Foods to alleviate back pain

Hi It's Isabel - new post

In my house there's a phrase I hear quite often...

"Oh, my back hurts!"

Why?

Because my dear old husband, Stewart, suffers from back pain... just like more than half of all adults in the western world.

Yes, we can lay some blame on college football and a desk job that keeps him seated for more than 8 hours a day. But there are a lot of factors that make the situation worse and, luckily, a lot of things that can be done to make the situation better.

One thing Stewart always does say is when he's eating really well, and staying away from "junky" foods his back feels much, much better. (What do you mean? Isabel's husband doesn't eat perfectly all the time?) Nope, definitely not (sorry sweetie, I just ratted you out).

Some people would say this may be because the more weight you're carrying around on your body, the more strain you are putting on your back. Yes, this is probably true, but my husband is not overweight, so there must be something else to this.

Whats the reason?

Inflammation.

Specifically internal inflammation and this kind of inflammation can be greatly controlled by the food you eat.

Internal inflammation is a lot like external inflammation but you can't see it so it is not as obvious to us. When you sprain your ankle, your body's natural response is to signal pain (so you won't keep moving and cause more damage) and will also cause inflammation in the injured area (again, so you'll just lie on the couch and chill out). It will also direct fresh blood, antibodies, and vital cells to the area to aid in the healing process. This sounds all fine and dandy but when your body creates inflammation and pain signals in your lower back, sometimes debilitating you for the day, it is not so fine and dandy anymore. Like my husband, you may have experienced this before.

I have had plenty of people look at me like I was crazy when I tried to tell them that if they just eliminated "inflammatory foods" from their meal plans, a lot of the pain would go away. Especially medical professionals who have been so accustomed to just prescribing surgery or pain medications to alleviate bad backs. But I have seen it happen right before my eyes time and time again. People need to eliminate inflammatory foods like wheat, dairy and sugar, and voilà

...Back pain gone in a few weeks.

So what kind of foods should you avoid and which foods should you eat to control and prevent back pain?

Foods to avoid to control and eliminate inflammation (i.e. inflammatory foods)

Sugar, from any source
Processed foods
French Fries
Fast Foods
White bread
Pasta
Ice Cream
Cheddar Cheeses
Snack Foods
Oils such as vegetable and corn
Soda, caffeine and alcohol

Foods to eat to control and eliminate inflammation (i.e. anti-inflammatory foods)

Atlantic Salmon (wild)
Fresh whole fruits, vegetables
Bright multi-colored vegetables
Lean poultry
Nuts, legumes and seeds
Dark green leafy vegetables
Old fashioned oatmeal
Green tea
Water
Olive oil

Not all fat makes you fat.

Hello Everyone, I am going to discuss fats.
There is an incredible thing that happens when you lose weight and finally get your health in order (I'm not talking about buying a new bikini)...Everyone wants to know how you did it. Am I right?

This is exactly what has happened to my mom. Last year she lost 40 pounds and was able to stop taking her blood pressure and cholesterol medications just by using the principles in The Diet Solution (I haven't asked her about the bikini).

Now, even a year later, all of her friends are constantly calling her to ask their nutrition and health questions. Funny thing, they never want to talk to me, they only want to talk to her!

Last week my mom called me and needed a bit of help. "Isabel, I tried to tell one of the ladies at the YMCA where I exercise that she should use coconut oil to cook and she nearly fell off the exercise machine. I think she thought I was trying to kill her. She said her doctor told her to stop eating all saturated fat and that oils like coconut oil are fattening. How do I explain to her that it's actually good for her?"

This same scenario happens to me all the time. People have a really hard time believing that coconut oil is not "fattening" or "dangerous". We have all been falsely led to believe that fat, especially saturated fat, is the cause of our weight gain and health problems. This is only true half true. Some fats like hydrogenated oils and vegetable oils do contribute to heart disease and weight gain, but good fats like coconut oil, butter and olive oil are actually great fats for our bodies. Think about how much healthier people were in the late 1800's and very early 1900's. Heart disease was almost unheard of back then.

Let's put some of these MYTHS about coconut oil to rest right now.

Myth 1 - Coconut Oil contains a lot of fat so it must be fattening.

Truth - Not all fat makes you fat (I want to get this tattooed on my forehead). Certain fats do cause weight gain, but other good fats will actually burn unwanted fat off your body and accelerate your metabolism. I explain this in much more detail in the FATS Chapter of The Diet Solution Program so be sure to reference your manual for those details.

Myth 2 - Coconut Oil contains almost all saturated fat so it must be bad for you.

Truth - Saturated Fat is not the cause of heart disease, weight gain and high cholesterol. Saturated Fat has been falsely accused and it is SUGAR that is Enemy Numero Uno (It is worse than the Joker in Bat Man). Again, this is explained thoroughly in your manual (The Truth About Saturated Fat), stating facts and figures that prove saturated fat is really not our major problem.

Myth 3 - Coconut Oil should be avoided by those who are at risk for heart disease .

Truth - The fat in coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils you can consume (yes, even for those with heart disease). It is rich in lauric acid, which is known for its antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties and contains no trans fat. The saturated fat in coconut oil is different than many other oils in that it is of the medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) variety. The body digests MCFAs more easily and sends these fats directly to the liver where they are immediately converted into energy. Now isn't that great? A fat that is used to make energy instead of storing it on our bodies. We can all use some of that.
I highly recommend everyone use unrefined, organic coconut oil for all of their cooking needs. 1 - 2 tsps for most cooking is more than enough. You can even use it raw if you like as I think, it tastes OH SO DELICIOUS! I usually have about 2-3 total TBSPs per day which is a perfect amount for a fat burning eating plan. While it's really good for you, there's no need to go overboard.

If you have a hard time finding coconut oil in your local supermarket here in the USA, I buy mine here:

http://wildfamilynaturals.com

Now go right ahead and enjoy your coconut oil.

Top 10 Foods you May Think are Healthy, but are NOT

Hi Its Isabel:
Just a few weeks ago I told you how I spent the weekend filming some great fat loss nutrition videos. Well one thing I had to do before I started filming was go to the grocery store and buy several "bad" food items and "good" food items (Actually, I already had most of the good in the fridge, so that part was easy).

I walked up and down the aisles looking for foods that claimed to be "healthy" or "good for you", but listed ingredients on the label like high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oil and artificial sweeteners.

Do you know what happened?

Before I knew it, I had a cart completely full. The number of products I found seemed endless. I couldn't believe all the false marketing claims all over these foods and needless to say, I ended up ridiculously angry by the end of this trip! (Don't worry. I abstained from throwing stuff around the store. I try and keep my composure in public.)

Why would I get so angry? Well it just makes me so mad to imagine all the people that have fallen for these false claims...all in an effort to eat healthy or try to lose weight. It breaks my heart actually (and no, I'm not exaggerating), probably because I used to be one of those people who thought they were doing the "right" thing but I had fallen for all of this false marketing as well.

Now it would take me pages and pages to list all the foods and ingredients I found in each of these products, but here

Isabel's "Top 10 Foods you May Think are Healthy, but are NOT" (and I'm going to hope that your favorite meal, snack or drink is not on this list):

1. Whole Wheat bread - all contain enriched flour and some contain high fructose corn syrup
2. Low Fat and/or Low Sugar Salad Dressings - canola oil, sugar (or some use artificial sweeteners instead...which is worse!)
3. Sports Drinks - high fructose corn syrup, not to mention all the nasty dyes that are used to make it all sorts of fluorescent colors
4. Dry Roasted Almonds - canola oil and some add sugar
5. Almost all Protein and Energy Bars - soy and sugar
6. Almost all High Protein and High Fiber cereals - soy and canola oil
7. Low Sugar Instant Oatmeal - sugar, soy, and artificial sweeteners
8. Diet and Weight Loss Shakes (and other diet shakes) - canola oil and sugar
9. 100 Calorie Snack Packs - enriched flour and artificial sweeteners
10. Flavored Yogurt - sugar or artificial sweeteners

Take a look in your fridge and in your pantry right now and see if any of your favorite foods contain ingredients that may just be stopping you from reaching your fat loss goals. Sometimes, seeing results or overcoming a weight loss plateau is as easy as getting rid of some of these so called "healthy" foods.

Now on to a happier topic...

I've got some great news!

I've been asked to speak at a LIVE, in person event, along with some of my favorite fitness authors and coaches. Not only is this an incredible honor, but it is a great opportunity for me to meet you and all of my other wonderful readers and subscribers. I'm so excited!

This event will be taking place in sunny Tampa, Florida January 16th - 18th, 2010.

The weekend will be jam-packed with activities, each day beginning with morning workouts instructed by premier bootcamp coaches like Craig Ballantyne and Scott Colby, followed by motivational and educational presentations in the Grand Ballroom from training, nutrition, and mindset experts like Joel Marion, Jon Benson, Vince Del Monte, Shawn Phillips, Holly Rigsby and ME...just to name a few!

And yes, there will be plenty of time to interact and socialize!

Tickets will go on sale next week and I know seats are going to be limited (all of the speakers, including myself, want to make sure we have enough time to meet all of the attendees). All you need to do right now is clear your calendar for January 16th - 18th and watch your email inbox early next week for the link to the early bird discount. I'll be sure to let you know the second these tickets become available.

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.

Exercise after eating - diet tip

Exercising after eating a meal can help promote weight loss by boosting hormones that suppress appetite, say UK scientists.

Thanks to these hormones, active people feel less hungry immediately after exercise, and this carries through to their next meal, experiments suggest.

Even when their meals were bigger, sporty people gained fewer calories overall because they burned off more.

The University of Surrey and Imperial College London joint work is published in the Journal of Endocrinology.

Exercise may alter people's appetite to help them lose weight.
According to researcher Dr Denise Robertson:

Twelve volunteers were fed the same breakfast.

An hour later, half of them worked out for an hour on an exercise bike while the other half sat quietly.

Both groups were left for another hour and then allowed to eat as much as they liked.

Exercise guidelines

Unsurprisingly, people who exercised burned more calories than those who sat quietly, 492 kcal compared to 197 kcal.

And when given the chance to eat afterwards, people who had exercised tended to eat more, 913 kcal versus to 762 kcal.

However, when the amount of energy burned during exercise was taken into account, the sporty people took in fewer calories overall - 421 kcal compared to 565 kcal for the inactive group.

And levels of hormones called PYY, GLP-1 and PP, which tell the brain when the stomach is full, increased during and immediately after exercise.

Volunteers also said they felt less hungry during this time.

Researcher Dr Denise Robertson said: "In the past we have been concerned that, although exercise burns energy, people subsequently ate more after working out. This would cancel out any possible weight reduction effects of exercise.

"But our research shows that exercise may alter people's appetite to help them lose weight and prevent further weight gain as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle."

Experts recommend people do at least 30 minutes of physical activity on five or more days a week.

'Significant contribution'

Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of the charity Weight Concern, said: "This is an interesting study. Patients often report that they feel increased hunger and eat more after exercise.

"What this study shows is that, although total calorific intake is greater, the net result, because of the exercise taken, is a reduction in the net energy balance.

"Dieting is never easy. Increased physical activity is an essential part of any weight management programme, not just to expend more calories but also, as we see here, to help control our appetite too."

Dr John McAvoy, a GP with a special interest in obesity, said the study was a "significant contribution to understanding the complex mechanisms of energy balance".

"It will be of much more interest to the pharmaceutical industry than the general public at this stage, for the simple reason that most people view exercising so soon after eating as akin to putting your fingers down your throat," he added.

"For exercise to contribute to weight control it should be sustainable over the long term and enjoyment remains a critical factor to this end."

Ref:
Effects of exercise on gut peptides, energy intake and appetite
Catia Martins, Linda M Morgan, Stephen R Bloom1 and M Denise Robertson
Journal of Endocrinology (2007) 193, 251-258 DOI: 10.1677/JOE-06-0030


Article originally posted on BBC News

How to lose your butt for 2010

Losing weight is on many people’s minds nowadays. This is because there is more information coming in to the media, that highlights the dangers of being obese and of not being vigilant when it comes to diet. In the US alone, over 40% of the population can be considered overweight. This essentially means a BMI of over 25. BMI or body mass index is the standard measure used to gauge one’s weight in relation to their height. It does not really measure, the actually measure of the quantity of fat that is in the body, but it is nevertheless accepted by many medical organizations as the standard way of measuring obesity. Obesity on the other hand is termed as a condition where the body accumulates more fat to the extent that it becomes a health risk. Obesity kills over 400,000 people in the US and costs billions of dollars in lost productivity for workers who have to miss work because of obesity-related medical visits.

There are many ways one can become obese and before we look at how you can lose your butt in 2009, let us examine a few ways in which people gain that butt in the first place. In today’s society, people find themselves so hard pressed for time that they cannot go grocery shopping or cook. Their only option now becomes eating out at a fast food restaurant. Fast food restaurants in turn have mushroomed by the hundreds to cater for this growing number of customers. While they have been trying to reduce the amount of fat they use to fry their food, fast food restaurants nevertheless continue to churn very high-calorie meals and at times the calorie level of some meals can be as high as the entire required calorie intake for the whole day! It is also not unusual nowadays to see whole families eating lunch breakfast and dinner at fast food restaurants. Coupled with a lifestyle again that is too busy to allow for time to exercise, being obese becomes the next logical step for many of these people. There are off course those who have genetic issues that prevent the body metabolism from burning enough calories and so fat is accumulated faster and if these same people live the fast food lifestyle, then they can become obese.

Having a bigger butt is direct result of being obese for most people. Today, many are trying to lose their butt and have become focused on doing so especially for this 2009. There are various ways one can do this.
One way is to exercise. There are many simple exercises and workouts that one can engage in to lose their butt. The first one is walking (yes, walking, something that quite a few of us seem to have fogotten how to do). This is sometimes hard because we live in a society where we need to drive everywhere but when it comes to short distances, walking can go a long way in ensuring that we burn enough fat in our hip, thigh and butt area. Sit ups and simple jogging exercise also help immensely. Swimming is an excellent way to burn of those carbohydrates.

How dieting can affect weight loss

Excess weight is often referred to by the term obesity. This is a condition where the body accumulates more fat than is being processed or burned by the normal metabolism. In many cases, this can be genetic but in most, there is obviously a diet problem that needs to be reconsidered. Obesity is measured in what is called body mass index or BMI according to the fitness and medical circles. BMI is arrived at by dividing weight by height and then squaring the result. A BMI of 25-29kg/m is considered overweight.

Obesity is dangerous. Medical research shows that the chances of a heart attack are exponentially increased the higher the BMI goes. People who are overweight also struggle with a myriad of other complications. For instance, obese people also have to deal with a low self-esteem, because the general mass media pushes the image of the slim model as the ideal. Clothes are also hard to find and one has to shop at special stores. More health problems include sleep irregularities and the risk of a stroke.

How does diet help? Researchers and nutritionists report that there is a correlation between weight loss and dieting. Education is key. Reading the labels when shopping is recommended. There are some foods which have a higher calorie content than others and knowing this will put one in the right track. By education, we also mean that you should familiarize yourself with the food pyramid. You can easily access this at the food pyramid website which is supported by the Food and Drug Administration.

Dieting does not always mean starving yourself. It can mean that you are taking precautions as to what you eat. That means cooking with oils such as olive oil which has healthy fats and does not encourage fat accumulation. Of course animal fats should be avoided if possible.