Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Consistent weight loss and health



Consistency is the key to weight loss. I was reading through an article today and thinking about exactly what it is that really stops people that are looking at a real solution to weight loss. I believe that the key to healthy weight loss really is consistency and not trying to lose lots of weight in a week.

Consistent weight loss and health

Consistent weight loss and health

Consistency for Weight Loss

Consistent meals – One of the most important things that you can do with your health in general is to keep a nice even keel with respect to your blood sugar. When you eat a donut and coffee for breakfast and then nothing until lunch then you will get a big blood sugar spike and then a drop soon after and be just dragging your way until lunch. If you eat consistently small but evenly spaced meals every couple of hours during the day then you will not have this blood sugar problem.

Consistent meal sizes – If you make sure that you eat 200 – 400 calorie meals then this will go hand in hand with the point above. Having even sized meals will mean that you are not bloated after one meal and then hungry after the next. Of course there may be a problem with dinner being a little bigger and an evening meal being a little smaller but overall this consistent eating will make you feel much better and your weight losses will be more consistent.

Consistent exercise – I know some people that will exercise a lot on the weekend but get nearly no exercise during the week. This is really quite dangerous. If your body is not being exercised at least somewhat on a daily basis then these big events on the weekends can be damaging to your muscles and also lead to more injuries because of the stress you are putting the muscles through. Much better to have a quick workout in the morning and evening and then still push it on the weekend, then to takes four or five days off in a stretch and not get any exercise until Saturday.

Consistent rest – I have hit on this a few times in the past and rest is important to your well being as well as the healing of your muscles after exercise. Stretch daily, sleep well most nights and if you need it a hot tub, heating pad, or massage can do wonders to get rid of those little aches and pains that may not be going away quickly and holding yopu back a bit from going all out when you want to.

Remember that consistency is the key. Weight loss is something that often people want to see those big losing weeks but it really is much more healthy and possible to be consistent. Losing two or three pounds a week is much better then losing six pounds one week and losing nothing the next couple weeks.As we get ready for Christmas and then make new years resolutions later this month we are always looking at pushing ourselves or pulling back so try to think about this and make sure that you keep your consistency

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

The Caveman Diet



I receive a monthly newsletter from Tom Venuto, the famous fitness book writer that wrote Burn the Fat Feed The Muscle (link to the review I did a little while ago of the book). He had a great question and answer that I wanted to share about The Caveman Diet, a diet that I myself had never heard of.

QUESTION:

Hi Tom,

The Caveman DietYour Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle ebook was an eye-opener for me. I am following your advice closely with very good results. I’m a semi professional windsurfer and a mountain biker, and especially for the latter I need to be as lean as possible. Thanks in large part to your program, I’m well into a single digit body fat and dropping.

Just recently I came across a book called the paleolithic diet and I was wondering if you ever heard about it? What’s your opinion on this book? Is it worth reading if I already have your book? Is the program any good?

Regards,

Mariusz G.
Poland

ANSWER:

The “paleolithic,” “stone age,” “cave man,” or “neanderthal” eating plans have been around for a while and there are quite a few books that have been written on the subject.

In general, with a only few minor constructive criticisms, I think they are right on point, and will benefit your health and definitely your fat loss efforts.

What is the Caveman Diet?

A “Paleo Diet” is actually quite similar to my Burn The Fat program, only with the starches and grains (and dairy products) removed completely.

In fact, a “paleo” or “cave man” diet is very, very similar to the “contest” (bodybuilding or physique) diets I recommend in Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle and this is most definitely a great way get very lean, very fast.

The Caveman Diet

Paleo Diet Food

On physique competition diets (bodybuilding, fitness, figure, etc), you leave the lean proteins, lean meats, nuts and seeds, the green veggies (fibrous carbs), and some fruit in the diet, while reducing or removing ALL processed foods and SOME of the grains and starches. (usually the dairy products go too).

When it comes to MAXIMUM FAT LOSS, the removal or reduction of grains and calorie dense starchy carbs in favor of lean protein and veggies will definitely help speed the process – even if that’s only because it reduces caloric density of the food intake, although there are other reasons. Lean protein (fish and meat) + good fats nuts + lots of green veggies + some fruit = LEAN! And thats basically what the “paleolithic” diets recommend, because the principle there is to eat like our “stone age” ancestors did – before there was McDonalds, Coca Cola and other junk food.

The premise is that since our genetic code (the human genome) has changed less than 0.02 percent in 40,000 years, this means that our bodies are still expecting to get the same foods and nutrition they were getting 40,000 years ago.

By eating what our “stone age” hunter and gatherer ancestors ate, say the paleo diets, we will rid ourselves of the health problems and the obesity problem that has only recently begun to plague us as a result of modern lifestyle and processed manmade foods.

What was Food Like in Caveman Time?

Forty thousand years ago, you had to eat nature-made food. There was no food in cans, boxes or packages was there? The packaging was peel, a skin or a shell!

There were no TV dinners. There was no drive in fast food. There were no convenience stores.

There was no corn syrup. There was no white sugar. There were no hydrogenated oils. No chemicals. No preservatives. No artificial anything

There was only what could be hunted and gathered: Meat, fish, nuts, seeds, plants, vegetables, fruits.

My only real constructive criticism is that some of these programs not only recommend removal of all grains and starches (and even dairy), they outright condemn them – sometimes unfairly, I believe.

They say that agriculture arrived on the scence only 10,000 years ago so foods produced as a result of agriculture should also be on the “banned” list and that includes 100% whole grain products and even rice, potatoes and other starches which are not manmade.

Are all Starches Bad?

the truth is there are some starchy carbohydrates and grains which are very minimally processed or completely unproceseed (the only processing being cooking).

Also, some people can metabolically handle starches and grains just fine, while others cannot. The same can be said for dairy products.

This is known as metabolic individuality. Because this individuality exists from person to person, I don’t believe it’s necessary to recommend that “EVERYONE” cut out “ALL” the starches and grains “ALL” the time.

I do believe that many people are getting an overdose of refined carbs and sugar and that moderating intake of concentrated carbs almost always accelerates fat loss.

However, the nutrition program you choose should depend on your metabolic/body type, your current body composition and state of health as well as your goals (maximum fat loss vs. muscle growth vs. maintenance, vs. endurance athleticperformance).

I don’t believe that “agriculture” and everything that came with it is “evil.”

I believe that highly processed and refined and packaged foods are the “nutritional evils” we should be aware of.

To remove brown rice, 100% whole grains, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, legumes and so on for healthy carb tolerant people, especially those who are highly active and or already at a normal body fat level doesnt make a lot of sense to me.

In particular, for athletes with a high energy expenditure, eating the concentrated complex, starchy carbs and grains – from natural sources – can be quite important.

Sure, there are some “renegade’ nutritionists who prescribe high fat diets for endurance athletes and claim that will provide high energy and high performance, but that is controversial.

Also, an explanation for athletes successful on such plans may be that they are metabolically suited for more fat and protein to begin with, so that conclusion shouldn’t be generalized to everyone.

thats the trouble with so many programs — the creators might say, “It worked for me and for some of my clients, so this is the way EVERYONE should do it.”

Everyone is different, so the true inquiring minds will inquire about what is best for THEM, not the other guy… In the case of highly active healthy people and athletes, I would lean towards a decent amount of natural carbs forperformance goals (and pull back on starches and grains when goals change to maximum fat loss).

The key word here is NATURAL!

There is a HUGE difference between natural starches and grains and refined starches and grains.

For example, look at old fashioned unsweetened oatmeal versus sugary, white flour cereal grains. How can you throw those together into the same category??? They are no where near the same, but often they get lumped together by those who are adamantly “no-grain” or “no-cereal” allowed.

What about sweet potatoes? why cut something like that out of your diet? They are not processed or man made at all are they?

Aside from that minor quibble I have with some of these programs being too strict with their “Absolutely no grains or starch allowed,” there is a lot anyone can learn from the “paleolithic” eating concept.

The questions raised from these programs and books are good ones:

“What were we eating tens of thousands of years ago?”

“What are we genetically and environmentally predisposed to eat?”

“what has gone wrong with the modern day diet that has led to so much disease and obesity which didn’t exist thousands of years ago?”

What Should you Eat?

I believe that too many people get caught up in low fats or low carbs or whatever the trend of the month is, but the real source of our problem is neither fat nor carbs, it is an excess of processed, refined man-made food! (combined with a serious shortage of exercise)

If you study and understand the concept of eating according to your personal goals and your unique body/metabolic type first, which I discuss in chapter 5 of my book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, then I believe you will get even more benefit from the further study of the “paleo” eating concept, as you will be informed and flexible enough to adapt it to your personal situation.

Loren Cordain and Ray Audette have written two of the more notable works on the subject (the Paleo diet and Neanderthin). You can get either of these at almost any bookstore or Amazon.com. You can get my Burn The Fat program at http://www.burnthefat.com

ANY good nutrition program – for health or for fat loss – is going to be focused on natural foods and it will teach you how to get the processed food OUT and the natural food IN

keep in mind what Fitness Icon Jack Lalanne has always said,

“If man made it, dont eat it!”

THAT is the essence of eating how we’re supposed to eat!

Until next week, train hard and expect success,

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist
Fat Loss Coach

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Low carbohydrate food labeling



If you want to lose weight and have a healthy body, it is important that you are mindful of the type of food you eat. If you are on a low carbohydrate food diet, then you need to make sure that the food you buy and consume meets the specifications of your diet. We rely on food labeling to inform us about the content of our food. How accurate are these food labels? Do we take the time and effort to read and understand them before we buy the food?

What to Look at in Low Carb Food Labels

Some people argue that these days some of the labeling about so-called net carbohydrates in various low carbohydrate foods is simply designed to promote and sell more products. This is debatable. So the key question is:

Low carbohydrate food labelingDo food labels actually provide the customers with the accurate information? There are also customers who simply do not look at the details about the contents of the food as stated on the labels. It is strongly recommended that you read the low carbohydrate food labels and understand them, so that you buy and eat what is suitable for you and your diet.

Once you start a diet, you must read the low carbohydrate food labels, and be informed about how the products are actually manufactured.

Some low carbohydrate foods are labeled low carbohydrate foods attain lower carbohydrates by their method of carbohydrate counting; and this is fact you must know. Some of the labels list total carbohydrates, then eventually subtract certain items from the total to arrive at net, effectual, or usable carbohydrates. This is the number that is always shown on the front of the food pack.

On food labels, do you know the difference between the total carbohydrate and the net carbohydrate? There is a wording somewhere on the low carbohydrate package that explains the difference between these two. Amongst the nutritionists and experts, there are some disagreements on the calculating method. Due to the fact that there is no legal definition of the term low carbohydrate or any official means of distinguishing it, most of the low carbohydrate food consumers are not well informed or given good advice.

In order for you to fully comprehend the low carbohydrate food labels, you must know the net carbohydrate content of the food item. Net carbohydrate content is derived from subtracting the grams of fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrates. The reasoning behind this is that many of the low carbohydrate food manufacturers believe that fiber, while technically a carbohydrate, is not absorbed by the body, and therefore must not be measured as carbohydrate.

As far as sugar alcohols are concerned, the low carbohydrate food manufacturers believe that although these are technically carbohydrates and a source of calories, they have an effect on the blood sugar, and therefore must not be added up as carbohydrates.

Because some of the food labels are not very clear while some are not so easy to understand; it is recommended that instead of buying and consuming large quantities of processed low carbohydrate foods, such as low carbohydrate protein bars and low carbohydrate mixes or drinks, you are better off eating natural low carbohydrate foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

If you want to eat low carbohydrate, it is better for you to get away from all processed foods, including low carbohydrate processed foods. Alternatively, be very vigilant in reading food labels and make sure you understand them. Some of the net carbohydrate statements may be a marketing ploy, and the content label may not be essentially a good description of what’s actually contained in these food products.

It is your body, it is your health. Be vigilant in reading the low carbohydrate food labels and be informed about what you are eating!

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