Tuna And Mercury – Are You Being Poisoned By The “Healthy” Fish You’re Eating?
By line: By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

QUESTION: Hi Tom: I love albacore tuna or salmon. Do you have any concern about the levels of mercury now being found in tuna and in larger fish? I still eat them. I’d have to quit eating to avoid all the things wrong with food. I’ve never been too environmentally minded, but I found myself perturbed that the fish are becoming toxic, little by little. My vegetarian daughter is our family environmentalist, and I’m on her side on this one. Recently there was an article in our paper suggesting that the breast milk of a nursing mother, could now be considered toxic in a high percentage of cases. If true, a sad indictment of our society.

ANSWER: According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the fish most likely to be contaminated with unsafe levels of mercury are those highest up on the food chain, including shark, king mackerel, tilefish and swordfish. These larger, longer-lived predatory fish feed on the smaller fish and retain in their bodies the contaminants that were in the small fish.

How Do Bodybuilders And Fitness Models Get So Lean?
By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

What happens to the fat cells when you burn body fat?
By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

QUESTION: Dear Tom: would you please try to explain in laymen’s terms exactly how fat cells work and what happens when you start to burn body fat. I heard a statement that the fat cell has to get moved into the muscle cell for it to be released or burned. Thought you could explain a little better.

ANSWER: Earlier this week someone in our discussion forum wrote, “I haven’t LOST any fat… I know EXACTLY where it went! I got a chuckle out of that because I “got” the joke, but truth is, most people really don’t know where the fat goes when it’s burned or how the fat burning process takes place, so this is a really good question.

1,000 Sit Ups And Crunches A Day And Still No Abs
By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

QUESTION: Dear Tom: I have been working out for around a year now and I cannot get my lower abs into any type of shape. Despite doing 900 various crunches, ab roller, and 100 sit-ups four days a week, along with running and my regular workout on the weights, I still have a tire around my waist. What else can I do?

ANSWER: “What should I do to get abs?” is still one of the most frequently asked questions I receive out of the 7,000+ emails that come into my office every week. Although the question is often phrased differently, my answer is always the same:

Are Toxins in Your Fat Cells Released When You Lose Weight?
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

QUESTION: Dear Tom: I have been following your Burn The Fat system with good results. I am losing body fat and maintaining my current lean mass. I’ve noticed that during my calorie deficit phase I sometimes suffer from light headedness and nausea out of the blue for no particular reason but not during my maintenance phase. I was looking into it and read an article that said that toxins from the food in the “typical American diet” of processed crappy foods get stored inside our fat cells along with excess dietary fat when we overeat, and when we create a calorie deficit and burn the excess fat in our bodies, we release those toxins back into the blood stream. Have you ever heard of this? Any truth? ?

ANSWER: Yes, your fat cells can accumulate numerous types of toxins. For example, almost everyone has traces of pesticides in their bodies. Many people freak out when they hear this, so they become more likely to fall for all kinds of bizarre and usually unproven “detoxification” rituals. It is a shame that our environment has become polluted, but the real questions are whether trace amounts of these substances pose any health risk and whether you actually have toxic levels in your body.

What Does Natural Really Mean?
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

QUESTION: “Tom, could you tell me what supplements you take? I know that you aren’t really big on supplements, but I remember reading somewhere that you said you believe in a few basic supplements. I also read something on Jon Benson’s website where he said you are the most “natural” bodybuilder he knows and that you don’t even take aspirin. Is this true?”

“To tell you the truth, Tom, I do not believe it is possible to obtain 3% bodyfat with as much muscle as you have without drugs or at least supplements. And also, don’t you think that the term “natural bodybuilding” has been abused quite a lot everywhere? No one who uses it on the net is really natural. As natural would mean one eats only what appears in nature and does not ingest man-made stuff from bottles. Right?”

ANSWER:

You’re 100% correct – the definition for “natural,” as you pointed out, is vague and open to an individual’s interpretation.

Tom Venuto’s 3.7% Body Fat Routine
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

QUESTION: Hey Tom, I just read one of your articles, “The Great Abs Mistake” and you said that to reach the “ripped” 3.7% body fat level you held for some of your bodybuilding competitions, you did cardio 7 days a week for 30-45 minutes per session, in addition to your 4 weight training workouts per week. I have a question about that…

First, How old are you? I’m 49, and if I did cardio 7 days a week in addition to my 3-4 weight training workouts per week, I would be totally wasted by the end of the week.

It’s not that I’m in bad shape, but my body doesn’t recover from workouts as quickly as it did when I was younger.

Don’t your weight training workouts for your legs suffer from doing all that cardio? Personally, I have a hard enough time building/keeping muscle and strength in my legs, so if I did the amount of cardio that you do, my legs would get smaller and weaker, not bigger and stronger.

Which Alcoholic Drink is Best When You’re Dieting?
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

QUESTION: Dear Tom: If you are going to go out and have a drink or two with friends, which drink is the best when you’re on a fat loss program like BFFM? Would it be wine or a vodka mixed with soda? Is champagne better or worse than the other two?

ANSWER: The first thing I would suggest is that you ask a better question! The answers you get are only as good as the quality of questions you ask. “Which alcohol is best?” is not a very good question when your goal is to get leaner.

Basketball for Fat Loss?
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

QUESTION: Hi Tom. I have asked several other experts about this and so far no one seems to give me an EXACT answer. Some trainers tell me I have to go steady and nonstop for 30 minutes straight or more to burn fat. Others tell me I have to do intervals and they have to be in a certain ratio of sprint to recovery. I’m getting tired of my cardio ritual and would like a change. I love basketball. I could play for an hour and enjoy every minute of it, and I FEEL like I’m getting a good workout doing it. But is it really the same as something like a good run?

ANSWER: I just plugged basketball into my calories burned calculator and it says that if you weigh 185 pounds, moderate basketball (full court game play) burns 839 calories per hour. Moderate basketball (non-game) is 528 calories per hour. I’m guessing “non-game” means either half court or just casual play with your buddies.

How to Gain Lean Muscle Without Turning into a Tub of Lard
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

QUESTION:Hi Tom. I have your BURN THE FAT ebook; it’s great thanks, but now that I’m lean enough my aim is bodybuilding and muscle gain. I read your information on body types in chapter 5 of your book and it was very interesting. I am definitely an ectomorph body type. I am getting good results gaining about a pound and sometimes 2 pounds a week, but I’m pretty skinny so it’s going to take a while to get where I really want to be, but that’s fine, I’m patient and determined. My question is, can I use all the guidelines in your BURN THE FAT ebook for gaining muscle mass?

ANSWER: It’s true that BURN THE FAT, FEED THE MUSCLE is primarily a fat burning program and as you’re reading through the book, you’ll see that the entire manual is written with references to getting leaner.