6 Things You Didn’t Know About Belly Fat

– And How to Make it Scram

Politicians, gossip columnists, doctors, your best friend — they’re all talking about the same thing: fat. Especially belly fat. The great thing about belly fat is that the better you get to know it, the easier it is to make it vanish (if only spam e-mail worked the same way!). Digest these stomach-flattening facts.

1. All fat is not alike. Eat more calories than you burn and the extras get packed away in one of two places — long-term storage depots beneath the skin (subcutaneous fat) or short-term bins deep in the abdomen (visceral fat). Visceral fat is what we call omental fat — that is, fat in your omentum, a piece of webbing that hangs off your stomach just beneath your ab muscles, sort of like a mesh apron.

2. The fat you don’t see is the most dangerous. The soft, superficial stuff that ripples your thighs and tummy may be a bikini spoiler, but if you can pinch it, it probably won’t kill you. However, if you have a solid “beer belly” . . . well, you’re likely headed for more trouble than a politician hooked up to a polygraph. That’s because too much deep fat churns out supersize amounts of hormones and proteins, which can lead to big hazards. Among them: lousy LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels; high blood sugar and blood pressure; insulin resistance; and widespread inflammation. All are instigators of many diseases — including dementia, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. But often you can get a “do over” and it doesn’t take that long and isn’t that hard, if you know what you’re doing. So don’t stop reading!

First, don’t rely on your scale. As you start to reduce risky belly fat, your weight may temporarily go up. So ditch the scale in favor of the tape measure. If you’re a woman, your waist should be 32.5 inches; if you’re a man, 35 inches. Creep past 37 inches for women or 40 for men, and the health dangers increase.

3. Stress makes you fat. Not only does stress lead you to eat Haagen-Dazs straight from the carton, but it also triggers the release of cortisol, a stress hormone. When stress becomes unrelenting, the omentum attempts to control cortisol flow by sucking it out of the bloodstream. Nice try, but cortisol fights back once it’s in the omentum and turbocharges fat there. That sets off other chemical reactions that leave you feeling hungry . . . and looking for the Haagen-Dazs again. Fortunately, any kind of stress reduction, especially exercise, will help short-circuit this stress/fat cycle. Feeling tense right now? Go for a walk the minute you finish this column.

4. The fat you eat affects the fat you get. When monkeys munched on trans-fat laced diets for 6 years, they developed more deep-belly fat than those who went trans-fat-free, even though both ate the same number of calories. Physiologically, we’re close enough to monkeys to extrapolate that trans fat doesn’t do anything good for your waist or your arteries.

5. Blasting belly fat isn’t hard. If you’re not overweight but still have an oversized waist, the fastest way to shrink your omentum is by walking. Taking a brisk 30-minute walk each day will keep those fat cells from expanding. Pick up the pace some, walk a little longer, and you can give your omentum a makeover, turning a flabby apron of omental fat into sheer mesh again. After 30 days of walking, start doing resistance exercises as well to add muscle and lose inches — otherwise you’ll hit a plateau. No dumbbells? No gym? No problem. You can get an excellent workout in 20 minutes by using your own body as a weight to stretch and strengthen all of your major muscle groups.

6. Whole grains scare away belly fat. If you and a friend go on a diet but you eat whole grains (meaning brown rice, steel-cut oats, and whole-wheat pasta, not whole-grain Pop Tarts) and your friend eats processed grains (anything made with white/enriched grains and flours, cupcakes to noodles), you both might lose the same amount of weight, but you’ll shed more belly fat and lower your levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of damaging inflammation. And your food will taste better, and you’ll feel full longer. AND you’ll have a flat stomach!

Source:  Realage.com

Recommended Supplements for Specific Health Issues

Special Note: See Andrea for details on advanced-quality supplements, what to look for and how it will improve your training and fitness level.

Cardiovascular health

• Take a high quality Omega 3 Supplement in Fish, Hemp or Flax form
• Regular intake of dark green unrefined extra virgin olive oil
• Supplements: Vitamin E. Coenzyme Q10.

Depression

• Take a high quality Omega 3 Supplement in Fish, Hemp or Flax form
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is an essential cofactor for EFA metabolism as well as for the majority of pathways of amino acids, including decarboxylation pathways for dopamine, adrenaline and serotonin.
• SupplementS: Vitamin B12, Folate and SAMe (S-adenosyl-methionine).

Learning and behavioral disorders

• Take a high quality Omega 3 Supplement in Fish, Hemp or Flax form and Evening Primrose oil.
• Supplements: Vitamin E, Zinc, Magnesium. Choline and Vitamin B1 & B6.

Obesity

• Moderate insulin by consuming foods with a low glycemic response (Low GI).
• Increase consumption of fish with high omega-3 content (or supplement).
• Regular intake of Green tea or mate’ tea.
• Supplement Minerals: Calcium, Chromium, Iodine, Magnesium and Manganese.
• Herbs: Gymnema sylvestre (reduces appetite and craving for carbohydrates.)

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Source: www.foodmatters.tv

Healthy Moms Event

November 26, 2009
10:00 am	to	11:30 am

HealthyGirl and FirePower Training Present…

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies

Promo Video

Are you a busy or a new mom? Are you expecting a little one? Do you have a young family?

Join us for an hour of pampering, tea, nutrition tips, samples and other goodies on November 26 in Milton at 10am. This exclusive workshop, especially for moms, will address achieving optimal nutrition for moms and babies. Learn about low-glycemic eating, nutrition and proper supplementation for moms and babies.

Learn how to get back into your body and how nutrition plays a role in mind and body health. Discover a system to address energy, fitness, immune system, metabolism, insulin resistance, and hormones. All information included in this seminar is recommended by NY Times best-selling author, Dr. Christiane Northrup in her recent edition of “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom”… Free gift for all attendees. Free to attend but seats are limited. This event will sell out.

Register at www.healthymoms.eventbrite.com

A Favourite Strawberry Cottage Cheese “Zone” Recipe

Strawberry Cottage Cheese

Here is a quick one and it’s a favourite of mine. It’s great for lunch or breakfast and it is quick and easy!  It is hormonally balanced with and doesn’t leave me feeling sleepy after eating it. I’ve also substituted 1 cup of blueberries or raspberries with great tasting results as well. Let me know how you like it! I find this is great before a workout as it doesn’t leave you with that heavy feeling in your stomach, and it digests easily.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese (3 protein)
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (1 protein and 1 carb)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (1 carb)
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) (2 carb)
• 4 teaspoons slivered almonds (4 fat)

Directions:

• Place strawberries and applesauce, nutmeg and cinnamon in a blender and pulse 2 or 3 times. You don’t have to, if you want you can keep the fruits whole and treat them as little treats when you get them!

• In a medium bowl, combine strawberry mixture, yogurt and cottage cheese.

• Sprinkle with almonds and serve.

Other measurements if you don’t have a measuring cup and just want to eyeball it!

Cottage Cheese : 1/2 of the container (see picture right)

Yogurt : 4 heaping tablespoons

Unsweetened Applesauce: 1 small container for kids lunches. 100 ml

Fruit: 8 medium sized strawberries, not the frankenberries that have no taste. I cut them up to make them fit in the bowl better.

Almonds: 3 per fat block, 12-16 for most people. I don’t use the low fat yogurt or the low fat cottage cheese, so substitute as needed. Maybe that is why I like this so much!

Fruit recommendations:

Pick what is in season and what is local. This way you will ensure freshness and great taste.

Eating A Little Out of Control?

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Ate a little too much this weekend?  Get your eating back on track with a super easy RESET Cleanse Kit.

RESET™ is a jump-start program to help you take positive steps toward reaching your health and weight-loss goals.

It’s no secret that the key to effective weight loss is making positive changes in diet and exercise. However, making those healthy lifestyle changes can often seem like an insurmountable task. Our Healthy Weight Management products are designed to jumpstart healthy eating habits and help individuals begin to make a clean break from unhealthy food.

Simply replace your meals and snacks for five days and begin a new, healthier lifestyle. In five days, you can: Lose the Cravings—Help reduce carbohydrate cravings with delicious low-glycemic foods Lose the Pounds—Jump-start your new lifestyle by losing those first five pounds. Find the New You—Discover the lean, healthy, and energetic person inside you.

Download PDF Info

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Cost $137.95 + tax. Can be delivered in 3 to 5 days to your front door!

To order, call/text Andrea @ 519-240-4920 or email here

After School Kids CrossFit @ The Dog Pound!

It’s back!!  FirePower’s after-school fitness program for super kids ages 14 and under!!  It’s a fun and fast paced program for kids who want to grow up healthy, strong, and confident to tackle the challenges they face in sport, play and life.

Tuesdays: Big Dawgs, Ages 9 to 14

Thursdays: Power Pups, Ages 5 to 8

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8 weeks: October 6th to November 26th

4:15pm to 5:00pm

$120+GST

10% discount for 2nd child,

• Download Program Info
• Download Registration Form

Payment to be made at the gym – required to confirm spot.

A fun, fast paced program for kids who want to grow up healthy, strong, and confident to tackle the challenges they face in sport, play and life.  The FirePower CrossFit Super Kids program uses randomized, functional exercises, performed at high intensity.

We take every opportunity to improve coordination and increase confidence in even our most awkward children.  FirePower’s Super Kids often perform workouts with a time component, moving quickly from one exercise to the next, creating the intensity to improve cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, power, speed, flexibility, agility, accuracy, balance, and coordination.

Daily themed workouts include skills challenges, and obstacle courses where they will push, pull, run, throw, lift, climb and jump. Team play and sportsmanship is highly stressed in all activities.

WOD – September 17th, 2009

Complete three rounds for time ;

• 1 pood kb snatch 21 reps right arm
• 1 pood kb turkish get ups 15 reps right arm
• 1 pood kb snatch 21 reps left arm
• 1 pood kd turkish get ups 15 reps left arm

: these are squat snatches and very controlled turkish get ups

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Take advantage today of the kettle bell expertise from our very own Matt Bennett @ 6pm and special guest Daniel Sonsini @ 1:30pm.  Certified Kettle Bell Instructors!  Looking forward to an awesome day!

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Do you know what you are eating? Do you have an emotional attachment to food? Do you know the difference between carbs, protiens, and fats? Do you know what types of fats are good for you? Do you treat your food like medicine? Eating well doesn’t take any longer, it just takes better choices, your body and your performance will thank you. Click here for more videos and information on nutrition.

How do you look at this meal? What do you see? Post thoughts to comments

Refined Carbohydrates, Robb Wolf, CrossFit Nutrition Seminar …[wmv][mov]

WOD – September 8th, 2009

WOD:  BARBARA

5 rounds each for time:

• 20 pull ups
• 30 push ups
• 40 sit ups
• 50 squats

rest precisely 3 mins between rounds

post times for each round.

WOD – August, 18 2009

http://www.vimeo.com/5477517

 

Warm – up

3 sets of 10 jumping pull ups

500 m row

3 sets of 20 air squats

3 sets of 5 overhead squats with bar

 

“Jackie”

for time;

1K row

50 thrusters – 45 lb barbell

30 pull ups

 

Compare to May 4th, 2009

 

Question: Do you try to buy locally? Ontario or Canadian Food?

“Todd vs the Rower” with Bruce Kocher of Concept 2 by CrossFit Again Faster, CrossFit Journal Preview – video [wmv] [mov]

CrossFit – How Should I Eat?

The CrossFit dietary prescription is as follows:

Follow the “Zone” diet, which concentrates on regulating your insulin.  The basic ratio of carbohydrates to protiens to fats is 40-30-30.  Carbohydrates should be predominantly low-glycemic and account for about 40 % of your total caloric load. Yes, fruits and veggies are carbs, try to stay away from your highly processed refined flours and grains such as pasta, breads, chips, and any sugars.

http://www.zonediet.com/

Also learn how to get started on the zone diet by checking out CrossFit Journal # 21

Try to eat real food. Foods that aren’t processed. This is the basis of a Paleo diet. Click here for a good introduction to the paleo diet . We basically aren’t much different then our caveman ancestors, but our food has changed drastically. Stick with foods that are grow from the earth, or animals that eat the things that grow from the earth. Think of foods that go bad quickly, these are real whole foods. A granola bar isn’t whole food, it’s processed. Raspberries good – swedish berries bad. With a paleo diet, you are more concerned about the quality of your food.

The essentials of the Paleolithic Diet are:

Eat none of the following:

· Grains- including bread, pasta, noodles

· Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas

· Potatoes

· Dairy products

· Sugar

· Salt

With Paleo you Eat the following:

· Meat, chicken and fish

· Eggs

· Fruit

· Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including potatoes or sweet potatoes)

· Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. Do not eat peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own)

· Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.

Try to increase your intake of:

· Root vegetables- carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, Swedes

· Organ meats- liver and kidneys (I accept that many people find these unpalatable and won’t eat them)

By following these simple rules you will see quicker gains with your fitness and your recovery, and you will also feel much better! Don’t get me wrong I still polish off a tub of ice cream now and then, but all that sugar makes me feel bad, and I don’t do it again for a while. When you are shopping at the grocery store, just try to stay to the outside of the store and you will find most everything you need to eat well.

Eating healthier doesn’t take any longer, it just takes smarter decisions. You body will thank you.

CrossFit Nutritional Lecture Video Library

Nutrition Part I, Robb Wolf …[wmv][mov]
Nutrition Part II, Rob Wolf …[wmv][mov]

Nutrition: Teeter-Totter Pt I, Nicole Carroll .[wmv][mov]

Nutrition: Teeter-Totter Pt II, Nicole Carroll ..[wmv][mov]

Perfume Analogy, CrossFit Nurition Seminar …[wmv][mov]

Zone Multipliers, CrossFit Nutrition Seminar, Robb Wolf…[wmv][mov]

Zone Chronicles, Pat Sherwood …[wmv][mov]
Zone Chronicles: LAX, Pat Sherwood …[wmv][mov]
Zone Chronicles: Normalcy at Home, Pat Sherwood …[wmv][mov]
Zone Chronicles: New Jersey …[wmv][mov]

Insulin Resistance, CrossFit Nutrition Seminar …[wmv][mov]

Refined Carbohydrates, Robb Wolf, CrossFit Nutrition Seminar …[wmv][mov]

Pat Sherwood on the Idiot Suit …[wmv][mov]

I will try to update this with some of the great articles on nutrition from the CrossFit main site or wherever else I can find them. I would suggest that you don’t look at eating this way as a “diet” is is more about making “healthy lifestyle choices”.

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