Saturday, November 25, 2006

Diet Myths - and Great Video on Nutrition and Strength Training

First Check out This Excellent Video that Includes Crucial Information on Eating, Nutrition and Strength Training As Well.



Fat Loss Nutrition - When Myths become Big Fat Lies

As obesity in the US becomes an epidemic, more and more people are going on a diet. Is there a connection? The fact that diet foods such as low-fat and low-carb products are a $7.6 billion-a-year business might have something to do with it. Is the food industry keeping you fat with processed foods, so it can sell you more diet products? And is avoidance of both processed and diet foods the only solution for weight loss?

Getting the basics of fat loss nutrition right, along with the right kind of exercise, will lead to weight loss. The problem with many diets is that they are not balanced. They cannot be maintained long-term. And when you stop dieting, the weight piles back on. Focus on fat loss nutrition, rather than actual weight loss. An approximate guide is that for every 3 grams of protein at a meal you need to have 4 grams of carbohydrate and 1.5 grams of fat. More important still is the type of fat, carbohydrate and protein you eat.

Fat Loss Nutrition: Good Fats, Bad Fats

Low-fat is the myth that has fuelled the diet industry, with complete disregard to the quality of fat you consume. The 'ugly fats' are the 'trans' fats or hydrogenated fats in fried and processed foods which are the toxic fats that are dumped in the body's fat tissues. These fats are difficult to shift, so fat loss nutrition has to increase the balance of good fats. Although omega-6 fat is a 'good fat', our diet contains too much of it in relation to the other 'good fat' omega-3. This imbalance contributes to insulin resistance (see Carbohydrates below for more information). So, not only do you need to reduce your omega-6 fat intake (vegetable oils, grain-fed beef and many processed foods), you need to increase your omega-3 fats (in fish, fish-oil capsules, or flaxseed oil). This will bring your essential fat intake (and yes, they are essential to health) to a more balanced one-to-one ratio.

If I told you of a saturated fat that was good for your heart and increased weight loss, would you believe me? Saturated fats, like coconut oil, are no longer the enemy. Coconut oil has the ability to increase your metabolism and burn fat for energy, as well as helping to regulate blood sugar - an essential in weight loss

As coconut oil is such a stable fat it is the best fat to use for cooking. Save your extra-virgin olive oil for salad dressings.

Carbohydrates

The key to fat loss nutrition is blood sugar balance. You need to reverse the insulin resistance that contributed by processed foods to burn off the fat. The excess of carbohydrates from our starchy and sugary diet is a far greater contributor to weight gain than the fat on its own. The combination of wrong fats and wrong carbohydrates is the route to an unhealthy lifestyle.

We consume far too much bread, cereal, pasta, corn, rice and potatoes, mostly as processed food. Good for the food industry, but not for fat loss nutrition and for you. These processed carbs stimulate the over-production of insulin, which leads to insulin-resistant cells. The sugar in your blood has no place else to go except to your fat cells, resulting in bulging stomachs and rolls of fat.

Fat loss Nutrition Tip: Fiber plays a powerful role in weight control. Brown rice and vegetables are high in fiber. When you do eat grains, make sure they are whole grains.

Protein

You can slow down the release of sugar into the blood stream, the ‘sugar rush’, by eating protein with your carbohydrates. This is not a recommendation to eat red meat at every meal, which has been linked to colon cancer. You just need to eat a little of other sources of protein such as beans, lean white meat and fish.

The fat loss nutrition approach means that even snacking on a handful of pumpkin seeds with an apple can help to slow down the sugar release.

Fat Loss Nutrition Balance and Quality

Yes, it is. Weight loss has less to do with willpower than the balance of fat loss nutrition and the quality of foods. The right exercise helps too. Just avoid all the low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, high-fat diet fads and processed foods where you can. You will not have to worry about quantity of food or feeling hungry when the fat loss nutrition is under control and you keep your blood sugar balanced.

Article Source: http://www.nulife-weightloss.com/articles


Natalie Beech discovers the truth about fat loss nutrition and healthy weight loss. Get the latest information from a nutritionist's point of view at the Fatloss-Fitness Website
Click here for other unique fat loss nutrition articles.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good video.

Good training tips I could use.

Thanks.