Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category

Hey everybody, here is part II of the weight loss secrets revealed for you. Hope you enjoy the read…

Fitness tip 5 - Eat more fiber. A diet that is high in fiber will aid in fat loss whether you’re eating less calories or not. Fiber assists weight loss by releasing sugar into the bloodstream slowly. High levels of sugar in the bloodstream cause an insulin spike which will slow fat burning. Good sources of fiber are found in whole grains, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit and vegetables. Avoid refined and overcooked foods.

Fitness tip 6 - Calorie deficit. Through proper diet and regular exercise create a calorie deficit. This simply means burning more calories than you’re consuming. Keep a journal and get a calorie counter if you need to. How are you supposed to know how many calories you’re putting into your body if you’re not keeping track of what you’re eating and drinking? By creating a calorie deficit you’ll be using energy from your energy stores (body fat). The trick is not to create a calorie deficit that’s too high or your body will think its starving and will begin too slow your metabolism down, your focus should be on losing fat, not necessarily weight. A too high calorie deficit can also cause a reduction in lean muscle mass making it harder for you to lose weight.

Fitness tip 7 - Weight training with a Personal Trainer. Muscle is the only tissue that is metabolically expensive. Therefore increasing muscle mass will elevate your metabolism at rest, you’ll burn more calories sitting behind your desk and whilst you’re asleep, you will also burn a considerable more amount of energy whilst you’re exercising through greater energy demand from the increase in lean muscle. Perform exercises that will give you the biggest return, compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, pushing and pulling exercises and use a variety of combination lifts and circuits. Use drop sets and superset’s and keep the rest period in between exercises to a minimum.

Fitness tip 8 - Consume more protein. Eating protein will keep you fuller for longer, meaning you’ll consume less overall calories in a day. Eating protein also makes your digestive system work twice as hard as eating carbohydrates and fat, so by eating more protein you’ll be burning more calories through digestion (this is known as the thermic effect). One of the biggest mistakes people make when dieting is that they lose muscle as well as fat, which will in turn slow down their metabolism. By eating plenty of protein and following a suitable weights program this will ensure you maintain your muscle tissue. If you have trouble consuming adequate amounts of protein, try supplementing with a ‘whole food based’ protein drink.

Scott Williams

P.S. Keep an eye out the New Idea as I have started writing and contributing in the new health and fitness section as the resident fitness professional on a regular basis!!

P.P.S. Here is the latest edition of the Succeed Online Magazine enjoy: http://succeed.fitpromag.com/Default.aspx

Welcome to Part I of a small series of Weight Loss Secrets

Introduction If you’re like the majority of people that are trying to lose weight, tone up and get fit, you’ve probably read countless weight loss books and tried all the fad diets. As you probably know by now those fad diets don’t work, do they? And if you are one of the lucky ones to lose some weight while on the diet, how long do you manage to keep it off? As long as you stay on the diet right? As soon as you come off the diet you’ll put it all back on, and then some.

And then there’s the fat loss supplement industry, how many miracle pills have you popped? How many weight loss shakes have you already drank? When you fail on these as most people do you feel it’s your fault, right? In reality it’s not your fault. The weight loss industry is making a fortune at your expense by feeding you rubbish and misleading you, they know how much you want to change the way you look and feel.

The truth is the majority of people just don’t know how to eat properly. We all know we should eat 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables everyday but how many people do? 95% of Australians are undernourished and you are possibly one of them.

When you think of someone being undernourished you immediately see images of people starving in Africa, but in reality if your overweight you’re actually undernourished. Because you keep putting the wrong foods into your body, you’re body keeps sending you signal’s that you’re still hungry. If you ate foods that are high in nutritional content your body will stop craving the vital nutrients it needs, and you’ll be closer to your perfect weight!

This report is normally worth $29.99 because the information contained inside is truly powerful if applied correctly and consistently. As a gift I’m giving it to you for free. It’s the accumulation of years of Personal Training experience, reading all the latest information the fitness industry has to offer, testing out and applying what really does work!

Now, you may be asking yourself why I am giving away all of these fat loss secrets for free. It’s because I’m a firm believer of you reap what you sow and hopefully this will go towards helping you reach some of your fitness and weight loss goals.

Below I have listed some guidelines that will help kick start your weight loss regimen and put you on the road to living a healthier life. Obviously these are just are a few of the many things that you can do to help you lose weight, but if you apply and make these changes to your daily lifestyle, you can be free from the hype and on your way to a new you.

Fitness tip 1 — Eat low GI load foods. Eat foods that are low on the GI load (I will explain this in a later post). Put Simply, The Glycemic Load of a food tells you whether the carbohydrate in the food is fast or slow releasing. Eating foods that have a high GI rating causes your insulin levels to rise, it’s a known scientific fact that your body has trouble burning fat when your insulin levels are elevated. Foods that are low GI will give you longer lasting energy whereas high GI foods will give you a short burst of energy, leaving you feeling hungry shortly afterwards. Avoid simple sugars which are found in sweets, soft drinks, cakes, bread, bagels, white pasta/rice and juices. Limit alcohol consumption. Instead get the majority of your carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, beans and brown rice.

Fitness tip 2 - Healthy Fats. Make sure you eat plenty of seeds, nuts, avocado’s and fish and be sure to take an omega 3 supplement. Not all fats are bad for you, the right kind of fats are essential for optimal health and help reduce the risk cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and a host of other illnesses. Foods that are high in saturated fat, which are found in animal based foods and Trans fats which are in processed foods should be kept to minimum. Totally eliminate fatty meats from your diet (bacon, sausages etc). If you do eat meat, make sure it’s a lean cut.

Fitness tip 3 - Drink plenty of water. Two thirds of the human body consists of water, which makes it our most vital nutrient. Water is necessary for the transportation of essential vitamins and minerals as well as carbohydrates. If your water intake is low you lose the ability to transport nutrients through your body and substances such as urea, uric acid, ammonia and other nasty matter begin to accumulate, leaving you feeling lethargic. If you don’t drink enough water your body will actually store more water because it’s not sure how long it will have to wait for you to drink again. So by drinking more water it’s actually possible to lose 1-2 kg of bodyweight of stored fluid. Drinking a glass of water before your meal can also help control your appetite and stop you from overeating.

Fitness tip 4 - Eat 5-6 meals times a day. Eating at regular intervals will keep your metabolism burning strong throughout the day. You’re also less likely to binge eat, will have stable energy levels and will burn more calories through increased meal consumption (digestion burns calories). If you have trouble eating 5-6 meals a day, try adding a meal replacement to your diet, make sure its ‘whole food based’ so it has genuine nutritional value.

Stay tuned for more soon…

Remember, keep it clean!

Scott Williams

A post about the potential benefits of Cinnamon and body fat

Ok, this spice that I’m going to mention is widely overlooked, but of the  
healthiest spices in the world…

 You might call it a “fat burning spice”… in a roundabout way.

 Yes, it can actually help you win the battle against abdominal fat if you use
it daily…let me explain why.

  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…

 Cinnamon has many 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 body fat.

 One of the best ways 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!

 It also assists to:

*controls blood sugar levels

*helps maintain insulin sensitivity

*a powerful antioxidant

 Note: please make 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.

 Scott

Protein exists in just about everything that moves and in almost any animal. Primary dietary protein sources include fish, eggs, chicken, turkey, pork, beef, venison, and many other wild animals.

But which is the best source of protein? No protein powder will match what Mother Nature provides on earth.

Natural proteins like meat, eggs, fish e.t.c deliver more quality nutrients to your body than any protein powder ever will. Still, protein powders do have their place.

Science has come a long way in the development of protein supplements, including how they taste. Not so long ago, the best you could hope for with a protein shake was being able to swallow it at all!!! Now they actually taste very good. There are plenty of protein powders and meal replacement shakes on the market. The key is finding the best quality products with the highest level of bioavailability.

Your primary source of protein should be meat, fish, poultry, eggs and other seafood. The protein source should be organic and grass-fed, free-range or wild. These furnish the body with the highest quality protein, provided that they are not cooked, or cooked very lightly, because heat denatures protein (kills proteins).

Other sources include commercial meats, farm-raised fish, and other genetically modified organisms like soy. Protein also can be found in other foods like nuts, legumes, some veggies and certain grains. However, your best sources of protein for putting on muscle are organic meat and fish.

Protein shakes or meal replacements should be the last place you should look to fulfil your body’s protein requirements. Although they can be beneficial, remember, nothing beats Mother Nature’s proteins - not even a scientist-developed protein - for making you healthy and strong.

Protein supplements are particularly useful for vegans, vegetarians and non-meat eaters, as well as for people with problems digesting heavy proteins or whose lifestyle prevents them from consuming proteins during the day.

A protein drink or meal-replacement shake is a great morning meal for those get-up-and-go types who only are short on time but understand how important breakfast is to losing fat and gaining muscle.

 Breakfast is the most important meal of any healthy diet, so a quick protein shake is a must for people who just don’t have time to prepare a good breakfast.

The best quality protein powders or shakes are made from egg or whey.

Leave a comment below and let me know some of your favourite Protein Powders?

Scott Williams

Australian Fitness Expert

The Glycemic Index (or GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. In simple terms, the GI is a measure of the carbohydrate quality, in all foods.

The Glycemic Index was developed in approx 1980, as a new method of classifying carbohydrate foods. This proved once and for all that there is a range of different sugars, and are absorbed quickly into the blood. Understanding the GI is really simple

• Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion, releasing glucose quickly into the blood stream, have a high GI with a value of 70 or more (less of these)
• Carbohydrate foods that break down slowly, releasing glucose into the blood stream gradually, have a low GI with a value of 55 or less (more of these)
• Carbohydrate foods that break down at a moderate pace, releasing glucose into the blood stream neither slowly or quickly, have a medium GI with a value of 56 to 69 inclusive (some of these are ok)

The easiest way to use the Glycemic Index every day for your meals is to substitute lower GI foods for the higher GI foods that you may be currently eating.

There are more benefits to the lower GI carbohydrates than the higher ones. The lower GI carbohydrates give you a sustained energy over a longer period of time and will be more useful to your body. The high GI carbohydrates tend to move and out of the body at a much quicker rate, leaving you feeling hungry quicker and does not pack the same nutritional value as the slower release carbohydrates.

To find your favourite food and the GI go to: http://www.lowgihealth.com.au/glycemic-index-list-of-foods/

Scott Williams

Succeed Personal Training

It is as easy as, if it’s not available, it’s not a temptation.

Even “healthy” foods can be a problem for many people?  There are certain foods-and it’s an individual thing-that once you start eating them, it’s very hard to stop.

For me, it’s pasta. I’ll cook the whole wheat variety and sit down to a “healthy” meal, but unless I specifically portion out the amount I’m going to eat, I can easily end up having two or more serves.

You see, if I’m not careful, a healthy serve of “healthy” pasta can easily turn into a massive calorie overload sent straight to my waistline.

These foods-those “Salt and Vinegar Chips” -are what I refer to as “trigger foods” and if you’re going to consume them, you need to do so with a little bit of caution.

Here are just a couple of tips to help you with your trigger tips:

1. Only consume trigger foods as an “individual” meal, not with the family. This allows you to cook (or reheat) and individual portion, and not be tempted by a huge serving bowl in front of you.

2. If you are cooking one of your trigger foods as a family meal, measure out a single portion and place the rest in the fridge. Tell your dining friends “I’m not having seconds; hold me to it.”  A little accountability goes a long way.

3. Always measure out a specific portion and then store the rest.

Do you have a “healthy” trigger food? Let me know in the comments section below!

I’ll bet you anything it’s a carbohydrate of some sort

Scott

 As I am looking over a host of my clients nutritional in take over the last week, I am noticing an alarming trend of ‘dite soft drinks’ in their lists…

 Now I am not to sure what mis conception people are on here but, surely we all know any diet soft drink is not the healthiest thing  you can put in your body… the nasty chemicals, the fattening high fructose that your body can’t digest, and the problems caused by this carbonated cocktail is obviously something many of you are not aware of??

 Since you’re one of my valued clients and subscribers, I know that those reading this, actually do care about your health and the appearance of your body.

 After going over my clients food intake I though I better set the record straight…

 There is NOTHING healthy about drinking diet soft drinks. In fact, if you doa bit of research you will see there are studies that show dedicated diet soft drinkers got FATTER than people drinking normal soft drink…

 An excerpt from a study author at Texas Uni:

 ”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 but a few stand out reasons are:

• 1. 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.

• 2. people subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soft drink with less calories, 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, soft drink 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.

 Scott Williams

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…)