Beware of dieting

Image from Flickr, by Steve A Johnson

Dieting is bad.  There.  I said it.  It's a hard truth, but it's a truth.  Dieting is, actually, a bad thing.

Did I just say that?  Yeah, I did.  You know what?  It's true.

"But Tom, didn't you say diet was the biggest chunk of losing weight?  Are you backing off of that already?"

No, I'm not.

You see, your diet is important.  Dieting is a bad thing.

Still scratching your head?

Stacking your deck

Image from Flickr, by LaRuth

There are secrets to success.  When you're trying to transform your life - and if you really want to make any gains with body transformations, you are wanting to change your life - these secrets are what makes it possible.

One rule that is, in my opinion, a hard and fast rule that has no wiggle room is that you are who you surround yourself with.

Why protein is so important

Image from Flickr, by tarale

 

Protein is one of the most important macronutrients you can eat.  It's essential in the building of muscle, and studies indicate that it's also key in helping stave off hunger.  However, that's not all that protein can do.

You see, protein also has some unique qualities that make it essential if you're wanting to lose the nasty fat.

Of all the nutrients you could eat, protein does something pretty awesome.  It fires up your metabolism just be being in your stomach.

Exercise Breakdown: Kettlebell Goblet Squat

Kettlebells are great for upper body workouts, but what about legs?  Can you really get a good lower body workout with kettlebells? 

Well folks, my legs are telling me today that you can.

Let me introduce you to the Kettlebell Goblet Squat:

It's a simple exercise that's very similar to the front squat.  Just like regular squats, this is a compound exercise.  However, in my opinion, the kettlebell goblet squat offers some advantages.

My motivation and how I use it

Image from Flickr, by Jimee, Jackie, Tom & Asha

I'm 39 years old.  To most folks, that doesn't mean a whole lot.  For them, it just means that I'm older than a 38 year old, but younger than a 40 year old.  It's not like the age of 38 means anything special.

It's also the age that terrifies me.

Over a decade ago, my uncle - a man who was more like my brother than an uncle - dropped dead at the age of 39.  He wasn't the first family member to die at that magic age either.  He was just the latest in a long line of folks to die at 39.  Of course, good healthy doesn't exactly run in my family either.

So, despite rationality, I'm terrified of being 39. 

Four secrets to not getting sidetracked

Image from Flickr, by redjar

When you're fat and trying to become awesome, you try and do everything you can to stay on track.  Unfortunate, that's not always as easy as it sounds.  Real life can get in the way.  It's happened to me, and I suspect that most folks who have tried to go from fat to awesome have had it happen to them too.

However, the secret to avoiding it is to know what to look out for.

So, without further ado, here are four secrets to not getting sidetracked on the way to your fitness goals.

Understanding 'can't' and why it's meaningless

Image from Flickr, by tropical.pete

 

You've heard it.  You've most likely said it.  "I can't."  We've all done it.  I know I have.

It's also one of the most meaningless words in the English language.

When you say "can't", 99 times out of 100, what you mean is that on some level, you lack the will to actually do something.  I used to think that one exception to this rule was saying that a person with no legs couldn't walk.  Recent history has shown me otherwise.  Oscar Pistorius, despite his more recent troubles, proved that "can't" is rarely as applicable as people want to pretend.