In this week\'s Elite Fitness News, we\'ve got three awesome bodybuilding articles. The first is "Low Carb Intelligence vs. Low Carb Stupidity" by my friend Tom Venuto. The low carb diet is not inherently stupid, but fast food restaurants, food product manufacturers, supplement companies, and weight loss programs are capitalizing on it in a big way in 2004 and once again, their taking you for a ride!

Second, we\'ve got a cool article by Tom explaining Why bodybuilders and fitness competitors go through a 12 week \'transformation\' prior to every event instead of staying \'lean and mean\' all the time.

And finally, Tom Venuto let us publish his inspirational photos from his modeling shoots and competitions - along with his article - HOW TO LOSE THE LAST FEW POUNDS OF AB FLAB...
Even those stubborn fat pockets that don\'t seem to budge!

Tom is a guru who really puts his money where his mouth is and let\'s you take a close look at his classic V-shaped, award-winning physique. Enjoy!

Table of Contents

1. Low carb intelligence vs. low carb stupidity.

2. Why do bodybuilders and fitness competitors have to go through a 12 week \'transformation\' prior to every event instead of staying \'lean and mean\' all the time?

3. The Tom Venuto Gallery - Inspirational Pictures of my friend Tom Venuto - modeling and competing and his article - HOW TO LOSE THE LAST FEW POUNDS OF AB FLAB... Even those stubborn fat pockets that don\'t seem to budge!.

Low carb intelligence vs. low carb stupidity

Remember that movie with Jim Carey, “Dumb and Dumber?” And remember the sequel to that movie, “Dumb and Dumberer?” Well, the low carb mania that is sweeping the globe today has reached a level beyond dumberer... It’s more like dumberererer (try to say that five times real fast)

There is an epidemic of “low carb stupidity” running rampant among millions of people throughout the world today – and fast food restaurants, food product manufacturers, supplement companies, and weight loss programs are capitalizing on it in a big way in 2004!

Low carb intelligence

Adjusting your approach according to your health status, your goals and your body type, not according to generalizations preached by dogmatic diet “gurus.”

Low carb stupidity #3

Going on the Atkins diet (or any other very low carb/ketogenic diet) with absolutely no idea why you’re doing it or how the diet works (going on it because “everybody” is doing it and because you see it advertised everywhere.)

Low carb intelligence

Studying the physiology and biochemistry of the low carb diet and completely understanding all the pros and cons. Then making an informed decision whether to restrict carbs based on your own personal goals, needs and heath status.

Low carb intelligence

Knowing that fat loss always did and always will boil down to calories in vs. calories out. Taking the time and effort to crunch your numbers (at least once), typing up your menu on a spreadsheet, keeping a diary, and/or using nutrition tracking software.

Low carb stupidity #6

Staying on a low carb diet that has stopped working (or never worked in the first place).

Low carb intelligence

Adjusting your diet according to your results; understanding that a common definition of insanity (and/or stupidity) is to continue to do the same things over and over again, while expecting a different result.

Low carb stupidity #7

Believing that you don’t need exercise because all you need to do is cut carbs.

Low carb intelligence

Knowing that dieting is the worst way to lose fat and that exercise is the best way to lose fat (Burn The Fat, don’t starve the fat).

Low carb stupidity #8

Using the argument; “There’s no such thing as an essential carbohydrate” as justification for low carb dieting.

Low carb intelligence

Realizing that textbook definitions of “essential” can be taken out of context to promote a fad diet and that just because there’s technically no “essential” carbohydrates (as there are essential amino acids and fatty acids) doesn\'t mean carbohydrates aren’t “essential” in other respects.

Low carb stupidity #9

Using the argument, “You have to eat fat to lose fat” as justification for a high fat, low carb diet, without explaining it or putting it in context (exactly how much fat and what kind of fat?)

Low carb intelligence

Understanding the importance of essential and omega three fats (the good fats), but not taking any single nutritional principle to an extreme (such as, “If a little fat is good for you then a lot is even better.”)

Low carb stupidity #10

Saying, “All carbs are bad” or “All carbs are fattening.”

Low carb intelligence

Avoiding generalizations, and instead, having multiple distinctions about carbohydrates (and other foods) so you can make better choices. For example:

Low GI vs. high GI carbs
Simple vs. complex carbs
Starchy vs. fibrous carbs
Natural vs. refined carbs
High calorie density vs. low calorie density carbs

Low carb stupidity #11

Not clarifying your definition of low carbs.

Low carb intelligence

Realizing that there are “very low” carb diets, “low” carb diets, and “moderate” carb diets and that you cant lump them all together. (Some people consider The Zone Diet, at 40% of calories from carbs, a low carb diet, others consider 40% carbs quite high).

Low carb stupidity #12

Believing that carrots are fattening because they’re high on the glycemic index and because a popular fad diet book says so.

Low carb intelligence

Have we lost all vestiges of common sense? With an average carrot clocking in at 31 calories and 7.3 grams of carbs, do you really think that this orange-colored, nutrient-dense, low-calorie, all-natural, straight-out-of-the-ground root vegetable is going to make you fat? (if so, you are in "carbohydrate kindergarten.")

Low carb stupidity… Lucky #13

Eating lots of processed and packaged low carb foods (including those protein “candy bars”)… and thinking you’re “being good” and “following your diet.”

Low carb intelligence

Realizing that natural, unrefined foods are one of the keys to lifelong weight control and that anything man made and refined is NOT an ideal “diet” food – including the highly processed low carb foods that are all the rage this year. (Doesn’t this bandwagon reek of the late 80’s and early 90’s “no fat” craze, when all those ”fat free” foods were being passed off as healthy diet food, but were really highly processed and full of pure sugar?)

--End of Stupidities--

Forgive me for the obvious dashes of sarcasm, but sometimes I just can’t help myself and I end up going into rant mode… I think the last time this happened was in my newsletter #22 almost a year ago… remember that one… the one where I wrote about the ad for the candy bar that increases your bench press by 50 pounds? Yeah... I heard those bars are especially effective when you combine them with low carb potato chips (weren\'t those low fat potato chips a few years ago??? Oh nevermind... it\'s all soooo confusing!)

For information on a more balanced method of fat loss which is also individualized, natural and maintainable for life... and which teaches you a new, safer, more moderate and more effective “twist” to the old low carb diet, visit please take a look at this article.

If you’re already on the Burn The Fat program and getting great results, email me and tell me about your success story!

Here’s couple “success story” emails I received just recently:

For dozens more success stories, or find out more about the program, please read more.

Back to the Table of Contents.

Question of the Week - Why do bodybuilders and fitness competitors have to go through a 12 week \'transformation\' prior to every event instead of staying \'lean and mean\' all the time?

Here’s an example: I have no illusions whatsoever of walking around 365 days a year at 3.7% body fat like I appear in the photo on my website. Off-season, when I\'m not competing, my body fat is about 9.5%. Mind you, that’s very lean and still single digit body fat (I don’t like double digits!)I don\'t stray too far from competition shape, but I don\'t maintain contest shape all the time. It takes me 12-14 weeks or so to gradually drop from 9.5% to 3.5%-4.0% body fat to "peak" for competition with NO loss of lean body mass...using the same techniques I reveal in my e-book. It would be almost impossible to maintain 3.7% body fat, and even if I could, why would I want to? For the few weeks prior to competition I’m so ripped, and “drawn” in the face, that complete strangers walk up and offer to feed me. Okay, so I’m just kidding about that, but let’s just say being “being ripped to shreds” isn’t a desirable condition to maintain because it takes such a monumental effort to stay there. It’s probably not even healthy to try to force yourself to hold extreme low body fat. Your body will fight you unless you’re a natural “ectomorph” (skinny, fast metabolism) body type.

Instead of attempting to hold the peak, I cycle back into a less demanding off-season program and avoid creeping beyond 9.9% body fat. Some years I’ve stayed leaner - like 6-8%, (which takes effort), especially when I knew I would be photographed, but I don’t let it go over 10%. This practice isn’t just restricted to bodybuilders. Athletes in all sports use periodization to build themselves up to their best shape for competition. Is a pro football player in the same condition in March-April as he is in August-September? Not a chance. Many show up fat and out of shape (relatively speaking) for training camp, others just need fine tuning, but none are in peak form... that’s why they have training camp!!! There’s another reason you wouldn’t want to maintain a “ripped to shreds” physique all year round – you’d have to be dieting (calorie restricted) all the time. And this is one of the reasons that 95% of people cant lose weight and keep it off -- they haven’t mastered the art of training and dieting in seasons or cycles. They are CHRONIC dieters... always on some type of diet. Know anyone like that? You can’t stay on restricted low calories indefinitely. Sooner or later your metabolism slows down and you plateau. But if you diet for fat loss and push incredibly hard for 3 months, then ease off for a while and eat a little more (healthy food, not "pigging out"), your metabolic rate doesn’t slow down.

In a few weeks or months, you can return to another fat loss phase and reach an even lower body fat level, until you finally reach the point that’s your happy maintenance level for life – a level that is healthy and realistic – as well as visually appealing. Bodybuilders have discovered a methodology for losing fat that’s so effective, it puts them in complete control of their body composition. They’ve mastered this area of their lives and will never have to worry about it again. If they ever “slip” and fall off the wagon like all humans do at times … no problem! They know how to get back into shape fast. They have the tools and knowledge to hold a low body fat all year round (such as 9% for men, or maybe 14-16% for women), and then at a whim, to reach a temporary “peak” of extremely low body fat for the purpose of competition. Maybe most important of all, they have the power and control to slowly ease back from peak shape into maintenance, and not balloon up and yo-yo like most conventional dieters! What if you had the power to stay lean all year round, and then get really lean when summer rolled around, or when you took your vacation to the Caribbean, or when your wedding date was coming up? Wouldn’t you like to be in control of your body like that? Isn’t that the same thing that bodybuilders do, only on a more practical, real world level?

So even if you have no competitive aspirations whatsoever, don’t you agree that there’s something of value everyone could learn from physique athletes? This is powerful, life changing stuff. Don’t follow the huge crowd of losers who follow fad diets like automatons – MODEL EXCELLENCE!

Back to the Table of Contents.

The Tom Venuto Gallery Enlarge the Small Images for full Size Images.				HOW TO LOSE THE LAST FEW POUNDS OF AB FLAB... Even those stubborn fat pockets that don\'t seem to budge! By Tom Venuto "Stubborn Fat." You know what I\'m talking about - the kind of flab that sticks to you in those hard-to-lose places: The lower abs, the lower back, the "love handles," the back of the arms, the upper-thigh/butt area - yeah, THAT fat! How do the bodybuilders and fitness models do it? I mean, how do they get that hyper-ripped, thin-skinned look that reveals every ripple and sinew and mound of chiseled muscle definition? I can tell you this- the answer is NOT drugs. I\'ve never taken a steroid or physique-enhancing drug in my life, and I routinely hit 3-4% body fat for bodybuilding contests without difficulty. Some drugs work, but they are NEVER more than a temporary solution, and the nasty side effects just aren\'t worth it. The answer is NOT fad diets. It\'s a FACT - 95% of all diets fail. If you diet the way most people are doing it, you might even be slowing down your metabolism and making yourself FATTER! The answer is definitely NOT supplements, either. Some of my protégés were spending $300.00 or even $400.00 a month on worthless supplements and they now get BETTER results, FASTER with my new system - with absolutely no supplements whatsoever (or just the bare basics). After 14 years of trial, error and experimentation, I finally discovered the answer and developed a fool-proof system to reach outrageously low body fat levels the natural way - no drugs, crash diets or supplements necessary. And now I\'m finally revealing my secrets in this new "encyclopedia" of fat loss called, BURN THE FAT, FEED THE MUSCLE (BFFM) These advanced, mega-powerful fat burning secrets do not appear to you magically just because you started working out. These insider nutrition and training techniques are not casually discovered on your own. You need a guide who has been there... done that... I will be your own personal coach, take you by the hand, and lead you through the lousy advice, marketing B.S., hype, fads and gimmicks...and directly to the sort of physical condition that will make your body a specimen of magnificent proportions and flawless symmetry - The type of body that is envied, admired and noticed by everyone. Don\'t even THINK about buying any supplements or going on a diet until you read my revealing, no-holds barred fat loss report... Find Out More Now...

Back to the Table of Contents.

For the next 72 hours only, you have been selected to receive... 18 FREE HARDCORE STEROID REPORTS filled with inside information necessary to transform yourself into lean muscular perfection. You won\'t find this info anywhere else! Hurry, click here now!

The First and Only Guide for the Advanced Steroid User!
	Have you been using steroids or other muscle enhancing drugs and supplements for over 2 years? Have you hit your plateau and just can\'t seem to gain any more muscle mass or strength? Have you tried pretty much everything and still can\'t seem to get "ripped to the bone" and stay lean YEAR ROUND? Are you tired of wasting more time, money and energy on your "gear" and workouts only to look the same, year after year, without any real significant progress? Have you read other books and websites on steroids only to find out that the information is rehashed, outdated and filled with useless pictures of real and counterfeit steroids ... but nothing new or innovative in terms of cycles and stacks (which is what REALLY counts!)?
If you have answered YES to any of the above, then keep reading because in less then 60 seconds, I will reveal to you the specific solutions to the above mentioned problems ... and more importantly, how you can gain access to the EXACT cycles, drugs, and "underground" tactics the pros use to make such dramatic changes from one year to the next!

Author: George Spellwin