Jim Cipriani's Total Body Transformation Program

Session Five:

Super Charge your Nutrition Plan

FACT: Nothing burns fat better than healthy muscles.

A healthy human body is made up of over 50% lean muscle…..over 600 muscles! Muscle not only defines the way your body looks, it controls your metabolic rate.

In your quest to realize your fitness goals, it’s common to lose focus on the real things that should matter, such as your health and well-being. Thus, you end up neglecting your insides. Cutting down on your daily calorie intake does not necessarily assure a slimmer waistline and smaller thighs.

When muscles are not properly cared for through consistent, effective exercise or if they are undernourished, your muscles will deteriorate. When that happens, you will gain fat and your health begins to fail.

How do we properly care for our muscles?

The best way to get the most nutrients is out of supportive, nutrient-rich whole food sources; “super foods” and multivitamins. Both sources have a direct impact on the overall health of your body and at the same time will optimize your fat burning ability.

Multivitamins: Here’s a quote from a special report put out in 2006 by the Harvard Medical School’s School of Public Health: “Diet alone cannot provide everything. It’s difficult to get enough of certain nutrients from food.” Fact: In order to obtain the full spectrum of vitamins and mineral, you would have to eat about 5,000 calories a day.

So Do You Really Need a Multivitamin? Absolutely! It’s no longer a question! A multivitamin will fill a lot of holes that if left empty will hinder your body’s ability to burn fat efficiently. Multivitamins compensate for important nutrients the average American diet often lacks This is particularly important when attempting to lose body fat. Multivitamins promote fat loss without losing muscle by supplying the calorie-free nutrients necessary to increase or maintain lean muscle tissue.

In a perfect world, we would eat perfectly balanced meals that contain just the right amount of each vitamin that we need for optimal health and well being without adding calories that lead to weight gain. Multivitamins serve as buffers in the event that your diet does not meet your daily requirements. At the very least, a multivitamin and mineral formula is insurance against unavoidable dietary shortcomings no matter how you eat.

Micronutrients – the Vitamins and Minerals You Need

Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals and water, whereas the macronutrients are the proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Vitamins are simply catalysts that allow metabolic processes to take place. Vitamins act on the macronutrients you take in – the proteins, carbs and fats in your diet. So if you’re not taking in a balanced diet of proteins, carbs and fats, the vitamins can’t do their job.

What are antioxidants?

Antioxidants are cell protectors. They protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals; the devils that roam around your blood stream, causing damage to cell walls. Free radicals also accelerate the aging process. Also, over a long time period, such damage can become irreversible and lead to diseases like cancer. Antioxidants interact with and stabilize free radicals and may prevent some of the damage free radicals otherwise might cause.

Why is this important to you? Resistance Training increases oxygen intake from 10 to 20 times over the resting state. This greatly increases the generation of free radicals. Antioxidants play the housekeeper's role, "mopping up" free radicals before they get a chance to do harm in your body.

Week 5 Bonus #1: Time to Change Your Resistance Training Routine

Super Foods

Mother Nature’s perfect foods are the best sources of antioxidants and major contributors of fiber; fight disease and feel satisfied on fewer calories. Even if you were to choose supplements over whole foods, you just cannot make up for the thousands of phytochemicals found in fresh produce. If you concentrate on eating foods that have a lot of nutrients and phytochemicals, you're setting yourself up for a leaner body and healthier life. Here's her list of 10 "super foods" to stock up on:

1. FRUITS - Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are very high in antioxidants. Blueberries release phytochemicals that speed up the communication between brain cells and help them make dopamine, a key chemical linked to reward and pleasure. Apples are also high in antioxidants and plant nutrients, reducing the risk of some cancers, diabetes, asthma and heart disease.

2. NUTS - Almonds and walnuts contain powerful anti-inflammatory properties. High in fiber, protein and antioxidants, nuts may reduce the risk of diabetes and may prevent certain cancers. Also, the healthy fats in nuts prevent the accumulation of bad fats in the artery walls. Walnuts and flaxseeds (seeds that have a nutty flavor) contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the heart and brain.

3. TOMATOES - The antioxidant lycopene in tomato-rich foods may help prevent prostate cancer, and might also help prevent breast cancer.

4. FISH. Like walnuts, certain fish - salmon, mackerel and bluefish - contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. The brain needs these substances to maintain many complex functions. The body requires these specific fatty acids to take care of the heart and protect against stroke.

FYI: Benefits of Omega-3 - Helps your body store less fat. In addition, the fat you do store is more readily and easily converted into energy and burned during activity. Increases Size of your cells' fuel-burning furnaces so your metabolic rate rises and you burn more calories every minute of every day. Omega-3’s also help your body produce testosterone, the hormone responsible for building new muscle = promotes muscle recovery.

5. WHOLE GRAINS - There are many whole grains available - couscous, quinoa, bulgur wheat and wheat berries - that provide healthy stores of vitamin B and tons of fiber. (AVOID PROCESSED – enriched –means manufacturers remove the fiber and minerals – just kept the “starch” of the grain, acts similar to sugar when digested – NOT good for fat loss).

FYI: Benefits of Fiber

Keeps you regular - prevents constipation by moving bodily waste through the digestive tract faster, so harmful substances don't have as much contact with the intestinal walls

Traps carbohydrates to slow their digestion and absorption. Stabilizes blood sugar – keeps insulin levels stable – eliminates cravings and prevents body from going into fat storage mode

Lowers Cholesterol – reducing risk of heart disease - fiber binds to dietary cholesterol, helping the body to eliminate it. This reduces blood cholesterol levels, which, in turn, reduces cholesterol deposits on arterial walls that

Reduce risk of obesity - fiber-rich foods are more filling than other foods--so people tend to eat less. Because insoluble fiber is indigestible and passes through the body virtually intact, it provides few calories.

The typical American eats only about 11 grams of fiber a day, you need 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day.

6. VEGETABLES - Broccoli is high on every food expert's list. Along with other cruciferous vegetables, such as kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage, broccoli contains cancer-fighting compounds called indoles and glycosinolates. Dark, leafy green vegetables have a pigment called carotenoids that enhance the body's immune response. The pigment protects skin cells against dangerous ultraviolet rays. These foods are rich in vitamin A and antioxidants. Their anti-inflammatory powers also help block pain.

7. OLIVE OIL - Extra-virgin olive oil is a wonderful source of good fat (monounsaturated) and powerful plant nutrients. The oil has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and decreases bad forms of cholesterol while boosting good cholesterol.

8. BEANS AND LENTILS - High in protein and fiber, beans and lentils contain potent levels of antioxidants. The nutrients in these foods help burn body fat and stabilize blood sugar.

9. YOGURT - Yogurt is a rich source of protein, vitamin A, calcium and PROBIOTICS good bacteria that keeps gastrointestinal tract in BALANCE. Since 80% of your body’s immune system is located in your intestinal tract, probiotics can be part of your first line of defense against adverse effects of stress, illness and aging Calcium forces fat out of cells and into the bloodstream, where it's more quickly oxidized, or burned off. If your body doesn't get enough calcium, fat cells retain the fat and can grow steadily. This is especially important for women. Why? Many women don't get enough: Only 14 percent of women ages 20 to 50 get the minimum Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of 1,000 mg of calcium, and only 4 percent of women over 50 meet the 1,200-mg goal.

10. GREEN TEA - This beverage is touted for its anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects, and its benefits keep expanding. It's good for the heart and immune system, improves blood flow, is high in antioxidants that fight inflammation, has mood-elevating properties and prevents the absorption of fat. Drink 2 to 3 servings a day.

Week 5 Bonus #2: 50 Ways to Enjoy Your Fruits and Vegetables

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