Trim the Tummy Fat!!!

Burn the Belly Fat and keep your tummy FLAT!

Here are some proven steps to help keep your body fat on the retreat.

1 EAT HEALTHY FATS

When trying to drop fat, it may seem appropriate to reduce dietary fat. At 9 calories per gram, fats are a denser caloric investment than carbs or protein. But fats are, in fact, good for you, and consuming enough of the good fats will help you lose fat, build muscle, and recover faster from your workouts. Healthy fats also have numerous health benefits, including being good for your heart and cardio-battered joints.

Polyunsaturated fats, such as those from fish and nuts, and the monounsaturated kind, such as those from peanut butter, olive oil, egg yolks, and fish oil are the ideal choice (especially omega-3s).

2 ADD A HIGH-CARB DAY

When dieting down, most people turn to low-carb diets. (We can see you nodding your head in affirmation.) But what most seem to forget is that carbs are your body’s preferred fuel source and adding a high-carb day now and then can really rejuvenate the metabolism and get that engine revving again.

A low-carb diet long term can actually end up having adverse effects as leptin – the satiety hormone -- levels fall faster when on a low-carb diet and this in turn ends up slowing down metabolism and actually making you feel more hungry.

Try to plan your high-carb days around your more intense sessions, such as leg day, and take down those higher-carb meals pre- and post-workout. Adding 1-2 high-carb days will essentially mean you are carb cycling and will help you avoid any plateaus that may be on the horizon.

3 EAT PROTEIN PLENTY OF PROTEIN

This is a no-brainer, right? At only 4 calories per gram, protein is an ideal choice for keeping your calorie count in check. It also keeps you fuller longer and rebuilds and preserves muscle. Research has also found that a high-protein diet increases fat loss because it increases metabolic rate and decreases hunger.

You should consume a range of .8 to 1.5 grams per lean body pound of weight.

4. HYDRATION IS CRUCIAL

You can try to will yourself into eating less at each meal, or you can put some proven science to work for you at the dinner table. A 2010 study found that participants who drank a full glass of water before dining typically consumed 75-90 fewer calories from that meal. It’s not complicated – the extra water made them feel fuller.

Drinking more water will also ensure your metabolism is running smoothly and will ensure that you stay hydrated. Additionally, consuming more water keeps your body shedding more water. Some athletes find that they retain less water when they begin consuming more. Aim for half your body-weight in ounces per day. So a 200-pound individual should strive for 100 ounces.

5. CHOICE OF EXERCISE

I find that mixing HIIT workouts with resistance exercise are the most beneficial and effective methods for dropping unwanted body fat. The resistance exercise builds lean body mass. The more muscle the higher the metabolism runs. and the HIIT training stokes the metabolism up to 48 hours after the training session. So make sure you hit the gym 2-4 times a week and perform some HIIT exercises 2-3 times a week as well.

Nutrition 101......Just what is a Calorie?

Just what is a Calorie?

A calorie is a unit of energy. We tend to associate calories with food, but they apply to anything containing energy. For example, a gallon of gasoline contains about 31,000,000 calories.

So if you understand that calories give you the energy to move and the sustenance to build our bodies lets get a closer look at what these calories really are!

Take the calories from 21 Big Mac Hamburgers and convert them into energy you would have enough energy to drive a small car approximately 80 miles! So you see foods harbor a great deal of energy. Eating the right type of calories at the right time and your body will respond by building lean muscle and burning fat. Eat the wrong calories at the wrong time and you will lose muscle and gain fat.

Most of us think of calories in relation to food, as in "This can of soda has 200 calories." It turns out that the calories on a food package are actually kilocalories (1,000 calories = 1 kilocalorie). The word is sometimes capitalized to show the difference, but usually not. A food calorie contains 4,184 joules. A can of soda containing 200 food calories contains 200,000 regular calories, or 200 kilocalories. A gallon of gasoline contains 31,000 kilocalories.

The same applies to exercise -- when a fitness chart says you burn about 100 calories for every mile you jog, it means 100 kilocalories. For the duration of this article, when we say "calorie," we mean "kilocalorie."

What Calories Do

Caloric Breakdown

1 g Carbohydrates: 4 calories
1 g Protein: 4 calories
1 g Fat: 9 calories
1 g Alcohol: 7 calories

Human beings need energy to survive -- to breathe, move, pump blood -- and they acquire this energy from food.

The number of calories in a food is a measure of how much potential energy that food possesses. A gram of carbohydrates has 4 calories, a gram of protein has 4 calories, and a gram of fat has 9 calories. Foods are a compilation of these three building blocks. So if you know how many carbohydrates, fats and proteins are in any given food, you know how many calories, or how much energy, that food contains.

If we look at the nutritional label on the back of a packet of maple-and-brown-sugar oatmeal, we find that it has 160 calories. This means that if we were to pour this oatmeal into a dish, set the oatmeal on fire and get it to burn completely (which is actually pretty tricky), the reaction would produce 160 kilocalories (remember: food calories are kilocalories) -- enough energy to raise the temperature of 160 kilograms of water 1 degree Celsius. If we look closer at the nutritional label, we see that our oatmeal has 2 grams of fat, 4 grams of protein and 32 grams of carbohydrates, producing a total of 162 calories (apparently, food manufacturers like to round down). Of these 162 calories, 18 come from fat (9 cal x 2 g), 16 come from protein (4 cal x 4 g) and 128 come from carbohydrates (4 cal x 32 g).

Our bodies "burn" the calories in the oatmeal through metabolic processes, by which enzymes break the carbohydrates into glucose and other sugars, the fats into glycerol and fatty acids and the proteins into amino acids. These molecules are then transported through the bloodstream to the cells, where they are either absorbed for immediate use or sent on to the final stage of metabolism in which they are reacted with oxygen to release their stored energy.

The Basil Metabolic Rate (BMR)



Just how many calories do our cells need to function well? The number is different for every person. You may notice on the nutritional labels of the foods you buy that the "percent daily values" are based on a 2,000 calorie diet -- 2,000 calories is a rough average of what a person needs to eat in a day, but your body might need more or less than 2,000 calories. Height, weight, gender, age and activity level all affect your caloric needs. There are three main factors involved in calculating how many calories your body needs per day:

1. Basal metabolic rate
2. Physical activity
3. Thermagenic effect of food

Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body needs to function at rest. This accounts for about 60 to 70 percent of calories burned in a day and includes the energy required to keep the heart beating, the lungs breathing, the kidneys functioning and the body temperature stabilized. In general, men have a higher BMR than women.

Your Caloric Needs

As you now know, there are three main factors involved in calculating how many calories your body needs per day: your BMR, physical activity and the thermagenic effect of food.

The second factor in the equation, physical activity, consumes the next highest number of calories. Physical activity includes everything from making your bed to jogging. Walking, lifting, bending, and just generally moving around burns calories, but the number of calories you burn in any given activity depends on your body weight. Click here for a great table listing the calories expended in various physical activities and for various weights.

The thermic effect of food is the final addition to the number of calories your body burns. This is the amount of energy your body uses to digest the food you eat -- it takes energy to break food down to its basic elements in order to be used by the body.

Calories, Fat and Exercise

So what happens if you take in more or fewer calories than your body burns? You either gain or lose fat, respectively. An accumulation of 3,500 extra calories is stored by your body as 1 pound of fat -- fat is the body's way of saving energy for a rainy day. If, on the other hand, you burn 3,500 more calories than you eat, whether by exercising more or eating less, your body converts 1 pound of its stored fat into energy to make up for the deficit.

One thing about exercise is that it raises your metabolic rate not only while you're huffing and puffing on the treadmill. Your metabolism takes a while to return to its normal pace. It continues to function at a higher level; your body burns an increased number of calories for about two hours after you've stopped exercising.

Lots of people wonder if it matters where their calories come from. At its most basic, if we eat exactly the number of calories that we burn and if we're only talking about weight, the answer is no -- a calorie is a calorie. A protein calorie is no different from a fat calorie -- they are simply units of energy. As long as you burn what you eat, you will maintain your weight; and as long as you burn more than you eat, you'll lose weight.

But if we're talking nutrition, it definitely matters where those calories originate. Carbohydrates and proteins are healthier sources of calories than fats. Although our bodies do need a certain amount of fat to function properly -- an adequate supply of fat allows your body to absorb the vitamins you ingest -- an excess of fat can have serious health consequences. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that a maximum of 30 percent of our daily calories come from fat. So, if you eat 2,000 calories a day, that's a maximum of 600 calories from fat, or 67 grams of fat, per day.

This is the base foundation for understanding calories and how calories play an important role in nutrition. Just remember not to get caught-up counting the calories as much and you look at the nutritional value of the calories you choose to eat.

Ten Steps to a better leaner YOU!!!

Ten Steps to a better leaner YOU!!!

10. Take Measurements

You'll never reach your destination if you don't know your starting point. A great place to begin is calculating your bodyfat percentage.

This will allow you to set accurate goals and measure progress. The most accurate (and available) method of measuring body fat percent is the skin-fold method.

This is a simple process that only requires a scale, a bodyfat caliper, and an equation. If you don't have body fat calipers, then take girth measurements—waist, hips, chest, arms, etc. Don't just rely on the scale. The more information you have on your body, the better you will be able to see and analyze your progress.

9. Eat 5-6 Meals Each Day

You've probably heard this countless times before but it just can't be stressed enough. Eating 5-6 meals containing protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fat each day is key, regardless of your training goals.

To begin, if you are looking to drop some body fat, then eating more often allows you to better manage your insulin levels for increased fat burning. Controlling insulin levels when dieting is critical as insulin is the body's most potent blocker of lipolysis (i.e. liberation of stored fat to be used as energy).

Another added benefit of controlling insulin levels is consistent energy levels; your blood sugar won't rise and crash throughout the day. Purposefully spreading the traditional "three square meals" into 5-6 smaller meals will allow you to increase your fat-burning ability while at the same time providing your body with nutrients required to build muscle.

8. Train With Weights 3-4 Times A Week


Lifting weights is an essential part of developing a lean physique. Not only will weight training boost you metabolic rate for extended periods of time, it will help you build muscle (which will allow you to burn more calories just sitting around!).

Let's say you love lifting weights. You might ask, "Why just 3-4 times a week? Professional bodybuilders lift 5-6 days a week double sessions!"

When you are dieting, you are in a calorie-deficient state. This will put your body in a compromised position where you will have limited recovery capabilities. 3-4 sessions of intense training sessions are perfect for most people to stimulate their muscles and metabolism without beating themselves into the ground (or worse a state of overtraining).

7. Don't Overdue The Cardio

A lot of people go cardio crazy when trying to lose body fat. The days of getting on the bike or treadmill for 40-60 minutes 5-6 times per week are done! If burning body fat and building muscle is your goal, shorter, more-intense interval-based cardio sessions are the way to go.

Cardiovascular activity performed in a high intensity interval fashion (high intensity is a term relative to your personal fitness level) has been shown to burn more calories than the old school 40-minute cardio sessions.

This means you'll burn more fat, in less time. If you have been doing longer cardio, don't quickly jump into this higher-intensity cardio.

Give your body time to adjust over several weeks by slowly replacing the interval sessions for the longer sessions. Most people find that 3-4 interval sessions give them better results than 6+ traditional longer cardio sessions.

6. Plan Your Meals The Night Before

This one has made all the difference in my personal fitness journey. Not only does it make eating multiple meals per day easier, but it changes your focus during the day from creating a nutrition plan to executing one.

You have enough going on during the day that you don't need to be worrying about where your next meal will come from and how you can make it fit perfectly into your plan. Eliminate the added stress, plan the night before, and just follow your roadmap during the day.

5. Drink Green Tea

Ever since the FDA put the clamps down on Ephedra, supplement companies have been searching for a replacement. The winner is ... Green Tea extract. While it is not as effective as Ephedra, it is the best thing most companies have to work with.

The compound within green tea that contains the metabolic enhancing effects is a polyphenol called EGCG. To make a long story short, scientific studies have shown EGCG to produce a thermogenic effect (increased rate at which calories are burned as heat) in the body.

Another interesting feature that makes green tea more attractive to dieters comes from a 2004 study published in Life Science. Researchers found that green tea was a potent inhibitor of fatty acid synthase (FAS).

As you may be able to deduce by the name, this is an enzyme in your body responsible for synthesizing fatty acids. The last thing you want your body to do when you are trying to lose fat is to synthesize fat.

You don't have to supplement with green tea extract either, you can get the same result by simply drinking a pot of green tea each day (3-5 cups). In addition, green tea is a great substitute and much better for you than diet soft drinks.

But remember green tea is naturally caffeinated which is perfect (Mother Nature knows best right?) as the combination of EGCG and caffiene is best for eliciting fat loss.

4. Get Rid Of Bad Friends And Bad Food

Don't let your environment sabotage your weight-loss efforts. If you are trying to eat healthy foods you can not have the freezer stocked with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and the cupboards full of BBQ potato chips.

As it gets to be later at night you know you'll be tempted. Don't set yourself up for temptation and failure; create an environment where you can't fail! It can be simple, if the food isn't in your house, then you won't eat it. So, throw out the junk, high sugar, over-processed high-fat foods!

The same goes for your friends. If you are constantly being scoffed at and joked about because you choose to have a grilled salmon salad instead of buffalo wings, or because you asked the waiter to bring you steamed broccoli instead of french fries – get new friends! Find people that are supportive of your fitness goals and the behaviors that they require.

3. Drink Lots Of Water

Water is essential to life and a healthy body. Dehydration will wreak havoc on you and your fitness goals. If you are dehydrated your body cannot function at its optimal level. For example, your muscles will lose strength, you won't burn fat as quickly, and you'll feel tired and fatigued.

A 2003 study entitled 'Water-Induced Thermogenesis' was published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. It was stated that drinking 2 Liters of water spread throughout the day burned up to 100 extra calories (the equivalent of running a mile).

2. Take Time Off To Rest And Recover

Fat loss training and dieting is mentally draining. That is why you need to take extra care of yourself. Extra stretching and foam rolling, epson salt baths, going to bed an hour early, and/or taking a magnesium supplement prior to bed are all simple ways that you can help accelerate your recovery (and progress).

One of my favorite sayings is: "Physiology trumps diet." This means that if your body chemistry and physiology is off, you won't be able to maximize your fat loss. Trying to lose weight is no excuse for being unhealthy and it will in fact hinder your progress. Rest, recover, and you'll lose more weight.

1. Apply The Previous Nine Rules

It is important that you realize that the statement "Knowledge is Power" is false! Applied knowledge with passion and consistent persistence is power! The chances are you know everything that you have to do to achieve your best body but you're not applying your knowledge. Stop...take the time to focus and execute the steps above with a well structured game plan and achieve all your goals.

The Anabolic Breakfast

Start your day with an Anabolic Breakfast!

While you’ve likely heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day, let’s be realistic for a second. No meal is more special than the next; what you do during the course of the day or week is what matters most. Now, for those who love their breakfast, some recent research suggests you may want to rethink the amount of carbohydrates you include in that first meal. Your breakfast should be based on your current performance or physique goals.

You should also try to find something that you enjoy and won’t have a problem being consistent with. I recommend a high-protein breakfast with a moderate amount of dietary fat from medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. Here’s why: A recent study compared the results from three different breakfasts to determine how “anabolic” they are. The participants of the study had either protein only or protein plus carbohydrates, or fasted during breakfast.

The protein-only and fasting groups displayed significant increases in growth hormone, whereas the protein-plus-carbohydrate individuals showed no changes. Growth hormone is an essential part of your muscle-building goals, as it helps to spare amino acids in the body. Also, cortisol— your stress hormone—was lowered the most in the protein-only breakfast. So why include the MCTs? Medium-chain triglycerides are easily absorbed fats that, unlike normal triglycerides, can be used immediately for energy. Studies on MCT usage have shown increases in growth hormone, more fat being used for energy, and an increase in metabolism. Having some fat at breakfast may also shift the body toward using more fat as fuel during the course of the day.

ANABOLIC BREAKFAST OPTIONS

Coconut Oil: High in MCTs (66%), specifically lauric acid, which helps with cholesterol.

Organic Eggs: High in protein (and its associated leucine) as well as healthy dietary fat, which is high in omega-3s.

MCT Oil: Made of 100% MCTs and very easy to throw into a protein shake if you’re in a hurry.

Grass-Fed Beef: When cooked in coconut oil, it tastes amazing and delivers the protein and nutrients you need to grow muscle.

Any High-Quality, Low-Carb Protein Powder: Mix with water and a serving of MCT oil if time is an issue.

Fact: The MCT s in coconut oil have been shown to increase HDL (good) cholesterol, which can improve your overall cholesterol ratio.

Understanding Your Calories

Fact: It not about counting Calories it's understanding what those calories really are and how your digestive system reacts to them!

To Optimize Your Health, Pay Attention to the SOURCE of Your Calories

In order to curb the current obesity epidemic, we do not need more accurate reporting of calories; we need to start focusing on eating the right kind of calories. I firmly believe that the primary keys for successful weight management and optimal health are:

1. Severely restricting carbohydrates (sugars, fructose, and grains) in your diet
2. Increasing healthy fat consumption
3. Unlimited consumption of non starchy vegetables. Because they are so low calorie, the majority of the food on your plate will be vegetables
4. Limit the use of protein to less than one gram per pound of lean body mass weight, not total body weight. In order to know this you must know your body fat percentage.

Healthful fat can be rich in calories, but these calories will not affect your body in the same way as calories from non-vegetable carbs. As explained by Dr. Robert Lustig, fructose in particular is "isocaloric but not isometabolic." This means you can have the same amount of calories from fructose or glucose, fructose and protein, or fructose and fat, but the metabolic effect will be entirely different despite the identical calorie count. Eating dietary fat isn’t what’s making you pack on the pounds. It’s the sugar/fructose and grains that are adding the padding.

So please, don’t fall for the low-fat myth, as this too is a factor in the rise in chronic health problems such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Your brain, heart and cardiovascular system need healthy fat for optimal functioning. In fact, emerging evidence suggests most people need at least half of their daily calories from healthy fat, and possibly as high as 70 percent. Add to that a small to medium amount of high-quality protein and plenty of vegetables. You actually need very few carbs besides vegetables; so you see, the federal guidelines are about as lopsided as they could be... pushing you toward obesity and poor health, if you follow them.

Hunger Can Be Used as a Guide to Determine How Much Fat You Need

Many do not realize this, but frequent hunger may be a major clue that you're not eating correctly and are using carbs as your primary fuel. Not only is it an indication that you're consuming the wrong types of food, but it's also a sign that you're likely consuming them in lopsided ratios for your individual biochemistry, and the timing of your eating may benefit from adjustment. Fat is far more satiating than carbs, so if you have cut down on carbs and feel ravenous, thinking you "can't do without the carbs," remember this is a sign that you haven't replaced them with sufficient amounts of fat. So go ahead and add a bit more. You do want to make sure you're adding the correct types of fat though. And vegetable oils like canola and corn oil, with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends is NOT on the healthy list… Sources of healthy fats include:

1. Olives and olive oil
2. Coconuts and coconut oil
3. Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
4. Raw nuts, such as almonds or pecans
5. Organic pastured egg yolks
6. Avocados
7. Grass-fed meats
8. Palm oil
9. Unheated organic nut oils

Another healthful fat you want to be mindful of is animal-based omega-3. Deficiency in this essential fat can cause or contribute to very serious health problems, both mental and physical, and may be a significant underlying factor of up to 96,000 premature deaths each year.


Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics

Magnesium

Magnesium is just one mineral offering numerous health benefits. But the average person likely couldn’t name two, let alone tell you which foods are good sources of the important nutrient. From reducing your risk of stroke to helping fight Type 2 diabetes, magnesium is something we should all know about and be sure we are getting enough. 

1. Lower Stroke Risk

An overview of seven previously published studies recently found that for every additional 100 milligrams of magnesium consumed every day, there was a stroke risk reduction of 9 percent. In all, the research followed about 250,000 from across the globe for 11.5 years. About three percent suffered a stroke during the study period.

2. Lowered Risk of Diabetes

Researchers with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also found a link between magnesium intake and diabetes risk. According to the study, those people who consumed the most magnesium reduced their risk of type 2 diabetes by 47 percent when compared with the lowest-consuming among the study group. In addition, magnesium is known to regulate blood sugar and combat insulin resistance.

3. Heart Health

Magnesium aids in transporting calcium and potassium across cell membranes. These nutrients help promote normal heart rhythm and muscle contraction, according to NaturalNews.

4. Decreased Cancer Risk

For every additional 100 milligrams of magnesium added to your daily diet, you could reduce your risk of developing colorectal cancer by 13 percent, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Magnesium delivers additional benefits too—largely due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is blamed for such things as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and even Alzheimer’s.

Some magnesium deficiency symptoms include:

• Tremors
• Nausea
• Respiratory issues
• High blood pressure
• Confusion
• Potassium and calcium deficiency
• Poor heart health
• Type 2 diabetes.

These are general symptoms, however, so it’s important to note that one or two of these doesn’t prove without doubt that you are deficient.

Food Sources of Magnesium

You can reap the benefits of dietary magnesium and combat deficiency and disease with several natural food sources:

• Dark, leafy greens
• Fish
• Beans and lentils
• Nuts and seeds
• Avocados
• Brown rice
• Quinoa

Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics

Nuts and Seeds the key to a Healthier Life

So many of us were brought up believing that saturated fats are unhealthy and could cause heart disease and other health problems. Now that actually is the furthest from the truth. We should in fact be consuming saturated fats rich in Omega 3.

One great way to assure yourself of getting ample amounts of healthy fats would be eating raw nuts and seeds, daily.

A large-scale, 30-year long study found that people who regularly ate one ounce of nuts at least seven times per week were 20 percent less likely to die for any reason, compared to those who avoided nuts in their diet.

Eating nuts at least five times a week corresponded to a 29 percent reduction in mortality risk due to heart disease; a 24 percent reduction for respiratory disease; and an 11 percent reduction for cancer.

In order for your body to adapt to burning fat instead of sugar, replace non-vegetable carbohydrates in your diet with high-quality healthful fats. Raw nuts are one source of such fats.

My favorite nuts are macadamia and pecans, as they provide the highest amount of healthy fat while being on the lower end in terms of protein, mirroring what may be close to an ideal ratio of nutrients.

There are so many benefits from eating these healthy fats.

• Reduction of inflammation
• Reduction of bad cholesterol
• Lower Triglycerides
• Help maintain healthy blood pressure levels
• Reduces the risk of Dementia and Alzheimer's

A short list of Nuts and the benefits they offer.

1. Raw macadamia nuts: A powerhouse of a nut, containing a wide variety of critical nutrients including high amounts of vitamin B1, magnesium, manganese, and healthful monounsaturated fat, just to name a few.
2. Pecans: Pecans contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals, and research has shown they may help lower LDL cholesterol and promote healthy arteries. One of my favorite treats is candied pecans in a salad at a restaurant. I know they have sugar, but a few grams or less a day is not going to cause a major problem provided you’re eating a healthy whole food diet, opposed to processed foods (which are loaded with hidden fructose).
3. Walnuts: Walnuts are good sources of plant-based omega-3 fats, natural phytosterols, and antioxidants that are so powerful at free-radical scavenging that researchers have called them "remarkable.”10 Plus, walnuts may help reduce not only the risk of prostate cancer, but breast cancer as well. They’ve also been shown to reverse brain aging in rats and boost heart health in people with diabetes.
4. Almonds: One of the healthiest aspects of almonds appears to be their skins, as they are rich in antioxidants including phenols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, which are typically associated with vegetables and fruits. A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry11 even revealed that a one-ounce serving of almonds has a similar amount of total polyphenols as a cup of steamed broccoli or green tea. Be careful not to overeat almonds though as they are high in protein, nearly one gram per almond.
5. Brazil Nuts: Brazil nuts are an excellent source of organic selenium, a powerful antioxidant-boosting mineral that may be beneficial for the prevention of cancer.

Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics

4 Oils That Should Be In Your Diet

1. Coconut Oil: Organic virgin coconut oil is one of the best choices of good fat you can add to your diet. Coconut oil contains 90% saturated fat and is made up of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) which are easily digestible and can drastically improve your health. MCFA’s are not stored as fat because they are immediately converted to energy once in the body. This oil is also very good to cook with because it remains stable even under high temperatures. Coconut oil contains lauric acid (a known immune stimulant), is rich in fiber, and contains essential vitamins and minerals. Organic raw unrefined extra virgin coconut oil is the best to use and should be solid at room temperature.

Benefits of consuming coconut oil include: Weight loss, immune system support, cardiovascular health, increased energy, thyroid support, healthy skin, hair and nails, improved cell regeneration, disables fungus, bacteria and viruses, improves insulin secretions and protection against free radicals, reduces inflammation throughout the body.

2. Hemp-seed Oil: Hemp Seed oil is derived from the seeds of the plant cannabis sativa. It provides all the essential fatty acids (EFA’s) and essential amino acids, structured in an easily digestible form to maintain human life. The oil is composed of 80% essential fatty acids, the highest in the plant kingdom. It contains the Omega 3,6 and 9 fatty acids. No other plant oil has a perfect 3:1 ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 EFA’s. Hemp seed oil is also great for vegetarians because it provides them with healthy fatty acids without having to consume fish oil. Hemp-seed oil is also rich in vitamin E and is the only plant which provides a source of Vitamin D.

Benefits of consuming Hemp Seed oil include: Cardiovascular support, natural sunblock agent, helps high blood pressure, reduces PMS, reduces inflammation, lowers high cholesterol, calms arthritis, soothes eczema, assists the brain and nervous system, produces healthy cell membranes, healthy skin, nails and hair, and can be used as skin moisturizer without clogging pores.

3. Flax-seed Oil: Flax-seed oil is extracted from the seeds of the flax plant. This oil contains 55% of Omega 3 fatty acid by weight. Omega-3 refers to three types of fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Once consumed, the human body converts ALA to EPA and DHA. This oil is also high in fiber and potassium. Flax-seed oil requires special packaging because it is easily destroyed by oxygen, heat and light. It is best to purchase organic flax-seed oil and keep it refrigerated to preserve freshness.

Benefits of consuming Flax-seed oil include: Helps Crohns disease, colitis, soothes intestinal walls, natural laxative, reduces high cholesterol, promotes healthy hair, nails and skin, reduces symptoms of menopause and helps burn body fat.

4. Olive Oil: Olive oil has been used as a medicine and health aid since it was first cultivated around 5000BC. It is a monounsaturated fat and contains vital vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants. Olive oil has a large amount of vitamins A, D, and K, as well as vitamin E, which are key sources needed to prevent free radical damage. When purchasing make sure the olive oil is organic, cold pressed and extra virgin.

Benefits of consuming olive oil include: Promotes healthy digestion, protects against heart disease, eases symptoms of gastritis and ulcers, lowers gallstone formation and reduces high cholesterol.

Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics

10 Facts for Fitness and Fat Loss

1. The diet phenomena paradox: We oversimplify the complicated science of fat loss whilst over-complicating the practice of it.
2. Release yourself of the fear of judgement when following a healthy path: It’s ok to order a salad, skip desert and ask for substitutions when out on the town.
3. There’s a place for almost everything. Despite the fact that some trends are “passé” or categorically shunned, there is a place for static stretching, traditional cardio and carbohydrates.
4. 3 steps to tackle sugar cravings: 1. Distract 2. Distract more intensely 3. Give in (without fully giving in). Drink a chocolate protein smoothie, have berries with greek yogurt and a bit of maple syrup, a couple of pieces of dark chocolate drizzled on strawberries. DONE.
5. Be calorie aware but not obsessed. Counting calories is not neurotic when the end goal is creating awareness.
6. Change is challenging: Associate as much pain as possible with NOT changing and as much pleasure as possible with your desired picture of health.
7. Goal-setting: Be realistic, multi-layered (include health, body composition but also mindset and lifestyle related goals). Also be specific, flexible and forgiving.
8. Your self-talk can make or break your fat loss efforts. Be kind to yourself.
9. Genetics loads the gun but we pull the trigger with our lifestyle choices.
10. Try these 3 single leg variations: Pistols, Bulgarian Split Squat, Single leg Romanian Deadlift. Thank me (or more likely curse me) tomorrow.

Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics

Health Benefits from Eating Avocados

Avocados, which are actually classified as a fruit, are rich in monounsaturated fat that is easily burned for energy. They also provide close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients, including potassium, vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid.

Previous research has found avocado can help optimize cholesterol levels within as little as one week; contains compounds that appear to inhibit and destroy oral cancer cells, and those that protect against liver damage.

The greatest concentration of beneficial carotenoids is in the dark green fruit of the avocado, closest to the peel, so use the “nick and peel” method to maximize the benefits from your avocado.

You can increase your avocado consumption by using it as a fat replacement in baking; add it to soups, dessert whips and countless other recipes; and use as a baby’s first food in lieu of processed baby food.

Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics

Carbohydrate Addiction is Epidemic

A staggering two-thirds of Americans are now overweight, and one in four are either diabetic or pre-diabetic.

Obesity rates in children in several states are now above 30%!!!!!!

Carb-rich processed foods are a primary driver of these statistics, and while many blame Americans’ overindulgence of processed junk foods on lack of self-control, scientists are now starting to reveal the truly addictive nature of such foods.

Most recently, researchers at the Boston Children's Hospital concluded that highly processed carbohydrates stimulate brain regions involved in reward and cravings, promoting excess hunger.

As reported by Science Daily:

“These findings suggest that limiting these 'high-glycemic index' foods could help obese individuals avoid overeating.”

While I don’t agree with the concept of high glycemic foods, it is important that they are at least thinking in the right direction. Also, the timing is ironic, considering the fact that the American Medical Association (AMA) recently declared obesity a disease, treatable with a variety of conventional methods, from drugs to novel anti-obesity vaccines...

The featured research is on the mark, and shows just how foolhardy the AMA’s financially-driven decision really is. Drugs and vaccines are clearly not going to do anything to address the underlying problem of addictive junk food.

Brain Imaging Shows Food Addiction Is Real

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined the effects of high-glycemic foods on brain activity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). One dozen overweight or obese men between the ages of 18 and 35 each consumed one high-glycemic and one low-glycemic meal. The fMRI was done four hours after each test meal. According to the researchers:

“Compared with an isocaloric low-GI meal, a high-glycemic index meal decreased plasma glucose, increased hunger, and selectively stimulated brain regions associated with reward and craving in the late postprandial period, which is a time with special significance to eating behavior at the next meal.”

The study demonstrates what many people experience: After eating a high-glycemic meal, i.e. rapidly digesting carbohydrates, their blood sugar initially spiked, followed by a sharp crash a few hours later. The fMRI confirmed that this crash in blood glucose intensely activated a brain region involved in addictive behaviors, known as the nucleus accumbens.

Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism, weighed in on the featured research in an article by NPR:

“As Dr. Robert Lustig... points out, this research can’t tell us if there’s a cause and effect relationship between eating certain foods and triggering brain responses, or if those responses lead to overeating and obesity.

'[The study] doesn’t tell you if this is the reason they got obese,' says Lustig, 'or if this is what happens once you’re already obese.' Nonetheless... he thinks this study offers another bit of evidence that 'this phenomenon is real.'”

Previously, Dr. Lustig has explained the addictive nature of sugar as follows:

"The brain's pleasure center, called the nucleus accumbens, is essential for our survival as a species... Turn off pleasure, and you turn off the will to live... But long-term stimulation of the pleasure center drives the process of addiction... When you consume any substance of abuse, including sugar, the nucleus accumbens receives a dopamine signal, from which you experience pleasure. And so you consume more.

The problem is that with prolonged exposure, the signal attenuates, gets weaker. So you have to consume more to get the same effect -- tolerance. And if you pull back on the substance, you go into withdrawal. Tolerance and withdrawal constitute addiction. And make no mistake, sugar is addictive."

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

Previous research has demonstrated that refined sugar is more addictive than cocaine, giving you pleasure by triggering an innate process in your brain via dopamine and opioid signals. Your brain essentially becomes addicted to stimulating the release of its own opioids.

Researchers have speculated that the sweet receptors located on your tongue, which evolved in ancestral times when the diet was very low in sugar, have not adapted to the seemingly unlimited access to a cheap and omnipresent sugar supply in the modern diet.

Therefore, the abnormally high stimulation of these receptors by our sugar-rich diets generates excessive reward signals in your brain, which have the potential to override normal self-control mechanisms, thus leading to addiction.

But it doesn’t end there. Food manufacturers have gotten savvy to the addictive nature of certain foods and tastes, including saltiness and sweetness, and have turned addictive taste into a science in and of itself.

In a recent New York Times article, Michael Moss, author of Salt Sugar Fat, dished the dirt on the processed food industry, revealing that there’s a conscious effort on behalf of food manufacturers to get you hooked on foods that are convenient and inexpensive to make.

I recommend reading his article in its entirety, as it offers a series of case studies that shed light on the extraordinary science and marketing tactics that make junk food so hard to resist.

Sugar, salt and fat are the top three substances making processed foods so addictive. In a Time Magazine interview discussing his book, Moss says:

“One of the things that really surprised me was how concerted and targeted the effort is by food companies to hit the magical formulation. Take sugar for example. The optimum amount of sugar in a product became known as the 'bliss point.' Food inventors and scientists spend a huge amount of time formulating the perfect amount of sugar that will send us over the moon, and send products flying off the shelves. It is the process they've engineered that struck me as really stunning.”

It’s important to realize that added sugar (typically in the form of high fructose corn syrup) is not confined to junky snack foods. For example, most of Prego’s spaghetti sauces have one common feature, and that is sugar—it’s the second largest ingredient, right after tomatoes. A half-cup of Prego Traditional contains the equivalent of more than two teaspoons of sugar.

Novel Flavor-Enhancers May Also Contribute to Food Addiction

Another guiding principle for the processed food industry is known as “sensory-specific satiety.” Moss describes this as “the tendency for big, distinct flavors to overwhelm your brain, which responds by depressing your desire to have more.” The greatest successes, whether beverages or foods, owe their “craveability” to complex formulas that pique your taste buds just enough, without overwhelming them, thereby overriding your brain’s inclination to say “enough.”

Novel biotech flavor companies like Senomyx also play an important role.

Senomyx specializes in helping companies find new flavors that allow them to use less salt and sugar in their foods. But does that really make the food healthier? This is a questionable assertion at best, seeing how these “flavor enhancers” are created using secret, patented processes. They also do not need to be listed on the food label, which leaves you completely in the dark. As of now, they simply fall under the generic category of artificial and/or natural flavors, and they don’t even need to be tested for safety, as they’re used in minute amounts.

How to Combat Food Addiction and Regain Your Health

To protect your health, I advise spending 90 percent of your food budget on whole foods, and only 10 percent on processed foods. It’s important to realize that refined carbohydrates like breakfast cereals, bagels, waffles, pretzels, and most other processed foods quickly break down to sugar, increase your insulin levels, and cause insulin resistance, which is the number one underlying factor of nearly every chronic disease and condition known to man, including weight gain.

By taking the advice offered in the featured study and cutting out these high-glycemic foods you can retrain your body to burn fat instead of sugar. However, it’s important to replace these foods with healthy fats, not protein—a fact not addressed in this research. I believe most people may need between 50-70 percent of their daily calories in the form of healthful fats, which include:

1. Olives & Olive oil
2. Coconut and Coconut Oils
3. Natural whole fat butter
4. Organic raw nuts, especially macadamia nuts, which are low in protein and omega-6 fat.
5. Organic pastured eggs and pastured meats
6. Avocados

A growing body of evidence also suggests that intermittent fasting is particularly effective if you’re struggling with excess weight as it provokes the natural secretion of human growth hormone (HGH), a fat-burning hormone. It also increases resting energy expenditure while decreasing insulin levels, which allows stored fat to be burned for fuel. Together, these and other factors will turn you into an effective fat-burning machine.

Best of all, once you transition to fat burning mode your cravings for sugar and carbohydrates will virtually disappear, as if by magic... While you’re making the adjustment, you could supplement L-Glutamine (1,000MG) before each meal and 3,000-6,000 MG at bed time. This will help reduce cravings.

Other tricks to help you overcome your sugar cravings include:

Exercise: Anyone who exercises intensely on a regular basis will know that a significant amount of resistance exercise is one of the best "cures" for food cravings. It always amazes me how my appetite, especially for sweets, dramatically decreases after a good workout. I believe the mechanism is related to the dramatic reduction in insulin levels that occurs after exercise.

Organic black coffee: Coffee is a potent opioid receptor antagonist, and contains compounds such as cafestrol -- found plentifully in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee -- which can bind to your opioid receptors, occupy them and essentially block your addiction to other opioid-releasing foods. This may profoundly reduce the addictive power of other substances, such as sugar.

Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics

New Study Shows Sugar in Diet Will Help Cancer Thrive in Your Body

Do you have a sweet tooth? If so, your dietary habits could be significantly adding to your risk of developing cancer. New research published in the journal Nature Medicine has confirmed that processed sugar is one of the primary driving forces behind the growth and spread of cancer tumors, so much so that the future of cancer screening could rely on scanning the body for sugar accumulation.

Scientists from University College London (UCL) in the U.K. made this discovery after experimenting with a new cancer detection method that involves utilizing a unique form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After sensitizing an MRI scanner to look specifically for glucose in the body, it was revealed that cancer tumors, which feed off sugar, light up brightly as they contain high amounts of sugar.

"The new technique, called 'glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer' (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumors consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth," explains a recent UCL announcement, noting that tumors appear as "bright images" on MRI scans of mice.

Traditionally, cancer screenings have involved the use of low-dose radiation injections to identify the presence of tumors, which makes sense as radiation is another known cause of cancer. The things that trigger and promote cancer development and spread, in other words, can also be used by doctors to detect it inside the body. And now sugar can officially be added to this list.

"The method uses an injection of normal sugar and could offer a cheap, safe alternative to existing methods for detecting tumors, which require the injection of radioactive material," says Dr. Simon Walker-Samuel, lead researcher of the study from the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI).

Interestingly, it was also noted by the study's senior author that the amount of sugar in "half a standard sized chocolate bar" is all it takes to effectively identify the presence of tumors using the glucoCEST method. This is astounding, as it suggests that even relatively low amounts of sugar have the potential to promote cancer proliferation.

The UCL study is hardly the only one to have identified a connection between processed sugar consumption and diseases like cancer. Other research, including that being currently being conducted by Dr. Robert H. Lustig, M.D., a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), confirms that the bulk of chronic illnesses prevalent today are caused by sugar consumption.

As far as cancer is concerned, hormones produced by the body in response to sugar consumption also feed cancer cells. This means that every time you down a soda or eat a piece of cake, your body produces certain chemicals that tell cancer cells to not only start taking up sugar, but also to grow in size and spread.

"What we're beginning to learn is that insulin can cause adverse effects in various tissues, and a particular concern is cancer," says Dr. Lewis Cantley, head of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) at Harvard University, as quoted during an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes.

"If you happen to have a tumor that has insulin receptors on it, then it will get stimulated to take up the glucose that's in the bloodstream," he adds. "So rather than going to the fat or to the muscle, the glucose now goes into the tumor, and the tumor uses it to grow."

This link is a full length movie that will explain what sugar dose to the body and how it is the cause of the obesity epidemic

Mark Harris, PhD

Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.comTexas Metabolics

The dangers of eating Soy

As time goes by, people are steadily waking up to some of the proven facts about soy, such as the knowledge that most soy is GMO. If that is the case, one can deduce that to solve the problem one can simply buy organic soy products. While it’s true that organic soy is healthier for you than GMO soy, there are other facts about soy that pose serious health risks. Here are four facts that debunk soy as a healthy food choice.

Four reasons to phase-out most soy products on the market

1. Soybeans contain large amounts of toxins. Unlike with other foods where any toxins are destroyed or deactivated during cooking, the toxins in soybeans remain intact. Some of these toxins, or “enzyme inhibitors,” block the actions of enzymes needed for the digestion of protein. The enzyme inhibitors in soy are linked to cancer in lab animal tests. Test animals fed enzyme inhibitors developed enlargement and pathological conditions of the pancreas, including pancreatic cancer.
2. Soybeans can interfere with nutrient absorption during digestion. This is because soy is high in phytic acid, which has been shown to block absorption of minerals calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.
3. Soybeans are among the most highly pesticide-contaminated foods on the market. As you probably know, pesticides are a toxic, distorted-energy-spin substance, linked to a variety of ailments. Soy products also contain high levels of aluminum, a life-force sapping heavy metal which does not belong in foods that we put in our bodies, as it has bio-accumulative negative health effects. The aluminum in soy comes from the aluminum tanks in which the beans are acid washed and heat-processed.
4. Soybeans contain haemagglutinin, nitrites, soy protein isolates, and goitrogens. Each of these substances has a particular negative effect on your health. Haemagglutinin is a blood clot-promoting substance which causes red blood cells to clump together. Nitrites are powerful carcinogens which form when soybeans are spray-dried (carcinogens are potential cancer-causing agents). Soy protein isolates have been shown to enlarge the pancreas and thyroid gland and also increase fatty acid deposits in the liver. Goitrogens are found in soy-based foods in large amounts. They block thyroid hormone production. All of the above substances have the effect of disrupting body chemistry and hormones.

Wait a minute! I thought soy was good for me

Like me, you’ve probably been under the impression that soy was healthy for years. In which case, the truth turns out to be shocking as it was to me. And still, proponents of soy will assert that Asian cultures have been safely eating soy for thousands of years. However, this has been debunked as only a partial truth. Asians began eating soybeans 2,500 years ago only after figuring out how to ferment it. Ancient Asian cultures knew that soybeans contain multiple toxic substances even after cooking. It is only through the process of fermentation that toxins in soy are safely neutralized.

Mark Harris, PhD

Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist

TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics