Why listen? This advice comes from Shannon Veurink, who burned off 87 pounds of fat in less than 6 months and got her athletic, young, energetic and HEALTHY body back!

That would be an impressive achievement for anyone, but Shannon did it after overcoming debilitating tropical disease (Dengue hemorrhagic fever), dealing with hypothyroidism and peaking at the heaviest weight of her life after her second child was born (252 lbs).

Her achievements won her the 1st runner up spot in the Burn the Fat Holiday Challenge and she was unanimously voted the “Most Inspirational Success Story” of the year!

We believe in the philosophy that success leaves clues and that if you want to be a success, you should study successful people, find out how they did it, see which of their strategies apply to you, and do the same thing. So we went to Shannon and asked her this question:

“When you think back to what you did to achieve such amazing results over the last six months and through the recent Burn the Fat Challenge, what were the most effective strategies in each of these areas, that you think were the most important of all in allowing you to get such rapid results: 1) mindset, 2) nutrition 3) training, and 4) feel free to add any other random advice if there’s anything else you think was critical to your success that would help our readers get results like you did. Thanks!”

1. Mindset: I STARTED HAVING 2 WAY CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN MIND AND BODY.

Previously, my body had entirely too much to say and my mind was idle in conversations, particularly when it came to exercise. If my body felt tired, I accepted that and didn’t exercise. When I did exercise, if things got tough, I expected less of myself or stopped. Engaging my mind was invaluable to my success.

This was most notable in attaining the most out of each workout by having a plan before starting, and using my mind to tell my body what to do all the way through. I made sure that my workout goals were clear – I would look at my past weights lifted, rest times, run times/paces etc, and decide what I was capable of accomplishing during a particular workout and I accomplished it.

This was not easy, but when my body said, “I’m tired”, “I can’t do this” or “stop”, my mind said “you are strong”, “you can do this”, “you WILL do this” – and my muscles responded! I now realize the role of my brain in neuromuscular performance and literally tell my muscles what to do.

2. Nutrition/Food: I CONSTRUCTED A “COMFY WAGON.”

By far my best food strategy, was making a custom ‘wagon’ for myself that would be hard to ‘fall off’, during – or after – the challenge. This strategy comes from insight into my own personality, but I believe it can benefit many who want Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) to be a lifestyle, not just a challenge diet.

A lot of people in the Inner Circle talk about how being an ‘all or nothing’ person can be a barrier to long-term success, and I agree! I typically operate from an ‘all or nothing’ outlook and I had to understand this when setting up my approach to food. Accordingly, I redefined ‘all’ to mean an enjoyable experience with food each day, but one meeting the principles of BFFM (which does, by the way have tremendous flexibility!).

This included picking foods that I loved eating, being creative with delicious recipes, viewing my food as fuel for my body, but also allowing myself treats that wouldn’t be classified as ‘diet’ food. Don’t get me wrong, my nutrition was very sound, my meals well-planned and I did a great job sticking to my plan – but it was my plan, not someone else’s.

Some people might think: ‘dude, you came in 2nd…wouldn’t it have been better to be stricter for the 7 weeks at least?’…my answer would be: ‘nope, not for me’. If I had approached the challenge with a contest diet strategy I can guarantee I wouldn’t be in the winner’s circle at all; I would have fallen off the wagon, beat myself up about it and wasted my mental energy to that end. Instead, my wheels aren’t spinning in the aftermath of the challenge — I’ve decreased my deficit a bit, but am happily sticking to the plan, feeling awesome and achieving results. My wagon is comfortable and I’m driving it!

3. Training: I TRIED TO ‘RECREATE’ TIMES IN MY LIFE WHEN I FELT THE BEST.

Before the challenge, while I was learning the ropes of BFFM, I learned a lot about myself, my past, and how to create the future I want for myself. For most of my life I’ve played sports on a competitive level and have experienced some very intense sport-specific training, particularly for track and field events. One day I was running intervals and realized that the ‘feelings’ evoked from that type of training were so powerful that they took me back in mind and memory to the times in my life when I felt the strongest, the fastest, and the fittest.

How my five senses were engaged during training were memory cues that helped me not only to visualize my success, but to actually feel like I used to feel. I deliberately tried to recreate these feelings during my workouts to reinforce my affirmations, and to attain the most out of each training session. For example, my sport-specific sprint/jump training was very high intensity, high volume, and included lots of plyometrics, so I incorporated similar styles of resistance and cardio as my primary workouts.

Instead of begrudging the winter wind in my face when running, I reminisced about how many times in the past I’d trained under similar conditions and remembered how good a powerful stride feels. When I felt symptoms associated with my max heart rate, the familiar sensations made me feel satisfied about my hard work. I loaded my workout playlist with memorable songs that I associated with times in my life when I felt the best. As soon as my old running shorts fit again – I started wearing them again.

I don’t mean to suggest that high intensity, high volume, plyo workouts are best for everyone, but I see huge value in reflecting on the times in your life when you felt best, and trying to recreate as many memory cues to evoke feelings of success. I also highly suggest to any personal trainers who may read this, that you take the time to ask your clients (no matter how unfit they look) whether they have athletic history or about when they felt their best. Then, endeavour to train them as though they are still that person – because on the inside — they ARE that person!

4. Other advice: I ACCEPTED THAT NOT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS BFFM OR WANTS ME TO SUCCEED.

I feel blessed with an incredibly supportive husband, parents and close friends who make it clear that they are in my corner. The fifth element is no joke – social support works wonders!

There is however a flipside to the 5th element, and realizing it exists and understanding it helped me to stay focused. Not everyone has struggled with weight so some people can’t relate to the effort required to lose fat. Some people can relate to weight struggles, but are still holding onto excuses about why they can’t overcome them (I was this person), and may not want to see others accomplish their goals because it demonstrates that excuses can be overcome, and may make people feel uncomfortable about their own complacency. Others have taken drastic, unhealthy and downright dangerous measures to overcome their weight issues and will unconsciously resent it when people do things in a healthy manner and see astounding results.

I experienced all of the above kinds of people in my day-to-day interactions and sometimes it took an emotional toll. Some people who knew my goals would constantly (and forcefully, at times) encourage me to indulge in unhealthy foods. A ‘professional’ with a specific ‘certification’ constantly told me I was eating the wrong foods (believed extremely low-carb, blood type, food combination diet was the only thing that works), even though I felt healthy, was getting stronger and seeing results.

People who had never heard of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle rolled their eyes or snickered as though it was a gimmick program and I was a gullible fool. I had to remind myself constantly that people respond this way because of their own issues, not mine. I could not let them confuse my goals or strategies and I could not let anyone make me feel guilty about my progress. I stopped putting stock in their words or negative vibes. Instead, I took to heart the affirmations of those who see me the way I see myself, and who were supportive of my journey. If I felt isolated I reached out within the Inner Circle. Capitalizing on the 5th element was a huge factor in my success!

Related Articles:

http://www.burnthefat.com/most_inspiring_woman_of_the_year.html

To download “The 5th Element” (PDF ebook) CLICK HERE (FREE)

To download Shannon’s full (40-min) success interview (MP3 audio) CLICK HERE (members only)

To download Shannon’s interview transcript (PDF) CLICK HERE (members only)

To visit Shannon’s 49-day holiday challenge journal CLICK HERE (members only)

This is one of the most exceptional 49-day body transformations we’ve ever seen in our of our Burn the Fat Challenge contests…

So I wanted to know he did it, and so did thousands of our readers, customers and Burn the Fat inner circle members, so I grabbed Gary Vollhoffer, winner of the most recent Burn the Fat Challenge transformation contest, earlier this week and got him to spill the beans on how he burned so much fat in so little time…

Here’s what I asked him:

“Gary, when you think back to what you did to get your winning Burn the Fat Challenge results, what were the most effective strategies in each of these areas, that you think were the most important of all in allowing you to get such rapid results: 1) mindset, 2) nutrition and 3)training, and 4) feel free to add any other random advice if there’s anything else you think was critical to your success that would help our readers get results like you did. Thanks!”

Here’s the new champ’s advice:

1. Mental. I made a commitment to myself to complete the challenge. I put my commitment in writing. I visualized my success from the start. I used a picture of Mike Mentzer’s abs and visualized them as my own. I visualized myself on the beach in Maui with warm sand between my toes, the sun warming my tanned six pack abs; I could taste the salt in the air carried by the gentle breeze. I could hear the powerful sound of the ocean as the waves crashed along the shore line. .

I felt emotionally charged and energized. I listed all the reasons I wanted to complete the challenge, six pack abs, better health, lower blood pressure, more energy, having clothes to wear that fit. I thought about how I would feel after all those changes had been accomplished and how proud I would be of myself.

Instead of becoming overwhelmed at all the changes I needed to make, I asked myself if I could follow this plan for one day. I said, sure, one day shouldn’t be all that difficult. So the times when self doubt crept in, or when I was hurt, sore, hungry, angry and whiney, I would tell myself it was only one day, and then I would repeat the mantra I created to snap myself out of it: “Do you just want to compete, or do you want to win?” I would look at the picture of the abs and review the reasons why I was in the challenge and then carry on.

2. Nutrition. Before the challenge, my diet was terrible. Before the challenge, my three staples were sugar, salt and fat. If I wanted a shot at winning the challenge, I knew this would have to change. As a metaphor, I said I was going to treat my body like a rocket ship. Therefore, I would feed it only rocket fuel! I found Tom’s food guide and I decided I would only eat A+ and A foods and for liquids I would drink only water and green tea!

Even though the 7-week competition included my birthday and the holidays, nothing else entered my body. I made no exceptions to my nutrition plan and I did not have any cheat days. I measured and weighed all food and counted all calories. I then posted my calorie intake online.

I did have cravings, especially in the beginning, and my wife and kids continued eating ice cream, popcorn and chicken wings in front me. I used NLP techniques, mostly visualization, to associate things I didn’t like to the foods I craved! I continually used my challenge mantra to drive me. “Do you just want to compete; or do you want to win!”!

3. Training. I admit, my training was kind of crazy, but this WAS a challenge – it was a competition and there’s only one grand prize winner. In fact, I know I over trained because I ended up losing a little strength. When I do another challenge, I will change my routine and give my body more time to recuperate between weight lifting sessions. For the Burn the Fat holiday challenge, I had 27 weight lifting days over the 49 days, 15 upper body and 12 lower body.

I injured my back during one of my leg work outs and my legs were not recovering from the cardio, so my decision was to add more cardio and drop a few leg work outs. On upper body days, I performed 4-5 sets of chest, 4-5 back, 3 for shoulders and 2 each for both triceps and biceps.

I used a variety of techniques including supersets and drop sets and I always worked to failure. My upper body workouts lasted about 90 minutes, which I now know was way too long, but again, this was a challenge! My leg and abs day lasted about 60 min. For cardio I had over 100 sessions during the challenge, broken into three fairly equal categories of slow (Walking), moderate (Jogging, swimming, bike, elliptical, treadmill), and intense (sprints, running, stairs, hills, swimming).

4. Other advice? My advice to anyone thinking about doing a Burn the Fat challenge would be to make a commitment to yourself in writing and list all the benefits you will receive as a result of completing the challenge or reaching the goal.

Don’t reinvent the wheel – the info and resources you need are right here. I joined the Burn the Fat challenge the night before it started, I had no idea what the Burn the Fat inner circle was about. I found the resources; articles and interviews within the inner circle helped me get started on the right track.

The fact that I chose to post to the forums here when I had questions, concerns or frustrations was THE main reason I succeeded. The responsiveness, support and help were truly overwhelming! I’ve built so many friendships over the challenge. Everyone shares so openly, I think I know more about many of the people in the inner circle than I do about some of my own friends or family!

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The next Burn the Fat Challenge (season 6) Begins in May 2012 at the Burn the Fat Inner Circle. All Burn the Fat inner circle members and all burn the fat clients will be invited. Grand prize:  Two glorious vacations for two in Maui Hawaii!

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is the official fat-burning program of the Burn the fat Challenge: Http://www.BurnTheFat.com

FOCUS is your most valuable discipline today. The internet is pulling our attention in a thousand directions and all it takes is one click.  Experts tell us that it’s literally changing the way our brains are wired, cutting our attentions spans and making us more distractible in everything we do. If you spend a lot of time online and feel like you’re becoming more and more ADD, it’s not your imagination. The ability to concentrate has always been a trait of champion athletes, business achievers and fitness success stories. It’s now more important than ever to train yourself to focus.

Deadlines + motivation + rewards can spark extraordinary efforts and results. If you have true deadline pressure and high levels of motivation plus reward for goal achievement, you can make a fitness transformation so far above the average that people will think you’re taking drugs or photoshopping your pictures. Next to actually getting onstage to compete, the body transformation contest is the best example of this I have ever seen. Seek out these types of challenges and watch your results skyrocket! (our next transformation challenge: May 2012 at www.burnthefatinnercircle.com)

Personal responsibility is necessary for personal change. Why do so many weight loss sales pitches start off with, “it’s not your fault?”  It’s because taking responsibility off your shoulders opens the door to selling you a gimmick. The truth is, you have no power to change until you accept responsibility for where you are today and for your future results.  In fact, if you’re not responsible for all your results, then how do you expect to change anything? Blaming or absolving yourself of responsibility is giving up your power.

It’s more important than ever to embrace evidence-based fitness. There are so many scams online today in weight loss, health and fitness and the internet can deliver them so persuasively and quickly before they come and go, you must learn to demand proof before you buy into anything. Investigate before you invest.  Logic and common sense help, but I’m talking about science; peer reviewed, published research.  And remember what Carl Sagan said:  the more extraordinary the claims, the more extraordinary the evidence must be.

Don’t get so caught up in research papers that you ignore real world results. The greatest philosophy of all: see what the research says. See what the real world says.  Take BOTH into consideration. Ultimately the results from your “experiment of one” are what count.  Recent conversation: Reader: “Hey Tom, some of that stuff you bodybuilders do is ‘broscience’ …. Tom: “Thanks for your opinion. Now, let me show you my trophy room”

The best signature file I’ve seen all year. Scientific literacy is important, but this signature file gave me the best chuckle of the year: “Bro science: a term used by the scientific and pseudo-scientific community to try to discredit people who often have more experience and better results, but may not be able to argue as well about unimportant things on the internet.”

Bodybuilding nutrition and training works. Always did. Always will.  The best looking physiques in the world were built on bodybuilding training – split routines – and bodybuilding nutrition – high protein; frequent meals, clean eating. Diets and workouts of the day come and go. Bodybuilding nutrition has been here for decades. It worked before I lifted my first weight in 1983, it worked when I did my first competition in 1989, it worked in 2011 and it will continue to work … forever.  Bodybuilding may not fit everyone’s lifestyle, but you can’t say doesn’t work.

Natural bodybuilding and physique sports are overtaking pro (untested) bodybuilding. Open pro bodybuilding will never go backwards in standards and therefore will continue to promote “mass monsters.” Therefore it will never become a mainstream sport. Natural (drug tested) bodybuilding and physique sports on the other hand, are enjoying a huge revival and a burst in popularity and appreciation like never before.

Fitness model and physique divisions are the real deal. I admit it – at first, I rolled my eyes when men’s fitness model and men’s physique were added as new divisions alongside bodybuilding. Now, I (gladly) recant.  Many of the bodies in the fitness model and physique divisions are damn impressive. They are serious athletes who work their tails off. Plus the smaller, but ripped and shapely physiques have great appeal to the general public who can’t identify with the massive pro body builders, and this is helping all the physique sports grow.

The best bodies in the world were built with many hours of weekly training. Thinking you can achieve maximum fat loss with minimum work is delusional. Fitness marketers who promise you the greatest results with just minutes of training per day (or week) are BS’ing you.  Of course you can lose weight by training just minutes a day – just cut your food intake low enough so you have a large calorie deficit. But then whatever minimalist training program you followed was almost irrelevant – the diet did it all. So don’t listen to the gurus who blather on about their miraculous “just minutes a day fat loss workouts.” The best bodies in the world were built with many hours of training.

You can get 80% of the way there with a fairly modest effort. Why do so some people get results despite what appears to be a sub-optimal program or sub-optimal effort? My theory:  Any halfway decent program and even a modest effort can get you 80% of the way there, especially if you’re a beginner. It doesn’t take a huge time investment, it doesn’t take a complicated training system, and it doesn’t require killing yourself in the gym. It only requires you to get started and be consistent. This explains why you’ll always see success stories from every kind of program and why you see results even from people who work out on minimalist programs. This is good news for most people. But for the competitor and anyone else who wants to achieve as close to 100% of their potential as possible, hard work, details, precision and putting in the hours are absolute musts.

A lot of online health and fitness advice has been getting reduced to the ridiculous. Some internet fitness writers think that bodybuilders are obsessively meticulous and health food enthusiasts are too picky about what they eat. We need to “relax, drink a beer and take a chill pill before we turn into orthorexics,” they chide. “One meal a day or six meals?  No difference, as long as everything is equal at the end of the day. Twinkies or oatmeal? Doesn’t matter, as long as your calories and macros are right, eat what you want.  Alcohol? It’s ok. Drink up, as long as your calories are in check!  Cheat meals? Take more! You guys are too strict!” I agree that there’s virtue in simplicity, and as I mentioned above, just “show up” and you’re 80% of the way there. But lately, some writers – all too often young bloggers with little experience – have reduced it to the ridiculous. News flash for the amateurs: details matter. Discipline matters. To the competitor or advanced trainee, details and discipline are everything and “positive obsession” is the price of winning.

Contrarianism is a current trend in online fitness writing. All you have to do to get attention today is pick a sacred cow and slay it. Readers who are not absolutely certain and steadfast in their current beliefs and personal philosophies will get sucked in like a black hole. (like the first time a high carber heard, “fat doesn’t make you fat, carbs are making you fat” -  it got under your skin didn’t it?) It’s been happening on nearly every topic in fitness. Many online writers are contrarian just for attention mongering and marketing. There’s always the possibility that the opposite of what we initially believed is true.  In most cases today however, we find out that we were right all along and we abandoned what was already working for us to hop on the latest “against the grain” fad.

2 Definitions of insanity. Definition #1: doing the same thing that’s not working over and over again and expecting a different result. Definition #2: Changing something that’s already working for you.

NEVER second guess yourself. It’s understandable to want even better results or faster results. But if it’s not broken don’t try to fix it. If your approach is working, keep doing more of it, no matter what anyone tells you.

2011: Fat burner supplements and diet pills are STILL a waste of money.   Even the stuff that “works” barely works (think 25 to 75 or so extra calories burned per day – in 24 hours -  which usually doesn’t pan out into long term fat loss in pounds, which to me translates to: Doesn’t work). Best “fat burner?” Try working out and eating right!

OF COURSE calories matter! A lot of people still believe “calories don’t count.” They’re still wrong.  Of course there’s more to good nutrition than calories. For health, the quality of your food matters – a lot. For body composition, food choices and macronutrient ratios matter too, especially if you swap carbs for protein. That doesn’t change the fact that a calorie deficit has to be there first for weight loss to occur.  Ignore calories at your own peril.

Establishing a daily meal plan and following it consistently is even more important than what time of day or how often you eat. Haphazard eating or just going into your day and eating whatever comes across your path is a recipe for failure.  If you don’t have a consistent meal plan, it’s nearly impossible to troubleshoot fat loss plateaus and you may be causing metabolic dysfunction.

Reduced carb diets are a legitimate approach. Low carb diets shouldn’t be dumped in the fad category. They’re not for everyone, but can work very well for many people. Low-medium carb, high protein diets work exceptionally well for controlling calories, regulating appetite and retaining lean body mass. Keep in mind, there are many different types of low carb diets. Low carb doesn’t necessarily mean eliminating all carbs, nor does it mean eating bacon, sausage and pork rinds. Reducing carbs could be as simple as dropping some white sugar and refined grains and replacing them with some lean protein and healthy fat.

Carbs are not bad or evil. Saying a low carb diet is a viable diet option is not the same as saying carbohydrates are responsible for obesity. In 2012, if anyone tells you carbs are fattening, beyond the ability of sugar and refined carbs to easily deliver an overload of calories, listen to them at your own peril – they may mean well, but they don’t get it yet.

Reading the great books is one of the greatest disciplines. Shut off the TV and get off the internet for a while and read the great books on self-development. Re-read the classics as often as you can (There’s a reason everyone talks about books like Psycho Cybernetics, Think and Grow Rich and As a Man Thinketh – why not read them and find out). The people who have continued to be readers and not just web surfers are pulling far, far ahead of the pack in every area of their lives – physically, mentally, financially and socially.

People who denounce goal setting, positive thinking and personal development will continue to stunt the growth of themselves and everyone around them. Every year I see people criticizing the personal development disciplines. People who tell you “goal setting doesn’t work” could not be giving worse advice.  Goal setting is the master skill of success. If you don’t do it consciously, your unconscious will set goals by default anyway based on whatever type of thinking and input you feed it. It’s better to be in conscious control of the process. Positive thinking is the precursor to positive action and does a lot more good than pessimism (and makes you a nicer person to be around). Visualization? Scientifically proven and used by every top athlete and business achiever. Sure, there is junk information in the self help field, as there is in every field. But time and efforts spent improving the kind of person you are is the best investment you’ll ever make.

Don’t feed the trolls. Intelligent debate on subjects that matter, with people that matter, is one of the highest uses of your time. It advances the knowledge of everyone. On the other hand, there are a lot of ignorant, biased, hostile and downright mean people on the internet. Don’t even reply. Don’t even engage. Haters and trolls aren’t worth one second of your precious time.

Overtraining happens, but it’s probably the least of your worries. I can’t believe how much paranoia I read about how “everyone is overtraining.” Actually most people are undertraining, especially in intensity. More is not always better and simply going to the gym and beating the crap out of yourself every time is not smart training. But your body is capable of far more than you give it credit for and most people have no concept of what hard training is until after they’ve experienced it. So don’t be timid; put your body into high gear, push yourself and see what your body can REALLY do.

Train with a champion at every opportunity you have. Seeing the contrast between the level of a champion’s training and everyone else’s training will astonish you. Every time you get the chance, train with and around people at levels far above yours. If you’re serious about your training, the appreciation of that difference will change your standards forever.

High rep training not only has its place, it can actually create some surprising muscle gains. If you don’t think high reps can put on muscle, when was the last time you tried 20 rep squats (Randall Strossen style) or high rep dumbbell rows (Kroc style)?  I went back to both this year and reaped some nice gains and a lot of satisfaction for the achievement.

There’s more than one way to get lean, to build muscle or to get fitter.  Gurus and dogmatic followers of gurus need to get over themselves and their “only way” to get in shape. There’s more than one way to do it. For me it’s bodybuilding. For you it may be something different.  When you find the approach that suits your lifestyle, personality and disposition, it’s a beautiful thing. (Just be SURE you lift some heavy stuff, ok?)

Compliance – your ability to stick with your program – is the most important factor for long term fat loss success. It’s not what program you follow, it’s what makes you follow your program. What makes you follow your program has more to do with mental, emotional and social factors than it does physical factors or what you eat.  (learn more in my book, The Body Fat Solution, available in paperback, hardcover and on kindle)

Coffee is humankind’s greatest invention. Sip. (But coffee is only for closers. Sip).

Happy New Year!  May you make 2012 the best year of your life!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto

www.BurnTheFat.com

As amazing opportunities go, the Burn the Fat Challenge is unequaled, and I’m not just talking about the chance to win a trip to Maui like I did.  Imagine being swept up in a perfect storm of motivation and support that carries you toward your goals faster than you thought possible.  That’s what happened to me when I entered the Summer Challenge and became active in the Inner Circle community.

Do you dream of achieving your body’s ultimate potential?  Are you ready to pass up a powerful tool for making that happen?  Then you might want to join me in thinking about why.

There are a handful of reasons people commonly give for their reluctance to join a Challenge, but the Holiday Challenge stirs up particular resistance.  Why is this, and how do three of the most common excuses really hold up under scrutiny?

Excuse #1 – “I won’t be able to enjoy the holidays.”

I love my holiday food.  I really do.  I refuse to skip my pumpkin pie.
Was I perfect every day during the summer challenge?  The first week of July included American Independence day, my 35th birthday and the midway point of the summer challenge.  What do you think?

I live in the U.S. and celebrate Christian holidays, so my big days are Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day.    Five days out of seven weeks.

Now, I suppose you might have a problem, if you’re planning to celebrate the Muslim New Year, St. Nicholas Day, Buddha’s Enlightenment, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Hanukkah, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s.  Okay, you’re excused.

Are five days really the issue?  Not likely.  A day off here and there is actually good strategy.

If I tell myself the choice is between the Challenge or enjoying Christmas, then I’m probably going to pick Christmas. That black & white thinking gets me off the hook, so I don’t have to face the truth.

What’s the truth?  I wish I could spend every day of November, December and January eating like I celebrate all the festive holidays on the calendar.  I’d like to give myself permission to eat every holiday cookie that crosses my path.  Setting reasonable limits is hard.

What I’ve learned:  my body doesn’t care about the calendar or my motives.

I can either set healthy limits for myself most of the time or be fat.  That’s true whether I participate in the challenge or not.

Does that mean I can never indulge?  No way!

REALITY: The Holiday Challenge is about making good choices most of the time… just like the other 316 days of the year.

Excuse #2 – “There will be more time to get in shape after the holidays.”

January may be peak season for weight loss enthusiasm, but it’s not exactly peak season for weight loss success.  There isn’t a peak season for weight loss success.  It’s challenging to stay fit all year long.

Yes, the holidays are a busy time, but when isn’t?  I feel like I haven’t had a day off since I graduated college.  Are shopping and a few office parties any different from the double shifts, sick kids, sleepless nights, and other endless burdens that dog us 365 days a year?

I spent 15 years waiting for a good time to lose weight.  All it took for me to finally transform my body and my life was to grind in one single expectation:  I am a person who makes time to exercise and eat right.  Period.

Our behavior reflects our expectations.  When I was overweight, I wanted to exercise and eat right, but I expected myself to sit around and eat junk.  So I did.  Expecting anything more of myself seemed way too painful.

I was focusing on the sacrifice and underestimating the rewards.  Guess what one of the most unexpected rewards has been?  More time.

That’s right.  Inactivity, heavy foods, fat and illness were slowing me down.  My new lifestyle increases my energy, improves my mood, and reduces my stress.  All of those things add up to greater efficiency and more time.

If you have not made the decision that you’ll do whatever it takes to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, then what is stopping you?   That’s what it’s all about, folks.  Flip that switch, and you have found the key to lasting success.

REALITY: It’s never easy, but it is always worth it.

Excuse #3 – “It’s not worth entering if I’m too busy to give 100%.”

I’m not going to lie to you.  It felt great to compete hard in the summer challenge.  It felt even better to win.  Of course, I put a lot of time into making that happen.  Some people just can’t give the Challenge that sort of priority.
The question becomes:  is it worth entering the Challenge, if you’re too busy to give 100%?

There is something very compelling about going full throttle.  I am the queen of “all or nothing” thinking, which is one reason I struggled with my weight for so long.  I am doing my best to learn patience and balance, because those are the keys to weight loss that lasts.

Believe it or not, the Challenge is more than a competition.  Just ask anyone who has finished.  Chances are they treasure the experience.

In reality, many people don’t care about taking the Challenge by storm.   They are there for the support they need to keep making slow, steady progress.

The experience delivers:

• The Challenge is fun.
• The Challenge is exciting.
• The Challenge is NOW (i.e. the antidote to “I’ll start Monday” syndrome).
• The Challenge creates accountability.
• The Challenge builds friendships with like-minded people (especially if you join a team).

What you have right there is a recipe for success.  You will usher in 2012 looking and feeling better than you do today.  (Don’t forget that you’re likely to look worse on January 1st, if you fail to act.  Most people gain weight during the holiday – year after year – and that weight typically not lost.)

REALITY: Whether your goals are big or small this time around, the Challenge makes it harder to fail than to succeed.

So, there you have it.   I focused on the common holiday excuses today, because they are symptoms of the same errors in thinking that make it hard to achieve and maintain a healthy weight year ‘round.  That is precisely why Tom hosts a Challenge at such an unconventional time of year.

That said, I want to quickly address one more reason people can be reluctant to enter a Challenge that has nothing to do with the holidays.   I can’t resist bringing it up, because it’s a reason that actually makes me feel a little sad.  (I can’t even bring myself to call it an “excuse.”)

Those “dreaded” BEFORE pictures

Some people are reluctant to join a Challenge, because they are afraid to post their “before” pictures online.  Yes, there are sometimes religious or cultural reasons for this, but often it’s just because people feel ashamed.

I want to remind everyone that “before” pictures are not accessible to people outside the Inner Circle, and the Inner Circle is one of the most accepting places you can imagine.  Many of the fittest people on the forum were very overweight at one time.  Nobody judges.

I promise you, when you have achieved your goals, you will cherish your “before” pictures.  (I have even posted mine on Facebook.)  Those pictures will tell the story of how far you’ve come, and that is a story you will be thrilled to tell.

So, enough of my preaching.   Time to throw those excuses in the fireplace and give yourself the gift of a better 2012.  I’ll see you in the Challenge!

Best Regards,

Audrey Eickwort
2011 Burn the Fat Summer Challenge Female Champ

A NOTE FROM TOM:

Thank you Audrey! As someone said at the Facebook Burn the Fat page today… “You’re a legend!”

For all Burn the Fat Blog readers! There are only 3 days left to enter the Burn the Fat Challenge. Plenty of time for veteran Burners… but, if you’re new, it does take a little time for “orientation” at the Inner Circle challenge forums, not to mention time to take your pictures and get your entry posted, so TODAY is a great day to enter the challenge (not to mention if Monday is your weekly progress check-up day, that will keep you in check on the weekends won’t it?)

Also, our Burn the Fat Challenge has a TEAMS (of 5) division that is massively popular because of the extra support and motivation you receive from your teammates.

But it’s pretty hard to get a Burn the Fat team together at the last minute – if you want to get on a team we have a thead on the Burn the Fat Challenge forum where you can look for a teammate and meet with others looking for a teammate. But you’ll have to hurry if you want to get a team together – the deadline is wednesday at midnight, November 23rd!

See you all at the Inner Circle… It may be getting cold out… but it’s getting HOT in there!

First, this will help spread the word about our Burn the Fat Body Transformation contest... and we DO appreciate you spreading the word….

Please tell your friends on facebook, twitter and at your gym or workplace… even if you don’t officially enter our online Burn the Fat Holiday Challenge, you could organize your own informal Burn the fat 49 day “Holiday Challenge” with your work colleagues or gym buddies).

But there’s a deeper reason for this big blog giveaway…

Every year when I do this big free random prize giveaway, I see it as a rare opportunity to do some serious fitness (and psychology) research. I usually get hundreds of comments, and in some of our big free blog giveaways, I’ve gotten more than 1,000 comments on here.

I always figured, why let anyone enter to win all my free stuff for doing nothing? Why not make them “work” a little bit by thinking, and answering a serious, poignant question.

The responses I’ve gotten to the last blog giveaway contests have been priceless because you and the rest of my readers have given me your personal insights on your motivations, your challenges and your biggest problems. I could never get this kind of information and real-people feedback from reading textbooks or science journals.

This time, I have a new question. If you answer it in the comments below, you will get entered in my free drawing for free books and memberships.

This time, instead of asking you about your motivations or your problems, I want to know about your solutions.

1. I want to get insights from people who are experienced at fitness transformation who are willing to share what has already worked for them, for fast results when time is of the essence.

2. And for those who are new and don’t know yet how to transform their bodies, let alone quickly, I want you to start using your brain and thinking about HOW you CAN begin to transform.

Answer the question I have written at the bottom of this post, following the rules as stated, and I will enter you into…

The Biggest Random FREE PRIZE DRAWING In the History of Burn the Fat Blog

In past drawings, I’ve given away maybe one full annual membership, a handful of 3 month memberships and a few ebooks…

This time, 10 winners sill be selected at random. All the winners will receive:

A FULL One Year Full-Access-Membership to the Burn the Fat Inner Circle and a Personally Autographed copy of my hardcopy book, The Body Fat Solution… Shipped in the mail to your door, anywhere in the world.

Not only that, all winners will be eligible to enter the Burn the Fat Challenge body transformation contest* (optional.. but I think you should GO FOR IT!)

Here’s the question to answer in the comments below to get you entered into this free prize drawing:

What do you believe is the 1 biggest key to making a RAPID body composition transformation?

Please read that carefully – I did not say rapid weight loss – I said rapid Body Composition transformation.

That means losing fat and keeping your muscle or even gaining muscle. It’s a totally different question than asking about fast weight loss, which is NOT what we are after around here.

If you are an experienced fitness enthusiast, then draw on your past experience.

If you are new and you don’t know how to to make a rapid body composition transformation – if this has been your Achilles heel in your life and you just haven’t figured it out yet – well, USE YOUR NOGGIN and THINK ABOUT IT. Think – and see what your brain comes up with.

Maybe you’ve never transformed your body before and that’s why you’re here – you want to LEARN how…

But go ahead and say that “I’m still a work in progress, not a success story, YET” but take a stab at the question and post your answer in the comments (maybe deep down, your subconscious mind already knows the answer – maybe you know what to do, you just haven’t done it yet and this little “homework” exercise will draw it out… and you might win just for having a go at it)

Go ahead – post your answer in the comments below. But DO pause a moment and think about this first. And keep it to the 1 biggest thing. Just one thing.

Good luck in the drawing and I hope to see you in the Burn the Fat Challenge body (composition) transformation contest this week – it opens on November 17th, 2011 and the contest information page will go live here on this blog at 12:00 am on that day (Thursday the 17th, THIS WEEK, this blog)

Train hard and expect success,

Your Friend and coach,

Tom Venuto
author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle
www.BurnTheFat.com
Founder & CEO,
www.BurnTheFat.com/InnerCircle

BLOG GIVEAWAY CONTEST: Blog Contest Terms/Rules/Restrictions: NO PURCHASE REQUIRED TO ENTER the blog contest. you must be 18 years of age or older, Contest subject to state and federal laws and void where prohibited. Answer must be provided by posting a comment in the blog comments below, including your name (include at least your first name and last initial). Entries must be received by Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 at 11:59 (PM EST). Winners to be announced here on this blog in this post by end of day, Thursday, November 17th, 2011. Winners must contact Burn The Fat support at www.BurnTheFat.com/contact.html to redeem prizes by providing postal address for hardcopy book delivery and email address for online membership delivery. Contest sponsored by Fitness Renaissance, LLC doing business as Burn The Fat blog. All entries become property of contest sponsor.

*BURN THE FAT 49-DAY HOLIDAY CHALLENGE: Some restrictions apply. Must be 18 years of age or older. Contest enrollment is FREE for ALL current Burn the Fat customers and Burn the Fat Inner Circle members. Current customers subscribed to the clients list will receive a private email invitation to register before November 17th, or may contact customer service and request an invitation between November 17th and November 23rd by showing proof of purchase. Contest is open to NEW burn the fat customers, but there may be restrictions in some countries. Void where prohibited. In the United States, Contest is void for new customers in Vermont, Maryland, North Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Tennessee, New Jersey and Rhode Island (reason: state laws do not allow registration in a fitness contest that requires a new purchase). Complete rules, list of prizes, terms, conditions and legal notices can be found on the contest information page, which will be posted here on this blog on Thursday, November 17th, 2011.

THANK YOU ALL for contributing to this epic blog giveaway – one of the top 2 biggest responses I’ve ever seen on this blog.  Here are our winners:

1. Jodi S. (nov 15th 5:21 pm)

2. Lillian Sockwell (Nov 15th 5:31 pm)

3. Sri Ganesh (Nov 15th 8:21 pm)

4. Bill Fields (Nov 15th 11:52 pm)

5. Pete Foster (Nov 16th 3:52 am)

6. Michael M. (Nov 16 12:27 pm)

7. Mark Bader (Nov 16 1:05 pm)

8. Leticia Gomez (Nov 16 5:47 pm)

9. Justin M (Nov 16 8:23 pm)

10. Jonathan Alan (Nov 16 (9:49 pm

1000th commenter prize: Caroline Christians

Congratulations and i will see you all in the Inner Circle… and I HOPE to see you in the Holiday Challenge too!

Collect your prizes by sending an email to our customer support team at: http://www.BurnTheFat.com/contact.html. Please include your postal address for shipment of your signed book.

Then you have the more sophisticated blogs and websites that try to put a scientific spin on it all. Usually they mention proper timing of refeeds, as well as post-exercise nutrient timing tactics, workout timing, planning that big cheat meal just right, fasting before or after and the retroactive damage control strategies after you’ve already made a glutton out of yourself.

Better than the aforementioned 3rd grade tabloid stuff, but even the science sites are missing something… something much more human…

I’ve cracked the code on avoiding holiday weight gain.

It’s shockingly simple: In fact, it’s so simple, I think that’s why it’s overlooked. Here it is:  Set a goal to IMPROVE over the holidays, not slip back or even settle for status quo.   It’s not that holiday pitfalls can’t be navigated, it’s that most people don’t even set their sights on success. They’ve given up before even getting started. “What’s the use?” they moan, “too many temptations!”

Ah yes, but most people do that “goal setting thing” in January and it doesn’t last long and you’re actually even motivated (for a little while) then, right? So what makes me think setting a goal for holiday fitness will work?

Well, aside from the fact that most people do NOT set “goals” in January (they make “resolutions” which are little more than wishes), setting a goal is only part of my solution.

The best way ever invented to avoid holiday weight gain is not only to set a real goal – to set goals “scientifically” – but to set up an accountability, social support and reward system to make sure you follow through and achieve that goal.

After years of hard work and trial and error, I’ve created and perfected such a system.

I’ve already done the set up work for you, and not only that, my system has now been proven two years in a row (this is our third year), so we KNOW this works.

In fact…

This works so well that this is probably the single most important revelation I’ve had in my entire fitness career.

Back as far as the 1990’s, I too, saw all those transformation contests, and I saw the before and after photos, which were impressive. But the cynic in me said, “It’s just a tool for promoting supplement sales.”

I may have been right that transformation contests have been used to help promote supplement businesses, but I was dead wrong in thinking that’s ALL they were.

Until I was the man hosting the contests myself and seeing all the inner workings, and not just how bodies, BUT LIVES, were changed, I never realized how real and powerful it was. And for that, I thank the fitness leaders like Bill Phillips (and his brother Shawn – thanks buddy), who pioneered this idea years ago.

I’ve been awed, amazed, floored and flat out BLOWN AWAY the last 2 years in a row with the results I’ve seen during this “Burn the Fat CHALLENGE.”

I’ve seen results so astonishing that outsiders have questioned their authenticity, even though our results have been date-stamped and documented meticulously and the unfolding results were witnessed in real time by thousands of participants.

And before you continue reading, let me point out that I’m not saying that achieving results like our past winners, finalists and finishers did is easy, that’s why we call it a “challenge.” What I’m saying is…

Getting in great shape over the holidays HAS BEEN DONE BY THOUSANDS – who simply made a decision – and YOU CAN DO IT TOO!

This is my challenge to you:  Enter our before and after body transformation fitness contest the week before Thanksgiving and follow through until the first week in January.

49 Days is all I’m asking for.

If you don’t enter officially, then “enter unofficially” or do your own “holiday challenge” in your own fitness support circle.

I realize there will still be some skepticism because we hear it ever year … from the new people at least…

The people in our community – the “burners” aka the “BFFM’ers” – they already know how powerful this holiday challenge can be and I’m sure they’ll jump onto the comments below and tell you that.

But every year we have to overcome the doubters and the pessimists – the ones who say:

“Venuto, you are out of your mind!  This is the WORST time to start a fitness program!  People can barely survive through the holidays let alone “transform” their bodies in a month and a half.”

That’s the typical thinking of the mediocre masses. If you’re part of that mediocre crowd – and unwilling to open your mind and change – you’re on the wrong website.

For the winners who are still with me… for the achievers…

Forget about “avoiding weight gain.” Forget about “surviving the holidays.” I’m challenging you to get in the best shape of the year, possibly the best shape of your entire life in the next 49 days – right through the holidays.

Or, I’m challenging you to do something as simple as setting a goal to come out of the holidays in better shape than you went in. Just make progress during the 49 day challenge.

Don’t think 49 days is enough time to see big results?

We’ve already proven that it is.

You could spend hours scrolling through all the 49-day transformations at our inner circle forums.

Even just browsing through previous posts on this blog or any one of our websites – you’ll see them FILLED with 49 day transformation stories. And I’m going to post even more of them on to the blog in the next week for added motivation.

IT CAN BE DONE! The goal setting the focus, the program, the contest, the support community, the accountability, the motivation, the encouragement, the enthusiasm, the energy, the excitement that this challenge creates, makes things possible in 7 short weeks that you couldn’t imagine before.

I couldn’t believe it either… until I saw it with my own eyes

This is now the best event of its kind on the internet. Thousands have entered. Soon, tens of thousands will have entered – and this week is your chance to get involved. But the window of opportunity is brief.

Now is the time. There are no excuses left not to go for it.

You CAN do this!

And if you go for it, you’ll have a chance at winning an all expenses paid trip for two to Maui Hawaii, with my compliments.

It’s the real deal – I’ve sent 16 people to Maui so far, and I’ll be announcing the winners and sending 4 more people to paradise at the end of these 49 days.

Mike won a trip for two to Maui in our Summer Challenge:

Linda Won a trip for two to Maui in our Holiday challenge:

That’s the reward part I talked about earlier.  Psychology 101; some people need a carrot. Now you have it.

Maybe  some people don’t want to go “in it to win it” (though you might surprise yourself). Some people want to do this just for personal improvement.

That’s not only okay – you’ll be joining many others saying yes to the challenge for the same reason. And, there are lots of other prizes too – there will be many winners in this challenge….

We reward the top 10 men and the top 10 women with great prizes like the new kindles, ipads, ipods, books, memberships and a lot more… plus there are special categories for the top team of 5 and for individual achievements like best transformation after age 50, most ripped and most inspirational.

Just finishing the challenge gets you recognized and celebrated throughout our community of thousands and thousands of “holiday burners.” You too will be a Burn the Fat “hall of famer.”

And although the tangible reward is VERRRRY NICE (all our previous champions who came back from Maui said it truly is paradise on earth), don’t forget that waking up in your own home the first week of January and looking in your mirror at a transformed body and having a head start on a great new year is not a shabby reward either.

I could go on and on about this special event, but we have an entire week and a half ahead of contest events, pre-launch contest giveaways, teleseminars, interactive live Q & A sessions, Facebook chats and special guest blog posts. Challenge week is now upon us and there is more to come!

In summary, today I simply wanted to:

1.    Tell you about my fitness revelation – that the body transformation challenge contest is the most powerful and effective way to motivate yourself into the best shape of your life… and this week is your opportunity to enter our next challenge – the Burn the Fat Holiday Challenge .

2.    Alert you about the contest registration dates, nearly upon us – the registration opens on November 17th and it closes November 23rd

3.    Let you know about the Blog giveaway that will take place right here  tomorrow – all you’ll have to do is check in here on the blog, read my post for Monday evening, November 14th and leave a comment answering the question I ask – and you’ll be entered to win free books and free memberships to the Burn the Fat Inner Circle (getting you automatic entry into the Holiday Challenge)

4.    Give you the low-down on how contest entry works (see below)

I’ll be posting here on Burn the Fat Blog all week long and sending out contest event announcements in the newsletter, so come back tomorrow for your chance to enter the Blog contest and win free stuff and be here on Thursday the 17th for sure when the doors open.

For today, read below for the preliminary details that everyone has been asking me for.

Also, if you’re in this year, drop me a note in the comments below that says “I’M IN!”

Last but not least, if you’ve done a challenge before, I appreciate if you leave a note as well, whether you’re in or not this year, remembering back to your first challenge how you were maybe nervous and not sure at first, but afterward you realized you had done something life-changing. I’m sure that will help motivate some of our new readers here to jump in too.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you here tomorrow!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: Official fat burning system of the 2011 Holiday transformation challenge

Burn the Fat Holiday Challenge FAQ

What is it?

The Burn the Fat Holiday Challenge is a 49 day (7-week) body transformation contest held once a year through the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays

What are the exact dates?

Registration opens Thursday, November 17th, 2011 and registration closes November 23rd, 2011

Who is it for?

The Burn the Fat Challenge is for all burn the fat clients, members and customers. If you own the Burn the Fat e-book or have a current Burn the Fat Inner Circle membership, you can enter.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. The contest is free for Burn the Fat e-book owners and Inner Circle members. It’s free perk and benefit for our customers and members.

You mean I don’t have to buy supplements?

NO. I don’t sell supplements and if you want to take them (legal, natural supplements), that’s up to you, but they are not required for this contest. If you’re part of our burn the fat customer family already, you don’t have to buy anything else.

What if I’m not a customer?

If you purchase a copy of the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle e-book or you purchase a Burn the Fat Inner Circle membership, you are automatically entered. However, for first time new customers, fitness contests with prizes must be legal in your country and there are restrictions in some U.S. States. The full terms and conditions and restrictions will be posted on the contest web page when it goes live on Wednesday, November 17th.

How do Inner circle members register?

Burn the fat Inner Circle members are already registered. Just log into the Inner Circle website with your existing user name and password then go to the Holiday challenge forums. There is a quick start guide and FAQ there. That’s it. (In fact, the inner circle is already buzzing with activity as people are prepping and planning and forming their Burn the Fat teams for the Team challenge, so if you’re an inner circle member already, get in there and get a head start now!

How do Burn the Fat e-book customers register?

All burn the fat e-book customers who have opted into our customer newsletter and kept a valid email address with us will get a private invitation one day early on November 16th, 2011.  The invitation will have the registration link which lets you into the challenge forums

What if I’m a customer and I don’t get an invitation?

Contact customer service at http://www.burnthefat.com/contact.html and simply provide your receipt or proof of purchase. Customer support will send you the registration link directly.

Where do I enter?

The contest is being held at our members only website, the burn the fat inner circle (www.burnthefatinnercircle.com). But, that’s a members only site. There will be a public Burn the Fat Challenge page posted on Thursday, November 17th with even more details for first time new members.

What do I do now?

Get psyched up! And wait until the invitations go out on November 16th or until the public doors open on November 17th and even more details will be posted… and come back here to the blog tomorrow night for your chance to win free stuff including free memberships to the inner circle.

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: Official fat burning system of the 2011 Holiday transformation challenge

So, why don’t i just cut to the chase and show you someone his age (and for the record, I don’t think 50 is old. In fact, I think you are about as old as you think you are)…

Let me introduce you to Scott Holmes. Scott, a dedicated husband, father of one and a career law enforcement man, won the grand prize – a week of all-expenses paid vacation in Maui -  in our most recent Burn the Fat Challenge Body Transformation Contest.

Scott began the 98-day before and after fitness contest at the age of 49, and during the contest, Scott had a big birthday – the BIG FIVE-O.

I think it’s a shame that so many people think it’s all downhill physically after age 40. The way most guys think, after age 50, you might as well back up the Hearse.

Well, Scott celebrated his fiftieth by winning the title of 2011 Burn the Fat Challenge OVERALL champion. Let me re-emphasize the “overall” part of that…

He didn’t just prove that it’s possible to have a great body after 50, he showed that it’s possible to have the best body improvements out of EVERY age group, out of hundreds of men who entered. Scott did what most guys don’t even do at 20 or 30.

So I asked Scott in a recent interview for our inner circle members, this question:

Tom: “What are your thoughts Scott, on this whole paradigm of aging in our society, where every time I run into a guy who is over 50, even over 40, their attitude is negative, like, “what’s the use – it’s too late, I’m too old.” And what encouraging words would you have for guys in their 40′s and 50′s and beyond who are struggling with their fitness and body shape?”

Scott: Well, before Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, I’d have to say I bought into that paradigm myself  a little bit. I had no idea I’d be able to do as well as I did. I never dreamed I was going to be able to put on that much muscle mass. I only hoped to maintain what I had under the fat. I quickly learned each week as I watched my body fat percentage and lean body mass stats, that what I’d been told about aging all these years was obviously not true…

It depends on how hard you work, how much attention you’re willing to give to proper nutrition. I felt like I was able to prove to myself and hopefully to others, “Don’t believe everything negative you hear about aging.” You just need to work diligently and use proper nutrition.

I lost 27 pounds, but I was surprised at how well I was able to build up muscle. Just maintaining my lean body mass was my original goal. I surpassed that by being able to develop additional muscle while I was losing fat.

The biggest thing I can say is that hopefully my pictures can add proof and give inspiration to people. And also, certainly don’t believe everyone who tells you it can’t be done. It’s such a negative society out there where most people believe that once you hit a certain age, there’s no chance of improvement. I can tell you and hopefully show you that this is just not the case.”

I grilled Scott on that interview for an hour and here were the top tips he shared with our listeners:

1. Avoid negative influences. Don’t subject yourself to people and social activities where you know it will be nothing but temptation.

2. Surround yourself with positive influences. Get involved more with friends and social situations where you’ll be supported

3. Keep a training and nutrition journal. What you measure and what you are accountable for you will improve

4. Keep a very high compliance rate. Be consistent. Really stick to it. “I had a hot dog at a baseball game but I hardly went off my program at all the entire summer. It paid off.”

5. Use a small, conservative calorie deficit. Don’t do starvation diets - you’ll get too hungry and you won’t be able to keep up your compliance, plus you wont have as much energy to train hard and you have to train hard if you want to gain lean muscle as opposed to just losing weight.

6. Track your macronutrients. Do it just like Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle says – at least when you’re working on a serious goal (like winning a trip to Maui), do it by the numbers – don’t guess – know your numbers of proteins, carbs and fat.

7. Keep the protein up. When you’re cutting calories, it pays to eat more protein – about 40% of y our total calories or well over 1 gram per pound of bodyweight, closer to 1.5 grams per pound when the calories are low and gaining muscle is one of your goals.

8. Try hardboiled eggs for a great protein snack that’s portable too. eat 4 or 5 times per day to get in the protein you need, keep hunger in check and keep your energy up. But if you have some larger meals that’s fine, just take protein snacks in between so you can hit that important protein goal.

9. Make your food taste good. Try some of Tom’s recipes from the Burn the Fat Inner Circle like the spicy turkey or chicken scramble wrap or the healthy fried rice or the healthy chicken stir fry. You have to stick with your program just like you planned it but there is no reason the food on that program has to taste bad.

10. Try a basic strength training program like the upper lower 2 day split recommended in Tom’s “The New Bodybuilding Workout” (TNB)

11. Do the big muscle group exercises that cause more release of muscle building hormones; Squats, deadlifts, romanian deadlifts and for upper body be sure to use compound exercises like dips.

12. Superset training is fantastic because it gets you done faster and it can help relieve joint stress because you don’t need so much weight to get a great workout (Scott had rotator cuff surgery just months before the challenge – he was able to work around it and rehab it with intelligent strength training).

13. Do cardio, but not more than you have to. When your diet is super strict and you count everything to be sure you have a deficit, and you’re hitting the weight training hard, you may not have to do a lot of cardio if you don’t want to – even as little as 2-3 days per week will do it.

14.  90% of this is mental - having a goal you want to achieve, clearly in writing and being able to believe that you can achieve it and having high levels of self confidence are absolute requirements

15. Support and positive environment are everything. Get into a good support circle and read Tom’s “The Fifth Element” Report (Free download available at the Burn the Fat Inner Circle)

There you have it – a super summary of the philosophy of a body transformation champion – age 50 years young.  If you simply apply a handful of these tips in your life, I have no doubt you’ll immediately start seeing better results…

Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next Transformation contest champion… of course, you have to enter the next transformation contest if you want to win.

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto
http://www.BurnTheFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

QUESTION: Tom, I’m entering your upcoming Burn the Fat Challenge contest, and I have thought about ways to improve my nutrition (I wouldn’t mind winning that trip to Maui!) A strategy that has worked well for me is having a fixed breakfast and lunch. Part of the lunch includes a sandwich with two slices of whole grain bread with no HFCS. It does a great job of keeping me satisfied until dinner. I also eat a piece of whole grain bread with some PB2 before going out for very intense or long bike rides.

Although I know many folks have gluten or wheat issues, I haven’t noticed any problems with my body handling the bread. As I think about things, though, I am wondering if having bread is consistent with a clean bodybuilding diet. After all, it is processed. Are there any successful bodybuilders who eat bread on a regular basis? Has bread been unfairly demonized, or should I make the effort to avoid it?

If I should avoid bread, suggestions for carb dense substitutes that can be eaten cold while tasting good would be appreciated. Brown rice is fine when I have access to a heating unit, but often I am eating lunch away from home.

Thanks, Erica

ANSWER: Erica, this is a good question because while low carb vs high carb has been a nutrition debate for decades, bread and grains and gluten specifically are all hot topics right now.

You asked, “Are there any successful bodybuilders who eat bread on a regular basis?”

I’m not a clinical nutritionist, so people who have serious metabolic problems, gastrointestinal disorders or even gluten intolerance should consult a dietician or a physician for information about dealing with those issues. But I can certainly answer your question because I’ve been a competitive bodybuilder for over 20 years, I’ve been immersed in bodybuilding culture and lifestyle for over 25 years and bodybuilding nutrition IS my specialty. Nutrition for fat loss is also my specialty.

The answer is yes, absolutely there are successful bodybuilders who eat bread on a regular basis. But mainly in the “off season” – or differently put – during muscle size building programs when calorie requirements are higher. I know very very few bodybuilders who eat bread during pre-contest prep (serious fat loss goals). It’s not even that they couldn’t – a small handful do –  it’s just that they usually don’t.

Bodybuilders and physique athletes do not demonize bread, they simply eat whole grain bread when they do eat bread and they use low to medium-low carb / high -protein diets for contest prep (which means there isn’t much room for bread calories). Sometimes they do take high carb days even during serious fat loss phases if they use the carb cycling or refeeding method and sometimes those high carb days include bread.

Other athletes, including endurance athletes who have high training levels and high calorie needs, also do not demonize bread or whole grains – they in fact, NEED calorie dense fuel sources to keep up their training energy and performance.

One thing I can say for certain is that I know almost no bodybuilders who use bread as a daily staple during pre-contest prep. No, not even wheat bread. But don’t confuse that with “bread is bad for you” or “bread makes you fat” or “you cant get ripped while eating bread.” NONE of those statements are true.

Is bread unhealthy? No doubt, the refined breads made with white flour are not nutritious and can be unhealthy when eaten on a regular basis. Even whole grain breads, I consider them a “B choice,” not an “A choice” in my fat-burning food rating system simply because they are slightly processed.

What I mean by that is you dont see a slice of bread hanging off a tree branch. The grain, as it originally appeared in nature, does require some processing to get into bread form. Vegetables on the other hand,  you can pull them out of the ground and eat them in their 100% natural form, so they get my “A grade” seal of fat burning approval. As much as there are differences in nutritional idealogies these days, almost no one disagrees on that point (veggies = good carbs!)

Bread has been demonized for a variety of reasons.

One is the popularity of low carb diets for fat loss. If carbs are low, bread is a carb, therefore bread intake is low. Two is the recent popularity of gluten-free diets. Some people are gluten intolerant and cannot eat bread. Some people who promote gluten-free diets seem downright mad at gluten and mad at bread:  ”Bread is evil” “NO ONE should eat bread.. ever… it’ll kill ya!” they scream.

No, bread is not evil. Foods are not evil. Hitler was evil. Osama Bin Laden was Evil. But foods don’t go around the world committing atrocities. I have a reward for anyone who can prove with science that 200 calories of bread is any more fattening than 200 calories of sweet potato (the latter usually consider the more “clean” carb) – the condition being – all else in diet and lifestyle remains exactly equal, including energy intake, energy expenditure, N.E.A.T.  and macros.

Now on the other hand, if you change the macros – 200 calories of bread versus 200 calories of egg whites, you may see a difference. A calorie is not just a calorie across different macros.

And if you remove the stipulation of all else being equal and you factor in the effect of your food choice on satiety and hunger and appetite (the “betcha cant eat just one syndrome”… or the “get the munchies later syndrome”), you may see an even larger difference with lower protein versus higher carb macro ratios.

Lean protein has thermogenic and hunger-suppressing advantages that even work on hormonal level (ghrelin,etc).

But bread is not inherently fattening, calorie for calorie.

Bread is not inherently unhealthy either, assuming we are talking about 100% whole grain, which is more nutrient-dense than refined flours and white bread and assuming a person has no pre-existing health problems, intolerances or allergies that contra-indicated bread products specifically.

White flour products are not recommended and best kept only as “free meal” foods for occasional enjoyment. A calorie is not just a calorie from a nutritional point of view either. White bread products are empty calories – and a “waste of calories” when you’re on a calorie budget.

By the way, some of the people who competed in our last burn the fat challenge got RIPPED - I mean REALLY RIPPED – while eating whole grains, and I know a few of them in particular who love Ezekiel bread and a few who used whole wheat or whole grain wraps daily.

Bread and gluten may be unhealthy or problematic for some people  who are gluten intolerant. Those individuals often end up being promoters and loyal followers of gluten free diets. That’s fine of course, because they are addressing a specific health problem they have. But unfortunately, many of them get up on platforms and preach about how “evil” bread is and how it’s “not fit for human consumption” and so on. The way I see it, they are projecting their personal health problems onto the rest of the world.

People with lactose intolerance make the same error, preaching about the so called evils of dairy products. They preach, I LOL. Dairy proteins are some of the most superb proteins in nature and milk has been a STAPLE bodybuilding food since the golden era of physical culture. (Jeez, hasn’t anyone heard of GOMAD? What happened to “old school?”)

Some people in our burn the fat challenge contest have gotten ripped – I mean, spectacular body transformations to the point that they are our before and after spotlight success stories, while eating cottage cheese every night and probably the majority of them use whey and or casein (milk proteins) in supplement form.

The moral of the story is that fad weight loss diet programs suck people in by doing exactly that – demonizing a food or food group. It’s the classic diet program pitch and storyline – there has to be a bad guy to attack… or at least some big bad pharmaceutical company to be mad at. You have to be mad at something right? After all, “it’s not YOUR fault”… got to be something or someone else’s fault that you’re FAT… some evil company, some evil food… evil carbs… evil grains.. evil gluten… evil lectins… evil fungi… something!  But not YOU and not… drum roll… eating too damn much!

Hey, you want to know what you should REALLY avoid? Avoid EVERY website, book and program that says “being fat is not your fault.” Try on some personal responsibility for size and see how THAT and THAT ALONE transforms your life.

The truth is, for health and for fat loss, you have to customize your nutrition like this:

1. Customize nutrition for your goals. Bodybuilding or physique contest prep (or even a serious run for our “Burn the Fat Transformation champion title)?  Yeah, you may want to reduce the bread, as with all carbs in general, but the starchy carbs that are processed and calorically dense get cut first). So yes, it’s true, bread often does get reduced or cut on strict fat loss diets and there are logical reasons why.

2. Customize your nutrition for your health status. If you are gluten intolerant then… duh… don’t eat gluten, just like if you are lactose intolerant, don’t consume lactose unless you like all that gastrointestinal messiness (forgive me for the “duh”, but I can’t help being sarcastic about some of these things, the attitudes pervading the nutrition world about bread and grains lately can only make me laugh).

3. Customize nutrition for your metabolic body type. I don’t believe in “metabolic typing” in the old sense, the way some of the fad diets used to promote it, but I do believe absolutely that you should consider your metabolic type as it pertains to how well your body handles sugar and all calorie dense carbs in general. Many people have serious problems with blood sugar regulation and suffer from metabolic syndrome. Type II diabetes is an epidemic right up there with obesity. Some people are better off with a low carb approach for health reasons and that would mean less bread. Don’t lump all low carb approaches in the fad diet category – they can be a viable option for health and weight loss purposes and you can quote me on that.

4. Customize nutrition for your personal preferences too. Hey, it’s all about compliance. You’ll never stick with a diet if you hate it and you can’t burn fat on any diet you can’t stick with. Some people really really want to keep some bread in their meal plan. They’d rather have some whole wheat toast in the morning than oatmeal for example (oatmeal, generally considered the more “clean” carb). Fine, do it. Just carefully track those calories and don’t allow yourself to eat more calories in whole grain bread than you would have eaten if you chose a totally unprocessed carb. Also do realize that if instead you had all fibrous carbs instead of starch (for example a big pile of chopped veggies in your egg scramble), that lower carb,  higher protein approach would most likely control calories better due to lower energy density and higher satiety and lead to better fat loss.

Last but not least

For whatever its worth, I don’t eat a lot of bread and I eat even less pasta. They’re not staples in my daily meal plans and I wouldn’t use large amounts of them if I were doing contest prep. But if I’m on off season or muscle building programs, I certainly have them if I want them – I just fit them into my daily macros and calorie allowance. If I’m using carb cycling with re-feed days / high carb days, I’m considerably more likely to include them (nice big bowl of pasta – yeah!)

I may not eat them all that often, but I’ll go on having grains and bread and pasta whenever I want them… while gaining more muscle, losing more fat and enjoying my life more with a more balanced approach toward nutrition than the bread haters. Bread is not “forbidden” to me. It’s not forbidden to people who follow Burn the fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) either.

Yes, we have our own ideology in BFFM – it’s bodybuilding and physique athlete nutrition.  But the difference between me and the fad diets is I don’t slap you with all kinds of forbidden food lists. BFFM has the unique distinction of being the most highly structured and by-the-numbers plan and yet the most flexible plan in the world at the same time – YES that is possible!.

Grain and bread haters can go on demonizing grains and bread… they’re just mad at the world… they’re HANGRY (hungry and angry) … we BFFM’ers will go on enjoying ourselves and being lean and happy… with more muscle too.

- Tom Venuto, author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM)

http://www.BurntheFat.com

PS. I hope this informed you all as well as amused you… as it was intended, LOL. But if all the haters show up in the comments, it will only provide further amusement and prove my points above, won’t it?

Tom Venuto’s “pumpcakes” (pumpkin pancakes)

7.5 oz (212 g) of canned pumpkin
1/3 cup (27 g) oatmeal dry
1/3 cup (40 g) multigrain or whole wheat pancake mix
1 scoop (26 g) vanilla (or plain) protein powder
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
non/low calorie sweetener: Optional (try stevia if you prefer to avoid artificial sweeteners)
Yield: makes 2 large (5 inch wide) pancakes

Nutrition information for 2 pancakes, unsweetened
Calories: 507
Protein: 44.1 g.
Carbs: 69.7 g.
Fat: 5 g.

Tom Venuto’s Pumpkin Protein Smoothie:

7.5 oz (212 g) of canned pumpkin
1 cup skim milk
1 scoop casein protein powder
dash of cinnamon
low/non caloric sweetener (optional)

Nutrition information
Calories: 283
Protein: 35 g.
Carbs: 32.5 g.
Fat: 2.3 g.

Tom Venuto’s Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal:

7.5 oz (212 g) of canned pumpkin
2/3 cup (54 g) Quaker old fashioned oatmeal
1 scoop (26 g) vanilla protein powder
2 tsp  cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
low/non caloric sweetener (optional)

Nutrition information
Calories: 393
Protein: 42.8 g.
Carbs: 35.3 g.
Fat: 11.8 g.

One final note: feel free to use fresh pumpkin! The canned pumpkin is for convenience, and is almost equally nutritious.

Got a favorite high protein pumpkin recipe of your own? Please share it in the comments below. But be sure to follow the Burn the Fat nutrition success rule: Must contain protein!

Happy Halloween!

Tom Venuto, author of  Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle

BULL PUCKY!

Personal development mentor Jim Rohn once said there’s no such thing as a new fundamental – he said someone pitching a “new fundamental” is like someone opening a factory manufacturing antiques.

What works best for PHYSIQUE development is what always worked:  body building training combined with body building nutrition.

Did you ever see the body of Steve Reeves or Vince Gironda circa 1950’s or 1960’s? All I can say is that those guys were built like Greek Statues! Sculpture! And even better – no steroids involved – just “artful” training.

Sadly, the art form of “physique sculpture” has been all but lost.

In today’s fitness industry, certification mills churn out freshly-minted trainers who wouldn’t DARE prescribe a body-building workout.

Nope. It must all be “functional” or “metabolic” or whatever the trend of the day is. GOD FORBID they suggest a hack squat… or a bicep curl… or ANY machine or isolation exercise! Say “body part split routine” and they call you crazy. Say “Leg Press” and they want to shoot you!

Of course, athletes need to train like athletes, strength should be an important goal for everyone, basic free weight exercises should be your staples and all training should be designed intelligently to keep your body healthy and performing like a well-oiled machine.

But here’s where things went wrong: The functional concept was overplayed, it spilled out of sports-specific scenarios and into mainstream fitness, shoving aside physique training, even though what people want most is to look good nekkid!

I’ve seen it on a dozen, if not a hundred websites: “Training like a body builder is WRONG!”

Ummm excuse me. What if you want to look like a bodybuilder?

What if you want to look HOT for your partner? What if you want to look so good on the beach in swimsuit that you literally turn heads?  What if a guy wants to hang out with his shirt off? What if you want to compete in a transformation contest, in body building, physique, figure, bikini or fitness model competition… or look like you do.

Well guess what: BODY BUILDING – is the best way to do it – and the foundations of this training style go back 40, 50, even 60 years.

In July, I was in Canada visiting trainer and fitness author Scott Tousignant. Scott invited me to his home where I met his lovely wife and charming 2 kids (and their gigantic furball– Charlie the cat – who clearly needs some kind of feline diet program)

We trained in the local gym – did some good old school stuff like front squats.  Then some leg presses (yeah, go ahead shoot us). Then some leg extensions (yeah “functional” dudes, shoot us again!)  Then we chowed down on protein and complex carbs and hung out in his office. We were talking about business stuff at first, but when I saw Scott’s bookshelf, the conversation quickly turned to bodybuilding.

Right there on his desk I saw BUILDING THE CLASSIC PHYSIQUE THE NATURAL WAY by Steve Reeves.  Whoa! What a great idea – and great book title.  And Vince Gironda’s book about “unleashing your wild physique”… and 1960’s bodybuilding sensation Larry Scott and yes Arnold Schwarzennegger’s encyclopedia of modern bodybuilding.

I looked at the Schwarzennegger encyclopedia and said, “Hey Scott, you’re a certified trainer, don’t you know that everything in that “outdated” OLD-SCHOOL book is “Bro-science!”  We were cracking up so hard I think we woke up the usually comatose cat.

Then we had the most interesting conversation about classic body building…  Scott is well versed in all training styles – sports training, metabolic training, interval training, circuit training – even “quickie” workouts for busy executives. I never denied that I was a meat-head bodybuilder. But Scott is very well rounded in the fitness field.

He was saying how every training style has its place. But we also found our selves agreeing that physique training – body building – was the best way to consciously, deliberately RE-SHAPE your body exactly the way you want it to LOOK, as if you were a sculptor, chiseling your own body.

Scott showed me how he had pulled out some of the best ideas from these iron game and physical culture legends – and had been experimenting with old-school body-building in new workout combinations he designed, which applied to him (as a natural, recreational bodybuilder).

It was obviously working.  Scott was in the best shape I’d ever seen him in. That was back in July.  In the last several weeks, after continuing on these classic physique workouts, Scott started sharing his progress photos on Facebook and in our Burn the fat member’s forum.

People were FREAKING OUT!  Even well-known fitness experts complimented Scott on his facebook page saying, “You look AMAZING! What the heck did you just DO?”

He was not only RIPPED, his muscular shape and symmetry looked like Gironda or Reeves incarnated! Not bulky mass like a heavyweight pro bodybuilder – more natural… more classical.

His answer:  “I went back to old school body-building workouts.”

“I tried all the abbreviated routines” said Scott, “They kept me fit when I was busy and needed quick workouts. I tried metabolic training – I burned lots of calories and it was great for conditioning.  I tried everything. But when I went back to classic body building workouts and body building nutrition, I got in the best shape of  my life – but this time, I don’t just mean cardio conditioned “in shape”, I mean the way I look with the shirt off “in shape.”

I’ve noticed that bodybuilding training lost popularity for an ENTIRE decade – most of the 2000’s – in favor of all those shiny new workouts. That’s the internet + the fitness industry for you – fickle – and always about “what’s NEW” instead of what WORKS.”

It’s all turning around now. Physique training is back!   Scott’s success story is just one example. I’m seeing it all over the place:  we’re seeing it in the explosion of men’s fitness model competition, we’re seeing it in women’s figure and bikini and we’re seeing it in the reemergence of natural bodybuilding – new federations – new natural pro divisions and all time high participation and contest attendance.

The open professional bodybuilding federations continue to plod along, but they’ve been promoting something completely different:  cartoon-caricature physiques, with 300 pound bulk monsters that no one can relate to except a tiny little subculture. The classic natural physiques are far more beautiful.

If you want a hot body – sculpted like the physique artists of 40 to 50 years ago, like the natural bodybuilders or like the new trend today in figure, physique or fitness model competition – those bodies are all built the same way:

Body building. Physique training.

Natural Physique training is coming back full force. I should say it never went anywhere, because in the natural bodybuilding community we never stopped.  I’ve never changed my tune even once. I never hopped on any bandwagons. I Just kept repeating my message year-in, year-out: bodybuilding nutrition, bodybuilding training. Hard work. Discipline. Results.

You’ll be hearing a lot more about this from me in the year ahead because I’m REALLY excited about this trend.

In the meantime, if you want to see the classic physique workouts Scott used to make that incredible transformation, (and the photos that wowed even the fitness experts), he has put them all together on his new website here: www.PhysiqueMasterpiece.com

Check it out and stay tuned for upcoming in issues when I talk more about this explosion of  fitness model competition and fitness model training, how it compares to natural body-building and why you should pay attention…. If ya wanna look good nekkid!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com