Stress-Free Equals Body-Fat Free

By Cliff Sheats

Manage your stress to keep body fat off! Stress is your body’s response to any physical, mental, or psychological demand. What many people don’t realize is that stress can interfere with efforts to stay lean. During stress, the body tries to compensate physiologically by triggering the release of hormones that increase levels of blood sugar and blood fats. If stress continues without interruption, the body enters a state of exhaustion, which can ultimately result in disease. Stress management is thus an important factor in weight control and disease prevention.

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The Gainer’s Menu

If you’re like most exercisers and athletes, one of your goals is to gain muscle. The more muscle you have the stronger you are, the better you perform, and the less prone you are to athletic injuries. And of course, muscle helps you burn body fat more efficiently, as well as keep that fat off. The Parrillo Nutrition Program, with its multiple meals and supplementation approach, works beautifully for people who want to gain muscle.

Barry E., 44, is a good example. He is what you would call a classic “ectomorph,” tall, lean, but not too muscular.

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Calories – How High Can You Go?

In the same way a tablespoon measures volume, a “calorie” measures energy, specifically the amount of energy stored in carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Most reducing diets are based on restricting the amount of calories, typically to 1,200 calories a day or under. That’s a sub-par requirement, particularly for women. Here’s why: An average woman’s basal metabolic rate (BMR) is 1,200 calories a day. BMR refers to the minimum number of calories required by the body over a 24-hour period just to breathe, to pump blood through the circulatory system, and to drive all the cellular processes that support life. It doesn’t include the energy needed to do other things like move around or exercise. So you see: most diets are too low to provide enough energy to sustain vital functions, let alone other activities. Thus, the metabolism downshifts greatly – for two reasons.

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Antioxidant Recovery

By Cliff Sheats

Are you an exerciser or athlete who gets frequent colds and infections? If so, it may be time to pay more attention to antioxidant recovery.

In general terms, recovery is the process of regeneration that takes place in the aftermath of a workout. To appreciate its importance, consider what happens inside your body as a consequence of intense exercise: Energy-giving glycogen stores are depleted; muscle protein is dismantled; microscopic tears in muscle fibers occur; energy-producing compounds are lost from cells; fluid and electrolytes dwindle; disease-causing free radicals proliferate.

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The Super Supplement: Glutamine

Glutamine is the single-most important amino acid for exercisers, bodybuilders, and athletes. The most plentiful amino acid in blood and skeletal muscle, glutamine serves as a building block for proteins, nucleotides (structural units of RNA and DNA), and other amino acids and is the principle fuel source for cells that make up your immune system. Glutamine is also one of the amino acids found in Parrillo’s Ultimate Amino Formula^™.

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Fat Burners from Fat

By Cliff Sheats

Healthy Fats

From years of helping people get lean, I have found that in addition to cleaning up their diet and working out consistently, the fastest results come when people are using certain supplements in specific dosages. You know that lipotropics like Parrillo Advanced Lipotropic Formula^™ can help you utilize stored fat for energy, but did you also know that certain fat supplements have a
lipotropic benefit?

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Gaining Too Much Fat? Read This!

We’re in a fat-gaining season of the year. If you’re having trouble along these lines and want to get your physique under control, here are some suggestions.

First of all, I recommend that in addition to weight training three or more times a week that you perform at least 30 to 60 minutes of aerobics – preferably before breakfast to force your body to burn fatty acids sooner.

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Evening Primrose Oil – A Necessary Fat

One of my clients was a competitive bodybuilder who complained to me that her hair was falling out, her skin had become extremely dry, and her joints were stiff. After observing her physical characteristics, I suspected she was suffering from an essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency. This deficiency was aggravated by a too-restrictive diet in which she had omitted fats altogether and slashed her caloric intake.

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The Vitamin E Story

Do you get confused by news on vitamins and nutrition? One day you hear that a certain vitamin is good for you; the next day, it’s bad. Take vitamin E, for example.

A study published in 2007 in the Archives of Internal Medicine supposedly discovered that vitamin E and other antioxidants were of no real health benefit. The news was splashed all over the media. But what wasn’t reported was that most of the people in the study did not consistently take their vitamins.

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Fiber from Whole Grains Trims the Waistline

According to a number of recent studies, increased fiber intake is associated with lower body weight, including a decrease in abdominal fat. Also, a high-fiber diet has been linked to a decreased risk of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by a combination of symptoms such as an elevated waist circumference (greater than 40 inches for males, 35 inches for females), elevated blood sugar and high-blood pressure. These factors can contribute greatly to a person’s risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

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