Will using the Stairmaster make my legs and butt larger?

   That extra insulation around your butt does not grow because of any kind of exercise; it's genetic and from eating too much. Don't worry about any exercise making your butt larger--you couldn't even measure the difference. Just keep moving, eat less and watch it shrink.    If the exercise is done at the correct intensity to make it aerobic, the spur will not be sufficient to cause muscle hypertrophy (growth). Often what happens is that when one begins an exercise program, their hunger may increase or they may begin justifying additional food – the "I deserved this" syndrome. If caloric consumption exceeds expenditure, then fat stores can increase. This may occur on the thighs and buttocks.

If it takes 3500 calories to lose a pound, do you have to eat 3500 calories to increase a pound?

  If you wanted to gain one pound of body fat, you would have to consume about 3500 calories more than you burned in any given time frame. Many adults gain one pound each year.  Therefore, if all the weight gained was fat, over the course of the year their consumption netted 3500 calories greater than those used – end of story. The warning is that people who gain weight often gain lean body mass (LBM) even if they don’t exercise. Why? Because as weight increases, your body adds small amounts of muscle, bone, etc. With the body fat (generally 1/4 muscle and 3/4 fat) in order to carry the now heavier body through life. Therefore, we often use the formula of roughly 3000 calories per pound of weight gain. Muscle weight is primarily comprised of water and its dry weight (protein) contains 4 calories per gram vs. the 9 calories per gram that fat holds. Thus muscle can yield around 800 calories per pound when including the water weight. Additionally, when we project muscle gain within any goal, we make calorie adjustments based on these numbers.

Is it true that carbohydrates make a person overweight?

   Any amount of food that you eat above the amount of calories you burn will be stored as fat. Carbohydrates are the least likely of the three food types to become fat. The reason is that when too much carbohydrate is expended, it can actually excite your metabolism before it is converted to fat. Excess fat can do the opposite, making more of the excess calories available for fat storage. Our society's waistline has stretched simply because we eat about 250 more calories per day than we did a decade ago and we move less because of technology and lifestyle.

Carbohydrate facts:

• One gram of carbohydrate yields four calories

• Carbohydrates are the perfect preferred form of energy

• Help maintain proper cellular fluid balance

• Maintain satiety by keeping glycogen stores full and adding bulk to the diet

• Spares protein for muscle building

• Primary sources are fruits, vegetables and grains

Remember: extra calories make you fat.

Carbohydrate

   Carbohydrates provide the bulk of calories in the diet for most of the world's population. They represent the major energy source for the average American as well. Daily intake should be at least 50 percent of total caloric intake, and 50-70 percent is often mentioned. This large amount is suggested because carbohydrates are relatively easy for the body to break down so they provide a readily available source of energy.

  All carbohydrates are composed of simple sugars. "Simple" carbohydrates are no bigger than one or two units of sugar. The single sugars, such as glucose, are called monosaccharide. Double sugars, like sucrose, are called disaccharides. Mono- and disaccharides are building blocks for starches and fibers, which are larger carbohydrates, called "complex" carbohydrates. Fibers are complex carbohydrates that are largely indigestible. They are beneficial in that various types of fibers have been shown to decrease cholesterol, slow sugar absorption and change the rate of digestion. Most diets should include 25-30 grams of fiber daily.

What are the benefits of taking Omega supplements, and who should take them?

   you are talk about fish-oil supplements, which generally contain omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, so-called because of their position of the unsaturated bonds on the fatty acid molecule. In the last 3 to 4 years, it has become fairly clear that certain fish oils ingested in specific amounts may yield health benefits (see below) for certain groups. But what is now beginning to unfold (because clinical trials using fish oils are now being completed) is the information regarding the subpopulations of people that shouldn’t use them. For example, it appears that chronic ingestion of fish-oil supplements may cause problems for users with certain heart conditions.
Many supplement manufacturers jump on the bandwagon early. But because USANA is a research and development company, we always wait until the data regarding a supplement with potential health benefits becomes complete enough to make the proper product and accompanying recommendations, which may include groups of people that a particular supplement may not be appropriate for (contraindicated).
That said, we now have enough data and have released our Fatty Acid supplement along with the proper recommendation and contraindications.
  If you prefer not to use a supplement, we recommend getting your fish oils from food sources. Know that it would be very difficult for anyone to consume too much fish oil from traditional (as opposed to ingesting daily supplements where one may easily reach an intake that may not be proper for them).  Current working recommendations: Omega 3-Fatty acids: 1g of eicosapentaenoic acid plus docosahexaenoic acid (cardioprotective effects); 2-4g/day (lowering cholesterol effects).

Foods: Consume fish, especially fatty cold water fish, 2 times weekly (~6 oz total). Women of childbearing age, nursing, pregnant and young children should choose fish known to have low levels of mercury.

Sources
Fish (3.5 oz. cooked)/ AMOUNT (mg)
Herring: 2,000 mg

Salmon: 1,800-2,100 mg

Whitefish: 1,600 mg

Mackerel, jack, canned: 1,200 mg

Sardines, canned: 1,000-1,400 mg

Bluefish: 1,000 mg

Tuna, canned white (albacore): 900 mg

Trout: 900-1,200 mg

Halibut: 500 mg

Tuna, fresh or canned light: 300 mg

   People with bleeding disorders, those taking anticoagulants, and those with uncontrolled hypertension should not take fish-oil supplements. Large doses of fish oil may suppress the immune system. Thus, supplements may be risky for those with weakened immune systems.
What’s a "large dose"? One definition is 3 grams or more a day, but no one really knows what the cutoff point is. Large doses can increase glucose levels in people with diabetes. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that fish-oil supplements might increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias in people with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

You can order your Omega-3 supplement from my Nutrition Store today. By clicking on the link My HealthPak

Is it possible to have the prearranged meal plan set with only food that I will eat and eliminate the foods that I do not, and if so how?

It would be virtually impossible to create a program that would allow you to do this.  No one eats the exact same thing each day, and we've learned from 15 years of creating menus for up to 150,000 people per year, that even with the "perfect" menu people don't stick to that menu each day, or at least not nonstop, which makes the whole menu-creating process an exercise in futility.

Which is better to do first in the same day....cardio or weight/strength training?

  It all hinge on your goal.  If your primary focus is strength/muscle gain, then follow a 5-10 minute warm-up with your strength training routine and execute your cardio work at the end of the exercise period.  If you primary goal is fat loss, then it doesn't matter which you start with-many people like to start with cardio in order to get the body fully warmed up.

   There are many arguments on the Internet about which one should be done first. Some believe that if you perform weight training initially, you will use up all of your carbohydrate stores in your body and therefore burn unconditional fat during your cardio session, however there is no truth in this type of workout routine. If your cardio sessions are rather intense, you may want to start with the strength training first for a couple of reasons. One, if you perform a long duration, intense cardio session; you may be too tired to focus on your strength training routine which would rise your risk of injury during weights and/or reduce your resistance training results. Lastly, carrying out the optimal strength training workout that addresses muscle imbalances, core and balance, etc... First will assist in ideal efficiency, and calorie burn during your cardio exercise.

I am a 35 yr. old female and I am underweight and wanted to know would taking vitamins and exercising actually help to gain weight?

    Resistance training will help you gain muscle, and you will gain weight as long as you consume more calories than you are burning over any given period of time. By carrying out progressive weight training during your increase in calorie intake the weight you gain will be predominately muscle.Although a multivitamin & mineral supplement (MVM) has no direct connection with weight gain, everyone should take one and especially if you are underweight. 

      As mentioned above exercising will help you build muscle (as long as you consume more calories than you burn and follow a healthy macronutrient guideline-this is addressed below).  If you choose to exercise, you may temporarily skip any kind of cardio workout and focus more on resistance training to build muscle.

   Eventually you will need to consume more calories than you burn in order to gain weight, so you will need to keep track of your caloric intake each day.  How quickly you gain weight will be determined by the size of your daily caloric surplus. Keep in mind that one pound of muscle equals 1500 calories and you can use this as a general guideline when determining how much more you need to eat per day to start adding pounds.

   If you lead a fairly active life ("moderate" on the Daily Caloric Needs tool) and if you're about 5'5" and 100 lbs., you probably burn around 1800 calories per day (this is just an example-please re-calculate based on your actual height and weight).  If you add a half hour of strength training per day you'll burn another 70-100 calories (depending on intensity).  So if you want to gain about a pound per week, you would need to consume 2-400 calories per day more than you burn.  If you want to gain a half-pound per week, cut that in half. The general blessing for macronutrients is 55% carbohydrates, 25% fat and 20% protein.  Focus on the total number of calories you're consuming and do your best to make sure you are meeting your protein recommendation.

How do body fluids affect my weight?

   As an example, weigh yourself, step off the scale, drink 16oz (1lb) of water, and then step back on. See what's happening? The point is that most foods and fluids are made up of predominantly water.  After your body absorbs the calories and nutrients that were part of the food or fluids, you will ultimately eliminate the unneeded water. Until then, you have the worthless weight in you.

    Everyday weight can vary slightly based on the type of foods/fluids you consume, and sometimes by up to 2% of your total current “real” weight in either direction. To avoid this issue, weigh yourself once a week in the same type of clothing, time of day, scale & continue the same personal (including bowel) habits leading up to the weigh-in. Bottom line is that if you are truly losing fat, your weight will be trending down – you can only blame it on water at a single weigh-in – 7days later, if your weight is not down from the weight you were 14 days ago – you’re cheating. One way to fix that is with the RESET program