looking forward to the fitness entrepreneur bootcamp at the end of the month in Nottingham :) lots of new nutrition, training and motivation ideas to share yay

An easy way to eat for weight loss

Having run numerous weight loss courses and seminars it has become increasingly apparent that people are confused as to the best balance of foods for weight loss:

- low carb
- high carb
- no carb
- high protein
- low fat

Alongside these "diets" the food agencies would have us believe that the food pyramid still serves our best needs with its age old principles of the largest amount of your intake coming from breads, cereals & potatoes alongside increasingly lower amounts of other food groups...typically in the ratio:

Carbs 50-60%
Protein 10-20%
Fats 20-30%

So why does this ratio exist?

If you look back to the 1940's when it was created, food was rationed based on those practices that were abundent and affluent. The cereal companies put much money into government and in return recieve ongoing backing that suggests cereals, grains and bread products are the ideal largest food group in our diet.

What this has done is make the cereal manufacturers rich and the rest of us fat or fighting to stay lean.

How are carbs like cereal, bread & pasta making us fat?

Carbohydrates when digesting are released into the blood stream as sugars. Sugars in the blood stream cause a release of insulin, a chemical messenger or hormone, that serves to move this blood sugar into the muscle or liver tissues as storage for energy when needed.

This process is a normal response and essential for the energy to move, exercise and stay conscious and typically the liver can hold 40-50grams of carbohydrates and the muscles can hold 300-350g of carbohydrates.

Issues arise when we take in excess carbohydrates as any that can not be stored in the muscle and liver (amounts above the levels mentioned) will be stored as fat.

This doesn't sound good for my fat loss goals...what can I do?

A more realistic ratio of macronutrients for weightloss would be:

- 40% carbohydrates
- 30% protein
- 30% fats

So a simple aproach would be to limit your intake of breads, cereals, pasta and other carbs to small portions, ensure you have a lean protein source with every meal, and eat healthy fats (fish, nuts, eggs, fat from organic meats, olive oil) more freely.

To top up meal sizes replace your normal carbs with vegetables to ensure you dont feel hungry.

This is a very simplified version of eating for weight loss but if you make this first step consistently you will see a difference in your weight and shape.

for further reading around this ratio for weight loss have a read of the following book:



to your health and happiness

Nathan

www.nathanlee-pt.com

Belly's not gonna get ya...if you read and apply this :)

Many of the questions I get asked whilst working as a fitness professional relate to reducing stomach size and searching for the elusive six pack abs.

Often this is quickly followed up by...shouldn't I be doing more stomach exercises to reduce the fat around my middle?...

No...you shouldn't as you cant spot reduce through body part specific training.

Simply put removing body fat from your body is based on burning enough calories through exercise or activity and/or mildly restricting your caloric intake. These two processes place you in a calorie deficit so you start to lose weight.

Unfortunately your genetics will play a large part in where your body likes to store fat, and where it is happy to release it from, meaning that all your hard work frustrates you as it falls from the arms, the legs, the face practically anywhere except where you want it to.

So I can't spot reduce at all....I'm doomed to belly burdon?

Actually no....there is hope yet :)

Spot reduction is possible from site specific areas but not through exercise.

The key to abdominal fat loss comes down to the following:

Rebalancing your hormones:

The main hormonal culprit for belly fat storage is cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that when chronically elevated encourages our body to store nutrients from our diet as fat around the belly. This stress can be anything from sitting in the same frustrating traffic each day, an overly busy job, or being a night owl.

So how can I reduce my cortisol levels?

Your first aim is to get to sleep by 10-10.30pm most nights of the week. Cortisol levels tend to elevate sharply after this time in the evening (this is often why we can then stay awake in to the early hours) which means we dont get into the deeper restorative sleep that our body needs to reduce stress levels. It also leaves us with higher levels of stress the next day...gradually fatiging the body and making it harder for us to burn fat.

Find time to relax: reduce your stress levels through massage, relaxation, reading, yoga, meditation, whatever it takes to switch off from the world.

Assist your body to fight stress and rebalance your hormones with supplementation:

-most of us will benefit from a multivitamin (particularly B-complex vitamins) magnesium and zinc.
-those with long term stress that they know wont immediately change should look to theanine (found in green tea or capsules), magnolia bark, PMF's (citrus peel supplement). all of which will assist with relaxation and improved sleep (choose one and follow dosage advice).
-if you are under a particularly large amount of stress (sudden deadlines etc) then ashwagandha, ginseng, or rhodiola may be necessary until the stressor is removed.

beyond the supplementation I would also recommend removing stimulants such as caffeine (from tea, coffee, cola's etc) and engage in shorter bouts of exercise (as long bouts raise cortisol levels) regularly.

I hope this helps guys, if you follow the advice here you will put yourself in a stronger position to remove the unwanted belly fat from your body.

For further information on cortisol control try the following books:



to your health and happiness

Nathan

www.nathanlee-pt.com