Select cardiovascular exercises that you enjoy doing. If you hate to run, it is going to be very hard for you to get up every morning at 6:00 AM and run for 30 minutes. Choose an exercise that you enjoy doing. Walking, crawling, jogging, running, bicycling, stairmaster, nordic ski machine, cross trainer, rowing, swimming, aerobics, trampoline, martial arts, dance, basketball, soccer, fencing, gymnastics, sex, and mud wrestling are just a few of hundreds of exercises that will take your heart rate and keep it in fat burning zone for what ever time is appropriate for your present condition. If you enjoy a certain activity, you are more likely to do it on a routine basis. Select exercises that are good for you.

Cardiovascular exercise provides you with a multitude of benefits. It increases your metabolic rate which burns body fat, increases blood flow to your brain and major organs, improves digestion, reduces stress, increases alertness, and boosts your immune system.

If you want to build a strong healthy body, proper nutrition is a keystone for your success. What constitutes proper nutrition? Great question! Unfortunately for John Q. Public, greatest challenge is not a lack of information, but too much information. If you study "experts" you will find endless contradictions and false conclusions that create uncertainty, and leave most people confused and clueless. We are in an information frenzy that makes it hard to know which way to turn.

On any given day you can walk into a bookstore and find several books on best-seller list, prescribing totally different solutions for proper nutrition. One expert tells you to cut out carbs, another tells you to eat more carbs, next tells you to eat more protein, while another tells you to eat less protein.

With this nightmare of mixed messages, no wonder why millions of people are left in dark on which plan to follow. This month's newsletter is dedicated to share some basic fundamental truths for optimal nutrition for decreasing body fat percentage, increasing energy and building muscle. Let's get started.

1. Don't Starve Yourself - This is one of most common misconceptions and mistakes most people trying to lose weight make. If your trying to shed fat, drastically decreasing your caloric intake in an effort to lose weight or get "cut" is almost as destructive to achieving your goals as eating large amounts of ice cream and fried foods for every meal! Studies show this type of dieting actually decreases your basal metabolic rate, which is last thing you want to do if you are looking to lose weight and decrease your body fat percentage. On this type of diet, most of weight you lose is not fat - it's lean body mass. You are actually keeping your fat and burning your muscle!

2. Eat At Least Four Meals A Day - By eating four to six small healthy meals a day, properly spaced, you will burn fat at a faster rate. The traditional "three square meals" is antiquated advice that will slow down your metabolism and increase body fat storage. Studies have shown, eating four to six small meals a day promotes optimum food absorption, stable blood-sugar levels, and increases your metabolic rate. A meal can be as simple as a serving of fruit or vegetables, a small baked potato, a cup of yogurt, or a meal replacement shake.