Tag: get back in shape

Whether you’re interested in improving your health, enjoying more
consistent energy levels, or losing weight, you need to get more
healthy fats into your body.

This means fish oil, olive oil, canola oil, macadamia nut oil —
even coconut oil, as long as it’s organic. This also means using
real butter instead of the fake stuff or margarine.

Even animal fats are healthy in moderation.

The key is to try to eat organic and/or grass-fed meat and chicken,
and wild salmon and fish (farm raised fish have a higher buildup of
mercury in their tissues and fat).

I first learned about the importance of fat in your diet back in
college. Unfortunately, I later forgot what I learned.

Yes, I gave in to the low-fat, sugar-free everything mantra that
was (and in some circle, still is) conventional wisdom. And I
recommended a low-fat, sugar-free dietary approach to personal
training clients and friends.

Over time, though, I found that something was missing. Low fat
diets always left me wanting more. I never felt full. So dieting
was harder and became difficult to maintain. I’ve seen the same
phenomenon with clients I’ve worked with.

Then, one day, I was reading an old bodybuilding book that I had
originally stumbled upon back when I was in college…and decided
to never diet again.

The book’s author, Vince Gironda, was a famous bodybuilder and
bodybuilding guru. In his book, he mentioned that he recommended
increasing fats and decreasing carbohydrates when his students
were going through phases of heavy training.

In his experience, fats provided a more constant and longer
lasting source of fuel.

Also, he discussed the high protein and high fat, very low
carbohydrate diet the bodybuilders followed for several weeks prior
to a competition, to burn off fat and get very defined.

Wow! Vince was doing Atkins before Dr. Atkins was doing Atkins!

Well, I changed my ways. I added more fat (mostly of the healthy
variety) into my diet. I kept my protein consumption fairly high
(30 to 35% of total calories).

I ate the “real” version of most foods. I kept a solid level of
fruits and vegetables (so this wasn’t an Atkins diet). I ate
whole grains and rice instead of white flour products. I limited
my intake of sugary foods.

I found that I ate better, felt more satisfied, and actually
lost weight, without really trying.

By the way, this is part of the nutrition recommendations I give
you in the “Fire Up Your Metabolism” Program.

When you combine the fat-burning, metabolism-boosting exercises
in the program with a few simple, easy-to-follow modifications
to your diet — you will be well on your way to attaining your
ideal weight.

I asked three of my training clients to try the same diet. (They
were the three who, in my estimation, had the most open minds.)
They were a little sceptical at first. Then they starting seeing
results.

As one guy told me, “I’m enjoying what I eat now, and I’m not
obsessing so much over food.”

He looked great too – his weight stayed the same, but his lean
mass and definition improved.

At any rate, I learned my lesson.

Since then, when I have had occasion to put on extra weight, I’ve
eventually given up the diet approach. Instead, I’ve focused
on eating more healthy fats and protein.

Within a few days, I feel like I have more energy and I’m getting
back on track.

You Can Do It!

Karen
www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. Vince Gironda always said that proper diet and nutrition is
80% of bodybuilding success. In my experience, it’s important to
achieving optimum body composition and weight. That’s why I include
an entire section on nutrition in the “Fire Up Your Metabolism”
Program.

Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011

Will the “low fat diet” go the way of the big bull?

Has the “low fat diet” heresy finally been put away — for good?

Probably not. It’s been a staple of medical wisdom for a few
decades now.

Doctors have been telling their overweight patients and patients
with heart problems to follow a low fat diet.

Problem is, during this time the number of people who develop heart
disease or who are overweight has continued to accelerate, even
while following this low fat “wisdom”.

Over the past 5 years or so, a body of research has developed based
on results from long-term studies on low fat diets. These studies
have found that men or women on low fat diets have the same risk
for heart disease and certain cancers as men or women who eat a
diet with normal levels of fat.

They also average the same in terms of weight, weight loss or
weight gain.

This means that the low fat diet does not deliver on its highly
touted health benefits. And it’s not that effective in helping
with weight loss, either.

The problem with the low fat diet is that it goes against humans’
natural nutritional requirements. We NEED fats in our diet. It’s
the way we are built.

I discuss this in the “Fire Up Your Metabolism” Program in the
section on nutritional recommendations. My rational
approach to nutrition is an important part of the program.

So many of us have tried to live by the “fat is bad” mantra, yet
have not achieved the results we expected in terms our ideal weight
or body composition.

This is because of how we are wired. If you follow a low fat diet
for any length of time, your body will naturally crave something to
make up for the part of the diet it’s missing. Most people
fill this craving by adding extra carbohydrates into their diet.

This wouldn’t be so bad if they were adding extra quantities of
fruits and vegetables.

Unfortunately, the added carbs tend to be of the highly refined
variety, as in additional portions of white flour products and
“low fat” packaged foods.

Yes, the packaged foods industry jumped on the low fat bandwagon
years ago. They have reduced the fat in many of their most popular
foods, such as cookies and chips. But….

Here’s what they don’t tell you: they add other ingredients, such
as extra sugar (and its derivatives), salt, and so forth, to help
make the flavor and consistency of their packaged products as close
to the “real thing” as possible. Without the fat, these types of
foods just don’t satisfy as well.

Plus, the added sugars and carbs tend to make you want to eat even
more of them. You end up eating twice as much of the low fat version
as you would of the real thing. Bad for us consumers…but great
for the packaged food industry!

Now, does this mean carte blanche on dietary fat, and it’s OK to
eat a bacon cheeseburger and french fries every day?

Of course not.

The fats you should be eating more of are the healthy fats: animal
fats from (preferably) organic or grass fed products, including
dairy and eggs. And omega 3 fatty acids such as those contained in
fish and fish oil supplements, as well as flax seed and certain
vegetable oils.

You should probably reduce the amount of saturated fats, such as
fat from red meat, in your diet. But don’t eliminate them! You need
saturated fats too! However, you SHOULD try to completely eliminate
trans fats.

Become good at reading labels so you understand the fat, sugar,
and carbohydrate content in your favorite packaged foods. When in
doubt, opt for those choices that offer more “real” ingredients and 
less sugar and carbs.

In my next post, I’ll discuss how consuming more health fats can
benefit your lungs, breathing ability, and stamina.

You Can Do It!

Karen
www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. Learn more about how diet can help you reach your ideal weight,
as well as achieve more consistent energy levels and better health,
with the “Fire Up Your Metabolism” Program. Eliminate all the “diet”
guesswork and confusion that may be holding you back. Due to
popular demand, I am carrying over the January special on this
program into February. You still have time! Get your copy today!
Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2011