Nutrition Articles
In the Nutrition Articles section you will find topics ranging from common dieting myths, to supplement information, to core diet principles and everything in between.
So read on, leave your questions/comments, and apply what you learn to your own nutritional program! To get the most out of the advice within these articles, schedule a free, no-commitment training session and consultation with me and together we’ll put these concepts into action!
5 Training Tips for the San Diego Mud Run
The San Diego Mud Run is an awesome, fun event that takes place during the fall each year, and in this year’s case will be held on Sunday, October 30th. If you’ve never participated in a mud run before, you are seriously missing out! Between the dressing up in costumes to getting completely plastered in dirt, water and mud, these types of events are a great way to let loose and do something active that you might not otherwise even imagine doing.
Now, just because the events are for fun doesn’t mean that they can’t and shouldn’t be taken seriously. The typical mud run is between 5km and 10km, or approximately 3-6 miles—which is a significant distance in and of itself, not even taking into account the fact that there are obstacles, pits full of mud, tunnels and a ton of other things along the way that will tax your body much more than a simple road run would. Continue Reading 5 Training Tips for the San Diego Mud Run »
The hCG Diet: Temptations of a Fad
This is a guest article written by Anchorage’s top personal trainer and natural bodybuilder Steph Figarelle:
As a personal trainer who encourages healthy diet choices and a consistent exercise regime for everyone, I have a hard time jumping on the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) diet bandwagon and find the controversy surrounding it frustrating. hCG is a hormone found in the urine of pregnant women in their first trimester of pregnancy, as well as in the pituitary gland of males and females of all ages at a lower concentration. I’ve read several empirical research articles and heard countless success stories from people who have lost a significant amount of weight following this “diet plan,” so I understand that it may have a short-term success rate, however I’m still convinced the diet is a quick fix. Continue Reading The hCG Diet: Temptations of a Fad »
Juice Fasting: Pointless Waste of Time and Money
This article may prove to be controversial, but this is a topic that I can’t stay quiet about any longer and it’s time to blow the lid off this thing. All over the nation, and in Orange County in particular, the trend of “juice fasting” is becoming mainstream and millions of dollars are being spent each year on detoxifying the body through a nutrition plan that consists of juices made from fruits and vegetables. These systems (at least in Orange County) typically cost between $50 and $300, depending on the company you go through and how many days you perform the cleanse for. It all sounds fine and dandy (albeit, a bit expensive) right? So what the heck’s my problem then?
My problem, simply put, is that juice fasting is completely pointless, and the industry behind it is a complete scam. First, let’s look at the claims made by typical juice fasting companies. Continue Reading Juice Fasting: Pointless Waste of Time and Money »
April’s Recipes, Workouts and Q & A Wrap-Up
Below you will find a list of all of the recipes and Q & A sessions from this past month’s newsletters. If you’d like to get these types of articles delivered to your email on a regular basis, please sign up for the Fit Facts Newsletter (and get a free e-report in the process!). Continue Reading April’s Recipes, Workouts and Q & A Wrap-Up »
8 Weeks to RIPPED, Weeks #7 and #8
Well, the last two weeks of my cutting program have come and gone and the results are in—looks like I came very close to my desired goals and I am very happy with my progress over the past 20 months. While 20 months of hard training and dieting to gain 7 lbs of muscle may seem like an unfair trade-off, it’s actually a pretty good accomplishment for an advanced lifter like me who is approaching his fitness naturally (ie. without steroids). I think it’s clear at this point that I am knowledgable enough about my body that I can predict how certain situations will affect it, which is a very good skill to have for long-term weight management.
Coming out of this cut, I am leaner than I thought I would be, and yet at the same time have continued to have personal records on my lifts at the gym, which is great. Continue Reading 8 Weeks to RIPPED, Weeks #7 and #8 »
8 Weeks to RIPPED, Week #4
As I always say, supplementation should be seen as “extra credit.” Just as you wouldn’t do a terrible job on your homework in school and expect the small effect of extra credit to make up for it, you can’t expect supplementation to take up the slack from a crappy diet. To continue the analogy, just as you could do without extra credit completely if you do well on your homework, you can do without supplementation completely as well, provided your diet is on point. Supplementation simply gives a small edge to those who already have their diet dialed in and want that extra little boost. For the general population, this small increase in results probably doesn’t justify the expense of these supplements.
That being said, for my use, supplements can come in handy for a variety of reasons. Continue Reading 8 Weeks to RIPPED, Week #4 »
March’s Recipes, Workouts and Q & A Wrap-Up
Below you will find a list of all of the recipes and Q & A sessions from this past month’s newsletters. If you’d like to get these types of articles delivered to your email on a regular basis, please sign up for the Fit Facts Newsletter (and get a free e-report in the process!).
Continue Reading March’s Recipes, Workouts and Q & A Wrap-Up »
8 Weeks to RIPPED, Week #3
Last week I discussed nutrition as it pertains to my cut; specifically carb-cycling—with the weekdays being extremely low carb days and then a large refeed towards the weekend. Eating in this manner allows me to manipulate the glycogen stores within my muscles (stored sugar for immediate energy usage), which makes my body more anabolic and apt to burn body fat for energy in the beginning of the week, but then preventing metabolic depression and muscle loss by switching to a glycogen-rich environment on the weekend.
However, my nutrition program only works because of the fitness regimen that I perform that goes hand in hand with it. Without either piece of the puzzle (fitness or nutrition), I would get few, if any, results. During the low-carb days of the week, I perform very high repetition workouts along with sessions of cardiovascular exercise in order to completely use up any remaining glycogen from my previous weekend’s refeed. Continue Reading 8 Weeks to RIPPED, Week #3 »
8 Weeks to RIPPED, Week #2
Allow me to clear up a potential misunderstanding before I begin this week’s journal. For sustainable, healthy weight loss I do not recommend going low carb for an extended period of time. When dealing with a temporary achievement of single-digit, unsustainable body fat levels however, cycling carbohydrates can be very successful. A large issue in the fitness industry is that specialized diets with a very specific purpose (NOT general weight loss) are often misunderstood and adopted by ordinary folks looking for general weight loss, which is ineffective, unsafe and sometimes even counter-productive.
For the general public, by far and large the most important factor to weight loss is the amount of calories being consumed, followed by the macronutrient breakdown and the food choice. Micromanaging nutrient timing, balance and supplementation is a huge waste of time for most people–not only will it fail to provide superior results to regular, healthy eating practices, but in fact may cause more of a hinderance than a help. Continue Reading 8 Weeks to RIPPED, Week #2 »
4 Steps to Lose Your “Pooch”
Who likes a pooch? No, I’m not referring to your family pet… I’m talking about the #1 most-complained-about area on a woman’s body, the dreaded flesh fanny pack. Even with a toned, leaned-out body, you might feel like your figure isn’t going to reach that next level of aesthetic perfection without a flat, flab-free stomach.
As an area of the female body that contains the highest concentration of “stubborn fat” cells and often being the first place a woman stores fat and the last place she burns it, the lower abdomen can be a frustrating headache to get to the desired condition, or even prove itself to be completely unattainable—until now that is! If you’ve gotten yourself into good shape but still can’t seem to get rid of that last problem area, you’ll want to check out these time-proven tips that I and other health professionals use with our personal training clients! Continue Reading 4 Steps to Lose Your “Pooch” »