You may have heard people talk about free radicals before, but do you have any idea what they are? I didn’t, but I did some research on free radicals to try to give you a “For Dummies” perspective on the topic of free radicals. Free radicals do not really affect weight loss, but they do harm your overall health. If you’re not healthy, then weight loss is kind of a moot point.

In general, a free radical is any molecule that has a single unpaired electron in its outer shell. To understand why that matters, you need to go back to Chemistry 101.

The atoms in your body contain protons and electrons, and these atoms make up molecules that are the building blocks of your living cells. On the outside of the atom are those little electrons floating around, looking to reach maximum stability of the atom by filling out their outer shell with its required number of electrons. Atoms with full outer shells will tend to not enter into chemical reactions. The laws of chemistry state that atoms will always try to reach maximum stability.

If the outermost shell of electrons is not full, the atom will try to fill the void, or empty out its electrons in that shell. It can fill the void by sharing electrons with another cell. The unstable atoms “steal” electrons from stable molecules, causing the molecule itself to become a free radical, leading to a chain reaction that can disrupt the life of a living cell.

Why do free radicals happen?

When the body metabolizes food, cells break down. Usually the breakdown results in stable atoms, but it’s not always the case. Sometimes the body’s immune system will create free radicals to neutralize viruses and bacteria. But this is natural and this level of free radical activity can be handled by our bodies.

Free radical damage was not a problem in early human history. But since the Industrial Revolution, we’ve been adding more and more pollution and other toxic particles into our environment. Toxic metals in your body can increase the free radical chain reaction by thousands to millions of times its normal rate.

Our environment is the cause of chemical destabilization of the molecules in the human body. Things like radiation, pollution, herbicides and pesticides, and smoking cause the free radical creation process to speed up in the body, thus causing damage to the body’s cells over time. Free radical damage within cells has been linked to many disorders that include cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.

Free radicals cause damage to our cell membranes, causing these cells to harden up or breakdown. If the cell wall (membrane) is hardened, it becomes nearly impossible for that cell to get nutrients or perform its natural cellular functions. Free radicals can also cause damage to our RNA and DNA.

How Can I fight Free Radicals?

Antioxidants are molecules that are capable of slowing or preventing free radical damage to healthy molecules. Vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E and so on can prevent free radicals from oxidizing your healthy molecules. There are numerous studies that show that antioxidants can slow the aging process and prevent diseases.

Be Aware of your environment

Keeping an eye on what you eat is the easiest way to reduce free radical damage. Are you eating meats that come from a toxic environment, or have a diet full of highly synthetic and processed foods? Is your diet lacking in antioxidant rich foods like fruits and vegetables? By sticking to an all-natural (or close enough) diet, you not only get your fill of antioxidant foods, but reduce the amount of processed and unhealthy foods that can cause free radical damage.

Antioxidant Supplements

Green tea has been incredibly effective for fighting free radical damage. Whether you take it as a drink, or in the form of a green tea weight loss product, green tea is proven to be an antioxidant rich source. Of course, remember what supplements are! They “supplement” a healthy diet so don’t expect them to work as effectively as they can if your diet is poor.

Calorie Restriction

Extreme calorie restriction has been shown to improve health and slow the aging process. Obviously, this is a pretty extreme measure for most people. Some people restrict calories every single day, while others fast for a few days every once in a while. You should never really “fast” for the sole purpose of losing weight. It takes a hard mind to stick a calorie restriction plan, but its purpose should be to improve your overall health.

For the sake of length of this article, you can read more about calorie restriction on wikipedia.

There’s been a lot of talk on Oprah and other television shows about the power of green tea as a weight loss supplement. This article is going to take a look at the pros and cons of using green tea, not only for weight loss but for its health benefits as well. We’ll review Power Tea as product that enhances the benefits of green tea.

What is Power Tea made with?

Obviously the main ingredient in Power Tea is green tea. This particular product uses organic great tea, to avoid the harmful effects of chemicals and fertilizers. It is supplemented with Guarana, citris aurantium, and Vitamin B12, all of which have their own weight loss and energy benefits that we’ll discuss in detail.

A Brief History of Green Tea

Green tea has a long history of use in Chinese medicine. Its benefits include the ability to treat headaches, body ache, and poor digestion. It has been said that it improves well-being and can increase life expectancy. The real benefit of green tea is its high level of polyphenols, which fight free radicals in the body. Green tea is common in many other fat burner products because it helps with improving metabolism and thermogensis without increasing heart rate.

What does the Guarana do?

Guarana is an added ingredient in PowerTea that has some pretty incredible powers. It comes from a fruit found in the rainforest. Its seed has up to 4 times the amount of caffeine than a comparable coffee bean. Guarana is a stimulant that can increase mental alertness, stamina, and endurance.

What does the citris aurantium do?

Citris aurantium is another ingredient with roots in Chinese medicine. It is often called bitter orange because it is made from the immature and unripe fruit of the citrus family. Studies show that it can increase your metabolic rate at rest, and encourages the use of stored fat in the body for energy production. In addition, it burns these extra calories at a faster rate without actually causing any increased jitters.

What are free radicals and how do they affect the body?

Those polyphenols in Power Tea? They’re antioxidants that fight free radicals. But what are free radicals in the body and why should you care?

Without going into a long chemistry lesson, we’ll try to give you the gist of free radicals in the body. Free radicals do not usually form naturally in the body, and when they do your body can take care of them. Free radicals create unstable molecules in the body thus damaging healthy cells. They work against the immune system and are responsible for aging.

Over time pollution, radiation, smoking, herbicides and pesticides cause free radical build up in the body. The free radicals speed up the aging process and create a better environment for cancer cells to form. Free radicals do not really affect weight loss, but they do harm your overall health. If you’re not healthy, then weight loss is kind of a moot point.

The antioxidants in Power Tea stabilize these free radicals naturally. Studies show that antioxidants can prevent many diseases like cancer, stroke, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease.

Should I try Power Tea for weight loss?

As you can tell from this article, the benefits of green tea are numerous. But green tea alone will not help you lose weight. That’s where Power Tea comes in by adding supplements like guarana, citrus aurantium, and vitamin B12. When combined together, Power Tea can be a great supplement to any weight loss plan. Not only for losing weight, but improving overall health.

Keep in mind, of course, that you won’t lose weight if you do not improve your diet and commit to some exercise. Any weight loss product on the market won’t help you if you don’t take these things into consideration. Always consult your physician before starting a weight loss regime.

Want to learn more about free radicals?

Green Tea Benefits

There are thousands and thousands of weight loss products out there in America. Anytime you see commercial on television, there’s a 90% it’s going to be a car commercial or a weight loss commercial. Most of these commercials promise instant results with pounds of fat lost and you looking like a model.

The problem with most of these commercials is that they do not tell the truth, or are very good at leaving out things you need to know to make a product effective. They want you to think it’s easy, but it’s not that easy to lose weight. There are two types of weight loss commercials: those that promote diet products, and those that promote exercise machines or routines. Each type of commercial usually neglects the other. And that is the problem with weight loss marketing… losing weight is balance of both diet and exercise.

You can work out for an hour a day on your Chuck Norris Total Gym, but if you’re eating a Value Size Number 5 from Burger King every night, then you’re not nearly going to lose the amount of weight you think you are. You can try diet pills that burn fat and suppress your appetite, but they are not going to do much good if you sit on your ass all day long. Weight loss is a combination of healthy diet and good exercise. You don’t have to be a fitness nut to lose weight, you just have to pay attention to what you are eating and doing throughout the day.

Weight Loss is not Easy.

Weight loss is easy if you’re a trained athlete and you want to shed a few pounds before a match or game. But if your whole life you have been overweight, then you know it is not as easy as it sounds. The weight loss commercials for diet products neglect to tell you that exercise is vital to speeding up your metabolism and making your body healthier. They want you to think that just taking a pill will get you to lose weight fast, but that just is not the case. Diet products should be a supplement to good diet and exercise, not the actual reason you’re losing weight.

And did you every notice exercise commercials always throw in a little blurb like, “And with our custom diet plan, you can lose weight fast!” Losing weight with diet and exercise combined? What a novel idea!

“I tried everything else and this is the only thing that works”

This is a common staple in weight loss commercials, but it is really a stupid gimmick if you think about it. Say you launch a new weight loss product and get 1,000 people to try it. You can assume that at least 5 people lost weight with the product, and that’s enough people to use as testimonials in your commercial.

It’s a simple numbers game. People who want to lose weight will try many things to lose weight. Eventually they’re going to find something that works for them. It’s not because the product is the greatest weight loss product ever, but more than likely it is something the tried and they like to do. Some people would hate to work out on a Total Gym, but may find it fun to work out to a Hip-Hop Abs routine. ‘

If you’re thinking about buying a weight loss product from television, do your due diligence. Always keep in mind that losing weight and keeping it off is a matter of combining diet and exercise. For exercise products, find a product that you think you will like doing forever. For diet pills and products, know that you will have to put in some exercise throughout the week to get the full benefit of it.

Many people use energy drinks to get an extra kick for a few hours in their day. They’ve become incredibly popular over the past few years. Red Bull started the energy drink craze, through some very clever guerrilla marketing, and then many, many copycats followed. Regular people (non athletes and those who don’t train) use energy drinks to stay awake at work, or to party with at night (Red Bull and Vodka anyone?).

Since this site is geared towards fitness, we’ll get into which energy drinks are best for athletes and people who stay active. Everyone gets tired. Whether you’ve had a long night at the office or are becoming fatigued from training, sometimes we all need a boost to get us through our workouts. But not all energy drinks are the same. Some energy drinks give you a boost from a whole lot of sugar, while others are made specifically optimized for athletes

Red Bull, Rockstar, and Others – Not recommended

If your goal is to lose weight or train harder, and you’re drinking Rockstar, Red Bull, or Go Fast, then you’re out of your mind. These energy drinks that you find in your local convenience stores and bars are so full of sugar and empty calories you might as well be drinking a soda with a caffeine pill thrown in.

Do you know how much sugar these drinks actually have in them? Rockstar Energy Drink: 200 Calories, 48 grams of carbohydrates, and 46 grams or sugar. Red Bull: 160 Calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates, and 39 grams of sugar. Go Fast: 90 Calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates, and 21 grams or sugar.

Even if you’re not into fitness, you shouldn’t make a habit out of drinking these kinds of energy drinks. They have great marketing gimmicks to make you think that they’re not that bad for you, but they really are.

FRS Healthy Energy – Highly Recommended

This is a product I’ve recently come across and I have to say it’s great. FRS Healthy Energy was designed specifically for athletes. While I am not the greatest of athletes, when I need a boost, it is not going to come from a can of sugar. FRS Healthy Energy not only gives you a boost, but helps speed up your metabolism too. It was originally designed as a fatigue fighting health drink for cancer patients, but endurance athletes got a hold of it and now it is being marketed that way.

FRS Healthy Energy’s key ingredient is Quercetin, which is a natural antioxidant found in apples, blueberries, and fruits. The rest is a patented mix of vitamins, metabolic enhancers, and antioxidants designed in a way for your body to fully absorb all of the main ingredients. It also increases focus, so you can probably use it to study for a final or finish up a giant pile of work.

Coffee – Use at your own risk

Coffee has been the “energy drink” of the ages. It’s debatable whether or not coffee is good for you or bad for you, but when used in moderation it’s the cheapest “energy drink” out there. While you don’t want to be drinking from a coffee thermos during a workout, it can really give you enough energy to jump start your day.

Drink it black. Straight up and black. When I say coffee, I don’t mean a 400 calorie double caramel latte from Starbucks. If you want caffeine in its purest form, you have to drink it black. That means no sugar, no creamers, and no whatever else they are putting in coffee nowadays. This is especially true for those aiming to lose weight. Adding those extra sugars will null any benefits that coffee may give you. Stick to one or two cups. It can be very habit forming, so do not start your day with a half a pot of coffee. Drinking excessive amounts of coffee can cause all sorts of problems, not limited to bowel problems and blood pressure problems.

If you’ve watched TV for any amount of time, you probably know that a lot of athletes love NutriSystem. From Dan Marino to John Kruk to Don Shula, retired athletes are lining up to promote NutriSystem to get rid of that permanent post-season weight they’ve put on over the past few years. Is Nutri-System really the solution to weight loss that grown men have been looking for?

Well, let’s break it down. What is NutriSystem? It’s a pre-packaged diet plan designed to help you lose weight by providing you with the meals you’ll eat for however long you’re on the program. Food comes delivered to your door, and your daily diet will consist of 3 meals plus snacks.

NutriSystem will average out to about $10 bucks a day, so that’s probably cheaper than what you’re paying now for food.

Why does NutriSystem work?

There are two underlying philosophies behind NutriSystem that allows it to work well for most people. Portion control and the glycemic index.

Portion Control – Regular-Size Me

Everybody knows Americans are fat. The rest of the world is getting fatter right along with us. Everything from viruses to genetics to financial income has been blamed. Truth is that there are a lot of things to blame. But in my humble opinion, portion control is one of the main causes of obesity.

Portions are out of control everywhere we go. Your average “Value Meal” at any fast food joint will run 500-1,000 calories. With the recommended daily value of calories being 2,000 for the average person, you can see why we’re on the brink of 3 out of 4 Americans being overweight.

The NutriSystem diet plan gives you controlled portions. All you have to do is add yogurts, salads, cheeses, or other low GI carbs, depending on the meal of the day. Even by adding your own food, your portions should remain controlled, yet sufficient.

By training you for even a month of portion controlled eating, you should pick up of the habit of staying in control of your diet. And that’s a fundamental fact of eating healthy, no matter what your diet consists of.

Glycemic index – Good Carbs and Bad Carbs

The Glycemic Index measures the quality of the carbohydrates you eat and their impact on your blood sugar levels. Foods low on the GI scale break down into insulin slowly and keep your blood sugar relatively level. Avoiding high GI foods, like simple sugars (candy, anything with a lot of high-fructose corn syrup), will keep you from experiencing routine insulin spikes.

Now if you’re a moderately educated athlete, you know the occasional insulin spike is good for you. If its right when you wake up, or right after a workout, then a properly timed insulin spike will bring glucose to your muscle cells and allow for greater uptake of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

The problem comes in when you have insulin spikes many times throughout the day by eating simple carbs and sugars. More fat is stored when it shouldn’t be, and some studies show that you can feel hungry even though you’ve just ate.

The NutriSystem plan gets rid of those unintentional insulin spikes by providing you with “good carbs,” or foods low on the GI scale. Some of you will ask, “but I thought carbs were bad for you?” Well, if you’ve ever been on the Atkins diet, you know that you need carbohydrates to function properly. NutriSystem has simply figured out which foods to provide you by basing them their glycemic index load. While it’s far from perfect, it’s better than 98% of diets you’ll read about.

Why try NutriSystem now?

NutriSystem isn’t a permanent diet plan. It just wouldn’t be practical to eat NutriSystem food for an extended period of time (like a year.) But if used as a tool to get you to “jump-start” getting into shape, there probably isn’t anything better out there for you.

Many people have reported success with NutriSystem, and that’s good because it’s not a diet that requires you to make any major sacrifices. It’s also great for those busy folks who just don’t have time to cook.

Right now, NutriSystem is running a pretty good deal by giving away 2 weeks of food free with your order. That should be enough reason to at least give it a try if you’re looking for a sure-fire way stick with a diet.

Have you tried Nutri-System? We’d like to hear you comments. Drop us a line below:

You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to build your home gym. If you want to, and if you can, that’s fine. For most regular people looking to lose weight and tone up, a gym membership and the open road is pretty much all we have. But there are a few inexpensive pieces of exercise equipment out there that should be a staple of any home gym. They’re simple and relatively cheap, but they get the job done. For the most part, if all you had was the following 5 pieces of exercise equipment, you could build yourself into quite a hardcore animal.

The Ab Wheel – $7.75

Providing the most bang for the buck out of all these items, the ab wheel will build core strength unlike anything you will every come across. Surprisingly, every gym I have ever been to does not have an ab wheel lying around. The principle is simple: a handle bar attached to a wheel. For beginners, you get on your knees and roll out slowly. If you collapse on the floor, well you got some work to do. If you can make it back to your starting position, repeat until you can repeat no more.

People with greater core strength will be able to do it from their feet. Bend over like you’re touching your toes and extend all the way out. If you can recover from the repletion back to your starting position, then you’ve got more core strength that 95% of Americans. That isn’t a true statistic, but I’ve only seen two people in my life pull off an ab wheel repetition from their feet.

Ab Ball - $21.49

The ab ball looks like a piece of exercise equipment geared towards women and yoga instructors, but don’t be fooled. When it comes to ab exercises such as crunches and weighted crunches, you’re going to get a far better range of motion than lying on the floor. You’ll stretch your abdominal to the extreme and keep your bones intact without the pain and discomfort that you’ll experience on the floor.

And it’s not just for crunches. You can use the ab ball to build core stability by sitting on it to do dumbbell shoulder presses, regular dumbbell presses, chest-flies, and so on. You can even try using the ab ball as a place to put your feet for push-ups. Or you can be a complete asshole in the office.

Pull-Up / Chin-Up Bar - $20.98

We all know that the pull-up is essential to your weight training foundation. Unfortunately I can’t do one unless it’s a reverse grip chin up. But my goal is to do a few by the time summer rolls around. I used to be able to do them, and that came after many months of trying everyday.

So rather than doing pull-ups every once in a while when you’re in the gym, you can do that at home every morning. You don’t have to exert yourself to failure every time, but you can get away with doing a few during the day. You’ll be doing pull-ups before you know it.

Push-Up bars - $29.99

I know it seems ridiculous to get a bar for push-ups. You just put your hands on the ground and go right? Or change up where you place your hands to target different muscle groups, such as the diamond push-up for a strictly triceps exercise.

But the Push-Up bars do have their advantages. Sometimes it’s very uncomfortable to place your hands in awkward positions for the more advanced push-ups. Having a grip on those bars feels a whole lot better than pressing your palms against the pavement. And they offer you a chance to do exercises that you can’t do without them. How about using just one and crossing over while you’re at the top of your push up?

Ankle Weights 10lbs - $16.79

The things you can do with ankle weights are pretty much limitless. Once you have them on, you can go about your daily business while putting resistance on the muscles in your legs that you’re not used to. They add another challenging level to running and jogging if you’re the kind of person that thinks 5 miles isn’t that far.

A gym doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars

State of the art fitness equipment doesn’t mean you’re going to get stronger or leaner any faster than the next guy, or girl. A person who has never seen a gym can get a better body than someone who spends every day in one. When it comes to fitness, the best piece of exercise equipment you have is your heart. And everyone gets one of those for free.

Trusted “Where to Buy” Links

• Ab Wheel from BodyBuilding.com
• Ab Ball from BodyBuilding.com
• Pull-up Bar from BodyBuilding.com
• Push-up Bars from BigFitness.com
• Ankle Weights from BodyBuilding.com

In what seems to be the recurring theme of Better Body Journal, I post and update for a few weeks, then other things get my attention in life, and I end up neglecting the goals I set forth for myself. It’s not that I’m unmotivated, but over time I lose track of goals that I set for myself because I can’t focus on them. I guess there are a number of things to combat this which I should look into if I want to make anything out of Better Body Journal.

Swole for Summer Update. Fall Seven times. Stand up Eight

For a while after I stopped updating this website, I was still dieting, exercising, and taking pictures with the intention of providing updates, but at a more seldom rate. Then about a week or two ago I fell back into the old habits of fatness and debauchery and stopped altogether. Matter of fact I haven’t been to the gym in like 3 weeks until today.

So, Swole for Summer is back on track but of course I really have to haul some ass if I want to reach my goals. The fact is I need to stick to it for as long as I can, and when I lose interest or get distracted, I need to get back on track as soon as possible. It’s like letting a little cut on your arm stand untreated, have it get infected, then do something about it until it’s too late: BAM! You’re dead with gangrene!

That’s probably a bad analogy, but nonetheless over time I will probably die early from heart disease (the leading killer among men) or something else that is preventable by being healthy and fit. Truthfully, death isn’t one of my concerns, but my social life is. When I was more in-shape (God, I hate saying that), meeting girls and hooking up were of no problem to me. But in the shape I’m in, its still a matter of self-confidence. Some women may find me attractive in my current shape, but they don’t find the lack of confidence appealing when it comes to talking to them.

I don’t know what it is, but my weight is directly correlated to how much fun I’m having in my life. That may sound like no big deal, but as I get older it feels like time is flying the hell by. It’s almost insane really. But I’ve also noticed that if I’m having fun, going out and socializing a lot, my life moves at a much slower pace. At least there is meaning and reward. Anyways, I got off track. Just know that I really want my weight loss and this website to be successful. I will try my best.

“Eat to live. Don’t eat to live.” I don’t know who to give credit for that quote, but it has deep meaning when it comes to being healthy. I’ve checked out some blogs lately, and I see a lot of people skeptic about dieting. They think, “I don’t know if I can do this because I’m used to such and such a food everyday.” When it comes down to it, dieting, like everything else in your life, is a habit. If you’ve read any of the dieting articles on this website, then you know we don’t believe in the idea of changing what you’re eating for a few weeks to reach a particular goal and then once you’ve reached it, going back to your old habits.
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I’ve been meaning to add this section for many months, but just never had a chance. Now, it’s finally here. This section is all about the no bull, no nonsense weight loss and fitness products out there. Trust us, it’s hard to sift through all the crap that doesn’t work to find out what does. And there’s a lot of crap out there so it makes the job really hard!

First Product Spotlight - Hot-Rox Extreme by BioTest

Hot-Rox is a product I hold dear to my heart. One summer I used it and lost over 50 pounds. That was about 3 years ago and it was a good few months! Since then, I’ve slacked off and lost focus. But the truth is, it did work and it will work for anyone that takes it seriously. Read about Hot-Rox Extreme here

What’s in a McNugget?

Ever wondered what’s inside a chicken nugget? This brief blog post about chicken nuggets can give a pretty good idea. Just goes to show you that the stuff we call food isn’t really food. Food is natural, unprocessed, and nutrient rich. The stuff we find in fast food restaurants and the junk isles of the supermarket is more like artificial energy.

Swole for Summer Exercise and Diet

Things have been going pretty hardcore, except for a lapse during the weekend where I got entirely too intoxicated. Let’s say too much alcohol consumption leads to at least one lost Sunday and leave it that.

My diet has been very consistent. Eggs in the morning, some protein shakes during the day, along with a pretty healthy meal for dinner (which has been hamburgers and broccoli for the most part.)

I’ve been trying to add 30 minutes of cardio to my work outs, but its very hard when I’m so pressed for time. Otherwise, the lifts are going great because I feel like I’m lifting at my maximum potential at the current time.

That’s my quick update for now. I really need to think of ways to make these posts more interesting.