Month: June 2012

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Weight Loss Exercise

Shrinking those fat cells Part 2



In the first part of this article Tom Venuto told us how fat cells are created and live. In this second part Tom tells us how to shrink them and lose weight.

When the FFA’s are released from the fat cell, the fat cell shrinks and that’s why you look leaner when you lose body fat – because the fat cell is now smaller. A small or “empty” fat cell is what you’re after if you want the lean, defined look.

Can You Build More Fat Cells?

Shrinking those fat cells Part 2

Shrinking Fat Cells

It was once believed that the number of fat cells could not increase after adulthood, only the size of the fat cells could increase (or decrease). We now know that fat cells can indeed increase both in size (hypertrophy) and in number (hyperplasia) and that they are more likely to increase in number at certain times and under certain circumstances, such as 1) during late childhood and early puberty, 2) During pregnancy, and 3) During adulthood when extreme amounts of weight are gained

Some people are genetically predisposed to have more fat cells than others and women have more fat cells than men. An infant usually has about 5 – 6 billion fat cells. This number increases during early childhood and puberty, and a healthy adult with normal body composition has about 25 to 30 billion fat cells. A typical overweight adult has around 75 billion fat cells. But in the case of severe obesity, this number can be as high as 250 to 300 billion!

The average size (weight) of an adult fat cell is about 0.6 micrograms, but they can vary in size from 0.2 micograms to 0.9 micrograms. An overweight person’s fat cells can be up to three times larger than a person with ideal body composition.

Fat Cells are just Energy Storage

Remember, body fat is basically just a reserve source of energy and fat cells are the like the storage tanks. Unlike a gas tank in your car which is fixed in size, however, fat cells can expand or shrink in size depending on how “filled” they are.

Picture a balloon that is not inflated: It’s tiny when not filled with air – maybe the size of your thumb. When you blow it up with air, it can expand 10 or 12 times it’s normal size, because it simply fills up. That’s what happens to fat cells: They start as nearly empty fat storage “tanks” (when you are lean), and when energy intake exceeds your needs, your fat cells “fill up” and “stretch out” like balloons filling up with jelly (not a pretty picture, is it?)

So you don’t actually “lose” fat cells, you “shrink” or “empty out” fat cells.

Lessons to Lower Fat Cell Size

1. Calories count –The signal that triggers your body to release adipose from fat cells is an energy deficit… you have to burn more than you eat.

2. Cut calories conservatively – Starving yourself may cause quick weightloss at first, but never works long term because it actually decreases the activity of fat burning enzymes that release fat from the cells. to avoid this “starvation mode” use exercise to BURN THE FAT, not very low calorie crash diets.

3. Get control of your weight now – If you are gaining weight, and especially if your weight is climbing upwards out of control, make a decision to STOP RIGHT NOW. Your fat cells might be multiplying, making it more difficult to burn fat in the future. NOW is the time!

4. If you’ve already lost weight, you must be forever diligent – Your fat cells are not gone, they have merely “shrunk” or “emptied out.” Fitness is not a 12 week program, its a lifestyle. To stay lean you have to eat clean and stay active

5. Genetics are only a minor factor – You may not have control over how many fat cells you were born with, but you do control the major factors that determine how much fat you store: lifestyle, exercise, nutrition, mental attitude.

Genetics are not an excuse. The past is not an excuse. Your present condition is not an excuse. You can either make excuses or get results, but you can’t do both.

So keep educating yourself about the science, read these newsletters, take action every day and go out there and make it happen!

If you need more help, Burn The Fat is the eating plan that turned it all around for thousands of others… why not you? visit:

www.burnthefat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

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SMART Goals



Most beginner dieters, weightlifters, heck any fitness person is impatient to get started and skip the most important step – setting smart goals. As a result, they soon lose focus and motivation. The first burst of energy that starts us on the road to building a great body soon fades away, especially since most beginners quickly wear themselves thin by overtraining. If you do not have clear goals to keep up your motivation at this point, you can easily lose your way.

Creating SMART Goals

So take some time right now to write down your goals. Like any goals that you might set in work or life, your goals in bodybuilding should be S.M.A.R.T. – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. Let’s look at what each of these smart goals parts means in terms of bodybuilding workouts.

SMART Goal – Specific

SMART Goals

SMART Goals

A specific smart goals is one that clearly says what you want to accomplish, along with how, when and where you will do it. ‘Get a great body’ is not a specific goal. ‘Go to the gym 4 days a week after work and train to build muscle mass’ is a more specific goal.

Even better, say exactly which muscles you will work on which days, and note down your routine. The routine for your bodybuilding workouts will change as you make progress but the overall goal of going to the gym 4 days a week to build muscle mass will remain the same.

SMART Goal –  Measurable

When you are working toward smart goals, it is very important to have some way to measure your progress.

If your goal is going to the gym for bodybuilding workouts 4 days a week, you can easily track that in a diary. But with a goal like ‘get a great body’, there is nothing to measure. So if you want to set goals in terms of the physical result, do it in terms of inches gained or weight that you can lift.

SMART Goal – Attainable

It is important to know when you have reached your smart goals. That way you can plan a reward or celebration, have a sense of achievement and start thinking about your next bodybuilding workouts goal.

This means that the goal itself, as well as your progress toward it, must be something that you can measure and know whether or not you have achieved. So your goal is to go to the gym 4 days a week – but for how long? The rest of your life? If you think that way, you will never be able to congratulate yourself on having achieved the goal. A month would be good for a beginner. Then set a new goal.

SMART Goal –  Realistic

Your smart goals needs to be something that it is possible for you to attain in a reasonable period of time. Remember that goals can change. You do not need to start out with the goal of winning the Mr. Universe contest. If contests are your thing, start with winning your division in a local contest. However, if you believe you can win Mr. Universe, then go for that. It is all a matter of believing you can do it.

SMART Goal – Timely

Whatever type of smart goals you set, it is good to give it a timeframe. Are you going for this year’s contest, next year’s or two years from now? Be specific about how much time you have to achieve your goal, and you will be set for success in any of the beginner bodybuilding workouts that you choose.

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Small Changes Make a Big Difference




Small Changes Make a Big Difference

First Step to Big Change

When you are trying to get motivated to get something done then the best place to start is with something small that you can build on. A great part of motivation is the small step that you need to do to get forward momentum and once you have that you are unstoppable, but how to make that first step?

First Step to Big Change

Well there are many ways to make that first step, Leo at Zen Habits says that you should just do the minimum possible, like 2 minutes of exercise. Another thing you can do is decide that you will drink 2 cups of water first thing in the morning, or eat a healthy breakfast of Oatmeal and a banana. You can decide to park in the furthest lot at work or get off a train one stop early.

The fact is you do not have to do all of these things just do one today and again tomorrow and then without saying anything to your resistant brain do one more of these things the next day, you now have two and the momentum is there. Three weeks from now you have turned you life around with a bunch of little changes that you would not even think are possible today.

This is the best way to start this one step at a time process. Do not even look at goals for this one just get ideas and write them down and then take the easiest one and do it today. Lets say you want to improve your health. You can probably come up with 50 things along the lines of stretch while watching TV tonight, or one of the above. If you want to spend less money you could think of a great dinner for tonight and make a little bit too much and have it for leftovers tomorrow, I love leftovers.

Example – How to be more Outgoing

If you want to be more outgoing and are afraid then maybe just make it a task to go out and get a latte tonight and sit in the coffee place for 10 minutes before you leave with your coffee in hand, or sit in a crowded dog park bouncing a ball (the dogs will follow the ball and the owners will follow the dog).

The fact is that just getting out there and making small changes is the only way to any goal. If you wanted to lose 100 pounds or do the Hawaii Ironman Triathalon there is no way that you could just start hard core training, you would have to start with small steps and work up. The human mind resists change so if you trick it with these small changes you will be successful before you brain figures out that you are changing.

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