All traditional health & healing systems as well as modern, cutting edge wellness and functional / preventative medicine experts understand that the accumulation of toxins (toxic load) can lead to fatigue, weight gain, metabolic dysfunction, disorders and disease.

Cleanses, Fasting & Detox programs are holistic methods that have been used for thousands of years for supporting the health & vitality of the body. These programs, when done correctly, are effective in helping people remove toxins from the body, reduce inflammation and transition off processed foods, sugar or alcohol. The true benefit of these types of programs… are not only physical (optimize health, weight loss, energy levels), but also the healing of the body & mind and the integration of body, mind and spirit.

The more toxic your body becomes, the worse you feel and more difficult it is to lose weight.

In predictable America fashion, detox was understood by a few, then exploited by some, misunderstood, misused and misrepresented by many and demonized/dismissed by the institution it threatens.

Detoxification has been dismissed by mainstream medicine as ‘quackery’ or ‘pseudo-science’ and embraced by alternative healthcare industry who might understand the history & purpose, but are not familiar the science behind it. Both sides propagate false teachings about it and encourage a polarized stance. I found that the truth lies somewhere in between.

The human body is perfectly designed. We’ve evolved millions of years to get where we are today – we are built to be strong, healthy, resilient to certain amount of stress and toxins and not just survive, but to THRIVE!

It’s only been in the last 100 years that we’ve inundated our planet and bombarded our bodies with tens of thousands of man-made chemicals. Toxins in our environment are ubiquitous. Trying to avoid toxins (esp if you live in a city) is like trying to avoid bad 80’s music on the radio. The best you can do is turn off the radio to minimize your exposure and simultaneously strengthen your health & resilience. Unfortunately, we all go to a store, a gym or a friends’ house that will inevitably force us to hear bad 80’s music.

The purpose behind doing a detox is based on undeniable facts about excessive toxic exposure in our modern world – the quantity & quality of new toxins never before seen in human history.

The human body stores toxins in fat. Some toxins cause chaos at the cellular level (cancer), triggering immune response while others disrupt hormonal systems – all of this influences our psychology (mood & brain chemistry) and body fat (accumulation or inability to lose is hormonal) and overall health.

The science behind detox begins with a basic understanding of our body’s natural detoxification system:

Liver – the main organ of detoxification, it performs hundreds of functions and is necessary for metabolism.

Gall Bladder – stores & releases bile which is necessary for digestion and removing toxins

Kidney – Excretes waste through urine. Also involved in regulation of electrolytes, ph balance and blood pressure.

Lungs – intake of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide. Shallow & restricted breathing compromises systems

Colon – absorbs water & some nutrients and excretes waste materials. It houses trillions of bacteria necessary for optimal health

Lymph – part of the immune system, involving many structures, which processes the removal of waste materials.

Skin – absorbs & excretes toxins through sweat.

Steps for a Healthy Detox:

Your body’s natural detoxification system comes installed with an ‘auto run’ feature. Here is how you keep it running clean, efficiently and help you prevent problems of toxic overload.

1 – Drink nothing but clean water. WATER is your auto-run for health, energy & detoxification. Consider a water filter for your tap, and I dont mean a Brita. If you have babies, get a water filter for the bath. CLICK HERE to see more an extensive list of drugs in your tap water.

2 – SKIN – sweat every day. Whether it’s working out or doing something outdoors in the sun. Steam, sauna are also good. Far infrared saunas are best for detox. If you are overweight, DO NOT wear hoodies or sweatshirts when you work out.

3 – Cosmetics & Beauty Products – the insanely unnecessary amounts of harmful synthetic chemicals that are deviously marketed to and misleading women, are some of the most toxic, cancer-causing and hormone-disrupting concoctions that get into the body. Glowing, youthful skin comes from a clean diet and a functional detoxification system, especially the liver and colon.

Whatever goes ON your skin, goes IN your skin.

Choose natural, organic beauty products and especially make up, deodorant, soap and perfumes.
Check out one of my favorite sites:

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

4 – LYMPH DRAINAGE – your lymph system does not have a pump (like the heart), so movement, exercise, massage therapy and dry skin brushing encourage the removal of toxins via the lymphatic system.

5 – LUNGS - First, learn how to breath. Seriously, learn how to breath. Find a Chek practitioner, Naturopath, yoga expert or some type of holistic fitness/wellness expert who has an in-depth understanding of how respiratory mechanics and can teach you specific breathing exercises – you will love it!

6 – Get as much FRESH AIR as possible. Take some time every day to get fresh air, early mornings are best. While your at it, take time each week to do nothing but chill in nature. This will have tremendous benefits not only for your health, but in all areas of your life.

7 – You can also get plants and air filtration systems for your home and office. No matter where you live – get as much fresh air as possible.

Part 3 of How to Detox has foods that detox the body and a few more cool ideas to keep your body’s natural detoxification on auto-run.

Thanks for reading. Please comment below and let me know what you think. And if you have questions or other detox ideas, please share them…

Antonio

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Carie is my most successful pre/post natal client who trained consistently throughout her entire pregnancy. Within a few short weeks of delivering her beautiful baby boy, Carie easily lost the weight and got her lean, sexy body back in no time. Here are her best tips:

1.  Get healthy fats like grass fed butter, eggs and beef back into your body…..you need to nourish your body and brain to have a healthy physical, mental & emotional outlook

2. Get rid of SUGAR!!

3. Walk daily… move your body at least three times a week…anything except a cardio machine

4. Get adequate sleep..which means go to sleep by 10pm most nights..

Introducing Nicole…check out those arms! Nicole’s best tips include…

1. Understanding my values and maintaining a healthy relationship between my mind, body and soul.

Erin Jo is one of the most talented singer, songwriters and most versatile musicians I have ever been blessed to know. She was actually my neighbor so I can tell you that she is also a fabulous chef…

Real world advice from healthy, vibrant women who get results and none of them mentioned ‘dieting’ or Mona Vie or Acai cleanse or any other gimmick.

In order to lose belly fat, flatten your abs, develop a lean toned, sexy body…you need to focus on the BASICS and get healthy FIRST. Everything else is easy.

Antonio

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I have specialized in women’s fitness and fat loss in NYC for 15 years. I don’t work with everyone who applies to work with me. The reason is that not everyone is ready for the work that is involved in getting awesome results…seriously, millions of people are big talkers or they are still looking for the ‘quick fix’

So I recently asked my most successful clients what worked best for them for staying lean and healthy. Here are some of their responses…(notice what NONE of them talk about). This is Francesca…

Francesca originally was a client of mine for several years and also went through my Fitness & Nutrition Coach Development Program and is now a very successful woman’s Fitness & Nutrition Coach. Here are her favorite tips for staying lean, healthy and fabulous…

1. Focus on thinking & making statements in line with what you want not what you don’t want. i.e thinking/saying “I’m beautiful” or “I love the way my arms look” rather than “I’m fat”.

2. Don’t listen to what “everyone else” is doing. Learn what works for you which may mean changing your diet and exercise habits completely the other way.

3. Take it one day/one step at a time, keeping the big picture in mind.

These 3 tips come from my own experience. I’ve never been more confident or happier about myself .

This is Jaime, co-author of Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook…Jaime was on a raw food vegan diet which wreaked havoc on her body and mind.

She is a protein type, her body requires more fat and protein than other people…she lost 30 pounds and 3 dress sizes and got off all her meds simply eating more fat and protein and eliminating common food allergens…NO, I do not encourage everyone go out and eat more fat and protein….we are all unique. But here are a few tips that work really for her…and as you can see, she is lean, healthy and has tons of energy!

I shred up super quick if I do these things daily:

Notice they didn’t say anything about ‘dieting’….I have some more client success stories that will inspire you and show you that we are all unique and that we all deserve an awesome life of happiness, confidence and a lean, healthy, sexy body ….it’s not that hard to do when you know a few simple truths.

So for those of you who just want to get ’skinny’ or ‘lose weight’ – remember this…

You cannot lose weight to improve your health..you must improve your health to lose weight.

Of course, you can be like the 98% of dieters that won’t listen to that tip and desperately go for the quick fix…if you focus on ‘weight loss’, you might miss out on an awesome life of health, vitality and
looking and feeling your best!

Stay tuned for more tips from my most successful clients

Antonio

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How Financial Stress Makes You Fat

A recent poll by the American Psychological Association showed 80% of Americans are stressed about the economy.  So far this year, more people reported stress induced physical and
emotional problems including fatigue, irritability, anger and insomnia than the entire 2007.

Adding insult to injury, almost half of those surveyed are self-medicating
by overeating or indulging in unhealthy foods while others drink alcohol & smoke to ‘cope’.

Brilliant.

Those methods not only don’t help you cope because the economic stressor does not change no matter how much crap you put in  your body.  But also , ask yourself this – how do YOU feel emotionally AFTER every time you eat crappy food or drink alcohol?

That’s right.  More stressed than before.
In scientific terms that’s called a Double Whammy!

So your already stressed and now you just made yourself fatter and caused more physical stress to your body.  This might be good for Snackwells or Capt. Morgan, but bad for your waistline.

Your health is more vulnerable right now which means it is CRUCIAL to eat better,  exercise appropriately and get to bed on time so you can truly cope with stressors and feel good about yourself while going thru this mess.

So, what does stress have to do with flat abs?
EVERYTHING.

The more stress you have, the more cortisol you produce.
Cortisol is stress hormone.  We need it to deal.  But too much causes problems – very serious problems.
Belly fat, also known as the Muffin Top, is one of the problems associated with too much cortisol.

More importantly than how flat your abs are – is how alive you want to be!

Cortisol damages brain cells and is also cardio toxic (poisonous to your heart) – you probably already know
that there are more heart attacks on Monday mornings, right?

Cortisol makes you forget and interferes with your sleep.  It also prevents fat loss.

Cortisol is a bitch.  At least too much of it is.

And the more cortisol you pump out because you are not managing your stress, the less sex hormones you produce.  That means many important things for your overall health, your ability to burn fat and continue dealing with stress. At this point, you are quickly heading towards Burnout!
So here are some real fitness, nutrition and stress management tips that work to relieve stress and reduce cortisol and yes, will also help you prevent getting a Muffin Top.

If you take responsibility for your health, manage your perception of the stressor and truly love your self –> you will improve your health and can even lose body fat during this economic crisis.  Hell Yeah!

Although most people think cardio and running is healthy, they are DEAD wrong.

Aerobic work produces cortisol.  The more you run, the more cortisol you produce.

The more you run, the more ‘feel good’ hormones (endorphins, enkephalins, dopamine, serotonin) are released which is why you get the ‘runners high’. The more you get high, the more carbs you will crave.

Exercise that Reduces Stress -

Any mind-body exercise that helps you get centered and quiets the mind will help you balance your hormone levels and cope with any stressor better than cardio.

Yoga is really popular but its not the only effective mind-body technique.  I am NOT a fan of Bikram or hot yoga. Too stressful for most. Find an authentic yoga school that plays Indian music, stays true to its original teachings, has altars, bells and burns incense in between classes and anything else that you used to think was ‘weird’.  These trendy modern yoga schools that try to be hip are so played out and much less effective.

Qigong is also very valuable. Tai Chi.  The Franklin Method.  Most forms of Dance (except for the type where you chew on day glow sticks, wear fake contact lenses and listen to annoying computerized techno or house music).  Feldenkrais.  Chek Zone Training. Lotte Berk.  PIlates and meditation are just a few methods that work really well.

The goal is to reduce heart rate and blood pressure, balance your energy, center your perspective, learn to breathe and be present with and embrace any challenge you face.

If you love to strength train, here are some guidelines that will help you manage stress levels.

Reduce your workouts to 20 minutes of Total Body workouts.  Warm up properly and progress into your workout without any rest.  Instead of using heavy weights, use lighter weights for the time being, perform technical exercises on the Swiss ball and one leg balance exercises that challenge your mind and body in new & different ways.

When you need to rest, do a stretch, such as a kneeling hip flexor or chest stretch on Swiss ball.

Workout out in morning or afternoon and outside if possible and DO NOT watch TV while working out!

I am filming exercises right now so you will all get cool videos in the next few days of these stretches and mind-body exercises later this weekend.  Stay ultra focused on your workouts and clear your mind.  Be present and get out of your head and into your body.  Focus on movements, not muscles.

Now, I can go on for days about this topic and there are many aspects I can cover.  So please let me know what you want over the next few days!

Do you want Mind-Body Exercise?  Strength training tips?

Nutrition or cooking tips to stay lean and focused during any crisis?

Mindset & coping techniques to balance your perspective and respond to any challenge with peace of mind and come out successful?

Please let me know and you can come out on top no matter what is happening in teh economy.

Peace out

Antonio

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Check out my new blog!

Looks good doesn’t it?

I’m going to be adding all kinds of cool features including videos, interviews and a cool forum so you guys & gals can participate a bit more….

The forum should be up in a few days.

You will be able to meet others around the world who share similar interests in holistic health, fitness, fat loss, organic food, etc

You can ask questions and get answers from me or my team of experts, some of my friends and even my clients will be in on all the action!

We will also have sections for Recipes, Eating Disorders and Cancer Recovery

Now, back to hidden causes of weight gain…

Remember, getting fat has very little to do with eating fat…

It has more to do with eating sugar, processed foods, not eating for your unique metabolic requirements, skipping meals and eating these hidden food allergens or other problem ingredients that can trigger all sorts of health problems, weight gain being just one of them.

After these past 3 or 4 posts, you should have a pretty advanced understanding of common food issues that can make you sick, fat and tired.

You should have also learned that the smartest way to get healthy and lose fat is PAY ATTENTION to how you feel after you eat and look for patterns. This will help you identify food allergens or even common crappy foods that are labeled ‘health food’ that you may not work well for you.

The next most important lesson I have for you is a question…

In order for me to make this blog more exciting and more focused on YOU and your concerns, I need y’all to speak up a bit…

What is your most pressing health question?

What is it that you really want to know?

What questions do you have that keep you lying awake at night???

Is it Fat Loss?

Is it your pooch belly???

Do you want to know more about organic food or how to balance your brain chemistry through foods?

Do you want to know the truth about the raw Foods Diet or other trends?

Do you want me to review popular books or magazines so you don’t waster your time with crappy ones?

Do you want to know what to eat?

Please feel free to share your opinions, questions and concerns with me on this blog.

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In case you don’t me, here is a little bit of my history that will help you understand what this email is about…

I started training in the martial arts when I was 5 years old.
I lived in India and learned Yoga from real masters between the ages of 19 and 21.
When I came to NYC and developed my business, I created a holistic fitness, nutrition and lifestyle system that would help people not only get healthy and burn fat, but also reduce stress and achieve inner peace.
Yes, even in the middle of the concrete jungle, you can have a sense of inner peace and clarity.

I created four levels of fitness – from mind-body through high performance – and the one I find that offers some of the best benefits for busy New Yorkers is mind-body fitness.
I integrated various mind-body systems like Chi Gong and Yoga, into my own full body workout.

In fact, I teach a morning class several days a week along side the Hudson River down here in the West Village.

Mind-body exercise allows busy people, just like you, to take a moment and bring your attention inward instead of always thinking about everything outside and around you – it allows you to go inside and quiet the mind.

What are the benefits of mind body exercise and what does it have to do with fat loss???

Anytime you are challenged (stressed), you immediately go into a ‘Fight or Flight’ mode.
This is part of normal life – everyone’s life has both support and challenge.
The problem arises when you have non-stop stress from too many sources and your body cannot adapt.
Stress produces cortisol, stress hormone, that interferes with most metabolic processes, and helps you store fat and age prematurely.
Excess cortisol is involved with almost every disease known to man and especially involved in fat distribution and weight gain.

The more stress you encounter and don’t manage properly –> the more your body stores fat and the less your body will be able to burn fat, because managing stress is more of a priority for the human being than weight loss

The more stress, the less your body’s ability to tolerate aggressive exercise 9Like fat burning strength or interval training)
So, sometimes the best way to burn fat is to slow down and take it easy.
Allow your body to return to its natural state of balance and metabolic function.

For busy New Yorkers who face stress all day long and need some work-life balance, I teach a simple routine of mind-body exercises that focus on proper breathing patterns and quieting the mind that they can do in the morning or immediately after work.

Some of the benefits of mind-body fitness include:

• Reduce Stress and Manage Cortisol Levels
• Resilience to Everyday Stressors
• Dissolve Emotional Charges
• Balance Emotions
• Enhance Presence and Clarity
• Integrate Body, Mind and Spirit
• Reduce Muscle Tension and Anxiety
• Increase Focus and Sense of Purpose
• Improve Memory and Concentration
• Better Learning & Retention
• Increase Energy
• Improve Health & Wellness
• Reduce Insomnia
• Enhance your Ability to Enjoy Life
• Increased Self Esteem & Self Worth
• Improve Relationship with Self and Others
• Reduce Biological Aging

All of these benefits translate into looking and feeling better about yourself.
Mind Body Exercise will help you store less fat and improve your metabolic function and significantly improve your health.

There are many ways to learn and practice mind-body exercises.
The most obvious is Yoga and Chinese Exercise like Chi Gong.

Another simple way I suggest is to get Paul Chek’s book ‘How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy’ and practice the Energizing Exercises in Chapter 6.
If you live in New York City and want to join me for a morning mind-body workout along the Hudson River, please email me for info and come join us!

Peace Out

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In case you don’t know, I live in the Lower East Side of New York City.
It has a reputation for being not only the puck rock, but also the organic foods capital of the US.
There are more organic restaurants and health food stores here than most any other city anywhere.

I love it because I can get almost anything I want, whenever I want it.

I’m going to share with you a couple of my favorite spots for getting organic treats and eco-friendly skincare products….

Now, the treats I eat once in awhile are sweet…

In fact, I can get Strawberry Shortcake, Terra Misu, Coconut Ice Cream, Chocolate Chip Mint Milk Shakes and other treats
that have NO DAIRY, NO FLOUR, NO SUGAR and NOTHING ARTIFICIAL!

They are gourmet raw food treats and yes, they are delicious.
In fact, they can be very nutritious…but, they can also be heavy in calories and if you’re not careful, they will make you fat.

If you don’t know much about raw foods, also known as ‘living foods’ or ‘life foods’…then you might be missing out.

A raw foods diet is very trendy right now, but it’s not for everyone.

There are some wonderful raw food people and powerful health benefits to eating raw foods, but overall it’s just not wise for about 2/3 of the world’s population.

Raw foods are loaded with nuts and seeds which are difficult to digest for most.
There is also not enough saturated fat and protein to make it truly healthy for some people.

The ‘one size fits all’ concept is one of the biggest myths and health obstacles people face today.

They do have excellent whole food snacks though that are loaded with enzymes and are nutrient dense.

They also use ’super foods’ – foods like acai, maca, goji berries, Irish moss and coconut which are powerhouses of nutrition.

I encourage my clients to check out these places and try their snacks.
If you live in NYC, LA or other major metropolitan area – you are in luck, as raw food restaurants are popping up all over the place.
If you live elsewhere, just do an online search, get a cook book and a few ingredients and
try some of these recipes for yourself.

Here are some of my favorite places and some online resources to help you get started with raw food snacks….

http://www.purefoodandwine.com
http://www.live-live.com
http://www.caravanofdreams.net
http://www.organicavenue.com
http://www.highvibe.com
http://www.jubbslongevity.com
http://www.living-foods.com
http://www.sunfood.com

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Holiday Tips so you DON’T Gain Weight….

Although everyone likes to give and look out for others during the holidays, if you are tired, bloated, hung over and beating yourself up emotionally from partying and overeating, you cant really ‘give’ much of yourself or ‘look out for others’ when you don’t feel well – can you? To have a wonderful holiday experience and get started on your fitness and fat loss goals and still enjoy some parties, follow these simple, yet powerful tips that are proven to work and you might even lose a pound or two during the holidays….

1 – Take care of yourself FIRST and you will have plenty of love & energy to give others. Set goals to not overextend your self, your bank account or your stomach this holiday season. Set health, fitness and weight loss goals NOW, not New Years. New Years Resolutions DO NOT WORK so don’t bother. Instead, go out and have fun on New Years and forget the whole resolution thing! Set realistic goals NOW for the next 4-6 weeks. Then make your personal projections for the first quarter of 2008, by asking yourself these health, fitness & lifestyle questions – Who would I love to be? What would I love to do? How would I love to look and feel? Ask yourself daily.

2 – Get in mini-exercise sessions whenever you can. Don’t worry about getting to the gym for an hour and don’t waste time with cardio. My 15 min body weight workouts will do the trick. Exercise the morning of your company or family parties and stay true to your self by setting realistic goals for eating and drinking and getting to sleep at a reasonable time.

3 – Focus on food quality and quantity throughout the holidays. Every meal should have a protein, fat and carb. Your stomach is not any bigger during the holidays so don’t treat it as such. Every meal should have a protein, fat and carb. Split the meals up into thirds untill you know what your metabolic type is.

4 – Get Up, Get On Up! Dance or go for a walk after dinner. If you’re at a company party and want to dance, wait a little while to start digestion and then get on up and hit the dance floor! If your home with family, go for a nice walk with your nephews and your brother’s dog. Walking is man’s best medicine and will help digest your meal.

5 – Alcohol – if you are going to drink alcohol, set goals and limits. Do not drink alcohol on an empty stomach. Have a small snack like a handful of walnuts or almonds or bring fish oil pills or get a fat/protein appetizer like cheese, fish or avocado. If you wake up hung-over, don’t beat yourself up. Just get up and set goals to take better care of yourself and feel better more often.

6 – You cant BURN OFF what you did on the treadmill. That’s a lie so don’t buy into it. Don’t drink sugar-loaded mixed drinks just because they are cute or trendy. Also, there is no difference between red wine and tequila – all alcohol is a highly refined sugar that causes intoxication, inflammation and weight gain. No, there is no antioxidant benefit to drinking wine – especially when your getting smashed and eating crap. That’s another lie so its best not to lie and just be honest. Want to be healthy? Stop getting drunk. Period.

7 –Drink water – half your body weight in ounces every day. Add a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt and drink 10-15 minutes before dinner. This will help you digest your meal better.

PS– I will be switching to another newsletter service in the nest week or two – you will be sent an email asking you to confirm your subscription in order to continue receiving these newsletters. Remember, this newsletter is now weekly AND you also get a 5 week e-course, a preview of my upcoming book and a complementary teleseminar with a world-class nutritionist….or you can beat the crowds and head on over to www.12FatLossSecrets.com and sign up NOW!

PSS – I am teaching a live workshop in January on achieving ALL your health, fitness and weight loss goals. Discover exactly what you need to know if you want to sculpt the body of your dreams, reduce stress and live a healthy and inspired life! Keep your eyes open for my next newsletter with details!!!

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