Kevin Zahri

Guide To Opening a Gym in Malaysia

I have received many emails from reader who are looking to invest in a gym. Following are some of the factors to include in your decision-making.

Supply and Demand

Having studied economics for 4 years in college, everything from property prices, stocks, businesses etc all depend on supply and demand. Whether you are opening a gym in bustling Kuala Lumpur or Nilai, it is important to gauge the demand and supply for gyms, fitness or yoga centers.

Yes demand for gyms may be high in KL but so is the supply. Same goes for niche gym setups and other forms of fitness centers, as the business owner, you need to gauge and forecast the demand and supply in your area. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is the surrounding community health cautious? (Influences Demand)
2. Are there other gyms or centers in the area? (Supply)
3. Are there any rumors of potential competitors moving into the area? (Affects supply)?

Location

Just like buying a property, location is everything. Study potential business lots and calculate rent, costs, overhead, traffic, flow of people in the vicinity, other crowd pulling businesses etc. The location could make or break your business.

Competition

Most of you reading this are probably entrepreneurs looking to start your first gym or fitness center. Yes you may have covered the location and business model but be aware of your competition. Ask yourself:

1. What makes your gym different from others?
2. Can you survive if another (perhaps bigger) competitor moves in next door?

Business Model

This is something you need to draw up based on how you foresee the fitness center to operate. For me I always look at:

1. How many members would I need in order to turn a profit? This will also help to determine the membership costs.
3. What is my operational (OPEX) and capital (CAPEX) expenditures? I always over budget just to be sure.
4. How much is my initial investment and when can I start to see returns? If it takes too long, it probably is not worth the risk?
5. What is the worst case scenario? And am I able to survive it? Am I ok with that scenario?
6. Am I passionate about the business or am I doing it "just" for the potential return of investment?

Why I dont run/own a gym?

Despite of what some people assume, I dont actually run, own or work at any gym or fitness centre. Never have and never will. Why not?

1. High investment: For me I feel the initial investment for quality equipment, facilities etc are too high (you probably need at least RM500,000 to start).
2. Competition: It will be very hard or near impossible to compete with bigger international gym chains as they have economy of scales that a single gym can never compete with.
3. I dont have the patience or time to spend my days at the gym. If at all, I would hire someone else to run it but what would be the point of starting one in the first place.
4. Complacency. Ah yes, this is a problem I have. I am pretty happy with my current life and work. Hence don't see the need to open my own gym.

by Kevin Zahri

Exercise Guide For Pregnant Women by Trimester

Women are encouraged to do exercise when they are pregnant, because it will improve their pregnancy outcome. Some of the benefits of having exercises before and during pregnancy can lower the risk of having premature delivery. It can increase the weight of the baby and help to manage the stress due to pregnancy hormones. The bottom line is the exercise will help a pregnant woman do better emotionally and physically. However, during the stages of pregnancy, there are some exercises are not good for certain stages. The following are some guidelines that you can take to help you know what exercises you can or cannot do during certain stages of pregnancy:

Getting Pregnant

When you are trying to get pregnant, they are few sorts of exercises that you:

Do:

• First of all, doing exercise is much recommended for everyone, especially when you are trying to get pregnant. When you are conceiving, you should prefer intermittent activity.
• Start with a short warm-up, like five minutes or so by slow walking, this is very essential particularly when you are going to do vigorous exercise
• If you need to perform a warm-up at the beginning, you also have to do a gradually declining activity, such as gentle stretching after doing a strenuous exercise
• When you are performing the exercise, it is a good idea to keep checking your heart rate, because when you reach the peak of exercise, it should not exceed a maximum 150 beats per minute.
• Drink liquids as much as possible before and after exercise to avoid dehydration. You can stop for few seconds to drink liquids.

Don’t’s:

• Avoid bouncy/jerky motions
• Should not do extreme stretching exercises, due to the relaxation of connective tissue.
• It is highly recommended to begin with physical activity of very high intensity if you have been in a sedentary lifestyle or job.
• Do not do exercise if you are ill, or the weather becomes very hot and humid.
• Do not continue your exercise if you notice something strange appear (unusual symptoms).

1st Trimester Exercise Guide

Do:

• Aerobic exercise. This exercise can be any kind of exercise that can improve your heart rate and breathing, like swimming and fast walking. You can do the aerobic exercise few times in a week which lasts 20-30 minutes per session. This exercise will help you improve the fetus circulation, muscle strength and tone, and avoid venous stasis problems as well as excess weight.
• Walking. When you do walking, you should wear proper shoes to provide appropriate good support. If you do this exercise in the right amount and weather, it can improve your health, as well as your little angel.
• Swimming. This exercise gives you a cardiovascular exercise. During swimming exercise, your body also performs stretching and muscle toning which minimizes joint strain. You can swim 20 minutes, three times in a week to keep the shape of your body.
• Relaxation techniques. This technique can help you focus and breath. Besides, it also works psychologically in your body by relieving everyday stress and training your mind to release emotional tension. In yoga, there are some popular styles that you can select, such as kundalini yoga and iyengar yoga. You may want to get some massage treatments. Knead and stroke your body little bit can make your tight muscle become more relaxed.
• Kegel Exercises. This exercise can assist you to prepare the muscles of the pelvic floor for the stress of baby delivery. Then later on, it also helps your muscles return to their former shape after giving birth. In order to find your pelvic muscles, you need to consult with your doctor/nurse.
• Weight Training. The benefits of this training are basically similar with other sorts of exercise. If you would like to do the training, you can either use training machines (like in health club) or free weights. But, you should remember you have to work out with lighter weights and see your doctor before you start any weight program. Take a 60-second rest between sets of repetitions.

Don’t’s:

• Avoid walking in hot/humid weather (avoid the risk of overheating)
• It is good to do few yoga postures, but some other yoga postures are highly forbidden to perform, especially the ones that require you to lie flat on your back.
• If you use weights during pregnancy, avoiding straining with your airway closed is good. Pregnant women usually do that unconsciously when they lift weight.

2nd trimester Exercise Guide:

4th Month

Do:

• Doing weight training while seated can be a choice, because the baby and the placenta are growing, and the total blood volume has increased. They can cause dizziness and lightheaded when you stand.
• You can do moderate running/jogging. However, you should make sure that you run on flat ground with very few obstacles because your uterus gets larger which makes you more imbalanced.
• Yoga can still be performed in this stage of pregnancy. But, you need to do less extending and stretching postures. And you are also recommended to stay closer to the floor as you get bigger gradually and your joints become loosened that affect your balance.
• Swimming is still allowed, but you should not get yourself too tired.

Donts:

• You should avoid doing exercises that require you to lie on your back, such as sit-ups.
• Do not perform any exercise that needs you to stand motionlessly for an extended period.
• Though weight training while seated still can be performed, it is a lot better if you avoid this type of exercise after your first trimester, as it decreases the amount of blood flow to your kidney and uterus. And, it also reduces the amount of oxygenated blood for your baby and yourself.

5th Month

Do:

• Yoga is definitely still recommended, but in this month, you have to find a special class for pregnant women. If you cannot find any class for this purpose, you may want to find a book of yoga poses that are meant for pregnant women.
• Walking is still good, but please, be careful when you do this exercise.
• Like walking and yoga, you still can do this exercise. However, you should swim for short periods of time, as you may not overexert yourself.

Donts:

• Do not do too much walking, swimming, yoga that makes yourself become huffing and puffing. It is better if you have someone with you when you do this exercise.
• Avoid exercises which require you to do extreme stretches.
• Do not do any high-impact activities such as running and aerobics, as it puts a lot of stress on your joints which raise the risk of falling.

6th month

Do:

• You are still able to perform yoga and weight training. However, in this stage, there are more ‘donts’, than ‘do’.

Donts:

• You are at the end of your second trimester; therefore you are really required to get the extra support for your balance. Therefore, when you have to avoid yoga poses that stretch abdominal muscles that need you to lay on your back
• When you are in weight training, you have to be careful to avoid blunt injury to the abdomen from dropping weight.

3rd Trimester Exercise Guide

Do:

• Your pregnancy is going to reach its time, so you should be more careful when you do exercise. Walking 20-30 minutes every day will be a good choice.
• There are few yoga poses that are good for this stage, such as Ardh Titli Asan which requires you to keep your legs outstretched.
• The bottom line for this stage is to keep yourself dehydrated, eat very nutritious meals and don’t push yourself too hard!

Donts:

• Don’t do any exercise that puts a strain on your back.

General Guide and Reminders

Some points above are the exercises that you should do and shouldn’t do during certain stages of your pregnancy. However, there are some general ideas of exercises that you really have to avoid, such as:

• Any exercises that have a high risk of falling, like water skiing, gymnastics, horseback riding, etc.
• Any sport that could make any trauma to your abdomen, like soccer, softball, basketball.
• Do not go scuba diving while you’re pregnant. This type of exercise can increase the pressure to you and your baby, as the result, it could cause miscarriage, birth defect, or premature labor.
• Do not exercise to a place at high altitude that is more than 6,000 feet as the higher the place is, the less oxygen your baby will get.
• Besides, high temperature of weather, you should also avoid hot bath water, saunas, and the like.

by Kevin Zahri

5 Most Popular iPhone Fitness Applications

Technology was created to make human beings’ life a lot easier, this includes making our exercise easier as well. One of the examples that we can take is iPhone application to help us live our life healthier, as it has the applications that can give us guidance, not only to lose our weight, but to make our body healthier and stronger. The following are the 5 popular iPhone Fitness applications to help you do exercise in the right way:

1. iTreadmill   
This application will let you know the number of steps, distance, and speed you make every single day. You just need to turn on this application, put it on your pocket and go. It will keep you marching up to speed by setting the Pacer Dial. You should not worry if you stop for a while and restart again, because it has an automatic detector if you stop and restart your walking. So, it will never mess up. The cool thing is, this application is very cheap, you just need to spend $1.99 to get it. For more information, you can look up at iTreadmill.net.

2. iMapMyFitness
If your car has a GPS, your body owns iMapMyfitness. This application is available for everybody for free! It is a tracking application that needs to use your GPS to track down your outdoor exercises, such as running, walking, cycling, and etc. What you need to do is just to start the application and it will mark your path by showing distance, time, speed, pace, elevation, and the like. It has the ability to view your workout history online. You can get this application through MapMyFitness.com.

3. FitnessBuilder 
If you do not own TV or DVD player to guide you for fitness activities, this application will do through your iPhone. It contains  more than 200 workouts. You can choose the most suitable workout for you automatically through the application’s technology, as it can make the best session for you. It also contains more than 2000 videos and images, complete tracking capabilities, five-fitness timer, calculator, and the like. If you are interested in getting this application, you need to spend $9.99. But, this price will be worth it. You can purchase the application through their website, fitnessbuilder.com.

4. Personal Running Trainer 
This application is like a training program for you. It has some programs, like 5K, 10K, full marathon, and so on. You just need to select the program you would like to do, and will receive a schedule for the work out you want. You will hear coaching instructions coming out of your iPhone. You can the trial version for free, but if you are interested in getting the full program, you just need to spend $1.99-$5.99. Get this application at PersonalRunningTrainer.com.

5. Tap & Track Calorie, Weight & Exercise Tracker    
It is so hard to control the intake of calorie on your food every single day. You cannot ask somebody to control your calorie either. But, this application will do for you. With $3.99, you can track everything related to your calorie intake, such as food and exercise. It has an extensive food database, as you can find 300,000 food items, plus 700 restaurants. You do not need an internet connection for this application to search food database. iTunes.apple.com sells this application, so you can get it through the website.

by Kevin Zahri

High Calorie foods in Everyday Life Indonesia

We never realize that the first thing coming out of our mind about food is “what good food do I have to eat today?”. We rarely think about “what kind of food should I eat to fulfill the nutrition needs of my body?”. Because we just demand the food that tastes delicious in our tongue, we often abandon the nutrition values. Therefore, we often end up eating ‘delicious foods’ with high calories. And, you believe it or not, it happens almost every day in our life.

For you whom want to live healthier, let’s observe our favorite foods that we eat daily. Following are the ten examples of our daily menu.
1. Sate Kambing (Mutton Satay)
Sate Kambing is one of the most popular foods in Indonesia, specifically in in Java. This is made out of roasted mutton that is served with soy sauce. Generally, people eat Sate with Lontong (traditional rice box)/rice. With the blend of grilled mutton and soy sauce, we have already been able to see ‘the signs’ of high calories in Sate Kambing. Every piece of peanut that is grinded contains 5 cal. Mutton itself has saturated fat 3.6, and contains 9.2 fat total. This is not it yet, because it does have 70-cholesterol in it. When the whole “things’ are bounded together, every 3 pieces of sate kambing contain 353 kal. 3 pieces of Sate are not enough for most people, at least they pick 6 pieces. So, mostly people eat 706 cal through this food. This is not the end, because sate is served with rice, and a plate of rise, contains 242 cal. Can you imagine that one portion of complete Sate Kambing can make us eat 948 cal!
2. Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)

For college students who live in kos (private boarding house), fried rice has been one of delightful foods that is consumed almost every night. Besides the spicy spices and the smell of Sate that stimulates appetite, fried rice street seller is easily found with a very inexpensive price. Fried rice is usually mixed with chicken/beef/egg/shrimp/fish and then fried in palm oil/butter (mostly palm oil). Having known the contents of fried rice, it contains 740 cal per portion. If we eat a 740 calorie food almost every night, we definitely need to do exercise more regularly in order to avoid a big belly ?
3. Nasi Rawon (Rawon Rice) 
Rawon is a black soup that has a very strong taste of East Java. Everybody, who likes strong-smell food plus the soft tasty beef in it, must like this food. This food is the combination of blacj peanut broth, named keluak and mincemeat. There are just few kinds of veggies in Rawon, like onion leaves and fried onion. So, the main content of the menu is just beef. Beef contains 95 cal per 50g. In order to make a Rawon menu in a family, they need approximately 2 till 3 kg beef. You can count it by yourself, how many calories in that much beef. Like Sate Kambing, rawon is served with rice which makes the menu contains 680 cal per portion. This is not the end, because to make the menu more complete, shrimp crackers have to be added to the menu serving. Usually shrimp crackers contain 17 cal, if you do eat the shrimp crackers; you can count the whole calories.
4. Nasi Rames/Campur (Mixed rice)
Nasi Rames is commonly found in Indonesia. Like fried rice, nasi rames is the breakfast or lunch meal of college students or young workers. Nasi rames has various kinds of things, such as veggies, peanuts, noodle, chicken, egg, shrimp crackers, and the like. With the entire things in Nasi Rames, the menu contains 680 cal per portion. But, you should know something about Nasi Rames, because it contains many kinds of contents, it also has a variety of nutrient that your body needs.
5. Instant noodle plus eggs and rice
Besides fried rice and Nasi Rames, another popular menu within young people is instant noodle. Instant noodle has a very strong taste, and it’s very quick to be served. The noodle is also very cheap, so it’s very kind of suitable young people (esp. students) to save time and money. However, behind the cheap price and quick serving, instant noodle has a pretty high calorie per package, namely 330 cal. Usually one package of instant noodle is not enough. But, let’s say one package is the standard consumption, but there are still few more things added on the noodle, they are eggs and even rice. One egg contains 70 cal, and the rice itself has 242 cal. We can count the entire calories per serving, it equals with 615 cal. But, if we don’t think one package is not enough, two packages of noodle can reach 945 cal per portion!
6. Nasi Soto ayam (chicken soto)
It’s one of the most favorite foods in Indonesia. It is served in many kinds of versions, depending on the province. But, the very standard version of soto is soto ayam. Besides for daily consumption, soto ayam is often used for traditional celebrations, so the consumption rate of soto ayam is pretty high in the society (not only young people). It contains yellow spicy chicken, noodles, hard boiled eggs, slices of fried potatoes, celery, and fried shallots. But, the main contain of it is chicken. Chicken itself has almost equal calories as beef, namely 95 cal per 50gr. In a normal portion, soto ayam contains 596 cal, but usually people add shrimp crackers, in which as it has been discussed in the earlier point, has 17 calorie.
7. Pempek Kapal Selam
This food originally comes from Palembang, Sumatra Island. It consists of fish and tapioca, then served with yellow noodles and dark sweet sour sauce, named kuah cuka. In 100g of tapioca, there are 335 cal, and in one egg, it contains 70 cal. In two pieces of pempek (which weights 100 gr per piece) has 190 cal. So, if we consume one portion of pempek, we intake 380 cal. But, a big portion of pempek can contain up to 570 cal.
8. Kare ayam (Chicken Curry)
Kare ayam is one of typical menus within Indonesian families. It contains chicken cooked with thick coconut milk. Thick coconut milk contains 120 cal per tablespoon. And, the parts of chickens that are cooked in this menu are like breast and thighs. One normal portion of kare ayam has 460 calorie. Because it comes with rice, the total calorie can be 702 cal, as per portion of rice contains 242 cal.

9. Gado-gado  

This menu comes from Betawi tribe, in Jakarta. It contains a lot of veggies, potatoes, tofu, then the contents of the food are mixed with soy sauce and accompanied by crackers. One normal portion of gado gado equals 488 cal. Like nasi rames, gado-gado contains many kinds of nutrient in it. So, it’s pretty good to fulfill the needs of your body.
10. Mi Kuah Bakso sapi
Bakso is not only for a main menu, but it’s more like ‘snack’ between meals. Bakso sellers are everywhere and the price is quite cheap, young people consume it very often. You can find beef meatball, noodle, celery, veggies, bihun, sprout, and the like. But, the beef meatball dominates the food. Bakso is accompanied by other stuff, such as fried tofu, steamed tofu, organ meats, and so on. One normal portion of bakso can contain 303 cal, and this is usually just considered “snack”. So, this is not the end of a meal time, there will be another menu after bakso.

Having known the ten kinds of food above, we can check how many calories that we consume every meal, every day. The afore-mentioned foods are not the only things we eat in a day. When we hang out with our friends, you sometimes want to drink chocolate milkshake, which contains 421 cal. Or, you want to have a piece of brownies that will add 141 more calories. And in the evening, you might want to watch a movie, and have a cup of popcorn with you. It will put 54 more cal. So, if you think you are about to have a diet program, you should know how much you eat the daily menu. Or you should reduce the amount of it.

by Kevin Zahri

10 Makanan Tinggi Kalori Sehari-Hari di Indonesia

Kita tidak menyadari yang muncul tentang makanan adalah "makanan apa yang enak dimakan untuk hari ini?". Jarang diantara kita yang berpikir "makanan mana yang bisa memenuhi kebutuhan nutrisi saya setiap hari?". Karena tuntunan rasa makanan untuk memuaskan lidah kita, nutrisi yang seharusnya dibutuhkan tubuh pun terabaikan. Akibat dari kurang selektifnya dalam memilih makanan bergizi, yang kita konsumsi akhirnya hanya makanan yang sangat tinggi kalorinya. Dan hal ini terjadi hampir setiap hari dalam sajian menu yang kita makan.

Bagi Anda yang ingin hidup lebih sehat, mari kita teliti makanan-makanan favorit yang biasa kita lahap setiap harinya. Berikut ini, 10 contoh makanan sehari-hari itu.

1. Sate Kambing - 353 kalori

Sate kambing adalah salah satu makanan yang sangat populer di Indonesia, khususnya di Jawa. Makanan ini terbuat dari daging kambing yang dibakar dan dicampur dengan rempah-rempah. Setelah itu disiram dengan bumbu kacang. Pada umumnya orang memakan sate kambing bersama dengan nasi. Dari perpaduan daging kambing dan bumbu kacang, kita sudah melihat tanda-tanda kalori tinggi dalam sate kambing. Setiap biji kacang yang digerus halus, mengandung 5 kalori.

Daging kambing sendiri mengandung lemak jenuh 3.6, lemak totalnya 9.2, dan kolesterol 70. Total kalori per tiga tusuhnya adalah 353, sedangkan tiga tusuk tidak cukup untuk memenuhi nafsu makan kita, sehingga minimal kita melahap 6 tusuk, yang total keseluruhannya adalah 706 kalori. Sate kambing saja tidak akan cukup, karena budaya Indonesia pada umumnya adalah 'kalau belum makan nasi, belum kenyang'. Jadi sate kambing plus nasi, satu porsi nasi bisa mencapai 242 kalori. Bisa kita bayangkan bila keduanya dilahap bersama, akan menjadi 948 kalori! Jadi, bagi pecinta sate kambing, sekarang bisa mulai mengendalikan makan sate kambingnya, supaya berat badan bisa terkendali pula.

2. Nasi goreng - 740 kalori

Bagi mahasiswa yang tinggal di kos-kosan, menu nasi goreng menjadi makanan favorit yang dilahap hampir setiap malam. Selain rasa bumbu-bumbu pedas dan baunya yang merangsang nafsu makan, pedagang nasi goreng paling sering bergeriliya setiap malam, sehingga sangat mudah terjangkau. Dengan paduan nasi, ayam/daging/telur/udang dan minyak goreng, nasi goreng pun mempunyai nilai kalori yang tergolong tinggi. Secara keseluruhan, penggabungan isi nasi goreng, nasi dan minyak gorengnya, menu ini mengandung 740 kalori per porsinya. Kalau untuk menu sebelum tidur tiap malamnya adalah 740 kalori, jelas Anda perlu melakukan olahraga rutin biar perut tidak semakin gendut ?

3. Nasi rawon - 680 kalori

Rawon adalah sup hitam yang memiliki rasa kuat khas Jawa Timur. Siapapun pasti tergoda dengan baunya yang sedap khas Surabaya, dan daging sapi yang lunak dilidah. Inilah yang membuat rawon menjadi salah satu makanan favorit di Indonesia. Menu ini merupakan gabungan dari kuah kaldu kacang hitam yang disebut keluak dan daging sapi yang dicincang. Sayur yang dimasukkan ke dalam sajian ini sangat sedikit, dan itu pun hanya daun bawang dan bawang goreng saja. Jadi, isi utama dari menu ini hanyalah daging sapi. Daging sapi sendiri mengandung 95 kalori dalam setiap 50gr nya. Untuk membuat rawon, biasanya keluarga Indonesia menggunakan 2 atau 3 kilo daging sapi untuk membuat rawon. Anda bisa menghitung sendiri berapa banyak kalori dalam daging sapi sebanyak itu. Seperti halnya sate kambing, tidak akan sempurna tanpa kehadiran nasi. Kalori nasi pun cukup banyak, yang akhirnya membuat menu rawon mengandung 680 kalori setiap porsinya. Belum lagi 'pendamping' rawon yang wajib disantap, yaitu kerupuk udang. Kerupuk udang mengandung 17 kalori. Bila Anda melahap 5 kerupuk udang sekali makan, kalori yang masuk bersama dengan nasi rawon pun bertambah.

4. Nasi rames/campur - 680 kalori

Nasi rames/campur sangat umum ditemukan di Indonesia. Hampir sama dengan nasi goreng, nasi rames merupakan menu sarapan atau makan siang untuk kalangan mahasiswa dan pekerja muda. Bedanya dengan nasi goreng, nasi campur berisi berbagai macam makanan, seperti sayur, kacang, mie, ayam/telur, krupuk udang, dll., tergantung di Indonesia bagian mana menu tersebut disajikan. Namun, berdasarkan isi paling umum, makanan ini mengandungb 680 kalori setiap sajiannya. Bagusnya menu ini adalah karena isinya bervariasi, kandungan nutrisi, selain kalori-nya, pun juga lebih banyak. Memakan nasi campur untuk menu sehari-hari tidak akan menjadi masalah, karena tidak ada satu bahan makananya yang mendominasi, seperti yang terjadi pada nasi rawon. Jadi, bisa memenuhi kebutuhan nutrisi tubuh Anda secara cukup lengkap.

5. Mie Instant ditambah telur dan nasi - 945 kalori

Selain nasi goreng dan nasi rames, menu lain yang populer dikalangan kaum muda adalah mie instant. Selain rasanya yang kuat, mie instant juga cepat disajikannya dan murah, sehingga cocok untuk mahasiswa yang sibuk sekaligus ingin berhemat. Cukup merebus mie dan menambahkan bumbu pada kuahnya, dalam 15 menit, semuanya pun jadi. Akan tetapi, dibalik kemudahan mie instant, tersimpan pula keburukannya. Dalam setiap bungkus mie instant, mengandung 330 kal. Biasanya satu bungkus tidak cukup, jadi kebanyakan memasak dua bungkus sekaligus. Katakanlah satu bungkus menjadi standar, masih pula perlu menambahkan nasi dan telur sebagai pendamping. Satu butir telur mengandung 70 kal, sedangkan nasi dengan porsi rata-rata adalah 242 kal. Jadi secara keseluruhan adalah 615 kal. Kalau memasak dua bungkus sekaligus, kalorinya bisa mencapai 945! Ini hanya sekali makan, jadi sebaiknya tidak memakan mi instan lebih dari sekali dalam sehari.

6. Nasi soto ayam - 596 kalori

Soto ayam merupakan salah satu makanan favorit di Indonesia, seperti halnya rawon. Bedanya soto tersedia dalam berbagai versi, tergantung dimana menu ini disajikan, karena setiap provinsi memiliki tambahan tersendiri. Namun, menu soto yang paling standar adalah soto ayam. Selain menjadi makanan sehari-hari, menu ini juga sangat sering disajikan untuk perayaan tradisional, jadi konsumsi soto lumayan cukup tinggi di semua kalangan penduduk. Soto biasanya berisi ayam, mi so'un, seledri, daun bawang, dll. Namun, isi yang paling mendominasi soto adalah ayam. Hampir sama dengan daging sapi, dalam setiap 50 gr-nya mengandung 95 kalori, hanya saja ayam dalam soto tidak sebanyak daging sapi pada rawon, jadi nilai kalorinya tidak setinggi rawon. Dalam porsi normalnya (satu mangkok), nasi soto ayam mengandung 596 kalori. Sama dengan rawon, soto umumnya ditemani dengan kerupuk udang, yang mengandung 17 kalori.

7. Pempek Kapal Selam - 570 kalori

Makanan khas Palembang, Sumatra ini memiliki rasa daging ikan yang unik. Pempek terbuat dari ikan dan sagu, kemudian disajikan dengan mie kuning dan kuah cuka. Walaupun awalnya merupakan makanan asal tanah Palembang, menu ini sudah menjadi populer, tidak hanya di Sumatra, tetapi juga di Jawa. Pempek berisi telur di dalamnya, jadi bisa dikatakan menu ini terdiri dari sagu, ikan dan telur. Kandungan 100g sagu setara dengan 355 kalori, sedangkan telur satu butir mengandung 95 kalori.

Namun, setiap porsi pempek berisi 2 biji, yang setiap bijinya umumnya memiliki berat 100gr dan mengandung 190 kalori. Kalau Anda mengkonsumsi satu porsi, berarti Anda memakan 380 kalori. Tetapi kalau mau porsi besar, bisa menjadi 570 kalori sekali makan.

8. Kare Ayam - 702 kalori

Kare ayam merupakan sajian tipikal keluarga di Indonesia, yang berisi ayam yang dimasak santan kental. Karena rasanya yang nikmat dan beraroma rempah-rempah, kare ayam bisa membuat penikmatnya tergila-gila. Cara menikmatinya juga sama dengan rawon dan soto ayam, yaitu dengan menambahkan nasi. Santan kental sendiri mengandung kalori cukup banyak per sendok makannya, yaitu 120. Belum lagi bagian ayam yang sering dimasak di dalam kare adalah paha dan dada. Satu porsi normal kare mengandung 460 kalori plus nasi 242 kal, jadi totalnya 702 kal. Sekali-kali makan kare nikmat, tapi kalau terlalu sering bisa-bisa dietpun gagal.

9. Gado-gado - 488 kalori

Hidangan ini berasala dari suku betawi, Jakarta. Menu ini berisi banyak sayuran, kentang, tahu, kemudian dicampur dengan bumbu kacang dan krupuk. Seperti kacang yang terkandung dalam bumbu sate kambing, satu butirnya, kacang mengandung 5 kalori. Satu porsi normal gado-gado setara dengan 488 kalori. Hampir sama dengan nasi campur, gado-gado mengandung banyak jenis nutrisi di dalamnya. Makanan ini juga menjadi favorit anak-anak muda di Indonesia.

10. Mie Kuah bakso sapi - 303 kalori

Bakso tidak hanya sebagai makanan utama, tapi lebih sering disebut 'jajanan'. Penjual bakso ada dimana-mana, kaum muda pun sangat sering mengkonsumsinya. Di dalam bakso, terdapat berbagai macam isi, seperti bakso sapi (beef meatball) mie, seledri, sayur, bihun, kecambah dll. Bakso merupakan isi yang mendominasi. Makanan bulat ini terbuat dari daging sapid an sagu. Biasanya juga ditambahkan udang, ikan, dan lain-lain. Selain bakso, menu ini ditemani dengan berbagai isi lainnya seperti tahu goreng, gorengan, dan daging jeroan. Namun, bentuk paling umum bakso adalah bakso, tahu dan gorengan. Dari porsi normal ini mengandung 303 kalori. Karena ini biasanya dianggap sebagai jajanan saja, anak muda cenderung makan menu lainnya. Jadi, menu 303 kalori ini bukan akhir dari jam makan.

Dari 10 menu di atas, kita bisa melihat berapa jumlah kalori dari makanan yang biasa kita makan sehari-hari. Jumlah kalori di atas biasanya masih ditambah lagi dengan camilan yang lain. Bila Anda menambah sepotong brownies, berarti Anda menambah 141 kalori, belum lagi minuman saat Anda nongkrong, seperti Milk Shake coklat 1 gelas yang mengandung 421 kal. Dan bila Anda ingin menonton film di bioskop, Anda ingin membeli satu cup pop corn, yang setara dengan 54 kal. Oleh karena itu, bila Anda bermaksud untuk berdiet, sebaiknya untuk sementara waktu Anda harus mengurangi keinginan untuk makan makanan tinggi kalori.

by Kevin Zahri

5 Hal Utama "Budaya" Yang Membuat Berat Badan Naik

Banyak diantara kita tidak menyadari semakin bertambah usia kita, semakin bertambah pula berat badan kita. Banyak diantara kita yang mengaku bahwa kita tidak makan tiap jam, tapi berat badan tetap aja naik, nah loh? Mungkin kita perlu berinstropeksi diri, melihat mengapa hal ini bisa terjadi. Kita bisa memulai dari bagaimana budaya kita membentuk pola makan kita sehari-hari. Berikut ini adalah 5 hal utama yang berhubungan dengan budaya kita, mengapa berat bada kita naik, seiring berjalannya waktu.

1. Suka makan-makanan gorengan, banyak nasi, manis, berlemak, dan bersantan

Sadar atau tidak, kita terbiasa menggoreng apapun. Ayam goreng dan nasi goreng merupakan contoh yang paling umum. Dan yang lebih umum lagi, kita bisa menemukan jajanan gorengan yang ragamnya tidak terhitung, mulai dari yang paling sering dilahap disaat bersantai, bakwan/weci goreng, tahu isi goreng, tempe goreng, tape goreng, molen, ketela/singkong goreng; tak ketinggalan buah yang digoreng, seperti pisang goreng, nangka goreng, dsb. Yang lebih gila lagi, bahkan sayur pun kita goreng, brokoli goreng, bayam goreng, dan lain lain. Kalori yang tersimpan dalam makanan gorengan sangat tinggi. Yang lebih mengkhawatirkan lagi adalah minyak yang dipakai untuk menggoreng biasanya sudah dipakai berkali-kali, atau yang biasa kita sebut dengan jelantah. Banyak orang yang mengatakan bahwa menggoreng dengan menggunakan minyak jelantah bisa membuat gorengan kita lebih enak, padahal minyak jelantah telah mengalami perubahan struktur yang membuat kolesterol jahatnya semakin meningkat.

Selain itu, tipikal makanan yang kita makan sehari-hari biasanya banyak nasi, manis, bersantan, dan berlemak. Banyak orang yang mengatakan “kalau belum makan nasi, belum makan namanya”. Dan ini membuat kita cenderung mengambil lebih banyak nasi daripada lauk. Selain itu, kita biasa menggunakan lemak atau jeroan untuk membuat aroma dan rasa makanan kita menjadi sedap. Dan inilah senjata yang dipakai restoran-restoran untuk menarik Anda dan menganggap mereka sebagai restoran yang enak, bukan restoran yang bergizi.

2. Makanan jadi hiburan atau teman hiburan pada malam hari

Nongkrong di warung lesehan atau kafe sudah berbudaya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari kita. Terutama untuk kaum adam. Biasanya mereka nongkrong bareng-bareng dengan kawan-kawan untuk menonton sepak bola. Dan ketika menonton sepak bola, mereka selalu meminum kopi, makan nasi goreng dan kacang tanah sebagai camilannya. Bisa Anda bayangkan, berapa kalori yang terkandung dalam kopi Anda, terutama bila Anda menambahnya dengan gula dan susu. Belum lagi nasi goreng dan kacang tanah.

3. Lebih suka naik motor daripada jalan kaki, alasan panas dan sebagainya

Banyak dari kita malas berjalan. Kita lebih memilih naik motor, atau mobil, padahal berjalan bisa membantu kita menstabilkan berat badan, dan menyehatkan. Kita sering beralasan ini dan itu, terutama untuk kaum perempuan. Banyak dari mereka yang enggan berjalan karena alasan panas dan berdebu. Keringat dan kulit menjadi gelap merupakan ketakutan terbesar mereka.

4. Tergoda dengan makanan cepat saji dan minuman berkarbonasi kalori tinggi dan gula.

Bila kita menengok orang-orang yang makan di restoran cepat saji, hal pertama yang muncul di benak kita adalah ‘mereka adalah orang kaya’. Itulah mengapa makan di restoran cepat saji akan membuat kita merasa berada dikelas atas. Padahal, kita hanya tertipu pada ‘sampul dan bungkus’ dari makanan cepat saji yang bermerek dan berasal dari Barat. Padahal, makanan-makanan tersebut, kalau dikembalikan ke tempat asalnya, merupakan makanan masyarakat kelas bawah pada masa lalu.

5. Gemuk merupakan tanda hidup kita bahagia dan makmur

Ini satu hal yang tidak kita sadari. Bila kita semakin kurus, pasti banyak yang menanyakan “kamu baik-baik saja kah?”. Padahal stres sangat bisa memicu kenaikan berat badan. Ada beberapa orang yang beralih ke makanan bila mereka stres, jadi budaya yang menganggap kita bahagia kalau kita gemuk, tidak selamanya benar.

Setelah mengetahui 5 poin di atas, kita sebaiknya bisa menyeimbangkan diri kita. Pada awalnya memang sulit, tapi setelah itu kita akan menciptakan kebiasaan baru yang lebih baik.

by Kevin Zahri

David Smith: Amazing 410 Pound Weight Loss Story

He was enormously obese — a lost soul with no friends and no life who had given up on himself and on life.
David Smith even hatched a plan to end it. He would get an inflatable swimming pool, and he would take it to a remote spot in the Arizona desert. He would fill it with gasoline, get in, and light a match. It would be a horrific and painful way to die, but that’s what Smith thought he deserved.

And the best thing about it would be that the fire would consume his 650-pound body. When it had done his work, there would be nothing left to make fun of anymore.

It is hard to believe that the David Smith who tells this story is the same hunky man who sat down with TODAY’s Matt Lauer Friday in New York. Smiling and confident, he’s cut and ripped, a certified personal trainer with a body that’s no longer to die in a blaze of glory for. He has a future that never seemed possible — and a past that seemed to have belonged to someone else.

“It’s a different person,” Smith told Lauer after watching a video that showed the gelatinous blob he used to be. “It’s not me anymore.”

‘Night and day’

The remarkable story of how Smith lost more than 400 pounds in just 26 months without gastric bypass surgery is the subject of a TLC documentary that premieres Sunday, July 12. It’s called “The 650-pound Virgin,” and it follows Smith’s journey from a suicidal and friendless loner who never left his house to a new life as an inspiration to everybody who has battled obesity.

The story’s not over. Smith, now 32, would not say directly if he is still a virgin, but he admitted that he is still fighting to get over his shyness around women and his fear of rejection.

“It’s like night and day. I’ve gone from being a laughingstock to having girls make googly eyes at me,” he said. But responding to those looks is still a challenge. “I still have to muster up the courage to talk to girls,” he said.

“Instead of being a dud, I want to be a stud,” he added.

Facing his fear

The remarkable transformation in Smith’s life began in 2003, when he was considering suicide. Somewhere deep down, he discovered that he still harbored a hope that he could transform himself. He decided to lose weight.
Smith rejected bypass surgery as too risky. He didn’t want to die on the operating table and have his obese remains mocked by the surgeons who had been trying to save his life.

TODAY

Once a whopping 650 pounds, David Smith showed his amazingly transformed self on TODAY.
The remaining alternative was to learn to eat properly and exercise the weight off. And, he decided, he would renounce his terror of being seen in public by making his journey the subject of a documentary.

“I decided that the best way to get over my fear was to destroy it … and the best way to be seen is on television,” he wrote. So he contacted KTVK, a local television station that had a feature hosted by fitness and nutrition guru Chris Powell. After some initial hesitation, Powell took Smith on.
Powell waited several weeks before contacting Smith. He had doubts about whether he could help, but the more he looked at the pictures Smith had sent, the more he felt he had to meet Smith.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Powell told Lauer. “I had no idea how to help somebody was so large. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was curiosity.”
Baby steps to giant strides

Using a nutritional program and what he calls a transformational approach that he devised himself and now sells — the STAX System — Powell went to work. When they began, Smith couldn’t walk 500 feet and couldn’t fit in a car.

Powell told Lauer he alternated diet plans. Not wanting to tell Smith he couldn’t ever eat ice cream, pizza and the other calorie-laden foods he loved, Powell told his student he would diet strictly one day, then reward himself the next. “It was baby steps,” the trainer explained.

The baby steps became giant strides. The weight melted off — a phenomenal average of more than 15 pounds a month. By 2007, just 26 months after he decided to transform himself and his life, Smith had lost 410 pounds from a starting weight of 650.

TODAY

David Smith (center) and his trainer Chris Powell show Matt Lauer the shirt Smith was wearing when Powell first met him.

The weight loss left behind great folds and bags of excess skin that had to be removed over the course of more than a year in a series of three operations. At last count, surgeons had removed some 30 pounds of excess skin, and, Smith said, he still needs one or two more operations.

Troubled childhood

In a biographical sketch Smith wrote, he says his problems began after his family moved to the Phoenix area when he was 7 and was sexually molested by his best friend. Unable to deal with the experience, he cut himself off from everyone and found solace in eating. A large child to begin with, he quickly became not just one of the tallest kids in his class, but also the fattest.

“I didn’t want to be hurt again,” he wrote. “I was full of shame.”
But his desire invited only more abuse. He became a target of bullies, who would gather gangs of kids to see if they could beat him up.

“I have been spit on; I have had dirt clots, rocks, bolts, basketballs, books, even feces among other things thrown at me,” he wrote. “I started to hate people. Nobody wanted to be my friend. I didn’t even want friends anymore, I just wanted to be left alone.”

The physical abuse ended in high school, but the emotional abuse continued. It got so bad, that Smith dropped out at the age of 17. He didn’t want to take it anymore.

And then he got hit with another emotional trauma. His mother, the only person he allowed himself to show any emotion to, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She fought the disease for five years, but in the end it took her life.

“It hit me hard,” he wrote. “The first month, I hardly ate anything, but after the first month I was an eating machine. I didn’t care about anything. I just wanted to get my fix and be left alone.”

That’s when he stopped leaving his family’s home, stopped interacting with others, and started to think of ways to end it all.

Fortunately, he made one giant effort to break out of his personal hell, and Powell responded. They’re best friends and roommates now, and fellow fitness trainers. Helping others to do the same thing he did is Smith’s way of paying back the gift he’s received.

Now, all that’s left is to meet a girl and have children who won’t grow up in the emotional desert he inhabited for most of his life.

Asked after the show when he thinks that could happen, he said, “I’m just putting the pieces together — and hopefully a girl will be one of the pieces.”

by Kevin Zahri

Penting Rehat Dalam Senaman

Isu rehat memang penting! Rehat merupakan satu perkara yang selalu dipandang rendah oleh ramai pengunjung gym. Overtraining merupakan kesan kurang rehat seseorang. Contoh orang yang kurang perihatin kepada rehat dan adalah mereka yang:

1. Melatih satu bahagian badan (seperti biceps) hampir setiap hari
2. Melatih sepanjang tahun, tanpa rehat
3. Berlatih beberapa jam di gym setiap hari.
4. Sudah bosan meneruskan program latihan.

Saya bahagikan rehat kepada dua jenis, 1. rehat antara sessi senaman dan 2. Seasonal Rest atau rehat bermusim.

Rehat Antara Sessi

Betul atau tidak: Otot membesar sewaktu weight training di gym!? Tidak! Otot sebenarnya membesar sewaktu rehat. Sessi senaman di gym merupakan perangsang untuk pembesaran otot tetapi ia perlu direhatkan selepas itu. Latihan mengangkat berat menyebabkan koyakan microskopik kepada otot yang dilatih. Otot itu perlu direhatkan untuk membolehkan badan membaiki dan sekaligus membesarkan (menguatkan) otot berkenaan. Proses ini mengambil masa lebih kurang 72 jam. Oleh kerana itu, anda diggalakan untuk menunggu paling kurang 72 jam sebelum melatih otot yang sama sekali lagi. Tanpa rehat antara sessi ini, usaha anda agak sia-sia.

Rehat Bermusim

Bagi atlit dan pengunjung kerap gym seperti Ravi, sendi, tulang dan otot anda banyak melalui wear & tear yang tidak dapat dibaiki dalam sehari-dua. The only way to allow your body to fully recuperate, adalah dengan menjadualkan rehat bermusim setiap 3-5 bulan. Berapa lama anda harus rehat? Saya syorkan 1-2 minggu. Dalam period tersebut, anda harus rehat sepenuhnya untuk membolehkan badan anda recover sepenuhnya. Rehat bermusim ini juga bertujuan untuk refuel your mental enthusiasm. Lama-kelamaan, semua orang jemu melatih week in and week out, jadi rehat bermusin ini sesuai untuk rehatkan diri anda dari segi fizikal & rohani.

Takut rehat ini akan merosotkan perkembangan anda? Mungkin anda akan kehilangan sedikit performance atau kekuatan sewaktu rehat bermusim, tetapi ia hanya sementara dan cepat kembali apabila anda mulakan training semula. Ia umpama stock market yang mempunyai kitaran atas & bawah (up & down cycle).

Remember: its not the quantity but the quality of your workouts that matter! Pentingkan rehat untuk mengelakkan daripada overtraining

by Kevin Zahri

Top 10 Causes of Osteoporosis

Bones continually change throughout your life, with some bone cells dissolving and new bone cells growing back in a process called remodeling. With this lifelong turnover of bone cells, you replace most of your skeleton every 10 years. During childhood and teen years, new bone grows faster than existing bone is absorbed by the body.

After age 30, this process begins to reverse. As a natural part of aging, bone dissolves and is absorbed faster than new bone is made, and bones become thinner. You are more likely to have osteoporosis if you did not reach your ideal bone thickness (bone mineral density) during your childhood and teenage years.

Why is bone loss so common? Think you know what causes osteoporosis? Think again -- some of the causes may surprise you

Causes Of Osteoporosis

1. Low Estrogen in Women: What’s the most common cause of osteoporosis? In general, it's estrogen deficiency in women. Bone loss accelerates after menopause, when older women have a quick drop in estrogen. Over time, the risk of osteoporosis and fracture increases as older women lose more bone than they replace (in women, bone loss increases around menopause, when ovaries decrease production of estrogen, a hormone that protects against bone loss). Besides this, younger women who stop menstruating -- such as thin athletes or girls with anorexia -- also have compromised bone density. Having both ovaries surgically removed, called a bilateral oophorectomy, it may also cause osteoporosis and low bone density.
2. Low Testosterone in Men: Man needs both testosterone and estrogen for bone health. That's because men convert testosterone into bone-preserving estrogen. There's a clear consensus that when you're evaluating men with osteoporosis, you always evaluate for testosterone deficiency. Several other hormones play a role in regulating your bone density, including parathyroid hormone and growth hormone. They help orchestrate how well your bones use calcium -- and when to build up and break down bone. But too much parathyroid hormone, called hyperparathyroidism, causes calcium loss in the urine at the expense of bone. Less calcium means weaker bones. And as you age, your body produces less growth hormone, which you need to build strong bone. Osteoporosis is typically seen in men older than 65, when production of this hormone declines.
3. Lack of Calcium: Without calcium, you can't rebuild new bone during the lifelong process of bone remodeling. Bones are the reservoir for two minerals -- calcium and phosphorus. You need a constant level of calcium in your blood since many of your organs, especially your heart, muscles, and nerves, depend on calcium. When these organs demand calcium, they'll steal it from the mineral storehouse in your bones. Over time, as you deplete the mineral reservoir in your bones, you end up with thin, brittle bones.
4. Lack of Vitamin D: Too little vitamin D can lead to weak bones and increased bone loss. Active vitamin D, also called calcitriol, is more like a hormone than a vitamin. Among its many benefits, vitamin D helps your body to absorb and use calcium.
5. A Sedentary Lifestyle: Bones weaken if they aren't worked. For people who are sedentary or have a condition like paralysis or muscular dystrophy, bone loss happens quickly. As a cause of osteoporosis, this one's in your hands. You can help "remodel" your bones with weight-bearing exercise, where you're putting gentle stress on bones.
6. Thyroid Conditions: High levels of thyroid hormone have long been linked to an increase in bone loss. That's always been a concern of most physicians, but if you look at the long-term bone densities of patients who are on high doses of thyroid pills, they're not dramatically different, and their fracture risk isn't dramatically different. Still, most doctors would agree that anyone on high doses on thyroid hormone can benefit from getting regular exercise and taking enough calcium and vitamin D. These lifestyle factors are potent ways to manage your overall fracture risk, along with monitoring bone density with testing.
7. Smoking: Smokers suffer from lower bone density and a higher risk of fracture than non-smokers. Studies on smoking and bone health have turned up a host of other dire effects, from direct toxic effects of nicotine on bone cells to blocking the body's ability to use estrogen, calcium, and vitamin D.
8. Medications: Taking certain medications may lead to bone loss and an increase in bone fractures. Most common are corticosteroids, also known as cortisone, hydrocortisone, glucocortisoids, and prednisone. These drugs are used to treat asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, colitis, and a wide range of other conditions. Antiseizure drugs are linked to bone loss, as well.
9. Medical Conditions: A host of medical conditions can lead to bone loss, from genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis to digestive diseases to the tumors called multiple myeloma, which infiltrate bones with abnormal cells. Abnormal calcium excretion also contributes to bone loss. Some people just don't trap calcium like they should, and they excrete it through the urine at the expense of the bone.
10. Too Much Alcohol: Alcohol can arrest bone remodeling and increase your calcium loss. Being tipsy increases the risk of falling, and with osteoporosis, that means you're risking a fracture.

by Kevin Zahri

Minum Separuh Teh Tarik Untuk Kurang 4.75kg Setahun

Anda gemar minum teh tarik? Sudah tentu. Saya pun. Malah dalam sehari, saya sendiri pun minum dalam 2x gelas teh tarik di mamak atau mana-mana kedai makan.

Bukankah teh tarik menggemukkan?

Ya and tidak. Sememangnya kalau berlebihan, teh tarik boleh menggemukkan kerana ia menggandungi kalori. Berapa kalori dalam secawan? Dalam 100 kalori kot, bergantung kepada cara penyediaan. Tapi kalau dibanding dengan nasi lemak (400-500 kalori), roti canai (300 kalori) ataupun tin coka cola (150 kalori), secawan teh tarik is not the end of the world.

Tip: Minum separuh gelas untuk kurangkan 4.75kg setahun!

Betul ke? Kalau anda faham konsep kalori, memang mudah. Katakanlah anda biasa minum 2x gelas sehari atau 200 kalori. Now untuk kurangkan berat 4.75kg setahun, anda hanya boleh minum separuh gelas tapi tetap 2x sehari. Macamana? Senang je - 50 x 2 x 7700 kalori bersamaan dengan 36,500 kalori atau 4.75kg!

by Kevin Zahri

The truth about Getting Abs!

Who doesn’t want rock hard abs? Why? Coz it’s the definitive sign that you are in tip top shape and ...hell yeah, its oozes sex appeal!

So, have you been devotedly doing 100s of crunches daily without much progress? Don’t know what you are doing wrong? Let me fill you in.

The Bad News

Getting a set of washboard abs has very little (if anything at all) with how many crunches or other abs training you do. Having beautiful abs or not is all about the layer of fat between your abdominal muscles and skin. As long as you have that layer of fat, no abs workout in the world will help your abs shine through. Even if you perform the best ab crunches in the world.

Does that mean that all those crunches are a waste of time?

Not really. Training your abdominals certainly works the ab muscles, making then stronger and maybe even bigger. This however does not affect the layer of fat that is covering your abs. Ever notice how thin individuals have beautiful abs without doing a single crunch? Yes that’s right. It’s all about the fat baby!

 The Good News

Good is an understatement as it definitely ain’t easy. So how do you get rid of that fat? You can’t spot reduce fat as that is determined by your genetics. You gotta create a calorie deficit, so that your body will slowly remove fat everywhere, including your abdominals. After all, you will never see a guy with beautiful abs but flabby arms. It needs to come in a package.

Want beautiful abs? Do the following:

1. Reduce overall body fat by creating a calorie deficit. This is easier said than done. Do refer to my weight loss eBook for step-by-step instructions.
2. Include cardio training in your fitness program to burn additional calories
3. Train your abs. Just like any other muscle, do not overtrain your abdominals. Training them 1-2 times per week is adequate. Unless you want thicker abs, focus on high resistance training. Whether you opt for As-Seen-on-TV gadgets or conventional gym exercises, they all general work. Choose exercises that you enjoy but try to vary your approach from time to time.

It’s all about the basics. That’s the truth about abs! Period.

by Kevin Zahri