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.
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.
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.
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?
Fasted cardio (doing cardio on an empty stomach) in hopes of optimizing fat as the fuel source, is a strategy that’s been around for decades. Only recently has enough data been compiled from various sources to really come to a conclusion on this topic. I cover the topic in this latest vid!
The HCG Diet is all the rage right now. It’s also another major diet industry scam. While at the Arnold Classic, Shari, (of FitTalkNews.com) interviewed yours truly regarding the HCG Diet. My apologies for the poor audio, it was very noisy, but (hopefully!) you can still hear the essential message: Avoid this diet program. For additional information, I also recommend people read the reports from the Mayo Clinic, a recent NY Times article, and the write up by Ellisa Lowe if you want a more extensive discussion of the science (or lack there of!) on the HCG Diet.
At first when I started thinking about this article, I thought, I can’t possibly relate to this, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I absolutely can. Several clients of mine have experienced a significant amount of weight loss (in the range of 20-30 lbs) and on a person with a small frame, the change is VERY noticeable. So WHAT on earth is wrong with THAT? Successful weight loss is something to celebrate, right? Well, of course it is, particularly when you make it STICK. You’ll want to be prepared for not just a new wardrobe, but for some potentially unwanted attention, curious comments, general nosiness about what you’re eating, what you’re doing in the gym. As a close friend put it, what might go behind the “fear of success” is the “fear of visibility.” As a trainer, I know that people watch me when I lift and can be especially curious of what I eat, so I can certainly imagine what might be going on with you.
I lost the baby weight, and sacrificed a cupcake or three.
With 20-30 lbs off your frame (or less or more), you become much more noticeable. While I certainly congratulate the great weight loss successes, it’s not like we’re saving lives or creating world peace here. Nevertheless the amount of unnecessary and undue attention that will be heaved upon you will make you feel like quite the hero. At some point, after you get tired of your clothes swimming on you, you may find yourself tired of being public property- with everyone and their momma watching what you eat, why you eat that, and WHY you’re eating all the time. This has happened to me, so I relate, but I had to tell myself that people really are that insecure about their bodies and relationships with food. Someone even had the nerve to imply I had an eating disorder. If anyone’s seen how much I eat, the comment was truly stupid and laughable.
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