Category Archives: Fuel & Food

Diet

My Gym Program to Shed Fat – Fast!!!

Posted on by
5

Welcome Back!!

Last time I listed 30 something reasons to get in shape if you are over 30 and this time I want to look at the use of exercise as a major component of getting into shape  – or staying there once you’re happy with how you look.

The first type of program uses barbells & dumbbells and pretty much needs a gym so you can access enough weight to really challenge yourself. If you are already set up at home so much the better….

But what if I don’t go to the gym I hear you ask? Don’t worry – I have info on how to use body weight workouts in the next blog post.

Not many of us can afford to set up a home gym with this much equipment

We all know that diet is 80 – 90% of fat loss and that you cannot out-train a poor one.

So let’s assume that you’ve reduced your calories and are eating nutrient dense but calorie sparse foods. That you are eating clean – lots of protein and low GI carbs, few processed foods, no transfats and you’ve come as close to eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup from your diet as humanly possible. You’ve also added spices like cinnamon & capsicum to your diet, drink green tea and use protein shakes as a means to keep your body feeling full and also staying in positive nitrogen balance. In other words you’ve got your fat loss diet sorted.

Now we need to get the exercise part firing, this is one of my preferred routines.

Now as we have discussed in previous posts – once our bodies sense a cut in calories it immediately begins to preserve (and if possible) add to fat stores. It also begins to burn muscle for fuel once glycogen stores are depleted – result; a slower metabolism and more body fat.

You can combat this though – by convincing your body that it needs to maintain if not add to your muscle if it is to survive. And we do that by lifting heavy weights and then following this up with a Metabolic conditioning / HIIT style workout.

No more than hour is needed to get great results

The total workout should take no more than an hour with 30 minutes spent on the strength / muscle preservation side and the final 30 spent on reconditioning & firing up your metabolism with some HIIT circuits.

Your goal has to be to maintain lean muscle and to max strength when you are reducing calories. The best exercises to use for this are compound (ie multijoint) ones like Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Presses and weighted Chin Ups. (You’ll note the absence of the bench press – this is deliberate as I & many others believe that it is not as effective as overhead presses, creates strength imbalances in the shoulder girdle and often causes shoulder injuries)

So in order to preserve your muscles and build strength you use this program:

  1. 1. Deadlifts paired with Overhead presses on Day 1
  2. 2. Squats paired with Pull ups (weighted if possible) on Day 2

The reason that pullups and deadlifts aren’t paired together is that they’re both challenging to your grip and will weaken it. A weak grip means that you can do fewer reps or use less weight so by splitting them apart your grip only gets ‘hit’ with 1 exercise each session. (Note – if you can’t do weighted chin ups don’t worry – do as many as you can in each set. Once you get strong enough to do 10 from ‘dead hang’ with good form then add some weight and drop your reps back to 3 or 4 and work back up)

On each day you do the following metabolic condition workout:

You WON'T be using any of these - they don't work!!

  1. 1. Dumbbell Squat and Presses
  2. 2. Jumping Jacks
  3. 3. Dumbbell Bench Step-ups with Bicep Curl (do reps for each side)
  4. 4. Squat Thrusts
  5. 5. Dumbbell Walking Lunges (do reps for each side)

Go through 10 – 15 reps of each exercise pausing only long enough to swap weights until you’ve completed one circuit. Rest long enough to get your breathing down ( 2-3 minutes) and repeat 3-5 times.

The goal of this style of training for the second 30 minutes of each workout is to get your metabolism really ramped up so that you create a strong EPOC and continue to burn fat as fuel for hours after the workout is done.

Execution:

Firstly warm up with some Jumping Jacks followed by walking lunges, then shoulder swings, some push ups and some body weight squats. Not a lot, just enough to get the blood flowing and the joints lubricated.

Then set up your barbells for the deadlift and the overhead press. Put enough weight on each bar so that you can only do 5 -6 fast reps of each exercise with good form.

Don't forget to warmup first

Speed is important as it engages more muscle fibres, fires up more mitochondria ( the fat burning furnaces in each cell) and builds more strength. Good form matters as injury will slow if not halt your progress. Always err on the side of caution.

Then do 3 – 4 sets in circuit fashion (3 reps of Deadlifts, rest long enough to get your breath back, then 3 reps of Overhead Press, rest long enough to get your breath back then back to Deadlifts again and repeat for 3-4 times)

That is the first part of the workout on day 1, next you move to part 2 which is the metabolic circuits.

For these you need to set up several sets of different dumbbells. You need different weights as you will be able to handle different ones depending upon the exercise. For example you can hold a larger weight for the walking lunges than you can curl on the step ups. Again aim for speed with good form.

Put your equipment back and go home and eat a meal high in protein, moderate carbs and low fat. Because you are trying to drop bodyfat you should NOT go the high carb route. That works when you are already lean and certainly enhances muscle growth, but if you are carrying body fat your metabolism is still primed to store carbs as fat…

Then you come back on day 2 and do the squats & Chin Ups followed by the same metabolic workout.

For best results, and if you are up to it you should workout 6 days a week, alternating Workout 1 with Workout 2.

Over a week it would look like this:

Day 1- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 2- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 3- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 4- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 5- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 6- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 7 – Rest

Follow this program for 6 weeks with a clean metabolism boosting diet and you’ll see great results. Make no mistake though – this is hard work and should be challenging!!

Results come to those who work at it!!

If however you are just starting out you should aim for working out 3 days a week with a 2 week program that looks like this:

Day 1- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 2- Rest

Day 3- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 4- Rest

Day 5- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 6- Rest

Day 7 – Rest

Day 8- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 9- Rest

Day 10- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 11- Rest

Day 12- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 13- Rest

Day 14- Rest

If you use the 14 day cycle aim to do it for at least 8 weeks then switch to the 6-days a week one foe another 4.

Well there you have it – follow this program with a clean diet and the fat will certainly disappear.

See next time when we’ll look at why bodyweight workouts can deliver excellent results – even without gym equipments.

Be well.

Why you should eat more Saturated Fat in your Diet….

Posted on by
2

Some Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat

Welcome Back – no you haven’t come to the wrong blog, nor have I made a mistake in the headline – this blog is about why we need to eat fat – specifically saturated fat.

Remember it was not in the not-so-distant past (about 1971), that the medical establishment looked a couple of poorly done experiments and then decided that all fats equal, and are equally life threatening and ‘EVIL.

The fat in these is evil - transfat...

The prognosis was that all fats are bad for you and are the root cause of all heart disease, obesity and other ailments. This is utter crap! Things have changed in the last couple of years (although with dieticians & the Governments it is still slow going).

Current medical thinking on fats is that some are good, if not downright essential to your well being & health – fats like olive oil and canola oil*—but others are bad for you—trans fats and all saturated fats. It is an improvement but it is still far from the truth.

There is in-built resistance to the latest research from the ‘Fats are evil camp’ just that now they are still offering advice to the tune of: “You should limit your intake of saturated fats & avoid them wherever possible.”  This is usually followed by these ‘educated’ pundits saying: which have been proven to raise cholesterol and cause heart disease.” Their over-arching belief is that saturated fat is bad, if not deadly for you.

You can see with just a glance at my suggested meal plan that I’ve included saturated fats. In fact I fully advocate fatty cuts of meat, chicken with the skin, bacon, eggs, butter, coconut oil, organic lard, and heavy cream in the Lose 20 in 30 Fuel Program.  Aren’t I worried that these foods will increase your risk of heart disease and raise your cholesterol? Nope, not at all. In fact, I encourage you to make these important fats a regular part of your healthy diet. Why? Because humans need them and here are just a few reasons why.

1) Improved cardiovascular risk factors

Olive Oil - one of the good fats!!

Though you may not have heard of it on the front pages of the newspapers, online news source, or local television or radio news program, saturated fat plays several key roles in your cardiovascular health. The addition of saturated fat to your diet reduces the levels of a substance called lipoprotein (a)—pronounced “lipoprotein little a” and abbreviated Lp(a)—the presence of which correlates strongly with an increased risk for heart disease.

Currently there are no medications to lower this substance and the only dietary means of lowering Lp(a) is eating saturated fat. I know that you didn’t hear that on the nightly news, or read it in the papers. Also, believe it or not – eating saturated (and other) fats also raises the level of HDL, the so-called good cholesterol.

Lastly, research has shown that when women diet, those who eat the greatest percentage of the total fat in their diets as saturated fat lose the most body fat.

2) Stronger bones

Our bone mass declines as we get older. It seems to accelerate once we pass 40, especially for women. It is impossible to watch TV without being told that you need calcium for your bones. But, and this is a big but, can you remember ever being told that saturated fat is necessary for calcium to be most effectively incorporated into your bones?

According to one of the foremost research experts in dietary fats and human health, Mary Enig, Ph.D., there’s a case to be made for having as much as 50 percent of the fats in your diet as saturated fats for this reason.

Red Meat - a great source of fatty goodness - you can trim off the excess if you have lingering concerns...

That’s far below the 7 to 10 percent suggested by the mainstream Doctors, Dieticians and Nutritionists.

Her research suggests that by following the advice to avoid saturated fats and use vegetable oils instead, most women lose bone mass, develop osteoporosis, and need to be put on prescription medications plus calcium to try to recover the bone loss they suffer in middle age.

Food for thought. Google her and make up your own mind.

3) Improved liver health

Strangely enough adding saturated fat to your diet has been shown to make your liver reduce its own fat stores. A less fatty liver is a more efficient liver and given it is the filter for our entire body the more efficient the better!!

More importantly clearing fat from the liver is a critical first step in reducing belly fat storage. Then there is the fact that saturated fat has been shown to protect the liver from the toxic insults of alcohol and medications, including acetaminophen and other drugs commonly used for pain and arthritis, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs.

Even this needs some of the right saturated fats to function at its best...

In fact in some research the inclusion of saturated fats has enabled the liver to reverse the damage once it has occurred. Since the liver is the lynchpin of a healthy metabolism, anything that is good for the liver is good for getting rid of fat in the middle. Polyunsaturated vegetable fats do not offer this protection.

4) Healthier lungs

For our lungs to work properly their airspaces need to be coated with what is called ‘lung surfactant’. Sounds horrible, but without this layer our lungs do not work as well. Guess what this layer is made up of – yep – the fat content of lung surfactant is 100 percent saturated fatty acids.

Replacement of these critical fats by other types of fat makes the surfactant less efficient, almost faulty and potentially causes breathing difficulties.

Absence of the correct amount and composition of these saturated fatty acids can lead to a collapse of your lung’s airspaces and create respiratory distress. Infant respiratory distress syndrome is a direct result of this missing surfactant.

Without Saturated Fats these work a lot less well...

Some researchers feel that the wholesale substitution of partially hydrogenated (Trans) fats for naturally saturated fats in commercially prepared foods may be playing a role in the rise of asthma among children. Fortunately, the heyday of Trans fats is ending and their use is on the decline.

Unfortunately, however, the continued unreasoning fear of saturated fat that leads to the replacement of natural saturated fats with unhealthy Trans fats continues. We use an overabundance of polyunsaturated vegetable oils, which may prove just as unhealthy.

5) Healthy brain

Your brain is mainly made up of two substances that we have been taught to fear: fat and cholesterol. Though the importance of Omega # fatty acids (EPA & DHA) is now widely recognised, the majority of the fats that our brains require are of the saturated type. A diet low in saturated fats actually robs your brain of the raw materials it needs to function optimally.

6) Proper nerve signalling

The saturated fats found in substances like butter, lard, coconut oil, and palm oil, all function directly as signalling messengers that influence our metabolism through the mechanism of hormones. Such

Your Brain & nervouse system are dependant upon Saturated Fats to function properly...

critical jobs as signalling the appropriate release of insulin, or cortisol or Leptin are all dependent upon the fatty acids found in saturated fats.

Our nerves are sheathed in substances made from saturated fats. Saturated fats are vital to the proper functioning of our nervous & hormonal system.

7) Stronger immune system

Lastly the Saturated fats found in butter and coconut oil (in particular fatty acids called myristic acid and lauric acid) play key roles in the health of our immune system.

Without these saturated fatty acids being present in sufficient quantities in white blood cells thes ‘hunter Killers’ suffer an impaired  ability to recognize and destroy foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi.  By the by human breast milk is quite rich in myristic and lauric acid, which have potent germ-killing ability and is touted as vital for the development of a fully functioning immune system in infants.

However the importance of these fats remains after infancy; we need dietary replenishment of them throughout adulthood, middle age, and into seniority to keep the immune system operating efficiently not only against infections but also against the development of cancerous cells.

I’ll be back next time with the rules for including fat healthily in your diet…Till then pass this on to your friends, Tweet or Face Book us…

Be well!!

Insulin – not the bad guy we thought???

Posted on by
3

Hi & Welcome back!!

For years Insulin has been painted as the bad guy hormone – you know the one that takes blood sugar and then shunts it off to be stored as fat.

Thing is, this is only partially correct. The real issue for most of us in the Western world insulin resistance coupled with too many processed high GI carbs. In fact becoming more insulin senstive will help us lose fat, build muscle and have a more efficient metabolism.

Insulin Sensitive or Resistive??

Traditional Nutritionists & Dieticians, despite the mountains of research to the contrary,  all seem to believe that fat loss is as simple as subtracting X calories from your daily intake and Hey ! Presto! Instant 6 pack abs! Be nice if it was true and would fat loss a whole lot easier and Gyms & weight loss centres would rapidly be rolling out lean, athletic women & men.

Just imagine the world we would be living in if all it took was the application of some simple arithmitic applied to a total calorie count. <sigh> never going to happen.

Let’s not make any mistake here though – a pound of fat is still 3500 calories and to lose fat you still have to achieve some form of calorie deficit in order to do so. In fact no mater how hard you train you can’t outperform a bad diet – or one that overloads you with calories that you just don’t need.

But this is only a part of the overall strategy that we need to use to achieve our desired outcome –  a leaner body that LBN and has a revved up metabolism.

Part of this strategy is understanding the metabolic and hormonal effects of food and then using  these effects in a tactical plan to achieve our goals.

Insulin Sensitivity

The single most important hormone when it comes to body recomposition is – Insulin. Yep the ‘bad guy’. Y’see Insulin is the most anabolic(repair & growth) and anti-catabolic (tear down) hormone that we have.

Insulin improves amino acid uptake by muscle tissues initiating protein synthesis promoting growth & repair. It also acts to prevent amino acids (the building blocks of our bodies) whether from food or our hard earned muscle from being used as a reserve fuel source when calories are cut below what our body has become to view as the ‘norm.’

Trustworhty fat loss advice? I don't think so...

Insulin also has a ‘dark side – under the right conditions, it is also the most lipolytic (fat storing) hormone in the body, shuttling fatty acids and glucose to fat cells for fat storage.

A logical approach to fat loss is one that moves you to a low-carb diet that is used to reduce calories and at the same time minimise insulin release so you avoid fat storage. This is right on the money if you are overweight, have a low activity level and are likely insulin resistant (or well on the way to being so). This covers the majority of the population these days.

It is also the way to go if you are over 40, a Type II diabetic or suffering from Syndrome X. I agree except that I am NOT an advocate of low carbs, but an advocate of low processed carbs for fat loss.

However no hormone is completely bad and the above approach is an incomplete one. If you work out hard on a regular basis, create a calorie deficit whilst eating nutrient dense foods – then moderate amounts of insulin is a positive thing. Why?

Because  insulin helps your body to maintain muscle the leaner you get. So you can strip off fat and keep or build muscle. The key is the complete approach of training, diet and food types.

However if you are overweight, sick, obese, a sedentary worker on the slope to Type II then your diet should not be the same as for someone who is active, lean and nowhere near becoming a diabetic of any persuasion.

In utilising insulin’s positive side – one size does not fit all.

If your body is insulin sensitive then you can have a higher amount of carbs in your diet because you will get the anabolic effects of this hormone. Again my belief is that you should avoid as many processed carbs as possible, but if you have some and are Insulin sensitive the efects will less likely to go to fat storage.

All carbs but not much goodness here...

If your body is insulin resistant, then higher carbs will mean that suffer more of its’ lipolytic (fat storing) effects. Simply – high GI & processed carbs should be a muich smaller part of your diet if you are insulin resistant.

So if you want to recompose your body you need to look at ways to increase your insulin sensitvity and reduce your insulin resistance.  Becoming more Insulin ‘Sensitive’ as opposed to resistant should be a goal right up there with resistance training, metabloic conditioning and eating lots more protein.

So in addition to focussing on cuting out high GI processed carbs we need to looking at ways to improve our bodies ability to utise them & insulin more efficiently.

Some easy ways to improving your Insulin Sensitivity.

1. Avoid mixing  ‘White’ Carbs with HFCS

All carbs aren’t be bad. All grain based carbs require at least some processing before humans can eat them. White carbs (flour, pasta rice – even the ‘healthy’ brown varieties) by themselves are not fat inducing. But combining these starches with sugars – especially fructose, and particularly HFCS – is downright evil.

Google High Fructose Corn Syrup and you’ll see that many researchers are now condemning the use of this sweetener as the major cause behind the obesity epidemic in the Western world. Americans partake of over 60 pounds a year…

Millions of our Asian brothers & sisters eat one of the purest starches out there aa a dietary staple – rice. By pure low carb thinking they should be the fattest folk on Earth. They’re not and in fact it is only when the traditional high starch / low sugar ratio becomes high starch / high sugar do we see obesity & diabetes rates rise in Asian populations.

The number one cause of obesity in the USA - HFCS

Guess which form of sugar has the worst effect on ALL humans? Got it in one – fructose, particularly HFCS.

Fructose is metabolised & processed by our bodies differently from glucose. There are now a heap of studies that indicate that fructose, NOT glucose, is the main culprit in table sugar that causes insulin resistance.

In animal studies increased fructose intake produced insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, high insulin levels, high triglycerides, increases in whole body inflammation and hypertension.

So to up your insulin sensitivity and to lower your insulin resistance – start by cutting out high fructose corn syrup, fructose sweeteners, sugar, sodas, processed fruit juices, fruit smoothies, and dried fruit. Then make sure that if you are having ‘white’ carbs ou are not mixing them with fructose – so watch cakes & cookie, pasta sauces and more. read your labels!!

Remember – never, ever combine white carbs with HFCS.

You can still eat 1-4 pieces of whole fruit a day is permissible – its fructose effects are ameliorated by the fibre (slows down digestion) and the presence of vitamins, minerals & antioxidants mean that fruit has more good than bad.

2. Increase your Omega 3’s

The ratio of your fatty acids is important to your overall health. We all know this. Just like we all know that our intake of Omega 6 is way higher than our intake of Omega 3 because of our use of canola oils etc etc.

Omega 3’s have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and have a host of other beneficial health effects. Cut down on the polyunsaturated oils, increase the olive oil, eat cold water fish, grass fed beef, lamb & take a fish oil supplement.

3. Add some Spice

This is a natural way to improve your Insulin Sensitivity...

Cinnamon has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity when a couple of grams a day are added to your diet. Numerous studies have shown it improves glucose uptake by the cells.

Oh yeah – it has to be cinnamon powder – not pop tarts or cinnamon donuts…

4. Have some Green Tea

Metformin is a prescription glucose dispersal drug that is given to folk in the pre-curser and then the actual type II diabetes stages.  It is expensive, and in the 90’s a lot of bodybuilders were using it. Why – well the role of any glucose dispersal agent is to mimic the effect of insulin in insulin resistant folk.

The good news is that green tea is also a glucose dispersal agent. So drinking 3 -5 cups a day can actually help improve your insulin sensitivity. Even better green tea’s action shows a distinct inclination towards pushing carbs to muscle cells and not to fat cells.

Sounds about perfect to me – and you don’t need a prescription!

5. Ditch the trans fats

Along with HFCS, trans fats are just about the worst substances that you can be ingesting. They are simply devastatingly bad for your health.

A mountain of research has shown that in addition to all of their other health destroying effects, trans fats also inhibit glucose dispersal and promote insulin resistance. They also have been shown to support preferential fat storage around the belly.

Check your labels and if you see trans fats or hydrogenated oils on them, find something else to eat.

Where do you sit on the low carb continuum?

Look if you are 20 or more pounds (10 kilos) above your fighting weight then the low carb (remember low processed High GI carbs!) is the best way to lose fat. Just be aware that apart from very fibrous carbs (like broccoli or spinach) you’re likely already very insulin resistant so just about any carbs you eat will end up being stored as fat unless you are doing regular challenging workouts and following the diet advice from previous blog posts.

The Research shows that the best approach for folk in this grouping to improve their insulin sensitivity is for them to lose body fat through low-carb / higher protein eating.

The good news is that the leaner you get the more diet options you have available to you.

A natural Glucose Dispersal Agent

If your  insulin resistance level is high, then your carb intake should be low. If your insulin sensitivity is high, then your carb  intake can be higher. Logically if your resistance / sensitivity is in the midle then modest carbs is the way to go.

Since insulin resistance is closely correlated with body fat so the fatter you are the fewer carbs you have. So if your body fat is above 20% for a male & 25% for a female – no carbs for you!! Well low GI carbs anyway in modest quantities.

If you run between 12 to 20 (or 25)% then you can up your carbs, especially if you are regularly working out.

Les than 10% – eat clean, but pretty much whatever you want.

So insulin has benefits as well as drawbacks and once again the negatives are tied to excessive processed carbs and trnsfats…

Be well, see you again soon.

Vitamin B & Fat Loss

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome back:

This week we’re going to look at three special B-Group Vitamins that compliment your fat-loss quest, while keeping you healthy and strong.

Losing body fat is a bit like fighting a war – you need the right strategy the right weapons and the right troops plus the will to overcome if you are going to win.

To win the war against excess body fat, the B-Group Vitamins should be amongst your best friends and a part of your arsenal. They’re a vital component of nutrition that enables your body to turn food into energy.

It is easier to work out and to exercise your will power when you are full of energy – without the B-group Vitamins your energy levels will be low and your ability to recondition your metabolism and to withstand temptation will fall. This in turn will make your fat-shedding efforts so much the harder…

There are three (3) main B vitamins that I want focus on. Individually they are important to your health – when used together they keep you strong, healthy, energised and compliment your fat loss efforts.

But first – What are B-Group vitamins exactly?

The B-Group Vitamins

The B-Group Vitamins are water-soluble vitamins. This simply means that they once they are processed by your body any excess is excreted in your urine.

Overdosing on B-Group is rarely an issue…

This also means that they are quickly depleted in situations of high sweat loss and activity. Because water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body in appreciable amounts and are used up and depleted rapidly, it’s important that you ensure that you are getting enough of them by eating foods that are rich in these vitamins or by taking a supplement to make sure that you have adequate levels in your system.

I recommend that you do both.

Drinking alcohol also increases the need for the B-Group Vitamins so after a heavy session of ‘glass raising’ taking a B supplement before hitting the sack is always a good idea. It’s even better if sleep is followed by another Vitamin B Group tab or 2 upon rising the next morning.

There are eight B-vitamins, which include thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), folic acid (B9), cyanocobalamin (B12), pantothenic acid and biotin.
These vitamins act as coenzymes and as catalysts in the chemical reactions that transfer energy from the food we eat to our body systems.

They are essential for the breakdown of the macronutrients(Carbs to glucose,

Hangover – alcohol increases your Vitamin B needs – a lot!!

proteins & fats to a number of elements essential for the repair and maintenance, growth, normal functioning of our nervous system and healthy hair, skin and nails. You need to be getting B-group Vitamins everyday – without them you’ll ail.

Several of these B-Group Vitamins are especially important to having a fast (ie fat burning) metabolism and by extension a leaner, fitter body.

Pyridoxine: Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 has three chemical forms (as pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine) and is the B-group Vitamin most necessary for proper protein metabolism. The coenzyme form of B6 is associated with more than 100 other enzymes which are critical for amino acid breakdown from protein foods and the conversion of certain amino acids from one type to another.

Amino acids as you know are essentially the body’s building blocks and are a necessary part of tissue repair, muscle growth, nerve sheaths, nails, hair etc etc.

B6 also helps your body to access and use the glycogen in your muscle cells for energy when you are moving and especially when you are working out. No glycogen = no movement.

If you’re not sleeping then your B-Group needs go up!!

Also the breakdown of glycogen plays an important part in the regulation of blood sugar levels (blood sugar is stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver but once these areas are full the excess is stored as body fat!).

Another important function of B6 is its ability to diminish the actions of hormones such as cortisol – the stress hormone. As we’ve previously explored on this blog when you’re under stress your body releases lots of cortisol which does a number of negative things primarily for our discussion – it promotes the storage of belly fat. It also promotes the breakdown & use of muscle tissue as fuel.

Great double whammy – you store more fat and lose muscle so your metabolism slows even further…

Adequate B6 levels are critical in times of stress (bad stress like job, money or relationship worries or even good stress like exercise) so your body does not store extra body fat and use precious muscle protein for energy.

Because B6 is so important for protein metabolism, it’s requirement depends on the

B-group helps you feel like this!!

amount of protein you consume on a daily basis. An intake of about 1.6 mg of B6 for every 100 g of protein is considered by the National Academy of Sciences to meet the needs of adults under normal conditions .

However, for athletes and people that exercise regularly (and often eat more protein), their vitamin B6 requirements will be higher given the greater need for energy and protein metabolism. Scientific studies have shown that exercise greatly depletes B6 levels in the body and needs to be kept in check through supplementation.

As you can see, when you’re an active person consuming more protein than the” Average Westerner”, your needs for vitamin B6 are increased, and it’s critical you get at least the minimum amount in each day.

Some of your best food sources of B6 include fortified cereals, potatoes, bananas, chickpeas and chicken (contains ~ 0.5-0.7 mg), but even if you are eating those foods you’d be wise to take a B-Group supplement.

Cobalamins: Vitamin B12.
What we call Vitamin B12 is actually a collection of compounds that are different molecules all containing the element cobalt. The most common form is the B12 vitamin known as cyanocobalamin.

The various forms of B12 work in the body to maintain normal brain and nervous system development and function, and play a role in influencing DNA synthesis and regulation.

B12 also plays an important role in the metabolism of fatty acids and creation of energy from foods containing fats.

You’ll hit the wall without enough B-Group Vitamins in your system… 

People with insufficient B12 in their diet suffer fatigue, depression, and can develop poor memory. In severe cases cracks may form in the corner of their mouth ( a condition known as angular cheilitis).

The cause of this tiredness and skin damage is related in part to B12’s role in red blood cell production which is necessary to carry oxygen and iron through the body. Because of this B12 is important in assisting the prevention of anaemia.

Athletes and hard exercisers may have low body B12 status, due to their increased metabolism and the raised demand for this vitamin to be used repair damaged blood cells and injured muscle tissue; and to carry more oxygen around in the blood while exercising.

This means that if you are working out regularly and hard then you will need more than the average daily allowance of ~2.4 mcg/day.

Vitamin B12 is only found in animal based foods so vegetarians – especially vegans – are

Good B6 Source – Chicken!!

at risk of developing the above mentioned symptoms of deficiency unless they supplement their dietary income.

The foods highest in B12 are shellfish (mussels, lobster), oily fish (trout, salmon, tuna), and organ meats (liver).

Biotin
Biotin is an essential cofactor for several key enzymes in the production of glucose (& glycogen) and the metabolism of fats and proteins. For example, in order for the liver to make glucose (through a process called gluconeogenesis), an enzyme essential to this process called pyruvate carboxylase requires biotin in order to function correctly. No biotin no liver produced glucose…

Biotin is also needed for the breakdown of the branch chain amino acids from protein (leucine, isoleucine and valine), and some fatty acids from fat-containing foods.

B-Group Vitamins help when you’re stressed…

People who exercise often have an increased need for biotin for several reasons:

• Increased metabolism resulting in the loss of this vitamin in urine or sweat
• Increased mitochondrial enzymes that require more biotin for cofactors
• Increased need for tissue repair and maintenance
• Increased food intake requiring biotin for metabolism

The richest source of Biotin is cooked eggs (Forget the ‘Rocky’ raw egg eating – raw egg whites bind biotin due to the protein avidin). Although the average daily allowance is set at least 30 mcg of biotin each day, there is no toxicity associated from higher intakes, especially in people who are active.

B-Group Vitamins = Good Health

As you can see, ideal intake of these B-Group Vitamins helps gives your body the energy

B-Group Vitamins help you look like this…

to exercise hard, so that you can burn more fat and build more lean muscle. If you’re constantly tired because your metabolism is sluggish, if you can’t create the right energy from the food you eat then you’ll be unable to rid your body of excess body fat or achieve a lean, strong physique. So, make sure that you get plenty of these simple but potent vitamins via eating unprocessed foods and topping up with a supplement.

If you do so then your body will lose fat, your metabolism will run better and your overall health will improve.

See you next week.

 

The Top Current Weight Loss Scams

Posted on by
2

Firstly let’s be clear – you want to look for fat loss not weight loss. You can lose weight through water loss, muscle loss or even bone mass loss – none of which will do anything except make you into a smaller ‘skinny’ fat person with a lousy metabolism and a host of health problems.

Secondly let’s take a look at what passes as the latest & greatest solutions to being ‘overweight’… Some are new, some are old timers dressed up in new clothes…

Everyday there seems to be a new miracle cure or miracle machine available everytime you turn on the TV. Each one promises 6-pack abs, and the body of your dreams ( also notice how most of them miraculously seem to give you a tan, whiter teeth, and big hair…)

But it is not just TV – every newspaper or magazine you pass on the newsstand or open has more miracles waiting for you to try – Pills, secret herbal formulas, tibetan fruits, extracts from the South Sea islands, Nepalese diets or yet other machines.

Radio has it as well, and so does the internet – especially the health & Lifestyle sections of on-line news… we are bombarded by the patently untrue mesage that there is amagic bullet, pill, potion, herb, diet or machine that will transform our bodies with minimal effort and virtually overnight.

Scam machines have been around for long, long time...

Emotionally we go “Well it sounds plausible, those people look a lot better and they couldn’t advertisie it if it didn’t work could they…’ This drowns out the logical part of us that goes ‘Hang on – None of this stuff I’ve tried has worked in the past, people get paid for these ads, this just can’t be right – it all seems too good to be true’

Marketing is an art that uses advertising to excite the emotional part of us and shut down the logical part. They do this by appealing to our vanity, our wants & desires; by having celebrities endorsing the latest machine / potion / pill and by using incredibly good looking people as demonstrators.

The truth is that far too often we fall into the artful marketing trap and end up buying a machine that does not do as it promises or else has a restrction on how heavy you can be to use it (and this is always not a level that enable males in particular to use them); or with pills / potions or lotions that just don’t work. Even worse is the diet plans that wreck your metabolism even further by encouraging poor nutrition or is impossible for an adult with a job or a family to keep to..

yep - that'll work...

Then if we do lose weight on the miracle program we put it all back on in short order and usually add a few pounds more than when we started.

Worst of all we waste our hopes, our time and our money things that just don’t work. Remember the old marketing adage – ‘Sell the sizzle, not the steak.’In short we waste time, energy and most of all hope on these scams.

I have personally beeen caught out by these things many times over the years and I want to help you avoid making the same mistakes that many of us make by getting involved in these rip offs.

Here are some of the curent ones:

Scam#1: The you-beaut, fantastic, proven by thermal imaging amazing 6-pack machine / gadget / device

Everyone wants a flat stomach. Every male (and quite a few females) want 6-pack abs and every year there are at least 7 or 8 new machines put out on the market. Each one promises that it is / uses the latest tchnology and will transform your body in only minutes a day or week.
(to be fair some of them also – usually passed over or in the fine print – mention that you have to use the machine AND their special diet as well to achieve results)

Of course we know that to lose fat we have to:

  • Create a calorie deficit
  • Manipulate your hormones through diet, food choice, frequency of meals
  • Exercise
  • Recondition & fire up your metabolism through all of the above.

Not only can you NOT lose fat by sitting / lying/ twisting / jumping on the latest machine for 7 or 10 minutes a day (or what ever the latest claim is ), you CAN’T spot reduce. No machine short of the ones plastic surgeons use for liposuction can deliver spot reduction. Not a one.

Oh yeah and doing 100’s of crunches doen’t reduce your fat or weight either.

Fat loss results happen due to reductions in the fat carrried by your entire body. Physiologically you can’t just burn the fat from a selected area. (although there is some research out about BAT – brown adipose tissue, a type of body fat designed for quick burning – that may support spot reduction in very specific areas 9 upper back – and under very specific conditions – just wait until the marketing guys get their hands on that!!)

What they promise...

The models using the machines were already in shape and were hired for the ads because they were in shape and could use the machine without falling off!! They shure did not get into shape using the machine they are smiling about on TV.

None of us should fall for the fiction that by by rocking back and fort or by circling or twist stepping that we will end up looking like the models. We let hope (or despair) overrule commonsense.

Still literally millions of these useless devices / machines are sold every year. I have a friend who has a collection fo them – all were flavour of the month for about 2 weeks – all ended up in the basement, the closet or under the bed. Not a few have made appearences on EBay.

All failed and yet my friend like others just keeps falling for the marketing again. And again. (By machines & devices I include sliders, treaders, walkers, gliders, swings, bean, roll ups twisters, circlers etc etc)

My personal favourite is the one that ‘works’ your abs by giving you small electric shocks. Comedian Robin Williams has got it 100% correct when he says: ‘You’d be better off wrapping it around your head, turning it on and saying ‘I will not buy stupid s*it like this again!!”

Scam #2: Special Super Weight Loss diet plans.

This one is easy to spot – it either involves diet plans that totally cut out an entire food group or it is based on using an exotic fruit / vitamin, extract or juice.

Another scam easy to spot is those diets that require you to eat only 1 type of food for an extended period of time – no-carb, low-carb, no meat, no cheese, no fish, lemon juice only, high protein, watermelon, no fruit, fruit only, cabbage soup, chicken fruit, Israeli Army diets, food combining, lemon pepper, grapefruit diets banana diets, bean diets, French diets, Hollywood diets, Beach diets, fat diets – etc etc

Not for the long term & most are a scam...

A hallmark of these types of diets is their lack of nutritional balance, their rebound weight gain after you go of them and a further slowing of your metabolism.

These all have several things in common – they do work (for a short while) for weight loss, they wreck your fat metabolism and they are a waste of time. Any severe alteration to food ingestion and reduction in calories will result in some weight loss, even, in some cases, some fat loss – but most of them cause weight loss by fluid loss and as these are often poor in terms of protein you also lose lean tissue. Result – an even more compromised metablism and rapid weight gain.

It may be necessary to recondition your metabolism and refresh your food habits by using a short term more restrictive program (like Lose 20 in 30) but unless such programs are nutritionally balanced and based around better dietary choices they will not work.

Of course once your metabolism is reconditioned then you can move to a lifestyle program that ensures you stay lean & fit & healthy.

Scam #3:  The ‘Unbelievable Body Transformation with a side of Miracle results in a short period of time’ Products

It is possible to lose 30 pounds or more of fat in a month – but this requires a strategic and holistic program covering diet, hormone manipulation, food choices, feeding frequency metabolic reconditioning and not a small measure of discipline. Fat loss of this magnitude cannot be continued on and on either – mentally & physically you will need a rest. My point is that to lose fat rapidly requires a structured, strategic program that covers a lot of ground.

If you see a diet plan that tells you you are going to see rapid, overnight results – you know the type ‘lose 10 pounds in 3 days!! – just walk away. If you see an ad for the latest fat burning / blocking / destroying pills – walk away. Because they don’t work in nearly all cases and the few that do only work for a short time.

If people are not trying to recondition their metabolism and are taking the long view, then losing up to 4 pounds (2 kilos) a week is about the average healthy fat loss. Most people who are watching their food choices, eating less processed crap and moving more tend to lose fat at this rate. Nearly everyone loses more weight in their first few weeks than later on. This is because of a number of factors. The main factor is homeostasis – your body does not like change and tries to stay the way it was before you began to alter your habits. The other reason is that a lot of the initial weight loss (not fat loss) can be fluid that is freed up as your body adjusts to new food choices and calorie limits.

It is also true that less fat you have to lose the slower you’ll lose it – see homeostasis above…

The miracle results scams usually require you to go a liquid / shake only diet, buy their special calorie controlled diet food or use special pills or / patches. All in all just a way to part you from your money. Again the results of these types of programs tend to be short term and when the pills run out (if not before), the last shake has been taken then the weight comes back. With a vengeance.

(I should point out that there are some Doctor prescribed medicines that do indeed speed metabolism and assist in fat loss, but these are not the ones you see with celebrity endorsements or on TV. Nor are they the ones you can buy over the internet, proper medically supervised liquid only diets do exist and they are used in life threatening circumstances and are administered in medical facilities – not your kitchen.)

But real fat loss, lasting leanness comes from what; when; & how much you eat and how often and how much & often you move. That’s it. No magic potions, pills, patches, foods or bullets exist to do the job for you. None.

Save your money and your emotional well being.

Scam #4: ‘Diet Foods & Foods that cry out ‘Fat Free’!!

My favourite – ‘Fat Free’ they scream from the packaging as if all fat was the enemy (its not) and yet they fail to mention the amount of sugar they have put in to the products to replace the fat, or the amount of indigestable gums they have added to replace the mouth feel of food that has had the fat removed.

Nutritionally these foods are a disaster area and they can actually add to a tendency to put on fat. Most of these pre-packaged, processed ‘fat-free’ foods contain a wide array of additives, such as high fructose corn syrup, refined sugars, MSG, sodium and saturated fats. Yes fat.

You see current US law requires that fat content of greater than five grams be listed in one gram increments, less than five grams be listed in .5 gram increments, and lower than .5 grams as containing zero grams of fat. Thius means that if a product has .49 grams of (any including trans) fat, the label can list the fat content as zero. In the case of trans fats this amount (.49 grams) is way over the recommended daily allowance and could contribute to various adverse health effects.

Moreover most of these foods are low in protein, which as regular readers of this blog know is needed to stimulate your metabolism, maintain and build muscle tone.

In theory, I like the idea of pre-packaged meals to assist in weight loss. They make it easier to control portion sizes but the truth is that they too are examples more of the marketer’s art than of any real fat loss benefit. Plus they tend to be more expensive than real food.

Then there is the issue of dependence – what happens if someone stops using these foods and has not learnt about proper food choices? They return to old habits and the cycle begins again…

So if you’re thinking about using pre-packaged foods because of the convenience factor, just be sure to look at the ingredients and if you see a high amount of sugars and gums put them back on the shelf. After all, many pre-packaged diet foods are stuffed with additives that encourage rather detract from obesity.

Scam #5: Celebrity or fake doctor-endorsed diets.

Celebrities are paid big bucks to endorse products – famously many Hollywood types go to Japan and make millions by endorsing products that have not and never will use.

But they wouldn't use it if it didn't work...

It is not so different in the West. Celebrity endorsement works – people want to be ‘Like Mike,’ they want to be able to identify with their heros – whether from sports or entertainment.

Look use commonsense – if a celebrity is promoting a product the chances are they did not use it to get the way they look, or to gain the effect of the product they are promoting. (I think that Chuck Norris is one of the few who actually used a product they promoted – the body weight gym thing.) Even if the celebrity actually used the product does not mean that it is safe, effective or works – just that the celebrity involved has a bit more integrity than others…

Look don’t trust celebrity advice on weight loss. Particularly if you know they’re being paid to say what the company wants them to say. Just because an actor used to star in your favorite TV show, doesn’t mean they’re suitable to, or qualified to, give you cogent weight loss advice. Remember, most celebs, even the Bor D grade ones, have a whole behind-the-scenes team helping them get, look and stay slim.

Worse still are the Doctors for hire. In Australia we see few medicos endorsing weight loss products, but we do see an endless stream of nutritionists, dieticians and personal trainers doing so. This is not the case in other countries where you can add Doctors for Hire to the advertising mix.

In these cases it is usually some Doctor (often a Dentist, a Chiropractor, Doctor of Philosophy or from some non-medico type) you have never heard of touting some miracle pill / potion / device that is a breakthrough you’ve also never heard of. Just remember he is being paid for his time & endorsement. Many of these Docs for hire hail from fields of study that have as much to do with fat loss as a mechanic has to do with flower arranging.

Scam #6: Toning Shoes & Shake Weights

It seems that everyone has their own version of ‘toning shoes’ out now. Target & K Mart carry in-house brands, and many international footwear companies have their own versions. Does this proliferation mean that they work? Do the celebrity endorsements mean that these are one of the ‘secret’ tricks used by the celebs in question to stay in shape?

No – it just means that the idea behind them is logical enough that a whole lot of people are buying them.

By stimulating various muscle groups through an unstable platform, these shoes supposedly increase both muscle tone and weight loss. Unfortunately testing by various consumer groups have conclusively proven that this is not the case and that the shoes could in fact cause you injury.

Just because a celeb says they use them doesn’t make it true. And even if they do, it doesn’t mean that they work…

Just like Shake Weights.

Apparently there are hundreds of fit, chiselled, lean men & women who shake weights for 15 minutes a day to get in and stay in shape. Entire armies of closet weight shakers…

If you look at the weights involved and how they are supposed to used youn will see that they are closer in concept & performance to those Ab belts of the 70’s & 80’s. or take a look at your local bar tender – he is unlikely to show a musclar physique from all of those cocktails he has shaken and served…

Sorry – they don’t work – the idea that the vibration they provide stimulates your muscles enough to burn significant calories and stimulate muscle growth is laughable.

Stay away from them.

Scam #7: Performance enhancing hologram embedded braclets.

Seriously a piece of silicon rubber with a ‘hologram’ embedded in it is supposed to enhance your athletic ability and therfore assist in developing the body & sport’s perfomance of your dreams. And this piece of ‘technology’ only costs $60 (unless you go to EBay & buy from China where this fashion accessory will cost you about $2)

In Australia they have had to withdraw their claims and offer refunds...

I really don’t have to go any further with this one do I??

So there you have it – some of the top weight loss scams to avoid.

Be well, I’ll be back soon, and focussing on foods you can add to your diet to help you drop the fat..

The Top 20 Time-Tested Healthy Habits for a Longer Life

Posted on by
1

Happy New Year!! I hope that you all had a great & safe new Year’s celebration.

Now the hangovers are done with and we are in the middle of resolution time I thought that I would share the following list with you…

So without further ado here are The Top 20 time-tested healthy habits to living longer that have survived for centuries…

1.     Eat fewer processed carbs, more plants, fruits and nuts.

2.      Have some lean protein with every meal.

Eat more of these with lean protein

3.      Put family first – Time with family is priceless and usually lowers stress levels and hence lowers cortisol which means les storage as belly fat.

4.       Take a walk. Move more we were not meant to sit all day or stay in the one spot. Have a stroll every 45 minutes – even if it is just for 5 minutes.

5.      Drink a glass of red wine daily. Reveratol etc etc – red still beats white for the good health properties.

6.      Reduce and manage stress by exercising, talking with a loved one or taking up a practise like Mediation, Tai Chi or Yoga. Bottomline stress kills so avoid it, reduce it or deal with it!

7.      Have a purpose find something that excites you when you wake up each morning.

8.      Spend more times outdoors – it will re-connect you with the world ourside your house & place of work.

9.      Be grateful – appreciate what you’ve got more than you rue what you do not.

10.  Have fun – do things that you enjoy, love life!

Move more, lift, push pull & play...

11.  Maintain a healthy body weight – recondition that etabolism, get leaner, eat better, avoid ingesting too much crap.

12.  Get regular exercise – push, pull. twist, run, walk, move weights, jump and play. Just move more. Remember we were designed to hunt, nit sit all day.

13.  Love and laugh – at the same time wherever possible (except when eating – messy…)

14.  Snack on nuts and low GI vegetables, low GI fruit and low fat cheese.

15.  Give something back. No esoteria here but paying things forward, giving when you whave wants seems to smooth the way…

16.  Eat 6 times a day – 3 ‘mains’ and 3 ‘snacks’

17. Eat a large breakfast with protein and good carbs.

18.  Eat a medium lunch –

19.  Eat a small dinner

20.  Drink plenty of water.

You can't get enough of this...

21.  Sleep when it’s dark.

22. Learn new things. It keeps you young, your brain working and lets you talk to others.

Well that was 22 but I couldn’t find anyhting about counting correctly when I researched this…

Next Post – we’re back into firing up your metabolism, getting leaner and some more hormone news…

Try this Trick to Avoid Overeating on Christmas Day…

Posted on by
1

Happy Festive Season to you & yours from me & mine!!

Look – we all know what is going to take place once the presents are opened, the hugs exchanged, and you and your family sit down for Christmas lunch – you’re going to eat too much, way too much.

If you’re like me, you vow every ear not to overindulge and every year you slip up. ( in my case it is particularly hard – Lynne is a gourmet class cook who loves to put on a huge spread for the family for Christmas and damn it she knows ALL my favourites!!)

The Calm Before the Storm...

The aromas of the Turkey, of the roast Pork, the leg of Lamb, the baked Ham; the sight of the salads, the roast vegetables, the fresh  prawns and sea food, then desserts – all of these combine to overwhelm even the best intentions and steeliest of wills.

So what to do?

How can we avoid eating until we are so full that we feel like the Michelin Man and need to have a lie down?

How can we avoid the latent guilt that comes up over the next few days and makes us feel bad about our lack of control?

It’s simple – apart from the most fanatical amongst us we really can’t… BUT there is one simple thing we can do that will give us at least a modicrum of control…

Eat your Protein foods first. (Hah!! You thought I was going to say use smaller plates, or drink a glass of water first, or chew on a chunk of cheese  – Nope – a very important part of Christmas is to celebrate and to let go – even if it is just a bit!)

Start off with the Ham or the Turkey, with the Pork or the Lamb or the Prawns – just eat your proteins first.

If you have been reading this blog for a little while  you’ll know that Protein foods not only fill you up faster, but they assist in the the secretion of the chemical messengers that let your brain know you are full.

In general it takes about 20 minutes from the time your stomach is full until your brain gets this message, but Protein has the ability to send get that message from your stomach to your brain much faster than other nutrients. Protein promotes feelings of satiety (feeling full & satisfied at the same time) better than any other food.

Start with this...

Eating your Protein first will prevents over eating because it helps you realize you’re well-fed and not starving!! Even better, Protein will not elevate your blood sugar as dramatically as high GI ‘fast’ carbs. A rapid rise in blood sugar (almost an instant hyperglycemia experienced at just about every Christmas Dinner) can actually make you feel more hungry by stimulating the hormone Ghrelin which is the ‘feed me more’ appetite stimulating hormone. Protein shuts down this hormone – a good thing!

Even worse a sugar ‘high’ actually switches off your ‘stop eating you’re full’ mechanisms so you get shaky and start shovelling food in – usually faster and faster, without even really tasting it.

Instead, protein keeps your blood sugars within a normal range so you don’t go through the rollercoaster highs and lows that make you feel even less satisfied.

So Protein first, then eat the high fibre vegetables (think brocolli, green beans, asparaghus etc). These too will add your sense of satiety so you feel full & satisfied.

Then it is open slather – go for the high carb, low fibre fare but you’ll likely find that your servings will be smaller and you will need less to satisfy your taste for them.

There you have it – a simple plan for Christmas that will enable you eat well, feel full & satisfied, indulge without bloating and more importantly not upset the cook by eating like a monk!!

I hope that you & your families have a great Festive Season, no matter what your spiritual beliefs.

May your God go with you!

Enjoy!

So Are Low Carb Diets Still Effective For Fat Loss?

Posted on by
Reply

Hi welcome back!!

Low carb diets are back in the news again so it seeems timely to revisit them. Let’s be clear – cutting out ANY macronutrient group is a mistake, BUT certainly sub-types of macronutrients should be curtailed for health benefits and fat loss.

Say Low Carb & most fok think that this about all you can eat...

There is no doubt & lots of studies that prove that Low Carb diets result in weight loss (not just fat – more on this later) for those who follow the protocols correctly. The protocol, roughly speaking is eating less than 100 grams of carbs per day over an extended period of time. (in the Atkins phasing in period it is down to 20 or 30 grams)

The instinctive knee jerk from the popular press and most nutritionists is that low carb diets are bad for your health. A lot of these people who lost weight on these older style low carb diets became, in effect, skinnier fat people.

This is because shedding carbs usually involves water loss and if too severe for too long can also result in muscle being broken down for fuel in preference to fat – so you lose weight but end up percentage-wise just as fat as before. But with less muscle, a slower metabolism and rebound weight that is incredible to endure!!

The howls of outrage about the evils of low carb are based upon outmoded, and frankly decades old types of low carb diets. Originally Atkins cut out all types of carbs, but as the years went by they then developed the idea of ‘net carbs’ where eating fibre rich carbs was okay as these were nutritionally dense but calorie & more importantly sugar poor.

So the idea of low carb meaning no carbs at all is not only out of date and old fashioned but it is plain wrong. Likewise the idea that low carb means that you must eat loads of fat. The best low carb diets do NOT advocate an open slather approach to fat in your diet – they advocate eating lean protein wherever possible.

These days low carb means cutting out processed carbs, and eating your fill of fresh vegetables and some fruit. Eating low carb in this fashion supplies all of the nutrients that the nutritionists are concerned about you missing out when you eat ‘traditional’ low carb.

Not a lot of processed carbs here...

But there has been further research papers published recently that shows that folk on low carb diets did not lose a lot of weight.

Let’s talk weight first – the most beneficial thing for your health, if overweight, is to lose fat. Losing weight is a misnomer and a dangerous one. Many diets cause you to lose weight through water and muscle loss. The infamous detox & some shake only diets do this which is why the rebound weight gain is so high. Unfortunately when this happens you ahave less muscle, your metabolism has slowed and you find it harder to lose fat. And so it goes.

Upon examination however it turns out that the folk who ate low carb had one or more of the following failings:

1) They cut carbs but kept their alcohol consumption at their regular level. Alcohol, as we’ve noted in other posts, kills fat loss.
2) They didn’t eat lean meat & protein but went the high fat route. Again not the way to lose weight nevermind about fat.

Not lean - High Protein should not mean high fat!!


3) For a number of people dropping back to 100 grams of carbs was not really going low carb, just dropping their own carb intake lower. 100 grams of carbs is considered moderate in most studies.
4) At the other end were the folk who declared all carbs bad and so deprived their bodies of not only the preferential fuel source but also a lot of needed nutrients.

So what is the right way to use a low carb diet?

Well firstly you should view it as a lower processed carb diet – not a low carb one.
When followed properly, a lower processed carb diet sees you eat more lean protein to supply your body the nutrients to build new lean muscle. The amino acids from protein sources can also be used to provide your body with some of its energy needs.

Couple this with a moderate intake of healthy fats, a lowered alcohol intake and you have a solid basis to lose fat.

As you’ve heard me say before – carbs are not the enemy but we tend to eat not only too many carbs but too many of the wrong types of carbs. In the main eating high GI, highly processed carbs leads to fat gain.

So doing something as simple as replacing half of your current processed carb intake with low GI un- or lightly processed carbs may very well help you to begin to lose fat.

This is why a lower processed carb diet may be beneficial to you is because it forces you to stop eating all the processed simple carbs that usually contain a lot of calories but not a lot of nutrients. And we know that a lack of needed nutrients leads to cravings and increased hunger which leads to more eating which leads to…

By eating a greatly reduced amount of processed carbs you also re-train your body to adjust the way it utilises the calories. Add to this the increase in lean protein with good fats and your body will become more efficient at functioning with fewer sugars. Also by lowering processed carbs it becomes easier to use up the stored carbs and fat you are carrying around.

Following a low processed carb diet is an effective way to lose fat, to learn to eat in a healthier manner by choosing better foods and training your body to use the nutrients differently and more efficiently.

The original low carb approach had a lot to recommend it but the true value lies in a low processed carbs diet. This is the one that works.

Have you followed a true low carb diet before? Were you successful with it?
Let me know in the comments section below…

New study shows that being even a kilo of fat overweight can shorten your life!!

Posted on by
1

Hi – Welcome Back!!

If you are 20 lbs (9 kg) or more overweight not only is your metabolism broken but a new study reports that even one extra kilo raises death risk.

The American Cancer Society has just released a study which involved about 1.5 million people.
Its findings? Aim to get slim and stay there.

This is one of the largest studies ever undertaken that looks at weight and the correlation between the two.

Way over a few pounds overweight...

The surprise is that you DONT have to be classed as obese to raise the chance of dying prematurely. Just being overweight carries an increased risk of early death.

The contribution of overweight to early death has been controversial up until now with the majority opinion being that a little extra flesh on your bones is not necessarily a bad thing. There has even been some research (including a somewhat controversial 2005 study by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) that concluded being overweight didn’t raise the risk of death) and suggested that a little pudge has little effect on overall longevity or mortality.

I think that this idea of a ‘little extra reserve’ helps you prevent becoming ill is a hangover from the old days when food was scarce. In the West this has been as recent as during WWII.

Not anymore! Because of its size ( the researchers pulled together 19 separate studies that ranged in length for 5 – 28 years in length) and the diversity of the studies included it would seem that the research provides strong evidence against the notion that it’s okay or even a good thing for your health if you are overweight.

The researchers excluded those who developed cancer, smoked or has heart disease so the focus would be on weight. The conclusion of this latest study (remember 1.5 million people!) was that otherwise healthy but overweight white adults were 13 per cent more likely to die during the time they were followed during the study than those whose weight was in an ideal range.

This conclusion was published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine and is similar to those of three other large studies suggesting that there is no an increasing and large (no pun intended!!) body of evidence that supports the finding that being overweight, even if not obese, is associated with an increase in the risk of death.

The less you are overweight, the smaller the risk increase but there is still an increase regardless.
I have a couple of issues with the study though – they used the body Mass Index – a measurement of obesity based on a formula using weight & height – which as we all know does not allow for a person’s levels of activity or more importantly take into account the amount of lean tissue that they are carrying. Overweight begins at a BMI measurement of 25, obese at 30 and morbidly obese at 40.

Most world class sprinters and other sportspeople are classified as obese by the BMI when clearly they are not…

By any standard the BMI is not an accurate predictor of individual obesity. However when applied over a wide subject group it is a tolerable ‘rule of thumb’.

There was a correlation between the findings on early mortality and the BMI of the subjects – basically the higher your BMI (the more obese the subject) the higher the increase in early mortality. Compared with subjects whose BMI was in the ‘normal’ range,, those who were overweight had a 13 percent increase in early death. If the BMI classified the subject as obese then the risk increase range was from 44 to 88 per cent. The morbidly obese for those who were obese carried a 2.5 times increase in the likelihood of their dying prematurely.

So what is the take away from all this?? (well cut down on take aways for a start…)
Recondition your metabolism so that it is burning fat and use the information provided here to shift your body from overweight to lean.

Back soon…

Is there a Correlation between Obesity and low Fruit & Vegetable Intake?

Posted on by
1

Hi Welcome back!

Well is there a correlation between low Fruit & Vegetable & High Obesity rates? It certainly seems so…

The USA’s (& by extension the Western world in general) Fruit and Vegetable Intake has now become a Major Chronic Public Health Issue.

Vegetables in Bowl

Hmmm... looks like we don't these very much at all!

In November 2010, The Produce for Better Health Foundation has just released its ‘State of the Plate’ report and the results are a shocker!!

Back in 2000 the USA Health Department (with other government agencies) set targets for fruit & vegetable consumption. Targets that have been sorely missed…Back then the goal was to get every American eating an average of 5 – 13 servings of Fruit & Vegetables every day.

The averages, according to the State of the Plate are 1.13 cups of vegetables and 0.68 cups of fruit every day. A long way away from the targets… In fact only 6% of people hit the vegetable target and 8% for the fruit intake. In plan terms over 90% of the American public do not eat enough fruit & vegetables on a regular basis. The reality is that the average American eats 2-3 servings a day combined!

Despite a positive rises in fruit & vegetable consumption by under 6 year olds and in the 6 – 12 year old groups (Fruit 11% & & 7%, Veges 3% and 2% respectively) 13 – 17 year old reduced their consumption. As did the men 45-54 and women 55 and older…No group increased consumption by more than 5%.

These results are in spite of enormous advertising and public education programs run by groups like the National Fruit & Vegetable Association. Obviously newer and more effective programs need to be developed.

Not only is this frightening, but it highlights what must surely be a looming chronic public health issue. It is well accepted by now that by including fruits and vegetables as major components of a healthy diet there is a reduction in the risk of chronic diseases such as stroke, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and even certain types of cancer. Fruit & Vegetables also help reduce body fat because they are high in nutrients and fibre, but low in calories.

Out of the top 10 states with the highest rates of obesity, eight of them had the lowest per individual consumption of vegetables and fruit. There seems to a direct correlation between the amount low / no or unprocessed carbs consumed and the amount of obesity present. Plainly, as a general rule, the fewer fruits & vegetables you eat the fatter you are.

too tight jeans

Not enough Fruit & Vegetables being eaten here!!

With obesity related health care costs of an estimated $147 Billion (more than the GDP of some countries!!) in 2008, the USA is spending around 10% of its total outlay on healthcare in this area. I know that here in Australia that our spending is also on the rise…It seems like a high price to pay for not eating your Fruit & veges….

But it gets worse – it is unlikely that even the 8% who hit their 12-15 servings a day are not eating a wide enough variety of colourful fruits and vegetables to get all of the necessary vitamins and minerals for good health. No wonder Doctors are regularly suggesting people take a multivitamin every day – something unheard of a decade ago.

What can you do? Follow the information being put out here on this blog – move more, eat less processed foods and increase your lean protein, fruit & vegetable intake.