Credit: tmat1075

There are fortunes to be made in the world of diets and pills. And as a result, there is an overload of available programs, strategies and supplements.

For the average consumer that doesn’t have a PhD in nutrition, however, it can be virtually impossible to sift through all the hype to extract the kernels of truth.

So here is a random collection of facts about sexy-arm nutrition that can make a huge difference:

1. As carbohydrate intake goes up, lean muscle tissue breakdown goes down: Put differently, if you don’t have enough carbohydrates in your diet you are going to burn through excess muscle. And recall that muscle burns a lot of calories, even while you are resting.

2. A decrease in glycogen stores causes a decrease in calories-burned from exercise: Glycogen is the stored form of carbohydrates that your muscles use to produce work during exercise. Thus, if your muscle glycogen is low, you will not be able to exercise at maximum intensities. And recall that intense exercise is the best way to burn extra calories outside of your workouts.

3. Weight loss takes place independent of macronutrient ratios: This means that you can lose weight no matter what combination of protein, carbohydrates and fat is in your diet. The overriding factor here is whether or not you are in a negative caloric state. Having said that, in order to maximize fat loss and minimize lethargy, you want to have balance in your diet.

4. A 1200-calorie intake will force any woman to lose weight: With the exception of extreme outliers, it’s virtually impossible for a woman to not lose weight if she’s eating only 1200 calories. This fact holds true because no one has a basal metabolic rate (amount of calories you burn in 24-hours while not moving) that is less than 1200 calories.

5. You can experience muscle and strength gains while in a negative caloric state: This means you can lose fat while simultaneously increasing lean and tight muscle mass. In other words, you aren’t doomed to a skinny, weak and flaccid body while restricting calories.

6. Hypnosis has not been proven effective by peer-reviewed research: There has been a surge in hypnosis products in the market. However, there hasn’t been a single peer-reviewed randomized trial (the gold standard) proving its effectiveness. You are far better off saving your money here!

It can be hard to sift through all the misinformation out there. And hopefully this article can help you sift things out just a little bit better!

CLICK HERE to discover how to get sexy and sculpted arms!

Credit: Christi Nielsen

It’s virtually impossible to get in shape if a food addiction has a tight grip on your eating patterns.

The issue here is that a strong food addiction can change your brain the same way that drugs do. In fact, sugar is used as an analgesic in infants undergoing surgery.

On the bright side, there are some steps you can take to beat the addiction.

So here are 6 action items so that you can start winning the war:

1. Manipulate your environment: Relying on self-control and will power is a big mistake here. Why even give yourself the chance to make a decision in the first place? You see, if the offending food is not available to you, then there is no room for decision making-there is nothing present to be decided upon.

2. Create the majority of your caloric deficit with exercise, not food elimination: Your body does a better job at sensing caloric deficits from food than it does from exercise. In other words, a 500 calorie deficit from exercise won’t create as much hunger as a 500 calorie deficit from eating less food.

Thus, a great strategy to avoid throwing in the towel and bingeing is to use exercise as your main tool for creating your caloric deficit-your body won’t sense the reduction as well.

3. Use natural stimulants when you feel like you’re about to give in: There is nothing wrong with using nature’s gifts in times of need. Specifically, you want to use loose leaf teas like yerba mate or dragon well green tea to help appease the addiction.

In this case, you are replacing one pleasurable stimulus (dopamine response from food) with a less harmful stimulus (adrenal rush from tea).

Just make sure that you don’t abuse loose leaf teas or else you will build a tolerance to their effect.

4. Have artificial sweeteners if your sweet tooth is driving you crazy: The good news here is that artificial sweeteners have come a very long ways over the years. In fact, it’s very hard to tell the difference between a good artificial sweetener and sugar.

The bad news is that we don’t know if long term use of artificial sweeteners is safe. To stay on the safe side, have no more than a couple servings per day. And watch out here because a lot of processed and “diet” foods already come loaded with combinations of sweeteners.

5. Address the negative emotional hole that you are filling up with food: More often than not, a food addiction can be traced back to a negative emotional hole in a woman’s life. And if you figure out how to deal with the emotional drain, you will have a much better chance at beating the addiction.

You see, by fixing your issue you will uncouple your eating from your emotions.

6. Seek a competent professional if you can’t do this on your own: A huge body of evidence has clearly shown that a multi-tiered approach to food addictions is extremely effective. And the more you wait the harder it will become to win.

You deserve complete health now, not later! So make sure you take action on this advice today if you are suffering from a food addiction!

CLICK HERE to discover how to get sexy and sculpted arms!

Credit: Derrick Coetzee

Plateaus are the number one motivation killers.

After all, who would want to keep on working hard if there are no fruits for their labor?

Now the tricky thing with plateaus is that they require adaptability and flexibility on your part. In other words, you have to be willing to break out of your comfortable routine.

In essence, you have to establish new routines-something that is never easy.

So, here is an action plan to pull yourself out of a plateau:

1. First make sure you are in a plateau: Countless women stop exercising because the weight scale is no longer moving. Well, recall that a weight scale doesn’t reveal changes in body composition. For instance, you could be losing fat and gaining muscle which won’t necessarily show up on the scale.

Instead, rely on circumference measurements and/or body fat measurements to assess progress.

2. Begin covering half of your plate with vegetables every single time you eat: This is by far the simplest way to bust out of a plateau. You see, vegetables do a great job at lowering blood sugar (which accelerates fat loss) and they create a lot of bulk in your stomach. This in turn will make you eat less without feelings of deprivation.

3. Increase the intensity and duration of your workouts: You will feel a lot hungrier if you create a 500 calorie deficit with diet versus creating the same deficit with increases in physical activity. For whatever reason, the female body is more sensitive to caloric reductions from food than from exercise.

4. Begin keeping a food journal: If all of the above aren’t working, you are going to have to keep a journal. This will be the only way to assess where your diet needs work. Otherwise, if you simply wing it, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack while blindfolded.

5. SLOWLY reduce portion sizes relative to your food journal: Go too hard too soon here and your body will reject the lower caloric intake. Think of this process as coaxing your body into fat loss, not forcing it. You see, if you restrict calories too much you will stop producing fat burning hormones and your metabolism will drop.

6. If all else fails, measure and weigh your food: Most women don’t have to go to this extreme. But if you have tried everything else and it’s not working, then you probably have “caloric creep.” In other words, calories are creeping into your diet where you least expect it.

The only way to solve this is by weighing and measuring your food, unfortunately. The good news is that you won’t have to do this forever. Only until you figure out what is going on.

Nobody deserves to be stuck in a plateau. And if you let yourself hover in plateau limbo for too long, motivation will fade. So get yourself out of the hole today!

CLICK HERE to discover how to get sexy and sculpted arms!

Credit: Tiago Rebeiro

Billions and billions and billions of dollars are spent on dietary supplements each year. And I receive countless emails on a weekly basis about every supplement under the sun. I also get many emails about the shake weight!

We want results fast and we’re more than happy to get the results from a pill. Maybe you wouldn’t mind getting results from a pill…

The main issue here, however, is that most women have no idea as to what happens behind the supplement companies’ doors.

So, here is what YOU need to know about dietary supplements:

1. Just because they are marketed as “natural” does NOT mean they are safe: Any matter that goes down your throat, whether it be food or a supplement, is going to cause a chemical reaction. And many things found in nature will cause a lethal chemical reaction.

2. The 1994 DSHEA deregulated the industry: Pharmaceuticals have to go through an extremely rigorous process of clinical trials as established by the FDA. Dietary supplements, on the other hand, are not subject to upfront testing before being put on the store shelves.

In fact, it’s the government’s responsibility to prove that a supplement is unsafe before it’s taken off the market. It’s easy to see how this can create issues when there is a multitude of new supplements hitting the market all the time-it’s virtually impossible to keep tabs on everything.

3. The manufacturers are “good hearted” and prioritize your health: A business cannot survive unless it remains profitable. As a result, there is always going to be a tug of war between quality, purity, safety and cost reduction. Unfortunately, many manufacturers disproportionately focus on the cost reduction side of the equation.

4. More is better: Virtually any nutrient in excess can kill you. Drink too much water and you die. Eat too much protein without any fat and you die. Have too much vitamin D and your blood vessels can calcify. Have too much calcium and you can end up with kidney stones.

The solution? MODERATION.

Even too much fish oil can damage your heart! I recommend having no more than 100% DV for ANY supplemental nutrient unless your physician recommends otherwise.

More often than not, you are better off spending your hard earned money on high quality food than on supplements. And keep in mind that your body actually absorbs food much better than supplements because of all the synergies between natural nutrients.

And if you do decide to take a supplement, make sure it’s from a reputable manufacturer!

CLICK HERE to discover how to get sexy and sculpted arms the safe way!

Credit: Pink Sherbert Photography

Anti-oxidants aren’t just for anti-aging, they are also for accelerated recovery from exercise. And if you can exercise more frequently you will burn more calories. And if you can burn more calories, you will you lose fat and get toned much quicker.

So here are 6 brutally simple ways to get more anti-oxidants in your diet:

1. Begin having loose leaf green tea every morning instead of coffee: Not only do you get the anti-oxidants, but you also get the following:

a. No dry mouth.

b. No upset stomach.

c. Enhanced mood.

d. Enhanced blood flow.

e. No energy crashes.

And don’t be tempted to have bagged tea, it’s far inferior to loose leaf tea.

2. Substitute your cassia cinnamon with true cinnamon: Cassia cinnamon is the type most commonly found in grocery stores. The sticks are thin and hollow. True cinnamon, on the other hand, also called Ceylon cinnamon, has thicker sticks with multiple inner folds (like a cigar).

And not only does true cinnamon taste better, but it has much higher nutritional value. I personally prefer to put a stick of true cinnamon in my green tea every morning.

3. Take a LOW DOSE multi-vitamin supplement: Do not assume that taking vitamins with mega doses of nutrients is healthy for you, it’s not. You are far better off taking a multi-vitamin that has no more than 100% daily value for any given nutrient.

Remember that you are taking a multi-vitamin as insurance against any potential deficiency. And the bulk of your nutrition is going to come from whole food-the most absorbable and effective form of vitamins and minerals.

4. Substitute your standard lettuce with “other” leafy greens: The more the merrier here since nutrient interactions between wide varieties of foods are the true key to maximum health. Some excellent leafy greens (with much more nutrition than lettuce) that aren’t too hard to get used to are:

a. Kale

b. Chard

c. Spinach

5. Begin experimenting with turmeric: Another anti-oxidant powerhouse, turmeric has a mild flavor and combines very well with many dishes. I recommend using it in recipes with chicken and in recipes with chili. Just make sure you don’t spill it since it can stain with its yellowish color.

6. Drop some cloves in your green tea: Cloves have a strong flavor and aren’t the easiest thing to incorporate. I’ve found that putting them in green tea is a stealthy way to get them in my diet. If the clove flavor is too strong for you, consider adding in some peppermint to mask it.

Anti-oxidants aren’t just for the life extensionists, they are also for women who wish to further enhance their physique goals. So start following these tips today!

CLICK HERE to discover how to get sexy and sculpted arms with the best nutrition!

Credit: Adam Jones, Ph.D.

Losing arm flab and keeping it off is extremely difficult if you don’t eat enough carbohydrates. Unfortunately, too many women are seduced by the rapid weight loss that ultra-low carbohydrate intakes produce.

Maybe you have been seduced.

But there is a catch. You see, the majority of weight loss from carbohydrate restriction is NOT arm fat, it’s water!

So here is what happens when you take carbohydrates out of your arm toning equation:

1. Mental output plummets: Your brain is made to function at peak capacity with a steady supply of broken down carbohydrates in the form of glucose. If you stop eating carbs cold turkey, your brain will turn to your muscle and fat for energy.

The bad news is that converting precious calorie-burning muscle and fat into brain energy is not very efficient-not nearly as good as a fresh and steady supply of glucose.

Now if you have a mentally demanding job (like most of the world), this can create some major issues.

2. You don’t get all the nutrition you need: There are certain vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and phytonutrients that are only found in carbs. If you simply knock out your carb consumption, you will miss out on all this life-enhancing nutrition.

And maximizing nutrition, energy and well being is critical when arm toning in order to counterbalance your caloric deficit.

3. You can’t burn the highest amount of calories: To keep your metabolism (i.e., daily caloric burn) as high as possible, you need to exercise as hard as possible. Unfortunately, without carbs, this isn’t feasible. You see, your muscles can only work at maximum capacity when their internal carb stores are high.

This is one of the reasons why women on a low carb diet find it harder and harder to maintain their arm toning results as time goes by.

4. You miss out on the post workout opportunity: During this period, your active tissues (including muscle) are able to absorb an “above normal” amount of carbohydrates. And if you aren’t eating carbohydrates during this narrow window of time, you can’t take advantage of this effect.

And recall that increasing muscle stores of carbohydrates allows you to exercise harder.

5. Your arms won’t look toned: Carbohydrates are in direct control of how your muscles look. Without them, your muscles will look very loose, jiggly and lacking in tone. This happens because carbs pull water into your muscles which makes them look toned and tight.

It’s like the difference between a partially filled wrinkly water balloon versus a full water balloon that doesn’t have a single wrinkle. And don’t think that using a shake weight will fix this!

6. Your mood plummets: Study after study has shown that as carb intake goes down, so does levels of serotonin. And without enough mood-stabilizing serotonin in your brain, life will lose its color.

On the flipside, too many simple carbohydrates (i.e., sugars) can create addictions because the above effect is amplified to an extreme. So as with most things in life, moderation is key here!

It is possible to tone your arms while eating a healthy amount of carbohydrates. The key is to watch your total caloric intake and to stabilize your blood sugar with balanced meals and LOTS of vegetables. Follow this advice and you will be better positioned for long term success!

CLICK HERE to discover how to get sexy and sculpted arms while eating carbs!

Unfortunately, most supplements don’t work. You see, congress approved the Dietary Supplement Health And Education act in 1994 which essentially deregulated the industry. As a result, the FDA has a very loose grip on the supplement industry.

Pretty much anyone can bottle almost anything and sell it as a supplement.

So here are the bare essentials of supplementation for sexy, sculpted and slim arms:

1. Caffeine: Of all the safe supplements you can take, this will have the most immediate and powerful impact. It does a great job at mobilizing fatty acids, reducing fatigue, increasing focus, increasing coordination and increasing power output. This all happens via an enhanced secretion of stress hormones from your adrenals.

Now keep in mind that temporarily increasing stress hormone before a workout is NOT unhealthy. I recommend having a little caffeine in tablet form 45-60 minutes before working out.

2. Whey protein: Although not absolutely necessary, it helps get much needed protein to your active tissues immediately after your workout. You see, immediately after you exercise, your core temperature is so high that it blunts the hunger drive. Yet, this is a time when you need nutrients ASAP.

Fortunately, whey protein is the fastest digestion source of protein you can take. However, immediately after your workout is the ONLY time of day when you want fast digestion!

3. Dextrose: Similar to whey protein, it’s a great tool for getting much needed carbohydrates back into your muscles immediately after exercise. And it’s important to note that carbohydrates are actually more important for exercise recovery than protein.

Even more important is that your active tissues (including muscle) become less and less responsive to carbohydrates as time passes after your workout. So get that nutrition into your body ASAP!

4. Fish oil: You should only supplement with fish oil if you aren’t getting omega-3’s in your diet. If you are eating fish, walnuts and/or flax seeds, you do not need to supplement here. Otherwise, aim for 1 gram of DHA per day. And more is not better here because if you have too much fish oil, you can damage your heart.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to see fitness “experts” recommending 20-30 grams of fish oil per day!

5. A Multivitamin: Consumption of multivitamin supplements is recommended by Harvard University and has been shown to reduce chronic disease. They key here is to not over-supplement with exorbitant amounts of nutrients. Don’t take multivitamins with more than 100% daily value of anything.

In fact, if you over-supplement with Calcium (a popular supplement among women), you are at increased risk for kidney stones! As always, moderation is key.

The majority of supplements don’t work, but that doesn’t mean you should completely discount all of them either. Keep in mind that in most cases whole food will always be far superior than supplements. Nevertheless, you should consider incorporating the above supplements into your diet.

CLICK HERE to learn how to get sculpted arms with the best supplement combinations!

Low carb, high carb, no carb-our obsession with carbohydrates has led to more confusion and less clarity. And if the experts can’t agree here, how are you supposed to make a decision?

Even worse, if you manipulate your carbohydrate intake the wrong way while simultaneously increasing exercise intensity, the results could be disastrous. Especially if you are lifting weights.

So here are the essentials of carbohydrates for arm fat loss that you have to know:

1. Function: There are three main functions that are most relevant. First, carbs are the preferred energy source for your brain. Second, they are the stored energy source for your muscles. Finally, they stabilize your mood through the production of neurotransmitters. Thus, not only do carbs provide the energy for exercise, but they also provide the components for mental well being.

2. Dangers of having too little: The biggest drawback here is the increased breakdown of muscle protein which gets converted to blood sugar. And recall that muscle has a huge impact on your metabolic rate. Also, cutting out carbs drains your muscles of stored energy which in turn decreases the intensity (and caloric burn) of your workouts.

Even more demoralizing, is the loss in muscular definition and arm tone. Without carbs, your muscles become dehydrated and end up looking flaccid.

3. Dangers of having too much: When you flood your system with too many carbohydrates, your active tissues actually reduce the amount of nutrients they absorb as a protective mechanism. So not only do you end up with too much blood sugar, but your active tissues resist absorbing the excess. In other words, you provide the optimal situation for excess fat accumulation. It’s like giving your fat cells a direct (and enlarged) feeding tube.

4. How to identify good sources: The best sources of carbohydrates are going to be high in fiber and low in sugar. This is by far the simplest way to evaluate carbohydrate quality. Even easier, legumes and/or beans are the slowest digesting carbohydrates. If you simply limit your carbohydrate intake to legumes and beans, you are almost guaranteed to lose arm fat.

5. Common myths: One common myth is that you can’t burn fat while eating carbohydrates. This is not true-as long as you are in a negative caloric balance, you will lose fat. Another myth is the idea that eating carbohydrates during exercise that is less than 1 hour in duration provides benefit.

Your body has the ability to provide more than enough nutrition and energy when you exercise for less than 1 hour.

Don’t get caught up with all the carb confusion. Your approach is simple: focus your carbohydrate intake on beans and legumes, and have a robust amount of carbs for breakfast and after exercise. And remember that taking action here is more important than anything else!

CLICK HERE to discover how to reduce arm fat with the best carbs!

Contrary to popular belief, consuming excessive amounts of fruit is contraindicated for rapid fat loss. You see, fruit has a lot of sugar.

And the sugar found in fruit causes your liver to increase production of triglycerides and cholesterol. Over the long run, this can compromise circulation—not good for optimal arm toning.

So here is how to make sure you fruit intake doesn’t make you (or your arms) fat:

1. Have most of your fruit during breakfast: When you wake up your liver is devoid of carbohydrates. Having fruit in the morning will refill your liver with little ill effect on the rest of your body. Even better, you are more likely to burn off any potential excess of sugar during the rest of the day.

2. Have a small amount before exercise: Your liver regulates your blood sugar because it can store a small amount of carbohydrates. And if you have a little fruit before working out, you will reduce the chances of hitting a sugar-crash “wall” and will feel more energetic.

3. Go for variety: The more variety the merrier. You see, solid research from Cornell has shown that combinations of fruit are much healthier than single doses of high anti-oxidant fruit (i.e., superfoods). So have small samplings of different fruits a la tapas.

4. Avoid smoothies: Any caloric ingestion that is not in solid food form is contraindicated for rapid fat loss. So if you are going to eat fruit, make sure it’s in its whole form, don’t blend it up. Remember that slower digestion is always better.

5. Understand that fruit is optional: You should only eat fruit if you absolutely have to have it. Otherwise, vegetables provide just as many nutrients with virtually no sugar. My personal recommendation is to have the bare minimum amount of fruit for your particular psychological and physical needs.

6. Eat the whole fruit, not just the fleshy pulp: When possible, eat the fruits skin in addition to its fleshy pulp. You see, the skin is loaded with fiber (which slows digestion) and has the highest concentration of anti-oxidants. Keep in mind that the fruit’s skin protects it from the elements and from animals, thus it has the most nutrition.

Having a little fruit here and there isn’t going to decrease your health or increase your arm fat. Just make sure you don’t erroneously assume that high fruit intakes are healthy as many marketers (and the companies they represent) would have you believe. Moderation is always key!

CLICK HERE to discover how to get rid of fat arms!

There is such an intense focus on calories in and calories out that many women forget about the most powerful fat burning tools: hormones.

You see, you could drastically restrict calories only to end up hitting a weight loss plateau because of hormones. On the other hand, you could modestly restrict calories while maximizing hormonal output and experience the fastest rate of fat loss your body can naturally handle.

So here is how to maximize your hormonal output for maximum weight loss:

1. Testosterone: It’s not just important for men, it’s also extremely important for women. Its biggest benefit is increased protein anabolism which means muscle growth. And recall that muscle controls how many calories you burn 24/7. To a lesser degree, testosterone also helps burn fat. Here are two ways to increase it:

a. Make sure at least 30% of your calories come from fat.

b. Lift heavy weights.

2. Growth hormone: Similar to testosterone, it stimulates protein synthesis while also burning fat. It can be considered a “restorative” hormone. Here are two ways to increase it:

a. Get deep sleep.

b. Don’t eat carbohydrates before bed.

3. Epinephrine and norepinephrine: These are “fight or flight” hormones (aka adrenalin) that can turn an average workout into a ground-shaking workout. As an added bonus, they mobilize fat cells for oxidation. The key here, however, is to make sure they are not chronically elevated by stress or overconsumption of caffeine. Here are two ways to increase them before working out:

a. Have a small amount of caffeine.

b. Have a pre-workout ritual that arouses your emotional state like listening to charged music.

4. Thyroxine: Produced by your thyroid, it stimulates oxidative metabolism in your mitochondria which means it helps your body burn more calories 24/7. It’s also considered a permissive hormone since it regulates how well other hormones can work. Here are two ways to increase it:

a. Don’t restrict your caloric intake by more than 20% of your needs.

b. Spike your caloric intake on a regular basis.

5. Insulin: Produced by your pancreas, insulin pushes nutrients into your tissues-including fat cells. So less insulin is better here. Here are two ways to decrease insulin:

a. Balance the majority of your meals with the following: unsaturated fats, vegetables, slow digesting carbohydrates and low-fat protein sources.

b. Resistance train regularly.

6. Leptin and ghrelin: Both these hormones influence your appetite. If you can keep them in balance, you won’t feel as hungry when eating fewer calories. Here are two ways to keep them balanced:

a. Eat every couple of hours, never going over five hours between meals.

b. Get a full night’s sleep.

While the amount of calories you eat does influence how much weight you can lose, ignoring hormones is a big mistake you do NOT want to make. I can guarantee that once you master your hormones, you’ll lose weight faster than ever!

CLICK HERE to discover how to win the weight loss war and get sexy and sculpted arms!