Doing abdominal exercises may not be the quickest way to get a six-pack!
If you are on a mission to get perfect abs you will need to start following some key strategies outside the box of conventional training methods. Millions are spent annually in marketing the latest gadgets for training abs and food supplements for fat loss with the objective to tempt the vulnerable into thinking there is a quick fix to achieving six pack abs. The quick fix solutions for perfect abs are to stop relying on gimmicks and begin to look at your own lifestyle habits.
Believe it or not doing abdominal exercises isn’t the quickest way to get a six-pack. As you read on you will discover it isn’t as straightforward as tiring yourself out doing tons of crunches. It is also worth noting that anyone can transform a flabby tummy into a set of toned abs as long as they follow certain actions.
The first step is to get a reality check on your lifestyle. If you wake tired and drink coffee all day then the first thing you need to do is go to bed earlier. A good nights sleep is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health, it is often overlooked for achieving optimal physical condition and may be the missing link in getting the abs you desire. It is a necessity rather than an option to have a good night sleep; we release certain hormones for physical repair between 10pm and 2am and specific hormones for psychological repair between 2am and 6am. If you fail to refill your energy account every night with undisturbed sleep you greatly enhance the aging process and reduce your chances of being able to lose body fat.
Drinking adequate amounts of water ranks in number one position for nutritional importance for fat loss and perfect abs. Drink mineral water everyday, drinking water in-between meals and at room temperature is the best way.
The next step then is to stop eating processed foods. The next time you pick up food in a packet look at the ingredients and see if you can pronounce the ingredients, if you can’t don’t let it inside your body. Processed foods contain artificial ingredients and additives that can make you toxic and give your digestive system a hard time. The last thing you need if you want low body fat levels.
Other foods to eliminate for perfect abs is sugar, wheat, alcohol and all caffeine. Once your diet if free from these kinds of foods then you can worry about exercise selection for your abs. The best exercises to get perfect abs are the ones that enable you to progress with levels of difficulty with either your bodyweight as resistance or resistance from some kind of exercise equipment.
For best results it is best to concentrate on only a few abdominal exercises in any one workout. Don’t make the mistake of spreading yourself out too thinly by doing too many exercises and only putting in half the effort.
Doing abdominal exercises may not be the quickest way to get a six-pack!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The Myths About Cardio Training & Fat Loss
I have personally done cardio training in the past under strict conditions whilst keeping my calorie intake and non-cardio training frequency consistent!
If you asked any group of people including doctors, physical therapist and most personal trainers which type of exercise is the best for burning unwanted body fat 99% would say cardiovascular training or cardio for short. Cardio training are exercises like jogging, running, bike riding, rowing and other repetitive movements you see people doing on pieces of fancy looking gym equipment. I have years of experience witnessing the lack of results people achieve doing cardio workouts for fat loss goals. I also have dozens of opinions through research and personal experience to back it up.
I have personally done cardio training in the past under strict conditions whilst keeping my calorie intake and non-cardio training frequency consistent. The cardio workouts I have tried and tested were training at 60% of my maximum heart rate, training at 80% of my maximum heart rate and interval training. All the cardio workouts lasted for at least 20 minutes. I need to emphasise that I gave each type of workout a chance by giving them ample time by doing them for months at a time rather than for weeks. I did this to see if I got any sort of response and waited to see if my body fat levels or body weight would change but it never did. In other words I spent years wasting my time and effort on different kinds of cardiovascular workouts when all I needed was strength training and quality nutrition rather than focus on calories and miles.
What does this tell you about cardio training for your goals? If someone with a calorie controlled and healthy diet exercising six times a week can’t achieve any kind of results with cardio workouts how do you think you will do?
Just to prove I was working hard enough all the cardio workouts I did always made me sweat giving me a false sense of security that something positive was happening to me. The interval training workouts were extremely challenging and always leaved me in a state of heavy and out of controlled breathing halfway through the workout till the end. But unfortunately for me I never saw any results for all the hard work I was putting in.
You have to ask yourself where the cardio myth originated and who perpetuated it. Cardio training is actually out of date science, it works to a degree in theory but when you study it carefully it is only marginally successful for weight and fat loss and for many of us can have a reverse effect on body fat levels.
Health clubs and gyms have helped to add fuel to the cardio myth for years and even decades. When you walk into any gym in the world all you will see are rows and rows of cardio training equipment neatly presented. These are there for the clubs benefit and not yours. They give an image that the gym has an answer to your goals and all you have to do is use them. If all they had were dumbbells, Swiss balls and other functional equipment on the gym floor no one would want to join the gym because they wouldn’t have a clue what to do with them. It is in the gyms best interest to encourage its members to use the cardio equipment because they are easy to use and they can spend as little time as possible on customer service. This works a treat for keeping gyms and health clubs overheads down with staffing and makes their job a lot easier. But it also has an advantage on a psychological level too, gyms know if their members spend their visit using cardio equipment they will feel like they have done something strenuous just like I used to feel after a cardio workout.
Maybe the fitness industry ended up like this because of pressure from the equipment manufacturers. The manufacturers could be behind the biggest fat loss myth in history. To name just a few different pieces of cardio kit like the treadmills, bikes and stairmaster they all have one thing in common, they all have moving parts and eventually need replacements giving the manufactures recurring revenue. The recurring revenue from barbells, weight plates and functional equipment is much more infrequent then that of cardio equipment. New and updated models of cardio equipment are released every year and the once new treadmill with the TV screen can very quickly look outdated a bit like used cars. No up and coming gym wants to show a potential member around their facilities with old-fashioned looking cardio equipment or equipment showing a lot of wear and tear. They want the latest brand new hi tech designs to give the impression they are more modern and more effective than their rivals.
I hope you can now see how this vicious circle will be hard to break and how the cardio myth gets perpetuated in the industry. In part 2 of this article I will compare the effectiveness of cardio training versus strength training for weight and fat loss goals.
I have personally done cardio training in the past under strict conditions whilst keeping my calorie intake and non-cardio training frequency consistent!
If you asked any group of people including doctors, physical therapist and most personal trainers which type of exercise is the best for burning unwanted body fat 99% would say cardiovascular training or cardio for short. Cardio training are exercises like jogging, running, bike riding, rowing and other repetitive movements you see people doing on pieces of fancy looking gym equipment. I have years of experience witnessing the lack of results people achieve doing cardio workouts for fat loss goals. I also have dozens of opinions through research and personal experience to back it up.
I have personally done cardio training in the past under strict conditions whilst keeping my calorie intake and non-cardio training frequency consistent. The cardio workouts I have tried and tested were training at 60% of my maximum heart rate, training at 80% of my maximum heart rate and interval training. All the cardio workouts lasted for at least 20 minutes. I need to emphasise that I gave each type of workout a chance by giving them ample time by doing them for months at a time rather than for weeks. I did this to see if I got any sort of response and waited to see if my body fat levels or body weight would change but it never did. In other words I spent years wasting my time and effort on different kinds of cardiovascular workouts when all I needed was strength training and quality nutrition rather than focus on calories and miles.
What does this tell you about cardio training for your goals? If someone with a calorie controlled and healthy diet exercising six times a week can’t achieve any kind of results with cardio workouts how do you think you will do?
Just to prove I was working hard enough all the cardio workouts I did always made me sweat giving me a false sense of security that something positive was happening to me. The interval training workouts were extremely challenging and always leaved me in a state of heavy and out of controlled breathing halfway through the workout till the end. But unfortunately for me I never saw any results for all the hard work I was putting in.
You have to ask yourself where the cardio myth originated and who perpetuated it. Cardio training is actually out of date science, it works to a degree in theory but when you study it carefully it is only marginally successful for weight and fat loss and for many of us can have a reverse effect on body fat levels.
Health clubs and gyms have helped to add fuel to the cardio myth for years and even decades. When you walk into any gym in the world all you will see are rows and rows of cardio training equipment neatly presented. These are there for the clubs benefit and not yours. They give an image that the gym has an answer to your goals and all you have to do is use them. If all they had were dumbbells, Swiss balls and other functional equipment on the gym floor no one would want to join the gym because they wouldn’t have a clue what to do with them. It is in the gyms best interest to encourage its members to use the cardio equipment because they are easy to use and they can spend as little time as possible on customer service. This works a treat for keeping gyms and health clubs overheads down with staffing and makes their job a lot easier. But it also has an advantage on a psychological level too, gyms know if their members spend their visit using cardio equipment they will feel like they have done something strenuous just like I used to feel after a cardio workout.
Maybe the fitness industry ended up like this because of pressure from the equipment manufacturers. The manufacturers could be behind the biggest fat loss myth in history. To name just a few different pieces of cardio kit like the treadmills, bikes and stairmaster they all have one thing in common, they all have moving parts and eventually need replacements giving the manufactures recurring revenue. The recurring revenue from barbells, weight plates and functional equipment is much more infrequent then that of cardio equipment. New and updated models of cardio equipment are released every year and the once new treadmill with the TV screen can very quickly look outdated a bit like used cars. No up and coming gym wants to show a potential member around their facilities with old-fashioned looking cardio equipment or equipment showing a lot of wear and tear. They want the latest brand new hi tech designs to give the impression they are more modern and more effective than their rivals.
I hope you can now see how this vicious circle will be hard to break and how the cardio myth gets perpetuated in the industry. In part 2 of this article I will compare the effectiveness of cardio training versus strength training for weight and fat loss goals.
I have personally done cardio training in the past under strict conditions whilst keeping my calorie intake and non-cardio training frequency consistent!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
How to Tone Your Legs, Arms & Abs at Home
Learn how to exercise & make the most of what little time you have!
Time constraints used to leave me feeling I had no time for exercise. It is only natural to think in order to be fit and healthy you have to spend hours sweating it out in the gym. I discovered a way to make the most of what little time I had and designed a way to exercise intensely in a fraction of the time I used to spend in the gym.
The approach consists of just two exercises for the workout and involves exercises that train the whole body. The style of the workout forces the metabolism to speed up and depending on the resistance you use will develop as well as tone the overall body head to toe.
I start the workout with a warm up for about 5 minutes, sometimes this is fast walking, skipping, jogging on the spot or some movements with light dumbbells. As long as the body temperature is elevated it doesn’t matter how you warm up. What does matter is to remember to stretch any tight muscles before the start of the workout. The last thing you want is a muscle injury to keep you away from exercise.
The rules for the workout is to do 10-12 reps on both exercises straight after each other followed by a rest of no more than 30 seconds. The aim is to strive for as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes without breaking form and dropping below 8 reps.
With exercises using resistance the same resistance must be used on all the sets for the workout. Opt for a weight that allows you to achieve 12 reps on the first set, if you can only manage 2 or 3 rounds before dropping below 8 reps stop the workout and continue to progress the next time with a little less weight. For intermediates and advanced trainers a 10-20-rep window is an option. Whichever rep window you choose make sure you select the correct weight that allows you to perform the target reps with safe and proper technique.
Exercise #1 Squat and Curl to Overhead Press
Before you begin, a warm up set for the first exercise is recommended, this should be around 50% of the weight you will be using for all your sets. Strong individuals using heavy weights should do a staggered warm up, for example 50%, 65%, and 75% of the working weight.
Begin the starting position standing with a good posture holding the dumbbells at the sides with the palms facing the thighs. Take a deep diaphragmatic breath and initiate the squat by bending the hips and knees keeping the shoulder blades down and together. Squat down as far as you can without breaking form. Slowly rise back to the standing position breathing out slowly. When in the standing position curl the dumbbells towards the shoulders and press the dumbbells above the head turning the palms forward. Reverse the arm action until the dumbbells are by the side of your thighs. This completes one rep.
Exercise #2 Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl
Start by lying on your back on the floor with the arms at the sides with palms facing up; place the heels on top of the ball with toes pointing up. Squeeze the glutes and draw the tummy in as you bring the hips of the floor. Bend your knees to bring the heels towards the glutes and slowly return to the starting position. Don’t allow your hips to drop and maintain the level of your hips throughout the set. Also keep the toes pointing up when bending the knees.
The options to progress on this type of workout would be to either shorten the rest time in between rounds enabling you to achieve more rounds in the 15 minute window or to increase the resistance so the desired reps are more challenging to reach on every round. It is best to swap and change training principles as often as possible to keep the workout demanding. Work as hard as you can on every workout to force the body to change.
Learn how to exercise & make the most of what little time you have!
Time constraints used to leave me feeling I had no time for exercise. It is only natural to think in order to be fit and healthy you have to spend hours sweating it out in the gym. I discovered a way to make the most of what little time I had and designed a way to exercise intensely in a fraction of the time I used to spend in the gym.
The approach consists of just two exercises for the workout and involves exercises that train the whole body. The style of the workout forces the metabolism to speed up and depending on the resistance you use will develop as well as tone the overall body head to toe.
I start the workout with a warm up for about 5 minutes, sometimes this is fast walking, skipping, jogging on the spot or some movements with light dumbbells. As long as the body temperature is elevated it doesn’t matter how you warm up. What does matter is to remember to stretch any tight muscles before the start of the workout. The last thing you want is a muscle injury to keep you away from exercise.
The rules for the workout is to do 10-12 reps on both exercises straight after each other followed by a rest of no more than 30 seconds. The aim is to strive for as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes without breaking form and dropping below 8 reps.
With exercises using resistance the same resistance must be used on all the sets for the workout. Opt for a weight that allows you to achieve 12 reps on the first set, if you can only manage 2 or 3 rounds before dropping below 8 reps stop the workout and continue to progress the next time with a little less weight. For intermediates and advanced trainers a 10-20-rep window is an option. Whichever rep window you choose make sure you select the correct weight that allows you to perform the target reps with safe and proper technique.
Exercise #1 Squat and Curl to Overhead Press
Before you begin, a warm up set for the first exercise is recommended, this should be around 50% of the weight you will be using for all your sets. Strong individuals using heavy weights should do a staggered warm up, for example 50%, 65%, and 75% of the working weight.
Begin the starting position standing with a good posture holding the dumbbells at the sides with the palms facing the thighs. Take a deep diaphragmatic breath and initiate the squat by bending the hips and knees keeping the shoulder blades down and together. Squat down as far as you can without breaking form. Slowly rise back to the standing position breathing out slowly. When in the standing position curl the dumbbells towards the shoulders and press the dumbbells above the head turning the palms forward. Reverse the arm action until the dumbbells are by the side of your thighs. This completes one rep.
Exercise #2 Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl
Start by lying on your back on the floor with the arms at the sides with palms facing up; place the heels on top of the ball with toes pointing up. Squeeze the glutes and draw the tummy in as you bring the hips of the floor. Bend your knees to bring the heels towards the glutes and slowly return to the starting position. Don’t allow your hips to drop and maintain the level of your hips throughout the set. Also keep the toes pointing up when bending the knees.
The options to progress on this type of workout would be to either shorten the rest time in between rounds enabling you to achieve more rounds in the 15 minute window or to increase the resistance so the desired reps are more challenging to reach on every round. It is best to swap and change training principles as often as possible to keep the workout demanding. Work as hard as you can on every workout to force the body to change.
Learn how to exercise & make the most of what little time you have!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Diet Advice for Vegetarians & Why You May Struggle to Lose Weight
If you want to achieve fat loss it is essential to eat good quality protein!
Today there are many vegetarians in our society as well as other groups that eliminate meat for spiritual or ethical reasons. My awareness of the high numbers of people practising a vegetarian lifestyle or some level of vegetarianism came about from doing my job as a personal trainer. I was surprised with the different misconceptions people had about eating meat and dieting. Animal meats get bad press because of the commercial farming methods used; this is a shame because this gives all animal meats a bad name. Some people are happy to follow misconceptions and myths without backing it up through research to confirm if their motives are safe, healthy or just plain necessary. This article is for people who live a vegetarian lifestyle but who isn’t vegetarian.
If you want to achieve fat loss it is essential to eat good quality protein, but protein isn’t just protein. You have what’s classed as complete and incomplete proteins that are found in different foods. The complete proteins have all the essential amino acids and the incomplete proteins have some missing or not enough to be classed a complete protein. Complete proteins can be found in animal foods including meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy. It is these complete protein foods that provide all the 8 essential amino acids. Very briefly, amino acids are the building blocks of the body and a necessary part of every cell in the body and vital for health. Specific amino acids have been linked to greater fat loss and known to correct brain chemistry deficiencies for food cravings and depression.
If you don’t consume complete protein foods such as animal foods it is very important to combine different types of plant foods to make up a complete protein to ensure you get all the essential amino acids in your diet. Anything termed essential in the diet means that it is necessary for proper functioning. As a matter of interest the other food group that is termed essential is fat, there are essential fatty acids that must be acquired in the diet or serious health problems can occur. It is handy to note that carbohydrates aren’t classed as essential but protein and good fats are.
This is where it can get difficult to lose weight and fat for the person on a vegetarian diet. In my opinion the drawback to relying on food combing to get all the essential amino acids is that insulin resistant people would find it hard losing weight with combining different carbohydrates. What you have is a diet made up of mainly carbohydrates with little first class protein and essential fat to stabilise blood sugar levels. The reason why many vegetarians can become addicted to sweets is because of their poor blood sugar management following a high carbohydrate diet. Not an ideal habit to have if you want to lose fat and drop the pounds in a hurry.
In summary it is essential to eat good quality protein everyday that provides you with all the essential amino acids for optimal health. If you decide to combine different plant foods otherwise known as carbohydrates then you need to realise these foods have an insulin provoking effect that can lead to fat storage. On the other hand if you choose to eat animal protein make sure it is organic and free range. Eating organic meats makes a massive difference to the state of your health because you are eliminating the pesticides and drugs conventional meats contain, organic meats also have more nutrients and are easier for the body to assimilate. Consider this, commercially raised cattle are one of the unhealthiest animals on the planet.
If you want to achieve fat loss it is essential to eat good quality protein!
Today there are many vegetarians in our society as well as other groups that eliminate meat for spiritual or ethical reasons. My awareness of the high numbers of people practising a vegetarian lifestyle or some level of vegetarianism came about from doing my job as a personal trainer. I was surprised with the different misconceptions people had about eating meat and dieting. Animal meats get bad press because of the commercial farming methods used; this is a shame because this gives all animal meats a bad name. Some people are happy to follow misconceptions and myths without backing it up through research to confirm if their motives are safe, healthy or just plain necessary. This article is for people who live a vegetarian lifestyle but who isn’t vegetarian.
If you want to achieve fat loss it is essential to eat good quality protein, but protein isn’t just protein. You have what’s classed as complete and incomplete proteins that are found in different foods. The complete proteins have all the essential amino acids and the incomplete proteins have some missing or not enough to be classed a complete protein. Complete proteins can be found in animal foods including meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy. It is these complete protein foods that provide all the 8 essential amino acids. Very briefly, amino acids are the building blocks of the body and a necessary part of every cell in the body and vital for health. Specific amino acids have been linked to greater fat loss and known to correct brain chemistry deficiencies for food cravings and depression.
If you don’t consume complete protein foods such as animal foods it is very important to combine different types of plant foods to make up a complete protein to ensure you get all the essential amino acids in your diet. Anything termed essential in the diet means that it is necessary for proper functioning. As a matter of interest the other food group that is termed essential is fat, there are essential fatty acids that must be acquired in the diet or serious health problems can occur. It is handy to note that carbohydrates aren’t classed as essential but protein and good fats are.
This is where it can get difficult to lose weight and fat for the person on a vegetarian diet. In my opinion the drawback to relying on food combing to get all the essential amino acids is that insulin resistant people would find it hard losing weight with combining different carbohydrates. What you have is a diet made up of mainly carbohydrates with little first class protein and essential fat to stabilise blood sugar levels. The reason why many vegetarians can become addicted to sweets is because of their poor blood sugar management following a high carbohydrate diet. Not an ideal habit to have if you want to lose fat and drop the pounds in a hurry.
In summary it is essential to eat good quality protein everyday that provides you with all the essential amino acids for optimal health. If you decide to combine different plant foods otherwise known as carbohydrates then you need to realise these foods have an insulin provoking effect that can lead to fat storage. On the other hand if you choose to eat animal protein make sure it is organic and free range. Eating organic meats makes a massive difference to the state of your health because you are eliminating the pesticides and drugs conventional meats contain, organic meats also have more nutrients and are easier for the body to assimilate. Consider this, commercially raised cattle are one of the unhealthiest animals on the planet.
If you want to achieve fat loss it is essential to eat good quality protein!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Carbohydrates To Avoid if You Want Six Pack Abs
There are two main problems concerning carbohydrates you should know about if you want fat loss results!
Believe it or not, the body has no physiological need for a carbohydrate unlike it has for protein and fat. Despite this fact most of the population overeats these types of calories everyday because they are easily available and more convenient than healthy alternatives. This daily habit contributes to an increased waistline and poor health. The drawback to the convenience food culture is the likelihood that the calories will be highly processed. Processed foods usually contain bad fats and artificial ingredients with loads of sugar.
There are two main problems concerning carbohydrates. The first problem is that most peoples total daily calorie intake comes from eating carbohydrates with hardly any protein and good fats in the diet. The second concern is that the bulk of these commonly consumed carbohydrates will almost be guaranteed to be processed and full of artificial sweeteners instead of natural carbohydrates found in vegetables and fruit.
Common foods that contain carbohydrates:
Breakfast cereals
Bread
Biscuits
Noodles
Pasta
Spaghetti
Jellies & jams
Ice cream
Cakes
Pies
Confectionary
Gravies & sauces
Beer
Wines
Fizzy drinks
Sugar
The quicker you learn which foods are carbohydrates and understand the impact they can have on insulin the quicker you will achieve fat loss with six pack abs and better health. If high levels of insulin are raised frequently and for long enough it contributes to diabetes, heart disease and aging.
The reasons why carbohydrates can be bad for fat loss
When we consume food & drink our blood sugar rises and insulin is released to bring it back down to a normal range. This is done by pumping the sugar out of the blood and into the cells to be used for energy or stored for later. Fat has no impact on insulin and protein very little; carbohydrates have the greatest reaction on insulin release. When we eat any kind of carbohydrates they are converted into sugar in the body, the more carbohydrates eaten equals more blood sugar, which in turn means more insulin needed to pump the sugar out of the blood and into the cells.
Insulin is a storage hormone and if you don’t eat the right balance of foods at each meal you get a repetitive cycle of insulin release and fat storage. Eating carbohydrates by themselves will make the fat storing sequence worse. With this going on every mealtime other hormones (fat burning hormones) are inhibited and prevent you from losing fat and weight.
It doesn’t stop there; excess carbohydrates are not only bad for your waistline but bad for your health too. The more insulin released more bad cholesterol is produced. Insulin is the only hormone you can control and this is done with good eating habits.
Excessive insulin has got extensive research linking it to numerous diseases. Choose your carbohydrates wisely in future and always eat good quality protein and good fats with your meals. You will see fat melt from your abdominal area in no time.
There are two main problems concerning carbohydrates you should know about if you want fat loss results!
Believe it or not, the body has no physiological need for a carbohydrate unlike it has for protein and fat. Despite this fact most of the population overeats these types of calories everyday because they are easily available and more convenient than healthy alternatives. This daily habit contributes to an increased waistline and poor health. The drawback to the convenience food culture is the likelihood that the calories will be highly processed. Processed foods usually contain bad fats and artificial ingredients with loads of sugar.
There are two main problems concerning carbohydrates. The first problem is that most peoples total daily calorie intake comes from eating carbohydrates with hardly any protein and good fats in the diet. The second concern is that the bulk of these commonly consumed carbohydrates will almost be guaranteed to be processed and full of artificial sweeteners instead of natural carbohydrates found in vegetables and fruit.
Common foods that contain carbohydrates:
Breakfast cereals
Bread
Biscuits
Noodles
Pasta
Spaghetti
Jellies & jams
Ice cream
Cakes
Pies
Confectionary
Gravies & sauces
Beer
Wines
Fizzy drinks
Sugar
The quicker you learn which foods are carbohydrates and understand the impact they can have on insulin the quicker you will achieve fat loss with six pack abs and better health. If high levels of insulin are raised frequently and for long enough it contributes to diabetes, heart disease and aging.
The reasons why carbohydrates can be bad for fat loss
When we consume food & drink our blood sugar rises and insulin is released to bring it back down to a normal range. This is done by pumping the sugar out of the blood and into the cells to be used for energy or stored for later. Fat has no impact on insulin and protein very little; carbohydrates have the greatest reaction on insulin release. When we eat any kind of carbohydrates they are converted into sugar in the body, the more carbohydrates eaten equals more blood sugar, which in turn means more insulin needed to pump the sugar out of the blood and into the cells.
Insulin is a storage hormone and if you don’t eat the right balance of foods at each meal you get a repetitive cycle of insulin release and fat storage. Eating carbohydrates by themselves will make the fat storing sequence worse. With this going on every mealtime other hormones (fat burning hormones) are inhibited and prevent you from losing fat and weight.
It doesn’t stop there; excess carbohydrates are not only bad for your waistline but bad for your health too. The more insulin released more bad cholesterol is produced. Insulin is the only hormone you can control and this is done with good eating habits.
Excessive insulin has got extensive research linking it to numerous diseases. Choose your carbohydrates wisely in future and always eat good quality protein and good fats with your meals. You will see fat melt from your abdominal area in no time.
There are two main problems concerning carbohydrates you should know about if you want fat loss results!
Friday, October 8, 2010
How to Start Your Own Weight Loss Club with Cash Prize Incentives
Lose more weight without paying Weight Watchers or Slimming World!
Weight loss clubs can be intrusive for a lot of people or just plain boring. Below are two examples on how to start your own weight loss club; one is for discreet dieters and the other for more outgoing people.
Option #1 – If You Don’t Like Weight Loss Clubs Find A Support Partner
If you don’t want strangers to know you are on a diet then it is wise not to join a slimming club. It is also a good idea not to surround yourself with negative people that offer no support to you or your goals whether if it’s at work or socially. The most practical way to help you to commit to a diet is to go on a diet with a friend so you can give each other support. But if you can’t find anyone who wants to join you I would recommend seeking a support partner in either your closest friend or partner. The support can be set at different levels depending on how much you require. For example, you could write down goals to give to your support partner for them to monitor your progress and make sure you achieve your goals. You could make it as formal as you like by arranging days and times to meet and review your food diary and plan the days or weeks ahead. This would make your diet serious but fun by making it feel like you have your own personal coach at hand to motivate you and help you with any problems you may be facing. Your support partner could also provide you with meal ideas and even take your body measurements to track your progress.
Option #2 – Your Very Own Weight Loss Club With Cash Prize Incentives
Here is a great way to make losing weight fun and competitive. The more people that join the more fun you will have. I will take you through each step on how to set up a biggest loser club and contest.
1. Set a membership fee of how much each member pays each week. This is for the prize money awarded to the biggest loser at the end of the contest.
2. Set the time frame.
Tip: This could be a yearly contest with the big cash prize at the end of the year. The winner is the person who has lost the most body weight and cm/millimetres from the hips, bum, waist, chest, thighs and arms. However you could also have a monthly prize for the biggest loser of the month. The club treasurer could buy grocery vouchers for each monthly prize to help the dieter stay on track rather than award cash.
3. Everyone gets a support partner.
Tip: Put everyone’s name in a hat for each person to pick out a name, whoever’s name they draw out is their support partner throughout the contest.
4. The role of a support partner is to motivate the other person and take measurements. Before and after photographs are optional, these could come in useful later on.
5. Have a recipe pool where everyone has to contribute at least one healthy recipe a month so others can benefit.
Tip: If you are doing this at work this could be on the notice board.
6. Arrange group meetings at least once a month.
Tip: You could arrange for a personal trainer or nutritionist to visit for a Q&A session.
7. When the contest closing date is in sight invite the local press to cover the story and publish a photograph of the winner.
Tip: This is where a before photograph comes in handy. Having the story in the press will give your workplace free publicity and the winner public recognition.
Don’t forget the more people that join your biggest loser contest the more prize money up for grabs.
Lose more weight without paying Weight Watchers or Slimming World!
Weight loss clubs can be intrusive for a lot of people or just plain boring. Below are two examples on how to start your own weight loss club; one is for discreet dieters and the other for more outgoing people.
Option #1 – If You Don’t Like Weight Loss Clubs Find A Support Partner
If you don’t want strangers to know you are on a diet then it is wise not to join a slimming club. It is also a good idea not to surround yourself with negative people that offer no support to you or your goals whether if it’s at work or socially. The most practical way to help you to commit to a diet is to go on a diet with a friend so you can give each other support. But if you can’t find anyone who wants to join you I would recommend seeking a support partner in either your closest friend or partner. The support can be set at different levels depending on how much you require. For example, you could write down goals to give to your support partner for them to monitor your progress and make sure you achieve your goals. You could make it as formal as you like by arranging days and times to meet and review your food diary and plan the days or weeks ahead. This would make your diet serious but fun by making it feel like you have your own personal coach at hand to motivate you and help you with any problems you may be facing. Your support partner could also provide you with meal ideas and even take your body measurements to track your progress.
Option #2 – Your Very Own Weight Loss Club With Cash Prize Incentives
Here is a great way to make losing weight fun and competitive. The more people that join the more fun you will have. I will take you through each step on how to set up a biggest loser club and contest.
1. Set a membership fee of how much each member pays each week. This is for the prize money awarded to the biggest loser at the end of the contest.
2. Set the time frame.
Tip: This could be a yearly contest with the big cash prize at the end of the year. The winner is the person who has lost the most body weight and cm/millimetres from the hips, bum, waist, chest, thighs and arms. However you could also have a monthly prize for the biggest loser of the month. The club treasurer could buy grocery vouchers for each monthly prize to help the dieter stay on track rather than award cash.
3. Everyone gets a support partner.
Tip: Put everyone’s name in a hat for each person to pick out a name, whoever’s name they draw out is their support partner throughout the contest.
4. The role of a support partner is to motivate the other person and take measurements. Before and after photographs are optional, these could come in useful later on.
5. Have a recipe pool where everyone has to contribute at least one healthy recipe a month so others can benefit.
Tip: If you are doing this at work this could be on the notice board.
6. Arrange group meetings at least once a month.
Tip: You could arrange for a personal trainer or nutritionist to visit for a Q&A session.
7. When the contest closing date is in sight invite the local press to cover the story and publish a photograph of the winner.
Tip: This is where a before photograph comes in handy. Having the story in the press will give your workplace free publicity and the winner public recognition.
Don’t forget the more people that join your biggest loser contest the more prize money up for grabs.
Lose more weight without paying Weight Watchers or Slimming World!
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Two Biggest Dieting Mistakes
Most people make these common mistakes when they want a flat stomach!
Just spent a week reading about the latest diet crazes where they all recommend cutting calories or fasting. So I decided to join a slimming club where I saw different people that seemed to be wasting their time and effort. They were allowed to continue to eat certain junk food. This sounded appealing at first but the members of the slimming club didn’t look the way I aspired to look like so I was left confused and worried.
And that's really sad. After all, almost everyone goes on a diet to get a flat stomach, but almost everyone never achieves his or her goals!
In fact, most people make the same common mistakes.
Mistake #1 - Routinely getting weighed
The biggest mistakes a dieter can make is setting their minds to reaching a number on the weighing scales every week or in some crazy cases every day! This repetitive behaviour is heavy on the mind making the participant feel incarcerated. It’s common for them to just focus on numbers without considering health & fitness or the quality of the food they are eating. This behaviour leads to frustration and unnecessary pressure.
Tip: The above system is nothing more than a marketing tool to help sell a diet; it has no benefit whatsoever. Getting weighed regularly doesn’t tell you if you are losing fat or which area of the body is changing shape. The best way to measure progress is using the mirror and/or to take tape measurements around the bum, hips, thigh, waist, chest and arms.
Mistake #2 - Counting calories
Ha! I wish it were as easy as just that. Eating X amount of calories will make you look like so and so. If this was true how come over 90% of dieters never achieve permanent results on calorie controlled diets? I will tell you why, it is because the quality of calories and which food groups these calories come from are missing from the picture. The most valuable piece of information a dieter needs always seems to be conveniently missing so not to upset the recurring revenue stream.
Tip: A basic understanding of food groups needs to be learned for best results, don’t worry because it is simple and quick to learn. There are 3 main food groups, Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat. Once you learn which type of foods comes from each food group it is easy to lose weight and fat. This is because you can begin to use ratios for your meals. The benefits of ratios are to monitor the amounts of carbohydrates you need versus protein to lose weight and fat. Calorie controlled diets fail to recognise this important step, that is why you see overweight people unable to lose weight and fat on low calorie diets.
Most people make these common mistakes when they want a flat stomach!
Just spent a week reading about the latest diet crazes where they all recommend cutting calories or fasting. So I decided to join a slimming club where I saw different people that seemed to be wasting their time and effort. They were allowed to continue to eat certain junk food. This sounded appealing at first but the members of the slimming club didn’t look the way I aspired to look like so I was left confused and worried.
And that's really sad. After all, almost everyone goes on a diet to get a flat stomach, but almost everyone never achieves his or her goals!
In fact, most people make the same common mistakes.
Mistake #1 - Routinely getting weighed
The biggest mistakes a dieter can make is setting their minds to reaching a number on the weighing scales every week or in some crazy cases every day! This repetitive behaviour is heavy on the mind making the participant feel incarcerated. It’s common for them to just focus on numbers without considering health & fitness or the quality of the food they are eating. This behaviour leads to frustration and unnecessary pressure.
Tip: The above system is nothing more than a marketing tool to help sell a diet; it has no benefit whatsoever. Getting weighed regularly doesn’t tell you if you are losing fat or which area of the body is changing shape. The best way to measure progress is using the mirror and/or to take tape measurements around the bum, hips, thigh, waist, chest and arms.
Mistake #2 - Counting calories
Ha! I wish it were as easy as just that. Eating X amount of calories will make you look like so and so. If this was true how come over 90% of dieters never achieve permanent results on calorie controlled diets? I will tell you why, it is because the quality of calories and which food groups these calories come from are missing from the picture. The most valuable piece of information a dieter needs always seems to be conveniently missing so not to upset the recurring revenue stream.
Tip: A basic understanding of food groups needs to be learned for best results, don’t worry because it is simple and quick to learn. There are 3 main food groups, Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat. Once you learn which type of foods comes from each food group it is easy to lose weight and fat. This is because you can begin to use ratios for your meals. The benefits of ratios are to monitor the amounts of carbohydrates you need versus protein to lose weight and fat. Calorie controlled diets fail to recognise this important step, that is why you see overweight people unable to lose weight and fat on low calorie diets.
Most people make these common mistakes when they want a flat stomach!
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