Myth #1: Diet Pills

The general consensus on diet pills are contained in two powerful words: BUYER BEWARE.

The problem here is that many makers of diet pills offer claims that simply aren’t realistic; and if you read the fine-print of most of these advertisements, you’ll see that they’re really too good to be true. Little notes like the claims made in this advertisement are not typical should be enough of a wake-up call to realize that there’s more to the story.

In some cases, diet pills can help boost metabolism temporarily. This, however, can be risky and generally shouldn’t be done without a doctor’s say-so. Unfortunately, people can become somewhat addicted to diet pills, and this can lead to disaster. And before we go onto myth #2, remember that some diet pills are water loss pills. That is, they are diuretics that promote water loss, usually through excess urination. The jury on water-loss diet pills is somewhat less open minded than diet pills in general: THEY DON’T WORK!

Seriously: water loss diet pills are built on the premise that you’ll lose weight through water. And, yes, that’s true: if you urinate 15 times a day, you’re physically going to weigh less. But this is not actual weight loss! This is merely unhealthy temporary weight loss, and it will come roaring back the minute that water stores are replenished through diet. Or, even harder to comprehend, if a person taking these water pills fails to restore their body’s fluid needs, they can actually suffer dehydration; which can, and has, led to coma and death.

Myth #2: Drop Caloric Intake

As we discussed earlier in this book trying to lose weight by drastically cutting down calories doesn’t work; in fact, it’s unhealthy.

The thing to remember is that the body’s ability to lose weight is not controlled by calories. Calories are the input. The real control mechanism is that famous concept that you’ve become very familiar with: metabolism.

Calories are merely units of energy. It’s how your body deals with that energy that determines whether weight is gained or lost. So with that being said, cutting down your caloric intake to, say, 1000 calories a day isn’t necessarily going to help you lose weight; because it doesn’t necessarily change your metabolism. Indeed, as you know, if you slow down your caloric intake, your body – which is always trying to help you in the best way that it knows how – will slow down its metabolism.

Really, it makes sense: the body says that something has gone wrong; instead of the 2000 calories that it needs, it’s only getting 1000. The body doesn’t know why this is happening; it doesn’t know that you want to lose weight. It just senses that something is wrong; perhaps you’re trapped in a cave or something, or stuck in a snowstorm. So the body, trying to help you, will slow down its metabolism; it will do its best to slow down the conversion rate, so that you have as much energy on hand as possible. Now, if your body was able to read this book and you could say: look, please just do what you normally do, but do it with 1000 fewer calories a day for a while, then we might actually get somewhere. But the body doesn’t work that way. It won’t help you lose weight if you dramatically cut down on calories. It will slow down metabolism, and (here’s the worst part), if and when you ever increase calories again, your body will have to deal with that via a slower metabolic engine. So you can actually gain weight if, after cutting down your calories for a period of time, you find that you consume extra calories.

Myth #3: Low Intensity Workouts

It’s fair to say that any exercise is better than no exercise. So if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, then even walking around your block for 10 minutes a day is going to something positive for your body and its metabolism.

True, that difference may be imperceptible to the naked eye (or it may not?), the bottom line is that exercise is good. Yet with this being said, some people believe that they should perform low-intensity workouts even when they could be performing more high-intensity workouts. That is, instead of jogging for 20 minutes with their heart at the top end of their aerobic zone, they opt for low-intensity jogs that barely break a sweat. Low intensity workouts simply don’t lead to a faster metabolism; they can’t. Remember, metabolism is a process. And that process is really one of two types: taking energy and making cells, or breaking cells down to make energy. If you don’t achieve a high intensity workout, your body can’t tap achieve catabolism; it won’t need to. And the only way your body is going to go and break down existing cells is if it needs to. So keep this in mind as you exercise, either at home or at a gym. Low intensity workouts are better than nothing at all; and they may be necessary if you’re recovering from injury, or just starting out on the exercise journey. But once you reach a level of basic fitness, only high intensity (aerobic) workouts will make a difference in terms of your metabolism. High intensity workouts force your body to find energy to help you maintain that level of exercise.

Myth #4: Too Much Focus

Speeding up your metabolism and achieving your weight loss goals involved a certain degree of focus; after all, there’s a lot of things competing for your attention, and you certainly need to be able to keep your eye on the goal in order to maintain your program.

Yet sometimes too much focus can be a bad thing; and some dieters understand this all too well. Remember: speeding up your metabolism is a holistic effort that includes exercise, lifestyle, and diet changes. Focusing on only one of these at the expense of the others (either one or both) can be detrimental. In fact, in some cases, it can be counter-productive. So the myth here is that you shouldn’t go all out and focus on becoming an exercise guru, and then move onto lifestyle, and then to diet. You have to integrate all 3 aspects into your life at the same time. True, based on your unique situation, you will likely emphasize one more than the others. That’s fine and normal. But it’s a myth – and a mistake – to ignore any one of these. It takes all three to speed up your metabolism, and to get you to your weight loss goals for the long-term.

Enjoy your training!

Obesity is now the cause of more than 300 000 deaths every year, putting it on pace to overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.

But what exactly is obesity?

Plainly stated, obesity is any individual thas has a body mass index of more than 30. BMI is a complicted formula that divides your weight by the square of your height. However, a person doesn’t have to be massively overweight to qualify. This is where society makes the mistake. A person that has fat situated around the waist can increase a person’s chances of disease signaficantly.

The American Obesity Organisation, The Federal Trade Commision, World Health Organisation and the American Heart Association have all recognised obesity as a disease.

Contrary to popular believe, overeating, lack of physical activity, no will-power, comfort eating etc isn’t always the cause although a healthy diet and eating habits is important in maintaining a healthy balanced life.

In many cases , it is accepted as genetic and thus they give in or completely refrain from doing any form of physical exercise or following a healthy eating plan. The fact that generations are getting heavier doesn’t support the genetic theory. Our technology driven society and fast-paced lifestyle, grabbing food on the run, just doesn’t leave any time for exercise. It’s easier and more affordable to eat food packed with fat, sugar and other bad stuff. It only costs you thirty-nine cents to consume 800 more calories. Add ever increasing portion sizes, value for money right, and you end up with a recipe for overweight, high cholestrol, high blood pressure, the list goes on.

There is so many diets out there and what we tend to forget is the basics, exercise and healthy nutrition. With these two combined consistently, the right commitment and some will power anybody can lose weight.

The Surgeon General recommends 30 minutes of daily exercise for adults and 60 minutes for children. To lose weight it is recomended that adults exercise 60 minutes per day.

Your greatest weapon is education. Follow fitness blogs like this one and find something that resonates with you and that you enjoy.

DIET

For most of us, our information concerning metabolism has related in one way or another to eating.  This article looks at some powerful and scientific diet-related tips that will boost your metabolism. Indeed, as you’ll soon learn, it’s not merely what you eat that matters; it’s when, and how, too.

Calories – love or hate?

We constantly come across calorie reduced or low calorie foods. And it’s not uncommon to overhear someone gasp about the immense calorie content of certain foods, such as a rich and creamy desert, or a giant fast food burger.

All of this calorie hype has made a lot of us pretty calorie-phobic; as soon as we see something that has lots of them, we run away. But is this wise?  

Yes, it’s wise in the sense that avoiding that double layer chocolate fudge cake for desert is a good idea. The calories that come from the cake are really going to be the so called empty calorie kind; which means that there’s no real nutritional value that your body can squeeze out and make use of. But in the bigger picture, it’s unwise for your metabolism to become calorie-avoidant. Why?

Because your body is a marvelous machine that tries, at all times, to do what it can to make your life easier. Indeed, while it may not always function at optimal levels, it still tries to do its very best. The body, for all of its limitations and so forth, is not a lazy thing! With this in mind, the body is always trying to keep it alive and functioning in the manner that it deems to be healthiest. And that’s why if you suddenly decrease the amount of calories that you need, your body won’t try to do more with less. In other words, your body won’t respond in the way that you want it to: it won’t necessarily reduce weight and fat cells.

Instead, your smart and wise body will try to keep you alive by slowing down its metabolism. It will simply believe that something is wrong – maybe you’re trapped somewhere without food – and it will just begin to become very stingy with energy. So what’s the end result? If your body needs 2000 calories a day to survive, and you suddenly give it only 1000, it won’t begin to burn off 1000 calories worth of cells that you have lying around on your love handles.

Instead, your body will slow down its metabolism. It will really try and get as much energy out of those 1000 calories, because it doesn’t want to waste anything. Physically, you’ll naturally feel more tired because your body is being very stingy with energy, and will devote its 1000-calorie ration to essential systems, like blood and oxygen supply (and others). Metabolically, you won’t be burning off extra calories.

If you can understand, that drinking a tasty fruit smoothie made with yogurt and nuts, containing high nutrition, can deliver half as many calories than a piece of chocolate cake with zero nutrition can, you are already half-way there.

Eat More?

Eating frequently throughout the day is very good for boosting metabolism. There are a couple of reasons for this.

·        People who tend to eat throughout the day do considerably less snacking. As a result, they tend to avoid the potato chips or candy bars that they might otherwise consume if they suddenly felt hungry. People who eat throughout the day don’t tend to experience severe hunger pangs, because they don’t reach that stage.

·         By eating throughout the day, you are constantly keeping your metabolism in motion. It’s kind of like having a generator run all the time; it will simply use more electricity than if you powered it on 3 times a day.

Now, it goes without saying that just because it’s good for metabolism-boosting to eat frequently, this doesn’t mean that you can eat junk all day long!

Rather, if you choose to eat more frequently, then you’ll certainly need to be very aware of what you eat; because you can easily exceed your required amount of daily calories if you don’t keep an eye on this.

What you want to focus on is HIGH NUTRTION – LOW CALORIE foods.

Eat Early

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And in terms of boosting your metabolism, this is indeed the case! There are a couple of reasons why eating a hearty and healthy breakfast can boost metabolism and lead to weight loss goals.

• People who eat a low-fat, high-fiber breakfast are much less inclined to snack throughout the morning. Having a healthy snack at 10am (apple with nuts and plain yogurt) is necessary however you won’t be starving at that time forcing you to grab whatever is available, which is usually a donut, cupcake etc.
• Studies have shown that metabolism slows during sleep, and doesn’t typically get going again until you eat. Therefore, starting the day with breakfast is like kick starting your metabolism. You’ll actually burn more calories throughout the day, simply by eating a low-fat, high-fiber breakfast.

 Protein and Carbohydrates

There are some foods that are beneficial for metabolic boosting and some that aren’t; and the differences aren’t always well-known.

• Protein
  • Studies have shown that having enough protein in your system can actually increase the speed of your metabolism. This is because protein is difficult to break down. Or rather, it requires more energy to break down.
  • Ensure that your source of protein derives from lean protein. Typically, protein from some fish and chicken is lean; though not all of it. If you’re a vegetarian, or simply looking for non-meat lean protein alternatives, low-fat cheese, legumes (lentils), and yogurt are all good sources. Check the food labels to determine if the source of protein is lean (doesn’t deliver high fat content), or fatty.

• Carbohydrates
  • Refined carbohydrates like white bread, potatoes and white rice have a high glycemic index (GI) and cause a spike in insulin levels which promote fat storage.
  • The good kinds of carbohydrate to consume are complex carbohydrates like wholegrain bread and brown rice, those that are high in fiber, and those from fruit and vegetable sources.

Why?  These sources of carbohydrates don’t score high on the glycemic index (GI).  In other words, they don’t cause a spike in insulin levels, and therefore, they don’t promote fat storage

.

The next step – boosting your metabolism – is all up to you. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your better, leaner healthier life!

Happy training!

LIFESTYLE

In this article we talk about how lifestyle influences the speed of your metabolism.

Most of us live busy lives in one form or another, and therefore it’s challenging to really keep an eye on all of our habits. Balancing work, family, hobbies, and other commitments often means that our lifestyle isn’t so much of a choice, as it is a necessity.

Yet with respect to the fact that many of us face sincere limitations in our lifestyle choices, there are many things that we can do – little things, but important things – that can help speed up our metabolism.

It’s the little things that you change in your regular, day-to-day lifestyle that can indeed have the most profound influence on the speed of your metabolism, and the achievement of your short and long-term weight loss goals.

Party time

Learning to discipline yourself and pass the desert menu makes a big difference however what about the beer or the two glasses of wine or those colorful cocktails? Studies show that drinking alcohol with meals actually encourages over eating; which means more calories that need to be burned away.

Furthermore, many people are simply unaware that many alcoholic drinks are laden with calories; almost as much as sugary-rich soft drinks. A bottle of beer can deliver a few hundred calories, and most cocktails are in the same range. Wine is generally considered to deliver the least amount of calories; but even this is a bit of a slippery slope. Three glasses of wine can be worth 300 calories that the body simply has to deal with in one form or another. The tip here isn’t to stop drinking alcohol altogether. If you enjoy alcohol then there’s no particular reason why you have to quit. Simply, the call here is that you become aware that it influences your metabolism. If you consume excess alcohol, you force your system to deal with more calories.

Take responsibility and make up for that added calories in your exercise routine. This simply means squeezing out an extra set or running a bit harder and longer.

Zzzzzzzz…..Zzzzzzzzz

Most of us don’t have as much control over the amount that we sleep as we should. Work, family, education, housekeeping, and so many other tasks can literally prevent us from getting the amount of sleep that we need.

However, as the experts tell us, getting enough sleep actually improves metabolism. On the other hand, people who are constantly sleep deprived typically find that they have less energy to do regular, daily activities; including digestion.

As a result, sleep-starved people often lower their own metabolism.

They simply don’t have the strength to break down food efficiently, particularly carbohydrates. This is a very difficult issue, because many people can only find time to exercise by borrowing from their rest time. For example, after a long day of work and dealing with family and home commitments, a person may find that the only time they have to exercise (and thus boost their metabolism) is late at night; say around 9:00 pm, or even later. So what should one do?

Ultimately, it’s a question of balance. Naturally, if you’re willing to exercise, and your doctor agrees that it’s healthy for you to do that, then you’re not going to get fit by sleeping instead of exercising.

Yet with that being said, if you steal time away from your sleep/rest in order to exercise, over time, you can actually do more harm than good; because the following day, you won’t have enough energy to digest what you eat. The answer to this catch-22 lies in balance.

You don’t have to work out every night. Or perhaps you can integrate a workout into your life during the day; maybe at lunchtime or right after work. Most fitness clubs are open very early and if you choose to workout at home, you can do so in a generally affordable way.

If you find that you have trouble sleeping, then this can also negatively affect the speed of your metabolism (because you won’t have enough energy the following day). Insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common problems, and there exists a variety of support systems in place to help people get the rest that they require.

Some non-medical tips to help you fall asleep include:

·        Don’t eat late at night

·        Try drinking warm milk before bedtime

·        Don’t turn on the TV at night

·        Try yoga or other stress-relieving practices

·        Try having a warm bath before bedtime

·        Don’t exercise close to bedtime; your body can become so energized that it doesn’t want to sleep!

Relax

Another key influence of your metabolism is stress.Believe it or not, but experts are now telling us that stress can send unwanted signals to our body; signals that lead to slower metabolism. Essentially, what happens is that when the body is under constant stress, it releases stress hormones that flood the system. These stress-related hormones actually tell the body to create larger fat cells in the abdomen. The result can be both increased weight and a slower metabolism. Obviously, these are two very negative factors in the quest to boost metabolism and lose weight. The last thing that we want is more and bigger fat cells in our abdomen, coupled with a diminished metabolism! Yet this is, tragically, what happens to many people who experience constant, continuous stress. And, alas, this is many people; especially those of us who have to balance so many competing objectives, such as work, family, and other vital tasks.

So the advice here is indeed to “relax and chill out”, and there are some simple techniques that can, and should, be added to your life.

These include walking more, listening to relaxing music, meditation, yoga, eating non-stimulating foods (e.g. no caffeine, no sugar, and so on), and building a daily regimen that includes periodic time outs where you can re-center yourself and de-stress. Remember: while relaxing is good advice for anyone, it’s important for you to note that stress negatively influences metabolism. So there is a link between how much stress you experience and your ability to break down cells and lose weight. So if you don’t want to relax because you don’t have the time, then you should realize that your stressed-out life is probably playing a role in your weight gain/your inability to lose weight.

In the next article I’ll discuss the big one: DIET, and what you can do to increase your metabolism when it comes to what you eat.

Happy training

We’re going to look at the popular, easy, fun and successful ways to boost your metabolism. In this article we are going to see how you can tweak your exercise regime to boost your metabolism

EXERCISE

Unless you’re born with one of those unusually active metabolisms which allows you to, almost freakishly, eat thousands of calories a

day without weight-gain consequences, you’re like the vast majority of us who need to give your metabolisms a bit of a kick through exercising.

·        Cardiovascular exercise

Cardiovascular exercise is the best place to start. Yet if cardiovascular exercising is the place to start, does that mean that it’s the place to end? No! Many people responsibly start a dedicated program of cardiovascular health, but they don’t go any further. Not because they’re lazy; but because, frankly, they don’t know that there is significantly more that they can do in their home gym, or at the fitness club, that will boost their metabolism even more potently. We focus upon these added activities now, below.

·        Build Muscle

In addition to a healthy and responsible cardiovascular program, muscle building is an exceptionally powerful way to boost metabolism because a pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat. And what does this mean? It means (and get ready to stare in awe) that if you have more muscle on your body – anywhere on your body – you will simply burn more calories as a result.

You don’t even have to do anything. You’ll simply burn more calories, because muscle simply requires more of an energy investment. All you need to do is build and maintain healthy muscle. It may sound daunting; especially if at the moment you perceive yourself to have much more fat than muscle. Yet the important thing for you to remember is that once you start building muscle – through any kind of strength training – your body will itself start burning more calories. It has to; even while you sleep, or go to a movie, or read a book. It’s like putting your calorie-burning program on autopilot.

·        Interval Training

You may be at a stage where you can jog for 20 minutes every other day, and thus put your heart into a cardiovascular zone during this time. This, obviously, is going to help you boost your metabolism and thus burn calories/energy. Yet you can actually burn more calories if, during that 20 minute jog, you add a 30 second or 1 minute sprint. While it was chugging along and supplying your energy needs during your cardiovascular exercising, it all of a sudden needs to go grab some more for 30 seconds or a minute; and in that period, it will boost your metabolism. Bear in mind that interval training can indeed last longer than 30 seconds or a minute.Some experts suggest that you can use interval training for 30-40 minutes, depending on your state of health and what your overall exercise regimen looks like.

Understand that Interval training is a mini-training session within your already bigger workout session.

·        Variety

Boredom is one of the silent killers of any exercise regimen, no matter what it is. As your body gets stronger and use to the work that you are doing, it’s important to change things up, so you keep challenging your body.

Chop and change machines and exercises while still targeting the same muscle groups. Its important to keep your body as well as your mind stimulated all the time.

Concerning your day to day life, you can take the stairs instead of the elevator, you can start your day with a brisk walk instead of a coffee and the newspaper, instead of parking close to the grocery store entrance, you can walk the distance between a far away parking spot and the entrance. It’s little tweaks like these that can get you into a healthy habit and in doing so boost your metabolism

In the following articles we’ll take a look how to make small changes to your lifestyle and diet to boost your metabolism

Enjoy your training!

Wellness… what exactly is wellness. To me, it is balance. A healthy body, healthy mind, healthy career, healthy relationships. I am going to talk about your body here specifically.

The end of the first week of 2009 is upon us and I know that there is alot of people that had huge resolutions concerning their bodies. That being said, I know that many of those resolutions has been out the window already. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. That is the nature of a resolution.

What I would really like to touch on is the following statement: DON’T WAIT TILL IT’S TOO LATE!

People don’t value their health, until one day  when they sit at the doctor’s office and get told that they’ve got high blood pressure, high cholestrol etc etc. and then suddenly they want to change their life when all of this could’ve been prevented in the first place just by doing simple steps to live a healthy, active lifestyle. This doesn’t mean that we all have to become health freaks. But it is about  living a better quality life. Feeling better about yourself, feeling good about yourself. These things adD years to your life, good years. This is a simple decision and it is simple, very simple. It isn’t always easy, but it is very simple. Cut out the bad stuff, focus on putting in the good stuff. Find an activity that you love to do and then… JUST DO IT! Believe in yourself, believe that you deserve it, and do it for yourself, nobody else. YOURSELF

Exercise, nutrition, lifestyle… these things matter, but what matters most is how you feel inside.

Keep your eyes peeled on this site to find out exactly how you can make simple changes to your everyday life to set you up for the rest of your life, a healthier, fitter, better looking, better feeling YOU.

Enjoy the week

I was inspired to attempt an Ironman for the first time in my life by nobody famous. This person did one ironman in his life and the way he talked about it, really had a very profound impact in my life. At the time, I was 10 000 miles from home in the middle of the ocean. However I, found myself drawn to articles, video, pictures about Ironman. Three months later, I was home in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa training for Ironman SA. I use to do alot of mountainbiking, did a few small cycle tours and leisurely ran now and again. For swimming, I was never a really good or strong swimmer. But Ironman spoke to me like few things ever spoke to me in my life and I knew that I wanted to do it and believe that I can. Off course when my travels started, all of that went out the window and I was pretty much living the rock and roll lifestyle of a traveller.

My life has changed completely since then. I train almost everyday, everything is done around my training. Somedays I wonder if I’m wasting my time, but then I get on the road and it all makes sense again. I love what I’m doing and I can’t wait for that day. Off course the goal is to simply finish under the 17 hours, which I truly believe is possible for me. Who knows what the day will bring.

So, in conclusion, to all the aspiring Ironman trainers out there, making the sacrifices, putting the time and effort in, it’s all worth it in the end. If you would like to attempt something great, I truly believe that anybody can do this, no matter where you are in your life.

Why endurance fitness? I asked myself this question many times. Why the early mornings, why the long runs, why the hours spent on the saddle, why the long distances in the pool. The answer. Because I love it, I enjoy it and when you’re happy doing something success is inevitable. Together with that love and passion for what you are doing, whether it is a 5k or a 50k you’ll receive a lot of extra little bonuses. The greatest one of them all off course is the fact that you will feel great. You will feel an unbelievable sense of accomplishment.

Whether you are wanting to lose some weight or start a serious endurance career, whether professional or amateur, or just for the fun of it, once you break through the initial, I don’t think I can do this, the bug will bite and a tremendous journey will have begun for you.

I remember when I got inspired to attempt my first Ironman, I was highly excited. I found myself reading and watching everything that I could find on the subject. I suddenly realised that it was a deep part of me that wanted to come out and experience the joy and glory of finishing an Ironman. I’m about 13 weeks away, I’ve never been so fit and when I think about finishing I get excited, and slightly scared. I’ve read that Ironman is a very doable race, but I definitely won’t underestimate it either.

I guess what i am trying to say is if I can do it anybody can do it, not necessarily an Ironman but hey for some of you out there running a 10k, might just feel like an Ironman.

To everybody who has finished an Ironman or currently training for it, I salute you.