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

Healthy Moms Event

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

Eating A Little Out of Control?

.

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

.

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

Healthy For Life Nutrition Seminar

.

Reset your body and Reset your life to feel better than ever.

Join Andrea Savard, Wellness Coach and her team to learn about low-glycemic eating and proper supplementation for stabilizing blood sugar and cutting cravings for sustainable weight loss.

Discover a system to address energy, fitness, immune system, metabolism, insulin resistance, hypoglycemia and hormones.

All information included in this seminar is recommended by Dr. Christiane Northrup in her recent edition of “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom”.

Location: FirePower Training, 509 Main St E., Milton, ON  L9T 3J2

Questions/RSVP: andrea@firepowertraining.com

Keeping a food journal

Hey everyone,  I know we harp on keeping a journal about your training.  This is done so you can chart your progress, and see measurable results.  But how many of you record what you eat?  This is also important for self evaluation.  If lately you have been working hard, but spinning your wheels in weight loss, strength gains, etc.  Maybe you need to track what you put in your body, how it makes you feel after, and how you felt in the gym.  I think this is just as important as your training  journal.  I have spoken with a few of you recently about plateauing, and how to break out of it.  By tracking your nutrition, training, sleep patterns, etc.. you can map your way back on track!  I know this sounds time consuming, but maybe this investment of time in your health is worth a little sacrifice.  When lack of time is used as an arguement, I ask you this question; Who was voted off survivor last night?  If you know the answer, you have enough time to write your food consumption down!

See you all in the gym!

-Brian

WOD – May 21st, 2009

Warm – up

CrossFit Baseline

500 m row

40 squats

30 situps

20 push ups

10 pull ups

Skill

Hand stand push ups

boxes, bands, foam, strict

WOD

“Diane”

Dead lifts and Hand Stand Push ups

21-15-9

 

 

 

You Don’t Need To Work Your Abs From Sixteen Angles

So I was in the gym today and noticed an advertisement for a new fitness class. I can’t recall exactly what it was named, but basically it was “Ab Blaster” or something like that. It was touted as “30 minutes of direct core work.” And my only thought was “What a waste of 30 minutes!” 

Should you Ditch the Crunches and Learn to Work Your Abs?! 

Source: http://lifespotlight.com

WOD – May 20th, 2009

http://www.vimeo.com/3072863

Warm up

Tabata Bike 30/30 for 8 rounds

20 tire slams

Skill

Power Cleans

WOD

Power Cleans

1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Power Clean…[wmv][mov]

Hang Power Clean… [wmv] [mov]

Milton Nutrition Seminar: May 14th

Healthy For Life Nutritional Seminar

Thursday May 14th

Location: South 202 Corp. 202 Main Street E, Milton, L9T1N8

Time: 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Cost: Donation to Milton Food Bank

Please RSVP  to Andrea by email

.

LOSE POUNDS.  LOSE CRAVINGS.  DETOX.  STABILIZE MOOD.  INCREASE ENERGY.

Learn How To:

• RESET your body, RESET your life to feel better than ever!

• Choose low-glycemic eating and proper supplementation for stabilizing blood sugar, cutting cravings, and sustainable weight loss

• Discover a system to address energy, fitness, immune system, metabolism, insulin resistance, hypoglycemia and hormones

• Recommended by NY Times best-selling author, Dr. Christiane Northrup in her recent edition of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

.

.

Get educated from 2 health & fitness coaches!

Leanne Grechulk

• Founder, HealthyGirl
• International Wellness Coach, based in Ontario
• Creating balance & total mind-body wellness including diet & nutrition, fitness, stress reduction, finances and purpose in life
• B.Sc, MBA
• 8-Time Marathon Runner, Certified Pilates Instructor
• Nutritional Certification through ‘The Rose Program’

Andrea Savard

• Co-founder of FirePower Training & CrossFit in Milton
• 12+ years competitive boxer/trainer of recreation and pro athletes
• Health, wellness and lifestyle coach
• B.Comm in Marketing
• Former international equestrian athlete & trainer
• Busy mom of 4 year old twins

Chinese Medicine and Lifestyle Choices

“He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skills of his doctors” a Chinese Proverb

Traditional Chinese Medicine is much different then Western medicine and favors a holistic approach, views the universe and body philosophically and develops inductive tools and methods … to guide restoring the total balance of the body.” In Chinese medicine, they add, “the correct balance between Yin and Yang make up the vital energy, ‘Qi,’ an essential life-sustaining substance of which all things are made.” Traditional remedies include herbal medicines, acupuncture, massage and moxibustion, an herbal heat therapy. Herbal medicines account for about 90% of the Chinese drug market.

I wanted to learn more about Chinese medicine because I was intrigued about the holistic approach, so I asked my cousin Dave, who left his cushy job as a mechanical engineer and  to become both a Homeopathic Physician and a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Chinese medicine has been around a lot longer than western medicine and Dr. Dave uses acupuncture, herbs, and other traditional forms of treatments to heal his patients.  Dave said to me “Our treatment principles are simple:  By correcting any underlying weakness or imbalance and resonating with the body’s own innate healing mechanisms, the body recovers the ability to heal itself.” Dave just recently got back from a residency in China working at one of the major hospitals observing how the Chinese doctors treat ailments with a combination of herbs and traditional western medicine.

I asked Dave, what guidelines he recommends for his clients, and this is what he said:

Lifestyle Choices for Healthy Eating :

•    eat a whole foods diet ( whole grains, fruits, vegetables, unprocessed foods… )

•    eat a primarily plant-based vegetarian diet

•    greatly reduce or eliminate the intake of sugar (all forms of sugar, including juices, pops, sweets, and ingredients such as glucose, sucrose, lactose, corn syrup, etc. )

•    reduce or eliminate refined carbohydrates from the diet (white rice, white flour, white pasta)

•    eat less saturated fat, especially that found in domestic meat (healthier choices of animal protein include the leanest cuts, free range, and in particular skinless poultry, wild game, and fish)

•    strictly avoid hydrogenated fat, trans-fatty acids (margarines, shortenings, etc.) refined oils, and deep-fried foods.  Also, try baking/steaming foods in place of frying.

•    eat more fibre (inherent in a plant based and whole food diet)

•    drink at least 1-1.5 litres / 6-8 glasses of water daily

•    minimize consumption of  salt / sodium

•    ensure diet includes essential fatty acids, such as omega-3’s and EPA (both of which protect against cholesterol and heart disease) examples include flax oil or ground flax seed, hemp seed, as well as cold water fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring

•    limit dairy intake (milk, cheese, butter, etc…)

•    reduce or eliminate alcohol and caffeine consumption

•    avoid overeating

•    slow down and be mindful  – avoid eating while in a rush, or eating too quickly

•    chew food thoroughly (much of digestion starts in the mouth)

•    avoid eating late, or before bed

•    eat organic whenever possible (especially animal products)

•    wash produce with vegetable soap (optional) before use – will limit consumption of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and waxes

•    reduce exposure to food additives, colourings, and preservatives

•    check ingredients of packaged foods carefully – for hidden fats, sugars, colourings, preservatives, and other additives

•    identify and address any food allergies or intolerances

•    approximate ratios for carbohydrate ~ 60-70%  :  fat  ~ 15-25%  :  protein ~ 15-20%

•    eat all foods in moderation (keep some variety in your meals – if you notice eating a certain food or a certain flavour more often, try something different)  The key to healthy nutrition is to maintain a balanced diet.

Additional Recommendations for Weight Reduction :

•    Practice eating less !  (smaller portions, unnecessary snacks, etc.)

•    Eating from a plant-based diet of whole grains, vegetables, and other unrefined foods.

•    Reduce fat intake (saturated, hydrogenated, and trans fats).

•    Commitment to at least 30-60 minutes of daily physical exercise (this may be the only way to lower the body’s set-point for weight and hunger regulation).  Exercise is the essential step for losing weight and keeping it off.

•    Eating smaller meals more frequently (as opposed to bigger meals less frequently) to keep metabolism higher, may be beneficial.  Although eating less in general is the ideal.

•    Use some/all of the following ingredients often in a soup: barley, adzuki beans, mung beans, cabbage, bell peppers, bok choy, celery, chicory, endive, parley, radishes, turnips, watercress, asparagus, corn, garlic, onion, leek, scallions, and possibly small amounts of brown basmati rice, quinoa.

•    Traditional Chinese Medicine recommends emphasizing bitter and pungent flavours, and limit sweet, salty, and sour foods (with the exception of lemon and grapefruit).

 

Other tips for food cravings and hunger:

•    Avoid eating significant amounts of simple or refined carbohydrates, or eating them alone (without protein or fat to balance).  The result is unstable blood sugar, and food cravings due to rebounding into a hypoglycemic state.  Note: whole foods and complex carbohydrates contain beneficial fibre and density, which slows the metabolism of sugars.

•    If craving a snack, try drinking a glass of water first (this is often all that is needed).

•    If cravings occur between or after meals, try brushing teeth (a fresh mouth may deter hunger).

•    If food cravings result from boredom, go for a walk, do some stretching, get active …

•    Watch less TV (studies have shown that both weight and food consumption have a direct relationship to time spent watching TV).

•    Experiment by not eating until you are full, rather eat until you are no longer hungry.

•    Experiment by only eating when you are truly hungry.  You may be surprised to see how less often you actually are !

 

David Arnold  BESc, DSHomMed, RCSHom, RAc, RTCMP, has completed the five year DOCTOR OF CHINESE MEDICINE Program at the Canadian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, in Victoria, BC.  He is a currently a Registered Practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and licensed in the province of BC to use Acupuncture and prescribe Herbal Medicine.  David Arnold is also a CLASSICAL HOMEOPATH and a Registered Member of the Canadian Society of Homeopaths.

Check out more at :

http://www.healthandwellnesshouse.com

www.organicchineseherbs.ca

 

MSG…a slow poison

The food additive MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) is a slow poison. MSG hides behind 25 or more names, such as Natural Flavoring.” MSG is even in your favorite coffee from Tim Horton’s and Starbucks coffee shops!

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic, and so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow Poisoning of America .

In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so scientists have to create them. They make these creatures morbidly obese by injecting them with MSG when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing rats (and perhaps humans) to become obese. They even have a name for the fat rodents they create: “MSG-Treated Rats.”

When I heard this, I was shocked. I went into my kitchen and checked the cupboards and the refrigerator. MSG was in everything — the Campbell ’s soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen,Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, and Kraft salad dressings, especially the “healthy low-fat” ones.

The items that didn’t have MSG marked on the product label had something called “Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein,” which is just another name for Monosodium Glutamate.

It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children everyday are filled with this stuff. MSG is hidden under many different names in order to fool those who read the ingredient list, so that they don’t catch on. (Other names for MSG are “Accent, “Aginomoto,” “Natural Meat Tenderizer,” etc.)

But it didn’t stop there.

When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants what menu items contained MSG. Many employees, even the managers, swore they didn’t use MSG. But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they grudgingly provided, sure enough, MSG and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were everywhere.

Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, every restaurant — even the sit-down eateries like TGIF, Chili’s, Applebee’s, and Denny’s — use MSG in abundance. Kentucky Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG was in every chicken dish, salad dressing. and gravy. No wonder I loved to eat that coating on the skin — their secret spice was MSG!

So why is MSG in so many of the foods we eat?  Is it a preservative, or a vitamin?

Not according to John Erb. In his book The Slow Poisoning of America , he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human body.  Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby group supporting MSG explains that the reason they add it to food is to MAKE PEOPLE EAT MORE.

A study of the elderly showed that older people eat more of the foods that it is added to. The Glutamate Association lobbying group says eating more is a benefit to the elderly, but what does it do to the rest of us?

“Betcha can’t eat [just] one,” takes on a whole new meaning where MSG is concerned! And we wonder why the nation is overweight! MSG manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their products. It makes people choose their product over others, and makes people eat more of it than they would if MSG wasn’t added.

Not only is MSG scientifically proven to cause obesity, it is an addictive substance.

Since its introduction into the American food supply fifty years ago,MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the pre-packaged meals,soups, snacks, and fast foods we are tempted to eat everyday.  The FDA has set no limits on how much of it can be added to food. They claim it’s safe to eat in any amount. But how can they claim it’s safe when there are hundreds of scientific studies with titles like these:

1. “The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model for the study of exercise in obesity.” Gobatto CA, Mello MA, Souza CT , Ribeiro IA. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002.
2. “Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats.” Guimaraes RB, Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori C, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro. Brain Res Bull. 2002 Aug.
3. ‘Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment in spontaneously hypertensive rats: An animal model of multiple risk factors.” Iwase M, Yamamoto M, Iino K, Ichikawa K, Shinohara N, Yoshinari Fujishima. Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar.
4. “Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of monosodium glutamate in suckling period and subsequent development of obesity.” Tanaka K, Shimada M, Nakao K Kusunoki. Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct.

No, the date of that last study was not a typo; it was published in 1978. Both the “medical research community” and “food manufacturers” have known about the side effects of MSG for decades.  Many more of the studies mentioned in John Erb’s book link MSG to diabetes, migraines and headaches, autism, ADHD, and even Alzheimer’s.

So what can we do to stop the food manufactures from dumping this fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply and causing the obesity epidemic we now see?  Several months ago, John Erb took his book and his concerns to one of the highest government health officials in Canada . While he was sitting in the government office, the official told him, “Sure, I know how bad MSG is. I wouldn’t touch the stuff.” But this top-level government official refuses to tell the public what he knows.

The big media doesn’t want to tell the public either, fearing issues with their advertisers. It seems that the fallout on the fast food industry may hurt their profit margin. The food producers and restaurants have been addicting us to their products for years, and now we are paying the price for it. Our children should not be cursed with obesity caused by an addictive food additive.

But what can I do about it? I’m just one voice!  What can I do to stop the poisoning of our children, while our governments are insuring financial protection for the industry that is poisoning us?

This message is going out to everyone I know in an attempt to tell you the truth that the corporate-owned politicians and media won’t tell you.  The best way you can help to save yourself and your children from this drug-induced epidemic is to forward this article to everyone.

The food industry learned a lot from the tobacco industry. Imagine if big tobacco had a bill like this in place before someone blew the whistle on nicotine?

If you are one of the few who can still believe that MSG is good for us and you don’t believe what John Erb has to say, see for yourself. Go to the National Library of Medicine at www.pubmed.com. Type in the words “MSG Obese” and read a few of the 115 medical studies that appear.

We the public do not want to be rats in one giant experiment, and we do not approve of food that makes us into a nation of obese, lethargic,addicted sheep, feeding the food industry’s bottom line while waiting for the heart transplant, the diabetic-induced amputation, blindness, or other obesity-induced, life-threatening disorders.

Stop this “Slow Poisoning of Mankind” by the packaged food industry.  Blowing the whistle on MSG is our responsibility, so get the word out.

Next Page »