Keri is getting ready for her wedding!

Yesterday, "Keri" (name has been changed to protect her from embarrassment) sent me an email asking me a question that I think you need to hear.

I'll tell you what that question was in just a sec ...

Incidentally, I am a nutritionist. I completed accredited course work in human nutrition at Fullerton College and have an incessant drive to learn and give the BEST body transformation advice.

With that said, I AM NOT an R.D. (REGISTERED DIETITIAN). The Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association awards the "Registered Dietitian" credential to those who pass an exam after completing academic coursework and a supervised internship.

So, back to Keri...

She asked me for help finding a "nutritionist". Why? Her goal is to lose more weight for her upcoming wedding. Since the real goal is weight loss, the first step to make that happen really should be to measure her current body composition.

I recommend this company to measure body composition:

http://bootcampfx.com/bodyfat <--link to "Get Dunked".
 
I have no affiliation with them -- just heard good things from other BCFX members.

Keri can track her progress weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or bi-monthly.

I recommend bi-weekly body composition assessments.

She also wants a nutrition/meal plan to determine the number of GRAMS of protein, carbs, fat etc., that she needs during a typical day. Here is a great, FREE resource that does exactly that:

http://bootcampfx.com/dietitian

BUT....

Will knowing the number of GRAMS of nutrients she should be consuming with each meal be very useful?

Is she going to walk around with a food scale in her purse and WEIGH every-single-thing she eats?

If she wants to do that, great.

However, I believe that Keri can benefit from some EASIER, simpler solutions.

Chip and Dan Heath are brilliant psychologists and authors of the book, "Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard". They suggest that you should focus on simple, daily progress -- this approach often works better at creating long lasting body change.

Below is a SIMPLE fat loss plan and behavior change tips that will help Keri lose more fat simply, daily and easily.

It works every time ... 

SECRET FAT LOSS MEAL PLANS

http://curtisludlow.com/Fat-Loss-Program.html

SECRET FOOD CONSUMPTION, BEHAVIOR CHANGE TIPS

Brian Wansink, Ph.D. Stanford, is the lead author of over 100 academic articles and books on changing eating behavior. He is author of the book, "Mindless Eating". Below are some simple solutions that he says AUTOMATICALLY change eating behavior, positively.

1. Eat your meals on smaller plates.
2. Use TALL, skinny drinking glasses.
3. Eat under natural light, not candle light.

How and why do these simple tricks work?

Dr. Wansink explains in this VIDEO.

(Guest post by Elliot Hulse)

Our muscle building exercises are the best way to build muscle fast. Check out the Lean Hybrid workout routines for more information.

They include some of the most challenging workouts that most people will ever experience.  It's a good day when none of the guys that train at Strength Camp puke after a training session.

Well, if you're like most average fitness folks you are probably asking yourself... "Why the heck would someone pay this psycho... only to engage in this form of fitness brutality?"

There are many strength and conditioning coaches that train their athletes and clients to the point of "revisiting their lunch" simply to punish them or to prove a point.  But when members at Strength Camp engage in our hybrid muscle building workouts there is a science behind the sadism.

You see, most people go to the gym on Monday and do their weight training followed by cardio on Tuesday.  But at Strength Camp we combine both weight training AND cardio in the same session... in fact, many times both elements are expressed in a single exercises.

Here's an example...

Instead of the average training routine that would include dead lifts and biceps curls for 3 sets of 10, our "hybrid" routine may consist of heavy sandbag loading for as many reps as possible in a 60 second span.

Here are the benefits of doing your workout The Hybrid Way:

1. When you force a fast twitch (type 2b) muscle fiber that is accustomed to explosive movements such as heavy sand bag loading to maintain its function via high repetitions within a short span of time, repeated for several sets... you train it to behave more like a slow-twitch (type 1) fiber.

2. Type 1 fibers have a higher mitochondrial density than type 2 thus they are more fuel efficient.  Simply put, they burn fat for energy better than the type 2 fibers.

3. Type 2 fibers are usually more explosive and have a thicker diameter... they are bigger fibers.  When they begin adopting the behavior of type 1 fibers by gradually increasing their mitochondrial density they ultimately become even BIGGER in size as well a better at burning fat for energy.

4. We call these newly formed, mitochondrial infused type 2 fibers... Type 3 Muscle Fibers.

5. Type 3 Muscle Fibers are bigger, stronger, and more fuel efficient (lose fat) than the speedy yet sluggish Type 2 fibers.  Type 3 fibers are also more explosive and have greater athletic capacity than the slow and steady Type 1 fibers.

Here is a workout that I invite you to try this week.

Instead of your normal back and biceps training routine followed by cardio... create a 100 pound sand bag and load it onto a 54″ platform (or about the height of your chest) for as many reps as possible in 60 seconds.  Repeat for 5-10 sets with no more than a 2 minute rest in between.

This type of training is the best way to build muscle fast!

In this video Mariella, Heike and Monica send one of their favorite Parisian friends a little message.

Press play and hear the love.

In this short video Jorge Cruise and Andrew Weil talk about the "calorie myth".