In discussions about dieting, a topic that often comes up is that of “cheating”; is it good or bad to cheat once in a while during a diet?
In order to answer this questions appropriately, it is necessary to look at both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of dieting, and the physiological and psychological responses they each elicit.
Weight loss is hard work, and following a reduced calorie diet takes determination, adherence, planning, discipline, and so on. Perhaps you’ve tried successfully to diet, and have lost the weight. But the moment you go back to whatever it was you were doing before, the weight comes back on.
Yummy. But take off the label.
I know you’ve heard countless weight LOSS tips (eat more fiber, exercise, drink more water, eat more vegetables, etc etc). But, what about some guidance to stay where you are?
As a diet coach, I’ve had the pleasure of working with clients who’ve successfully lost weight and maintained it. And believe it or not, weight maintenance can be harder than weight loss. Why are THEY successful?
1. They don’t view it as a diet, but a lifestyle.
Once people get past the initial (minor) annoyance with having to weigh or measure food, they begin to understand proper portion sizes. Whether they’re at home, on the go, at a restaurant, or on travel, having a sense of the appropriate amount of food that keeps you trim becomes second nature. They are more mindful of what they’re putting in their mouth, and enjoy the benefits (i.e., maintain their weight) of eating sensibly. It becomes part of their life.
My objective science response to this is “I told you so!” 
But seriously, this is a very important study, I have said something similar for decades. For example, if you read my article Brink’s Unified Theory Of Nutrition you will see I essentially concluded what this recent study found: Not all calories are created equal, macro nutrient ratios matter, and there’s profound effects from simple changes in those macro nutrient ratios on body comp, and tracking changes in fat vs. weight is what actually matters… I don’t know if this study will get the attention it deserves in the media, or by the main stream nutrition/med community, but it’s a seminal study. The fact is, older studies that simply track weight loss/gain need to be scrapped as they are essentially of no value in my view. Modern studies such as this, that actually look at end points that matter, are what will finally answer age old questions on nutrition.
Below is write up of the study for non-science types, and a link to the full study follows for those who wish to read that too.
Calories Raise Body Fat When People Overeat, Not Protein
Medical News Today
In a study published in the January 4 issue of JAMA, researchers assessed 25 healthy individuals who were randomized to different levels of overconsumption on protein diets whilst living in a controlled setting. They found that those who consumed the low-protein diet gained less weight compared with those eating normal and high protein diets. Furthermore, they established that calories alone and not protein seemed to contribute to increases in body fat and that protein did contribute to changes in energy expenditure and lean body mass.
According to background information in the article, “Obesity has become a major public health concern with more than 60 percent of adults in the United States categorized as overweight and more than 30 percent as obese.” However, which role the composition of a diet plays in response to overeating and energy dissipation remains unclear.
Lots of people ask about strategies for “surviving” the Holidays while dieting. Traditions and tempting treats abound, and everyone seems to be indulging. And you’ve heard the same advice over and over again, right? Like, bring a healthy dish to the party, drink water in between the wine, chew gum while cooking, stay away from the buffet table, and so on.
Written by Monica Mollica
Fish oil is well known for its beneficial cardiovascular and cardiac health effects. In 2004 FDA approved a prescription fish oil preparation for treatment of high blood triglycerides (hypertriglyceridemia) 1. However, recently several studies have shown that fish oil also has other beneficial effects, which might appeal more to the younger population, and especially to fitness and bodybuilding enthusiasts. One of these effects is fat loss.
Written by Monica Mollica
Everybody wants to stay young and vital throughout life. But aging is topic surrounded by many questions and myths; here we’ll get to the bottom of it.
Different types of Aging – Chronological Aging and Physiological Aging
Before we get started, I want to make a distinction of two types of aging; chronological and physiological (or biological).
Chronological age is based on time and is the same for everyone who is born on the same date. It refers to age in number of years.
Physiological age, also called biological age, is the result of many factors, many of which are under your control, and varies from person to person (even if they were born on the same date). It refers to age in terms of physical capacity.
Chronological aging refers to how long you have been alive, and is determined by a mathematical formula that is the same for everybody: current date minus date of birth. It is a function of time and cannot be slowed, stopped or accelerated (a side note: according to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, chronological can be modified, since as one approaches the speed of light, time slows down, and thus so does chronological age. But this isn’t relevant for us earthbound folks).
Physiological aging, on the other hand, describes the state of your body. What’s interesting with physiological aging is that many of the factors that impact it are under your full control (e.g. exercise, nutrition, sleep etc). While chronological and physiological aging are related, the years of your life doesn’t necessarily have much to do with the years of your body. Many people don’t like to tell their (chronological) age; however, if you have taken care of yourself you should be proud of it!
Thus, chronological age and physiologic age do not always coincide, and physical appearance and health status often do not always correspond to what is typical at a particular chronological age. When talking about aging and anti-aging, it is the physiological age we’re referring to. Ok, now that we got that cleared out, let’s move on.
You’ve got things to do and places to be…when you’ve got limited time available to train, you have to make FULL use of every single second you have available in your workout…
And that means circuit training…
And that means not your “normal” circuit training, either!
I’ve got a circuit for you that uses heavy weight, low reps, and covers all your major bodyparts in a simple, 3 exercise circuit. You’ll get NO rest during the entire time period (I recommend at least 15 minutes), which will kick your metabolism into overdrive VERY quickly and help you burn fat FAST.
Most people who read my articles and e-books know me as a science guy who likes to quote studies and apply research to everyday problems such as weight loss, bodybuilding, and other health/fitness related topics. However, sometimes you have to step back from the science and look at the big picture to help bring people back into focus, so they can see the forest for the trees, so to speak.
For most people reading this article, finding an effective diet that works most of the time must seem as complicated as nuclear physics. It’s not, but there are a bewildering number of choices for diets out there. High fat or no fat? High carbohydrate or no carbohydrate? Low protein or high protein? To make matters worse, there are a million variations and combinations to the above diet scenarios to add to the confusion. It seems endless and causes many people to throw up their hands in frustration and give up. In this article I will attempt to change all that.
There’s various ways to figure out your cals and macro nutrients, most of them far more complicated then is needed. Here I give a simple way figure figure out both, and remove the mystery of macronutrient ratios that will work well for most of the people most of the time. I tried to get all ‘high art’ and film noir with the effects in this vid, and well, I probably won’t do it again! Sorry, wanted to play with some of the effects the software has I have not tried. 
Like it or not, summer is coming. We’ll be ditching the jackets and showing off more skin. If you’ve been diligently exercising and eating right over the colder months, you probably have nothing to worry about. Some of us might turning to a “quick fix,” and is there one?
