Training & Nutrition Secrets by RicheL - HTML preview

3.5  Are Vitamin/Mineral Supplements Necessary or Just Money Down the Toilet?

 

As a fitness professional, I receive questions about vitamins all the time. Questions like……What kinds should I take? How much? Should I take a multi or just a couple of the important individual ones like C, E, calcium, or zinc? Will they help me lose weight or build muscle? So with all the talk and hype about vitamin and mineral supplements…Are they really necessary for optimal health? The answer is a definitive…..HELL NO!  That is, if you’re eating a balanced healthy diet, which most people don’t.  Let me put it this way…a vitamin/mineral supplement probably will be somewhat beneficial to you if you have a poor diet. However, if you’re really serious about getting lean and ripped and truly healthy for good, why would your diet be poor? So, in the case that you’re eating a healthy, balanced diet, the answer is that you don’t need a vitamin supplement.

 

Let’s think about this for a second.  Did humans thrive on the planet for tens of thousands of years by popping an artificially created vitamin pill. Out of tens of thousands of years of human existence, vitamin pills have only been around for a couple of decades, yet the population is in worse health than ever before. Sure, maybe the human race is not in its worst health from a contagious disease perspective, but we definitely are from a degenerative disease perspective.  Now I admit that we do live longer these days compared to historically, but that is only because medical advances keep us alive longer even though we are in horrendous shape physically. People might live longer now, but they’re simply living longer while being overweight, crippled with degenerated joints, plagued with heart disease and cancers, and on and on. You get the point.

 

So let us get right to some answers as to why I contend that vitamin/mineral supplements are a waste of money and are not necessary to optimal health.  Well, first and foremost, a healthy balanced diet consisting of a large variety of natural unprocessed foods (from meats, dairy, eggs, fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, etc.) provides a rich array of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and all the other nutrients we need to thrive in perfect health. The problem is that many people don’t choose a healthy balanced diet full of variety. They claim they are too busy, or it’s too inconvenient. Well, I hope that you take your body and the health of you and your family more seriously than these people that apparently don’t care about the physical being that they are walking around in day in and day out.

 

Another problem with attempting to obtain your vitamins and minerals from a pill instead of natural foods is that your body does not absorb and utilize the nutrients from a pill as efficiently as those obtained from natural food.  Whole foods naturally contain vitamins and minerals in combinations that are best assimilated.  On the other hand, vitamin/mineral pills contain lots of vitamins and minerals that many times interfere with each other.  For example, zinc and copper taken at the same time interfere with each others absorption.  Also, high doses of Vitamin E can interfere with absorption of beta carotene (a vitamin A precursor) and other fat soluble vitamins. Many other combinations interfere with each other as well.

 

Another problem with vitamin pills is possible excess consumption of fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K). Fat soluble vitamins accumulate in fatty tissue in our bodies, and therefore it is easier to overdose on these compared with water soluble vitamins (vitamin C and the various B vitamins).  Excess fat soluble vitamin accumulation can cause various toxic effects within the body.  It is much harder to take in excess quantities of fat soluble vitamins through natural foods. You would have to consume exorbitant quantities of liver and other organ meats to take in too much Vitamin A and D. It would be rare for someone to overeat on foods such as that. Also, it would be hard to over consume a plant-based precursor to Vitamin A (beta carotene), found in sweet potatoes, carrots, etc., because your body simply would shut down the conversion to Vitamin A once it has obtained what it needs. 

 

There are even some instances where mega-doses of water soluble vitamins can be toxic. Mega doses of some B vitamins can potentially cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and even liver damage. However, in most instances, you simply excrete excess water soluble vitamins in your urine. That is why many times, your urine will be a deep yellow color a couple of hours after taking a vitamin that has high doses of vitamins B and C. So, when you take a vitamin pill, most of the water soluble vitamins are simply flushed down the toilet. You might as well just eliminate the middleman and flush your money right down the toilet! 

 

Another problem with vitamin pills is that they often use synthetic versions of vitamins that can actually be unhealthy. For example, the forms of vitamin E that are found in pills can be either d-alpha tocopherol (a natural version) and dl-alpha tocopherol (a synthetic version).  First of all, the bioavailability of synthetic vitamin E is much lower than natural vitamin E. In addition, I’ve seen many studies cited that indicated that there could be potential health dangers with taking synthetic vitamin E. Once again, we get back to the fact that natural is always better than something that has been heavily modified by man. 

 

The bottom line is that as long as you eat a balanced diet full of a good variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes, meats, dairy, eggs, etc., you will obtain all the nutrients your body needs to operate efficiently without the need for a manmade vitamin/mineral pill.

 

Exercise is obviously very important for losing body fat and building a strong, lean body, but always remember that proper nutrition is even more important.  A lousy diet means a flabby, unhealthy body, regardless of how often someone works out. 

 

3.6  Make Healthier Choices When Forced to Eat Fast-Food

 

I was out recently with some friends and we stopped at a fast food joint. I hate fast food joints, but sometimes when everybody else wants to go there, you just have to make the best of it and find something at least somewhat healthy. If you're forced to eat fast-food, here's a tip to make sure that you're not doing much damage to your body...ALWAYS AVOID the soda and anything deep fried including french fries, hash browns, and anything breaded like chicken nuggets, chicken patties, or breaded fish sandwiches. These are all absolutely soaked in deadly trans fats from the industrial hydrogenated vegetable oils they use to fry all of these items. 

 

Remember, as I've said before, I've seen studies indicating that as little as 1-2 grams of trans fat per day can have serious degenerative internal effects in your body such as inflammation, clogging and hardening of the arteries, heart disease, various forms of cancer...not to mention packing on the ab flab. That's as little as 1-2 grams! Consider that a typical fast-food meal of a breaded chicken sandwich (or fish sandwich), along with an order of fries can contain as much as 10 grams of trans fat! Add on a cookie or small piece of pie for dessert (which are usually made with deadly margarine or shortening), and now you're up to about 13 grams of trans fat with that entire meal. If 1 gram a day is slowly killing you, imagine what 13 grams is doing! And that was only one meal that you ate. Some people are consuming 20-30 grams of trans fat per day, and not even realizing what they're doing to themselves internally. Please realize that nobody, I mean NOBODY, is looking out for your health, except for YOU.

 

Anyway, back to the topic of how to avoid this stuff and eat a reasonably healthy meal on the rare occasion that you're forced to eat fast-food. As for drinks, avoid the sodas...they're nothing but chemicals along with heavily processed high fructose corn syrup which will surely end up as extra belly blubber. Water is always the best drink, but if you need something with flavor, try unsweetened or lightly sweetened iced tea. At breakfast, the best choices are an egg, ham, and cheese on an english muffin (not on a croissant, which is full of nasty trans!), or one of those fruit & nut salads. At lunch or dinner, the best choices are a grilled chicken sandwich, the chili, a grilled chicken salad without croutons (again...croutons = more trans), or even just a plain cheeseburger. The main take-away point from this little fast-food article is that the nastiest stuff at these fast food joints are the sodas and fries, and any other deep fried items. 

 

For any of you that have seen the movie "Super-Size Me", you saw how eating fast food every day absolutely destroyed that guy's health, but did you happen to notice the one guy that was the king of eating big macs (or some kind of burger)? I don't remember what kind of burger it was, but basically this guy has eaten these fast food burgers almost every day of his life for the past 30 years or something like that. Did you notice that he stated that he almost never eats the fries or soda, even though he eats the burgers every day? And he's not necessarily overweight. Now I'm not saying that fast-food burgers made with their refined white bread and low quality beef and cheese are the healthiest thing, but the point is...it's the fries and sodas that are the real health disaster.

 

Alright, so next time you're out at one of these places, remember these tips and choose smart! 

 

By the way, if you haven't heard yet, McD's has started adding a nutrition label to all of their food wrappers, so now you can at least be aware what you’re eating. Remember that as little as one gram of trans may cause some internal harm and now you can actually see how many grams of trans fat you're eating right on the food wrapper. That might change your mind about finishing it.

 

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this e-book. I tried to give you some of my insider secrets of a fitness junkie for developing a lean, muscular, and truly healthy body for life! Again, feel free to email this e-book to any of your friends, family, or coworkers that you think might enjoy this information. 

 

If you’re interested in my fully comprehensive program that I’ve developed for losing as much body fat as you want by following a smart, scientifically designed training and nutrition program, check out my Truth about Six Pack Abs program.

 

Here’s a taste of what some of the people from around the world have been saying about the Truth about Six Pack Abs program:

 

  

 

I attached a couple photos to show you how far I've come since starting your program.....it was quite shocking to see what I looked like just last year!!  I had forgotten how overweight I was, and looking at these before and after pics again almost made me cry...but tears of joy this time, as I'm so thankful for how much progress I've made.  

 

Not only do I feel so healthy and vibrant, but I feel that I look younger now too! Its wonderful! I went from a size 14 to a 5. Weight wise I was around 190 lbs when I started and now I am 120 lbs. I’m so passionate about your book and style of nutrition...it's absolutely amazing...I don’t crave unhealthy stuff anymore...I have eliminated an insane sweet tooth.

 

I happened upon your book about 9 months ago. Once I downloaded and printed your ebook, I read it once, and then again. There is so much information in there that expands beyond just working out and abs.  The nutritional information was fascinating, and I believe that was what helped me get to where I am today.  The workouts are also so challenging, and talk about breaking a sweat!  I love it.  

 

I have SO MANY people ask me what diet I was doing to lose all that weight. They just don't understand that I'm not on a diet... It’s been a total lifestyle change. I would recommend your book to anyone!  I feel exceptional, and I am in the best shape of my life!  

 

I hope that my testimonial will help you out, as well as other people that have struggled to get in shape. Thank you so much!!

 

Stephanie Hurst

Tulia, Texas

 

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 Mike,

 

 

I have been following your workout plans from your book for past couple months.  I wanted you to know that I have seen great results.  When I started I was 190 lbs, waist 35 inches, bench was 165lbs.  

  

I'm now 175 lbs, with a waist of 33 inches, and benching 225lbs.  Your full body workouts are some of the best I've ever used.  I'm also making much better food choices now based on your advice and staying away from the junk I used to have trouble with. Thanks for everything.

  John P. Hembree, Sergeant, US Military 

 

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Dear Mike, 

  

 

I thoroughly read your e-book a few weeks ago but have been too busy lately to get myself to the gym. However, I did start applying your diet and food recommendations, and even with just that,

 

I've already lost 6 lbs (10 lbs to go).  I finally got to the gym this morning and printed out your e-book to bring with me.

 

I did some of the workout examples you specified  like the one arm snatches, dumbbell swings, staggered lunges and all the ab exercises (from level 3).  

  

Man, that was one of the best and most intense workouts I have had in ages!  I did not waste hours jogging or doing all that other stuff I used to do (which by the way never got me anywhere).  I am so excited to go back to the gym and have your book with me as a personal trainer's guide. 

  

Thank you so much!

  

Laura Kawasmi, Brownsville, TX

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Hi Mike. I have just recently started your program and i LOVE it so much.  I just wanted to tell you how fantastic I think your approach and lay out to losing stomach fat is. I'm already feeling the effects of your workouts.  My body feels firmer and fitter and I look forward to the sweat.

  

Truth be told I was BORED TO TEARS with our usual routine at the gym. Not to mention it wasn't really getting my stomach flat!!  I love your approach cause it explains everything, and I am a person that needs to know the reasons for why I am doing what I am doing! I like the variety and the shorter workouts, as apposed to the long boring workouts and repetitive isolating exercises I used to do. 

  

Following your program I am certainly getting the heart pumping and the sweat is flowing like I've never felt before.  It feels great. Thanks, and I will keep you posted!

  

Michelle Smith, Ontario, Canada 

 

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Mike,

 

I have been on your program for the last three or four weeks. All I can say is WOW! I have been body building for well over 20 years and I can honestly say that you have allowed me to break out of what I call the classical mess of weight lifting.

 

I have made some great gains and I am well on my way to being in the best shape of my life at 39 years of age. I get a kick out of the Guys at the gym when they see me perform some of your exercises. They often come up and ask what I am doing. I just tell them, as I struggle to regain my breath, "I'm just mixing it up a bit" and then watch them as they go back and waste their time with bicep curls for the next half hour. Now I'm trying to get my wife onboard using your program as well. Thank you so much for doing what you do and keep the emails coming. This is the best $39 I have ever spent.

 

Thanks,

Luis Acevedo, Dallas, Texas

 

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Hi Mike. Just wanted to let you know, your interval and weight training methods in your e-book are working perfect!

 

Before i got your e-book, i could see my six pack abs a little bit. After a few weeks on your workouts, i can now see lines on the side of my stomach and my abs appearing even more visibly. I still have a little fat, but not much at all. Thanks!

Andreas Beirholm, Denmark

 

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"Dear Mike, 

 

 

I just read your Truth About 6-Pack Abs and I think it has some great stuff in it that I never realized before.  I really couldn't put the book down.  I enjoy the fact that you are not just telling readers what to do with a promise that results will be achieved, but explaining the reasons behind your strategy supported by research. 

  

I have been exercising on my own my entire life, but I really hit a plateau during the last few years, and this program has given me new motivation and kickstarted my results.

 

Thanks

Mike!" 

  Pete Maguire, Brookline, Mass.

 

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Hi Mike

 

I was searching for a program to genuinely help me lose body fat and get a six pack.  I came across your website and the money back guarantee you offered suggested to me that you believed in what you were offering & not just interesting in selling your e-book. Anyway, I made the purchase on the basis that I'd give it a try and if it wasn't any good I'd ask for my money back.

 

Before I started with the program I weighed 80kg and my waist size was 42 inches.  After 11 weeks I still weigh about 80kg but my waist size is now 35 inches.  A loss of 7 inches in 11 weeks! Since my weight stayed about the same, that means I gained muscle while losing 7 inches of fat from my waist!

 

My strength and energy are also improving each week and I'm lifting heavier weights as I progress. Family and friends that haven't seen me in weeks can't believe how much leaner and slimmer I look now.

 

I'm really glad that I bought your e-book and stuck to the programs. I still have a little more body fat to lose, but I can already tell that a visible six pack is just a few more weeks away!

 

Thank you for all the advice and words of motivation. This entire experience is far more than what I was expecting for my money!

 

Regards,

Imtiaz Girach, UK

 

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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.  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.  

 

-John Crawford, Collingswood, NJ

 

 

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"Mike, I'm truly excited after starting your program. After reading through all of your info, I can't believe how many things I was wasting my time with or even just doing plain WRONG! I've definitely been doing all of the wrong types of cardio and the wrong types of strength exercises as well. 

 

Thanks again for giving me this much-needed education into a very important topic... my health & well being (not to mention looking great also!)"

-Sandra Torrez, San Antonio, Texas

 

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Hey Mike

 

I just purchased your ebook about 2 weeks ago and I love it! 

 

The workouts are great - better than any workout I've done before.  I've been that person who has tried all the fad diets, diet pills, and bought my fair share of infomercial ab machines!  At least I finally found something now that works to lose fat and flatten my stomach! 

   

Thanks for your help,

Amy Brunetti, Chicopee, MA

 

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"Hi Mike!

 

I started your workouts last week, and surprisingly, I can already see some positive changes to my body! I definitely feel these working me better than anything else I've tried. I really like the interesting way that you turn a weights workout into a cardio workout as well. I can see already that if I keep on doing this progressively, I'll surely have my old body shape back in no time :)

  

Ok catch you soon. Thanks again Mike, you're superb!"

  

-Ellin Hazrin, Kingsford, Australia

 

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Mike, you can use this for your testimonials if you want...

 

I have to say...You are a genious. Gave 1 of your workouts a go on friday and i have to say i've never had such a good workout. I've been going to the gym for years now and have been doing 40 solid minutes of quite high level cardio but using just 10 minutes of your style of inverval training felt like it worked me so much better. 

 

I also used to spend an hour on my abs when i worked out and never really felt it. After doing this workout on friday i really felt like i'd earned my protein shake! Plus I got my workout done much quicker than my old workouts...It's quite incredible!

 

Dave Haddow, UK

 

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Hey Mike,

  

I ordered your 'Truth About Six Pack Abs' online a couple weeks ago. I have been doing some of the beginner and intermediate level workout routines. HOLY CRAP, those workouts get me sweating like nothing else. I especially love/hate the squat presses and renegade rows.

 

I'm also starting to get the hang of your diet methods, which are actually more enjoyable than the way I used to eat. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the useful info and your obvious care for healthy lifestyles of your readers. Thanks again,

Kyle LeDoux, Santa Clarita, CA

 

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If you’ve got extra belly fat you’d like to get rid of, what are you waiting for? Follow this link for more info about the Truth about Six Pack Abs