As I explained in the first article ‘Gluttony and Sloth’ Laziness and over eating cannot be blamed for weight gain.  Bold claims I know but true none the less.

 In the early part of last century Anorexia was believed to be a physical disorder rather than the psychological disorder we know it to be today.  With this in mind the best method Doctors could find to increase weight rapidly was to inject insulin into their patients.  The results of this were phenomenal; Anorexia suffers reported anything up to 10 lbs in weight gain within a week.

 Before a cure for Diabetes type 1 was discovered sufferers would die emaciated their body fat would literally burn up completely.  It is insulin that is used to balanced sugar levels in the body and prevent the burning of fat.

 So what does this tell us? In the first case we can see that extra insulin in the body will cause increased weight gain.  In the second case we can see that insulin can prevent the body from burning fat.

 What does this all mean?

 It is not eating excess food that causes us to gain weight.  Weight is gained as a hormone response to insulin.  When insulin is present in large quantities the body stores fat.

 Just as hormonal changes in a pregnant woman’s body will make her store fat in order to protect her unborn child, hormones are responsible for weight gain.

 So what is producing this insulin and how can it be stopped? 

 Our bodies produce insulin as a response to carbohydrate intake.  The higher the concentration of carbohydrate the greater degree of insulin is produce.  This is the premise behind the famous ‘Atkins Diet’ the removal of all and any carbohydrates will result in rapid and successful weight loss. 

 Unfortunately many people fell ill as a degree of carbohydrate is required in our diet to provide us with energy.  To achieve results equal to those seen with the ‘Atkins Diet’ we must only cut out the following:

 -Starchy carbohydrates: Rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, cereal.

- Processed foods: pastries, biscuits, sweets, fizzy drinks.

- Sugar: Aspartame.

 For some more advice or a plan to follow to achieve your weight loss goal check out the Green Faces diet.

Why? The world has created a debilitating myth that gluttony and sloth are to blame for obesity.  Almost one in three are now considered over weight and we suggest the reason for this is; food is cheaper and easier to get hold of, we live more sedentary lives, and kids are lazier because of video games.

Half the planet is on a diet at any one time… (No idea if that’s true but I wouldn’t be surprised) why is the world not getting any thinner?

If you give a dog more food it doesn’t get fat it just has more energy and moves around more.  If you give it less food it sleeps and rests more.  Why do we believe we are any different?

Energy in = Energy Out

This is not something we need to force, it will just happen. Are you a tired person? Are you exhausted at the end of the day/ part way through the day? You don’t do more than everyone else, you don’t work harder than everyone else ( No, you don’t) you just don’t eat enough.

What are you trying say?

If you were to eat 10,000 calories a day and you choose the right food you would not gain fat.  FACT

If you make your plate smaller, miss meals, reduce fat intake and eat much less than your recommended calorie intake you will not, will not, will not lose fat… FACT.

If you eat the same amount of calories per day but increase the amount you burn, by walking or taking the stairs or clenching at your desk you will not burn fat. FACT

Neither gluttony nor sloth are to blame for your weight gain… you are not lazy, you are not greedy.

Sorry Tune in next time for some answers…………………

Visit one of the nationally recognised brands like weight watchers, Rosemary Connelly, Slim fast, Slimmer’s World and they will all tell you to cut your food and your fat in take.

They can’t both be right can they?

Well with out trying to let my opinion slip out, what has led me to write this is something I am noticing more and more with my client’s…  They just won’t eat enough food!

It sounds insane I know; but it has become so ingrained in our culture that it is one of the hardest things to get someone to change.  The biggest problem is it does make sense.

If you put a cake in a bag, the bag will become heavier and larger if you put two cakes in a bag it gets even bigger…simples.  Yes if you were a bag.  Unfortunately that is not quite how it works.

When we eat something our body ask a question… ‘can I use this?’ if the answer is yes then it will take what it can use and send the rest on its way.  If the answer is no then it really doesn’t know what to do with it, the body will take what it can for energy and store the rest as fat.  (a very simplified explanation)

So what does the body recognise?  It recognises those things it has been eating for thousand and thousands of years… fresh real foods that grow.  You can eat any food that falls into this categories (protein and carbs always together) until the cows come home.  Your body will burn 85% of it just to stay alive.  Exercise and a healthy lifestyle will take care of the rest.

Running Scared

The problem is that we are so desperate to lose weight that we try both methods to bring results quicker.  We try and eat healthily but we skip breakfast, we have a snack in the day and a larger meal in the evening.

Meanwhile our bodies have no idea what is going on, all it knows is it is not being fed very often.  How does it cope with this problem?

1. It provides you with less energy
2. It stores fat every time you eat to prepare for famine
3. It stops making you feel hunger

So what is the result of this?

You are low on energy, your body has taught its self to store fat rather than burn it and you are struggling to change this because you are just not hungry any more.

So how do I escape this vicious circle?

1. Eat only fresh foods that grow (I imagine you were doing this)

2. Eat little and often, you won’t be hungry but you need to train your body, you must tell it that the famine is over and it is safe to feel hungry again.

3. Exercise a little bit every day and help to shock your body into hunger.

4. Always eat proteins with carbohydrates, it will slow the conversion of carbs to fat storage.

After the first month though results can start to plateau and interest can begin to wane.  Your body has adapted to the extra work you are demanding of it and has learned to cope with the new demands you are placing on it.

When we first start a routine progression comes fast, we are able to add weight to our exercises every time we train.  But after a while the weight increase starts to tail off, we are no longer able to push any further.

Now is the time to move away from this programme, as far away as possible.  Our body’s are amazing, each time we do something new and difficult our body’s repair, adapted and prepare for the next time.  This means that the next time you attempt the same programme your body is able to cope with these pressures and little adaptation is made.

It is these adaptations that are the progress towards our goal.  So how do we avoid plateaus? Make changes; don’t do the same old workout week in week out.  Change exercises, number of repetitions, number of sets, time under tension, load, rest, order of muscles worked.  

Make each workout completely different from the last and push yourself. Try a new workout every day.

Derren Brown looks at some extraordinary claims from around the world, documenting a medium, a ghost hunter and a psychic expert who claims to make the blind see (I stole the brief from the channel 4 web site).

During one episode they show a so called expert tell a 16 year old child with Cerebral Palsy that he would be able to walk by the time he was 25 he also told numerous blind people that they would be able to see in a matter of days.  (although no actual results have been recorded to date).

This man and many others that Derren visits throughout the series are finding vulnerable people and offering them false hope in exchange for large sums of money.

I was understandably appalled at how these charlatans could prey on societies most vulnerable people for financial gain.  But then I started to think about the industry that I am in.

I am a Personal Trainer and nutritional advisor the clients that I see are perhaps not society’s most vulnerable people but they have come to me expecting the truth, I and the rest of my industry have an obligation to advise our clients with facts.

If we offer advice we don’t know to be fact we must make it clear that it is our opinion.  We must not give in to media propaganda, we must be teachers of the truth, not pass on unsubstantiated claims.

I have heard such claims from so called experts, I have read them on their websites and in articles written by my peers.  They have no doubt read it somewhere or heard it from someone they trust, and before too long they are passing it off as fact.  Are these people any better than the “experts” Derren Brown is visiting in his documentaries?

I have recently read articles on the websites of some highly respected fitness professional offering the following things:

-Cancer fighting foods

-Antioxidants to help you fight disease

-Prolonged continuous cardiovascular exercise for weight loss.

There is just not enough proof to support any of these claims and in fact most of the research is even detrimental to these arguments… antioxidants could in fact be dangerous in large quantities, cardiovascular exercise will increase the bodies energy preserving efficiency (burning less calories) so if you ever stop you will gain more fat than you had originally.

Whilst there may well be foods that can help keep cancer at bay, we are definitely not at a stage where we can suggest cancer fighting diets. It’s just careless and irresponsible.

Saying eating antioxidants will increase the level of antioxidants in your body is like saying eating bones will increase the number of bones in your body.  While both true, neither are of much benefit.

So this is what I would like to offer you… I will never, ever, tell a client of mine anything that I have not researched and know to be fact. If I don’t know the answer I will endeavour to find out, but until that time my answer will be “I don’t know”.

It is fear of saying I don’t know that has got us into this mess and only honesty and willingness to actually discover the truth can save an industry based on hearsay and tabloid opinion.

This may seem like a bizarre start to an article on a Personal Training website but stick with me.  The importance of exercise is our bodies adaptation to it not the exercise as an end in itself.

With all of these stresses going on in our body it is important that we know what we are trying to achieve from our training and even more important that we allow our bodies to rest, recover and repair.

The benefits of rest between exercise sessions….. heart rate comes down; heart muscles become stronger, lungs can breathe a greater volume of air thus deliver more oxygen and nutrient to the body; blood pressure comes down; brain works more efficiently; reduced stress levels; increased range of movement; body burns more fat at rest; greater energy levels; greater strength; faster and a much lower risk of  injury and illness. 

When following an exercise programme it is important to understand exactly what you are trying to achieve.  Whether you are trying to gain muscle or loss weight what you are actually trying to do is induce a number of controlled tears in your muscles.  It is then allowing and helping them to heal that will make the difference. 

Rest, sleep, controlling stress levels, listening to what your body is telling you and look after your nutritional intake.  These are the things that will determine your results.  The gym is packed with people lifting heavy weights or running flat out on the treadmill.  Those with the most enviable physics are seldom those lifting the most or running the fastest or the furthest.

Our automatic response is to tell ourselves they are just ‘genetically fortunate’.  While this may be true of less than 1% of the population the really difference is what they did.  They listen and they learned, it’s not about how hard you work but how smart.  Exercise is not about how hard you push yourself but how well you recover.

Let’s use running as an example. You’re trying to burn a bit of fat in your lunch hour so you start going out for a run for 20 minutes, say, every other day.

The first week goes by and you’re finding it really tough but you can feel a difference; the following week is much the same but it’s getting easier. By week three you’re starting to feel more comfortable and you’re really glad you started this…

But why are you feeling more comfortable? You’ve got fitter - but what does that mean? It means that your body is working more efficiently than it was before. It has factored this run into the ‘things it has to do’ and as a result is teaching itself to use less energy to complete the task.

After two months of consistently running every other day you hop on the scales… You only notice 1 or 2 lbs difference and your motivation starts to fade. You carry on a little while longer but you eventually stop. What you’re now left with is a more efficient body doing less activity. Within a month of stopping you are half a stone heavier than when you started!

This is a story I hear over and over again from new clients that have tried everything in their bid to lose body fat.

So what’s the lesson we should learn from this? Our bodies adapt to whatever we do on a regular basis and burn less fat as a result. But if we change what we do on a regular basis then our bodies will not adapt as quickly, and we burn more fat.

So, the best form of exercise for weight loss is …whatever exercise is most different to what you last did!

For a new workout every day visit: http://www.jamesrosshealthcare.co.uk/Team/Ed-Ley/Personal-Training-Blog

There seems to be literally thousands of websites, magazines and irritating spammers out there who have the answer to muscle building or fat burning or what ever your fitness goal might be. I have even fallen victim myself on occasion….. ‘ Get that wash board stomach in 3 easy moves’.

Let me tell you this; all of the best exercises are already out there. Regardless of what you hope to achieve from your training, the best exercise always have been, and always will be those full body movements that require the most muscle to perform.

Clever marketing spin can often suck you in promising to show you something new and exciting that will help you get the results you always wanted (just after you have paid). As soon as you get inside it’s just a different way of packaging the same moves. You can’t blame these people, they are trying to sell what they do in a hugely competitive environment filled with a mass of under qualified Personal Trainers. It is no longer best trainer but best marketer.

Progression is the key that many of these programmes fail to mention. Recording what you do can have a massive impact on your results. Each time we train (with correct form) our bodies adapt, the next time we follow the same programme our body are prepared and so we make fewer gains.

What ever programme you are following make sure that you record: Exercise, number of reps, number of set, tempo (Time under tension; this is how long you take to complete the concentric and eccentric phase of the exercise and how long the exercise takes in total), rest, and load. Now each time you follow a specific programme you can make a choice to increase load or reps or reduce rest dependant on your ultimate goal.

Big gains come when we challenge our bodies to do something I have never done before. Plateaus come when we stop challenging our bodies to do more….. For new ideas, follow my Work of the day a new workout every day. http://bit.ly/9zwiPb. Remember above all; good technique and record everything!

By Ed Ley BSc MHFST

Diets make you fat

Calorie counting has long been the health industries answer to weight management and for good reason. When we cut our food intake we lose weight (not fat but more on this later). However, once our bodies register this decrease in food intake it adjusts its energy expenditure and returns to its normal weight leaving us not only at the same weight but with less energy. Why is this? Our bodies need a certain amount of calories to survive, when this amount is cut our bodies worry that our food resource is drying up, so it holds onto those calories with the greatest value. Protein and carbs are worth 4cals per gram, whereas fat is worth 9 cals. When we cut our calorie intake, our body stores fat to keep us alive.

What they don’t tell you about calories is the importance of where they come from. The simple rule of thumb is…. If God didn’t make it don’t eat it. If you go into a shop and have to read the ingredients on the label then it probably isn’t very good for you. Your body uses 85% of your daily calorie intake simply to stay alive. So remember it’s not about reducing calories it’s about increasing the quality of your calories. If you give your body usable calories i.e. those from fruit, veg, fresh fish and lean meats your health goals will become far easier to achieve.

Fat is burned in muscle

If you have spent the last year doing long cardio workout in a bid to lose weight I am sorry for what I am about to tell you. The only way to lose fat is to increase your muscle. FACT. Fat is burned in one place, in your muscle. (Don’t worry ladies this does not mean you will stack on muscle if you use weights, it is testosterone that builds bulk a substance of which your body has very little). This simply means resistance training is the best way to burn fat. The large compound movements that require the most muscle are most effective here, try squats, deadlifts, lunges, press ups, seated row, lat pulldown. Ask an instructor if you are unsure of technique. Better still hire a personal trainer.

Eat breakfast

I am sure you have heard this one a thousand times and here is why. During the night our bodies metabolism (the speed at which our body converts food into energy) slows down. It does not speed up again until we eat. Put into even simpler terms, our bodies don’t start burning fat until we eat. 80% of obese people do not eat breakfast. Try going for something with a mixture of protein, carbohydrates and good fats. Eggs and salmon on rye bread or porridge oats, nuts and seeds with some natural yoghurts. Try and keep your diet as varied as possible, variety really is the key to optimum health.

Drink plenty of water

Even mild dehydration will slow one’s metabolism by as much as 3%. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of day time fatigue. Research from Simon Hartley at sense uk indicates that 8-10 glasses of water per day could significantly reduce back and join pain in 80% of sufferers. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic maths and difficulty focusing on a computer screen or a printed document.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should everyday? As a rule of thumb- drink half your weight (measured in lbs) in ounces of water per day. If you workout 3 plus time a week or during the summer months add another 24 plus ounces to that number. Additionally, caffeine and alcohol dehydrate the body; you would need to drink twice the amount of water as you did coffee, coke, tea or alcohol to replace the lost water.

The key to optimum health

There are a number of foods that for what ever reason, for example are, difficult to digest, act as poisons to the body or are simply empty calories that we should try and minimise in our diets. These foods are: saturated fats those found in pastries and chicken nuggets and other processed foods, sugar and aspartame (a sugar replacement), dairy, gluten found in bread. Bleach found in those foods that have been whitened i.e white flour, white rice etc and caffeine and alcohol (discussed above). The list below highlights a number of illnesses, ailments and allergies that all have their base in food.

I’m sure you will find you have a few of these conditions. Simply by either reducing or increasing as suggested you might find them clearing up in no time.

• Symptoms associated with essential Oil deficiency (not enough Omega-3 and Omega-6) Dry Skin, Inflammatory health problems, water retention, high blood pressure, poor learning, memory and concentration, impaired child growth, heart attack, stroke, cancer, obesity, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, ADHD, postpartum depression, Alzheimers disease.
• Symptoms associated with dehydration: Asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, allergies, low back pain, arthritis, peptic ulcers.
• Symptoms associated with excess sugar: kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, ADD and ADHD, behavioural problems, depression, violent tendencies, tooth decay, colon cancer, schizophrenia, osteoporosis, yeast and fungal overgrowth, chronic fatigue.
• Symptoms associated with Gluten Intolerance: Fatigue, energy slumps, headaches, skin conditions, constipation, diarrhoea, irritable bowels, heartburn, excess gas, bloating, abdominal cramping, food craving, water retention, weight gain.
• Symptoms of diary intolerance: stomach aches, wind, bloating, cramping, diarrhoea, constipation, runny nose, asthma, earaches, diabetes, heart disease, anaemia, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, infertility.

Motivation

Motivation, much like confidence doesn’t really exist. If you fake it for long enough it will just become part of who you are or in this case what you do. Here are a few tips to help strengthen your resolve in those early months.

Make an appointment and stick to it. Whether it’s with yourself, with a friend or even a personal trainer making an appointment will make you more likely to attend. Especially, if someone else is relying on you.

Set short term and long term goals. In the short term, what do you want to achieve? 1lb weight loss per week, lifting a certain weight, running a certain distance. Once you have reach this goal set another, just make sure it aligns with your long term goals. In the long term. How do you want to look? Feel? What will people say when they see the new you? Paint a vivid picture in your mind of the thinner or more muscular or healthier you. Make it as bright and colourful as you can. Visualise yourself moving towards it each time you train or eat a healthy meal.

Burn more fat for 38 hours

One hour of continuous cardiovascular exercise will burn approximately 600 calories during the hour of training and 100 in the hour afterward but after that your metabolism will return to its normal rate. When we engage in resistance training or interval training we can burn up to 250 calories in 30 minutes of training and again 100 in the hour after training, but where this form of training becomes more beneficial is that it will keep your metabolism burning fat at a higher rate for up to 38 hours after training and will also have a far greater impact on your fitness levels.

So what is interval training? Interval training is all about achieving your bodies maximum output as frequently as possible during one session. It will really push you out of your comfort zone but trust me when I tell you the result are well worth the effort. Try this simple example of interval training. After a 5 minute warm up on any CV machine you are ready to start your 15 minute session.

This can be done on any machine or even outside, for this example I will use the treadmill. Setting the treadmill on an incline of 1, run for 2 minutes at RPE 8 ( Rate of Perceived Excursion; on a scale of 1-10) Then after 2 minutes drop down to a comfortable walking pace about RPE 5 now repeat this 5 more times. You’re done! Have a 5 minute gentle cool down walk or jog. Mix this in with your regularly training and the results will amaze you. Speak to a trainer for help devising more.

Follow the 80-20 rule

Train hard and eat healthily 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time you can do what you like (within reason). Have that piece of chocolate cake and a few glasses of wine. It will strengthen your resolve and serve to remind you why you are doing this in the first place…. so you can enjoy the things you love in moderation without feeling guilty. Don’t berate yourself if you miss a training session or have a bad food day, just put it behind you and carry on.

2lbs of body fat per week is all your body is capable of losing, likewise, 0.5-0.75lbs of muscle per week is all it is possible for your body to gain. With this in mind, make your goals realistic. Consistency, variety and technique (to avoid injury setbacks) are the keys to your success.

I do hope these hints and tip will help you in your quest what ever your goals may be. For further information or to book a free personal training consultation call Ed on 078 148 54421

Until then eat well and train hard

Ed Ley BSc MHFST

absolute health.

Ingredients (Serves 4)
1 large or two medium sized onion
1 tin chickpeas in water or brine
2 chicken breasts
1 large aubergine
2 inch piece fresh ginger finely chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp chilli sauce or chilli flakes
2 tsp mustard seeds or 2 tsp strong mustard
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
Ground black pepper to taste

Method
1. Put a heavy bottomed casserole pan on a high heat with enough oil to cover the bottom. While the oil is heating peel and chop the onion. When the oil smokes add all the seeds, cover and shake pan get the seeds popping. Simmer and add onions stirring so they don’t burn.
2. Chop the chicken breast into chunks and add the chicken, ginger, chilli, garlic and other spices to the onions and seeds.
3. Wash the aubergine and cut into dice and add to the pan. Leave to cook for ten minutes.
4. Add the tinned tomatoes and add to the pan, with water as necessary simmer for 5 mins.
5. Finally add the chick peas stir the curry together and season to taste. Cover and allow to simmer slowly for 30 minutes adding water if necessary.
6. Serve with fresh veg.

Anne-Marie