The Passing of someone ‘On the path’…

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Welcome back…

No training info this week, just a short eulogy.

On Thursday last my best friend, someone I called brother, even though we weren’t, passed away at the age of 41. Daran Pratt was, and is, the exemplar of the standard to which Personal Trainers should be judged against. From a background of chronic substance abuse that lasted for decades from his early teens, Daran overcame all that life through at him until the very last.

Daran & Trinity

At the time of his death Daran was a published author (check out his bio & book at www.onthepath.com.au ), professional speaker, lead singer in a rock band( www.satyrico.com ) life coach, Martial Artist, knife aficionado and a Personal Trainer who had just sold the gym he & his wife Trinity had built up to the best ‘alternative’ gym in the area. With Trinity by his side; they worked as a team that saw them go from broke to comfortable in a few very short years. God knows they deserved it given where they started from and how hard they worked for it all…

Daran loved to train, a skilled CSSD/SC, Muay Thai, MMA & Krav Maga exponent & trainer, he loved to spar, kettle bells & ropes, sandbags & clubs, tyres and barbells  – in fact anything that fitted his philosophy of functional fitness. He eschewed chronic cardio, the typical big gyms, their results and their ethos. He preferred to train people in a way that was fun, challenging and delivered results in a short space of time. More than a few of his clients credit him and his methods with saving their lives and getting them off expensive & financially draining medications.

Likewise his life coaching clients also achieved goals and dreams with his guidance & insight.

He was a big kid, whose restless mind saw him start many projects at the same time, often moving on before they were completed, and then coming back to them for a second go round. Some his favourite moments came from kayaking or paddle boarding on Brisbane waters or at the Haven near Terrigal.

No – he was not a saint. He was a man of great & varied passions; who also had an explosive temper could sometimes be petty and on the odd occasion cruel, callous and thoughtless.

Told you he liked functional style training...

More often than not though, he was caring, empathetic, patient and loving. And strong.  Really strong in character, beliefs and body. Daran proudly took no crap from anyone. A wide eyed dreamer with vast energies, he had achieved many of his dreams and goal and was working on the next set – including a drug rehabilitation centre – at the time of his passing.

He was larger than life, loved sake, hated cider and was the ‘glue’ that held a diverse group of people together. He will be missed sorely by those that knew him and, unbeknowingly, by those who did not.

I loved this man as a friend & brother and, like so many others, miss him already.

For those that knew him no further explanation is necessary, for those who did not, no explanation is perhaps possible.

Vale, Daran

No More Excuses – Plan your new body using the New Financial year…

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Welcome back!!

Let’s put a new spin on the usual New Year’s Resolution  mess – let’s use the start of the new Financial Year (July 1st)  as the deadline to get our house in order and be ready and able to shed fat, refire our metabolisms and get healthier & fitter!!

This is how it works – it’s the 10th of June as I write this and you have until the 30th to get your kitchen prepared and ready for the next 12 months of right eating, exercising and living…You’ll have to hustle to get everything ready for the new, improved you…

Why wait for january 1st??

What will your fridge have inside of it? Your cupboards and your pantry? What will be in your freezer? Don’t forget – you cannot out train a poor diet so your health & leanness and fitness will depend upon on your kitchen and food supply…

The question is this. Is your kitchen prepared for the new you? Will they look inside your fridge and be impressed with your nutritional choices or will they cancel their developing path in your future? Will they have to call in a kitchen version of Extreme Makeover?

In this week’s blog I’m not going to try to give you an idea of what, where, when and why to eat – I presume that you’ve done enough research both here and on other blogs to have an idea of what works best for your body to become fit & lean…

Instead I’m going to try to give you an idea of the action-steps you need to take in order to execute your ‘new, leaner me’ plan effectively in  FY 2011/12.

Get Started- Create a Safe House

No – not one with safety bumpers and all sharp corners padded… Before the new Financial Year arrives you have to get the nerve centre of the house, the very heart of it in shape. We need to alter it so that it starts to resemble a place where Pro athletes and the lifelong lean come to eat. Let’s try to set a high standard from the get go. If you want a healthy lifestyle, a lean fit body then your kitchen has to become transformed into a place where you can eat like a champion.

The plan is to remove all foods that are not conducive to and supportive of your revitalised metabolic, lean body, fit goals and replace them with foods and a variety of better choices that do.

I’ve already made reference to the study that showed the closer candy is the ore you eat, the more visible junk food is the more folk eat…so if you get the junk food, the processed food out of the house you will not eat it. If it is there don’t try to kid yourself – you will eventually eat it.

If they're in your house you'll eat them sooner or later...

The key here is to view your home like a Neighbourhood Watch credentialed ‘safe house’ – that is a place where you can find sanctuary from poor foods & food choices. A safe place where you are free from all the temptations of the food we know do not support a reconditioned, fat free, lean physique. Everywhere else you go there will be temptation – fast food for the quick lunch, finger food at socials, alcoholic beverages at parties, sweets at a friend’s house or apartment, birthday cake at work and.. the list goes on. With all of this temptation, this potential for sabotage, you need to create a safe house you can return to each night.

Here’s how to do it right for  FY 2011/12:

The Fridge and Pantry Makeover

Okay – empty your fridge, pull everything out & put it on the kitchen counters. Look at the cornucopia of uncleanness you have brought into the light of day… and move it to one side for the moment. Now strip out the pantry – same drill put everything onto the kitchen counter, if you don’t have room then bring out the garbage bin, put a fresh liner into it and walk around and start to fill it…

Now you need to call your family, your wife, your husband, or your boy / girlfriend together ‘cause tis fridge & pantry cleaning time!

For some reason it is easier to re-stock a clean empty fridge with healthy food choices if it has been scrubbed within an inch of its life first. Don’t take my word for it – try it!!(if you are feeling really ambitious throw in an oven clean as well…)

What to put in the Bin

In reality there are few actually ‘bad ‘foods, just foods that are eaten at the wrong times. An occasional Big Mac or packet of crisps or Mars bar or handful of M&Ms will not hurt you – the trick is occasional.

Here are some guidelines that, if you follow them, will get you into a smaller pair of jeans sooner…

SODAS AND JUICES – Both are essentially water and sugar – if you want fruit eat the real thing or juice your own.

PROCESSED MEAT – store pre-made burgers, sausages, pepperoni, bacon and related foods are

Fats, Nitrates & sodium - not what you want to be eating...

absolutely full of fat. We know that all fat is not bad for us but heaps of saturated fat with lots of nitrates (just one of the 10+ preservatives used in the meat processing industry) lots of sodium and you have a heap of protein that will set your health & quest for leanness way back. These foods are NOT good sources of protein.

FROZEN DESSERTS AND ICE CREAM – Sugar, artificial colours, preservatives, fats – nothing here is a good choice to eat. Want some dessert try Greek yoghurt with some peanut butter whipped in…

SAUCES & DRESSINGS – doesn’t matter the name if it falls into the categories of ketchup, barbecue or mustard sauce, mayonnaise, French, Italian or greek dressing most of these are really just another way to get a lot of HFCS. Use pan juices or homemade. You’re much better off spicing up your meals naturally with spices and herbs and just avoiding all the sugar and extra empty calories commercial sauces & dressings provide.

PROCESSED FOODS – View with suspicion anything that is in a box, a wrapper or bag. Especially beware those with lots of bright colours and which proclaim ‘Low Fat’ or ‘Reduced’ something… You should hear an air raid siren when you look at these types of ‘food’ choices. Rule of thumb – if sugar (any type) is in the top 5 ingredients, if it appears in more than 1 form or if the label has more than half a dozen ingredients that sound like they belong in a Lab – then out it goes.

More likely than not what you were looking at was de-natured, processed, nutrient-sparse and not really fit for humans to eat. Most of these foods have a long list of binders and fillers that give a longer shelf life but add nothing nutritionally. The other test is if your Grandmother would not recognise it as  food then out it goes… Avoid this processed stuff at all cost!

SAVOURY BISCUITS & CRACKERS – As per the above – but with the delights of added sodium and more than likely a helping of trans fats…

BISCUITS & COOKIES – Fat, sugars, flavourings, binders, fillers, artificial creams – just a disaster..

White flour as an ingredient - not what we want...

WHITE FLOUR & WHITE FLOUR PRODUCTS – Let’s see white bread, bagels & rolls, packet cake mixes, muffins, etc etc. Denatured, nutrient sparse and bad for you. Whilst there is a growing view (supported by science) that we are not meant to eat grains or grain products the ones we do eat come from sources where the nutritional value has been all but removed in the processing. The removal in milling of a wheat seed’s bran and its ‘germ’ sees over 70% of the nutrients also taken out. (0+% of fibre is lost and then the resulting denatured mess is bleached to get that lovely, deathly shade of white so it looks attractive and has a long shelf life…

Then of course they add back vitamins & minerals & fibre – they call this enriching – but use the cheapest materials possible to supposedly add nutritional value when really all that is occurring is a shell game to cover up the paucity of real nutrients present.

PASTA – unless it is wholemeal (and even then it is a bit suspect) out it goes for all of the reasons pertaining to white flour.

POTATO CHIPS – Loads of saturated fat? Lots of sodium? Lots of laboratory designed ‘nature identical’ flavourings? Colourings? Preservatives? Yep – they’ve got them all…If you have to have potato chips use your oven & make your own. The chemical load from these store bought ones put one heck of a strain on your body…

ANY ‘SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS’ IN CONTAINERS – TUPPERWARE OR OTHERWISE – Good rule of thumb, great lamb roast or not, terrific stir fry ot stew if it has been in the fridge for more than a day after it was first served up it is time to go…Likewise check the ‘Use By’ or ‘Best By’ dates on foods as well. If they are past it throw them.

Check your labels – Trans fats – in the bin, Sugar in the top 5 ingredients? In the bin. Sugar over 12

Now stage 2...

grams per serve – in the bin. You know what to look for – really look at the packaged food labels & don’t be surprised if most of it you throw out (or put in a box and give you your neighbours or your son’s girlfriend’s family – whatever, whomever – just get it out of the house!!

Now What to Add to the Kitchen

Feeling virtuous now? In charge? A little guilty perhaps – no matter here is what you need to use to replace all of the non-goal supporting food stuffs. Your pantry & fridge probably look like Old Mother Hubbard’s place and that means that it is time to re-stock it.

BEVERAGES – Water, water & more water – get several litres / quarts a day into you. Drink filtered or boiled and avoid tap water unless you live in an area with safe supplies. Don’t buy bottled water – it is more expensive than petrol or scotch, and bad for the environment.

Have some green tea, make some of your own juices and perhaps a glass of red wine (a glass not several)…If you must have a zero calorie soda but if you can avoid all sodas, store bought fruit juices, flavoured milk, store bought iced teas, etc etc

BEEF, LAMB, FISH – go for lean cuts, use a slow cooker for cheaper cuts, get creative on the barbeque or watch Master Chef. Fresh Salmon is great!Lean protein is an absolute must!

BONELESS CHICKEN THIGH FILLETS & BREASTS – Essential, wonderful, versatile, low fat high protein. The thigh fillets stay moister and have more flavour but are a little fattier.

LEAN TURKEY OR CHICKEN SAUSAGES – Great for a change and for breakfast – again go for low processed ones. (My local butcher makes his own)

Lean protein is on the list to keep!!

LEAN TURKEY AND CHICKEN MINCE – Another great way to add variety to meals.

TINNED SALMON OR TUNA – water packed and low salt. Great for a snack or a standby…

COOKING SPRAY – Olive oil is best, canola second, nothing else is third or below…

CHEESE – Use in moderation but am important source of calcium, protein minerals and more. Have a variety of soft & hard, use as a garnish or to flavour salad. Beware parmesan that is not bought in a block – check the label. Avoid processed cheddars – you know the ones the soft, yellow plastic like ones…

NUTS & DRIED FRUIT – Brazil nuts for their zinc (men you need this – trust me!), walnuts for their ‘best of all nuts’ antioxidant profile, macadamias for their beneficial fats. No salted or roasted, no mixed or sugar coated…Dried fruits are packed with energy & calories. Use to head off sweet cravings and for a snack replacement, Use sparingly – they are calorie heavy. Also be careful – many dried fruits have an ingredient profile to match food from a box. Read the labels.

EGGS – For the socially conscious & well heeled chose free range, for the rest of us aim to get Omega 3 eggs in preference to others. Bottomline, no matter the source eggs are the closest thing nature has produced to the perfect convenience food.

FRUIT – Get an assortment of types & colours. Aim for at least a couple of pieces everyday and yes – one of them should be an apple of some variety.

A VARIETY OF GREEN TEAS – Plain green tea is great but  like the peppermint variety – up to you. Again just check your labels because even tea can be stuffed up.

GRAINS & GRAIN BASED FOODS – I love my bread – especially the ‘rustic’ styles and a bacon &

Get ready to drink lots of this...

cheese pull apart…But I indulge in these white flour products at Sunday brunch only. The rest of the time it is real wholemeal, seeded or rye. In every case it is used sparingly.

In terms of grain foods – oats, steel curt in preference to instant 9additives) but oats for breakfast along with an egg, a coffee and fesh juice is the best way I know to start off a working day…

PASTA, NOODLES & RICE – Not eaten very often, always wholemeal for pasta, brown for rice and as low preservative / low additive as possible for noodles. Never white rice or ‘normal’ pasta.

BEANS / LEGUMES – Kidney beans, split peas, chickpeas and lentils are excellent sources of fibre, a great way to add body to a stew or casserole of substance to a salad. Look for tinned with few ingredients beyond the beans & water or go frozen.

SAUCES AND CONDIMENTS – Make your own (it’s worth the trouble) use vinegar, olive oil infused with spices, wine or again – low ingredient ones from the store. Look in the Asian section of your supermarket – try adding coconut milk or even using some of the green or yellow curries.

SPICES – Rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil, mints, chilli, coriander, oregano – the list is almost endless – not only do ‘hot’ spices give your metabolism a boost but spices in general add flavour, lift a dish and also boost your immune system. Grow them yourself or get fresh ones…

VEGETABLES – Easy lots & lots of these with as wide a variety of type & colours as you can find. 4 or

Spices - boost immune systems, metabolism & flavour!!

5 servings a day. Buy often to ensure freshness. Greengrocer in preference to supermarket, market in preference to greengrocer. Staples to have are: spinach, broccoli, capsicum / peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, mushrooms, Spanish onions, cucumbers, sweet potato, Bok Choy, fresh garlic & ginger, celery and carrots.

Planning & then Shopping Smart

Create a weekly meal plan based along sound nutritional (ie low processed carbs, high lean protein, high natural carbs) and shop to this. On average you will be eating between 21 and 42 times a week, every week depending whether or not you are eating 3 or 6 (recommended) times a day.

Aim for a 90% success rate. When, if, you fall short and eat some crap don’t berate yourself, enjoy the fact that you are indeed human and then get back into the right food right action saddle.

It can be hard replacing old behaviours with new habits (that’s all habits are – repeated behaviours) but once you have done something 21 times in a row it becomes a new habit. This is not as easy as it sounds but it holds enough truth for you to use it as a guideline! Add in the 90% compliance target and eating better is not as daunting as it first seems.

Use a list when shopping. Develop the list from your meal plan. Plan to buy fresh foods a couple of times during the week. Plan to buy non-perishable foods in bulk to cut down on expenses & time.

Shop the periphery of the supermarket (the fresh, frozen & refrigerated food departments) first then dive – fleetingly – into the aisles for other essentials. Avoid the soda & sweet aisles.

There you have it – clean out the crap, clean the kitchen and bring in the new!!!

Whatever body you are living in now – perhaps it is too fat or too thin, not tight enough or too tight, soft flabby or muscular – it doesn’t matter. What matters is that if you are not happy with it a new FY kick off starting in the kitchen could be all you need to transform your body for the better. You are, in the end, responsible for how you look & feel.

Your shape ultimately is up to you.

Remember how you are now is the direct result of the person you are, and the decisions you have made. Stay the same and you’ll stay the same

Make the new Financial year – 2011 /12, not only the year that you master your meal plan – but the year that you stick to your resolutions and create a new body and a new life!

See you next time!!

A Simple Swap To Lower Body Fat

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Hi & Wecome back!!

This week’s post is relatively short because the message is simple – to lose body fat and get healthier alter the source & types of carbs you eat.

Regular readers will know that I am not anti-carb, but anti- processed, denatured, nutrient sparse carbs. Our bodies need carbs and the micronutrient that come with natural source carbs, so the whole ‘no

Swapping these for simple carbs...

carb’ thing does not make any sense to me except for specific and strategic short term use – but that is another post.

So here is the message short & sharp – replace starchy, processed carbs with vegetables and fruit. Yep just like your Mum & her Mum and her… used to say. They were & are right – fruit & veggies are the best sources of carbs and the co-factors and micronutrients that our bodies need for peak efficiency.

Vegetables should be the main type of carb you eat with fruit also essential but insmaller quantities because of the effects of fructose.(quick side note fructose from fruit is not a problem except in a society that add high fructose corn syrup to damn near everything – this creates a sensitivity to fructose that leads to various not so good halth effects. Fruit is good but in moderation…)

Here’s why you choose these natural sources:

Lots of carbs here - just not the ones that are good for you...

All of the carbs that you eat end up as glucose (blood sugar) after your body has processed them, taken out the vitamins & minerals, the antioxidants & co-factors; the fibre and leaves only its preferred energy source.

So after processing by your body; a piece of bread, an apple, a tomato, some potato or broccoli; a spoonful of sugar, a soda, a strawberry or even an Oreo are turned into your body’s main fuel source, blood sugar.

In other words – any carb, no matter its source, ends up in your blood stream as glucose.

What makes a spectacular difference to your health and body fat is the rate at which the carbs you feed your body are processed and metabolised.

Tim Ferriss talks about ‘Fast’ & ‘Slow’ Carbs in his book the ‘4 Hour Body’ and diabetics (and savvy folk) are familiar with the Glycemic Index which lists carbs as being high ‘GI’ (fast to break down to glucose) and low ‘GI” (slower to break down to glucose).

Simple / Fast carbs are those with a high GI and tend be starchy carbs. They are easy to spot – they have been processed and often are white in colour (no not cauliflower – but white flour products, white rice, white sugar, etc etc – all processed, starchy high GI foods) Some fruits fall into this category as well – especially dried fruits. Simple carbs are converted more rapidly into glucose for a quick energy boost.

Only a little goodness here

Complex / Slow carbs are those with high levels of fibre, generally a low GI rating, can often be imagined as coming from a farm or an orchard and tend to come in many colours with green being the predominant one. Oats is an example of a processed carb that is low GI (Steel cut, NOT instant). Complex carbohydrates take longer to break down into glucose and therefore offer a more sustained supply of energy for your body.

This sustained energy supply is why you must choose complex carbohydrates as your main carb source. Blood sugar spikes from simple, fast carbs cause insulin spiking and fat storage. Slow carbs do not.

However this is a simplistic view – ‘Fast’ versus ‘Slow’ carbs, high ‘GI’ versus low ‘GI’ the truth is more complex than this. It always is when we begin to look at the processes of our bodies – they overlap & interact at so many levels that simplistic approaches can be dangerous at worst or just misleading at beast.

Why? Well take watermelon. It is a high GI food but eating it actually has a negligible effect on glucose levels – even in large quantities.

Watermelon may have a high GI, but compared to other carb foods you might eat, it doesn’t have as much carbohydrate because it is mainly water.

Hi GI or not???

There is a small amount of carbohydrate in watermelon. This amount is processed into glucose very quickly making it a high-GI food, but because there is so little of it, it just doesn’t have much of an effect on your blood glucose levels, so in terms of impact, it is very low. This impact of the amount of carbs in a food is called the ‘Glycaemic Load’.

This is an important point – it is the amount of carbohydrate in a food that matters, not just the speed at which it is processed into glucose. We know that all carbs are turned into glucose – so it follows that the more carbs in a food, the more glucose that will be produced from it. Again this by itself is not  clear guide – what is needed is a method that takes into account the amount of carbs in a food and the speed at which those carbs are metabolised into glucose by our body. This measure is the Glycaemic Load (GL) which considers the amount of carbohydrate in a food as well as its GI. Both of these factors acting together determine the blood glucose response from any food.

To work out glycaemic load (GL), multiply the GI x the grams of carbohydrate, then divide by 100.

For example:

  • 1 cup of watermelon: (GI of 72 x 9 grams carb) / 100 = 6.5.
  • 1 cup of sweetcorn (GI of 37 x 32 grams carb) / 100 = 11.8.

Your body’s glucose response to the same amount of these 2 foods will be quite different because the amount of carb present in each. The differing amount of carbohydrate affects the glycaemic load. Portion size is another way to affect the glycaemic load of a food. For example, one cup of sweetcorn has a GL of 11.8 but half a cup only has a GL of 5.9.

What this shows is that using the GI by itself is okay as a rough rule of thumb, but it does not give you the full story. You need to also take into account the amount of carbohydrate in the food you are eating.  For this reason, the GI is most useful when choosing between foods with a high percentage of carbohydrate and but becomes fairly irrelevant when foods contain a low percentage of carbohydrate.

However the carb content should be taken one step further – the amount of carbs in a food that comes from fibre also affects your body’s speed of metabolising carbs to glucose. The Atkins people introduced the idea of ‘Nett’ carbs years ago and this was arrived at by subtracting the amount of fibre in a food from its total carb count. The remaining amount is the ‘Nett’ carbs and you apply the GL to this.

This is important because foods with a high carb% that also contain a high fibre % will convert to glucose to more slowly than high carb / low fibre foods. This also highlights that when a food has a low GI it does not mean you can eat huge volumes of it.

Bottomline – fibre counts – big time! And fibre comes from lightly to unprocessed foods, not factory processed ones.

So when considering a low- or high-GI food we need to also take into account how much carbohydrate a food contains and how much of that is fibre.

Bread, rice, pasta and cereals are mainly carbohydrate so choosing low-GI varieties makes a difference – but only if they are high fibre varieties.

All fruit and vegetables are fantastic for health because they are packed full of antioxidants and nutrients. But some fruits are low in fibre but high in carb content and therefore should be eaten sparingly.

Go for lots of colours when you are getting your fibre...

The biggest reason to switch from a diet full of starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, and rice to a diet with more fibrous, leafy ones like vegetables is the calories involved.

By ‘swapping’ out starchy, fast, simple carbs and replacing them with slow, complex, fibrous ones you will create a significant drop in calories. To lose fat we know we need to create a calorie deficit so fewer calories with more stable blood sugar will certainly assist in leading to a significant drop in body fat.

Just like it’s wise to moderate fats because they are very calorie dense, starchy carbohydrates like bread and pasta are more calorie dense (and definitely more nutrient sparse!!) than fibrous, carb sources like vegetables in general and leafy ones in particular.

What you want to do is eat a lot of calorie sparse, nutrient dense foods that makes us feel full without over-doing it with the calories. (See my earlier post – February I think – on achieving healthy satiety)

For effective, permanent fat loss, I feel it’s important to choose foods that are in high fibre are nutritionally dense but low in calories. This way you do not feel hungry because you are full from the fibre of the carbs, you don’t feel too deprived as the improved nutritional impact will help you cope with any cravings that arise from a ‘fast’ carb withdrawal. You will still be eating a lot of food but you’ll be getting a lot fewer calories.

Vegetables & most fruits offer this luxury. You can eat a lot in volume, but you just don’t get a lot of calories in return. (Unless you deep fry them, drench them in honey or drown them in butter on a consistent basis…)

Increased Complex Carbs = Fat Loss

This high volume, low calorie luxury doesn’t exist with starchy carbohydrates.

A small serving of starchy carbs like pasta, bread, and rice is still high in calories.

For example, a 1/4-cup of rice has approximately 150 calories, but you can eat an entire bag of carrots or 8 or more cups of broccoli and still have ingested fewer calories than if you the 1/4 cup of rice.

Look I love bread as much as the next person, especially Sunday morning brunch with a fresh loaf from the local bakery, and I am not suggesting that you stop eating grains, pasta, oatmeal or rices. I am however suggesting that you eat less of them, swap them out for more vegetables, reduce their serving size at your meals and add some leafy green stuff!

Supplement smaller servings of simple, fast carbs with more vegetables.

Your body absolutely needs carbohydrates. Carbs are the body’s main source of glucose. Your brain cannot function without glucose; in fact, you’d die without blood sugar.

Cut down on these don't cut them out...

So to start cutting excess calories from your diet, start to limit the amount of starchy carbs like bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, bagels, that you eat and swap them instead for more vegetables like broccoli, carrots, green beans, spinach. lettuce, peas, and so on.

You’ll lose fat. Your skin will improve and so will a lot of other health indicators.

Be well, see you next time.

Shock! Gasp! LipoSuction is NOT permanent…Guess Metabolism Wins after all!!

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Welcome Back!!

For years Liposuction has been the darling of the fat loss set – that part of it who could not be bothered with fixing their lifestyle & metabolism. It is equally as popular with Women & Men, and is very, very lucrative…

The traditional before & after fo Lipo ads with way too much fat being removed this way...

Quick, relatively painless with a hint of danger to spice it up Lipo has been the mode of choice for actors, actresses, body builders, matrons, aging gigolos, the rich the vain and in a very few cases those who needed it as a medical necessity.

The news is in though and it is not good for lovers of Lipo – the fat comes back … and where it comes back to is health threatening.

You can almost hear the shonky Plastic Surgeons weeping from here….(the good ones actually say that Lipo is NOT a get out of fat jail free card and that you will regain the fat if you don’t address factors like food intake, exercise and metabolism). Thing is Lipo along with rhinoplasty (nose jobs) and breast enlargement is one of the 3 most popular and profitable cosmetic procedures undertaken in the developed world.

The April 7th 2011 edition of the journal ‘Obesity’ published the results of research, conducted by a team from the University of Colorado. This research not only assessed if the fat returned after liposuction, but where the body stored the returning sludge.

Invasive & potentially dangerous

You see Lipo actually ‘works’ by sucking fat cells out of the body – by removing them. Cosmetic Surgeons do this by inserting a canula through an incision in your body, pumping in a saline solution and then working the canula back & forth under your skin with the vacuum turned on…More modern approaches use lasers and vibration etc but the fact remains it is an invasive form of surgery that carries substantial risks.

The theory was that with these fat cells gone you would not only lose the fat vacuumed out but you would not regain the lost fat. Not true – you do get the fat back, just not in the same place… So you risk disfigurement, infection and at the very least several weeks of pain for a procedure that does not deliver as it has been advertised…

The researchers took a  group of 14 non-obese women, performed some Lipo on their thighs and monitored them at six weeks, six months and one year after the surgery.
Women assigned to the control group did not have the Lipo performed on them.

The results found that after a year the fat not only returned but was now redistributed to the stomach area instead of the thighs. After 12 months there was no difference in bodyfat between the control and Lipo groups.

Lipo CAN fix this - but it won't last without other changes...

Although only a small study, and yes there is a lot of noise about that!!, the results support widely known anecdotal evidence from patients and Cosmetic Surgeons. The fat comes back if you don’t clean up your act – especially in the areas of diet & exercise.

So – the researchers found that a year after Lipo, that fat returned but not to the Lipo site – but to the belly. Lipo on the thighs resulted in increased stomach area fat 12 months after the surgery. This is a less healthy place to store fat.

Even worse – if Lipo was done on the belly, the fat gain after 12 months re-accumulated there, despite there being fewer fat cells. The existing ones just grew in size.

The fact that fat returns and goes to the belly is not really surprising as the belly is an area designed for fat storage in order to cushion, protect, insulate and provide quick energy to our internal organs. The real surprise is that people have undergone this dangerous procedure (Google ‘Liposuction deaths and injuries’ – just avoid the image search) and then kept the rest of their lifestyle as it was.

Not only can you NOT out train a bad diet, it seems you can’t out-surgery one either!!

So Lipo can give a quick cosmetic effect but for lasting body recomposition you need to live a lifestyle like the one we talk about here – eat a high protein, low processed carb, moderate fat diet; eat 6

Lipo only gives this if you also eat & exercise the right way...

times a day, exercise at 3 times a week using a HIIT / Interval protocol so you fire up your EPOC; go for a walk, hug your loved ones, do some stretching – move & have fun.

If you don’t the results of any quick fix – surgical or other will not last…

See you next time.

Lose Fat without a Gym to go to…

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Welcome back!

Last week I showed some of my favourite ways to rip fat off at the gym, and let’s face it Gyms are great because of the equipment available. Thing is you can get as good results by working out at home. The truth is you don’t need a lot of machines or equipment to get results.

You can get results like this - via the Gym or at home!!

Now I happen to like using some of the equipment at the gym and it is great to have access to a full run of Kettle Bell and dumb bell weights but you don’t need it. At home I suggest you invest in a good chin up bar, a set of kettlebells (12,16, 18, & 20 kg) a basic barbell with about 30kgs of weights, a couple of dumbbells, a cheap ‘aerobic’ step, a skipping rope and a weighted vest. But even this is more than you need for results – you carry around your best fat loss weapon everyday – your body.

Bodyweight exercise is a great way to burn fat, recondition your metabolism and get a great workout no matter where you are.

Before we look at some routines some commonsense rules apply to this and all other exercise routines. One – check with your doctor or medical professionalism before starting any exercise routine especially if you have not exercised for some time, are overweight or

I love weighted vests...

over 40. Two warm up by skipping on the spot, doing some shoulder swings and moving around – it is important that you warm up your joints and muscles before stressing them. This does not mean do static stretches – save those for warming down at the end of your session when you muscles & tendons are nice & warm and able to benefit fully from stretching.

Here is a simple but effective routine you can do at the beach, in your living room, in a hotel room or at the park.

  • Jumping Jacks x 30
  • Push ups x 10 -2 20
  • Jumping Jacks x 30
  • Prisoner squats x 30 – 50
  • Jumping Jacks x 30

Do each exercise in a non-stop sequence with a rest after the third set of Jumping Jacks. Repeat 3 -5 times. You can swap out the Jumping Jacks for Burpees, or squat Thrusters knee lifts for some variety.

If you add a chin up bar to the mix then you can do my all time favourite:

  • Push ups X as many as you can
  • Rest for 1 minute
  • Chin Ups X as many as you can
  • Rest for 1 minute
  • Squats X as many as you can
  • Rest for 1 minute

Repeat for 5 rounds.

Push ups don't need any equipment & give great results!!

Not tough enough for you? Do the push ups & squats wearing a weighted vest…

For something that is really challenging try burpee ladders. The way this works is you do 10 burpees and rest, then 9 and rest then 8 and rest etc all the way down to 1 and then you go back up the ‘ladder’ to 10. Trust me this is a killer. Of course you can substitute any exercise for the burpees. Kettle Bell swings, like just about any exercise, take on a life of their own when ‘laddered’…

Speaking of kettle bells – and assuming that you have taken instruction so that you know how to perform a KB swing correctly – try doing 100 KB swings a day for 20 days. You will drop a lot of fat and tighten up your entire physique.

(NB – Kettle Bell swings if you are getting lower back pain when you do these you are doing them wrong and not ‘hinging’ correctly at the hips – an upcoming blog addresses how to do them properly.)

No longer trendy - just a home fitness essential in my opinion

My routine for last March:

Day 1

  • Kettle Bell Swings x 100 (done in sets of 20)
  • Medicine ball above the head throws X 12
  • Kitchen steps step up x 30 each leg

All done circuit style with a heavy weighted vest

Day 2

  • Push ups x 20, 15, 12, 10, 8
  • Chin Ups x 12, 11, 10, 10, 7
  • Squats x 50, 50, 50, 40, 20
  • Training bands shoulder mobility x 12

(Lighter weighted vest on the push ups & squats.) Done circuit style for 5 sets.

Day 3

Bike Ride (including hill climbs and a couple of sprints.)

Short of time?

  • Wall squats / holds for 45 seconds
  • Prisoner squats x 30
  • Mountain climbers x 30

As usual do as a circuit but with only 30 secs rest between each one and 45 secs rest between each of your 5 circuits.

This is the type of home chin up bar to go for...

Bodyweight exercises are great, require little equipment, maintain & build muscle and burn fat. Not being able to afford a gym or a home gym is not a reasonable excuse for not getting lean.

Even better they are fun and with the right attitude can put us back in touch with that younger self who just ran & jumped and swung & played for the sheer hell of it!!

Love body weight!!!

Be well.

My Gym Program to Shed Fat – Fast!!!

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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.

30 Something Reasons to Get in Shape for 30 Something+ Year Olds……

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Hi & Welcome back!!

I have put together a list of what I believe are the most compelling reasons for the over 30’s (not to mention over 40’s or my mob – the over 50’s) to get in shape and stay there.

In shape - but not for most of us mere mortals

Being in shape for me means that I have a low & age appropriate body Fat %, I feel strong and have muscular endurance, that I hold a reasonable cardio endurance, can touch my toes and have a good general flexibility. It is my firm belief that getting better in the these areas will see you able to live and enjoy a fuller life. (You’ll also LBN!!)

So to get or to stay in great shape her are 30 something reasons…

LBN

Let’s clear up LBN – LBN means Look Better Naked. With a lower fat percentage, some muscle and more importantly the confidence that comes with being in shape you can’t help but LBN!

Reduces Cholesterol

Increasing research is showing that this is not the bad boy it has been painted as for the last few decades, but nonetheless too much LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins) is still not a good thing to have going on and regular exercise (especially Interval style – see earlier posts) has been proven to reduce LDL levels whilst increasing HDL ( High Density Lipoproteins) – the good cholesterol.

Not everyone can get in this shape - but we can improve our own!!

You’ll Sleep Better

Lack of sleep increases the release of cortisol and cortisol promotes fat storage especially around your belly. ( no cortisol is not bad – but too much of it is!) Regular challenging exercise helps you get to sleep quicker and to sleep longer and more deeply. It also reduces the release of stress related hormones like cortisol and promotes the release of HGH ( Human growth Hormone) This hormone is often called the ‘Fountain of Youth’ hormone due to its effect on your body’s fat stores ( it cuts them) your lean tissue (you get more muscular) and your over all health.

You’ll feel better about yourself

Just working out regularly and getting in shape makes you feel better about yourself. We can’t all look like Brad Pitt in Troy or Angelina in… (Well ladies insert your favourite here!) but we CAN make of ourselves the best we can. Doing this enables to feel more in control of our lives and being in shape for ourselves will give a confidence boost.

Physical appearance isn’t everything,  but by getting into better shape you’ll look better, and this will improve your confidence.

Your Blood Pressure will reduce

Stress, lack of sleep, poor diet – all contribute to high blood pressure – a recognised killer. Getting in shape not only reduces your blood pressure but can actually prevent it from either re-occurring or taking place in the first place!

Your won’t ache or hurt as much

One of the most common (and in many cases debilitating) complaints of the over 30’s ( & it sharply increases for each 5 year increment above this in the general population) is back pain – usually lower back pain. Years of sitting actually shortens certain muscles & tendons resulting in constant & additional pressure on our lumbar region. General lack of movement and no weight bearing exercise weaken muscles generally. This combines to the dreaded ‘throwing your back out’…

You won't need one of these if you are in shape...

Simply by lifting weights, moving more and sitting less can & does reduce this. Getting in shape with the strength & flexibility can eradicate it completely or at lest reduce it to more manageable levels. A large number of studies show that exercise is an effective treatment for recurrent low back pain.

You’ll suffer fewer injuries

Getting in shape & developing a strong, fit body will see your injury numbers decline severely. Not just back pain, but twisted ankles, stubbed toes, sore shoulders and neck pain – but general aches & pains all decrease the fitter and more in shape that you are.

You’ll be able to stand in the one spot longer (important in supermarkets, cinemas, at parades, in Church or just life in general…

You’ll reduce your chances of getting some types of Cancer

There are a number of studies that show regular exercise and low body fat equal a lesser chance of developing a number of cancers – particularly bowel, colon and breast cancers. In some cases the studies suggest being in shape & regularly exercising reduces some cancer risks by up to 40%.

You’ll have a faster Metabolism (my favourite)

By now you know that this blog is primarily about ways to recondition your metabolism so you shed fat, get fitter and enjoy much better health. I’m not going to labour the point here – by getting in shape will recondition your metabolism meaning that you heal faster and burn calories more efficiently & effectively. A faster metabolism carries a host of health benefits.

You’ll recapture some ‘lost’ Range of Motion

Getting in shape & working out with a strategic program will help you rediscover the joys of being able to

Range of motion - not everyone wants this much, but you can get more...

touch your toes, scratch your back and other many other  lost ranges of motion.

Nowhere else is it truer that if you don’t move it you’ll lose it as in the area of flexibility.

Becoming more flexible reduces joint stiffness, can assist with arthritis pain and also adds to reducing injury occurrence.

Your Functional Strength will improve

Functional strength is one of those terms that has become more of a marketing handle than a real descriptor of a real thing. However true functional strength means that you have the strength & power to do the things you need to each day in your life.

It can be carrying groceries, lifting a child, getting out of a chair, digging a garden bed, riding a bike, painting a ceiling, push starting a car or… you get the idea.

Being in shape improves your quality of life because you have the ability to do the things in your life.

You’ll improve your Insulin Sensitivity

Insulin sensitivity is the degree to which your body (primarily muscles) is able to receive and glucose from your bloodstream. Insulin resistance means that more & more insulin has to be released by the pancreas leading to increased fat storage, or in extreme cases (which are becoming less rare in these days of obesity) a loss of the ability to produce sufficient insulin at all. Yep – dose dependent diabetes…

Being in shape with a more efficient metabolism & lower body fat improves insulin sensitivity and can prevent the development of type 2 (often called adult onset) diabetes.

You can find a few out of the 168 hours each week to get in shape

With 168 hours each and every week we can all find 3 or 4 of these to use to get in and stay in shape. The benefits are too many to ignore and the results too important to miss out on because ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is on.

If you have to, make your workouts an appointment in a diary. Just find the time…

You’ll have a higher desire for Sex

No not enough that you’ll develop sex addiction, but being in shape & LBN certainly raises the sex drive of both males & females.

Part of it is better circulation, part of it is increased body awareness and feeling more in control of your body and a large part of it is improved hormone health. Regardless – getting or being in shape certainly improves the bedroom…

Heart Atack and more diseases either in progress or about to start...

You’ll Decrease your Risk of Heart Disease

Challenging exercise exercises the heart like any other muscle and like any other muscle regular exercise improves the hearts strength & responsiveness to the demands placed on it.

Contractile strength improves and with higher HDL & lower LDL your risk of heart disease drops. A lot.

You’ll get a kick out of exercise

Challenging exercise releases a number of ‘feel good’ hormones (think runners high) that elevate our mood, lift depression, decrease the effects of stress and poor sleep and have been proven to make us happier.

This effect is even more marked when you make at least a part of your exercise program an activity that you love to do. It can be ballroom dancing, squash, tennis, a martial art, yoga – whatever. When you have at least 1 regular activity of your exercise program as something you love you overall enjoy getting & staying in shape more. And you smile more – a lot more.

You’ll likely live longer

Folk who are in shape tend to live longer, have better health and less disease & injury. At the very least they experience a better quality of life.

You’ll develop (rediscover) better balance and Coordination

This sort of ties in with suffering less injuries if you are fit – but if you are in shape & working out regularly your kinaesthetic awareness (your mental awareness of your body’s place in the space around it) improves. You’ll trip less often, bump into less and find that you drop things less often.

Well maybe not this much more balance (unless you want to work for it!!)

Even better – for the older ones of us – you’ll be less likely to fall – and for anyone in their late 50’s on falls is a major health problem …

You’ll reduce your chance of Osteoarthritis

Weight bearing exercise coupled with moving more means stronger bones. Period. Calcium supplements have their place and so does diet but if you want strong bones move some weight and get stronger than you are today.

Your gut will work better

Getting in shape means more efficient processing of the food you eat. It means reduced risk of ‘over 40’s’ diseases such as diverticulitis, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, and inflammatory bowel disease; for everyone else it means a decreased incidence of constipation.

Getting in shape is not just for cosmetic external purposes – a reconditioned metabolism means everything works better.

Your weight will change

Getting in shape means dropping body fat and developing some muscle. Scales don’t count because muscle weighs more than fat, but the mirror, your partner’s reactions and how your clothes fit do.

Your body will use more fat as fuel

Regular exercise tends to improve your body’s ability to use fat as fuel. This is a good thing as is unfit folk our bodies have a tendency to store fat and breakdown muscle for fuel once glucose is depleted.

Even better – unhealthy fat stores like belly rolls and love handles, visceral (internal) fat can not only be prevented but heavily reduced if not wiped out by getting in shape.

You’ll get sick less often

Your entire Immune System will improve...

Being fit means a stronger immune systems and this translates into less illness – fewer colds, quicker recovery from the ‘flu and generally better health.

You’ll focus better

Another truth about moving into the above 30 age bracket – our ability to focus , concentrate and multitask begins to drop. A lot. By your 50’s it can be beginning to become a real issue.

A better supply of oxygen & nutrients to the brain due to improved circulation from regular exercise not only arrests this mental decline, but can on occasion reverse it.

You’ll have loads more energy

Exercising regularly improves your body’s utilisation of food and the performance of its various energy systems. Net result? A real increase in energy levels.

More energy means better quality of life and more engagement in living – to good to miss!!

You’ll reduce the chance of developing Alzheimer’s

Remeber when you had this much energy??!!

Although this is likely tied to improved circulation of oxygen & nutrients to the brain, getting in shape through challenging & regular exercise appears to keep your brain sharper and may reduce the chances of you developing not only Alzheimer’s disease but a number of other dementia type mental disorders.

It may be tied to the improved circulation and the increased amount of mental awareness required to partake of exercise or other physical activities. There is even some talk of the feel good hormones also playing a role…

In any case the research is ongoing but is too good to ignore.

You’ll feel like you are reaching your potential

Being out of shape, fat, flabby and out o breath with no strength means that you cannot possibly be at your best. The world is a nastier place when you are out of shape and your internal landscape can come to resemble your outer one. Not healthy – physically or mentally.

By getting in shape, reconditioning your metabolism and losing ft you transform into you Ver 2.0 – a better version of yourself.

The Greeks used to say ‘Healthy body, Healthy mind’ – and the more we learn about how our bodies work and how they integrate with our emotions and thought process the more correct the Greeks seem to be.

Undertaking a physical transformation will improve your mental, emotional, and spiritual state; and upgrade your quality of life.

From the appearance of your skin, to your overall body shape, to how well your metabolism works, how you think or shrug off illness – just about every physical attribute you posses gets better when you’re in shape.

Set them up for a better quality of life

You’ll set a good example for your kids (or grandkids, or…)

By taking charge of your shape & fitness and being committed to it you will also help your kids to develop similar habits. Being in shape has so many health benefits that if you can influence by example your children you could literally be reducing the amount of stress, pain & illnesses that they will suffer in their lives. A helluva a good reason to get & stay in shape as far as I am concerned…

(If you like this list and have sedentary friends then shoot them a copy of this blog – it just might get them moving.)

Please leave a comment below and I’ll see you next time…

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

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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???

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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.

Fat Loss Myths – Taken Apart – Part 2!

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Welcome Back!!

Here is part 2 of our look at persistent but Oh so wrong Fat loss myths…

Myth: You should do very high reps to failure for fat burning…

Whilst there is a certain faux logic to this  idea it is plain wrong. Research shows that weight lifting / resistance training burns calories through muscle fibre recruitment. The more fibres recruited, the more energy you burn. So the key to cranking up your metabolism is to recruit as many muscle fibres as possible with each set.

You don't get results like these using 'Barbie' weights

Lifting light weights, even for 100 reps, does NOT recruit many muscle fibres. When you do high rep training you’re only working the smallest, weakest muscle fibres – these will have  little appreciable impact on boosting your metabolism.

By the same token lifting for maximum muscle fibre recruitment is brutally hard and not sustainable for most people long term. The answer is to use a mix of high weight low rep (3 – 6) training with the body builder rep range of moderate to heavy weight for 8 -12 reps. This way you recruit lots of muscle fibres but don’t drive yourself into the ground every time you train.

You can go hard, or you can go long. Going hard burns fat & build strength.

Myth: You don’t need to get stronger to get leaner.
This is really a follow on from the myth above – the stronger you are, the more muscle fibres you can recruit when you exercise. Stimulating as many muscle fibres as is sustainable with each set will ramp up the metabolic cost of your workouts. (Metabolic cost is a measure exercise scientists use to determine how many calories you’re burning up through exercise. It is also called TEA – Thermic Effect of Activity)

The higher the metabolic cost, the better for fat loss. The stronger you are the faster you can move and research shows that fast movement with heavy to moderate weights really gets the fat fires burning. Anyway – ever seen a fat sprinter?

Myth: All calories are equal – so eat less and you’ll lose weight…

A week of this or a week of Steak & salad - what would make you fatter??

This is correct all calories are equal – if you are looking at them as measurement of energy. (a calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 litre of water 1 degree centigrade)

However if you are looking at them as food source types then – all calories are NOT equal. What is going to put more fat around your middle – eating steak & salad for a week or eating the same number of calories but as Hot Dogs, Fries & Ice cream? No prizes for guessing the answer here…

This is the kind of claptrap that far too many doctors & dieticians & nutritionists put out there – despite the mountains of peer reviewed, long term studies that all show that a calorie is not just a calorie. The source of the calories is important especially from a metabolic viewpoint.

Carbs, Fats & proteins are the macronutrient groupings (some folk add water to this list and I have friend who is convinced that alcohol belongs here – it doesn’t) and they all have a different effect on your metabolism.

The Thermic Effect of Food – how many calories your body has to use to process food – is different for each macronutrient. For Fat it is 2%, for carbs (depending upon type – fibrous or not) it is 4 – 6% and for protein it is a whopping 30%. That’s like getting a 30% discount on the calorie value of each piece of protein you eat.

It is the nutrients in the food we eat, not the calories, that stimulates (or slows) our metabolism. When you cut calories you slow your metabolism down because it is getting less of the nutrients it needs. Things like amino acids, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids  and so on. In all likelihood if you are eating the typical Western diet then your body is already slow metabolically because this diet is calorie dense but nutrient sparse.

If you eat less your body preserves fat and begins to burn muscle for food. Result – less muscle which means a slower metabolism. You can avoid this by simply choosing your calorie sources better. Replace low-quality foods like as bread, pasta, and rice with nutrient-dense foods such as berries, green vegetables, eggs and protein like fish.

Myth: You must eliminate entire food groups to see results.

In a word Bull!

A common misconception is that certain food groups should be avoided in order to lose weight. This is wrong and usually relates to either fat or carbs. The truth is that there are ‘good’ & ‘bad’ fats & carbs and the only elimination of foods that you indulge in should be to remove the ‘bad’ types of each.

Processed, denatured carbs like flour, cakes, cookie, commercial fruit juices, sweets, etc should be taken out of your diet or at least severely cut back. Any food that contains Trans fats (look for ‘partially hydrogenated oil’ on the food labels) has to be taken out of your diet and frankly anything you can identify as having High Fructose Corn Syrup (a cheap sugar but one which is processed differently in your body and leads to belly fat) should not even get into your trolley at the supermarket.

Elimination of some foods is good, of entire food groups is BAD!!

Eliminating all fats is also a furphy as excess calories from ANY nutrient source can and will be stored as fat by your body. So cutting out all fats just stops your body getting access to needed fats like Omega 3 fatty acids. This in turn has a number of anti-health effects. In truth every food group has its own benefits for example, carbohydrates are your body’s preferred energy source and fruit & veges deliver vitamins, minerals antioxidants, phytonutrients and more besides – all important for your well being. Protein provides the building blocks for your body – and the amino acids that make up protein is vital for bodily repair. Fats is important for joint lubrication, hormone creation and use, hair, nail & skin health.

It is very necessary to eat all macronutrients in proper proportion to promote weight loss.

Myth: You need to work out hard each day to see results.
Nope – fat burning, muscle growth and bodily repair all take place after you work out. The post-exercise period is when the benefits of working out accrue. This takes time and your body needs a mix of stress from exercise and periods of recovery so it come back fitter 7 stronger for the next round of exercise. Working out intensely every day does nothing more than drive you into the ground, reduce your recovery ability and slows your metabolism.

Knocking yourself out by overtraining will set you back...

Even worse, overtraining leads to your body releasing even more fat-storing hormones as a stress response. Cortisol has its uses but too much of it is a bad thing indeed if you are looking for fat loss….Lastly, being overtrained zaps your motivation and makes you more susceptible to illness and injury.

So train 4 – 5 times a week, no more.

Myth: There is a Magic Product that delivers Quick & Easy Fat Loss

Weight loss scams have been around forever and show no signs of going away. The sad but simple truth is that a strategically sound mix of diet and exercise is the only proven way to change your body composition and recondition your metabolism so it stays that way.

If you watch either late night or early morning TV you will see ads for all sorts of Pills, Powders, Potions, Fasts, Cleansing liquids, exercise tapes and miracle delivering fat loss machines that will completely transform your body in just a few weeks!

I like the 8 minute Abs one in particular – an abdominal 6-pack in only 8 minutes per day. Wow sounds great then I thought why 8 minutes? Why not 6 or 9 minutes or even 3? Although I have to say for sheer audacity and flimflam dressed up as pseudo science the Shake Weight and Toning Shoes come up close seconds…

The underlying message is that you can get in shape by being lazy and that if you don’t get the results they promise then it is your fault. It also appears that the money-back guarantee they offer is a safe bet for them – less than 2% of people return these useless gadgets for their refund. Either they can’t be

bothered packing it up or they are too embarrassed – after all most folk know that these things don’t work.

The supplement industry is even worse. In most countries – particularly the US of A, supplement companies are not regulated and don’t have to prove their claims. This is completely opposite for the pharmaceutical com

These don't work...

panies who have to prove the claims they make ( and we know how trustworthy they have proved to be despite government oversight and regulation…)

Pretty much supplement companies can tell you that their products will enable you to lose weight, get stronger, improve your heart health, think more clearly, perform better, reverse aging, get that loving feeling more often and their products don’t actually have to deliver a thing.

By feeding off people’s fears and vanity, by exploiting consumers and weak laws many of these companies are no more than clever marketers.

Folks, there is no easy way to get the body of your dreams if your idea of easy is just swallowing a pill in between handfuls of fries.  There is no easy way to work out if your idea of working out is to lie down on some machine looking for the ride of your life…and in 5 minutes a day.

In today’s society where the emphasis is I want it NOW!, the truth is too damn simple and too damn hard for most folk to follow – Work out hard and eat right  just doesn’t sound snappy enough. Thing is it is still the closest thing to the magic pill and machine we’ve got.

See you next time…tell your friends about us!!