lean body mass (something he observed in his study), he warns that “when consuming high amounts of polyphenols in the diet the salivary glands produce a protein that binds and minimizes their effects.” This is important, since the polyphenols in cinnamon are thought to be responsible for its beneficial effects. In other words, ingesting it in the protected form of a capsule may be the better way to go.

Dr. Andrew Blannin (Ph.D.), a lecturer in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham, has also conducted studies on cinnamon. He also feels that it would be extremely hard to eat enough cinnamon to produce improvements in insulin sensitivity without using a supplement.9

Green Tea

In their recent review of research supporting the use of green tea in the treatment of obesity10, Drs. Kimberly Grove (Ph.D.) and Joshua Lambert (Ph.D.) in the Department of Food Science at Pennsylvania State University remark that a typical cup of brewed green tea contains 240-320 mg of catechins, yielding 30-50% (72-160 mg) of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is the catechin thought to contribute to green tea’s valuable calorie-burning effects.

In Dulloo et al.’s frequently-cited study11 performed in 1999, subjects received 2 capsules of green tea extract with each of three meals, providing a total of 270 mg of EGCG, equivalent to about 3-4 cups of brewed green tea1. Six out of ten subjects receiving the extract experienced an increase in their 24-hour calorie-burning rate ranging from 63.5-200 Calories, with the average being about 78.3 Calories. This is an impressive figure, comparable to the number of Calories someone might burn by running on a treadmill at a high speed (>9 mph) for around 4 minutes.

We don’t need a scientist to tell us that it’s possible to consume 3-4 cups of brewed green tea every day, or that doing so may eventually become tiresome. That being said, burning an extra 78.3 Calories a day is nothing to scoff at. And while canned or bottled tea drinks may sound like a more appealing alternative, these have been found to contain considerably smaller levels of EGCG than expected due to loss during manufacturing (e.g. high-temperature sterilization) and/or storage12.

Also keep in mind that black tea contains very little in the way of catechins, whereas oolong tea contains moderate amounts. Green tea has the highest level of catechins and EGCG in particular.

The “Team Approach”

The studies discussed in parts 1 and 2 of this series of reports provide powerful evidence that certain key ingredients in coffee, hot red pepper, cinnamon and green tea have valuable calorie-burning effects. In order to experience fat loss, however, you may need to consume fairly large quantities of any single ingredient. How many of us are willing to drink 3-4 cups of green tea, add hot red peppers to every meal and cough down 10 g of cinnamon powder in a single day, all followed by a chaser of 2-4 cups of coffee? In the final report in this series we’ll discuss a much more palatable and convenient solution that you won’t want to miss.

If you haven’t already read Slimming Supermarket Secrets part 1 then click here

Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

1. Dulloo (2010). Personal communication.

2. Dulloo et al. (1989). Am J Clin Nutr 49:44.

3. Nishijima et al. (2002). Eur J Appl Physiol, 87: 475.

4. Belza et al. (2009). Eur J Clin Nutr, 63: 57.

5. Moritani (2010). Personal communication.

6. Belza (2010). Personal communication.

7. Galgani (2010). Personal communication.

8. Anderson (2010). Personal communication.

9. Blannin (2010). Personal communication.

10. Grove and Lambert (2010). J Nutr 140(3): 446.

11. Dulloo et al. (1999). Am J Clin Nutr 70: 1040.

12. Chen et al. (2001). J Agric Food Chem, 49: 477.