People sometimes confuse thirst with hunger. So you can end up eating extra calories when an ice-cold glass of water is really what you need.

“If you don’t like plain water, try adding citrus or a splash of juice, or brew infused teas like mango or peach, which have lots of flavor but no calories,” says Cynthia Sass, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Best Diet Tip No. 2: Think about what you can add to your diet, not what you should take away.

Start by focusing on getting the recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

“It sounds like a lot, but it is well worth it, because at the same time you are meeting your fiber goals and feeling more satisfied from the volume of food,” says chef Laura Pansiero, RD.

You’re also less likely to overeat because fruits and vegetables displace fat in the diet. And that’s not to mention the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. More than 200 studies have documented the disease-preventing qualities of phytochemicals found in produce, says Pansiero.

Her suggestion for getting more: Work vegetables into meals instead of just serving them as sides on a plate.

“I love to take seasonal vegetables and make stir-fries, frittatas, risotto, pilafs, soups, or layer on sandwiches,” Pansiero says. “It is so easy to buy a variety of vegetables and incorporate them into dishes.”

Best Diet Tip No. 3: Consider whether you’re really hungry.

Whenever you feel like eating, look for physical signs of hunger, suggests Michelle May, MD, author of Am I Hungry?

“Hunger is your body’s way of telling you that you need fuel, so when a craving doesn’t come from hunger, eating will never satisfy it,” she says.

When you’re done eating, you should feel better — not stuffed, bloated, or tired.

“Your stomach is only the size of your fist, so it takes just a handful of food to fill it comfortably,” says May.

Keeping your portions reasonable will help you get more in touch with your feelings of hunger and fullness.

Best Diet Tip No. 4: Be choosy about nighttime snacks.

Mindless eating occurs most frequently after dinner, when you finally sit down and relax.

“Sitting down with a bag of chips or cookies in front of the television is an example of eating amnesia, where you mindlessly eat without being hungry, but out of habit,” says American Dietetic Association spokesperson Malena Perdomo, RD.

Either close down the kitchen after a certain hour, or allow yourself a low-calorie snack, like a 100-calorie pack of cookies or a half-cup scoop of low-fat ice cream. Once you find that you’re usually satisfied with the low-cal snack, try a cup of zero-calorie tea, suggests Perdomo.

Best Diet Tip No. 5: Enjoy your favorite foods.

“I think putting your favorite foods off limits leads to weight gain because it triggers ‘rebound’ overeating,” says Sass.

Instead of cutting out your favorite foods altogether, be a slim shopper. Buy one fresh bakery cookie instead of a box, or a small portion of candy from the bulk bins instead of a whole bag.

“You can enjoy your favorite foods, but you must do so in moderation,” says Sass.

Best Diet Tip No. 6: Enjoy your treats away from home.

When you need a treat, Ellie Krieger, RD, host of Food Network’s Healthy Appetite, suggests taking a walk to your local ice cream parlor or planning a family outing.

“By making it into an adventure, you don’t have to worry about the temptation of having treats in the house, and it is a fun and pleasurable way to make it work when you are trying to lose weight,” says Krieger.

And for those times you just can’t get out? Krieger stocks her kitchen with fresh fruit, which she thinks can be every bit as delicious as any other dessert.

Best Diet Tip No. 7: Eat several mini-meals during the day.

If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. But when you’re hungry all the time, eating fewer calories can be challenging.

“Studies show people who eat 4-5 meals or snacks per day are better able to control their appetite and weight,” says obesity researcher Rebecca Reeves, DrPH, RD.

She recommends dividing your daily calories into smaller meals or snacks and enjoying as many of them as you can early in the day — dinner should be the last time you eat.

Best Diet Tip No. 8: Eat protein at every meal.

Protein is more satisfying than carbohydrates or fats, and thus may be the new secret weapon in weight control.

“Diets higher in protein [and] moderate in carbs, along with a lifestyle of regular exercise, have an excellent potential to help weight loss,” says University of Illinois protein researcher Donald Layman, PhD.

Getting enough protein helps preserve muscle mass and encourages fat burning while keeping you feeling full. So be sure to include healthy protein sources, like yogurt, cheese, nuts, or beans, at meals and snacks.

Written by: Mark Thorpe for MuscleAndFitness.com and brought to you by Bodyvantage

Anyone who has survived beyond the age of 10 knows the road to success is usually a narrow, tortuous and obstacle-laden track with plenty of opportunities for failure. Beyond the manned and unmanned obstructions, often the most influential effect on your behaviour is what happens in your head. Self-sabotage can undermine even the best talent, and  separates the boys from the legends.

Sports psychologist Jason Selk, M.Ed, owner of Enhanced Performance Inc., knows this all too well. He has worked with professional athletes in most major sports and his new book 10-Minute Toughness: The Mental-Training Program For Winning Before The Game Begins is the synthesis of his experience helping our greatest athletes overcome mental hurdles.

Selk’s program for developing mental toughness is separated into three phases and requires just 10 minutes a day to master. The result, he believes, is individuals who are more focused and driven, and aren’t handicapped by self-doubt.

The first phase is called the Mental Workout. It’s a five-step process that Selk says is the crux of his entire routine. Master this phase and the others fall in step. Selk talked with M&F and explained in detail how to implement each step into a daily routine. Once committed to memory, Selk says phase one will take about three and half minutes to complete every day. The payoff will be a step toward understanding what it means to use your head to get ahead.

1. The Centring Breath
“This is just a biological way to control your heart rate. When an athlete experiences pressure their heart rate elevates. The average golfer’s heart rate, for example, is between 70 and 75 beats per minute (bpm) when they are practicing. In a competitive situation, that same golfer’s heart rate may be 85-plus bpm. Many athletes aren’t aware this is happening or more importantly how to control it. That’s where the centring breath comes in. Simply breathe in for six seconds, hold for two then breathe out for seven. That’s the first exercise in the Mental Workout.

2. The Performance Statement
“I have athletes tell me their top three tasks in terms of competition. Let’s say it’s a pitcher. He might be asked to hit, field and pitch. Once I’ve identified the top three tasks, I want him to identify the No. 1 task. For a pitcher it’s obviously pitching, so I have him identify the top three things he needs to think about before he throws each pitch. It may be, What pitch am I going to pitch and where? Then he’s going to think, Weight back, arm on top.

This way he knows no only where he’s trying to put the ball but also that he’s in a position to keep it down in the strike zone. The performance statement is important because that’s what we try to focus on. In the gym it can translate into targeting a specific bodypart, whether it’s your core, chest or biceps.”

3. The Personal Highlight Reel
“This is an advanced form of visualization of three one-minute clips. For the first one I have athletes come up with specific instances of past success, where they did a nice job of emphasizing the performance statement we talked about. For the next 60 seconds we focus on an elevated-pressure game, a playoff-caliber game. I ask them to picture themselves in 3-5 different highlights, pitching well by emphasizing the elements of their performance statement. Then the third part of the reel is a clip where they imagine the next day’s game or practice, again focusing on the performance statement.”

4. The Identity Statement
“This is centred on two elements: The athlete’s No. 1 strength and one of his ultimate goals. It might be something like, I’m a strong and confident pitcher and I’m a hall-of-fame-caliber player. It’s really something he has strength in and is trying to accomplish. It emphasizes developing the self-image.”

5. The Centring Breath
“I have them finish with another centring breath because as they go through the visualization, their heart rates may become elevated. So we want to control that heart rate again before we go out and take the field or enter the gym.”

Ok..help me put people, i excersise only 3 or 4 times a week, and i work out for about 20 mins, i don’t think this will reduce my weight in 10 days..i want to lose 6 pounds. Will i lose weight on my arms and near my chest area if i do push ups and criss crossing or watever that excersise it is. and i do crunches. about 2 reps of criss crossing and 2 reps of push-ups and 2 reps of cruches. will i lose wight? and i don’t eat breakfast, i don’t get hungry tho, i eat lunch and i eat a little meal after 4 hours and i don’t eat dinner, but i sometimes eat an apple or something before goin to sleep. will i lose 6 pounds in 10 days?- Emma Clayton (USA)

Answer:  Simple truth is…. No!

You can’t spot-reduce body fat. What that means is that you can’t target an area with exercises in order to reduce body fat from it. That’s simply not the way te body works. Here is an easy solution for you: Email me directly and I will send you sample diet and weight loss program.
Best regards,
Lloyd Chivandire- Director of BV

“Anabolic Priming” is the most important concept in muscle development. It’s based on creating the ideal environment for muscle development to take place.

The word “anabolic” pertains to the stimulation of muscular development (i.e. growth) and the concept of anabolic priming prioritises all factors influencing muscle growth in order to achieve an anabolic environment.

The mistake that most people make in their pursuit to build muscle is solely focusing on working out and possibly what foods and supplements they consume immediately before, during and immediately after their workouts. This is a flawed amateur mistake that you need to eradicate because it only focuses on a tiny fraction of time and doesn’t pay homage to the bigger picture.

Anabolic priming doesn’t only focus on the immediate timeframe surrounding your workout but on creating the ideal state (environment) that supports muscle development 24hours of each day…..7 days of each week……and each week of the month that you are on a training programme.

Factors influencing the ideal anabolic environment

There are 4 factors that influence and ideal anabolic environment. They are metabolic activity, nutrition, hormonal balance and physical stimulation. These factors affect and support each other synergistically (collectively).

Metabolic Activities and Anabolic Priming Metabolism/ Metabolic Activity are the set of chemical reactions that happen in living organisms to maintain life. In humans these processes allow us to grow, reproduce, maintain cell structures and respond to the different stresses and environments. Metabolic Activities are divided into two categories; Anabolism and Catabolism.

Anabolism is the process by which the body uses energy to build tissue such as muscle. Catabolism breaks down organic matter to harvest energy required for other metabolic activities such as breaking down muscle tissue and converting it to glucose to when regular glucose levels fall too low. As far as muscle development is concerned anabolic activity is favorable and catabolic activity is highly unfavorable.

Anabolic Priming through Nutrition and Supplementation

Nutrition is the biggest contributor to muscular development; it is indeed the cornerstone of muscle development success. No matter your age, genetics, gender or exercise goal; as long as you want to transform your physique, rev-up your fitness or just be a healthy individual remember “NUTRITION!”

The human body is made of living matter that needs to be sustained in order to function or better still; to live! The resources (nutrients) that you consume are the same resources used for hormone production, protein synthesis, regulating metabolism and building and repairing the billions of living cells that make up every inch of your being!

With that said, no every nutritional plan/ diet (healthy or unhealthy) supports the ideal anabolic environment. Your nutritional plan/ diet must follow The HealthyPlus Principle which states that the diet must not only be healthy but is must prime the ideal state or internal environment required to support the goal; in this case it must support muscular development. (Read more on Nutrition and the HealthyPlus Principle in the Nutrition Chapter)

SUPPLEMENTS

                                                                                                                                                                                                               There are many supplements on the market (both legal and illegal) that promise “unbelievable” muscle gains. In this book we shall be looking at the legal… on-the-shelf nutritional supplements that are not banned by any legitimate sporting body. (If you’re looking for information on anabolic steroids then keep an eye out as Bodyvantage Publishing might someday publish an anabolic steroid encyclopaedia to raise awareness on all facets of steroid use.)

There is a vast array of legal nutritional supplements that can definitely help to prime the anabolic environment and support muscle growth. Read more about these supplements in the Supplements Chapter

“You can hit the gym everyday & work out till you’re blue in the face BUT you’ll never reach your full potential unless your diet supports your goal.”

Anabolic Priming through Hormonal Balance

The body’s glands secrete many types of hormones but the two main groups of hormones to take in to consideration as far as muscular development is concerned. These are Anabolic Hormones and Catabolic Hormones.Anabolic Priming supports the secretion of Anabolic (cell building) hormones and minimises the secretion of Catabolic (cell wasting) Hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers that are made, stored and then released into the blood by different endocrine glands, such as pituitary, thyroid, adrenal etc.
Anabolic (cell building) hormones include: testosterone, insulin, and growth hormone. Catabolic (cell wasting) hormones on the other hand, are the enemy of resistance training. They include: cortisol and progesterone, which contribute to the breakdown of muscle protein, to be used for glucose (energy) synthesis.
Below is an examination of the main anabolic hormones and the ways in which to increase their anabolic drive, while also limiting the role of catabolic hormones, will help when determining the appropriate training program.

TESTOSTERONE (Anabolic)

Testosterone is the primary hormone that interacts with muscle tissue and its role is paramount in muscular development. As a matter of fact, men are generally more muscular than women because they have an average of 15-20 times the amount of testosterone.
Based on research, The National Strength and Conditioning Association, USA has published the following protocol to maximise the role testosterone:
• Testosterone levels are typically highest in the morning and drop with time during the day. This makes gains in the morning easier, but if you train in the afternoon your total testosterone levels will be higher throughout the entire day, since resistance training according to the below guidelines actually increase testosterone output.

•Undertake training using predominantly large-muscle group exercises such as squats, dead-lifts, pull-ups etc because they have greater influence on testosterone production

• Perform high intensity, heavy resistance (85%-95% of 1RM) OR combine high volume, multiple sets of an exercise with short rest periods (30sec-1min).

• Testosterone levels will be further promoted through ensuring adequate recovery between workouts and by ensuring adequate sleep.

INSULIN (Anabolic)

You may have heard of insulin when the topic of diabetes is talked about, and assume that it is merely a medication used by diabetics. True, insulin injections are used by diabetics. But, insulin is actually a naturally occurring hormone produced by the pancreas (that is, in non-diabetics) which has very potent anabolic properties. Insulin is one of the most vital hormones to us. It’s produced in the pancreas and regulates blood sugar le

Video produced by the BBC and brought to you by Bodyvantage

If you suffer from and eating disorder or know of someone who does, feel free to emial us your story. We will endeavour to point you in the right direction for some professional help.