Bodyweight exercsies are very quickly becoming an extremely popular way to improve ones body. But this great popularity also comes with lots of "myths" surround bodyweight training. I'm here to clear all these up and get to the bottom of all the confusion:

Bodyweight Training Myth # 1: The Only Way to Lose Fat with Bodyweight Training is to Perform Super High Repetitions

Most people stick to basic pushups, pullups, and bodyweight squats. And when the workout starts to get too easy, they simply add repetitions or add sets, especially if their goal is to lose fat. The only thing this does is make a workout last incredibly long.

The real way to lose fat with bodyweight exercises is to make your workouts more intense and challenging. Do this by using intensity techniques such as circuit training. Circuit training is where you choose 4 or more exercises and perform them back to back with little to no rest in between each exercise.

Bodyweight Training Myth # 2: Bodyweight Exercise is another Form of Cardio

I think there's a confusion between bodyweight exercises and calisthenics. Calisthenics is aerobic exercises using your own bodyweight. Exercises such as jumping jacks, run in place, and high knees would be classified as calisthenics. Bodyweight training is strength exercises using your own bodyweight.

Pushups, pullups, and bodyweight squats are not a form of cardio. Both bodyweight exercises and calisthenics are very good ways to use your bodyweight to lose fat. However, you do need to place a distinction between the two. These two words are not interchangeable.

Bodyweight Training Myth # 3: There's No way You can Burn fat and Build Lean Muscle mass at the Same time with Bodyweight Exercises

People are starting to understand how you can burn fat and gain muscle mass with high intensity weight training. So why can not you do the same with bodyweight exercises? If you use exercises that challenge you enough, then you can easily burn fat and build muscle at the same time.

Once again, the formula to achieve this is to organize difficult movements into workouts using high intensity techniques. One of these techniques is circuit training. But I'll now reveal a second effective training techniques called interval training. Interval training is simply alternating between periods of high and low intensity training intervals.

Bodyweight Training Myth # 4: Bodyweight Exercises will not work if you're Overweight or Obese

If anything, overweight and obese individuals need to perform bodyweight exercises. This is because the greatest problem with these individuals is a lack of mobility. Greater mobility and flexibility can be achieved with very simple bodyweight movements such as the chair squat.

The chair squat is exactly what it sounds like: sit on a chair, and get up. But think about how many times we sit down and get up on a daily basis. This is the most basic function of our lives, and yet our hip muscles are not being effectively strengthened to perform such a basic activity.

If you’re serious about building a stellar body, then you may want to try the ultimate combination: Whey Protein and Creatine. Each of these supplements have immense benefits in and of themselves, but combined their effectiveness is unmatched.

The Individual

Whey protein is a low fat, fast acting protein. That means that when you take Whey, you’re not taking any excess stuff into your body. You’re not taking any fat in either. You’re also giving your body proteins it can use immediately to start start building muscles and increasing recovery with. It’s digested quickly and requires very little calories or time to turn into immediately usable building blocks for muscles. Whey is also a complete amino acid. Meaning that it provides your muscles with many proteins that it can’t produce in and of itself and has to get through supplements or foods.

The Individual Benefits of Creatine

Creatine is one of the few supplements that actually has an impact on your level of energy, level of power and level of stamina during a workout. Unlike many other supplements where you’ll gain muscles “eventually” by taking it, Creatine you feel the benefits right away. You’ll feel more explosive strength as you’re working out and your recovery times will be cut down dramatically. Furthermore, Creatine also increases your water retention, which means larger muscles faster with no loss in muscle definition or shape.

The Power of Whey and Creatine Combined

Now, imagine what it would be like to combine both of these incredibly effective compounds. First of all, you’ll have more power to work out from the Creatine. You’ll be able to push your body further and workout harder. You’ll also immediately start seeing muscle gains from the water retention effects of Creatine.

Then however, once your workout is complete, you have Whey to help you rebuild your muscles. The muscles that you pushed into overdrive with the power you got from Creatine can recover quickly while building massive muscles with the protein that you’re taking in through Whey.

In short, these two really have amazing synergy when combined. One’s primary purpose is to help you push your body further, beyond what you may normally be able to push it to. Another’s primary purpose is to help you give your body the building blocks it needs to rebuild after pushing your body to the limit. Together, these two really work wonders.

Does Combining Them Decrease its Effectiveness?

One common question is whether or not combining these two supplements decreases the effectiveness of one or both. The short answer is no. Whey is made from a distillation process that takes milk and makes it into an easily digestible protein. Creatine is made from a compound that’s found naturally in your body already. Would combining milk and a natural compound in your own body decrease the effectiveness of either one? Of course not.

The Ultimate Combination

Combining Creatine and Whey truly is the ultimate combination. The benefits of both of these supplements working together cannot be underestimated. In fact, these two supplements work together almost like lock and key, helping one another to give you exponential results.

1. You Give Up Too Soon

Content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a long game.

You can’t post 3 articles on your blog then whine about how nobody is reading your stuff… or commenting or sharing.

The most successful content marketers have been going at it for years – putting out high-quality content that’s relevant and valuable to a targeted audience frequently and consistently for several years – before they became that “overnight success.”

Once your momentum picks up, so will your ROI (return on investment.)

Winning Strategy:

Get focused.

Invest time and energy to produce quality content that’s valuable and relevant to a specific audience – show up frequently and consistently.

If you don’t show up for your peeps, how can you expect them to show up for you?

Identify one or two formats and channels that cater to your ideal audience, highlight your strengths and work well for your subject of expertise… then get really good at it.

Don’t spread yourself too thin by trying to do everything just because everyone else is doing it.

Then be relentless – make it a non-negotiable part of your marketing plan to produce and promote your content.

2. If You Build It They Won’t Come

Having a website with a blog doesn’t mean your ideal audience knows about it.

2.7 million blog posts are published everyday. 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. You get the idea.

The most successful content marketers spend 20% of their time in content production, and 80% in content promotion.

If you don’t put in the consistent effort to get your content in front of the right people, it’s not going to do anything for you.

None of us are entitled to an audience. Work to earn their trust and respect.

Winning Strategy:

You probably don’t have a load of time to spend on promoting your content everywhere… nor do you have a team dedicated to that effort.

That’s why it’s critical that you not only know where your audience hangs out but also be able to write headlines and descriptions that speak to them and make them want to read/listen/watch your stuff (i.e. to click through.)

Identify a few places you can focus your promotional effort and resources, then test and track your results so you can make adjustments to your tactics.

3. You’re Stuck In Your Bubble

Just posting on your blog and trying to get people there can be an uphill battle – especially if you’re working on getting traffic, don’t have a big list or the SEO juice of an established site.

Remember, if nobody consumes your content, your content isn’t doing anything for you.

Venture out into the big wide world… publish your content in places where your ideal audience already goes.

Winning Strategy:

Guest posting is a great way to get in front of a new audience. Make sure to identify blogs that share a similar audience so when you link back to your site or promote your lead magnet, you’re building a high-quality audience in the process.

You may need to start small, and work your way up to bigger sites. Go, start somewhere. Don’t doubt yourself, but don’t take “yeses” for granted.

Appropriating or re-publishing your content on platforms such as Medium or LinkedIn Pulse is another good way to make your content go further.

There are some nuances to making sure that content on these platforms doesn’t cannibalize the SEO juice of the original content on your website – e.g. applying a canonical tag, using the “import” function on Medium, changing the title and writing a different intro etc.

There are some tradeoffs and you need to assess where you’re at with your content marketing and what you want it to do for your business. E.g. if you want to get as many eyeballs on your content as possible, it may be worth it to republish the content on popular platforms even if those posts rank higher than the original post on your own site.

4. You Serve Up a Wall of Text

… and make other user experience or navel-gazing mistakes.

The point of content marketing is to get people to consume your content so you can achieve whatever goals or next steps you want the readers to take.

If you serve up a wall of text riddled with jargons or run-on sentences and zero consideration for readability – you’re losing your readers at hello.

Winning Strategy:

While your content needs to express who you are – your values, convictions, points-of-view, and expertise etc. – it needs to take user experience into consideration.

Formatting your content properly will encourage readers to stay on the page while writing in short sentences and avoiding long paragraphs can increase readability and the likelihood that your content will be consumed.

While I’m adamantly against “listicles” that have no depth, it doesn’t mean you can’t use numbering to help give clarity and hierarchy to your content.

Dividing up your article into sections, and delineating them using subheads, can vastly improve readability while also help you clarify your own thoughts during the process.

Better communication makes you more convincing. It’s a muscle you can train… and it gets easier.

Poor organization and spelling or grammatical errors are distractions. No matter how good your thoughts are, if they’re not communicated with care, it’ll undermine your authority and credibility – doing more harm than good.

If you have never had a dog before, you have probably encountered any number of people who are all too willing to share their “expertise” with you when it comes to training. Some will tell you that an immediate, stern correction for bad behavior is best and that a dog who isn’t punished will never learn how to behave properly.

They’re wrong. There are any number of methods of training a dog. In fact, if you type “how to train your dog” into Google, you’ll get nearly 55 million results. The fact is, though, there is no such thing as a “good” training method that involves punishment.

Here’s Why You Should Never Punish Your Dog

There are never good outcomes from using punishment as a way to train a dog. It creates many more problems than it solves!

1. If You Punish Your Dog, You Could Make Him Fearful

If your only method of training is to punish bad behavior, he is going to view you as a tormentor, not as a beloved friend and companion.

2. Your Dog Wants to Please You

It is in a dog’s nature to want to please his human. If you punish him constantly, he is going to become frustrated, because he has no idea how to please you. It’s so much better to reward him when he gets something right – he knows that he’s made you happy, because you’ve petted him, or given him a treat, or told him that he’s a good boy. He’ll want to repeat the behavior that earned him the reward.

3. Sometimes, He’s Just Being a Dog

Your dog is not trying to be spiteful – many behaviors are perfectly natural for dogs. They are, for instance, hard-wired to want to chew, and they’re not going to understand why your slippers are not fair game. So rather than shouting or scolding, just take away the object that is not allowed, and replace it with a toy.

4. Constant Punishment Can Build Aggression

The more you punish, the more fearful the dog will become. At some point, he may become so afraid that he is a danger, if not to you, then to others. A visitor with a loud voice, for instance, could be perceived as someone else who is gearing up to punish the dog – and although he might think “I can’t bite Mom or Dad” (if you’re lucky), he could very well think that he owes no loyalty to a stranger. Then, because of your constant punishment, someone else could get hurt.

5. It Makes for a Bad Relationship

Punishment does not lead to a healthy relationship with your dog. You should be able to trust one another, but if you are consistently punishing, your dog is not going to trust you. He’s going to be a bundle of nerves, just waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the next punishment to happen. That’s not the kind of relationship you want to have.

6. There are Better Ways

Positive reinforcement always works better, and that’s the main reason that you shouldn’t punish. You’re going to be much more successful with training, and have a much better relationship with your dog if you reward the behavior you want instead of punishing the behavior you don’t want.

Of course, there are other reasons not to punish. These are the main ones, though.

The Final Word

When you get right down to it, there is one hard and fast reason why you should not use punishment as a training tool – it doesn’t work. You didn’t get a dog because you wanted a cowering, fearful subordinate. You wanted someone that you could share your life with, play with, take for walks, and snuggle up with at the end of the day. For that to happen, your dog needs to be able to trust you, and no dog is ever going to trust a person who is constantly screaming at him, slapping him, or otherwise making him feel as though he is somehow less than deserving of love and affection.

The best training methods involve rewards and positive reinforcement, never punishment. So put down that rolled-up newspaper and pick up the treats. Then get to work on showing your dog how to please you. That’s how you’ll end up with a best friend and loving companion who is strong and confident, and a good canine citizen.

In providing advice and counsel for health and fitness I find my clients run the gamut from individuals focused on a personal plan, to health industry companies teaming up with employers to create plans supporting the company healthcare benefit goals. Both groups are interested in the trends related to health and fitness for 2017. My list this year includes items from food to fashion; —here is a snapshot view of what’s hot in getting physical this year.

Wearable Technology

Fitbits and health-data tracking watches began the trend in wearables. Among the latest items in the market shown at the recent 2017 Consumer Electronics Show(CES) is the ‘The Welt”, which looks like a leather belt yet it tracks users’ waist sizes, eating habits and steps, as well as how much time per day they spend sitting down. The Welt works with an app that creates a customized health and weight loss plan based on the wearers’ own data.

You will also need the right shoes and the makers of Digitsoles hope you’ll opt for their products to stay on track. Digitsole’s products are another twist on fitness trackers with sensors built into insoles and shoes, which can monitor steps taken and calories burned. The company makes everyday-looking sneakers and insoles that users can hook up with their smartphones to monitor the workout and even heat up the shoe!

Food

When it comes to foods on the list eggs are moving from breakfast to meal occasions throughout the day. Spices and produce continue to rise in consumption as folks look to new food experiences and more flavorful dishes.

• Egg Yolks
  Though egg yolks have received a bad rap in the past for fat and cholesterol content, it appears the egg has been pardoned. The 2015-2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines do not put a cap on egg consumption. Eggs can fit in a healthy diet—they are a good source of protein, and can be considered a meat substitute at a fraction of the cost. Eggs contain 13 essential vitamins and minerals including Vitamin D, critical for bone health and immune function. Eggs contain Choline, essential for normal functioning of all cells, but particularly important during pregnancy to support healthy brain development of the fetus. Eggs are also a good source of Lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that are believed to reduce the risk of developing cataracts and slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration.

• Turmeric
  There has been a growing interest in spices to flavor and season foods. Turmeric a spice from the turmeric plant is yellow and often used in Asian dishes and curries. Google Trends 2016 indicates that this spice is a rising star and will continue to hold a place on the hot list. Turmeric provides 26 percent of what’s needed in manganese and 16 percent in iron, along with excellent amounts, vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin C and magnesium. The addition of turmeric as a spice in a recipe has been shown to help regulate blood fat levels after a meal. Each of these is a benefit for good health.

• Fruits and Vegetables
  Fruits and vegetables continue to be popular items on the trend list. Increased consumption of produce will boost the intake of needed vitamins, minerals and fiber in the diet. Vegetables in the spotlight for the upcoming year include colorful varieties of traditional veggies such as purple potatoes and asparagus. Cauliflower is also showing up in purple and bright yellow alongside the traditional creamy white variety. Jackfruit is getting a lot of buzz. This is the tropical fruit that enrobes a meaty, somewhat starchy fleshed fruit inside an oblong, oval-shaped, green pod. Jackfruit is versatile and can be part of the main dish or dessert. It is high in vitamin C, and B-complex vitamins. It is also high in dietary fiber and can have a laxative affect.

Though this list touches on a few of the trends that are in focus for moving forward with health goals in 2017, keep in mind that the key point is to choose what works for you and get moving for better health.

Take Away: There are a lot of options in health and fitness trends so try something new or sample one of the foods on the “hot list.” You may find that the new addition is a winner in helping you achieve your goals.

Here are 10 unique financial tips that can change your perspective:

1. A car can last a lot longer than five years. It’s just a hunk of metal and plastic rolling around on four tires. If you can avoid attaching your ego to your automobile, you can save a lot of money by driving your car for several more years. Put that car payment into your retirement account instead and see what happens.

2. Know the five types of financial emergencies. Are you prepared for each of them?

• Home-related issues, such as a furnace breakage or a leaking roof
• Major car repairs
• Funeral-related issues. Either paying for a funeral or travelling to one
• Medical issues
• Job loss

3. Spend five minutes on your finances each evening. A single TV commercial break can last five minutes. Review all of your financial transactions for the day. You should have four minutes to spare after you’re done. Follow up on any discrepancies.

4. Create small money goals. These should be easy to accomplish.

• I’ll spend less than $75 on food this week.
• I’ll save at least $25 each Friday and deposit it in my savings account.

5. Acquire renter’s insurance. It’s only a couple of dollars each month but can replace your items in case of theft or fire. Even your old computer and milk crate shelves are worth something to you.

6. Find ways to entertain yourself that are free. Much of the money you spend only serves the purpose of making you feel better. Instead of distracting yourself by purchasing things you don’t need, find some free forms of entertainment.

• Books and videos from the library
• Attend free concerts or listen to music at home.
• Throw a Frisbee.
• Play cards with friends.
• Exercise.
• Meditate.
• Plant a garden.

7. Pay off your small debts first. You’ll build momentum this way and feel a greater sense of accomplishment. The other alternative is to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first. It makes more financial sense, but it’s not as satisfying. Decide for yourself.

8. Consider how much it costs to use an item one time. People often don’t like to buy an expensive mattress, but consider how many times, and how many hours, you’ll use it. Even an expensive mattress only costs a few cents each night over the lifetime of the mattress.

• How much would a $75,000 Mercedes cost to drive each day? Assuming you keep the car for 5 years, that’s roughly 1800 days. You’d be lucky to sell the car for even 50% of what you paid for it. $37,500/1800 = $21/day. That doesn’t even include the cost of insurance or the interest on your monthly car payments.

9. Avoid having too much in your savings account. Unless you need the money in the very near future, there are better places to store your money. Put your money to work for you with investments. Make a list of a few and choose the one that makes sense.

10. Create a financial mantra that supports your financial goals. Use it each day.

• I only buy things I need.
• I bring my lunch to work.
• I save 10% of my income.

A little unconventional advice can be a good thing. Open your mind to new ways of looking at old challenges. You’ll find solutions you’ve never considered.

As with any other study program, you need to practice a lot for your 11 plus preparation. But this may not be enough. Given below are a few revision tips that can help both students and parents.

Don’t overburden your kid

You shouldn’t put too much pressure on your kid. Allow your kid to have breaks for rest. Usually, it’s a good idea to let them have a break of 5 to 10 minutes.

Attention span

Usually, the attention span of a kid is between 30 and 50 minutes. What you need to do is increase their attention span bit by bit. For this, you should make a list of topics for each subject.

Revision

Ask your kid to make revisions in different places around the home. This will make it easier for your kid to take an exam in new places. Also, active revision will be easier if your kid has past papers. You can also try mock exams.

Visual aids

Visuals aids can help, such as spider diagrams. These mind maps show various parts of a topic that your kid will need to learn. Besides, this will help with the summarization of a subject.

Mnemonics

Mnemonics will help your kid remember information with words, phrases or abbreviations. The thing is to make the information interesting, as interesting things are difficult to forget.

Rewards

Once your child achieves an 11+ topic, you can give them a reward. You should keep setting targets and giving your kid rewards. This is a great way of encouraging your kid to do better.

Simulations

Your kid should be fast enough to do 11+ papers in the examination hall. Make sure you create a simulation of the exam conditions and test your kids speed by testing him with mock papers. Moreover, you should go over each test paper to spot mistakes.

Work on difficult subjects

If your kid is weak in certain subjects, make sure he or she gives more time to these subjects. Most kids avoid the subjects they feel difficult, which is not a good idea.

Take Rest

With any exercise, your body muscle requires rest. The same goes for the brain as well. After studying for a while, make sure your kid takes rest. Studying all the time and not taking any rest may prove counterproductive.

Exercise and food

Exercise and healthy diet is very important for the proper functioning of the brain. So, make sure your child eats fruits and fresh veggies on a regular basis.

Sleep

Make sure your kid sleeps well. If your kid finds it hard to stay fresh and happy, you should ask him or her to have a hot bath before going to bed. Not getting enough sleep will be bad for the mental health of your child.

So, these are some good tips for your kid’s 11 plus preparation. If followed properly, your kid will be able to do very well in the exams. Lastly, it’s important that you don’t be too hard on your kid as it may prove counterproductive and your kid may get sick of studying.

Why more & more people invest in Truth About six pack Abs ebook, So to answer these question, I take the pleasure in sharing my Truth about abs Review:

What is The Truth About Six Pack Abs:

“The Truth About Six Pack Abs” is an 149 pages e book written by Michael D. Geary (well known as Mike Geary) which contents jammed packed information on diet plan & some routine exercises to keep body fat low & attain six pack abs fast.

Who Is Mike Geary:

Mike geary is a Certifed Nutrition Specialist, certified personal trainer & founder of Truthaboutabs.com & BusyManFitness.com. He also writes from Muscle & Fitness Magazine, Oxygen Magazine and is recognized as a Platinum Expert Fitness Author by EzineArticles.com. He’s been involved with fitness and sports for almost 20 years so he’s not one of those internet hypes.

Is The truth about six pack abs for men or women:

It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, old or young… The CONCEPTS that Mike present in his manual work is for everyone if you can apply them. There is a myth that woman needs to workout differently than the men. As a matter of fact, 60% of the readers of this program are women. So the techniques identified in these e book is extremely simple & works on both men & women. In addition, the dietary strategies within this workbook is equally well for both genders, as long as total caloric intake is adjusted appropriately. He uses his education and understanding of both men and women’s bodies in everything he offers in the Truth About Six Pack Abs e-book.

How does Mike Geary Program works:

As the title of the book The Truth About Six Pack Abs, Mike exercises are not limited to abs only. He has a well balanced routine exercise for the whole body. Ab exercises do not create the metabolic environment to reduce body fat levels like the full body workouts do. His 149 pages long e-book is split into two broad sections. The first half of the book covers the nutritional elements which occupies the first 51 pages & the other half discloses the anatomy of abdomen & the exercises needed to achieve six pack abs.

Firstly, Mike explains some detail about diet and how it affects your biology. After all, if you don’t really understand food, how do you expect to construct a food plan. From there he clearly explains the reasons why most fail to achieve the six pack ripped abs. He clarifies the work out myth often associated with abdominal exercises & guides you how to attain six pack abs. Mike states that these type of exercises produce 2-4 times the result as traditional exercises completed on a machine.

Mike Geary provides in depth step by step illustration with pictures to help you complete your training. You will understand fast the exercises he suggests through these photographs and how frequently they should be executed for maximum consequence. Mike Geary recommends a few weight lifting exercises which I had never used in my past and so it took some time getting used to.

Mike is a big proponent of eating 5-6 small meals a day that are similar in size. In The Truth about Abs he suggests eating about every 3 hours when we’re awake. Mike states right on his web page that he includes eggs, meats, whole milk, avocados, butter and nuts in his diet. There is a lot of diet detail in the program and he even gives 84 nutritional, fat-burning meals to work from.

Mike reveals exactly why most low-carb or low-fat diets are actually working against what your body needs to become lean and ripped. He explains every minute details concerning your body fat.

So I strong believe that Mike Geary’s The Truth about six pack abs is The Best Book that you can buy to achieve your dreams of a flat & lean stomach.

Interested In the Mike’s Program? Here’s Your Deal:

Included in the price above you will get three very interesting eBook bonuses with an additional value at $150.89, at no extra cost. From time to time the truthaboutabs.com website also offers a free 21-day trial, where you have to pay only $4.95 as a processing fee. Lastly let me mentioned that Mike has the best active support & he answers all the queries in almost a day or two.

There is a group of foods that most Americans love to eat, and, in fact, eat several times a day. These foods have a few things in common. They are stripped of almost all nutrition. They are loaded with calories, and they partner up with each other to create foods that compromise the health and fitness of Americans.

Although the name may be new, these foods are very familiar to all of us. In fact most of us eat the “Five Deadly Whites” every day and usually more than once. Can you guess what foods are included under the category of the “Five Deadly Whites?”

They are:

White flour

White rice

White salt

White sugar

“White” or refined oils

With the event of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s in Europe and in America came the invention of more complicated and efficient devices for pulverizing the wheat berries into fine white flour, polishing brown rice into white rice, and the refinement of the sugar cane into white sugar, making these common foods more palatable to the Western taste buds.

Add white salt and refined “white” oils, and we have a total of “Five Deadly Whites.”

Who are the losers in this processing and refining process? We are. White rice, white flour, white sugar products may taste better to spoiled taste buds, but they are also stripped of nutrients.

What is so bad about white rice, white flour, white sugar, white salt, and “white” or refined oils?

Let’s take a closer look at these common foods, starting with refined grains.

Americans love many different foods made from refined grains in the form of white flour products, white rice, quick oats, and corn grits. We have an emotional attachment to the Pillsbury Dough Boy (ah-hoo) and fine, light white flour for breads, pastas, pastries, pizza crust, pies, cookies, cakes, and desserts of all kinds. Many of us love these products made with refined white flour, even more than we love sugar-laden foods.

Furthermore, since World War II, grains were bleached, gassed, and colored into mere remnants of their original form; and then roasted, toasted, and frosted with sugar; and embalmed in chemicals and preservatives; and stuffed into a big box. We call these completely adulterated grains–cereals; and these cereals have about as much nutrition in them as the cardboard box that contains them.

Refinement, pulverization, sifting, cooking, and packaging of whole grains cause the loss of enzymes, or the “life force” in foods, along with the loss of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals.

Again, who are the losers in this refinement process? We are.

Refined grains, or fragmented foods, offer poor nutrition, leaving the body still hungry for good nutrition. Thus we overeat; and we overeat the wrong foods. Americans are often overfed and undernourished. Why? Because we eat too many of the processed, refined, and preserved foods that are low in nutrients and high in calories, high in fat, high in sugar, high in salt, and we eat too few of the foods that are nutrient- and fiber-rich.

Refined grains contain no fiber that acts as an intestinal broom to clean out our intestines.

Refined grains are refined and preserved with chemicals; chemicals that we end up eating and are hard on our bodies.

Refined grains cause our bodies to make excess mucous that accumulates in our noses, sinuses, throats, bronchial tubes, and our lungs, causing us to sniff, blow, drain, and cough and, often times, leading to more frequent colds and respiratory problems.

Refined grains cause the calcium to be depleted from our bones, increasing our chances of getting osteoporosis.

Refined grains are broken down in our digestive system and absorbed too quickly into the blood stream. This upsets the blood sugar levels, exhausting the pancreas and/or the adrenal glands, triggering hypoglycemic and diabetic reactions. Refined grains are just as bad for people with diabetes as white sugar.

In fact, refined grains are just plain bad for all of us, and we pay a hefty price for eating them–premature diseases and early deaths.

Are white flour goodies worth risking the health and fitness of our bodies? Only you can answer that question for yourself, but be prepared to accept the consequences that will result from your answer.

Part II: White Salt

Part III: White Sugar

Part IV: “White” Processed Oils

In this modern era of manufactured foods, it seems we have become conditioned to expect a sweet taste in almost everything we eat. Even your favorite brand of beef jerky now lists high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient. You may opt for low fat versions of foods, at the suggestion that fat is not good for your diet. The problem is that when the manufacturers remove the fat, the product often loses its desirable flavor or texture. To remedy this, some form of sugar is regularly added to make the product more palatable.

With reports about the rise in obesity and diabetes and a myriad of other health issues pointing at sugar as a major contributor, it is no wonder that manufacturers and consumers alike are searching for sugar substitutes. We are conditioned to expect something sweet to eat at almost every turn, so it seems natural that we want to maintain the same diet but with a healthier sweetening agent.

Unfortunately, many of these substitutes create the very same glycemic response as sugar does inside your body when they are digested. This means they cause insulin spikes and can lead to glucose intolerance. Some of these sweeteners lead to a host of other complications in the digestive system and throughout the body. Specifically, we are talking about commonly available products like aspartame (aka NutraSweet or Equal), sucralose (aka Splenda), saccharin (aka Sweet’N Low), acesulfame potassium (aka Sunett or Sweet One) and neotame.

Some of these products, aspartame in particular, actually creates a stronger insulin reaction in the body than natural sugar does. These products also stimulate a strong hunger reaction in the body, which drives you to eat more food, exactly what you were trying to avoid by choosing a ‘diet’ or ‘lite’ option. This means that consuming diet versions of products that include aspartame may lead to weight gain faster than sugar. Studies show that people who consume diet sodas are susceptible to major sugar-related illnesses as those who consume the full sugar versions of the products. These illnesses include obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Worse yet, aspartame has been linked to causing cancer and other tumors in laboratory animals. One of the oldest substitutes, in terms of availability in mass production and marketing, is saccharin. New research shows that saccharin disrupts the balance of beneficial bacteria in our digestive system, leading to glucose intolerance and other metabolic disorders. In general, these sweeteners should simply be eliminated from your diet.

If you insist on searching for sugar substitutes because you can’t seem to break away from that sweet taste, look for something like pure stevia. Stevia is a naturally sweet product extracted from the leaves of the stevia plant and it does not appear to create any of the negative effects of artificial sweeteners. Be careful to read the label before putting the product into your shopping cart. Some products have stevia on the front of the box yet list dextrose as the primary ingredient on the back. Dextrose is a glucose product often extracted from corn and it has nothing to do with stevia. Similarly, avoid products high in fructose as fructose generates the highest insulin response in your body. This includes products like agave syrup and honey, unless you can find locally grown raw honey and then use it in moderation.

Maybe it is time to change your mind about sugar instead of changing your sugar to a different sugar. Drinking water, tea or coffee instead of soda without sugar added is a good start. Eating full fat plain yogurt with a handful of berries for breakfast is another. Look for every opportunity to remove sugar and its various substitutes from your diet. At first, your taste buds may rebel against you, but soon you will adjust and you may begin to enjoy new tastes in your food that you didn’t know were there. Your body and waistline will let you know you made the right choice.