4 Minute Fridays: New Way To Target Belly Fat With Exercise, 3 Foods I Will Never Feed My Children & The 90 Year Old Track Star Who Defies Age
Oct 11, 2024
Read time: 3.8 minutes
Welcome to 4 Minute Fridays, my weekly newsletter where I reveal cutting-edge tips to help you get lean, boost energy, and live longer.
What's In Store For Today:
- New way to target belly fat with exercise
- 3 foods I will never feed my children
- The 90-year-old track star who defies age
Today's issue is brought to you by ​High Performance Founder Private Coaching​.
We help high-achieving entrepreneurs and professionals drop weight, lose the belly, and improve their energy levels without giving up their favorite foods or spending hours in the gym.
If you're an entrepreneur with 20 pounds or more to lose you are sitting on a goldmine of unrealized performance, energy, and confidence.
Click the link below to sign up for a free ​Result Accelerator Call​ and let's get you in the best shape of your life.
Click here to apply for body transformation coaching
Hey friend,
I just wrapped up a 2 week-long trip to Hawaii, where I did nothing but work, walk, and surf.
Aside from not being with my family, it was as close to a perfect day as I could have experienced.
Which is funny, because some time ago I did an exercise called "The Perfect Day" exercise by Martha Beck.
In it, Beck suggests visualizing a typical day in your ideal life, focusing on sensory details and attainable dreams.
I did this exercise to clarify the things I really wanted and to shape my mind to potentially manifest them in my life.
I got close to my perfect day during my trip to Hawaii, and it was glorious.
There's great power in writing out a vision for yourself and reviewing it regularly.
The mind is much like a heat-seeking missile. Our brains need a target or the target will be given to us.
Here's a ​video​ with Martha Beck and Andrew Huberman explaining the perfect day exercise.
Try it out, and let me know how it went.
That said...
Here Is Your 4 Minute Friday:
1. New Way To Target Belly Fat With Exercise
Everyone wants to lose belly fat, but the common belief is you can’t target fat loss in specific areas.
However, new research suggests that might not be true anymore. Traditionally, people thought spot reduction (focusing fat loss on a specific body part) was a myth.
Yet, recent studies show that combining ab exercises with ​cardio can actually help reduce belly fat more effectively​.
A study divided participants into two groups: one doing treadmill work only, and the other combining ab exercises with cardio. Both lost fat, but the ab group lost significantly more belly fat.
The secret lies in blood flow.
Belly fat is stubborn because it gets less blood flow compared to muscles like your legs. But when you work your abs and follow it up with cardio, you increase that blood flow, which helps mobilize fat to be burned for energy.
The lesson? If you want to target belly fat, get in a calorie deficit, hit your ab workouts with intensity, and pair it with cardio.
It’s not a magic solution, but it may give you an edge in trimming the waistline.
2. Three Foods I Will Never Feed My Children
When a kid chows down on 2 cups of Kraft Mac & Cheese and a small bag of Skittles and washes it all down with 8 ounces of Crush Orange, they have just ingested 102 milligrams of artificial food dyes (!)
And guess what? Research shows that as little as 30 milligrams of these dyes can mess with a kid’s brain, potentially causing neurological issues.
Then what happens? Parents are told their child has ADD or ADHD, without anyone connecting the dots to the garbage they're eating.
It's like blaming the kid’s brain for bad behavior when we should be looking at what’s on their plate.
The impact of artificial food colors (AFCs) on child behavior has been debated for over 35 years. While studies have flaws, a growing body of evidence suggests that AFCs can negatively affect children’s behavior—not just those diagnosed with ADHD.
AFCs might not be the sole cause of behavior issues, but studies show they contribute to them, especially when consumed in high doses.
Next time you feed your or your child packaged food make sure to look for these dyes in the ingredients.
❤️ My Favourite Thing This Week
Flo Meiler is a living, breathing contradiction to everything you think you know about aging.
People look at her like she’s lost it, but she’s the one stacking records like pancakes. She didn’t even pick up pole vaulting until she was 65. Yeah, 65.
Now, at 90, she's got over 1,000 medals and a boatload of records, casually tossing out 10 golds in a single meet.
Flo became the first 89-year-old woman to complete a decathlon, crushing 10 grueling events over two days. And she’s not stopping anytime soon—she’s already eyeing new records now at 90.
But the funny thing is it's not about the medals for her. She’s not just chasing wins; she's chasing life. She’s out here proving that age is a number, not a limit.
Her mantra is, “If I’m still healthy, why not?”
She's proof that it’s never too late to compete, to push yourself, and to show the world that getting older doesn’t mean slowing down—it means finding new ways to speed up.
Client Of The Week - Todd, CEO
Todd is a CEO who wanted to lose 20 lbs and trim down his belly.
He struggled with keeping a consistent way of eating to stay lean and had a hard time fitting ideal nutrition with his family life
He wanted to create a holistic program for him centered on nutrition, routine building & workouts while keeping him accountable & overcoming obstacles we might face in the program.​ ​
In 4 months he's dropped 25 pounds, gained a few pounds of muscle, and has gotten to his best shape since college. He's even starting to see his abs now!
He's done it while being flexible with his diet, creating healthy routines, and increasing his energy levels.
One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong
"Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.
The formula for success is to show up, do the work, and look for ways to improve. You can't go wrong by following this simple formula.
Have a great weekend!
- Dan
When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help:
1. The Lean Body 90 System: When you’re ready to get in great shape, Lean Body 90 is the obvious choice. You can get in great shape and reach your fitness goals in just 90 minutes a week. Lose weight and build muscle even without hours in the gym or highly restrictive diets. Join 1000+ students here.
2. Are you an entrepreneur who wants to get lean, boost energy, and get in your best shape? Apply for private one-on-one coaching here.
3. Promote yourself to 340,000+ subscribers​ by sponsoring this newsletter.
References
- Brobakken MF, Krogsaeter I, Helgerud J, Wang E, Hoff J. Abdominal aerobic endurance exercise reveals spot reduction exists: A randomized controlled trial. Physiol Rep. 2023 Nov;11(22):e15853. doi: 10.14814/phy2.15853. PMID: 38010201; PMCID: PMC10680576.
- Arnold LE, Lofthouse N, Hurt E. Artificial food colors and attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms: conclusions to dye for. Neurotherapeutics. 2012 Jul;9(3):599-609. doi: 10.1007/s13311-012-0133-x. PMID: 22864801; PMCID: PMC3441937.