I know that dehydration isn’t at the top of your list for most interesting subjects to do a blog post on but being properly hydrated can literally “make or break” your training.

In most adults the percentage water makes up our body is around 60% and while we can live for weeks without food, we can only live a few days or so without water (depending on the environment).

And as training “athletes” we will naturally raise or body temperatures and sweat to cool ourselves down.  When this happens dehydration sets in a lot faster than normal.

Researchers have found that even a 2% loss in bodyweight from dehydration can hinder performance by 10-20%.

And if you’re a guy who sweats like Lawrence Taylor in church then you’re going to become dehydrated a lot faster than the person next to you.

Water retention is another reason why I’m not a fan of people weighing themselves all the time on the scale.  Simply because our body weight can fluctuate up to four pounds a day just on how much water you’re holding in.

So the next time you feel like partying to some Lady GaGa songs after the scale says you lost 2 pounds. Be aware that it could just be water weight.  Instead focus on body fat and girth circumferences to gauge your results.

Another big key to take note of is that you’ll also want to focus on having sufficient levels of electrolytes while you’re training.  Sodium is the only one that will really make a difference and it will help with your water absorption.

So I do recommend using some kind of sports drink if you’re training hard since drinking just water will cause bloating and more peeing (…then you’ll have to drink more and the cycle continues!).

But just watch out for our old pal Gatorade who still likes to use high fructose corn syrup in a lot of their products.

There are a lot of signs to look out for when you’re dehydrated a few being; your mouth is dry and your tongue is swollen, your thirsty (duh!), constipation, your skin doesn’t snap back on a skin turgor test, your muscles are cramping and/or spasming, you feel lightheaded/dizzy when you stand up too fast, and if you’re body is overheating.

I know hydration is something that I’m always looking to improve and it’s something that I really struggle with.  Every morning a drink a full glass of cool water to start my day off right.

OK, so here are a couple simple tips to make sure you get the right amount of water daily.

1.  You’re Pee Is Clear.

Sounds funny and downright obvious.  But it works.  Check your pee every time you go #1 to make sure it’s clear enough to drink (but don’t drink it!)  If it’s looking like the color of apple juice then you better start drinking some water fast.  I’ve heard stories about coaches who have literally checked their athletes pee to make sure they were hydrated.

2.  Drink Half Your Body Weight In Fluid Ounces Daily.

This is another golden rule to follow.  So if you weigh 200 pounds then you’ll want to drink AT LEAST 100 fluid ounces of water daily.  And this will increase if you’re working out, drinking alcohol and/or caffeine.  A simple way to follow this is to get a bottle water, see how much water it holds and do the math to find out how many of them you have to drink in a day.

Hey everyone,

Hope you’re fat loss journey is going great.

In today’s video I want to give you an inside look on what I like to snack on to keep the fat off and looking great.

To be frank, I’m a super busy guy and don’t have too much time during the day to make meals for myself.

In fact, I’m a big fan of preparation and with this meal you don’t need much prepping at all.

It only really takes me a fast few minutes for this snack and it tastes great and fills me up.

All the big nutrients are in it and it’s actually a very well rounded feeding.

I got the RAW almond butter from Trader Joe’s for only $5 as well as the RAW almonds too.

I just bought the organic gala apples from Whole Food’s which is right next to our Trader Joe’s.

As you can tell I’m not eating a giant meal as one of my 5 meals for the day.  I really don’t like using the word “meals” when it comes to what you should be eating.  Instead I like to refer to them as “feedings.”

Feedings sound a lot better than meals and can give you a better reference point.  One time I forgot to tell somebody this and they automatically thought they had to pound down a double whopper with cheese every time they ate.

Hopefully this will give you some great ideas for fast and easy snacks that will keep your fat off but also won’t taste like you’re eating cardboard!

Hey Everyone,

Today I decided to do something a little crazy and against what a lot of the fitness and health “gurus” out there.

I’m telling you what you need to eat when you decide to eat fast food.

Now I of course don’t recommend eating fast food at all but I’m also practical and understand that we all can’t eat healthy all the time.

So I wanted to create a series of posts that will serve as “damage control” for when you can’t eat something healthy and gotta go with fast food.

And I’m far from perfect and even I have to grab fast food every now and again.  But this doesn’t mean you get to slam down a double whopper with cheese.

In fact, fast food should be seldomly used and your fat loss results will suffer greatly if you keep eating it consistently.

Fast food should be a once-in-a-while cheat meal or if you’re out with your friends and need to eat something fast.

In this first episode of Fast Food Fat Loss I’m going to In-N-Out Burger which is a popular burger chain here in California.  I’m not sure if they’ve branched out farther than that but it’s one of the few places I don’t mind going when I’m in a bind.

What I got was an “off the menu” item that’s not listed on the main menu.  I ordered 2 hamburgers “protein style.”

Protein style basically means they take off the bun and replace it with some lettuce.  Still tastes good but without the carb rich buns.

Total nutritional value for this meal?

480 calories. 26g of protein, 34g of fat. 22g of carbohydrates.

Far from great but better than what a lot of people are ordering.

If you like my fast food fat loss series and have any suggestions on places to visit please leave a comment below.

Thanks and talk soon!

Josh

I know it’s really tough to eat good when we’re always on the move.  If you’re like most people then you’re probably super busy and don’t always have time to eat every 3 hours like we’re supposed to.

But that’s ok, I always call my 5 “meals” a day, “feedings” instead.  Because I really want to discern the difference between the two.

When I say to eat 5 “feedings” a day every 3 hours, I’m not talking a big ol’ country style meal.  I’m talking 3 meals with some snacks in between.

But what do you want to eat as snacks?

There are a ton of things you can eat but I want to give you a few of my favorite protein packed snacks that I always try to keep around when I’m in a bind and want to make sure I’m getting that feeding in.

The first tip I want to give is to always try to be prepared.  Preparation is the key when it comes to losing weight from having a solid nutrition plan.

I keep snacks all over the place; at home, in my car, in my gym bag and at work.

This way I can keep on track with my meals, otherwise I’ll be missing my meal and therefore might as well have cheated and snacked on some pizza.

Just to break it down really quickly, if you’re not eating every few hours then your metabolism is going to slow down and your blood sugar levels will dip as well.

When this happens your body goes into survival mode and you’ll want to eat anything in sight that will fill you up quickly, this usually results in fast food binging and other bad stuff.

So the key is prepare, prepare, prepare.  I usually like to take Sundays to prepare my snacks for the week so I don’t have to rush through it during the week.  It only takes me an hour or two but it makes a world of difference.

Ok, here we go, my favorite 3 awesome protein packed snacks.

1.  Jerky.

It doesn’t matter if it’s beef, turkey or salmon jerky and it’s a great way to keep a very good protein with you at all times and the best part is that it won’t go bad very easily.  This is great because I can keep the jerky in my car or in my gym bag and just snack on it here and there.  I personally like to mix it up and use beef, turkey and salmon jerky.  Just try not to get the cheap stuff because it’s loaded with nitrites as well as high fructose corn syrup.

2.  Almond Butter and Celery.

Another favorite of mine, I usually keep this at home or in the work refrigerator.  I cut up a bunch of celery on Sunday and have my jar of RAW almond butter that I get at Trader Joe’s for just $5 and I’m good to go.  The only bad part is that you’ll want to keep the almond butter cold after you open it.  But almond butter is a lot better than just plain old peanut butter and I recommend it to mix up your snacks and keep things fresh.

3.  Cottage Cheese and Carrots.

Maybe this is a weird combination but I don’t mind it.  I’ve never been a big fan of cottage cheese but it’s a great source of protein and has lots of casein protein in it.  Casein protein is different from whey and it will be absorbed a lot slower than whey.  I just cut the carrots in half and use the half-carrot to scoop out a bunch of cottage cheese.  Delicious!

There you go, 3 awesome protein packed snacks to keep your day going strong and your nutrition on point.  I also keep a variety of protein bars and protein powder on hand just in case but I try not to overuse these because they are supplements and should only “supplement” your meals.

If you have any other suggestions for protein packed snacks go ahead and leave a comment below, I’d love to hear yours!

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

When it comes to losing weight we really need to have the proper tools to ensure we’re training to our very best and getting the results that we’re looking for.

I used to scribble down my workouts a few minutes prior to working out and wouldn’t even keep a nutrition log, so I didn’t even know what the heck I was eating half the time!

Eventually I found the light after getting so frustrated with not getting any real results.

I started logging all my information so I could keep all my training organized and in order. As the paperwork started building up I started looking around the internet for sources I could use to keep all this stuff in.

I came across this site www.DailyBurn.com and I found it to be the best in the market when it came to what it offered.  It was free and its features were way better than the competitions.

I started using this site and immediately fell in love with it and still use it just about every day.  It’s a great weight loss tool to have in your tool belt and I recommend it to all of my clients. I would really give it a look-see when you have the chance and at least try it out for a week.

I’m not getting paid or anything like that for recommending this to you, I just want to give you the same tools I use to get in awesome shape.

I’m sure you would do the same for me.

Watch the video below as I’ll be giving you a quick overview of the features of DailyBurn.com and how I like to use it to get real lasting results.