Lose Weight And Keep It Off!

Besides winning the lottery, there may not be a more universally shared goal than losing body weight and keeping it off.1 If this is a goal you are after, you may not want to read the rest of today’s piece! That is because brand new research has pointed out that the odds of going from obese to a normal weight and staying there – are vanishingly slim.2, 3 For men, the odds are 1 in 210, and for women the odds are 1 in 124. That’s less than 1% – no matter what gender you are.

So how do we beat these (very depressing) odds? Quite simply, by following a Paleo diet! By consuming foods that are high in satiety and nutrients, we keep hunger at bay, and our body and brain happy.4, 5, 6, 7 Satiety and nutrition are both absolutely vital if long term, sustainable weight loss is one’s goal. As has been seen in scientific studies, a Paleo diet works better than even condition-specific diets (like those seen in patients with diabetes).8 One study sums it up thusly: “The Paleolithic diet might be the best antidote to the unhealthy Western diet.”9

Combining a great diet with a smart exercise routine (like CrossFit) is a great recipe to start stacking these odds in one’s favor.10 As the CrossFit Games are in full swing, we get to see professional athletes at their absolute peak – hopefully inspiring us to spend less time on the couch and more time at the gym. But you do not need to be a CrossFit Games competitor to enjoy a healthy exercise routine. If you are sedentary, just start walking around your neighborhood every day after work. Get your head in the game with baby steps, you’ll feel the difference.11 Once you’ve mastered that, you can progress to higher feats of fitness.

Erickson, Kirk I. et al. “Exercise Training Increases Size of Hippocampus and Improves Memory.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108.7 (2011): 3017–3022. PMC. Web. 27 July 2015.

And even more than exercise, make sure you get plenty of sleep! This overlooked factor allows many to work extremely hard, eat right and still not keep the pounds off. Scientific researchers have known this for years.12 Sleep is an important modulator of neuroendocrine function and glucose metabolism.13Both are usually disrupted when a person becomes obese, so getting them back in line requires eating well, exercise, and plenty of shuteye!

Sleep loss has also been shown to result in metabolic and endocrine alterations, including decreased glucose tolerance, decreased insulin sensitivity, increased evening concentrations of cortisol and increased levels of ghrelin.14 Bottom line: With all of this at play, our chances of losing weight and keeping it off are very slim! We want our body to be insulin sensitive, cortisol lower in the evening, and to express low levels of ghrelin (a key hunger hormone).

Beccuti, Guglielmo, and Silvana Pannain. “Sleep and Obesity.” Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care 14.4 (2011): 402–412. PMC. Web. 27 July 2015.

Patel, Sanjay R., and Frank B. Hu. “Short Sleep Duration and Weight Gain: A Systematic Review.” Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 16.3 (2008): 643–653. PMC. Web. 27 July 2015.

Finally, sleep loss leads to decreased levels of leptin (one of the main satiety hormones) and increased hunger and appetite.15 So, the longer you go without sleep, the hungrier you get. Stop the cycle by hitting the pillow earlier.

With our world in an ever-increasing obesity pandemic, think of all the healthy ways you can lose weight and keep it off.16, 17, 18, 19, 20 Put your mind to it, don’t let anything stand in your way, and you’ll be on your way, to a leaner, healthier you!

Article Source: http://thepaleodiet.com/lose-weight-and-keep-it-off/

Lionel Messi benefiting from new diet - nutritionist Giuliano Poser

Former Argentina forward Claudio Caniggia is resting his hopes on Barcelona star Lionel Messi guiding the current crop of La Albeceleste to success at the Copa America.

Nutritionist Giuliano Poser has confirmed that he helped Lionel Messi change his diet, leading to the Barcelona star's outstanding 2014-15 campaign.

Messi scored 58 goals and contributed 23 assists as Barcelona won the Champions League, Copa del Rey and La Liga Treble, making him a huge favourite for the 2015 Ballon d'Or award.

This followed a disappointing 2013-14, which was disrupted by injury and saw Barca fail to win a trophy for the first time in six seasons.

Messi then started the World Cup impressively but appeared to tire and was unable to prevent Argentina from losing 1-0 to Germany in the final.

A number of reports put his upturn in form down to a new diet, with Blaugranatransfer advisor Charly Rexach revealing that Messi had "eaten too many pizzas" in the past.

The player was photographed meeting Poser in Italy during a break from action in April.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, picked up in AS, Poser, from Argentina, said Messi had taken a tip from his international colleague Martin Demichelis and consulted him.

"I am a good friend of Demichelis and he recommended he [Messi] visit me," Poser said. "After the World Cup, something changed. Messi had the intuition and humility to try and do something different in his professional life."

ESPN FC's Gabriele Marcotti elaborates on the ongoing Lionel Messi tax investigation, and thinks there is almost no chance of the Argentine going to jail.

The 59-year-old kinesiologist, whose methods reportedly include the use of Bach flower remedies, emotional therapy and a balanced diet, said the change from processed to natural foods had allowed Messi to train with greater intensity.

"He eliminated processed foods and replaced them with foods rich in vitamins -- cereals, vegetables, fish and olive oil," Poser explained.

"He had won everything, but wanted to continue this excellence for years and understood he had to change something. We are talking about a very intelligent and intuitive person."

Demichelis' Manchester City teammate Sergio Aguero is among other top players to have visited Poser at his base in the small Italian town of Sacile.

Article Source: http://www.espnfc.com.au/barcelona/story/2488255/lionel-messi-benefiting-from-new-diet-nutritionist

Here's the Best Way to Make Your Exercise Habit Stick

Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME

Having this kind of habit will make you a more successful exerciser

It’s not always easy to convince yourself to exercise after a long day of work. (Ok, it’s never easy.) But people who consistently manage to do it may be using a simple trick—whether they realize it or not—according to a new study published in the journal Health Psychology.

The most consistent exercisers, researchers found, were those who made exercise into a specific type of habit—one triggered by a cue, like hearing your morning alarm and going to the gym without even thinking about it, or getting stressed and immediately deciding to exercise. “It’s not something you have to deliberate about; you don’t have to consider the pros and cons of going to the gym after work,” explains L. Alison Phillips, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University and one of the study’s authors. Instead, it’s an automatic decision instigated by your own internal or environmental cue.

The researchers wanted to see whether this type of habit, known as an instigation habit, was better than another type of habit at predicting who stuck with a month of exercise. At the beginning and end of the monthlong study, they asked 123 university students and faculty questions that assessed how often they exercised and how strong their exercise habits were—whether they did it without thinking, for example. From these questions, they gleaned whether a person has a strong instigation habit—one where a cue triggers the instantaneous decision to exercise—and whether a person has a strong execution habit—that is, knowing exactly what kind of exercise they’ll do once you get to the gym, or being able to go through the motions of an exercise routine while being mentally checked out.

The only factor that predicted how often a person exercised over the long-term, they found, was the strength of their instigation habit.

MORE: 7 Psychology Tricks To Make Your Resolutions Stick

It got stronger with time, too. “When people started exercising more frequently over the month and became more active, I saw that their instigation habit strength increased with that frequency, but execution habit didn’t really change in relation to frequency at all,” Phillips says. Zoning out mentally during exercise didn’t have a negative effect, but it didn’t help a person adhere to a regimen, either.

That’s good news for newbie exercisers who might be intimidated by the same routine day in, day out. “In the long term, it seems beneficial, or at least not harmful, to have variety in your routine,” Phillips says of the results. “A lot of people might shy away from starting to exercise because they think, oh man, I can’t possibly imagine myself doing this forever. They might think of one boring routine—running on the treadmill—and to them it sounds like torture, so they give up before they even begin.”

Some repetitive behaviors do reinforce exercise, she says. “When you’re just starting to develop an exercise routine, I think it might be helpful to engage in the same behaviors, to have this patterned action.” But sticking with a cue—instead of clinging to the same tired routine—appears to be what will get you back to your workout again and again.

Article Source: http://time.com/3950220/exercise-healthy-habits/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=FaceBook

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Why carbohydrates are so important for athletes

 

Carbohydrates are the best fuel for the body’s engine – more so than proteins or fats–and the right carbs, taken at the right time, are key to good athletic performance.

Carbohydrates are the most important source of fuel in an athlete’s diet. And yet, some athletes experiment with popular low-carbohydrate regimens, believing (mistakenly) that these diets will somehow “train” the body to burn more fat for fuel, or that carbohydrates interfere with the body’s ability to burn fat. But carbohydrates are a critically important energy source during exercise – and, in fact, the body cannot use fat for energy unless carbohydrate is present.
 

Why Carbohydrates Are So Important for Athletes

Carbohydrates are the fuel that makes the body’s engine run, and athletes need plenty of carbohydrates before, during and after exercise.

While fats can be (and are) used as a source of energy, the main function of the carbohydrates you eat is to supply energy to cells.  This is particularly true for high-intensity exercise – the level at which most athletes train and compete.

The body generates energy from carbohydrates much more rapidly than it does from fat, and the brain and central nervous system rely exclusively on carbohydrate for fuel.

And, it’s often said that “fats burn in a carbohydrate flame” in the body.  What this means is that in order for fats to be broken down completely – which results in the release of energy – carbohydrate breakdown has to happen simultaneously.

This is because one of the products of carbohydrate metabolism is a substance called pyruvate.  Pyruvate plays a critical role in the release of energy from fat.  Without enough carbohydrate in the diet, pyruvate production drops  –  which impairs the release of energy from fat.

Eating enough carbohydrate is also important because it helps prevent the body from using protein for energy.  While your body can use protein to supply energy, the protein you eat supports many more important functions in the body – its primary role is to build body proteins such as muscle, bone, skin, hair, enzymes and hormones.

If you were to burn protein as an energy source, it would impact the body’s ability to perform these more important functions.
 

How Carbohydrates Fuel Activity

When you digest the carbs in the foods you eat, the end product enters your bloodstream in the form of glucose, or blood sugar, which is then transported to the cells to be used for energy.

Any glucose that is not used immediately can be converted into a storage form of carbohydrate – called glycogen – which gets stashed away in your liver and muscles where it can be tapped into during activity.

Working muscles require a steady source of fuel – which can come from both the bloodstream and from the glycogen that is stored away.   But there’s a limit to how much glycogen your body can store, and if activity lasts long enough, the glycogen stores can become depleted.  That is why it’s so important to fuel properly – and regularly.
 

Athletes Need Carbohydrates Before, During and After Exercise

For the average person, a well-balanced diet will usually provide enough carbohydrate to fuel daily activity.  But athletes who train hard know that they need to properly fuel up before starting out, and to keep the carbs coming in during activity and to refuel properly afterwards.

If your regular workouts are strenuous and longer than an hour or so, here are some tips to keep your performance at its peak:
 

Before starting out, it’s a good idea to ‘top off the tank’ with some low fat, high carb foods to help maintain blood sugar – particularly if you’re one of those who exercises first thing in the morning. The best choices are foods that are easy to digest like a smoothie, a carton of yogurt or a small bowl of hot or cold cereal.  Low fat and low fiber foods are best, to avoid any stomach upset.  (Foods with fat and fiber delay digestion time, so they’re better eaten after exercising.)  If it’s hard for you to eat much in the morning, start with something small and light – a few bites of banana or a slice of toast.
 

During activity, specially-formulated sports drinks can help keep your tank topped off.  In addition to providing much-needed fluid, sports drinks are designed to provide the amount of carbohydrate recommended during activity (30-60 grams an hour for the first few hours) – about the amount in a liter of a typical sports drink.  For longer events, some people also carry foods like low fat cookies, sports gels, gummy candies or cereal bars for an extra boost of carbohydrate.
 

Refueling after a workout is critical – most of the stored glycogen will have been used up.  Since your muscles are craving carbs, they’ll take them up readily and store them away for the next bout of activity.  Now is the time to load up on higher fiber carbs, since digestion time is no longer a concern.  A dab of protein helps repair muscles, too, so ideal recovery foods include both protein and carbohydrate. It’s also important to refuel within about 30 minutes after exercise to maximize the effects of protein and carbohydrate on muscle recovery.  Specialized recovery foods and beverages are convenient;  otherwise, work in plenty of healthy carbohydrates in the form of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and dairy products.  A sandwich on whole-grain bread, a protein shake made with milk, or a bowl of lentil soup with a piece of fruit would all be great post-exercise meals.

 

Article Source: http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2015/03/why-carbohydrates-important-athletes/

Photo Source: www.youngandraw.com

 What’s YOUR view on carbs?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Caffeine Boosts Athletic Performance

At least 74 good scientific studies have addressed caffeine’s effects on athletic performance, in both short-term high-intensity and endurance efforts. The overwhelming majority of them demonstrate a significant boost to performance with the use of caffeine.

There are three primary ways that caffeine has been found to enhance athletic performance:   1) by prompting the body to burn more fat and fewer carbohydrates, 2) by reducing fatigue and enhancing mental focus, and 3) by increasing the strength of muscular contractions.

More Fuel for the Final Push
When we eat carbohydrates, our body breaks them down into glucose molecules. Glucose is a usable source of cellular fuel for the muscles and organs of our body.

Any glucose that our body doesn’t use immediately following a meal is converted by enzymes secreted by the liver to glycogen – which is essentially a long chain of glucose molecules (a polysaccharide) – and stored. When our body needs energy, it converts stored glycogen back into glucose so that our muscles have the fuel they need to work. This is why athletes ‘carb load’ before a competition.

Here’s were caffeine comes into the game. Caffeine enables our bodies to burn more fats and fewer carbohydrates during the initial phase of a period of exertion. As a result, it conserves glycogen for the final phases of a workout, athletic competition, or physical performance. In fact, in the first 15 minutes of exercise, caffeine can reduce glycogen utilization by up to 50%. And so by taking caffeine before an athletic performance, a significant amount of glycogen remains available for the push to the finish line. 

No Bonking and Increased Alertness
Caffeine also blocks adenosine receptors in the brain. When activated, these receptors signal a sense of tiredness, so blocking them with caffeine tends to make us less tired. Caffeine also directly stimulates the central nervous system (dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenalin neural pathways) thereby increasing alertness. Both of these psychological effects of caffeine give an athlete an advantage.

Increased Muscle Strength
Finally, caffeine in an appropriate amount (about 400 mgs) has been found to increase the strength of muscular contractions. The mechanism of action of this affect appears to be caffeine’s effect on the membrane permeability of the muscle cell to calcium, sodium, and potassium. Stronger muscular contraction can give athletes the edge they need to win.

For a recent comprehensive review of studies of caffeine and performance, we recommend “Caffeine for Sports Performance”, Burke, Desbrow, and Spriet.
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GOD’S SPEED is endorsed by some of the world’s top athletes. 

Olympian, Dan Hackett, Goalie, Water Polo, says “GOD’S SPEED PURE Caffeine helps me stay alert and focused during my training sessions.”

“Note to Self: never again drive half way round Victoria BC searching for coffee before a dawn race. Keep GOD’S SPEED in the emergency kit!” Olympic and World Champion Masters Rower, Stephen Kiesling.

Article Source:  http://godsspeedenergy.com/blog/how-caffeine-boosts-athletic-performance/
Photo Source: www.shutterstock.com
  

Is Caffeine assisting with YOUR athletic performance?

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Sleep cycles affect athletic performance

 

Athletic performance can vary over the course of the day by up to 26%, depending on the athlete’s circadian rhythm, according to research published in the journal Current Biology. The study illustrates how important it is for athletes to be aware of their sleep cycle and leave time to adjust when travelling to another country to compete.

Circadian rhythms are internal cycles of around 24 hours that regulate various behavioural and physiological systems in the body. Different systems peak at different times of day so some people naturally prefer to be active earlier, while others are happier being active later. Sleep scientists call this your circadian phenotype.

“The key finding from this paper is that your circadian phenotype is important in determining the best time of performance for you,” said Shantha Rajaratnam, professor in psychology and sleep researcher at Monash University.

Professor Rajaratnam added that circadian types were partly influenced by the way we’re genetically wired, and partly by lifestyle and behavioural habits. In particular, our light-dark exposure plays an important role.
 

In the study, 20 athletes of similar age and fitness levels were selected to take part in a cardiovascular endurance test at six different times of the day. The participants represented the population levels of early (28%), intermediate (48%) and late (24%) circadian types.
 

Early phenotypes performed best in the earlier tests, followed by intermediates, and the late types peaked in the evening. Early and intermediate types had a 7% to 10% variation in their physical performance over the course of the day, but late types varied by up to 26%.
The study found the biggest factor in predicting performance was the time since when your body would naturally wake up.

Sports coaches seem to be realising the competitive edge that might be gained by working with athletes' circadian rhythm.
 

Professor Leon Lack from Flinders University worked with the Socceroos in the lead up to the 2006 World Cup. Flying in from their last game in South America, the team had only a few days to adjust for their evening qualifying match in Sydney in 2005. Dr Lack consulted with the team’s doctor to create a sleeping and light exposure plan for the players to expedite this process.

The Australian team went on to win in a memorable penalty shootout, with several saves made by Australian goalie, Mark Schwarzer.

“The team doctor discussed this with me afterwards and said that Mark Schwarzer was probably the most conscientious about keeping to the routine,” Professor Lack said.
 

Craig Duncan, senior lecturer at Australian Catholic University, is currently working with the national soccer team as the head of sport science for the Asian Cup.

“In every team I work with, we monitor sleep. It is very important and along with a balanced nutritional regime it is the foundation of recovery,” Dr Duncan said. “If players were having sleep issues, adjustments could be made to enhance the sleep quality and quantity.”

Disruptions to sleep affect the internal body clock. According to Professor Rajaratnam, the general consensus for adjusting to a new timezone is around one day per hour of time difference, although that can be achieved faster with increased light exposure at the appropriate times of day and light avoidance at other times.
 

For would-be athletes who struggle to make it to training in the morning, the key is adjusting activity and light exposure.

“If you are a definite evening type,” explained Professor Rajaratnam, “in theory you may be able to become more of a morning type by increasing the light exposure in the morning and minimising light exposure in the evening. This remains to be studied.”

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
 

Article  Source: http://health.thewest.com.au/news/1890/sleep-cycles-affect-athletic-performance
Photo Source: http://www.thinkstockphotos.in

Are you looking after YOUR sleep cycle?

The Difference between GOOD and GREAT

Article Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8FQQUHYJvY


‘What’s Your Definition Of ‘Great’?

Ask An Olympian: Can Food Really Improve Your Athletic Performance?

Like with everything else, when you reach a plateau you must go into reset mode and it’s really not that complicated – just hard to maintain until you’re able to live it and breathe it. Simply put, if you want to become faster and stronger, pay attention to the foods that you eat. Achieving and maintaining the proper levels of the right nutrients is the key to peak performance. So what are some of the main nutrients necessary to build and maintain a strong body?

Luke Walton, USA Olympic Rower suggests “HYDRATION is key to proper nutrition. There are too many positive effects of water to list here. Flushing toxins is one big one! Hydrating muscles, cells, etc. Water also aids proper digestion and absorption”.

Walton also suggest healthy fats. The kind found in avocado, coconut oil, flax seed oils, nuts, etc. “Too many people try to avoid fat completely and that is a terrible thing to do, especially for endurance athletes”.

Calcium is probably the most important nutrient for an athlete and calcium intake should be monitored by those who train seriously and consistently. Calcium is essential in the growth, maintenance, and repair of bone tissue, maintenance of blood calcium levels, regulation of muscle contraction, nerve conduction, and normal blood clotting. So it’s no shocker that low levels of calcium can increase the risk of low bone mineral density and stress fractures. And recent research shows that male endurance athletes of all ages experience testosterone deficits that can also cause osteoporosis. Say what?! Ok so let’s make sure we stock up on those dairy foods like milk, yogurt, and cheese, as well as dried beans and leafy green vegetables. Dairy intolerant? Then make sure you find the right supplements.

Iron is an essential nutrient and part of hemoglobin, which is a protein in the blood that transports oxygen to all the cells in your body. The brain has a big demand for oxygen. Shocker! That being said, without proper levels of iron in your system, you will find it hard to concentrate and will start feeling tired and irritable. Inadequate iron levels can decrease the delivery of oxygen to tissues and therefore reduce the capacity of muscles to use oxygen for the production of energy. Athletes have higher iron needs which puts them at a higher risk to experience iron deficiency (did you know that iron is lost in sweat?). So to improve your iron levels, be sure to increase your intake of iron-rich foods like red meat, rice, wheat, oats, nuts, dark leafy greens, dried fruit, beans, iron-fortified cereals, breads and pasta.

Here is a great article on Blood Iron Levels and Athletic Performance article by the Inside Tracker you might find helpful.

Proper levels of Protein will help maintain a good metabolism rate, good recovery times and will decrease susceptibility to infections. Interesting fact: endurance athletes need more protein than strength athletes because endurance athletes use protein primarily for maintaining aerobic metabolism, while the strength athletes use it to increase tissue-repair needs. In short, protein helps replenish depleted energy stores and prepares your body for its next workout, and in case of a protein deficit the body will take its needed dose from lean tissue. Not good! So make sure you get your daily protein requirements. Animal protein sources include meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy products but if you’re a vegetarian get them from plant-based sources such as beans, peas, nuts, and soy products. I mean, who doesn’t like peanut butter?

Photo: Anna Mos, amosportfolio.com

Article Source: http://lordwallington.com/ask-an-olympian-can-food-really-improve-your-athletic-performance/

What do you guys think of this article?