With regard to fat loss, you don’t want to eat foods that are high on the GI scale because a spike in blood sugar means that you body has to release more insulin to process that sugar. That’s not good because higher insulin levels have been shown promote the storage of fat in your body. Therefore, you want to eat foods that have a low GI.

Back to my story: So another trainer heard me saying that bananas are ok because they are low on the GI scale and she said that wasn’t true. She said that bananas are actually very high on the GI scale.

So I did a little research and this is what I found:

Bananas have a LOW glycemic index rating. They are ok to eat. However, the riper a banana gets, the more sugar it will have so my other fellow trainer was also correct to an extent. I’m not saying you have to eat green bananas, but if they are too ripe, then they will definitely have more sugar.

Bananas are also a slow digesting carbohydrate and a good source of fibre.
The verdict: You can eat bananas.

The problem with the Atkins diet is that you are falsely led to believe that carbohydrates are bad for you and thus, are not allowed to have any! You are told that carbohydrates are like any other type of sugar and that the breakdown process is the same i.e. your body releases insulin in response to the sugar entering your blood which will spike your blood-sugar levels; with insulin being released, your body is more primed to store fat.

Persons on this diet tend to enjoy quick results in a short period of time during the beginning stages but as soon as they stop the diet, the weight comes back just as quickly. In many cases, people reported to gaining even more weight than when they previously started. One explanation for this is that your body is trying to compensate for the carbohydrate loss that it was forced to endure. Your survival mechanisms trigger your body to store even more fat than before so as to be prepared for the next time it has to survive without adequate carbohydrates.

The biggest flaw with this diet is its core principle which preaches that ‘carbs’ are the enemy. The truth is that your body needs carbohydrates for many important bodily functions including, but not limited to, supplying your brain and nervous system with energy. On the Atkins diet, you are consuming a high protein and high-fat diet. Protein is not an efficient source of energy, especially for your brain. Many persons on the Atkins diet often report symptoms such as dizziness and light-headedness. This happens because your body is struggling to provide energy for your brain and it’s only option is to pull protein from your muscle.

The high-fat part of the diet comes in the form of the excess amount of beef and pork that the Atkins diet actually encourages! That fat makes its way through your body and to the arteries in your hear;it accumulates to the point where you are at a much higher risk for a heart attack!

On a side note: Robert Atkins’ death (creator of the diet) was 258 pounds when he died. At 6’0 feet tall and at that weight, he was clinically obese.

One member asked:

In consuming calories:

1.]What is the assumed ratio to be taken in terms of “calories consumed:age(including mass&gender) ?

2.]How much calories should you/ could you burn on a day to day basis; or weekly?

Response:

Generally for males, the recommended caloric intake is between 2000 to 2500 calories daily. However, for active males that number can do up to 3000 depending on how active they are.

Females, the recommended intake is between 1500 to 2000 calories. Again, some active females require more; 2500 – 2800. It also depends on if you are pregnant and nursing as well. However don’t think of “ACTIVE” as someone who just goes to the gym and does cardio. When I say active, I mean someone who weight trains at least 2-3 times a week and does some sort of aerobic activity on a regular basis as well.

The amount of calories you can and should burn all depends on the person’s physical ability, medical history and fitness levels. Everyone is different so it’s hard to put a number to that and say “this is how much you can burn”. A fit, active 25 year old woman can burn three times as much as an inactive man of the same age. Athletes can burn more, and teenagers generally have a higher metabolic rate.

That being said: If you are a generally healthy person between 18 and 30, with no medical issues or injuries, then you can burn about 2000 – 2500 calories a day. This includes your RMR which is your metabolic rate when at rest. Your body is constantly burning calories to maintain bodily functions such as respiration, digestion, heart rate, etc. Some people’s basal metabolism is higher than others but generally people burn about 1500 calories daily just doing nothing at all. Then depending on your activity level, you can burn another 500-1000 calories.

So this means if you burn 2500 calories (basal + activity) today but consumed 2000 calories, you’ve lost 500 calories. So if you do that for one week, in 7 days you would have burned 500 * 7 = 3500 calories. For those of you who actually read my posts, 3500cal = 1 lb, therefore you would have lost ONE POUND in ONE WEEK.

Cheers.

Kam

3 eating tips to get rid of belly fat

Make these 3 changes to drastically lose your love handles

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”

- La Rochefoucauld  

Naturally, one of the common questions I get as a trainer is, “what do I have to eat to get rid of my belly fat?” I hear this question several times a day. What you really want is a simple diet that will help you reduce belly and get a flat stomach. 

Well for those of you asking this question; you’ve asked the RIGHT question. Nutrition is EVERYTHING! It doesn’t matter how hard you train, how many times you workout or what exercises you do; if you are not eating properly, then you will not get rid of your love handles. Plain and simple. 

Also, the sad reality is that certified dieticians and nutritionists are also subject to their own biases. There is constant disagreement as to what is right and wrong. However, having said that, if you are now starting out and have no idea what to do; it is still a good idea to consult a nutritionist or dietician because they will be able to get you started in the right direction. You also need to remember that just because someone may be in great shape or have a great body; it does not make them an expert on nutrition. Do not ask someone to give you a meal plan just because they have a good body! When it comes to getting a flat stomach, nutrition is just like training – what works for some won’t necessarily work for others. There are numerous factors that influence how your body burns calories, such as your body type, your genetics and even your previous activity levels. People who were active throughout their life have an easier time losing weight.  

However, blaming your current physical health on genetics is absolutely no excuse, because countless research has proven, time and time, again that you are more in control of your health than your genes – it’s all a matter of doing. Some of my friends and fellow trainers are great athletes with terrific bodies, but their diet is absolutely horrible! To be honest, my diet can be pretty horrible too… However, I know my body and I know how my body responds to training and nutrition. Trainers and athletes can get away with poor eating because they live in the gym and burn calories at a higher rate than the average human being.  

You need to follow the rules of healthy eating and be consistent with your diet if you want to get rid of belly fat. You will have good days and bad days when it comes to eating, so try to have at least five good days in a week. Always remember – 80% of your physical appearance is determined by your diet. To get rid of your love handles, reduce belly fat, get a flat stomach – whatever you want to call it – you have to maintain a healthy diet.  

Did you know? – Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps consumes a mind-blowing 12,000 calories a day when training – that amounts to six days worth of calories for an active human! For breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelette. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes. Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories. Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.   
 
 
  

Smart eating tips to reduce belly fat:  

1) Eat more frequently 

Eating six days worth of food in one day won’t work for you because you are not Michael Phelps, but there are processes that occur in the human body that are the same for everyone. So if you have tried starving yourself to lose weight and noticed that your stomach actually got bigger, there is a reason for that. 

Your body needs a certain amount of calories to carry out important processes such as breathing and pumping blood to your organs. These are the calories you burn while doing nothing – your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). If you don’t get enough calories in your diet to carry out those processes, your body kicks into survival mode and converts more of what you eat into fat. If your body could talk when you finally decide to eat, it would say, “I am not getting enough calories to survive so I am going to convert more of this food into fat so I can store for the times when you don’t eat. This way, I have a chance of survival”. Because of this, starving yourself is counterproductive. You cannot get rid of belly by starving yourself; your love handles will actually get worse. 

To prevent your body from converting more of what you eat into fat, you don’t need to eat more, you need to eat more FREQUENTLY – every 2-3 hours. In this situation, if your body could talk, it would say “Since I always have a constant source of food, I don’t need to convert most of it into fat because I know that I won’t have to go very long before my next meal.” Your metabolism actually increases when you eat more frequently. Eating more frequently is one step to getting rid of excess belly fat. 

When I tell people to eat more frequently, they usually say that they can’t. I would hear, “My body isn’t used to eating 5 times a day”. Well your body is an intelligent machine and it picks up on patterns in your daily life. For example, if you routinely drink a cup of coffee at the same time every day, you would definitely feel the effects if you missed your coffee break for one day. You weren’t always like that, you formed a habit to which your body became accustomed, and it adjusted its functioning on the expectation of that cup of coffee at that certain time of day. The same will happen when you train your body to eat more frequently. 

You might think that by eating five times in a day that you will be consuming more calories, that’s not true. Instead of having 3 large meals, you should be eating 3 small meals along with 2 snacks; you are simply spreading out your calories more evenly throughout the day. In addition to preventing the onset of starvation, eating more frequently helps to improve your body’s metabolism because it is constantly working to process the nutrients that you can supplying your body with regularly. It has been suggested your metabolic rate slows after food has been processed and digest, therefore increasing your meal frequency can keep your body in a higher metabolic state.  

Some other benefits of frequent eating include: 

1) Increased energy 

2) Prevent overeating 

3) Combat cravings

In order to reduce belly fat, you must:

• Eat every 2-3 hours

• Never skip meals

2) Plan and prepare your meals 

To achieve anything in life, planning and preparation is key. The same goes for your goal of reducing belly fat. When you know exactly what you are going to eat then it is much easier to keep track of your caloric intake and more importantly, you are not leaving any room for unhealthy eating.  

This might sound like a tedious task to some, but it’s actually quite easy to plan and prepare your meals for the week. However, it does require you to grocery shop. While I’m personally not a big fan of going to the grocery store, I certainly understand and appreciate its importance. The best way to plan and prepare your meals for the week is to first make a list of what you would like to eat for the upcoming week.  

My fiancé actually started doing this and it’s been great. We would decide on what we would eat for lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday. Breakfast is usually oatmeal, cereal or whole grain toast. Once we’ve decided, we simply go to the store on Sunday and buy what needed for the week. On the list we would also include snacks such as fruits, yogurt, nuts and cereal bars. You don’t have to eat the same thing every night for dinner; you just need to make sure your refrigerator is stocked so that you’ll have options.  

Eating out more than once per week makes it very hard to get a flat stomach because practically all restaurants load their meals with salt to enhance the flavour. They use the richest and most fattening products because it makes food taste better; but health wise, you’re doing more harm to your body than you know. When you prepare your own meals, you know exactly what you’re getting and you can be sure that you are putting only healthy foods into your body.    

To get rid of love handles, you must:

• Plan your meals for the week

• Start grocery shopping

• Prepare your meals

3) Snack with purpose 

Snacking between your main meals is a very important for many reasons. First, you constantly provide your body with energy so that you are always alert and energetic. Second, your metabolism is always up because your body is always breaking down food and has a good source of fuel to burn energy between your main meals. Third, by snacking between your main meals, you never get very hungry and you lower the chances of overeating during lunch and dinner.  

The next good thing about this is that you won’t experience that mental crash after a heavy meal. You know what I’m talking about – that lethargic feeling that sneaks up on you after a nice big lunch or dinner and the only thing you want is a nice comfy bed or couch so you can fall asleep. Well that happens because your body is busy producing insulin to process all the excess carbohydrates you just consumed because you were so hungry. A spike in insulin is usually accompanied by dips in energy and lethargy. Remember, as much as 20% of your blood supply is diverted to digestion after a meal; that fatigue you feel is also caused in part to a reduction in blood flow to the brain because your body is busy digesting a big meal. Snacking can change all of that!  

Choose healthy snacks such as yogurt, unsalted nuts (almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds), low carb, low fat cereal bars, fruit (strawberries, apples, grapes, raisins).

To get a flat stomach, you must:

• Have a light snack between breakfast and lunch

• Choose healthy snacks such as nuts, fruits and yogurt

Follow these three rules and your quest to get rid of belly fat and get a flat stomach will be much easier. Combine these tips with regular exercise and you will lose your love handles in a hurry.  

Stay focused, be consistent, and don’t give up!

Eating foods that are rich in fibre can help you flatten your stomach because it aids in digestion and the elimination of built-up waste in your colon and intestines. Your protruding lower belly is often due to waste-accumulation in the intestines causing them to become enlarged. Fibrous foods act like scrubbing brushes that clean and scrape off the stored waste in your intestines. As it makes its way through your intestines, more build-up gets broken down. When you pass it out, your lower stomach looks flatter. Add fibrous foods to your diet for a flatter stomach. Fibre also acts as an appetite suppressant! Foods that are high in fibre absorb water, causing it to swell which takes up more space in your stomach. Therefore you are more likely to feel fuller, faster and avoid overeating. Fibrous foods also reduces the absorption of fats into the body. You can enjoy these other benefits of fibre on your path to getting a flat stomach.

BENEFITS OF FIBROUS FOODS:

 Helps Weight Loss

 Improves bowel function

 Reduces bowel transit time

 Reduces risk of Colon Cancer

 Improves Diabetes

 Lowers Triglycerides

 Lowers Cholesterol

Here is a list of some foods which are high in fibre that you can add to your diet. Remember, fibre = flat stomach.

• Swiss Chard

• Turnip greens

• Almonds

• Brussel Sprouts

• Stone ground whole wheat

• Brazil nuts

• Peanuts

• Walnuts

• Cherries

• Spinach

• Beet greens

• Kale

• Collard

• Raspberries

• Blackberries

• Strawberries

• Rye

• Broccoli

• Green beans

• Apples with skin

• Bananas

• Carrots

Please remember that fibre can help you get a flat stomach by reducing the build up of waste in your intestines, but it DOES NOT burn belly fat. It helps you stomach look flatter but you still need to exercise and eat sensibly to actually reduce belly fat.

Learn more about the real reason you have excess stomach fat and what you can do to get rid of it for good!

Discover some easy and practical ways to get rid of love handles and lose belly fat.

Lies about burning belly fat and getting a flat stomach are so easy to find, you can see them at the top of some google searches. Just type in “fat loss secrets”. This is a follow-up to an earlier article I wrote about top secret fat loss secrets (Read it here, FAT LOSS LIES). This is a bogus detox diet in which the seller makes outrageous promises about fat loss, and uses an ad campaign full of hype and lies to fuel profits.

One of my regular clients is a physician, and he confirmed my statement that doctors DO NOT prescribe weight loss or diet pills to their patients. However, the creator of Top Secret Fat Loss Secrets states that 99% of all doctors want to keep you fat with products design to keep you fat. That claim is completely fabricated.

Please let me be very clear about this: A detox diet will not help you get a flat stomach. It will not burn belly fat. It will do nothing to get right of stomach fat, or any fat at all. Detox diets are not fat loss diets; they are cleansing diets. They cleanse your system so that your intestines and colon pass out excess waste. This temporary cleanse has no fat burning effects. It’s simply a “flush”.

The weight that you lose is the excess waste that gets flushed out. Yes, it will seem like your waistline is smaller, but as soon as you return to your normal diet, your intestines will get clogged again, and your stomach will expand again. Detox is temporary and there is no fat loss involved.

If you really want to get a flat stomach, if you really want to burn belly fat and lose weight permanently, you need to change your diet and exercise. However, just showing up to the gym and messing around on a few machines won’t do the trick, there are specific things you need to do. All exercises were not created equal. There are a few secret exercises that burn an insane amount of calories while building strength and endurance. Bicep curls? Crunches? Not even close. There are exercises that are specifically designed to challenge your entire body. These exercises are the key to unlocking your true calorie burning potential.

Your diet is also extremely important. It is actually the most important factor when it comes to getting rid of excess stomach fat. Eat the right foods at the right time and your body will actually burn calories while you are doing nothing! How sweet it that!?

Check out this article to learn more about how you can get rid of excess stomach fat.

Learn how to lose your love handles and get rid of belly fat with these 10 tips.

Nutrition blogs & blog posts

and some easy ways to fix it

It’s the number one thing we wish we could change on our body, ugly belly fat. I know, it’s disgusting, it’s preventing you from wearing that fitted t-shirt you love because you can see the pudge surfacing like a hump back whale in the ocean. How many times have you looked in the mirror, turned to the side, suck you gut and say, “I just need it to be like THAT all the time!”? Well whatever you’ve been doing so far, it hasn’t worked, so let’s try something different to help you lose that fat around your belly.

Problem:

You really ARE what you eat! – You’ve heard it time and time again, you’ve read it countless times, and I’m here telling you the same thing again. You have to be very vigilant about what you eat. One reason you have belly fat could be what you eat on the weekend. You might be saying, “But I only eat bad on the weekend! The rest of the week I’m good!”. Well let’s look at it this way: There are four weekends in a month; for some, the weekend starts on Friday! Whatever the case, there may be at least two days on the weekend when you eat what you want.

Saturday Night Dinner:

A beer (bottle) has about 300 calories; but it’s the weekend! Let’s have another = 600 calories

Even if you have a coke, it’s 150 calories (2/3 of those calories come from SUGAR).

A plate of fries = 350 calories

Burger = 450 calories.

Dessert = 350 calories.

Total Caloric Intake = 1,750 calories.

The daily caloric intake of an active adult woman is 1500-1700 calories; for man it’s between 2000-2500. You’ve just consumed a day’s worth of calories in one meal.

If you do this every Friday, Saturday or Sunday, in one month you will have consumed an extra 7000 calories a month. What does that mean? It means you gain an extra 2lbs a month because 3500 calories = 1lb. 7000 calories = 2lbs. So whatever you’ve done good during that week of eating healthy, you’ve almost completely negated your efforts and set yourself back. If you don’t exercise at all, then it means that in one year, you can expect to be about 24lbs heavier. You might think one meal is harmless, but over time, those calories add up and contribute to your belly fat.

Some quick tips:

• Be very cautious about what you eat. If you want to treat yourself, choose ONE item, not a whole meal. I’m all for eating the good stuff, but you have to do it moderation. To start getting rid of that belly fat, tighten up your cheat days, don’t go all out every weekend. Those calories will add up!

• Have one beer instead of two, or have a soda which has half the amount of calories that beer does.

• If you’re having a burger, get a salad instead of the fries.

• Wait a few minutes before ordering dessert. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to register that you’re full. Have a tea or coffee instead of a big piece of cake and ice-cream.

• If you’re starving before your meal and you have that feeling like you’re going to eat like there’s no tomorrow, then have a glass of water before your meal. The extra water will take up some space in your stomach so you will feel fuller faster.

• Remember, it’s better to be full than stuffed!

Discover the REAL reasons you have excess stomach fat and how you can finally get rid of belly fat.

Learn 10 ways you can lose love handles and get rid of belly fat.

Here are some quick tips for a flat stomach. In addition to exercise, these little changes in your diet can help you get rid of belly fat.

1) Always eat breakfast : The one common link among skinny people is that they never skip breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day because it’s the first thing you consume after 6-8 hours of fasting while you sleep. You should never delay eating breakfast. Grab a Kashi cereal bar if you’re in a hurry, or down a fruit smoothie (it takes me 2 minutes every morning). Ideally, you should be eating a nice full breakfast (OATMEAL!). Don’t say ”yuck” just yet. Mix in some berries, a small banana and some raisins and you’ll have a great tasting bowl of oatmeal.

2) Always have a bottle of water with you: Staying hydrated helps to flush out harmful toxins in your body. It’s also a nice practice to drink a glass of water before your meals if you sometimes tend to overeat. Water will take up space in your stomach so you will eat less and feel fuller, faster.

3) Eat the skin of fruits : The skin of apples, grapes, cherries, and any type of berries  act like little scrubbing brushes that scrape the gunk off your intestinal walls. It’s part of the reason people “GO” when they eat fruit. Clearing out the goop out of your intestines will directly influence the size of your waistline because your intestines will no longer be clogged!

4) Go Green! – Leafy green veggies like lettuce do the same thing that the skins of fruit do – only better! Leafy greens never actually get broken down by the stomach. Instead, it gets crushed into  really fine pieces. Those fine pieces work its way through your bowels and scrub them clean!

5) Yo-Yo-Yogurt – Studies have shown that the high calcium content in yogurt may actually help block the storage of fat around the abdomen. However, make sure you choose a yogurt that isn’t loaded with sugar. Activia is good but still quite sugary. Try Biobes instead.

There you have it. Five Fast Food Fixes for a Flat Stomach.  (say that five times fast).

FREE TIBET.

Kam.

Learn some easy techniques to help you get rid of belly fat and lose love handles.

\