Dangers of Using Rapid Weight Loss Techniques

    I am often confronted by people interested in using rapid weight loss(RWL) techniques to lose large amounts of weight quickly for esthetic reasons.Such as an upcoming wedding,holiday or reunion. Unfortunately,many of these practices are not only unsafe,but could be potentially life threatening in some circumstances.
     There are dozens of weight loss strategies,many of which that are promoted by the Internet,the media in the form of endorsements of specific supplements and exercise programs by celebrities and athlete's and diet books and magazines. The most common ones are,restricting food intake and/or fasting,fad dieting(i.e. juice diets,detoxing,counting points)and excessive exercise training sessions.There are many physiological and psychological effects associated RWL. The most common and potentially serious side effect is dehydration. A 2% drop in water weight can lead to increased mental fatigue,sleepiness,nausea vomiting and apathy.Extreme dehydration can lead to heat-related illness,hospitalisation,or even death. Dehydration and caloric restriction will impair your exercise performance
     Extreme caloric restriction may lead to malnourishment, and over time,vitamin and mineral deficiencies.These deficiencies can lead to dry or brittle hair and fingernails,muscle atrophy,fatigue,cramps,weakness,depressed immune system,slow metabolism or dizziness. And,if your goal is to lose fat and gain muscle remember,the slower the weight the loss the better.Your weight loss goal per week should 0.5% of your total body weight. Any more than that you are losing a lot water  and muscle.Which is counter productive to long-term weight management. Incorporating 2-3 days of resistance training per week is also beneficial for preserving lean muscle tissue.
     Long-term calorie restriction may also lead to other health and diseases such as ,osteoporosis,muscle atrophy,lowered bone density,abnormal growth and development,anaemia,heart damage,anorexia and in extreme cases death. In certain situations RWL may be warranted.Such as if you have hypertension,high cholesterol diabetes or metabolic syndrome X and a result of being obese. However,if you choose to use a RWL strategy always do so under the guidance of a professional.   
     Education regarding the dangers of using these RWL practices is essential for maintaining optimal health,thereby preventing serious injury/death and for long-term weight management success. Eat right,stay hydrated and aim for steady and consistent weight loss of approximately 1-2 lbs/wk for long-term weight management.   

No.1 mistake people make when it comes to weight loss and good health

             A study from the Annals of Internal Medicine shows a common mistake nearly everyone makes in the bedroom that is killing their metabolism.This mistake blocks your ability to reduce fat,drives up your hunger,ages you rapidly,saps your energy and damages your mental function.This mistake can make an otherwise "healthy" person to show the same type of insulin resistance and blood sugar problems as a full-on type 2 diabetic. Most people don't even know they are making this mistake.
             The mistake i am talking about is impaired sleep.If you had a choice between exercise and sleep for your health and waistline,hands down,sleep is the winner...here are the 5 reasons why:
Reason 1
      Not getting enough sleep makes you ravenously hungry and skyrockets your cravings for the worst food possible.How ?
First, impaired sleep causes leptin,your "i'm full" hormone to go down by 15.5%
Second, it causes your "i'm hungry" hormone to go up by 14.9%
This sends your your appetite wildly out of control. Driving your cravings for sugar, sweets and sugary carbs through the roof.
Reason 2
       Leptin also controls your metabolism by influencing your thyroid hormone.So when you dont get enough sleep and leptin goes down,your thyroid also goes down, which causes your metabolic rate (how many calories you burn at rest)to plunge.The food you eat gets parked on your belly and thighs instead of being burned for energy.Did you know that the majority of the "fat burning" process actually happens when you sleep.During sleep ,leptin triggers specialised calorie-burning fat cells to burn up excess calories that you don't need and to release that energy as heat.
Reason 3
    Sleep deprivation also depresses how sensitive your cells are to insulin. The less sensitive you are the more insulin you need.And more insulin causes a double fat-making whammy by telling your liver to turn the food you eat into fat and by locking fat in your fat cells so it can't be released to be burned.As your body perceives lack of sleep to be a threat to its existence, it fires up your stress hormone cortisol,which has been directly linked to belly fat.
Reason 4
      Impaired sleep also damages your brain,cognitive abilities and mood.Studies shoe that when we sleep,our brain flushes out potent neurotoxins that are normal by-products of our waking activity.Let those by-products accumulate and bad things can happen--like brain fog,impaired memory,wild mood swings and trouble focusing
Reason 5
      Have you ever seen someone who hasn't gotten a good nights sleep? They look wasted and older! That's because a lack of sleep robs you of your primary "youth" hormone. i am talking about growth hormone--your master rejuvenation hormone that mostly only comes out at night,helping you re-build and repair and keeping you young.Lack of growth hormone also dramatically alters your body composition,shifting it to be more fat and less muscle-not what you want.
Bottom Line: Never underestimate the importance of consistently getting a good nights sleep. Sweet dreams!   

A great quote

       As a strength and conditioning coach i have on more than one occasion come up against a head coach who believed they knew all there was to know about there sport. This includes telling me how to do my job.I hope you coaches out there read the following quote .
             "The key thing I think is the openess to learning....coaches need to look at things on merit and understand that just because they've played the game ,they don't know everything about it.....Having a passion to improve is important. Knowing that you are a part of the problem means that you can also be part of the solution."
Wayne Smith 
ex-All Black Rugby Team Coach
      Brilliant !
     

Does fruit make you fat ?

      While at work the other day i overheard a young man talking about how fattening fruit was.So the question is "does fruit make you fat?". NO ! This is another one of those myths that won't go away.To be fair the media doesn't help.There was a study published in The New York Times ,about fructose getting converted into fat.And you know how good the media is at reporting scientific research.The article went on to say how fructose will make you fatter.Everybody saw that and they're like,"Oh my God! Fruit turns into fat !"
       If you take a close look at these studies ,you will find they are talking about high fructose corn syrup, not whole fruit. We know that fructose is used to replenish sugar levels in the liver,and the liver has a limited storage capacity of about 50 grams of fructose before it starts to spill into fat. But do you know how much 50grams of fructose is ? In terms of high fructose corn syrup,sodas,cakes,cereals or bisquits,i dont htink it would be very difficult to get 50 grams of fructose.But in the studies that i have read they didnt give people real fruit.They gave them a big liquid dose that had 85 grams of carbs in a 75% fructose solution. thats 64 grams of fructose all at once.
         The problem is that fruit and fructose aren't exactly the same thing. A lot of people think that all the sugars in fruit are fructose.But a typicl piece of fruit has about 6-7 grams of fructose.Berries have even less. You would have to eat a lot of fruit to exceed the 50-60 gram capacity of the average liver.
          I think fruit is an excellent choice if your trying to drop some weight.In fact i tell my client to eat fruit every day.It's high in phytonutrients.high in fiber,high in water,and we know that's a combination right there that's good for reducing appetite and making you feel fuller. The bottom line, fruit is just too nutritionally valuable to get rid of. And take it from me.I have never had a single client get fat from eating fruit!        

Health benefits of Tea

    After water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. But is it really good for you? YES! Why? Because of an antioxidant called polyphenols. Studies have shown that polyphenols may reduce the risk of gastric, esophageal, and skin cancer. One recent study showed that 2 cups a day may lower the risk of ovarian cancer by as much as 46 percent in woman.
Black,Green,White,or Oolong ?
These teas derive their leaves from a warm-weather evergreen tree known as Camellia sinensis. It's these leaves that contain the polyphenols. The more processing tea leaves undergo , the darker they will turn. White tea is derived from the young new leaves from the Camellia plant in early spring. These leaves contain no chlrophyll,so they are silvery white. Any one of these teas is packed with polyphenols. Even more than some fruits and vegetables.
Herbal Tea or Red Rooibos tea ?
Don't be fooled. Neither one of these get there leaves from the Camillia plant and so, does not have the health-promoting properties as the other teas. In fact most herbal teas are NOT tea at all. They are only infusions made with herbs,flowers,roots,spices or other parts of the plants. The correct term for this type of beverage is”tisane”. If you have concerns about caffeine ,it’s not a problem. A cup of tea contains 40mg of caffeine,compared to 85mg as found in a cup of coffee.

 

Health Benefits of Coffee

            It seems there's often conflicting information in the news about whether or not coffee is actually good fro you. So,lets take a look and see what we find.
           Coffee's main benefit is its antioxidant content.In fact,according to reseachers from the University of Scranton,coffee is the number one source of antioxidant in our diet. Decaf coffee appears to provide as much of an antioxidant punch as regular coffee.Coffee's ORAC score is 15,000 to 17,000-one of the highest levels of any food.
            The caffeine in coffee may help reduce the chance of developing Parkinson Disease and protect against gallstones. Regular coffee drinkers will not be surprised to know that caffeine has been shown to increase alertness,enhance mood, temporarily improve physical stamina,and relieve headaches.Moderate coffee consumption has also been associated with a reduced rate of type 2 diabetes and a lowered risk of Alzheimer's Disease.Of course, moderation is important. Too much caffeine can cause sleep troubles and may cause fertility difficulties for women who are trying to become pregnant.

How to Choose Coffee at the Store
If possible, buy whole beans anf grind them at home to get the freshest cup.You'll maximize the antioxidant content,plus your coffee will taste better,so you wont have to add as much milk and sugar to make it palatable. Dark roast appears to deliver more antioxidants than light roast coffee. 

Ways to Include Healthier Coffee in Your Diet
You probably dont need help including more coffee in your diet,so let's look at ways to include healthier coffee in you diet instead,

Use less sugar: Adding sugar to coffee ups its calorie content and artificial sweetners are loaded with chemicals and are not good for you. Try adding a little cocoa or cinnamon to your coffee instead
Use Real Milk or Cream: Creamers are full of unpronoucceable ingreients,and the flavored versions often contain sugar or high-fructose corn syrup
Watch the Coffee Shop Drinks: Be careful what you order at coffee shops. Some of their drinks have as many calories as you would consume in an entire meal. Drip coffee or an Americano is your best bet.
      I hope this has helped clear up some of the confusion about coffee. Enjoy !                 

 

Choose !

    Think about the word "choose."
It may be the single most important word
in your life.  
Why?
     Let's look at what the dictionary says about the word "choose"  
1. to select from a number of possibilities; pick by preference:
Example: She chose Sunday for her departure. 
2. to prefer or decide (to do something): Example: He chose to run
for election. 
3. to want; desire. 
4. to make a choice: Example: He chose carefully. 
5. to be inclined: Example: You may stay here, if you choose.   
      Let's look at #3 first, "to want, to desire," we all have wants and
desires, you can "choose" to love or not be loved. You can choose
to seek after that which you desire, or simply hope it will
magically come to you someday.
       Look at #1 "to select from a number of possibilities" WOW, this is
powerful. A number of possibilities, I would say this is almost
unlimited.  
      Here are some examples:
1. You could choose to live a sedentary life or an active life.
2. You could choose to imagine your life as successful or believe
    that success will never come your way.
3. You could choose to believe in something when all those around
   you say you should not believe in it.
4. You could choose to take "action" or not take action.
5. You could choose to gain knowledge by reading newsletters like
this one as well as books and magazines that will empower you with
life changing information, or you could choose to watch more TV.
(here is something to think about when watching TV.....VIRTUALLY
EVERYONE YOU ARE WATCHING IS GETTING PAID TO BE ON TELEVISION...
how much do you get paid to watch it?)
6. Look at #2 from the dictionary listing above. To prefer or
decide (to do something): Example: He chose to run for election.
Every President the United States has ever had first chose to seek
and/or accept the job.  
     You see, it is "YOU"  that chooses, YOU have the power to choose
the direction of your life.
* You can choose to seek success.
* You can choose to have a healthy body by choosing what you put in
it and what you do with it.
* You can choose to use the power of attraction (as discussed in
The Secret) by creating a movie in your mind of you succeeding and
believing that the success you are visualizing is already yours!
* You can choose to take that new job in another city.
* You can choose to forgive.  
     But here is the bottom line.
 
    It is "YOU" who must choose, no one else can choose for you.  
Here is an important question......Will you choose?  
   Make no mistake about it, even if you choose NOT to choose you have
chosen a direction for your life......that is POWERFUL!
So I challenge you today to look at your life and CHOOSE!
* Choose success
* Choose unconditional love 

* Choose health  
* Choose to take the time to teach your children what you have
    learned about choosing.
 
    You know there are areas of your life "RIGHT NOW" where you have
failed to make a choice....to choose.  
    Why do I issue this challenge to you?
 
Because I care about YOU......I "choose" to care about you.