Losing body fat can be a struggle at the best of times. Emotional, physical and mental problems are all too frequent when trying to burn fat, unless you have the best workout books for fat burning.

There are some shockers out there, there are ones that give you mediocre information, and then there are ones that will take you from being whatever size you are, to a perfect beach body if you put in the work.

We need decent information before we can get decent results. Imagine just being gifted an airplane and trying to figure out how to fly it yourself… You will crash and burn.

Same with anything in life, we need to get the best information from somebody who has the results we want, can motivate us to do what we want and is willing to put the hard work into us.

Here are a few points when choosing a workout book to burn fat.:

1. If you are buying an ebook, always email the author first and see how much of a detailed response you get, sometimes they won’t even email back – you want to make sure you get support after you buy, by making sure you get support before.’

2. Check that the author has the results you want. Ask for a picture or some other proof.

3. Decide if the author can motivate you to put in the work, do they offer further assistance, coaching, a mentoring program or another way to guarantee that you get results?

What makes a secret so valuable is that it’s not readily available to everyone. However, when they empower us, we have knowledge that can improve our lives. This is also true in terms of muscle building secrets. Here are some of the most effective ones.

1. Muscle magazines are often owned by supplement-selling companies.

In fact, such companies own (or have owned) all of the major bodybuilding magazines. Oftentimes they keep the best muscle building secrets from you, and instead are basically trying to push their products. In fact, many of the so-called supplements on the market are nothing more than diet pills-but that’s another story. You should not expect bodybuilding magazines to provide you with the best tips-otherwise you could join their elite group of weightlifters.

2. There’s no miracle weightlifting product.

We’re often bombarded with ads claiming that a particular pill, powder, or fluid is THE product for achieving a chiseled physique. However, it’s important to realize that ones giving the product rave reviews tend to be the ones selling them! Sure, these products can help to enhance your workout routine. However, don’t expect top weightlifting advice from the manufacturers of such products, or their bodybuilding magazines.

3. Training like an average Joe is the best approach.

We often hear the bodybuilding universe argue that we should train like a bodybuilder in order to become one. The argument has no merit. Yes, many of us are interested in losing weight and boosting the mass of our muscles. However, most of us do not intend to become professional bodybuilders. Neither are our bodies prepared for the rigors that bodybuilders undergo daily. Thus, such routines could absolutely devastate our bodies, resulting injuries, illnesses, and so on.

Of course, there are more muscle building secrets that can help you hulk up in no time at all! So, start looking for a reliable resource you can use today. Your muscles will thank you for it!

“It’s not so much about looking good as it is about feeling good, really good; feeling the rush of adrenalin after a kick-boxing class; feeling tired but satisfied after a long, hectic day,” says an acclaimed model. She has a whole lot of friends who are as health-conscious, figure-conscious and beauty-conscious as she is. She claims that even if she weren’t a model she would still be the way she was because she likes staying slim and fit. So, let’s find out if she’s in earnest.

Since how long have you been like this? Slim, fit and gorgeous?

Actually, right from my school days. My parents have always been very health-conscious. They always encouraged me to stay slim. In fact I remember my dad used to say – you eat nutritious, you live lore. Mom never stacked the shelves with chips or junk food, or the fridge with soft drinks. It was always fruits, healthy snacks and coconut water.

What is more important to focus on? Food or exercise?

I think it is a balance of both. If you only go on a diet you’ll lose weight but you’ll fail to firm up your muscles. I do not believe in going on crash diets. They only result in tremendous water loss. On the other hand if you only exercise and not eat properly, you’ll lose a lot of weight but you won’t look healthy. You’ll just end up looking pale and sickly.

What is your regular diet?

I love food. And I like to see a lot of colour on my plate. I begin my day with cereals, soya milk, vitamins, fruits and my glass of milk. By midday, I have another fruit; during lunch, I have a little bit of carbs, oe else I get my rye bread, some protein-chicken, or fish. Sometimes I even have lentils or vegetables; and lots of salad. Evening’s it is coconut milk, dry fruits and fruit. I am actually a fruits person. Dinner comprises nice, healthy chicken soup, salads and vegetables.

What do you do when you go out to eat or on holiday?

Oh! I can be very tiresome. When I’m eating out I drive the person who serves me absolutely mad. I’m very careful about how much oil is going inside me. It’s normally always steamed or beaked dishes I order for. I ask for a lot of salad dressing on the side and bore him to death with my ‘please, less oil please’. I’m not one who would go out in the night to have a burger or a pizza. When I’m on a holiday I allow myself a little liberty and let go.

What does letting go mean?

Oh well! Having ice creams and stuff like that at the weirdest hours possible. Chinese food at four in the morning; it almost sits in my stomach. I have a terrific sweet tooth. I love chocolates. Actually I need to check myself only on that front.

Do you have a tendency to easily put on weight?

Oh yes! I always have to keep a strict watch over my weight. I come to know about those extra pounds when clothes do not fit the way they should. But as soon as that happens, I work my heart out. Thankfully, it’s never been very difficult for me to get back in shape.

What kind of an exercise pattern do you follow?

Well, I’m an early-riser. I get up at six in the morning; go for yoga twice a week which lasts one and a half hours. The remaining days of week, I work out at the gym. I also go for dance classes but that is not to lose weight; that’s just for recreation. I also go for kick-boxing at least thrice a week. And I carry my own food and water wherever I go.

What would you do if you were a full-time working girl?

Ah! I guess that would be very difficult. I don’t know how on earth would I have the time to exercise but I would definitely carry my own food – a chicken or a sandwich out of rye or whole wheat bread.

What do you think is the key to good health?

Actually, the most important thing is to find out what suits your body best. If you cannot take care of yourself, you can never take care of others. You have to chalk out a balanced diet. I have my carbs early in the morning so that I can work it out during the day. I have conditioned myself in a way that I don’t crave for anything. One can follow any form of exercise; there are no hard and fast rules about that. The times I do not exercise, I am a complete couch potato. I get lethargic. When I can’t exercise, I just run up the flight of stairs to my apartment. I stay on the 7th floor. I think it is also important to read about nutrition. This way you’ll know what is good and what isn’t. Exercise and diet, together will get your fat percentage down and help you tone up.

Are there 15 fat burning foods that you can eat and lose weight? Yes and no. There are foods that you can eat that help you feel satisfied, full and content. Feel that way and you will usually eat less and maintain or lose weight. That can be a good thing. I’ll share 15 food ideas for losing fat, but first a little background.

Two hormones produced in the pancreas, glucagon and insulin, determine how your body uses carbohydrates. The ratio of these two hormones is what really is critical for sugar use.

Glucagon directs the liver to release sugars, which raises the blood sugar available for use by the brain and the rest of the body. Glucagon also signals the cells to release fat for energy and to release protein for building. Insulin is responsible for putting nutrients into cells. Thus insulin regulates the transfer of fats, proteins and sugars from the bloodstream to the cells. If more sugar is available than is required, insulin signals the liver to produce fat.

Glucagon is released when proteins are eaten. Insulin is released when carbohydrates are eaten. Neither is released when you eat fats or nonstarchy foods. If carbohydrates are eaten alone, the insulin to glucagon ratio is too high. If protein is eaten alone, the insulin to glucagon ratio is too low. Eat a balanced meal with protein, fats, nonstarchy vegetables and carbohydrates and you can have a balanced insulin to glucagon ratio which can burn fat and build muscle.

Eating a balanced meal will not lead to fat production, it could even lead to fat loss. Also a balanced meal will not lead to muscle loss, it could even lead to muscle gain.

Following are 15 fat burning foods ideas. With the background in the first paragraphs, you can see that just eating a few selected foods will not magically cause weight loss. However, making some fairly simple changes in the way you eat could finally help you to lose weight and keep it off.

• 1. Coconut oil – the fats in coconut oil are not usually stored as fat.
• 2. Salmon – eat protein and fats with carbohydrates for a balanced insulin to glucagon ration.
• 3. Whole grain breads – sugars released more slowly than processed grains, so less insulin response.
• 4. Asparagus – a nonstarchy vegetable even helpful with cheese sauce.
• 5. Cabbage – use it many different ways especially helpful in soup as a filler.
• 6. Kale – high in calcium plus easy to grow yourself.
• 7. Chicken – balance a meal with chicken on a salad.
• 8. Garlic – use it however you can.
• 9. Green beans – fills you up but nonstarchy so no effect on insulin to glucagon ratio.
• 10. Cod liver oil – an important supplement for Vitamins A and D.
• 11. Bitters – like Swedish Bitters, often helpful for digesting fats.
• 12. Bell peppers – another sweet tasting nonstarchy vegetable useful in several ways.
• 13. Summer squash – especially good with light cheese sauces.
• 14. Cheese – in limited amounts, preferably fresh, as the fats in aged cheese are damaged.
• 15. Eggs – contains proteins plus fats to satisfy hunger and combine well with carbohydrates.

There are many more than 15 fat burning foods if you realize the real keys to healthy eating and weight loss. Include any and all nonstarchy vegetables as part of your eating plan.

For more fat loss ideas along these lines, read any of Dr. Diana Schwarzbein’s books or any of Dr. Mary Enig’s books.

The pectorial (chest) muscle is one of the largest and most utilized muscles in the human body. It is important to build strong chest muscles not just for bodybuilders but for people who workout recreationally. All of the muscles in the body work together simultaneously, therefore you want to build them up together to avoid uneven muscle sizes.

The best way to get a ripped chest is to take in at least 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight a day. This ensures the proper nutrients to your sore exhausted muscles. Try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables as they help to transport nutrients and give you more energy. Make sure you eat enough carbs to enable long hard workouts, but eat too much and it will turn into unwanted fat. Chicken tuna and other lean meats are great sources of protein, almonds and pecans are high in protein and low in fat.

If you are looking for a ripped chest it is essential to do push ups. This exercise will not make you huge but it will tone and harden your chest muscles fast. Try to do at least 100 push ups a day and do more reps every few days. Make sure to train your back as well, this makes the chest look bigger and allows the chest muscles to grow faster.

It is important to follow a workout program that teaches you the fundamentals of working out and shows you the right exercise to perform in order to blast your muscles. Workout programs also come with nutritional guides, these are essential to follow in order to gain lean muscle without any fat.

Everyone has different health and fitness goals.

Some want to build muscle. Some want to lose stubborn belly fat. Some want to run better. Some just want to improve in their sport.

Well guess what?

Strength training can help you accomplish all of these goals.

The popular notion of strength is someone who can lift prodigious weights. But there is no singular definition of strength because it is specific to what the person wants to achieve.

But the purpose of a strength training program remains the same: to help you progress and improve by increasing your capacity to accommodate greater resistance.

A successful strength training program must be built on a solid foundation.

For a foundation to remain strong it must be supported by 4 sturdy and tested pillars:

1. Progressive Resistance

2. Progressive Overload

3. Nutrition

4. Rest And Recovery

Progressive Resistance is the underlying principle of building strength. If you want to get stronger, you must periodically increase the amount of resistance applied to your muscle.

What if you have reached your limit?

If your progress has stalled or you have reached a plateau then we transition to Progressive Overload. This is the principle which requires you to overcome strength plateaus by increasing the amount of resistance at specific sticking points or weak areas.

A good example would be sprinters who use a weighted sled or resistance bands to improve their starting time off the blocks. Basketball players use Plyometrics to improve their second jump.

The value of a good nutrition program can never be over-stated. Food provides the calories to fuel your workouts and the macronutrients to jump-start the recovery process. But you have to know what foods to eat and when.

Finally, you will not get stronger if your body will not have enough time to rebuild damaged muscle tissue.

If your workouts stimulate fibres to build bigger and stronger muscles, rest and recovery creates the environment that enhances strength and induces muscle growth.

A strength training program is an effective way to achieve overall health and fitness. It will help you build muscle, burn fat, improve strength and develop great conditioning.

Before you embark on a strength training program, either visit popular exercise websites or engage a personal trainer to help you through the first 2-3 months of training as it’s essential that you use correct technique to avoid injury during your strength training program.

Have you ever been confused about the advice you’ve been given for building muscle? Are you sick of hearing multiple answers for what you know is a simple question?

Well, now you can put all of the bro science behind you and get ready to uncover the 7 biggest muscle building myths you thought were true.

Myth #1: You can gain a pound of muscle in a week

This is definitely not the case. At the maximum, you could achieve a gain of about one pound every two weeks. That will also depend on your diet even more than your exercise habits.

Myth #2: Supplements will maximize muscle growth

I’m sorry to inform you that supplements will not boost your muscle growth like proper diet, and training techniques. Those companies spend millions of dollars trying to make you believe that. It’s not your fault.

Myth #3: You can build muscle eating the same amount of food

This may be the main thing holding you back. The majority of people associate lifting weights with building muscle. But, you can lift weights and not build any muscle if you’re not providing your body with the calories to repair the torn muscle tissue.

Myth #4: Working out more equals more muscle

This is untrue for several reasons. But the biggest reason is because if you workout six days a week, you’re not giving your body enough time to recover and build that muscle.

Myth #5: The more protein you eat, the more muscle you’ll build

Your body can only synthesize so much protein to build muscle with. By consuming too much protein, your robbing your body of the other essential nutrients it needs to repair your torn muscles.

Myth #6: There is a single best program

In reality, each quality program has the ability to take you where you want to be. It’s more about finding the right program for you. The one that fits your schedule and gives you great results. Look for customized approaches.

Myth #7: If women lift heavy weights, they will get bulky

Women do not produce enough testosterone and other potent factors the same way men do. Unless the woman in question is taking steroids or hormones, they simply will not get big and bulky.

I hope this cleared up a lot of the confusion surrounding natural muscle building. We dissected the top 7 myths and now we can move forward with enlightenment, and more realistic goals to set.

Thank you for reading!

The benefits of probiotics are seemingly numerous and they address a host of lifestyle issues. From the use of antibiotics and the contraceptive pill, and the imbalances that these can cause in the gut microflora, to irritable bowel syndrome and diets rich in processed foods and environmental toxins, our intestines are under constant attack. Probiotics, the ‘friendly bacteria’ that live in our bodies are edged out by the unfriendly variety, resulting in digestive disorders, infections and colonic related diseases.

In a healthy gut, probiotics thrive in abundance, ensuring that there is no space for the malignant bacteria to wreak havoc in our bodies. Probiotics have been a natural part of our ancestors’ diets for centuries. However, the growth of the fast food industry, with the emphasis on convenience as opposed to quality, means that many harmful practices have become the norm in the way we grow, cultivate and consume our food. Nowadays, unless we make the effort to buy organic, chances are that our meat and dairy have been laced with antibiotics, not to mention the artificial fertilisers in crops, all of which make their way into our systems. Some of this is unavoidable, such as the chlorine in tap water that also kills off the friendly bacteria in our bodies. But we do have to make a conscious effort to ensure that our diets are giving us the nutrients we need rather than saturating us with harmful chemicals.

Add to this the fact that what we eat has also changed significantly- we no longer get the required nutrients just from our diets so we have to turn to food supplements. This is now big business, as more and more people are becoming aware of the long standing deficiencies in their diets and the health problems that these are causing. With the majority, it has now got to the stage where a concentrated injection of the lacking nutrients in the form of food supplements is required. If we naturally derived these from balanced diets, there would be no issues of side effects or precautions to consider. As it is, due to the lack of these friendly bacteria in the type of food we regularly consume, we need food supplements in order to effectively reintroduce them back into our systems.

Probiotic supplements, as with other food supplements do have some side effects and precautions to consider before taking them, albeit generally fairly minor ones. The rule of thumb is to gradually introduce the supplements into your diet: the good bacteria start destroying the bad bacteria in your gut and this may result in gas, bloating and stomach cramps for a few weeks. In order to minimise this, it is advisable to avoid probiotic rich foods when you first start taking the supplements. Once the probiotic supplements have assimilated into your system, you can start eating food containing them.

These side effects are known as ‘excessive drainage syndrome’, and could also be accompanied by headaches and diarrhoea. These are akin to the unfriendly bacteria making a ‘last stand’ as it were, in your system. They are being killed off and the intestines are being re-colonised by the beneficial bacteria and these side effects are a symptom of that. Also, if you are on immunosuppressants, it is best to seek medical advice before taking probiotic supplements. The introduction of these friendly bacteria into your diet could over-stimulate the immune system, causing serious problems. People with otherwise impaired immune systems, or underlying health problems should also consult their doctors if they are thinking about taking probiotic supplements. There have been cases where individuals with problematic immune systems suffered from infections as a result of taking probiotic supplements.

Generally however, the main side effect that people experience is the digestive related issue of excessive gas and bloating when they first start taking the supplements. If you experience this and it is causing a lot of discomfort, it might be worth lowering your dosage and slowly increasing it as the friendly bacteria integrate into your system.

If you are vegan or lactose intolerant, there are rice based probiotic supplements available.

Leptin, also called satiety hormone, is made by adipose (fat) cells that helps to regulate energy balance by controlling hunger. Leptin is opposed to the actions of ghrelin, called hunger hormone. Both hormones act on receptors in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus to regulate appetite to achieve energy balance. The regulation of fat stores is deemed to be the primary function of leptin but it also plays in other physiological processes. Besides adipose cells, it is also produced by placenta, ovaries, skeletal muscles, stomach, mammary epithelial cells, and bone marrow.

It circulates in blood in free form and bound to proteins. Leptin levels in blood are higher between midnight and early morning, perhaps suppressing appetite during the night. The diurnal rhythm of blood leptin levels may be modified by meal-timing.

Functions of leptin –

The following are important functions of leptin:

• Primarily, leptin regulates food intake and body weight. It acts on the specific receptors in the hypothalamus to inhibit appetite. When fat mass decreases, the level of plasma leptin falls so that appetite is stimulated until the fat mass is recovered. There is also a decrease in body temperature and energy expenditure is suppressed. Conversely, when fat mass increases, so do leptin levels, thereby suppressing appetite until weight loss occurs. Thus leptin regulates energy intake and fat stores so that weight is maintained within a relatively narrow range.

• Leptin also seems to play an important role in modulating the onset of puberty. For example, undernourished and thin girls take longer to reach puberty than normal girls. Thin girls often fail to ovulate or release an egg from an ovary during menstruation cycles. Reproductive growth and fat stores are, therefore, vital in the regulation of reproduction.

Leptin resistance –

Besides many factors involved in the causation of obesity, an important factors is leptin resistance. Many believe that leptin resistance is the leading driver of fat gain in humans.

The main function of leptin is sending a signal to the brain, “telling” it how much fat is stored in the body’s fat cells. Since leptin is primarily produced by fat cells, obese people have very high levels of leptin. Given the way leptin is supposed to work, these people shouldn’t be eating because their brain should know that they have plenty of energy stored. But the problem is that the leptin signal is not working. As a result, there’s a whole lot of leptin floating around that the brain doesn’t “see” that it is there. This condition is known as leptin resistance. It is now believed to be the main biological abnormality in human obesity.

Therefore, leptin resistance makes the brain change our behavior in order to regain fat that the brain thinks is missing. The brain thinks that we must eat so that we don’t starve to death. Simultaneously, the brain also thinks we need to conserve energy, so it makes us feel lazier and thus makes us burn fewer calories at rest.

Losing weight reduces fat mass, which leads to a significant reduction in leptin levels. When leptin goes down, this leads to hunger, increased appetite, reduced motivation to exercise and decreased amount of calories burned at rest. Basically, the reduced leptin makes the brain think it is starving and so it initiates all sorts of powerful mechanisms to regain that lost body fat.

In other words, the brain actively defends the higher amount of fat mass by compelling us to eat back the lost weight. That is the main reason why yo-yo diets fail to yield the results as the dieters lose a significant amount of fat, only to gain it back.

How to regulate leptin hormone? –

Though leptin resistance is a complex problem, it is not an irreversible one. The following factors will help improve leptin response:

• Reduce sugar and fructose consumption – Minimize using simple starches, refined foods, sugar and fructose. Fructose is a major contributor to insulin and leptin resistance. Fructose disrupts the signals of insulin and leptin, generally by over-taxing the liver because fructose is primarily shuttled to the liver for processing, whereas glucose is primarily shuttled to muscle and fat cells. By reducing the consumption of white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, we allow liver to do other things like burning fat

• Don’t skip breakfast- Your breakfast should include largely protein and healthy fats. This promotes satiety and gives the body the building blocks to build the hormone.

• Optimize sleep – Try to be in bed by ten o’clock in the night. Take steps to optimize your sleep.

• Avoid frequent eating- When you are constantly eating, even small amounts during the day, it keeps your liver working and doesn’t give hormones a break. Try to space meals at least 3-4 hours apart and don’t eat for at least 3-4 hours before bed. This includes drinks with calories but herbal teas, water, coffee or tea without cream or sugar is fine.

• Exercise regularly- Your workout should include both aerobic exercise and strength training.

• Take more Omegs-3s – Take more Omega-3s by consuming fish, grass fed meats, chia seeds and minimize your Omega-6 consumption by consuming less of vegetable oils, conventional meats, grains, etc. to get lower inflammation and help support healthy leptin levels.

The bottom line –

It is evidently clear that leptin – the satiety hormone – plays an equally important role in regulating hunger as is done by ghrelin. Recently, lot of importance has been attached to leptin resistance in humans, which is now considered to be the driving factor in causing overweight and obesity. There are many factors responsible for causing leptin resistance in humans. The majority of these factors are related to our lifestyle. Initiating positive changes in our lifestyle will help regulate the release of leptin hormone, thereby striking a balance between food intake and body weight.

Have you ever wondered why bodybuilders are also extremists? Can we simply say that their extremism helps them with their body building? Or maybe it's that bodybuilding inevitably compels them to become extremists? Whichever is true, we can not deny the fact that the bodybuilders go for the extreme.

During the period in which they are gaining weight or bulking up, bodybuilders take in higher amounts of calories than the usual for them to become bigger. These people usually do this in an out of control or do as they please manner. They do not care either the food they eat is healthy or not as long as they take in large amounts of food. This is certainly a face of the bodybuilder being an extremist.

What the body does is that it immediately stores all the extra calories as fat and considers these fat deposits as 'gold reserves.' The body then utilizes all the needed nutrients and calories for its different processes such as cell repair and maintenance. After which, it opts to store as fats all the excess calories and nutrients.

Bodybuilders who are still in their beginning phase aim to practice two things at the same time: get rid of fat, and build muscle. It is important to remember though that lifting weights will not actually result in loss of weight even if it causes muscle gain. Bodybuilding starters who need to lower their weight will have to reduce their calorie intake and do aerobic exercises that do not cause muscle buildup.