 Getting
Fit - Realistically
The Best Ways To Cheat
and Not Suffer For It
Once
upon a time Paul Castronovo and Young Ron Brewer were the mainstays
on South Florida's WZTA, affectionately nicknamed ZETA. Like all
good things, ZETA had its beginning and its end and Paul and Young
Ron have moved onto new horizons, but the ZETA audience had a special
connection with Paul and Ron and their regular guests. I happened
to be one of those regulars, and whenever I was on the show, the
questions would pour in. Very often I'd take the phone calls
off the air, and I could always count on the "what if I drink
beer" and "which supplements work" questions.
After
one particular visit on the show, I decided to post the answers
to the common ZETA questions, thus, the article that follows was
born. It gets into the subtleties of gaining control of your body
without writing beer off completely, and without putting pizza on
the "off limits" list. Keep in mind, I'm not saying you
should jump into a beer, pizza, and brownies diet and expect to
get fit. I am saying that it is quite possible to begin a
process of ongoing improvement without living a glowingly clean
and perfect lifestyle.
 1.
It's Better to Drink Beer (Sometimes), Eat Right Some of the Time,
and Exercise . . .
Than it is to Drink Beer, Do Shots, Fall Down Once in Awhile, and
Sit Around Like A Lump of Blubber!
The night before I wrote this,
I happened to run into a professional athlete (who's name I
won't mention) who is quite fit . . . and had a beer in his
hand. Judging by his demeanor, it wasn't his
first. During football season, beer and I become well
acquainted on Sundays, and dinner often includes a glass of
wine. I've had many dinners with "fit"
celebrities, and if I were to tell you they always eat healthy
and never drink I'd be lying through my teeth (or keyboard as
the case may be). The secret lies in knowing how to
balance out the less "supportive" options with meals
that will boost metabolism and exercise that will keep the
potential for fat accumulation at bay. Click here for more info on "Fitness
Drinking (hey, maybe
I just invented a new sport)!
 2. You
Gotta Eat Pizza!
OK,
maybe I should say "I gotta eat Pizza!" I grew
up in New York, where pizza is king! Ray's Pizza in New
York is far and away the best on the planet (although there's
an ongoing debate over where the "Original Ray's"
really is). If I couldn't eat pizza and stay fit, it's a
pretty sure bet I'd be a fat guy! Read how pizza
can fit into a Fitness Program.
 3.
Eat home made Brownies, and lose weight!
Again, you can't eat
Brownies all day every day and expect to have ripped abs, but
you also can't completely give up the foods you love. My
wife makes what might be the most incredible brownies in the
world. I suggested an experiment. I asked her, in
an attempt to add some nutritional value to the traditionally
unsupportive food, to back off on the sugar, use only egg
whites and forget about the yolks, back off a bit on the
flour, and add some whey protein and my EAT! formula which is
sweetened with stevia and acesulfame (two sweeteners that do
not hinder fat release as sugar does). While they're not
as good as the rich deep moist chocolate brownies loaded with
fat and sugar, and they're not the equivalent of eating a nice
grilled piece of fish, potato, and veggies, this allows a
Cheat Day food to provide some metabolic value. For me
the cheat day is once a week, but if you had all else under
control, the somewhat supportive brownies might add a dessert
to the dinner meal two or three nights per week . . . as you
reduce fat!
 4.
Over the Counter Products That Have Drug Effects
I have worked with enough
athletes to understand why some opt for performance enhancing
drugs. Today, while many supplements are mismarketed,
there are some over the counter products that have been used
successfully by athletes.
One of the most common, and the
most commonly abused, are the Thermogenics.
Regardless of the brand name (such as Xenadrine),
they are usually combinations of caffeine and ephedrine.
While they are not the fat burners they're cracked up to be,
and they do have some potential side effects, with careful use
these can "kick up" your workouts if used
sparingly. They are, in a sense, legal speed. In
fact, methamphetamine (which I'm NOT recommending) can be
manufactured from ephedrine! You can buy expensive
supplements with herbal combinations of these drugs, or you
can simply stop by a drug store and pick up the drugs store's
most inexpensive "stay awake" product (caffeine 200
mg) and some Primatene tabs (ephedrine 12.5 mg). I am
not recommending use of these products, but there have been
many that I've worked with who have used them carefully for
benefit. Before even considering their use, read through
all of the info at my site on these topics. Click
Here for more info on Thermogenics.
 The new weight loss drug,
Xenical, promises to limit absorption of the fat you
eat. It's expensive, and it does not affect body fat at
all. Xenical's action interferes with the enzyme that
transports fat. Over the counter Citrimax, also sold
under the names of HCA and the herbal name, Garcinia Cambogia,
are far less expensive and can just as effectively limit fat
absorption. Again, that shouldn't offer license for
limitless fat, and with excess use there are some unpleasant
side effects. You should find out The
Whole Story on these products before considering use.
Yohimbe. This has
been sold as Herbal Viagra.
You can read more by clicking here.
Click
Here to find out more about the Supplements
I believe have value!
Check out my Programs . . .
My programs
are not restrictive. They provide a map of what would be optimal,
and then allow you to make progress, gradually, to the best of your
ability. If you're ready to jump into this full steam ahead,
check out my TRANSFORM!
program. If you're unsure if you can make it through 17 weeks
of sticking to something . . . try the
17-Day ANSWER! You can absolutely make it through
17 days.
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