Beware the Shady Scale

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Feet_on_scaleIf there’s one thing dieters hate even more than the prospect of losing weight and altering their eating habits, it’s stepping onto the scale and obsessing over the little numbers that glare up at them. Who would think such a simple mechanism could hold so much power over our psyches and self-esteem? Taken out of context, the numbers that appear don’t mean anything-they merely represent a numerical value, but for many people trying to lose weight, those numbers are everything. Many place their entire self-worth into their weight.

Well, I have some good news. You may think that the only way you’ll ever lose weight is to keep daily tabs on the number on the scale, but I want everyone to know that’s not the case. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make in their weight loss plan is to weigh themselves every day. This torturous act is both unnecessary and inaccurate.

There’s a fine line between control and compulsion. It’s good to take control of your weight, and for some, monitoring one’s weight regularly is a strategy for staying in control. But this routine can easily turn into an obsession and that’s where the scale becomes dangerous, leading to discouragement or even the development of an eating disorder.

Here are some specific reasons why checking your weight daily can be dangerous:

Discouragement: It’s easy to feel defeated when the numbers on the scale don’t reflect all the effort you put into your weight loss plan. You may think, “But that’s not fair! I gave up sweets and exercised every day this week! How have I not lost any weight?” Sometimes, when we expect the numbers on the scale to go down, they defy our expectations and go up. This is normal and, as frustrating as it may be, you’re not alone. However, if you become discouraged every time you experience a setback in your weight loss goals, you could easily decide to throw in the towel completely and give up on your diet.

Not an accurate representation: It may be easy to become discouraged, but before you give into negativity, you need to realize that daily fluctuation of your weight is completely natural. The main reason you may have lost a few pounds one day only to gain it back the next day (with no drastic changes to your diet) is water retention. Minor fluctuations are natural and occur daily, so instead of weighing yourself every day and fixating on the short-term, you should focus on long-term goals.

There are much better ways to assess if your weight loss efforts are paying off. Primarily, it comes down to how you feel. Do you feel healthy? Does your body feel a little tighter and leaner? Are your clothes fitting more loosely? Do you feel like you have more energy and strength propelling you through the day? Is exercising becoming easier. These are the questions you should be asking yourself. Becoming a healthier version of yourself isn’t all about losing weight, and it’s most often a gradual process that’s more like a marathon than a sprint. Keep in mind, muscle actually weighs more than fat and the scale won’t be able to tell if you’ve lost fat and gained muscle.

So, what can you do to monitor your weight without becoming addicted to the scale? For starters, get into the habit of weighing yourself less. Cutting your weigh-ins down to once a week rather than every day will allow you to focus on your goals without becoming discouraged. It will also help to be consistent, so weigh yourself on the same scale at the same time of day on the same day of the week. If you want the most accurate reading, you should weigh yourself in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Make it one of the first things you do when you get up, because as you eat and drink throughout the day, your weight will fluctuate.

If there’s one piece of advice you should take away from this article, it’s not to become discouraged! Losing weight is not a competition and everyone goes at it at their own pace. What matters is that you make a concerted effort. Weight loss takes time, but if you stick to your goals and limit yourself to one weigh-in per week, you’ll start to notice results.

Stress-Eat in Style

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Stress Eat, Josh BezoniSo many of us struggle with stress eating. The struggle of daily life can feel overwhelming and in an attempt to cope, we stuff our mouths and stomachs with fatty comfort foods. Yet, this only exacerbates the issue. As stress mounts, our waistlines expand and our self-esteem shrinks—but what if there were a way to eat and lose pounds? What if there was a way to eat comfort foods that make us feel don’t just make us feel comfortable, but make us feel better?

There is! Seriously. Here are some fantastic healthy alternatives to traditional ‘comfort foods:’

Oatmeal: Oatmeal has carbs, a LOT of them. Carbs tell your brain to make serotonin. Serotonin=happy hormone. Therefore, if you eat oatmeal, you will be happy. Though this is a simple explanation for why oatmeal is such an awesome substitute, it is more or less the extent of it. Oatmeal also coerces a steady blood sugar response, which one, is great for your waistline and metabolism, and two, means steady serotonin.

Oranges: The beloved fruit of Florida decreases cortisol levels in humans. Cortisol is the body’s number one stress hormone. So more oranges equal less stress. Plus, oranges have been proven to reduce blood pressure levels when people are subject to stressful circumstances.

Turkey: The staple of Thanksgiving boasts an amino acid that goes by L-tryptophan, and L-Tryptophan also triggers serotonin release which means it triggers happy for you.

Salmon: Salmon and many other types of fish have a very large count of omega-3 fatty acids. Although ‘fatty acids’ may not exude undertones of fresh, healthy, nutrition, these do. In fact, they incite a reduction in stress levels when consumed in appropriate servings. According to a study published in none other than the respected Diabetes & Metabolism, omega 3s prevent cortisol events from peaking. Another study conducted in Michigan went so far as to say that omega 3s decrease anxiety by an astounding 20%.

Avocados: Everyone’s new favorite food has wonderful nutritional benefits when consumed in moderation. Their high potassium content helps reduce stress-induced spikes in blood pressure. Although bananas may get all the credit for potassium, avocados actually have more!

These are just a few foods that provide a tremendous alternative to more generic comfort foods. The next time you open the freezer to look for a gallon of ice cream, consider eating something that not only tastes good, but is good for you.

Time to Place Whey by the Wayside

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If you’ve ever even thought of lifting weights or undergoing any sort of weight training regimen, you have probably thought about purchasing the most fundamental supplement to ever grace the vitamin industry, whey protein. Known for its incredible popularity and its supposed ability to foster a more rapid development of stronger, more resilient muscle fibers, its negative associations often, all-too-often, in fact, slip under the radar.

So, in light of these aforementioned negative associations, I would like to elaborate. There are, in reality, two major hindrances to whey protein as a product:

Whey Protein Absorption: According to a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, the rate of protein absorption is eight grams every hour. While there are certainly a variety of factors that contribute to this, the single largest influencing factor is undoubtedly the fact that the whey is not broken down into small enough peptides by our body’s natural enzymes in order to be absorbed in time, and if the protein is not absorbed in time, then it essentially useless.

Whey protein can only be absorbed efficiently over the course of 1.5 hours, so even if a particular protein has 60g in a single serving, only about 12-20g of that 60 will be put to good use. That means the vast majority of the rest of that whey protein is bound to be excreted, nutritious value and all. It’s wasted.

Insulin Release Associated with Whey: Let’s play a game. If I presented you with a serving size of generic white Wonder bread, and a serving size of standard whey protein isolate, and asked which if these causes a greater spike in insulin, what you say? Would you choose the well-touted, known to be terrible for you, nutritionally devoid white bread, or the muscle and nutritional supplement, whey protein? Remarkably, the answer is…you guessed it! Whey protein.

As outrageous as it seems, whey protein actually causes a greater spike in insulin than white bread. According to a study published in Nutrition & Metabolism as of 2012, the specific amino acids in whey protein actually emulate beta cells to such a degree that they secrete more insulin than a similar serving of carbs from white bread.

Of course, I am only referring to insulin release in this scenario. Obviously, when taking into account nutritional value as a whole, white bread is no match for whey protein. Yet, that said, there really is no ignoring the fact that your fat-burning capability is noticeably afflicted when there is a presence of excess insulin; so ideally, choosing foods with a lower insulin response is preferable.

The fact is that whey protein is by no means the best supplement around despite whatever its incredible popularity might suggest. The next time you’re shopping around for strength training supplements, I’d recommend you check out time-released proteins where your body is able to absorb the nutritious value of whatever you’re consuming over an extended period of time, and then you will be able to gain the most out of what you buy.

The Breathing Exercise that Eats Belly Fat

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In the swirling chaos of our daily lives, stress often rises to the surface and influences our mood, our attitude, and our hormones. When we try to compartmentalize this mental duress, it soon becomes physically apparent, whether we like it not. In fact, it can incite inflammation, accelerated aging, poor judgment, bad decisions, and impaired slumber. Put frankly, stress makes you fat, sick, dumb, and weak.

For example, scientists at the University of California at San Francisco have found a proven association between cortisol (the stress hormone) and belly fat content. Yet, despite this terrible news being proven (we all knew it was true anyway), there is something we can do to take control of our lives and our own fitness. We are not subject to the whim of inevitable stress.

Essentially, you can combat stress and relax through something called “deep belly breathing.” When engaging in “deep belly breathing,” you are able to overcome your body’s stress response, decrease your cortisol production, and bolster your melatonin creation (the sleep hormone that also protects against aging). Alright, alright, now here’s how you do it:

  1. Sit or lie down in a dark and quiet room. Place the palm of your hand on your stomach.
  2. Take a deep, slow breath through your nose and pay particular attention to how your stomach rises and falls underneath your hand.
  3. Exhale. Slowly, and for as long and steadily as possible (like, for at least five seconds). Breathe out until your lungs are entirely devoid of air.

And that’s it! Just repeat steps one through three every night for at least a week and I promise you will not only feel better and more energized, but you’ll even notice your waistline shrinking! Yet, that’s not all. There’s actually another trick that has been proven to burn 400% more fat when used, and it takes less than a minute!

Another study published in the Journal of International Medical Research illustrated that people who used the same aforementioned trick actually managed to lose 20% of their body fat in only 12 weeks. If you want to burn 400% more fat than you would otherwise by dedicating a simple minute, check out this neat and easy to understand video.

Sodium Linked To Obesity

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Sodium is a natural element that the body needs to function. It’ s important for water balance, nerve function, and countless other physiological functions. However you really only need a small amount per day. About 500 mg is plenty. That’s the amount you’d get just snacking on chips, crackers, various cheeses, salted nuts or eating canned food items like soups and canned veggies. The total daily recommended limit of sodium consumption is around 2,300 milligrams.

However, most Americans are eating too much sodium. WAY too much sodium. On average, 4,000 to 6,500 mg a day. It’s not only hurting their health, it’s expanding their waistlines. In fact, the American Medical Association is campaigning for the FDA to withdraw salts designation as a “safe” food additive. They’re pushing for Americans to cut their intake in half.

This isn’t too surprising. Food manufacturers have known for a long time that salt is an addictive substance. That’s why they pack it into more and more processed foods. People will eat more, and then food companies will make more money. A clinical research has shown that salt shares characteristics with addictive substances (like morphine, cocaine, and heroin) which release dopamine (feel-good brain chemicals) when we eat it. That’s why salt addictions are so common and why people have such a hard time cutting down. Often people who don’t even know they’re addicted to salt will experience withdrawal symptoms when trying to cut back.

A 2006 Finnish study published in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases found a link between increased salt intake and obesity. From the 1980s to the mid 1990s, the salt intake in the United States increased by more than 50% as Americans started eating more and more processed foods. In the same time frame, obesity has gone up steadily. Also keep in mind that when people eat more salt, they will naturally have the desire to drink more fluids to maintain water balance in their bodies.

Unsurprisingly, between 1977 and 2001 the U.S. caloric intake from sweetened beverages like fruit juice, soft drinks and energy drinks increased by 135%. It’s pretty easy to see that as food companies make foods more salty, people will drink more and more super-sized sugary drinks to wash it down.

High sodium diets also are the leading cause of high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. These diseases also go hand in hand with obesity. To alleviate the high blood pressure caused by salt intake, your body will dump extra water into your blood vessels which causes the overall pressure to increase as blood vessels expand. African Americans, Hispanics, and obese men and women have a higher sensitivity to sodium and are more prone to high blood pressure as a result. If you fall into one of these at-risk categories, you should try to limit your salt intake to less than 1,500 mg a day.

For regular salt use, I recommend using Celtic Sea Salt or pure Himalayan Pink Salt, because these have 84 minerals whereas regular table salt has only 2. They also don’t go through an unhealthy refining process like regular table salt does.

Also try to stay away from fast food, as many items at these restaurants will put you over your daily allowance really quickly. A McDonald’s double cheeseburger with small fries, for example, contains 1,310 mg of sodium. If you’re trying to be healthy at a fast food restaurant, good luck. The mesquite chicken salad at Chili’s has 2,710 mg of sodium. That’s more than most adults should eat in an entire day.

You can limit your salt intake by eating less processed food, getting frozen or fresh veggies instead of canned, buying fresh meats, choosing low-sodium options of canned soups and snacks, and asking for unsalted entrees at restaurants.

Red Meat and Cancer: 6 Tips to Lower Your Risk

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As you’ve probably heard, the World Health Organization has declared processed meat as definitively carcinogenic to humans and red meat as “probably” carcinogenic. Vegetarians and vegans had cause for celebration at this news, but the rest of the world reacted with an understandable amount of terror.

Over at Huffington Post, a nutritionist laid out some of the facts of this revelation in an easy to understand way.

First off, the news that processed meat is carcinogenic is not exactly new. The research has been going for decades and if you’ve seen the influx of health documentaries like “Food, Inc” you’ve probably noticed that. Also, it simply shouldn’t be surprising. Even the most lamen of eaters have to know that spam and hot dogs aren’t natural or good for you.

Regardless, the International Agency for Cancer Research (IACR) recently gathered 22 scientists to review 800 studies regarding the consumption of processed meat (anything salted, fermented cured or smoked) and red meat. Their conclusion was that “on the basis of the large amount of data and the consistent associations of colorectal cancer with consumption of processed meat across studies in different populations, which make chance, bias, and confounding unlikely as explanations, a majority of the Working Group concluded that there is sufficient evidence in human beings for the carcinogenicity of the consumption of processed meat.”

Essentially, even when you rule out the other possible contributory factors, such as chance and bias, the correlation data between processed meat and cancer remains. This is bad news if you’re an avid meat eater, but it’s not a death sentence. There are a few things you can do to lower your risk of the worst health effects.

Avoid Processed Meat the Vast Majority of the Time

This includes ham, bacon, sausages, and any meat that’s been salted, cured, fermented, smoked or otherwise preserved. If you have to have your bacon, choose an ethical brand such as Applegate or Niman Ranch. However, keep in mind that these companies still make products that fall into the IARC’s definition of “processed.”

Eat Grass-Fed Organic Red Meat Options

Buying more ethically treated meats is not only good for the world, it’s good for your diet. They also taste better, and a little can go a long way. Eat grass fed beef or lamb in small portions.

Eat Your Vegetables!

Mom was right in this case. You should always fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables or salad. They’re packed with cancer-preventing antioxidants and will help neutralize the damage done by processed meat products.

Be Careful How You Cook Red Meat

Cooking red meat at a high temperature forms polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitroso-compounds (NOCs) which are both cancer causing chemicals. Cooking over a lower temperature for a longer time can help prevent this.

Be A Healthy Vegetarian

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you still have to be health conscious. Oreos and Fritos may be vegan but that doesn’t mean they’re healthy. If you eat your (real) vegetables and highquality vegetarian protein instead of processed veggie burgers and sausages.

Manage Your Health Holistically

Nutrition is not the whole picture when it comes to preventing cancer. Managing your stress, exercising and staying well hydrated are all steps you can take to improve your overall health.

 

USDA Awards Grants for Nutrition and Obesity Prevention Research

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The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded $2 million in grants today to support research on nutrition education and obesity prevention for disadvantaged children and families at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Utah State University. The funding will help create two new Regional Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Centers of Excellence (RNECE), which have been established through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) andSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. (SNAP)

National Institute of Food and Agriculture director Sonny Ramaswamy was quoted as saying “While we are beginning to see promising signs of progress with the epidemic leveling off in children, these grants will help evaluate and strengthen existing nutrition education and obesity prevention efforts to help ensure this progress continues.”

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville will receive $1 million to strengthen their existing Snap and EFNEP education programs for low-income families in particular. They will focus on reducing obesity by working to identify facilitators and barriers as well as training and evaluation needs.

In Utah, the State University in Logan will receive $1 million to look at EFNEP and SNAP-ed program participants and non-participants across many different ethnic and racial backgrounds in five states. The research will improve the USDA’s ability to create and maintine effective nutrition education programs and will, ideally, result in participants’ healthier food choices and increased physical activity. Improved health will reduce the incidents of disease and disability thus reducing the overall costs to individuals and the nation’s healthcare system.

“With one-third of our nation’s children overweight or obese, this issue stands out as one of the greatest health challenges facing our country,” said Audrey Rowe, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator. “As we invest in our nation’s health it is important we leverage partners and innovative strategies to help children from low-income families grow and develop into healthy adults.”

The RNECE were established in 2014 with one institution in each of NIFA’s administrative regions and one National Coordination Center, the result of a partnership between the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, NIFA and several participating universities. They exist primarily to research and develop best practices that address issues related to obesity among poor and underrepresented groups.

SNAP-ed, initiated in 1992 exists in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands. Nearly 100 agencies deliver the program including public health departments, food banks, non-profit organizations and others.

NIFA invests in agricultural research, education and extension and works every day to make discoveries that solve challenges in society. To learn more about NIFA, visit http://nifa.usda.gov/impacts

 

100-Calorie Lies

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When entering the supermarket on a diet, it’s important to arm yourself with as many facts as possible. Advertisers aren’t looking to help you, they want your money, and nothing sells quite like “diet food.” With all their promises of measured calories and healthy ingredients, which slogan do you trust? Starting a diet is hard enough, but choosing to eat healthy also means spending a little more time in each aisle to be sure the food you’re putting into your body isn’t poison.

We’ve all seen the 1-calorie snack packs at the local grocery store. Whether mini-muffins, pretzels, or chips, they are everywhere, and promise a small escape from our diets with healthy, portion controlled snacks. Do not buy what they are selling! These little sacks of sweetness do little more than remind you of the food you should be avoiding, while leaving your stomach empty for more. I’ve seen, more often than not, that those little packs are consumed en mass rather than their recommended serving size.

Josh BezoniWhy is that, though? Why are we motivated to over-indulge on our delightful little packages of managed calories? These snack-packs, oftentimes filled with foods that provide zero nutritional value, don’t have the ability to fill us up as normal food can. Just enough to tickle our tastebuds with the promise of sugar and leave us wanting more, this is like a smoker attempting to quit and sneak in the occasional menthol.

Additionally, dieting does not mean that you can’t enjoy yourself. Smart snacking on veggies or snack with natural ingredients can fill you up for longer and keep you from rebounding on your diet. For peace of mind and a flat stomach, be aware of the foods you decide to dine on. We’ve established that a corporation won’t do it for you, so own your diet and your inevitable success. It’s a hard road, but one that gets easier with each step.

 

Exercise: How to Get Twice the Results In Half The Time

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treadmill-runnersYou all understand that exercise is good for you. It keeps your cardiovascular systems healthy, keeps you strong, and helps keep your weight in check (alongside a proper diet.) But, that doesn’t mean you have to like it.

It’s easy to come up with excuses when you truly dislike exercising and would rather spend your time doing just about anything else. I don’t have any secrets for never having to exercise again, but I do have some insights into what can make the process more bearable, and best of all: take less time.

There is a proven way to at least double your results from exercise while reducing the time it takes to complete your workout. Do I have your attention now? Great!

All you have to do is this: change your pace and intensity throughout your workout.

It’s really as simple as that. Researchers have found that when you change the pace or intensity of one exercise to the next you can dramatically boost your metabolism, not only during your workout, but also for hours afterwards. This means you can get more out of each workout in less time.

Next time you’re in the gym, don’t remain at one pace throughout your entire session. Hop on the treadmill, exercise bike, or stair climber, and start by moving at a moderate pace for a minute, then work up to a jog for a minute, then sprint for a minute, and repeat.

(Note: If you can’t sprint because of physical limitations such as injury or illness, that’s fine. You can still change your intensity level from low to medium to high in a way that challenges you without putting your body or health at risk.)

As you continue your workout, keep changing your pace between slow, medium, and fast until your time is up. Researchers have found that you can burn more calories in 20 to 30 minutes of varied-intensity aerobics then an hour of medium paced, consistent movement. Variety is not only the spice of life, it’s the key to your workout goals.

Another benefit of this method of exercise is that most people find the constant variation more engaging. Fighting boredom in your workout is important. If you can design your workout so that you can actually enjoy it, that’s always going to go a long way in keeping you motivated.

If you’re a beginner: start out slow. As you work your way up, the high-intensity part of your workout will get faster and you’ll be able to push yourself more and more. Pay attention to your body, and if you ever feel faint or nauseous, take a break immediately. In time, not only will you be healthier, stronger, and weigh less, but exercise will also give you “feel-good” hormones that will boost your mood and lower your overall levels of stress and depression.

Next time you workout, remember: each exercise session a victory in your quest to improve your body and your life. Give yourself the credit you deserve for showing up and putting in the work, expecially when you’re tired, grumpy, or unmotivated because even your worst workout is better than not showing up at all.

Set Your Food on Fire

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Josh BezoniIt is a proven fact that certain foods will fix a “mangled metabolism”. This happens once you begin to increase your calorie burning furnace instead of hurting your metabolism lets talk about how you can set those calories on fire!

Honestly, there are a lot of seriously flawed “diet point system” that claim to give you the room to eat whatever you want given the fact that you do not exceed your allotted amount of points, these systems are seriously defective

The Calorie Myth™

All calories aren’t created equal. The truth? calories from different types of food act extremely different once they get inside your body.

“Thermal Burn” VS. “Thermal Duds”

Here’s an example: Your metabolic rate increases by approximately 5% as a result to eating fatty foods. In summary, every 1,000 calorie of fat eaten, your body will burn about 50% of its own calories in order to process waht you ate. Carbs on the other hand… when you eat carbphydrates, your metabolic rate increases by a maimum of 10% (less for carbs like sugar, which is easily digested, and more for high fiber choices.) Esentially. this mieans that your body uses 100 calores to digest and utlize 1,000 calories of carbs. Get it? It’s all a numbers game.

Protein has the highest thermal burn of all foods, increasing your metanolism by up to 30%. For every 1,000 calories of protein that you eat, your body uses about 300 calories to digest and process. For every 1,000 calories of proteing that you intake you are only recieveing about 700, as a result you now have 300 free calories.

Check  out 15 Foods That Kill Belly Fat FAST by Josh Bezoni of 7DayBellyBlastDiet.com

Also remember that the “Thermal Burn” of some natural foods is so high they wont even register on the calorie scale. These are what we should considere “FREE Foods” that you can practically eat non-stop without gaining an ounce. I am in no way sugesting that you eat only protein in order to fix your mangeld metabolism, however eating specific Thermal-burning meals throughout the day can be helpful.