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Ezy Fitness Newsletter     27th September 08

Controlling Insulin = Easier Weight Loss.

Let’s face it; no one has any love for love handles!

So if you want to lose your handles start doing the following

Fighting Fat with Fish

I can't overstate how much this amazing oil is the king of fat loss.

Fish oil has been scientifically evaluated as having positive benefits on everything from schizophrenia to rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma to heart disease.

When you look at the EPA/DHA ratio of a fish oil, just remember that EPA is the portion that'll benefit any inflammatory condition (i.e. arthritis), and DHA aids in cognition (brain fog, loss of concentration, attention deficit disorder, etc.).

The best news is if you want a magic pill for fat loss then it doesn't come much closer than this. Fish oil switches off the receptors that store fat and switches on the ones that burn it.

As well, adding a smart fat with every meal reduces your insulin response to food and thus curbs fat storage. Good examples of additional functional fats are olive oil and CLA.

Water

If you aren't drinking enough of it, end of discussion. I've never come across someone who's drinking anywhere near enough water. Your urine should be completely clear, or at least like a fine white wine. If its bright yellow and smells like sugar puffs, well, it's time to drink up!

An easy way of calculating how much water you should be drinking is to multiply your weight in kilograms by 0.033. Therefore, a 60-kilogram woman would need 2 litres of water per day. Remember, training dehydrates you further, so you'll need even more of the wet stuff.

Cinnamon

Certain compounds in cinnamon are able to increase insulin-dependent glucose metabolism. Along with making those carbs work for you instead of against you, these same compounds may be able to squelch free radicals by acting as antioxidants.

A simple way to gain these benefits is to pop a cinnamon stick in your water and drink it throughout the course of the day. Make sure the stick soaks for some time; the water should be discoloured (a great benefit of this is that no one, and I mean no one, will touch your water bottle whilst you train, as it'll look like someone stubbed out a cigar in it).

Help Yourself to Protein

Quick, eat more meat!

Sure, it's a no-brainer, but we often forget that apart from the muscle building properties that protein possesses, it also prevents the see-saw effect on blood sugar that some carbohydrates create, increases satiety, and elevates your metabolism.

Mineral Aides: Magnesium and Zinc

As far as blood sugar minerals go, magnesium is the crucial cog in the wheel because it aids in the production and usage of insulin. A minimum starting dosage should be 500 mg of magnesium and 30mg zinc.

In even more positive press, magnesium, in combination with fish oils and zinc, is a great cure for PMS.

So, really think about taking more magnesium and zinc. In fact, it may be a good idea to get tested for zinc deficiency because most people are!

Fenugreek.

This funny sounding plant improves the number of insulin receptors, decreases gastric emptying, delays glucose absorption, and increases glucose uptake in peripheral tissues.

Basically, this herb (the leaves) and spice (the seeds) is a must-buy if you want to moderate your insulin levels.

The added benefit of these suggestions is that they may form a good preventative approach to type II diabetes, and could potentially improve the situation of those who already find themselves afflicted with this disease.

Fibre

Fibre has a litany of health benefits from lowering bad cholesterol to blunting insulin spikes, promoting satiety, and improving colon health. We all know we need to get more fibre. Remember to have a minium of 5 + 2 a day.

100 minutes per week

That’s how many minutes you should be doing cardiovascular exercise for each week. Break it into smaller amounts (3 x 35, 4 x 25, 5 x 20mins). Get your shoes on and get moving!

Strength training

I saved the best for last. Hard weight training flushes your muscles of glycogen (the carbs in your muscles) when you do it. That’s why you feel so wiped out after your pt session.

1 – 2 weight training sessions per week.

Ezy Fitness Newsletter     11th September 08

8 ways to break a plateau
by Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS

You're losing weight at a nice clip when all of a sudden the scale stops moving. And it seems like there's nothing in the world you can do about it. Weeks go by and the needle hasn't budged. You've hit the moment every dieter dreads: a plateau.

When you're on a weight loss journey, the question isn't whether or not you'll hit a plateau, it's when. Plateaus are like bad weather on a long hike: it's inevitable that you'll run into it, but knowing that in advance doesn't make it one bit less frustrating or annoying when it happens. However, cheer up. Because plateaus are as common as rain, we have a pretty good idea what to do about them. There's an excellent chance that at least one of the following techniques will help you break through.

1. Be a calorie detective. When someone tells me she's stopped losing weight, the first thing I ask is this: how many calories a day are you eating? While calories are not the whole story- far from it- they are still an important component of weight loss, and they have a way of creeping up while we’re not paying attention. Be brutally honest with yourself- what are you eating and how much? Using a food diary for a while is a great way to monitor this. And yes, sodas and alcoholic beverages count! Good rule of thumb: for weight loss, aim for calories close to your target weight times 10.

2. Change it up: The classic advice when you're not making gains in an exercise program is to change your routine. Same holds true here. Low carbers might try a higher carb diet for a few days, high carbers might switch to Atkins or SouthBeach. At the very least, vary your ratio of protein to fat to carbs. Even varying calorie intake may have a positive effect: if you're average intake is 1500 calories try dropping to 1200 for a day, going up to 2000 and then dropping back to 1500. You get the idea- your body’s gotten comfortable. It’s time to shake things up.

3. Exercise a temporary ban: Food sensitivities can cause us to hold on to weight and bloat, and the frustrating thing is that most of us don't always

know which foods cause us to do this. So play the odds: highest on the list of "usual suspects" are grains (wheat in particular), dairy and sugar. Put a temporary ban on all three and see what happens.

4. Kick it up a notch. Or three. There's been a lot of rumble in the exercise community over the best way to work out for fat loss and the consensus is moving towards high intensity intervals. Forget the "fat burning zone" and go for broke. High intensity intervals- 30 to 60 seconds- are the wave of the future. If you're used to going at level three, ramp it up to level 6 for a minute then slow back down, catch your breath and do it again. Ever see a sprinter with love handles? Training like a sprinter will lower your body fat faster than any technique I know of, plus it’ll boost your metabolism and lower your weight. Bye bye plateau.

5. Revisit strength training. If you're not strength training, start now. And if you are, ramp it up a notch. Muscle is your greatest ally in breaking a plateau. Unfortunately many women train with weights too light to produce the metabolic boost we're looking for. Don't be afraid of heavier weights- you should reach the point where you can't do another rep sometime between reps 8-12.

6. Up your protein: Study after study shows that a higher ratio of protein to carbs makes losing bodyfat easier. Protein boosts the metabolism (in one study as much as 100 percent for 24 hours), and it also increases satiety, making it more likely that you won't overeat. A higher protein diet could be just what you need to break that plateau.

7. Try a gentle detox. While fasting for weight loss unsupervised is a really bad idea, the idea of giving your system a rest makes sense. One way to do it is with a "smart fast" of nothing but fruits and vegetables for a couple of days. The added fiber is always helpful, and the massive amount of nutrients and phytochemicals is like "spring cleaning" for your metabolism.

8. Do a personal inventory. Believe it or not, other things besides diet and exercise could be stalling your weight loss. Stress, for example. Or lack of sleep. Or medications. Take a look and see what else is going on in your life that might need attention. Sometimes when you clean up the problems in one area of your life, problems in other areas just naturally take care of themselves.

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