Posted on

Tuesday, 20th November

I continue to get questions on food supplements.

How much creatine should i take? Does it actually work?

Should i be taking vitamin C in vast quantities? Should i be taking it at all?

What about calcium tablets? Do they really strengthen my bones and joints?

I could go on and on with this one, as most people still ask about so called wonder cures?!!!

If you consider this, the european until wants to ban 70% of the supplement industry in europe, at least 70% that is!!

It’s not that they consider all of it dangerous, it’s just that that according to lengthy studies, they have found that most of them have no positive effect whatsoever!!! That statement pretty much sums up my attitude on the supplements already mentioned, if they work for you then fine, but there is little or no scientific evidence to back ANY of their claims.

Then you come to one of the most popular supplements on the markets, the “fatburner”!!!

I seem to have more questions on this than anything else.

The scientific answer is again that they have little or NO effect on your body whatsoever in terms of fat loss. However, the negative impact includes raising your heart rate including putting extra stress on your heart (which is of course very dangerous).

Sports drinks are only beneficial after 60 minutes of CONTINUOUS exercise, which is why i don’t recommend them for most people. For most people, they only end rotting your teeth and putting unwanted body fat on. Drink water, lose body fat and get just as much energy full stop!!

Then you have the other energy drinks, such as the ones full of caffeine. I have been against these for years, and i will mention that right now that one big company in the US, is facing a massive law suit and being accused of causing death by heart attack after consumption. There are several cases in the US right now, so i think that says it all but make up your own judgement!!

You can see that a lot of the supplement industry is based on false claims, pure lies and downright dangerous ingredients.

Fresh natural food and plenty of water will take you a long, long way!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 14th November

Not appreciating how far you have come is a surprising trait amongst many individuals I deal with.

This is the due to the negative kind of mental conditioning that weight loss clubs have given many of us in the past.

For example, if an individual who has been training for 4-6 months, and they are not a tiny person in terms of waist size, then I would consider 4-8 inches off their waist as a totally conservative estimate.
Some people achieve even more but I’m trying to offer you the least/bare minimum I see individuals achieving in this time frame.

So if during this time they training consistently, eat pretty well most of the time and don’t overdo it on alcohol, you would assume that most people would be happy with this kind of impressive progress?

The problem I often see with those who have gone to weight loss clubs for years is that they still rely on the scale as their true measure of progress, and this is where the negative thinking and problems start.

So if I give you an example of someone I have trained for one year, and has lost 12 inches off their waist, you would have to accept that this is a truly inspiring and wonderful achievement!!!

Then what would you say if that same individual was still a little bit unhappy because they had only lost “15-20 pounds off the scale”, and why wasn’t it 3 stone because she had come down 4 dress sizes and 10 per cent body fat after all, and she had lost 3-4 stone in the past!!!

This is an example of not accepting the scientific approach to weight/fat loss, despite the fact that the same individual was looking incredibly better right now than she had EVER LOOKED, and especially better now than when she lost 3 stone because she was now toned, had a lot more energy and her waist and hip size now allowed her to fit into clothes she had never been able to even think about wearing before.

Its time to throw out those negative images and heresay given to you by these dubious weight loss clubs, and use the latest science to get your fat loss plan correct. Don’t put up with false claims of these clubs, and weight loss plans that are according to every single study over the last few years, to not only put the weight back on, but another 5% on top!!!

The science is here, if I were you I would use it wisely and not waste a penny more of your money!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 1st November

New York is certainly in the headlines this week, with the devastation of probably the biggest storm in the last 100 years hitting it extremely hard.

The destructive power of water and wind is very much in evidence and we wish all the best in their recovery efforts, I have friends there and hope they come back strong soon!

The only downside about visiting the states in my experience, and a lot of people’s experience is the abundance of sugary foods there. Breakfast time for example is traditionally a choice between pancakes full of sugar and sour cream, there are traditional fried options although never as good as our versions, and a marathon of strong coffee options!

Then the cereal options are very high in sugar, and it really seems a tough job especially in eastern states to get something plain and simple. Southern California can be a refreshing and a very healthy change!

The problem is if you fall for all of these options, its easy to get addicted to sugar again!

It can take weeks when you get back from a trip to get your taste buds back to normal, but you won’t shed the weight until you do.

This country is catching it up quickly though, as most of us know, you can forget most of the aisles in the supermarket because they are filled with sugary rubbish!

Obesity is continuing to get higher and higher, because there is a point when some people simply “give up” and can’t be bothered to eat well anymore, or try to eat well, because they have fallen for so many faddy diets that have never worked in the longer term for them, their attempts at exercise have often been futile and this has been caused by all the false information out there, which often destroys people’s health and lives when they get to this unfortunate “giving up phase”!

Its vital then that your food consumption should be a plain and simple as possible, especially when cooking. Cook from scratch when you can (you will know what’s going into the food!), eat natural and fresh when possible and avoid anything high in refined sugar and saturated fat.

This vital strategy will only help your training efforts, and keep your taste buds healthy and not attract you to food that ultimately will pile the weight on and possibly bring diabetes on!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 24th October

I always get questions on the difficult subject on which foods are best to eat before exercise.

Studies have shown that consuming foods with a slower sugar release (porridge, potatoes etc) will work far better than foods with a fast release of sugar (chocolate, sugary snacks of all kinds).

This wise choice will keep your blood sugar levels much more long lasting especially during longer training sessions.

Latest studies have also shown that slow release energy based meals eaten around 3 hours before exercise have burnt more fat than those people who ate sugary snacks 3 hours before the same workout, and the same amount of carbs.

This is not to say that a small amount of sugary product cannot be beneficial before exercise, but having too much sugar can cause dizziness and make you feel faint, especially if you overdo it before intense exercise.

Some ideas for pre-exercise meals

Sandwich/roll/bagel/wrap filled with chicken, fish, cheese, egg or peanut butter

Jacket potato with beans, cheese, tuna, or chicken

Pasta with tomato based pasta sauce, vegetables and cheese

Lighter macaroni cheese with salad

Rice with chicken or fish and veg

Porridge made with milk

Wholegrain cereal such a weetabix, shredded wheat, no salt no sugar muesli.

Noodles with stir-fried prawns or tofu and veg

Pre-workout snack ideas
2-3 portions of fruit, eg grapes, apples, peaches, apricots

1-2 bananas

Approx 40g raisins, dried apricots or sultanas

One 300ml smoothie home made preferably

1 or 2 pots of natural fruit yoghurt

1 all natural cereal bar, not the more or less pure sugar type!

1 large glass fruit juice

3 rice cakes, thinly spread with all natural peanut butter

See how you get on with these!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 22nd October

Fat loss tips that will work for you
Stating the obvious with a few of these, but its always good to re-visit strategies that will help you look and feel your best!

Portion control

Eating larger portions will get you used to eating big and therefore make you put weight on!
Studies have shown that when people are given larger portions, even when they didn’t like that particular food, ate 33% more calories during that meal.

A simple way to judge is to use your fist as a guide for carb and protein sizes, and no limit on your vegetables.

Don’t ban your favourite treats completely
If you still eat your favourite foods in moderation, you will likely lose more fat in the long run and make your eating plan far more sustainable!

If you keep some of your favourite foods in there, then no food will be classed as “forbidden”’. When foods are classed as off limits, they are more likely to be binged on when you have them. The trick is to make suure the portions are much smaller than normal.

Don’t miss breakfast

Still the most important meal of the day, and if you eating a filling healthy meal to start the day, your chances of eating well for the rest of the day go dramatically up!

Your body needs energy first thing in the morning, it raises your metabolism straight away and you will have all day to burn those calories off. Eating well first thing in the morning stops you from over snacking in the morning and piling your plate up too high at lunch!

Study after study shows that people who eat breakfast lose more body fat than those who avoided it, and consumed less calories throughout the rest of the day because they were less likely to overeat.

Limit your food choices at each meal

Studies have shown that the more simple you keep your mealtime, the less likely you are to overeat.
The less food alternatives you have on each plate, the quicker you are likely to be satisfied and therefore eat less. The pleasure of eating is highest up to the third of fourth bite, then it slows down. The more foods on the plate, the more you prolong the sensory pleasure, which means you delay feeling full for longer, causing you to eat more.

Keeping it simple come food time makes perfect sense all round!
www.kerimckibbin.co.uk
Tel 07968 980808

Twitt