BuiltLean Digest: March 2013

This has been a big month for BuiltLean: it’s been 3 years since we started, and things have definitely changed a lot since then! From the site design to the amount of content, there has been a lot of work and thought put into making this a site that readers can rely on as a [...]

The post BuiltLean Digest: March 2013 appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

This has been a big month for BuiltLean: it’s been 3 years since we started, and things have definitely changed a lot since then! From the site design to the amount of content, there has been a lot of work and thought put into making this a site that readers can rely on as a valuable and useful resource and it feels like everything is moving in the right direction.

We’ve had some amazing articles from our contributors, and it’s great to be able to highlight them each month. In March, we had many highly informative & well-written pieces come in, so you’ll find the most shared, rated, and commented on to check out here. There are also a few updates relating to BuiltLean news, as well as comments we wanted to share from our readers.

TOP ARTICLES | MAR 2013

Most Shared – 3 Reasons To Never Trust Estimated Calorie Burn On Cardio Machines

This article from Pat Koch gives 3 great reasons you should be wary of trusting the estimated calorie burn on machines, and our readers found these reasons instructive enough to make this the most shared article in March.

Most Comments – The Surprising Weight Loss Benefits Of Yoga

Kristin Rooke’s first BuiltLean article generated the most comments of all the articles we published in March with its interesting information on why Yoga is a great practice to incorporate into your exercise routine even though it may burn less calories than you think.

Highest Rated – Is Grass-Fed Beef Worth The Extra Money?

Should you be paying more for grass-fed beef? Bill Lagakos’s exploration of the research surrounding the health benefits of grass-fed beef scored a 5.0 out of 5 from our readers for its thorough info and helpful suggestions.

NEWS REVIEW | MAR 2013

BuiltLean Turns 3

On March 15, 2013, BuiltLean.com turned 3 years old. It’s amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun and we couldn’t be happier with all the new readers we get each day, our valuable contributors, and consistent effort to publish articles to help people reach their fitness goals.

First Week of Daily Content

This week marks the first week since we launched three years ago that every day from Monday through Friday we posted an article. While we might not have daily content each and every week, we’re getting closer to that point and want to continue publishing a higher volume of articles that deal with what is important to our readers.

Website Restructure

The design changes continued into March to make the site even more accessible: with a new footer, improved home page graphic, article images on the home page, and a consistent color and font throughout the site. We hope you’re enjoying the structure changes as well and that it does make exploring BuiltLean a more rewarding experience.

FEATURED COMMENTS | MAR 2013

We love getting comments from our growing BuiltLean community and we are grateful for everyone’s participation. If one of our articles inspires you to give a little more your next workout, or try something new, let us know. We’ve had some wonderful feedback on articles that have come out this month and wanted to share a few of them.

1) From our U.S. Military Officer Drops From 23% to 12% Body Fat success story, Eric shared his enthusiasm for what following an exercise program can do:

“35lbs in 5 months! That is amazing! I’m very impressed with the result you got. It was really good of Marc and yourself to go through the details. The BuiltLean guide has certainly helped me. Anybody that is willing to follow in your footsteps will get similar results. Success is not an accident!”
-Eric

2) Warren let us know how his fitness progress has been going in Pat’s 3 Reasons To Never Trust Estimated Calorie Burn On Cardio Machines article, and we’re so glad BuiltLean has helped:

“A very informative article, when it comes to loosing weight and tracking your process counting calories burned was very important to me.

I was counting the calories I eat and also the calories I burn, the reason for this was that I would eat back maybe half or all of the calories burned. In the beginning it seemed accurate and was working as I was shedding the fat, dropping pounds and my BF% was dropping.

Where it starts to get difficult is when you hit the dreaded plateau. After tinkering with my diet and trying to accurately calculate my burn I noticed that if I tighten up my diet and record calories I eat more accurately and not bother with eating back the burned amount I will continue to drop the pounds and BF.

So far I dropped 21lbs and reduced my bf% by 8% however I’m finding it harder at this moment in time to keep up with dropping 2lbs a week. I have continued to increase the intensity of my workouts and changed them up and my bf% seems to keep going down (if I trust the machine which calculates it for me.)

This website has played in big part in educating me to do and eat the right things…

Keep it up!”
-Warren

3) Aaron really liked Kristin’s The Surprising Weight Loss Benefits Of Yoga and made some great points about how our bodies respond to exercise. We’re thrilled he’s recommending BuiltLean as a resource:

“Thanks for posting this. Stress (the negative type) is likely the most overlooked factor in body-fat management. It’s left out of the equation with respect to most exercise. People will always talk about how they “feel” better when they’re exercising. It needs to be brought to the forefront of consciousness that by reducing your overall stress is the most effective way to manage your health.

Our body’s are still built to evade predators with hormones like cortisol which is designed to store deposits of fat in feast or famine environments. We’re wired with biological reward systems that search for the most energy dense foods, you know, like simple sugars.

I’d like to see your feedback on the dichotomous relationship humans have with the sense of taste and the, only recent, availability of foods rich in simple sugars/carbohydrates. I go a big rubbery one when people tell me they would eat healthier if it tasted better. If people understood the self defeating nature of their biology in today’s agricultural climate they may make healthier choices.

Thank you, and thank you for this site. I recommend it to new people daily.”
-Aaron

As usual, we look forward to reading your comments, answering your questions, and hearing your thoughts in the upcoming months as we delve into new topics!

The post BuiltLean Digest: March 2013 appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

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