How To Get Motivated To Exercise When You Can’t Be Bothered!

Feeling demotivated? We all feel demotivated from time to time, but just because you are feeling sluggish is no excuse to throw the towel in! Here are some quick tips on how to get motivated to exercise on those really tough days!

Note we are not considering the days where you are ill. These are the days where you just cannot be bothered to go into the gym and exercise when there is no justified reason for it.

Tell someone that you’re going into the gym, even if you really don’t feel like it. This will give you a sense of accountability and pressure you into the gym. Don’t worry about what you feel like doing – you’re forgetting about your emotions temporarily and following a process. Follow these steps:

1. Pick up the phone
2. Call someone up
3. Advise them “Hey, I’m off to the gym now. There is absolutely no way that I’m not going to go, but I am going to go, just because I am EXCITED!”

Okay, you can make up your own script, but commit yourself with conviction.

Don’t think about the exercise. If you’re feeling sluggish then thinking about the exercise is only going to make you want to remain sedentary even more. Just make it automatic and establish a routine.

Watch an exercise video. Jump on YouTube, or put Pumping Iron into your DVD player and watch a few minutes of exercise footage that really inspires you.

Listen to some motivational music. You can go from feeling lazy to feeling energetic in a matter of seconds – it’s all in the head and music can certainly turn your mood around very quickly.

Organise to meet a friend at the gym. If you’re meeting someone at the gym, you have an obligation to turn up. This is often best organised the day before so you keep yourself accountable.

Have a very deep think about your goals and re-evaluate how important they are to you. Goals are what will drive you to overcome temporary set-backs such as lack of motivation.

Exercise in a different manner. If you are not excited by completing a similar training regime to that which you have been following over the last few weeks, mix it up. Something as simple as undertaking a fitness class can get you in the mood to exercise because of the novelty of something new.

Announce your goals to those you trust and admire the most. If they know of your goals, you will feel more accountable to accomplish them and avoid making excuses along the way. I’m sure you don’t want to feel like a failure in another person’s eyes!

Put yourself in tomorrows shoes. Think about waking up tomorrow and consider how great you are going to feel if you invest the time into yourself today. You would have completed one additional workout and be closer to your goals.

Drive into the gym anyway. As soon as you step foot into the gym, it is highly likely that you will feel motivated. Why? Because everyone around you is exercising. We are social creatures and have a natural tendency to participate in similar activities to those surrounding us.

Recognise that you are making an excuse. The toughest part to it is actually admitting to yourself that you are making an unjustified excuse to get out of your workout. If you can realise this, you can begin to isolate the emotion associated with rationalising skipping your workout and talk yourself into a workout.

Remind yourself that nothing is going to change if you change nothing. In other words, if you don’t do your workout, your body is not going to have any reason to adjust as a result of that workout. You need to invest the time and effort to reap the rewards.

If you are finding that you often feel demotivated, and often don’t know how to get motivated to exercise, there may be a bigger issue at hand. Possibly you do not have an effective approach to your goals. You may need some accountability. Your exercise programme may not be enjoyable. Your training regime may not be suitable for your lifestyle. Of course, there are also many other factors to consider.

Whatever the reason, you may need to do something about it. A personal trainer can keep you accountable and motivated and this may be well worth the investment to get you on track. Otherwise, you may need to have a good sit down with yourself and come up with an effective plan to accomplish your goals and give yourself the best chance of success.

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New Supplements Worth Trying

In the health, fitness and bodybuilding industry, there are a range of new supplements released all the time. Let’s discuss two relatively new supplements that would be worth your while to test out.

When I refer to “new” these aren’t necessarily brand new supplements that have just hit the shelves. Rather, I am referring to relatively new supplements without conclusive scientific research behind them to back their claims. These supplements do show some hope with some of the research, but they are yet to be widely accepted as “highly effective”. This is unlike supplements such as protein powder and creatine. However giving these new supplements a go really won’t do any harm – they can benefit your general health anyway.

New Supplements Worth Trying #1: Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus terrestris (or tribulus) is a herb that has been used traditionally in Chinese medicine. We recently published an in-depth article discussing the health benefits of tribulus and has been promoted as a remedy for liver, kidneys, and cardiovascular system complications.

Tribibulus terrestris has been shown to have a profound positive impact on libido by boosting testicular testosterone levels. I wrote a tribulus review a while back where the benefits in this regard were quite obvious.

Tribulus has become popular among bodybuilding circles as an ergogenic aid. There are claims that tribulus supplementation can assist in muscle development. The science is still sketchy with some research demonstrating strength increases.

Whether or not this new supplement is effective for muscle growth is still up for debate. Yet it is a very popular supplement, so it may be worth your while trying tribulus (which can be found in our store).

New Supplements Worth Trying #2: CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid)

CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid, is a fatty acid supplement. These supplements do contain fat, just as you find in food. However CLA levels in our diet have decreased over the years and thus CLA supplementation can benefit our health in a number of ways because it presents anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherogenic, enhanced immune function and anti-diabetic benefits.

Conjugated linoleic acid has been promoted as a weight loss supplement because there is emerging research suggesting that it promotes fat loss and can also enhance muscle development. The degree to which this is true is still up for debate, however this is quite a popular natural supplement.

If you are interested in giving this new supplement a try, you can find CLA in our supplement store.

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Does Protein Powder Work to Bulk Up and Build Muscle?

Protein powder is the most common supplement available and is often marketed to help build muscle and bulk up. But does protein powder work – or is it just going to put a hole in your wallet?

What is Protein Powder?

Before we discuss the actual question, “Does protein powder work?”, let’s first identify what protein powder is, and what it is supposed to do in respect to building muscle and bulking up.

Protein powder is a highly processed form of protein. There are many varieties of protein powders – egg, whey, casein, milk, soy, rice, pea based (and so on), all of which are derived from different sources, or have undergone different processes. The most commonly recommended protein powder when aiming to build muscle is whey protein powder. Let’s discuss whey protein powder in more detail.

Whey protein powder is milk derived. Milk is naturally around 20% whey and 80% casein. The concept behind supplementing with a whey based protein shake is as follows:

1. Whey protein is the best quality protein available
2. Whey protein is absorbed very quickly

The quality of the protein that you consume is extremely important when you are seeking to build muscle. The greater the quality (measured by “biological value”, or the degree to which your body can utilise these proteins for biological function), the better the protein is going to be to build muscle.

The rate of absorption is also critical before and after your workout. Following an intense workout, your body requires a readily available source of amino acids in order to repair damaged muscle tissue and begin synthesising new tissues. Amino acids are the constituents of proteins, so it is important to have an available source at your body’s disposal.

Whole-food proteins cannot be absorbed anywhere nearly as quickly as whey proteins found in supplements – hence why whey protein powder can be an effective tool.

Does Protein Powder Work?

Coming back to the original question, it is important to understand that protein powder isn’t a “special” supplement that will replace everything else in your fridge. Nor is it something that “does” or “doesn’t” work in isolation. Rather, it is a tool used to enhance your results, in conjunction with an effective training regime, a good nutritional approach and proper recovery.

It is important to never, without exception, view a supplement as “the holy grail” of accomplishing a particular goal. In this instance, it is important not to assume that with the inclusion of protein powder in your regime, you can expect to bulk up with minimal effort. Building muscle in any substantial amount is the result of a long-term and dedicated approach to your training and lifestyle in general.

The addition of a protein powder to a poorly constructed lifestyle in regards to muscle gain will not be advantageous. For example, if you regularly consume junk food, train inconsistently, drink alcohol regularly and do not sleep properly, forget about having a protein powder after your workout. In all honesty, it will be a complete waste of your money. You would obtain far more benefit by eliminating the junk food and alcohol, sleeping well and establishing a structured approach to training.

Meanwhile, if you are dedicated to accomplishing a muscle building goal in all aspects of your lifestyle and wish to give your body every opportunity to build muscle, a protein powder would be right up your alley. Supplementing with a protein shake would significantly boost your results by encouraging maximum muscle development following your workout and during the remainder of the day. There is an overwhelming amount of scientific literature to support this notion, which has been referenced extensively on this website.

There are two primary options for pre/post workout supplementation that you should consider – Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) and Whey Protein Isolate/Concentrate blend (WPI/WPC). The Whey Protein Isolate is a slightly faster absorbing protein powder. However due to the additional manufacturing involved, the WPI is slightly more expensive than the WPI/WPC.

Our most popular WPI/WPC powder is the Optimum Whey. Meanwhile, the most popular pure WPI powder is the AST Sports Science VP2.

I do hope that this short article sheds some light on the topic of “Does Protein Powder Work?”. Good luck with your muscle building goals!

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Are Supplements Healthy & When Do Supplements Become Unhealthy?

Supplements can be an effective tool to lose weight, build muscle or tone up. But at what point do supplements become unhealthy?

The world of supplements can be a confusing one. There are hundreds of varieties of protein powders, amino acid mixes, fatty acids, carbohydrate drinks, veggie and fruit capsules, vitamins, minerals, multi-vitamins, joint formula’s and so on.

With so many supplements available, you could practically replace all your food with supplements. Note that this would be extremely expensive and science (let alone common sense) would tell you that this would be extremely unhealthy.

Are Supplements Unhealthy?

So at what point does supplementing with these products become unhealthy? It is okay to drink a protein shake every once in a while – or five times a day? Should you replace meals with meal replacement supplements? Or should you stay away from supplements altogether?

Let’s begin by defining when supplementing does become unhealthy. Extreme cases aside, in my opinion, this is when:

• You consume supplements to replace whole-food meals regularly;
  and/or
• You rely on supplements as a primary source of nutrition

The word “supplement” by definition is to “add onto” and not “replace”. So as soon as your primary use of these dietary products shifts to replacing, rather than supplementing a whole-food diet, you are following unhealthy dietary patterns.

Why exactly it is important to base your diet on whole-foods? Foods in their whole and unprocessed form are extremely nutrient dense. It is important to know that nutrients (which are essential for the normal functioning of the body) extend far beyond fats, carbohydrates and proteins. They not only encapsulate vitamins and minerals, but also include special nutrients known as “phytonutrients”, or “plant nutrients”. There are hundreds of phytonutrients and I do recommend that you read further on this topic in a recent phytonutrients article that we published.

Whilst supplements may contain some vitamins, some minerals and even a very limited number of phytonutrients, no supplement can contain the same degree of nourishment obtained from a well rounded whole-food diet. This is a diet based on natural, unprocessed foods across all food groups.

Supplements, Fitness Goals & Unhealthy Practices

There is a general assumption within the bodybuilding community that the more protein consumed, the more muscle development one can expect. Whilst there is no conclusive scientific evidence to justify this belief, it is common practice to consume excessive amounts of protein powder each day as a substitute for whole-foods. This does have the potential to lead to serious health complications and of course, sub-optimal muscle development rates.

A similar practice is commonplace within the dieting industry. Replacing whole-food meals with meal replacement supplements is often construed as a healthy and calorie-controlled alternative to facilitate weight loss. There are some primary concerns associated with such a practice:

1. You are risking malnourishment by restricting your nutrient intake
2. Excessive calorie deficit can lead to health complications

The truth is that a healthy calorie deficit can be obtained through a whole-food diet without the need for “diet” meal replacements. This approach to nutrition will almost guarantee a greater micronutrient intake.

Healthy Consumption of Supplements

Supplementation can certainly be of benefit if you are trying to accomplish a health and fitness goal. If they weren’t, we certainly wouldn’t be selling them in our supplement store!

As suggested above, it is important to integrate your supplementation regime into a whole-food diet in a healthy manner. Here are what I believe to be some healthy uses of supplements:

1. Consuming a meal replacement occasionally for convenience
2. Consuming a protein powder surrounding your workout and sparingly throughout the day in conjunction with whole-foods
3. Taking a multi-vitamin, or specific vitamin/minerals to compliment a diet already rich in fruits and vegetables
4. Using supplements for sports specific purposes to enhance results, without detracting from a well balanced whole-food diet

Supplements do have unique advantages over whole-foods, such as faster absorption times, higher quality proteins, convenience etc. However these do not overshadow the fact that our bodies are built to consume whole-foods as a primary food source – not pills and powders.

Be wise with your nutrition and your body will thank you for it!

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The Difference Between Stretches and Weight Lifting Exercises

Sometimes stretching and weight lifting exercise are used interchangeably. However, stretches and exercises are completely different and serve vastly different purposes.

Stretching is the act of stretching a muscle, as the name implies. It’s just like stretching a rubber band, you take the muscle from it’s initial state and stretch to lengthen the muscle. This increases the degree of flexibility in that particular muscle. A minimal number of calories are expended due to the very low intensity of stretching.

Weight lifting exercise is quite the opposite of stretching. During a resistance training exercise, you take a muscle from it’s rested state and contract, or shorten that muscle. Due to the degree of force required, it does expend a significant number of calories.

Weight lifting does decrease your flexibility, due to the continual contraction of muscle groups. Furthermore, following a relatively intense training workout, your muscles will undergo severe muscle trauma, resulting in muscle soreness and a reduction in your flexibility of the muscles that are subject to this microscopic damage.

Even though stretching and weight lifting exercise are quite different from each other, they compliment each other effectively. If you do lift weights regularly (and most people should for general health alone), then stretching is important to maintain a good degree of flexibility. The benefits of regular stretching are discussed in a previous post of mine, The Benefits of Stretching.

Let’s consider an example of a stretches and weight lifting exercises that targets the same muscles, the calf, located between the knee and ankle on the back of your lower leg. I have chosen this particular muscle group because the stretch and corresponding weight lifting exercise is very similar in nature.

A common method to stretch your calf is to stand on a step with the front of your foot, and drop your heel down below the step height. You will feel a stretch behind your shin. This will enhance the flexibility through the calf.

Meanwhile, a common calf exercise is a standing calf raise, as shown in the diagram below:

Calf Raises

You can see that the person begins in a stretch (as per the flexibility exercise described above), but then presses up onto his toes into a full contraction, where the calf muscles are shortened in this position. He then lowers his heels back into a stretch.

As you can see from this example, stretching is quite different to lifting weights.

Hopefully this has shed some light on this particular topic of the difference between stretches and weight lifting exercises.

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How To Win a 12 Week Transformation Competition/Challenge

So, you’ve decided to participate in a 12 week competition to lose weight, tone up and/or build muscle. Let’s discuss exactly how to go about winning one of these 12 week challenges.

Before I proceed with some tips on how to win your own 12 week competition, I do feel it necessary to provide my credentials in this particular area. In 2005, I won the Australian Bodyblitz 12 week transformation competition and since then have become a fully qualified personal trainer and the owner of Amino Z. Consequently, I have both professional and personal expertise in this area.

Before you even consider submitting your 12 week challenge entry form, you need to have a clear idea of exactly what you want to accomplish. In other words, you need goals. I recommend you refer to a previous post of mine on goal setting for weight loss, muscle gain and fitness.

When you know exactly what you wish to accomplish, you can then develop a 12 week plan. Trust me, if you want to win a 12 week transformation competition, you NEED a plan. Exercising and eating in a healthy manner for twelve weeks will not get you into the finals. You need to be very specific about your approach and have a clearly defined structure to your training regime.

Apart from being an appropriate and realistic plan, it also needs to be executed effectively. You need to put this plan into practice because ultimately you are responsible for your own transformation. This means eating effectively, exercising regularly, recovering as required, sleeping well, avoiding junk food and so on. Every time you waiver from your plan, you are sacrificing results. If you are unable to adhere to the plan, then it wasn’t a realistic approach in the first place and thus requires revision.

I could not recommend more highly hiring the services of a personal trainer throughout your challenge. A personal trainer will be able to advise you on the viability of your goals. He or she will also be able to develop an effective plan for you to accomplish these goals. If you have minimal experience in the health and fitness industry, leave this work to a professional.

With nearly all 12 week competitions, you will have some before and after photo’s to submit. It is important to create a contrast in between these two photo’s for a real “WOW” factor. Here are some ways to accomplish this:

1. Use a professional photographer for your after photo’s
2. Take your initial photo’s later in the day when you are more bloated
3. Use poor posture in your initial photo’s
4. Learn what angles you photograph best at for your final photo’s
5. Groom yourself well for the final photo’s
6. Of course, train intelligently and effectively throughout your 12 weeks!

These are some very, very generalised suggestions. My weight loss book, “How to Transform the Average Joe in 12 Weeks” deals with all of these concepts in much greater detail and will provide you with a step-by-step plan on how to win your own 12 week competition. If you are seeking to win your own 12 week challenge, I do recommend that you grab a copy.

I do hope that this has provided you with a general overview on a 12 week competition. It requires much more than just “training hard and eating well” for 12 weeks. Rather, it requires a planned and intelligent approach to ensure that you have every chance at success. Good luck!

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How Much Muscle You Can Gain – BodyBuilding Expectations

When you begin bodybuilding, or building muscle, it is important to have a realistic expectation as to how much muscle you can gain. If you are expecting far more muscle development than what is possible, you are setting yourself up for failure.

If you are all super-motivated to become buff, this is an important article to read. It is absolutely imperative that you ensure that your goals are realistic before you begin training.

Why is this? Well, if you expect to gain an enormous amount of muscle over the next few weeks/months, and fail to accomplish this goal, you’re going to be pretty discouraged – wouldn’t you agree?

Here’s the thing, bodybuilding is a long-term project. Building muscle is a very slow process that takes years to accomplish.

For the average person, you may expect to gain somewhere within the vicinity of 2-5kg of muscle in the first twelve weeks of training, assuming that you have not trained previously. These first 2-3 months are like the honeymoon period where you obtain some amazing gains and can see some fairly considerable physique changes. Of course, how much muscle you gain will be highly dependant upon your approach to nutrition, exercise, recovery etc, as well as your genetic makeup.

Unfortunately, the honeymoon period doesn’t last. Following this short period of significant muscle development, hypertrophy (muscle growth) slows considerably. For a trained individual, it is typical to experience somewhere between 2-5kg of muscle growth a year. Again, this varies widely with your lifestyle and genetic composition. The more muscle you develop, generally the slower your gains will become.

It is very important to have some idea as to what to expect. Most people do not last longer than 8 weeks because they have unrealistic goals. I’m sure you could name a number of people who have attempted to accomplish some muscle building goals, only to be discouraged weeks later by lack of results. This is commonly due to unrealistic expectations (but of course, ineffective exercise and nutritional approaches weigh heavily on this too).

You may be interested in a calculator that we have available that actually predicts your maximum circumferences at a given body fat percentage. This data has been empirically derived from elite athletes and of course will carry a degree of inaccuracy. Follow this link to our maximum circumference prediction calculator. Do keep in mind that it would take many, many years of consistent training to reach anywhere near your peak natural muscle development.

If you are just getting started with bodybuilding and building muscle, you may wish to read a comprehensive introductory article we have available, entitled “Bulking Up – Bodybuilding For Beginners“.

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The Most Popular Bodybuilding Supplements

There are three distinct groups of bodybuilding supplements that are significantly more popular than others. Let’s consider each category and identify the most popular bodybuilding supplements.

The Most Popular Bodybuilding Supplements #1: Protein Powders

Right up the top of the list are protein powders. A whey based protein powder is almost essential for anyone seeking to pack on a significant degree of muscle tissue. A highly bio-available protein source, such as whey protein powder, is vital so your body has the appropriate nutrients available to synthesise muscle tissue following a workout.

So what are the most popular protein powders? Without doubt, the Optimum 100% Whey is the number one seller in our online store. This is because is a cost-effective and very high quality protein powder, available in a variety of great tasting flavours.

Dymatize have a very popular rival, the Dymatize Elite Whey. This product has a similar composition to the Optimum brand, but is slightly more cost effective.

If you’re looking for a pure WPI, which provides a high quality whey protein that absorbs extremely rapidly, our best seller in this category is the AST VP2. A very high quality protein powder with an exceptional worldwide reputation.

The Most Popular Bodybuilding Supplements #2: Creatine

Creatine is such a popular product because it can enhance the force potential that a muscle can generate prior to muscular failure. Whilst it doesn’t directly assist in muscle synthesis, it does aid in overloading the muscle during a workout.

Our number one selling creatine supplement is BSN No Xplode, which is a mix of creatine, nitric oxide and various stimulants.

If you’re seeking a pure creatine monohydrate powder, the Dymatize Creatine is our most popular creatine supplement, being both cost effective and providing a high quality powder.

The Most Popular Bodybuilding Supplements #3: Thermogenics

Whilst obviously not beneficial for muscle development, fat loss is assisted through the use of effective thermogenic supplements. These supplements contain safe substances that can assist in the breakdown of fat tissue.

AST Sports Science again has a winner in this category, the Dymetadrine Xtreme. This one has been around for a while now and has continued to thrive based on it’s highly effective blend.

The other most popular fat loss supplement that we have available is the Cytogenix RFA-X. Although a relatively new supplement, it has gained considerable exposure overseas this year. Consequently, the RFA-X falls onto our most popular list.

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All the best in your bodybuilding endeavours and I hope this article on the most popular bodybuilding supplements has given you the direction you need!

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Muscle Soreness After Exercise (DOMS) & Stretching Myths

Muscle soreness after exercise can be quite uncomfortable (sometimes painful). What exactly does muscle soreness mean and can you really prevent muscle soreness by stretching?

Muscle soreness is very commonly misunderstood within the health and fitness industry. It is commonplace for one to assume that muscle soreness is directly related to the effectiveness of a workout and that muscle soreness can be avoided altogether by stretching more. Both of these assumptions are incorrect.

Let’s begin with the jargon – the muscle soreness that we are discussing is called “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness“, or “DOMS” for those who like acronyms. This muscle soreness will often peak within 24-72 hours following a strenuous workout, or, following the relatively strenuous use of muscles in a new manner.

DOMS is typically most apparent when you first initiate a new exercise regime. The next day after your first workout can be a killer! You can be aching from head to toe in muscles that you never knew you had before!

Alternatively, if you’ve just taken a month long holiday, your first week of may make you extremely stiff, because you haven’t used those muscles in such a manner in an extended period of time.

The muscle soreness after exercise that you experience is not a direct function of the “effectiveness” of your workout – no matter what your goal, whether that be weight loss, gaining muscle, toning, enhancing your fitness etc. You can have a highly effective workout and not feel any muscle soreness at all. This is because DOMS is more a function of the degree of inflammatory from microscopic trauma induced as a result of a bout of physical exercise. This trauma is most prevalent when your muscles are subjected to an activity that they are not conditioned for.

When you experience delayed onset muscle soreness, you will notice that you become tight. The flexibility of your muscles diminishes significantly. It is the reduction of flexibility that often leads to the incorrect assumption that if you were to stretch more following a workout, this would avoid any muscle soreness the following day. Not so.

As mentioned, muscle soreness is a result of trauma induced within muscle tissue. It has nothing to do with flexibility. Following your workout, you will be very flexible because the muscles would have warmed up and thus become far more elastic. Yet as soon as they cool down and the inflammation becomes realised (ie. the pain sets in), the muscles will tighten right up.

Does stretching assist in overcoming DOMS? No. Stretching will enhance your flexibility, but it will not speed up the rate at which your muscles are able to repair the trauma from exercise. The muscle’s recovery is a physiological process that is independent from lengthening the muscle (ie. stretching).

Muscle soreness very acute when you begin to stretch the muscle. Therefore, if you are more flexible, the muscles won’t be stretched quite as much (relatively speaking). This can relieve the discomfort that you may feel in day to day activities (like walking after exercising your legs). However, good flexibility will not decrease the amount of trauma that has been induced.

The great thing about muscle soreness after exercise is that it’s a very profound reminder of the effort that you invested during your exercise session. Call me crazy, but think of this as a trophy that you can carry around with you for days after your exercise session!

As uncomfortable as the muscle pain may be, it is something that we all have to deal with. It is usually most profound within the first week of exercise, so if you can get over that initial hump, you’ll be home free!

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Will Acai Berries, Thermogenics & Herbal Tea Help Me Lose Weight?

Every day, there are new products being introduced around the world to combat weight loss. Acai berries, thermogenics and herbal tea’s are just some examples. So will they help you to lose weight?

This is only a very short article. I do apologise if you were seeking to read through a highly detailed review of the effectiveness of acai berries for weight loss. However, don’t stop reading now – this article is short for a reason – there is a very profound message that I do want to highlight before you proceed to research weight loss products further.

Weight loss products – whether nutritional or physical exercise products (eg. Cardio Twister) often have one thing in common – they don’t work for the masses. The vast majority of people who purchase these products will do so in the hope that this will be the key to losing weight once and for all. This is fueled by very persuasive marketing, appealing to our emotional desire to look great.

But the problem with weight loss lies deeper than any herbal tea. The true key to losing weight – forever – is to create a lifestyle that supports that lower bodyweight.

Living a sedentary lifestyle with poor nutritional habits is how you encourage weight gain – possibly the situation that you are in right now if you are reading this article. The addition of a “supplement” to your poor lifestyle habits will not improve the general environment that you subject your body to – physically and nutritionally. Thus, they will have little bearing on your body shape.

These products will never be effective in isolation. No matter how healthy or promising they may be, if you have no clue about good nutrition and effective physical exercise, I can almost guarantee that you will not accomplish your goals with the addition of one product.

To summarise:

Your body adapts to the lifestyle to which you subject it to. Supplements cannot reverse bad lifestyle habits.

That’s not to say acai berries aren’t healthy – far from it. Just don’t start buying them expecting to lose kilograms of body weight as a result.

This is a very brief article, but I do hope that you will continue reading up on this concept in further detail in an article I wrote entitled “How to Lose Weight“. This article elaborates on this “lifestyle” concept in much more detail, and provides some verbs to get started on your weight loss journey right away.

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