Monday, January 28, 2013

A Little Improvement Goes A Long Way

I can do HIIT for 20 mins straight and also weights training for 45 mins non-stop but never power walking. First, I have lousy stamina and secondly, I have attention spam of that 5 years old kid down the street. That's why I never like cardio based workout unless they are incorporated into my high intensity interval workout. It's more fun and I could see faster result this way.

Training this way build up muscle fast but doing crazy cardio can ensure fat loss. It's a dilemma for me now. I really dislike staying on the treadmill for 45 mins. Well, training both way has it's advantages. Cardio give me slim feminine physical meanwhile HIIT and weights training give me an Olympic worthy toned physical.

Actually I prefer the latter as its result is more prominent for a result oriented person like me That's why I always concentrate more on pumping iron while incorporating some cardio here and there. There's no way I can skip them as I will need to shed off those excess fat to really reveal those hard earned muscles.

For the first time since I started working out back in September 2012, I managed to finish my muscle activation workout for the day followed by 45 mins of power walking ( of course I had replenished my
amino acid supply before heading for the latter).

Really have to give myself a pat on the back this time. I must and I will work even harder in future to achieve my dream bod.



Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Natural Appetite Supressant Food

Via Lose That Tyre

Apples the reason for eating apples is they have an insoluble fibre in them. Which expands in your stomach when you eat them. It’s good practice to have an apple about 20 minutes before your meal.

There is something that is called the three apple a day diet plan, which recommends having apples three times a day before each meal.

Apples contain a certain substance, which activates a hormone within our bodies called GLP-1 which when activated sends the full signal to our brains. In a study people who ate an apple before, their main meal ate 15 percent fewer calories. So have an apple about 15 to 20 minutes before your meal.

If you’re not keen on eating apples then why not incorporate them into a smoothie with other fruits that contain high amounts of water this will also help you to feel full.

Red chilli peppers apparently if you have red chilli peppers, incorporated in your meal. This will help to suppress your appetite. They contain an ingredient called capsaicin this is what gives them their hotness. When you eat them, you don’t need an awful lot either to get the desired effect, sprinkle a teaspoon of chilli peppers on your meal this will be enough to suppress your appetite.

Seaweed having a drink with some kind of seaweed ingredient may be a good way to start your day. Scientists have found that algae, which is very high in fibre is contained within the seaweed, when it reaches your stomach. It turns into a gel, which slows the digestive process down thus suppressing cravings for food.

Green tea green tea is cited to contain an active ingredient called catechin which is supposedly supposed to help with burning fat within your body, according to what they say.

So if you drink five to six cups of green tea throughout the day, this is supposed to increase the cellular activity within your body, and thus helping with burning fat by a factor of 40 percent, according to what they say so instead of drinking hot drinks such as tea and coffee substitute these for green tea instead.

Eggs eggs are one of the best protein sources that we can eat, and it is the particular protein contained within eggs, which helps to stop food cravings. According to research people who ate scrambled eggs for their breakfast ate fewer calories throughout the day.

And for 36 hours thereafter, wow what an incredible result. That is something to bear in mind when you’re deciding what to eat for breakfast next.

Lemons are said to contain an insoluble fibre called pectin, which apples also contain, pectin acts like a sponge within your body mopping up fat as well as acting like a gel within your stomach, which slows the digestive process down. So you eat less, lemons contain vitamin C, which in turn creates a byproduct called carnitine this is an amino acid, which helps with burning fat within our bodies.

In a study conducted in the USA researchers found that people with higher levels of vitamin C burned more comapred to those people whom had lesser amounts of it. You don’t need huge amounts of vitamin C just the recommended daily amount. Which you can get from drinking things like lemon juice. Make sure it’s natural though and not full of preservatives, etc., or you could drink orange juice.

Water one particular trick, I found out about a long time ago was to drink some water before you had a meal. The idea behind this is if your stomach has water in it then you are less likely to eat large amounts of food.

A study was put together in 2010, which consisted of two groups one drank water before a meal, and the other did not after 12 weeks. The researchers compiled their data and found that the group that drank water before each meal lost two kilograms more compared to those who didn’t. They drank, just two glasses before each meal. Which I am sure you’ll agree isn’t small change for the sake of drinking some water. It’s a small price to pay in order to lose some excess weight.

Garlic garlic has many health properties but did you know it can help to suppress hunger pang’s researchers in Israel have found this to be the case. It contains an ingredient called allicin, which is responsible for its strong smell but not only that. This also sends signals to our brains to tell us to stop eating.

Another effect is it works on your nervous system, and stimulates it to produce more adrenaline, which in turn helps with burning fat. If you don’t like to buy fresh bulbs of garlic. You can get it in a grounded form. So you can just sprinkle it on your food when you are eating it.

Cinnamon in a study which was conducted inScandinavia , people were given three tablespoons full of cinnamon with rice pudding. Their insulin levels were far normal, than they were if they hadn’t had the cinnamon sprinkled on the rice. Insulin is reportedly supposed to be the fat storage hormone.

Although this has been just recently fiercely debated as to whether or not, this is actually the case. Cinnamon has a double whammy effect. It slows down the digestive process within your stomach, as well as normalising your blood sugar. Therefore, reducing food cravings to a minimum.

Sleep even though this isn’t a food it is an important element of appetite suppression. This is because sleep can have an effect on two hormones, which are ghrelin and leptin, these two hormones control different functions within our body.

If we have low levels of leptin, then we will want to eat more carbohydrate type foods, and vice versa with ghrelin it tends to stimulate our appetite more. In a study conducted in the United States people who didn’t get the required amount of sleep were not only overweight.

However, also had higher levels and lower levels of both the above-mentioned hormones. So as a consequence, they were more overweight. Compared to people whom had the recommended eight hours of sleep minimum.

PB-The Muscle Food

As a high-protein, high-calorie and high-energy food, peanut butter makes a useful snack for weightlifters. As your muscles grow, they need fuel to both repair cells and expand. Peanut butter is energy-dense, meaning you get lots of nutrition benefits for a relatively small snack. If your goal is both to help your body repair itself after weight training and add bulk to your muscles, peanut butter should be part of your diet plan.

G

MUSCLE RECOVERY
Weightlifting puts great strain on your muscles. Protein and carbohydrate help your muscles repair themselves. Aiding muscle recovery both reduces your soreness after lifting and helps you keep your lifting schedule regular. According to Columbia University Health Services, your muscles store only enough of the energy-giving substance glycogen for an hour of training. Foods such as peanut butter on toast, eaten 15 minutes after your workout, help you replenish these lost stores of glycogen and start repairing muscle tissue.

BUILDING MUSCLE
Building some muscle mass is the goal of most weightlifters. According to advice from the University of New Hampshire, you need an extra 2,500 calories to add an extra 1 lb. of muscle to your body -- assuming you're combining your extra food intake with a weightlifting program. Protein should make up around a quarter of these calories. Peanut butter contains approximately 192 calories per 2-oz. serving. Eating just two peanut butter sandwiches per day can increase your calorie and protein intake significantly.

FATS
Most peanut butter contains high levels of fat. However, much of the fat in peanut butter is beneficial to the body and suitable for a weightlifter's diet. For example, enriched chunky peanut butter contains 24 percent monounsaturated fat, 14 percent polyunsaturated fat and 7 percent saturated fat. In the book "Fitness Nutrition for Special Dietary Needs," the authors point out that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat should make up the bulk of your fat intake, with saturated fat only 7 percent of overall fat consumed. This makes peanut butter the ideal balance for weightlifters keen to avoid unhealthy snacks.

CONSIDERATIONS
Beginner weightlifters require larger amounts of protein because their muscles experience more stress than experienced lifters. Similarly, overloading or raising your weight level suddenly means you'll need more protein and carbohydrates for muscle repair. A peanut butter sandwich makes a handy snack in these circumstances. For maximum benefit, buy crunchy peanut butter varieties with added vitamins and minerals. Some peanut butter contains reduced saturated fat and reduced salt, making it a healthier snack to enjoy.

Via Livestrong

Muscle Building Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich

Healthy Eating, Muscle Building

4 WAYS GRAPEFRUIT CAN HELP YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

1.Keeps you full: Grapefruit is loaded with fiber, keeping you full longer and reducing the likelihood of mindless snacking. One serving of grapefruit has only 53 calories and about 2 grams of fiber. Research has also found that eating half a grapefruit before every meal can lead to greater weight loss in dieters. While trying this at every meal may be a bit extreme, this tactic would work well for breakfast.

2.Low-calorie substitution: There are are several ways to enjoy grapefruit beyond breakfast. Consider substituting dried fruit for slices of grapefruit in salads or using it to serve up a satisfying dinner alongside jerk grilled chicken. You can even use it to satisfy your sweet tooth as a light dessert using this sabayon gratin recipe.

3.Stabilizes blood sugar: Study shows that this magic fruit has compounds that can reduce insulin levels. Low levels of insulin mean your body can more efficiently use food for energy rather than storing it as fat; a candy bar can't claim that.

4.Curbs cravings: There is something to be said about kick-starting your day with grapefruit. Studies show that the mere smell of grapefruit can aid in weight loss. Researchers speculate that sniffing grapefruit oil has effect on liver enzymes, which can help to nix cravings and spur weight loss. Time to consider those grapefruit-scented bath products!

More at:http://www.fitsugar.com/Ways-Grapefruit-Can-Help-You-Lose-Weight-26331222

Monday, January 21, 2013

A Pact

Three of us has made a pact today. We've formed a support group through some social chat room to monitor each others diet progresses. Everyone will be a watch dog, watching each other closely. Each must report their daily food intake to the group. Whenever someone felt that they are having some 'unclean' food cravings must immediately report it so that the rest can jump in to help.

It isn't a fail proof way to loss weight and healthier eating but I still think that this is a pretty good way to ensure that we will have less chance to succumb to our cravings and higher chance of sticking to our diet.

It will be 6 days of having clean food. 1)Clean food meaning smart carbs. That is complex carbohydrates instead of refined/simple carbohydrates. Refined carbs are easily digested by the body too fast too soon into energy. All those unused energy will then goes into storage afterwards accumulating fat while complex carbs will take a while to be digested hence the steady supply of energy without spiking the insulin level in the blood. It's helps to keep you feeling full for a longer time too. Example of refined carbs: white rice, white flour, white bread and instant noodles. Example of complex carbs: brown rice, wholegrain bread and sweet potato.

2)Protein to help the body maintain lean tissue while burning fat for fuel without the constant hunger attacks. Example : eggs , boiled or scrambled minus the yolk, skimmed milk, soy, lean meats and beans.

3)Vegetables and fruits are very important as some of them such as raw celery and grapefruit are often claimed to have negative caloric balance meaning that it
requirng more energy to digest than recovered from the food not forgetting for our daily fibre intake as well. This way we can satisfy our hunger with all those excess calories that can add up to the measurement of our waist line.

4) Dietary fat is an essential nutrient needed by the body for energy, healthy skin, vitamin absorption, and everyday bodily functions. Example: fish, nuts, flax seed, olive oil and avocado.

Lastly is a good night sleep which I know that I'm being deprived of for tonight as I'm blogging this entry now. Inadequate sleep leads to decreased leptin levels and increased ghrelin levels, contributing to increased appetite, according to a 2004 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Leptin and ghrelin are hormones that regulate appetite. Leptin signals to the brain to reduce appetite and burn more calories. Ghrelin increases hunger, slows metabolism and decreases the body's ability to burn fat.

And now I need to get my leptin level up and to have some sweet dreams before I hit the gym for my week 5 of Rip:60. Good night...

Lemon Juice and Water


In her book "The Lemon Juice Diet," Theresa Cheung notes that lemon juice is an "excellent digestive aid" due to its stimulating the production of saliva and gastric juices. When you drink lemon juice and water first thing in the morning, Cheung says the lemon juice stimulates the liver to produce bile, which readies it to help digest your food all day long.