New Book Release - Tom Venuto!

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PRESS RELEASE
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From: Tom Venuto, via Avery Books/Penguin Group, New York City
Re: pre-release announcement

For Immediate Release. October 28th, 2008

New Hardcover Book By Tom Venuto Reveals the 5 Principles for
Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscle, Ending Emotional Eating and
Maintaining Your Perfect Weight.

http://www.BodyFatSolution.com

By now, we all know that we gain fat when we take in more calories
than we burn. But we're not always rational creatures when it comes
to food and exercise.

Recognizing the emotional and psychological factors that sabotage
success, Tom Venuto's new Book, The Body Fat Solution (Avery/Penguin)
hones in on the real causes of body-fat and provides a sound plan
to take back control of our bodies and end emotional eating for good.

In The Body Fat Solution, Venuto outlines the five principles that
will retrain your mind and body for automatic success. Determined
to help you keep the fat off for good, Tom shows you how to:

- End emotional eating and stop diet self sabotage
- Re-program your mind for "auto-pilot" success
- Go beyond goal setting by crafting a powerful "vision" that
motivates you for life
- Eat healthy, delicious food almost unconsciously and
shed the pounds without depending on willpower
- Invite a supportive social network of friends, family, and
mentors to help you achieve your dream body

Venuto reminds us that calories do count! But The Body Fat Solution
is neither super low carb nor super low fat, and he steers clear of
demonizing entire food groups. Instead, Venuto helps you personalize
an eating plan that takes into account your unique metabolism and
calorie needs. He then presents illustrated workout programs to
maximize the success of the nutrition plan that are fast and efficient.

Most important, he helps you plan and organize your life so that
you can fully implement your new goals and monitor your progress,
and finally maintain your perfect weight for life.

The Body Fat Solution offers help for people struggling with everyday
challenges such as frequent travel, restaurant temptations, busy
schedules, high levels of stress and social pressure -- roadblocks that
can get in the way of the best nutrition or training strategy

Tapping into his years of training expertise and personal experience,
Venuto helps readers change their relationship with food, empowers
them to take charge of their lives, and delivers a program that
promises dramatic and permanent results.

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ADVANCED PRAISE FOR THE BODY FAT SOLUTION:
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"Read this book--if you want to lose weight, improve your body and
your health, and keep up these improvements for life. Tom Venuto
gives it to you straight, basing his program on solid science and
common sense. You will come away with a new feeling of inspiration
and a new action plan to get you started and keep you on track to
help you reach your goals--and then beyond."

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D.
Author of The Complete Beck Diet for Life.
Director, Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research
Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania


"At last, easy, concise, no excuses - get skinny - this is the guide
Great work, Tom!"

- Richard Bandler, co-founder of NLP, author, "Get The Life You Want"


"Tom Venuto's Body Fat Solution is one of the most important books
on health, happiness and physical well-being ever written. In this
fast-moving, easily usable series of methods and techniques, you
learn how to enjoy superb physical fitness, achieve your ideal weight,
and feel terrific about yourself both emotionally and spiritually."

Brian Tracy - Motivational Speaker, Author - "Reinvention"


In 2003 Tom Venuto changed the fat loss world with his ebook
"Burn the Fat - Feed the Muscle"... In 2008 he's done it again with
the Body Fat Solution. The World's expert on fat loss speaks - I listen.
I've often said --- Fat loss doesn't start with an exercise program,
a diet or a supplement... It starts with a mindset shift. That mindset
shift begins with Tom's new book. If you want to change your body -
you need to change your mind. And to do that - you need Tom Venuto.

- Alwyn Cosgrove, Co-Author, The New Rules of Lifting and
The New Rules of Lifting for Women

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The Body Fat Solution is scheduled for release on January 8th, 2009.
Now available for Pre order at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com

Visit: http://www.BodyFatSolution.com, or

http://www.amazon.com/Body-Fat-Solution-EmotionalEating-Maintaining/dp/1583333290?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222564204
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MetaCardio is available!

I am proud to announce the official release of my new book, "MetaCardio: Metabolic Interval Workouts" published by LuLu Press. You can purchase the book by clicking here

MetaCardio is a rapid fire, metabolism-raising workout that combines both cardio and weights in one time efficient workout. It is my contribution to the well-researched and effective training technique known as High Intensity Interval Training or H.I.I.T. This is the next generation of H.I.I.T workouts and is designed to burn a lot of calories by simultaneously challenging both the aerobic (cardio) and anaerobic (strength) systems. It provides a wide variety of workout options and intensity levels to keep you motivated and prevent boredom.

Review of Morning Banana Diet

Yesterday, I received an article and question about 'The Morning Banana Diet'. Apparently, it's the hottest selling diet book in Japan. Below is a quote from the story:

"The Morning Banana Diet consists of one
or more bananas with room-temperature
water for breakfast; an optional snack at 3
p.m.; and anything you want for lunch and
dinner. The catch: You can’t eat desserts after
meals, dinner has to be consumed by 8
p.m. , and you have to go to bed by midnight.
The diet was created by Osaka pharmacist
Sumiko Watanabe, who wanted to help her
husband lose weight, and aims at boosting
the dieter’s metabolism. Watanabe’s husband
ended up dropping 37 pounds."

So why is this diet working? Are bananas the next 'superfood'? Heck no, this is another fad which has helped sell more than 730,000 books so far. Sure, the banana is a rich source of potassium and helps prevent both constipation and diarrhea.

Bananas are relatively high in calories (a medium-sized banana has about 110 calories). However, one should not eliminate bananas from the diet when trying to lose weight. Bananas also provide calcium, carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B6, etc. So they are nutrient-dense food.

So why are people losing weight? Here's the catch, and I quote, "You can’t eat desserts after meals, dinner has to be consumed by 8 p.m."

I don't care if you eat a watermelon, apple, or any other fruit for breakfast. If you eliminate dessert, you will save several hundred calories a day. And that, my friends, will surely help you to keep your overall caloric intake low which equals weight loss.

Alcohol and Fat Loss

Yesterday, I was watching TV when a commercial came on for a 64 calorie beer. We still haven't gotten it.

It's not the calories in alcohol that you need to worry about. It's the alcohol itself. Study after study has proven that for most people, alcohol shuts down your ability to burn fat in the liver. This is (obviously) very important if you are trying to lose fat.

So remember, it's not about the total calories in this case, it's about what the alcohol does to your fat burning furnace! It shuts it down!

Jimi on WDIV Local 4 News in Detroit

Below is a collection of the TV appearances my client Chuck Gaidica and I did on Friday, Sept. 26th.

Review of movie, "Bigger, Stronger, Faster"

After several long months, I finally got my Netflix delivered DVD version of the highly anticipated documentary, "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" After watching the 90 minute classic, I have several thoughts:

#1: This movie is about my childhood - if you grew up in the 80's, this movie is a MUST SEE. I saw my childhood flash before my eyes. The same action heroes that inspired the Bell family to strive for greatness also inspired me. Everyone from Arnold, Sly, and Hulk Hogan are showcased in this movie.

#2: This movie doesn't take a pro or anti steroid stance - it was refreshing to see that Chris Bell did NOT paint steroids in either a positive or negative light. He simply pointed out what they are, and what they are not. He also interviews some of the legends of track and field, Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson, asking the tough questions that most of us want to know.

All in all, I can't say enough good about this movie. Once you see it, you will want to own your own copy. It will make a great stocking stuffer!

28 Day Weight Loss Challenge Video is up!

Aug. 31st - Sept. 28th
Results:
13lbs of body fat LOST!
5 inches on waistline LOST!

Where's the proof?

Okay, below is a video summary of my fat loss journey. My wife Vaiva and son Edwin were heading off to Lithuania for 28 days to visit her side of the family. I decided that I would attack my excess body fat with lazer-like focus. When I started the challenge on Aug. 31st, I was 157lbs with a 34 1/4 inch waist. When I finished the challenge, I was 145lbs with a 27 inch waist. Because the results seem too good to be true, I decided to include this brief video to show the journey I took. Scroll down past the video to see an outline of my workout and eating plan for this 28-Day Journey!



Eating Rules:
1. Eat 6 - 7 meals a day.
2. Eat lean protein and complex carbs in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables.
3. No sugar or processed carbohydrate/foods with the exception of protein powder.
4. Carb-free protein bars were permitted if necessary to get a meal in at work.

Workout Plan:
1. Perform 2 - 12 min. timed set circuits with 3 Compound exercises with little or no rest between sets.
2. Perform treadmill sprint intervals at 30 sprint/30 recovery for 15 minutes, treadmill sprints at 60 sprint/60 recovery for 16 minutes, MetaCardio Intervals, or Stepmill, Elliptical, or Bike for steady-state cardio for 20 minutes.

Fit at 50 Chuck Gaidica's battle of the bulge

Below are some pictures from the story!





Here is a link to Chuck Gaidica story on ClickonDetroit.com

Fit at 50 with Chuck Gaidica on Local 4 Detroit

On Friday evening, September 26th, 2008, Local 4 Detroit stopped by the Sports Club of Novi to do a story on one of their superstars, Chuck Gaidica. Chuck just happens to be one of my hardest working clients. In one of the segments, Chuck mentioned my new program, "MetaCardio" he went on to explain that when we added this piece to the workout, it was as if "a switch had been flipped" on his weight loss efforts.

On this day, we had the opportunity to showcase the fruit of his labor. Below are several pictures taken from the live broadcast!

Video from Channel 4 - Detroit

Here is a link to WDIV's website where the video is up of Chuck Gaidica doing a version of my new workout, MetaCardio

Click Here!

Here is a list of the tips I gave on WDIV Local 4 in Detroit!

Getting Fit With Chuck

POSTED: 12:50 pm EDT September 26, 2008

4 Fat Loss Rules for Faster Fat Loss

Proper nutrition - (Lean Protein, Complex Carbs, & Healthy Fats)
Start with Strength training - (Circuit training)
Add Cardio Intervals (Alternating between high & low intensities)
Increase N.E.P.A. (Non-Exercise Physical Activity)

4 Ways To Boost Your Metabolism
Eat breakfast (Combine Complex Carb w/ Lean Protein)
Perform Strength Training Circuits (2 – 3 Movements in a row before resting)
Eat protein at every meal (helps muscle repair, more filling)
Eat more unprocessed food (takes more calories to break down)

4 Time-Saving Tips To Make Workouts More Effective
Perform circuit training instead of straight sets
Shorten rest periods (30- 45 seconds, keeps HR elevated)
Perform Cardio Intervals before steady state cardio
Get proper instruction (good form reduces risk of injury)

To contact Chuck's trainer Jimi Varner call 248-735-8850 ext. 4063 www.JimiVarner.com



Health headlines on WDIV sponsored by:

Question about Protein

September 27th, 2008

"Do you feel that everyone needs to consume protein products to get lean, and lose body fat? I saw your list of foods to eat and avoid. I only had a problem with the whey protein powder. Also the recipe for the protein bars, with 1 cup of protein power in them. I tried Atkins about 5 years ago and I did lose weight and fat, but it was too hard on my kidneys and liver. So I just wondered if any of your clients have had good weight and fat lose results without going high protein, or using the protein powder supplement? Thanks for any feedback. - V.C.


Thanks for your question V.C.
Yes, I have had clients lose bodyfat while not using protein powder or supplements. As I said on the broadcast (there were 3 of them, so not sure which one you caught) but I always favor REAL FOOD instead of supplements whenever possible.

Keep me posted on how you progress and thanks for your question.

Jimi Varner
www.JimiVarner.com

Jimi Varner to appear on Local 4 in Detroit

Tonight, Thursday September 25th, I will be appearing in a story about Chuck Gaidica's battle with his weight. The segment airs at 11pm on WDIV Ch. 4 in Detroit.

The next night, Chuck Gaidica and I will be LIVE between 5pm - 6:30pm doing multiple segments on health and nutrition at the Sports Club of Novi.

Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback on the coverage!

Video posts to follow

Review of Trader Joe's Very Green Product

I've used several different greens products over the years. The one thing that stood out about each and every one of them is the taste. Every last product has tasted like absolute crap, that is, until I discovered Trader Joe's version called 'Very Green'.

I decided to try it after listening to a fitness podcast and hearing the host rave about it. He was right, it is excellent. Not only is the price right, it tastes like Cactus Kool-Aid (if it even exists)

Personal Training customer is THRILLED!

Here is another testimony for you all:

"This summer my friends were amazed with my transformation. I truly believe that with your guidance and positive words, this life style change is permanent. People would ask me about my diet and I would tell them it's not a diet but it's my nutrition. It's not about how little I eat. I still eat a lot. It's about how I eat and when I eat and what I eat. Thanks to your advice." - Jayson Torres

JIMI COMMENTS: Jayson started working with me around Thanksgiving of 2007. He actually hired and fired me as his trainer a couple of times before finally deciding that he was ready to fully commit. After several months, Jayson lost over 30lbs of bodyfat and built a respectible amount of lean muscle. Can you get results like Jayson? Are you ready to commit and not 'diet', but make a total lifestyle transformation? I can show you how!

Lose Weight in 8 Days?! Testimonial!

Hi Jimi,
I have never met you in person, but I received your lose Weight in 8 program. I am a health and fitness instructor, with a Bachelors in Food and Nutrition and currently starting my dissertation for a Doctorate degree in Preventive Care. I will graduate next June with this degree. As I have been so busy getting to this point in my life, I have neglected my own personal fitness, which I never thought I would do. I saw a picture of myself a couple of weeks ago, and was actually horrified. So, I went and weighed myself and tested my body fat composition. I was in shock. I knew I had gained a "little weight", but never knew it was this much. I was 7 pounds over my comfort weight, and 12 pounds over my training weight. My body fat % had increased 50% over my training percentage.
So, I pulled out your program, to get my body back on track. Somewhat of a "jump start" on my way back to acceptable #'s for myself. I was very dedicated in the eating and exercise. I did not consume the supplement CM and I did not use hemorrhoid cream and plastic wrap. Today is my 8th day, and I wanted to share my results and tell you THANK YOU!

I lost 2.6 pounds, lost 1/2 inch in my waist, and 1 inch in my hips. My body fat % actually went up slightly, but I am not used to eating so much fat, and there are other issues that may actually affect this measurement in such a short period of time. I increased my calf measurement by 1/2 inch. The other measurements either stayed the same or made mild improvements not significant enough yet, to mention. All this in 8 Days!

Again, I have used this program to jump start my body and I am very pleased with my beginning.
I wanted to share my results, but also my gratitude. For you sharing your program with others, even those you have no contact with, is helping people achieve their goals and I wanted to thank you for this generosity. I also wanted to thank you for your dedication to fitness and health. As a professional in this field as well, I am also committed to helping others become the best they can be. It is now my turn, to follow my advice on myself.

So, thank you again for steering me back in the right direction and for your committment to this field. You are truly to be commended.

Respectfully,
Lorri Aguilera

JIMI COMMENTS - Lorri's testimony is not uncommon. To get your copy of 'Lose Weight in 8' visit this link: Lose Weight In 8!

Lights, camera, action!

I am currently on Day 9 of a 28 day fat loss experiment/challenge. I have been keeping a food journal, logging workouts, rest, and also videotaping my progress each and every day. The video may end up on YouTube in October if everything goes according to plan.

So let me explain the post title. Lights, Camera, Action!

Lights - I had to shed LIGHT on my issues. I was starting to slip in my own nutrition plan and let a lot of junk food creep it's way back into my daily life. As a former fat boy, this is dangerous ground.

Camera - I decided to document EVERYTHING from my food intake, video progress, waist measurement, etc... taking pictures, measuring, and telling everybody what you are doing are all great ways to keep accountability.

Action - The last step was easy as I had painted myself into a corner with the 2 previous steps. I had talked the talk, NOW, I had to walk the walk. It appeals to the ego and a refusal to fail, a wonderful motivator if you're anything like me!

So, are you ready for the spotlight? Check back in 3 weeks and I WILL shed light, bringing to the public my results, .... for better or worse...

You can lose fat at any age!

You can lose fat at ANY AGE:

Most people assume that for one or more reasons, they, personally cannot lose weight.

I have heard everything from

1. I'm too old - studies continue to show that beginning a strength training routine at any age will build muscle, which is directly responsible for increasing our metabolism. It's true that we lose muscle as we age, but that's because we become less active and eat too many calories for our needs.

2. It's my genetics, everyone in my family is overweight. - I've personally overcome 'bad genetics'. In fact, I think it's more 'bad habits' than 'bad genetics', we are creatures of habit, I saw bad habits growing up and I modeled them.

3. I'm too busy - we are ALL too busy. That's just an excuse. We all need to 'plan our work' and then 'work our plan' Be proactive - take 2 hours on the weekend to buy, prepare, and store your meals for the week. This discipline will do more for fat loss than any workout program.

Action Steps:
1. Eat unprocessed 80% of the time - 80/20 rule, nobody is perfect. Tip: If it comes out of dirt or off a vine, it's probably good for you.

2. Do Strength Training movements (COMPOUND) in a circuit style manner, cardio is secondary
3. Be consistent - stick with it, why are you doing it? Vanity, health, family?
4. Set Behavior based goals rather than Outcome based goals. Example of behavior based goals: "I will exercise 4 times a week", this is something you CAN control. Outcome based goal: "I will lose 10lbs by next month." This is a goal you CANNOT control.

Genetics? Gifted? Hardest Working? Bolt winning

I have to admit, over the past week, many of my clients think there is more to Bolt winning the 100M and 200M races at the Olympics this summer. Here is a video of his 100M world-record setting performance

Qualify the end user

Here are the questions I get daily as a Personal Trainer:

Question #1: "What's the best exercise for Abs?"

Question #2: "What's the best exercise for 'cutting' my Chest?"

Question #3: "What's the best protein for getting big?"

...and the sad thing is, these questions often come from the same person!

And my answer is usually the same, "It depends"

No matter who you are, there is no cookie-cutter training program. Sure, there are principles that are tried and true, but there is no One absolute exercise, supplement, or training program that is going to do it all.

Take some time to set some specific goals and seek our professionals who can help you reach them.