If your eating and exercise are on point, but you still don’t feel or look the way you want, poor sleep may be to blame. Here’s how to tap into the power of sleep and make rest a daily priority. Read up, then GET THE F TO SLEEP!
Keeping your metabolism high is crucial for losing weight and keeping it off.
Unfortunately, there are several common lifestyle mistakes that may be slowing down your metabolism.
Doing these on a regular basis could make it hard to lose weight and make you more prone to weight gain in the future.
Here are 6 lifestyle mistakes that can slow down your metabolism!
You make more friends with honey than you do with vinegar, and nobody likes the cold, harsh truth. Nevertheless, when it comes to the interplay between drinking alcohol and achieving your fitness goals, I’m not one to sit here and bullshit. So let's skip the cute and friendly talk and get right to the straight dope about the effect of your drinking on your fitness progress.
Many people falsely believe that weight gain (and loss) is all about calories and willpower.
However, modern obesity research disagrees… and scientists are increasingly pointing their fingers at a hormone called leptin (1).
Being resistant to this hormone’s effects (called leptin resistance) is now believed to be the leading driver of fat gain in humans (2).
Let's delve a little deeper into the hormonal aspect of body composition!
Overweight does not necessarily equal unhealthy.
There are actually plenty of overweight people who are in excellent health (1).
Conversely, many normal weight people have the metabolic problems associated with obesity (2).
That’s because the fat under the skin is actuallynot that big of a problem (at least not from a health standpoint… it’s more of a cosmetic problem).
It’s the fat in the abdominal cavity, the belly fat, that causes the biggest issues (3).
If you have a lot of excess fat around your waistline, even if you’re not very heavy, then you might want to take some steps to get rid of it.
Belly fat is usually estimated by measuring the circumference around your waist. This can easily be done at home with a simple tape measure.
Anything above 40 inches (102 cm) in men and 35 inches (88 cm) in women, is known as abdominal obesity.
There are actually a few proven strategies that have been shown to target the fat in the belly area more than other areas of the body.
Here are 6 evidence-based ways to lose belly fat.
Take it from me (or maybe this totally over-the-top unrealistic stock image of this fitness model above), but building a nice set of glutes isn’t easy or for the weak-minded. It takes hard work, dedication, flawless nutrition, and a specific training formula. If you’re looking for a posterior that’s a little more J Lo and a little less Jello, keep reading. Here are 3 quick tips you can employ starting today to build a piece of art on your backside.
When it comes to losing weight, not all foods are the same. Some foods can increase the amount of calories you burn, kill your appetite, or both. This can be caused by protein, fiber, as well as many substances found naturally in foods. Here are 10 foods and beverages that burn fat with MAGIC! (Just kidding, it's definitely science).
Quinoa is the world’s most popular “superfood." Although "superfood" is a total buzzword in the nutrition world, it is still loaded with protein, fiber and minerals. On top of that, it doesn’t contain any gluten.
Here are 11 proven health benefits of quinoa, and why it should be your favorite source of carbs for fuel!
“Although weight loss can usually be achieved through dietary restriction and/or increased physical activity, the overwhelming majority of people regain the weight that they have lost over the long-term.”
–The Defence of Body Weight: A physiological basis for weight regain after weight loss, Sumithran & Proietto, 2013
I can't stress it enough - dieting is bad news bears.
"Diet" is a confusing word because it can mean many things. For some, it is thought of as nothing more than the customary food and drink of a culture, a person, or an animal. In other instances, diets are simply lists of "good" and "bad" foods prescribed for medical reasons, such as the DASH diet or a diet to control diabetes. Most of us, however, would assimilate a "diet" with a temporary and highly restrictive program of eating in order to lose weight. For the purposes of this post, this is the type of diet I am referring to, and have a BIG problem with.
So, just WHY am I against that kind of diet? Well, LET'S DELVE IN!
Your nutrition is on point and you're working your buns off in the gym like a sweat machine. Running, lifting weights, and even some yoga. You've ditched the excuses and are getting your workouts in at least 3 days per week. So why have you hit a plateau in your weight loss journey? Why are you struggling to drop those last few pounds? If you've only got a few more pounds to lose to hit your goal, your body is going to fight you for those pounds - and with persistence.
Your metabolism should be revving like a Formula 1 race car engine, but it may be running more closely to a snails pace than the former - which is turning off your fat burning processes.
Many of us do this to ourselves without even realizing it. The way we eat and live slows down our metabolism and makes it nearly impossible to shed those last few pounds.
Well, here's why and (importantly) how to fix it.
Thanksgiving only comes around once a year, so why not go ahead and splurge? Well, for starts, because putting on an entire pound (or two) during the holiday season seems to be a national pastime. Every year, most American gain at least a pound during the Holiday season, only to live in remorse and jump into unsuccessful dieting come January. Remember folks, DIETS DON'T WORK - meal planning and consistent workouts do.
Thanksgiving does not have to sabotage your weight. With a little planning ahead, you can satisfy your desire for traditional favorites and still enjoy a guilt-free Thanksgiving feast. Here are 8 tips to a thinner Thanksgiving feast!
Coconut oil is one of the few foods that can be realistically be classified as a “superfood.” Its unique combination of fatty acids can have profound positive effects on health. This includes fat loss, better brain function and various other amazing benefits.
Here are the top 10 health benefits of coconut oil that have been experimentally confirmed in human studies.
A study by the Harvard School of Public Health did a study that found that "healthier diet patterns—for example, diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts—cost more than unhealthy diets (for example, those rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains). On average, a day’s worth of the most healthy diet patterns cost about $1.50 more per day than the least healthy ones."
Folks, that's not a lot. You know what cost more than $1.50 per day? Any visit to your doctor. Invest in your health, a long life free of pain and sickness is your return. Here's a list of 10 Phil-approved foods you can find in your grocery store for less than $1.
What works for one person may not work for the next.
When making changes, some people prefer to go all-in and change everything at the same time while others prefer the longer, slower approach… making small changes, one at a time. Neither approach is better than the other, people simply have different personalities and like to approach lifestyle changes differently.
This article is geared towards a longer, slower approach. It explains how to adopt a healthy, real food based diet in 12 simple, easily manageable steps.
Eggs are a fantastic source of lean protein, heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and some other uber important nutrients. But what about those yolks? "Phil, my friend so-and-so who does this-and-that and knows everything ever told me that egg yolks are bad for me!" OK buddy - here's the skinny:
There are 7,800 farmer's markets in the US, up 67% from 2008(1). With a little research, shopping and supporting local is a great way to support local farmers in exchange for great nutrition. You can expect to find ultra-fresh vegetables from farmers committed to quality, organic foods.
While I support organic agriculture, it is important to acknowledge its limitations and complications.
This entry is for all the vegetarians out there- especially the guys who aren't carnivorous animals like most guys hitting the gym who seem to ingest their bodyweight in steak, chicken, and turkey. To gain muscle or lose fat, a vegetarian and a meat-eater will have the same meal plan when it comes to macronutrient balance and calorie intake. As a review, muscle building is accomplished by ingesting more calories than you burn off throughout the day. Some individuals seeking a vegetarian diet seem to have the understanding that they'll never hit their protein goal without eating meat. This is simply not the case. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts all have some amount of protein. Like meat sources, a diet consisting of diverse plant-based foods will contain the right combination of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) to pack on muscle. You simply need to ensure you're taking in adequate amounts of the calorie and protein-dense foods such as seeds, nuts, beans, and whole grains.
It's been called the King of all exercises. As demonstrated above, children all seem to have perfect squat form. Unfortunately this is something we seem to quickly lose as we age. So what's the deal with this so called legendary lift? is it really all that important?
In recent years, almond butter has seemed to be considered the "healthier" nut butter among many health-conscious eaters as they look upon peanut butter as its low-brow relative. If you've ever tried it before, there's a strong chance you've found almond butter to be a tasty alternative to peanut butter, but is it really worth nearly twice as much as peanut butter at the check out line for it's health benefits?
Nutrition is CONFUSING AS HELL; there are contradictions left and right, controversy is rampant, and there's a whole lotta bullshit being spat by so-called "experts" in the magazine you see at Lunds & Byerly's next to the peanut butter cups.
Well, it’s actually pretty simple. However, that doesn't change the fact that it confuses, stresses out, and annoys most of the people I work with. Then, when us coaches talk with other coaches it turns into a very controversial topic because everyone has their favorite nutrition strategy, many believe that there's ONLY way to coach it, and the media is blasting us with so many poorly constructed product ads that it'll make your head spin and make you quit altogether.
This is part of the reason I love it so much; nutrition is going to be different for each and every individual.
So here are the top 10 questions I tend to receive from new fitness goers. I answer them for you, and do so in a way that will finally end the frustration and confusion. If you read it closely, it is absolutely going ot help you solve the struggles you’re experiencing with nutrition without the flowery nonsense you're going to read everywhere else
Got it? Awesome…Because you’re gonna love this. Print this out, fold it up and put it in your pocket or somewhere close so you can constantly remind yourself of what you should be focusing on.