Day 6 and it's breakfast time!
Day 7 will feature more breakfast news!!!!
Day 7 will feature more breakfast news!!!!
Saturday, 9 August 2014
Friday, 8 August 2014
By the power of protein!
OK - so I left you hanging for a day there but here is the blog I promised on Wed...
I've been talking about readily digestible carbs and why you should avoid them but so far I've not given you an alternative way of eating.
So here goes...
Eat less sugar and wheat,
Eat more protein!
Sounds simple doesn't it? It is! Protein will keep you fuller for longer, it digests more slowly and does not cause the spike in insulin as sugars do.
Every meal should contain some of the stuff via eggs, fish or meat. If you're pushed for time you may resort to protein powders but for the most part eat real food - a palm size portion with every meal.
Tomorrow we'll look at the most important meal of the day, breakfast and deal with what is often the biggest issue with most peoples diets.
Thursday, 7 August 2014
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Feeling sensitive?
No I don't really care about your feelings, I'm talking about insulin sensitivity.
You know that hormone the prevents you from being poisoned by glucose and stores the excess as fat. What? You didn't read yesterdays blog? Go back now and do it!!! (find it here)
Right then, so if your body becomes insensitive to insulin or 'insulin resistant' your body will produce more and more insulin as it can't use the current levels properly.
This will lead to more fat storage of ingested glucose (not just sugar itself but the components of the food you eat as it breaks down). It will also prevent the stored fat from escaping which means that you can't use it for fuel, so you get hungry and you eat and it gets stored and it can't escape and you get hungry...
How does this resistance happen? Why do our bodies not just correct the issue? Well it would appear from research I've been reading that it's due to the type of food we're now eating. Our bodies have just not evolved to know how to use it as it's not been around for long enough.
What food you ask...easily digested carbohydrates (like bread and breakfast cereals), the things that many governments have been telling us to focus our diets on for years (based on some faulty research in the 1950's). These foods breakdown too quickly in the body and cause a spike in our insulin production that after many years of eating them can lead to the insensitivity issues.
So, that's the introduction done. Next I'll be talking about what you should eat to lose fat and avoid this problem.
You know that hormone the prevents you from being poisoned by glucose and stores the excess as fat. What? You didn't read yesterdays blog? Go back now and do it!!! (find it here)
Right then, so if your body becomes insensitive to insulin or 'insulin resistant' your body will produce more and more insulin as it can't use the current levels properly.
This will lead to more fat storage of ingested glucose (not just sugar itself but the components of the food you eat as it breaks down). It will also prevent the stored fat from escaping which means that you can't use it for fuel, so you get hungry and you eat and it gets stored and it can't escape and you get hungry...
How does this resistance happen? Why do our bodies not just correct the issue? Well it would appear from research I've been reading that it's due to the type of food we're now eating. Our bodies have just not evolved to know how to use it as it's not been around for long enough.
What food you ask...easily digested carbohydrates (like bread and breakfast cereals), the things that many governments have been telling us to focus our diets on for years (based on some faulty research in the 1950's). These foods breakdown too quickly in the body and cause a spike in our insulin production that after many years of eating them can lead to the insensitivity issues.
So, that's the introduction done. Next I'll be talking about what you should eat to lose fat and avoid this problem.
Monday, 4 August 2014
Whats a hormone?
There was some chatter about my blog not being in my 'usual voice' - well we've still got some 'setting the scene' to do before I can let loose on you! However, here's a little taster...
*BAD TASTE JOKE ALERT* - you have been warned so no complaints!
What's a hormone?
The noises you hear from a prostitute when you refuse to pay her!
OK - it was bad I know! So back to business...
Hormone Definition (via google): A regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action.
The hormone we want to consider here specifically is, insulin and what it does, before looking at how it might, via the food you eat, be working against your weight loss goals tomorrow.
So what does it do then...
Well, before your first bite of food, if you even begin thinking about food your body will begin to secrete insulin it's getting ready to grab the sugars in what you eat and store them as fat if they can't immediately be used for energy.
You see sugar (glucose) in large quantities is actually toxic so the insulin is both protecting you from being poisoned and storing energy for later. Oh and all food is digested into it's basic components so we're not just talking added sugar but all sugars from all food sources.
This is a normal, natural process but when it goes wrong it can stop you losing fat even if you reduce your food intake substantially - like I was saying earlier, that expected in/out relationship with calories may not hold.
Tomorrow we'll look at both what goes wrong and why it might happen...
*BAD TASTE JOKE ALERT* - you have been warned so no complaints!
What's a hormone?
The noises you hear from a prostitute when you refuse to pay her!
OK - it was bad I know! So back to business...
Hormone Definition (via google): A regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action.
The hormone we want to consider here specifically is, insulin and what it does, before looking at how it might, via the food you eat, be working against your weight loss goals tomorrow.
So what does it do then...
Well, before your first bite of food, if you even begin thinking about food your body will begin to secrete insulin it's getting ready to grab the sugars in what you eat and store them as fat if they can't immediately be used for energy.
You see sugar (glucose) in large quantities is actually toxic so the insulin is both protecting you from being poisoned and storing energy for later. Oh and all food is digested into it's basic components so we're not just talking added sugar but all sugars from all food sources.
This is a normal, natural process but when it goes wrong it can stop you losing fat even if you reduce your food intake substantially - like I was saying earlier, that expected in/out relationship with calories may not hold.
Tomorrow we'll look at both what goes wrong and why it might happen...
Gauntlet - throw it down? or run it?
Last week a PT buddy of mine (Hi Rich!) challenged me to blog every day - can't remember if it was for a week or a month but sure he'll remind me!
Srsly Dude, I'm too busy!!! But then I thought, Hey I have all this knowledge I want to share in order to help people and I've been reading a lot about fat loss and the obesity crisis over the last 2 months, so, here goes:
FAT FACT
Remember Dr Atkins? The guy with the high fat diet approach?
He did not die of a heart attack as many people joke - the poor guy died of a head injury after a fall.
FAT FACT
Dr Atkins diet did help many people lose weight but did not increase their heart attack risk markers. Review the research like I've been doing if you don't think it's true. (He's not the only doctor to have done this but most don't shout about their work as it goes against the received wisdom of decades.)
So, ingested fat is not the key cause that people are getting fatter. It's also interesting to note that it's not the level of calories consumed that is necessarily doing it either - the calories in-calories out approach is not working as we believed it should. It would appear that something else is at play rather than simply thermo-dynamics (calories in-out).
The key issue could be down to hormones, specifically insulin and to some degree oestrogen and cortisol. Go and have a little read up on them and we'll 'tall more' tomorrow!
Michelle (fat eating evangelist) Day
Srsly Dude, I'm too busy!!! But then I thought, Hey I have all this knowledge I want to share in order to help people and I've been reading a lot about fat loss and the obesity crisis over the last 2 months, so, here goes:
FAT FACT
Remember Dr Atkins? The guy with the high fat diet approach?
He did not die of a heart attack as many people joke - the poor guy died of a head injury after a fall.
FAT FACT
Dr Atkins diet did help many people lose weight but did not increase their heart attack risk markers. Review the research like I've been doing if you don't think it's true. (He's not the only doctor to have done this but most don't shout about their work as it goes against the received wisdom of decades.)
So, ingested fat is not the key cause that people are getting fatter. It's also interesting to note that it's not the level of calories consumed that is necessarily doing it either - the calories in-calories out approach is not working as we believed it should. It would appear that something else is at play rather than simply thermo-dynamics (calories in-out).
The key issue could be down to hormones, specifically insulin and to some degree oestrogen and cortisol. Go and have a little read up on them and we'll 'tall more' tomorrow!
Michelle (fat eating evangelist) Day
Saturday, 22 March 2014
Something lac'ing? - the products and methods
Last year I was undertaking a big fitness and weight loss challenge and found that after one particular episode where I did not have any milk (among other items) that I developed a bit of an intolerance to milk or more likely the lactose in the milk.
Although this stopped after a few weeks of pain and discomfort during which we used a substitute in tea and coffee but carried on using milk in cooked food I hatched a plan to try out and report on the dairy substitutes that you can find in many supermarkets and most delis/health food shops.
I popped into my local healthfood store last month and here's what we (hubby and I) did with the products we found.
We tried the following items:
Rice 'milk'
Oat 'milk'
Almond 'milk'
Koko (a coconut based product)
Quinoa 'milk'
Hemp 'milk'
We tried them in:
Glasses - neat that is!
Tea
Coffee
with milkshake syrup
Porridge
Protein powder
Our methods to ensure comparisons could be considered valid were:
Glasses - all clear and cleaned before the test
Tea - all cups identical and tea from same single pot made for the test
Coffee - all cups identical and coffee from same single press made for the test
Milkshake syrup - identical syrup and 'milk' quantities measured into clear, clean glasses
Porridge - identical quantities of oats and 'milk' cooked for same time each in same way (sadly easiest method and one used was microwave)
Protein powder - one scoop of powder and 300ml of 'milk' blended with stick blender
The results of our test follow in the next blog, they will of course be somewhat subjective given that personal tastes will come into this but I hope that you will find them useful nonetheless.
Although this stopped after a few weeks of pain and discomfort during which we used a substitute in tea and coffee but carried on using milk in cooked food I hatched a plan to try out and report on the dairy substitutes that you can find in many supermarkets and most delis/health food shops.
I popped into my local healthfood store last month and here's what we (hubby and I) did with the products we found.
We tried the following items:
Rice 'milk'
Oat 'milk'
Almond 'milk'
Koko (a coconut based product)
Quinoa 'milk'
Hemp 'milk'
We tried them in:
Glasses - neat that is!
Tea
Coffee
with milkshake syrup
Porridge
Protein powder
Our methods to ensure comparisons could be considered valid were:
Glasses - all clear and cleaned before the test
Tea - all cups identical and tea from same single pot made for the test
Coffee - all cups identical and coffee from same single press made for the test
Milkshake syrup - identical syrup and 'milk' quantities measured into clear, clean glasses
Porridge - identical quantities of oats and 'milk' cooked for same time each in same way (sadly easiest method and one used was microwave)
Protein powder - one scoop of powder and 300ml of 'milk' blended with stick blender
The results of our test follow in the next blog, they will of course be somewhat subjective given that personal tastes will come into this but I hope that you will find them useful nonetheless.
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