Did you know that there are 3 vegetables that can help you
burn away unattractive stomach fat?
3 Veggies That Fight Belly Fat < ===== Click Here
The author of this article, Mike Geary, is a Certified Nutrition
Specialist… who knows a ton about getting a flat belly fast.
Mike’s article is so good that it has 13,427 facebook “likes.”
Here’s that link again…
3 Veggies That Fight Belly Fat http://www.NewTruthAboutAbs.net
Best!
Monday, 29 November 2010
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Are Your Muscles Out of Balance?
Pop quiz: Which is worse, having a muscle weakness on both sides of your body--or on just one side? It's the latter, says Gray Cook, P.T., one of the world's top fitness experts. Click on the video to find out why, and to learn two simple self-tests you can use to identify problem areas. The upshot: Use Cook's advice to fix your flaws, and you'll be able to increase your size and strength faster than ever before.
While you're at it, take a close look at your diet, too--especially if you enjoy eating greens. We've found 20 salads that are worse than a Whopper. These meals might sound healthy, but they could be sabotaging your six-pack.
And just in case you do need to burn off a fast-food calorie bomb, click here for The Ultimate Two-Exercise Fat Loss Workout.
And don't forget to check out the Men's Health Podcast. Tune in to hear Men's Health experts and editors discuss fitness, health, nutrition, weight loss, and sex--and any other topic that matters to men.
For full-color photos and instructions of 600 more exercises, along with tons of workouts and useful fitness advice, check out The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises today. It's the most comprehensive collection of exercises ever created.
LADIES: There's a women's version of the book, too! Click here to see The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises.
Click here to sign up for the Exercise of the Week and other great newsletters directly in your inbox today!
More Fitness Videos
The Perfect Abs Exercise
The Ultimate Back and Abs Building Exercise
A Smarter Shoulder Exercise
Friday, 19 November 2010
Can Energy and Sport Drinks Really Make You Fat?
It's a subject that rears its head frequently.
There are plenty of energy drinks around that are marketed for
pre-exercise and post-exercise.
Some are good and some are bad. Some are no better than water
and some have "extras".
Are these "energy" drinks really any good for you?
Do they actually increase your energy?
Do they really have some sort of magical energy formula?
Will they help you lose weight?
To find out the truth check out this great article about whether energy drinks really make you fat.
There are plenty of energy drinks around that are marketed for
pre-exercise and post-exercise.
Some are good and some are bad. Some are no better than water
and some have "extras".
Are these "energy" drinks really any good for you?
Do they actually increase your energy?
Do they really have some sort of magical energy formula?
Will they help you lose weight?
To find out the truth check out this great article about whether energy drinks really make you fat.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Why Women Hate Your Underwear
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If you've only stocked up on "more of the same" recently, you're in for a shock next time you hit the underwear department of your local retailer. Making a decision on what type of underwear to purchase is getting more complicated, thanks to an onslaught of new fits, fabrics and brands. The past year has seen a few trends that are entirely new (man-girdles or butt-lifters, anyone?) as well as the evolution of updated fits, bright colors and patterns, and performance fabrics.
The phrases found on underwear packaging today are decidedly different from the familiar terms from just a decade ago. And frankly, they share a lot of the same terminology found in women's undergarments: "shapewear" "enhancers" and "low-rise."
Although the purpose and function of men's and women's products differ, increasingly, the techonlogy is the same.
Men's underwear is in the midst of a revolution, says Michael Kleinman, founder of Freshpair.com. "The most prevalent element to hit even everyday underwear is the ability to do more than just be worn?it's all about underwear with function." The critical new categories gaining traction this year, he says, are styles geared toward shaping and enhancing. And they range from subtle to extreme.
Kleinman says the important thing to understand is that there's a product designed for every type of guy ? from conservative to fashion-forward, with fits and fabrics that address every possible daily activity.
Cotton basics ? boxers and briefs in neutral colors ? continue to sell well, but there's been a groundswell of newness in the market that, depending on how you like to shop, is either exciting or overwhelming. "Fits are tighter and the rise is lower," Kleinman says. "And we see customers are paying as much attention to how their underwear fits as they do their clothing."
Here, a few of the key trends for this year and next.
TREND: SHAPEWEAR
Women have worn garments to help compress their mid-section for centuries. It's now also the fastest-growing trend in men's underwear. From body-defining underwear to compression T-shirts, this category is rapidly growing, as men work to achieve the ideal shape (and conceal love handles). "It's a new generation of shaping garments," Kleinman says, "It's a stretch from the days of the girdle." He says the products resonate with men "because guys can't seem to get enough of them." Brands like Equmen, Ript Fusion, Spanx for Men, 2(x)ist, and Sculptees all offer garments that promise to help trim an inch or two from the waist, and ? in some cases -- help provide extra back and shoulder support.
Equmen Core Precision Tank Top ? This tank is designed like something an elite athlete might wear, with body-contouring technology that helps support the back while slimming the waist. The collection also includes short and long sleeve T-shirts, as well as several underwear styles.
Spanx for Men Compression Crew ? The brand originally designed for women is helping men, too. Look better, feel better, and thank women for asking the age-old question, "Does this make me look fat?" The collection also includes a tank and V-neck.
2(x)ist Form Trunk? A new body-slimming trunk with a high-rise waistband that provides a sleeker look to the midsection. The collection also includes a tank and brief.
1 | 2 | 3 | Next
3 Top Tips For Losing Weight Fast And Burning Away Fat
So you want to lose weight right? Get in shape. And feel as fit as possible without spending a fortune on a seldom-used-but-expensive gym membership. You’ve come to the right place.
Because these three simple tips are all you need to know. (Unless you enjoy spending hours and hours online looking for weight-loss tips that don’t work). So read on...
Here are simple weight loss tips to help you lose weight...
Weight loss Tip Number 1: Raise your metabolism
You have to burn calories if you want to lose weight. And the more calories you burn the faster you’ll lose weight. (As long as you don’t overeat the wrong things to compensate!)
And one way to burn calories is to increase your metabolism. This helps your body burn more calories and therefore fat. One of the ways you can increase your metabolism is by eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day.
This stops your body from conserving calories as fat between longer spaced out but heavier meals. Basically evolution means that your body will store fat if it doesn’t think it’s getting a meal anytime soon!
More frequent meals (but keeping total calorie intake the same) will get your metabolism working faster 24 hours a day. So instead of eating three six hundred calorie meals eat six three hundred calorie meals instead.
Weight loss Tip Number 2: Do some anaerobic exercise
Anaerobic exercises build strength and muscles rather than endurance. And adding more muscle to your body means that you can burn calories faster. Muscle burns calories approximately 20 times faster than fat cells. Plus here’s another reason to put on muscle.
It’s been scientifically documented that anaerobic exercise can increase your metabolism for 24 hours post-workout, whilst things like swimming or running may only increase it for 2 hours post-workout.
Weight loss Tip Number 3 : You can’t spot reduce spot
Don’t fall for the myth that you can reduce fat in one particular area of your body. It won’t work. And here’s why...
Our body only reduces fat when we burn more calories than we eat. And when this happens fat is burned off throughout the body. You can do as much exercise as you like but you’ll never see your abdominals, (which are already there) unless you get rid of the fat cell layer that covers them.
I hope these tips get you on the right path. It may take you some time to achieve your goals but don’t give up. And the sooner you start the better.
If you want help losing weight I can personally recommend this programme to help you. Click now to for the free report about blasting away the fat...
Because these three simple tips are all you need to know. (Unless you enjoy spending hours and hours online looking for weight-loss tips that don’t work). So read on...
Here are simple weight loss tips to help you lose weight...
Weight loss Tip Number 1: Raise your metabolism
You have to burn calories if you want to lose weight. And the more calories you burn the faster you’ll lose weight. (As long as you don’t overeat the wrong things to compensate!)
And one way to burn calories is to increase your metabolism. This helps your body burn more calories and therefore fat. One of the ways you can increase your metabolism is by eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day.
This stops your body from conserving calories as fat between longer spaced out but heavier meals. Basically evolution means that your body will store fat if it doesn’t think it’s getting a meal anytime soon!
More frequent meals (but keeping total calorie intake the same) will get your metabolism working faster 24 hours a day. So instead of eating three six hundred calorie meals eat six three hundred calorie meals instead.
Weight loss Tip Number 2: Do some anaerobic exercise
Anaerobic exercises build strength and muscles rather than endurance. And adding more muscle to your body means that you can burn calories faster. Muscle burns calories approximately 20 times faster than fat cells. Plus here’s another reason to put on muscle.
It’s been scientifically documented that anaerobic exercise can increase your metabolism for 24 hours post-workout, whilst things like swimming or running may only increase it for 2 hours post-workout.
Weight loss Tip Number 3 : You can’t spot reduce spot
Don’t fall for the myth that you can reduce fat in one particular area of your body. It won’t work. And here’s why...
Our body only reduces fat when we burn more calories than we eat. And when this happens fat is burned off throughout the body. You can do as much exercise as you like but you’ll never see your abdominals, (which are already there) unless you get rid of the fat cell layer that covers them.
I hope these tips get you on the right path. It may take you some time to achieve your goals but don’t give up. And the sooner you start the better.
If you want help losing weight I can personally recommend this programme to help you. Click now to for the free report about blasting away the fat...
20 Salads Worse Than a Whopper
I love Whoppers. I bet you do, too. Meat...good. Ketchup and mayo...good. Crunchy pickles...good. What's not to like?
I know what you're thinking: Dave, how could you of all people endorse the Whopper, a sandwich that perfectly encapsulates everything that's wrong with our nation's dining habits? Well, no one orders a Whopper thinking it's a sensible menu choice. It's an indulgence, an anti-diet food, and everyone knows it. Credit Burger King for being transparent with nutritional information.
Which brings me to my point: Just as you wouldn't order a Whopper because you're trying to watch your waistline, you'd never order a salad because it sounds like the most delicious item on the menu. No, it's a concerted effort put one of the healthiest foods on the menu into your body, flavor be damned.
Except, more often than you realize, that salad is the worst choice on the menu. Restaurants across the country have learned that "nutrition" sells, so they put these caloric calamities on the "light choice" side of the menu with cute little heart icons that make you think you're making a healthy selection. What they haven't learned, though, is how to make actual nutritious food. Here we've rounded up 20 examples of salads so bad, you'd be better off ordering that Whopper after all.
Eat This!
Burger King Whopper
670 calories
40 g fat (11 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
1,020 mg sodium
Not That...
Romano's Macaroni Grill
Chicken Caesar Salad
650 calories
9 g saturated fat
1,450 mg sodium
The good news here is that this dish has almost 300 fewer calories than it did when we published our first edition of Eat This, Not That! Romano's has been one of the most responsive restaurants in the past few years—a number of items we've featured on our pages and online have shrunk or all but disappeared in the wake of such exposure. The bad news is that this dish still has a ways to go before we're ready to deem it a reasonable choice. To be fair, it has 20 fewer calories than a Whopper. But the problem with this dish is in the sodium count—it comes with nearly three-quarters of your daily recommended intake. Not good.
For up-to-the-minute nutrition and weight-loss tips, follow Eat This, Not That! on Twitter!
Cosi
Cobb Salad
708 calories
55 g fat (12 g saturated)
1,328 mg sodium
Blame the bacon and Gorgonzola cheese for the hefty weight of this simple salad. The good news here is that it comes with 65 grams of belly-filling protein. The shocking news is that it also comes with 28 grams of sugars—that's about three doughnuts' worth. For the culprit there, look to the sauce: A sherry shallot vinaigrette. Now here's the scary thing about this salad: Cosi boasts on its website that they feature it on the "Our Lighter Side menu." That's strange, considering it's the worst salad they offer! For a much smarter, TRULY lighter side, opt for the Shanghai Chicken Salad, and save nearly 400 calories.
Eat This Instead!
Shangai Chicken Salad
313 calories
13 g fat (2 g saturated)
839 mg sodium
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chicken Salad with black beans, red salsa, cheese, and chipotle honey vinaigrette
720 calories
41.0 g fat (11 g saturated)
2,015 mg sodium
If you're seeking solace in salads at Chipotle, be sure to pass on the one and only vinaigrette on the menu. With 260 calories and 25 grams of fat, it has three times more calories than the most caloric salsa at Chipotle. Your best bet is to turn the tangy green salsa (just 15 calories per serving) into your dressing and spend the 245 calories you save elsewhere.
Eat This Instead!
Barbacoa Burrito Bowl with black beans, cheese, lettuce, and tomato salsa
410 calories
17 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,410 mg sodium
P.F. Chang's
Chicken Chopped Salad with Ginger Dressing
730 calories
48 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,280 mg sodium
The ginger dressing gives this salad a tangy Asian-style kick; it also packs in a whole day's worth of sodium. Order this salad as a starter and you'll be consuming the caloric equivalent of nearly three Snickers bars before your main meal even hits the table.
SPECIAL OFFER! Take control of your body, your mind, and your health by joining our community of 21 million monthly readers. Subscribe to Men's Health and Women's Health today with a special rate that saves you more than 65% off the cover price. You won't find a better deal—and you'll never feel more empowered!
Eat This Instead!
Spinach Stir-Fried with Garlic (large)
136 calories
6 g fat (1 g saturated)
895 mg sodium
Wendy's
BLT Cobb Salad with Croutons and Classic Ranch Dressing
760 calories
51 g fat
2,090 mg sodium
Don't be totally shocked by this high calorie count—this salad is sporting two of the biggest culprits when it comes to diet-busting greenery. First, check the classic Ranch dressing. Any creamy dressing is going to be high in fat and calories. Replace it with vinaigrette and save big. Next, ditch the croutons, which are really just an extra load of totally empty calories and carbs.
Eat This Instead!
Apple Pecan Chicken Salad with Roasted Pecans and Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing
580 calories
27 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,590 mg sodium
32 Red-Hot Sex Secrets
Repetition is great—if you're learning Spanish, grooving your backhand, or making sure the sutures don't rupture. But it's death for your sex life, turning the pursuit of happiness into a holding pattern. Over Newark.
Well, enough of that stuff. It's time to accelerate your pulse with some good, clean, original sex. It doesn't mean risking arrest in a public garden—although it could—but it does mean injecting surprise into the proceedings. Yes, surprise—even if you think you know her body better than the quickest route to the local 7-Eleven.
We have 32 ideas to launch a voyage of sexual discovery unlike anything you've seen...at least since Cindy Lou let down her guard senior year. The difference now: You know what you're doing, and you have a partner who deserves your respect, attention, and devotion. So make the most of it. Now, repeat after us, "I will..."
Start Outside the Bedroom
The same old place is too conducive to the same old patterns, says Stella Resnick, Ph.D., a psychologist in West Hollywood and author of The Pleasure Zone. Explore some new erogenous areas: The kitchen. The bathroom. Quebec City. Your bodies will be in new places, making it unlikely that you'll follow old routines.
Compliment Her
And keep doing it...at least five times a day. It'll make her feel noticed, special, and appreciated, and she'll feel closer to you. "The more connected she feels, the more sexually inspired she'll feel," says Laura Berman, Ph.D., director of the Berman Center in Chicago.
Compliment what she feels good about and cares about—her hair, shoes, singing voice, work triumphs—says Gloria Brame, Ph.D., a sex therapist and the author of Come Hither: A Commonsense Guide to Kinky Sex. A confident sex partner is an adventurous sex partner.
Go Canoeing or Hiking
Add a distinct but manageable touch of danger to the day. It will stimulate dopamine in her brain, which may trigger her sex drive, says Helen Fisher, Ph.D., an anthropologist at Rutgers University and the author of Why We Love. Pick the right trip—a guided whitewater excursion, for instance—and learn all about both the risks and the precautions you'll take. She'll see you as the cause of the excitement, as well as the source of security. Book the right B&B for the afternoon dry-off and you're set.
Watch Porn Without the Sound
Sure, you'll miss the snappy plumber-housewife banter. But now you two provide the dialogue. You'll learn how to talk erotically, so it's educational. But it's also fun, you're both invested in it, and it can help reveal fantasies, says Ava Cadell, Ph.D., a sex therapist and the author of Love Around the House. And you'll probably find some way to kill time during the sex scenes.
...Or See a Chick Flick
Maybe porn isn't her thing. But Pitt, Clooney, or McConaughey might be, and for her, these guys are porn, Brame says. She'll be fantasizing about a man who's sweet and will treat her well. And when he kisses the flirty female lead, you kiss your lady at the same time. Show her that reality—her life—can be better than that.
What's the Best Way To Lose Weight?
So what’s the best way to lose weight?
Intermittent fasting? Counting calories? High protein diet? High fiber diet?
The answer depends on who you ask, and the truthfully, if it’s a legitimate diet - and when I mean legitimate, I mean none of these ridiculous diets, like the banana diet which apparently was huge in Japan for a while (go figure!) - most diets work…to a certain degree.
The difficult thing about diets is that everyone is different and we all respond differently to foods…so there really is no one size fits all. However, one thing is certain, you are what you eat and eating the right foods can make your weight loss efforts much easier. Here are a few tips that can make your diet a success.
It’s hard to see past the billion dollar marketing lies that our food industries throw our way, but the best way to bypass all the false hype and gimmick is to stick to real foods that don’t have labels on the them. If you can stick to eating real foods, you’re going to be significantly better off than 95% of the people out there. Because here’s the thing, no matter what diet your on, all successful diets have two things in common - reduce calorie intake and provide ample nutrients to your body. And the best way to do that is by eating real foods and avoid processed foods that have hidden calories and poor nutritious values.
Now even though I mention calories, don’t get me wrong…I HATE counting calories! And for the most part, it’s unnecessary if you’re eating the right foods. But, I do think that initially, if you’re coming off of a poor diet, knowing what foods have how many calories is a good thing. What is important is knowing how much of each macronutrient you need to consume on a daily basis. Macronutrients are the protein, carbohydrates and fat contents in you food. Much like counting calories, it first it’s a bit of work, but once you figure out how much protein, carbs and fats you need…it becomes a piece of cake to maintain. More importantly it allows you to know what you’re putting into your body, so you can take full control of your diet.
So how much of each macronutrient do you need to eat in a day?
I discussed the benefits of protein and how much protein you need to consume in a day, along with how to calculate your lean body weight, in a previous article, but here’s a another quick look at the general guidelines:
* Sedentary - 0.35 - 5 grams per lean body mass
* Moderately - Active 0.6 - 0.8 grams per lean body mass
* Active - 0.8 - 1.0 grams per lean body mass
* Very Active - 1.0 and higher per lean body mass
Now in caloric terms, protein has 4 calories per gram. So, as an example let’s say you weight 170 lb and have 20% body fat. That calculates to 136 lb of lean body weight. And let’s assume that your very active, perhaps doing the MAX Workouts program…hint hint…that would mean that you should be eating about 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean body weight, which would be around 136 g of protein a day. This equates to 136 g x 4 cal/g = 544 calories in a day. (Not much considering one Big Mac has roughly 580 calories…just to puts things into perspective.)
Personally, I feel that the biggest culprit of weight gain is due to excessive carbs. Now, before I get brushed off as another low carb guy…let me explain. First of all not all carbs are bad. In fact, unrefined carbohydrates such as vegetables and fruits are great for you, since it provides tons of nutrients and fiber. It just so happens that majority of the vegetables and some fruits happen to be low in sugar content and low in calories as well. So by default, if you eat mostly vegetables and some fruits for your carbohydrates, you end up eating a low carb diet. It’s grains and grain products that really ramp up your carb intake.
Whole grains have many health benefits, but unfortunately most grains on the market are not whole grains….they’re processed grains. Processed grains are in pretty much every product imaginable, from breads, pasta, rice to baked goods, packaged snacks and even healthy snacks. Grains are dense in calories and packed with sugar, and so when ingested it really increases your insulin activity. Insulin hormone is like the gate keeper to your fat storage, and since it acts as a storage hormone, it loves to store excess sugar as fat. So the less you get your insulin involved the better, both for you and your fat. And the best way to do so is by eliminating refined “grains” carb intake and make sure that your carbohydrate content mainly comes from unrefined carbs like vegetables and fruits.
So how many carbs should you eat?
Much like protein, it varies with each individual and their activity levels, but here are some ranges you can use as a general guide:
* At 200 - 300 grams per day you’re likely to steadily gain weight, especially if you’re sedentary or only moderately active.
* At 150-200 grams per day, you’re at the cusp of gaining weight and maintaining your weight is going to depend on your activity levels. You’ll more than likely need to participate in longer duration “cardio” based activities in order to maintain your current weight.
* At 100-150 grams per day, you should be able to maintain your weight, by being moderately active. However, if you participate in short duration but higher intensity activities (aka. MAX Workouts), you should be able to lose weight, while building lean muscle.
* At 50-100 grams per day, you should be able to lose weight steadily if you’re moderately active. And if you participate in short duration high intensity activities, as mentioned above, you should be able to accelerate your weight loss process.
* At 0-50 grams per day, your body starts to metabolize fat for fuel, so you’ll burn fat and lose weight more quickly. However, it’s not recommended for long term. It’s an effective initial start up phase, utilized by many low carb diets. The phase is usually 5 days to 2 weeks in length.
Again, these are just general ranges and it will vary according to each individual. And if you’ve been eating high amounts of carbs, you shouldn’t cut out carbs immediately. Instead, you’ll need to slowly ween yourself off of carbs until you get to the appropriate ranges.
Eating low carbs isn’t difficult if you’re eating the right kinds of foods. If you stick to eating unrefined carbs (ie. vegetables and some fruits), you shouldn’t have any trouble keeping your carb intake within ranges of 50 - 150 grams per day. It’s only when you start to include grains into your diet that you get into trouble. As mentioned earlier, grains are too high in sugar content and readily activates your insulin, making it harder to lose weight and easier to gain weight.
It’s also important to note that your body has the ability to make up to 200 grams of glycogen (stored glucose) a day from proteins and fat. Much of that glycogen is stored in your muscle (and some in you liver) to be used for physical activities. So, even with low to zero carb intake, your body can make enough glucose to keep your glycogen levels in your muscles full for fuel.
Now in caloric terms, carbohydrates has 4 calories per gram. Using the same example as I did in the protein section…let’s say your goal is to lose 25 pounds by the end of the program, which would be 145 lb. That’s about 2 lb a week, since the program is 12 weeks long. And let’s say that you decide to cut down your carb intake to a range of about 100 grams per day. This equals to 100 g x 4 cal/g = 400 calories a day.
So far, your total calorie intake is 544 calories from protein and 400 calories from carbs for a total of 944 calories
There are a few ways to calculate how many calories you need per day in order for you to achieve your goal weight. Some calculations require you to plug in your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), and some also require you to plug in your lean body weight, and you can use any of these calculations, but a quick, easy and reliable method, is to multiply your goal weight by 10. So for this example, it would be 145 lb x 10 = 1450 calories a day. And since the total calorie from protein and carbs is 944 calories, the amount of calories left is 1450 - 944 = 506 calories. And this last amount of calories should come from fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram, so that equals 506 cal / 9 cal/g = 84.3 g of fat. So that means you can consume up to 84 grams of fat and still be within your weight loss caloric intake.
Now…fat is the most misunderstood macronutrient out of them all. I think it’s because of the name. Who wants to eat fat when they’re trying to lose fat…right? But here’s the key to eating fats and still lose weight. As long as you’re eating the right amounts of macronutrients - protein and carbs - eating fat actually increases you body’s ability to burn stored fat more effectively!
Fats can be divided up into these following categories:
* Saturated Fats - Stable fats found in foods like animal fats and coconuts.
* Monounsaturated Fats - Moderately stable fats found in foods like avocado and in many healthy oils such as olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame seed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil and peanut oil.
* Polyunsaturated Fats - Least stable of the three main fats, making polyunsaturated fats very susceptible to going rancid quickly when heated. It’s found in grain products, soybeans, peanuts and fish oils.
You can include any or a combination of all of the fats mentioned above in your daily diet. The only type of fat that needs to be avoided at all costs is trans fats. It shouldn’t even be considered fat, since it’s not natural. It’s chemically manufactured and is added to food to extend shelf life. However, when ingested, it causes serious damage to your body. Long term exposure to trans fats have been associated with obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and chronic inflammatory diseases, just to name a few.
It’s important to note, that when you’re deciding to go on a diet, the total amount of calories you choose to eat in a day depends on your goal and how quickly you want to get to your goal. But here are some key points to keep in mind before you decide:
* Be realistic about your goals and approach it like a marathon slow and steady is the best and healthiest solution
* Cutting out too many calories is a sure way to cause you to rebound by over consuming afterwards, getting you on the infamous yo - yo dieting roller coaster
* Look at your diet as a long term goal and not something you want to achieve today.
* Calories are important, but it’s just as important (if not more so) to watch what you eat. Not all calories are created equal. Each food you ingest triggers hormonal responses that can either be helpful and healthy or negative and unhealthy.
* Weight loss should come as a result of a combination of both healthy eating and an effective exercise plan.
In order to figure out how many calories you need a day, you need to find our how much of each macronutrient you should be eating. And to help you do that, you can go to www.caloriecount.about.com to find out the nutrition content of each food.
So here’s a summary of the tips you can implement to help you succeed in your diet and weight loss efforts.
* Eat real foods and avoid all processed foods, so you can avoid hidden calories and poor nutrition
* Knowing your total caloric intake initially is a good way to have an idea of how much food you should be eating
* Know how much of each macronutrient (protein, carbs and fats) you need to eat
* Cut out refined carbs, especially grains and instead eat unrefined carbs such as vegetables and fruits
* Eating fat helps you lose weight as long as you’re eating the proper amounts of protein and low carbs
* Avoid trans fats at all costs
* Combine healthy eating with an effective exercise program to maximize weight loss
About The Author
Shin Ohtake is a widely recognized strength coach and fitness & fat-loss expert. His unconventional, no-nonsense approach to getting fit has made him the go-to source for fitness enthusiasts and trainers alike. Shin is also the author of the world famous, MAX Workouts book, which has transformed and reshaped the bodies of thousands of people across the globe - without requiring hours in the gym. To learn more about how MAX Workouts can help you achieve your fitness goals, visit https://maxworkouts.com
Intermittent fasting? Counting calories? High protein diet? High fiber diet?
The answer depends on who you ask, and the truthfully, if it’s a legitimate diet - and when I mean legitimate, I mean none of these ridiculous diets, like the banana diet which apparently was huge in Japan for a while (go figure!) - most diets work…to a certain degree.
The difficult thing about diets is that everyone is different and we all respond differently to foods…so there really is no one size fits all. However, one thing is certain, you are what you eat and eating the right foods can make your weight loss efforts much easier. Here are a few tips that can make your diet a success.
It’s hard to see past the billion dollar marketing lies that our food industries throw our way, but the best way to bypass all the false hype and gimmick is to stick to real foods that don’t have labels on the them. If you can stick to eating real foods, you’re going to be significantly better off than 95% of the people out there. Because here’s the thing, no matter what diet your on, all successful diets have two things in common - reduce calorie intake and provide ample nutrients to your body. And the best way to do that is by eating real foods and avoid processed foods that have hidden calories and poor nutritious values.
Now even though I mention calories, don’t get me wrong…I HATE counting calories! And for the most part, it’s unnecessary if you’re eating the right foods. But, I do think that initially, if you’re coming off of a poor diet, knowing what foods have how many calories is a good thing. What is important is knowing how much of each macronutrient you need to consume on a daily basis. Macronutrients are the protein, carbohydrates and fat contents in you food. Much like counting calories, it first it’s a bit of work, but once you figure out how much protein, carbs and fats you need…it becomes a piece of cake to maintain. More importantly it allows you to know what you’re putting into your body, so you can take full control of your diet.
So how much of each macronutrient do you need to eat in a day?
I discussed the benefits of protein and how much protein you need to consume in a day, along with how to calculate your lean body weight, in a previous article, but here’s a another quick look at the general guidelines:
* Sedentary - 0.35 - 5 grams per lean body mass
* Moderately - Active 0.6 - 0.8 grams per lean body mass
* Active - 0.8 - 1.0 grams per lean body mass
* Very Active - 1.0 and higher per lean body mass
Now in caloric terms, protein has 4 calories per gram. So, as an example let’s say you weight 170 lb and have 20% body fat. That calculates to 136 lb of lean body weight. And let’s assume that your very active, perhaps doing the MAX Workouts program…hint hint…that would mean that you should be eating about 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean body weight, which would be around 136 g of protein a day. This equates to 136 g x 4 cal/g = 544 calories in a day. (Not much considering one Big Mac has roughly 580 calories…just to puts things into perspective.)
Personally, I feel that the biggest culprit of weight gain is due to excessive carbs. Now, before I get brushed off as another low carb guy…let me explain. First of all not all carbs are bad. In fact, unrefined carbohydrates such as vegetables and fruits are great for you, since it provides tons of nutrients and fiber. It just so happens that majority of the vegetables and some fruits happen to be low in sugar content and low in calories as well. So by default, if you eat mostly vegetables and some fruits for your carbohydrates, you end up eating a low carb diet. It’s grains and grain products that really ramp up your carb intake.
Whole grains have many health benefits, but unfortunately most grains on the market are not whole grains….they’re processed grains. Processed grains are in pretty much every product imaginable, from breads, pasta, rice to baked goods, packaged snacks and even healthy snacks. Grains are dense in calories and packed with sugar, and so when ingested it really increases your insulin activity. Insulin hormone is like the gate keeper to your fat storage, and since it acts as a storage hormone, it loves to store excess sugar as fat. So the less you get your insulin involved the better, both for you and your fat. And the best way to do so is by eliminating refined “grains” carb intake and make sure that your carbohydrate content mainly comes from unrefined carbs like vegetables and fruits.
So how many carbs should you eat?
Much like protein, it varies with each individual and their activity levels, but here are some ranges you can use as a general guide:
* At 200 - 300 grams per day you’re likely to steadily gain weight, especially if you’re sedentary or only moderately active.
* At 150-200 grams per day, you’re at the cusp of gaining weight and maintaining your weight is going to depend on your activity levels. You’ll more than likely need to participate in longer duration “cardio” based activities in order to maintain your current weight.
* At 100-150 grams per day, you should be able to maintain your weight, by being moderately active. However, if you participate in short duration but higher intensity activities (aka. MAX Workouts), you should be able to lose weight, while building lean muscle.
* At 50-100 grams per day, you should be able to lose weight steadily if you’re moderately active. And if you participate in short duration high intensity activities, as mentioned above, you should be able to accelerate your weight loss process.
* At 0-50 grams per day, your body starts to metabolize fat for fuel, so you’ll burn fat and lose weight more quickly. However, it’s not recommended for long term. It’s an effective initial start up phase, utilized by many low carb diets. The phase is usually 5 days to 2 weeks in length.
Again, these are just general ranges and it will vary according to each individual. And if you’ve been eating high amounts of carbs, you shouldn’t cut out carbs immediately. Instead, you’ll need to slowly ween yourself off of carbs until you get to the appropriate ranges.
Eating low carbs isn’t difficult if you’re eating the right kinds of foods. If you stick to eating unrefined carbs (ie. vegetables and some fruits), you shouldn’t have any trouble keeping your carb intake within ranges of 50 - 150 grams per day. It’s only when you start to include grains into your diet that you get into trouble. As mentioned earlier, grains are too high in sugar content and readily activates your insulin, making it harder to lose weight and easier to gain weight.
It’s also important to note that your body has the ability to make up to 200 grams of glycogen (stored glucose) a day from proteins and fat. Much of that glycogen is stored in your muscle (and some in you liver) to be used for physical activities. So, even with low to zero carb intake, your body can make enough glucose to keep your glycogen levels in your muscles full for fuel.
Now in caloric terms, carbohydrates has 4 calories per gram. Using the same example as I did in the protein section…let’s say your goal is to lose 25 pounds by the end of the program, which would be 145 lb. That’s about 2 lb a week, since the program is 12 weeks long. And let’s say that you decide to cut down your carb intake to a range of about 100 grams per day. This equals to 100 g x 4 cal/g = 400 calories a day.
So far, your total calorie intake is 544 calories from protein and 400 calories from carbs for a total of 944 calories
There are a few ways to calculate how many calories you need per day in order for you to achieve your goal weight. Some calculations require you to plug in your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), and some also require you to plug in your lean body weight, and you can use any of these calculations, but a quick, easy and reliable method, is to multiply your goal weight by 10. So for this example, it would be 145 lb x 10 = 1450 calories a day. And since the total calorie from protein and carbs is 944 calories, the amount of calories left is 1450 - 944 = 506 calories. And this last amount of calories should come from fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram, so that equals 506 cal / 9 cal/g = 84.3 g of fat. So that means you can consume up to 84 grams of fat and still be within your weight loss caloric intake.
Now…fat is the most misunderstood macronutrient out of them all. I think it’s because of the name. Who wants to eat fat when they’re trying to lose fat…right? But here’s the key to eating fats and still lose weight. As long as you’re eating the right amounts of macronutrients - protein and carbs - eating fat actually increases you body’s ability to burn stored fat more effectively!
Fats can be divided up into these following categories:
* Saturated Fats - Stable fats found in foods like animal fats and coconuts.
* Monounsaturated Fats - Moderately stable fats found in foods like avocado and in many healthy oils such as olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame seed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil and peanut oil.
* Polyunsaturated Fats - Least stable of the three main fats, making polyunsaturated fats very susceptible to going rancid quickly when heated. It’s found in grain products, soybeans, peanuts and fish oils.
You can include any or a combination of all of the fats mentioned above in your daily diet. The only type of fat that needs to be avoided at all costs is trans fats. It shouldn’t even be considered fat, since it’s not natural. It’s chemically manufactured and is added to food to extend shelf life. However, when ingested, it causes serious damage to your body. Long term exposure to trans fats have been associated with obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and chronic inflammatory diseases, just to name a few.
It’s important to note, that when you’re deciding to go on a diet, the total amount of calories you choose to eat in a day depends on your goal and how quickly you want to get to your goal. But here are some key points to keep in mind before you decide:
* Be realistic about your goals and approach it like a marathon slow and steady is the best and healthiest solution
* Cutting out too many calories is a sure way to cause you to rebound by over consuming afterwards, getting you on the infamous yo - yo dieting roller coaster
* Look at your diet as a long term goal and not something you want to achieve today.
* Calories are important, but it’s just as important (if not more so) to watch what you eat. Not all calories are created equal. Each food you ingest triggers hormonal responses that can either be helpful and healthy or negative and unhealthy.
* Weight loss should come as a result of a combination of both healthy eating and an effective exercise plan.
In order to figure out how many calories you need a day, you need to find our how much of each macronutrient you should be eating. And to help you do that, you can go to www.caloriecount.about.com to find out the nutrition content of each food.
So here’s a summary of the tips you can implement to help you succeed in your diet and weight loss efforts.
* Eat real foods and avoid all processed foods, so you can avoid hidden calories and poor nutrition
* Knowing your total caloric intake initially is a good way to have an idea of how much food you should be eating
* Know how much of each macronutrient (protein, carbs and fats) you need to eat
* Cut out refined carbs, especially grains and instead eat unrefined carbs such as vegetables and fruits
* Eating fat helps you lose weight as long as you’re eating the proper amounts of protein and low carbs
* Avoid trans fats at all costs
* Combine healthy eating with an effective exercise program to maximize weight loss
About The Author
Shin Ohtake is a widely recognized strength coach and fitness & fat-loss expert. His unconventional, no-nonsense approach to getting fit has made him the go-to source for fitness enthusiasts and trainers alike. Shin is also the author of the world famous, MAX Workouts book, which has transformed and reshaped the bodies of thousands of people across the globe - without requiring hours in the gym. To learn more about how MAX Workouts can help you achieve your fitness goals, visit https://maxworkouts.com
Free Fitness E-book - Grab It Today.
Here's an excellent e-book that's free. It's worth getting and comes highly recommended.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Your muffin top may kill you
CHICAGO — If your pants are feeling a bit tight around the waistline, take note: Belly bulge can be deadly for older adults, even those who aren't overweight or obese by other measures.
One of the largest studies to examine the dangers of abdominal fat suggests men and women with the biggest waistlines have twice the risk of dying over a decade compared to those with the smallest tummies.
Surprisingly, bigger waists carry a greater risk of death even for people whose weight is "normal" by the body mass index, or BMI, a standard measure based on weight and height.
"Even if you haven't had a noticeable weight gain, if you notice your waist size increasing that's an important sign," said lead author Eric Jacobs of the American Cancer Society, which funded the study. "It's time to eat better and start exercising more."
Other research has linked waist size to dementia, heart disease, asthma and breast cancer.
Bulging bellies are a problem for most Americans older than 50. It's estimated that more than half of older men and more than 70 percent of older women have bigger waistlines than recommended. And it's a growing problem: Average waistlines have expanded by about an inch per decade since the 1960s.
To check your girth, wrap a tape measure around your waist at the navel. No fair sucking in your bulge. Men should have a waist circumference no larger than 40 inches. For women, the limit is 35 inches.
The new study, appearing in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, is the first to analyze waist size and deaths for people in three BMI categories: normal, overweight and obese. In all three groups, waist size was linked to higher risk.
About 2 percent of people in the study had normal BMI numbers but larger than recommended waists. Jacobs said the risk increased progressively with increasing waist size, even at waist sizes well below what might be considered too large.
The study used data from more than 100,000 people who were followed from 1997 to 2006. Nearly 15,000 people died during that time.
The researchers crunched numbers on waist circumference, height and weight to draw conclusions about who was more likely to die. Study participants measured their own waists, so some honest mistakes and wishful fudging could have been included, the authors acknowledged.
Four extra inches around the waist increased the risk of dying from between 15 percent to 25 percent. Oddly, the strongest link — 25 percent — was in women with normal BMI.
People with bigger waists had a higher risk of death from causes including respiratory illnesses, heart disease and cancer.
The study was observational, a less rigorous approach that means the deaths could have been caused by factors other than waist size. But the researchers did take into account other risk factors for poor health, such as smoking and alcohol use.
Some older adults gain belly fat while they lose muscle mass, Jacobs said, so while they may not be getting heavier, they're changing shape — and that's taking a toll.
A tape measure, or a belt that doesn't buckle the way it used to, "may tell you things your scale doesn't," Jacobs said.
Fat stored behind the abdominal wall may be more harmful than fat stored on the hips and thighs. Some scientists believe belly fat secretes proteins and hormones that contribute to inflammation, interfere with how the body processes insulin and raise cholesterol levels.
But Dr. Samuel Klein, an obesity expert at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is skeptical about that theory. Removing belly fat surgically doesn't lead to health improvements. That may mean it's simply a stand-in for some other culprit that is causing both belly fat and poor health. Klein wasn't involved in the new research.
Klein said the new study, while showing a link between waist size and mortality, doesn't pinpoint exactly how much belly fat is dangerous for normal, overweight and obese people. The 40-inch for men and 35-inch for women cutoff points are irrelevant for many people, he said.
What can be done to fight belly fat? It's the same advice as for losing weight. Eat fewer calories and burn more through walking, bicycling and other aerobic exercise. "Sit-ups are useless," Klein said.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For women, fighting flab requires an hour a day
CHICAGO — Rev up the treadmill: Sobering new research spells out just how much exercise women need to keep the flab off as they age — and it's a lot.
At least an hour of moderate activity a day is needed for older women at a healthy weight who aren't dieting. For those who are already overweight — and that's most American women — even more exercise is called for to avoid gaining weight without eating less, the study results suggest.
"We all have to work at it. If it were easy to be skinny, we would all be skinny," said John Foreyt, a behavioral medicine expert who reviewed the study but wasn't involved in the research.
Brisk walking, leisurely bicycling and golfing are all examples of moderate exercise. But don't throw in the towel if you can't do those things for at least an hour a day. Even a little exercise is good for your health even if it won't make you thin, the researchers said.
Their findings are based on 34,079 non-dieting middle-aged women followed for about 13 years. The women gained an average of almost 6 pounds during the study.
Those who started out at a healthy weight, with a body mass index less than 25, and who gained little or no weight during the study consistently got the equivalent of about an hour of moderate activity daily. Few women — only 13 percent — were in this category.
Few already overweight women got that amount of exercise, and the results suggest it wasn't enough to stop them from gaining weight.
The results echo what gymfuls of middle-aged American women see every time they step off the treadmill and onto the scale.
"Talk to any group of women and they all say the same thing," said Janet Katzin, 61, a "slightly overweight" marketing director from Long Island who exercises for an hour twice a week.
Thin as a younger adult, Katzin said the pounds started creeping up after she had her two children in the 1980s, despite exercising and watching what she eats. "It's just extremely frustrating and discouraging."
The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. Only women were studied, so the researchers from Harvard's Brigham and Women Hospital said it's uncertain whether the results would apply to men.
The research "reinforces in a nice, clear way the idea of how difficult it is to maintain a healthy weight in our society," said Foreyt, of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
The results bolster a 2002 Institute of Medicine report that emphasized the importance of balancing diet and exercise and recommended at least 60 minutes daily of moderate activity for adults and children. But the study also indicates that the 2008 U.S. guidelines urging about a half-hour of exercise five days a week won't stop weight gain while getting older without cutting calories, said Dr. I-Min Lee, the study's lead author.
The study underscores some inevitabilities about aging. Men and women often put on weight, partly because their metabolism slows down. But that probably has less to do with it than people's natural tendency to become more sedentary, without changing their eating habits, Lee said.
Hormonal changes in menopause also can make women prone to weight gain, especially around the belly.
Still, Lee emphasized that the benefits of exercise extend beyond what you see in the mirror, helping keep the heart healthy and protecting against chronic disease even if you don't get enough activity to lose weight.
Katzin, a size 14, said she does an hour workout twice a week — including weights, an elliptical machine and bike. "I know I should go more, but that's all I can swing," she said.
She also has switched to diet soda and eating fewer treats, but that hasn't curbed her weight. Katzin was not involved in the study.
The researchers analyzed data on women who took part in a long-running federal study. Participants were 54 on average at the start and periodically reported how much they exercised and weighed. They also reported eating habits at the start, but not throughout, a limitation the authors acknowledged. Lee said the women's eating habits were thought to be typical of American women who aren't dieting.
Dr. Howard Eisenson, who heads Duke University's diet and fitness center, said it's likely some women underestimated what they ate and overestimated how much they exercised, which could have skewed the results.
Still, Eisenson said he doesn't encourage anybody to try to lose weight by exercise alone. To combat age-related weight gain, "you're fighting in many cases a losing battle" if you don't also cut calories, he said.
That doesn't mean you have to starve yourself, but it does mean watching what you eat and avoiding frequent indulgences. People often don't realize how quickly a bag of chips, an extra piece of cheese, a few glasses of wine or a candy bar add up.
"You can eat a candy bar in two minutes. Most are at least 200 calories," and to burn that off requires walking for about an hour, Lee said. Knowing that equation can help people make wise decisions about activity and food choices, she said.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For many NFL players, a knee injury is a career-ender
Despite surgery, less than two-thirds of National Football League players are able to return to play after knee ligament tears, new research hints.
That number runs counter to the optimism of most team physicians, who said they believed 90 to 100 percent of players would be back on the field, according to an earlier survey.
However, the doctor who led the new study, based on 49 NFL players who had all had surgery to replace the knee's anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, said he wasn't surprised.
"At this level and with this much competition I think the lower rates of return were expected," Dr. Vishal Michael Shah of the Richmond Bone and Joint Clinic in Sugarland, Texas, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.
The average career of an NFL athlete is only 3.5 years, according to the researchers, whose findings were published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.
Whether or not players returned to compete, Shah said, probably had little to do with the success of surgery and more with "how much money the team has invested in them already and who else is waiting on the sideline to replace them."
Shah said there wasn't really much the highly trained NFL players could do to prevent injuries.
"The type of injuries they are sustaining are likely unpreventable," he said.
Of the 49 players followed by the researchers, 31 went back to play NFL games, on average slightly less than a year after surgery. Age and type of surgery weren't related to who returned, but those who'd played more games were more likely to go back.
And how many rounds of drafts the athlete had gone through turned out to make a big difference: those who'd been drafted in the first four rounds had 12 times the odds of competing again.
"Higher draft picks have generally been paid more money and the teams have more 'investment' in them," Shah said.
"They are incentivized to give these players more of a chance to return and fight for their job while they may rather 'cut their losses' for late draft picks," he added. "Basically it comes down to the fact that NFL contracts are not guaranteed."
Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Congress urges attention to youth concussions
WASHINGTON — Young people who suffer concussions are at greater risk of long-term physical and mental consequences, lawmakers were told Thursday at a hearing on head injuries to high school athletes.
Michelle Pelton, a former high school basketball and softball player from Swansea, Mass., related to the House Education and Labor Committee how her life had been affected by the five concussions she had sustained.
"Every day I endure memory loss, lack of concentration, depression, slow processing speed and cognitive effects that make my everyday life a battle," said Pelton, now 19.
Last October the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on head injuries in football, but the focus there was on life-altering injuries to professional football players.
"It was clear to us that if the NFL was paying attention to concussions at the professional level, we should be doing the same at the high school level," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the education committee.
Miller said high school athletes are at greater risk from sports-related concussions than older athletes because their younger brains are more susceptible to injury.
The Government Accountability Office, which does investigative work for Congress, issued a report finding that it's difficult to determine how many concussions occur at the high school level and that estimates may be too low. Athletes not wanting to be sidelined may be reluctant to report symptoms of a possible concussion and agencies that track head injuries have different standards such as only counting injuries treated in an emergency room.
A law in Texas, one of the few states with statutes regarding concussions in high school sports, applies return-to-play requirements specifically to athletes who lose consciousness.
James Schmutz, head of American Sport Education Program, which provides coach education for youth sport, cited a 2009 report that put the number of concussions among high school athletes in nine sports at almost 400,000 in the 2005-2008 period.
"Moreover, the study discovered a disturbing disregard for the seriousness of the injury, with athletes often returning to practice and competition before it was safe and appropriate for them to do so," he said.
Concussions are caused by a blow that forces the head to move rapidly back and forth. Concussions can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and muscle coordination, but some people do not suffer symptoms until days after the accident occurs.
The chances of long-term consequences increase with a repeat concussion.
Washington state last year passed what is considered the nation's strongest return-to-play statute. Athletes under 18 who show symptoms can't take the field again without a licensed health care provider's written approval.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Want a better workout? Don't stretch before
LONDON — Want a better workout? Then don't stretch beforehand, some experts say.
Many people take it for granted that they should start their exercise routines with some stretching on the spot, perhaps hoping it will loosen them up for their workout. Most fitness experts now agree this kind of static stretching before exercise is not just counter-productive, but potentially harmful.
Traditional stretches, like when people bend over to touch their toes or stretch their legs on a fence, often cause the muscles to tighten rather than relax — exactly the opposite of what is needed for physical activity.
Experts say it is like extending a rubber band to its limit. When people stretch to the maximum, they are more likely to pull a muscle.
"We have developed this idea of static stretching at exactly the wrong time," said Kieran O'Sullivan, an exercise expert at the University of Limerick in Ireland, who has studied various types of stretching and their impact on athletes.
When you stretch before exercising, your body may think it's at risk of being overstretched. It compensates by contracting and becoming more tense. That means you aren't able to move as fast or as freely, making you more likely to get hurt.
O'Sullivan said stretching helps with flexibility, but people should only do it when they aren't about to exercise, like after a workout, or at the end of the day.
"It's like weight training to become stronger," he said. "You wouldn't do a weight session right before you exercise, and you shouldn't stretch right before either."
In the last few years, several studies have found static stretching before playing a sport makes you slower and weaker.
And when experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combed through more than 100 papers looking at stretching studies, they found people who stretched before exercise were no less likely to suffer injuries such as a pulled muscle, which the increased flexibility from stretching is supposed to prevent.
Warm up with a light jog
Instead of stretching, many experts recommend warming up with a light jog or sport-specific exercise, like kicking for football or a few serves for tennis. That type of light movement increases the heart rate and blood flow to the muscles, warming up the body temperature.
"This allows you to approach your full range of motion, but in a very controlled way," said Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery and spine surgery at the Brooklyn Hospital Center and former physician for the U.S. Tennis Open. Cohen said elite athletes in all sports are increasingly ditching static stretching and using other warm-up techniques instead.
But the message has yet to trickle down to legions of joggers and recreational athletes. "This is classic, old-school stretching that has been done for generations," Cohen said. "It's going to be very hard to convince people to start doing something different."
There's more news for the traditionalists: research shows static stretching doesn't work as well as more active kinds of stretching that incorporate movement, such as lunges.
In a study published earlier this year in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, Roberto Meroni of the University of Milan and colleagues found people who stretched using conventional techniques, like bending over to touch their toes, were less flexible than those who did a more active type of stretching that used more muscle groups.
Meroni said static stretching simply forces the muscle being stretched to endure the pain of that stretch. With active stretches that work more muscles, the stretched muscles learn to extend while another group is working.
Those types of stretches are commonly used in yoga, which emphasizes how the body is aligned during stretches, not just flexibility. Many yoga poses involve the whole body and focus not only on stretching a particular muscle, but the ligaments, tendons and joints around it.
Still, experts don't discount static stretching entirely. Lynn Millar, a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, said they recommend people stretch several times a week and that most types of stretching work.
Maximizing the benefits of stretching may simply boil down to a matter of when you do it and how, according to Jonny Booth, a health and fitness manager at a north London branch of gym chain Fitness First.
"If you are going to stretch your muscles and then do some intense training, you're not going to get fantastic results," he said.
Instead, Booth recommends active stretches that mimic the movement of your intended activity, like some deep knee lunges while walking for runners.
"Stretching is vital to become more flexible," Booth said. "But it has to be done at the right time and for the right reasons."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
NY license exemption backed for yoga, martial arts
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NY license exemption backed for yoga, martial ar...
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.After 10 minutes of exercise, hour-long boost
WASHINGTON — Ten minutes of brisk exercise triggers metabolic changes that last at least an hour. The unfair news for panting newbies: The more fit you are, the more benefits you just might be getting.
We all know that exercise and a good diet are important for health, protecting against heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions. But what exactly causes the health improvement from working up a sweat or from eating, say, more olive oil than saturated fat? And are some people biologically predisposed to get more benefit than others?
They're among questions that metabolic profiling, a new field called metabolomics, aims to answer in hopes of one day optimizing those benefits — or finding patterns that may signal risk for disease and new ways to treat it.
"We're only beginning to catalog the metabolic variability between people," says Dr. Robert Gerszten of Massachusetts General Hospital, whose team just took a step toward that goal.
The researchers measured biochemical changes in the blood of a variety of people: the healthy middle-aged, some who became short of breath with exertion, and marathon runners.
First, in 70 healthy people put on a treadmill, the team found more than 20 metabolites that change during exercise, naturally produced compounds involved in burning calories and fat and improving blood-sugar control. Some weren't known until now to be involved with exercise. Some revved up during exercise, like those involved in processing fat. Others involved with cellular stress decreased with exercise.
Those are pretty wonky findings, a first step in a complex field. But they back today's health advice that even brief bouts of activity are good.
"Ten minutes of exercise has at least an hour of effects on your body," says Gerszten, who found some of the metabolic changes that began after 10 minutes on the treadmill still were measurable 60 minutes after people cooled down.
Your heart rate rapidly drops back to normal when you quit moving, usually in 10 minutes or so. So finding lingering biochemical changes offers what Gerszten calls "tantalizing evidence" of how exercise may be building up longer-term benefits.
Back to the blood. Thinner people had greater increases in a metabolite named niacinamide, a nutrient byproduct that's involved in blood-sugar control, the team from Mass General and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard reported last week in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Possible to tweak metabolic process?
Checking a metabolite of fat breakdown, the team found people who were more fit — as measured by oxygen intake during exercise — appeared to be burning more fat than the less fit, or than people with shortness of breath, a possible symptom of heart disease.
The extremely fit — 25 Boston Marathon runners — had ten-fold increases in that metabolite after the race. Still other differences in metabolites allowed the researchers to tell which runners had finished in under four hours and which weren't as speedy.
"We have a chemical snapshot of what the more fit person looks like. Now we have to see if making someone's metabolism look like that snapshot, whether or not that's going to improve their performance," says Gerszten, whose ultimate goal is better cardiac care.
Don't expect a pill ever to substitute for a workout — the new work shows how complicated the body's response to exercise is, says metabolomics researcher Dr. Debbie Muoio of Duke University Medical Center.
But scientists are hunting nutritional compounds that might help tweak metabolic processes in specific ways. For example, Muoio discovered the muscles of diabetic animals lack enough of a metabolite named carnitine, and that feeding them more improved their control of blood sugar. Now, Muoio is beginning a pilot study in 25 older adults with pre-diabetes to see if carnitine supplements might work similarly in people who lack enough.
Next up: With University of Vermont researchers, she's testing how metabolic changes correlate with health measures in a study of people who alternate between a carefully controlled Mediterranean diet and higher-fat diets.
"The longterm hope is you could use this in making our way toward personalized medicine," Muoio says.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Milk does a body good, especially athletes
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Milk does a body good, especially athletes
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sweat in a gym? Non, merci, we're French
Paris — The French may love to look good but few are willing to work up a sweat over it.
Despite increasing awareness of the benefits of healthy eating and physical exercise, going to the gym in France is still a niche activity that has yet to capture the mainstream.
France's generous health care system, its cultural preference for outdoor sports and its lack of affordable good-quality clubs are seen as reasons behind the country's low rate of gym goers, even relative to laid-back neighbors Spain or Italy.
"It appears to me that more people are sitting in cafes smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee than working out ... the French don't see fitness as a lifestyle," says American-born fitness consultant Fred Hoffman, who has lived in Paris for 21 years.
Only 5.4 percent of French people belonged to a health club in 2008, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, compared with 9.5 percent for Italy, 11.9 percent for the United Kingdom and 16.6 percent for Spain.
The figure doesn't include France's numerous community fitness groups, or "associations," which are entitled to government subsidies and tempt many consumers with cheap prices despite their often unsophisticated facilities.
What are YOU doing today? Not exercising
Even taking into account this potential numbers gap, mass-market chains Club Med Gym and Fitness First say the $2 billion French market is a particularly tough slog. Property and staff are costly while competition from other sports is fierce.
"Football, tennis and cycling, those are the top three activities of the French," says Nadege Gaillard, marketing director for Club Med Gym, a Paris-focused brand that has not opened a single new club in nearly a decade. It is due to open a new venue in Paris in 2011.
Dieting? Why you should ditch the diet soda Even though studies show artificial sweeteners can actually make us crave more sugary foods, it's hard to give up our diet soda habit. Full story Why guys are sweatier than gals Pacemaker implants help pooches live longer lives Do sexy 'cancer awareness' campaigns ever work? Don't make me laugh! I might collapse Oops! Woman mistakes glue for eye dropsAlthough rival Fitness First has had more luck opening clubs in and out of Paris, it is feeling the heat from the growth of no-frills centers that are stealing customers from pricier venues in a stagnating market.
"No services, no staff, that's what's growing ... It's a lot simpler just to open a shoebox and throw in some machines," says Michel Parada, who heads Fitness First's French operations.
No sweat
Working out also has an image problem in France, where few celebrities seem keen to publicly endorse the mucky business of sweating and straining on a cardio machine.
Even the sight of President Nicolas Sarkozy in running shoes jogging after his election in 2007 proved too much for some.
"I would rather see the president in his suit than in his sweat," said philosopher Alain Finkielkraut at the time.
Consumers seem to prefer the aesthetic appeal of creams and cosmetics that claim to have slimming properties, according to Christophe Anandson of the IHRSA fitness club association.
"The credulity of the French isn't favoring the growth of the fitness market," he said.
For those who can afford it, there is also designer gym "L'Usine," a chain of three discreetly chic clubs in Paris and Geneva, which is said to boast singer Lenny Kravitz and actress Melanie Laurent as clients.
Your muffin top may kill you
L'Usine co-founder Patrick Rizzo says the club's high prices, luxury layout and upscale equipment serve a "niche" and manage to rise above the troubles of the mass market in France.
But even he thinks there is a limit to luxury gym growth in Paris and is eyeing possible expansion in Italy or the U.S.
Fed could trump big earnings news this week Updated 18 minutes ago 10/10/2010 11:36:24 PM +00:00 Panic attacks feared during miner rescue Updated 118 minutes ago 10/10/2010 9:56:20 PM +00:00 Second wave of sludge expected in Hungary Jet Ski widow: Suspects identified in murder What's the significance of 10-10-10? The Week in PicturesSome industry figures believe the French market will have a brighter future once the government does more to promote working out as a health measure that could potentially save the healthcare system a lot of time and money.
Gyms could also do more to respond to French consumer tastes, says consultant Hoffman. He does not think low-cost gyms will be able to hold on to a broad client base, as most French consumers are not experts and need assistance to work out.
Just as Starbucks and McDonald's have had to fit their menu to France's cultural preferences, clubs could change as well.
"You've got to get into the French psyche...Maybe a cafe, or a little area for food," Hoffman says.
"But (the problem) is bigger than that. I don't think it can come from the clubs alone. It's getting people more aware of their wellbeing."
Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Mountain bikers risk their necks
High speeds, extreme terrain and long vertical drops might be making the increasingly popular sport of mountain biking as risky as football, diving and cheerleading, suggests a new study.
The findings warn that taking two wheels to the trails invites the danger of a spinal injury. One of every six cases reviewed was severe enough to result in complete paralysis.
"People need to know that the activities they choose to engage in may carry with them unique and specific risks," Dr. Marcel Dvorak, of the University of British Columbia in Canada, told Reuters Health by email. "Helmets will not protect you from these injuries, nor will wearing Ninja Turtle-like body armor."
Previous studies had described both the range of injuries sustained by mountain bikers and the spinal injuries suffered across a variety of sports. But no one had yet evaluated the specific risks of spinal injury among mountain bikers.
Dvorak and his colleagues identified 102 men and 5 women who were seen at British Columbia's primary spine center between 1995 and 2007 after mountain biking accidents. The average patient was 33 years old and all but two were recreational riders, they report in The American Journal of Sports Medicine.
The team couldn't calculate the risk of a spine injury among those who mountain biked, but they figured that over the 13-year study period, the annual rate was one in 500,000 British Columbia residents. The riders accounted for 4 percent of all spine trauma admissions to the center.
Surgery was required for about two-thirds of the mountain bikers. But the most devastating injuries were the 40 percent that involved the spinal cord. Of these, more than 40 percent led to complete paralysis.
"Wrist fractures and facial fractures are common" among mountain bikers, said Dvorak. "But spine injuries are the most severe with the most profound long-term consequences."
The majority of riders, he explained, were injured as a result of either being propelled over the handlebars (going "endo") or falling from great heights ("hucking"). In both scenarios, the result was often a severe impact to the head that triggered trauma down the neck and spine. "The higher the jump or fall," added Dvorak, "the higher the risk."
Perhaps surprisingly, the researchers found no relationship between helmet wearing and the overall severity of a rider's injuries. "Helmets are good in preventing head injuries, but they do not in any way protect your neck," noted Dvorak.
Also of unique concern to the sport is its "playing field": remote forested and mountainous areas. Some of Dvorak's patients had fallen while riding alone or at the back of a group. As a result, they were not found for an hour or more, and even then it was difficult for ambulances or helicopters to access the site.
His advice to mountain bikers: Be cautious about any tricks or jumps, know your terrain, and always ride in a group and stay together.
Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
For good sleep, don't count sheep — run
Sleepless and sedentary? Instead of counting sheep in a field, try running through a meadow.
Experts agree that an aerobic exercise routine during the day can keep you from tossing and turning at night, even if they're not sure why.
"The bottom line is we really don't know why people tell us that exercise helps them sleep," said Dr. David Davila of the National Sleep Foundation.
Dieting? Why you should ditch the diet soda Even though studies show artificial sweeteners can actually make us crave more sugary foods, it's hard to give up our diet soda habit. Full story Why guys are sweatier than gals Pacemaker implants help pooches live longer lives Do sexy 'cancer awareness' campaigns ever work? Don't make me laugh! I might collapse Oops! Woman mistakes glue for eye drops"But if people are normally active, reaching their aerobic goals, chances are they will sleep the right amount for what they need."
Davila, who practices sleep medicine in Little Rock, Arkansas, said the low-grade sleep deprivation suffered by many time-pressed, under-rested Americans has a cumulative effect.
"People have more car accidents and what they call 'presentee-ism', or poor performance, at work," he said. "There are fallouts for the average person."
But evidence is emerging that aerobic exercise can offer relief from insomnia.
A recent study at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois tracked 23 previously sedentary adults, primarily women 55 and older, who had difficulty falling or staying asleep.
After 16 weeks on an aerobics training program that included exercising on a treadmill or stationery bicycle, average sleep quality improved.
"Most of poor sleepers became good sleepers," said Dr. Phyllis Zee, the lead researcher in the study, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging.
Fed could trump big earnings news this week Updated 18 minutes ago 10/10/2010 11:36:24 PM +00:00 Panic attacks feared during miner rescue Updated 118 minutes ago 10/10/2010 9:56:20 PM +00:00 Second wave of sludge expected in Hungary Jet Ski widow: Suspects identified in murder What's the significance of 10-10-10? The Week in PicturesShe said an earlier study using Tai Chi showed less dramatic results, as did a control group doing non-physical activities such as cooking classes and museum lectures.
"This is the first time that I'm aware of where we've looked at the benefits of aerobic exercise as a treatment modality in a population with insomnia," Zee said.
She added that she sees a lot of patients with insomnia, which afflicts 25 percent of the population and can reach as high as 40 percent in older people.
"We tell them to get regular exercise. But we really don't emphasize how to exercise."
If your schedule dictates that you can only hit the gym at 5 a.m. Dr. Shawn D. Youngstedt, an expert on sleep and exercise at the University of South Carolina, believes that an hour of exercise can do more good than an extra hour of sleep.
"There's no scientific evidence that people need eight hours, seven is fine," he said. "It's far clearer that exercise has wonderful benefits. It's better than drugs for diabetes, mental health, cancer prevention."
Dr. William Roberts, of the American College of Sports Medicine, cautions that for some people the time to exercise is not an hour before bed.
"To exercise close to sleep time is not good for everyone," he explained. "Try to get a half hour to an half hour of exercise early enough in the day and try to sleep on same schedule."
Roberts suggests doing something calming to wind down.
"Do not play video games," he said. "Read away from bed and then go to bed. Avoid caffeine and other stimulants before turning in."
The improved sleepers in Zee's study also reported better moods, fewer depressive symptoms and enhanced vitality.
"Vitality is everything," Zee said. "It's how somebody feels, how alert. If you think about the complaints of poor health, people will always say, 'I feel so tired.'"
Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Work/rest intervals ratchet up workouts
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - If your cardio routine is in the doldrums, try mixing a little tortoise in with that hare.
Experts say interval training, alternating bursts of intensity activity with less intense periods, can burn more calories, boost stamina, and stave off that burning pain that stops any workout dead in its tracks.
"Interval training burns calories quicker. If you're doing interval training for 20 minutes it can burn as many calories you would in 40 minutes," said Kerri O'Brien of Life Fitness, which designs and manufactures exercise equipment.
"It depends on level of intensity, the weight of your body, the intensity of what you're doing," she added.
And the principle holds whether you're an elite athlete, a weekend warrior or a couch potato.
"We can do different things based on your goals and fitness level," she said. "We can work with low intensities that require walking, then stop and do jumping jacks."
O'Brien said interval training increases endurance by clearing lactic acid, the byproduct of exercise.
"That burning pain is lactic acid building up," said O'Brien. "Whether you're strength training, or walking, or climbing stairs, it's lactic acid that tells your body to stop. Interval training is literally training your body to clear that lactic acid more efficiently"
There is also the psychological boost.
"Interval training reduces training time, and the less time you have to commit to exercising, the more likely you are to stay exercising. It reduces boredom and increases variety and challenge," O'Brien added.
Andrea Metcalf, a Chicago-based group fitness instructor, said interval training burns more calories and increases fitness lung volume faster than steady state work.
"The best intervals are those with a two-to-one rest/work interval: sprint for one minute and mid- pace recovery for two minutes," said Metcalf, a fitness expert for more than 20 years.
Julia Valentour, of the American Council on Exercise, said interval training works because when you alternate bouts of high and low intensity your overall intensity level rises.
She said a 2005 study found that cyclists who did four to seven bouts of 30-second all-out cycling doubled their endurance in only two weeks.
"You wouldn't want to do it every day," she cautioned. "You could over train. I like to warm up, then increase speed, run fast for a minute, then slow down for a minute, then run fast for a minute," she said.
Fartlek is an unstructured method of interval training. The word means speed play in Swedish.
"With Fartlek you say, 'I'm going to jog to that telephone pole.' Interval training can be very structured. Fartlek can be tailored to how a person feels that day," she said.
O'Brien said while the Fartlek method is used mostly for long-distance running, it can apply equally to bikers and swimmers.
The key to any interval training, she said, is a really good warm-up to prepare your body for what's to come.
Integrating interval training into your routine can be as easy as changing the program on your treadmill or elliptical machine.
"The interval button is a wonderful one to push," O'Brien said. "Avoid the manual button. I call it the complacency button. Hit it and you're just going to read your magazine."
Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
5 minutes in the green can boost self esteem
LONDON — Just five minutes of exercise a day in the great outdoors can improve mental health, according to a study released on Saturday, and policymakers should encourage more people to spend time in parks and gardens.
Researchers from the University of Essex found that as little as five minutes of a "green activity" such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming can boost mood and self esteem.
"We believe that there would be a large potential benefit to individuals, society and to the costs of the health service if all groups of people were to self-medicate more with green exercise," Barton said in a statement about the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, who led this study, said that until now no one knew how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show.
Barton and Pretty looked at data from 1,252 people of different ages, genders and mental health status taken from 10 existing studies in Britain.
They analyzed activities such as walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming.
They found that the greatest health changes occurred in the young and the mentally ill, although people of all ages and social groups benefited. The largest positive effect on self-esteem came from a five-minute dose of "green exercise."
All natural environments were beneficial, including parks in towns or cities, they said, but green areas with water appeared to have a more positive effect.
Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Two Minutes <br>of Hell
You might call this our “2 minutes of Hell” workout. If you can make it through two rounds of this routine, you’re a fitter man than most.
Here’s the kicker: The best performance we’ve ever heard of was done by a Division one FEMALE volleyball player. Her time: two rounds in 3 minutes total.
How to do it: Do one set of each exercise below without resting, and keep track of how long it takes you to complete the circuit. Then rest for twice that duration, and repeat once. When you can finish the first circuit in 90 seconds, skip the rest period.
• Bodyweight Squat: 24 reps
• Bodyweight Alternating Lunge: 12 reps (each leg)
• Bodyweight Split Jump: 12 reps each leg
• Bodyweight Jump Squat (for fat loss): 24 reps
Men's Health, <br>Just for You
Personalized tools, tips, and advice from the experts you trust
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Friday, 15 October 2010
Start Your Day Right (or Wrong)
The average American consumes more than 160 bowls of cereal a year, so picking the right box could mean knocking 15 pounds off your waistline yearly and infusing your diet with massive doses of vital nutrients. Use our bowl-by-bowl breakdown to find the perfect cereal for you. Our criteria: the highest ratio of fiber to sugar, along with a respectable calorie count. Sidle up and grab a spoon!
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Dr. Oz's 25 Best Health Tips
My patients are among my best teachers. They've taught me how to communicate clearly—and how to live a better life. On The Dr. Oz Show, I've seen that once people are emotionally involved, change happens quickly, especially if they feel that their behavior is letting loved ones down. Large-scale change seems daunting. We want simple routines that we can automatically follow. Adopt some of the steps here, which anyone can do, and you will like your life more in just a couple of weeks. And you'll live longer. Try them—they work for me.
Men's Health tip: There are even more ways to add years to your life—and erase them from your face. Use the secret Age Erasers for Men to look younger, feel younger, and stay younger longer!
ROTF, LMAO
Laughing not only eases stress, promotes social bonding, and lowers blood pressure, it may also boost your immune system. So bring some humor into your life, whether it's through friends or even a new TV show (preferably mine).
Men's Health tip: If humor doesn't work, these 52 ways to conquer and control stress will arm you with more than enough strategies to face anything life throws your way.
Don't Skip Breakfast
Fiber in the morning means less hunger late in the afternoon, when you're most likely to feel tired and gorge yourself on sugar. My morning dose comes from steel-cut oatmeal, usually mixed with raisins, walnuts, and flaxseed oil. An early start on eating also keeps your metabolism more active throughout the day; breakfast eaters are thinner than people who just rush out the door.
Men's Health Tip: If you must stop at the drive-thru for your a.m. meal, be sure to avoid the 20 worst breakfasts in America.
Hit the Sack
Conan and Dave are funny, but they're not worth the strain on your system. Seven hours of sleep a night not only helps you live longer, but also lowers your stress, sharpens your memory, and reduces cravings for pants-splitting foods. Set a bedtime and stick to it. My target is 10:30 p.m. I record the late shows and then watch them the next day as I pedal a stationary bike.
Men's Health tip: Try these expert tips to sleep better every night.
Admire Your Work
Don't be so trigger-happy with the flusher. Turn around and take a look at your poop, which speaks volumes about your gut and overall health. Poop should be smooth and S-shaped, like your colon. If it comes out too lumpy, or drops into the bowl like marbles, you're constipated. Increase your fiber and water intake. This happens to me when I travel, so I fiber-load before a trip to avoid getting irritable.
Men's Health tip: You don't need Metamucil—here are 30 great-tasting ways to add fiber to your diet.
Don't Pamper Your Bad Back
Even if you're hunched over in agony, taking to your bed will only make a bad back worse. The latest research shows that bed rest weakens back muscles and prolongs the suffering. Married men may suffer more than single men because of all the pampering. I used to love milking the care from Lisa, but the best solution is to get up, take a pain reliever, and be a soldier.
Men's Health tip: Perform the Ultimate Upper-Body Workout to strengthen your back and broaden your shoulders.
The Best Barbeque You've Ever Tasted
To tackle Memphis in May, the world's biggest BBQ competition, we rounded up the best BBQ pitmasters in New York. Here are some highlights of the trip.
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