Monday, January 30, 2012
Motivating Quotes
Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it.
(Burmese Saying)..........
They can because they think they can.
(Virgil).........
Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.
(Thomas Jefferson)
Monday, January 9, 2012
Tony Horton Thought of The Day
Posted at Tonyhorton.blogspot.com:
Most people these days don't seem to respond to gentle prodding. Our problems stem from too much coddling and our delusional sense of entitlement. You have to earn respect, success and health - and that comes from hard work, thinking outside of the box and finding mentors you trust who will push you outside of your comfort zone.
Most people these days don't seem to respond to gentle prodding. Our problems stem from too much coddling and our delusional sense of entitlement. You have to earn respect, success and health - and that comes from hard work, thinking outside of the box and finding mentors you trust who will push you outside of your comfort zone.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Lose Belly Fat For The New Year
How To Lose Belly Fat – The Guide, posted at lifehack.org
The strategy involves both diet and exercise – nothing new there. However, it entails 2 unique ways of going about it.
The Diet – Become a Fat-Burner
Low-carbohydrate nutrition is the most-effective way of shedding pounds of fat from the body.
Why?
Basically, the body burns energy in the following order:
1.Carbohydrate (from food and stored glycogen)
2.Fat (from food and bodyfat)
3.Protein (from food and muscle tissue)
If you eat what most government guidelines recommend you eat, you are a carb-burner. It then becomes obvious that in order to become a fat-burner, you should remove the current primary energy source i.e. carbohydrate.
When you do this, your body takes a few days to flip a ‘metabolic switch’ and become a fat-burning machine. At that point, the fat you eat gets consumed first, and then you start burning away bodyfat as your primary source of energy. Obviously, you don’t therefore consume copious amounts of fat, and you don’t need to go zero carb to benefit. Anything under 100 grams of carbs a day is considered ‘low-carb’, but ideally under 60 grams would produce great results.
On low-fat diets (which by nature are high-carb diets), when your ‘food calories’ are gone, the body will burn a mixture of both fat and muscle tissue (protein). As muscle is ‘metabolically active’ — it burns calories all day long just by being there — losing it is a disaster for the dieter. Their metabolism will continually slow down over time.
This is one of the main reasons why low-fat diets very often produce temporary results: you lose weight for a while, but then it stops working (as your metabolism has crashed) and you pile it back on – and then some!
The Exercise
Loads and loads of cardio, right? Wrong.
Overdoing cardiovascular exercise will also put your body in a state where it breaks down lean muscle tissue (catabolism). So the question is, how do we complement our fat-burning nutritional strategy with fat-burning exercise.
It’s called ‘Interval Training’, or more specifically ‘High Intensity Interval Training’. The idea is to perform some sort of cardio in ‘fits and starts’ i.e. a period of lower intensity followed by a period of higher intensity.
Why?
Research shows that this type of work burns more fat than steady-state cardio, typically by about 50%. In fact, one study showed a 9 fold increase in fat loss for HIIT compared to low-medium intensity cardio.
Also, with respect to belly fat in particular, research has shown (though the reason is not clear at this time) that HIIT can produce more fat loss in this area than other parts of the body. An Australian study found that the HIIT group lost 3 times more fat and significantly more belly fat than the steady-state cardio group who actually exercised for twice as long!
The even better news is that HIIT need only be performed for 10-20 minutes at a time.
Hopefully you can see that these unique approaches to diet and nutrition will work synergistically to produce truly effective fat-loss:
1.Get your body to burn fat for energy.
2.Then add exercise that will utilize the most fat possible.
There’s obviously more to talk about on this topic, but a single post doesn’t permit me to get into it all. I hope you enjoyed it and if nothing else, you feel inspired to find any weight-loss program that you feel you can work with to bring permanent results.
The strategy involves both diet and exercise – nothing new there. However, it entails 2 unique ways of going about it.
The Diet – Become a Fat-Burner
Low-carbohydrate nutrition is the most-effective way of shedding pounds of fat from the body.
Why?
Basically, the body burns energy in the following order:
1.Carbohydrate (from food and stored glycogen)
2.Fat (from food and bodyfat)
3.Protein (from food and muscle tissue)
If you eat what most government guidelines recommend you eat, you are a carb-burner. It then becomes obvious that in order to become a fat-burner, you should remove the current primary energy source i.e. carbohydrate.
When you do this, your body takes a few days to flip a ‘metabolic switch’ and become a fat-burning machine. At that point, the fat you eat gets consumed first, and then you start burning away bodyfat as your primary source of energy. Obviously, you don’t therefore consume copious amounts of fat, and you don’t need to go zero carb to benefit. Anything under 100 grams of carbs a day is considered ‘low-carb’, but ideally under 60 grams would produce great results.
On low-fat diets (which by nature are high-carb diets), when your ‘food calories’ are gone, the body will burn a mixture of both fat and muscle tissue (protein). As muscle is ‘metabolically active’ — it burns calories all day long just by being there — losing it is a disaster for the dieter. Their metabolism will continually slow down over time.
This is one of the main reasons why low-fat diets very often produce temporary results: you lose weight for a while, but then it stops working (as your metabolism has crashed) and you pile it back on – and then some!
The Exercise
Loads and loads of cardio, right? Wrong.
Overdoing cardiovascular exercise will also put your body in a state where it breaks down lean muscle tissue (catabolism). So the question is, how do we complement our fat-burning nutritional strategy with fat-burning exercise.
It’s called ‘Interval Training’, or more specifically ‘High Intensity Interval Training’. The idea is to perform some sort of cardio in ‘fits and starts’ i.e. a period of lower intensity followed by a period of higher intensity.
Why?
Research shows that this type of work burns more fat than steady-state cardio, typically by about 50%. In fact, one study showed a 9 fold increase in fat loss for HIIT compared to low-medium intensity cardio.
Also, with respect to belly fat in particular, research has shown (though the reason is not clear at this time) that HIIT can produce more fat loss in this area than other parts of the body. An Australian study found that the HIIT group lost 3 times more fat and significantly more belly fat than the steady-state cardio group who actually exercised for twice as long!
The even better news is that HIIT need only be performed for 10-20 minutes at a time.
Hopefully you can see that these unique approaches to diet and nutrition will work synergistically to produce truly effective fat-loss:
1.Get your body to burn fat for energy.
2.Then add exercise that will utilize the most fat possible.
There’s obviously more to talk about on this topic, but a single post doesn’t permit me to get into it all. I hope you enjoyed it and if nothing else, you feel inspired to find any weight-loss program that you feel you can work with to bring permanent results.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Hidden Fat in "Health" Food
Hidden Fat in "Health" Food and Hidden Nutrients in "Bad" Food
Are you destroying your diet with these fattening foods masquerarding as healthy? Be bad instead. This article was found online at mensfitness.com.
Can't figure out why you aren't losing weight? You might think that healthy, low-fat, low-calorie, flavorless whipped Styrofoam you're eating is good for you, but there are secret ways that the foods you think are healthy are actually sabotaging your diet. We spoke to Amy Jamieson-Petonic, creator of the Go! Foods for You nutrition program about what "healthy" foods can throw a wrench into your fitness goals.
But there's a bright side too. Some of those "bad" foods you avoid like the plague actually pack a nutritious punch. So, drop the turkey burger, grab a frosty brew and reap the healthy benefits of indulging (in moderation, of course).
Five supposedly healthy foods that can sabotage your diet
GREEN TEA
Green tea itself is good for you, but some of the ones at your local grocer are packed with so much sugar that they could have drastic side effects. “Those types of sugars increase inflammation in the body,” says Jamieson-Petonic, which may then affect sexual function. Look for teas without sweetener.
CEREAL BARS
“Many of them are just glorified candy bars, given the added sugars and fats that they have,” Jamieson-Petonic says. Look for bars that are 150 calories or less, made with only a few (pronounceable) ingredients—yes to fruits and nuts, no to items like “propylene glycol.” Skip any bars made with enriched flour, which is stripped of all the bran that’s good for you.
SOY MILK
“A lot of times, soy milk is sweetened with evaporated cane juice,” Jamieson-Petonic says, which adds six times the amount of sugar as in the unsweetened varieties.
YOGURT RAISINS
Two rights seem to make a wrong in this case. Often the yogurts used to coat the raisins have palm oil, which is full of saturated fat. “Yogurt raisins can be about as unhealthy as a hamburger, with all the saturated fats and cholesterol,” she says.
GROUND TURKEY
Often, store-bought ground turkey contains not only white meat but also dark meat, which is high in fat. Look for turkey that is ground with white meat or breast meat only. “To put things in perspective, I’ve seen lean ground beef with as low as 4.5 grams of saturated fat per 3-ounce serving,” she says, “and ground turkey mixed with light and dark meat with as much as 17 grams of fat for the same serving size.”
Five foods that don’t deserve their bad rap (when consumed in moderation)
CHOCOLATE
Dark (not milk) chocolate that’s at least 70% cacao improves the elasticity of blood vessels, which improves blood flow, reduces the chance of stroke, and helps you maintain healthy blood pressure.
COFFEE
Coffee has been shown to have some cardiovascular benefits, Jamieson-Petonic says. And taking it black, not with milk and sugar, might also play a role in preventing type-2 diabetes, improving memory, and providing antioxidants. She recommends no more than three cups a day.
POTATOES
This starchy vegetable is high in carbs, but it’s the good kind (complex) that provides sustained energy to your system. Eat one before your workout—its B vitamins will provide longer-lasting energy.
SALT
If you’re working out longer than an hour, you need sodium to replace electrolytes lost through sweat—but no more than 3,000 milligrams a day.
BEER
Two cold ones a day have essential B vitamins. If you’re counting calories, light beer is a good option. “And if it’s a darker lager beer, it’s going to have lutein, which helps eyesight,” says Joy Dubost, R.D., “and soluble fiber that’s good for your heart.”
Are you destroying your diet with these fattening foods masquerarding as healthy? Be bad instead. This article was found online at mensfitness.com.
Can't figure out why you aren't losing weight? You might think that healthy, low-fat, low-calorie, flavorless whipped Styrofoam you're eating is good for you, but there are secret ways that the foods you think are healthy are actually sabotaging your diet. We spoke to Amy Jamieson-Petonic, creator of the Go! Foods for You nutrition program about what "healthy" foods can throw a wrench into your fitness goals.
But there's a bright side too. Some of those "bad" foods you avoid like the plague actually pack a nutritious punch. So, drop the turkey burger, grab a frosty brew and reap the healthy benefits of indulging (in moderation, of course).
Five supposedly healthy foods that can sabotage your diet
GREEN TEA
Green tea itself is good for you, but some of the ones at your local grocer are packed with so much sugar that they could have drastic side effects. “Those types of sugars increase inflammation in the body,” says Jamieson-Petonic, which may then affect sexual function. Look for teas without sweetener.
CEREAL BARS
“Many of them are just glorified candy bars, given the added sugars and fats that they have,” Jamieson-Petonic says. Look for bars that are 150 calories or less, made with only a few (pronounceable) ingredients—yes to fruits and nuts, no to items like “propylene glycol.” Skip any bars made with enriched flour, which is stripped of all the bran that’s good for you.
SOY MILK
“A lot of times, soy milk is sweetened with evaporated cane juice,” Jamieson-Petonic says, which adds six times the amount of sugar as in the unsweetened varieties.
YOGURT RAISINS
Two rights seem to make a wrong in this case. Often the yogurts used to coat the raisins have palm oil, which is full of saturated fat. “Yogurt raisins can be about as unhealthy as a hamburger, with all the saturated fats and cholesterol,” she says.
GROUND TURKEY
Often, store-bought ground turkey contains not only white meat but also dark meat, which is high in fat. Look for turkey that is ground with white meat or breast meat only. “To put things in perspective, I’ve seen lean ground beef with as low as 4.5 grams of saturated fat per 3-ounce serving,” she says, “and ground turkey mixed with light and dark meat with as much as 17 grams of fat for the same serving size.”
Five foods that don’t deserve their bad rap (when consumed in moderation)
CHOCOLATE
Dark (not milk) chocolate that’s at least 70% cacao improves the elasticity of blood vessels, which improves blood flow, reduces the chance of stroke, and helps you maintain healthy blood pressure.
COFFEE
Coffee has been shown to have some cardiovascular benefits, Jamieson-Petonic says. And taking it black, not with milk and sugar, might also play a role in preventing type-2 diabetes, improving memory, and providing antioxidants. She recommends no more than three cups a day.
POTATOES
This starchy vegetable is high in carbs, but it’s the good kind (complex) that provides sustained energy to your system. Eat one before your workout—its B vitamins will provide longer-lasting energy.
SALT
If you’re working out longer than an hour, you need sodium to replace electrolytes lost through sweat—but no more than 3,000 milligrams a day.
BEER
Two cold ones a day have essential B vitamins. If you’re counting calories, light beer is a good option. “And if it’s a darker lager beer, it’s going to have lutein, which helps eyesight,” says Joy Dubost, R.D., “and soluble fiber that’s good for your heart.”
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