Many people look at bodybuilders with their chiseled physiques, low body fat, six pack abs and glowing tans and immediately think they are the picture of health. I certainly believe that bodybuilding is a healthy endeavor, in fact, I know it is, at least the way I practice and teach it.  But lately, a shocking allegation has been made on the internet more and more often: Some writers are saying, “Don’t be fooled by outside appearances! Bodybuilders are not healthy and bodybuilding competition is not healthy.” I’m here to set the record straight on this claim, for the bodybuilding community and for the entire health and fitness world.

“Get those vice grips of death away from me!” Cori said. I chuckled and replied, “Oh come on, they’re just harmless skinfold calipers for body fat testing. Pinch an inch, you know?” She continued to protest, “That’s the problem, I don’t have an inch, I have a handful! Yuck!  Do we really have to do this?”

I was going to title this post, “The Scale Is a Liar” and that’s it. Then I saw that articles on this subject have already been written by the dozens.  After skimming through them however, I was shocked to see how many of them were giving the wrong advice: “Throw away your scale!”  The scale does lie to you in many ways you need to know about, but instead of throwing it out, there’s something you should do instead…

One of the most nonsensical (not to mention irritating) trends in health is “cleansing” or “detox” programs.  They exist in abundance in health circles and can be found everywhere – usually touted as a panacea for any given health problem.  From bookshelves to yoga studios to multi-level marketing campaigns, “cleanses” remain the most prominent socially accepted eating disorder of today.

My name is Michael Malone and I was recently very honored and thrilled to be given the first place award in season 9 of the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle Body Transformation Challenge. Tom Venuto invited me to write a guest post about some of the training, nutrition and mindset strategies I used during the 98 – day transformation challenge to get the results you see in my before and after pictures. For me, mindset was #1 and there were 3 key shifts in my mindset that made all the difference.

If I said that bodybuilding nutrition is the most balanced,  flexible and fun way of eating, some people might think I was crazy. I mean, aren’t bodybuilders notorious for eating bland foods, following restrictive diets and even sacrificing their social life (never eating at restaurants, etc)? Nope… those are all myths. The truth is, the modern style of bodybuilding nutrition really is the most balanced type of eating plan, as well as the most effective. Anyone who wants more muscle and less fat, along with greater strength and better health should check this out…

The biggest myth about weight loss is that dieting is the best way to lose weight. By the time you finish reading this, I think you’ll agree with me: Dieting is the worst way to lose weight. What’s more, I’m hoping you’ll agree so much that you’ll join me on my crusade against “dieting” – at least the way the weight loss industry has been pushing it on everyone for decades.

You think that horror flick you watched or that haunted house you visited was scary? The most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen was not produced by Wes Craven or found in a theme park, it’s what I see some people do to themselves to lose weight. Take a look at these SEVEN scary diets… but reader beware if you’re easily grossed-out!

Vancouver personal trainer Mike Howard is back with 50 more amazing fat loss and fitness tips. His first 50 tips were a sensation here on the Burn the Fat Blog and he may have outdone himself this time.  There are some amazing gems of wisdom here to help you burn fat, build muscle, get healthier, get fitter and do it in a practical, common-sense way. Which tips resonate with you the most?

For anyone who hasn’t been  keeping up with all the posts here at Burn the Fat Blog, the team at Examine.com wrote our “most liked’ post ever a few months ago, in which they talked about the actual science behind 10 popular fat burners. They did a great job taking complex science and making it accessible to you, and so for an encore, I asked them to give us the straight skinny on saturated fats. Here’s what they have to say: