Salt: the stealth enemy within

Salt: the stealth enemy within

Here’s how a solitary substance having absolutely no calories could be such a significant reason behind gaining weight in addition to colossal health challenges. How you will detect the disguised sodium to safeguard your health.

Sodium is a huge cause of gaining weight and frequently a cause for why the numbers on your scale are not heading down. The typical American consumes two times the quantity of sodium they ought to have on a daily basis, resulting in gaining weight, water retention, as well as the being unable to get rid of persistent weight. Sodium may also cause you to feel more hungry and also thirstier, check the nutrition product labels for high salt amounts and select fresh over commercially prepared as well as restaurant meals. You will see puffiness around your face and mid-section decrease rapidly by merely reducing your salt consumption and selecting more natural food items.

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9 Surprising Sources of Sugar Eliminate These Foods Now For a Flat, Sexy Stomach

9 Surprising Sources of Sugar Eliminate These Foods Now For a Flat, Sexy Stomach

(Added) sugar By any other name still has the same effect on fat loss – it slows it down considerably by effecting hunger, blood sugar hormone and insulin levels .  If you want to create a truly “fit” kitchen, you want to minimize the added sugars in your food. The following are all “added sugar” by other names.

Dextrose
Maltose
Crystalline Fructose
Cane Crystals
Fructose   (you can still eat fruit although it has no sugar added)
Corn Syrup   and worse,
High Fructose Corn Syrup

Honey (natural and not bad for you alone but snuck into foods along with other, processed sugars, not so much)
Surprising Sources of Added Sugar:

BBQ Sauce
dried fruit and trail mixes
ketchup
(most)  processed carbs from a bag or a box (including cereals, breads, crackers)
peanut butter
protein bars
salad dressings
Pasta sauces
sports drinks

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Best And Worst Foods For A Flat Belly : Your Key To  Losing  Ugly Belly Fat & Reshaping  Your Body

Best And Worst Foods For A Flat Belly : Your Key To Losing Ugly Belly Fat & Reshaping Your Body

If you haven’t already read my article and “9 Surprising Sources Of Sugar”   you should do it now for a better understanding of how ditching the chemical-laden processed foods will make your fat loss soar.  Follow this advice for a month, and I guarantee a leaner, more energetic, less bloated you!

If you want a flat, sexy stomach, this is what you want in your shopping cart: This list contains the highest nutrient content per calorie and those foods that will decrease hunger, lower cholesterol, and encourage your body to become a fat-burning machine. Yes, those are my 46-year-old abs, and yes, this is my weekly shopping list. Later, you will see what’s in my fridge and freezer.

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Is This Why You Can’t Lose Weight?

Is This Why You Can’t Lose Weight?

You’ve pretty much tried every diet and workout trend you’ve ever heard of, from the impractical to the to the down right crazy yet  your “skinny jeans”  just keep getting tighter. So, what’s the deal?

Most likely, out-of-whack hormones—like estrogen, insulin, and even growth hormones from chemicals and additives in the foods you eat every day. (even “diet” and “healthy” foods) . Couple this with hidden sugars in the foods we eat every day  thinking they are “healthy” and it’s no wonder Americans are getting fatter and fatter while the ” Fitness & Diet” industry gets richer and richer.

The good news is that the chemicals that control our weight, moods, and even where we store fat on our bodies can be balanced naturally and it starts in your kitchen.

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How To Fix A Slow Metabolism

How To Fix A Slow Metabolism

First, if you want to get rid of that stubborn fat from your butt, thighs and arms and lose those last 10 -15 lbs, you must STOP with the steady state cardio immediately. No more treadmills, elipticals or steppers. Conventional aerobic exercises are not very effective ways to lose weight and will train your body to STORE fat on top of inhibiting your  fat burning hormones.

Study after study over the past 10 years show the efficacy of metabolic resistance and high intensity interval  training  and over steady state cardio.

In the last 10 years, research has shown us two very important things about exercising for fat loss. First, lifting heavier weights for full body movements or body weight, total body movements lead to burning more calories after the workout when compared to old school lifting programs or cranking out rep after rep with a light weight.

Second, the more muscles you use during an exercise, the more calories you burn during your workout and after.  A study of women showed that when they used heavier weights and lower reps for compound movements they burned more calories in the hours after training. This is called EPOC. (Exercise post oxygen consumption)

Doing hours and hours of ”cardio” each week is a great way to go  nowhere in your fat loss program while wasting a lot of time and most likely incurring injury. Stop worrying about exercising in a certain heart rate zone for fat loss or for cardiovascular endurance or how many miles you walk.

Unless you have nothing better to do with yourself than spend 5 plus hours a week doing cardio with minimal results (which, long term lead to joint damage on top of fat storage) there are far more effective ways to reach your goals.

Step 1: Forget about how many calories the machine says you’ve burned (they are rarely accurate), it’s all about MAXIMUM calorie burn and EPOC

Step 2: Get off the Elliptical, treadmills and steppers for good.

Step 3: Choose the right total body exercises for your body type, fitness level and goals, exercise at the right intensity, and perform shorter bouts of metabolism-boosting interval training.

Step 4:  Eat to burn more fat which is a topic for a whole other blog post but will account for 70 ish % of your results and includes eating more protein, good fats and limiting processed foods.
You can read more about TEF and how to eat for fat loss at Fat Loss University here: http://custombodies.blogspot.com/2014/07/fit-tip-tuesday-eat-smart-not-less.html

If you want to speed your metabolism and reshape, you need to do 3 things.

  1.  Eat More Protein:
  2.  Step away from the treadmills, steppers and ellipticals
  3.  Start a fitness program that includes plenty of  high intensity interval training and whole body resistance trainingFor more detailed information and research studies on EPOC and TEF you can read them at Fat Loss University here http://custombodies.blogspot.com/2014/06/as-your-trainer-thursday-how-do-i-fix.html

Copyright © Custom Bodies, Inc.  2014

Article written by Dianne Villano, an  MExPhys, NASM CFT , author ofHow To Lose Fat & Reshape Your Body in 21 DaysandThe Ultimate Belly Blast Program”She is president of Custom Bodies which  has been serving the Tampa Bay  with cutting edge nutrition & fitness programs for 18 years. Miss Villano is a frequent speaker on health and fitness related topics with articles published in over 20 media outlets. You can grab a copy of her Special Report “22 Big Fat Lies Keeping You From The Body You Want at http://mypersonalfitnesscoach.com/fitness-freebies.html

How To Lose Belly Fat & Get A Flat, Toned Stomach In 7 Easy Steps

How To Lose Belly Fat & Get A Flat, Toned Stomach In 7 Easy Steps

If you are like most women, especially most women over 40, getting rid of belly fat seems like impossibility.  As a woman over 40 myself, I’m here to tell you, it is not only possible but is much easier than you think.  Follow these tips, toss away these myths and I guarantee a flatter, more toned mid section before you know it.

  1. Pack in the Protein – Not only does Protein help to add body sculpting, butt lifting muscle but it helps you feel fuller at each meal and curb hunger. Our clients generally eat 20-30% of their daily calories from protein a day. Eat a protein source at EVERY meal and try to incorporate some into snacks. You can check out my list of best protein sources HERE  (https://www.facebook.com/notes/custom-bodies-the-bay-areas-1-choice-for-fitness-nutrition-consulting/best-lean-proteins-ie-highest-protein-per-calorie/428890373830320 ) . If you want to know why this so important, you can check out my blog post about protein and fat loss here http://custombodies.blogspot.com/2013/12/fit-tip-tuesday-get-enough-protein.html
  2. Ditch the boxed and pre packed foods (yes, even “diet” foods) They often loaded with chemicals and preservatives which can wreak havoc with your fat loss efforts, and are full of salt which causes bloat and puffiness.
  3. Don’t starve yourself You can flatten your stomach and drop a full dress sizes or two in a month  without taking drastic measures like low calorie diets or crazy 6 day a week fitness programs. Less than 1,200 calories is usually not enough to support your basal metabolism and thus will slow your body’s calorie-burning ability and cause your body to burn muscle for energy.  Very low calorie diets will help you lose weight in the short term but when your body has had enough of being starved, you will often binge , gaining all of your weight back and looking down at a MORE bloated belly.
  1. Avoid Sugar Free Foods – Artificially sweetened foods contain a lot of sugar alcohol which causes bloating
  2. Eat your fruits & Veggies – Freshness Counts – The packaging and processing generally found in “convenience” foods generally reduce the nutrient values of foods and substantially raise the caloric content. The simple sugars found  in processed foods generally leave people feeling hungry and craving carbohydrates . Fruits & vegetables are nutritionally dense and full of fiber leaving you fuller longer
  3. Follow the 90% to 10% rule. If you watch what you eat 90% of the time, the other 10% is not not going to effect your belly busting efforts.  The influx in calories from that 10% will also stoke your metabolism, keep you from feeling deprived and keep you on track7. Ditch These Myths:Myth #1: You need to train your abs everyday.

Fact: When it comes to training, your abs are like every other muscle. In order to get the most benefit, you have to train them hard and allow sufficient rest between sessions. You also have to make them work harder. They also grow just like any other muscle and training them disproportionately will cause them to grow disproportionate to your other musculature which can cause muscle imbalances and other issues.

Myth #2 : Doing sit ups, twists & sidebends  will trim your waistline.

Fact : You can’t reduce waistline fat simply by doing ab exercises. Spot reduction just does not happen! Yes, you need to do ab exercises to develop the abdominal muscles. They need to be strengthened just like your glutes or your biceps but in order to actually see those ab muscles, you need to strip the fat that’s covering them.

Myth #3: You need to do many more reps for ab exercises.

Fact:  This is just not so. The most common training mistake when it comes to the abs is ineffective exercises. The next is poor technique. Exercises like crunches, sit ups and leg lifts are old school and the majority of the time, the actual abdominals is not even being worked.  Substitute old school, ineffective  exercises like sit ups, crunches, leg lefts or , god forbid that archaic ab crunch machine for exercises like planks, ball rolls , burpees or even good old fashioned push ups and I will guarantee you flatter more defined abs in no time.

 

Copyright © Custom Bodies, Inc.  2014

 Article written by Dianne Villano, an  MExPhys, NASM CFT , author of “How To Lose Fat & Reshape Your Body in 21 Days” andThe Ultimate Belly Blast Program”.  She is president of Custom Bodies  and  has been serving the Tampa Bay  with cutting edge nutrition & fitness programs for 18 years. Miss Villano is a frequent speaker on health and fitness related topics with articles published in over 20 media outlets. You can grab a copy of herSpecial Report “22 Big Fat Lies Keeping You from The Body You Want” at http://mypersonalfitnesscoach.com/fitness-freebies.html

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