By John Defendis

Fat...Fat...Fat! It accumulates on the waist, hips, buttocks, and thighs and on the back of the arms in some cases. Almost every one of us has struggled with too much body fat at one time or another. We all want and need to know the secrets to ridding our bodies of excess body fat. As I have said many times in previous articles, it all boils down to a three-point program.

#1 - Proper Nutrition.
#2 - Proper Nutritional Supplements.
#3 - Regular Exercise.

Lets concentrate on the basics of nutrition this week. The key element in a healthy weight loss program is to stay away from salt and high sodium foods, steer clear of high fat foods, and also avoid foods that are high in sugar. Often times when I tell someone to stay away from high salt foods they respond with, "I never put salt on my food."

Well, although this is a step in the right direction, it is a small step when you look at the big picture. Most foods contain salt and have high sodium content. You have to take the time to read the nutritional label on everything that you purchase. Concentrate on the sodium, fat, and sugar content. You will easily be able to see which foods are good and which foods to steer clear from. I am listing the breakdown of several foods to give you an example of the nutritional content of these foods.

Sodium Breakdown:

• Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice- Sodium Content: 620 mg. per serving.

• Seven Seas Fat Free Ranch Dressing- Sodium Content: 330 mg. per serving.

• Ultra Slim Fast- Sodium Content: 460 mg. per serving.

• Healthy Choice Pasta Sauce- Sodium Content: 390 mg. per serving.

• Enrico's No Salt Fat Free Pasta Sauce- Sodium Content: 55 mg. per serving.

Sugar Breakdown:

• Ultra Slim Fast- Sugar Content: 37 grams per serving.

• Healthy Choice Pasta Sauce- Sugar Content: 8 grams per serving.

Fat Breakdown:

• Lean Ground Turkey-Fat Content: 40 grams per pound.

• Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast- Fat Content: 6 grams per pound.

• Lean Ground Beef (7% Fat)- Fat Content: 32 grams per pound.

These are just a few examples of certain foods and their sodium, fat, and sugar content. I will leave it up to you to decide by comparison with other foods how each food stacks up. When you take the time to read the labels on the foods that you buy, you will make better choices that will enable you to achieve better results with your fitness program. Always pay careful attention to the sodium, fat, and sugar content. I call these the 3 demons. They will destroy any weight loss and fitness program. Reading the labels and comparing different products and their breakdown will help you to get better results.

Diet Tips For Weight Loss

Do you feel puffy? Bloated? Are your rings fitting too tight on your fingers? Do you look like you swallowed an air hose? Well, I'm sorry if I have offended anyone with my previous questions but not enough people have been listening to this part of my Burn Fat...Build Muscle Program. For over 10 years I have been preaching about the hazards of an excessive salt intake.

Excess salt intake will cause fluid retention (edema) and contribute to the circulatory disorder hypertension. Hypertension is the medical term for abnormally high blood pressure. Too much salt or sodium in the diet can also sabotage what could have been a successful weight loss program.

Read The Label When we ingest too much sodium our body retains tremendous amounts of water. Once this takes place our body no longer filters fluid properly. We do not urinate as much and we do not drink as much. The excess salt clogs our filtration system. When this occurs it interferes with the efficiency of our metabolism. It makes it more difficult to burn and transport fat. There are several ways to combat this. The most common method that is often used by most diet programs like Weight Watchers is to force down 8-10 glasses of water each day. Unfortunately this does not solve the problem, this only masks the problem because we continue to ingest more sodium and the body continues to retain more water. There are three ways to solve the water retention problem and improve our ability to lose weight. The first and most important method is to reduce the sodium in our diets. That means stay away from high sodium foods and dressings like cheese, regular sauces like spaghetti sauce, soy sauce and barbecue sauce. Avoid ham, pickles, canned foods and fast food restaurants. Replace high sodium foods with low sodium foods like No Salt Spaghetti Sauce and Salsa, Fresh Poultry, Fish and Vegetables.

The second method of reducing the water retention and sodium build up in our system is to take herbal water eliminators like those found in the Burn Fat...Build Muscle Pack. This will allow the body to release water and subsequently reduce sodium levels in the body. The last method to reduce the sodium build up is to exercise regularly. By exercising we stimulate our body to perspire. When we sweat we lose water and with that water loss we simultaneously lose sodium in our perspiration.

The more water we lose, the more salt we excrete. Before you know it we become a lean, mean, filtration machine! If you adhere to these guidelines you will have a much more efficient metabolism, lose that puffy appearance, and reduce body fat faster and easier. Oh, I almost forgot to give you a very important tip...

READ THE LABELS.

That's right... get used to reading the labels and always try to avoid foods that are laden with salt and sodium. If a product has over one hundred milligrams of sodium per serving then stay away! I am very confident that you will achieve great results from reducing the salt in your diet. You will not only look better but you will feel better and be healthier. I wish you the best of luck and always remember... I am only a phone call away.

About The Author

John DeFendis is the Director of  Personal Training for Coop's Health & Fitness in Greenville and Anderson, South Carolina and TNT Family Fitness in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
John is on the Board of Directors for the ISSA & IFPA. He was Awarded "Trainer of the Year" for 9 years while he was a trainer at the Congressional Gym in Washington DC.
John is also a former Mr. U.S.A. and has been featured on ABC T.V.'s 20/20, Good Morning America, Hard Copy, CNN, ESPN, FOX, NBC Sports and The Joan Rivers show. He has been a trainer for over 30 years and is the director of exercise with the IFPA. He developed the ULTRA FIT program and can be contacted at by e-mailing him at: defendis@aol.com

Visit John's personal website at: www.defendis.com

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