I have incredible news! The Tom’s Holy Grail eBook is available again when you purchase his flagship eBook “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.”

You have until Monday, March 15! This is only available to Shah Training readers, and if you go directly to his website, you will not get the free bonus.

Only through my link, before March 15. So you better hurry fast! You can grab the Holy Grail eBook by click here.

I’ve also written a review about this product that you can read here.

This is just a quick reminder to let you know that today is the last day on the special 3-day offer where you can get “The Holy Grail Body Transformation System” for f-r-e-e when you buy a copy of Tom Venuto’s “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.”

Click here to Learn more about Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle

The Holy Grail is Tom Venuto’s new 74 page ebook that is destined to set the record straight in such a way that you could say it’s the LAST WORD on gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time.

Tom has competed in bodybuilding 28 times, going through season after season of gaining muscle and competition after competition of getting cut – sometimes as low as 4% body fat or less.

So, when a guy like Tom speaks about losing fat AND gaining muscle, you definitely want to hear what he has to say.

From now until midnight (PST) tonight, you can get a copy of the “Holy Grail body transformation system” PDF ebook format, absolutely f-r-e-e when you purchase Tom’s Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle e-book from:

Click here to Learn more about Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle

Burn The Fat is often referred to as “the bible of fat burning nutrition” and if you don’t have a copy yet, then this is a better opportunity than ever because you will get the new ebook as a bonus along with the classic best selling Burn The Fat program.

This offer is almost over, so I highly recommend you visit the Burn The Fat website today and jump on this deal while you still can. Tom doesn’t make offers like this often, and this is one you don’t want to miss.

Click here to Learn more about Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle

P.S. This is your absolute last chance to get this great ebook bonus. It will not be available after midnight tonight!

Here’s a great feedback from someone who’s decided to grab the Holy Grail program:

My name is Amber. I just finished your newest e-book: The Holy Grail. I have a graduate degree in Athletic Therapy, a Bachelor’s degree in Human Kinetics/Exercise Science, and a diploma in Human Performance. I loved Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM), and I loved the Holy grail (HG).

Holy Grail Feedback…
-Super easy read for anyone (layman or academic)
-Peppered with the perfect amount of research

-Nice flow, a great continuation for BFFM, which is the BEST book I have ever read on nutrition
-Comprehensive
-Fresh approach to zig-zag method

-Great Conclusion (p.42), all main points were presented, and all “apply it now” info was readily available

-I like how you presented research and then educated the reader how not to take all research findings at face value, and to dig a little deeper. Example: you presented research in a few areas, then you lead the reader to question research validity, and demonstrated how “experts” can take certain findings from experiments and present them as gospel when there’s much more to their findings than what’s presented.

-I love your writing style, it is always consistent and flows nicely…it makes for an easy read, and I never get bored.

-You always get down to the point and you are not too wordy–as I find most other nutrition/training books are.

-You make all principles easy to apply by telling the reader exactly what he needs to know.

Click here to Learn more about Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle

I have incredible news! The Tom’s Holy Grail eBook is available again when you purchase his flagship eBook “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.”

You have until Monday, March 15! This is only available to Shah Training readers, and if you go directly to his website, you will not get the free bonus.

Only through my link, before March 15. So you better hurry fast! You can grab the Holy Grail eBook by click here.

I’ve also written a review about this product that you can read here.

“How can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?” That’s right up there with “How do I get six pack abs” as one of the most frequently asked fitness questions of all time. The problem is, when you ask it, you get all kinds of conflicting answers – even from experts who are supposed to know these things. So what’s the deal? Is it really possible to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously?

Short answer: Yes, you can gain muscle and lose fat at the “same time.”

Long answer: It’s difficult and it’s complicated. Allow me to explain….

First we have the issue of whether you really lose fat and gain muscle at the “same time.”

Well, yes, if your definition of the “same time” is say, a month or 12 weeks. But in that case, you’re probably not gaining muscle at the “same time” literally speaking, as in, right now this very moment you are reading this, or 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for months in a row.

The best explanation for what’s really happening is that you alternate between periods of caloric surplus (anabolism) and caloric deficit (catabolism) and the net result is a gain in muscle and a loss in body fat.

You see, if you stay in a calorie surplus, it’s the body’s natural tendency for body fat and lean body mass to go up together. And if you stay in a calorie deficit, it’s your body’s natural tendency for body fat and lean body mass to go down together.

There may be exceptions, but the general rule is that it is very difficult to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time – the mechanisms are mostly antagonistic to one another. When it does happen, it’s almost always the result of “unusual conditions” – I call them X factors.

The 4 X-Factors

The first X-factor is “training age” . Ever hear of “newbie gains?” The less trained your body is and the further you are from your genetic potential, the easier it is to gain muscle. The reverse is also true – an advanced bodybuilder with 20 years experience would be thrilled just to gain a few pounds of solid dry muscle in a year!

The second x factor is muscle memory. It’s easier to regain muscle you’ve lost than it is to gain new muscle in the first place (ergo, the fat out of shape semi retired bodybuilder who starts training again and blows up and gets ripped “overnight”).

The third X factor is genetics (or somatotype). Ever heard of the “genetic freak?” That’s the dude who sprouts muscle like weeds even when he’s on the “50-50 diet” (50% McDonald’s and 50% pizza)… and he never gets fat. (That dude chose the right parents!)

The fourth X factor is drugs. It would stun (or sadden) you if you knew how many people take performance and physique-enhancing drugs. I’m not just talking about pro bodybuilders, I’m talking about “Joe six pack” in the gym – not to mention those fitness models you idolize in the magazines. How did they get large muscle gains with concurrent fat loss? Chemicals.

I’m not a gambling man, but I’ll place a wager on this any day: I’ll bet that in 99% of the cases of large muscle gains with concurrent large fat losses, one or more of these x factors were present.

That’s not all! There are actually 5 more X factors related to your body composition and diet status (the X2 factors). But I’ll have to talk about those later.

So you’re not a beginner, you don’t take roids, you’re not a genetic freak and you have no muscle memory to take advantage of. Are you S.O.L? Well, I do want you to be realistic about your goals, but…

There IS a way for the average person to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

The Secret: You have to change your “temporal perspective!”

Traditionally nutritionists and fitness pros have only looked at calorie balance in terms of 24 hour periods. At midnight, you could tally up the calories like a shopkeeper closing out his register, and if the balance were positive, you’d say you were in a surplus for the day. If the balance were negative, you’d say you were in a deficit for the day.

But it’s entirely possible that you might pass through periods of “within-day” surplus where you were in a highly anabolic state (for example, you eat the biggest, highest carb meal of the day after your workout), and you were in a deficit the rest of the day.

If you did intense weight training, and you timed your nutrient intake appropriately, Isn’t it possible that you could gain a small amount of muscle during those anabolic hours, while losing fat the rest of the day? Granted it might only be grams or ounces – but what if you kept that up for a week? A month? Three months?

As you pan out and look at the bigger picture, what if most days of the week you were in a deficit for the entire day, and on some days you were in a surplus? If so, then isn’t it possible that over the course of the week, you’d have a small net gain of muscle and loss of body fat a a result of the caloric fluctuation?

These within-day and within-week phases are called microcycles and mesocycles. If you also had a primary goal with a longer term focus of several months, say 12 weeks or 16 weeks, that would be a macrocycle.

What I’ve just described is nutritional periodization. Some people call it cyclical dieting. it’s where you manipulate your calories (primarily by fluctuating carbohydrate intake, hence “carb cycling”) in order to intentionally zig zag your way through periods of surplus and deficit and create specific hormonal responses.

The end result: muscle gain and fat loss during the same time period!

I know that someone out there is having a hissy fit because I’ve only talked about calories: deficits and surpluses. Rightfully so. Calories matter but there’s more to it than calories – most importantly, hormones and “nutrient partitioning.”

If you’re in a calorie deficit you are going to pull energy from your body.The question is: From WHERE? If your hormones are out of whack and you’re eating crap, you could lose more muscle than fat in a deficit and gain almost pure fat, not muscle, in a surplus!

But WHAT IF you could manipulate within day energy balance, use nutritional periodization AND control your hormones with food and lifestyle strategies?

Make no mistake – concurrent muscle gain and fat loss is a difficult goal to achieve. The good news: difficult does not mean impossible. Or as George Santayana said, “The difficult is that which can be done immediately, the impossible, that which takes a little longer.”

The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program: How to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat at The Same Time

You can learn more about gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time in Tom Venuto’s new e-book called, “The Holy Grail Body Transformation System.”

You’ll learn all about nutritional periodization, cyclical dieting, hormonal manipulation, within day energy balance, nutrient partitioning, AND the all the X factors, including the 5 “X2-Factors” – which are the keys to gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.

You’ll also get Tom’s new “TNB” training system, as seen in Men’s Fitness magazine (the complete, expanded version that Men’s Fitness didn’t have room to print).

At the moment, The Holy Grail ebook is not for sale separately and there are only two ways you can get it.

From now until Midnight (PST), March 5th, 2010, you can get a copy of the Holy Grail Body Transformation program ebook for FREE when you purchase the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle e-book from this web page:
www.BurnTheFat.com

The other way you can a a copy is by joining the Burn the Fat Inner Circle at:
www.BurnTheFat.com/innercircle

After March 5th, 2010 at midnight PST The Holy Grail will be taken off the market for a period of time while Tom is collecting case studies and getting feedback from users, to include in the final edition – which WILL be released for sale separately later this year.

Visit the Burn The Fat website now and jump on this deal while you still can.

I have incredible news! The Tom’s Holy Grail eBook is available again when you purchase his flagship eBook “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.”

You have until Monday, March 15! This is only available to Shah Training readers, and if you go directly to his website, you will not get the free bonus.

Only through my link, before March 15. So you better hurry fast! You can grab the Holy Grail eBook by click here.

I’ve also written a review about this product that you can read here.

Almost everyone knows about the biggest loser – that reality show/ wt loss contest on TV where overweight people drop ridiculous amounts  of weight – like 15 or 20 lbs in a week, and  150 or 200 lbs by the time the show is over.

This past January the guys at over at the Burn the Fat websites completed their first ever body transformation challenge contest.

But their contest was NOTHING like the biggest loser.

In fact, Josh Ketter, the overall men’s winner, and Ryan Cochrane, one of the finalists, only lost a pound.

Now, you must be thinking, “what the heck kind of weird body transformation contest were they running where the winner and the finalists only drop a pound?

Well, it would seem weird if you thought that success at body transformation meant dropping weight on the scale

But did you ever stop to think about the difference  between fat weight and muscle weight?

Think about it – if those contestants on the biggest loser gain muscle – they get penalized, right?

Penalize someone for gaining muscle?

Shouldn’t contestants be REWARDED for gaining muscle as well as burning fat?

That’s the problem with wt loss contests today and with a lot of people in the industry in general – they are obsessed with scale weight but they don’t pay any attention to body composition (the fat-to-muscle ratio).

Of course, some of the contestants in that contest did drop a lot of fat – 15, 20, even 25 lbs in only 50 days. But the  person who dropped the most pounds was NOT necessarily voted as the winner.

That explains how the judging was done – some of the winners were rewarded because they made tremendous improvements in their body composition, even though their scale weight
didn’t change that much.

Josh lost 8 pounds of fat and gained 7 pounds of muscle in just 50 days.  He only lost a pound on the scale because the muscle weight replaced the fat weight.

Ryan Cochrane lost 8 pounds of fat while gaining 7.7 lbs of muscle in 50 days. His weight hardly changed.

Sarah kensington actually GAINED a pound, from 119 to 120 but her body fat decreased from 19% to a ripped 12.6%. Thats a 7.9 pound GAIN in lean body mass and a 7 pound loss
of body fat – remarkable for a MAN, almost unheard of for  a woman!

When you look at their before and after pictures, you can see that even though their weight changed by less than a pound, they TOTALLY TRANSFORMED THEIR BODIES!

How?

They gained muscle and lost fat at the same time!

Maybe you’re thinking, “wait a minute, I thought it was impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? Don’t you need a calorie deficit to burn fat and a calorie surplus to build muscle?”

Well, yes and no. Calories do matter, but according to fat loss expert Tom Venuto, the guy who sponsored the recent body composition fitness contest, it’s much more complicated than that because of things like within-day energy balance, hormonal fluctuations and “energy partitioning.”

It was these unusual contest results that prompted Tom to dig into the scientific research on concurrent muscle gain and fat loss and create a new program that he calls:

“THE HOLY GRAIL BODY TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM: How to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time”

This is not an easy goal to achieve – So I’m sorry, but I have no miracle for you. If you’re looking for magic bullets, go elsewhere. This is a serious and very strategic program.

Concurrent muscle gain and fat loss is the most difficult goal to achieve.

That’s why people call it the “holy grail”; because it’s so elusive.

BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE: IT IS POSSIBLE.

I’m sure you’ve heard this subject debated ad nauseum on discussion forums. Those debates probably left you confused and not sure what to believe either.

This new ebook sets the record straight in such a way that you could say it’s the LAST WORD on
gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time; it’s impressively referenced with peer-reviewed research and frankly, it just makes sense.

Tom Venuto’s previous best selling ebook, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) has become known to many as a “fat loss bible” (www.burnthefat.com)

Click Here to Learn more about Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

But BFFM is designed specifically for fat loss. what if you want to lose fat AND gain muscle?

That’s exactly why this new program was created.

It’s the first course of it’s kind that builds on the techniques of BFFM and teaches a system for gaining muscle and burning fat simultaneously, and explains the process scientifically.

If you’re skeptical, I don’t blame you. Even I was skeptical when I heard about it.

But when you see BOTH; real-world case studies AND the scientific proof, it makes you want to stop and take a look.

Right now the 1st edition of Tom’s new HOLY GRAIL body transformation ebook is available for just the next 3 days in limited release.

It’s actually not even for sale separately yet.

What Tom decided to do was offer the holy grail ebook as bonus with the purchase of his Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle ebook.

The Holy Grail ebook is available only for the next 3 days at http://www.BurnTheFat.com
(offer expires on Friday march 5th, 2010)

Click Here to Learn more about Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

My apologies. You can no longer get the Holy Grail eBook as a bonus to the Burn the fat ebook. However, I’ve written a review about this product that you can read here.

On March 6th, he’s going to take the holy grail course off the market for a while, to correspond with some of his new customers and collect feedback and case studies to incorporate in the 2nd edition.

Then the grail ebook will be officially re-released later this year at the regular retail price.

So, this is a great opportunity to pick up Tom’s fat loss bible AND get the holy grail ebook for
fr-ree at the same time.

If you’d like to be in this first wave of people to try this new combined muscle-building and fat
burning system, this is the ONLY way to order at the moment.

Click Here to Learn more about Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

Purchase a copy of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle ebook, and the HOLY GRAIL body transformation ebook comes along with BFFM for fr-ee.

I have incredible news! The Tom’s Holy Grail eBook is available again when you purchase his flagship eBook “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.”

You have until Monday, March 15! This is only available to Shah Training readers, and if you go directly to his website, you will not get the free bonus.

Only through my link, before March 15. So you better hurry fast! You can grab the Holy Grail eBook by click here.

I’ve also written a review about this product that you can read here.

Tom Venuto is a bodybuilder who’s decided to tell the world the truth about bodybuilding diet and training strategies. He’s helped hundreds of thousands of individuals all over the world lose fat and reshape their lives with his famous eBook “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle.”

Now he’s coming out with a brand new product called “The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program.” I was able to see a preview version of this product, and this is certainly something you want to grab if you’re absolutely serious about losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time.

The interesting thing is that Tom Venuto was always the rational guy out there. He always stated that it was next to impossible to pack on muscle and lose fat at the same time. But now he’s giving you a product that promises to do exactly that.

What’s going on? Has Tom Venuto lost it? Is he finally crushing under the pressure and competition of all these other fitness guys who are stating that it is in fact easy to drop fat and gain muscle at the same time.

Well, here’s the truth: Tom Venuto has never actually said that it’s impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. In fact, he’s openly written in his Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle eBook that when trying to drop fat, you’ll see a slight increase in lean muscle mass, just from the increased weight lifting and healthy eating.

However, you won’t see a LARGE increase in mass and a LARGE decrease in fat simultaneously. This is because fat loss and mass gain are two ends of the nutritional spectrum. To gain muscle you need to eat more.

And to drop fat, you need to eat less. So…what’s going on? What has all of a sudden changed? Has Tom Venuto stumbled onto some new, top secret method here?

Tom’s giving away his eBook for free when you purchase his original, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle program.

Click Here to Learn more about Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

My apologies. You can no longer get the Holy Grail eBook as a bonus to the Burn the fat ebook. However, I’ve written a review about this product that you can read here.

By Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

By Tom Venuto, author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle
www.BurnTheFat.com

After you overindulge, I definitely do NOT recommend skipping your next meal or skipping meals the next day to make up for it. I usually don’t even recommend cutting back either, although there may be exceptions where you could manipulate your meal size or macronutrient composition.

I generally recommend returning immediately to your “regularly scheduled meal programming,” because this continues to encourage the maintenance of positive habits such as eating 5-6 small meals every day.

I do suppose whether you cut back could depend on whether you’ve been on low calories a long time, how lean you were already, and on whether you were in a caloric deficit already. If you were in a calorie deficit for the day, then the extra calories might only bring you up to maintenance, not “over” your daily limit, which might not be as damaging as if you were in a calorie surplus.

If you were already very lean or had been dieting strictly for a long time (as in a bodybuilder coming off a competition), a large meal or entire high calorie day might not have any negative effect either. Your metabolism has a way of slowing down if you keep your calories too low 100% of the time.

With occasional (planned) higher calorie days, you’d be using the BURN THE FAT “zig-zag” or “cycling” principle, so eating more in this context can be a positive thing. (Note: You can learn more about this technique in the BURN THE FAT program at www.burnthefat.com). However, there’s a big difference between a planned “cheat meal” or a planned high carb, clean food “re-feed” day and a binge on junk food. Regardless of total 24 hour calorie intake for the day, you could still store body fat after heavy eating if it’s done at certain times and in a certain metabolic state.

Although I do prescribe calorie levels based on daily (24 hr) needs, I believe you should also pay attention to 3 hour “windows” when you’re thinking about adjusting your caloric intake. Calories and macronutrients (protein/aminos, carbs/sugar and fat) are partitioned into glycogen, muscle or fat tissue or burned immediately depending very much on present moment energy and recovery needs and on what’s going to happen over the next 3 hours or so as the food enters your system.

So, if you’re going to be plopping down on the couch to watch football games for the rest of the day and night after that big holiday meal, beware – you might just want to cut back on that next meal a little, especially starches and sugars.

Bottom line: It’s okay to eat small amounts of your favorite junk foods once in a while as planned “free meals,” and it’s a good idea to eat more in general from time to time to keep your metabolism humming along. However, your best bet if you’re really serious about fat loss is to avoid huge meals and avoid bingeing in the first place. ALWAYS practice portion control – even on holidays.

If you ever do slip, don’t beat yourself up, just get right back on the wagon with your next meal and remember, the past is behind you and today is a new day.

Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
www.BurnTheFat.com

P.S. If you’re interested in burning fat naturally in a healthy, sensible way, then be sure to take a look at Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle – it’s the best place to start your journey: www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

It’s 2010. Your old excuses for not getting in shape won’t work. As Dr. Evil (Austin Powers) said, ZIP IT! I don’t want to hear them anymore! Read em’, then haul your excuseless butt to the gym!

1. I have no time.

According to a story in a recent issue of Men’s Health magazine, Barack Obama works out for 45 minutes a day, 6 days a week. Obama doesn’t just play basketball either. Our new president stays fit to lead with cardio and weight lifting. He also says he wishes he could train 90 minutes a day. Have you ever seen what the daily schedule of a U.S. president looks like? If the busiest man in the world can train every day for 45 minutes a day, then what’s your excuse? ZIP IT! You ain’t got one!

2. It’s too expensive.

Getting in shape certainly is expensive… if you keep wasting hundreds of dollars, month after month on worthless “miracle” weight loss pills, internal cleansing gimmicks and “magic” potions that all claim to make you slim. Deceptive advertising and slick marketing for bogus diet aids is more rampant than ever. 2010 was the year of thewu-long tea scam, the acai berry scam, and, of course, the ubiquitous “cleansing” and “detox” gimmicks . Unless you put on your critical thinking cap and learn to investigate before you invest, then you’ll get scammed by 2010’s flavor of the year as well. Your quest for those elusive “6-pack” abs will not only continue to be expensive, you’ll go broke. Walking, jogging, calisthenics and body weight exercises are FREE. If you want to know what’s really expensive, tally up the cost of legitimate expenses like natural food, gym memberships, fitness education, dumbbells and so on, and compare that to your doctor’s bill when you’re sick.

3. No one will support me.

Experts on social influence say your income will be approximately equal to the average of your 5 closest friends. Not only do I think that’s pretty darn accurate, I also believe that your health is your greatest wealth, and your physical condition will be about equal to the average of your 5 closest friends. It’s a real challenge to stay positive, focused and active when you’re surrounded by critical people and negative influences. However, in 2010, lack of support is no longer a valid excuse. Online social networking is exploding (check out Twitter and Facebook ) and more IN PERSON friendships and associations are being made from an internet connection than ever before. Training buddies can be found online. Connect with them. Mentors and coaches are easily found online. Hire them. Support forums have been around for years. Use them. No support from your current friends? Stop whining, start reaching out and go make new ones. In 2010, support partners and new friends are just a click away.

4. I can’t lose weight because of my genetics.

The marvels of modern medical and biological research are astonishing. Our top scientists have mapped the human genome! In the past few years, numerous genes linked to obesity have been discovered. However, the obesity epidemic we’re facing today has only developed over the past 50 years and genetic mutations that lead to serious obesity are extremely rare. Genetic predisposition only means that you have a tendency. It’s when the genetics meet lifestyle and environment that the genes express themselves. If you have a family history of heart disease, is it smart to smoke, eat junk, be a stressed-out, type-A maniac and a couch potato? Well of course not, and it’s the same with obesity. If you have a tendency predisposing you towards obesity, you’d better be the person doing the MOST exercise, not the least. You’d better be the person paying the MOST attention to your nutrition. You’d better be the person with the healthiest lifestyle. But unfortunately, it’s usually the opposite. Most people throw up their arms in frustration saying, “what’s the use, I was dealt a bad hand.” Sorry. That won’t fly in 2010. The latest research says genetics are a factor, but a tendency is not a destiny!

5. I don’t know how.

The lamest excuse of them all in 2010 is “I don’t know how.” NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO DO ANYTHING UNTIL AFTER THEY HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IT! Ponder that for a while. You don’t need to know how at first. To get started, you only need to know WHAT… what is the goal? Setting well-formed goals is the master skill of success. Not wishy-washy resolutions that have no resolve behind them, but real goals. In writing. With emotional ooompf! As you continue to affirm, visualize and focus on your goal with clarity, belief, and expectation, your new goal or intention will be received by your subconscious. Once a goal is accepted into your subconscious mind, your brain, being a goal-seeking mechanism, will turn on your attention filters to seek out all the information you will ever need to reach your goal. It will also turn on an infallible navigation system to guide you to your goal like a torpedo to its target. As your brain guides your attention, your direction and your behavior, you will discover that today, in 2010, there is more good information, coaching and instruction available than ever before. And when you’ve activated that “success radar” in your brain by setting goals effectively, it’s not as hard to find honest, accurate and helpful HOW-TO advice as you might think. In fact, you found this webpage, so you’re doing pretty good right now, aren’t you?

No more excuses. In 2010, remember my Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle Creed: You can either make excuses or get results, but you can’t do both!

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

To disprove the myth that weight gain is inevitable during the holiday season, hundreds of Americans are signing up for a fitness challenge that tests their ability to become lean and fit between the end of November and the beginning of January.

For the Holiday Challenge, a fitness contest that begins on Thanksgiving Day (November 26), participants can sign up at the Burn The Fat website (www.BurnTheFat.com/challenge) where they can also track their exercise and nutrition regimens for 50 days. Those who slim down the most could win a Caribbean vacation or other prizes.

The Holiday Challenge is the brainchild of fat loss expert Tom Venuto, author of the best-selling e-book Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, and The Body Fat Solution (Avery/Penguin), as seen in Oprah magazine.

“Too many people buy into the news stories that say Americans will gain 5 to 10 pounds of body fat in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Venuto says. In reality, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, the average amount gained over the holidays is much more modest, just over one pound.

“So the idea that everyone is going to pack on several pounds is clearly a myth,” Venuto says. “But people believe that myth and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

To turn the conventional wisdom on its head, Venuto is challenging the thousands who follow his Burn The Fat blog to not just maintain their weight but to actually lose body fat during the holiday season.

“No one consciously sets a ‘goal’ to get in worse shape over the holidays,” Venuto says, “They do it by default. Mentally, people accept the idea that it’s impossible to stay in shape because of all the parties, the family get-togethers and the tempting food, so they say ‘Why bother?’”

Once people resign themselves to thinking that gaining fat is unavoidable they are actually setting a “negative goal,” Venuto says. And, he contends, the only way to counteract that unconscious negative decision is to create a conscious goal to do the opposite: to get in better shape over the holidays.

As an incentive to those who take part in the Holiday Challenge (at www.BurnTheFat.com/InnerCircle ), Venuto will award two grand prizes of a five-day vacation in Negril, Jamaica to the overall winners in the men’s division and the women’s.

Because the Holiday Challenge is a body transformation contest – and not simply a weight-loss competition – participants will be judged on how much they improve their body composition (the amount of lean body mass and body fat percentage). Contestants will also be judged on the visual improvement in their bodies (as illustrated by their “before” and “after” pictures), and the inspirational essay they must submit during the contest. In addition to the overall winners, additional prizes, (including IPods and Kindles) will be awarded to winners in other categories such as “Most Ripped,” “Most Muscular” and “Most Inspirational.”

During the Holiday Challenge, contestants must enter their body fat measurements, workout details and food intake (even on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day) using a daily journal at the Burn The Fat Inner Circle website (www.BurnTheFat.com/InnerCircle).

But participants will need to do more than simply follow contest rules. They will also have to challenge the excuses and rationalizations that cause many people to fall off the fitness wagon during December.

“One of the most common excuses is ‘I’m too busy to work out over the holidays,’” Venuto says. “But no one is too busy for their highest priorities. Your health and your body have to become your highest priority – because without your health, you can’t enjoy anything else in life, including your family or the holidays.”

And those who want to be successful in the Holiday Challenge must also break out of the “either/or” thinking that keeps many people from reaching their fitness goals. “People believe they can either get in shape or they can enjoy themselves – but not both,” Venuto says. “But the truth is you really can enjoy the holidays and get in better shape at the same time.”

“Life is not an “either/or” proposition,” he adds. “It’s a matter of balance. And challenging yourself to achieve that balance is a great way to start the New Year!”

For complete details, prizes and entry requirements for the Burn The Fat Holiday Fitness Challenge go to:    www.BurnTheFat.com/AcceptTheChallenge

For information about Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle, the official fat-burning system of the Holiday Fitness Challenge, go to:   www.BurnTheFat.com

A few days ago, fat loss author/expert Tom Venuto issued a bold challenge to hundreds of thousands of people…

Basically, he “called them out,” (but in a motivatingsort of way, that is).

Tom was making an announcement about a new type offitness transformation challenge contest that willrun – get this – through ALL the holidays:

Thankgiving (US), Christmas and New Years.

He actually suggested that now is the BEST time totransform your body and that procrastinating untilNew Year’s is a pointless waste of time. If youwanted a better body, why wait, right?

He also said that he thinks its downright “neurotic”to believe that you can’t get leaner AND enjoy holidayfood at the same time.

According to Tom, that is a catastrophic form of”EITHER / OR THINKING” which leads many people to procrastination or self-sabotage.

You can read more of Tom’s “call to action” here:

Click Here to Read Tom Venuto’s Challenge to You

To say there was a “response” would be an understatement…

Tom’s blog had something like 500 comments on it when he first issued this challenge and he hasn’t even opened the contest registration yet.

He also hasn’t released the prize package list yet, but rumor has it, he is sending the overall winners somewhere tropical… a warm place to show off a hot new body in thedead of winter!

Nice.

But if it wasn’t the prizes, what created all the buzz, then?

Well, Tom simply asked two questions in his challenge announcement:

(1) “Are you concerned about dealing with holiday food and drink temptations that might lead you to become one of the “holiday fat gain” statistics?”

(2) “If so…. DO YOU ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE TO GET IN BETTER SHAPE OVER THE HOLIDAYS?”

hundreds upon hundreds of people raised their hands and said, “YES, I accept the challenge!”

It became clear that what people need more than “another diet program” is MOTIVATION…. INSPIRATION… and a REASON WHY to get up, move, and change the things that need improving.

By providing a goal (a contest), a source of motivation (prizes and recognition), accountability (A forum with THOUSANDS of like-minded fitness enthusiasts to help you along) and expert advice (a place with coaching and education resources), THAT combination was the trigger that had so many people say YES to this challenge.

Maybe, if you too say “YES, I accept your challenge,” a fitness competition during the holidays could be an event that not only keeps you from gaining fat from the season’s indulgences, but could inspire and motivate you to achieve your best shape of the year, or even the bestshape of your life.

I can tell you this: I’ve heard it myself from a lot of people; it’s reward enough to get through the “holidaze”in better shape than you began them; winning would just be the icing on the cake.

I agree. And I believe you CAN do it NOW – DURING theholidays – while enjoying the food and festivities (with balance and moderation), and you will NOT beone of the procrastinators who say, “I’ll start afterNew Year’s day.”

Tom’s Burn The Fat Inner Circle Will be “CONTEST CENTRAL”

===> Click Here to Join the Inner Circle

He just opened up a new challenge forum where ALL contestants and members will converge to post their before/after results, post their journals and all support each other
towards an incredible “50-DAY-BURN!”

If you want to be a part of online fitness history andbecome a contestant in the first-ever 50 Day Burn The FatHoliday Challenge, you will be instantly eligible for the contest and get access to the challenge forum whenyou join the inner circle:

===> Click Here to Join the Inner Circle

Another way to get started: Read (or Re-Read) Burn The Fat,
Feed The Muscle.

If you don’t have this ebook yet, this is the classic manual that many people call the “bible of fat loss” – it’s a virtual roadmap for how to eat, train and get motivated to win a transformation contest or, simply get yourself in the best shape of your life

Get Burn The Fat =====> Click Here
Anyone who already owns Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is automatically eligible to enter the contest, with no other purchase required.

Registration for the contest will open at the Burn The Fat Inner Circle on Thursday, November 19th. There may be some restrictions and the contest is void where prohibited by state or country law.

More details are coming soon.

you can read Tom’s Holiday Fitness Challenge call to arms, and get on the notification list about the contest prizes,rules and instructions by visiting this page:

Click Here to Read Tom Venuto’s Challenge to You
To your best body transformation, while enjoying the Food and festivities of the holidays at the same time!

Every year as Thanksgiving gets closer, you’ve probably seen the depressing reports: “Most people gain between 5 and 10 pounds of body fat in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.” I’m not sure if this worries you or not, but a lot of people are terrified about getting fatter in the next two months. They anticipate the workouts falling by the wayside and the holiday food calling out to them irresistibly, defeating even the strongest willpower. There’s good news and bad news about this.

Good news: According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the average amount gained is much more modest – just over a pound.

Bad news: A study by the National Institutes of Health found that this seasonal weight gain – even just a pound – is the kind of weight gain that most people don’t lose when the holidays are over; it simply adds to the “weight creep” that “sneaks up” on you as you get older.

People often wonder how it’s possible to wake up one morning at age 40 or 45 and “suddenly” they’re 30 pounds fatter – or more – than they were in college. Mystery solved.

Of course, some people really do pack it on over the holidays, but whether its a pound or ten pounds, did you ever ask yourself why does holiday weight gain happen at all?

In previous years, I’ve asked my readers and here are some common answers I was given:

Holiday Excuse Survey Says…

“I’m too busy over the holidays to work out as often as usual.”

“I’m more stressed over the holidays, and the food is there, so I eat more.”

“I have at least three parties to attend and then there’s Christmas and New Year’s, so it’s impossible to stay on a diet”

“No one can tell me not to enjoy myself over the holidays so I’m just going to eat whatever I want.”

These answers all have a few things in common:

“Either/Or” Thinking and “Reverse Goal Setting” Exposed

First, they assume that you can EITHER get in better shape OR enjoy yourself, but not both. Stated in reverse: You can either deprive yourself of holiday enjoyments or gain weight, but it has to be one or the other. The truth is, “either/or thinking” is neurotic thinking and a great killer of fitness programs.

Second, these are all excuses or rationalizations. “I’m too busy” for example, is always an excuse, because I have never known someone who was too busy to make time for his her highest life priorities. We all have the same amount of time – 24 hours a day – the real problem is, most people don’t make exercise and healthy eating a priority. And remember, words mean little. Actions reveal a person’s true priorities.

Third, none of these are the real reasons most people gain weight over the holidays to begin with. The real reason is because an intention was never set for the opposite: To get in better shape over the holidays.

Most people set a “goal” to get in worse shape over the holidays. It’s not consciously set, of course, as few people would intentionally set out to get fatter. They simply do it by default. In their minds, they accept that it must be just about impossible to stay in shape with everything going on over the holiday season, so why bother?

Rationing Lies For Holiday Failure

Once the decision has been made, then the rationalizing continues:

“Why should I deprive myself?”
“Family is more important”
“Worrying about diet and exercise during the holidays is neurotic”
“I don’t care if I gain a few pounds, I’m going to enjoy myself anyway”
“It’s only these two or three weeks that I let myself go wild”
“I’ll start the first week in January and lose the weight then.”

As a result of this “negative goal-setting,” they expect to work out less, eat more and gain a few pounds, and they don’t seem to even consider alternatives.

But what would happen if you…

SET A GOAL TO GET IN BETTER shape over the holidays?

What would happen if you decided that it was not an all or nothing proposition and that you could enjoy the holidays and all it has to offer and get in better shape at the same time?

And what if you decided that your health and your body were the highest priorities in your life, because you realized that can’t enjoy anything else in life, including family or holidays, if you don’t have your health?

Here’s what would happen: You’d get in better shape!

I’m not all that different from you just because I’m a bodybuilder and fitness professional. I have many of the same problems, concerns and struggles as you do. Although today I always get in better shape between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, that’s a result of a conscious choice, a close examination of my old belief systems and a lot of action. For me, it all started about eight years ago.

For most of my adult life, I wasn’t much of a traveler and I didn’t enjoy flying or staying in hotels. For one thing, I had so many business commitments in the East Coast health club business, that I seldom left town for long, as I had to “tend to the stores.” But I also had a belief that if I traveled, my workouts and nutrition would suffer. After all, “it would be hard to stick with my usual bodybuilding diet, and I wouldn’t have access to my usual gyms”, I told myself. For these reasons, I never did much travel..

Then I was forced to take some trips for business reasons. Predictably enough, my nutrition and workouts suffered while I was spending time in airplanes and in hotels. With my experience having confirmed my beliefs, I re-affirmed to myself, “See, travelling is nothing but a pain. You just can’t stay on a diet and training program when you’re out of town.”

After several more trips, I noticed that something very negative happened: I surrendered. I had resigned myself to “not bother” while I was on the road. I let my expectations create my reality.

But I didn’t let it go on for long. As soon as I became aware of what was happening, I decided that I wouldn’t tolerate it, so I challenged myself and my previous limiting beliefs. I asked myself, “Why the heck not? Why let myself backslide? Why even settle for maintaining? Why not challenge myself to improve while I’m traveling?” The answer was: There was no good reason, there were only excuses.

From that day forward, I set a challenge for myself…

To come back from every trip or vacation in better shape than when I left.

Of course there were exceptions, as when I went on a vacation for total R & R. But I never let travel get in my way again. I prepared food that I would eat on the planes so airline food was never an excuse… I usually chose hotels that had kitchens, so I could cook my own food. I went food shopping immediately after check-in. I wrote my training schedule and scouted gyms in advance… And I actually found myself training harder than usual.

No matter where I was training – it could even be some “dungeon” of a gym in the middle of nowhere – it didn’t matter because my mind was focused on improving and looking better when I came home than when I left. I had a goal to motivate me!

What do you think happened? It’s not hard to guess: I always came home in better shape than when I left.

Since then, my “travel challenge” has become somewhat of a ritual in my life. When I’m away from my “home-base” it becomes a “fitness road trip.” I search the Internet or yellow pages or ask locals to help me find the most hard-core gym nearby wherever I will be staying (Gold’s Gym works for me!) When I get there, I train every bit as hard as if I had a competition just weeks away. I look forward to it now. In fact, this is what led me to my “holiday fitness challenge” idea.

Like many people, I travel over the holidays, so I’m automatically in “travel challenge” mode at thanksgiving, Christmastime and New Year’s. But with the additional temptations and busyness that the holidays bring on top of the usual travel stresses, I saw fit to declare a new challenge: “The Holiday Challenge.” The difference was that for my “holiday challenge,” I pledged to not only to return home in better shape than when I left, but to enjoy the holidays to the fullest at the same time.

People who think I deprive myself to look the way I do would be shocked: I eat like a KING over the holidays including Pumpkin (or apple) Pie at Thanksgiving and OF COURSE my mom’s famous red and green Jell-O Christmas cake. Then on New Year’s I’m usually toasting champagne and having a blast with friends or family….

The difference is, I don’t eat like that very often.

Every other meal stays right on schedule and I work out hard and consistently over the holidays; I don’t let everything fall apart just because ‘tis the season.’

The idea that you can EITHER enjoy the holidays OR stay in shape – but not both – is wrong, it’s damaging and it’s limiting.

Life is not an either or proposition; it’s a matter of balance.

Success does not mean going to extremes. Success can be a simple matter of re-examining your beliefs, rearranging your priorities, setting goals, changing the questions you ask yourself and re-evaluating your expectations.

Your expectations will become your reality. What are you expecting? Are you expecting success? Are you expecting to be in better shape after holiday parties, celebrations, banquets, dinners, and desserts? If not, then why not? What’s preventing you from enjoying all of the above and still getting in better shape? Do you have a limiting belief which dictates that it’s one or the other? Could it be that you never set a goal, intention or expectation to do it? Could it be that you’re rationalizing or making excuses? If so, then I challenge you to change it this year.

As of this writing, there are less than two months until the end of the year. Why not see how much you can improve your physique over the holidays, without depriving yourself of any holiday enjoyments or festivities? Just step up your expectations. Step up your standards. Step up your nutrition. Step up your training. Step up your action. Step up and accept the “Burn The Fat holiday fitness challengeand see what happens!

That’s right… The First Annual Burn The Fat Holiday Fitness challenge contest is open from Wednesday November 18th to Wednesday November 25th.

Over the course of a “50-Day Burn” which spans all three major holidays – Thanksgiving (US), Christmas and New Year’s – you’ll have the motivation, the accountability and structured program to end the year strong, start the new year on the foot and possibly get in the best shape of your life.

Even better, you’ll be able to eat delicious Holiday Food and enjoy yourself to the fullest at the same time because this is a lifestyle program which allows your favorite foods in moderation and balance.

And the best part of all: I’m sending the winners of the contest to Negril Jamaica to show off their new bodies on the beach in 2010!

Taking the Burn The Fat Challenge is simple. You can enter the contest two ways:

(1) Purchase the Burn The Fat e-book from www.BurnTheFat.com or

(2) Join the Burn The Fat Inner Circle fitness support community (”contest central”) by Clicking Here.

You’ll be automatically enrolled with either purchase.

Or, if you want ALL the contest details and the FULL list of prizes, visit the contest page by Clicking Here.

Train hard and expect success!

-Tom Venuto,
Author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle
Founder/CEO, Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author: