Juicing works - you bet:
Apart from the fact that juiced fruits and vegetables have very low
calories and no fat (just make sure you make them yourselves), they are loaded with a variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes that help your body
to perform at its best. Our bodies spend a lot of time trying to detoxify, repair and protect cells. When we are undernourished our
bodies go into protection mode and store fat for survival. But, when your body is functioning at its peak
condition and getting all the nourishment it needs, it can focus energy on fat loss. Juicing
delivers a concentrated healthy cocktail straight into your body. No
extra effort is needed to break down the juice and so it is absorbed
quickly and starts working magic immediately.
Keys to weight-loss success while juicing:
Juicing vegetables and herbs while reducing fruit. Yes, of course
fruit makes it taste so delicious. Yes, fruit sugar is healthier
than refined table sugar… but it’s still sugar and will still cause
spikes in your insulin and if your body cannot clear those sugars out,
they will convert to fat stores. Also, watch how many carrots you use, believe it or not they have a lot of sugar as well.
Save juicing fruits for before and/or after your workouts. For the same reason as above, when you work out your body becomes primed for using glucose.
Skip snacking and start juicing. It seems that people always
get hungry between meals. The solution to avoid binging on things you
probably shouldn't be eating before dinner, is to juice up a big
green glass of nutritional goodness. Hopefully the liquid will tide you over until
your next meal, or at least it will get your brain thinking about
health-conscious snacks.
Snack while juicing. Not on cheese and crackers or anything
man-made but on the vegetables you are getting ready to juice. Sometimes
our brains like chewing and feeling food in our mouths and stomach's, so
give it that satisfaction while nurturing you.
Healthy habits don’t end with juicing. Whether you are having 1
juice a day or 5, remember that beyond your glass jar, you need
to be eating healthy all day long. It kind of defeats the purpose of
juicing for weight loss when you eat a big bowl of sugary cereal for
breakfast, pizza for lunch, and burgers and fries for dinner.
Fill up on fresh juice before meals or going out. Even though
juice is digested quickly and doesn't leave you full for long, your
hunger may be quenched by the nutrients more than the feeling of full.
Alternate your veggies. Two ways that this works: you don’t get bored and you get a variety of nutrients.
Add some chia seeds, avocado, or olive oil. Healthy fats and fibers are
not only good for you, but will keep you fuller longer. No one wants to
diet, or spend their time with someone who is dieting, who has a big hungry monster
in their stomach.
Create lasting habits:
Remember, juicing for weight loss is not a diet. Let juicing be your basis for a healthy lifestyle. If you are taking the time to clean, chop and
juice fresh fruits and vegetables then you should be making time to prepare
and cook healthy homemade meals.
Some people start cold turkey with a juice fasting session. Others like to test the
water with one, slowly adding more as they feel necessary. If you
prefer to start the day with a balanced, nutrition-rich eating plan, you will
find that having at least one glass of vegetable juice per day will make
it easier to reach your weight loss goals in the long run. Try
replacing your morning, afternoon, or before-bed snack with a juice and
you are well on your way!
Why not see what Mike Geary has to offer on such foods whilst dieting.
In the mean time why not try.
Morning-time:
1 beet
1 pink lady apple
1 small slice of ginger
Before dinner:
4 tomatoes
2 green onions
½ green pepper
2 carrots
2 celery ribs
Handful of parsley
1 peeled lemon
Before bed:
2 cucumbers
4 romaine lettuce leaves
Handful of mint
Showing posts with label Fat loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fat loss. Show all posts
Monday 9 September 2013
Monday 22 April 2013
Bowel Colon Cleansing for better health
| Post originated by Isabel De Los Rios There's nothing more frustrating than giving a goal all of your time and energy, just to come up with no results. Especially when it comes to losing weight. I get it. You're eating all the "right stuff" and there's still not much to show for it. What gives? I can tell you with absolute certainty one thing I know for sure...if this one thing is NOT happening, the excess weight on your body is most likely NOT going to budge. What is it? It's your bowels (poop for those who have children under the age of 10) and if your bowels are not moving 2 times (yes, 2 times) every day, than your weight loss will be dramatically stalled. For a very long time, I was only going once every day, in the morning. Sure, that's not so bad, as I know there are people who go DAYS without going to the bathroom at all (oh, my stomach hurts just thinking about it). The solution to my bowel movements (or lack thereof) was a very simple and easy-to-use cleanse (called Ultimate Digestive Cleanse) that I used last year. If you didn't hear me rave about it then, here are my results in detail (hope you're ok with bowels details). There are numerous benefits to bowel cleansing. A normal person usually has about 5 pounds of fecal matter stuck to the walls of their intestines. This is made up of rotting food, bacteria, toxins etc which the human body is designed to get rid of naturally, but in our modern stressed lives and poor diets this does not usually happen. Also did you know that about 50% of North Americans have parasites living in their intestines, whilst generally they can live for many years undetected, they can cause long term chronic health problems by feeding of the food that is meant for you, causing allergies, fatigue etc, this is especially true if you are dieting. Isabel's Cleansing Secret - Fix your bowels the easy way I used Ultimate Digestive Cleanse for the full recommended 30 days (since it is my golden rule to always try anything before recommending it to others). It very simply consists of a fiber drink you drink every morning, a probiotic, a natural parasite cleanser, and a cleansing tea you drink at night. Here are my results in listed form for ease of reading:
Ultimate Digestive Health - Gentle Cleansing System I believe a detox meal plan like the Diet Solution Program, along with Ultimate Digestive Cleanse, will truly get your bowels moving and releasing all of the trapped fecal matter in your intestines that just might be preventing you from losing weight (and damaging your health). If you're not "pooping" 2 times every single day, please take my advice above very seriously. This is not just for your fat loss efforts, but for the sake of your health. Get your bowels moving consistently each day and this will make a tremendous difference in your fat loss efforts and your health. Another of my friend's is using this program, you can read his comments here Give it a try |
Wednesday 13 July 2011
A good principle that can literally change your lifestyle
Commit yourself to lifelong learning.
You've heard the saying Read, read and when you’re done reading, read some more.
You're probably thinking by now, how could something like reading have affected my weight loss so dramatically? If I would have stopped so feverishly researching and reading all of the latest and most up to date nutritional information that I did, while I was on my own personal weight loss journey.
I would not have found all of the incredibly helpful information about fat loss that I am able to share with you today.
Actually, since those days I have never stopped continuously reading and researching because there is always new nutrition information becoming available every day.
Some of it may be good, some may be bad, but I have made it a lifelong commitment to help as many people as possible to change the direction of their health, and their weight and in order to do that, I have to keep up with all the latest and most up to date information.
Now I know with so much information out there, it can sometimes become overwhelming. That’s why I focus my reading efforts on a few trusted sources that I really enjoy and know are just as passionate about nutrition as I am.
One of those trusted authors is my good friend Mike Geary, he is author of the popular The Truth About Abs program. I think most of you would agree that his articles are jam packed full of useful information and tips (not to mention tons of delicious recipes that are perfect for our healthy way of eating).
Today I want to share with you 2 of those great articles. The first is a definite “eye opener” and an article that may completely change the way you look at fat loss.
Excess Abdominal Fat is Extremely Dangerous –
Details Here
The second is a delicious chocolate pudding recipe that I’ve made several times and have passed on the recipe to family members and friends.
Healthy Chocolate Pudding – Recipe Here
You've heard the saying Read, read and when you’re done reading, read some more.
You're probably thinking by now, how could something like reading have affected my weight loss so dramatically? If I would have stopped so feverishly researching and reading all of the latest and most up to date nutritional information that I did, while I was on my own personal weight loss journey.
I would not have found all of the incredibly helpful information about fat loss that I am able to share with you today.
Actually, since those days I have never stopped continuously reading and researching because there is always new nutrition information becoming available every day.
Some of it may be good, some may be bad, but I have made it a lifelong commitment to help as many people as possible to change the direction of their health, and their weight and in order to do that, I have to keep up with all the latest and most up to date information.
Now I know with so much information out there, it can sometimes become overwhelming. That’s why I focus my reading efforts on a few trusted sources that I really enjoy and know are just as passionate about nutrition as I am.
One of those trusted authors is my good friend Mike Geary, he is author of the popular The Truth About Abs program. I think most of you would agree that his articles are jam packed full of useful information and tips (not to mention tons of delicious recipes that are perfect for our healthy way of eating).
Today I want to share with you 2 of those great articles. The first is a definite “eye opener” and an article that may completely change the way you look at fat loss.
Excess Abdominal Fat is Extremely Dangerous –
Details Here
The second is a delicious chocolate pudding recipe that I’ve made several times and have passed on the recipe to family members and friends.
Healthy Chocolate Pudding – Recipe Here
Tuesday 12 October 2010
The truth about cholesterol.
I am going to let you in on something really shocking. Cholesterol is not the major culprit in heart disease. I know this is probably hard for some of you to to believe, after all we have heard about the dangers of high cholesterol from our doctors, and the media. But sadly the reality is, it is not the cholesterol levels themselves or the cholesterol containing foods that are the culprits implicated in heart disease, it is those foods and any other thing that causes inflammation in your body, that is the major cause of heart disease (as well as diabetes and high blood pressure).
So what is cholesterol and why do we need it?
Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream and in all your body’s cells. It’s an important part of a healthy body system because it’s used to form protective cell membranes. Cholesterol is also used in the manufacture of bile (which helps digest fats), and is also important for the metabolism of fat soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E and K.
It is the major precursor agent for the synthesis of vitamin D, and of the various steroid hormones (which include cortisol and aldosterone in the adrenal glands, and the sex hormones progesterone, the various estrogens, testosterone, and derivatives ).
How could something so good be so bad?
It seems Cholesterol has been wrongly accused because, upon inspection of the arteries of someone at risk for a heart attack, levels of cholesterol and plaque build up are very high. Cholesterol is actually being transported to tissues as part of an inflammatory response that the body uses to repair damage. It will only lodge itself onto the artery and cause plaque if the artery has become damaged. Inflammation in the artery is what causes this damage. In fact, it is now known that the coronary disease that causes heart attacks is now considered to be caused mostly from chronic inflammation.
So trying to blame cholesterol for heart attacks would be the equivalent of blaming an increase in police security in a high crime area. It was not the police that caused the crime, they were just put there in response to the crimes.
A more important question to ask ourselves, is how do we decrease the amount of inflammation in our bodies so that cholesterol will not bind to our arteries in the first place?
We must decrease all of those things that we do that cause inflammation and increase things that decrease inflammation. First and foremost we must stay away from foods that cause inflammation in our bodies. All foods that causes a fast rise in blood insulin levels will quickly cause inflammation in the body. These foods (You've guessed it) are sugar, white breads, most dairy products and almost all packaged and processed foods. What does this leave us with?
Fresh, wholesome foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean animal proteins, nuts, and lots and lots of water. Also, taking in lots of omega-3 fatty acid rich foods will dramatically decrease inflammation in the body (salmon, trout, organic eggs, walnuts and oily fish such as sardines, pilchards etc).
What about your cholesterol medication?
Some of you may be thinking, it is just easier to take a pill and not have to change what I am eating. But you may want to think twice considering the side effects of statin's (cholesterol lowering drugs). The most common side effects reported are diabetes, fatigue, headaches, nausea and the most common of them all, severe muscular pains and muscular degeneration. If you remember that cholesterol is essential for the formation of cell membranes, It may seem crazy taking a drug that is drastically lowering cholesterol may be causing membrane damage in neural and muscle tissue. So many people taking statin's complain of neck, back or leg pain, new research also suggests an increased risk of cataracts.
Millions of people worldwide are now on cholesterol lowering drugs such as statin's, but the number of people suffering from heart attacks and heart disease is only increasing. Let’s take some personal responsibility for our health and truly get to the root of the problem. Managing your diet more effectively and staying away from those foods that are causing an inflammatory response in your body is your first step to decreasing your chance of heart disease and heart attacks.
So what is cholesterol and why do we need it?
Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream and in all your body’s cells. It’s an important part of a healthy body system because it’s used to form protective cell membranes. Cholesterol is also used in the manufacture of bile (which helps digest fats), and is also important for the metabolism of fat soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E and K.
It is the major precursor agent for the synthesis of vitamin D, and of the various steroid hormones (which include cortisol and aldosterone in the adrenal glands, and the sex hormones progesterone, the various estrogens, testosterone, and derivatives ).
How could something so good be so bad?
It seems Cholesterol has been wrongly accused because, upon inspection of the arteries of someone at risk for a heart attack, levels of cholesterol and plaque build up are very high. Cholesterol is actually being transported to tissues as part of an inflammatory response that the body uses to repair damage. It will only lodge itself onto the artery and cause plaque if the artery has become damaged. Inflammation in the artery is what causes this damage. In fact, it is now known that the coronary disease that causes heart attacks is now considered to be caused mostly from chronic inflammation.
So trying to blame cholesterol for heart attacks would be the equivalent of blaming an increase in police security in a high crime area. It was not the police that caused the crime, they were just put there in response to the crimes.
A more important question to ask ourselves, is how do we decrease the amount of inflammation in our bodies so that cholesterol will not bind to our arteries in the first place?
We must decrease all of those things that we do that cause inflammation and increase things that decrease inflammation. First and foremost we must stay away from foods that cause inflammation in our bodies. All foods that causes a fast rise in blood insulin levels will quickly cause inflammation in the body. These foods (You've guessed it) are sugar, white breads, most dairy products and almost all packaged and processed foods. What does this leave us with?
Fresh, wholesome foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean animal proteins, nuts, and lots and lots of water. Also, taking in lots of omega-3 fatty acid rich foods will dramatically decrease inflammation in the body (salmon, trout, organic eggs, walnuts and oily fish such as sardines, pilchards etc).
What about your cholesterol medication?
Some of you may be thinking, it is just easier to take a pill and not have to change what I am eating. But you may want to think twice considering the side effects of statin's (cholesterol lowering drugs). The most common side effects reported are diabetes, fatigue, headaches, nausea and the most common of them all, severe muscular pains and muscular degeneration. If you remember that cholesterol is essential for the formation of cell membranes, It may seem crazy taking a drug that is drastically lowering cholesterol may be causing membrane damage in neural and muscle tissue. So many people taking statin's complain of neck, back or leg pain, new research also suggests an increased risk of cataracts.
Millions of people worldwide are now on cholesterol lowering drugs such as statin's, but the number of people suffering from heart attacks and heart disease is only increasing. Let’s take some personal responsibility for our health and truly get to the root of the problem. Managing your diet more effectively and staying away from those foods that are causing an inflammatory response in your body is your first step to decreasing your chance of heart disease and heart attacks.
Friday 26 March 2010
Six week overeating experiment
Did I Gain Weight, Lose Weight, or Stay the Same Read On
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
OK, I decided to do something crazy recently... For the last six weeks, I used myself as a guinea pig and completed an over eating experiment.
The purpose of this experiment was to see how much weight I could gain if I purposely tried to over-eat on a daily basis for six weeks straight.
What do you think the results were? Did I get fat (after all, I gained 9 lbs on a 7-day cruise last year when my normal diet at home was replace with my cruise diet...although I subsequently lost that 9 lbs in only a week and a half after that cruise). Or maybe during this overeating experiment I stayed the same weight or even got leaner?
My theory was that if you eat the right types of highly nutrient-dense foods and do not stray from those foods at all, that your body will automatically re-balance itself (your hormones, appetite levels, etc, etc)... and even though you are attempting to over-eat, as long as the nutrient-density of all of your meals is maximized, total calorie balance will inevitably end up at a level where I would not gain weight.
This goes along with my theory that calorie counting is basically pointless as long as your nutrient density of your foods is so high that the body obtains all of the nutrition it needs and re-balances your appetite and hormones to account for this.
Think of it this way... if you eat 1000 calories worth of soda, donuts, and cookies, your body needs to readjust hormone levels, increase your appetite and try to force you ingest more food to attempt to get more nutrients, since those 1000 calories were almost devoid of the nutrition your body needs.
However, if you eat 1000 calories worth of healthy foods with high nutrient density such as avocados, whole eggs, nuts, vegetables, fruits, grass fed meats, and other healthy options, your body obtains most of the nutrition it needs and accounts for this by leveling your appetite and hormones in the time period following that meal (the remainder of the day perhaps). In this scenerio, your body is not forcing you to eat more food (via cravings) to obtain the nutrition it needs since it already received a boatload of nutrition.
So, here were the details I had to adhere to in my little experiment:
1. I could NOT just eat any and all types of foods... I could overeat on as much food as I wanted, but ONLY the foods that are "approved" according to my rules... this means all foods had to be un-processed natural foods. No pasta, white rice, refined flour breads, or refined grain cereals were allowed. No trans fats, deep fried foods, or any other processed foods such as candies, cookies, cakes, etc were allowed in the overeating experiment... I was only allowed to overeat on healthy food.
Some staples during my overeating phase were tons of whole eggs (yep, including the extremely healthy full-fat egg yolks), full-fat grass-fed raw cheese and yogurt, avocados, almonds, pecans, walnuts, lots of virgin coconut oil and olive oil, grass-fed butter, berries, lots of fruit and veggies, sprouted grain bread, raw almond butter, sweet potatoes, and lots of venison and grass-fed beef.
2. I was still training very intensely 3-4 days/week at the gym but nothing extremely different from my normal workouts (this means that my caloric expenditure from exercise was not drastically different than normal).
So what was the end result after six weeks of trying to stuff my face with as much healthy food as possible?
My body weight stayed EXACTLY the same! I didn't gain a single pound.
I know the first reaction of many people is that I just must have a "fast metabolism" or something along those lines and that is why I did not gain weight.
But that is false!
The truth is that I have no problem at all gaining weight when I overeat on junk foods, or eat large amounts of processed foods in general. I can guarantee you that if I was overeating on pasta, white rice, cookies, white bread, donuts, and other processed foods during these last 6 weeks, I would have gained a massive amount of weight.
In fact, as I have mentioned before, in the past I have easily gained as much as 10 pounds in only 1 week when I have been on some sort of vacation and simply eat the normal types of processed food that everyone else is eating.
This proves that I am just as prone to gaining weight as anybody else.
However, notice the stark contrast in my experiment with attempting to overeat on all healthy unprocessed foods... I simply could not gain weight because my body would be constantly re-adjusting the hormone levels and appetite levels to account for the super-high nutrient density of food I was eating.
In the end, this meant that my body automatically maintained calorie balance without the need for calorie counting.
This is the type of eating lifestyle that pretty much totally eliminates your cravings... Remember that I have said before that I do not think I have had any real cravings in at least five years (that is the time since I have been more strict on the type of foods I eat).
I also think it is actually fun and more enjoyable to eat in such a healthy manner (for the skeptics that think this involves some sort of deprivation).
Muscle Building topic:
As you know, I'm a huge proponent of constantly reading new books and getting as many perspectives as I can on different fitness topics. I probably read 15-30 new books each year on different fitness and health topics.
I'm currently reading Jason Ferrugia's Muscle Gaining Secrets. Jason is one of the most popular writers for Men's Fitness magazine, and I know we met briefly a couple years ago at a fitness conference, although didn't get much of a chance to talk at that conference.
So far, I'm about half way done with the book and I'm finding it to be very thorough at this point. There's a lot of talk about rep ranges, training volume, types of exercises for gaining muscle, techniques for the true "hardgainers", and lots more.
I'll finish reading it and give you my full review in a week or two. If you want to check it out for yourself, here is Jason's website:
I'll be back soon with another Lean-Body Secrets Ezine issue. Til then,
Don't be lazy... be lean.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Truth About Abs
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
OK, I decided to do something crazy recently... For the last six weeks, I used myself as a guinea pig and completed an over eating experiment.
The purpose of this experiment was to see how much weight I could gain if I purposely tried to over-eat on a daily basis for six weeks straight.
What do you think the results were? Did I get fat (after all, I gained 9 lbs on a 7-day cruise last year when my normal diet at home was replace with my cruise diet...although I subsequently lost that 9 lbs in only a week and a half after that cruise). Or maybe during this overeating experiment I stayed the same weight or even got leaner?
My theory was that if you eat the right types of highly nutrient-dense foods and do not stray from those foods at all, that your body will automatically re-balance itself (your hormones, appetite levels, etc, etc)... and even though you are attempting to over-eat, as long as the nutrient-density of all of your meals is maximized, total calorie balance will inevitably end up at a level where I would not gain weight.
This goes along with my theory that calorie counting is basically pointless as long as your nutrient density of your foods is so high that the body obtains all of the nutrition it needs and re-balances your appetite and hormones to account for this.
Think of it this way... if you eat 1000 calories worth of soda, donuts, and cookies, your body needs to readjust hormone levels, increase your appetite and try to force you ingest more food to attempt to get more nutrients, since those 1000 calories were almost devoid of the nutrition your body needs.
However, if you eat 1000 calories worth of healthy foods with high nutrient density such as avocados, whole eggs, nuts, vegetables, fruits, grass fed meats, and other healthy options, your body obtains most of the nutrition it needs and accounts for this by leveling your appetite and hormones in the time period following that meal (the remainder of the day perhaps). In this scenerio, your body is not forcing you to eat more food (via cravings) to obtain the nutrition it needs since it already received a boatload of nutrition.
So, here were the details I had to adhere to in my little experiment:
1. I could NOT just eat any and all types of foods... I could overeat on as much food as I wanted, but ONLY the foods that are "approved" according to my rules... this means all foods had to be un-processed natural foods. No pasta, white rice, refined flour breads, or refined grain cereals were allowed. No trans fats, deep fried foods, or any other processed foods such as candies, cookies, cakes, etc were allowed in the overeating experiment... I was only allowed to overeat on healthy food.
Some staples during my overeating phase were tons of whole eggs (yep, including the extremely healthy full-fat egg yolks), full-fat grass-fed raw cheese and yogurt, avocados, almonds, pecans, walnuts, lots of virgin coconut oil and olive oil, grass-fed butter, berries, lots of fruit and veggies, sprouted grain bread, raw almond butter, sweet potatoes, and lots of venison and grass-fed beef.
2. I was still training very intensely 3-4 days/week at the gym but nothing extremely different from my normal workouts (this means that my caloric expenditure from exercise was not drastically different than normal).
So what was the end result after six weeks of trying to stuff my face with as much healthy food as possible?
My body weight stayed EXACTLY the same! I didn't gain a single pound.
I know the first reaction of many people is that I just must have a "fast metabolism" or something along those lines and that is why I did not gain weight.
But that is false!
The truth is that I have no problem at all gaining weight when I overeat on junk foods, or eat large amounts of processed foods in general. I can guarantee you that if I was overeating on pasta, white rice, cookies, white bread, donuts, and other processed foods during these last 6 weeks, I would have gained a massive amount of weight.
In fact, as I have mentioned before, in the past I have easily gained as much as 10 pounds in only 1 week when I have been on some sort of vacation and simply eat the normal types of processed food that everyone else is eating.
This proves that I am just as prone to gaining weight as anybody else.
However, notice the stark contrast in my experiment with attempting to overeat on all healthy unprocessed foods... I simply could not gain weight because my body would be constantly re-adjusting the hormone levels and appetite levels to account for the super-high nutrient density of food I was eating.
In the end, this meant that my body automatically maintained calorie balance without the need for calorie counting.
This is the type of eating lifestyle that pretty much totally eliminates your cravings... Remember that I have said before that I do not think I have had any real cravings in at least five years (that is the time since I have been more strict on the type of foods I eat).
I also think it is actually fun and more enjoyable to eat in such a healthy manner (for the skeptics that think this involves some sort of deprivation).
Muscle Building topic:
As you know, I'm a huge proponent of constantly reading new books and getting as many perspectives as I can on different fitness topics. I probably read 15-30 new books each year on different fitness and health topics.
I'm currently reading Jason Ferrugia's Muscle Gaining Secrets. Jason is one of the most popular writers for Men's Fitness magazine, and I know we met briefly a couple years ago at a fitness conference, although didn't get much of a chance to talk at that conference.
So far, I'm about half way done with the book and I'm finding it to be very thorough at this point. There's a lot of talk about rep ranges, training volume, types of exercises for gaining muscle, techniques for the true "hardgainers", and lots more.
I'll finish reading it and give you my full review in a week or two. If you want to check it out for yourself, here is Jason's website:
I'll be back soon with another Lean-Body Secrets Ezine issue. Til then,
Don't be lazy... be lean.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Truth About Abs
Saturday 26 September 2009
Are Low Carb Diets Good or Bad for Weight Loss Success?
Everybody has heard of “low carb" diets -- since they seem to be emerging as the newest trend in dieting.
But do they really work? ...
If so, are they the solution to weight loss that everybody is looking for?
Well we don’t think so, because most low carbohydrate diets have several problems which make losing weight very difficult for the “average” dieter.
For example, if you follow the Atkins diet (a popular low carb program) then the restriction on carbs for the first couple weeks is very severe (by almost any standards).
The Atkins program allows you to have just 20 grams of "net carbs" per day during the first phase of the diet (which usually lasts for 2 weeks).
Just to give you an idea of how few carbs that really is – even a large apple has more than 20 grams of "net carbs".
This low level of calories is usually too severe for the “average” dieter to tolerate for 2 weeks straight, and in fact eating such a low level of calories can make a person feel “weak”, “miserable” and even "spaced out" all day long (because your body needs more carbs than that for energy), and can lead to long term health problems.
Other low carb diets (such as the South Beach Diet) are not quite as severe as the Atkins Plan, but in our opinion even the South Beach Diet is not as easy to follow as it could be.
We firmly believe that a successful diet needs to be easy to follow – because that’s the only way that people will stick to the diet and lose weight.
We also believe that diets should not make average people feel “miserable” and “weak” all day long, because if a diet makes people feel miserable and weak then it’s going to be very difficult for average dieters to adhere to such programs.
We’re not saying that all low carbohydrate diets are as restrictive as the Atkins Diet is, but we're saying that most low carb diets are so hard to follow that the average dieter will probably wind up feeling hungry and weak all day long (which is not a good thing for dieting success in our opinion).
We believe that “low carbs” is not the answer to losing weight, since your body needs a reasonable amount of all 3 types of calories to lose weight consistently.
The reality is that your body needs a reasonable amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat calories too otherwise fatigue / exhaustion will set in.
To lose weight quickly you must eat all 3 types of calories in the right proportions, and that’s why most dieters fail. They fail because nobody understands what the right amounts of calories should be.
To start losing weight quickly we recommend using the new From Fatigued to Fantastic Program, featuring over 8 hours of interviews with experts in nutrition, relationships, career, finances, sleep and so much more.
But do they really work? ...
If so, are they the solution to weight loss that everybody is looking for?
Well we don’t think so, because most low carbohydrate diets have several problems which make losing weight very difficult for the “average” dieter.
For example, if you follow the Atkins diet (a popular low carb program) then the restriction on carbs for the first couple weeks is very severe (by almost any standards).
The Atkins program allows you to have just 20 grams of "net carbs" per day during the first phase of the diet (which usually lasts for 2 weeks).
Just to give you an idea of how few carbs that really is – even a large apple has more than 20 grams of "net carbs".
This low level of calories is usually too severe for the “average” dieter to tolerate for 2 weeks straight, and in fact eating such a low level of calories can make a person feel “weak”, “miserable” and even "spaced out" all day long (because your body needs more carbs than that for energy), and can lead to long term health problems.
Other low carb diets (such as the South Beach Diet) are not quite as severe as the Atkins Plan, but in our opinion even the South Beach Diet is not as easy to follow as it could be.
We firmly believe that a successful diet needs to be easy to follow – because that’s the only way that people will stick to the diet and lose weight.
We also believe that diets should not make average people feel “miserable” and “weak” all day long, because if a diet makes people feel miserable and weak then it’s going to be very difficult for average dieters to adhere to such programs.
We’re not saying that all low carbohydrate diets are as restrictive as the Atkins Diet is, but we're saying that most low carb diets are so hard to follow that the average dieter will probably wind up feeling hungry and weak all day long (which is not a good thing for dieting success in our opinion).
We believe that “low carbs” is not the answer to losing weight, since your body needs a reasonable amount of all 3 types of calories to lose weight consistently.
The reality is that your body needs a reasonable amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat calories too otherwise fatigue / exhaustion will set in.
To lose weight quickly you must eat all 3 types of calories in the right proportions, and that’s why most dieters fail. They fail because nobody understands what the right amounts of calories should be.
To start losing weight quickly we recommend using the new From Fatigued to Fantastic Program, featuring over 8 hours of interviews with experts in nutrition, relationships, career, finances, sleep and so much more.
Monday 24 August 2009
The best place to start for maximum Fat Loss
Hello Readers,
I'm going to post everyday some great and valuable nutrition information from Isabel, that you are going to be able to get started with right now. I am not holding back!
------------
Let me begin by telling you my "3 magic secrets" to getting many of my clients to lose their first 5-10 lbs in just 2-3 weeks. It begins with a short story about my uncle and a conversation I had with him last summer.
My family and I spent this particular Saturday afternoon at my cousin's house barbequing and having a great time. There are 2 things guaranteed at my family functions: lots of laughter and LOTS OF FOOD!
So, just as we're chowing down on steaks, chicken legs, hamburgers and hot dogs, (I swear, I was not the one eating the hot dogs) my uncle came up to me and said "Hey Isabel. Your mom says her knees don't hurt anymore like they did last year. My knees are killing me. What do you think is wrong with them?" (All the while he's still chomping down on his second hot dog and cola).
"Well Tio (I speak Spanish to all of my relatives) let me give it to you straight. (Look of fear in his eyes). This past year my mom, your sis, lost 40 lbs. That's 40 lbs less weight that her knees have to carry around. Of course they feel better. I guarantee if you lost a few lbs. yourself, your knees would stop hurting."
At this point Tio looks like he wishes he had just asked me about the weather, the upcoming election or even quantum physics, ANYTHING but be told that he needs to lose weight.
"Isabel, I'm 60 years old and I have been this fat forever. I wouldn't even know where to start."
So I gave him 3 super easy rules to follow. (These are my magic bullets for getting your metabolism in fat burning mode.)
"Tio, follow these three rules and I guarantee you, better yet, I promise you, you will lose a minimum of 10 lbs. in 14 days."
1. Don't eat anything that is white. Think about most foods that are white and chances are you shouldn't be eating it. Specifically, I'm talking about white bread, pasta, sugar, white rice, and most milk products. Healthy foods like cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish are all exceptions to this rule. Based on Tio's current eating habits, I didn't think he was all too worried about cauliflower anyway.
2. Only drink water, NOTHING else! How about coffee? Just to keep any possible withdrawal headaches at bay, one small cup of organic black coffee is ok. Can you add half and half?...Well is it white?
3. Don't eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. What if it's whole wheat? Look, if the word starts with W and ends in T and has the letters h-e-a in between, you can't eat it.
Tio agreed that he was up for the challenge. Anything to make the knee pain go away and make his niece stop lecturing.
I highly recommend you follow those same rules for the next 14 days (No, not for the rest of your life. Just for the next 14 days.) You will absolutely amaze yourself with your results. Remember, no white foods (except for the few I mentioned above), only water to drink and no wheat products.
I promise this is not how you have to eat for the long term in order to lose weight and keep it off but I do know that this is a great way to jumpstart your metabolism and see some initial weight come off a bit faster.
Don't let one more day go by without feeling and looking as great as I know you can! Don't wait until you have eaten all the food in your fridge or "used up" all the food in your pantry. It's not worth the wait! Commit to this e-course and your new incredible body right now and I promise the results will be worth it. And I will be here to guide you and support you along the way.
I'm going to post everyday some great and valuable nutrition information from Isabel, that you are going to be able to get started with right now. I am not holding back!
------------
Let me begin by telling you my "3 magic secrets" to getting many of my clients to lose their first 5-10 lbs in just 2-3 weeks. It begins with a short story about my uncle and a conversation I had with him last summer.
My family and I spent this particular Saturday afternoon at my cousin's house barbequing and having a great time. There are 2 things guaranteed at my family functions: lots of laughter and LOTS OF FOOD!
So, just as we're chowing down on steaks, chicken legs, hamburgers and hot dogs, (I swear, I was not the one eating the hot dogs) my uncle came up to me and said "Hey Isabel. Your mom says her knees don't hurt anymore like they did last year. My knees are killing me. What do you think is wrong with them?" (All the while he's still chomping down on his second hot dog and cola).
"Well Tio (I speak Spanish to all of my relatives) let me give it to you straight. (Look of fear in his eyes). This past year my mom, your sis, lost 40 lbs. That's 40 lbs less weight that her knees have to carry around. Of course they feel better. I guarantee if you lost a few lbs. yourself, your knees would stop hurting."
At this point Tio looks like he wishes he had just asked me about the weather, the upcoming election or even quantum physics, ANYTHING but be told that he needs to lose weight.
"Isabel, I'm 60 years old and I have been this fat forever. I wouldn't even know where to start."
So I gave him 3 super easy rules to follow. (These are my magic bullets for getting your metabolism in fat burning mode.)
"Tio, follow these three rules and I guarantee you, better yet, I promise you, you will lose a minimum of 10 lbs. in 14 days."
1. Don't eat anything that is white. Think about most foods that are white and chances are you shouldn't be eating it. Specifically, I'm talking about white bread, pasta, sugar, white rice, and most milk products. Healthy foods like cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish are all exceptions to this rule. Based on Tio's current eating habits, I didn't think he was all too worried about cauliflower anyway.
2. Only drink water, NOTHING else! How about coffee? Just to keep any possible withdrawal headaches at bay, one small cup of organic black coffee is ok. Can you add half and half?...Well is it white?
3. Don't eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. What if it's whole wheat? Look, if the word starts with W and ends in T and has the letters h-e-a in between, you can't eat it.
Tio agreed that he was up for the challenge. Anything to make the knee pain go away and make his niece stop lecturing.
I highly recommend you follow those same rules for the next 14 days (No, not for the rest of your life. Just for the next 14 days.) You will absolutely amaze yourself with your results. Remember, no white foods (except for the few I mentioned above), only water to drink and no wheat products.
I promise this is not how you have to eat for the long term in order to lose weight and keep it off but I do know that this is a great way to jumpstart your metabolism and see some initial weight come off a bit faster.
Don't let one more day go by without feeling and looking as great as I know you can! Don't wait until you have eaten all the food in your fridge or "used up" all the food in your pantry. It's not worth the wait! Commit to this e-course and your new incredible body right now and I promise the results will be worth it. And I will be here to guide you and support you along the way.
Thursday 2 July 2009
A little bit of Exercise Motivation
Many people know how important exercise is as an integral part of their weight loss and health plan but still have a difficult time fitting it into their busy lives.
One possible reason could be that, yes, exercise can be challenging when you first begin your program or you just give yourself the excuse "I just don't have the time."
What I have figured out for myself and for hundreds of my clients that no matter which exercise program they choose, it must be something they enjoy. Especially when it comes to the setting and location.
For me, I have converted the 2nd bedroom of my house into my "home gym".
NO, home gym does not mean I have the most expensive, high tech equipment. To be honest, the only items that make up my home gym are: an exercise ball, 2 adjustable weights, an exercise mat, and an old Spinning bike that I bought used from a local YMCA. That’s it! Nothing expensive or high tech about it.
Many times in the past I have joined gyms and told myself I was going to go. But like many other gym members, I never go! Now, I do really enjoy exercising so why wouldn't I actually use my gym membership?
I figured out that I really love my exercise room. It’s my private time to myself and I don’t have to worry about who else needs the equipment or who’s lurking around the gym. I get an hour to myself and it’s a great way to start my day.
I asked myself if this could possibly be what's stopping many people from exercising. “Is this most people’s problem? Do they not like where they work out so they just don’t want to go?” So it’s really not the actual workout but the environment that they’re in.
Now maybe for you the situation is just the opposite. You don’t like working out in your home and you would much rather get out and be motivated by other healthy people. Whatever the case may be, choose something you enjoy! You will never make a lifestyle change to include exercise on a consistent basis if you don’t enjoy it. Who wants to do something that feels like torture? Not me. I love my morning exercise time and if it felt like torture, I just wouldn’t do it.
My question to you is: What do you have to do to make your workout time enjoyable? Or (heaven forbid) something you actually look forward to? Join an adult sports league? Start your own exercise group? Join a new gym? Set up a home gym? Find a workout partner? The choices are endless.
Try many different options and figure out which activity you would enjoy best and I assure you, exercise never has to be a drag.
Monday 29 June 2009
3 Simple, Healthy Meal Plans You Can Start Right Now
Is really it possible to put together a simple and healthy meal plan? One which is not going to be complicated and impossible to follow?
Yes. It is possible and I will show you how. The healthy meal plans below will help you achieve your health goals while simultaneously shedding fat off your body.
Here are 3 healthy meal plans you can get started on right now.
Breakfast
Protein should be included in every meal throughout the day and breakfast is no exception. Make sure to include organic eggs, cottage cheese, raw nut butter or smoked fish as one component of your healthy breakfast. Carbohydrates should also be included in the form of oatmeal, sprouted grain bread, fruit and/or vegetables.
3 great sample breakfasts are:
Oatmeal with almond butter, topped with fresh berries and a bit of Stevia to sweeten.
2 hard boiled eggs, 1 slice sprouted grain toast and ½ grapefruit
Smoked salmon over sliced tomato and 1 green apple
Lunch
The same rules apply as breakfast. An easy way to ensure that you always have a healthy protein available for lunch is to pack leftovers from dinner the night before. Leftover hamburger, chicken legs or wild fish are all great to include in a salad or over vegetables.
3 great sample lunches are:
Baked Tilapia over sautéed spinach, green salad with chick peas (oil and vinegar as dressing) followed by ½ cup of pineapple.
Leftover chicken legs with ½ sweet potato and broccoli.
Lean hamburger over portabella mushroom and brown rice. Cooked vegetables or a green salad. 1 orange.
Dinner
You can really be creative with dinner. Look for recipes that are quick and easy and modify them with your own healthy ingredients as needed. Again, always remember to include protein and carbohydrates.
3 great sample dinners are:
Mexican salad: Ground beef over shredded lettuce and tomato, guacamole and brown rice.
Grilled Salmon over asparagus, green salad (oil and vinegar as dressing) followed by a fresh fruit salad.
Buffalo meat balls over rice pasta with sautéed broccoli.
Snacks
You never want to let your body get too hungry. Hunger often leads to binge eating of unhealthy food and makes sticking to a healthy eating regimen much more difficult. It’s important to keep snacks handy so you never experience hunger or a blood sugar low without having a healthy option nearby.
3 great snacks are:
2 Tbsp almond butter on ½ apple
Trail mix made up of walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and dried fruit (no sugar added)
Cottage cheese and pineapple
Incorporating just a few of these meals into your daily eating regimen, you will start to see an incredible difference in your weight loss results. Following simple and healthy meal plans like these is the first step in achieving your health and fitness goals.
Yes. It is possible and I will show you how. The healthy meal plans below will help you achieve your health goals while simultaneously shedding fat off your body.
Here are 3 healthy meal plans you can get started on right now.
Breakfast
Protein should be included in every meal throughout the day and breakfast is no exception. Make sure to include organic eggs, cottage cheese, raw nut butter or smoked fish as one component of your healthy breakfast. Carbohydrates should also be included in the form of oatmeal, sprouted grain bread, fruit and/or vegetables.
3 great sample breakfasts are:
Oatmeal with almond butter, topped with fresh berries and a bit of Stevia to sweeten.
2 hard boiled eggs, 1 slice sprouted grain toast and ½ grapefruit
Smoked salmon over sliced tomato and 1 green apple
Lunch
The same rules apply as breakfast. An easy way to ensure that you always have a healthy protein available for lunch is to pack leftovers from dinner the night before. Leftover hamburger, chicken legs or wild fish are all great to include in a salad or over vegetables.
3 great sample lunches are:
Baked Tilapia over sautéed spinach, green salad with chick peas (oil and vinegar as dressing) followed by ½ cup of pineapple.
Leftover chicken legs with ½ sweet potato and broccoli.
Lean hamburger over portabella mushroom and brown rice. Cooked vegetables or a green salad. 1 orange.
Dinner
You can really be creative with dinner. Look for recipes that are quick and easy and modify them with your own healthy ingredients as needed. Again, always remember to include protein and carbohydrates.
3 great sample dinners are:
Mexican salad: Ground beef over shredded lettuce and tomato, guacamole and brown rice.
Grilled Salmon over asparagus, green salad (oil and vinegar as dressing) followed by a fresh fruit salad.
Buffalo meat balls over rice pasta with sautéed broccoli.
Snacks
You never want to let your body get too hungry. Hunger often leads to binge eating of unhealthy food and makes sticking to a healthy eating regimen much more difficult. It’s important to keep snacks handy so you never experience hunger or a blood sugar low without having a healthy option nearby.
3 great snacks are:
2 Tbsp almond butter on ½ apple
Trail mix made up of walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and dried fruit (no sugar added)
Cottage cheese and pineapple
Incorporating just a few of these meals into your daily eating regimen, you will start to see an incredible difference in your weight loss results. Following simple and healthy meal plans like these is the first step in achieving your health and fitness goals.
3 Easy Tips To Lose Fat
Losing fat does not have to be difficult, especially if you have a few tricks up your sleeve. By this I don't mean you would not want you to take a dangerous, radical approach to your fat loss, but only one that would be healthy and prove great results at the same time.
I have had many clients, friends and family members ask me, "Isabel, is there a way I can drop my first few pounds of fat quickly and easily?" Yes, there is. It will require a few dietary changes on your part, but the results are incredible. I have had hundreds of people use these tips with great success, easily losing their first 10-15lbs of unwanted fat.
Here are my 3 Simple and Easy Fat Loss Rules:
1. Don’t eat anything that is white. Name every single food that is white and chances are you shouldn’t be eating it: bread, pasta, crackers, most cereals, flour based products, white potatoes, white rice, and pasteurized dairy and cheese are all no-no's during this time. (Healthy foods like broccoli, cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish, white pork are all exceptions to this rule).
2. Only drink water, NOTHING else! How about coffee? Just to keep any possible withdrawal headaches at bay, one small cup of organic black coffee. Can you add half and half?…Well is it white? Drink a minimum of 1/2 of your bodyweight in ounces of water each day (ex. If you weigh 200 lbs, you need to drink 100 ounces) to really see the fat fall off.
3. Don’t eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. What if it’s whole wheat? Look, if the word starts with W and ends in T and has the letters h e a in between, you can’t eat it. This includes bread, pasta, crackers and cereal. Many packaged snack foods also contain wheat so be sure to read the ingredients list carefully, check out wheat free diets.
Are you up for this challenge? Apply these easy fat loss rules to your own eating plan for the next 2 weeks and I know you will be seeing some amazing fat loss results in no time.
I have had many clients, friends and family members ask me, "Isabel, is there a way I can drop my first few pounds of fat quickly and easily?" Yes, there is. It will require a few dietary changes on your part, but the results are incredible. I have had hundreds of people use these tips with great success, easily losing their first 10-15lbs of unwanted fat.
Here are my 3 Simple and Easy Fat Loss Rules:
1. Don’t eat anything that is white. Name every single food that is white and chances are you shouldn’t be eating it: bread, pasta, crackers, most cereals, flour based products, white potatoes, white rice, and pasteurized dairy and cheese are all no-no's during this time. (Healthy foods like broccoli, cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish, white pork are all exceptions to this rule).
2. Only drink water, NOTHING else! How about coffee? Just to keep any possible withdrawal headaches at bay, one small cup of organic black coffee. Can you add half and half?…Well is it white? Drink a minimum of 1/2 of your bodyweight in ounces of water each day (ex. If you weigh 200 lbs, you need to drink 100 ounces) to really see the fat fall off.
3. Don’t eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. What if it’s whole wheat? Look, if the word starts with W and ends in T and has the letters h e a in between, you can’t eat it. This includes bread, pasta, crackers and cereal. Many packaged snack foods also contain wheat so be sure to read the ingredients list carefully, check out wheat free diets.
Are you up for this challenge? Apply these easy fat loss rules to your own eating plan for the next 2 weeks and I know you will be seeing some amazing fat loss results in no time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
