The Infonian

Healthy weight loss programs can be hard to find. Far too many mainstream diets appear to expect you to live on starvation rations, to cut out one or more of the major essential food groups, to poison your body with possibly dangerous diet pills, or to eat additive-filled meal replacements.

But you don’t have to abuse your body to lose weight. Instead, look for a healthy, balanced weight loss plan that meets the following criteria: It Should Be Based on Natural, Unprocessed Food

Firstly, a healthy diet program involves eating real food, not synthetic meal replacements, and the food should be as close to its natural state as possible. This means fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, dairy (preferably organic) and other nutrient-rich, unprocessed foods. Any kind of low calorie diet will help you to lose weight, but if you want to remain healthy too, it’s essential to include lots of high quality fresh foods, and to eat enough. So avoid any diet plan that would require you to live on junky processed food or meal replacement drinks – that way of eating just isn’t sustainable over the long term.

It Shouldn’t Involve Diet Pills

Diet pills can sometimes help people to lose weight quickly, but their long term effects on the body are uncertain. Risking your health for short term weight loss is a bad idea, particularly if you don’t change your eating and lifestyle habits. With a healthy diet and moderate amounts of regular exercise, there’s simply no need to pop pills to lose weight, and a healthy weight loss program won’t expect you to.

It Should Include Some Exercise

You can lose weight without exercising, but if you care about your long term health, taking some exercise is essential. Exercise can help to prevent chronic health problems, and it also gives your mood and energy levels an immediate boost. In addition, exercise makes weight loss easier because you’ll burn calories during your workout, your metabolic rate will be increased for some time afterward, and you’ll build lean muscle tissue, which is more metabolically active than fat – meaning that you burn more calories even when you’re at rest. So for optimal health, ensure that your weight loss program includes at least twenty minutes of exercise three or four days a week.

You Should Eat Enough, and Often Enough

It’s essential to provide your body with enough food when you’re trying to lose weight. Avoid the temptation to skip meals or go on a crash diet, because this puts your body under stress, and will decrease your energy levels, making overeating more likely. If you get into the habit of under-eating, you’re also at risk of malnutrition and losing muscle mass. In addition to the negative effects on your health, skipping meals won’t really help with weight loss, because your body’s metabolic rate will slow. This makes fat loss more difficult, and you’ll be more likely to regain even more weight than you lost when you begin to eat normally again. So for healthy weight loss, eat at least three meals a day (many people find that four or five smaller meals works better), and don’t be tempted to skip any meals.

It Should Stress the Importance of Making Permanent Changes

Any diet plan that depends on faddy short term techniques such as cutting out whole food groups, taking diet pills or drastically reducing calories won’t help you lose weight permanently, and won’t help you to stay healthy over the long term either. For most people, plans of that type are impossible to stick with for very long, because the body eventually rebels, and forces you to eat more just to provide the energy and nutrients that it needs. Any healthy weight loss plan will put the emphasis on making permanent changes in your eating habits, and also eating adequate (but not excessive) amounts of healthy, unprocessed, nutritionally-dense foods.

If you’re in the habit of overeating, or you live on junk foods, changing to such a plan can be challenging, but it is doable, given some time and patience. And it’s definitely worth the effort, because once you’ve established healthy new habits, the weight will stay off, and you’ll be free from the yoyo cycle of weight gain and loss for ever. And you’ll feel great too!

So if you want to lose weight, keep it off, and be vibrantly healthy too, look for a health-focused weight loss plan that avoids short term gimmicks and instead encourages you to do what’s best for your body.

Author: Lea Jones

Online diet programs can make weight loss an easier process than more traditional weight loss programs, because they offer a variety of useful extra features, such as regular updates, online support, and various tools, such as applications that generate meal plans and shopping lists. However, there are a large number of online diets to choose from, so it can be hard to know where to begin. It’s true that no single diet plan will work well for everyone, but the good ones will at least meet the following criteria:

Focus on Health

Many diets, both online and off, lure people in with promises of fast weight loss, but these are often dangerously unbalanced. Many extreme low carb, low calorie and low fat diets fall into this category, as do those plans based around just eating one type of food. These fad diets are also usually so difficult to stick to that any weight you do lose will be regained before long. You should give plans like this a miss, and instead opt for a healthy diet that allows a wide range of foods, allows for some ‘treats’, doesn’t exclude any of the major food groups, and doesn’t expect you to under-eat. A sensible weight loss plan will also stress the importance of exercise, which is essential for lifelong health. Forget about ‘going on a diet’, and instead opt for a program that you can live with over the long term, and that doesn’t put your health at risk.

Updates

Web-based diet programs have an advantage in that they’re often more up to date than those you’ll find in books, as it’s much easier to update a website, or publish a new edition of an ebook. The best online diet plans are updated as often as necessary, and ideally you should receive free access to these updates after you’ve paid the initial fee for the program.

Guarantee

Reputable online weight loss plans come with a money back guarantee for a trial period. This way you have the chance to read through the materials and see if the diet is a good fit for you. Despite what many diet book authors would have you believe, no eating plan will work well for everyone – people have different lifestyles, metabolisms and personal preferences – and to lose weight permanently, you must find a plan that you’ll be happy to stick with over the long term. Reputable authors are aware of this and provide a guarantee in case the plan isn’t suitable for you.

Support

Online weight loss programs frequently include support that you wouldn’t usually get when buying a physical book. Most at least include a contact form so you can get a personal response to any queries or concerns that you might have, and some also offer a forum or some other kind of virtual ‘meeting area’ for customers. Avoid any online program that doesn’t provide contact information.

Extras

A great advantage of online diet plans is that they often come with various bonus features in addition to the main ebook itself. These might include a diet generator, which will give you a menu based on your favourite foods, making meal planning very easy. Some diet generator applications even provide a shopping list of your selections which you can print out. Some online plans also include tools to keep track of things like your exercise routine, calorie intake (if you’re counting calories), nutrient intake and other aspects of your regime. You might also get some bonus materials such as recipe books. So when choosing an online diet program, make sure you check out the extras as well, as they can add a lot of value to your purchase.

Bear these key points in mind when evaluating online diet plans, and you’ll avoid the scams and more easily find the ideal program for you.

For more details about of a variety of online diet programs, as well as lots of other weight loss information, visit Fat Loss Choices. Or save some time and just check out Strip That Fat, which in my opinion is the best downloadable plan for those looking for a healthy, easy way to lose weight – you can read my in-depth Strip That Fat review here.

Author: Lea Jones

Dumbbells are probably the most versatile exercise equipment ever invented. They are perfect for anyone and are ideal for working out at home. Even with light weights, dumbbell workouts can tone your muscles and when combined with cardio, dumbbells can really boost your body’s fat-burning capacity. You’ll need to get a set of dumbbells to get started. Stick with lighter weights so you don’t run the risk of injuring yourself. We’ll start off by going over some dumbbell conditioning exercises that can be done indoors year-round. Make sure you’ve got enough clear space around you (and above you too) to be able to safely perform the maneuvers without hitting anything.

Single dumbbell squat: Grasp a dumbbell with both hands, holding it about 8 inches in front of your chest. With your feet about shoulder-width apart, keep your back straight and slowly bend at the knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor-hold for one or two seconds and then return to the starting position. Do 10-12 reps, rest for a moment then repeat;

Side shoulder raise: Stand and hold the dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing inwards. With your elbows slightly bent, raise your arms out and up, bringing the dumbbells up to about ear height. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat. You can also do front raises-with your palms facing towards you, keep your arm more or less straight and bring the dumbbell up and out in front of you up to about ear height;

Overhead press: Grasp the dumbbells with your palms facing forward. Bring the dumbbells up to about ear height (your upper arms parallel to the floor). Raise the dumbbells up over your head until they just about touch-pause and return to the starting position and then repeat;

Bicep curls: Hold the dumbbells at your side palms facing forward and then keeping your elbows near your side, curl your arm up until the dumbbell just about touches your shoulder. Hold for 1-2 seconds, return to the starting position. You can do one arm at a time or both together-whichever you prefer.

Once you’ve got these basic movements down, you can start performing these exercises while walking in place. Start easy but try and get to where you can lift your legs high enough so that your thigh is nearly parallel to the floor. You want to get your heart rate up so that you’ll achieve maximum benefit. Rotate through the exercises. You can even add your own.

Now we’ll discuss a few ways that you can outside or incorporate dumbbells into outdoor activities such as walking:

Jumping jacks with overhead dumbbell press: Begin by standing with your feet about 6-8 inches apart, grasping a dumbbell in each hand and bend your elbows upright (upper arms parallel to the floor) holding the dumbbells about ear height. Jump up spreading your feet out (like you were doing a jumping jack) and as you do so, lift the dumbbells over your head. Jump back to the starting position and as you do, return the dumbbells to the starting position. Repeat 20-30 times;

Walking with dumbbells: Walking is an excellent, low-impact way to get or stay fit-it can be made even better with the addition of a lightweight set of dumbbells. Jumpstart your metabolism by doing bicep curls, overhead presses, or front raises while you’re walking;

Walking dumbbell lunges: Find an area where you can walk about 20 feet and then holding a dumbbell in each hand (arms at your side) place one foot forward as far as you comfortably can, then lower your body until the knee of your rear leg almost touches the ground and your front thigh is almost parallel to the floor. Then, keeping your torso upright, lunge forward with the other leg, repeating the process, alternating lunges 10 times;

What I’ve presented here are just a very few of the many ways to incorporate dumbbells into a conditioning workout. Be creative and come up with some of your own. Be sure to take things slowly at first and gradually build up your capacity and make sure you’ve got the form down right. Starting off too aggressively right out of the gate may result in injury and can really make it difficult to stick with your program. Try and build up to where you can do at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise 3-5 times a week.

Author: Mike Westerdal

If you’ve read more than two articles I’ve written then you should know that I favor unconventional training methodologies that push and challenge both body and mind. I firmly believe that this is the only way to get really big and hit your goals. From that perspective DoggCrapp Training (a.k.a. DC Training) definitely fits the bill. This incredibly intense program includes heavy progressive weights, lower volume/higher frequency of body parts trained, high intensity/rest-pause training, extreme stretching, a high protein diet and periodization (“blasting” and “cruising”). Here are the basics: Lower volume/higher frequency:

In most training routines you train each body part once a week doing 3-4 different exercises per muscle group. With DC Training, you only do 1-2 exercise per muscle group per day but you’re hitting each muscle group twice every 8 days. The lower volume of exercises means that your body can recover more rapidly, which in turn allows for a short turnaround between training sessions;

Exercise rotation:

The base program runs on a cycle hitting every body part 2 times every 8 days. It’s not as complicated as it sounds-you start by picking 3 exercises for each the various muscle groups like this: chest, back (width), back (thickness), delts, triceps, biceps, forearms and calves, hamstrings and quads. You do only one of those exercises per muscle group per workout but then you rotate to the next exercise in the following workout. Remember though that you’re doing each exercise 3 times to total failure in each workout so don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s easy. Here is what a sample routine might look like:

Monday: Chest, shoulders, triceps and back (width and thickness);

Wednesday: Biceps, forearms, calves, hamstrings and quads;

Friday: Chest, shoulders, triceps and back (width and thickness);

Monday: Biceps, forearms, calves, hamstrings and quads;

So you can see how every 8 days you’ve cycled through each body part twice, doing a different one of each of the 3 exercises you’ve chosen per workout. Keeping a training journal can keep you organized and help keep track of where you are in the training cycle;

High intensity/rest-pause training:

DC Training demands intensity. To begin, you do 2-5 warm-up sets (lighter weight) before the first set is performed to failure followed by 10-15 deep breaths before performing another set to failure. This is again followed by 10-15 deep breaths and then a final set to failure before moving on to the next exercise or muscle group. The goal is to explode on the uplift and descend with a controlled negative of about 6-8 seconds. You’ve got to be prepared both mentally and physically to take on Rest-Pause training though because instead of taking a one or two minute break between sets, you’re only resting for 20-30 seconds between each one;

Extreme stretching:

Stretching is an important part of the recovery process in DC Training. There are specific stretches for the chest, triceps, biceps, shoulders, back, quads, hamstrings and calves;

Diet:

The DC Training diet is very high in protein with a recommended intake of between 1.5 to 2.0 grams per pound of body weight;

Periodization:

The “blasting” phase is 6-12 weeks of high intensity, all-out training followed by a “cruising” phase of 10-14 days of maintenance training before repeating the cycle once again;

One of the nice things about DC Training is that it leaves plenty of room for customization. For example, instead of Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Monday, you could do Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday but split the workout into 3 parts in order to shorten your training sessions (great if you’ve got a hectic schedule). Day 1 could include chest, shoulders and triceps. On Day 2 you could train biceps, forearms and back (width and thickness) and on Day 3 you could work calves, hamstrings and quads. This cuts your workout down to about 35 minutes including stretching but still has you hitting each body part twice in 9 days.

A lot of guys have had phenomenal results following the DC Training program. If you’re going to do it though, be prepared to really commit yourself to doing it right. DC Training requires you to push your body as far as it can go and then some-that’s why it works. To get the best results you’ve got to be prepared to give it your all and make it a really intense workout, pushing on for one more rep even when your mind and body are screaming “No!” If not, you’ll just be wasting your time.

Author: Mike Westerdal

Boris Sheiko is a Russian bodybuilding coach and renowned powerlifting expert. Several of his trainees have won national and international competitions. Along the path to prominence in the powerlifting world he developed his own training regimen, which came to be known as Sheiko Training. Boris’ training philosophy flies in the face of what most training regimens where you train each muscle group once each week. In contrast to this, Boris believes that frequency and volume performed at low intensities can drive progression and gains. In Sheiko Training, you repeat lifts several times a week, which both improves your form and drives growth. The key though is that the weight must be kept relatively low in order to allow your body sufficient time to recover.

I’ll tell you straight up that the program is complex and if you’re not into keeping a journal then this is not the plan for you. Measured progress is the underlying principle of Sheiko Training. In Boris’ program, frequency refers to the number of days you train a muscle group each week, volume refers to the number of reps you for each muscle group and intensity refers to the weight-specifically, the percentage of your max weight that you’re lifting. With so many things to track, you’ll need to log your training sessions each week so you can see your improvements.

For the beginner, Sheiko Training can be confusing-especially since it has not been that long since it was first translated from Russian and most of them have been literal translations such as, “Trainings of arresters in the preparatory period.” As a result, some of the terms and phrases can be difficult to understand for the layman. Also because its translation to English is relatively recent, it can be a bit tough to find detailed explanations of the program and its philosophies.

Sheiko Training uses percentages to manage your lifting volume. You start low and work your way up, increasing the percentage as you go along. For the beginner, the first bench press set might be 50% of max lift, then 60%, 70% and the finally 75%. Remember that although the weight may be lower than what you’re used to doing, you’ll be doing more reps (volume) than in a normal workout. In fact, with Sheiko training you may be going anywhere between 850 – 1000 reps each month, sometimes more.

In addition, there are three periods in Sheiko Training: the preparatory period where the foundation is established, the emulative period, which is more advanced and the transitive period, which prepares you to renew the cycle again. During the preparatory period volume is higher and intensity lower. Conversely, during the emulative period, intensity is higher but volume lower. And finally, during the transitive period, volume, intensity and the number of weekly workouts are all reduced in order to give the body time to recuperate.

There are a lot of different Sheiko Training templates to choose from depending on your level of familiarity with the program. Most Sheiko experts recommend that beginners start with training routine #29. This is a three day a week program that will help you get accustomed to Sheiko. This routine has you doing about 964 lifts (reps) per month.

As you progress through the templates things get tougher. For instance, in Sheiko Training template #37, the total number of reps for the month is 1093. Gains are also achieved by increasing the weight (percentage of max lift) lifted in the templates. Because of the complexity of the routines-keeping track of all those percentages and lifts can be a real chore, some guys have taken the time to make spreadsheets that automatically calculate the appropriate percentages for you, based on the one-rep max you enter.

Opinions on Sheiko training run to extremes. Some guys swear that they’ve made incredible gains following Boris’ training templates with others saying that it’s just too complicated and that any gains they made are negligible. Keep in mind though that because Sheiko Training is relatively unknown here in the United States, there really isn’t enough information out there to say that the program isn’t really effective.

Also, remember that the Russians have long been known for their expertise and success in developing some of the world’s most powerful lifters and if you take the time to read the science behind Boris’ training philosophy you’ll see that he knows what he’s talking about. So given that, I definitely believe that we’ll be seeing and hearing more about Sheiko Training in the future.

Author: Mike Westerdal