Archive for February, 2008
Reward Yourself with a Cheat Day41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 29, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 10 comments
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Jason Bacchetta of Trend Spike, a Men’s Blog and Online Magazine.
When Israel mentioned in his vlog that he believed people should replace food, rather than just cut it out of their diet altogether, I decided to give my opinion on that idea as well. I recently wrote an article on why you CAN go on a diet splurge every now and then. Although my idea was slightly different than what Israel had to say, I think Israel and I are both trying to get a point across.
That is, be realistic. Nobody is perfect, and trying to limit yourself to a hardcore diet that doesn’t allow for any mistakes, will likely work against you, rather than for you. You need to find something that works for YOU, not what supposedly works for your favorite spokes model. If you’re used to eating junk food for every meal, of every day, then dropping the food you love cold turkey, is just not the best option. Too many times, people have tried and failed with that approach. In fact, 75-90% of people who lose weight, regain it back. In my opinion, it’s because they choose a diet that they can’t live with. A healthy eating routine isn’t just about what you do for the next three weeks, it’s about what you do for the rest of your life (as Israel mentions in his video).
Personally, I’m in the same race to become fit, except I actually have a hard time gaining weight. When I was younger, I would always push myself to the extreme. Not eating right, or missing a workout even if only for a day, would cause me to feel guilty, as if I wasn’t trying hard enough. Sometimes this desire for perfection was exactly the attitude that brought me further away from my goals. Eventually I realized that it’s okay to live a healthy lifestyle, without trying to reach the finish line as fast as possible. It’s all about moderation. When I would allow myself to eat the things I wanted to every now and then, and when I would allow myself to miss a day in the gym, my progress continued uphill. I noticed that I wouldn’t get burned out every month, as I did when I was “hardcore.”
Giving yourself a free day every week as I suggest, or replacing junk food with healthy food (that you enjoy) as Israel suggests, will increase your chances of staying healthy for the long-term. Stop wasting your New Year’s resolution on the same thing every year. Give yourself a chance to win the battle this time. It’s not easy, but it doesn’t have to be hell either.
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How to Grow Wings or Get a Wide Back41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 28, 2008 by Dr. Kal | 10 comments
The ultimate goal for many men is the V-Shape. The V-Shape is created with broad shoulders and a small waist. You learned how to build broad shoulders with this post. To get a small waist, you simply need to follow some of the great weight loss advice here at Fat Man Unleashed. However, what is often forgotten in the quest for the V-Shape is the wide back that connects the shoulders to the waist.
Latissimus Dorsi
The latissimus dorsi (Lats) is a large, fan-shaped muscle that starts out wide at the level of the shoulders and ends medially at the level of the pelvis. Your Lats are the biggest muscle of your back and your upper body. We often forget about Lats because they are difficult to see in the mirror. Out of sight, out of mind.
The Lats are often called “wings” because when they are very wide, they actually look like wings. However, they look more like bat’s wings and less like bird’s. Your Lats perform many actions, but their main function is to bring your arms closer to your body.
Weight Loss
Along with giving you a V-Shape, training your Lats will also help you lose weight. Building these large muscles will boost your metabolism and turn you into a 24-hours-a-day fat burning machine.
Other Benefits
Larger, wider and stronger Lats can also help you:
- Throw harder
- Punch harder
- Pull harder
- Swim faster
- Climb faster
They can also help improve your posture and make your waist appear thinner.
Growing Wings
The two main ingredients to bigger and stronger muscles are diet and exercise. They are equally as important. Exercise breaks the muscle down and diet build them back up. To build larger or stronger muscles, you must eat enough calories and enough quality protein.
A wider back is a larger back. To build large muscles you should do 3 sets of an exercise with rep goals of 10 -12. The best exercises for a wide back are:
- Wide Grip Pull Ups
- Wide Grip Lat Pull Downs
- Wide Grip Bent Over Rows
- Wide Grip Seated Rows
Along with diet and exercise, you will need to sleep 7- 9 hours every night and drink plenty of fluids. You cannot grow wings over night, so be patient. With perseverance you will get there.
Dr. Kalvin Chinyere is a weight-loss expert and ex-fat man. He is also the creator of the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan and the main contributor at Dr. Kal’s Blog.
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Running is Overrated41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 25, 2008 by Dr. Kal | 17 comments
Being a weight loss expert is similar to being a priest. People are always confessing their weight loss sins to you. When I am at a party, people often proclaim to me that tomorrow is the day they are going to start losing weight. I don’t mind listening because weight loss always starts with a proclamation. What I don’t like are the tactics. 6 times out of 10, the person will tell me that they are going to lose weight by eating less and running more. Everyone believes that running is the key to weight loss. I disagree. I believe that running is overrated.
Running
Running is a great exercise:
- It burns many calories. A 150 pound person, running five miles per hour for an hour will burn over 600 calories.
- It strengthens your cardiovascular system. A strong heart leads to a long life.
- It is cheap. All you need are some clothes and a pair of sneakers. In some communities, the clothing is optional.
- You have multiple venue choices. You can run around a neighborhood, on a treadmill, up a hill, on an indoor track, on an outdoor track, up stadium steps, on the beach, or up the Rocky steps in Philadelphia. The list goes on and on.
- You can even run to build relationships. There are social networks all about running. They have magazines, websites, forums, social groups, and dating services dedicated to running.
Dr. Kal Does Not Run
There are a multitude of running benefits. Running is great. However, I don’t run. I have never run and I will never run. I don’t run because:
- Reason #1 - Running can be very hard on your knees. However, so can being overweight or obese.
- Reason #2 - I don’t like running
I am a firm believer in not doing exercises that you do not enjoy doing. It amazes me when people who despise running, force themselves to do it. I think they believe that running is an acquired taste like beer.
Choosing an Exercise
I understand the fascination with running. There are not many activities that offer all of the benefits that running can. However, you can only reap these benefits if you actually do the running.
If you dislike an exercise, you will not do it regularly. To lose weight and keep it off, you must find an activity or exercise that you see yourself doing over the long haul. You will burn more calories running than walking. However you will burn more calories walking three hours a week than you will running one hour a week.
To lose weight and keep it off you should increase your activity. However, that activity need not be running. Experiment with different activities, find one you like, and do it as often as possible.
Dr. Kalvin Chinyere is a weight-loss expert and ex-fat man. He is also the creator of the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan and the main contributor at Dr. Kal’s Blog.
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My Affiliate Summit West 2008 Weightloss Trek: Day 141.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 25, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 18 comments
I got in to Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon and was extremely tired. I checked into my hotel and just ate some dinner before getting ready for Sunday’s Affiliate Summit. I went to bed early, had jet lag, on Saturday night.
Sunday morning was an adventure. I had to find a way to get to the Affiliate Summit at the Rio All-Suite Resort and Casino, which is about 2 miles from the hotel I am staying at. Being the warrior that I am, I wanted to walk the 2 miles, but it proved to be too much: I had a 15 lbs back pack on. What I did was take a shuttle halfway there, then trekked the rest of the way. It turned out to be a pretty good workout.
It wasn’t that bad a walk, I got there in about 15 minutes. Here are some shots of Vegas as I walked to the Rio:
Bally’s Las Vegas
Ceasar’s Palace: This place was huge, it looks like it spanned 5 square blocks.
A Poster of Toni Braxton on the side of the Flamingo Hotel
The Rio All-Suite Resort and Casino: home of he Affiliate Summit West 2008
After registration, I walked around until the Meet Market opened up. The Meet Market was a cool place to meet some affiliate managers for many of the programs that are available online. It was a cool place to meet new people. I met Zac Johnson for the first time, he was pretty cool. I also got a shoot with one of the Beauty and the Geek girls from a couple of seasons go.
Beauty and Geek model and I
Later that night I attended the Share A Sale Under the Stars Party at the Palms. It was an awesome venue and proved to be an awesome networking party. I didn’t have any drinks, I just had a few bottles of water. Here I finally got to meet of the folks that I read and see online. Some of them were:
Ian Fernando, Joe Tech, Roger, John Chow, and Mark of 45n5.
Here are some of the pictures from the party:
Finally met Zac Johnson, Super Affiliate
Ian Fernando, cool guy
John Chow, a normal geeky, cool dude
The infamous John Chow, trying to force feed me ice cream
Joe from Joe Tech, that goatee is super long
Joe, Mark and I
Monday morning has been great so far, I met Jim Kukral and Tristram Hussey. I am in the Press Bloghaus and then am heading over to the Un-Keynote. I am looking forward to the rest of the day. I plan on walking around and networking some more. What’s better than a workout and meeting new people?
Jim Kukral, cool guy
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Replacing Food When Dieting Vlog41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 22, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 11 comments
It has been a busy week thus far and it’s only going to get busier. This week I launched Health Ranker, the new health 2.0, social media health site. It has been positively received so far and I can only see it getting better. In this weeks video blog I start off mentioning Health Ranker and ask for suggestions and feedback. I also mention my awesome new fat man t-shirts that came in the mail and ask for guest post submissions. I will be attending the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas and will not have much time so any guests posts are welcome, just stick to health related topics.
The main focus of the vlog though is my health tip on replacing food when dieting and not just removing food. It’s all about dieting for the long haul. Hope you enjoy. Peace.
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A Healthy Social Media Site: HealthRanker.com41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 18, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 24 comments
Having been health blogging for about 9 months now, I noticed that were was a huge void in the health news sector. Despite the multitude of social media news and voting sites available, there was not one dedicated to the health niche. I have become increasingly frustrated with the current “big dogs” in social media news sites, so I set upon making my own.
Enter HealthRanker.com. Health Ranker is a social media news and voting site that is dedicated to all things health. It silently launched a day ago and is already receiving positive feedback. The membership is increasing each day and so is the usage. You can sign up and submit health news in the various categories. You can also place our Rank it! button on your web site for others to Rank your health news.
So if you are into health news, information and education, head on over and become a part of something fresh and new. Still in beta, there are some minor bugs but the site is fully functional. I would love for some more beta users so that we can tweak the system. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.
It’s rare when we actually have the chance to be a part of something like this in the early stages, but I am extending the invitation to you now. See ya there, feel free to add me as a friend.
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Are You a Real Man? If so, read Trend Spike41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 17, 2008 by Fat Kid | 6 comments
Trend Spike is a new blog that recently launched which is targeted towards men and only men (unless you ladies want to get to know your men better). It is multi-topic and focuses on the 3 things men love the most: sex, sports, and technology (in no particular order 
).
The man behind this testosterone-filled blog is Jason, your average 25 year old Texan. He reveals he is looking to change his career recently and he might become a fireman, but for now he’s searching for online success and says blogging and marketing is his new hobby, even an addiction. And no ladies, he’s married, so you missed out there.
Although Trend Spike is a fairly new blog, it is off to a pretty good start. The front page is filled with great content for you to check out. The site also has a really cool logo which is nice and caught me and made me interested in learning more about the blog. The following are a few posts that we here at FMU thought you, the readers might like.
At first I thought, “Wait! Aren’t you supposed to dress to impress?” Apparently not. In this article, Jason explains how to properly undress yourself and your partner in order to ‘impress’ her. Pretty simple, but I guess if you want to gain that extra edge and make your lady happy, you need to know these things so you don’t act too eager or nervous.
14 Reasons Why Being Single On Valentine’s Day Shouldn’t Get You Down
I don’t know about you, but being single on big, bad Valentine’s Day always manages to get me a little unhappy. However, Jason manages to cheer me up a little by offering me a few of the perks of being single. I especially found numbers 7 and 14 useful :-).
A World Full of Hercules’, DJ Qualls, and Fat Bastards
If you have been living under a rock the past 10 or so years, this title might confuse you. Basically the world is full of muscular, skinny, and Israels :-). This article however, isn’t there to make fun of you for being a stereotypical overweight or underweight male, it is a great resource for discovering which body type you are and how to properly correct your mistakes in order to change your physique for the better through diet, fitness, etc.
5 Supplements Closer to Becoming the Alpha Male
This article’s title is a little misleading. While it does discuss supplements and how to utilize them for proper muscle growth, it also talks about how to properly eat and what you need (other than pills and powders) in order to get pumped, lose weight, and become overall healthy.
Like I said before, Trend Spike is off to a great start in the blogosphere and FMU will keep a close eye on them. Overall, it’s looking to be a good resource for all males of all body types and we hope you’ll check them out and subscribe to the RSS feed to stay up to date.
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Fiji Water - The New Player in the Bottled Water Craze41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 16, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 17 comments
Everywhere I go I see Fiji bottled water. What’s so great about it besides it being more expensive than other bottled water? I must admit that at first this was going to be a rant about how I can’t stand bottled water companies, but after reading through the beautifully designed Fiji Water web site and doing some deeper research, I had to change my tune. Well, I think I did. I was out to crush Fiji Water, but now have a better understanding of it.
Water is water. Right? When I think of things like this, I always think back to prehistoric days. I try and compare my daily habits with what cavemen might have done. I like to believe that cavemen would have just drank water from a stream. Simple. If it’s clear, it’s drinkable. But Fiji does a good job at educating it’s visitors. The site is full of information regarding the different water types of bottled water, health benefits of water, and why they think Fiji water is second to none.
Fiji says it uses water that has not touched open air. Ever! To understand this you first need to know what artesian water is. So what is artesian water? Simply put, it’s rain water that is sealed deep beneath layers of the Earth’s surface, hasn’t been exposed to the environment, and can only be brought to the surface by man. According to their site, the only time Fiji artesian water comes in contact with the air we breathe is when a person first opens a bottle that they have purchased. Pretty hard to believe right? I’m a skeptic. But this non-human contact is what they pride themselves in. It’s what they use as their main marketing point.
I haven’t tasted Fiji water, but I know many who have. They swear by it. Some stores around here (Florida) charge way too much for it. I can only imagine what cities in New York and California charge. You can also buy it in bulk from the Fiji Water web site. I bet you could do the same on eBay, but cheaper. I plan on buying a single bottle of Fiji Water this weekend and drinking it for the first time on camera for my weekly video blog. We will see if the water is what it’s hyped up to be. My reaction will say it all.
Fiji reminds me of the bottled water craze a few years back. I remember seeing Evian, Poland Spring and a slew of other bottled water companies emerging. All of the upscale folks would pay big bucks for a bottle of water, most of which has turned out to just be tap water re-bottled. Living in NYC, I have always been comfortable drinking water from the tap. NYC’s water is purified by one of the best water purification systems in the state of New York. It wasn’t until I moved to Florida that I had to start paying for drinking water. The tap water in Florida has no fluoride and contains a lot of chlorine. It tastes horrible. So we get water for our water dispenser from the local Sweet Bay Supermarket. My wife insists on buying bottled water for work. She isn’t too picky on which we get, but will refuse to drink Nestle or Zephyrhills brand water.
At the end of the day, water is water and I drink tons of it.
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8 Highly Effective Cold Prevention Strategies41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 14, 2008 by Dr. Kal | 37 comments
It seems as if everyone I know is sick, getting over being sick, or about to become sick. Many of these people turn to me for advice. They ask me for drugs and cures. I tell them all the same thing: drink fluids and get rest. Those two simple actions will speed-up your recovery. However, while you are recovering, you will not eat properly or work out regularly. This will slow down your weight loss.
Losing weight is already a slow process and we don’t need anything else slowing it down. If you could avoid getting sick, you could lose more weight. In this post, I will give you some tips to help prevent you from getting a cold and keep you losing weight.
Top Eight Cold Prevention Strategies
1. Wash your hands - The world we live in is filled with viruses and bacteria that can make us ill. Your hands are no exceptions. Wash your hands often to keep them clean. If you cannot wash them, at least use some hand sanitizer, such as Purel.
2. Avoid contact with people - People have germs. People don’t wash their hands. People cough and sneeze all over the place. Avoid crowds. Instead of shaking hands, try bowing. They do it in Japan. Instead of regular hugs, try virtual hugs. They don’t feel as nice, but they are germ-free.
3. Keep your hands out of your face - We have already discussed the germs and viruses on your hands. You cannot wash them continuously, so in between washings keep your hands out of your face. Your face is an open portal to your insides. Keep the germs away from your portal.
4. Drink water - Drinking more water is my answer to everything. Water will help clean out your body and keep it clean. It will also keep your body functioning at 100%. You should drink at least (eight) 8oz glasses of water everyday. This will also help you lose weight.
5. Eat your fruits and vegetables - There are phytochemicals and antioxidants in fruits and vegetables that can help strengthen your immune system and prevent diseases. You should eat at least four servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits every day.
6. Multivitamins - If you are not eating all of your fruit and vegetable servings, you should take a multivitamin to ensure you are getting all of the vitamins your body needs to function properly. Take a simple one-a-day multivitamin everyday.
7. Stay warm - Being cold weakens your immune system and makes your body more susceptible to illness. Look at the day’s temperature at weather.com before leaving your home. Wear layers in and out of your home when it is cold.
8. Relax and rest - Stress weakens your immune system. You can reduce your stress levels by relaxing and getting more sleep. Sleep is essential to maintaining a healthy immune system. Sleep will also boost your recovery time if you become ill.
Getting a cold can derail your nutrition and activity plans. However, if you follow the strategies I laid out for you, you can prevent this from happening.
Dr. Kalvin Chinyere is a weight-loss expert and ex-fat man. He is also the creator of the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan and the main contributor at Dr. Kal’s Blog.
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Do Weight Loss Competitions Really Work?41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 13, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 19 comments
More often than not, weight loss competitions are successful. When ever I have participated in a weight loss challenge I have lost weight. This may not apply to everyone though. It takes determination and a desire to compete.
A great thing about weight loss competitions is that every one wins. There may be one overall biggest loser, but every participant usually loses some weight. If you follow the rules of the competition correctly and lose only one pound, then you are a winner in my book. So what makes weight loss competitions so successful? I think it has to do with the team/community and the competitive aspect that is fostered.
Having played sports I am accustomed to exercising with my fellow teammates. It took me years to break the habit of needing to work out alongside someone. After I stopped playing team sports I joined a gym so that I could workout with other people in the room. I have since then gotten used to working out alone, but it was very hard for me to build a consistent routine. It also helped that I got so fat and uncomfortable with my looks, that I did not want to workout in front of other people. I had to make a choice: either workout alone at home or go to a public gym and feel embarrassed. I chose to exercise at home and it has worked.
I am a big fan of having support in everything that you do in life. I wouldn’t have been able to lose the weight I have so far without this weight loss blog. This blog has helped me build a virtual support group. A community of individuals that are helping me along my weight loss journey. That’s why I think competitions are successful. They bring together a group of people with the same goal in mind. What better solution is there then to team up and tackle ones problems?
I was recently contacted by Tristan over at the Angie’s List to give some feedback on how communities can help with weight loss. We spoke for a bit and he added me to their List-en up! podcast. I think it covers a good topic and is worth a listen . Head on over and listen to it. There is also a transcript of the entire podcast for those that don’t/can’t tune into it or for the hearing impaired.
To listen to the podcast visit this page and use one of the options made available. To read the transcript visit this page.
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Exercising Sucks41.2 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 12, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 8 comments
Actually, exercising doesn’t suck. What sucks is when you’ve worked months and months on your dieting and have lost a lot of weight and then you add exercise to your program and start gaining it back.
However, no matter how much it sucks, don’t be discouraged. With the exercise your body has to make modifications because you’re burning more calories than you were before but haven’t eaten more food. The body gets worried that you’re trying to starve it. A couple of modifications that could help would be to add a few more calories to your diet or ignore the weight for a while as your body adjusts.
I’ve recently started an exercise program based on information that Israel here at Fat Man Unleashed provided me. I’m feeling the effects of it. My waist feels a little smaller. I’ve had more energy. My muscles are getting bigger. Every time I exercise it’s easier than the last time. However, I’ve gained weight. Not much, but a couple of pounds.
I’ve been told to ignore the scale for a while and although I have to weigh myself every day because my doctor wants me too, I’m going to start only paying attention to the weight about once a week. The other thing I do is if I’m between meals (I eat 5 a day) and I’m feeling hungry, I grab something very small with a few calories and munch on it. A good example would be a mini dark chocolate. Since dark chocolate is good for you in small doses, I’ll eat one or two of the mini ones which handles my sweet tooth, gives my body a few extra calories so it doesn’t get upset with me, and gives me the health
benefits of chocolate but without the bad stuff from eating too much of it.
There is nothing wrong with adding exercise to your diet program. Both are required for a healthy body. If you gain weight after you start exercising just take it as muscle gain and keep on going.
This article was guest written by Michael White of Saphrym.com.
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