Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category

In short, yes they are… In my opinion anyway. This is why I have devised a complete nutrition and training program that I have been running as a guinea pig trial with 15 clients for the last few weeks.

 

Just wanted to give you a quick update on how everyone is going thus far with my training & nutrition trial.

To give you a rundown every single person that has stuck to it has lost at least 2kg in the last two weeks. I think that is a fantastic effort guys well done.

Some of the more notables are:

Narelle - 1.8kg (only been going ONE week)

Jules - lost 2.8kg in two weeks

Craig - lost 2.6kg in two weeks (with AC/DC concert in the middle)

A.J - lost 3.6kg (still to be weighted this week)

Myself -  88.2 NOW 85kg (lost 3.2kg in two weeks)

Here is a bit of insight into why this meal plan is working so well:

Humans are genetically conditioned to store fat. It’s part of the survival mechanism to see us through times of famine. The problem now is that we rarely experience famine. As a result, we store fat and never burn it off.

Most of our excess weight comes from the highly processed carbohydrates found in baked goods, breads and other sweet snacks that we all love so much. Simple equation, you eat too much of these you store body fat.  Eat too many of these foods and your body starts to change the way it processes food.  The insulin you need to convert carbs to energy becomes less effective and instead of burning the food you’re eating, you start to store more and more fat.

The goal of my eating plan is to get your insulin level back under control, which is done by cutting carbs in your meal plan. Not all the carbs, just the ones your body uses the fastest. This means saying goodbye to a list of foods you generally eat all the time: potatoes, most fruit, bread, pastries, rice & some cereals.

Now don’t think you have to give these foods up forever, just for a few weeks here and there. Just long enough to lose some weight and recondition your body to use insulin more effectively.

Things you should be looking for are: salads, zucchini, tomato, peas, beans, broccoli, asparagus, cucumbers, lean meat cuts, turkey, chicken, fish, eggs, raw peanut butter and seafood.

All of these foods are have a less effect on blood sugar, and hence they break down slower in your body.  As the weeks progress you then start to incorporate other carbs back into the diet.

I have found it has given me much more energy on a daily basis, and I am creeping closer to viewing  the six pack that has been hiding underneath all those years….

Scott Williams

Australian Fitness Expert 

Today’s post is going to be short, sweet about my Number 1 tip for your body.

In saying that, it may be one of the most valuable piece of dietary advice that I EVER give you.

I am human like you, and last night around 10:00 PM while watching 40 year old virgin, my appetite decied that it was hungry and the cravings began to creep in.

Within a matter of minutes, without even thinking about it, I found myself in the kitchen looking through the fridge and pantry looking for something to end my food cravings (yes, I’m human and I deal with cravings, too).

After scoping out what was available, I ultimately ended up eating a hand full of almonds and some cottage cheese with vanilla protein mixed in to it(if you missed my recommendations for late night snacks, I will post something up soon, so stay tuned).

As most of you know my weakness is ice cream. Do you know what stopped me from having a bowl of ice cream (cause I certainly would have), or a piece or two of chocolate?

Besides the fact the fact that each serve of ice cream has around 295 calories (equivilent to around 30 mins of a spin class or a body pump class):

Simple.  I don’t keep these foods in my house!!

Do you want to end your struggle with late night snacking (with the wrong foods) and increase your chances of nutrition adherence ten-fold?  Then here it is, the best diet tip I could ever give you:

Keep your house free of the “off limit” foods.

Simply put, if it’s not in the house, it’s not a temptation, and usually at 10pm at night you won’t bother going to the shops (I hope).

Do you find that having “off-limits” foods lying around is messing with your nutritional intake? 

What is your favourite treat that usually brings you undone?

Respond in the comments section below!

Scott Williams

Australian Fitness Expert

A post on the things I am giving up for the month for my Last Phase Fatloss Trial

Diet sneak is what happens to a great diet when you get a little too confident and a little too lazy. It happens to a LOT of  people who start off strong with our Succeed Boot Camps and then start sliding back into their old habits.

It doesn’t happen very often, but I’ve found I am even guilty , going from 90% perfect to 85% and down to 80%. Time to do something about it.

(I already have a few, but hey, if you want to give up a few things this month, just let me know in the comments section…we can support one another!)

Now I know that because of my workouts I’m still gaining muscle and not gaining fat, but as a role model to you and hundreds of other Succeed clients and readers, I’ve decided to get strict and lead the way this Month.

So for the next 30 days, I’m kicking these foods out of my diet:

• Added sugar
• Alcohol
• “Processed foods”
• Dairy
• Most Fruits

Let’s take a look at why I’m removing each one of those…

1) Added Sugar

The main source of added sugar in my diet was the raw sugar in my coffee and the occasional ice cream, I am cutting it out.

And then there was also a little bit of diet sneak going on as well…last week I had a gatorade after a run + a few snakes…

But I know that’s not setting a good example for you, so let’s get back to square one and cut out all added sugar. I have others doing it so I need to lead by example.

2) Alcohol

I have let a few regular beverages creep in over the last few months. Not that I drink a lot, but can’t hurt to take it out either.

3) “Processed foods”

Alright, this is a tough one to define, but here’s my definition:

a) No added sugar

b) No refined flours

4) Dairy

This isn’t a big deal because 90% of my dairy intake consists of milk in my coffee, so I figured why not throw it on the list. Sometimes I add a small amount of cheese to my morning omelets, but I’ll give that up for now.

5) Most Fruits

Why am I giving up fruits you ask, aren’t they good for me?? Well yes and no, it depends on who you talk you really. A nutritionist might say you need at least 2 - 3 pieces of fruit a day, but I tend to disagree.

The reason why is that most people don’t understand and realise the amount of sugar they are already consuming in a day wihtout adding the sugar contect from fruit. I am not saying my way is the right way either, but I am going to try it for a month and see what happens, along with 15 other people.

So what’s staying in my diet?

- eggs, meats, fish, raw nuts, and dozens of different kinds of salad and vegetables.

Pretty simple, and of course, regardless of your dietary preferences, your food foundation should feature a lot of salads and vegetables - so your diet shouldn’t be much different from mine even if you eat dairy and meat.

Overall, a nice little “diet depletion” for the month.

What is your biggest weakness?

Is there at least ONE food or ingredient you could give up for an entire month?

Let me know what it is by commenting below…

Here’s to your dieting success,

Scott Williams

PS - C’mon, don’t be shy…

…commit to giving up one thing this month and tell me what it is below…

I will keep you posted each week with the results:

So far a I have had 8 of the people on the trial weigh in and ALL have lost at least 1.5kg (some have lost over 3kg in the first week).

Myself - I started at 88.2kg and and 86kg even (a loss of 2.2kg in one week…)

Sugar and Weight Loss

 While most of us on a weight loss mission concentrate on lowering fats, many of us fail to consider the role that refined sugar plays in our diets and in contributing to our growing waistlines.

 Large amounts of refined sugar are often hidden in many of the foods and drinks we consume every day without us even knowing it.

 This article discusses why an excessive level of refined sugar in our diet is bad and provides some tips for reducing it.

 Sugar facts

 A can of soft drink has 39gm of sugar per serve…(our average is 22gm a day). It should be around 40gm total including natural sugar from foods.

 Although many of us think of sugar as being a relatively simple concept, the fact is that sugars can be quite complicated to understand.

 From a weight loss perspective it is very handy to know a few facts about sugar, such as the various names it comes under, etc.

 Here are a couple of handy to know facts about sugar:

On food labels sugar can be listed as brown sugar, palm sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose (dextrose), high-fructose, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, (table) sugar (sucrose), syrup.

All sugars contain 17 kilojoules / 4 calories per gram.

Simple sugars on their own have no nutritional value (no vitamins, minerals, etc).

Experts suggest that it is ok for sugar to constitute up to 10 per cent of our total energy intake per day.

The average Australian currently consumes more than 40 kilograms (90 pounds) of sugar per year, which is equivalent to around 22 teaspoons and equals 1840 Kilojoules / 440 calories per day.

In Australia , the consumption of soft drinks, which are sweetened with sugar, has increased by 30 per cent in 10 years.

 The effects of sugar

 As well as knowing the facts above, it’s also useful for us to know the various effects sugar has on our bodies.

 From a weight loss perspective, we know that sugar:

Can add a lot of empty calories to our diet.

Increases our blood sugar and insulin levels which can cause our bodies to begin storing and stop burning fat.

Can cause an insulin drop (following a surge) which can leave us feeling tired and hungry (usually for something else very sweet).

Needs valuable vitamins and minerals to digest which our bodies draw from existing stores reserved for other roles such as fat burning and muscle building.

May replace other foods that are high in vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients in our diet.

In addition to the above, it is believed that an excessive consumption of sugar may play a role in the formation of many diseases. Although there is still a great deal of debate surrounding these claims, sugar is said to contribute to these diseases by, among other things:

Suppressing the immune system.

Upsetting the body’s mineral balance.

Contributing to hyperactivity, anxiety and depression.

Contributing to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.

Causing kidney damage.

Increasing the risk of coronary heart disease.

Interfering with the absorption of calcium and magnesium.

Contributing to diabetes.

Contributing to osteoporosis.

Causing food allergies.

Increasing fluid retention.

But I don’t add that much sugar to my cooking or meals

 That may be very true for the vast majority of us.

 But what many of us don’t realize is that most of the sugar in our diet comes from the processed foods that we eat, not the sugar that we add to our cooking and meals.

 Reducing our Sugar Intake

 Because sugar is addictive and most of it is hidden in the foods and drinks we enjoy everyday, reducing sugar in our diets is not easy.

 Having said that, there are some things that we can all do to gradually reduce the amount of sugar we consume each day to a more healthy level and in doing so help us lose weight and improve our waistline.

 If you want to reduce the sugar in your diet, here are some things you might try:

Learn to enjoy foods that are naturally sweet, without added sugar.

For every cup of sugar indicated in a recipe only use 2/3 to 3/4 of a cup and replace omitted sugar with an equal amount of non-fat dry milk to increase the nutritional value.

Use spices and herbs such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger to enhance the flavor of foods naturally.

Make homemade sauces and toppings with less sugar.

Use dried or fresh fruit or frozen fruit juice concentrates to sweeten cereals and baked goods instead of table sugar.

Take your time shopping and read labels to reveal hidden sugar and gain information on the overall nutritional value of foods.

Buy fresh fruits or fruit packed in water instead of syrup.

Buy fewer foods high in sugar such as biscuits, chocolate, soft drinks, and baked goods.

Be careful not to replace foods high in sugar with foods high in fat and sodium.

Drink 100 percent fruit juices, water or unsweetened sparkling and mineral waters, instead of cordial and soft-drinks.

When reading “Nutrition Facts” labels remember that 7 grams of sugar is equal to around 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Avoid heavily sweetened breakfast cereals - go for ones that have 10 grams of sugar or less per serving.

Energy bars and drinks are a common source of hidden sugar - look for ones that have less than 12-15 grams of sugar per serving.

Be wary of reduced fat and fat-free products, sugars are often added to mask the loss of flavor when fat is removed cutting out fat, but not necessarily calories.

Limit sweetened beverages like milkshakes and coffee drinks, which are deceptively full of sugar and calories.

Mix fresh or dried fruit into plain yogurt, many fruity yogurts are loaded with added sugar.

Learn to appreciate the natural tartness of fruits like grapefruit, strawberries and other berries.

Choose fruit when it’s in season and it shouldn’t need any added sweetness.

If you must drink soft-drinks chose the smallest sized can or bottle you can find - soft drinks are now commonly sold in 600ml bottles, which provide at least 12-15 teaspoons of sugar.

Be mindful that fats and sugars are often found together in foods like chocolate, biscuits and cakes making them particularly bad for those of us with weight loss goals.

If we control the amount of sugar that is added to products like Weet Bix and Vita Brits, we may be able to consume less sugar than if we eat pre-prepared cereals like Coco Pops and Fruit Loops.

Be cautious with products labeled “no sugar added” - this doesn’t mean that the product doesn’t naturally contain a lot of sugar.

Remember that while all sugars contribute four calories per gram, some foods contain more concentrated sources of calories than others - for example, a teaspoon of table sugar contains 16 calories, a teaspoon of Honey contains 22 calories, while a teaspoon of orange juice or applesauce has just four calories, and also contains vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Make a habit of eating at least three good meals per day - one of the best ways to overcome cravings for sweets is to eat balanced meals at regular intervals throughout the day.

Try to avoid having dessert with a meal that is high in carbohydrates like pasta, bread, or rice.

Try to incorporate more wholemeal carbohydrates (wholemeal pasta, brown rice, etc) into your diet.

Try limiting dessert to once or twice a week.

Use sugar substitutes (stevia is the best) in recipes and hot drinks instead of sugar. I will post about artificial sweeteners soon.

When you eat foods that contain added sugars, choose foods that also contain nutrients like vitamins, minerals or fiber.

Know how much sugar is in the foods you eat by looking them up in the Nutritional Food Tables available free on this website.

 Conclusion

 While most of us on a weight loss mission concentrate on lowering fats, many of us fail to consider the role that refined sugar plays in our diets and in contributing to our growing waistlines.

 This article discussed why an excessive level of refined sugar in our diet is bad and provided some tips for reducing it in our diets.

Scott Williams

Succeed CEO

Ok, a few days a ago I gave you an understanding of emotional eating and the triggers. Now you need to learn how to break those habits. When you start to reach for food in response to an eating trigger, here are a few activities you can try before reaching for the chocolates:

The best thing you can do for yourself is:

• take a walk, go to the gym (exercise will give you endorphins which will make you feel better and give you time to calm down)
• treat yourself to a movie
• listen to music
• read a book or call a friend (talking can take your mind off the fridge)
• Plan enjoyable events for yourself to keep busy
• Clear the house of unhealthy foods and comfort foods you ay go looking for
• Avoid the shopping if you are hungry, or angry (only go to the shops on a empty stomach
• Keep a supply of healthy options around

Snack healthy. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose low-calorie food more natural products, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with fat-free dip or unbuttered popcorn. Or test low-fat, lower calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving (don’t make them a habit though).

Eat a well balanced diet throughout the day. If you’re not getting enough calories from your set meals to meet your energy needs, you may be more likely to graze on unwanted foods or give in to emotional eating.

Be sure to make it a habit to eat at around the same time each day and whatever you do, don’t skip breakfast.

 Include foods from the basic food groups in your meals. Focus on whole grains, vegetables and fruits, as well as low-fat dairy products and lean protein sources. When you fill up on the basics, you’re more likely to feel fuller, longer.

Exercise regularly and get adequate rest. Your mood is more manageable and your body can more effectively fight stress when it’s fit and well rested.

Be open to trying alternative ideas. Sometimes distracting yourself from eating is not enough to manage the emotional distress that leads to excessive eating. To more effectively cope with emotional stress, try body balance, meditation, yoga etc.

These are just a few techniques may assist to alleviate the emotional problems that cause you to ‘comfort eat’.

Next time you feel one of the emotions give it a go. What have you got to lose?

Scott Williams

Ausstralian Fitness Expert

I was at the supermarket last week getting some items for a thai beef salad, when an interesting thing happened…

 I went straight to the supermarket after training  clients at the gym. Well, as I was grabbing my items, a lady whom I recognised and she knows that I owns a fitness business here in Canberra, asked me for some help to choose some frozen pre prepared meals for her. You know those prepared frozen meals are usually highly processed, loaded with sodium and other chemicals your body just doesn’t need.

 What concerned me the most was what she said to me next:

 ”I have tried everything to lose weight and decrease my body fat and have always failed”.

 Now I will say that this woman was quite overweight.

 It is not the first time I have had someone tell me they’ve “tried everything” to get in shape. The problem that they don’t realize is that they are barking up the wrong tree for results…so many people are trying the so called quick fixes and fads that are out there instead of just doing it the old fashioned way and doing a bit of hard work and taking the time to prepare meals and just leading a healthy, active lifestyle.

 Back to the woman in the store…

 I had a bit of time up my sleeve so I offered to help her out with the shopping list for day. We began with going through what was already in the trolley. The following list were some of the items she thought werethe best healthy options:

• Slim fast shakes (not really that healthy…they’re loaded with high sugars, fructose syrup, hydrogenated oils, and a bunch of chemicals)
• Fat Free Rice Cakes (ok…despite so many people believing these pieces of crap are healthy…they really are nothing but pure refined starch with zero fiber, which basically breaks down immediately into sugar in your body, spiking insulin and promoting fat storage…doesn’t sound so good anymore, huh)
• Protein bars “Low or No Carboydrate” or some BS on it like that (I had a look at the ingredient list of these so called “healthy” protein bars and sure enough… enough sugar alcohols, fructose + many other useless chemicals to give you diarrhea for a week!)
• Tinned fruit in syrup (Not the worst option…but, why not just eat fresh fruit which still contains the skins, fiber, active enzymes, etc, instead of resorting to processed, tinned fruit that’s been cooked and loaded with syrup)
• Low fat Muffin Mix (ok, so these are loaded with artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, preservatives, and a chemical ingredients, say no more)

 This is the same thing that I see all the time.

 People are too easily mislead by what they see or hear, leading them to believe what they are buying is healthy or good for them. On face value many items have great sounding things like “fat free”, “low carb”, “reduced sugar”, “high protein”, etc.

 However, the TRUTH is on that little panel on the back! Yes, the nutrition info is where the real truth is at. However, most people don’t really fully understand the nutrition info or can’t be bothered looking cause they don’t want to know the truth, so they believe the advertising claims on the front of the package to guide them.

 BIG MISTAKE!

 Here is the problem most people are facing, the woman in the shops honestly thought she was doing great with her grocery shopping and buying all kinds of healthy stuff for her and her family.

 But to be honest, most of the products she was buying was highly processed and full of chemicals and refined ingredients. No wonder “nothing has worked” for her to get in shape and lose the body fat… She’s been mislead by all of the confusing marketing, labeling and conflicting nutrition info in the media.

 If you want to know more or would like advice and guidance with your nutrition and learn what it takes to eat  healthier and maximize, your metabolism, reduces cravings, and strips off that excess body fat, then hesitate to contact us. We are more than happy to help you out.

 Remember there is no rocket science to good, healthy eating. Always look to buy your food in as natural state as possible.

 Yours in Health & Fitness

There is a strong debate in the fitness community about eating after 7pm at night.

Well here in this post I am going to give you my take on it.

The time is 11:38 PM. And you know what? I’m eating.

What?? Eating after 7 PM?! Yes, you have read correctly, but I’m I breaking the rules?

As far as the whole “no eating after 7″ stuff goes,ha, ha, whatever….

According to some ‘fitness gurus, yes I am breaking the rules, but to be honest, that’s what I do and so should you.

Here’s why:

Let me just say that most rules of thumb in the fitness world are just people over complicating the matter and this whole ‘no eating after a certain time’ is exactly the same.

The recommendation is based on the idea that our metabolism slows in the evening as you prepare for bed, and eating during this time should be avoided so as not to have those calories stored as fat.

A good premise agreed but,

What we really want to avoid in the evening are foods that will rise your insulin, specifically carbohydrates, and for several reasons.

• 1. Your insulin sensitivity drops in the evening, which simply means that your body is not as responsive to insulin at night as it is during the day. When insulin sensitivity is low, carbohydrates are more easily stored as fat.
• 2. When blood insulin levels rise, fat burning takes a downward spiral and a “storage” environment is created within the body. This is a good thing after exercise or after an overnight fast to allow the body to “refuel”, but not good when your metabolism is slowing in the evening hours.

So, we can see why eating carbohydrates late at night aren’t ideal, but that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t eat anything.

There is one very important tissue to think about here: MUSCLE. Think about what not eating does to muscle tissue.

If you finished dinner at 7 P.M. and then ate nothing until you woke up the next morning at 5 A.M., you just went a full 10-hours without feeding your muscles whatsoever.

This is a sure recipe for muscle loss, especially when dieting and already restricting calories.

Now, you may be thinking “I don’t really care about muscle” (especially if you are a female reading this), but believe me, you do.

Muscle is the most important tissue in the body. Let me tell you why:

When you lose muscle, your metabolism slows down, and that also means weight-loss becomes all that much harder. Regardless of your physique goals, you want to maintain as much calorie burning muscle as possible. The slower the metabolism the fewer calories you burn at work and at rest.

So, back to the topic, what do you do to curb late-night cravings and assist with muscle tissue maintenance?

 A small meal consisting of a slow release protein and if possible, a small serve of green veggies (green beans are great here).

Something like cottage cheese with a small serve of slow release protein in ideal. It digests slowly over time, providing a mild, but steady influx of nutrients to muscle throughout the night, all while not interfering with your insulin levels.

Do you agree or disagree with me? Let me know in the comment section?

What is your favorite late night meal or snack?

Scott

Well after a few of my personal training clients have fallen of the band wagon for a variety of reason and have turned to food for comfort, I decided to write a post about it.

Did you know that the experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions.

 

Emotional eating (generally junk food) is the practice of consuming bigger than normal quantities of food - usually “comfort” or junk foods - when feeling bored, lonely, upset, self-esteem issues, stressed, angry, tired, anxiety, problems with relationships or sad.

Everyone eats for emotional reasons occasionally, but when the habit of using food to deal with emotions happens often, it becomes hard to separate actual hunger from emotional hunger.

Emotional eating takes its toll on the body and causes weight gain. In order to stop emotional eating, you must first admit that there is a problem.

There are several triggers that can turn on the emotional eating tap. It is important to identify what triggers the emotional eating. Here are a few typical triggers:

Emotions

There are a multitude of triggers here: boredom, tension, anger, anxiety, stress, fatigue, depression, or loneliness as a way to “fill the void.” People who are uncomfortable with confrontation may deal with frustrations in their relationship may result in them reaching for the cookie jar, for example, rather than with communication. Food can take the attention off of these triggers and a host of other emotions we’d sometimes rather not feel, and is often used for this purpose.

Thoughts

We are what we think we are. If we think we are fat, we are going to eat to accommodate those thoughts. Eating as a result of negative self-worth or making excuses for eating. For example, getting cranky at oneself for looks or a lack of will power not to resist the food (get angrier and then eat more food).

Peer Pressure

 For example, excessive eating can result from being encouraged by others to eat; eating to fit in; arguing; or feelings of inadequacy around other people. Feeling obliged to eat when around other people so to not be a ‘misfit’.

Location

Eating because the opportunity is there. For example, at a restaurant, passing by the bakery, seeing an advertisement for a particular food. Eating  also tends to be associated with certain activities such as watching TV, going to the movies (popcorn and ice cream cones) or a sporting event (pie and chips at the footy), etc.

Physiological

For example, increased hunger due to skipping meals (big mistake) or eating to forget about pain.

When stressed or anxious, many people become “orally fidgety.” This often it leads to eating when not hungry. Many people, out of nervousness or boredom, just munch on chips or drink soda to give their mouths something to do (especially if they are not a smoker). This excuse is one of the biggest used for smokers who have given up.

Childhood Habits

Many of us have sub conscious thought processes from our childhood memories that revolve around food. Whether your parents used to reward you with sweets, fix your tantrums with an ice cream cone, make or buy your favorite meal to celebrate your successes. Most children develop some emotionally-based attachments to food while growing up. When in times of stress, few things can be as powerfully comforting or rewarding as your favorite food. Because many people don’t develop more effective coping strategies (going for a walk to calm down, cleaning the house etc), this type of emotional eating is very common: people eat to feel better, because it is there, to celebrate, eat to deal with the stress of being overweight.

 

 

To identify what triggers excessive eating in you, get a diary and record what and when you eat as well as what emotions, thoughts, or stress you identify as you eat. You will begin to identify patterns to your excessive eating fairly quickly.

When emotional hunger comes along, one of its distinguishing characteristics is that you’re focused on a particular food, which is likely a comfort food (mine is Ice Cream). Comfort foods are foods a person eats to obtain or maintain a feeling. Comfort foods are often wrongly associated with negative moods, and indeed, people often consume them when they’re down or depressed, but interestingly enough, comfort foods are also consumed to maintain good moods.

Ice cream is first on the comfort food list. After ice cream, comfort foods break down by sex: For women it’s chocolate and cookies; for men it’s pizza and steak.

If there is a particular subject you want me to write about, let me know in the comments section below!

Scott Williams

Succeed Personal Training

Australia’s Leading Fitness Expert

by Scott Williams the Fitness Expert

How much fat should I eat?
Regardless of the kind of fat eaten, fat provides more energy per gram than all other nutrients.
Foods higher in fat are thus higher in energy.

  Fat yields 37 kilojoules per gram.

  Carbohydrate yields 17 kilojoules per gram.

  Protein yields 16 kilojoules per gram.

  Alcohol yields 29 kilojoules per gram.

A daily intake of 30% kilojoules from fat is more than enough to promote good health. When a fat loss and exercise program is in progress, a 15% to 20% intake of kilojoules from fat per day is enough to promote nutritional adequacy and assist body fat loss. A sensible fat intake target should be between 30g and 60g and this will depend on gender and individual energy needs. Eating less than 30g fat per day for an extended period is both unrealistic and unnecessary.

Which are the ‘bad fats’?
Saturated fat: fat that is solid at room temperature like butter or the fat on meat is largely saturated fat. This should be eaten the least. Too much of this kind of fat raises blood cholesterol (LDL or bad cholesterol) and is highly correlated with increased risk of heart disease. Avoid ingredients labelled as animal shortening, coconut and palm oils, lard, dripping, coconut milk, milk fat or animal and dairy fat.

Which are the ‘good fats’?
Monounsaturated fat: monounsaturated fats can be found in animal and plant fats and oils. These fats are the healthier kind but should still be eaten in moderation. Highly monounsaturated fat sources are plant-derived and include olive oil, canola and peanut oils. Plant food sources include avocados, peanuts, hazelnuts and macadamia nuts. Monounsaturated fats may also have unique properties in reducing the risk of heart disease when they replace saturated fat intake.
Polyunsaturated fat: oils rich in polyunsaturated fats come extracted from plant seeds and include safflower oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, and soybean oil and are also important to health. Seeds such as soya beans, corn and sesame seed are also rich in polyunsaturated fats.

Why are Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats important?
Essential fats in our nutrition are called essential fatty acids (EFA) and include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. EFA are all polyunsaturated fats. Our bodies can produce other fatty acids but cannot produce EFA, thus we need to eat them. EFA have various important functions in the body: they are critical to the structure of the body’s cell membranes and in the production of important hormones that are involved in bodily processes like blood clotting, the control of blood pressure and in reproductive function.

Which foods contain Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats?
Deep-sea fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids - this includes readily available oily fish like tuna, herring, mackerel, salmon and sardines. Other longer chain omega-3 fatty acids (called DHA & EPA) are also found in oily fish and seafood and can be made by the body using the omega-3 EFA. Soybean and canola oils and other polyunsaturated vegetable oils are good sources of omega-3 fats, as are walnuts, linseeds, and green leafy vegetables. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in polyunsaturated vegetable oils, including soybean, safflower and sunflower oils.

What are trans-fatty acids?

 These occur naturally in animal and dairy products but have a similar cholesterol raising effect as saturated fat. When polyunsaturated margarine is made solid, some of the unsaturated fatty acids are converted into trans-fatty acids. Many margarines have been changed so that they have less trans-fats than in previous times.

 Do I need to cut my cholesterol intake down?
Cholesterol in food is found only in animal products. Vegetable oils don’t contain cholesterol, but some may still contain saturated fat, like palm and coconut oils. Our bodies can also produce it in the liver. If large amounts of cholesterol are eaten, the body will usually compensate by producing less. Thus we can eat 3 to 4 eggs per week and enjoy prawns, which are also high in cholesterol, provided the overall saturated fat intake in the diet is low.

What does the National Heart Foundation recommend for dietary fat intake?

  Saturated fat and trans-fats should not contribute more than 8% of total energy intake

  Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats can contribute 8-10% of total energy intake

  At least two fish meals per week should be eaten to ensure adequate intake of marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fat intake

  A proportion of dietary saturated fat intake should be replaced by monounsaturated fat intake

  People at low coronary risk can reasonably eat moderate quantities of cholesterol-rich foods

  People with plasma cholesterol levels greater than 5.0 mmol/L or other risk factors should restrict the intake of cholesterol-rich foods

For more information please don’t hesitate to contact one of the Succeed Personal Trainers or Bootcamp Instsructors based at various Health Club / Gym locations around Canberra.

E : enquiries@succeed.com.au

Nothing of any value ever happens in life without there first being an intense desire for its achievement followed by a rigorous program of emotional management that keeps you focused on your goal. In the case of setting out to improve your health and fitness, your program of emotional management must enhance your metabolic function as well. Managing your emotions and feelings is important to successfully maximising your metabolism and should be taken very seriously.

 

Emotions are the key to our hormonal responses. If we are in a depressed state (meaning that every time we think about our body, we think negative thoughts), then our hormones, glands, and related systems all work to keep us in a depressed state, an emotion that in turn brings about a slower working metabolism.

 

Fortunately, the opposite is also true. A heightened enthusiasm for life results in a heightened metabolism. As a matter of fact, whenever we enlist any negative emotions such as depression, anger, hatred, or jealousy, we slow the process of building our metabolism. More importantly, whenever we enlist positive emotions such as love, enthusiasm, or faith, we immediately strengthen the metabolism building process. The upshot of this is that a positive emotional state can be very exciting if it’s structured properly.

 

Mood & Food

 

There are many people who have learned to deal with their emotions, whether positive or negative, by using food as a coping mechanism.

 

When they’re happy, they eat. When they’re depressed, they eat. When they’re angry, they eat. After they feed their emotions with food, they may also feel guilty, so what happens? You guessed it! They eat more, and then the cycle starts again.

 

Be careful not to fall into the emotional eating pattern. A big part of achieving metabolic success is learning to manage our emotions. All too often, we accept negative emotions as a “necessary evil” in our lives, but we actually do have total control over which emotions we choose to accept.

 

The key is to become aware of our emotions, and then learn how to develop alternative responses that turn undesirable situations into positive ones.

 

By far the most important component to assist with emotional management is an ongoing exercise program. Exercise is very effective in reducing anxiety, stress, anger, etc. One of the benefits is that exercise takes the mind off the event that produced the negative emotion in the first place.

 

The endorphin level rises sharpely during exercise, and is believed to be responsible for the exercised euphoria reported by many athletes and exercisers. The benefit of exercise to reduce negative emotions are both immediate and long range, and it could be as simple as taking to the gym for 30 mins before going to the cupboard for food. By the time you get back, you will probably have realised that the emotion/ problem that was troubling is actually not that bad, and you will have worked out a solution to your problem.