This Was One Tough Workout!

High intensity outdoor workouts, kettlebell training, and more...
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

The other day I was in the mood to mix things up a little with my workouts and it was a nice sunny day, so I decided to skip the gym and take my workout outside for the day.
So I packed up my two 53-lb kettlebells and my 70-lb kettlebell, and headed to a local park that also has a nice hill that a some local people go to for running hill sprints.
I've gotta tell you, the workout I came up with was pretty simple, but thoroughly kicked my a**!  If you're interested in a high intensity workout that'll strip off body fat fast, keep in mind the format of this workout and use the same or similar exercises based on what you have available.
Note: I used kettlebells, but you can also use dumbbells if you don't have kb's.
Here's what I did:
The workout was done in circuit fashion where I moved to the next exercise with little to no rest.
1a. kettlebell double clean & presses (both arms simultaneously)
1b. 1-arm kettlebell snatches with each arm
1c. kettlebell 2-arm bent over rows
1d. kettlebell 2-arm swings
1e. hill sprint up/down

8 reps of each exercise; repeated circuit 8X

I did 8 reps of each exercise and moved almost immediately to the next exercise in each circuit. After each circuit, I rested about 2 minutes until I caught my breath and felt ready for the next round.
I kept repeating this circuit until I did 8 sets total of each exercise. All said and done, I think the workout took me about 45 minutes... and holy crap was I drenched in sweat and whooped!
Warning: unless you're in top shape, do NOT attempt 8 sets of this type of workout... it is VERY tough and that's a high volume of work unless you're already accustomed to higher intensity workouts.  Just attempting 3 or 4 sets the first time you try this will usually whip most trainees.
By the way, if you don't have kettlebells yet, I highly suggest getting at least one or two to have at your house. They are very convenient to use when you don't feel like going to the gym and just want to blast out a quick workout at home or outside. My Kettlebells were definitely one of the best investments I've ever made in training tools that will last me for life.

Another recent review of the Truth about 
Six Pack Abs Program
I continue to receive some great reviews coming in with the awesome results customers are getting using the techniques in the Truth about Six Pack Abs package. Here's another that came in the other day:
"Mike:  
Thank you for changing the way I workout. After years of fooling myself into thinking I was getting a good workout, your book, The Truth About Abs, has revitalized not only my workouts but also my life. Working out regularly for over 10 years, I became increasingly frustrated at my lack of progress.
Despite doing over an hour of cardio at least three times a week and lifting three times a week as well, I wasn't in good shape. In fact, I was having trouble getting my wind when I played my weekly hockey games. Also, despite my workout attempts, I was also getting what you have termed as the "skinny fat" appearance.
Seeing no outward or inward results, I sunk into such a rut I was ready to quit exercising. That was when a friend recommended your ebook.   After only a month-and-a-half of doing the routines diagrammed in your book, my physical appearance has improved dramatically. Not only that, but my endurance has increased to the point that I can handle a full hockey game and not get gassed. In fact, I get stronger as the game goes on. Just that alone was well worth the $40 I spent. 
Following your diet tips has also given me more energy throughout the day. I no longer "crash" halfway through my work day and no longer crave the sugary foods I used to. The belly I have been trying to battle is shrinking by the day. After years of working out, I am only now finally getting compliments for how "toned and ripped" I appear.  
Once again, thanks for giving me that boost I so needed in my workouts and for improving my quality of life. I would (and have) recommended your book to anyone stuck in the same situation as I was just months ago."  
-John Crawford, Collingswood, NJ

You can find more info and frequently asked questions about the Truth about Six Pack Abs package
 

Have a great week! I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets workout and nutrition tips. Til then,
Don't be lazy...be lean.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com
PS - feel free to copy/paste the link to this page to any friends or family that might be interested in these workout ideas

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These Cereals Destroy Your Hormones, Zap Your Energy & Cause Weight Gain

Most cereals are promoted as "health foods" by the 
giant food corporations.  
However, these sinister common breakfast foods that almost everyone consumes daily are killing you slowly, zapping your energy levels, causing diabetes, excess body fat, cancer, and even faster aging in your body.  I'll explain why below...

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
Best-Selling Author:  The Fat-Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

If you care at all about your body and health, I'm sure you already know to avoid the obvious sugary cereals like the flakes with sugar frosting, the fruity sugar cereals with artificial colors, the frosted wheat biscuits, or the marshmallow cereals that so many parents are poisoning their kids with these days.
However, even most breakfast cereals that aren't frosted in sugar are marketed heavily as "heart healthy", "rich in fiber", and "a good source vitamins & minerals"... Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth!
As a Nutritionist that's studied the biochemistry of nutrition for over 25 years, and how certain foods affect the cells of your body, there are at least 10 important reasons to be extremely concerned about what cereals are doing inside your body.  I'll touch on a few of the important details in this short article...

Most cereals (even "whole grain" or "high fiber") cause extreme harm to your hormones and create runaway blood sugar in your body

One of the WORST things about most cereals, even so-called "whole grain" cereals is that they ALL cause a significant spike in your blood sugar (regardless of whether they are wheat, rice, or corn based) to dangerously high levels, which results in a cascade of fat storing hormones to be released in your body, and causes more carb cravings later in the day.  This is NOT the way to start your day if you care about your waistline or how much belly fat that you have.
In fact, even cereals that have added fiber (such as bran flakes or raisin bran) have been found to cause just as much of a massive spike in blood sugar as the low-fiber cereals such as rice or corn based cereals.  Remember that the starches in wheat, corn, or a bowl of rice cereal break down quickly in your body into SUGAR and immediately do as much harm to your blood sugar regulation system as if you ate 40-60 grams of pure corn syrup or pure table sugar.
Those massive spikes in your blood sugar essentially damage your cells in your body through a process called glycation, which accelerates the rate of aging in your joints, skin, organs, and even your brain.  Ouch...  That tiger on the cereal commercials is never going to warn you about that!
And speaking of hormones, another effect of high blood sugar is that it blunts the ability of your body to release growth hormone (aka, the youth hormone), so if you want to look and feel younger, cereals are NOT helping you in that department!
Note:  Regarding the claims that cereals are a "good source of vitamins and minerals", this is actually FALSE... The majority of vitamins and minerals in most cereals are not naturally occurring, but rather, are synthetically added vitamins, which have been proven to be less absorbed than natural vitamins and potentially even harmful in some cases.  As an example, synthetic vitamin E is shown in some studies to be harmful to us, while natural vitamin E is beneficial.

Crunching your way to Diabetes and belly fat every morning?
Think about this next time you're gobbling down that bowl of bran flakes, rice puffs, or wheat biscuits while you're running out the door in the morning...
The more cereal you eat, the more you constantly stress your pancreas and other organs involved in controlling your blood sugar.  Insulin levels surge every day to try to control your massive blood sugar attacks from all that cereal, and eventually, your insulin sensitivity suffers, leading many people to type 2 Diabetes, and a life of injecting insulin with needles and stabbing your fingers every day for blood tests 3-5x every day of your life.
Not only that, but causing high insulin levels in your body every morning by eating cereal also triggers your body to STORE body fat.  So if you want to be lean, cereal is directly going against your goal, and only making you fatter!

Gut Inflammation and even gut damage?
More bad news about cereal...
Any cereals with wheat ingredients in them can possibly cause gut inflammation and long term gut damage from too much gluten and lectins, even if you're not officially gluten intolerant or gluten sensitive.
Think those corn-based cereals are better than wheat?  Think again!  Corn-based cereals are almost always made with GMO corn, which has many scientists very concerned about long term health threats, since there are no long term studies on the effects of GMO corn to your health, as well as your children's health.
And rice-based cereals (krispies, etc) aren't much better, as they cause just as high of a blood sugar spike as pure table sugar... Ouch!

Cereal causes CRAVINGS for more carbs later in the day, leading to excess calories
The blood sugar spike and subsequent insulin surge from your morning cereal makes your body to try to get all that sugar out of your blood and into cells (usually fat cells), and that causes a big drop in your blood sugar hours later.  This makes you CRAVE more carb-based or sugary foods later in the day.
The result of this is a constant wild roller coaster ride of blood sugar and insulin all day long, leading you to eat more calories in any given day.
I recently read a study about people that ate egg-based breakfasts vs cereal-based breakfasts...  Even though the people that ate egg-based breakfasts consumed far more fat in the morning, they ended up eating much less calories throughout each day because they didn't have the wild blood sugar swings, hormone imbalances, and subsequent cravings.  Egg breakfasts are proven to CONTROL your appetite, while cereal breakfasts are proven to INCREASE your appetite for more food, particularly more starchy and sugary carbs.

Cereal makes your body a carb-burner instead of a fat-burner
The more carbs that you eat each day from foods such as cereal and breads, the more you train your body to rely on carbs for energy.  So when your blood sugar dips again, you need more carbs again, or you'll have a major energy slump.
On the other hand, the more that you get most of your calories from healthy fats instead (avocados, coconut oil, grass-fed butter and cream, olive oil, nuts, seeds, eggs, and pasture-raised meats), the more you train your body to be a fat-burning machine.
This is called creating a "fat adapted metabolism" and you do this by reducing your overall carb intake and simultaneously increasing your healthy fat intake.  This doesn't mean you need to go extremely low in carbs like Atkins, but just a LOT lower than the average carb addict, which is pretty much everyone eating a modern diet.
By relying mostly on healthy fats for energy instead of carbs, this balances your hormones and gives you VERY stable blood sugar levels throughout each day, allowing you to also have VERY stable energy levels throughout each day without the typical spikes and slumps in your energy that most carb addicts feel every single day.
Another benefit of creating a "fat adapted metabolism" in your body is that you will naturally lose body fat easier!  There is no magic ratios of macronutrients that's perfect for everyone, nor do I think you need to obsess over exact calories or exact ratios of carbs to fat... However, to give you an idea of how far off most people are... Most people currently eat a diet that is in the range of 60% carbs, 20% fat, and 20% protein.  What I'm describing to you in order to create a fat adapted metabolism would be more around eating 20% carbs, 60% fat, and 20% protein.
Basically, as you can see, it's like flip-flopping the typical western diet ratios of carbs to fat.

Healthier alternatives to cereal that are still QUICK (helping you to be a fat-burner instead of carb-burner)
Instead of the typical cereal in the morning (that's slowly killing you and making you fatter), try a bowl of plain greek full-fat organic yogurt (which is loaded with healthy gut probiotics, healthy fats, AND protein) and add in a handful of fresh, organic berries (or frozen wild blueberries), a handful of nuts such as either almonds or pecans (more healthy fats), and a little stevia or vanilla protein for a little added sweetness if you need it.
This breakfast will leave you leaner, keep your blood sugar, energy levels, and hormones balanced for the day, and prevent cravings for more starchy and sugary carbs later in the day.
Another option is simply any combination of eggs, veggies, avocado, and even organic breakfast meat if you want.  One of my favorite quick breakfasts is to cook up a couple eggs over easy real quick and slice a half of an avocado on a plate.
I chop the eggs and avocado together with some hot sauce and a couple slices of turkey, and voila... a quick 5-minute breakfast that's incredibly delicious, yet MUCH healthier than that bowl of cereal, and will help balance your hormones for the day instead of creating hormone imbalances and energy crashes like cereal does.
On the next page, I'll show you why you should STOP eating whole wheat bread, vegetable oils, canola oil, energy bars & these 2 particular milks if you want to stay lean and avoid diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes...plus you'll discover the popular restaurant plant-based "side dish" that CAUSES heart attacks according to one New Zealand study:

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3 Major Fat Loss MISTAKES

AVOID these 3 mistakes and start burning fat faster!
by Dr. Kareem Samhouri - CSCS, HFS
Neuro Metabolic Fitness & Rehab Expert
Author of the popular program:  Abs Strength Guide

If you want to lose stubborn abdominal fat faster, don't make these 3 common fat loss mistakes below...
1. Relying on Abs-Specific Training:
For some reason, the misconception of spot reduction continues.  No argument has ever convinced me that you can lose fat in a specific area by contracting the muscle in that specific area.  Fat loss just does not work this way.  Yet for some reason, we see hundreds of people every day at the gym doing hundreds of crunches and sit ups and thinking that they are somehow burning fat from their abdomen, when in reality, they're just wasting time!
Fat loss is a systemic effect that takes place as your body morphs into a healthier you.  Fat storage patterns vary person to person according to hormonal levels, genetic fat storage patterns, myofascial restrictions, and inflammation.  Reducing body fat in those areas through exercise is only done if you are working to modify hormonal levels that have related fat storage areas, for example.
However, there has yet to be convincing evidence that you can do tricep presses, for example, and lose fat in the back of your arms... Just doesn't work that way.  The same is true with your abs.  In this case, even if you do 3000 sit ups per day, you wouldn’t be doing much for fat loss.  Fat loss is about:
1. Energy system training
2. Compound movements targeting many joints at once
3. Muscle balancing
4. Motor unit recruitment, and
5. Multi-planar movement

It’s impossible to add all of the above into an abs exercise, or even a series of abs exercises.  The goal is to tire as much of your body as possible, to a safe extreme.  This is referred to as momentary muscular failure, and it’s when lactic acid onset takes place.  Remember, lactic acid, which is what makes you sore, is a very good thing.  It means your body is working hard to reduce inflammation and repair.  You’re well on your way to rapid fat loss.  You’ll see incredible results when you accept this:
I believe muscle soreness following a fat loss workout should be a 5 - 7 (on a 0 to 10 scale), most of the time, where:
0 = no pain whatsoever, no muscle soreness
10 = extreme muscle soreness, emergency level
This is a big wake-up call for a lot of people, but it may just shed light on why you're not seeing the fat loss results for which you were hoping.

2. Low To Moderate Intensity Cardio For Long Duration:
Walking.  This, alone, simply won't work for long-term fat loss results. It may work at first for somebody who is extremely obese and has been sedentary, but not for most people.  While I strongly believe in the benefits of walking for stress relief, personal time, reflection with movement, blood pressure and cholesterol modification, etc., I do not consider it a good method to lose body fat.
Losing fat is about shocking your body and stimulating a repair process.  Giving your body the chance to adapt to a demand over time doesn't help you lose fat quickly.  Sure, you can see some initial results, often masked as 'toning', but in the end you're turning your Type IIa muscle fibers (oxidative-glycolytic, or medium speed fibers) to Type I (oxidative, or slow muscle fibers that have great endurance).  The only trouble is that the Type II muscle fibers do a much better job of getting you lean.
By stimulating muscular strength (not necessarily "bulking") you are enhancing your metabolism.  It takes energy to build and restore lean muscle tissue.  Allowing it to grow consumes a bit more energy, but you don't have to bulk up to see great results.  Rather, just create a muscle repair process while stimulating your metabolism with fat-burning foods and you'll see your results go wild.
After a full-body resistance-based alternation-style workout session, you'll spike your metabolism for 2-3 days as your body re-uptakes the lactic acid from your bloodstream, restores oxygen to the muscle tissue you've worked, and repairs the micro-tears that took place in your muscles.  Supersets or circuits in full body workouts is one example of this, and interval training accomplishes this too, but what if we take things a step further and get you off a machine?
I suggest that we alternate body parts, directions, speeds, intensities, and muscle synergies, or pairs.  Alternation in any form, even when the intensity is a bit lower, is still a rapid fat loss signal to your body.  You're sure to see wild fat-burning results once you start thinking about fat loss as "shocking the fat away".

3. Caloric Restriction:
Caloric restriction = muscle starvation = fat loss grinds to a halt.
Muscle requires calories to grow.  Without some degree of muscle growth, it will atrophy under duress.  If you're exercising intensely, which you should be, your muscle will be eating itself to survive.
It's really important that you feed your system so it can grow and maintain its level of function.  Your body requires food for muscle repair, concentration, heart health, and digestive health.  Regular meals are best.  There are 2 schools of thought with eating for fat loss:
1. Eat 3 meals per day and up to 2 snacks.
2. Eat 5-6 small meals per day.
Normally, I recommend #2, because I find this is a great way to ensure you are not snacking on things that are bad for you, because you are eating healthy small meals often enough.  Also, I tend to never feel hungry when I'm eating on this schedule.  That's very helpful for fat loss.
Contrarily, eating 3 meals per day seems like it should also allow you ample time to digest and re-spike your metabolism.  I believe there should be a small bout of exercise in between each meal if you choose this approach.  If thats the goal, let's go at it.
Again, my recommendation is 5-6 meals/day, where you pre-plan your week's meals over the weekend, cook many meals at once, and prepare yourself for fat loss.  The most helpful resource I've read to date, on this, is Fat Burning Kitchen.  I recommend you read this also.
Most importantly, make sure you are getting enough calories.  Yes, you do need a caloric deficit to lose fat over a certain time period, but taking your daily calories too low can reduce your metabolism and halt your fat loss.
Under no circumstance should an active female eat less than 1300 calories or an active male eat less than 1500 calories when trying to lose weight.  Within a few months of coaching, most of my female clients are eating 1800 - 2000 calories, and my male clients are eating 2100 - 2800 calories.  ...and they keep losing fat faster and faster.  The goal should be to stimulate your metabolism to be able to eat more, not less.
In summary, there are 3 major fat loss mistakes you absolutely want to avoid:
1. Low to moderate intensity cardio for long duration - great way for your body to adapt to exercise and stop burning fat.  Plus, you're converting your muscle fibers to the wrong type.
2. Abs-specific training - 3000 sit ups and no result?  That's just depressing.  Train for full body systemic fat loss.  You'll be glad you did.
3. Caloric restriction = starving muscle = no more fat loss; instead, make the goal to eat more and build more fat-burning muscle to ramp up your metabolism, permanently.
Fat Burning Kitchen.
If you found this article interesting please share with your friends and family.
Reducing body fat

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The 3 Best Abdominal Exercises that Are NOT Your "Normal" Ab Exercises

A unique ab workout that doesn't contain your typical boring stomach exercises - no crunches or situps here!


by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-seller:  The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Instead of the typical ab routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc... I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs... thus building rock hard abs & core, but also creating a much better fat-burning workout than a typical ab workout.
I'm going to show you an example today of one of my favorite "ab workouts" that doesn't include any direct "ab exercises" at all. This is actually a full body workout that works your abs pretty hard indirectly, and stimulates a good metabolism boost!  It's in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises instead of 2).
Here goes:
1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows
1b. Front Squats with Barbell
1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor
A good rep scheme to use with this could be 3-4 sets of 8 reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. Mountain climbers can be done for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of "reps".
Exercise Pics & Descriptions:
Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 owdumbbells. You then row one dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the opposite arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows creates incredible work for your entire midsection core area. Trust me... you'll feel it in the abs!

 

Renegade Rows shown above
Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of resting on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while keeping your elbows out in front of the body.
This takes a little practice at first, so you will want to seek a professional trainer at your gym to help you with the form. Front squats require extreme stabilization strength from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body instead of the back. Even though this is mostly a leg exercise, you'll feel this one in the abs big time!  Any time I do front squats after not having done them for a while, I get a really deep soreness in my abs the next day.

 

Front squats shown above
Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup position and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to starting position. It sort of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor. If you want an advanced version, you can also shuffle your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This really makes it a full body exercise and MUCH more difficult than standard mountain climbers.



Mountain Climbers shown above
After finishing each exercise, try to move to the next exercise with very minimal rest (no more than 15-20 seconds).  Rest about 1-2 minutes after completing each "tri-set" before repeating the sequence.

This will give you one of the best ab workouts you've ever had without even doing any direct ab exercises.... and with a LOT more fat-burning metabolic effect compared to standard ab exercises...  You'll see what I mean after you try it!  This can be used as a stand-alone workout (as it can be very intense if you use challenging weights), or you can incorporate it as a portion of your full body workout.

 This is just a sampling of some of the killer ideas you'll discover in my internationally best-selling ebook program, The Truth about Six Pack Abs, currently the #1 most popular abs program on the internet (as ranked by clickbank.com) with over 439,000 users in over 163 countries.  If you don't already have a copy be sure to pick one up today...
Not only will you receive a complete blue-print for challenging full-body workouts that will thoroughly define your entire body in addition to your abs (can be adjusted to beginners or advanced levels), but you'll also gain a thorough understanding of what types of nutritional strategies and other lifestyle aspects that it takes to reduce your belly fat to the level where your abs are visible.  Remember, nutrition and mindset are MORE important than just the workouts!
Check out what other users are saying about their results with the Truth about Six Pack Abs program
Don't be lazy... Be lean.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

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Are wine, beer, cheese, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, tea and coffee good or bad for you?

Controversy surrounds many of these foods, but what's the truth?  Even the "beloved" spinach, tomatoes, and tea can have some problems, so let's explore...

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

One thing I’ve come to the conclusion about over my decades of studying nutrition is that even if something is “good for you” still might not mean it’s best to eat a bushel of it every single day.
In today's article, we'll even look at a few "darlings" of the nutrition world such as spinach, tomatoes, and tea, and why too much of these can even be bad in some cases.  And we'll also look at things you're told by the media are "bad for you" such as beer, coffee, cheese and butter, and why these can actually be good in many cases.

Let's start with "toxins"...
It seems that even some substances labeled as “toxins” by scientists can sometimes be good for you in small doses.  Alcohol is one example.  It’s considered a toxin (intoxicated) by any scientist, yet for some reason, study after study shows that light to moderate drinkers live significantly longer than both non-drinkers or heavy drinkers.  It's an interesting fact isn't it... that just small amounts of something considered a "toxin" could help you live longer than if you didn't drink any of it at all, but too much of it will kill you.
There are confounding variables though that are hard to decipher in mixed group research or surveys of people's drinking habits… for one, it's rarely studied as to whether hard liquor drinkers would actually fare as well as somebody that ONLY drank wine or beer, each of which have their own unique antioxidants that are usually missing in hard alcohol.  So is the increase in life span of light to moderate drinkers due to the antioxidants in wine and beer as opposed to the alcohol itself?  Or is it a synergistic effect of both?
One study I read about recently showed that 1-2 glasses of red wine per day significantly increased good bacteria in the gut and decreased bad bacteria (in addition to benefits to blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL, and C-reactive protein), yet for some reason, hard liquor (gin was tested) didn’t have any of the same benefits.  It was concluded that it's most likely the polyphenols and resveratrol in wine that helps the good gut probiotics flourish and possibly also improves the blood chemistry too.  And as you know, good belly bugs have immense benefits to your digestive system and your immune system.
Personally, I’ve grown quite fond recently with having one glass of red wine with dinner about 5-6 nights per week now.  I look forward to that glass of wine each night, sometimes with a good aged cheese out on the deck watching the sunset before dinner.  Occasionally I have 2 glasses if I feel like it.  But I know if I had 7 or 8 glasses, it’s more toxic than beneficial.  We've been able to find some good organic wines at the local wine shop for only about $12 a bottle... not too shabby!
Now in regards to the light or moderate drinkers living longer than non-drinkers or heavy drinkers, I certainly realize this doesn't mean that you HAVE to drink in order to live to 100.  I know, I know... your Great Aunt Helen lived to 102 and never drank a sip of alcohol right?  Well, I'm sure there are also examples of someone you know that smoked their whole life and lived to 100 too.  The point is that these are just general stats on the population as a whole (smokers die younger, light drinkers live longer, etc), and every individual has thousands of different factors (nutritional, lifestyle, social, stress, etc) that combine together to determine how long they'll live.

Beer?
In my 20's and early 30's, my buddies and I used to drink a lot of "light" beers on weekends when we were hanging out together.  Nowadays, I don't drink much beer at all anymore, but when I do choose to enjoy a beer maybe once a week, I always choose a quality dark beer.
A good dark beer is known to have a decent quantity of unique antioxidants and B vitamins that are at much lower quantities in light beer, if they're present at all in some brands.  On the other hand, too much beer contains too much estrogenic compounds from the hops which have their own health consequences if overcomsumed, for both men and women…
Once again, moderation seems to be best.  A couple beers a week probably has benefits, but a six-pack or more a night might put you in an early grave.
What about possible detriments of beer since it was brewed using barley and/or wheat as the base?  After all, most Paleo eating plans try to avoid grains because of some of the problematic components of many grains...
Well, while it's true that I personally try to avoid most grains because of some of the digestive-system harming antinutrients and gluten (which also affects immune system and lots more), this is less of an issue with beer because it's been fermented.  Any time you ferment something, the microbes involved in the fermentation effectively render many of the toxins more neutral and easier to digest.
This is why fermented soy can actually be somewhat healthy, while unfermented soy is terrible for you.  This is also why sourdough bread (since it's been fermented) is less harmful to you than regular whole wheat bread, and the gluten is actually more digestible in fermented sourdough bread (more on that another day).  This is also why fermented dairy such as kefir and yogurt are the most digestible forms of dairy, and much more favorable compared to plain milk.

Cheese?
Speaking of fermented foods and also the confusing topic for most people of dairy, let's talk CHEESE...
Many old-school nutritionists, dieticians, and news reporters that don't understand true nutritional biochemistry always talk about the FAT in cheese.  They say stuff like "cheese is fattening" or "always choose low-fat or fat-free cheese".  If you read my article here, you'll see why the fat in grass-fed cheese can help you to burn fat and even prevent heart disease.  I know that may sound crazy, but you can't ignore the fact that the fat in grass-fed dairy contains powerful nutrients such as vitamin K2, which has been shown to prevent arterial calcification, as well as the healthy fat, CLA, which is shown to help burn fat, build muscle, and fight cancer.
Aside from the fat portion of cheese, which we know may actually be the healthiest part of any grass-fed cheese, what about the digestibility of cheese, and components like the casein?  Well, it's true that certain people may have difficulty digesting the casein (or lactose) in some dairy products.  But keep in mind that fermented dairy products like kefir, yogurt, and aged cheeses are generally the easiest to digest since they've already been "pre-digested" by microbes in the fermentation process.  So the majority of people do not have issues with digesting fermented forms of dairy.  And kefir is 99% lactose-free in most good brands because the microbes consume and digest the lactose in the fermentation process.
When it comes to cheese though, the KEY to digestibility is that it's a good quality AGED cheese... A true aged cheese that's gone through multiple stages of fermentation from various forms of microbes will always be the easiest to digest due to the pre-digestion already performed by many of the microbes, as each stage in the aging process will help break down the dairy components into more digestible forms.  For example, if you like cheddar cheese, one of the best options that's also easy to find at most stores is Kerrygold Irish... each type has been aged for different amounts of time, and all of their cheeses are from grass-fed cows.  I've found several European aged cheeses such as Midnight Moon and Ewephoria (aged goat and sheep cheeses) which I'm in LOVE with!
Whatever you do, steer clear of cheap processed cheeses like American cheese, salty cheese spreads, cheese "loaf", etc as these are generally not healthy.

What could possibly be wrong with Spinach?
Everybody knows that spinach is great for us, right?  After all, spinach is loaded with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, all of which are wonderful for our bodies.  And of course, Popeye got his muscles from eating spinach :)
However, spinach and other dark leafy greens contain higher amounts of oxalic acid which is known to cause kidney stones or kidney damage if you take in too much for too long.  Most information available says that for most people, you’d have to eat very large amounts of spinach and eat it chronically to actually see negative effects, so this seems to be yet another example of moderation is probably best.
My takeaway... A small mixed greens salad each night with dinner is probably beneficial to our health, but a massive greens salad 2 or 3 times a day, every single day is probably too much and may cause problems with too much oxalic acid.

Nightshade Vegetables:
This is represented mostly by eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers as the most common members of this family.  There are also some wild versions of nightshades that apparently are highly toxic if you ate them in the wild.  Our common agricultural nightshades are much safer, but still contain small levels of certain problematic compounds that have actually been linked to Arthritis and other inappropriate calcification type effects in certain people that are sensitive to them and over long periods of time of consuming them.
Tomotoes and peppers have the powerful antioxidant lycopene.  Eggplant skin has powerful antioxidants being studied in fighting cancer.  Potatoes are loaded with valuable minerals and are fine to eat in moderation (at the right times) for active people that workout a lot to fuel anaerobic high intensity training and muscle glycogen replenishment.  On the other hand, potatoes also contain toxins called glycoalkaloids that are not good for you if consumed too frequently.  So as you can see, although many of these plants have benefits, they can also have small amounts of toxins too that can be problematic if consumed too frequently.
Once again, maybe it’s beneficial to have tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes 2 or 3 times a week for their own unique antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, but perhaps eating them with every single meal has more detriments than benefits.
Probably another perfect example of moderation is best.  Are we seeing a pattern here yet?
Interestingly, I found out through some digging through research that a high intake of vitamin K2 from things like grass-fed butter (and grass-fed cream and cheese), organ meats, and certain fermented veggies (krauts or kimchi) can counteract any calcification effects of the toxins that are in nightshade vegetables.  This is similar to the research I dug up showing that vitamin K2 also helps prevent or reverse calcification in the arteries too!   Hmm, no wonder heart disease increased with the advent of margarine and the decrease in consumption of butter in our society...  Not only were the trans fats in margarine probably responsible for some of the damage, but also the LACK of essential vitamin K2 caused by fooling everyone into removing butter from their diet exacerbated the heart problems!
Leave it to big business and food marketing to screw up what our grandparents were doing right in the past.

Is there anything wrong with healthy Tea?
We all know that various teas including white, green, black, oolong, red, and herbal teas all have powerful and unique antioxidants that protect us from degenerative diseases like cancer and heart disease.  And we also know that some phytochemicals in teas can even cause a very slight increase in fat loss, although I think that effect is fairly small, and still requires the rest of the diet to be on point.
However, I saw a report recently that non-organic tea originating from China was found to have alarmingly high levels of dangerous pesticides in the tea (both black and green), and apparently, a lot of popular brands failed pesticide residue testing.  Cancer is a concern with chronic pesticide ingestion.
My main lesson from reading these reports was that I'm simply going to make a greater effort to always choose organic tea brands from now on, because it would be illegal to be labeled organic and still be teeming with pesticides.  Variety also seems to be key with teas as well to avoid overuse of any one type of tea.  I personally like to make a big batch of iced tea a couple times a week and I usually mix green, oolong, white, rooibos, and herbal tea bags all together into the pot to get a nice blended taste, but also a good blend of antioxidants that are unique to each type of tea.
I also like chamomile and/or mint teas at night to help relax and get more sleepy and hour or two before bedtime.  You can also read my 5 tips for insomnia in this article related to a bedtime ritual that helps you fall asleep easier and sleep more deeply.

Coffee?
For some reason, most people think that their daily cup of coffee is "bad" for them.  But if you avoid the sugar and fake creamers (use REAL cream and stevia instead!), it's actually a fairly healthy drink that's oozing with beneficial antioxidants, phenolic nutrients, chlorogenic acids, and other healthy compounds that far outweigh any small amounts of acrylamides or other negative compounds found in coffee.
Numerous studies over the years have linked coffee consumption to reduced risk of various forms of cancer.  In fact, a 2011 Harvard study showed that men who drink 1-3 cups of coffee daily reduce their risk of prostate cancer by 30%.  Other studies have linked coffee consumption to reduced risk of diabetes.
I personally LOVE having 1 cup of really good coffee per day -- with grass-fed cream of course, for that all-important vitamin K2.  By the way, Organic Valley has a great pasture-raised cream that I've found at many grocery stores.
I look forward my freshly ground (I use a Bullet to grind the beans fresh, since this tastes far superior to pre-ground coffee) organic coffee in the morning with my nut-flour based Paleo homemade blueberry muffin... I'll share my recipe for that in a newsletter soon, but my friend Kelley Herring also has an amazing low-carb Paleo blueberry muffin recipe in her Guilt-Free Desserts manual... And as you probably guessed since you know my style, I also top my Paleo blueberry muffins with some melted Kerrygold grass-fed butter.  Mmm, what a delicious start to any morning!
Once again, staying with the theme of moderation, if you drink too much coffee, you can possibly suffer the detriments of too much caffeine and the possible adrenal fatigue that can be caused by too much caffeine for long periods of time... but small amounts of daily coffee and you reap the benefits of the antioxidants that are unique to the coffee bean.  I’ve been making a big effort to choose organic coffee beans at least 90-95% of the time, since apparently coffee is one of the worst crops in terms of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.  And remember that pesticides can have estrogenic effects, but also carcinogenic effects, and that's why we choose organic most of the time.
I also have an article here with 3 tricks to make your coffee super healthy.
With respect to the discussion of eating things in "moderation"... Keep in mind though that I don't agree with people that say "everything in moderation" ... For example, there's ZERO reason to consume trans fats in moderation. They're just too deadly to even consume at all in my opinion, when you can choose natural healthy fats instead.  And why choose to eat high fructose corn syrup in moderation when you can use real sweeteners instead, such as honey, stevia, or maple syrup.  I'm sure you get my point.
To summarize, I think the biggest thing you can take from this article is that many foods and drinks have some negative compounds in them, and some beneficial compounds too.  If you keep good variety in your diet, and don't over-consume any particular type of food or drink, the health benefits can be amazing from many of these delicious foods and drinks.  But even some healthy foods can have their problems if over-consumed.
That's why I enjoy ONE cup of daily coffee, ONE (or occasionally two) cups of daily red wine, one or two cups of a variety of teas daily, ONE serving of a leafy greens salad each day, Nightshade vegetables like tomatoes and peppers a couple times a week, the healthiest types of aged cheeses a few times a week, and even the occasional dark beer... and I know that these are generally doing a body good... PLUS, they're just really enjoyable and a fun part of life!

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Your personal Cancer score (1 in 3 people will get cancer)

The statistics are grim... 21,918 people die of cancer every single DAY worldwide.

Even scarier is the fact that 1 in every 3 people on the planet will be diagnosed with cancer in their lives.  That means the likelihood that YOU or one of your close family or friends will get cancer is VERY real, and very scary.  Take this powerful little 42-second cancer quiz to find out your personal chances of getting cancer.  Your results may shock you.

The quiz was designed by cancer specialists and groundbreaking researchers from around the world.

Sadly, most people don't take any action to do anything about cancer until they've gotten a diagnosis, and at that point, the chemo and radiation (and side effects from those) will usually kill you faster than the cancer itself.

What most people don't realize is that there are simple daily steps you can take right now to protect yourself from ever getting cancer in the first place.  Cancer is almost entirely caused by environmental and lifestyle factors, and not genetics.  Even for those people prone to a certain type of cancer by their genetics, if you never create the biochemistry in your body that allows expression of those genes, you'll never get cancer.  Unfortunately, most people DO allow the wrong biochemistry to take hold in their bodies, which is why cancer rates are so high.

Fortunately, for those that already have cancer and are fighting it, there are alternative treatments being researched by some of the most brilliant medical minds that are more natural and not as destructive to your body as chemo and radiation.

You'll learn all about these alternative natural treatments, plus all of the dozens of powerful ways you can prevent cancer in the first place, when you get your personal cancer score at this innovative quiz, designed by the top researchers in the world.

To your health,


Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Best Selling Author

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7 Super-Effective Tips for Losing Stomach Fat & Getting Lean Six Pack Abs for Life

Lose Body Fat and Get a Lean Stomach for Good! 

Vince Delmonte interviews author Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

1.  Mike, what is the number one component to getting a six pack?
MG: Your training style, nutrition, and mindset are all extremely important if you want to stand a chance at getting a six pack... However, if I had to choose 1 component that is most important, it would probably have to be nutrition. Maybe you've heard the saying before that "abs are made in the kitchen".
It really is true, and that's where the majority of people go wrong in the goal to get super lean. Of course, this also ties into mindset, because you really have to get your mind in the right place in order to have the discipline to be able to eat consistently clean enough to get six pack abs.
There's a lot of confusion out there these days about calories, fat, protein, and carbohydrates... every "expert" disagrees with one another on proper ratios and types of diets.  I think people make this way too complicated... If you are just to focus on a good balance between fats, carbs, and proteins, and make sure to eat only natural unprocessed organic foods (as close to their natural state as possible) instead of packaged, processed foods, a lot of the problems that most people have with cravings, a sweet tooth, overeating, blood sugar swings, etc all take care of themselves.
We still can't lose sight of the fact that you can overeat on healthy foods and gain fat even while eating healthy. Therefore, your caloric intake needs to be controlled to a level that will promote fat loss if that's the goal.

2.  Excellent Mike!  Next question... What is one thing I might be doing, unknowningly, steering my quest for a six pack in the wrong direction?
MG:  I'll give 2 things that may be steering you in the wrong direction...
a. Too much cardio
Some people, in their efforts to try to get lean, focus way too much on hours and hours of cardio exercise. The problem is that this can backfire on you by making you lose lean muscle mass over time, which decreases your resting metabolic rate. Once this happens, it becomes easier to pack on body fat than ever before.  I've even seen many people that do too much cardio and end up getting that "skinny fat" appearance, where they have very little muscle tone, yet they have excess stomach fat (even a "gut" possibly).
Instead of excess cardio, focus more on high intensity weight training (yes, even during a "cutting" cycle, where heavier training is even MORE important). This will help maintain your lean muscle mass throughout your body, so that you don't experience the metabolic rate decrease. Maintaining as much lean muscle mass on your body at all times is one of the most important things for staying super-lean for life.
b. Not eating enough healthy fats
This is another area where I see people go in the wrong direction. They are trying to lose body fat and they end up going WAY too low on their fat intake. When you decrease your fat intake too much, you are basically messing up your fat burning and muscle building hormones. It's not uncommon to see people decrease their fat intake too low and end up reducing their testosterone levels significantly.
Try to get some sources of healthy fats with every meal to make sure you don't go too low... This could be avocados, any and all nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, etc), seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds), nut butters (almond butter, natural peanut butter, etc), virgin coconut oil (good source of medium chain triglycerides), extra virgin olive oil, grass fed beef (good source of conjugated linoleic acid and omega-3s), whole eggs (yes, whole eggs...not egg whites), etc.

3. What is one unique way of boosting your metabolism, to finally burn fat, that I might be overlooking?
MG:  Incorporate any form of clean & presses into your routines twice per week. This could be barbell clean & presses or using kettlebells or dumbbells.  If I had to choose one exercise that burns the most calories and has the biggest impact on increasing your metabolic rate, I'd have to choose high intensity clean & presses (with squats and deadlifts being at the top of the pack also).  I like alternating the use of barbells for C&P's one workout and kettlebells for another.
If you want to learn more about how to train with kettlebells, see this article.

4. What is your number one plateau busting secret to lose the last 10 pounds?
MG:  When you get to the point that you're already fairly lean, but just need to lose that last 5 or 10 lbs of body fat that is covering up your abs, you really need to take your workouts to a whole new level of intensity.
Consider adding all-out wind sprints and/or hill sprints into your routine if you want to take it to the next level of intensity.
As for gym workouts, this also means no jibber-jabbering for 5 minutes in between sets at the gym... Instead, you need laser-focused intensity, and one of the best ways to keep high intensity is super-setting or alternating sets. This means while you're resting one area of your body, you're working another area of your body. I usually like to do this by alternating a really tough lower body exercise such as a squat, lunge, or deadlift, with a multi-joint upper body exercise such as a bench press, overhead press, bent over row, or pullup.
Think short rest periods, full body exercises, multi-joint exercises, lots of sweat, and your chest heaving for air... if that's what your workout is looking like, then you're on the right path.  If not, then you're not working hard enough.

5. What is your advice for me to deal with the social temptations of alcohol, eating out, and junk food?
MG: This is something many people struggle with, but if you set some limits, it can be easy to deal with and still stay lean. One thing I'd suggest is to make sure to not get in a habit of drinking alcohol excessively on a daily basis. If you're going to go out and have some fun with friends, try to limit the drinking to only 1 or 2 days max per week. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we can still go out and have fun with our friends without getting totally smashed.
You need to decide what is more important in your life... do you want to live healthy and have a strong lean body, or do you want to get full-blown drunk every night? There's a lot more to life than alcohol.  This article explains some tips for moderate drinkers to stay lean.
As for eating out... If you're serious about getting and staying lean, eating out should only be an occasional event. Cooking your own food on a daily basis is extremely important as it's very hard to know what is in all of the junk at restaurants and fast food joints. One of the tricks I use when eating out is to NEVER eat fries or sodas (in fact, I never eat fries or sodas AT ALL).
Instead, go ahead and order that burger, but substitute steamed veggies or a salad for the fries. Almost every restaurant will make that substitution for you. And water or unsweetened iced tea are the best beverage options to keep the calories under control when eating out.

6.  Why do I lose motivation when trying to get a six pack?
MG: Most people lose motivation because they simply aren't seeing the results fast enough. If that's why you lose motivation, go back to all of the tips and techniques we've been talking about in here and see where your nutrition or training programs are going wrong so you can get faster results.  Be patient and consistent and the results will come.
Also, you can really stay motivated by focusing on what has been successful so far. For example, maybe your fat loss hasn't been what you wanted so far, but maybe you've increased your pullups from 8 to 13 and your squat weight from 185 to 225 lbs for the same reps. Keep focusing on your successes rather than your failures, and keep going for more successes.
More motivation tips -- Train regularly with a partner. This will keep you both focused and will keep you accountable to someone other than yourself. You don't want to disappoint someone else that you've made a goal with.
Also, keep a picture up in your house or at work of someone's body that motivates you to strive for those results. Look at it every day and keep visualizing your own body improving. Set a realistic goal and a time frame to acheive that goal, such as "I will lose 15 lbs of body fat in the next 8 weeks". The important thing here is realistic goal... don't expect to lose 30 lbs in 30 days (despite those weight loss scam ads that you see everywhere claiming BS like this).

7. I understand you have the number one six pack abs program on the Internet -- Truth About Abs.  Why do you think it's so popular?
My Truth about Six Pack Abs program is so popular because it works!  It's REAL nutrition and REAL training programs instead of useless gimmicks and fads.  I give the TRUTH on what people really need to get lean sexy abs for life and why they DON'T NEED fad gimmicks like diets, ab infomercial gadgets, and bogus fat burning pills that people waste way too much money on.

8.  Who should order Truth About Abs and who is this program not for?
This program is for anyone that wants to truly live healthy and get super-lean for life. I have college students, parents, busy professionals, and even grandparents using this program successfully.
Who is this program NOT for?  Anyone who is lazy, or thinks that there is a "quick fix" out there.  There isn't! So stop looking for a quick fix, and learn the truth!
Plus, when you go to order, I'm actually allowing everyone reading this to "try it before you buy it", so that way you can try out the program, start seeing real results, and then decide if it's right for you.
Check out some of the tremendous results that other readers are getting with the Truth about Abs program

Also, you can view some of the most common questions and answers about Truth about Abs

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