Archive for the ‘Diet’ Category
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Transitioning from bulking to cutting can be complicated. Most often, the transition is done improperly and we end up either losing precious muscle mass during a cut or gaining too much fat during a bulk. I’ve been there and so have you, don’t kid yourself.
When switching from cut to bulk, we might overestimate the rate at which we can gain muscle, which results from a lack of knowledge about the human physiological response to dieting. Some inexperienced bodybuilders might make an immediate switch from a strict diet to free eating, which results in the immediate reversal of any recent diet progress.
Of course strategies will differ dependent on the individual, but the basic concept should remain the same. You will have to accept that your first couple attempts at bulking will result in either very little muscle gain or unnecessary fat gain. It is all a matter of trial and error.
Let’s examine a couple different diet transition strategies.
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Tags: bodybuilding, bulking, cutting, Diet, dieting, eating, fat loss, lean mass, lose fat, lose weight, nutrition, weight loss
Posted in Bodybuilding, Diet, Nutrition Tip | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
Since the late 1990’s Dr. John Berardi has published 8 scientific abstracts; 15 scientific papers and textbook chapters; presented at nearly 50 scientific, exercise, and nutrition related conferences; and published countless articles online.
His first articles at Testosterone Magazine so many years ago, provided me with the basis for everything I know about nutrition today. Over the past couple years I have published Dr. Berardi’s popular nutrition tips with much success. Today I want to give you a link to his extremely interesting review of the Intermittent Fasting diet protocol.
Here is the link to the book: Precision Nutrition’s Intermittent Fasting Review
Basically, Dr. Berardi sets about to lose 20 pounds of fat by following an Intermittent Fasting diet. He tries the following popular IF programs:
- Alternate day fasting (ADF) – 36-hour fast/12-hour feed
- Eat Stop Eat – 24-hour fast, 1 or 2 times per week
- Warrior Diet – 20-hour fast/4-hour feed
- Leangains – 16-hour fast/8-hour feed
- Random meal skipping
As the experiment spans several months, Berardi logs his meals, moods, workouts, and even 23 health markers including blood glucose, cholesterol, tryglicerides, and testosterone level. You can see his final progress pics as well – check out the back shot, his back is simply shredded at the end of the experiment.
Dr. Berardi ultimately decides that a combination of the different programs works best for him. He liked 5 days of Leangains followed by a Warrior Diet weekend, and he liked Eat Stop Eat with a 1-day per week fast but hated the 2-day per week fast.
Trust me. Read the whole ‘book’. You will learn more than you might think.
Posted in Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Nutrition Tip | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
How to Drop Weight If You Are Tired of Restrictive Diets
If you’ve had trouble following your current diet plan, you might do well with a diet that is tracked on a weekly basis.
It’s hard to follow a strict diet plan every day. The demands of most popular diets require users to keep a log of everything they consume and keep constant track of calories – and many times, people fail at their diets because they don’t fee like they’re able to keep up with all the details. Constantly monitoring caloric intake is simply too tedious for most individuals.
Strict Diets Often End in Failure
Here’s an illustration: An article published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2007 shared the results of a study of several diet plans with strict calorie tracking requirements. The study gathered 311 overweight females and randomly placed each of them on either the Atkins Diet, the Zone Diet, the Ornish Diet, or the LEARN Diet.
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Tags: Diet, dieting, eat stop eat, ESE, fast, fasting, fat loss, IF, intermittent fasting, lose fat, lose weight, nutrition, weight loss
Posted in Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Nutrition Tip, Product Reviews | 4 Comments »
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Starting Off Slow With Basic Nutrition Tips
Many trying to maintain a healthy diet struggle to understand how good nutrition works and/or how it should be applied. This confusion is often compounded by conflicting “expert” nutritional advice. However, the simplest approach to good nutrition is remembering that all nutritional substances should be ingested to promote health and prevent disease.
It’s also important to remember that food choices aren’t just about weight, as food choices can greatly reduce or increase the likelihood of a person developing cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. As far as overall health, food plays a major role in energy, memory, mood, and sleep.
Since good nutrition hinges on life-long lifestyle choices, it will never involve starving, cutting out vital food groups, or completely depriving yourself from food that is enjoyable. None of the above is congruent with sustainability, and is the main reason that “fad diets” never result in good nutrition or a maintainable weight. Good nutrition has everything to do with eating smart foods…in a smart way. Try the following nutrition tips to get you on the path to smart eating:
Start Slow and Simple
Don’t abandon unhealthy choices all at once, as this will usually lead to binge eating. Focus on slowly replacing unhealthy food sources with healthier choices. For example, one might gradually replace tater chips with fresh vegetable chips. Try to take existing unhealthy recipes and alter unhealthy ingredients one at a time. For example, a recipe that calls for butter or vegetable oil might be amended to utilize olive oil. Even a simple sandwich can be altered to be more nutritious by changing white bread to whole grain, ham to turkey breast, and mayo to mustard. Eventually, you will be able to make every food choice nutritionally sound.
Don’t Mindlessly Eat
Stop and think about the food – Am I eating this to sustain me or soothe me? Food is too often used as an emotional crutch or mindless action. It can be helpful to disassociate food with cars, television, and computers. It’s easy to just gulp something down when your mind is on driving vs. actually eating. It’s also easy to mindlessly eat when distracted by a television and computer. Whenever possible eat at a table and take the time to properly chew and savor food. Keep in mind that it takes 20 minutes for the brain to realize that the stomach is full; so, eat slow and stop eating before actually feeling full. Plan meals out to include several small meals throughout the day, which will help keep energy and metabolism up for weight loss.
Think of Fitness as an Essential Food Group
Fitness training is just as essential as any of the food groups and dieting tips. Optimal health can’t be achieved through exercise without healthy eating or healthy eating without exercise. A simple routine strength training program should be included in all exercise regimens. It’s important to start the training with the proper resistance size. A good guide is a size that fatigues you after about 12 repetitions. If you aren’t able to use correct form, that too is a sign that the weight is too heavy. Start out with a twice a week fitness plan with 4 to 5 sets of 12 reps with or without fitness equipment. Many professional trainers recommend aiming for muscular failure, where the muscle can’t possibly do anymore, after the first month of strength training.
Tags: beginners, Diet, fitness, health, healthy, healthy diet, newbie, noob, nutrition, tips
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition Tip | 8 Comments »
Friday, September 16th, 2011
If you drink milk, and you’re not a hard-gainer trying to pack on muscle mass, your milk should be low fat – skim or 1%. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said recently that nearly 73% of kids and teenagers consume milk, which is good, but then only around 20% of them tend to consume the low-fat variety. In fact, about 45% of them choose reduced-fat milk (2 percent), while 32% claim to regularly consume whole-fat milk.
I’ve been complaining about this for years, and I’m glad someone is finally echoing my sentiments. For babies and toddlers I can see using whole or 2% milk, because they need a ton of good nutrition to grow up strong. However, I have always believed that kids in pre-k, k, and elementary school should switch to 1% or skim milk. There really is no need to add extra milk fat into a child’s diet, not when American kids are clearly, on average, the most obese children in the world.
Researchers and experts collectively agree that the low consumption of low-fat milk implies that most kids and teenagers don’t live by the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics, who state that kids ages 2 and older should drink low-fat milk. Recent efforts by both First Lady Michelle Obama, and the Surgeon General promote the consumption of low-fat milk and water over sweetened beverages. Adhering to these suggestions will help you and your child avoid dangerous conditions such as obesity and diabetes.
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Tags: children, dairy, Diet, food, Kids, Medical, milk, nutrition, obesity
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Kids, Research | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
A lot has been made about the importance of protein in building muscle, but more could be said about the importance of fruits and vegetables in this regard. The fact of the matter is that fruits and vegetables contain a lot of important vitamins and minerals that facilitate muscle growth.
Vitamin C
One of these vitamins important to muscle growth which is often times overlooked is Vitamin C. Vitamin C is found in fresh fruits and vegetables such as oranges, pineapples, grapefruit, cabbage, broccoli, okra and spinach to name a few.
Vitamin C speeds up recovery of your muscles after an intense workout, and prevents injuries and inflammations that might keep one away from the gym.
During weightlifting your body is placed under a tremendous amount of stress, but Vitamin C present in fruits and vegetables help to boost your immune system to fight against possible infections and muscle damage.
Another great benefit from Vitamin C is the reduction of cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone produced when the body undergoes extreme stress like weightlifting, and is responsible for the breakdown of muscle tissue. Therefore, the less cortisol your body produces the better.
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Tags: bodybuilding, Diet, fitness, food, health, muscle, nutrition, vegetables
Posted in Diet, Nutrition Tip | 5 Comments »
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Attention Hard Gainers and Dudes Who Want to Gain 10 lbs of Solid Muscle!
You use protein shakes. You eat lots of food. You workout like a maniac. Yet you still weigh 50 pounds less than your goal weight. Sick of skinny wrists and stick figure calves? Stop making the mistakes that compromise your weight gain strategies.
There are several components that go into a proper weight gain cycle. Nutrition is most important, exercise is next, and lifestyle can make or break you. Today we will cover some nutrition mistakes you might be making. Fix them today so you can gain muscle tomorrow!
Here are the first 5 points in my list of 10 mistakes you could be making to sabotage your weight gain.
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Tags: bodybuilding, exercise, fitness, gain mass, gain muscle, mistakes, muscle, muscle building, muscles, strength, tips
Posted in Bodybuilding, Diet, Fitness Tips, Nutrition Tip | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
A couple days ago I posted the first 5 reasons you are not losing weight. Here are 5 more reasons you are not losing weight. Check out the first article if you missed it: 10 Reasons You Are Not Losing Weight Part 1
Peep these second 5 five items in my list of 10 possible ways you could be sabotaging your diet.
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Tags: build muscle, Diet, dieting, fat loss, food, gain muscle, lose fat, lose weight, meal planning, meals, muscle gain, nutrition, sabotage, weight loss
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition Tip | 3 Comments »
Monday, August 8th, 2011
A Simple Diet Reminder
Everyone likes a good diet post once in a while. Something to remind us about those small dietary habits that ultimately sabotage our efforts to look good naked. This is one of those posts.
You want to drop a couple dozen stubborn pounds of fat. You know what to do and how to do it. You figure in about 2 months you can complete your transformation by eating healthy foods but fewer calories, and adding an extra hour of exercise each week. On paper and in your brain it all makes sense. But how’s that working for you?
Typical Diet Progress
Let me guess. After two months of eating fruits and veggies, and hitting the treadmill with fierce dedication, you step on the scale and find that you’ve lost a whopping… 2 pounds. What could possibly have happened? Would could have gone wrong?
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Tags: Diet, dieting, fat loss, food, lose fat, lose weight, meal planning, meals, nutrition, sabotage, weight loss
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition Tip | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Foods that claim to be gluten-free are not always gluten-free. Many of those foods actually have enough gluten to cause gastrointestinal distress in those who are intolerant to wheat protein, also known as celiac disease. Gluten is actually defined as the protein contained in wheat, barley, rye, and other similar grains.
How can food manufacturers get away with this? It’s actually not entirely their fault, as there has never been an established US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation to define just how much gluten can be in gluten-free foods.
What is the Standard for Gluten-Free?
As of this writing, manufacturers can decide how much gluten they put in their gluten-free foods. However, the FDA is now planning to push through a standard for gluten-free food, that manufacturers will be required to meet before they can put gluten-free labels on their packaging.
The Feds are proposing that gluten-free food – usually wheat products like cookies, cakes, and breads – should contain no more than 20 parts per million of gluten. At those levels lab tests are unable to detect the presence of gluten, thus meeting the label claim of “gluten-free”.
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Tags: barley, celiac, Diet, disease, food, gluten, gluten-free, intestines, Medical, nutrition, Research, rye, wheat, wheat protein
Posted in Diet, Medical, News of the Day, Research | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
History of amino acid supplements
The evolution of amino acid supplements have generally been well pronounced since the ancient times. From as early as 1960’s, ancient body builders are known to eat a diet rich in essential amino acids. Wine and meat were the most essential foods used for natural nutrients such as proteins and vitamins.
Nowadays, amino acid supplements are generally used by bodybuilders and other athletes for building muscle, losing fat, and enhancing performance. There are a lot of amino acid supplements that one can choose from, if you are interested in building your muscles, but it’s always advisable to go for the best. In my opinion, based on 17 years of weight training and supplement use, XTEND is the most effective, best tasting, and least expensive amino acid supplement on the market.
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Tags: amino acids, build muscle, gain muscle, muscle building, muscle gains, nutrition, protein, supplement, Supplements, xtend
Posted in Diet, Product Reviews, Supplements | 15 Comments »
Thursday, July 14th, 2011
Why You Can’t Stay Lean When You Get Off Your Structured Diet
We have all heard of The Atkins diet, The Warrior Diet, The Paleo Diet and every other nutritional plan that promises to burn fat, build muscle, and allow you to achieve your physique related goals with minimal effort.
They make big promises, sound good in practice, but fail to deliver. Even if you do reach your goal, after you discontinue the diet, the fat piles right back on and you are back where you started.
What a waste of time.
Why does this happen?
It’s really simple. The proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” comes to mind…
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Tags: atkins, Diet, dieting, fat loss, food, lose fat, lose weight, meal planning, meals, tips, weight loss
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
5 Ways to Improve Your Chances of Sticking to a Strict Diet
Your research is complete. You have a blank food log ready to go. You know exactly how many carbs, proteins, fats, and calories to eat each day. You even have an alarm set to go off every 3 hours to remind you to eat a snack or drink a protein shake. You’ve got anywhere from 10-20 weeks to reach your target body fat, but you know full well that cheating can be disastrous.
You know from experience that after 2 weeks your body is going to demand that you feed it some of your favorite tasty treats. But this time is going to be different. This time you are going to stick it out. So how are you going to stick to your diet for the required time? How are you going to hit your goals?
It is far from impossible. In fact thousands of bodybuilders do it every day, and you can too.
Here are 5 strategies to help you stay disciplined on a strict diet.
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Tags: bodybuilding, cheat meals, Diet, dieting, eating, fat loss, food, lose fat, lose weight, meal planning, meals, nutrition, tips, weight loss
Posted in Bodybuilding, Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Nutrition Tip | 6 Comments »
Monday, April 11th, 2011
Eating 5 or more meals a day is great for weight gain, but not so good for weight loss, and is not optimal for good health.
We already know that increased meal frequency does not increase the metabolism or decrease appetite. In fact eating more than 3 meals each day can often lead to increased calorie consumption over time, because people eventually get bored and tend to begin to ignore their meal portions, which results in overeating.
Conversely, we know that fasting tends to decrease your appetite once you get past that first 6 hour fasting window. We also know that intermittent fasting lowers insulin resistance and blood pressure, and promote lightening-fast weight loss. Knowing those facts, here are a couple more great reasons to switch to an Intermittent Fasting lifestyle, for good health and efficient fat loss.
First, The Study Results
To keep you interested, we’ll talk about the research results first, then we’ll look at the studies.
New studies on periodic fasting by the American College of Cardiology have determined:
- periodic intermittent fasting seems to reduce the risk of falling victim to type 2 diabetes by 50%
- intermittent fasting also decreases your risk of developing heart disease
- HDL cholesterol increases during an intermittent fast
- triglycerides decrease during an intermittent fast
- human growth hormone (HGH) levels increase during a fast, leading to weight loss and muscle gain
- HGH increases by a factor of 20 in men and a factor of 13 in women, on average
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Tags: cholesterol, diabetes, fasting, intermittent fasting, Medical, Research
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Intermittent Fasting, Medical, Research | 6 Comments »
Friday, April 8th, 2011
The HCG Diet Review
Why is everyone so excited about the HCG diet?
- The HCG Diet works!
- One of the safest and fastest weight loss solutions on the market.
- Weight lost, stays off.
- Oral supplements like HCG drops are just as effective as injections.
- Save money at the grocery store with a very low-calorie diet plan.
The HCG diet is the world’s leading weight loss diet because it’s effective, safe, and easy. There’s no better way to shed unwanted and unhealthy pounds. Simply use a proven HCG diet supplement along with the recommended diet guidelines and your body fat will simply melt off your body. The HCG drops make it super easy to tolerate a very low-calorie diet. A moderate exercise routine is recommended.
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Tags: Diet, dieting, fat loss, hcg, HCG diet, lose fat, lose weight, Supplements, weight loss
Posted in Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Supplements | 6 Comments »
Monday, March 21st, 2011
Today we’re going to depart a little bit from perfect health and spot-on nutrition. I’d like to take a minute to discuss beer.
Beer is good. It is a man’s drink. Arnold reportedly devoured several pints of beer and whole chickens after grueling squat workouts. I’m not saying that’s how he won any of his trophies or awards, because it’s not. I can almost guarantee you Arnold didn’t touch alcohol during his contest prep.
However if you are not competing or scheduled to compete, then I have to ask you: What is the harm in having a beer or two with dinner a couple times a week?
Everything in moderation. Here are my favorite low carb, low calorie, “diet” beers.
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Tags: alcohol, beer, Diet, food, health, low-cal, low-carb, nutrition
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Chocolate Shakeology Recipes
Need high quality protein powder?
Need meal replacement shakes?
Check out Chocolate flavored Shakeology – it is more than just an average protein shake!
- Made primarily from whole-food ingredients, Chocolate Shakeology is designed to optimize your intake of vital daily nutrients, which helps your body to more efficiently burn stored fat, and decreases your appetite.
- More than 20 different antioxidants and phytonutrients help to reduce the damage cause by free radicals. Damage that can lead to heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.
- Probiotics, prebiotics, and fiber contribute valuable digestive enzymes that help your body to efficiently eliminate toxins and improve the absorption of important nutrients.
- Based on my own experience, you can mix Chocolate Shakeology with cold water for an awesome chocolate protein shake. It’s WAY better than chocolate whey protein mixed with water, which is nearly unbearable.
Click here to order or learn more about Chocolate Shakeology or switch to Greenberry Shakeology recipes.
If you are looking for a pure whey protein powder, check out Optimum Nutrition. Optimum Nutrition protein powder comes in about 20 different flavors, and is available in 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, and 10 lb containers.
Click here to order or learn more about Optimum Nutrition.
If you decide to go with Optimum Nutrition protein powder and need some alternative recipes, read about the other 107 protein shake recipes. But for now, let’s take a look at some Chocolate Shakeology recipes.
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Tags: chocolate, P90X, protein, protein recipe, protein shake, protein shake recipe, protein shakes, Shakeology
Posted in Diet, Recipes, Supplements | 4 Comments »
Sunday, February 27th, 2011
Greenberry Shakeology Recipes
Need protein powder?
Check out Greenberry Shakeology – it’s not just your average protein shake!
- Whole-food ingredients maximize your intake of daily minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients you need to curb cravings, which allows you to burn stored fat more efficiently.
- Over 20 different phytonutrients and antioxidants help reduce free radical damage that can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks, and stroke.
- Digestive enzymes, prebiotics, and fiber help your body eliminate toxins more efficiently and promote better absorption of nutrients.
Click here to order or learn more about Greenberry Shakeology.
If you are looking for a pure protein powder, check out Optimum Nutrition. Optimum Nutrition protein powder comes in about 20 different flavors, and is available in 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, and 10 lb containers.
Click here to order or learn more about Optimum Nutrition whey protein.
If you decide to go with Optimum Nutrition protein powder or if you decide to try Shakeology you might want some additional recipes. In that case, check out the other 107 protein shake recipes. But for now, let’s take a look at some Greenberry recipes.
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Tags: Greenberry, P90X, protein, protein recipe, protein shake, protein shake recipe, protein shakes, Shakeology
Posted in Diet, Recipes, Supplements | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 25th, 2011
If you have been told you have high blood pressure, with the top number (systolic) of 140 or above, or the bottom number (diastolic) of 90 or above, you might be worried, and for good reason. High blood pressure means you have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke.
Your doctor may have talked to you about taking medication to bring your numbers down. I’m here to tell you that might not necessarily be the best solution. If your numbers are low enough, you might be able to control your blood pressure by adjusting your lifestyle. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you may avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication.
That being said, do not stop taking, or make any adjustments to your medication unless you talk to your doctor first. In fact, you should probably talk to your doctor before making drastic changes to your diet.
Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down:
- Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a healthy diet
- Reduce sodium in your diet
- Limit the amount of alcohol you drink
- Avoid tobacco products and secondhand smoke
- Cut back on caffeine
- Reduce your stress
- Monitor your blood pressure at home and make regular doctor’s appointments
- Get support from family and friends
You are what you eat-or so they say. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can be particularly important when it comes to controlling your blood pressure. What you choose to eat-and just as importantly, what you choose not to eat-may allow you to keep your blood pressure within safe limits.
Today you will learn about a proven diet for blood pressure control: The DASH diet.
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Tags: blood pressure, health, healthy diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Medical
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle | 9 Comments »
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
Intermittent Fasting Part 3 – Training to Burn Fat
And so, faithful readers, we have arrived at the final installment of our intermittent fasting series. In part 1 I gave you a brief overview as to what intermittent fasting is and what some of the benefits are. In part 2, I laid out the guiding blueprint to help you create your own nutrition plan, but today we’re gonna talk about how to create the sexy via resistance training.
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| Here are the results of Roger’s recent bout with Intermittent Fasting – Nice work Rog! |
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Tags: Diet, dieting, eating, fast, fasting, fat loss, food, intermittent fasting, leangains, lose fat, lose weight, nutrition, training, weight loss
Posted in Diet, Intermittent Fasting | 7 Comments »
