Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’
This Unique Spice Beats Abdominal Fat
Monday, February 8th, 2010By Mike Geary, CNS, CPT
OK, this spice that I’m going to mention is one of the most overlooked, but healthiest spices in the world…
You might even call it a “fat burning spice”… in a roundabout way.
And yes, it can actually help you win the battle against abdominal fat if you use it daily…I’ll explain why.
Here are some other benefits of this miracle spice:
- Controls blood sugar levels
- Helps maintain insulin sensitivity
- A very powerful antioxidant
- May have antibacterial and antifungal properties
- And dozens of other benefits
So what is this miracle spice?
Well… it’s good old tasty Cinnamon!
Although cinnamon does not directly increase fat burning (such as by increasing metabolic rate, etc), it CAN actually help you to burn off abdominal fat and get leaner through an indirect link.
Here’s how…
Although cinnamon has dozens of health benefits, the main benefit that will help you to get leaner is through it’s strong effect on controlling blood sugar levels in your body.
In a study published in 2003 in the medical journal Diabetes Care, groups were split into people taking 1, 3, or 6 grams of cinnamon per day in capsule form (the equivalent of approx 1/4th to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon).
The results of the study showed that all 3 amounts of cinnamon reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 18-29% after 40 days.
Cinnamon can also increase insulin sensitivity, which essentially means that it is helping your body to control blood sugar while simultaneously allowing your body to produce less insulin.
As you know, chronically high insulin levels can make your body pack on the blubber.
How to harness this to lose more fat…
One possible way to benefit from cinnamon to lose more fat is to use cinnamon daily in your meals when you can, such as in yogurt or cottage cheese, in smoothies, oatmeal, or anything else you can think of where it would go well.
Also, you could use a cinnamon capsule before each of your meals.
This could help to control blood sugar and insulin response from your meals and thereby control your appetite and cravings throughout the day… hence, helping you to lose body fat more effectively over time.
So now you can see that not only is cinnamon a powerful antioxidant that can help you stay youthful longer, it can also help you to control blood sugar and get a leaner body!
About the Author: Certified Nutrition Specialist and Personal Trainer Mike Geary, author of the internationally best-selling e-book The Truth about Six Pack Abs, is a contributing author to Muscle & Fitness & Oxygen magazines and is regularly featured on fitness websites around the world. Mike specializes in body fat reduction strategies and functional strength and power training. To learn more about his innovative training strategies and the latest nutrition tips, check out his website at TruthAboutAbs.com.
[Editor’s Comments: Cinnamon is a popular spice in our house! I use it regularly on applesauce, cottage cheese, oatmeal and in my protein drinks. My wife puts it in pancakes and waffles...and she just started taking a cinnamon supplement.
If you want to discover over a dozen more unique foods, spices, and weird styles of workouts that help to burn your abdominal fat faster, just click on the link below:
Click here =>> Truth About Abs
Please be sure to consult your doctor before adding any new foods or spices to your nutrition plan if you are taking any medications or have food allergies.]
Required Legal Disclaimer: some of the links mentioned within this post or posts they lead to are my affiliate links and I get compensated for recommending those products. However I NEVER recommend something I don’t believe in and welcome your questions and feedback.
Popularity: 13% [?]
Does Diet Soda Make You Fat?
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010By Mike Geary, CNS, CPT
Is diet soda really good for weight loss, or does it contribute to fat gain?
We all know by now that soda (aka “pop” in some areas) is one of the most evil things you can put in your body… the nasty chemicals, the gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup, and a myriad of health problems caused by this carbonated cocktail worshiped by those that don’t care about their health or body.
Surprisingly, many people falsely believe that “diet” soda is in some way a good thing for losing body fat. In fact, I hear people all the time proudly state that they eat so healthy and only drink diet soda.
So let’s set the record straight…
There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet soda. In fact, I’ve even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.
Here’s some findings from an 8-year University of Texas study that I had read…
An excerpt from the study author:
“What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity,” Fowler tells WebMD. “What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.”
“There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day,” Fowler says.
OK, as if we didn’t already know how bad regular soda was for us, and now they’re showing us studies that diet soda makes us even fatter than the already bad stuff!
There’s a lot of complicating factors as to why this occurs…
One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.
Another reason is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.
I’ve said this all along, but the bottom line is that if you’re serious about your health and body, soda of any kind (and artificial sweeteners in anything for that matter!) should be avoided at all times, except for very rare occasions when you can’t avoid them.
About the Author: Certified Nutrition Specialist and Personal Trainer Mike Geary, author of the internationally best-selling e-book The Truth about Six Pack Abs, is a contributing author to Muscle & Fitness & Oxygen magazines and is regularly featured on fitness websites around the world. Mike specializes in body fat reduction strategies and functional strength and power training. To learn more about his innovative training strategies and the latest nutrition tips, check out his website at TruthAboutAbs.com.
[Editor’s Comments: So what should you drink if you are looking for a good alternative to diet sodas?
Mike suggested the best alternatives are good old water with lemon or unsweetened iced teas. The best thing about drinking iced tea is that you have so many great options to choose from. You can try green, white, black, oolong, red or even an herbal tea.
If you really need to sweeten your drink, try adding a little of the natural non-caloric sweetener stevia. Here's where we buy ours =>> Try Stevia.]
Required Legal Disclaimer: some of the links mentioned within this post or posts they lead to are my affiliate links and I get compensated for recommending those products. However I NEVER recommend something I don’t believe in and welcome your questions and feedback.
Popularity: 11% [?]
5 Surprising Things That Make You Leaner
Friday, October 9th, 2009By Jon Benson
Want to be leaner?
Good deal… here are 5 tips that will help you along…
TIP 1: Ditch the Starch
Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered “health foods.”
While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach bodyfat like crazy if you overdo them.
As you may know, my “Every Other Day Diet” System (EODD) actually encourages you to eat starches and even sweets several days a week to get rid of excess weight.
Well… how does THAT work?
Simple: Timing is everything.
And we take a “weekly” approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. If your body cannot figure out what you’re up to, fat burning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches… at least at specific times on specific days.
But if you’re not going to do EODD, then you’ll have to wing it. And the best way to wing it is to simply cut starches out entirely for 4-8 weeks. Then slowly add them back a few days per week.
This is no where near as effective (or as fun) as the EODD method, but it will get you pointed in the right direction.
TIP 2: Can the Sodas
This one is really hard for me. I’ve been hooked on diet-soda on and off for years. When I go to get into top shape (like I am now) I have to get rid of the diet-sodas… yes, DIET-sodas. Need I say “real” sodas too? They are loaded with sugar.
Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased bodyfat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas. What the… ??
Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that’s the truth.
Here’s a personal story: When I cut out the diet-sodas my bodyfat drops like a rock in a pond of clear water.
And that’s what you need to be drinking: A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.
I mix it with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It’s wonderful!
TIP 3: Stay Hungry
Arnold’s first movie was “Stay Hungry” (well, after “Pumping Iron” that is). You cannot rest on your butt and stay hungry. You cannot think you’ve “arrived” and stay hungry.
It takes a special person to be hungry… and an even greater one to stay that way.
I want you to stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally… stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not “starving”… just a bit hungry.
As far as staying hungry at night?
Check with your doctor and if he/she Okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the hunger pangs.
Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps me full for an hour at least.
TIP 4: Cardio Clarity
Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do “light” cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That’s okay… and personally I don’t find it that boring if I’m watching a TV show. It does not interfere with my main fat loss exercise (weight training… YES!) and it burns off about 400 calories an hour.
What does work is early morning fasting cardio… but you only need 9-15 minutes. I explain the GXP Protocol (Modified) in the 7 Minute Body book.
TIP 5: Get Raw At Night
Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fat burning along. I started with red peppers because they’re sweet. Now I eat virtually every veggie raw at night without thinking about it. Give this a shot. The fat loss is well worth it.
About the Author: Jon Benson is an internationally recognized transformation lifecoach, as well as an authority on fat-burning nutrition and superior physical fitness. He is the creator and co-author of Fit Over 40 (the #2 selling fitness e-book in the world), and the author of Simply Eat (his publisher’s fastest selling book ever) and 7 Minute Muscle which details his trademarked Power Density Training System.]
[Editor’s Comments: Jon is still giving away his "Radical Fatloss Blueprint" along with EODD for a few more days. As a bonus, he is giving a lucky few the chance to pick up the Supplement-Kit that comes with Radical Fatloss for a BIG discount! Click the link below to check out the video and details:
Click here =>> Every Other Day Diet
Jon also has a great workout solution available called "7 Minute Body.” This is his unique combination of "7 Minute Muscle" and "The 7 Minute In-Home Workout" in one book, and is where he explains the concept of early morning fasting cardio. If you pick up EODD you'll get a limited shot at picking-up 7 Minute Body for more than half off... but that's a very limited deal.]
Required Legal Disclaimer: some of the links mentioned within this post or posts they lead to are my affiliate links and I get compensated for recommending those products. However I NEVER recommend something I don’t believe in and welcome your questions and feedback.
Popularity: 5% [?]
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