Working Out For The Brain?

Diet and exercise can give a 50-year old a body that looks and feels much younger, BUT studies are now pointing towards the same benefits for the brain! McKnight Brain Institute studied rats that spent significant time on their exercise wheels versus sedimentary rats. Those that “exercised” had had healthier DNA and less-damaged brain cells over the course of their lives. “For this study animals were not forced to run; they did it because it was entertaining,” says researcher Dr. Thomas Foster. The good doc says for people “The results show that regular exercise can prevent oxidative damage.” Oxidative damage is linked to memory failure and other forms of mental decline that comes with aging. For questions about what the best kinds of exercise are or how to make exercising entertaining, just send me an email. jason@safatloss.com Or leave me a comment. I'd be happy to help you with all of your fat loss needs.

Does Black Friday Feel More Like "Fat" Friday?

This may or may not apply to you in regards to Black Friday, but chances are it applies to your life one way or another.

You see, I predict that untold numbers of people got up super early today and went shopping on Black Friday. I also predict these folks either skipped breakfast or grabbed something sugary on the way out the door.

Then at some point, when their shopping frenzy has begun to die down, they'll plop down at a food court and load up on greasy fast food or something very close. Not good for fat loss. Not good at all.

If you want to shed pounds and inches you just have to eat a solid breakfast. It sets the tone for your metabolism for the entire day. Taking the time to plan what you're going to eat for breakfast the night before is more than worth the time if you're serious about melting fat off your frame. But look, sometimes you just don't have time for it. Sometimes it's the day after a holiday and you're not firing on all cylinders. No reason to fret. You can reach for a great tasting meal replacement shake that will stoke your metabolism and help you burn fat all day long.

People ask me all the time what brand I recommend. Simple: Prograde Lean. Why? Because it tastes amazing and will keep you full for hours. It's just what the fitness pro ordered on a day like Black Friday.

If you'd like to try Prograde Lean for yourself, well, if you hurry you can get it on sale today. The Prograde Nutrition Thanksgiving Week Sale ends TODAY at 11:59pm EST. You can save 11% off all of their products. All you need to do is use their coupon code when you checkout. For instance, if you want to order Prograde Lean just go here: http://ftbaa.getprograde.com/lean

Place your order. And when you get to the coupon code simply type in the word:

thanks

(Yes, that's the word 'thanks' in all lower case letters)

If you're a busy person on the go, and you're serious about fat loss, then I highly recommend giving Prograde Lean a try. I know it took them nine months of taste-testing to get the chocolate flavor just perfect. It really is delicious!

The sale ends TONIGHT, so if you're thinking some Prograde Lean would make your life easy then you need to order right away before you forget.

How Will Thanksgiving Change You?

There is something special about this time of year. The leaves start turning beautiful colors, the air becomes much crisper, we tend to eat stews made from a crock pot instead of burgers fired up on the grill and cuddling in front of a fire takes the place of long walks down the beach or lake. Have you figured out what the special thing about this time of year is yet? It’s CHANGE!

What is special about this time of year is that changes are happening all around us, and it’s not just the weather. Our personalities change as well. When the holidays are upon us, we begin to relax. For some people that can be a good thing, but in terms of fitness it is usually bad.

How many times have you yourself said or heard someone else say, “Wow, I really need to get in shape so I can wear my turtleneck at the Christmas party.” The reality is that you don’t. As a whole, we tend to let ourselves go during the holidays. We drink a little more, we eat a little more and miss a few too many training sessions. That is the change that we make. As a result the average American gains seven to ten pounds from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day! Is that the kind of change that you want?

This holiday season I challenge you to make a real change in your life by not changing. If you normally take a turn for the worse then I want to help you stay on the straight and narrow. If you have been thinking about starting a program to get in shape, but have been putting it off, then I want to help you get started. Send me an email with your concerns at jason@safatloss.com and let me get you going in the right direction. This holiday season make a REAL change. You can do it. You are worth it. You do deserve it. Don’t let me be the only one who believes in you!

An Early Thanksgiving Feast!

As you probably already know, there's only one nutrition company I believe has your best interests at heart. And when I heard they were having a rather unusual sale for Thanksgiving I had to tell you about it. You see, Prograde has two big reasons to be thankful this week.

1- They have completely revamped their website. It really is cool and it makes ordering SO much simpler.

2- They have just released their brand new Anti-oxidant formula - Prograde Longevity.Oh, and the interesting part is it's an 11% off everything sale. Here are some other details I want to make sure you know about:

- Again, you receive 11% off all Prograde products. - It will run from Monday, November 24th until Friday, November 28th at 11:59pm EST.

- Yes, that 11% will be applicable to SmartShip orders. But it only applies to that first purchase. Not ongoing.

- The coupon code you will need at checkout is:

thanks

(Yes, it all needs to be in lower case.)

- In case you missed it, the website is http://ftbaa.getprograde.com/ Oh, and you should definitely check out the Prograde Lean - that's my favorite Prograde product. I've been using it with pretty amazing results.

Yours in health,

Jason "Shark" (Mc)Guckian

PS- Remember, this Thanksgiving celebration ends this Friday, so be sure to order right away and take advantage of these BIG savings. (http://ftbaa.getprograde.com/)

Dummies Burn More Fat

People who want to get in shape are very clever. I know from dealing with my own clients that they are very, very smart...too smart for their own good. Sometimes we are so smart that we "think" ourselvesaway from achieving the goals that we are after.
Ever heard of the term "Dumb Jock?" Think back in high school. There was that football player who was so good looking. He had a muscular frame, nice arms and six pack abs! But guess what?...he was as dumb as a box of rocks. This is the Hollywood cliché of a great looking guy, who has it all except the brains, right? Well, there is something to be said for that. You see, the act of getting in shape is so simple that many times, us clever people miss it. Don't get me wrong, having brains is a burden that I am proud to live with, as I'm sure you are as well, but to be successful in fitness we need to be a little more simple minded.

That is why using a personal trainer is so beneficial. Let your trainer do all the thinking for you. When you go to the gym or to a boot camp class you should put your mind on auto pilot and let the trainer do his/her job. Stick to your trainer for all of your fitness advice. Only listen to one trainer at a time. Different trainers have different methods. Once you have chosen the right one for you, follow that trainer's guidelines. Try not to deviate from the program.
Sometimes, as clever people, we try to re-invent the wheel. If we are on a diet regimen of xyz that our trainer provided, then we might be too hasty and drop the x off of it to try to get better results. DON'T DO IT! The meal plan was provided to give you everything that you need to achieve your goals. Remember that you hired your trainer because he/she is an expert in their field. Have faith in their ability to produce results. When you try to alter the program, you could be putting your goals, or worse, your health in jeopardy.

Another way we think too much is by trying to do too much. For example if your trainer has you training 3 times per week, then you should only train during those times unless you have discussed this with your trainer before hand. Trying to do more than that could put your joints in danger! Plus you need to remember that you do not build muscle tone during training. Muscle tone is built by resting, not by training.

Take these tips to heart as you travel on your journey to fitness. No matter how smart you are, remember that you hired your trainer for a reason. He may not be as smart as you are (in fact he may be the ex-foot ball player from high school) but he is an expert in the field of fitness. Listen to his advice and apply his knowledge. If the situation was different, say you hired a CPA, then you would listen to him about how to prepare your taxes, right? The same goes for your trainer. Play dumb and you will be well on your way to being in the best shape of your life! You CAN do it! You ARE worth it! You DO deserve it! Don't let me be the only one who believes in you!

Why Can't I Lose Weight

I can’t tell you how many times that I have heard this question. People come to me and ask, “Why can’t I lose weight? I am doing everything I can, but I’m just stuck!” Sound familiar? The problem isn’t what you are doing, but rather what you are not doing. Let me explain.
First and foremost, you need to have a firm understanding of what it really takes to lose weight. There are four simple guidelines. Let me share them with you.

1. NUTRITION - What you eat and how often you eat are much more important than how much you eat.

2. RESISTANCE TRAINING - free weights, weight machines, bands, balls and even your own body weight plays an important role in this category.

3. CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING - This is done by walking, running, swimming, biking and even cleaning house if your working hard. These are things that cause you to sweat by raising your heart rate.

4. ACCOUNTABILITY & DETERMINATION - This is both the most important and most overlooked ingredient needed for fat loss and weight loss. You need to have a checks and balances system in place for you to succeed.

Let’s start with the diet. Diet is a four letter word that nobody likes to hear. The problem is that most people treat this word as a verb and not a noun. A diet is really whatever you eat. The key to having a good diet (notice I didn’t say key to dieting) is to eat more often. Actors, models and other people who take care of their bodies follow this rule. You need to eat something small every two to three hours. This will keep your metabolism working overtime and help your body not only burn fat, but process the food you feed it. Keep the sugars and hydrogenated oils to a minimum and focus on complete proteins and fibrous carbohydrates.

Next comes the resistance training. Working with weights will not make you bulky or manly looking, no ma’am. Doing resistance training properly adds muscle tone, not muscle mass. This is crucial because not only will it build that sexy body of your dreams, but by increasing muscle tone, you increase your metabolism. For every pound of muscle that you build, you burn an average total of 50 calories per day! That means you burn 50 calories even when you are sleeping! With a structured program from a qualified personal trainer you can build a total of 10lbs of muscle tone over the next 10 to 12 months! That means you will be burning a total of 3500 calories per week! That equates to a pound of body fat! That means that once you can build 10lbs of muscle you will burn approximately one pound of fat per week just by resting!

Cardiovascular training is the most abused form of weight loss. We have been taught for years that if we stay in our target heart rate for 30 minutes three times per day, that we will burn fat…WRONG! Cardio doesn’t burn fat, it burns calories. We want our fat to melt off of our bodies right? Lets look at the top Olympic athletes to illustrate this point. World class distance runners stay in their target heart rate for hours each day, however, they look soft and frail. The average body fat percentage of an Olympic distance runner is 16%! That is four points above ideal for an average male, let alone an Olympic athlete! Now lets look at sprinters. These athletes push their bodies very hard for short periods. This is called High Intensity Interval Training. This allows them to build muscle with every sprint. Sprinters look hard and defined. They have very sexy, sleek and long lean muscle tone that is visible even from the top of the bleachers. These athletes never run long distances and carry an average body fat percentage of 4%. Instead of walking or jogging forever to get that small waist, try pushing yourself for short periods. This will incinerate your fat storages!

Finally we come to the most important part, accountability. The easiest way to stay focused is to write things down in a journal. I keep a training journal to write my workouts in, and a nutrition journal to write down what and when I eat. I also measure my arms, waist, chest and thighs every month to make sure that I am making progress. That way if some jerk tries to tell me what he thinks, I can always listen to the reality of my results, and not the stupid comments of ignorant people.

In closing I want to leave you with what I call the THREE COMANDMENTS OF FITNESS. If you can apply these principles, then you will always be one step ahead.

1. The hardest part of your workout is walking through the front door. Once you are here, then you can accomplish anything.

2. Never compare yourself to any one else, including the person you might have been five, ten or fifteen years ago. The only person you have to be better than is the person you were yesterday.

3. “Never give up what you truly want, for what you think your want today” - Zig Ziglar

Why Workouts Don't Work

I get most of my clients after they have been either training on their own for a while or if they have been training with another trainer for a while and have stopped seeing results. Yes, I said that right they STOPPED SEEING RESULTS! Wait a minute. If they are exercising, especially with a trainer, why are they not seeing the results? The answer is simple. Around 90% of fitness trainers out there have only a certification as there guide. They lack experience and understanding. What they are taught is to instruct the client first and foremost on their balance. This is why you see most trainers using a lot of balls and platforms with their clients. These are good exercises, but they are missing the most important reason why they were hired in the first place....The client wants RESULTS!

I have never had a client come to me and say, "Jason, I really need help with my balance." No, that sounds silly. I do however hear, "Jason, I really need to lose this fat off of my belly, hips and thighs!" That is why it is so important that you investigate and research a trainer before you spend your hard earned money on one. Even if he/she starts to put you through real workouts, you still need to be careful. Let me explain.

What many trainers do is immediately put you on a three day split. For example, using Monday, Wednesday and Friday as our training days, the trainer will have you do workout "A" on Monday, "B" on Wednesday and "C" on Friday. Next week the same routine is performed, A, B & C. Doing this kind of routine, you will start to see some results, but after a while you will plateau or stay the same. The question is WHY?

Your body begins to adapt to the consistent workload that you are putting it through week in and week out. Once this happens, you will no longer be able to achieve results. Most trainers do not understand this concept. Either because they are ignorant and lack experience, or because they are focused on their own motivation...money. You see, most trainers charge by the hour. They sell their sessions or workouts to you at the price of $60 to $90 dollars each. The more sessions you buy the better. There is a huge flaw with this type of set up! Never once were your goals and results the focus!

A real trainer will charge you by your goals. I do. If you don't get in the best shape of your life, by training with me, then I will give you double your money back! I can promise this because I understand how your body reacts to training. Instead of an A, B, C, A, B and C training regimen, I offer something completely different each and every time that you train. We may start with A, B, and C the first week, but on week two we progress to D, E and F. The trick is to never repeat the same workout twice. This will keep your body guessing, and always prove powerful results. After all, if you are not achieving your goals then what's the point, right? If you live in San Antonio, Texas you may contact me direct at (210) 887-2304 or if you are anywhere else in the world, feel free to inquire about my online training packages via email at jason@safatloss.com. Either way I am committed to your success. You ARE worth it! You CAN do it! You DO deserve it! Don't let me be the only one who believes in YOU!