08.28.07
vacation
I am away on vacation will be back next week. Have a good week.
Jason
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07.17.07
Are You Cheating Yourself Out Of Your Hard-Earned Results?
By Nick Nilsson
What Every Trainer, From Beginner to Advanced, NEEDS To
Know About Post-Workout Nutrition and The Four-Hour
Window of Opportunity.
I have one question for you. What is your post-workout nutritional regimen?
If you answered "nothing," you are cheating yourself out of results that are rightfully yours. You may be wasting as much as 50% of your effort in the gym by not maximizing your post-workout nutrition!
When you exercise, your body burns carbohydrates for energy and breaks down your muscle tissue (especially if you are weight training). Immediately after a workout, the body has an enhanced ability to utilize nutrients such as glucose (sugar) and protein (your body's main building blocks) in order to rebuild and recover from your exercise.
What this essentially means is that your body is turbocharged and ready to grow! This period of power lasts for approximately four hours after a workout, hence the name "Four-Hour Window of Opportunity."
Taking in nutrients immediately after exercise helps you to recover faster and feel better after a workout. This can help you to not only gain muscle faster, but also keep your metabolism fueled so that you lose fat at a faster rate too!
But what happens if you don't eat immediately following a workout? Let me put it this way: it's definitely a situation you want to avoid.
First, your body starts breaking down muscle tissue in undamaged areas of your body in order to get raw materials to help repair the areas you just worked. Over time, this will result in a loss of muscle from your whole body.
Stress hormones in the body (primarily a hormone called cortisol) speed this process along. The stress hormones are produced because working out is a stress on the body - it's a totally natural but results-stopping reaction. How do you control the effects of cortisol? You eat as soon as you can.
But what do you eat after a workout to maximize your results? Both protein and carbohydrates are important for fast recovery.
Protein - Immediately following a workout (within a few minutes of completion) take in some protein. The easiest and best way to do this is in the form of a protein powder (whey is an excellent choice), though a food source such as milk will do.
Taking protein gives your body something to rebuild with instead of tearing down its own muscle tissue for raw materials. Do not take protein right before a workout as it will just sit in your gut and possibly cause bloating. Try to get about 30 to 40 grams of protein in as soon as you can after you're done.
Carbohydrates - Take in about 60 to 100 grams of carbohydrates to help the body refuel. Your body is most efficient at rebuilding its carbohydrate stores immediately after a workout. It's important to take advantage of this period.
A few common examples of healthy carbs to take after a workout include juices, fruits, and sports drinks. Examples of protein foods include milk, eggs, poultry, fish, meat, or soy products. Flavored yogurt is an excellent example of a post-workout snack. It contains carbs, protein and calcium all in one.
Post-Workout Meal - About one hour after your workout, take in a high quality source of protein (as in the examples above) and a good supply of carbohydrates such as grains, potatoes, cereals, etc. At this time, the body has settled down from the stress of the workout and is looking to rebuild.
If you're looking to get as much from your workouts as you possibly can, you can see that post-workout nutrition is critical. By supplying an ample amount of raw materials right after you're done, you will be preventing the body from breaking itself down in order to recover. This means more results from the effort you put into your workouts!
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?jasoncscs/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
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Fewer Calories or More Exercise
Description
New research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &
Metabolism reveals that dieting alone is equally effective at reducing
weigh and fat as a combination of diet and exercise--as long as the
calories consumed and burned equal out.
Newswise -- When it comes to body composition and fat distribution, a
calorie is a calorie, regardless of whether it's controlled by diet
alone or a combination of diet and exercise.
New research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &
Metabolism reveals that dieting alone is equally effective at reducing
weigh and fat as a combination of diet and exercise--as long as the
calories consumed and burned equal out. The research also indicates that
the addition of exercise to a weight-loss regimen does not change body
composition and abdominal fat distribution, debunking the idea that
specific exercises can reduce fat in targeted areas (e.g., exercise to
reduce fat around a person's midsection).
"It's all about the calories," said Dr. Eric Ravussin of the Pennington
Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., and senior author of the
study. "So long as the energy deficit is the same, body weight, fat
weight, and abdominal fat will all decrease in the same way."
Other researchers on the Pennington Biomedical Research Center team
include Drs. Leanne M. Redman, Leonie K. Heilbronn, Corby K. Martin,
Anthony Alfonso, and Steven R. Smith.
For the study, the researchers followed 35 overweight (a Body Mass Index
greater than 25 but less than 30) but otherwise healthy adults who were
randomly assigned to follow one of three diet and exercise combinations
during a six-month period. The first group was the control group, and
followed a healthy diet designed to maintain the participants'
bodyweight. The next group followed a diet that reduced their caloric
intake by 25 percent, which equaled between 550 and 900 fewer calories
per day. The final group reduced their calorie intake by 12.5 percent
while increasing their physical activity to achieve an additional 12.5
percent increase in calorie expenditure.
"It was critical for our study that the calorie deficit for both groups--
the one following the diet and exercise regimen and the one simply
consuming fewer calories--be equal," said Ravussin. "This ensured that we
would be able to measure the impact of exercise on body composition and
abdominal fat."
The study began with a 5-week baseline period to carefully establish
individual energy requirements. During this time, the researchers
calculated the energy intake required for weight maintenance and the
energy deficit necessary to achieve the desired caloric restriction.
During the first three months of the study, participants were provided
with all meals. Later, participants self-selected a diet based on their
individual calorie target, though calorie consumption was still
monitored. Participants in the exercise group also underwent a
structured exercise regimen 5 days a week. In addition to controlling
diet and a guided exercise program, all participants attended weekly
meetings to not only teach subjects how to adhere to their meal and
exercise plans but also to boost motivation and morale.
Participants in both the calorie restricted group and the exercise group
lost approximately 10 percent of their body weight, 24 percent of their
fat mass, and 27 percent of their abdominal visceral fat. The
distribution of the fat in the body, however, was not altered by either
approach.
"The inability of the interventions to alter the distribution of fat
suggests that individuals are genetically programmed for fat storage in
a particular pattern and that this programming cannot easily be
overcome," said Ravussin. "It also helps settle much of the debate over
the independent and combined effects of dieting and increased physical
activity on improving metabolic risk factors such as body composition
and fat distribution."
The researchers did note, however, that exercise improved aerobic
fitness, which has other important cardiovascular and metabolic
implications. "For overall health, an appropriate program of diet and
exercise is still the best," said Ravussin.
The researchers also acknowledge that additional research is necessary
to investigate in a large number people all the independent health
benefits of calorie restriction and exercise.
Pennington Biomedical Research Center is a campus of the Louisiana State
University System.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism is a publication of
The Endocrine Society.
Founded in 1916, The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest,
and most active organization devoted to research on hormones, and the
clinical practice of endocrinology. Today, The Endocrine Society's
membership consists of over 13,000 scientists, physicians, educators,
nurses and students in more than 80 countries. Together, these members
represent all basic, applied, and clinical interests in endocrinology.
The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
An on-line, Rapid Release version of the paper, "Effect of calorie
restriction with or without exercise on body composition and fat
distribution," was published January 2, 2007. The final paper will
appear in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology
& Metabolism. The abstract is here:
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jc.2006-2184v1
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Atkins Diet Review for Weight loss
I found this on weightlossresources.co.uk and thought I would pass it on to you.
To shift those pounds quickly you simply need to start the day with bacon and eggs, snack on chunks of cheese, top coffee with cream and feast on steaks fried in butter. Not exactly the typical foods youd find on the shopping lists of most slimmers whove grown up with the idea that a low-fat diet is the best way to lose weight. But like all things that sound too good to be true, theres a catch. And in the case of the Atkins diet, it means that filling up on high-fat foods needs to be balanced by giving up most carbs including bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, cake even fruit, milk and some veg in the early stages.
Nevertheless, the Atkins diet has captured the hearts and tastebuds of everyone from A-list celebs such as Jennifer Aniston and Renee Zellweger to business men, teachers and housewives. In fact, at its peak in late 2003, more than three million Brits were estimated to have tried the diet in an effort to shape up and slim down.
In spite of this, the Atkins Diet has caused the biggest weight loss debate in years, generating almost as many column inches as advocates of the diet have claimed to lose from their waistline. And even today, nutrition experts have still not been won over. Heres the lowdown
Whats the theory?
Devised by the late Dr Robert Atkins, this is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. Dr Atkins' theory is really quite simple: when you cut out carbs, your body is forced into burning its fat stores to provide it with energy; as you burn more calories when your body burns fat compared with carbohydrate, you'll lose weight more quickly; by cutting out carbs, blood sugar levels remain more stable throughout the day, and so prevent overeating.
How does the Atkins Diet work?
There are four phases to the Atkins diet. The first phase is called Induction, which must be followed for at least two weeks, although this phase can be continued for much longer if you can bear it! During Induction, you must severely limit your intake of carbohydrate to a tiny 20g a day (most of us eat around 250g a day). As well as avoiding carb-rich treats such as biscuits, cakes, chocolate, crisps, fizzy drinks, croissants and pastry, this also means ditching bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, milk, fruit and most veg from the menu. In contrast, you can eat unlimited amounts of red meat, chicken, fish, cheese, eggs, mayo, cream and butter. Its during the Induction phase that your body switches from burning carbs to burning fat and blood sugar levels stabilise.
The second phase, known as Ongoing Weight Loss, allows you to slightly increase your carb intake by 5g daily for a week at a time until you find your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing Weight. This is the maximum amount of carbohydrate you can eat each day to lose between 1 and 3lb a week. For some people, this may only be 25g carbohydrate, for others it might be 50g. Nevertheless, its still considerably lower than most of us are used to and really only allows for the introduction of a few more veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds. Bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals are still off limits!
Its time to enter phase three, called Pre-maintenance, once you have just 5-10lb left to lose. During this phase, you increase you carb intake by 10g each day for a week at a time. The idea is to slow down your weight loss to no more than 1lb a week in an effort to prepare your body for the final phase, weight maintenance. By now you can start to include tiny amounts of traditional starchy foods such as porridge, bread and pasta and we are talking tiny amounts! For example, just 40g cooked brown rice or 30g cooked pasta each provide 10g of carbs!
The fourth and final phase, Lifetime Maintenance, aims to help you maintain your weight. While you can have a slightly more varied carbohydrate intake, most people need to limit carbs to less than 90g a day thats still only around a third of what most of us eat a day. The result: youll be following a low-carb diet for life.
So how much weight can I expect to lose?
Dr Atkins claims you can expect to lose 6-10lb in the first two weeks of Induction, which should slow to 1-3lb a week once you enter the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase. During Pre-maintenance, you can expect to lose 1lb a week at most.
I keep hearing about net carbs. What are these?
Not all carbohydrates can be digested by the body. Fibre, for example, passes through the body without affecting blood sugar levels. The Atkins diet focuses on those carbohydrates that can be digested and therefore affect blood sugar levels.
The net carbohydrate value of a food, simply refers to the amount of digestible carbohydrate a product contains. In the UK, this is equivalent to the carbohydrate content given in the nutrition information chart on food packaging.
Ive noticed there are loads of low-carb products available. Should I try them?
The availability of low-carb products has grown tremendously in the past few years and you can now buy everything from low-carb pasta, soups and bread to tomato ketchup, shakes and chocolate. If you decide to follow a low-carb diet such as the Atkins plan, these can add variety to your diet. However, its worth bearing in mind that these products can be expensive and many add few other nutrients to your diet. They are also often higher in fat and/or calories than the standard product, making them a less suitable option if youre trying to lose weight by a more balanced method such as counting calories.
Does the Atkins diet have any side effects?
Unpleasant side effects can occur with the Atkins diet. To start with, burning fat results in the production of substances called ketones as your body enters a state called ketosis. This can result in bad breath, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, insomnia and nausea. Constipation may also occur as a consequence of avoiding typically high-fibre foods such as fruit, veg, beans, wholewheat pasta, brown rice, wholegrain breakfast cereals and jacket potatoes.
When it comes to long-term side effects, many health professionals are concerned that the Atkins diet may have serious dangers. While the high intake of fat, particularly saturates, may increase the risk of heart disease, there are also concerns that the unbalanced nature of the Atkins diet may lead to nutritional deficiencies, which cause health problems in later life. For example, poor intakes of bone-building calcium (found in dairy products) may increase the risk of osteoporosis, while poor intakes of antioxidant nutrients (found in fruit and veg) have been linked with a host of health problems ranging from heart disease and cancer to premature ageing and cataracts. Some experts are also worried that high intakes of protein may cause kidney problems or weaken bones.
Are there any other bad points?
Because so many foods are off limits, the diet can get very boring with the result that many people give up after a short while. Its also almost impossible to follow the Atkins plan if youre a vegetarian as nuts, seeds, beans and many vegetables are banned in the early stages. Most experts also believe the Atkins plan fails to teach people about the basic principles of a balanced, healthy diet, which science irrefutably proves can help keep us healthy and free from disease.
Any pros?
The main positive is that people can lose considerable amounts of weight, really quite quickly and this can be very motivating. The diet also encourages people to cut out most processed carbs and alcohol. Thanks to it allowing plenty of red meat and high-fat butter, cream, cheese and mayo, its also the one diet thats got men talking about the need to lose weight. In many cases, this talk has turned into action, with many men following the Atkins diet in an effort to lose their beer bellies!
What do the experts say?
The scientific jurys still out on whether low-carb diets really do burn fat and most experts agree more research is needed to identify the long-term health risks and benefits. The Atkins Diet certainly flies in the face of healthy eating guidelines, which recommend less fat and more fruit, veg and high-fibre carbs. Nutrition experts are particularly worried that the diet may increase the risk of heart disease as its potentially very high in fat, especially saturates. Not even revised guidelines for fat intakes from Atkins Nutritionals the company set up by the late Dr Robert Atkins to sell his products and promote the diet have helped qualm most health professionals fears. While the company recommended that no more than 20 percent of our calories should come from saturates, this is still twice as much the recommended amount for a healthy heart. Most experts also worry about the dangers of encouraging people to eat less fruit and veg theres overwhelming evidence that these foods can protect us from a host of diseases including cancer.
Is the diet still as popular as it once was?
It seems more of us are starting to serve spaghetti with our Bolognese, roast potatoes with our Sunday lunch and rice with our curries. According to new research, the popularity of the Atkins diet has taken a massive dive in America. The latest figures revealed that in January 2004 more than nine percent of people in the US were following the diet, but by November 2004 this had dropped to less than four percent.
Meanwhile, if book sales are anything to go by, it looks like the same is happening in Britain. In December 2004, bookshops reported that sales of Dr Atkins infamous diet book were just one tenth of those a year ago, when hopeful slimmers bought more than 110,000 copies in one week alone.
Numerous health scares reported in the press have appeared to turn many people against the Atkins regime and at last were beginning to take notice of the concerns of nutrition experts. Revelations that Dr Atkins was obese and suffering from heart problems at the time of his death have done little to help the low-carb cause, even though it was later claimed that these problems were the result of medical treatment.
Even at the height of its popularity, a Weight Loss Resources poll in October 2003 revealed that nine out of 10 members thought there should be guidance from the Department of Health about any potential problems linked to the Atkins Diet. Now it seems, the diet will lose many of its fans before official guidelines can be developed!
Juliettes verdict
From a practical point of view, while fried eggs and bacon for breakfast every day may initially sound tempting, most people will be left craving a piece of toast and a banana within a few days.
Its also worth pointing out that the Atkins diet almost certainly offers a reduction in calories and this will definitely help you lose weight. For example, even though the diet suggests you can eat unlimited amounts of calorie-packed butter, mayo and cream, the foods they are typically served with are banned, which ultimately limits the amount you eat. For example, cream is traditionally served with fruit, mixed into a pasta sauce or served with coffee but fruit and pasta are banned and coffee is limited. Similarly, butter is traditionally spread on bread or served with potatoes and again both are off limits, leaving you few choices for eating more butter. Meanwhile, most people find theres only so much meat or eggs they can eat, before tastebuds become tired with the same flavour. Again, this works to limit the quantity eaten.
Like most nutrition experts, the potential high fat content of the diet concerns me. Even if followers dont eat huge amounts, Im not keen on the idea of a diet that suggests its OK to eat large amounts.
Meanwhile, having spent years trying to encourage people to eat more fruit and veg, I find the idea of banning or limiting these foods appalling this to me is a huge step backwards. After all, even our great, great, great grandparents recognised the importance of eating more of the green stuff!
Ultimately, until more research is done to identify the long-term risks or benefits of the Atkins diet, I would err on the side of caution. If after reading this, you still want to give it a go, Id suggest only trying it for a couple of weeks at most and then transferring to a longer-term, lower-fat diet that includes a wide range of foods, including carbs!
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