 Fat loss isn't rocket science. I know we love to make our problems seem much bigger than they really are, but when you really look at them they're typically easy to solve. And that's often the case with fat loss.
To prove it to you here are five super simple fat loss tips you can easily follow:
1) Stop guzzling liquid sugar. Yes, I mean soft drinks and juices and bottles of iced tea loaded with high fructose corn syrup. For the most part, a 12 oz can of cola is 150 calories of pure sugar. Have a couple of those a day...
2) I've written it a gazillion times and I will continue to - eat breakfast! If you want to make fat loss easy then make sure you start your metabolism off on the right foot.
3) Eat more fruit. Aim for at least 5 servings a day.
4) Eat more veggies. Again, aim for at least 5 servings a day.
5) Stop eating so many processed foods. If it comes in a box from your grocery store it's most likely processed. The fresher the foods the better.
* Bonus tip*
You can make tips 3 and 4 a breeze by using a whole foods based multi. Personally, I love Prograde Nutrition's VGF 25+ for men OR VGF 25+ for Women because it is made from 25 WHOLE veggies, greens and fruits.
Yours in health,
Murray
PS - You know I take my nutrition seriously. And it's why for cost and quality I ONLY recommend Prograde Nutrition's Whole Foods based multi. They have both a men's and women's formula.
Online Personal Training
 Anthony Janicas - Strength and Conditioning Coach
Hons. B. Kin, McMaster University, CSCS, PTS
Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Anthony has been a Strength & Conditioning Coach and an elite level athlete for a number of years. He completed his undergraduate degree at McMaster's prestigious Kinesiology program.
During this time, he excelled while playing for the McMaster Marauders Baseball Team while also working as an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Marauders Football Team. In his final year as an undergraduate, he served as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Marauders Wrestling Team.
During 2008, Anthony worked at a Sport Conditioning Facility in Barrie, Ontario, where he worked as a Strength & Conditioning Coach for various soccer and hockey teams, most prominently the Barrie Colts (OHL), in addition to various elite athletes in figure skating, track and field, golf, soccer and football. His passion for Strength & Conditioning, tremendous knowledge and experience, and meticulous program design are an invaluable asset to any team (or athletes) looking to separate themselves from their competition and take their game to the next level.
SPORTS PLAYED: baseball, hockey, wrestling, badminton, soccer
SPORTS COACHED: hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball, wrestling, track & field, figure skating, football, lacrosse
 I have always loved playing sports and I have always been a competitor. As a football, basketball, volleyball player, I know how crucial vertical jumping ability is. I felt like I had hit a plateau in my workouts and training routines and I just could not get my vertical jump any higher.
I tried workouts from magazines, dozens of websites, jumping shoes and weights and even asked trainers in my gym. In about a year, I could only get about 1 inch added to my vertical.
Then I found a program that was remarkably different from the ones I had tried or read about before. Ori’s vertical jumping program combines unique exercises and workouts that were continually challenging me and helping me improve. I added 8 inches to my vertical in about half the time it took me to add one inch using other workouts. Not only did my vertical increase, but also, my abilities in basketball, volleyball and football dramatically improved.
Ori helped me reach the next level towards becoming a superior athlete. I always thought that my height and size would limit me in sports that are dominated by giants. I can honestly say that adding height to my vertical has helped level the playing field. I am confident and in great shape and I had so much fun doing it!
I would recommend Ori and his program to anyone who wants to see improvement in their vertical, strength, agility, flexibility, speed, and overall confidence.
Colin Oczkowski
 Be Good to Your Heart
Yoga is an important component of the Dr. Dean Ornish Program, internationally noted for successfully treating heart disease by showing patients how to make critical lifestyle changes through exercise, low-fat vegetarian diet, stress management and emotional support.
“Yoga is a huge tool in the fight to prevent, stop or reverse the heart disease patterns we are seeing,” says Vicki Lindberg, yoga instructor and coordinator with the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease at Alegant Health, Bergan Mercy Medical Center in Omaha. The Ornish program uses Hatha yoga, which involves specialized breathing and a series of poses — in combination with complementary techniques — meditation and visualization, for example — to help lower pulse rate, cholesterol level and blood pressure, improve respiration, endocrine function and circulation, normalize weight, enhance flexibility, and impart deep relaxation. Yoga, like resistance training, increases muscularity, but without making excessive demands on the body.
“We use gentle yoga during the first half of the program and gradually bring in more challenging poses, but never anything the participants can’t easily breathe through,” says Lindberg, a registered nurse who also uses yoga for pulmonary patients.
She suggests one hour of yoga a day to achieve best curative and preventive results. “Sixty minutes of gentle yoga and the body feels as if it’s just had three or four hours of rest,” she says. Research suggests yoga elevates serotonin levels, leading to a greater sense of serenity and well being, which is critical to controlling dangerous stress levels. “Heart disease is progressive,” says Lindberg. “Despite all the treatments we have, all the modern technology, why is heart disease still the number one killer of Americans? Because they’re not making the lifestyle changes they need to once they’ve had the procedures. One of the changes is controlling the stress in their lives…once they’re in the program they learn to identify stress and how to handle it.”
Even when adapted to accommodate the special needs of heart patients, yoga appears to directly affect internal organs and their efficient operation. Specific poses effectively reroute blood to the heart, while traditional yogic breathing exercises have a calming effect on the agitated heart muscle.
Take A Deep Breath:
“I stress the importance of learning different breathing techniques — the three-part breath and alternate nostril breathing — so important for the mind, body, breath connection,” says Lindberg. Alternate nostril breathing is an excellent daily exercise for lowering blood pressure, relieving insomnia and alleviating anxiety: Choose a quiet spot, sit erect and breathe deeply through your nose.Using your right thumb, press on your right nostril; exhale through your left nostril. Then inhale slowly, breathing deep into your stomach and chest.Don’t strain. Breathe gently and smoothly. Repeat using the other nostril.Try to make exhalation twice as long as inhalation i.e., breathe in for five, breathe out for tenFinish by deep breathing through both nostrils.Do two rounds, once or twice a day. Increase gradually over period of weeks.<
“The cardiac patients who take advantage of the yoga class offered through regular rehab feel it’s been a lifesaver,” Lindberg reports.
You can find three yoga classes per week at Phoenix Fitness Hamilton for only $21 bi-weekly
 At Phoenix Fitness Hamilton we know that there is no shortage of fitness options for you to choose from. That's why the winds of change are constantly blowing through Phoenix. We want to continue to provide you, our fitness member with a modern, up to date and high energy fitness environment.
You may have noticed the new paint job, you may have noticed the added cardio equipment, you may have noticed some of the new space created for more functional training and you may have even noticed the added fitness classes.
But, there are more changes coming. Keep a look out for some more improvements in the very near future.
 Check out the video below of Phoenix Fitness Hamilton personal trainer Simon Marini in his spare time away from the club
When it comes to choosing a fitness club, some people pick the one that is least expensive or closest to where they live or work(both very important). But to get the most for your money and workout, there are many other considerations to make before signing on the dotted line and joining a fitness club.
If you're a woman and feel uncomfortable working out with men, you might consider an all-female facility or at the very least a fitness club with a women's fitness area. Added benefits of all-female health clubs include flexible hours, child care facilities and equipment designed especially for women.
If you simply want to join a fitness class, lift some weights, stair step or use stationary bikes, don't join a fitness club that also offers tennis courts, basketball courts, racquetball courts and a swimming pool. It will be a waste of your money if you don't plan to take advantage of these other services.
Decide where you would feel more comfortable--in a large fitness class where you can easily blend into the crowd, or in a small one where you can get feedback and helpful advice. Also, decide what type of instructor you prefer--upbeat, instructional and nurturing, or the drill sergeant type.
Once you've narrowed down your options, consider fitness club hours and their proximity to your home and office. Check with your local consumer affairs office or Better Business Bureau to see whether any complaints have been made against the clubs. If there are more than 10 for any club, be wary.
Next, take a tour of the potential fitness clubs. If you know when you'll be working out, ask for a tour at that time so you can see if it's crowded. Look around carefully and talk to members. Are they satisfied? Is the equipment clean and in good working order? Is there adequate air conditioning? Are the locker rooms and shower areas clean and secure? Are the rooms well-lit? Also, check to see if instructors are certified by a nationally recognized fitness organization such as the American Council on Exercise(ACE), CanFit Pro or Canadian Personal Trainers Network (CPTN).
Instructors should be punctual and prepared. Fitness Classes should have a definite format such as a 10-minute warm-up, at least a 20-minute cardiovascular workout with abdominal work, and a 10-minute cool-down. Everyone should have adequate floor space. Students should be periodically asked to check their heart rate and evaluate their level of exertion. Take note whether the instructor makes him or herself available after class to answer questions.
All personal trainers and other personn should be trained in CPR, and at least one person on a shift should be certified in first aid. The club should offer baseline fitness testing to aid in creating an exercise program right for you. All members should be offered an orientation that teaches them how to work out safely. You should also be required to complete a health history form that includes past injuries and present medical status.
Find out if the fitness club belongs to a member organization such as the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), which has more than 1,300 members around the country. Member clubs must abide by a code of conduct and membership pledge. For example, they cannot sell pre-paid lifetime memberships or use deceptive, high-pressure sales tactics.
Be wary of gimmicks and low price offers--signs the club is in desperate need of fast cash. Avoid the hard sell such as a one-day only discount. Insist on a one- or two-week trial membership before committing, or one-week grace period during which you can change your mind.
Examine any agreement carefully before signing. If the fitness club is part of a chain, find out if you're entitled to use other branches. Make sure all agreements are in writing. Sign up for one year only, not several. Even better, ask if the club has a month to month option.Many clubs go out of business, so a short-term contract is safer. If possible, have the club bill you monthly.
Finding the right fitness club isn't hard, it just takes a little time and soul-searching to determine what's right for you. Once you know what you want, it's only a matter of time before you find the club that fits.
Eating for fat loss is easier than you think. Combine your workouts at the fitness club with these fat blasting meal plans and you'll be rock'in.
Lose Your Belly Fat Meal Plans
I've got great news for you. Seriously.
If you've ever wondered EXACTLY what you should eat on a day-to-day basis to blast off the belly fat, well, look no further.
My friend Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter has made available to me 12 powerful meal plans designed specifically for optimal fat burning. Even better, he told me he wants me to make sure I get them to YOU.
So I've made them available for immediate safe and secure download (Get Your Meal Plans Here)
They'll help you:
Have great energy all day long
Feel full and satisfied
Fuel your body with powerful and healthy nutrients
Boost your metabolism and burn fat
Best of all, they don't cost you a single cent. They are my gift to you.
Yours in rapid fat loss,
Murray
PS - These fat blasting meal plans are created by a real registered dietitian with over ten years of experience. Please make sure you download them and put them to use immediately. If you want to burn the belly fat off that is ;-)
Download Your Meal Plans Here
 You’re getting older—think of it as shifting gears rather than as a precipitous decline. It’s time to take stock and take steps to ensure a high level of cognitive function over the course of your lifetime. Sustaining a regimen of physical activity should be at the top of your list.
What’s the name of that beautiful spring flower with the gorgeous fragrance? You know the one—it grows on a bushy plant, it’s usually purple or mauve or…? If you answered lilac without missing a beat then chances are you’re under forty. The rest of us are all too familiar with the mild memory glitches that inevitably go along with a brain that’s begun to show its age—that’s why you occasionally forget your neighbor’s name or notice you’re experiencing a little extra trouble when it comes to absorbing and retaining new information. Serious cognitive decline on the other hand—almost four-and-a-half-million Americans, for example, suffer from Alzheimer’s—while associated with longevity is not necessarily an inevitable aspect of growing older. Research suggests that the aging brain may be subject to damage from toxins, dodgy circulation and inflammation but a compelling body of growing scientific evidence suggests that you can exert positive influence over the state of your gray matter by taking affirmative steps that might help you to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia—both of which are expected to quadruple over the next 50 years. The trick is to start taking preventive action at mid-life, in your forties and fifties, while your efforts may still make a difference to cognition in your seventies and eighties and beyond. So if you don’t belong to a fitness club, then do yourself a favor and join one. Physical exercise, particularly the kind that gets your heart pumping, is good for brain function. Daily exercise is of paramount importance and studies suggest that you should build in variety—walk, cycle, row, garden, play golf—to achieve maximum benefit. Research from Sweden points to lung function as being a possible predictor of dementia—bolstering the argument for exercise and for not smoking. And what’s good for the heart apparently is also good for the head. A recent study conducted at Columbia University Medical Center in New York suggests that a traditional Mediterranean-style diet—lots of vegetables, legumes, fruit, fish, and cereal—not only reduces the risk for heart disease but may also decrease the potential for developing dementia. “Yes, the brain is one of the key clients for the body’s blood supply and if it is reduced or interrupted, this is bad news for the brain,” says Dr. Ian Robertson, Dean of Research, Institute of Neuroscience Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. “In addition, the risks of certain types of dementia may be increased by high blood pressure and smoking. A small subset of dementias appears to have a particular genetic linkage.” Protecting the health of your vascular system—keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol in check—may be the kindest thing you can do for your brain. It’s also important to remain mentally active, stimulating the brain with new knowledge, exposures, information and challenges. Meeting different people, traveling to places unknown, attempting to master something new, such as a language, a game, an instrument or a skill increases your brain’s reservoir of activity. And even in your seventies and eighties it may be possible to delay the progress of dementia even after onset according to a recent study conducted in Seattle, which found that 20 minutes of walking on the fitness club treadmill per day produced positive effect.
Practicing Mind Control:
Dr. Robertson makes the following recommendations for helping to prevent dementia based on current research:
Regular physical exercise – aerobic – in middle age predicts an approximately 60 per cent lower risk of Alzheimer’s in old age.
A randomized controlled trial of aerobic exercise in the over-sixty set compared to toning, non-aerobic exercise, showed enhanced cognitive function in the exercise group, including thickening of key brain connecting fibers in the frontal lobes.
A diet rich in antioxidants through fresh fruit and vegetables also predicts a lower rate of dementia later in life. Dark fruits and vegetables (e.g. blackberries, spinach) appear to be particularly beneficial, as does fish. Saturated fats decrease cognitive function.
Mental stimulation and new learning are associated with maintenance of higher levels of cognitive functioning past 60.
Specific training programs aimed, for instance, at memory strategies, problem solving and speed of mental processing also improve cognitive functions.
Remain socially active. In older people, greater levels of social stimulation may be linked to higher levels of cognitive function.
Avoid damaging stress. Severe and prolonged stress causes changes in certain brain areas, particularly the hippocampus, a key memory centre.
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