Atkins was definitely one of the quickest ways to reduce body fat for me, but I grew tired of the restrictive menu, and the prospect of never being able to enjoy drinking beer (REAL beer) with my friends made it impossible for me to maintain.

I can’t deal with diets that are too restrictive.  As much as I wanted to lose the pounds and get rid of that spare tire around my gut, I’m a REAL person.  I have FRIENDS.  And in Japan you can’t go out with friends and turn down the delicious food that they put in front of you, or the beer they just poured for you because it will knock you out of ketosis.

I have tried intensive exercise programs, but I’ll be honest – when I weighed almost 270 pounds (I’m 5’7″) jogging hurt my joints and wasn’t any fun.

I did learn to love weightlifting though.  And while the guy who is coaching me now tells me I have a tendency to overdo it, I’m glad that I have found a form of exercise that I Enjoy doing.

I know we all hate to admit it, but exercise is necessary to lose fat pounds and replace them with muscle.  The more lean body mass you build, the faster the rest of that weight just melts away from your stomach.

I’ve learned a lot about dieting in the past few months, and I’m looking forward to proving to all of my ‘friends’ who taunt me about the ‘impending rebound’ that they were wrong and that yes – even I can lose weight.

Hey all, I know I haven’t been posting my own material as much lately, in part because I’ve found so many good weight loss article sources, and thought it would be convenient to post them here for you.

This article is a wonderful tip for burning pounds of fat,  a way to lose abdominal fat, BY EATING FAT.

enjoy!

(article begins)

As a Certified Nutrition Specialist, I usually shock people with this fact… it’s true that there is a type of healthy natural trans fat that actually helps you to burn off abdominal fat.

Sounds far fetched, but it’s true.

First of all, as I’m sure you’ve heard a million times by now, artificial trans fats in our food supply from hydrogenated oils are one of the most unhealthy foods (if you can actually call it suitable to eat) you can put in your body.  Artificial trans fats cause everything from obesity to various cancers to heart disease, and more.  They are pure evil, and everyone knows by now that this is a fact.

Stay away from artificial trans fats from hydrogenated oils at all costs!

However, what most people don’t know is that there is a specific type of natural trans fat (yes, it occurs naturally) that can actually stimulate fat loss and lean muscle building.

This specific type of natural trans fat actually occurs in the meat and milk from ruminant animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, venison, bison, kangaroo, etc.  It is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and is not only known to help prevent cancer, but is also a potent fat burner.

CLA is highest when these animals are grass-fed instead of grain-fed.

Now before you think that you can just buy the CLA supplements that you’ll see most supplement stores selling…

WARNING: Do not buy CLA supplements!  The only form of healthy CLA is from grass-fed ruminant animals such as grass-fed beef, bison, lamb, etc.  The CLA that’s found in CLA pills is an artificially created form that is a different isomer than the natural CLA isomer found in grass-fed meat or dairy.  The CLA isomer in the pills is NOT a healthy form, and will not benefit you.

Only the CLA that you get naturally from grass-fed ruminant meats actually has health benefits and can help increase fat burning (particularly from stomach fat) and building lean muscle, which helps increase your metabolism.

While most trans fats (the artificial ones) will just make you unhealthy and fat, now you know that there actually is such a thing as a healthy natural trans fat that makes you burn fat instead!

The author’s name is Jon, and I’m having a header automatically placed at the head of his articles, but please read them.

He runs a weight loss program, and there will be links in his articles, but the content is so good, I’m gonna use it.

Please comment and let me know if his tips help you melt away the pounds.

Some of what he says is counter-intuitive, but so have most effective nutrition plans I’ve followed