BetterU News Issue #4
Home -> BetterU News Archive -> Issue #4 - April 11th, 2002

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Issue #4                BetterU News             April 11, 2002
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The Atkins Diet - Separating Fact From Fiction

Have you ever wished for a diet where you ate bacon, eggs, red meat, butter and sausage all day? Surprise! It's not the Atkins Diet.

The Atkins Diet has been in existence for over 30 years and has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the last few years.

Pioneered by Dr. Robert Atkins, the theory behind the Atkins Diet is simple. Your body prefers to utilize carbohydrates (such as in grains, cereals, breads, etc.) for energy and will burn them first prior to body fat. By cutting down dramatically on carbohydrates in your diet, you force your body to burn fat for energy.

Reducing the carbohydrates in your diet puts your body into a state called "ketosis." This word is derived from the "ketones" that are used by your body for energy when sugars/carbs aren't available. When you are in this state of ketosis, your body is producing ketones from your fat that is being burned for energy. Ketones are essentially the leftovers from this process and are used in place of sugar in the body.

One of the major misconceptions about the Atkins Diet that has been widely reported is that you can or should eat extremely unhealthy, fatty foods all the time. This is not actually true. Dr. Atkins recommends that you limit your intake of these types of foods (e.g. butter, sausage, bacon, etc.) and instead focus on healthy fats such as olive oil, fish oil, nuts, etc.

The Atkins Diet has many positives and negatives that have been associated with it. Some of the positives include:

Some of the negatives that have been associated with the Atkins Diet include:

The Atkins Diet may not be for you but by incorporating some of the principles in it, such as lowering your carbohydrate intake and eating more natural-state foods, you may find that you can achieve great results without ever having to restrict yourself. It may take a little longer but the results will be more permanent as it is more of a lifestyle change than a diet.

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Secret Training Tip #242
Be 10% Stronger in Leg Curls Instantly! You Won't Find This Information Anywhere Else!

This is a trick to be done on a leg curl machine. By simply changing where you grip your hands on the machine, you can increase your strength in the movement by as much as 10% instantly!

Lie face down on the bench as you normally would when doing the exercise. Instead of gripping the machine on the handles below the bench with your arms bent, extend your arms straight overhead in front and grab on to whatever is there. This is generally the frame on either side of the weight stack. Be aware that this trick will not work if there is nothing there to grab - some machines just end at the bench and have the weights stack to the side or behind.

Do your leg curls as you usually would but using this different grip. You should feel stronger when doing them.

One of the best ways to see this principle in action is to do a set as you normally would with your normal grip for about 10 to 12 reps. When you can't do any more reps, switch to the grip as explained above. You should be able to get a few more reps out.

When using this grip you should also find that you can use a little more weight than you usually do for reps.

The reason this trick works is that having your arms straight removes your biceps as the limiting link in the exercise. It transfers the force through your stronger back muscles instead, resulting in instant increased strength!

For information on how to do the leg curl exercise, go to

http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Leg_curls.htm

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Did You Know?

If you eat something before you exercise in order to get energy, your body will burn that for energy rather than bodyfat.

When training to lose fat, always eat your last meal at least 2 to 3 hours or more before training to ensure the food has been digested.

This tip will save you a great deal of wasted time and energy. It is one of the most prevalent things people do wrong when trying to exercise to lose fat.

Many people eat because they don't feel like they have enough energy to get through their workout otherwise, never realizing where this energy is coming from: the food they just ate!

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