Many gay men are obsessed with their body image.

American men spend over-

•$4 billion a year on exercise equipment and health club memberships
•$3 billion on grooming aids and fragrances
•$800 million on hair transplants

•$1 BILLION on male cosmetic surgery procedures, procedures such as pectoral implants, chin surgery, and penis enlargement and procedures such as liposuction and rhinoplasty (nose jobs).

A Playgirl centerfold model of 1976 would need to shed 12 lbs of fat and gain 27 lbs of muscle to be a centerfold of today!   OK- we get –  many of us are obsessed!

But if you have a desire for a great body –  what are you doing about it? And do you know what you are doing?

Are you eating sensible and healthy??

I can’t tell you how many guys I see at the gym, spending as much as 2 hours a pop working out –  then eating garbage food.

Or my favorite, the guy who is on a treadmill with his coffee in one hand and his cell phone in the other!

You have to eat right. It’s about learning to control caloric intake throughout the year, in addition to working out. It is a lifestyle adaption, and many people don’t follow through or don’t  have the knowledge to make the right decisions.

We could write pages and pages of nutritional tips – and that’s what well do in coming months, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. Some of the trainers at World Gym of Chicago  on Montrose shared their thoughts and expertise and a few tips.

I like World Gym because of its comfortable atmosphere. The owner says, “World Gym is not a “health club”, but a gym dedicated to the improvement and maintenance of our members’ health and fitness.

Our philosophy is not to enroll hundreds of new members, induced to sign up by an endless string of “special offers”…but to build a strong base of loyal members and work hard to earn that loyalty in continuum. We have found that this philosophy has created an environment where men and women of all ages, from the “just getting started” to the “top athlete,” all exercise in a comfortable, non-frantic atmosphere. We are a result producing, not stress producing, gym.”

      So here we go –  5 quick tips and pointers –


BASIC RULE #1: Our body weight is determined by the amount of energy that we take in as food and the amount of energy we expend in the activities of our day.


In basic terms, you can not eat more than you expend.  OR you must burn more than eat.  And you have to make healthy choices when you eat. You can’t consume buckets of sugar and fat and expect to get lean and build muscle.

When it comes to Protein;  Drink whey protein 20 minutes before a meal. The Minnesota Applied Research Center in Minneapolis found that the protein consumption caused a much greater loss in body fat than the placebo. The whey protein maintains blood sugar levels, which decreases appetite. And, the protein provides the building blocks your body needs to recover from your exercise program.

You can have TOO MUCH protein. The next time you urinate, take a gander into the toilet bowl. I’m serious.
Now tell me if your urine is bubbly and has a frothy consistency. Like beer.

If you’ve been supplementing your diet with protein in line with a bodybuilding routine, I’m going to bet you that chances are, you have bubbly urine. Now what does bubbly urine imply? proteinuria.

Proteinuria is a medical condition whereby too much protein is ingested for the body to utilize. The kidneys then work overtime to filter out this excess protein, and out it goes through your urine. Excess protein = bubbly urine.

 
2. Go nutty for nuts. Nuts are high in calories and fat – so it might seem strange that they’re a great weight release food. But they are. Researchers from Purdue University found that nuts are high in nutrients and antioxidants, that they help prevent degenerative diseases and that they are linked to reduced body fat. Nuts prevent hunger (consume a handful before going out to eat!), and they take a long time – and lots of energy – to digest. This research is providing new support for the caveman diet – which holds that we should eat nuts, berries, vegetables, lean meats, etc. – just like our ancestors.

3. Green tea is a fat loss miracle. Research from Maastricht University in Holland is making me a green tea believer. Green tea promotes weight release, weight maintenance, improved blood sugar regulation and even decreases abdominal fat! Of course, green tea doesn’t do it alone – you need to combine it with a comprehensive exercise and nutrition program.

 4. SUGAR. Eat foods that are low on the gylcemic index. The glycemic index  measures how fast certain foods increase blood sugars. Foods like white bread are very high on the index, and foods like whole grains are ranked much lower. Those foods that are high on the index seem to trigger fat storage – though researchers aren’t quite sure why. Here’s a list of how some of the most common foods rank .

5. SLEEP. Poor sleep = increased abdominal fat. Researchers from Wake Forest embarked on a multi-year study and found that too little – or too much – sleep led to increased risk of obesity and abdominal fat. 6 – 7 hours a night was found to be ideal.




THANKS  to the trainers  at
World Gym of Chicago ! 

With 7 locations!







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