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Showing posts with label Eat. Show all posts
How to Lose Weight and How We Eat
How to lose weight fast
Why is the USA the fattest country on Earth? There are several reasons, first and foremost it is what we eat, and not how much we eat.
Problem number one: The weight loss industry
The weight loss market is a multi-billion dollar business. The objective of this market is not to help you get slimmer but rather to help them get richer and richer.
Every journal, TV show, infomercial and newspaper ad delivers a concept that if you will only buy their book, video or work out system you will look like the attractive, and lose weight fast.
The truth is most of this is completely useless and they know it. So they just keep moving out more and more understanding full well that you will buy the next great guarantee, over and over and over.
It doesn't matter how many ab workouts, sit-ups or how many of these ab burning tools you use you probably will never get a smooth set of 6 pack abs until you get your body fat down to at least 5%. You can't lose weight fast with workouts that are only targeting one particular area regardless of what the ads say.
Problem number two: the High carbohydrate diet.
Our western high carbohydrate diet. Carbohydrates come mainly from grain. Grains are less expensive to generate, deliver, shop and generate into products in our food.
Grains are mostly starchy foods and starchy foods becomes glucose as it is digested. The glucose peak in turn causes a blood insulin spike. Your muscle tissue can only use and store just enough glucose so the unwanted gets transformed into fat. You could call Insulin the invisible fat storage hormone. Hidden because nobody thinks about blood insulin unless they are referring to diabetic issues.
As time goes on, your tissues become insulin resistant which sets you up not only for being overweight but type two diabetes.
Our forefathers were hunter-gatherers. Their diet was loaded with proteins as well as vegetables. Grains are nothing but plant seeds. Take a hand full of rice plant seeds and pop them in your mouth and chew. Not very nice... not very nice at all.
Early people only ate grain in emergencies, various meats, seafood and chicken kept them powerful, vital and provided them the power to endure nearly anything. Modern illnesses like joint illness, diabetic issues and cardiovascular illness were almost unknown.
The mainstream wants you to believe that eating less and moving more is the right way to control fat. Trouble is, nobody can stay like that consistently. Reducing calorie consumption and running around like a rabbit gets old real fast. The best way to lose weight fast is to seriously restrict carbs, eat a lot of proteins as well as, vegetables and nut products which will help you to lose weight fast, and maintain an overall healthy weight.
Make sure your daily eating plan is loaded with proteins, various meats, seafood and chicken. As well as vegetables, fruits and nut products. Lower carbohydrate foods and you will definitely reduce all your unwanted fat, restore your energy and lose weight faster than you ever thought.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8430194
Why is the USA the fattest country on Earth? There are several reasons, first and foremost it is what we eat, and not how much we eat.
Problem number one: The weight loss industry
The weight loss market is a multi-billion dollar business. The objective of this market is not to help you get slimmer but rather to help them get richer and richer.
Every journal, TV show, infomercial and newspaper ad delivers a concept that if you will only buy their book, video or work out system you will look like the attractive, and lose weight fast.
The truth is most of this is completely useless and they know it. So they just keep moving out more and more understanding full well that you will buy the next great guarantee, over and over and over.
It doesn't matter how many ab workouts, sit-ups or how many of these ab burning tools you use you probably will never get a smooth set of 6 pack abs until you get your body fat down to at least 5%. You can't lose weight fast with workouts that are only targeting one particular area regardless of what the ads say.
Problem number two: the High carbohydrate diet.
Our western high carbohydrate diet. Carbohydrates come mainly from grain. Grains are less expensive to generate, deliver, shop and generate into products in our food.
Grains are mostly starchy foods and starchy foods becomes glucose as it is digested. The glucose peak in turn causes a blood insulin spike. Your muscle tissue can only use and store just enough glucose so the unwanted gets transformed into fat. You could call Insulin the invisible fat storage hormone. Hidden because nobody thinks about blood insulin unless they are referring to diabetic issues.
As time goes on, your tissues become insulin resistant which sets you up not only for being overweight but type two diabetes.
Our forefathers were hunter-gatherers. Their diet was loaded with proteins as well as vegetables. Grains are nothing but plant seeds. Take a hand full of rice plant seeds and pop them in your mouth and chew. Not very nice... not very nice at all.
Early people only ate grain in emergencies, various meats, seafood and chicken kept them powerful, vital and provided them the power to endure nearly anything. Modern illnesses like joint illness, diabetic issues and cardiovascular illness were almost unknown.
The mainstream wants you to believe that eating less and moving more is the right way to control fat. Trouble is, nobody can stay like that consistently. Reducing calorie consumption and running around like a rabbit gets old real fast. The best way to lose weight fast is to seriously restrict carbs, eat a lot of proteins as well as, vegetables and nut products which will help you to lose weight fast, and maintain an overall healthy weight.
Make sure your daily eating plan is loaded with proteins, various meats, seafood and chicken. As well as vegetables, fruits and nut products. Lower carbohydrate foods and you will definitely reduce all your unwanted fat, restore your energy and lose weight faster than you ever thought.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8430194
08:00
Eat
,
Lose Weight
Eating processed foods
Processed foods aren't just microwave meals and other ready meals. The term 'processed food' applies to any food that has been altered from its natural state in some way, either for safety reasons or convenience. This means you may be eating more processed food than you realise.
Processed foods aren't necessarily unhealthy, but anything that’s been processed may contain added salt, sugar and fat.
One advantage of cooking food from scratch at home is that you know exactly what is going into it, including the amount of added salt or sugar.
However, even homemade food sometimes uses processed ingredients. Read on to find out how you can eat processed foods as part of a healthy diet.
What counts as processed food?
Most shop-bought foods will have been processed in some way.
Examples of common processed foods include:
breakfast cereals
cheese
tinned vegetables
bread
savoury snacks, such as crisps
meat products, such as bacon
"convenience foods", such as microwave meals or ready meals
drinks, such as milk or soft drinks
Food processing techniques include freezing, canning, baking, drying and pasteurising products.
Dietitian Sian Porter says: "Not all processed food is a bad choice. Some foods need processing to make them safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurised to remove harmful bacteria. Other foods need processing to make them suitable for use, such as pressing seeds to make oil.
"Freezing fruit and veg preserves most vitamins, while tinned produce (choose those without added sugar and salt) can mean convenient storage, cooking and choice to eat all year round, with less waste and cost than fresh."
What makes some processed foods less healthy?
Ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat are sometimes added to processed foods to make their flavour more appealing and to prolong their shelf life, or in some cases to contribute to the food's structure, such as salt in bread or sugar in cakes.
This can lead to people eating more than the recommended amounts for these additives, as they may not be aware of how much has been added to the food they are buying and eating. These foods can also be higher in calories due to the high amounts of added sugar or fat in them.
Furthermore, a diet high in red and processed meat (regularly eating more than 90g a day) has also been linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer. Some studies have also shown that eating a large amount of processed meat may be linked to a higher risk of cancer or heart disease.
What is processed meat?
Processed meat refers to meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives. This includes sausages, bacon, ham, salami and pâtés.
The Department of Health recommends that if you currently eat more than 90g (cooked weight) of red and processed meat a day, that you cut down to 70g a day. This is equivalent to two or three rashers of bacon, or a little over two slices of roast lamb, beef or pork, with each about the size of half a slice of bread.
However, it's important to remember that the term "processed" applies to a very broad range of foods, many of which can be eaten as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
How can I eat processed foods as part of a healthy diet?
Reading nutrition labels can help you choose between processed products and keep a check on the amount of processed foods you're eating that are high in fat, salt and added sugars.
Adding tinned tomatoes to your shopping basket, for example, is a great way to boost your 5 a day. They can also be stored for longer and cost less than fresh tomatoes – just check the label to make sure there's no added salt or sugar.
Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition label on the back or side of the packaging.
These labels include information on protein, carbohydrate and fat. They may provide additional information on saturated fat, sugars, sodium and salt. All nutrition information is provided per 100 grams and sometimes per portion.
How do I know if a processed food is high in fat, saturated fat, sugar or salt?
There are guidelines to tell you if a food is high or low in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar. These are:
Total fat
High: more than 17.5g of fat per 100g
Low: 3g of fat or less per 100g
Saturated fat
High: more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g
Low: 1.5g of saturated fat or less per 100g
Sugars
High: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g
Low: 5g of total sugars or less per 100g
Salt
High: more than 1.5g of salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium)
Low: 0.3g of salt or less per 100g (or 0.1g sodium)
For example, if you are trying to cut down on saturated fat, try to limit the amount of foods you eat that have more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g.
If the processed food you want to buy has a nutrition label that uses colour-coding, you will often find a mixture of red, amber and green. So, when you're choosing between similar products, try to go for more greens and ambers, and fewer reds, if you want to make a healthier choice.
However, even healthier ready meals may be higher in fat and other additives than a homemade equivalent. That's not to say that homemade foods can't also be high in calories, fat, salt and sugar, but if you make the meal yourself, you'll have a much better idea of what's gone into it. You could even save yourself some money, too.
Processed foods aren't necessarily unhealthy, but anything that’s been processed may contain added salt, sugar and fat.
One advantage of cooking food from scratch at home is that you know exactly what is going into it, including the amount of added salt or sugar.
However, even homemade food sometimes uses processed ingredients. Read on to find out how you can eat processed foods as part of a healthy diet.
What counts as processed food?
Most shop-bought foods will have been processed in some way.
Examples of common processed foods include:
breakfast cereals
cheese
tinned vegetables
bread
savoury snacks, such as crisps
meat products, such as bacon
"convenience foods", such as microwave meals or ready meals
drinks, such as milk or soft drinks
Food processing techniques include freezing, canning, baking, drying and pasteurising products.
Dietitian Sian Porter says: "Not all processed food is a bad choice. Some foods need processing to make them safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurised to remove harmful bacteria. Other foods need processing to make them suitable for use, such as pressing seeds to make oil.
"Freezing fruit and veg preserves most vitamins, while tinned produce (choose those without added sugar and salt) can mean convenient storage, cooking and choice to eat all year round, with less waste and cost than fresh."
What makes some processed foods less healthy?
Ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat are sometimes added to processed foods to make their flavour more appealing and to prolong their shelf life, or in some cases to contribute to the food's structure, such as salt in bread or sugar in cakes.
This can lead to people eating more than the recommended amounts for these additives, as they may not be aware of how much has been added to the food they are buying and eating. These foods can also be higher in calories due to the high amounts of added sugar or fat in them.
Furthermore, a diet high in red and processed meat (regularly eating more than 90g a day) has also been linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer. Some studies have also shown that eating a large amount of processed meat may be linked to a higher risk of cancer or heart disease.
What is processed meat?
Processed meat refers to meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives. This includes sausages, bacon, ham, salami and pâtés.
The Department of Health recommends that if you currently eat more than 90g (cooked weight) of red and processed meat a day, that you cut down to 70g a day. This is equivalent to two or three rashers of bacon, or a little over two slices of roast lamb, beef or pork, with each about the size of half a slice of bread.
However, it's important to remember that the term "processed" applies to a very broad range of foods, many of which can be eaten as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
How can I eat processed foods as part of a healthy diet?
Reading nutrition labels can help you choose between processed products and keep a check on the amount of processed foods you're eating that are high in fat, salt and added sugars.
Adding tinned tomatoes to your shopping basket, for example, is a great way to boost your 5 a day. They can also be stored for longer and cost less than fresh tomatoes – just check the label to make sure there's no added salt or sugar.
Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition label on the back or side of the packaging.
These labels include information on protein, carbohydrate and fat. They may provide additional information on saturated fat, sugars, sodium and salt. All nutrition information is provided per 100 grams and sometimes per portion.
How do I know if a processed food is high in fat, saturated fat, sugar or salt?
There are guidelines to tell you if a food is high or low in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar. These are:
Total fat
High: more than 17.5g of fat per 100g
Low: 3g of fat or less per 100g
Saturated fat
High: more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g
Low: 1.5g of saturated fat or less per 100g
Sugars
High: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g
Low: 5g of total sugars or less per 100g
Salt
High: more than 1.5g of salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium)
Low: 0.3g of salt or less per 100g (or 0.1g sodium)
For example, if you are trying to cut down on saturated fat, try to limit the amount of foods you eat that have more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g.
If the processed food you want to buy has a nutrition label that uses colour-coding, you will often find a mixture of red, amber and green. So, when you're choosing between similar products, try to go for more greens and ambers, and fewer reds, if you want to make a healthier choice.
However, even healthier ready meals may be higher in fat and other additives than a homemade equivalent. That's not to say that homemade foods can't also be high in calories, fat, salt and sugar, but if you make the meal yourself, you'll have a much better idea of what's gone into it. You could even save yourself some money, too.
20:00
Eat
10 Healthy Foods You Can Eat on the Cheap
By including these items in your snacks and meals, you will save money and boost your health.
1. Bananas. Bananas are high in vitamin B6, fiber and vitamin C. Their high potassium content helps protect against heart disease and decreases cramps. Because of their peel, bananas are low in pesticides and easy to grab-and-go.
2. Eggs. While egg yolks do contain cholesterol, they are high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which are important in heart disease prevention and brain development. Eggs are inexpensive, easy to prepare and versatile.
3. Black beans. An excellent source of protein, omega-3 fatty-acids, iron and fiber, black beans also contain several antioxidants that help protect from heart disease, cancer and age-related memory loss. For optimal flavor and cost, buy dried black beans and simmer with onion and garlic until the beans are soft.
4. Chicken breasts, bought in bulk. Boneless, skinless chicken breast is loaded with protein and low in calories. For a quick dinner, defrost a chicken breast the night before, season it with a little bit of pepper or herbs, and bake or grill it.
5. Oatmeal. Very high in fiber, oatmeal helps to remove bad cholesterol from the blood stream and to clean out the GI tract for anyone suffering from constipation. Optimize your health (and save money) by choosing plain, steel-cut oatmeal for the highest fiber and lowest sugar content.
6. Carrots. Easy to prepare and eat, and packed with vitamins A, C and K, folate and fiber, carrots are a great addition to any meal or snack.
7. Canned tuna. Eating water-packed tuna is a low-calorie way to get lean protein, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, selenium and vitamin D. It also helps reach the recommended minimum of two servings per week of fish.
8. Canned diced tomatoes. Canned tomatoes have all of the benefits of raw tomatoes, and have a more active form of the antioxidant lycopene. Diced tomatoes sautéed with a little olive oil, garlic and onions make a delicious, healthy pasta sauce.
9. Sweet potatoes. A sweet potato contains twice the recommended daily amount of vitamin A, almost half of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C and, if you eat the skin, more fiber than oatmeal.
10. Water. The cheapest and best beverage is water. Spruce it up by adding sliced fresh oranges, lemons, or cucumbers to your water pitcher.
http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness-fact-article/3628/10-healthy-foods-you-can-eat-on-the/
1. Bananas. Bananas are high in vitamin B6, fiber and vitamin C. Their high potassium content helps protect against heart disease and decreases cramps. Because of their peel, bananas are low in pesticides and easy to grab-and-go.
2. Eggs. While egg yolks do contain cholesterol, they are high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which are important in heart disease prevention and brain development. Eggs are inexpensive, easy to prepare and versatile.
3. Black beans. An excellent source of protein, omega-3 fatty-acids, iron and fiber, black beans also contain several antioxidants that help protect from heart disease, cancer and age-related memory loss. For optimal flavor and cost, buy dried black beans and simmer with onion and garlic until the beans are soft.
4. Chicken breasts, bought in bulk. Boneless, skinless chicken breast is loaded with protein and low in calories. For a quick dinner, defrost a chicken breast the night before, season it with a little bit of pepper or herbs, and bake or grill it.
5. Oatmeal. Very high in fiber, oatmeal helps to remove bad cholesterol from the blood stream and to clean out the GI tract for anyone suffering from constipation. Optimize your health (and save money) by choosing plain, steel-cut oatmeal for the highest fiber and lowest sugar content.
6. Carrots. Easy to prepare and eat, and packed with vitamins A, C and K, folate and fiber, carrots are a great addition to any meal or snack.
7. Canned tuna. Eating water-packed tuna is a low-calorie way to get lean protein, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, selenium and vitamin D. It also helps reach the recommended minimum of two servings per week of fish.
8. Canned diced tomatoes. Canned tomatoes have all of the benefits of raw tomatoes, and have a more active form of the antioxidant lycopene. Diced tomatoes sautéed with a little olive oil, garlic and onions make a delicious, healthy pasta sauce.
9. Sweet potatoes. A sweet potato contains twice the recommended daily amount of vitamin A, almost half of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C and, if you eat the skin, more fiber than oatmeal.
10. Water. The cheapest and best beverage is water. Spruce it up by adding sliced fresh oranges, lemons, or cucumbers to your water pitcher.
http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness-fact-article/3628/10-healthy-foods-you-can-eat-on-the/
Do You Eat Like A Health Coach?
The first thing you learn when you become a Health Coach is that everyone thinks that you eat 'healthy' 100% of the time. Guess what? Eating well doesn't mean that you only eat carrot sticks and sip water all day long. It's that over the top mind-set that makes people think it's too hard to be healthy, so why bother trying.
The truth is that everyone can eat like a health coach. Just like you, health coaches come in all shapes and sizes and are at different points in their journey to wellness. Some coaches want to lose weight, others have discovered a more natural way of dealing with pain, discomfort, mental health concerns or various ailments, and some enjoy living a more balanced and happy life.
Eating healthy doesn't mean you can never eat at your favorite fast food place, Chinese restaurant or ice cream shop. It means you have decided to discover which foods are harming your body, increasing your chance for illness and disease, and preventing you from enjoying life.
What many people, including health professionals, fail to realize is not everyone will thrive on a low-fat diet, vegetarian diet, or even diets recommended by the American Heart or Diabetes Associations. It's important to discover what foods work best for you, your family and your lifestyle. Baring any dietary restrictions, if your plan includes an occasional ice cream cone, you should feel free to indulge and not feel guilty.
It's time to put away the excuses. You are not too old, it's not too hard, and your kids will not starve if you start giving them better quality food. Anyone can start eating like a health coach by making just a few simple changes.
1. Drink More Water
Did you know that most people are dehydrated? Dehydration causes a number of health problems including headaches, fatigue, digestive disorders, joint pain, and weight gain. It also helps to drink a lot of water early in the day to avoid disturbing your sleep at night.
Start replacing some of those fruity drinks, sports drinks, soda or that third cup of coffee with water. You'll be surprised to find that your cravings for sugar and caffeine will disappear in just a few days.
2. Eat More Real Food
Many processed foods are loaded with sugar, salt and fat. These ingredients act like addictive drugs in your brain and make you crave more and more food. While that's great news for food industries who love it when you spend a lot of money on their products, it's not so good for your health.
Look for food that comes in or near its natural state instead of in a box. Fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, whole grains, nuts and seeds are great examples of 'real' food. Some of these foods may be eaten raw (e.g. apples, salads, almonds), but others may require you to steam, roast, bake, stir-fry, grill or use other cooking methods.
There are a ton of easy, simple and quick recipes available in cookbooks and online, so even an inexperienced cook can prepare a delicious meal in under 30 minutes. Even better, learning to cook with your friends, spouse, or children can be a great learning and bonding experience. We all need to eat, so it makes sense to learn how to cook.
3. Eat Healthy Fats
We've all been brainwashed to think that fats are bad and we must eliminate all fats from our diet. However, that's only part of the story. Trans and saturated fats increase the risk for many diseases and should be reduced or eliminated, but other fats provide health benefits.
The brain is about 60% fat. Without a daily dose of 'good' fats, the brain begins to starve and fails to function properly. One of the most important healthy, unsaturated fats is omega 3 fatty acids. You can get your daily supply of omega 3s in salmon, walnuts, flax and chia seeds, green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach), and high quality fish oil supplements. Remember to feed your brain a healthy diet every day.
4. No Need To Super-Size
Meal and snack portion sizes have gotten completely out of control. Poor quality, processed foods don't fill you up. As a result, you tend to eat more and get hungry again very quickly. The trick is to eat better quality food. It fills you up quickly, leaves you feeling satisfied longer, gives you energy, and doesn't leave you craving sugary junk food.
Even at home, people tend to fill up their plates. Try experimenting with different portion sizes of lean protein, grains, and vegetables and see how you feel. The portion sizes may vary depending on your gender, age, and level of activity, but you'll find the amount that works best for you.
5. Enjoy Your Life
Anyone can eat like a Health Coach. Healthy eating doesn't need to be a 100% restrictive diet. It's more about eating the foods that make you feel good, give you energy and help your body to fight illness and disease. So if you are ready to change and want to enjoy your life, start eating like a health coach. Just remember that even health coaches allow themselves to have a guilt-free break and enjoy some cookies, ice cream or an indulgent restaurant meal.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8600679
The truth is that everyone can eat like a health coach. Just like you, health coaches come in all shapes and sizes and are at different points in their journey to wellness. Some coaches want to lose weight, others have discovered a more natural way of dealing with pain, discomfort, mental health concerns or various ailments, and some enjoy living a more balanced and happy life.
Eating healthy doesn't mean you can never eat at your favorite fast food place, Chinese restaurant or ice cream shop. It means you have decided to discover which foods are harming your body, increasing your chance for illness and disease, and preventing you from enjoying life.
What many people, including health professionals, fail to realize is not everyone will thrive on a low-fat diet, vegetarian diet, or even diets recommended by the American Heart or Diabetes Associations. It's important to discover what foods work best for you, your family and your lifestyle. Baring any dietary restrictions, if your plan includes an occasional ice cream cone, you should feel free to indulge and not feel guilty.
It's time to put away the excuses. You are not too old, it's not too hard, and your kids will not starve if you start giving them better quality food. Anyone can start eating like a health coach by making just a few simple changes.
1. Drink More Water
Did you know that most people are dehydrated? Dehydration causes a number of health problems including headaches, fatigue, digestive disorders, joint pain, and weight gain. It also helps to drink a lot of water early in the day to avoid disturbing your sleep at night.
Start replacing some of those fruity drinks, sports drinks, soda or that third cup of coffee with water. You'll be surprised to find that your cravings for sugar and caffeine will disappear in just a few days.
2. Eat More Real Food
Many processed foods are loaded with sugar, salt and fat. These ingredients act like addictive drugs in your brain and make you crave more and more food. While that's great news for food industries who love it when you spend a lot of money on their products, it's not so good for your health.
Look for food that comes in or near its natural state instead of in a box. Fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, whole grains, nuts and seeds are great examples of 'real' food. Some of these foods may be eaten raw (e.g. apples, salads, almonds), but others may require you to steam, roast, bake, stir-fry, grill or use other cooking methods.
There are a ton of easy, simple and quick recipes available in cookbooks and online, so even an inexperienced cook can prepare a delicious meal in under 30 minutes. Even better, learning to cook with your friends, spouse, or children can be a great learning and bonding experience. We all need to eat, so it makes sense to learn how to cook.
3. Eat Healthy Fats
We've all been brainwashed to think that fats are bad and we must eliminate all fats from our diet. However, that's only part of the story. Trans and saturated fats increase the risk for many diseases and should be reduced or eliminated, but other fats provide health benefits.
The brain is about 60% fat. Without a daily dose of 'good' fats, the brain begins to starve and fails to function properly. One of the most important healthy, unsaturated fats is omega 3 fatty acids. You can get your daily supply of omega 3s in salmon, walnuts, flax and chia seeds, green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach), and high quality fish oil supplements. Remember to feed your brain a healthy diet every day.
4. No Need To Super-Size
Meal and snack portion sizes have gotten completely out of control. Poor quality, processed foods don't fill you up. As a result, you tend to eat more and get hungry again very quickly. The trick is to eat better quality food. It fills you up quickly, leaves you feeling satisfied longer, gives you energy, and doesn't leave you craving sugary junk food.
Even at home, people tend to fill up their plates. Try experimenting with different portion sizes of lean protein, grains, and vegetables and see how you feel. The portion sizes may vary depending on your gender, age, and level of activity, but you'll find the amount that works best for you.
5. Enjoy Your Life
Anyone can eat like a Health Coach. Healthy eating doesn't need to be a 100% restrictive diet. It's more about eating the foods that make you feel good, give you energy and help your body to fight illness and disease. So if you are ready to change and want to enjoy your life, start eating like a health coach. Just remember that even health coaches allow themselves to have a guilt-free break and enjoy some cookies, ice cream or an indulgent restaurant meal.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8600679
Nothing Beats Eating Beets
Beets! Beautiful in color and highly nutritious, these root vegetables contain antioxidants and are chock-full of uber health benefits. From the Swiss chard and spinach families, these low calorie vegetables contain zero cholesterol, and have very little fat. Beets are quite the versatile vegetable too, and can be cooked, juiced, chopped, grated, shredded, boiled, steamed, and roasted, and make for some delicious recipes.
Disease Inhibitor: Beets help with a variety of diseases and conditions, including protection against coronary artery disease and stroke, lowering cholesterol, lowering homocysteine levels (a marker for cellular death), and help with platelets to clot and prevent plaquing along arterial walls. Do you have a heart condition or experience swelling in joints? Than beets are just for you! Thinking of taking an anti-inflammatory? Try eating beets instead of popping a pill, as beets lower inflammation by inhibiting both COX-1 and COX-2; enzymes which facilitate cells to produce inflammation. Research also shows that beetroot can help people who experience: Acidosis (beets are alkaline), Anemia, Atherosclerosis, blood pressure, dandruff (mix a little apple cider vinegar with some beet juice and massage into scalp and leave on for an hour, and rinse), ulcers (mix with honey and drink a few times a week), gallbladder and liver cleanse, body detoxification, and varicose veins.
Nutrient Dense: Are beet greens edible? Yes, they are, and they contain lutein and zeaxanthin, both great for eye health and vision. Beets are a power house of fiber and pectin, and help with digestive and colon health (great for constipation and diarrhea), and are a likely reducer of cancers due to its content of betalain, carotenoids, flavonoids, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, iron, folate (great for DNA synthesis and pregnant moms), potassium, and Vitamin B complex. Beet leaves have a bitter taste, yet are incredibly nutrient dense with chlorophyll, and have a higher nutritional value than the beet roots themselves.
How to Enjoy Eating Beets: Choose beet roots that are firm, smooth, and ones with rounder bottoms, as they are sweeter in taste than beet bottoms that are flat. Beets keep for three to four days in the fridge when attached with its associated, nutrient dense greens and can keep for about two weeks without its greens attached. Do not wash beets until you are ready to cook or eat them. To enjoy the full flavor of beets and to absorb most of its heavenly goodness of nutrients, eat them fresh or juice them. When juicing, add a small slice of lemon with its peel intact to better absorb its nutrients. When steaming beets, cut the majority of greens two inches from its root and cut the beetroot into quarters, with its skin intact, and steam for 15 minutes to a rapid boil or roast for 60 minutes or less, as any more time in heat will denature its nutrients. Should your hands stain from beet juice, use lemon juice to remove stains on your hands.
Healthy Recipes: Beets are the main ingredient of borscht, a popular Eastern European soup. Its greens can be used in salad, much like spinach and Swiss chard. Try using beets as a garnish, grating or chopping them into salads, or my favorite, marinating steamed beats in lemon juice, olive oil, and an assortment of fresh herbs.
Beetroots are a wonderful addition to most people's diets. They can be prepared and cooked in several different ways, are nutrient dense, and are great natural detoxifiers and anti-inflammatory foods that can help the body in various healthy ways.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8622109
Disease Inhibitor: Beets help with a variety of diseases and conditions, including protection against coronary artery disease and stroke, lowering cholesterol, lowering homocysteine levels (a marker for cellular death), and help with platelets to clot and prevent plaquing along arterial walls. Do you have a heart condition or experience swelling in joints? Than beets are just for you! Thinking of taking an anti-inflammatory? Try eating beets instead of popping a pill, as beets lower inflammation by inhibiting both COX-1 and COX-2; enzymes which facilitate cells to produce inflammation. Research also shows that beetroot can help people who experience: Acidosis (beets are alkaline), Anemia, Atherosclerosis, blood pressure, dandruff (mix a little apple cider vinegar with some beet juice and massage into scalp and leave on for an hour, and rinse), ulcers (mix with honey and drink a few times a week), gallbladder and liver cleanse, body detoxification, and varicose veins.
Nutrient Dense: Are beet greens edible? Yes, they are, and they contain lutein and zeaxanthin, both great for eye health and vision. Beets are a power house of fiber and pectin, and help with digestive and colon health (great for constipation and diarrhea), and are a likely reducer of cancers due to its content of betalain, carotenoids, flavonoids, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, iron, folate (great for DNA synthesis and pregnant moms), potassium, and Vitamin B complex. Beet leaves have a bitter taste, yet are incredibly nutrient dense with chlorophyll, and have a higher nutritional value than the beet roots themselves.
How to Enjoy Eating Beets: Choose beet roots that are firm, smooth, and ones with rounder bottoms, as they are sweeter in taste than beet bottoms that are flat. Beets keep for three to four days in the fridge when attached with its associated, nutrient dense greens and can keep for about two weeks without its greens attached. Do not wash beets until you are ready to cook or eat them. To enjoy the full flavor of beets and to absorb most of its heavenly goodness of nutrients, eat them fresh or juice them. When juicing, add a small slice of lemon with its peel intact to better absorb its nutrients. When steaming beets, cut the majority of greens two inches from its root and cut the beetroot into quarters, with its skin intact, and steam for 15 minutes to a rapid boil or roast for 60 minutes or less, as any more time in heat will denature its nutrients. Should your hands stain from beet juice, use lemon juice to remove stains on your hands.
Healthy Recipes: Beets are the main ingredient of borscht, a popular Eastern European soup. Its greens can be used in salad, much like spinach and Swiss chard. Try using beets as a garnish, grating or chopping them into salads, or my favorite, marinating steamed beats in lemon juice, olive oil, and an assortment of fresh herbs.
Beetroots are a wonderful addition to most people's diets. They can be prepared and cooked in several different ways, are nutrient dense, and are great natural detoxifiers and anti-inflammatory foods that can help the body in various healthy ways.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8622109
02:30
Eat
Do You Eat Like A Health Coach?
The first thing you learn when you become a Health Coach is that everyone thinks that you eat 'healthy' 100% of the time. Guess what? Eating well doesn't mean that you only eat carrot sticks and sip water all day long. It's that over the top mind-set that makes people think it's too hard to be healthy, so why bother trying.
The truth is that everyone can eat like a health coach. Just like you, health coaches come in all shapes and sizes and are at different points in their journey to wellness. Some coaches want to lose weight, others have discovered a more natural way of dealing with pain, discomfort, mental health concerns or various ailments, and some enjoy living a more balanced and happy life.
Eating healthy doesn't mean you can never eat at your favorite fast food place, Chinese restaurant or ice cream shop. It means you have decided to discover which foods are harming your body, increasing your chance for illness and disease, and preventing you from enjoying life.
What many people, including health professionals, fail to realize is not everyone will thrive on a low-fat diet, vegetarian diet, or even diets recommended by the American Heart or Diabetes Associations. It's important to discover what foods work best for you, your family and your lifestyle. Baring any dietary restrictions, if your plan includes an occasional ice cream cone, you should feel free to indulge and not feel guilty.
It's time to put away the excuses. You are not too old, it's not too hard, and your kids will not starve if you start giving them better quality food. Anyone can start eating like a health coach by making just a few simple changes.
1. Drink More Water
Did you know that most people are dehydrated? Dehydration causes a number of health problems including headaches, fatigue, digestive disorders, joint pain, and weight gain. It also helps to drink a lot of water early in the day to avoid disturbing your sleep at night.
Start replacing some of those fruity drinks, sports drinks, soda or that third cup of coffee with water. You'll be surprised to find that your cravings for sugar and caffeine will disappear in just a few days.
2. Eat More Real Food
Many processed foods are loaded with sugar, salt and fat. These ingredients act like addictive drugs in your brain and make you crave more and more food. While that's great news for food industries who love it when you spend a lot of money on their products, it's not so good for your health.
Look for food that comes in or near its natural state instead of in a box. Fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, whole grains, nuts and seeds are great examples of 'real' food. Some of these foods may be eaten raw (e.g. apples, salads, almonds), but others may require you to steam, roast, bake, stir-fry, grill or use other cooking methods.
There are a ton of easy, simple and quick recipes available in cookbooks and online, so even an inexperienced cook can prepare a delicious meal in under 30 minutes. Even better, learning to cook with your friends, spouse, or children can be a great learning and bonding experience. We all need to eat, so it makes sense to learn how to cook.
3. Eat Healthy Fats
We've all been brainwashed to think that fats are bad and we must eliminate all fats from our diet. However, that's only part of the story. Trans and saturated fats increase the risk for many diseases and should be reduced or eliminated, but other fats provide health benefits.
The brain is about 60% fat. Without a daily dose of 'good' fats, the brain begins to starve and fails to function properly. One of the most important healthy, unsaturated fats is omega 3 fatty acids. You can get your daily supply of omega 3s in salmon, walnuts, flax and chia seeds, green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach), and high quality fish oil supplements. Remember to feed your brain a healthy diet every day.
4. No Need To Super-Size
Meal and snack portion sizes have gotten completely out of control. Poor quality, processed foods don't fill you up. As a result, you tend to eat more and get hungry again very quickly. The trick is to eat better quality food. It fills you up quickly, leaves you feeling satisfied longer, gives you energy, and doesn't leave you craving sugary junk food.
Even at home, people tend to fill up their plates. Try experimenting with different portion sizes of lean protein, grains, and vegetables and see how you feel. The portion sizes may vary depending on your gender, age, and level of activity, but you'll find the amount that works best for you.
Enjoy Your Life
Anyone can eat like a Health Coach. Healthy eating doesn't need to be a 100% restrictive diet. It's more about eating the foods that make you feel good, give you energy and help your body to fight illness and disease. So if you are ready to change and want to enjoy your life, start eating like a health coach. Just remember that even health coaches allow themselves to have a guilt-free break and enjoy some cookies, ice cream or an indulgent restaurant meal.
Beverly M. Entin is the owner of Entin Health Coaching Group, LLC specializing in health coaching solutions for children, adults, and families designed to fit your life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beverly_Entin
The truth is that everyone can eat like a health coach. Just like you, health coaches come in all shapes and sizes and are at different points in their journey to wellness. Some coaches want to lose weight, others have discovered a more natural way of dealing with pain, discomfort, mental health concerns or various ailments, and some enjoy living a more balanced and happy life.
Eating healthy doesn't mean you can never eat at your favorite fast food place, Chinese restaurant or ice cream shop. It means you have decided to discover which foods are harming your body, increasing your chance for illness and disease, and preventing you from enjoying life.
What many people, including health professionals, fail to realize is not everyone will thrive on a low-fat diet, vegetarian diet, or even diets recommended by the American Heart or Diabetes Associations. It's important to discover what foods work best for you, your family and your lifestyle. Baring any dietary restrictions, if your plan includes an occasional ice cream cone, you should feel free to indulge and not feel guilty.
It's time to put away the excuses. You are not too old, it's not too hard, and your kids will not starve if you start giving them better quality food. Anyone can start eating like a health coach by making just a few simple changes.
1. Drink More Water
Did you know that most people are dehydrated? Dehydration causes a number of health problems including headaches, fatigue, digestive disorders, joint pain, and weight gain. It also helps to drink a lot of water early in the day to avoid disturbing your sleep at night.
Start replacing some of those fruity drinks, sports drinks, soda or that third cup of coffee with water. You'll be surprised to find that your cravings for sugar and caffeine will disappear in just a few days.
2. Eat More Real Food
Many processed foods are loaded with sugar, salt and fat. These ingredients act like addictive drugs in your brain and make you crave more and more food. While that's great news for food industries who love it when you spend a lot of money on their products, it's not so good for your health.
Look for food that comes in or near its natural state instead of in a box. Fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, whole grains, nuts and seeds are great examples of 'real' food. Some of these foods may be eaten raw (e.g. apples, salads, almonds), but others may require you to steam, roast, bake, stir-fry, grill or use other cooking methods.
There are a ton of easy, simple and quick recipes available in cookbooks and online, so even an inexperienced cook can prepare a delicious meal in under 30 minutes. Even better, learning to cook with your friends, spouse, or children can be a great learning and bonding experience. We all need to eat, so it makes sense to learn how to cook.
3. Eat Healthy Fats
We've all been brainwashed to think that fats are bad and we must eliminate all fats from our diet. However, that's only part of the story. Trans and saturated fats increase the risk for many diseases and should be reduced or eliminated, but other fats provide health benefits.
The brain is about 60% fat. Without a daily dose of 'good' fats, the brain begins to starve and fails to function properly. One of the most important healthy, unsaturated fats is omega 3 fatty acids. You can get your daily supply of omega 3s in salmon, walnuts, flax and chia seeds, green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach), and high quality fish oil supplements. Remember to feed your brain a healthy diet every day.
4. No Need To Super-Size
Meal and snack portion sizes have gotten completely out of control. Poor quality, processed foods don't fill you up. As a result, you tend to eat more and get hungry again very quickly. The trick is to eat better quality food. It fills you up quickly, leaves you feeling satisfied longer, gives you energy, and doesn't leave you craving sugary junk food.
Even at home, people tend to fill up their plates. Try experimenting with different portion sizes of lean protein, grains, and vegetables and see how you feel. The portion sizes may vary depending on your gender, age, and level of activity, but you'll find the amount that works best for you.
Enjoy Your Life
Anyone can eat like a Health Coach. Healthy eating doesn't need to be a 100% restrictive diet. It's more about eating the foods that make you feel good, give you energy and help your body to fight illness and disease. So if you are ready to change and want to enjoy your life, start eating like a health coach. Just remember that even health coaches allow themselves to have a guilt-free break and enjoy some cookies, ice cream or an indulgent restaurant meal.
Beverly M. Entin is the owner of Entin Health Coaching Group, LLC specializing in health coaching solutions for children, adults, and families designed to fit your life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beverly_Entin
Is a Calorie Really Just a Calorie?
Mention the word “calorie” to a fitness professional, grab some gluten-free popcorn, and watch the chaos ensue.
On one end of the spectrum, we have a group that defends the use of counting calories and argues that it solves all of your problems with body composition. Therefore, you must count all ‘em calories down to a gnat’s ass. Calories are the only thing that matter, and you just need to either burn more or consume less. This is followed closely by a muttering about the law of thermodynamics. It is a law, for heaven’s sake, and must be right!
On the other end, we have a group who argues that calories are outdated and do not describe the complexities of human metabolism. Therefore, don’t even worry about them! You’re an idiot if you spend your precious waking hours counting them. Stop it! Go to the gym and don’t collect $200!
Who is right? If we put them up against each other in a grudge match of wits, who would emerge as the winner?
Calorie Confusion Conundrum
You can now see why the average person looking to deflate their spare tire is utterly confused. If we can’t agree on something as basic as calories, are we doomed to spew confusion to the masses as the obesity rates climb higher than a slam dunk from Lebron?
The short answer is that both philosophies are too much of a simplification.
Give me 2 minutes and I can find a horde of people that got lean by never counting a calorie.
Give me another 2 minutes and I can find the same number of people who did count calories and were equally as lean. Hold the phone as I submit this study to PubMed….. OK, I’m back (insert sarcasm here).
Enter the Geek – Thermodynamics 101
Both sides come back and site thermodynamics at the heart of their argument. I always like to ask them what the first law actually says, which is followed by lots of “hmmms” and “uhs” and the blurting of a seemingly random number. Hint, there are ally 4 laws and the zeroth was actually added last.
The laws are as follows.
Zeroth law of thermodynamics – If two thermodynamic systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other.
First law of thermodynamics – Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms. In any process, the total energy of the universe remains the same. For a thermodynamic cycle, the net heat supplied to the system equals the net work done by the system.
Second law of thermodynamics – The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium.
Third law of thermodynamics – As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches a constant minimum.
I am pretty sure both groups use of the Laws of Thermodynamics does nothing more than to confuse the piss out of people.
Not to mention, most who argue about it never once took a friggin’ thermo class nor did the do any research in that area. If I wanted to get all huffy about it, I could point out that I did suffer through those classes for my MS in mechanical engineering and even published research in the IEEE journal on heat transfer in a monkey head. I am not an expert in the field by any means, although I have a pretty good grasp of the math behind it in addition to physiology.
But don’t believe me, here is what Dr. Feinman stated
“Our major point here is that there is more than one law of thermodynamics and that a more accurate understanding of the role of the second law shows that differential weight loss is not inconsistent with any physical principle.” (Feinman & Fine, 2004)
No physical laws were violated. The universe is still intact and you can sleep well tonight.
Second Law, First Law, Who Cares
If I ate my Wheaties in the morning and I magically have 3 extra hours in my day to get into pissing matches on the old interwebz about this topic, I would throw out that the first law of thermodynamics is not really what matters as much regarding calorie confusion. It is actually the second law that is the most helpful.
Keep your arms and legs inside and buckle up partner as we embark on an uber-brief crash course in thermodynamics. All aboard the pain train!
The first law is primarily just a book keeping law. Energy is neither created nor destroyed and just changes forms. Keep in mind that this is applied across the universe, not just to your body! This law is not violated and is also generally not too useful unless we look at a closed system such as a metabolic chamber. It does not tell us much about free living humans.
The second law states that entropy (a simple measure of disorder) increases over time. It is this law that drives chemical reactions (Feinman & Fine, 2004). Metabolism can be thought of as a crap ton of chemical reactions. The second law came about from the investigation of machines since they are not 100.00% efficient as some of the energy is lost as heat. Hmmmm, sounds like the human body. If your body temperature reaches room temperature, you are dead which really impedes your fat loss progress.
Enough Physics!!
To summarize so far:
Where people go off the rails is to assume that either counting calories works for everyone or that you don’t need to do any of that stuff.
According to the second law, there is not a super nice and linear relationship between the calories you eat and how many of them go to your love handles. Rarely is anything in physiology nice and linear (Thomas, Ciesla, Levine, Stevens, & Martin, 2009: Feinman & Fine, 2007). Just like the efficiency of machines will vary, humans are similar in that regard it is not a simple linear equation.
Unlike a car, you want to be more inefficient and throw off more energy as heat for fat loss since that energy is then not stored as fat. This is where the huge disconnect happens. Thermodynamics is still valid; it is just not that simple to calculate all the inefficiencies that go into metabolism in the average person.
True, we could lock you up in a metabolic chamber where all of this is accounted for; but that does not mirror real life where the decision to eat skittles may predispose you to eat more calories later. Calories in affect calories out and vice versa. Unless you are in prison, you live in an open system where calories in and calories out fluctuate constantly.
This Is NEAT
If you spend enough time wander the aisles in Walmart like a lost puppy, this next statement will not seem true, but I have S.C.I.E.N.C.E to “prove” that it is real. Humans have all sorts of counter regulatory measures that jump into effect in an attempt to not let you get fatter. One of these is NEAT aka non-exercising activity thermogenesis. In short, you tend to start moving around more and even fidgeting away the extra calories. The downside is that this may not be enough to burn off the extra calories and thus some gets stored as fat. This rate of NEAT varies widely from one person to the next (Levine, Eberhardt, & Jensen, 1999).
“Changes in NEAT accounted for the 10-fold differences in fat storage that occurred and directly predicted resistance to fat gain with overfeeding” – Dr. Levine
In a review by Levine 2007, he also stated “NEAT varies between two people of similar size by 2000 kcal per day because of people’s different occupations and leisure-time activities.”
Eeeeek gads man. There is a massive variation from one person to the next.
In another study by Trembly et al. in 1992, they over fed subjects by 1,000 kcal for 100 days. They found that it did induce an increase in the cost of trying to maintain weight, but even then two-thirds of the excess was stored as ugly body fat. (Tremblay, Despres, Theriault, Fournier, & Bouchard, 1992). The punch line is that your body will increase your metabolic rate, thus burning more calories when you overeat. Sadly, at some point it is not enough to keep you lean, and you will gain weight. It is not a simple linear correlation though.
What to Do
This is one of my new favorite quotes:
“Telling an obese person to exercise more and eat less is like telling a depressed person to have a nice day” –Dr. Stu Phillips
If just telling people to eat less and do more exercise worked well, we would not have such a rapidly escalating rate of obesity. However, counting calories in only does not guarantee you to be super lean as that is only half of the equation. Further attempts to record keep your way into accounting for calories burned is not only quite hard, but many equations are not super accurate and do not account for counter regulatory factors such as NEAT.
Yes, you can count calories and see great results.
You can paradoxically not count them and see great results too. Just because you opted not to count them does not mean they don’t exist.
The calories do matter, but whether you decide to count them or not is up to you.
My bias is to do the least amount of work first for the greatest potential change in body composition (metabolic leverage). The 3 step process is
1) Eat more protein.
This involves bumping up protein to around 0.75 grams per pound of bodyweight first. Protein has several advantages and the main one is satiety making it hard to over eat. And even if you did ramp up your protein super high, a new study by Dr. Antonio et al. 2014 showed minimal changes in body composition when subjects ate a whole bunch of protein.
2) Go lift stuff.
Add some weight training for 3-4 sessions per week focusing on compound lifts with increasing volume. You can add in some interval sprints if that tickles your fancy.
3) Be aware.
Record what your put in your cake hole first so that you are conscious of it. Work to eat more whole foods first that have minimal processing. No foods are automatically off limits though. Everyone needs to stop with the “good” vs “bad” food or labeling certain eating “clean.”
Once you have done 1-3 consistently for 4 weeks, then you can start to sweat the details and start counting stuff if you please. There is no need to major in the minors to start.
Summary
source:http://eattoperform.com/2014/06/27/is-a-calorie-really-just-a-calorie-by-dr-mike-t-nelson/
On one end of the spectrum, we have a group that defends the use of counting calories and argues that it solves all of your problems with body composition. Therefore, you must count all ‘em calories down to a gnat’s ass. Calories are the only thing that matter, and you just need to either burn more or consume less. This is followed closely by a muttering about the law of thermodynamics. It is a law, for heaven’s sake, and must be right!
On the other end, we have a group who argues that calories are outdated and do not describe the complexities of human metabolism. Therefore, don’t even worry about them! You’re an idiot if you spend your precious waking hours counting them. Stop it! Go to the gym and don’t collect $200!
Who is right? If we put them up against each other in a grudge match of wits, who would emerge as the winner?
Calorie Confusion Conundrum
You can now see why the average person looking to deflate their spare tire is utterly confused. If we can’t agree on something as basic as calories, are we doomed to spew confusion to the masses as the obesity rates climb higher than a slam dunk from Lebron?
The short answer is that both philosophies are too much of a simplification.
Give me 2 minutes and I can find a horde of people that got lean by never counting a calorie.
Give me another 2 minutes and I can find the same number of people who did count calories and were equally as lean. Hold the phone as I submit this study to PubMed….. OK, I’m back (insert sarcasm here).
Enter the Geek – Thermodynamics 101
Both sides come back and site thermodynamics at the heart of their argument. I always like to ask them what the first law actually says, which is followed by lots of “hmmms” and “uhs” and the blurting of a seemingly random number. Hint, there are ally 4 laws and the zeroth was actually added last.
The laws are as follows.
Zeroth law of thermodynamics – If two thermodynamic systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other.
First law of thermodynamics – Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms. In any process, the total energy of the universe remains the same. For a thermodynamic cycle, the net heat supplied to the system equals the net work done by the system.
Second law of thermodynamics – The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium.
Third law of thermodynamics – As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches a constant minimum.
I am pretty sure both groups use of the Laws of Thermodynamics does nothing more than to confuse the piss out of people.
Not to mention, most who argue about it never once took a friggin’ thermo class nor did the do any research in that area. If I wanted to get all huffy about it, I could point out that I did suffer through those classes for my MS in mechanical engineering and even published research in the IEEE journal on heat transfer in a monkey head. I am not an expert in the field by any means, although I have a pretty good grasp of the math behind it in addition to physiology.
But don’t believe me, here is what Dr. Feinman stated
“Our major point here is that there is more than one law of thermodynamics and that a more accurate understanding of the role of the second law shows that differential weight loss is not inconsistent with any physical principle.” (Feinman & Fine, 2004)
No physical laws were violated. The universe is still intact and you can sleep well tonight.
Second Law, First Law, Who Cares
If I ate my Wheaties in the morning and I magically have 3 extra hours in my day to get into pissing matches on the old interwebz about this topic, I would throw out that the first law of thermodynamics is not really what matters as much regarding calorie confusion. It is actually the second law that is the most helpful.
Keep your arms and legs inside and buckle up partner as we embark on an uber-brief crash course in thermodynamics. All aboard the pain train!
The first law is primarily just a book keeping law. Energy is neither created nor destroyed and just changes forms. Keep in mind that this is applied across the universe, not just to your body! This law is not violated and is also generally not too useful unless we look at a closed system such as a metabolic chamber. It does not tell us much about free living humans.
The second law states that entropy (a simple measure of disorder) increases over time. It is this law that drives chemical reactions (Feinman & Fine, 2004). Metabolism can be thought of as a crap ton of chemical reactions. The second law came about from the investigation of machines since they are not 100.00% efficient as some of the energy is lost as heat. Hmmmm, sounds like the human body. If your body temperature reaches room temperature, you are dead which really impedes your fat loss progress.
Enough Physics!!
To summarize so far:
- The laws of thermodynamics are real and not violated.
- It is actually the second law regarding entropy that is the most important.
Where people go off the rails is to assume that either counting calories works for everyone or that you don’t need to do any of that stuff.
According to the second law, there is not a super nice and linear relationship between the calories you eat and how many of them go to your love handles. Rarely is anything in physiology nice and linear (Thomas, Ciesla, Levine, Stevens, & Martin, 2009: Feinman & Fine, 2007). Just like the efficiency of machines will vary, humans are similar in that regard it is not a simple linear equation.
Unlike a car, you want to be more inefficient and throw off more energy as heat for fat loss since that energy is then not stored as fat. This is where the huge disconnect happens. Thermodynamics is still valid; it is just not that simple to calculate all the inefficiencies that go into metabolism in the average person.
True, we could lock you up in a metabolic chamber where all of this is accounted for; but that does not mirror real life where the decision to eat skittles may predispose you to eat more calories later. Calories in affect calories out and vice versa. Unless you are in prison, you live in an open system where calories in and calories out fluctuate constantly.
This Is NEAT
If you spend enough time wander the aisles in Walmart like a lost puppy, this next statement will not seem true, but I have S.C.I.E.N.C.E to “prove” that it is real. Humans have all sorts of counter regulatory measures that jump into effect in an attempt to not let you get fatter. One of these is NEAT aka non-exercising activity thermogenesis. In short, you tend to start moving around more and even fidgeting away the extra calories. The downside is that this may not be enough to burn off the extra calories and thus some gets stored as fat. This rate of NEAT varies widely from one person to the next (Levine, Eberhardt, & Jensen, 1999).
“Changes in NEAT accounted for the 10-fold differences in fat storage that occurred and directly predicted resistance to fat gain with overfeeding” – Dr. Levine
In a review by Levine 2007, he also stated “NEAT varies between two people of similar size by 2000 kcal per day because of people’s different occupations and leisure-time activities.”
Eeeeek gads man. There is a massive variation from one person to the next.
In another study by Trembly et al. in 1992, they over fed subjects by 1,000 kcal for 100 days. They found that it did induce an increase in the cost of trying to maintain weight, but even then two-thirds of the excess was stored as ugly body fat. (Tremblay, Despres, Theriault, Fournier, & Bouchard, 1992). The punch line is that your body will increase your metabolic rate, thus burning more calories when you overeat. Sadly, at some point it is not enough to keep you lean, and you will gain weight. It is not a simple linear correlation though.
What to Do
This is one of my new favorite quotes:
“Telling an obese person to exercise more and eat less is like telling a depressed person to have a nice day” –Dr. Stu Phillips
If just telling people to eat less and do more exercise worked well, we would not have such a rapidly escalating rate of obesity. However, counting calories in only does not guarantee you to be super lean as that is only half of the equation. Further attempts to record keep your way into accounting for calories burned is not only quite hard, but many equations are not super accurate and do not account for counter regulatory factors such as NEAT.
Yes, you can count calories and see great results.
You can paradoxically not count them and see great results too. Just because you opted not to count them does not mean they don’t exist.
The calories do matter, but whether you decide to count them or not is up to you.
My bias is to do the least amount of work first for the greatest potential change in body composition (metabolic leverage). The 3 step process is
1) Eat more protein.
This involves bumping up protein to around 0.75 grams per pound of bodyweight first. Protein has several advantages and the main one is satiety making it hard to over eat. And even if you did ramp up your protein super high, a new study by Dr. Antonio et al. 2014 showed minimal changes in body composition when subjects ate a whole bunch of protein.
2) Go lift stuff.
Add some weight training for 3-4 sessions per week focusing on compound lifts with increasing volume. You can add in some interval sprints if that tickles your fancy.
3) Be aware.
Record what your put in your cake hole first so that you are conscious of it. Work to eat more whole foods first that have minimal processing. No foods are automatically off limits though. Everyone needs to stop with the “good” vs “bad” food or labeling certain eating “clean.”
Once you have done 1-3 consistently for 4 weeks, then you can start to sweat the details and start counting stuff if you please. There is no need to major in the minors to start.
Summary
- Thermodynamics is real, and no laws have been broken. Cold fusion is still not real however. I have my doubts about Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster is a lie.
- According to thermodynamics, calories in and calories out is true. If you agree, give yourself a gold star.
- How much you eat will generally determine how much weight you gain or lose.
- What you eat will generally determine the composition of that weight (fat or lean body mass).
source:http://eattoperform.com/2014/06/27/is-a-calorie-really-just-a-calorie-by-dr-mike-t-nelson/
Eat To Perform Team Challenge
It was clear from the genesis of Eat To Perform that we needed to
live up to our namesake and emphasize the role proper nutrition plays in
maximizing your performance in the gym. At this point, the majority of
our blog posts and materials reflect that. Over time, Performance
Focused Fat Loss became a priority and as such we started what
ultimately became our ETP Live Challenge. In those challenges the goal
was simple: build muscle and lose fat. The more muscle you gained, the
better, but you also got points for fat loss. What we really wanted
people to know is that they shouldn’t always be seeking fat loss; a
general focus on adding lean mass makes the times you do pursue fat loss
much easier and more permanent. A year and half later, people have
gotten our message loud and clear.
To be perfectly clear, we’ve never suggested that fat loss should never be a goal but the fact of the matter is that many people are coming from an extreme dieting background – they’re not giving their bodies the energy and nutrients they need to adapt positively. Our members have worked diligently to increase their energy intake and as a result, their work capacity has gone up. That of course isn’t the end game for a lot of people. Many people have more fat to lose and we want to help them get there.
With that in mind, we’re holding the first-ever Eat To Perform Team Challenge!
Over the course of this two month, 60 day challenge, we will be dividing everyone into teams. The number of teams will be dependent upon how many members participate. Each moderator in the Science Lab will be assigned to a team; what this means is that you will have a significant amount of support for the two month period. In the end, points will be tallied, winners announced, and prizes distributed. This challenge is only for Science Lab members so if you haven’t signed up, now is the time to do so. In addition to being able to participate in multiple challenges every year, you’ll become part of a community and receive legitimate, science-based advice from our team of doctors, nutritionists, and coaches.
In addition to the team we will have individual winners (similar to our ETP Live challenges). Here are some basic guidelines we will be using as a framework for judging:
We are excited about this challenge but because of the short time frame (two months) we need to have a quick turnaround on the materials submitted. The latest we’ll accept entries is August 10th so act now!
source: http://eattoperform.com/2014/07/02/eat-to-perform-team-challenge/
To be perfectly clear, we’ve never suggested that fat loss should never be a goal but the fact of the matter is that many people are coming from an extreme dieting background – they’re not giving their bodies the energy and nutrients they need to adapt positively. Our members have worked diligently to increase their energy intake and as a result, their work capacity has gone up. That of course isn’t the end game for a lot of people. Many people have more fat to lose and we want to help them get there.
With that in mind, we’re holding the first-ever Eat To Perform Team Challenge!
Over the course of this two month, 60 day challenge, we will be dividing everyone into teams. The number of teams will be dependent upon how many members participate. Each moderator in the Science Lab will be assigned to a team; what this means is that you will have a significant amount of support for the two month period. In the end, points will be tallied, winners announced, and prizes distributed. This challenge is only for Science Lab members so if you haven’t signed up, now is the time to do so. In addition to being able to participate in multiple challenges every year, you’ll become part of a community and receive legitimate, science-based advice from our team of doctors, nutritionists, and coaches.
In addition to the team we will have individual winners (similar to our ETP Live challenges). Here are some basic guidelines we will be using as a framework for judging:
- After seeing 1000’s of body fat tests, one thing is clear: the faster you lose weight, the more lean mass you lose. This is not a good thing, so we came up with a general guideline of who should be most aggressive and who needs to be careful. If you are a female over 35% or a male over 25% you will be allowed to lose more than eight pounds, or a pound a week.
- For the leaner folks, we would like you to stick to the one pound a week guideline. Please note that that’s a GUIDELINE, not a hard/fast rule. If as an example you can get the weight to come off easily at a higher calorie point you probably aren’t jeopardizing a lot of the muscle.
- Super lean people need to be even more careful. If you are a female under 20% or a male under 12% your goal might be four to five pounds lost.
- If you are coming from an extreme dieting background this challenge will be different for you. Your goals will be to lose fat by gaining muscle. We will help you do that by addressing deficiencies in the way you eat but fat loss is an equation. If you are undereating, that needs to be addressed first. It’s extremely common for people coming from a pretty restricted background to put on a decent amount of muscle in a few short weeks but if you are eating 1200 calories a day right now and you want to eat less than that as part of this challenge, that isn’t what we are trying to do. This is about health, mental first and then physical.
We are excited about this challenge but because of the short time frame (two months) we need to have a quick turnaround on the materials submitted. The latest we’ll accept entries is August 10th so act now!
source: http://eattoperform.com/2014/07/02/eat-to-perform-team-challenge/
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