As you get past the age of 30 years old, your muscle mass is already decreasing with every year that passes.

So if you are concerned about your weight, belly fat or just want to get some sort of fitness back. It is a good idea to start doing some type of exercise that prevents many age related problems and melts fat from those ugly areas of your body.

It is not something you think about. However, lack of fitness and mobility can cause you many problems as you age. Anything from falling to muscle tears and generally a lack of vitality and wellbeing.

I would rather be active and prevent those things to happen. Than not be able to walk or not able to lift things because my muscles were now like jelly. This happens to many older people.

So how can you start a program and get some fitness up and tone your muscles? 

Well that is a question that many of us at our age need to ask, because the consequences are all sorts of problems from diabetes to high blood pressure, to name just a few.

Oh, starting an exercise program earlier rather than later will cause a slowing down in the ageing process as well. Many people believe you can slow the ageing process by 10 years if started early enough.

Your body has no intention of building muscles by itself. Muscle is required only if it is made to work. The body sees body fat as insurance against future starvation, and it readily stores excess calories as fat.

It does not view big muscles as a requirement for survival. So we need to actively build our muscles and exercise to  achieve a healthy body.

Bodybuilders aren’t crazy about the way the body responds to excess calories, but nobody is going to change the way the body works without making the body totally uncomfortable.

The body responds to stress . That is the only thing that will change what the body does with excess calories. The body is actually a wonderful, self-sustaining machine that no machine ever built on earth comes close to duplicating.

The body is designed to make repairs to itself. When it is hurt, it rushes to “fix” the damage.

So if you want your body to build muscle mass, you’re going to have to break down your muscles (actually damage your muscles) in order to force your body to build new muscle.

You must work your muscle more than it is capable of performing. That is, you have must lift more and more weight, and more often, to the point where the muscle fails.

Small tears develop in the muscle when it is stressed. Failure of a muscle is seen by the body as a threat to its existence, so it rushes aid to the muscle.

The body builds additional muscle tissue to repair the small tears. This increases the muscle size. It also makes the muscle stronger so that it can handle that level of stress in the future.

As you keep increasing the amount of weight you are lifting, your body will respond by building more muscle. You can’t stay within your comfort zone. If you’re comfortable, your body is not going to build more muscle because it doesn’t have to.

So you have an understanding that working the muscle cause a break down of the muscle fibres. The good news is that working muscles also cause burning of body fat that is stored in different areas of your body.

The fabulous news is that after working your muscles your body continues to burn fat well afterwards, up to twenty four hours later.

That is great news as you do not have to workout every day to achieve fat loss.

You might be thinking it all sounds hard work? Well 30 minutes two to three times per week can work a miracle. You could try lifting some weights. This is a fast way to shrink belly fat and get the toned and ripped look in the shortest possible time.

Especially if you can do some walking or some other physical activity on the other days. Better still do 30 minutes every day of some exercise.

Walking, swimming, playing tennis, aerobics or whatever you like to keep burning fat. You will enjoy it, the exhilaration of feeling accomplishment and feeling better in yourself.

To do this you need a diet that will provide nutrients that will build your body and aid in fat loss. This brings us to introduce the diet that has been talked about because of the amazing benefits it brings to those who take on this way of eating.

The Mediterranean Diet is One of the Healthiest for Longevity 

Diet is a dirty word for most of us. There are never two people who can agree on the same diet. There are so many diets that a new one is launched every year.

The gurus of these “wonder diets” are out to sell millions of dollars with of books and programs that are sometimes not even healthy for our body.

Yes you may lose some weight and then put it on as soon as your starvation is finished. Keeping the weight off is impossible long term.

The right way to lose weight is to follow a healthy eating program that is based on a diet that has been tested time and time again. So how do you do this and not be mislead?

The Mediterranean diet is one diet that can help in your weight loss without starving yourself. It is based on natural food and lots of olive oil. Another great thing also is, if you like a drink you can have a glass or two of red wine with your meals.

What Does The Mediterranean Diet Consist Of?

The wide acceptance of this life style and its benefits can be confirmed by participants on the Mediterranean Coasts, since they have eaten this way for thousands of years. In this area of the world, it is not a diet plan but it is a way of life that the vast majority of the population maintain.

While leading healthy lives with regular exercises, they enjoy a wide variety of different foods including yogurt, fish, poultry whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, olives, red wine and olive oil along with some cheeses.

The foods that this culture eat are responsible for providing antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fibre. All of these elements work together to protect the person from all kinds of chronic disease and illness.

The Mediterranean diet represents a highly beneficial nutritional program originating in the Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy, Morocco and Spain and it is based on whole foods that are found in these sunny places.

With the addition of regular exercise, this health giving diet, which only received recognition in the 1990’s has a plethora of benefits on the overall human health and it is frequently compared to the French paradox  (despite consuming a diet high in saturated fat, they have a low level of heart disease, especially when compared with to people in the America).

This similarity is due to the fact that although the people in these Mediterranean countries consume large amounts of foods rich in fats, the Greeks, Moroccans and Italians have a low incidence of cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease and heart attacks.

The reasoning lies in the fact that the fats incorporated in this diet are represented primarily by healthy mono-unsaturated fats. This diet is also rich in dietary fibre and very low in saturated fats (less than 8%).

Mono-unsaturated fats are mainly found in olive oil (more than 75%), almond oil, whole cereals (unrefined and unprocessed), whole milk products, avocados and nuts.

In early 2013, a scientific study conducted on 7500 people who have been observed over a period of 5 years exposed the fact that those on a Mediterranean diet lowered by 30% the risk of having a heart disease when compared to people on a low-fat diet alone.

Also, recent studies have also shown that this diet also provides a better way to achieve weight loss results than both the low-fat and low-carb diets.

It is easy to incorporate the diet into your life. This will help you maintain optimum health and minimise the risk of heart disorders, cancer, diabetes, premature death and Alzheimer s and Parkinson’s disease.

When starting a new diet , you might find it difficult to switch from your regular one diet, but the easiest way to integrate this healthy diet into your busy lifestyle is to make the change gradually.

The Mediterranean diet is very high in essential nutrients which provide a satisfying  sensation.

The main problem with the fast food culture is the fact there are not any nutrient value to the food. We are over feed but under nourished. There is a high fat content to the food, which is also a “bad” fat that is highly processed.

The Mediterranean diet reverses this fact, because it is based primary on consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, moderate consumption of fish, poultry and dairy products as well as of red wine and of course miracle product of this diet, the extra virgin olive oil.

So you have a large variety of diverse food groups at your disposal, in addition to red wine the healthiest and tastiest of alcoholic beverages, which is high in potent antioxidants (reseveratrol and flavonoids in particular).

Therefore, there is no need to fear about missing your old diet because your body will be given all the essential nutrients that will nourish your body.

Furthermore, by providing you the sensation of being full you will not feel hungry.

Once you have begun to incorporate it into your lifestyle, not only you will feel the difference in terms of well-being and increased levels of energy. You will realise that the Mediterranean diet represents a lifestyle in itself, which you can adapt to.

The first step you need to take is to make this diet a vital and important part of your life. You need to consume all your salads dressed with cold pressed olive oil and then incorporate a larger variety of vegetables/legumes and fruits in addition to your favourite ones.

Scientific studies have shown that the oleic acid found in cold pressed olive oil lowers the LDL cholesterol (the bad one) while increasing the HDL cholesterol (the good one). It also decreases the risk of high blood pressure and it has powerful anti-inflammatory properties.

When you start a healthy diet, it is important to drink plenty of water, because it will  help you eliminate the toxins accumulated as a result of your previous diet and thus, cleanse your body properly.

A delicious, fresh and healthy salad, which is very easy to make is the Greek salad, which in addition to tasty vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers also contains feta cheese, olives and oregano, the most used Greek herb.

Also, try to add as a snack a different type of fruit, legume and vegetable each day.

You can also consume red meats however in small amounts and with salads and other vegetables, as well as moderate amounts of poultry and fish, the latter being very rich in omega 3 fatty acids, very important for the health of your heart.

If you are thinking that you are not getting the necessary quantity of protein, you can rest assured because the fact is that legumes such as beans, peas, lentils, and nuts contain a larger amount of protein and of a higher quality than red meat.

This diet is easy to maintain as it really is about adding wholesome foods to your diet. Easy to prepare and it takes approximately 20 minutes to prepare a tasty and full of flavour meal.

There are many recipes that are simple and easy to prepare, such as vegetable and lentil soup, as well as variety of vegetables and fruit salads, rich in textures, flavours and vital nutrients.

As long as you are getting all the vital nutrients for your body to function properly, it will adjust to the new diet, you just have to give it time. Your body will thank you later, because this diet lowers by more than 55% early death rates, typically associated with heart disease and stroke.

The Mediterranean diet will act as an elixir to your body, not only for your physical health and well-being, but for your mental and emotional health as well, because all these three elements are connected. It will help you’ve longer.

If you can add some exercise on a daily basis and 8 hours sleep, in addition to incorporating the Mediterranean diet into your lifestyle, then you will have the winning combination for a healthy life well into old age.

Cold Pressed Olive Oil, Miracle Cure

Olive oil is a type of fat extracted from the olive tree which has been grown for thousands of years in the Mediterranean. It is made by crushing whole olive fruits and then the oil is extracted two ways, (a.) chemical or (b.) mechanical.

Olive oil is used in many industries, pharmaceuticals and even in the making of soap.

Not all olive oil is the same quality. It exists in a variety of grades depending on processing. The best for our health is , extra virgin olive oil. It is produced from the first crushing of olive fruits and is extracted through cold – pressing, no chemicals are added.

Virgin oil is the second variety, obtained from the second pressing of the fruits and is the second-best.

The health benefits of olive oil are many, a reason why it has been named the Mediterranean miracle. One of its main benefits is that it protects the body against cancer, skin, colon and breast cancer. 

The oil has many properties, such as phenolic antioxidants, terpenoid and squalene which are all anti- cancer compounds. The oil also has oleic acid which prevents chronic inflammation besides reducing damage that free radicals cause to the body.

Olive oil also lowers the incidences of type 2 diabetes. This is because the oil has monounsaturated fats like those found in seeds and nuts.

These fats are vital in lowering risks of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. A Spanish study indicated that any Mediterranean diet which has olive oil is capable of reducing type II diabetes by over 55%. 

The oil may be used to significantly reduce osteoporosis. This is a condition that causes reduction in the bone mass, putting people at a risk of fractures.

A test carried out on rats indicated that olive oil increases amounts of phosphorous, calcium and nitrates in the blood, which results in increased thickness of bones to reduce the occurrence of the disease.

Blood pressure can be normalised greatly be through the intake of generous amounts of olive oil. Studies have shown that it is essential in lowering both diastolic and systolic blood pressures.

It is beneficial for people who eat a diet in high amounts of fat, as three ounces of olive oil each day will significantly decrease the blood pressure.

The amount of good and bad cholesterol in the body can be balanced by olive oil. The bad cholesterol is LDL, which can be regulated by olive oil because it contains the monounsaturated fats.

The oil will also increase the amounts of HDL cholesterol, which is the best type of cholesterol in the body.

Olive oil has also been known to control depression.

A Spanish study uncovered that people who eat hydrogenated fats which are mainly found in processed food had a 48% risk of suffering depression.

In the study, olive oil controlled the risk of cardiovascular attacks, which are a common cause with depression, related to dietary plans hence inclusion of olive oil in the diet can greatly control the two.

This is a important oil which is recommended for use instead of processed oils in your everyday diet.

So What Foods Can You Eat? The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet can decrease your risk to cancer by stimulating your immune system and help you reduce the risk of heart disease, Parkinson’s disease as well as the Alzheimer’s disease.

Here are some of the food groups that are included in the Mediterranean diet.

Whole Grains 

Whole grains are considered an important part of the diet.

Barley is one that is added to soups. This grain is rich in selenium and other trace minerals. Whole grain sour dough bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice and whole wheat cereal. These foods have many minerals, nutrients and vitamins that enhance the production of energy for your body.

Whole grains contain fibre which can help with bowel movements and cleanse the colon, thus promoting weight loss in the midsection. To further weight loss, fibre gives you the feeling of fullness thereby making sure that you don’t overeat.

It is a good idea to include seeds in your diet and lower grain in take as well. Seeds such as sunflower, chia, buckwheat, linseed (flax seed) and pumpkin seeds are some of a larger list to include.

Fresh Fruits and Green Vegetables 

The Mediterranean diet consists of the consumption of fruits and vegetables in large quantities. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain a variety of minerals, nutrients and vitamins that can help the body function in its maximum potential.

Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants which combat the cancer causing free radicals. When you adopt the Mediterranean weight loss diet, add more of the dark leafy green vegetables and include them in most meals.

Protein Sources 

This diet focuses on getting proteins from sources that don’t have any associating with animals. Low-fat dairy products and poultry are eaten in very low moderation while red meat is rarely eaten.

Fish and other types of seafood such as salmon, tuna and herring are the main source of proteins in this diet.

Also, seafood contains omega-3 which has been shown to reduce inflammation and enhancing the production of healthy skin and nerve cells. Eating fish can help you balance your cholesterol levels, improving your blood pressure and protect yourself against diabetes and heart diseases.

Healthy Fats 

This diet has large amounts of olive oil to use in cooking as well. The healthy mono-saturated fats in olive oil replace the bad processed saturated fats that pose great danger to your cardiovascular health.

Virgin olive oil contains poly-phenols which have antioxidant properties. Raw nuts like walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds and cashew-nuts are also eaten to provide fat.

Red Wine 

People who live in the Mediterranean have been planting grape vines for thousands of years. They always include some glasses of red wine with their meals especially dinner. This wine is generally home made and is packed with antioxidants.

Therefore, you should drink a moderate amount of wine, especially red wine. Red wine can reduce blood clotting thus prevent the risk of strokes. Doctors are of the opinion that drinking red wine can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Also make sure you include different herbs and spices in your diet that you spice up your food with naturally. Such spices like turmeric, cumin, cardamon, basil, mint, rosemary and coriander make the food tasty and contain properties and nutrients that can promote your health.

After conducting studies that lasted few years, researchers have found that a diet consisting of foods such as olive oil, nuts, plenty of vegetables and fish was significantly more effective in lowering the risk of conditions like stroke and heart disease than a low fat diet.

Researchers believe that the combination of nutrient-rich foods and healthy fats found in Mediterranean style diet is what attributes for the benefits to cardiovascular health that they found in the study.

That’s fantastic news. Mediterranean style food will keep you healthy and, as many people have found, it will help you lose weight as well.

Many of the ingredients such as veggies, nuts, beans, fish and olive oil are simple whole foods that are easy to obtain.

If you have been living on protein bars, diet cleansers, and other supplemental food, then you will find this is a delicious and in expensive way to eat and be come healthy.

These are just some of the foods you can consume on the Mediterranean diet. Include these daily in your diet.

Eat mainly vegetarian food. This includes fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, seeds and  nuts.

• Drink a glass of red wine with the evening meal. No more than seven glasses a week.

• Replace butter with extra-virgin olive oil or another source of healthy fats, like coconut oil. Ghee is great  to cook in as well.

• Eat more fish and poultry. You should have these at least twice a week, however fish should be eaten more often.

• Limit your red meat consumption. Red meat is important, eat it no more than a few times per month.

Such a simple healthy diet when compared to the Keto diet and all the other diets from south beach to magic flat belly fixes that are being touted as the next best thing.

You can easily find all the ingredients for this diet and it will become a part of your life style. This makes it easier to stay on without all the pain from going without food and starving yourself to lose weight and then put it back on.

5 Steps To Losing Weight 

1. Stick to five 400 to 420  – calorie meals per day.

Do not over eat.

However, this is the most important part of losing weight since it’s what you actually consume on a daily basis. If you’re going to lose weight, you need to control what you eat. You need to know how many calories are consumed and what it’s doing for your body.

For the first week of controlling what you eat, start with four 400-calorie meals and drink at least 8 to 10 cups of water each day (I’d recommend drinking, some herbal teas as well, like green tea and peppermint). This is to reduce the amount of food you would be consuming  and the extra fluids flush your system out.

After the first week, eat five 400-calorie meals. You would be consuming the same amount of calories each meal, you’re just eating one more meal each day compared to last week.

By sticking to a meal plan you will be forced to plan out what you eat each day. This will mean you will make better choices by being thoughtful about what amounts of protein and vegetables to eat.

Not only does this breakdown make for a consistent meal plan, it also means each meal is of importance.

2. Include Monounsaturated Fats with every meal.

Not all fats are the same. You should avoid vegetable oils and cheap oil to deep fry in.

The good fats are monounsaturated fats found mostly in these foods:

• Oils (olive oil, macadamia oil, almond oil, sesame oil, flax oil, etc)

• Avocados

• Olives

• Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds etc)

• Dark Chocolate

Monounsaturated fats have a whole range of healthy benefits, but one of the most beneficial ones is that they help stimulate fat loss. It is easy to incorporate these foods into every meal you eat.

3: Eat slowly.

Fact: Chewing your food many times and relaxing while eating, helps you feel satisfied and is filling.

Instead of hurrying to be the first one finished with your plate, take your time. Eat your food slowly and your digestion will be better and you will feel fullness and satisfaction.

Also, drinking a glass of water before each meal will help with a feeling fullness. However if you have digestion problems it is not advised to drink before a meal as it dilutes stomachs acids.

4: Drink lots of water. 

Water is the main liquid we should be drinking as well as herbal tea. Eight glasses of water per day is the average that is recommended.

Drinking water helps curb your appetite throughout the day. Flushing your system and great for your kidneys.

5: Prepare meals in advance.

Planning meals is very important so you don’t end up eating junk food. Not only that it can be very cost effective for budgeting the food bill.

On any diet you need to plan food for the next day. Especially if working and not having time in the morning. So the night before you need to prepare food for the next day at work and also for evening meal that night.

Once you get into a routine you will find it easy and stress free.

How Much Belly Can You Lose?

This depends on how much you stick to your eating plan and exercise schedule. Yes it does take some work, the results are more than worthwhile.

You can lose around 1 to 2 pound per week. However you are better to focus on getting fit and sticking to your diet. Then your weight will drop. Focus on your diet and fitness level and the results will be surprising.

Weight Workout That Shreds Body Fat

If you stick to the diet, you can see results, plus combined with exercise you can lose up to 10 pounds in only 30 days.

If you want to speed up the process and burn more body fat, you’ll want to introduce working out into your schedule. Weight training is by far a faster way to reduce fat.

To increase fat loss without spending hours in the gym or running, the solution for you is circuit training.

Circuit training is a cardio-style workout where you do 1-2 series of several exercises back-to-back with no rest in between the sets or exercises.

When you lift weights like this, the workout itself becomes more intense and you burn more calories without actually doing “cardio” – like running.

Aim to work out 3 days a week if you’re going to introduce working out into your schedule.

Adding Intensity (How To Get Faster Results)

With any workout program, there are ways to get better and faster results. Here are a couple ways to maximise this program even more:

Add Exercises To The Series

One of the easiest tactics to get more intensity is to increase the number of exercises you do in the series throughout this program (for each muscle group). There is any number of unique exercises out there that you can find, however by simply clicking here you can read more about the program that we use. You will find a program that is mapped out for you.

Incorporate Cardio Into Your Workouts

Nobody likes to hear this, but it’s a fact: incorporating cardio into your workouts can rapidly accelerate your fat loss and speed things up.

I’d recommend doing 30 minutes of cardio after each of your workouts.

Now before you form that mental image of walking endlessly on a treadmill, you need to know that there are tons of different ways you can get in 30 minutes of cardio.

For example, I love to run and I’m really good at it. You make like a game of tennis, swimming or cycling. Just do something you like.

Intensity Interval Training

This is one of the most effective forms of cardio you can do in conjunction with this program. Intensity Interval Training is where you do an exercise for a set amount of time, then kick up the intensity to get your heart rate up, then lower the intensity to drop it back down.

This is what I do and is beneficial on this schedule:

Perform on a treadmill or an exercise bike, this interval session. Warm up. Run or ride for 3 minutes on an incline or add pressure to the  wheel on the stationery bike.

Then jog or run for 1 minute at a faster pace . That’s one “interval”. Repeat this 7 more times for a total of 32 minutes.

This is 30 odd minute of cardio, but because you’re changing tempo every 3 minutes it’s not just “boring treadmill cardio”. It keeps you interested and you will feel like you have accomplished something. Your goal will be achieved and you will feel good about working up a sweat.

The benefit of this is that because you’re raising and lowering your heart rate constantly, your body will burn more calories than simply jogging at a easy pace. This means you’ll be able to get in the same “calorie burn” with a shorter cardio session.

Work Out In A Fasted State

One of the best times to work out is in the morning when your body is in what’s called a “fasted state”. This is when you haven’t consumed any calories since the night before.

This is when when you’re sleeping, assuming you get more than 6 hours of sleep at night, your body is going the entire time on zero food and calories. If you train when you wake up (cardio or weight lifting) it’s more beneficial to both fat burning and muscle gaining.

I know it is hard to get up before you go to work in the morning – especially when the alarm clock rings. However the feeling you will have will be one of exhilaration that you have completed a workout that will give you the body that you have been dreaming of.

What about Workouts from Home?

If you are just getting started in building muscle and losing weight working out from home is a

fantastic way to go. Especially if you are time poor and can not get to the gym.

The basic workout from home can be performed with dumbells.

These are easy to store and are great for an all over body workout.

A bench is handy to do  bench presses and is a great piece of equipment to have in your home gym without taking too much space.

If you haven’t got one you can still get a good basic workout done. I would get one as soon as

possible to make it easier to workout.

Beginners need to start easy and build up. Twice per week is better to start at, then build into 3 times per week. The reason is it will take time for your muscles to adapt.

If you do too much too soon it is possible to get an injury. Although muscle soreness will be experienced and this is normal in the building of muscle and getting fit in general.

Make sure you don’t lift too heavy or too light of weight.

Do 2 sets with a two to one minute break between.  If you do not have a bench you need to lay on the ground and try to perform the presses. Make sure to use some padding when you lay down. Like a foam yoga mat.

You need to be careful as this can be dangerous if lifting a weight that is very heavy. I would highly recommend a bench to do these presses on for safety.

Perform 2 sets:

20 -1/2 Squats

10- Military Presses

10- Curls

10- Bench Presses

10- Flies lying on Bench

10- Overhead Pulls lying on bench

Finish off with:

Sit ups, 50 Knees bent hold a light dumbbell while performing them.

There are many combinations of exercises that are possible.

These are basic exercises and will get you body into a great shape before you tackle the advanced workouts.

As these will get your body into shape faster as there is more variety in movements and muscle groups.

The key to weight loss is consistency and a plan or guide to direct you on the right path. Your mental preparation is also important. Write  down your goals and plan for action.

Join our NEWSLETTER> click here and get updates  so you can get the best and easiest way to lose weight and be healthy.  I look forward to hear of your success and progress.

To your health and fitness,

Tony