I’m sure you’ve heard it, that explanation for the phenomenon when you’ve been exercising and dieting and your weight stays the same, “Muscle weighs more than fat. Even though you aren’t losing weight you’re still losing fat.” I’m sorry to say that this is one of the most regularly shared weight loss myths between dieters.

When I began exercising regularly as part of my diet regime I noticed there would be times when my weight would stand still. I recall a span of five days when I worked out like mad at the gym and stuck to my diet and was aghast every morning when I weighed myself and my weight was exactly the same. I’m talking exactly, not up or down, just the same. I began thinking that perhaps this was my body’s way of getting revenge from taking away all those delicious calories and making it go to the gym. I was dumbfounded.

The majority of my workout is cardio, but I do strength training for 30 minutes 3 times a week. I can’t say exactly how much muscle I gain from this program, but for hypothetical reasons I will estimate that I gain an average of 0.5 lb of muscle a week. Now, it is true that muscle is denser than fat (see below for fat vs. muscle example), but weight is weight. So if I gained half a pound of muscle, then did I lose only a half a pound of fat, or are there other factors at play?

After reading lots of articles about muscle building and general muscle physiology I can offer these three factors as explanation for my stubborn weight loss – water retention, glycogen storage and muscle gain.

Water Retention – there are a number of reasons you will gain water weight; you haven’t been drinking enough water so your body stores more of it; excess salt in your diet; monthly hormonal changes; water stored with glycogen in muscles.

Glycogen Storage – glycogen is carbohydrates kept for future use that is stored in the liver and muscle tissue along with a large amount...

Guinea Piggy

There has been a lot of hype around calorie shifting recently in the world of weight loss. Calorie shifting is quickly becoming a regular weight loss term to describe a type of diet that is intended to increase your body’s metabolism naturally. The concept of calorie shifting has been present in many fad diets over the years, but has been made very popular by the Weight Loss 4 Idiots diet.

Weight Loss 4 Idiots Diet, also known as “Fat Loss 4 Idiots” is an online diet. It can be adapted to accommodate vegetarians as well as some of your basic likes and dislikes of foods. Once this information has been entered, you will be provided with an 11-day diet plan. During this diet plan you will be given simple meals to prepare and eat 4 times a day. Each meal ranges in calorie content, carbs and fats. You are also supposed to eat each meal at different times of the day throughout the week. All this fluctuation in eating times and calories per meal is the basis of their “calorie-shifting” diet. It is said that by shifting your calorie intake around all the time, your body will be forced to burn calories at a higher rate.

Although most of the foods in the Weight Loss 4 Idiots diet are low-carb and low-fat, there are no portion controls. You are supposed to eat as much of the food listed for a meal, such as cottage cheese, until you are satiated, but not stuffed. For this reason, people find the Fat Loss 4 Idiots pretty “idiot-proof” because there is no calorie counting and measuring of food. The diet also recommends that you walk for at least 30 minutes each day.

Weight Loss 4 Idiots boasts on their website “Lose 9lbs in 11 days”. I was intrigued by a diet that doesn’t have portion control, and was skeptical of the results they claim, so I looked around online for reviews. I found many, many people who are having success with this diet, mostly women. Although a few people did lose 9 lbs in the first 11 days, weight loss typically...

Guinea Piggy

I was enjoying a perfectly cooked rare beef fillet mignon yesterday when I was rudely interrupted by my friend who thought it pertinent to tell me that “Red meat stays in your digestive tract for 3 months, you shouldn’t eat it”. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this myth about the digestion of red meat taking 3 months, but I always thought it seemed rather far fetched. For my benefit, and now yours, I decided to find out the truth about red meat digestion.

Fillet Mignon Perfection


I think it’s helpful to begin by defining what red meat is. According to Wikipedia, the nutritional definition of red meat is simply meat that comes from mammals. Meat from poultry is considered “white meat”.

How long does it take for red meat to be digested? According to Lisa Cicciarello Andrews, College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati, red meats on average take from 1 to 3 days to be completely digested and eliminated from the body. Red meats take much longer to digest than other foods because of their high protein and fat content.

Is eating red meat a few times a week bad for you? After reading many journals and articles, there seems to be a general consensus that red meats should be eaten only on occasion, such as once a week. The primary concern about too much red meat in the diet is that it is high in saturated fat that raises blood cholesterol. Other concerns about red meat stem from it being linked to the development of some serious diseases, such as breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer and heart disease. According to a study published by the American Cancer Society, people who eat 3 or more ounces of red meat per day, which is equivalent to the amount of meat in a hamburger, are 30-40% more likely to develop cancer in the lower part of the colon. People who eat processed meats, such as ham, bologna and bacon are in the highest risk categories for colon cancer and rectal cancer....

Guinea Piggy

Recently a woman in my office went on the Master Cleanse. I was tempted to call it a diet because she lost a bunch of weight, but actually the purpose of Master Cleanse is to rid the body of toxins.

The Master Cleanse is also known as the Lemon Cleanse, Lemonade Diet or the Maple Syrup Diet. These alternative names stem from the primary ingredients of the diet, which is…you guessed it, lemon juice and maple syrup. This cleanse was originally developed by Stanley Burroughs and was published in his book "The Master Cleanser” in 1941.

Master Cleanser Book by Stanley Burroughs


By following the directions in the book, people are able to adapt the cleanse to their detoxifying needs. The cleanse itself is very straightforward and includes drinking a large quantity of a “lemonade” concoction that includes water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. The cleanse also recommends drinking a cup of Senna leaf tea in the morning or before bed and the occasional saline wash that involves drinking salt water.

The woman in my office who just tried this cleanse swears by it. She claims that it helped her body to purge all kinds of toxins and now she feels better than she ever has. It’s also true that she lost about 15 pounds in two weeks, but as the Master Cleanse book clearly states, at least half of this weight loss is water. I admit that my co-worker was pretty cranky some days while doing the cleanse, which is not usually her character, but she also seemed to have an unusually high amount of energy for someone who is not eating any solid foods. I’ll wait to see if she keels over in the next few days, but if not I think the Master Cleanse may be worth a try.

Guinea Piggy