The Power of the Mind vs. Fat Loss

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Get your mind right. Thats the only way to successful fat loss. Too many times people harbor negative thoughts that affect their ability to lose fat. Lack of mind control will leave you feeling weak, unmotivated, and without purpose. You must learn to filter out those negative feelings before they manifest into unhealthy behaviors.

While the benefits of consistent physical exercise are clear, we neglect to exercise our minds. My brother and pastor, Tommy Pickens has spoken about the power of the mind and I was listening to one of his cds this morning about your guarding your mind and it moved me to write to you about it.

I understand what he says about your guarding your mind of negative thoughts. Over the years of being a fitness coach I have worked with many emotional eaters that struggled with excess weight and the common denominator was a weakness of the mind. These people are in a battlefield of knowing that shouldn’t eat as much as they do, but negative thoughts are controlling their behaviors and they are losing the battle miserably. They try exercising, but to no avail, they try dieting, but the weight comes back with a vengeance.

Does this sound familiar?

They allowed every negative thought to lead them into overeating which led them to gaining more weight and this only added to the negative thoughts. Work to guard your mind of negative thoughts & feelings. You’re always going to battle with negative feelings, but you can learn to filter them out and win the battle.

A few ways to filter out negative thoughts is to replace those thoughts with positive feelings of thankfulness, being grateful, and developing a better relationship with God.

You must also cut out other negative people in your life who may reinforce the negative feelings you’re already having. Spend more time with people who are going to lift you up, not bring you down.

Wake up each day with the purpose to succeed in all you do. Yes, things won’t be perfect, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be insistent on achieving your purpose. Learn to outweigh the negative feelings in your mind with positive thoughts and feelings. If you have a bad day at work, remember there is always something worse that could be happening. If you have lost a loved one or in the process of losing a loved one you should be celebrating the life they had, not mourning the life that is gone. When turmoil is all around you, don’t surrender.

Continue to fight.

When you win the battle of the mind, you will win the battle of fat loss

P.S. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Is this familiar to your situation? What do you think? Please leave a comment, I would surely appreciate it.

Also, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter on the website homepage.

The New Laws of Fat Loss for 2011

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Hi everybody, I hope you’ve had a great start to the new year. I’m sure a lot of you have renewed motivation into losing weight and getting into the best shape of life (finally, right?) and I have high hopes that you’ll succeed where you and others have failed in past. No more starting then stopping your fitness plan. It seems like every time you feel ready to get to work on shedding off the excess blubber something (or somebody) wants to throw a monkey wrench into your game plan, doesn’t it?  

But what I say you should do is persevere anyway; obstacles will always be there, it’s just a part of life. Plenty of things will stand in the way but only if you allow it to control your health. You are more powerful than you think. You have more control than you think.  

It’s time you realize that.

I challenge you to persevere through it all; loved ones being sick, stress on the job, finding time to exercise, etc. These are all things you should want to push through.   The past few years have been rough for a lot of people, but I believe that through positivity, support, and great health amazing things can happen. I believe that a positive mindset is contagious.   When people see you pushing past your own obstacles and making great things happen despite the roadblocks in front of you, they will follow suit. And since losing fat and transforming physiques is my specialty here are the laws that you need to set in place for your life in order to see the results you’ve been searching for.  

1. Have a positive mindset- This has to be number one. Look at your life and ask yourself what negative behaviors are creating obstacles that could be prevented. For example, stress eating is common cause of obesity and other health related issues, but it is preventable.

 If stress eating is a problem for you then try enforcing more positive behaviors like going for walk, prayer, reading a book.   Just do something that will allow you to relax. One thing I do know is that a negative mindset will stop anybody in their tracks from achieving anything. Want a lean physique, or even financial success, remaining positive against the odds will be key.  

It’s good to have a vision of what you want your health outlook to be and how having a leaner physique would improve your lifestyle. So write down what your vision is, then outline what goals you will accomplish to achieve your vision. Then write down the obstacles in your way and your areas of strength that will help you navigate your way through those obstacles.  

Without a a clear picture of what you want, how you’ll get it, and what stands in your way, it will be hard for you to achieve significant fat loss. You may see results, but they will be limited and they will be short lived.    

 2. A Supportive Nutrition System is Key- Without it, all is lost. You cannot out-train a bad diet, I don’t care how much you exercise. Achieving a lean body is next to impossible you believe you can eat whatever you want and expect to still lose weight. I can be the best fitness coach in the world and have the best training programs ever invented and still not be able to help you AT ALL.  

You don’t have to diet. The word “diet” to me just has too many negative connotations that come along with it. That’s why I prefer to use “supportive nutrition”, eating supportively just sounds for positive and healthier to follow. To eat supportively means giving your body what needs to live and function properly. I associate dieting with the word “restrictive” or “to go without”,   So eat supportively whatever your goal is, whether it be losing 20 pounds of fat (maybe more), or gaining lean muscle. The main principles of eating supportively are these:  

  • If you can’t grow it, kill it, or pick it, it shouldn’t be eaten
  • Anything that has to be processed with tons of unpronounceable ingredients is most likely bad for you
  • Eat more carbs around the time you are likely to be active. Today’s sedentary lifestyles just don’t allow us to eat carbs in excess and still lose weight.
  • Eating after 6 o’clock will not make you fat, over-eating will. If you’re hungry at 8pm then eat something, just keep the meal light. A piece of fruit, a protein shake, a colorful salad with light dressing are all great options to keep you full throughout the night
  • Food additives are horrible, so are preservatives and pesticides. Stay away from these as much as possible
  • Drink nothing but water throughout the day and nothing else (with the exception of green tea). Liquid calories are usually empty calories and empty calories are usually fat calories. Water in it’s purest form is the greatest thing for you, not vitamin water or anything else these companies try to past as healthy.
  • Eat more often for greater fat loss, at least 4-5 meals a day every 3-4 hours for an elevated metabolism and rapid fat loss.
  • Stop eating the same fruits and vegetables. Switch it up and a rainbow of colorful fruits and veggies. Each fruit or veggies has different, but significant nutrients that another will not provide, so being picky about your fruits and veggies is just a bad choice.  Keep a plethora of organic produce available for your consumption. The weight scale will thank you.

3. Logging in long hours of cardio is not the answer to fat loss. While low intensity cardio is certainly great for improving your health and reducing stress, is does not, however, do very well for reducing body fat. You’ll achieve more success in reducing excess body fat by doing shorter higher intensity cardio sessions at least 2-3 times a week. Try doing 15-30 minutes of 30 seconds of high intensity cardio work followed by 60 seconds of active recovery for the best results in reducing body fat and losing inches.  

4. Metabolic Resistance Training is magic for reducing body fat. You can’t create a leaner physique without some form of lean muscle training in place. MRT creates and afterburn effect which is technically called EPOC which stands for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. It is defined as the recovery of the metabolic rate back to pre-exercise levels. It’s like a fan in an automobile that doesn’t shut off right away after a long drive. It takes time for your body to recover from a hard workout, which means that after an intense workout, you’ll be still burning calories long after your workout is done.

In contrast, light workouts do not produce EPOC so once your done with your workout so is your body.   It order to accelerate fat loss you really want to produce the “afterburn effect”, otherwise you’ll be spinning your wheels, but not going any where. EPOC is great for fat loss, you’ll be burning calories for days after a good workout, combined with some high intensity cardio, a supportive nutrition plan, and a positive mindset, achieving your fitness goals in 2011 is very possible!  

Please let me know what you think by placing a comment. Is there anything you would add to the list? What do you feel helps you? I’m always learning and improving and I sure like to know how I can help you achieve your goals this year.

Your Fitness Coach,

Ron

Amazing Life! Amazing Body! Dedicated to those who want a fitness program that will add value, quality, and happiness to their lives. Results Guaranteed!

To Be Fit or Not to Be…That is the Question

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To be fit, or not to be fit. What does that mean? People struggle day in and day out with losing weight or improving their performance in sport.  It doesn’t have to be that way though.

To be truly fit requires motivation, persistence, and positive thoughts, even when you don’t feel like being motivated, positive or persistent. That’s what separates those who get results and the people who don’t.

I cannot stress enough how important positive thinking is to your results. Think about it for a second, call yourself a pig long enough and you’ll find yourself eating like one. Keep telling yourself that you’re ugly, fat, and disgusting and I’ll bet my life that your actions will become that of a ugly, fat and disgusting person.

On the other hand, fit people may have bad days, but it will never effect their thinking. They’ll say, “I’ve had the worst day today, but you know what? Tomorrow will be phenomenal!” Even during turmoil, fit people don’t allow their health to be affected. This is because they know that if they allow their health to falter they are of no good to anyone.

Fit people are not born with this trait; this trait of persistance, motivation for success, and positive thinking is trained every day.We hone this these traits as if it were a skill, much like a sniper who must hit their target with just one shot. Much like exercise for the body you must train your mind ten times as much.

A strong mind equates to a strong body. Without a strong mind, without mental fitness, your physical fitness will most definitely suffer. This is because weaker minded people are more likely to cancel sessions in the gym. They are more likely to be emotional eaters, turning to food in any stressful situation.

Negative thoughts lead to negative behaviors. My friend, I implore you to change this. Change your way of thinking, find ways to overcome stress, grief and out of control emotions. You will thank yourself for it and your body will thank you as well.

Don’t train your mind with reinforced negative behaviors. Don’t be stuck in body that feels like a trap. When you’re overweight or obese, things always look more gloomy than what appears. You must continue to fight even when you feel like giving up on it all.

You cannot fail yourself. Wake up everyday not looking forward to what horrible things can happen, but look forward to how you can touch somebody’s life that day. Train yourself to look forward to your training sessions. You must feed your subconscious mind with positive affirmations every day.

Every day you must tell yourself that I’m the best, that no one will stop you from reaching the gym. No one can stop you from having a smile on your face. Tell yourself that I will be lean, I will have a flat stomach, and I will eat healthy every day. Say to yourself that the person I see before me is not who I really am. Tell yourself that I am not overweight, I am not disgusting, I am not a ugly, fat pig.

My friend, you are better than what you think. Now you must go out and prove it to yourself. Train your mind and the body will follow.

Yours in Fitness,

Ron Kusek

3 Fruits and Veggies Tips (Important)

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Fruits & Veggies.... Are you getting enough?

It’s recommended that we eat 6-10 fruits and vegetables a day. Here in the States it is reported the actual average of fruits and veggies eaten each day is just 2.

Yup, just 2.

Now, I don’t know where you stand on this, but overall, it really is a sad state of nutritional affairs.

But do not despair! It’s not that tough to get more fruits and veggies in each day.

Here are some super simple tips to get you started:

1) Buy ‘em pre-chopped

Look, I can be lazy, too ;-) There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to go through the hassle of having to chop up fruits and veggies. If you want to buy them pre-chopped go ahead. It’s much better for you than not eating them.

2) Carry ‘em with you

Load up a plastic baggie with your pre-chopped veggies and bring them to work. Seriously, see how easy this can be!

3) Add real fruit to your yogurt

Have some yogurt for breakfast and add some fresh blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. It’s that simple!

Bonus tip: A great way to provide your body with the nutritional foundation you need each day is a Whole Foods based multi-vitamin. I’m a proud Prograde Nutrition partner and they have a terrific product called VGF 25+ that is made from 25 veggies, greens and fruits.

The best part is you can try Prograde’s VGF 25+ for FREE! (There’s just a small S & H charge)
http://capstone-performance.getprograde.com/vgf25-free-trial.html

Be sure to use these tips and let me know how they help you out. Or send me some of your own!

Yours in health,

Ron Kusek
PS – You can see all the whole food ingredients they use to make VGF 25+ at http://capstone-performance.getprograde.com/vgf25-free-trial.html

Six Pillars to Great Nutrition and Enhanced Fat Loss

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Losing fat is done by following a system, not a diet. You don’t need to follow every trend that comes out every six months.

There are six simple, but effective rules that will lead you to long lasting happiness and great health.  Do these and getting lean will be easier than it has ever been.

And here they are:

1. Eat five to six meals every day.  some people may think this is blasphemy, but eating small meals allows you to digest your food better, it allows your draw in more nutrients while minimizing fat storage.

Only eating 2-3 meals a day is disasterous on belly fat. I implore you to embrace the more frequent meals every 2-3 hours. Your metabolism will benefit greatly (not to mention your waistline)

2. Eat a reduced carb diet. By reducing your carbs you’ll benefit in lowering your weight very fast.  It’s not that all carbs are bad for you, it’s just that carbs are designed to fuel activity and let’s face it, we not as active as we think we are. Another thing to point out is this; Carbs are your body’s primary fuel source, so eating too many carbs deprives your body of releasing fat as energy source.

By reducing your carb intake to only vegetables, fruits, and some whole grains, you’ll force your body rely on stored fat for energy throughout the day and during exercise, your bodyfat will fall faster than you thought possible.

3. Control your cheat meals. The honest truth is that people cheat more than they realize. So be accountable, don’t be a diet adulterer. Stay faithful to your supportive nutrition plan. Your cheat meals should be a reward, not a right.

If you’re feeling stressed out and need to let off some steam don’t reach for the ice cream. Trying talking to a close friend, go for a walk, or read an interesting book. Don’t rely on food, it’ll just keep you from reaching your goal weight. You must overcome your emotions at all costs. Don’t grieve through food, you’re only going to add to your own sadness by doing this. Emotional eating will trump exercise not matter how hard you work.

When it comes to cheat meals, realize what’s important to you. After a week of eating very well, let your hair down and enjoy a little desert, but don’t ever get out of control. It only takes a few minutes to gain weight and it takes weeks to take back off, so always be vigilant with eating. Don’t sabotage your own success.

4. Eat for nutrition first, taste second. The problem I see with most people is that they are more concerned with the taste of food than what it provides nutritionally. Now, I’m not telling to eat wheat grass and tofu or anything, (unless you like that sort of thing, me, I’ll pass, but that’s just me). But there are ways to make food taste great while avoiding excess calories. Cut out the dressings, the gravy, and all the sauces if you want to continue to see success in losing pounds of fat. Focus more adding herbs and spices to foods for flavor.

One thing I want to note is I eat healthy every day. I have my cheat meal, but I eat healthy, but I don’t eat nasty food. Everything my wife and I make is healthy, but very flavorful. We enjoy our food, but we never put taste over our nutritional needs. It’s very important that keep your eyes on the prize and not whats on your plate.

5. Supplement wisely. Taking certain supplements will make your fitness more successful. I hate all the miracle fat burners and magnificent muscle builders they have out there. The supplement industry has a lot of fakes and frauds out there ready and willing to take your money, but with a smart fitness coach like myself at the ready to point you in the right direction, you’ll have no worries in purchasing the right stuff to help you get in phenomonal shape. For better health I like Kyani and Prograde. These are my favorite go to companies for the healthiest, purest, most bang-for-your-buck supplements you can find in the market today.

The essential supplements you must have are whole food multivitamin complex such as the Kyani Sunrise and Prograde VGF +25, you also need a highly concentrated Omega 3 supplement also made by Kyani and Prograde. The third supplement is a recovery shake made by Prograde called simply “Workout”. These three super supplements will give you what you need to ensure your body is working at optimal function. Taken consistently your health and lean muscle will skyrocket when you train under a high intensity program like mine. You can find more info about these companies and their products at www.kyani.net/capstonenutrition and www.capstone-performance.getprograde.com, respectfully.

6. Minimize excess liquid calories. It’s not just the snickers bars or ice cream that make you pack on the pounds, it’s the soda, alcohol, and fruit juices that expanding your waistline like a balloon. Restrict yourself to green tea  and plain water throughout the day. You’ll perform better in exercise and at work, plus your body function so much better when you’re properly hydrated.

There you have my rambling is over for now. Stay tuned for more great fitness and nutrition tips to make as lean and as sexy as you want to be. If have anything to add please leave a comment below.

Ron, Antelope Valley’s Top Fitness Expert

Antelope Valley Personal Trainer Shares His Top 5 Diet Tips for Fat Loss

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EAT to Elevate Metabolism and Lose Fat (NOT Weight)

Have you ever heard that before? Most people tend to do the opposite. They eat once or twice a day with a bunch of random snacks throughout the day. There is no plan or consistency, no timing at all. This method doesn’t work for fat loss, which is different from weight loss.

Fat loss is the reduction of fat mass or better yet the reduction of that ugly flab that just doesn’t seem to want to leave. You know, like that cousin that no one likes, but always wants to  hang around. In order to rid yourself of  excess fat, you need to starve it out.

You starve fat by eating. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? Eating properly balanced, well timed, nutritious meals every 2-4 hours feeds your muscles which is key to maintaining a high metabolism. Bottom line, you must EAT TO SHED FAT!

By following the tips below you change your body forever! No need to go on countless diets to keep your weight down. Just five simple tips that can rapidly shed fat and help you look your best for every occasion

 

Tip#1- Stay Hydrated:

 -       Drink at least 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then drink at least 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours you are awake. A dehydrated organism cannot effectively lose body fat!

-       Drink 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of vigorous activity to maintain optimal performance and to prevent dehydration during your workouts.

-       Consume at least 3 servings of antioxidant-rich green tea per day to boost your immune system and accelerate recovery from exercise.

 Tip#2- Eat Early and Eat Often:

 - Eat immediately upon waking and then again every 2-4 hours after that for a total of 6-8 feedings per day. This is a staple for any solid fat loss nutrition plan because it allows your body to starve the fat and feed the muscle, optimizes performance, and prevents your body’s starvation signals from going off- signals that will slow fat loss to a snail’s pace.

 - The dietary breakdown is 3 total meals per day consumed at breakfast, lunch, and dinner time, 3 total snacks/day consumed between meals and before bed, and workout nutrition in the form of a protein or amino acid supplement consumed around your training sessions. Snacks are typically half the caloric value of meals.

 Tip#3- Focus on the Essentials:

 -       Consume a wide range of organic lean proteins of animal origin at each feeding. A great rule of thumbs is to consume at least a fist-sized worth of anything that had a face or a mother and ran, fly, or swam at some point (sorry, doesn’t sound as appetizing this way, ha).  Protein is not only the only macronutrient responsible for building and repairing that lean, sexy muscle tone but it also allows your body to best starve its ugly, unwanted fat stores. In addition, the sheer consumption of protein elevates metabolism and burns calories through the thermic effect of feeding since protein is more than twice as energy costly for your body to digest than fat or carbs.

 -       Consume a wide range natural fats at each feeding (olive oil, coconut oil, beef, salmon, whole eggs, avocado, mixed nuts, flax, full-fat cheese, etc.). Sufficient dietary fat intake is critical to beneficial hormone production, which allows for optimal fat loss. Furthermore, your body cannot optimally burn stored body fat without a sufficient amount of healthy dietary fat.

 -       Consume a wide range of fruits and veggies at each feeding (with a special emphasis on green veggies). A great rule of thumb when it comes to produce is to consume at least one green item AND as many other colors as possible at each and every meal to get the most health benefits.

 

 

 

   Sample One-Day Menu

  
Breakfast- 6am Scrambled Omega-3 Eggs, Greens, and Turkey Sausage or Bacon
Mid-Morning Snack- 9 am Mixed Raw Nuts and Fruit/Veggies of Choice
Lunch- Noon Chicken, Salmon, or Shrimp Caesar Salad
Mid-Afternoon Snack- 3 pm Full-Fat Cheese and Fruit/Veggies of Choice
Dinner- 6 pm Turkey or Beef Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash
Pre-Bed Snack- 8 pm Wonder Bowl:

Mix of Full-Fat Cottage Cheese, Protein Powder, Flax Meal, and Raw Nut Butter

 

Tip#4- You NEED These 2 Supplements:

 -       Take a daily whole food based multi-vitamin for your gender. Ensuring adequate intake of vitamins and minerals is essential for your body to function optimally, especially for people who struggles to get at least 8-12 servings of fruits and veggies per day.

 -       Take a high quality essential fatty acid (EFA) or fish oil supplement. Omega-3 fats found in fish oil are scientifically proven to increase metabolism and generate increased fat burning, besides having a host of other benefits like preventing cancer, reducing inflammation and joint pain, enhancing skin and hair quality, etc.

I am a proud partner of Prograde Nutrition; they have by far the best supplements based on my recommendations above. You can find them at www.capstone-performance.getprograde.com today!

 Tip#5- Think Fiber First When It Comes To Carbs:

 

 -       It is critical to focus on carbohydrate quality first AND then quantity second. In terms of quality, all carbohydrates (outside of dairy) that you eat should contain AT LEAST 3 g of fiber per serving and offer LESS THAN 10 g of sugar per serving. In terms of quantity, we have found most people achieve the best fat-burning effects by limiting their total daily carb intake to 50 g or less, NOT including their unlimited daily fibrous carb intake from green veggies (fruit can be used in moderation) nor the trace carbs from protein and fat foods.

-       Use The Carb Reduction Blueprint: Use the following step-by-step process in the exact order listed to breakthrough any plateaus in your quest to look absolutely awesome:

 

Step#1- Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars found in food choices with ONE ingredient (e.g. fruit, honey, etc.). This will results in much more stable blood sugar levels, the key to maintaining high energy levels and burning fat.

Step#2- Limit all 100% whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast. Your body best handles these types of carbs at these times without excessive risk of this energy being stored as fat.

Step#3- Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies. Fruits and veggies are the most nutrient dense carbs loaded with tons of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and stomach-filling fiber, making them the staple of any good fat loss meal plan.

Step#4- Replace all fruits with green veggies (or any other veggies BESIDES corn, peas, carrots, and potatoes) to weed out any remaining dietary sugar (fructose- fruit sugar) that will prevent your body from maximally using stored body fat for fuel. Green veggies like broccoli, spinach, dark leafy lettuce, green beans, asparagus, etc. have the most figure-friendly benefits of any carbohydrate out there and can be consumed in an unlimited amount throughout the day to keep you full and satisfied.

Step#5- Use strategic carb and calorie cycling to take your body to next level (my clients and I have had great success with this but it is beyond the scope of this article).

Well, those are my top 5 diet tips to help you look your best for the rest of your life. When it comes to nutrition, keep it simple and stay the course. And remember, it’s not about weight loss- it’s about being as visually stunning as possible via losing inches in all the right places ;)

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