For most people, getting six pack abs is not an easy task. It requires dedication, but it is possible! Having said that, let’s look below at a general 2-step guide that, if followed religiously for 3 months, will produce results.

Step 1: Nutrition

This is the single most important part of the puzzle, hands down. You can have the most impressive set of abs, but if they’re covered with a layer of fat, you won’t see them! Break up your day with 5 or 6 mini-meals because this jump starts your metabolism. And stop eating the food that is preventing results: white bread, loads of pasta, soda, candy, fast food, hydrogenated oils, sugars and fructose corn syrup.

Instead, replace them with foods that will help you reach your goal: oatmeal, olive oil, whole grain breads, fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, natural peanut butter, chicken, fish, protein and water. Be realistic- you’ll slip here and there, but make a conscious effort to radically improve your eating habits because getting a six pack will be impossible if you don’t.

Step 2: Exercise

You need to concern yourself with 3 different exercises: cardio, weightlifting and ab exercises. And aim to workout at least every other day.

The cardio you do can be anything: walking, running, biking, swimming….whichever cardio you don’t mind doing so that you’ll stick with it. Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week. If nothing else, you can do brisk walking, swinging your arms a little aggressively to get the most out of your exercise time.

Weightlifting is important because 3 pounds of added muscle burns as many calories as a 1 mile jog…and this is while you’re just sitting around! Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week. If you’re confused as to what exercises to do for each body part, check out out the following website. It features professional bodybuilders, but the information is great and can be used by anyone.

The last exercise you need to incorporate into your workout is ab exercises. Aim to work your abs a minimum of 3 times a week. There are a ton of different ab exercises you can do so try to find 3 or so that you enjoy doing so you can mix it up. A good database of different ab exercises is:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/ab-crunch-machine

Here’s a tip: mix up your workout routine every 2 weeks to keep your body guessing and changing. Add or take away different weight or ab exercises, or at the very least, vary the weight, reps or form of cardio you do.

Well, there you have it. Follow the above for 3 months religiously, and while results will vary from person to person, you will experience improvement. And stay the course. The hardest part is getting started, if you can get past the first week you will be on your way to having the habit and enjoying the benefits.

It will take dedication on your part, but imagine the feeling you’ll get when you look in the mirror and like what you see.

To Your Optimum Health,

Austin Hubby

One of the key factors in restoring our bodies to the healthy state that we were given in our birth, is to be aware of the pH level. We really can have a lot to say about how healthy we are and how much energy we have if we pay attention to this matter of our body’s pH level.

A biochemist by the name of Peter Sorensen originated the pH term in 1909, and defined it to be the indicator of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a fluid.

Sorensen found that since dissolved acids are what produces hydrogen ions, you can know that the more hydrogen ions that are present in your fluids, the more acidic you are. The results from testing the pH level is that you discover whether you are acidic, alkaline, or neutral. Unfortunately, in this country, and due to the harmful diets that most Americans favor on a regular basis, 80% of Americans are acidic.

photo credit: greggoconnell

Not by coincidence, the more acidic you are, the more vulnerable you are to chronic diseases and illnesses. People who are alkaline tend to be much healthier. The battle is in being able to maintain an alkaline eating and drinking habit.

So how do you come up with a diet that would provide such an optimum condition as an alkaline pH level? It is not just one simple answer, but a series of considerations. Personally, I began the process by having my colon cleansed at a health clinic, actually I had it performed on me in a three part series over a two month period of time.

Following that, I had a colonoscopy which gave me a clean bill of health and a picture of my colon to boot! After seeing the videos of parasites and worms having infested someone’s colon, I was determined more than ever to not only take care of my own situation in a good way, but share with you the importance of what I now know.

If you have seen the video on this website, then you have seen how someone’s colon got invaded by parasites and worms. Don’t be surprised when I tell you that this is happening in this country to one out of three people on the average to some degree.

Certainly, I am not suggesting that your stomach and colon might look like the one in the video, but I would suggest that in some very small degree and according to studies regarding parasites, that one out of three may be experiencing the early stages of the indwelling of parasites. Since parasites produce eggs and multiply over and over again in a rapid fashion, this could lead to a lot of health problems for you.

To continue with my sharing of my own personal experience, I followed up on the clean report of my colon by changing my diet. The first time I went to the neighborhood grocery store after having studied nutrition for many years, but finally getting very serious about what I eat, I could not find one thing to purchase there!

photo credit: luiginter

I passed by the ice cream, the chocolate milk, the cookies, and the canned soups and vegetables, and the list goes on and on. In other words, I not only changed my diet, but I had to change where I did my shopping!

And there is still debate as to whether the organic fruits and vegetables sold at neighborhood health food stores are worth the higher prices compared to the large franchised food store chains where most people do their grocery shopping.

The most important point is that whether you buy your fruits and vegetables at one store or another, be sure to clean them thoroughly, especially if you like to eat the skin. There is no doubt that leaning toward the cucumbers, the white potatoes, papaya, pineapple, parsley, beets, almonds, pumpkin and pumpkin seeds, asparagus, and avocados will set you well on your way to gaining a balanced pH level and raise you out of the realm of acidity.

Of course, what you drink is just as important to maintaining this newfound level. I recently discovered how detrimental even one cup of coffee was in a day’s time. It was keeping me from a level anything above 6.0, while I was desiring to be around 7.5.

Within a couple of days of stopping the intake of coffee, I was back at 7.5, so don’t be fooled by one particular item keeping you from your success at this endeavor. It is worth everything to you to be more alkaline. As much as I love coffee, I have found a substitute with a product called Pero, which I have consistently found to be in stock at WholeFood Store here in southern California. Not all health food stores carry it, but if you feel that you would like to have it, maybe you can ask them to stock it for you.

I tried the other brands of coffee substitutes and was not satisfied that any of them had any resemblance to the taste of coffee in general, and the other prices were also significantly higher as well.

What you will need to test yourself is hydrion paper strips. The best source I have found for these are available to you at NaturesBrands.com. I have not found any healthfood stores that have carried hydrion paper, I have always had to order it online.

The color comparison chart will come with your order. According to the chart, the color of yellow indicates acidity, while the shades of green represent and indicate a more alkaline level. If you would like more information, click on the green picture of the girl at the top where it says in the heading, “Body Acidity Control”, and it will show you some possible remedies for high acidity using supplements.

My jaw dropped the first time that I checked myself and saw that I was on the bottom of the chart. Since the strips are available for under $10, I would strongly recommend that you invest in a roll of strips and check to see how you measure up and at what level you find yourself. The more alkaline you are, the more healthy you will tend to be.

To Your Optimum Health,

Lee Gantz

The journey one takes when trying to find a way to lose fat can really be a confusing struggle, but it doesn’t need to be that way.

I have been researching this matter for several years, and really wanted to develop a review site to cover my discoveries about losing weight.  Before I was able to post the review site, I ended up doing this blog about healthy solutions and particularly those related to being trim and slim.

So today I wanted to tell you about a licensed nutritionist named Isabel who really has dedicated herself to sifting through the myths and misleading information about losing weight and is now offering her research and discoveries. Just Click Here!

She covers the range of concerns from what kind of drink in addition to water that she recommends, why she doesn’t recommend the juices you see on the shelves at your local grocery store, and why you don’t have to give up tasty meals in order to trim down. Sounds great, but where’s the proof? This is adequately covered at the link below.

Isabel also provides some free articles and videos, which don’t take long to read, but are very informative. I really enjoyed them and I hope you will as well. To visit her site, Click Here!

To Your Optimum Health,

Lee Gantz

We all know by now that soda is one of the most evil things you can put in your body… the nasty chemicals, the fat increasing high fructose corn syrup, and a myriad of health problems caused by this carbonated cocktail worshipped by those that don’t care about their health or body.

I know that you actually do care about your health and the appearance of your body.

Surprisingly, many people falsely believe that “diet” soda is in some way a good thing for losing body fat. In fact, I hear people all the time proudly state that they eat so healthy and only drink diet soda.

So let’s set the record straight…

There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet soda. In fact, I’ve even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.

Here’s some findings from an 8-year University of Texas study that I had read…

An excerpt from the study author:

“What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity,” Fowler tells WebMD. “What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.”

“There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day,” Fowler says.

Ok, as if we didn’t already know how bad regular soda was for us, and now they’re showing us studies that diet soda makes us even fatter than the already bad stuff!

So what is a good alternative to diet sodas?

The best alternatives are good old water with lemon or unsweetened iced teas… you have plenty of options with teas – green, white, black, oolong, red… be creative in making your iced teas and you’ll enjoy it more. Plus you’ll get a more diverse array of antioxidants.

What’s the alternative? You can just add a little natural non-caloric sweetener to iced teas and fall in love with them.

- Robert Franklin

Fitness Advisor & Health Specialist

For more helpful nutrition and fitness information, be sure to visit http://www.myfitlife.info.