Frequently Asked Questions

About The Program
Q.	Top 10 secrets to success
Q.	What is a rotation?
Q.	What is Physique Transformation?
Q.	How do you maximize the time in Conditioning for the best fat burning results?
Q.	Why do I need so many weeks of Conditioning?
Q.	I've never lifted weights before, what kind of program should I start?
Q.	How often should I lift weights?
Q.	I'm a female and don't want to get bulky. Is going lighter with more repetitions better for me?
Q.	Should women train differently then men?
Q.	What is the purpose of each phase of a rotation?
Q.	I'm in fat burning and my weight is all over the place from week to week. How do I know if I've met my goal or not?
Q.	What are the best foods to eat?
Q.	How much water should I be drinking?
Q.	How can you make an unconditional 7X your money back guarantee?
Q.	What are your qualifications? I don't see any initials after your names.
Q.	Why do you try to discourage some people from using your system? You are trying to make money aren't you?
Q.	You guys are bodybuilders. I'm a woman. I'm not interested in becoming a bodybuilder and I don't want to get big muscles. I just want to lose weight.
Getting Started
Q.	How Can I Analyze My Diet in 5 Minutes Per Day
Q.	How can you make an unconditional double your money back guaranty?
Q.	How soon can I do another free trail?
Q.	Isn't Body Building the Same as Body Sculpting?
Q.	Measurements for International Customers
Q.	Please define the abbreviations used in the PFA.
Q.	Pricing: How much does the program cost?
Q.	Why must I track my diet?
Metabolism
Q.	How To Prepare Your Body to Lose Fat...
Q.	Hunger Pangs and Water
Q.	Metabolism--The Short Story
Q.	What is BMI (Body Mass Index) and is it a useful indicator of my fitness level?
Nutrient Definitions
Q.	Alpha-lipoic acid: What is it?
Q.	Beta-carotene: What is it?
Q.	Calcium: Sources
Q.	Calcium: What is it?
Q.	Calories:
Q.	Carbohydrates: Sources
Q.	Cholesterol: Sources
Q.	Cholesterol: What is it?
Q.	Copper: Sources
Q.	Creatine: What is it?
Q.	Fat: Sources
Q.	Fiber: Sources
Q.	Folate: Sources
Q.	Iron: Sources
Q.	Lutein (a carotene): What is it?
Q.	Lycopene (a carotene): What is it?
Q.	Magnesium: Sources
Q.	Minerals: What are they?
Q.	Niacin-B3: Sources
Q.	Phosphorus: Sources
Q.	Potassium: Sources
Q.	Protein: Sources
Q.	RDA?Recommended Daily Allowances
Q.	Riboflavin-B2: Sources
Q.	Selenium: Sources
Q.	Sodium: Sources
Q.	Sugar: Sources
Q.	Thiamin-B1: Sources
Q.	Vitamin A: Sources
Q.	Vitamin C: Sources
Q.	Vitamin E: Sources
Q.	Vitamin-B12: Sources
Q.	Vitamin-B6: Sources
Q.	Vitamins: What are they?
Q.	Zinc: Sources
Supplements
Q.	Why the PFA Doesn't Track Vitamin D
Q.	In the database, there are two really common items that puzzle me. They are... Chicken, broiler/fryer, breast, w/o skin, raw Chicken, broiler/fryer, breast, w/o skin, rstd The ESHA data show the raw one to be 10% fat and the rstd one to be 21% fat. How can this be? Should I be eating my chicken breast raw ;-)
Q.	April 29, 2003--NYT Seriously Uninformed
Fun and Trivia
Q.	Advice on Chewing Gum
Q.	Food Trivia: A good time to splurge!
Q.	Food Trivia: Chicken Popularity. The head chearleader of meats.
Q.	Food Trivia: Cooking Tip
Q.	Food Trivia: Don't drink milk with meat!
Q.	Food Trivia: Enjoy the movie. Stay away from the fat.
Q.	Food Trivia: Et tu saladee?
Q.	Food Trivia: Got any good recipes that use soy Flour?
Q.	Food Trivia: However you spell it, they are by far the most popular vegetable in the US.
Q.	Food Trivia: It's won't just overflow your email.
Q.	Food Trivia: Junk Food Innovator
Q.	Food Trivia: Keep you eyes and ears to the ground.
Q.	Food Trivia: La Case del Gordo!
Q.	Food Trivia: Maybe Campbell's will name one of their stars after you for only $50.00 :-)
Q.	Food Trivia: Mind you own onions!
Q.	Food Trivia: Peanut butter and jellyfish sandwitches?
Q.	Food Trivia: Rice is nice...
Q.	Food Trivia: Salmon Fact...
Q.	Food Trivia: Should we put some fish on the Physique Transformation program?
Q.	Food Trivia: Some foods will kill you faster than others...
Q.	Food Trivia: Tea for two and tea for you!
Q.	Food Trivia: The first 12-ounce aluminum soda can was introduced in 1964 by Royal Crown Cola.
Q.	Food Trivia: The most popular selling snack in America.
Q.	Food Trivia: The pampered cow...
Q.	Food Trivia: There's nothing like a big plate of krill...
Q.	Food Trivia: What is Soy Milk?
Q.	Food Trivia: What we eat...
Q.	Food Trivia: What we feed our children.
Q.	Food Trivia: When bread is a fruit and mainlanders run the other way...
Q.	Food Trivia: Who lives in a pinapple under the sea?
Q.	Food Trivia: Why my buddy George is not in the PFA database...
Q.	Food Trivia: You say potato, the PFA says it 775 times!
Q.	Food Trivia: What is the most popular pasta shape in the US?
Q.	Sodium in your water...
Technical FAQ's
Q.	I am using a MacIntosh and I keep getting logged out! What's happening?
Q.	International Measurements
About The Program
Q.	Top 10 secrets to success
A.	1) First and foremost, take the time to educate yourself about the Physique Transformation process.  People are in such a hurry once they decide to try and get in shape that they just jump into a program with no rhyme, reason, game plan or understanding of what they’re doing. 2) Have a realistic expectation of how much time a true physique transformation process will take. This process is about metabolizing BODY FAT not dehydrating our bodies of water.  Once in Fat Burning men can expect to shed about 2 pounds of FAT per week, women about 1.5 pounds of FAT per week.  If you think that’s too slow, go ahead and try the various ’10 pounds in 10 days’ diets, step on the scale after a year and check your final results.  The reality is that a year of wasted effort with these quick fix diets generally leaves you heavier then when you started.  Now decide if an honest 1.5 – 2 pounds a week of steady fat loss (75 – 100 pounds) was so slow after all. 3) During this process track and record your eating so you can truly see and begin to understand the impact the foods you eat have on your physique.  Learn to eat something every three hours or so, five or six small meals a day (three food meals and two to three snacks in between). 4) During this process pre-plan your meals for tomorrow, the night before.  Planning your meals ahead of time ensures that you will have constructed an ‘A’ day of eating for the coming day and makes it nearly impossible to fail if you do it on a consistent basis. 5) During this process prepare your lunch and snacks in advance for the coming day/week. Lunch is the usual downfall for beginners.  You eat breakfast and dinner at home, so you have control over those meals.  But most people eat out for lunch.  Eat out as an occasional treat, not a regular occurrence. 6) Learn the handful of supplements that are actually worth the money (protein, liquid multi vitamin/mineral, EFA) and can accelerate the physique transformation process.  For more details refer to Chapter 6 in the Secrets of a Professional Dieter e-book 7) Learn how to properly apply cardio and resistance training with your diet to maximize your physique transformation results. For detailed information refer to Chapter 7 & 8 in the Secrets of a Professional Dieter e-book. 8) There’s only one muscle that needs to be in shape to start this process: your heart.  You MUST be ready, you MUST commit and you MUST make the decision to FINISH what you start here.  Anything less makes everything you’ve been reading up to this point, worthless. 9) Have a written fitness plan that gives you complete day to day structure and accountability.  If you clearly understand what you should be doing each day from a dieting and training standpoint and are held accountable for doing it, you CANNOT fail if you just do your part.  This is the whole purpose of the PFA’s automated PT module and why we can make such an impossible sounding guarantee (7X your money back) if we fail to get you to your fitness goals. 10) Pay it forward.  Pass your new found knowledge on and teach this process to one other person.  Being responsible for someone else’s success is a priceless feeling.
Q.	What is a rotation?
A.	A rotation is the completion of the four phases of the Physique Transformation process; Diet Analysis, Conditioning, Fat Burning and Maintenance.
Q.	What is Physique Transformation?
A.	Physique Transformation is first and foremost about telling it like it is when it comes to getting in shape.  It’s about the truth; that there is no miracle diet pill or magic ab machines that get you that six pack in just six minutes a week.  It’s about accepting the reality that there is no glory, without effort.   There are two tenants to a professional Physique Transformation program. The first is to use your own metabolism as the primary mechanism to burn fat, not exercise.  You exercise for shape and contour, but you use diet and metabolism to burn fat.  It’s the difference between using a sailboat (i.e. metabolism) to get from one end of the lake to the other, as opposed to a rowboat (i.e. cardio, cardio, cardio).  One method is effortless and sustainable.  The other is agony and works only as long as you continue to row.   The second is using a higher calorie diet as the basis for weight loss, instead of the conventional reduced calorie starvation diet that is the norm with the vast majority of commercial weight loss programs.   Physique Transformation is a process that has its roots in the fitness community and is now spreading to the general public.  Its primary focus is on diet as the primary tool to get you fit.  While a few key supplements are an essential part of the fitness equation, they should serve in a secondary role to fill the nutritional ‘holes’ in your diet, not the magic bullet that alone will change your physique.
Q.	How do you maximize the time in Conditioning for the best fat burning results?
A.	Conditioning is the most critical phase of the Physique Transformation process.  The better you prepare your metabolism during Conditioning, the more effective you generally are in Fat Burning.  Many people make the mistake of focusing on the Fat Burning phase and just ‘getting the Conditioning phase over with.’  This is a critical mistake!  If you’re not mentally prepared to do a quality Conditioning Phase, don’t waste your time. To maximize your time in Conditioning there are two things you should concentrate on: A) Try and consistently get A+ Diet Scores.  While an ‘A’ is certainly a very good Diet Score, our data shows that people who consistently get A+ Diet Scores out perform the ‘A’ group. Along with this, your best results in Fat Burning will come if you string a minimum of four consecutive A/A+ weeks in a row as you end Conditioning and get ready to move into the Fat Burning phase. B) Weight train!  Conditioning is the perfect time to hit the weights hard as this is generally a period where your calories are increasing and your energy levels are sky high. Put it to good use and try to put some lean muscle on during this time.
Q.	Why do I need so many weeks of Conditioning?
A.	The Conditioning phase is unique to the Physique Transformation program.  It will be a minimum of four weeks but can easily go much longer depending on the quality of your current diet as determined in the Diet Analysis.  The worse your current diet is, the longer it will take the PFA to correct it and properly prepare your metabolism for the task ahead. But it is so important because it’s the minimum amount of time you absolutely need to train your metabolism to carry most of the load once the Fat Burning phase begins. The analogy we use in the Secrets of a Professional Dieter e-book is how a marathon runner prepares for a race.  Over the course of many weeks a marathoner gradually ‘conditions’ his/her body to run greater and greater distances until race day, when they’re fully and properly prepared for a 26 mile endurance test.  Conditioning in the Physique Transformation process is exactly the same.
Q.	I've never lifted weights before, what kind of program should I start?
A.	If you’ve never done any sort of weight training before, now is the time to consider investing a couple of months in a qualified personal trainer.  A few months of instruction from a good personal trainer on technique and methodology can put you years ahead of the average person who comes into the gym with no real game plan of what they’re going to do.  Randomly pushing this or pulling that in gym is an absolute waste of time and will produce no noticeable results.   For more details on training methods and philosophies, refer to chapter eight in the free Secrets of a Professional Dieter e-book.
Q.	How often should I lift weights?
A.	For the average man or woman, two to three effective weight training sessions a week are plenty to produce significant results over the course of a few months.  For most people however the issue isn’t how OFTEN they train but how EFFECTIVELY they train.  You can randomly ‘work out’ for two hours a day six days a week and get less out of it then someone who ‘trains’ intensely, with purpose and a definite game plan, for 45 minutes three times a week. When it comes to training, it’s much more about quality then it is quantity.  If you never get the least bit sore the day after a training session that’s your body’s way of telling you that it has fully adapted to the current stress levels you’re subjecting it to. If you’re satisfied with your physique at this point you simply need to maintain.  However, if you’re not then you need to push your body harder in order to make it change.
Q.	I'm a female and don't want to get bulky. Is going lighter with more repetitions better for me?
A.	‘Better’ is a relative term.  Heavy weight or high rep training is neither good nor bad.  They’re just different methods used to achieve different results.  It’s a common misconception that if women lift weights they’ll get bulky and start to look like men.  While women can certainly add lean muscle through weight training, genetically it’s almost impossible for them to get as bulky as men, who have much higher testosterone levels. My personal feeling is that for women who have a significant amount of weight to lose (30+ pounds), I initially like the Freestyle concept of training (high rep, low weight, focus on lower body exercises, train the same body part consecutively) to help get rid of body fat faster.  Once you get your weight down you then switch to conventional training (heavier weights, fewer reps and rest between body parts) so you can shape your physique according to your personal preferences.
Q.	Should women train differently then men?
A.	I personally believe that they should but it also depends on what a woman is trying to accomplish at the time.  Women and men generally have diametrically opposed goals when it comes to their physiques: Men: Usually want to build muscle and get bigger. Women: Usually want to burn fat and get smaller. Men: Want to look more masculine. Women: Want to look more feminine. Men: Usually want large, striated muscles. Women: Usually want smooth, lean muscles, the thoroughbred look. Men: Usually want hard, square pectorals. Women: Usually want soft, round breasts. Training the same way cannot produce two different sets of results. How you train will have an effect on your ‘look’, from Quarter horse muscular to thoroughbred lean. Training with heavier weights for fewer repetitions (6-10) will build lean muscle and add size.  Training with lower weights for much higher repetitions (20-30) is a much more expensive way to train calorically and produces a leaner more slender physique, which may be more aesthetically pleasing to many women.
Q.	What is the purpose of each phase of a rotation?
A.	There are four phases to a professional Physique Transformation process: Phase I Diet Analysis: A three to seven day process where the PFA simply records what you eat without giving you any feedback.  The purpose is to get an honest look at your current eating habits.  You’ve already told the PFA what you current and target weight is.  Now the PFA wants to know how many calories a day you’re eating and what’s the percentage of protein, carbohydrates and fat in those calories. Once it knows the answers to those questions it can proceed to Phase II, Conditioning. Phase II Conditioning: In many respects this is the most important phase of the program.  Conditioning will be a minimum of four weeks and can last eight weeks or more depending on the results of your diet analysis.  Conditioning is the period of time the PFA needs to take your metabolism from where it currently is to an optimum state of fat burning readiness. It does this by slowly adjusting your calories and ratios of protein, carbs and fat on a weekly basis. Phase III Fat Burning: This is the money phase, the time when the PFA starts to rotate calories in and out of your diet which sends the metabolic instructions to your body to ‘burn fat but spare muscle’.  The idea here is a concept well known in the bodybuilding community for decades; rotation dieting.  Rotation dieting cycles calories up and down during the week.  The low days throw the body into a temporary caloric deficit and the body dips into fat reserves to make up the difference.  The high days however, helps keep your energy levels up and reinforces to the body that there is no long caloric shortage and to keep its metabolism spinning at full speed. Phase IV Maintenance: This was the most requested feature for PFA 2.0.  The problem facing most people coming off a structured diet is that they don’t know how to correctly transition back into a more mainstream, lifestyle eating pattern.  The result is that all too often much of the weight you lost comes right back on in the course of a few months.  The Maintenance phase of this program analyzes your ending weight, calories and ratios at the end of Fat Burning and generates a customized weekly program to slowly, carefully, increase your calories while at the same time adjusting your fat and sugar ratios. The program will also take your finishing cardio schedule and slowly ramp it back down to a long term two sessions per week.
Q.	I'm in fat burning and my weight is all over the place from week to week. How do I know if I've met my goal or not?
A.	Your weight will naturally fluctuate a couple of pounds throughout the week.  The easiest way to judge whether you’ve hit your 1.5 – 2 pound weight loss goal for the week is to simply take your low weight in the seven day period of the current week and compare it to the low weight for last week.  If its 1.5 – 2 pounds less, you’ve hit your goal. If you bounce up a pound or so by the end of the week, that’s ok.  As long as you low water mark goes down week to week, you’re on track.
Q.	What are the best foods to eat?
A.	The ones that get you an ‘A’ Diet Score each day and that you actually enjoy eating!  There are NO forbidden foods on this program.  However, an essential part of the Physique Transformation process is learning what foods and in what quantities work for you in your quest for consistent ‘A’ days.  At the bottom of the Enter Foods screen is a Menu Ideas link that will take you to a list of suggested foods for protein, starchy (complex) carbs and fibrous (veggies) that PFA’ers have recommended at one time or another.
Q.	How much water should I be drinking?
A.	The rough rule of thumb is a MINIMUM of .5 ounces per pound of body weight.  Many people just shoot for a gallon (128 ounces) a day.
Q.	How can you make an unconditional 7X your money back guarantee?
A.	Easy. We know for a FACT our system works, because we've personally followed the program ourselves and taught it to hundreds of others. The question you need to ask is 'Why doesn't any other fitness system make the same double your money back guarantee? Just to restate the guarantee, if you successfully complete our Physique Transformation module and aren't absolutely thrilled with the results, we'll give you double your money back for the amount of time you spent in the PT module. No questions asked. The PT module is a very structured system, based on 40 years of our combined field experience. It monitors your daily and weekly diet score, weight and bodyfat. If you stay with the program, you can't miss. If you get lazy, the program will warn you twice and then frankly, kick you out. Pretty simple. Amazingly effectivive.
Q.	What are your qualifications? I don't see any initials after your names.
A.	I always laugh when I get this question and tell people that I graduated from the University of HK, other wise known as the 'school of Hard Knocks'. If you need a lot of initials to make believers out of you, then I guess you've come to the wrong place. But I'd ask you to look closely at my picture and ask yourselves 'if Ric can look like this at 52, what could I look like if I followed the program?' This is my passion. I've been practicing physique transformation for over twenty five years. I can show you how, I promise you.
Q.	Why do you try to discourage some people from using your system? You are trying to make money aren't you?
A.	Yes, we are definitely a for profit organization. But look, there's no sense trying to pull any punches with you. Most people want instant results with no effort. They want to believe the infomercial illusion that fitness is only three payments of $19.95 away, that a beautiful, lean and sexy body can be accomplished in only 5 minutes a day, that you can still eat as much of your favorite crap as you want as long as you take a magical fat burning pill. The sad truth is that most people just want to buy their way to a fit, lean, beautiful body, not work for it. If you're one of them, all we're saying is don't waste your time or money. You can't handle the truth! (OK, we're trying to lighten things up a bit here) We have a system that we know for an absolute fact works. It is NOT difficult to follow but it does require a short-term focus and willingness to work to achieve your goal.
Q.	You guys are bodybuilders. I'm a woman. I'm not interested in becoming a bodybuilder and I don't want to get big muscles. I just want to lose weight.
A.	Then you've come to the right place. Yes, it's true we come from a bodybuilding background but consider this; bodybuilding is the one and only sport where the object of the game is to build muscle and lose fat. As bodybuilders, we understand the process of physique transformation better than anyone on the planet. We routinely make incredible physical transformations in a three to four month time frame. What we focus on in this program is the fat loss segment of bodybuilding, what we refer to as 'body sculpting', the process of getting leaner (and therefore, smaller). Ladies, please listen to me. Don't be afraid of putting on some muscle. By volume, a pound of fat takes up FIVE times as much space as a pound of muscle. If you were to lose 10 pounds of fat and put on ten pounds of muscle, your weight would be the same but you would be physically SMALLER then when you started the process. Here's one last thing for you to consider when it comes to muscle. A pound of muscle requires approximately 50 calories a day to maintain it. A pound of fat takes just two. If you swapped those ten pounds of fat for ten pounds of muscle, you can now eat five hundred more calories a day without putting on an ounce!
Getting Started
Q.	How Can I Analyze My Diet in 5 Minutes Per Day
A.	Use the "Fast Entry" icon at the top of the program to quickly enter most of the foods you have eaten for the day.  The PFA displays all food you have entered in the last two weeks for the short list that should cover 80% of your diet on most days!  The greatest time saver, and a feature unique to the PFA!
Q.	How can you make an unconditional double your money back guaranty?
A.	Easy. We know for a FACT our system works, because we've personally followed the program ourselves and taught it to hundreds of others. The question you need to ask is 'Why doesn't any other fitness system make the same double your money back guarantee? <more>Just to restate the guarantee, if you successfully complete our Physique Transformation module and aren't absolutely thrilled with the results, we'll give you double your money back for the amount of time you spent in the PT module. No questions asked. The PT module is a very structured system, based on 40 years of our combined field experience. It monitors your daily and weekly diet score, weight and bodyfat. If you stay with the program, you can't miss. If you get lazy, the program will warn you twice and then frankly, kick you out. Pretty simple. Amazingly effective.
Q.	How soon can I do another free trail?
A.	You can do a free trail as often as you wish.  If you would like to do another one within 30 days of the previous free trail, you will have to email support@physiquetransformation.com and request a reset. After 30 days, we will delete your record and you can start a free trial any time without requesting a manual reset.  The reason for this is that we keep your data for 30 days in case you would like to sign up after your trial expires.  This way you wont lose your data, custom recipes or manually entered food items.  The result is that you cannot use the same username, email address and password for 30 days.
Q.	Isn't Body Building the Same as Body Sculpting?
A.	Bodybuilding, as the term implies, is the process of getting bigger. Body sculpting on the other hand, is the process of getting leaner and smaller. Body sculpting is a process that we?ve designed to accommodate the lifestyles and goals of the average Joe (and Jane), who generally want to lose weight and get toned. We want you to live the body sculptor?s principles, not the bodybuilder?s lifestyle.<more>Some of you may be familiar with the International Ice Sculpting competition held every year here in Breckenridge, Colorado. If you?ve ever had the pleasure of watching these incredible artists create their masterpieces right before your eyes, you know that they all start with this huge block of shapeless ice. Yet inside this block of ice, each artist sees something different. One sees a beautiful ballerina, one a soaring eagle, another, a dolphin leaping out of the ocean. As the artists work, their movements are very subtle and deliberate. At times it doesn?t look like much is happening. Yet, as they continue to gently chip, shape and polish these shapeless blocks of ice a beautiful, sculpted figure slowly emerges. It was always there, hidden inside the ice. The artist could see it. It was simply a matter of chipping away the excess so everyone else could. But the process can?t be rushed. One heavy-handed blow by the sculptor is all it takes to ruin his work. This is what you?re going to do with your body. Slowly, gently and patiently you?re going to shape and polish your current physique to reveal the lean, aesthetic, beautiful body that lies within.
Q.	Measurements for International Customers
A.	Metric Conversions: The PFA takes all its measurements in the US or imperial system commonly used in the United States and Great Britain.   Many PFA users are from countries that use the metric system, and as such they have no way of buying a tape with inches or a scale with pounds. Following are the conversions you should use to enter your measurements into the PFA. Measurements (length or girth): 1 cm = .3937 inches Example:  Say you measure your waist and the tape says 103 cm.  Simply multiply this number by .3937.  You get 40.55 inches.  Enter this number into the PFA. Weight: 1 kg = 2.2046 pounds (lbs) Example:  Say you step on the scale and you weigh 93 kg.  Just multiply 93 by 2.2046 to get 205 lbs.  Enter this number into the PFA. We will be adding international measurements to the PFA in future revisions of the PFA.
Q.	Please define the abbreviations used in the PFA.
A.	Please click the more link below to see all the abbreviations we use in the PFA. <more> ave:            average c                 cup cal              calories or kilocalories Calif            California choc            chocolate ckd             cooked cnd             canned (commercially conc            concentrate cond            condensed crm             cream dm/diam     diameter enr             enriched fl oz            fluid ounce f/fr              from fz/fzn/frzn    frozen (commercially) g                gram(s) imit             imitation inst             instant IU               International Unit jce              juice kcal            calorie(s) lb               pound lg, lrg         large liq              liquid marg          margarine mcg           micrograms med           medium mg             milligram micro         micowave cooked oz             ounce pkg           package pkt            packet pnut          peanut prep          prepared RE             Retinol Equivalents reg            regular RTS           Ready to serve sce            sauce sm/sml      small std            standard svg           serving t               teaspoon T              tablespoon unenr        unenriched veg           vegetable vol            volume whpd         whipped wt            weight w/            with w/o          without /              per/or
Q.	Pricing: How much does the program cost?
A.	Our membership fee is only $7.97 per month for you and three of your friends, that's less than $2.00 each.<more>The $7.97 includes the Personal Food Analyst, the Physique Transformation program, the body-fat calculator, the recipe analyzer, our e-book, the hosted support groups, the newsletter, the coming fitness leagues and a T-shirt as you complete each rotation of the Physique Transformation program.  There are no hidden fees or additional charges for special levels of the program.   In fact, if after completing a full rotation of our physique transformation program, you are not completely satisfied with the results, we will gladly give you back double the money you spent during that rotation.   What?s more, we won't take your money until you do the following...   Make the Commitment to Develop a Healthy Lifestyle. Take Our Free Five-Day Diet Analysis. Read Our Free E-Book, Secrets of a Professional Dieter.   Pricing History   When we developed the first version of the PFA back in 1991 designed for the original HP handheld computer, we had to charge $250.00 for the software (a blank one meg ROM card was almost $100.00 in those days) in addition to over $500.00 for the handheld computer.  We wanted to find a way to charge just a dollar per month for the Internet version of the PFA, but the business realities of licensing the database, hosting the application, paying our programmers, administration staff, basic marketing and T-Shirts for our finishers necessitated that we charge $2.00 per month per person and only offer the PFA in membership blocks of 4 profiles.   You will find that nowhere else is such a complete and successful program offered at such a low price!
Q.	Why must I track my diet?
A.	That which gets measured, gets done. All bodybuilders track their diet, down to the last calorie. The results speak for themselves. Tracking your diet with the PFA makes you more aware of what you?re eating, how much you?re eating, how much you should be eating, what?s in your diet that shouldn?t be. You become a diet expert. There is no more guesswork. You have a definite game plan and you measure your daily eating against that game plan.<more>But the most important reason you should track your diet for a while is the education you will get. Four months of tracking and analyzing your actual diet is worth four years of trial and effort with the latest diet fad.
Metabolism
Q.	How To Prepare Your Body to Lose Fat...
A.	The first and most critical step in losing fat is to prepare your body for the task ahead by raising your metabolism as high as you can. For the majority of us, this is accomplished by (take a deep breadth ladies) gradually increasing your caloric intake (in layman's terms, eating more!). This is not a random pig-out type of deal but rather a very specific quantity (total calories) and ratio (percentage of protein, carbohydrates and fats) of food. Don't worry if math isn't your favorite subject. The Personal Food Analyst softwware program does all of this for you. If you're already thinking that we're setting you up for some big expensive sales pitch, relax. The PFA is only $7.97 a month (for four users), and you can use it on a month-to-month basis. I think you'll agree that it's worth ten times that amount when you see what it can do for you. But again, we'll get to that in a bit. Let me ask you a question. If you had to run a marathon and had three months to prepare, what would you do? Would you plop down in the Lazy Boy recliner, prop your feet up and get as much rest as you can for the next three months so you'll be ready for the big day? Or, if you were like most sane people, would you dust off the old running shoes and start doing some roadwork to condition your body for the task ahead? Losing fat is no different. Just as you prepare for your marathon by running a half mile, then one mile, then two and so on, you condition your metabolism to burn more and more calories each week by slowly feeding it more and letting it gradually adjust. Conditioning your metabolism to burn fat is a critical concept and is unique to our Physique Transformation Process.
Q.	Hunger Pangs and Water
A.	One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100 percent of dieters. In 37 percent of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Even MILD dehydration will slow down your metabolism as much as 3 percent, so drinking more water may provide you with more energy. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80 percent of sufferers.  Now while a general statement like '8-10 glasses of water' is OK for the general population, in physique transformation work we like to be more accurate.  If you are a 120 pound woman or a 250 pound man, 8-10 glasses of water is too vague.  A 'glass of water' to one person could be a four ounce cup.  To another person it might mean a sixteen ounce glass.  A much better and more precise rule of thumb is .5-.6 ounces of water for each pound of bodyweight. A mere 2 percent drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily may decrease the risk of colon cancer, breast cancer and bladder cancer. Source: University of Washington study, reported in Integrated and Alternative Medicine Clinical Highlights 2002 Aug 4;1(16). Further Credit Betty Kaman, www.bettykamen.com
Q.	Metabolism--The Short Story
A.	Your caloric intake sends very specific messages to your body to speed up or slow down your metabolism! When you cut your calories below a certain point your body will go into starvation survival mode. This is a disaster for your diet! In starvation mode, you have just told your body not to burn stored fat until it is absolutely necessary. Instead it burns muscle tissue which requires more calories to support! <more>Remember that a pound of muscle costs about fifty calories a day to maintain. A pound of fat costs just two. In starvation mode, muscle becomes a luxury the body can no longer afford to maintain. So, your body reduces its' caloric needs by getting rid of it. If you cut your calories so much that your body has a starvation response, it is now doing just the opposite of what you intended - it holds on to fat and gets rid of the muscle that would normally burn more calories. The body, not knowing when the next meal is coming, becomes very good at storing calories as fat, preparing for the next famine. Just as your body becomes a fat storing machine as a result of a reduced calorie diet, you can just as easily instruct it to become a fat burning machine. How do you do it? Eat the calories your profile indicates you need and only cut calories a few days a week. The calories that you periodically eliminate should be primarily carbohydrate and fat calories. The Physique Transformation Program, which is part of the PFA, adjusts your calories for you and prevents the starvation response! The result is that you lose more fat without losing muscle.
Q.	What is BMI (Body Mass Index) and is it a useful indicator of my fitness level?
A.	BMI was developed an easy and reasonably accurate method to give an indication of the fitness level of a population of people not an individual.  BMI is usually misleading when used to assess an individual's health. It only takes into account only two measurements, weight and height. It should be obvious to you that two people with the same weight and height can have drastically different levels of fitness. Consider a college running back who is 6 feet tall, 220lbs vs. another kid with the same height and weight who holds the record for most doughnuts consumed in a single semester. The BMI would say that both kids are equally fit. From a statistician?s point of view, if she surveys a population of 1000 US Marines vs. 1000 people from the general population, she could make some reasonable conclusions about the Marines relative fitness levels, but on a one on one basis, there is little value for the BMI. Even the Center for Disease control admits that the BMI has no real value for individuals? ?BMI is used to screen and monitor a population to detect risk of health or nutritional disorders. In an individual, other data must be used to determine if a high BMI is associated with increased risk of disease and death for that person. BMI alone is not diagnostic.? So reports the CDC. You will get more precise results by using body fat calculator included with the PFA. We have been using this mathematical routine for over 10 years and it has proven consistently accurate compared to other methods including electrical impedance and caliper methods. If you are interested, BMI is defined as ... BMI = [Weight in pounds � Height in inches � Height in inches] x 703 Therefore, A person weighing 210 pounds and 6 feet tall would have a BMI = 210 pounds divided by 72 inches divided by 72 inches multiplied by 703 = 28.5. While multiplying the number by 703 seems fairly arbitrary it is a constant used to convert from the original metric calculation where? BMI = Weight in kilograms � [Height in meters]2 or BMI = [Weight in kilograms � Height in cm � Height in cm] x 10,000 Example A person weighing 95.3 kilograms and 182.9 centimeters tall would have a BMI = 95.3 kg divided by 182.9 cm x 10,000 = 28.5
Nutrient Definitions
Q.	Alpha-lipoic acid: What is it?
A.	The only antioxidant that is both fat and water-soluble. Acts as a protectant to all cells in the body, and freely enters the brain. It is one antioxidant that is produced in the body by normal metabolism, but in certain conditions, such as diabetes and degenerative diseases, alpha-lipoic acid supplementation can be beneficial. Alpha-lipoic acid enhances the antioxidant activities of glutathione, vitamin E. and vitamin C.
Q.	Beta-carotene: What is it?
A.	Beta-carotene is not a vitamin itself but a precursor of Vitamin A. It is virtually non-toxic, with the only side effect of high dosage a yellowish skin discoloration. Mega-doses (30 mg or more) in heavy smokers has been linked to increased cancer rates in one study. Foods rich in beta-carotene also contain other carotenes such as lutein, lycopene and zeaxanthin. For beta-carotene to be metabolized into vitamin A, sufficient protein, thyroid hormone, vitamin C and zinc must be present. It is virtually impossible to overdose on beta-carotene because the body kinows when there is enough vitamin A and stops converting beta-carotene into the vitamin. Vitamin A is crucial to sight.
Q.	Calcium: Sources
A.	The best sources are milk, cheese, related dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables, legumes (dried beans and peas), lime-processed tortillas, soft bones of canned fish and tips of poultry leg bones.
Q.	Calcium: What is it?
A.	Calcium is a mineral.  It is found naturally in rocks, seashells and bones of animals.  The white cliffs of Dover are made almost entirely of calcium carbonate from diatom skeletons, which lived millions of years ago.  Calcium is a major constituent of our bones.  It is also required for muscle contraction and regulates the metabolism of glycogen (principal form which carbohydrates are stored in the body). Adequate calcium in the blood is so vital that our internal biochemistry will not tolerate a deficiency even for short periods. For this reason, a deficiency of calcium or a difficulty of calcium absorption, even for short periods of time, can result in a significant percent of bone loss.
Q.	Calories:
A.	The measure of heat or energy contained in a food. One Calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one liter of water by one degree Celsius.
Q.	Carbohydrates: Sources
A.	Complex carbohydrates are found in grains such as breads, rice, pasta and vegetables such as potatoes and beans.
Q.	Cholesterol: Sources
A.	Cholesterol is found only in foods of animal origin: meat, fish poultry, eggs, and dairy products.
Q.	Cholesterol: What is it?
A.	Lipid material manufactured by the liver as an energy reserve. . 80% of circulating cholesterol is made by the liver from dietary carbohydrate intake, and about 20% from dietary cholesterol. Cholesterol is necessary for the production of hormones, keeping the skin moist and as a transport mechanism for fat-soluble nutrients and antioxidants. Excess cholesterol in the diet triggers a decrease in the liver's production of cholesterol. The two most common forms of cholesterol are HDL (High Density Lipid) and LDL (Low Density Lipid). The LDL cholesterol is the type associated with most health problems involving cholesterol. Cyanocobalamin (see Vitamin B12)
Q.	Copper: Sources
A.	The copper content of legumes is quite high and can be much greater than the amount found in meats. Seafood and shellfish, organ meats, whole grains, nuts and seeds and vegetables all have good amounts of copper. Drinking water can be a good (but variable) source of copper, particularly in locations where copper pipe is used in plumbing or the mineral content of the water is high.
Q.	Creatine: What is it?
A.	You may know creatine as a favored supplement among weightlifters and elite athletes. They increase the amount of this naturally occurring amino acid in their diet because it provides more energy for the muscles, which allows for longer workouts. That, in turn, leads to increased muscle mass.  Now, there is research to suggest that creatine may also help people regain muscle strength lost because of disease. <more>More research on creatine is needed before people with neuromuscular diseases should consider taking it. A pilot study, however, suggests that people who have diseases such as neuropathic disorders or inflammatory myopathy may benefit from oral creatine supplements. At the end of a 10-day study, researchers found that participants who had taken creatine had more hand, foot and leg strength, had gained muscle weight, and had increased endurance for high-intensity exercise. The study was published in 1999 in the journal Neurology; its lead author was Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of McMaster University Medical Center in Hamilton, Ontario. Researchers note that even modest improvements in muscle strength can greatly boost a person's quality of life. For example, improved muscle strength may be the difference between a person being completely dependent on others for their care and being able to feed or dress himself or herself. Work is underway to determine creatine's full effects on people with neuromuscular disorders. The Muscular Dystrophy Association is currently doing a study to evaluate creatine's effectiveness in people with Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Even though scientific evaluations have not identified harm from this supplement, in 1997 the media targeted it as the potential cause of death for three college wrestlers. Later investigation revealed that the extreme weight-loss measures used by the wrestlers might have been a factor in their deaths. At any rate, people who have neuromuscular diseases are advised to continue with their current treatment plan until any side effects or contraindications are known.
Q.	Fat: Sources
A.	Fats play an important role in many processes including primary energy reserves, membrane constituents, hormones, fat-soluble vitamins, thermal insulators and biological regulators. For these reasons fats are absolutely essential in your diet. Most vegetable fats are "good fats," while most animal fats are "bad fats."
Q.	Fiber: Sources
A.	Get all your fiber each and every day! Fiber is a major contributor to long-term health. Fiber is calorie free. It binds lipids and can lower blood cholesterol. It absorbs water thus softening stools & preventing constipation. It speeds foods through the digestive tract reducing calorie absorption and exposure of tissues to cancer-causing agents in foods. Good sources of fiber include whole grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables.
Q.	Folate: Sources
A.	Think of foliage - leafy green. If eaten fresh, it is one of the richest sources for the vitamin called folacin. It is also in liver, legumes, oranges, peanuts, sunflower seeds and whole grains (in white flour, large portions are milled out and not replaced.)
Q.	Iron: Sources
A.	Good sources of iron are lean meats, fish poultry, organ meats (liver, kidney, and heart), legumes (dried beans and peas), nuts and seeds, whole grains, dark molasses and green leafy vegetables.
Q.	Lutein (a carotene): What is it?
A.	Especially important to the health of the eye and maintenance of good sight. Lutein is the yellow pigment found In the crystalline lens and the center of the macula and is a crucial protector against macular degeneration and cataracts because it counteracts damage from ultraviolet light and blue light.
Q.	Lycopene (a carotene): What is it?
A.	A very powerful antioxidant - reported to be at least twice as strong as beta-carotene. It is reported to have anticarcinogenic properties. It is found in greatest amounts in tomatoes, apricots, pink grapefruit and watermelon.
Q.	Magnesium: Sources
A.	Magnesium tends to follow protein and phosphorus in foods. Good sources include whole grains (NOT processed), legumes, nuts and seeds, chocolate, green vegetables, some seafood and poultry, avocados, bananas and some berries.
Q.	Minerals: What are they?
A.	Minerals are inorganic substances and are not manufactured by any living plant or animal. They are needed in numerous metabolic processes. They regulate the flow of fluids in andout of cells and mediate electrical impulses in nerve cells, thus controlling heartbeat, brain function and vision.
Q.	Niacin-B3: Sources
A.	The best sources of niacin are legumes (dried, mature beans and peas), fish and organ meats. Whole grains contain good amounts of niacin, but as much as 70% of the niacin may be unavailable. Because niacin is enriched in flour and cereals, breads, baked goods and cereals made with enriched flour are good sources of niacin.
Q.	Phosphorus: Sources
A.	Phosphorus is present in nearly all foods. Good sources are protein-rich foods (meats, poultry, fish, milk, and milk products), eggs, grains and legumes.
Q.	Potassium: Sources
A.	Potassium is widely distributed in foods and should be easily obtained in the diet. Good sources include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and most meats and dairy products. The less fat that is in the food, the more potassium.
Q.	Protein: Sources
A.	All animal proteins (meats, fish, poultry, milk, eggs) are "complete", meaning that they contain all the essential amino acids. Vegetarian diets must combine different plant products (like beans and rice) to include all the essential amino acids.
Q.	RDA?Recommended Daily Allowances
A.	The daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of 97-98% of all healthy individuals in a group.  The RDA?s were in use from 1941 through the early 1990?s, however the new DRI (Daily Reference Intakes) have replaced RDA?s as the new standard for nutrient recommendations used to plan and assess diets for healthy people.
Q.	Riboflavin-B2: Sources
A.	Riboflavin is widely distributed in animal protein (meat, poultry, fish), eggs and especially dairy products. Other good sources are fortified cereals, baked goods made with enriched white wheat flour and green vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, turnip greens, spinach).
Q.	Selenium: Sources
A.	Because selenium tends to follow the protein in food, it is found primarily in seafood, meats, eggs, whole grains and legumes. Brazil nuts are an unusually high source of selenium.
Q.	Sodium: Sources
A.	Most of the sodium in our diet (75%) is from salt added during processing and manufacturing. Studies have found that only 10% of the salt we consume comes from the natural content of foods, and 15% comes from salt added at the table or during cooking.
Q.	Sugar: Sources
A.	Sugars, in their pure form, may be called fructose, galactose, mannose and glucose. They may also be identified by their sources, such as maple syrup or honey. Of course, sugar is also found in soft drinks and sweets. Sugar occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables and dairy products.
Q.	Thiamin-B1: Sources
A.	Thiamin is present in many foods, especially in unrefined whole grains, legumes (beans and peas), seeds, port organ meats (liver, heart, kidney) and brewers yeast. Enriched and fortified white flour, cornmeal, rice, cereals and bakery products also provide Thiamin in the diet.
Q.	Vitamin A: Sources
A.	Vitamin A is found in dark green leafy or yellow-orange-red vegetables and some fruits (apricots, cantaloupe, mango, papaya). It is present in fairly large quantities in liver and many margarines and milks are fortified with vitamin A.
Q.	Vitamin C: Sources
A.	It is one of the most versatile in the body and the most unstable in food. The primary sources are fresh vegetables and fruits, especially citrus fruits and juices.
Q.	Vitamin E: Sources
A.	Vitamin E is present in good quantity in whole grains, but is readily destroyed by processing. Milling of grains takes out a high percentage, and bleaching of flour takes the rest out. Whole cereal grain products, vegetable oil, egg yolks, salad dressings, leafy and dark green vegetables, margarine, liver, butter, nuts and seeds are good sources of Vitamin E.
Q.	Vitamin-B12: Sources
A.	Vitamin B-12 is found exclusively in animal food - meats, dairy products, and eggs. It is not found in plant food, so insufficient intake of this nutrient may be a concern for strict vegetarians. If dairy products are added to the vegetarian diet, however, sufficient amounts of B-12 should be consumed.
Q.	Vitamin-B6: Sources
A.	Vitamin B-6 is widely distributed in unprocessed foods. Good sources include chicken, fish, port, eggs and liver, whole grains (unmilled rice, oats, whole wheat products) legumes (soybeans, peanuts), fruits, nuts, many vegetables and especially avocados and bananas.
Q.	Vitamins: What are they?
A.	Organic substances essential to nutrition in regulating various metabolic processes. Vitamins do not provide energy or serve as building units for body structures. Vitamin deficiency may be detected by specific symptoms which are relieved by giving the vitamin.
Q.	Zinc: Sources
A.	Whole grain foods provide more zinc than refined foods (with less fiber and phytate, will bind with zinc and reduce its availability to the body.). Yeast breads have higher zinc availability because the yeast produces enzymes that destroy phytate. Seafood such as oysters are good sources of zinc.
Supplements
Q.	Why the PFA Doesn't Track Vitamin D
A.	Vitamin D is an unusual nutrient in that most of the body's intake is not from food, but rather from the action of sunlight (ultraviolet radiation) forming the nutrient in the skin.  Given enough sun, a person doesn't need to consume any vitamin D.  The few foods that do contain vitamin D have been fortified. Vitamin D deficiency, which leads to osteoporosis, is increasing in young adults, and drinking vitamin D-fortified milk is of no help, but taking vitamin D supplements and getting out in the sun can be important preventive steps. Vitamin D deficiency is extremely prevalent in the elderly, but young adults aged 18 to 29 years have an equal to greater risk of vitamin D insufficiency. Vitamin D, which helps you absorb calcium, is made by your body when skin is exposed to sunlight. The deficiency of Vitamin D places you at risk for osteoporosis as well as chronic bone and muscle pains, and may also increase the risk of certain cancers. Muscle pain and fatigue can be first signs of vitamin D deficiency. Treatment is simple: 800 IU of vitamin D, and getting out into the sun for about 30 minutes a day. If your intake of antioxidants is high enough, the sun will be protective (even for preventing many kinds of cancer), rather than harmful. Many young adults who take daily multivitamin supplements during the summer and winter months have vitamin D levels 30 percent higher than those who do not take the supplements. Source: American Journal of Medicine 2002;112:659-662; Biogerontology 2002:3(1-2):73-7. Furthur Credit:  http://www.bettykamen.com/
Q.	In the database, there are two really common items that puzzle me. They are... Chicken, broiler/fryer, breast, w/o skin, raw Chicken, broiler/fryer, breast, w/o skin, rstd The ESHA data show the raw one to be 10% fat and the rstd one to be 21% fat. How can this be? Should I be eating my chicken breast raw ;-)
A.	Raw chicken loses about 25% moisture when it is cooked. The lower moisture content of the cooked chicken causes the remaining protein and fat to be more concentrated, and a higher percentage of the whole. So, it's true, if you were to eat raw chicken, you would get more moisture and less fat, than if you were to eat the same amount of cooked chicken.
Q.	April 29, 2003--NYT Seriously Uninformed
A.	We fight this kind of ignorance all the time... The New York Times health writer, Gina Kolata, was sadly uninformed when she wrote in today's paper that vitamin supplements have not been shown to prevent any disease. She obviously did not do any homework. Her suggestion that nutrition researchers are no longer concerned about vitamin deficiencies is also mistaken because vitamin deficiencies are rampant in the US population; particularly magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid.   I find it interesting that Ms. Kolata neglected to mentioned the recent AMA report, which conceded that Americans aren't eating the recommended five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables and also recommended that all people take a multiple vitamin/mineral formulation.  Ms. Kolata quotes a Dr. Topol who says "Folic acid can't be recommended at this point, except for people with extremely low levels of homocysteine, and even then their value has not been rigorously demonstrated."  Folic aicd lowers, not raises, homocysteine levels - obviously, the New York Times article suffers from a serious fact-checking deficiency.
Fun and Trivia
Q.	Advice on Chewing Gum
A.	It’s full of sugar. Small amounts of sugar at regular intervals daily causes class VI cavities in the molars...I see it all the time...a quick hole in the top of a tooth...in three months-six months...it's always ALWAYS caused by gum and soda.  Even if you brush three times a day and drink your water!  You erode away a little microscopic amount of tooth enamel with each stick of gum or sip of soda.... and diet soda still has phosphoric acid in the caramel coloring... ACID on teeth at regular intervals will cause even more cavities! The old saying goes, 4 out of 5 dentist surveyed recommend sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum.  If you are going to other the one in 5, run like hell!  Sugar free gum and 7-Up type drinks are fine... but I advise you to limit the soda (diet too!) to one or two a week. Keep smiling! Aimee, RDH and PFA’er :)the tooth fairy
Q.	Food Trivia: A good time to splurge!
A.	The "last meal" for Death Row inmates has become embedded in the American death-penalty ritual. Reporters have dutifully recorded the last meal menus: John Wayne Gacy had fried chicken and strawberries; Ted Bundy passed on steak and eggs; James Smith, executed in Texas in 1990, requested a "lump of dirt" (request was denied); Missouri inmate Lloyd Schlup asked for venison and hare (request was granted).  None of these guys need the Personal Food Analyst because long term health is not a consideration.
Q.	Food Trivia: Chicken Popularity. The head chearleader of meats.
A.	The average U.S. household serves chicken at home between two and three times per week; 68 percent of the time it is either roasted or baked.  Keep it up, but stick to the white meat to maintain your health.
Q.	Food Trivia: Cooking Tip
A.	Herbs should be added near the end of the cooking process so you don't lose the herbs' volatile oils, which are dissipated by heat.  Herbs contain virtually no calories and can really spice up your dishes
Q.	Food Trivia: Don't drink milk with meat!
A.	The body won?t absorb the calcium from milk if it?s drunk in the same meal as meat. There needs to be at least 2 hours between milk and meat intake for best results.
Q.	Food Trivia: Enjoy the movie. Stay away from the fat.
A.	Popcorn purchases went into a slump during the early 1950s, when television became popular. Attendance at movie theaters dropped and, with it, popcorn consumption. When the public eventually began eating popcorn at home, the new relationship between television and popcorn led to a popularity surge.  Movie theater popcorn is 50% fat WITHOUT butter.  Air popped is only 9% fat.
Q.	Food Trivia: Et tu saladee?
A.	The Caesar salad is not named after Julius Caesar. It is named for its creator, Caesar Cardini, who first prepared the salad in his Caesar's Palace Restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico.  Most Caesar salads will destroy your diet, but at McDonnalds, try their Salad, caesar, w/chicken, shaker.  At 67% protein and only 22% fat, it is sure better than a Big Mac.
Q.	Food Trivia: Got any good recipes that use soy Flour?
A.	Two pounds of soy flour contains approximately the same amount of protein as five pounds of meat.  If you know of a good recipe that includes soy flour, let us know.
Q.	Food Trivia: However you spell it, they are by far the most popular vegetable in the US.
A.	Potatoes are the most popular vegetable among Americans. Second and third place go to head lettuce and onions, respectively.  It is interesting to note that if you exclude potatoes, Americans eat about 50% more meat by weight than vegetables.
Q.	Food Trivia: It's won't just overflow your email.
A.	SPAM is an acronym formed from two words: spiced ham.  At 81% fat, consider an alternative.
Q.	Food Trivia: Junk Food Innovator
A.	Jack in the Box introduced several fast-food ?firsts? ? including being the first chain to open a drive-thru restaurant and the industry's first breakfast sandwich.  They made it quicker and more efficient for us to slowly kill ourselves.
Q.	Food Trivia: Keep you eyes and ears to the ground.
A.	To save money on your food bill, look down. Less costly items are often on bottom shelves, whereas more expensive ones are placed at eye level.
Q.	Food Trivia: La Case del Gordo!
A.	La Casa Bonita in Denver, one of the largest Mexican restaurants in the world, goes through 9,500 gallons of salsa, 5,500 gallons guacamole, 612,000 taco shells, and 720,000 cheese enchiladas, and 1,260,000 sopapillas each year.  That?s more food that ALL the health food restaurants in the entire state combined.
Q.	Food Trivia: Maybe Campbell's will name one of their stars after you for only $50.00 :-)
A.	The Campbell Soup Company uses more than 44 billion stars each year in its canned Chicken & Stars Soup. In three years, Campbell's produces more tiny pasta stars than there are in the Milky Way.
Q.	Food Trivia: Mind you own onions!
A.	Onions are usually eaten in such small amounts that they make very little difference nutritionally, but the most nutritious ones are scallions, with four times the vitamin C and 5,000 times the vitamin A as other onions. If you enjoy eating onions by the pound, one pound has about 175 calories.  Of course if you make onions a major source of your calories for the day, you run the risk of leading a lonely life :-)
Q.	Food Trivia: Peanut butter and jellyfish sandwitches?
A.	Jellyfish are considered a delicacy by many cultures. After they have been dried and de-salted, they reportedly are not only delicious, but low in fat, calories, and salt, and rich in nutrients.  If you just can?t get enough jellyfish in your diet, stick to the dried kind it has less than half the fat.  And, yes it is in the Personal Food Analyst.
Q.	Food Trivia: Rice is nice...
A.	There are more than 15,000 different varieties of rice.  The Personal Food Analyst contains 589 matches for rice.
Q.	Food Trivia: Salmon Fact...
A.	In the U.S. Colonial period, salmon was quite plentiful and cheap on the eastern coast. Back then, some servants stipulated in their work contracts that they would not be served salmon at a meal more than once a week.  Those servants, however, were not as healthy as those made to ?suffer.?  At about 70% protein and 30% fat (mostly good fat) salmon is a great substitute for any red meat.
Q.	Food Trivia: Should we put some fish on the Physique Transformation program?
A.	One of the fattest fishes is salmon: 4 ounces of the delectable fish contain 9 grams of fat.  However, 4 ounces of average ground beef cooked medium well has over 20 grams of fat!  Most of the fat in salmon is good fat, so eat salmon if you can get it in your P/C/F ratios.
Q.	Food Trivia: Some foods will kill you faster than others...
A.	The flesh of the puffer fish (fugu) is considered a delicacy in Japan. It is prepared by chefs specially trained and certified by the government to prepare the flesh free of the toxic liver, gonads, and skin. Despite these precautions, many cases of tetrodotoxin poisoning are reported each year in patients ingesting fugu. Poisonings usually occur after eating fish caught and prepared by uncertified handlers. The end result, in most cases, is death.  Fugu is not is the Personal Food Analyst database.
Q.	Food Trivia: Tea for two and tea for you!
A.	Tea was discovered in China more than 5,000 years ago. Tea is the most popular drink beverage in the world ? next to water. The tea that graces tables in virtually every country around the globe comes from the same plant: Camellia sinensis, a member of the evergreen family. From the leaves of this one plant spring three basic types of tea: black, green, and oolong, and more than 3,000 varieties.  Keep drinking tea and get rid of the sodas!
Q.	Food Trivia: The first 12-ounce aluminum soda can was introduced in 1964 by Royal Crown Cola.
A.	Coke didn't start using aluminum until three years later, and that same year Pepsi came out with a seamless can.  The can contains the equivalent of 7 packets of sugar.  Only a genius could figure out how to get this much sugar is such a small space.
Q.	Food Trivia: The most popular selling snack in America.
A.	Potato chips are the Number 1 selling snack in the United States. Statistics show that they accompany lunch 32 percent of the time and dinner 18 percent of the time.  If we could just get these 32 percent to use the Personal Food Analyst, we could cut the consumption to almost zero.
Q.	Food Trivia: The pampered cow...
A.	The Japanese adore beef, but cannot get enough because the country is too small for large-scale cattle raising. An exception are the cows of Kobe, who live the good life: they drink beer, are massaged three times a day to keep their meat tender, and are sung to, making them feel serene. Kobe beef is world-famous for its flavor, although chances of finding any outside Japan are almost nil.  If your goal is to look like a Kobe beef cow, you should emulate their lifestyle ;-).
Q.	Food Trivia: There's nothing like a big plate of krill...
A.	There are thousands of varieties of shrimp, but most are so tiny that they are more likely to be eaten by whales than people. Of the several hundred around the world that people do eat, only a dozen or so appear with any regularity in the United States.  There are 96 matches in the Personal Food Analyst under ?shrimp.?
Q.	Food Trivia: What is Soy Milk?
A.	The liquid left after beans have been crushed in hot water and strained, is a favorite beverage in the East. In Hong Kong, soy milk is as popular as Coca-Cola is in the United States.  Containing little or no sugar, no wonder the Asians are thinner than we Americans.
Q.	Food Trivia: What we eat...
A.	On the average, each American consumes 117 pounds of potatoes, 116 pounds of beef, 100 pounds of fresh vegetable, 80 pounds of fresh fruit, and 286 eggs per year.  If this were all you ate for the year, 90% of your fat intake would come from the beef.  But you would have known that if you signed up for the Personal Food Analyst.
Q.	Food Trivia: What we feed our children.
A.	The five favorite U.S. school lunches nationwide, according to the American School Food Service Association, are, in order, pizza, chicken nuggets, tacos, burritos, and hamburgers.  And you wonder why are children are fatter than ever!
Q.	Food Trivia: When bread is a fruit and mainlanders run the other way...
A.	Poi, a Hawaiian/Polynesian dip, is made by cooking breadfruit, sweet potatoes, bananas, or taro root until it is soft enough to mash with water in a bowl. Cooked taro is very firm and has to be mashed with a strong hand. In earlier times, a stone and a pounding board would be used to mash it. Traditionally, Hawaiians preferred to let poi stand for a few days until it fermented and turned sour.  Poi is 98% pure complex carbohydrates.
Q.	Food Trivia: Who lives in a pinapple under the sea?
A.	Food & Wine magazine reported that in Japan, squid is the most popular topping for Domino's pizza.  At 69% protein and only 15% fat you can bet that sumo wrestlers prefer pepperoni.
Q.	Food Trivia: Why my buddy George is not in the PFA database...
A.	There are more people in the world who eat alligators than there are alligators that eat people.  As a result, alligator meat is in the Personal Food Analyst whereas people meat is not.
Q.	Food Trivia: You say potato, the PFA says it 775 times!
A.	There are more than 5,000 varieties of potatoes in the world.  The Personal Food Analyst contains 775 matches under potato.
Q.	Food Trivia: What is the most popular pasta shape in the US?
A.	Spaghetti is the favorite pasta shape, with 38 percent favoring it over other pasta shapes. The second favorite shape is elbow macaroni, at 16 percent.  Choose your favorite shape and enjoy.  All types of pasta noodles should be included in your diet.  Watch out for those sauces though!
Q.	Sodium in your water...
A.	Do you have a water softener in your home?  Hard water is high in calcium and magnesium, which is very good for you, by the way, but these minerals are taken out to make it "soft."  They are exchanged for sodium.  In some homes, water softeners are attached to the hot water lines only, and then the cold water is used for cooking with its good-for-you minerals left intact. The PFA sets your target for sodium intake at 2400mg per day (2.4g).  This is a not to exceed number or the PFA will subtract points from your diet score.  The FDA recommends 2.4g as a maximum for healthy people, however it is estimated that the average American consumes between 8 to 15 grams of sodium per day.    Softened water can contain more than 1g per gallon of water, depending on the initial hardness or your water.  If you have softened water, you need to consider bottled water for drinking.   Below is a table copied from Morton International?s website with average milligrams sodium per gallon.  As you can clearly see, the amount of sodium in your water will drastically change depending on your initial water hardness.   Sodium Added to Water from Cation Exchange Softening Initial Water Hardness Sodium Added By Cation Exchange Softening Of Water Grains Per Gallon Milligrams Na+ / gallon 1 30 5 149 6 179 7 209 8 239 9 269 10 298 15 447 20 596 30 894 40 1,191 If you are on a sodium-restricted diet, you should obtain information from your physician or dietician about the sodium in your local water supply.  Your municipal water department will also give you a detailed water analysis of the local water supply.
Technical FAQ's
Q.	I am using a MacIntosh and I keep getting logged out! What's happening?
A.	Microsoft's IE 5 for the Mac has a bug in it that will periodically automatically log you out.  The best solution we have found is to load Netscape for the Mac by going to www.netscape.com and going to the "Browser Central" Link in the left-nav.
Q.	International Measurements
A.	Metric Conversions: The PFA takes all its measurements in the US or imperial system commonly used in the United States and Great Britain.   Many PFA users are from countries that use the metric system, and as such they have no way of buying a tape with inches or a scale with pounds. Following are the conversions you should use to enter your measurements into the PFA. Measurements (length or girth): 1 cm = .3937 inches Example:  Say you measure your waist and the tape says 103 cm.  Simply multiply this number by .3937.  You get 40.55 inches.  Enter this number into the PFA. Weight: 1 kg = 2.2046 pounds (lbs) Example:  Say you step on the scale and you weigh 93 kg.  Just multiply 93 by 2.2046 to get 205 lbs.  Enter this number into the PFA. We will be adding international measurements to the PFA in future revisions of the PFA.